Friday, July 29, 2016

Good Food Friday : Bayan Baru Market Foodcourt

Food Type : Malaysian
Variety : Good
Price : $-$$
Drinks Orders : Not Compulsory
Air-Conditioning : None
Parking : Lots of parking lots around the Market and Foodcourt, hard to find parking after 12PM

Lunch at the Bayan Baru Market Foodcourt is a norm for people working in the Bayan Baru, Bayan Lepas and other areas close by. There are lots of options so if you're going in a group, it's likely that everyone will be able to get the food that they feel like eating.

There's Indian, Malay and Chinese style rice with dishes (economy rice).
There's fish meat tomyam(non-halal, can choose between fish/pork). The spiciness of the tom yam varies daily so beware, some days it can get pretty hot compared to other days.
The stalls selling tom yam also sells porridge and fish meat noodles and some have other types of ingredients for you to choose from.
There's laksa and popiah (not bad)
There's chicken rice, Ipoh Style (not bad)
There is bak kut teh.
There is curry mee (not bad) and curry chee cheong fun (special but I've not taken a liking to it).
There is loh bak.
For drinks, the specials are red bean blended, coconut blended and other types of "blended". Not all stalls have them and different stalls have different types. You'll have to ask the drinks seller.

On the side facing sunshine square, there are fruit stalls with ready cut fruits. There's also a pastry stall with I found to be pretty good.

If you've just come to Penang, you may not know of this place so try it out. Many may feel the food is not the best you can find but it is food that fills the tummy and is really not bad.

Here's a picture of Popiah (top left), Laksa (bottom left), Tomyam Minced Pork Maggi (top right) and "lor bak" with sauce (bottom right quadrant).

Still wondering where to eat? Stay tuned for Good Food Fridays on this blog. Like our Facebook Page 'EricaYinAdventures' and Instagram @ericayinadventures for latest updates and photos.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Places to Visit in Singapore : Chinese Garden

In the morning, I enjoy walking through the tracks around and in the Chinese Garden. I love the sunrise here which is so beautiful. I'm guessing sunset probably is amazing too. Everytime I come to Singapore, I've to come to the Chinese Garden for a morning stroll.

From the tracks which goes aound the Chinese Garden, the view of the bridge and the Pagoda across the lake is beautiful. Looking at the photo gives a feeling of tranquility and peacefulness. If you need to relax and slow-down, come here for a walk. There also plenty of benches. Sit down, relax and just watch nature and people exercising here.



Another picture taken while walking around the track outside the Chinese Garden. A beautiful bird, a colourful skyline, trees and a bird. Yup, what more could you ask for during a morning stroll in the city. There also people exercising at open spaces along the track. I wish I'd taken a picture of that but I'm not really into portrait nor people photography. I was too focused on the beautiful landscaping and nature around me. 


In the Chinese Garden itself, I saw pretty flowers like this one which I photographed (below). This was in one of the flower gardens within the Chinese Garden. Flowers are lovely and they're my favourite subject for photography.


There is a Pagoda like structure in the middle of the Chinese Garden. This is from the bottom of the slope. The structure is traditional as you can see from the photo. It looks beautiful up-close too! Other buildings in the Chinese Garden has traditional roofs too. Look out for those if you're here. If you can't go to China, I'd say, this is close enough. 


Ta-da! The pagoda up-close. Like I said, it's stunning, no? Red roofs against white walls. It's clean and neat too. Beautiful for photographs. Nice to look at too. 


Last year when I was walking around the garden, there was a wedding photoshooting session going on. Drop by here for a nice morning walk if you're living near the Chinese Garden. Looking at the photos brings back the feeling of relaxation when I was walking around in there. Nothing beats being there in person though.

If you know of other parks to relax in, in Singapore, leave a comment so anyone interested can visit and enjoy the beautiful park as well.

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Watch on the video YouTube: https://youtu.be/cEqmosJJruM

Friday, July 22, 2016

Good Food Fridays : Sushi King, Gurney Plaza, Penang, Malaysia

Good Food Fridays : Sushi King, Gurney Plaza, Penang, Malaysia

This is the first post for the series of Good Food Fridays. If you're thinking of where to eat this weekend, drop by this blog for some ideas. The food I'm suggesting may not be life changing but will leave you satisfied. 
I like seeing new places and travelling. When it comes to food though, I'm guilty of frequenting my favourite stalls again and again. I'm quick to "blacklist" a place if I'm not happy with the food or service as well.

So anyway, last weekend I had dinner at Sushi King. The Sushi King branch at Gurney Plaza has reopened after renovation and there is some changes to the layout. I like the saba set meal and soft shell crab tempura at Sushi King so I ordered the set meal and split the soft shell crab tempura with my mom.



I like the Green Tea served here and they don't overcharge for the tea, RM 0.53 (including tax) for green tea with a jug of hot water. 

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Fitness Adventure : Moongate Hiking, Penang Hill

The Moongate trail is one of the trails leading up to the peak of Penang Hill.

Starting Point : Moongate between Botanical Gardens and Youth Park
Climb To : No. 5 rest area
Ending Point : Moongate between Botanical Gardens and Youth Park
Estimated Time Required : 1 hour for a round trip
Difficulty : 6 out of 10
Trail Type : Slope for a bit at the beginning and then mostly steps all the way up

My climb to the No. 5 rest area took 30 minutes. I started timing from the beginning of the "Botanic Trail" sign at the car parking area and stopped the timer when I arrived at the rest area which was crowded today at around 5:30pm. I didn't rest there and walked back down.

My speed is just average. There are many faster hikers! I'm happy because my I'm faster by 2 minutes compared to my previous hike. Let's see if I can get the time to hike to No 5 down to 15 minutes from 30 minutes. Also, this trail is mostly steps. If you prefer slopes, I'd suggest going up from the starting point in Youth Park, to No 3 and then go up to No 5 from there. It's mostly steps from No 3 to No 5 too though. The hike to No 3 is shorter and you can take the slopes so if you're just starting out, it's a good trail to try.

On the way down, I took my time and stopped a few times to capture the beautiful scenery and surroundings with my phone camera.

View of Penang midway up No. 5
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