Concrete Jungle Retreat - Hotel Maya KL (breakfast)

Now that I'm on a one month study leave, I can finally settle the little things I've been neglecting for a while. Car servicing, hair cut, back rubs and finally... my blog! I still have a semester's worth of studying to do in a month though. I'm looking forward to graduate, however, since I've finished with the International Business major and have one more supplementary paper for my Business Law degree. I'm stoked beyond words! Imagine the things I can do after I leave this rite of passage part of my life. My short term plans after graduating are still blurry. People tend to say "I need to look for a job" but I already have a full-time job so probably what I would want is to settle down and go see the world. 

One of the things I look forward to when traveling are the food. Be it street food, or hotel food I'm all up for it. Remember the recent mini getaway I had in our lovely city centre of Kuala Lumpur? Well, in this post, I'll be talking about their breakfast buffet as I find that Hotel Maya's buffet was unique compared to most of the hotels I've been in around the world. 

Let's not talk about having hotel breakfast in bed. Although I find that to be a lovely thing - where you don't have to put on a bra and shorts and step out of the comfort of your room - I still feel that breakfast in bed options to be limited. If I wanna eat/do something, I will go all out for it. So I did take the room package that comes with the breakfast for morning after and stormed down for breakfast, even after only 3 hours of sleep playing with the iPad all night long =P

Check out the wide selection they have at the Maya Brassiere. From Yoghurts, to smoked Tenggiri, to Asian and Western delights, baked goods and the greens! I was ready to try all! I ended up with salad and smoked Tenggiri and Salmon for starters before I dove into the main meal. 

The yoghurts and the sweet stuff

The cereal selection complete with jars of nuts and dried fruits according to your preferences.

The freshly bakes bread and baguettes to go with the selection of fruit jams on your table.

Slices of fresh fruits to end your meal and start your day with apples to keep the doctors at bay.

Some cheese for your daily, sinful calcium intake. There are different types to go with your bread or for you to eat on your own. I personally like them with some raspberry jam and meat or to add some to my salad.

The smoked Salmon and Tenggiri. That was my first time trying a Smoked Tenggiri and I LOVED it. It was a little fishier than the Salmon though it was much saltier and meatier. I am definitely down for another round of smoked tenggiri to be eaten on its own ;)

Other hot meals from the buffet counter, the usual continental and Asian breakfast meals. 

Condiments to go with your omelets or however you like your eggs to be

Freshly baked pastries and more

They even have local traditional kuihs if you prefer!

My selection from the buffet counter:

Assorted greens with black olives, croutons, crispy turkey bacon and some parmesan topped with Caesar sauce while having Smoked Salmon and Tenggiri on the sides. You can never go wrong with salads.

Croissant and scones with raspberry and strawberry jams.

The thing I looked forward to was the one thing that people tend to miss out, which is the extra menu, usually placed on your table. I was given information by an insider the day before, which is why I didn't take much from the buffet counter. I think most people skipped it cause they think it's extra pay to order these lovely meals but it's actually included in your breakfast buffet set! Just that they're made-to-order and has more choices so all you have to do is just tell the waiters which meal would you prefer and they'll send it right to your table, while you munch on whatever nibbles you took from the buffet counters. Don't worry about not finishing them. The portions are just nice for you to fill in your tummy to head out afterwards (although I ended up going back to bed right after breakfast).

I'm a sucker of Japanese breakfast. I always tend to go for Miso Soup and Salmon in any meal I come across so I ordered Pink Sea Salt Salmon. I noticed that Pink Sea Salt is used in many things around Hotel Maya. Don't worry, they're not the kind of bath salts that makes you go eat people's faces off. Hotel Maya to me is a health freak haven. They really make sure that you, as their guests have the best out of the healthy best, from the food to the room to the spa and so on! I can't stress more on how healthy it is to be staying there, even for just a weekend.

The second dish I ordered was the Eggs Benedict. I may be jakun, but that was actually the first time I've ever had Eggs Benedict. Yeap! But yes, I love the Hollandaise sauce and instead of using muffin (which I don't really fancy), they use a thicker but fluffy pancake instead.

For dessert, I ordered French Toast, skipped the cream and went for only Maple Syrup, just the way I like my comfort food to be. 

And with that, I was ready to actually take on the world, in my dreams on their comfy bed and suite room. 

If you haven't read, you can click here to view the Deluxe Suite or read about the lovely Detox treatment at Anggun Spa.

Check out all the packages and promotions they have this season BY CLICKING HERE.




Hotel Maya Website: http://www.hotelmaya.com.my/
Hotel Maya Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hotel-Maya-Kuala-Lumpur/135403676480087

Time for decisions

 I have this desire to dive into an unknown territory, thirsty for adventure, hungry for adrenaline and I know what I feel, still curious about what I want. I don't know why some people are so against my wanderlust desires, that they try to make me think the same way they do by hammering their reality down to other people's heads like it's supposed to be a way of accepting life as it is. Take a spoonful of sugar, and chill out. You don't have to take these thoughts seriously cause I know there's a huge chance it's not happening. I know MY own reality. 

On another note, I need to make big girl decisions about all sort of things now, where do I start. I know, however, that I'll be away for a long time. 

Covetz.com

There's so many web stores now that are popping up like mushrooms but what sets Covetz.com apart from most of them is that they self manufacture their own clothes and it comes in sizes so no matter your size and body shape. I chose these three items from Covetz as I'm currently into prints (I think it has become an obsession) and I love how detailed their clothes are. Here are the items I chose:

Although I love their printed items, I must admit that it's simple and the cut fit me to the T. I rarely could find shorts which hugs my bum but the black one sat on my body as if it was made for me. I'm currently eye-ing these items from the website too ;)

So I've been getting complaints that I haven't been posting up much style shots nowadays so I'll try my best to remind point8cam to take photos of me every time we're out and I'm dressed. Here are some of the photos on how I wore these items from Covetz. 

First up is the floral shorts. You can view them here - FLORAL SHORTS

I've always wanted to try print on print but I didn't want to blow people's brains out so I paired the bold shorts with another floral denim shirt with smaller floral prints. I thought it blended pretty well considering that I didn't go OTT with bigger flower prints. I muted the florals with another print from my Peruvian woven backpack and brown boots. I think it would've looked really nice with a green, blue or red skinny belt and high heeled booties with a clutch too! There's so many ways to style these pair of shorts. Another week, I was wearing them with a crochet beach top for the Cali surfer chick look with flat sandals. It would be only apt if I had a drawstring bag to complete the look. 

The other item I wore the other day was their Combined Print Hi-Lo skirt which you may view HERE. I LOVE this skirt and it was the first thing I saw on the website. I wore it three times already, with a black cropped top as per shown in the photo and also with sleeveless collared shirts. I think it would also look great with a tankini for the beach, which I can't wait to try soon!

I've yet to try out the cardigan and photograph it but I have been checking out Covetz.com for new arrivals every other day! Love the items and love their color choices. Gonna blog about them again soon so keep reading!

H&M Kuala Lumpur: Private Access

'Twas exciting to be invited to view H&M's first Kuala Lumpur showroom here in their office. Don't be confused, the store will only be done sometime in September thus the showroom is only open by appointment with their staff for selected media and bloggers to showcase all the weekly new arrivals in such an impressive manner. With a concept that looks like a high-end boutique complete with a seater set for them to serve you drinks, H&M really impressed me with their array of Fall/Winter premium 2012 collection that will be available in the KL store starting this Fall. They will still have other stuff in store, to fit the THREE level of space, occupying the previous Debenhams outlet. That's pretty huge for one label in Malaysia. 

Their concept for this upcoming collection for womenswear is a fine mixture of 'Minimalism meets Maximalism" where sleek, sculptural silhouettes are matched with bold decorations and ornaments. The color palette are the usual dark and sleek monochromatics but there's the pop of emerald, sapphire and golds everywhere. The structures and shape of the garments are inspired by minimalism while the details on them gives sort of like an attitude with the trims of beads and rhinestones, exposed zippers, textured wool and nature prints in an ombre manner. Some of the outerwear may fit a 10 degrees and below weather, compared to our Malaysian weather but that doesn't stop Malaysians from buying them, just cause we step out of the country for some seasonal retreat anyways. I'm loving all the sweaters and cropped jackets matched with the super sweet accessories and that staple bowler hat in moss green. Can't wait til it hits the store! I'm a complete sucker for H&M's accessories.

Photos below were taken by point8cam and I

Alvin, the Showroom Manager showing us the goodies. He said it's okay to match that sweater and skirt in one outfit. I personally think it looked great! LOVE the sweater and I would match it with my own folded leather pants with zippered pockets and ankle elf boots. 

I love this pair of tailored pants. The material was stiff, making it perfect to be worn with sheer, skimpy loose top or even a fitted, crisp shirt. 

H&M Mens for Fall/Winter 2012 is anything but sombre and mundane. If other labels are only offering the colors of the undead, H&M is playing with a different color palette for this season. One thing that they will not compromise with is the tailoring of their designs. H&M Mens features 60's silhouette suits in the 21st century feel with slim lapels and slightly cropped trousers. This season's hues are definitely wine, mustard, bottle green accentuated by the usual industrial greys and sleek blacks. I loved the mens sweaters and shirts, other than the brogue boots in rich colors. There's a party of tweed and leather going on, especially in their tailored blazers, but don't frown just yet. I found out that one of them only costs RM199. The fabric for this season would be wool, tweed, cotton, leather, suede, nylon and Lurex at a wallet-friendly pricing. Get ready to channel in the 60's gentleman's look this Fall/Winter, I know some men are already sporting dark denims with brogue boots and a crisp shirt to top it off. 

We were served with canapés from Nathalie's Gourmet and it was phenomenal. Thank you H&M for the invite to your lovely showroom. I'm sure Kuala Lumpur is anxiously waiting for your opening. 

What I wore: White sleeveless shirt top from MOSfashion, Black high-waisted denims from Topshop, Black studded cap-toed flats from Rhapsody by ZALORA Malaysia, Industrial stone necklace bought in El Calafate Patagonia, Faux snake skin clutch from H&M, Assorted Bangles from H&M and ZALORA Malaysia. 

And one last thing, hats off to H&M for the super impressive press kit. I was totally blown away.

Here are some of the garments from the Mens and Womens collection that I put together, showing my favourite individual pieces.