Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Miss Ellie Tea House


This tea house deserves a post right on my space. 
Not to mention, I traveled 45 minutes to this place. 

I think visiting a cafe is such a luxury now. Besides having no time , it is really hard to find someone since everyone is busy with work. 

Miss Ellie Tea House ,
should not be foreign to anyone especially to those who are into cafes. This place is not a cafe , and also not a bakery. I could not find the correct term for this place. They serve food and cakes. They are really different from those hipster places you guys will ever come across. 

It is located in a row of shop lots in the middle of the housing area ; and it took us a while to find it. 




The interior of the place reminds me so much of UK - particularly, a homey cafe down the street where I always hang out in, in Hull. 

It reminds me of the good ol' times there. 





I absolutely love the decorations , and the soft music they play at the background. 


Instead of tea, we chose filtered coffee which is good. I guess the beans must be from IKEA. IKEA coffee beans is actually not bad , but unfortunately, not many people liked them. 


Orange Flourless Seed Cake for starters - which is only at RM6.


It is not huge - but good enough for one. 

It taste alot like sponge cake, but more compact since there is no flour. It's not sweet at all! 


Tikka Shephard's Pie at RM16.90

The portion is just enough for one. I give it a 10/10 for the taste. The ingredients used are hearty. It is topped with chunky mashed potato with a layer of cheese. I love how they leave chunks inbetween the potatoes. I usually get total mashed potatoes. 


and here is the highlight,


their scones!

Their scones are baked fresh daily. They have four available flavours - plain, raisin, chocolate and oats. Depending on the flavour, it is priced at RM4-RM4.50 each. You can get a set consisting, a pair of scones with the flavour you desire and butter and cream at only RM10.90.

It is really cheap compared to other places. 

Their scones are really good. Our choices were the oats and the plain ones.

It is a MUST order.





I love how dim the place is. It's comfortable.




It was so good that I ordered another set. 

It is difficult to find good scones around town. Even hotels couldn't make scones like that. 






till then.



Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Prague.

#1

As far as I remember, I told many people around me that Prague is a city which I yearned to visit when I am going to the UK. I decided to visit Prague on my Easter Break, which is on March. Many people visit Prague on Christmas since it's more beautiful, but I chose Budapest as Prague will be busier. And lucky me, the weather was chilly and just right. 


#2

Managed to stay in a beautiful boutique hotel since everything there is relatively cheaper ; and good hotel breakfast every morning.


#3

Just the streets outside of our hotel. Look at how beautiful this city is.


1. Prague Castle

#4

The first place we visited is Prague Castle, which is the largest ancient castle in the world. 


#5

#6


2.Saint Vitus Cathedral

#7

With a walking distance , probably right beside Prague Castle - there is Saint Vitus Cathedral which is really beautiful. I think, this is one of the prettiest building in Prague.

I am sorry that I do not know how to comprehend its beauty properly into words. 


#8

Overlooking this new town of Prague.


#9

#airmax

3. Take a stroll by the banks of  Vltava river 

#10

#11

4. Explore Staré Město district

#12

This district is the old town of prague. 

Just like other travelers, it is better to stay in the new town as it is more convenient. We decided to spend a day exploring this old gem , and it is nothing disappointing. 


#13

#14


5. Bakeshop little bakery

#15

This bakeshop is pretty famous in Prague, I would say . They have a few different branches around the city - some serve brunches, and some only serve pastries and coffee. We visited the one in old town when we were strolling around. 

The cafe is located in one small corner, with white interior. They only have like two tables inside because the people around there would just order and go. I would prefer to sit down to enjoy my cup of coffee. 

They lean at the better side when it comes to pastries ; and cookies. Not sure about the cakes since we didn't try it. 

#16

#17

The cookie is bigger than ma' face. 

The coffee was just alright. I had chai latte which was aromatic but didn't taste as much.


6. Charles Bridge.

#18

The other view of Vltava river. 

#19

#20

Charles Bridge, is definitely a must visit when you are in town since it is one of the most iconic tourist attraction in Prague. This stone Gothic bridge connects Staré Město and Malá Strana. It was previously called the Stone Bridge - and I think Charles Bridge sound better. 
I am not sure if it is true but it is said that  egg yolks were mixed into the mortar to strengthen the construction of the bridge.

Look at how beautiful the sky is. 

#21


7. Dancing House

#22

The effort of getting a tourist picture of this iconic building is zero. 

I know nothing about architecture since my interest in art is only towards oil paintings. The only thing I know from it is , the style use is deconstructivist architecture due to its unusual shape. 


8. Nové Město

#23

Taking a stroll at the new town of Prague. 

I think I have a habit of taking pictures by the streets while travelling. I always love to do so. I think it is important to capture the roads the locals used everyday , while the travelers may only used these few times in their lifetime. 


#24

So beautiful, 
so beautiful.
SO beautiful.


9. Restaurant Mr. A at Hoel Sovereign

#25

I still cannot believe that I actually wore a tshirt to this restaurant. 

Things in Prague is cheaper compared to the other parts of Europe. So, the bill actually came out les than what we thought. 

We chose this restaurant in New Town , located in Hotel Sovereign by reading good reviews online. It is quiet , and serves classic Czech food in a twist. 


#26

Ordered one of my favorite type of wine , which was really good. 


#27

One thing about Czech food is, they are too huge in portion and way too filling especially with their Knedlíky (dumplings are the Czech side dish made from wheat or potato flour). They often consist of alot of potato , wheat, flour  and very less vegetables. During the whole trip there, I actually want to have salad. 

The dish on the right is actually one of the classic Czech food which is traditional roast pork with dumplings. 

#28

Had a great night with good dinner and wine. We were actually talking about things we used to say we will do when we are 13/14. I always wanted to visit Prague since forever, and we talked about it when we were very young. Now, we made it. 


10. Day trip to Český Krumlov

#29

Travel to the south side of Czech Republic, to visit this heritage area - which is approximately 3 hours by bus. A lot of people missed out this small town in Czech. This town is worth visiting and a day trip is sufficient as long as you leave before lunch time. It took me only 5 hours to slowly explore the town. That shows how small the town is.

Travel to Cesky Krumlov by bus is a better option compared to train. A lot of people think that taking train is quicker. Infact, it is not since the train need to stop at a few places before reaching the destination which will take 4 hours or more from Prague to this town. 
I am lucky that we have done some research before travelling. If not, the time will be wasted.


#30

#31

look at how much weight I've put on at that period. 


#32

this is so beautiful.

#33

11. Have Trdelnik

#34

I like this spit cake alot. I had it in Budapest the last time, and I am really happy that they have it in Prague. However, it is no surprise since they are located right beside each other. 


#35

Happy Me.


12. Explore the streets and art boutique in Cesky Krumlov

#36

#37

#38

#39

Some hidden alleys are so beautiful ; reminding me of the cartoons I used to watch when I was little.


#40

#41

#42

Few beautiful pieces I came across , with a sky high price.


#43

#44

Came across this at the souvenir shop lol. 

#45

#46


13. Cafe Savoy

#47

This place would be one of the highlights of my trip if my second visit turned out great. 

Cafe Savoy, is really popular for their cakes and infact, their ratings online is close to 5 stars. I have experienced it my first visit , after a long day of travelling. The cakes are ridiculously good . There is only two of us and we decided on a cake each. It was so good that we had to add another cake, because we are greedy like that. 

Despite sitting in a busy environment, we are being attended well and everything was up to par. We were happy, very very happy. Nice ambiance with someone playing piano in the background, fairly good coffee , delicious cakes and warm smiles. 


#48

#49

two half eaten cakes, and a new tiramisu with kahlua. 

no wonder I've gained so much weight in that trip.

#50

I don't care how bad I look or how messy my hair is - at that moment, I just wanted a picture to remind me how good it was.

It was so great that we decided to head back on the last day for lunch before we caught our flight back to London. I thought it would be great , however it is the worst decision I made. I even convinced Zhiwei that I needed to go back. I made the wrong choice to do so.

It is as busy as usual, and we are being served by a Czech waiter which is in his 50s. He ushered us to sit upstairs. We wanted to dine light since we had heavy breakfast, however this man keep on pushing us to get the 3/4 course meal lunch set where we are not interested in at all. We wanted a simple lunch and just to sit awhile before catching our flight. 

I already knew that he was unhappy but still, we ignored him. 

The WORST part is-
He stood there for a whole 3 minutes ( at least ) after we had paid our bill. He didn't allowed us to leave because he wanted us to tip him up to 30% if the bill. He told us that this is the Czech way of dining. We argued that , we were not served like that yesterday and we already tipped him. It is not a MUST to tip, but we still do. 
He then curse at us and angrily took the money , insulting our race. 

We were so taken aback at his attitude. 

As much as we try to not allow him to spoil our trip, he already did. 

Well, this was my experience. This is a heads up for you.


14. Wenceslas Square

#51

#52

This is one of the main city square in New Town of Prague. The other main city square is located at the Old Town where the famous Astronomical Clock is located at.

This square is busy since it is the centre of business and cultural communities. Their two main metro lines will be connected here, and is prolly the busiest in Prague. There are nothing much but just business buildings, cafes and restaurants. But it's worth a visit since their architecture is something I appreciate. It's hard to see something like that when I'm home.


#53

#54

Few snaps while walking towards Old town - and god, I didn't realize my face was so huge back then.


15. Old Town Square

#55

This is the capital of Czech Republic, where it is a historic square located between Wenceslas Square and the Charles Bridge. During Christmas and Easter, markets will be set up. I am pretty sure Prague Christmas Markets are not something foreign to anyone. 


#56

learnt a new skill in Prague . 

#57

 Many people fantasize Paris or Venice but mine is Prague. Therefore, this trip means a lot to me. It is a little hard for me to comprehend how I truly felt. 
You know that overwhelmed feeling , and having thoughts like ' oh I am finally here' - that hit me a lot when I visit Prague , which people rarely mention on the internet. When the reality exceed your expectations of something, you will feel the good vibes overwhelming you.

And also, the trip would not be complete without my best friend.

#58

As we grow, we start to have different thoughts which lead us to different paths. Despite so, I am thankful for you to be there during my journey.

xo.