Eatstylishtravelstylish Kim

Made in China, Yerevan, Armenia: Happy go wokking. This is Asian fast food at reasonable prices. We usually get this dirt cheap in Asia but a pang for home drove us here. It’s pretty good grub and come for the lunch time 1 for 1 deal, which we narrowly missed by 7 minutes. #eatstylishtravelstylish

Mirzoyan Library, Yerevan, Armenia: When you finally tire of the Soviet-styled dominance of the city, duck into the very quirky, rundown but bohemian courtyard of Mirzoyan Library. It’s hard to imagine it was once an aristocratic building. It’s even harder to describe this spot, simply because there’s no other like it. It’s obviously a vintage spot - upcycling is evident everywhere. It’’s a library of sorts - bohemian stores, a library of the greatest photographic collection and an exhibition space. This is founded by Karen Mirzoyan, a Tbilisi born photographer doyen who captured shots for Newsweek, Time and Harpers. It’s the quintessential bohemian retreat for the city’s creatives and tourists too, by the sounds of the various accents I heard. #eatstylishtravelstylish

Mao Yerevan, Armenia: Kitschy Mao is oh-so-cute with mod-Asian touches - a wok-fried medley of Japanese, Chinese and even Thai elements. In a city dominated by dark, solemn and grey Brutalist and Soviet architecture and styling notes, Mao is a welcome respite of bright coloured, tres-chic fun. The ambience is an instant perk me up. Food is good too, I am sure Asian food is hard to come by in the city. We had Pad Thai shrimp and deep-fried sweet potato with shrimp. Where we hail (Singapore), it is dirt cheap to eat good Asian but we didn’t mind splashing out for a change of taste from the Azerbaijian food we were used the past 7 days. Cocktails looked wicked but it was a dry day for me. #eatstylishtravelstylish

Dusk by Mok Mok, JB Malaysia: JB has long earned the reputation of surprising twee cafe finds and Dusk by Mok Mok is firmly on the cafe trail gem list by cafe worshippers. Walk in and you’re knocked back by the pastel pink and rattan holiday concept. You’re put at ease straight away. Food is an IG and pretty affair - the plating is so gorgeous and you MUST order the mermaid tail soufflé dessert for the IG picture-perfect moment. Then gawk and reluctantly set your fork in. The other noteworthy dishes are salmon mentaiko pasta and salmon with miso soup. It comes with a pretty Japanese tea pot to complete the whole experience. Calamari was palatable. It’s one of those cafes that don’t just reply on pretty looks to bait but delivers in taste. Credit cards aren’t accepted so it’s a cash or bank transfer affair here. #eatstylishtravelstylish

The Other Room, Marriott Orchard: The Other Room, the other era. Once upon a time years back, I was here when doors were first thrown open. One of the most exciting hidden speakeasies, it’s lost its charm slightly. The chassis is still sleek - the mega-watt blown-out lit bar bathed in glorious electric orange. Old browned pages of books torn off plaster the roof, a black and white film silently projected near the entrance. Your name is territorially scribbled across the table. Cocktails are beautiful and I guess what didn’t agree was the crowd. A strange hodgepodge of elderlies and drunk mainland Chinese tacky-dancing are not my speakeasy night out fun definition. It is after all out of the establishment’s control. #eatstylishtravelstylish