Food: Chaiwalla & Co. (JB)

CHAIWALLA & CO.

Today we're off to JB for a short trip and mini date.
Lately we have been busying ourselves with wedding preparations and what not. So we decided that today we should make time just for ourselves :)

The ride to Johor was enjoyable with lots of sunshine and wind. After braving usual crowd at the Woodlands Checkpoint, I told him that i feel like drinking something good.

Lots of parking space available if you are coming via car or bike

Therefore, he brought us to Chaiwalla & Co! I have always wanted to come here because he had been here a few times with his colleagues.

Malaysia's 1st Container Cafe.

The name Chaiwalla "is derived from a hindi word that means 'someone who prepares the tea'."

With the popping up of container cafes, this cafe is well-known even to those living in Singapore. They currently have 3 outlets: 2 in JB and one at The Curve, Damansara. The one we visited today is located in JB, Jalan Tan Hiok Nee.

We have a choice from teas, coffees, milk teas, fresh milk and smoothies. He got himself the Thai Milk Tea (RM9.30) and I chose the Double Chocolate Milk Tea with Pearls (RM7.20) for myself. 

I like how they show the information of their drinks. Looks like those nutritional info on food eh?

Should have aimed at the centre hole. LOL

They also have assorted pies (RM8.30) and brownies for us to fill our tummies with. Since they have run out of Chicken and Mushroom Pie, we tried their Black Pepper Beef instead. 

Black Pepper Beef Pie (RM8.30) 

Flaky and crispy pie crust :)

The meat and veggies in the pie was tender and the pie crust flaky, so it was simple yet fulfilling.
By the way, don't be surprised or disappointed if you only see a few tables. The waiters will be more than willing to set more tables for you.

We stayed till most of the have already customers left :D

Our bill totaled to RM24.80 and it was a relaxing date with each other. The short getaway and something different was really something we both needed  :)

The good things in life are better with You <3

CHAIWALLA & CO.

Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday	9:30AM–10:30PM
Weekends	9:30AM–1AM

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Activity: Make Your Own Terrarium

So, what is a terrarium?

I've always wanted to create a terrarium of my own and my mini dream came true when UNISIM offered a 'Make Your Own Terrarium' workshop held by Little Green Pot.

Early Saturday morning

The workshop was only a short 1 hour so you can definitely tell that making a terrarium of your own isn't hard work. But i can tell you that the workshop definitely opened my eyes to the world of miniature plants.

My chosen plant

The workshop instructor was also really good. He provided useful details and information (so that our terrarium wouldn't die by the next week :p). Theory-wise, it was a short jog of memory to my Plant Biotechnology days in Singapore Poly.

We were given a jar filled with the items needed and a plant each

The 'ingredients' - Small gravel, charcoal, soil, decorative pebbles and decoration

I'm so lucky that I got a snowman deco! I call him Olaf hehe

Before the hands-on, we had a mini theory session. A terrarium may live as short as 3 days to 3 years depending on how well it is maintained. (Which is really little as it is self-sustainable). These are the 5 useful tips I've learnt from the workshop:

1. Keep the environment closed: A terrarium is self-sustainable meaning the entire water cycle and photosynthesis process will happen within the jar without any external help.
2. No direct sunlight: Natural light is enough. Office desks work as well.
3. Minimal water required: Only water once every 6 months.
4. Condensation is normal. If big droplets appear, air the container for around 15 mins
5. Once the plant is too big for the container, you can either:

           - Trim the plant

           - Open the top and grow as an open condition

           - Leave as it is, the plant will find a way to grow within the container

The tools

Our hands on sessions was facilitated and we followed the steps together.
The workshop instructor was there to make sure that we're doing it right and good enough.

My favourite part was when we had to dig a hole as big as possible for our plant to be placed in. Soil was then scooped in from the sides to make sure that the roots are fully covered.

The challenging part was to flatten the soil around the plant. This will make sure that the plant stay rooted and stably upright. I had uprooted my plant once during this process HAHA but luckily i managed to get it nicely covered again without destroying my plant. 

I love this tool, it's like a stirrer but with a flat scoop used to flatten the soil.

The next step is simple - DECORATE! We were given colourful decorative pebbles and a mini deco item each. And then it's done! It's so simple right?

My happy Olaf in a tropical climate

Here are the summarise steps with pictures:

I really loved the workshop and I would recommend it to everyone. You don't even have to have green fingers and the maintenance required is almost none! These mini gardens are definitely pleasing to the eye and will make a wonderful decoration for home or office.

I am planning to decorate my future house with them! heh :D

My terrarium alongside one of the other student's

If you want to find out more about terrariums, you can visit Little Green Pot or their Facebook page to take a look. They usually hold 2 workshops per month and you can find out more information by e-mailing them.

Hope you've enjoyed this post! 

Please let me know what you think in the comments below and share the post if you like it :)

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Activity: Singapore Night Festival 2015

The Anooki Celebrate Singapore

By now everyone would probably have known about the currently ongoing yearly night festival. This is the 8th time this event of arts is held in Singapore.The Night Fest will be held for 2 consecutive weekends - 21st & 22nd Aug and the week after, 28th and 29th August.

The guides and pamphlets provide detailed information on the art installments plus lets you know what's going on for the night!

Grab your handy dandy guide books/pamphlets because they're super useful! You can also view or print the online version via their website HERE.

We tried out Momolato's Australian Mango sorbet popsicle. Refreshing!

I brought my sisters for the first week's exhibitions. We did arrive quite late into the night (9++pm) at Bras Basah MRT Station and by then, a throng of crowd had already gathered to watch some performance in front of the Singapore Art Museum. We gave it a pass since there were too many people.

Mirror bombs - So bling bling

The first arts showcase we went to was at the Chapel in SAM. The place was so mesmerising. Lots of people were taking selfies under these lights and from my pic, you could see that most of them were mesmerised by them. LOL

Project Dreamcatchers 2015 illustrates what it's like to live with chronic illness.

The entrance to Project Dreamcatchers was lovely and different as we were guided by a trail of blue paper planes.

Wall of paper planes with was popular for selfies.

Secret Message

We Are Family.

My favourite installment from The Learning Gallery - Once Upon This Island was The Hidden Dimension II. It's a video/animation of a family going about their daily habits until they were interrupted by something which made them all stop at the same time in different parts of the house. You gotta catch the dad taking potato chips out of his mouth as the video loops backwards. XD

Some of my favourite scenes from 'Cabinet'

Titled 'Cabinet', this is one of my favourites. There were these rows of what seem like lockers with holes and light in them. Upon a peek into these holes, there were very detailed scenes. Everyone of them shows an entirely different world. 

'No More Tears Mr Lee' was made with 8000 plastic bottle shampoo caps, a nice play of Johnson's baby products.

Love the handcut design [HDB Corridor - Faster apply for your pie in the sky]

We surrrender! Kidding.

One of the most instagram-ed photo/video are of The Anooki! - these hyper Inuits running across our National Museum. I managed to get my instagram-worthy video as well :p

Our exploration was limited to SAM as we wanted to catch the last train home :) It was something new for my sisters 

Don't worry if you missed it last week. You can drop by again this Friday or Saturday for Week 2's performances. Click here to check out Week 2 highlights!

The museums are also open till late (up till 1am for most) so it will be something different than your usual late night hangouts :) There are also activities, light installations, shows and concerts! For me, I'll definitely be coming again this weekend as I still havent finish exploring and seeing everything. Heh :D

See you all there!

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Exploration: Paddy Hills Cafe

Psst. This is not a food review.

Located at South Buona Vista, Paddy Hills is a newly opened cafe. I was excited because it was so near to my workplace at Science Park plus.. I have been seeing on instagram that they have a funky art wall too!

The exterior looks simple and welcoming.

The interior

The interior was cosy and since we reached around 10am on a weekday, the whole place almost belongs to just us!

We're not coffee experts but they have a few coffee blends for you to choose from.

The Asian Brick ($18) - Meant to be shared for 2

The ambience was cosy and we spent a few hours just chatting and spending our morning together. Those are the perks of working shifts for the both of us, we get to enjoy breakfasts and brunches together if we're both not working :)

The lighting is perfect for selfies! :D

So that's for the cafe, what about the art wall which i mentioned about earlier on?

Spot all the food!

I just had to pat the kitty in an awkward position. lols

  And lastly, pictures of us!

It was a wonderful experience for the both of us and since it is close by, we might just visit again! Do show us if you took any selfies here too!

Paddy Hills
38 South Buona Vista Road
Singapore 118164

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