Le Salon du Chocolat 2010

Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, hot chocolate, brownies, cookies, marshmallows, orange flavored chocolate, chocolate shaped like vegetables, chocolate shaped like champagne bottles, chocolate handbags, chocolate dresses, chocolate fountains, EVERYTHING chocolate can be found at the Salon du Chocolat, in exhibition from October 28th until the first of November. It is a gourmande's playland, my eyes were wandering everywhere, and my excitement was at its peak. J & I threaded through the throngs of people, my annoyance of being in such a crowd was waived as each stand amazed me with something or another. This is the best way anyone can spend €12.50!

Checkout http://www.salon-du-chocolat.com
Photos By Me

Meringue

Due to my cravings yesterday for an Eton Mess inspired by Apt Restaurant in KL, I decided to attempt to make meringue. And if I may say so myself, it turned out great! Its easy guys, all you need are 4 egg whites (taken out of the fridge at least 15 mins before, it cannot be cold) and 250 grams of white sugar.

Step one: Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites. Beat the egg whites until it becomes fluffy. To know when its ready, turn it over. It should not spill.

Step 2: Then, little by little, add the 250 grams of sugar while beating. Lift the mixer and you should get a shape like below. That's when you know to stop beating.
Step 3: Place the meringue in a "poche à douille", believe it or not I do not how to say this in English. Its the plastic bag that you use to bake to make little shapes. Make the forms on a cookie sheet (I used foil since I ran out), and put it into a 100 degree Celcius oven for 30mins-1 hour. 30 mins will give you a chewy meringue, and an hour will give you a crunchy meringue on the outside, and chewy in the inside.
Tada! And for the best homemade Eton Mess ever, break some meringue into a bowl, cut up strawberries and add whipped cream. Stir until you get one big mess. Good luck!

Photos By Me

Fiac! Jardin des Tuileries 2010

From the 21st till the 24th of October this year, FIAC collaborates with the Louvre in a special outdoor program at the Jardin des Tuileries. There are 28 projects scattered around this historical garden, including sculptures, installations, and ephemeral creations. Artists include:

Jennifer Allora & Guillermo Calzadilla, Carl Andre, Darren Banks, Mark Dion, Mounir Fatmi, Otto Freundlich, Bruno Gironcoli, Subodh Gupta, Thomas Houseago, Rodolphe Huguet, Rolf Julius, Yayoi Kusama, Guillaume Leblon, Jean-François Leroy, Markus Lupertz, Justin Matherly, Jonathan Meese, Richard Nonas, Not Vital, Bernard Pagès, Jean Prouvé, Ugo Rondinone, Assan Smati, Franz West, Virginie Yassef. (taken from FIAC website)

J & I went on a Sunday, with a million other people/tourists. We already expected the crowd, but it didn't curb my frustration when trying to take photos. The art was modern, random, and weird. The only ones that I truly appreciated were the pick up sticks of American flags and the woman's leg coming out of a tree. Those that include hanging baskets from a tree, and rocks arranged in a line, well, hardly amazed me. But what do I know about art huh?

Photos by Me

Printemps Loves New York

AND SO DO I! During Paris Fashion Week, Printemps celebrates American designers such as Diane Von Furstenberg, Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler, Alexander Wang, Tory Burch, Thakoon, and Ralph Lauren among others. Creative window displays artistically portrays the clichés of American lifestyle, like Campbells tomato soup, Superman, and donuts and cupcakes. I wasn't sure if this was part of the campaign, but a few weeks ago I even saw a hotdog cart outside Printemps, exactly like the ones in NYC!

The Giant King Kong made out of tires is an oeuvre of Franco-American street artist Mr Brainwash. Thought this was cute, just wanted to share!

Photos By Me

Market Restaurant Paris

Situated on the fabulous Avenue Matignon in the 8éme arrondissement of Paris, Market is owned by French-New Yorker chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. A hub for the fashion forwards and business people in suits, this design restaurant won't disappoint you in terms of deco and coolness.

J & I went to Market with 2 other couples and found ourselves seated comfortably in a corner looking over the main floor. Furniture sleek, lighting dim, the sighting of the word "truffle'" in the menu, it was ideal for a night of catching up with friends. Your red soled heels and YSL pumps would be well received here, women sneak peaks at you up and down as you weave through the tables. Its all good, they're just appreciating your good taste!

In terms of food, we absolutely fell head over heels in love with our Black Truffle and Fontina Pizza . Each couple shared a pizza, and I told J that the next time I am NOT sharing! The main dishes were OK without saying more. The warm chocolate cake that J had was a lot better than my caramel au beurre salé ice cream, that would've been good if it was not too salty.

So come here for a trendy dinner, DO NOT share the truffle pizza, and be prepared to pay about EUR80 per person. Which I considered expensive for what we had, but hey I'd pay anything for that truffle pizza!

Photos By Me

The Palms, Zanzibar

An Ode to Everyone We Met

Without abusing the word 'magical', I would like to say this one time that our 8 days spent at The Palms, Zanzibar, was MAGICAL. Zanzibar itself is mythical on its own, white sandy beaches and clear water pretty much everywhere you go on the island. On the eastern coast on the beach of Bwejuu, rests the ultra luxurious 6 villa hotel, The Palms. Each of the villas are equipped with its own private plunge pool, a minibar, a living room, a little study with an extra bed and extra bathroom, a main bathroom fit for Mariah Carey, and a private beachfront pemba (hut). Each hut is constructed traditionally, with the walls separating each living area stopping before reaching the ceiling. The wooden furnishings and mosquito net over the giant bed gives it a rustic luxury feel, just a slight reminder that you are in a land far far away..

The service at The Palms is one of a kind. With 50 employees to 12 guests, you know that you will be treated well. Chef Alan heads the kitchen, providing us with a Micheline star worthy meals 4 times a day. Everything is personalized to your needs, I asked for chicken satay for dinner one night, and chicken satay is what I got! The staff is friendly, courteous, and trained so meticulously that sometimes J and I said to ourselves, this is like service in a fine dining French restaurant! Everyone made us feel so welcomed and so comfortable, that after a few days I really felt like I was at home. Pardon the many food pictures below, I think everyone knows by now how much I love food!

The beaches in Zanzibar are dreamy. I spent hours just reading and listening to the waves. During low tide, you are able to walk about 1km into the sea. But beware of sea urchins! We were equipped with reef shoes and this is super important. If you don't have them the sister hotel next door provides them for free. We went snorkeling and swam with dolphins, well J did, I was afraid so I stayed on the boat. These dolphins are wild dolphins, and we spent a good hour chasing after them on the boat and jumping into the deep sea when we see a school of them. It was my first time and it was amazing..

We had such a great time with each other that I am going through a slight depression being back in rainy and gray Paris. People are protesting against the retirement age non-stop, the metros are semi-working, and its COLD. I wouldn't feel this way if we had just an OK time. The fact is, I actually miss The Palms. I miss the people we met during our 8 day stay, I miss the Hakuna Matata mentality, I miss the food and I miss our little hut! I recommend this hotel to anyone and everyone, and if you do get there tell everyone I said hi!

Checkout http://www.palms-zanzibar.com/home.php
Photos by Me

Note to Readers

Dear Readers,
J & I will be at the above shown picture for 9 days. Please excuse my absence until the 17th of October..
Bisous!!

Photo courtesy of Google Image

Louis Vuitton

How can I have a blog that speaks to Malaysians, and NOT talk about Louis Vuitton? An international Parisian house of luxury, Louis Vuitton was founded in 1854. Since 1989, it is owned by billionaire Bernard Arnault. (Ladies, I just googled him, not really the eligible bachelor type)

The LV boutiques can be found pretty much everywhere in Paris, with the one at Galleries Lafayette being the most famous with tourists. Each time I pass by, there is usually a line of about 15 Asian tourist deep. NO JOKE! Their tour buses literally leave them there, hence clogging up this particular boutique. Suggestion: go next door to the newly opened boutique at Printemps. Its about the same in size, but less people.

The Mothership of LV however, is located at Avenue Georges V on the Champs Elysées. Spread over 5 floors and 1800 m², you will be enthralled to find pretty much anything LV you are looking for: trunks, shoes, books, prêt-à-porter, and a decent men's collection as well. The line has started forming here, but it is not long, a 10 minute wait is not all that bad for a woman with a mission.

Around the stores, do not be surprised if a Chinese woman/man ask you for a "favor" to buy them something. They will come up with all sorts of compliments for you, like "oh you speak English/French well", or "you dress better than me", etc. Reason being, there is a limit of what you can buy for certain passport holders. This is to prevent copying and counterfeited products that as we all know, are fabricated in China.

So love it or hate it, Louis Vuitton has been an emblem of French luxury. Please don't abuse it!

Metro: Georges V
Photos by Me

Khir Khalid

An Ode to my Magician
We just received our professional wedding video, and I must say, that my makeup was complètement sublime! My efforts on re-doing it myself has failed miserably, and even with the right magician tools, in the end I think its all about the talent. And this talent belongs to Monsieur Khir Khalid.

A beauty enhancer, is what he is. I wanted a sleek, modelish look (and not the cakey bridal look as usual), and that's what I got! With my baju kebaya, my eyes were sexed up with black eyeshadow, and lips nuded with a lip pencil. My eyes were dramatized as I changed into my Vera Wang, with an overall glowy and shimmery look to end the night. All I can say is, BRAVO!

Do checkout his work at http://khirkhalid.tumblr.com/

Photo by Saiful Nang

Blending In

Without sounding too pretentious, if you are looking to blend in, I must say right away that you should leave the following behind:

1) Your Coach bags
2) Your Juicy Couture bags and/or sweat pants and matching sweatshirt
3) Non-basic clothing from the Gap or Old Navy
4) Your fake Louis Vuitton, Chanel, etc.
5) Tropical print shirts

Please bear in mind that bringing in fake goods in France is a serious offense. If you are caught, your fake product will be confiscated, and you will be given a ticket equivalent to the original price of your fake goods. Other than the embarrassment, it could be costly.

Paris is also the city where I see the LEAST branded bags with huge logos. The French are not impressed with names. You will be regarded curiously if you had a monogram LV bag with a matching belt and matching monogram shoes, for example. Having style does not mean having a bag stamped with a logo. You will definitely be more chic with a pair of Repetto ballerinas and a Nightingale Givenchy bag. Subtlety is key, if you want to blend in. If you are fine with going around with a camera around your neck and comfy walking shoes, by all means, go ahead. This post is directed to those who want to blend in, experience la vie Parisienne, and not be targeted by pickpocketters.

If you wear a hijab, that will not be a problem in Paris. With a 10% Muslim population, the French are used to the headscarf. A burqa, however, will pose problems. A law has just been passed to make the burqa illegal in public areas, and you will be summoned if you cover your face. A man who forces his wife to wear a burqa can be jailed up to 1 year and fined €30,000! These will be doubled if the person forced is a minor.

For your electric goods, the voltage is the same but the plug isn't. You will need to pack an adapter, NOT a transformer. I use some of my electric products from the States too without problem, but verify the voltage or you risk blowing something up.

If you come in the summer, don't think that just because you are in a European country that "less is more". The French are quite conservative in terms of showing skin, and wearing a pair of short shorts will get you labeled as an American right away. (No racism intended here, just showing the stereotypes) Neither are they keen on very tight clothing. This summer baggy and off-shoulder was very in, paired with pencil jeans or tights. Come to think of it, I feel way more comfortable in KL and NY in my miniskirts/dresses, not here! This is something I'm starting to appreciate more and more, and I am more convinced that French women are just so chic and natural, no matter what social class!

Hope this was helpful!

Cartoon courtesy of Google Images

Givenchy Nightingale Trolley

This is the perfect way to say I love you...

Photo courtesy of Google Image