Salad Sandwich + bonus recipe at the end!

Sometimes, I regret whatever I did, mostly because of my natural laziness.

Chinese New Year is here again. Those red packets (known as 'angpao'), endless of house visitings and various of food served, but before all that, it's very important for us to look good for the first few days of Chinese New Year, but I would rather grab a whole pack of salty potato chips and shove them into my mouth rather than lifting dumbbells, why not try out this recipe instead? I have been eating it for a week and it does make me feel more refreshed and healthier. I could also feel the size of my waist minimising.

If you think that it's too late for to start a new diet, just enjoy yourself during the New Year and diet later afterwards.

Salad Sandwich

First of all, you'll need the following ingredients:

1. A pair of burger buns/sandwich bread
2. 2-3 pieces of lettuce 
3. Half an avocado
4. A carrot
5. A tomato
6. 2 slices of cheese
7. A bottle of salad dressing

Some ingredients are optional (like the avocado, carrot, tomato and salad dressing). You can basically switch the ingredients up and try adding cucumber, mustard sauce, bell peppers, etc.

Before doing anything, wash all of your fruits and vegetables with water properly.

Step 1: Toast your buns or bread for 7 minutes in a toaster.

If you want to avoid your buns or bread being burnt or turn into charcoal black, place a metal tray or an aluminium foil under the buns or bread before toasting them.

Step 2: Slice your avocados into chunks (slice until your desired size or shape, it's your choice)

Step 3: Repeat step 2 for your tomato

Step 4: Grate or slice up your carrots into thin pieces

 (it should look something like this)

Step 5: Grab a handful of lettuce (don't grab too much) and rinse them with water thoroughly

Step 6: Remove your buns or bread in the toaster after it has heated up and place them on a plate

Step 7: Add the two slices of cheese on top of the buns or bread so they can melt a little bit (you can also add the cheese slices in step 1 so it'll melt even more and taste better)

Step 8: Add your lettuce

Step 9: Add your tomatoes

Step 10: Followed by your carrot slices

Step 11: Top it off with your favourite salad dressing, just pour gently (don't pour excessively)

Step 12: Finally, squeeze your sandwich or burger together as tight as you can so it won't be too thick when you take a bite out of it

And it's done!

This is the final result! Mouth watering, eh?

The burger is quite thick, so prepare to open your mouth widely for it.

Nestum Chia Seed Drink

Next, I had also tried to get something to drink, other than detox tea, so came out with this. It tastes very good and won't make you feel bloated but could last for several hours.

Here are the following ingredients that you'll need:

1. A packet of Instant Nestum Powdered-Drink
2. A cup
3. A teaspoon
4. A tablespoon
5. Some brown sugar
6. A packet of chia seeds (optional)
7. A carton of milk

Step 1: Grab a glass or a cup and add in 4-5 teaspoons of Nestum

Step 2: Add in half a teaspoon of brown sugar 

Step 3: Add in two tablespoons of chia seeds

(It should look something like this by now)

Step 4: With a spoon, mix them together until it's all mixed-well

Step 5: Pour half a cup of hot or warm water into the cup

Step 6: Add 2/3 of milk into the cup

And you're good to go!

The Final Results:

It's super healthy and tasted really good. You guys should definitely try it out! Hereby, wishing you all for the best and Happy Chinese New Year!

OMO White Soap Plus

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post.

I was born with fair skin, and yes, I received a lot of comments saying "I would like to have your skin colour" and all those. Others were envious of my skin tone. However, I started to not like my skin at all. I hate hearing those tiresome compliments "wow, you're so white", "wow, you've got such beautiful skin", etc, so I started to tan my skin in 7th grade until 8th grade, which resulted in my skin tone being unbalanced, but luckily those compliments gradually faded away and people treated me more normally.

However, I started to be interested in makeup and beauty products in these few years, and I struggled in picking the right shade for my skin or else, I'll look like a pale ghost. I started trying various skin whitening products, and the results were all very disappointing.

A friend of mine introduced me to this whitening product, who she opens an online Instagram shop based in my country. She recommended me to try out one of her new product that she imported from Thailand. I was quite interested because Thailand is known for its natural, whitening beauty products, so I decided to give it a try to see how it works on my skin.

(Yes, the soap is in rainbow-colour)

(The surface of the soap is very smooth and slippery)

The soap gives slight hint of coconut oil smell, which I'm not really a fan of, so I used my normal Johnson Soap after using the OMO Plus Soap.

Note: my Johnson Soap does not contain any whitening ingredients.

Here is a 'Before and After' comparison

As you can see, it slowly became whiter in comparison with my 'before' picture.

For the second try, I could tell my tan lines disappeared and for the third try, it started to balance my skin tone.

I was quite amazed on how great this soap actually does its job and this soap has no side effects given as it contains natural ingredients. The longevity of the fairness on my skin is quite long and did not fade away or anything when I leave my house or go under the sun. This is clearly a saviour to my skin as Chinese New Year is near and my skin needs to look as smooth and fair as possible.

Bruneians, head over to @yinbeautyhouse on Instagram for more natural and organic beauty products!

December Getaway

It's been awhile since i traveled and went on a getaway trip, leaving my comfort zone. My family and I seldom travel to different places, with an exception of Miri and Lawas since we can travel to those places by car as our revenue is tight, but I am blessed with the supplies we get on a daily basis. For what i could say, this year trip was truly a blessing as our decision was last minute and honestly speaking, we faced several obstacles that pulled us back from heading to our trip.

We started travelling at 6;30 in the morning, along with my parent's friend and his family, riding in a comfy vehicle. They were very welcoming and friendly I would say, and prepared tidbits for the entire journey. We talked and laughed, having conversations that were quite memorable as we drove to our destination.

(the air conditioner was extremely cold but the sun was very bright so...)

We arrived in Miri around 8 am and stopped at a place which is near Merdeka Mall to grab our breakfast. I wasn't feeling very well at that time, but i remembered that i ate a bowl of noodles, Despite its odd-looking appearance, it did taste good.

We set off again to meet the rest of the group as we were travelling together and prayed in the corner for a safe journey. Praying that our 6-hour road trip filled with bumpy roads but several beautiful scenery surrounding us will be safe.

We arrive in Bintulu about 12 pm and headed to this place called ' Lu Fa Restaurant' for lunch. Honestly, I highly recommend this cafe because it's very easy to find and always on full house. It's also recommended by various by-passers and even the local. They serve different types of food and their menu looked unique. The food was extremely delicious and appetizing, served in big portions. It's obviously a Chinese restaurant, but there are fast food dishes being served in the restaurant, so if you'e not into Chinese cuisine, you'll definitely enjoy the fast food being served there as it is not bad as well. In addition, I've seen quite a lot of non-locals or non-Chinese eating at the restaurant.

( I did not take my camera with me so this picture was adapted from the internet)

we set off to ur journey about 2pm. There was several oil plantation field along the way but the road wass too bumpy and the car was inevitably shaky so I did not take any pictures but you could have seen how majestic the plantation, the mountains and the sky were.

We finally arrived at Mukah at about 4 in the afternoon. I was amazed by the view of the sea. Its was a 30 minutes' drive from the town area and the Wi-Fi signal was pretty poor, so it was obviously a great exodus from the modern world today and an ideal place for a break and to refresh ourselves.

This trip altogether along with other 70+ families for a camp. I met a few of my friends who arrived earlier than I did and toured around the resort while slightly messing around with the provided facilities. The resort had only two luggage carts, so, obviously the child heart in ours were unruly, screaming in the lobby like 5-years-old kids.

We spent most of our time in the resort, learning and absorbing some knowledge since it was a family camp, but we had all the afternoons to ourselves. I mostly spent the afternoon  swimming and playing around with friends.

I went out with my family and friends in the afternoon to explore around the town area. We went to the wet market, they sold very different items and good and they even sold baby sharks and silkworms in packets!

After that, we continued around the wet market and eventually, we went to the durian stalls. All the stall owners were very friendly as they offered us durians to eat or free and kept slicing open the fruit, feeding us with tons of durians which was definitely satisfying.

Not long after that, we went to a place where they sell all the vegetables and homemade arts and crafts. I noticed that all the vegetables were twice the size compared to the vegetables sold in Brunei. They were also very fresh. They also sell self-made body scrub, bath scrub, woven baskets, Cotonou oil, etc. I also noticed that they sell coconut oil in small bottles at every stall I passed. I was told that coconut oil (especially organic coconut oil) have so many countless of benefits for our body and hair, so I bought one for only RM3 as a gift to myself!( I still haven't used it until no because it's too precious)

( I found this before heading to the vegetable stalls and thought it looked cool)

(at the roundabout)

We went to the local shopping mall for a look. They sell various candies and tidbits at low prices. They also sell quite a number of imported clothes at an affordable price but with amazing quality. I find the grocery stores there like a wholesale place because they have A LOT of delicious and amazing food that cannot be found in Miri or Brunei.

(They have this hamper section that you can pick your own item and they will wrap it for you, you can even book the hamper you want and pick it up later)

(This Thai ice cream is even better than Magnum or Cornetto. It's kind of out of shape when i unwrapped it oh well, it's worth taking picture of it)

( They sell various alcohol and bear in the grocery store. A whole rack if it!)

That late afternoon, my friends and I went out to the sea coast to check out the sunset. Frankly speaking, I am obsessed with seas, oceans and any blue-related like sky. This place seriously has the best view. After admiring at the gorgeous view in front of us, we did some candid shots before heading for dinner.

(Before heading out to the beach, my "What's in My Bag" photo, 100% candid)

( The sunset behind me was so dreamy!)

(The sunset from other day)

There was a large crowd by the seaside on that day because it was the weekends, but there was large patches of trees by the seaside, and it was beautiful.

I left the next day to Miri. My parents left a day earlier than I did because i wanted to stay longer so i followed my mom's friend's car to Miri to meet my friends. The road trip was totally HORRIBLE! I was car sick, vomited a few times and slept for the rest of the trip, otherwise in unconscious condition. We somehow missed a junction and went to a rural area. We stopped for a toilet break and checked out a local market nearby. Eventually, we drove pass Batunya Town and I was totally and literally amazed by the sight of Niah Cave. It was absolutely stunning and it literally took my breath away.

Unfortunately,  I did not get a picture of it, because:

1) We just stopped for a while

2) I was stunned by the view

3) I just woke up

I arrived at Miri just in time for dinner. We had a great variety of different food dishes and it certainly brought my appetite back. I went to meet my friends and their families before heading back to our shared-apartment.

We stayed at 4th floor and the view through my window was amazing

I've spent three days and two nights in Miri, staying with my friends. All we did was shopping for three straight days!!

( Can we take this time to appreciate that I had Pezzo for breakfast, lunch and dinner for three days?)

( We got thirsty and hungry from shopping)

(Ding's Tea recommended fried fish balls, i found it okay)

(well, I did mention we got hungry)

( More food incoming! We were very hungry, but this tasted good)

(after shopping at Popular Bookstore, we got hungry again, luckily just in time for dinner)

( I went to watch Star Wars before we leaving to Brunei. #noregrets)

I am very grateful for this two weeks trip that I spent with both my family and friends. I certainly enjoyed myself a lot after feeling a little bit lonely in Brunei. Spending time with both my family and friends was a getaway from my comfort zone and it made me love my Mother Nature more. The bond between my family, my friends and I was something worth being kept in my heart and in my mind. I am so glad to have all of them in my life.