Fashion Friday: Godmas' Take

Feeling a little like Cinderella before the ball, both Fairy Godma and Aussie Godma surprised me with presents of new clothes for me during Chinese New Year.

Fairy Godma's rose print skirt with pleated panels evoked a 50s style kinda vibe. There is something so cheerful and breezy about the skirt and not wanting to distract from the wallpaper print, I paired it with a cream tee and orange heels.

Remember that Topshop peplum scuba pencil dress that I was on the fence about? Aussie Godma got one for me in a bright berry purple. It is sooo fitted and the little peplum does a cute job of hiding my jelly belly, especially after a heavy meal, LOL.

Thanks both Godmas! *hugs*

Cozy in the Rocket Cafe, Penang

The proprietors of Amelie Cafe (which has since closed) are back in business with their new offering, Cozy in the Rocket. How does it compare? If Amelie Cafe was the shy little sibling with ribbons in her long plaits, Cozy in the Rocket is the chic older sis with a bohemian air.

This is not your usual heritage house styled cafe. Gone are the celing fans spinning lazily above and dingy, cramped tables. The inside of Cozy in the Rocket is large, spacious even with its cement-finished floor and exposed brickwork walls. A cool blast of air con greets you as you enter and thankfully, there are 2 separate sections: smoking (indoors) and non smoking in a charming garden patio next door. Fresh blooms in glass jars add a touch of whimsy to the place.

If I'm not mistaken, I think the owners did most of the artwork themselves. Can you spot the cool tongue in cheek triptych above?

The huge bar with colourful enamel tin mugs hanging above. Drinks, small bites and dolci (sweets) menu are chalked on the blackboard behind the polished cement counter. Mains are on a separate blackboard.

The garden with some tables outside is easily accessible from within the cafe. It's quite a cheerful little place.

I found the use of a vintage enamel mug as a cutlery holder really cute though I wondered where they found those F&N glass tumblers which were still in good condition? The mocha was deliciously rich though Hubs wished there was a larger serving of it - it was that good!

On to the food - their pastas are freshly made by hand, which is a rarity in Penang and range from around RM21 - RM25 with a choice of spaghetti or gnocchi. Hubs picked the aglio olio with German sausage. He thought the dish was nice though nothing special, the spicy German sausages added a spicy kick. On the other hand, I adored the mushroom and truffle oil gnocchi which was served in a decadent, white cream sauce. It was the ultimate comfort food. It's a little on the pricey side given the size of the portions but bear in mind that you are paying for fresh pasta and quality ingredients.

Happiness in a glass - well, its real name is chocolate hazelnut ricotta pudding but to merely label it delicious is an understatement. Topped with toasted hazelnuts, it was delicately flavoured and had generous shards of chocolate hidden within it. We were scrapping off the very last bits of this yummy-licious dessert and deciding who gets to have the last mouthful - naturally Bubs won of course :p

Cozy in the Rocket

Address: 262 & 264, Lebuh Pantai, George Town, Penang.
Tel: +6012 496 7838
Opening hours: 10am-5pm
Closes on every Monday

Full Moon & Moon Sand

Glam Girl celebrated one month of mummy-hood by throwing baby Jacob a full moon celebration. It was a low key dinner at her mum's place where a bunch of colleagues and high school pals showed up. Had so much fun chatting with them, just like old times :)

I'm impressed at how Glam Girl's mum cooked up a storm. Look at all those delectable Nonya styled goodies! The chicken curry was absolutely stellar - rich, creamy and strongly spiced with generous chunks of potato and tender pieces of chicken. Both her mum and I used bread to mop up the remains of the curry, mmmmm ...

Bubs polished off his plate - no complaints from him either :D Glam Girl had a pack of balloons on hand and all kids wanted their own. Kids + getting to pick their choice of balloon colours & size = win-win situation.

The cake with a super cute "Yey we made it!" message probably sums up how every parent feels after their baby has hit the one month milestone. Wish I'd thought of this cake back then!

I was browsing around online and found an very interesting toy - moon sand, it promises to be completely squishable, moldable and doesn't dry out. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a local retailer for this and though the closest is in Singapore, I don't think my Mum would be happy if I asked her to cart back a few kilos of sand in her luggage for me.

In the end, I used a simple DIY recipe here. It's basically 8 cups of flour and 1 cup of baby oil - you could half the recipe if you just want a small batch to start out with first.

The original moon sand promised to be completely mess free but I still wasn't taking any chances and popped him into a small inflatable pool on our balcony to contain as much mess as possible. Bubs had so much fun! I gave him a bunch of bowls, spoons and some small toys. He squished, he squashed, he did everything short of eating it :D

Fashion Friday: Dressing Like a Parisian

I stumbled upon Caitlin McGauley's blog and was charmed by all the beautiful, watercolour illustrations.

Image credit

I fell head over heels with this quirky guide on how to style like a Parisian and hopefully achieve some of that je ne sais quoi chic *hearts* I'm finding #4 (pearl necklace + tee), #9 (pencil skirt + ballet flats) and #10 (jeans + gem encrusted sandals) particularly inspiring.

The Daily Dose, Penang

The Daily Dose is a rustic cafe housed in a sleepy 1920s rose pink corner shoplot between the bustling streets of Carnarvon Street and Chulia Street. To make it a whole lot easier for Penangites to find it, let me just tell you that it's a couple of doors down from the popular Tek Sen restaurant. 

The interior is a wedge of haven from the heat and traffic outside. Colourful paintings, mismatched wooden furnishings and embroidered pennants add an arty vibe to the tiny cafe that offers Mediterranean styled salads, sandwiches, drinks and desserts. There is also an extensive wine menu (chalked on the blackboard, of course). No MSG and mayo are used here.

We initially wanted to order 3 sandwiches but the waiter talked us out of it, saying that it would be too filling so we settled on the Grilled Cheese and Cubano sandwiches. It'd be nice if the sandwiches had a little side serving of salad or a sprinkle of chips but we've no complaints about the quality of them. Think of it as a more homemade and funky version of O Briens. I was surprised that Bubs aka Master No-Veggie-Please ate the Grilled Cheese with gusto, considering that it had onions and rocket in it. I enjoyed stealing bites from Hubs's Cubano which had a nice tang in its pickles, mustard and ham. 

I was still feeling peckish and had a cup of the Aztec posole soup. It came served with a slice of lime and topped with fresh coriander and shredded purple cabbage. Spicy and sour, it reminded me of a Mexican tom yum, lol, but with roast pork chunks and beans. 

Bubs gave a 2 thumbs up (though it looks as though he's clenching his fists!) for the Mexican ice lolly. They ran out of watermelon so he had mango and ginger. He generously let me have a few licks and I liked how refreshing the mango was and the ginger added a very subtle spiciness to it.

A CNY new dress, the Dorothy Perkins multi floral prom dress - in my defense, I'd a cash voucher for it plus loved how it looked on my cousin who's also a huge DP fan.

With free wifi, polite and friendly wait staff, it was tempting to spend the whole afternoon lazing there - apart from the fact that there was a couple smoking at the table next to us :( There are tables provided outside on the shady veranda, I didn't liked it that they had to light up indoors.

Address: 8C, Lebuh Carnarvon, George Town, Penang.
042612063