Euro Travel & More

The River View Hotel in Singapore is located in Havelock Road – about 15 minutes away from the business district and – that was the only reason why i put my boss there to stay in – when he came to Singapore for the first time.  I don’t know if they already renovated – but the pictures I saw on the net – are not what I had seen about 15 years ago.  But I wasn’t really disappointed with the hotel – just that the rooms were very small and it’s a very old hotel.  So if you are in Singapore – you may want to check out the newer hotels instead.

The Grand Copthorne Hoel was like a second home to me – many years ago – why?  because my boss was staying at the Grand permanently – for 2 years.  Yes!  they do have long staying guests at this hotel and the rates are awesome.  I love the grand entrance at the Grand – and believed that the ball in front with water features is due to feng shui reasons.  I think the Kwek family owns the Grand Copthorne if I am not wrong.  One thing I also loved about the Grand are all their lighting fixtures especially their bathroom lighting fixtures , in fact I liked it so much  – I tried to find the same supplier they got to get the same lighting fixtures for my bathrooms at home.

The rooms were pretty nice – and they had good restaurants at the hotel – and a very grand lobby with very pleasant hotel staff.

And I’ve eaten at the Cafe Brio for so many times – I can memorized the menu – but I think I loved most is the cold cut bar – with oysters and salad and fruits.   So if you are looking for a place to eat or stay in Singapore – try the Grand Copthorne Hotel – because the locality is just great.

Some people travel for the love of shopping and some people because of the historical presence in a certain place – but I travel for the love of food mostly – well, besides work of course.  And one of the best oyster bars that I’ve been too – sits right in Asia – Hong Kong at the Sheraton Hotel in Kowloon.  Their Oyster & Wine Bar offers around 800 of the delectable creatures. Check every now and then as you will find different varieties  coming from the different regions where oysters are grown. Some of the oysters are flown from Oregon, Galway, Tasmania, Colchester, Brittany, Japan, Long Island, Chile, South Africa and Vietnam.  Watch out for the Namibian varieties and the Chilean ones when they are offered.

Of late – I’ve been making everyone at home try my BBQ sambal fish from Malaysia.  You see – a friend from home sent some very spicy sambal to me for Christmas and I went crazy over them and made the family eat this BBQ fish on banana leaf every night.   So with spicy food – comes my pimples and acne – but I think it was definitely worth it – I can always do my acne treatments – because I miss the food from home so much.   The spouse teased me tonight that I would be needing more than just acne creams and lots of water – but I told him – it was worth it – as long as I get a taste of Malaysia.  This BBQ sambal fish’s recipe comes all the way from Malaysia and thanks to my girlfriend from Malaysia – for the wonderful home-made sambal.

Found some pictures of the trip we took to Osaka on a bullet train for a food trip – I was staying in Japan for 6 months for work – so when we had a holiday – a long weekend – my co-workers and I – decided that we should go on and R&R to Osaka.   So we hop onto a bullet train and away we went.

Our tickets for the bullet train.

Whale testicles!  woohoo!!!  we kinda was not gonna try that – but what the heck eh ! you only lived once ! so how does it taste?  It tasted like intestines – the ones you eat when you have bak kut teh – so it wasn’t too, too bad – but I wouldn’t wanna eat it again – muahhahaha!!!  and yes ! i heard from our host that there is a  restaurant in Tokyo that serves Whale everything – from whale stomach to penises.  kekeke!!   you can have fried testicles too – I hear it’s better.  Is it exotic food? probably considered. what do you think?

The weird or exotic stuff outta the way – we then had Kobe beef.

Some Shabu-Shabu for a cold night in late November.

We had some hairy crab too.

More BBQ Crab

Crab sashimi – I never had crab sashimi before till that day – it was pretty decent.  More on the trip not food but sightseeing in another post.

The Hong Kong and Kowloon Red Taxis – the best friend told me she took the wrong taxi – when she was in Hong Kong for the 1st time and took a green one instead.  She was being scolded by the taxi driver – muahahah!! poor thing!  Well, for those who are heading for Hong Kong for the first time – there are typically 3 types of taxis in Hong Kong – the read one mostly travel in Kowloon and Hong Kong areas – urban areas.  The green ones are for the new territories and the blue taxis are the ones that operates only in Lantau Island.  If you are going to the airport – you take the red ones.  Fares are not as expensive as in the West – so don’t complain when you take a cab in Hong Kong – because when you are in the west – they are way more expensive.

Kenny Sia is a well known blogger turned entrepreneur – and this gym in Malaysia is one owned by him.  Like any blogger – Kenny used other bloggers to advertise his gym/fitness center – with a cool preview when it was first opened last year.  Touted as one of the most modernized gym and huge too – every thing needed to keep fit or to help with muscle builder is in this gym/fitness center.

As expected – we see a lot of fellow blogger writing about his gym every now and then – so even though I am here in Canada – I was still able to know what was going on in Kuching, a small town in Malaysia.  When a friend from Canada – went home to Malaysia – I had told him to go take a look at the gym for me.  The friend came back with some positive feedback – but no Kenny Sia – he told me – hahaha!! Oh well ! another time – i told him.  But yes! pretty impressive was what I was told.  Wanna build some muscles or keep fit – don’t forget to check out his gym/fitness center.

It’s been a long time since we’ve been to Macau – and the last time we were there – was when The Venetian first opened its door.

And like all hotels in Macau – it’s also a casino place and The Venetian is one of the biggest.

No photo-taking inside the casino – but i did managed to sneak one with my camera phone.

The Venetian reminds me of Tokyo actually – because they had this exactly replica of this in one of the shopping centers near DisneyLand.  But the spouse said – nope  – it reminded him of Las Vegas.

The Peninsular of Malaysia offers many world class location not only for diving – but other sea sports as well.  If you are in Malaysia – you pretty much can take a nice train ride up the peninsular – and it’s known that Asians love to travel for the weekend and short breaks.  When I used to live in Asia – we would always be going to Langkawi or Tioman for our short break.  The train rides are cheap – for those who don’t want to fly or take their own car – I can’t say that much for the West – for train rides are usually as expensive.

My buddies and girlfriends are heading to Bangkok this weekend for a shopping and eating trip – no kids please they said – in their email to me but alas – I can’t go.  And they are going to be doing a lot of shopping and eating, since Bangkok is a shopping and eating paradise.  I bet they are going to put on some weight – but no worries – they have their weight loss vitamins that works every time – they said.  So eat now and then diet later.  I know they are going to have a lot of fun and I want to wish them a good trip – and eat and drink a lot on my behalf girls !  i can’t wait to see how the photos and shopping loot you are going to bring back.