January 21, 2012
After 20 somewhat hours, Lana and I finally arrived Singapore and was ready to embark on our food journey. Since we arrived earlier than everyone else we decided to visit a couple of hawker stands that Anthony Bourdain mentioned on his show "The Layover". Little did we know most hawker stands were closed due to The CNY Holiday. We then tried to find the "best soy sauce in the world" and failed. Apparently the directions I found were no good and I led us to the opposite direction of where we were supposed to be. O wells- we ended up discovering a food court which had lots of delicious food. We decided to try a light snack since we were meeting Wendy in an hour to have lunch.
We had peanut/coconut rice cake dessert. NOMMY!! (Pictures will be posted after I get them from Lana).
Wendy finally arrived and we met up with her at Maxwell Hawker Stand in front of Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken. Like usually there was a line. However, the wait was no more than 20 minutes and was it worth the wait. It was just how I remembered it- the chicken was tender and the rice was full of flavor. My mouth is getting watery thinking about it. Yep, I gotta say- this is still my favorite Hainanese chicken stand. I just wished I haven't snacked so much before so I can stuff myself with more Hainanese chicken.After Maxwell we decided to do some souvenir shopping in Chinatown. It was chaotic, I have never seen Chinatown so alive and dirty. This was because of CNY- there were so many street vendors selling snacks and other goodies. As if we weren't full enough we decided to try all the snacks they had and got a little snack happy. Decided to buy so many different types of snacks- mochis, seaweed with dry fish-ahmazing, Pomelo (I usually hate Pomelo but the one that we bought was not sour at all), fresh coconut drinks, etc. (Pictures will be posted when I obtain them).
At night we went to the night safari. While riding the tram, Lana and I fell asleep every chance we got. Wendy tried to keep us awake by making conversation with us but failed because we were really exhausted from our plane ride we had to endure earlier. After the tram ride was finished we were hungry and took a taxi to No Signboard in Geylang Road. Go figure- the restaurant was closed because of CNY. Remind me don't ever travel to Asia during CNY because EVERYWHERE is closed!! Instead of No Signboard we went to Jumbo Seafood in Clarke Quay. The beginning of my addiction to fried mon taos ....
I prefer Jumbo's chili crab than No Signboard. I like the sauce better.
This was a great way to end our first night in Singapore. ^^
January 22, 2012 - CNY Eve
I woke up and found Lina asleep in her bed. I'm glad she made it safely from NYC. Our food journey officially begins. Today is the day we have DIN TAI FUNG!!! I was really exstatic because 1) One of my all time favorite restaurants 2) Lana can finally know what all the fuss is about. When we finally got to Din Tai Fung in Orchard road there was actually no lines. This was weird because whenever I go to Din Tai Fung there is ALWAYS a line. No complaints here! We ordered chili crab baos, xiao long baos, red sauce dumpling (my all-time favorite- I ate this every day in HK), stir fried garlic veggies, seasoned cucumbers and fried gluten (my other fav!). The food was such a disappointment, even the DTF in Korea is better (those of you who know me knows how I feel about the DTF in Seoul). Sigh- I should've known when there was no line at Din Tai Fung. Never again will I go to this Din Tai Fung in Singapore. FAIL FAIL FAIL!!! >:T
After lunch we walked around Orchard Road. Had the famous Ice Cream sandwich and tried different types of food in the mall's food court. We ate until are stomach exploded... literally! I honestly can't recall what we did afterwards. I just remember eating chili crab for dinner again because we wanted Lina to try it and picked a random restaurant in Chinatown. It was the worst chili crab I have ever ate in my life. The sauce tasted like sweet and sour sauce. To top it off the service was just terrible- it took us an hour to get our food!! Failx2 >< Everyone wanted to go clubbing that night so we ended up at Ku De Ta in Marina Bay Sands. The venue was okay but the music sucked. The only good thing about that night was the fireworks but we couldn't go outside the balcony to see it. Unfortunately it was pouring rain T.T. We tried going to Club Avalon which was close-by but it turned out to be gay night. LOL! Although the whole day seemed like a fail but I still enjoyed it because it was with great company! We made the best out of it. January 23, 2012
& we're off to KL....
Malaysia get ready for us!!
Happy Chinese New Years Everyone! Since a lot of places are closed for the holiday. I decided to look up a restaurant from good old reliable trip advisor and came across Songket Restaurant. The restaurant is a little high end and pricey for Malaysian standards but the food was pretty good minus the appetizer sampler. I particularly liked the stir fried veggies and ribs.
Appetizer Sampler - Ehh ... Didn't like it
Sup Ekor (Oxtail Soup) - Delish!
Masak Lemak Ikan Dengan Mangga Muda - It was okay
Stir Fried Veggies - I think we all liked this dish
Nasi Goreng Kampong
A different take on Nasi Lemak.
Rusuk Panggang (Ribs) - Salivating!
January 24, 2012
Ugh! We're going to Batu Caves today. I hate this place because there's lots of wild monkey running around. To top it off- people feed them soda and various types of food so the monkeys are high off caffeine and extra wild. Yes, I'm really dreading going back to Batu Caves (I've already been here last year and it wasn't a fun time). Before heading to the Batu Caves we saw a lion dance show and went to Chinatown to do some souvenir shopping. I bought some delicious Malaysian cake and discovered ginger milk tea (my new favorite drink). Afterwards, we went to Dr. Fish Spa- this is where fishes eat the dead skin off your feet (it feels weird/ticklish at first but you'll get used to it). The girls and I got matching I<3KL tees and decided to wear it later in the Batu Caves.
Our Roti Canai/Tissue adventure. Usually Roti's are sold out by 11am and we finally found a place that still had. I savored every bite because it took us awhile to find.
Even though we were quite full we still made room for street food and boy was it worth it! We had fish head curry, crabs, fried pancake, stingray (sounds disgusting but it's really good!).
At night we went to Club Zouk (another place I wasn't looking forward to because it was a trance club). When we got there, they were playing hip hop & r&b music *whew. I was overjoyed so I dance dance dance the night away.
January 25, 2012
Adios Malaysia, you've been good to us but it's time to part ways.
Hello Saigon-HCMC, Vietnam!!!
Our hunt for the best pho:
We landed at 10AM and the first thing we wanted to do was eat pho at the famous lunch lady (apparently she serves only 100 bowls of pho for lunch everyday). When we got to the location she wasn't there T.T. Vietnamese people celebrate CNY for a whole week, so this was a FAIL *sigh & I was really looking forward to eating the "best pho" in HCMC. O wells- our driver took us to local spot where he usually eats. I have to admit, the pho ga was good. The broth was rich & noodles was cooked to perfection. Nothing beats yummy pho ga that costs $1.25!!After getting settled in the hotel, we hired a driver and headed to Cu Chi Tunnels. It was fun although everyone got hurt during the tour. Yep- it was not American friendly. Nonetheless, we all enjoyed ourselves. The tunnels were really hard to walk (worst than the DMZ tunnels). We were practically crawling towards the end of the tunnel. Wendy had to get out because she began to feel a little claustrophobic.
The tank that injured most of us! *shakes fistttt
Word of Advice:
1) Take Taxi Group taxi's because they're government owned and won't jip you.
2) Don't try to dodge the traffic, let them go around you.
January 26, 2012
Today we're doing a day tour to Mekong Delta. We wanted to do the floating market tour but it was sold out. The Mekong Delta tour ended up being fun, we met some new friends. So, I ended up eating/drinking some outrageous things (doesn't it remind of of Anthony Zimmerman?). I tried snake wine and it was GROSS! I also had fried coconut worms (yeah, it didn't taste like coconut at all.. the texture was very squishy). On the plus side, we had fresh fruits. I actually liked the bananas, it was really ripe. The inside of the banana was yellow instead of white. Towards the end of the boat, we were rowing a boat. Greg & I was dancing to T-ara - Roly Poly while Lana filmed us. I gotta say, we were quite entertaining ^^ Oh yeah, did I mention we fed crocodiles and held a beehive? Yep, I know- pretty ballsy stuff huh? :D
I spy a granny under the lion costume. How awesome is that? She was working it for hours! I give her mad props.
January 27, 2012
안녕 Hanoi! Brrr* It's cold here. None of us thought to check the weather before we left NYC. We're not prepared for this whatsoever T.T. So we all layered whatever warm clothes we had. In case you were wondering it was about 50 something degrees. Hanoi was a bit eerie because a lot of places were still closed due to CNY. That day we decided to do some sightseeing and shopping around the city. Before we went, we stopped by a sticky rice noodle place called "Xoi Yen" that Anthony Bourdain went to. It must be our lucky day because the sticky rice restaurant was quite close to our hotel (walkable distance). When we arrived in front of the restaurant, we were kinda lost about how to order since it was a local Vietnamese hole in the wall shops. I ended up doing the order and I gotta say.. sign language goes a long way. When the food came, it was better than what we expected. The food was phenomenal! I think everyone would agree with me that this was the best sticky rice noodle ever. We had this 3 out of 4 days we were in Hanoi. Yep, it was that good.After eating, we hopped on a cab and headed to the mall which was about a 5 minutes drive. Wendy notice the meter was rigged and by the time we got to the mall the cost of the ride was $50USD!!! RIDIC.. The taxi driver said it costs that much because it was CNY but we just take a cab from the airport to our hotel earlier and it cost only $30USD. How can a 5 minute taxi ride cost this much? The taxi driver must be outta his mind! I gave him $7USD which was more than enough and told everyone to bounce. Thank goodness that taxi driver didn't chase us!! We made it to the mall safely but the mall was closed. *sigh.. I will never travel to Asia during CNY. We had no choice but to go sightseeing.
Here are some sightseeing pictures (please excuse my outfit, as I stated earlier I just threw on a bunch of clothes to keep me warm):
January 28, 2012
It was very cold today. To top it off we were going more north than Hanoi. So, I threw out the little bit of warm clothes I had and off we went to Halong Bay. The bus ride was 3 hours and we had to take a boat afterwards but the travel was worth it because Halong Bay was beautiful. While we were on the boat, there were ladies on smaller row boats that pulled up next to us and climbed on our boat asked if we wanted fruits. I thought that was quite amusing. After arriving in Halong Bay, the tour guide asked if we wanted to Kayak on our own or hire someone to row a boat for us for an extra $5. Of course we opted for someone to row the boat of us (the thought of my kayaking and falling into the freezing cold water is no bueno). When the boat ride was finished we went to a cave (this was a actual cave unlike the bootleg Batu Caves). It was so pretty inside, apparently this cave was found by a man following a monkey. So in actuality a monkey discovered the cave? lol
January 29, 2012
So excited to eat yummy Bun Cha today! This is what I have been craving all along. Bun Cha is really different from what we have in the States. Of course the one in Vietnam is much better! They put the sauce, meat, lettuce and noodles in a bowl and eat it as it was soup noodles. Slurps* I love fish sauce! Oh yeah, we also ordered spring rolls (no Vietnamese meal is complete without it).
We were supposed to go to Sapa today but couldn't because didn't have enough time in Vietnam. It's okay, we made the most outta it and did some more sightseeing. We went to the temple in West Lake, Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum (we didn't get there early enough to go inside the mausoleum.. they close at like 11am!), Opera House, and then went shopping (stores were finally opened).
January 30, 2012
We basically finish seeing everything in Hanoi so decided to do a day tour to Hoa Lu which was ancient capital. I literally ran out of warm clothes to wear and I ended up looking like a smurf because I was wearing all blue. I can't believe the girls let me walk out looking like SMURF!! .. yeah, they made fun of me the whole entire time but paybacks a bit*h >:D I made a couple of grannies chase after Wendy & Lana, they were harassing them to buy stuff. ROFL!!!! HILARIOUS~
Afterwards, we went on a 2 hour boat ride along a canal overlooking green rice fields and great lime stone mountains. For a moment, I thought I was on a boat in Yangtze River, China. The sight was breathtaking!
When we got back to Hanoi, we were hungry and got Bun Bo Nam Bo (beef with vermicelli) followed by Chi (popular dessert in Hanoi).
January 31, 2012
Guess what I had for breakfast today? trứng vịt lộn aka duck embryo. It's suppose to be good for your health and Vietnamese people usually eats it only in the mornings for breakfast. If you're curious.. it tastes like egg and liver.
What a great way to leave Vietnam.. & now we're off to Jakarta ^^
Stupid budget airlines ... we arrived really late and missed our connecting flight to Jakarta. We caught the next flight out. When we arrived, Kevin's servant came to pick us up. We tried to find Kevin but couldn't. His servant claims he didn't have any service to call him ... um but we were outside the airport. Well Wendy ended up calling Kevin on her phone and he came to us within minutes. Oh, I forgot to mention.. some guy was walking up to Wendy and I and had one of his hand inside his coat. I thought he was gonna pull out a gun but he pulled out perfume!! ROFL
Our first meal in Jakarta (it includes shark & blue crab):
February 1, 2012
Best safari ever, we were so close to the animals!
It's lunchtime, so we decided to order a bunch of food to share.
Time to pet the animals. FYI- The orangutan was such a pervert. Kept pulling down our shirts..so lucky he's such a cutie pie!
Do you like Lina's new outfit? hahaha It's the bomb diggity!
We had to see the Komodo Dragon before we left the Safari. Beware- their saliva is deadly..
February 2, 2012-February 5, 2012
We're going to Bali today - There is no better way to end this trip but a relaxing time in paradise! To top it off, Kevin brought one of his servants with us on the trip. How awesome is that? Having your personal servant cater to you? hehehe
Our villa is located in Ubud which is north of Bali. We decided to stay where the rice patties were since we had our own personal driver anyways. The villa was so beautiful. It was a 5 bedroom villa with a pool.
The villa was beyond beautiful except for the nature part. We didn't realize we would be living in a jungle! The common areas were open and the walls in our room were not attached to the roof so there was open space where lizards and mosquitoes can get in. The first time I took a shower in the indoor bathroom, a flying mantis came in and I ran out screaming. The second day we had an encounter with a wild cat which peed on Kevin's bed, broke a cup and ate the food off of the living room table. The last night I saw a huge lizard (think iguana big and oh yeah, did i mention they bite too?) crawling up Lana's wall. Luckily, Lana and Wendy scared it away. The last day we were there, I had to wake everyone up to eat breakfast so we can catch our flight. I was walking downstairs to wake up Karen and OMG a bat flew right passed me! The horror ......... I learned my lesson! Never will I wanna stay where nature lies again!
Our Bali trip was just relaxing, there's not much to tell here except for the delicious ribs we ate at Naughty Nuri's. It was hands down the best ribs I've ever ate in my life. The meat was succulent.. it came right off of the bone. Other than that we went to the beach and got massages almost everyday. Oh, I forgot to mention.. we also had shit coffee (actually, I don't drink coffee so I didn't try it but everyone else did). The shit coffee is really popular in Bali and it's really expensive.
Paradise
The animal that produces the shit coffee
Finished product .. I actually forgot which one was the shit coffee
Food Porn: Crispy Duck, Nasi Lemak, Satay Duck (from left to right)
February 5th, 2012
The Layover- Singapore featuring Lana & Nina
I forgot where we went the last day. I know we got our Hokkaido Ice Cream and ate lots of food. I just remembered we went to No Signboard for dinner.
No Signboard - DO NOT EVER EAT CHILI CRAB BEFORE BOARDING A PLANE!! We were sick to our stomachs after eating this.
No comments:
Post a Comment