Thursday, September 27, 2012

Comex 2012

Our study room table was filled with all sorts of rubbish for the past few months. I had to shift out my laptop and continued my work in the living room while the pile continued its vertical climb.

 
Finally, I've decided to clear the table, move my new gadget into the room and refurnished the room as my workspace (also, kicking Leecher out of the room, as there is just no more space left for his stuff). He shall continue to roam our house with his laptop and charger at whatever space he can call it his comfort zone.

 Introducing my new gadget that I acquired at the Comex show :) A bigger screen makes working easier as well.

 Setting up the new monitor & coincidentally, I bought another Samsung product for the house!
Finally, my new workspace where I"ll be spending lots of time working off my laptop :) 

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Swirl @ New Website

 

Finally back with a new collection, for we were working hard on the new website :)


The new collection is now launched on the website, hop over now! We have more goodies & promotions up for grabs :) 


I'll also be updating on instagram. Follow me @ caihonglim


Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Taiwan Trip: Shin Yeh & Shilin Night Market


We parted ways on the metro train, arranging to meet up back at the hotel after our appointment. 

 I headed to Taipei 101, where Clarins had reserved a table for our dinner
  
Brunty couldn't make it for dinner, so it was just me, Clarins & Crispy. Shin Yeh @ Taipei 101 is located on the 85th floor. 
 Even the walk into the restaurant is literally 诗情画(花)意, with poems on the walls and fresh flowers decorating the walkway. 

If I recall correctly, there is a minimum spending of NT$X amount per person to dine in this restaurant.

There are several Shin Yeh branches around the whole of Taipei, but this is the only branch that boosts a nice view of the city.

Crispy is always gamed to try out anything new & loves all sorts of cuisines. So, we ordered some of their signature dishes for him to try out.

 It was fun meeting up with them and learning more about other markets. Even though Clarins & me shared similar roles, the way our clients used the product is so different across different markets. So, it's always interesting to exchange notes and brainstorming ideas.

 I brought back some snacks for Leecher & family - chewy rice dumplings from Shin Yeh. The dumplings were very chewy (QQ, as what we would call it in local language) & extremely flavourful!
Shin Yeh @ Taipei 101
 85F-1, No. 7, Sec. 5 Xinyi Road
Xinyi District, Taipei City (Taipei 101)
Tel: 886 28101 0185
Meanwhile, while I was enjoying my food up on the 85th floor, Leecher & family went to Shilin Night Market for dinner.

The famous 豪大大鸡排 which is a must-try @ the night market.

 The legendary stinky tofu, which only smells stinky but taste like normal tofu. In fact, Leecher said this version is very mild from those that he tried before.

滷肉飯, another Taiwanese must-try dish. 

Still not very used to their version of Fried Oyster, but I guess its something new to try for the parents :) 

 
大腸包小腸 is actually a pork sausage wrapped in a glutinous rice sausage. This was actually a creation of the night market vendors and promptly became a must-eat item in the night market.

Ended the night walking through the alleys of the night market, watching locals playing games and trying to score that big win! 

Shinlin Night Market 士林夜市
Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan
Alight at Jiantan Station


Monday, September 24, 2012

Taiwan Trip: Arrival in Taiwan

Finally .... time for another travel post! heehee, extremely back-dated but thought I'll document it down as it's the 1st family trip that we went together with Leecher's parents & Roger. Actually, I totally forgotten that I haven blog about this trip, till Daddy-in-law mentioned about it the other day. So, I went home, looked through my folders and realised that I have yet to sort out the pictures into their respective folders (cuz there were pictures from 2 different cameras) *guilty face*

As it was my in-laws 1st trip out, I had a hard time racking my brains as to where and what they wanted to do/see/eat. Jun was extremely helpful and passed me her itinerary for TW (thanks dear!) for my planning :) Armed with passport, luggage & money, we made our way to the airport!

We arranged to meet @ the check-in counter, since I'm taking the train while Leecher's family took the bus. They arrived earlier than me, but they couldn't check in, for I booked the tickets under my credit card!

So, they went to la kopi first while waiting for me.

Their luggage spread out accordingly to sizes, biggest for the parents, bigger for Roger and big for Leecher.

Queuing up to check in. Gosh, no more fringes for me!

with parents-in-law, who were very excited at their first time onboard the plane.

I didn't have enough time for breakfast, so I went to ta-bao a curry pie instead of waiting for inflight meals.

Up up and away!

We took Cathay Pacific and it was a 4hr ride to HK for the transit to TW. Leecher entertained himself with movies while I was off to lala-land after breakfast.

We arrived in HK - the weather was bright and sunny! Cathay's service was pretty good and food was decent as well.

Looking for the transit gate at the directory - transit is always kinda confusing!


Busy snapping around as we walked towards the departure gate for our outbound flight to Taiwan.

Snacks served onboard. The bun was very chewy & fragrant. I wanted to have 2nd helpings, but *shy*

It's always good to have pretty boys greeting you upon clearing immigration. Adds colour to your mood, haha! It used to be F4, but they have changed it to 飞轮海. Anything also can, as long as handsome, haha!


 
Getting our Taiwan Youth Travel Card. This pass will provide you with special discounts at certain tourist attractions in Taiwan, as long as you flash the card. No fees required & it's valid for travellers aged between 15-30 yrs old.

Taking Freego Bus to our hotel @ Ximending. The bus travels b/w Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport & Taipei city, stopping at several stops in the city that are near the hotels. Quite a convenient way to get to the city instead of the train.

Stayed at Royal Castle Hotel once again for this trip. Standards seemed to have dropped from our previous trip in 2007 :( Even though the hotel implemented a non-smoking policy across all floors, cigarette smell still lingered in the rooms & corridors. After freshening up, it was time to hit the streets of Ximending!
Royal Castle Hotel
No. 115 Cheng Du Road, Taipei City
Tel: 886 22383 1123

The busy streets of Ximending, filled with people from all walks of life :)

The 1st stop ~ Ah Zhong Min Xian! I've been craving for this ever we touched down at the airport. The place was still as crowded, with helpers dishing out bowl after bowl for the customers. Customers used to crowd around the area, standing with the distinct green bowl in their hands. Stools are now provided for the customers to sit, to enjoy the food in comfort.

Guess  we still prefer the traditional way of eating - standing with the bowl in our hands :) 
 Leaving our footprints in front of the store.
阿宗麵線
No. 8-1 Emei Street, Wanhua District, Taipei City
Opening Hours: 11:00 to 22:30 (Mon - Thu), 11:00 to 23:00 (Fri - Sun)
Tel: 02-2388 8808

 
Spotted 葱抓饼 just opposite Ah Zhong Mian Xian. We brought one to share and it was yummy! Greedy Leecher taking a huge bite cuz he was still hungry.

 
Spotted 康康 & 庹宗康 filming one of their variety shows.

 
We parted ways @ the metro station, for I had a dinner date with my colleagues who happened to be on a business trip in Taiwan while the rest proceeded to Shilin Night Market for a night of feasting.

Related Posts with Thumbnails