Alternative YouTube Channels to Watch

Posted on by atiqahzulfanadia

YouTube is basically our television now. Ever since I live in a flat with no television, YouTube has become the source of entertainment. Not only because several television channels also put the recordings of their show on YouTube but also because there are many interesting channels made by the so-called YouTubers or vloggers.

I chose watching YouTube because the videos are mostly short, around 20-30 minutes at maximum. So, when I get bored in the middle of my work (essays and now dissertation), I can watch a video for a while and then get back to my work. I can play it on my laptop or my phone. No hassle, no pop up ads, very convenient.

Lately, since the phenomenal Indonesian teenager’s lengthy confession video (I almost watch every single video of her), I have been suggested to watch many other vlogs from Indonesia. Out of curiosity, I watched some of them. Some are okay, some are boring, some are great. One thing I notice, most of them do not add value to our life and they have the same content. The Q&A session, the TMI tag, the room tour. They are basically the same and they do not enrich our knowledge. One thing I know more from watching those videos is about their life.

So, I decided that from now on I should watch more worthy videos on YouTube. I might still watch the daily vlogger’s videos but not as much as before. Guess what? There are also plenty of good channels on YouTube which will make us smarter. This way, I won’t feel like wasting my time on YouTube.

Here are 5 worthy YouTube channel we all should watch more (disclaimer: this list is based on my interests, so you might like it and you might not):

Broadly

I found this channel just now. But this channel is great, especially for those who love traveling and learning about cultures. Basically, it’s a documentary channel. It brings up a rare yet interesting issue, like living goddess, bride market, and feminist cult. The videos are well created, it’s just like watching NatGeo Adventure. Love it!

Everyday Food

Perhaps most of you have known that I’m very passionate at cooking. So, cooking channel is obviously one of my favorite channels on YouTube. This channel has plenty of videos, from recipes, tips, and how-to videos. What I love the most is the Kitchen Conundrums videos. Not only because the host is attractive but also because failure is inevitable in my journey of cooking. Kitchen Conundrums tells me why my brownies is not fudgy enough or how to make the perfect caramel. It’s really easy to understand and very fun to watch.

Michelle Phan

She’s my first beauty guru. I started watching YouTube because of here make-up channel. She’s also my idol because now she’s an entrepreneur too. Michelle has a lot of creative looks on her channel. Now she also creates DIY videos, travel videos, and non-beauty tips videos. Yet, her main content is still about beauty. I basically like the way she talks and how she explains the step-by-step in her tutorial videos. Plus, she’s really creative in video editing. It’s a whole new experience.

TED

Yeah I know, probably most of you have known TED and you have acknowledged how good this channel is. The content is very diverse, we can choose a topic that we’re interested in. Most, if not all, of the videos are motivating and inspiring. TED is just so popular, it even came to my uni in Manchester to give a live talk several times. Just check this channel out if you haven’t!

Munchies

Again, this is a culinary-related channel. But it’s not too specific on cooking. The channel is taking us on a trip to taste food from all over the world. It also has several how-to videos. But if you’re not that keen on cooking, you will have other stuffs to enjoy. This channel will make you droll.

Those are five excellent YouTube channels that I recommend.

But, I know we need fun too. So, here’s several fun channels to watch:

Fung Bros

It’s a YouTube channel by Andrew and David, Asians who live in the USA. They make videos about plenty of things. From NBA, street style, to food. My favorite is the one about food. It really makes me droll. They’re funny and their videos are very fun to watch. Sometimes they got some useful tips as well.

Malesbanget.com

This is an Indonesian channel. They’re pretty informative too, to be honest. The way they discuss something is different, funny, and unique. Sometimes in a sarcastic way but they wrap it in such way it becomes funny. The interesting part is that although I know it’s stupid (what they try to deliver on their videos), I can pretty much relate it to the real life.

Yuka Kinoshita

You just won’t believe if this skinny Japanese girl eats a hell lot of food at once. Mukbang is a trending video nowadays (check out how Munchies cover this topic on it’s channel). It’s basically a self-video of eating food. Yes, the whole video you’re going to watch someone eating her/his food until it’s finished. There are many people making Mukbang but what I personally like about Yuka is because she eats A LOT. For example, six packs of Indomie goreng at once. Or 20 portions of doner kebab. Or 4kg of curry. Yet she stays skinny. Wonder why?

 

That’s in total 8 YouTube channels that I can recommend you. (Well, not to mention that I quite often watch Jovi Hunter’s, Chase Aime’s, Andra Alodita’s and Han Yoo Ra’s channel too..). I hope you now have some better options on YouTube. Remember guys, if we have to waste our time, we need to waste it wisely.

 

♥ Atiqah Zulfa Nadia

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Cha-Ology, Northern Quarter

Posted on by atiqahzulfanadia

In spite of the popularity of English afternoon tea, sebenernya ngeteh itu bagian dari budaya banyak negara. My Chinese friends here always drink green tea everyday, yang katanya bikin langsing. Saking mereka promote khasiat-khasiat teh hijau lainnya (salah satunya untuk detox, kalau diminum setiap pagi hari sebelum mengkonsumsi apa-apa), aku ikutan beli teh hijau juga beberapa bulan yang lalu *impulsif*.

I have tried English afternoon tea before dan kali ini aku dan temen-temenku nyobain Japanese tea place di Northern Quarter, Manchester. Kayaknya sih tempat ini terhitung baru (atau aku yang baru tau?). Waktu masuk, tempatnya minimalis banget. Ada open kitchen lengkap dengan bar-nya, 3 meja lesehan untuk ngeteh, dan kamar mandi. Ambience-nya sengaja dibuat relaxing banget dengan lagu ala-ala meditasi. Aku dan temen-temen sampe bisik-bisik ngobrolnya.

Semua menu di tea place ini berbahan green tea. Menunya ngga banyak tapi menarik semua. Makanannya aku dan temen-temen pesen 3 menu untuk sharing: matcha tart, matcha soft cake, dan matcha dessert. Untuk minumnya aku pesen cold matcha with soy milk. What makes it more interesting adalah pelayannya akan meracik tehnya di meja kita. Ternyata ada pakemnya sendiri loh untuk ngeracik teh and it takes quite a long time to make a bowl of tea, sekitar satu setengah menit (makanya videonya ngga bisa aku share di Instagram hehe). Lumayan bikin geregetan nungguinnya, tapi demi merasakan the authentic Japanese tea, aku harus bersabar.

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Matcha soy milk ini dibuat dari campuran bubuk matcha dan susu kedelai (ya iyalah?). Jadi bubuk matcha-nya dituang ke dalam susu kedelai cair, kemudian diaduk-aduk menggunakan alat yang bentuknya mirip sapu lidi kecil. Setelah tercampur, baru dituang ke mangkok. Rasanya jelas beda dari green tea blend di Starbucks atau di Chatime, terutama karena matcha soy milk yang ini rasanya ngga manis. Perhaps that’s how it should be. It tasted okay for me, tho i prefer the sweet one.

But, the tart, the cake, and the dessert win my heart completely. Aku mulai dari soft cake-nya ya. Teksturnya mirip bolu gulung dengan cream matcha di tengahnya. Awalnya terasa agak pahit karena di atasnya ditabur bubuk matcha. Tapi cream dan cake-nya sendiri manis. This one is my favorite. Matcha tart-nya juga enak banget. Pie crust-nya ngga terlalu keras dan filling-nya juga moist tapi ngga benyek (I hope you understand what I mean). Yang terakhir, matcha dessert-nya sebetulnya agak mainstream sih. Di dessert place semacam Sumobo gitu pasti ada juga. Isinya matcha ice cream, red beans, dan dango. Di piring terpisah disediakan crushed peanut juga untuk ditabur di atasnya. Overall, it’s delicious!

Harganya lumayan pricey ya. Especially for the tea, meskipun aku jadi tau cara meracik teh ala Jepang. Semangkuk tehnya seharga £4.8 dan untuk makanannya pun sekitar segitu per portion. I basically lost the receipt so I can’t tell you the exact price. Pokoknya satu orang untuk one drink and one cake masih di bawah £10.

Don’t forget to exercise your feet, karena bakal kesemutan banget duduk dengan gaya seiza selama di sana 😀

 

♥ Atiqah Zulfa Nadia

Perjalanan di Hari Lebaran

Posted on by atiqahzulfanadia

It’s been a while, isn’t it? Been busy traveling with my parents although I actually wrote some stuffs on my phone to be posted here. Tapi belum kesempetan ditulis rapi untuk di-post aja. Today I spare a bit of my Sunday to write, just because. I hope it’s not too late 😀

Beberapa orang mengira aku spend Idul Fitri tahun ini di Maroko, while sebetulnya di hari lebaran itu aku lagi di perjalanan yang cukup panjang dari Manchester ke Maroko. Jadi sebetulnya aku cuma setengah hari aja merayakan Idul Fitri di sana dan ngga sempet merasakan ambience eid festive-nya. Bare with me, I hope the story is going to be as you all expected..

Sehari sebelum lebaran, sore-sore aku berangkat ke airport untuk terbang ke Madrid. Flight-ku itu Manchester-Madrid kemudian dilanjutkan dengan Madrid-Casablanca. Aku transit di Madrid 12 jam (yeah, true). Pesawatku landed di Madrid sekitar jam 10 malam. Bandara di Madrid, which is Barajas airport, lumayan nyaman untuk stay overnight. Bangkunya keras dan dingin sih untuk tidur, tapi kalau udah ngantuk ya bisa-bisa aja tidur di sana. Aku sempet tidur walaupun kebangun beberapa kali untuk benerin posisi. Wifi-nya unlimited dan tersedia beberapa spot electricity socket untuk ngecharge handphone dan laptop. Satu hal yang agak kurang sih stall makanannya ngga seberapa banyak. I ate both my dinner and breakfast at Starbucks di saat orang-orang nyicip sepiring opor atau makanan identik lebaran lainnya.

I arrived at Casablanca sekitar jam 11 dan ketemuan dengan orangtuaku di airport. Sekitar jam 2 atau 3 gitu baru akhirnya aku keluar gedung dan terpapar udara meditarian yang hari itu panas tapi cukup berangin. Jadi bisa disimpulkan, aku ngga ikutan solat ied dan ramah tamah ala hari raya seperti biasanya. One thing is quite salient in the street of Casablanca. Rame banget. Kayaknya semua orang keluar rumah. Persis kayak Ancol kalau lagi lebaran, apalagi di alun-alunnya.

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Everyone seemed to be going outside the house. Kinda familiar, isn’t it?

That’s basically it, tho. I don’t have any special eid moment in Morocco, nor in Madrid.

But, I’d like to have a say about this year’s Ramadhan. Bulan puasa di tahun ini spesial banget, Alhamdulillah. Pertama kalinya sebulan full ada di negara lain dan harus puasa selama 19 jam. And the highlight was jualan kue lebaran (akhirnya terealisasi!). Di bulan Ramadhan kemarin aku ngerasain secara langsung ke-Mahabesar-an Allah. I must say puasanya a bit tough dan melelahkan dan kadang terasa sepi. Tapi di sisi lain puasanya ngga bikin laper yang sampai gimana banget, tetep bisa beraktivitas seperti biasa, dan jadi sering ketemu orang-orang (walaupun lo lagi, lo lagi). After all, di ujung bulan yang suci itu aku bersemangat untuk memulai semuanya kembali dari awal dengan lebih baik 🙂

I know it’s late, tapi aku mau mengucapkan mohon maaf lahir dan batin untuk semuanya! I hope you all did have a great eid.

 

♥ Atiqah Zulfa Nadia