Went to this place quite a while back to celebrate my birthday. I suggested this place and I guess now I know the meaning of HIGH CLASS fine dining in Singapore. Burnt a big fat hole in the pocket but was pretty an experience.


Inakaya Robatayaki, at Orchard Parade Hotel

Obviously I had a few options in my mind but I guess its a once in a lifetime experience (maybe really going to be that only once). The ambience is really different from normal Japanese restaurants, do expect very noisy chefs and very noisy customers as well, and chefs asking you to clap your hands once a while. Though its expensive to dine, and should you be interested, please make reservation because its always packed.


Sort of like a teppanyaki style dinner, but with much more to expect...

Let's look at the food.

Once you are seated, they serve the Otoshi ($6)


Sweet and salty appetizers

Then you proceed with ordering the mains. There is no menu and all the fresh seafood and vegetables are placed in front of the cooking area. You just order and order without knowing the price. That's what I did.


Yea, and they start the grilling. What's the oar for? Guess.

First item.


The Omi Gyu (近江牛). Guess what? $40 for that skewer. Best dish you can have for the meal.


Jumbo mushroom. Shrunk after grilling. $8. It's not portobello by the way.


Konasu. Japanese eggplant. Size of your thumb. $8.


Kuruma ebi. King prawn. Grilled yet very juicy. $15.


Kani Seromushi. Steamed Crab rice. Very unique. The rice seems to be steamed from the juice that flows out from the crab. And its glutinous rice. ORGASMIC. $25.


Pego Rosu. Grilled Onions. Sweet. So expensive. 1 Onion $6.


Another highlight of the meal. Grilled Alaskan crab leg. $70. I can buy a whole crab in Hokkaido for $110 though. Very juicy.

Ok, I missed out taking pics for the grilled asparagus ($6) and the yakitori ($5). The dinner ended with fruits which they served 2 slices of Japanese peach and 2 slices of Japanese mango for $6.


It better be Japanese peach and mango!

The whole meal ended with a blast by looking at the bill. $248.

Yea, and in the end I got:


=)


=) =)

Ok, everything's worth it. =)

Was supposed to end the previous entry, but then realised I have 3 pictures I have never posted before.

Seriously, I don't know whether I should recommend this place. All my life I visited Bangkok I have never been to this place, and this is my first time stepping foot. Well, most of the people I guess have been on their 1st visit already, and must be saying I am the most SUAKU person on earth.

Presenting...


Patpong! The district of lights. Oh this stretch is SPECIALLY for JAPANESE =P

I carried my Lonely Planet with me in search of the places listed in Sala Deang. The clean ones, sleazy ones, the straight ones and the unstraight ones. Somehow I still feel quite confused with all the Sois that I was not able to finish finding some that were listed in the book, and while walking in search of the rest, I made my way to the Patpong night market.


Hmm is it really a night market?

Yea you see all the pimps along the streets asking you to watch shows. And peeking inside into the bars/clubs whatever you see girls doing poledancing. Seems like and endless stretch though, a 15 minute walk on both sides of the street. Heard there's more happening stuff after watching the poledancing on the 1st floor, you proceed up to the 2nd floor for more interesting mind blowing shows. I find it pretty gross, paying money to watch women mutilating themselves... argh.

Other that that, just mingle yourself in between the crowd and get yourself busy with the fake jerseys and those singlets with brands of beer. Find A* grade imitation goods like LV bags, Tiffany and Co accessories, Mont Blanc Pens and also those Rolex/Omega watches.


Yea a pretty small scale chatuchak by night.

Come see and enjoy Patpong for yourselves.

Finally! Last entry for Bangkok. Someone been asking me if I travel to BKK like monthly, or even weekly? Yea looks like it huh, March pictures can post till July...

I'm sure for those who are so bored always going to BKK, there must be some things that we do almost repeatedly every trip. Sometimes before going you just feel sick thinking of doing the same things, but I'll just console myself like:


CentralWorld again? Ok this time there is a new shop never been before - The Manga Playground.


Shopping at Siam Paragon again? Ok this time there is the Bangkok International Fashion Week.


Ahh to Chatuchak again? Maybe got new puppies to play with this time...


Hmm to Suan Lum again? The government keep saying wanting to close it down and I don't want to miss shopping there the last time!


So boring eat fastfood again? Well got the new Cupid Berry McFlurry and the Caribbean Shrimp Burger to try...

I thought I must really do something or visit somewhere which I never seen before, so I went to sign up for a half day tour. We paid about 50SGD for 2 to visit Bangkok's floating market.

Don't think there are only floating markets only in Chiangmai. Well, should say Chiangmai has one of the biggest floating markets in Thailand but Bangkok has 4 floating markets too, especially the Damnoen Saduak floating market which caters more to the tourists in Bangkok.

So in the morning came this tour mini van which took about 90 mins ride to the outskirts of Bangkok and then we took a boat ride to the floating market.


Boat ride view of the houses along the river.

Was about 5-10 minutes ride when we finally reached the Damnoen Saduak floating market. It's really packed and filled with tourists.


Honk honk! Traffic jams at the floating market as well.

Well, the guide gave us an hour stay at the market and told us to take the boat ride. Yea, this is the boat ride to traverse along the floating market and I think it costs about 15 SGD. Being so me, I think its pretty dumb to pay to get stuck in a jam and waste your time away and its just so scorching hot, I decided to walk along the sides of the river. At least its more comfortable under the shelter and you can see both the people selling things on their boats and also the stalls along the river.


Pretty interesting sight to behold, selling handicraft and food on their boats. Fancy some goreng pisang? Try it, its very good!


Fancy some glass noodles in soup? For a while I thought it was so dangerous should the gas cylinder explode.

Well, as you might know, you pay for a half day tour to the floating market, but the agency will include a few additional places to visit so they can ahem* earn some commission, so they brought us to the elephant ride:


Think its about $15 SGD per person for a 45 min ride in the woods. I think its too cruel on the elephants and decided to stay in the shed and drink some coconut juice instead.

After the elephant ride, they bring you to some snake farm to look at cobra performances and venom extraction.


Yea the usual stuff...

Then on the way back to the hotel they will definitely bring you to this GEM FACTORY. That was when 2 of the ang moh tourists got angry and shouted at the tour guide. "I just paid money for the Floating Market and I want to go back to the hotel! Are you going to cheat our money by bringing us to the tailor the massage and the thai girls next!"

Yea, finally the episode ended and she obediently sent each of us back to the hotel.

That pretty much sums of the 2nd Bangkok trip of the year. Glad you guys enjoyed it. Before I go, here's something do remember to try:


Durian Glutinous rice! All the while I though mango was better, till I tried the Durian one!

Very belated entry, been busy at work and planning for my holidays as well. Got holidays coming up and got to finish posting all my Bangkok pics as soon as possible.

Got to recommend this CHIC ITALIAN FINE DINING restaurant called FUZIO. How to get there? Take the BTS to Thong Lo station and then take a 5 min cab to the restaurant. Just refer to the address in the site or tell the driver its the Mini Cooper building (yea the showroom) and its on the 6th floor of that building.


It's pretty dark, wonder if you can see the entrance.


You get to the the open concept kitchen once you enter the restaurant.



You see the bar counter and the view of a corner of the restaurant.

Ok, now comes the food part. The bad thing is after leaving the pics in the comp for too long, you cannot remember the names of the dishes...


After ordering the food, they serve you the different kinds of bread.


After the long wait, you get the appetizers. I can't remember the dish name, but I know its raw fish with Foie Gras!


We have the Lobster Bisque soup....


... and the Asparagus soup.


Of course you don't forget the Ravioli (Wanton I call them) in Italian cuisine.


Finally the main dish comes. Presenting the Seafood squid ink Spaghetti. YUM.


Ok this picture looks bad, but its actually medium rare Black Angus Beef.


Too full for the desserts, but we had some cocktail to go along with.

Total damage, cannot remember the figure in Baht but its 220SGD. Wahaha. Big bust in the pockets but well deserved meal. And those who want to visit the restaurant, SMART CASUAL please and they really mean it, don't book the place and end up not able to get into the restaurant.

Rating: ****


The next one we found it on Lonely Planet Bangkok. Tried searching the net but there was no site mentioning about this restaurant, but there were a lot of awards given to the restaurant and hanging on the walls of the restaurant, queer though.

Quite a quiet and nice place to dine it. Not really considered high end but its a Thai-French restaurant with pretty cosy ambience and well liked by the French and Japanese expats in Bangkok. Not really easy place to find though even its only 5 mins taxi ride from our hotel.

Address: 104 Soi 7, Th Narathiwat Ratchanakharin, near Chong Nonsi BTS (my advise is copy the address and take a cab)


As mentioned in the Lonely planet, a petanque(French lawn bowling) courtyard.


Pretty cosy, but can be quite noisy when you get half drunk Japanese talking very loud.


This is the thai Prawn Paste rice.


I had the thai Seafood rice.


This dish looks interesting but the taste after trying is like it tastes like the canned pork we use it to fry Beehoon.


I thought this is interesting. Sotong stuffed with minced meat and tunghoon in Tomato sauce. I thought it was pretty unique until a Nonya friend told me that this is actually a Peranakan dish. =(

We had another fish but it was too nice and we finished it before taking a pic of that, and also 2 fruit juices.

Total damage 1100 Baht(~48 SGD). Pretty worth it lah, but other than the rice which seems thai, the rest of the dishes nothing thai nor french. Feeling of 'KENA' cheated.

Rating: ** 1/2

Last entry coming real soon. 1 day tripping around Bangkok.

At a loss of what to post for this entry. Was trying to sort out all my pics and I realise I could actually post at least 3 more entries on my March Bangkok trip. I shall try to speed up the posts cause I might be heading to somewhere else pretty soon!

This entry is going to be a bit weird. I'll be featuring 2 of the restaurants I've actually eaten twice in 5 days.

Place 1: Kuang Seafood
107/12 Soi Rang Nam, Opposite ESSO Gas Station, Bangkok
Tel:0 26425591
Open from 1000hrs - 0400hrs
How to get there:
1. Alight at Siam BTS. You can choose to walk or take cab. Its past Baiyoke Hotel. Last time I took cab, this time I walked for more than 20 minutes.
2. Alight at Victory Monument. Walking time about 10 minutes. Just continue walking on the path leading to the King Power Duty Free store.


Last year in MBK, I bought a Sony MS from a shop and I asked the uncle about places serving cheap good seafood. This Thai Chinese introduced me to this place, and I been paying visit to this place whenever I visit Bangkok, like a pilgrimage heh. How cheap and how good can you expect? For you to see and then to visit and judge for yourselves...

1st visit (Dinner on Day 2)


"SEE HUM"! Wasn't really my cup of tea but I give it a try nonetheless with anything but the special green spicy sauce again!


As original as you can get. This bowl of Seafood Tom Yum blows your mind away!


I go weak on tofu... This is their homemade tofu in Sweet Spicy sauce. Fried like agedashi tofu. Yum!


Erm some form of clams? It's so tangy and well cooked with the oyster sauce.


This meal wouldn't have been complete with the steamed crabs with pepper and light soy sauce.

Total damage? 1200 Baht (~52 SGD) for 2.

2nd Visit (Lunch on Day 4)

I was a bit disappointed initially, cause its been 4 days and yet we haven been to Chinatown to have our dose of birds nest and sharksfin. I was "whining" and grumbling when...


*Sniff sniff* I smell something GREAT!


Yay I feel 1/2 complete! (Ok I'm going to cut down on sharksfin as to start protecting the sharks)


I start feasting on these awesome crispy melt in your mouth non rubbery sotong!


Yea its the clam thingy again with the crunchy sea asparagus


And you have the DA TOU XIA - it's a "MUST HAVE" when you are in Bangkok


Hmm what's inside this coconut?


Ok now I feel complete =)


You see the closeup now....HEAVENLY (Coconut + Birds Nest + Ginko)

Total damage? 1600 Baht (~70 SGD) for 2.

Place 2: S&P Restaurant

I think some of the people actually classify S&P like a local fastfood restaurant. Food is really cheap here and there are quite a number of branches all over Bangkok. The one I had is at Sala Deang BTS station, along the stretch leading to the MacDonalds to Silom Subway. Heard quite a lot of people mentioning this to me before, but this is the 1st time I had it and had it 2 times in a row. We didn't order much for both meals though.


Sala Deang S&P

1st visit (Lunch on Day 2)


The usual stuff. I had the Phad Thai. Not too bad.


Someone else ordered the Bak Chor Mee. Hmm how come it tastes sweet huh? But it went well with their chilli.


We had the pathetic Wanton soup.

Damage? 400 Baht (~17 SGD) for 2.

2nd visit (Lunch on Day 5)


I had the seafood Horfun. Looks a lot but you can finish the horfun in 2 minutes. Overall was good, could have increased the quantity.


The lemongrass fried buffalo wings. 1 word to describe: GOOD! Pretty Unique dish.


Fish maw soup. Nothing to complain, except for the quantity again.


Last but not least, we shared this Peppermint shake, which someone commented it just tastes like Colgate mixed with water.

Damage? 500 Baht (~22 SGD) for 2.

Well cannot complain lah, given the price paid. Pretty extensive menu and wide variety of dishes, quite a proper place for a quick decent meal and little footrest before more shopping.

One thing many people do not know, they do international business and they actually own the Patara Fine Thai Cuisine in Singapore.

Overloaded with food? I'll bring you to some fine dining the next entry. Ciao!

Long long overdue entry. Was thinking its going to be super boring to be talking about Bangkok again since I already had shown quite a number of entries in Jan. Well, as I said, I will always try something different whenever I visit Bangkok and recommend some of the interesting foodfare for you people to try out.

Thank God you guys had the chance to see these pics. I slept on the taxi on the way to the airport and left it on the cab, only to realise queuing for check-in. Luckily we got the hotel number which got us the cab to get the taxi driver to send back the camera. He went over to the arrival hall to pick up a passenger to the city and took 75 mins to return back to the airport and asked for 1000 Baht (~50 SGD). Luckily I only had 500 Baht left in my wallet and we surrendered all to the driver, and had to use our Singapore currency to eat Burger King inside the airport.


Yay, at terminal 3! No flights depart from T3 to BKK though, we checked in from there and took the skytrain to T1...


I don't usually take pictures before landing...

Ok, this trip is purely another make clothes trip and also eating trip. Of course, I have had the most heavenly meals at the most ridiculously expensive places during the 3 days. I will postly them all eventually but not forgetting those places that almost everyone will visit at BKK.

First, talk about the hotel. Someone recommended me this hotel Unico Grande Sathorn which is only 2 mins away from Chong Nonsi BTS station. Its only 120 SGD a night and its a 36 sqm room with mini kitchen.


The poor pathetic small twin bed


Yea also the poor pathetic MINI kitchen


Consolation la, the pool is still 'ok'...

Well I think 120 SGD cannot really complain, but... I would definitely pay like 45 SGD more to go back to The Grand Millenium Bangkok for a more comfortable experience.

First Place:

I won't recommend this place, but this place definitely has an attraction of its own. Its like one of the 'must-go' restaurants when Singaporeans flock there? WHY? Cause it's a BUFFET! Located at Siam Discovery Centre 3rd floor, food wise is cannot complain for the price you are paying, the total bill comes up to 1295 Baht (55 SGD) for 2. Well, selection is pretty wide just slightly inferior to those Pariss International buffet you get here.


Oishi Grand Japanese Buffet Restaurant. Hmm I was wondering delicious in Japanese should be Oishii...


The Japanese agemono counter, which is usually the 1st counter I will attack because of the ebi tempura


Wow look at the sashimi and sushi spread...


Teppanyaki is good too. I love the teppanyaki Cod Fish.

Second place:

This is a place I always recommend people to visit in Bangkok, and its going to be very fun especially in a bigger group. There's so much going on in this place to keep you busy throughout the meal. Located at 462/61 Rama 3 Road, this place is not very accessible by train, you have to take a taxi to get there. And its very easy to recognise the place even you cannot pronounce it, its a restaurant which looks like a barrel on the exterior, name of the place is called Tawandang German Brewery. It's just like the Brewerks here, they serve their own beer in mugs, jugs and towers with loads of good food.


I have to warn you here, please call and make reservations for meals at Tawandang. This is the reservation list, not the menu. Reservations always recommended for dining times after 1830hrs.


The interior of the restaurant. Feels like dining inside a large barrel huh?


There's always interesting performance going on throughout the night. There will be some cultural performance followed by some band singing english songs. This happens to be a Thai/Balinese fusion performance.


Yea, the place is always packed. The time this picture was taken is actually 1845hrs.

Ok, next the pics of the food. I know I'm supposed to present food in the form its first served to the table, but I'm so deprived I can't take pics immediately and I have to get my mouth muscles working first...


Deep Fried Pork Knuckle served with Spicy Sauce. Chef recommendation. Must order dish whenever I am there. Out of the ordinary, added with beer.


Grilled Seabass with Salt served with Spicy Sauce. Also another must order dish for me. Look at the bowl of green spicy sauce on the left? That's the secret recipe that keeps me visiting!


This is something unique but tasty. Stir fried Chinese Morning Glory tip with Garlic. Heavenly.


Last but not least, the fiery tom yam steamboat.

And the total damage? Less than 50 SGD for 2. Of course if you go as a gang you get to order more and try more food!

Enough to keep you hungry till the next entry. Coming right up!

Who says there are not going to be entries for my own country? I have to recommend my hometown to the foreigners out there too.

Introducing the 1st entry about Singapore, and it has to be one of the best.

WHERE?

Where can you find a 1 Metre tall chocolate fountain?



Where can you find a baked whole Salmon?



Where can you find 30 chefs working round the restaurant?



Where can you find decks of desserts and pastries, mouth watering fresh seafood sashimi, appetizers which looked so appetizing with dry ice spewing?







Where do you find so much temptation at the mussels and scallops, and nicely arranged fresh brillant red prawns?





Where do you find lobsters appearing in a truckload gone before they can be arranged on the ice platter?



Where can you find someone who opens oysters at your demand? So fresh so good?



It has to be nowhere else but this place:



We call it the mother of all buffets in town, right HERE

Ok, be warned long post... I'm going to stuff everything here.

People have been asking me, why do I visit Bangkok so often? The main reason is because of the good and cheap food and my visits to the tailor to make clothes. Good? Well, reasonable for the price you pay, choose your favourite design and fabric, they take your measurements and you get them done within 3 days. How much? Depends on how well you know the tailor and how often you visit them. 1st time price is about 800-900Baht (~ 35-40 SGD). But I am paying about 600Baht (~25 SGD) for one. For me on average, they last at least a year.


That's the shop. Ambassador tailor at Ambassador Hotel Arcade. 2 mins walk from BTS Nana Station. Want the details or discount I can help.

Another thing I like to do is to try something different. A boat ride. Yes, by the Chao Phraya River. Take the BTS to Saphan Taksin station and you reach the pier to take the Chao Phraya Boat ride. I can't remember but I think its about 10Baht (~ 0.50 SGD).


Yea this is the kind of boat you will be expecting... No lah something similar but in pattern but condition wise is...erm WORSE


And you have very nice views, for example, the Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)

Well, as we know Bangkok is famous for its temples and I'm sure people who frequent Bangkok pretty often are probably sick of them. People find temples boring with nothing much to see, pretty much the sentiments I share.

Now, take the boat ride to the 6th stop from the main pier and get down at Thien pier. Walk out the little wooden pier to the small shophouse/market area and cross the road.


There you are. You are now outside Wat Po.

What now? Temple again? Yea, I don't have a habit of visiting temples in Bangkok, but this is a must go every trip. Everyone knows about the famous and huge Reclining Buddha, but I suppose some might not know of this special place within the temple.

Most people like to find nice place for massage in Bangkok. Here, in Wat Po, you get the best(to my opinion) and most value for money massage! Not kidding, they have massage in Wat Po, and not kidding, the own official Wat Po Massage Traditional School.


Lai lai shiok shiok a bit


They have different kinds of massage to choose from, and this is the foot massage

Price? I really can't remember but it's definitely cheap and value for money! Go try it!

Did I mention a special event? Yea, it happened to be the death of the princess in Bangkok, Princess Galyanai Vadhana when I visited Bangkok and the city was in quite a sombre state with people wearing light colors.


Princess Galyanai Vadhana (1923-2008) portraits can be seen almost everywhere in the streets

Happened to confirm with the hotel that her body is in the Grand Palace so I decided to make a visit to the Grand Palace. Seriously, I haven been to the Grand Palace all my visits.


The majestic and mysterious Grand Palace. I believe some might not have even seen the elephant statues when they passed by there before...

So I made my way to the Grand Palace and some Tuk Tuk drivers tried to cheat me saying that the Palace was closed before 3pm that day as the King got monks to perform some chanting and persuaded me to take the Tuk Tuk for a 2 hour ride. I bought the ticket to get into the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaeo) which is also my 1st time there.


The upper most shiny area is the spot where the Emerald Buddha is and oopss.. Photography was supposed to be prohibited in that temple!


Not surprised to see monks around in temples, and this offered to let me take a picture of him

To me it seems like a little Forbidden City, heavily guarded with 4 walls and within a temple with an Emerald Buddha and a Grand Palace.

So after walking half of the compound and having covered the temple, what's left is the Grand Palace.


Main view of the Palace.

Place was pretty packed even on a weekday as the funeral was held in the palace, there were lots of thais there to pay respects to the Princess.


There are workers or students in groups together to pay respects to the Princess

Well, as hard as I tried, only locals are allowed to enter to the wake premises to pay respects to the Princess. Initially the security thought I was a local, but then was later refused entry cause I was in jeans. The proper attire to enter was black top and pants for males. I was in a black polo but blue jeans. Only when I opened my mouth to ask why then they realised that I was a tourist and told me only locals were allowed entry.


This is only what I can offer, the closest distance to the entrance behind a security barricade

Ended my trip in the Grand Palace. Took a short walk around the area and realised:


Bangkok's Ministry of Defence is actually opposite the Grand Palace. Nice place to visit.


Oh they have a park similar to Central Park NYC?

Last but not least, a boutique hotel which might interest you? The Dream Hotel in Sukhumvit Soi 15. Rates? USD 149 a night.


The hotel entrance. A bit small lah, but pretty classy...


The lobby at the hotel reception, pretty cool huh


Notice the blue lights below the bed? The staff said the blue light is supposed to stimulate you (you know lah for what purpose) and also research proven to have sleep inducing effect. 2 points are pretty contradicting huh?


Awesome view. Rooptop pool.

Worth the price? Be your own judge, but I think I made a better choice staying in Grand Millennium.

Well, I be setting of (YES TO BANGKOK AGAIN) in less than 10 hours, and stay tuned for more updates for Bangkok up soon!

Ciao for now!

Yup, this time I promised food, but I never expected to come a month late. Been busy and always lazy as usual to edit the pictures and think of what to write, especially with my 1st work deadline of the year, 29 Feb.

First stop, Chinatown. The good food comes first. I never miss this place when I visit Bangkok. The cheap place for delicacies. Take the subway to Hua Lamphong station (if BTS change at Saladeang or Asok Station to subway).



This is the Hua Lamphong train station

Hmm, seriously its not easy to tell you how to walk to this place cause there are too many junctions outside the subway station. There are 3 options for you guys though:

1. Should I say look at the road where you see the heaviest flow of traffic coming your direction and walk along that road?

2. Take a metered taxi from the subway to this place. It shouldn't cost you more than 40 Baht(~ 1.80 SGD) considering the meter start fare is 35 Baht.

3. There is this visitor sightseeing bus (seriously I don't know how much and whether its there only for the Chinese New Year season only) which I didn't take cause I had to wait 30 minutes for it. Its very obvious and the starting stop is at the canal opposite the subway and I saw it stopping when I was there.


Don't alight till you see a street like this...

This shouldn't be considered Chinatown yet cause there is still a way to reach the main Chinatown, but I just call it Chinatown cause it really look like one. And not to worry of getting lost there, majority of the people there can speak Chinese.

It definitely looks like Hong Kong to me and this place is famous for the sharksfin and birds nest. Feel free to choose any restaurant you like so long you are comfortable with it. For me, of course I will choose the one which is most convenient for me...


Where you can order loads of seafood...




... to compliment the good stuff you gonna eat

There are so many things you can order, for me, I just need 2.


Here comes the sharksfin and the vegetables...


And you mix them up with some vinegar and TADA! 300 Baht (~ 13 SGD)

After having the main course, here's the dessert...


Hot, soothing birds nest keeps you satisfied to complete a meal


Up close and personal, damage 200 Baht (~ 9 SGD)

WHERE TO FIND THIS KIND OF PRICE?!

--The Fastfood Section--

You can't eat like a king every meal, and sometimes I can't find nice things to eat especially in shopping malls, I resort to having fastfood. Yea, its kinda boring to eat fastfood during holidays, but I guess its pretty common for me in Bangkok, cause the good food only appear at night at the bazaars and night markets.


Hmm we only call 1711 here to find out the time not to order Macs...

I don't know if this is just for promotional period only, but I have to recommend this pie. Its not any ordinary red bean pie or taro pie, its the CHOCOLATE BANANA PIE! I tell you its awesome! How come they don't have that in Singapore?


Whats so special about their Burger King?


till you eat their Triple Whopper! Their BK is not Halal by the way.

Guess what I found in Saladeang Silom Complex?


A & W ! Not that fantastic though. Although the waffle is made after the order is taken, its hot but a bit soggy...

--The Authentic Thai Food--

When I look for local cheap Thai food, I head to 2 spots.

1. Prathunum
Where Central World is, opposite of it walk all the way to Prathunum shopping centre, opposite there's this so called famous chicken rice. At night the chicken rice shop is closed but there are lots of roadside carts selling nice food. 2 stalls I will always patronise, Phat Thai and Sticky Mango Rice.


All these 115 Baht (~ 5 SGD)

2. Suan Lum night market
Get off at Lumpini subway station. It has been said that Suan Lum to close last year July to make way for 2 big malls like Central World, but its still here and business is still bustling as usual. Other than the shopping for Abercrombie and Fitch clothes you get the cheap and awesome food here.


Feel like getting a stick of everything


Always a need for sticky mango rice and the tom yam glass noodles will make you HOT!

Ok before I end, I don't know whether its relevant or not, but I am going to recommend a restaurant which I HAVE NOT EATEN before haha. Well the reason being is that I have no craving for the western thai food they are serving when I visited that place, and its not nice eating alone at a restaurant you cannot enjoy eating and ordering many dishes at the same time, however should I try that I will definitely update about this restaurant again.


Are you seeing the sign correctly?


Yes its cabbages and condoms. At Sukhumvit Soi 12 (BTS Asok Station). Google this and check out the reviews.

Well, nothing much I can say about this restaurant except that its opening for a good cause and they do part some of their money to help the Thailand AIDS association. Pretty interesting theme restaurant and sorta weird to eat in a place with so many condoms and also they have a "Vasectomy Bar" serving cocktails and drinks.


Simple restaurant entrance with ultra friendly waitresses who thought I was a reporter


Yea you be dining with the condom Santa and the condom Superman


I must say its a nice environment to dine in, erm despite the condoms...

Okay, end of all the food nonsense. Next entry look out for the interesting places and a special event in Bangkok.

Till then...

Let's talk about accommodation first. Lebua State Tower in Silom (near Saphan Taksin) has always been my favourite but this time new year I'm going to change another one and try. Was at a dilemma between 2 but I chose this instead, the Grand Millennium Bangkok which just opened in November 07. I shall keep the other hotel in suspense till my last Bangkok entry. It has definitely been awesome and not regretted picking this hotel.



The Grand Millennium by night and by day

Its appearance looks like the hotel which looks like a sail in Dubai and I am definitely extremely satisfied by the service and facilities, and also got a 25% off the normal rate. Anyone who like to try the hotel can let me know and I can try to help.

Presenting the room:


The bed area....


... the shower and the little work area

This place has never been so convenient. Its located in Sukhumvit which is at the intersection of the BTS (Asok Station) and the Subway (Sukhumvit Station) 2 minute walk from the hotel. Best of both worlds!

Well in bangkok, where can we go? As usual the same spots we visit time and time again, the same brands and stuff we buy over and over again.


The parks and the weekend markets (Chatuchak/Jatujak)


And always the same malls...

I guess what I am going to recommend next is a place within one of the malls which I think most people would not have thought of visiting, and that's the Siam Ocean World in Siam Paragon Basement 1.


Yup that's me! You visited me before?

If you think we have the best Underwater World in Singapore, think again. For me I think this place can beat ours thumbs down. I always loved visiting such places, it brings the childlike behaviour back again =). Admission fee is about 750 Baht(~33 SGD), wow that's ex huh? Well, I paid without doing the maths first then realised the cost later heh. Let me help you save some money and meanwhile you can consider visiting should you be at Siam Paragon again.

Hmm the price is slightly more than double the fee you pay to enter Underwater World, but several items are included in the package, and let's do the maths as we go along...

As per normal, you can see similar kinds of marine species in similar aquariums, but the size matters...


The giant spider crab and giant lobster

And the exotic species...


The moray eels and the stonefish

There is this area where you can take the glass bottom boat and get close up with school of fish and see the guide feeding the fishes. (150 baht ~ 7SGD - included)


The glass bottom boat, up close and personal

After the glass bottom boat area, you can grab a cup of free drink with a cute cover (55 Baht ~ 2.5 SGD - included)


Yea the drink and the cover I'm talking about, and yummy sea urchins!

And some others you see:


The interesting fish and is that Crush?


The archerfish and the beaver


The mysterious jellyfish


Of course the main stars are the sharks and some of the interesting displays including the goldfish in the microwave

The highlight of the exhibit in the aquarium has to be the giant squid, and after the aquarium tour there is a 4D-Xventure 15 minute movie of the underwater world (250 Baht ~ 12SGD - included)


That's what I'm talking about.

After the whole visit, you can proceed to the gift shop to redeem for a children tote bag (220 Baht ~ 10SGD - included) which I didn't, but looking at all the prices add up to 675 Baht leaving the admission fee only 75 Baht(~ 3.5SGD). Unbelieveable price! Price of the admission ticket without the package promotion is 450 Baht though, so it must have been a steal for me.

Well, at least it has been an eye opener for me, and of course what I have shown is probably only a tiny weeny portion of the entire attraction.

What's up for the next entry? Time to fill your tummy.... stay tuned.

This is going to be a short entry. Never expected a tonne of pics from this place I always been to.


How I wished I was departing from T3... Can you spot where I am going?

Was supposed to go on a trip with someone but ended up going alone. So nice right I got one empty seat beside me I can do anything I want to. The one sitting next to the empty seat saw me putting papers on the seat and was looking at me and I replied 'Oh I bought this seat too'. Pretty YAYA huh?


Think its not easy taking the middle pic as digital equipments are not allowed to be switched on before take off and landing (I took it secretly), and think this is my first time taking pictures of clouds

Finally reached. Got stuck in the airport for 1.5 hours because there were so many arriving flights and the custom officers took about 2 minutes to clear each person (yea I actually timed).


Well you should know where is the place from the pictures now. The last pic has always been a challenge due to its length and not easy to get the correct angle with no tourists obstructing your view

Well, I'm sure you have been there N number of times and been doing the same things visiting the same sights. Hopefully the coming entries to come will bring you another perspective of this place, but please dont expect too much okay cause I do visit the same spots as many visit too.

Stay right tuned...

Let's talk a bit more about Bangalore, starting with the weather.

I would say I love the weather a lot, perhaps I was there at the right time in October. Temperatures range about 18 to 22 degree celcius, with some sunshine and little rain. The weather is so nice, it just feels like staying indoors with the aircon on. No need to put on a jacket, enjoying the breeze and the warm sunshine, aww...


Bangalore in the morning, noon and evening

The main characteristic in Bangalore: JAMS. I'm sure people who have been there can't agree more. Jams everywhere, and imagine a 12km journey from the airport to the hotel actually takes a 45 minutes ride. The ride from hotel to office is 40 mins in the morning (We actually set off in the morning at 7 to prevent the jam but there is still some nonetheless, and training starts at 930) and the same route back takes 2 hours if we leave after 6pm.

The main problem with Bangalore is that they do not have law abiding people on the roads. You see only 3 marked lanes but you see 5 car lanes. People carry their "pets" around the roads, and some just refuse to move until they poo on the roads.


Not so packed bus in the early morning, yea and animals(cowies, buffaloes, elephants) are the main reasons for jams, and JAM again.

Next well known characteristic is their HONKING. It would be almost impossible to have a peaceful journey in a car without hearing any. For my experience, honking is almost simultaneous and the longest "honking orchestra" piece I heard was a full 4 mins and the interval between 2 honkings: 1.5 seconds. They should start charging for honking so it might really stop that bad habit in Bangalore.

You really see the extremes in Bangalore, the rich and the poor. One stretch you see all the slums and squatters, across the junction you see the nice condominium lookalike houses.


The apartments beside my office building and the slums just a junction before my office.

Last but not least: COLOURS. I must say Indians do really make use of a lot of colours in their lives and I really love all the vibrant colours in the shops and streets.


A collection of the Indian gods at their shopping centre(Garuda Mall), the bangles and bracelets sold along the streets and their famous sari


A variety of the Indian sweets and more bracelets

Shopping

I didn't have much time to go around the first few days, by the time training ends at 6 we would reach back hotel at 8+ and shops close by 930, we requested to have lessons to end earlier by not taking breaks and finally got last 2 days to do a bit of walking around.

People been to Bangalore would suggest MG road or Infantry road for shopping. Ask the locals and they will recommend you to Garuda Mall and Commercial Street to find whatever that can be found in Bangalore.

Garuda Mall is one of their new so called upmarket mall just opened for about a year. Don't expect too much but they do have shops like Samsonite, Adidas and Nike. Things are probably 20% cheaper but they sell designs like what you see here a year or 2 ago. Geddit?

Commercial Street is like Hong Kong's Women Street. It looks like an endless stretch of street with lots to offer. You can buy anything from fashion, food, furniture, ornaments and souvenirs. Lots of things to see and I was there for 2 nights spent a total of 3 hours yet I didn't finish exploring the whole place.


What seems like a endless stretch of shopping street, you see their police station and mosques along the streets


It's true! These 2 young boys are below 20 and they own the shop! Some of the metallic statues you can buy (and bring back if you think you can pay excess baggage)

They have a lot of houses everywhere, and these houses are like function halls for people to carry out events like weddings. The weird thing is wherever you go you see these houses, there are always weddings going on. What the hell is going on?


Another view of Commercial Street. See? Another wedding in one of the houses in Commercial Street. Our favourite food: Subway. The female in red is my colleague from the Brazil office.

Food: I did have a lot of Indian food, but I end up having diarrhoea as I guess it was too spicy for me. I liked it nonetheless, and occasionally having some pizzas for meals as well. Best meal in Bangalore? It has to be this Italian meal in Italia @ The Park Hotel. It's one of the best restaurants you can find in Bangalore.


Here's the food but forgot the names...

Oh I forgot, they have interesting MacDonalds and KFC menus. Check out their vegetarian stuff they sell in those fast food outlet. NICE! I pretty love it too, especially the KFC the chicken with a tinge of curry flavour. AWESOME!

Well, overall I like Bangalore a lot. Going back? Yea when I have a chance to. Perhaps I would like to visit other parts of India as well. Oh well, since my India visa is expiring in April, maybe I should consider making another trip there soon...

This is a long overdue entry. Wanted to post when I come back but was busy with lots of work and deadlines before 30 Nov. Was also supposed to visit some European country for work but has been postponed to Feb, real last minute cancelled the tickets the day before departure, else would have got more pics to post.

Went on business trip to Bangalore in October, someone told me there wasn't much to see, so I only planned to take a one day walk round town before work began. Only got SQ and Indian Airlines to choose from, since SQ reaches before midnight, I decided to take Indian Airlines. Bad choice.


The first flight in my entire life delayed - for 2 hours and check-in was in a mess

Was supposed to reach Bangalore at 1030 but instead reached at 1230. Everything about the flight did not seem to please me, and I would never recommend anyone to try Indian Airlines.

Bangalore Airport was pretty a shock to me. Before landing I was looking out of the window and was wondering how the hell the plane is going to land when I could only see vast greenery. It happened that there was this little concrete area where planes could land. And see it for yourself, the concrete area doesnt seem to be able to hold more than 2 planes.


Outside Bangalore International Airport

After all the customs and stepping out, the first thought that came to my mind was "Oh GAWD, can I just take the flight back like NOW", everything was just so alien to me and its a bit weird alone now (wonder why =P). The hotel vehicle came to pick me up and it took about 50 mins to reach the hotel which is 10km away from the airport. Ironic.

I happened to stay in the Atria hotel and I have to say the rooms are pretty Ah-nehish for my liking. I don't like the feeling of stepping into the hotel or stepping out of the hotel room cause the restaurant in right in the smack of the hotel and the smell would just fill the entire place. My clothes would always smell of tandoori I don't know why.

Happened I have half the day to myself, I decided to venture Bangalore all to myself. Taking along my Lonely Planet, I walked out of the hotel and started to navigate my way around.

I wouldn't say it's difficult going around Bangalore, cause the road signs are in English as well and most people can converse in English. Funny thing is that Bangalore has lots of government buildings, within 5 mins from my hotel I saw these:


I really have no idea what the names are when I just saw them...

I took a big turn about a kilometre to have a look at the front view by the main road and this is the famous government building of Bangalore:


It's called the Vidhana Soudha and across the road is the red building which is the High Court of Karnataka.

Nothing much but quite a big crowd hanging outside the main roads along these 2 buildings chit chatting and having picnics. A lot of weird eyes looking at me which made me wonder if I am white or they never seen people wearing bermudas and slippers. Then you have lots of people following behind you which made me on my guard of my camera and my wallet.

5 mins after the High Court is the so called famous Cubbon Park and the State Library:


As I said nothing fantastic just a very big park which has nothing but mud and trees. State library is opposite one of the entrance of the park.


Actually my aim was to head to their so called shopping district at M.G. (Mahatma Gandhi) Road and Infantry road which is about 3km from the hotel, but there was quite a lot to see along the way. Walked about 20 mins and reached the Bangalore Aquarium, and it took me 20 mins standing outside deciding whether to pay and visit the aquarium. It looks pretty shabby to me, but the entrance fee is only 50 rupees ($0.25SGD) so I finally decided to head in to take a look.


Another bad choice. The most exotic fish I see were these piranhas, the rest are catfish, luohan, white goldfish, black goldfish, normal goldfish...

I left the aquarium after 5 minutes and saw another park beside it. To my amazement its still another section of Cubbon Park and this area consists of a children amusement park and the place is called Bal Bhavan.


Reminds me of those rides you see at those makeshift expo funfair...

Ventured a bit and saw long queues at all the rides. Then it started to drizzle and I decided to head back to hotel instead of continuing my plan to M.G. Road. I flagged for their autorickshaw and took back to the hotel...


A very noisy vehicle that looks like tuk tuk and this vehicle is so flimsy that it will just topple anytime it makes a turn


Road back to the hotel...

To be continued...

I guess that pretty much sums up my journey in Taiwan. I must say some of the places which I wanted to visit did not realise because of extra time spent shopping or either trapped in some building because of rain. Would say that August/September is not a good season to visit as typhoons are prevalent.

Anyway, I have finally realised a long dream of visiting Taiwan, found out for myself the shopping and eating scene in Taipei. Abercrombie and Fitch lovers thats the place for you guys, its a good alternative to Bangkok Chatuchak or SuanLom, at the expense of a slightly more expensive air ticket.


Like school girls in uniform? Find them here in Ximending. The night scene outside Ximending station

Ximending is really a memorable place for me, not because I like the place but its really filled with the hustle and bustle of teenage activities. What makes it so special are all the weird people loitering the streets, the old dirty men in suits, the weird, long white bearded old man in monk attire with a banner claiming to be from Emei sect standing few feet away from Ximending MacDonalds, and of course the fat middle aged boy standing at the top of some metallic platform holding a plastic bottle as a microphone singing. Although many people may say Ximending is not a nice place to stay, I strongly recommend Rainbow Hotel to you guys visiting Taiwan. Its affordable with clean and cosy rooms, right in the smack of Ximending so convenient to anywhere and definitely a hotel where you will bump into some Singaporean in the lift.


The Taipei Dome Stadium also known as 台北小巨蛋.

This place is pretty out of the way and there is nothing much to visit or sightsee. Skip the place if possible.


The Taiwan Warner Vieshow and people doing ear waxing outside Shihlin market

Taiwan Vieshow is the largest cinema management in Taiwan. Heard its the Taiwan Golden Village. Watching movies is not really that cheap in Taipei. AM confused with the way ticket is bought. Do some research before watching a movie in taiwan. I wonder what's the definition of their 半票，全票 and 套票. Can someone enlighten me?


East meets West

Would recommend this place for shopping. Its opposite 101 building and the place is Called New York New York. Now see the relation of Statue of Liberty there?



Down memory lane along Danshui 淡水

Headed down to Danshui on the last day to do some food shopping before heading the airport. Its a nice place to visit and there's a lot of snacks and foodstuff to buy for friends/colleagues/relatives. Nice traditional buildings like the Danjiang Cinema and a good and relaxing corner by the river. Only regret was that I didn't make it to visit 渔人码头.

In short, I might only consider going back to Taiwan again, to visit Hualien and Kaoshiung. There are certainly some other nice places to visit like KenDing and Beitou as well. Will head back there some other time, but just not so soon.

Time to head on to the next destination...

Well, from the previous entry you read about how to get from Jiufen to Keelung. It's obvious you won't miss cause:

1) It's the final stop everyone will alight from the bus. The driver will ask you to get down even if you don't.

2) It's easy to spot when you arrive at the Keelung port or you see the Hollywood lookalike Keelung sign.


See what I mean? Look at the 2nd pic for the Hollywood lookalike sign.

Don't just be excited in finding your way in Keelung cause I would recommend you take a bus to visit Yeliu first. You can visit Keelung after the Yeliu trip which won't take more than 2 hours.

** Seriously, I won't recommend Yeliu to people who are not interested in geological stuff. It will be too long a journey to visit something you don't like.

Look for the bus stop under the overhead bridge nearest to the Keelung station and take the bus which heads to Yeliu. It's pretty complicated to explain how to alight and walk to Yeliu. The journey is about 20 minutes and do tell the bus driver you are visiting there so he can tell you the exact stop to alight. Poor me alighted one stop later and had to take a taxi back to the spot.


The eroded structures you see in Yeliu


One of the famous eroded structure the 女王头 and the right one another 女王头 lookalike

If you don't like the above pictures, Yeliu isn't really for you, perhaps you can just spend the day in Keelung instead. Basically its a place which is by the sea and you see lots of different coastal formation due to the erosion. Nice place to stroll with cooling wind blowing, but can be pretty tiring with long paths and steps. Do check if its open cause the park was closed for 2 days before I visited as someone was drowned and got swept away by the waves and was found the next day.


Stick to the town or just venture right into the 基隆庙街夜市

基隆庙街夜市 is just a 5 minutes walk from the railway station. Just walk along the main road away from the railway station and hit right upon seeing the Watson's and you will see the night market at the first traffic junction.

If you are a seafood freak like me, Keelung is the right place for you in Taipei. You can get cheap seafood as Keelung is at the coastal and seafood is readily available. Don't get yourself "chopped" by those seafood restaurants in Taipei 华西街. You can get double the number of dishes for the same price you pay. Don't believe?


Fresh sea urchins, grilled prawns with salt, sticky fried seafood rice


Ginseng herbal chicken soup, steamed fish with butter and salt. These 2 were bought from a roadside stall and brought into the shop. (Yes they allow that)


Scallops with cheese and mayo (also bought from roadside stall), a species of crab known as 花姑

The damage? 1600TWD(~80SGD) for 2. You can't get this price anywhere in Taipei.

Well, this has probably sum up most of the things that you can do for 1 week in Taiwan. 1 more entry of miscellaneous stuff before I close off the journey in Taipei...

Watch out!

I never expected Jiufen to be such a nice place in Taipei, though the journey there can be pretty dreadful. How to get there:

1.Take the 基隆客運 from the bus stand opposite 忠孝復興站, bus frequency is about 15 mins and the journey there is about 1hr 20 mins.

2.Take a railway to 台鐵瑞芳站 which is about 40 mins and take the same 基隆客運 heading to 金瓜石 which is about 15 mins. The bus stop is directly outside RuiFang station.

How you know you have reached Jiufen? Everyone knows the big 7-11 landmark to alight when you have reached Jiufen =)


A view from the viewing area after alighting from the bus, and look closely at the pic on the right, the ones at the background are tombs not houses ok...

Jiufen is like an extended version of the old Bugis village, with neatly arranged shophouses and clean pavements. There are lots of steps around though, and it can be pretty tiring after a while, especially carrying lots of food. There are a lot of souvenir houses which sells really intricate items as gifts for friends, I'm always annoyed when I see so many things to buy so in the end I just didnt boy any souvenirs but packed my hands with loads of food.


Typical image of Jiufen stores


You get loads of cuttlefish there, and also a lot of food made from cuttlefish. If you are the kind who is used to Singapore fishball, Taiwan's fishball won't suit your taste - too much flour than fish

As Jiufen is situated on a hilltop, air there is very fresh and it offers nice view. You can find teahouses everywhere in Jiufen and some really offers very good ambience and environment to laze the whole day sipping tea at al fresco areas.


A teahouse that is really 古色古香 and its really a lot of winding roads before hitting Jiufen. Not for the car-sick.

It has been said that Jiufen actually used to have gold mines and became a very prosperous town, but with the end of the mining of gold, it became a deserted town. It was until in the 1990s when the movie <<悲情城市>> was filmed there and the town started to boom again and became a tourist attraction since then.


2 must visit in Jiufen - the row of teahouses along 悲情城市, and the old cinema 昇平戲院

Last but not least, some things to recommend before I leave Jiufen. I never leave for a holiday without my Lonely Planet, and I will take some recommendations from the book (though people usually say the ang mo authors usually have no good taste). Here's some worth taking a look:


Food to try and souvenir to buy

阿兰草仔果: Something pretty unusual I would say, the general taste is that it tastes like ang ku kueh, but imagine the skin that is made using something like green tea powder. Should be more healthy I suppose, and it has wide variety of fillings. My fave is yam paste!

陶笛阿志: Its flute made from porcelain. The sound is pretty soothing and its pretty reasonable to get as presents for kids or souvenirs for adults.



九份黄妈妈天然蒟蒻专卖店: I have nothing to comment about this shop. I give it THUMBS UP for the konnyaku they made. Comes in so many flavors you don't know which to buy, in the end I bought one flavour each HEE. It's a must try for this stall, anyone going there buy for me PLEASE!!!

That's probably the end of Jiufen. Take about another 50 mins ride bus to get to Keelung and then another bus to Yeliu. Will update in the next entry...

Meanwhile I'm off to somewhere exotic next week!

It took me very long thinking how to go about doing this entry. Frankly speaking there's such a wide variety of food you see in Taiwan but not in Singapore, and most of the time in Taiwan I'm engrossed in eating that I forgot to take pictures of some of the really nice ones. Sticking to the limited photo pictures that I have, I can only come up with something simple for your tastebuds perhaps for a short trip in Taiwan. Maybe you guys who read this can recommend me as well if you have any interesting finds.

First, let's head to Ximending. (MRT Ximen Station)


阿宗面线(Ah Zong Mian Xian) I guess this is pretty well known by lots of people at the corner of Ximending.

Queue is VERY long I must say, but the waiting time is pretty short (less than 10 minutes) as there are a number of staff with pretty fast hands. Quite like this a lot cause I really love the starchy gravy with a tinge of vinegar taste. It's 35TWD(~1.5SGD) for a small bowl and 50TWD(~2.5SGD) for a large one. The mee sua melts in your mouth man! Goes well with a cup of bubble tea next door after a bowl.

Shihlin Night Market. (MRT Chentan Station)


So many signsboards - At a loss...红油抄手(Hong You Chao Shou) and 花枝羹(Hua Zhi Geng)

Shihlin night market is located at Chentan staion and many people have the misconception its at Shihlin station because of the name. Anyway Chentan is before Shihlin so its pretty obvious you should know where to alight unless you are a real KUKU that is.

At Shihlin, at a loss? Too many stalls don't know what to pick and eat? Don't be fooled by the colourful signboards, I would say the stalls there sell similar stuff. Don't be in such a hurry to sit down and eat, take a walk around and see which fancy your eyes before making a decision which stall to choose.


You have the 棺材板(Guan Cai Ban)，鲍鱼蛋花粥(Bao Yu Dan Hua Zhou) and 小笼包(Xiao Long Bao)

Like the Guan Cai Ban, its just some starchy gravy with a selection of meat you can choose from in some toasted bread. Goes well with crabstick meat. Abalone porridge was good for a mere 80TWD(~4SGD) with huge chunks of abalone. Xiao Long Bao was pretty normal as usual. Of course there are many other things you can try from, like 冰爱玉 which is also known as our Ice Jelly, and by the way, 红油抄手 is actually just wanton in spicy soup (Szechuan delicacy) and 花枝羹 is actually Cuttlefish starchy soup. Wonder how did they get the name 花枝 for cuttlefish...

The best... Five-Dime Restaurant 伍角船板 (MRT Chihshan Station)

This place is located at 台北市内湖区 (Taipei City Neihu Area) which is about a 10 mins taxi ride from the Chihshan station.


You can't miss this building with such an interesting architecture unless you are sleeping in the taxi.

I suppose this building is well known for its architecture, you can read more about it from the website in the website I have provided. There are 5 branches in Taiwan but I'm not sure if the rest of the branches have unique architecture as well, and what prompted me to visit this place was a travelogue programme I watched on tv before the trip.


The interior of the restaurant, east meets west.
If you cannot remember the name of the place, just tell the taxi driver the shopping center with the ferris wheel. This place is known as 美丽华 and everyone knows about it.

Reservations is definitely necessary to dine here cause more and more tour groups are including this place as a dine-in location in the package. Do expect to see hordes of tourists and be prepared to wait for about 30 minutes before your first dish is served.

A good recommendation to try out the dishes for 2 is to try out their degustation menu. There are 2 menus to choose from and by having each to take up one menu, its almost as if trying 80% of the dishes served by the restaurant. A bit pricey as it costs about 2400TWD(120SGD) after the taxes, but definitely worth the money. However, I wonder if it is still available as I do not see the degustation menu in their website. Do check it out with the staff there.

Let the pictures do the talking and you do the drooling...


金線蓮燉坊雞 吉祥珍珠蝦 味付鱼子龙虾　油封紫酥魚片　淮山水云菜　盐煎雪场蟹　鸡炖小扣翅