Two weeks ago I walked pass a poké place and I stopped to try after all the poké craze that I’ve been seeing on Instagram. I couldn’t understand the hype but then, after I tried it, oh my gosh, it changed my life. I’m serious! It was that good. Kinda like the type of food Fiona would eat because when I saw poké bowl in front of me for the first time, I said to myself that is so Fiona. Then me and a friend of mine has been commenting on my Instagram photo on which poké place to try next. And I told her Kurin just opened at NU Sentral and that she should try it out. She went to Kurin first as she worked nearby and I went last Sunday.

I brought my friend Bowie along as we had an event in the morning and we usually car pool. It was my turn to drive so she followed me. Bowie have never tried poké before and she has been wondering about it. We were at NU Sentral a few hours prior. We shopped around, had coffee and then we went to 5th floor where Kurin is at. I have a habit of googling before going to anywhere but this time I want to be surprised. First surprise was that I did not expect an outlet, second surprise was the outlet has a funky and cool yellow tiles all around it and the interior has the modern monochrome white and black. I love it already! According to Kurin, the splashes of yellow reflects the brands honesty, enthusiasm and positive nature.

As soon as I walked in, I notice a ready to eat section with pre-packed food. There are sandwiches, soba noodles, chia seeds pudding, sushi donuts, cold pressed juices and more. For a limited time only, you can enjoy 20% discount on all pre-packed food when you purchase either a poké bowl, pokeritto or salad at Kurin NU Sentral.

Now, every poké place has their own ordering method. Kurin offer healthy grab ‘n’ go food for busy consumers so the concept is similar to Subway whereas you order over the counter, make payment, and then move to the customization counter to build your preferred poké.

Each poké comes with two sizes – Regular, with 3 types of fruits and veggies choices and Large, with 4 types of fruits and veggies choices. If you’re a poké fanatic and you always wish your poké comes in a larger size, your wish now came true! The Large size surely can satisfied your poké cravings. I of course went with Regular as my tummy space wouldn’t fit the Large size LOL.

At Kurin, you will notice that its interior design features a transparent counter. This goes hand-in-hand with their grab ‘n’ go concept and that customers is able to see what they want in their poké as well as to witness with their own eyes on the food preparation. Everything is done in a clean and proper manner.

You will also get to see the freshness of their ingredients. Its being replenished at all times as it ran out pretty fast especially during crazy lunch hour. Kurin enforced a strict food and services standard as well as quality control. The day’s unsold food will be contributed to charity and NOT keeping it for the next day.

I was told that their proteins and vegetables are seasonal so nothing are permanent. Customers will be expecting to see frequent changes on the protein and vegetables selections.

Poké Don (Regular, with Torched Salmon – RM19 / RM24 for Large)

First try is the regular poké don or better known to everyone else as poké bowl. I have heard so much about Kurin’s torched fish. And so when I chose my protein for my don, I opted for Torched Salmon. This is a perfect choice for those who don’t take raw fish. There are a few types of proteins to choose from – Tuna, Salmon and Chicken. For vegetarian or health conscious individuals, there is even Tofu. The interesting part about torched fish is that I am able to see how they do it. It’s not cook at the stove but a quick torch. The salmon turns out to be perfect this way.

I had a regular poké don with Torched Salmon and Ponzu Fresh sauce as the flavour. My base is brown rice, seaweed, cherry tomatoes and corn. If you need extra crunch for your poké, you may add almonds, crispy lotus or crispy garlics.

The sauce is not over saturating the entire bowl covering the flavour of other ingredients. I can still taste every single ingredients especially the Torched Salmon. I was surprised that the cube size of the salmons are in generous portion. Absolutely satisfying. Perhaps I should add Avocado in my bowl the next round.

Pokeritto (Large, with Salmon – RM24 / RM19 for Regular)

I was excited to try something different and Kurin, I heard have exactly what I was looking for. Pokeritto is a hybrid between a poké and a burrito. It is a star dish here at Kurin. Other places offer a wrap version but not Kurin. Theirs looked like a Japanese style burrito.

For Pokeritto, Bowie and I agree to try the regular Salmon instead with Japanese short grain rice. Yeah we are going back to basic . And for this we opted for Spicy Mayo sauce. There are a variety of homemade sauces and they are pretty interesting and unique, such as Wasabi Mayo (creamy Japanese sauce), Spicy Mayo (creamy sriracha), Ponzu Fresh (citrus infused soy), Teriyaki (with no mirin), and Classic (shouyu-sesame oil).

The Pokerrito in large became my dinner and breakfast for the next day (in a way) because I had it for dinner and I was full till the next day’s lunch. I am not kidding! . Between poké don and Pokerrito, after trying the Pokerrito I think that is the favourite of mine. The combination of all the ingredients goes so well with each other and I was really surprised. In my Pokerrito I have got to add Mango because for some reason Mango flavour sits very well in a poké. I’ve tried this combination once and I prayed that Kurin has mango and they did lol. I’m glad it wasn’t a sour Mango so the sweetness lifted my taste bud up. I’m a happy girl.

The next time you are around NU Sentral and wondering what to have to lunch, dinner or even tea time, wonder no more. I have been talking about poké so much recently like a broken tape recorder that I would not suggest anything other than poké. It’s a healthier choice that is absolutely delicious . Have a nice poké Sunday everyone!

Kurin
Lot 5-10, NU Sentral Mall, 201, Jalan Tun Sambanthan. 50470 Kuala Lumpur
Opening Hours: Daily, from 10am to 10pm
For more information, please visit Kurin Website, Instagram and Facebook Page.

The post Lifestyle Sunday: Fiona Goes for Poké Hunt at Kurin NU Sentral appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona

The fun part about what I do is to go behind-the-scenes of many things. The most recent one sounds unrelated to me, according to my friends. Behind-the-scenes walk into IPC Shopping Centre Phase 2 and 3 redevelopment, but I disagree. You see, I do have sentimental feelings towards IPC Shopping Centre. Why did I agree on this? (1) Many of you may not know that I used to look after Samsung Malaysia’s key outlet in IPC Shopping Centre, which was previously known as Ikano Power Centre, (2) It sounds hella fun putting on safety boots, hard hat and reflective safety vest like project managers do, (3) It’s not everyday an opportunity to go behind the scene of a shopping centre come by, so why not!

I personally frequent IPC Shopping Centre a lot and that includes Ikea which is just next door. Ask me about all the food at LG floor and I could name which is good and what not. However IPC Shopping Centre has been under going massive renovation since March 2017 as a next step mesure to strengthen its presence in the market. Phase One was done and recently launched and that is the LG1 and LG2 floors. The one I went for a peep is Phase Two and Three.

LG1 is now known as Foodland. When I was there, I couldn’t recognize where I was as everything was so different from the IPC Shopping Centre I know. Suddenly it felt foreign to me and I was literally speechless and looking around in awe. I felt a little bit sad because the once familiar place to me is so much different. Foodland is now fully refreshed and complete with new design as well as new concept. Its key tenants such as Uncle Lim’s, De Irrfan’s Café, Noodle Shack remains. Yay! There are also new tenants as well such as AEON Wellness, Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul, Ben’s Independent Grocer, which will be opening in October 2017 and many more. As for LG2, i-Alter and Thule remains. IPC Shopping Centre also invested in a leading sustainable dishwashing and cleaning system to align to its initiative into a greener future. This system is safe, efficient and ecological.

We of course got to try ALL the food. Should have went with an empty stomach instead LOL.

The top 10 must-tries food in IPC Shopping Centre are:

Penang Curry Mee (Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul), Lobak (Ah Cheng Laksa), Nasi Beriani (De Irrfan’s Café), Porridge (I Love Yoo), Crispy Popiah Prawn (Sister’s Crispy Popiah), Nasi Ayam Goreng Berempah (Laksaamana), Roasted Chicken Rice (Simply Chicken), Nasi Lemak (Uncle Lim’s), Traditional Dry Pan Mee (Noodle Shack), and Thai Basil Chicken Rice (Eat Drink Thai Express).

We are also THE FIRST to try a new menu from MyeongDong Topokki, called Nasi Lemak Ayam Topokki. It is available for a limited time only from 20th August t0 16th September 2017. This new dish is in conjunction with Malaysia’s 60th Independence Day celebration. Only available at Sunway Pyramid, Sunway Putra, One Utama, IPC Shopping Centre, Paradigm Mall, Pearl Shopping Gallery, The Mines, Setia City Mall for RM9.90. What a combination! Traditional Malaysia food with traditional Korean food. Who would have thought that’s possible?

While we were looking for parking, we drove pass this interesting looking recycling centre. It was the Recycling and Buy-Back Centre (RBBC) which was upgraded and relocated to a more convenient and strategic location on LG1 parking floor. IPC offers a humble buy-back on selected items such as cardboard, magazines, newspapers, plastic, tin/metals, and aluminium with a minimum deliver of 1kg. It will also be a place to safely dispose used batteries and fluorescent light tubes and light bulbs as well. Just a little fun fact. IPC Shopping Centre is the FIRST shopping centre in the entire Malaysia to house an RBBC. That my friend has set a benchmark for other malls in paving a way for a better, greener future.

We then adjourned to the project manager’s office to change our shoes to safety boots, put on a hard hat and reflective safety vest before we were brought to Phase Two and Three construction area. These phases are still underway but looking at the progress with my own eyes, it will not be that long before these phases complete in the second half of the year. Level 2 will be more of a family-friendly space with its redevelopment and will be creating an all-new kids’ play area called Funland. This level will also be home to the second Young Chefs Academy in Malaysia, offering fun and creative cooking classes for kids.

Get ready for the new Scandinavian-themed shopping centre fully operated by the second half of the year and reimagine the next future of shopping experience. At the mean time, you are more than welcome to explore the renewed LG floors to get a taste of what the new IPC Shopping Centre has got in store.

For more information and latest updates, please visit IPC Shopping Centre Facebook Page and Instagram.

The post Lifestyle Sunday: Behind-The-Scenes Walk into IPC Shopping Centre Phase 2 & 3 Redevelopment and Reopening of Foodland at LG1 appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona

Growing up, up until these days I get ask often – “do you wear any specs?”.  And every time someone ask me that, I am proud to answer “no, I’m not wearing any”. Not even contact lens? That is usually the question that follows. Nope. Not even contact lens. However a few years ago I started suffering from watery eyes and that issue which seems small to everyone else has taken a toll on me. Having to be out in the public, chatting with other people with sticky, crying eyes is not comfortable. Not when that melts my eye makeup off. So I started to take notice of my eyes more. Even more so now after mom went through lasik. Creepy procedure for me lol.

Most of us are concern about cataract and all the common issue but do you know that majority among us suffers from color blindness? It is pretty much self-explanatory. Color blindness, which is also known as color vision defect, is a disability to see color or differentiate colors. How do you know if you are color blind? Take this test below.

If you’re able to see the number inside the circle on the above diagram, you are NOT color blind.

Treatment

A friend of ours, USJ Optometrist consists of a group of clinical optometrists that are well-recognized by many private and government hospital eye clinic. They started prescribing lenses for Color vision defect (commonly known as Colorblind) and Dyslexia (commonly known as Reading Difficulty) since back in 2011. They ONLY uses FDA approved therapeutic lens, which is 100% safe to be used and 100% effective to help the patient. In fact, many of the patients from private and government hospitals are sent to USJ Optometrist to get their prescription lenses.

Color blind lenses are available in soft permanent contact lens and ophthalmic lens, which can be done either as a glasses or a clip-on, with or without prescription. Beat in mind that every patient has a different severity of color vision defect therefore it is recommended to get an eye check first before getting a suitable lenses.

Now what about Dyslexia?

Also known as reading disorder, this is commonly known as trouble in reading. Sufferers may notice they have this issue of not being able to spell words, reading quickly, writing and even “sounding out” words. Other problems such as word pronunciation when reading aloud and understanding what one reads. Dyslexia is caused by either genetic or environmental factor. Often seen in ADHD cases. Among one of the recommended treatment is by prescribing glasses, which is also available in clip-on form. Prescription are given based on after conducting a series of thorough questionnaire and eye test. This will ensure that the patient are properly diagnosed and managed by the wavelength specific lenses to help the patient to see clearly and comfortably.

While some of us may not be so lucky to have perfect eye sight, anyhow we should always take care of the most precious gift of all and that is our eyes.

The post Understanding Color Blind and Dyslexia, including Treatment Available appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona

Besides beauty, as you know health and wellness played a huge part in my current lifestyle as I embarked on adapting a healthier lifestyle to my everyday life. So when Vitacare invited me over to their store at The Gardens Mall, I jumped onto the opportunity as I was told we were going to learn about Live Blood Analysis (LBA). I was a curious cat as usual, trying to figure out in advance what is LBA. I was told there will be a live demonstration but I wasn’t told that the demonstration is an eye opening event and one would be amazed with it. Well, I was amazed alright. I walked out of Vitacare that day in awe and I am still in awe whenever the demonstration flashes back into my mind.

We get to see a few volunteer’s Live Blood Analysis that morning. The first volunteer stepped out, had her middle finger lightly poked with a needle to draw out just a small dot of blood and all of us get to sit down and look at the huge screen in front of us.

I didn’t brighten the following few photos just so you could see clearly the blood cells. I was told you can learn a lot about your health and body through looking at these cells. Overall, this volunteer lady’s blood cell was quite good.

However there are a few overlapping cells indicating that she might be a little stress. We could also see sugar in her food floating besides the cells as she just had breakfast lol.

Then things got more and more interesting. Anything that are not round are damaged cells. We all have it in us but more or less depending on our own body and our health state. We could also see white cells, which are more like an amoeba and more translucent. We were told that if you see a lot of white cells, that means the person may have dengue. Okay, that make sense.

After that, all volunteers were given a glass of RIN Enzyme to drink. Another LBA will took place after 30 minutes.

Now, what is enzyme and why do we need enzyme in our body? Enzyme are primarily protein molecules that consists of a few hundreds to a few thousands of amino acids. Without enzyme, no activity would take place in our body. Vitamins, minerals and hormones couldn’t do its job. They are powerful engine that drive every bodily process, including breathing, circulation, food digestion, transporting nutrients, flush away toxic wastes, purify the blood, deliver hormones, balance cholesterol, nourishes the brain, build protein into muscle, feed and fortify the endocrine system. On a larger scale, enzymes slow the aging process and support wellness homeostasis.

I had tried RIN Enzyme personally and I was shocked that it taste really good! It is not meant to be taken as it is as our body wouldn’t absorb it. It is recommended to dilute 20ml (using cup provided) with 200ml of water. And what happened to our volunteer’s blood cell after 30 minutes of consuming RIN Enzyme drink?

THIS! All her cells are so round, so fluffy and bouncy

You can too have your very own Live Blood Analysis (LBA) at The Gardens Mall and Suria KLCC on every 1^st Saturday of the month starting from August.

The charges for the Live Blood Analysis are as follow. Not too bad as you can’t do this analysis at normal clinic and through the LBA, you will be able to find out so much about your health.

• VCard Member during VCare Day : FREE
• VCard Member normal days : RM10
• Non VCard Members : RM30

While we were waiting for the 30 minutes to pass, we learnt about astaxanthin. I only knew the benefit of astaxanthin beauty wise, not health so I learnt something new as well.

I’m not going into details on astaxanthin but you may learn more from these slides below.

For more information on Vitacare, please visit Vitacare Website or Facebook page.

The post Lifestyle Sunday: Discovering Live Blood Analysis at Vitacare Health & Wellness Discovery Journey appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona