Kemaman halfday food trip

It's such a rare occasion when our whole extended family got to go on a road trip. Because there's no on call on this particular Saturday. But the weather was a horrible storm from kuantan which fortunately turned into a sunny morning at Kemaman.

We started off by satisfying the coffee lovers at Hai Peng Kopitiam which is very popular on the food map. It is now sporting a brand new sign and has also expanded into two shoplots because it's always full.

Kedai Kopi Hai Peng Kemaman
Address K-3753, Jalan Sulaimani, Chukai
Opens Saturday to Sunday 6am to 7pm
Facebook page
https://mobile.facebook.com/pages/Hai-Peng-Kopitiam/106887502715457?_rdc=1&_rdr

One must have their signature coffee which is so Asian and aromatic yet not too overpowering to cause irritation to the sensitive stomach. Mixed with condensed milk, it's very different from your conventional Caucasian capuccino but a champion nevertheless. The toasts come in the round or square variety with butter and Kaya (coconut spread) which is another popular food all over Malaysian Kopitiams (coffee shops).

Next pitstop was nonetheless Intan Keropok Lekor. After comparing with so many other Keropok shops in the area, this is one of the best!

Keropok Cap Intan
Address 301, Jln Kuantan - Kemaman
Opens daily 9am to 7pm
Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/keropokcapintan96/

Freshly cooked fish crackers are simply the best! The Keropok here comes in both the soft and cripsy version. The crispy one is flat and dried before being deep fried into tempting Keropok. The soft one, on the other hand, was shaped into short roughly 15cm sections and cooked in boiling water. One can then eat it as it is or deep fry to create more aroma. I love how chewy and fishy the Keropok is (fishy here means the fresh ocean taste).

Of course we also had to stop by and have some satar and otak-otak. Again these are traditional Malay snacks made with fish. This was the first time we have this at Mas Satar.

Warung Mas Satar
Address T124, Kampung Geliga Cik Akob, Chukai
Facebook page https://mobile.facebook.com/pages/Mas-Satar/839813986136498?_rdc=1&_rdr
Opens daily 8am to 9pm

Utterly enjoy how spicy the satar is! These pyramid shaped delicacies were filled with fish cakes with fresh bird's eye chilli inside. Wrapped in banana leaves and pierced onto a long satay stick, it's roasted over a barbeque. The otak-otak, on the other hand, contained fish pieces marinated in curry paste, also wrapped in banana leaves stapled at the ends then roasted until it's still juicy inside.

But we just couldn't have enough food! After stopping by Pantai Mak Nik so we could digest some of these brunch off, we headed to our last stop of the trip.

东源酿蟹 Restaurant Tong Juan
Address K-117, Jalan Sulaimani, Kampung Dusun Nyior, Kemaman
Opens daily 11.30am to 3.30pm, 6-10pm

This is the original stuffed crab from Kemaman. It's so popular that the price is going up exponentially from RM7 per piece to RM10 each now. But original is still the best. Juicy fresh crab meat mixed with finely chopped carrot and onion, covered with layer of egg then deep fried into perfection. The way to eat crab without making your hands dirty.

Their fishball soup is also a must try. Texture is light and crunchy, not chewy. One can easily taste the freshness of the fish. Take this with clear soup cooked with seaweed, it's refreshing and yummy.

The sambal squid had a unique flavour. It's more soury and runny than your usual sambal. Combined with onion, pineapple and cucumber. I wished there's more squid though :p

We have only come across 龙门客栈 at Chukai after gotten back from the trip though which was a disappoinment. But that means more future trips to Kemaman!

Lazada's 6th Birthday Bash in my imagination

It's my upmost honor to be able to become lazada's birthday planner. Lazada is celebrating it's 6th birthday with grand celebrations!

Where would I like the birthday to be?

Of course in the bustling metropolitan KL City! In the midst of an elegant and grand venue such as a pool party at Double Tree by Hilton overlooking our beloved KLCC and KL tower landmark. I have had pleasant experience having conferences in its ballroom and I think it will suit a birthday party as big as this! Look at the chandeliers and the awesome setup befitting the occasion.

What about the theme?

There's more fun to join if the party has a unique theme. Since lazada is all about online shopping, I think the theme has to be magical. Like how with a few mouse clicks online, the desired item will magically appear on the doorstep.

These fairy lights will look perfect for the occasion. Creating a dreamy look for the venue.

A corner full of these confetti helium balloons will also be a great hit with both adults and children.

And how can it go without a great photo booth with so many instaworthy moments using these DIY photography props?

What about the party goers?

Dressing up as witch and wizards look like a great idea.

Even children can get their costumes on lazada. And look at the incredible price tag.  Cosplay has never been cheaper now that lazada also works with TaoBao, an online shopping giant from China.

Which birthday cake will be served?

Of course the cake needs to be as magical as possible! Gone are the days when people love multiple tiered cake which has heavy icing and frosting. Using cupcakes seem to be the in thing now. After all, this saves the hassle of cutting the cake while manages to look cute at the same time.

This cupcake machine will churn out multiple cup cakes easily and fast.

These battery operated frosting pens will also definitely come in handy while decorating the cupcakes.

And more stars on top of the cake! This is making me drool over the cake.

There you go, my complete imagination about how lazada's 6th birthday bash should be!

Of course, don't forget the grab crazy deals on lazada's Birthday Festival sale (https://www.lazada.com.my/birthday-sale/) that will take place from 25 to 27 April 2018. 

The Korean food craze featuring Myeongdong Topokki Kuantan City Mall

Being a Korean food fan, I have been looking forward to try the new Myeongdong Topokki outlet at Kuantan City Mall. All things spicy and yummy!

Myeongdong Topokki
Kuantan City Mall

I have previously tried food from this outlet at Sunway Putra Mall with good experience. So I can't wait to introduce you all to this outlet in kuantan!

I'm a great fan of this refreshing soda beverage. Sweet carbonated drink with a hint of lemon and honey. The mint leaves added all much freshness to the drink.

Bibimbap

I love this all in a pot style of food because all the flavours just blend in so well. Hot rice mixed with minced chicken, julienned carrots, cucumber and sauteed mushroom. The raw egg on top once combined with all the other ingredients makes the rice slightly juicy and softer in texture. Have this with crunchy fried anchovies with sesame, kimchi and preserved vegetables.

Kimchi Ramyun

Spicy soup based that reminds me fondly of shin ramen during my student days. With melted cheese, hard boiled egg and seaweed pieces, this Ramyun is full of flavors. If the spiciness is too much for you (it's just nice for me), have a few sushi to hold it off.

Yongye om Chicken

This is fiery! Awesomely spicy fried popcorn chicken pieces. The coating is sticky with chilli paste. Makes one test the limit again and again. I kept asking for water after having a piece.

Fried dumplings

Cripsy skin with juicy dumplings and chicken fillings. Great snacks for sharing. I have a thing for dumplings and these ones are yummy. But 4 pieces is not enough for me alone. More dumplings!

Overall, the flavors here is more Malaysianised but we love it nevertheless. Verdict 8/10!

Working towards youthful skin featuring Live Collagen

Collagen supplement is widely practised in the quest of beauty. Having had the chance to experience its power, I'm very lucky to be blessed with Live Collagen by Dynamic Nutrition. I have previously tested Snow Crystal and Celebeaute Tx with good effects.

Dynamic Nutrition has a team of dedicated researchers producing a wide range of supplements based on whole food. This is because it is the actual proportion contained in the whole food that provides the benefit, instead of the individual components.

The concept of phytonutrient is the core of their research. I have written about phytonutrient, as well as the various certification for supplement production in my previous post here.

Live Collagen is formulated and manufactured in collaboration with two well-known French and American wellness companies (link at the end of post). It also complies to GMP, HACCP and MesTI which are important governing bodies in Malaysia that ensures safe and clean food products. Read more in the Malay language here.

The magic ingredients include

Hydrolyzed marine collagen

Collagen is an important protein produced by the body to maintain skin elasticity and youthfulness, as well as promoting growth and healing. With age, there's less production by the body.

Marine collagen is fully derived from fish skin or scales. It has small particle sizes that is readily absorbed by the bowels, up to 1.5 times more efficiently than other types such as bovine collagen. It is also rich on glycine and proline which has antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties.

Wild Berries Complex consisting Blackberries, Red & Black Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries, Boysenberries, Mulberries, Cranberries and Cherries.

This gives the deep red color of the drink because Live Collagen does not contain additional artificial coloring or preservatives. These berries are powerful antioxidants which were illustrated in my previous post. Not only are they good for the skin, they are also great too relieve eye strains.

I'm working towards radiant and supple skin with Live Collagen. What about you?

Dynamic Nutrition Official Website
https://www.dyna-nutrition.com/?ref=Yingzangrl
Phone 01135584176

Vespro Inc (US)
http://vespro.com/store/home.php?cat=253

Weishardt Group (France)
http://www.weishardt.com/en/index.php?weishardt-group&whmenu=smenu2

Disclaimer: the opinion given is merely a personal experience and does not constitute formal medical advice. Please seek your medical professional's advice before any complementary therapy. Always ask for product certification before proceeding with treatment and stop if side effect ensues.

Optimising engagement and reach on social media marketing featuring the Socialite Media

I have started up to blog seriously for slightly more than half a year now. Previously I took blogging as more towards writing a diary. And I was oblivious to the potential it could bring.

There's a huge market out there for Key Opinion Leaders (KOL) /influencers/bloggers. This group of people is good at social media influencing. Why is social media marketing so important nowadays? Simply because people spend so much time on social media such as Facebook so much that even Mark Zuckerberg himself has to implement strategies to make more meaning social connections away from social media!


Secondly, word of mouth goes fast and a long way. Personal review and experience of someone you trust is way more important that what the brand wants to tell you. Particularly for a brand that's just going to start up. The quality of the product and service is still of paramount importance. But if there's no effective marketing and good reputation, all these will go down to drain.

So the Socialite Media helps to get the content out into the world. Great contents get no where if it doesn't reach the consumers. This is called brand awareness. Unfortunately there are so many social media platforms that it can be pretty overwhelming to manage all these for your business. Therefore, leave it to the experts like the Socialite Media.

What makes it even more complicated is that one can easily buy lots of followers. But that doesn't translate into engagement! Do you know that some just use fake account to achieve the numbers? A healthy level and organic engagement is what services such as The Socialite media offers. This means at least 10-15% of your audience should respond to your content.

Big social media platforms such as FB and IG keep changing their algorithm. So to reach the top of the game, one needs to engage expert help. For example, to make yourself heard and seen, Instagram has just launched the "explore page". That means, by using the correct and effective hashtags, the content gets seen by more and will appear on the top of the page. This is more than just using the popular hashtag because the post will just get swarmed by many more other posts. So again the level of engagement/likes/comments will determine the reach instead.

Photo from Google

What about the content itself? It's all about SEO (search engine optimization) and keywords! It's not just about writing something. It's about strategizing how to reach the targeted audience. That means how to get your posts seen/crawled by the search engine so it will appear in the top search results without paying the search engine. This itself can be a huge topic, so if you are interested, read this link for further clarification. So professional help is definitely needed over here.


Not only does the socialite media help one to achieve all these, they also monitor and show you statistics of the reach and engagement. That's all what a business and or KOL would love to get their hands on. It's a game and one really needs to be well verse with the rules to emerge as the cream of the crop.

Is it wrong to buy likes and followers you may ask. What I would say is it is very difficult to reach your target audience without professional help because it is no longer as simple as having good content. It's how it's being marketed and optimised for reach and engagement. All these strategies really help to reach the audience because it's easy to get lost in this huge amount of information overload in this day and age.

So head over to the Socialite Media to see how promising these all now!
https://www.welovesmedia.com
Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/welovesmedia/

Back to basic skincare featuring Althea Bare Essential

I love all these secret boxes! Got a call early in the morning from the mail man about my lovely parcel. All the way from Korea. Indeed good stuff inside.

These are in the box
Contour cleanser
Primer water
Fixer cream
A simple and elegant Althea tile
A solid face mirror

With a very thoughtful 3 days supply of samples (for tester just in case of allergies)

Althea brings many popular Korean brands into the Malaysian market mainly in the area of cosmetics, skincare, as well as hair and body care. 100% authentic. The other bonus is free shipping from Korea and unconditional refund within 30 days if product is unsatisfactory (which is so unlikely!) First sight and I'm loving the packaging already.

There we go, my new skincare routine. Simple yet effective for soft, supple and flawless skin.

Contour cleanser

This is a cream foaming cleanser. It has microcapsules for gentle exfoliation to remove impurities and provide massage to improve circulation. This helps to reduce swelling on the face in order to achieve the much coveted V shaped face.

The main ingredients in the cleanser-

Ice plant-

Photo from Google

Great to soothe the dry and sensitive skin. It also helps to replenish moisture in the skin.

Lemon myrtle-

Photo from Google

Smells wonderfully lemony. Cleanse and minimise blocked pores. Balances oily skin. What's more, the aroma also helps to uplift the mood :)

Primer water

Second step of the routine.  'Dewdrops' that hydrate and improve the suppleness of the skin. Smoothen fine lines and prepares the skin to receive more nutrients.

The magic ingredients are-

Snow lotus

Photo from Google

This has long been used traditionally to smoothen and brighten complexion. So it's not surprising that it's chosen as part of the primer water, making the skin more receptive to nutrients.

Patented dewdrop formulation

The secret ingredient that moisturises the skin immediately and revitalises the skin! It's just as precious as how dew drops are found only in the early hours of dawn.

Fixer cream

The ultimate moisturiser that provides a 24 hours matte look with a non sticky finish.

The potent ingredients include

Trehalose 

It is a powerful humectant (it's actually a sugar molecule). This means not only can it absorbs moisture and helps the skin to retain it, it also provides hydration to the skin.

Wild Green Tea

Photo from Google

We all know how popular green tea is in Japan because it's a powerhouse of antioxidants which also hydrates and soothes the skin at the same time.

Baobab Tree Extract

Photo from Google- A native tree in Africa that is widely used for its medicinal properties. 

Just because 3 is better than one, baobab tree extract power up the moisturising effect. It also promotes collagen production that makes skin more youthful looking. In addition, it's feels light on the skin because it's not greasy.

That's it! Just these 3 simple steps for the routine. Good skin doesn't necessarily need complicated skincare regime. And Althea products are very much affordable. The whole set is about RM100 only!

For those interested, please visit their website here.
Althea Malaysia website http://my.althea.kr
Althea Instagram https://www.instagram.com/altheakorea/

Coffee lover's haven featuring About: espresso and brew bar Kuantan

Time to explore new place again last weekend! Our team were so excited to savour our lunch in this awesome cafe in Kuantan. There are just so many hidden gems in kuantan to discover. This Asian fusion cafe has so many creative food and drink choices.

About: espresso and brew bar Kuantan
57 Lorong Seri Kuantan 65
+60 9-505 5313
Facebookpage    https://www.facebook.com/a8out/
Opens Wednesday to Sunday 12.30pm to 6.15pm, 8pm to 11.30pm

Specializing in coffee, this cafe is runned by a family for the past 2 years. They strive to serve fresh and homemade food too. High recommended for coffee lovers!

Honey Rose latte

I prefer novel coffee choices. This cuppa is made of moderately strong coffee infused with the taste and aroma of wild honey and rose. This gave rise to a slightly sweet overall flavor which balanced out the bitterness of coffee. Ladies will love this.

Hand brew coffee

Mr husband has a thing for hand brew coffee because he thinks that's the real way to savour the original flavor of coffee weighed and brewed with precision. Coffee beans of Costa Rica origin gave a soury yet smooth taste to the coffee. Not too overpowering though.

Charcoal waffles with salted egg sauce and ice cream

This is their signature dish! But at a glance it looks like quite an impossible combination. Crispy waffles made with charcoal-the new health trend. Topped with a generous scoop of coconut ice cream that's light in texture and flavors as well as refreshing. Drizzle this with the rich, grainy and savoury salted egg sauce, this unique taste is heavenly.

Healthy toast combinations

Pieces of toasted artisan bread with an interesting combinations of toppings. For each serving, one can choose two flavors.
We chose mayo eggs with cherry tomatoes because this is baby Bing friendly :p The other creative choice was chicken floss with dried cranberries and mayonnaise which went amazingly well together.

Baked breakfast

About: espresso and brew bar serves all day brunch which is great for those who prefers to sleep in during the weekend. This skillet is filled to the brim with splendid food. Sauteed mushroom, 2 pieces of toast with spicy tuna chutney, baked beans in tomato sauce, scrambled eggs and cured beef pan fried to crunchiness. Big portion great for those with big stomach like me. If you want more, feel free to add on sides such as smoked salmon and avocados.

After all these, we could still stomach this piece of delightful dessert. Mango cheese cake. All homemade!

Built on base of crushed digestive biscuits mixed with fragrant butter, the cream cheese layer is heavier on the lemony and creamy side. The mango topping also has a more soury taste. With the mint leave, this makes the usually heavy dessert a lot lighter in texture.

I'm looking forward to the addition of new menu options in the near future. The verdict is 8.5/10. Check the cafe out and let me know what you think!