Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 3,885 Location: Phnom Penh
PP- Kuala Lumpur- Singapore- PP in 3 days « Thread Started on Dec 23, 2010, 7:39am »
Is it possible to do that in two days? Yes, it is. Is it recommended? No, not really.
Here are some pics I took last week when I had to hop accross the Gulf of Thailand.
There were no seats on direct flights to Singapore on 15th Dec. so we flew to Kuala Lumpur instead and hopped on a bus ( 6 hours, 88MYR, about 30USD, http://www.myexpressbus.com/nice-express-bus.html). We returned the same way.
The trip started off in the smoking room of the Phnom Penh airport. Looks quite civilized compared to the smoke filled aquariums in Bangkok.
We headed off for lunch at Sentral Station as this was where the coach was leaving from. Up at the food court I found this shop selling yong tau foo. You get a small basket and a pair of long pincers then proceed filling it with all the stuff you like. In the end you choose your noodles and all is served together in a big bowl.
I slept on the bus, very comfortable, with just 3 seats abreast, personal video screen, snacks and drinks served out of a real cafeteria, but woke up at this rest stop.
On the way back to the bus I spied this... and couldn't believe it. I asked the salespeople about the bananas and they said it was a local variety, I've never seen them anywhere else. Best picture for a comparison is the first one, with the girl standing on the right. I decided to buy them on the way back but of course on the return trip we stopped nowhere near this area...
Last look at the highway and the sun setting and we continued. One thing I liked was that people were riding big bikes, not just on the highway but also in town. Nice ones too though not like the bikes I saw in Melbourne or Sydney in Spring.
First glimpse of Singapore after donkey's years
After checking into our hotel, Fragrance Rose on Balestier Rd (64USD/ night, http://www.fragrancehotel.com/fragrance06/main.asp), I hopped a taxi to 'Holland Village', a little enclave of good restaurants and bars and especially some good beer and a pizza.
First a Boag's.
Then Hoegaarden on tap, what luxury! In PP I can only get Hoegaarden in those little 0.25l bottles that I practically inhale. These were pints and they gave me several satisfying gulps before having to be replenished.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 34,503 Location: Paris, France
Re: PP- Kuala Lumpur- Singapore- PP in 3 days « Reply #1 on Dec 23, 2010, 9:23am »
(Can't see your photos until I leave the office!)
Singapore has long been considered the oasis of the region for people seeking Western delights. Unlike Hong Kong or Bangkok, there are times in Singapore when you feel you have suddenly arrived in Zürich or La Défense on a hot day.
Yes. And I didn't even go near Orchard or Scott's Rd.
And my taxi was a Mercedes
And that and a just as short trip to Saigon the week before that are why I've been a bit busy... and peak season coming up and right after that Chinese New Year, which is the peakest of peak seasons.
Re: PP- Kuala Lumpur- Singapore- PP in 3 days « Reply #4 on Dec 23, 2010, 11:26am »
That was a great photo report HW! Forget the bananas.......I saw my delicious mangosteens hanging in little red netted baskets directly behind them I faintly remember Holland Village - A huge expat stronghold with western restaurants and shops. Then there was Pasar Holland, a small tumbledown market stocking fruit, flowers, fish & meat. We had lunch at the hawker stalls there. Taxi's are cheap but I hardly ever take them as I adore the MRT. From Buena Vista MRT one walks up Commonwealth ave and turns into Holland Ave. The centre is at 211. Thanks for showing me those (unheard of for me) beers! Going to try them next visit.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 34,503 Location: Paris, France
Re: PP- Kuala Lumpur- Singapore- PP in 3 days « Reply #5 on Dec 23, 2010, 11:42am »
I've never made it to Holland Village yet, but I keep promising myself to check it out some day. I think there's supposed to be a major place to buy electronics there now.
Re: PP- Kuala Lumpur- Singapore- PP in 3 days « Reply #6 on Dec 23, 2010, 12:46pm »
Kerouac - Holland Village is about 2km beyond Haw Par Villa. You can take bus #7 or 105 from Orchard Blvd. Both pass the top of Holland Ave - (ring bell when you see Esso garage). You also reminded me that the reason we probably went there in the first place was because we were hunting down an electronic something-or-other!
HW - why did you choose that hotel? The write-ups mainly say the rooms are teenyweeny. I would also be interested to find out where you stay in Singapore Kerouac?
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 34,503 Location: Paris, France
Re: PP- Kuala Lumpur- Singapore- PP in 3 days « Reply #7 on Dec 23, 2010, 1:46pm »
I have stayed in about 10 different hotels in Singapore -- The Royal Holiday Inn, the Sheraton Towers, the Raffles (before renovation!), the creepy old Sea View near Changi, both of the YMCA hotels, the Golden Landmark (once when it was nice and new and once when it was falling apart), the InterContinental and a small cheap hotel that I now prefer -- the Bencoolen. I have probably forgotten a few. I also stayed at my Singapore friends' house before they moved to Vancouver.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 34,503 Location: Paris, France
Re: PP- Kuala Lumpur- Singapore- PP in 3 days « Reply #8 on Dec 23, 2010, 6:25pm »
(finally can see the photos!)
I am struck by the bananas as well. They look like they would conform perfectly to the EU rules for the caliber and straightness of cucumbers.
As for the beer, I hope to be able to stay in Asia long enough some day to start craving European beer. So far I have only been able to stay long enough to start really enjoying the local beers and craving them when I return home.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 25,316 Location: Mexico
Re: PP- Kuala Lumpur- Singapore- PP in 3 days « Reply #9 on Dec 23, 2010, 6:28pm »
Wow, HW ~~ much of what you show is so sleek! What a contrast to the people-packed pictures you show from Cambodia and Vietnam. Thanks for this. One hears so much about Singapore and how modern and westernized it is. But your pictures seem to show that it has the best of both worlds. Nice that there are still homey cafes and markets, but stellar to be able to get that variety of beer.
The bananas are incredible. And they are bananas, too, not plantains.
The buffet place is interesting. Is it all served cold, next to a mound of the noodles of your choice? I see the pink weenies have ensconced themselves in Singapore.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 3,885 Location: Phnom Penh
Re: PP- Kuala Lumpur- Singapore- PP in 3 days « Reply #10 on Dec 24, 2010, 6:16am »
Tod2, you are quite right, the rooms were much smaller than they looked. Very similar to Hong Kong rooms But on these trips I have to stick to the budget. Much better value in Indonesia where you pay about 50USD for a 4**** room and it includes free broadband wifi.
Jack and Bix and everybody else, have you ever seen bananas of this size? Must be some kind of hybrid or something, maybe monster genetic mutation...
Re the buffet, yes. After you've taken what you want you hand the basket over to the cook and shell heat it up and then serve it in a hot broth with whichever noodles you choose. It's actually just minced fish in vegetables. My favourite are the filled aubergines and the filled lady's fingers. Jack would probably go for the tofu versions!
Early the next morning, breakfast at the hawker centre just down the road.
Sea fish
Familiar?
More yong tau foo, yes, it's one of my favourites whenever I'm over on the peninsula.
Mee kiev (Khmer), or wonton mee (Cantonese, with char siu)
Then I discovered this corner shop and decided I needed a second breakfast. This is one dish I just can't walk past (and excellent in Bangkok, for all of youse waiting for me to slag of Thai food . 8) ).
Close up view, intestines, fried pork skin, crispy belly, tau foo pok (deep fried, spongy tofu), to be eaten with those noodle flakes in the other bowl (actually nom ban jok, uncut).
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 34,503 Location: Paris, France
Re: PP- Kuala Lumpur- Singapore- PP in 3 days « Reply #12 on Dec 24, 2010, 9:05am »
It definitely all looks great. I am another one of those people sometimes obliged to eat two breakfasts in Asia when I come across something as good or better than what I just had.
I want that yong tau foo, and I want it bad. Actually, I want all the food goodies in this thread.
What's the rectangular thing hanging next to the ducks, please?
That is roast pork, you actually just see the crackly skin side (as Tod mentioned). The piece hanging behind it gives an indication of its width. I think I could eat it everyday of my life. To the left are two roast ducks and a braised chicken, to the right is BBQ'd pork, the red colour comes from food colouring.
Below there are bits of this and that, wings, probably intestines, maybe a block of pork blood.
I didn't bother eating this because I've got it in excellent quality in Phnom Penh
It definitely all looks great. I am another one of those people sometimes obliged to eat two breakfasts in Asia when I come across something as good or better than what I just had.
I'll be adding a couple of pics tomorrow morning that'll show that I can resist sometimes, if only because I would have missed the plane back home had I indulged!
To me, it looks like crispy pork skin. Further over in a reddish colour are - I think, pork fillets. What do you think?
WOW! Just look at those ginormous tiger prawns! I could do with some right now!
The skin is sooo good! But actually it is all good.
Since it's already done you can just start scoffing immediately, you can take it home and add to a vegetable stir- fry or you can slice it thinly and add to a brothy soup, very versatile.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 3,885 Location: Phnom Penh
Re: PP- Kuala Lumpur- Singapore- PP in 3 days « Reply #16 on Dec 25, 2010, 3:41am »
In Singapore? And no fine? I think most fines are either 500 or 1000SIN$, about 375- 750USD, including the notorious 'flushing in public toilets' fine...
Quick lunch before catching the bus to Melacca (because the busses to KL were full )
Chrysanthemum tea, YTF once again, Hakka style stir fried vegetables, all with lots of belacan/ trassi/ kapi/ fermented fish paste
Back towards Malaysia on the other side of the causeway
Took nearly an hour at Malaysian immigration, lots of people returning, going to KL for shopping
Enough already! Again!
Misty jungles of Malaysia... you'd like to think. Actually practically the jungle has been cleared all the way down to Singapore, oil palm plantations make more money. Very ugly so I didn't take any photos of that.
We arrived so late in KL that I didn't get dinner. We stayed at the Hotel Nova (http://www.hotelnova.com.my/), old already (I used to put friends up there who visited me in the early 90s when it was still new!), and in need of some renovation, but it's got a little restaurant, the rooms are big and most importantly, it's on Jalan Alor! A parallel street to Bukit Bintang and an area that is really humming at night. Lots of Indian places, pubs, bars, foreign food restaurants, clubs, everything you'd want. When I still went to school in KL this was an area you weren't supposed to go to...
The dish for which Jalan Alor restaurants became famous, curry laksa. It starts with a little bowl of sambal belacan. The soy/ chilli thing is for something else.
And here it is, another one of my all time favourites. In this case with extra clams. They stuffed up the noodles though. While you don't normally mix noodle types, this is eaten with both thick wheat noodles and 'beehoon' a kind thin kuitiev. Soaks up the soup better
After the laksa we walked back to the hotel to catch a taxi to the airport, and here I was severely tempted. Dim sum, on the street, steaming hot, dirt cheap! I had to resist though, the flight to PP was calling. Next time...
Down Bukit Bintang towards the highway, the airport and home
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 25,316 Location: Mexico
Re: PP- Kuala Lumpur- Singapore- PP in 3 days « Reply #17 on Dec 27, 2010, 3:55pm »
Whew! PP-KL-Singapore-PP in three days was probably arduous for you, but getting to sit here and see it on the computer screen is great for us. Of course, we don't get the fabulous food, though. Thank goodness you know how to appreciate what there is, even on these whirlwind trips.
The Hakka style vegetables so good, especially with that soup to accompany them. Even from a photo I can see why you love that curry laksa.
Love your photos ~~ the causeway one, with the gray of the water and sky contrasted with the delicate pink of the flowering trees is lovely. So is the one of the misty jungle, but sad to read the ugly truth.
Has that "hot spot" area changed much since you went to school in KL?
Oh ~~ P.S., HW ........ thanks for giving us all our proper, formal names.
Whew! PP-KL-Singapore-PP in three days was probably arduous for you, but getting to sit here and see it on the computer screen is great for us. Of course, we don't get the fabulous food, though. Thank goodness you know how to appreciate what there is, even on these whirlwind trips.
The Hakka style vegetables so good, especially with that soup to accompany them. Even from a photo I can see why you love that curry laksa.
Love your photos ~~ the causeway one, with the gray of the water and sky contrasted with the delicate pink of the flowering trees is lovely. So is the one of the misty jungle, but sad to read the ugly truth.
Has that "hot spot" area changed much since you went to school in KL?
Oh ~~ P.S., HW ........ thanks for giving us all our proper, formal names.
I remember my way home from school quite well. I was in 10th grade and I'd always go home with my friend David (who I'm sure I'd find in the Kuala Lumpur telephone directory if I bothered to look).
We'd walk up Weld Rd. (now Jalan Raja Chulan) then turn right into Bukit Bintang (Star Hill) and then take the second right again into Jalan Alor. Here we'd have a curry laksa, then cross back over to Bukit Bintang and disappear into the depths of the Federal Hotel basement for arcade games
At that time it used to be a place for junkies (dangerous in Malaysia with it's unchanged law demanding the mandatory death sentence for drugs!), pimps and bums, though it was already popular with locals at night. Just behind it was an area of residential high rises called Tong Shin Terrace, and that was even worse, we never walked through there on the way to the bus station in Chinatown.
From what I saw on this last trip the area has been cleaned up. Jalan Alor was full of locals, local tourists, Asian tourists and Westerners. As you can see from the pics I took at breakfast, it's now a clean, tree lined little road with nary a sign of vice.
Re: PP- Kuala Lumpur- Singapore- PP in 3 days « Reply #21 on Dec 28, 2010, 1:01pm »
Thanks again for more photos HW - especially seeing the causeway over the Straits of Johore as it has been a long time since I went across with husband and son on a Saturday morning shopping spree. We took a bus from a terminus somewhere in Singapore and when we got to the passport control I remember it taking forever to get processed in the hoards of people all going in the same direction. At first it was a bit of a culture shock after squeaky clean Singapore! We only went as far as a gigantic shopping mall - found all the knock-off jeans and TShirts my son desired. What surprised me was the food court selling Portuguese Peri Peri chicken and those delicious little custard tarts. But of course I had forgotten that Melacca was a Portuguese colony at one time!
Re: PP- Kuala Lumpur- Singapore- PP in 3 days « Reply #22 on Dec 28, 2010, 1:33pm »
Kerouac2 - The Royal Holiday Inn Scotts Road? (owned by the Sultan of Brunei) That is where we always stay before moving to the Shangrila Rasa Sentosa. The last time we were at the Holiday Inn they were renovating it big time. The Bencoolen Hotel I think is near the Sim Lim Tower (my Tanoy speaker system came from one of the electronic places in there) Also near is the large Abdul Gaffoor Mosque. My dream stay would be at The Duxton - 8 converted old shophouses in CinaTown's Tanjong Pagar district.
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