25s Cafe & Brunch @ Hoi An in Vietnam

The weather was warm even though it was still about 1.5 hours to high noon and I desperately needed a place to just chill; a search on my "saved" places on Google Map brought me to the highly rated cafe.

25s Cafe & Brunch which was strangely quite empty but I put it to the timing of just 10.30 am, in middle of two meal peaks. Just for your info, the cafe opens for business at 8.00 am!

Such a pretty corner! No, I am not going to be seated here as I noted a staircase that would brought me to the upper levels of the building, where I could possibly have a great view of the street.

Space on level, which had that chillax atmosphere that materialized after the staff switched on the cooler fan right next to our table! Another relaxing factor was the playing of English songs that I automatically sang along to, since there wasn't other customers beside us.

View of the street from the second floor.

You know Hoi An isn't only for tourists when you can still see residents! Like this topless gentleman who was obviously enjoying the bustling from the comfort of his home.

There's a rooftop level which I presume would be more popular when sun sets as the sun was literally shining on me and I can't wait to escape from its harsh, dangerous UV rays.

Views of the street and the classic, homogenous rooftops of the buildings at this UNESCO world heritage site; looked so cool without the modernity of contemporary landscape!

 

Going down was more daunting than going up! And this top fence was wobbly, with just a flimsy hook to hold it in place! Imagine if a kid were to just push past me; I bet it will be death in a foreign land. 

Vietnam White Coffee - I survived and let's reward with an iced cold Vietnamese white coffee! In Hoi An, I realized that the cafe owners focused a lot on presentation.

Pity I am no coffee connoisseur and this piece of information was literally lost on me. Robusta or Arabica; I can't tell the difference. 

Nevertheless, still a nice cup of coffee to finally wake my soul. 

And the sweetness was just right, not too over. 

Caramelized Apple Toast - this was amazing; the toasted bread was spread with peanut butter and with the slices of caramelized apple on top, it's like having a deliciously homemade peanut butter and jelly toast, with better plating! 

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A light meal that satisfied.

Time-lapsed video taking at the cafe! 

Address

25 Nguyễn Thái Học, Old Town, 

Hội An, Quảng Nam, Vietnam

Map

As above. 

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Vietnam White Coffee - 49,000 dong

Caramelized Apple Toast - 65,000 dong

Click here for my 8 Days' Itinerary to Danang (The City of Bridges) & Hoi An (The City of Lanterns) in Vietnam

Mom's Birthday 2024

It's been quite a while since I last posted something on family and it's not because we don't meet up; we do catch up very often but for celebrations, it's usually a meal without cakes as the kids are all grown-up and candle-blowing isn't as desirable anymore.

But my elder sister got my mom a cake for her birthday this time and after dinner, we retreated to the comfort of my house so that the teenagers in the family would be less shy about singing songs! 

Of course it's time to have some update on the kids! Jovyn drew a card for my mom whereas the red packet came from Joyce. I am not much of a present-person, preferring to let my mom decide what she wants so that I don't have to scratch my head.

September babies; for my immediate family of nine persons, three are in September! That means a concentration of higher expenditure during this period of time with all the feasting! Gratefully, my elder sister paid for the birthday meal. :P 

Singing the birthday song - in English and Mandarin.

Just wondering, is there a hokkien version?

Making her wish - knowing my mom, the health and wellbeing of family come first and next will likely be the opportunity to win big in the next lottery like 4D and Toto. At her age, buying the lottery is one sure way to reduce the risk of dementia!

Want to know how she is? Hint: the candles.

Anyway, happy birthday to my dearest mom! 

Pranakorn Noodle Restaurant & Roti & Tea Cafe @ Mixt Chatuchak in Bangkok [Thailand]

I can't imagine having lunch in many of the eateries at Chatuchak Weekend Market as they are mainly hot, and humid outdoors, and rescue came from the nearby, fully air-conditioned Mixt Chatuchak! 

Honestly, I could have gone back to having krapow at the food court but no, I am feeling adventurous and decided to check out this popular eatery on the ground level by the name of Pranakorn Noodle Restaurant, and is seemingly connected to the adjacent Roti & Tea Cafe.

Thai Milk Tea Iced - I love the signature tea flavor from Thai milk tea although their sweetness is extremely off-putting. My request for less sweetness often didn't result in much change but this shop heeded my request and this was simply perfect for me! 

Dried Noodles Pork - requested for large with egg noodle, which I assumed should be relatively safe, and it did look promising with many slices of pork and pork balls.

The first thing that hit me after taking a bite was the sweetness from the dark sauce, followed by spiciness that ended with nuttiness from the chunky peanut bits; can't really taste the usual nice flavor from egg noodle and the pork was a tad too porky for my liking. 

Banana Roti with Cheese - we got this from the adjacent Roti & Tea Cafe since I wasn't quite satisfied with my noodle. I have always told my friends that Thai pancake is literally roti prata with condensed milk, although the use of condensed milk wasn't as much practised in Singapore in the past. 

OMG, I love this! They weren't as liberal with the condensed milk (Thai loves sweet stuff) and I love the crispy outside, soft fluffy inside texture! Best decision I made was to have this with cheese as the sweetness (from banana and condensed milk) was dampened by the saltiness from the cheese yet resulted in a perfect balance between the tastes! 

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Maybe next time, I would drop by for the thai milk tea and banana roti with cheese first before I kick start my shopping at Chatuchak Weekend Market! 

Address

Ground Level of Mixt Chatuchak

8 Kamphaeng Phet 3 Rd, Chatuchak, 

Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Menu

As above

Pricing

Thai Milk Tea Iced - 60 baht 

Dried Noodles Pork - 85 baht

Banana Roti with Cheese - 80 baht 

Nasi Lemak Hantu @ Johor Bahru [Malaysia]

The 15th day of the 7th lunar month, otherwise known as the 'peak' of the hungry ghost month, and here I was, standing in front of an eatery called Hantu (ghost) at almost 10.00 pm! p.s. It didn't help that the shop next door was also burning offerings for the 7th month. 

Located a stone's throw from Atelier Hotel and only opened for business between 5.00 pm and 1.00 am, it's amazing that there were still so many customers! We were just plain lucky that our wait for a table was just 10 minutes! 

Only order when you secure your table, unless your intention was for takeaway. There's a number on your table and do note to write it down on the order sheet, together with the dishes and drinks you want. 

Milo Ice Dinosaur - it's actually been a while since I last had milo but not for Alex, who counted milo as one of his favorite beverage! I took a sip and found it overly milky for my liking.

Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng - our basic nasi lemak with rice, peanuts, cucumber, fried egg, fried chicken and a violent splatter of chilli! Why did I mention violent?

The chilli appeared too bloody although it didn't spoil my appetite. It was the sweet spicy kind I prefer and if you prefer a spicier kick, you may consider the option for chilli-api! 

Rice had that addictive coconuttiness that i found irresistible but strangely, some mouthfuls tasted a bit salty. Chicken wise, it was my least favorite part, the breast, known for its usually dry leanness. Having said that, the much craved juiciness was retained and the meat pulsated with the marination of berempah that had aromatic spikes of lemongrass. 

Maggie Goreng Ayam - I must have been crazy to go for maggie mee so late at night! 

Fried chicken was marinated the same as the nasi lemak even though I did find it a bit disappointing that there wasn't any chilli to go with it! No complaint about the maggie mee, which was nice as expected. I did feel pangs of guilts as I slurped the noodles down the throat.

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Would love to return, but at a much earlier timing! p.s. this would be the best nasi lemak I had in Johor Bahru; simple without much fanfare yet good! 

Address

141, Jalan Sri Pelangi, Taman Pelangi, 

80400 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Map

As above. 

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Milo Ice Dinosaur - RM 4.50

Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng - RM 9.80

Maggie Goreng Ayam - RM 7.00

Chùa Cầu - Japanese Bridge: Closed for Restoration @ Hoi An in Vietnam

Printed on the back of the Vietnamese currency note of 20,000 dong is a picture of a historic bridge located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hoi An, and I was all prepared to flash the note when I visited the ancient town back in March 2024.

After searching for the location of the bridge, which I previously saved on Google Map and walking past a few times, it dawned on me that the above structure, that sticks out like a sore thumb, was the correct place!  Was the bridge demolished?! 

Turned out the more than 400-year old bridge was closed for conservation works which shall include "reinforcing the foundation, repairing the floor, the timber framework and roof". 

Well, it looked more like a demolition process but I understand from some posters located on site that dismantling was required for restoration works, and based on what Wikipedia indicated, the 18-meter-long bridge was "completely restored in August 2024".

Although restoration was ongoing back when I visited in March 2024, there were like viewing gallery allowing visitors a glimpse of the restoration in progress. It's ticked although there's will not be anyone manning early in the morning or at night. 

What intrigued me were two statues on the sides that were honored with an altar table in front of them ; one was noticeably a dog whereas the other one seemed like a monkey! That's hardly the right combination; shouldn't it be a cat instead of a monkey? 

According to a webpage I found, "they represent the guardians of the bridge, since they symbolize protection and safety in Japanese culture". 

Hoi An is a place I would love to return to in the near future and I hope that I would be able to have an updated post, showing the heritage bridge in its full restored glory! 

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Address

186 Trần Phú, Phường Minh An, 

Hội An, Quảng Nam, Vietnam

Map

As above. 

Click here for my 8 Days' Itinerary to Danang (The City of Bridges) & Hoi An (The City of Lanterns) in Vietnam