In every alley or street,
there is something good to eat.

__
​
Roll'd
Pho in a cup

"Not life-changing in terms of taste,
but the packaging is just perfect."

​Humble Rays

"Korean -Aussie fusion. I felt like basically everything
on their menu tasted great, also because I'm a sucker
for asian flavours. "

​Operator 25

"It's really near my place and it just had a
great vibe overall. Loved the corn fritters and the
​puns on the wall. "

​Rustica

"Their pastries are great! Especially the almond croissant.
​Biggest salad I've ever had too."

South Melbourne Market

"One of my favourite seafood stalls - Claypot Evening Star,
lots of beautiful household thingy-s and dollar oysters are to-die-for."

Bibelot

"Gelato was great! Sticky Date Pudding & Salted Caramel were
my favourite. The Hazelnut Praline cake is definitely 
​the star still tho."

Baker D. Chirico

"From the design to the taste, this place is really
​one of a kind. "

Dandenong

"No food. 
​But still loads of fun"

Dandenong Pavilion

"Zucchini fritters are my new life calling"

Market Lane Coffee

​" I don't really drink coffee but everyone says its nice."

.
Trust me when I say I had my doubts in the beginning.

I am am no foodie; scratch that, I have no food standards. However, being with Aaron has definitely changed that. He is solidly planted in the f&b industry and have overtime raised my little-to-none-standards, I now am picky-er than I was before.

So,
we had bookings at Odette, a 2-Michelin star establishment planted right smack in the Singapore National Gallery. The 6 course degustation was going to set us back about 148SGD each.

Thus, my doubts.

However, I'm so glad we took a dive and splurged on probably the highlight of my lifetime's culinary experience. The restaurant was refined to perfection, whiter than my school shoes after bleaching, the pastels were the perfect complimentary shades and not a single hair was out of place.

P E R F E C T.
The main dishes consisted of the promised 6 dishes, but we were spoilt for choice with the little appetisers and entreés, it felt more like 12 courses. I could barely move by the end of the 2 and a half hour meal.

'
I can still picture the lady the suit standing beside me explaining the complexity of my dishes.

I honestly just noded and smiled; hoping she wouldn't sense how 'sakai' I was feeling and hoping she didn't notice my twitchy hands as I fiddled with my phone, dying to snap a million photos.

My instastory had an epic time too.

In a nutshell,
there were avocado petals, fish eggs that were valued probably equivalent to my education, beetroot (12 different textures of it, the sorbet ice cream was 👌🏻), smokey egg trays, truffle brioche enough to make you give thanks twice...

The photos here are barely half of what we had, but I figured I shouldn't ruin the experience and I'd highly reccomend you try it for yourself.

The prices are steep, without a doubt,
I probably sold a kidney... but it was so worth it. If I had to draw a comparison, I'd say it's akin to a musical or a performance. The thought and effort that went in to those dishes were definitely above and beyond; something worth looking back and saying "That was pretty darn fantastic!".

Plus point for the beautiful location, I'm a sucker for galleries. I flock to them like how moths flock to light.

The symmerty of buildings/furniture/interior really gets to me.

Thought I'd throw in a quick #ootd. Which brings me to my next topic,

SHOPPING!

I had 4 days and 3 nights in Singapore to basically conquer as much as conquer-able. So shopping was low on the priority list, there was Coldplay and Armin to compete with, and I had only one shop on my mind.

​EDITOR'S MARKET.

I got my pants from there, and it was SGD28 which is considerably cheap for Singapore standards. However, I would totally vouch for the quality of their clothing. It also works in a way that if you buy more pieces, then each item gets cheaper (up to 6 items).

Funny story.
I met an American lady that was travelling on holiday and she had three items in her hand, so did I. So we decided to combine our items and we paid the lowest price for each of our pieces. Win-win!

The next highlight of the trip was this little haven.

M Social is a boutique designer hotel, (from the Millenium hotels line). The entire place was so modern, from the lobby to the lifts. They used neon lights as decorations as well as multiple tiles and textures to really bring out feel of the place, not to mention the beautiful Mural right at the entrance.

I was allocated a room called the 'Cosy Aloft', upon entering I immediately fell in love with the roof. The high ceiling made the room feel really grand and the mirrors made the room seem a whole lot bigger. Tbh, it's not very spacious but it's designed so well that you don't notice the size (or the lack of it).

Everything in the room is a little more high tech than expected. The toilets lights utilise sensors, so they turn off when no one is in it. The lamps also have sensors, so you swipe your finger in top of it to turn them on and off.

I LOVE LOVE LOOOOOOOVED the bed, it was the right level of plush and thick enough that it didn't inflate too rapidly when I jumped on it. The pillows were all a perfect square, really cute; I appreciate that.
​

The only downside was the location, the hotel is fairly new so it may take some prodding and explainations before the taxi drivers /uber drivers get it right. However, it's nothing too complicated.

Just tell them 90 Robertson Quay, near M studio.

The area is also packed with cafe's and restaurants galore that I unfortunately didn't have enough time to thoroughly explore.

Transport:

There is arranged transport to and from M Social to orchard road (paragon) everyday, so that'll save you some cash. Just ask the reception for the shuttle bus schedule and you can plan your trips from there. Or else, you could always cab or uber there for about 7-10SGD, depending on traffic and time.

Its about a 10 minute ride.

Adventure of a Lifetime | Singapore
31.03.17

Then there was Coldplay.

*cue the mini panic attack*

We worked so hard and failed so many times trying to get the tickets but we're successful in the end! Despite getting allocated seats, we succumbed to peer pressure and went early together with all the other kiasu fans out there. This resulted in a heck load of just waiting time and I didn't dare to drink water to avoid toilet lines.

The opening act act was a little disappointing, Jess Kent is a beautiful girl but I could barely understand a word of what she was singing. Not sure if it was a sound system flaw or that her singing style just really wasn't up my alley. Don't think I was alone in that matter.

However, COLDPLAY WAS FREAKING FANTASTIC. Something about Chris Martin's voice just sends chills down my spine (and everyone else's). It was flawless, every song.

The moment he sang fix you, I knew without a doubt everyone's eyes got a little teary.

One of the best concerts I've been so far, right up there with John Mayer and Ed Sheeran.

01.04.17

The following night we went for Armin Only.... because we were committed to embracing what is left of our youth.

My first rave ever and I had so much fun. Stef and I got all the way infront, got to see Armin's sweat. I'm gonna be really frank and say that I've never really listened to that much of his music before but BOY HE CAN HOLD A CROWD.

The entire thing lasted from 7p.m (opening act) till 12a.m. I've never jumped, danced and screamed for such a long period of time in my life, woke up the next day feeling like I ran a marathon.

There were laser beams, and smoke and dancers.

With part of the awesome crew. I had so much fun this trip because of all of them, the eating, the getting lost, the eating again...

It was a worthwhile break from work and it definitely surpassed all my expectations. I had been looking forward to the trip for almost 3 months and to have it come and pass so quickly was so enjoyable yet kinda sad.

All good things must come to an end.

Well, gives me time to plan and save up for the next adventure of a lifetime.

Bits and Pieces.

Food recommendations :

Tian tian chicken rice (Maxwell Food centre)
Four fingers (Korean Fried Chicken)
BAK CHOR MEE ( ❤️)
Din Tai Fung - Chilli Crab meat Pao
Watanabe Soft Serve
Kam's roast something something (sorry )



xo
​Joyce

Background story : 
Both my parents are originally from Penang, but my sister and I were born and raised in Kuching. However, we do make an effort to head back to Penang every year to visit my grandparents and the extended family. I've never got to meet my great grandparents but I know from stories that both my parents were from the 'baba-nyonya' lineage.

'Baba-Nyonya' = Chinese Peranakan 

There are lots of fancy detailed definitions of what exactly does the term 'Peranakan' mean, but in my knowledge it meant that somewhere down the ancestral line, there were mixes of Malays. (I'm no expert, don't have to take my word for it; you can always google it)

Nevertheless, 
my family and I made a trip to the Peranakan Museum this time round when we headed back to Penang for Chinese New Year. I think my dad recently became super passionate about culture and heritage, and just general Malaysian Tourism stuff. He says there's ought to be ways to really showcase our country's richness (like the Mulu Caves for example).

My sister keeps making little jokes on how he'd be up for being the CEO of the Malaysian Tourism Board.


____________


The Entrance.

Tbh, the mansion didn't look that grand from the outside. I did find the strange pale green colour quite pleasant in contrast to all the red lanterns and little red ornaments. 

But once you step foot into the house, it is undoubtedly mesmerising! There are gold plated pieces, marbled furniture, timber panels. The signature marble chairs are exactly like the ones I grew up with in my grandparents house. Our tour guide explained that marble furniture was created during that time because there were no electricity a.k.a air conditioning, so the marble helped people keep cool. 

*legit everytime you touch marble, even in hot weather... it's cold.

It was said that Baba-Nyonya began roughly 600-700 years ago. The pillars of the mansion originated from Scotland, Glasgow (1894). The centre of the house is open and they called it the air bell, where they collect rain water for daily uses. (pictured above, bottom right)

The entire was actually abandoned twice, once in 1934 and the second time when the first prime minister resigned. I felt like I really blended in with the oriental surrounding, considering I look like a chopstick....

I now have a mini obsession over their tiles and textiles.
How pretty are these!

The house is filled with stories, my personal favourite was the match making wind screen, where guys and girls would peek through to take a look at their potential 'husbands or wives'. I had a peeked through it myself... cheeky.
​

This was the floor above. The open-concept allows a great deal of natural lighting to fill the space, and because the house had high ceilings, the entire place felt really cool and breezy (hot air rises, science)

That  lighting tho....
Every instagram lover would go crazy! 

Pictured above, left

That is the owner's second wife. She lived till the ripe old age of 109 and according to the tour guide, she controlled everything. 
​#femalepower

The family was obviously very high profiled, it was considered an honour to marry into the family. To a point there was actually a few tasks ladies would need to do to get onto the 'potential-wives-list'. 

One of the task was to make a beaded embroidery. This task takes an approximate 3 years......

wow.
I would've totally been single.

_____________________________________

xo
Joyce

​MULU?

Mulu is in Sarawak, pretty close to Miri. It's where the beautiful Mulu Caves are from and I really don't know why it took me so long to decide on coming here. It was time for a much needed family vacation but we also wanted to be able to do some outdoor activities and experience some 'actual' nature.

HOW TO GET THERE?

Mas Wings flies directly from Kuching to Mulu. Ticket prices are usually around RM150 off peak one-way ( changes according to season). I would recommend going during the off peak seasons which ranges from January to about April-May, it gets a lot busier from June onwards so prices sky-rocket.

It's a 1 hr and a half plane ride in one of those propeller planes, we were freaking out a little bit but those who enjoy thrills.
THIS ONES FOR YOU!

When we arrived at the Mulu airport, we had a van waiting for us from the Mulu Marriott to take us to the hotel. If you are staying anywhere else, there's a counter on your right (it's the only one) counter there actually) that offers transport for about RM5-10.

MULU MARRIOTT
One of my biggest selling point is a bath tub. Sucker for those!

B E A U T I F U L.
The hotel/resort has a Maldives or Bali-like feel. I loved how everything was timber and somehow the air there just felt fresher than usual. I still think the star of the show would be the Mulu Marriott staff, they attend to your every need and take so much initiative.

Took our bags.
Opened the car door.
Gave us drinks.
cold towels.
Endless..
​

THE MULU CAVES

We only managed to visit 4 caves in total, the Lang Cave, Deer Cave, Wind Cave and Clearwater Cave. I wrote that without referring to any brochure, proves that I definitely learnt some stuff during the trip.

The cave experience was super educational too because of our tour guide Nicholas, booked through a tour agency.

CONTACT INFO:
Majestic Leisure & Tours Sdn.Bhd (Miri)
Phone : +6085-427751
Whatsapp : +6128072325
Monday - Friday 9am-5pm
Price : 2 days - RM246 per person (including meals)

​
​

I am honestly going to let the pictures do the talking.
It was honestly all a lot of fun and I really can't wait to go back.

I felt my inner borneo princess came out, especially when i shot the blow pipe.

FOOD

There was a lot of paku pakis.
Not complaining because I do like it, however, food is slightly more expensive so bring some extra cash or plan financially for it. There is a smaller cafe next to the Mulu Marriott that offers fried rice and stuff, but it'll set you back roughly RM16-20 per person.

There is also another restaurant next to Mulu National Park selling similar food.

If you dont don't mind spending a little more, the restaurant at the hotel will not disappoint. I especially loved their ayam pansuh. YUM

I really think Mulu is underrated and I hope it gets more coverage from press, and just general people. This is important to help the community within Mulu thrive and grow. 

​

Thank you Mulu Marriott for a fantastic stay.
I look forward to staying with you again.

xoxo
​Joyce

If you are a hotel/airbnb/location  that would like to be featured + video,
please get in touch
soolxproductions@gmail.com
​

This post is probably more for the girls.
I personally feel Korea is catered more to the female species with their endless cosmetics, skincare, photo booths, cutesy gifts and 'interesting clothes'.

I went through my goody bags and decided to pull together a post on the different stuff I got. I've given away at least half of my stash before I did this post so there's plenty of things missing, but it's still quite a substantial amount of stuff.

Here we go:

Firstly, 
there's the never ending bulk of sheet masks. 
Every corner you turn, there will be a really REALLY persuasive lady or man (usually with feminine features and insanely fair skin) handing out masks. If you make eye contact, you'll probably get a mask and an entire lecture about all the beauty stuff you 'NEED' to get in their store.

Then, we visited this place called 'Art Box'. That's where the cute lil notebooks came from. Beautiful store with lots of cute random things that cost way too much money but you'll still probably buy it all anyways. 

Korea and their packaging.

I even decked out my phone too.
​HOW CUTE ARE THESE?!

MAKEUP.
Korea is makeup heaven.
For the longest time, I just never bothered giving it a shot. I'm really tan and can't do that many crazy colours. BB creams, CC creams and all the other alphabetical jazz still doesn't suit me, gives me a weird lingering white cast so I'd still stick to my own foundations.

(I use Shu Uemura skin:FIT in shade 564 medium light sand) ---> LOVE!

But everything else was quite a nice surprise. Compared to western makeup, their stuff is pretty reasonable. Some of the brands I found myself liking were Innisfree, Etude house and the Face Shop.

Bronzed out all day errday.

If I had to pick favourites it would be these:

 (Left to right)
​
1. Nature Republic Aloe Vera mist
2. Innisfree NO-SEBUM Mineral Powder **freakin' magic
3. Etude House Soft Touch Auto Lipliner in some brown shade, can't read Korean (I just use it all over)
4. Etude House 'BLEND' FOR4EYES 
5. Etude House Dear Darling Water Tint  (Orange)
6. Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer

In terms of lip products,
I've always used mainly neutral-brownish shades. I don't take light colours or pinky colours well.
So these are my main go to colours. 
​ANYTHIN' BROWN WILL DO.

I also got this cute lil marshmallow puff ( sponge) that has been borderline life changing and also all these other random things that I picked up along the way. 

ALL GOOD IN THE HOOD.

Moving on,
​clothes and accessories....

Tbh, I don't exactly like the typical Korean style of dressing but I do like their colour palette. Lots of neutral shades, nudes, browns, olives, whites and pastels. 

I found most of these in random street side stalls and underground train stations. All real cheap, 5000 - 10,000 won. Basically 5-10USD per piece.
But you really got to mix and match it yourself.
Most of the styles in Korea is severely oversized...
​Can work for some I guess.

And the highlight goodie of my trip was definitely the chokers.
I AM IN LOVE WITH CHOKERS.

They're fairly cheap and show up just about anywhere and everywhere. So i bought a handful, some for Pris (little sister) too.
I also got a pair of sunnies.

I don't know if it's just me, but I find it really difficult to wear shades out.
I feel self conscious.

Is it me? Just Me? Yeap. Just me. okay.


​It was a good trip.
​KA CHING $$

You can watch my Korea Vlog here!