Indonesia

• • Batam
  • Tanjung Pinang

Singapore

INDONESIA

Batam  (Jan 2012)

This seafood restaurant named “Amazon Seafood Restaurant” conveniently located right beside the Nongsapura Ferry Terminal in Batam was highly recommended. The food was so delicious that I went to the same restaurant for lunch 2 times without the desire to explore food elsewhere because it was the best food with the lowest cost and our one and only choice.

When we came back to take the ferry back to Singapore, it was intentional to have it there again as the food was simply sumptuous to give it a miss. Plus you can expect to eat lots of seafood like a king in Batam as it was simply dirt cheap. The ambience was very peaceful facing the sea. The motto of eating in such a cheap priced and divine food is “To eat till your stomach explode!”

It was a one-hour ferry ride from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal to Nongsapura Ferry Terminal. Turi Beach Resort was really modern and beautiful. The rooms had their own private balcony that was windy, facing the lovely beach and the swimming pool, what’s more one can ask for? We even spotted a rainbow on the first day after a rain.

The weather and environment were simply perfect. A pool bar is located beside one swimming pool where you can lunch and drink while you stayed inside the swimming pool. Nongsa Resort is 5 minutes walk where you can also see yachts being berthed there. Turi beach resort is a perfect getaway for a short trip away from Singapore.

Tanjung Pinang  (Jan 2012)

Rediscovering Tanjung Pinang one week later after Turi Beach. The liveliness and friendliness of the small town reminded me of the olden days in Singapore during the 80s. The livelihood was backward but it was bustling with people and activities in every street.

Hotels were only 2 to 3 stars standard and most looked spooky. Even a local man there was telling us to avoid certain motels because of many eerie incidents that took place in that motel.

The hygiene did not look too pleasing to the eyes. The door lock didn’t feel too secure with a single lock that looked breakable. I was always paranoid at night whether someone would break-in. The best way to choose a motel in Tanjung Pinang was to walk around the town and ask the room to be shown before booking.

I had forgotten to take photos of their Pasar Malam (literal translation from Malay night market) at night for their Chinese New Year flea markets which I have enjoyed thoroughly strolling on the street.

There were not many tourists there in a rundown town and the crowd size was very right to feel like a local there. I stay for a night in this small town and One could only appreciate the present comfort when doing a comparison with other less developed countries.

Bah Kut Teh is a soup that has many different ways of cooking because they all taste different from stall to stall, dialect to dialect, country to country. I always have a huge interest to try them because the taste will always come as a curiosity for me.

Unfortunately, I have not been eating a good Bah Kut Teh since many years ago. They were mostly too diluted for my liking like the stalls were trying to save money by cutting down on ingredients and adding more water to increase the volume.

This stall in Tanjong Pinang did not have a fantastic taste of Bah Kut Teh to my slight disappointment. They had a very traditional coffee shop set up and the Bah Kut Teh was served in a Claypot so my expectation was high.

I am still in search of the best Bah Kut Teh around as it seems so hard to find in Singapore. Even the Bah Kut Teh in Malaysia was only so-so for me.

Perhaps the high cost of living today deters stall owners to cook the traditional way because the long time taken to brew a good soup is simply not worth the effort and time. Any recommendations of a good Bah Kut Teh in Singapore will be highly appreciated.

I have posted the same picture on my personal Facebook and the response below came from one Dutch friend on his perception of “Bah Kut Teh”.

SINGAPORE

Singapore (Dec 2012)

On Christmas eve in 2012, my previous company brought us to Serenity Spanish Bar and Restaurant in Vivo City. The ambience was great and the tapas served were succulent. This was the second time I have been to this restaurant. The restaurant probably hired a remarkable Spanish chef.

That Christmas  Eve, my bosses ordered the whole suckling pig that cost S$ 288.00. The pig looked too cute to be eaten. Looking at the pig’s head, I was reluctant to eat it initially compared to just eating chunks of pork without seeing the whole body. I would imagine the pig talking to me “Dun eat me!”… Ouch…

I had to banish that thought. I was too curious how it tasted like. I tried a very small piece and no thanks, the meat was very smelly for me. The kind of pork taste which I hated. YUCKS! So I left the pig alone for my colleagues to savour.

In the evening, there was a tradition to take some plates and threw them onto the floor. I came 2 times and they broke the plates 2 times. Overall, I have positive reviews of Serenity Spanish Bar and Restaurant and evidently, the restaurant was always full.

Next Page

• Food and Travel Overseas [9] 2012 ⇒

• • Spa, Jalhay, Liège (Belgium)

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Belgium

• Brussels
• Antwerp

Singapore

• Singapore

Malaysia

• Malacca
• Johor Bahru

China

• Longsheng

BELGIUM

Brussels (Jan 2011)

a) Belgium is well known for the mussels, beer, waffles and fries. Not many people know that the first fries came from Belgium. Upon some research, there were claims of ownership between France and Belgium as to who was the first creator of french fries.

One unverified source that I have found is “Where were french fries first made? French fries originated in Belgium but they got their name because the Belgiums gave them to French soldiers and the French soldiers took the credit and named them French fries.

The first person to ever make French fries in Belgium was Nikah Maston”. There was further speculation that the first fries came from Spain.

Mussels are no doubt one of the national dishes in Belgium. One would not have passed by Belgium without trying out her mussels and the assortment of beer.

b) Smiling blissfully as it was my first visit and my first hotel hostel in Brussels. The room cost € 50 per night but it was huge with 3 beds and a huge bathroom inside!

c) Walking in the town area with a pink sunglass. Probably mistaken as a weirdo as there was no sun.

d) The famous Belgium architecture, Atomium, during sunset when we first arrived.

e) Photos were taken inside the Atomium. Belgium is famous for its chocolates and it was no surprise that one famous chocolate brand, Leonidas had a counter inside.

f) Atomium at nIght. Look How beautiful it was either the blue lights.

Antwerp (Jan 2011)

g) Antwerp is one of my favourite cities, small but clean. Many buildings are very beautiful and classic. I never get bored walking around admiring them.

h) This is the Chinatown or Asian Market of Antwerp, located right opposite the Antwerp Train station which one would not get lost. There are a lot of Chinese wordings written on the prominent signboards. There are some Thai and Chinese Supermarkets with large varieties of Asian food at very cheap prices.

There are also some Morrocon vegetable sellers and African shops. I got all my Asian foodstuffs there. There were also some good Chinese/Cantonese restaurants that have been operating for years. The food and Tim Sum were tasty. I had gone there many times.

i) One popular café, Zeezicht, in Antwerp for a beer and coffee on one cold afternoon after a walk in the neighbourhood which has very expensive but beautifully furnished houses. Photos were not very clear. Sorry.

SINGAPORE 

Singapore (Feb, Apr, Jun 2011)

a) Birthday celebration for this small boy whom I called “Handsome”. I remembered his nickname over his real name. I hope he will always be handsome as ever.

b) Back from China trip and having this famous Samsui Ginger Chicken in the Airport. It tasted always as good in any Soup Restaurant that one visits. This is also the Signature dish from Soup Restaurant. They just have this secret way to blend the taste of the chicken dipped with minced ginger.

c) A familiar face for many years in a big family. Most times he took good care of me, gave me the best deployment positions one could ever dream of on a few occasions. I must say I felt grateful to him sometimes despite what others said about him… Dunno where is he now as I have never seen him for very long. Has he resigned or has he been cold-storaged somewhere???

Having dinner with my big family at Furama Hotel. GREAT food. Beautiful, romantic environment but not a romantic ambience with monkeys around. This was probably one of the perks and fun with the Victory Family.

MALAYSIA 

Malacca (Apr 2011)

a) Really love this trip with the right group of people in the Organisation. It was pure fun and lots of laughter. Jokes and mainly dirty jokes non-stop. For once, I felt we were all extremely naughty school children out in an excursion without the teacher and we had forgotten our identities and proper conduct as adults.

We were really happy and silly because we relaxed 100% and lost our inhibitions for once. Laughter is like a drug. Once you are addicted to the high feeling, you always want to have it. Always looking forward to being with the best company of naughty boys and girls!

Johor Bahru (Apr 2011)

b) A treat of seafood dinner for 3 in Johor Bahru from a friend. Always cheap, tasty and feast like a king! No wonder he had that winner’s smile that his big eyes could not be seen…

CHINA 

Longsheng (Apr 2011)

Having steamboat food at one of the villages in China near to the Guilin province. With the tour agency in China, we always had a lot of good food to eat for every meal which led me to put on weight when I returned to Singapore.

Next Page

• Food and Travel Overseas [7] 2011 ⇒

•  Amsterdam (Netherlands)
•  Antwerp, Brussels (Belgium)
•  Paris (France)

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Singapore

Sweden

• Stockholm

SINGAPORE

Singapore (Feb 2010)

a) Rarely do I attend birthday celebrations involving a large group of people as I grow older. With time passing by, birthday celebrations become lesser and are normally celebrated with that handful of close friends or family members.

Do treasure the special day when one good friend volunteers to organise a party. One does not have too many such opportunities except for the few people I know of that has group celebrations every year.

The photo seemed to have only the ladies dressed in black and white on a friend’s birthday. It was a coincidence. There was no special theme or dress code for that night.

SWEDEN

Stockholm (Jul 2010)

Just me and the Daim ice cream. Daim chocolates come from Sweden and we cannot get the Daim ice cream but only the Daim candies back in Singapore. The nice thing about eating ice cream in the cold weather is that it never melts too fast which mean I can take my own sweet time to savour the ice cream.

In Singapore, I have to always finish my ice cream as fast as I can before it turns into a puddle of creamy liquid that drips down to my hand most of the time. No talking, eating fast is the golden rule.

SINGAPORE

Singapore (Oct 2010)

A Charity Cruise was organised for the less fortunate children from my previous work in a yacht club, RSYC (Republic of Singapore Yacht Club). Activities include bringing the children to an island (cannot recall the name of the island) by jet ski boats, free jet ski rides by the Members of RSYC, games and food.

On this day, I had the advantage of trying out my first jet ski as a passenger. All staff who tried the jetski would definitely be thrown into the sea halfway without fail no matter how hard you hold on to the driver, he would have a way to ensure that you fall.

I challenged the driver who was our Marine Manager. He threw me into the sea two times with serious dark bruises on my legs whereas the others got thrown into the sea only 1 time. Drenched but I didn’t bring any clothes to change because I did not expect to have a chance to try out jet ski that day.

The best perk about working in Food & Beverages and Event industry is the free delicious meal provided every working shift. Whenever there are events, we get free good food too! When I resigned, the only regret I had was the abundance of tasty food that I had lost and terribly missed. Yes, RSYC did indeed provide a very high-quality lunch and dinner for their staff because their chefs were simply fantastic!

One of the best food memories was a dinner reception where the Guest-of-Honour was our President Nathan. I ate the same type of delicacies that he ate that night. There was a lot of left-over food after he left which were just too sinful to throw away. Needless to say, food presentation and quality of taste were served to the finest standard of what should be called a delicacy. Yummy!

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• Food and Travel Overseas [5] 2011 ⇒

• • Batam Island | Neptune Regatta (Indonesia)

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