Fashionista's Antics

Pre-Wedding Hong Kong

2012-01-30T01:21:00.000-08:00

Ahhh... Finally.

I know I've been saying that I had a pre-wedding session in Hong Kong but I've never really had the time to upload and post the photos. Now that most of my work seems to have been settled, I've finally had time to sieve through the photos that was given to me by Nazar (my pre-wedding photographer) and so, here they are:

The photoshoot was taken at Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong. We deliberately chose that location due to the beautiful Hong Kong skyline at the back.

If you're thinking of going to Hong Kong, this is a must-go to place. There's a Symphony of Lights show every night at 8 pm. Unfortunately, we missed it just by minutes and had to make do with whatever that was available. But I would still have to say that the background is absolutely beautiful and if you're thinking about having a pre-wedding photoshoot, this is a helluva great venue for you to consider.

Avenue of Stars is actually located at Tsim Tsa Tsui district of Kowloon. The easiest way of getting there is by using the MRT. Stop at East Tsim Tsa Tsui Station and take Exit J. Alternative modes of transportation are available [here].

We are terrible at posing, and our poses are kinda lame, heh..

I absolutely love night shots. That's why if you noticed, my first pre-wedding in Singapore in Orchard Road was also done at night. Why? I love lights and I do think they make the best background. However, don't get me wrong, I also love day shots. I'll post our wedding outdoor photoshoot by Ise Razak which I find to be equally beautiful.

The pose that got hubs teased by his friends. Sorry, hubs, I kinda like this pose =).

During the Symphony of Lights show, you'll also find boats parading the length of Avenue of Stars. Since we were late, we weren't able to capture the boat parade. Luckily one boat was left behind. In Malay, we'd call this boat Tongkang Cina (I think). If you want to know more on Avenue of Stars, the official website is [here].

This shot was taken at a traffic light t-junction. Still, main theme for our pre-wedding photoshoot was lights and movement.

One of my regrets, not dieting before the pre-wedding photoshoot. Lumps were visible here and there, but then again, hubs loves me with lumps and all; it doesn't really matter to him, but in my eyes *ouch*.

So for those of you who are getting married, I would really recommend you to go for a pre-wedding photoshoot. Why? Well, let the photos speak for themselves, and the best part is, you'll keep the photos for the rest of your life. You only have one chance for a pre-wedding (unless you're thinking of getting married more than once, or you're thinking of having more than one pre-wedding like we did) and once the actual wedding day is over, there'll be no excitement for the wedding anymore, it's over and done with anyway. So, why not make your wedding as personal as you can (like I did); sharing the pre-wedding photoshoot was one of the highlights of our wedding reception and it gives us an opportunity to share our love with our friends and family.

To love and weddings.

xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Just for Today

2012-01-30T00:09:00.000-08:00

Just for today, I will be happy.
This assumes that what Abraham Lincoln said is true, that "most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." Happiness is from within; it is not a matter of externals.

Just for today, I will try to adjust myself to what is, and not try to adjust everything to my own desires.
I will take my family, my business, and my luck as they come and fit myself to them.

Just for today, I will take care of my body.
I exercise it, care for it, nourish it, not abuse it nor neglect it, so that it will be a perfect machine for my bidding.

Just for today, I will try to strengthen my mind.
I will learn something useful. I will not be a mental loafer. I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration.

Just for today, I will exercise my soul in three ways; I will do somebody a good turn and not get found out.
I will do at least two things I don't want to do, as William James suggests, just for exercise.

Just for today, I will be agreeable.
I will look as well as I can, dress as becomingly possible, talk low, act courteously, be liberal with praise, criticize not at all, not find fault with anything and not try to regulate nor improve anyone.

Just for today, I will try to live through this day only, not tackle my whole life problems at once.
I can do things for twelve hours that would appall me if I had to keep them up for a lifetime.

Just for today, I will have a program.
I will write down what I expect to do every hour. I may not follow it exactly, but I will have it. It will eliminate two pests, hurrying and indecision.

Just for today, I will have a quiet half-hour all by myself and relax.
In this half-hour sometimes I will think of God, so as to get a little more perspective into my life.

Just for today, I will be unafraid, especially I will not be afraid to be happy, to enjoy what is beautiful, to love, and to believe that those I love, love me.

by Sibyl F. Partridge

Chan Family 4th Reunion Dinner

2012-01-29T07:35:00.000-08:00

Being a descendant of mixed parentage, I always look forward to a family gathering. It's interesting to see the hodgepodge of cultures (we're all so different and unique) coming together. Here's a photoblog of our recent Chan family (surname inherited from my great grandfather, the late Chan Chian Swee who was from China) reunion dinner.

Sibling love! My grandma is the third eldest. The eldest and the second eldest have passed away years ago. Flanking grandma is her stepsisters and stepbrothers with their partners. In case you didn't know, my grandma is the one with her head covered *duh*.

They look like twins, don't you think?

They're singing a Happy Chinese New Year song (funny eh?). And no, that is not a birthday cake, that's a Happy Chinese New Year cake.

Make a wish grandma!

Us, the Bujang family. No, my grandma's name is not Bujang. It's Saptuyah. Just that Bujang (my late grandpa's name) is easier to remember.

Aww.. Don't they look adorable?

FYI, my grandma does not know a single Hokkien word (our family's dialect) and her stepsister does not know an inch of Malay. How they communicate with each other is a complete mystery to me.

Yeay! I got angpao and a bottle of wine!

The descendants of Chan family.

We couldn't all fit onto the first frame, so this is the second frame.

Gorgeous cousins =)

Baby love!

I swear he's the main attraction of the night. Hehe =)

These two are such romantics! I hope me and hubs will be like that when we grow old *ameen*.

Me and hubs.

Hubs purposely wore this dragon jacket for the dinner. We got it during our holiday to Beijing in 2010. Certainly is appropriate for this year of the Water Dragon.

My outfit for the dinner, pearl white sequined scarf by Butik Alia, Gold Mandy headband by Sereni & Shentel, dark brown kaftan inspired dress that I got from Samarinda, Indonesia, and watch by Marc Jacobs. What do you think? If you're thinking what I'm thinking, no, I am not pregnant. Not yet anyway. Oh okay, I'll start jogging first thing tomorrow, no need for the hint *jeez*.

To love and family.

xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Noooooooooo

2012-01-28T04:26:00.000-08:00

Sereni & Shentel will be increasing their prices starting from 1st February 2012.

Poster released on their blog and Facebook page yesterday.

Nooooooooooooo!!!!! Oh, screaming in front of the laptop is not such a good idea (and my head hurts). Breath in... Breath out... Now let's do some calming yoga poses, downward dog...

Eh, wait, the price increase will start from the month of February, so you have from now until 31st January 2012 to make your purchase (if you don't feel like paying that lil' extra) and before you start running to S&S in panic, not all headbands are affected. Yeay!

The headbands that are NOT affected are:

Akeem

Bunny Ears

Charlotte

Mandy

New Money

Party Hat

The Queen

Zamunda

Borneo Mandy

And the headbands that ARE affected are:

Blair - from RM120 to RM129

Block Party - from RM51 to RM60

Mini Block Party (I think this's new) - RM60

Bow Down - from RM201 to RM207

Hen's Veil - from RM201 to RM207

Ice Ice Baby (Matte/ Shiny) - from RM150 to RM156

Ice Ice Baby (Luxe) - from RM162 to RM168

Kuching Cat - from RM129 to RM135

Ice Ice Baby Mini - from RM120 to RM126

Borneo Blair - RM120 to RM129

Borneo Block - RM51 to RM60

Now, that's not too bad, isn't it? Some headbands will not be affected and those that are affected, the price increase is not that unreasonable. The reasons for the price increase is due to rising cost in materials and labor.

Since I've started advocating the benefits of Sereni & Shentel headbands (in comparison to other headbands) to my friends (who unfortunately, are S&S virgins) some have commented that their headbands are too expensive. I beg to differ. Why? Because I buy whenever there is a promotion. That's what financial experts call smart spending. So far for the month of January I have bought five headbands (I don't know what the financial experts would say about that, but that is beside the point).

Let me illustrate my own case:

Promo #1: New Year Promotion

Buy one Mandy, get one Ice Ice Baby for free. Total spending, RM180. Amount saved, RM150.

Promo #2: Chinese New Year Promotion

Buy one Blair, get another Blair for free. This time I decided to share the promotion with a friend, so we get one Blair each. So, total spending, RM60. Amount saved, RM60 (because a Blair costs RM120).

Promo #3: Australia Day Promotion

Buy one Ice Ice Baby Mini,

(Photo courtesy of Sereni & Shentel)

get one Block Party for free.

(Photo courtesy of Sereni & Shentel)

Total spending, RM120. Amount saved, RM51.

So, for FIVE headbands; total spent, RM360. Amount saved, RM261.

Wow! I actually save a lot (and no it does not matter that my saving is less than my spending). Take that you financial experts! Oh, I almost forgot, I am not affiliated in any way with Sereni & Shentel and they certainly do not pay me commission for every sale that I introduce.

To smart spending habits and me keeping my new year resolution #2, quality purchases over quantity.

Have a great weekend peeps!

xoxo Mrs Fashionista

The Silent Bayaan (Sermon)

2012-01-27T08:38:00.000-08:00

As tweeted by @IslamicThinking on Twitter.

Photo taken from my trip to Masjid Islamic Centre, Samarinda, Kalimantan Timur, Indonesia.

A member of a certain mosque, who previously had started attending the mosque to perform his Salaah (prayer), suddenly stopped attending.

After a few weeks, the imam decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The imam saw the man alone at home sitting before a blazing fire.

Guessing the reason for his imam's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace... and waited.

The imam made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs.

After some minutes, the imam took the fire tongs picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone.

Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet contemplation.

As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead.

Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The imam glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave.

He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire.

Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.

Photo taken from my trip to Masjid Islamic Centre, Samarinda, Kalimantan Timur, Indonesia.

As the imam reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, ...

"Shukran for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I will be attending masjid from tomorrow starting with Fajr Salaah, InsyaAllah."

Our best Dawah (invitation to Islam) is our example. Our actions speak louder than words. We live in a world today, which tries to say too much with too little. Consequently, few listen.

Sometimes the best bayaans (sermons) are the ones "given silently".

Say, "This is my way; I invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me. And exalted is Allah; and I am not of those who associate others with Him." (Quran 12: 108).

THE END.

Common Spelling Mistakes

2012-01-27T01:35:00.000-08:00

Being an educator, it would be impossible to not encounter spelling mistakes that students make (here and there) when submitting their assignments, quizzes, exams and so on. So, as an effort to remind my students (and any other students out there), I hope you don't make similar mistakes such as these. The incorrect word is on the left and the correct word is on the right (just in case you didn't know ) and in alphabetical order, the mistakes are *drumroll*:

accaunt - account

acept - accept

adviseable - advisable

bangking - banking

bank office - bank

brances - branches

buy - by

card credit - credit card

ceitarn - certain

chake - check

cheaque - cheque

charges card - charge card

constrastion/ contraction - construction

convinience/ convienient - convenient

curriencies - currencies

dana/ modal - capital

defoult - default

depand - depend

developmer - developer

diriectly - directly

draf - draft

drown - drawn

easi - easy

easyly - easily

entrepenuer - entrepreneur

etcetura - etc, etcetra

finacing - financing

governmont - government

gurentee - guarantee

imediate - immediate

immidiately - immediately

individu - individual

instrustron - instruction

interes - interest

investement - investment

involvel - involved

lasee - lessor

literiture - literature

mecinery/ mecinary - machinery

oders - orders

overdraf - overdraft

overnite - overnight

pesonal - personal

pyment - payment

que - queue

recoznition - recognition

redraw - withdraw

reffer - refer

reqisted - requested

requrement - requirement

safty - safety

sistem - system

to banking money - to bank in money

transcation - transaction

trasfer - transfer

tredor - trader/ developer

widrawal - withdrawal

wont - wouldn't/ would not

I am not Little Miss Perfect. I do make spelling mistakes now and then. However, the objective of this post is to highlight the importance of spelling correctly, and if you are unsure of your word, refer to the dictionary. I do it all the time. Being an educator, I have a high tolerance level for spelling mistakes; unfortunately a majority of people don't (especially prospective employers and those in the industry).

So to all students (or anyone out there) be nice to your dictionary. If you don't have one, buy one! Or if you have a smartphone, download the free app =).

To being better.

xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-25T04:27:00.000-08:00

For those who are not aware of the Chinese lunar calendar, Happy Chinese New Year! Or as they say in Mandarin, Xinnian Kuaile =).

This year, being the year of the Water Dragon, brings forth a lot of luck and prosperity (depending on your astrological birth animal) and it's also been predicted that there'll be a baby boom in China this year. For the article click [here]. For me, a Metal Rooster, I'm predicted to have good luck (not extremely well, but having luck is good enough for me) however me being me, I've never really depended on lady luck but if you'd like to read how your year to be like, the article is [here].

Fireworks show courtesy of my neighbors. The new year celebrations started with fireworks (and lots of it). The rain certainly didn't damper the mood of the festivities and living in a Chinese community, I heard (and saw fireworks) from 10 pm until way after midnight.

I was still awake at midnight for the fireworks (I'm like a kid, I know) and since it's midnight, I went online to purchase another Sereni & Shentel headband; there's a Chinese New Year promotion, you see...

(Poster courtesy of Sereni & Shentel)

Buy two Blairs for the price of one! Yeay! My heart went into summersaults when I saw the promotion days earlier. Quickly went to Sereni & Shentel's website to decide on which Blair and also called up a friend (to share the promotion with). The headband is inspired by Blair Waldorf, a character in the popular tv series Gossip Girls.

(Photo courtesy of Sereni & Shentel)

And this is what I ordered. A Kiwi Blair. My favorite shade of gadong (gadong is a Sarawakian word for green).

(Photo courtesy of Sereni & Shentel)

And this is what I ordered for my friend. Can't wait for the actual thing to arrive soon. Yeay!

And in the true spirit of 1Malaysia, we went visiting for the whole two days (and ate all sorts of nuts, curry and satay in the process).

Spotted while visiting:

Mr Ibrahim and Madam Hazami's family at Madam Dorothy's place on the first day of CNY.

Mum, in Über-red (channeling CNY prosperity and wealth aura) with Assoc. Prof. Iris, also on the first day (lucky for us, AP Iris shared two amazing recipes for health and how she lost 12 kilos in 3 months). She looks amazing and I am going to follow her recipe for success *positive thoughts*.

On the second day, we went to Jason's and this is where we met this amazing couple who shared with us the places to see when visiting India. He even drew us a map! Now, India is definitely on my list of places to go to.. Hmm.. Agra.. Goa.. Chennai.. Delhi.. The list is endless! Thank you for your kind info sir and we will certainly bring your map with us =).

Here's hubs in his red Armani Exchange shirt channeling the CNY spirit. I couldn't find any proper red attire to wear so I settled with a hot pink shawl topped with a black Ice Ice Baby Sereni & Shentel headband, pink nurse's outfit by Nicole and dark maroon pants by Benetton.

My first day CNY outfit: abstract orange and brown shawl topped with a gold Mandy Sereni & Shentel headband, black Armani Exchange shirt, orange striped pinafore by MNG, jeans by Esprit, gold (for prosperity and wealth) wedges by Carlo Rino, and striped gray and hot pink Guess tote.

Now that my visiting days are done, I am looking forward to our family makan besar (reunion dinner) on the 26th of January 2012 at Telang Usan Hotel. Will blog about that too! =)

Gong Xi Fa Cai to all!

xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Kuching's Best Mee Kolok: Mee Sapi Haji Salleh

2012-01-24T02:27:00.001-08:00

When in Rome, do what the Romans do, or in Malay, they say, 'Masuk kandang kambing, mengembek.' So this time, as a local Sarawakian, I plan to share the best joints, food stalls and whatever hangouts that the locals always go to, and here's one of Kuching's best breakfast joints, Mee Sapi Haji Salleh.

The cafe is called Sepinang Sari, however, it's better known as Mee Sapi Haji Salleh (the owner's name is Haji Salleh, by the way). The cafe is located at Jalan Satok, right next to Maybank Islamic, it's right next to the Satok flyover.

Mee kolok, in the making. Mee kolok is actually a noodle soup dish, traditionally a Chinese dish, and some might even call it Kolo Mee. In the traditional recipe, pork is used but as pork is haraam for the Muslims, thus beef is used as a substitute for pork and some even use chicken meat (I know of a cafe in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah that sells yummy fish kolo mee).

The different types of kolo mee that they sell. Oh, I forgot to mention, mee sapi and mee kolo is actually the same thing; the difference, some says is that mee sapi is served with clear soup while mee kolok is served with clear soup that has already been mixed with soy ketchup (thus making the soup kinda blackish, but still almost equally delicious).

The counter where the dish is being prepared. A bowl of mee kolok usually costs about RM4.50 onwards (read: those with special requests like extra mee or extra beef will have to pay a lil' bit more for the extras).

If you ordered your mee kolok dry (read: kering) that means that the soup and the noodle is served separately. Likewise, if you ordered your mee kolok wet (read: basah), the noodle and the soup will be served in the same bowl. What is the difference between dry and wet mee kolok? I do not know, but I usually order mine dry and then mix the soup and noodle together myself. However, I do know of friends who prefer the noodle as it is (i.e. without the soup) and then they would slurp the soup separately. Mee kolok is also usually served with a small bowl of hot chili sauce.

Voila! My mee kolok is ready! Usually their mee kolok is served with a pair of chopsticks and a soup spoon, but forks and spoons are also available.

Other than mee kolok, I also find their roti kahwin (bread spread with butter and kaya) to be very, very yummy. Crunchy toasted bread served with a generous spread of melted butter and gooey kaya. Simply delicious!

A word of caution, the cafe is usually jam packed with breakfast patrons between 9.30 am - 11.00 am, so be prepared to look around for seats and wait at least 20 minutes for your food. The cafe opens from 7 am until 2 pm daily (including weekends). So, do try the mee kolok at Haji Salleh and tell me what you think =).

xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Sharina and Ghaddafie's Wedding Reception

2012-01-22T19:50:00.000-08:00

From a wedding at Fourpoints on Saturday night, we went to another wedding at Dewan Majlis Islam on Sunday morning. For those who are not familiar with Malay weddings, the solemnization ceremony is commonly done either on Friday or Saturday afternoon and the wedding reception is normally done on Saturday or Sunday morning. Why? Because it's more convenient that way, it's between Subuh and Zohor prayers and thus there's more time for us to relax and enjoy the ceremony.

This wedding is between Sharina and Ghaddafie, best friends turned lovers =). This wedding is hosted by Ghaddafie for his family and friends while Sharina's ceremony was held the week before (sadly I couldn't attend that one as I had to work on Sunday last week). For those who are looking for wedding ideas, here's a photoblog of the wedding:

The wedding dais. I love red against white. The color theme is red, white and silver. Even the family members were wearing bright red outfits. I wonder if it has any connection with the fact that the Chinese New Year is just a day away...

Garden themed pelamin. The chandelier was hung from the ceiling of the hall. I love how the red and white flowers really stand out from the background, and even from the white and silver frames. If you're wondering who made the pelamin, I have no idea. Will have to ask the newlyweds themselves if you're thinking of getting the same person.

Bride's family. You can see the crowd waiting patiently for the newlyweds to arrive.

The groom, stealing a peak at his beautiful wife. Sweet! =)

Ghaddafie and Sharina, a beautiful looking couple. May you be blessed with years of happiness and may your marriage be filled with love and laughter *ameen*.

A quick pose with the bride and groom. Congratulations to the both of you!

Spotted at the wedding:

Harris's sisters cool mama. Aunty Jijot =). Ladies (Eim, Dila and Bed) if you're wondering 'bout Mok, she was seated at the next table, that's why she's not in the photo, otherwise, we'd have a threesome *haha*. If you're wondering 'bout my shiny headgear, it's actually a gold Mandy headband from Sereni & Shentel (I'm vain that way, I know).

Hubs and his bestie, Pyan.

Met Aunty Nadziah, but her son was not in attendance. Ngandor ka Nazar? Hihi =)

Me and hubs

Congratulations to the both of you. There was an acoustic band performing during the wedding and they sound wonderful! The voice was absolutely melodic and the strums of their guitar... Well, I absolutely loved their performance. I didn't take any photos of the band unfortunately but I really must say, great band indeed.

To love and weddings.

xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Ops, I almost forgot, my outfit to the wedding: Black shawl embedded with white stones from Butik Alia Collection at Satok, gold Mandy from Sereni & Shentel, chain watch from Armani Exchange, custom made pink satin kaftan and pink and gray striped tote by Guess.

Congratulations to Ezhar and Liyana!

2012-01-21T22:01:00.000-08:00

Me and hubs attended Bob's (or some people call him Ezhar) wedding reception last night at Fourpoints by Sheraton Hotel. Their solemnization ceremony was done on Friday at the bride's home at Perumahan Fasa 2, Petra Jaya and the reception ceremony (for the bride's family and friends) was done yesterday morning at Dewan Suarah Kuching. Here's a photoblog of their wedding reception:

Me at Fourpoints by Sheraton. What I wore: Ice Ice Baby Black by Sereni & Shentel, aqua satin shawl by House of Tudung, custom made abaya-inspired dress, clutch by Nose and silver-gray kitten heels by Sembonia.

Yours truly, seated right next to Faridah and her family (psst: I love her gorgeous Kebaya!). If you've been to Reservoir Park, you might notice that there's a cafe called Ileq-Ileq Lakeview Restaurant located right next to the lake, well, she's the owner of Ileq-Ileq. If you've never been there, you might want to check it out; there's even a karaoke and pool table at the cafe for the benefit of the patrons =).

From the entrance of the hall.

The bride and groom on their wedding dais (pelamin). I heard that the pelamin was designed by Liyana herself (the pelamin looks amazing).

The view from where I was seating =)

The full view. I love the color scheme! White, blue and yellow is a beautiful combination, soft pastel colors and the metallic silver throne seats, a shiny contrast to the backdrop.

And this is a close up of the pelamin. I know those who are planning to get married (psst: I know a friend who's planning a March wedding *wink*) would love to see pelamin designs of other weddings as a means for inspiration in the midst of planning their own. That's what I did prior to my own wedding. If you like her pelamin, you might like to know that it's done by Alex of My Pelamin.

Doa Recital.

Father of the groom.

The groom.

The beautiful bride.

Groom's grandma.

Hubs and friends with the newlyweds.

Me with the beaming groom. Congratulations Bob!

With the bride and groom. Wish you a marriage full of happiness and laughter and may the both of you be blessed with wonderful children and an abundance of wealth.

Spotted at the wedding:

Hubs and bestie, Amex (peeps, he is NOT a representative of the credit card giant, American Express).

Amex's other half, the lovely Faridah and her mum (if you didn't know, she's the owner of Amnah Cafe next to Mita Cake House in Heritage Garden, Petra Jaya).

Met my lepak buddies, Bg Shairul and Kak Masha.

Amex's sister, Baby was also there (she's part of the organizing committee for the night).

A beautiful wedding it was, I love the wedding march, the newlyweds were accompanied by bagpipes during their wedding march into the hall. To the both of you, may your marriage be the first step to a beautiful life together.

To weddings, hope, happiness and positivity.

xoxo Mrs Fashionista

New Year Resolution 2011 Revisited

2012-01-21T09:10:00.000-08:00

I actually forgot that I made a New Year resolution last year (how could I? *gasp*). So, let's see whether I've managed to achieve those resolutions or not:

#1 Travel to another country or two

Last year I went to Indonesia twice:

1. Palangka Raya for Konferensi Internasional Antar Universitas Se Borneo Kalimantan (KABOKA) organized by the Institute of East Asean Studies, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)

2. Konferensi Antarabangsa Islam Borneo (KAIB) organized by our very own Pusat Islam Borneo, UiTM.
(Unfortuntely, I didn't make a post about this one. Don't worry, I will do the post in the near future and PIB will be organizing another KAIB conference this year in Brunei *yeay*)

And then I went to Macau, Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China for my much-anticipated pre-wedding photography session and a holiday with friends and family.
(Now I realized that I also never posted my photos in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Terribly sorry, my bad. I'll post them soon ASAP)

And post-wedding, I went to accompany hubs (short for hubby) to Singapore and Thailand.

All in all, four countries in one year. Not bad at all. No wonder my purse was empty most of the time (too much traveling = too much spending = empty purse). However, resolution #1, success!

#2 Rejoice in another shopping spree

This is a complete success! Went shopping in Bandung and Jakarta (in May), then in Hong Kong (in June) and ended with the Singapore year end sale (in December) and a shopping spree at Bangkok's biggest weekend market, Chatuchak Market =). And I am officially broke *sigh*.

If you're ever in Hong Kong, and you love shopping, I'd suggest taking the MRT to Tung Chung station, there's a mall right above the station that sells branded items (read: Guess, Armani Exchange, Calvin Klein, Coach, Hugo Boss) at factory prices. Wanna know more? Click [here].

#3 Lose that fat (read: lose 8 kilos)

For this one, I am not going to lie. I spectacularly failed at losing my weight and I even gained a few more *sigh*. I have to be firm on this one and that's why this year, no more losing weight resolutions, I'll focus more on getting healthy and the fat lost will follow, right? (I sure do hope so *wink*).

So, resolution #3, fail!

#4 Adding new brands to my wardrobe

Remember when I said that I have Guess watches but absolutely zilch Guess apparels. Surprise, surprise, now I have two apparels by Guess, one a cappuccino colored vest (slightly hippie-ish) that I bought at 50% discount in Subang Jaya and another is a shirt (see photo below) that I bought from Bandung.

This is the one resolution that I'd completely forgotten and still, without realizing it, I managed to achieve it. Hurrah for writing down resolutions *yeay*.

And I also got myself a Guess handbag (something I'd never thought I'd do). Ah well, as the French would say, c'est la vie =).

And a shirt from Marc Jacobs, Save the Birds! Will do, MJ *grin*. I've always loved MJ's designs but feel like they're a lil' bit pricey for me, so purchasing MJ's must be done in a very restrained manner. Slowly, but surely it is *positive thoughts*. This photo is taken at Madame Tussaud's Hong Kong (the post that I said I was going to do but never did, I will, soon, I promise) and I'm loving my lopsided crown =P.

So, resolution #4, definite success!

#5 Get confirmed.

And I did! I got my confirmation letter sometime in September last year. Hurrah! Another successful goal achieved.

4 out of 5 goals; an 80% success rate. Hip hip hooray! I never expected to have achieved my new year resolutions; truth be told I've actually forgotten about them. It was only after I'd posted my new year resolutions for this year that I remembered to check whether I'd done any for last year.

I think it's going to be a great year ahead of me *smile*.

Lots of love and lets be positive!

xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Farewell Sephora

2012-01-20T07:58:00.000-08:00

And her name sounds just like the make-up store Sephora right? But she is not a store, she is a real-life person (if she was a store, she wouldn't be here *duh*). We had a farewell dinner for Sephora tonight, she's leaving us by next week for Sarawak Energy, right after Chinese New Year. Mum has numerous RA's (research assistants); they help her do things, like research, or video recording, or editing etc etc. Sephora is her third one (I think) but the forth one to leave (see, I told you that my mum has lots of RAs). Here's a photoblog of our farewell dinner:

The food. What is a farewell party without glorious food? What more to say in Kuching where the common hobby would be eating and more eating.

We had our farewell dinner at Topspot, Kuching's most famous seafood hub. If you're new to Kuching or have heard of Topspot, we would like to recommend you Stall no 25 (all the seafood stalls are at the top most level by the way); they serve you delicious seafood but at a cheaper price as compared to ABC or better known to most of us as Ah Seng (which is right next to Stall No 25 and equally famous for their yummylicious seafood).

This is called Oyster Pancake. Crunchy at the top and with oysters at the bottom. It is usually accompanied by a very salty thin sauce (in the orange bowl) but it's actually yummy eaten with or without the sauce.

Steamed fish. I think we ordered about seven dishes (excluding rice) tonight and if you're wondering why I've gotten fat, well, you've finally found the cause.

This is Sephora. She even gave a present to Mum! How come I think it should be the other way around? Hmm.. Anyway, thanks Sephora! It's exactly what she needed! She has been looking for it all over town and claims that all the stores have been sold out.

Mum, Sephora, Apple and Jaja. Say Cheese!

Jaja, Apple and Sephora. BFFs, I suppose?

Mom and her entourage. They all used to be in the same office. Could you imagine what a racket it would be if they're all together? Haha! I could! I've seen them in together *grin*.

Mum even brought along her PA students. PA stands for Academic Advisor (Penasihat Akademik) and all lecturers are required to kinda mentor a group of students and thus be called a PA. Mum has around 13 students under her whom she'll have to advise.

Hope everyone had a great dinner, I know I did =). Judging by the happy faces, I think everyone's sated *happy sigh*. Absolute yum!

xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Starfish

2012-01-19T17:23:00.000-08:00

As twitted by @IslamicThinking in Twitter.

Once a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day.

Off in the distance he could see a person going back and forth between the surf's edge and the beach. Back and forth this person went.

As the man approached, he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand. There had been a storm and as the result of the storm, they had been thrown onto shore.

The man was struck by the apparent futility of the task. There were too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish.

As he approached, the person continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the surf. As he came up to the person, he said:

'You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can't possibly make a difference.'

The person looked at the man for a moment. He then stooped down and picked up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back to the man and said:

'To that one, it made a difference.'

Moral: Small things can make big changes or impact. A little good goes a long way.

THE END.

Think that you don't make a difference? Think again. You may not make a difference to everyone, but to some, your action is the one that makes a difference to them =).

xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Fashionista's Review: Sabai Sabai @ Sukhumvit Hotel

2012-01-19T02:41:00.000-08:00

We had such a wonderful stay in Bangkok, Thailand that I feel it would be a shame if I don't share the hotel that we were staying in. The hotel is Sabai Sabai @ Sukhumvit Hotel (a mouthful, I know) but there's a reason for it. Sabai is a Thai word, meaning relax so, basically the hotel aims to provide a relaxing experience to their weary travellers and the hotel is located at the famous Sukhumvit Road (more specifically Sukhumvit 71) , thus, the moniker @ Sukhumvit.

The bell at the reception counter. If you find that there's no one in attendance, just hit the bell. Most of the times the staff are actually at the back, doing paperwork.

Hubs at the reception counter. All smiles, happy that my leave was approved and I can finally accompany him to Bangkok. A sweetheart he is.

The reception area. The theme color is red and you can see there's certainly splashes of red everywhere! Sabai Sabai is a boutique hotel and the rooms are beautifully decorated. Each room is unique and lucky for us we were given a tour of the penthouse suites on our last day at Sabai Sabai. The rooms are truly an inspiration!

Third floor lobby. Our room was located at the third floor.

The corridor leading to our room.

And this is our room! We were booked at the Corner Suite and our room had its own small living area, pantry and private bathroom. The room was absolutely great, we didn't expect to stay in such an amazing suite (almost like an apartment, I must say); it has cable tv (though the movies at Thailand would all be in Thai so you could be watching Sylvester Stallone or even Shah Rukh Khan speaking Thai *yikes*), there's a small dressing room that leads to your bathroom, a small pantry (complete with its own stove and microwave, if you feel like cooking) and the ambience is absolutely great. They knew that we're both newlyweds and thus they told us that the room would be perfect for us (and it is!)

The pantry, complete with a microwave and it's own tiny fridge. If you're wondering, the room rate was RM280 per night.

We were given a tour of the penthouse and this is one of them! There's actually two penthouses at the top floor, complete with its own private rooftop garden (which is stunning) and the view is magnificent! However, the penthouse is slightly pricey (for us), the rate is around RM500 per night *gasp*.

At the other penthouse. Maybe, one day, right hubs?

This is the hotel's manager, a very, very friendly lady. For non-Thai speaking travellers, she speaks good English! During one of the days there, she even told me that there's a Hush Puppies Warehouse sale going on around the corner and I bought two pairs of shoes and one pair of platform heels (all of them cost me less than RM200!)

The hotel provides free breakfast for two (however, they serve non-halal food on the premises) and also free shuttle service to and from the nearest MRT/ Skytrain (if you're thinking about reaching the golden triangle (read: Siam Paragon, MBK, Siam Discovery, Platinum etc). The drive to the station took only about 15 minutes but if you're thinking of walking, it is quite a distance (somewhat about at least 30 minutes walk).

If you feel like checking out the hotel, click [here] for the link to the hotel's booking site. Or maybe you can also visit the hotel's website at www.sabai-sabai-sukhumvit.com.

Have a fun trip!

xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Promotions! Promotions!

2012-01-16T07:32:00.000-08:00

In this day and age, don't you feel like you're being bombarded with promotions and adverts? There's so many people selling stuff that you don't know what you want anymore. Going shopping is looking like; there's a sale, let's go there and splurge on something, anything, as long as it's on sale *yikes*.

Anyhow, since I've been officially appointed as the consultant for Abiey salon, I've been cooking up a few promotions that I think people would like. The first one was the CNY promotion, which is doing very, very well I must say so myself. So far, we have an average of at the minimum one or two customers coming in and asking for the promotion *hurrah* (smug pat on the back).

I've come up with another two promotions. let's see if you like these two:

A CNY makeover! Who would love to be pretty, hot and tempting (PHAT) right? I always love dressing up and there's not that many occasions for us to do that. So, why not treat yourself to a makeover do and we'll turn you into the super hot lady that you truly are. After all, the best time to be properly glammed up is during the festive season. It's easier to meet and make an impression with the blokes too =).

Our Make Up Packages for 2012. The prices are valid for this year's booking. We provide make up and hair do services to all ladies for various functions (i.e. dinner parties, engagements, weddings etc etc). A bloke commented, why the different prices, after all, it's basically almost the same thing; hair and make up. Now, let me explain. A dinner make up and hair do is usually very light and therefore, less make up and simpler do, thus cheapest of them all. An engagement make up and hair do has to be slightly thicker (because most engagements nowadays include photo shoots and engagement dais; being under the spot lights and such), thus more prep is needed to ensure that you'll look picture perfect for your engagements. Some couples even have outdoor photo shoots for their make up! A solemnization and wedding dinner make up needs more preparation and as I've explained, making sure that your make up is picture perfect and your 'do stays in place for at least four hours is no easy feat! Thus, slightly more expensive in price. Oh, I almost forgot, other than the dinner make up and 'do, all other packages include falsies (read: false eyelashes).

The salon only offer hair and make up. Some might ask, do we offer bridal gowns and such? So far, no. Besides, most brides-to-be prefer custom made one-of-a-kind dresses, so why not make the dress that you've always dreamed off and let is do your face paint and do' =).

Oh, I almost forgot, the make up that will be used is a combo of Stage, The Office and Elianto.

To being beautiful, inside and outside; and against overpriced wedding vendors (no bride should be overcharged for their weddings, really).

Cheerio!

xo Mrs Fashionista

Ps: If you want to see Abiey's handiwork, like us on Facebook: Abiey Salon and if you've seen my engagement, white studio and solemnization ceremony photos, make up was by Abiey herself =).

Kuching's Best Ice Kacang: Swee Kang Ais Kacang

2012-01-16T01:29:00.001-08:00

If you're not from Kuching, and suddenly you get the chance to be here, among the must go to place is Swee Kang Ais Kacang. Why? For the fabulous ice kacang of course! They serve all sorts of ice kacang, air batu campur, whatever concoction that you can dream off (read: ice jagung served with santan and gula apong) well, they have it!

Swee Kang is located at Jalan Haji Taha (that's not far from Satok) and since most Sarawakians seldom remember their road names properly (they remember Kampong names or Areas better) then a good landmark would be that Swee Kang is right next to Thong Hin (a neighborhood supermarket) and right across SIDMA College (more popularly known as UNITAR or UniRazak for short i.e. Universiti Tun Abdul Razak).

I had ordered Ice Durian (a combination of durian, sweetened milk and ice). Their ice durian costs around RM2.50 per bowl.

Among the noted yummy desserts that they serve is Special (a concoction of watermelon, agar-agar, and various fruits with ice) or White Lady (another concoction of fruits with ice and lemon). For me, I usually prefer Kacang Merah Susu or just Ice Kacang. Swee Kang is the go to place for locals (especially young Malays) and you'll see a jam-packed cafe on sunny and hot days.

They also serve Rojak Sotong, Rojak Buah, Laksa Sarawak and Cha Kueh.

If you're in Sarawak, eat like the locals! You won't regret it!

xo Mrs Fashionista

An S for an S

2012-01-15T16:58:00.001-08:00

Or, saving for shopping. I saw this post on Cleo Malaysia (January 2012) and I'm actually wondering whether Malaysian women have a secret stash somewhere for them to splurge on handbags. That'd be interesting!

But I do have to agree with the post. I am among those who do save to splurge. I mean, if it's something that's quite pricey (read: diamonds or gadgets) well... Delayed gratification is the key to success.

One word of caution though: Do not shop on credit! You might be paying for something that you're not using anymore months later.

Happy Monday peeps!

Xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Larry is in the Hospital

2012-01-12T22:40:00.000-08:00

I received this email by a fellow toastmaster and I thought, maybe y'all better know bout Larry too =)

Larry Is In The Hospital

Who in the hell is Larry?

Well Larry is the guy who gets home late one night and Linda, his wife, says "Where the hell have you been?" Larry replies "I was out getting a tattoo!"

"A tattoo"? She frowned. "What kind of tattoo did you get?"

"I got a hundred dollar bill on my privates" he said proudly.

"What the hell were you thinking"? She said, shaking her head in disgust. "Why on earth would a Chartered Accountant get a hundred dollar bill tattooed on his privates?"

"Well, one, I like to watch my money grow. Two, once in a while I like to play with my money. Three, I like how money feels in my hand. And, lastly, instead of you going out shopping, you can stay right here at home and blow a hundred bucks anytime you want."

Larry is in the Royal Adelaide Hospital, Critical Care Unit, Room 233

And another fellow toastmaster replied the email:
Larry is now dead and burried. He is now in heaven as reported.

*Ouch*

TGIF peeps! Lets look forward to a great weekend shall we?

xo Cheeky Mrs Fashionista

Hospital Window

2012-01-12T14:47:00.000-08:00

As tweeted by @Islamic Thinking

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up on his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room’s only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end.

They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.

Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up in bed, he would pass the time by describing to this roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods, where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by.

Although the man couldn’t hear the band – he could see it in his mind’s eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days and weeks passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window.

He had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take his body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed.

It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, ‘Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.”

The man laid back in his bed. His eyes welled up with tears as he remembered his dear friend.

Remember: Sometimes to ease another’s pain and discomfort, it lessens your own.

THE END.

S&S Virgin

2012-01-11T07:06:00.000-08:00

I am definitely a Sereni & Shentel virgin. My first purchase of their headbands was made on New Year's day (during their fabulous New Year promotion; buy a Mandy and get an Ice Ice Baby for free) and just this afternoon (read: a mere 10 days later) I've got this email from S&S, my headband's ready for pick-up at RockPaperScissors (RPS).

Too excited for words, I quickly drove to Green Heights Mall and voila, this is what I got:

The Ice Ice Baby in black and a gold Mandy, looking even better now that they're both mine *grin*.

Me trying out the black Ice Ice Baby. I actually had dinner with my family tonight at Cafe Majestic (a belated birthday celebration for my brother and sis-in-law) and I wore this for dinner. Hurrah for me! Despite my initial reservations of wearing a headband on top of my scarf (fearing myself looking like a fish out of water) I actually kinda like how the headband looked on my head *surprise*surprise*.

And this is me wearing Mandy in gold. Forgive me for the grainy photos, they were all taken on my iPhone.

I've always loved S&S headbands since first seeing it on my pal Karen's Facebook a year ago (I think she was joining an S&S competition back then) but I've never made the leap from being a fan to being a customer, simply because I thought I'd regret buying it. Why? I thought that headscarfs and headbands would mix like oil and water, and boy am I wrong. To tell you the truth, I am very, very satisfied with my purchase. I feel happy knowing that I've made the right choice in settling what I want and I don't believe in discounting myself (i.e. getting a similar headband at a cheaper price) I mean, thy deserve to wear something posh and fancy, you know? Funny thing is, I initially thought that I preferred the Mandy compared to Ice Ice Baby, but now I think the Ice Ice Baby looks better on me.

What do you think?

xo Mrs Fashionista

Ps: I am seriously contemplating on wearing them to work tomorrow *cheeky grin*.

We are hiring!

2012-01-10T16:09:00.001-08:00

Due to the changes and development that is currently underway at our salon, we are looking for a hairstylist; preferably someone with at least 3 years experience in the industry, and someone who is also able to do make up and hair. Interested candidates please call 012 856 9036 or 016 800 9400 for an interview.

Attractive remuneration awaits successful candidates! =)

xo Mrs Fashionista

No More Bad Hair Days

2012-01-09T06:35:00.000-08:00

I've been very, very busy the past weekend; sourcing for hairdressers, hair products, brainstorming sessions and designing advertisements. So, back to the consulting business, *drumroll please* I am currently managing what I would call a turnaround project on my mum's salon. Hairdressing salon, to be exact. I've appointed myself as the turnaround manager, and also proposed my plan (and marketing strategy) to make sure that in three months, the salon would double its sales. All those business undergraduate courses and experience as a marketing manager at my dad's college would certainly be handy, now wouldn't it? Anyways, I am very, very excited at the prospect. Why? You might ask? Well... The thing is, I don't know a single thing about managing salons and this would mean that I'm starting at the very bottom, which is the most interesting part. And, for another thing, I'd be helping out my sister in law to jumpstart her make up and bridal business. That'd be a win-win situation, don't you think?

So, a bit of info on the salon. It's called Abiey Salon (based on my sis-in-law's name). It's located right next to JnJ Cafeteria in Jalan Stutong (near Tabuan Jaya area). Currently the salon is sharing its space with a reload center (owned by my brother). I think most people have been or at least know of JnJ but maybe haven't yet heard of Abiey Salon. Well, I'll soon take care of that. I have plans to make it more prominent in the future. But, I certainly won't disclose my plans yet.

This is how it looks from the outside.

And this is from the inside.

I'm planning minor changes (i.e. rearranging of furniture, new coat of paint etc. etc) in this coming three months and if all goes as planned, I'm going to look forward to some major renovation by the middle of this year. That's why I think I am so going to love this year. I am the kind of person that looks forward to change and I'm hoping that this year, the change will be a good one *amin*.

We've strategically repriced our services;

And also added a Chinese New Year Promotion for our friends who are celebrating the New Year =)

So, watch out my blog for more future interesting promotions. The ladies will certainly like the promotion that I have in mind for the month of February 2012 *ooh la la*.

xo Mrs Fashionista

The Fashionista is now a Consultant

2012-01-07T08:21:00.000-08:00

The first week of the year is not even over and I am already hired as a consultant! Seriously, I'd never thought that this opportunity would come so soon (this coming year of the Dragon is going to be so exciting). But I am not one to reject a golden opportunity such as this. So, here's the details:

I've been assigned a job to turnaround a company. What company? I am not at liberty to say (for this moment) but you will guess soon enough as I will be posting the adverts of the company on my blog.

Time period: 3 months (i.e. January until March 2012).
Target: Increase in turnover and customer base by at least a two-fold.

My plan, to turnaround, restructure and rebrand the business (all in the three-month period).

Achievable? I'd say, why not? Let's see what will happen after 3 months.

To a brand new year and brand new challenges.

xo Mrs Fashionista

The Pencil and The Eraser

2012-01-03T17:03:00.000-08:00

Read this story on Twitter last night and I find it touching.

A conversation between a pencil and an eraser:

PENCIL: “I’m sorry.”

ERASER: “For what? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

PENCIL: “I’m sorry because you get hurt because of me. Whenever I make a mistake, you’re always there to erase it.”

PENCIL: “But as you make my mistakes vanish, you lose a part of yourself. You get smaller and smaller each time.”

ERASER: “That’s true. But I don’t really mind.”

ERASER: “You see, I was made to do this. I was made to help you whenever you do something wrong.”

ERASER: “Even though one day, I know I’ll be gone and you’ll replace me with a new one, I’m actually happy with my job.”

ERASER: “So please, stop worrying. I hate seeing you sad.”

I found this conversation between the pencil and eraser inspirational. Parents are like the eraser whereas their children are the pencil. They’re always there for their children, cleaning up their mistakes.

Sometimes along the way, they get hurt and become smaller/ older and eventually pass on. Though their children will find someone new (spouse), but parents are still happy with what they do for their children. They will always hate seeing their precious ones worrying, or sad.

All my life, I’ve been the pencil. And it pains me to see the eraser that is my parents getting smaller and smaller each day. For I know that one-day, all that I will be left with would be eraser shavings and memories of what I used to have.

Once a person asked the Prophet s.a.w.: “Who deserves the best care from me?”

The Prophet s.a.w. replied: “Your mother, your mother, your mother, and then your father…” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).

THE END

Quoted directly from Islamic Thoughts (@IslamicThinking on Twitter). Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share it on my blog. I'll make sure that this post will remind me to take time to show my love and appreciation to my parents.

Happy reading peeps!

xo Mrs Fashionista

Halal Food in Bangkok

2012-01-02T16:31:00.000-08:00

When I first thought of following Raden to Bangkok, my first thought was, 'Would it be difficult to look for halal food?' Definitely having travelled to a few places (like Macau which only had ONE halal outlet) it can be quite daunting to plan your itinerary. I remember us being ravenously hungry looking for a halal eatery near the entrance of the Great Wall of China and finally consenting to eat at a vegetarian outlet or the time we resorted to eating fillet o fish at McDonalds in Manila (fyi, McDonalds uses vegetable oil to fry their patties and if they're no pork served at that outlet, you should be fairly safe in eating the fries, apple pies and fillet o fish).

A mosque that we passed by while in Pattaya

So this time, I decided that since hubby had already been there, I'll just follow his lead. Luckily we had some amazing people who helped us in selecting and looking for halal eateries.

First up, Sophia restaurant.

The restaurant serves halal Thai food (which is absolutely delicious) at an amazingly low price. Though I don't mean downright cheap but definitely a steal at the price that they're selling. If you're ever in Bangkok and you stay not too far from the airport (like us) you might want to check out the restaurant. Their website is [here].

Shopping District: Siam Paragon, MBK, Siam Square etc etc

If you're a shopper (like me) you might be thinking about heading to the shopping district and checking out the goods on display there. What I loved about these places is that almost every shopping complex have at least one halal outlet (most of them have more). This is what we found at MBK (MahBoonKrong):

Basically there are about four halal outlets (maybe more, but I'm not too sure) that we noticed. It's located at the fifth floor food court whose theme is International Cuisine (or something of the sort). You can choose from authentic Thai, Arabic or even Indonesian. Verdict: delicious but slightly pricey compared to Sophia.
MBK is accessible via BTS and MRT. Stop at the National Stadium station (you might have to interchange if you're using BTS) and there's a bridge connecting the station to MBK. You won't get lost if you just follow the signs *duh*.

From the National Stadium Station.

You're almost there!

Chatuchak Market

Bangkok's biggest outdoor market (or Pasar as we Malaysians call them). I initially thought that it'd be difficult to find halal food here, being a pasar and all, but I can't be more wrong. There's tons of halal stalls spattered all over Chatuchak.

I recommend the Chicken Murtabak. Yummy!

Had beef kebab here. Notice the halal sign near the man's leg?

Another halal stall selling umm.. something I suppose

Having grown in Kuching, I absolutely love warung and food stalls as they (most of the time) serve the best foods in town. And it's the same in Chatuchak. The murtabak I had tasted better than the ones I had in mamak stalls and the beef kebab is absolutely tender and juicy. Verdict: Yummy with prices in the moderate range. I still think Sophia restaurant serves the best priced food!

Getting to Chatuchak is easy, there's a Chatuchak Weekend Market station =).

I've also found this amazing blog from a fellow Muslim Thai on halal outlets in Thailand (which was very, very useful to me when we were in Pattaya). You may want to check her out: Lynn [click here]. She has halal food info on almost everywhere in Thailand.

Another helpful guide (which was really really helpful when we were in Manila, Macau and Hong Kong) is Zabihah.com. It's an online halal food directory for places all over the world. Without Zabihah, I won't know where to eat in Macau *yikes*. The website is [here]. Unfortunately, I don't think the website is updated often so the listings may be slightly out of date.

For those looking forward to a holiday in Bangkok, have a great stay and make sure you get to taste the local tom yum. You won't regret it! Warning: Not advisable for those who can't stand spicy food.

xo Mrs Fashionista