Christmas Vacation?

Part I - Genting Highlands then HK Disneyland.

We spent two consecutive years of Xmas holiday at Genting Highlands in 2005-06. why? One and only reason, the kids. Kids love Genting Highlands because of the theme park and hubby love it because of cool atmosphere and ca$ino.

But, we can't just go for the 3rd yr in a row to Genting Highlands for Xmas, right?

I have been hinting directly to hubby about planning for Xmas vacation to HK Disneyland since two yrs ago. It was not long before when we had moved into the new house, the idea again pops out in several recent discussions when the scent of Xmas season is nearer. Due to the fact that it would have cost us some good saving we had for the new house deco, we have been pending this idea for now (we agreed)

Recently, hubby fren made a good offer. He has tons of Cathay Pacific Airlines Marco Polo mileages that willing to offer in great discount rate. The itch rose again, shld we or shld we not taking this advantage to fulfill our mission to take kids to HK Disneyland for Xmas...

To be Continued...


Possible Related Post:
Travel to HK Disneyland

Bonsai, Gardening

Bonsai is a Japanese word, 盆栽. Bonsai is actually two words, "Bon", and "Sai". The word "Bon" means "tray" and "Sai", "growing" or "planting".

What I like about Bonsai is that the shape itself is like a miniature big tree. It gives me a cooling and relaxing feeling. Buying a Bonsai and keeping it at home is easy but... it is not easy to grow and manage them. Bonsai needs thorough care and it takes time to grow into a beautiful plant.

How I wish I could have many different Bonsais decorated at home. Any of the below one would be nice, isn't it?


These are special ones.. with it's trunk grew winding and made into words.
The seller told me that it take years for these to form into wording and because of that each of them costs few hundred ringgit.

I wonder if I have even only 1 of it, do I know how to take care and have it continue growing healthyly? I think I need to read more of bonsai books before I could own one.

Travelling

I've not been travelling to overseas eversince I had my 2 superkids. It's kind of melancholy, right? So to satisfy myself, I've been snapping these photos..

Planes taking off...




and planes landing..


Landing.. almost touching the land !


The most beautiful plane I ever come across was Fedex's plane. I couldn't snap a shot of it as I was driving on my way home. It was 7pm +. Fedex plane was coming from front with it's lights on and roller down, about to land. Wow.. it was beautiful. You know, the lighting plus the purple body plus the sunset.. a great combination.. I was stunt for a moment..(still driving.. Luckily, still in a piece now. :-)

How nice if I can travel by Fedex to Hong Kong this Chrismas. haha :-D

Are you planning for a trip this year end ? Check out cheap rooms and air fares from Asiaroom.com I find this site very useful for planning before a trip on your own.

Possible related post:
Trip to Bali
Travel to HK Disneyland

Teow Chew Meng, Chai Leng Park

Do you like Min Sin in cantonese? Mee Sua in hokkien. nmm... I like it very much. I always feel that it's a bit expensive to pay RM 10/pax for mee sua.. so, I'll cook it by myself. :-D (Stingy mom).

Last week, hubby said he wanted something hot, or some soup base thing for lunch. Since we're around Chai Leng Park, I suggested to go Teow Chew Meng. I think we've not tbeen here for a year,at least.

It was a rainy day. It's nice to have hot soup. :-)

The famous Teow Chew Meng mee sua.. in the Star


Outlet at Chai Leng Park. I think this is the first shop, as according to theStar online.


Sharkfin Mee Sua for 2.


Closer shot but with my mobile. Not so clear..





They have upgraded service. Can go online. :-D


Expanding their biz to Pulau Tikus. The 7th branch.


Main Menu..


Other than Min Sin, they do have other side dishes. We've not tried them and don't think will try at all.

Don't get me wrong. It's not that the food is tasteless, just don't feel like it. :-)

Business operates from 10 to 11pm. Close on Mondays.
Chai Leng Park, Prai (012-438 5288)

Branches in Penang:
Pulau Tikus, Penang (012-411 0988)
Sunway Tunas, Bayan Baru (04-646 6675)
8-Row, Krian Road Georgetown (04-228 8675, 012-4728186). Diners club have 15% off on F&B till Dec 2007 at this outlet only.

Other branches in PJ:
9, Jalan SS14/1, 47500 Subang Jaya
54, Jalan 8/62A, Bandar Manjalara, 52200 Kepong

Other related posts:
Teow Chew Meng Restaurant

Manhattan Fish Market at Auto-City

Manhattan Fish Market is one of Ed's favorite restaurant. Whenever we ask where he'd like to have dinner, he'll either choose Victoria Station or Manhattan Fish market or he could even say at Hotel ! Wow.. what a splurge. He really knows where to find good food.

Anyway, sometimes, we do listen to them just to favor them, hoping that they will be good.

I usually get my kids to bring something to do, either read or write while waiting for their food to be served. (so to keep them busy and free myself).

We ordered our usual Platter for Two. RM 42.90

This dish will be enough for the 4 of us.

We will also take a soup of the day + ice lemon tea. Total RM 8.90

Soup for Ern and Ed (mostly Ed will consume much) and tea for hubby.

Since I did not try on the fried mushroom which we ordered previously, we had it as our side dish this round.

To my surprised, the volume of fried mushroom increased. Previously, it was only 6pcs.

Hubby and the kids love the mushroom, especially Ern. He eagerly pick up one by one and nibble slowly..

Ern found a fish bone in the mushroom ! We were puzzled of what we were eating then.... quickly, we get a waitress to confirm the dish. She said, +ve mushroom. Not fish. It must be the kitchen's mistake!!

She immediately offered to give a complementary dessert but Ed requested for a complimentary orange juice. Ern kept quiet. So, Ed only shared a little with his bro. :-D Contented Edmund.


That was not the end. After the meal, Ed continued asking for ice-cream! I said, that sister offered you ice-cream just now, but you resisted. Now, you want ice-cream ? He said yes and swiftly said, "OK, I'll go and talk to sister". He went right straight up to the waitress and asked for a complementary dessert !

Not bad a service. He got his ice-cream ! See his happy face !


OMG. Ern was the one whom found the bone, and there his little bro got all the complementaries.. hahaha :-D

Possible Related Posts:

Manhattan Fish Market @ Auto-City-29 Jul 07

Auto-City Manhattan's contact:
The Manhattan Fish Market
Attn:

Fredie Deo (Mobile: 012-3816077)

Andrew Tan (Mobile: 017-2346556)

Cindy (Mobile: 012-5836664)
1825-G1, Jalan Perusahaan,Auto-City North-South Highway Juru Interchange,13600 Prai, Penang, Malaysia.
04-5018688
04-5018686
fredie@manhanttanfishmarket.com.my
http://www.manhattanfishmarket.com/

Tao Cuisine - Japanese Restaurant

My first visit to Tao Cuisine at Auto-city was after they launched not long ago in auto-city. At that time, I didn't get to eat much because the serving were extremely slow. As a result, we all didn't enjoy much. However, few of my frens kept saying that Tao's buffet is nice, the oysters are good... and so, I couldn't get out of their temptations. I want to try on the oysters !

I lured hubby about the oysters in Tao and hahaha... he scheduled one dinner with his friend together. :-)

This is my 2nd visit to this restaurant. My kids and I like the environment much. The natural decorations with man-made fountains made this place refreshing and cosy to dine in.

We started unagi Set for our kids. 1 Set each for them. Ed consumed the whole plate while Ern didn't like it at all.

After a whole place of unage, Ed continued with california roll.

Again, Ernest did not have a bite at all.

Chawan Mushi (Steam egg) - Ordered for Ed and Ern too. This one, both of them finished. It's one of their favorites.


Grill fish (I was told that the dish is called Miso Sake) and Salmon Roll with papaya. Both this dishes tastes ultimate ! One that you musn't missed.

My Favorite Sashimi !!!! Nmmm... wow.... so tasty and fresh !

To our disappointment, they didn't have oyster that Friday but instead offered us scallop. We tried a plate. If you like hot and spicy, you'll love this dish. But not for me. Hubby's friend like it.

We did ordered sushi set, miso soup, fried udon, mutton curry and also fried crab meat. The mutton curry and fried crab meat is nice.

Grill salmon for salmon lovers.

As salmon is also one of my favorites, (yes, I have many favorites. hihi), I tried as much different salmon cookings as possible. The bottom dish is called the Salmon Skin. This dish gives you the original taste of salmon (sake in Japanese).

Our last order was Green Tea ice-cream. Although we were so full that we really couldn't finish what we'd ordered, the waitress still recommend us to try on their Green Tea ice-cream. So, each of us had one except Ernest. He doesn't favor ice-cream. nmm... It's really good.

So, overall rating for this time. 70% satisfied !

Why? Because they limited our dining time to 8:30pm for Fri to Sun (buffet time is 7pm to 8:30pcs). We reached at 7:30, so, we only had an hour to eat. Secondly, we didn't have our oysters which was the driver that brought us there. :-(

The buffet costs RM 45++ for adult and 1/2 price for children below 12. From 7:00pm to 8:30pm. (It seems that there's no time limit for Mon to Thur). You may call to confirm at below details.

Tao Authentic Asian Cuisine
Attn: Mr. Jack (Mobile: 016-4638167) Ms. Saras (Mobile: 016-6879773)
1820-F1, Jalan Perusahaan,Auto-City North-South Highway Juru Interchange,13600 Prai, Penang, Malaysia.
04-5017826
04-5017827
info@tao-cuisine.com

Hou Mei Yuen-Pan Mee@ Bukit Jambul Flat

Other than those sumptious and luxury dinings, I also like to venture into hawker foods. This is one of the place where I like to have lunch in.

This place is surrounded by big trees. Thus, it has a refreshing environment. No matter how hot and stuffy out there, this place is always cooling, under big shady trees.



Not only the seatings are under the shady trees, car parks are also under shades. You don't need to get into a hot and stuffy car after a good meal. :-)



So, what is famous here? The Hou Mei Yuen (好美園) Pan Mee. If you look at the chinese characters, it means "Tasty Garden". But because I read the English characters, it became "The backyard garden". ;-) Just a thought. Nothing related.

Sorry, cut the crap, this stall is famous of it's home made Pan Mee (made of flour and egg). Located nearby Bukit Jambul complex. This place is known as BJ flat Pan Mee.

Previously, it only has Pan Mee and another western food stall next to this. Now, the western food had moved and replaced by a rojak stall. Where as Pan Mee too, expanded their biz to Dim Sum varieties.



Chu Cheong Fan served in small bowls. Cute.



Pan Mee stall. It is neat and clean. Many foreign workers.

Dim Sum stall.


Pan Mee Soup. - RM 2.50 / bowl.


Dried Pan Mee - thin type. They have medium and fat type too.
Did you noticed the leaf in the soup? It's the fallen leaf from the trees.
It's very windy.


The waiter kept asking if we want Loh Mai Kai and Chu Cheong Fan, so, I ordered one Loh Mai Kai. (chicken glutinous rice) (One of my favorite dim sum).

See, another leaf on my loh mai kai.


We sat with the table clean without leaves. With the wind breezing, our table, even on my hair... were leaves. :-D


Overall: If you are health conscious and like to dine in this natural environment, drop by this place and have a try. Am really not sure if they put any MSG to the dishes, but it is definately not salty and does not taste so. It has a natural taste. Mrs. Rain doesn't like to come here because the taste is "too natural". ;-p

The View-Equatorial Hotel, Bukit Jambul

I wasn't prepared to blog about this restaurant, thus, I did not prepare my camera with me. However, when I saw the artfully presented dishes, I just couldn't help but started snapping with my camera phone. It's only 2MP. ... so, not so good quality pics.

We've often hear of French cooking - the finest cooking in the world. If you are a real food lover, and if you love steak like i do, then you should know where is "The View" in EQ Hotel, Bukit Jambul.

I was invited again to dine at this fine posh restaurant. It won't be difficult for me to describe how classy the decoration is, but it would be a challenge for me to describe it's menu. It comes with one main course and complemented by a buffet of appetizers, soup and desserts.

Salmon and Oyster lovers will love it here. They serves daily fresh salmon and oyster at the buffet corner. How fresh? Anything fresher you need to fish yourself. Ok, here i go again my dine in experience write up.

The decoration:
This is the definitely a place of special events. I mean, this is one of the best restaurant for your first date. The luxury interior setup,with nice overview of the Bayan Baru township and the Penang bridge too. Not far for the side window corner, you can see some of the fairways of Bukit Jambul Golf Club. The comfort of its lighting and live piano performance added the extra"feelings" while you dine in there.

The Food: The quality is there. except for the soup. My friend said it's too salty. Thus, I did not try it.

Appetizer Corner - raw & cooked fish

Seasoned raw salmon

Soup and Salad Corner

Dessert Corner

This is the Tiramisu, one that you MUST try on. Highly recommended.

It is very fine and it melts once you put in your mouth.

The cheese cake is rich (I mean really rich) in cheese. Soft and juicy.

Main Dishes : A varieties to be chosen from. Steak, fish, seafood and also pastas.

The main dish has yet served. But, we were all more than 1/2 full.

This is King Cod Fish - RM 78++

Known to be the best dish among the fish category.

Salmon. RM 65.00++ The green mash potato is luscious. nmm.. yummy.

Tenderloin Steak - RM 92.00 ++

I ordered this. Medium-well done. Fragrant and tasty.

Steak (Black Pepper) - RM 94.00++

Seafood

And lastly, we ordered lobster to share.

This lobster is well over-cooked. The flesh is too spongy. Very difficult to chew.

Appetizers that I took... Raw Salmon, raw oysters and some others.

Oysters again... (sorry, it's my favorite. Yes, I had 10 of them 8-) ).

Dessert..

By the time I finished all my portions, I really could not fill up anything anymore... but after a short rest, I could not resist myself in getting at least a scoop of ice-cream. nmmm.... that calls it a complete meal. ;-p

Overall: I would say that this is a lavish buffet. You could already enjoy this fine ultimate luxury dishes with only RM 65++. Afterall, a normal buffet dinner will easily costs about RM60 and above. What say dining in this posh restaurant, right ? Shouldn't we pamper ourselves once a while ?

Note: There is one thing needed improvement. That is to label their dishes. There were no labels at all, except for soup.