BeverageSS
Flying to Paris for romantic dinner, enjoying dessert in Belgium and having coffee in San Francisco. Isn’t that wonderful if we can ever do that? No, I still cannot afford to do that but occasionally, something similar come to my mind. Having Western appetizer, Chinese main course and maybe Italian dessert but it is kind of hard to get all under one roof.
Most of the time, I ended up do a take away instead of dining in the restaurant. Oh yea, I do this all the time if I am unable to decide on which restaurant to go to. Odd? I think as long as I can get my preferred food, why not? This time round, I went to Giraffe To Go for Salad, Spur Steak & Grill for appetizer and Starbucks for my drinks. Awesome dinner isn’t it?
This the the take away paper bag from Giraffe To Go..Guess what is inside?
Grilled Chicken, Tiger Prawn & Mango Salad £ 9.95 .. strongly recommended !
Crunchy Coconut Shrimp £ 5.65 .. nice n unique but slightly pricy
Take away boxes from Spur Steak & Grill
Main course? More like appetizer to me 
hehe.. Peri-peri sauce of Buffalo Wings £ 8.95
N lastly, my drinks.. Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino..bet you are familiar with this?
Hmm… this dinner cost me less than £ 50. Therefore, I would consider a satisfying dinner for me 
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An apple a day, keeps the doctor away . I believe that phrase is still valid until today except if the doctor is in super hot uniform. Did you know a cup of coffee a day will also keeps the doctor away?
Recent studies show that coffee drinking can protect your liver especially liver disease caused by alcohol damage. Oh yea, alcohol is evil this case. I don’t consume alcohol, not because I am liver friendly but because it is against my religion. Er..Don’t ask me what is my religion..:P
The downside of it is, the studies also bring some detrimental effects on me. What the study did not conclude is that coffee drinking will make you slightly poorer, potentially lead to diabetes and Starbucks will automatically turn out to be your must visit friend.
Starbucks in Shanghai is no difference than Starbucks elsewhere in the world. The Caramel Frappuccino and black coffee still taste the same despite I am few hundred miles away from home. Knowing that coffee can protect livers, Starbucks is never cheap.
Many health conscious customers will not just go there for coffee, typically me. Most of the time, I will either put on few calories extra by ordering some dessert such as deliciously tempting cakes, muffins or cookies. Don’t ask me if my pancreases can take it but it makes me feel good.
This time I did not order muffins or cakes but I go for strawberry pastries and strawberry lollipop instead. I can tell you it is not cheap and it is addictive. Believe it or not, the tastes blend in nicely with the coffees I ordered.
Like I said, sometime I do take care of my liver but at the same time, I do sacrifice my pancreases too. (FYI, pancreases produces insulin to control sugar level in your body). Well, it is hard to resist on sweet stuffs right?
To certain extend, I consider Starbucks as my best friend and the time that I spent here is considered as quality dessert time. So, it is not purely for coffee but for pastries, candies, and oh ya for Low Fat Blueberry Yogurt Cup too! I am sure we share the same friend too right?
Starbucks, Shanghai
GPS:
WEB: http://www.starbucks.com/
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Hello, can I call for room service? Ok.. What service do you want, sir? We provide all kind of services to our customers including some special one.
I am curious about the special one but let’s not get there. This is a typical type of conversation you will have when you call front desk in hotel. Nothing special about it.
Try again if either of you do not speak English. The conversation will become as challenging as what Chinese said, like chicken and duck speak.
Believe it or not, a simple mushroom soup will turn out to be the most difficult soup to order. If the soup turns out to be tasteless, the effort just goes to drain. Luckily, it did not happen to me this time.
By right, most menus should be numbered. It simplifies the communication between the guest and the hotel when in urgent need. When come to this, pictorial menu is completely useless.
Imagine how I ordered Sirloin Steak with Tiger Prawns and Fries, medium rare? The waitress for sure is patient and polite but probably in her mind, she will say this “What the F*** are you talking about?”
In normal circumstances, I will order a soup, main course, desserts and a drink. Now, the conversation is not only testing her patience but mine too.
The Banana Fritter and ice cream is one of the tough one. I know how to describe banana and ice cream but definitely not fritter in foreign language. I nearly fainted when I ordered strawberry milkshake and turned out to be orange juice.
All the hard works did paid off when the dinner was finally sent to my room but 30 minutes late. This is really a milestone for me and in fact one of my biggest fear in foreign places. Imagine if they sent “something special” and not food!
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AS you might aware, Valentine is around the corner. Any surprises for your loved one? Buying a diamond ring is just too common. If you are running out an idea, I have one for you.
What about preparing a candlelight dinner by YOURSELF? If you are worry that you might not be able to get a perfect wine for the night, this might be your ultimate solution.
Few days ago, I came across this website, Wine Gift Baskets while in the midst of googling the best wine around. It is actually an online shop selling variety of wines ranging from Red, White, Merlot, Pinot Noir,Shiraz and many more.
Not only they are selling wines but they sell Gift/Wine Baskets too. These sorta baskets normally work as perfect gifts to just about anyone on any occasions.
As for valentine, I find wine and chocolates outshine others and it is worth buying.
The website is rather simple where all you need is just register, choose, make a payment, and it will delivers to your doorstep.
You don’t need to worry what to get as you have multiple choices to choose from. If you are making your first order, you get the shipping price as low as 1¢. Try it if you don’t believe me.
From consumer point of view, I bet we are hesitating if our choice is a right choice, how good is the service, products qualities etc.
But hey, don’t worry as you get to read reviews from previous customers and product description before you place your payment. If still not satisfy, give a call to their customer service at 1 800 592 5870.
To me, there is always a risk in purchasing any online products. So to avoid any unfortunate events, always check for their customers review. Surprisingly, when I check, this website appears to have a lot of satisfied customers. Why not you give it a try?
Website: Wine Gift Baskets
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Lonely Planet used to be one of my best companions when I travel abroad. Not because I am lonely but it helps to locate scenic locations and recommended delicacies in foreign places.
To avoid myself from associated with the word “lonely”, Google turns out to be my best buddy. Instead of flipping the book, I can easily acquire valuable information by gently touch my wife, iPhone :p
Every corner of the world has their own specialties. It is like a “must try” delicacy. For example: Tapas in Spain, Tom Yum in Thailand, Laksa in Penang and bla bla bla.
No exception for Hangzhou, the largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Over here, you “MUST TRY” few famous dishes in Lou Wai Lou (楼外楼), the most authentic restaurant in West Lake.
Like many tourists, I enter this restaurant with a hope to try every recommend dishes here. So I started to speak to the waitress in my broken Mandarin. Honestly, I have no clue 9 out of 10 words she said.
Thanks to the pictorial menu that bridge the communication gaps. I ordered Long Jing Cha (龙井茶) , the famous tea for only 12 RMB (~RM 6) each. If you are intending to add a little fat, go for Tong Po Rou, (东坡肉).
If you ask me, I didn’t know that Hangzhou is famous with beggar’s chicken. The only time that I came across with this dish is in “So, the Begger” movie. I thought it is just a mythical dish.
Right now, I get to try it myself. Many claim that this restaurant serves the most original version of beggar chicken. So, don’t be surprise if more than 90 % of customer here ordered this too.
While happily enjoying my meal, all of the sudden, a kitchen crew brings a pail with this ugly creature. Gosh.. totally spoil my taste. I am like, “What are you doing?”
This fish is about to sacrifice itself to feed my stomach. In few minutes, this fish turned out to be West Lake fish in Vinegar Gravy, one of the chef recommendations in this restaurant.
When I call for bill, I nearly get a heart attack as this lunch cost me RMB 445.40 (~RM 200 ish). Until now, I still try to justify that this lunch is worth the money. The dishes are quite unique but I have to go on diet for few days after that 
Lou Wai Lou
Gushan Road, Xihu,
Hangzhou, China, 310007
GPS: 30.250258, 120.141935
WEB: www.louwailou.com.cn
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Did you know that beer is the world’s oldest and widely consumed alcohol beverages? No? I bet history book back in high school did not mention anything about this. Your online universities may not have mentioned it, either.
Considering alcohol is illegal for some of the religion and underage like me, we have restricted access to the traditional and modern processes of how it is made and where it came from.
The answers that you are looking for are finally here! If you are in Qingdao, Shandong Province, spare some time to pay a visit to Tsingtao Brewery Museum. The place where past, present and future emerge.
Recently, Tsingtao Brewery just celebrated 100 years of success. This brand started of with a small dinky factory, providing drinks for locals and now, this brand managed to make a dent in the world.
This is not an ordinary factory visit but rather a big compound filled with both modern and historical architectures. Over here, the museum is separated to few different sections.
Starting from boring history lesson, to ancient and modern beer brewing process, free drink tasting and lastly, souvenirs corner. What impresses me a lot is the gigantic beer fountain! No.. it is not filled with beer..
Time machine hasn’t invented yet. If you plan to travel back to time, this section is kind of awesome. It shows all ancients events, posters, artifacts, old documents etc.
As you know, I am not a big fan of reading so this section took me only about 10 mins. 5 min to walk around and another 5 min to stop by to check out the phonograph. NO.. not pornograph.. but gramophone in other worlds. You will be surprise that they still keep the old records.
If you are patient enough, walk to the other building where they display the traditional brewing method together with interesting sculpture and ancient man made equipments
Most of the equipment are not functioning now but it gives you a good insight about what happen in the past and how they create a miracle drink. Maybe I have a sensitive nose but believe it or not, I can still smell the malt and yeast here
Like any museum, you got to be there to see everything. This has no exception. Beside walking through the old factory, you will come across a modern functioning processing plant that shows how the beer was made, can/bottle, packing etc.
Not only that, with only RMB 50 (~RM 50)/per person, you get to claim for your free drinks at the bar with a packet of beer peanuts. If that is not enough, you can later purchase more ‘drinks’ and souvenirs before you exit the museum.
Tsingtao Brewery Museum
56号 Dengzhou Road, Shibei,
Qingdao, Shandong, China
TEL: +86 532 8382 0705
GPS: 36.079573, 120.34934
Website: http://www.tsingtao.com.cn/en/, http://www.tsingtaomuseum.com/
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Starbucks, Coffee Beans, San Francisco Coffee are all the famous hangout places for many. Have you ever thought where will be the emperor hang out places? If I tell you it will be in Café Shop, do you believe it? No? Why not?
Not all emperors love to see beautiful girls’ performances, operas, traditional musical etc. At least not the emperor that used to reside in Changdeokgung Palace.
In this palace, there is a very classy and modern café shop. Ops..maybe this shop is only build when the palace is made public. Poor emperor.. hehe.. Less one hang out place
Summer in Korea can get really really warm. Touring in Changdeokgung Palace during summer can make you feel like you are in Sahara Dessert. To satisfy your thirst and prevent you from getting sunstroke, this shop have both drinks and air condition.
This shop is not just an ordinary café shop. The shop also sells a lot of souvenirs at reasonable price. Souvenirs? That is a girly stuffs but I am attracted to the antiques, keychains, potteries and many others Korea specials.
Many decided to take a break here before resuming their tour in this palace. Sometime this shop can get really congested but it is a good thing for me as my “Eye Washer”! Google Korean Girls and you will know what I meant.
What special about this shop are the traditional teas. They serve Sikhye, Sujeonggwa, Citron Tea, Chrysanthemum Tea, Mogwa Tea, Saengang Tea and Jujube Tea. Also they serve some common beverages such as Iced Coffee, Americano, Moca Coffee, Coke etc.
To be honest, I have no clue at all the traditional teas but I think it is worth trying as it only costs about 3000 Won/cup. Just be prepared to use your pointing skills as they might not understand your language.
No point for me to go for common drinks. So, I have decided to go for Sikhye and Jujube Tea. Don’t ask me what it is because I have no clue. I just thought that selecting the first one on the menu board is the easiest and the last one is the easiest to point.
I have to admit that both of the teas are “not my cup of tea” but if I am to visit this place again, I will order it again for sure because the name is kind of cute.
Now you know, sometimes, I am luckier than emperor because I am a freeman that can go anywhere I want and I have an additional place to hangout !
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