Amazing Croatian products

Have you been to Croatia yet?
Every time I go to visit my family I come back to U.K with some of my all time favourite Croatian products. They are high quality items, very popular and definitely one of the must haves for anyone visiting that beautiful country. Here are just few of them:

Wines
From left to right: Vrbnicka Zlahtina - Gold coloured dry white wine, indigenous variety of grape from the charming area of Vrbnik on the island of Krk. Malvazija Istarska-Incredibly smooth white wine also an indigenous grape this time from Istria. And finally Plavac Mali-Rich red wine grown on the picturesque island of Hvar. To the best of my knowledge these grapes are only found in the regions of Croatia that they grow and no-where else; how great is that?!

Olive Oil
Exquisite extra virgin olive oils cultivated from Dalmatian and Istrian olives that have soaked up all the blessings of the soil and Mediterranean climate. Dalmatia is the coastal region of Croatia and also where the Dalmatian dog is supposed to have originated.

Coffee
Something we do really well in Croatia is coffee; there is a great cafe culture there. But to take home, I love this brand of coffee by Franck, it is a blend of roast and fine ground coffee. Smells and tastes absolutely mouthwatering ;) www.franck.hr

Vegeta by Podravka - This is an amazing product that has been a main-stay in Croatian kitchens for years and now I am so happy that I can find it in my local supermarket. Vegata is a vegetable based seasoning and works great as a condiment. It is so popular that it is now exported to 40 countries worldwide. www.vegeta.com. If you haven't tried it yet you can find it in Asda.

Cedevita by Cedevita - This is a multivitamin powder to use with cold water. I used to drink so much of this as a child and it's a refreshing drink for adults too. www.cedevita.hr

Chocolates
Sweets and chocolate by Kras - I could write pages about the sweets and chocolates from Croatia but I'll save it for a later blog. In the mean time here are some of my favourites from Kras; one of the most loved manufacturers in Croatia www.kras.hr. I'll say something about how great they all taste once I've finished eating them - yum yum... ;)

What are the things you like to bring back from your journeys?

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Bubble Tea, London Style

For weeks now I have been excited about my trip to London. Something that was on the top of my list of things to do whilst there was to drink lots of bubble tea. I discovered bubble tea a couple of years ago whilst watching YouTube travel videos. It looked very interesting so I knew I wanted to try it. The first time I managed to try bubble tea was in Melbourne, Australia earlier this year. It was nice but not great...

Bubble teas come in a large variety of yummy and refreshing flavoured fruit-teas and milk-teas served with chewy tapioca balls, that can either be drunk hot or cold. The tea is drunk by through an extra wide colourful straw.

History
Bubble Teas, also known as Pearl or Boba Teas, seem to be very a popular drink across east and south-east Asia, Australia and North America. It is originally a Taiwanese drink created in the 1980s. The oldest bubble tea was made up of a mixture of hot Taiwanese black tea, small tapioca pearls/balls, condensed milk and either syrup or honey. Adding the tapioca balls actually started off as a novelty although the idea quickly spread.

 

Tapioca balls are made mostly of tapioca starch which comes from tapioca or bitter cassava plant that is native to South America and was introduced to Asia during the 19th century.

 

Bubbleology
There are many places in London now selling this drink however as I've read some good reviews about one such cafe called Bubbleology I decided I had to pay them a special visit; I was certainly not disappointed because Bubbleology was great. The shop is set up as a quirky science lab style cafe in Soho - (Rupert Street if you're interested). The fun decor was a feast for the eyes, with walls covered in facts from about how they made their bubble tea and a wonderfully large menu. In fact before I'd even tried the tea, the cafe was its own experience!

 

Their "scientists" - as they were styled - were very informative and helpful whilst I excitedly made up my mind over the large variety of options on the menu. I decided to try Taro Pearl Tea after the tea-scientist recommended it as I like sweet flavours. It was purple in colour with black tapioca and a purple straw - I have to say that it was so much better than the one I tried in Melbourne as it was delicious and surprising more filling than I expected.

Before I left they kindly allowed me to take some pictures to share with you. I will definitely return on my next visit to London and try some of the other wonderful sounding flavours.

 

 

For more details about Bubbleology see their website at bubbleology.co.uk.

Have you tried bubble tea? I'd love to know what you thought about it.

Till next time, (happy bubble tea drinking) kiss kiss Girly-G :)

Gifts from Japan

Guess what! This week was my birthday :) and I was very lucky to receive a gorgeous gift pack from my friend in Japan. The items were so cute and uncommon here in U.K I thought I would show you; take a look at this:

The package included some lovely snacks, such as Muji sponge cakes - one green tea and the other cranberry flavour; potato sticks and green tea flavoured biscuits filled with chocolate. There were also some cream biscuits - I'm sure everything will be yummy... well actually I already ate the Muji cakes and they were scrumptious. (I want some more now).

Hidden underneath is a paper envelope containing a pen and dish cloth, I'll open them later. In the top left corner is a cute girly toothbrush (I guess after finishing with all those snacks it will come useful ;)

The most special item is the japanese IGUSA MAKURA, igusa is a type of Japanese rush and makura means pillow. The igusa makura pillow is usually filled with beans and covered with woven soft rush. This type of igusa/rush is also the material used for tatami mats in japan.

I just love the smell of it as well, as it reminds me of my visit to that beautiful country and Yasuko who has been my wonderful friend for so many years :)

And how could I forget the birthday card. Japanese cards are so delicate and amazing and I think a treasure all on their own.

Till next time...

Kiss Kiss Girly-G

BIODERMA Sensibio H2O Make-up remover

Have you heard about this product yet?

For the past month or so I have been using this AMAZING product!

Sensibio H2O micelle solution is made by BIODERMA LABORATORIE DERMATOLOGIQUE that is based in Lyon, France.

It is among the most frequently prescribed companies by french dermatologists. It is present in more then 70 countries and over the past 5 years the Laboratirie's average annual growth has been over 32%.

Clearly they're doing pretty well, don't you think? Therefore there must be others who share my opinion of this non-rinse cleanser and make-up remover.

This solution is formulated for sensitive, normal to dry skin. By using it for a while I have noticed that it also minimised the redness on my cheeks; for that I'm so happy about.

Looking at the solution through the bottle you notice that it looks like water and in fact its consistency is very runny just like water. It is soap-free, fragrance-free, alcohol-free and Bioderma guarantees excellent ''ocular tolerance''. In other words it doesn't irratate the eyes.

I use my Bioderma Sensibio H2O 500ml on the daily basis and find it very good at removing my waterproof make-up. For heavier eye make-up I soak a cotton wool, hold it on my eyes for about a minute and then just gently wipe off. It is so simple and highly effective, which is great for busy people like me.

Afterwards my skin feels so fresh ;o)

Let me know if you have tried it and what you think of it?

Freestyle nail art

Hello there. I just had to share my favorite past time... Doing freestyle nail art!
I am really loving it and have so much fun doing it.

If you share my interest in being creative with your nails, please feel free to let me know :o) Above are some examples; more to follow soon so come back and see.