Osaka, Japan - Dinner at Shinsaibashi

So sorry for the late updates everyone... It has been one hell of a crazy week with so much work to catch up on, the transition planning and endless meeting I had to attend. Finally it's Thursday today and it will be another day of endless meeting with the regional folks who will be coming down from Singapore. *sigh*

I miss my holidays.........!!!!

Anyway one more day of work before I take off to Port Dickson tomorrow for my company's offsite. Let's continue with my post on Japan k. Dinner time on day 1. :)

More photos of Shinsaibashi.....


My beloved daddy who is now in Germany! :)


You can have endless servings of udon and soba when u're in Japan. It's one of their common food... Udon soup with pork!


The dinner set I ordered. Due to the cold weather, I could finish this up but I skipped the rice! :) It comes with pork katsu, rice and udon soup!


Sooo nice... :)


Nabeyaki Udon.... Noodles in soup with assorted seafood and vegetables... The soup was soo tasty and sweet....


Pork Katsun Don that came topped with egg....


More udon we had... ehehhehe....


I enjoyed their soba very much too... the hot version of soba in clear soup...


Tempura set....


Some of the goodies I bought.... Pinky dots makeup pouch :P


Heart shape rack....


Can you imagine I brought these all the way back? I couldn't resist NOT buying the cute waste baskets... tsk tsk.... Come back for more during the weekend when I'm back from Port Dickson on Saturday. Cheeersss :)

Osaka, Japan - Shinsaibashi

It was never enough exploring the wonderful places in Japan, accompanied with interesting cultures and authentic Japanese food that would make you asking for more.

During day 1 we visited the famous Shinsaibashi shopping street which is best known for its long stretch of shopping outlets. Another attraction was Dotombori, a symbol of the Minami Area for the authentic food culture of Osaka.

Let’s allow the photos to do the talking shall we?

We took the MTR from the place we stayed at Higobashi down to the famous Shisaibashi...


So much shopping to do.... but things were kinda expensive... so we look see look see...




Slot machines..... they are tons of these at Japan....


Cute hello kitty.... :)


even the "fake" food being displayed looks sooooo yummy....*slurrp*




There were advertisements all over the places - at the malls, buildings, MTR and etc...


The famous dotombori - a food heaven with assorted Japanese cuisines....


My favourite Takoyaki!!!! Super nice! Freshly made :)


It was about 315 yen... RM 12....


More photos were taken at the famous food street!


The restaurant we had lunch at....




Curry pork katsu rice... I do adore their curry very much


Steamboat.... tons of vegetables, seafood and noodles...


Fresh juicy sashimi... :)


Assorted fried tempura...


Strips of pork fillet...


Steamboattttt!!!! More photos soon.... Stay tune :)

Left for Japan on Chor Yat!!!

I’m going to start my long posts on Japan. It was my 2nd time visiting Osaka, Japan. The first trip was 2 years ago during CNY but this time was different because my mum came along and we had a FULL family together on a trip. My mum used to have this phobia of flying hence she seldom comes along for long distance trips.

To sum it all up, Japan is one hell of a happening place with good food and shopping. Undeniably I love Jap cuisines hence my stay there was just perfect. Shopping is damn nice but so expensive; hence you need to look around for cheaper bargains.

We left during the first day of CNY – Chor Yat. We boarded a midnight flight there via Japanese Airlines and it took us about 7 hours to reach our destination.

Let’s see what we did…

At KLIA with my little sis.... so big girl already :)


We had our Chor Yat dinner at the airport at Eden... so freaking expensive... the bill came up to RM 200++ and we hardly ate anything... not recommended please just go visit Mcdonalds or something... lol...


Braised tow foo with seafood...


Cripsy fried chicken with thai sauce!


Fried kailan


Black pepper noodles with assorted seafood


My breakfast on the plane at freaking 4am! hahaha!!! I want to sleeeeppppp :( It was baked fish fillet with rice and vegetables... I was too sleepy to remember how it tasted like


Upon arrival at the airport at 7am local time... In Japan, it is one hour ahead from Malaysia...


Kansai airport at Osaka




Dead tired....


My brother & I at the bullet train, on our way to check in to our hotel at Higobashi


The train station.... it took us about 40 minutes to travel from airport to downtown


Higobashi - The area where we stayed.... the major attractions were all accessible via their MRT. Super advanced lee...


My first meal at Japan. We ate at a restaurant under the subway nearby the hotel....


Usually for breakfast, it is hard to find Japanese food around - most were cafes selling toast, sandwiches and western cuisines... Their egg and ham sandwich was really good...


Non toasted version....


Free flow of cheese and tabasco sauce!


Tomato based spaghetti with ham and mushroom... yum yum....


Fried rice!!!!!! Ok I'll stop here first, stay tune for more photos ok... Have a great weekend. :)

Final post of Bangkok! Read on... :)

Yeaps finally I'm done with Bangkok. tsk tsk... guess u're thai food overdose by now. CNY's last day was yesterday and hence bye bye to 2008 CNY. sob sob....

Month of Feb is gone just like that and there will be huge changes I believe a couple of months down the road from now. I'm still very much confused and lost but hopefully I'll be able to determine the right track and sail on smoothly. Be optimistic is all I can do for now - taking each day at its own course and moving forward.

Anyway I'm done with BKK and next up would be more FOOD from Japan! Stay tune peeps! :P

Pratunam street... one last shopping before we flew off during the evening


My long time buddy cum colleague cum bestie cum shopping and food partner :)


We had our final lunch at MBK center again... we tried out this non-halal place that serves nothing but pork! LOL! :P


The seating area....


The thai menu!


Fried garlic rice with salted fish and pork!


Grilled tender pork... the meat was real juicy and best dipped with thai sauce that came with it


Thai sukiyaki... eeeeewwwww.. so different from Japanese sukiyaki... the color doesn't look that appetizing right? But it wasn't that bad... haha! You get tons of pork, liver and bamboo


Liver liver anyone? it was HUGEEEEEEE


Another style of fried rice with pork!


This was spicy man! Again it was liver but came stir fry with minced pork!


Ok bye bye Bangkok.. bye to all the good food and shopping...


Final compilation of BKK 2008! Have a great weekend! It's Friday today! woohooo!!!! :P

I'm back at work...

More FOOD photos of Bangkok!

Aloha everyone and it's still Chinese New Year... tsk tsk... 1 more day before Chap Goh Mei, the 15th day of CNY. Hope everyone had their fair share of fun - gambling and ang pows. :)

Stepping back to work yesterday after a long break was so tiring. I was having jet lag and decided to retire from work half day earlier upon my boss's approval of course. :P No time to unpack yet and both my trips overseas were awesome... stay tune I will post them up soon once I tune back to the Malaysian timezone. :)

Anyway Happy CNY to all and Happy Valentine's day... Food Lover will take a couple of days to recuperate and be back in action SOON! Have a great week working peeps! :)

Let's finish the Bangkok post soonest so I can start blogging about Japan and US. :)

More Thai FOOD we had... the signature fried thai noodles. It comes with tons of fresh tangy bean sprouts, spring onions, prawns and egg! Remember to always say not to put in sugar...


Thai ommelette with minced pork and rice...


Another style....


After yummy breakfast we headed over to the Chachutcak Market since it was a Sunday. A huge flea market selling assorted thai souvenirs, clothings, pets, food and MORE! Darn interesting but due to the super hot weather we could hardly stay longer than 2 hours... sigh!


Tea break half way through our shopping...


Us in dark shades... a must during hot sunny weather :P


More fried ommelette we had for lunch at the MBK shopping center food court.. LOL!


Assorted fishball and fishcake noodle... the soup was tasty!


Roasted duck and pork rice...


Stew duck and egg rice..


Sweet mango sticky rice with coconut milk for dessert... super yum! :)


Dinner time @ Siam Paragon... A very nice and high end shopping mall selling expensive brands... their food court are one of the best ones you can find...




Fried crispy noodles with seafood...


Their beef noodles was equally good too.... that's about it.... stay tune more photos soon... sleepy now... *yawn*

Back from Osaka... Finally.... :)

Hi everyone, how was your Chinese New Year?

Phew... a tiring trip really... long travel of flights and transit at Singapore... Though I was really tired from the long hours but Osaka was real fun! tsk tsk...

I left 2 days earlier before my family due to my US trip and I'm so glad to be back home finally... Lots to unpack and also a need to start packing for my next trip in a day time. I will post about Japan soon so do stay tune...

Gong Hei Fatt Choy... I didn't manage to collect any ang pow yet... sob sob... Have a great week all!

Crazy food spree we had at Japan... It was so cold we ate sooo many meals... :P


The famous food street called Dotombori... assorted Japanese cuisines and snacks! yum yum!


It was snowing at Kyoto, another part of Osaka, Japan.. Weee... I love snow... :P

Day 3 - Lunch @ MBK Food Center

Before I talked about Osaka, Japan; Let's finish up my Bangkok post first kay? A few more editions to go... ehehehe....

Day 3 at Bangkok was shopping all day long... tsk tsk... that's a girl's fav hobby right? LOL!

We shopped at various places such as:
1. MBK
2. Platinum Fashion Mall
3. Pratunam Market

All these places have super cheap bargains... hence you need to look around to grab some nice goodies! Our lunch at the MBK shopping mall food court... Thailand's food court do serve pretty good standard of thai food too... do try them out when u're there...

Stew duck noodles with tons of bean sprouts... yum yum.. i love the soup!


Must not be missed! Assorted sausages... super nice at the food court...


Duck rice...


Super spicy thai salad...


Phad Thai noodles with prawns.. Something like Malaysia's version of fried kuay teow but much sweeter...


Minced pork thai style with sunny side up, served with rice...


After the endless shopping spree we had dinner at the Riverbar restaurant just by the long stretch of river... you get to enjoy the breeze and some good thai food...


Stir fry cashew nut chicken... so so only...


Another of my fav dish when I'm at thailand... The non spicy seaweed soup with minced pork and tau foo... nice!


Fried prawn cake...


Assorted seafood stired fry with curry powder


Kailan with mushroom...


Seafood fried rice!


I love their thai ommelette... it's very nice and different from Malaysia leeeee.. so fluffy and soft


More fried stuff we had... It was prawn if I remembered correctly :P


Steam fish in Thai lemon sauce can never go wrong....


After dinner we moved on to visit Khao San road.. another happening place with streets of bars and pubs. Cheap beer and liquors for sale. They do have a long stretch of peddlers selling assorted items. But shopping is just so so there but worth visting just to experience the hype and buzz of the city


The special someone & I looking so very tired after a long day of shopping... LOL!


Some of the drinks we had....


Amy and Eda posing with Heineken beer


The rest of the gang looking so tired too... That's about it... Next up would be more shopping at Chachutcak weekend market on Sunday and more food! Saty tune! :)

Busy Chinese New Year!

Food Lover wishes everyone Gong Hei Fatt Choy! :)

Many will be off from work today due to CNY eve in which people would gather for reunion dinner with their loved ones before the big day! :) I have dinner plans with some relatives tonight and then a busy schedule will kickstart tomorrow!

7 - 11 Feb: Osaka, Japan
13 - 19 Feb: Washington D.C, United States

It will be the last post for the week. I will be off to Osaka, Japan tomorrow. Only back the following week. So enjoy your holidays everyone and I promise to update again when I'm back!

Last minute packing to do... See ya! :P

Here are some photos from my previous trip in 2006. This time we plan to conquer new areas such as Kyoto. Stay tune ya! The famous shopping street called Shinsaibashi-Suji!

Happening street called Dotonbori with lots of street food and shops selling goodies! hehe...

The famous Osaka Palace....

Bangkok Day 2 - Dinner at Kalpapruek, All Seasons Place

After more shopping we did during the day, it was dinner time. This time around we headed to towards Kalpapruek near to the Microsoft Thailad office for some authentic Thai FOOD! Yum!! :P

All seasons place... The restaurant is inside the business area...


Thai food here we come!! :P


Spicy and sour Thai salad! So spicy laaaaa....


Fried phat thai noodles... it looks like kuay teow... thai noodles are a little sweet usually so it's better you request for less sugar...


Fried kangkung in belacan style..


You must never their ever famous Thai steam fish! Super nice! :P


Typical thai fish cake!


Green curry chicken....


Seafood fried rice! Next up would be more shopping we did at the famous Chachutcak a.k.a JJ market! A huge market place selling lots of interesting things during the weekends from clothes to shoes to antiques and decos to food and pets! Stay tune! Will update again when I'm back from Osaka, Japan

Bangkok Day 2 - Shopping & more FOOD!

What else we did on Day 2 at Bangkok? Shopping time and more FOOD of course. That's pretty much what you do every day. LOL! :P

This is the Pratunam Market place where you get lots of cheap bargains and etc. But beware that the quality are not that good but if you're looking for something trendy and dirt cheap, here is a place worth checking out. Opened from early morning till late evening...


The street of the market... I realized that their sizes at Thailand are all soooo small... Sigh... Why are they all soooo thin? :P


After the morning market, we detoured to meet for lunch @ Siam Paragon, one of the exclusive malls at Bangkok. Here you get branded goods like Gucci, Prada and such!


I'm so sorry but we had to camwhore in the toilet too... haha...


Their Japanese food is worth trying too. Check out Fuji Japanese Restaurant at Siam Paragon, a place that offers a wide range of Jap cuisines like sushi and bento sets!!!


Yoghurt drink the soda style... hehe...


Omg salmon roll... I just love salmon, be it cooked, smoked or raw, I absolutely adore them... :P


The raw tuna salad... Very fresh and spicy too...


Grilled teriyaki salmon....


The pan fry salmon served in hot plate... even nicer! :)


Assorted sushi plate.... more sushi for everyone!!! Wasabi please?


Tempura bento set... this set is huge! So many kinds of jap food mixed in one set! yum yum!


Ok stop here.... next up more food we had.... 2 days and counting to Osaka, Japan! Weee... I'm half way done with my packing :)

Bangkok Day 1 - Dinner at Tawandang Beer Garden, Rama 9

This place must not be missed if you're visiting Bangkok. Just ask the taxi to bring you to Rama 9 street and look out for Tawandang Beer Garden. A great place to hang out and have a good show by performers while enjoying your food.

For beer lovers, the freshly brewed beer is a must try. :) Though I'm not a big fan of beers, but the beer seems different and you can taste the sweetness of it.

The entrance to food heaven! They serve a wide range of German and Thai cuisines such as tom yam, sausages, pork knuckles and etc... yum yum....




Wooo the food menu.. can we have everything on the menu please? :P


The german beer...


The crispy and juciy pork knuckles... dipped the pork with the thai sauce prepared... you feel like you're flying... lol!


Assorted sausages with mashed potatoes... so nice...


Beware... the super spicy tom yam soup with seafood.. omg...


Mixed seafood... u have prawns and squid drenched with spicy sauce... everything is so spicy..


I love this.. something special... deep fried morning glory.... yum! :P


Another must try... the pork shoulder... so tender and juicy... I just love the marination they did


All time favourite... steam fish in lemon sauce...


Tang hoon with prawns.. another signature dish in Thailand...


There were still xmas trees and decos around.. photo time!


Our thai friend, Nu of Microsoft Thailand...


The special someone & I under a huge xmas tree! :P




After dinner, we partied at the famous RCA. Lots of happening clubs and bars for party lovers... Liquors were so darn cheap le.. Ok that's sums up the first day. More food soon... Stay tune! :)

A trip to Bangkok, Thailand!

I make at least 2 trips a year to Bangkok, whether with friends or family. Wonder why?

Bangkok is a shopping and FOOD paradise of course. Shopping is so cheap you feel like importing the whole of Bangkok back to Malaysia! LOL! Guys dread that as most of the stuffs sold are more tailored to the ladies with tons of clothings, bags, shoes and accesorries! Awesome!

I brought an empty luggage and came back with 2 filled with goodies. Perhaps I can share what I bought in my later post. :P

Air Asia... 2 hours from KL to Bangkok!


At the BKK imigration counter.... let me out fast! I want to go shopping le....


Waiting to claim our luggages...


Camwhore while waiting for our taxi transfer to the hotel near MBK!


My all time favourite travelling partner :)


Im feeling so sleepy and lethargic... I need shopping as my therapy... LOL!


Our first meal at Bangkok! Upon check in, we headed to MBK food court and stuffed ourselves with Thai FOOD! The famous mango sticky rice... woooo... so nice laa.... dipped it with coconut milk! Sinful I know but who cares laa... haha...


I always enjoy their thai noodle soup with assorted fishballs! So nice.... hehe... I have it almost every single day! I'll stop here and make you drool a little... what we did after the food? Stay tune! I'll be posting the super fantastic dinner we had at Tawadaeng Beer Garden! :)

Wen Dih's Birthday Celebration...

Ahh how nice... it's still the weekend today. I have lots of check list in place. Need to start packing for my trip to Japan and do my blood test. Oh yeah I watched Cloverfield yesterday at 1 Utama. Quite a dissapointment lee... what kind of movie is that? :P

Anyway I know it's 2008 now but I still need post this up! :P

It was the last birthday celebration of the year, I managed to join Wen Dih's birthday before I left for Hong Kong previously. Happy Belated Birthday! :) A group us had dinner at Right for You Cafe near Damansara Jaya. It's neat Atria.

You order your food according to your blood type, how interesting is that huh? Prices were pretty reasonable but food I would say was so so only.

The birthday cake. Happy 23th!


Some drinks we ordered...




Fried mushroom.... the flour was so thick you could hardly taste the mushroom...


Carbonara with bacon! Thick and creamy. Not too bad apparently...


Chicken Maryland! Accompanied with fries and salad!


I opted for their grilled dory fish topped with white creamy sauce.... The fish was so small and I didn't quite fancy the sauce...


Roasted whole leg chicken... wooo.... please opt and request for their drumstick... the chicken breast was so tough... i think it was overcooked?


The ladies that night.... My primary school friends and etc...


A group photo!


The special someone & I doing the signature food lover pose. LOL! Ok next up would be Bangkok! :P

Procedures required to apply a visa to the US!

Gosh! It didn’t occur to me that to enter the United States (US) can be such a tedious process.

Why is it so difficult ar? Can’t we just go? LOL! :P

I went on to apply a US visa that is required for every person who wishes to enter US. Here are the steps for you to follow if you’re going in the near future. :)

1. Please visit the VFS Global Website to have a rough idea of the entire process.

2. You require paying the application fees of RM 467 at Alliance Bank before making an appointment at the US embassy. Remember to bring along your passport.Here are the branches of all Alliance Bank around the country.

3. After one day of processing time, you then return to the website and schedule your desired date for an appointment at the US embassy.

4. Report to the US embassy on the date and time specified earlier for a short interview. You would need to bring along the visa documents, printed appointment letter, one recent photo, passport and Alliance bank receipt.

Phew... finally my US visa is ready.

It's gonna be a busy schedule for me during the week of CNY! First will be Osaka with Family during 1st day of CNY then later to the US on the 6th day of CNY.

I am anticipating! 6 days more and counting! :P

My visa photo!


I'll be visiting Seattle... Some photo I stole from his blog! LOL! Federal Territory holiday today! Enjoy and have a great weekend :)