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Showing posts with label memories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label memories. Show all posts

Friday, May 12, 2017

Satisfy the Cravings for Japanese Feast @Aoki Tei Japanese Restaurant (青木亭放题); Sunway Nexis

Maya Angelou said it best, “…people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” A great dinner treat from the head of department for recognizing and acknowledging each members' hard work for achieving sales target in the previous financial year. On that night, it was a celebration of achievements for all! The dinner was held at Aoki Tei Japanese Restaurant; Sunway Nexis. A well-meant gratitude had been expressed by the boss before everyone started to fill up each stomach with food.

Aoki Tei Japanese Restaurant; a good venue for satisfying the cravings for platefuls of sashimi,mix of raw fishes, sushi, seafood drenched with cheese and etcetera. The a-la-carte buffet priced at RM58++ for lunch and RM78++ for dinner. Bottomless drinks including green tea, sake and beers were available at Aoki Tei.






A red Kimono was hanged at the main interior as decoration and above it was the Aoki Tei 's sake.

It wasn't the typical buffet that had full range of dishes served at one side, but Aoki Tei offered ala-carte buffet which was made-to-order. A better way to remain the freshness of food. While there're more than 70 dishes to be ordered, yet each stomach had limited capacity to try all. Here's some of the Japanese feast that we had on that night. 


いただきます!

Umai Chinmi was good to be served as appetizer before starting the feast.
Seasoned octopus was very flavorful, while not many of us fancy with the seasoned jelly fish.

Grilled mackerel fish with salt (Saba Shioyaki) which was served with a slice of lemon to enhance the taste.
Chawan Mushi or Japanese steamed egg
California hand rolls
Top Glass Salad with shredded chickens and assorted vegetables.
It was ordered to balance up the meals as not all would like to be carnivores! :)
Sashimi (5pcs)
The most satisfying feast of tonight was the thick slices of  fresh sashimi. I had eaten 5 thick slices of it and regretted for not ordering one more platter.

Delicious sizzling seafood comprised of tiger prawns, salmon and squid legs topped with cheese.
 Cheese Baked Oysters were very scrumptious and we had topped up few orders after the first try. 
The tasty oyster topped with melted cheese. 
Gani Cheese Fried ordered by the next table.
I was anticipated for unagi yet there's no eel fish served here.
Mini chicken pizza

Well, it's like a heaven for sushi and sashimi lovers where the next table had been serving with jumbo platter and crystal platter. According to one of the eaters, nothing was very top notch about it, but good enough to satisfy one's cravings for sashimi.
Jumbo Platter

Crystal platter
8 kinds of seafood are included in this set and it's definitely worth ordering for feasting since this dish was costed RM199.
Takoyaki - The famous Japanese street food was served piping hot.
The flavorful diced octopus was crispy on the outside.
Prawn tempura with too much batter flours.
The batter was thick, tasted heavy, covered the taste of prawns which was suited my taste.
Soft shell crab hand rolls
Crispy crab, lettuce, Terriyaki sauce and mayo.
I had tasted two hand rolls of this due to the orders were mixed up, yet delightful of the taste.
Edamame beans- great healthy snacks when your stomachs need a rest after filling up with too many meats.
Miso soup (Japanese bean paste soup)
The feedback from the eaters that the miso soup tasted much more flavorful compared to Gyu Suji Nabe.

Inari sushi with salad dressings 
Sake Kurage Maki-Jelly fish rolls wrapped inside-out with salmon and avocado.
Hmm, nothing much special for me but those who didn't fancy of fresh raw food were satisfied with it. Desserts were available with the 4 different flavors of ice-cream i.e. vanilla, matcha, chocolate and wasabi. The matcha ice-cream was too good that I had the 2nd scoop.Mild bitterness with the nice green tea scent.
Chocolate flavor ice-cream was good for sweet-tooth.

Matcha ice-cream here yielded a perfectly sweet with mild bitterness, creamy dessert.

The celebration would not be exciting without the free flow of sake and beers. Raising up the glasses of beers/ sake or cups of green tea to cheer for the good achievement, hoping for the best to the current year! The celebration for those who born in April and May had heated up the party at the end.  


One of the group photo I liked the most.


ごちそうさまでした!
ありがとうございます!


Address:
Aoki-Tei Japanese Buffet Restaurant
Unit D-GF-05, Sunway Nexis
Jalan PJU 5/2, Kota Damansara
Phone number: 03 61436868- Table booking recommended

Sunday, February 26, 2017

China House; Beach Street@ Penang - Awesome Place for Cake Feast, Cocktails,Wine, Art and Music


China House is similar like Black Kettle nestling in the heritage-rich address of George Town World Heritage site. As seen in the website, China House consists of 3 beautiful refurbished heritage buildings modeled into 14 spaces including a bakery, cafe, restaurant, souvenir shop, gallery, reading room, live entertainment area and an open-air courtyard. 

Image via Instagram @tenyenyen

China House was recommended by a hawker whom we bought muachi from him and he mentioned that there's live band performance and great cakes selection at China House. We went to China House after enjoying the famous Penang's Legendary Duck Kway Chap at Kimberley Street. As its shop name sounded, I had the fallacy to think that the interior design would be surrounding China arts/ designs. However, I saw English royal guard and some unknown English arts / paintings hanging at the wall at the entrance. 

The menu showed that China House served all-day breakfasts and foods from 3 restaurants with price points for everyone, large range of cakes, muffins, cupcakes and pastries, coffee and alcoholic beverages. At the centre of China House, we were greeted by a large table with assorted cakes and pastries placed on top of it. That's where the section named as Kopi C and Beach Street Bakery. It was almost 8pm and the crowds started to perk in where we had to wait for 10 minutes before seated. 





Nutella Doughnut
 Some of the cakes selection with Halloween theme
Chocolate Tissimo

The signature tiramisu cake

A blur image captured, I merely remembered there's a corner which offered homemade ice-cream.


The long, narrow corridor of the building had decorated with comprehensive mix of trinkets, striking a balance between traditional and trendy. Artistic paper cups had been hang on the wall of the corridors along with some of the Chinese paintings as decoration.  




A closer look on the art pieces from food patrons.

Vine and Single bar
Wide selections of martini were available for your to choose.




The Library section
Books and magazines specializing in art, design, architecture and cooking were available for diners to read too.

Further along the corridor, the reading room was spotted with a space divided into magazines, books and CDs for browsing and buying. The tables here were covered with plain white mahjong paper, beckoning diners to show their artistic side with the provided container of crayons for drawing or create art-pieces. We sat around here to enjoy our beverages and cake. Soft music is being played and we wondered where's the live performance yet only found out China House had several sections which we did not discover yet. Anyway, the first dining experience here was great and we looked forward to come back again.


Signature Tiramisu cake from China House; Penang
This cake was placed separately from the wide array of cakes at Kopi C and we coincidentally chose the signature cake of China House till we found out from the bill later. Generous amount of nuts and almonds covered the top and edge of the cake. Crunchy at first bite due to the generous helping of almonds, following by soft texture in the middle with coffee after-taste. It's quite creamy compared to the tiramisu cake I had earlier, nevertheless it's worth the price for its large portion and a nice departure for the conventional tiramisu cake with shredded almonds as toppings.


Choices of beverages and tiramisu cake
Pineapple Ginger Lime- A sour drink which gave a warming kick, thanks to the ginger! A refreshing drink that's perfect to sip and kill some guiltiness of eating cake at late night :)

Blueberries Mango Coconut Smoothie - An interesting match of mango, blueberries and coconut which suited sweet tooth.

Wine of the House was ordered by my friend in which I did not have a sip hence will skip to comment. 

Chocolate Tissimo [ photo from Pinterest ] had been taken away for satisfying chocolate cravings.
Till we meet again!

The service was acceptable as waiters were still being attentive to our request although it's full house during our visit. Overall, it's a nice dining experience for its home-baked cakes in the hipster cafe residing in the Pearl of Orient. We had a cozy chat at China House for almost 3 hours and what's really matter was good people and nice ambiance. China House - definitely worth for the next visit to try their cakes / fine dining and discover other sections especially the Canteen and the courtyard area as well as live band performance.



Address: 155, LEBUH PANTAI, GEORGE TOWN, PENANG


Sunday, November 13, 2016

Top 12 Activities to Do During Your First Trip to Hua Hin Thailand | 4 Days 3 Nights in Hua Hin Itinerary

It's always a blessing where you don't have burden (family, personal life, work, etc. ) to have a short getaway at the age of mine. 7 days 6 nights of hopping onto a flight to Hua Hin and Bangkok trip was a great reward to myself after the tiring work. Since the short getaway to Krabi happened to be a pleasant and relaxing, my friend and I had an impromptu trip to Hua Hin and Bangkok in last June. Royal Pavilion Hua Hin Hotel was our accommodation in Hua Hin and they did offer free shuttle bus at certain hours towards Railway Station, Hua Hin Night Market, Plearnwan Eco-Vintage Village and Hua Hin Beach.

Apart from sharing my 4 days 3 nights itinerary spent in Hua Hin, there's a list of activities or places to go in Hua Hin; Thailand:

Top 12 Activities / Places to Go in Hua Hin; Thailand
1. Sight-seeing at historical place related to Royal Family- Maruekatayawan Palace
2. Have a glimpse of Greece at Santorini Park
3. Get close to animals with Swiss Sheep Farm
4. Sight-seeing at Plearnwan Eco-Vintage Village
5. Stroll along the night markets of Hua Hin-shop for souvenirs, pamper yourself with massage service from locals and write a postcard to friends/yourself
{ Hua Hin Night Market, Cicada Night Market, Chatsila Night Market and Chatchai Night Market}
6. Enjoy Thai cuisines at Hua Hin
7. Wine-tasting and visit to Hua Hin Vineyard
8. Visit to Hua Hin Sam Phan Nam Floating Market
9. Stroll along Hua Hin Beach
10. Scenery viewing at Chopsticks Hill (Khao Takiab)
11. Photography and sight-seeing at cultural heritage- Hua Hin Railway Station
12. Other places to visit: Hua Hin Market Village



1. Sight-seeing at historical place related to Royal Family- Maruekatayawan Palace

Mrigadayavan Palace: Palace of love and hope is one of the top highlighted Royal palaces which had been published in most websites and magazines. It is comprised of 3 charming beachside groups of wooden pavilions used as a summer palace by King Rama VI (King Vajiravudh, 1910-1925). The palace had been neglected since King Rama VI passed away in 1925 and being ordered by King Bhumibol for renovation to be carried out for this palace in year 1965.
It's a historical place with information provided to let you understand the events happened in Maruekatayawan Palace. The visit towards the upper floor of Maruketayawan Palace was with entrance fees and rules like cameras were forbidden and remained silent during the visit had to be abide to. The craftmanship of the artisans and delicate architecture were really amazing and I saluted the efforts that they placed in remaining the palace's glory by seeing how well it's maintained. The landscaped garden was also one of the place we loved to stroll along to take photography while enjoyed the sea breeze.







2. Have a glimpse of Greece at Santorini Park; Cha-am


Santorini Park is one of the popular tourist attractions in Cha-am/Hua Hin, Thailand and it's opened since May 2012. It's the ideal place for photography session as we have met several pairs of couples and pre-wedding shooting session during our visit to Santorini Park Santorini Park is inspired by the architecture in Santorini, the place which I dream of visiting one day. The vivid and colourful Santorini Park with most buildings are painted in white with blue windows, stone-paved streets with blue borders and lots of decorative miniatures that provide you endless photography opportunities.
An artsy place which would remind you of Greece whitewashed building with windows painted in blue. Since budget-wise is cheaper at Thailand, it's a good idea to visit to Santorini Park to have a glimpse of Greece.



The miniatures which I had longed for yet did not purchase due to each costed 400++baht.
Check out the Hollywood Studio, Haunted House or just having fun with photo-snapping.
My favourite photo with the blue windows and doors of whitewashed buildings.

Endless photography opportunities as long as your partner is photography enthusiast and camera is not out of battery :)

3. Get close to farm animals at Swiss Sheep Farm

If you love to get close with farm animals, you might find Swiss Sheep Farm worth to be visited. Activities like riding horse and feeding animals are available here. As there're many photogenic setting in Swiss Sheep Farm; European-style farm with many Western cliches such as European-style building, Dutch Windmill and English photobooth, we had a great time here. Oh yea, there' re many background suitable for lovers such as paddocks of love, frame of love, love sculptures and etc.



Do enjoy the swing before you leave Swiss Sheep Farm.


4. Sight-seeing at Plearnwan Eco-Vintage Village

Plearnwan Eco-Vintage Village; a themed shopping village inspired by the Good Old Days of Hua Hin let you have a glimpse back in time with the vintage vibes and traditional-looking shops. Another good place for photo-enthusiast. If you have ample time during evening, you may drop by Plearnwan Eco-Vintage Village to have a relaxing walk.




‘ka lor jee’ (similar to Japanese mochi) icecream is sold by one of the hawker cart 


5. Stroll along the night markets { Hua Hin Night Market, Cicada Night Market, Chatsila Night Market and Chatchai Night Market}

Roaming around the night markets in Thailand was the evening activities which you could eat the local cuisines/ snacks, find the souvenirs, get massage service and etc. Hua Hin is a small town yet it has many happening night markets such as Hua Hin Night Market, Cicada Night Market, Chatsila Night Market, Chatchai Night Market, etcetera. Cicada Weekend Night Market is the most favourite night market I had visited in Hua Hin and had many things that I missed out exploring.

Cicada Night Market is divided into four venues: Art A La Mode, Cicada Art Factory, Amphitheatre and Cicada Cuisine. Art A La Mode is where art and craft vendors alongside the paths on the site sell items of clothing, handmade bags, fashion accessories, souvenirs, crafts, used items and cards. The foods here required coupons to be purchased at counter. 

Wooden phone case which the designer would draw according the picture you show to him on it upon purchase. Unfortunately, only for Samsung and Apple Iphone models.
Awesome Tower Bridge Lego
Would have purchased it if the price was lower.

Elephant magnets
Regretted for not purchase one for my mom.

The handmade tak tor toys caught my attention. 
The shop had handmade home decoration items as well.

Chatsila Night Market and Chatchai Night Market were mainly my source of souvenirs to be bought back for family and friends. Below're the shopping hauls' photos. The foot therapy service had been enjoyed at Chatchai Night Market on the last night before we left Hua Hin. Hua Hin Night Market is located in the midst of the town and leads up to the railway line, near to the both Chatsila and Chatchai Night Market.

Lovely painted postcards


6. Enjoy Thai cuisines in Hua Hin


Here's the list of places which I had eaten the local cuisines in Hua Hin: Pak Jua Mango Sticky Rice, Koti Restaurant, Jek Be Ak Restaurant and Friendly Kitchen Thai Food. The Thailand cuisines here were considerably affordable and large portion. 








7. Wine-tasting and visit to Hua Hin Vineyard

Without flying to Australia/ Europe countries, you could have the wine-tasting experience pairing with tapas at Hua Hin Vineyard. A great place to enjoy the view of vineyards and have a cozy chat. You could stroll along the vineyards or rent a jeep tour from there. Elephant rides are offered by Hua Hin Vineyard with fees incurred. Read more by clicking the link above.



8. Visit to Hua Hin Sam Phan Nam Floating Market

There are two popular floating markets in Hua Hin, namely the Hua Hin Floating Market and Sam Phan Nam Hua Hin Floating Market. Both floating markets are built in 2011, located near to each other with less than 10 minutes drive. Hua Hin Sam Phan Nam Floating Market is not like the floating market in Bangkok if you expect having full of boats selling food and fruits. It is just a lakeside market which rows of stalls are built around a huge man-made lake. I personally think the time could be well spent else where than this floating market because you could also get the items you want to buy at night markets in Hua Hin.



9. Stroll along Hua Hin Beach


Hua Hin signifies “stone head” in English due to large, smooth rocks at the North end of the beach. Since Hua Hin is famous as a beach town, why not allocate some time to stroll along Hua Hin Beach. Horse riding is the main activity offered at Hua Hin beach. Well, I prefer strolling along the sandy beach while enjoying the sea breeze. 


Horse-riding activities are available here.



10. Scenery viewing at Chopsticks Hill/ Monkey Mountain (Khao Takiab)

Khao Takiab is located in the southern part of Hua Hin and it's lucky to have the rental car service to reach there as it's quite far away from our accommodation. Khao Takiab is also named as Monkey Mountains as many monkeys could be seen here, there and everywhere. So beware and hold your camera tight. Khao Takiab is also named as Chopsticks Hill.


From The Rock beachfront spa resort in Hua Hin, you can view a hill with a prominent golden Buddha from far. You need to walk on the sandy beach along the seacoast leading towards the mountain. There's a temple at the top of the hill, but we just went to Khao Takiab Chinese Temple due to the sudden change of weather. It's quite quiet here and it's best to have few companions when you go to visit this place. Just to remind that not to expect too much from Chopsticks Hill/ Monkey Mountain, you got to see some shrines, small temples, some views from the beachfront and from top of the hill and thats's all.




The Gold Buddha Statue

Monkeys were spotted along the staircase towards the temple at the top of the hill.

Before rushing down the Chopstick Hill


The view of fishing villages from the Monkey Mountain/ Chopstick Hill

The view of the beachfront hotels at Hua Hin from the Monkey Mountain/ Chopstick Hill

11. Photography and sight-seeing at cultural heritage- Hua Hin Railway Station

Hua Hin Railway Station is worth for a quick visit since it's exclusive of entrance fees and you could visit any time in Hua Hin. Just slot in some time for this iconic cultural heritage in which you could see the old yet well maintained train station with waiting room for Thai Royal family (in the past). A landmark of Hua Hin which is definitely worth for a visit and it could be a good cultural heritage for sight-seeing and photography.


The Royal's waiting room

Similar to Jiu Fen in Taiwan, you could take countless photos at railways.

The iconic building which you could see in the various Hua Hin Postcards.

12. Other places to visit: Hua Hin Market VillageHua Hin Market Village had been visited during our visit as we had almost 1 and half hour free time due to Phra Nakhon Khiri Royal Palace (Khao Wang) closed for renovation. A shopping mall where you could shop for good quality of clothes and beauty products. Well, I had gone back with a photo with the icons of "I love Hua Hin" .. LOL...





4 Days 3 Nights in Hua Hin Itinerary :


Day 1:

  1. Bangkok Airport - Royal Pavilion Hua Hin Hotel  ( Drop by for lunch at a restaurant )
  2. Cicada Weekend Night Market
Day 2:

  1. Royal Pavilion Hua Hin Hotel Breakfast Buffet
  2. Hua Hin Railway Station - walking journey from Royal Pavilion Hua Hin
  3. Sam Phan Nam Floating Market
  4. Hua Hin Hills Vineyard for wine-tasting pairing with Tapas at The Sala Restaurant
  5. Lunch at Friendly Kitchen Thai Food
  6. Hua Hin Market Village
  7. Hua Hin Beach
  8. Koti Restaurant for dinner
  9. Hua Hin Night Market, Chatchai and Chasila Night Market - Window shopping
  10. Simple birthday celebration for my travel partner. Complimentary cake has been given by the Royal Pavilion Hua Hin Hotel for the birthday girl.

Day 3:

  1. Royal Pavilion Hua Hin Hotel Breakfast Buffet
  2. Maruekatayawan Palace; The Palace of Love and Hope
  3. Santorini Park; Cha-am
  4. Swiss Sheep Farm
  5. Chopsticks Hill/ Monkey Mountain (Khao Takiab)
  6. Jek Be Ak Restaurant- delicious dinner
  7. Hua Hin Night Market, Chatchai Night Market, Chatsila Night Market
  8. Royal Pavillion Hua Hin Hotel - Skybar with free redemption of  welcome drink
Day 4:

  1. Royal Pavilion Hua Hin Hotel Breakfast Buffet
  2. Pak Jua Mango Sticky Rice
  3. Patra Boutique Hotel, Bangkok

Places that we did not manage to visit or not include in itinerary: Phra Nakhon Khiri Royal Palace (Khao Wang) , Camel Republic, Vana Nava Water Jungle, Pa La-U Waterfall, Huai Pa Lao National Park Protection Unit 3 and etc.




Bye, Hua Hin! 
Hi, Bangkok!


Accommodation:

Royal Pavilion Hua Hin Hotel

Advantages:

1) Free shuttle service with schedule and pre-booking needed from hotel to Hua Hin beach, railway station, Cicada Weekend Night Market and Plearnwan Eco-Vintage Village.
2) Bus / minivan service from Bangkok-Hua Hin is just next to the hotel.

3) Attentive staffs and good service
4) Spacious room
5) Free welcome drink and free complimentary birthday cake for the guest who has birthday here

6) Walking distance to Hua Hin Railway Station, Hua Hin Night Markets and nearby has Family Mart Convenience Store

Skybar

The welcome drinks given were quite refreshing. 

Disadvantages:
1) Limited choices of breakfast buffet and repeated choices of food
2) Nothing much to view from its skybar

Transport:

Rates given were in 8000 Thai Baht [ 2000 Thai Baht per day tour -8 hours ] including for.

-Air-conditioning vehicle- Toyota Camry
-Chauffeur Driver
-Express Way
-Gasoline used
-Tax and services charge

 Contact person: Mr.Roong
 Contact number: (+66)0623298789
 Email address: roongsayam@gmail.com