What's On My Dressing Table? (Part 15)

 

I had the opportunity to try out a brand i've never used before thanks to a free sample. Lancaster's Cellular Elixir 365 Intense is the first serum designed to support DNA protection. The serum feels silky on the skin, almost egg-white consistency....haha.... A good protection to have in these days where the environment is extremely harsh on the skin.

 

During my week in KL, Crispy generously shared her Hada Labo set with me. My favourite item in her collection is this UV Moist Emulsion. Exceptionally light, and with a powdery quick finish, this is the kind of sunscreen feel that i'm looking for. No trace of greasiness at all, pretty impressive given that it boasts an SPF50+ and PA+++.

 

I recently purchased a small bottle of Origins' Youthopia. I must admit that it has such a cool name! It is an age-correcting serum containing the patented Rhodiola and strives to prolong the skin's 'youthspan'. Hmmm...it is pretty expensive for a small bottle i probably could finish in about 3 months, plus i hate its odour. One of the least cost-effective products on my dressing table.

 

I also tried Lancaster's Retinology Eye cream in a sample sachet. It works well, but for the eye area, i still prefer gel-cream kind of texture. This one is pretty hard to push around on the skin and after quick application around the eye, i could still see white spots. Perhaps i applied too generously because it was free?

 

This is one fun product by Skinfood - Omija Whitening Teabag Toner. Just after opening, you need to cold brew your teabag before using. Just dunk the teabag into the toner liquid, let it cold-simmer for several minutes. Then discard the teabag, and the toner is good enough to last you a good three months. This toner also comes with paper masks in which you can pour your toner onto and leave it on the face. Kudos to the Skinfood creative people :)

Totally hated the Hada Labo Moisturising Lotion. It has a disgustingly sticky after feel. By patting on your face after application, you could feel the fingertips having difficulty leaving the skin. It also doesn't impart much emollience on the skin, just a weird tightening feeling. I personally will not want to buy this.

Shocking Reaction to SMRT Train Breakdown

This is hilarious, although abit inappropriate by making fun of a death. But i still LOL LOL LOL!

Kage, JB (Part 2)

 

 Dragon roll - one of my favourite kinds of sushi. It is rolled with mango and contains fried prawn within the sushi rice. Nowadays, many Japanese restaurants serve this, the other kind of dragon roll would be the one rolled with avocado, but i prefer the mango version. Recently, my friends and I tried one that contains chocolate ice cream inside! It sounds weird, but one of the better experiences we've had with creative sushi!

  

To be honest, the shishamo here were pathetic. The fishes were tiny, has an odour and is soggy, not crispy. Skip!

  

Ahhh, sotong! Haha... looks very appetising and it still retains the Q-ness too!

 

Some mixed tempura for us to share. The batter was not too bad, overall the cooked food at Kage passes the grade :)

  

We ordered yet another plate of mixed Yakitori. Their grilled food was also exceptionally tasty, especially the pork. We ordered several servings, of it, in fact.

  

Boon Choon was especially disappointed with this buffet. The rest of us thought that for the money we paid, it was decent but obviously this place is for quantity, not quality.

Kage, JB ( Part 1)

 

 The gang visited JB some time ago, and Lisa brought us to have ala carte buffet at Kage, a Japanese restaurant. Started with some tempura. I never liked fried food much, hence did not try this. My friends lapped it up though.

  

For us girls, Chawanmushi is a must starter for a Japanese meal. At least the chawanmushi is silky and smooth. Pass!

  

Having Japanese food in JB is definitely cheaper than in Singapore. However, we do feel the pinch due to the lower price. The raw fish is probably from frozen sources. Here you can see the various sushi (Suzuki, Sime, Sake, Maguro, Tataki etc.) were slightly off-colour. 

 

 Fried mushroom - tasted quite crispy and non-greasy. I think the fried stuff fared better at this place, but i am no longer a Japanese-cooked dish fan, I'm more of a sashimi fan these day...ahhh...how things have changed since my first Japanese meal.

  

Tako Balls, or octopus balls. I also left this dish for my hungry friends to wipe off. Their verdict was that it's so-so only :(

 

Everybody ordered a Sashimi platter for themselves. The assorted sashimis were served in an ice big bowl. The fish were fresh, but detected a frozen after-taste and it did not have the 'bounce' of normal sashimi.

 

Hotate (scallop) and Buta Hotate (Pork) grills. The pork was great!! Alas, a good dish we were all singing praises for.... We had too many dishes that lunch, so stay tuned for Part 2. I'm getting lazier and lazier at updating my blog....haha

Mushrooms & Snoopy

 

Just before Andrea quit her job, we had a play date with Yurou out for another day of fun for the tiny tot. This pic was taken secretly by yours truly. Andrea was busy chatting up with Cui Cui and Tze Ching while Yurou was stealing a braised peanut using her spoon and putting it into her mouth quickly. Naughty act caught my Puffyrazzi's camera.

 

 

Finally mummy came over and asked me to wave at the camera!

 '

After our mushroom lunch, we hopped over to 313 at Somerset to have a photo with Charlie Brown, Snoopy and friends!Ooohh....Charlie Brown has such a nice, round button nose :)

 

 

Is this the queue to get into Snoopy cafe?

 

Just opposite at Heeren's Sjora was having a roadshow.They have on display a land-rover kinda vehicle, plus some Hawaiian decorations for you to pose with. We took Yurou for a photo-taking session there, but she was kinda scared of the loud music they were playing...

Ormie the pig Wants Cookie!

 

Oh dear! Isn't Ormie the cutest pig ever? This clip reminds me of Don Coyote from the Road Runner cartoon! Ha Ha Ha....

Famous Phuket Banana Pancake

 

Banana pancake is a famous fixture in Phuket. Most of the stalls selling it are Muslims and they are dotted along the beaches in Phuket. This particular one, is smacked right outside our hotel. We passed by it several times and day, each time reminding ourselves we will patronize it one fine day.

 

Being a banana + pancake fan, i'm so elated by this snack. All of us ordered a Banana Nutella Pancake. See how much Nutella he's putting on the dough!

 

It is fried on a hot plate, very much like our Roti Canai/Prata back in Malaysia and Singapore.

   

In goes the main ingredient - Bananas!!! The whole car is stocked with bananas...i'm wondering how much sales he generates every day?

  

After the banana goes in, the pancake is folded and topped with butter :)

  

It is crunchy on the outside, sickly sticky and sweet on the inside. I must say i haven't enjoyed a streetfare as much as this for a looooong time. If you ever go to Phuket, do try this, and it's cheap too !

Strolling in Phuket Part 2

 

Since we were rained out that day, there was one place we could finally go - Wat Chalong temple, although walking from the van to the temple was a challenge. Sixian's umbrella got blown away and we almost slipped and fell on the slippery floor just before entering the temple.

  

The interior is just as beautiful as it is on the outside, with pictures depicting Siddharta Gautama on the walls.

    

There were many tourists admiring the breathtaking colours inside. Some ang mohs were warned  by caretakers within the temple not to touch the statues because it was disrespectful. It was slightly dark inside due to the rainy weather so pictures were kinda blurry.

  

The next day we decided we were tired of the rain and headed to the nearest shopping complex near our hotel, Jungceylon Shopping Centre. It's a large mall, filled with souvenir shops, massage parlours and also a big supermarket, which we had fun browsing through for tom yum flavoured potato chips, and thai-made beauty products.

  

The sun came out (finally!) that late afternoon, and we were glad to be able to stroll on the streets of Phuket. The wirings were old-fashioned, still above ground like Malaysia but in a more dangerous manner!

  
And we could hit the beach! Haha...although a little too late lah, cos it was almost night time. Some tourists still insist on doing water sports like jet skiing and para gliding :)

Strolling in Phuket Part I

 

It was a bad mistake to be visiting Phuket during their monsoon season. The rain came and go countless times a day. Our tour guide drove us in a van for most of the day and we stopped by many viewing points including this Karon View Point. This was the only stop at view points that wasn't raining so we quickly snapped a few.

  

The Giant Buddha is still under construction, but we decided to go nevertheless. The statue is already seated on the hill, but its base and the gardens around it were still being constructed. When it is completed, it should be a spectacle.

  

Phuket Old Town reminds me of parts in Chinatown, Singapore, or even Melaka and Penang. These buildings have strong European feel and also local motifs of the 1880's. The shophouses are preserved to its best and painted with beautiful colours.

  

We asked our local guide to drop us at a local food store so that we could get some snacks for people back at home. He promptly brought us to Pornthip, which is a one-stop-get-all kinda place. It was crowded with Japanese tourists, for goodness' sake! Haha...

 

And lastly, on that weekend night, we had a 3-hour long walk at its local weekend market. This huge market sells everything from cheap clothes, to electronics, to spa products and food! Great place to end a day in Phuket, without all the beaches :)

Spa Experiments in Phuket

 

Before i've been to Phuket I've never been to a spa. The girls brought me there to experience so many different kinds of spa at a much cheaper rate than in Singapore. We started off at Venus Spa, tucked Mercure Hotel near our abode in Phuket.

     

We had pre-booked its Green Tea special package before we left Singapore. The package includes a floral foot bath, 15 minutes steam bath, green tea body scrub, green tea aromatherapy massage and lastly a cucumber/aloe vera yogurt mask. 

  

We were there right after our touchdown in the late afternoon and 4 of us were the only customers there. Pretty exclusive and the rooms were comfortable and relaxing.

  

We had initially planned to go Kayaking into a cave full of monkeys and bats on the 3rd day but we got rain-washed out. Sooooo, we went to a highly recommended spa near our hotel - Let's Relax. However it was fully booked for the day and we only made reservation for that same night and went shopping instead.

 

The building looks like a colonial house and on the inside it is nicely decorated with flowers and sofas. Once you walk in you feel so much at home and the service was good too. They didn't allow photography within the building.

 

 We signed up for a package that includes 30 minutes of Thai foot reflexology and 90 minutes hot stone massage. Hot stone massage is particularly expensive in Singapore, fetching more than SGD 200 for 60 minutes, but here, i think we did it for less than SGD 100. The stones are heated , then placed at specific points on the body. The masseuse then applies lemongrass essential oil and uses the same stones to massage the muscles on the body.

 

Just before our flight, we went to another highly-raved spa, this one is Oriental, which specialises in Thai Massage. This one is shiok!! We had a 2 hour Thai massage, 60 minutes manicure-pedicure and 60 minutes facial.The Thai massage was particularly punishing but totally worth it. We got bended, folded and stretched like a rag doll, and i felt like a contestant in a wrestling match but it was really good! Sixian, who has a low threshold of pain, kept moaning and the three of us were so entertained :)

Fear Factor

 

Having a walk in a pasar malam in Phuket was a breeze, it was drizzling and the locals + tourists were all polite. The stall owners were smiley and everyone was intrigued by the things being sold. Prior to going, Tze Ching and I were already eager to see a stall selling bugs. Finally we found it tucked in a small corner.

  

Alrighty, we found our choice for catch of the day. Our local guide told us that the silk worm tastes the best but we sort of chickened out, and went for the milder grasshopper instead :)

     

Must take a few snapshots to commemorate this moment in time... haha....cheers~~

  

Om Nom Nom Nom Nom...... we chomped on it like Cookie Monster.....Hmm....

 

It was fine, cos they sprinkled seasonings on top of the bugs before serving. These grasshoppers were sold in a packet of 100 g but we couldn't finish them all. Up to a point, the sharp edges on the grasshopper's legs makes your throat really itchy and irritated that you just had to stop for a drink of water.