Betty's Cafe Tea Room @ York, UK

WOW! It's been more than a year since I stop sharing my trips! After the long summer break, I've decided to pick it up again.  So, here's a post on Betty's :)

Look at the QUEUE!!

 This cafe is famous among tourist, even recommended by a local that I met at Nottingham! Despite the long queue, it actually moves along rather quickly as they have more seating area at the lower ground floor.

If you travel in groups, it will be a good idea to take turn queuing while others take the opportunity to explore nearby shops.

Details if you are interested in booking

Window Display

 I cannot deny how excited I was to try out the cakes and English tea! After about 30 minutes, we are finally in the store! The sights of beautifully made cookies and cakes got me drooling.

Souvenirs

Wide variety of Tea Selection

Display counters

 If you wish to buy some gifts for family and friends, you will find something that will cater to your liking here. The packaging are equally beautiful as the baked goods!

Coffee and milk

Hot chocolate

Tea Room Blend

 They serve such big pot of tea for one person! Being a Chinese tea lover, I am accustomed to drinking my tea plain, without milk and sugar.

The look of horror on the faces of my host was hilarious! They insisted that I try it with milk and sugar, the "English way" they said. It wasn't too bad, tasted like "Teh Tarik" from back home (Couldn't tell them that, in case I hurt their feelings) :x

Raisin scones

 Their scones are quite nice, while my newly-found friend slowly "digs" out each and every raisin from the scone before eating.

Strawberry Cheesecake

 I can't remember the names for the cakes :(
Here's the receipt, and see if you can try to figure it out.

Receipt for 6 pax

 Generally, I think this place is worth trying out for the atmosphere, but as a student, I find this place slightly overpriced. On the side note, it's a rather classy place, so you might feel a bit more comfortable at least decently dressed for it.

Hope you guys have the chance to drop by there and try it out !

Next post will be on my day trip around York! Stay tuned <3

With love,
Jas xx

Klebang Beach @ Melacca

Okay, I know this post is a bit late, I'm really sorry! I totally forgotten about this. ><

Anyways, when I told my friends that I'm heading to Melacca with my boyfriend, they told me that this coconut milkshake is NOT to be missed!!

You will find quite a number of coconut milkshake stalls, all claiming to be original or the famous one. BUT don't be fooled. Ask the locals. They will direct you to the correct one!

This one is the famous one, according to one of the lady at the Nadeje cake shop which I've blogged about earlier. She keep emphasize on the fact that the stall is next to a petrol station.

Was so happy when we finally found the right place. :D

Signage

 While waiting, I took a picture of the stall. Doesn't look like much. But don't be fooled by their simple look. I was rather early, they just set up the stall, but they were rather quick to take order. They work real quick too! I didn't even manage to keep my camera when they gave me the milkshake and asked us to move the car, so as not to block the traffic for their next customer. The line quickly grew longer along the stretch of the road.

Setting up

 No food blog is complete without a picture of the food/drink that I am blogging about!

Klebang Coconut Shake

I really miss the coconut shake .. :(

Okay, moving along now. After that, we went to the beach! No date is perfect without chilling by the beach with our famous Klebang coconut shake :p

On the way to the beach!

 Here's some snaps of the beautiful Klebang Beach. It's not crowded, rather clean and windy. Just perfect for us to enjoy our drinks.

Right View

Left View

Isn't the beach beautiful? Take the time to enjoy it because I took the effort to learn to snap these! With boyfriend showing off his photography skills and trying to teach me, while I fail miserably. These 2 are the only ones which I think was better than the rest. :p

Anyways, I'll stop here for today. I do hope that you guys will take the time to drop by this stall for their delicious coconut shake!

Cheerio,
Jas xx

10 tips to prepare for exam

It doesn't seem like this post is gonna fit in with the rest of my posts which are about travelling and food, but I just haven't got around to sort out the pictures.

Anyways, I'm currently 'enjoying' my study break. Finals is going to start in a week's time!!

I'm sure there are plenty of tips that is available on the Internet. And I have to admit, my tips may not be any different. But I wish to share some tips that works for me. :)

Okay, let's start!

1. Start your revision early

Duh ... This is like the most common advice that you hear from everyone. Literally. 

For me, I tend to do my revisions last minute. People think that I'm relaxed, but honestly, I'm panicking inside! If you have actually pay attention in class, exams are actually fun. Despite the waking up at 3am to revise on the exam day.

2. Past year papers

You can literally find past year papers to do everywhere! If you are in secondary school or university level, you can get it from your school. For secondary school level, do attempt all the papers from the other states, and for university students, get it from your own department! The questions can never deviate far. Even if you can't remember the exact answer, you can at least score some marks because you have the vague memory of attempting the question before. It works. Trust me.

3. Plenty of sleep

I know you have a lot of cramming to do. Your brain will not be able to function without a good night's rest! On average, I sleep about 12 hours if I'm studying. When I wake up, I feel refreshed and ready to take the bull by its horns! It does seem a bit ridiculous doesn't it?

4. Plenty of fluid

I'm not talking about caffeine or soda. I'm talking about plain water or mineral water. Whichever one that you call it. It helps tremendously. It keeps you awake and flush out all the toxins. It does not only help keep the pimples away, it helps you lose weight too! 

5. Exercise

A fit body will help you have a clear mind. After a stressful day of studying, take a break and go for a swim or jog. Definitely beats watching TV or snacking on unhealthy food. Not only you can take the time to recall what you have learnt, exercise also helps you to sleep better at night.

6. Discuss with friends

Discuss the difficult questions with friends. Share your notes. Share information.

It may not be the easiest thing to do, considering that Asians have the mentality of winning everything. But I can assure you that it will actually benefit you as well. You never know, you may actually need your friend's help one day. Karma can be a bitch.

7. Ask your lecturers or teachers

Most of the teachers are actually more than willing to help you. If friends can't help, ask the expert themselves! I used to have a teacher who would call and check on me. Although I didn't ace her subject, I'm still very grateful for her caring actions.

8. Keep back up copies of your notes

I have friends who borrow notes and never return it willingly. Sometimes, it made me wish that I never lend to them in the first place. It would be safer if you wanna play the nice guy and still lend them your notes. :)

9. Make use of the Internet

Internet is an open source with vast amount of information. Make use of that! It's out era that has Google, copy & paste and other things that made the older generation hate us! Hence, it's our job to fully utilise it.

10. Study for the sake of learning

If you make it a point to learn something instead of aiming to get an A, it would definitely make your learning experience more bearable. You never know, it will get you somewhere one day.

That basically sums up my advice for you. I wish you all the best in your upcoming exams!

With love, 

Jas xx

Nadeje, Malacca - Famous for Crepe Cakes!

Everyone tells me that this is a must-go place if you ever drop by in Malacca. This place is not that hard to find with the help of the free app Waze on my phone. The design of the store is really striking with white and shades of blue.

Nadeje

While looking for this shop, we came across this amazing street art! Call it vandalism if you want, but you have to admit that they are really good at it! Would kill to have such skills.

Street Art

Okay, back to Nadeje .. Here's how the inside of the store looks like.

Menu

 Love the simple design of the tissue with the store logo and website link!

 Here's some picture on the interior design of the store. On the inside, they have rather plush cushions which is rather suitable for a place to catch up with friends over their famous cake at tea time!

Towards the inside

 They have proper tables if you are considering to eat comfortably.

Counter view

 Let us begin with their famous crepe cakes! We ordered 3 different flavors. Personally, the best is Berry Berry Strawberry, followed by Banana Choc and finally Malacca.

Malacca

Berry Berry Strawberry

Banana Choc

 They do serve other food as well. Boyfriend ordered the Shoyu Ramen which taste rather good.

Shoyu Ramen

While eating, there was these 2 guys sitting next to us. They look like real professional photographers with their big ass DSLR camera. Felt so inferior with my small camera :(

But anyways, I think their cakes are worth trying if you like crepe cakes. Since this is my first time eating crepe cakes, I can't really tell if they are really the best as my friends claimed them to be. Since I haven't heard any bad reviews on it, I assume they really must be the best at what they do.

On a side note, they have really friendly staff. There is this middle aged lady who is particularly helpful when giving directions to the famous Klebang Coconut Milkshake stall!

Drop by if you have the time!

Cheerio,
Jas xx

Road Trip to The Historical City of Malacca!

Apologies for the lack of posts. Been busy with assignments and stuff.

Anyways, about 2 months ago, my boyfriend and I went for a road trip to Malacca! We rented a car(MYR80 for 12 hours). The fuel usage for this trip is MYR70. The toll fare is about MYR12.50 one way. Melacca city is 1.5 hours drive away from Semenyih, Selangor. We made it there in time for lunch! :)

Upon arrival, we went to the Tourist Information Centre to obtain a map of the city.

For Muslims, looking for a place to pray, they have a place for you at the first floor of the building. After taking a map, we made our way for food.

First up, the famous chicken rice balls! or not so famous. 

I tried the one at Chung Wah as I've read about it in a lot of food blogs. It is located at Jonker Street. The beginning of the street, so to speak.

Look at the queue!! Not to mention it is under the hot sun! I waited about 15 minutes to eat here.

While waiting for my food to be served ...

Surprisingly, it is rather cooling in the shop. A relief from waiting under the hot sun.

They don't ask how many people are dining. They just serve according to how many people are seated at the table.

Honestly speaking, the chicken rice here was a disappointment. The chicken is too salty. The rice is too wet. The only thing that made it special was the fact that the rice is rolled into a ball. 

Not to mention that I find the guy who served us was rather proud. My boyfriend happened to be a Muslim. And I asked if the food here is Halal and can be eaten by Muslims. He raised his voice and answered, 'OF COURSE OUR CHICKEN CAN BE EATEN! It is not poisoned! Only no 'Halal' sign mah!'

His response upsets me. My boyfriend, who is Egyptian, did not understand the exchange of our conversation as it was in Chinese, realized that I was upset. He told me to go ahead and eat while he waited for me. Anyways, felt guilty as he just sit there while I eat.

After filling my tummy, we went for sight seeing!

Love this picture! <3

From across the Melacca River

 There is this really famous fountain in Melacca. It is none other than the Queen Victoria's Fountain! Tried taking selfies with the fountain in view but all the pictures end up looking like a disaster. End up stopping an elderly couple to help us take a picture! :)

Queen Victoria's Fountain

Clock Tower

Next stop, the Church!

*Actually I'm just taking picture of any red buildings that I assume is supposed to be the tourist attraction spot

Background Info on the church

Inside view

 As we were leaving the church, we saw a lot of Trishaw in line! They are just so colorful!

Here's one picture with a closer view of the trishaw.

Moving along, this is the St Paul's Church. When we arrive, they had just finish a mass. Really love the design of the church.

Inside

We somehow lost our way while trying to get to the Palace that is indicated on the map that we took from the Information Centre. We manage to find our way back to the fountain though. Just next to the fountain, there are stalls set up by the locals. You can get your souvenirs here. They sell everything from toys to headwear to key chains and others. I even found wooden katana here!

Anyways, it was a Friday and I made boyfriend missed his Friday prayers because of wanting to eat chicken rice *guilty* ><
So, we made our way to the Tourist Information Centre(first floor) for him to pray. Took this picture while waiting for him to pray.

This one is taken on the first floor. According to boyfriend, in the olden days, they beat the drum to inform Muslims that it is time to pray.

  

Then, we made our way to the ship(Maritime Museum Complex). It is located by the river, somewhere near the Tourist Information Centre. It cost MYR 3 for local tourist(me) and MYR 6 for foreigner(him).

Entrance Tickets

Side View of the ship

Aye ! All aboard!!

This museum is located just by the replica of the ship. Honestly, there is nothing much here. You can get some souvenirs here. By 'some', I really mean a little. Or may be because I'm local, I don't find anything worth buying here. Nonetheless, drop by here to have a look, since you have already paid for the entrance fee. :)

Another place that you should definitely take the time to see if you are ever in Malacca. Its the Menara Taming Seri! Basically its the Taming Seri Tower if you prefer it in English.

Ticket Counter

Pricing

My tickets & Pricings

As you can see, they will ask where do you come from and such. For local tourists, you are entitled to a 50% discount. My ticket only cost MYR 10 instead of MYR20! :D

The ticketing lady don't really bother to listen to what you say properly. For example, she just randomly put that my boyfriend is from Singapore when he told her that he is not Malaysian.

Anyways, we took quite a few pictures during the ride, including selfies which I'm sure you have no interest in. So, the pictures of Malacca from the top of the tower!

Particularly like this one! <3

Okay, this post is getting too long. Will just wrap things up ..

After that, we went for the famous crepe cake at Nadeje, Coconut milkshake at Klebang, the Mahkota Parade Mall and end the trip by going to Jonker street!

Will post pictures and details in the next post! Stay tuned ..

Much love,
Jas xx