Happy New Year 2012!!!

In 13 more hours and 30 minutes, we will be welcoming another brand new year… time really flies, don’t it?? Come to think of it, I realized I didn’t really keep track of my new year resolution, therefore I decided not to set any but to live it to the fullest regardless of good and bad….. Life still goes on right?

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone of you out there a good good years ahead… Happy New Year 2012!!!! Ditch the bad and carry forward the good ones…

May the years ahead bring you lots of joy, happiness and good health <3 <3<3

xoxo

Cabbages and Condoms Restaurant @ Sukhumvit, Bangkok

It’s already close to 3pm when we are done with the check-in, unpack the luggage and freshen up. We were famished and headed directly to Cabbages and Condoms restaurant for lunch. I’ve heard about this unique restaurant previously and since it’s within walking distance from our hotel, we decided to check it out.

So, what does cabbages has to do with condoms..??…?  I have no idea at all but here’s a little introduction on the restaurant concept.
Taken from their site:

“Our restaurant was conceptualized in part to promote better understanding and acceptance of family planning and to generate income to support various development activities of the Population and Community Development Association (PDA),a non profit organization inThailand. And remember, our food is guaranteed not to cause pregnancy. “

yeahh… so dont worry, you wont get a baby after the meal but might get a tiny hole in your pocket.. pretty pricey I would say. I cant tell you the cost breakdown because I lost the receipt but the total bill came up to almost 1000 baht 

There’s al fresco and air-conditioning dining. We chose the latter as we needed to cool ourselves after a long walking under the sun…

Sprite to quench our thirst while browsing thru the menu.

We decided to try their claypot prawn with glass noodle, one of the must try dish in Thailand. It’s flavorful but the prawn is slightly overcooked. We enjoyed it though

The mixed vegetables was awesome. I love the sauce/seasoning used which goes very well with white rice

and no meal is complete without tom yum in Thailand We ordered the tom yum seafood in hotpot for two.

“spicy or no spicy”, the wait staff asked. We answered spicy but turned out it wasn’t spicy at all and lacked a hint of sourness. The ingredients used are fresh but the straw mushroom drowns them…. it’s just too much. I guess its cheap there :p

We didn’t order much as we wanted to leave some space for T&K seafood in Chinatown after some shopping spree in Chatuchak but guess what…. it started to rain once we reached Mo Chit BTS station (to Chatuchak market) ~!@#$%^&*+#@!  It’s 11 station from Asok and costs 40 baht per trip. Haihhh!!! ended up in Paragon Siam

Back to the restaurant… we explored around after the meal just to snap this few mannequin dress in condom for your viewing….. hehehee!! nice right and very creative….

and before you leave, feel free to take some souvenir home

So, what size are you???  hmmmm…..

 

To get there: From Asok BTS station, walk towards Nana BTS direction. You’ll pass by Grand Sheraton Hotel and Times Square on your right. Look for Soi 12 and turn left. Cabbages and Condoms restaurant is 5-8 min walks from the junction on your left. Look for the signboard below.

Address: 10 Sukhumvit Soi 12, 10110 Bangkok
Business Hours: Open Daily 11am-10pm
Website: http://www.pda.or.th/restaurant/about.asp
Reservation: Call or fax to (02) 229-4610

Connected again :)

Oppsss… Missing in action again. I can explain this….
Was pretty caught up with few things earlier and when I’m finally done with it, that blardy lightning killed my modem router !@#$%^
The sleeky black buffalo didnt survive the strike.

Finally bought a new one today and I’m soooo happy to be connected again

Time to work on the backlog now.. Sooo many of them. *shy

Before I end this, let me introduce you to _____ that will appear in my next blog post
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the condom man…. hehehehee!!!

 

Now…. stop the dirty thinking, will ya!!!

Stay tuned for it~~~

Before i sign off, a question – can you live without internet??
I CAN’T!!!!

Bangkok 2011: Accommodation @ CityPoint Hotel Bangkok, Asok

There’s no mini travelogue for this trip like Taiwan and Hong Kong because we didn’t really plan for it. It was a last minute decision and heck…… the flight tickets costs a bomb. Lucky for us, mydaling managed to grab a good deal from Groupon for CityPoint Hotel, in the center of Bangkok. For only RM388 without breakfast, we stayed at this newly opened boutique hotel near Asok BTS or Sukhumvit MRT station, 3-5 min walks for 3 nights. It is a shoplot turned hotel, so don’t expect any view.

We were a bit skeptical at first but thank god all went well. We emailed the hotel to check for room availability before purchasing the offer. They replied a day after and everything flow smoothly then. Upon reaching the hotel, the friendly reception greeted us and the bellboy helped us with our luggage. We showed them the voucher and our passport for check-in and everything is taken care off.

The lobby and waiting area

Dining area

The bellboy leads us to our room on level 4 and later sent us the wireless login username and password. Free WIFI and LAN access is provided for each room or you can use the public computer at the lobby.

Our standard room has all the basic necessities and most important, clean. The bed were comfortable and the extra soft pillows became my bolster

This hotel had just opened in April, therefore everything is pretty new. The lighting in the room is good too.

The bathroom is pretty spacious too. The shower gel provided is a Press + Wash concept and is imported from Germany (from their site)

I love rain shower but had hard time adjusting the right temperature. It either gets too hot or too cold, never warm
but other than that, overall is good… I don’t mind staying here again as it is affordable (more $$$ to shop *wink) and pretty convenient

To get there : The express train from Suvarnabhumi airport (post coming soon) to Bangkok city will stop at Phaya Thai (N2) station, an interchange station. Walk to the BTS Sukhumit Line for train to Asok (E4) station.
Price: 30baht, 6 station away.
Once you reach, look for exit 4. You can see Urban Retreat Spa (very nice, post coming soon) at the side of the exit. CityPoint Hotel is just a street behind it.  There are 2 signboards that will lead you to the hotel.

Visit their site below for more info if you are interested

Address: 6/22 Ratchadapisek Road Opposite Soi-16, Sukhumvit Bangkok 10110, Thailand (Asok BTS/Sukhumvit MRT station)
Tel: 662-229-4400
Fax: 662-229-4326
Website: http://citypointhotel.com

Sawadeekaaaa…..

Just came back from shopping heaven not long ago…..

Gosh~~ I LOVE BANGKOK!!!!!

There’s so much to see, so much to shop. Regretted not making this trip earlier but at the same time feeling guilty leaving this blog behind…

The photo from HK and SG are collecting dust… few inches probably *shy I need to stop procrastinating.

I’ll update soon…. Stay tuned!!!

Kapunkaaaaa~~

Have A Nice Weekend

Gong Cha @ The Gardens, Mid Valley

Finally, I found Gong Cha. It was hidden at far end near Ying Ker Lou restaurant, opposite Isetan at Level 2. Serving was fast as there isn’t any crowd on that day. Ordering was pretty similar to Chatime except that additional RM1 is charged for black pearl sago.

I ordered the milk tea with black pearl sago and opted for half ice and half sugar again just to compare. Priced at RM5.90, I found the sago chewy but tasteless unlike Chatime which was slightly sweet. Taste wise, Gong Cha milk tea version was a tad lighter.

That said, between both cha, I prefer the creamy milk tea from Chatime…

 

 

Chatime @ The Gardens, Mid Valley

I must be very outdated as I just managed to taste the much raving pearl milk tea from Chatime. We were in Mid Valley last weekend and decided to join the queue which was not that bad actually. It took us 10 minutes before we got our drink.

We ordered the pearl milk tea, priced at RM5.90 for regular and large at RM6.90. You can customize your order from less sugar to more sugar and less ice to more ice. I requested for half sugar and half ice which I think was just nice because the pearl itself is already sweet.

I dont really fancy milk tea but I love the pearl which was soft and chewy. Would not mind trying again next time

Weekend in Taman Negara, Pahang

Last weekend, I followed mysista to an event at Taman Negara Pahang and I’m so glad I did because it was a memorable experience with loads of fun. I can only include 3 photos here as all the photo are still with mysista. I’ll post more once I get it  from her. Photo below are taken with my phone so pardon the quality.

The journey from KL to Woodland Resort at Kuala Tahan where we will be staying took around 3 hours 30 min by car. It was a pretty challenging drive as we depart at 2:30am towards the pitch-black highway heading to Jerantut.  It is advisable not to drive at night especially midnight as our visibility was totally restricted by thick fog, so thick that we could barely see 200m in front as soon as we exit the highway to Jerantut and all the way to Kuala Tahan. The drive from Padang Piol junction to Kuala Tahan got even more adventurous as we need to be extremely careful with cow sleeping on the middle of road, not to mention the foggy road with potholes.

Now, imagine that while you are concentrating looking for cow to avoid them amid the fog and dark road andddd suddenly…….. ok, I better stop here :p It was almost an hour of drive for a 50++ km stretch with average of 40km/h before we finally reached the resort at 6am *thank God that we reached safely   and fainted slept straightaway once we got to our room.

Did not bother to take other photo (only above) Got to get some sleep before the event start. The room was equipped with a single bed, a double bed with table and tv opposite it, a cupboard beside the entrance and attached toilet next to the bed. It’s an average room, so don’t expect so much but the toilet is pretty dirty though and bring your own hair dryer.

Woke up a few hours later to be greeted by this wonderful view with half of the forest still covered by mist. Isn’t it beautiful? Just sooo refreshing.

The 1st half of the event was indoor activity, therefore there’s nothing much to do. What excite me was the 2nd half and day 2 activity which was outdoor. We went for rapid shooting and visited an orang asli village that can be found along the riverside on day 1 and day 2, a short jungle trekking and canopy walk at the national park, just across the resort. A short boat ride, probably less than a minute and will land you in Mutiara Taman Negara, gateway to the protected forest.

We took a long wooden boat which are used for rapid shooting to the nearest aboriginal settlement from the jetty as others are not so comfortable with large group of people. They live a very simple lifestyle. Staying in a hut made by women and move around when there are no more crops or animals to hunt or in event of death and come back few years later. During our trip there, they demonstrated how to make fire using just only wood and rattan and how the men hunt animal using sumpit or blowpipe made from bamboo – not just any bamboo because they have to travel deep inside the forest which usually takes 2 weeks to reach.

Aren’t the baby cute? They are from the Bateq tribe. Some mothers are very shy that they stay behind the hut when we arrived. They allow you to play with their baby but they will watch you from behind. So, don’t ever think of kidnapping them

Some fact about the tribe:
1. For the girl to get marry, they will need to know how to build a hut
2. For the guy to get marry, they will need to know how to hunt using sumpit
3. They live a nomadic life

We stayed there for almost 45 minutes before continuing with the boat ride.

More pic to come. Stay tuned….

 

Dinner @ Hooters, Singapore

This is the most we have paid for a meal during our entire trip in Singapore so it deserve an individual post It was packed to the brim on a Saturday night both air-conditioned indoor and alfresco dining. We chose indoor dining and it was pretty happening inside with people cheering and booing away as there was a football match going on between MU and I forgot what team. No performance by Hooters babe though on that night

There are plenty to choose from and we finally decided on as below to share among us:

Mysista recommended the chicken Swiss Style priced at SGD18.90. She ordered this before on her previous trip and totally love it. The grilled chicken served with fettuccine pasta, special sauce and top with melted cheese was mouth watering.

I practically yell “i wan this, i wan this” when I saw this BBQ baby back ribs. I dont eat beef, so it’s pretty hard to find restaurant that sell pork ribs.  Served with potato wedges, garden salad and grilled corn, this ribs is well caramelized, soft but not fall off the bones tender. Priced at SGD25.90

 

Happy Duanwu Festival

Gosh… Since when rice dumplings bcum so expensive wan?? was quite surprise it cost around rm5++ for a meat dumpling. My dad complained about it too he just bought one for mylilsista and it was more expensive than economy rice, he said… Lol

My favorite is red bean rice dumpling. I bought this for rm1.60 but they skimped on the fillings

Nothing beat mom’s homemade zongzi… Ahhh~~ I miss the good old days where me and mysista help mom with the fillings…

Anyone selling homemade dumpling with generous red bean filling??

~ Happy Duanwu Jie ~