Joyful Steps

NZ accommodation #11: B2 Lakeview Apartment @ Lake Tekapo, South NZ

2011-11-15T09:43:00.001+08:00

After the cheapest accommodation at Oamaru, the next day we had the most expensive accommodation in Lake Tekapo. The booking with B2 was not a smooth one, we were told that the apartment had been taken even I wrote to Kaori 3 months earlier. For your information, B2 had only one apartment. So if it was taken, then we had to look for other accommodation. So I replied and asked them to notice me if the guest cancel their booking. To my surprise, Kaori replied and said that she has made a mistake on my booking date and the room was still available. So, we booked the room at NZ$195. I had to be very firm with my decision because NZ$195 was not cheap at all. ;)

Before that, I really have to admit that the pictures posted below could not do a good judgement of the apartment. We arrived in the late evening where it was not a good time for taking pictures. And for the rest of our stay, we were too busy enjoying ourselves until we did not retake any pictures. Check out their website(link at the bottom of this post) for better pictures. :p

This was the entrance to B2 Lakeview. It was a double-storey building where the owner stayed at downstair and we stayed at upstair.

We parked our car in front of the building.

There was a staircase leading to upstair directly.

The 1-room apartment size was about 50m2. The very first thing that I noticed was there were many huge windows in the apartment for an unsurpassed view of Lake Tekapo, whether when we were resting on the sofa, having a meal at the dining area or even taking a warm bath.

There were also enough of heating elements in the apartment to ensure a warm and cosy night. Firstly, it had under carpet heater in the apartment and under tile heater in the bathroom. Then, it had one oil heater in the living room and another one in the bedroom. Lastly, we found our favourite blanket heater in the bedroom.

The bathroom had a shower area and a big bath tub. There was a very sophisticated panel on the wall to control the water temperature and water level. It took us quite a while to figure out how to use it. I almost forgot to mention that there were sky windows in the bedroom and bathroom. Lake tekapo was famous for its star-studded night sky and we were able to watch it in the apartment!

The apartment also had a washer and dryer. A few of the accomodation we stayed earlier provided a washer, but not a dryer. We had to hang the clothes at airy places so that it would dry the next day. But in B2, we had a dryer and we managed to clean all our laundry(especially those from Mt Cook's trekking) before heading to our last destination, Christchurh.

View from the balcony

B2 Lakeview was definitely a pampered stay for us. New and clean were not enough to describe the apartment. It was a fully self-contained 1-room apartment with all the details that we could or we could not think of. We enjoyed every moments we spent in the apartment.

B2 Lakeview
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NZ accommodation #10: Old Bones BBH @ Oamaru, South NZ

2011-11-11T14:29:00.001+08:00

The cheapest accomodation we had in New Zealand, NZ$66 for a double room and it showed us that "Good things do not come cheap" might not be true all the time.

Old bones backpacker is one of the popular and top rated BBH in New Zealand. It received 94% BPP rating. Each BBH will receive a BPP rating yearly, the higher the rating shows that more guests have enjoyed their stay at that hostel. Check it out at BBH website. After reading so many good reviews in the web, I booked a double room with Old bones once I had confirmed the night I will spend in Oamaru.

Once we entered Old bones, we were greeted by Gloria and went through a very simple procedure of checking in to the hostel. The door in the picture above was the bathroom and toilet for gents. For ladies, it was directly opposite the gents's room. I was a bit skeptical when I knew that Old bones only have common bathrooms. But then it was so nicely and practically designed, spotlessly clean, spacious and new that I could not link it with common area.

At the back of reception, it was a very big common area where the kitchen, dining area and rest area are located. The bedrooms were located at both side of the common area, 4 rooms each side. Therefore there were only 8 rooms in total.

I requested for Room #8 as I read that room #6 and room #8 has the best view.

The bedroom was not big but everything was perfect. The room was equipped with heated flooring where you would not find in most of the backpackers or even hostels.

If you did not manage to book room #6 or room #8, you are not going to be disappointed. I did not bother to stay in the room. I preferred sitting next to the log fire, enjoying the amazing ocean view and surfing net with the free WIFI. It was such a peaceful and comfortable evening.

the view outside the french window

details in the hostels

Old bones had a great kitchen but too bad I was too lazy to cook dinner. Anyway, we had hot breakfast the next morning and got some questions from other travelers who made cold sandwiches. They said noodles was not for breakfast. ;)

In summary, Old bones was definitely not overrated. It lived up to the expectation as one of the best BBH in New Zealand. It was a cool accommodation experience for us with just NZ$66.

Old Bones Backpackers
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NZ accommodation #9: Arcadian Motel @ Dunedin, South NZ

2011-11-06T16:28:00.001+08:00

The concept of the motel was very similar to Malfroy Motor Lodge in Rotorua. When we stepped into the room, I was a bit disappointed. I had to agree with some reviewers that the furniture and design in the room was dated. But then slowly, I had to agree with other reviewers, it was clean and was reasonably priced at NZ$115.

Arcadian Motel

Off street parking in front of studio unit

Standard queen-sized bed, but with electric blanket. We were excited to see electric blanket each time, the temperature at night was too cold for us.

Kitchen and dining area were separated with a sliding door.

Bathroom and toilet

Our breakfast

Arcadian Motel
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NZ accommodation #8: Salthouse @ Curio Bay, South NZ

2011-10-31T15:41:00.001+08:00

My initial plan was to spend the night in Invercargill for our 2D1N southern scenic route. But there were not many hotel choices in Invercargill. So I decided to travel a bit further for day one and overnight at Curio Bay. And I was glad that we did that. We booked an excellent accommodation and went for yellow-eyed penguin watching at curio bay petrified forest.

Curio Bay Salthouse offered two self-contained studio unit at NZ$140.

Located right on the beach, the studio had unsurpassed panoramic sea views of Porpoise Bay. Some travelers were lucky enough to spot doplhins or sea lions at the beach.

While I was busy capturing photos of the studio, he was preparing hot green tea for dolphin watching.

The studio had a very spacious bathroom.

Their bathroom reminded me of my room in Tokyo, they were about the same size.

There was a heated towel hanger in the bathroom too.

We got everything we needed to cook a dinner.

Scallops and fish fillets in pan

Our scrumptious dinner, soup with buns, caesar salad, mains, blueberries and ginger beer. Finally we bought a can of New Zealand ginger beer, carbonated drink with ginger flavour.

And not to forget the southern bluff oyster that we bought from Invercargill. The tiny New Zealand seaport of Bluff in New Zealand is home to some of the best oysters in the world. This was the third time we had it and by far, this was the freshest and best batch as we were closest to Bluff.

Remember to bring enough food to Curio Bay as the place was secluded. We had seafood fried rice and vegetable soup for breakfast the next day.

We had nothing to complain about Salthouse. Everything was perfect. It was easily one of the unforgettable stay we had in New Zealand.

Curio Bay Salt House
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NZ accommodation #7: Bob and Maxines Backpacker @ Te Anau, South NZ

2011-10-19T13:08:00.002+08:00

It was hard to tell if it was consider a backpacker's night for us. When I emailed Bob asking for a double room, he recommended me his newly renovated luxury double in his house and if I was not mistaken, we were the first guests to stay in. Therefore instead of staying in the backpacker's building, we stayed in Bob and Maxines's guest room. The NZ$100 room did not have an ensuite bathroom, but a bathroom 3m away from the room. Well, I did not measure the distance, Bob told me so. Throughout our stay, we did not have to share the bathroom with other people. Bob and Maxines have their own bathroom.

Bob did not lie to me. He told me that I would get a room as good as hotel quality plus a friendly owner. We had a quiet night and sweet slumber.

Nice view from the window.

We were allowed to use the common area and kitchen facilities in the backpacker's building. We had a pleasant time sitting next to the log fire, gazing at the view outside and enjoying the comfortable atmosphere.

This was captured the next morning.

Then it was time to cook dinner. I like the big and sturdy wooden table in the kitchen.

In very short time, dinner was ready. I tried not to be too ambitious and sticked to simple dishes.

Pan fried baby lamb rack
It was already marinated with spices and herbs when we got it from shelf. So, I just need to pan fry it with some olive oil. Simple job. We should have bought two packs as the lamb rack was so tender, sweet and juicy.

Mix vegetables and clam soup
The weather was getting colder as we moved towards the south, especially at night. So, we decided that we need some hot soup to warm our bodies. It was Malaysian ABC Soup(Potatoes, Carrots, Tomatoes, Pepper and Salt) with New Zeland Clam. It turned out excellent!

I was so relunctant to leave the bed the next day. So we had very simple instant noodles with the remaining clams and poach egg.

Bob and Maxines Backpacker is a BBH 2km away from Te Anau town, with stunning mountain view. But then it is not a big issue if you have a car.

Bob and Maxines Backpackers Te Anau
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NZ accommodation #6: Absoloot Value Accommodation @ Queenstown, South NZ

2011-10-17T09:24:00.002+08:00

Queenstown is one of the most touristy city in New Zealand. Therefore the hotel rate is generally higher if compare to other cities. When I looked for a hotel in Queenstown, I was looking for:

good location - Parking is a problem in Queenstown. So I am looking for one hotel at premium location so that we can explore Queenstown on foot.
Kitchen is not needed - Restaurants are everywhere in Queenstown, I have no plan to cook.
Basic, clean and reasonable price - My baseline

I still remember spending hours searching online before I found Absoloot Value Accommodation which had just started business for less than a year. At that time, there were only 2 reviews in tripadvisor. When I checked again just now, it had more than 30 reviews now, and mostly good reviews. Absoloot Value accomodation checked all the requirements that I had, so I booked a room without any hesistation.

When we arrived, we parked our car at the loading zone in front of the hostel building and dropped our bag. Then, we were directed to free parking which was few blocks away from the hostel. We parked our car and we did not need a car throughout our stay in Queenstown, everything was within walking distance.

We booked the most expensive double room at NZ$125.

I like the color and design of the room. And it was more spacious compare to Base Backpacker Wanaka.

We had our own ensuite bathroom, refrigerator, microwave, kettle and LCD TV. We did not have a chance to turn on the TV while we were there, so not too sure if the TV was working. ;)

Located at the highest floor, our room provided an amazing view of the beautiful lake wakatipu.

Another side of the window had an awesome view of the waterfront area.

What I like about this hotel?

Clean and nice room with great view
Premium location
Free parking
Reasonable price

If these are what you are looking for, check out their website from the link below.

Absoloot Value Accommodation NZ$125
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NZ accommodation #5: Base Backpacker @ Wanaka, South NZ

2011-10-16T21:12:00.001+08:00

This was the only night where we did not pre-book any accommodation. It was because the helihike tour we took in the morning might be canceled if the weather was no good. If that really happen, then we have to consider taking the evening tour or even the next day's tour.

So when we returned from the morning helihike, we decided that we still have time to travel to Wanaka which is 3 hours driving distance from Fox Glacier. We went to Isite(New Zealand tourist information center which you can see in every cities) and requested help to book a room in Wanaka. I had 3 contacts in my notes, Wanaka Purple, Wanaka Bakpaka and Base Backpacker. The guy at Isite was very helpful and managed to book us a room at Base Backpacker Wanaka.

Even though it was only 1pm when we were at Isite Fox Glacier, but we reached Wanaka pretty late, about 8.30pm. We had our lunch at Cafe Neve and visited Lake Matheson again before we left Fox Glacier.

Base backpacker Wanaka was the our first backpacker hostel experience in New Zealand. This time we had to park our car on the street and dragged our luggage into the building, then took the lift to the lobby for check-in, and finally took the lift again to our room.

Our double room was compact and clean.

The toilet was definitely on the small side, but glad that the shower area was separated.

Take a look at this picture! It was impractical to have a piece of glass shelf on top of the mini basin, the shelf has blocked more than half the basin. It was so difficult for me to brush my teeth or wash my face. In the end, I had to finish everything during shower time.

Kitchen and dining area

When we wanted to store our food in the big refrigerator, we found out that we have to put on a sticker/label indicating our room number and check out date, a standard practice in all backpacker hostels. Luckily we managed to borrow a marker and wrote the information directly on the box.

We did use the kitchen once for breakfast. We had toasted bread with butter and drinks. Oh yes, can you see the kiwiberry? It was delicious. Remember to try it when you are in New Zealand.

After being pampered for a few nights, finally we stayed in a backpacker hostel. But it was not a bad experience at all. At NZ$84 for a double room, it was not fair if we were to compare it with the previous accommodation we had. We had a short stay in Wanaka and what we needed was very basic. So why pay more?

Base Backpacker Wanaka
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NZ accommodation #4: Lake Matheson Motel @ Fox Glacier, South NZ

2011-09-15T17:25:00.002+08:00

When we arrived in Fox Glacier, it was almost 7pm. Weather was good for the whole day, sunny and warm, and it was not sunset yet when we checked in Lake Matheson Motel. By the way, do not be misleaded by the motel name. Lake Matheson Motel is 4km away from Lake Matheson, but just 400m away from Fox Glacier township. During check-in, we asked the receptionist if we could make it to Lake Matheson before the sunset, they told us we will be just in time. So we rushed to lake Matheson. It is best to visit Lake Matheson at dawn or at dusk when the lake is very calm.

Therefore we only managed to capture the motel building the next morning.

Our studio with a queen size bed and a two seater sofa

overview of the studio unit, kitchen is at the far end.

My only complaint would be the shower curtain was not able to keep just the shower area wet. Personally, I prefer a toilet with wet and dry areas.

the basin

Our plan of having dinner at one of the Fox Glacier's restaurant was spoilt because we came back from Lake Matheson too late. At 10pm, few restaurants that we tried had stopped taking order. We were so tired that we decided that we just need a shower and a bowl of hot noodles.

Most hotel or motel will provide some hot drink packets. I found that they usually give one packet of coffee and one packet of chocolate.

Next morning, before we went for the anticipated helihike, we made french toast. Simple breakfast but it was so delicious with NZ's butter and eggs. For drink, we had hot coffee, hot chocolate, Charlie orange juice and fresh milk.

The studio rate was NZ$135, considered reasonable in Fox Glacier. The room was actually quite good though we spent very little time in it.

Lake Matheson Motel
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NZ accommodation #3: Harrogate Gardens Motel @ Hanmer Spring, South NZ

2011-09-12T17:10:00.001+08:00

We did an anticlockwise road trip for South NZ. The first night in South NZ was spent in Hanmer Spring, a small town located between the east coast and west coast.

Harrogate Gardens Motel was a great find. The motel had two self contained unit and one ensuite room, I booked one of the self contained unit at NZ$110 after reading all the good reviews. The unit was at the back garden of a family house, so it was very easy to reach the owner when we needed help.

The unit was really large, even bigger compare to the previous accomodations. It made us feel so comfortable until we did not want to step out from the room. I did ask if we want to go to the Hanmer Spring Hot Spring, but the answer I got was No. :D

In case you did not notice, it was a luxury king size bed. The room was large, so the bed was relatively small in the picture. :)

The unit had a double spa bath and the owner even decorated the bathroom with roses petals.

Take a closer look to the spa bath, bubble bath gel was provided too. It was definitely a romantic getaway for honeymoon couples. ;)

This unit also had a fully equipped kitchen, but too bad I did not take a photo of it. We found a washer in the kitchen. So when I finished cooking dinner, the washer finished one load of laundry too. We had lamb shoulder, mashed potato, blanched brocolli and mussels for dinner. Green tea for me and coffee for him. Oh yes, if you happened to see fresh mussels in tank in any of the hypermarket, remember to grab some. They were huge, fresh, juicy and most important delicious. Just boil them in water and if you want(I did not) squeeze some lemon juice when served. I bought 6 mussels for less than NZ$2.

I woke up too late to prepare breakfast the next morning. Thanks to the spa bath. ;) Therefore, we had a quick breakfast, my favourite Nissin instant noodles, Harrogate's cookies and plunger coffee(with Harrogate's freshly ground coffee).

At this price, it was difficult to find the same range of accomodation in the more touristy NZ cities. We were definitely pampered after staying a night at Harrogate and had set our expectation higher on the coming accomodations. Stay tune to see if we will be disappointed in the coming days! :)

Harrogate Garden Motel
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NZ accommodation #2: The Green House on the Hill, Bed &Breakfast @ Napier, North NZ

2011-09-05T13:50:00.001+08:00

When I had decided to try out different type of accomodations in NZ, I started to look for an affordable B&B. After many comparisons, my pick was The Green House on the Hill, Bed and Breakfast, Napier . This B&B has limited rooms(two if not mistaken) to offer and the room rate is NZ$135.

The stay at Green House was a pleasant one from the beginning. The first thing that caught my attention was the welcome board with my name on the tree. :)

The spacious room was beautifully furnished, tastefully decorated with many little extra touches and spotlessly clean. We spent some time on the comfortable two seater before bed, uploading photos and accessing the free WIFI.

I just like the fact that we could park our car in front of the room. It made loading and unloading so much easier.

Our room had an ensuite bathroom, I remember another room had a private bathroom too, but it was not ensuite.

We enjoyed a great evening with the complimentary red wine and snack. The snack(homemade by Ruth, I assume) is very tasty.

The next morning when I woke up, I found Ruth in the kitchen and breakfast is all set. Ruth is very friendly and she enjoy meeting with different people.

At first, I was a bit disappointed when I read from their page that The Green House does not serve cooked breakfast. But then I have to give thumbs up to Ruth. Everything served in the breakfast was either homemade or carefully picked. The cheese and fruit platter gave us a chance to sample different cheese and fruits at one time. We had a hearty breakfast before leaving for Wellington.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and just wish that we could have stayed longer. For the lovely cosy room, warm hospitality and delicious breakfast, check out their page and book a room!

The Green House on the Hill
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NZ accommodation #1: Malfroy Motor Lodge @ Rotorua, North NZ

2011-08-26T14:35:00.001+08:00

Rotorua is a tourist capital in North island, famous for its geothermal activities. Once we drove into the city, we could smell the sulfur. In fact, the entire area is full of rotten eggs smell. Anyway we did not find the smell too strong or too bad.

The first thing we did was to check in to Malfroy Motor Lodge. Great that the Garmin gps we brought was working fine and for that we save NZ$10/day(GPS rental price in NZ).

We booked a studio room where we could just park our car in front of our unit. We had the nearest unit in the picture.

We opened the door to a warm and cozy room with an attached bathroom. After the NZ trip, we concluded that we like this type of self-contained unit the most. The room has a queen-sized bed, two seater sofa, dining table and chairs. It is also equipped with kitchenette which enable us to do some simple cooking.

The glass door in the room led to a beautiful backyard garden where the heated pool and mineral pool are located.

The highlight of Malfroy is the geothermal mineral pool, next to this outdoor heated pool. Their pools are opened 24-7, so we went for a soak before sleep. Do note that not every accomodation in Rotorua has their own mineral pool. Since we have no plan to go to the expensive Polynesian Spa thermal pools which cost NZ$43/person, we make sure we booked the stay that has a mineral pool. :)

Malfroy thoughtfully provided us with a very useful "treasure box". It has some salt, pepper, sugar, cream, ground coffee, chocolate drink and cookies packets.

Food that we bought from Pak n Save, a bottle of olive oil, a pack of bagels, 2 pieces of Angus beef, a pack of mushroom, half dozen of eggs, peaches and blueberry.

I was busy cooking dinner while the photographer was checking out the place.

NZ offers top quality beef and one of their top rated is Angus breed. We managed to spot Angus steak on Pak n Save's rak and have it for our first dinner. The steak was so tender, juicy and sweet even though I just grilled it with some olive oil and seasoned with some salt. Unfortunately, we did not see Angus beef again in any hypermarket for the remaining of the trip.

Heavy breakfast the next day with Pokeno Bacon & Sausage before we had a visit to Waiotapu. Most of the NZ hotel/hostels except budget hostels(BBH or YHA) will provide a small packet of fresh milk for your coffee. We love this service!

Overall, I think Malfroy is a best value choice. For NZ$99 studio, it had exceeded my expectation in many ways. One of the sweet memory for us was the soak at the pools before we slumbered the night away. Did I mention that the room price comes with free internet? Oh, so much facilities and freebies to fill up our one night stay. :)

Malfroy Motor Lodge
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NZ: The perfect 14 days

2011-08-05T14:19:00.000+08:00

Finally, I have stepped on NZ land, a place that I wanted to visit since years ago. The trip was in NZ's end summer/early autumn, from 19th March to 1st April, 14 days to be exact. On 18 March, we took JetStar to Singapore and then a direct flight to Auckland the next morning. In Auckland airport, we picked up a rental car and drove from North to South. For the next 14 days, we had a very packed itinerary but it was definitely one of the most memorable trip for us. It was 2nd April when we flew out from Christchurch with JetStar.

19/3/11(Sat): Auckland aiport --- Pukekohe --- Rotorua
20/3/11(Sun): Rotorua --- Taupo --- Napier
21/3/11(Mon): Napier --- Wellington

22/3/11(Tue): Wellington --- Picton --- Kaikoura --- Hanmer Spring
23/3/11(Wed): Hanmer Spring --- Westport --- Punakaiki --- Fox Glacier
24/3/11(Thu): Fox Glacier --- Wanaka
25/3/11(Fri): Wanaka --- Queentown
26/3/11(Sat): Queentown --- Milford --- Te Anau
27/3/11(Sun): Te Anau --- Invercargill --- Curio Bay
28/3/11(Mon): Curio Bay --- Dunedin
29/3/11(Tue): Dunedin --- Oamaru
30/3/11(Wed): Oamaru -- Mt Cook --- Lake Tekapo
31/3/11(Thu): Lake Tekapo --- Christchurch
1/4/11(Fri): Christchurch

Next I will blog about the accomodations in NZ. Stay tune!

Medan, Lake Toba & Berastagi(Photos Only)

2011-07-05T17:20:00.000+08:00

Read the itinerary here.

Medan, Lake Toba & Berastagi

2011-07-04T12:50:00.000+08:00

I was not too sure if I should blog about my Medan trip(in fact Medan, Lake Toba and Berastagi) since most of my photos were gone in the recent hard disk crash. :( But then, I remembered that there was very little information in the web when I was doing the research. So here is my travelogue with very little photos(perhaps I will just share the photos in a another post).

The destinations
We flew into Medan, Sumatera Utara, Indonesia. Parapat(ferry terminal to Samosir Island, Lake Toba) was 4-5 hours road trip from Medan. We took another path back to Medan and overnight at Berastagi.
A - Medan
B - Parapat
C - Berastagi

View Larger Map

Getting Around
If you are a budget or solo traveller, you can take public bus to Parapat, catch a ferry to Samosir island and rent a motorbike there. Alternatively, you can take a taxi(Taxi Raja is the recommendation) to Parapat which save some travelling time. You may also check with your hotel as most hotels in Samosir island provide pick-up from Medan at a fixed price. As for us, we rented a car with driver for the whole trip. It was a little bit pricey, but we did not have to worry about transportation throughout the whole trip. We had more freedom to move around. The car rental company we used was Ambarita Car Rental(view website), prompt email replies from them, great patience shown even after 20 emails, car was in good condition. Everything was perfect except the long road trip to Samosir island which I will explain later.

Accomodation
We stayed in Tabo Cottages, Samosir island(view website) for two nights and Sinabung Resort, Berastagi(view website) for one nights. Tabo Cottages was one of the best accomodation in Samosir island(another option is Samosir Villa Resort, view website). For Sinabung Resort, make sure you get a room facing the swimming pool. The view from the balcony was spectacular.  We managed to watch magnificent sunrise from our room.

Itinerary
1 Jan 2011
- Arrived Medan International Airport at 9.40am
- Had brunch at Bak Mie Kek(Hakka Mee) @ No. 5, Jln Selat Panjang
- Departed to Samosir Island.
It was New Year and the driver said that he received news from other drivers that the traffic was terrible on the way to Parapat. He suggested another route to us which he estimated will arrive by 6pm. We accepted the suggestion, thinking that we would be in time for New Year's dinner which I had booked with Tabo Cottages. However, the road condition was very bad that it took longer than what the driver had expected. we did stop half an hour for lunch. To cut the long story short, we arrived Tabo Cottages at 11.30pm. It was a 12 hours road trip! Unbelievable! I have a suggestion to avoid this, read on.
- Checked in Tabo Cottages and skipped dinner as we were too tired

2 Jan 2011
- Had simple buffet breakfast provided by Tabo Cottages
- Had a tour round Samosir island, visited Ambarita(Batak Village) Stone Chair, Simanido Museum and Pengurunan Hot Spring
- Had lunch at Saulina Resort, good view and good food. Recommended Nasi Special Goreng.
- Went back to Tabo Cottages
- Had scrumptious dinner, dishes which we were supposed to take on New Year's night. We ordered their specialities, batak sytle grilled fish, oven baked chicken and grilled chicken(view menu). Annette was a great cook, everything was delicious and we finished all of them.
- Enjoyed a cuppa of coffee in the peaceful environment
- We asked Annette about massage and she arranged it in her wellness room. All the stress and aches due to the long road trip was melted, and I was fully recharged. :)

3 Jan 2011
- Same buffet breakfast in Tabo Cottages
- Took passenger ferry to Parapat. There were two types of ferry in Lake Toba, the car ferry and the passenger ferry. If we were in the car ferry, we only have to pay for vehicle ticket, passengers are free. But due to the car ferry's long queue on 1st Jan, Annette sent our driver to the car ferry terminal early in the morning. We took our sweet time enjoying the breakfast, then we took the 9am passenger ferry at Tabo Cottages and meet our driver at Parapat. So we could actually avoid the 12 hours journey by taking the passenger ferry and let the driver handle the issue. Even if he missed the last ferry, he could have overnight at Parapat and take the first ferry the next morning. Talk to your rented car company or driver on this and do not repeat my mistake.
- Departed to Berastagi, visited 12wives and Sipiso-piso waterfall on the way.
- Checked in Sinabung Resort at 4.30pm
- Had dinner at Sinabung Resort. We had the whole restaurant to ourselves! So we had a great family time! The food was not bad too.

4 Jan 2011
- Complimentary breakfast in Sinabung Resort
- Departed to Medan
- Reached Medan by 11+am
- Visited Mecahat(view website). Was greeted by the young lady owner, Verayani Jioe. She showed us the whole coffee process, from the green bean collected by the farmer to a cup of coffee. We even visited her civet cats which produce the world famous civet coffee. Lunch was also at Mecahat to savour her roast duck. She was very proud of her product, she has her very own duck farm, custom-made roasting machine and secret-recipe used for marinating the duck. Rice and some Theow Cheow dishes were provided by the shop next door. We enjoyed the duck, and yes, she has the right to be proud and confident.
- With the recommendation from Verayani's brother, we went to Bolu Gulung Meranti(view website) and Ratna(@Jl. Mojopahit No. 11 D). We bought Bolu Gulung of different flavours from Meranti. Lapis legit and bika ambon were from Ratna.
- We spent few hours in Sun Plaza before going to airport.
- Return flight was 6.25pm. Remember to keep IDR75K/person for airport tax.

Expenses for 6 person(in IDR)
Tabo Cottages(1 night @Batak Villa, 1 night @twin sharing deluxe room)   -   1.395.000
Sinabung Resort(1 night@ twin sharing deluxe room)   -   1.500.000
Car Rental(Toyota Innova with driver for 4 days, include driver's meal & accomodation)   -   1.900.000
Fuel - ~1.400.000
Meal - ~1.000.000
Entrance - 192.000
Returning ferry - 142.000

Expenses are just for reference.

The REAL Pad Thai

2011-03-16T09:49:00.001+08:00

Pad Thai, thai version of stir-fried flat rice noodles, is a common dish in Thailand, so I have tried it many times in different cities of Thailand. Unfortunately I still prefer Char Kway Teow, a Malaysian and Singapore version of stir-fried flat noodles. But the recent visit to Thip Sa Mai Restaurant had changed my perception towards Pad Thai. Pad Thai never tasted so good!

Thip Sa Mai since 1966

Before going to Pai Spa, we had decided to go for Pad Thai supper. It was drizzling when we came out from the massage shop. But I am a foodie, a serious foodie. So we got into a taxi. This restaurant is very near to Khao San Road, I remember the taxi fare was like 40B and the traveling time was no more than 10 minutes. The restaurant was not as packed as I had seen in the web pictures, perhaps due to the rain.

Chili flakes, crushed peanuts and etc

I would advise you not to order this bottled orange juice. It was over-priced at 150B and nothing special. It was also too sweet to my liking!

We were given a separate plate of fresh and crunchy spring onion and bean sprout. I like to add extra bean sprout and spring onion to my noodles.

Thai-sytle fried vermicelli with shrimp edible oil, shrimp and egg, 60B

At first, we thought of sharing a plate as it was meant to be supper. Therefore we ordered the luxury version with big shrimp. But soon, we figured out that it was not enough because it was too good. The combination was great, with eggs, tofu, big shrimp, cooked bean sprout and cooked spring onion, garnished with crushed peanuts and coriander. We also tried to add chili flakes, lime juice, raw bean sprout and raw spring onion, it tasted good too! Every bite was a joy!

We ordered another plate of Thai style fried vermicelli with eggs, 30B. Gosh! It was as good too! All the ingredients was perfect match, giving a nice balance in each bite.

If you would like to try Thip Sa Mai, go to
313, Mahachai Road, Samranrat, Pranakorn, Bangkok 10200.
(662) 221 6280
Opens from 18:00-24:00

Zanotti Italy Restaurant Bangkok

2011-02-18T11:25:00.001+08:00

Besides Thai cuisine, Bangkok is also very famous for its International cuisine. Therefore, I had decided to pick one out of so many famous restaurants. After doing some research, my target was out - Zanotti Italy, a restaurant that won the award of Bangkok top 3 restaurant for many consecutive years! I was told that most of the fresh ingredients used are flown in from Italy twice a week to ensure that the dishes are authentic!

We called earlier to make a lunch booking. If you were budget traveler like us who wish to save the pocket but at the same time wanted to try good food, always go for lunch as it is normally cheaper. And for Zanotti, they offer 3-course weekday set lunch for 330Baht.

The complimentary plate of breads arrived when we were still browsing our menu. The breads were so good with the extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, or even on its own.

After we made our order, amuse bouche arrived, in this case bruschettas with tomatoes. There were actually two, but one was stolen. ;)
In case you want to know, amuse bouche is bited-sized food served in fine-dining restaurant at the beginning of a meal. It is not appetizer, amuse bouche is free and can not be selected from menu.

Appetizer - I forgot the actual name, but it was baked eggplant with cheese.

Entree - Fresh Baked Sea Bass with fresh tomato, olives and Italian basil

This was from the ala-carte menu, Pizza Al Prosciutto Crudo Di Parma. Many had raved about this simple thin crust pizza dish with just tomota puree, parma ham and mozzarella cheese, and now I had to agree with them. This pizza would surprise and satisfy even the most persnickety pizza fan. Priced at 650Baht, this pizza worth every single penny paid. If you do not plan to dine in, you can call and check if you can take away this pizza. Definitely worth the effort.

dessert - forgot the name again, pastry with chocolates. Sorry for the blurr photo and no menu, as I found out that I was not supposed to take pictures in the restaurant later. :p

The total bill for two include drink was about 1300Baht. We left the restaurant happily. Oh yes, casual smart dress code required for Zanotti.

Zanotti
Visit website

Log Terrace Hat Yai

2011-02-17T17:58:00.001+08:00

K's family and relatives travel to Hat Yai as often as JB people travel to Singapore. When comes to temples, massage, shopping and food in Hat Yai, they have lots to recommend and this restaurant was one of it. With the company of our tour guide from Alor Setar(who married a Thai) and his Hat Yai's friend, we arrived at Log Terrace Restaurant.

the entrance of Log Terrace

corner of Log Terrace

walk path to the dining place

It was a restaurant that built along a river and inside a cave. In daytime, you could opt to dine with river view.

But since we were there for dinner, we opted to stay inside the cave.

the menu

thai green chili dipping sauce, thai soy sauce and thai chili sauce

pineapple fried rice with chicken floss topping

stir fry asparagus

famous thai pork knuckles

duck egg kerabu with separated sauce

deep fried fish

seafood otak-otak

lemon steamed fish

prawn tom yam

thai coconut drink

The dim light condition had made taking food picture a challenge. Honestly, the pictures taken could not tell how tasty the food was. But I could tell you that this restaurant had made all other thai meals in the trip pale in comparison. Yes, many thai restaurants serve authentic and tasty thai food. But the cooks in this restaurant were so thoughtful in choosing the food ingredients and spices that the dishes gave a different initial taste, middle taste and aftertaste. The pineapple fried rice was outstanding, the kerabu was something new and creative and other dishes were equally good. The only two warnings that I heard were the long wait time and the mosquitoes, but I had not encountered these two problems during my visit. Just be prepared!

Log Terrace Restaurant
405/1 Soi 15 Satmongkhon Amphoe Hat Yai Songkhla 90110

Pai Spa, Bangkok

2011-02-17T11:59:00.001+08:00

I revisited Bangkok last August and Hat Yai last November. Since Thailand is our neighbour country and Malaysian visits it so often, I will not blog about the whole trip, but just do a few posts on things that I found worth recommending.

Bangkok, the land of smile is the top destination for many. To me, the biggest charm of Bangkok is their thai massage, cheap and good. I would allocate 1-2hours per day for massage whenever I visit Thailand. This trip, we discovered a good massage place, Pai Spa where we then went back again and again.

That night, we were searching for the cheapest Thai massage near Khao San Road until we bumped into Pai Spa at Rambuttri Road. Honestly it was not the cheapest, but it looked attractive. Therefore, we decided to pay a little bit more and we were glad that we tried. We paid 50THB for 2 hours thai massage, but do check their website(link below) for the latest price list and promotion.

The moment we stepped into the Pai Spa, we felt calm and relax with the interior. The whole interior was in wood and the wood color created a peaceful atmosphere.

The photo org chart of the masseuses and the stick-on good reviews from the customers gave me more confident that I had come to the right place.

While waiting, we were served tea and cold towel.

Then, the masseuse scrubbed and cleaned our feet.

We were asked to change this loose blouse and trouser.

I took a picture of the massage beds. Then it was time for thai massage. I go massage on regular basis, and I would think that this was one of the best thai massage that I had. Therefore, if you are going to Bangkok, search no more! I can assure you that this is a good one!

Hot herbal tea was served after the massage.

You could also bring home Pai Spa's products.

Pai Spa
View website

Macau Part II

2011-02-15T12:42:00.003+08:00

After the famous egg tart in Coloane Island, we went to The Venetian Macao, the biggest casino in Macau. I am sure another new casino will just overtake it very soon. But at the time of visit, it was the biggest caniso. For the casinos owned by Stanley Ho(the billionaire casino magnate who files lawsuit against his family recently), read here.

This renaissance Venice-themed casino resort had stunning replicas of Venice landmarks, the St. Mark's Square, the Doge's Palace, Campanile Tower, and indoor canals with gondolas and singing gondoliers.

statue and fountain

the corridor

After we thought we had contributed enough to the casino, we decided to take their free shuttle to Macau's ferry terminal.

Free shuttle pick up point was at Hotel West Lobby.

direction to different shuttles

Venetian's shuttle

From the ferry terminal, we took a public bus to Lau Kei Pork Chop Bun(青洲劉記猪扒包) for lunch. It was a revisit.

the same old building

Prices had gone up since my last visit, but the food was still good.

back page of the menu

Fish ball 净鱼蛋 MOP10

blanched vegetables 油菜 MOP3.50

pork chop bun 猪扒包 MOP11

pork chop noodles 猪扒面 MOP14

iced milk tea 冻奶茶 MOP8.50

watercress with honey 西洋菜蜜 MOP6.50

A complete meal must be ended with dessert. So when we were back at Senado Square, we visited the 30+ years old Hang Heong Un(杏香园) dessert shop.

Hang Heong Un was famous for their walnut dessert(合桃类) and almond dessert(杏仁类). Make sure you order one from these two categories because these desserts are hardly seen in Malaysia.

the shop

If you were as greedy as me, you could order walnut and almond paste with ginkgo(白果杏仁合桃), priced at MOP29. It was a little bit pricey, but if you were to know the price of nuts and the time needed to prepare this dessert, then you would not complain. The dessert paste was very smooth, fragrant and most important, it was not too sweet.

But if you really do not fancy dessert paste, you could try their water chestnut with ginkgo(白果馬碲沙), priced at MOP29.

We posed in front of Ruins of St. Paul’s although we had done it last trip.

Ruins of St. Paul’s

Dinner was at Restaurante Bee Vee. Actually I wanted to try another crab porridge shop, but too bad that it was closed that night.

New menu 1

New menu 2

Somehow, the crab porridge did not meet our expectation this time. I was impressed by the Bee Vee's crab porridge(峰景蟹粥） during my last trip(read post). But this time, I was not sure if it was because I had found JinDaoYuan's porridge(金稻园砂锅粥)(read post) or Bee Vee's standard had dropped. But then, it was still worthy to pay Bee Vee a visit if you have not tried Macau crab porridge.

fried fish ball with rice cracker(米通鱼球）

Steamed Eel in Wok(嚄仔蒸鳗鱼) was a pleasant surprise. The fish texture was firm and the sauce was very appetizing.

Before we left Macau the next day, we went to Sheng Ji Bai Zhou(盛记白粥） which was the recommendation of most of the travel books.

It was located at the intersection if Calcada Do Tronco Velho(东方斜巷) and Rua Dos Cules(天通街).

the kitchen

cold desserts

menu page 1

menu page 2

white porridge

rolled rice sheet with crispy twisted doughnut

yam cake and carot cake

steamed pork dumpling(aka siew mai)

The food was too bland for me. But you can give it a try.

Macau Part I

2011-01-22T17:34:00.001+08:00

boarder to/from ZhuHai

There were few money changers right outside the boarder gate(same row as Esprit Outlet) and this rate was captured when we were there. The most popular way was to exchange HKD or RMB to MOP.

We dragged our luggages into the two-storey Esprit outlet. The shopkeepers were kind enough to keep our luggage inside the cashier compound so that we could shop peacefully. In order not to disappoint them, we shopped for hours and left the shop with many Esprit products.

We had spent too long in Esprit shop until we were almost late for the pre-booked dinner. We split into two groups, one taxi with all the luggage to the accommodation near Ruins of St. Paul’s first while another taxi straight to the dinner place at Taipa to hold the booking. Located at a side valley off Rua do Cunha(the famous street for local snack), Estb de Comidas Amagao(亚马交）was one of the best kept secret in Taipa. It was a family-style Portuguese restaurant with only 3-4 tables, advance booking was strongly encouraged.

Let's take a look at our dishes.

Arroz De Marisco 海鲜饭 MOP170

Galinha A Portuguesa half 葡国鸡半只 MOP$115

Sardihas No Forno 焗沙甸魚 MOP90

Carnes De Porco A Alientekana 豬肉粒炒蜆 MOP145

We ordered few plates of white rice, to eat with the dishes.

The owner recommended the soft and warm Portuguese bun, it was best when dipped with the sauce of Portuguese chicken.

This restaurant was definitely less touristy and cheaper compare to Litoral Restaurant during my last trip. For all the above dishes and drinks, six of us spent less than MOP600 for a scrumptious dinner. Just for comparison, Amagao was a casual restaurant serving home-cooked Portuguese dishes while Litoral offered more upscale atmosphere with fine Portuguese dishes. Both restaurant served authentic and mouth-watering Portuguese dishes. So the decision is with you.

A revisit to Pastelaria Fong Kei(晃记饼家) before we took a taxi back to our accomodation at Macau Peninsula.

This round, we stayed at Welcome 51A hostel. Warn you, it was not a hotel, the hostel rooms were at different levels of a local building. But it provided basic, clean and cheap rooms at a premium location, a short walking distance to Ruins of St Paul's. The best choice for budget travellers. If you are willing to spend more for accommodation, you can consider Pousada de Mong Ha.

We booked 3 rooms. This was the first room.

the second room,

and the third room.

Each room had a private bathroom. They were similar, so I only took one picture.

The next morning, we walked to the nearby Mercado De S.Domingos Municipa Complex(營地街市綜合大樓).

It was actually a wet market. But it was a modern and clean market where the floor was completely dry that term "wet market" was no longer suitable here. The multi-level market was equipped with escalators and each level was selling different type of food.

A level selling all kind of vegetables.

The third floor was a food court.

This was the stall we were looking for, Cafe Seng Kei（胜记咖啡）. They served Claypot Coffee, a Macau speciality and also toast bread.

When I figured out that I had missed out Macau claypot coffee after my previous trip, I planned it in this trip. But the coffee in Cafe Seng Kei was nothing special, just run of the mill. However we still enjoyed this local breakfast as the first stop of our Macau Food Marathon.

How could we miss out Lord Stow's Portuguese egg tart? Second stop of the day.

The egg tarts were still very delicious, the taste had not changed since my last visit.

Estb de Comidas Amagao 亞馬交餐廳
G/F, 25 Rua Ho Lin Vong R/C, Vila de Taipa
澳門氹仔何連旺街25號地下

Welcome 51A
View website

Lord Stow's Bakery 安德魯餅店
1 Rua da Tassara, Coloane Town Square
Coloane Island, Macau
路环岛路环巿中心挞沙街１号地下
Tel: (835) 2888 2534
7am-10pm daily except Wed 7am-6pm

China: ZhuHai Part II

2010-12-27T11:13:00.000+08:00

The nearest bus stand from our hotel was Xin Hai Da Xia(信海大厦).

Public bus in ZhuHai

The big windows gave a very good view of ZhuHai city.

The interior of the bus was very clean and spacious.

Breakfast was at ZhuHai's top restaurant, Jin Yue Xuan（金悦轩）.

This cosy restaurant served dim sum for breakfast, and seafood for lunch and dinner.

We were lucky to get a table next to the french window which offered panoramic sea view.

We started with our all-time favorite dim sum, shrimp dumpling(虾饺). The bite-sized dumpling had a very generous amount of well-cooked shrimps wrapped in thin and translucent skin.

The second dim sum after shrimp dumpling was meat dumpling(烧卖）, a dim sum not to be missed too. Basically, we would judge a dim sum restaurant with these two basic dim sum, shrimp dumpling and meat dumpling. If they could not make these well, most likely they would not be able to make others well.

Meat and chives dumpling

Their signature custard bun had very soft and fluffy bun skin and creamy salted egg custard as filling.

Layered bean curd skin was something new to me, but it was not disappointing.

The previous dish was a steamed bean curd sheet and this is a fried version of bean curd sheet.

We tried two different types of phoenix's feet. But honestly I could not recall the taste now. That is the problem blogging long-past events. :(

This dim sum is also not so common in Malaysia, beef balls.

Fried rice sheet rolls

Steamed flat rice sheet with ribs

Initially the two blanched vegetables were ordered to satisfy the two aunties. But all of us were pleasantly surprised because the vegetables were fresh, sweet and crunchy.

Sweet peanut snacks

Durian puff(榴莲酥)

The pastry was great, but the durian puree could be better if they were to use Malaysian durians. :p

The brunch was perfectly topped off with bird nest tarts as final dessert.

The dining experience at Jin Yue Xuan was satisfying. The restaurant, including the washroom (I am not going to elaborate more about the washroom, will leave that for the travelers to imagine or experience it. ;) ) was built and renovated to a very high standard. The dining area had a very good view, the dim sum was great and priced reasonable. We had no word of complaint and would not mind revisitng this restaurant again.

After brunch, we visited the statue of fisher girl(珠海渔女) which was the landmark of ZhuHai.

After that, we went to GongBei Port(拱北口岸） underground shopping plaza. The shopping plaza was linked to the boarder to Macau.

Inside the mall, there was a famous curry fish ball stall, Zhu Yuan(竹苑).

The assorted food on skews was really tempting. We grabbed what we desired, and the promoter dipped them in a boiling pot of curry.

Food from another angle

Some of the fish balls had fillings: the fish ball in the picture was stuffed with cheese filling. Yum yum.

Cai Die Xuan(采蝶轩）was a well-known bakery in the mall.

We bought half a dozen of highly-recommended portuguese egg tarts.

The red bean pudding, however was too disastrously hard and was a disappointment.

After shopping and eating, we proceeded to basement of the building, boarded a bus back to our hotel, checked out and returned to this place again.

The queue at the boarder to Macau was long.

Jin Yue Xuan 金悦轩
1-3 Floor,B, 265 Ri Hua Commercial Square,
Qing Lv Nan Lu,
Gong Bei, ZhuHai
珠海拱北情侣南路265号日华商业广场B区1-3楼

Zhu Yuan Fish Ball 竹苑鱼蛋
G1149, Gong Bei Underground Mall ,
ZhuHai
珠海拱北地下商场G1149

Cai Die Xuan 采蝶轩

B1 Gong Bei Underground Mall ,

ZhuHai

珠海拱北地下商场B1

China: ZhuHai Part I

2010-12-19T12:13:00.001+08:00

Continue reading from My ShenZhen Trip.

In less than one hour, we were transfered from ShenZhen's SheKou port(蛇口) to ZhuHai's JiuZhou port(九州港).

ZhuHai had no MRT but there was well-organised and sistematic public bus system. During our stay, we found no problem using their public bus at all. We reached HomeInn Jida Branch II(珠海吉大二店) and found their rooms to be the newest compare to other HomeInn hotels that we have stayed.

Our hotel was within walking distance from Zhuhai Department Store(珠海百货广场）and Zhuhai MianShui Shopping Centre(珠海免税商场).

When we saw Zkungfu(真功夫) at Zhuhai MianShui Shopping Centre, we went in for a late lunch.

Zkungfu was a franchise restaurant serving Chinese steamed fast food. Their concept, especially the set menu in display was pretty similar to McDonald.

Each set had a meat dish of your choice and came with a small plate of blanched vegetables, a small bowl of soup and one serving of white rice. We also ordered the add-on steamed egg. I do not usually fancy franchise restaurants but this restaurant had passed my standard.

roadside sweet potatoes stall

After lunch, we visited The New Yuan Ming Palace(圆明新园). The ticket was bought in GuangZhou(read more).

The Old Summer Palace(Yuan Ming Yuan) was once a great architectural building in Beijing, but unfortunately it was robbed and burnt down in 1860. Later, a reproduction of the imperial Yuanming Palace was built in ZhuHai.

the palace hall

one corner of the palace

An entertaining show

As usual, there were 2 grand performances at night.

performace 1

performance 2

It was 9pm when we reached our hotel's area and we could not find any restaurants for a late dinner. So we settled with this Hong Kong style dessert shop.

We ordered some desserts and they were just mediocre.

On the way back to hotel, we found this delicious Chinese baked flatbread(烧饼）.

Tomorrow, we were going to have very delicious dim sum for breakfast. Stay tune!

ZhuHai's JiuZhou port
View website

ZhuHai's public bus
View website

Zkungfu 真功夫
View website

The New Yuan Ming Palace 圆明新园
View website

3D2N A'Famosa Trip Part 3

2010-11-29T16:16:00.005+08:00

This morning, we had to check out from A'Famosa apartment.

The durian stall located just outside A'Famosa with very succesful marketing tactic, 1kg durian at RM1 .

But, we ended up having more expensive durian and the durian was no way close to Penang's durian.

Once we reached KL, we went to Restoran Wei Kee.

Restaurant Wei Kee was famous for its roast goose. The boss went all the way to Hong Kong for the recipe many years back.

I did not expect Wei Kee to serve so many delicious dishes, which made a wonderful lunch.

the hanging goose

our plate of goose

Pig's trotters with vinegar

stew salted vegetables(Chai Boey)

Boneless chicken feet salad/kerabu

After lunch, we went to KLCC PetroSains. It is an educational science discovery center where we spent a good 3 hours having fun while picking up some science knowledge. I am not going to elaborate much and I hope the pictures below will do a good job. If not, pay RM12 for adult and RM4 for children, and you will know better. :)

Allow me to fast forward to dinner time. :)
We were stucked in a tolerable traffic jam before we could reach Restaurant Ahwa for Dai Lok Mee. Many people would refer it as Jalan 222 Dai Lok Mee.

While waiting we had some food from other stalls, grilled fish and fried oyster omelette.

Finally the Dai Lok Mee arrived. It was so yummylicious especially with the crisp pork lard. I would say it was a dish to die for. When can I have my next plate?

The 3D2N A'Famosa Trip ended when we reached Penang at 12 midnight.

Restaurant Wei Kee
50, Lorong Yap Hin,
Off Jalan Pasar Pudu
Tel: 03-92218482
GPS Coordinates : N03º08' 9.7" E101º 42' 57.7"

66, Jalan 14/48
Petaling Jaya.
(directly behind the Shell station at Jalan 222)
GPS Coordinates : N3° 05.797’ E101° 37.778’

Restoran Ahwa Dai Lok Mee

3D2N A'Famosa Trip Part 2

2010-11-24T10:40:00.002+08:00

There are two famous foods that Tampin people is proud of, one is the Ah Ta Satay(read my previous post) and another one is Long Jiang Mian(龙江面). So the next morning, we visited Tampin town again for LJM. Tampin town is located along the Malacca-Negeri Sembilan boarder. Tampin town is governed by Tampin District Council, but a small part of it spills into the neighbouring Malacca state. There was a boarder signboard at Jalan Besar Pulau Serbang, unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it. Long Jiang Mian is a dried version of local noodles, closest comparison which I could think of is Sarawak Kolok Mee.

After breakfast, we drove back to A'Famosa Water World. The boy was so excited that he walked way in front of me.

Look at the long queue. It could not understand why it took us 15 minutes to enter the park. It should not be taking that long for A'Famosa workers to clear the queue.

After keeping our belongings in lockers, it was time for fun! We started with the wave pool.

...followed by some fun rides for kids.

....and the more scary rides for adults.

This was the photo taken while we were waiting for the chicken rice. The entrance tickets come with chicken rice. But the packed chicken rice took forever to be ready. I had read negative comments about the slow service in A'Famosa, so I was prepared for it. However, I think that A'Famosa management should seriously look into this matter.

In the afternoon, we drove to Malacca city. Warning, the remaining of this post was all about Malacca food. Get ready a napkin to wipe off your saliva. :) The first stop was Donald & Lily Nyonya Food near Jonker street.

The wall was painted with sharp and cheerful yellow.

We did not miss out their specialities, Cendol and Ayam Pongteh. Besides these two dishes, we also ordered Taukua Rojak Special, Mee Siam and Nyonya Laksa.

the Red House

Since we have visited Malacca for many times, we were not really interested in the tourism spots.

jonker street

We were a bit early for jonker street night market, so we visited the toy museum. Entrance fee was RM3/person. I did not enter the museum, therefore photos below were not taken by me.

We walked down the street and there was my favorite snack shop, San Shu Gong(三叔公). Their snacks might be a little pricey, but the quality is good. :)

Durian kochi(they have coconut kochi too)

Soon, it was time for dinner. We decided to have Malacca speciality, Satay Celup. You are not going to find this in other places. Capitol is the pioneer in Satay Celup. Needless to say, it was packed with customers! Most of them could not get a table. I took this photos when we were leaving. We were the first batch of customers, lucky us!

photos hanging on the wall were famous people who had visited the shop before

Assorted raw and semi-cooked food on skewers were nicely arranged. You choose what you want and pay what you eat.

bread and cucumber are perfect choices to go with the satay sauce

part of our selection

cooking our satay celup

Next, we went to Dong Mei Stall(东美挡), at the back alley along Jalan Bunga Raya. It was featured on Astro Taste With Jason(阿贤人情味) years ago, but we did not have a chance to try it.

Sorry for the poor picture quality as the stall was really located in a dark alley. It was a very simple stall, selling simple dishes with their special dipping sauce. Customers were to sit at the wooden stools besides the low tables.

clam

cockles

Bean Curd(Toufu)

Coming out from Dong Mei Stall, we spotted this Char Koay Kak(炒粿角).

A plate of Char Koay Kak

Do you think that was all for that night? No, I was not leaving Malacca before I covered Restaurant Barkat Roti John at Tanjung Kling. I missed it during my last trip. It was a great supper place for Roti John and Ayam Golek. There was still many customers even though it was already midnight.

Roti John stall, 1/2btg at RM2 and 1 btg at RM3.50.

My Roti John

Their Ayam Golek(Roasted Chicken) was good too, 1/2 chicken at RM8.50 and 1 chicken at RM16.

Ayam Golek

Restaurant Long Jiang Mian 龙江面
Jalan Perhentian,
Negeri Sembilan
GPS Coordinates: N02 28.036' E102 13.798'
View google map

Donald & Lily Nyonya Food
Off Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock
(Intersection of Jalan Kota Laksamana 5 and Jalan Kota Laksamana)
GPS Coordinates: E02 11.662 E102 14.811

Capitol Satay Celup
41, Lorong Bukit Cina,
75100 Melaka
GPS Coordinates : N02º11.710' E102º 15.137'

Dong Mei Stall 东美档
Lorong Bunga Raya
Melaka
Malaysia
016- 645 8108/012- 6011621

Restaurant Barkat Roti John
Pantai Puteri,
2175-2 Tanjung Kling
76400 Melaka
GPS Coordinates : N02º13.610' E102º 08.988'

3D2N A'Famosa Trip Part 1

2010-11-23T11:47:00.001+08:00

November and December are Malaysia school holidays. Therefore, I am going to suggest a family trip destination which I have covered last school holidays. It is the A'Famosa Theme Park and Resort located at Alor Gajah, Malacca.

It was a sunny morning when Ben10 started his journey to the south from Penang. :)

For lunch, we stopped by Yap Hup Kee(叶合记) at Off Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur.

This restaurant was suggested by my collegues, KK. He suggested two KL eateries to me, one is Yup Hup Kee and another one is Restaurant Ahwa Dai Lok Mee which we covered on our way back. According to him, this restaurant serves the best curry Chee Cheong Fun(aka steamed rice roll) and a good variety of Yong-Liu(aka Yong Tau Foo).

The curry Chee Cheong Fun did not disappoint us. Silky Chee Cheong Fun in a bowl of rich, fragrant and mild spicy curry, topped with some crunchy dried shrimps. For the Yong-Liu, it might not be the best I had tried so far, but the standard was definitely above average and we had a satisfying lunch.

After lunch, we continued our journey to A'Famosa. Once we reached there, we headed directly to Beverly Hills Condominium. We have booked 3D2N packages for 4 adults at RM832(including peak season surcharge), which have included 2 nights stay in a 2-rooms apartment, 4 adult tickets for Animal World Safari, Cowboy Town and Water World. As for the two little kids that tagged along, we bought child tickets for them on the spot, no extra charge for accomodation.

check-in counter

the small but compact living hall

the kitchen and dining table

Clockwise from left: master bedroom with two queen beds,

dressing table in master room, two single beds in second bedroom

It was a Friday, so we decided that we should go to Animal World Safari and keep Water World for Saturday. Our logic was water activity does not require to queue, so it is safe to cover it on a busy Saturday.

The little complaint I had was A'Famosa imposed parking fee to all its car parks. As a result, we had to pay 3 parking fees for 3 theme parks. Another alternative was to catch their shuttles between the accomodations and theme parks at RM1 per person per way.

A'famosa shuttle

One of the must-watch show in Animal World Safari is wild wild west show. For show time, please refer to their webpage(find link at the bottom of this post), they have a very informative page.

The kids were impressed by the show. It was an exciting show with realistic gun fires, explosions, fistfights and high-altitude falls.

Then we went to another two shows, multi animal show and bird show.

orang utans, birds and some other animals

elephant show

dotted deers

I did not expect a safari park adventure where we had to sit in a caged truck. After the truck entered two gates(double protection?), we saw wild animals like sunbears, tigers, lions etc next to our trucks. The kids were so scared that they dared not to move away from their seats. ;)

This was the caged truck, not too sure if we were visiting the animals or the other way round. :p

lazy crocodiles

lion

tiger

sunbear

deers

We left Animal World Safari after the caged truck's trip. Dinner was at Restoran Long Shin(龙城酒家） which was located at Tampin, 10 minutes drive from A'Famosa.

It was an air-conditioned restaurant.

We ordered 4 dishes, including a steamed Patin Fish(巴丁鱼). The price was reasonable as the total bill including drinks for 4 adults and 2 kids turned out to be RM60+. With the same price, I bet we could only get 6 plates of chicken rice with 6 cans of coke at A'Famosa.

Then, we went back to A'Famosa again for Cowboy Town.

The entrance ticket only covered Carnival, the rest was not free.

Red Indians performing the heady fire-blowing act.

Few tourists were invited to join the Red Indian's performance.

Parade by A'Famosa characters

We had the opportunity to shake hands with the characters. The kids enjoyed themselves.

The carnival ended with fireworks.

some firework shots

There was also a small fun fair to keep you entertained.

My all-time favorite entertainment, massage was also available, but it was too late to book a session.

Since we still have another mission to complete in another half an hour, we played few games of pool while we waited. We showed the kids how to play the game and were amused by their actions. It was so fun!

Then it was time to complete our mission. It was the much-hyped Ah Ta Satay which opens from 11.30pm-3am daily(note the unusual business hours). We reached there slightly before 11.30pm and we occupied the second table.

They also served Char Kuey Teow(fried local flat rice noodles).

Guess what, the customers have to D-I-Y their side dishes(onions and cucumbers) and self service the dipping sauces. Ridiculous? Not only that, when the stall was super-packed, the eagerly-waited customers would even help to grill the satays.

customers helped themselves to the dipping sauce.

satays on grill

Our plate of satays

side dishes and dipping sauce

the dull looking but delicious char kuey teow

I had 5-year Kajang Satay's experience and have been eating Penang char kuey teow for 6 years. ;) And I would say even with such comparisons, this little stall still worth a visit. But make sure you go there at 11.30pm or even earlier to avoid the long waiting time.

Yap Hup Kee(叶合记)
45, Jalan Brunei Barat Off Jalan Pudu 55100 Kuala Lumpur.
9am - 5pm, 5.30pm - 11pm(Off every alternate Tuesday)

A'Famosa
View website

Restoran Long Shin(龙城酒家）
Jalan Clonlee 2,
Taman Clonlee 2,
Tampin 73000,
Negeri Sembilan,
Malaysia
GPS Coordinates: N02 28.199' E102 14.231

Ah Ta Satay
Jalan Haji Zainuddin,
73009 Tampin,
Negeri Sembilan,
Malaysia

GPS Coordinates: N02 28.176' E102 13.785'

China: ShenZhen Theme Park Tour Part III

2010-10-11T08:57:00.000+08:00

The next morning, we went to BoYuan Restaurant(博园大酒楼) for dim sum. It was the fourth restaurants within walking distance from our hotel. Please refer to map below.

ZhuZiLin Restaurants Map

A - HomeInn Hotel（如家）

B - LaoJiaXiang Hu Nan Dish（老家乡湖南）

C - MuWu BBQ（木屋烧烤）

D - BoYuan Restaurant（博园）

E - BaiJiaWei Hakka Restaurant（百味佳)

The happiest news was to know that bill before 12noon would get a 20% discount. :)

Dim sum price was RMB3.8 for small(小点), RMB5.80 for medium(中点), RMB8.80 for big(大点), RMB9.80 for special(特点), RMB11.80 for top(顶点) and RMB14.80 for super(超点).

back page of the menu

interior of the dim sum restaurant

char siew pau aka sweet pork bun(叉烧包)

Farm fresh milk(牧场鲜牛奶)

Deep fried savoury triangle(安虾咸水角)

Cheese and Sweet Potatoes Tart(芝士番薯挞)

Char Siew Steamed Rice Roll(肠粉)

We made repeated order for Soy Sauce Chicken feet (豉油王凤爪). Yummy!

Then it was time for us to depart to ZhuHai(珠海). Our hotel was not very far from the SheKou jetty(蛇口) so we took a taxi which cost us about RMB50.

The ferry not only go to ZhuHai, it also cover to Macau, Hong Kong and even Hong Kong International Airport.

ticket counter

ShenZhen to ZhuHai(珠海), RMB95

Zhuhai was out next destination.

out tickets

drink and snack for the boat ride

the speed boat

BoYuan Restaurant 博园大酒楼

Yuan Bo Yuan Hotel 5-7th floor, ZiZhu Qi Dao, ShenZhen

福田区深南大道竹子林紫竹七道博园商务酒店5-7楼

China: ShenZhen Theme Park Tour Part II

2010-10-07T11:27:00.000+08:00

On the second day in ShenZhen, we visited the seafood street, LeYuan Rd(乐园路) for breakfast.

We found many seafood restaurants along the street.

Since it was for breakfast, we opted for the comparatively-less-heavy seafood porridge. But mind you it was not the ordinary porridge shop, it was the lengendary porridge shop in ShenZhen, JinDaoYuan(金稻园砂锅粥).

We were definitely too early because the restaurant was very empty. If not because of the good reviews in ShenZhen forum, I would not have entered an empty restaurant like this.

I followed the recommendation from the web and ordered porridge with prawn and crab. JinDaoYuan served living seafood.

selected prawn

selected crab

While waiting for our seafood porridge to be cooked, the restaurant served Kungfu tea(功夫茶).

tea art

After half an hour of waiting, our claypot porridge arrived.

I was speechless when I tried the first spoon! It was just awesome! This bowl of porridge had beaten Macau crab porridge hands down and become the new No.1 porridge in my rating. Don't forget to try it when you are in ShenZhen.

From Jin Dao Yuan, we walked to Dongmen old street(东门老街), another pedestrian street in China. I wonder if every city in China has a pedestrian street for shopping.

We was attracted by the crowd.

And we got ourselves a bowl of Zhongqin sour and spicy noodle（重庆酸辣粉).

the landmark in Dongmen

ShenZhen was a newly developed(compare with other cities in China) but rapidly grown city. A big part of its population was from other cities in China. Therefore, ShenZhen had developed many different but authentic cuisine restaurants. For this GuangDong trip(GuangZhou, ShenZhen and Zhuhai are all in Guang Dong region), I have tried to arrange as many cuisines as possible. LaoBeiFang Dumpling King(老北方饺子王) was picked for lunch. LaoBeiFang was famous for Northeastern Chinese cuisine.

appetizers

MaHua(麻花) aka fried dough twist

Liang Pi(凉皮) aka Chinese cold noodle

JiangJiaGu(酱骨架) aka ribs in spices

rib in hand, then in mouth :p

Vegetable in Soup(上汤娃娃菜)

It was said that all their vegetables was flown directly from Haerbin(哈尔滨). We did notice the different, the vegetable was fresh, crunchy and sweet.

The waitress told me that Hong Kong people like to order this sizzling fish. She thought that I was from Hong Kong. :)

We had to order dumplings since we were in a dumpling(水饺) restaurant. Lamb and beef dumpling were recommended.

complimentary watermelon

After lunch, we visited the second theme park in ShenZhen, Splendid China Miniature Scenic Spot(锦绣中华) and China Folk Culture Villages(中华民俗文化村).

It was a 2-in-1 theme park and the entrance ticket(RMB120) would allow you to enter both Splendid China and Culture Villages. Read more about my discounted voucher.

This theme park was built after Window of World with the similar concepts.

Spendid China reproduced famous China sceneries to miniature scenic spots while the the Culture Villages presented Chinese folk arts, customs and architectures to the tourists.

There was 3 great shows not to missed in this theme park, unparelleled hero(14:00 or 16:10), oriental dress(17:00) and Dancing with the Dragon and the Phoenix(19:30).

On the way to the theme park, we brought raisin toast and pipeapple toast at the MTR station. It was from Tian Mu Blue Bird Bakery, nice breads.

By the time we finished the last show, it was already 9pm. We were going to have late dinner again. Therefore, we have made sure we had good lunch and brought some light snakcs with us. So plan your meal accordingly.

This restaurant was only few doors away from our hotel. It was the nearest restaurant compare to the Hakka lunch and the barbecued meal. Lao Jia Xiang（老家乡) was serving Hun Nan cuisine(湖南菜).

We only ordered 3 dishes because we wanted to sleep early tonight after two busy days in ShenZhen.

The restaurant outsourced their dish cleaning job.

Hand-tear Cabbage (手撕包菜) RMB15, stir fried cabbage with lots of dried chillies

Farm House Stir Fried Pork(农家小炒肉) RMB15, stir fried pork stripes with lots of green chillies, spring onions and garlic

Minced Chilies Steamed Fish Head (剁椒蒸鱼头) RMB18, steamed fish with minced chillies and soy sauce.

All the 3 dishes had great chili aroma but not very spicy. We could not eat the dishes on its own as we found Hu Nan dishes a tad salty. But it was okay to eat with rice. Luckily we only ordered 3 dishes, else we would not to able to finish it.

JinDaoYuan Claypot Porridge 金稻园砂锅粥

99 LeYuan Road, ShenZhen

罗湖区乐园路99号(近中兴路)

LaoBeiFang Dumpling King 老北方饺子王

3034-2 JiaFang Road, ShenZhen

罗湖区解放路3034号2楼(近桂园路)

Splendid China and Culture Villages 锦绣中华民俗村

Visit Website

LaoJiaXiang Hu Nan Dish 老家乡湖南大碗菜(竹子林店)

ZhuZiLin San Xiang Home

福田区竹子林三湘人家旁(东方银座后侧)

China: ShenZhen Theme Park Tour Part I

2010-10-06T19:38:00.000+08:00

ShenZhen Metro Map(source)

This map does not show all the metro stations. For a complete map, please click on the source link. There are also many constructions on going in ShenZhen, do visit ShenZhen Metro Website for latest updates.

The high speed train from GuangZhou stopped at ShenZhen railway station which was connected to their Metro Station,LuoHu(罗湖站). From there, we took metro to our hotel which was strategically located next to ZhuZiLin station(竹子站). Another reason we picked this hotel because it was only 3 stations away from Window of the World(世界之窗） and 2 stations away from Splendid China/Culture Village(锦绣中华/文化村）.

The hotel's yellow sign, "如家快捷酒店", HomeInn Hotel was very easy to spot once we stepped out from the station. Yes, we stayed in another HomeInn branch, HomeInn ShenZhen ZhuZhilin branch(如家深圳竹子林店）. Since we have paid RMB40 for the member card, we wanted to make the most out of it. :)

Read more about HomeInn in my GuangZhou post.

the reception

Room View 1

Room View 2

common area at the level of our room

ZhuZhi(竹子) means bamboo in Chinese

Once we were done with hotel room, we headed straight to the lunch place. Luckily the planned lunch place was just 5 minutes walk from our hotel.

The restaurant was behind this China bank(中国光大银行). Even though it was in the same building, but there was not shortcut from here and we had to turn to the back of the building using the main road.

BaiWeiJia(佰味佳客家) was a restaurant serving delicious Hakka dishes.

appetizers

Most of our orders was from this menu page, the chef's recommendation.

The waitress was serving the farm pork soup(农家猪肉汤). The soup was very tasty and the serving was very big, good enough for 6 person.

We also ordered their shallot chicken(葱油鸡 ), which was not so commonly seen in other restaurants.

Three-cup Hakka duck(客家三杯鸭） was also a dish above average.

Almost every table would order this Claypot Bean Curd (生让豆腐煲).

Even though this was never the focus(we had all meat lovers in our groups), but it was nicely done too.

Big thumbs up for their rice too. I managed to finish one big bowl.

We were all astounded by the deliciousness of the dishes and cleared everything in no time.

Before we left, we saw other table with this Chinese bun, mantou(馒头) and it looked so tasty. So, we took away 1/2 dozen, one for each person.

The marketing of Window of the World said "You give me a day, I give you the world.(您给我一天,我给您一个世界)" and we were all attracted. The entrance ticket was RMB120, but we were giving some discount.(read more)

This 480,000sq meter theme park had over 130 world famous scenic spots. Are you scared by the numbers? Scare not, there were many types of transportation if you did not wish to walk a lot.

For example the overhead monorail train we took was charged at RMB20/person. The normal ground bus which we did not take was charged at another RMB20/person. But for RMB45/person, you would get both plus the ticket to the top of Eiffel tower. For tourists who like to stop and take pictures frequently, self-drive double seats electronic car would be a better choice. Price was not cheap, RMB50/0.5hour, RMB90/hr and RMB150/2hrs for weekdays, and weekend price was even higher.

At the end of the day, 7pm(time may vary according to season, double check with the ticket counter), there would a grand entertaining performance on an open stage near the entrance. Again, the good seats were not free. I think they were making good money besides the entrance ticket.

Many might question how long to spend in Window of the World. I had the same question myself before the trip. But at the end, I decided to enter the theme park after a good lunch(2-3pm) and leave after the night performance(8-9pm). That was already like 6 hours in the park. We spent 3 hours visiting the scenic spots and managed to finish almost all of them. Then it was getting dark(time may vary according to season) and we had to stop. Unless you want to have a very in-depth visit to cover all the small performances as well, else I feel that there is no need to spend one whole day in the park. We took some rest, finished off the Chinese bun(and some snacks too) while waiting at the open stage .

The pyramid of Louvre, France was actually the Metro exit.

Dinner(to be precise, supper) was 15minutes walk from our hotel. We felt that it was a bit far compare to the lunch we had, but we had no regret after we tried it. :)

It was very dark and quiet outside Dong Yuen Bo(东园博), but it was a totally different world inside.

Mu Wu BBQ(木屋烧烤) was one of the restaurant in Dong Yuen Bo(东园博).

We were served groundnut once we were seated.

This open air restaurant had very good business.

Enlarge to read the menu and price if you can read Chinese. If not, you could just follow what I had ordered. :)

Not everybody like to prepare barbecued food and clean the mess after the party. And not everybody like to sweat in front of the charcoal fire and end up eating some burnt outside but rare inside meat.

Therefore I was totally convinced by the concept of this restaurant, where customers could sit back and enjoy perfectly barbecued food at hawkler price. At Mu Wu BBQ, everything could be barbecued, meat, seafood, vegetables or even Chinese bun.

As expected, my dad(~~a very health conscious man~~) did not show his interest when he saw the menu, so I ordered a plate of fried rice for him. But surprisingly he enjoyed the barbecued food very much, especially the barbecued lamb, until the fried rice was left unattended. By now, do I still have to explained how tasty the food was? I hope my dad is not going to read this. :p

The barbecued Chinese bun(烤馒头) had some very crispy skin with sesame, but was very soft inside.

Barbecued chives(烤韭菜)

Barbecued mushroom (烤香菇)

This was a real surprise, barbecued lamb. 烤羊排 Luckily few of our members did not take lamb, so we could have more. ;)

The barbecued oyster(烤生蚝) had a very special sauce on top.

Barbecued eggplant(烤茄子)

Tender and juicy barbecued pork(烤里脊肉)

barbecued fish(烤鱼)

Barbecued food paired with beer

I had to admit that I was never a fan of beer. But that very night, I made the suggestion to order beer.

The next table was a basketball team who had lost their game. They were a bit drunk, making all sort of noise to release their disappointment. I was not annoyed, at all. I knew I was in a very good mood.

BaiJiaWei Hakka Restaurant ZhuZhiLin Branch 佰味佳客家钵仔菜(竹子林店)

18 China Ever-Bright Bank Building Second-Floor North, ZiZhu Qi Dao
福田区竹子林光四路紫竹七道18号光大银行大厦2楼北座

木屋烧烤(园博园店)

29-30 Yuan Bo Yuan, ZhuZhiLin Si Road
福田区竹子林四路园博园东门商饮一条街29-30号

Visit website

Window of the World 世界之窗

Visit website

China: GuangZhou Part IV

2010-09-19T12:12:00.001+08:00

It was the last morning we had in GuangZhou. How could we leave GuangZhou without savouring the famous Cantonese dim sum?

So, we walked to Tao Tao Ju(陶陶居), one of the dim sum legend at Shang Xia Jiu.

promotion for lunch

swimming seafood, for lunch also.

The restaurant was full to brim even before 8am. It was the Cantonese culture to share table in a restaurant. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Therefore, we shared a table with other customers too. :)

the menu

The restaurant still used the nostalgic dim sum carts.

some of the dim sum that we had

Cantonese porridge

Generally the dim sum was above average. But since we had tried better dim sum later in this trip, therefore we could not say this was the best dim sum. The dim sum was not expensive for 6, We only spent RMB159 for a very heavy dim sum breakfast.

While we were walking back to our hotel, we bumped into the long queue at Huang Shang Huang(皇上皇). Later we found out they were queuing for the limited preserved meat promotion.

the preserved meat（腊味)

We did not join the queue, but we bought some of their mini bakkwa aka Chinese BBQ meat.

There were 7 types of mini bakkwa, all at the same price. So we could mix all different flavours and pay according to the weight.

Then, we checked out our hotel and took MTR to GuangZhou East Railway Station(广州东站).

From there, we took high speed Harmony train(和谐号）to ShenZhen. The first class ticket was sold at RMB95 and the second class we took was sold at RMB75.

I would also like to share an incident happened at Guang Zhou railway station. There was a gentleman-looking guy approached us when we were searching for the harmony train counter. He was wearing a tag so we thought he was the officer in this railway station. Once we told him that we wanted to take harmony train to Shen Zhen, he told us that the ticket was selling fast today. He immediately guided us to the ticket counter and helped us to get the tickets. He was so helpful that he also sent us to the entrance. Before we could say thank you and bid good bye to him, he asked for a Malaysia note as a "souvenior". My dad opened his wallet and wanted to give him a small note. He asked very politely at the very right timing," Can I have two red notes?" It was so fast that we could not react and my dad gave him what he wanted. We discussed in the train and concluded that he was the permanent "officer" in the station waiting for tourists like us. From then on, we never talk to any stranger in a foreign bus station or railway station and we were safe. But we noticed similar "officers" in many stations.

the high speed Harmony train

The second class cabin was 3+2 seat, while the first class cabin was 2+2 seat.

the train cafeteria menu

Tao Tao Ju Restaurant 陶陶居酒家
22, Dishipu Road, Guang Zhou 荔湾区第十甫路20号

Huang Shang Huang Preserved Meat 皇上皇腊味店
3, Xia Jiu Road, Guang Zhou 荔湾区下九路3号