Craving For Gong Cha @ Pop-Up Shilin Market Again

Hi Huneybees,

Yes I'm up and awake, all excited and craving for another cup of Gong Cha from the Shilin Market pop-up at Turf Club. Knowing that Gong Cha has made an exclusive collaboration with my favourite artist - Simone Legno, hubby and I purposely made a beeline over to the special event on the first day last week!

Converted out from an open carpark space at Turf Club, the Shilin Market pop-up really got us all excited as it brought back some fond memories of the Taiwan Street snacks that we missed so much. But sadly, not only was the weather not being that friendly, but it was also overcrowded.

With the food street being packed to the max, it was difficult to maneuver around and with the lack of seatings, we literally wanted to give up and head home instead.

But luckily, the Gong Cha booth saved the day for us. It was well placed right at the entrance of the fairground, with area crowd control well-handled by the friendly Gong Cha staff that kept everyone's morale high despite the rain and overcrowding effect from other stores. 

For Huneybees, Gong Cha booth is made up of 2 different sections, the usual over-the-counter order corner and the Funhouse, with the payment booth smacked in the middle.

You can find Gong Cha x Tokidoki merchandise there as you make payment for your drinks, featuring Boba Bob and Boba Betty on a specially designed tumbler and cup sleeve. There are 3 brand new and exclusive flavours launched at this Shilin Market pop-up, featuring an innovative mix of ingredients beautifully incorporated using the art of ‘茶墨’ (Chá mò), also known as Tea Ink. 

Made popular in Taiwan, ‘茶墨’ refers to the technique of creating a splashed look across the bubble tea cup using strokes of contrasting colours. There's the Rosa Latte, Berry Biscotti ad Bambu Boba waiting for me to try when we return to the Shilin Market pop-up for a second chance this weekend.

Why didn't I try the 3 drinks out? Well, coz we opt for another option that I think was more exclusive to the pop-up event. Hubby and I spent all our time in the 512 sq-metre Funhouse where we got to personalize our very own Boba brews at the DIY stations within the Funhouse’s experiential zones. Kids and those who are looking for insta-worthy shots can also chill out at immersive Boba ball pit. 

Knowing Funhouse at Gong Cha booth was my Tokidoki Wonderland, hubby did not stop me from taking photos at every corner. If only I could wake up to these cutesy designs every morning and make my own cuppa to start the morning, this would definitely be the "blueprint" I would give to my next home decorator!

DIY Gong Cha Brews begin with the payment in the middle booth, then queuing to enter the Funhouse, where you can get a Gong Cha cup to fill up with all your favourite toppings, flavour syrups, and lastly tea brews. The friendly Gong Cha staff will be around to assist. 

For me, I pile up on the Rainbow Jelly, Pearl Boba and gave my Milk Tea a lychee twist before sealing it at the machine for my enjoyment...wee...

The Shilin Night Market will be back for Round 2 at The Grounds @ Kranji, Carpark B at Singapore Turf Club, 1 Turf Club Ave from April 26-28, 3pm-11pm. Admission is free. 

See you there as I will definitely be back for more Gong Cha x Tokidoki goodness and hopefully get to try more of the Taiwan Snacks too!

Don’t forget to stay tuned to my blog / like my blog’s Facebook page / follow me @huney_84 on Twitter & Instagram  for the latest updates!

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Falling In Love With Mellower Coffee's Sakura Fubuki

Hi Huneybees, ;

While the general public are still praying for the return of Gong Cha and sharing mixed reviews on the new cheesy milk tea by LiHO, a specialty café from Shanghai has been making great stride into the local F&B scene with very interesting coffee.

Imagine standing under the cherry blossom trees, wind blowing against your skin, making the sakura petals fall from the trees as you catch a whiff of sakura fragrance whilst sipping on your warm cuppa of Joe. This is what Mellower Coffee Singapore wants you to feel with their newly launched signature drink - Sakura Fubuki.

Designed as an unique Japanese twist to the typical Americano, this drink contains Sakura blossom preserve that is actually Sakura petals imported from Japan (Osaka to be exact) in a glass of chilled syrup with ice and 2 shots of expresso in test tubes.

To truly enjoy this new signature from Mellower Coffee, I suggest you, my Huneybees to start by mixing half a shot/test tube of expresso into the glass of syrup with Sakura blossom preserve just to sample it before adding more.

Doing so will allow you to find your own preference by adjusting the degree of bitterness, whilst reducing the saltiness and sweetness from the petal preserves and the syrup collectively. Just like first love, magnificent yet short lived, beautiful yet with a snip of bitterness.

For me, my perfect balance was to add in 1.5 shots (or test tube) of espresso, leaving me with a slight floral aftertaste. Not only is the Sakura Fubuki a dance on your taste buds, it's also Instagram worthy.

Sakura Fubuki is the latest of many signatures that Mellower Coffee has had created, such as Ice Lemon Sparkling Yirgacheffe and Ice Rose Fresh Cream Lungo, just to name a few, by a team of world class barista at its disposal.

Since its establishment in 2011 in Shanghai China, Mellower Coffee has grown from strength to strength with 20 outlets in China, 2 outlets in Singapore - 77 Robinson Road #01-03 and 108 Middle Road - and 1 in Seoul Korea . More information - http://www.mellowercoffee.com.

With Mellower Coffee's bold attempt to communicate to the world about Chinese sentiments towards Coffee as well as constantly pushing the boundary of coffee with new signatures, I'm sure it is going to be a new force to reckoned with in this fast growing potential world of coffee.

Do try it and let me know your thoughts of this drink =)

Don’t forget to stay tuned to my blog / like my blog’s Facebook page / follow me @huney_84 on Twitter & Instagram  for the latest updates!

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Marina Bay Sands & KU DÉ TA

Hi Huneybees,

My October ended with a night at Marina Bay Sands. Valentine was there with her mummy and she invited us (Me, Joey, Hong Peng and Jeremy) to join her. I very much wanted to stay, but didn't bring my clothes, so pity right? Never mind, sure got more chances coming up one. Let me show you around the room first...

The super comfy bed.

Joey and I had dinner there by the chaise lounge.

A little corner for work and beautifying.

Toilet sink can have 3 people brushing their teeth at the same time.

One side for relieving and the other side is the shower room.

Check out the view of Marina Bay from the room! Super shiok! I was super excited and exclaiming non-stop. Valentine and the rest were laughing at me. LOL!

After another group shot (trial and error with timer camera), we decided to go downstairs for some bubble tea and check out the Sky Park.

Taken at the corridor.

At the lift lobby.

In what we call the clubbing elevator. Music was played while on the way up, like in preparation for KU DÉ TA. 

Yipee! We are on the rooftop! And this is the famous swimming pool, borderless to the edge, as though we can swim right off to the horizon... 

Nope, we're not walking on water. There's a platform in the middle of the pool, so that non-swimmers can walk out to the edge to take photos too.

Yes, there are lifeguards there to make sure you guys don't dirty the pool or do silly things.

Spa and gym by Banyan Tree.

Spotted a Dali piece at the The Shoppes.

BBT from Gong Cha.

After getting BBT, we decided to take a stroll at the Boardwalk, while enjoying our drinks. We managed to catch the Wonder Full – an amazing convergence of light, music and sound. 

That's Avalon.

We then headed back to the room after bidding adieu to Hong Peng.

Caught in action! Wahahahaha! The bed is super comfortable, none of us wanted to leave it.

Sob Sob. I dun wana go home...

Part 2 of this blog post was that last week, I was at KU DÉ TA (http://www.kudeta.com.sg/). I was there for an event called theloveaffair and they were featuring Erik Sahl (SWE). Super hype techno music for the night, but it was crowded to the max, I was literally gasping for air...

Arriving at the convention hall entrance, we were mesmerized by this "Orchid MBS". It was there for the WOC event.

X'mas decos are up already.  Check out the super duper tall X'mas tree!

We took the elevator to level 57 to the same level as the Sky Park.

Couple shot before we head in...

Check out the view from the bar!

Ok! Camwhore a little with hubby and I'm off to the dance floor!

See how crowded it was? But I must say it's fun, too bad everyone was in their own little crowds, very little people were on the dance floor, and pssst... super LOTS of SPG-s!

OK! I'm off to dancing and enjoying my drink. Catch ya around!

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