Mega bulldog @ The 3 Amigos Mexican Restaurant, Edmonton, AB

Mega Bulldog (Margarita with an upside down Corona beer) $17.99

Panda and I first night out since we moved to Edmonton! I decided to not get a cake for his birthday, and instead treated him do a nice Mexican dinner. There are a couple of Mexican restaurants in Edmonton; so I decided to choose one that is convenient for us, not over-the-top-expensive restaurant nor too shabby. The 3 Amigos seemed to fit my criteria just fine:). Immediately ordered their 'bulldog'. I first had it at Banff and thought it was pretty awesome. However, I did not expect the bulldog to be THAT HUGE! Should probably expected that when the waitress mentioned its definitely enough.  for both of us. 

Mexican restaurants are probably the next most colourful thing I've seen apart from Asian clothing and accessories! Something nice for a change because people here seemed to prefer dull colours (even high school teens!) in everything; black, white, black, white etc..

Complimentary nachos and salsa which is always one of the nicest thing in a Mexican restaurant. 

Panda had their Chicken Enchiladas ($16.59)-three corn tortillas stuffed with chicken and topped with a choice of red, green or mole salsa and feta cheese and some miserably-looking onion. Green salsa is super awesome if you like spicy (We love, love anything spicy!). I ordered Quesadillas De Camaron ($15.99)-stuffed shrimp with mushroom, onion, tomato, pepper and melted cheese in a big tortilla. Sounds tempting? Yeap, however, the filling is quite disappointing. First, there's hardly any shrimp inside! Second, there's hardly any filling inside except the mozzarella cheese! Not worth the money although it tasted quite good. Both came with a side of bean and rice. 

Quesadilla De Camaron ($15.99)-miserable shrimp, mushroom filling

Chicken enchiladas ($16.59)-Love the green salsa!

Happy panda with his (our) drink!

Unlike some of the reviews I read prior to visiting this place, I had a nice waitress who was willing to give us opinion, recommendation and most importantly, a smile although she was practically the only server around. Will probably be exploring some other Mexican restaurants in Edmonton first before visiting this place again (not that is not worth visiting; its just there are so many other Mexican place to try out in Edmonton!)

Address: 4035 - 106 Street, Edmonton, AB T6J2S3

Steamboat & Tofu @ Hooi Kee Steamboat Restaurant, Bukit Mertajam, Penang

This place sounds like your usual Chinese steamboat restaurant. However, they do have some of their signature dishes which I think was pretty good and worth trying. Depending on the amount of people, you can choose the sets at different prices. One thing worth trying is their 'starter'; deep fried tofu. Really plain, simply tofu but when dipped in their special dip (not sure what's inside but seems like alot of green onions, chilli and, seasoning etc), it was brilliant. 

Deep fried tofu with special, delicious dip

We had the half-half steamboat (half tom yum / half clear soup). They offer some really fresh seafood, meatballs and bean curd (which I really like :). The soup tasted quite perfect; not to bland, not too salty to the point you felt it's loaded with MSG. We also had a plate of their special Teochew fried noodles (I'm not too sure what it is called but there's a picture here I'm sharing); something I've never really eaten before.

Tom yum soup / clear broth 

The simple, yet tasty Teochew fried noodles. Perfect for sharing :)

Overall, this place is worth trying; if you happen to be in Penang mainland. In fact, I've heard of people from the island that drives all the way here for a good steamboat;) A huge shop with many ahjummas (aunties) as servers. Quite efficient as well. 

Address: Tingkat Binjai 12, Taman Sri Rambai, 14000 Bukit Mertajam, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Opening hours: 5.30 to 10.30 pm (Close on Mondays)

American-style BBQ Pork ribs @ Morganfield's, Empire Shopping Gallery, Subang

For the love of pork…..well not exactly my no. 1 meat but my buddies recommended this place to meet up since they've heard raving reviews on it. They must be pretty good considering there are already a couple of branches in KL. Also, we were there just in time for the specials which was Buy 1 full ribs and get 1/2 slab ribs free; super good deal I would say. We ordered 2 full ribs (with 2 half slabs ) to be shared between 4 people (which we thought would be quite enough) but turned out to be a huge mistake, because we overestimated our ability to finish it! They are famous for their ribs (hence, the term sticky bones) and mainly 4 flavors to choose from; Hickory BBQ, Smoked Peppercorn (my fave!), Spicy Asian and Garlicky BBQ. You get an option of full ribs (RM 76.90) or half slab (RM46.90). *Just get the full ribs and bring home the rest of the unfinished!

Smoked Peppercorn full spare ribs RM 76.90

Yeap..this was the FREE half slab-We chose the Hickory and Garlicky BBQ. Not just the free ribs, it came with sides as well!

Night out with my ex-colleagues; Soon-to-be-mum Penny and 'old buddy' manager Kwan ;p

It was the last night in KL before I left for Canada again the very next day. We had a great time catching up with them while chowing down on those delicious ribs. If you're looking for the authentic, good old-fashioned BBQ pork ribs, this is definitely the place to be. The ribs were tender, meaty, tasty and delicate enough to have the meat-almost-falling-off-the-bone-when-picked-up effect…(mouth-watering right now). Prices were quite reasonable (even without the free half slab). Ours was definitely worth eating because we had the free halves; although we ended up packing a majority of the ribs back home. Another good option on the menu was their sharing platter that will be perfect for 3-4 people. Great place to hang out as well :))

Address: GK-09 Ground Floor, Empire Shopping Gallery, Subang

Website: Morganfield's

Facebook: Morganfield's

Modernized, trendy burger @ myBurgerLab, Sunway, Selangor

Finally had the chance to try out this place. When I first left for Canada in 2012, these burger joints trend was still in the early stages and right now, they are all mushrooming particularly in KL / Selangor. This I would say, as a higher-class-fast-food joint where their main items are still burger and fries. We met up with a couple of friends at their HQ in Sunway, conveniently located opposite Sunway University College. The place was pretty packed; majority youngsters and young working adults. We had a good spot upstairs and came down to place our order (yup, no menu on the table nor servers to take your order..hence, why I categorize it as fast food). Just to note that the burger bun served are charcoal buns.

Say Cheese-sq beef burger (RM 19.00): A seared patty with double sharp cheddar and sauteed onions

You have to be a huge eater to finish this because Panda was super full after having this (he thought he could manage a double patty burger). Perhaps because we had a side of fries, if not, I think it's still manageable;p.

Chicken Swisstake (RM 15.50): Grilled chicken with swiss cheese, shitake and enoki mushrooms and their special sauce

This was mine! A Japanese-Western fusion burger. The grilled chicken was really juicy, tender and fresh and super super huge. It must be the thickest chicken patty I've ever eaten! I liked it because it didn't give you the greasy feeling like the ol' American burgers although I had some helping of fries as well!

(L)The Geisha (RM 16.00): Fried chicken sesame sauce topped with wakame seaweed, jap cucumber and sharp cheddar; M: The awesome spicy mayonnaise; R: Spicy Hawaiian Chicken with spicy red sauce, pineapple rings, and swiss cheese

The Geisha honestly, looked good (I mean the burger). With that huge fried chicken patty, this will definitely be the next burger on my list. Another Japanese-Western fusion burger which was just brilliant! The fries went awfully good with the spicy mayo (refillable upon request), a version quite close to the spicy mayo in Nando's. 

We had a good time catching up and is definitely a place I will visit again. Prices were quite reasonable for KL standard:) Just lets hope, they maintain their standard. 

Address:

SeaPark Outlet: 14, Jalan 21/22, SeaPark, 46300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
OUG Outlet: 8, Jalan Awan Hijau, Taman OUG, 58200 Kuala Lumpur.
Sunway Outlet: 3, Jalan PJS 11/9, Bandar Sunway, 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Opening hours: Tues-Sunday (5pm to 10.15pm)

Website: myBurgerLab

Nyonya kuih @ Baba Charlie's Nyonya Cake, Tengkera, Melaka

Probably, every Nyonya in Melaka would know of this place or at least who Baba Charlie is. I remembered my mum used to get our regular Nyonya food from him at the night market. Anyway, this place is probably not very easy to find unless you are a local. They have however done a good job of putting an obvious sign at the entrance of the alley (yes alley, a small alley which can be easily missed). Look for Tranquerah Mosque and directly opposite, there will be an alley leading to a few houses inside. Walk in or drive into the alley, and you will see this place. 

Ahjummas (ladies) working on the nyonya delicacies.

You can really get practically all Nyonya and Melaka local delights here

I need to say this though. A majority of the items here are made with some form of sweet coconut. So, you've got to like coconut to like these delicacies. It's easy to get carried away with the wide variety of kuih, so make sure you know what you are buying in the first place. Prices are surprisingly quite reasonable as I thought they would have hiked up the price considering majority of their customers are probably tourists.

Hard time choosing what we want. They looked so tempting!

Some family favourite! Pulut tekan (Steamed glutinous rice with kaya, coconut egg jam)

Colorful..colorful...

Absolutely good place to bring a tourist here!

Our nyonya kuih 'haul' ;p

Kuih ketayap (sweet coconut stuffed pancake roll) and ondeh-ondeh (coconut dumplings)

Overall, this is a wonderful place to bring your guest to experience what Nyonya delicacies and of course to savour some of them. Apart from the famous Nyonya Colours cafes in KL that I've been to, it's really not easy to find a place with all this local sweet delights eventhough Melaka is supposed to be a Nyonya place. Tastewise, I will not say they are the best around for I've eaten better ones somewhere else. Even the ones in Nyonya Colours I felt were better, again it might be personal preference. 

Address:72, Jalan Tengkera Pantai 2C, 75200 Melaka
Website: Babe Charlie Nyonya Cake
Opening hours: 10.30 am to 3.00 pm

Not your usual Thai food @ Go Thai, SS2, PJ, Selangor

I said it's not the usual Thai food because after savouring so many Thai dishes, this was something quite new to me. This restaurant specializes in authentic street food of the Isan people, which is at the northeastern region of Thailand. Their menu is pretty simple, not that many choices but presentable enough for a decent lunch or dinner. 

Panda had the khao kha moo (stewek pork leg with rice and egg-RM 9) while I had the Phad Mee Korat (RM 9) which is a version of pad thai. It was a good thing that Panda suggested a Tom yum seafood to share because it was really good in terms of thickness of soup, spiciness and taste (I'm so gonna learn how to make this in Canada!). However, I felt that there weren't much of a seafood in the soup although it's supposed to be a seafood soup. For RM 12, perhaps, they should consider throwing a couple more calamari and shrimp inside. Panda's dish looked like some typical Chinese stew pork with rice and egg. He did say it was tasty but it didn't really look that tempting to me. My pad thai tasted like a Thai version of char kuey teow (stir fried flat rice noodles) but soggier. Although it tasted good, I think I will stick to the usual pad thai and char kuey teow. This was just too soggy for me. 

For dessert, we shared a bowl of tub tim krob (the famous Thai red rubies-RM 6). I love this dessert because the 'rubies' were really good. It was big, chewy and crunchy enough. It would have been better if they had more jackfruit slices inside to enhance the taste of the dessert. 

Overall, a pretty decent place for lunch and dinner without costing a bomb.

Address: 187, Jalan SS2/24, PJ, Selangor

Website : Go Thai

Visit Seoul 2015: One week travel guide

Thanks to all the addictive K-drama, I was so into Korea for the past one year. I finally made it there with Panda earlier this year. Although it was a short, one week trip to Seoul, we covered pretty much everything that I've been aiming for ;p. I might have mentioned this in my previous post, but just let me say it again that Seoul is more for the food and shopping lovers in general (of course apart from those die hard K-celebrities fans). I'll share with you the summary of my trip instead of day to day itinerary because everyone might have different preferences in mind, hence, you can adjust the amount of time according to your interest; be it shopping, eating, cafe hopping or sightseeing :)

Accomodation
Novotel Doksan

Since Panda was on a work trip, we stayed a couple of days slightly away from the city central. For those on business trips in Doksan or vicinity, Novotel is definitely a good choice. Home plus, a departmental store and supermarket is conveniently located directly opposite the hotel. Panda specifically reminded me to mention on this 24-hour dining place which is located beside the hotel. This place offers rich, beef ribs soup much to the liking of Panda. He never ever misses this whenever he is in Seoul for work. I must say the soup here is really delicious, rich and flavourful. For those visiting Seoul as tourist, stick to hotels at city central to avoid far distance transportation as Novotel is located approximately 45 minutes from Seoul Station.

L: Beef ribs soup; R: Pork dumpling in rich beef broth

Nine Tree Myeongdong

We stayed a couple of nights in Myeongdong because this apparently is where all the hype is (well, at least for tourists). We were pretty sure we are not going to be in the hotel room most of the time seeing our tight itinerary, hence, we decided to choose a mid-range place. This hotel was definitely one of the best in terms of location; approximately 100 m from Myeongdong Station. We were even given a free upgrade to a family room :)

Transportation

As it was peak winter in Korea and considering our tight itinerary, we spent quite a lot using cabs to move around. Cab prices are quite reasonable since there were 2 of us. We also purchase a T-money card, a rechargeable card that can be used in all transportation system. It's slightly cheaper than paying individual tickets and also allows easy transit (eg from one train line to another). This card is rechargeable from 1,000 to 90,000 won in ticket vending machines found in most subway station. However, not every station has the T-money machine to purchase the initial card. We bought ours from Seoul Station.

Wifi

If you cant read or speak Korean, wifi is probably the most important thing during your visit. Although there are many cafes or wifi hotspots in the city, having an individual, portable wifi will definitely be much more convenient particularly for directions. I got my pocket wifi from Wifi-Korea for USD$3.99 / day; with $100 deposit and $5 one way delivery fee (or free if you collect / return it to the office yourself). Moreover, you will receive a 10 % discount if you use the referral reservation form where they are partnering with a few guesthouses and blogs. 

Things to do

Our trip was very much a food and shopping trip rather than a sightseeing trip. However, we managed to squeeze in some of the major tourist attractions such as Namsan Tower, Gyeongbokgung palace and vicinity, Insadong, and Bukchon Hanok Village. We also managed to catch an English movie in Megabox Coex Mall, Gangnam on a Friday night. The Ewha's Women University area was also a nice place to visit but preferably at daytime (to see the architectures). Don't forget the FREE hanbok experience at Myeongdong Tourist Information Centre (all-year round), M Plaza (all-year round) or Korea Tourist Information Centre (only in spring/summer). If you have time to spare, hop around the various cafes around the city~

From L to R: Gyeongbokgung palace gate, view from Bukchon Hanok Village

Insadong-A lovely, tourist-y place with various traditional items and food

Super chilly in the evening at Namsan Tower!

Ewha's Women University

Related blog posts:

Street food in Korea @ Seoul, Korea

My Korea shopping haul @ Seoul, Korea

The free 'hanbok' experience @ Myeongdong Tourist Information Centre, Seoul

Cafe hopping in Seoul @ Seoul, Korea

Sanmotoonge 'Coffee Prince' Cafe @ Buam-dong, Seoul, Korea

Japanese food & movie night @ Coex Mall, Gangnam, Seoul

Shopping

I had only my eyes on Korean skincare as I am already using some of their products. I was not really looking for any clothes or bags or accessories although these shops are available at every nook and corner of Myeongdong, Hongdae, Ewha and Gangnam. Gangnam Underground Shopping is probably my favourite for cheap and affordable clothings without the need to shop outside in the cold. For those looking for better quality items, Lotte Plaza and Coex Mall is quite a good place but be prepared to pay way higher prices as well. For those living in tropical countries, you might want to consider going to Korea in spring or summer so that there are better options of summer clothings on sale. Nothing much during winter except winter clothings!

Flagship Laneige store in Myeongdong. Not the cheapest place for Laneige!

Related blog posts:
My Korea shopping haul @ Seoul, Korea

Dining

Korean food fits my taste bud probably because of the spiciness of some of their dishes. Overall, you will not get bored with food in Korea because it is really a mix of cuisines with some being more Koreanized compared to others. Within 1 week in Korea, I was really satisfied with the variety of food that I've eaten. Check out some of the best food that Seoul has to offer in my blog posts below. 

Lotte Duty Free (basement food centre)

Seafood bibimbap from Lotte Duty Free basement food centre. Only 8,000 won and superbly good!

A variety of food are available; bakeries, pickled items, fried food, street food etc.

Two two Fried Chicken (chicken and beer 'chimek' is probably the best combination ever!)

Half chicken fried + half chicken in spicy and sweet sauce for 17,000 won

Conveniently located in Myeongdong. However, I felt the fried chicken was slightly over fried. 

Other food-related blog posts:

Fried mung bean pancakes or bindatteok @ Gwangjang Market, Seoul

Famous chicken dakgalbi @ Yoogane, Myeongdong, Seoul

If you think the poisonous puffer fish can't be eaten, think again @ Geumsu Bokkuk, Gangnam, Seoul

Korea Pork BBQ @ Palsaek Samgyeopsal, Seoul, Korea

The best chicken ginseng soup (samgyetang) @ Korea Samgyetang VS Tosokchon, Seoul

Jjampong, jjangmyeon and tangsuyuk @ Andongjang Chinese Restaurant, Seoul

Cafe hopping in Seoul @ Seoul, Korea

Sanmotoonge 'Coffee Prince' Cafe @ Buam-dong, Seoul, Korea

Street food in Korea @ Seoul, Korea

Overall, it was really a fun and satisfying trip. I will definitely be back in the future for a longer trip and to explore other provinces. My advice would be if you are planning to go to a lesser known place or if you get lost or on the verge of exploding because no one understands you, JUST GET A CAB. It's really convenient and saves lots of times. Also, if you've heard from others that the Koreans are not friendly, rude, etc….honestly, it doesn't really matter because in a country where hardly anyone speaks English, you are really just all by yourself. At the end of the day, your best friends will probably be your smartphone and portable WIFI ;p