Coming Soon – Review on Karumba, Maldives!

Review Coming Soon! 

添好运点心专门店 Tim Ho Wan Dim Sum Expert ~ Cheapest Michelin Star Restaurant in the world!

On the way back to Singapore from Taipei last Nov, I made a stopover in Hong Kong. It was actually my first visit to Hong Kong. Many Singaporeans treat Hong Kong like a 2nd home and I was armed with a ton of recommendations when I landed. Now many would know Hong Kong is the land of dimsum (loosely translated to little pieces of heart). Dim sum can be had for breakfast/lunch/tea. Its where friends gather to chat and have a good meal. Now dun be mistaken, one can become awfully full and stuffed with a good meal of dim sum. To come to Hong Kong and not have dim sum would be likened to going to Japan and not having sushi. So hey, why not go for the best, a michelin star restaurant, the cheapest one available in the world at that, Tim Ho Wan (添好运) !

Tim Ho Wan is a little hole in the wall in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. It probably can’t seat more than 20 people at one go. Its amazing, people go early to queue and they are seated as seats are available. Should you miss the first seating, you will receive a ticket with a menu where you can tick off the items you wish to order while you wait for your turn. The menu is not comprehensive, probably consisting not more than 30 items ( i was silly not to swipe a copy of the menu). No worries should you not know how to read the menu, there are pictures on the glass windows to help you with it.

Queue outside Tim Ho Wan

Placement at Tim Wo Wan depicting their signature dishes

My personal favourite was their Cha Siew Buns which came with a crispy sweet crust like that of the Bolo Bun ( Pineapple Bun). A bite into the bun and out oozes warm melt in your mouth char siew filling that fully compliments the crispy sweet exterior. A perfect balance of both sweet and savoury!

Tim Ho Wan's Signature Char Siew Bun

 

Dim Sum from Tim Ho Wan

I tried the other usual dim sum dishes of har gao, siew mai and cheong fun and they were all equally good. For me who is usually so talkative, I must admit I am at a lost of words of how to describe probably the best dim sum I have ever had in my life!

Recently, I found out that they had open more outlets, but i am one of those suckers that have to go to the original store coz I believe that’s where the best is. N oh, back to how it is the cheapest Michelin Star restaurant in the world. 2 of us ate till we were stuffed silly and it was only SGD10 each. My very pregnant sister-in-law and brother went the week after on my recommendation and spent just about SGD20 each.

To be honest, I am not that big a fan of Hong Kong, but if I were to ever make my way back to Hong Kong, Tim Ho Wan would be the reason why.

Tim Ho Wan Dim Sum Expert (添好运点心专门店）
G/F, Phase 2, Tsui Yuen Mansion, 2-20 Kwong Wa St, Mong Kok
＋852 2332 2896.
Daily 10am-11pm.

Taiwan Variety Show Recording ~ 去台北看录影！

Ever since I started watching Guess Guess Guess, those days when it was hosted by Jacky Wu, Ah-Ya and Rainie Yang, I’ve always wanted to go to Taipei and watch the recording of a variety show live. But before I could make it there, Ah-Ya left the show to go to New York for studies, Rainie Yang has left the show for bigger opportunities and Jacky has since retired. Nonetheless, I still liked a few Taiwan variety shows and when my flights were confirmed to Taipei I could not wait to secure a seat to watch a recording. In fact, I was so bent on going to watch a recording that I wanted to organise my flights around the recording timings.

It took quite a bit of effort and time to find out how to get tickets to go watch the recordings, so I am gonna share with everyone here the fruits of my research. Basically, most of these shows record once a week and you basically have to find out which day of the week they usually do recordings. Call them about a month beforehand to check if they are doing recordings on the days you will be in Taipei and they usually will get you to call back again the week before to reconfirm. Mention that you are tourists from Singapore and they are usually excited and more than happy to let you join in on the recording. Unless you have a huge group, for which you would have to call in really early to confirm the number of people, Taiwanese are pretty much very hospitable people! Only thing is you would have to speak mandarin when you call these numbers!

Before you scroll down to the telephone numbers you can call for the various variety shows, enjoy a few pics from my experience at the recording of 百万大歌星 (Million Singer)!

Chris & I at 百万大歌星

Guest NoNo at 百万大歌星

Host Harlem Yu (庾澄庆） and Special Guest Huang Pin Yuan (黄品源）

All the Participants

百万大歌星 (Million Singer)
Tel no: +886 2 2528-6596 ext 305 or +886918354655
Look for  小童 (Xiao Tong)
Call every monday, wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday 10:30 am – 10pm
Recordings every tuesday

我猜我猜我猜猜猜(Guess Guess Guess)
Tel no: +886 227 8138 88 ext 222
Recordings every monday

超级星光大道
Tel no: +886 2 278 13 888
Recordings every monday

Mr Brown Coffee 伯朗咖啡馆

Chanced upon this coffee place when I was in Taipei, we went into the coffee place only coz we were trying to while away some time and I needed a caffeine boost. Mr Brown Coffee was the place and it was next door to Ka Va Lan Whisky. Seemed a little odd to me at that point of time, but it started to make sense once we went in and ordered.

I ordered a Vanilla Latte and was pleasantly surprised that it came with a taste and whiff of Whisky. The coffee smell was still really strong but yet it somehow complemented really well with the Whisky. Both coffee and whisky are very strong flavours and have strong smells and Mr Brown Coffee has done really well in mixing both together. Neither overpowered the other and the coffee and whisky managed to balance and complement each other, yet maintaining its own distinctive flavour. It takes really some finesse to manage this concoction.

Chris ordered a really interesting item on the menu. It was ice cream on top of an espresso and whisky mix. Cold ice cream which was really good on its own on top of hot steaming espresso, again with a good mix of Whisky. It was really warming to the heart and tummy on a cold wintry day.

Upon further research, I found out that Mr Brown Coffee and Ka Va Lan Whisky are actually form the same parent company, which explains why they were next door to each other and the use of Whisky in their coffee. Brilliant incorporation I might say. Mr Brown Coffee is a popular coffee brand in Taipei and possibly around Taiwan, as the regular coffee and be found in many convenience stores all around Taipei.

The outlet I went to was next to TTV TV Station.

Mr Brown Coffee (BaDe Outlet)
Address: 台北市 松山區 八德路三段10號1樓 (台視大樓旁)
No. 10號, Section 3, BāDé Road, Songshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan
Opening Hours : 7am – 10pm daily

Ding Tai Fung 鼎泰风

Ding Tai Fung is a restaurant specializing in Xiao Long Bao (steamed meat dumplings). The critical factor here is the soft thin skin enveloping the minced meat and with a small nibble of the skin oozes out oodles of yummy broth.

Having tried Ding Tai Fung in Singapore many times, I was really excited to go to the main original outlet in Taipei where it all began. What made the anticipation even worse was when I had what I could really claim to be the best Xiao Long Baos I had ever had from Ding Tai Fung in Shanghai.

BY brought me to the Shanghai Nanjing Branch located within the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Shanghai. Service obviously was impeccable, it being Ritz-Carlton. But what really made the day for me was the super soft skin that really had tons of steaming broth oozing out on a tiny nibble. Despite having the only both of us at lunch, we ordered tons and the Xiao Long Baos stayed warm and yummy even though being left out for a period of time. You see, the thing with Xiao Long Baos is that once cold, the skin turns hard and it just doesn’t cut it.

Xiao Long Bao from Ding Tai Fung Taipei

Xiao Long Baos go best with black vinegar and shreads of ginger

Having had what I thought to be the best Xiao Long Baos in Shanghai, I eagerly waited in anticipation for my trip to Taipei, expecting it to be of equal or even better standards.

Ding Tai Fung Mascot outside the Taipei Branch

Unfortunately, Taipei fell a little short of expectations. The skin was a little thick and maybe possibly due to the chilly weather, the Xiao Long Baos were cold pretty quickly and the skin became hard. Nonetheless, the broth in the Xiao Long Bao did not disappoint and still upheld some sort of standard. In my humble opinion, any day better than Singapore’s.

Ding Tai Fung remains one of my favourite and regular eating places in Singapore. Try it someday!

Check out their website for more locations around the world, such as Taiwan, Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong ( one of the branches has recently won a Michelin award), Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and United States.

Ding Tai Fung Shanghai Nanjing Outlet (My Personal Favourite)
Shanghai Centre No.1376,Nanjing West Rd.,Shanghai
TEL:86-21-62899182

Back in Singapore..

Finally, after about 2 weeks or so of multi-city hopping I am back in my lovely home in Singapore. I love being on the road although it does get quite tiring at times.. The lack of internet stability ( yes, I am an internet junkie) bugs me too. But nothing and I mean absolutely nothing can take my love of travelling away from me.

Updates real soon, I promise! Once I am unpacked and the photos are all uploaded!

 

Transit in Singapore…

This long weekend brought me to Bangkok (practically my 2nd hometown!) with a bunch of gal friends for a hen’s holiday. Landed just a couple of hours back and it has been mad packing and unpacking!

In about another 15 hours, I will be off again on a jet plane to Taipei and Hong Kong!

So watch this space! There will be updates coming soon!

One of the best massages ever!

One impulsive day brought me to Shanghai (SH) on a mad, jam-packed 4 day trip. Truth be told, I was a tad apprehensive about going there as I was never generally a fan of China. However, my crazy desire to want to just board a plane and fly anywhere took over me and SH became the last minute choice destination as there was free accommodation for me ( ooh yes, I am shameless that way.. hee hee..) Life throws you surprises sometimes and I ended up having a great time and falling in love with SH. Who can blame me really, after all, SH is the Paris of the East.

A friend is SH bound in a couple of days and asked for some tips on where to go and stuff. As i recounted to her my amazing adventures ( mostly gastronomic) in SH, I really missed SH and wished I was back there. (Though i doubt the feeling is mutual with my host.. hee hee..) Most of all, I missed the massages I had there. Cheap and super amazing. I have to admit it ranks near the top of my list of best massages ever had!

In my short 4 day there, I went for a full body massage and foot reflexology at Congen Massage Healthcare Club 康骏会馆推拿足道. I like my massages slightly hard, so to get all the kinks and aches out of my body. The 师父 (therapist) there was gentle yet firm. I never felt so refreshed coming out of a massage. It was perhaps one of the reason how i energized bunny my 4 days there with hardly any sleep (in part thanks to the World Cup Finals airing while I was there).

On my last day there, I went for foot reflexology. I liked how they start they session by soaking your feet in a herbal bath and throw in a neck and shoulder massage at the same time. The cushy lazy boy type chairs and the LCD TV in front of you helps with the whole total relaxation process. The feeling that my legs were gonna fall off after a long day of walking totally disappeared after an hour’s session there.

I’ll let you in on a little secret.. What makes this massage place even better is that, just a short walk from the massage place is an *ahem* DVD store. The kind where you go to the back of the store and disappear behind a wall Anne-Frank style and enter DVD heaven! The cherry atop this already amazing cake is that both the massage place and DVD store stay open till real late!

The outlet I went:
Address:       大沽路436号（近石门一路）,
436 Da-Gu Road, Near Shi-Meng Yi Lu,
Phone Line:  021－6340 1161   6340 1163

Note that they have very many outlets around Shanghai, Beijing and Nanjing too!

Chocolateria San Churro

Churros dipped in hot melted chocolate is sort of a national dish for Spain. I recall till today the first time I put a hot piping Churro dipped in chocolat in this cosy little cafe in Barcelona. Ever since then, the churros sold elsewhere in the world did not seem to match up. Till i went to Perth.

My brother and his family live in Perth and that has sort of become a second home for me, visiting Perth on an annual basis. My sister in law was really excited about bringing me to Chocolateria San Churro one year and I was a little apprehensive. No doubt I was excited but I too was worried it was gonna disappoint.

The first time I went to Chocolateria San Churro was the Fremantle outlet. From the outside, you could see the fresh churros being made! It looked promising! We ordered the standard churros and chocolate dip. It was as good as the ones I had in Spain. Piping hot crispy churros with a dash of icing sugar on it, dipped in hot chocolate so thick one could mistake it for melted chocolate.

 

Now one can’t speak of churros on its own, it has be to mentioned with its awesome sidekick, the hot chocolate. Classic Spanish hot chocolate is thick and viscous and full of chocolately goodness!

The most apt way to describe the feeling bursting out of one’s heart when enjoying churros and chocolat, is best said by their own slogan “Forget love, I’d rather fall in chocolate!” So the next time, you head down to Australia, find an outlet and fall in chocolate! They’re found all over Australia!

 

Solo Traveler

I’ve always thought of myself as a little eccentric and an oddball, not really fitting in anywhere. As much as I love my friends and being around loved ones, I love even more me-time. Many around me can’t really grasp the concept of having “quality time to myself” but I love it.

Ever since i caught on the backpacking travel bug back in uni, I’ve never really looked back. After years of travelling with either minimal companionship or solo, I have learnt to love the ease of which it provides with me. To be honest, I could never really imagine myself joining one of those tour group things that Singaporeans so do love. Chirpy tour guides at 7am aren’t really my cup of tea. I detest that these tour groups spend more time at shopping places and factories that make touristy little things which they sell to you at exorbitant prices and where the tour guide takes a cut of the revenue. I dislike that we are given a time limit to explore the real sights of a particular place and even more so when precious travel time is wasted waiting for people with no courtesy and respect for punctuality.

Travelling can make or break a friendship or a relationship. People have different expectations, wants and needs during their travels. I’m not exactly a girly-girl, so spending most of my time in a shopping mall isn’t my idea of a holiday. Some people aren’t as adventurous, either that or their tummies can’t take a spot of bacteria and that rules out street food eating. Then there are the girls who need their beds turned down nightly and to have a giant mirror with bright lights overhead each morning to perform what i term ” putting on the ICI paint”. Don’t get me wrong, I am not against such people. I guess, to put it simply, to each their own.

Due to my stressy, impatient and stubborn nature, I have learnt that the best way for me to travel and to enjoy my holiday is to do it solo. Either that or find someone or a companion who is in tune with my way of travel. Difficult i know u must be thinking, but I have gotten used to it. In fact, so much so I have fallen in love with the concept of solo travel. Not having to worry about coordinating leave, making sure everyone is ok with the price, budget and quality of hotel which we will reside. I love the spontaneity. I remember once, while waiting for a colleague to finish up a task to head to lunch, I booked an air ticket to Bangkok on a whim of fancy. I still recall today her very shocked face when she walked over to my desk wanting to tell me she was ready to go and saw me punching in my credit card details on an airline booking page. She exclaimed ” You booked an air ticket in the 10 mins you were waiting for me?!?!” I nodded sheepishly.

At my age, ( which i hope that its not too old), many of my peers are married  or attached. Most times at gatherings or meet -ups, I am the odd number. Travel or holidays is always a topic on our conversations. Where did you last go? Where are you off to next? Many of my girlfriends are sometimes shocked or appalled that I love the concept of solo travel. Don’t you get scared? You dare to sleep alone? To be truthfully honest, no. I always believe it is about being sensible. keeping out of dark alleyways, especially at night, sticking to main roads and the works. Mostly, its about instinct as well, once you feel that something is not right, get out of there. I’ve been blessed thus far, not having really anything untoward happen to me and I keep my fingers crossed for that.

Most people I know aren’t comfortable with the concept of solo travel, even more so the single female traveller. Bless my friends’ little hearts, but they do sometimes worry themselves out about me travelling on my own. As much as I love them for that, I’ve always thought that I was again the oddball, loving this solo travel thing, with not many of my friends being able to understand the concept. TIll i came across the website Solo Traveler  and I immediately felt ” Phew! I’m not the only one!” There is a whole community out there!

Solo travel has made me learn a lot more about myself, it has also helped me grow a lot as a person. To be more sensible, to be a lot more independent and mostly to take care of myself. That has yet to extend to be being able to take care of others, but I am slowly learning and trying to get there. The only drawback of solo travel for me thus far is the cost of travelling alone, having to pay for a whole hotel room. ( oh yes,  i am a little old these days for backpackers hostels). But I urge you to try it, someday. Doesn’t have to be somewhere far and exotic. It could be somewhere you’ve been before and am quite familiar with. In the case of most Singaporeans, Bangkok. Try it and you might surprise yourself! Share with me what you felt and what you experienced, good or bad. I would love to hear it.