This is probably the only map of Melbourne you’ll ever need!🎡

From traditional map to google map and now to this! You may want to own this creative and playful maps to show off to your families and friends. Jenni Sparks Hand Drawn Maps is probably one of the most creative and interactive hand-drawn maps that I have come across to; with its feature pointing out the city’s hot spots and highlights.

Photograph: jennisparks.com

You probably heard of Jenni sparks before but if you didn’t, well she’s one of the most inspirational illustrators worldwide based in London. Hand drawn maps are one of the well-known artwork by Jenni Sparks as she had drawn multiple cities maps and highlighting their hotspots, such as New York, Paris, Berlin, San Francisco and of course Melbourne!

Photograph: jennisparks.com

Commissioned by Everamade, Jenni Sparks spent a thousand hours of research that she acquired to map the city by visiting, photographing, taking notes, and of course, the hours to draw the map itself (Jennisparks.com, 2018).

You can get yours now here with a price starts at $178. If you wanna find out more about Jenni’s work, you can explore at her platform- Jennisparks.com.

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Dear Dino Cafe ☕️, ideal cafe for digital nomad 💻.

We were travelling over the weekend to Penang, Malaysia to clear our heads off after a long week. But sometimes responsibility is a b**** and we had to respond to some emails, little work and so on. Of course, when you want to work remotely, you gonna need some good wifi, space and good snacks while you’re at it. Hence, that’s when we came across Dear Dino!

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Interior wise, its simple, clean, aesthetics, and has a decent amount of natural lights. We are all about the lightings as well, because it helps us to stay bright and focus while working and enjoying our meals 😆. Service wise, the staff are polite and helpful, the wifi access is fast enough as well that helped us to work faster without any interruptions.

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As for food, we ordered some bites for us to munch while working so we went with their, ‘Best Fries Forever (BFF)’; Criscut fries sprinkled with rock salt, and drenched with Sour Cream onion. As for drinks, other than coffees they provide various types of juices including detox and that’s what we went with- ‘A New Leaf’ juice (Green Apple, Lemon, Cucumber, Spinach, Parsley)  along with ‘Sensational Twist’ (Watermelon, Lemon, Mint). Overall, there’s nothing special about the food but it’s decent to have some bites.

If you come here just to enjoy some nice fries, juices and more, I’m sure there are much better and cheaper options out there. However, if you’re looking for some nice peaceful environment along with some decent food to enjoy or even while working then yes, include Dear Dino into your list!

Opening Hours: 10am- 11pm (Close on Tuesday). 
Where: 186 & 188, Penang Road 
10000 George Town, Malaysia
https://www.facebook.com/deardinocafe/

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You can have a dessert with Unicorns at this cafe! 🦄 #QuerkyEats

Yes! We are not joking, you can literally eat your choice of desserts and coffee in this pink Unicorn themed cafe at Sunway Geo Avenue and probably one of the first in Malaysia. We’ve been hearing rumours about La Fleur Café, thus we decided to take a look and experience it ourselves.

Lets talk about the place first, well clearly you can see its covered completely in pink! It is quite comfy and as you can see they received quite a crowd especially on weekends. The cafe also provide table with plug points for students or digital nomad to spend more time working while enjoying their choice of coffee and desserts.

 

Yeap! They have a corner for you to unleash the unicorn within you by dressing up like one along with unicorn plushies and go crazy with that camera for your OOTD because it is darn cute and it will be a waste if you didn’t!

 

If your tinder date stood you up,  don’t be sad because the unicorns are ready to be your date 😂 and probably a better entertainer.

 

Lets move on to food now. For starters, we ordered a Pink Latte (RM 10). It’s pretty much a typical latte but in pink colour 😂 and instead of creating the latte art for you, you get to do it yourself . So if you’re not good in latte art, it might turn out like ours as you can see. Taste wise, we weren’t impressed because it isn’t pure coffee and the steamed milk wasn’t made to impress.

 

For our desserts choice, we went with ‘Coffee Gone Nuts cake’ (RM 17.90) and ‘Egg Waffle/ Eggette’ (RM 18.90) topped with classic chocolate ice cream along with berries, marshmallow and chocolate sprinkles.

We enjoyed the cake since we love coffee flavoured desserts, and the cake itself has decent taste and texture. As for the Egg waffles we weren’t really happy with the results as it tasted plain and the ice cream is something you can get out of convenient store in way cheaper price.

 

Overall, the cafe interior is amazing and a place you should visit if you are a pink or unicorn enthusiast! As for the food experience, we wouldn’t recommend it to avoid disappointment.

QUERKS TIPS

GALLERY

 

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Ain’t This Cafe Cute at Jonker Street, Malacca 😍. #QuerkyDiscovery

As Malaysian, everyone of us probably visit Melaka state at least once a year right? But how often do you discover such interesting and unique cafes for you to experience along with your favourite choice of coffee.

#WeTheQuerks was walking along the street and came across to a cafe that caught our eyes called The Stolen Cup, and hey why not grab a cup of iced coffee to cool ourself from the hot weather.

 

The first thing that attract us is this cute little sitting by the wall. As you can see the walls are full of interesting decoration with some vintage vibes going on. Not to forget how they utilise the usage of woods as part of their interior design which really warm and calming for our eyes to see.

Photo by @beckersyin

 

To give their menu a taste, we ordered a Ice Americano (RM 10) and a strawberry margarita (RM 12) and boy we did not regret it. Probably one of the best way to end our day with. While having our drinks, other than having a good companion and conversation we bought some card games to play with 😆 and you can do the same too if you ever decided to visit them and chill.

There are many other cafes that you can explore along the street but so far The Stolen Cup is one of our favourite ❤️ and would definitely visit again if ever get a chance to.

Querk Tips.

Escaping Through Cities and Mountains (New Zealand). #QuerkyDiscovery

There are more sheeps than people, they say. Well, that’s true. Living in the city can be pretty tiring. Cars, buildings, coats and leather shoes are common things. Instead, you’d want to look at the green grass, misty mountains, crystal blue waterfalls and friendly smiles. New Zealand is known for its beauty. It’s 1070km from Cape Reinga to Wellington in the North Island which is about 13 hours long drive is what makes it all worth it.

Lake Taupo, New Zealand (Photo by Tobias)

“ If you travel far enough, you’ll meet yourself ”
So, why not? Stop what you’re doing right now. Book a flight to Auckland and start planning your trip.

Getting around the island is not hard. All you need to do is to rent a tiny car and you’re set to start on your road trip! But of course, what’s better then to grab a cuppa hot coffee on the go? Maybe a cone of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey at Ponsonby? Even breathing in the fresh air is good enough to get your adventure started.

 

Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey at Ponsonby.

 A few pit-stops to be pinned on your roadmap is essential because you don’t wanna miss a thing. Engaging the road down to Matamata is where you’ll find yourself stopping by the Hobbiton (well, if you’re a fan of Lord Of The Rings!). Grab a pint of Girdley Fine Grain, Amber Ale while you’re at it too. Trust me, you’d want to have a taste of it. It’s something not to be missed!

Hobbiton

Make your way down to Rotorua, another pit-stop on your road adventure. It is known for its’ geothermal and maori escapade for you to relax and unwind. Enjoy a pure, natural calcite-laden thermal water at Waikite Thermal Pool to get a pure experience in New Zealand! Not only thermal spa, the geysers is worth a thousand pictures and you get to watch it live, at the Wai-O-Tapu at exactly 10am! You don’t get to see an active volcano everyday. Well, probably in Indonesia but hey! It’s still exciting!

Geiser at Wai-O-Tapu, Rotorua.

Continuing your crusade around the island, make another pit-stop to Lake Taupo!

Lake Taupo

The highlight of the entire trip. Why, you ask? Because it’s the largest lake in New Zealand AND it’s where you throw yourself down the clift to that inviting waters of Waikato River below with just a latex rubber cord tied around your legs as lifeline. Well, you only live once, right? All you need to do is take a leap of faith. Literally!

Taupo Bungy (It comes with a certificate!)

Oh, here’s another crazy idea! Try jumping off a plane instead! Do the Tandem Skydiving over Lake Taupo! The view is absolutely amazing! Well, at least there’s an instructor who’s gonna be wrapped behind you.

Taupo Tandem Skydive (@Pinterest)

Another pit-stop will be at Napier. It’s full of history that’s stuck in a time capsule. If you want to travel back in time, this is where you should visit. Bringing back 1930’s feel at the Hawke’s Bay with the music, performers and dancing on the street alongside with the architecture that’s preserved from that year. The Art Deco was designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site. Just walk around the town and enjoy the history. Make sure to take plenty of pictures that is instagramable!

The Art Deco, Hawke’s Bay at Napier (@Getty Image).

Drive all the way down to Wellington after Napier. The Çity of the Wind’ or better known as the Capital of New Zealand. Make sure to put on your scarf cause the icy, cold wind will definitely blow you away! But that should never stop you from enjoying the night with a cold brew and the city lights.

Wellington, the “City of the Wind’ (@Getty Image)

Since it’s pretty much near to the Kaitoke Regional Park, here’s a place to visit for you LOTR fans, that’s where they filmed Rivendell!

 

Rivendell film set in Kaitoke Regional Park

Rivendell film set in Kaitoke Regional Park

Rivendell film set in Kaitoke Regional Park

Wellington is also home to the Weta Workshop which is the empire of the LOTR franchise. Since you’re already here in middle earth, why don’t you explore it like how Frodo did?

Next stop, Wanganui! What’s that? Well, if you want see some white snow for a change, that’s where you should head to.

Mt Ruapehu, Wanganui

Then again, it depends on which season you’re visiting. It’s a really long drive up the mountain but the scenery is picturesque! When you reach the peak of the mountain, just relax and enjoy the cold with a hot coco in your hand. Yums!

Hot Cocoa at Tongariro National Park

Now, it’s time to head back to Auckland for the remaining 2 nights before ending your adventure.

It’s been fun, isn’t it? Now, just enjoy your remaining days in the city and browse through the shops and the busy roads. Take a stroll at Albert Park and enjoy the sun. If you’re lucky, you might be able to catch a few college students trying to film a scene from Macbeth by Shakespeare!

Devonport, Auckland