Travel 003 | Penang - Georgetown

What to do
Unesco World Heritage Site
George Town was formally inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. When we drove into George Town the first thing I noticed are the buildings. It seems like we were transported back in time. Most houses are built in the same style with Chinese influence. Some were nicely renovated, others were worn down. But all has its own charms.

Mise en scene - Damage Care Perfect Serum

My hair has always been frizzy since I came to Hong Kong, due to the humidity. I tried several products to make my hair look less frizzy, but this is the first one that actually works. What really pushed me over purchasing this product is the fact it contains argan oil. In my humble opinion, everything with argan oil will make my hair better. Another good reason to try out this product, is that this serum is the number one best-seller in Korea.

Clinique Cheek Pop/ Blush Pop

Lately, I am getting more and more into Clinique products. The latest two products that I have just added to my collection are the Cheek Pop and the Even Better foundation.

Butchers Club Southside Markets - Long Lunch

On a Sunday morning, still a bit drowsy, I got a phone call asking if I was down for an event with food. Lots of food. I was suddenly wide awake and replied with a loud and clear yes. (Really, who would say no to unlimited food?) I got myself ready as fast as a typhoon raging through the streets of Hong Kong and dashed off to “over the water”.

Greek yogurt lemon cake with poppy seeds

I decided to bake a cake on this lazy Sunday. When summer is here I always crave for citric fruits. They are so refreshing and makes my apartment smell wonderful.

This recipe is based on a quatre quarts cake, for a summer-y touch I added lemon to it. The Greek yogurt will make it more moist.

Paprika soup

Hi guys! I bought too many veggies at the market (never get groceries on an empty stomach) and it was taking forever to eat everything. So I decided to make paprika soup. The perfect solution when you have leftover food.

Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque

I’m using Kiehl’s Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque (phew that’s a mouthful) for a few months now and I really do believe it keeps my skin from breaking out. I have acne prone skin and living in a dirty, humid metropolis doesn’t help. It broke out very badly during the last quarter of 2013. I did some resource on the internet and found out that clay masks are a good tool to combat the never ending battle with bad skin.

Travel 002 | A weekend in Bangkok

 
Sawadeeka! I’m back again to continue my Thai travel story. Our trip to Thailand is coming to and end. We drove back to Bangkok on the fourth day. Bye bye relaxing swimming pool, hello traffic jams. I have heard about the infamous traffic jams in Bangkok, but it’s the first time experiencing it. When we were nearing to our hotel. It was literally so close, yet so far away. For a moment I was thinking we should just walk out of the car and cross the street. Which means we will get there in less than five minutes. However it took us literally one hour to get there by car.

Cinnamon Rolls with Pecan Nuts

Hi everyone! I know I went AWOL in February, it was a crazy month at work.

Anyway, I’m back with a recipe for cinnamon rolls with pecan nuts. Nuts are quite expensive in Hong Kong and it’s not easy to find a big variety of them. However, my friend introduced me to this tiny shop in Sheung Wan where they sell all kinds of nuts: pecan nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts,...etc. they even have dried fruits like cranberry and occasionally they have dried figs.

January 2014: Happenings

Happy year of the Horse, everyone! May it be a prosperous and healthy year for you all. Some snaps from the past month.

Weekend Crèpes

Happy Saturday everyone! It's quite chilly today and what is better than lounging in your sofa, covered by a fleece blanket and surrounded by millions of cushions? Crèpes and hot cocoa perhaps?
These delicious flat disks are so easy to make, I've been making them since I was a child. My favourite topping is dark brown sugar. What about you, what is your favourite topping?

Apple Blackberry Crumble

 

Happy Saturday everyone! Finally, it’s the weekend! I remade an apple and blackberry crumble I made for a dinner party on New Year’s eve. I know it’s still the beginning of the new year and a lot people are detoxing, but not me. Nope, not me. I ate the whole thing and now I want to share this foolproof recipe with you.

The best thing is that you can freeze in the leftover crumble for your next crumble fest.

December 2013 Favourites

Happy New Year, everyone! I know we're already a week into the new year and I've been slacking off a bit.

I want to start with a new series, which is the oh so famous monthly favourites. These seven things made my life so much better during December.

Crunchy Granola!

Hello everyone! I made granola! I’m not going to lie, one of the reasons I made granola is because it looks nice in those airtight jars from Ikea. Another reason is because it’s delicious! It’s perfect as breakfast with some yoghurt, fruit and don’t forget your cuppa! Or as a healthy snack? Oh, the versatility!

Apple pie

Merry Christmas everyone!

When you say Christmas, the first thing that comes to mind is apple pie with vanilla ice cream, and a mug of hot cocoa with a dollop of crème fraiche. Cue scene of Homer drooling while thinking food.

It’s the first year that I’m spending Christmas in Hong Kong. I spent it with awesome company and an overload of delicious food. My friends and I organised a dinner party and my contribution was an apple pie and a simple quatre quarts cake.

Christmas and apple pie, oh yeah!

Hot cocoa with cinnamon

My craving for hot chocolate has been build up due to the chilly weather these past days. Rather than complaining about missing our central heating and the Christmas markets, I decided to make myself a cup of good ol’ cocoa. So today is the day, it’s a hot chocolate kind of day!

Instead of real chocolate, I’m using cocoa powder here. I know, I can hear you say why, but chocolate is expensive here. Even the cocoa powder is brought to me by my mum and sister who came to visit. But, I can assure you, you won't taste the powder!

Travel 001 | Hua Hin

Sawadeeka! It’s the first time I went to Thailand and boy, I finally get why everyone loves Thailand so much! We drove straight to Hua Hin after we landed in Bangkok. It was a three and a half-hour drive, that’s mostly spent in traffic jams After a 3.5 hour drive we arrived at the hotel.

We spent the mornings next to the pool and in the afternoons we explored the city. I have many firsts during this trip: First time I had green curry (and it’s delish), first time I saw monkeys (they were cute and scary at the same time, first time I went into a cave (so beautiful!), first time I saw so many cables above my head (what if you have to find that “one” cable?!), first time I saw so many temples in one town, first time I had such cheap seafood! Just reminiscing makes me really miss Hua Hin right now….

Egg Norwegian

To be honest, I’ve never heard of eggs benedict, or anything from the same family, before I came to Hong Kong. Yes, I know. I don’t know where I have been the last few, well ever. As I love smoked salmon, I tried egg Norwegian before I even tried the Benedict. It was a magical moment when I put the first bite in my mouth. Angels were chanting and playing on their little harps and I am pretty sure I saw an aureole around my eggs Norwegian. It was devine, all my favourite ingredients assembled together on the same plate!

Croque mozzarella, tomato and basil

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I love croques: croque monsieur, croque madame, croque hawaii,... etc. I used to eat them every Saturday (pretty much). Since cheese is so expensive here, I indulge in croques only once so often.

Croques aren’t hard to make at all (especially with a croque maker), but they taste so good. There are so many variations, I don’t think I can ever get bored of them. Currently my favourite croque is with mozzarella, tomato and basil.

Croque mozzarella, tomato and basil

- 2 slices of bread (white or whole wheat)
- 1 slice of ham
- 1/2 ball of fresh mozzarella (in thin slices)
- 4 thin few slices on tomato
- 4 fresh basil leaves
- pepper to taste

Assemble the sandwich and put it in the croque maker or a frying pan, when the cheese has melted and the bread is golden brown it’s time to delve in!

Tip: If you have some left over bolognaise sauce, you can dip your croque in it. Seriously, it’s the best thing ever!