Thursday, November 28, 2013

Cath Kidston..I like!

This beautiful package came last week. See how lovely the packaging is.


Inside is a gift to myself for my (early) Birthday...


It's large enough to put my wallet, phone, water bottle and a book. Can't wait to use this bag!


Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Throwback Thursday: Reminiscing Santorini

Since its Throwback Thursday, I purposely want to re-live the memories we had in Santorini (so that I can share to my kids one day).

Santorini.....magical, beautiful and breathtaking.  An island surrounded by deep blue Aegean Sea with white washed buildings and blue domes, stunning views and beautiful sunsets. I remembered standing at the caldera telling God how blessed we were to have the opportunity to step foot on this beautiful island.

We took EasyJet from London to Santorini. When we first landed, I was shocked because the airport looked like a desert. I asked hubby, are we at the right place? Where are the famous white-washed houses and blue domes?

Santorini taken from inside the plane
The plane
We had to queue to enter the airport building as there were only 2 staff, the guard and the person who stamped our passports.


After getting our passport stamped we went to look for our transport to the hotel. We met Kiki who then drove us to Villa Rose. The hotel is located at Fira, and is voted 'exceptional' by Booking.com and Trip Advisor. You can read about my review about Villa Rose here.
After checking into our room, we decided to go explore around. The weather was nice, cooling and windy. May is just the right time to go Santorini since the massive crowds have not arrived.. We visited the St. John Cathedral and took the steps all the way down to the port. Saw donkeys ferrying people up and down; slipped and nearly fell near donkey poop. 







 I had my first taste of souvlaki, moussaka and Greek salad all in a day:) (Read about Santorini food here
The next day we celebrated our 2nd Wedding Anniversary by renting a scooter to go around Perissa and Oia. This was my first time riding on a scooter with hubby. I'm glad I made that decision:)



We stopped along the way to snap a picture of this gorgeous view.


 Perissa beach was rather quiet due to the low season.


We took the longer route to Oia which was a blessing because we got to take pictures of the other side of Santorini. We rode the scooter up to a church on a hill.



We arrived at Oia almost 3pm. Oia is where you should go to catch the stunning sunset and see the scenic caldera with white-washed blue domed churches.











We had an early anniversary dinner at Roka and then quickly made our way to watch the sunset. It was already 7.30pm and the crowd was waiting patiently for the glorious sunset. As the sun sets, we heard the crowd clapping to a spectacular ending.






The evening was getting colder as we made our way back to Fira around 8pm. I lost my scarf along the way and were chased by a dog on the way back. What an experience!
We spent our third day exploring Fira again and went off the beaten path.




We saw some school girls playing volleyball.


View of Nea Kameni along the way.


This is one of my favourite photos, which I tend to look at over and over again.


Streets of Fira.


Found a quieter path with no tourists.





Fira main street at night in May. Most of the shops have closed.




Looking through every picture brought back so much joy. If you happen to read this post, I hope you enjoyed the pictures and plan a trip of your own. I intend to return to Santorini again one day.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Maxim Cake House@Burmah Road

After dropping by Baptist Book Store, we still had 1 hour before church service thus we decided to have tea at Maxim's.

The bright and colourful neon lights just make you want to go in and have something to eat.


Maxim has a large variety of cakes, buns, breads, cookies and gelato.






Hubby ordered a cup of nescafe which came with free cookies (RM 2.80), while I ordered the cappuccino gelato cocktail (RM 5.50). The cookies were quite nice. However, the gelato taste nothing like the gelato we had in Italy or the one in Koh Lipe. I guess it's the ambience of the place that makes you enjoy the moment.



The happy customers....




Restoran Chu Yoke Weng

If you love eating duck, head over to this restaurant located near Tesco Sg. Dua in Penang. This restaurant is at the same row with Subaidah, a mamak eatery.
We arrived about almost 2.15pm, not realizing at that this place closes at 3pm for a two and a half hour break. We were lucky that we could still order their famous Pi Pa Duck.


We ordered a quarter of a duck for ourselves. The duck was served with a sweet sauce to go with rice.
Oh looking at this crispy duck makes me hungry again!!

1/4 Pi Pa Duck RM 10.50


We also ordered the Chai Boay (Salted Vegetable soup). The sourness of the Chai Boay was just right to accompany the salty-sweet duck.

Chai Boay (RM 3.50)
The third dish we ordered was the Fried Seafood Beancurd. I absolutely love this dish. The beancurd was crispy in the outside but soft in the inside. You can dip them in chilli sauce before eating.

Fried Seafood Bean Curd (RM 5.50)
The total bill was RM 25.50, including 2 plates of rice, 1 nutmeg juice and 1 chrysanthemum tea.

Restoran Chu Yoke Weng
20, Jalan Pekaka 1,
Sungai Dua,
11700 Penang
Tel: 04-6568178
Opening hours: 11am-3pm, 5.30pm-9pm, Closed on Wednesday