Burgers and Christmas Lights

Hi blog xxxxxxxx

I'm finally home from my short weekend trip to London! I always do love London but I get so tired always hahaha I'm so used to being so inactive in Bristol that it gets admittedly difficult to adjust to such a quick-paced life there. But regardless, I had such a great time!

I spent dinner and lunch with Zaim - both times we ate at a burger place. First we ate at Stax and I'm pretty sure everyone's heard of it and has been there but it truly is such a great place for a hearty burger. It's really small and when we got there, they told us to wait for an hour. When she first asked "Do you have an hour?", I honestly thought it was just her being sarcastic because an hour????? But we did and it was a good thing it's so near to Topshop so we went there to do some sneaky Christmas shopping. I only got a pair of MUM jeans (my favourite type of jeans now, so roomy and so comfortable and it's so chilled and lai dback - kinda like me only in the form of denim hehe). There wasn't anything else that particularly stood out for me. I did get a furry keychain though and it's the cutest thing and so nice to play with! It's grey so it matches with my bag so well. I can't wait to get more! For all of my handbags!!

This was my second attempt on taking a photo of the very pretty Kingly Court and both INTERRUPTED by Zaim. See what I have to live with.

What a shopper, geez. (all actually mine)

I tried out the chicken and waffle and it wasn't bad!! The maple syrup oddly complimented the unlikely duo. But the cheese burger and Cajun fries still the bomb.

Probably sending a message or Snapchat to Iman who is the biggest lover of burgers. Only fair, she sends us like a million KGB snaps all the time.

I then also spent most of my time with Amal and Fatin and Najwa! Amal came over from Canada and was also the main and sole reason I came down to London. Don't think I would've made the trip if not to meet up with her. Was very nice to just chill with her and she's always the best reminder of KY to me. Everytime I hang with her, I'm reminded fondly of our days in KY and we're like the two biggest KY reps you will find hahaha

We went to eat at Roti King one morning which was something I was super super excited about. These past few weeks I have been craving for roti canai so so so so much and ever since I knew about the existence of Roti King, I was very determined to make a trip there. 

Ahh, the beauty of Malaysia. 

So for four girls, mee goreng mamak, kway teow, 2 portions of roti canai, roti telur, and lamb murtabak. Totes norms.

While waiting in the line for Roti King. Calling for any Malaysian entrepreneurs to please start more authentic Malaysian restaurants like this!

And then we went to Carnaby Street which was beautiful. The Christmas lights all around Central London is mesmerising and Carnaby Street was no exception! I didn't get anything from Brandy Melville this time round because as you know, I'm trying to refrain from buying winter things seeing how I already have enough boring sweaters at home to last the whole of winter. So I'm saving lotssssss of money from not buying knits and wooly goodies. I can't wait to go shopping there in Spring/Summer - their tees are lush. They're very Malaysia friendly seeing how they are so light-weight and forgiving.

This is Azam showing me photos of Taylor Swift on Brandy Melville's wall and that is me pretending to be interested...

I also went out for dinner with Dayana!! I've known her for a long time ago through social media (she's also the owner of the blog I mentioned in my November Favourites post) and she came to London for a few days before flying back home. 

She suggested Vapiano - an Italian place on Great Portland Street and this was our first time trying the place out. It had an interesting concept to it - when you enter the place, the hostess will give you a card and it acts like your Touch 'n' Go. So you go to any counter where you tell them what you want - you can choose any type of pasta for any of the different dishes. I stuck to my old time favourite - aglio olio and when you order, you're asked to tap your card at the counter and after you finish eating, you just go over to the final counter located at the entrance of the store and from there they'll know how much your meal was. Which was pretty interesting. They also go by free seating so it was kinda like a food court almost ? Only fancy. And my pasta was really really good!!! I thought it was going to be pretty bleh because it didn't look particularly appetising but it was actually really sedap. I loved it and I'd love to go again next time if anyone wants to fulfil their pasta cravings. 

Also, super nice to have had a sit-down dinner with her. The place is actually quite loud (maybe cause it was a Friday night) but it was really lively and so I guess it's not a very formal place which makes it great to have dinners like these! Laughed loads, learnt a lot and just overall such a good time with Dayana. We had a lot more in common than I thought and conversations went from Princess Diaries to how scary the future is for both of us. 

After the dinner, I went to Leicester Square to meet up with Amal and Mun where we laughed and laughed and LAUGHED some more over pastries and tea. It was a great day - from one friend to another. Maybe this is the charm of London - once you're in the city, getting from one place to another isn't difficult and you meet lots of friends here and there. Hmmm maybe I get it now. I always see on Instagram and Twitter and on Snapchat especially of my London friends meeting up with their other London friends so often and here I hardly meet Zati, Azam and Sofia haha. 

Ok fine London, I get it, you're charming, I get it.

Thanks for the weekend, dear city of London. You were and always will be mesmerising! 

xx

December's Wishlist

Tis the season to be jolly!! We are approaching Christmas now and just like every festive season, the holiday spirit is contagious! Christmas is so beautiful; the lights, the decorations, the Christmas markets, even the wrapping paper is beautiful! It just dawned on me that this year's Christmas would be my last as a student in the UK!! I'm actually really devastated because despite the horrible weather, Christmas is so stunning here. Everywhere is just jolly and decorated with gorgeous fairy lights and Christmas trees. My heart swells whenever I pass by houses adorned with Christmas ornaments. Reminds me of the 'Raya lights' my grandfather would put up around his house come Raya! And I'm also really sad because every year I would look forward to Bristol's Christmas market for its Dutch poffertjes. Amazing. I only order the one with butter and icing sugar. Amazing. I'm questioning myself as to why I'm not having it every day in fact..

Anyway, the point of this post was to write my wish list down. I used to write these all the time. Wishlists. But it only went as far as that... just wishing. Hahaha.

I'm only going to London for a weekend this time 'round because I can't really be bothered to stay on for Christmas and Boxing Day so besides catching up with friends and eating loads, I'm hoping to squeeze some sneaky little Christmas shopping for myself.

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1 Shoes

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I've said this before; I really don't like shoe shopping.

I have one pair of black heels that I wear for every formal occasion; it's been with me for about 3-4 years.

If the flats I'm wearing have no holes, I'm good. Don't need a new one.

I currently only have one good pair of boots (The zipper on my Primark thigh high boots gave out eventually so I'm now left with one). And it's no longer doing its job, unfortunately. For every puddle I step in, my socks get more and more wet. There was a 'Would you rather...' question once involving '... or would you constantly wear wet socks?' which sounded like a torture.

It is.

So I'm now on the hunt on getting a pair of trainers/sneakers. I didn't really want one before because I know myself and I know that when I reach Malaysian shores, I'll only reach for my flats and sandals. But now I'm thinking I need to get a new pair of footwear because I foresee rainy days ahead and I really don't want to have sloshy steps. And the only feasible option was to get a pair of trainers. Reason being is that I plan to go back to Malaysia for good after graduation (which is only in a few months) so getting a pair of expensive boots would not make sense. Besides, I can always use my trainers as sports shoes for the days I go to the gym (hahahahahahahahahahahahaha).

So what do I want? I don't even know to be honest! Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of trainers so I don't know what's 'nice' and what's not. They all look the same to me. For now, the only thing I have in mind is a simple black one. And it has to be light weight and not too bulky. And not too expensive either. So basically Bata school shoes.

I was looking around the other day and they all looked like really serious running shoes. Look, Nike, I just want a simple one, I don't need sole absorbers or what have you. Just get me a decent one without making it look like I was going to run a marathon.

Sigh I miss my sandals.

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2 Foundation

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Tried and tested - NARS' Sheer Glow is the winner for me. I highly recommend it - it is my holy grail foundation and I'm reminded on how much I love it with every application. I'm almost nearing the last drop now so I'm torn between just sticking to it or getting a brand new one from a new brand. I've read a lot of positive reviews for Charlotte Tilbury's Magic Foundation and I'm quite inclined to get it. It's also slightly cheaper than NARS' which is a plus.

I don't know if I should put my faith (and money) in Charlotte Tilbury's hands or should I just stick to what I know best? I'm very curious to how 'magic' this foundation is so I might make a trip to the CT counter one of these days. I try to find stockists OTHER than in Selfridges because that place is just crawling with people and sales assistant don't even look at you if you're not an Arab or Chinese so I've given up with that place.

Other than a new foundation and concealer, I've not been pining over any new make-up as of late. In fact, I left a lot of it back home. I only brought back a few lipsticks and a few of my NARS' eyeshadows. Maybe I should try getting a new blusher...

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3 Camera

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Ok, this is a big purchase. I think I might only get it once I get home to Malaysia next year. But I've been wanting a new camera for a bit now. I love my Pen but it's just too heavy and too bulky to bring anywhere. I want something you can just dump in your handbag instead of around your neck. So ideally, a point and shoot camera. Also with the camera I have now, although it takes beautiful photos in the day, it fails me once night falls. I've tried all sorts of settings but it's just not a night camera which is unfortunate because most of the events and occasions that would require me to whip my camera out happens to be at night or in low-lighting.

Maybe I should sell my current one? Hmm.

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4 A backpack.

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Seeing how this is already my third year, I made a choice to not bring any of my handbags back to Bristol. Because i) I didn't want to go through the hassle of bringing them back home later ii) What would I need to bring anyway? Just cards and phone. I don't even bring my wallet out anymore.

Then I remembered I'm a girl and I'm Asian.

Because where am I going to put my water bottle, my power bank (which btw the locals do NOT understand. It's revolutionary, guys. Keep up!), my hand cream, my mints/gum and a book??? Ok fine, I don't carry around a book with me but I'd like to have the option to??? I only have my WOC with me which can only barely fit my cards and lipstick. Everything else are all stuffed in my pockets. The bag I carry to university is a BRIGHT orange one and it doesn't go with outfits (hahaha allow me to be petty once in a while) so much so I'm looking to get a pretty decent backpack. Again, black. Leather. A non-fussy bag for a very fussy England. I also bought an 'N' sticker a while back and I want to slap it on and have a furry keychain with it.

It's going to be cute, guys. Wait for it.

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5 Pillow

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I have 7 pillows on my bed but they're all very soft and flat (might be because they're all like £3 a pop so ok fine my fault) but recently I had friends over so I had them sleep in my room and I slept in my housemate's room. She has 2 pillows. And both pillows are the memory foam ones. And man. There's a reason they're quite pricey in comparison to other pillows. They're amazinggggg! They appear quite shapely and hard but once your head hits the pillow, it just moulds comfortably for you. I can't believe I'm going on about a pillow but I'm soooo going to get these babies and have plenty of beautiful naps with 'em.

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That's all for my wish list! Besides the camera, it's a pretty realistic list I think. (Hi Mum)

The thing I'm looking most forward to shop for?

I can scrape the last bits of my foundation and moisturiser no problem and I'll just avoid puddles but man, those pillows. Dreamlike.

xx

VITS

I'm going to bullet-point my way through this blog post.

• You'd think after living independently for a bit, I'd get the hang of routinely buying my groceries. I used to always complain about how often my mum would go grocery shopping. Every time we were in a mall, she always always ALWAYS makes a trip to the supermarket. Now that I'm living on my own, I undestand why. EXPIRATION DATES. Those darn things. I now put my bread in the fridge (shoutout to the Al Murisi sisters) and I now finally get to finish the whole loaf hahahaha. But every time I attempt to channel my (very hidden) domestic goddess, I always tend to put it off because I find that I don't have the right ingredients. And going to the grocers is such a pain. I would be complaining a lot less if I had my own mode of transportation but since that's not the case, grocery shopping is such a chore. I am aware of online delivery but that's only possible if I have to get > £25 worth of groceries when all I really need is cili merah.
• I'm now listening to Justin Timberlake's 'Mirrors' and I remember the time when I had this song on repeat for at least 2 weeks straight. I still enjoy it though. I used to jam to every single song off the album but my favourites are Mirrors, That Girl and Strawberry Bubblegum. 
• I just got back from dinner with Zati - haven't seen her in ages. And we're both in Bristol hah. She's been busy with work and I've been busy... at home. I'm always reminded how nice it is to just sit down with a friend and just talk. I feel so adult-like when I do go out on friend dates like these because it's such a contrast from when I was a kid when we would all go out in big groups. Laughs here and there but now that I think about it, there wasn't really much concrete and substantial conversation. I mean, obviously we were too young to have such conversations but we've all grown, haven't we! I'm a lot more comfortable having just a small group of close friends. I much prefer it. 
• I don't understand Donald Trump. I don't think I even want to.
• "It just may be because of the sons and daughters of this world that the people began to have faith in religions due to their parents who wished for their happiness and well-being above all else" - I got this quote from Reply 1988 (the Korean drama I've been watching and can't get enough of). I thought it was rather lovely. You know how parents go around saying "You'll never understand how much love you can ever have for someone until you become a parent yourself". I always pray for my parents and grandparents well-being and I know they pray for me too. It's known that in South Korea, about half of its population don't hold a religious belief. So knowing that fact, when I read this quote, it moved me a lot. From a South Korean perspective, children are that precious that parents are now believing in a higher power and praying to have their children know nothing but love and happiness. I was watching a Korean singing reality show ala American Idol (does anybody even watch that still?) and totally teared up when one of the judges asked the contestant "Do you know what makes a parent happy?" "By doing things that make them proud?" "No. Parents are the happiest when they see their child happy. That's all it takes". It's such a simple answer but it made me tear because of how sincere he sounded when he said that. Every time I do something for Iman or make her happy whether it's just getting her McDonalds, giving her her birthday presents or bringing her out for karaoke, my heart instantly grows with and for her. I get so happy just seeing her happy (and I do the same for Tania and Zaim but Iman is more likely to express her happiness out of the three hahahaha) and that's just my little sister. Imagine your own child! 
• My goal in life is to somehow, someway, be established in Malaysia's fashion industry. I sometimes get embarrassed saying it out loud because I don't really dress the part. At all. I know so many people on Instagram and in real life who are a lot more fashion forward than I am. It's just that it's a lot of effort especially in the UK and it rains way too often these days to forego my very comfortable and very warm puffy jacket. And why would anyone leave the house with a hood-less jacket.
• I finally bought my Skinny Mint detox tea again! I've grown to dislike the night tea because it has a funny spicy taste. I always just drink it while it's hot to mask the taste. 
• But more importantly than the detox tea is that I bought ADELE TICKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yo I'm so ready to sing my heart out come March 22nd!! 
• I really really really miss eating McDonalds at 12am.
• I went to Boots the other day to get vitamins. Since I lived abroad, I have been living everyday without taking any vitamins. My mum usually would have a bottle of chewable vitamins and she would place it just at the corner of the TV stand by the door so every time we would go into our parents room (way too often than they would like) we just instinctively grab 2-3 of them before we leave. The ones here aren't as nice and sweet. Even vitamins in Malaysia tastes better!!! How!!!

Hope everyone has a good weekend ahead of them! Eat chips, watch reruns of your favourite TV show in bed and save your parents the worry and take your vitamins.

xx

November Favourites

Hi!

I'm currently waiting for my housemate to come home so we can make lasagna and banoffee pie. Yum! I haven't had lasagna in ages because it's so hard to find a halal one in the UK and for some unknown reason, banoffee pie is just so hard to get your hands on! We'll see how it tastes but I'm sure it'll be good (she's a good cook... I just bought the ingredients haha).

(Edit : I left that hanging yesterday. Lasagna was baked well, banoffee was delish and sweet and will be my lunch and dinner for a good few days now)

Anyway! I'm kinda free now because I've sent in my last coursework last weekend and school ends next week so we're practically already on break. I still don't know what I want to do on my Christmas break. I have exams early January so I have to study obviously but I still want to have some time to go to London and see some of my friends and EAT! You'd think I'd want to go eat fancy food. Not really, I just really want to go to Malaysian Hall and eat my favourite lauk hahaha how Malay am I.

It's already the 3rd of December. January is just in a few weeks can you believe that?!?!?! And I'll already be on my last term in university which is pretty daunting - time flies by so fast!! I've said that about a million times already but when I first got here, 3 years sounded so long!

I don't have much for my December favourites this time around because well.... I've not bought anything new and nothing I've loved loads 'cept for a few. And they're almost all Korean. Apologies..... no, actually not really hahahaha

1. Ramyeon

If you love spicy food as much as I do, then you're in for a treat. As a Malay, I do take pride that I can hold my cili padi. For me, nothing is good if there's no i) Salt ii) Cili padi. Like what is the point really if there's no cili padi. I even have them in my omelette. I've been eating spicy food since young and amongst my family, I'm the only one who can eat really spicy food. My brother used to but for some reason, he can't even do cili merah!!!

So anyway, I was introduced to this ramyeon by my housemate who was snapchatting it and it looked super good so I went to the Asian market and asked them to give me the spiciest thing they had in store and I made it as soon as I got home.

Guys. It was so spicy that I couldn't finish it. I had to take so many breaks in between because it was so spicy. The kind of spicy that I've never experienced before but still so good. Whenever I'm lazy to make myself rice, I just resort to ramyeon. I make sure to not have too much of it though because i) I don't want to run of it because I have to go all the way to the city to get my stock ii) I really am convinced eating that spicy is not good for you hahahah. It's the kind of pedas that goes to your head and you feel light headed. Over gila kan? But really, you have to eat it to understand where I'm coming from!

(I just realised I didn't post a photo of the actual ramyeon til 2 days after writing this post hahaha but of December 6th 9:52 UK time, the ramyeon I'm raving about is the one pictured under bad kitchen lighting) 

2. Korean Dramas (may or may not contain tiny spoilers)

I've said loads about 'Bubblegum' and it's already in the 12th episode and it's taken a darker turn but I'm still enjoying it loads because like I said, when the chemistry between the 2 main actors work, anything and everything works! Such a huge fan of Dong Wook and he is so charming in this. Also, very very handsome. I've always known him to be really handsome but maybe it's the constant lighting the production adopts to but here, he is so dreamy. Light radiating kind of dreamy. The storyline is very enchanting like and scenes just float and it gives off a very relaxed and chilled vibe and I love how they've incorporated light as a main element in this show. You'll understand if you've watched it! It also explores very deep and dark themes despite its light hearted title. The friendship between the main actors is unrivalled (the kind where one buys a type of ice-cream without even consulting with the other because they know each other too well) and it shows through out. It might be called as a typical friend-to-lovers drama but something about this show just gives me the FEELS.

But other than that, I've also been madly into Reply 1988. It's the third series of the Reply franchise, the first two being Reply 1994 and Reply 1997. I've not watched either but decided to get into this one. It is amazing. Dare I say that's an understatement?? An episode is a whopping 90 minutes so basically, when both episodes come out at the same time, it's as if I'm watching a whole movie! But it's brilliant - and ratings don't lie, the most recent episode got higher ratings than the finale of the previous series. Which should say loads.

Each episode presses on one main thing; like one episode was about mothers and the most recent one was about brothers. And it explores so many different aspects of it, so for example, the mother episode played on the ups and downs of being a mother, different perspectives of a rich mother and a poor mother and a single mother and the absence of a mother. It was so beautifully tied in, it made me tear loads. It's a really good show, very very heart-warming and how I like that most (if not all) episodes don't just center on the main couple, but instead on the dynamics of the different families. The different type of husband/wife relationship, the sibling relationship and most importantly, the friendship between the 5 eighteen year olds is so nice to see and so genuine, you can't help but feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I also especially love how much you can visibly see the dedication that went into production - everything looks very authentic, the set, the dressing, the cultural references. Everything! And please prepare your little fragile heart for the perfection that is Sunwoo. His relationship with his mother and sister is unreal sweet. Like the kinda man you can only ever wish to be acquainted with.

Wow. Over.

Regardless, if you're into Korean dramas but don't know what to watch, I sincerely recommend Reply 1988 (if you've not already completely fallen head over heels for the show). I absolutely love it and it's very different from a lot of things shown these days because of how much it emphasises on family relations. But of course there's the main couple everyone's rooting for because when do we not love a good ol' love story.

3. BTS

YO. Can. I. Just. Put it out there that the Part 2 album is my favourite of 2015?!?!?!?! I love every damn song - I even have their skit on my playlist (because why wouldn't you want to hear Jimin laugh)! They've very smartly split the Hwa Yang Yeon Hwa album into 2 parts, the first one released late April if I'm not mistaken so it's been 7 months since we've heard anything new from them. And I was very VERY excited to see how they could top their last album because it was so good.

K-Pop just surprises me again and again and AGAIN!!!!!!!! This album is gold, I love every damn song, I've had it on repeat and although it released late November, I've already listened to the whole album a months worth so it might as well be in my Favourites. It's sooooooo groovy, so danceable and when I heard it for the first time, it most definitely wasn't K-Pop reminiscent and I mean it in very good way. The beats, the melody, the VOCALS, the rap, is something else. They've been trying to set themselves apart from typical boy groups and they've pretty much done it. As much as I love EXO as they were like my first K-Pop loves, I can't compare this album to anything else because it's just that good. Rare is the time when you find an album where you love each and every song. No song you want to skip kinda thing? My favourite album of 2015!! Ugh, so in love. My favourite, if I had to choose, is definitely the Outro song. My favourite from the last album was also the Outro song but this one is ridiculous. Give it a listen !!! A lot of people have said it's very familiar to The Weeknd's 'Earned It'. I didn't think of it when I first heard it, the only thing I could think of when I heard this song was that it has decidedly become my favourite song of 2015.

There was an interesting read about BTS and how in the midst of the very conservative South Korean society, they're attempting to be more vocal (which not many groups are brave enough to do given the tight leashes they're on by their agencies). Come sit with me and I'll gladly explain how and why I'm so attracted to the South Korean culture - I still learn a lot these days about their behaviours and culture and it's super fascinating.




4. Dayana's Blog

I love reading blogs. In fact, I made mine because I loved reading my friends (that was in 2007 where everyone in my class was actively blogging). I wished they still blogged because they were all genuinely good writers and very expressive despite only being in high school then. I used to even have everyone's blog links on this blog but deleted them all a while back because no one was active anymore! If you need a hobby, take up blogging!! Sure, it's not really considered a 'hobby' per se, but it's really fun maintaining one because this space is entirely yours. You can write anything you want, express anything you want, put any thing you like. It's yours after all. Besides, it kinda acts like a time capsule. You can read what your 22 year old self said when you're 42. Cringe-worthy, of course but would we want it any other way? (EDIT : Just after I wrote this part, I went on Twitter to see that my mum tweeted (yes, she has Twitter as some of my closest friends would know) her own blog link! Hahahaha couldn't help but laugh because how cute!! Curious to see what she'll blog about! She's always told me she was better at speaking than she is at writing but I disagree - she's good in both! Yay, Mum! xxx)

A friend of mine (we've only met like once but she's already like a friend because we've had each other on social media for some time and she's the loveliest!!) runs a blog and she updates it weekly about her life in university in the US. And she writes like 1000x better than me! I keep telling about her to my mum because her blog is just so nice to read. Very calming for some reason. Here you have too many exclamation marks and fan-girling and pointless posts (but thanks for staying anyway!!). Hers is just very calm. Her blog posts are for the most part, about her daily life routine but even then, I find myself reading every single word because it's so well-written and the flow is so effortless. I'm so envious of good writing such as hers because I can never seem to be as eloquent in my writing despite blogging for 9 years now! Read hers after reading mine and you'll see what I mean! She updates it weekly and she's so much more active with her university routine there, makes me feel like a complete bum! Not that I already don't know I'm a bum, I didn't know just how much! Hahaha.

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So ends my monthly favourite post! I haven't been out much for the month of November because I didn't really go out as I was down with a horrible cold and cough for 2 weeks and weather was really bad too so I didn't/couldn't leave the house much 'cept for classes. Alhamdulillah, I've gotten better since then! But I've still not been out much hahaha.

I was in Bath for a quick day trip last weekend to meet up with Puch whom I haven't seen in ages! And we went to have late lunch at Burger & Lobster! The branch in Bath is so gorgeous! Very fancy shmancy. And man, the food was so amazing, you don't want to finish it. I forgot how sedap it was! It's a good thing they don't have a branch in Bristol because then RIP allowance.

Hope December wraps up 2015 prettily and nicely, in a sparkly bow and ribbon. I'm thinking of getting a nice present for myself for Christmas, I just don't know what yet.

AND CAN WE PLEASE PAUSE TO PROCESS THE FACT THAT I'LL BE 23 NEXT MONTH?

Ok... breathe and slather more eye cream.

xx