It’s almost June which means summer is here! I hope my adventures in Spain would convince you to book/plan a trip there this summer. Believe me, Spain is magical! I would do it a thousand times over.
We took the 10.30AM AVE (Spain) Train en route to Barcelona. The 3-hour ride on First Class Coach was filled with holiday-goers – men in shorts and women in summer dresses and espadrilles talking animatedly in Spanish, maybe about the beaches in Barcelona, maybe about a crazy night they have planned for the night. I couldn’t understand a word they’re saying, but was amazed all the same. It was such a fun sight to watch.
I got restless after a while, so I went to the dining car for a cup of coffee. It’s a pretty cool experience watching the scenic countryside of Spain from a train while sipping coffee and not having a care in the world. It’s nice to be still for a while and realise how lucky I am to be on this epic trip.
Probably listening to voice messages from Joyce, who was en route to Barcelona from Berlin.
At 2pm, we arrived at Barcelona-Sants, the largest railway station in Barcelona that provides railway service around and in Barcelona and around Spain and beyond. The plan was to check-in our hotel before heading for lunch, but Chet said we’re gonna have lunch first. Thank God! We were staaaarving. So off we went to L’Eggs by Paco Perez at Paseig de Gràcia.
(Pic via L’Eggs Google+)
Chef Paco Pérez is one of the best exponents of avant-garde cuisine. Having already received 5 Michelin stars to-date – two for Miramar in Llançà, two for Enoteca in the Hotel Arts, Barcelona, and one for Cinco in Berlin. As for L’Eggs, he wanted to do something different, affordable, fun and that everyone would like – eggs! Everything on the menu at L’Eggs is based on well… EGGS! We were so lucky to get to spend about an hour with him for a casual chat.
“Inspiration is everywhere – I usually find it during my walks and they always come in the form of nature. I have dreams, inside my head and I always want to transform them into a dish,” shared Paco when asked about what inspires him.
When asked about the secret to his success, he explained that the most important features that help him achieve the standard of acknowledgement are “to believe in dreams, to be constant, to be modest in what you have already achieved and not believe that you have made it. Work hard and also, a stroke of luck… that helps too. But don’t count on just that.”
“At Miramar, we want people to get emotional. It’s like driving. With the car, you will drive by the seaside, countryside, to the mountains and at the end of your journey, you question yourself – what is the most beautiful thing you’ve seen during your travels? It’s the experience. It’s not the details, or the photos you take… it’s the memories you held inside,” he further shared.
Miramar, Enoteca and Cinco are fine dining restaurants, so for Paco to open a casual restaurant focusing on something that is so humble – the egg, made everyone wonder about his shift of focus.
“Eggs are magic! I agree, it is a very modest ingredient. Because of its modesty, it is also a challenge to build something around it. We (Paco and team) love to cook and we want to reach people from all walks of life. Only a small group of people could afford EUR200 – EUR300 menu in Miramar or the other two restaurants here that we have in Catalonia. So L’Eggs is a place where everyone could come and have a merry time.”
When it was time to eat, I believe he ordered EVERYTHING on the menu for our group. It was wonderful and too much! I had to walk off the food up and down the street for 10 minutes. By the time I got back to the restaurant, it was time for dessert. And the gang, left a whole chocolate souffle for me to devour by myself knowing that I was already full. I finished it anyway. I mean… It’s not every day you get to eat at a Paco Perez establishment, right? Make it count!
Yolk Croquettes
Portion of Iberian of pure acorn Arturo Sanchez
Steak tartare with Mexican shades on grilled bone marrow
When it comes to activewear, it’s pretty hard to get your hands on fun, colourful, and fashionable workout wear.
A local advocate for fitness and healthy lifestyle, Nadia Hasbi, addressed this gap with Fit Rebel‘s Seni, a new line of artistic leggings featuring hand-painted designs by Malaysian batik artists from the Malaysian Craft Development Corporation. Yes, not only did she come up with vibrant leggings, she incorporated an essence of our local batik art into them, making it beautiful pieces of wearable art.
Fit Rebel’s new line of leggings is relatively fresh and unique because batik prints are uncommonly seen on activewear. Okay, more like never. I’ve never seen batik on activewear. Batik is usually incorporated into formal wear. My high school teachers used to wear their batik baju kurung every Friday.
These fabulous leggings range between RM300 – RM400. However, Nadia aims to price these leggings at RM189 but in order for this to work, she will be running a crowdfunding campaign till 1st June 2016 to raise funds to subsidize all costs of production to create her first collection.
The leggings have been tested on women performing a wide range of active pursuits, such as cross-fit, martial arts, running, dance and yoga. Made of a blend of smooth and durable Lycra, it was tested to keep one nice and comfy while working out.
Joyce tried the leggings for a few days to see how they felt.
Joyce: I really wanted to try these leggings out to give feedback to Nadia as she’s so passionate and driven by her project. My consensus = they’re surprisingly comfortable + airy + slick to wear despite the thickness of the material. It was very suitable for Powerplate (where a lot of movement and weights are involved) and fashionable enough for a lunch date! I really hope you guys can support her crowdfunding campaign if it resonates with you!
Urbanscapes is one of the most prominent art festivals in Malaysia. I popped my Urbanscapes cherry back in 2008 when it was a 2-day festival in KLPAC. This year, the festival spreaded across three weekends in various parts of the city with weekend markets happening at Urbanscapes House and an impressive line-up of acts like Tame Impala, M83 and Rudimental.
The Hotel Takeover was an invite-only party that took place during Labour Day weekend. We were treated with cocktails, a BBQ party, and some chilled tunes which was perfect for a Sunday affair. But of course, the highlight of the event was an exclusive Rudimental after-party that took place at KL Journal’s rooftop.
I love weekend getaways. Even if it’s the city. Booking a villa or suite over the weekend gets me very refreshed, especially after a hectic week. I also enjoy some time away from my family. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy their company but I enjoy my ME time, haha.
I was kind of jakun with the elevated parking system in the hotel because I’ve never really seen or used it in Malaysia. It was everywhere in Japan and fascinating for me to watch as cars were casually stacked on this parking system. You gotta love the Japanese and their technology.
The immensely comfortable bed where I spent most of my time on, clearly. My friend was chiding me to go explore after chucking our bags in the room and all I wanted to do was to roll around in bed in the hotel bathrobe.
KL Journal is set in a very strategic part of the city, Lot 10 is a convenient 5-minute walk away and I conveniently did a little shopping at H&M in between the party. Heh.
I know everyone is excited for Good Vibes because Phase 1 tickets were sold out within 2 days , plus the fact my friends were harping alllllll about it ever since the line-up was announced.
I gotta say, so far, it’s pretty impressive.
The festival’s third year will take place at The Ranch in Gohtong Jaya, Genting Highlands on 12th and 13th August 2016. Even though it’s less than 3 months away, I’m already putting together my festival outfits. I’m super duper excited to pop my Good Vibes Fest cherry. Yasssss.
The latest addition to the line-up that got everyone even more hyped up, are Grammy-nominated duo and regular Sam Smith collaborators, Disclosure.
Hailing from Manchester with their infectious pop hooks, The 1975.
Irish indie chart favourites, Two Door Cinema Club.
My friend got me hooked up to them back when I was back in high school. I’m super stoked to be finally catching them live!
I stumbled upon this tweet that said girls often talk about make-up like it’s some kind of canggih weapon. I can’t agree more.
Yes, I’m a make-up junkie but I would say I’m a pretty mediocre one. When I hear some of my girlfriends talking about make-up with their highly canggih names like the Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Foundation in shade 2.0, I would need to Google it up and see what they’re actually talking about. Is this how all guys feel when us girls talk to them about make-up? Haha.
Urban Decay threw a pool party at KL Journal to introduce their Summer 2016 Collection.
On right is Joyce with Sabrina Loh, Asst PR and Digital Manager of Urban Decay
Urban Decay introduced shade extensions of one of their bestsellers, the Naked Skin Foundation (RM 115). I’ve heard good reviews of this product from beauty YouTubers but I have yet to try it myself. Most say that the foundation is so light that it feels like you’re wearing nothing at all and it has great coverage that gives you a flawless, demi-matte finish.
Naked Skin One & Done Hybrid Complexion Perfector (RM 115) is a multitasking cream that is a combination of a skin treatment and a sheer foundation. This formula comes in six forgiving shades, so it’s easy to find the right match.
Seeing how girls went crazy to get their hands on the super-exclusive Vice Ltd palette last year, Urban Decay launched an upgraded sequel of the palette in conjunction with their 20th anniversary- UD XX Vice Ltd Reloaded. I’m in love with their packaging!
