Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Hatyai and Trang, Thailand

Drove to Hatyai . Left KL at 6.30am and reach Ipoh 9.30am for breakfast. Leave Ipoh at 10am and arrive Hatyai 4pm. We reached Bukit Kayu Hitam to buy car insurance and is only RM14. Better change money at the border, the rates alot better.


Crossing the border is a mess. You need to park your car and all the passengers must queue at the passport control booth . Make sure you put RM2 into your passport. Just don't ask why!!Once done, go to the next booth to register your car in order to enter to Hatyai. You must drive your car to the booth cos the custom need to check your number plate to ensure it matches your car registration card.

Stayed at Lee Garden Plaza Hotel, the hotel was ok and location is very convenient. Is just htat the room quite dim.Opposite the hotel is Central Shopping Mall and Odeon. Less than 5 mins walk to night market. You can have buffet dinner for only RM15 and buffet breakfast is only RM5 per head.


We went to Trang the next day. Stayed at Thumrin Thana Hotel, hotel quite run down. Visited Tham Lay (Kao Kob) the fresh water cave under the mountain. Roaring in to the canals beneath the mountain are stalactite and stalagmite. You got to lie down flat from the sampan and when I open the eyes i can see the rock next to my face. It was scary. The entire journey is around 3km. Too exciting and scary trip!! You must experience it, no words can describe.


Then we went to snorkelling trip at Trang. Visited Marakot cave, when you view from aerial view, it looks like crater in a volcano. Infact inside the cave is a small island where the pirates use to hide their treasures inside. The locals found this place while looking for bird nests.



Snorkelling not nice, mostly dead corals. Pulau Redang still the best.


Serve authentic thai food. Must book in advance.


Sabannga Restaurant


Open 11am - 2pm, 5pm - 11pm


Tel : 074-429748


081-9690686

Treasures in a pot @"Pun Choy" at Ipoh / Places to eat

 You must try the Treasures in a pot @"Pun choy" or big bowl feast which is served in a big metal bowl. You can find prawns, roast duck, mushroom, scallop, sea cucumber, vegetable, fish maw and etc in one big bowl. You got to eat it one layer at a time. Pun Choy always cook with radish.
The radish and white cabbage is always serve at the bottom of the bowl to absorb all the flavours from the ingredients. The meat are serve on top.
You must try the pun choy at Ipoh for the price of RM298 inclusive lotus leaves fried rice and dessert.

We order the crab fried rice and it was delicious. The crabs flavours are all in the rice. You can't find this in Kuala Lumpur.

We got 12 person and we can't even finish the pun choy and in fact is for 10 pax. I'm not kidding you!!

Advance booking is required, at least few days.

Visit this place at :-
Restaurant Kok Thai
56-64, Lebuh Medan Ipoh
Bandar Baru Medan Ipoh
31400 Ipoh
Perak
Tel: 05-5468407, 5479581
Susana Tan at 016-5157178

At the same time, do order the fluffy kaya puff at Sin Eng Heong shop. Each kaya puff is only RM0.80. You must order in advance. Contact : 05-2439659 . The shop is near the famous chicken rice shop Onn Kee, just few rows away.
Address :-
No. 64, Jln Mustapha Al-Bakri,
Jln Clare,30300,Ipoh Perak.


Saturday, December 5, 2009

Good places to eat in Hong Kong 2009

Sai Kung is a well known place in Hong Kong for fresh seafood. You can choose the seafood you want and ask the restaurant to prepare for you. In the morning, you can see the people selling fresh seafood on the boat near the pier.

Hong Kong during end of November where all the christmas deco and lights are up.


Ngong Ping 360 degrees
Big Buddha at Lantau Island Went to HK end November via Cathay Pacific. Stay at Royal Plaza Hotel. If you ever want to travel to HK, always book via Cathay Pacific as their package is really cheap. Package includes half day city tour, additional 10 Kg and airport transfers to hotel. I paid RM2300 per person for 7 days 6 nights. Really a good deal.

Royal Plaza Hotel location is very convenient, below is the bus station and MTR station and next to it the Grand Century Plaza Shopping Centre. You can also have dim sum at a chinese restaurant near Red Box Karoake at Level 7, Grand Century Plaza. The hotel room at Royal Plaza is huge.

This year there is no christmas deco at Central due to East Asian Games 09.

Disney land fireworks now starts at 8pm. This year they got Its a small world attraction. Able to take picture with Buzz Lightyear. hee..hee.. The christmas parade was great, 2 years ago it was raining and there was no parade. At least this year i able to see the full parade.

As for Ngong Ping 360 to Lantau Island, they got 2 types of cable car, one is the normal type which ticket priced HKD98 and another is crystal cabin which price something like HKD157. Crystal cabin means the cabin floor is a glass panel where you can view the hill from your cabin. If you are not afraid of height, i recommend you to take the crystal cabin. In fact if you are going to lantau island on peak season, is best that u take crystal cabin. Cos there is no queue for crystal cabin. We queue for 45 minutes for normal cabin. Damn tired!!

If you still have the time, you can shop at City Outlet the shopping mall at Tung Chung Station for all the branded outlets e.g. nike, levi's, puma, addidas, esprit and etc.
To go to the peak, take MTR to Central and exit J2.
This is the first time when I experience people mountain people sea at the peak tram. The queue starts outside the station. Therefore we took a cab to victoria peak and only RM25.

Regard to food, we did try the wan ton mee at Wellington Street known as Mark Noodle. This round was really dissapointed with the pricing. A bowl of wan ton mee cost HKD30 which is equivalent to RM15. One plain noodle with prawn rolls with no vegetable cost HKD40 (RM20). Just because Antony Bourdain visited the store. Opposite the store Jin Jai Kee only sell a bowl of wan ton mee for HKD16. According to locals, they prefer to dine at Jin Jai Kee. Well, Mark Noodle is famous for their traditional noodle, u can still give it a try.

Below are the list of restaurant that we visited :-

Shanghai Xiao Nan Guo Cuisine
Upper ground, TST centre, 66 Mody Road, Tsim Tsa Tsui, Kowloon
Business hours : 11.30am - 3pm, 6pm -11pm
Tel : 22582238
email : enquiry@xiaonanguo.com
- shanghainese food and something different. Worth trying. Their dessert are very nice. Famous for siew lung pau @ dumplings.

Tao Heong 88
www.taoheong.com.hk
- we had cheesy noodle with lobsters, hokkien fried rice with scallop, roast goose and etc and the bill only came up to RM300. Highly recommend. The restaurant also serve steamboat but did not had the chance to try it.

Gong Cha (Bubble Tea)
Fa Yuen Street, Mongkok
come down from royal plaza hotel/grand century plaza, take escalator to Fa Yuen Street, 2nd shop from your right. Must try their bubble tea, most of the time long queue.
Porridge, Hot Soya Bean
Just opposite Gong Cha
come down from royal plaza hotel/grand century plaza, take escalator to Fa Yuen Street, Shop is at the left hand site. You can see them selling cold soya bean, yau chow kwai and steam cake. Must try their hot soya bean and only HKD8. 2 person can share for hot soya bean.

Kam Wah Cafe and Bakery
G/F 47 Bute Street, Mongkok
(Prince Edward MTR B2 Exit)
- famous for "poh lau bau" @ bun. Their bun is so soft. You can order bun with egg with ham, bun with char siew or just the bun with butter. Highly recommend!!! It seems this is a famous store in Mongkok.

Jumbo Kingdom
Dragon Court
Shum Wan Pier Drive, Wong Chuk Hang, Aberdeen, Hong Kong
Tel : 25539111
Website : http://www.jumbokingdom.com
- nice environment where u can view the yacht. Food is great too and not pricey. We had dim sum, noodles and rice. And you have a free ferry ride at Aberdeen...hee..hee..therefore no need to pay HKD$50 for the cruise.

If you want to go Macau and want to arrange for a day tour, you can contact the following person.
Macau Driver Contact :-
Si Tou Wa
+853 66239678

ATTRACTIONS AT TAI O
Tai O
How To Get There
Tai O Fishing Village, Lantau Island (Outlying Island)1. Catch ferry from Central Pier 6 (MTR Hong Kong Station Exit E1. Walk through IFC mall) to Mui Wo, then bus 1 to Tai O.
2. MTR Tung Chung Station, then bus 11 from Tung Chung Town Centre.
From Ngong Ping Road, take bus 21

Kwun Yum TempleBe sure to check out the 80-year-old Kwun Yum Temple in Tai O. Kwun Yum is popular with Asians of various faiths and is commonly known as the Goddess of Mercy.

Kwan Tai Temple
This temple honours Kwan Tai, the God of War and Righteousness and was built in the reign of Hong Zhi (1488 – 1505 A.D.) during the Ming dynasty. In real life, Kwan Tai was a general renowned for his loyalty and is said to protect devotees from evil.

Yeung Hau Temple
This temple honours Hau Wong, a local court official from the late Sung dynasty in the 1270s whose real name was Yang Lianghie. A bell cast in the 38th year of the Kangxi (1699) was also placed in the temple.

Former Tai O Police Station
Dating from 1902, this building is one of the earliest police stations built in the New Territories. It is situated on a small hill next to the Tai O Ferry Pier.

Tai O Market
Browsing in the stalls and shops around Tai O is always a lot of fun, too. Be sure to check out the locally produced fish paste and salted fish for a unique culinary experience

Attractions at Hong Kong
The Peak Hong Kong
1. Take the Peak Tram from the Lower Peak Tram Terminus on Garden Road (Bus 15C from the lay-by outside Central Pier 6 or walk from MTR Central Station Exit J2)
2. Bus 15 from Exchange Square Bus Terminus (MTR Hong Kong Station Exit D)
3. Green minibus 1 from MTR Hong Kong Station Public Transport Interchange.
Ocean Park Hong Kong
Bus 629 from MTR Admiralty Station Exit B.
Lan Kwai Fong
MTR Central Station Exit D2. Walk along Theatre Lane and uphill to D'Aguilar Street. About 5 minutes walk to Lan Kwai Fong.
SoHo District
MTR Central Station Exit D2, and turn right to Theatre Lane. Walk along Queen's Road Central towards The Center. Then take the Central-Mid-Levels Escalator.
Golden Bauhinia Square ( Expo Promenade )
MTR Wan Chai Station Exit A5. Walk across the footbridge, head right and through the lobby of Central Plaza, continue on across the connecting overhead walkway, then descend to ground level. Head towards the waterfront ahead and the statue and monument is on the left. About a 15-minute walk.

Hollywood Road / Upper Lascar Row / Cat Street
1. Bus 26 outside Pacific Place at Admiralty to Hollywood Road and get off near Man Mo Temple.
2. MTR Central Station Exit D2 and turn right to Theatre Lane. Walk along Queen's Road Central towards The Center. Then take the Central - Mid-Levels Escalator to Hollywood Road.
Clock Tower
1. MTR Tsim Sha Tsui Station Exit E, walk towards Salisbury Road, turn right, take pedestrian next to YMCA to Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Then turn right and walk straight ahead towards the waterfront.

2. Take Star Ferry from Central or Wan Chai and follow the signs. The clock Tower is located next to the Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry Pier.

A Symphony of Lights(every day starts 8pm)
Avenue of StarsMTR East Tsim Sha Tsui Station Exit J, and follow the signs to the Avenue of Stars and Tsim Sha Tsui Waterfront.

Golden Bauhinia Square
MTR Wan Chai Station Exit A5. Walk across the footbridge, head right and through the lobby of Central Plaza, continue on across the connecting overhead walkway, then descend to ground level. Head towards the waterfront ahead, and the statue and monument is on the left. About a 15-minute walk.

Ladies' Market
1.MTR Mong Kok Station Exit E2, then walk along Nelson Street for two blocks.2.Bus 1, 1A, 2, 6 or 6A from Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry Pier.

Temple Street Night Market
1. MTR Jordan Station Exit A. Turn right into Jordan Road and walk three blocks to Temple Street.2. MTR Yau Ma Tei Station Exit C, walk along Man Ming Lane to Temple Street.

Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple
MTR Wong Tai Sin Station Exit B2 or B3.

Sai Kung
1. Bus 92 from MTR Diamond Hill Station Exit C2 Bus Terminus


2. Green minibus 1A from MTR Choi Hung Station Exit C2.


3. Green minibus 101M from MTR Hang Hau Station Exit B1 to Sai Kung Market.

You can buy dried seaweeds for 3 packets at HKD50. You can see people selling seafood on the boat. You can also take ferry ride over to Kui Chui Beach to walk around and ferry ride only HKD20 for return. Must try their ice cream known as Mister Softies. Very nice!!

Stanley Market
1. MTR Hong Kong Station Exit D and take bus 6, 6A, 6X, 66 or 260 at Exchange Square Bus Terminus.
2. MTR Causeway Bay Station Exit B, walk to Tang Lung Street then take green minibus 40.
3. Bus 973 from Tsim Sha Tsui East Bus Terminus or Canton Road outside Silvercord Centre.

You can buy linen table cloth, coasters, linen bags.
You can buy HK t-shirts for 4 pieces at HKD100, the quality is alot better than ladies market.

'1881 Heritage'
MTR Tsim Sha Tsui Station Exit E, walk towards Salisbury Road, turn right, take subway (Pedestrian tunnel) next to YMCA to '1881 Heritage'.
Located on Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, '1881 Heritage' boasts an area of 130,000square feet. It features a shopping mall, a heritage hotel, and an exhibition hall. The original site of ‘1881 Heritage’ was the headquarters of the Hong Kong Marine Police from the 1880's to 1997. The buildings’ unique Victorian architecture epitomizes its rich colonial background. Except for the Former Fire Station, the Former Marine Police Headquarters Main Building, Former Stable Block, Former Time Ball Tower were declared monuments by the Antiquities and Monuments Office in 1994, as proof of their historical significance.

Ngong Ping 360
MTR Tung Chung Station Exit B and walk 5 minutes to the Tung Chung Cable Car Terminal.
Walk to the Temple and visit the vegetarian store for their desserts. Must eat their tow foo fah.

Po Lin Monastery
1.Catch ferry from Central Pier 6 (MTR Hong Kong Station Exit E1. Walk through IFC mall) to Mui Wo, then take bus 22.MTR Tung Chung Station Exit B, then take bus 23 from Tung Chung Town Centre
Lamma Island
Catch ferry from Central Pier 4 (MTR Hong Kong Station Exit E1. Walk through IFC mall).

Food Picture : -
Bo Loh Bun with egg and ham