Poof!

Whoa. I know it's been long since my last post - so many things have happened and I guess that's prolly why I haven't had the chance to do any blogging at all!

The only social media site I can keep up with is Instagram, and I think I'm gonna put up a widget on the side of this blog just in case you'd like to follow me on my daily adventures!

Mom and I have been travelling a LOT since summer holidays started, and I'm not sure if I'm dedicated enough to type out the stuff that we saw and did, but I'll try my best to keep this updated with photos (at least).

Anyway, last weekend had been a good ketchup with Seow Wei and I fell in love with London and its happenings all over again. We ate a lot, talked a lot, saw a lot, heard a lot. Brunches have been trendy lately and I can absolutely see why! Who doesn't like a full, happy tummy at the start of your day? Not just food for the belly, but food for the eyes really!

We went to The Modern Pantry on Saturday where I had the curry leaves waffle and a matcha latte (which I loved), then Bea's of Bloomsbury where we had the awesomest red velvet cupcakes ever! Jin Wun is a crazy Lola's fan, but this is a self-note to bring that girl to Bea's for their cupcakes 'cos I think it's slightly better than Lola's. Not bad indeed, so thumbs up for you, Bea's! Sadly, they ran out of scones so we couldn't try any. Boo.

The last time I wanted to book for afternoon tea at Bea's, they were also out of slots, so it's advisable to book much in advance! I tried The Wolseley instead, and their cakes were so-so decent but the decor was grand. Very nice. So yes, I would bring a friend there again. ZX (who tried both Bea's and Wolseley) said Bea's scones are better... so yeah... have to go back.

Sunday morning with SW started out at Dishoom in Covent Garden, and we tried their famous bacon naan and chai. Hmm... I've had better mamak breakfast back in Malaysia but this ain't a bad place for a morning hangout. Pretty cool '20s-ish posters of Indian girls and women framed on walls, and their toilets were decorated with Indian ointment bottles and packagings. Quirky?

The initial plan was to visit the Science Museum and we were so close... we went to V&A Museum on the way, spent about an hour there, got distracted by the thought of Patty & Bun burgers and so we went back to Bond Street for more FOOD. YES. YAY.

Wait. What Science Museum?

So anyway. Smokey Robinson at Patty & Bun. Go for it man, seriously. Deliciously messy but so worth it! It's not even expensive, which is a huge factor for me when it comes to looking for good food! Because my mommy is such a good cook (and yes I'm bragging about her 'cos she's that awesome!), I sometimes find it difficult to choose a place where I can get good food that is also value-for-money. Patty & Bun... good juicy beef, properly grilled (I got pink elixir oozing out before I opened the wrapping), an okay bun, just the right taste - checked.

Fast forward, fast forward.

BBC Proms. Long story cut short: want cheap tickets? Queue. 5 quid. Not a great view of the orchestra if you're not tall. Excellent music. Gorgeous venue. Royal Albert Hall.

I'm not an orchestra music expert but I really enjoyed myself! All I can say is very nice! very nice! very, very nice! Here's a review I stumbled upon while trying to google the piece they played during the encores, so if you'd like to read someone else's more detailed review, there you go. Music is subjective I know, but you get a better description of the night from there than just "very nice".

Bank Holiday Monday, tadaa! Since SW doesn't have to go to work, we went for brunch at Ottolenghi. Prettiest spread of food, buffet style, but mostly for take-aways. We got our tables after a 30-minute wait and I had my frittata and hot choc. What did I like about that place... hmm. The feast for the eyes (or rather, the food I didn't get to try since I ordered my hot breakfast and was too full for anything else). Tempted to tapao the sourdough bread but I didn't. Tempted to tapao some cakes but I didn't. But I'll go back again to try them, definitely.

That's it I guess - well that's a long post. Thanks for the great company, SW! Can't wait to see you in London again!

Tata for now folks, Italy photos next time, hopefully!

p.s. Can't wait for my upcoming NYC trip AAAH!!!

Weekend in London, again

Nicole and I got a table booked at Duck & Waffle two weeks before as we knew that we were going to have to go through the hell week at uni and needed a good break after that. After our financial economics presentation on Friday, we hopped on the train and got ourselves in time for dinner. We went to The Little French Restaurant at Earls Court as the food was pretty decent and affordable, and I managed to bring Phanit away from his computer games to come join us! 

On Saturday, we started the day late with a full English breakfast, then went straight to Picadilly Circus for lunch with Seow Wei, Zhao Feng, Eunice and Alicia. Zedels had pretty interior and I loved the posters on the walls, but their 9 quid 2-course meal offer was a bit of a scam as you can't choose anything else besides their steak with a shredded carrots starter, or dessert (pear tart I think? or coffee and biscuits sort of thing). Instead I had rabbit and pasta and shared a lovely Gateau Opera (chocolate cake, basically) with Nicole for dessert.

We were stuffing ourselves so much, and even went on to Gelupo for more sweet treats. I had the mint chocolate flavour and it was yummy-mummy! I was starting to think that we wouldn't need to order so much for dinner since we had loads of goodies throughout the day, but I was wrong.

Our Duck & Waffle reservation was at 5 p.m., so Nicole and I headed to Camden market to walk around for a bit before heading over to Liverpool Street. The timing and day for such a dinner were absolutely perfect as we were blessed with a very beautiful sunset. To be honest I was screaming with excitement inside as we went up to the 40th floor, but had to remain composed and all that, y'know. Only when I saw others whipping out their cameras and phones, I took my little x20 out and meekly took a few shots of the beautiful London below.

Everything about Duck & Waffle was great that evening, and the service there was excellent. We went for a walk around Westminster before heading back, then met up with Nicole's friend and stayed up late chatting over drinks at Phanit's place. The plan for Sunday was to visit Borough Market but we decided to detour and went to Harrods instead. 

We had pastries for breakfast and I tried Gran Caffe's Mille Feuilles and a cup of moccacino. Despite their posh interior and prime location, the service was rather bad and the breakfast was too sweet for my liking... I expected way more from them and I'd say that I was disappointed! Should have just gone in to Harrods' food hall and get some of their lovely cakes instead!

It was one of the nicest, most relaxing weekend I've had since I got back to England after cny, and I'm definitely gonna do this again soon!

another weekend in London

Yee haw! 

Malacca nomnom trip

Wednesday was such a treat. We drove down to Malacca to check out some good ol' places since it's been ages since my last visit. Yay for us too 'cos we got there in time for breakfast at Bukit Baru, somewhere we used to go almost every weekend when we stayed at Ayer Keroh. 

On our menu: curry laksa, mee jawa, asam laksa, char kuey teow

One of the reasons why I enjoy having street food in places like Malacca and Penang is because I can order my food in English. Sometimes in KL, I can go as far as saying "one plate" in Cantonese but when the auntie asks if I'd like to add more condiments and stuff, I wouldn't know which one she's referring to, and I don't really like it when my noodles come with extra surprises (like chicken liver or some intestines, haha). But then again, kudos to universal hand language ;)

It was nice to know that the food was still as delicious as before, although I must say that the best char kuey teow I had was in Seremban (not exactly sure what's the name but it was one of the shops cum food court in Taman Oakland). It felt sooo good to have all these local goodies after so long. Food, is definitely one thing I miss about Malaysia.

For snacks, we went along Jonker Street and tried Jonker 88's famous cendol :D Then, my bro insisted that I try this twisty potato thingy at one of the roads facing Balai Seni Lukis Melaka. We ordered a stick with sour cream and onion flavouring and hah! You can never go wrong with fresh deep fried potatoes sprinkled with MSG powder!

As for lunch, we had Atlantic 1's Baba Nyonya food. I would certainly recommend this place! The service was great and they serve good food as well. We had the complimentary keropok with sambal for starters, and we ordered pineapple and pandan rice - both good. We had this okra dish and I can't remember what it's called, but it was such a simple dish yet it tasted so yummy! Their rendang chicken was also one of a kind; I preferred their asam fish (too engrossed in the meal and forgot to snap a pic), but purely because I prefer eating fish over chicken. The cincalok omelette was also good, but to me it just tasted like a well-made omelette - couldn't really taste the cincalok (if they were meant to have a distinct taste). I've had better otak-otak before but the one we had there was not too bad. Overall I would give this restaurant a 3.5 rating out of 5. The interior and exterior (very corny exterior I must say) didn't look very nice, but it was clean and comfortable so I won't complain too much. Decent price, decent food, clean place, good service = yay!

We ended up at Bukit Baru again (told you it's our favourite place) for ikan bakar before heading home. I love it I love it, and I can tell you that I'm definitely going back for more. 

Right! So here's a food post after being MIA for so long! Raya's been treating me well, I get to eat all the lemangs and serundings I want and that also means that I'll need to start working out. Hope everyone's enjoying yourselves, till next time!

TGI Monday

With the birthday girl and Komal

It's back to uni Monday. 

Flash updates.

1. Amrita turned 19 today, so she had her party at TGIF and we had dinner served at 10 p.m.
2. I had to turn down my third photography opportunity today because I won't be here during summer.
3. I was 5 minutes late for my first lecture because I woke up half and hour just before 9, but I am very proud of myself for making it there.
4. I bought a journal with a very pretty cover for Amrita.

Have you ever shopped for a friend's birthday but you end up wanting to keep the present for yourself, so badly?

Easter travels: Reviews and more

Okay folks! It's about time I start sharing the details of my Easter travels, just in case any of you plan to visit the same places, or even if you're not sure where to start when planning for a holiday. 

My parents came to visit at the end of March - and guess what? It snowed in the morning after their arrival! Not a usual exciting event, as spring was not spring yet. That morning was an exception, obviously. Simple equation: Happy mommy = happy Joyce

If you're coming to Nottingham, I would guess that you're either a Malaysian, a Chinese, students, or parents in general. Haha! Not much to see, to be honest, but if you're looking for a decent meal while you're here, here's a couple of places you should go:

1) Sinatra ★★★★☆

It's at the city centre. They serve great British food! I went there twice, and the second time was with mom and dad. More photos here. The ambience is lovely too - very cosy, posh. Their walls are decorated with autographed portraits of artists and celebrities - Jamie Oliver among others. I'm not sure if that meant their presence at the restaurant before, but the quality of the food was definitely worthy enough! Just the food, about £9 - £15 per person?

2) Yod Siam ★★★☆☆
Located opposite Sainsbury's in Beeston town, near Nottingham university. Thai food. I've been here.. 5 times? Or more. They have this set lunch menu, decently priced. £6 - £9 per person? The dishes on the main menu seemed quite expensive, I haven't got the chance to try them yet. On Sundays, they serve a buffet for £10. Not an extensive line, but decent enough for a good meal. Don't ask me about tomyam though, most thai restaurants in the UK that I've been to serve non-spicy white tomyam soup, which I kinda like, because I'm not much of a spicy food fan. But most of my friends dislike that, haha. Their roast duck with rice is nice, so is their crispy pork. Pretty ambience, oriental ornaments here and there. And very nice waitresses, thumbs up for that yay!

These are local Nottingham outlets that don't have branches elsewhere, so do give them a try! Hmm.. I'll think of more and update soon. Stay tuned!

Of pink-stained snowballs and nyom nyom nyoms