Café Hops in M'sia 2.0 (ft. friends)

    Recently, food and friends is probably the only thing that could make me smile genuinely. Well, majority percentage lies with my friends. They make me smile the most and forget all the worries and problems I have in my mind recently. This may sound cheesy but to me, their smiles meant the whole world to me; seeing their smiles made me happy and unconsciously, I smiled too. But it's not just them who made me smile but also the food we were willing to share together made me felt that I was part of them cause food always does bring people together right?

    Just yesterday, me and my friends went to two types of cafe; one is dessert cause who doesn't love to eat desserts right? and the other one is more to breakfast and brunch menu. Well, both were suitable to be recommended in my point of view and one can also just take a 3 minute walk to each of the two cafe technically! :) It was fun since it was our first time hanging out going to cafes instead of just going to shopping malls and window shop; it was a whole new memory made for us and we loved it. It was decent and to be honest, I do hope we were able to continue the moments for a little much longer than the usual 24/7. Anyway, cafe hopping is fun when you go in groups just because you're able to share the costs and also enjoy the moments of chit chatting and catching up with each other's lives at the same time and at least for me; we were able to have enjoy good food while we laugh at each other's funniest stories.

1. Jao Tim

    To those who are not the morning type of person that you are and you tend to feel a little fancy wanting to go out to have some brunch with your closest friends because why not right? Once in a while, it feels good to hang out with friends to have brunch with them; maybe you would still see their sleepy faces at times but it's worth the hang out just because its FRIENDSHIP GOALS - having breakfast or brunch with your closest friends. Well, back to food of course, if you're that type of person, you can go to Jao Tim located at Petaling Street; same lane as leaf & co cafe. It has a modern vintage feel to it and although it may look a little empty, it's peaceful. :) Peaceful to have a cup of coffee or tea and some croissants or sandwich. Music was played softly so it wouldn't interrupt our conversations with our friends, the great wide spaces in between each tables felt like they were giving us the spaces we wanted to have instead of the crowded tables that made it narrow in between. The food? Well, I could say it was lovely and light. The beverages? It was okay I could say in my opinion. But overall, it was pleasant as you get to enjoy quietness and vintage feel at once and it is a great combination.

Here are some photos I've took during our visit to Jao Tim:

The entrance of Jao Tim. It felt like it was hard to find the cafe at first but their doors were kind of unique and with the golden signage, it was practically easy to be spotted so yeah. 

The staircase of Jao Tim.

A top view shot of how the cafe looks like. See how the spacious it is? ;)

The food we ordered. We had Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Chocolate croissant, Chicken Pie and some drinks. If I would recommend between those 3 dishes, I would say Chicken Pie just because I personally prefer softer foods so the Chicken Pie was the softest of all. The other 2 had a little crisp in them.

A closer look of the Grilled Cheese Sandwich. :)

Our drinks: Latte, Hot Chocolate, Mocha and Earl Grey Tea. You could say it's the usual common drinks.

A cup of latte ordered by my friend.

The vintage feels that I was talking about was the decorations that they put in the cafe too. HAHA

2. Urban Artisan

    The next stop was desserts OF COURSE!! In Malaysia, the weather is ALWAYS scorching hot 24/7 and to kid you not, you can sweat easily despite it was only a 3 minute walk from Jao Tim. This dessert shop has been quite the popular topic when it comes to frozen yogurt ice cream. Its called Urban Artisan which is basically located in Petaling Street too, you can also say it's kind of the opposite lane of Merchant Lane cafe. Their ice creams are famous for the unique combination of two different flavors, they also have single flavors too if any of ya'll wants to savor only one flavor. Oh!! and they changes the menu every week as I was told about when I asked them for more information. Their flavors? I could say it's REALLY unique and different from the normal ones you try at llao llao or just any other Fro-Yo shops. I think that's what makes them unique and popular. The visuals? Splendid HAHA!! It's insta-worthy, TRUST ME! But try not to take it outside of the shop to have it especially when the weather is typically hotter than usual because it'll literally melt immediately. It's worth going to visit if ya'll wants some awesome perfect visuals frozen yogurt ice cream or just wants to have something that are more different than your go-to ice creams.

Here are some photos of Urban Artisan:

Urban Artisan cafe outlet, its all white so it's easy to be spotted. ;)

This is Thai Tea with Japanese Black Sesame flavor. It's really unique and they said this is the 'best-seller' out of the other flavors. It's worth a try! It has creamy texture to it, you can taste the Thai tea more to be honest. One mixed flavor ice cream cost RM12.90 for your information. 

If you're looking for more refreshing flavor, this is the one! It's Hawaiian Pineapple with the Natural Frozen Yogurt flavor. It's more on the sour side but not so sour. You can taste the pineapple flavor and also how the natural frozen yogurt flavor blends together with the pineapple to balance the flavor. It's worth trying!

So this is the reason I said to not take your ice cream cone out cause look at the picture, we just gotten it and when we took it outside for a better exposure, it melted miserably because the ice cream is not usual Gelato type of ice cream so it's fragile and melts faster than usual and also it's because of Malaysia's weather so yeah. 

    Well, I do hope I can visit more cafes soon so if ya'll have any cafe suggestions that I should visit please feel free to drop a comment or just text me if any of ya'll know me HAHAHA. For more photographs of the two cafes I visited, you can visit my VSCOGrid just by pressing the icon on the left side of the blog or you can click here OR you can visit my Instagram (@shannonpsl) Thanks for reading all the way here!! I appreciate it very much!! :)

Sincerely, Shannon

"1, 2, Cheese!"

    For quite awhile, I've been caught up with other portrait photographers and of course I did try some portrait photography and I guess it turned out quite ok? (You can leave a comment if its nice or there is something I should improve on btw!) I don't really have any specific reason on how I got interested in photography especially in the aspects of portraits but one thing I know is how portrait gives me a sense of 'life lesson' that we should accept the flaws and appreciate them while we're at it. The details of each portrait photograph; from the little freckles, the little scars, the moles, the eyes to each and every part of the face and body shot from - It shows everything in detail and it shows it WONDERFULLY, at least to me; that's how I feel.

    We can see most of us girls tend to cover up our faces with layers of foundation and concealer and that is fine! It's really pretty and I understand that some would only feel confident with makeup on but one thing that hit me hard is that we girls were trying so hard to cover up our flaws with powders and cream that we tend to forget we will never find out who will accept our flaws just as we are if we continue covering up completely. We hid it so perfectly but once we reveal it, who will accept them? We tend to think so much about it and sometimes it may lead to anxiety and depression and that is bad of course! BUT no worries girls, makeup is fun but try not to overdo it till you realized you tend to rely on makeup too much and can't accept your flaws AT ALL. You've got to appreciate them ONLY then people will appreciate your perfect imperfections too. So 'balance' is the key to everything girls! ;) LOVE YOURSELF is what you need to do :)

    Portrait photography also taught me how to accept others' imperfections. Yes, its others' imperfections we are talking about too and not only ours we need to appreciate. We should understand that some people never wanted to have these flaws on them but ended up having it and we should accept them just the way they are. Just like how we accept our friends just the way they are; they may be talkative, they may have acne on their faces, they may have weird personalities but at the end of the day there are people who will accept the way they are and that of course the people might be us too! Also, God accepted the way we are too so there's no fret in worrying who does not accepts your flaws people!! The ones who accepts you at your worst and ugliest are the ones who are true to you - they are basically your true ones. 

   Not only that, portrait photography shows what you truly feel in the picture that you were shot of. Well, some might be poses directed by the photographer themselves BUT for me, no matter how they instructed you on how to pose; your eyes doesn't lie in the picture; they reveal your inner feeling someway or another. The eyes of yours can never deceive the ones who can see through you. They'll know it; what you are and how you are feeling. That's why I like portraits; it shows me the true feelings of the ones I took of. They tend to show what they feel at the specific moment too when one shoots them; some might be looking everywhere and not the camera lens because they are camera-shy and have no confident in posing, some might be confident and potential in posing, some might feel demotivated at times too without smiling maybe because they had a rough day but still; posing effortlessly. Again, the eyes doesn't lies and those who shoot portraits; I believe they'll know it too somehow and someway. 

    

    In conclusion, Portrait Photography tells a lot of a person's character, personality and feeling and it depends who wants to accept them for who they are and who wants to be in their life as a support and encouragement for them. Well, of course, It's not all about accepting and appreciating the flaws, it can mean nothing but as an enjoyment too cause photography is an activity to have fun and experiment anyway as we pick up our camera and press the shutter button to shoot with everything we've got to produce a good portrait. :)

There are some portrait photographs that I've taken and would like to share with everyone too! So please do enjoy my artwork hehe ;)

Model: Clarisse
Place: Garage 51, Petaling Jaya

Model: Jia Ai (Kailyn)
Place: OW:L Espresso Lab, SS15

Model: Carmen Phuah (My twin sis) ;)
Place: Pier 84, New York, USA

Model: Annabelle Cheah
Place: Sampling on the Fourteenth, 14th floor, Berjaya Times Square

Model: Joel Song
Place: Merchant's Lane, Petaling Street

Inspired by Brandon Woelfel (check out his Insta!)
Model: Carmen Phuah (My twin sis)
Place: Ota-Ya Japanese Restaurant, Newton, Pennsylvania, USA

Model: Carmen Phuah
Place: Rawang (My hometown)

Model: Joel Song
Place: Wild Sheep Chase Cafe, Taman Desa

Model: Random kid I saw HAHA He looks cool so yea :)
Place: Statue of Liberty Island, New York, USA

Sincerely, Shannon.

What’s Next?

    On the April of 11th, I’ve finished my finals and technically; it’s the last day of diploma life too. To be honest, I don’t really know about my coursemates but I feel like there’s so many more other things I wanted to do together still. But sadly, I wasn’t able to do it and literally low key wants to reverse back to the day to the very first time I talked to them; it was the fondest memory of all in my life and I’m already missing it so much.

Far from being strong...

   What is strong? Being able to lift few kilograms of weight? Or being able to control one’s emotion even though they’ve been scarred too much? I’m not sure to be honest what’s the true meaning of strong. 

    Everyone has their different perspective of strong and some might even think they are strong. Well, they are not wrong truthfully speaking; they were able to withstand the challenges and obstacles they faced and they felt they became stronger overcoming those. I would say that is strong too. But what’s my definition of strong? Here you go: 

    Strong to me is like being able to control your feelings and not being obvious of our feelings through expressions; that way we won’t get exposed so easily and people won’t play narcissism on us anymore. Being able to control one feelings is difficult because we all know that sometimes our emotions are able to takeover our mind and in the end, we act according to our uncontrollable feelings without putting ourselves in other people’s shoes and at the end of the day, we might hurt people, especially the ones we love. 

    Strong is also being able to stand up for oneself; being able to love oneself and feel confident. I think it’s important to be strong in believing in oneself that one is pretty, handsome, cute, unique and special in many different ways. We have charms we don’t realize until now and only rare ones found it sooner and became strong faster as we envy at the side while we watch them being able to be confident and assured that their charms will attract the people they want to attract. We tend to look at the negativity in us instead of the positivity and depressed ourselves with hurtful words and turned ourselves into becoming so conscious and sensitive about what other says about us. That’s why if we were able to completely love ourselves first, we wouldn’t be doing things we dislike to fit in the norm anymore or just doing something so that we can reach to our envious goals. 

    To be honest, I can really say I’m not strong at all; not even half of the percentage of being strong. I still feel insecure around people, my emotions overtakes me most of the time and I ended up hurting loved ones and preventing them from doing what they wanted at first, I don’t have any confidence with my face with those dark eye circles no matter how many times ‘pretty’ is the word some people described me during our first impression and I don’t really love myself just because I feel I haven’t achieved anything in life yet despite studying so hard to get unaccountable certificates. I was and have never been strong at all even though I smile everyday and felt like I enjoyed my day but deep down, I’m just a weakling. 

    And since I know that I am not strong at all, I’ve been trying really hard to take first steps to becoming stronger. But of course there are obstacles in life that led me to not being able to do it; that’s why progression is really slow and even though it’s slow, I don’t want to give up. I’m just months to becoming 20 and I have many things to learn still and I don’t even know where to start and how to start becoming stronger but someway or another, I’ll find my way out and be able to stand strong and overcome those insecurities and emotional controls. As long as I continue to believe in God and myself, I’m sure I’ll be able to do it successfully and I hope I’ll be able to have people that will understand me and accepts the way I am and also helps me overcome these dizzy roller coaster rides. 

Sincerely, Shannon. 

Café Hops in M’sia 1.0

    Cozy vibes, good food and a good coffee to drink away and relax; that’s what makes it a simple yet enjoyable cafe to go to and sit or just take some picture shots of the environment. Basically, the vibes that a cafe gives to a customer are somewhat mostly cozy, modern but a hint of vintage feels, the smell of coffee beans filled in the atmosphere and sometimes, the corners of what every photographer wants to get their hands dirty with their camera. I’ve been to a few decent cafes which was pretty much how I described it to be; lovely and of course I would like to share some of the vibes with y’all readers.

P.S. this is solely based on my experience and also my opinions so no harsh comments please. ;)

VCR, Jalan Galloway 

    VCR is a cafe that consists of modern and a hint of vintage vibes; from the modern glasses that was built as walls at the upstairs, the soft music filling up the wooden places and furniture and little windows that the sunlight shines through; its lovely. Its' a self ordering platform at the cashier but you get to see the baristas doing the coffee at times which is amazing! I love how they present their food; color and taste were splendid to me. The prices of the food ranges from RM19-RM23 if I'm not mistaken. But its worth it to drop in to VCR to fill up the hungry tummy and and quench up the thirst.

This is their French Toast with a little corner of raspberry compote and a top of espresso no-churn ice cream. the chocolate part is filled with cookie crumbles and sunflower seeds and a dash of mocha sauce underneath it. 

This is VCR interior at the upstairs of their cafe.

FEEKA Coffee Roasters, Bukit Bintang.

    FEEKA is a place where you can sit and relax while looking at their interiors and also have a little photo shoot or two with their lovely background wall settings. One can also sit and enjoy the taste of their food especially their pastas. I had one of their Duck-Confit Pasta and its' lovely! I never got to try their coffee but you can! ;) Their price range are affordable too so just get your car keys or call a grab to head to FEEKA cause you should enjoy and explore more!

This is their little photo shoot corner as I would call it cause Less is definitely More! :)

This is basically what me and my friends had ordered. Red Velvet cake, Mixed Fruit Juice, and two more pastas which one of it haven't came in yet.

Little People Cafe, Avantas Residence Ground Floor

    Little People Cafe has a pretty white settings and theme to it where photographers are able to take picture with natural lighting most of the time cause I did got some good lighting to take a few shots of the cafe. They serve some nice mocha and some pasta too! I love how their interiors there are so minimal yet aesthetic; Its' serenity filled the cafe and you can just order some drinks with a laptop in front of you as you sit and relax there while doing your work. Their price range of a dish are normally RM20+ or so.

Their coffee bar station as I would call it. It's lovely with the mini plants on the shelves; just look at them! 

Behind every flatlays pictures. LOL

Merchant Lane, Jalan Petaling

    Merchant Lane has by far the best food for a mix of Malaysian cultures in it based on my experiences. I've been here quite a few number of times and it never fails to satisfy my tastebuds every single time I visit there. They have the most beautiful modern vintage vibes and interiors that I love taking pictures of from their several wooden furniture, modern music filling up the cafe and their beautiful plating of their food; all are amaze-balls! You can go with your family and friends and even your partner to enjoy a decent lunch or dinner cause this cafe is lit. PS: I highly recommend their South China Sea dish cause that salmon is 'salmonlicious'!

How can you not love their interiors right? Its lit especially at the counter area.

This is some of the food we've ordered; from main dishes of Nasi Lemak 2.0 to Spaghetti Bolognese and some little snacks of Pipits Nest. Want to know what does it contains in Pipits Nest? Head on over there to try it now! ;)

    These are the four that I recently love to visit and yes; you readers out there around KL area should go try it out! I feel all of this cafe visiting with friends made my friendship became closer than ever just because delicious food are what brought us together. ;)

Sincerely, Shannon.

Winter in U.S.A

    It was in December 2017, my family and I went to one of my dream country for a vacation and of course I was thrilled to finally go to the country I wanted to go to the most and as expected; U.S.A, you did awesome and expectations was met. :)

    We went to a few states and all of them were lovely! From New Jersey, New York City that never sleeps; ever literally, Washington DC, Maryland to Pennsylvania to see the most beautiful nature I’ve ever seen in my entire life! We stayed for 3 whole weeks where we got to celebrate Christmas and New Years’ Eve in the states which is a miracle and also a first for my family and I and yes, of course it was amaze-balls for me as I felt like I got to expand my field of vision and also got to had the most amazing opportunity to see the other side of the world at an age of 19 so it was a ‘travel goals’ for me.