Monday, January 29, 2018

Hong Kong, Day 3 - Part 1 (Noon)

Continuation from previous post
The following day after our 'jam-packed' Macau trip, we decided to have a leisure & slow pace day....We woke up quite late and started our journey with our first meal - Roast Goose rice! 
We leisurely walked to Kam's Roast Goose restaurant, located at Hennessy Rd, which is just a few steps away from where we stayed.
The queue was long coz it was a weekend, but I happily queue and enjoyed the street scene, observing the activities of the locals and nearby business!
Yes, this is another Michelin star restaurant that we gonna try....
they have a 'systematic' queue system despite being done manually. The person who coordinates this is so efficient as to not let others wait too long & to maximize their business.
Here's the interior...all seats were taken up. We shared a table with a few couples from mainland China (very typical Chinese coz they ordered lavishly!)
staffs were busy taking orders & preparing the dishes
here was my order, just a simple one...
tastewise ok, i think it is over-rated as i could get better ones elsewhere. Plum sauce was mildly sweet, but is was nice.
after our 'breakfast', we took the MTR to Central and have our second meal - Beef Brisket noodle!
And queue again...in front of this shop - Kau Kee Beef Noodle restaurant.
We ordered Beef brisket with ee-fu noodles
and Curry beef tendon noodle...
both were good, but i prefer the curry noodle, due to its flavorful beef tendon!
After our second meal, we were too full to fit in more food...so we had a walk....
Our trip this time is to cover those places that we did not manage to visit last time...
One of it is Man Mo temple. This temple is graded as a Grade I historic building since 1993 and is one of the oldest temple in HK island.
i was surprised that this place is quite popular among the photographers & Instagramers....
yea, many people thronged here to have a good picture of its interior!
the sun ray added some touch to its 'oriental feel'
wishlists!
the giant jossticks....
since we were already in Hollywood road, we walked quite abit to hunt down these wall arts!
these are scattered all around in alleys and back lanes!
some were nice, some just so-so,
but they added colors to those old buildings.
we then walked up the hills (yes, very steep hill)
and visited the PMQ which is a former Police Married Quarters
the complex has now become some sort of hangout place for hipster
the current PMQ now houses a number of cafeterias, restaurants and boutiques.
NEXT is to visit......hmmnn...let me see....
Man Mo Temple - checked!
Gough Street - checked!
PMQ - checked!
Central Mid Levels Escalator - checked!
ok, left Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Museum....
the museum is located further up the hill, in this colonial looking building...
The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Museum - formerly a mansion for the rich Mr. Ho Kom Tong 
the Victorian style interior
this is the main hall in the first floor
a statue of Dr. Sun at the side entrance.
the museum displays a number of written documents, agreements and even Dr. Sun's exam results during his studies in HK College of Medicine!
there are also audio rooms in the upper floors where you can watch some historic documentaries of him.
Well, if you are interested in history, u'll find this place educational.
when we left, it was already 5pm....

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Spicy Seafood Deopbab in Mi Na Rae

I believe most of you have already know this place as i have blogged about it numerous times...This is my fav spot to get my Korean food fix....
This time i ordered spicy seafood deopbab...
the spicy seafood dish consists of prawns, calamari rings, cabbage, chives...
 quite appetising....and it comes with a generous servings of 10 banchans and a bowl of seaweed soup!
all for the price of RM20++ (can't remember the exact figure, has disposed the receipt!)

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Cute stuffs and recent lunches

Our office recently has some sort of 'Angel & Mortal' game (click here for explanation & example of the game: http://www.creativeyouthideas.com/resources/game-ideas/angels-and-mortals/).
Basically everyone is assigned with a random 'Mortal', and your identity as 'Angel' is confidential. The Angel has to anonymously bless their Mortal with encouragement note, gifts or whatever-that-you-can-tink-of...so here are what I've got from my Angel....
 some cute stuffs!
Ok, on another note, the below are updates of my recent lunches....
One day, my colleague from another block called and decided to bring me to this roadside warung...to have Malay economy rice.
I had nasi tomato with salted egg, chicken chunks, sambal - all for only RM5!
 can't expect much from a roadside stall, but it was good enuff to fill up my hungry stomach...
The following day, another colleague from a different block texted me for lunch. So off we went to the factory area in Seri Kembangan and had this Kungpao chicken rice with sunny side up egg topping - RM7.
yea, my colleagues are all scattered across different blocks despite in the same team.
The only time we see each other was during lunch time (and meetings!)

Monday, January 22, 2018

Macau, Day 2 - Part 4 (Late Evening)

After Taipa, we adjourned to the Venetian...
this place is huge....it is impossible to explore the entire area within hours
anyway, we spent more time in the casino/hotels/shops inside the building since we were not interested on the exterior
the colorful & patterned facade provides a great background for photography
but not much people taking pictures here...
I tink people are more fascinated with the golden and luxurious interior inside these buildings
just look at the shiny floors...it made me dizzy as I thought I would fall
it's always daytime in here
this section is modelled after Venice, Italy
yes, there is gondola ride, but we did not try them out.
As we explored further, we saw this Victorian-style looking lobby....
Basically all shops in Venetian sells branded items....sort of our KL Starhill or Pavillion....
but since we are not high-end shoppers, we only glanced thru and walk away....
took another shuttle bus to Galaxy Macau to watch their 'Fortune Diamond Fountain' show
it was so mesmerizing & soothing to watch the fountain with coloured lights that changes every seconds
Galaxy Macau is another huge casino/hotel around the vicinity
just look at the replica....the size is almost equivalent to our Genting Highlands, spanning a few blocks!
I just can't get enuff of looking at the replica, to be amazed with its huge size!
After then, we took another free shuttle bus to Wynn Macau, hoping to catch their outdoor fountain show.
Yes, we managed to reach before the scheduled timing, but it was all quiet....No people, no fountain.
What happened?
The hotel staff told us that they are running short of electricity, hence no fountain show on that day :-(
aiseh, no luck to watch 'Live'....so go home watch You Tube lah!

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Macau, Day 2 - Part 3 (Evening)

Continuation from previous post
From the Venetian, we took a public bus to a small village down south - Coloane.
Alighted in front of  'Lord Stow Bakery' hoping to get a taste of its Portuguese egg tart.
Unfortunately the shop was closed...
We were shocked to learn about this coz it should be open 'Daily' as stated on its website....
The staff told us that it is closed for cleaning (after the typhoon) coz there were no water & electricity for the past 2 days.
We were about to leave with disappointment....
but then.....she told us that there is a café that is opened....which is jst a few steps away
Great!
so, it wasn't closed entirely!
we found our way to the café, grab a seat and ordered these - ice lemon tea and tarts....for our desserts!
delicious looking Portuguese egg tarts!
while we were there, lotsa tourists/patrons came to buy egg tarts in bulk!
Brisk business in this outlet, these customers might have been directed by the staffs (from the original bakery) to get their tarts here, I tink...
The tarts were indeed good, creamy egg custard with flaky crust...freshly out from stove! so aromatic!
most customer here are foreigners - Korean, Japanese...only a few locals
after a cooling drink and satisfied dessert, we went out for a walk
along the coast ....
It was a sunny day but perfect for photo taking
we strolled along 'Av.de Cinco de Outubro' (according to Google map)
and see some typhoon aftermath ruins....yes, we got to see not just the Ruins of St Paul, but also ruins of Coloane!
fallen trees and debris everywhere...
Since we can't get in, we walk thru the back alley to check if it brings us anywhere...
most shops in the back alley were closed too....I tink the electricity has yet to be restored...And they only started to get water supply earlier that day, hence the locals were busy cleaning their premise...
In one of the church, the 'sisters' were busy washing and cleaning the furniture and floor
these century-old trees couldn't withstand the strong wind and fell onto the building (tis place has been cordoned off). I was there illegally!
this is how calm the sea looks like on a normal day...
Not sure what this building is, but it's architecture resembles some old buildings in Shanghai....
it has occupants (could be hotel or homestay?) but it was all dark inside when I peeped in....
after done with sight-seeing, we took a bus to Taipa (north of Macau island)
This quaint staircase leads us to the Taipa Houses Museum
as Taipa is situated nearby the Venetian, you can see the gigantic hotels/casinos afar from the hill...
and a garden nearby
Taipa & the casinos are bordered with a huge swamp area
the swampy pond
the entrance to Taipa House Museum is FOC, here you will see 5 houses which have been converted into house museum/gallery/souvenir shops. They are 'Macanese Living Museum’, ‘Exhibitions Gallery’, ‘Creative Casa’, ‘Nostalgic House’ and ‘House for Receptions’ (see http://en.macaotourism.gov.mo/sightseeing/sightseeing_detail.php?c=2&id=27#.Wl9CQOTHPIU for details)
tastefully painted in green
 the house museum
inside the house, you'll see a display of olden days Portuguese house furniture
which is exactly like some kind of 'show house'
 From there, we made our way to 'Rua do Cunha', which is a pedestrian street in Vila da Taipa, the town centre of Taipa.
We saw this shop selling local street foods for half price.
and decided to try this out - beef offal!
it was served hot & boiling from their huge pot...
we also tried their milk tea....all for half price!
we were curious as to why all items were priced at half price that day...
Their staff explained that they are doin charity deeds for the locals as most people do not have food to eat during the past 2 days (without water & electricity)....such thoughtful!
one of the Tai Lei Loi Kei outlet nearby the area...
and some colonials building that reminds me of Penang....
the pedestrian walkway are full of shops selling snacks and souvenirs...
 same franchises can be seen in other tourist spots in Macau.
to be continued...

Carlton City Hotel, Singapore

A view taken from the hotel rooftop floor on a Saturday morning. Clear skies with clouds. Nice weather throughout the morning. But too hot t...