My 28th Birthday

Wednesday, July 29, 2015 Liyana Hanim 0 Comments

I think it's not too late to wish my fellow Muslims Selamat Hari Raya/Happy Eid.My Raya celebration was great!It's my first time celebrating it as Razin's wife :) My Ramadhan was great as well.I'll share pictures and do a little blogpost about my puasa and raya soon.

Meanwhile,I'll blog a little bit about my birthday celebration last month.

I turned 28 this year.Can you believe it?haha But I don't look like I'm 28 years old right?? :P

When the clock strucks 12 am on 25th of June 2015,my husband came into our bedroom(he was in his home office) and surprised me with a happy birthday song + a card,inviting me for my birthday dinner.
Such effort!
My husband said he had a hard time choosing the right template for the envelope.hahaha.Apparently,he tried like 12 different design for it.So cute!I would have just buy a card.But him being the creative person that he is and also the fact that he is a creative designer,he just had to make me one.

Free salad!
So after I got back from work,I got ready for our berbuka at Rakuzen.Razin said he had to call like 10 different Rakuzen before he could book a table for us.And he did this days earlier.Ramadhan month is a hard time to make dinner reservation.
Yummy!
The food was delicious as usual.They even gave us a big bowl of complimentary salad.I was too full for dessert.
Razin's set dish

Husband enjoying his sashimi
Afterwards,we went home and Razin gave me another card.The content is so sweet as he wrote quite a bit about how he felt about me(being his wife now & not his girlfriend anymore).My husband is a man of a few words.
Such a beautiful card

Don't get me wrong,we communicate very well with each other(part of what makes our relationship great) but he doesn't really say much about certain things like love.He's an action kind of person and not those guys who upload pics of their spouses on social media with long words.He's not even active on social media.haha.So when he wrote something long and expressing his love for me..it was the best gift for my birthday.



His homemade gift tags
But Razin,like every other year would not just give me dinner and a card for my birthday.He would give me a few presents throughout the day.But because this year I was at work,he gave everything after he came back from Terawih.I fell asleep after we came home(bad I know!) and he woke me up with..cupcakes!
Wondermilk cupcakes!
After I blew out the candles(no pics as I was in my pjs!haha),he gave me my birthday presents.It was impressive considering that it's hard to hide things from me..especially now that we live together.But he managed to do so!
Gifts from my husband and mother in law
I got gifts from my mother in law and my sister in law as well.My husband got me gifts from Sephora,Victoria Secret's and La Senza.I was laughing because I imagined him entering the shops alone and being clueless and had to ask the salesperson for recommendation.But he did a good job as I love and wear/use everything that he got me.:)

We've been married for 7 months now and honest to God that he is just an amazing husband,best friend and human being.Words can't even begin to describe how much I love that guy.Thank you so much sayang for always going out of your way to make my birthday a special one,every year since we've been together.:)


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Luxola:Read My Lipstick(special discount code!)

Monday, July 13, 2015 Liyana Hanim 0 Comments

I love Luxola.I've purchased so many items from them that I'm now a LX Silver member.haha.They always have such great discounts and promotions going on.I love that once I've collected a number of points,I can convert it into cash and use it to minus the amount in my shopping cart.

Luxola was kind enough to reach out to me and give something special for my dear readers.Raya is coming up soon and us ladies of course want to look our best when we attend all those Raya open houses or visiting our relatives.

It's not just about buying that perfect baju Raya but you of course want to make sure that you have your Raya makeup look to go along with the outfit.I'm a firm believer in the power of a good tube of lipstick.

It doesn't have to be expensive but it will definitely give your face that little "oomph" when you have a little bit of colour.Even on days when I feel so lazy to put on any makeup on my face,I'll wear a bright lipstick and nothing else..it'll make me look a bit put together.:P

There's so many beautiful shades of lipstick out there that you can pair with different makeup looks.It will also give a different look on you.I love playing around with makeup but I definitely use a very light hand when applying it.

You want to look your best but you also don't want to look like you put tons of makeup on you face.I'm a firm believer that makeup is suppose to enhance your features and make you feel good.If you feel good,you'll look good.:)

If you want to know more about lipstick and the history of it,you can click the link HERE.It's a comprehensive article that was done by Luxola.

Swatches from top:Melting Kisses,Buff Pink and O.M.G.


Okay let's move on to the lipsticks and the makeup looks that I've created for you to try for Raya!

1.O.M.G from Sleek Makeup

O.M.G lipstick from Sleek Makeup
From the swatches,you can tell that O.M.G is a bold and bright orange-red lipstick.This lipstick is quite tiny but it means that it can fit into your handbag better!Because the lipstick is bright,a simple eye makeup goes great with it.
Brightens up my face!

I paired the bright lipstick with a simple black eyeliner which I flicked at the end to create a cat eye.I also lined my bottom eyelid with a little bit of grey eyeliner.This is because if you line your bottom eyelid with black eyeliner,it will close it even more.If you have big eyes,it's okay.But mine is of course not that big.haha.I even use a shimmery pearl eyeliner to line the inside of my bottom lid.

Simple eye makeup is the key so that it can highlight your beautiful lips better.This makeup look is perfect for when you have to attend that raya open house at night.This lipstick is a sheen type of lipstick.It's smooth and also a bit shiny.

The orange-red colour of this lipstick makes it suitable for a lot of different skin tones.It's bright and beautiful,it will "light" up your face!


2.Buff Pink from Luscious Cosmetics


This Buff Pink lipstick from Luscious is a favorite of mine for everyday.But you can of course wear it for Raya as well and with this lipstick,you can go a little bit heavier on the eyes.I pair it with a smokey brown eye makeup look.Using a combination of brown eyeshadow,bronze eyeliner and brown eyeliner,you can create a beautiful soft smokey eye look that's perfect for daytime or nightime.
Brown smokey eye and Buff Pink lipstick

I love that the lipstick has a letter L on it..it's like it's meant for me.hahaha Also the lipstick is super moisturizing and is creamy.The colour is so soft and sweet.I love it!




I love coral lipstick!It feels very summery.I also love the brand Zoeva and love the packaging for this lipstick.The tube snaps shut because it's magnetized like the one from Marc Jacobs.I paired this pretty coral lipstick with teal eyeliner.The teal eyeliner looks great with the coral lipstick and gives a little bit of colour.
Teal eyes + coral lips
This lipstick has a matte finish so you need to properly moisturize your lips using a lipbalm before you apply it.Melting Kisses is such a beautiful colour and I can see myself wearing this a lot.


Don't fret if you're scared that the lipstick won't arrive in time for Raya...as we have the whole month of Syawal to visit our family and friends :) Luxola shipping is awesome as I've order items from them many times and they arrive within 3 days!

In conjunction with Raya,I have a special 15% discount code for my lovely readers so that you make your first purchase with Luxola.The code is valid til 31st of August 2015.However,it's not valid for discounted items.

The code is: BLX-LIYANALIPS


Happy shopping and Selamat Hari Raya!:)


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11 Things You Didn't Know About Me (tagged)

Sunday, July 12, 2015 Liyana Hanim 1 Comments


Here are the questions that my fellow blogger friend Fleur posted for me.I added some pictures just for the fun of it hahaha:


The questions:

1.Quote you live by?

There's a lot of great quotes out there.But I like this :
The most important thing is to enjoy your life - to be happy - it's all that matters.

 2.Most dangerous thing you'd ever done and will you do it again?

I did white water rafting in Bali back in January..one hour beating the current..you might think it's not dangerous but get this..I CAN'T SWIM.haha It was really fun and I actually would do it again!The adrenaline rush was awesome.

3.What would you have as your last meal on Earth?

Definitely a plate of nasi lemak with ayam berempah..okay,more like 2-3 plates.Preferably homemade by either my mother in law,sister in law,my aunts or if bought..the one from Ceria in Section 3.Add a few glasses of teh ais on the side.

4.If you can swap lives with somebody, anybody, who would it be?

Hurm...either Shay Mitchell or Chrissy Teigen.

5.Choose one superpower!

Teleportation. To be able to go from one place to another quickly is awesome.Saves petrol and time.

6.What is the first thing you notice about people?
I guess it'd be their face because that's what you look at first.

7.Any song that can make you sob non-stop?

Not really.I don't cry while listening to a song for no apparent reason.Songs that makes me feel sad/melancholy would be.. Make You Feel My Love &..I can't think of anything else right now.haha.There's a few sad indonesian songs but I can't remember the title.

8.What movies could you watch over and over and still love?

There's a lot..Simply Irresistible( I don't care how cheesy it is.Those vanilla orchids!),Mary Poppins(I watch this as a kid over and over again),Yours Mine & Ours(such a cute family),The Princess Diaries,any of the Harry Potter movies..any movie from the LOTR trilogy,

9.What ticks you off?

Rude people,girls who are highly dependent on their boyf/husband and..drivers who drives like a maniac.

10.BEAUTY STUFF! Your first makeup purchase - what and when? 

I've blogged about this before.haha. It'd be a tube of Loreal Paris Longitude Mascara back when I was 15 years old.I bought it myself!

11.Three words to summarize your personality:

Talkative(with ppl who are close to me..I'm shy with strangers),cheerful and a foodie.

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Nutmeg's Cake Parade

Tuesday, July 07, 2015 Liyana Hanim 0 Comments

Last week I received an email from Chef William Chong from Nutmeg,inviting me to join the other bloggers for a Cake Parade at Nutmeg.I was intrigued because he said that they'll be presenting a collection of cakes called Asian Fruit Cakes.He came upon an entry that I blogged about last year about my brunch at Nutmeg and invited me.Of course I wanted to go!

The terrace at Nutmeg
I asked my sister in law to come along because my husband isn't really into cakes.We were told that there'll be a light dinner for us to break our fast..but it was actually quite filling!We were scared that we weren't able to eat all the cakes but thankfully we shared a slice of cake with two other people on our table.

The venue was at the Terrace at Nutmeg and I did wonder where that would be.But actually the terrace is right inside of Nutmeg and it's a special closed area.


Sourdough bread
The meal started with a sourdough bread that was made not by using the normal rye yeast, but by fermenting the skin of green apples!That was very interesting...the bread smell and tasted soooo good!It's actually a natural way to make yeast.Chef William said that they've to constantly feed the starter for the sourdough as it's alive.

Dates filled with almonds & covered in salted beef
When this dish arrived at our table..I thought it reminded me of the Italian appetizer, but the difference was that the dates were wrapped with prosciutto.This one was wrapped with salted beef that they make in the kitchen, and the dates were filled with chopped almonds.It was delicious!The combination of the taste of sweet and salty is perfect.

Chef William said that the idea came because last month,during Ramadhan,he wanted to come up with a creative idea on how to serve dates to the Muslim customers.He didn't want to just serve dates on the table,so he came up with this version instead.It's permanently on the menu so you guys can order it anytime.
Delicious

Nutmeg soda
We were also served the special Nutmeg soda.The syrup for the drink was made by boiling the nutmeg skin.There's also sour plum in the drink.It was refreshing!

Crossaint-wich
We were served the mini version of their famous dish,the croissant-wich.It was sooood delicious.A layer of their house-cured salmon(which was substantial in terms of thickness) and the creamiest scrambled eggs that I've ever tasted.The side salad was lightly drizzled with a blackberry dressing.

Yummy
Nutmeg cured the salmon themselves using mustard and sugar.They also make their own smoked salmon.They even make one which is infused with beetroot and lemongrass..which sounds so interesting!

Simple yet so good
The last dish we ate was their salted beef hash(with potatoes & red peppers) with a sunny side up egg.Chef William said you break the yolk and mix it with the hash.Everybody at the table was quiet when eating this dish because it was sooo good.The salad was the same as the one we had before & my sister in law wish thay they'd sell their salad dressing.

Chunky chunks of beef but it was tender
Chef William explaining the cakes

Then it was time for us to taste the nine cakes.The cake came in threes and Chef William explained to us about all of the cakes


Papaya Paradise
The three cakes was Papaya Paradise,Caramelized Banana and Flourless Ciku.The Papaya Paradise cake was made using unripe pink papaya.It actually tasted like a carrot cake.It was really good!
Caramelized Banana
The Caramelized Banana cake was sooo good.The cake was compressed with caramel.The slightly bitter caramel,with the banana,the creamy frosting and the moist cake..along with the macadamia nuts..perfect combination.It's definitely one of my favourite of the night.

Flourless Ciku(gluten free)
This was also a cake that I was very curious about.How do you make ciku into a cake?Ciku (or sapodilla) is one of my favourite fruit.This cake is also gluten free and was made from brown rice,tapioca,molasses and sorghum.For a healthy cake,it was really yummy.The frosting was so creamy.It's a favourite as well and I bought a slice home with me so that people at home can taste it.

Pink Guava
This pink guava cake smells amazing.Chef William said that it's the national cake of Hawaii.There's a layer of pink guava jam and also a mousse.There's a slight bitterness to the jam because of the guava seed in it.

Velvet Pomegranate
I love pomegranate and this cake not only looks amazing but tastes good too.Chef William said that this cake was inspired by Where's Wally.hehe I even bought a slice home for my husband & father in law to try.

Watermelon Delight
This cake is a stunner!When it came out,we were all ooh-ing and aah-ing over it.I was like..it looks a princess cake!And then Chef William was like..yes!That was the inspiration for the look of it.It took two whole watermelon to make this cake.

We were confused about how Chef William used watermelon in the cake as it's a fruit that is very watery.He said that the cake was inspired by a cake that he ate in Sydney but he didn't like the cake because it was hard to eat.So he vow to make a better cake.This cake involved a lot of trial and error.

He dehydrated the watermelon and mixed it in the mousse.He also compressed the watermelon and made fruit leather out of it.He likes texture when eating a cake.Hence there's a layer of chocolate and pop rocks(candy that pops in your mouth) in the cake as well.He also used basil and agar in the cake.I never thought that chocolate and watermelon would go together but it actually tastes good!

So when you buy a slice of cake at Nutmeg,just know that it took a lot of research and high quality ingredients for them to make the cake.The price per slice is definitely reasonable if you knew what it took to make the cakes.
Pulut Hitam
Pulut hitam is a Malaysian dessert that I love and have made a few times as well.I was curious about how Chef William will make it into a cake.Let me tell you,he succeeded and the cake didn't taste heavy at all.It taste exactly like a bubur pulut hitam and it was light!There's a layer of gula melaka agar in it which was delicious.Definitely a favourite and yes,I bought a slice of this as well.
Cocomut Moonlight
Although I liked a lot of the cakes that we tried that night,this is something that I would definitely order again.Super moist cake layered with white chocolate mousse and macadamia nuts.Covered in candied shredded coconut.It's just heavenly.

Durian Chendol
This durian chendol cake is something that I want my mother to taste.She will love it!The cake looks amazing.The layer on top is chendol that is made by Nutmeg,then there's a layer of durian mousse,a thin layer of pulut and an even thinner layer of cake.It's serve with gula melaka sauce.It's my second favourite next to the Coconut Moonlight.

Heads up!

After tasting all of the cakes,we played a game of Heads Up! from all the cakes that we had tasted. I managed to figure the answer by just asking two questions.
Yummy goodies!
The goodies that were given to use was food from DASH by Nutmeg.I got their salted beef pie(ate it yesterday and it was buttery&good) and a mushroom quiche.Qeema got their sourdough loaf and DASH's pandan kaya(tasted it and it was sooo good).We also got a mini version of their smores cake..which had layers of goodness!

I definitely respect Chef William for the effort he put in his food,his passion for the industry and his knowledge.We even managed to chat about Momofuku Milk Bar(cos I have the cookbook)'s Crack Pie--which I've baked once.He handles not only Nutmeg but also Feast and DASH by Nutmeg..all in Bangsar Village II.I've to also mention that the service crew at Nutmeg was very courteous and helpful.
All of us!
I can't wait to come back to Nutmeg and bring my husband there for dinner.I definitely recommend people to come here to taste the amazing food and cakes!

Nutmeg's FB:



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Cameron Highland and Ipoh weekend trip.

Wednesday, July 01, 2015 Liyana Hanim 3 Comments

We looked so tiny!
Natalie and I have talked about going to Cameron before both of us got married with our husbands.My husband have known Natalie's husband since they were in diapers(there's a story that their maids would carry them and then talked to each other) and have been best friend for years.Our wedding was only two days apart from them.Ours was on 1st of January 2015 and theirs was on 3rd of January 2015.

So we finally managed to make plans to go to Cameron.We decided that it would be on 13th June because Natalie was busy with her assignments and we also wanted to go before puasa started.

So pretty!Captured this using my iphone 6 :)
We stayed at this 3 bedroom apartment which belonged to my mum's friend and my mum actually paid for it without me even asking for it.So nice of her!We went there on Saturday morning and came back on Sunday evening.

It was a great short weekend trip but we definitely have to go there again for 3 days 2 nights because Aie wasn't able to go for jungle trekking.hehe.After the trip Aie was like..how lah your dad managed to drive to Cameron so many times every year?Because the road is pretty challenging.My parents go to Cameron atleast twice every year.
Huge avocado!
I haven't been to Cameron since over a year ago.My family visited Cameron so frequently..that I know all of the places very well.It was great to see what new produce they've planted recently.I was surprised to see that they're selling avocado!!Yeayyy cheap but hugeee avocado.

They were huge and was far cheaper than the imported ones.But I think it'll be monthssss before they'll be available at our supermarket because that happened with habaneros.I made guacamole using the avocados and they were creamy&delicious!

You can read my blog entry in 2013 about the habaneros that I bought--HERE.So I bought them in 2013 and I think it was only late last year that I saw them being sold at Jaya Grocer.They aren't available at Tesco or Giant.So..yeah.haha.We should support our local farmers!

We didn't go to that many places because it was a short trip.But Natalie wanted strawberries so we went to Cactus Valley(a spot that I've been to many many times) because there's Big Red Strawberry Farm there.
The numbered menu!

Newlyweds!

Yumms

I loveee the strawberry sundae..it is filled with fresh strawberries.Razin and I shared the sundae together(we had banana leaf rice for lunch so was still a bit full).Natalie and Aie also had strawberries with whipped cream and strawberry waffles to share.

There's a funny story that happened at Cactus Valley.So Natalie wanted to buy a cactus.She walked around on her own while my husband was with me.Suddenly she shouted at me to come to her..I was like..what's going on?Turns out the cactus that she bought,the needles on it transferred to her fingers!The needles were sooo tiny and fine but was very prickly and painful.Suffice to say that it even transferred on my fingers during the stay..we named her "Cactus Girl" during the entire trip.haha.
Delicious scone

We went to Lord's Cafe for the best scones!Honestly they're just the best..next to my homemade ones of course.hahahaha.Natalie said they were very good as well.We also went to Brinchang's Night Market which Natalie loveee because of the fresh produce.I found a new produce here as well..a white sweet corn.They call it milk corn because it tasted like milk!All of the kernels was white.I bought some and it was sooo good.Pity it's not sold in Klang Valley yet.
Honeycomb being cut.

We also bought honeycomb,Tualang honey(wild honey from the jungle),more sweet corn,lots of strawberries as well.We even bought some snacks like roasted chestnuts,deep friend prawns and boiled sweet corn.
Pasar malam haul.
So much fresh vegetables!
Charcoal steamboat
For dinner we went to this Organic Steamboat place.It was very comforting sipping the hot soup since the night was very cold.
Array of  Nyonya kuih
The kuih tatal is so yummy
Breakfast!


The next morning we went to breakfast at Uncle Chow!We've been here before and the uncle is always so friendly.I had the curry laksa and also tasted kuih tatal for the first time.The kuih is basically a glutinous rice based dessert served with homemade kaya(which was sooo yummy).It's a nyonya dessert.

We went to Kea Farms before going home and I bought a lot of stuffs for my loved ones and some things that my colleagues asked me to buy.
Nasi ganja!

After Cameron,we went to Ipoh for lunch and I tasted the famous nasi ganja.We went to the original one at Yong Suan..it is halal.Don't worry!The term nasi ganja is because people said that the dish is very addictive.When we went there the queue was long (it was about 3 pm) but because a lot of people was queuing up to takeaway their meal,we got a seat pretty quick as the guy there asked everybody queuing up whether they are there to eat or just takeaway.

I'm not even a person who likes to eat curry but I enjoyed my plate of rice!It was good.But after reading Bangsar Babe's blogpost about it..I would definitely want to come again and order the ayam merah version hehe.
My handsome husband
Natalie wasn't in the mood for the nasi ganja so we walked over to Chokodok Raggae House Cafe and Backpackers for her to have a sandwich.She actually know the owner of the cafe cos she has stayed in Ipoh before.The place is pretty cool!I had their milo "aiskrim malaysia".
Weirdos behind me haha
By the time we went back,I was soooo tired and I also got the flu when we were in Cameron which lasted up to a week!BTW,I hateee how my eyebrow looks here because I went for threading at this place in shah alam and the lady did it badly..never again!

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