travel

Portuguese Egg Tarts in Macau

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choi heong yuen bakery

Portuguese egg tarts are just one of those things you have to eat when you’re in Macau. It’s practically the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Macau and food.

portuguese egg tarts

There are a lot of places selling this delightful snack but one of the best I’ve had when I was there last week was surprisingly in the touristy area below the Ruins of St Paul’s.

portuguese egg tarts macau

Choi Heong Yuen Bakery (established in 1935) makes amazing Portuguese egg tarts – it’s piping hot and comes with a buttery flaky crust encapsulating a creamy, melt-in-your-mouth egg custard.

macau portuguese egg tarts

The confection is incredibly light and paradoxically rich at the same time. It is usually priced at around MOP 7 (about RM 3) for a pastel de nata. There are many outlets selling these and you can’t go wrong with most bakeries.

pastel de nata

Portuguese egg tarts are the pride of Macau, so you can be sure of getting a mouthful of epicurean heaven no matter which one you go to.

Guns. Lots of guns.

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guns

I just love this shop. I found heaps of them in Hong Kong around Mongkok. They have exact replicas of most firearms – except these aren’t replicas per se. It uses 6 mm BB pellets loaded into a shell casing, which goes into your magazine. The Airsoft guns are remarkably realistic – you rack the slide back and a shell goes into the chamber. The pellet is released when you squeeze the trigger with a burst of propellant.

It’s made with stainless steel parts so it’s about as heavy as a real gun. I really like how these things work – they can be used as a prop or for paintball games, with a harder hit (steel BBs can kill a bird).

Unfortunately, you can’t get these things into Malaysia. The person told me he can break it down into three parts and I’ll have to take the risk in bringing them back. However, the largest part still looks like a piece from a firearm and replicas like these (realistic make, color, shape and to a certain extent – function) is not legal in Malaysia.

…and guess what? It just so happened that we were selected for secondary inspection at customs when we got out. It’s a good thing I didn’t buy it then. 😉

Wanton mee in Hong Kong

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wonton mee hong kong

I guess if you’re pressed to name a dish that is representative of Hong Kong street food, the answer would be wanton mee (wonton noodles). I’ve had it several times during my recent trip to Hong Kong – it’s a very light meal with subtle notes – there are no overpowering flavors here.

wonton mee

The best wanton mee I had came piping hot with al dente noodles and a couple of wontons in a savory broth garnished with a healthy sprinkling of scallions (spring onions). Simple, but delicious.

wonton

It is interesting to note that the wontons in Hong Kong are made with prawns, with just a little bit of pork. It usually is made of pure pork over here and I much prefer the prawn wontons in HK.

wonton noodles

You’ll be very surprised at just how such a simple dish can taste fabulous. I was told that it’ll be difficult to find a place that serves bad wonton mee in Hong Kong and they were right! Just walk into any establishment in HK and you’ll find great wonton mee. 🙂

No, I don’t know why there’s a shirtless man behind me either.

Hui Lau Shan Healthy Dessert

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hui lau shan hong kong

Hui Lai Shan is one of the extremely popular dessert chains around Hong Kong.

hui lau shan menu

There is basically no seating – it’s like the bubble tea establishments on the street, except this offers a new twist by having “healthy drinks”. You get a number when you order and you wait for your drink to be prepared at a side counter.

hui lau shan counter

The drinks are in the HKD 20+ range and there are heaps of options you can choose from, all with a local twist.

hui lau shan hk

I notice the trend is to have a local base with various fruits on top, such as the tongue twisting Glutinous Rice Balls in Mango Cubes & Coconut Juice with Red Bean.

hui lau shan healthy drink

I ordered from the Bird’s Nest and Honey Jelly Series – this is the popular E4 – Bird’s Nest & Honey Jelly in Mango & Coconut Juice for HKD 25 (about RM 10). I added HKD 3 for a larger 16 oz drink.

Birds Nest Honey Jelly Mango Coconut Juice

These drinks are surprisingly addictive. It tastes really good. The bird’s nest and honey jelly breaks apart into soft and slurp-able pieces when you stir it with the huge straw. The coconut milk (not juice as stated on the menu) goes very well with the mango pieces (that’s your daily dose of fruit right there) and jelly.

hui lau shan drink

It’s the perfect drink while walking around Hong Kong on a hot day. 🙂

Eating stinky tofu in Hong Kong

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eating stinky tofu

Stinky tofu is one of the great gastronomical items that Hong Kong does very well. It’s available from most street vendors and you just have to follow your nose to find this wicked delight.

hong kong street vendor

The smelly tofu in Hong Kong is astonishingly odoriferous. It smells really, really bad. It made me wince the first time I had it. The pungent stench is quite intense.

smelly tofu

This is what the innocent stinky tofu (called chao dau foo) looks like before it’s deep fried. Smelly tofu is basically marinated and fermented tofu, which produces the signature smell. I remember an old HK movie where a Caucasian complains about the smell, tries it and then becomes an ambassador of sorts, loudly proclaiming “This smells really bad but it tastes wonderful”.

stinky tofu hong kong

That was exactly how I felt. I’m not a big fan of tofu but I was eager to try stinky tofu in Hong Kong. I had it twice at two different street vendors. It’s usually eaten with long wood skewers straight from a paper bag. The smelly tofu costs around HKD 9 (RM 4) for two pieces and you can opt to have spicy hoisin sauce on it.

stinky tofu

Stinky tofu has a crumbly crust that smells strongly of ammonia. The odor is palpable – it smells like a public toilet that has not been cleaned for months! The intense aroma is matched by the equally breathtaking taste. Smelly tofu tastes like someone dusted the tofu pieces with dried urine.

It also makes for very messy eating as the entire thing is so greasy it dripped everywhere. However, the experience is very rewarding. Stinky tofu tastes like nothing else in the world. You can smell/taste the ammonia as you chew it and the crust is quite salty. It’s crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and best eaten piping hot on the street.

eating smelly tofu

You’ll have really bad breath for the rest of the day but it’s worth it! smirk

Cha Chang Teng in Hong Kong

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char chang teng

Cha Chang Teng (literally tea houses) is the equivalent of mamaks in Hong Kong. They’re everywhere and they cook up a fusion of East-meets-West cuisine. The waiters are loud, the place is packed and the locals all wind up eating there at some point or another.

chinese tea

You’ll be served with Chinese tea (complimentary) as soon as you sit down and since I can’t read Chinese, my ex patiently narrated the daily specials for me.

tea counter

I later found out that they have an English menu. It is a significantly abridged version of the Chinese menu, but it’s available.

char siew noodles

I went for a HKD 24 (RM 10) noodle dish which contains slices of char siew (barbecued meat), bak choy and pickled vegetables. It came in a thin broth but was surprisingly good. You can choose the noodles you want – I went for the ramen-like instant noodles.

pork macaroni

My ex had the bizarre macaroni meets pork slices in soup. It costs HKD 36 (RM 15) and comes with a side order of…

buttered toast

…buttered toast and a deep fried chicken wing.

people-eating-hk

I didn’t quite like her dish though. The macaroni fusion idea wasn’t executed very well. It sounds like an intriguing dish but it tasted rather bland.

tea house

However, I highly recommend their milk teas (nai cha). It’s brewed strong and tastes a little like our teh tarik minus the bubbles.

hong hong tea

There is a very popular evaporated milk brand called Black & White which they use liberally in their tea. The cup and saucer even comes with the brand of the above mentioned milk embossed on it.

hong kong food

I highly recommend going to a char chang teng when you’re in Hong Kong. The food can be hit and miss but you’ll have plenty of options – both inane and out-of-the-ballpark weird. There’s also something very appealing about the ambiance – the loud conversations, the shouted orders, the waiters jesting with you.

eating hong kong

It’s the definitive Hong Kong epicurean experience. You can’t get more local than this. 🙂

Posted: 9:12 PM Hong Kong time.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club

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hong kong jockey club

Betting is legal in Hong Kong for certain sports like horse racing (not sure if this qualifies as a “sport” per se) and football. I passed by The Hong Kong Jockey Club with barely a look at it. I wasn’t really interested but my ex wanted to check out horse racing…

…which is apparently a religion here.

I got some tickets and saw there was a Manchester City football match going on. It was halfway though and I decided to put some moolah on it.

You can actually place your bets mid-game in Hong Kong. The odds change accordingly but you can still wager on a variety of situations. I couldn’t read a single word of Chinese and my ex didn’t know football so the people at The Hong Kong Jockey Club helped me to place my bets. The pioneer of the professional sports casino websites technique may be money, nonetheless users typically neglect this specific part, that’s not very beneficial. You have got to risk the scene which the money you, yourself are increasing believe functions raised possiblity to possibly be damaged. Be sure you please don’t take chance around you can. Located in safety 토토사이트 people make sure you break-up what kind of money to get bets starting from real cash, and you also utilize to help you conduct the house you and your family, In turn for those who reduce these gamble, extra moolah and that is damaged shouldn’t impinge on somebody utilizing your routine workouts anyway.

betting in hong kong

I went for score forecast and wanted HKD 200 (RM 83) on 1-0 to Manchester City (which is the current score) and another HKD 200 on 2-0.

The payout for 1-0 was 1.90 and it’s a staggering 3.05 for 2-0. Pretty fucking good odds considering they’re the home team and they’re already up 1 goal.

We went for dinner and headed back to check the final score. It was 2-0 to Manchester City.

That means you’ll get HKD 610 (about RM 254) for a HKD 200 bet.

Now, if the betting slips are correct and I managed to convey my wishes without the significant language barrier, I would have won HKD 200 (about RM 87), after deducting the loss of the bet placed on 1-0.

hkd20

Unfortunately, the stub for 2-0 was HKD 20 instead of HKD 200. It was missing that all important additional 0.

I wasn’t familiar with the currency so I didn’t check the change I got back when I handed over a HKD 1,000 bill (which is apparently very out of vogue due to counterfeiting concerns). I also neglected to check the betting slips.

FML, I ended up winning HKD 61 instead, from the HKD 20 bet. That means I had a NETT LOSS of HKD 159 (RM 66) when you take into account the HKD 200 I slapped down for 1-0.

Oh well, it was all in good fun. I’m not going back again. I just wanted the experience of betting in Hong Kong.

football betting hong kong

I still wish the communication mistake didn’t occur though. I’ll have won HKD 200 (RM 87) instead of losing HKD 159 (RM 66), which would nearly be enough…

…to take a cab to the airport. smirk

Seriously, cabs here are expensive. I just got back from Lan Kwai Fong early this morning for about HKD 120 in a taxi.

Posted: 8:20 PM Hong Kong time.

McQuek’s Satay Steamboat Melaka

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McQueks satay celup

You can probably guess from the boiling pot of satay celup sauce above that I’m in Melaka…and you’ll be right! I’m writing this from Dream Hotel (where all guests drift off happily into the warm embraces of sleep) – it’s a road trip planned earlier with Mel to go stuff ourselves silly in Melaka.

McQueks satay celup melaka

McQuek’s Sate Celup is not actually our first choice. We wanted to go to Capitol Satay Celup but for reasons unbeknownst to me, it’s closed. There’s a piece of paper on the metal shutters which presumably states the reason for that but not being able to read Chinese, I can’t tell you why it’s not open for business. 😡

McQueks satay celup fridge

Thus, we checked the GPS and found a McQuek Satay Steamboat Recipe on it. It has parentheses that states it’s an outlet so we drove to the main McQuek Sate Celup. It’s quite a large establishment but also quite empty. I’m not sure if that’s coz today’s a weekday but it didn’t look very promising.

McQueks tvbs

They apparently have an appearance on TVBS but that doesn’t mean much – almost anyone and their grandma can be featured on TV or the papers these days, hell I’ve made my appearance more than once and I’m definitely not an authoritative voice on anything.

(well maybe on one topic, my pride will allow me that much, but it’s definitely not food ;))

satay celup selection

This is my selection from the fridge where the skewers of food is kept. The premise of satay celup is simple – you take what you want and when it’s time to pay the bill, the waiter comes over and counts the number of sticks you have on your table. I have to say though, I was not impressed by the meager selections they have – it’s less than half of what you’ll find at Ban Lee Siang.

satay celup ingredients

I also noticed the lack of perhaps the most important item – siham (clams). However, to be fair you can order it separately.

satay celup pricing

Behold my indulgence! It’s a full sized squid that has 11 (eleven – count ’em) skewers in it, making it RM 6.60 for that alone. It is pretty good though. I also had my staples – quail century eggs, cuttlefish, mussels, Taiwanese sausage, quail eggs, and brinjal (eggplant) – a nod to my daily food pyramid adherence. *cough* 😉

satay celup peanuts

I like the fact that McQuek Satay Celup has excellent service – they promptly refill your communal pot of satay celup sauce – complete with a healthy sprinkling of ground peanuts. The people there are friendly too, asked where we were from and whether we enjoyed the food etc etc.

satay celup squid

However, the lack of selection coupled with the non-compliant price of RM 0.60 per stick makes me wonder if there’s a reason why this place is so devoid of customers.

McQueks squid eat

The problem with this is that the portions are small too – one (1) century quail egg with a miniscule bit of carrot on top is one satay. The “good” establishments like Ban Lee Siang and probably Capitol Satay Celup price theirs at RM 0.50. It’s the golden standard.

free cucumbers

Oh well, at least they have free cucumbers.

McQueks us

I can’t say that it’s the best satay celup I’ve ever had, it was very average, but no worries, tomorrow is another day and we plan to eat a lot of meals in Melaka. I can foresee at least 3-4 meals before we head back, there’s a reason we stayed at a crappy hotel – so we can eat more. 😉

LEGOLAND Malaysia, Johor Premium Outlets and more!

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us

Johor! It has always seemed like a state to stop by to eat and refuel before heading down to Singapore. It never seemed to hold much interest for me, despite having a nice waterfront. I went on a trip to ISKANDAR MALAYSIA last week and was surprised to see that there’s a lot of interesting developments going on.

legoland malaysia

…like the first LEGOLAND in South East Asia!

legoland site

Well, it’s not finished yet, ETA would be next year but here’s the spot where it’ll be at.

imic

However, there’s an interactive showcase called Iskandar Malaysia Information Center (IMIC) at Danga Bay Convention Center where you can see what LEGOLAND and other ISKANDAR MALAYSIA developments would look like.

danga bay convention center

The place is deceptively fun!

lego

You can discover your inner child (everyone has one) by playing with the LEGO bricks available there and build something interesting.

golf simulator

Play virtual golf.

motion sim

Sit in a motion simulator.

wii

Get some Wii Boxing!

kiosk

See your mug on a variety of virtual backdrops. You can save it to a USB port attached to the kiosk or post it to your Facebook account. Nifty.

virtual

Kids won’t be left out too, with interactive learning touch screen programs.

ramsar boat

There’s even a large rocking boat that will bring you to Tanjung Piai, Ramsar, one of the largest wetlands in the world…virtually, that is.

lontong kering

We were famished by the time we landed and the people at ISKANDAR MALAYSIA brought us to all the authentic Johor food places. We were whisked away as soon as we landed to one of the authentic stalls in JB for some lontong kering. This is at Warong Saga – it’s one of those places that you need a local to bring you to. You’ll be hard pressed to find it yourself. 🙂

mee rebus tulang gearbox

We also had some really awesome mee rebus tulang gearbox for lunch. You just have to try this if you’re ever in Johor. They have the best tulang gearbox I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting. You’re given a short straw to suck out all the bone marrow too!

highway

ISKANDAR MALAYSIA is also changing the landscape of Johor in more practical ways. They’re building a lot of highways and roads to ease traffic congestion and ensure a more optimal route throughout the city. I’m quite impressed at the number of highways they are building in a such a short amount of time.

marina

The marina is also another captivating place. We went there for a nice, cold glass of iced lemon tea to cool down and walked around the area.

yatch prices

The marina is meant to dock leisure yachts and ships and there’s also a place to get your very own sailing craft…if you have the cash that is.

iskandar malaysia

The marina is set to be a hotbed of activity – there are plans to turn it into a vibrant community with lots of condominiums.

imperia puteri harbour

This is the showroom of IMPERIA Puteri Harbor by the marina, the highest condominium in Johor – it’s already sold out and the waiting list is 200+ people strong so there’s a looooong wait for an opening.

chillax

It’s a nice place though – every unit will have a balcony with a sea view and it seems like the perfect place for a holiday home.

showhouse

There is also vast tracts of lands being turned into gated communities and high end houses in East Ledang. I’ve been to some of the show houses at Melody Park and it’s AMAZING.

east ledang

Just look at this and tell me you don’t wish you live here.

bedroom

There’s lot of different variations and themes too – modern, English, classic, whichever way you want you interior décor to be like, you’ll find it no trouble to get there.

educity

EduCity @ ISKANDAR MALAYSIA is home to several renowned Ivy League universities which has set up their campuses there.

newcastle university

The beauty about this place is that the universities only have ONE faculty there – the best of the best e.g. Newcastle University has a medical faculty for all those interested in going into that field.

kate middleton

There’s also Marlborough College which Kate Middleton graduated from. Yes, that’s the Duchess of Cambridge’s alma mater. I’m so going if they manage to get her to come and officially open this college for them. smirk

johor premium outlet

ISKANDAR MALAYSIA aims to turn Johor into a destination in its own right instead of just a transit point for people going to Singapore and I think they’ve done a really good job. There’s just something for everyone and one of the much anticipated openings is the Johor Premium Outlets (JPO) which is a HUGE retail space for designer labels.

The interesting bit about JPO is that they’re making plans to have sales at certain times e.g. Coach having 50% off at 3 pm on Thursday. I can imagine the amount of people queuing up or even camping way ahead of time for this!

prisma

ISKANDAR MALAYSIA is also doing a lot of CSR initiatives like their PRISMA housing areas – it’s for married couples earning below RM 3,000 and it doesn’t look like any of the low cost housing areas I’ve been too. These are comfortable apartments with great facilities. There are also 1,500 units for OKUs with specially designed living areas to cater to them. Yes, the photo above is an ACTUAL SHOT of the place.

iskandar malaysia public housing

It looks way better than my apartment…ISKANDAR MALAYSIA sure knows how to do things right. I mean, look at the picture above! Does that look like a low cost public housing unit to you? I’ll love to live in that place but I’m not eligible. 😡

stairs

They also have a pilot project going for green buildings which aims to provide self sustaining units with solar power, water recycling and other technology.

living area

Looking at what ISKANDAR MALAYSIA has done to Johor in just a few years, I have very high hopes for the state. Invest. Work. Live. Play. is their mantra. Education, health, entertainment, infrastructure, they’ve got it all covered.

fun

Personally, I’m waiting for LEGOLAND to open so I can go for the awesome rides that’s going to be there. I’m a huge fan of amusement parks. 🙂

Lontong kering @ Warong Saga

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hb hanis

How does breaking your fast with royalty sound? Warong Saga has been operating for decades near the old cemetery in JB. The proprietors running it are the second generation and contrary to popular belief, it’s named after pokok saga instead of Proton Saga. 😉

lontong kering

Anyway, Warong Saga’s main claim to fame is their lontong kering. JB makes the best lontong kering in the country, or so they’ll have you believe. Lotong kering is a breakfast meal of nasi impit (compressed rice), a potpourri of vegetables (long beans, leeks, potatoes) and a piece of chicken rendang.

pokok saga

The entire dish is then doused with a generous amount of peanut sauce. It’s a pleasure to use the nasi impit to wipe the gravy from the plate before devouring it. The multitude of textures and flavors in lontong kering makes it an ideal breakfast.

nasi impit

The walls of Warong Saga is adorned with sultans, prime ministers (both ours and Singapore’s) and other people of historical importance and it attracts a healthy local crowd for breakfast.

warong saga

This place is a bit hard to find for non-locals but if you follow the old royal cemetery and watch out for a small shop by the road you’ll see it. The lontong kering and the chill, relaxed atmosphere in Warong Saga makes it well worth the trip! 🙂

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