Ipoh Day 2

Next morning saw us going to Thean Chun 天津茶室 to try the raved caramel custard.

Either I do not know how to appreciate caramel custard or bloggers are exaggerating.  I read it will be sold out by noon time if we do not come early.  Maybe I can grudgingly say it tasted like creme brûlée but cheaper version which is good if you like creme brûlée.  It is not my favorite dessert.

There was this old lady who insisted we eat her homemade stuffed chicken wings.  We bought one to share and also the chee cheong fun which was supposed to be popular too?  But I don’t know why?  Another normal dish except maybe they stuffed theirs with turnips and chives?

After a rather disappointing breakfast, we headed out to look for street photography.

This picture supposedly depicts the evolution of Ipoh.

Kopi-O (coffee without milk) anyone?

The picture is too faded now but you are supposed to see birds inside the cage (not an illusion!)

The famous Ipoh white coffee Ah Pek is supposedly drinking.

You have to be a good map reader and observant to find the images.  Towards the end of the search, I was getting a bit grumpy because the map next to the street art were not clear and the weather was hot.  It took rather long to find the pictures. Have to walk through alleys and up and down the uneven terrain before you get to see it.

It was difficult to find sim cards to use data in Ipoh. We were asked to go to many convenience shops which sell the card but do not register for you. More unnecessary walking! 😦 In the end, we were directed to this pseudo shopping complex and got the cheapest one. It’s difficult not to have data as you need to confirm the places you find with Google Maps.  But I think there must be an easier way than only data, will explore next time.

We asked the saleslady who was telling us the Big Tree Foot Roadside Hawker (大树脚) Yong Tau Foo has changed owners so must eat the new one instead of the old one. It became a confusing set of info as a taxi driver told us the new one was not as nice as the old one. Initially we could not see the old one so settled for the new one.

I ate in a skeptical fashion, not sure was I eating the right one or not though the YTF was good. I was also rather sad that I did not get to eat the good one after traveling for so long during the initial stage. It was so funny my perspective changed when we realised that we ate the right one.  Lol, so brand conscious!  So remember, the old one is still under the big tree but the old owner has set up a new shop next to the big tree called 忠记.  The fried YTF was not oily and tasted delicious when you dipped it into the assam gravy. The assam gravy needed to be ordered separately and the potent sourish tang made me very hesitant to finish the whole bowl as I had reflux disease.  But thumbs up to them for concocting such a delicious gravy!

We decided to book a taxi for few hours to continue the journey.  Imagine my horror to know after traveling for so long, this famous hainanese bread shop only opens after 6pm! *cries*.  Wasted journey indeed!

Our taxi driver was rather amused we were in pursuit of good food and brought us to this inconspicuous house where uncle was selling rojak inside. Nobody will know he sells rojak as there are no signboards and you do not normally go to someone else’s house to buy food.  The only sign that will tell you is the people you see sitting around waiting. I am not even sure how to go to this place. But I think the rojak was ok only. I have tasted nicer ones in SG, his was too sweet IMHO.

Though we were full, we still had one last place to conquer which was Sin Yoon Loong. White coffee originated from here. Lai Wah said it was one of the best kopitiam coffees she ever tried.  I had a slice of their kaya toast and regretted I was so full because it was the best kaya toast I ever tried too!  The kaya had this mesmerizing caramel flavor that complemented the butter very well!

A must visit if you come to Ipoh!

We were too full to eat a proper meal so we ate this salt baked chicken that the taxi driver recommended.  Another good recommendation.  The chicken were baked till tender and it was perfumed so beautifully with the herbs used.  I love the chicken.  We also bought one egg tart from Hong Kee Confectionery Trading Company.  The crust was nicer than the egg custard; soft, crumbly and melt in the mouth kind.  The kaya puff from Sin Eng Heong was really fortunate.  We were told it was sold out and next available ones were one hour later.  We were disappointed and while thinking what to do, another customer started to kick a fuss as he could not get his kaya puffs even though he came at 2 timings as proposed by them.  The owner suddenly whipped out freshly made ones from the oven and we were blessed because we were the second in line! It was nice piping hot from the oven, the homemade kaya was not too sweet and the puff was soft, melty and buttery fragrant.  I had too much food in one day and decided not to eat anymore of the puffs though it was nice 😦

Ipoh Day 1

Travelling by TigerAir to Ipoh requires you to walk down the steep stairs to the terminal itself.  Do not bring any heavy stuff (I did not want to pay $40 to check in my luggage to and fro) or you will find it hard to manage up and down the stairs.  We only paid $75 each for our airfare! FTW!

Best travelling partner.

We checked in to the most hipster hotel I ever stayed in my entire life.  I never thought Ipoh will have such a chill place, because it’s reputed to be an OLD TOWN.  Well, perhaps going back to the retro is an in thing now.

Check out the M Hotel.  We stayed in M Hotel Ipoh and it was like $50 per person a day? Unbelievable!

The Hotel Lobby.  Staff is young and friendly.

Hotel lift, they have a cool gym, laundry services (DIY) and an area for surfing the net.  But the area is too warm as it’s next to the laundry area.  Better off in the room instead.

Going to our room and the walls are left cemented.  Hipster no 1.

I must say the room is a bit cramped with a narrow place between the TV and the bed for walking.  But they make use of the small space well so you do not feel very claustrophobic.  You still get your basic toiletries, kettle, safe, free WIFI, fridge, complimentary water, charging points etc placed very conveniently where you need it.  And their mattress is of good quality and they even provide a small snack for you everyday which is a nice gesture I must say.

We reached around late afternoon 3 plus and decided to laze around in the room until dinner time.

We ate at Restoran Fay Loo 巴刹肥佬茶餐室.  I thought I came to the wrong place as there were very few people patronising the restaurant.

Since there were only 2 of us so we ordered what they are famous for:  braised yam and pork belly with steamed pomfret.  I liked the soft and tender yam with the braising sauce, it went very well with the rice.  The pork belly was also soft and flavourful.  I thought the steamed pomfret though fresh, was normal.  Tasted just like home-cooked food I must say.  Pity we have no stomach for more food.

FAY LOO RESTAURANT (non-Halal)
A7, Jalan Dato Tahwil Azar (Osborne Street)
30300 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
Tel No : -605-255 7642
Business hours : 6pm – 3am daily, until 4am on Saturdays.
Off days not fixed.

The difficult thing about Ipoh is if you do not speak Cantonese or Malay, the locals treat you in a more indifferent manner.  And you have to travel everywhere by taxi (no meter fare)  as there are no frequent buses.  Or you drive.  On average, it costs about 8-10RM to travel from one destination to another.  It’s also not safe to go out at night with a bag as there are snatch thieves on motorbikes.  Initially there was this night market we wanted to go near the restaurant, but was told by taxi driver and the coffeeshop owners that it’s not safe to walk on the roads at night. Thus abandoned the idea.

Hell Valley & Wagyu Beef!

Our evening was spent walking through the sulphurous valley to see boiling ponds and steaming streams at the famous Jigokudani, also known as Hell Valley. It was teeming with tourists and difficult to take any good pictures without people blocking your view. The tablet writes “hell”.

We were so looking forward to our next day’s lunch. Abalone and Wagyu beef. But they did not come with the package, you have to pay hundreds extra for the exquisite foods.

We did not eat the fresh abalone.

Here comes the star, prized Japan wagyu beef!! Look at the marbling!

Because the beef was so expensive, the chef had to cook for us to ensure we did not spoil the meat. Japanese really take pride in their produce.

A little salt and pepper because seriously, what do you need when your meat looks so good?

I always hear people saying meat melt in their mouths but cannot understand how that can happen because meat is solid right? But after I tasted the wagyu beef, I finally UNDERSTOOD. These nuggets of meat REALLY MELTED IN MY MOUTH and were so juicy and tender. They surpassed any wagyu beef I ate in Singapore. GOSH! SO FULL OF UNAMI!

Mount Showa & apple picking

Day 5

It was a delight to see good weather. Sometimes too much wintry temperatures get a bit annoying, you have to put on layers and remove layers in an ongoing motion.

We had our lunch at the foot of the mountain. And once again, fresh produce made this meal such a satisfying one. It is very hard to fault Japanese meals. They made sure that their foods are of best quality and picturesque which whet your appetite so much that you would be foolish to complain.

A trek up the mountains and seeing the restaurant (black building) where we had our lunch.

Street food and their corn was really sweet and juicy!

We were brought to an apple orchard for apple picking though it was a bit late in season and most of the apples would have been picked.

The amazing contraption that slices your apples and leaves the core. We were allowed to pick 6 apples each and wow, all of those apples were so sweet, crunchy, juicy and fragrant! If not for such a full meal, I think we could have eaten more.

 

 

Tokachi Sennen-no Mori (Millennium Forest)

Day 4

This was a rest stop for taking pictures. It was in stark contrast to the heavy snow we had the day before. The sun was out and looked more like fall was the season. I felt very blessed that I got to experience fall and winter this time in Japan. And I really love Hokkaido, even though people felt that the radiation from Fukushima may have tainted the fresh and organic produce here. But everything tasted so good that it would be crazy not to try.

Our lunch at this Lavender farm which the tour guide bought us. This tour guide had such a gilb tongue that he had us spilling our pockets to buy anti-aging cream/lotion/oil at this place. The cash registers were ringing so merrily!

Everything on my plate tasted so fresh and had their original taste still intact. Though I am not a rice person, the Japan rice was that good for me to take more than what was necessary for my consumption. With the Japanese curry, I could have eaten more if I could.

And being at a Lavender farm will need to have everything lavender right?

This was a Millennium forest with very beautiful gardens as we were told, so we were left to explore the grounds.

I suppose the garden was made beautiful also the fact that there were only us so it was really serene. It was nice to see the fall leaves and the quietness of fall. Or perhaps its individual preference?

Our next hotel Tokachigawa was so quaint, there was a chapel for people to get married here and it was so pretty!

 

Day 3

This was the exterior of the resort I stayed in. It was the first time I had public bath and my first time experiencing snowflakes while soaking at the outdoor hot spring. It was ethereal. I felt like staying there forever, between hot and cold and playing with snow.

We were supposed to visit 2 famous waterfalls: Shooting Star Falls and Milky Way Falls. But because of the snowstorm, everything looked frozen.

 

And obviously I was not prepared for such thick snow. But I did not really mind because it was another world of experience altogether.

 

 

 

En route to Sounkyo

Snowing! It was not supposed to be snowing in September. But apparently there was some snow storm in Tokyo or something and brought snow.

 

I was not actually really prepared for snowy weather. But seeing how beautiful everything became, I was more excited than anything else.

Hokkaido Day 2

I think Japanese scores well in packaging. Everything is so petite, cute and irresistible! Even yogurts!

My idea of a good breakfast for the day!

At Otaru Canal to see the century old stone warehouses lining both sides of the canal.

It was getting colder and colder…

Exploring the Otaru town.

And saw Yakult lady! They sell yakult in such a convenient manner!

A pity I did not get to try the variety of rice crackers. Problem with group tours: within a limited time you must get up the bus which means you need to hurry to finish exploring a place

We had our afternoon tea served in an exquisite porcelain cup, which will be yours to keep as a memento. The butter cake had that touch of orange zest so wonderfully fragrant. Yums!

Many people came to admire the beautifully crafted music boxes in Otaru Music Box Museum.

I was more interested in exploring the little town.

And ogle at all the foods.

And I seriously could not resist Hokkaido ice cream. It must be the milk they use. It’s not too heavy, yet creamy and delicious!

And one of these will be my lunch later.

So nice to always eat hotpot during the winter time.

And tonight, a relaxing Japanese hot spring bath at an onsen resort in Sounkyo!

7 Days 5 Nights Hokkaido (with Chan Brothers)

Day 1

Famous Ishiya Chocolate Factory

Check out the temperature: 13degrees with wind. Brrrr….rrr.

I did not expect to see a museum filled with collection of toys and tea cups (many in fact!) in a chocolate factory.

Having concluded the museum had nothing of interest, I decided to explore the grounds. I am of the opinion that the founder must have had a boring childhood and lavished his factory with fantasy and western fairy tales.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was really too cold for ice cream but it was so tempting. Chocolate and white chocolate, so creamy and luscious

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a late dinner as the other group’s flight was delayed. The advantage of being on a group tour is food is aplenty and you won’t go hungry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at the sashimi!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hotpot and shrimp katsu. Everything tasted so good and organic some more! I love Japan foods!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t know why they wanted a dessert chef to entertain us with piping our strawberry cake. We were actually too hungry to pay attention to him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why does Japanese strawberries look different also?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I felt bad that no one cared what he was doing and decided to take a few shots of his art.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Voila! Our beautiful dessert: so soft and light!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was kind of looking forward to stay at this acclaimed 5-star Chateraise Gateaux Kingdom Sapporo Hotel and Spa Resort. However, the windows could not be open and there was no air conditioning during winter, only heater was available. It was so stuffy with 3 persons crammed in a room. I was trying to explain to the manager who could not really speak English (problem in Japan). In the end, he decided to bring in a motorised fan which was better than nothing. But I was really disappointed. Hot air circulating throughout the night was not the kind of good sleep I thought I could have after a flight.

 

My bucket list? And nope, no Disneyland

The top 50 most visited tourist attractions

Goodness, looks like children and gamblers are the top consumers.