Permanent Wanderer

I turned a year older on the 25th of November. I am still amazed of how time flies by so fast, I feel like its only yesterday that I celebrated my birthday in Beijing, and in Bali and in Singapore... This year I give thanks for all opportunities that were given by me. All people that I have met, all emotions that I felt.. moments that I have celebrated. Hopefully in the next 12 month I exist as a 22 year old young woman I can do great things for people around me and for my community.

Till next time,

Nat

Beauty Haul: Singapore & Others

I finally arrived back in Bali after almost a year living in Beijing, China. Although the entire experience was full of fun and lessons, I guess it is time to finally go back to my beloved home. I had a stopover in Singapore for my flight, thus I decided to extend my stay to 5 nights :p and my sister also fly over from Bali. I always stock up my beauty products whenever I'm in Singapore first because of the variety (we are talking about brands that are hard to get like Kat Von D, Hourglass, Cover FX, Zoeva) and also the price. Sephora Singapore was having promo, where buy minimum of 4 products and the fifth one you get only for $1!!! My sister and I ended up buying like almost 15 pieces, so we save quiet alot! Some of the stuffs like the Chanel items are given by my mom from her trip from Europe earlier this year, I will try to find the price for these items and hopefully I wont get it wrong!

1. Origins Make a Difference Plus+ Rejuvenating Treatment - $52

I was looking for a new moisturizer because I currently couldnt get my hand on my staple Nature Republic Aloe Vera Gel, so when I was in Changi Airport I asked for recommendation from the counter lady. I have been using this for about a week and so far its quite good and moisturising for my dry and sensitive skin!

2. Daiso Scrubbing Board - $2

I am such a lazy bum in term of cleaning my brushes.... and 2 weeks ago my left cheek is suffering from a really bad rash :( it was not pimple but just small bumps. I went to Daiso and found this, tried it out yesterday and oh my god.....!! super easy, and it cleans literally everything on every brush that I have!

3. Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask - $48

I think I have been in this sudden Origins hype. I have always wanted to try out Origins product before but only till now did I finally decided to buy some. I have tried this once, at first application though it stings, but then when it slowly starts to dry up I can actually feel the charcoal sucking up dirts from my skin. But I feel like this mask can be quite harsh on people with very sensitive skin. I am planning to use it only once a week because it might irritate my skin if I use too much.

3. Chanel Le Blanc De Chanel - according to rough conversion $70

If you dont know me.. I have been obsessed with illuminating primer ever since I found Mac Strobe Cream. I've heard many good reviews about this, so lets try it out!

8. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Radiant Light - $79

So.... I never planned to buy this expensive powder until I swatched this on the back of my hand. The texture itself is very very finely milled, so thats like a major point enough to make me buy this powder.

9. Chanel Vitalumiere Compact Douceur B30 - $88

This one is staple product in my make up routine since 4 years ago! I was getting the refill once every 6 months. This product worth every penny!

10. Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua B30 - $77

I used this foundation back in 2013 during my college years. I liked it but I got caught up in trying different bases and foundation so I kinda forget about this foundation for awhile. Recently though, I have been into the very natural look (or you call it lazy look). I dont even put my MUFE brow products, just a brow pencil will do for me LOL thats why I wanted to have this one again in my make up collection!

11. SKII Trial Kit - $91

I love love love SKII FTE! Although some products might be a hit n miss for me, but the FTE never once fails me. I always got the small bottle because as some of you might know the FTE indeed can go bad (in terms of the smell). Also their trial kit offers good value!

12. Too Faced Born This Way Foundation Warm Beige - $58

this is my second bottle! I love this foundation very much.

I feel like God has a very interesting way of shaping our lives... like sometimes He will say yes, sometimes no, sometimes not yet... and you got confused along the way. I feel like I hit another milestone in life, another 'now what?' but the question remains the same all these years, but 'how'?

I visited Guangzhou after 2 years and we visited a lot of places. We visited the Chimelong Paradise Theme Park, the Guangzhou Opera House, did the Pearl River Cruise, Beijing Lu, and eat all the Cantonese food. I passed by my old school as well as my old apartment, and it reminded me of how naive I was 2 years ago. I thought I can be successful, I dont know how but I know I will. Looking back, life aint easy like that. There are so many choices you gotta make, sacrifices that you gotta do. Dreams that were crushed, hearts that were broken. But thats life isnt it? You gotta live it, and sometimes you make mistakes along the way but its okay because it leads you a step closer to what and where you belong to be :)

came across a blossoming tree near the Hangzhou Canal in early February

The Hangzhou Canal

photo taken inside the Lou Wai Lou 楼外楼 famous for its beggar's chicken

西湖-West Lake

Lei Feng Pagoda

the famous Beggar Chicken

Hangzhou's street food at Hefang Street

I have always wanted to visit Hangzhou long before I came to Beijing. I came across a picture of the West Lake and instantly mesmerized by its understated beauty. Some might wonder, what is the shiz with this one particular lake? I say you should come and experience it for yourself. I think the city is so quiet and serene, the ambience is what makes this place different than any other. We visited during the Chinese Spring Festival, which means there was a lot of traffic and people in major attraction sites (West Lake, Lei Feng Pagoda, the Street Food) but yet it is still a memorable experience. I have yet visited the Xixi National Wetland Park and I am planning to do so in the future. Take my recommendation and opt for a nicer hotel/resort if you are planning to enjoy Hangzhou at its best. We were staying at the IBIS Hotel in downtown Hangzhou which is actually a very good, and economical option but if you are willing to spend more (which i think will be worth it) opt for Banyan Tree Hangzhou or Four Season Hangzhou. I have heard many good reviews on these hotels, both located near Xixi Natioanl Wetland Park.

Culinary wise, we made our time to try Hangzhou's famous beggar's chicken where the chicken is cooked in a pot, and after its done you have to crack it open. We tried twice, one at a small stall in Hefang Street and the other one at the famous Lou Wai Lou 楼外楼. While both tasted pretty much the same, I say the view of West Lake offered by the latter is unbeatable. It costs approximately 200 RMB per person (pricey I know) to dine, in family style. We took the small boat ride to bring us around the West Lake - it was not too costly- and boy I really enjoyed it. I told my mom that the city is so beautiful, I actually wont mind moving there.

Hangzhou, I will come again very soon.

Spring is here in Beijing. I'm so looking forward for the sun, it feels like its been forever... in fact I realize I actually am more comfortable in humid weather despite the sweat :p Bid farewell to all my down coats, sweater and thermal wear. Gotta work on that summer body ASAP!

Pictures are taken in Yuyuantan Park Beijing - Cherry Garden

玉渊潭公园中国北京市海淀区西三环中路10号

Since moving to Beijing last August, my life has been a total roller coaster ride. Despite the disastrous beginning (let say the visa officer does not want to return my passport), I took off and started a whole new adventure!

Beijing, just like other big cities around the world also has a buzzing and dynamic food scene. I am a food lover, and so does B so we are always on our quest to find new places to try out, both simple and fancy ones. I have heard about many different restaurants that come on top of Trip Advisor, thebeijinger.com (must see if you are in Beijing, very useful) and other websites, but one always pops out to me more than the rest. That is, TRB or Temple Restaurant Beijing. It wins the number 1 spot for fine dining celebration, and also the first on Trip Advisor list... so I was thinking, how good can it be? And so we went, not once but twice.. and I am sure there will be many more to come.

We went for dinner to celebrate a special day and opted for the 3 course menu (RMB398 ++) they had options from 3 - 5 courses. Alongside that, we also ask their wine sommelier to recommend us some wines to pair with our food, B goes with red and I go, obviously, with white.

For the appetizer we choose Apple Foie Gras (SUP RMB 30) and their Crispy Oyster( SUP RMB 50) Both were really good with good presentation. Its my first time trying the combination of foie grass with apple and white chocolate and I surprisingly really like it.

For Main Course we choose the Beef Fillet (SUP RMB 70) and Halibut (SUP RMB). The beef was superb, so good with perfectly charred outer layer and very tender meat. The Halibut tho is lacking of oomph for me.

I was looking forward for the dessert, we opted for the Parmesan Cheese Foam and their chocolate cake, which I could not find in their current menu. B said the cheese was a bit overwhelming, but I found it to be good though the chocolate cake was just okay. Maybe also because we were too full. During our dinner, we got 2 different complimentary dishes, 1 which is their potato leek soup with unagi (SO GOOD) and the other one which I couldnt remember the name.

One thing that I think is as core as their food, is the service. And how do I say this... it was an unforgettable experience? I feel like everyone of them is passionate in what they do, they give you spaces but also very friendly, they talked with you, always smiling, always ready to help! ooh the little thing that matters..... the service is just top notch that I remember telling B that even if their food is mediocre (which is untrue, BTW) I would still come just for their service. So to cut it short, we went again, this time for lunch. There was a deal which you can buy from Dianping (Food App in China), RMB 198 for 3 course lunch down from RMB 398 which I think is a very good deal.

We went on a Friday, but it was still packed with diners. Interior wise, I like it better during the day time. They had big windows which let the natural light shines through, very nice for taking pictures. I told our first server that we liked our previous visit so much that we went back to a second one, and I saw just the most sincere feelings through his eyes and I couldnt be more content. Thats what you get for being so passionate and 100% on your work isn't it? And next time we knew he came back with a bottle of complimentary sparkling wine. You must be thinking since its free,it must not taste good... WRONG, in fact it was really good.

This time round, we choose their Potato Leek Soup (again) and their Salmon Gravlax (B really likes the gravlax from Maison Flo so he was eager to try the one from here). Gravlax was very very good, much better in our opinion than what we have previously tried. Potato soup of course is very good as well.....

For the main we choose the Beef Fillet (B's favourite) and also their Cod fish... (was okay). And for the dessert we choose the Mango Cheesecake and Chocolate Feuillantine, both are fine but nothing to shout about. Before they served our dessert, our previous hostess from the dinner, served us with a complimentary cake which says 'Welcome Back'. Oh why TRB, you shoot me right in the spot.

All in all, the final verdict will be... its such a good and memorable experience that you should go and try at least once. I am sounding a lot like I'm obsessed with this place but, I've tried several other fine dining restaurant in Beijing, Singapore and Bali and none of them can compete with the level of service that TRB provides. So yes guys, I am already planning our third visit with B, and hopefully with some other friends.

Ciao,

C

PS: I'm sorry the photos are not of high quality, we are using iPhone 7+ for these not my usual camera.