Top 101 restaurants in the world, right here in São Paulo

As I have come to find out, starting an online business takes more than just posting up a website.

I have both a Facebook page and a website, but sales have been slow... very slow.

I’m gonna put a few things together and see if it works.

In the meantime, let’s talk about Brazilian Food! *Slurp*

Last Saturday, in the gracious presence of my darling boyfriend and 2 other good friends, we headed to a very popular Brazilian restaurant located in the northern region in the megalopolis state of São Paulo.

http://www.mocoto.com.br/english/index.html

Mocotó has been voted one of the world’s top 101 restaurants, by Newsweek Magazine. This restaurant has also won several other awards by the local Brazilian media such as ‘Best Brazilian Food’ and ‘Chef of The Year’.

For most people not from Brazil (me included), when I think of Brazilian food, barbequed meat and cachaça come to mind. Other food related items that come to mind are Brazilian coffee and Brazil nuts.

After living in Brazil for almost two years, I have come to learn that the food is much, much more varied than just barbequed meat.

There’s the giant river fish dishes from the Amazonas. (Pirarucu)

Spicy seafood stews of Bahia. (Moqueca)

Thick, comforting stews of beans and pork of Minas Gerais. (Feijoada)

Shrimp baked in a pumpkin, a popular dish at coastal cities. (Camarão na Moranga)

The four dishes above represent just a few drops compared to a sea of mouthwatering fares that this country has to offer.

So on Saturday, in the pouring rain, despite the flooding on several roads, we bravely made our way to Vila Medeiros, north of São Paulo.

The trip was SO worth it. Instead of blabbering, I’ll let the pictures do all the talking.

 

 

 

 

 

Foi fantastico!

Happy New Year!

Hi world!

Happy New Year 2013!
Sorry that I have been MIA for a while. In the midst of bikini shopping, figuring out shipping and import taxes, I have been working on my full time job here in São Paulo, chilling with my boyfriend and taking short weekend trips away from the city when possible.

This year (2013) is the year where I have decided to really concentrate on my business and to grow it.

After 2 months of sending emails back and forth, purchasing stocks, shipping, dealing with paperwork and export matters, the beautiful bikinis have finally arrived into Malaysia.

My bikinis are available for sale on Zalora.
http://www.zalora.com.my/liquido

I have sent over quite a few designs, so happy shopping!

If you would like to leave some feedback on the design that you see on Zalora, kindly leave them here.

Thank you!

Liquido

Kuala Lumpur, and most of the countries located in South East Asia are fairly conservative; yet, there is a growing number of young adults who, due to exposure over the TV & internet have grown liberal in terms of their thoughts, ambitions, dreams; and this also reflects in their sense of style and dressing. 

20 years ago, it would have been almost scandalous to wear a bikini on the beaches of Malaysia, but recently, this has changed significantly. Women are becoming more liberal with their clothing and not shy to express their sensuality.

With the number of young working professionals on the rise and tourism booming within South East Asia, most young people are looking for cool outfits to travel in style.

In terms of bikinis, we are limited for choice in Malaysia.
We would get the cheap and crappy bikinis from China or Thailand which cost peanuts and would disintegrate after 5 washes. On the other side of the spectrum, there are the surfer brands from Australia, such as Roxy and O'niell... which are ok... at best.

You can imagine my delight when I stepped into a Brazilian bikini retail shop for the very first time.
GORGEOUS !!! Every cut, color and design imaginable.

My personal favourite beach and fitness brand is Liquido because the quality is excellent, their designs are fabulous and their prices are affordable.

Take a look at their website for yourself to check out the designs.
http://www.liquidomoda.com.br/

*Disclaimer: the website is in Portuguese but it is not that difficult to nagivate. And you are going to be looking at pictures and not reading texts anyway.

Have fun!

First Post

Hello world and welcome to my life. 

Here's a quick introduction:
I'm a young working adult who has found herself thrown into the largest city in South America; São Paulo, Brazil.

I was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

How I got from KL to São Paulo is a long story that I will tell you over a couple of beers someday. But for now, what is relevant is that I moved from KL to São Paulo in July 2011.

The story of my first 12 months in São Paulo was quite an adventure; and that too, I will tell you over a couple of beers during happy hour someday. 

Long story short, I now call São Paulo my home and am in a relationship with a wonderful Brazilian man.

And then in August 2012, my father (in Kuala Lumpur) passed away.

A friend once said that a significant event such as this (my father's death) is like a catalyst that can change the course of one's life.

My father was the most important person in my life and I loved him dearly. Just before he passed away, I told him that I was interested to import Brazilian bikinis to be sold in South East Asia, namely in countries like Singapore and in the beach resort areas of Thailand and Indonesia (Bali!). Dad was very supportive and he set up a company in my name to faciliate my business idea. And a few short weeks later, he passed on.

It almost seemed as if it were his dying wish for me to take on this business and fly with it. And I am going to do just that.

Over the course of the next 5 years, I intend to accomplish the following:
1. Export Brazilian bikinis to South East Asia and becomes Kuala Lumpur's first Brazilian bikini tycoon.
2. Grow my business so that I can quite my full time job and work on this instead.
3. I want to be close to my family back in KL, but I still and always will have a soft spot for Brazil, so I intend to grow my business so that I will have the option to travel and live in both countries.
4. Marry the man I love and build our life together.

So this blog will basically be about how I will build my export business between Brazil & South East Asia. I will also talk about life in São Paulo. And of course I will talk about Brazilian bikinis.

It starts now!