LUSH Dark Angels Facial Cleanser Review

 

Hey everyone! Today I'm going to talk about the LUSH facial cleanser called Dark Angels. Can we first start off by appreciating how cool and mysterious the name Dark Angels sounds? Okay maybe it's not that cool but I still like the name! Anyways, I'm going to start off by saying this is the first LUSH facial product I've ever gotten for myself besides their Coalface which I only used a little bit because I had actually gotten it for my boyfriend. I've seen people on Youtube talk about this before so I was intrigued and wanted to try it out as part of my daily routine. If you don't know, my skin type is more on the dry-combination side. It's not so dry that it gets flaky or anything, but it's definitely not oily. However, I do get a little oily in my T-zone occasionally which is why I would classify myself on the combination side. My face tends to feel more tight and smooth rather than the sort of sticky, soft supple feeling that some other people have and I think that's just because my skin isn't as moisturized as that, but I prefer it like this so yea! Sorry if that's wasn't the greatest explanation but I just wanted to give a description of my skin type first because everyone has different skin types so one type of facial product may work differently with your skin - this is just my opinion and how it worked for me. Take it with a grain of salt and enjoy~!

 

On the website, the description claims:

"Black sugar and charcoal gently exfoliate and absorb excess oils to leave dull, oily or acne-prone skin feeling fresh and matte. Even oily skin can be sensitive, so we've made this one soft and soothing to calm redness and irritation, too. Its rhassoul mud base deep-cleanses to help prevent breakouts while vitamin rich cold-pressed organic avocado oil nourishes skin to leave it soft and lightly hydrated. Use all over for perfectly smooth, bright skin. An angel indeed!"

So what does that all mean? Basically it's good for oily skin and exfoliates, smooths, and brightens skin.

On their site, it's rated a 4.4 (but all of their products are like a 4+) and there's a lot of great reviews about it. Some of the pros mentioned in the reviews include it smelling good, controlling oil, exfoliating, and being good for acne-prone and oily skin. Some cons are that it can be messy and leave a dark-ish residue on those with fairer skin. As you can see below, it's a bit pricey, but all LUSH stuff is pricey so you gotta keep that in mind if you're considering shopping at LUSH in general.

Price: $31.95 for 8.4 oz.

Where to buy: LUSH website

Okay so enough of the boring information, let's get on with my personal experience. I don't mind that it comes in a tub and that you have to scoop out the product. I can see this being a little unsanitary and especially since there's no preservatives, I feel like dipping your hands in it multiple times might speed up the "going bad" process. I really don't know how you even know if you're cleanser goes bad but mine actually passed the "best used by" date last week or so, so I'm furiously trying to use it up. I did read that you can use it on your body as a body scrub and lots of the reviews mentioned people using it on their body as well as their face. If you're doing it like that, I can totally understand how you would use up the whole product, but for me, well I'm barely halfway done and I've had it for over 3 months. That being said, I don't use this product every day. I did initially use it both day and night to cleanse my skin but one day I noticed my skin had a ton of little scratches and I realized it was from the cleanser so I decided to cut down and only use it maybe once every one or two days. 

In my opinion, Dark Angels is more of an exfoliant to be used a few times a week, not daily as a cleanser. My skin is definitely not sensitive and it's pretty good at taking harsh products. For example, the St. Ives apricot scrub, my skin can take that daily nbd. I actually think that's less rough than Dark Angels. I know there's a lot of controversy about the St. Ives apricot scrub with people saying it's really bad for your skin and causes micro-scratches and tears your skin, but honestly, I don't get that. I like the way St. Ives makes my skin feel really clean and I don't feel like it's harsh at all. Dark Angels is made with black sugar to give it that exfoliating property and Rhassoul mud (charcoal I think) to absorb excess oil. Since my skin was never super oily to start with, I can't really say if Dark Angels controls my oil production or not. I guess it does but who knows. *shrugs* Many reviews talk about how it controls their oil so if you have oily skin, this could work for you. But back on the topic of sensitive skin - if you have sensitive skin, I don't think I would recommend this for you. Especially if you can't stand St. Ives apricot scrub. The black sugar component of Dark Angels makes it pretty rough in texture and after seeing those tiny scratches/red lines on my face, I don't think it's a good idea to press too hard when using that. But my problem is that if you don't press the cleanser into your face, it won't stick on your skin and will just drop off into the sink/shower/wherever you wash your face and dude, that's like 10 cents right there! (Lol oh the stingy side in me comes out). 

With regards to people commenting on the scrub being messy, I don't think it's that messy. Sure some bits drop off, but if you're careful, like me, you shouldn't have too much fall out and all you have to do is use water to wash it off the sides of the sink/wherever it dropped and it's gone. Not that big of a deal right? The instructions say to only grab a pea size amount and then rub it in your palms with some water. What I do is grab about a pea size amount using my knuckles. This is a trick I learned when I had gotten gel nails and lotion kept getting stuck underneath my nails (#thestrugglewasreal ;D). Using your knuckles to get out lotion or the cleanser is a great trick if you have longer nails or just want to be a little bit more sanitary (somehow I think it's better than using your fingers). Then I rub it in my damp/wettened palms and rub together onto my face. I don't always do this though. Sometimes, I take it off my knuckles and just directly place it on my "freshly-water-splashed" face and rub it in. I wash my face by holding my face above the sink (looking downward) and catching water with my two palms and splashing it up against my face. No not like those commercials where the water splashes against the models face and goes everywhere but yes I do cup the water in my palms and bring it up to my face. I then use my hands to rub off and of the excess product still clinging to my face (kind of necessary for any cleanser really). I repeat this until all the product is washed off. I'm telling you this because not everyone does this (which surprised me when I first found out) but I think it's one of the best ways to efficiently wash your face. 

Okay so all in all, I don't think I would repurchase this cleanser. I like it and I don't mind the smell but it's definitely on the pricier side and since it has an expiration/best-use-by date and I can't use it that often (or choose not to), I don't think it's the best product for me personally. I do think it'd make a great body scrub but it's also one that I feel like I could make on my own (oh the multitude of DIY sugar scrubs you can find online) for much cheaper. My body skin isn't oily either (who's is anyways?) so I don't know how good of a use it would be to use Dark Angels as a body scrub (seems like a waste of money but at the same time, if my cleanser is past the use-by date.. I might have to resort to using it up on my body). I think this is a great exfoliating product that should be used occasionally, especially if you have sensitive skin. Maybe you can try pressing with less force, but even then, I feel wary about recommending this to anyone who's skin is generally pretty sensitive. I would follow up with a good moisturizer (I use my aloe gel because that's just what I use everyday and I would HIGHLY recommend everyone and anyone to use aloe gel if you aren't already. Seriously the bomb for any type of skin). The cleanser can be a bit crumbly and strange if you're not used to using products out of a tub (plus unsanitary) which are a few cons I might bring up if you're considering purchasing Dark Angels. So I suppose that's it for my review on Dark Angels. It's not bad and if you want to try out a new cleanser or exfoliating product and have the money to spend, you can definitely try it out. Just make sure you have a friend who you can share it with or give it to if you don't like it or don't want to use it that often but need to finish it before the best-by date! 

What other LUSH products have you guys tried and what would you recommend? I love their Bath Bombs but can never get myself to buy one but let me know what you think is worth the splurge!

Good Eats - Hong Kong Edition - BBQ Military (Ep. 7)

It's been a while since my last Good Eats post, but I thought I should share a few more of the places I went to when I was in Hong Kong over the summer. BBQ Military is a Korean barbeque restaurant that, well as the name implies, has a theme centering on the military. Their waiting area chairs are cameo print (see above picture), their servers dress in military uniform, and they even have a mini shooting range with BB guns! You have to be over the age of 18 to use the BB gun but it's totally free and pretty fun. BBQ Military is also owned by the same owners of BBQ 7080, another Korean barbeque restaurant that is also just as popular as BBQ Military. I think there are also a few more branches of 7080 around Hong Kong so it's a bit easier to find.

BBQ Military is pretty popular so if you want to get a table, I would definitely suggest going before peak hours (ie. before 7 PM and even then might be cutting it close) or calling in to make a reservation. If you go in during their busy hours, they might not have any room and all their tables could be reserved meaning your chances of getting a table are slim and only possible if someone doesn't show up for their reservation or cancels. I like the style and concept of the restaurant and it's pretty cool, their seats are like stools but you can pop off the top and stuff your belongings in it making for easy storage and safe keeping. The restaurant does get pretty crowded but that's with most Hong Kong restaurants as space is limited. Your table will definitely get a bit crowded, but it's all good :)

All the tables come with a circular cooking tray in the middle and you usually have one waiter dedicated to you who will help serve and cook your food. I really liked the service because most Hong Kong restaurants don't focus on service and can treat you pretty badly (ie. they just want to get you in and out as quickly as possible). Here, the server really is attentive and they're super helpful. I did go to the 7080 in Tsim Sha Tsui and our server was amazing. I accidentally spilled my tea (they give really good Korean tea!) and she immediately was there with tissues and napkins to help wipe it all up. The server also frequently changes your cooking stove so it doesn't get too oily or covered in burnt food and they also give you a ton of lettuce and mint leaves to wrap your meat in. They also start off by giving you a tray of banchan (Korean starter dishes) which is super good. It comes with kimchi, japchae, cold tofu in some sort of really good sauce, and cabbage in a sort of wasabi paste which I personally don't like wasabi so I didn't care for it much.

I'll admit that the place isn't insanely cheap but it's also not crazy expensive. You get a good portion for what you pay and the meat is reallyy good. Their menu comes in Chinese and English which is great for tourists like me and pictures too ;D I know most people like pork belly but I personally find it too fatty, but if you're into that, then I would definitely recommend it. My favorite dish was the Gwangyang Bulgogi (marinated grilled beef), beef brisket, and some other beef thing that I can't remember what it was called but it was SO good. In the picture below, it's the meat that's rolled up with little hashmarks on the top right corner with the two white circular blobs (those are two slices of mushroom haha).

Overall I would highly recommend BBQ Military if you're looking for good Korean BBQ in Hong Kong. They have really great food and the service is great which is a nice change from the normal usual service you see around Asia. Plus I'm a sucker for Korean BBQ so I really enjoyed going here :) Let me know if you check this place out and what you liked the best!

My Experience with Printerpix

If you have parents like mine who never seem to want anything other than "you getting good grades", you'll know that finding them gifts is always a struggle. However, two years ago, I saw a deal on Living Social (a site that offers deals or coupons which often allow you to buy a gift card for less than its value - ie. buy a $50 dollar gift card for a restaurant for only $10) for VistaPrint, a company that specializes in personalized printed items such as calendars, cups, mugs, shirts, etc. I ended up getting a calendar filled with family pictures for my parents and they absolutely loved it. Last year, I made a family book with pictures from our family trips all the way back in the 1990's when I was a kid and they loved that too. So this year, sticking with the whole family memories tradition, I decided to get another calendar for which I had seen a deal on Living Social from the company, Printerpix. Now I've always trusted that the sites Living Social offers deals to are legit and what not (trusted meaning I never even stopped to consider that the sites wouldn't be reputable because I always assumed like if Living Social is legit, their deals should be fine right?), but after some of the problems I had with Printerpix, I went online and on Yelp the company have an absolutely awful rating. However, I'm not going to completely bash Printerpix and I just want to give you my whole experience and honest opinion about them so hear me out if you will.

Knowing that Christmas time always gets busy, I decided to make the calendar ahead of time and placed my order on November 15th. I would have placed my order earlier but I had difficulties working with the calendar creating page and of course school got in the way. If I were to compare the online program/site to the one VistaPrint has for their calendars, I would definitely say VistaPrint is way better. The zoom function from Printerpix's program is super annoying and it often lags (no, this is not a problem with my computer!). Some of the positive things though are that it does have background designs for you to choose from, you can add in your own personal holidays (ie. birthdays) onto the calendar, there are stickers that you can add to decorate the calendar (though they can be a little tacky), and it lets you know if you picture quality isn't high enough to guarantee a clear image when printed. You can also upload pictures from multiple sources like Facebook, your computer, and other media sites. Once I completed my order, I received a confirmation email stating that my order had been received and that I would be sent another email with the tracking ID once it was shipped.

Now all that was done by November 15th. Fast forward to around the first week of December when I realize.. hm I still haven't gotten my calendar. I check my email - no email from them regarding shipment. I check the website - my order status says 0% .. what?! I call them and it takes a while to get through but finally I get connected with a customer service representative who informs me that my calendar has been shipped but the "website isn't updating for some reason" and gives me the tracking information. Now first off, if they know that the website isn't working, I think it would be nice if they sent out an email or at least informed their customers of this because it's quite concerning seeing that my order is at 0% when it's been almost over a month. Furthermore, I never received an email with the tracking information which I'm not sure if that's linked to the website issue or not but they DEFINITELY should let customers know then because then how are we supposed to know to expect our order and when to, right? Luckily for me, the customer representative that I was speaking to was very nice and helped me look up my tracking ID which they had sent via USPS and low and behold, for some reason it had arrived at location near/very close to my address but then somehow went off to the city next to it and then "departed the USPS facility" and just never was scanned again. So the Printerpix lady told me to contact the USPS to see if they could find out where it was and if they couldn't help me, to call back again and she would send me a new copy.

Getting a hold of the USPS was another long wait but I managed to talk to a customer service representative and he (supposedly) opened up a case for me to track my package and said someone would contact me within 48 hours but no one did so I contacted Printerpix again (by then it was the second week of December) and the person who I explained my situation too was great and helped send out a new order request for my calendar in no time. However, I forgot to ask them to change the shipping address because by the time it arrived, I would be back home for the holiday break and obviously wouldn't be able to give it to my parents then. Within a week (not sure why it took so long), I received an email with the tracking ID for my reprinted calendar and was able to track that over my winter holiday break at home. It arrived in about 5 business days (right on Christmas eve actually) but I wasn't able to retrieve it until January 4th when I came back to my college apartment. I was a bit displeased because I found my calendar shoved into our tiny apartment mailboxes when I expected it to be left outside our doorstep like most larger packages or in the office. The reason why it was even able to fit into the tiny 4" by 8" box was because the cardboard packaging was thin and flimsy and barely sturdier than the card-stock the calendar was made out of. I was super disappointed about this because after about 2 weeks of being shoved up in that tiny mailbox, my calendar was curled up almost permanently. Since then (so for about a week now), I have put my heavier textbooks/flat objects on top of it in hopes that it will flatten out with no permanent wrinkles or folds. I sent an email complaint to Printerpix and have yet to receive a response but am definitely upset and annoyed at the poor packaging. Although I may have paid for my calendar using a Living Social deal, the calendar normally costs $20 if I remember correctly (if not more) which completely does not justify such poor effort put into the packaging.

Regarding the calendar itself, I was also a little disappointed to find that it was double sided meaning that it goes to January to June I think and then you have to flip the calendar over and on the backside you go from July to December. I'm all for being eco friendly and all but something about that bothered me. I'm not sure if they list that in the calendar description on their webpage but I do feel just a little cheated/disappointed in the quality of the calendar. Nevertheless, one good aspect is that because it's a wall calendar (or at least the one I ordered), it comes with a hole at the top to pin it up and the wire that holds the pages together sort of bumps up in the middle so you could hang it on a pushpin/tack in the wall. I do wish they would give you the option of choosing a landscape or portrait calendar however because they only give you the portrait option for the wall calendar.

So overall my thoughts would be... no I do not recommend this company. I do appreciate the professional and friendly customer service because they did seem earnest in helping me out (as of late I've been having great experiences with customer service like with AT&T and the USPS, it's surprising but refreshing). The downsides are that I feel like this company has a lot of problems (on there webpage they have a specific link to direct you if you have complaints! Like if they actually have that.. I feel like they must get quite a lot of complaints) as my experience showed with their webpage, email miscommunication, shipping issues (though I suppose that might not be their fault, I don't feel like USPS is that reliable and would prefer another carrier), and also delay in email response. They say they'll get back to you within 24 hours but the multiple times I've emailed them, it has always taken more than 24 hours if not no response at all. At least I've gotten my calendar in the end, albeit after Christmas so I'll have to give it to my parents the next time I see them, but do be wary if you plan on purchasing any merchandise from this company. Let me know in the comments if you've had any experience with this company and if so, was it good or bad?!


Edit (2/26/15): I sent my complaint email about the condition I received my calendar in on January 5th. On January 27th, I received an apology from their customer service and an arrangement for another calendar to be sent to me. Now if this had been something more urgent or a present for someone other than my parents I definitely would have been a bit more upset at the super late response (3 weeks?! Really?!). But because I had managed to flatten out my calendar to a somewhat presentable state and given it to my parents, I wasn't too bothered. I would like to mention that even my mom thought the quality of the calendar was pretty bad in both the picture quality and just overall look/design/material. On February 16th, I received an email confirming the shipment of my order and received it on February 20th so at least I got the package in a decently timely manner. The packaging was still this pretty thin cardboard material but at least this time the mailman (or woman) left it on my doorstep and not crumpled up in the tiny PO boxes that apartment complexes have for normal mail (as it was for my first order).  I do appreciate PrinterPix shipping me another calendar and trying to make up for the poor condition I received my calendar in so points for that and I do think their customer service tries hard to make up for their companies faults, but I do not think that excuses the company for poor quality products.

A peek at my Frosty VoxBox from Influenster

 

 This winter season I was lucky enough to be chosen to be sent the Frosty VoxBox from Influenster! If you don't know what Influenster is, it's a review site/company that sends out boxes to members to try out different product brands. Each box contains different items and they all have special themes that you, as a member, can earn badges for which will allow you to be considered to be sent those items related to your interest. For example, for a makeup obsessed person like me, I have the Beauty Badge which qualifies me for consideration for makeup Influenster boxes. There's also fitness themed boxes, food themed, travel themed, and more! I would definitely check out Influenster if you're interested or post in the comments below and I can invite you (I think you need an invitation to join).

With that being said, let me share with you the products I received in my Frosty VoxBox!

One of the first things I noticed was the McCornick Gourmet bottle of thyme. I'm no professional chef but I do know that thyme is a super useful dried herb when it comes to cooking. I've used it to season lamb, mashed potatoes, and various other dishes so I was actually pretty excited to see this in my VoxBox. I recently used it for our family Christmas dinner to season our roasted vegetables and it was so good! McCormick is a brand I've grown up with and I think it's one of those "family brands" that have just been around for a while. The glass bottle packaging definitely makes this bottle look more classy and professional than their usual plastic ones. I definitely think I might pick up a few more herbs or dried seasonings from this "gourmet" line by McCormick.

There were two makeup products that came in my Frosty VoxBox. The Rimmel Scandal Eyes waterproof khol kajal liner and the NYC lipstick. Both I've actually been fortunate to have tried as I bought the pencil liner in the nude shade a while back. Everyone on Youtube was raving about how good it was and how it was a dupe for the Stila nude pencil that everyone always used on their waterliner so I thought I'd give it a try and I'm so glad I did. The liner is just the perfect amount of softness without being too soft like the Stila ones which sort of "mush" when you apply too much pressure and tend to smudge. The Rimmel liner is much better and it lasts all day with little to no smudging on my semi-oily eyelids. I don't own the liner in the black shade though so I'm really glad I got it! I'm a bit of an eyeliner junkie and I own more than enough black eyeliners but I always love to try new ones. If you want, I might post a review and comparison of all my favorite (and not so favorite) black pencil liners.

The NYC lipstick came in the shade Sugar Plum and is a beautiful mauve-y color. I previously received the same Expert Last Lip Color by NYC from another Influenster box but it was in a hot pink shade which was definitely a bit intimidating. This color, however, is much more wearable and perfect for the winter season. It's almost like a Kylie Jenner lip color which is that nude-mauve sort of lip color that everyone's been going crazy about. I wore this lip color the other day and found it a little drying but definitely lasting.

Another makeup/beauty related product I received was the Rimmel London makeup remover. I'm definitely happy that I got this in my box because I'm running low on my supply of the "free gift with purchase" makeup removers that I get from Clinque (my mom is a sucker for those deals and they almost always come with a travel size of their makeup remover which is SUPER good by the way and I would highly recommend). I have yet to try the makeup remover from Rimmel though but it's a good large sized bottle that I'm sure will last me for a good long while. I'll update you on my thoughts about the remover and how well it removes fake eyelashes and waterproof makeup!

No7 is a UK brand I believe but I've never actually tried anything from their line so I was a little excited to see a sample of their product in my box. It's a anti-aging serum so I might actually give it to my mom to try but at the same time, I feel like it's a bit hard to review a skincare product based on a small sample since I'm almost positive there is no topical treatment that will instantly cure your aging skin problems in a tiny sample packet. Nevertheless, still excited to see a brand I haven't had much exposure to in my box :)

If I haven't mentioned before, my sister is an absolute tea fanatic. She loves all things tea and tea parties and tea cakes and well anything tea related. She's even started collecting fancy vintage tea cups and been to some nice tea shops. Celestial Seasonings tea is a brand that we've both tried and actually their main company is located in Colorado where one of my cousins works. My cousin actually brought us back limited edition tea flavors that you can only get at the company in Colorado and the one she gave me for Christmas is called "Fast Lane" that apparently has a ton of caffeine for those sleepless college studying nights (not that I actually do that though.. haha). Anyways, just the name "Candy Cane Lane" got me excited and the fact that it's green tea is even better since I loveee green tea. I steeped the tea bag for about 2-3 minutes in a cup of hot water and let me tell you, it was SO good. The candy cane flavor isn't too strong or weird and it adds a nice burst of mint-iness.

Another exciting item I received was the Ecotools hairbrush. I haven't bought a new hair brush in a while so all of mine are getting pretty..well let's just say worn out so this was a long overdue and needed hair brush. The cool thing is that it's sort of rounded which is great for blow-drying hair and it has the nice rounded bristles at the top so it doesn't stab your scalp. I've been using it since I got it and it's great! I don't know if it's any less damaging then a normal hair brush but it doesn't seem to yank out my hairs as much as some of my other ones so maybe that counts haha. It does also seem to make my hair smoother after I shower and brush my hair.

Last but not least... CANDY! This was probably the thing that first caught my eye when I opened my VoxBox because I love anything sweet. I've never actually tried fruit vines though it's by the same brand that makes Red Vines. I opened these up the other day to share with my boyfriend and he loves anything strawberry flavored so he fell in love with them right away. They're gummy type of candies and are the perfect bite size. Plus they aren't too overly sweet and are low in fat if you're on a diet (though I suppose you shouldn't be eating too much candy anyways because of the sugar..). I think I like these better than the regular red vines and would recommend you try these out if you're into the firmer type of fruity gummy candies.

Anyways that's it for my Frosty VoxBox. I hope you guys enjoyed the mini review of everything and have a wonderful new year's eve/new year if I don't post anything before 2015~!





Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. However, all opinions are my honest and true thoughts!

Good Eats - Hong Kong Edition - The Library Cafe (Ep. 6)

Address: G/F, Lane Crawford, 3 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

In a somewhat hard to locate location, The Library Cafe is an ambient and pleasant cafe in the heart of Harbour City shopping mall in Tsim Sha Tsui. I walked around for about 20 minutes trying to find the cafe, asking multiple information desks how to get there, but of course, knowing me and my navigational struggles, it was still a challenge to find. Just to make things easier for any of you trying to find The Library Cafe, here is my attempt to give directions. Notice how the address (listed above) says Lane Crawford? Well Lane Crawford is a department store/clothing store located on Canton Road so just walk on that road (which is packed with high end, luxury brand stores) until you see the door opening to Lane Crawford. Walk in and go down the stairs/escalator and go past the shoes section and you'll see the cafe. If you're not really sure but you're inside Lane Crawford, just ask a sales associate and they'll direct you (as they did for me). Because Canton Road has all the nicer shopping malls in Hong Kong with all the expensive brands, most sales associates know pretty decent English so if you're a tourist, you should have no problem asking your way around.

The ambient lighting and decor of the cafe really adds to the pleasant feel of the entire cafe. It's quiet in a way Starbucks could never be and secluded enough to give you the privacy of a nice afternoon tea by yourself or with a friend. I love the little details that make this cafe so unique with the perfectly placed decorations on the shelf to the little kettles containing sugar packets and the classy stands holding the silverware on every table. The Library Cafe is a perfect place to go if you want a cup of tea or coffee as they have a wide range of flavors, but they also have a good number of choices when it comes to salads or sandwiches. They also have an afternoon tea set which is presented on a lovely stack of 3 plates containing mini sandwiches, pastries, and cakes along with coffee or tea - all of which you can choose from their menu.

I ended up trying the caramel latte which came with a small cookie shaped like a lady's high heel. I'm really not a coffee/latte/any caffeine drinker but this was definitely something I would come back for. It was sweet, but not too sweet, and the drizzle of caramel on top with the sprinkle of crushed pistachios really enhanced the caramel flavor. The cookie was a nice addition though it was really just a normal sugar cookie. My friend ordered the cake set which came with a cake of your choice and a coffee or latte of your choice. I think she got an Americano (can't remember for sure), but I love the feathered coffee art they added on her cup. She also chose the raspberry mousse cake which according to her, was really delicious.

Overall I would recommend The Library Cafe for tourists looking for a quiet place to relax or rest from a long shopping hall. The atmosphere of the cafe is perfect for those looking to get away from the bustling malls that surround it. If you guys have stopped by The Library Cafe, let me know what your thoughts of it were and what you ordered so I can try them out next time! I hope you enjoyed this mini review and have a wonderful day!

Good Eats - Hong Kong Edition - Holly Brown Cafe and Gelato (Ep. 5)

Being an ice-cream addict, it's no surprise that one of the places I had to visit was Holly Brown. There are many locations in Hong Kong including, but not limited to, Tsim Sha Tsui, Central, Tuen Mun, Tsuen Wan, and many other places so if you're looking for one, trust me, it won't be too hard to find!

Address: G/F, 22 Stanley Street, Central
中環士丹利街22號地下
Website: http://www.hollybrowncoffee.com/en/

 

 

 

 

A friend of mine initially told me about Holly Brown saying that their ice cream was quite good and when I looked up reviews on OpenRice (the Asian version of Yelp), many American reviewers compared it to the American Coldstones. I absolutely love Coldstones' ice cream creations especially Founder's Favorite which is a mix of vanilla ice cream with brownies and nuts and other additions that makes a wonderful mouthful explosion. Tempted, I had high hopes for Holly Brown as I entered the shop (which happened to be one of their [many] locations in Central). Not all Holly Brown shops include a cafe, some only have an ice cream/gelato stand, but the one I went to had both the cafe and the ice cream bar so when I first walked in, I was greeted to both. The atmosphere and decor of the shop is quite nice with lots of comfortable sofas and chairs and tables (sort of like a Starbucks) and at least my experience with the servers was a pleasant one (I can't say for all locations of course). The cafe offers a pretty wide selection of breakfast, brunch, and lunch foods such as sandwiches, salads, pasta, coffees, honey toast, and waffles, but of course I only went there for the ice cream ;D

Being my typical indecisive self, I took about 10 minutes just staring at the ice cream menu trying to decide what to get but I finally settled with Eenie Meenie (and yes they have another creation titled Minie Mo and yes I did play that game in my head to decide between the two). I decided to get Eenie Meenie as its description said that it would include brownie bits and it seemed most similar to the Founder's Favorite that I usually get at Coldstones and I wanted to have some sort of comparison starting line. I do agree that Holly Brown is quite like Coldstones in the way they make ice cream mixtures/creations and they do it on the spot, out in the open, so you can watch them mix up your order, but the presentation was definitely not on par with Coldstones'. I mean, just look at my pictures and you can see.. it doesn't exactly look appetizing does it? Of course, maybe it was just my creation that is the uglier looking one because I've seen photos online on OpenRice and other people who ordered other creations - well theirs looks much nicer with decorations placed nicely on top. Nevertheless, despite the slightly disappointing first impression, my gelato tasted quite delicious and yummy. It's quite a hearty portion, and even though I shouldn't have, I finished the entire thing and the waffle. One complaint I have though is that all the creations come with the waffle and you can't just get your ice cream in a cone for a lower price which was a little bothersome because their gelato creations are not cheap! The creation I got cost $56 HKD if I remember correctly which is about $7 USD! (And I thought Coldstones' was expensive at about $5 for a similar sized cup!). However, gelato/ice cream in Hong Kong is actually quite expensive so I suppose the price was "normal" as buying a tub of Dryer's ice cream in Hong Kong is like $50 for a tub that is about 1/3 the size of a normal Dreyer's bucket here in America (and we wonder why America is the fattest country in the world).

All in all, I would recommend Holly Brown's gelato for all my ice cream lovers out there. Yes the price is a little high, but the taste is definitely there and next time I go back, I'm planning on trying another creation or a honey toast or waffle with ice cream on the side ^__^; If you're looking for a place for a client meeting or somewhere to study or just some place to get out of the Hong Kong heat, stop by Holly Brown because hey, it's a nice change up from your usual Starbucks or Pacific Coffee and probably less crowded (unless you come in around lunch time). The wide selection of gelato and normal savory foods makes Holly Brown a perfect cafe for everyone.

Good Eats - Hong Kong Edition - One Dim Sum (Ep. 4)

Address: Shop 1 & 2, G/F, 15 Playing Field Road, Kenwood Mansion, Prince Edward

On this lovely day, I will be taking a break from my sweetie Good Eats posts and sharing with you my experience eating at One Dim Sum, a Michelin Guide Recommended dimsum restaurant located in Prince Edwards (also known as Tai Zi in Cantonese). It is only about a 5 minute walk from one of the Prince Edward MTR subway station exits (I forget which one ;P) and you can easily spot it by the long line of people waiting in front of it. Nicely enough, they have stools outside for waiting customers to sit on (uncommon for most Hong Kong restaurants!) and Fa Yuen Street is also located closely by so you can walk over there (about a 5-10 minute walk) and shop around while you wait for a seat. My cousin and I arrived around 3 PM on a Saturday afternoon expecting not much of a wait seeing as dimsum is most popular from 11 AM to 1 PM, but when we arrived at One Dim Sum, we were surprised to see quite a bit of people waiting in front of the shop. We were given a number and told that the wait would be about half an hour so we decided to walk over to Fa Yuen Street to do some shopping and returned a little less than half an hour later and were given a seat about 10 minutes after returning.

Obviously we were pretty hungry as we hadn't eaten since breakfast (aka 8 in the morning!) so we decided to order 6 dishes (yes my cousin and I can EAT!). As a standard, we ordered siu mai, baked (not steamed as there is a difference!) barbeque pork buns, ha gao (although I've seen online people spell it har gao), deep fried tofu skin (also known as fu pei), cow intestines (not sure if that's the exact right English translation and I know it sounds a bit gross but trust me, IT'S DELICIOUS!), and turnip cakes (pronounced lo bah gou in Cantonese).

Siu Mai - basically shrimp dumplings with orange fish eggs on top and covered in a yellow rice sort of wrap

Baked Barbeque Pork Buns - this type of pork is known as cha-siu (or char siu) which is sweet and super yummy!

My attempt to beautifully rip the bun in half to show you the inside which obviously didn't turn out so well but hey at least you can see the delicious yummy inside! As you can see, the top is shiny which, I'm not sure what they do, but it makes the bun super sticky so be careful if you want to use your hands to eat these little suckers!

Ha Gau (or Har Gau) - another shrimp dish which is literally just a steamed shrimp inside a glutinous rice wrap but is SO freaking yummy.

Fried Tofu Skin with vegetables inside

Cow Intestine - I absolutely love this dish and always love to get it when I go eat dimsum so don't be afraid to order it!

Turnip Cake - another one of my favorites. The turnips are mashed into a fine paste and then mixed with some tiny dried shrimp and some other goodies and then pan fried to create a firm somewhat crispy on the outside but soft on the inside cake.

One thing I love about soley dimsum restaurants are their incredibly fast service. We received our first plate (or well wooden dimsum container.. not sure what they're called really) steaming hot in about 5 minutes after we had ordered and all our other dishes came in about 15 minutes so we were soon overwhelmed with our six dishes crowding up the tiny 4 seater table we were sharing with another couple (yes most small food shops will shove multiple parties into large tables in order to get you in and out as fast as possible). The food was definitely fresh and straight out of the kitchen and I thought all the dishes were delicious except... (try and guess? ;D) the fried tofu skin. Honestly I'm not sure why we ordered it since I've never gotten it at any other dim sum restaurant but my cousin suggested it so we decided to just go for it. I like tofu skin when it's normally cooked (usually steamed or in a soup) but the whole fried thing.. not really my thing. All the other dishes were definitely good, but I'm not exactly sure why One Dim Sum is Michelin recommended as the dishes I tried seemed to be at the same level as any other dimsum restaurant I've been to in Hong Kong. But then again, my grandma and relatives usually take me out to dimsum so I'm assuming they know the better places in the area so I've never had to try a particularly mediocre dimsum restaurant ;P Nevertheless, I think One Dim Sum is a good dimsum shop for tourists as it has an English menu and I think lots of tourists do stop by it because when I went, there were quite a lot of foreigners (myself included really). The shop has a wide selection of traditional dim sum items for you to try and the food is definitely fresh and tasty and best of all, it's cheap! My cousin and I split the bill and if I recall correctly, it was only around 100 HKD in total (maybe give or take a few but IT WAS LIKE CHEAP!). The service and waiters are also quite nice which is a plus for a Hong Kong restaurant as most places have pretty meh service because waiters want to just get you out of the shop quickly and are more about efficiency than politeness really. So yes another successful shop knocked off my list of food places to try ^__^ Leave a comment if you've been to One Dim Sum or any other dim sum places you thought were better and would recommend me to try out ~! xoxo.

Good Eats - Hong Kong Edition - Phoenix Sweets (Ep. 2)

The lighting is pretty off since the place is very well lit but I think the white walls made my camera get confused and dim all my photos a tad.

On the rare occasion that I didn't have anything to do on a lovely Friday, I was able to go out and explore a couple of cafes I had on my bucket list of places to go before I leave Hong Kong. One of these places I stopped by was Phoenix Sweets - partially on accident - but I was in the Central and Sheung Wan area and found PMQ. PMQ is a sort of like a shopping plaza but not really since it's basically just a building filled with lots of hipster type small shops that are either dessert/sweet shops or ridiculously overpriced clothing shops or random small useless item boutiques (you get my point.. basically places you take pictures of but don't actually buy anything from besides the foodies). Anyways, Phoenix Sweets drew me in right from the start with the elaborately decorated cakes all across the shop and the super cute pastel coloring. They can do personalized cakes which you can order in stores or online at their website (definitely go look at their site if you're looking for cakes for a wedding or some sort of party because they are freaking amazing looking). On display, they have beautifully decorated cupcakes and the lady was super nice and friendly and helped me pick out the Rose Earl Grey cupcake. Honestly my current pictures don't do it any justice because I walked around the entire day before getting back home and taking the photos so the frosting sort of dropped BUT I think it still tasted quite nice. I actually had difficulty getting it out of the container which was like a good and bad thing. The lady put my cupcake in this nice plastic cup with a lid and their logo on it which was super cute in my opinion and a really smart way to hold the cupcake to prevent it from getting squashed or anything. The only problem was actually getting out my cupcake because, as you can see from the photos, I sort of ruined the frosting while trying to get it out T__T I mean there's no other way other than to shake the cup/tap it gently to sort of wiggle the cupcake out and.. well you get the point hand + cupcake coming out of cup = not so pleasant. 

The Rainbow Vanilla is supposed to be a special that is not always around but it seemed pretty standard in flavor and just different looking so I decided to go with the Earl Grey :)

Sooo cute although a bit pricey but I love the packaging and detail.

Admittedly I had high hopes for the Rose Earl Grey cupcake. I mean first off it cost $40 which is pretty pricey for a cupcake (about $6 US dollars!) but it also just looked very nice and the lady said it was one of the more popular flavors. I liked the bottom cake part of the cupcake as it was very moist and I could definitely taste the Earl Grey with hints of rose and it wasn't too sweet at all. Sometimes cupcake bottoms are too sweet or they're not sweet enough but this was the perfect middle. The frosting however... wasn't as amazing. It wasn't exactly a smooth texture in my mouth and felt more grainy like I could feel the sugar particles in the frosting, but then the frosting actually wasn't even very sweet, like not sweet at all! I suppose you can say that it's a good thing for those of you who aren't too fond of overly sweet treats but I do feel like the frosting could have had a bit more flavor. I could taste a little bit of rose but that was really it. I ended up scraping off most of the frosting because I just couldn't get over the strange grainy-ness of it but the cupcake part still tasted delicious!

Taken inside Holly Brown Cafe earlier in the day so the frosting is a bit higher haha!

Despite the slight mishap with the frosting,  I had a pleasant experience at Phoenix Sweets and would recommend you check it out if you are in the Central area and stop by PMQ. There are a lot of other sweet shops (that I'll be sharing in later episodes!) but make sure you leave room to stop by Phoenix Sweets. The decor and presentation of the shop is nicely put together creating a pleasant atmosphere and there are two small tables (though outdoors) for customers to sit and enjoy their sweet buys. The lady who helped me out was absolutely nice despite my horrendous Cantonese and she even helped tape up a box I had got from another shop that I had accidentally torn. The shop is definitely a bit pricey but if it's just a one-time thing, it doesn't hurt to try their cupcakes ;P They also have gluten free ice cream for the hotter days which apparently is pretty good and is also sold at the PMQ night market. Though I'm not particularly fond of the frosting on my cupcake, I did appreciate the "not-too-sweet" aspect of the cupcake and the way they were able to incorporate the earl grey and the rose without it being too much or too little.

Good Eats - Hong Kong Edition - Awfully Chocolate (Ep. 1)

I'm currently staying in Hong Kong with one of my aunts volunteering at a research lab in the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Maybe not as prestigious as the University of Hong Kong but it still has an amazing research faculty and I'm definitely honored to be able to participate in the lab that I am currently in. Of course it's been taking up a lot of my time and I've been studying for the MCAT - a test that you really have to do well in to get into medical school in the United States - but that hasn't stopped me from getting my yummy Asian food. Unfortunately, being a fatty in US has backfired on me as I'm currently trying to diet while living in one of the best food places in the world. Oh the delights I've missed out on... But still, I've been able to splurge every now and then so I wanted to share a bit of my food adventures, or good eats might I say (no copyright infringement on Alton Brown's original Good Eats show which BY THE WAY I LOVEE <3) with all of you.

So here's my first episode of Good Eats - Hong Kong edition. The first place I wanted to share is called Awfully Chocolate. You can click here to redirect to their website - after you read this post of course ;D. I visited the Awfully Chocolate store in Tsim Sha Tsui which is located in the K11 Shopping Plaza. You can find this shopping plaza about a minute walk away from the D1 exit of the Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station, but really if you're not sure, just Google map it and you'll easily find your way.

Honestly I wasn't sure what to get at first and wasn't exactly planning on buying anything from the store (never really gravitate towards the all chocolate shops) but to be honest, the "Free Samples" sign totally drew me in LOL. I was able to try the Super Premium Dark Chocolate cake but well, you know me. I prefer the sweet unhealthy chocolates, not the at least somewhat healthy antioxidant rich dark chocolate ;P The lady who helped me out was super friendly and nice despite my gosh darn awful Cantonese and she helped me decide between the White Chocolate Creme Brulee Tart and the White Chocolate Butterscotch Block. I ended up choosing the latter one but I kind of wish I got the creme brulee just because I lovee creme brulee in general, but the White Chocolate Butterscotch Block was still quite delightfully yummy.

I love how you get this cute plastic spoon although it's a little awkward because the handle is so small but hey, I love little mini things~! Honestly I should have taken a picture before I took a bite but the delicious look and smell of the entire thing won me over and I "accidentally" took a huge scoop out of the cake before I got a decent shot of it haha. You can't blame me.. it looked and smelled soo good! The texture was definitely a bit of a shock to me at first. I thought the white part would be more of a standard vanilla cake or like a Japanese Swiss roll so spongey and fluffy. Instead, it's actually some sort of cream like texture but it's so light and still fluffy..just in a different way. The brown rolled part was more like the standard cake that I'm used to but super moist and then the inside and top brown coating is milk chocolate with butterscotch bits sprinkled throughout (probably my favorite part of the cake). The cake is definitely sweet so you'll need coffee or tea to go with it and I definitely couldn't finish the whole thing, but it's still something nice to try. I didn't realize they had ice cream until I went on their website later that night but from what the reviews say, it's pretty good so maybe I'll try it next time! (Though I'm not particularly a fan of all chocolate ice cream). If I were to go back, I'd definitely try the creme brulee but I would recommend this to anyone who wants to try something unique and new. I'd also see if you can get smaller than a 100g slice (mine was a little bit under) as it cost $40 HKD per 100g - not too bad since I expected everything at the shop to be crazily overpriced. I would suggest less than 50g if they let you buy that small of a slice and even then that's probably quite a lot in my opinion.

Anyways overall I thought the place was nice. Not a sweet shop you absolutely MUST try, but if you are looking for a cake for a celebration and you know that the people who will eat it like dark chocolate, I'd definitely go for their famous dark chocolate cakes (the one I got to sample). They have one filled with banana and another with Rum&Cherry or just a standard all dark chocolate for the less adventurous folks ;P I'll be posting up more Good Eats blog posts so subscribe or follow me if you want to be updated ^__^