Menya Musashi Ramen - Review

Now this is why the brand Menya Musashi is worth a try if you love ramen like I do!

1) Price - In term of pricing, Menya Musashi is reasonably priced given that their branches are in popular malls like Orchard Ion and VivoCity. A chashu ramen is $12.90. Add a $3 buck and you get to choose a delicious side like marinated mini octopus, gyoza, etc, to complete the meal.

2) Variety - if you like variety in your ramen, Menya Musashi did a good job. Your ramen comes in your preferred base of "red" - spicy, "black" - garlic or "white" - normal. And besides this, the menu gives you options of different types of ramen beside the chashu which I like. Something worth mentioning is this special dry style ramen which you can opt up to FIVE freaking times the noodle portion. That's right, FIVE FREAKING TIMES, and all at the same price. It's a style of ramen whereby the soup base and ramen are served separately & eaters dip the ramen into the bowl of soup/gravy to soak up the sauce. I think it's good for very hungry customers. I haven't know of any friends being able to finish the mega portion though. 

Menya Musashi also comes up with seasonal special to surprise customers. I'd recently tried their Tom Yum dry ramen. It's not bad, just that I think I prefer soupy ramen. ;-P 

Anyway, this is what a red chashu ramen looks like:

3) Locations - The brand has sprouted in quite a few places since it's flagship in Singapore at Raffles City. The latest opening should be at the new mall - Westgate. The other locations are Star Vista, Vivocity, Thomson Plaza, Bedok Mall, and Ion Orchard. My guess is they will continue to expand as the franchise is under a rich  boss that runs other popular Japanese eateries in Singapore.

4) Customer friendly - okay I don't really know how to coin this so "customer friendly" is perhaps appropriate. The restaurant provides disposable chopsticks and paper towels on your table - something not every restaurant does. It's perfect because sometimes (we all do) you drop your chopsticks in restaurants and you need a spare, or some noob waiters/waitresses serve you food without cutlery, or you accidentally smeared sauces on your face and need an emergency wipe and you are the kind who is too lazy to bring your own tissue. Heck, the restaurant even put a note that says they serve customers bibs upon request - that's right - bibs. In case you don't know, definition of a bib is: A bib is a garment worn hanging from the neck on the chest to protect clothing from spilling.  I have never actually saw any customers with a bib on but hey - it's perfect for damn messy eaters, or if you have a $200 pristine white shirt on and any spill is gonna set you back by a bomb to clean, or if you have damn messy kids eaters, or if you just wanna be funny to take some selfies of you acting like a kid.

Another important customer friendly point  - ramen are served with the onsen egg and seaweed as pictured. Some local restaurants charges you $3 for an egg or seaweed. That is freaking daylight robbery loh. Every time I see a menu which I have to pay separately for the onsen egg, it irks and pains me. Because that means the ramen will cost over $20 sometimes. Again - freaking daylight robbery feel.

I think in a competitive world, some details like these do matters, and it matters to me. So I say - keep it up Menya Musashi! It sets you apart from the rest.

Now good things aside, I will be frank about 2 factors that may bother you (a little).

1) Consistency - this bothers me a lot. There were occasional inconsistency in the soup base. I know. Because I eat often. Period. It irks me when food are served different from my expectations. I suspect the occasional slip may be due to factors like new cooks. I stated "occasional", not always. So good luck. Didn't stop me from going back.

2) Staff - I have nothing against hiring of foreign talent. But I believe in hiring foreign talent who can speak good English and understand your orders, and whom you can also understand when they speak. I think staff training is required in some branches. Not a big issue once you confirmed they got your right order.

Well, I hope my review is useful to you somehow. Here's a parting shot of me camwhoring with my ramen. LOL.

Byeeeeee!!! And if you are lazy to google, this is their webby: http://www.menyamusashi.com.sg/

Maybe they should pay me for the raving!  Haha.

Meowie Christmas to you!

Wishing u a very Meowie (merry) Christmas from Singapore!

May your coming year be blessed with good health & happiness!

And here's a photo of the mad cat!

MEOW! 

Be random, be fun, be whatever you want, as long as possible. Grow older in age, not in mind. Stay youthful at heart! No, I'm not advocating reckless stunts even if YOLO! Haha.

Su Zhou, Shanghai, Yang Zhou ~ It was a much needed holiday! (Part 1)

Yeeha! Back from a long holiday and feeling much refreshed! Haven't update my blog for a while! Travelling posts are usually long and filled with a lot of details as my holidays are usually packed from morning till night! But nope! Not this one. This holiday was leisurely and relaxed as I spent it at my relative's place at Su Zhou (Reads: FREE ACCOMMODATION! Yeeha! :))

It was a ten days trip - fully maximising the 2-to-fly promo from Singapore Airline as they only allowed a maximum of ten days for the promo flight. Good enough for me since I do not have enough annual leaves to blow anyway! I traveled with my gran ~ my fav person in the world! Both the to and fro flights were red eye flights ~ flying off past mid night and arriving in early wee hours. What to do? The promo flight means the return ticket per pax is less than $500! Nothing to complain abt further at that price for SQ!

We were to stay with my uncle who had been working at Su Zhou for years. Staying with a working relative plus super cold weather means not everyday is jam packed with activities. But I love it that way! Enjoying cool weather while taking a break from the harsh Singapore lifestyle with no 101 items to be done like my typical holiday! I didn't plan anything for the trip, basically going with the flow on wherever my uncle suggested! It felt like a school holiday that I do not have to shoulder responsibility for. The only drawback was I'm afraid of cold temperature and had to wrap myself in several layers of clothing during the trip. 

First on Su Zhou. We arrived at Shanghai Pudong airport and went straight to Su Zhou to find my uncle via a 1.5 hour car ride. Since my last trip to Su Zhou more than a decade back, the city has changed a lot. It now contains many mega malls much like those in Singapore. They also have international restaurant chains like those in Singapore. Industralisation really changes places. The speed of development appear much faster than Singapore's neighboring countries. During my stay, I visited some pretty "atas" malls much like that in Sg's Orchard Road, went for karaoke, dined at classy restaurants, ate hong kong and taiwanese desserts and tasted some of the sweetest strawberries I ever had (bought from a supermarket) and took their MRT for $2 RMB. Overall my impression of Su Zhou was pretty good except for the air pollution that happened at the time of my visit. Some snap shots of Su Zhou:

The shopping area surrounding a beautiful river:

This area has the world longest "corridor screen" which is something like a meandering tv screen used to air major events like the olympics. I didnt have the chance to see it light up at night. But guess what I found here? - Ya Kun Coffee & Toast from Singapore! Haha!

Some food galore at various malls ( You get the idea. Wonderful food with 2 thumbs up! Except some local dishes properly require some adapting to.)

Of course, I'm not saying every inch of Su Zhou has been replaced by modern facades, there are of course pockets that reminded us of the past. And these are in fact the more memorable areas I'm more interested in. The following shot shows a small stretch of preserved land in Su Zhou called "San Tang Street". It is more like a tourist spot but hey don't you agree it is beautiful? They still have delivery boats running through the area.

Next up - Yang Zhou. We visited Yang Zhou during a weekend. It was a quick trip after visiting a city called "Dan Yang" which is something like a capital for all the spectacle shops in China. Everywhere in Dan Yang is occupied by spectacle shops! According to my uncle, spectacle lenses in China are all mostly made in Dan Yang. They take orders from other major cities and courier over the finished products. We went there because my gran needs to make a new spects and the cost to make it in Singapore was abt $400 for her prescriptions (My gawd!!). The cost of making her two pairs of spectacles (took them less than an hour to make em at the shop itself!) was only about $100 SGD. I'm impressed. However, Dan Yang is much more polluted than Su Zhou and Shang Hai and you will basically be breathing in dust. We hopped in one random restaurant at Dan Yang and the food was great. Especially the dish "Dong Buo Rou" - braised pork that has simmered for hours until the fats are supposedly melted. This is a famous dish so I recommend trying it in China!

We dropped by Yang Zhou to visit a popular tourist attraction surrounding a lake called "Shou Xi Hu". Due to the lack of time, we didn't get to spend long hours at the attraction. Mainly took a boat ride from one end to the other end. It was a beautiful area that was owned by a group of wealthy salt merchants in the past. According to the boat guide, the place was a must visit by previous emperor when ever he step out of the palace to visit his lands. And they even have a mini version of the place built at the ex-capital for the empress since she can't travel out from the palace. And when the emperor wishes to fish here, the salt merchants will ensure there is a catch by sending divers down the lake to hook big fishes on the emperor's hook. Funny. The place was scenic. But entry fee was not cheap! I think it was $200 RMB. The place was pretty but I think the entry price is too high?

 

(To be continued in the next post cuz I'm tired!)

Tawandang German Brewery at Damsey

There is one place I like for a special day out - a nice place with good food and great atmosphere - Tawandang German Brewery at Damsey Road. Why is it a good place? I think it is good for people of all ages - you see families, couples, teenagers, working adults, etc, all soaking in the great atmosphere with a live band performance, big tv screens showing the latest soccer match, and of course very good food. They brew their own beer and serve them in great mugs or beer towers and their Thai food is yummy!

For a nice satisfying meal, be ready to fork out at least abt $40 per pax.

The German beer costs abt $15. A giant mug of it!

I highly recommend ordering this prawn crackers basket to go with the beer. It comes with a chili dip that is super awesome. The basket is quite big. $7.

We ordered this Thai deep fried promfet that comes with another Thai chili dip. They have removed the bones on the fish so it's awesome for ppl who dislike the fuss of fish eating! The fish was delicious but a bit oily since it is deep fried. Can't remember exact cost of the fish but it was between $25-30.

We also ordered this awesome Thai fried noodle that's different from the usual Phad Thai. This is really what we usually called "hor fun" - wide flat noodles. I don't know how they made it so awesome but it tastes wonderful. Maybe they used a little rice wine. Picture shows the large portion that serves two (or more) and is $22.

There were a lot of other dishes on the menu which I would like to try - including German pork knuckle which I saw many tables ordering. Maybe next time!

The need for self love

While randomly surfing around for self-improvement tips, I came across an article on the need for self love. And I think it is valid to share. According to the article, one will be a happier person if he/she needs not be always doing things to make others happy in order to make themselves happy. It speaks of the type of person who derive happiness from others' feedback on their kind act. It says  that without self love - if I give you a gift, I give it because it’s what I want to do, but I do it wanting you to like it and, by association, like me (with expectation). If you like it and praise me, I might feel warm and good about myself. If you don’t like it I might feel very sad and disappointed, leading to thoughts that I have failed and let you down. My sense of self has decreased because I didn’t fulfill my goal of you liking my gift and giving me love and acceptance back.

Errrmmm, I don't know about you but I do feel damn sad when the "gift", whatever that is, that I had painstakingly prepared for someone is not (perceived by me to be) appreciated by the recipient. There were times that I had spent hours shopping for a thoughtful gift or spent hours hand making a gift with the recipient simply quipping a lukewarm thank you and putting it aside soon after it passes hand. The article said that people with self-love would react differently to the same situation. With self-love: if I give you a gift, I give it because it’s what I want to do and I do it without expectation. If you don’t like it I might feel sad or disappointed, but I can accept that’s your choice. Either way, I still know that what I did was a kind thing and I still have a good sense of self-love and self-acceptance. 

Going by the theory, it would mean I lack a general sense of self-love?  - which I think could be true. I do think that I'm overly concerned if others like me and what I can do to make people like me. Oftentimes I conform to social norms even if it's not my preferred option. I feel guilty when I say no to someone and I worry the person may be upset. I had realized that "self-sacrificial" unhappy side of me and had been challenging myself to be myself more and not what others prefer one to be. Reading the self-love article makes me feel that it is not too selfish to value my inner self more! Ha!

Here's some tips to more self-love. 

• Self-care.

  Self-care means you treat yourself just as kindly and thoughtfully as you would anyone else. If you are uncomfortable doing something, then you don’t do it and that’s OK. Just because somebody might be disappointed that you didn’t help him or her, that’s his or her choice to feel that way.

• Considering your needs.

  If that means others don’t get all of you, all the time, then that’s also OK. People can learn to adjust and be responsible for themselves.

• Caring for yourself with the same level of effort that you do for others.

  That might mean you don’t always fulfill your goal of helping others because you’d prefer to spend time doing something for yourself. That’s not selfish.

• Accepting yourself for all that you are — both your positive aspects and your human fallibility. 

  You cannot be all good all the time. That’s OK. You can work on self-improvement, but that doesn’t mean you discount the parts of yourself you don’t like as much. Those aspects are still part of your whole.

• Saying no to others’ requests.

  That’s OK. You are not totally responsible for everybody else’s needs.

Breko Cafe @ Holland Village Singapore

Hungry at night but you wanna have western food? LOL. Had such a random craving last Saturday. What happened was that I went to Sentosa Adventure Cove (It's a great place by the way) in the late morning and had a late lunch on Sentosa Island. After that my family went home and I knocked out till late.

By the time I'm hungry for dinner it's already past 10pm. HAHA! And I had a craving for meeeeeat!!! OMG. I mean, I usually settle for anything available if I am hungry at night but this time there was this strange desire for some meat (preferably a lot).

Anyway, so I head out for some dinner with my bf and decided to go for Holland Village since it is a well known hang out place for weekend nights. And then we decided to settle for Breko Cafe since it looked like a decent place for some western food.

Holland Village is pretty crowded on Saturday night:

Steak with 2 sides: (Cannot remember exact price but it is below $20, excluding tax)

Double fish burger with fries & salad (I remember it's $14.90)

I think the food was decent although not fantastic. My fish burger was a bit dry but the fries was good. The steak was more cooked on one end vs the other. However all in all still acceptable. The serving speed was fast too. And the price was really reasonable. Overall I would rate it 7/10. A possible option for random peeps with random craving for western food past 11pm. They serve desserts too! 

Personal Review: Noproblem Ion Balance products

First and foremost, I'm not being paid for this review. It's my personal review - not performed under any scientific settings. Why do I want to write a review on this product? Because I myself couldn’t find sufficient personal detailed reviews of the product online despite several searches. Not sure what's the reason, but I can't seem to find many private reviews of Noproblem Ion Balance products before I actually buy it. I wonder if such reviews are being restricted or my searches are poor? Most of the stuff I found are commercial or general, not personal. Anyway, this review goes out to those who are like me – those looking for a private review on the product.

Okay, these supposedly health beneficial bracelets/necklaces have been in the market for quite a few years now and shouldn’t be new to most people. The concept of such health balancing bracelets or necklaces etc, is largely debated and remains not conclusive. There are actually many brands in the market, based either on the concept of the health benefits of germanium, tourmaline or some other stuffs like magnets or "holograms" that synchronize with ur body's energy field (Something like that). Some popular brands are like Noproblem Ion Balance (NPB), PowerBalance, iRenew, etc.  

Even though it's not proven to be effective, they were wildly popular for a period of time (all the sportsmen were donning one at one time) and some users claimed that these products helped them in many ways such as sleeping better, better moods, better sports performance, better flexibility, better alertness and a whole long list of miracles. Some experts believed that it's just a psychological trickery that your brain reacts the way u want the results to be. I read that if you believe strong enough that something exists, then ur brain will actually create bodily reactions that resonates with what u believe in. Our brain is a damn powerful equipment lah.  It's something weird like for example, if passengers on a plan think that there is a virus on the plane (hence causing some panic), some of them may actually start developing immediate symptoms of being infected even if there is no virus at all. So the theory is that if u tell someone that he will immediately feel better strength upon putting on a balance bracelet, he will actually respond to be so when being tested. However, the results may be the same even if u pass him a fake bracelet. So it's largely dependent on how much your brain bought the idea.

Anyway, the scientific proof and whatever debate aside, I think there is no conclusion. Why? I still see the stuff being sold at rocket prices. In fact, there are stores in Singapore or counters specialising in the sale of these products. It makes me wonder – if they are truly not effective, why is there still such market demands warranting the survival of such brands and stores? Is it really a case of blind demands? In addition, I also feel that researchers are constantly confused themselves. How many times have you encountered this – something was “scientifically proven” to be beneficial for health and became the hype, and then many years later another research surfaced to prove it wrong? For a period of time, collagen related cosmetics was the hip thing appearing everywhere and then it was later said that there is no way for the body to absorb collegen from surface applications and it should be ingested. Subsequently I read yet another article that only collagen derived from certain livestock can actually be absorbed well through ingestion… So what have people been wasting their money on all along? And is collagen products still popular? – YES. Well, if the brain is powerful enough to creates reality of what you believe in, what is the harm of believing in a good thing like perhaps a Noproblem Ion Balance product will bring you better health? Obviously you are not supposed to substitute it with exercise or your prescribed medications (if any). It is just a supplementary product.

I have colleagues and friends who told me that the ion balancing products made them feel better, such as through the relieve of neck pain or shoulder pain. Due to word of mouth, I had contemplated getting one for myself for a while but I never got to it as I felt that the price is quite expensive. I recently came across a sale event on Qoo10.com.sg (Previously Gmarket) and grabbed the chance to buy 2 Noproblem Ion Balance necklaces at a steal. The site stated that each product will come with a verification code to verify the authenticity of the product on NPB’s website. (Hey, if I am going to spend money on some silicone, I may as well make sure it is THE silicone. You get what I mean?). Anyway, Qoo10’s users who bought em seemed to like the products even though it is again a wrestle between 2 school of thoughts on the effectiveness. The main consensus was that the necklaces are of good quality and the packaging was good and the products were verified authentic online. Sounds good enough for me. So here are what I got:

Overview of my black P055A & white P055B Noproblem Ion Balance necklaces:

The packaging is quite decent and came sealed. There was some verification codes for one to check for the authenticity online as per stated on Qoo10. Apparently, the same code can be used to check for authenticity only 3 times before the system will block you (the verification webpage stated so) I think it's an added security measure to prevent fakes. Not that this method is foolproof of course. Anyway, I checked for one of my products and it was verified authentic. Haha! Didn't bother with the second.

I think the stainless steel's parts are sturdy and well built. Unlike some cheapo stuff. Guys might actually buy such accessories even if there is no health benefits.

Picture on the steel parts:

An impressive part was the clapse to lock the necklace in place. It requires a push and twist action which means the necklace is unlikely to fall off on its own during some sports. The engraving on the pack of the pendent is centralized and well printed (Another indication of authenticit).

The manual

There is no need for much instructions really. Except that first time usage will cause certain symptoms such as nausea,  dizziness etc. Some may report more vivid dreams. An interesting thing here - I did feel nauseated when I first wore the necklace - before I read any instructions. It could be I was dehydrated that day, or it could mean the necklace did caused some bodily reactions. Anyway, I'd been wearing the necklace for about 2 weeks now, I didn't do any really physical activities so I'm unable to review the part on better flexibility and strength etc. I am however able to feedback that I do seem to have better sleep - as in I wake up feeling less lethargic. In addition, I seemed to have better skin lately. Whether it is my brain causing the effect or perhaps the magic of my noproblem ion balance I'm unable to prove. But I say - hey, no harm trying. Tell me if it works for you.

My new rainbow mobile decal stickers!

What do u do to make yourself happy? I'm not talking abt something major like achieving a scientific breakthrough, making a record sales, scoring distinction in a tough subject or blowing a few Ks on the latest products (you get the idea). Something more achievable and within reach? 

For me, I shop for bargains/sales in something I had wanted but didn't put in the effort to find or have been putting off buying to save that bit of money, or do stuff that I have been putting off the action for whatever reasons.

People who knows me know that I like to buy little cutesy knick knacks since I was little. I'd cut down a lot (There is this fear that people will judge me as being childish). But sometimes I just indulge in myself when the kick comes. ;-P I think this "child-like" preference is moderated by the fact that there are a lot of adults into toy stuff these days. Haaa. Anyway that's just an excuse for some of the teenage stuff I still buy. 

I like to personalize my stuff, especially my mobile. This explains the number of phone covers I have. I like to alternate    every other day to suit my mood and probably have abt 15 over covers. I don't just buy the very expensive kind la. Some times just from push cart or online, like $10 a piece kind. Having a new cover always brighten my mood for a while. It's like having a new phone. Lol.

Mobile phone decal stickers with front and back coverage have been gaining popularity. The front sticker also doubles as a screen protector. They used to be really expensive. Like $20-25. I didn't buy them back then cuz I think it's a waste of money la. It's more expensive than some phone covers loh. Anyway I'm protecting my phone with a cover so what's the purpose of a nice back sticker that ppl can't see anyway right? Well, the price have been dropping since a year back, and the variety of prints are amazing now. But of course, the nicer the prints, the more expensive they tend to be. And some shops still sell them at a ridiculous price.

Anyway, the last time I found a cheap set was at a wholesale centre at KL. I think the cost translates to abt $5 SGD. I loved the Rilakkuma prints, although I think some may think it's too childish for me. The front screen sticker was badly scratched after a few months of use. Here's a peek at my decal, you can't see the scratches due to the angle i took the shot.

This weekend, I found another set at KSL City at JB! (Ya, budget meow likes to go to Malaysia and help their economy instead.  :-P) The pretty rainbow decal costs $20 MYR which translates to about $8 SGD. Although I have been contemplating to buy the new iPhone 5S as my contract is over, I couldn't resist the rainbow decal as they are so pretty! Looks like I will stick to my 4S for a little while longer then! I think this set looks a little bit less kiddish than the previous. Hahaha. Here's my mobile's new clothes! 

I pasted both sets with my own hands! Not bad right?? Yes, little things like this will cheer me up. I need not spend a lot or achieve great goals for little joy in life. I hope you are able to find little things to cheer yourself too. ;-D Feel free to share with me! 

Travel entry - My first visit to Penang M'sia via Air Asia, stayed Bayview Hotel Georgetown!

Ok, I think I had wanted to post my second entry on my Phuket trip but I procrastinated and by now I had visited Penang... Tsk tsk. So forgive meow to jump right in to my latest trip to a wonderful destination - Penang, cuz the memories are so fresh and pretty!

I'm not sure why I had never visited Penang in the past. I suppose I'd focused mostly on beach destinations and shopping heavens kinda places. Penang is better known for its cultural heritage and food. 

It was another one of my quick escapee over the weekend, 3 days 2 nights. This is a birthday treat to le bf. And I flew by Air Asia. I'm a budget cat so I usually travel by budget air if it's to a nearby country. I don't think we should spend a few hundreds more on a short 2-3 hours journey trip when we can better spend the money elsewhere like on shopping, food or hotel. The furthest I had ever flown by budget so far is actually Taipei. My experience so far with Air Asia have always been very good amongst other competitors. Anyway, my Air Asia flight to Penang fr Singapore is only abt 1 hr 20 mins, with zero delay! :-D Any Singaporean can fly there over the weekend to enjoy the glorious food!!!

My choice of lodging is at Bayview Hotel, Georgetown Penang. That was decided after a bit of online research. I'm very pleased with my choice as it was a very good experience. Firstly, the hotel accepted my request for a piece of cake for le bf as it was his birthday as a "surprise" on our check-in. Bayview Hotel staff responded online to accept my request within 1 day turnaround time! Upon arrival, Bayview's counter staff immediately "signaled" that they have noted my request. In addition, they upgraded my room from a Deluxe to a Premire Deluxe on the 14th floor with a clear view of Georgetown. Speechless right?!? Here's a pic of the ultra spacious room that comes with a bathroom with both a bathtub and a shower section:

View of Georgetown from my room:

And they gave us a whole cake! It is yummy too.

Although it is only a 4 stars hotel. I felt like I'd been given a 5 stars experience loh. ;-D The hotel booking also included breakfast. I think the breakfast was ok ok only la. There are many variety served but  I would say 70% are carbohydrate based with less meat dishes. Then again, Penang hawker food is so delicious, no need to focus so much on the breakfast lah! Just have a bite to get you going in the morning! 

Location wise, Bayview Hotel is located in a great spot near to a lot of nice places. The Blue Mansion attraction and the famous Red Garden Food centre is only 1-2 mins across the road loh! And majority of the other attractions are actually not that far away la. And the hotel is reasonably priced. So although I'm not paid for so much raving, I would highly recommend ppl to try staying there for a visit to Penang. 

Red Garden Food Centre: 

In my opinion, Red Garden Food Centre should be a Penang attraction itself because the food are super delicious there!!! We tried Wu Xiang, oyster omelet, pork leg rice, rojak, cendol and char kuay teow. I'm super happy Bayview Hotel is 2 mins away loh. I visited the place twice and all the dishes were superd and better than the hawker food we tried at another famous eating place - Gurney Drive. The place opens from the late afternoon till the wee hours.

I didn't visit all the attractions in Penang due to time constraint, only selected ones I am more interested in - Kek Lok Si temple, Clan Jetties, Peranakan Mansion, Khoo Kongsi and Penang Hill. I'd also paid a short visit to Komtar, Gurney Drive Night market and the Gurney Plaza Shopping Centre. I will try to touch on a bit of all the places in case anyone happen to need some travel research and chanced upon my blog :-).

Kek Lok Si temple @ Ayer Itam 

Ok this is a famous attraction in Penang and is my top recommendation regardless of your faith. Fyi there were Indian, Malay, Jap, Korean, and westerners all over the place. We took a taxi to this attraction as it is not very near.  Btw, taxi rides are not very cheap in Penang and you can actually bargain with the driver on the price. None of the taxis run on meters. Lol. Ride fr Bayview Hotel to Kek Lok Si costs us abt $30 or $40 MYR I think. There is a free tourist bus running through Georgetown for your info. We took it once in our trip to the Clan Jetties but decided to travel by foot or taxi subsequently to other places as it wasn't easy to hunt down the bus stops and there was not much time for us to waste. Anyway, check out the sights of this mega temple:

I suppose most ppl expect Penang to be a place of cultural experience and this place fits the bill. Having travelled to many countries, this is probably the biggest Chinese temple I'd visited simply because it is sprawling uphill and I believe it is still growing as devotees are pouring in money every year. The Guan Ying statue at the top is very big. 

You have to pass by a lot of small stalls selling all sort of random souvenirs before actually reaching the first attraction which is a turtle pond. After that you should be greeted by a few interesting temples before u pay a small fee to take an "inclined lift" to reach the top with the gigantic Guan Ying and another temple. Yes - they built an inclined lift! I'm sure u can actually walk up to the top (which is not a big distance) except we couldn't find the walking path so taking the lift is more convenient. 

The overall architecture of the temple is marvelous and it is obvious that the Penang Chinese were and still are very rich and devoted to their faith. The temple is a vibrant place u should not miss in your trip. 

After ending ur temple visit, you might be interested to grab a bite at the bunch of eateries found at the bottom of the hill. On the way to the temple, the taxi driver told us the Assam laksa at Ayer Itam market is one of the most famous in Penang so we dropped by to try for lunch. We shared one and found the taste a bit "exotic" in comparison to the Singaporean style laksa. And we went on to a food centre nearby to have some handmade noodles which were delicious. We had the herbal soup version and the dry version. Oh, by the way, we felt that the food portion in Penang is quite small - perfect for sharing a large variety of food. Lol

 

Penang Hill

The Penang Hill is often quoted a must to visit when one goes Penang. In my opinion, it is not as marvelous as some other attractions such as the mega temple Kek Lok Si. If you do visit the temple, which u should, then perhaps it make sense to drop by the nearby Penang Hill Ayer Itam station (15-25 mins walk depending on ur speed or you can take a bus which we waited forever for and ended up taking a taxi $10MYR after the long fruitless wait under hot weather) to take the tram up the hill. 

The main attraction of the hill should in fact be the funicular tram that rides up and down the steep slope. This I find particularly interesting. But it costs $30 MYR for tourists for 2 way which is a bit expensive. Anyway, the air is cooling on top of the hill and u get to see a good view of Penang fr up there. Otherwise, there is nothing much up there. U can perhaps get a drink or an ice cream to enjoy the cool air before taking the exciting tram back down.

Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi

There are a lot of "Kongsi" in Penang. We passed by a few while searching for Khoo Kongsi. Before visiting the place, I don't really understand what is "Kongsi" because in Chinese language it translates to "company". I think these are the gathering houses of the Chinese clans in the past. These are more like "temples" honoring the clans, classified by surnames, with the Khoo Kongsi being the grandest. It's a really interesting place to visit because the concept is quite unique. In Singapore there are clan houses too, older generations' gathering places according to surnames, but not in the version of grand temples. U get to see how rich Chinese honor their family tying all the way back to their roots - by surnames. The place is well maintained and grand (especially the elaborated roof) although the attraction is not very big in term of size. There are quite a number of  large paintings to observe as well as interesting sculptures all over. It costs $10 MYR for entry.

Penang Peranakan Mansion

This is a famous mansion, a UNESCO world heritage site, that was featured in the very popular Singapore tv series - The Little Nyonya. Peranankan refers to the descendants of Straits Chinese , something unique to our part of the world. I'm not so good with history so I don't know how come some of us are Peranakan and some aren't when in fact all our forefathers came from China long long ago to settle along this part of the world. Anyway, Peranakan in Singapore are typified by some similarity - wealthy, English-Malay-Mandarin speaking, and with the ability to cook delicious Nyonya food. Haha! This awesome Peranakan Mansion gives an insight into how rich the Peranakan were in old days and their unique preference in home decal. Lol.

I think this mansion is sort of one of a kind. Not available elsewhere. There are Peranakan houses in Singapore as well, not as big as this one in Penang. There is a "secret" path leading to the ancestral temple located at the back of the house and it is amazingly big, so don't miss it. Entry to the place is $20 MYR. We were not offered a guide although we noticed some foreigners were given a guide... Anyway, worth a visit with or without guide. We saw two couples having their bridal shoots there to. Really beautiful place.

The Clan Jetties

Again, uniquely Penang and a UNESCO site. This is a row of jetties classified according to family surnames. You might be familiar with the concept of "Kelong", wooden houses on stilts on water. The Clan Jetties consist of a whole row of interconnected kelongs. I think the main attractive point is the concept that this still exist or co-exist with the rest of the more developed Penang. Essentially, you are simply walking through a fisherman neighborhood built on water. We visited the Chew Jetty as it is more tourist friendly and left thereafter.

Komtar, Gurney Plaza & Gurney Drive Night Market

Ok, if you need some quality shopping, Komtar is not the place. It's a seriously run down place with some random shops as well as a supermarket. I guess it should be well known for simply being the tallest building in Penang and that's all. However, the bus interchange is right beside it in case u are more keen to take the bus to the places of interest. 

We took a taxi to Gurney Plaza after our visit to Penang Hill as we intended to have our dinner at the famous Gurney Drive Night Market. The taxi is $30 MYR. Gurney Plaza is a decent mall quite similar to those in Singapore (maybe because it is actually a Capitamall) and it has a great cinema. We watched a movie there before heading out to the night market for food. This Gurney Drive market is really big, a long stretch lined with hawkers. We tried the Lok Lok, oyster omelet (again), char kuay teow (again), rojak (again - yes because the local delights are so yummy), ice kacang, and coconut drink. The food were nice. But if I have to compare, I think Red Garden is better!

Other than actual places of interest, Georgetown is famous with some wall murals and deco scattered all over. I think they make it interesting for tourists to hunt down. In fact, not all info can be found on the Internet, perhaps some are constantly added on. Here are some of my captures just because I happened to pass by. Haha!!! 

I think I will return again for more great food. Maybe I will stay at the beach area in my next visit. Hope my entry is useful to any wannabe Penang tourist!

Review: Tampopo BP Shabu Ramen @ Takashimaya

It was my best Friday 13th yet! Knocked off early from some company's initiative to "Eat with your family" and off I went eating, drinking, gossiping and shopping with 2 colleagues. U know, colleagues are just like "family" in an office context lah. 

Convinced them to go Orchard as I needed to buy something from Tangs. (Yeeha!) 

We decided to go Tampopo at Taka for dinner. I was trying very hard to scrutinize the menu for the least fattening food to minimize the damage to my growing waistline (A new initiative shared with a fellow colleague). I know that my late sleeping habit means that a salad will defeat the purpose as I will be super hungry later in the night and will probably go dig for food. 

I usually order the fried katsu at Tampop. I shall say those are rather satisfying. However, I managed to convince myself that "You can't have so much carbs, fats and proteins for a dinner! Please persevere!". So I started aiming at items that are not deep fried to cut the damage, although 90% of me wanna jump for the katsu. (Wtf perseverance!?) Then my eyes rolled across a print that reads "Voted Singapore No.1 by HungryGoWhere". What? A ramen that's no.1 that has not been tried by me? Obviously the thought doesn't sits well with a ramen lover like me.

So while my colleagues happily ordered their deep fried cutlets and rice, mine is a BP Shabu Ramen. I didn't counter check but I do believe BP stands for Black Pig. I'd always preferred cha shu over Shabu Shabu pork in the past, so I wasn't overly excited that the ramen would live up to its title. I was wrong.

Tampopo BP Shabu Ramen ($16.80 w tax)

A quick look at the ramen, it doesn't look anything special. My colleagues were a bit shocked at the amount of chili flakes on it. There wasn't any exciting ingredient in the bowl such as a giant piece of seaweed or an awesome onsen egg. In fact, there wasn't anything much. U can see from the pic that there are some bamboo shoot slices, some veg and barely visible slices of Shabu pork plus lotta chili flakes. However, take a closer look and you may notice that the soup isn't oily like usual ramen soup. I scrutinized the soup and was a bit amazed. Anyway, as I eat on, I uncover a decent amount of BP pork. Customers can opt to top up over a dollar for extra pork too. The shabu pork was thin, chewy and fresh. The soup was good & not oily. Not spicy at all. I added a little more chili powder on fact. The noodle texture was dense, which is what I like. In the end, I finished the whole bowl of ramen even though I wasn't extremely hungry.

We stayed on to chit chat after our mains. The waiter comes by 3 times to ask if we want desserts. I deduce this is a technique to tell us we have overstayed our welcome - but we didn't care lah. We were too tired and we needed a place to chat and catch up. It's difficult to go find an alternative venue. The waitress came by to refill my hot tea at least 4 times - how shameless of me. Anyway, no one really officially chase us away la.

My overall rating of the food & services: 9/10.

Singapore Toys, Games & Comic Convention (STGCC) 2013

Wanna blog abt my first time ever visit to a toys, games & comic convention (STGCC) And it was held right here in Singapore, MBS!!! 

I was amazed and impressed by the scale of the convention. And was even more astonished by the number of mind boggling Cosplay fans in Singapore!!!! The $19 entry was really well worth my money!!! 

I guess this year's main attention focus was on Iron Man. There were lots and lots of Iron Man displays and toys, And a lot in life size scale! There were also many  Iron Man fans around. Check out some of the photos.

The many life size Iron Man

Please note the one I'm standing next to is a fan in his home made attire!!! Amazing right?!? It's so well done!

The cutest Iron Man (I mean girl)

The many toys and displays

Of course, beside this man, there are a lot of other toy displays at the convention and a lot of other great cosplay characters. However I really have too many photos taken to have all uploaded in this post! I shall try to pick the coolest ones and merge some into collages. 

Some of the great cosplay & toys

And beside managing to take pictures of those awesome realistic toys and fantastic cosplay, I managed to snag some toys to lug home!!! Check out my new collection of nanoblock (Rilakkuma! My fav Sanrio character! I may ve aged but it seemed impossible to ditch Sanrio! Ha!) 

And a Tokidoki mobile charm.

There are a lot more interesting photos I'd taken at the convention. It will be impossible to post all. Haha! I will be so looking forward to the annual convention from now on! So now, whoever have thought that such conventions are for wannabe teens, geeks or nerds shall rethink! It's really a lot of fun to spend a whole afternoon on. And I think some ppl bought tickets for both days of the event!

STGCC - You rox!