Beautiful Harbour Bridge in Sydney

I was staring at the Sydney Harbour Bridge and wondered why it is so famous.  I decided that it is its grand structure - it is a big bridge, in fact it is the largest (not the longest) steel arch bridge in the world. Located in the beautiful harbour of Sydney, it has become a renowned international symbol of Australia, together with the Sydney Opera House.

With length approaching 1149 metres, you can cross the bridge by driving a car, riding a bicyle or motorcycle, taking a train or walk over it. It carries eight vehicle lanes, two train lines, a footway and a cycleway. The tip of the arch stands 134 metres above sea level, and the clearance under the deck for ship to pass through spaced 49 metres.

 

Here are some photos I have taken from a place called The Rocks, as I marvelled with the grand architectural design of the bridge.

Sydney Harbour Bridge viewed from The Rocks @ingenira

Harbour Bridge via The Rocks @ingenira

Harbour Bridge at Night @Charles Tan

 

Nyonya Restaurant in Sydney

Just around the corner of Darling Quarter is a Malaysian restaurant called, "Nyonya". Here you can find almost any Nyonya food you can imagine : otak-otak, nyonya laksa, ice-kacang, etc. Nyonya, originated from Malaysia too, is the term used for lady for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants to Malaysia during the Colonial era. For man, he is called “Baba”.

 

 

Nyonya restaurant in Sydney



Nyonya Restaurant near Darling Quarter

The feedback of this restaurant : The food are ok, can be better.

Location : Chinatown, Sydney

 

Shop 88 Level 5, 1 Dixon St
Sydney,NSW2000

 

Tel : (02) 9283 7022

Mamak Restaurant in Sydney - A Popular Malaysian Restaurant

Mamak Restaurant in Sydney

Look at the photo above, and needless to say, the "Mamak" restaurant in Sydney city is one of the most popular Asian or Malaysian restaurant. The queue is long whether it is lunch or dinner time. Mamak food is actually fusion food between the Indian and local Malays in Malaysia.  They make excellent curry chicken, curry fish or fish head, roti Canai, spicy fried chicken, satay, fried Mamak noodle and the list can go on.

It is located beside the China town or Darling Quarter in Sydney, an excellent place to find good food from various nationalities.

Sydney city branch :

15 Goulburn Street
Sydney CBD NSW 2000

 

 

Contact:

Tel : (02) 9211 1668
(Unfortunately, they do not take bookings.)

 

 

Chatswood branch :

 

p9/1-5 Railway Street

Chatswood NSW

Tel: (02) 9411 4411

Nyonya Restaurant in Sydney

 

Just around the corner is another Malaysian restaurant called, "Nyonya".  Here you can find almost any Nyonya food you can imagine : otak-otak, nyonya laksa, etc.  The place does not show any long queue, probably due to its price and the nice atmospheric set up.
 

Nyonya restaurant in Sydney city

Nyonya Restaurant in Sydney

 

Chaotic Car Park System near LRT station in Kuala Lumpur

In Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya and the areas surrounding it, many people drive their cars to LRT station, park their car there and take the LRT to Kuala Lumpur or another far-away section of Klang Valley to work or shop.  Therefore, car park operators are earning good money for this business.  In fact, the response is overwhelming. See photo below.  The car are double parked.  The middle lane which are normally used as driving lane for cars to enter and exit are fully parked with cars.

 

Double Parking near LRT station

So, how do the car enter and exit ? Well, the car park operator has it all figured out and planned.  They take your car key, and in case someone needs to exit this cramped car park area, they will enter your car using your car key, and put the car in free gear.  Then, they will either drive or push the car forward or backward, to allow a car to come out of the parked spot.  And of course they have a few car parking attendants to do these job for you.

Car Park in Asia Jaya LRT station

Car Park near Asia Jaya LRT Station

 

Cramped Car Park

 

Is it chaotic ? Depends on how you see it. The car part operator is very organized, and they are able to serve you in the shortest time possible.  If it helps you to save some traffic jam hours, why not ?

 

Old Town White Coffee - A Malaysian born Cafe

Malaysian born Cafe - Old Town White Coffee has been a successful business venture. If it is not mushrooming like Starbucks, it is certainly available in almost every shopping mall, or business and residential area. It gives the locals not only a cup of nice coffee and its delicious brown toast, but a really nostalgic taste of the environment set up. A favourite place for many businessmen, you can often observe insurance agents, multi level marketers and direct selling agents meeting customers for their business matters over a cup of reasonable priced coffee and snacks.



Old Town

White Coffee from OldTown White Coffee Shop

 

the famous brown butter toast sandwich



Brown Toast from Old Town White Coffee

If you like something cold, they also sell the ice-blended drinks.

Ice Blended Mango

Mooncakes for Mid Autumn Festival in Thailand

Even though all the local Thai people in Thailand speaks Thai and follow Thai custom, there are still some Chinese who hold on to their traditional festive celebration.  I was walking in one of the Makro shop in Thailand and looked what I have discovered ?  MOONCAKES !  Wow, it is amazing to see so many moon cakes here. They are not so fancy, but maybe because they are mooncakes from a warehouse supermarket. Nevertheless, the sight of mooncakes do make me feel at home.

Boxes of Mooncakes in Thailand



Golden Dragon Brand MoonCakes in packets

Beanpaste Mooncakes from Thailand

Thai Mooncake with Chinese Characters


Even the brand name of the mooncake is so Chinese - Golden Dragon.  Chinese likes to use "dragon" in names.

Gold Dragon Brand Mooncake

Beanpaste Cookies from Thailand

HAPPY MID AUTUMN FESTIVAL !!

Hari Raya Celebration in Paradigm Mall

Paradigm Mall

A newly opened mall in Kelana Jaya, Paradigm Mall, has a lot to offer for Hari Raya celebration to Klang Valley residents as well as tourists. 

When I visited the mall for the first time, it was not easy to know the shops orientation.  After a few walks around, it is not difficult to figure out where to go. 

Paradigm Mall

If you come around Buka Puasa time, you can enjoy live performances such as Jazz, pop songs etc by a local band. 

Jazz Performance at Paradigm Mall

Live Performance during Ramadhan Month in Paradigm Mall

There seemed to have many complaints about this mall, such as malfunction lift, falling air conditioned, confusing car park etc, if you googled it.

Leaving that behind, it is quite a nice mall to hang out during leisure time.  

Best Sarawak Laksa in Klang Valley - Sarawak Corner in Restaurant Meisek, USJ14

Sarawak Laksa from USJ14

I have tried Sarawak Laksa from various places in Klang Valley, and so far the laksa from the hawker stall called "Sarawak Corner" in Restaurant Meisek, USJ 14 is the best !!  Many, MANY, Sarawakians are seen visiting this stall to satisfy their crave for Sarawak Laksa, especially on the weekend.  Saturday is the busiest day for the couple, who obviously have problem coping with the demands from customers.  While she is preparing a dish, a few orders are coming in, and they often forget the orders, or the correct queue ... and being a couple in their fifties, until today, they still don't know how to solve the problem. So, please kindly remind them if you have waited for 10 minutes.

Is it worth the wait, YES, if you are craving for a good Sarawak laksa !

Let me try my best to describe the taste of the laksa. The gravy is just thick enough, very fragrant and savoury. The amount of coconut she puts in is just nice. The prawns are huge - generous portion indeed. It costs RM5 by the way. And RM6 for special preparation - added with cha-siew and fish balls. The locals like to eat it with noodle instead of meehoon. Sarawakian customers just know how it is best to consume with meehoon (big-sized rice noodles).

They are also selling the Sarawak Kolo Mee, which I think is also very well made.  The orders for Kolo Mee came in faster than the laksa ! The locals especially enjoy the Sarawak Kolo Mee.

Sarawak Kolo Mee from USJ14

Parking areas around the restaurants are quite crowded especially when it is close to lunch time.  The stall is also famous for other food like nasi lemak (Chinese version).

Restoran Meisek in USJ14

To get the materials such as noodles and laksa paste, the husband actually goes to the airport every day to receive the materials sent from Kuching.  Wow, what an effort indeed !

Do give them your support, so that we continue to have Sarawak laksa and kolo mee in Klang Valley, as good as you can get in Kuching !

THE WORST SARAWAK LAKSA IN KLANG VALLEY

Worst Sarawak Laksa

The picture says a thousand words, isn't it ?  This worst Sarawak laksa is available from a food court in Putrajaya. The air-conditioned food court is facing the famous lake, close to cruise departure area.  

Really, after 2 bites, I put down the spoon, and ordered the chicken rice next door ! 

Melaka Public Swimming Pool Opening Hours

Melaka Public Swimming Pool

Melaka Public Swimming Pool has unusual time arrangement for opening to the public. They starts open at 10.30 in the morning, and public is allowed to access for 1.5 to 2 hours interval only. When the time is expired, the sirens will sound, asking the pool visitors to leave the place. Then, a new batch of public people is allowed to access. So if you arrive there earlier than the pre-fixed time, you have to wait for the next session to enter. Read further for my experience with the MBMB pool.


One friday, I browsed on MBMB website, and its timetable mentioned that public is allowed to enter from 6 to 8pm. So, I reach there with a group of children at 6.30pm, hoping to play at the pool for an hour. To our disappointment, the guard did not allow us to enter, as the next session starts at 7pm. So, we have to wait at the waiting area for half an hour. I could not buy the tickets earlier too. When the sirens were heard at 7pm, the ticket master walked slowly to the counter to sell the ticket for us. Thereafter we could enter the pool area.

See below for the snapshot of MBMB (Majlis Bandaraya Melaka Bersejarah) public pool access timetable : (Note : The timetable at MBMB website is wrong and outdated, you can try their phone number too, and the number is not in service.)

Melaka Public Swimming Pool Time Table

Entrance Fee :

Swimming Pool Only :

Adult : RM2.00
Child : RM1.00


Swimming Pool and Gym :

Adult : RM3.00

Proper swimming attire is advised but not strictly enforced.

Melaka Maritime Museum

Driving to Melaka Public Swimming Pool

The Melaka Public Swimming Pool is located opposite the famous Melaka Maritime Museum or the big Ship.  As you drive along the road to the Ship, when you reach the market opposite the Ship, you can see the sign board that says “ Turn Left to MBMB Swimming Pool”.  So, turn left and you should then find a parking place for your car.  The swimming pool is just right behind the market.  You can park the car in front of the swimming pool, or the market.

Swimming trunk, Swimming Suit, Goggle, Float or Kick Board, Towel For Rent in the Swimming Pool

If you forget to bring any of the swimming attire, goggle, kick board or towel, don’t worry, you can rent it from a shop in the MBMB pool itself.  As you enter the MBMB pool main building, you will see a convenient shop selling drinks and snacks. Behind this shop, there is another shop called “QAA Marl Swimming Centre”. This shop sells all kinds of swimming needs.  You can also rent the swimming attire, goggle, kick board and towel here for only a few Ringgit.  See below the rental cost for swimming needs, in case you forget to bring any.

QAA Marl Swimming Centre
Swimming Attire, Goggle and Kickboard for rent

Rental Cost for Swimming Attire, Goggle, Kick Board and Towel at QAA Marl Swimming Centre