My Trip to Penang - The Food Paradise!

I went to Penang with my hubby recently and came back feeling really refresh, though it is only a three days trip :). Penang is really a great place to visit if you are looking for yummy food at a good price so please bear with me as I am going to post a lot of pictures of the food we tried over there! We stayed at the Cititel Hotel Penang, which is just opposite a relatively well-known night market, Red Garden.

This night market serves a variety of local cuisine which includes familiar dishes common in Singapore. However, the taste does differ in some ways, with the Penang local flavor infused in the food.

One of the best oyster omelet I have tried! Quite pricey at 8RM as the serving is very small but really delicious!

Penang Lor Mee. The type of noodle used and taste of the sauce are different from the ones found in Singapore. Also, prawns are used as one of the ingredients

Satay with peanut sauce and bbq chicken wings. Quite similar to what we find in Singapore except that the taste is sweeter

Penang Char Kway Tiao. Lots of bean sports and more whitish in appearance compared to the Singapore version. Not so oily. Yummy!

Hawker style fine cusine! Seafood soup bowl at a night market. Too interesting to miss :)

Apart from the wide selection of local food, the Red Garden is really popular because it offers live music and performances by professional singers who took to the center stage every night.

Singers performing for customers who are enjoying their supper at the night market. Really an eye-opener for me as I have never seen this in a hawker environment setting

If you like the food at Old Town White Coffee (a Singaporean Cafe which offers Hawker Food and with branches located in some parts of Orchard),  you are going to like my next recommendation.

Georgetown White Coffee. The founder of this Malaysian Cafe set up this "one-stop" outlet serving Penang cusine in conjunction with the celebration of George Town being formally inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Curry seafood (prawns and cockles) and vegetables (brinjal and long beans) with rice. Interesting dish not seen in Singapore

Sambal seafood fried rice with chicken wing. Nothing really unique about this dish but like the presentation :)
Great for those who like spicy food.

Super delicious signature white coffee and tea!

One thing I am not too happy about this cafe is the service of the staff. The cafe offers special discounts for specific dishes on particular days of the week and the staff does not seem to be aware of this discount at all (or chose to ignore). We ordered the curry seafood with rice which is supposed to be discounted on a Monday (the day we visit) but was charged the full price! Too bad for us as we only noticed the display banner which features the promotion outside the cafe the next day when we incidentally walked past. So if you intend to dine there, do look out for the discount and make sure to point it out to the staff there if you order a promotional dish. As shown in above picture, there is a mini stand displaying the dish on discount. BUT the discount is not stated in the advert here. It is only make obvious on the much bigger display banner placed in the alfresco dining area of the cafe. 

The last dish I am going to recommend is a dessert.

Tower of five - Five flavored pancakes including strawberry, New York Cheese, Oreo, Peach & Coconut and Banana & Raisin topped with a scoop of Vanilla ice-cream and honey. Perfect for the sweet tooth!

Quite a good deal at RM 19.90++ and the dessert comes with 2 drinks as well! Forgot to jot down the name of the restaurant but it should be easy to find as it is the only restaurant serving pancakes (as the main course) at the outdoor dining street of Gurney Plaza. In case you have not heard of Gurney Plaza, it is a mega Malaysia Penang lifestyle shopping mall owned by CapitaLand.

Hope you like my recommendations and if you have some interesting places to recommend as well, feel free to share with us!


 

Think Black And White Is Boring? Read This And You May Change Your Mind

I know the recent trend centers around floral prints and bold colors but I cannot resist my love for the black and white combination. There is something about this kind of classic pieces that draw my attention and devotion.....I guess I just love the understated elegance and minimalist effects of black and white. I believe many fashion editors would agree with me on this, given that this trend is often featured in female magazines:

From COSMOPOLITAN Singapore, July 2012 issue

From Harper's Bazaar, August 2011 issue

If you  think that the black and white combination is boring and probably only suitable for mature women of a serious or even strict demeanor, think again! It has been demonstrated in so many ways that black and white can be extremely stylish and versatile, be it for the classic, smart or modern look.

Our recommendation for the office or semi-formal events:

Black & White Power Dress and Day To Nite Blazer (coming soon) from www.laceandbuttons.com

So why not give the black and white combination a chance if you are considering a new style next time. You may just fall in love with it.  

Great Finds At Johor Bahru!

I used to visit Johor Bahru (JB) with my family when I was much younger. My impression of this neighboring state is not that great mainly because we always ended up doing grocery shopping in one of the supermarkets, which is really not that exciting for me. After all, I was in my adolescence and what I really care about at that age was to look at pretty things associated with fashion and what nots.

As an adult, my impression of JB has changed completely. I don't have to do grocery shopping with my parents anymore and can explore the shopping malls at my own leisure. I particularly love shopping for shoes at JB as I really adore the trendy designs, superb quality and affordable prices (due to the exchange rate)! I have bought a number of shoes from City Square Mall located within a stone's throw from the JB customs and this is one of my favorite designs.

I love how the five gorgeous contrasting colors are matched so ingeniously in this pair of heels to draw pleasantly positive attention! I also love how the straps intertwined to make my feet look so sexy (if I may said so) and slim.The straps and heels are quite chunky and really add to that edgy vibe which totally blew me away!

I seldom buy apparels from JB as I find that clothes are generally more fashionable in Singapore. However, I did recently bought a pastel pink hi-low skirt from one of the boutiques at City Square.

I like the asymmetrical layering effects which make the skirt design quite unique and feminine. Thought it matches perfectly with the Asymmetrical Cool Floral Top from my online shop!   

Apart from shoes' hunting, great food is another factor that attracts me to visit JB. My hubby and I found a place for really yummy curry fishhead at a reasonable price:

Kam Long Restaurant (more like an eatery) is always crowded on a weekend during lunch hour and you have to be prepared to share tables with other hungry customers if you are in a smaller group. Doesn't really bother us as we simply love the food!

The aromatic and sumptuous curry is cooked in a claypot to keep the favors in. Expect thick, succulent flesh from the fish head and lots of vegetables in each claypot. The tasty fried bean curd skin that makes up part of the vegetable combo is definitely an added bonus to this Asian dish! The owners are the 2nd generation cooks of the yummy dish.

So if you love shoes and great food, why not consider a trip to JB? You may be pleasantly surprise by what you find there. 

The Amazing Spiderman With...Its Amazing Fashion!

Have you watched this summer blockbuster, "The Amazing Spider-Man"? I had and I really like it! I was actually quite reluctant to watch this movie as the previous version with Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst is still quite fresh in my mind and I thought it is really too soon to have a remake. Hubby was quite insistent on watching the movie though so I thought might as well give it a chance since movie tickets are quite cheap in JB (more about JB in another post).

As with most superhero movies of recent times, the effects are amazing and I believe most who has watched the movie will agree that it offers the audience a spectacular visual treat. What draws me most is the refreshing match of Andrew Garfield (as spider-man) and Emma Stone (as Gwen Stacey). Thought they look really cute together on-screen and find the great chemistry between them really enticing. 

 

I also really like the back-to-school style/academic looks portrayed so effortlessly by Emma Stone in the movie. I think there is an understated elegance in this kind of look that is girlish and demure at the same time. And this look can be so easily achieved! Just think along the line of cardigans, collared tops, basic pleated skirts or A-Line skirts with neutral solid colours. Add classic prints such as polka dots and stripes into the mix for more variety.

Emma Stone looking effortlessly stylish in a neutral colored ensemble of a basic cardigan and polka dot dress

 My versions of the back-to-school look, with more playfulness and vibrancy :

Model wears Crochet Polka Dot Collared Top, Princess Cardi with Stripes and Autumn Red Pleated Skirt with Belt. All from Lace And Buttons, www.laceandbuttons.com

The new Batman movie is coming soon and I am looking forward to it. Hope to see some great action and perhaps some inspiring fashion too!

Great Skills to Pick Up - Learning Photoshop for Online Business

I have not been blogging too much lately as I have been spending most of my time learning how to use Photoshop. Before I started running Lace And Buttons, I have almost no knowledge of how to use this software. In fact, any software related to design scares me as I am certain that no amount of training is going to make me proficient (super low confidence in this area...sob...). Luckily for me, running an online business has made me put aside all these self-doubts and procrastination in picking up new skills related to design. To be honest, I really don't have too much of a choice as I am very much running the business by myself. So like many small business owners, I am the purchaser, sales manager, accountant, business development manager and of course, the designer, all at the same time. My hubby does help me out whenever he can so thanks to him for his support! Really thankful to hubby as running an eCommerce business is much more challenging then it looks and  I believe the success I have with Lace And Buttons would not have been possible without his help.

Here are some of the latest artwork I have (very proudly!) done up for Lace And Buttons:

Latest Promotion! 

I researched several female magazines in order to create the following two artwork and I am really happy with the results:

Artwork for the Lace And Buttons' homepage:

It is really fulfilling to be able to create beautiful artwork and even greater than this is having the opportunity to share them with others. I still have much to learn as what I know now are all very basic skills. Nevertheless,  hope you like the above designs as much as I do!