Atelier Hotel - Standard King Room @ Johor Bahru in Malaysia

Aesthetic is not a major criterion when it comes to hotel selection but when I saw the photographs of Atelier Hotel while searching for a night stay in Johor Bahru; I was immediately captivated by its red-brick, European inspired facade. *booked*

Hotel reception - the inside was also as memorable; signature of a boutique hotel setting that was unique yet without overdoing the interior design just to make an impression. 

The key drawer had to be this skywell that allowed the tree to be illuminated by natural lighting. p.s. it would have been nicer if the tree was brimming with green leaves, and I wonder if the tree was dead.

Freeflow biscuits, coffee and tea on the ground level. 

Items provided as part of our stay in the hotel, and those you can request, like sandals, ear plugs, eye masks! Those planning for celebrations can also have decorations, for a fee.

Secured our room - 203.

Sad because it's on level two. :(

Even though it was nice of the hotel to provide food recommendations, some were pretty far! I thought it would be more beneficial to suggest eateries within walking distance; like Waffle Delight. 

Water dispenser at every lift lobby. You do know what that means? There's a very high, almost guaranteed chance, that the hotel will not be providing bottled water in the room. 

That iconic brick facade also adorned the walls along the hotel corridor.

A refreshing look compared to other hotels.

The skywell on level two. Frankly, it would be very instagrammable if you have a few friends staying in the same hotel, and you can take a picture from the top and have them standing in the frame on the lower levels. 

Room 203 - Standard King Room

At 17 meters square, it's a pretty small room although functional for just a one night stay. I did find it a bit odd to have the sink outside the washroom but come to think about it; it did give the visual effect that the room was more spacious.

Comfortable bed but pillows were too soft! I am already at the age where I am a lot more particular when it comes to the hardness and softness of mattresses and pillows, and happiness overwhelms me when the hotels have bolsters! 

Provision of electric kettle, sachets of tea and coffee. 

As expected, reusable water bottles instead of bottled water.

In addition to an ensuite washroom and air-conditioning, one of the must-haves for my vacation stay is the availability of windows. I did get what I want but next time, I shall be more explicit; window overlooking outside, and not inside the hotel! 

Sink with the golden tap.

The washroom, like a separate, totally distinct compartment in the room, as if it was a purpose built black container brought in solely to provide the shower and toilet. 

Just your normal amenities, with shower gel, shampoo, body lotion in refillable containers. Only complaint I had was the narrow glass screen between shower and toilet bowl; you are guaranteed to have wet floor, and a drenched floor mat after every shower. Oh, no rainfall shower too. 

Escape plan for reference; although I also like seeing it to compare room size with others on the same level. Maybe next time can consider a bigger room. p.s. again, maybe this is age related too since I can't stand too small a room; so claustrophobic! 

Stairwell taken on the 3rd level.

Rooftop Garden where guests can chill out at night! The lights would also be switched off and it would have been so nice to have beer gatherings with friends; albeit without air-conditioning. 

View from the rooftop; day and night.

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Now, would I recommend this hotel? To be honest, I don't mind returning although there wasn't any shopping centres within 500 meters. It's generally a local area, and that might not be a bad thing considering the places we always visit are more touristy.

At night, there were plenty of food options, including a crowded coffee shop right opposite Atelier Hotel, and a small scale hawker centre about 400 meters. Just a stone's throw away was a popular nasi lemak store called Hantu Nasi Lemak which I would blog about soon. 

There's also a thriving morning market every Mondays and Thursdays, from 6.00am till 11.00am. Rest assured, there will be another post on it in my blog soon! 

Address

149 & 151, Jalan Sri Pelangi, Taman Pelangi, 

80400 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Map

As above.

Website

http://atelierhotel.com.my/

Pricing

Standard King Room - S$57.85 a night

(via Hotels.com)

Shifen Beef Noodle Restaurant (十分牛肉麵) @ Shifen in Taiwan

Lunch wasn't included for our trip to Shifen in Taiwan but problem wasn't the lack of dining establishments; in fact, there were just so many to choose from! 

I didn't do any research beforehand, and decided to go for the above eatery, which was somewhat off the busy Shifen main street, yet packed with customers within at about 11.30 am. 

For a shop with the name of a dish, I am embarrassed to say I wasn't keen in getting the beef noodle. Reason being we just had a braised beef noodle the night before! And I am not a big fan of soup noodles.

Braised Pork Rice - I figured that luroufan would not be a disappointment across Taiwan given how common they are. However, the expression on my face said otherwise. This was more minced pork than the fat-filled braised pork rice I am accustomed to in this sweet potato island. 

Sauce was more savory and went well with the rice! While it was only 40 Taiwan dollars (less than S$2.00), I was expecting more meat / fats and not the two pathetic spoonfuls that were insufficient fodder for the rice! 

Dumpling Noodle - Even though I am not big on noodle, my dad is and unlike me, he also prefers slurpy noodles in soup. I am more into dry mee kia / mee pok. 

My dad didn't complain about the noodle whereas my aim was only on the soup and the dumplings. Sadly, the soup was like plain vegetable soup that I could probably make myself and the dumplings were average tasting. 

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Overall a pretty disappointing meal. I was obviously quite upset that it wasn't good use of the limited calorie-intake we have on a daily basis. Out of curiosity, I went to check the google review for the shop; darn, only 2.4. 

To be fair, some reviewers complained about the bad customer service, which wasn't the case when we were there. And I didn't try their namesake dish. 

Address

No. 138, Shifen St, Pingxi District, 

New Taipei City, Taiwan 226

Map

As above.

Click HERE for the Summarized Itinerary for Our 8 Days 7 Nights See Iconic Taiwan Anew Tour Package via Chan Brothers

蓬萊摩沙烘培坊 Kong Kee - Taiwanese Pastries as Local Food Souvenirs, including Pineapple Cake @ Taipei in Taiwan

I am obsessed with the pineapple cakes from Taiwan and my favorite back then was from Chia Te Bakery! For my trip to Taiwan late last year, I had plans to stock up from Chia Te again but lo and behold, the entire tour was brought to this bakery known as Kong Kee (蓬萊摩沙烘培坊).

Honestly, I have never heard of this bakery and a check on Google Map indicated only one google review. From the view of the store, it appeared to serve only one target group; tourists like us! 

Nevertheless, we had to "support" our beloved tour guide and it's "nice" to see so many products on display, for sale; nice as in I can literally spend a fortune here for my family and friends back in Singapore. p.s. the number labels don't correspond to popularity.

They were indicative of the number on the order list, and if you look closer, there were sixty items to choose from, categorized into five broad categories that included, aside from pineapple cake, mung bean cakes, taro pastries, sun cakes, cheese bar, nougats, crisps, jellies etc.

Best thing about such tourist shops; the availability of sampling, which made it so much easier for me to make a decision! After much indulging, the decision was made. Pineapple cakes appealed to me as the skin was softer and the flavor was addictively good; the cheese sticks were deliciously cold, like ice cream, and the salted egg crisp was memorable! 

Total damage: almost S$180!  

My dad literally jaw-dropped. 

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Address

71號1樓, SongJiang Rd, 

Zhongshan District, Taipei City,

10491, Taiwan, 

Map 

As above.

Website

https://www.twkongkee.com.tw/. 

You can actually order to Singapore via this website and I am so tempted. Missed the pineapple cake, which was my breakfast snack (a few minutes in the air-fryer to warm it up) for the first few weeks after I returned from Taiwan! 

Click HERE for the Summarized Itinerary for Our 8 Days 7 Nights See Iconic Taiwan Anew Tour Package via Chan Brothers

King of Bitter Melon (檸檬屋正宗苦瓜原汁) @ Ximending in Taipei [Taiwan]

My virgin experience trying white bitter gourd (known as bitter melon in Taiwan) back in 2014 wasn't good enough for me to ever want to try it again! However, I decided to try again since it's my dad's first visit to Taiwan and he had never had bitter gourd in juice before.

According to KK, our tour guide, this King of Bitter Melon was the most popular at Ximending district and this was evidenced by the queue in front of the stall.

Top 4 must-drinks in Taiwan! Of course, we have to go with the ranked number one honey bitter melon original juice.

110 Taiwan dollars (about S$4.50) a cup - thanks to the honey, the first sip was an immediate sweetness although issue was the aftertaste, when the bitterness sank in. Nevertheless, it was still refreshingly healthy; to the extent I feel an immediate improvement (lowering) to my LDL cholesterol.

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Address

No. 21號, Hanzhong St, 

Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan

Map

As above. 

Click HERE for the Summarized Itinerary for Our 8 Days 7 Nights See Iconic Taiwan Anew Tour Package via Chan Brothers

Bao Er Cafe @ Balestier Plaza [Singapore]

Sometimes I really hate social media; many a times, they would show me videos of mouthwatering food that make me so hungry when I am about to sleep, and that kick starts cravings that last for days and weeks! 

One of the eateries that kept popping up on my feed was Bao Er Cafe and the algorithm was so persistent; I asked my mom to accompany me to Balestier Plaza, under the pretext of bringing her to Goh Chor Tua Pek Kong temple.

I knew Balestier Plaza is a building from the 1970s / 80s and it was stunning to see Bao Er Cafe thriving so well in the building, when the rest of the building was simmering in a state of quietness. In fact, there was even a queue when we arrived at about 11.00am!  

Signature Hokkien Mee - after a wait of five minutes, this was served and to be honest, I didn't expect the portion to be so big (good enough for my mom and I) although at S$7.00; I shouldn't comment too much. 

I love my hokkien mee to be slurpy and this definitely didn't disappoint and for the pricing, you get pork belly, pork lard, squid, egg and three prawns! Those who don't enjoy too much yellow noodles in hokkien mee will be pleased to note it has a high ratio of thick bee hoon! Taste wise, it was flavorful , peppery and had that signature charred smokiness that was, thankfully, not to the extent of being burnt. Loving it!  

Kaya Butter Toast Set - my main aim was the kaya toast but since my mom was keen on the soft boiled eggs, I figured a set would be slightly cheaper (S$5.00 versus S$5.40).

My kopi, thick and less condensed milk, was average - nothing much to scream about and I must indicate here to remind myself that maybe I shouldn't request for less condensed milk; a tad too bitter for me. 

Mom was super pleased with her soft boiled eggs; freshness aside, they were perfectly half boiled and would give Ya Kun a run for their money. These would probably attract Alex to give Bao Er Cafe a try!

Finally, the kaya butter toast! The first thing I noticed was the color of the kaya; it's not as green as other shops! In fact, too pale looking but I can see the kaya oozing out from the toast. Second thing was the thickness of the butter! In summary, the shop doesn't scrimp on the ingredients! 

After taking a bite; my conclusion was "I will be back again". Using cold kaya that tasted absolutely out of the world, with an egg custard flavor that appealed to me, every bite was oozing kaya and the bread was evenly toasted with the desirable thin crispness on the outer layer! Only complaint I can think of would that the pandan flavor wasn't significant, but to be fair, I prefer orange over green kaya. 

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Yes, I will be back! 

Address

400 Balestier Rd, #02-01, 

Balestier Plaza, Singapore 329802

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Signature Hokkien Mee - S$7.00

Kaya Butter Toast Set - S$5.00

(NETT)