Penang - Day 3

I've come to the last day of our stay in Penang. Although it has been mostly food so far, I don't think I have finished all the must-try food in Penang. It is times like this that I wish I have the stomach of a cow.

I kinda felt guilty that we did not actually take the time to visit all the cultural or heritage sites. Well, apart from Kek Lok Si. And I hope our visit to a well established local food specialty shop in Penang counts as another! (We didn't buy tambun biscuits although it is the specialty there because unless you excrete lots of saliva or drink tea with it, the tambun is probably gonna lodge in your throat) So as penance, we decided to go to Batu Ferringhi and explore the beautiful beaches and also visit their six star hotel - Rasa sayang Shangri la~! (We tried to book a night there but luck was not with us, it was fully booked!!)

So that was how I ended up a camho shot in Rasa Sayang's toilet!

For a 6 star hotel, I was slightly disappointed with the service in their cafe. For a whooping Rm30+ for a plate of char kueh tiaw, I know there won't be lobster but a smile probably won't hurt, right? 

The atmosphere is pretty nice though. Probably explains the next picture... 

Oops?

The main redeeming factor would be the awesome beach! The view was awesome!!

I don't even know why the sand is so spiky. 

.

I took picture of a close up view of their beach, but I am not sure what is it. Calcified mineral thingy?

Having found nothing special to nom here in Batu Ferringhi, we went back to Georgetown. And before we head to the airport, we went on a trishaw ride. I was quite hesitant, once again, because I secretly suspected the trishaws were flea ridden. My fear slowly turned to embarrassment as we crammed into the trishaw driven slowly by an old man. I have clearly forgotten the Malaysian culture, where everybody stares googly-eye at tourists or foreigner. And clearly someone who takes a ride in a trishaw is non-local. 

Actually the seat turned out to be quite clean and the trishaw was decorated with love. I felt bad that the cyclist had to cycle around town with our combined weight of almost 150kg! But old uncle cyclist clearly took it as a bit offensive remark and continued to cycle and educate us about Penang's history and heritage. 

Old uncle cyclist was also very confident in his maneuvering, and only uses his hand to signal in the busy road occasionally tinkling his little bell to other road users. I think I could have died of heart attack once when a car tried to cut to our lane without noticing us, I doubt the car driver could hear the little tinkling bell through the glass. But I live, so maybe the little bell wasn't so useless after all. :P 

Overall, I had great fun in Penang! I am really gonna miss my friends there and the char kueh tiaw (always the char kueh tiaw!!).   

What to eat when you are full in Penang - Day 2

There are so many places to go to in Penang and I was impressed with their tourist friendly guidelines in leaflets and services. One of the place to go would have to be Kek Lok Si! I don't really like temples because I get bothered by the smell of incense but someone managed to convince me by telling me the best laksa in the whole of Penang is the one located outside kek lok si!! 

And that was the reason why I found myself travelling in a bus this fateful morning to Kek Lok Si!! 

After fretting for about 20 minutes whether we missed the stop (because there were fewer and fewer passengers on board), hubby asked the driver on the stop to Kek Lok Si and he very nicely say he will inform us when we get there. I told hubby not to worry because I overheard an old man saying he is going to  Kek Lok Si and he looks local, so I deduce I just need to follow his heed. If he goes down, I go down too. Smart, right? Anyway, the bus driver was very nice, he eventually called us when it was our stop. 

The entrance to the Kek Lok Si's staircase

I guess we were quite early because the staircase should be decorated with merchandise but it was still quite empty as we walked up the stairs. When we were walking down, the staircase was really crowded with merchandise that the sunlight was quite blocked out so feels a bit claustrophobic. Before long we reach the top of the staircase and spotted the hoards of tortoises. 

The lake of longevity, I think. 

I really like the hoards of tortoises, one piled on top of another. So active, wtf! lol.. When I move, their tiny heads also move with me and watched me expectantly as if waiting for some morsel of food. But we are not allowed to feed the tortoises because there is an assigned feeder at appropriate time. 

Kek Lok Si temple view near the prayer hall 

Kek Lok Si temple view 

We eventually took an inclined elevator to the top of the hill to take a look at the huge bronzed Kuan Yin statue. It only costs us about RM4 for the trip up and down! 

The Bronze Kuan Yin statue

My friend later told me that the large Kuan Yin Statue used to be gold plated but hehe... got too attractive that people always come and molest. So they had to change it to bronze instead.  

After visiting the temple, we were famished and rushed to find the famous laksa near kek lok si temple. I heard that you would not miss it near the main entrance of the temple's staircase. We were not in luck because the day we went happened to be some festival of the ninth emperor thingy and most stalls only served vegetarian options and would you guess it, the laksa stall only serve vegetarian option that day!! 

So if you think that looks like squid in the laksa, it is actually slices of raw onions!! Sad!!

After the visit, we waited quite a long time for the bus (so long in fact we were able to buy and eat one toasted char siew bun and a taro puff!). The heat and humidity got the better of me and I got cranky, so we decided to grab something cold and refreshing before dinner so I suggested a Chendol stall near Komtar. Except we didn't know the stop for Komtar and missed it and then we decided wth maybe just go back to the hotel and rest. Except that we weren't familiar with the bus route and we missed the bus stop for that too. (I think there is a lesson to be learnt somewhere...) In the end, I managed to find a stop that looks vaguely familiar and that was how we ended up in Fort Cornwallis! 

City Municipal Hall opposite Fort Cornwallis

Fort Cornwallis

I reckon that it wasn't much to see here except cannons and two or three old buildings (including a small chapel and a weaponry house), so we only had a short stroll before more food!! 

Outside Fort Cornwallis, there is a small food court. There weren't a lot of people there (on a weekday) but the few that were there all crowd around two main stalls (I think operated by the same boss). The main attraction had to be the coconut shake and the mee sotong!! The coconut shake is blended coconut juice and young coconut flesh with a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top, very refreshing. I tried the chendol there but it was horrible, I let the crows finish it up for me. 

Whereas the mee sotong, it smells so nice and spicy but I had to skipped it if I ever want to see my toes again! Because... jeng jeng jeng... for dinner, we went for roasted fresh clams and then back to New Lane for dinner again!! (Nothing special, a bit of recap of last night so I will skip that) For supper, we went to a roadside stall operated by an Indian near our hotel for Roti John. We weren't sure what to order on our Roti John so we said 'semua' (meaning everything), so this was what they served out to us!! 

Taj Mahal Special Roti John

Huge right? It is a roti tisu served up with slices of cheese, raisin, mayo, tomato/chilli sauce, lettuce slices and a cherry on top! After we finished the outer layer, the found the actual roti john nestled inside the cone. 

Again, we were amazed with their generous serving of semua! There were slices of frankfurter, banana, cabbage and lettuce leaves drizzled with mayo and tomato sauce on top of the roti john. Definitely special! Luckily my stomach wasn't making much of an issue digesting the load of food I stuffed in its way. hehe... 

Recalling what I ate in Penang sure makes me grin, but before you think there is nothing else in Penang except food, let me show you the keychain I bought in Queensbay Mall! 

Cute, right? 

:P

Penang, Malaysia's food haven - Day 1

After our wedding, guess what was the first thing we wanted to do?? 

EAT!! 

Omg... I thought we would go somewhere gooey-ly romantic or laid back but then hubby chose food over all the others. No wonder they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach! 

This is actually my second time to Penang and honestly I was more keen to hop on the next plane to Japan for honeymoon but since it isn't spring yet then Penang it is!

Hubby decided that since it is such a rare occasion, we should spare no empty spaces in our tummy and fill it to the brim with yummy food! The first thing we did after checking into our hotel  ... (isn't the view nice?) 

... is go grab lunch! Since we were staying in Cititel that day, we decided to start lunch with Nasi Kandar at Line Clear Restaurant listed in the tourist-must-try leaflet. Before we depart, we asked the receptionist how to go the restaurant and she gave us direction and estimated our walk to be about 10 minutes. But when we found out the road that she mentioned hardly 5 minutes into our walk, we went into an Indian cinema to confirm our direction. The cashier there was very friendly and since there was no customer that time, she walked out of the counter to give us direction so we thought there was still a distance to travel. But when she came out, she very calmly pointed to a small signboard hidden between the alley opposite the cinema, i.e. Line Clear. Turns out we were just steps away from the 'restaurant'!! *paiseh* It wasn't really a restaurant but an alley converted to accommodate a counter, sinks, stove (also got!!), cabinets, tables and chairs. And just our luck, as we were eating lunch, some tv crew came along and started videoing us!! If you happened to see the footage, we are the ones bowing our head eating our nasi kandar with spoons and forks while others use their hand!! 

Afterwards, we hopped on a free CAT (Central Area Transit) to First Avenue to browse and check out the place. We noted a lot of reflexology shop and don't know why we didn't go and try it out (because the next day when we went to Queen's bay, hubby suddenly wanted to go reflexology and there was only one and we had to wait 30 minutes in queue).   

This is our afternoon snack~! This isn't Penang specialty by the way but I wanted something small for us to nibble as we walk so this had to be the most convenient snack. 

But the potato balls were quite starchy and after having one, honestly do not feel like eating anymore even though it is only mildly sweet and still hot. 

Perhaps I was too busy looking for the next food stall to attack that I didn't notice the beauty of this island. During my first visit, I honestly did not harbor much love for this place. The street side hawker and the old buildings weren't my sort of things. 

But this time, I come to appreciate the rustic feel of the building and the humble quality of penang folks. Even this kind of trishaws are getting rare. 

So cute, right? 

Apparently, the tourism industry in Penang knows what they have can be one of their main attraction, look at how they incorporate their cultures and heritage into a tourist spot! :)

Eastern and Oriental Hotel 

I actually wanted to go for buffet dinner at Eastern and Oriental Hotel's Sarke cafe under the recommendation of a friend but then we were stuffed with potato balls. So, we walked off and waited till our friends finished work to bring us for more food~! wheee.... 

For dinner, we went to a food court/outlet at New lane very close to our hotel! They have so many stalls of good food, I think I could tear in happiness! The Char kueh tiaw may not be the best according to the tourist leaflet but I think it was good enough! The prawns were big, the taugeh were those short and fat kind ( I heard my sister say that it is call Ipoh taugeh and it is slightly juicier than the normal taugeh, that much is true!) and the clams were fresh!! Yummy! I honestly wish I could stomach in another order of this! 

Oyster Omelette or a.k.a OOOOOOOOOOO jien! (Long O because the oysters are so fresh!!) 

Chee Cheung fun! 

By the time we reach hotel, we were stuffed to the brim with food so imagine our surprise and delight at receiving complimentary fruits from the hotel! Omg, it is as if we are compensating for all the exercises and diets we go through before our wedding~! 

And this is just a day out of our three days there... 

Will blog about the rest soon~! 

How to enjoy Taiwan my way...

I recently went to Taiwan for a short visit and I enjoyed it soo much but I do wonder how I could further enhance this experience so I summarized the following points. 

(1) Pray for a cow's stomach~!

Because Taiwan is also called the Asian food paradise~! There is bound to be food around every corner. With my current tummy, could not cram and taste every single food in taiwan within a week and live to tell it. From the fruit stalls to their night markets, from their cafes, food courts to their restaurant, there is bound to be something that I have yet to taste!! 

Lychee

I have always looked for low sugar content tea, but I wasn't fully prepared for zero sugar... :P

Fried mushroom~! So yummy... so many different types, do you like the normal mushroom, oyster mushroom or enoki mushroom?

Chao Tao fu... Stinky tofu... yet not so smelly but oo... so yummy!! 

Would you like big cock wafer, tart or popsicle?

Although fatty, I love their sausages~! 

How about the super juicy chicken steak... ?? Super nice... 

They say I must taste the Taiwan beer, the best wa... basically very light tasting so the ladies probably won't have much trouble downing that. But other than that, beer tastes like beer... : P

Pan fried bun

Oyster pancake

The oyster pancake has a sticky batter like glutinous rice flour mix which holds the different element together, served with a scoop of light black pepper sauce.  The upside is that you can keep the oyster fresh and sweet while the flour batter cooks but the downside is that I can't down too much of it without feeling the weight of it in my digestive track. 

Onion pancake

Food court food also so nice? Damn... 

Din Tai fung, international restaurant renown for their xiao long bao... 

Spicy duck blood soup. It looks disgusting, right? but then it isn't so hard to stomach. Pork intestine, duck blood, and stinky tofu are considered delicacy here but perhaps it would be for those with acquired taste.  

A major heartache for me is that I do not have enough space in my tummy for their dessert, because by the time I finish mains at the food stalls/restaurants/cafes I am seriously full!! And the dessert can be very tempting too... I am not much of a dessert person but who can resist the charm of a baked cheesecake? Like this one below... Uncle Tetsu's Cheese cake. I can judge from the queue that the cake must be very good but then they only sell one whole cheesecake and no slices!! How can we, just the two of us finish one whole block of cheesecake?? 

Uncle Tetsu's cheesecake at Taipei main station

Long Q in front of Uncle Tetsu's cheesecake shop

Whenever someone offer me food in Taiwan, it is a common phrase to hear me say 'Jiak be lok' (meaning: I am full, I can't stuff more in). It is now a regret for me that I have yet to taste every single food in Taiwan... sigh... if only I have a cow's stomach!!

P/s: If you insist (like me) to NOT waste food, then don't forget ENO. It is great against indigestion.

(2) Try things the smart way~!

Food sampling is everywhere~! This is one of the thing I enjoyed most because I could not squeeze in dessert after main course yet I could not buy these desserts back home (it will spoil) so what better way than to have those food sampling counters?? They cut the food to bite size and I can taste more that way~! Wonderful~! One of the place I really love is Taipei's main bus station~! Lots and lots of food sampling stalls... 

(3) No need to invest in DSLR la, get a good phone camera~! 
When we were travelling, the best reminder is to travel light because it gets heavier as we travel. Walk walk walk, buy, walk walk walk, add water, walk walk walk, buy some more, walk walk walk, eat... so it gets heavier as we progress. Initially we had a DSLR with us as we travel and the DSLR can capture like super nice pics. But when we are travelling, I do not have enough time to stop and take multi-shots of a single inanimate object to get the best freaking shot. Especially in my case, because it was pouring rain every single day. So have some mercy for those who is holding the umbrella or waiting behind you in the queue, make it simple and just use an easy camera that you can easily get out of the bag and easily snap a pic with, okie? if there is a tiny flaw with your pic, can you just wait till you get home and photoshop it away? It is very sad when you waste other people's time just to snap the perfect shot... correct a not?

Chiang Kai Shyek's memorial hall (It was actually raining very heavily but cannot see, right?) 

Our home stay near sun Moon Lake, nice shot, what?

#Taipei101 , the second tallest building captured with #Iphone, not bad, what? lol... 

(4) Not good enough? Then get Instagram la~! 

Original pic of Cultural village's restaurant

After cropping and applying filter... nice what?

(5) If you are travelling in June-July, don't ever forget your umbrella!!
When we went there, it was the worst rainy season ever. And I am not exaggerating, check the news~! There was flooding going on, erosions and cases of stranded villages and there I was 'hee hee haha' and the 'ladida' going all gaga over their food and shopping. If there was any comfort to myself, it might be that I helped with their economy a bit? And I DID NOT waste food lo!! (Future me is gonna hate me for it when she weights herself... hahaha...)

But the condition was pretty alright in Taipei, basically all we needed was the umbrella. Actually I was thankful for the rain because it gets unbearably sauna-like humid hotness in summer here without the rain. Which brings me to another point, (6) Water-proof makeup!! Time to put those makeup to the test and see just how waterproof they can get~!

(7) If you are staying at their homestay or going trekking, don't ever... EVER forget your insect repellent, long sleeve and long pants!!
WARNING: You are about to view some disturbing pictures~!

Yikes!! Horrible horrible mozzie bites!! I have calculated about 20 bites on one side of my leg, and that does not include the back side of my leg, my other leg and both of my arm. It was so terrible that it triggered allergy reaction towards it resulting in itch + itch == crazy insane me. The scary bit is these horrible horrible mozzie (so horrible they deserve two horrible)  bites does not hurt at first bite, they itch and swell on the second to third day leaving me to fill in the pieces.

With calming soothing lotion and an anti-histamine medication... 

(8) Not bargaining is for sissies, bargaining is for kiasu


During my shopping spree, one thing I was (ok, still la) terrible at was bargaining. It is a common practice to haggle the price of the merchandise with the hawker, right? But for a lazy tourist like me, I rather save that time haggling to oggle at more food and merchandise so I tend not to haggle. But then when I turn another corner and noticed that the price of the same merchandise is so cheap at the other stall, I got very angry with myself!! So I kiasu and I bargain with every hawker I see (except for food la, k? I don't want later they spit in my food).

If they are intelligent, they will realize that I am bargaining for fun one. Ke ke give me discount NT10-20, I will feel damn syok one. lol... Those that did not let me win the haggle, walk off la. There are plenty more stalls along the way. I seldom do that la, cause ppl there are so nice.... MOST k, most~! But that is good enough.

 (9) Don't forget to get more luggage space!! 

When I took a closer look at my travel itinery for our return flight home, I took a double take and was aghast that we only purchased 15kg for two person. TWO PERSON!! Where got enough?? Of course I can squeeze my 'little' purchase into 15kg worth of weight. And luckily my hubby travels extremely light but that means I had to restrained myself from buying other interesting things that I see along the way. (That actually includes a LOT of things!!) I had to stop myself from purchasing more magazines, more books, more food and basically more cosmetic products... (clothing are light, I can wear extra, it is winter in OZ anyway...) #FFUU

(10) Get good quality runner shoes for walking
Luckily my friend gave me a friendly reminder before our trip but then apparently my choice of sneakers isn't good enough, I do yearn for a good runner's shoes for the walk. Beauty comes at a price, I do wonder how ppl can stand wear high heels or even ballet flats and walk around so much?

If I was given the opportunity, I won't mind another trip to Taiwan again. Different season do bring along different flowers, moods and er... shopping products... :D *wink* But hopefully after my wedding la... I seriously looking forward to slimming down and shaping up for my important event~!