Located on Dunhua S. Road in Taipei City, Sugar & Spice’s decor is minimalist and bright. Their Chinese name, 糖村, translated as Sugar Village fits in the ideal place of a Sweet Paradise.
The store front is already so pretty and pinkish~, made me felt welcoming. Sugar & Spice is being referred by Business Weekly as a store which “sells desserts like LV”, the business has grown at a steady rate of 15-20% annually, producing approximately 1/3 the nougats sold in Taiwan each year.
Their highest selling product is their famous French Nougat that most people find it hard to put it down after the first bite. It is chewy yet not sticky, no wonder people can't put it down after the first bite. Their nougat comes in different flavor, they also have the strawberry nougat
Strawberry Nougat
Toffee Nougat
Besides the French Nougat, not forgetting Taiwan is famous for their pineapple pastry, Supar & Spice too have their own manufactured pineapple pastry. Different varieties of pineapple are selected during each season, so you probably get a different taste in each season.
Look at the golden pineapple fillings
I just wanna fill my snacks bar with all the pineapple pastry, look at the yummy pineapple pastry! What I like is that it is not too sweet yet soft and crusty on the outside. A little like soften shortcake base.
Lovely packaing
And notice the Golden Horse Awards packaging? It was selected as the gift for the international celebrities who attended the 2016 Golden Horse Awards this year. If you are planning to get this back home for families and friends as a gift, they have the most wonderful packaging. You dont have to rack your brains to figure out how to gift them.
Look at how stylish the packaging is. Credits: 周杰克
Not only that, you can even handcarry as a check in, looks like a proper bag isn't it? Besides this big packaging, they have smaller ones if you think you ain't planning to get such big ones.
If you want to mix and match your gift box, not only getting nougats and pineapple pastry, Sugar & Spice also carries a variety of desserts. Ranging from Taiwanese snacks to French delicacies, you can hardly worry of running out of desserts to gift.
IF IF, you are taking China Airline from Hong Kong International Airport or Incheon International Airport, you'll be able to try out their nougat when you do your check-in ♥.
Address of Sugar & Spice:
No.158, Sec. 1, Dunhua S. Rd., Da’an Dist., Taipei City 106, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
台北市大安區敦化南路一段158號(忠孝敦化站8號出口)
Located a one corner of the street in Gaoxiong, Yonshin Tea & Cake Selection Bar opted for a vintage concept for its interior. Another photoshoot place for those who likes to take vintage looking photos. Walking into the bar, I felt that I was transported to another timeline, probably the 50s and I was mesmerized by this.
Some kind of old radio I guess.
This radio was placed like it was meant to be there. I'm guessing its a radio, kinda forgot to ask. *haha* The place is warm and welcoming, just like a cafe, where I would love to chill and read a book to spend my afternoon or hang out with my friends. Instead of a cafe, this place serves tea, hot brewed and cold brewed tea. Cold brewed tea? Not literally hot tea with ice but prepared with 5 degrees water and placed in the fridge for 8-24 hours, depending on which kind of tea.
6 cold tea selections, available for take away too!
Something different from what I usually drink in Singapore, I don't remember we have such cold brew tea, apart from getting my cold tea fix of Oolong from MUJI *haha*.
Preparation counter, look at those tins of tea leaves.
Since cold brew tea is something different, I got a chance to try out their cold brew tea, served in wine glasses. As mentioned by the boss, to serve in wine glass is to bring out the taste of the tea, the fragrance and the colour.
The only decent photo I have with the tea wine glass.
Had a chance to taste a few different teas and I think the one I like the most, and by far most, favorite of most ladies (according to the 店长) is the Hualian Honey Aroma Black Tea (花莲蜜香红茶). It has the light flowery smell yet not too strong on the taste.
Up close of the 6 Cold Brewed Tea that they have in store.
Besides just tea and cakes and pineapple tarts, they also serve main courses! Their food isn't really westernised but retaining a little Taiwanese style and steering a little towards Japanese in taste and style. You can have a cold brewed tea first before meal and order hot brewed tea after meal, as suggested by the boss. Worth the try to spend a few hours there drinking and having meals, while catching up with life.
I even ate Rice Noodle Soup with Squid Taiwanese Style (小卷米粉汤), the taste of the soup overpowers the fact that I hate Rice Noodles. [Ok, besides the soup that was really nice, but because the boss was just standing there, it wasn't nice to say no to others who had already prepared a small bowl for me]
Rice Noodle Soup with Squid Taiwanese Style (小卷米粉汤)
These were some of the dishes we had that day. I think my favorite of all the dishes I had there was the Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce (I kinda forgot to take photos before I ate them) and the Onsen egg that appeared in nearly every dish (haha, who can resist eggs?!).
Their bottles for takeaway cold brewed teas are pretty too~~~ And if you are planning to be there for a short stay, bringing the bottles back to them you are entitled to 10TWD off your next purchase.
Look how pretty the label is. I know, I know, I'm a sucker for such stuff.
More photos to spam on the vintage place.
One cozy corner to take photos. I think at least 5 people took their photos in that position.
The busy staffs behind the counter.
Some of the little souvenirs you can get.
Before I end this post, after all the lovely little vintage details, tea and food......
Notice the word TEA in the middle?
I didn't notice the word TEA in the middle of the Chinese word 鳳 until the store manager pointed it out. What a clever design, combining the 鳳茶 in one word.
Address of 永心鳳茶 Yonshin Tea & Cake Selection Bar:
No. 404, Jhong Shan 2nd Rd., Lingya District, Kaohsiung City, Kaohsiung City 802, Taiwan
苓雅區中山二路404號, Kaohsiung, Taiwan 802
Tel: +886 7 536 2718 Official facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yonshintea/
Continuing from my last post Taiwan Trip - Smokey Joe's Apartment Hotel (冒煙的喬_就是公寓旅店), I had a chance to visit CHATEAU de CHINE Hotel, not to stay there, but to try out their muslim-friendly meal. In a Chinese populated country, it is hard to find muslim-friendly restaurant or eatery. Perhaps there are more in Taipei, but it is definitely harder to find in Gaoxiong. At CHATEAU de CHINE Hotel, they are certified as Muslim-Friendly restaurant.
Cert is shown in the private dining room itself.
However, advanced reservation is required with a min. booking for 8 pax as they will only get the ingredients after they get a reservation to get the freshest halal ingredients for their customers.
Two of their private dining rooms are available for booking for halal meals and they have a separate kitchen just to prepare muslim meals. When the kitchen is not in used for halal meals, they will only use it to prepare fruits. Their cutlery used for muslim-friendly meals are properly cleansed. I had the chance to try their 7 course meal, which was booked in advanced, as I traveled with a tour, thanks to Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs, Department of Commerce.
Seasonal Vegetable with Red and Green Peppers in Mustard Sauce. Credits: 周杰克
A rather unique combination of vegetables, which I don't think I've ever ate it locally. Because of the light mustard sauce, the dish tasted a little sour-ish. I like the crunchy lotus slices and qq mushrooms.
At first I thought it was gonna taste like fried rice, the vegetarian version. But it didn't, this rice tasted a out of expectation. It had a little salty light taste, well blended with the vegetables. A good dish to have after so much meat.
Sautéed fresh prawns with mayonnaise & fruit. Credits: 周杰克
My favorite dish for the meal. The prawns are fresh and the mayonnaise did not over power the freshness of the prawns. The taste was well-balanced and it was so nice that I ate someone else's prawns while they were not looking. (Okay, I was kidding, they offered me)
Stir Fried Dice Beef with Sliced Garlic. Credits: 周杰克
Can't take beef, however, their beef are purchased from New Zealand. Verdict from the rest, well-cooked and tender.
The soup is something different from what I usually have, this is rather thin in texture, quite refreshing as a ending dessert, before fruits were served. Not much of the Taro was tasted, probably because the saga is sweeter.
Overall the meal was fulfilling and full of surprise for me. Even though it was a halal meal, the presentation and taste overall was still Chinese in style :). Something worth the shot to try if you are in Gaoxiong. Address of CHATEAU de CHINE:
No.43, Daren Rd., Yancheng Dist., Kaohsiung City 80341, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
80341高雄市鹽埕區大仁路43號
Tel: +886-7-521-7388 Fax: +886-7-521-7068 Call to make a reservation: (07)521-3899
Official website: http://kaohsiung.chateaudechine.com/
Recently, Xiaomi Singapore have announced that there's a new product coming into our market, which is the Mi 4i! That's the first global product which is launch outside of China, their home market. India have started selling Mi 4i on the 30th April, and it's coming to our shores on 12 May, noon time! So I am happy that I managed to get my hands on Mi 4i before the launch and I am going to do a comparison with its previous model, the Mi 4.
True to its weigh, I've tested both Mi 4 and Mi 4i on the weighing scale. And Mi 4i is indeed lighter than Mi 4, due to the build of the set. As Mi 4 is a metal build while Mi 4i is a plastic build. As far as I can remember, Mi 4i is the lightest phone so far with Xiaomi's launch in Singapore (it is even lighter than Redmi 2).
Weighing at 129g, 1g lighter than stated on their website.
Mi 4 is nearly 23g heavier than Mi 4i, but u can feel the weight difference.
With a lighter phone, you don't have to worry about weighing your pants down. Even though it maybe lighter, it does not feel like a toy phone, so that's a plus point for the phone (Not sure if it's gonna slip out of my butter fingers though). Besides the weight, the thickness of the Mi 4i wins over Mi 4, for it is thinner than Mi 4 by slightly a little.
Very slight difference in the thickness but Mi 4i is still the slimmer one!
The only thing that Mi 4 wins over Mi 4i is that it is smaller in width as Mi 4i is slightly wider as compared to Mi 4.
Slightly wider, maybe it's time to get a wider pocket for Mi 4i.
Mi 4i back casing is actually matt, hence, it doesn't feel slippery or fragile, as compared to Mi 4. In fact, Xiaomi Singapore had conducted a Mi 4i stress lab for their Mi fans on the 8th May. Highlights of the events were all posted here: http://c.mi.com/sg/thread-494-1-1.html.
It is interesting that Mi 4i is really stress resistance! :p I did have my fair share of stressing that poor little Mi 4i. Enough of the physical comparison of the phones, next I'm moving to the battery test, I can't say it is a fair test since my Mi 4 is a 3G set while Mi 4i is a dual sim 4G set. But at least both data SIMs are on Starhub (pretty fair in this sense). Also, I've reset my Mi 4 to Global stable ROM, factory reset, so Mi 4 is in the same state as Mi 4i. Apart from the fact that Mi 4 runs on KK based MIUI 6 while Mi 4i runs on Lollipop based MIUI 6.
Had to reboot two phones even though both had been charged till 100%, but because I've not reboot Mi 4 for more than 48hours. :p So reboot and these were the battery life of each of the phone.
Mi 4i takes a little longer to boot up, hence the time since boot up is shorter than Mi 4.
For this test, I've used Spotify to test on battery drainage, and also network connection.
SS to show that both phones are on the same playlist.
After 15 mins of playing on both phones, it doesn't seems to have any connection issue that's very severe, even during my trip on the mrt, under tunnel. :D But Mi 4i seems to drain a little more battery.
Mi 4i drained 1% more than Mi 4.
Most probably because Mi 4i is running on lollipop which results in higher battery drainage. So I decided to let both phones run on Spotify for the next 1 hour plus while I was doing something else. And I came back to check on the phones:
Both phones drained same percentage of battery juice in an hour plus.
Both Mi 4 and Mi 4i drained same percentage of battery juice and the temperature did not rise that much either. Both are still within the acceptable range of temperature, even though both phones may feel a little warm while using, but it's not a burning touch.
Being a fan of photo-taking, camera test is something I'm not gonna miss out. All settings are set as default, apart from the fact Mi 4i was set @ 16:9 and Mi 4 @ 4:3 for this shoot (my mistake for not checking). But the condition for the photos were the same. Orange warm light @ Swensens.
The colours of the nanoblocks looks pretty neat though in my opinion.
The colours look rather harsh here.
Base on the two photos, Mi 4 photo turned out better than Mi 4i, but Mi 4i seems to have cooler colours than Mi 4. I prefer the Mi 4 photo out of these two though, for I feel that Mi 4i didn't bring out the vibrant colours of the instagram nanoblock.
Next I set both phones to HDR normal mode, taking my favorite stuffs of all time, FOOD! Since yesterday was Mother's day, its time to feast (Secretly yay! to food)
Colours are rather dark though.
Colours here looks brighter and yummy!
Base on HDR normal mode, Mi 4i seems to bring out the colours of the food while Mi 4 seems to be darker in pictures. So both phones have their pros and cons, is how we adjust the focus point when we take photos.
Lastly I've created this video and tested the following:
* Boot up time/Loading time
* Gaming quality (Since on Xiaomi website, they boost that Mi 4i is adept at handling both everyday apps and intense 3D gaming)
* Sound quality (For it has smart PA)
* The battery drainage and temperature after gaming.
I've read through that there are heating issues with Mi 4i and I just had to test it myself.
Can't compare SD 801 and SD 615 second gen, as the loading speed and game frame rates will be slower for Mi 4i. But I am happy that indeed, Mi 4i is able to handle the graphics of hearthstone, and also inner world (not in the video) without any lagging. Besides the game frame rate, Mi 4i really lives up to its smart PA. In this video, the speaker of Mi 4i is technically covered, as it is at the back. But the sound quality and volumes is exactly the same as Mi 4, which has its speakers at the bottom of the phone (uncovered).
I've also tested playing games with the speaker uncovered for Mi 4i, and the verdict from my family members were that Mi 4i sounds louder and clearer than Mi 4 when I'm playing the exact same games on both phone. I ran the games at the same time for testing purposes. SO gamers, rejoice!!
And I do not experience any overheating issue as what some might have and there's no lag at all at this moment in time. Both Mi 4 and Mi 4i have the exact same apps installed so maybe a SD 615 second gen with a better GPU makes up for the lag in CPU? :D
Oh, another point to take note (probably some of you know this, but I kuku), you can use whatsapp on the non-data phone, but using the data of the other SIM card. Just a question that my friend asked yesterday so I tried it out today and it works (new discovery for me).
For a price of $279, you'll get a phone that has specs like this and able to do some serious gaming (for people like my brother), why not?
Had a chance to go for this event was a dream come true. (Coz I get to meet Hugo personally). And I was super excited for this event for this is like their first even Singapore Fan Meetup. Being part of the mod team for the sub forums, all 4 of us were appointed as volunteers for this event. Following photos will be credited to the photographers as that day I was moving around like a bouncy bunny and my friend took my camera and helped took some photos and the interviews too. ^_^
Their big banner outside Limehouse. Credits: Samyoungct
The event was held @ Limehouse level 2 which is quite a cosy place. I would love to head back there again for events (if there's any) and their staffs there are pretty nice for they were happily interacting with us too. ^_^
The volunteers were there early to help out in setting up and also to prepare for registration. We needed to verify all invited users as there were limited goodie bags. And also we managed to meet Hugo when he was entering, but perspiring. :p
All the goodie bags prepared for the fans. Credits: Angel
Colourful cube chairs placed while Hugo is at that corner setting out the slides. Credits: WS
Exciting prizes for the lucky draw. Credits:WS
Posing with the goodie bag. Credits: WS
So what did all attendees got? There are three items that were given in the goodie bag:
Mi Portable Wifi. Credits: WS
MIUI White T-Shirt. Credits: WS
MI Bunny!! Credits: WS
I think all fans felt pampered with the door gifts. hehe wells, I was. And I had the volunteer T-Shirt too. Its the Black MIUI T-Shirt. *heehee*Being still a kid at heart, I was happily hugging the sheep Mi bunny throughout the whole event. If you can actually spot me in the group photo. :p
And I took out my Sheep Mi Bunny!! *hugs* Credits: Angel
And did you spot the tags? yes, everyone who attended the event too, got a tag, labeled as Fan with a MITU stamp. (I was happily stamping away and busy at the registration counter :p)
SO before everyone started streaming in, I was happily playing around with the sheep mi bunny. Of coz with some fun friends.
A blur photo, but I though my pose was funny *whahaha* Thank you for these people plus Angel, the camera woman. Credits: Angel
After play, time to start work and here's me working at the registration counter. No i didn't slack. We had 61 participants here, along with the staffs and others. (:
Busy checking details. Credits: WS
While waiting for the event to start, Fans were all told to change to the given MIUI T-shirt for the group photo at the end of the event.
Fans changing to their MIUI Tee while waiting for the event to start. And John checking the screen :p Credits: WS
The event started promptly at 2pm, since like 95% of the fans have arrived and waiting eagerly.
Amanda (Global Marketing Executive)getting everything to sit down before Hugo moves into the centre stage. Credits: Angel
And here's Hugo, taking the centre stage like the wind.
Mesmerising everyone with his handsome looks and speech. Credits: Angel.
So Hugo started off with the history of MIUI and how it has evolved its internet presence till now. That includes the screen shoots of their previous BBS and forum layout. Also, he introduced the initial xiaomi staffs strength with a group photo in his slide.
Ta-da, Angel managed to capture a photo of it. Credits: Angel
After the slides and talk about MIUI history, he went on to show the different fan sites from different countries. I lost count after 5. T_T But some of the fan sites are amazingly done, really beautiful. I am amazed how much effort each fan site has put in to bring the beauty out of MIUI.
After Hugo's talk was Ren Tian's talk on MIUI ROM history and design concept. I admit I didn't use the previous designs. I started with my first MIUI, that's V5, on Mi3. But from the feedbacks given from WS and ALP, MIUI did focus a lot on their UI and designs. I do like the security app which is one of the best I've ever used. However, based on optimisation ROM, they are not really on that level yet. (Ok, shall keep my mouth shut for now).
Wrong settings here but at least we managed to get his details on screen. (: Credits: WS
Woah!! That's a lot of users within 4 years. (: Credits: WS
First V1 look of MIUI. Credits: WS
MIUI V1 icon style. Credits: WS
What MIUI aims for. the Modern style. Credits:WS
Okaii, while the talk was going on, we had a chance to hold on to Redmi Note TD version. I just had to compare the size with my face.
Looks longer than my faceeee. Credits: Angel
Specs of one of the Redmi Note TD Version. Credits: Angel
And Steven was nice enough to let us try out his Redmi Note TD set for comparison. *hoots*
Samsung Note 3, Redmi Note and LG Optimus G Pro. Credits: Angel
Look at the thickness! Top to bottom: LG Optimus G Pro, Redmi Note and Samsung Note 3. Credits: WS
Seems like Redmi Note is the thickest out of the three phone. But the weight is relatively around the same. To me it is still a big size phone that I won't probably consider, since it is bigger than my palm, high chance it will end up on the floor more frequent than on my hand. T_T
And of coz, being nosy about what are the prizes to be won for the event. Got to hold on to one of the Mi router, which was the third prize for the event.
Getting all excited. Credits: Angel
After Ren Tian's talk on the designs, it was time for a short break. Many fans were actually quite thirsty and the staffs were trying their best to serve drinks as fast as they can.
Yummy refreshments for the fan. I like their Mac n Cheese ♥ Credits:WS
Hungry MIUI Fans taking their drinks
The first round of lucky draw came after the break. They were giving away 4th and 3rd prize. 4th Prize was Mibox, for 5 lucky MIUI fans.
Busy checking the winners phone numbers. Credits: Angel
Congrats to all lucky Mi Box winners. Credits: Angel.
You know, Xiaomi has this saying, believing in something better will happen. And I did! I won the Mi router. *hahaha* Of coz, Sam too. We are the two lucky Mi router winners. I will try out my Mi Router after exams this week. *roars*
Verifying our numbers with them. Credits: WS
Two happy Mi Router winners. Credits: Angel
After the Lucky Draw was the Product Manager of Xiaomi Singapore MIUI ROM, Louis's talk about some tips and tricks in using V5.
Louis showing the set status bar. Credits: Angel
And how to manage its notifications of the apps. Credits: Angel.
After the tips and tricks was the Q&A session which everyone was looking forward to. Like *FINALLY!!* I think they really answered well for each question that was asked.
Fank, an enthusiastic MIUI fan asking Ren Tian, Hugo and Peter questions about MIUI. Credits:WS
And lucky fans who asked about MIUI ROM were given either power bank or mi key!♥ And the news for Redmi Note release !!! According to Hugo, it will be released in SG in June instead of May. Users who want to wait for the Note which is bigger than Redmi and faster, please do wait till June for more announcement for the release.
After the Q&A session, it was the second round of lucky draw!! For 2nd and 1st prize. 2nd prize, 2 Redmi Note TD to be won, and 1st prize, 2 Mi3 to be won.
Which fan meet session ends without a group photo?!!! *hahah* Group photo time~~
Xiaomi Staffs trying to arrange everyone in place. Credits: Angel
Try to make sure that we can squeeze everyone in. Credits: Angel
While trying to squeeze everyone in, we realised we need two rows of us sitting on the floor. But the floor was dirty, and Hugo, being the leader was cleaning the floor so that everyone gets to sit on clean floors. ♥♥
Hugo and Jack cleaning up the floor. :O Credits: Angel.
Pops himself down on the floor while waiting for the rest to squeeze beside him. Credits: Angel.
Ta-da! The lovely Group photo!! ♥ Credits: MIUI Forum
After the fan meet event, fans were allowed to have their hands on the Redmi Note.
Redmi Note. Credits:Angel
Redmi Note Back Cover. Credits:Angel
Redmi Note Boot up. Credits:Angel
Redmi Note Home page. Credits:Angel
Redmi Note Second Home page. Credits:Angel
Some of the fans were done playing with the Redmi note and they were Q-ing up to take a photo with Hugo.
And being a nice volunteer, I think I took almost all of their photos with Hugo in this Q. *lolz* But at least I got mine taken with him on his phone. *dance*
I think that sums up the whole event and everyone was a lovely MIUI fan attending the event. Hopefully we get more of this event in the future.
COMING SOON:
Stay tune for Hugo's unboxing Redmi Note video soon!
Mist of unboxing. Credits:Angel
And also an interview video of fans and Hugo himself, by me and will be edited by WS.
I managed to grab a few photos with Hugo after the event ♥
Die die, also must end with this photo. *muwahahah*
