Final day in Hong Kong=Eat all the food! [YQrtw Day 130 Aug 18]

Location: Hong Kong

[I am now blogging at Hong Kong International Airport. I’ve managed to misplace my camera (as well as break my glasses). I dislike posts with no photos so I’ll be recycling some of my Twitter photos of the day. That also means there’s only photo of food. Boo.]

Like yesterday, I woke up at an ungodly hour. However, I’ve made improvements with my jetlag and today wake-up time was 4am instead of 2am.

After posting my posts and a bit of Facebook games, I packed my suitcase for the final time. Since I only bought 20kg with AirAsia this time, I had to strategize my packing.

I packed most of the liquids into my suitcase and other lighter things such as clothes into my backpack. If I discover that the suitcase is overweight, Ill transfer some of the things to my backpack. If the suitcase is underweight, I’ll toss my backpack into my check in quota.

After everything was ready, I head out for breakfast. There wasn’t much choice around before 8am so I went back to the porridge place and got their signature dish as well as a “spring roll”. That meal was actually for 1.5 persons but I didn’t have dinner last night so let’s all forgive me for being a glutton.

After breakfast, I walked around the area, thinking up places to visit. Sadly, the shops weren’t open so I did the next best thing: Eat more food.

Next on my list was the egg tart from the cafe in Excelsior hotel. I had them on the first day and the memories of the flaky pastry is still in my mind. Plus, they have a coffee and egg tarts set. I’ve not had coffee for three days.

After coffee and desserts, I needed to pass time before check out time. As usual, I opt for the most comfortable way of sightseeing–public transportation! I took the tram from Causeway Bay to one of the terminals and back to the same place.

While I was on the tram, my sister helped research things I could eat nearby. One of her finds were a “bolo bun” place which I noted on Foursquare.

I got back to the hostel and checked out. Since the reception area was in another building, I had to drag all my things there. The landlady allowed me to leave my things before my bus to the airport.

Now that checkout is done, it’s time for more food. My stomach couldn’t handle a full meal so I head to the “bolo bun” place with the aid of Foursquare.

Despite the name “bolo”, meaning pineapple in Cantonese, the bun does not contain any pineapple. It’s supposedly in the shape of a pineapple, thus the name.

After the meal, I still have about 2.5 hours to waste. I decided to take the tram to Happy Valley where the horse race tracks are. Coincidentally, this is where a few foot massage shops are (according to Foursquare, again).

I found the recommended foot massage place and sat for 50 minute of good-painful massage. The masseuse kneaded my foot like it was dough. While slapping my lower leg, he even commented that it was very stiff. Four months of travelling does bring stiff legs.

After the massage, it was about time for me to head back to the hostel and to the airport. Before I went to get my luggage, I checked out a few skincare shops (Watson and Sasa) to find something my sister requested.

There wasn’t any of what she wanted but I managed to buy something I want. I was thinking that I was losing interest in skincare since I’ve been doing the very basic while travelling. Thankfully I still have the urge to buy things. Long live consumerism!

To the airport

Near the hostel, there’s a bus stop where the direct bus to the airport stops. After bidding the landlady farewell, I dragged all my things and waited.

The bus arrived and there weren’t a lot of people. However, more people boarded at subsequent stops and the luggage storage place was crammed full of luggage.

The bus passed the sides of central Hong Kong, went into the underground tunnel and then the bridge to Lantau Island where the airport is. From the bus, I saw shops, mountains, cable cars and the road sign to Disney Land.

Pretty soon, we reached the airport. I dragged my stuff with me to Terminal 1 for a bit of shopping. I did get one bag which will replace my current slingbag for my future travels (in September!). It was a lot pricier than I expected but I really need one as the current is breaking at the seams.

Next was to Terminal 2 where my check in counter was. There was a free-to-use weigh so I checked to see if my bags were under 20kg. The total weight wasn’t so I had to do a bit more shifting before I got the weight undercontrol.

I checked in and went to the bathroom. I managed to break my glasses. I also discovered that I couldn’t find my camera after I got into the boarding area. Thank goodness all these happened on the last day!

A break for now

After today’s post, I’m taking a 2-week break from blogging to recharge and to find a stable internet connection (my parents cancelled the home phone line so no broadband for us).

If you miss my posts (aww shucks), please do go back and read the old posts.

Around the world with The Overexposed Model

There’s a side of me on the internet that I’ve not shared on YQ Travelling, until today.

Back in December 2012 when I was in Singapore, I created a Tumblr called The Overexposed Model (OEM) to record ads which I’ve come across that feature an ambiguously raced young lady.

The tumblr was actually a follow up of a blog with a similar goal. The blog was called The Overexposed Big Mouth Model but it disappeared when I was trying to submit my sightings.

Since OEM was in so many ads as the generic smiling women, I thought it was fun to chronicle my discoveries. I shared the blog link with a few friends but I mostly kept it as a semi-private collection.

Then one day, a freelancer from the Phillipines asked if he could interview me about the blog as part of a feature on the model. I can now honestly say that I was in Esquire Philippines (or something like that), however not as a bikini model.

In March, the Singapore media ran out of story ideas and featured The Overexposed Model in various print and web outlets. Some readers started submitting their own sightings of OEM to the tumblr. I put those up too.

Naively, I thought that the tumblr will hibernate while I go on my four-month journey. I still keep seeing OEM.

In the beginning, it was fun spotting OEM but now it feels kind of like a nightmare. Each time I see her, there’s less giddy surprise and more “NOT AGAIN!” Of course, I still obediently take out my camera and snap her photos.

Overexposed Model in Malaysia

OEM selling ulcer medication in Sabah, Malaysia.

My first overseas sighting of OEM was back home in Sabah in a clinic. She was in a ulcer medication ad.

Overexposed Model in Greece

Overexposed Model in an optician ad in Athens, Greece.

In Greece, I found OEM hawking glasses in Athens.

Overexposed Model in Argentina

Overexposed Model in Buenos Aires airport

I thought I was safe from OEM but I found her at Buenos Aires airport, selling some sort of travel card.

Overexposed Model in Peru

Overexposed Model on Cruz del Sur website.

I found her on a bus company’s website, ready to go for an unplanned weekend travel.

Overexposed Model in a clinic ad in Arequipa, Peru.

In Arequipa, in a lonely building, I found her in a life size printout. I thought I should stand next to her to prove that I spotted her.

Overexposed Model in the papers in Peru.

Then I saw her again in the papers.

Overexposed Model in San Salvador

Overexposed Model in a pharmacy ad in San Salvador

When I was out window shopping, I saw her outside a supermarket.

I don’t think I will ever get used to seeing OEM in an ad. It’s funny how she’s featured in so many different countries. Does her looks makes her the everyday person of the countries she’s been featured?

Have you seen the Overexposed Model? Share where you’ve seen her in the comments below.

#FoodFriday Samsui Ginger Chicken in Singapore

My favorite meat is chicken so I want to introduce a chicken dish for today’s Food Friday: Samsui Ginger Chicken.

The chicken is served cold (versus steaming hot). You can wrap the chicken inside a sheet of cabbage, dip it into ginger sauce before eating it. (I would prefer inhaling the whole large plate of chicken.)

The chicken is slightly oily but very soft. The chicken skin melts in your mouth too.

Samsui Ginger Chicken from Singapore's Soup Restaurant — Samsui Ginger Chicken from Singapore’s Soup Restaurant

Soup Restaurant explains what is Samsui Ginger Chicken:

A traditional Samsui dish consumed by the Samsui women in Chinatown. Due to their low income, the Samsui Ginger Chicken was only consumed once a year, during the Chinese New Year. Chicken was steamed without much seasoning after which, dipped in ginger sauce before consumption. The ginger sauce is a fragrant and tasty compliment to the chicken. Ginger and sesame oil, as believed by the Chinese, removes excess wind from the body. You may wrap the chicken in lettuce to achieve that crunch when you bite into the popular Samsui Ginger Chicken.

I suspect this dish was an invention, and not really a Samsui dish. Or it could that the restaurant hyped up the dish.

The price of Samsui Ginger Chicken at Soup Restaurant is a little expensive for what is simply steamed chicken.

Do note that the Samsui women were real people in history and they played important role in the literal “building of Singapore”. The wiki for Samsui Women has a very good explanation of who they were.

Glutton in east coast of Peninsula Malaysia

Food in east coast Peninsula Malaysia keropok lekor, tapai, nasi kerabu, patin

D and I visited the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia during a 5-day trip in March. We crossed out Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan (again) off our list of 13 Malaysian states.

Five days is a lot of food so I will only be highlighting some of the best yummies we had.

Glutton in Kuantan, Pahang

We visited only Kuantan while in Pahang. On our first day, we visited the famous Akob Patin House which was (almost) right behind our hotel.

The Malay eatery is a medium standalone stall/house. It serves ready-cooked food for customers to scoop into their own plates.

The most famous dish there is their patin fish. I got a small piece cooked in tempoyak (fermented durian). The fish melted in my mouth but the fermented durian tasted strange (sort of like stinky tofu in Taiwan).

D found something strange in her plate of mixed rice. The strange food looked like a sliced cucumber but was mushy. Then D discovered that it was green durian cooked in curry. BANANA COOKED IN ITS SKIN!!

For dessert, there was tapai which was sticky glutinous rice wrapped in leaf. Sticky liquid dripped out. It turned out to be rice wine which was really strong and hit me in the head. BAM.

Find Akob Patin House: Tapak PCCL Jalan Besar 25000 Kuantan Pahang

Glutton in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu

In Chinatown of Kuala Terengganu, Madam Bee’s Kitchen serves peranakan food. D and I head there for a late lunch and tea on different days.

Some of the items on the menu were not available that day (watch out for the orange round sticker!)

The food was tasty but very down-to-earth. The menu did not have fancy peranakan food such as buah keluak or kong ba pao.

Find Madam Bee’s Kitchen: 177 Jalan Kampung Cina, Kuala Terengganu 21100, Malaysia

D and I stumbled upon Warung Pak Aziz while looking for breakfast in Kuala Terengganu. (McDonalds was not open until 9am!)

This little stall was in the middle of a carpark, next to office buildings. All the patrons looked like office people and we were the odd one out.

The best food here was the keropok lekor which was a deep fried fish cake. (I usually think of keropok as being thin.)

The owner, Pak Aziz, was delighted that D wanted to have another serving of keropok lekor. (Yes, I ate a lot of them too.)

Warung Pak Aziz address on Foursquare: Parking Kotitab

Glutton in Kota Bahru, Kelantan

Right opposite our hotel in Kota Bahru was a 24-hour hawker center. For our late-late-lunch, we had martabak and nasi air.

Martabak is a pancake-like dish with great filling. I had beef with mine.

Nasi air was a new discovery for D and I. It’s an interesting porridge-like bowl of rice and soup. The rice always seem to be in an interesting lump, instead of the watery grains found in Chinese cooking.

Have you had any of these dishes?

FAQ Tips on taking train from Singapore to Malaysia

The person didn't give me permission to take the photo so I gave him sunglasses.

The original post Tips on taking train from Singapore to Malaysia brings the most search traffic to my post. It’s been more than a year since the post went up and thanks for your support.

Besides encouraging comments, I’ve also gotten A LOT of questions about this particular train route. Some questions were stuff I didn’t think about when I was writing the post while others were questions about stuff I’ve already mentioned in the post (this drives me nuts).

Instead of answering the repeated Qs, I’ve gathered the questions here.

1. Where can I book train tickets from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur?
2. My online booking didn’t go through. HELP!
3. I picked Kuala Lumpur as my destination, why isn’t there a night train?
4. Is it safe to travel on the Malaysian train?
5. How do I get to [location in Singapore]?
6. Where do I board the train at Johor?
7. Is there food at JB train station? (No one asked me this, actually.)
8. On the online booking, If I am coming to Singapore, which KTM train stop should I stop?
9. How do I get to JB’s train station from the rest of Singapore?
10. How much is the price of bed/seat/chamber/narnia’s closet?
11. How do I get to Bangkok on train?
12. Hey! Your post is about Singapore to Malaysia. But I’m in Malaysia, how do I get to Singapore by train?
13. Do they still give blankets for the common carriage?
14. I need to get to [location in Malaysia], can you help?

FAQ begins here! I hate the formatting too!

1. Where can I book train tickets from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur?
If you are booking online, the link is https://intranet.ktmb.com.my/e-ticket/Login.aspx Sign up for an account and you can check past reservations.
You can also visit the train stations to buy the tickets but I don’t recommend doing that for night trains.

2. My online booking didn’t go through. HELP!
Check your bookings in your account. I’m not sure what the phone number for KTMB is.

3. I picked Kuala Lumpur as my destination, why isn’t there a night train?
Pick Sentral Kuala Lumpur, not Kuala Lumpur (which is one stop after KL Sentral).

4. Is it safe to travel on the Malaysian train?
Have you watched too many wild wild west movies? I don’t think there are any robbers ambushing the trains. It’s safe.

5. How do I get to [location in Singapore]?
Check out http://gothere.sg/ or https://maps.google.com.sg/.

6. Where do I board the train at Johor?
Johor train station. Map here (click to enlarge):

7. Is there food at JB train station? (No one asked me this, actually.)
There is a 24-hour KFC. A Starbucks is open until 10pm (I think).

8. On the online booking, If I am coming to Singapore, which KTM train stop should I stop?
Pick Woodlands. This isn’t the Woodlands MRT, it’s a KTM train station near Woodlands MRT.

9. How do I get to JB’s train station from the rest of Singapore?
If you are at Bugis, you can head to the Queen Street terminal where there are buses to JB. There are also Causeway Link buses to JB from Kranji and Newton.

* Woodlands train station is at the checkpoint. It is different from Woodlands MRT.

10. How much is the price of bed/seat/chamber/narnia’s closet?
It’s best to check directly on the site. https://intranet.ktmb.com.my/e-ticket/Login.aspx

11.How do I get to Bangkok on train?
I’ve never taken the train from Singapore to Bangkok (but it’s on my wish list!) So check out the wonderful Seat61: http://www.seat61.com/Malaysia.htm#Singapore_-_Kuala_Lumpur_-_Penang_-_Bangkok

12. Hey! Your post is about Singapore to Malaysia. But I’m in Malaysia, how do I get to Singapore by train?

Just reverse engineer my tips for Singapore to KL. Pick Sentral Kuala Lumpur as your starting point and Woodlands as your destination.

13. Do they still give blankets for the common carriage?

They didn’t have the thin sheet the last time I was on the morning sleeper to Singapore.

14. I need to get to [location in Malaysia], can you help?

Unfortunately, I come from Sabah so I am clueless about travelling in Peninsula Malaysia (unless I did research on it for a trip). Please check out the rest of the internet.

Glutton in Singapore

Best iced kopi I've had in Singapore. At Koufu Sengkang Sculpture Park

It’s funny how I’ve been in Singapore for so long but I have not had a Glutton post on the food here.

Since I’m leaving Singapore next week for the world, I thought it would be apt to have a post on food in Singapore, especially food that I love.

To be honest, food in Malaysia (especially those served at dingy restaurants) are a lot tastier than food in Singapore.

In Singapore, I usually eat at food courts where the cook is someone hired to put everything together and get it out of the stove as quickly as possible. This leads to disappointing meals.

Why don’t I go to nice places with nice food? Well, I don’t have a car and I don’t want to pay too much money for nice food. However, I have been having a lot of nice food this week as part of my many farewell parties.

Anyway, here are a few dishes and food places which I will miss if I leave Singapore:

Chicken rice

When my friends were organizing a farewell party, one asked what food I would miss from Singapore. It took me a while to think about which dish but in the end, I chose “chicken rice”.

When I was a kid, there was a chicken rice branch called Singapore Chicken Rice. I loved that place. The chicken was tender and the soup that they served always had bits of chicken feet and vegetables.

While there are famous chicken rice stalls in Singapore, most of the time I just have it at a regular food court. The chicken rice comes with a bowl of rice decanted onto the plate and a few bits of chicken. That said, it’s one of the cheaper (less than $4) dishes around so I go for it frequently.

Kopi

I love coffee. Even though local coffee in Singapore and Malaysia are served similarly with condensed milk, I like how easy it is to just get a papercup of kopi to go.

In Malaysia where I live, I usually have kopi when I am out at the kopitiam, not as a pick me up in the late afternoon.

Mee hoon kueh

A stall at Compass Point serves really good mee hoon kueh. It’s a noodle dish where the noodles are flat and squarish.

Ayam Penyet or ayam anything!

Near my old workplace, there was a Malay stall which served ayam penyet (fried chicken hammered flat and served with rice) every Tuesday and Thursday. I loved that place but having fried chicken almost every week wasn’t such a good idea.

Eateries I will miss:

Saizeriya

Saizeriya is a Japanese-Italian family restaurant. The food is quite cheap for a restaurant environment. If you pay a few dollars extra, you can have unlimited drinks from the drink bar. I love drinking non-alcoholic drinks as much as eating.

I usually go to Saizeriya with friends and we chat over our glasses and glasses of cordial orange. I don’t have a favorite dish there but I do like their seaweed.

Check out the list of Saizeriya branches.

Botak Jones

Botak Jones have branches serving affordable Southern US food. When I was in university (that was 4 years ago?), their portions were crazy large (or what is considered normal-sized in the US) with fries that spill over the table if you accidentally bumped into a plate.

Now, the size has shrunk but I do like their cajun chicken. I had a Botak Jones branch near my old workplace and I usually pick that spot for online dates (less walking for me).

What is your favorite food in Singapore? Share them in the comments below.

#FoodFriday Malay food

Had a lovely feast of Malay food this week.

Too many stairs at Batu Caves

I finally crossed out Selangor on my Visit Malaysia list during February when I also visited Genting Highlands.

From Genting Highland’s cable car station, there is a bus to Gombak which is the nearest stop to Batu Caves. We caught a RM10 cab to Batu Caves. The driver was reluctant to drop us directly in front of the entrance so we had to cross the jammed streets.

The sun was blazing hot when we got to the entrance. The steep stairs to the main caves looked daunting. But since we were there, we had to trek up.

Before climbing the stairs, Lilian said her colleagues teased her for not visiting Batu Caves during Thaipusam. I gave her a look of horror. I do not want to be caught with the Thaipusam crowd of (an estimated) 1.3 million people.

I had wanted to count the 272 steps while I climbed. However, at halfway of the journey, my mind gave up and concentrated on breathing instead.

While we paused for breath, we saw many devotees with freshly shaved heads (is that the right description?). There were also those with tins of chilled milk carried on the top of their heads.

As soon as we reached the top, I requested that we stay on the spot and catch our breath. We were still carrying our backpacks from Genting Highland, so my felt like it was going to snap in half

After catching our breath, we checked out the Dark Caves. We were too stingy to pay for the 3-hour tour so we sat at the benches watching monkeys.

The monkeys at Batu Caves were not afraid of humans. One even slapped the water bottle out of a tourist’s hand and drank it like a human. Another monkey lapped up spilled water.

We also saw monkeys ignoring offerings of bananas and choosing cakes instead. I’m not sure how that would affect its diet. Are monkeys (or even humans) supposed to eat sugared cakes?

After all that resting, it was time to leave. Getting down 272 steps is easier than going up but we still had to wave through a sea of tourists. Help!

Nitty Gritty

Nearest station: Batu Caves Komuter station

Have you been to Batu Caves?

Heading to Malaysia’s East Coast

It’s been more than a year since I made the promise to visit all 13 Malaysian states. Now, I have only two states to conquer.

Can you believe it? I didn’t really think it was possible when I made the goals but here we are with only Pahang and Terengganu left on the list.

Good news is, I’ll be crossing out these two states very soon. D and I have made plans to head to the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia and visit the towns in the two states.

Next Friday night, I’ll be taking a night bus to Kuantan. The rest of the plans have not been confirmed but our general plan is to head to Kuala Terrenganu and back to Kota Bahru.

From Kota Bahru, we will take a morning train back to Singapore. The train route is known as the Jungle Line and has a great view. I’m looking forward to the magnificent view but not the 14 hour train ride on a seat.

I haven’t discussed the itinerary with D but I’ll list a few interesting places which I hope to check out.

Pahang

Kuantan

When I was in primary school, I did a project on Kuantan but I still get it mixed up with Kelantan because the name sounds so similar.

Kuantan is famous for its nature stuff like beaches and waterfalls. I’m not sure how much nature we would be seeing but it’s a good-to-know.

Image credit: Phalinn Ooi

Pekan

When I first found out about Pekan, I was very amused by its name. In Malay, “pekan” means town. And this town’s name is Pekan. Imagine a town called town. Haha!

After I calmed down, I read a little more about Pekan (on Wikipedia). Turns out, it’s the royal town of Pahang and the hometown of our current prime minister (which means this place gets a lot of perks!)

Image credit: Shamsul Liza

Terengganu

Poor Terengganu, despite having so much land, it is most famous for its islands and beaches (which isn’t too bad, I guess).

Kuala Terengganu

The state museum is said to be really good. (I’m still hurting from the not-that-awesome museum in Alor Setar.)

Image credit: macloo

I am interested in the Chinatown. Terengganu is one of the muslim dominant states, I’m curious how the Chinese community lives. (This brings back memories of the kopitiam in Perlis where the shopowner was Chinese and the stalls owner was muslim. I couldn’t figure out their living arrangements.)

Image credit: kayb_82

Jungle Rail

The train ride to end all train rides in Malaysia. (Is that how you use the phrase?)

You know what long train rides mean? PICNIC!!

Image credit: Albert Freeman

Have you been to Pahang and Terengganu? What do you recommend doing there?

Cheap eats: Changi Airport Staff Canteen (Terminal 1)

It’s Food Friday here at YQ Travelling. Today, I will share where you can find the staff canteen at Changi Airport Terminal 1.

Usually, food at airport is expensive. However, among all the airports that I have been, Singapore’s Changi Airport has the relatively cheapest food.

If you don’t fancy fast food or restaurants at Changi Airport, I suggest visiting the staff canteen. Today, I will introduce the staff canteen at Terminal 1 because this is where I usually leave when I take AirAsia.

I find that the canteen can only be accessed from the second floor’s lift. Somehow, I could not find the elevator on the first floor.

Look for the toilet nearest to the AirAsia counter. Around the corner, there is a set of elevators to the basement. Head to Basement 1.

You will reach a large staff canteen such as this.

I find it surprising that many Indonesian tourists know of this relatively secret hideout for cheap eats. Every time I go, I see a table of tourists from Indonesians with their large luggage.

The food in the canteen is very similar to what you can find at normal hawker centers.

For example, this bowl of duck porridge is S$4. The same price as at the food court.

A normal cup of kopi (local coffee)