D'Laksa @ IOI City Mall

The 'Food Junction' foodcourt at the top floor of IOI City mall. It looks different from a few years ago.

These days, it’s common to see stalls selling malatang, Chinese Muslim (halal) food, and Indonesian ayam gepuk. Gone are the days of mixed rice and local fried dishes.

Nothing really appeals to me. So I went to AEON supermarket food court to continue my food hunt.

aha....D'Laksa!

Ordered a combo of asam laksa with cendol drink.

Waited for 10 minutes coz the staff was busy preparing for a large Grabfood 'delivery order'.

Both the asam laksa and cendol were just so-so....

The broth is not that spicy and abit diluted compared to last time.

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There are a lot of other outdoor eateries with bistro-style & alfresco dining in IOI City Mall. These are mostly open at noon until late night (for bistro) which caters for the nearby hotel tenants. Before the pandemic, I used to have team dinner at this place. It was quite happening at night.

The pattern on the ceiling looks like a long snake. Don't you think so?

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Braised chicken drumstick, tofu and egg with rice. Bought from the weekly pasar malam. Quite big portion. Taste good too. 

This stall also sells lu rou fan (minced pork rice).

Will buy this again.

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Unagi (eel) with omelet rice from AEON supermarket. Can't remember the exact price (somewhere between RM10-14) but still it is way cheaper than dine-in in Japanese restaurant where a bowl of unagi rice would usually costs above RM30.

will definitely buy this again😀

Treasure Isle Hotel, British Virgin Islands

I arrived in BVI on Friday, 13 February, after a flight of less than an hour from Sint Maarten. A colleague from the BVI office picked me up from the airport. He is also a friend of Mr. Nice Guy (if you remember him from my previous posts). 

The airport is quite small and there isn't a proper arrival hall with benches for people to sit while waiting for arrivals.

Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport is located in Beef Island, about 40 minutes' drive from Road Town in Tortola island.

After some long and winding road across the hilly islands, I reached the capital of BVI around noon. It is a small town with population of a few thousands, mostly resides on the hills. It has shops, restaurants, banks, offices just like a typical neighbourhood town in KL.

Went straight to the office and then by 3pm, left to the hotel for check-in.

My colleague who picked me from the airport was kind enough to send me to the hotel.

The room is huge...with a king size bed that can fit 3 people.

Not any fancy modern hotel, just a typical one with basic amenities.

Shampoos, lotions and soaps replenished on daily basis.

Ah, it has hair dryer. Good! I can use this to dry my clothes.

This hotel has no laundry service, hence I gotta do my own laundry, washing and drying in the room. Well, the weather is hot over there, hence the clothes can dry quite fast, if not I'll use the hair dryer to blow dry them.

Coffee machine with coffee and teas provided on daily basis.

The swimming pool which I hardly see anyone swim. Next to it is the hotel cafeteria/restaurant.

Across the road, you can see the yachts and a Caribbean cruise ship docking. The cruise ship left after a few days and another one arrived.

There's a bus stop right outside the hotel. Yes, there’s a free shuttle available, but I haven’t taken it before. Just not interested to wait for one under the hot sun.

Sint Maarten

[Throwback February]

There are no direct flights from Panama to the BVI, so a connection is required—typically via San José, Sint Maarten, Barbados, or Miami. I chose to transit through Sint Maarten as it felt like the safest option, especially since my manager had been there before.

It was a three-hour flight to Sint Maarten on Copa Airlines, and I arrived at their bright international airport around noon.

Sint Maarten, part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch side), is a country on the southern part of a Caribbean island shared with Saint Martin, a French overseas territory. The airport is located at the Dutch side.

I spent a night in Sint Maarten before the connecting flight to BVI the next morning. There's only one flight available to BVI daily (which is in the morning).

The hotel check-in is only available at 3pm, hence I hangout the check-in hall where the restaurants/food court is located to have my brunch and to enjoy the free wifi. This airport is quite small and basic like our previous LCCT (even smaller than that) but it is well-maintained and clean.

The taxi rates are fixed from airport to various spots in the island. Good that they have these rates fixed to prevent touts. 

After checked-in the hotel, I walked and then took a 'bus' to Maho beach to watch plane landing/take-offs. It is a popular spot for plane watch. You can view some videos in Wiki.

Maho beach is located at the other end of the airport. 

As I stayed nearby the airport too, I walked around the airport on my way back. Halfway walking, I hopped onto the local bus (which is actually a van) to get back. The ride costs USD1 per person.

Reached hotel before the skies turn dark. Ventured around the vicinity to find food for dinner and I discovered a Chinese restaurant....The menu looks familiar, with some East Indies influence.

I saw a young Chinese lady at the counter, speaking English that sound like Manglish/Singlish kinda accent. She was interacting with the black Caribbeans, and those people were so 'loud' (sorry, not being rude, but they talked and laughed so hard that's so annoying). I think that's the way they chill. They were having liquor, so probably abit drunk too.

As I was placing my order in English, she looked at me and asked if I'm ethnically Chinese which I said yes. Then, she asked if I can speak Cantonese to my surprise. Definitely yes! It has been some time since I last spoke Canto with anyone in that region. Having someone who can speak a familiar lingo in a foreign land definitely cheer up my day.

I learned that she is from Taishan in Guangdong and has been working in Sint Maarten for over 10 years at this family-run restaurant owned by her relatives. She was curious too as to why a single Asian lady like me was in Sint Maarten😂

I had Chinese fried rice with sweet & sour chicken. It was yummy. The fried rice has wok-hei, tastes authentic like those you can find only in Chinese daipaidong.

There are many types of sauces and seasonings on the table, but I don't need any of them. The fried rice and the sweet & sour chicken itself are already flavorful.

This is the restaurant. Authentic Cantonese style food. It also functions as a pub as it sells liquor at the bar counter.

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Back at my hotel, I stayed just across the airport. From the balcony, I could see planes parked on the tarmac. There were no arrivals or departures after 6pm, so everything was quiet at night.

The next morning, I was up early to check-out at 7am. Reached the airport for my morning flight.

Princess Juliana International Airport. Princess Juliana was a Dutch royal who later became queen, and the airport is named after her because she visited the island during WWII when the airport first opened.

The view of the airport tarmac, with Caribbean Sea at the background.

I took Winair flight to BVI. It is a smaller aircraft (bus size) which could fit roughly 20 passengers. Free seatings.

The view of the sea from above.

Clear blue sea....

My first time taking a small aircraft. It was just a 45-minute flight. This kind of light aircraft can easily be blown away if fly under a bad weather (thunderstorm). Now I understand why there's only morning flight.

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Fast forward end of February. I transited back to Panama on Copa Airlines. Similar view but on a bigger plane.

Plenty of yachts scattered across the island.

ah, beautiful Caribbean Sea😍

Hope to be back soon!

Mr. Chen

Who is Mr.Chen?

Apparently this Mr.Chen is a popular Chinese fast-food outlet in Panama.

The menu ranges from chow mein, chow fun, chop suey and fried rice as well as some beef and chicken dishes.

Click on the picture to view the menu.

The combos.

I wasn't keen on having combos, hence I ordered only the chow mein. Was given a sachet of tomato sauce and soy sauce to eat with the chow mein. Soy sauce is alright, but tomato sauce? Who eats chow mein with tomato sauce?

Quite a huge portion, but taste is just so-so. Can't expect much from a fast-food chain. Definitely no wok-hei, it is just some simple fried noodles with cabbages and char siew.

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Next to the stall is Chicken Factory, which is also quite a popular chain brand, specializes in grilled chicken steak with local sides like patacones, yuca (cassava), sancocho (soup)....

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Local cooling desserts....shaved ice with syrups, also known as raspado, similar to our ais kacang but without the nuts.

Another stall, but I'm not sure if he is selling malteadas or raspado coz malteadas is milkshake which is cream based, but this one has shaved ice.

Not far from these stalls, there is a dog park/playground. There is a small entry fee to get in.

The dog park.

[Below] A food cabin....for those who prefer to dine alfresco style. It is usually windy at night with sea breeze.

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During the day, weather was hot, it hardly rains and the trees barely survive....look at the drying leaves and the yellow grass.

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I prefer to stay at home in my comfy aircond room than roaming outside.