More More Tea Inn - (Made Famous by the Movie: 夏日麽麽茶) @ Laguna Redang [Malaysia]

Twelve years ago, Pulau Redang was a relatively unknown island that was suddenly thrown into the touristy limelight by a popular Chinese movie in year 2000 - Summer Holiday (夏日麽麽茶); starring Richie Ren and Sammi Cheng. 

Many scenes in the movie were actually shot in a colourful house on the island and the marvelous sea view was the conversation topic among viewers (like myself) who caught the movie.

The actual building was demolished due to structural problem but given its significance for important tourist dollars, Laguna Redang resort (the eventual landowner) decided to rebuild the building.

That was one version taken from quite a few blogs. However, Laguna Redang mentioned on their website that the building was actually restored and we all know the difference between restoration and rebuilding. 

Nevertheless, rebuilding or restoring the building was a good move; there was frankly no lack of visitors jostling to take pictures when we were there.

For those who have yet to catch the movie, the resort screened it 24 hours using a dedicated channel in all their in-room television sets!

There was another reason that attracted the crowd - the placement of a two-level gift shop (despite the name of More More Tea Inn, it was definitely not an inn) that sells pricey items ranging from snacks, suntan lotion, to hats, t-shirts and souvenirs!

p.s. please remember to remove your shoes before you step in!

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Location

Beside the main lobby of Laguna Redang Island Resort.

The Queen of Muah Chee (麻糍)? @ Petaling Street (茨廠街), Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia]

I once read from a blog that the most fantastic muah chee can be found at an unassuming 'push cart' like stall along Petaling Street, the heart of Chinatown in Malaysia.

That memory remained hidden in a tiny corner of my brain and could have been forgotten if not for an almost empty street devoid of any commercial activity; except for one.

With newspaper articles plastered on one side and customers that continuously surrounded the stall, i knew this must be the muah chee that the Singapore blogger was referring to.

Another tell tale sign was the display of muah chee with different colourful flavours like pandan, lychee, mango, black sesame and ribena! To be honest, i am not exactly keen in trying out ribena and mango.

But since everyone was asking for mixed flavours, i doubt there would be any harm in ordering a small box (RM 5 a box) just to try out. Even if i dislike the taste(s), i have my ways in persuading gullible Alex to take a bite!

Covered with a heavy layer of finely grated peanuts, the muah chee were chewy yet not sticky and the distinctive flavourings were actually pretty fragrant without appearing to be overly artificial.

However, i would still prefer the original flavoured muah chee from Hougang Six Miles! If the Queen of Muah Chee is in Malaysia, there is no doubt that the King is in Singapore. 

What Lies Underneath the Bandage - Post-Surgery Review for De Quervain's Tendinitis

The troubled hand that sported a pig trotter lookalike bandage a change of dressing two days ago by my family doctor after i realised how dirty it was! 

Anyway, today's my post-surgery review at Khoo Teck Puat hospital and i guess it would be a good time to show everyone the condition of the operation site. 

Are you anticipating it? 

Here it is! No blood, not much redness and generally pretty clean. 

As far as the operation site was concerned, the doctor didn't say too much and merely mentioned another appointment for a final review.

He was actually more worried about the surrounding bruises and advised me to visit the Accident and Emergency department if they spread. 

In the meantime, i have to visit the rehabilitation department for physiotherapy! I am not sure how necessary it is but i do know each visit is going to cost me money! 

*time to tighten the belt and let my fats be the food*

Itacho Sushi (板長壽司) @ Ion Orchard [Singapore]

Me: So where are you meeting Amanda? 

KM: Itacho Sushi!

Me: What's that?

KM: You don't know?!?!?!?!? 

The conversation summed it all; i was totally ignorant about this brand of sushi restaurant that has taken Singapore by storm with its pricing and was very much touted as an alternative for Sakae Sushi. 

Hence, when Joyce suggested meeting up for lunch one afternoon, i immediately thought of Itacho. For me, nothing is true until i have tried it personally. 

Before i start with food, could i rant for a few seconds?

Ordering using these colour forms was such a pain in the ass!!! Eventually, i resorted to order directly from the waitress. Given the long wait to enter the restaurant, i would not want to waste any more precious time pondering which form to fill up. 

Roasted Egg with Shrimp

Despite the addition of shrimps, these pieces of sweetened egg were plain normal. 

Eel Mini Rice

I love this! The whole package was an art of delicious saccharine perfection and confirmed the following proverb: "good things come in small packages".

My only complaint? The serving was way too little and barely sufficient to last beyond three mouthfuls!

Fuyu Sashimi Set

With yellow tail, salmon, swordfish, squid, scallop, salmon roes and super jumbo red shrimp, this has to be the most luxurious sashimi i ever have in my life (my usual sashimi orders rarely go beyond the fishes).

And they were worth every penny; their fresh sweetness remained fresh in my mouth (and mind) for the rest of the day and this is definitely something i would be back for! 

Salmon with Soy Sauce

Itacho is famous for their S$0.40 sushi. You heard it right - 40 cents for a piece of seafood sushi is unheard of in any Japanese restaurant in Singapore. 

This cheap offer is limited (while stock last) although you could have your pick of other discounted items like roasted scallop with spicy salmon.

How did they turn out?

Simply good.

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Location

2, Orchard Turn, 

#B2-18,Ion Orchard

Price

Roasted Egg with Shrimp - S$3.80

Eel Mini Rice - S$4.00

Fuyu Sashimi Set - S$35.70

Roasted Scallop with Spicy Salmon - S$0.40

Salmon with Soy Sauce - S$1.20

[Subject to GST and Service Charge]

Snorkeling in Marine Park @ Redang Island (Episode Two)

Part two of my snorkeling in Pulau Redang and this time, we shall be on our way to the protected Marine Park [this is kind of weird as i thought the marine park comprises of a much bigger area, including Redang and Perhentian islands].

While waiting for the boat to set off, we found schools of little fishes surrounding the boats' perimeter! There were literally thousands of them and you are only seeing a small percentage. 

Passing by an island en route to the marine park; it's easy to recognise this island due to a rock shaped like a head. It also happened to be one of our snorkeling destinations which i would cover in another post. 

Twenty minutes was all the boat took to reach the marine park; yet another island known as Pulau Pinang. However, we could not disembark as the jetty was used by another ferry.

Waiting for over ten minutes might seem short for many of you but for the bulk of us who could not wait to jump into the water, it was god damn frustrating!

Eventually, the boatmen turned to another disembarkation point a few hundred meters away. A floating jetty! I am not sure if there is any weight limit on these things as there were hundreds of us lining up to get into the island.

It was yet again another round of waiting. Impatience got to me (impatience is my middle name) and i jumped straight into the water after realising how slow the queue is moving!

Ah ha! No wonder the queue was moving like a tortoise; visitors had to get into the waist-height water and this certainly didn't sound good for people who brought along non-waterproof bags and cameras.

After knowing the truth (curiousity is my middle name as well), it's time to begin snorkeling! 

Due to the massive number of tourists descending on to this island, the underwater stretch nearing the main beach had terrible visibility. This area next to the floating terminal was in fact better although snorkeling in seemingly more polluted water is not exactly a good idea.

We swam away from the beach and frankly, were kind of disappointed after hearing from the presenter (at the briefing session) that there were a lot more fishes in the marine park. 

In a way, he was right. We caught sight of fish species as long as our arm but the view of the underwater world was dreary with dead and unexciting corals.

I came to the conclusion that fishes were attracted to this area for a one simple reason.

Food! 

Both of us got bored after half an hour and proceeded to the beach for an exploratory walk. 

Pinang Island is more than a place for snorkeling and has quite a number of landing sites for sea turtles. I would have loved to explore further except for one thing.

There were just too many people snorkeling around the permanent jetty - my interest was piqued.

The above was exactly what i saw when i jumped in. Many many fishy-fishy! 

Most of them were of a species that was also very common in Krabi. 

Depth of the water. Thank god for the invention of life jacket as anything deeper than three meters could be quite frightening for weak swimmers like myself. 

Now, could you guess why there were so many fishes around the jetty? It was truly amazing as they were not afraid of humans at all.

Once again, i confirmed the conclusion i mentioned earlier. 

Non-swimmers were throwing bread into the water from the jetty and it was essentially a fertile feeding ground for any lazy fish! 

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For the first episode, click here!