Cool cafes in HK

I like hanging out in cafes to take short breaks during  trips. Recently, I was able to go to two nice hole-in-a-wall type cafes in Hong Kong.

One cafe is called Rabbit Hole.  The name of the cafe was lifted from the novel "Alice in Wonderland".

If you are familiar with the novel, you would recall that Alice fell into a rabbit hole and she entered a world of fantasy. The owner was inspired by said story and thought that "Rabbit Hole" is an appropriate name but in the owner's version the Rabbit Hole leads customers  to  fall into a place where a cup of well made, well executed coffee can be found.

The coffee bar

Expect nice latte art for drinks with foam

Cozy atmosphere at Rabbit hole

Traditional "syphon" type coffee equipment

Coffee beans from Kenya, Rwanda and Papua New Guinea 

Cute green rabbits seen from the front window of the store

Coffee beans are for sale in the shop

The other cool cafe that I went to is called Allegretto.  It is located in the busy Tsim Sha Tsui area in Hong Kong.

It is quite hidden that you will  have to go inside a mall and go out a street located from the top of the mall to find it. 

It is a nice cafe that serves good coffee and both expats and locals like this place. 

Allegretto facade 

Coffee bar at Allegretto

Cozy and relaxed vibe inside the store

Cute latte art at Allegretto

Honestly, I do not drink coffee but I decided to get the cafe latte since the caffe latte art they make is simply irresistable and cute.

Just a tip though. If you want to request for cafe latte art make sure you go to the cafe during off-peak hours so that the staff have time to prepare it.

Disney Live! Three Classic Fairytales

I am lucky. I was able to watch Disney Live! Three Classic Fairytales last September 12, 2014 at SM Arena in Manila.

A good friend of mine who also loves Disney shows invited me to join her and the kid in me just jumped for joy as I super love Disney shows. It certainly brings back happy childhood memories.

The show featured 3 Disney Classic stories: Snow White, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast.

It was really fun and entertaining as the Disney gang composed of Minnie Mouse, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy took turns in telling the  classic stories to the audience. 

The show was magical. Both kids and adults were interacting with the characters when questions were thrown at the audience.

Cute dancing dwarfs  

Snow White and the dwarfs

Princesses and Princes from the 3 classic fairytales
with Minnie Mouse

Fab ending with glittery confetti

It is always fun to watch Disney shows. The consistency of the characters and the voices versus the animated film really makes the show amazing.

Must-go places in Tagaytay

I am a city girl but once in awhile I need to recharge and be surrounded by fresh air and nature.

For me, Tagaytay is a perfect getaway to unwind.  It only takes an hour and a half drive from Manila to get there plus there are a lot of wonderful things to do in the area.

During my recent road trip to Tagaytay I was able to visit to the following cool places:

1) Antonio's Breakfast

Antonio's Breakfast is a nice place to stopover for breakfast or brunch. It offers an all-day breakfast menu. There are a lot of good dishes to choose from which includes  pancakes and waffles, roesti, crepes, omelette and fritatas, sandwiches, pizza, etc.

Both kids and adults would love the food choices at this cozy breakfast place.

For healthy food eaters, they have good salad choices too. I had the Antonio's House Salad which was good as it is a combination mixed greens, assorted fruits, cucumber, nuts and seeds with an organic boiled egg and the dressing is a mixed berries mustard dressing. Since I like a lighter tasting dressing I requested for the Raspberry vinaigrette  dressing which was very good.

Antonio's House Salad

Antonio's also sells salad dressings, jams, cakes, breads and pastries.

Salad dressings

Fruit jams

Freshly baked breads

Cakes and pastries

Antonio's is definitely a cool stopover for a nice breakfast. Plus, while dining at the restaurant you also have a view of the famous Taal volcano.  They also have an outdoor viewing deck located at the back of the restaurant.

Taal volcano

                             

2) Antonio's Lanai Lounge

Antonio's owner Chef Tonyboy Escalante also opened  Antonio's Lanai lounge a couple of months ago. The place is a cool garden lounge located in the same premises as his fine dining restaurant.

Gate to Antonio's Lanai lounge

Lanai lounge area 

Comfy lounge area that reminds me of Mandarin Oriental
 in Thailand

The bar at Lanai lounge

Cozy lounge area

Main house(fine dining area) at the back of the garden lounge

Lounge areas in the garden

Strawberry balsamic drink

I also like the sense of humor of the owner. Look at the signage hanging near the restroom.

Signage at Antonio's Lanai lounge restroom

I was told by the staff that their Lanai lounge looks nice at night. Looks like I have to go back then and go there for cocktails before dinner one of these days.

3) Ilog Maria bee farm

 Another cool stopover is Ilog Maria bee farm.

Ilog Maria sells various organic products using ingredients sourced from the bee farm such as massage oils, throat spray, shampoo, body wash, soaps, etc.

A good friend of mine and I use the throat spray since it helps boost the immune system and is very good in preventing sore throats.

Ilog Maria throat spray

Ilog Maria massage oil

Bath gel

Soaps made of natural ingredients like oatmeal and milk, etc.

To know more about Ilog Maria, you  an visit their website:  Ilog Maria website

On your way home, you can also stopover one of the flower shops along the main road in Tagaytay. They offer a wide selection of plants and the prices are much lower compared to buying it in Manila.

The Brilliant Stella McCartney

One designer that I truly admire is Stella McCartney. 

She is one of the most brilliant fashion designers today and yet she remains grounded amidst all her success and accomplishments.

In an interview by Vogue, she described herself as a "designer with a twist" since she has this way of combining fashion and and at the same time running her business in a responsible and ethical manner.

Stella is also a very positive person. She said that she is very much involved in the production of her fashion shows including the kind of music played  and that she wants to "uplift people".

She believes in running her business in a responsible way and she knows the importance of sustainability. She does not use leather, fur or pvc materials in her creations and is very particular on ensuring that she only uses materials that do not harm the environment.

Here's a video of Stella McCartney's interview from Vogue:

Stella believes that her job is to create beautiful things first but at the same time she also places high priority on having creations that are environmentally friendly.

It is good to see that she values and finds a balance in making beautiful creations while ensuring that sourcing and use of her materials are done in an environmentally sound manner.

She is also a grateful person inspired by her mother as she shared that she learned the following from her mom:

• To give out a ton of love unconditionally
• Go with  the flow
• Allow things to happen
• Try and sympathize

Stella McCartney is certainly brilliant. With her advocacy on running her fashion business in an environmentally-friendly manner there is no doubt that her brand and her creations will continue to prosper and remain strong in the future.

Here is a video clip of Stella McCartney's fall fashion 2014 show:

Here's a link to her Spring 2015 creations : Stella McCartney spring 2015.

Vogue September Issue

Vogue's September Issue is definitely is a must-read issue.

As Anna Wintour, Editor in Chief of Vogue, once said "Fashion is not about looking back. It is always about looking forward". Thus, it is important for us to be in-the-know of  new trends in fashion and to keep on evolving.

I am sure that most women would agree that the Vogue September issue is simply a must-have since it is the most extensive issue that most fashionistas globally look forward to reading.

The latest September  Issue of Vogue on "Spectacular Fall Fashion" featuring models Joan Smalls, Cara Delevingne, Karlie Kloss and other models of the moment is fabulous.

Some interesting features include "Sweeten the Pot" article which is about cooking with marijuana, "Dark Horse" which features stunning autumn day looks, "Playing it Cool" which features fab fall-winter coats and "Fit to be Tied" which reveals why the scarf is the new necklace.

The models in the September 2014 issue are also called "Instagirls" since they are the generation of models who are into using social media apps like Instagram, Twitter, etc.

As I read the September Issue, I remembered the film "The September Issue" which revolved around how Vogue's September issue is the most important issue and showed viewers the world of Anna Wintour, one of the most powerful and influential people in the fashion world. 

Here's a video clip of "The September Issue" movie trailer.

The film is good as it also features how Anna leads the team at Vogue in order to create spectacular issues of Vogue magazine.

Elephant Parade

It was nice to see colourful elephants in Hong Kong's Pacific Place mall.

The Elephant Parade is the world's largest art exhibition of decorated elephant statues created by artists and celebrities. The event is a fund raising event as some of the elephants are auctioned to raise funds for the Asian Elephant Foundation.

People in the mall cannot resist taking photos of  the elephants with their friends, family members and a lot of people take selfies too. Here are some nice ones that I have seen.

Mooncake elephant

The Collective Memory

There's an elephant called "Lucky Coins" which is deemed to be auspicious.

Lucky Coins elephant

Sharkaphant and Wonderland

I'm hungry...I'm very hungry...I'm terribly hungry!

The elephant by Agnes B is my favourite one.

My Love in Danger elephant by Agnes B

More elephants at Pacific Place ground floor

The Elephant Parade in Hong Kong is such a big exhibit that was excellently executed for a good cause.

The Petit Cafe

One of my favourite stopovers in Hong Kong is a cafe that is detached from all the other shops inside the Pacific Place mall called "The Petit Cafe".

It is a good place for breakfast, afternoon tea break and  is also a good place to hangout if you are meeting up with friends in Hong Kong.

The Petit Cafe offers a variety of pastries, sandwiches and drinks.

Pair your drink with a nice Danish pastry

Freshly baked pastries

Sandwiches at the Petit cafe

Their apple danish pastry is a must try

  

Nice and clean open kitchen at Petit Cafe

The Petit Cafe is also a good stopover for people on-the-go since  you can simply grab a meal of your choice and have them wrap it and go.