Hokkien Mee in Kuala Lumpur

July 28, 2005 @ Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur

My Singaporean friend came down for work and I took him to Chinatown to taste our very own Hokkien Noodle. You cannot find this authentic Hokkien Mee in Singapore or other places. Why? Because it simply does not taste the same outside of Malaysia ;-)

The noodle is cooked with black soy sauce and stir fried with pork, prawn, lat (gives the aroma!) and some vegies. The trick I learnt in cooking this noodle is you need a lot of lat and very hot 'wok'. For those who has not tried this special noodle, you can find them in Chinatown. The famous one is near an intersection, a very old shop behind a row of fruit stalls.

Yummy Food

February 2005 @ Food food food, Beijing

One of the main reason I love Beijing was because of the good and yummy food! If you are visiting Beijing, never missed the chance for their famous Peking duck. The duck was prepared by some trained master and you have to know where the good places. If you are not sure where to go, make sure you go to any branches run by 'Quan Ju De'. There is one next to Hilton Beijing in ChaoYang area.

Anyway, the duck was grilled with fruit trees, was told usually branches of apple trees. This leaves a good aroma on the duck. After it turned crisp brown, the server will slice the duck. First cut was only on the skin, no fat just skin! You can dip it on sugar and it will melt in your mouth instantly! Magic! Second cut, has a little bit of fat and crispy skin, we wrapped the meat with the thin pancake and vegies. Dipped into the bean sauce and taste was uummmph! The third and last cut, was mainly duck meat. You can arrange with the chef to cook the duck meat with noodles!

Duck is not the only food served in Beijing of course. The other most memorable meal I had was the Vegetarian Restaurant. The food was mainly made of flour but the taste and food looked exactly like pork and seafood! Unbelievable real!



Yummy! yummy! I can't wait to go back to these restaurants again ;-)

Amazing Sakura

May 2005 @ Shinjuku Park, Tokyo

I have been traveling into Tokyo for the last 4 years but never been there during Sakura Season! This year I was lucky ;-) A few colleagues decided to hold a Hanami (Sakura) party at Shinjuku Park.

We first stopped at the convenience store and it was so packed with locals that buying their picnic stuffs. We bought so much food, but beers and sake were first priority. We adjourned to the park after the shopping, but the queue and crowd was amazing! We had waited more than an hour outside the park before we made it inside the park.

It was a worth waited moment. The park was so packed that almost every single space with direct sun was taken! The scene reminds me of a beachside where the local will place their mats on the floors like little picnic area for themselves.

We found a good spot and we started eating and drinking. I had sake that day though I couldn't drink a lot. The view surrounding the park was just amazing. When the wind blow, the sakura will dropped off from the branches, and the Japanese called them "sakura storm".

It was really one of highlight in all my traveling years. See the picture and you could tell ;-)

Beautiful and Serene Lakes in Hanoi

July 21st, 2005 @ Ho Tay and Hoan Kiem Lakes

It was a cloudy afternoon and I had decided to walk around the city. Hanoi is famous for the lakes. Around the lakes there were lotsa interesting cafe! After a long walk and feeling tired, you can sit down and sip 'cap phe sua-nong' (hot Vietnamese coffee). I love the aroma of the coffee with a few drops of sweetened milk.


First I went to Hoan Kiem Lake, it was the most popular among the tourist. The walkway around the lake was nicely tiled, and everyday you will see all the local walking or even jogging on the path. You will encounter all sort of people there. Some in their pyjamas, some foreign backpackers, some local busy selling postcards to you, and of course a lot of elderly sitting on the bench chatting away with their friends. It's an interesting life out here.

The second lake which is also the biggest lake is Ho Tay (West Lake). This place has more restaurants and cafes. You can even rent a Swan Boat and paddle around the lake. Just make sure you don't paddle too far, when I mean the lake is big, it's really huge ;-)

Near Ho Tay, there was a tourist spot called 'One Pillar Pagoda'. It's an active temple which many tourist will stop by taking pictures of the pagoda. Around the spot, there were a lot of longans fruits growing on top of the tree.

I found the lakes in Hanoi is very serene and calm. I know the city is developing but just hope it will not become overly commercialize in the future.

Hanoi Opera House

July 22, 2005 @ Hanoi Opera House

I went for a performance in Hanoi Opera House. The opera and musical performances is housed in the old colonial building (since 1911) and heard recently has been refurnished.


I got my ticket priced at 160,000 Duong (or RM40), which is supposed to be the top range ticket for the best seats in the house. I had chosen a box seat since I was watching alone. I wore a shirt and jeans. Seems not very strict with the dressings.



The performance started at 8pm sharp. The theme for that night was 'The Strings of Musics' and was sponsored by Malaysian Airlines, Petronas and Guoman Hotel. There were 2 pretty Korean lasses or violin players who attended Tchakovski music school in Russia.

The performances were impecably good. It really stirred up my emotions with their professional violin skills with lots of emotions put into the music.


The only thing that bothers me in the opera house was people taking pictures with flashes which may affect the musicians on the stage. Hope the organiser will take note of this in the future performances.

The next time when you visit Hanoi, don't forget to drop by at Hanoi Opera House, even if you are not a classical lovers. Experience it for yourself.