Roadtrip- Perak (Part 2)

Ahh, took me a long time to post the second part of my road trip to Perak- what's with the Year of the Rabbit?

Ever since we've leapt into this new year, I've been so very busy and neglecting my blog. Pictures are stacking up but just no time for a post!

And so we're back to my day 2 in perak..woke up to a cheery morning, all hungry as we make our way to the all famous Foh San for dimsum.

Since it's a weekday, the crowd was manageable and we got our table immediately. For those who are still unaware, Foh San is now a large dimsum house, double storey and looking very grand.

But what about the dimsum?

Maybe I didn't have their dimsum for many years.

Everything was just average, though luckily, none tasted bad. The only dimsum we ordered that I rather enjoyed was the steamed scallop dimsum.

After stuffing ourselves with dimsum, we took a short walk around the nearby streets..and took a rest and dessert stop at Funny Mountain Soya Bean.

Next, Alicia wanted to buy her egg biscuits from Chin Han Guan while I went to pick up the meatfloss biscuits.

If you have the meatfloss biscuits fresh, it's undeniably delicious. There's a few types of meatfloss biscuits- meatfloss+lotus, meatfloss+pandan, meatfloss+salted egg+pandan/lotus. I do find the combo with salted egg too decadent- the meatfloss with just the lotuspaste was delicious enough for me. Not cheap though, was RM21 per box (for those with salted egg) and RM15.60 (for those without).

Time flies quickly and before we know it, it's tea time! hehe.

We decide to have white coffee at Sin Yoon Loong..

But before that, Alicia's friend recommended us to try the egg tarts and char siew puffs at Nam Heong just opposite of Sin Yoon Loong..

Though it seems highly popular, both were not to my liking..

The char siew puffs were slightly salty with a tad of sweetness and had a aftertaste that I didnt like (I cant describe it, but something like flavouring). Yicky.

The eggtarts on the otherhand..

Had thick, floury pastry and dry egg custard. Not enjoyable too .

Luckily the white coffee was satisfying

Thick, rich and had the kick.

The toasted kaya butter bread was just a filler. No complaints though.

We took a walk around the Ipoh railway station before we left..

Nice structures for picture taking and well maintained.

After saying goodbye to Ipoh, we made our way to Taiping...one of the wettest town in Perak (and Peninsular perhaps?).

It was drizzling when we reached and everything just looked so dull...

Not letting the weather doused our high spirits, we checked in to our hotel and quickly made our way out to town for another snack :p (time is the essence here coz we're here overnight and some eateries were only opened at specific hours..hehe).

My sis-in-law, who is from Taiping, reminded me to pop over to Larut Matang foodcourt, to try her favourite 'wet' char keoy teow. This Teo Cheow styled fried CKT was definitely different from any I've tried before- it's with sauce, laden with fishcakes, fishballs and char siew. It's delicious nonetheless, and eating it on such a cold weather really satisfy me.

The kuih stall was purported famous..

And we had a couple. And left unimpressed.

Only when I was back in KL later that I realised we tried the wrong kuihs..they were popular for their kuih talam/ seri muka :(

Alicia, who's intent on trying every popiah as long as the eatery serves it got her wish..

Very wet and mediocre though..

Wash it all down with their signature drink in Taiping....

Do-re-Mi- which is a mix of nescafe and barley. First sip was of barley fragrance and ends with coffee taste lingering in the mouth. Acquired taste, I rather enjoyed it, while Alicia just finds the combo darn weird.

We snacked on later at night, but not worth mentioning as it rained harder when night falls and we were not able to try some food that we initially planned to. :(

Chin Han Guan Biscuit shop is located at 145 Jalan Sultan Iskandar, 30000 Ipoh, Perak. Tel 05-254-5126 (it's better to call one day in advance to order the meatfloss biscuits to avoid disappointment, esp on weekends)

Larut Matang Food Court is located at Jalan Panggung, Taiping, Perak.

Brilliant Beijing!

My dear, dear readers!

First and foremost, a thousand apologies for not updating my blog for the longest time!

Hope you guys didnt get the impression that I've stopped blogging for good :p

I've been busy for almost a month and when it was time for updates, well, I decided to procrastinate instead..hehehe.

Well, the title of my blog post gave it all away.. yes, I was off for a nice holiday in Beijing (and Xi'an) recently, to pay homage to mother of all walls :p, the Great Wall..There were 3 main gates to the Great Wall, we went to the JuYongGuan Wall, in which our driver declared, was the nicest of the 3 gates (I cant verify since this was the only one we went for :p). We were blessed with wonderful weather and beautiful autumn colours during our time there, I was so pleasantly surprise! The climb was ardous, but we defintely had loads of fun :D.

The grand Forbidden City was too humongous for me to absorb all it's rich history..

Overview of the Forbidden City from Jingshan Park

The calm moat surrounding the walls of Forbidden City

Sadly, this place was my least favourite..

And being so near Forbidden City, how can we miss Tiananmen (and Tiananmen Square)..

Zhengyang Gate at the front, leading us to Tiananmen Square and Chairman Mao Masoleum

Crowded with locals and tourists (on a weekday! dont the locals work??), forming a long queue to visit Chairman Mao.

The Temple of Heaven was lovely though..

It was packed with activities, there were lots (and I do mean freaking truck loads of them!) of locals exercising, dancing and singing in the rose garden and cyprus park. Ironically for me, it still feels tranquil amongst all the bustling.

Summer Palace was a hit among us..

We love the slow stroll, the cooling weather, the breathtaking scenery, the lush greeneries...Time really did seem to slow down there.

And for a structure build during our time, we popped by to the Olympic Park..

The Birdnest was the most popular landmark here. We were told that the oblong shape stadium represents the Heaven (and Yang and male element) while the Rectangle shaped stadium(The Cube) across the Birdnest represents the Earth (and Ying and female element). It's all about Fengshui, baby!

There were plenty of parks in Beijing, we dropped by to Beihai Park..

I had an awesome time there, it was relaxing to stroll under autumn trees, watching the sun set..

We popped by to Yonghe Temple..

It's the largest Llama Temple in Beijing and the structure seems very similar to chinese temples. I guess the only tell tale sign that it's llama temple was the scattering of spinning prayer wheels around the temple.

And how can we miss the infamous Wangfujing Street where there's a stretch of street (fear factor) food for everyone to indulge in?

There's other places that we've visited (Beijing is way too huge), but I wont wanna bored all of you, would I? Overall an extremely tiring trip (I've never walked so much daily for a long while now), but thanks to the fantastic company, I had plenty of fun! :)

Heavenly Haerbin, China

When I saw Alfred's pictures of Haerbin last year, I was mesmerised. The snow and ice sculptures were breathtaking, and it certainly looks fun. I asked him loads of questions, as his trip pique my interest on Haerbin :)

And a year later, I managed to make a trip to Haerbin- which was a truly unforgettable experience.

My main visit was obviously for Haerbin's famed annual Ice and Snow Festival and we went early this year. The first question when I returned from this trip was the same.. Was it really as cold as it looks?

Yes, it was- but it's still bearable if you walk really, really fast :p

First day in Haerbin was a whirlwind- we flew in from Shanghai- met our local driver and rushed off for some shopping (to buy snow boots), checking in into our hotel, dinner and then to the Ice Festival.

It was a long queue driving into the Ice Festival as everyone was there in the evening to enjoy the scenery at night..

Entrance fee was RM100, and the moment I entered, I was amazed at the sheer size of the Ice World..

I simply cannot imagine the number of months the local master carvers took to construct the Ice World...

Their skills were incredible.

The theme was famous monuments/ landmarks around the world, all lighted bright with neon lights within the ice cubes. We only lasted about 2 hours in there, the cold was unbearable as the temperature dips further later at night.

We went for the Snow World the next day, just before sunset. Entrance fee was RM75.

Complex snow carvings were featured here, we were impressed with their immaculate, detailed carvings- obviously plenty of care and attention was placed into each piece.

When night falls, the carvings were illuminated with coloured lights, giving each artwork a different look compared to day time..

The coverage area was even larger than the Ice World, I dont think I manage to see all of the carvings :(. It was just freezing cold by night. I was ready to surrender when we reached the largest of the display..So grand, but my camera decided to give up on me when we reached. This was the only shot I got before my camera kaputed..

Haerbin town exuded a totally different atmosphere compared to other China towns..

Their architecture skewed towards European, especially Russia. In winter, the age old buildings looks very elegant, walking around town was a pleasure.

A Russian Church now converted into a museum

Haerbin Railway Station

We had quite a lot of coffee stops in town- a place to seek warmth before we continued strolling to our next destination..

One famous extreme activity for the locals (and the daring tourists) during winter was to swim in the Songhua river..What gave them the guts to do that beats me (it was -28 degrees and snowing when I was taking this shot), but I sure salute them! Brrrrr!

We took an overnight trip to Snow Village, a 5 hours drive from Haerbin to experience a short stay up in the snow mountains..

The trip up the mountains for the sunset took my breath away..

The pristine, soft snow that stretched for miles, the sunset's colours on the landscape and the calmness I felt was unforgettable.

Worth freezing my @$$ up there :p

The Snow Village town was very charming..

Lively during the day and tranquil at night. But the food was less comforting (especially for Alfred :p), that will be in another post altogether..

Although I've heard so much about the low hygiene level and rudeness of the locals, I actually didnt find it that bad and had a fantatstic time in Haerbin and Snow Village. It was good fun, with great company and amazing landscape for all of us to keep in our memories for a long, long time.

Smitten with Shanghai

Hiya!
Am back refreshed, well rested (or maybe not :p) and heavier by a few pounds! :D
Need some time to sort out my stuff, so shall share some photos instead..
So where did I go? Took a break to China...
First stop was Shanghai..

I was there to visit a friend, so I must admit, I didn't do too much touristy stuff- I was shopping (lucky me, it was their year end sales!) and eating most times!

Went to Chen Huang Miao and Yu Yuan for some picture snapping and buying nice little gifts..

Of course you cant miss going to the Bund..

And New Shanghai overlooking the Huangpu river..

Good food kept us happy and sated..

Excellent meals we had :)

To burn of those extra calories we had... it's shopping at Huaihai Road, Nanjing Road..even Superbrand Mall became our fast favourite with it's good restaurants and excellent sales..

Xintiandi offer an interesting place to shop and dine with it's beautiful Shikumen architecture..

(Psst ladies- if you want tailor made Qipao, you must pay a visit to Lu Jia Bang Road-it's fabric and tailor market)

Shanghai seemed obsessed like Msia with it's high 'trademark' skyscrapers..

Like the 101 floors high Shanghai World Financial Centre..Or the futuristic Pearl Tower?

I had a fantastic time in Shanghai, such an elegant city- and of course thanks to the warm and lovely stay with Alfred and Irene - making my time there even sweeter :)

Remember me Shanghai, for I will return :D