Sawadeeka! Ok I tak nak waste any more time so I'll just continue on from my first entry ok - listing down the places we visited, the stuff we did and the food we ate whilst in Bangkok in this entry.

Platinum Mall / Pratunam Market

Can I very loudly and very obnoxiously declare that I loooveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Platinum Mall now?!?!?!!! 

When we were in Bangkok in 2009, I had limited choices even though I was a UK12 (UK10 on days when I'm delusional and/or eat less cake hahaha) back then. Didn't expect to do much shopping this time round because of that - thought I'll just pick up some accessories for work and raya, a casual sling bag and maybe a couple of shoes.

I WAS SO PLEASANTLY SURPRISED TO BE SO WRONG!

Turns out a couple of plus-sized shops have sprung up in Platinum Mall and around Pratunam market area over the years so I scored quite a decent bundle of new tops, dresses and pants for work and play. If you're hoping to do the same, check out level 3 of Platinum Mall (I went to the other levels but didn't see any plus-sized fashion shops) and a couple of shops in Pratunam market area (I scored 3 pieces of stylish patterned black work pants at S$4.00 each at one of the stalls thank you GOD!) Some snaps from my IG stories:

  

Actually kan, I Googled for plus size shopping before we went for our trip tau and read about this mall called the Krung Thong Plaza but I wasn't sure of the fashion styles it offered and couldn't be bothered to find reviews online so I didn't seriously consider it. REGRETS! While I was there, someone very kindly left a comment on my IG stories, telling me there is a "shopping mall next to Platinum Mall" that offers plus size fashion! Then Saliheen's colleague also told him there is such a shopping mall so I assume she's talking about the same mall haizzzzz... Guess I have a new place to check out when we return to Bangkok next time (And there will be a next time)

There are 2 halal food stalls in Platinum Mall's food court so don't worry ok you won't kebulur kat situ. We also ate dinner mostly at Pratunam area, there are a couple of halal stalls selling authentic Thai food! Waited so long to have some good authentic Thai food and they're all sooooooooooooooooo good!!!!! Air liur jatuh berderai boi. 

Too lazy to list down all the halal makan places (relaxing trip terbawak bawak ke blog entry hahahaha) but there are so many resources online that you can Google for - here are some of the articles/lists I read before our trip: Bangkok Halal Food Guide by Aroimakmak, 10 Must Try Thai Street Eats by Have Halal Will Travel, 10 Must Visit Restaurants in Bangkok by Tripzilla, and Guide to Halal Restaurants in Thailand by Halal Living Thailand. 

Oh, tapi nasib macam kentang sebab the highly raved Tomyam Paa Nga was closed the whole freaking week we were there! I will come back for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Number One Massage

I did a quick search online and found that there was a row of massage parlours about 10 minutes walk from our hotel - chose to patronize Number One Massage since it has positive reviews. They were having "happy hour" (9.00am to 7.00pm, lama betul dorang nya happy "hour" haha) when we arrived so we paid about 200 baht for 1 hour traditional Thai massage. The massages we got weren't bad bad but it wasn't the best massage we've gotten either la so we'll probably try another massage parlour next time for funsies and hope to get better masseuses.

 

Side note: I usually looooove going for those long 3 to 4-hours scrub, wrap, head and body massage packages but ever since I was diagnosed with psoriasis a year and a half ago, I've been feeling a little conscious/wary of going for anything that might aggravate existing patches / trigger new patches. And so malas to explain to staff what the condition is, especially if they don't understand English well. I guess I'll just go for those big chain massage parlours with English speaking staff + explain it to them via email beforehand, if I really want to get back into extensive spa packages. Also, I've been wanting to blog about living with psoriasis but macam tak pernah ada kesempatan! Next time I cerita ok.

A&W at Pantip Plaza

One of the places that I knew I had to return to when we go back to Bangkok was the A&W at Pantip Plaza!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had their piping hot buttery waffles, a cold and refreshing glass of root beer with their glorious vanilla ice cream and yummy curly fries. To this HOUR, I still regret not going back for a second round ok!!!!!

I'm still bitter A&W is no longer in Singapore by the way, dulu when I was still a child, my mum would always bring me to the A&W outlet in Bedok during weekdays for breakfast, just me and her (eventually with my sister when she peskily came along). My love for A&W runs long and deep ok! 😭

Central World

Central World is a mega shopping mall which is less than 10 minutes walk away from Amari Watergate Hotel but we ended up taking an Uber over because it was raining heavily when we wanted to go hahahaha the ride cost us 40 baht wtf. We ended up buying souveniers for our family and friends here because there's a huge Central Food Hall selling nicely packaged durian chips and thai milk tea powder tins on the 7th floor. Also got soaps with loofahs!

Thought of checking out After You dessert cafe next to the food hall but there was a constant long queue during our time in Central World so ain't nobody got time for that. Jalan jalan for awhile, bought some stuff then we walked back to our hotel (since dah tak hujan) before going for dinner. 

We initially wanted to buy souveniers from the much raved Big C Supermarket opposite Central World tau but it turned out to be the biggest MISTAKE EVER! It was like a bloodbath in there siak. Everyone was pushing everything everywhere, people were grabbing stuff and throwing stuff and shouting across aisles etc etc we got so annoyed and so overwhelmed that we immediately abandoned niat nak beli barang kat situ and walked back to Central Food Hall to have a much more peaceful time selecting stuff to bring home. Lesson learned!

Ok I think this entry is long enough already so I'm putting a stop to it di sini! Next and final entry will be about the markets that we went to during our Bangkok trip pulak. Orang lain sebok bercerita pasal bazaar Ramadhan kat Singapore bulan ni, aku pulak busy nak story pasal markets kat Bangkok.

A Week In London: Day 4 - Primark, Sketch, Book of Mormon

After getting excited and giddy from all the shopping down Covent Garden and Oxford Street the day before, we knew it was only a matter of time before we hit the legendary Primark!!!!!

Also because there was no way I could ever miss Primark, not when everyone from my sister to my girlfriends to random strangers on the internet and everyone's grandmama telling me I HAVE to hit Primark!!!!! So we allocated half a day to tawaf Primark and needless to say, my expectations were VERY, VERY HIGH. 

Dimulakan dengan bismillah~ 

Disudahi dengan alhamdullilah~ Hahahaha!

Sooooo what's my verdict on Primark?????

Uhmmm Primark is mengilakan like everyone claims but it's not as cheap as I expected?????

But ok la, probably because of my very melampau assumption that the "dirt cheap prices in Primark" everyone raves about would mean paying £2.00 to £4.00 for a good, solid dress or pair of pants hahahaha! I mean there are clothing pieces which cost £2.00 to £4.00 in Primark la but those are either of inferior quality (not an issue if you don't mind paying S$3.50 to S$7.00 for a piece of clothing that will fall apart after 2 to 3 washes) or... uhmmm, questionable design hahahahaha

But everything else in Primark can still considered cheap la, especially if compared to all of the other retail shops along Oxford Street. The much nicer pieces can cost between £10.00 to £20.00, (S$17.00 to S$34.00) and they have a pretty wide selection so I grabbed a couple of stuff off their racks, especially the ones that I think are worth their price tags or the kind of items I can't easily get in my size for cheap in Singapore, like pants (I don't like buying pants online because of varying fits). 

Oh, but if there is one thing I regret not buying more of, it's undergarments haha! Excuse to return to London, I guess??????? (Pergi London just to beli coli solalam kat Primark eh hahahahaha)

Melampau assumption aside, I did enjoy shopping in Primark very much and I do think that it is a legendary institution that everyone must go to at least once when they're in London! (Note: Go to Primark the minute it opens for business because lagi quiet and peaceful to shop when not many people around, and you tak payah queue bila nak try on baju or whatever.) Left the store very happy, went for a quick sushi pitstop and saw the most adorable sight outside the sushi stop:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA nak tumbuk muka kau pls.

Anyway. We had a very light lunch after hitting Primark because we were headed to the Gallery at Sketch for afternoon tea next!

SO CANTIK KAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok the pictures above are not by me ok, I lifted them off the internet to give a better visualization on how the restaurant is supposed to look like. I don't do Sketch justice in my pictures (below) so if you want to see prettier pictures, see the ones above or you can read this blog and this blog instead ok.

Right off the bat, I just want to say that I was very impressed by the staff who attended to us when we arrived - she asked whether we had any preferences or dietary restrictions so I asked her whether there was any pork or lard in the food they served. A look of realization flashed on her face for just a millisecond before she assured us there weren't any pork or lard in the food, and told us that she will remove the pastry which contains alcohol from our set as well (even before I mentioned anything!). She also skipped the part where she had to ask us about wine/champagne preferences, and removed the wine glasses off our table without us requesting her to. 

From my one question, she immediately figured out why I asked about pork and lard and made changes without fuss. I would've told her we didn't want anything with alcohol after that first question anyway but for her to cepat tangkap, use her own initiative, and take that extra step tanpa disuruh... akak applaud and akak approve pls!

Also I just want to mention that Sketch is not officially halal-certified but you can tell them to switch the food items which have meat and alcohol in them. Besides us, there was another group of Muslims who dined here as well (it's obvious because they're Arabs in their head-scarfs and black traditional abayas haha) If you're particular about them preparing food where there are other meats or alcohol then don't dine here and go somewhere else ok. Or kalau kau takde kerja and nak buang duit, you can pay just to masuk their uber cool toilet hahahaha:

It's iconic on its own and often touted as one of the best or most quirky toilets in the world hehe (read this and this). You do your business in the futuristic egg-shaped pods! Although it just feels like any other toilet in the world once you're inside la hahaha, toilet kat Tokyo lagi best and futuristic actually, got seats that are automatically warmed and various flushing and washing functions.

Love love LOVE everything about Sketch; from the assortment of sandwiches and pastries and cakes to the yummy flavourful teas, from the gorgeous ambience and impeccable service. Also the highlight for me were their warm buttery scones! Saliheen and I asked for an extra one to share because we couldn't get enough. This is yet another place I will re-visit if I ever return to London ♥

If you're interested to go, must make reservations on their online booking system (here) ok! Afternoon tea at the Gallery (Sketch has other themed areas with different names) costs £45.00 (S$77.00) per person - sounds steep but I think the food, service and experience is worth it if you are a big fan of afternoon tea. All of the sandwiches and cakes and pastries and teas are free flow so lantak la kau sampai muntah 7 hari 7 malam. 

Took an Uber back to the apartment to rest and wash up, then we headed out to The Prince of Wales Theater to watch The Book of Mormon! I wanted to watch Wicked at first but a friend left a comment recommending Book of Mormon on my Instagram so I did a little research - the plotline and humour sounded like something up my and Saliheen's alley so we booked the tickets online. Lagipun why would we ever want to miss out the chance to watch a musical comedy that won 9 Tony Awards including 'Best Musical' amirite?????

No freaking regrets because it was an amazing performance please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To be honest I was still a little apprehensive even when we were settling down into our seats because I wasn't sure what to expect expect but after the opening song was performed, I immediately KNEW I was going to have a fantastic evening and end the day on a high. Sample of how the opening song looks and sounds like:

So, so good. Everyone was cheering and whooping and clapping so hard after the opening song and rightfully so!!! The rest of the songs are memorable too - 'Hasa Diga Eebowai' was too catchy for its own good (haha!), I thought 'Turn It Off' was such a funny and well performed scene, and 'I Believe' was such a nice intense solo. Nak kena ada strong flawless vocals to belt it out beautifully seh!

I agree Book of Mormon might not be for everyone though, especially if you're an exhausting social justice warrior who is easily offended by everything and have a stick up your ass. Not the musical comedy for you if you are!!!!!!! Ok senang cakap, this musical comedy was written and produced by the same people behind South Park, so if you're the sort who gets offended by South Park's humour then THIS, IS. NOT. FOR. YOU. You can read some reviews here and here and here to get an idea what you're in for when you buy tickets to Book of Mormon.

For Saliheen and I, we both enjoy crude/dark humour and we loved every little bit of The Book of Mormon, vulgarities, political incorrectness and all. I thought Book of Mormon is so, so funny and clever and an amazing satire on the Mormon religion (and ultimately a dig at organized religion in itself). I have to admit the controversial baby rape joke did make me kind of uncomfortable though, that one's a little too tasteless, even for me haha.

I also didn't know how the ending was going to be and was so scared it'll be ruined by a bad or mediocre ending but when the ending happened, I just wanted to stand up and scream Bravo! BRAVO! The ending was brilliant, you guys, and I am forever happy I've watched Book of Mormon in my lifetime.

Dark lousy picture because Saliheen didn't want to lug around our camera to the musical haha

Can I just say that this day was my absolute favourite day in London? Because this was the day I did some of my favourite things in the world - I went on a shopping spree at Primark, I drank teas and ate scones with my husband in an aesthetically pleasing and artistic space and then we ended the evening with a trip to a theater to watch a highly entertaining musical. Ahhhhhh what a perfect, perfect day ♥

Tapi tau tak what would have made it even more perfect??????? Kalau menang cabutan bertuah bernilai satu juta dolar HAHAHAHAHA TIBA TIBA EH TAKDE LINK HAHAHA OK BAI

A Week In London: Day 3 - Covent Garden, Oxford Street, Stax Diner

Sebelum I start this entry, I nak kasi disclaimer dulu - this entry will nampak botak tak banyak gambar because we spent the whole day shopping kat Covent Garden and Oxford Street huahahahaha

We initially scheduled our third day in London macam gini tau: A shopping trip and lunch at Smack Lobster at Covent Garden, join a free tour organized by Sandemans New Europe (as recommended by my friend Adibah) after lunch before ending the night with a rooftop movie organized by Rooftop Film Club. But as we all know very well by now, kita hanya merancang, tuhan yang menentukan jeng jeng jenggggg

The day before, when we walked down Oxford Street sebelum dinner (read here), I realized the timeslots we scheduled for shopping in London macam tak cukup and we would need more hours to really puaskan hati. Shopping is usually not our priority when travelling but this time it obviously was... after all, we are in London seh! So the night before, kita dah sebulat suara nak cancel our plans for the free tour and rooftop movie screening and go wild at Oxford Street instead heh heh :P

And to top it off - secara kebetulan my kimek friend Azrul got a last minute work flight into London so we made plans to meet that night for dinner! Kat Singapore nak jumpa macam nak arrange tea session dengan mana punya president tau, tup tup tup kat London pulak sebok nak berjumpa.

Like I said, not many pictures la eh, we were too busy shopping to take pictures lor.

Tried a sugar doughnut from Crosstown Doughnuts since we were in the area but I thought it was meh. Saliheen said it tasted more like our local butterfly bun but not as sedap lol. In case you're looking at the guy in the picture and wondering how come Saliheen nampak macam dah turun badan, he didn't, because that's not him holding the doughnut in the picture lolol. One of his brothers joined us on our Covent Garden shopping spree so we made him jadi mangsa for this gambar. Since his fingers not as distractedly pudgy as ours LOLOL

I should probably make this entry more interesting by sharing my shopping haul from this day but I've already incorporated all of my shopping into my daily pakaian and almari so sorry girl, I dah malas nak korek and compile hahahaha. I bought a chio leather jacket that you will see in the next few London entries from H&M though! Aku pun nak feeling la sikit, bila lagi nak pakai leather jacket without looking like babi kena panggang la kan.

I went to borong mostly from H&M and Topshop (more designs and sizes kat sana as compared to local stores) and by the time we were done, I couldn't feel my feet! Walked over to Joe & The Juice to catch a breather and wait for that mak nenek Azrul to turn up for our dinner. Juices were nice and refreshing! I think they have a Raffles Place outlet in Singapore.

Once Azrul arrived, we walked over to Stax Diner for our dinner - another halal makan place that I highly recommend! They serve American-style burgers and chicken with waffles but I was too... errr... chicken to try out chicken and waffles haha. So we all settled for burgers - their beef meat patty was so juicy and my favourite part was their maple glazed beef bacon!!! I don't know what I've been doing all my life - why am I not glazing all of the beef bacon that I eat with maple sauce ni?!?! Missed opportunity in life right there for the past 20 odd years.

I think I ate Bring Home The Bacon burger whereas Saliheen ate The Stax Insanity burger. We also ordered a basket of onion rings to share, which were great as well.

Such a decadent but memuaskan meal! One of the makan places I'd totally return to if I get the opportunity to pergi London lagi. This, as well as Noodle Oodle. And Meat & Co. And everything in Portobello Market heh

Totally forgot to take picture with the bugger Azrul on my camera, but luckily I somehow remembered to save a screenshot from one of my snaps. Here we are, being total dawgs:

Walked down Oxford Road for a bit before parting ways later that night. Guess I'll see him again when I'm in a different country that he happens to fly into for work la kan hahahaha

Ok dah, time to work on my next entry. More shopping ensues but this time we specifically went and shopped at Primark aje a.k.a tempat ada toyol sebab kita keluar je, ehhhhh??? Duit kurang???????

Snap Snap Snap

If you follow me on Snapchat, you'd know that this happened during the weekend as well:

We bought a Canon EOS 6D yesterday! We went to Courts on motorbike instead of using kereta, thinking: We're only going to buy ONE camera, we don't need so much space, how heavy can it be??? Naik motor sudah. 

But we should've known from experience that (1) whenever I get a gut feeling, it's almost always right (I had a gut feeling we were better off driving to Courts but shrugged it off) and that (2) whenever Saliheen finally decides on a particular purchase, his timing is impeccable and he will always get some kind of unexpected discount or freebie. He's the sort of person who will check something out at the store, tell the salesperson he will think about it, come back two weeks later to purchase and the item he wants will be on 30% off. It's ridiculous. Maybe all those long hours he spends dalam bilik air is really due to his top secret mandi bunga ritual!

Anyway, the salesperson told us there was a promotion for the model we wanted so we got a few freebies: a good solid tripod (not those lousy, flimsy kind!), SD card, a super nice camera bag, cleaning kit and the absolute killer - a dry cabinet for the camera body and lens storage. Tak kelakar sak, siapa nak naik motor pegang cabinet!!!!! I ended up taking a taxi home with all of the barang barang, with Saliheen trailing behind on his motorbike. 

There was another promotion going on at Courts - for every S$50 you spent, you get 1 lucky draw chance to win a car. Kakak cashier gave us over 70 lucky draw slips for our purchase and laughed when I said "Ni kalau tak menang, tak tau apa nak cakap" haha! I don't even mind if we don't get the top prize (which is the car) because kalau dapat the consolation prize (Courts vouchers worth S$1888) pun muai seh. Tapi laki aku confirm pakai buat beli vacuum cleaner Dyson ah. Niat terpendam suri rumahtangga jangan dihalang beb. Merbahaya.

I Told You My Laki Is A Shopping Kaki

Eh hi, I wasn't kidding when I said Saliheen went nuts after he discovered the store we came across in NYC had all designs in his size HAHAHAHA. I was clearing photos from my phone when I realized I have pictorial evidence! (Explains the bad quality) Check out that burgeoning heap of T-shirts on his shoulder and the middle pictures; he kept looking from left to right because he was so overwhelmed by his choices and tried to take everything in immediately. Last two pictures is of him asking me whether I was taking photos of him freaking out with his shopping HAHA BYE