3 Ways to Style a Red Button-Up Shirt

If anyone asks me what my favorite color is, my answer will be ALL THE COLORS! Seriously, there is no color I won't wear.
But I've got to say RED is one of the top three! I mean, if I'm about to go out and I have to be ready in a blink of an eye, and there are only shirts available in all the rainbow colors, I will most likely grab the red one.

So, today I will share some ideas on how to style a Red Button-Up Shirt in 3 different occasions! :D

1. It's a Date

When you are dating someone you are attracted to, especially in the early stages, you want everything goes smoothly and romantic. So why don't you start from the girl in the mirror by dressing up in the most romantic colors - red, pink and white? :)

Here I'm wearing a flirty flare skirt to add some cutesy points (hehe), and white heels to tone down the in-your-face shining red! As for the accessories, I went with a very simple necklace to keep it classy.

Ah, the red lips are optional! Some might find it too much, but it is flattering to my pale skin tone. :)

#OOTD: GOWIGASA Red Dual Pocket Sleeveless Button-Up Shirt and Soft Pink Plaid Skirt | Samantha Thavasa Bag | Sachlirene White Sky High Heels

2. Casual Encounters

The second style is for those times where you just want to dress comfortably while still looking good. It can be for having casual meet-ups with your friends or when you are running errands.

Key points: Breathable Pants + Snuggly Outerwear + Comfortable Shoes + Some eye-catching items like Red Shirt and Studded Bag + Soft Colored Lips

Tips: Don't forget to unbutton the top 1 or 2 buttons of your shirt to casual it up! :D

#OOTD: GOWIGASA Red Dual Pocket Sleeveless Button-Up Shirt, Studded Tote Bag, and Denim Woven Shoes | ZARA Ripped Boyfriend Jeans | Debenhams Grey Outerwear | Sunglasses from Shibuya 109

3. Work It

I personally don't like formal working outfits, I think they look too "adult" and serious, lol. I prefer to dress up as a girl, not a woman! So, every time I'm going to a client meeting or anywhere work-related, I usually add some colors or prints to my outfits, without going overboard of course. Just like the one I posted here, I wore a red shirt but also (lots of) brown to neutralize the red tones.

Tips: Blazer will always smarten up your look, and you can also add some accessories to finish off the overall look.

#OOTD: GOWIGASA Red Dual Pocket Sleeveless Button-Up Shirt, Brown High Waisted Shorts, and Brown Blazer | Charles & Keith Bag | Bruno Premi Brown Boots | Topshop Necklace

Well, I guess that's it! It's currently two in the morning as I'm typing this, so I better go to sleep now.

Btw, which one is your favorite outfit? ;)

Elissa Yamada

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Ikan Bakar Cianjur Restaurant Review + FREE Membership!

Born and raised in Indonesia, I LOVE Indonesian food. There are so many varieties*, techniques and ingredients used that make Indonesian cuisine very interesting and (ahem) even some of them are often categorized into the guilty. pleasure. food list. YUM.

*we have so many islands and regions, each of which has their own cuisine more often than not

That is why, when Ikan Bakar Cianjur asked me to review their restaurant, I was psyched!!

Ikan Bakar Cianjur serves Sundanese cuisine, which is one of the most popular foods in Indonesia.

Atmosphere

Okay, before the #foodporn starts, let me take you for a walk through this beautiful place. ♡

The humble setting (which I think) was inspired by Jakarta colonial architecture

The spacious 1st floor that can contain up to 250 people

The 2nd floor can contain up to 120 people. It boasts outdoor setting and a private room (there was an arisan in it when I was there ^^)

Perfect weather with charming set? Would be a sin not to take an outfit shot!

Daisy Daze Knit Top & Maroon Leather Skirt by GOWIGASA

Aesthetic use of Indonesian traditional decoration

I like the use of natural elements (open air water fountain, trees, plants, wood furnitures, woven blinds, etc.) combined with (Dutch-Chinese infused) Indonesian heritage collection. It gives the warm, old school Indonesian-togetherness atmosphere while the use of light colors and clean-cut furnitures keep it clean and fresh. Perfect place to gather with your family and friends. :D

Food and Beverages

Here comes the drool...

♡ Menu andalan Ikan Bakar Cianjur (IBC's main menu) ♡

First and foremost, let's start with their famous Nasi Liwet!

Sold 300 pots each day, this fragrant rice is a must have with your meal. It complements all the dishes very nicely and I think I can eat it alone because it's already very tasty on its own! The owner said that this Nasi Liwet was cooked by soaking the rice for 1-2 hours in special broth, then slowly cooked with low heat in the stove before being served with IBC's Medanese sauteed anchovies on top of it when it's done. ♡

Moving on to DELICIOUS main dishes~~~! ┌( ≧▽≦ )┘

Ayam Goreng VS Ayam Bakar (Fried VS Sweet Grilled Chicken). To me, Grilled Chicken won!!

Gurame Goreng VS Gurame Bakar (Deep Fried VS Grilled Carp / Gourami Fish). Although the Gurame Goreng was also very soft and perfectly fried (not greasy and light in texture), but being not such a big fan of fried anything (healthier choice ftw), I still preferred the Gurame Bakar! It is more fragrant, not too heavily burnt and I like the faint taste of sweet sauce seeping in the fish meat. Turns out the Gurame Bakar was gently deep fried until half done before it was grilled with IBC special sauce. Both fish were also very fresh. The tricky part of having gourami dishes is they sometimes bear unpleasant soil smell (or bau tanah, as the locals would say) but the ones served here were so fresh they did not have such problem. ^^v

Nila Pesmol how-to: Deep fry Tilapia Fish until half done, dip it into IBC Pesmol Sauce, boil it for 1 minute, then serve with sliced tomatoes, cabe rawit (green cayenne chilies) and bawang goreng (fried onions).

Now this is none other than MY FAVORITE MENU and one of the most popular choices in Ikan Bakar Cianjur: Nila Pesmol!! It was so delicious I was thinking to bring home the leftover sauce *cries*. My late grandfather (who was a proud epicurean) loved it too, he went there the next week after hearing me going there just to savor this dish. XD He even mentioned this as one of his all-time favorite Indonesian food in his journal (which Elle and I secretly read *sorry, akong!*). ^^;;

 It is without question that Tumis Kangkung (stir fried water spinach) is one of the most popular vegetable dishes in Indonesian restaurants. Now the one offered in Ikan Bakar Cianjur is slightly different than other restaurants' because they only use water spinach that is produced in Lombok (a beautiful island located next to Bali) which has superior quality (its stem is bigger and the texture is a lot crispier) to other water spinach available in town. It is then stir fried with terasi (shrimp paste), garlic and shallots to produce this aromatic, juicy Tumis Kangkung.

Another must try Indonesian dish that is often considered as a snack or appetizer is this one: Tahu Goreng Sambal Kecap a.k.a. fried tofu with sweet soy sauce mixed with shallots and chopped chilies. I can eat 10s of this and still crave for more. ...Okay this one is kinda tearing up my not-a-fan-of-fried-food integrity, but what can I do?? I love Sambal Kecap!! XD Speaking of Sambal, let's not forget these important lil fellas:

L-R: Sambal Kecap (sweet soy sauce mixed with shallots and chopped chilies) - Sambal Tomat (ground chilies with tomatoes) - Cabe Potong Jeruk Nipis (chopped fresh chili peppers with lime wedge). *drools*

Before moving on to the beverages, let's pretend we could smell this Sop Iga (Beef Rib Soup) right now *pitiful sniff* T_T. I'm glad we ordered this instead of my usual choice of Indonesian soup Sayur Asem, because it was SO GOOD and rich in taste. The ribs meat was so tender and juicy and turns out, it was slow-cooked with natural spices for 2-3 freaking hours!! It was then served with fried onions spread all over the soup. The soup itself was very savory and delicious. I loved sipping it in between my meal. :9

My beverage of choice: Fresh Imported Carrot Juice. Loved it, ordered two of it (yes, I drink a lot). ^^

L-R clockwise: Es Campur Tempo Doeloe, Es Cianjur, Es Shanghai
These are some of the most famous Indonesian refreshing iced drinks. Locals often view them as dessert. They are basically grated / shaved ice dressed in various toppings and drenched in syrups or santan (coconut milk) or susu kental manis (sweetened condensed milk) or some of them. ^^ The toppings could be fruits (coconuts, avocados, raisins, longans, pineapples, lychees, cherries, etc), jellies, chocolate sticks, ketan hitam (black glutinous rice), tape (fermented cassava), etc.
My favorite would be the one with Tape / Kismis / Avocado in it. So, Es Campur Tempo Doeloe it is! ;D

Es Kelapa Muda (Young Coconut Iced Drink) served in super cute coconut mug! :3 ♡

And... Last but not least, there was this Indonesian traditional hot drink that goes by the name Bandrek. It was made of ginger, milk, and served with young coconut cuts. I knowww it tastes best at chilly or rainy days, but I couldn't resist to try it there and then. Lucky me, it was as good. ;D

Overall

I had a very pleasant lunch at Ikan Bakar Cianjur. There are plenty of options in the menu, whether you eat in group or alone, you'd find something suitable for your palate. Price is between IDR 10,000 - 20,000 for side dish, IDR 45,000 - 70,000 for main course and IDR 5,000 - 20,000 for drink. Do note that you get Free Sambal and Free mineral water for every meal. They accept credit and debit cards aside from cash. The spacious place is children-friendly so it is more likely a family restaurant, especially on weekends. But office workers, couples, old and young communities are also daily part of the crowd. Parking lot is huge and can contain up to 40 cars. The restaurant is located on a main street and is already on foursquare, so it is easy to find using apps like Waze or Google Maps.

To sum up, here's my personal rating of this restaurant:

Food • 8.8 /10 (quality, taste, variety)

Service • 8.5 /10 (product knowledge, speed, etiquette)

Place • 8 /10 (hygiene, location, atmosphere)

#JessDigests

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Now, now. The fun is not over yet.

So you, my dear readers (yes, you! ^^), are about to get...

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FREE IBC Member Card*!!!

(\(◦ˆ ó ˆ◦)/) (\(◦ˆ ó ˆ◦)/) (\(◦ˆ ó ˆ◦)/)

Ikan Bakar Cianjur Member Card Benefits:

1. Enjoy 15% Discount on all food & beverage

2. Member Card can be used at all IBC outlets

3. Member Card fee is IDR 100,000 but there's an exception for ellejess.com loyal readers:

All you need to do is to come by Ikan Bakar Cianjur restaurant (you can pick any of these 20 outlets all over Indonesia), dine in for IDR 50,000 (USD 4) only and show this post (http://bit.ly/ibcreview) to the crew to get a Free IBC Member Card that can be used on the very same day.

That's it?? YES. Crazy eazy, right?????

Just order something worth IDR 50,000, show this post and GET FREE MEMBER CARD!! (≧▽≦)づ♡♡♡

Very good deal only at ellejess.com LOLOL

*Hurry up cuz this promotion is valid until 31 August 2014 only, while stocks last! ;D

Ah, almost forgot to mention. I came here on a Sunday afternoon and the place was all packed like this:

So if you're planning to come here on busy hours, you might wanna make a reservation first. :D Ikan Bakar Cianjur has a total of 20 outlets in Indonesia, and the one I'm reviewing here is the Alam Sutera branch:

Ikan Bakar Cianjur - Alam Sutera

Jl Alam Sutera Utama Kav.20, Alam Sutera, Serpong, Tangerang

T. +6221 2921 1600 | Opening hours: 10.00 - 22.00

Website: www.ibcgroup.co.id

Okay then, hope you guys enjoy the post and take advantage of the FREE IBC Member Card privilege when you get to try this awesome restaurant! Don't forget to leave some comments and see you guys on my next post~ (ˆヮˆ)づ♡

XOXO

Jessica Yamada

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My Fun Valentine's Day!

Let's rewind back to the 14th February, the day that many singles dread and couples (plus florists) look forward to... Valentine's Day!

For the fifth time, I've got to celebrate V-Day with my boyfriend. Last year we decided to keep things low-key by watching some DVDs and had dinner over at my apartment--pretty much our usual routine on regular days.

So this year, we wanted to kick it up a notch by doing various things together, outdoor and indoor!

We started the day at 10am to go...

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*`•.¸(¯`• Swimming •´¯)¸.•´ ♥

 On my way to the pool. Of course I had to take pictures first.

 I used to swim a lot when I was a kid along with my sister and cousin. I think I began to rarely swim around high school because it dried up my skin and hair. That, and I got lazy.

Me posing while wondering what can I nom after swimming! Food probably tastes the best after working out, especially swimming. I remember Jess and I were always so excited to gobble up Jagung Bakar (Grilled Corn) or Mie Bangka (Bangka Noodle) after our swimming session! xD

#OOTD: Triangl Bikini "Miami Mint" | GOWIGASA Grid Chiffon Shirt Mint and High Waisted Pastel Shorts (Yellow) | ALDO Sandals

 Finished swimming, it's clean-up time!!

As I've mentioned above, chlorine water tends to dehydrate my skin, so usually I apply body lotion after I get out of the shower. And today, I decided to give this one a try:

Marina Natural (Natural 24h Moisturizing)

Actually Marina has 4 kinds of body lotion, you can check it out here if you are interested, but the one that caught my eye is this green one because it contains natural moisturizer complex of avocado and olive which is good for my relatively dry skin. :)

 Fresh summer colors ♥

 Couldn't wait to see how this body lotion works on my skin!

Let's move on to our second plan~

 First off, I changed my outfit to be more Valentine-ish with a touch of pink :)

 #OOTD: ZARA White Dungarees | GOWIGASA Soft Pink Fluffy Crop Sweater | Deandri White Olga Shoes

*`•.¸(¯`• Lunch •´¯)¸.•´ ♥

 Actually we did not plan to have lunch here; we had booked a table for two at this Japanese restaurant but we missed our reservation. :(

Fortunately our day was saved by this blog which gives a very informative review about the best restaurants in Jakarta to celebrate Valentine's day (thanks, Hans!!). And the only available restaurant among them all was this beautifully decorated, french-themed place, Liberté.

Posted this photo on my Instagram and asked, "If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would you choose?" and some of the answers surprised me haha..

I love BREAD so much although my expressions above didn't show it, lol.

 This is my most favorite meal from Liberté, ESCARGOT! You should try it!

 Sipping the I-forget-the-name mocktail. It wasn't on the menu yet, so the waitress just kind of recommended it to me out of her notes, saying it's one of their upcoming beverages. And it was GOOD!

 My main course: DORY! Delicious but nothing special.

 This is Chicken Roulade, and it's my least favorite of all (but still tasty!)

 My bf's main course: Fillet Mignon. Loved the tenderness!

 Itadakimasu!!!

Liberté French Brasserie
Galeries Lafayette 2nd Floor
Pacific Place Mall, SCBD
Jl. Jendral Sudirman Kav. 52-53

Jakarta 12190, Indonesia
(021) 5797 3425

Jump to our next activity, it was:

*`•.¸(¯`• Arcade •´¯)¸.•´ ♥

 It's been a long time since the last time I played arcade games, if I'm not mistaken I think the last time was when I went to Japan for the first time (around Oct 2012)?

Anyway, I loooooooved arcade games back when I was in school! And my favorite games has always been the ones that dispense TICKETS which can be redeemed for prizes!! hahaha xD

The first game we chose was the basketball game!!

Ended up with 103 and a sore arm!

 Second game: BINGO!

Basically you just need to press the button to stop the moving arrow, and the number of tickets depends on where the arrow stops. I aimed for BINGO of course!

Aaaand, after several attempts...

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 TADADADADADAHHH!!! NAILED IT!!!!!

I literally jumped and screamed when it hit BINGO!!! XD

Ah, the feeling of winning something... ♥

#thekidinmewillneverdie

 Next we went to get our photos taken in the photo booth! It also has its own decoration booth where you can decorate your own photos right after taking them. I don't really like the stamps though! Hopefully they can upgrade it with a much cuter version, like the ones in Japanese Purikura for instance! Or just change the machines altogether...

And here are our redeemed prizes!! Hahaha, there isn't much you can get with 300+ tickets, so we I just chose the cute stationeries available. :D

Amazing World (Arcade Games), Jakarta

Plaza Indonesia Mall, 5th Floor

Jl. MH Thamrin Kav. 28-30
Jakarta 10350
Indonesia

Open everyday from 10:00 to 22:00

Anyway, we've reached our last stop:

*`•.¸(¯`• Dessert •´¯)¸.•´ ♥

 After we finished playing arcade games, we craved for something SCHWEET! So we decided to get our pancakes on! This is 'Nutty Nutella' from Pancious, YUM-MY!

Craving it again already T____T

Okay! This post pretty much sums up my fun Valentine's day from 10am to 11pm! We did have a lot of fun even though, due to Jakarta's traffic, some of our plans were not able to be carried out, like playing bowling and making cocktails together. But overall, it was tiring (I usually wake up at 11am), yet happy and refreshing! :))

And special thanks to Marina Natural (Natural 24h Moisturizing) body lotion, my skin still felt smooth, soft and hydrated at the end of the day! :)
Oh yeah!! Did you know that Marina is holding a "MARINA NATURAL BEAUTY BLOGGER COMPETITION"? #24hMarinaChallenge

The prizes are very tempting too in my opinion!

Grand Prize:
2 lucky winners will be Marina's Beauty Icon Bloggers, and they will each get:
- 2 Macbook Pro
- To join Marina's beauty video shoot with the one and only, Clara Devi
- Privileges to all Marina's Beauty Trip events

In addition to that, there are also weekly prizes for 10 winners (wtf so generous!):
- MAP Gift Voucher worth IDR 500,000 each
- Marina's Beauty Box

So, what are you waiting for? Hurry up enter the competition!!

Go to this link to know the rules!

And after that, all you have to do is register here:

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day from us! :)

Elissa Yamada

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