Visiting the instagram worthy blue house | Perth

I've actually seen pictures on instagram and facebook of this iconic blue house and only realized that it was located in Perth recently (I'm a derp, I know).

It's located on Mounts Bay Road and does not have direct parking but there's a small public parking area just a short 5-10 mins walk along the road, although it has very limited spots. Alternatively, you can get there by public transport which is located at a close proximity to the house.

There really isn't anything to do around the area except maybe take a walk to kings park and take a gazillion pictures of the house. It was a pretty funny experience when I went with my family as we had to queue for 20 minutes to take a picture in front of the house and our memory card got full after just one picture and we held the line for a solid 5 minutes since I had to run and get another one while they pretended to take selfies on the phone.

The house has a magnificent view and is a must visit destination for all you instagram lovers. Do expect to wait quite a bit for your turn tho as there are a lot of tourists that take a million photos in all the different poses you can imagine.



♥ Jess

August - September updates

Hi all :)

Just realized I forgot to put measurements up for the last update! I didn't take any in August either *goldfish memory*. So F45 has been going well, I actually signed up for a membership since it's just 3 minutes from my house and super convenient. Ideally I would want to go 3-4 times a week but with work commitments and uni I've been just going twice a week the last two months, hopefully I sort out my time management skills and be able to go more this October! F45 does different exercises everyday and my body is still adjusting, I don't get sore anymore but I definitely can feel it the next day if I've gotten a good workout! My body has been really grumpy this month with breakouts and odd monthly cycles. My arms seem bigger but it's not muscles this time haha :c


September Measurements:

Weight 52.2 kg (-0.8 kg)
Stomach 28.5"
Butt 35.5" (+0.5")
Thigh 20"
Calf 11.5" (-0.5")
Arms 11.5" (+1.5")
Waist 26.5"
Bust 32"

June Measurements:

Weight 53 kg
Stomach 28.5"
Butt 35"
Thigh 20"
Calf 12"
Arms 10"
Waist 26.5"
Bust 32"

♥ Jess

Japanese Popin Cookin DIY sushi kit (Candy)

Hey guys!

So I always see these cute Japanese jelly things all over Singapore but never bought them because it never came in English instructions. I've started to notice the increase of these boxes in asian stores here in Perth as well so I decided to give it a go.

I bought a sushi one from Kong's in Victoria Park. As expected, all the instructions are in Japanese but there's a lot of diagrams in the back so I tried my luck anyhow!


The moment I opened the package I could smell the familiar lollies fragrance. It came with a mould that had letters and numbers to make it easier to follow the pictures in the back yay.

I poured the 'rice powder' in the tray marked 1 then poured water until it created a fluffy cloud looking shape.


I later realized that the dip meant that you should fill the water to the marked lines before adding the powder. Whoops.

The others pretty much followed the same procedure. You filled it up to the line with water and mix it with the powder. The instructions were actually quite easy to follow. Much easier than I expected.

The coolest part of the kit was making the fish balls. I had SO much fun doing this. You basically mix the two powders in the respective 'A' and 'B' mould and you transfer the orange solution into the blue solution with a pipette looking thing that was provided. The moment the orange liquid hit the blue liquid it instantly made tiny circular fish eggs!

There was a seaweed dough that you rolled out as well, and yup I did a horrible job at it. There was also soy sauce! It's awesome how they go into such details with this set.


Overall putting the set together was so much fun. I only tried the fish eggs and it was sweet and popped in my mouth just like a real fish egg! I didn't really try the rest because, well I don't know it was powder and I felt weird eating it for some reason.

Definitely going to go and make some other sets of these. ^^

♥ Jess

July updates

This month has been a really fun trial month for me, I've been exploring groupon deals and did activities like rock climbing, roller blading and so on. I'm trying to find a fun hobby to have on the side that keeps me moving. I've recently purchased a kettle bell from kmart and planning to do short home work-outs for when I'm too busy to go out. Also joined the F45 craze that's been going on, I did the one week trial and went twice. It's a good workout with interval training. I must say I do like crossfit better but this is a fun work out class nonetheless!

♥ Jess

April - June update

Super prolonged post as uni just piled up recently! I unfortunately left crossfit at the end of April as it was getting too much to handle atm. May/June has been really stressful and I didn't get to really exercise these two months so I did lose some leg muscles and my upper abs that were beginning to show in April no longer exists haha. I did not realise how much muscle I lost until I measured myself, a bit disappointed in myself but I've started working out again so hopefully next month will be better! :)

March update

March measurements:

Weight 52.9 kg
Stomach 29.4"
Butt 37"
Thigh 22"
Calf 14.1"
Arms 10.5"
Waist 27"
Bust 31"

April Measurements:

Weight 53.1 kg (+0.2 kg)
Stomach 28.8" (+0.6")
Butt 36.5"(-0.5")
Thigh 21.6" (-0.4")
Calf 13.5" (-0.6")
Arms 11" (+0.5")
Waist 26.5" (-0.5")
Bust 31.2" (+0.2")

June Measurements:

Weight 53 kg (-0.1 kg)
Stomach 28.5" (-0.3")
Butt 35" (-1.5")
Thigh 20" (-1.6")
Calf 12" (-1.5")
Arms 10" (-1")
Waist 26.5"
Bust 32" (+0.8")

♥ Jess

March update

Hello there!

I can't believe it is April already! So, I did a crossfit challenge last month and ended up loving it soooo much that I decided to join a crossfit box near my place. I am starting to see results mainly in my calves and butt region (Thanks to the many squats and kettlebell swings). I dedicate three days a week to crossfit and I have been spending the other days this month trying MMA which is a lot of fun. I'm still exploring new things but I'm planning to just increase my days in crossfit starting next month. Oh, I know I said I wanted to progressively run to 5km but it is so COLD. I can't stand going out before 6 am for a jog when I know it is freezing out there and I'm not a threadmill kind-of-girl. Luckily, the crossfit sessions I go to do a lot of running so I can still build my stamina and achieve that goal when the cold months die down.


February updates

Old Measurements (03/03/2017):

Weight 53.1 kg
Stomach 30.1"
Butt 37"
Thigh 21"
Calf 14
Arms 11"
Waist 28"
Bust 31.5"

New Measurements (31/03/2017):

Weight 52.9 kg (-0.2 kg)
Stomach 29.4" (-0.7")
Butt 37"
Thigh 22" (+1")
Calf 14.1" (+0.1")
Arms 10.5" (+0.5")
Waist 27" (-1")
Bust 31" (-0.5")

Click here to read about my crossfit experience.

♥ Jess

I tried crossfit for a month!

Morning lovelies,

I'm at the stage where I'm just trying everything out to see what works for me and what I like so I decided to give crossfit a go. When I was searching it up there was a lot of mixed vibes towards this sort of exercise so I didn't exactly know how I was going to like it but gave it a go anyways.

So the first session I attended I was OVERWHELMED. It was a small session of about 12 people and in the particular crossfit gym I joined the maximum amount of people there could be in a class is 16. The moment I got there I was sent to do a 100m sprint followed by 5 burpees, and if that was not bad enough I had to do three sets of them. T.H.R.E.E. After the three "warm-up" sets I had sweat trickling off my face and could hear my heart beat rapidly (Yes, I was huffing and puffing in the warm up).

We then proceeded to pick up weights and do a series of 30 reps of arm/shoulder work outs followed by 10 push ups. This again was done in three sets. I cannot do push ups. Even through the guidance of the coach, I had extreme difficulties in performing a proper one. I was not able to complete the full three sets but that's alright because I gave it my best. :)

When we entered the gym area, I was so confused with all the cross fit lingo. There was Rx, WOD, etc. and I was super duper lost. However, the coaches were really helpful and guided me through the workout and ensured I had proper form and technique. The problem came in the days proceeding my first session... My whole body ached like it never ached before. I couldn't open doors, climb stairs or even cup of water without my arms shaking. I did not except that to happen. Yes, I knew I would be sore but my body was incapable of doing normal daily activities and it was so bad that I didn't go to any sessions the next few days.

After four days, my body still did not recover and I was telling myself how all the articles about crossfit being bad for your limbs were true! I was so scared that my body would break in the next session that I wanted to quit but my friend kept pushing me to go and I am so glad that she did! Crossfit was a life changer for me. Did it suck the first week? Hell yeah. Every inch of my body was crying! But I pushed through, I attended three crossfit sessions a week for five weeks and the results were amazing!

In the beginning, I had to use the 8kg barbell as I could not lift the normal 20kg one. The 8kg kettle bell swing was heavy as hell for me and I could only do lunges with 5kg MAX. It has been just over a month since I decided to do crossfit and now I can squat 25kgs. TWENTY FIVE. That is 17kgs heavier than what I first started with!

Crossfit has made me so much stronger and I feel really good about myself. Everyone who is thinking of trying it, go for it! I'm really addicted to crossfit right now and I can't wait to see how much stronger I can be soon.

If anyone is in Perth, I'd recommend forfitness in CanningVale. The coaches are awesome and they have free trials, challenges and a 14 day pass to try it out for 2 weeks for just $14 :)

♥ Jess

February update

Hey guys!

Now that I ended my vacation internship I had more free time and decided to start running before uni started. I'm absolutely horrible at running but I would really like to be able to jog 5 km without being out of breath.

This month I started doing cross fit as well. I joined a 28-day challenge that started on the 18th of February in Canningvale. The work outs are a killer and I almost gave up because it is so intense, but I stuck with it and I'm so glad that I did. I have ditched intermittent fasting since I wanted to follow the nutrition plan provided by the coach and will post before and after shots after the challenge is complete! :)

I've lost about 2 kgs because I stopped eating cake almost everyday but had extra inches when I measured which is probably due to water weight. I'm pretty happy with my progress and excited to continue to try new things!

January updates

Old Measurements (31/01/2017):

Weight 55.3 kg
Stomach 29.5"
Butt 38"
Thigh 21"
Calf 13"
Arms 11"
Waist 28"
Bust 31.5"

New Measurements (03/03/2017):

Weight 53.1 kg (-2.2 kg)
Stomach 30.1" (+0.6)
Butt 37" (-1)
Thigh 21"
Calf 14 (+1)
Arms 11"
Waist 28"
Bust 31.5"

Click here to read about my crossfit experience.

♥ Jess

Simple & healthy Kang Kung recipe

Good morning!

It's such a beautiful day today, and why not make it better by trying out this dish?
Kang kung (also known as water spinach) is my all-time, hands down favourite vegetable. It originates from South-East Asia and is so easy to whip up in just 10 minutes. My mom actually grows them in our garden because it's not sold in many places here so I get to make this dish any time I please ♥

Ingredients:

• 4 shallots
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 chilli
• 1/2 cup water
• A generous handful of fresh kang kung

Directions:

1. Place a pan on high heat with 1/2 cup water (my mom usually laughs at the fact I refuse to use oil instead, but while you're using all natural ingredients.. why not?). While you wait for it to heat up, wash your kang kung.

2. Chop the garlic, shallot and chilli up in slices then place it in the boiling water. Stir for about a minute.


3. Add your kang kung in and keep stirring until most of the water has evaporated. (Should only take 5 minutes)


4. Enjoy the kang kung! I personally enjoy my kang kung just like this but when my mom makes it she usually adds in a tablespoon on fish sauce or soy sauce and it tastes really yummy that way too. 



♥ Jess

January updates

Hey lovelies~

I've made a new year's resolution to get fit and I'll be updating on my progress every month. :)

I entered 2017 at 56 kgs and hope to drop down to 48 kgs (my weight in 2015!) while still eating out (Nope, can't give up this lifestyle just yet). This month I made myself move. I've been very busy this month with moving out, work, family, etc. that I decided to get into a proper routine starting February and focused this month on reaching 10,000 steps every day which I counted through my fitbit. I also decided to do intermittent fasting (Only eat in an 8 hour window gap) three times a week.

All my measurements pretty much stayed the same. I lost an inch off my stomach and 0.7 kg but I did do a one day fruit detox the day before I took my measurement so that is probably the reason for the slight decrease.

Old Measurements (11/01/2017):

Weight 56 kgs
Stomach 30.5”
Butt 38”
Thigh 21”
Calf 13”
Arms 11”
Waist 28"
Bust 31.5”

New Measurements (31/01/2017):

Weight 55.3 kg (-0.7 kg)
Stomach 29.5" (-1")
Butt 38"
Thigh 21"
Calf 13"
Arms 11"
Waist 28"
Bust 31.5"

♥ Jess

Afternoon Tea, The Drawing Room | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Treesha took me to retry my high tea experience in Kuala Lumpur since the place we went to last year let us down. We decided to try Saint Regis, a fairly new hotel that opened. Upon entering the place you can definitely feel the high class elegant atmosphere with the marble floor and immaculate set up. There was a grand Christmas tree as you set foot into the reception and a duo playing sweet melodies by the entrance of the drawing room.

It usually costs 140 RM per person but since we came during the festive reason it cost us 188 RM. As we were escorted to our table, I was really impressed with the cute décor set up and the choice of colours they decided to use. Everything was pastel, and I’m a sucker for pastel. I was already in love with the high tea experience and nothing was even served yet!


There were a wide selection of teas and they all sounded so fancy I was unsure of what to get, so I decided to stick with my classic green tea. Jasmine Queen Tea. Treesha chose Silver Moon Tea, which tasted just as fancy as its name.

Tea selection
Silver Moon ∞ 1817 Black Tea ∞ Royal Darjeelin ∞ Sencha ∞ Jasmine Queen Tea ∞ French Earl Grey Tea


To be completely honest, I’m not used to small portions so when the canapes came in.. all I could think of was how I could put them all together and have them in one bite! There was four options of savoury canapes and to be honest I could only tell the quail egg and lobster one apart. These were delicious, I definitely did not think it would be as good as they were! You can taste that these were made with top quality ingredients.

Savoury Canapes
Poached Chicken ∞ Cranberry Chutney on Rye Bread ∞ Marble Of foie Gras 5 Spices on Toasted Brioche Brittany Blue Lobster, Lobster Mayonnaise on White soft Bread ∞ Black Truffle Quail Egg Mimosa


When our sweet tier came in I was so excited. There were so many pretty goodies in front of me that I had no idea what to start with. I began with the scones as I was scared the other desserts would be too sweet that it would mask my taste buds to less sweet things.
Now, I’m not a scones person but I absolutely adored these ones. It was incredible. The cream and jam complimented the scones well.

Sweet Tier
Minature Buche de Noel ∞ Mincemeat Tart ∞ Macaron ∞ Iced Christmas Cake ∞ Chocolate fountain ∞ Christmas cookies ∞ Strawberry ∞ Marshmallow ∞ Warm Plain and Mincemeat Scones ∞ Strawberry Jam ∞ Clotted Cream

I’m not entirely sure if it is the iced Christmas cake or the miniature buche de noel but basically the red Christmas log looking thing. That was a very soft chocolate mousse like dessert and was probably my favourite one on the plate. The macaroon comes in random flavours, I luckily got a green tea one which literally melted in my mouth and you can really taste the strong tea flavor in the filling. I might be wrong, but I think they get it from TWG since I swear it tastes the same.

The chocolate shooter was certainly an interesting concept. It was basically a cookie in the shape of a shot glass and filled with chocolate milk. Our server explained that we should drink the shot first and proceed to enjoy the cookie. I’m a little bit of a weirdo and don’t like the idea of drinking milk so I sat this one out. Treesha said that the milk was at room temperature and she wasn’t too happy of how sweet it tasted.

After an hour of chatting away while sipping on our never ending tea and munching on our desserts, the grand finale made its entrance! Chocolate fountain with Christmas cookies, marshmallows and a melon (it was supposed to be a strawberry, but I guess they ran out). Don’t let the colour fool you, it was just white chocolate with red food colouring to match the season. I had quite enough of sweets by this time so I only had the melon and one cookie and didn’t try the fountain.

Treesha surprised me with an order of a chocolate mousse cake as an early birthday present. I was actually eyeing this cake when we entered the hotel so I was extremely happy when I saw it. I had enough of sweets but the moment I bit into it… OMG. It tasted EXACTLY like a cake I used to buy in my younger days for all my birthdays until the chef who made it retired. This was the best high tea I’ve gone for, and it undeniably won’t be the last.

I highly recommend trying Saint Regis out for a girls night out or to spoil for fam bam if you’re in Kuala Lumpur. Thank you so much to my dear friend who took me here.

♥ Jess

Location: No. 6 Jalan Stesen Sentral 2, Kuala Lumpur Sentral, Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours: Weekdays 3:00 – 5:00 pm
Weekends & Public holidays 2:00 – 4:00 pm
4:30 – 6:30 pm
Phone: +60327271111
Website: http://www.stregiskualalumpur.com/dining-drawing-room

Hawker's cuisine | Northbridge, Perth

This place is a saviour when I spend long nights doing assignments in uni since it opens till midnight. Treesha and I usually head out here when we need breaks during our all nighter sessions and it usually is busy, but the crowd comes in and out quite fast that we usually wait 20 minutes tops if it's a hectic night.

For drinks we had ribena and lemon ($4.50), ice lychee ($4.50) and kopi peng ($4.50).



We started off with what I always always order in every Asian restaurant that sells it, sambal kang kung ($15.80). I don't generally find kang kung very spicy in Australia so I asked them to kick it up a notch and double the chilli. This place makes delicious kang kung ♥



We order sizzling tofu ($13.80) as well which came out... not sizzling, but we got it exchanged pretty fast. It might be because they were extremely busy today but the sizzling tofu was not as I remembered it. It was super salty today. The service here is quick and all the staff had their own personal walkie-talkie which is rather cool.



I absolutely love their peking ribs and marmite chicken but since that was the only thing we ever really ordered here we decided to try something new, Bakar fish (price depends on season). The chilli was only placed on top of the fish so the back of the fish was quite bland. It was satisfying, but I think I'll stick with my ribs next time.



Overall, this place is wonderful for dinner. It's probably one of the better Asian cuisines I have had in Perth.

♥ Jess

Location: 40 Francis Street, Northbridge, Perth
Opening hours: 5pm-12am
Phone: (08) 9328 9668
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hawkerscuisine/

New year's resolution | 2017

I think it's great to have a list of goals you set yourself yearly since it helps you improve on yourself! Not only that but goals means that you have something to look forward to and it gives you another reason to celebrate when you actually achieve them. This year, I decided to post my goals on my blog so that it motivates me to achieve them even more and makes me accountable to them. I decided to have 12 goals this year, not too little so there can be challenges this year and not too much that I don't complete most of them.

1. Write a blog post at least once a month

Yes, I always get super busy when uni starts and neglect my blog but I'm hoping to change it around this year!

2. Drop down to 48 kgs

I was never a fat kid, I do however have a lot of fats around my stomach/thighs/arms which I could and should lose. Last year around christmas time I was 48kg, and I haven't grown any taller since so that's all fat gains right there! I'm currently 56 kgs and 155 cm tall so I'm looking to trim down a bit to fit into my old size 8 clothes. Hopefully I succeed in achieving this year because toning down and losing weight seems to be my goal every year that never succeeds haha!

2. Do a 30 day fitness challenge

I love fitness challenges! There's so many out there and I love doing them, the only problem is.... I've never successfully finished one. I mean I've done the 30 day shred challenge and 30 day abs challenge but I lasted 28 days and 22 days respectfully. TWENTY EIGHT days, Jess why why why it was only two extra days. I'm going to account my next challenge here so that I *hopefully* won't back out!

4. Get 6 hours sleep a day

Uni life usually leads me to sleep under 6 hours a day, which is horrible, I know. So this year I'm hoping to be more organised and balance my social/work life so that I can get a decent sleep every night!

5. Be able to jog for 5km

This is going to be a big goal for me as I'm really really bad at running. I don't think I can run for two minutes straight without dying.

6. Start a hobby

Right now I'm not sure what it will be, but I'm looking for some sort of hobby that is fitness related like maybe rock climbing, aerials or who knows maybe even kick boxing.

7. Visit my little sister once a week

My little sister is moving to Perth in January! She won't be living with me as she's younger than 18 and I can't be her guardian since I'm not a resident or citizen of Australia :(
So I'm going to try to visit her at least once a week to take her around.

8. Travel Travel Travel!

I want to experience more of the world, so this year I aim to visit a country that I have never been before!

9. Lose my concert virginity

Yup, I've never been to a concert. I've always imagined that my first concert would be Taylor Swift (Swiffie fan woo) but let's see if she tours Perth this year!

10. Get vacation work for the summer break.

I'm going to graduate in two years so I'd like to get as much connections/experience as I can so I can make my mark in the industry. Oh, and money, I want to make the cha-ching in summer too haha.

11. Maintain a distinction average.

Grades are important to me, and I want to keep my grades where they are at despite my other goals of travelling, working to save, etc, etc.

12. Have $50,000

I'm aiming to save enough in the next two years so that I can pay for my little sister to go to university here in Australia. I'm ending 2016 with $30,000 in my savings account since I've been saving for my baby girl for three years already. So $20,000 with jobs this year should be attainable? I don't know, let's hope!

So those are all my goals this year, come at me 2017.

Hope everyone has a good celebration tonight, Happy New Year!

♥ Jess

Fitbit charge HR review

So I've own my fitbit HR for a year, and I absolutely love it. For those who don't know, fitbit is a brand that sells a wearable motivating workout buddy. It helps you track your steps, heart rate, workout, calorie in and calorie out, how much water you consume, your sleep, weight and just so much more.

I admit I had my doubts of its worth initially and since at that time I had just quit my job and money was tight. Fortunately, I won an instagram competition and scored a $50 voucher to Harvey Norman. God must have been on my side that week because it also happened to be on sale so I got it for $126. Yay me! (Of course now with the new blaze and HR 2 fitbit the price have dropped to almost half of what I bought it for).

Design and Features
The fitbit charge HR is made out of a light-weight rubbery material that rests comfortably on my arm. Currently, you can get it in four colours (Black, Plum, Blue and Tangerine), the black one is the best selling one, because let's face it, black matches everything. It has a small LED strip that shows your features with the tap of a button. Alternatively, you can double tap anywhere on the strap and it should turn on. It automatically turns off in about 8 seconds to conserve battery.

Heart-rate monitor
So the charge monitors your heart-rate via green LED lights. I would say it's fairly accurate just like any other wrist heart-rate monitor. I think this is a neat feature as it lets you know your heart-rate while you are resting, working out, sleeping and basically any time you want. This helps to monitor your calorie count during the day more precisely. This feature for me is motivating especially when I'm jogging or biking I love to just quickly check my heart rate and it encourages me to put more effort if I think my heart's not pumping enough.

Battery life
The fitbit comes with a USB cable that you can connect to your laptop, the plug is a different one from the norm, which is a downside for me. I think that making it a universal plug-in would make it much better since if you lose it you have to buy a new one specifically for the fitbit (happened to me twice, so clumsy). It lasts up to 5 days, so it says. It only takes an hour or two tops to fully charge which is convenient. I usually charge it when I play dota, which is almost everyday so it never really died on me. Sometimes it likes to display cute messages when it is fully charged like "I like you" or "faster".

Tracking activity
The charge tracks daily steps, distance, stair flights and sleep activity. You can adjust the goals according to your lifestyle and it shows all your stats in the fitbit app. To track a workout, you simply just hold the button until the counter starts and it'll record the stats of that workout interval. The fitbit is quite accurate except when I workout. Tracking exercises like running is fine but once you do exercises that have a lot of hand movement like boxing or riding my bike I find it to be off... by quite a bit. This doesn't really bother me much since my usual form of exercise is jogging or strength workout that does not involve me to move my arms vigorously.

The sleep tracker is SO COOL. Like really, I'm so amazed that it can know when I'm sleeping. It tracks even my short naps automatically. This feature is rad, it also lets you know when you're restless or have woken up from your sleep. Another useful feature is its silent alarm, it sends vibrations to your wrist and it's rather hard to sleep through.

Challenges
This. Is. The. Best. Not only do you obtain badges that goes to your profile to show off to people but you get to challenge friends too. According to me, this is the most motivating thing about my fitbit! They have daily goal challenges, work week challenges, weekend challenges or a daily showdown. Every time I see someone above me in the leader board I pretty much walk to uni instead of taking a bus (I live 20 good minutes away from my campus) or go for a walk just to surpass them since I'm quite competitive when it comes to my steps. I love it. I love it. I love it.

Other features
There's other features that I don't really use which exist on the fitbit. You can monitor your weight and it will graph your progress, input your water consumption, see caller ID's from your phone and calorie intake. The food variety is well, not that broad and if you want to be counting calories you're better off downloading an app like MyFitnessPal.

Dislikes
There are a few downsides to the fitbit charge HR, for example it's not waterproof so you can't use it for tracking exercises like swimming. If you're clumsy like me, you will probably scratch the screen and it's so hard to get it replaced as hardly any electronic stores will fix a fitbit screen. Another thing I dislike is, the rubber material. It popped out when I played volleyball and now it looks deformed. I also have super sensitive skin so when the weather is very humid, my skin under the strap likes to form rashes due to the fitbit (usually I would just switch the fitbit to my other wrist if it gets bad).

Conclusion
I think the fitbit charge HR certainly made my life more active by ditching the bus and walking, climb stairs instead of using the lift and even just walking around the house to complete my daily goal. I'd recommend looking into the fitbit charge HR 2 since it has a bigger screen and the strap is interchangeable so if you deformed your strap like I did, you can easily fix it by getting a new strap.

Now that the fitbit HR 2 is out, many stores like office works and harvey norman stopped stocking up on the fitbit HR but JB Hi-Fi (Teal/Plum) has them listed at $98 for anyone interested in one.

♥ Jess

Medley Pullman City Centre Hotel | Deira, Dubai

My mom's currently obsessed with groupon deals. So it's no surprise that when she found a brunch buffet deal at 99aed per person (usually costs 220aed per person), all of us had to go.


The interior was very sophisticated with wooden décor and marble floors. The staff were friendly and some of them were in roller skates! Not sure if it was a one time thing or if they do it everyday. If you have kids, this place is amazing as they have a designated kids area with toys and they serve small finger foods like nuggets and fries.

The buffet served an international cuisine with free flow drinks. They has an enormous variety of bread and cheese and endless side dishes.


They had a live cooking counter where you can order Western food like burgers, onion rings, hot dogs, fries, etc. Outdoors, they had fresh barbeque which you can order and they would bring to your table (they never showed up with mine tho!).

I only noticed this area in the end when I was so full, but near the desserts they have a variety of sandwiches which I didn't get to try.

Ofcourse, I could not help getting my hands on anything chocolate! They have SO MANY desserts, loads of cakes, puddings, mousses you name it. Also, if you go around to the bar area they can whip you up a nice ice cream milk shake to enjoy.


Overall, it was delicious, the food was great and the service was amazing. On the groupon deal, it was really worth the money. I would probably even pay the full price on special occasions.

♥ Jess

Location: Level 1, Pullman Hotel, beside Deira City Centre, Dubai
Number: 04 6038201
Opening hours: 6:30am - 11:30pm
(Friday Brunch 12:30-4:00pm)
Website: http://www.pullmanhotels.com/gb/hotel-2022-pullman-dubai-creek-city-centre/restaurant.shtml

Betawi Restaurant | Karama, Dubai

My parents attended an event in the Indonesian consulate not too long ago and they catered from Betawi. The food was so good that we decided to cater from them too for my niece's birthday (not before we have lunch there first tho!).

It's a small place with a lot of wooden designs, just like common restaurants in Indonesia itself. The view outside is quite saddening... An apartmentment covers the whole view from the window and you can see the laundry shops and small cafes in the bottom.

The staff were helpful and service was fast. Majority of the staff is Indonesian but there are some Philipinos, we found out by talking to them in Bahasa and having them look confused. I guess we Indo's really look like Kabayans and vise-versa sometimes. The restaurant received a few TimeOut awards, Two commends for great South-East Asia food and one for budget dining. So naturally, I kept my hopes high.

I ordered Nasi Padang (30dhs) and was super happy with my decision. An extremly large plate appeared in front of me for the price I paid. I picked the beef rendang option, I was a bit sad at first since there was only two pieces in my plate but in the end I only ate one because I was just too full! The rice was covered in the most mouth watering curry and the dish was complimented with some vegetables, peanuts, an egg and some prawn crackers.

My mother ordered Batagor (27 dhs) which is kind of like fried siomay with some tofu and fish which is also fried and then topped with peanut sauce similar to the ones you use for satay. This is usually an appetizer but since my mom's not a big eater this dish really filled her up.

As for my dad, he ordered Pecel Timbel (30 dhs) which was beautifully presented and just like the Nasi Padang, the plate was huge! It came with soup, chicken, prawn crackers and assorted vegs. The red chilli in this dish is less spicy than that of the Nasi Padang one. Overall, a great experience. If you're missing Indonesian food, this place serves very authentic Indonesian cuisine at affordable prices.

Note: When they catered to the party, the food was fantastic. We ordered a bit of everything and the guests were in love with the food!

♥ Jess

Location: 4B street, behind Park Regis hotel, Al Karama, Dubai
Opening hours: 12pm - 10pm
Phone: (04) 4542329/056 7598118
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betawifanclub

A visit to the Miracle Gardens | Dubai

So Dubai decided to open a flower garden for tourists after I left to Australia. Now that I am no longer a resident of United Arab Emirates, I thought of seeing what this place is all about.

It costs 30 dhs per person to enter and children under 3 enter for free. You can grab a good deal if you are planning to visit both the miracle garden and the butterfly garden that is located beside it. It is quite spacious place with a lot of various flower arrangement that is said to change every year.



Most of the statues (if not all the flower structures) seems to be made out of the same type of flowers. If you've seen one flower house there, all the other houses pretty much look the same. It is a lovely place to take pictures in, especially if you're a selfie whore like me! Also, they have adorable flowers beside the houses.




The food court is covered with upside down umbrellas which is taken from the concept in the village at Dubai mall, it is so cute and makes the day much more fun and brighter.

Oh, almost forgot to mention. If you want some super cheesy lovey dovey photos with your one and only, this is the perfect place. It has plenty of instagram-worthy backgrounds from heart archs and heart benches to a heart walk away. Let's face it, what's more romantic then getting a snap with a bunch full of flowers? My parents couldn't resist snapping a quick shot.

If you are coming here, I do suggest eating beforehand or bringing your own food since the food that is sold here is not exactly wallet friendly. I bought a cup of watermelon for 30dhs (the price of the ticket!) and it was not worth it.

Definitely come down for a look, it honestly would not take you a whole day so fit in more things in your agenda while going all the way up to visit this place like global village or the outlet mall for instance.

Enjoy your Saturday!

♥ Jess