Five Days in London (Part 2)

Finally!! Here's a continuation of my London & Paris Trip.
Refresh Part 1 here - Five Days in London (Part 1)

Due to my poor memory, I could not actually list out my itinerary day by day, so it is going to be postings on the places that I visited during my trip, and based on the sequence of my photos in my camera.

So in Part 1, I visited the following places:

• Harrods
• The Best Fish & Chips in London
• West End: Queen's Theatre

I have an idée fixe to clean and luxe hotels. Usually I will try to book myself a minimum 4-star hotel for my trips. Hilton Hotel was our cozy abode for five days.

Another most critical thing right after accommodation would probably be the food. Apart from fish and chips, the Brit love their afternoon tea probably as much as the Singaporeans love our char kway tiao. For a country that considers tea as their unofficial national beverage and where demand is colossal, I definitely need to try their afternoon tea, and with style, I must add. I picked Langham Hotel for my dallying afternoon tea, after my long flight.

I was given a warm welcome at the entrance of the restaurant. I have to say it is definitely a shibboleth to say that the British were aloof, because throughout the trip, I never have any bad experiences with them. I was even amazed by their willingness to help. The interior of the restaurant was modern and chi-chi. Nothing like what you see in TWG. Most obviously, the greatest difference is, there is no Filippino (Thank God!)

The tea selections were extravagant without a doubt, and I was totally spoilt for choice. The desserts served were exquisite, and totally satisfied my sweet tooth. I even ate Kev's share since he was less of a dessert person.  If I were to compare the bread and sandwiches with the desserts, I would say, I prefer French bread. Still, money is well spent because we received excellent and attentive services. You need well-mannered people to serve people who are willing to spend in your restaurant. Usually the wealthy people don't have much patience with bad-mannered people, and they absolutely do not enjoy repeating their words three times to get their meaning across. (Not sayin' I am rich.)

After the tea, we walked around the area to shop a little. On a separate day, we went to the outlet stores. The outlet stores were off the beaten track, and we had to take a train. I would still say that Paris had the best outlet stores. Nevertheless, I could see Kev enjoyed his shopping judging from the number of things he bought. I have to say, we bought more in Paris.

Part 3 will cover the sightseeing tours that we been to. Stay tuned.
Side Note: Did you ever notice that TWG only hires mainly Filippinos? The truth is, they have very poor service standard, and I can't understand their English just like they don't understand mine. But as a matter of factly, it should be them who should adjust to our cultures and understand our language, not us! I just decided not to patronize them anymore. Or unless they remove their service charge from the bill.

Five days in London (Part 1)

Earlier today we bade goodbye to London, after five days. There was a tad sadness in me. Why? 왜요?

I fell in love with London for the following reasons...
- Language
- Impressive Food
- Safe & Efficient City
- Shoppers' Paradise

I felt very comfortable and at ease in London as compared to Paris. (I compared London to Paris because I will be heading to Paris after London.) Most significantly, there was no language barrier. Communication was simply effortless. I love the Brits' pronunciation, so "authentic". Frankly speaking, I hate playing "charades" with non-English speaking people, it was rather frustrating at times.

I would say London was very much a safe city as compared to Paris and the Brits were unexpectedly amiable as compared to the French. The British apologised when they accidentally blocked your way, pushed you, and were amazingly patient when you asked them for directions. The personnels located at the tube stations were kind and gave us advice so that we could save money. In general, they were very very approachable!! I used to stereotype city dwellers as aloof, inhospitable, and unsociable. Of course, I was grossly wrong!

Who could resist restaurants by the Michelin Star chefs? Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, Daniel Boulud et al ran eminent restaurants in this vibrant city.
And believe me, they were irresistible and I would add -- money well-spent! In general, having a meal in London was not and never cheap, a simple meal at the Harrods Food Hall (aka food court) cost us about SGD120! Can you imagine Kevin's jaw dropping? With that, you could probably imagine the bill for a decent dinner in a Michelin-star restaurant. Btw, we spent about SGD280 on an Afternoon Tea at the Langham Hotel - Palm Court Tea Room, and psst... Palm Court served award winning Afternoon Tea, and usually they were fully booked up! Well, not everything cost a bomb, they had this sandwich chain, Pret-a-Manger which was very similar to our Sandwich Shop in Singapore. I was having breakfast at this restaurant for almost every morning, I could hardly resist the Mozzarella & Tomato croissant, the croissants were to die for (maybe I was just exaggerating, as what Kevin said!)

Unlike *cough* Paris, the city was very much alive and vibrant on Sunday. Read me, ALL shops were open on Sunday! And supermarkets were at every turn and corner, which was really convenient!

Btw over the past few days, I had a whole new understanding of the words, "departmental store". Seriously, what is Takashimaya, Galeries Lafayette?? I didn't even intent to mention the homegrown stores. Harrods -- you could find everything that you need in this London most lavish and reputable store, toys, furniture, branded clothes, restaurants, food court, supermarket and opera singer!! Believe it or not, there were opera singers standing at the balcony at different times throughout the day to perform. There were about 300 departments and 20 restaurants that spread over 1 million square feet. I liked Selfridges on Oxford Street too.

Do you know that the London Underground (aka Tube) incorporates the oldest section of underground railway in the world, which opened in 1863 and now forms part of the Circle, Hammersmith & City, and Metropolitan lines; and the first line to operate electric trains, in 1890, now part of the Northern line. And yet, unlike of the MRT of Singapore, the system was extremely efficient and the waiting time was short and the trains were not sardine packed even on weekends. We could still breathe in the trains. Shame on Singapore!

The Brits were very cultured, I realised they were somewhat "dramatic" and animated when they talked among themselves. Perhaps they watched too many musicals. I managed to catch the musical, Les Misérables on one of the days there. The theatre was full even on a weekday, filled with teenagers and parents who bought their kids to enjoy the musicals. I was bewildered and gobsmacked at the same time. It seemed that watching a musical or play was part of their lives and one of the favourite activities that teenagers would do together. Seriously, I wouldn't expect Singaporeans to be so cultured. I would love to accompany Ziv to cultural events in future.

I blogged this entry on my iPhone Blogger app while lying on the hotel bed in Paris on Sunday, i.e shops were closed. Posted some pictures in this entry, there were probably not uploaded in the order as much as I want them to.

The following were pictures taken at the:
- Queen's Theatre where we caught the musical, Les Misérables.

- Fish n Chips (the so-called best fish n chip in the world, couldn't recall the name, was recommended by Lonely Planet)

- A snapshot of the Harrods Food Hall

- The food we ate from the Steakhouse at Harrods Food Hall. (Garden salad, steak, beer, cheese macaroni)

More posts about my sightseeing, foodie adventures and shopping spree...

Another impromptu trip

Flew out to a place and back in a jiffy.

Back with out-of-the-world experience, and once-in-a-life time memory.
The hotel I stayed in.

Very comfortable.

Korea, Seoul - 22072011

My fun-filled Korea trip. Not because I did lots of shopping, but because, everywhere I turn my head, I can see my oppa!

Star Avenue, the less exciting one near to Lotte DFS. I vowed to go to the one located at Lotte World next year!

Nevertheless, I was enamored with his posters. Yes, they are merely posters.


A visit to O'sulloc tea house is almost de rigueur, a popular hangout place for Koreans. They seemed to be very into the coffee and tea drinking culture. Everywhere I walked there bound to be a cafe round the corner of the street.

Don't think that I am just a shopaholic. I also visited Gyeongbokgung Palace, Korea House, Namsangol Hanok Village and the National Museum too.










We had Korean traditional table d’hôte for lunch at the Korea House. I had abalone as my main, and Kevin had Ginseng chicken.



We also visited the local popular coffee joint, Coffee Bene. They are as big as Starbucks in Korea. And I love their honey bread toast. The one I had was the cheese and garlic. It was lip-smacking good!! And I managed to buy the Secret Garden comic books. Read it while I drank coffee.



The National Museum. Not a very big museum, as compared to the ones in Europe.


Gyeongbokgung Palace, and the guard exchange duty ceremony.





And we visited Gogung that is renowned for its Jeonju bibimbap. I love Korean pancakes. Everywhere I go, I bound to order one. Be it seafood, or kimchi, like the one in this picture.


Of course, I visited Myeong-dong, where my hotel was located, strategically opposite Lotte Departmental Store, and the shopping street opposite it. I also went to the Dongdaemun Market to experience the atmosphere of mid-night shopping.

The usual shopping spots -- Ewha Street, Namdaemun Market, Insadong, Gangnam and Itaewon.

Not forgetting the Seoul Tower, and the Teddy Bear Museum located at the Lobby. The shopping ain't that great, but I would say the shopping scene is so much more vibrant than our homeland. Tourists should just go to Korea for some 24-hour shopping and not Singapore. Its a shame that Singapore, a "shopping paradise" is not really a paradise for the shoppers, since most of the shops close at 10pm, except Mustafa. (And I wonder who needs to buy electronic goods at night?)

Whatever brand names that Singapore has, Korea has it too, however, what Korea has, Singapore might not have it.

One more thing, the shopping centers in Korea are at least 8 storeys, some even has up to 11 storeys of boutique, what about Singapore? The newest that we have at Ion, how many storeys?

I bought lots of cosmetic, skin care products, Hyun Bin stuff and also some branded goods.



I will be back again.

As the obsession grows...

Leaving for Seoul in a less than 8 hours time. I don't recall being so excited when I travelled to Europe earlier this year.

Mainly because I simply can't wait to check out stores selling Hyun Bin's stuff, the visit to Star Avenue, as G said, "Go to Samsung store and grab their product brochures!"

I can't wait.

Here are some pictures of Hyun Bin featured in High Cut. I love his bad boy look. All gals like bad boys right?

The Impromptu Korea Trip

It's always the work that makes me feel stressed out. And decided to do something bersek. Such as blogging at 2:30am.

Booked a flight to Korea an hour ago, extremely inspired after watching Secret Garden, and fell deeply in love again with Hyun Bin.
Flying off 10 days later, without accomodation (for now).

That's how crazy my life can be. Full of surprises and impromptu. I like my life this way, especially I dread planning.

Earlier this year, while on the flight back from Europe, I was already thinking where is our next holiday destination. However, I was told to go to China/HK for two weeks shortly after due to work.

And for the whole few months after the work trip, I was still thinking...

Revisit Bangkok? Bali? Bintan Banyan Tree?

Whatever it is, Korea never make it to my list. For a few reasons.
First, I hate my food cold. Second, I abhor ikan bilis. Third, what is there to buy from Korea?

Not until I watched Secret Garden for the umpteen time.

For those who watched Secret Garden, how can you not fall for Hyun Bin?

Who should I blame? Blame him. He is the root cause of my implusive holiday. I only started watching Secret Garden late last month.



It is this killer smile that changed my mindset and amend Korea to be under the must-visit country category.





If you ask me why I want to go Korea, really, I don't know what to expect.
May there be lots of shopping to do.

Can't wait for the Dec 2012 trip with G, hopefully we can catch a glimpse of Hyun Bin.

Hello from HK/SZ

This is the longest biz trip ever, 10 days. I am in SZ since last Thursday. Will only return back to SG on 20th May.

I am enjoying my stay here in Shangri La. Enjoy HK shopping trip, pigging time, me-time, away from the Husband and the Son.

Europe Trip: Shopping Madness

Europe trip to me is not just about sightseeing, a good amount of the moolah is spent on you-know-what. I have to admit that Europe has good shopping.

Those who know me, I would add, really well, will know that I am an extravagant shopper. Despite telling myself to buy only one (item of each), I will often end up buying A FEW.

However, if you want me to point out a regret in this trip, it will definitely be the fact that I have no luck with Birkin or Kelly. I was hoping for a number 2!

Back to my shopping spree, a trip to the LaDuree restaurant is de rigueur. Kevin and I had brunch there and we did not forget to bring some back to my colleagues. Alas, I was told that we could only keep the macaroons for three days, so, I had finished up all eight of them!



We bought lots of chocolates, mainly from Switzerland. These chocolates come with free sore throat.


Bought Bally belts for my dad, in-law and Kevin from Italy. I didn't even use my wallet for the first few days in Italy and it was downright depressing! This was the only thing that I bought for the first few days. I couldn't wait to splurge!


Had crazy shopping at the Paris warehouse and Milan. Don't even want to brood on my encounter with the hunks at Abercrombie & Fitch in Milan.



Here comes our hefty purchases...
- 4 pairs of Ferragamo (each of us got 2)
- 1 Goyard bag
- 1 Hermes bag
- 1 Hermes bangle (My Vday Gift from Kev)
- 3 Panerai watches

These days, I am not so much into bags, because I had too many and at one point of time, I thought it was quite pointless because I usually stick to a few bags and the rest were often kept in the shelf. So for a while, I shifted the focus to shoes. And since last year, I bought a pair of Ferragamo, two pairs of Prada (and still intact). With the new addition of two more pairs of Ferragamo to the S family, I think I had enough.

I tell myself I need to alter my collection a bit, to be an "all-rounder" (for the wrong reason). Hereby, I am going to abolish the two bags per year target and amend it to two watches per year. That's my new hobby, which I share with Kevin.

Anyway, after this trip, I fulfilled both, two bags and two watches. All thanks to implusiveness. I was so out of control.


I love my Goyard bag. Because this is something not available in SG.


Kevin and I bought three panerais during this trip. And that means we have four in our collection. We prefer stealth luxury for watches, nothing too eye-catchy, showy, nothing too bling. The PAM 329, which uses the Panerai inhouse movement, was a perfect bday gift from Kevin because he knows that I have to deal with my colleagues in US and the GMT feature certainly comes in handy for me. Thanks to his generosity - the most pricey watch among the three. By the way, Panerai produced only 500 pcs of PAM 329 this year, so well, that explains the hefty price tag. Well, of course, price is not the key concern, even if it is a Swatch, it will still be priceless to me, since it is a gift from Kevin.

I liked my PAM 112 because I have a soft spot for simple watch. I liked the fact that no one can tell that it is an expensive watch, so that I can wear it on almost all occasions and won't feel "over wear" or "under wear". In addition, I love men watch. Despite having a very small wrist, I find watches with huge dial irresistible. Also, Panerai (unlike some of the other popular brands) is not a brand where you can walk to a shop and ask for a model and you will have it. Because some of the models are limited in production, hence, Singapore may not be allocated with the particular model that you are looking for. So, if you ever see a Panerai that you really like, you have to buy it. Serious, this is not an excuse for buying three watches, really.



My PAM 329 comes in metal strap and it was so chunky and cumbersome that I had to go and customize a strap when I returned to SG.

So that was about all of what I purchased during the trip.

At the end of the trip, on the plane, I tell myself that I am going to have bread and water for the rest of the year. And thanks to E, who gave me a Starbucks prepaid card so at least, I am going to enjoy better bread and coffee. Perhaps I should grow some sweet potato on my roof terrace, so at least I can have a change in the bread diet.