Monday, September 30, 2013

Simpang Duck Egg Char Kuey Teow, Taiping, Perak

My parents always made it a point to drop by this place to get their Char Kuey Teow fix. On my recent trip back to Taiping, I too made it a point to visit the famous Char Kuey Teow stall. Located along the Simpang main road, the stall is right just across the road from the new Simpang McDonald's drive-thru and is next to a mini market. There is no obvious sign so it would be best to go slow as soon as you see the McDonald's on your right.

Simple stall with only one dish.
I was there at 730pm with my grandparents and shortly after we reached, a couple of cars and motorbikes too pulled up to wait for the stall to open. The old uncle manning the stall only starts frying his signature kuey teow at 8pm, no earlier, no later and during the wait, more people came and another old man had to jolt down the orders as the uncle set about making fireworks with his wok and charcoal.

Friday, September 27, 2013

Japan: Osaka Day 4 - The Last Day and also, Momofuku Ramen Museum

It was our last day in Osaka and as our flight was near midnight, mom and I figured we still had half a day left to spend in Japan and decided to take a train down to Ikeda, a town in the outskirts of Osaka to visit the lesser known Momofuku Instant Ramen Museum. To get there from Namba, we utilised the Osaka Unlimited Pass to get to the Umeda station from which we walked a short distance to the Umeda Hankyu station to buy a train ticket to Ikeda. 

Hello, Mr. Momofuku
Finding the museum from the train station can be a bit tricky. You need to take the staircase near a Starbucks to get down to the streets and head left. You will pass a row of shops and turn right at the Daily Yamazaki into a long road. The museum was located in a quiet little neighbourhood about five minutes from the station but it was impossible to miss especially with the statue of the Father of Instant Noodle in front of the building. There was no charge to enter the building and you can rent a recorded guide from the reception with a deposit of 2000yen. 
Right for history lesson, left for the wall of ramen.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Animangaki 2013


So last month on 24th and 25th August 2013, Animangaki 2013 took place at the Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre in its fifth year and saw over 8000 anime, manga and gaming fans. By the way, for those don't know what it stands for, Animangaki is a combination word of Anime, Manga and Gaki, as in brat in Japanese because we are all anime and manga brats bought together by a common love.




Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Japan: Osaka Day 3 - A Day in the City

So many things to see and do. So little time. What do you do when you only have a few days to spend in Osaka? You make the most out of it and visit the absolute must visit places that are unique to this extraordinary city. That was what I do for my short 4D3N trip in June 2013 and for one entire day, I dedicated everything to the lovely city.

1. Osaka Castle
A castle in the middle of the city is not to be missed, especially for first time visitors to Osaka. To find out how to get to the castle, read my previous post on transportation means. As this famous tourist attraction is right smack in the middle of the park in the middle of the city, it took us a while to stroll through the park (famous too for cherry blossom viewing in spring) before we eventually reached the main entrance. If uncertain, just follow the signs or the hoards of tourists groups.

I was there relatively quite early at 10am and thankfully there were no tourist groups present although there was a very colorful Chinese group of friends. A steady drizzle of rain drove everyone inside the castle for cover and to the food stores that surrounded the main open space where the entrance was.

Osaka entrance view

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Upstairs Cafe, Subang Jaya review

I first learned of this place when it and its brownies was featured on Capital TV. Then one fine day, I had to swing by Holiday Villa for an interview just before lunch and decided it was the perfect chance to give Upstairs Cafe a try since it was just a stone's throwaway.

Look at all that yummy desserts!

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Japan: Osaka Day 2 - Nara & Kyoto

Due to the limited time we had in Osaka (4D3N), my mother and I decided to do a full day trip to Nara and Kyoto on our second day there, opting to visit their main tourist attractions. Using the Kansai Thru Pass (you can read about my modes of transportation here), we were quickly on our way to Nara via the Kintetsu Line.

Nara Park map.

Upon reaching the station, we headed for Exit 2 in order to get to Nara Park. Getting to the park was pretty easy as from the station, there is a main road heading up a hill or turn right into a covered shopping arcade that will lead to the second, less crowded park entrance on the left.