About The Blogger

My name is Tammy Lim and I am an award winning blogger from Top 10 Malaysia Magazine and Cleo Malaysia Magazine. I have been blogging since 2008 and I am also the founder of a local Malaysian beauty & lifestyle community called The Butterfly Project. People often tell me that I'm a wonder woman, but in reality - if it's something you love, you can do wonders.

When I'm not wondering, I'll be on my computer searching for the next fountain of youth or hunting down a fantastic deal. I'm also a shopaholic, wanderluster, spa enthusiast and proud hipster who loves planning special occasions and surprises for her loved ones.
  • Top 10 Female Bloggers in Malaysia Award
  • Cleo's Next Top Blogger Malaysia Award
  • Founder of The Butterfly Project Malaysia



  • Souvenirs Shopping in Bali

    11.09.2011

    this all into 2 luggage!

    My plane was delayed again by Air Asia (due to bad weather) but this time I wasn't stranded in some airport for hours. I reached home at 3am this morning *yawn* and the flight was cramp and uncomfortable, I wish I could just have back massage right there n then in the plane. Perhaps Air Asia can make a mini spa chair in the plane next time and have air stewardess trained to give massage. You can charge pre-booked massages at RM100 for 10mins (since we are on international air already) and those who did not pre-book, must pay RM150 for 10mins of back massage. Back massage comes with hot drink and a packet of nasi lemak.

    Maybe should throw in a photo taking session of you doing massage on a plane with Air Asia (RM50).

    top row "Alcohol" Cakes n Biscuits

    An overview of my shopping haul from various places in Bali. First Bintang Beer is a dam nice beer (for me, maybe not for u) only sold in Bali? (I think so). They cost between IDR20k - IDR25K (sizes). They are under Heineken? which explains why the beer taste almost like Heineken. It's smooth and light, think Shandy + Heineken but lighter. My first drink in Bali = Bintang Beer, I was like "Omg I lurve this man" while eating my seafood at Jimbaran. 

     Sukawati Market - great place to hunt for bargains

    Sukawati (popular bargain wholesale market)
    You can guess as much I wanted to bring Bintang Beer back but without the alcohol, so I bought t-shirts for my brother, sis & bf (s to xxxl sizes available! but quality varies from one shop to another). Most ciplak would cost 30k (without bargaining at Sukawati market) and the good ones cost around 100k (at air-conditioned tourist trap shops). I got 4 shirts for 40k each (after bargaining down from 70k). The Bintang Beer holders (since I can't bring back the beer itself) will be great beer holders to pretend I am drinking Bintang Beer. A packet of 6 costs 70k at Sukawati Market, I bargained n bought 3 packs for 80k (RM28++ each). 

    beautiful flower clips

    Then comes the Frangipani flower (common flower in Bali, smells lovely). Tourists are wearing the Frangipani flower hair clips wherever they go and in the temples they bless you with this flower (real flower, put at your hair). First price 25k, I bargained until 18k for a box of 9 large flower hair clips. She was really hesitant about lowering her price, but I told her I'll buy 6 boxes for 18k per pack (rm6.30). Other shops offered me 20k (best price) per pack. Made of sponge.

    do u like my sling bags?

    The same shop I bought my Bintang Beer shirts, is where I bargained for the nice Balinese Bags (idk what to call them). The original price for each bag was 75k each. The lady was nice enough to lower until 20k (her best price, citing morning no one else has shop at her stall). I had a budget so I told her I would only buy 1 bag since that was her best price. If she lowered to 18k each, I would buy 15 bags from her. After spending around 30mins bargaining and exchanging sad faces, we agree on the price and I paid 270k for it (RM95 /RM6.30 each).

    I could do better but I ain't a bargain fighter u see, so I bargain what I thought would be reasonable for both parties. If I was a bargain queen, I probably bought the cans for free and give her the shirt I am wearing.

    cheapest spa n aromatherapy shop

    b4 I left I finally found my spa stuffs

    Lastly, I looked everywhere for a spa shop (not many, mostly are selling arts and crafts). There was one particular shop that sells wholesale price aromatherapy spa products. A group of aunties was there too buying their stuffs. My boyfriend told me this shop would be the best bet coz:
    • aunties being aunties would have scouted the entire place already
    • they would stop at the best price places as well after scouting
    And coz yes we did too search around n find that this place was the most affordable around the area. Their prices could not be bargained as well coz they said they're the lowest due to being wholesale price. They are right because everywhere else I went, their price was the best so far compared. There's so many spa gifts to choose from! the pre-gift sets were ranging from 15k-20k for a hand held medium sized boxed with around 5 or more varieties inside. I bought the set which has almost everything I needed for 15k each. The same set was being sold for over 50-70K each in different stalls at Sukawati.

    Address
    Bali Creative 
    Jl. Raya Ketewel - Sukawati

    sigh this costs 509k/RM180 in total at a "venus fly trap"
    (regret, should have just waited for Sukawati)

    Unlike the 3rd day tour trip where my scumbag tour guide took me to a tourist trap (when I asked for Sukawati, he said not to go there n didn't want to bring me there!). He brought me to a shop after Kintamani where I paid 55k for a bottle of massage oil (when it's sold here at Sukawati at 10k, however quality wise maybe not the same) and 59k for Essential Oil set. You know it's a TOURIST VENUS FLY TRAP if you spot these:
    • air conditioned shop
    • no balinese people around except for the sales person
    • your TOUR GUIDE/DRIVER brings u there
    • a lot of ang mohs (Caucasian tourists) inside
    • many more unconfirmed theories like "I bring u to QUALITY/FRESH PLACE" to justify the huge price difference.
    Moral of the story? DO NOT TRUST YOUR TOUR GUIDE with anything that concerns MONEY. They get commissions from leading "tourists" into the traps! so they'll say whatever they want and can to make us go there. Even including it in the "tour itinerary". INSIST on going to Sukawati, it should be the place for you to get souvenirs and no where else!

    Address:
    Segara Windhu
    Tampak Siring Kintamani
    BR. Temen - Tampaksiring


    kuih lapis IDR90,000k!

    Kuih Lapis from Kuta
    My bf bought "Kuih Lapis" (layer cake) from Kuta (on our 4th day with a different driver). The driver brought us there citing it's "famous" (no idea why). A box of Kuih Lapis cost 90k (RM32) which I think was crazy but after seeing 1/3 size kuih lapis sold pre-packed at airport for USD3 (RM10++) I guess my bf's huge cake was alright? I tasted the kuih lapis and it was different (less sugary/eggy/buttery). It smells great though after being boxed up, u can smell the aroma in the car and back home. However taste wise can be subjective (I think it's tasteless). Few reasons why it was popular (I asked the lady boss & driver): 
    • freshly baked everyday
    • they export the cakes to Asean countries
    • could be healthy kuih lapis? (since not so sugary/eggy/buttery)
    • not many bakery sell kuih lapis in Bali? (driver told us) this was the most convenient shop in Bali to get it
    packed for hand carry to plane

    The shop PT. Surya Bali is run by a lady boss name July, she's indo-chinese and she is also a licensed money changer, sells all sorts of things in her shop including biscuits and kuih lapis. They pack the cakes nicely in boxes and string them for easy hand carry into planes. Very convenient. I bought 3 biscuits box for 100k, another just for 30k. Choose any types of biscuits in the shop so I got one coconut, two types of corn snacks and another type of biscuit (no idea what it is but taste nice). 

    Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai,
    Komp. Pertokoan Puri Alit No.10-12,
    Telp (0361 755116 - 765793 Kuata - Bali.


    best and most expensive coffee in the world
    (Luak Coffee = Civet Cat Poop Coffee)

    Satria's Luwak Coffee
    On our 3rd day trip with our "best" tour guide. He brought us to a spice and coffee farm to buy Luwak Coffee. He was really happy bringing us here and one of his best "tourist" quote whole day was to say "If you are happy, I am happy". I translated this to if we are happy, we believe him more and we spend more money and he becomes happy because he gets commissions more too. I don't know if this place sells genuine Luwak Coffee, I tried the coffee it just tasted like normal black bitter coffee. My bf paid 500k (rm176) for 200grms of Luwak Coffee Beans. A small glass of Luwak Coffee is 50k at this place. I bought Lemongrass Tea 200grms for 30k. They gave me a free Pure Ginger Tea 50gr after refusing to give me a discount for our purchases.

    Rest of the products sold here was aromatherapy, spa and coffee/tea products. Price ranges from 30k to 1million rupiah (depending on sizes and types). My bf tried the Luwak Coffee in Vietnam before and it's different from here. When he question the salesgirl, she said it's because theirs is manually made (is there a difference? I though it's civet cat made).

    guess where the best coffee come from?

    Kopi luwak (Malay pronunciation: [ˈkopi ˈlu.aʔ]), or civet coffee, is one of the world's most expensive and low-production varieties of coffee. It is made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) and other related civets, then passed through its digestive tract.[1] A civet eats the berries for their fleshy pulp. In its stomach, proteolytic enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Passing through a civet's intestines the beans are then defecated, keeping their shape. After gathering, thorough washing, sun drying, light roasting and brewing, these beans yield an aromatic coffee with much less bitterness, widely noted as the most expensive coffee in the world with prices reaching $160 per pound.[2]
    Kopi luwak is produced mainly on the islands of SumatraJavaBali and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago, and also in the Philippines(where the product is called motit coffee in the Cordillera and kape alamid in Tagalog areas) and also in East Timor (where it is called kafé-laku).Weasel coffee is a loose English translation of its name cà phê Chồn in Vietnam, where popular, chemically simulated versions are also produced.
    - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Address: 
    Satria Agrowisata
    Jl. Tampaksiring - Kintamani
    Br. Basangambu - Bali

    P.S: By now I have developed an allergic reaction to shops along Tampaksiring - Kintamani. These's where the tourist fly traps are.

    Duty Free Airport?
    Not everything is duty free like the cosmetics and perfume? same price as Malaysia and they are in USD. The alcohol and cigarettes are duty free. One of the reasons why my boyfriend bought the Johnny Walkers (USD41 each) and got a free Johnny Walker trolley bag. There's a lot of things to buy at the airport from Gucci to Swarovski Crystals to more souvenirs at crazy prices. 

    10 comments:

    1. wow look at what you bought, mostly I don't know like coffee and spa thing there.

      ReplyDelete
    2. i love spa things >_< that's no.1 on my to buy list, now regret din buy more..should just BUY BUY BUY!! arghhh

      ReplyDelete
    3. wah...i nv try the layer cake b4!! nice? i really miss Bintang Beer..can get in Indonesia...not ony Bali..;)

      ReplyDelete
    4. Great n useful post! Thanks Tammy for sharing ur experience so we all can take note on what to di if we are there..
      U bought back a lot! Which is why u spent so much for the trip eh?
      Wait for ur food post too!(if u r going to write).. =)

      ReplyDelete
    5. thanks thanks, pls only shop at Sukawati and no where else despite driver/tour guide tell u yeah.

      My spending, food spent a lot too >_< probably the most. My shopping is all cheap cheap stuffs for myself, cept the kena conned one (the 509k rupiah for 10 items, 1 item missing now after i come back kl! argh). 509k i can buy 50 mini spa gifts sets.. or 40 medium sized spa gift sets. Bloody hate the tour guide.

      ReplyDelete
    6. wing: oh sigh the layer cake my bf bought 6 boxes for his family n colleagues. I didn't buy coz i feel it's nothing special seriously :( some ppl in forums say just buy from supermarket (those packed one with preservatives).

      We bought from bakery, freshly baked.

      ReplyDelete
    7. Babe! You have quite a haul. So clever of you to bargain the flower clips down. I hope to see u wearing one soon. :)

      ReplyDelete
    8. I pity those caged-up civets :(

      ReplyDelete
    9. wow............ nice recomended ...someday if i go there bali.

      http://sucijewels.blogspot.com/

      ReplyDelete
    10. Kapan jalan jelan ke Bali lagi ? ke Tasikmalaya juga kunjungi dong jangan bali terus

      ReplyDelete

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