Taiwan Trip September 2012 - iTaipei Service Apartment (京站國際酒店式公寓)

After our stay at Hualian, Taiwan, I travelled back to Taipei and stay at iTaipei Service Apartment (京站國際酒店式公寓) for a couple of days before returning to Singapore. iTaipei which is actually a residential apartment which some rooms are rented out to holiday makers like me. This is a new trend in Taiwan. The service apartment is conveniently located just opposite Taipei Main Station and on top of QSquare Shopping Mall.

At iTaipei Service Apartment, there are several theme rooms such as French Sentiment, Purple Charm, Japanese Zen style, Amercian Neoclassicism, Paris Vogue, Grander Chinese style, Modern Bvlgari and Armani Style. We got the Modern Bvlagri room and I simply fell in love with the interior design.

The TV can be rotated 360 degree to face either the sitting area or the bed.

A small kitchen area if you want to prepare your own meals.

The toilet is quite small but I am not complaining. It comes with rain shower too.

The standard amenities are provided at the service apartment. If you need to wash your clothes, there is washing machine too.

(photo from iTaipei website)

With its strategic location that is near to basically all the transportation, I would recommend hotel makers to consider iTaipei service apartment. In addition, it is just located above the QSquare Shopping Mall. The only inconvenient is locating the check in area for the service apartment. It is actually located outside the shopping mall near exit Y1/Y3 (beside the carpark entrance). Just overcome this obstacle and you will find that iTaipei service apartment is a nice place to stay in Taiwan and reasonable priced too.


iTaipei Service Apartment (京站國際酒店式公寓)
Website：http://www.myresort.com.tw/
Facebook：https://www.facebook.com/taipei.apartment
E-mail：itaipei@mail.jsl.com.tw

Taiwan Trip September 2012 - Bayview Hotel (七星潭渡假飯店)

Back in September 2012, I went for a 5 days trip to Taipei seizing on a 1 for 1 Jetstar air ticket promotion. Since I have been to Taipei a couple times, I decided to take a train ride down to Hualien to stay at Bayview Hotel (七星潭渡假飯店) after seeing all the beautiful photos on my friend's facebook page.

Upon our arrival at Hualien train station, the hotel staff picked us up together with another Singaporean couple. The journey from the train station to the hotel took about 10 minutes.

As we were still early for our check in, we went to the hotel's cafe next door to rest and wait for our check in time. We did not explore the area as we were tired after a long journey travelling on plane, train and car to the hotel.

Stepping into the cafe, it felt as if I am in Greece. Helping ourselves to the free beverage and local snacks while we waited for our check in time.

This is our Deluxe Family room for 4 with balcony overlooking the pacific ocean. As the Deluxe Double Room is fully booked, the hotel was very kind to offer me the Deluxe Family Room with the same rate for the Deluxe Double Room. Simply love the white and tiffany blue combination.

This was the view of the Pacific Ocean that greeted me everyday. In the background, that's the fishing boat that will bring in freshly live catch everyday.

The view of the popular beach, Chi Sing Tan (七星潭) was just stuning isn't it?

Next morning after our breakfast, we rented the free bicycle from the hotel and went biking along the coastal area.

We cycled up a hill top to catch the beautiful bird's eye view of the beach.

Along the cycling track, we also saw lots of pineapple plant growing alongside the track.

Moving in shore, there are many interesting buidings spotted too.

I really enjoyed my stay at Bayview Hotel at Hualien. The staffs were very friendly and helpful. The room was clean too. If you want to go to Hualien town, the staff can help you arrange a taxi for a fixed fee inclusive of return trip. Upon reaching your destination, tell the taxi driver the time and place to pick you up. You only need to pay the driver after returning back to the hotel.


Bayview Hotel (七星潭渡假飯店)
Website: http://www.hotelbayview.com.tw/english/index.html

[Guest Post] - Johor Kaki's favourite 5 food places in Johor Bahru (JB)

"Singaporean loves food and this passion for food has seen some of us travelling all the way across the causeway to hunt for good food. Recently I get to know Tony aka Johor Kaki who writes on http://johorkaki.blogspot.sg/, "Put every good hawker on the World Wide Web". I like following his blog as it gives me an insight of the hidden gems in JB. I am making a list to visit them in my next trip up north.

With this note, I have invited Johor Kaki to do a blog post to share with us 5 of his favourite food places in Johor Bahru."

[Guest Post by JOHOR KAKI]

Derrick kindly invited me to guest post on sgfoodonfoot about my 5 favourite food joints in Johor Bahru.

There are so many nice places to eat in JB, so it is a big challenge to narrow them down to just 5. I’ve decided to introduce you just 5 of my favourite JB food places that are  all within 10 minutes of leisurely walk after clearing Malaysian immigration. There are a few more good eating places within 10 minutes walk in JB’s old downtown area.

Here is the sketch map of where my 5 favourite places are located. After clearing immigration, walk out of City Square shopping centre and go onto the main street, Jalan Wong Ah Fook. .

Walk along Jalan Wong Ah Fook and head towards the direction of Singapore. Look out for this Hindu temple along Jalan Ungku Puan, which you can use as a reference point. Then follow the directions on the sketch map.

If you are there early and need a morning coffee, I suggest you can try the coffee and half boiled eggs at Kin Wah coffee shop. The traditional office here is full bodied and robustly flavoured. The perfectly done half boiled eggs here are made from kampung chicken eggs. The eggs have a heavier texture and more distinct aroma of fresh eggs. This Hainanese kopitiam is packed the whole day with customers of all races and from all walks of life. I haven’t tried their toast buns and breads myself but I can see that they are very popular. Many people also order their mee siam here. Business can get very hectic here and the harried staff can be a bit on edge.

A short walk away is Ah Hua kway teow soup. This old shop has been here for a long time and is today run by the third generation. They still use charcoal to boil the soup stock – something that I have not seen anywhere else. RM16 gets you the “King’s version” loaded with abalone, fresh oysters and all the extra luxuries. Personally, I am perfectly happy with the basic RM5 version to savour the old traditional flavours 古早味 of Teochew kway teow soup.

If you like Western, I suggest you try IT Roo cafe. This is another very old Hainanese café and it is famed for their chicken chops. The chicken chop comes in a big slab of thigh, crispy on the outside and moist and juicy inside. The chicken chop comes with their addictive fresh mushroom sauce. Be early as IT Roo is always packed during lunch and you may have to wait for your seat.

In the same area is Hiap Joo bakery. This traditional bakery still uses their old wood fired oven to bake their cakes and pastries. Hiap Joo’s banana cake is very popular. Go inside the shop and you will see the huge charcoal oven, and all the fresh ingredients like combs of bananas used to make the cakes. No artificial flavouring is used here. You can taste the difference, instantly. I always bring home something from Hiap Joo whenever I pass by this shop.

If you stay beyond 5:00pm, try this BBQ chicken stall in Meldrum Walk. Medrum Walk is a back lane food paradise – something we cannot find anywhere in Singapore anymore. There are many good food stalls here and my favourite is the BBQ chicken stall. The fresh charcoal roasted chicken literally drips with sweet natural juices. The juice was so good, I actually felt bad that some of it inevitably dripped onto the plate when I bite into it – such a waste J

There are many other good food stalls and shops to try out when you are in JB. JB is generally safe but please do be alert and take the usual precautions e.g. move away when approached by “Scratch and Win” scammers.

It is easy to enjoy JB food with a little bit of knowledge of where the good eating places are J.

Wish you happy eating.
JOHOR KAKI
http://johorkaki.blogspot.sg/

Sentosa Flowers (圣淘沙春节花会) 2012

Sentosa Flowers (圣淘沙春节花会), the most celebrated flower festival during the Lunar New Year is back from 22 to 29 January 2012. The annual floral festival returns for the eighth time to usher in the Year of the Dragon transforming Sentosa into an enchanting floral extravaganza.

The event started with bang with a dragon dance performance to usher in the year of the dragon and to reveal the first Sand Sculpture in the event's history.

Dance of the Dragon.
The Sand Sculpture named "Dance of the Dragon" (祥龙欢舞), spans six meters in length, three meters in width and three meters in height. The majestic sand sculpture of a dancing dragon is specially sculpted and brought to life at the hand of international acclaimed sand sculptor JOOheng Tan for the event.

This year Sentosa Flowers is themed as "Enchanted Spring" (绮域之旅), and unfolds the story of three playful kids as they venture out to discover the beauty of spring.

Dragon Gate.
The fish is always a symbol of joy, fortune and prosperity (年年有余) and what an excellent idea to combine the tale of the carps leaping over the Dragon Gate (鯉躍龍門) as one of the floral displays.

The tale has it that the carps leap over the dragon gate to transform into dragons reminds us of the determination needed to overcome hurdles, and achieve success. The carp is a tough fish that could resist the strong currents of the China's Yellow River, showing perseverance and determination in its endeavours. .

Floral Zodiac Dragon.
After the dragon gate, the friendly three meter tall Floral Zodiac Dragon greets you with good luck, longevity and wisdom.

Awakening.
This is an interactive giant painting of the dragon. Take the big brush and give the painting a finishing touch. You never know, the dragon may comes to live just like the legend of the famous painter named Zhang.

Legend has it that there was a famous painter named Zhang, whose painting were true to life. The animals he drew would come of the pictures as soon as he gave the finishing touches. One day in front of a crowd, Zhang painted a dragon without eyes. They insisted that he add the eyes and so he did. In the twinkling of an eye, it started to moved and flown into the sky.

Spring Melodies.

Celebrate the beauty of life and be enchanted in the natural sounds of moving water, humming birds and rustling leaves. A lively season that brings hope, joy, beauty, and the carefree spirit of springtime.

Tea Journey.
How is tea associated with the year of Dragon? In China , there is a famous green tea with more than a those years of recorded history known as Xi Xu Long Jung Green Tea (West Lake Dragon Well Tea). Prized for its aroma, flavour and health benefits, it has even granted the status of Imperial Tea during the Qing Dynasty by the Chinese emperor. The majestic nature of this tea goes to the next level with the creation of the Tea Journey at the Enchanted Spring.

Sweet Love
Thinking of pledging your love or renewing your vows to your loved one? Take a stroll with your loved ones through the tunnel of love and soak in the romantic scents from the beautiful blossoms.

Dinoland
Kids will love this, the extinct dinosaurs were spotted at Sentosa! Is Sentosa going to be ruled by the dinosaurs and becomes another Jurassic Park?

Dragonflies
Oh no! Even gigantic dragonflies are migrating to Sentosa

Flower Fairies
Worry not, we have the flower fairies looking after the flowers, keeping them strong and healthy.

Seaworld
Unknown to most, Sentosa's waters are host to an incredible array of marine life and home to almost 200 species of corals, turtles, crabs and more.

There are many other colourful and interactive photo points such as the Tress of Life and Lost Garden at the Enchanted Spring Sentosa Flowers. Come down to Sentosa Flowers, amidst a magical floral wonderland that is cloaked in the sweet scents and brilliant hues of spring.

Dragon Gate Inn.
This year Mount Faber also debut in the Sentosa Flower floral festival. Guests can complete the Sentosa Flowers experience by taking an idyllic ride on the Singapore Cable Car and visit the Dragon Gate Inn (龙门客栈) at The Jewel Box. Guests can take photos with a large dragon-shaped kite or enjoy a cup of Jasmine tea and light refreshments.


Event details
Date: 22 - 29 January 2012
Time: 10am - 10pm
Venue: Merlion Plaza, Imbiah Lookout, Beach Plaza, Resorts World Sentosa and The Jewel Box (Mount Faber)
Event admission: Free entry (usual island admission charges apply)
Website: http://flowers.sentosa.com.sg