Water Drop Tea House Penang 滴水坊 - Vegetarian food in the Penang Heritage Area

Have you ever think of having your high tea at somewhere serene and with the go-green concept, or perhaps some vegetarian or organic food? Next time when you go around the George Town Heritage area, consider to drop by at Water Drop Tea House for some organic drinks or the Fried Sesame Bao (bun). Believe or not, they serve the best sesame bao ever! I've always heard about how good their fried sesame bao is until I was brought by baby to this tea house in one of the weekends. Then I fell in love with it! =)




Water Drop Tea House is located at Lebuh Penang, where the T-junction of Lebuh Union and Lebuh Penang is met. If you come from Lebuh Pantai where the main street of banks are located, turn into the junction when you see Standard Chartered bank, after the turn you will see Maybank on your left. Try to find a parking space as soon as you see Maybank, there is always limited parking lots at that area.






The interior of the tea house. Serene and cozy, perfect for afternoon tea.






There is even a little courtyard in the middle of the tea house, with hanging plants.




Books on the shelf, mostly for sale.




Water Drop Tea House 滴水坊.




The menu listed daily servings, not exactly the same menu everyday for main course. But there are also some dishes and snacks available daily. It's self-service ordering system here, you mark your orders on the menu and then place order at the counter. After you pay, the staff will send your order to you.




Our order: Nutmeg juice 豆蔻汁 and Black Soya Bean 黑豆漿




一碗慈心粥，勝飲人參湯；
一杯清和茶，勝喝瓊玉漿；
一口菜根香，勝嚼就肉飯；
一念思無邪；勝辯滿漢餐。
《佛光菜根譚》



Red Mee Sua 紅粷麵綫
I like this one very much, but maybe some people might find the taste weird.




Enjoy sipping my black soya bean.




And my red mee sua. Some artistic shot by baby. Commercial ads? Hahha...




Then came the highlight of my high tea - Fried Sesame Bao 芝麻煎包
Always allow a little longer time for preparation of the bao. See how generous is the topping of sesame... yummy yummy~ Crunchy from the outside, soft and juicy inside, you might even think that you are having Char Siew Bao, the filling is so aromatic.




All of the profit of this teahouse is used for monasteries and charitable purposes. So whatever you spent here is going to help someone out there. Isn't that great?




My Rank: 4.5/5
(very high rank for Vegetarian restaurant as everything is equally delicious, do remember to order Fried Sesame Bao, available for dine-in and take-away)

Address:
16 Penang Street,
Georgetown, 10200 Penang

Tel: 04-2636300

Opening hours :
Tue - Fri : 9am - 5pm
Sat & Sun : 9am - 3pm
Closed on Mondays

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Carmel Bakery and Coffee Co. - High tea at Carmel-by-the-Sea

Carmel-by-the-sea is often called Carmel, and very easy to mistakenly be called Caramel. I love its name, so sweet and relaxing. Don't you think so?

Just use your senses to feel it, when I say, "Hey, I just come back from a vacation in Carmel." It sounds totally different from "Hey, I just come back from a vacation in New York.", isn't it?

Look at this.... I couldn't believe I was still in California!




Yes, the American flag had answered me. =P




Wünderbar! The colors~~~ Such a nice contrast.




The flowers!! This is Piccadilly Park. Very artistic buildings, looks like Hansel and Gratel's candy house huh?

Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, the town is known for its natural scenery and rich artistic history. In 1906, the San Francisco Call devoted a full page to the "artists, poets and writers of Carmel-by-the-Sea", and in 1910 it reported that 60 percent of Carmel's houses were built by citizens who were "devoting their lives to work connected to the aesthetic arts." Early City Councils were dominated by artists, and the town has had several mayors who were poets or actors, including Herbert Heron, founder of the Forest Theater, bohemian writer and actor Perry Newberry, and actor-director Clint Eastwood, who was mayor for one term, from 1986 to 1988.

Galleries everywhere. Would you understand how excited was I to be there!

The town is known for being dog-friendly, with numerous hotels, restaurants and retail establishments admitting guests with dogs.

Be-friend with the dogs in Carmel. They're so cute! They just got to know each other.

Carmel–by-the-Sea is an exceptionally dog-friendly city. Most hotels allow dogs to stay with guests. Almost all restaurants that offer outside dining allow dogs in those areas, with most of them also offering water. A few have special "doggie menus." Many retailers allow dogs to accompany their owners in their stores and many have treats available. Water bowls and dog biscuits can also be found in front of many stores.

Cookies made especially for the furry fellas. Dogs get to enjoy pastries too. Very colorful and attractive. I discovered this in the Carmel Bakery and Coffee Company, the cafe where we had high tea.




Who would not be attracted when passing by the shop?? From Scottish scones, English scones, Italian Biscotti, giant soft Bavarian pretzels to flaky pastries, muffins and turnovers with powdered sugar abound...




Too fancy a cafe... the displays are more like the exhibits in a gallery to me.




Tadaa~ Festive and well decorated. What's your choice?




Cookies for take-away or as souvenirs (lovely packed).




Guess which one did I pick? Quick, make the guess.



*
*
*

The GINGERBREAD MAN.



**mUnChInG...mUnChInG....**




For discerning coffee lovers, you get to enjoy coffee still, they serve Starbucks® Coffee too - varieties of freshly brewed coffee, Capuccinos, Lattes, Macchiattos, Espresso, Tazo Teas, etc...




Whoops.... I committed a crime there....




"I KILLED THE GINGERBREAD MAN!!! I KILLED THE GINGERBREAD MAN!!!" ~T__T~
But he's just too delicious... that's why...




Customers coming in non-stop... Mostly grab their goods and go. But we had a long chat and cozy afternoon sitting in the bakery. They had coffee while I enjoyed sipping some lemonade. =)




Soup and sandwiches are available for lunch. You can consider having a light meal here too before visiting the galleries.

Address:
Ocean Avenue & Lincoln Ln,
Carmel, CA 93923, United States

Tel:　+1 831-626-8885 ‎

Business hours:
Daily 7am-8pm

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Some memories that I brought back from Carmel. A sketches collection map by Lisa's Studio, distributed for free! It's called Carmel-by-the-Sea Treasure Map. You can get a clearer look here.




Princess at Thomas Kinkade's Garden Gallery.

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Eastern Wishes Nanyang ＆Thai Restaurant（南洋泰餐小厨）

This is one of my favorite place for Thai cuisine. They don't serve authentic Thai dishes but it's sort of a mix of Hakka and Thai cuisine, which I think, suits better for the local flavors. Located at the i-Avenue commercial shops, this restaurant is one of the popular place for lunch and dinner for those who works around Bayan Lepas area. The dishes are priced very reasonably, with a large variety of choices. They also have set lunch meal, inclusive a bowl of soup, drink and a main dishes. Remember to check out the Today Special too.

Cozy ambiance, great place not just for lunch and dinner, you would be surprised by the desserts too, which I am going to introduce in this post.




Below are some of my favorite choices of all time. I have plenty to intro but I couldn't find the photos of my previous visits at the moment. Just bear with the text and you will not regret to order them.

Fried crispy kangkung.




Green curry chicken.




Hainan black sauce pork.




Chendol. This would be the best chendol that we've ever eaten! Yes, in Penang. Even better than the most famous Chendol. It looks like snowy ice, but I guess this is what that makes the whole process of eating well controlled as it melts slowly without becoming too watery. BUT, remember one thing, DON'T mix the chendol (the green worm-like-jelly) with the ice when you're eating, else it would freeze and then loses its chewiness. So scoop slowly and enjoy chewing.




Another very nice dessert - Tab Tim Krob (Red Rubies). It's actually water-chestnuts coated in tapioca flour (colored red), served with jack-fruit slices in coconut milk. Very rich taste.




Other dishes of my choice (but couldn't find the photos):
- Black Pepper Crispy Squid
- Glass chicken leg kerabu
- Tomyam seafood
- Pad Ped


My Rank: 4/5
Chendol is a MUST-TRY

Address:
1-1-49, I-Avenue,
Jalan Tun Dr. Awang,
11900 Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang.

Opening hours:
Tue to Fri 10.30am to 2.30pm, 5.30pm-9.30pm
Saturdays and Sundays 10.30am to 3pm, 5.30pm-9.30pm
Monday Closed

Tel: 604-6410191

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Golden Gate Bridge...again| 再见金门大桥

Two years ago during my first visit to the Golden Gate Bridge I wasn't very happy because it was drizzling all the time. The sky was grey and gloomy. And for someone who likes photography (like me), we usually prefer sunny blue sky with a dash of cloud for a good contrast.

This day was exactly the very next day after the Tsunami in Japan. I received emails and messages left by friends telling me to stay away from the Pacific coast. Tsunami alert enforced in California state for the bay area residents was then removed after hours of monitoring and confirmed no hazard.

I went to the beach! Wave was big but that's normal so no issue.




Serge drove me to Napa Valley on that weekend, and since the weather was so fine, he suggested that we spend a little time for Golden Gate Bridge. *Yippie~*

From San Jose we took the Skyline route, passed by San Francisco and crossed Golden Gate Bridge before going to Napa Valley. Here's the view of Golden Gate Bridge from Presideo, so tiny!




Princess Cheryl's second visit to San Fran and the Golden Gate Bridge~

The Golden GateDeep sea geology exposed
The scene before you is the result of a tectonic collision that went on for millions of years, beginning in the Jurassic period -- about 200 million years ago. Two of the plates that form the earth's crust collided. The floor of the Pacific thrust beneath the North American continent, scraping and fracturing rock, forcing it together to form the Franciscan Complex along 500 miles of this coast. You are standing on the complex now -- rocks of the Golden Gate headlands were assembled by that collision, from 80 to 125 million years ago.
In fact, the headlands on both sides of the Golden Gate are world-renowned for rarely glimpsed oceanic rock that were forced to the earth's surface: serpentinite found in the earth's mantle, deep-sea chert and other sedimentary marine rock, greenstone from the ocean floor, and greywacke sandstone from the continent's margin. Greenstone and greywacke are the most common rocks here at Lands End.

Port of San Francisco
Canoes, clipper ships, and steamers
From the native Ohlone and Miwok peoples' tule reed canoes to today's immense cargo ships, vessels have plied San Francisco Bay for centuries.
In 1775, the Spanish ship San Carlos sailed through the Golden Gate and became the first European vessel to enter the harbor. For the next seventy-nine years, under Spanish and then Mexican rule, the port saw little traffic. That changed soon after the United States gained control of California in 1848 after the Mexican-American War. The following year, after gold was discovered in the Sierra Nevada, it seemed the whole world headed for San Francisco. In addition to soldiers and opportunity seekers of all sorts, clipper ships and steamers brought trade goods from around the globe.
Today, shipping continues through the Golden Gate on ships guided by computerized navigation systems unimagined a century ago.

Riding in a Toyota Prius. *wink wink*




Getting nearer to the Golden Gate Bridge.




Poser. Such a beautiful day!






Main span 4200 feet.




The gift shop. They sell CANNED FOG!!? Interesting...but how do I verify if there's real fog of San Francisco inside. =)




Snap^ snap^




Someone passed by and volunteered to help me snap this one. Outside the walkway of the gift shop.




Moments of crossing the bridge.Unbelievably sunny when the forecast said it might rain...




I made it through the day under the hot sun, and lucky I didn't get drunk after drinking tasting so much of wine at Napa Valley. =P

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