Half Island Barbados Tour

Barbados is a Commonwealth country with predominantly English speaking population consists of black, multi racial mix, white and Indian. Despite located in the Caribbean, it's not difficult to blend into their culture. They gained independent from the British around the time as our country too (late 1950s-60s). It is now a Republic country, and still adapting many practices as an ex-Brit colonial, such as driving direction, schooling system, judiciary etc.

Due to its multiracial influences, their cuisine is a mix blend of African, Indian, Irish, Creole and British influences. 

It's not difficult to find spicy food here....the Barbadian hot chili sauce and Indian curry can be easily found.

Here's my typical workday lunch from the one-and-only cafe situated next to the office - The Coffee Bean.

I usually have wraps for lunch. I have tried all sorts of wraps - smoked salmon, jerk chicken...

but this time I tried crab salad wrap.

It came with mango chutney which tastes like jam, but i prefer to just eat the wrap without chutney.

Opening the wrap just to let u see what's inside😉

Me & colleague were seated in a room with sharing table facing the window. We can see the weather outside very well.

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It rains almost daily, several times per day...The below picture was taken on my way back to the apartment. It is one of their local house with parking lot. Yea, some of their houses don't have fence. I noticed their car plate number looks very much like ours...but nope, that car is not from Malacca...lol!

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During one of the weekend, a kind senior colleague (a local Barbadian) offered to give us a tour on the island.

Barbados is just a small island country smaller than the size of SG and population of less than 300k people. This island can be easily toured by car in just one day, depending on the weather. If it doesn't rain too heavy and the road doesn't flood, then this is possible to achieve.

Anyway, on the day of our outing, it was cloudy with occasional drizzle. We started off from Christchurch area up towards north, passing by Saint Michael, Saint James, Saint Peter and towards the tip of the island north - Saint Lucy. It was just a half island tour covering the west part of the island.

[Below] Garrison Savannah which is a horse racing track.

Next to it - a few old cannons.

Rubis petrol station. A France-based company.

Carlisle Bay, a popular hangout beach spot.

[Below] Can't remember what building this is, but it is a ministry office.

[Below] Chamberlain Bridge in Bridgetown, their capital city.

Some 'pledge' written on the independent arch

The clock tower at the background is where the National Heroes Square located.

[Below] Rihanna Drive

The famous singer's childhood home is located along this drive.

quite a humble home...

but nowadays she lives in a huge mansion😀

to be continued....

I Love Yoo!

Bought a ham chim peng from 'I Love Yoo' shop in Pinnacle mall SP.

The deep-fried dough pastries are priced at RM3.50 each, which is on the high price range.

However, there is 50% off on every Tuesday evening (I think it's from 7pm onwards).

This promo attracts cheapo like me😂

ham chim peng tastes OK, with sweet red bean paste filling.

I also tried the sesame ball with red bean paste.

Both are not bad, but i personally prefer the ham chim peng more.

Soy milk which is less sweet. Tastes authentic like those fresh soy milk sold in the morning market.

Other items that I have tried are you tiao, curry puff (with potato filing) and ma geok (horse shoe fritter). So far, I like their curry puff the most (RM1.45 per piece, normal price RM2.90), but usually it was sold out fast.

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[Below] Roadside western food stall nearby the neighborhood Maybank.

I tapao a grilled chicken chop with aglio olio pasta which came with coleslaw and mushroom sauce.

Value for money. Tastewise OK too. Can't expect much from a roadside stall. But will definitely buy again if I pass by Maybank the next time😀

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Beautiful scenery of KL and the lush green park.

Soothing greens and blue skies to relax the eyes & mind after a long day at work.

Niko Niko Onigiri @ Sri Petaling

This restaurant is located next to Kawan Place, but not so noticeable as the entrance is covered and there is a counter selling onigiri occupies most space at the entrance. One might have thought that it is just some light snacks kiosk and doesn't have dine-in tables inside.

The dining section is located far inside the shop after walking past the onigiri counter.

There are around 8-9 tables which could occupy up to 30 customers. I only got to know about this restaurant after watching reviews on social media, otherwise i would have just thought that it is just another kiosk selling onigiri.

But this is more than just an onigiri shop. It has a variety of Japanese food on its menu. The set meal looks good and at reasonable price. 

I ordered a chicken katsu curry rice that came with potato salad and miso soup. Quite generous portion and the chicken katsu is huge!

There are a few pieces of bonelesss chicken cubes in the curry too. So, there's quite alot of meat!

This sumptuous meal costs only RM17.90nett. Way cheaper than eating at Yoshinoya with similar portion.

I accidently ordered an extra set, so I asked for tapao the extra set. RM1 extra charge for takeaway containers.

Will be back to try out the other items in the menu, such as teriyaki chicken, unagi don, tea rice etc.

Rockley Beach & Misc

Can't get enuff of vitamin-sea, so I keep on posting pictures of the Caribbean Sea😂

alrite alrite...i know you have enuff of looking at my boring beach pictures....so now i switch to some other 'view'....

the country flag😅😁

More flags outside!

Along the stretch of Main Street, there are number of 'touristy' restaurants and hotels....very much like Bali/Langkawi island.

Well, tourism is one of Barbados main economic drivers apart from the international business sector and foreign direct-investment. So, it is common to see tourists flocking around this area...but not under the hot sun like me😂

By noon, I took the shuttle van back to the apartment and got back to 'reality'.

Gotta do laundry coz it was weekend, else i got no clothes to wear to office on Monday😅

Laundry is self-service washing machine which you need to purchase a token. BBD4 (USD2) per token for washer and another BBD4 (USD2) for dryer.

Then, snack time! Yes, I'm a junkie!

Also ordered delivery for dinner, they have Hopscotch Fetch which is their version of our Foodpanda/Grabfood Delivery.

This was my dinner - flying fish & chips with salads.

Can't remember which restaurant & how much was this coz it was paid by my colleague.

December Bak Kut Teh

During the MCO lockdown, I have tried 'December BKT' delivery. It was not bad, so this time I decided to dine-in....

My first time dining in this shop....I like to eat youtiao soaked in BKT soup, hence ordered a portion of youtiao which is served on a separate plate.

quite a generous portion of BKT with pork ribs, belly, shoulder. The BKT has taupok and enoki mushrooms by default. It was a sumptuous dinner!

Total price for this meal is RM22.70 nett. Super full after finishing them....Next time i should not order the youtiao coz it was too much to digest😂

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My second visit...toned down abit with my order. Just had the claypot BKT with rice...It was still alot of meat for a pax. Good for sharing.

Total bill on my second visit: RM20.70 nett.

Quite a unique name for a BKT shop...If they have a competitor maybe that would be January BKT, perhaps?😂

From the Souvenir Shop along Rockley Beach

How often do you go to a souvenir shop?

Nope, I don't unless I have no choice....well, i mean not for shopping purpose but to seek shelter because of terrible weather, or just merely accompanying people to buy stuffs.

The price at souvenir shops is pricey...as they targetted tourist, so definitely not for me. I would go all the way to shop at a local mart whenever possible.

[Throwback post from November last year]

Halfway strolling along the beach, it rained heavily. Me and my colleague have to seek for shelter nearby. We ran to the complex and went into a souvenir shop on the pretext of shopping for souvenirs😂

I saw something familiar...(or maybe not)

It is money holders for Christmas....hmmm....something like angpao packet? interesting....

Not long after, the rain stopped.

It rained again then it stopped, then it rained again....it's a on-and-off downpour which is quite common in Barbados.

The cloudy skies outside....

and windy too

hurricanes are quite common from June to November....so, just beware when going out.

You can see the choppy sea from afar.

It's drizzling with cloudy skies and strong waves.

While the skies turned dark again, we hurriedly walked to the next shelter....a gift shop!

This one selling tea...

and chocolates....

In fancy boxes...

nice to see, nice to touch....but pricey to buy😂

There is another souvenir shop next to this tea & chocolates gift shop.

We went in to look see look see....

The famous Caribbean hot sauce....I did not buy from here but bought a cheaper one at a local shop.

This souvenir shop also sells magic towel with the size smaller than your palm...it will expand when water is added.

We were the only Asians there, definitely look like 'tourist' but not the crazy rich Asian who go holidaying in the Caribbean😂

Just 2 cheapo Asians looking for rain shelter and hang out until the rain stops😅

Happy Dragon Boat Festival

It's dragon boat festival on tomorrow. For those who are celebrating, they might already eaten a few bakchangs by now😋

This year i got mine from....

yea....bought them using points😀

a box consists of 3 dumplings of different flavors...

Description below:

Overall tastes good. It was prepared fresh daily, but with limited quota. So, it was a first-come-first-serve basis.

Some updates from the SkyAvenue complex....

Swensen's having a brisk business...quite a strategic location to sell cold dessert/ice-cream right in front of the theme park. The seating area is at the upper platform, so while enjoying the dessert/ice-cream, the diners can have a good view of the Skytropolis theme park and the various surrounding billboards/screens.

[Below] First World hotel lobby. The First World plaza is connected to SkyAvenue complex as both are just adjacent to each other.

[Below] Seafood noodles I had at Peace Cafe.

It was a set meal with pandan mochi and drink.