Wednesday, February 05, 2025

Breakfast Hola (早餐好了) @ Chinatown in Singapore

It was less than two weeks since I returned from my longest overseas trip to Taiwan but this didn't stop me from craving for Taiwanese breakfast fare! I was aware of this Breakfast Hola at Chinatown for quite some time, and it was always quite crowded! 

Thankfully, there was no queue when we arrived and a table was quickly secured. What I didn't expect was that the dining area was small small and I guess it's impossible to combine tables for groups consisting more than four persons. 

Grilled Pork Meat and Egg Toast - I seriously don't understand why I very much prefer Taiwanese toast over what appeared to be a normal sandwich with egg, mayo, lettuce and a meat patty! 

And please don't compare it to our Singapore kaya toast, which is an entirely different category altogether! Anyway, I do crave for the simple Taiwanese toast breakfast, especially after trying out  Jhao Chai in Taipei.

To be frank, the one at Breakfast Hola didn't elicit much excitement although visually, it appeared perfect! The meat patty was too thin to make an impact and the dealbreaker had to be the refreshing slices of pickled cucumber that upped the overall palatability! 

Braised Pork Rice - I asked for soft boiled egg and what was served seemed to be more an over easy egg. Nevermind, I can bear with it so long this supposedly authentic luroufan would bring me back to my memorable Taiwan trip. 

Well, not bad tasting but hor, why the meat (mix of fats and lean meat) so mashed up!? Again, similar to the toast, the pickled cucumbers were the stars! Honestly, I baulked at paying more than S$3 for braised pork rice since it typically cost less than S$2 in Taiwan, albeit a much smaller portion, and no egg. 
 
Original Egg Crepe Roll - I don't know why I forgot to shoot a photo of the crepe roll before I finished almost half of it! Whatever the case, it's similar to the above photograph although mine was the original, upgraded to scallion oil pancake.

This was something I tried before in Taiwan yet, never quite understand the hype. It's quite similar to roti prata with egg which was priced cheaper in Singapore with a savory sauce that the picky Singaporean would have chosen the curry gravy anytime. And, too flaky for my liking. 

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While the service was good, I am quite sure I wouldn't return to Breakfast Hola for the same dishes I ordered. Anyone has been to Breakfast Hola and tried something different that was good? Comment and maybe I could check out the Taiwanese eatery again. 

Address
280 South Bridge Rd, Singapore 058829

Map
As above.

Menu
As above.

Pricing
Grilled Pork Meat and Egg Toast - S$7.50
Braised Pork Rice - S$9.40
Original Egg Crepe Roll - S$8.10
(Subject to taxes)

Monday, February 03, 2025

Fantasy Park @ Bà Nà Hills in Da Nang [Vietnam]

The first thing that came to mind when one mentioned Bana Hills at Da Nang would be the Golden Bridge and the European Village. What many didn't realize, until they research further, would be the existence of an indoor theme park!

Upon reaching the basement of the building, right in front of us were the many game booths that appeared tempting but I have to stop Alex from even attempting! I still remember the time I had to piggyback a large toy from Genting Highlands to Singapore and it was backbreaking. 

Average cost of one game was 50,000 dong, about S$2.70.
Discounted bulk purchase; three games for 100,000 dong. 

Counter to check how many "toys" were won.

The rides; frankly, it gave me the impression of the indoor theme park at Genting Highlands decades ago, before its major overhaul. One word; kiddish. Not suitable for old, "seasoned" players like us.

Hm... I wonder if there's any infringement of trademark here. 
I don't know about you but the above "looks" like Optimus Prime.

Woah, a Jurassic zone! Now, I have no interest in Paleontology but since this came at no cost (covered in the general admission tickets); why not just pop in for a short visit.

Some photographs for your reference. 
Again, I didn't read too much about them.

Start of the most dangerous animal on earth.
Homo sapiens; otherwise known as humans.

Exiting! 

Earlier we went into the pre-human era and now, it appeared to be a scene from centuries later, when machines take over the world! It's just that many such installations were too close and it's quite hard to take a great picture.

Likely a stage with scheduled shows. 
And I guess likely for kids.

One kiddy attraction that I really want to try as an adult would be the above as it seemed to be so much fun and such attractions were either not as widespread when I was a kid or the ticket prices were too high for my family. Okay, maybe not the baby explorer though. 

4D and 5D rides! Since all the rides were free, I was extremely tempted to queue. However, I was mindful of one thing; the limited time I had at Bana Hills! We were only allocated two hours, if I recall correctly. 

There's even a mystery world on level three that I really, really wanted to visit! Sighz.... I told Alex a one-day tour isn't sufficient to explore Bana Hills! So.... we decided to stay two nights at Bana Hill this coming May!

Queued for this ride but we decided it's not worth the time spent, especially given the long line and the risk that it might not be as exciting as we assumed it would be. Just searched for it on youtube and boy I was glad I didn't wait. Click here

Iconic free fall tower said to be the tallest indoor free fall tower in Vietnam at 29 meters tall. From the look and the screams that came from it, I am guessing it should be quite the adrenaline shot. Next time. 

Aside from the free fall tower, there were many other attractions within Fantasy Park that I didn't manage to even walk past, including adventure climbing, fire race! Shall look forward to my revisit in a few months' time! 

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Sunday, February 02, 2025

Sia Boey Urban Archaeological Park & The Midnight Leng Leng Street @ Penang in Malaysia

The things that captivated me, as I was walking toward the direction of the heritage clan jetties, were the lines of hand-painted lanterns hung across the lamp posts of a supposed park. 

A search on the web revealed that it was called Sia Boey and tagged as an urban archaeological park; said to be the first of its kind in Malaysia. Now, my lack of knowledge pushed me to assume that it's of historical value. 

I had thought it was related to the abandoned dilapidated buildings on the side but the focus was more on the 220-meter long canal which was said to be large enough for "small boats to transport goods from the piert to the inner parts of the city" but was "progressively covered up for road construction".

Another focus was on the market hall which was built in 1960 with "48 cast iron columns" with "wooden louvers for natural lighting and ventilation". The market was relocated in 2004 and served as an event space nowadays with the launch of the urban archaeological park.

There were also modern amenities; like a kid playground to attract families.

Some interesting trees near the playground that gave us the creeps! Given the nearby event, the place was still relatively crowded but once the crowd died down, I can imagine how eerie the above would appear to be.

Informative context on how the chronological timeline of Sia Boey Urban Archaeological Park. By the way, Urban Archaeological Park is defined as the "sub discipline of archaeology specializing in the material past of towns and cities where long-term human habitation has often left a rich record of the past."

Now, let's check out the event at the market hall.
The Midnight Leng Leng Street.

Rules and regulations! 


View of the market hall - as you can see, the supports were all from the cast iron columns on the sides; there's no support beam in the middle and this resulted in a large space that's 50 meters long and about 13 meters wide. 

Quite a good variety comprising of food, toys, shirts, fortune telling, arts and craft (face and body painting, DIY soft toys etc). More on food which I wasn't as keen given the limited stomach space, and that we had a pretty full meal earlier. 

Anyway, this temporary market was known as "Midnight Leng Leng Street", where the leng leng means leng zai (handsome boys) and leng mui (beautiful girls), and their range of events can be found here

Given religions play a humongous part in Malaysia, I am supposed to see dogs at the stalls since this would have resulted in unhappiness amongst certain community even in Singapore. 

In the tropical weather, only two drinks will placate my thirst; sugar cane or watermelon juice! And this stall (Mangogo) stood out for declaring their watermelon juice was as natural and as pure as you can get; no water and sugar added! 

It didn't come cheap; costing at least RM 16 for a medium watermelon. Note, it's a watermelon, not in cup form, and they were all pre-chilled in a box filled with ice.

This looked so enticing right?! I remember something similar in a night market at Bangkok but the queues were always so long that I didn't bother. Right here at Sia Boey, I was first in line! So one watermelon it shall be! 

Basically, the operator would cut out a hole on the watermelon and then use a hand blender to mash up the meat within, resulting in a rich slushie that had both the thick texture and the natural sweetness! Plus, we got a watermelon "lollipop".

Best buy ever! 
And thirst quenching it was. 

List of vendors at this Midnight Leng Leng Street.

Unlike Singaporeans, it's heartening to see Malaysians being so outwardly passionate about displaying their patriotism. In Singapore, it's mainly in the hearts as we are too mindful of being labelled pretentious if we do the same. 

Ending the visit to Sia Boey Urban Archaeological Park by relaxing outside the historical market hall, where a live band played Mandarin songs that I can hum / sing along too. 

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Address
50, Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong, George Town, 
10100 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Map
As above.