Travelogue around Asia Pacific Part II

Johor Bahru - Kim Cheong restaurant friendly waitress was welcoming.   We ordered 2 dishes of crabs (one black pepper and one chilli). Chilli crab Black pepper crab The crabs were fresh and tasted delicious with good flavouring. Venus clams soup There was lots of venus clams in the soup and it had a herbal taste.  I liked the taste of the soup very much. Man tow These deep fried man tows crust was hot and crispy; the centre was moist and tasty. Spinach with 3 types of eggs This vegetable dish had too much water which made the vegeables very soggy.  The taste was rather bland and as the water soaks up the flavour of this dish.

Johor Bahru - It was my family first time to an escape room in Johor Bahru and it was an interesting activity.   There was 3 theme and this was the medium difficulty escape room.  We are captured warriors handcuffed together and had to decifer the ancient manuscipt to unlock the locks.  All with the same combination codes. Lost in JB winner portrait It was tough trying to get out of the rooms - cracking your head to decifer the codes.

Singapore - Visited Jewel since it's near to T1 and it is a huge shopping mall but around 11pm, most of the shops are about to close for the night.   There are 4 floors and 2 basements of shopping and eating.   There is still a long queue at the A&W restaurant.   The main attraction is the huge waterfall vortex in the middle of the mall. Water cascades down of the roof vortex Every hour there is a water and laser show and it was impressive. About 3 mins of impressive display of laser show against the backdrop of cascading water.

Kowloon  - I decided to go up Victoria Peak as I have not been up there for many years.  I took the MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui station and walk to the Star Ferry terminal.  Hong Kong's famous Star Ferry, with roots dating back to 1880. Victoria Harbour is a hive of activity, and ships of all shapes and sizes sail past as the Star Ferries somehow avoid collisions. Hong Kong island across the harbour Star Ferries Clock Tower This old Clock Tower was erected in 1915 as part of the Kowloon–Canton Railway terminus. The once-bustling station is long gone, but this red brick and granite tower, now preserved as a Declared Monument, survives as an elegant reminder of the Age of Steam. It has also been a memorable landmark for the millions of Chinese immigrants who passed through the terminus to begin new lives not just in Hong Kong, but in other parts of the world via the city’s harbour. Star Ferry I used my Octopus card to tapped through the gantry - this ca...

Kowloon  - This restaurant is supposedly one of the best Japanese restaurant around Mong Kong.   It's located right the top of Langham place Mall - this is a massive mall with 15 stories (13 floors and 2 basements) of shopping experience.   I went down to the lowest level of the mall which had the supermarket and exit to the Mongkok MTR and took the escalator to the top of the mall. Omakase burger This is a very unique experience for me to have the bread replaced by rice and the pattie are chunks of salmon with avacado and mango bits.   It tasted good and the ingredients are very fresh. Tuna set The meat is very fresh but the chef is very stingy on the rice.   Unlikely in Japan, where the chef put a generous amount of rice to make the sushi.  As you can see the rice is almost falling apart.  Quite pathetic for an expensive set dish of tuna. Nice slice of rice Yakiniku set A very tasty Yakiniku chicken set.   Chicken skin, ...

Kowloon - I decided to walk around Mong Kong and was surprise by the buzz around the town and it was crowded.   I happened to walk into a night market selling fruits, seafood and meats.   They even sell durians but the HK type is the Thai monthong durian - I took a sniff and there is no smell unlike the super delicious Malaysian type. Thai Monthong durians The night market floor is wet and smelly with butcher and fishmonger busy with the sales. Fish seller After walking through the night market, I walked along Fa Yuen Street is known as Sneakers Street, thanks to its abundance of shoe shops and famous brands with bright advertisements. Shoe shops all along this road Then the best experience was to have my dinner at this Michelin star take-away restaurant also along Fa Yuen Street.  Fortunately, it was not crowded and I took my time to order the famous black truffle bun. Black Truffle bun You have to be very careful eating the bun as it was one st...

Kowloon - Mong Kok is Hong Kong’s most congested shopping and residential district, with it's neon lights at night.   If you like shopping then Mong Kok is the place - not really my cup of tea. The neighbourhood includes one of Hong Kong’s most popular markets, the Ladies' Market, sneaker's market and street sections dedicated to the sale of goldfish, flowers, birds, and kitchenware. I checked into my hotel which is next to Langham Place Mall - very convenient @ the lobby there is walkway to the mall.   As it was highly recommened by the Hotel, I went to Jasmine Garden for my dinner.  As expected, the waitress was elderly and I communicated with her in cantonese as that is the only language that she can speak. Black truffle soup The soup was served hot and it was delicious with the strong aroma of the truffle.   I like the unique taste and smell of truffle. Brown rice with corn This healthy dish was sizeable for one person - nice mixture of white an...