Lisa Yougashi is a new cafe in the new arts district near our place. Decked in an interior of white, blue and gold, the cafe has an understated posh, rich-lady kind of feel to it. It vaguely reminded me of Natasha, the character played by Bridget Moynahan in Sex & the City.  

The prices reflect that impression, too. Like most cafes here, coffee can range from RMB 28 to RMB 42 which is a bit expensive for a cup. I can say this because you can easily find pretty good coffee (according to the husband) in local bakeries like Qin Yuan, a local bakery that is virtually in every street corner in CQ. In places like these, you can get decent coffee for about RMB 10, or PHP 70. 

But enough of that. What makes most cafes unique is the interior, anyway and so when our friend Rigs messaged me that he has parked himself by the windows of this pretty cafe, I couldn't wait to see what it looked like. The interiors didn't disappoint. The cafe is new, glossy, and the desserts by the counter looked like pieces of edible art. 

I ordered milk tea, which I found to be too watery and more milk than tea, to my disappointment. Maybe I could have had more luck if I ordered coffee, I really don't know. Some cafes can really be cases of hits or misses, and this one, unfortunately for my milk tea, was a miss. 

Still curious about the quality of their other offerings, though, so a second visit is not impossible. I do find the interior a bit high-end for me. I prefer laid-back, rustic spaces and LY is the opposite of that. However, I give the cafe credit for having such a nice location. It sits right beside the street so you can easily see it passing by. The resident dogge is also an added plus. :)

Opening Hours: 10:30 

Location: Opposite the open-air parking lot of No. 8 Jinshan Yiku, No. 1 HSBC Road/ 850m from Line 3

“A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.” 

― William Styron

Conversations with William Styron

The husband knows  I love discovering new places, especially cafes and bookstores, so he deliberately hid our destination from me until the last minute.  However, his map went crazy and the  bookstore wasn't where the map told him it would be, so he resorted to showing me the photos and I guessed where it was! Sometimes, teamwork and my preference for memorizing landmarks over relying on maps (which I don't know how to read), works pretty well for us. 

But all the credit for finding this new branch of NBooks goes to the husband. He really knows where to find them, and he knows that finding another bookstore closer to home would really make me happy.

This is NBooks Hills, which is inside the mall opposite the Jinjia International Building along Beibin  Road. Like other NBooks bookstores, this one has a coffee shop, crafts section and a place where you can read and listen to a selection of music by the windows, which means that you can do more than just go in to buy books.  I also love how airy the design is. Each  NBooks location has something  that makes it unique, and this one, aside from having a park on its roof, has a tall ceiling bookcase illuminated by a sunroof that makes it a huge draw for people who are coming in for the first time.

Places like NBooks make me believe that printed books are not dying out anytime soon. In fact, I think they're staging a pretty strong comback! A couple of shots from our afternoon here. 

“Happiness quite unshared can scarcely be called happiness; 

it has no taste.” 

― Charlotte Bronte

Having the freedom to work anywhere has created in me this preference for spaces that promote quiet concentration because these are the places that allow you to hunker down and really work. I came across an article the other day about a study that says cluttered and messy spaces cause anxiety in some people and I totally related to the study because I think that it's so true! 

I can't get any semblance of any real work done until there's some kind of order in my immediate space. Some people can work in cluttered spaces which they might lovingly call their little corners of organized chaos.

I can't.  

This is the reason why I love to walk into spaces where things are in their right place, where the design and knick-knacks on shelves are useful but pleasing to the eye at the same time, and where there is a symmetry and thoughtfulness to how the furniture is arranged and where the windows face and all that. 

I love great spaces and I appreciate cafes that showcase these spaces as one of the many beautiful reasons why you should sit for a while and enjoy the moment. 

The husband found this cafe off the popular app DianPing which shows you where restaurants and shops and cafes are located. The great thing is that it was just about 5 bus stops down the street from our apartment. 

It's a few steps from the train station and right next to the highway, but when you go in, you are immediately ensconced in this peaceful, tranquil cocoon of soft music, roasting coffee, high, airy ceilings and big windows that overlook a small park below. It's all very pretty, in short. 

I persuaded JP to go back with Tomas last weekend (because the alfresco area is dog-friendly, yay!) and we were lucky enough to be the first ones there and have the place to ourselves. I was able to take photos, Tomas got pets from the friendly cafe people, and we got to enjoy the calm before the lunch crowd came walking in. 

The cafe's name is Stop for a While and although the menu leans heavily towards snacks, desserts and coffee, they have a few lunch options that aren't too bad for a cafe. I love their hot chocolate with marshmallows though. I have not tried any of their coffee, which I think could be good because they also sell it. 

A few shots of this lovely, lovely cafe.