Hi all, just got back from Guangzhou, China (again!!), went there on 13/2/12 to 16/2/12 to attend to FAT (Factory Acceptance Test) of escalators and travellators.
Last visit in Dec 2011 and the factory was not ready to perform the test then and we had to re-visit. A lot of drama as well before the departure date but thank God everything went well.
Day 1 13/2/12
We left KL at 9.30am and reached Guangzhou at about 1.35pm. After getting our bags, checked in at hotel, we met up for dinner. But too early for dinner, so we stopped by at White Cloud Mountain to walk around and later off we went to a restaurant for dinner. Where? one of favourite restaurants in Guangzhou - Abdullah Qinghai restaurant (No. 8 Tongxin Lu, opposite the Guangzhou Astro Hotel, T: 020-8350 1919). We ordered lots of food (fried chicken, big plate of chicken, veg, lamb etc), we enjoyed the food but 'the big plate chicken' was too salty for our liking and we ended up wasting it. After dinner we went to Beijing Street for shopping. I didn't buy much as I had visited the same place in Dec 2011. I bought boot for my nephew (RM15), laser pointer (RM25), sweater (RM20) and sotong snack (8 packs, RM12/pack). and that was all :-).
Went back to hotel n zzzzzzzzzz
Day 2 14/2/12
FAT from morning till 5pm or so. Lunch break the factory driver took us to a place and that place was closed! But time was short and we saw across the road there was halal restaurant and decided to try. Albaraka Restaurant. The newly opened restaurant serves chinese food, arab food, african n turkish food, however on 14/2, they only have chinese food. Food was not bad all and definitely will stop by here if we go to Guangzhou again.Albaraka address: No.8, South of Tongxin Road, Yueshiu (exit D, subway of Xiaobei)Tel: 1592 0893 124 / 1379 4393 959 / 1372 4841 06 / 1536 0606 798
For dinner, we suggested seafood and the driver brought us to 1001 night restaurant. A lebanese restaurant! The food is so so. Will never go back to this place.
After dinner, too late for shopping and went back to sleep.
Day 3 15/2/12
Factory arranged for Guangzhou tour. We went to Yuexiu Park to take photo with 5 goats statues (Guangzhou symbol). Then off we went to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. Then followed by a Muslim street (lots of Muslim shops here, Huaisheng Mosque can also be visited here), later off we went to Ancestral Temple of the Chen Family (also called Chen Clan Academy or Chen's Lineage Hall but now serves as Guangdong Museum of Folk Arts and Crafts). After visiting Chen's Temple, we were hungry and we went back to Guangta Road (Muslim street). We were sick of kebab and lambs and looking for halal cantonese meal but not to be found and we ended up having another uighur meal right opposite Huaisheng Mosque. Not bad at all.
After lunch, one group preferred shopping while the other preferred sightseeing. The shopping group went to Beijing Street while the rest of us (including me) went to Shamian Island. Very similar to Georgetown in Penang. Then off we went to our next stop Flower City Square. Wow! nice buildings!!
After the square, we went back to hotel to freshen up and off to dinner. This time seafood dinner at Moslem Restaurant (Huimin Fandian), Zhong Shan Lok Road, No. 325, Guangzhou T: 8130 3991 / 8130 4664. Or some website listed the address as No. 325, Zhongshanliu Road, Yuexiu District. Tel: 020-81303991.
I enjoyed my meal here the most as compared to the other restaurants. Then back to hotel to rest.
Day 4 16/2/12
Time to leave Guangzhou. We went to airport at 11am n once at the airport we enjoyed halal noodle at the shop at the airport. Fantastic!! Another must go place in Guangzhou.
Reached Malaysia at abt 7pm.
Places to visit in Guangzhou:
http://www.mychinatours.com/guangzhou-travel/guangzhou-attractions/flower-city-square/
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/guangdong/guangzhou/huaisheng.htm
Our accommodations:
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/area/index.html?propertyID=1706
http://www.garden-hotel-guangzhou.cn/Accommodation.htm
Our Meals:
http://littlemamadiary.com/guangzhou-travel-jalanjalan-cari-makan-restoran-halal-abdullah-qinghai/
http://borongchina.blogspot.com/2010/08/muslim-and-halal-restaurant-in.html
http://forum.cari.com.my/viewthread.php?tid=295730&extra=&page=88
http://www.etours.cn/china_city_guide/guangzhou_city_guide/dining/chinese_restaurants_of_guangzhou.jsp
http://www.1001nights.com.cn/NewsInfo.asp?id=83
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g608470-d1568063-Reviews-The_Arabian_Night_1001_nights_Restaurant-Yiwu_Zhejiang.html
http://bumisepi.com/?p=1025
http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g298555-d311550-r118995469-Huaisheng_Mosque_Huaisheng_Guangtisi-Guangzhou_Guangdong.html
http://www.colorfuldays-hotel.com/En/restaurant.aspx
http://www.muslimtour.net/halal-info.asp?ID=152
http://susuegoodday.blogspot.com/
Hmmm...my favourite restaurants so far (from most loved to least preferred)
1)
Wuyang Huimin Restaurant 五羊回民饭店
Add: No. 325, Zhongshanliu Road, Yuexiu District.
Tel: 020-81303991
2)
Abdullah Qinghai Restaurant
No. 8 Tongxin Lu, opposite the Guangzhou Astro Hotel
广州市童心路8号登月酒店对面
Phone:020-83501919
3) Albaraka Restaurant, No.8, South of Tongxin Road, Yueshiu (exit D, subway of Xiaobei)Tel: 1592 0893 124 / 1379 4393 959 / 1372 4841 06 / 1536 0606 798
4) Xinyue Muslim Restaurant 新粤穆斯林餐厅
Add: Floor 3, Xinjiang Tower, No, 76, Tianhe North Road, Tianhe District..
Tel: 020-38782783
5) Halal noodle at Baiyun Airport
6) A muslim restaurant on ground floor near Xinyue Muslim Restaurant (item 4 above)
7) Muslim (uighur) restaurant opposite Huasheng mosque
8)
1001 night restaurant
ADD:No 899,Jiefang Bei Road,Next to China hotel.
TEL:020-36182280 36182281
MAIL:gz1001@1001nights.com.cn
9)
Ottoman Turkish Restaurant
No.475 Huanshi Dong Lu, Yuexiu District
环市东路475号
Phone:020-87601227
If you want to stay at muslim hotel:
http://www.guangzhouhotel.com/Muslim_Bostan_Hotel_Guangzhou.htm?gclid=CIOq0seAp64CFQV66wodT3ZYPQ
http://www.tripadvisor.com.my/Hotel_Review-g298555-d814221-Reviews-Bostan_Business_Hotel-Guangzhou_Guangdong.html
Muslim Hotels in China:
http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/muslim-china/hotels-for-muslims.htm
Friday, 17 February 2012
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
Halal restaurants in Zhongshan & Guangzhou
Hi, I just got back from China, went there on 18/12/11 and came back on 24/12/11.
Went there on business trip. I was in Zhongshan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhongshan to visit ThyssenKrupp elevator factory and I was in Guangzhou to visit Otis escalator & travellator factory.
18/12/11 (Sunday)
We landed at Guangzhou Airport on 18/12/11 and it was warm (colder than KL but hotter than Genting) and we were puzzled why locals wrapped up with thick coat, shawl, hat, boothttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifs.
ThyssenKrupp rep waited for us at the airport and took us to Zhongshan (2 hours drive away). We checked in at King Century Hotel
We reached the hotel at about 4.30pm, after checked in we went for coffee at Starbucks outlet nearby. The hotel? The room is big and breakfast spread..hmm not much choice for muslim just bread, cereals and grilled fish!
Bernard the ThyssenKrupp rep took us to dinner at Xin Yue Muslim Restaurant everyone enjoyed the xinjiang food dinner and looked forward to tomorrow's lunch at the same restaurant! After dinner, Bernard took to us to walk around/window shop at Zhongshan pedestrian street shops. Bernard took us back to the hotel and the group was split into 3 groups! one group continued shopping at the pedestrian street, the next group prefer to go experience Zhongshan clubbing scene while me and another guy preferred to go for full body massage. Not bad, 1 hour/person was only 40 Yuan (RM20).
19/12/11 Monday
Full day at the factory. Bernard did a splendid job, everything is ready and he had arranged for right persons to answer all our queries. All the tests passed with flying colours. Client wanted to cramp all the tests today, so we shorten our lunch and the factory had arranged for KFC lunch delivery for us (prawn burger n chips). After the visit, Bernard took us for massage (I opted for foot reflexology), according to Bernard it was about 70 yuan (RM35), the rest opted for body massage. After massage we went to Xin Yue Muslim Restaurant again and met up with 3 guys from ThyssenKrupp escalator/travellator/PBB factory. Again, very tasty dinner. Lots of grilled meat (beef, lamb, chickens). I did not snap any pictures, ha ha to shy to do that but you can view similar food here the ThyssenKrupp guys told us, Xin Yue is not the only muslim restaurant in town! well...maybe next time.
After dinner, the group decided to go for shopping n clubbing again but I opted to go back to hotel.
20/12/11 Tuesday
We checked out from King Century Hotel and took 2 hours drive to Guangzhou. Checked in into Westin Hotel nice hotel. After checking in, Bernard took us for lunch at Xin Jiang Building Glass House. More xinjiang food and can't imagine more xinjiang food until 23/12/11! After lunch off we went to Shangxia Jiu Lu to shop.
I didn't buy anything though I found few interesting sweaters n clothes for my nieces/nephews as I still have 3 more days in Guangzhou.
After shopping, went back to hotel to freshen up. We decided to go for light dinner at Subway (I had tuna sandwich), after dinner, again others decided to go clubbing while I went back to hotel to enjoy warm cozy bed n tv.
21/12/11 Wednesday
Breakfast spread at Westin is huge, more choices for me. After breakfast, client group packed and ready to depart for airport. While waiting for 2nd group to arrive, 3 of us decided to venture to Beijing Road (Beijing Lu) by using Guangzhou Metro
We had sushi for lunch (very expensive) and then the 2nd group arrived n we had to rush to hotel to meet them. Dinner was at Guang Zhou Xin Yue Muslim Restaurant (same building as Glass House Restaurant where we had our lunch earlier). Thankfully my project team member who was with us in earlier group went to the restaurant first with the rest of the new group and he ordered different kind of food (more cantonese rather than xinjiang food).
Otis guy was not prepared and very inexperienced. He didn't bring enough yuan and he was on tight budget! The restaurant did not accept his card and he had to borrow money to pay for dinner! After dinner he disappeared! OMG! Your host disappeared...tsk tsk tsk I had to call him n reminded him that he's with clients and he should not behaved the way he did. He came back half and hour later and we had advised him on proper way to conduct the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT). He listened but decided to do his way..sigh..
22/12/11 Thursday
Factory not ready for FAT and the day was filled up with shopping activities at Beijing Road. Since Otis guy has no cash, he looked around for a place that can accept his card and decided to bring us to Ritz Carlton Hotel for lunch! Fancy place but he decided to place lunch order himself without asking group members if the food is acceptable to all! He ordered bread, salad and fried rice....sigh..
He seemed to forget client pay for everything and he's not spending Otis's money but he's spending client's money!
After lunch, we returned back to hotel and later that night we went to Ottoman Restaurant (again in front of everyone Otis guy asked the restaurant if they'll accept his card and again to control his budget, Otis guy ordered for everyone). We went back to hotel and later some of the group members ventured out to check out Guangzhou night life.
23/12/11 Friday
After breakfast, we went to Otis factory. After controversial briefing (Otis rep was not prepared), Otis guy sent us to the nearby reflexology centre as he needed to prepare inspection form! Clients were furious but tolerated but when we made to wait at the centre and nobody attended to us, they can't no longer repressed their anger and decided to walk back to otis factory and demanded to continue with the FAT! after few minutes we noticed they were not ready and some of the components were not even available at the factory! The clients can no longer tolerated and they exploded!
The FAT didn't end well. The Otis guy failed in PR (dealing with people) and he was disorganized from day 1. Very disappointing!
We went for dinner at Abdullah Qinghai Moslem Restaurant everyone tried to forget what happened earlier at the factory but with not much success.
After dinner, we were taken for massage (again I opted for foot reflexology), a bit too late for Otis to pamper their guests n develop good PR but I guess it was their way of apologizing for their screw up.
24/12/11 Saturday
Thank God, the ordeal was over n time to go home...
Went there on business trip. I was in Zhongshan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhongshan to visit ThyssenKrupp elevator factory and I was in Guangzhou to visit Otis escalator & travellator factory.
18/12/11 (Sunday)
We landed at Guangzhou Airport on 18/12/11 and it was warm (colder than KL but hotter than Genting) and we were puzzled why locals wrapped up with thick coat, shawl, hat, boothttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifs.
ThyssenKrupp rep waited for us at the airport and took us to Zhongshan (2 hours drive away). We checked in at King Century Hotel
We reached the hotel at about 4.30pm, after checked in we went for coffee at Starbucks outlet nearby. The hotel? The room is big and breakfast spread..hmm not much choice for muslim just bread, cereals and grilled fish!
Bernard the ThyssenKrupp rep took us to dinner at Xin Yue Muslim Restaurant everyone enjoyed the xinjiang food dinner and looked forward to tomorrow's lunch at the same restaurant! After dinner, Bernard took to us to walk around/window shop at Zhongshan pedestrian street shops. Bernard took us back to the hotel and the group was split into 3 groups! one group continued shopping at the pedestrian street, the next group prefer to go experience Zhongshan clubbing scene while me and another guy preferred to go for full body massage. Not bad, 1 hour/person was only 40 Yuan (RM20).
19/12/11 Monday
Full day at the factory. Bernard did a splendid job, everything is ready and he had arranged for right persons to answer all our queries. All the tests passed with flying colours. Client wanted to cramp all the tests today, so we shorten our lunch and the factory had arranged for KFC lunch delivery for us (prawn burger n chips). After the visit, Bernard took us for massage (I opted for foot reflexology), according to Bernard it was about 70 yuan (RM35), the rest opted for body massage. After massage we went to Xin Yue Muslim Restaurant again and met up with 3 guys from ThyssenKrupp escalator/travellator/PBB factory. Again, very tasty dinner. Lots of grilled meat (beef, lamb, chickens). I did not snap any pictures, ha ha to shy to do that but you can view similar food here the ThyssenKrupp guys told us, Xin Yue is not the only muslim restaurant in town! well...maybe next time.
After dinner, the group decided to go for shopping n clubbing again but I opted to go back to hotel.
20/12/11 Tuesday
We checked out from King Century Hotel and took 2 hours drive to Guangzhou. Checked in into Westin Hotel nice hotel. After checking in, Bernard took us for lunch at Xin Jiang Building Glass House. More xinjiang food and can't imagine more xinjiang food until 23/12/11! After lunch off we went to Shangxia Jiu Lu to shop.
I didn't buy anything though I found few interesting sweaters n clothes for my nieces/nephews as I still have 3 more days in Guangzhou.
After shopping, went back to hotel to freshen up. We decided to go for light dinner at Subway (I had tuna sandwich), after dinner, again others decided to go clubbing while I went back to hotel to enjoy warm cozy bed n tv.
21/12/11 Wednesday
Breakfast spread at Westin is huge, more choices for me. After breakfast, client group packed and ready to depart for airport. While waiting for 2nd group to arrive, 3 of us decided to venture to Beijing Road (Beijing Lu) by using Guangzhou Metro
We had sushi for lunch (very expensive) and then the 2nd group arrived n we had to rush to hotel to meet them. Dinner was at Guang Zhou Xin Yue Muslim Restaurant (same building as Glass House Restaurant where we had our lunch earlier). Thankfully my project team member who was with us in earlier group went to the restaurant first with the rest of the new group and he ordered different kind of food (more cantonese rather than xinjiang food).
Otis guy was not prepared and very inexperienced. He didn't bring enough yuan and he was on tight budget! The restaurant did not accept his card and he had to borrow money to pay for dinner! After dinner he disappeared! OMG! Your host disappeared...tsk tsk tsk I had to call him n reminded him that he's with clients and he should not behaved the way he did. He came back half and hour later and we had advised him on proper way to conduct the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT). He listened but decided to do his way..sigh..
22/12/11 Thursday
Factory not ready for FAT and the day was filled up with shopping activities at Beijing Road. Since Otis guy has no cash, he looked around for a place that can accept his card and decided to bring us to Ritz Carlton Hotel for lunch! Fancy place but he decided to place lunch order himself without asking group members if the food is acceptable to all! He ordered bread, salad and fried rice....sigh..
He seemed to forget client pay for everything and he's not spending Otis's money but he's spending client's money!
After lunch, we returned back to hotel and later that night we went to Ottoman Restaurant (again in front of everyone Otis guy asked the restaurant if they'll accept his card and again to control his budget, Otis guy ordered for everyone). We went back to hotel and later some of the group members ventured out to check out Guangzhou night life.
23/12/11 Friday
After breakfast, we went to Otis factory. After controversial briefing (Otis rep was not prepared), Otis guy sent us to the nearby reflexology centre as he needed to prepare inspection form! Clients were furious but tolerated but when we made to wait at the centre and nobody attended to us, they can't no longer repressed their anger and decided to walk back to otis factory and demanded to continue with the FAT! after few minutes we noticed they were not ready and some of the components were not even available at the factory! The clients can no longer tolerated and they exploded!
The FAT didn't end well. The Otis guy failed in PR (dealing with people) and he was disorganized from day 1. Very disappointing!
We went for dinner at Abdullah Qinghai Moslem Restaurant everyone tried to forget what happened earlier at the factory but with not much success.
After dinner, we were taken for massage (again I opted for foot reflexology), a bit too late for Otis to pamper their guests n develop good PR but I guess it was their way of apologizing for their screw up.
24/12/11 Saturday
Thank God, the ordeal was over n time to go home...
Monday, 7 November 2011
Selamat Hari Raya Idul Adha 2011
Salam and hi guys,
Been really busy with my current project and had no time to update this blog.
This year, my parents came to KL, well my father came to recuperate. He had nasty infection on his ankle and the swelling even spread to his leg. Went to see doctor and he was given antibiotic. The swelling reduced but he has not recovered fully and thankfully yesterday (raya haji) he's well enough to participate.
Few Days Before Raya:
This year we celebrated raya in KL since both parents are here. To make them feel at home I suggested that we (my siblings) 'gotong royong' and cook at my bro's house in U-Thant and celebrate raya at his place since he has big house and big compound (can cook outside and plenty of place to park our cars).
But response was not good and it seems 'pot luck' was the preferred option. So, I volunteered to buy cakes & cookies from Suanson; fruits (watermelon and honey dew); while my bro offered to prepare 'ketupat pulut daun palas'and beef curry; my eldest niece (2nd sis's eldest daughter) offered ketupat nasi and kuah kacang; my sis (4th sibling) offered rendang & lemang;
Raya Eve 5/11/10
Raya eve, everyone busy at their own house, so I bought laksa curry from Group Base so we could have dinner together.
Stayed there until 10pm and left.
Hari Raya 6/11/10
My alarm clock rang and I switched it off thinking it was another Sunday! woke up again at 9pm something and realized it was raya day! Rushed to shower n drove like mad woman to my bro's house.
Everyone turned up and I was the last one to arrive! Blush blush....Then, makan time..all that I mentioned above spread on the table for us to sample..yum yum. Everyone enjoyed cakes I bought from Suanson (carrot walnut, chocolate fudge & lemon wonder)
Ha ha with stomach full everyone chit chatted and slowly each family excused themselves since they need to prepare food for next family meals.
Lunch - my second sis invited everyone to her house. Her children and her prepared dalca, acar, roast chicken, fried chicken, nasi tomato, butter rice, lychee jelly.
Dinner - my sis (4th sibling) invited everyone to her house for dinner. Menu? lontong, kuah lodeh, sambal ikan bilis, laksa siam, rendang ayam.
2nd Daya Raya 7/11/10
My youngest sis invited everyone to her house for aqiqah do. Menu? roast lamb, coleslaw, grilled potato, rice, ayam masak merah, dalca, lamb stew.
quite enjoyable raya. at least we don't need to drive 5hours to get to see my parents and raya with them..
Refer here if wish you wish to learn more about subjects mentioned above:
Suanson cakes http://www.suanson.com.my/delivery.htm
Ketupat palas http://nasilemaklover.blogspot.com/2011/08/homemade-ketupat-daun-palas.html
Beef Curry
Groupbase http://parfait10.blogspot.com/2011/05/dinner-groupbase-bandar-sri-damansara.html
http://www.sajionline.com.my/index.php/ayam-dan-daging-othermenu-117/1011-kari-daging-kerisik.html
Ketupat nasi http://mwdah.blogspot.com/2011/09/interesting-story-ketupat-dan-lemang.html
Kuah Kacang http://e-nalovelykitchen.blogspot.com/2010/06/kuah-kacang-daging.html
rendang
Lemang http://www.foodbuzz.com/blogs/my/malaysia/549839-lemang-pak-ali-warisan-jalan-au5-lembah-keramat-kuala-lumpur
Rendang http://homefamilysite.com/blog/resepi-rendang-ayam/
Dalca http://www.myresipi.com/top/detail/1332
Acar http://psittacula.wordpress.com/2007/09/05/acar-buah-buahan/
roast chicken http://www.femail.com.au/roast-chicken-with-lemon-and-thyme.htm
Fried chicken http://emymilia.blogspot.com/2010/11/ayam-goreng-berempah-mabelesss.html
Nasi Tomato http://surayaartis.blogspot.com/2011/08/resepi-juadah-berbuka-puasa-nasi-tomato.html
Butter Rice http://nasilemaklover.blogspot.com/2010/10/butter-rice.html
Lychee Jelly http://sugar-inc.blogspot.com/2010/12/lychee-jelly-recipe.html
lontong / kuah lodeh http://www.myrecipepages.com/2011/08/02/soup/simple-kuah-lodehvegetable-soup/
sambal ikan bilis http://www.blogresipi.com/2010/01/22/ayam-tandoori-goreng-dan-sambal-ikan-bilis/
Been really busy with my current project and had no time to update this blog.
This year, my parents came to KL, well my father came to recuperate. He had nasty infection on his ankle and the swelling even spread to his leg. Went to see doctor and he was given antibiotic. The swelling reduced but he has not recovered fully and thankfully yesterday (raya haji) he's well enough to participate.
Few Days Before Raya:
This year we celebrated raya in KL since both parents are here. To make them feel at home I suggested that we (my siblings) 'gotong royong' and cook at my bro's house in U-Thant and celebrate raya at his place since he has big house and big compound (can cook outside and plenty of place to park our cars).
But response was not good and it seems 'pot luck' was the preferred option. So, I volunteered to buy cakes & cookies from Suanson; fruits (watermelon and honey dew); while my bro offered to prepare 'ketupat pulut daun palas'and beef curry; my eldest niece (2nd sis's eldest daughter) offered ketupat nasi and kuah kacang; my sis (4th sibling) offered rendang & lemang;
Raya Eve 5/11/10
Raya eve, everyone busy at their own house, so I bought laksa curry from Group Base so we could have dinner together.
Stayed there until 10pm and left.
Hari Raya 6/11/10
My alarm clock rang and I switched it off thinking it was another Sunday! woke up again at 9pm something and realized it was raya day! Rushed to shower n drove like mad woman to my bro's house.
Everyone turned up and I was the last one to arrive! Blush blush....Then, makan time..all that I mentioned above spread on the table for us to sample..yum yum. Everyone enjoyed cakes I bought from Suanson (carrot walnut, chocolate fudge & lemon wonder)
Ha ha with stomach full everyone chit chatted and slowly each family excused themselves since they need to prepare food for next family meals.
Lunch - my second sis invited everyone to her house. Her children and her prepared dalca, acar, roast chicken, fried chicken, nasi tomato, butter rice, lychee jelly.
Dinner - my sis (4th sibling) invited everyone to her house for dinner. Menu? lontong, kuah lodeh, sambal ikan bilis, laksa siam, rendang ayam.
2nd Daya Raya 7/11/10
My youngest sis invited everyone to her house for aqiqah do. Menu? roast lamb, coleslaw, grilled potato, rice, ayam masak merah, dalca, lamb stew.
quite enjoyable raya. at least we don't need to drive 5hours to get to see my parents and raya with them..
Refer here if wish you wish to learn more about subjects mentioned above:
Suanson cakes http://www.suanson.com.my/delivery.htm
Ketupat palas http://nasilemaklover.blogspot.com/2011/08/homemade-ketupat-daun-palas.html
Beef Curry
Groupbase http://parfait10.blogspot.com/2011/05/dinner-groupbase-bandar-sri-damansara.html
http://www.sajionline.com.my/index.php/ayam-dan-daging-othermenu-117/1011-kari-daging-kerisik.html
Ketupat nasi http://mwdah.blogspot.com/2011/09/interesting-story-ketupat-dan-lemang.html
Kuah Kacang http://e-nalovelykitchen.blogspot.com/2010/06/kuah-kacang-daging.html
rendang
Lemang http://www.foodbuzz.com/blogs/my/malaysia/549839-lemang-pak-ali-warisan-jalan-au5-lembah-keramat-kuala-lumpur
Rendang http://homefamilysite.com/blog/resepi-rendang-ayam/
Dalca http://www.myresipi.com/top/detail/1332
Acar http://psittacula.wordpress.com/2007/09/05/acar-buah-buahan/
roast chicken http://www.femail.com.au/roast-chicken-with-lemon-and-thyme.htm
Fried chicken http://emymilia.blogspot.com/2010/11/ayam-goreng-berempah-mabelesss.html
Nasi Tomato http://surayaartis.blogspot.com/2011/08/resepi-juadah-berbuka-puasa-nasi-tomato.html
Butter Rice http://nasilemaklover.blogspot.com/2010/10/butter-rice.html
Lychee Jelly http://sugar-inc.blogspot.com/2010/12/lychee-jelly-recipe.html
lontong / kuah lodeh http://www.myrecipepages.com/2011/08/02/soup/simple-kuah-lodehvegetable-soup/
sambal ikan bilis http://www.blogresipi.com/2010/01/22/ayam-tandoori-goreng-dan-sambal-ikan-bilis/
Sunday, 27 March 2011
Delicious cafe vs Theobroma Chocolate Lounge
Hmmm..been very busy n had been neglegting this blog for many moons ha ha..anyway, few weeks back my ex-boss arranged a dinner for ex-colleagues and another ex-boss who just got back from India (he's working there), due to busy schedule I had to miss the dinner at E-San Thai Kitchen Ara Damansara http://food.malaysiamostwanted.com/venues/e-san-thai-kitchen-ara-damansara. My ex-boss fav restaurant it seems. He took us to the other branch in Taman Seputeh before http://food.malaysiamostwanted.com/venues/e-san-kitchen-taman-seputeh
Anyway, I had not seen my ex-colleagues TH (last met her during our Bangkok trip during xmas 2010), VK & NMM...since our dinner at VK's place. So, NMM called and insisted that we should have dinner soon. Since I'm only available on Sunday, NMM suggested we meet up for tea. I suggested Delicious since as UOB card holder, I can have 50% discount on 26/3/11 n 27/3/11...
On Saturday, my bf was busy with wedding dinner, so I went to 1U n walked into Theobroma Chocolate Lounge (bloggers seem to adore this place), ordered their Iceberg Lady and Seafood Spaghetti Olio Olio. The verdict? Iceberg Lady is just ok n the spaghetti Olio Olio not that satisfying...lack the oomph. For price visit here http://www.chocolatelounge.com.my/
Anyway, after the meal, I walked over to Delicious and tapau "Pan Seared Cod served with Sauteed Prawns on Ratatouille & Fried Potatoes" and "Aglio Olio Spaghettini with seafood". The cod fish was delicious but quite pricy at RM48.90 however at 50% discount, why not? The spaghettini..much better than the one in Theobroma Chocolate Lounge. http://www.delicious.com.my/#menu_mains
So, Sunday came and I got 2 massages from NMM n VK that they'll be late. I texted TH and she was at Mark & Spencer. We walked over to Delicious and she ordered "Hearty Noodle Soup with Cod, Vermicelli, Salted Vegetables & Tomato" and I ordered "Pan-seared Crispy Skin Salmon served with Coriander Relish, Asparagus & Fried Potatoes" and for drinks I ordered "Watermelon & Lychee Blast" and TH ordered "Frosty Lychee & Lime'. We enjoyed our late lunch and NMM arrived. She ordered Caesar Salad with Salmon and same drink as TH. VK arrived when I had finished my salmon n she ordered Caesar Salad with chicken. All of us enjoyed our selection. Then we decided to try "Traditional English Afternoon Tea for Two"....we can choose one cake from the display cabinet. "Peach Frangipane with Vanilla Ice Cream" looks good.
The set came with:
Warm Scones with Preserves & Fresh Cream
Assortment of Finger Sandwiches & Duck Confit in Filo Pastry
Strawberry Chocolate dip & Hand-Rolled chocolate truffles
Rosemary & Cheese Cookies
Choice of any one cake on display - we chose Peach Frangipane with Vanilla Ice Cream
Choice of any two cups of tea
Everyone attacked the scones first, then the peach frangipani. the scone is nice but the peach frangipani is just way too sweet...we couldn't finish the set n decided to tapau the leftover..
We stayed there for almost 4 hours and spend almost RM300 (RM287.20 to be exact), but at 50% discount and good chatty time with old friends...priceless.
What others said about Delicious & Theobrama n E San:
http://food.malaysiamostwanted.com/venues/theobroma-chocolate-lounge-one-utama
http://food.malaysiamostwanted.com/venues/delicious-cafe-tea-bread-one-utama-pj
http://food.malaysiamostwanted.com/venues/e-san-thai-kitchen-ara-damansara
http://food.malaysiamostwanted.com/venues/e-san-kitchen-taman-seputeh
Anyway, I had not seen my ex-colleagues TH (last met her during our Bangkok trip during xmas 2010), VK & NMM...since our dinner at VK's place. So, NMM called and insisted that we should have dinner soon. Since I'm only available on Sunday, NMM suggested we meet up for tea. I suggested Delicious since as UOB card holder, I can have 50% discount on 26/3/11 n 27/3/11...
On Saturday, my bf was busy with wedding dinner, so I went to 1U n walked into Theobroma Chocolate Lounge (bloggers seem to adore this place), ordered their Iceberg Lady and Seafood Spaghetti Olio Olio. The verdict? Iceberg Lady is just ok n the spaghetti Olio Olio not that satisfying...lack the oomph. For price visit here http://www.chocolatelounge.com.my/
Anyway, after the meal, I walked over to Delicious and tapau "Pan Seared Cod served with Sauteed Prawns on Ratatouille & Fried Potatoes" and "Aglio Olio Spaghettini with seafood". The cod fish was delicious but quite pricy at RM48.90 however at 50% discount, why not? The spaghettini..much better than the one in Theobroma Chocolate Lounge. http://www.delicious.com.my/#menu_mains
So, Sunday came and I got 2 massages from NMM n VK that they'll be late. I texted TH and she was at Mark & Spencer. We walked over to Delicious and she ordered "Hearty Noodle Soup with Cod, Vermicelli, Salted Vegetables & Tomato" and I ordered "Pan-seared Crispy Skin Salmon served with Coriander Relish, Asparagus & Fried Potatoes" and for drinks I ordered "Watermelon & Lychee Blast" and TH ordered "Frosty Lychee & Lime'. We enjoyed our late lunch and NMM arrived. She ordered Caesar Salad with Salmon and same drink as TH. VK arrived when I had finished my salmon n she ordered Caesar Salad with chicken. All of us enjoyed our selection. Then we decided to try "Traditional English Afternoon Tea for Two"....we can choose one cake from the display cabinet. "Peach Frangipane with Vanilla Ice Cream" looks good.
The set came with:
Warm Scones with Preserves & Fresh Cream
Assortment of Finger Sandwiches & Duck Confit in Filo Pastry
Strawberry Chocolate dip & Hand-Rolled chocolate truffles
Rosemary & Cheese Cookies
Choice of any one cake on display - we chose Peach Frangipane with Vanilla Ice Cream
Choice of any two cups of tea
Everyone attacked the scones first, then the peach frangipani. the scone is nice but the peach frangipani is just way too sweet...we couldn't finish the set n decided to tapau the leftover..
We stayed there for almost 4 hours and spend almost RM300 (RM287.20 to be exact), but at 50% discount and good chatty time with old friends...priceless.
What others said about Delicious & Theobrama n E San:
http://food.malaysiamostwanted.com/venues/theobroma-chocolate-lounge-one-utama
http://food.malaysiamostwanted.com/venues/delicious-cafe-tea-bread-one-utama-pj
http://food.malaysiamostwanted.com/venues/e-san-thai-kitchen-ara-damansara
http://food.malaysiamostwanted.com/venues/e-san-kitchen-taman-seputeh
Monday, 22 November 2010
Portuguese Settlement & Asam Pedas
I just got back from Melaka yesterday. Went there with my sis, 3 nieces n 2 nephews. My bro's family need to attend my niece's convocation do in Trengganu so my bro's asked for our help to send his son to Kolej Yayasan Saad for final selection program (form 1 intake) http://kysm.edu.my/
Anyway, we got there about 3pm++, sat for briefing etc and proceeded to check-in into our accommodation for the night at Garden City Apartment http://www.gardencity.com.my/
Not a bad place, we have stayed here before during our family outing years ago, the place looks like any residential apartment. Reasonably clean though one lift was down so long queue to use the lift and most peoples decided to use staircase. The bed in our unit..hmm need to be careful, my 3 year old nephew kept on asking why is the bed tilting when we slept on it.
That night we went for dinner at Portuguese Settlement, as usual the moment you parked your car, a group of them came to 'promote' their stalls. We felt harassed n decided to walk around before deciding which stall to have our dinner at. While walking around, we googled and found someone recommended stall 88, hmm not a good choice. We had scallops cooked with dried chillies (powdered chilly tasted uncooked), butter prawns (guts not cleaned), Portuguese bake fish (tasted so so), sotong fritters (not nice), garlic kailan (nice), cili padi lala (nice). Total inclusive drinks for 5pax RM138.00
After dinner, went back to the apartment n zzz. Next morning had bread n peanut butter for breakfast. For lunch we decided to look for best asam pedas daging in Melaka, googled and someone suggested 'Restoren Nasi Ayam Special di Bachang', she mentioned http://www.kakinakl.com/2010/05/makan-apa-yang-sedap-di-melakabest.html it is nearby Melaka Sentral, so we went looking and couldn't find the place, we were hungry and saw this restaurant "Restoran Cinta Rasa & Kafe" at Plaza Melaka Sentral. Their daun ubi masak lemak cili padi is delicious, their asam pedas daging is not bad too. lunch cost us RM38 for 4pax.
After lunch off to KL
===================================================================================
Excerpt from my blog entry in 2009:
The stalls -
* Seafood Terrace
* Joan n El' Chico's - we had our lunch here
* Seafront
* Joe Splash Five
* Big Benz Fountain
* Jenny Kopitiam
* J&J Corner
* De Costas
Food? Delicious! We had clams (lala), grilled portuguese fish, brinjall (portuguese style) and butter prawns. Total? RM80++?
What others said about Portuguese Settlement:
* http://www.usj.com.my/bulletin/upload/showthread.php?t=24358
* http://j2kfm.blogspot.com/2009/01/seafood-portuguese-settlement-melaka.html
* http://www.iwannaseetheworld.com/?p=7
* http://www.foodpoi.com/2008/10/portuguese-settlement-sea-terrace-seafood/
* http://jasonmumbles.com/2008/12/sea-terrance-portuguese-settlement
* http://jasonmumbles.com/2009/01/revisitng-sea-terrace-portuguese-settlement
* http://absolutginger.com/tag/portuguese-settlement/
* http://www.melaka.org.my/eatingout/portuguese.html
* http://food.malaysiamostwanted.com/venues/only-one-mango-juice-portuguese-settlement
Anyway, we got there about 3pm++, sat for briefing etc and proceeded to check-in into our accommodation for the night at Garden City Apartment http://www.gardencity.com.my/
Not a bad place, we have stayed here before during our family outing years ago, the place looks like any residential apartment. Reasonably clean though one lift was down so long queue to use the lift and most peoples decided to use staircase. The bed in our unit..hmm need to be careful, my 3 year old nephew kept on asking why is the bed tilting when we slept on it.
That night we went for dinner at Portuguese Settlement, as usual the moment you parked your car, a group of them came to 'promote' their stalls. We felt harassed n decided to walk around before deciding which stall to have our dinner at. While walking around, we googled and found someone recommended stall 88, hmm not a good choice. We had scallops cooked with dried chillies (powdered chilly tasted uncooked), butter prawns (guts not cleaned), Portuguese bake fish (tasted so so), sotong fritters (not nice), garlic kailan (nice), cili padi lala (nice). Total inclusive drinks for 5pax RM138.00
After dinner, went back to the apartment n zzz. Next morning had bread n peanut butter for breakfast. For lunch we decided to look for best asam pedas daging in Melaka, googled and someone suggested 'Restoren Nasi Ayam Special di Bachang', she mentioned http://www.kakinakl.com/2010/05/makan-apa-yang-sedap-di-melakabest.html it is nearby Melaka Sentral, so we went looking and couldn't find the place, we were hungry and saw this restaurant "Restoran Cinta Rasa & Kafe" at Plaza Melaka Sentral. Their daun ubi masak lemak cili padi is delicious, their asam pedas daging is not bad too. lunch cost us RM38 for 4pax.
After lunch off to KL
===================================================================================
Excerpt from my blog entry in 2009:
The stalls -
* Seafood Terrace
* Joan n El' Chico's - we had our lunch here
* Seafront
* Joe Splash Five
* Big Benz Fountain
* Jenny Kopitiam
* J&J Corner
* De Costas
Food? Delicious! We had clams (lala), grilled portuguese fish, brinjall (portuguese style) and butter prawns. Total? RM80++?
What others said about Portuguese Settlement:
* http://www.usj.com.my/bulletin/upload/showthread.php?t=24358
* http://j2kfm.blogspot.com/2009/01/seafood-portuguese-settlement-melaka.html
* http://www.iwannaseetheworld.com/?p=7
* http://www.foodpoi.com/2008/10/portuguese-settlement-sea-terrace-seafood/
* http://jasonmumbles.com/2008/12/sea-terrance-portuguese-settlement
* http://jasonmumbles.com/2009/01/revisitng-sea-terrace-portuguese-settlement
* http://absolutginger.com/tag/portuguese-settlement/
* http://www.melaka.org.my/eatingout/portuguese.html
* http://food.malaysiamostwanted.com/venues/only-one-mango-juice-portuguese-settlement
Friday, 28 May 2010
Halal restaurants in Hong Kong & Shenzen
Salam all,
I just got back from Hong Kong & Shenzen last Sunday. I was there for 5D/4N with my family and we were there with other tour group members (we joined Reliance tour group http://www.tourworld.com.my/pdf/hong_kong/riang_ria/MHS_MHD_28122009.pdf )
Cost/adult: RM2,629.00 (return flight, accommodation, food, disney pass, transport (tram, train, bus) including airport tax 340.00; visa 90.00; tipping 80.00)
We rented a van to/fro KLIA/Jln U-Thant, cost us RM380 (RM190 per trip).
Day 1
We arrived at the HK airport as scheduled, after passing the immigration counters, the group waited for everyone to gather but 8 were missing! They were detained by the immigration department! All those with Muhammad or Ahmad in their names (including my nephew). We waited for almost an hour! While waiting we went to buy water, prepaid card at the airport. Guess what a piece of sweets which sells for RM0.20 for 3pcs in KL cost? HKD1...the IDD prepaid card? HKD60..http://www.2cardphone.com/prod_detail.asp?fid=201&id=819&sjcard_id=
Finally all those Muhammads & Ahmads were released and we proceeded to Prudential Hotel. On the way to the hotel we were amazed at Hong Kong's busy port and tall tiny apartments...(We stayed at Prudential Hotel located at Nathan Road http://www.prudentialhotel.com/
Excellent location with MTR station close by but the hotel is located above a shopping complex (looks like Sungai Wang to me)..)
No meals were provided by the programme on day 1; so my sis & sis-in-law cooked dishes (beef with soy sauce (daging masak kicap), rendang, sambal ikan bilis and rice. They also brought with them plenty other food - cucumber (timun), chinese turnip (sengkuang) n pecal sauce; instant noodles, snacks etc. They packed them carefully and our dinner on day 1 was excellent :-)
After dinner, we freshened up and started checking out the area around the hotel. I went to a shop and asked a girl to help me translating the chinese characters on my phone but before I can say anything more than 'can you help me...' she abruptly cut me off by saying NO! How rude!!
Anyway, we walked around Nathan Road, Jordan Road then it started pouring..my sis bought a windbreaker so that we could go back to the hotel without her 3-yr old son getting wet (he was whining that he wanted to go back to hotel)..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Road
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Road,_Hong_Kong
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Street,_Hong_Kong
We got back to the hotel, showered again and zzzzzz
Day 1 Solat: hotel
Day 1 Purchase:
water (HKD11); prepaid card (HKD60); kitkat; coke (regular n lemon)
Day 2
We had halal dim sum for breakfast at Osman Ramju Sadick Islamic Centre
http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/none/halal-dim-sum-212805
After b'fast? DISNEYLAND!!
We were told there's no halal food inside Disneyland, so my sis packed dim sum from the canteen as our lunch, the operator said with his halal sticker, Disney will allow us to bring the food in, we asked the guard (they checked your bag before letting you in) and he told us to leave the food with customers' service office and collect them later when we want to have our lunch.
Disneyland - small compared to the one in Orlando http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/?resultSet=165page=2 (of course) but the system is much improved, they have fast lane access where you you book your entrance (using your entry ticket and machine), so you book your entry for popular rides, walk around and come back without the need to queue for long period of time. When I was in Florida we wasted time on queuing...
Parks - a fraction of what is on offer in Orlando - Hong Kong offers Main Street, U.S.A. , Adventureland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.
n of course it is a bit weird that many Disney characters are mostly asians..ha ha..
Anyway, since it is very small one can try all the rides n watch all shows in 1 day..
Food wise - nothing interesting - typical American fast food...
Apart from the rides n shows of course one can shop for souvenirs base on Disney characters - I bought plenty of key chains and mugs...
Before we left we watched fireworks - interesting!! When I was in Florida, everyone watched the show by standing up but here most people just sat on the ground...:-) very Asian and very considerate for the shorties..
http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com/hkdl/en_US/home/home?name=HomePage
ohh if you wish to perform your solat, Disney is very considerate, just go to emergency aid centre, tell the staffs you want to pray and they'll allocate a room for you. Just remember to bring your own praying gear (praying mat, telekung, compass)
Back at the hotel we were all very tired, everyone decided to stay in and had dinner in the room (Brahim http://www.brahimsfood.com/products.html ,maggi http://www.maggi.com.my/); But my nephew & I decided to venture out to Temple Street n try out local street food. We went to Ah Long Pakistani Halal Food (95B G/F, Woosung Street, Jordan Road;T: 23677489); recommended by our tour guide. We had rice n curry (he had chicken n I had beef) n coke. A bit weird as in M'sia we will have more than 1 dish for such meal (vegetable, n at least 2 dishes)...anyway, hot food tasted really good as we were hungry n tired..Price? RM32++..including 2 packs of plain rice for my nephew n brother. Then we went next door to Delhi restaurant to buy kebab for my sis. Price - RM30-RM40. Plenty of halal restaurants in this area.
http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/dining/images/gp_pdf_hala.pdf
After dinner? zzzzzzzz
Day 2 solat: emergency aid room Disneyland
Day 2 Purchase:
Mugs x 3; photos; keychain x 3; cookies x 1; ice cream x 2; juice x 2; watches x 2; crayons x 1;
Day 3
We had breakfast halal dim sum at Osman Ramju Sadick Islamic Centre again..on first day we finished almost everything. Today? We got a bit jelak (tired) of the food and plenty was left wasted.
After breakfast we were taken to a jewelery factory (more like herd of cattle were led to be slaughtered) http://valdezfamilyinbangkok.blogspot.com/2009/05/hong-kong-macau-jewelry-factory.html I can't remember the shop name and my receipt is in chinese...
next off to Repulse bay (30min) to post with Jacky Chan's house on the background...; before that we were taken to Aberdeen harbour - basically we were shoved into a sampan, once in, the operator asked us for money! money! She took us around the harbour - passing through jumbo floating restaurant, boat houses, yatchs n back to the jetty.
http://www.jumbo.com.hk/eng/main.php
Then back to Osman Ramju Sadick Islamic Centre for lunch (http://www.islam.org.hk/eng/E-HKmosque.asp); good food but were still full from our breakfast n again lots of wasted food.
Next off to The Peak by tram, lots of people at the station it seems it was Hong Kong's public holiday (Buddha’s Birthday and Cheung Chau Bun Festival). Atop the peak? a shopping mall! also one can visit Madame Tussaud, again smaller than the one in London http://www.madametussauds.com/
After The Peak, the guide told us that we'll stop at Ginseng shop next before proceeding to train station for our Shenzen trip. We asked him what time are we supposed to reach Shenzen n he mentioned abt 6.30pm or so; we told him that we need to pray (zohor/asar) first as it will be too late by the time we reach Shenzen. He looked puzzle (he's not a muslim) as it is not in his programme (of course ginseng shop must be in his itinerary for his commission), we suggested we can pray at the ginseng shop or at the train station but he said both places are not suitable. He suggested that we pray in the bus! I guess we can, if we are desperate but surely there's other option? Finally he discussed with the bus driver and he suggested Kowloon Mosque! Wow! genius....see if you speak out, people will surprise you...
Since he needs his commission, of course he led us to another slaughter house - ginseng shop, same modus operandi, we were given short brief on ginseng and sales talk began n they kept on harassing us to buy their stuffs..all cost more than RM100....sigh
After the shop, we were taken to Kowloon Mosque as promised for our zohor n asar prayer before going to train station for our journey to Shenzen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Masjid_and_Islamic_Centre
The train journey is ok, typical...but the crossing over is another story...
After the train stops, we had to walk to an immigration control point (to depart from Hong Kong) then walk further to China side 9to enter China), then walk further (with heavy luggage), up the escalators, pass through shopping mall, up/down the stairs before reaching our bus! By the time we got to the bus everyone was panting..Not advisable for kids, sickly n elderly..
The China guide welcomed us, he speak fluent indonesian (speaks no english unlike our Hong Kong guide who is fluent in both English n Indonesian). He took us to a restaurant for dinner at Shenzhen Muslim Hotel Restaurant http://www.muslim-hotel.com/ Add:1023, Wenjin South Road, Luohu district, Shenzhen Phone:+86-755-82228207
Food? pretty good xinjiang food. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_Xinjiang
After dinner we were taken to Century Plaza Hotel http://www.centuryplazahotel-shenzhen.com/ - good location, near shopping area n train station. After freshen up zzzzzzz
Day 3 solat: Kowloon Mosque
Day 3 Purchase:
jade pendants x 2; jade Pixiu x 2; preserve strawberry (HKD320); Aberdeen sampan fare; photo; coke; Madamme Tussaud ticket (HKD135)
credit card: HKD3,300 (jade pendant)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixiu
Day 4
We had breakfast at the hotel, very small buffet selection - bread, buns, cakes, fried rice, boiled eggs, baked beans n sausages. Hmm the restaurant menu includes pork in its offer, so it is interesting to see these malaysian families wearing head scarves feeding sausages to their kids! They assumed the meat is halal since we are in muslim tour group!
Anyway, after breakfast again another slaughter house - jade shop, and then silk shop. Lunch was at another muslim restaurant (plenty in Shenzen) refer here
http://www.islamichina.com/halalfood/halalfoodbydistrict.asp?did=45
but same dishes.....
After lunch we were taken to The China Folk Culture Village http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Folk_Culture_Village but it rained heavily.. so after touring the area with monorail http://www.travel-hongkong-attractions.com/shenzhen-attractions.html we decided to skip the park and headed to Luohu Mall http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luohu_Commercial_City
monorail note - nothing much to see due to trees hampering views of whatever we were supposed to see..
After Luohu Mall - we were back at the hotel, freshen up n then off to dinner at another another muslim restaurant- again same dishes.....
after dinner, off to Dong Man market for more shopping; http://www.shopinshenzhen.com/tips.htm
Day 4 Solat: hotel
Day 4 Purchase:
prepaid card (Y150);gold bracelet x 1; uygur bread x 2 (Y6 x 2); snacks x 3; tea x 2; tram ticket x 1; t-shirt x 2 (Y69.50 x 2); handbag x 1; socks x 3 (Y10 x 3); Massage x 1 (Y79); bao fu ling x 2 (Y250 x 2); mini slow cooker (Y30); adaptor (Y65).
http://en.baofuling.com/
Day 5
B'fast at hotel n off to HK airport. Again 2 immigration posts to pass through, first China side (to depart), we had to remove all bags from the bus, carried through China immigration, then reloaded into a bus then 1 minute bus ride away we reached Hong Kong immigration side, same thing, removed bags, carried through immigration post and reloaded bags into the bus....sigh
Ohhh...again the 8 Muhammad and Ahmad were detained by Hong Kong immigration, after more than 30minutes, they were let go...
We missed breakfast at the hotel so we had our brunch at Hk airport at Popeye http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/dining/images/gp_pdf_hala.pdf
Day 5 Solat: Hong Kong Airport (wudhu at the toilet; solat at secluded corner of boarding area).
Day 5 Purchase:
Jade bracelets x 5 (HKD100); fridge magnets x 10; crystal bracelet x 1; popeye meal x 1 (coke x HKD2; fries x HKD4; 6pc wings x HKD54); loacker x HKD26.90; choc cookies x HKD23.90; paco rabanne perfume x RM230.00
Total cash expenses in Shenzen = Yuan 3,058.00
Total cash expenses in Hong Kong = HKD2,266.00
TOTAL SPENT: RM3,900 + RM2,629 = RM6,520.00
Comment:
It is easy to find halal food in both Hong Kong and Shenzen, it is more enjoyable if you opt for free and easy trip. With a group, you waste a lot of time waiting for everyone to gather and you are forced to go to places which you don't fancy and you have to hurry at the places that you enjoy and prefer to linger..
Tiring trip; still very tired on Monday. I was at work but others took leave..
I just got back from Hong Kong & Shenzen last Sunday. I was there for 5D/4N with my family and we were there with other tour group members (we joined Reliance tour group http://www.tourworld.com.my/pdf/hong_kong/riang_ria/MHS_MHD_28122009.pdf )
Cost/adult: RM2,629.00 (return flight, accommodation, food, disney pass, transport (tram, train, bus) including airport tax 340.00; visa 90.00; tipping 80.00)
We rented a van to/fro KLIA/Jln U-Thant, cost us RM380 (RM190 per trip).
Day 1
We arrived at the HK airport as scheduled, after passing the immigration counters, the group waited for everyone to gather but 8 were missing! They were detained by the immigration department! All those with Muhammad or Ahmad in their names (including my nephew). We waited for almost an hour! While waiting we went to buy water, prepaid card at the airport. Guess what a piece of sweets which sells for RM0.20 for 3pcs in KL cost? HKD1...the IDD prepaid card? HKD60..http://www.2cardphone.com/prod_detail.asp?fid=201&id=819&sjcard_id=
Finally all those Muhammads & Ahmads were released and we proceeded to Prudential Hotel. On the way to the hotel we were amazed at Hong Kong's busy port and tall tiny apartments...(We stayed at Prudential Hotel located at Nathan Road http://www.prudentialhotel.com/
Excellent location with MTR station close by but the hotel is located above a shopping complex (looks like Sungai Wang to me)..)
No meals were provided by the programme on day 1; so my sis & sis-in-law cooked dishes (beef with soy sauce (daging masak kicap), rendang, sambal ikan bilis and rice. They also brought with them plenty other food - cucumber (timun), chinese turnip (sengkuang) n pecal sauce; instant noodles, snacks etc. They packed them carefully and our dinner on day 1 was excellent :-)
After dinner, we freshened up and started checking out the area around the hotel. I went to a shop and asked a girl to help me translating the chinese characters on my phone but before I can say anything more than 'can you help me...' she abruptly cut me off by saying NO! How rude!!
Anyway, we walked around Nathan Road, Jordan Road then it started pouring..my sis bought a windbreaker so that we could go back to the hotel without her 3-yr old son getting wet (he was whining that he wanted to go back to hotel)..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Road
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Road,_Hong_Kong
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Street,_Hong_Kong
We got back to the hotel, showered again and zzzzzz
Day 1 Solat: hotel
Day 1 Purchase:
water (HKD11); prepaid card (HKD60); kitkat; coke (regular n lemon)
Day 2
We had halal dim sum for breakfast at Osman Ramju Sadick Islamic Centre
http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/none/halal-dim-sum-212805
After b'fast? DISNEYLAND!!
We were told there's no halal food inside Disneyland, so my sis packed dim sum from the canteen as our lunch, the operator said with his halal sticker, Disney will allow us to bring the food in, we asked the guard (they checked your bag before letting you in) and he told us to leave the food with customers' service office and collect them later when we want to have our lunch.
Disneyland - small compared to the one in Orlando http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/?resultSet=165page=2 (of course) but the system is much improved, they have fast lane access where you you book your entrance (using your entry ticket and machine), so you book your entry for popular rides, walk around and come back without the need to queue for long period of time. When I was in Florida we wasted time on queuing...
Parks - a fraction of what is on offer in Orlando - Hong Kong offers Main Street, U.S.A. , Adventureland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.
n of course it is a bit weird that many Disney characters are mostly asians..ha ha..
Anyway, since it is very small one can try all the rides n watch all shows in 1 day..
Food wise - nothing interesting - typical American fast food...
Apart from the rides n shows of course one can shop for souvenirs base on Disney characters - I bought plenty of key chains and mugs...
Before we left we watched fireworks - interesting!! When I was in Florida, everyone watched the show by standing up but here most people just sat on the ground...:-) very Asian and very considerate for the shorties..
http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com/hkdl/en_US/home/home?name=HomePage
ohh if you wish to perform your solat, Disney is very considerate, just go to emergency aid centre, tell the staffs you want to pray and they'll allocate a room for you. Just remember to bring your own praying gear (praying mat, telekung, compass)
Back at the hotel we were all very tired, everyone decided to stay in and had dinner in the room (Brahim http://www.brahimsfood.com/products.html ,maggi http://www.maggi.com.my/); But my nephew & I decided to venture out to Temple Street n try out local street food. We went to Ah Long Pakistani Halal Food (95B G/F, Woosung Street, Jordan Road;T: 23677489); recommended by our tour guide. We had rice n curry (he had chicken n I had beef) n coke. A bit weird as in M'sia we will have more than 1 dish for such meal (vegetable, n at least 2 dishes)...anyway, hot food tasted really good as we were hungry n tired..Price? RM32++..including 2 packs of plain rice for my nephew n brother. Then we went next door to Delhi restaurant to buy kebab for my sis. Price - RM30-RM40. Plenty of halal restaurants in this area.
http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/dining/images/gp_pdf_hala.pdf
After dinner? zzzzzzzz
Day 2 solat: emergency aid room Disneyland
Day 2 Purchase:
Mugs x 3; photos; keychain x 3; cookies x 1; ice cream x 2; juice x 2; watches x 2; crayons x 1;
Day 3
We had breakfast halal dim sum at Osman Ramju Sadick Islamic Centre again..on first day we finished almost everything. Today? We got a bit jelak (tired) of the food and plenty was left wasted.
After breakfast we were taken to a jewelery factory (more like herd of cattle were led to be slaughtered) http://valdezfamilyinbangkok.blogspot.com/2009/05/hong-kong-macau-jewelry-factory.html I can't remember the shop name and my receipt is in chinese...
next off to Repulse bay (30min) to post with Jacky Chan's house on the background...; before that we were taken to Aberdeen harbour - basically we were shoved into a sampan, once in, the operator asked us for money! money! She took us around the harbour - passing through jumbo floating restaurant, boat houses, yatchs n back to the jetty.
http://www.jumbo.com.hk/eng/main.php
Then back to Osman Ramju Sadick Islamic Centre for lunch (http://www.islam.org.hk/eng/E-HKmosque.asp); good food but were still full from our breakfast n again lots of wasted food.
Next off to The Peak by tram, lots of people at the station it seems it was Hong Kong's public holiday (Buddha’s Birthday and Cheung Chau Bun Festival). Atop the peak? a shopping mall! also one can visit Madame Tussaud, again smaller than the one in London http://www.madametussauds.com/
After The Peak, the guide told us that we'll stop at Ginseng shop next before proceeding to train station for our Shenzen trip. We asked him what time are we supposed to reach Shenzen n he mentioned abt 6.30pm or so; we told him that we need to pray (zohor/asar) first as it will be too late by the time we reach Shenzen. He looked puzzle (he's not a muslim) as it is not in his programme (of course ginseng shop must be in his itinerary for his commission), we suggested we can pray at the ginseng shop or at the train station but he said both places are not suitable. He suggested that we pray in the bus! I guess we can, if we are desperate but surely there's other option? Finally he discussed with the bus driver and he suggested Kowloon Mosque! Wow! genius....see if you speak out, people will surprise you...
Since he needs his commission, of course he led us to another slaughter house - ginseng shop, same modus operandi, we were given short brief on ginseng and sales talk began n they kept on harassing us to buy their stuffs..all cost more than RM100....sigh
After the shop, we were taken to Kowloon Mosque as promised for our zohor n asar prayer before going to train station for our journey to Shenzen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Masjid_and_Islamic_Centre
The train journey is ok, typical...but the crossing over is another story...
After the train stops, we had to walk to an immigration control point (to depart from Hong Kong) then walk further to China side 9to enter China), then walk further (with heavy luggage), up the escalators, pass through shopping mall, up/down the stairs before reaching our bus! By the time we got to the bus everyone was panting..Not advisable for kids, sickly n elderly..
The China guide welcomed us, he speak fluent indonesian (speaks no english unlike our Hong Kong guide who is fluent in both English n Indonesian). He took us to a restaurant for dinner at Shenzhen Muslim Hotel Restaurant http://www.muslim-hotel.com/ Add:1023, Wenjin South Road, Luohu district, Shenzhen Phone:+86-755-82228207
Food? pretty good xinjiang food. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_Xinjiang
After dinner we were taken to Century Plaza Hotel http://www.centuryplazahotel-shenzhen.com/ - good location, near shopping area n train station. After freshen up zzzzzzz
Day 3 solat: Kowloon Mosque
Day 3 Purchase:
jade pendants x 2; jade Pixiu x 2; preserve strawberry (HKD320); Aberdeen sampan fare; photo; coke; Madamme Tussaud ticket (HKD135)
credit card: HKD3,300 (jade pendant)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixiu
Day 4
We had breakfast at the hotel, very small buffet selection - bread, buns, cakes, fried rice, boiled eggs, baked beans n sausages. Hmm the restaurant menu includes pork in its offer, so it is interesting to see these malaysian families wearing head scarves feeding sausages to their kids! They assumed the meat is halal since we are in muslim tour group!
Anyway, after breakfast again another slaughter house - jade shop, and then silk shop. Lunch was at another muslim restaurant (plenty in Shenzen) refer here
http://www.islamichina.com/halalfood/halalfoodbydistrict.asp?did=45
but same dishes.....
After lunch we were taken to The China Folk Culture Village http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Folk_Culture_Village but it rained heavily.. so after touring the area with monorail http://www.travel-hongkong-attractions.com/shenzhen-attractions.html we decided to skip the park and headed to Luohu Mall http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luohu_Commercial_City
monorail note - nothing much to see due to trees hampering views of whatever we were supposed to see..
After Luohu Mall - we were back at the hotel, freshen up n then off to dinner at another another muslim restaurant- again same dishes.....
after dinner, off to Dong Man market for more shopping; http://www.shopinshenzhen.com/tips.htm
Day 4 Solat: hotel
Day 4 Purchase:
prepaid card (Y150);gold bracelet x 1; uygur bread x 2 (Y6 x 2); snacks x 3; tea x 2; tram ticket x 1; t-shirt x 2 (Y69.50 x 2); handbag x 1; socks x 3 (Y10 x 3); Massage x 1 (Y79); bao fu ling x 2 (Y250 x 2); mini slow cooker (Y30); adaptor (Y65).
http://en.baofuling.com/
Day 5
B'fast at hotel n off to HK airport. Again 2 immigration posts to pass through, first China side (to depart), we had to remove all bags from the bus, carried through China immigration, then reloaded into a bus then 1 minute bus ride away we reached Hong Kong immigration side, same thing, removed bags, carried through immigration post and reloaded bags into the bus....sigh
Ohhh...again the 8 Muhammad and Ahmad were detained by Hong Kong immigration, after more than 30minutes, they were let go...
We missed breakfast at the hotel so we had our brunch at Hk airport at Popeye http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/dining/images/gp_pdf_hala.pdf
Day 5 Solat: Hong Kong Airport (wudhu at the toilet; solat at secluded corner of boarding area).
Day 5 Purchase:
Jade bracelets x 5 (HKD100); fridge magnets x 10; crystal bracelet x 1; popeye meal x 1 (coke x HKD2; fries x HKD4; 6pc wings x HKD54); loacker x HKD26.90; choc cookies x HKD23.90; paco rabanne perfume x RM230.00
Total cash expenses in Shenzen = Yuan 3,058.00
Total cash expenses in Hong Kong = HKD2,266.00
TOTAL SPENT: RM3,900 + RM2,629 = RM6,520.00
Comment:
It is easy to find halal food in both Hong Kong and Shenzen, it is more enjoyable if you opt for free and easy trip. With a group, you waste a lot of time waiting for everyone to gather and you are forced to go to places which you don't fancy and you have to hurry at the places that you enjoy and prefer to linger..
Tiring trip; still very tired on Monday. I was at work but others took leave..
Sunday, 2 May 2010
Halal Restaurant in Port Dickson
My sis had a seminar (organized by her office) at Thistle PD. She wanted to bring her son along but as she'll be busy all day, she asked us (me, my 2 nephews n niece) if we want to come along. Hmm..short weekend break? Why not..
My sis was a designated driver, so she left early Saturday morning with her colleagues. I left later (after office hour) with the troop. When we reached PD, my nephew played with my car window (back window) and it was stuck. We stopped by at a workshop and the mechanic help to close it but he told me that it will stay close as it will take him some time to fix it. He advised me to take it to a workshop in KL later for proper repair.
We reached Thistle about 4pm and it was really hot. My nephew wanted to swim but we have to wait till later in the evening.
Thistle is a nice hotel (formerly Guoman Resort), everything is new except bathroom fittings (I guess they burst their renovation budget).....I like the hotel as it family oriented n very comfortable with plenty of facilities - pool, children playing area, library etc...
But, since it was quite new when we visited the place, they were not ready for huge crowd, it was chaotic during breakfast. They ran out of clean coffee cups (we had to use bowls for our coffee), the trainees waitresses/waiters were very inefficient (caused many guests to lose tempers)....a part from that, I enjoyed my stay here.
Dinner? before the trip I surfed the net on where to eat good seafood, found 2 places, one is Weng Yin Seafood Restaurant and the other is Restoran Chardin Seaview; we decided to go to Weng Yin as it is near Thistle while my sister joined her colleagues at Chardin Seaview.
We enjoyed our seafood dinner - we had soy sauce fish (forgotten what fish we ordered), butter prawn, Kam heong bamboo clams and vegetable...Definitely will visit this place again if we go to PD again.
What others said about Weng Yin (pork free):
http://j-travel.blogspot.com/2010/01/weng-yin-seafood-restaurant-at-port.html
http://www.portdickson.net/pages/wengyinseafood
http://stevenhavingfun.blogspot.com/2008/09/restaurant-in-port-dickson-weng-yin.html
http://www.usj.com.my/bulletin/upload/archive/index.php/t-10408.html
http://www.malaysianbabes.net/forum/index.php?/topic/6990-any-food-to-recomend-in-port-dickson/
http://www.friedchillies.com/index.php/forums/viewthread/3179/
What other said about Chardin (pork free)
http://joshuaongys.com/2009/11/restaurant-chardin-sea-view-seafood-village-port-dickson/
http://lifeofcontinues.blogspot.com/2009/02/restaurant-chardin-sea-view-port.html
http://kadusmama.com/2008/06/lobster-crab-geoduck-any-for-you.html
Read what others said about Thistle Hotel here:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g303991-d1473370-Reviews-Thistle_Port_Dickson-Port_Dickson_Negeri_Sembilan.html
http://www.thistle.com/hotels/malaysia/port_dickson/thistle_port_dickson/index.html
Other nice hotels in PD:
http://babytaz38.blogspot.com/2007/01/destination-port-dickson-malaysia.html
http://khongfamily.com/blog/?p=318
http://www.cuti.com.my/hotel/info.php?id=2782&hotel=Avillion+Admiral+Cove
http://www.kuali.com/news/story.asp?file=/2009/11/4/eatingout/5013840&sec=eatingout
My sis was a designated driver, so she left early Saturday morning with her colleagues. I left later (after office hour) with the troop. When we reached PD, my nephew played with my car window (back window) and it was stuck. We stopped by at a workshop and the mechanic help to close it but he told me that it will stay close as it will take him some time to fix it. He advised me to take it to a workshop in KL later for proper repair.
We reached Thistle about 4pm and it was really hot. My nephew wanted to swim but we have to wait till later in the evening.
Thistle is a nice hotel (formerly Guoman Resort), everything is new except bathroom fittings (I guess they burst their renovation budget).....I like the hotel as it family oriented n very comfortable with plenty of facilities - pool, children playing area, library etc...
But, since it was quite new when we visited the place, they were not ready for huge crowd, it was chaotic during breakfast. They ran out of clean coffee cups (we had to use bowls for our coffee), the trainees waitresses/waiters were very inefficient (caused many guests to lose tempers)....a part from that, I enjoyed my stay here.
Dinner? before the trip I surfed the net on where to eat good seafood, found 2 places, one is Weng Yin Seafood Restaurant and the other is Restoran Chardin Seaview; we decided to go to Weng Yin as it is near Thistle while my sister joined her colleagues at Chardin Seaview.
We enjoyed our seafood dinner - we had soy sauce fish (forgotten what fish we ordered), butter prawn, Kam heong bamboo clams and vegetable...Definitely will visit this place again if we go to PD again.
What others said about Weng Yin (pork free):
http://j-travel.blogspot.com/2010/01/weng-yin-seafood-restaurant-at-port.html
http://www.portdickson.net/pages/wengyinseafood
http://stevenhavingfun.blogspot.com/2008/09/restaurant-in-port-dickson-weng-yin.html
http://www.usj.com.my/bulletin/upload/archive/index.php/t-10408.html
http://www.malaysianbabes.net/forum/index.php?/topic/6990-any-food-to-recomend-in-port-dickson/
http://www.friedchillies.com/index.php/forums/viewthread/3179/
What other said about Chardin (pork free)
http://joshuaongys.com/2009/11/restaurant-chardin-sea-view-seafood-village-port-dickson/
http://lifeofcontinues.blogspot.com/2009/02/restaurant-chardin-sea-view-port.html
http://kadusmama.com/2008/06/lobster-crab-geoduck-any-for-you.html
Read what others said about Thistle Hotel here:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g303991-d1473370-Reviews-Thistle_Port_Dickson-Port_Dickson_Negeri_Sembilan.html
http://www.thistle.com/hotels/malaysia/port_dickson/thistle_port_dickson/index.html
Other nice hotels in PD:
http://babytaz38.blogspot.com/2007/01/destination-port-dickson-malaysia.html
http://khongfamily.com/blog/?p=318
http://www.cuti.com.my/hotel/info.php?id=2782&hotel=Avillion+Admiral+Cove
http://www.kuali.com/news/story.asp?file=/2009/11/4/eatingout/5013840&sec=eatingout
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