KFC @ Incheon International Airport

Remember me blogging about our 12 hour layover in Korea and how we had to wait for almost 2 and a half hours before the transit tour desk was open for the day? Well, to kill time, we went to KFC for breakfast. It was actually a toss up between KFC and McDonalds but KFC won because McDs was serving their regular breakfast menu and we wanted to try something different (something that is not on the US or Malaysian KFC/McDs menu).

Ordering our food wasn't an easy task. About 95% of the menu was in Korean, with tiny English words here and there. It took us quite a while to figure out what we wanted and proceeded to order by pointing at the pictures on the menu (you would think that the menu would be in English and that the workers would have a better understanding of English, since this outlet was in an international airport after all).

Kevin ordered the Tower Burger & Chicken set. The set consist of one Tower Burger, one piece of chicken and a drink. The Tower Burger was pretty big and looked really yummy. Spicy white meat chicken fillet (something like the Zinger fillet), hash browns, lettuce, some sort of sauce and melted cheese in a sesame seed bun. I didn't try it but Kevin says it's really good.

For his chicken, he had a choice between original, spicy or garlic (some new promotion that they were having at that moment). Of course we tried the garlic. I took a bite of his chicken and mmmm mmm mmmm. Realllly good! They should consider putting that on their regular menu! Crispy on the outside and juicy in the inside. Really well marinated too...awesome! The fries in the photo is part of my set. Nothing to shout about I guess, just regular fries :D

I ordered the Shrimp Burger set. It came with one shrimp burger, a single serving of fries and a drink. The Shrimp Burger was really good. One crunchy shrimp patty (with pretty big chunks of shrimp), lettuce and some sort of tangy sauce in a lightly toasted sesame seed bun. Very yummy indeed!

We also ordered an eggtart each for our dessert. The pastry was nice and flaky and the filling wasn't too sweet (which is a good thing). However, it was way too oily/greasy. Overall, it wasn't too bad.

So, what's the damage? The bill came up to KRW 14,100. I can't remember what is the exact breakdown of each item but KRW 14,100 is approximately US$12.50. I am not sure if the pricing is the same for all KFC outlets or this particular one is more expensive because it's located in the airport. I guess $12.50 is not too bad, it's about the same (maybe even a little less) as what we pay for a two person meal back in the States. Stay tuned for more about our transit tour in my next post!

12 Hour Layover in Korea

On our way to Malaysia, we had a 12 hour layover in Seoul, Korea. Since both Kevin and I have never been to Korea before, we figured it would be great if we joined one of those transit tours, just to see what Korea is like. The timing of the layover was also great. We flew into Incheon Airport from JFK really early in the morning (around 5am) and we fly out of Korea to Kuala Lumpur at around 5pm the same day. It was just perfect to join one of the day tours.

When we arrived, it was still way too early and the transit tour desk wasn't even opened yet. So, what do you do when you are bored? Cam whore! :P Yup, we just went all over the airport taking photos (Incheon Airport is really nice!) and stuff. We also went to KFC to eat some breakfast and of course, to waste more time while waiting for the transit desk to open. Will blog about that later on.

While roaming all over the airport, trying to kill time (2 hours to kill before we could register for the tour), we saw some pretty cool stuff. Check this out. You can find an "Etiquette Bell" in every stall in the restrooms. What does it do? Well, I am guessing that Koreans are pretty shy people and that they do not like the person in the next stall to hear all kinds of 'bodily sounds' when they relieve themselves :P So, all you need to do is choose what kind of sound you like (ranging from music, running water, flushing of toilet) and press the bell. This way, it will mask any other sound that might not be too pleasant to the ears! Hahaha! Since it was 5am in the morning, nobody was in the restroom except myself. So, I had a great timing testing out all the sounds and laughing to myself (yes, I know...LAME!). I am just thinking, wouldn't it be more embarrassing if you used the bell? Just imagine that the restroom is crowded with people and suddenly there is music coming from your stall. Everybody would then know that you are doing your #2 in there!!! LOL!

Here is another funny thing that we saw at the airport. We had to go through immigration before we could check in at the transit tour desk. When we went to fill up our arrival card, we noticed that not only were there pens provided, there were also reading glasses!! Of course it's normal to find pens at the counter but reading glasses???? Boy, those Koreans do go out of their way to make life easier for everybody :P

After waiting for like two and a half hours, the transit tour desk finally opened. We signed up for the 5 hour city tour. That particular tour originally cost US$80 per person but if more than 4 people signs up for it, it will be only $50 per person. By the time we signed up, there were about 6 other people on the list, so were pretty pleased to that it will only be $50 per person. The lady at the counter then told us that since 2010 is 'Visit Korea Year', there is a 50% discount on this particular tour! Yeah, so we only paid $25 per person! The tour includes a return trip from the airport to Seoul (takes about 45 minutes on way), an English speaking tour guide, a traditional Korean lunch and a free gift. There will be three main stops during the tour (excluding lunch). We will begin by visiting the Gyeongbokgung Palace (entry tickets to the palace is included in the tour), then some souvenir shopping in Insa-dong followed by Cheonggye Plaza to see the man made stream in Sejong-ro. The tour will end with a traditional Korean lunch. A whole lot of stuff for just $25 a pop! I will blog more about the transit tour in my next post :D

We're ready to leave!

We are all done with our packing and the taxi will be here in less than 2 hours time. At last, the day has arrived! For those of you who don't know, we will be going back to Malaysia to celebrate Chinese New Year this year! Woohoo!!

Our plane will leave JFK around midnight tonight and we'll have a 12 hour layover in Seoul. Since both Kevin and I have never been to Korea before, we plan to go on one of those transit tours. How exciting! We will arrive Kuala Lumpur late Monday night and leave for Langkawi Island for a family vacation on Wednesday. Can't wait for that! After Langkawi, we will fly to Penang (my hometown) to celebrate Chinese New Year as well as my Dad's 60th birthday with our extended family. The final leg of our trip will mostly be in Kuala Lumpur and we might take a short trip to Singapore for a day or two (maybe).

We'll try to update this blog as much as we can. So, the next time you hear from us...we'll be in sunny Malaysia, kicking back and enjoying the nice warm weather with our family and friends!!

Away For The Weekend!

We will be heading to Pittsburgh on Saturday to visit Kevin's mom. She just had her other knee operated on a few days ago, so now both her knees are 100% well again! :D We won't be able to blog these couple of days, so we'll see all of you on Monday when we return!! Have a good weekend and don't miss you too much!!! :P

We're off to the Ranch!!

That's right, the wait is over. We will be leaving for Montana in about 2 and a half hours time!! Since there will be no cell phone signals or Wifi at the Crazy Mountain Ranch, we won't be able to update this blog until we get back late Saturday night (well, probably Sunday afternoon. I predict we will be too tired to update the moment we get home). Til then, have fun, be safe and try not to miss us too much! See ya guys on Saturday!! ;P

Off to Big Sky Country....YEEEEE HAWWW!

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

This is a very backdated restaurant review. I initially didn't want to write about this anymore but I enjoyed the food there so much that I just had to write this review. We were on our way to Pittsburgh for Nick's confirmation when we decided to stop at Cracker Barrel in Fogelsville, Pennsylvania (somewhere off the Interstate, near Allentown) for dinner. We have always seen many Cracker Barrels along the way whenever we drive to home to Pittsburgh but this is the first time we are actually stopping at one.

It was a Friday evening and the car park was packed. The restaurant was filled with locals, so I guess it was a good sign. There is this old time country feeling the moment you step into the restaurant and there was also a nice working fireplace. The overall decor is very rustic (I like :P).

Our server handed us the menu and boy! it was a hugeee menu. There were so many yummy country style dishes to choose from. It took us quite a while to decide what to order :P

We finally placed our order and our server brought out some country biscuits as well as some home made corn muffin. It was served with real butter and a whole bowl filled with all kinds of jam and honey. The muffin wasn't really the best, it was just alright. The biscuit however was the bomb! Really buttery and nice, very very good! We tried the biscuits with all the different types of jam..mmm mmm mmm.

They even have games on each table for the customers to keep themselves busy while waiting for the food. We of course were keeping ourselves busy by stuffing our faces with the biscuits and muffin, so we didn't really have time to check out the games.

It didn't take too long for our dinner to arrive. Kevin ordered the Meatloaf Dinner, which comes with a thick cut of Meatloaf made with tomatoes, green peppers and onions. He had a choice of three country sides and he chose the Whole Kernel Corn, Country Green Beans and Fried Apples. He said that they were all really good and he enjoyed the whole dinner lots.

Since everything looked so good on the menu, I ordered the Cracker Barrel Sampler. A small selection of their three most famous dishes. Half a slice of Meatloaf, half a slice of Sugar Cured Ham and some of their famous Chicken n Dumplins. I just love their Chicken n Dumplins. Pieces of chicken tenderloin and dumplins that were hand made from scratch, slowly simmered in country chicken stock. Reallllly hearty and good. I also had a choice of three sides and I chose the Fried Apples (bad choice, I didn't really like it), Country Green Beans and Breaded Fried Okra. The fried apples tasted like commercial apple pie filling, so I didn't really like it that much. However, the green beans and okra rocked my world! It's really good, especially the okra.

After dinner, we took a walk in their gift shop. The whole place oozes of country charm. They had all kinds of apparel, boots and cowboy hats, Paula Deans cookbooks, old fashioned baked goods as well as old time candy! I felt like buying everything! At last we bought some chocolate covered walnuts and Dad's Root Beer hard candy to eat along the way to Pittsburgh.

As we left the restaurant, we noticed that they even had hand made rocking chairs on sale at their verandah. Man, if we had a southern style ranch house with a big verandah, we would definitely get a few rocking chairs. It would be so cool to just sit outside on the rocking chair, sipping ice tea and watching the sunset :P Overall, I'm glad we stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner. It was a pleasant break from the long journey and it's always good to eat some hearty 'home cooked' country style food. If only there was a Cracker Barrel somewhere nearer to our apartment. I should bring this franchise to Malaysia, anybody want to invest and be my partner? :P

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
7720 Main Street,
Suite 19,
Fogelsville, PA 18051
Tel: (610) 481-0055

Invite to the Marlboro Ranch in Montana!

Remember my post about our FedEx experience yesterday? Well, this is what's inside the large envelope!

We actually received an email from the Guest Relations people from Marlboro about one and a half weeks ago saying that I won a trip for two to the Marlboro Ranch in Montana this summer! I was supposed to call them back to book my space for the trip. Marlboro randomly picks winners from sweepstakes that they run through out the year, selecting 50 winners (each winner is allowed to bring a guest) for a 4 days 3 nights fully paid adventure of a lifetime. This includes return air tickets, accommodation at the Ranch, food and drinks, a check for $1,250 and a host of other freebies (I saw online from people who went for the trip last year that they got free travelling luggage, cowboy hats, jackets, watches, digital cameras...a whole lot of stuff). Boy! we are so excited. Anyway, after calling them back, they said that they will send us a pack containing our pre trip documents and that we should complete the paperwork and send it back to them within 7 days.

In the Pre-Trip Documents pack that we received yesterday, there was a cover note congratulating us and telling us about the activities available at the ranch. Looks like we would have an opportunity to take part in activities such as horseback riding, zip lining, fly fishing, mountain biking, off roading, hiking, hay rides, hot stone massages, cattle drives, clay shooting, ranch back country tours and a whole lot more. They even have day trips to Yellowstone National Park if we choose to go! Night activities includes bonfires, live entertainment, karaoke and lots of line and square dancing! Wow! Looks like it's a cowboy style Club Med :P How cool is that?

Before the fun begins, there are tons of paperwork to go through. We read carefully through everything to make sure that there is no catch. Looks like everything is under control. We are supposed to complete the paperwork, send it back to them and they will run a background check on us. I guess they have to run background checks to make sure that we are not stuck in the middle of the mountains with some wanted murderer! Once they are done with the background checks, they will send us our trip dates and travel arrangements.

Inside the pack also contained two envelopes, one for me (the invitee) and another for Kevin (the guest). We needed to complete this whole bunch of forms, stuff like the publicity release forms, release and waiver of liability forms, medical release and information forms, photocopies of our drivers license/state id and a whole other lot. We also had to bring the affidavit of eligibility/prize acceptance form as well as the motor vehicle record authorization form to the public notary to get it notarized. Phewww, so many forms!

We managed to get them all done early this morning and here are the two envelopes ready for mailing!

Marlboro also enclosed a pre-paid, pre-addressed FedEx airbill and envelope for us in the pack. All we needed to do was put everything back into the envelope, complete the airbill, seal and call FedEx for pick up. I called around 9:30am in the morning and the FedEx guy showed up at around 3pm to collect the envelope. Not too bad, everything was completed and done in less than 24 hours. In fact, the last time I tracked the envelope online, it was already in transit and will be delivered before 3pm tomorrow! Well, I guess now I'll just have to sit back and wait for them to send us our travel dates and travel arrangements. Ohhhh, this is so exciting, I can't wait!

* Click here to be directed back to the Crazy Mountain Ranch Homepage. You can check out other ranch related posts as well as look at photos from the ranch during our Summer 2009 trip!