Fairy Shop in Salamanca

Down in Salamanca, the hip and the trendy part of Hobart, Tasmania, you will find lots of pubs and nice restaurants, not to mention really expensive accommodations that cost AUD2000 a week.




It's a place for poshness and artsy fartsy stuff.




Abstract arts stranded among the buildings in small alley ways that meant shits to normal human like us with normal human eyes.







They all look like some sort of ghosts to me.




Down the street you will find a very popular fairy shop which I've heard from so many people around me before I even set foot on Tasmania.




Now "Faerie" is old French for modern English Fairy. It's all the same meaning tiny little imaginary or mythical creatures that possess powers.




Upon entering the shop, you will be transported into the fairy realm with pretty pink decorations all around you.


Don't you wish your room is like this?




And little notes sent by the fairies.




I like this one. It sounded almost so real.




You can even communicate with the fairies.




Send in your wishes, they might come true. ;)




Once inside, you'll find the shop to be the cutest little four wall unit ever.




With pink chandelier hanging down from the ceilings,




To fairy? (dream?) catcher.




To a pink well!




I even spotted a princess!




Oh wait, that's just me.


I managed to capture a series of little fairies before the land (shop) owner told me me to put my camera away. :(


Orange Fairy



Grey Fairy



Grey Fairy 2



Baby Fairy



Little Girl Fairy



Young Lady Fairy



Fairy Nicole


Opps, that's just me, again. :p







Look at all the fairies.

Jerine doing her camwhore row.




On the way out, I couldn't resist one last photo of the shop.




Right outside, I saw this 2 dollar rack of clothes in front of a second hand shop.




No wonder it's 2 dollars.




Heck, even at that price, I wouldn't even buy this piece!


We walked around Salamanca square.




Saw some kids playing near a giant chess.




Read some fun facts in front of a shop that were selling the Giant Microbes.


Read a riddle that still had me scratching my head till this day.




Any takes on the answer? Anyone?


Leaving the square, we walked towards the port,




and just right in front of the fruit market,




I spotted the most amazing view since my arrival in Tassie.



I've never seen a rainbow in such up close distance before. And the colors so vibrant!

It almost made me wanna run to the end of the rainbow, which at the point seemed pretty near, and see if there's a pot of gold underneath it.


Click here for wide angle wallpaper 2560x1600 size.


I think the fairies are bidding me farewell. ;)

Simple Sweet Potatoes

Here’s an idea for a simple sweet potato side dish that is equally pleasing to kids as it is to adults.

Sweet potatoes
Olive oil
Kosher salt & pepper (to taste)
Cinnamon (optional)
Cumin (optional)
Chili Powder (optional)

There are two methods, one which is quick and the other that you can use on a day when you’ve got time on your hands (and want your kitchen to smell delish). This weekend, we opted for the quick preparation.

Quick Method: Poke the sweet potato(es) a couple times with a fork, then microwave 6-8 minutes (skin on), until tender. Slice, about 1 inch thick. At this point, you can simply serve them (particularly handy for kids who like their food plain). Or, you can keep going… For my kids: I drizzled the sweet potato slices with a little olive oil, and sprinkled them with kosher salt, pepper, and cinnamon. On ours, I also sprinkled some cumin and chili powder, in addition to the cinnamon. Then I grilled the sweet potato slices so they got some nice grill marks and a slightly crispy outer layer.

The longer preparation method would be to slice the (raw) sweet potatoes into chunks, drizzle with olive oil and your choice of spices, and then roast them in the oven at 425 for approximately 25 minutes, or until tender.

Either way, it’s a nutrient-rich (high in fiber, protein, and vitamins A, C, iron, and calcium) side dish that many kids and adults enjoy, and that you can feel great about giving your family.

3 Rainbow Plates for a BBQ Weekend

A 3-day weekend meant 3 nights of BBQs and al fresco meals over here. Here are some "rainbow plate" ideas for those of you assembling meals for kids that take advantage of the fruits and veggies that are in season, and readily available in our supermarkets and farmer's markets.

Above: green beans (if they're tender, no need to steam/cook them), apple slices, blueberries, steamed corn on the cob, chicken sausage, and baby carrots...not the uniform kind in the bag. These ones came from Gazy Brother's booth at the New Canaan Farmer's Market. They were twisty and tender.)

I have a bun-averse 2-year-old these days, hence the reason no buns are present in the photos. But add a bun if your kids like! The plate above included: grilled hamburger, corn on the cob, chunks of fresh tomato, some grilled asparagus (that was drizzled with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper), and slices of nectarine.

And last but not least, since one must have at least one hot dog on a holiday weekend: cucumber pennies (just thinly sliced cucumber), fresh corn mixed with a little olive oil and rice wine vinegar, nectarines and blueberries, all beef hot dog, and sweet potatoes.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

A New Journey

It's been such such such a hectic weekend and it's insane that I didn't even have the time to go online at all. Least to blog.

Anyway, now I'm back in Melaka. I'm preparing my week long trip to Sarawak tomorrow.




Starting with Kuching.

Yay!


sarawak laksa here i come. ermmm


Sarawak readers contact me!! nicootan@gmail.com


I want to explore the Mulu caves, the largest cave (Deer Cave) in the world!




But not sure how to get there and I heard there's going to be a direct flight soon from Kuching to Mulu from Maswing.

Getting through Miri is quite the de-tour and if that's the case, then I rather spend two weeks exploring the whole of Sarawak land by going through each and every city on land. Maybe dropping by Brunei on the way to visit my best buddy.

There's so much to explore (I read about) in Mulu that I'm begining to ponder if I should extend my week long trip into a two weeks hike!




Hey, good work out eh? :p




On another note.

There's a new berry and it's coming to town.




BlackBerry Curve 8520 from Xpax (the first to launch BB service in Malaysia).

Now not sure if I blogged about it before, but since the beginning of Smartphones, I've always wanted a Blackberry phone, and another really intelligent phone which I don't want to talk about it. *cough*

I've read a review here and it looks quite promising. And I heard that the price in Malaysia won't be released till the 25th Sept. So let's wait and see.

If you want, you can pre-register the service at xpax.com.my to keep a look out.

Barrel Aged Autumn Maple, today at the Tasting Room!

At The Bruery, we've been staring at barrels of Autumn Maple for some time now, waiting until they were ready to share with the world.  Well that time has finally come!

Today at the Tasting Room we'll have 100% Barrel Aged Autumn Maple on cask for First Firkin Friday!  As if that wasn't enough, we are also going to be selling bottles of the stuff to take home with you.  Whether you cellar it, drink it now, or share with a few lucky friends, we think you'll enjoy the rich layers of flavor that this beer has to offer.

Like most special release beers, bottles are limited so keep that in mind when you make your trip out.  As always, the Tasting Room is open from 4pm to 10pm.  We'll see you soon!

Giant Microbes

I saw these in a toy shop in Tasmania.

Thought they were utterly adorable so decided to dedicate a whole post to them.

Meet the Giant Microbes!





First you have your giant Pimple.





I like this one. Mad Cow. LOL

What about Athlete's Foot?





Or a more common Flea.





This is funny. Look at those eyes.



Meet Pneumonia.



This is a no brainer.




Red Blood Cell. *Yawn*


Then you have your usual STD the CLAP





Which you'll need your trusty Penicillin to cure.




And I never knew Malaria looks like this. And that it's green.




Hi I finally meet you, roommate - the Dust Mite.




At first I was dumbstruck by this yellow no obvious thing.




And I thought BookWorm was just a metaphor.


What about an obvious and totally (un)creative one?




Manage to guess what this is?


hehe...






CHICKEN POX!!

HAHAHA!

Ooooo... gawa!

Few weeks ago I was invited to have dinner with Ogawa in Pavilion. Initially I thought it was going to be a few, probably 20 (max) bloggers attending. Free dinner. Why not eh?

Little did I know, 60 bloggers turned up and I was flabbergasted to the amount of invitees. Great, now so many people have to see me in my ragged clothes and Bali sandals wtf.


Thank god I just dyed and cut my hair.


But I can always count on someone to dress down a notch and make me feel better.




Thanks Simon~! *blink blink*


(skip dinner scene)
.
.
.
.
.
(Actually I forgot to take photos here. Hehe.)


But eh hem, dinner was good. And soon the fun part began.

We were ushered to visit Ogawa outlet located on the 6th floor of Pavilion to enjoy some FREE massages.




This is the Smart Mate.




And it’s sooo comfortable!




Remember how massage chairs a few years back (when it first started) cost?

I remembered seeing one at a relative’s place costing over RM20-30k just for a typical standard massage chair with no extra functionality whatsoever.

Ogawa is selling Smart Mate at a promotional rate of RM4,699 now!!! (Retail: RM9,398)

Like Oh My God. Imagine the DIFFERENCE of those two price tags! I can put a down payment on a house with the cost difference!

It’s SO BLOODY CHEAP! (honestly, maybe I’ve been out of touch, but I honestly didn’t know that massage chairs are getting so cheap nowadays! Or is it really just Ogawa doing their insane price slash?!)


Saw Redmummy’s red LV next to the discount tag. Thought the scene was hilarious!
Redmummy, can I buy the LV bag off you? 70% plssss…


Good news to all readers, there’s some online vouchers you’ll be able to print out from Nuffnang blog entry that entitles you to some great discounted prices on Ogawa products. I’ve checked them out, they’re totally affordable.

I also have to remind you about the Mega Raya promotion lurking nearby. With sales up to 50% and shopping vouchers giveaway up to RM10,000 AND a chance to go shopping with Aznil!

You know, this guy?




Hint: You’ll probably find him extremely familiar for 5 consecutive seasons of Akademi Fantasia.


Anyway, I wanted to try the Smart Aire next, which I heard was heavenly.

But Rojaks got way ahead of me.




Apparently he’s doing a yoga pose called zero gravity that Smart Aire is famous for.
The first Zero Gravity Massage Chair (in Malaysia?).

I had to wait so long because he just refused to get up from the chair.
Just look at how syok his face was.



“Er… Rojaks, I think there some vege stuck on your teeth.”


So while waiting, I went to play some games on the Ogawa Gaming Massage Chair (what better combination).







Seriously, I sucked at games.




I couldn’t even cycle on a straight line. T_T

Finally it was my turn.


Oh look, mini remote control.


Smart Aire was unmistakably more comfortable, retailing at RM13,999 (I heard from the sales man that promotion rate is going at RM8.7k if I’m not mistaken).

I felt like I was clasped in a capsule. Just like a baby.




Inspired by NASA’s space shuttle seats, the seats maneuver itself into a position that helps to remove the pressure on the spine to near zero. Good for those with a slip disc. ;)




When the sales man helped me to reach Zero Gravity position, it didn’t feel that bad at all. In fact, it was really relaxing.


Ooo.. I can see my feet!


No wonder it took Rojaks forever to get up!
I almost wanted to sleep on it.

But what got me up was something the sales man said to me.

Something that he’s going to show me.

Something remarkable.

Something even more amazing than Smart Aire.




Behold, this will be my luxurious piece to my new home in a very near future.
The FUJIIRYoKI.

Two rollers instead of four.

This expensive chair retails at RM27,999!!!




Oh la la!!

And I don’t have to ask why?!

Just look at how orgasmic Simon’s face look.




"Simon, are you having a seizure with all the comfort?"