Travel Report : Penang

I went to Penang for 5 days with a friend this year. It is like only an hour flight away from Singapore and said to be an island with a laid-back charm and delicious food and here is the report. A little warning though, it'll be a long post with lots of photo spam.

On a side note totally unrelated to Penang itself, Changi airport were having these amazing temporary indoor gardens on display. I think it was to coincide with the opening of the Gardens by the Bay. I just had to share it with you!

 We arrived at about 4pm local time. The view below is of Penang bridge that connects the island to mainland Malaysia.

Aerial view

Whenever possible, we prefer to take public transportation because it's cheap and you can do some sightseeing while you're getting to the hotel. Our hotel was Park Royal at Batu Ferringhi area which is located literally at the other end of the island, luckily there's a bus that goes there straight. It'd take about an hour to reach Batu Ferringhi but we figured we weren't in a hurry so we went with it.

Waiting for the bus outside the airport

Interior of the bus

The journey was pleasant, very mellow and it did take about an hour but you got to see lots of places.

Here we've arrived at Batu Ferringhi!

As I understand it, Batu Ferringhi is considered a more upscale area and kind of touristy. Lots of money changers, travel agents, and themed restaurants at the area.

This is our hotel.

It's a five-star hotel but the building is old. I do love the lobby design, very open and blurring the line between outdoor/indoor kinda thing. High ceiling and lots of ceiling fans give a nice tropical feel.

Double volume corridor

The Pool area with landscape

The breakfast area

These are the view from our room.

A Room with a View

The disappearing horizon

That's Batu Ferringhi beach right at the back of the hotel. I couldn't take my eyes off of the seemingly disappearing horizon. I felt so small, and so invigorated.

I didn't take any picture of the room because there's nothing much to talk about. It is a pretty old building and when I was standing at he balcony, I saw a rat as big as a guinea pig running around the courtyard. Not that I have a problem with it, just an observation.

Anyway, we were famished so we decided to eat at Golden Thai seafood restaurant nearby which also served as a birthday dinner for me.

Fish BBQ Malaysian style, I forgot the name of the fish.

Clockwise from top: Tom Yam soup, Fried Enoki mushrooms, and kangkong belachan

We ordered fish BBQ, kangkong belachan, tom yum soup, and fried enoki mushroom. It was delicious but nothing out of the ordinary and I figured the price could be a rip-off so for that kind of price I expected something more. The wait-staff was kind of slow, sometimes they would chat with each other or play with their cells in front of all the patrons to see. Very disappointing for this kind of restaurant. Funny thing is, of all the stuff we ordered, I loved the enoki mushroom the most.

The next day we headed to town in search of more authentic Penang cuisine and we found it! We alighted near Komtar and walked down a couple rows of shophouses and found this hole-in-the-wall durian ice cream 'restaurant' that also sold some of the most famous Penang dishes. here's what we ordered:

Chark Kway Teow with juicy shrimps

The famous Assam Laksa

Kueh Pie Ti with parsnips and shrimp fillings

Ice Kachang, very pretty! The white scoop is durian flavored ice cream

Notice the worn down table top. These are hands down the best food we tasted during the trip. I would recommend this place to you but I don't remember the name.

Next up we headed to the much-hyped George Town. Seeing as it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, we were hoping to see something special. Well...perhaps we wandered at the wrong part of the town, perhaps it was Sunday so very few shops were open, but the trip to George Town was a bit of disappointment. It may be more impressive to people from the western world but for me, I've come across this kind of spectacle almost everywhere in the city I live in or my home country so it's not that unique to me.

It is still a fun experience, though. Here are some of the pics:

A very cute art on a side of a wall, made with wire

Before we knew it, it was afternoon again. We went back to Batu Ferringhi and hit up Long Beach, some kind of food court that is ubiquitous in Penang. We wanted to eat here the night before but it was full to the brim, we couldn't find a table.

Interior of Long Beach

Here's what we ordered:

Clockwise from top: Roti canai with curry, oyster omelette, fried spring roll, and satay

Oyster omelette

Satay

I must warn you that they're really not as delicious as they look, although as a South-East Asian, my standard is definitely higher ;-)

Next up we hit the beach. Gorgeous, sunset-lit beach.

It was so idyllic and tranquil, and there weren't much people around. I'd just stare into the ocean and got lost in my own thoughts. At night I'd open the door to the balcony and let the sound of the waves in. Bliss.


And that was pretty much what we did for the next few days, just ate and hit the beach.

The next day we ordered in room service for lunch because we were too lazy to leave the hotel. We ordered Nasi Kandar, another Penang favorite with Indian influence, and for my sweet tooth I got strawberries with chocolate mousse. They tasted surprisingly authentic!

Nasi Kandar

All the dips and Papadum cracker

Strawberries with chocolate mousse

We went to Long Beach again for dinner and I got a little carried away with my order.

Fish BBQ and Ba Kut Teh

Calamari

Mixed Veggies

Again, nothing special but the chili dip for the fish BBQ was really nice.

I also bought a couple of chicken wings BBQ but they weren't for me........they were for this little fella:

I think he belonged to one of the hotel's staff. He had a collar on and he seemed to behave. He would sit outside the lobby and didn't dare to come in even though there was literally no stopping him. He was very friendly and he gobbled down all the chicken wings I bought him happily ^_^

The next night we went to Kafe Goodall for dinner, it's the same type of food court as Long Beach, only it's located a little nearer to town.

*On a side note, while the vista was very beautiful, I truly hated the bus ride along the Batu Ferringhi beach. The road was on the side of the cliff overlooking the ocean with many turns and the driver just sped through the undulating terrain, hardly slowing down whenever there was a turn or slope. It was terrifying!

Exterior of Kafe Goodall

Interior of Kafe Goodall

Stingray BBQ

Oyster Omelette

It was very meh. I actually bought an Assam laksa as well but it was so horrible I wasn't even compelled to take pictures.

The next day we were flying back to Singapore but not before stopping by Tesco and hitting up our last eatery in Penang: Hakka Tree.

Fried Enoki Mushrooms

Golden Wontons

Meatballs soup

They were actually very yummy! I still prefer the enoki mushrooms at Golden Thai. The golden wontons were not as I expected, it has this white fish paste fillings instead of minced meat that I'm used to but still tasty. And lastly, meatball soup. Love.

And here are some of the things I relied on the most during this trip:

Clockwise from top left corner:
1. Multi-color earrings from New Look
2. Green maxi dress from Monsoon
3. SK-II miracle water to keep my skin in check
4. Maybe Baby perfume by Benefit
5. I Want Love by Elton John and Mad Season by Matchbox 20. Somehow these two songs were in heavy rotation on my iPod the whole time I was in Penang
6. Black-blue Marc by Marc Jacobs acetate sunglasses
7. OPI Stranger Tides

My overall impression of Penang is that it is a very mellow town. There aren't still that many tall buildings and massive highways, the feeling is indeed laid-back.

So to conclude this long and winding post, I thought I'd share another photo of that idyllic Batu Ferringhi beach.

Until next time!

Brunch at Cedele

It was one weekend where I was feeling like I should lay low, and I decided to try this eatery that was a bit ubiquitous here in Singapore but somehow I've never gotten the chance to try.

Cedele is a chain that offers a selection of food claimed to be made with natural and simple ingredients. I like its seeming simplicity and this particular branch I visited was quite low-key, so I got my food and sat in one corner.

I actually forgot what exactly that I bought, looks like a bowl of brown rice salad, Caesar salad, and two pieces of Mexican wedding cookies. They have a few selections for the dressing (those small cups), the red one is a raspberry dressing.

They used their sugar and salt sparingly. It did taste wholesome and I felt light even after gobbling down the whole tray.

Blissful Things #1

My days can get real crazy sometimes, and these lovelies have helped me to get through them these lately.

Clockwise from top left corner:

1. Josie Maran Argan Lip Treatment - smells like green apple and melts to the touch. It looks pretty on my dressing table, too.

2. Philosophy Melon Daiquiri shower gel - smells like watermelon and very moisturizing.

3. Benefit Coralista - Perfect peach-pink shade for me, it's like I glow from within (Jealous much? =D
)
4. Dior Abricot Balm - Rub this onto my cuticles every night. Overpriced, smells weird, and extremely sticky. But it's Dior, so sue me.

5. Lay's Sour Cream & Onion potato chips - a bagful of this rights every wrongs.

What's your blissful things?

End the Week on a Sweet Note!

What a tough week I've had! Just a reminder that there will always be things to smile about ^_^

Introducing : Priti NYC

Wow just realized I haven't been blogging since August! Been busy....even though I've got so much to share :(

First up is a collective post about an up-and-coming nail polish brand that I kinda like. 'Kinda', because I'm not all that crazy about its formula and price but I like their concept, their bottle design, and the color offerings.

So, without further ado, I present you.......Priti NYC!

L-R: Alister Stella Gray Rose, Magic Man Iris, Lambstail Cactus

I came across this brand accidentally when I was out shopping. This is an eco brand, they claim to be free from harmful chemicals and their packaging is recyclable. You can find out more about the brand here.

The three shades above are (from left to right):
- Alister Stella Gray Rose: A beautiful peach-pink creme
- Magic Man Iris: A deep bordeaux, red-based and almost black after several coats
- Lambstail Cactus: A grey-brown (jelly?) base with silvery fine glitter and multichrome holo effect

Here's how the three look worn under fluorescent light:

And here's with flash:

With flash, you can see the middle polish applied unevenly

All 2 coats with the usual OPI Nail Envy + Natural Base Coat and Poshe Top Coat layering. FYI, Priti NYC always includes a name of a flower/plant in their shade's name and I honestly think they have the most beautiful polish names ever to exist.

I'm not gonna talk much about Magic Man Iris (above) because even though it's super pretty, it's a been-there-done-that kinda shade. I love how the name contains 'Magic' though, because it is a pretty bewitching color =D. No, I'm gonna talk about the other two shades. First up is Alister Stella Gray Rose, the polish that currently holds the title of having the prettiest name among my polish collection.

And the same can be said about the shade. It is so FREAKING beautiful! It's a creamy peach-pink shade, it looks a tad pink on the bottle but transforms into this insanely awesome soft blushing peach shade on my skin tone.

I just love looking at my nails when I'm wearing this, I feel so pretty and feminine. This shade was designed for Stella McCartney Fall 2011 which is kinda weird because this definitely screams 'Spring' to me. Here's a couple of more gorgeousness:

Alister Stella Gray Rose with flash, looks orangey for some reason

Next up is Lambstail Cactus, possibly the cutest, my favorite polish name ever! (It's got Lamb, tail, and cactus in it, what more could you want?).

And again, true to its name, it's got a very cute and unique shade to boot. It's sorta a cross between grey and brown jelly with silvery glitter particles that lit up into this multichrome scattered holo effect, albeit a faint one.

Feast your eyes upon this awesomeness:

This is truly my favorite shade to own - the name, the shade, not to mention the bottle which I got in the mini size all add up to its cuteness. The thing though, it looks kinda 'blah' worn. Something about my skin tone just eats it up. It looks like this weak speckled brown color when you see it in passing, I don't really like how it makes my fingers look.

And as I mentioned in the beginning of this post, I'm not particularly crazy about
 their price given the quality of the formula. I don't know how 'safe' and 'eco' they are, but the formula is either clumpy (like Alister Gray) or too thin (like Magic Man Iris), not that shiny (all their polishes have this problem), and a bit hard to apply evenly / doesn't do self-leveling that well. Lambstail Cactus is an exception though, it has the right consistency and applies like a dream but still lacking in the shine department.

One good thing I like about this brand is the brush. It's flat and thin with the right length so it's easy to control but it is a tad stiff though, it doesn't help with the unevenness problem.

Overall, this brand is an indulgence for me, something I like to treat myself with. Try walking into one of their polish bar and see all the pretty colors lined up without salivating, I dare you! =D They still have a lot to improve, in the meantime I love waiting for what shades they'd come up with next.

Until next time!