iamthewitch.com |
- Angie’s Wedding Dinner in Muar
- Smoky Eyes – Unveiled!
- Taal Volcano – A Volcano within a Volcano
- Touch Down in Manila!
- Agehan Japanese Food
- Younger Looking Skin!
- Hand-Made Pastas at Impromptu Cafe
- All About Burgers at Hard Rock Cafe KL
- Basics of Nude Look Makeup
- Dim Sum at Jade Pot
| Angie’s Wedding Dinner in Muar Posted: 06 Sep 2011 09:05 PM PDT  Let me introduce you to a lovely person, her name is Angie. She came into my younger brother’s life about 4 years ago, and eventually to our lives when she started visiting our family with him. Together, they have survived years of long distance relationship, from Perak-KL at first, to Perak-Germany, to KL-Terengganu and even Singapore-Terengganu. For 3 out of that 4 years, it was long-distance relationship, until recently when both of them moved to Singapore together. Finally, just last year, my brother popped the question and there they are now, together as husband and wife – after years of surviving the distance and time. And I cannot be happier to be part of this memorable occasion.
Choon Hoong & Angie It was last week that I attended their wedding dinner in Star’s Restaurant, Muar, which is Angie’s hometown. According to the Chinese custom, there will usually be a dinner for the bride’s family and another for the groom’s family. If they happen to be from the same hometown, the dinner could be merged. In this case though, both of them come from different parts of the country so there would be two wedding dinners to attend.
Pre-wedding slide show on the projector As with most wedding dinners, there was a projector set up with a recurring slideshow of their pre-wedding photo shoot.
Waiting for the couple to enter Pretty soon, the emcee announced the arrival of the bride, together with her parents. My brother, on the other hand, was standing at the middle of the aisle, waiting for them patiently.
Waiting for the bride
Entrance of the bride and her parents It was quite a touching moment to watch when Angie’s parents gave her away to my brother.
Parents giving away Angie They proceeded to walk the rest of the aisle together up to the stage, for a short cake-cutting ceremony.
Cake-cutting ceremony Then dinner was served! Some of the dishes we had that night included the Four Seasons Platter, the Seafood Soup (no shark’s fin) and Roasted Suckling Pig. Food generally was above average, with quite generous portions to go around. The most memorable one was the second final dish of Lotus Leaf Rice, which was extremely fragrant and nice, but too bad I did not have a picture of that.
Four Seasons Platter
Seafood Soup
Roasted Suckling Pig While enjoying our dinner, we were entertained with a very interesting group of musicians. Instead of the common 3-piece band singing love songs, Angie arranged for a traditional Chinese band to entertain us! It was really something I experienced for the first time in a wedding. Watch the video below to get what I mean. Traditional Chinese band playing ‘Oh Susanna!’
Even the emcee was a talented Erhu player After the first few dishes, Angie had a change of outfit and came back with a bright red evening gown. Look at how radiant she was!
Second gown of the night
Champagne pouring ceremony As usual, Chinese weddings would come with a toasting ceremony from the host’s family to the rest of the relatives and friends. Instead of saying ‘Cheers’, the common term to use is ‘Yam Seng’ in Chinese.
Toasting ceremony – Yam Seng!
Short speech from the newly-weds After dinner, we took some time to take photos of each other. Many have requested a full-length shot of me in Cheongsam, so here it is!
In white Cheongsam
witch & Saucer By 10.30pm, the dinner was over and guests started leaving the restaurant. As the hosts, Angie’s parents together with the newly-weds would thank everyone at the entrance for being there to share their joyous occasion.
Guests leaving the restaurant Before we left, a picture with the newest family member.
One for the album! I am looking forward to the wedding and tea ceremony that will be held in Kampar next week. Last but not least, CONGRATULATIONS to both the newly-weds! This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 04 Sep 2011 08:12 PM PDT  Can’t believe a week of holiday just FLEW passed! Time does fly when one is having fun, doesn’t it?
Hair up in a bun Smoky eyes make-up required all the basic steps of nude make-up, except that extra steps were added for the eyes. The previous technique of applying make up base, foundation, loose powder, blusher, bronzer (shading powder) and mascara were all used in this make up.
Make up brush set
Eye shadow palette Sharon would teach me by applying eye shadow for smoky eyes effect on one of my eyes. Then, I was to repeat what she did on the second eye, which usually looked easier than done.
Before make up Everyone has different shape of eye lid and for my case, I had to put on the double eye-lid sticker to make my eyes bigger.
Smoky eyes It was also important to note that the edges of the black eye shadow should be as soft as possible. This means no hard line in between the shaded and non-shaded area. For me, the challenge was making the colour look evenly blended from the bottom to the top. Since this was black colour, any unevenness was very obvious and it was easy to risk looking untidy. If you look at the picture below, I’m sure you could tell which was side of eye was done by a professional and which was done by me!
Can you guess which was eye was done by Sharon and which was by me? The next step was applying liquid eye-liner along the edges of the eye lids, from inner eye outwards. Then, a light dab of white eye shadow just below the eye brow to create the deep-set eyes effect, before finishing with a layer of black eye shadow just beneath the lower eye lashes. That’s it!
Smoky eyes – first trial Last but not least, for a more dramatic effect, apply fake eye lashes to make the eyes even bigger. This is quite a troublesome process for me as I find it hard to stick the lashes at the correct place. But practice makes perfect, and I think I’m getting more comfortable with it now.
With false eye lashes During my fourth and final class, I was given a free hand to do my own make-up from the beginning to the end, without any guidance from Sharon. I was supposed to apply all that I’d learnt from the previous classes and demonstrate to her in a complete smoky eyes make-up. Thankfully, I managed to do a better job at blending the black eye shadow during my second try.
Smoky eyes all by myself!
Final smoky eyes make up If you’re wondering, the whole make-up process took me about 30 minutes, with more than 10 minutes on the eye make-up alone. *gasp* I believe it can be done in a shorter time especially after learning how to blend the eye shadow better. What do you think?
with Sharon, the make up instructor Note: This is Part 12 of a series of my experience being a modeling student at Amber Chia Academy. Check out the remaining parts here. |
| Taal Volcano – A Volcano within a Volcano Posted: 01 Sep 2011 06:30 PM PDT  One thing that makes the biggest difference when we are traveling overseas is to have someone local to show us around. This time, we are indeed lucky to have two exceptionally kind and generous souls, Anson and Aubrey, who brought us to several amazing places while we’re in Manila. After touching down, they picked us up from the hotel and told us that we would be heading towards a volcano – an active one, to be precise. We were, in fact, going to Tagaytay, a place with a slightly higher altitude that would provide a gorgeous view of the Taal Volcano within Lake Taal.
Gorgeous place for a cuppa From the city to Tagaytay, the drive took about 1.5 hours without traffic jam. Once we reached Tagaytay, I could immediately feel the temperature getting cooler. There were many places in Tagaytay that provided a gorgeous view of the lake but we ended up at Taal Vista Hotel instead. Located behind the hotel was a stretch of al-fresco dining area set amidst one of the most breath-taking views around. The greens, the blues and the cool breeze just made the environment perfect for an afternoon coffee.
Coffee by the garden It just stopped raining when we reached, so the air was still humid, windy and cooling. The temperature must have hovered around 24 degrees Celsius, which was absolutely soothing. The view from our table was pretty amazing, we could see the Lake Taal from afar, not to mention being surrounded by lush plants and greenery.
Lush greenery
Popular spot for photography
One side of the view Without much ado, I took the chance to snap some pictures of the Taal Volcano before the sky got darker. Taal Volcano is an active complex volcano located in the island of Luzon, Philippines. Within the Taal Volcano is a crater, which is also the world’s the largest lake within an island (Volcano island) within a lake (Lake Taal) within an island (Luzon island). Are you confused?
Spot Taal Volcano in the middle! Surrounding the Taal Volcano is Taal Lake, which was formed by eruptions between 500,000 to 100,000 years ago. This lake is now home to some of the freshwater fish species, which explains the numerous fishing activities and traps found on the shores of the lake. The Taal Lake, on the other hand, is situated on a larger island called Luzon in the Philippines. Therefore, the crater in the Taal Volcano becomes a lake within an island on a lake within an island.
Taal Lake
Fishing activities around the banks of Taal Lake We were there at about 5+pm and realized that the sun actually started to set at 5.45pm, much earlier than the Malaysian sun set time.
A closer look at Taal Volcano Sitting on the edge of the hotel, looking towards the Volcano and the lake on a calm and cool evening while sipping my hot Mocha was more than I could ask for on my first day in Manila. If only the sky was less hazy/foggy that evening, the view would have been more spectacular. Still, I was contented just to be there witnessing the amazing work of nature.
Cafe Mocha (~90peso)
San Mig Light (100peso or 188 peso for all-you-can-drink during happy hours!)
with the lovely couple from Manila I could not get enough of the crisp and clean air that I wished I could stay on longer, but it was time for dinner! And Anson brought us to the this exquisite and charming French restaurant nearby that I could not stop raving about until now. But that is certainly another story for another time!
Saucer and with with the Taal Volcano
The magnificent Taal Volcano on Lake Taal The only drawback about this place is the transportation getting there. There is apparently no public transport going to Tagaytay so it would seem that the only way getting there is by a taxi? Correct me if I’m wrong though.
Entrance to Taal Vista Hotel For more information about the hotel: www.taalvistahotel.com |
| Posted: 30 Aug 2011 09:18 PM PDT  First of all, Selamat Hari Merdeka or Happy Independence Day to Malaysia! This year marks a special double celebration for those of us in Malaysia since our Independence day coincides with the Hari Raya celebration, which meant a longer stretch of holiday, not to mention the multitude of lemang and rendang as well. As for me, to enjoy my week-long break, I am now in Manila! We just arrived yesterday and boy, was it a long day! Flight was at 7.55am, which meant we had to wake up by 5am to go to the airport. Since we took the Air Asia flight which landed in Clark, we had to endure a 2-hour ride to Manila. *yawn* Along the way, look what I saw – Mexico! Little did I know that there was a Mexico in Philippines as well.
Mexico in 1km?
Exit to Mexico On the way to Manila, we stopped by for lunch since I was famished. We only saw fast food outlets in the nearby shopping mall, so we settled for Kenny Rogers which was supposed to be a healthier option. I was surprised to find out that they serve Pork Ribs here, along with their Rotisserie chicken.
Crowded Kenny Rogers The serving of pork ribs was pretty generous, and the meat was fall-off-the-bone tender. Saucer thought it was a tad too dry though, but nothing some gravy can’t fix!
Chicken and pork ribs combo Another hour or so drive towards Manila and we’ve reached our hotel! We are staying at the Edsa Shangrila, located just next to the Shangrila Plaza and across the street from Megamall (both of which I intend to visit soon!).
Our room Our room was relatively spacious, with a large King-sized bed with 4 plush pillows and comfortable sheets.
King-sized bed I was surprised to find that they are still using CRT TV in the room instead of LCD or Plasma. Not a major complaint since I won’t be spending much time watching TV in the room.
Spacious double room
Lazy chair by the window
Study desk
Coffee/tea making facilities Coffee and tea are provided, together with 2 small bottles of water daily. The snack bar is well-equipped together with a section with mini liquors, but everything comes with a price of course!
Complimentary water
Snack bar
Mini bar price list (Current conversion rate: 100peso = RM7.02) As with other Shangrila hotels, bathrobes are provided together with comfortable bedroom slippers. Shoe-shining service is complimentary as well!
Bath robes
Bedroom slippers and complimentary shoe-shining service The bathroom is spacious with a full-sized bathtub within, complete with hot and cold shower. My only gripe is that they don’t have a proper toilet stall for the WC.
Shower and bath tub
Wash basin and WC
Toiletries provided Our room faces the city, which meant seeing cars and buildings every day when we wake up. Perhaps a better choice would be the garden view or the pool view, don’t you think so? I wouldn’t want to get stressed by looking at the Manila traffic jam every morning
View from the room We went out right after checking in yesterday, and came back only around 10pm to find our bed nicely turned down for the night, together with warm lights switched on. Such a thoughtful gesture by the housekeeping staff. Now if you’ll excuse me, I should get myself ready to explore the shopping malls nearby! Update soon!
Time for bed! *P/S: Let’s hope I have the courage to eat a balut while I’m out! |
| Posted: 28 Aug 2011 06:30 PM PDT  Once in a while, Saucer and I would crave for Japanese food, especially when we are in the mood something raw. It is without a doubt that Japanese restaurants in the Klang Valley are a dime a dozen, and it’s almost a painful task deciding on which restaurant to go to that would provide a different twist or a breath of fresh air. We ended up at Agehan Japanese restaurant in Grand Blue Wave Hotel last week for dinner, the same time when the buka puasa buffet was going on in their in-house restaurant. Due to the less-than-ideal ventilation in the hotel, the corridor towards the restaurant was rather smoky and filled with the smell of BBQ. That aside, the restaurant boasted of traditional wooden furniture, with plenty of green bamboo plants and warm orange lighting welcoming us at the entrance. I immediately felt at ease.
Sashimi Moriawase Large – 4 pax (RM165) We started dinner with a platter of Sashimi Moriawase – a combination of salmon, mackerel, tuna, butter fish and octopus served with a dollop of wasabi. Of all the choices, I found the salmon to be the freshest and juiciest of all, perfect with a dash of soy sauce and wasabi.
Green bamboo plants at the entrance Since we were in the mood for something raw, we also had a plate of Nigiri Sushi Moriawase, a combination of various sushi including one with salmon roe on top. The colourful platter showcased the chef’s skill in cutting the fish slices to perfection, each nicely placed on top of a small mound of vinegared rice. Again, the soy sauce and wasabi made the sushi an enjoyable combination that was also pretty filling!
Nigiri Sushi Moriawase – Large (RM80)
Edamame (RM8) To down the fresh sashimi and sushi, we shared bottles of cold and warm Sake Nihon Sakari Kire Aji among us. I personally favoured the cold sake, thinking that it’s much easier to drink. But I could be biased since I was also attracted to its cute glass bottle with a hole in the middle filled with ice!
Cold Sake Nihon Sakari Kire Aji – 250ml (RM32)
Warm Sake Nihon Sakari Kire Aji – 250ml (RM32) After having enough of raw food, we had Agedashi Tofu to mark the start of our cooked food adventure. The tofu was deep fried with a crispy exterior while maintaining a silky soft and smooth interior. The tofu on its own was bland, but mix it with some soy sauce and the savoury bonito flakes on top and it resulted in a nicely balanced flavour that was not overpowering.
Agedashi Tofu (RM10) Tori Katsu or fried chicken was deep-fried until golden and was extremely crunchy. It was also good to note that the chicken did not turn out to be overly oily, and a dash of lemon juice gave it a slightly sour taste on top of its savoury flavour. Pretty addictive!
Tori Katsu / Deep fried Chicken (RM21) I’m not a fan of Saba Shioyaki or grilled mackerel, but Agehan managed to grill the fish perfectly, with slightly charred bits on the skin that gave it a nice crispy bite while retaining its moist within the flesh. The squeeze of lemon was imperative in removing what little fishy smell that the fish had, while giving it a hint of sourness that made it all the more irresistible.
Saba Shioyaki / Grilled mackerel (RM21)
A squeeze of lemon was important We also tried a plate of Tempura Moriawase that was filled with huge deep-fried shrimps, vegetables and a slice of pumpkin! The shrimps were succulent and fresh, while the batter was light and fluffy. Served piping hot, this dish seldom goes wrong especially after soaking it in the dipping sauce. Yum!
Tempura Moriawase (RM30) When the next dish of Kaki Furai was served, I took a bite without knowing what was inside. I found it to have an extremely crunchy skin with a soft and juicy inside, which I later found out to be oysters! Boy was I surprised! It did not have the fishy oyster smell nor taste at all, and was actually very delicious. I definitely did not mind having a second serving of this, coming from someone who is not even fond of oysters.
Kaki Furai / Deep-fried Oyster (RM21) Finally, we ended our meal on a sweet note with a serving of Green Tea Ice-cream topped with red bean and a piece of cracker. Lovely!
Green Tea Ice-cream (RM10) It was overall a satisfying meal, with plenty of sashimi that fulfilled our cravings for the next week.
Agehan Japanese Restaurant Agehan |
| Posted: 24 Aug 2011 07:40 PM PDT  Twenty-three. That’s the age when I started working, and when I started spending my first pay cheque on beauty products. Back then, all I needed was the basic 3-step skin care set that consisted of cleanser, toner and moisturizer. Fast forward a few years down the road and I’m now heading towards the dreaded 3-0 while realizing that my skin’s needs are changing. Oh yes, as much as I hate to admit it, ageing is a process that cannot be avoided. But the good news is, it can be delayed.
L’oreal Revitalift Night Essence It was just recently that I was introduced to this new product from L’oreal, called Revitalift Night Essence, that would apparently revive the elasticity and firmness of the 8 key zones on the face and neck that are especially prone to wrinkles. 8 zones! That’s a pretty huge number of zones to take care of, don’t you think? I’ve always been paying attention only to the eye area, boy did I miss out!
8 key zones prone to ageing And so, I decided to head out to the nearest pharmacy and get myself a bottle of Revitalift Night Essence to try out. Apparently, cell renewal increases by 200-300% at night, making it the most optimum time for skin repair. Therefore, night-time usage is highly recommended for best results.
My new bottle of L’oreal Revitalift According to the information on the box, the New Dermalift technology acts within the skin’s layers to boost the production of 8 natural lifters, essentially the components that ensure skin’s firmness and elasticity.
New Dermalift Technology boosts the production of 8 skin lifters
Handy size Reading all the information on the bottle got me all the more excited to try it out. The handy mini pump ensures that we use just the right amount of essence every time during the application. The fluid was thin and light, with a semi-transparent white colour and a pleasant fragrance.
Pumping out the essence
The light and thin fluid Following the instructions, I applied the essence on my cleansed face before any of my three-step skincare procedure. It was surprisingly easy to penetrate the skin, gliding on effortlessly on my face. Even though the box mentioned that it would not leave a sticky film, I could feel a mild sense of stickiness on my face after applying.
Apply on cleansed face When I woke up the next morning though, the stickiness feeling was gone! My face turned out to be supple and smooth with a radiant shine. Best of all, I did not feel the skin tightness in the morning anymore – something that is common when I sleep in an air-conditioned room.
Morning after using L’oreal Revitalift Night Essence It’s quite an amazing product, if I may say so myself. Well, as for delaying the process of ageing, I will definitely have to use it for a longer term to make sure the wrinkles are kept at bay! For more information on L’oreal Revitalift Night Essence, check out its Facebook Page here. *Note: This is a sponsored post |
| Hand-Made Pastas at Impromptu Cafe Posted: 23 Aug 2011 06:10 PM PDT  If there’s one thing I love about Italian food, it has to be the pastas – all forms of pastas be it spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine, ravioli or gnocchi. But what I love more than dry pastas are fresh, hand-made pastas! The feeling of watching someone making the dough, rolling it, cutting it and finally cooking it right in front of your eyes is just exhilarating. There are not many places in KL that offer fresh, hand-made pastas – Impromptu Cafe is one of them. Located in Menara Hap Seng, this new and hip cafe offer plenty of choices of hand-made pastas with various creative sauces.
Crispy Crab Cakes (RM11.90) Dinner started with pieces of golden and Crispy Crab Cakes, with lots of shredded crab meat within. This must have been such a labour-intensive dish to prepare, having to extract the crab meat from the shellfish and then making them into a patty before deep-frying them. Apart from a minor setback of it being a tad salty, I thought this appetizer was delicious.
Hand-made Pasta Impromptu seems to be a fan of soft shell crab since I see it being featured not only in the pasta section but also on a bed of Soft-Shell Crab Salad. I’m a big fan of soft-shell crab, more so if they’re served hot and crispy, which actually balanced out the leaves well. Makes one feel less guilty too!
Soft-shell Crab Salad (RM12.90) Of course, at Impromptu, one must try their hand-made pastas! There is a list of pasta toppings in the menu, and one could choose the type of pastas to go with them. We tried the Grilled Chicken Pesto, which was served with a generous portion of grilled chicken on top. Each slice was thick and nicely grilled, and best of all, the chicken breast meat used made this such a healthy option for food. The pesto sauce used was thick, fragrant and full of flavour. My only gripe was that the pasta used could have been more firm or al-dente.
Grilled Chicken Pesto (RM15.90) The Tandoori Chicken Fettuccine offered something new and refreshing to the palate. Instead of the normal Italian sauces, this Tandoori curry was creamy, spicy and very appetizing. It was served with hand-made fettuccine, which I thought fared much better than the angel hair pasta from the previous dish. The texture was firm and slightly chewy, just how I’d love my pasta to be.
Tandoori Chicken Fettuccine (RM16.90) When the next dish of Curried Soft Shell Crab was served, I was surprised to see the different colour of fettuccine on the plate. It was found out later that they used charcoal-flavoured pasta here, resulting in the darker colour outlook. To be honest, I did not find the taste of this pasta any different from the normal type, perhaps it’s due to the thick and creamy curry sauce which was so flavourful! The sauce was like a mix of carbonara and curry, a rich, savoury and spicy combination that was just too good to resist. Add to that my favourite soft-shell crab, and we have a clear winner here.
Curried Soft Shell Crab (RM17.90) Vegetarians can rejoice here since they also offer Mushroom & Veggie Fettuccine which had plenty of cauliflower and sauteed mushrooms on a bed of creamy carbonara sauce.
Mushroom & Veggie Fettuccine (RM14.90) Apart from pastas, their next best-seller was the Lamb-urger, a juicy lamb patty topped with mango chutney sauce in between 2 home-made sesame buns. The buns and the salad were nothing to shout about, but their lamb patty! It was tender, juicy and exploded with lamb flavours (in a good way). I could really taste the sweetness of the lamb juices, while the mango chutney managed to pair very well with the patty. This was easily one of the better lamb burgers that I’ve tried before.
Impromptu Lamb-urger (RM16.90) Finally, for desserts we had several types of cakes, among which were the Chocolate Cheese Brownie and Grapes Cheesecake. It is good to know that both the cakes used Philadelphia cream cheese in it, making them so much smoother and rich without that overpowering cheese smell.
Chocolate Cheese Brownie (RM12.90)
Grapes Cheesecake (RM13.90) Dining at Impromptu was certainly an enjoyable affair, with its comfortable environment that was both casual and unpretentious. Best of all, the prices here are so pocket-friendly. I definitely wouldn’t mind returning especially since they have a wonderful Buy 1 Free 1 Pasta promotion going on right now!
Cosy and casual dining ambience
Impromptu Cafe Impromptu Cafe |
| All About Burgers at Hard Rock Cafe KL Posted: 21 Aug 2011 07:42 PM PDT  Weekends are usually the time when Saucer and I indulge ourselves silly with some hearty and good food, as a reward after a week long of hard work in the office. A few weeks ago, he was in Vietnam for business and happened to go to the Hard Rock Cafe there for dinner. He was raving about how good their burgers were, until I had such cravings for them! Fortunately, we did not have to fly all the way to Vietnam for Hard Rock Cafe since there is one right in the heart of KL itself!
Lamb sandwich We were there on a Saturday night and found the restaurant to be pretty crowded but not full. A table for two was found easily before we settled down with our menus. We ordered the Chocolate Milkshake and found it to be very smooth, creamy and chocolatey. The menu said that Haagen Dazs ice-cream was used in this milkshake but I did not manage to confirm this with the waiter. We should, however, have ordered this only during the later part of the meal for both of us loved it so much we almost finished slurping it before food arrived!
Chocolate Milkshake Saucer had the Mushroom & Swiss Burger from the “Legendary Burgers” list which came with a 10 oz. beef patty. It was HUGE! The patty was big and thick, so thick that I could not fit the cross section of the burger into my mouth.
Legendary Burger: Juicy and thick patty The thick beef patty was done medium, retaining its juiciness while being tender and flavourful. The edges also had slightly charred bits that gave this burger a nice bite. Needless to say, Saucer loved this to bits! He finished it even though he was stuffed to the brim due to its huge portion.
Mushroom & Swiss Burger (~RM43)
Say “Ahhh…” I had the Hickory-Smoked Pulled-Lamb Sandwich, which came to look like a burger too. It was served with two sides of baked beans and coleslaw, on top of the standard fries. The hand-pulled lamb was apparently a bestseller at Hard Rock Cafe as well, so I had pretty high expectations for it. I asked for mine to be served with Hickory BBQ sauce, which was smothered on top of the lamb.
Hickory-Smoked Pulled-Lamb Sandwich (~RM35) What I loved about the lamb was that it was made from real shredded lamb meat, instead of a lamb patty. The lamb was nicely smoked and flavoured, with a hint of sourness to it, perhaps due to the addition of vinegar. My only gripe was that it could be a little dry after eating too much of it since only lean meat was used. This was, yet again, a very filling meal.
Hand-pulled lamb meat We initially wanted to order desserts after meal but we were both overly stuffed from the burgers! Looking around the place, I noticed half of the patrons to be foreigners. I have to admit, the prices here are a little steeper than the typical American food joints in KL, but the portion is also bigger. Next time, it’ll be better go with a bigger group of people so that we can share our food!
Dining environment at Hard Rock Cafe KL
Hard Rock Cafe KL Hard Rock Cafe Kuala Lumpur |
| Posted: 19 Aug 2011 12:15 AM PDT  Apart from all the catwalk classes and the talks at Amber Chia Academy, each student is required to go through 4 lessons of make-up, conducted by their in-house make-up instructor, Sharon. What I love about their makeup classes is that we are flexible to arrange the sessions with the instructor, according to our own timing. Besides, we get individual attention from the instructor because each of us has different set of makeup items and her job is to advice us on how to utilize what we have.
Face before make up Before the class, we were told to bring whatever make up kit or items that we have at home to the centre. I’ve always thought that make-up is an expensive activity, that we will have to spend lots of money buying things like eye-shadow, blusher, foundation, eyeliner, fake lashes, you name it! Once I was there, the first thing Sharon did was to look through my make-up bag, which still lacked of a few items. Fortunately, she did not once ask me to purchase anything from the academy. Instead, she suggested some ideas on how we could overcome the shortage of products without having to purchase extra items. Boy, was I relieved!
My limited make-up items The first make-up lesson was to create a Nude look, which meant that we had to put on make up that looked natural. I was asked to remove all traces of makeup on my face and start clean.
Clean face The first step was to apply a make up base or primer on the face, partly to even out the skin tone and partly so that the foundation application in the next step would be easier. Sharon taught me the technique of finding the right foundation colour, by applying a dab on the neck area and see if it blended in.
After make up base and foundation When we’re done with the face, it was time for the eyes, also the hardest and most time-consuming process in a make-up. Since this was a nude look, we chose an earthy brown colour that was not very obvious. The idea is to apply the eyeshadow only around the eye socket area, and blending it in such that there’s no distinctive line between the eye shadow and the eye lid. Then, apply a lighter (white) shade on the area below the eye brow to create a “deep-set” eyes effect. Then, continue with applying eyeliner at the edge of the eye lids, just above the eye lashes. Finally, curl the eyelashes and complete with mascara. Done!
Eye shadow palette The resulting look was not very obvious, but it’s natural, which is what nude make up is supposed to be.
Completed eye make up After the eyes, we had to work on shading the face. Using bronzer, Sharon taught me how to shade the jawline area to make the face look slimmer. Bronzer is usually a few shades darker than the foundation colour, making the face look smaller than it actually is. Once that’s done, we moved on to applying blush on the apple of the cheeks, and the look was completed with lip gloss. Notice that I mentioned lip gloss and not lip stick, to achieve that natural look. My lip gloss is almost transparent with a very light pink, but it’s shiny, to give an impression of healthy and smooth lips.
Completed with blush and lip gloss And that’s how it’s done! What do you think? It’s very natural and I did not look like I put on make-up right? But you have to agree that it’s much better than the ‘before’ picture.
After make-up
Trying on the smouldering look (practice makes perfect right? I still have two classes left, where I’ll be taught on how to do smoky eyes and simple hairdo. Quite excited with that! Note: This is Part 11 of a series of my experience being a modeling student at Amber Chia Academy. Check out the remaining parts here. |
| Posted: 17 Aug 2011 06:27 PM PDT  It’s been a long time since I last had my dose of dim sum, the dainty, bite-sized Chinese food that is usually taken during breakfast. Well, times have changed now, and many restaurants are offering dim sum from morning til night, providing a constant supply to satisfy one’s cravings should it occur any time of the day. And so fate had it that we were at Jade Pot Dim Sum Restaurant one day to satisfy our dim sum craving during lunch. Located along a busy road, I was glad to know that this restaurant is a whole bungalow on its own, with a compound for free car park.
Dim Sum menu Once we’re seated, we’re given a 2-page menu printed on a piece of laminated cardboard, with pictures of the dim sum available. A piece of order chit was provided as well, for us to tick the items desired. I liked their ordering system since it’s easy, straightforward and ensures dim sum are prepared only upon order.
Table settings We went a little overboard with the ordering, placing a tick next to almost half the items on the menu. Steamers upon steamers of dim sum were served after about 10 minutes of waiting. Well to make life easy, I’m going to rate the dim sum from Good to Mediocre to Poor, according to my humble opinion. GOOD I LOVED the Pan-fried Radish Cake! This was served piping hot with extremely crispy edges and a soft interior. Be careful not to burn your tongue with this. The trick is to cut and split it into quarters, letting them cool down for a while, before dipping it into chilli sauce and sinking your teeth into the crispy exterior. The good news is, it’s not even very oily. My favourite pick from the restaurant.
Pan-Fried Radish Cake (RM4.80) The Siew Mai or Pork Dumplings came in rather sizable portion, with each piece large enough to require at least 2 bites. It was packed with a mixture of pork and shrimp meat, making it a savoury yet succulent package. My only gripe was that they could have been steamed a little too long, as the discoloured tobiko showed.
Siew Mai / Pork dumplings (RM6.80) I have always been a fan of ribs, especially pork ribs. So when I saw Fried Spare Ribs with Fermented Beancurd on the menu, I just couldn’t resist from ordering a portion. This was also served fresh from the kitchen, burning hot and so fragrant! The taste of fermented beancurd was apparent, as well as the juiciness of the pork meat. Yum!
Fried Spare Ribs with Fermented Beancurd (RM8.80) We ordered a plate of Oyster Sauce Choy Sum to balance out our meat- and cholesterol-laden meal. Thankfully, the vegetables were young and tender, with a generous amount of oyster sauce on top. This was as good as boiled vegetables can be.
Oyster Sauce Choy Sum (RM6.80) The Jade Pot Egg Tarts were not the best I’ve had but they’re decent enough. Flaky pastry and warm egg custard, they hit all the right spots.
Jade Pot Egg Tarts (RM4.80) MEDIOCRE Now for some items which I thought needed improvement, starting with Har Kow or Prawn Dumpling. Although the size of the dumpling was above average with a generous amount of prawns within, the skin of the dumpling left much to be desired. Almost half the dumplings had their skin stuck to the steamer, making it tear easily while spilling the contents out. Messy! The skin was soft and borderline mushy, so I did not bother eating it. I hope they’ll improve on this since the fillings were generous and good. Would be a pity if they didn’t.
Har Kow / Prawn dumplings After the success of the pan-fried radish cake, I ordered the Stir-Fried Radish Cake, with high hopes. Alas, these were a little disappointing as they turned out to be lack of ‘wok hei’ or the heat of wok, and quite honestly, a little bland. Also, notice that the amount of bean sprouts on the plate was significantly higher than radish cakes.
Stir Fried Radish Cake (RM5.80) Char Siu Pao / BBQ Pork Bun is my default order in any dim sum restaurant, hence I have pretty high standards for it. These were sadly below par, since I found the filling of BBQ pork to be populated with fatty bits of meat. I would really prefer chunkier and leaner meat in those fluffy buns.
Char Siu Pao / BBQ Pork Bun (RM4.80)
Fatty bits of meat When I saw cheese in the Prawn and Cheese Roll, I told myself I simply had to try this! These were pretty decent, although the amount of cheese used could be more generous. But I have to say their prawns were really succulent!
Prawn and Cheese Roll (RM5.80) Chee Cheong Fun, or Rice Noodle Roll is another specialty in dim sum restaurants. As opposed to some chee cheong fun which might not have fillings inside, this one had at least a small prawn in each piece. No worries about missing out!
Fresh Prawn Rice Noodle Roll (RM5.80) Chinese Herbal Jelly or Guai Lin Ko was not too bad, it had the intense flavour that was heightened with the addition of syrup on top. The syrup provided a nice and sweet beginning but once the jelly started to digest, there’s a slight bitter aftertaste, just how it should be.
Guai Lin Ko / Chinese Herbal Jelly (RM2.80) POOR Now I seldom classify food as poor, but the following dim sum dishes were just better left alone. The Steamed Beancurd Roll, for example, was clearly a case of over-steamed or overcooked. I’d like the beancurd roll to at least retain a slightly chewy bite to it after being steamed but these came out all soft and soggy.
Steamed Beancurd Roll (RM5.80) The Cantonese Bamboo Rice was a variation of the ‘loh mai kai’ with a different shape. Even though they had the contents of a typical loh mai kai (mushroom, chinese sausage, chicken), the rice was a disappointment. We found the rice to be pretty hard especially on the outer layer. Almost as if it was left out in the open for long, causing the outer layer to be dry and hardened.
Cantonese Bamboo Rice (RM4.80) The Dan Dan noodles looked pretty appealing on the menu, but what came was a small bowl of plain noodles with slightly spicy and savoury soup and nothing else.
Dan Dan Noodles (RM4.80) Steamed Chicken Feet was way too soft and overloaded with salt and pepper. The taste was a tad overwhelming for me to handle.
Steamed Chicken Feet (RM4.80) Last but not least, the Steamed Pork Spare Ribs was a huge disappointment. They were bland, overly soft, had more bones than meat and were overcooked.
Steamed Pork Spare Ribs (RM5.80) While there were certainly some hits and misses with this dim sum restaurant, I’d have to give it plus points for the spacious and comfortable dining environment that is also rather quiet. This would be what I have in mind for a weekend breakfast session where I’d like to sit back and relax with free flow of hot Chinese tea and nibble on my food, instead of being stared by customers for hogging the table for too long.
Dining environment at Jade Pot
Jade Pot Dim Sum & Steamboat Restaurant Jade Pot Dim Sum & Steamboat Restaurant (opposite Pearl International Hotel) |
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