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Tuesday 30 April 2019

TRAVEL - Sara Shantelle Lim Travels to GREECE Athens, Santorini & Mykonos Islands (Part 3) - Athens City Centre, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Savvas, Acropolis Museum, Estrella.

TRAVEL - Sara Shantelle Lim Travels to GREECE 
Athens, Santorini & Mykonos Islands (Part 3) 
Athens City Center, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Savvas, 
Acropolis Museum, Estrella, National Library of Greece,
Academy of Athens, National University of Athens, Little Kook. 

Top Places of Interest to Visit in Greece Athens

Church of Panaghia Kapnikarea
Ermou 55, Kapinkareas 2, Athina 105 63, Greece

The Church of Panagia Kapnikarea or just Kapnikarea is a Greek Orthodox church and one of the oldest churches in Athens. 


As you walk around the streets of Athens, you will see a lot of street art and graffiti. 
Some of which are really amazing. I love them. 

Call me maybe?



Temple of Zeus 
Athens 105 57, Greece

The Temple of Olympian Zeus, also known as the Olympieion or Columns of the Olympian Zeus, is a former colossal temple at the center of the Greece capital Athens. It was dedicated to "Olympian" Zeus, a name originating from his position as head of the Olympian gods.


What is the Temple of Olympian Zeus used for?

The Temple of Olympian Zeus in Olympia is a hexastyle building, which was erected over three steps of stylobate. The entire monument was made of limestone and is covered with stucco. Parian marble was used for making the sculptures inside thetemple and Pentelic marble was used to construct the roof tiles.


What is the Opening Hours for Temple of Olympian Zeus?

The temple is open daily in the summer and the winter season. So that all guests of the Greek capital have the chance to see the site of this former majestic temple. In the summer time the extended opening hours from 08:00AM to 08:00PM, guarantee that you have enough time to plan your visit to this awe inspiring place.


Why was The Temple of the Olympian Zeus in Athens important?

The Temple of the Olympian Zeus in Athens, Greece: This half-ruined temple is dedicated to Zeus, the chief of the Olympian Gods, and that is how it took its name, the temple of the Olympian Zeus. ... However, the works stopped in 510 BC due to political disorders, when the tyrant Hippias was exiled from Athens.


How old is The Temple of Olympian Zeus?

The building of the Temple of Olympian Zeus actually began in the 6th Century by Peisistratos but work was stopped either because of a lack of money or because Pisistratus's son, Hippias, was overthrown in 510 BC. The temple was not finished until the Emperor Hadrian completed in 131 AD, seven hundred years later.


Why was The Temple of Zeus at Olympia destroyed?

The Temple of Zeus at Olympia was an ancient Greek temple in Olympia, Greece, dedicated to the god Zeus. The templebuilt in the second quarter of the fifth century BCE, was the very model of the fully developed classical Greek temple of the Doric order.


How long did it take to build The Temple of Zeus at Olympia?

12 years
After his work in Athens was done, Phidias traveled to Olympia around 432 B.C. to start on what was to be considered his best work, the statue of Zeus. On arriving he set up a workshop to the west of the temple. He would take the next 12 years to complete the project.




Acropolis Museum
Dionysiou Areopagitou 15, Athina 117 42, Greece


The Acropolis Museum is an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. The museum was built to house every artifact found on the rock and on the surrounding slopes, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece.




How much does it cost to enter The Acropolis Museum?

Athens has some spectacular archaeological sites and museums, right in the heart of the city. And many of these charge an entry fee. The most popular site is the Acropolis, for which a ticket, including the North and South Slopes costs 20 Euros(reduced to €10 during winter).


How long does it take to visit The Acropolis Museum?

Take the red line only which brings you to all the interesting places . The complete tour takes about 1h30 minutes; You can visit Acropolis and museum in 4 hours and the archeological museum 2 hours, but you will be exhausted when done in summertime.




Estrella
Romvis 24Α, Athina 105 62, Greece


The place has exceptionally good dessert. Their desserts is a MUST TRY!
One of their most famous dessert is their “Nesquik Triple Chocolate” Pancakes.

It has a SUPER LONG QUEUE. 

So please go there early if you want to avoid the long queues. I went to this place a total of 3 times to eat in less than 10 days in Athens, that's how much I loved this place. Okay, not to forget, I have a serious sweet tooth!

“Nesquik Triple Chocolate” Pancakes.


The first Estrella World Street Food restaurant of Athens opened in the autumn of 2016. It is located in the center of the city, at the beautiful pedestrian street of Romvis and has managed to attract thousands of athenian food lovers, from the very first days, serving an all-day.



Estrella Open Concept Kitchen


I just keep coming back for more!!



National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Athens 157 72, Greece


The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, usually referred to simply as the University of Athens, is a public university in Zografou, Athens, Greece.

Academy of Athens
Omonoia 28, Athina 106 79, Greece


The Academy of Athens is Greece's national academy, and the highest research establishment in the country. It was established in 1926, and operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. The Academy's main building is one of the major landmarks of Athens.

National Library of Greece
Omonoia 32, Athina 106 79, Greece


The National Library of Greece  is situated near the center of city of Athens. It was designed by the Danish architect Theophil Freiherr von Hansen, as part of his famous Trilogy of neo-classical buildings including the Academy of Athens and the original building of the Athens University.

Savvas Restaurant
Ermou 91, Athina 105 55, Greece
Souvlaki & Kebab & Donners


Savvas souvlaki restaurant, located in a beautiful mansion of Ermou, near Monastiraki square, is one of the best souvlaki restaurants in Athens center. The place is packed as well, the waiters and staff inside are busy busy busy, because their business is SOOO AMAZING! Their food is really awesome!


I spotted this CAKE when I was walking in and I knew I had to try it. It is so WET and MOIST and CHOCOLATY! This huge cake just reminded me of the BIG CHOCOLATE CAKE that was eaten by the fat boy on the school stage in the Maltida classic movie. 


I swear to you, it TASTE EVEN BETTER THAN IT LOOKS!
With an ICE CREAM on top!?


You must TRY THIS!


Look at how amazing and tasty it looks. My mouth is watering now, just by looking at this picture of this chocolate cake.


Souvlaki & Kebab & Donners


Okay, there are really famous for their Donners. How did I forget about my main course? 
Oh man.. I'm just simply a dessert monster! 

I love this place! A MUST TRY as well! Well Done! 

Little Kook
Karaiskaki 17, Athina 105 54, Greece


Discover the magical world of Little Kook, a coffee place in Psyrri where you will feel like you are in one of the Grimms' fairy tales. Little KooK themed cafe and the decorative buildings belonging to it are located in the hip neighborhood of Psiri in the center of Athens. Little Kook is a quirky café in Athens that aims to transport you in a fairytale world, along with delicious cakes, cupcakes and hot chocolate! Little Kook is a magical nest where sneaked all our favorite fairy tales of Cinderella and Oliver Twist by Pinocchio, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.


I was really lucky to visit Athens in mid October, hence it was Halloween season! They dresses up this cafe really well. All their waitresses were in scary costumes. They even had a DRAGON ON TOP OF ITS BUILDING! How did they do that? I wonder if the dragon was only done for Halloween? Or is it there all year round? You tell me. 



The streets around Little Kook area was also decorated. 




Some information about these places are taken from Wikipedia. 

Cheers~

STAY TUNED FOR GREECE ATHENS PART 4

TRAVEL - Sara Shantelle Lim Travels to GREECE - Athens, Santorini & Mykonos Islands (Part 1) - The Acropolis, The Roman Agora, Dynasta Hotel Suites Athens. 


TRAVEL - Sara Shantelle Lim Travels to GREECE - Athens, Santorini & Mykonos Islands (Part 1) - The Acropolis, The Roman Agora, Dynasta Hotel Suites Athens. 

TRAVEL - Sara Shantelle Lim Travels to GREECE - Athens, Santorini & Mykonos Islands (Part 2) - Ancient Agora of Athens, Temple of Hephaestus, Hans & Gretel, Monastiraka Flea Market, Athens Sea Sponges.

Museum of The Ancient Agora





Read about my First Class Singapore Airlines Travel to New YorkCLICK HERE.
Read about my First Class Singapore Airlines Travel to San FranciscoCLICK HERE.
Read about my First Class Singapore Airlines Travel to Hong KongCLICK HERE.
Read about my First Class Singapore Airlines Travel to SydneyCLICK HERE.
Read about my Business Class Singapore Airlines Travel to BaliCLICK HERE.
Read about my Business Class Singapore Airlines Travel to SydneyCLICK HERE.
Read about my Business Class Singapore Airlines Travel to LondonCLICK HERE.
Read about my Business Class Singapore Airlines Travel to SpainCLICK HERE.
Read about my Business Class Singapore Airlines Travel to CebuCLICK HERE.

My Eyebrow Embroidery Microblading & Russian Eyelash Extensions 
are done at The Prestige Eyebrow & Lash Specialist
$199 Eyebrow Embroidery Promotion + $88 Russian Eyelash Extensions Promotion
Pacific Plaza call 67333369 / Suntec City T2 call 68223396
for more details..


Saturday 27 April 2019

EVENTS - Sara Shantelle Lim & Janice Leong at Neon Pigeon for New Thai Golden Spirit MEKHONG (The Spirit of Thailand) at 1 Keong Saik Road

EVENTS - Sara Shantelle Lim & Janice Leong 
at Neon Pigeon for New Thai Golden Spirit Mekhong
The Spirit of Thailand
1 Keong Saik Rd, 089109


Seems like there's a new brew coming into Singapore. Janice Leong (@janiqueel) and I went to a new Rum launch. It was held at this quaint place called Neon Pigeon. The moment I stepped into this place, I liked it. I gave me a very "New York" Vibe. It was dimly lit, there's a bar the moment you enter, then you see both standing high tables for people having a drink at the bar area, then you will see some high dinner tables and well as some low normal comfortable sitting tables, and also some sofa seats. This place has seating that suit the happening people who likes to stand around to mingle, as well as the peeps that wants to just have a cosy, lazy dinner by the corner hidden behind the scenes. Splendid for a dual personality like me, sometimes I just want to sit in a dark corner and mind my own business, sometimes I don't mind going to the bar to mingle. 


Well anyways, I went there for this new Rum called Mekhong from Thailand. There's so many different types of Rum in the market now. But this whiskey is pretty tasty I must say, most of all when they had such a good cocktail mixologist. We were given 3 different drinks to try, and then vote for which we liked best! 


How FUN!

Okay, I went there with an empty stomach, so we decided to fill ourselves with some of their food first before we proceeded with the taste testing of the alcohol. 

1st Drink - Mekhong Midnight


It was STRONG and BOLD, kind of reminded me a little of THE OLD FASHION (How did my rum taste like whiskey?). This is probably suitable for the REAL RUM DRINKERS - who prefers their Rum without much of other mixes. Someone who would truly appreciate the define taste of the real Rum brew. This almost tasted like it was "Rum on the Rocks" for me. Well, I'm a sweet tooth, so I kind of preferred the 2nd and 3rd cocktail in the line.

OMG - I googled this..

Despite being known as a whisky, Mekhong is much more a rum. The distilled spirit is made from 95 percent sugar cane/molasses and five percent rice. The distilled spirit is then blended with indigenous herbs and spices to produce its aroma and taste. Mekhong is distilled, blended, and bottled at the Bangyikhan Distillery on the outskirts of Bangkok. It contains 35 percent alcohol by volume, and it is used in a cocktail called the "Thai Sabai"

NO WONDER THIS RUM TASTE LIKE WHISKEY
I'm confused now. Is this a Rum or Whiskey?


Yup.. We were eating and drinking. Making sure we were filling our tummies. Not to forget my cute God Son - Christopher. He joined us for this really cool event too. This is a picture of one of their Tapas served there. This was their Barramundi Fish. This small plate is SGD$18. They have a bigger serving of this too. All their Tapas have a small and large serving. But if you are like me, I like vareity, this is good enough to share among 2 pax, so that you can order other dishes too.

Neon Pigeon's Barramundi Fish


It was absolutely delicious. It has really crispy fried ginger on top of it, if I'm not mistaken. Then below it has a wide variety of flavors that explodes in your mouth when you eat it. It also has sort of a BURNT taste to it, kind of reminded me of those Mentai dishes when you go to a Japanese Restaurant, whereby they torch a piece of food under the hot direct fire. I will order this again for sure, when I go there again. 


2nd Drink - Mekhong Thai Sabai


This was the 2nd drink I had that night, this was MY FAVOURITE. It has a citrus taste, its the right mix of sweet and sour, very playful on the palate. I really loved this. I could probably drink this all night on a girls night out. Its light, yet delicious, yet it has just the right amount of alcohol to get you happy high. 

Janice Leong @Janiqueel and her Son Christopher


Neon Pigeon - Hummus



By the way, I really love hummus. This is probably one of their signature dishes at Neon Pigeon. Probably a must try. It is light enough as an appetizer, but it is also filling enough if you eat this entire dish on your own (ok, for a girl only, if you're a guy, you need more food). This is really good. So far, the best hummus I've tasted was at Blu at Dempsey, and La Brasserie at The St Regis Hotel Singapore. This hummus at Neon Pigeon, taste a little lighter (more light in flavour) but it is still delicious. 

Neon Pigeon - Soft Shell Crab in Chinese Bao


Okay, I don't have a picture of it when it was still pretty. This was a shot of their soft shell crab served in a Chinese Bao. I like this very fusion combination. That's the fun thing about Tapas. Its a variety of tiny food. Try a little bit of this and that, and you are full. This Chinese Bao is warm and nice, while the soft shell crab was still crispy inside it. Its a very good mix - Soft & Crispy. 

3rd Drink - Mekhong ESS


Okay, I don't really taste much alcohol in this drink at all, probably most suitable for a NEWBIE Alcohol Drinker, oh wait, maybe they forgot to add the whiskey/rum in our drink? Did they? Well, I don't taste much of the spirit at all in this, maybe it was because we started drinking the drinks from the strongest to the weakest one. What's happening?!? I can taste a HINT of coconut juice in this. Is this real coconut juice? I need more of this. Coconut Juice is good for health yes? This drink was light and light and light. There's really no other way to describe this drink.

So... If I were to rank the drinks to my preference.

MEKHONG THAI SABAH IS THE WINNER!
then.. maybe the Mekhong ESS and then finally the Mekhong Midnight.
I must say, most guys would probably go the Mekhong Midnight. 
Well, TASTE IS VERY SUBJECTIVE.


Janice, Christopher and I had a taste of a lot of their other food. I really liked this place a lot, because its fun and happening. Perfect for a first awkward date? You don't have to hold a conversation every single second of the date. You can just really enjoy their really cool music playlist while tasting their mouth watering food and amazing cocktail from their special bar. Its dimly lit, so girls, you will always look perfect in that orange light. Guys, it is perfect for a romantic night, or just a fun casual night with you friends too, cause this place is fun fun fun. I was truly entertained the entire night. You can even see the chefs cooking and preparing their food as it is a OPEN KITCHEN CONCEPT. You will never feel bored. 

Excellent place, very impressive customer service from their wait staff too, friendly chefs, I will come back for sure SOON! 

I GOOGLED THIS

MEKHONG Thai Rum
1 bottle of Mekhong Thai Rum is SGD$78 on Lazada Singapore
700ml with 35% Alcohol


MEKHONG's HISTORY

Mekhong (แม่โขง) is Thailand's first domestically produced branded golden spirit. It is also known as "The Spirit of Thailand".

In 1914, the ownership of the privately-owned Sura Bangyikhan Distillery was transferred to the government of Thailand to be under the supervision of the Excise Department, Ministry of Finance. The department then opened a bidding for a concession to raise money for the treasury and authorized the bidder to produce and distribute spirits within a specified area.
The concession agreement expired in 1927 during the reign of King Prajadhipok. The Department then cancelled the concession for spirit distillation and distribution before taking over the spirit production on 1 April 1929. The distillery was modernized and it produced a new "28-degree" blended spirit under a number of brands including "Chiang-Chun", which is still available today. As for spirit distribution, the department continued with the concession and appointed wholesalers for each area.
Later, the Excise Department concocted another blended spirit using herbs combined with a traditional medicated liquor recipe. Herbs and spices were fermented in a spirit of high alcohol content before adding the desired flavor, aroma, and the preferred degree of alcohol. The result was a new kind of spirit which was smooth enough to be drunk neat. It was further developed into a "special blended spirit" which could be enjoyed neat or with a mix of soda. In those days, the preferred drink was imported whiskey mixed with soda. This imported whiskey resulted in a substantial loss of income to the country each year. The special blended spirit produced by the Excise Department helped reduce imports significantly.
Under the government of Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsongkram, Thailand demanded that four provinces located on the right side of the Mekong River be returned from French occupation. This led to the Indochina war. These provinces were Siemrat, Phra Tabong, Si Sophon, and Champasak. Luang Wichitwathakan, the then-Director-General of the Fine Arts Department composed Kham Khong, a patriotic song with Thai lyrics using the melody of the Western song Swanee River. This song was created to remind Thai people of these four provinces so that they would always be remembered as a part of Thailand.
The Kham Khong song was very popular and avidly instilled a patriotic sense into the hearts of Thai people. Such a dramatic effect influenced the Excise Department to use "Mekhong" to name the 35-degree special blended spirit that was newly produced in 1941.
Source - Wikipedia

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Read about my First Class Singapore Airlines Travel to New YorkCLICK HERE.
Read about my First Class Singapore Airlines Travel to San FranciscoCLICK HERE.
Read about my First Class Singapore Airlines Travel to Hong KongCLICK HERE.
Read about my First Class Singapore Airlines Travel to SydneyCLICK HERE.
Read about my Business Class Singapore Airlines Travel to BaliCLICK HERE.
Read about my Business Class Singapore Airlines Travel to SydneyCLICK HERE.
Read about my Business Class Singapore Airlines Travel to LondonCLICK HERE.
Read about my Business Class Singapore Airlines Travel to SpainCLICK HERE.
Read about my Business Class Singapore Airlines Travel to CebuCLICK HERE.

My Eyebrow Embroidery Microblading & Russian Eyelash Extensions 
are done at The Prestige Eyebrow & Lash Specialist
$199 Eyebrow Embroidery Promotion + $88 Russian Eyelash Extensions Promotion
Pacific Plaza call 67333369 / Suntec City T2 call 68223396
for more details..