Fashion Bloggers | Karen Woo Fashion Videographer

The Gardens – A St Giles Signature Hotel & Residences at Kuala Lumpur

July 27, 2016Karen Woo 2 Comments

Location, Location, Location!

Any Aussie would tell you that where you reside is all about the location, so staying at the The Gardens – A St Giles Signature Hotel & Residences did not disappoint. I couldn’t be happier to discover how central the hotel was, especially that a mall was attached to the hotel! It wasn’t just a mall, The Gardens Mall is a Fashionistas’ paradise of high end fashion brands such as Gucci, Hermes, Balenciaga, Mulberry, Louis Vuitton, DKNY, to name a few; and their local designer brands and food markets. I was also in complete awe by their immaculate presentation of shopfronts, fit outs and of-course their individual marketing campaign images which gave me so much photography inspiration.

Puffy eyed, and dishevelled after an early flight I was delighted to step out of the humidity of the city to the crisp, clean, and very elegant hotel lobby. I was greeted by the enthusiastic Synthia Kek, who kindly gave me a tour of the hotel facilities and my room at the Executive Premier room. All I could ask is that I had more time to enjoy everything the hotel had to offer. Pool, gym, and all the modern comforts you’d expect from a five star hotel.

The hotel’s award-winning, Sage Restaurant & Wine Bar did not disappoint either. Well of-course since it is consistently voted among the Top 5 restaurants in Kuala Lumpur! The elegant dining room and attentive service set the table for Chef Daniel’s creative take on French & Japanese classics. And when you sit at the open kitchen table, the Chef and his team prepare their heavenly delights right before your eyes. I’m still salivating as I’m reliving my foodie experience.

Therefore if you are like me, who is after convenience and being central to all the touristy hotspots like Central Market, Petronas Twin Towers, Train stations and mega malls, then look no further. I definitely recommend staying at the Gardens Hotel & Residences.

Next up I’ll delve into my adventures out and about on the streets of KL so stay tuned xx

images // KAREN WOO
words and images of me // DEE DARWICHE of AdaptTrend

printed top, pants and playsuit // SHEIKE
rose gold sandals // BARED FOOTWEAR
caftan // CAMILLA

Our tasting menu as it unfolded throughout the night:

Entre:
Carpaccio of Wagyu Rump with Plum Infused Konbu Sauce
Royale of Maine Lobster with Yuzu Citrus and Fresh Chives

Main:
Smoked Duck Breast with Watermelon and Foie Gras
Grain Fed Beef with Yuzukoshou and Noisette Miso Sauce
Slow Cooked Almond Crusted Lamb Rack with Meaux Mustard Sauce

Dessert:
Fresh Berries with Champange Sabayon and Vanilla Ice Cream
French Chocolate Fondant with Earl Grey Tea Ice Cream

Address: The Gardens Residences, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City, 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The St Giles Hotel 360 Gear Campaign in Kuala Lumpur

July 26, 2016Karen Woo Leave a Comment

This week I jetsetted to Kuala Lumpur to be a part of the St Giles Hotels, Be Central Campaign for The Gardens – A St Giles Signature Hotel & Residences. I took my dear friend and colleague, Dee from AdaptTrend, to enjoy and document our journey via the very innovative Samsung Gear 360.

The Gear 360 is a 360-degree camera equipped with dual fish-eye lenses, both featuring 15 megapixel image sensors. So basically, what this means is that it will capture everything. Yes everything! Our double chins and probably even Pokemon *jokes*. We even got footage of another tourist running over my foot with his luggage. How’s that for being caught on camera.

The device attracted a lot of attention wherever we went. We marched through our hotel, streets and markets, proudly holding the Gear 360 like it was our Olympic torch. Locals and tourists alike stared with amusement at this futuristic looking alien. Many stopped us to discuss the device!

It paired easily with Dee’s Samsung Note 5 via the Gear 360 app. We snapped and it synced, a seamless process allowing us to then use the app and manipulate the pics to create interesting, quirky, and nothing-of-the-kind images. It was a fun little Virtual Reality Cam which made capturing tall buildings like the Petronas Tower easy. It had photos, video, video-looping and time lapse functionality.

If you get a chance, you should check it out. We had a blast and will keep you posted after all the campaign footage is released!

Thank you Synthia Kek from the The Gardens – A St Giles Signature Hotel & Residences for having us.

Stay tuned for my next post about my experience at the Hotel and places we explored around KL xxx

words // DEE DARWICHE
images // KAREN WOO

In the mood for summer prints

July 25, 2016Karen Woo Leave a Comment

Prints, and shirt on shirts are my latest obsession. What better way is to try out this trend at the beautiful Batu Ferringi Beach?

Location: Batu Ferringgi Beach, Penang Malaysia (Outside Shangri La Rasa Resort Hotel)
Images by Alan Woo

shirts and denim jeans // ZARA
sneakers // BARED FOOTWEAR

Eat and Drink at Awesome Canteen, Penang

July 17, 2016Karen Woo Leave a Comment

Penang continued to surprise us with their quaint little spaces such as one which we happen to stumble upon while we were searching for a foreign currency exchanger. Thank God, the Awesome Canteen accepted card so we had the liberty of trying some of their healthy paleo dishes. The Awesome Canteen are known for its ‘Paleo’ receipes, focusing on nutritious protein sources, vegetables and fruits, with vibrant highlights like grilled butterfish fillet with sweet potatoes and honeydew sauce, and a pomegranate salad with rocket and avocado. I ordered the Paleo eggplant and chicken stack with sweet potato fries – it was filling and light.

The walls were covered in faded paint giving it a special effect, seats were re-purposed industrial furniture, and what I loved most were the tall skinny trees planted into the middle of the space. This was definitely one space I would come back for a catch up with my foodie friends.

red dress // ZARA
rose gold sandals // BARED FOOTWEAR

All images by Karen Woo.

Finding rest in Penang

July 11, 2016Karen Woo Leave a Comment

“He that can take rest is greater than he that can take cities.” —Benjamin Franklin

I wasn’t expecting to go overseas with my family this holiday season, but Alan whisked me and JJ away for a week of family fun and soaking in the warm golden sun. We had a few destinations in mind: Hamilton Islands, Bangkok Thailand or Hong Kong, but we decided to go back to Penang, Malaysia; to the place we first had our overseas trip together when we started dating.

Our little family flew with Qantas and Jetstar Asia, and we checked into the Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa (Batu Feringgi Beach, 11100 Penang, Malaysia) for a 6 nights stay. Besides devouring bowls of Assam Laksa, sipping endless supplies of Mocktails and Teh Tarik, I spent a majority of my time braving the humidity and 37 degree heat exploring George Town. This little town was perfect in every way – a photographers and art lovers haven to say the least. There were plentiful of hidden gems to discover such as 3D interactive street art, textured walls, piles of ruins, and odd combination of coloured buildings which eventually grew on you. We were really lucky to come at a time of Hari Haya (Malaysian New Year) because the streets were quite deserted which made walking around town a breeze.

Here are some of our most favourite places spotted around George Town. Pictures of me taken by my love, Alan Woo, and the rest are from yours truly x

black jumpsuit // ALICE MCCALL purchased from Very Special Kids Sale
red dress // ZARA
rose gold sandals // BARED FOOTWEAR
clutch // OLGABERG