Huangshan International Hotel (黄山国际大酒店) @ Huangshan City in Anhui Province [China]

Our second hotel for the Eight Days Huangshan, Tunxi, Yixian, Wuyuan, Mount Qiyun, Thousand-Island Lake, Hangzhou Tour Package to China was at Huangshan International Hotel (黄山国际大酒店)! 

First thing that strikes us was the blossoming trees lined up next to the main entrance! In the midst of greenery, the pinkish flowers absolutely stood out, and screamed right into the faces of flower fanatics.

Flower fanatics like my dad, who adores flowers! 

I love flowers yet my knowledge of them is severely limited. Thanks to Google Image search, these were confirmed to be the "Kanzan Cherry tree (Prunus 'Kanzan'), a highly popular variety of double-flowered Japanese cherry tree".

Stepping into the grand lobby of Huangshan International Hotel. Classified as a five-star hotel with 336 rooms, it was first built in 1995, with the last renovation taking place in 2010. From the exterior, it did look pretty dated although the lobby looked impressive! 

Collecting our key card.

Comfortable hotel room for the night; not as cold as the top of Huangshan City, with warm comforter that was welcoming for a body that couldn't stand the freezing temperature the day before. 

Making use of the gym while waiting for dinnertime!

p.s. not very well maintained. 

Breakfast the next morning on second level of the hotel, with guests seated in what appeared to be the grand ballroom, and the buffet spread right outside the entrance. 

Snippets of what were available. Nothing too fanciful and the spread was more suitable for the locals, including things like fermented bean curd etc.

Nowadays, I would just go for plain porridge with condiments I think I would like. The best thing on the above plate had to be the juicy, flavourful beef ball! 

I didn't notice the above on the ground floor but on the second floor, I noticed there's a small garden that would no doubt, feel extremely eerie at night with creepers all over! 

Getting both Alex and my dad to go down so that I can take a few shots from the second level. It's actually very nice, in the daytime. I didn't even notice the garden when we checked in the day before.

Last few photographs before we checked out to take the coach. 

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Address

31 Huashan Rd, Tunxi District, 

Huangshan City, Anhui, China, 245061

Click HERE for our 8 Days Huangshan, Tunxi, Yixian, Wuyuan, Mount Qiyun, Thousand-Island Lake, Hangzhou Tour Package to China via CTC Travel Agency

Hitoyoshi Ramen & Grill @ Mapletree Business City near Labrador MRT Station in Singapore

I was craving for Sakana-No-Suppu at Alexandra Retail Centre (ARC) but my suggestion was overruled by two friends who decided to check out Hitoyoshi Ramen & Grill at the next door Mapletree Business City.

Whatever the case, the craving could be satisfied on another day and the eatery did appear promising, especially with its alcohol selection that appealed to one alcoholic friend, who is in severe denial of his addiction! 

Buta Shogayaki Tonkotsu Ramen - my main aim was their signature tonkotsu ramen, which sounded extremely appealing on a rainy day! And the above came with a thumbs-up on the menu and included all toppings! 

By all toppings, it meant the onsen egg, chashu, aburi belly chashu, seaweed, spring onion, black fungus and tender bamboo shoots; latter of which didn't give off a bad smell. 

Noodles were slurpy and satisfying for the weather and credits of course were also shared with the thick and intensely rich pork broth hearty for the tummy. Do keep in mind to drink it while it was still hot as the broth got a bit cloying towards the end. 

Toppings didn't disappoint except for one; the chashu which was overly tough with a veiled porky taste. What I loved most were the delicious, shogayaki; said to be made with "thinly slice pork that is cooked in a sweet fragrant sauce and ginger", and the well marinated onsen eggs! 

Free flow beansprouts and corn kernels from the containers on your table, that you can further use to "top up" your bowl of ramen! They were nice additions, although not essential.  

Truffle Unagi Maki - playing it safe, we opted for the maki with a thumbs-up log on the menu and we assumed truffle unagi maki would be an enhancement to the more common unagi maki. 

Didn't disappoint at all even though we found no traces of truffle! The unagi was grilled until the edges were crisp and slathered with a sweet marinade that were perfect for the cold, crunchy cucumber enveloped by the soft, grainy sushi rice. p.s. the wasabi looked as if it was freshly grated, and didn't had that sharp, numbing sensation! 

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Happy with what we had. And the next time, I would just go for the Buta Shogayaki Tonkotsu Ramen with all the toppings, and a serving of Truffle Unagi Maki with a pint of Japanese beer. That would be blissful for an after-work relaxation. 

Address

40 Pasir Panjang Road, 

Mapletree Business City, #02-38, 

Singapore 117440

Map

As above.

Pricing

Buta Shogayaki Tonkotsu Ramen - S$19.90

Truffle Unagi Maki - S$26.00

(Subject to Service Charge and GST)

Fairy Peach Peak / Flying Over Stone @ Huangshan in China

Huangshan, the renowned mountain in China, has four famous wonders; one of which would be the variety of strange rocks. From the above two photographs, would you be able to guess which would be the one?

Of course our tour guide had pointed out to us, even though you could roughly guess given the attention given by other visitors, including the poses while taking pictures; albeit not as weird as the ones at Merlion Park in Singapore. 

The above, which was far far away from where we were! Known as Fairy Peach Peak, it's a stone that looked like a peach at some angles. Standing at 12 meters tall, 7.5 meters long and 3 meters wide, I thought it looked like a face.

Given that the base looked like it was separated, and sitting on a hill, the other and more famous name it was known as, was Flying Over Stone; like a giant who decided to throw a large stone and it miraculously landed on this spot! 

We didn't manage to get closer to the stone but sometimes, it's better to see from afar, where the mind has the opportunity to be imaginative. Any closer, and I guess the verdict would be "it's just a boring rock".

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Click HERE for our 8 Days Huangshan, Tunxi, Yixian, Wuyuan, Mount Qiyun, Thousand-Island Lake, Hangzhou Tour Package to China via CTC Travel Agency

Bai Sheng Teochew Minced Meat Noodle @ GHK 407 Food House in Ang Mo Kio [Singapore]

My sister is strongly influenced by recommendations for food and travel on social media; and if not for her, you would not likely see me strayed so far from the nearest MRT station, for a bowl of bak chor mee from an influencer I haven't even heard of.

Bai Sheng Teochew Minced Meat Noodle from GHK 407 Food House, right next to 409 AMK Market And Food Centre. Let's hope it was as good as it was said to be, on social media. 

At S$5.00, this was a generous portion, with slices of pork, dumpling, fish ball, pork ball, fish cake, and a heavy smattering of plump deep fried pork lard! The strands of mee pok struggled to peek out from the rest of the ingredients! 

Let's talk about the soup; flavourful with that delicious meaty taste that made me drink up every single drop! And loving both the fish ball and pork ball; soft were the bite and the kind I would like to purchase for a steamboat meal. 

My strands of mee pok well coated with a blend of vinegar and chilli; al dente, slurpy and satisfying! I did find the mee pok a bit different; like a narrower version of what I usually have. 

Accompanying ingredients didn't disappoint, except for one; the pork lards that you can request for extra if you wish. They didn't taste as fresh as I thought they would be, given their incredible visuals! 

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In all, a pretty good bowl of bak chor mee for me, that's so worth the price. However, I bet some would prefer more punch to the vinegar and, with the addition of sun-dried flatfish, which had a miraculous effect on palatability. Personally, I still prefer Tai Hwa, but to be fair; I am not a huge fan of bak chor mee. 

Address

407 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10, #01-733, 

GHK 407 Food House, Singapore 560407

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.