KOPIVOSIAN!
That means
“Hi!” in the native Kadazan language. A lot of non-Sabahans may not even know
that the main races in Sabah, who are the natives of this land, are actually
the Kadazandusuns.
Photo credits: www.flyingdusun.com |
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KDCA, photo credits www.borneoreflections.blogspot.com |
Sumazau dance Photo credit www.killjols.blogspot.com |
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Sumandak playing the sompoton in a paddy field Photo credits www.bennyliew.com |
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Some of the finalists in this year's Unduk Ngadau Photo credits: Jeffie Jeff (the go-to MUA & costume designer for UNK!) |
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A contestant singing his heart out at Sugandoi Kaamatan 2014 Photo credits: Augustine Jumat |
A lady at one of the culture booths during Kaamatan, wearing the traditional Kadazan outfit, and a tudung/hijab! I guess we are all just so used to being in sync with each other that we never really notice these small differences between us; it becomes second nature to respect each other first and foremost as human beings.
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Some of the various traditional costumes found in Sabah, found on these cute dolls from www.1nita.my! |
2 nights before Kaamatan this year |
The Kadazan
people are some of the most friendly people you will ever meet, and though
still very much in touch with their traditions, they know how to par-tay! The festivities start early in the
morning on the 30th, and often don’t really end until late into the 31st.
Traditional food such as hinava, tuhau, sinalau bakas and more are prepared the old school way, and enjoyed
by all as you can’t find these many of these dishes commercially!
Tapai, served in large jars and shared with long bamboo straws. Photo credit http://blog.malaysia-asia.my |
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Part of the crowd at KDCA during Kaamatan Photo credits nabilanajwa.blogspot.com |
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Screenshot from one of the Petronas episodes |
For now
though, I’d like to wish all my Sabahan friends,
Kotobian Tadau Tagazo Do Kaamatan!
Til next
time,
Calista
xx
*Sponsored Post
Flawless. Perf (as in perfect). Victoria's Secret Angel.Ok, so maybe not the last one. But how many of us crave these urban words being associated with us, whether in photos or in real life?
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I woke up like this, we flawless. - Beyonce. |
While plastic surgery is a growing industry, many people, myself included, are way too much of a scaredy-cat to actually go under the knife in the name of beauty. I havent even been able to bring myself to go for Lasik, which would actually be practical and painless! Haha..
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A patient getting a beauty jab at iD Esthetic Beauty House |
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One of the treatment rooms in iD Esthetic Beauty House |
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Lip Filler Before & After from iD Esthetic Instagram |
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'V-shape' face filler Before & After taken from iD Esthetic Instagram |
Ray Eng of iD Esthetic Beauty House is his own best advert, as he himself has gone through cosmetic surgery to look better than before. He also trained in Thailand, China and Korea, arguably the most famous destinations for cosmetic surgery these days!
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Ray's name card |

Til next time,
Calista xx
Every Sabahan can probably rattle off a list of local food for any foreigner who happened to ask them: nasi lemak, satay, beef rendang, laksa, rojak... The list goes on. But what about actual local local food? Can you name any Sabahan dishes?
The most famous Sabahan cuisine is commonly served as an appetizer. Hinava is essentially fresh mackerel marinated with lime, ginger and chili, and garnished with salad. Possessing a distinct vinegary taste, you can eat hinava with rice or bread, and it is deeeeeelicious! I dont know why even I only knew about this amazing plate of yumminess just last year! =O
Another fish dish (hey, Sabah is part of the world's 3rd largest island right?), Pinasakan Sada in Wild Borneo Herbs is my favourite dish on the Circle Restaurant menu. Slow braised mackerel cooked in taco baco sour gravy, the sauce was to die for, and the fish was so flavourful! Pinasakan Sada also comes with bambangan (aka wild mango), lime chili, and hill rice (which is so much better than your normal white rice!)
A more normal-sounding dish, the Tiger Prawn in Banana Leaf is made special by being locally spiced and grilled while being wrapped in banana leaves. The prawns were a very satisfying size, and were so fresh! They comes with steamed hill rice, wild onion salad, and prawn paste.
Ayam Bambangan looks a bit like Ayam Penyet. Served with steamed hill rice and stir fried wild fern shoots, this spring chicken is marinated in bambangan lemongrass gravy before being baked to perfection.
If you're the adventurous kind and usually feel helpless when asked to choose which new dishes to try, you could order the Tampatan Trio (RM70). An exciting combination of the Traditional Hinava, Tiger Prawn in Banana Leaf AND Ayam Bambangan, you're already on your way to being a seasoned Sabahan food explorer! Served with steamed hill rice and discovery condiments, it's also the perfect way to share with a friend who's ordered the Pinasakan......
No meal is complete without dessert, and Sabahans like their sugar as much as the next Malaysian! The Sago Discovery was good enough for me to be able to finish it, even though I was so full from stuffing my face at lunch (dont take my stomach capacity as a guide though)! The chilled sago with palm sugar, coconut milk and Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream to top it all off was the perfect ending to my Sabahan food journey. By the end of it I was wondering where the hell I'd been all these years - how could I have never tried all this before?!
Circle Restaurant is open from 6.30am - 11.00pm at Le Meridien Hotel, which is situated in the heart of KK city. The Tampatan Flavours menu is already available, in conjunction with this month's Kaamatan festivities.
"Err.. Hinava!"
"And?"
"Err............ Tapai..?"
Didnt think so hahaha! But why? When we go house-visiting in the kampungs during Kaamatan, there's always loads of yummy dishes that I wouldnt be able to name; and wouldnt be able to find anywhere else if I wanted other friends to try it.
Le Meridien is hoping to change all that. Launching the latest edition of it's ala carte menu, A Taste Of Discovery at Circle Restaurant, Tampatan Flavours is curated by local culinary talents and inspired by its destination - Sabah, Borneo.
Traditional Kadazandusun cooking takes a variety of wild jungle ingredients, such as bamboo shoots and palm sago, and spins out unique creations that stimulate your taste buds, accentuating each individual taste, whether it be fresh, pickled, fermented or otherwise.
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Hinava RM26 |
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Pinasakan Sada in Wild Borneo Herbs RM38 |
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Grilled Tiger Prawn in Banana Leaf RM46 |
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Ayam Bambangan RM38 |
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Selfie using the Samsung NX Mini. Lighting wasnt too good where I was seated though =( Look at the size of that prawn! =D |
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Sago Discovery RM26 |
Next time I have friends come to visit, at least I know where I can take them for a taste of Sabah. It's kinda sad that no one has thought of serving easily accessible local food like this before. As we were saying over lunch, unless it's Kaamatan season, it's virtually impossible to get Kadazan food, and even when it is, asking your friends if you can take tourists to their open houses is not exactly the most comfortable of options haha.
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Interior of Circle Restaurant, Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu. Photo credit as per watermark. |
Kotobian Tadau Tagazo do Kaamatan to my fellow Sabahans, and to my west Malaysian friends, the end of this month is the perfect time to come to Sabah if you want to witness the Harvest Festival! =D
Til next time,
Calista xx
Seems like I do most of my partying while I'm in KL nowadays - not a good sign for my KK life! - what with new clubs popping up here and there, and my bunch of party animal blogger friends! =P
Being back in KK is all good, but this public holiday eve, I'm reminiscing about the fun times I had dancing the night away just a couple of weeks back! After the launch of new club Prodigy KL, we ended up partying there at least 3 times; and hey, I was only there for about 7 weeks!
Situated in the heart of KL, clubbing at Prodigy was easy for me as all I had to do was walk over from Pavilion - it's located just opposite on Jalan Kia Peng, and you can see the building while walking along the KLCC link bridge.
The launch, called Redefine, was literally jam-packed, even though it was by exclusive invite only! Manoah (my party hook-up) got us in with the it-crowd, and it was havoc! A great start to a newly opened club I'd say, cz after all, the more people there to party the better the party will be! It was so much fun meeting even more new friends too!
The very next Friday, a bunch of us headed over to check out the first of their weekly events: Filth Fortune with Mr Fluff. Grabbing a sofa seat upstairs, we started the night off with selfies and some drinks. Joanna sat next to me and started sipping on a drink, and it wasnt til I noticed that my 'special' glass had gone missing that either of us realised, she was happily throwing back neat.. cranberry juice! Ahahaha! And she wondered why she wasnt feeling anything.. ;p
One thing about the service staff in Prodigy though, they really make you feel VIP! When the ice bucket goes to mush, you barely have time to realise before they've already brought you a new one; your drinks are always topped up; there's always a friendly waiter nearby if you need anything.. It was great! We were dancing and laughing without having to worry about anything at all!
And to give you a look at the interior:
I can't wait to go back to KL to party with the girls again; I foresee a lot more Prodigy in the cards? =P See you guys in a few months' time!
For more info on upcoming events, check out Prodigy KL's facebook HERE.
Til next time,
Calista xx
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During the launch, photo courtesy of Prodigy's official photographer! |
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With my babe Yukiko.. Photo courtesy of Zana! xx |
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Prodigy exterior, with ample parking spaces just opposite! |
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The Manoah group photo! |
Our drinks and the waiter helping us pour our first round.. And yes, apparently my butt always gets in the way! |
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This is so awesome.. Just had to steal it from Michelle's post! =D |
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First 3 pix are as soon as you walk in - and yes that's a swing - Last photo is the VDJ console! |
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We also got meet Mr Fluff in the flesh! While he was in the midst of spinning, no less. |
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So guess who's excited? |
For more info on upcoming events, check out Prodigy KL's facebook HERE.
Til next time,
Calista xx
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The prettified bloggers with their goodie bags! |
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The makeup spread! |
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Before: Makeup-less Julie & I! |
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Takaki-san clipping Felicia's hair back - a must before attempting a masterpiece! |
toner and moisturiser to prep Felicia's skin. As I already had sunblock on, I skipped these steps, as did I think most of the girls. I did use the makeup base though: Oil Zap is used on the T-zone, while Moisture Zap is to moisturise the dry areas like your cheeks. I only used Moisture Zap as my skin is quite dry.
Tip: Use Moisture Zap around your eye area, but not Oil Zap. Your eyelids only get oily because of the oil on your T-zone!
Next step is the Eye Gloss, which I absolutely love! It's a treatment eye foundation which covers dark circles and fine lines. The difference was obvious, as you can see in this selfie I took:
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Don't think it's necessary to say, but I applied Eye Gloss to the left side only. |
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Apply powder foundation with a face compact puff, smoothing evenly. |
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Loose powder with a fluffy puff! Choose from a shimmery finish or a light finish. |
Mary Quant, is that they definitely have an array of colours, not only in eye shadow, but in eyeliner and mascara too! As our session was more to spring, we were playing with a pink palette, and this was my never-seen-before outcome:
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As pink and "sweet" as it's ever gonna get for me! =P |
Yep, I'm giving away one brand new Mary Quant Moisture Rich Lipstick in V-03, which is quite a rosy pink, to one lucky reader! All you have to do to win is:
1. Make sure you're following my blog (followers list on my sidebar), & my Instagram (@CalistaLeahLiew).
2. Leave me a comment below telling me what makeup item you can't leave the house without applying.
3. Don't forget to leave me your email address in the comment too!
4. Winner will be chosen by random.org on 18th May 2014, and I will contact you via email.
That's it! Mary Quant's Moisture Rich Lipstick costs RM108 each in stores, but if you're the lucky winner, I'll be shipping this to you for free! =D
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After: Julie & I forgot to show you our finished look properly, because we were given these words-cannot-describe-how-good-it-is cake! |
Til next time,
Calista xx
Let's be honest.
Every single person who will come across this blog post has taken a selfie. Whether that selfie was published onto their social media platforms, is another matter, but we've all had that "let's try this" moment, and turned the camera lens towards us in the 45 degree angle we've seen the experts do.
Does a #selfie need any introduction? Well, just to clarify, a selfie is not your run-of-the-mill photo of yourself, oh no. A selfie is a photo of yourself, taken by yourself. The most common selfie focuses on your face, or head & shoulders, but a full body selfie is achievable by pointing that mobile phone/camera at a mirror and snapping that shot of you holding your camera up to the mirror. (Most often taken to show an #ootd, aka outfit of the day)
The selfie is arguably the most common hashtag on Instagram, and at any given time, you have a 95% chance of seeing at least one selfie as you scroll down your facebook newsfeed. (Statistics 100% made up by yours truly, but also 100% true on my newsfeed, hah!)
The world is obsessed with selfies. Many post a selfie every single day on social media, and have perfected the art of taking that perfect shot of their face for the 1000th time this month. Hey, it even has it's own song!
There are more & more features/accessories available to cater to this selfie craze, like the monopod, the new Samsung S5's enhanced front camera, and the camera I just got last month: Samsung NX Mini.
With a flip-up display, they werent kidding when they said that taking a selfie has never been easier! I mean, even a total noob like me can churn out a pretty ok-looking selfie, and that's saying something! Don't believe me? Have a look through my Instagram - you can count the amount of selfies taken on one hand haha!
Luckily for you though, that's about to change! (Ok ok.. Maybe 'lucky' is too strong of a word..)
Ta-da! Selfie, wefie (when you take a group selfie shot) galore! I'm loving the sharp colours of the NX Mini, and with its 180 degree flip-up touchscreen, it's literally impossible to take my usual half-head-cut-off selfie shots like I usually end up taking with normal cameras.
As a blogger, taking photos is an essential part of my life, and now instead of just taking photos of whatever I'm wanting to blog about, I can get myself into the frame too!
The lens I'm currently using is quite wide, so you have no fear of getting a close-up of my nose either nyehehe. The other feature I'm enjoying is the wink shot. A lot of times I find that I have a hard time clicking the shutter button, for instance when I have to hold the camera with my left hand? Now all I have to do is wink, hold for 2 seconds while the camera detects the batting of my lashes, and snap! we're done. It also detects really consistently, which I honestly wasn't expecting. The first day we got the camera, Sandy and I thought you had to actually wink for the shot, resulting in this picture:
No! Haha.. Just wink, and when the timer comes up, you have 2 seconds to give the lens your best doe-eyes before it snaps your shot. Just remember, if you really have the need to post a selfie daily, do mix it up a little:
The world doesn't need to see the same angle, same make-up, same hairstyle every single day.
Now, to practice getting that perfect shot...
Til next time,
Calista xx
Instagram: @CalistaLeahLiew
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CalistaLeahLiew
Twitter: @CalistaLeahLiew
PS: ONE LAST SELFIE! Why? Because I can! =P
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Garrard ring |
Does a #selfie need any introduction? Well, just to clarify, a selfie is not your run-of-the-mill photo of yourself, oh no. A selfie is a photo of yourself, taken by yourself. The most common selfie focuses on your face, or head & shoulders, but a full body selfie is achievable by pointing that mobile phone/camera at a mirror and snapping that shot of you holding your camera up to the mirror. (Most often taken to show an #ootd, aka outfit of the day)
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Left: Common selfie Right: OOTD selfie Taken in the fitting room of Pull & Bear - I really love this dress! |
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The omg-twins-but-not-really selfie. |
Screencap from The Chainsmokers' hit #Selfie "That's so ratchet." |
My camera is white, and I'm using the lens on the far right. |
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Dearest Yukiko & I |
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The I-can-kiss-you-while-taking-a-wefie |
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Ignore the weird look on my face - I had just realised I was being stalked! =/ |
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Tried the famous Boat Noodles with Joanna - 4 bowls each! |
No! Haha.. Just wink, and when the timer comes up, you have 2 seconds to give the lens your best doe-eyes before it snaps your shot. Just remember, if you really have the need to post a selfie daily, do mix it up a little:
The world doesn't need to see the same angle, same make-up, same hairstyle every single day.
Now, to practice getting that perfect shot...
Til next time,
Calista xx
Instagram: @CalistaLeahLiew
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CalistaLeahLiew
Twitter: @CalistaLeahLiew
PS: ONE LAST SELFIE! Why? Because I can! =P
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And cz my brother deserves blog-time. After looking at this, I'm definitely going back to practicing my selfie skills, lol. |
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