Weekend Getaway to Cameron Highlands

The Cameron Highlands Resort is where I reluctantly spent my incredibly short weekend getaway.

But upon arriving at the resort, the lush greenery, rolling hills and Tudor-style cottages gave a slight uplift to my soul.

The tall French doors, timber-beamed ceilings and plantation shutters add colonial charm and a touch of nostalgia.

The décor of the resort bearing old English charm probably explains why to this day, Cameron Highlands is considered a little corner of England in the heart of Asia.

Breakfast at the dining room

We had a 4 course breakfast consisting of assorted fruits, freshly baked buns,muesli with yogurt and a main meal (pancakes/waffles/noodles/egg & sausages) of our choice.

After breakfast, we took a leisurely drive to check out what the little town of Cameron got to offer.


Cameron Highlands is still home to many tea plantations, strawberry and vegetable farms, jungle trials, cascading waterfalls and rose gardens. Most of the highland's character remains unchanged, exuding an old English charm.



BOH Tea Plantation, established since 1929

Not sure if you know it, but I just learnt what BOH stands for - Best Of Highlands

The BOH tea center has a cafe that overlooks a lush greenery of tea leaves, and a short tour of how tea leaves are being processed.

Here's where all the plucking, rolling, withering, sorting and roasting begins!

Frankly, I've never been impressed with BOH teas, not even after trying their signature gold blend.

Personally, I prefer teas from Taylors or Harrogate, PG Tips or the widely available Twinings.

However, my retails instincts kicked-in unknowingly and I ended up filling my shopping basket with countless boxes of gourmet tea at the BOH souvenir shop. Sheesh! Sometimes I ask myself when will I ever control my buying!

One last pic of us and Goodbye to BOH!!!!

I can't wait to return to the hotel to freshen up!

Upon arriving, Mr X surprised me with reservations at the Jim Thompson tea room for an afternoon English tea.

It was a cosy retreat in a nostalgic setting followed by a selection of mini cakes, pastries, sandwiches and freshly baked scones accompanied by fresh cream and Cameron strawberries!

Just before dinner, we headed to the street bazaars!

Spotted a few interesting sights......

Purple Cauli-flowers

Freshly picked flowers

Freshly picked corn on the cob

Buckets of fresh strawberries

Make a guess what is this......................

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Strawberry Flavoured Popsickle!!!!!!

Pretty little carrots...

Just after 7pm, we arrived at the very much raved about "Ye Olde Smokehouse".

Upon entering the smokehouse, I was greeted by whiffs of musky or probably mouldy scents

Since this actual place dates all the way back to the 1930s, I would imagine that it certaintly retained a very distinctive old world english charm.

I'm not sure if the smell of the place or the creaking floors contributed to my thoughs of flashing images from the Amityville horror, but I honestly don't remember feeling this way when i was here 24 years ago.

The only reason why Mr X and myself is back here at the Smokehouse is because we individually had incredible childhood memories of the place and not forgetting the welcoming smell of roasted beef that fills the whole place. Unfortunately, we both experienced none of that this time round.

When I was a child, at the smokehouse, I certaintly remember running back to my parents several times to be fed. One thing for sure, I don't normally don't do that unless the food was exceptionally good.

We were hoping that dinner would compenstate any of those earlier disappointments, but unfortunately the presentation and quality of the food was such a disaster. I won't bother with giving any decription or ratings of the food, but I guessed pictures of them would probably tell a thousand words.

Sirloin Beef with Yorkshire pudding

Grilled Salmon

Lamb loins with cranberry sauce

Beef Wellington

Baked Alaska

One thing for sure, we won't be returning to the Smokehouse for the third time!!!!

Formula Drift 2009 - Day 2 of 2 (Race Day)

Grand Entrance of all Drifters

Stunt Biker - Mattie Griffin from Ireland

He's so cute and talented!!!!


My thoughts runs wild...i wonder what kind of bed-room stunts he is capable of!

Action packed Donuts


After the qualifying rounds which determined the top 16 drivers based on scores by the official judges, the competitors went head-to-head in pairs in the tandem battles.

Video of a twin battle

From the round of 16, the field was cut down to eight before the last four drivers headed to the semi-finals.

In the spirit of the race, the drifters have all come together to rev the water away!




And finally the track becomes drier...



But I still anticipate an "action-packed" drift competition *Evil Grin*

The Malaysians came out strong today to take all three podium positions Tengku Djan leading the pack. Tengku Djan's fellow countrymen Azam and Ariff Johanis, both driving for team Goodyear, took home the second and third place respectively.

Check out the videos of the final 3 drifters:






Tengku Djan faced competition from another Malaysian Johan Morman Azam in the final round but he showed his experience by performing a tight round while Azam struggled to keep up with him.

Formula Drift 2009 - Day 1 of 2

Drifting is a highly-skilled motorsport that requires drivers to control the car at high speed while it slides sideways through a marked course.

Hosted at the Changi Exhibition Centre, 37 drift drivers from Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand came out to put their pedal to the metal in the two-day event this year where the spotlight shone on the top amateur drivers in the region.

Unlike typical motorsport competitions, the drivers are judged on execution and style rather than who finishes the course first. It involves precise control and maneuvering of the car to the limits of the tyres' traction thus creating spectacular powerslides around a series of corners of a set course.

I can't wait for all the action to begin!!!!

Grandstand

Race course with barriers...

Adolescent Wannabe Race Queens

Make-shift Paddocks

Featured drifters...

Jane Cheah (the only female drifter in this event)

I was rooting for her, but unfortunately, Jane narrowly miss qualifying for the final 16 tandem battles as she came in 17th amongst the field of male drivers. But nonetheless, she really rocks!!!!


Nitrous!!! Ooo La La!

Check out this nitrous in the MX5



Videos of practice sessions



But this is my favourite!!! Check out the aggressive execution!!

James Tang (HKG) and me....


Lexus GS300....

Lexus GS300 drifting in action...


I'm so amused that the Lexus GS300 can drift.....I'm starting to have ideas of drifting my BMW5 series now!!!

Accident Vehicles...


More accident vehicles...

Videos of some "kwa-kwa" drift actions during their practise session

Toyota Soarer...

Sweeping more cones....

Another hand-gun


Can't wait for more action tomorrow!!!

Tang Dian Wang @ Suntec City

Though I’m not a fan of Shanghai-ness food, it was the décor of the restaurant that enticed my entrance.


The ambience was unique unlike the typical restaurants clustered around the suntect fountain. I’m quite impressed with the clusters of hanging lanterns, very oriental stylish and tastefully done.


As compared to Peach Blossom, Imperial Treasures, the menu offerings were refreshingly innovative, we were definitely spoilt for choice.


Other than the typical shanghai-ness cold dishes, the rest of the menu offerings did not appear to be pure-breed Shanghai-ness food, it appeared to a fushion with Cantonese cuisine.

To my surprise, it seems that their specialty is the double-boiled soups, my favourite!

They even had a ladle-stand for their soups!

I had such a hard time choosing which soup to order because I want everything!!!
I can’t order 2 different soups because each serving comes in a pot fit for 2-3 pax.


Double-boiled deep fried grouper with green apples, honey dates and logans. (Yummy Score: 8.5/10)

The description of the soup was pretty unique to me and the waitress also quoted the detoxifying benefits of the soup which really sat well with me. At first glance , the soup looked brown and muddy, kind of reminded me of red-bean soup. Yuck!!

But 1 sip of it really blew me away, all the flavours have been infused into the soup and my brain waves transmitted “nourishing and detoxifying” !!!!!

Amazingly, the deep-fried grouper still maintain it’s crunch and it was still quite satisfying to munch on. The soup was wholesome, appetizing and the hint of green apples gave a refreshing finish to the palette.


Chilled shredded chicken on cucumber bed with Sesame Sauce
(Yummy Score : 3/10)

I always love the aroma of sesame but for some reason, this sesame sauce didn’t work for me.
Somehow, I felt that the sesame was too artificially over-powering and the consistency alittle too creamy.


Wild Mushrooms with Cabbage Wrap (Yummy Score : 5/10)

I’m a fan of all kinds of mushrooms except Chinese mushrooms, totally forgot to ask them to exclude it and true enough, the cabbage wrap had a variety of mushrooms including Chinese mushrooms. OMG! The smell of Chinese mushrooms are so revolting and worst, this dish is prepared in the “purest” form maintaining the original flavors of each ingredient.

Specialty Tofu with crispy Oats (Yummy Score : 8/10)

This dish gave a good texture and balance to our meal as most of the dishes were either steam, boiled or soaked in sauces. The tofu skin was crisp on the outside and so soft and melt-in-your-mouth inside. The crispy oats had subtle aromas of curry leaves and chilli padi to give it that oomp factor, but it would have been more satisfying if they had been more generous with the oats.


Overall, the service was good, the crew was attentive to our needs especially when it comes to filling up our soup bowls. The food was decent but not impressive, if I ever return, it would only be for their double-boiled soups.

The Tapas Tree @ Changi Village

We almost died of a heat-stroke after a 2 hours solid tennis game on a super-sunny Sunday afternoon. It was 1 of the most physically tiring game in a long long while, perhaps it was the heat….but it definitely killed our dinner appetite all together.

But then again, we needed to grab a small bite to fill our stomachs and so we took a leisurely drive to the nearby changi village.

A warm chicken-stew from Jacob’s café was on my mind, but just before we even whiz pass it, I spotted “Tapas Tree” .

From the car, I wasn’t sure if it’s the same outlet located in Clarke Quay but we were both pretty excited about our “new” find.


Immediately, Mr X exclaimed “A nice glass of Sangria would be nice” , obviously the choice of our dinner venue was made even before we check-out the authencity of the Tapas Tree.



You might have guessed….yes, we both had a glass of ruby red Sangria!!!


For little bites, this is what we ordered:

Tenderloin in red-wine sauce with wild mushrooms (Yummy Score: 7.5/10)

The tenderloin cubes were stewed to perfection!
Tender juicy cubes of beef accompanied by a delightful tasting red-wine sauce with hints of peppercorn, garlic and thyme.


King Prawn in Bacon Wrap (Yummy Score: 9/10)

The prawns were superb, fresh and succulent. It was nicely grilled with layers of bacon wrap that complimented the flavour and sweetness of the prawns


Pan-fried Salmon in Creamy Saffron Sauce (Yummy Score : 2/10)

The strong orange color of the saffron sauce was really intimidating, moreover, I can’t even detect the slightest hint of Saffron. The sauce was bland, flat and over-creamy. The salmon tasted alittle too fishy for my standards and the sauce did nothing at all to camouflage the flaw. Disappointing and a waste of my calories!


Spanish Churros with Hot Chocolate (Yummy Score : 9.5/10)

We waited almost 20mins for dessert but it was definitely worth the wait because the churros arrived freshly baked, piping hot and crisp to bite. The churros was served with generous sprinklings of cinnamon sugar and a huge dollop of chocolate paste for dipping. Heavenly!

Cute Cereal Packaging

Weekly grocery shopping at Jelita Cold Storage never fails to surprise me.

Their assortment of products may not be as wide as hyper-giants like Walmart, Carre-four, etc but I personally find very unique products every now and then at Jelita. However, I must make it clear that those products that I define as "unique" at Jelita could probably be found somewhere else. Secondly, I may appear to be "swa-ku" when I get fascinated with a product because it may be something you have already seen and know about but not me.

It's kinda difficult to describe what we buy every week especially when we don't cook but I must admit that we are guilty of endless buying...then hoarding...then off to the dustbin when the item expires. But in whatever the case, grocery shopping for us is almost like going on a romantic night out!

Hence, on a weekly basis, I've decided to start featuring few of the more fascinating purchases


Granola packed in a milk-carton!!!!!!!!!


The packaging is so cute!!!!!!!!


I simply love granola and almonds...it's the perfect combination!

It certaintly gives a refreshing meaning to breakfast!!!!

No more eating cereal out of big boring rectangular boxes! YAY!!!!

House of Bamboo Noodles @ Joo Chiat

We both had a long day at work, all we needed was a simple fuss-free dinner to fill our stomachs

I'm not sure if I can say that it's one of those days where we eat to live rather than live to eat.

And so, while driving along Joo Chiat....this little chinese eatery "House of Bamboo Noodles" caught our eye.




At first sight, I wasnt really sure if this is where dinner would be....but taking a closer look, there is this noodle-making-equipment at the forefront on this cafe.


Logically, I presume that noodles should be better than average here, besides, having noodles for dinner is not as sinful as having rice for dinner.

And so, half-the-battle won in selecting a venue for dinner!!!!

For a simple...fuss-free dinner, here's what we ordered:



Chinese-style Chicken (Yummy Score : 7.5/10)

For some reason, the waitress keeps promoting this sick-looking chicken to us and she goes on and on (in mandarin) about how unique the taste of this chicken is. To cut her rattles, we gave in and ordered quarter of the chicken.


This may look like an ordinary boiled chicken...but there's something quite "magical" about this.
As I was bringing a piece of it to my lips....the aroma of the chicken was already teasing my senses. A bite into it revealed a more tantilising flavour of marination and surprisingly, the meat was tender and reasonably moist considering the shrivelled appearance of the chicken.


I can't put my finger as to what ingredients was being used, but it sure taught me never to judge a chicken by it's appearance!!!!



Healthy Spinach Soup (Yummy Score : 4/10)

This soup is basically blended spinach & tofu-cubes

Taste and consistency were within acceptable range; but I found the flavour alittle too bland for my liking



Special "Tobiko" Dumpling Noodle (Yummy Score : 1/10)

The noodles were disappointing! I think instant noodles taste so much better!

And worst, the dumplings....putting fresh prawns aside...the blend of the filling simply does'nt gel. The broth was a failure, need i say more....

Speciality fried noodle (Yummy Score : 0/10)

This fried noodles obviously shows that the chef knowledge of ingredient blending and flavour matching is zero. Frankly, I do not think this is the least bit acceptable to my taste-buds.

Overall, I'll not return....not even the ugly-looking aromatic chicken saved the day.

Road accident sightings over the weekend

ACCIDENT 1

Mitsubishi Air-trek crashes into a Volvo S80

Dunno why got police involved....can't find any casualty leh






ACCIDENT 2


Mitsubishi Lancer-lution looses control while exiting from ECP at high speed

Kyosho RC For Sale

1) Kyosho V-One RR GT, PureTen GP 4WD
Comes with engine (never used brand new) and many spare parts accessories - spare tyre, fuel, plastic parts etc

2) Starter box

3) Glow igniter

Essentially, a complete RC kit that one can play immediately going at a rock-bottom price of $300 (Negotiable)

*Radio controller sold separately

Anyone interested, you know how to reach me!

Senki Japanese Resturant @ Kiliney Road

Quietly located along the row of shop-houses along Kiliney Road is Senki Japanese Resturant.


Sashimi Bar...


From the outside, it may appear that seats are pretty limited, but there are actually 2 floors of seating capacity in this restaurant. I was relieved to be seated upstairs, away from the hustle and bustle of the Friday’s dinner crowd.


The décor is similar to any other traditional Japanese restaurant with a touch of modern wood furnishings. Table settings are pretty simple and no frills too….


Check out what we ordered:

Assorted Sashimi Platter

This platter consisted of an assortment of salmon,yellow-tail, sword-fish,octopus and my favourite salmon belly! The fish slices were fresh....downing it with ice-cold sake...a very satisfying start to a meal.

Prawn & Vegetable Tempura (Yummy Score : 6/10)

Nothing extraordinary about this, but at least it was served warm and crisp.



Grilled Mackeral (Yummy Score : 7/10)

It was well-grilled leaving a layer of crisp on the outside.

Fresh Mackeral on its own has it's distinct flavoured..and the smokiness of the grill definately brought out it's natural goodness.

Saute Beef with onions (Yummy Score : 8/10)

As normal or common this dish is, I found this rather outstanding.

The sweetness of the onions with Senki's house sauce, it complimented the beef really well.

Peach Salad

Didnt bother to give it a score....it was simply slices of peach resting on a bed of seasoned cabbages with a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Refreshing to bite!

California Roll (Yummy Score : 2/10)

Never a fan of such rolls....didnt know why i even ordered it at all

1 is the crispy salmon skin version while the other is the salmon belly version....the taste of the vege sticks overcame everything else. The quality of the seaweed used were also probably inferior. What an utter waste of calories!

Chicken Karage (Yummy Score : 4/10)

A little better than the average standard most japanese resturants serve...till date, I think Beppu still has the best chicken karage ever!

Japanese Saute Chap Chye (Yummy Score : 6/10)

We probably ordered this dish so that we won't feel so guilty towards our diet regime.

It was a mixture of cabbage, carrots, radish, shimeji mushrooms and sprinklings of fried garlic.

Assorted Sashimi Platter

And yet we'll have to conclude the meal with another serving of fresh sashimi coupled with the last few sips of sake....this would be the perfect finale to a good japanese meal.