PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA
WHEN IN TOKYO (PART THREE)
Tag: travel
WHEN IN TOKYO (PART TWO)
PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA
WHEN IN TOKYO (PART ONE)
PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA
HI FROM MUMBAI
This early February 2017, I’ve got the chance to visit India for the second times.
Lots have happened in 2017 already, and it’s only February. I’ve had career switch and move office. Lucky me, I’ll be doing what I love the most. Yes, I have a new career in beauty business, people!
One day at new office, and I left to Mumbai for business trip. Between meetings and visiting LAKME FASHION WEEK (LFW) at Jio Garden, I’ve had a good time trying local food and did some sightseeing.
Here are some pics from my trip.
Trident BKC (stands for Bandra Kurla Complex) infinity swimming pool. Unfortunately, there were some constructions going on the building right in front of the pool. So yeah, no swimming for me.
My first show at LFW.
LFW Finale Show at Bandra Fort, when they transformed this old fort into a magical forest for Anita Dongre’s Summer/Resort 2017 Collection. Beautiful sets of dresses and tunics, indeed.
My first ever encounter with Bollywood’s famous actress, who’s also the Brand Ambassador for LAKME, Kareena Kapoor Khan (on the middle).
Me at The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. Opened in 1903, almost most of the British Royals have stayed here. I can’t even imagine this beautiful historical building was attacked by terrorists back in 2008.
Local exotic food from a hipster restaurant named Soda Bottle Openerwala. Fusion food between Indian and Iranian food at their best.
Masala Pepsi. Yes, they put masala in everything. LOL.
Prawn Patio with Buns.
At St Regis Hotel
Overall trip was beyond my expectation, in good and bad terms. The good: weather was nice, actually kind of cold at night. Vintage buildings got me…like all the time! (see my instagram @shintarosvita).
The bad: the traffic. Coming from Jakarta where traffic was also bad, but the honking session in Mumbai is at another level. They seriously honk…a lot…. And for those who have Ornithophobia (fear of birds), I am warning you….birds are everywhere.
Tips: rent a car with driver, it’s safer to go around with windows closed at all times to protect yourself from beggars which sometimes appear and stuck their faces on the car’s window. Seriously, they need to do something with these beggars.
PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA
WHEN IN SEOUL (PART 2)
Before we took the journey to Seoul, South Korea, we did some searching of what food to have there.
After some local food experiences in previous post, here are some international must try when in Seoul.
CAFÉ DIOR BY PIERRE HERMÉ
Located on Apgujeong-Ro which reminds me a lot of Rodeo Drive, this fabulous café is located on top of the House of Dior. So to get to the cafe, we have to stroll along the boutique which has extensive range of Lady Dior bags hanging around (a tough stroll for me, LOL). FYI, they have this sort of rule: each person must order at least one menu (either drink or dessert). I oredered BABA ISPAHAN (seen on the pic above) which costs 32.000 Won. Yes, they’re not cheap. I also ordered Cafe Latte which costs 19.000 Won, certainly the most expensive coffee I’ve ever bought in my life. But it was a fabulous cafe, so take this chance to take some beautiful shots. I did on my instagram, @shintarosvita (so please do check them out). Taste wise, well….it was entertaining and the Latte was creamy.
THE ORIGINAL PANCAKE HOUSE
It was quite an adventure to get to their Sinsa-dong location in Gangnam. We took the Metro and have to walk about 10 minutes to get there. But heck it was a worth it trip. The Original Pancake House is an American family chain that started out in Portland, Oregon, USA, known for their pancakes and other brunch-centric menus. Their pancakes are super soft, made with very tasty butter. Waffles were delicious. And we ordered their specialties, DUTCH BABY (above pic on the right). It’s like a souffle pancake which takes up to an hour to make, very unique taste with melting butter, powdered sugar and lemon juice on top.
BILLS
We went to their first Bills in Seoul which located on Jamsil’s Lotte World Mall. Bills is known for its’ best scrambled eggs and ricotta hotcakes, originally from Sydney, Australia. So of course, we ordered the Ricotta Hotcakes with banana and honeycomb butter, one of their classic menu. The best Hotcakes I’ve ever tried with delicious melted honeycomb butter and gigantic bananas. It was kind of huge, so sharing is recommended.
And yes, we ordered the most famous FULL AUSSIE, comprising Scrambled Organic Eggs which tastes heavenly, Sourdough Toast, Miso Mushrooms, Bacon, Cumin Roast Tomato, Pork & Fennel Sausage. It was kind of huge as well, so you can share this champion breakfast.
They also offered different kind of cakes, which unfortunately I didn’t try.
SHAKE SHACK
We found this by accident, as we strolled along Gangnam-daero to find NIKE store. Just before Nike, we saw this huge queue and surprised surprised, it was SHAKE SHACK! This burger joint is already happening in New York, and I heard from my husband who tasted them before, that the queue in New York were longer than Seoul. We went in after about 20 minutes, and ordered Cheese Burger, Shack Burger, Chocolate Milkshake and their crinkled-cut fries plus Cheese Fries. The burgers were amazingly delicious, buns were soft, meat were well marinated. They made great burgers for sure. But can’t say much about their cheese fries, though. That yellow sauce didn’t taste like cheese at all. And their shakes were so-so, I’ve tasted better. So.. go here for their burgers only.
MAX BRENNER CHOCOLATE BAR
Another accidentally found when we strolled along Central City near Express Bus Terminal Station. This originally Australian chocolate bar is a must visit if you love chocolate. We ordered Banana Split Waffle and Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. I enjoyed their desserts even though I am not a big fan of chocolate. (I know, I might be the only woman in this world who doesn’t love chocolate that much). Their food presentations were nice, I love their cup and I wish I can take them home (unfortunately can’t).
That was it, folks. Unfortunately, there were some misses due to timing and not to mention that I had flu when I was in Seoul. So yeah…I hope I might be able to try some more if I have the chance to go back to Seoul. Kamsahamnida.
PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA
WHILE IN SEOUL (PART ONE)
Just got back from our year end family vacation to Seoul, South Korea.
I believe I’m not having any jet lag, but I certainly have this weather lag. While in Seoul, the temperature can drop until -5 degrees Celsius (the worst was in Nami Island which was -10), and when we got back to Jakarta, Indonesia, it was 30 degrees Celsius. Imagine that lag!
It was bloody bright, but bloody hell freezing as well. Truly an experience for me and my family as we’ve never experienced snow before, and we did in Seoul (even though it didn’t fall on us, unfortunately).
Somehow, Seoul reminds me of Paris for its’ language barrier. I don’t speak Koreans, and if I tried to talk to them in English, they’ll reply in Koreans. Like, seriously???? We ended up taking a lot of Metro trains, as we had a lot of trouble explaining our destination to taxi drivers. Fortunately, Metro was an easy ride for us, first timer in Seoul.
Ordering food was always a challenge as well. Some do have menus in English, but some just don’t. They don’t even have the signage in English. I believe Koreans are proud of their own thing, I mean…come on, K-Pop is literally everywhere, K-Drama, and K-Food.
Talking about K-Food, I might as well blog about them. I also posted a lot of my journey in Seoul, Korea on my instagram @shintarosvita (please check them out).
For those who love spicy food, trust me…you’ll survive in Seoul as they do have lots of spicy food to offer. Even their K-BBQ is spicy.
We went to this local K-BBQ in Gangnam Area, named Saemaul Sikdang. They don’t have signage in English, so we did have a trouble finding it. But with the help of Google Maps, we did. A friend recommended me to visit this restaurant. It was not a big restaurant. When we were there, we were the only tourist, so I believe locals love this restaurant so much. FYI, we had to wait in the cold outside the restaurant for 15 minutes before the waitress called us. It wasn’t halal for sure, they only serve pork. Oh yeah, they use charcoal to grill the meat, which gives that special smokey touch.
Leaving a restaurant in Seoul, especially a local restaurant, means you’ll get left behind with smokey food aroma on your hair and clothes. LOL. Except the barbecue, Bulgogi is also a local favorite. Unlike Bulgogi served dry in Jakarta where I live, they somehow have it with broth.
We had this Bulgogi in Sariwon at COEX Mall. And yes, Koreans do love their garnishes and kimchis.
They sure love to mix stuff, seriously. We went to Shinsegai Central City and was curious to try this local restaurant which had long waiting lines. It must be that good, since locals were lining up in front of this restaurant (sorry it was in Koreans, so I don’t know the name of the restaurant).
(Unbelievably) they named this Beef Teppanyaki. They mix the minced beef with rice (bap in Koreans) and vegetables, nothing like the teppanyaki served back home. And again, it was spicy.
In terms of packaging, Koreans does it best.
Look at that cute coffee cups from Paris Baguette. By the way, Paris Baguette is a local bakery/cafe that can be found almost everywhere in Seoul. In terms of taste, it was OK, I had better coffee.
In Nami Island (it was one and a half hour drive from our hotel in Gangnam area and off with ferry for another five minutes), it was freezing cold and fortunately, there were hot food sold.
Local food Hotteok aka pancake. It is one of the most popular Korean street snacks and particularly popular in winter. If they weren’t filled with sunflower seeds and nuts, I’d probably like them more as they’re also stuffed with dark brown sugar and cinnamon powder. And yes, they’re charcoal-grilled for that unique smokey flavor.
Another Nami Island must eat food, is their Chicken Barbecue in a restaurant named Seomhyanggi. Fortunately, they’re not as spicy as I thought, so my boys can eat them.
Well, that was as local as I can get ….
On my second post, I’ll blog about the international food that they have in Seoul. Stay tune.
PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA
PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR TRAVELER
Check out this pretty box from DIPTYQUE, filled with petite bath & body products from
their new line L’ART DU SOIN.
Inspired by passion for travel and discovery, Diptyque incorporate this line with iconic
Mediterranean destinations, such as Alexandria, Florence, Cordoba etc. They
carefully chosen natural ingredients to remain free of parabens, silicons,
sulfates and other synthetic additives.
When I unboxed (check out my instagram @shintarosvita), the luxurious scent
immediately won me over. Inside the pretty cotton pouch (which also smells like
the products), there are SMOOTHING BODY POLISH, REVITALIZING SHOWER GEL FOR THE BODY & HAIR, FRESH LOTION FOR THE BODY & LUXURIOUS HAND BALM. All in 50
ml packaging except the 30 ml hand balm, perfect for traveling. I mean, we
still have to indulge ourselves while traveling, right?
They don’t just smell heavenly, their formulas contain many ingredients which are
good for our skin.
Smoothing Body Polish contains Pomegranate Seed Oil to moisturize and protect the skin,
Jasmine Floral Water to gently purifies and activate cell renewal & Peach
Butter to comfort and nourishes.
Revitalizing Shower Gel for Body and Hair contains Peppermint Essence to tones the skin,
Almond Extract to revitalize hair and give them volume and shine & Wheat
Oligopeptide to soothes the scalp.
Fresh Lotion for the Body contains Orange Blossom Water to soften, moisturize and
tones the skin, Organic Sweet Almond Oil to regenerates and restructures the
skin & Macadamia Nut Oil to soften and soothed the skin.
Luxurious Hand Balm contains Apricot Kernet Oil for dehydrated skin, Argan Oil for
brittle nails & Shea Butter to moisturize and revitalize the skin.
I believe they work harmoniously, so layering is recommended. Bon Voyage!
PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA
REVIEW: VOV ALL DAY STRONG EYE COLOR & LIP COLOR
Thanks VOV Indonesia (@vovmakeupid) for sending me their latest products to review
which comes in a pretty black makeup pouch.
Unlike most of Korean brands which concentrate on skincare products, VOV strengthened
its position in Indonesia to be the only K-Makeup who concentrates on colors
makeup. And these are their latest innovations eye & lip colors makeup: ALL
DAY STRONG EYE COLOR & LIP COLOR. Both come in chubby retractable matte
pencil packaging, with a big round tip.
Here’s my review.
ALL DAY STRONG EYE COLOR
They sent me three shades of eye color to try, SL 211 (Silver Salt), PK 101 (Diabouquet) and BR 802 (Nude Foundation). As the name stated, SL 211 is shimmery silver, PK 101 is light
pink with shimmer and BR 802 is a pretty caramel shade with matte texture. I
believe it’s the only matte in the range. Please … please make more matte
shades in the future.
Personally, I don’t like to use shimmer and creamy eye color because I have oily lids and the colors will look ugly by noon. But with this VOV ones are different. Even though the two out of three shades, SL 211 and PK 101 are shimmery, they didn’t end up with oily lids
look. Judging from the swatch I did on a piece of paper, not even a slight of oil shown after 24 hours.
The best part: the shades stay true even if I don’t use eye primer and they didn’t crease by the end of the day.
I recommend to use these as eye shadow, not liner, because the tips are kind of big and round which make it difficult to reach small corner. And, make sure you blend fast after applying, because they tend to set faster than any eye color pencils I’ve tried. I love to bring these as a part of my traveling makeup kit, as I don’t have to worry they’ll be
broken to dust.
ALL DAY STRONG LIP COLOR
Being K-Makeup, their shades are limited to pink, red and orange. I wish they’ll
extend to nude shades because I really like their texture. They sent me three shades:
PK 101 (Pingvely), RD 302 (Smoke Red), and OR 202 (Coralster). As you can see
on the swatch I made, PK 101 is more to fuchsia than a true pink, RD 302 is a
brownish red and OR 202 is coral with touch of pink. These shades are lovely
bright, perfect to wear with nude eyes look.
Very smooth and creamy texture, therefore really easy to apply (you can skip lip
liner because these can act like one, too). Unlike some K-Makeup lipsticks I’ve
tried, these are super pigmented and gave matte finish without exaggerating any
lip lines. And hardly any kiss-up…yes, they’re transfer-proof but no worries,
they’re easily remove by cleansing oil.
PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA
WHAT TO DO IF YOU ONLY HAVE ONE FULL DAY IN YOGYAKARTA?
Last week I had a very short trip to Yogyakarta with my colleagues at work. It was fun, considering the last time I went to Yogyakarta was about 10 years ago. It wasn’t even Yogyakarta, I went to Magelang for Thierry Mugler’s event, back then in my editors’ days.
I had no expectations at all, so I might say..I was quite surprised with this super short trip. Me and my colleagues decided to do culinary stuff and just chill with no ambitious itinerary. We stayed at Greenhost Boutique Hotel, a small hotel with a seriously instagramable lobby. Even when we arrived at night, it looks cool. This is an eco-friendly hotel, so expect no hand towels, and no hair dryer. If you tried to dry your hair with your own hair dryer, the electricity in your room will go down. And never mind the air conditioner, it wasn’t a cold chilly room. Expect: ‘room temperature’ temperature.
But, at least the room is clean, and the pillows are not smelly.
Since the breakfast is so-so at the hotel, we decided to try ViaVia. Within walking distance from the hotel, it was a small local bakery with decent brunch.
I’ve had better brunch, but I love the ambience in this bakery.
For lunch, we went to Gudeg Sagan. ‘Wet type’ gudeg which I love so much, with gravy and no msg. And their Beras Kencur is ‘da bomb’. These meals reminded me of my childhood, eating gudeg with my mom in Pasar Cikini, Jakarta.
While in Yogyakarta, we didn’t want to miss visiting Lulu Lutfi Labibi’s workshop in Kampung Pekaten. Even though we got lost on our first attempt, it was literally a beautiful kind of lost, as we went through this beautiful village with vintage houses.
Lulu is famous for his drapping lurik’s creation, so it was truly a sight for sore eyes visiting his boutique/workshop. And of course, his place is so instagramable!
To more affordable shopping place, we went to Lemari Lila. In this super tiny but cute boutique, I found a lurik outer for IDR400K only. And good to know, that they only created not more than 12 pieces for one design. So, bumping into others who wore the same thing is less likely.
Now, off for some coffee.
We went to Ruang Seduh for some decent coffee. They actually have the same coffee shop in Jakarta, which I like better, because they have more snacks and bigger/nicer space.
For dinner, we decided to go to this nice restaurant that we found accidentally when we strolled down the street back to the hotel. Mediterranea Restaurant, owned by French chef, Camille Massard Combe or well known as Chef Kamil. When we googled it, this restaurant turned out to be number one restaurant in Yogyakarta in trip advisor.
We were surprised because their prices are just super affordable for such a nice restaurant. They have this small shop which sells jam, bread etc, inside the restaurant, which reminds me a lot of Dean & Deluca. Must try if you’re visiting Yogyakarta.
For something to bring home, we bought Monggo Chocolate. They do have this brand in Jakarta, but in Yogyakarta, they are cheaper. I love their strawberry chocolate, but for those who are more adventurous, try their rendang or red chili chocolate!
One tip if you want to visit Yogyakarta: rent a car, so it’s easier to drive here and there.
See you in another travel posts!
PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA
OUR SHORT TRIP TO SINGAPORE
Making the most out of 3days/2nights trip, I decided to take my son to Art Science Museum. There was a permanent exhibition called “Future World: Where Art Meets Science”, and it was a great experience for me and my son. For kids nowadays, it really felt like an interactive digital playground. And everything looked very instagramable. Highly recommended place to visit while you’re in Singapore.
Since my son loves Pokémon, we’re lucky to visit their first Research Exhibition outside Japan. This is also a fun and interactive exhibition, especially for Pokémon fans. We got to guess the mysterious Pokémon inside the ball via various interactive machine. Too bad, we can’t take the Poké balls home though.
Yup, there’s Pikachu’s appearance too, make sure you take a pic with him.
Since this exhibition is inside the SEA Aquarium in Resorts World Sentosa, of course we went to see the fish and all. I personally enjoyed watching sea jellies. I felt peaceful when I saw them floating around.
Now, off to another fun activities: SHOPPING!
It’s still November, but it feels like Christmas already. Some of the stores already display their Christmas gifting ideas.
Those MAC NUTCRACKERS!!!!
And I stopped by H&M flagship store in Orchard Road to see their latest collection of H&M Beauty. Seriously fun to try everything without the sales person bugging you.
And they still have the Kenzo x H&M bag while I was there.
While in town, I tried the new Marks & Spencer Cafe, also located on the famous Orchard Road.
Their famous Victoria Cake which I tried way back in London a few years back was there!!! Nostalgic feeling. Must try their Fish & Chips, me and my son loved it so much.
So what did I end up buying? Check out my not so much haul. Since this ain’t no shopping trip, I tried not to spend too much as we’re going to another holiday destination in December soon. Stay tune for my other travel post!
PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA
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