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 to go outside. I prefer evening or night walk (*which I did for the past 2 days).

The artsy carpet nearby the lift.

The club lounge is also located here. But it was empty in the morning. I think it only opens during the evening.

Here you can enjoy the same view while having drinks.

Meanwhile, on the other side (facing south), Keppel Harbour is clearly seen.

Tanjong Pagar area....

The hotel gym is located on the 3rd floor, right next to the cafeteria. Just a small gym with basic equipment.

And it has apples too. Drinking water and towel are provided. I think it has become a norm for upscale hotel to provide apples in the gym😀

The swimming pool is located nearby the gym. Nothing fancy, just a mediocre size pool.

[Below] Ground floor lobby. It has 2 entrances, one is facing Gopeng Street, and the other Tanjong Pagar Road. I like its sleek interior with marble floor and walls.

Most of the tenants here are professionals on business trip with offices at the nearby CBD.

During my check-in, there were a bunch of pilots and cabin crew from a German airline checking-in too. I feasted my eyes with those tall handsome angmo pilots....lol!😂

SG trip

It's year end again and time for celebration and makan makan in the office.

I was invited to join the SG office Christmas party....together with my teammates. However, they couldn't attend so I'm the only representative from MY😁

Had breakfast in Burger King KLIA2. Long time since I last had it.

Ordered the set and changed the carbonated drink with a bottled drinking water.

I had Whopper Jr instead coz i couldn't stomach down a huge Whopper burger in the morning.

After all, had already booked my 'early lunch' in the flight.

My early lunch:

Chicken briyani from Air Asia 'Santan'.

Taste alright, not spicy but was served piping hot...fresh out of the microwave. The curry chicken was boneless chicken breast meat and quite flavorful. The other dish is eggplant but cooked till soft in curry paste, abit squashed too. But it was good.

Touched down Changi Terminal 4 around noon.

There are a number of e-hailing ride services available here with discount code. Taxis are also available and aplenty waiting right outside the exit when I arrived. Quite convenient as you don't have to walk far from the arrival hall.

I took a taxi straight to the office. Seeing that I don't have much luggage (just 2 bags), the taxi uncle asked if I was there to send someone off and now heading back to the office😂

Taxi ride from Changi T4 to office in CBD area costs SGD23.60 on a weekday noon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Boss wasn't in the office, but I stayed there until 6pm then walked over to the hotel for check-in. Last year, after I complained of the hotel that he booked (in Chinatown), he finally booked a better one this time...indeed way nicer. It is within walking distance from the office, at a quieter road but convenient to go around with MRT station nearby.

A view from the hotel room. You can see Chinatown (on the left) and CBD (on the right).

I stayed at 26 floor (out of 29), hence the view is unobstructed.

Spacious room with a king size bed....

There is a huge bathtub with glass window overlooking the room. Well, you can roll down the window shade if you are 'shy'. But since I'm staying alone, let it be. I will post more pictures of this hotel in another post.

[Below] Sunset view from the room.

It turns dark around 7pm++

Next morning, sunrise....

Good morning Singapore!

It was a pleasant stay despite only 2 nights.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flew back to KL on Saturday.

I booked my lunch on the flight back....this time I had nasi lemak.

Served with boneless rendang chicken, sambal and all the basic condiments in a nasi lemak, except cucumber.

Tastes excellent!

 Well, you'll never go wrong with nasi lemak from Air Asia or MAS. They both have superb nasi lemak.

So far, I have tried Air Asia chicken rice, nasi lemak and briyani....hmmm....what's next?😋

Free Birthday Meal & Sofuto

December - my favorite month of the year....coz it is year end and also my birthday month with lotsa freebies and celebration.

Just like last year, I purposely went to Ole Ole Bali (in IOI City Mall) to claim my birthday meal...

It is completely FOC without having to purchase anything.

Just walk in (on your b'day), show your IC and they will serve you this huge tray of 'Balinese nasi campur'.

It has grilled fish, grilled squid, prawn, rendang chicken (or beef), kangkung belacan, tempe, sate lilit, sambal and a huge piece of keropok/cracker.

I have tried the beef rendang last year, so this time i tried the chicken.

a satisfying meal indeed......I will be back again on next year😀

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After done with makan and shopping, headed over to Family Mart to claim my free sofuto....

Belgian dark chocolate sofuto is back!

It is a seasonal flavor.....so i definitely had that😋

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Christmas decor in IOI City Mall....pink and purple-ish theme....look very familiar, probably they recycle these from the previous years.

Lai Foong Lala Noodles

Went to the city to run errand and had my lunch in the late afternoon after done with my errand.

Saw this lala noodles (with Michelin recommendation stickers) in Jalan Sultan, so went in without much hesitation.

Ordering is done via QR code. Not many customers in this shop but lotsa delivery orders (Grabfood, Foodpanda etc) at the table outside.

It took awhile for my noodles to arrive, somewhere around 20 minutes.

The broth is flavorful with umami taste from lala, wine and also ginger. Something different from the usual noodles that I had, but of course the price is different too....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BookXcess RexKL

My first visit to BookXcess....it is located on the upper floor of the old Rex Cinema in Jalan Sultan. During my schooling days, this old Rex Cinema was still operating though many preferred the much comfortable & newer GSC or TGV. Back then, a student price ticket was only RM2 (or RM3)....It was so darn cheap.

I wonder how many people came here genuinely to buy books?

most of them are here for photo shooting...I even saw a fella with his graduation robe....

Do you still read physical books?

Some books are just so out-of-reach....how to browse?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Below] A pre-war building standing tall and strong...

A mix of old and modern buildings....I wonder why they don't repaint the facade? It looks so scary and haunted 😐

Merdeka 118 - the world's second tallest building.

Breakfast - Day 2 @ Wings Croske Hotel, Langkawi

On my second day, I went down slightly later, knowing that the food will never runs out due to its low occupancy rate😂

I had:

Carbonara pasta, hams, sausages, curly fries and baked beans

Nasi lemak, but this time with white santan rice. I noticed they change the rice colour/type on different days:

First day - nasi minyak (yellow)

 Second day - santan rice (white)

Third day - pandan rice (green),

Fourth day - blue pea rice, perhaps?

Then, the tomato rice became briyani rice, but served with the same chicken rendang and papadam.

No char kuey teow today, but instead they have mee goreng. This got me guessing what they are going to fry the following day....meehoon?

Some pastries

Tasty food, my favorite is mee goreng and nasi lemak😋

BON APPETIT!

Laman Padi Langkawi

Laman Padi Langkawi is an open-air museum exploring the history of rice cultivation, with guided tours provided. Inside the compound, there is a Malay restaurant known as Kerisik where diners can enjoy their meals overlooking the paddy field.

Here's the sunset view from the bridge. Lush greeneries of the paddy and coconut trees.

The restaurant is quiet on a weekday evening. While I was there, they played Malay oldies from the P.Ramlee era...what an ambience.

Paddy field as seen from the entrance of Laman Padi.

'Kampung' vibes....

diners can also choose to dine in these huts, by sitting on the floor.

Not far from the restaurant, there is an indoor museum, but it was closed for renovation😅

However, they still accept advance booking on guided tour.

[Below] These are scarecrows (orang-orang) dressed in colorful baju kurung Kedah. They are so well-maintained and dressed better than me😂. Some even have make-up done.

The head is made of coconut husk. I noticed each orang-orang has a name tag, although the name sounds very modern😂

I prefer to call them Minah, Sarimah or some Malay-ish name.

They are everywhere...looking 'cute' but also creepy at the same time.

Despite, their baju kurung looks pretty and new....I wonder where to buy them😊