BEST SEAFOOD IN KUANTAN (in my opinion)

The best seafood in Kuantan that I have tried so far is in this seemingly deserted-looking restaurant in Kuantan. Beserah Sea Food Restaurant along the beach at Kampung Batu Hitam Kuantan.

Don't follow the GPS location found via Google as apparently someone sabotaged the Google pin location and both directions we followed lead us to two different places right in front of Residential homes homes.

The best guide is to locate the Beach near Batu Hitam or its competitor PAK Su restaurant just a few doors away. It is right beside the restaurant Sajian De Alam.

We sat at the table looking over the beach. With such good food it should be full house on any given day.

Each dish is a winner in its own right. Like one reviewer on trip advisor said which prompted me to try out Restoran Beserah Seafood Restaurant each dish is a standalone success.

Even my husband who is currently on a vegetarian diet enjoyed the fried broccoli which is really fragrant and also the homemade tofu as well as the omelette. I tried the recommended by many online Salted egg butter squid.. OMG..  The aroma when it was served made me salivate immediately. When you place it in your mouth it is like... WOW... This is a little taste of heaven.. This is how you fry your squid!!! No rubbery feeling not too dry just nice and fragrant with curry leaves and even my toddler enjoyed it lots!

Do give this a try. Price is really reasonable starting from RM20 for the smallest portion for two of salted egg squid.

BESERAH SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
OPENING HOURS 12NOON TILL 10PM

KAMPUNG BARU HITAM BESERAH
26100 Kuantan Pahang
MALAYSIA

Contact tel no 095448810 or 0167839168

Our Experience with Tiger Airways

Hubby and I recently took Tiger Airways as the fare was cheaper than all the other airlines at the time of booking.

For those initiated, Tiger Airways depart Kuala Lumpur from LCCT terminal (low cost carrier terminal) and NOT KLIA Main Terminal. If you made the blunder like we did, don't fret, there's a shuttle bus every half hourly from KLIA to LCCT and it costs RM2.50 per person one way. We made it on time for check in and boarding. No cab driver (touts) at KLIA would send us there so bus it is.

This is how the plane looks like on a hot sunny afternoon. The interior is exactly the same as Air Asia flights except for the hot seats cover in Air Asia and the colour of the uniforms.

The meals look delicious but mind you, it is in Singapore dollar, which is 2.5 times more than Ringgit Malaysia so we did not order anything.

They serve liquor on board... 45 mins flight, too short to get drunk?

Dollar to dollar, similarly priced as Air Asia but once you convert Singapore Dollar to RM, shudder 2.5 times more.

The stewardess on our flight who did the announcement needs some serious training in English pronunciation. 

The steward on our flight back has a good voice and okay English. Their light yellow uniform could be more orangey or brighter so it won't look like it has been washed too many times and look worn out... And the design looks like how they design the Chinese banquets/dinner waiters/waitresses' uniform. I know how some people will say how stewardess are waitresses in the sky but then again they are a league of their own so their uniform should be chic, professional and comfortable.

Check in guys are mostly unsmiling and the one at Changi Airport doesn't wanna tell us the departure gate when he handed over our boarding pass and asked us to check the board. Oh well. So much for customer service.

Anyway, the flights were on time. No complaints about that. The seats equally cramped like Air Asia. As long as it carried me from one destination to another, I guess it's alright. Keep the cheap fares coming!

Dreaming of GUI Flower perfume, from Guilin, China

I had a very restful sleep last night and I remember dreaming of this bottle of perfume that I bought back from Guilin, China.

Guilin's name is derived from GUI tree which grows in abundance in the area, almost like a 'jungle/forest' which is the "Lin" word. In autumn, GUI flowers will be in bloom and permeate the entire city with their fragrance.

In my dream, a random woman was holding this bottle and while my smell senses are not really activated in my dream, I could smell it as I've smelt the perfume in real life. Call it subconscious mind's memory or what, it was a pleasant and peaceful dream.

Guilin is a beautiful place. Its surrounding cities/towns are even more beautiful, only two hours of driving from Guilin city, Yangshuo and LongSheng are on opposite ends from Guilin. We needed separate days to visit both towns. I regretted not having at least a semi-pro camera to capture the beauty of nature there. My iPhone and 'point-and-shoot' automatic camera cannot do the real deal justice!!!

Besides nature and beautiful scenery, the food is very agreeable to my sensitive tummy too. Being more neutral and bland compared to Northern China cuisines, foreign tourists will not have any problems with eating in Guilin and its surrounding towns. If you fancy a hot(spicy) dish, just add on the condiments.

The second pic below is the Three Gems of Guilin, a bottle of GUI Flower wine, a shrimp paste thingy and a homemade chilli, similar to some Malaysian homemade condiments to add to the rice during lunch and dinner or add to porridge during breakfast.

We will definitely return to Guilin, especially to see the fragrant GUI flowers in bloom. It is truly a beautiful place.

山歌好比春江水 - A Traditional Folk Song from Guilin, China

This song, 山歌好比春江水, is a traditional folk song from Guilin, China, popularised by the legendary Liu Sanjie 刘三姐, she is my parents', especially my mother's favourite folk song (Chinese literal translation = mountain song) singer.

Hubby and I are in Guilin now since last week, loving the place (this is a scheduled post but I am very sure we are loving the place)! Will edit this post anyway, so stay tuned.

EDIT: after our trip I think it's best if I leave this post mostly untouched as I need more than one post to describe the wonderful experience we had in Guilin, China!

Oh, the performance in the video above took place in the USA, noticed the orchestra are largely non-Chinese or even East Asians?

I just cannot fathom how someone of Chinese descent, with Chinese ancestry, just because they are staying out of China (due to migration in the first, second, third, fourth or even fifth generation) - they seem to treat that part of themselves as filthy or unspeakable. I don't speak for the rest of the world. I'm only speaking for the Chinese people (out of China) as I am one myself, a third generation on my dad's side and fourth generation on my mom's side.

The Westerners are learning Chinese language and arts/culture and here we are denying our own birthright? I am NOT talking about material rights or political rights, keep them out of this.

I am talking about language and culture. I don't have formal Chinese language education but I strive to learn to read and write the intricate language myself. It is hard, trust me, as I think and even dream in English. Oh well, who am I to judge these people? I am just voicing out my thoughts.

If you cannot love who you are born as, how can you be proud of what you have done so far, because everything you do in life will be trying to cover up who you are born as, so how can you truly be at peace with yourself?

Yup a good quote there: "When everything you do in life is to hide who you r born as, how can you truly be at peace if you deny yourself?" ~suetiong

Just in case you are curious of Liu Sanjie, here's the classic movie in HD:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EieWPBDipJY&feature=related

Guilin - Heaven on Earth

Hubby and I are on our honeymoon - yeah, again, and I have lost count of our trips together in the past five years of marriage.

We are in Guilin, China, and as I have not been to China since Internet became part of our daily life, my first and last trip to China (HK doesn't count) was when I was still a reporter with an English daily in Malaysia, that was even just before I physically 'met' my husband (we met online first you see) - you can read about our love story here.

Anyway, this is a scheduled post to keep to my resolution to blog at least once a day.

Why China? I know some of you think it is the least preferred destination (especially those of Chinese descent who are living out of China), but hey, Guilin is a Heaven on Earth!

Don't talk about all the other 'shortcomings' of China that you are so happy to harp on and give me that look - "Told you so", I've been to Guangzhou, the third largest city in China (if my memory serves me right, if not you may google to confirm) and Shenzhen (the closest city to HK and Macao) - I tell you, even nearly a decade ago, they are nothing like what people who never visited China usually envision - the facilities are superb and we even became adventurous and took public transportation there!!!

Some people's mentality are so narrow it's to the point of being ridiculous: This is like saying, don't talk to anyone you don't know and stay cooped up at home because strangers are dangerous. Oh, you may judge me back on this one as well. I don't mind. I don't have any aversion towards China, that's all.

This is hubby's first trip to China! He has been to HK on business trips (and with me for our first Disneyland experience - you can look up the label Disney if you are a Disney fan) - and this is our first trip to Guilin for the both of us. Yay!

We chose a package that includes a trip to the Rice Terraces (most ground tours skip the rice terraces as it is a bit too far from the city). Reviews say the rice terraces are one-of-a-kind and we just wish to see it!

Let the pictures do the talking. I tell you, Guilin is a Heaven on Earth, a pix can tell a thousand words so include a few, all grabbed online via google images search. End of post.

A quote from a youtube commenter:

"Actually, the photos don't even come close to expressing the beauty of Guilin. I spent 6 months in this enchanted place. My fiance is from Guilin and we plan to retire in Guilin to live out our golden years." ~ Cougaram

Related blogpost: This song, 山歌好比春江水, is a traditional folk song from Guilin, China, popularised by the legendary Liu Sanjie 刘三姐

Traveling in and out or within Malaysia during festivities

Hubby and I are sitting at the departure lounge waiting for our flight to depart Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, a country in between Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia.

We are leaving for China, and are prepared to give up Facebook and other sites we are accustomed to while we are there. Heck, it won't be called true getaway unless you can get away from the online world as well, right? Will post up pix and blog about our trip upon our return next week!

Some pix of how crowded transportation hubs in Malaysia is be it airports, train or bus stations! It is advisable to check with Malaysian public holidays in the calendar when planning your travel. One word to describe the wait line at ticket and check in counters, including at the customs and immigrations - LONG!

Do check my blog daily while I'm away though as I've scheduled daily posts to keep my blog active and staying true to my mid-year resolution in June 2012 to blog once a day. ;)

Oh, it will be Eid or in Malaysia we call it Aidilfitri. It is the biggest celebration in a Muslim majority populated country like Malaysia. Happy Eid and Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all my Muslim friends! (I am non-Muslim but am a Malaysian Chinese) - do check out my posts under the label 1Malaysia

Signing off from online world into the beautiful nature and relaxation.

Beauty and the Beast - Disney World, Orlando, Florida, USA

The pix above was taken during our second day in Disney World, Orlando, Florida, on March 25, 2012 at EPCOT. I will be blogging all about EPCOT in a single blog post and the Flora Festival that was going on when we were there... soon, I have mentioned it will take me many many blog posts to fully 'capture' our experience in Disney World. :-)

Beauty and the Beast - Belle isn't exactly a princess until she fell in love with the Beast, and broke his curse and he turned back into a Prince and they got married and lived happily ever after. Of course, in every fairy tale, there is an antagonist/villain, in this case, it is Gaston, the ever conceited man who wished to marry Belle just because she is the fairest maiden in that locality and he felt that her beauty matches his handsomeness, whatever it is he called it.

Anyway, I love her gorgeous golden ball gown! Which in the Beauty and the Beast Musical/Show at Disney World, Orlando, at one of the four theme parks, Disney Hollywood Studios (former MGM) - she only wore it for about two minutes in the last scene. The rest of the play, Belle wore her normal garb, grey and sometimes with a black hooded coat when she is in the outdoor scenes.

Here goes.

Out of the three princesses who were 'waiting' for the people in the one-hour-long-line to reach them and snap pix with them, Belle (Beauty) was the only one who got down on the floor to talk to the little ones, the other two in that 10 minutes we were in the 'chamber', preferred to either stand or sit on the stools provided. And she is the most authentic looking among the three princesses! Check out my blogpost on: Do you believe in the green dragon? Under July 2012 blogposts

Don't you love her gorgeous dress, the ruffles and oh, the rich golden yellow colour, I love her dress the most, I don't have a particular fav Disney princess, just fav points about each one of them.

Anyway, enough about the signing autograph Belle - let's see the pix from the show - this will be a long LONG LONG pictorial blog post. I was snapping away every other second during the show at the open air amphitheare (with shade).

40+ pix ahead (snapshots from the Beauty and the Beast show at Disney World, Orlando, Florida)

Before the start of the show - seated behind us, we can clearly hear a little boy kept asking his mommy, is it time yet? Is it time yet? is it time yet? Are they starting soon? Are they starting now? Until finally she said okay, now there are 10 more seconds, and exasperated, she counted down from "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 there", and at that exact second she said 'there', the screen/curtain were drawn and the announcer spoke.

Talk about exact timing! The mother whoopped in joy and said, THERE! Mommy's watch is timed according to Disney time, down to the exact second! I let out a loud chuckle and hubby turned around and gave the mom a thumbs up and she laughed. lol

And the curtains were drawn again and we walked out from the amphitheatre.

It was worth the arrive-half-hour-earlier wait - we arrived half an hour before the show started and we could only manage to get an aisle seat (no obstruction, yes!!!), but towards the top of the theatre.

If I have a child/children in the future, I will definitely bring them to watch this amazing show!!!