K-in-HongKong: Shopping Adventure at The One, Tsim Sha Tsui

Anyeong! This is the first time Noona has visited a shopping mall named The One in Tsim Sha Tsui. Is it quite new? She did not recall seeing The One back when she visited Hong Kong in 2014 but probably it's because she's more focused on visiting Harbour City. Well, it does not matter because now, she finally had a chance to take a closer look at the stores available inside the One. For a start, the store right at the entrance of the One sells Baymax's theme clothes. Oh my gawd, on the scale of one to ten, how high is your excitement level?

Turns out there are so many concept store inside the One. If you go further up, you will see Miffy in front of her own store.

And this yellow duck called b-duck. You know that few years ago, a big floating yellow duck is making a big hoo-ha by swimming in the water of some countries (Hong Kong included). This b-duck reminds Noona of that big floating yellow duck. Hehe. The b-duck concept store is pretty interesting and it is having a summer sale for certain items. 

There was a queue line right at level one (or basement) of the shopping mall because the One is currently having an exhibition featuring Chibi Maruko-chan. You can take picture with Maruko while she's vacationing in Italy. But, you need to queue for, probably, a while since the queue line looks pretty long to take picture with her. Maruko seems to be very popular with Hong Kong people.

  

Okay, Noona never thinks that she will end up making her wallet thinner at the One by buying not one but two pairs of shoes. In her defense, she never sees these kind of shoes in Singapore. Well, you never see a pair of slip-ons featuring Sadness from Inside Out now, don't you?

The next pair of shoes is actually not that rare. Noona has seen people wearing Adidas Stan Smith on streets but usually the color is green or red. This pair comes in pink and so...well..obviously, they are in Noona's hands now. XD

There are so many boutiques too so if you are looking to buy unique clothes which obviously not easy to find in Singapore, you can check them out.  The One is located at 100 Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui area. It opens from 11AM to 11PM everyday.

K-in-HongKong: Chibi Maruko Chan Exhibition in The One, Tsim Sha Tsui

Monday has always been a torture to Noona and it even more so when you have to impress people who don't care or don't really matter in order to keep the job safe. Zzz. Okay, enough ranting about Monday since Noona has eaten and hence, in a better mood now. Oh right, last weekend was a blast because Noona was in Hong Kong and she saw that there is this cute Chibi Maruko-chan exhibition right in front of The One, one of Hong Kong's shopping mall in Tsim Sha Tsui.

The good thing about this exhibition is there is a proper queue line which is guarded with the shopping mall's staff to ensure that there are only a limited number of people at one time inside the exhibition. This is great as this helps everybody not to photobomb each other or fight over certain Maruko-chan inside the exhibition. Noona only needs to wait around 10 minutes or so. That's more than enough to test out the selfie-stick.

There is a total of four rows of Maruko-chan for you to choose. Some have normal expression, while some have weirder expression.

Noona finds the row of Maruko(s) on the right side to be cuter but everyone has different taste. The yellow haired Maruko gives a particularly cute "blank" face. Kawaii~~~

The flowerbed shaped in Maruko-chan's face is so beautiful. Could not help not to take picture with it. 

Noona chose to stand behind Maruko who gives an awkward expression but she does realise that she gives this expression occasionally too. Hehehe.

"Maruko, why you give Noona such an awkward look when Noona kiss you?". At this point of the post, Noona just realises that Maruko should refer to her as Unni instead of Noona. #failkoreanlanguage

If you want to see Maruko-chan, do come to the One quickly as the exhibition lasts only until 31 August, which is pretty soon. 

K-in-Singapore: Bread Street Kitchen, Marina Bay Sands

Noona knows that people come and go but it really brings a pain in her work when a lot of co-workers doing this around the same period. In summary, her pay does not cover responsibilities shoved down by people who left. Zzz. Oh well, at least there's the farewell lunch. The funny thing about this farewell lunch is the person who's leaving pay for the lunch. This is the first time Noona has encountered such culture. Usually it's the other way around, no? Looking at the chosen venue, Bread Street Kitchen, Noona secretly breathed a huge sigh of relief. LOL. #nomoney

A prior reservation is a must if you want to secure a table at Bread Street Kitchen. Well this is understandable since the restaurant is helmed by chefs trained by none other than the famous celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay. Reservation these days seems to be a lot easier than when the restaurant just newly opened though. All meals will be started by a complimentary basket of bread served with butter. This alone has made Noona a happy diner.

This was the third time Noona dining at Bread Street Kitchen but yet the first time she has ever tried some starters (usually she will dive straight into the main thanks to the price-tag, once again, cheapskate). The seared scallop taste good with a tinge of sweetness. They go well with the sauce too.  Noona feels like she is one of the judges in Masterchef kitchen whenever she eats scallop. LOL.

The garlic butter prawns are not bad either. Don't forget to drizzle the lemon juice a bit on top of them before eating. This makes the taste even more tangier and yummier. Everyone on the table seems to enjoy the starter like people from Let's Eat, the famous Korean drama about eating. Hahaha.

Since this is considered a corporate event, Noona feels a bit embarassed taking too many pictures so she could only take picture of whatever dish located near to her seat. Just like this roasted pork belly served with apple slaw. The pork belly is nice, especially the crispy skin but it can get a bit dry if not eaten together with the apple slaw. 

The other mains, fish and cheap and the beef steak are nice too. Noona loves the beef steak the most, it's a pity she could not get a picture of it. Maybe next time, she will consider dining alone here. Just her and the steak. Hehehe. Bread Street Kitchen is located at L1-81 The Shoppes, Marina Bay Sands. Operating hours: Monday - Thursday: 11.30AM - 1AM Friday: 11.30AM - 2AM Saturday: 7.30AM - 2AM Sunday: 7.30AM - 1AM

K-in-Hong Kong: The Hotel and the Transportation

Noona is finally on her must-deserved-break. Work has been so burdensome lately it's really taking a toll on Noona. The trip to Hong Kong was short (4 days 3 nights) but as it is not her first time visit to Hong Kong, it was good enough. And damaging enough to her wallet. LOL. 

After 3.5 hours of flying, Noona finally reached Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). There are a few things that you can do here before going to your hotel. First, you may want to rent a portable wifi device. Noona rented one from the first stall she saw upon exiting the immigration and baggage area, WifiBB. WifiBB have 4 days data-plan (5GB data) for 32SGD. Noona thinks this is good enough as she can always turn on her Google Map whenever she got lost in the bustling city of Hong Kong.

Another thing that you may want to do is arranging for your airport shuttle instead of taking Train from Airport. If you are taking train from HKIA, chances are you have to lug your luggage all the way until you have reached your hotel. There may be a lot of stairs involved in between the airport and your hotel so Noona does not really recommend taking the train. You can go to one of the stalls offering transport to hotel (we booked one with Vigor Bus). Once the timing is confirmed, the airport shuttle staff will guide you to the waiting area and inform you accordingly if the bus is ready for departure.

Got bored while waiting but the airport shuttle staff can come anytime so it's time for a selfie. 

After 15-20 minutes ride from HKIA, we have arrived at the doorstep of Butterfly on Hollywood which is situated in Sheung Wan. Butterfly is an affordable hotel chain in Hong Kong and this is the second time Noona staying with them. Their trademark decoration is the pillow shaped in red flower and the butterfly pins pinned to the pillows on the bed. The room may not be big but it is considered big enough for Hong Kong standard. 

To save space, the sink is located outside the shower room. Complimentary two bottles of water are provided each day. In addition, there is a smartphone equipped with data plan provided for free in the room. You can actually just use this smartphone to navigate your way if you don't want to get the WifiBB. On top of the smartphone, you can also rent selfie stick, powerbank, and phone lenses. Awesome!

Ready to roam the city once we have checked in and change into our summer gear. It is now summer in Hong Kong so make sure you get yourself hydrated at all times. TenRen's Tea sells a super nice jasmine green tea if you are looking for a recommendation.

Anyeong Hong Kong!

K-in-Singapore: Skillet Pancakes at D'Good Cafe, Holland Village

Haze came back to Singapore yesterday and it was really not a good feeling when you open your window and smell burnt smoke the first in the morning. Thankfully, the haze was not that bad at night but to be on safe side, dinner buddy and Noona decided to hide in the comfort of air-conditioned room at D'Good Cafe in Holland Village. 

This was the first time Noona visited D'Good Cafe on a Friday night and the cafe was not as packed as how it usually is on weekends. Noona even manages to get table on the 2nd floor and not, 3rd floor. She feels like drinking something with no caffeine inside as she does not want to lie awake at night so she ended up following dinner buddy's order, fruit juice it is. 

Dinner buddy has been raving on about the latest addition to D'Good Cafe's menu, the skillet pancakes. These pancakes seem to be quite popular in town as Noona remembers spotting another restaurant in Paragon selling similar stuff. The preparation for the skillet pancakes take approximately 30 minutes for both the sweet and savoury pancakes. So be prepared to wait.

We initially chose Spanish chorizo and squid pancake but the cafe staff informed us that they've run out of the ingredients. Oh well, we ended up ordering the parma ham and melon pancake instead. It is quite good and light on the taste aspect. So if you don't like your savoury pancake to give you heavy taste, you may like this one. Noona thinks it tastes light because there is no sauce whatsoever sprinkled on the pancake. 

While the same lightness cannot be felt from the sweet counterpart. We ordered Tiramisu Pancake and it really comes with a small slice of tiramisu cake on the top of the pancake. Chocolate sauce and few bits of strawberry and white sugar are sprinkled on top of the pancake. 

Both pancakes taste good although Noona does not feel so full after eating them. She's really a big eater, huh. Hahaha. On D'Good Cafe is currently having a promotion for its new outlet at Takashimaya Shopping Centre at Orchard. You can get 1-for-1 coffee until 30 September 2016. Go get them while the promotion lasts.

D'Good Cafe is located at:

(1) 273 Holland Avenue, Holland Village

(2) #B1-56 Takashimaya Shopping Centre, Ngee Ann City, Orchard

Opening hours:

Mon - Thurs, Sun - 10AM to 10PM

Fri and Sat - 10AM to 11PM

K-in-Singapore: Masizzim, 313 Somerset

Noona is getting hungry at 20 minutes to midnight. She should have a more fulfilling dinner just now but oh well. If you want to ensure your fullness lasts til a few hours, Noona suggests you to eat Korean dishes. They are by nature are served in a pretty big portion and hence, very very filling. No idea on where to go to have Korean food in Singapore, how about having a Korean style stew at Masizzim at 313 Somerset?

There used to be a very very long queue when Masizzim has just opened in Singapore. Few months down the road, Noona does not have to queue at all to secure a table for two in Masizzim. Daebak! 

As Masizzim specialises in stew, Noona and her dinner buddy ordered a pot of Korean chicken stew for 1-2 pax portion. We ordered the smallest portion not because we are small eater obviously.

More like it's because we want to order more stuff (and thus, eat more) like this big plate of Pajeon (re: Korean spring onion pancake). Whenever you order Korean pancake in any establishment, do note that most likely the pancake is big. Bigger than your face, even. So yeah, order reasonably. LOL.

Both the chicken stew and the spring onion pancake tastes yummy. Noona is a Korean food lover so she likes the kimchi taste in the stew. While pajeon cannot go wrong, especially when dipped in the black sauce. Yum yum yum!

Masizzim is located at the level B3 of 313 Somerset right next to Chir Chir. 

It opens everyday from 11AM to 10PM (Fri and Sat to 11PM).

4D3N Manado Trip: The Beautiful Bunaken Islands

So, Noona woke up in the middle of the night to pee and after that, she lie awake on my bed, unable to get back to sleep so quickly. She suspect it is partly because of the tea, and partly because of my potentially swollen gum due to the hidden wisdom tooth. No idea which is which but one thing remains, Noona could not sleep. Zzz.

In times like this, Noona decided to embrace her writing desire since her Mum has sent her some of the pictures she managed to save in her phone while the rest are...inside Noona's laptop with no means to extract them out since her laptop got issues. The pictures which she sent relate to our family trip last year to the beautiful Bunaken Islands in Manado, Indonesia. These islands are favourite amongst both local and international tourists as famous snorkeling spot. In order to do snorkeling in Bunaken Island, you have to first, book your boat ticket to bring you to one of the islands.

The boat trip to the snorkeling spot is not that far, probably around 15 - 20 minutes. The boat operator will bring you to the main island to sign up with the snorkeling tour operator. A usual tour package will include snorkeling gears (the googles + the fins + the snorkel), the guide, the photographer (if you want to get underwater shot, yes I mean it), and lunch. It seems that price differs based on the extensive of the amenities provided (some even provided towel). 

Looking at those beautiful hues of water, one cannot resist the temptation of swimming and snorkeling inside the clear blue water. Oh right, Noona forgot to mention about the price. The rental of the snorkeling gears can go to 150,000 Rupiah per person (around hmm, 15 SGD). The most expensive fee you need to churn out here will be for the photographer (+200 pictures) which can go up to near 1 million Rupiah (around 100 SGD) however, you can share this 200 pictures with the rest of the tour group as taking pictures underwater is not really that easy after a few shots. Shower room is available nearby so you can take a shower to rinse yourself of the sea water after the snorkeling activity (need to pay 10,000 Rupiah ~ 1 SGD to use the shower room though, never mind, let's support local business).

You will be given a life vest too so no need to worry so much if you are a weak swimmer or a non-swimmer. Yes, the water is that clear up to the point, you probably don't really need the googles if you happen to swim around the shallow water.

Right, so what is the trick of taking picture underwater with the fishes? First, you would need to purchase the bait for the fishes. Before you say yucks, the bait is not like what you imagine (i.e. worm and the likes of it). Apparently, the fishes living in this area loves to eat biscuit. But they will not be able to eat the whole thing, so you would have to crush the biscuit until it becomes crumbs and the fishes will surely come and swim around you. The challenge here, in order to take picture underwater, you have to dive deep down (which is very hard to do in the open ocean, no kidding). This is where the guide will give his helping hands to dunk you down. Once you are deep inside, you have to quickly grab the nearest coral (grab, don't destroy) to hang in your position until (a) the fishes come and (b) the photographer takes your picture.

After a few shots, you would be very very tired. So it is really best to share that 200 pictures with the whole group cause there is no way for one person to take that many pictures under the sea. Unless we are half mermaid. XD

Steal Her Look: Jessica Jung and Her Ipad Clutch

Her Look:

Noona has finally gotten herself and iPad and suddenly she's so into fancy iPad case although she has gotten herself a free iPad case as a gift from Epicentre from which she purchased her iPad Pro from. If you are looking for an inspiration of a cool way to carry your iPad, look no further than to our queen of style, Jessica Jung. The way she walk in style looks so effortlessly, she managed to bring the iPad as one of her iconic #ootd covered in that Chanel iPad clutch. Love it so much!

How to steal her look:

1. Pale pink micro Guccissima leather iPad case, GBP 225 from Gucci

2. Mini iPad case, EUR 188 from Salvatore Ferragamo

3.  Chanel O Case, HKD 6,800 from Chanel

4. PS1 IPad Case, USD 250 from Proenza Schouler

5. Embossed iPad case, USD 75 from Rebecca Minkoff

K-in-Indonesia: Tony Roma's PX Pavilion, St Moritz Jakarta

Not sure what went into her Dongsaeng when Noona went back home two months ago, he kept proposing the idea of eating steak in Tony Roma's, the international steakhouse which is known for two things, the yummy steak and the high price you need to pay. Tony Roma's used to be inaccessible from our house because traffic is a bitch in Jakarta. However, since they have opened a new branch near our area, it is now pretty easy to reach the restaurant. You just have to come on the non-peak timing in order to secure a parking spot. 

Our dinner starts with a complimentary basket of bread.

Oma and Dongsaeng were pretty enthusiastic about Tony Roma's rendition of mushroom cream soup, calling it the best mushroom cream soup they have ever tasted in town so far. Noona tasted the soup a bit and well, it is really good. 

The next appetizer which arrived to our table surprised us big time due to its jumbo size. Initially Noona and Dongsaeng were thinking of ordering the small platter but Omma insisted that we would not be full with small platter and as a result, this humongous platter arrived on our table. To make matters worse, the onion rings are kinda soggy and hence, it is really a struggle effort to eat this platter. Zzz.

Uh oh, we kinda forgot about the nachos. Suddenly Noona hopes she has a black hole in her stomach where everything will be digested and the fat disappear somehow into the dark matter in the outer space.

Thankfully, we only ordered two mains instead of one main for each person. Omma's healthier order of grilled salmon fillet served with baked red beans and mashed potato. 

The baby back ribs is a must to order here in Tony Roma's. The restaurant serves the ribs in so many different sauce, we were kinda having a difficulty ordering but at the end, we stick to the original BBQ sauce and it did not disappoint. To make it different, Dongsaeng chose fries instead of mash potatoes to go with the baby back ribs. The mains are pretty much as good as the raving goes but never ever order the jumbo platter which comes with the onion rings as they are pretty much soggy. Yucks!

If you would like to check Tony Roma's locations in Jakarta, you can see in their website here: 

http://tonyromas-mms.com/en/index.php?q=jakarta