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Expat Life

in Expat Life, KL What to Do

Events + Movies: The Avengers: Age of Ultron Advance Screening! (Win a trip to NY, Hollywood, LA, or Seoul!)

The Avengers, Age of Ultron, Movie, Movie Premiere, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Watsons, Contest, Win A Trip, Travel Contest, Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, Ultron

The Hulkbuster! Seen in Pavilion prior to Watsons Malaysia’s advance screening of The Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Though I’m a huge lover of Marvel, going to the advance screening of The Avengers: Age of Ultron wasn’t in the plan last Wednesday. But thanks to my friends Ella and Mira plus the Watsons Malaysia team, I ended up going! Even Alvin made it despite the looong hours at the office these days due to the ASEAN Summit. He made it just minutes before the movie started! Whew!

I love movie premieres and advance screenings as usually, there’s a lot of fun things to do prior to actually watching the movie. Cocktails, a fun programme, etc. And of course, since it’s an Avengers screening, some of the “cast” members were there. Well, not exactly Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, and the gang. But you catch my drift. 😉

The Avengers, Age of Ultron, Movie, Movie Premiere, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Watsons, Contest, Win A Trip, Travel Contest, Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, Ultron

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in Expat Life, KL Food, Kuala Lumpur

Foodie Adventures: JEQ in the House (Seksyen 17, Petaling Jaya)

JEQ in the House, Restaurant, Cafe, Review, Petaling Jaya, Seksyen 17, Restaurant Review, Cafe Review, Food Review, Comfort Food, Pasta, Coffee, Coffee Art, Malaysia

Living in KLCC is like being inside your own bubble. Sometimes, you don’t really think of venturing out since everything you need seems to be a stone’s throw away. Great restaurants, malls, supermarkets – everything.

JEQ in the House, Restaurant, Cafe, Review, Petaling Jaya, Seksyen 17, Restaurant Review, Cafe Review, Food Review, Comfort Food, Pasta, Coffee, Coffee Art, Malaysia

However, after making friends with expats who have been here for a while as well as with locals, I found out that there’s more to Kuala Lumpur and its neighbouring city Petaling Jaya when it comes to shopping and food choices.

JEQ in the House, Restaurant, Cafe, Review, Petaling Jaya, Seksyen 17, Restaurant Review, Cafe Review, Food Review, Comfort Food, Pasta, Coffee, Coffee Art, Malaysia

In fact, the more you move away from the city centre, the more realise that when it comes to choices, things can get quite overwhelming (and budget friendly too!). That’s why I’m so thankful for my friends’ recommendations! 😉

JEQ in the House, Restaurant, Cafe, Review, Petaling Jaya, Seksyen 17, Restaurant Review, Cafe Review, Food Review, Comfort Food, Pasta, Coffee, Coffee Art, Malaysia

Situated in a quiet, residential area in Seksyen (Section) 17 of Petaling Jaya is a cafe that serves food that will really make me forget about dieting. Not that I have problems with that. 😉

JEQ in the House, Restaurant, Cafe, Review, Petaling Jaya, Seksyen 17, Restaurant Review, Cafe Review, Food Review, Comfort Food, Pasta, Coffee, Coffee Art, Malaysia

There’s nothing like comfort food and good coffee on a hot, humid weekend and JEQ in the House was able to provide both while I enjoyed the cafe’s ambiance.

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in Expat Life, KL Food

Events: Domino’s Pizza Launches the New Golden Chicken Plus No GST Price Increase (#PaySameOrLess)

Domino's Pizza, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Golden Chicken, GST, No GST, No Price Increase, Pizza, Online Delivery, Delivery, Food Delivery, Events, Blogger,

A little over a week ago, I was invited with some of my blogger friends to a Domino’s Pizza event. I wasn’t going to say no as it’s common knowledge that I’m a huge fan of the pizza place – I practically abuse their online delivery service on days when I feel lazy to cook. (Yes, there are days like that. Shh!)

We usually order the Meatasaurus pizza with an ‘Extreme Edge’ which translates to an all-meat pizza with cheese inside the crust! Ah. So sinful but so good!

Domino's Pizza, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Golden Chicken, GST, No GST, No Price Increase, Pizza, Online Delivery, Delivery, Food Delivery

Golden Italian Chicken

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in Expat Life, Manila

Authentic Filipino Crafts, Souvenirs, and Fashion at The Manila Collectible Co.

The Manila Collectible Co., TMCC, Philippines, Filipino, Souvenirs, Art, Craft, Clothes, Tribal, T’nalak, Abel Iloco, Traditional Filipino Clothes, Manila, Ifugao, Filipino Tribes, Collectibles

My husband and I are crazy about “Filipinizing” our home. While at post, diplomats are expected to entertain – to have guests of different nationalities (other diplomats, businessmen, etc.) over for socialising – which usually means talking shop over food and drinks. 😉 Those opportunities are a great way to showcase our culture and what we have back home.

The Manila Collectible Co., TMCC, Philippines, Filipino, Souvenirs, Art, Craft, Clothes, Tribal, T’nalak, Abel Iloco, Traditional Filipino Clothes, Manila, Ifugao, Filipino Tribes, Collectibles

So during my last trip to Manila, I bought some traditional Filipino accessories and clothes that I can wear to different events. It is often hard to convince people at diplomatic events that I’m actually Filipino because of how I look. My husband’s looks don’t really help either as people often think he’s Chinese/Japanese/Korean.

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in Expat Life, Manila

Food: Tapella in Greenbelt 5 (Makati, Philippines)

Tapella, Restaurant, Restobar, Makati, Philippines, Greenbelt, Food, Makati Restaurants, Where To Eat

In case you were following my Instagram feed you would know by now that I was just in Manila. That explains the lack of posts the past few days. I made a quick trip home to buy some of the things we need – such as national wear/clothes (I seriously despise having to call them ‘costumes’. They’re our heritage!) We have our national day celebration coming up this June and most of Alvin’s formal and office barongs as well as my Filipiniana pieces that we brought with us last year have already been used a couple of times for different events. When people said that KL is a busy post with so many events, I didn’t expect it to be THAT many. So yes, one of us had to go home for reinforcements.

Tapella, Restaurant, Restobar, Makati, Philippines, Greenbelt, Food, Makati Restaurants, Where To Eat

While I was in Manila running around like a headless chicken and making sure I get everything done in 11 days, I made sure to allot some time to meet up with friends – both old and new. I really missed them for the past 9 months (OMG we’ve been in Malaysia for 9 months?! Feels like only yesterday when were packing our bags for posting!) that we’ve been in KL! 🙁 So despite my crazy schedule and constant battle with crazy Manila traffic (due to roads being built for APEC), I made time to meet with them. I wasn’t able to see all of them but I did what I can do with so little time!

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Betjeman & Barton, Tea, Perfume Making, Afternoon Tea, Bisou Bon Bon, Paris Theme, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, The Butterfly Project
in Expat Life, KL Food, KL What to Do

Events: Bisou Bon Bon Perfume Tea Party at Betjeman and Barton

**As promised, here’s a new post! I’m back! <3 So happy to have time to write again!**

A couple of weeks back, I was so fortunate to be able to attend an event organised by The Butterfly Project where I, along with several other beauty bloggers, learned the basics of making perfume while indulging in oh-so good tea and desserts. Definitely my kind of party. 😉

I’m so, so happy to see Betjeman & Barton in Kuala Lumpur. Prior to being told the venue for this event, I was not aware that this French company was present in this part of the world.

But quite frankly, I’m not surprised to find a Betjeman & Barton branch thousands of miles away from Paris. After all, they’re one of the most trusted brands for tea and has been around since 1919. I’m happy that they’re here in KL as I just love their tea selection!

Which has a wide variety, by the way. 😉

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in Expat Life, KL Shopping, KL Tips

Events: The Entertainer 2015 Launch

A blogpost! Yay! Sorry for the lack of updates the past few weeks. I’ve been up to my eyeballs with family stuff as my grandparents (mom’s side) as well as my mom and her boyfriend are here in KL for a visit. My husband and I don’t seem to have a shortage of people who love us and are more than willing to travel just to see us, don’t we?

And that’s not just because KL is so near Manila. After our current visitors, my dad who lives all the way in Sweden is also visiting followed by a friend! Or will my friend come first? I gotta check my calendar as I’m starting to confuse the dates already! Hihihi. I feel so much more loved than the usual lately, it’s just super awesome.

Speaking of love, I’m so excited to share with you guys that one of the products out there that I absolutely adore – The Entertainer – has launched their 2015 books and app! I’ve been quite excited for it as I’ve been told that this year, they will have more participating merchants which will make the product even better than last year.

Just in case you haven’t heard of The Entertainer yet, it’s a product (you can choose between a book or an app – whichever is more handy for you) that gives you access to buy 1 get 1 free offers in restaurants, bars, spas, hotels, and other awesome establishments. I previously wrote about it here and about using it in Langkawi here. Oh, and that one time my husband and I went on a quickie dessert date in one of my fave gelato stores in KL.

The Entertainer, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Launch, 2015, Starhill Culinary Studio

The Entertainer Malaysia and The Entertainer Travel 2015

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in Diplomatic Incidents, Expat Life, Home, KL Shopping, KL Tips

Expat Life: First Christmas in Malaysia (Christmas Trees & Holiday Shopping Tips)

It’s 6 days before Christmas! And while I think I’ve sort of outgrown Christmas (unlike my husband who is so adorably excited for this season), I must admit that it still brings a lot of happy memories from my childhood.

But come to think of it, it’s actually pretty weird to be in a country where not every corner is lit up with Christmas lights. Not hearing Christmas songs from your neighbours’ place is also a bit disconcerting. I find myself even forgetting that it’s just a few days till Christmas. 😛

So being the Catholic Filipinos that we are, we got ourselves a plastic tree as soon as Halloween was over. No, we’re not cuckoo. In the Philippines, Christmas trees are up as early as September – I kid you not. And when people go and live abroad, we do try to make sure we settle in just fine. One of the ways to adapt to a new country is to make your new home actually feel like ‘home’. Not really a replica of your home country but you just bring in traditions and little things that remind you of where you really are from.

Where to get your Christmas Tree

At that time, my husband was sort of frantic – asking people where we can get a tree. He was so determined to bring Christmas cheer into our new home, he was asking people from the embassy who have been here in Kuala Lumpur longer where we can get our own Christmas tree as early as October. So just in case people haven’t gotten their trees until now, and for future reference to those who will be looking, these were the answers that we got:

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in Expat Life, KL Shopping, KL Tips, KL What to Do

Events: Surviving the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale 2014

Just got home from the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale and I gotta say, my arms (and also my husband’s) are dyiiiing from carrying our purchases. This has got to be the craziest book fair I have ever been to – even crazier than the ones we have in Manila. And that’s saying something.

Don’t believe me? Well here you go:

Big Bad Wolf, Books, Book Sale

So I guess this is how a book sale with 3.5 million books, running for 24 hours look like. I felt like Belle discovering the library inside the Beast’s castle!

What I thought was going to be “just another book sale” turned out to be one of my most favourite shopping experiences in Malaysia. Also, I’m proud to say that we’re almost done with our Christmas shopping thanks to this event! (Granted that our shopping list contains just a few names since we’re far away from our friends and family back in Manila – but still!)

We got there around a little bit before 5 in the afternoon. The crowd was tolerable so I can honestly say that the biggest enemy you have to face during the sale is the urge to grab everything in sight.

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in Expat Life, KL Food

Food: Tim Ho Wan Opens in Kuala Lumpur (Things to expect + Prices)

I could live on steamed Chinese shrimp dumplings (hakao) for the rest of my life. That addiction brought me to Chef Mak Kwai Pui’s (麥桂培) Tim Ho Wan in 2010 during a visit to Hong Kong. That’s when our long distance love affair started. That first visit was also the start of another addiction – their BBQ Pork Buns.

Trivia: Tim Ho Wan literally means “to add good luck” or “more good luck” (thanks, Rob and Diane!) in Cantonese. 

I can’t begin to tell anyone how much I love those two dishes and at the risk of being deemed basic, I order those two every single time I’m inside a Tim Ho Wan. In Hong Kong, in Manila when it opened last May (I was writing an article about it and was lucky enough to be one of the first people to dine there during opening day), Singapore, and now in Kuala Lumpur. True, I’ve tried the egg cake, the Vermicelli rolls, and the rest of it during that media visit in Manila but I guess I’m just in too deep with those two.

While a lot of neg-heads would often go like: “It’s overrated” and “The branches in other countries will never be at par with the one in Hong Kong”, I myself am just happy to have my hakao and pork bun fix – especially here in KL where not a lot of restaurants serve pork. I’m a Filipina and pork, is part of our basic food groups back home so halal food is usually okay and healthier but I do miss some good old pork in my food. Oh, and did I mention I miss chicharron (fried pork rinds) a lot too?

And come to think of it, there are lots of Chinese restaurants and hawker stalls here in KL and even in Singapore but not everyone and not a lot of them serve hakao! It drives me into bitch fits, sometimes when my craving is just too much. I went to Ying Ker Lou, a Chinese restaurant in Pavilion where they serve different kinds of dim sum, hakao included. Went in with a smile on my face, went out disappointed. The shrimps were obviously frozen so they didn’t taste the least bit fresh and were a bit gummy.

So I made it to a point to go to the Tim Ho Wan opening yesterday, November 28, in MidValley just to makeup for that bad experience. Expecting a long line, I wore comfy sandals. But I was surprised to see that the line was manageable.

Tim Ho Wan, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Dim Sum, BBQ Pork Buns,

Expect a line outside the restaurant.

When going to Tim Ho Wan, one should expect that they wouldn’t be seated right away. It’s like that in almost all their branches. The cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant (I think it’s a tad cheaper than Din Tai Fung) is of course, very popular everywhere it goes. Even those who don’t know of the restaurant before it came to their shores are drawn in because of the hype that comes with it and the intriguing line.

In KL though, the line is manageable since it’s a non-halal restaurant, a huge percentage of the population here are not part of their target audience. But still, the restaurant will be full. Even if it’s slightly bigger (with an upper floor for dining opening soon) than its sisters abroad. I waited in line for about 10 minutes max which isn’t so bad.

Tip: Smaller groups, solo diners in fact, get seated faster.

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