A pampering treat at Araminth Spa Bali

This was back when my hair was still black. We were in Lovina, Bali, at the Kalibukbuk area. After days of travelling around and highly exposed to the sun, I decided to pamper myself a bit before going home on the next day. If you've been to Lovina, you'll understand how rural it is compare to Ubud, or worse, compare to Kuta. So I asked our driver to suggest where we should go for spa, and he recommended Araminth Spa.

In a lush tropical garden within the ancient Balinese palace grounds of Puri Ayudhya, in the heart of Lovina, reposes a haven for well-being: Araminth Spa.

The Spa offers four treatment rooms, spacious oval bath tubs for Mandi Lulur / tropical flower baths.
A relaxing garden-Gazebo, Lounge, and leisure rooms invite you to rest and enjoy complementary fruit drinks and health juices.
Araminth Spa is in walking distance from the Lovina Beach, in a small road (Jalan Mawar) leading to the beach. Tugged away from traffic, but yet close to main road Lovina and the main junction (traffic light Lovina).

“Aruna Centre”, 1 km from Araminth Spa on a hill plateau overlooking Lovina Bay is your garden Eden for your “Wellness Week”.

Read More

Duck Rice Carnarvon Street Penang - Marvelous roasted "quacks"

*Warning: This is a non-halal eatery.*

Duck rice second hit! Jit Seng Hong Kong Roasted Duck Rice (日昇香港燒鴨飯).




This place might or might not sounds familiar to you, it's near Prangin Mall and Komtar. Business starts around lunch hours. Carnavon Street (沓田仔) is known as Lam Chan Nah to the Penangites, meaning " poor quality swampy fields". Baby always like to pronounce Lam Chan Nah... to a Cantonese it might sound a bit funny, that's why he finds pronouncing it fun... This street starts from Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong (formerly known as Prangin Road 港仔墘) and end at Chulia Street (牛干冬) .

It's our favorite place for duck rice, even during working day lunch hour. I have a bunch of great lunch mates, whenever we have time, we'll explore some really good food. I am the one who seldom suggest where or what to eat, I actually enjoy more on savoring good food then review and share. One of the reason, places that I look forward to go is far away and we will not enough time during lunch hour, so I rather do it during the weekends with my baby and our parents.

Okay, back to the "quack quack". Let's drool....

1. Roast duck
Fragrant smell, pretty sure it's marinated with spices (special recipe). You will find less greasiness and only a little fat underneath the duck skin compare to most of the roasted duck you can find outside. I would say the roasting process is very well controlled. 讚！



2. Roast chicken
Mix dish of roasted chicken and white cut chicken (白斬雞). Don't laugh, it's really called white cut chicken in Wikipedia okay.



3. Roasted meat - siu bak (roasted pork) and char siu (BBQ pork)




A table full of fats~ But we enjoyed so much. Whichever roasted stuff that can get praises from the Ipoh-mali in our family will be considered rare in Penang. It's true, Cantonese is always better as food critics compare to Hokkien. If you really know where-to-eat in Ipoh, you'll find heaven.




My Rank: 4.5/5

Address:
246, Lebuh Carnarvon, 10100 Penang, Malaysia.

Tel: 04-262 2172 (Mr. Lam)

Business Hour 12.00pm – 3.00pm (Closed Public Holidays)

Read More

Nail Chapter Center, G Hotel Penang

Up close and personal - review on Nail Chapter Center
I visited Nail Chapter the day before my pre-wedding photo shooting. Coincidence that there is promotion for Classic Manicure and Pedicure available before my wedding events, no harm to give it a try. Overall the service is very good, I was served by Helen. She shared a lot of tips on nail care and make-up while doing the cuticle treatment for me. The whole session took about 1.5 hrs but I extended for another half an hour just to ensure the nail polish is at least 70% dry as I need to drive back home. Will be a waste if I accidentally scratch my nails during driving. Didn't manage to snap photos during the session as no camera is allowed.

Manicure:
- Nail Shaping
- Cuticle Cleaning/Exfoliation
- Cuticle Oil treatment
- Colouring

Pedicure:
- Nail Shaping
- Cuticle cleaning
- Cuticle oil treatment
- Colouring
- 2 Nail Art for toe nails

Address:
Level 3, G Hotel (Pool Side)
168A Persiaran Gurney
10250 Penang

Tel: +604 229 1292

Website: www.nailchapter.com

Facebook: Nail Chapter

Only at Nail Chapter, you will discover the best in hand and feet beauty services.


The price offerings are affordable for beauty-seekers with all kinds of budget. No more nail problems or nail brittles for even the most fervent nail biter.


Located in the heart of Penang, patrons will be wowed by the swanky and stylish interior of G Hotel. Nail Spa Center is located at the pool side of the hotel. Patrons will feel relaxed while their hands and feet are being pampered.


Using only the best products, they give their customers the best at a fraction of the price. Nail Chapter only hires nail artists who are well-trained and professional in each area. They do not only know how to beautify, they will educate you on the facts that you need to know about the often forgotten hands and feet.


At Nail Chapter, they also offer hair-do and make-up services. You will be surprised at the wonders that Nail Chapter can do with your nails.

Original article and photos: Adapted from mydeal.com.my

Read More

Air Itam Duck Rice - Craving for duck rice in the midnight!

If you think food blogger shouldn't be slim... HELLO!! I still eat in the midnight okay!!

Introducing the legendary Air Itam Duck Rice!! Legendary as of its business hour. Yes, business starts right in the midnight, to be exact, 11pm. You hear me? 11PM, not 11AM.




The price may be higher than the usual, but that's still consider reasonable if you want good food at 2am.




Ordered a dish of portion for 3. Too bad the duck had already sold out. Left only the Lou Mei (卤味). (T_T)
But exceptionally juicy and delicious. Simply one of the best Lou Mei I can find in Penang. Even the Cantonese from Ipoh also find it lip smacking (Ipoh-mali are very particular on food).




My Rank: 5/5 (thumbs up up up for those who fancy Lou Mei!)

Address:
Air Itam Market
11500 Air Itam
Penang

Read More

Dragon9ine 九龍餐廳 @ Bellisa Row Pulau Tikus Penang

*Ceased operation.

Looking for Cantonese inspired cooking? Try lunch, dinner and supper here! It's about Chinese fusion cuisine, mostly Cantonese. For Cantonese cuisine, many cooking methods are used. The most favored ones being steaming and stir-frying, also shallow frying, double boiling, braising, and deep frying. Hmm... now I feel like heating up the wok for some cooking now. Hehehe...

The interior of the restaurant. I can use one word to describe - VIBRANT. Very colorful.






The restaurant uses the Chinese Opera masks as its main decoration.




Crayons provided for you to write and draw on the mask. Designing own paper table runner.




Princess happily sketching on the mask. "Pre-wedding photo viewing day - 18/5/2011"




If you have not tried double boiled soup, you can try some here, they have quite some variety. We tried the seaweed and bazhen double boiled soup, both also taste good. Chinese herbal tea and iced coffee also not bad.




Here's my Marmite Chicken set lunch.




And his Braised Pork Belly set lunch.




One drawback of dining here is the limited parking space. If you go during office hours/weekday, normally you cannot get the metered car park lot in front of the shops. We parked at the car park behind Bellisa Row, charged RM3.50/hour for the first hour or part of it! Subsequent hour or part of it is another RM3/hour... @_@~


My Rank: 3.5/5 (double boiled soup worth a try)

Address:
368-1-5 & 368-1-6
Bellisa Row, Jalan Burma
10350 Penang

Tel: 04-229 4099

Business hours:
Monday- Sunday: 11:00am-11:00pm

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dragon9ine-Lunch-Dinner-Supper/133700593332707

Read More

Taiwan Bull 台湾公牛 Queensbay Mall

This is one of the restaurants that I used to dine in at Queensbay Mall. First review on it but not the first visit though. First visit - being attracted by the name - Taiwan Bull, sounds cute. Then found the beef noodle not bad, but some people find the soup a bit sour, but I still like it. Then the Stone Rice is also a good choice. Other than these two I'm not that interested in the other choices, same as for the beverages.




This round I tried the Mango Frozie, but it's only so so... maybe because I compare it against the mango expert Hui Lau Shan.




Detox tea. 洛神花茶.




Milk tea with pearl.




There was a promotion from Ezivoucher of More than just BEEF! 53% off 6 types of signature Taiwanese Noodles & Rice selection at only RM5.80 @ Taiwan Bull (Queensbay Mall). So I bought the vouchers and tried out these...

Crispy Pork Noodle Soup. I think the taste will be much better if the pork fillet is separated but not dipped in the soup.




Crispy Chicken Egg Rice. This one not bad too.




Fish Fillet Curry Rice. Curry is mild and not the spicy type. It's more like Japanese curry.




Ta daaa~~ My favorite order! Beef noodle.




And Beef Kushiyaki Stone Rice! Love this the most.




My Rank: 3/5 (still prefers the beef noodle and stone rice as usual)

Address:
LG - 45 & 46, Queensbay Mall,
Persiaran Bayan Indah,
Bayan Lepas, 11900 Penang, Malaysia.

Tel: 604-6440090

Business hour: 10 am -10.00 pm

Website: http://www.taiwanbull.com/
E- mail: twbull@hotmail.com

Read More

The Princess Wedding Diaries - Pre-wedding photo teasers

Teasers... our pre-wedding potraits~

Overall the effect was superb. Thanks Kenneth and Beron for the photography, Hui Lee and Stefvy for the make-up and hair-do.




Spent 5 hours to filter out pre-filtered 300+ perfect shots down to 52 for only the best of the best. Phew... that's really a tough job! Why not getting more? Hmm.... I'll leave it for the post-wedding honeymoon shoot in Maldives of course. Having the perfect moments captured on a rainy day which then turned sunny in the late afternoon, I'm already more than satisfied and blessed. The sky turned from gloomy to clear blue, with patches of white clouds then. =)






Some of the few screenshots taken from the desktop. All original without editing. These are not the best shots yet... I always want to save the best things for last. Will reveal the series after all is ready. :P

So how do you like our wedding photos? How many stars? 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5? (*v*)

Read More

Penang Hill Cable Car - the new funicular train service

My first official article for VisitPenang.gov.my! A brief article about the new Penang Hill cable car service. Original article here!

The new Penang Hill funicular train service has been opened to the public from April 25 after the upgrading. Before the upgrade, the total journey uphill takes about half an hour, with passengers changing cars at the mid-point station. The train may stop at other intermediate stations upon request. Unlike the previous train service, today, the new train does not require passengers to change trains half way up. Passengers will have non-stop service in air conditioned Swiss-made coaches.

The Penang Hill railway has been operating since 1923, providing 87 years of service until today. In 1977 new cars were provided, before the most recent upgrade starting February 2010. New cars were purchased to increase the passenger capacity as well as the speed of the train. Today it is capable of carrying up to 100 passengers at one go, and the train runs every half hour from 6.30am to 9pm daily.

Fare:
For Malaysian:
Adult: RM 8 per adult
Children: RM 4 (age 7-12) per child
Senior Citizen: RM 4 per person
Monthly Pass: RM 24 (for resident on the hill)
Disabled Person Free (with OKU card)

For Foreign Tourists:
Adult: RM 30 per adult
Children: RM 15 (age 7-12) per child

Credit:

Article by Cheryl Tan

Photos by Nikko Tan

Read More

Bee Won Korean Restaurant @ Royal Hotel Penang

*Ceased operation at Royal Hotel but you can enjoy more varieties at even lower price at their 2 outlets at Gurney paragon 5f Just food & Times Square 1f Food Gallery - BEEWON KOREAN FOOD.

It was mummy's birthday~ We celebrated at Bee Won Korean Restaurant located at Royal Hotel Penang. Here they offer authentic Korean food with varieties dishes. This place recalls my splendid memories in Korea, just look at all the decorations, you'll feel like you're already in South Korea!




The meal started off with servings of ban chan (side dishes). Most common ones are Kimchi and Shi Guem Chi (seasoned spinach). I personally like the Yang Nyum GGo Mak (seasoned cockles) very much. One thing that I like about having Korean cuisine is ban chan, always replenish-able.




What we ordered....
Chapjae/Japchae - Glass noodles accompanied with a variety of vegetables and beef in a slightly-sweet garlic sauce. A stand-alone dish in its own right, also be eaten as banchan.
Samgyetang/samkyetang - A whole young chicken stuffed with glutinous rice and boiled in a broth of Korean ginseng, dried seeded jujube fruits, garlic, and ginger.
Pajeon - A pancake-like dish made from a batter of eggs, flour, rice flour, green onions and other additional ingredients depending on the variety. Beef, pork, kimchi, shellfish and other seafood are mostly used.
Bulgogi - Bul means "fire", gogi means "meat" in Korean, which refers to the cooking technique, over an open flame.




Another of my favorite - Bibimbap. It means "mixed meal." Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating. It can be served either cold or hot. For visual appeal, the vegetables are often placed so that adjacent colors complement each other.




Family meal. =) And we had a personal waiter serving us.




Distributing Samgyetang into 4 servings.




Complimentary cordial drinks from Vicky.




Here's a perfect shot with Vicky onni. I get special discount dining here. So who wants to come again with me?



Bee Won has 5 VIP rooms with one room equipped with Karaoke systems and all that are for free of charge. You can do your bookings earlier in case you have special functions which requires privacy. Oh ya, remember to bring your parking ticket along, Bee Won's diners get free parking for the first hour.

** Promotion!! Now you get to enjoy lunch special at only RM18.90 per person (Daily 11.30am - 2.30pm, except Sunday). What is available in the menu - Kim Chi Stew, Soybean Paste Stew, Spicy Soft Tofu, Bibimbap, Grilled Fish.


My Rank: 4/5

Address:
Bee Won Korean Restaurant
3rd floor Royal Hotel Penang
3, Jalan Larut, 10050 Penang

Tel: 04-2277535

Business hour:
Mon - Sat: 11:30 am - 11:30 pm

Read More