Entree Kibbles

Sunday, April 19, 2026

More Than Just a Toilet Break at An Cu / Lap An Lagoon, Between Hue and Danang [Vietnam]

The large lagoon loomed massively on the left side of our mini-van, with the hills as the backdrop, and a man with a pole just ankle-deep in the water; as if he was ready to use it as a spear for a kill.

Moment was fleeting yet we were wondering where was this place. In a few more moments, the van stopped, and we were asked to disembark for a toilet break. Great; there should be an answer to my question.

First - let's visit the toilet which was within this shop that sold pearl jewellery. We knew the drill well; do your number 1 (or 2), come out, take a few looks, give a few smiles and then discreetly step out of the shop.

For this kind of "shopping" stop, it's normal for the toilet break to last for 10 or 20 minutes. Good thing was that there's usually a place next to it where you can get some drinks or snacks.

Coffee would be a must for all three of us!

Ranged from 25,000 to 50,000 Vietnamese dong.

Menu as above for reference. Food not required for us since Minh Toan SAFI Ocean Hotel provided buffet breakfast and given how stingy we were; it's a given that we have had a filling meal just about 2-3 hours ago.

While Alex relaxed at the cafe, my mom and I walked across the road to the lagoon for some much needed photo-taking. This place was definitely not listed on the itinerary of the day trip to Hue, yet it commanded so much beauty that it will be a pity for us to just ignore.

Known as An Cu / Lap An Lagoon, it's a 71-square kilometer pool of freshwater connected to the South China Sea and located just 29 kilometers from Da Nang City and about 64 kilometers from Hue.

Aside from its picture-perfect scenery, the lagoon is also known for its offering of fresh seafood and the oyster farms that started from 2004 involving "245 households from 5 villages"!

Oysters shells on the lagoon sand bank. Five types of oysters were reared; "the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas), duck bill oyster (Crassostrea sp1 .), snail oyster (Crassostrea sp2), stone oyster (Saccostrea cucullata), and estuary oyster (Crassostrea rivularis)" and the most popular estuary oysters.

In addition to rearing the oysters for meat, another important commodity would be pearls, which we had earlier seen earlier in the shop that also doubled up as our toilet stop. Well, I am just wondering on the allure of natural pearls nowadays; are they popular with the young nowadays?

Beautiful spots for photo-taking. Honestly, we just covered a short section only and those interested to explore more of this place, and catch their supposedly famous lagoon sunset / sunrise, can consider staying at the nearby Lang Co Beach.

Do keep in mind that you do get "industrial pollution" sights like the above, but it's part and parcel of oyster farming, where a supposedly "1,000,000 old bike tyres, and 140,000 timber/bamboo stilts" were used.

And don't expect powdery white sand!

Now's the time for photo-taking, with my mom as the model. Even though it was just a short stopover, I must admit An Cu / Lap An Lagoon left a deep impression; to the extent I will consider a stay at Lang Co Beach in the near future! If only the airfare to Da Nang is cheaper.

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Address

111 Nguyễn Văn, TT. Lăng Cô,

Chân Mây - Lăng Cô, Huế, Vietnam

Map

As above.

Click HERE for My Day Trip to Hue City: The Former Imperial Capital, with Chinese Speaking Guide

Thursday, April 16, 2026

Xin Peng Chinese Restaurant (鑫鹏菜馆) @ Yishun [Singapore]

For someone who has been complaining almost relentlessly that we have too many eateries selling China cuisine; I have to admit that even my palate has now shifted slightly, with pretty regular visits.

Aside from A Kitchen at Yishun Junction 9, and Xiang Xiang Chinese Cuisine, my family, was also obsessed with the dishes from Xin Peng Chinese Restaurant; more my elder sister's family who will visit like once every one or two weeks!

Even I have patronized three times and thought I should give it a proper review this round; with orders of my favorite dishes, and meat skewers that I found irresistible with a bottle of Chinese beer. Without further ado, let's begin.

Shandong Fried Dumplings - 12 pieces for just S$6.00?! I understand that those who hail from Northern China can totally rely on dumplings instead of rice as main meals, without the need for side dishes.

And they didn't disappoint with their thin skin, generous meat filling that was both delicious and satisfying with thick cuts of ginger soaked in vinegar!

3-Type Vegetables - more saucy than expected and while I am no stranger to 地三鲜; this version wasn't the one I prefer. The one etched deeply in my memory, that was the best so far, would be the one from Xiang Yan (品香筵餐馆), which has, unfortunately, closed permanently.

Braised Pork Casserole - I adore braised pork belly and ordered this on a whim, even though my family and I had never tried it before in our past visits.

More orangey than their usually dark soy-sauce shade, the infusion of the braiseness was significantly weak, without the sweetness I am more accustomed to. Granted the meat was tender with a layer of almost melty fat but the crunchy cauliflower appealed to me better.

Sichuan Pepper Chicken - my first encounter with Xin Peng Chinese Restaurant was when my elder sister tabao the 辣子鸡, and I can totally understand why it is a favorite among diners!

In addition to a lavish portion that had a high meat ratio (some restaurants have more dried chilli than meat), I love the little nuggets of meat with a crispy batter and personally also enjoy the lightly fried sliced garlic and peanuts that were perfect with my bottle of cold beer!

Sweet and Sour Pork - 辣子鸡 might be the first dish from Xin Peng Chinese Restaurant that caught my attention, yet the must-order in my opinion would be this 锅包肉!

Lightly crisp on the outside, each large piece was caramelized with a light vinegarish sourness; they were so unforgettably good that the need for dieting was absolutely abandoned. Thank god I have many people to share this with me!

Kids will likely be captivated by this!

p.s. good as a snack too; sinful though.

Mixed Meat Skewers - a range of skewers comprising of pork, beef, mutton, chicken, and mushrooms. It didn't help that it's a minimum of three sticks per meat (p.s. I confirmed with the staff).

Now, I did like the mutton which had juicy pieces of fats in between its meat and the pork was quite soft and tender; however, as far as skewers go, the ones from A Kitchen were better tasting, and slightly cheaper too!

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Tried some of the dishes I had before, and experienced a few new ones. My recommendation for new customers would be the Shandong Fried Dumplings, Sichuan Pepper Chicken and Sweet and Sour Pork!