Aucklandland Final : Bar twentyone, TomTom, Industry Zen

This is the last bit of our Auckland trip, and it has been amazing. 

After Devonport, we had dinner at Tom Tom Bar and Eatery . Doug had gotten a deal off GrabOne, and it was far than what was shown or described on the website. It was located on Drake St, Victoria Park Market - I dislike the area at night, it was quiet and Tom Tom was incredibly hard to find if you don't really know Auckland city like me. Anyway, we got there to find that it was almost empty aside from another couple who was there too. Looked more like a bar than an eatery.

We felt quite awkward because there we were, expecting it to be something more like a restaurant, according to how it was described on GrabOne, and just sitting quietly among empty tables and chairs. However, the waitstaff were very friendly to us - good service.

We had our entrees, mains and dessert.

I had the steak. 

Ordered medium rare, but it was more or less well done and chewy. Hmm.

Doug's pork on kimchi rice.

It was so-so. The pork was quite juicy.

Red Velvet Lava Cake with ice cream for dessert. It was really good!

 Couldn't remember the names of the different ice cream flavours but I remembered them being really yummy, with the crunchy flakes underneath. 

A three course dinner for 2 people for a little over $40 was really cheap, considering you'd get that much food! Can't complain much at that price, as it was definitely a bargain. After we were done with dessert, we got on with our night!

Walked around Viaduct Harbour, and did a little bit of night sight-seeing. Then decided to go for something special that was around the corner. 

Yes - we were back at Industry Zen for more Soft Shell Crab Rolls!! I'm quite sure that the staff recognized us from the day before and were more than happy to serve us! 

and also some Yakitori. They were just as delicious and tender. I am super biased towards this place. Love it so much!

Had some Sake too. I love Sake. I love the way it warms up my throat and body. Yummers.

<3

Realizing that the night was still young, we went back to SkyCity and the Casino to people watch before visiting Bar twentyone. It was a Saturday night, so I assumed there'd be good music, and curious about the Auckland party crowd.

Maybe we went to the wrong place to experience the proper nightlife of Auckland City on a Saturday night, because at 12 am, the place was pretty much filled with older people (had to feel my eyes burn watching old people twerking, getting down and dirrty, making out, being touchy feely, the list goes on...), the music was quite monotonous.. and Ke$ha's "Timber" song just turned me off so much. I got there before 12, the DJ seemed a little older, and his tunes weren't so flash.

Not very impressive photos of the club too, but that's as much as I wanted to take. It was a bigger club than most clubs/bars in Wellington, so I guess that was a plus. But music at clubs here always make me go meh. I need to find a club that plays good music with deep bass. It's quite rare... which makes me miss music we use to have at events like Hennessy Artistry and Johnnie Walker. Those DJ's were top notch.

The following day, it was time to say goodbye to Auckland.

One last hurrah at exploring eateries - is this Ramen place we discovered located underground, at one of the lanes. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember the name of the  place, just that the Ramen noodles were really good.

One large bowl like this for $9.

It was enough to share among two of us. Great way to start the morning!

For the first time in a long time, I didn't feel stressed out or sad packing my bags and leaving a holiday destination. It was really just free and easy with Doug. I certainly don't need a rushed day to end our trip. I'm sure he didn't, too.

We spent the afternoon walking about and then met up with someone very special who knows me since birth and she took us to the airport. :) It was a pretty awesome catch up session! She's one of those people who's as close as family to my mom and I, although we're not related. She's actually one of my mom's ex-students and encouraged me to study in Wellington. 

Also good to speak freely with the Malaysian lah's and ah's rolling our tongues while we had dinner together. It was a nice ending to our Auckland trip.

Till next time, Auckland. 

This is definitely not the last time we'll be here.

Feeling like a grown up planning and going for vacation without parents too, in another country, no less. Then I remembered that I was 21...still getting used to it! Haha

xxx,

Ashley M.

Surprise, Doug, it's your Birthday!

January is a special month for Doug and I, as both our birthdays are in that month.

2 weeks after my birthday it is time for Mr Lee to turn a year older as well. Hehehe. I had made a trip to Muar to spend the weekend before his birthday for a pre-birthday do.

Kim suggested a surprise. After some hard pondering, going through some nonsensical surprises and laughed it off with the help of the surprise expert, we came up with this.

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(Maybe about 100 balloons later..)

Liaised with his sister to get the balloons and she started on them. 

Heck, even I was surprised and an "oh my gosh" came from his dad. This was gonna be FUN.

After Doug came back from badminton and went into his room, (I was hiding in the bathroom), I heard him mumble something like "what the.." then I brought the birthday cake out. 

It was hard not letting the candles die and at the same time I wanted to scream "Surprise!!!" at the top of my lungs. Oh yeah.. and threading through all those balloons.

 Boy was he happy. :) And very caught off guard. Hehe. Couldn't have done it without the help of his sister and mine. Even the parents were in on it. Good job, team! *two thumbs up*

What a way to kick start the weekend. ^__^

We went out for supper after. Dang, if you were in Muar you must try this coffee shop called 888. It's not helpful that I don't know the exact location, but I had really good Mee Suah and sting ray. *licks lips*

The following day we had a little Melaka trip and I finally had the very famous Mille Crepe cake at Nadeje Cafe. Yum! Too bad I was too full to try the other flavours.

At night, we attended a barbecue & pool party at one of Doug's friend's house.

Yeah.. the boys put beer cans in the jacuzzi.

Hello!

I am just totally in love with my new bikini I bought from Cotton On when I was in Singapore the previous weekend. The ruffles were just the right amount of "cute and girly" and doesn't make me feel like a tart (ahem.. swimsuits with skirts). 

Plus it fits me perfectly. XS means XS. XS in New Zealand is like S-M Asian size. Grr. Ok less ranting, more pool party!

This was the most amazing fish I've ever had in my whole life.

Portugese style fish dish, I don't even know how to specify what kind of dish it was, but the sambal was just insanely addictive. The sambal was prepared by one of the boys too. Amazing stuff! Mouthwatering.

 I wish I could have had more. </3

Had our very own DJ, to make sure that there was no silence. :P

The host; who needs no introduction.

And another birthday surprise do!

Again, I brought out the cake. I'm like the cake girl this weekend. Lol. 

Threw in this birthday do for Doug and his bud Conan, both of them January babies. Yay..we age the soonest in the year! :P

His actual birthday was just yesterday. Too bad I wasn't there to celebrate, but the weekend and birthday card that I've forbade him to open until yesterday made up for my absence, I hope. :D

This is what happens when you cram 11 boys in one selfie shot.

Level : PRO (aside from trying to dig each other's eyes out & the fella who's always blurred in the shot)

The rest of the trip was a family dinner with Doug's extended family and trying out some other cafes in Muar.

Bird's Nest, RM9.90 @ Gene Cafe

I had a rather nice weekend with Doug, his family and his friends. I was very well fed too - with delicious food you can't get in KL for the same price. The first thought that comes to my mind when I saw food was "GET INTO MY BELLEH." Hehe. My tummy is happy.

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Happy Birthday to my best friend and the person I annoy when I've nothing better to do.

 Everytime we go grocery shopping is like some kind of crazy adventure, laughing about nonsensical things, killing zombies on Friday nights and watching dramas together (one episode without him and he'll make me feel like I've cheated on him). 

From being my Wellingtonian guide, to my buddy and then my boyfriend. <3

xxx,

Ashley Mah

The Muar Expedition

Okay so maybe expedition would be a little much to describe a random road trip that Evan and I had in mind to do before he starts his new job (Congrats, angel!). Okay no. It's not a little much because something unexpected happened.

Anyway, it was soooooo good to catch up with him after NZ with my still very jetlagged face and tired looking hair (before it got all prettied up by Raymond from Shawn Cutler *ahem*).

We caught up about a lot of things as we couldn't talk much whilst I was away because of the difference between time zones and stuff, so there was definitely a lot to say. A lot. One meetup was not enough. Somewhere in our conversation, we spoke about Doug and Muar and decided to do a foodie one-day trip there with Kim. Who knew that the day actually came! It was perfect timing as Kim has just finished her SPM by then and Evan had no prior engagements, and as for me, I'm on Holiday Mode, baby!

Doug was over the moon, of course. We met him up for lunch and Evan's finally met him for the first time. It looked like they hit off well. Kim was more than excited to stuff her face. I was just looking around Muar as it was my first time there.

Had one of the best Assam Fish dishes at this shop called...  Shee Yaan Restaurant (喜燕楼) . It's quite different from the ones I've had in KL. The ones in KL are sweeter & spicy  whereas this one was just sour. Still pretty good to me, heard that this place is usually packed for lunch.

As Muar is famous for its Otak Otak dish, which also happened to be Kim's favourite food, it would be a crime not to order it. Watch her flip. Lol. 

Had a few other dishes but I was too busy helping myself to the Assam fish to care about photo taking at that moment. Gave everyone a 20 second allowance for food phototaking because we were all so hungry.

Just after lunch.. like JUST, Kim made a stop at a cafe right next to the restaurant and we went in for dessert. Very typical of my lil sis, but you wouldn't imagine the smile on her face when her dessert was served to her. Lol heck, even I was surprised.

The highlight of this afternoon.

The bowl was as big as my face, I promise! I was quite impressed, although it's actually just shaven ice. Still a big serving for one although we ended up sharing it. Haha

Here's Kim devouring it. 

I had fried ice-cream for the first time. I still wonder how they did it. I don't love it, but I don't hate it either. It was quite interesting.. Something you must try at least once in your life. Haha

Evan and Kim.
I feel like sometimes Evan is our long lost brother or something because...

....this happens.

 Especially after Kim gave him a Kim-styled wake up call at 8am in the morning before we left for KL. It's shocking... it was as if my sis was high on caffeine early in the morning. Lol we think she's just releasing pent up stress from SPM.

Yes, Mr Lee, I'm in your world now. 

Was nice to see him again. :) He looked quite different from the last time we met, after a good haircut.

Wasn't long till we chilled for a bit at his place and showed us around. And Kim got to wear this hat...

.... and played with his DSLR and Evan got to wear a real Kimono! The amount of clothes my boyfriend has is crazy. Even more than me. T_T Shame on me. Bleh

Then we went to this place where my dad usually gets Otak Otak(s) to bring home for us whenever he goes to work in Muar. Yumm. More food.

Went sight-seeing around the park after. It was a rainy day, unfortunately, and we didn't get to walk around. So, Doug drove us around instead. 

Made a short stop here to chill. 

Quite a nice place if not for the mozzies that were feasting on my blood.. that and rain.

Evan taking a shot too.

Don't hate me guys. I kinda like this shot. Hehe

Hehe. Look who's camwhoring too.

Group shot! 

:)

After that, Doug took us to this place called Soup House which is famous for its Sup Kambing (Mutton Soup), among other things!

This picture is from www.hungrygowhere.my

The big bowl of soup with mutton meat in it was only priced at RM5. Dang, why can't food in KL be this cheap..

Kim had Mee Rebus.

Mee Goreng Mamak @ RM3.50

My Bihun Goreng @ RM4 with an egg.

The food was pretty good! I was stuffed. Very very stuffed. Probably a bad idea if you did a one day trip to a food place. :/

Then the most..unexpected thing happened. We were prepared to say our goodbyes to Doug, only to find out that our bus was delayed. After waiting in the bus station (tired and sticky and yucky) for 2 hours, we were told that the bus won't reach for quite some time as there was a big traffic jam caused by an accident on the highway. Damn. It was already 9.30pm, so we made a last minute decision to stay the night, rather than to wait any longer. 

Kim in her "zone" after we've left the bus station.

It was terrible, waiting for something that just did not come. Other buses came in, but not ours. But I sure thank my lucky stars that we weren't the ones trapped in the bus for 4-5 hours back to KL with no toilets or anywhere else to go. Doug was kind enough to house us for the night, so we spent the night at his. Met his family for the first time, and they were one of the nicest families I've met. They were very hospitable and friendly to Kim, Evan and myself... even the dog. After some time, Evan got to pet it without it barking. Although Kim was still scared of it. Haha. Somewhat amusing that she still wants to try to pet it. 

I made a beeline to shower after we've settled down at Doug's. A shower never felt so good!!! Hate being sticky in this humid weather. Bahahah ended up wearing one of Doug's shirts to sleep. So did Kim and Evan. After which, Doug took us to this place called Witchery Ider, famous for its teas. By teas, I mean things like bubble teas. Buy one Large tea and you get another Large one for free. A Large tea is priced at RM8.00. Take that, Chatime.

The illuminated Muar bridge after dark.

And a very happy Kim after eating much food for the day.

The morning after, we went out for a Muarian breakfast with his parents. I was so sleepy and decided to forgo pictures of food this time. Hehe

I was gifted these pair of shades by Doug's mom, who owns the boutique called L'Maureen. Was very kind of her! Love them.. they've been fetching compliments by my peers so far. I thought the shape was very unique, unlike the regular aviators. Feh. I'm so sick of the cheap ones I bought in NZ, which look like they're about to break any moment now. These ones will do and they've got UV protection. :D

To add to my welcome to Muar, a friend of Doug's was kind enough to give me a whole bag of Otak Otak and Duck rice although he hasn't met me until that day. How kind of him! Also another friend who lent Kim and I his Samsung charger, or else.. no more food pictures!! :P I feel so love and thankful to have such nice people around me. Big thanks to Doug and his family too. Now I've lots of Otak Otak in my freezer and Kim can eat till she's stuffed. Haha

I hope to make another trip this time, no more delayed buses (hopefully), and longer time there than rushing everything in one day. I've not done a one day trip in my life and don't think I ever intend to unless I'm going there for a specific dish or attraction. Also, I don't like the idea of going to dinner feeling sticky. Lol Tim had a good laugh when I told him about the whole bus station ordeal the next day.

Was quite unexpected, but surprisingly nice to have our tiny trip extended. Lol I guess something interesting will always happen when you've got Kim and I at the same place, what more with Evan! Lol

Will come by next time. 

 I could do with more Assam Fish!

xxx,

Ashley.