Malaysia:: Ipoh: Food Marathon

After a heavy breakfast at Foh San, we went to Gunung Lang. It's a recreational park with man-made lake, formerly a tin mine. We just walked around the park and did some gibberish talk. After that, food marathon started.

First stop, Funny Mountain Tau Fu Fa. The funny part is it's actually a drive through tau fu fa shop. The customer will stop the car in front of the shop, order and eat in the car. For walk-in customer, there's only a long bench provided for you to sit.


The tau fu fa is cooked in a wooden barrel. I believe that's the traditional way of cooking that makes it special.


Best tau fu fa I ever had. The texture is so darned good.


Next stop, we went to Yee Hup for Hiong Piah and Ching Han Guan for Lotus Meat Floss biscuit. Unfortunately, the lotus meat floss biscuit was sold out for that day. They should produce more to cater for the brisk business.

Forget about the disappointment, we moved on to Aun Kheng Lim salted chicken. One chicken is sold at RM 16.00. Like that tau fu fa shop, only takeaway service is available.


A sneak peak of how salted chicken is being prepared. Interesting!


We then savored this nicely posed salted chicken in a kopitiam.


The last stop was Kong Heng Coffee shop. We wanted to order egg custard and again they were sold out. This kopitiam offered quite a variety of good food.


Check out the Kai Si Hor Fun.


And also, popiah. We also tried the rojak and satay.


The food marathon reaches the finish line. Burp!

Technorati Tags: Food Coffee Shop Ipoh Malaysia Travel Trip

Malaysia:: Ipoh: Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant

Q: Do you know where Ipoh folks hang out in the morning?
A: Dim Sum restaurant.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. My friends and I were in Ipoh so we headed to Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant. Another famous dim sum restaurant Ming Court is actually located opposite to Foh San. Both also crowded but we picked Foh San.


Take away service.


Look at the queue. Ah Ma also waited until sien already.


We waited for around one hour for a table. While waiting, I walked around and snapped some pictures. Spotted Hua Nam Coffeeshop which I stumbled upon the review at Ipoh Food Frenzy In 4.5 Hours, Hua Nam - Part 3 while looking for food POI before the trip. Ipoh is actually a food heaven.


We had quite a number of people so we ordered quite a lot of different dim sum. Food pics rolling in.

BBQ Pork Bun (Char Siew Pau)


Chicken Pau, Lotus Paste with Egg Pau and unknown Pau


Pork Dumpling (Siew Mai). Thumbs down!


Prawn Dumpling (Har Kao)


Mushroom Dumpling


Seriously no idea what it this.


Pot Sticker Dumpling (Guo Tieh)


Claypot Cheong Fan with Pork. There's another pot with duck meat.


Pork Ribs (Pai Kuat)


Porridge


Egg Tart


Glutinous Rice (No Mai Kai)


Kuih-muih


More kuih-muih


White Radish Cake (Loh Pak Kou)


Chee Cheong Fun, stuffed with prawn or char siew.


Steamed Pork with Century Egg. Someone snapped up the pei dan faster than my camera speed.


Kuih with lotus paste inside. My friend could hardly swallow it. Too sweet and sticky for her taste bud.


Red Bean Cake. Received most compliments among my friends.


Overall rating, OK only lah... Our stomachs almost burst.



Technorati Tags: Dim Sum Restaurant Ipoh Malaysia Travel Trip

The Eczema Experience

For the first time in my life, I know what is eczema or dermatitis when this happens on me. Not on my hand or leg or body but on my face. Damn. There are red patches and rashes around my mouth and eyes. It could be caused by allergy to my Kose skincare and poor immune system due to unhealthy working lifestyle. The bad thing is this eczema cannot be cured, it can only be controlled.

I went to Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital last week and the medications were futile as my face condition did not improve at all. So yesterday I went to Ting Skin Specialist as recommended by many people. It's hard to make appointment as the phone line was always engaged. After several retries, the line eventually managed to get through at 9.15 am. The earliest time slot available was 4 pm and my number was 41. Holy smoke. So many people already made appointment in a short 15-minute time? So in the evening, I went to the clinic. Besides prescribing medicines and ointment, the doctor gave me steroid injection, on my backside. I requested for arm but he said cannot because arm does not have enough muscle. He mentioned that inflammation would go away in 3 days after the injection. It's getting better today but I hope it will not come back to me after 3 days. I could still feel the side effect of dry mouth now. I asked him how much time is required for the redness to be cleared from my skin and he said WEEKS!! Leaving me no choice but to live with it until I'm fully recovered.

My fellow friends, please take care of your health. Eczema is no fun.

Happy Deepavali!

Malaysia: Ostrich-mali

Mr. Ostrich, thanks for the nice portrait!



Captured this during my visit to Gunung Lang at Ipoh, Perak.

Thailand:: Kanchanaburi: Death Railway Train Ride

After visiting Bridge Over The River Kwai, we took a train ride from Kilen to Namtok station on the death railway. The ordinary ticket was already inclusive in the package. I should have topped up THB 150 to upgrade to second class carriage because it really smelt bad in the ordinary carriage. The locals use it to transport livestock? Luckily, I had my mask on. The silver lining was I was close to the locals. Riding on the same carriage, the schoolchildren greeted the foreign tourists with warm "Hellooo" when we got on the train.



The view was incredible breathtaking. It's so tranquil and peaceful.



Another panoramic view with meandering streams and greenery. Does it make you to hate the elevated highways and traffic jam in the concrete jungle even more?



Woah, look at the mountain. It should be the Thailand frontier and Burma frontier at another side.



There are quite a lot of resorts built along the river to cater for the tourist's need to stay overnight at this serene place. Some of the resorts could be seen floating on the river.



Tourists dropped off at one of the train stations. They might be headed to the waterfall or national park in Kanchanaburi next.



Also bid goodbye to a bunch of cordial kids.



We arrived at Namtok station which is the terminus of death railway. The Thai government did not rebuild the dismantled rail link. So the only way to cross the Thailand-Burma border from Kanchanaburi is by land. After having a hell of fun ride, we then had lunch at River Kwai Village Hotel. The tour ended with a boat ride along Kwai Noi river. Not much hype except without the life jacket on.



Last but not least, a view along the boat ride.



We then merged with other tourists who stayed overnight at the hotel to go back to Bangkok. There was actually a family who wanted to take the train from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur. OMG, I can't imagine how many hours it's gonna take them. That's it for Kanchanaburi trip.

Technorati Tags: Death Railway Train Kilen Namtok River Kwai Kanchanaburi Thailand Travel Trip

Thailand:: Kanchanaburi: Bridge Over The River Kwai

Continuing from the War Cemetery, we moved to Bridge Over the River Kwai which was the main highlight in Kanchanaburi trip. This bridge is part of the death railway crossing the River Kwai. The railway was destroyed but it was rebuilt and still functional today. There was another bamboo bridge and it was long gone. Look at the bombing mark at the pillars.



The curve and column are original since they were first constructed in 1942. Vandalism happened.



Just like any other tourists, I took a stroll along the rail to the opposite side. This local auntie was crossing the bridge and she was mumbling in Thai language. I hope that she was not scolding me for taking her photo.



Walking further down, it was an entertainer's joie de vivre by playing violin to the public on this historical railway bridge.



While walking on the bridge, I always reminded myself to mind my step. I was just one step closer to the river Kwai and I could drown anytime.



That's me on the bridge. It was a great experience.



The tour guide told us that the train would bound from Bangkok to the last station thrice a day. I was lucky to witness it without having to wait long. Nice. Please wait a few seconds and come back to see this photo. I purposely make a gif image to depict the train crossing the bridge.



Let's have a virtual walk on Bridge Over the River Kwai.



Next up, a train ride on the death railway.

Technorati Tags: Death Railway Bridge Over The River Kwai River Kwai Kanchanaburi Thailand Travel Trip

The Merdeka Post

#1.
My neighbour would have named his WLAN as 'i love malaysia'.


#2.
Chocolate. A short film directed by late Yasmin Ahmad. What's really happening in Malaysia?


#3.
Happy Independence Day!