Haru Cafe @ Hilltop, KK

Another cafe hopping day! From the name itself, you definitely can guess it's a Korean style cafe. Haru Cafe is located at Hilltop, near Restaurant Masakan Sedap. Parking is not a problem here because it's a private area and there is no charges for parking. And it's quite a huge cafe with many tables! If you are looking for a quiet place for your gathering, I guess this is a perfect one! Menu is fairly simple as there are not many choice to choose and prices are stated clearly on the menu.

Polumpung Melangkap View Camp Site @ Kota Belud, Sabah

Looking for a camp site by the river and have a nice view of Mt KK when you wake up in the morning? Here you go, Polumpung Melangkap View Camp Site (PMVCS) at Kota Belud district. PMVCS is located about 80 km from KK center and takes about 2 hours journey to there. If you are coming from KK center, take the road towards Kundasang and turn down to Kota Belud-Kundasang road to reach the camp site. Turning in from Kota Belud will be a much longer journey and waste of time.

To organise a trip there is never difficult, just pick the things (or rent from them) that you need for camping and make reservation through whatsapp @ 012 871 5576 then it's all set to go! They have many things to rent, such as tents, sleeping mats, sleeping bags, kitchen, camp fire site, bbq drum, canopy, floating tube etc. You name it, they got it! Besides, there is also a small mini mart at the registration counter, washroom and bathroom facilities. But one setback about this place is that it can be very crowded as as they allow quite a huge number of people entering the camp site and there are many stray dogs and cats. So, you got to becareful with your belongings as they might go missing at night! And please bring along your own drinking water or clean water if you are cooking. Be there early to get a good spot for camping!

Turning into PMVCS

Sabah Chilli Pan Mee @ Lintas Plaza, KK

Sabah Chilli Pan Mee is one the hot stuff in town now! It is now opened at Lintas Plaza, the same row of shops with Wojomama Japanese Restaurant facing the main road of Jalan Lintas. They do not only serve chilli pan mee, they have sides e.g. soup stuff and fried stuff as well. One good thing about their service is that there is a person will introduce everything on the menu to you if you are a first timer! Besides, there is also a guide to teach you how to mix a good bowl of chilli pan mee when it's served!

If you have no idea what is it, then let me explain a bit. Chilli pan mee basically is a standard dry pan mee with minced meat, fried onions, fried anchovies, an egg and some comes with black fungus etc to mix with unlimited amount of special blended spicy chilli flakes. If you can stand the spiciness, why not go for more! =)

Wantan Soup.. A chuck of meat wrapped within a thin skin. It's kind of small..

KK Containers Street Food Night Market @ Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Do you want to have some Bangkok feel in KK? =)

KK Containers Street Food Night Market, also known as Asquare Container Market is located right beside of Wawasan Plaza around Api-Api Center area. The concept is fairly new in KK whereby there are many small container stalls selling many types of beverages, finger food or even heavy meals which are all at affordable price. They are only open at night from around 4 pm till late night but coming around 6 pm is the best time as most of the stalls are opened. Tables are quite limited if you happen to come during rainy days as most of the tables are not sheltered. You can always pack your meals here before going back home because they serve in a "take-away" concept!

Green Mug is also here!! 

Laundroluxe @ Api-Api Center, KK

Laundroluxe? Sounds like a name for a laundry shop? Hmm.. You are just partially right if you thought so. In fact, it is a laundry shop 2-in-1 combo with a cafe, a very unique concept and I guess it's first of its kind in Sabah. 

Laundroluxe is located at Api-Api Center, facing the Jalan Tun Razak main road. For more convenient parking, you can just park at the lower ground floor of the Api-Api Center. You can have a cup of coffee or a meal while waiting for your laundry to be done! As for the menu, they have a very "systematic" menu whereby there is a set of menu for each breakfast, lunch, tea time and dinner.  They do serve the local common food and also the Western cuisine. To get more updates on their menu and promotions, you can get them from their FB page at Laundroluxe. One thing that is for sure, everything on the menu is a surprise! =)

Laundry area and cafe are just side by side..

Joe Sun Food & Coffee Co @ Damai Plaza, KK

Nasi lemak is a typical Malaysian breakfast which you can find it easily at every corner of the street but if you want to try something different, you can try it at Joe Sun Food & Coffee Co. It is located right in front of Glory Christian Center and behind of Maple at Damai Plaza. The special thing about them is they serve waffle lemak! Waffle lemak basically is a piece of fried chicken meat, eggs, fried anchovies and chili sambal sandwiched between 2 pieces of waffles. Besides, their specialties include dry butter prawn fried rice and salted egg yolk cake. They start their business really early in the morning and open till late at night. So, you can just have your breakfast right up till dinner over there. =)

Joe Sun Food & Coffee Co.

White + Scarlet Restaurant @ Bandaran Menjalara, Kepong

Looking for a simple and nice western cuisine for lunch or dinner, or even a hang out place during tea time or supper, you can try White + Scarlet Restaurant at Bandaran Menjalara, Kepong. It is located facing Tesco Kepong and at the front row of all the shops which can hardly be missed when you drive along the main road. You can even Google this place on Google map. The down side around this area is the parking as there are many eateries around this area as well, unless you park in Tesco and just walk across the road! =) From the menu wise, they serve a wide variety of food. The special one that must try on the menu includes Spicy seafood aglio, lamb chop or any of the Western grill (or with waffles) with salted egg sauce, prawn paste fried chicken and last but not least, the waffles with ice cream toppings!

White + Scarlet Restaurant.. One of its kind around this area.. I don't think there is any other restaurants serving the same menu around this area..

Working Trip to Kuching, Sarawak

Kuching is the capital city of Sarawak and it's also a state with is rich in culture (like Sabah) and definitely food as well. I have been to Kuching once but it was almost 13 years ago and I believe that many things have changed from the time I stepped out from the airport, to highways, roundabouts etc. Though I don't have much time to walk around for this trip as my hospital just send me here for 2 days for a course but at least I managed to cover a bit! =)

** Just a random blog about Kuching!

Sarawak Museum. Located right in the city center. Easily accessible. To learn about the culture and beginning of Sarawak. No entrance fee.

Soo Har Yee Restaurant @ Bercham, Perak

Another recommended good place in Bercham is this Soo Har Yee Restaurant 蘇亿儿海鲜饭店. They are open for both lunch and dinner. As for the lunch, you can order fresh from the kitchen or cooked vege from the counter (mixed rice). Their specialties are stewed duck（狗仔鸭), Thai style steamed seafood (can mixed up to 4 types) and many more e.g. crab in the bread. Parking is never a problem at this place during the weekend but I'm not sure how about other days..

Stewed Duck（狗仔鸭) for RM 15. Very good dish. I can only say that they stewed it long enough till the duck meat is soft, tasty and juicy.

Restaurant Rasa Lain PLT @ Bercham, Perak

Bercham is a district in Ipoh which is next the to the North-South Expressway in Perak. Surprisingly, this place has many great restaurants if you ask Mr Google and each of the restaurants has different specialty. As for Restaurant Rasa Lain PLT 味不同海鲜坊, their specialties are steamed chicken (招牌胡须鸡), steamed fish balls (蒸鱼旦), steamed lala (蒸啦啦), claypot glass noodle with crab (冬粉螃蟹), special sotong (香茅蘇东) and many more. If you  are coming from the city center, you can get UBER to fetch you to this place! But if you are driving, it will take you about 20 minutes to reach to this place from the city center. 

Steamed Chicken (招牌胡须鸡) Basically, it's a no-fat, tough chicken meat.. Good in the sense that it's more healthy but bad for those who got no teeth.. =p

Ampersand Specialty Coffee & Co-workplace @ Bandaran, Kota KInabalu

Looking for another unique hang out place with friends or trying to get a peace of mind during stress period in KK, you can try Ampersand @ Bandaran. No doubt that this is one of the good place for coffee and desserts e.g. cakes and waffles especially during tea time. Besides, the interior design and the furniture are so stylish that it's so hard to resist from taking any pictures or selfie from all angles. Menu is simple and the price is consider average. But one setback is that this shop can be easily missed! I did turn 3 rounds around the same row of shops then only I found it.. -.-"

The entrance of the shop..

Woo Cafe @ Lorong Dewan, KK

If you are looking for another nice hang out place in KK, you can try Woo Cafe, Lorong Dewan. To find this place is a bit tricky as there is no big signage for this cafe but the location is right opposite of Gong Cha and Chopping Block. As usual, parking is a big problem there. Woo is not only good at serving good food, but the interior of the cafe is wonderful as well. So remember to bring along your camera! =)

The entrance for Woo Cafe..

Nook Cafe @ Lorong Dewan, Kota Kinabalu

If you pass by Lorong Dewan, KK which is on the same road as the traffic police station, you would realise that there are many cafes along the 2 rows of shops. One of the cafe which you can try is Nook Cafe. Nook cafe has been there quite a while and it's just a small cafe which can accommodate around 30-40 customers at one time. To me, it's really a great place to chill out if there is not many people around. As for the menu, it's quite simple and straight forward. There are starters, mains, breakies/brunch set and desserts. And one surprising thing is that, you can choose to have double shot expresso for the latte without any additional cost!

Hot latte with double shot expresso and an iced latte.. =) Strong taste but not as aromatic as I wish..

Jungle book waffle.. Vanilla ice cream with banana and peanut butter cream.. I like this so much it's all because of the peanut butter cream..

Total cost for these 3 items was about RM 30 only. Thanks to myMaxis app for the 20% off the bill (promotion ends at the end of July)! =)

Enjoy and have a nice day. =)

Botanica & Co @ Bangsar South City, KL

To be at home for Father's Day was the best thing that I can do for this year. Sorry for missing out Mother's Day =p I will be home more often next time! As for this year, my sister suggested Bo+Co this time as I have yet to try out this place. If you are coming in a big group, it's best that you do a reservation in advance and be there early if you want to avoid huge crowds. 

Everything on the menu was interesting and the price was quite reasonable for the ambiance and the location. So we ordered 5 things on the menu for a total of 6 of us! 1 tacos, 1/2 roasted chicken, 1 fish & chips, 1 pasta and 1 pizza.

The entrance.. 

Grandchamp's Gourmet @ Peak Vista, KK

Susan always never fail to impress me when it comes to my birthday. =) And this year, she brought me for a dinner treat at Grandchamp's Gourmet. So this restaurant definitely looks classy as it is and they serve a wide range wine to pair with cheese if you are really interested in wine. Besides, they do serve main course meals (French style) as well. As for the price, it's quite reasonable for the food that they serve and presentation wise, it was fantastic! Hmm.. And for the service, I guess it improved a lot as compared to those comments from Trip Advisor.

 Beef Steak... Just nicely done.. I hope that I can make this one day! =)

Nuluh Lapai Hike @ Telipok

It is great to capture the beautiful sun rise at Mengkabung Bridge which is just nearby (roughly about 3-5 min drive from Nuluh Lapai starting point) before the start of any hiking activities.

Beautiful view of Mt Kinabalu from Mengkabung Bridge.. 

Japan Trip 2017 Summary

Japan Trip 2017 Summary (Click on the high-lighted part for the link)

Day 1: Part 1 Tokyo Arrival

Day 2: Part 2 Tokyo Kawaguchiko Lake and Kawazu River

Day 3: Part 3 Tokyo Asakusa, Skytree Tower and Shibuya

Day 4: Part 4 Tokyo Odiba Onsen, Mirakan Museum, Toyota City Showroom and Divercity for Gundum. (Last day in Tokyo)

Day 5: Part 1 Kyoto Fushini Inari, Higashiyama and Gion Districts

Day 6: Part 2 Kyoto Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Pavilion), Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and Kiyomizudera Temple

Day 7: Part 3 Kyoto Nishiki Market and travel to Osaka!

Day 7-8: Part 1 Osaka Dotonbori and Namba, Universal Studio Japan and Takoyaki Museum

Day 9: Part 2 Osaka Osaka Museum of Housing & Living, Tenjinbashi Shopping Street, Umeda Sky Building, Cafe Sky 40 and Hep Five Ferris Wheel

Day 10: Part 3 Osaka Osaka Castle, Osaka Tennoji Temple, Tsutenkaku Tower, Hozenji Yokocho Alley and Hozenji Temple

Day 11-12: Part 4 Osaka Kuromon Market and Shinsaibashi Shopping St.

Enjoy and have a nice day =)

Japan Trip (3-14 March 2017) Part 4 Osaka

Day 11 and 12 (last day), Kuromon Market and Shinsaibashi Shopping St.

It was basically "free and easy" most of the time after visiting Kuromon Market. Most of us had our own last shopping destination e.g. Shinsaibashi Shopping St. and Namba Station before getting back early to AirBnB to pack everything up.

Kuromon Market is just like Nishiki Market but it has more fresh stuffs e.g. seafood, fruits etc as compared to Nishiki Market. Whatever you have not tasted in Nishiki, you can get it here! We just got ourselves an empty stomach before going there and filled with lots of food before starting our last shopping spree day. =)

Japan Trip (3-14 March 2017) Part 3 Osaka

Day 10, Osaka Castle, Osaka Tennoji Temple, Tsutenkaku Tower, Hozenji Yokocho Alley and Hozenji Temple.

First destination for the second day using the amazing pass was Osaka Castle (free entrance, included in the pass). This is one of the famous tourist spot of all time. If you want to get a nice picture of the castle, make sure to be there early!

Japan Trip (3-14 March 2017) Part 2 Osaka

Day 9 (3rd day in Osaka), Osaka Museum of Housing & Living, Tenjinbashi Shopping Street, Umeda Sky Building, Cafe Sky 40 and Hep Five Ferris Wheel.

To start off the day, we bought the Osaka Amazing 2-days pass for 3000 Yen to travel around freely for these 2 days. The pass includes free rides via trains from station to station (not including JR and some other line) and free entrance for many tourist destinations. Thus, to maximise the usage, try to allocate 2 consecutive travelling days around Osaka only! You can log on to their website to find the place to buy the pass. After buying the pass from Namba St, we traveled up to Tenjinbashi St to visit a few place. If you want to wear the kimono costume at the cheap price, you can get it at Osaka Museum of Housing & Living. 500 Yen for 30 minutes but you got to get there early to get an early queue. 

Osaka Museum of Housing & Living.. Right above the station, look out for the sign board to lead you the way... The museum was not big, spending about 1 hour there was sufficient for us..

Japan Trip (3-14 March 2017) Part 1 Osaka

Day 7 and 8 (1st and 2nd day in Osaka), Dotonbori and Namba, Universal Studio Japan and Takoyaki Museum.

We arrived at Namba from Kyoto at around 5pm but we checked in into our AirBnB late at around 7pm because we couldn't find the place. After leaving our luggage at the AirBnB, we headed out straight for dinner at Mikino Tempura Restaurant at Namba area. 

Our AirBnB in Osaka, walking distance to Dotonbori, nearest train station is Nippombashi St.

Japan Trip (3-14 March 2017) Part 3 Kyoto

Day 7, Nishiki Market and travel to Osaka!

We left out luggage at the AirBnB and traveled to Nishiki Market from Fushini St. Nishiki Market is a shopping district where you can find a lot of food, from the raw to the cooked one! To travel there was easy, we took the train to a nearby station and walk about 10 minutes to the place. 

Baked cheese tart, fresh from the oven! Pretty from the outside, yummy from the inside! =)

Japan Trip (3-14 March 2017) Part 2 Kyoto

Day 6, Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Pavilion), Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and Kiyomizudera Temple.

To move around Kyoto to tourist spots was a bit complicated and time consuming as compared to Tokyo or Osaka. Kinkakuji Temple and Arashiyama Bamboo Forest were quite far from the place that we stayed. Thus, we took a train then a bus ride to each of these destinations.

Japan Trip (3-14 March 2017) Part 1 Kyoto

Day 5, (Kyoto Day 1)  Fushini Inari, Higashiyama and Gion Districts.

We arrived at Kyoto St. early in the morning (before 6 am) and there were no shops open yet. So, we just clean up a bit at the washroom, sent our luggage to the locker and headed out to Fushini Inari!

Kyoto Station early in the morning!

Japan Trip (3-14 March 2017) Part 4 Tokyo

Day 4, Odiba Onsen, Mirakan Museum, Toyota City Showroom and Divercity for Gundum. (Last day in Tokyo)

We checked out from our AirBnB early in the morning and kept our luggage at the expressway bus terminal 4-F, near Shinjuku Main Station. The lockers were quite expensive (roughly about 300 Yen for 2 hours) but it was better than taking them travelling around for the whole day. After leaving our luggage, we took a train ride to Tokyo Teleport St. then hopped on the free shutter bus to Odaiba.

Expressway Bus Terminal at 4th Floor..

Tokyo Teleport St. Weather was not so good that time and it was super cold!

Free Shutter Bus to Odaiba

Ooedo-Onsen Monogatari is a relaxing place with natural hotspring. They have an open-air bath, a foot bath garden, relaxing halls and an amusement park. After registering at the counter, we were given a token/pass to each person. Then we need to change on to their Yukata costume before entering to the main hall. From there, we can choose to go for open-air bathing (must be fully naked), foot-bathing, eating, playing games etc. Besides, there were also massage, sauna and fish spa but with an additional cost. You can spend how much time you like over there! Upon check out, then only we were given the bill. (Entrance fee ~ 2500 Yen).

Ooedo-Onsen Monogatari

Counter to select your Yukata.. There were a few designs to choose from..

The main hall with a lot of gaming and food stalls...

Foot bath garden..

After onsen, we then walked to Miraikan Museum, Toyota City Showroom, Divercity and back to the train station. 

Miraikan Museum.. Just walking distance from the Onsen but opening hours is until 5 pm..

Toyota City Showroom.. (no entrance fee needed) A showroom with full of past, present and future cars!

Interactive games to entertain everyone!

Gundum at Divercity..

We then traveled back to the train station at around 7 pm and get back to Shinjuku Main Station for dinner before boarding on Willer Bus Express at around 9.45 pm. 

Yoshinoya.. Cheap food and fast service but it's non-halal.. Just walking distance from Shinjuku Main St.

Rice with Beef Slice.. Less than 700 Yen if not mistaken..

Pork Slice Rice Set with soup..

Our bus to Kyoto.. About 10-hours bus journey! Very comfortable bus (roughly about 7000-8000 Yen per person)

To be continued..

Japan Trip (3-14 March 2017) Part 3 Tokyo

Day 3, Asakusa, Skytree Tower and Shibuya. 

Before we started anything, we had our breakfast at this beautiful bakery near Shinjuku Main Station. Gontran Cherrier, I suspect it's a French bakery but maybe I'm wrong. Because once we entered the shop, we had this very Western style classic feel. With the setting and displays, we were so tempted to get each of the pastries which were on the shelf! =) Pastries were great but the coffee was a bit disappointing! Anyway, I can say it's a MUST to come here at least once!

Gontran Cherrier, downstairs to buy and upstairs to sit and dine in!

Wonderful pastries... A bit pricey but worth to try!

Then we headed out for Asakusa via train. We got ourselves an ICOCA or SUICA card, so that we can travel conveniently and faster without the need to queue everytime to buy train ticket. You can load in a big sum but if you are worry that you can't finish the money inside the card, you can just spend it at any convenient store or get a refund at the ticketing counter.

Ticketing machines at Shinjuku Main Station..

Asakusa District.. Time for temple visit! Train station was just walking distance only.

The huge lantern at the entrance.. "People Mountain, People Sea" Hard to get a picture without the tourists! =)

Asakusa Nakamise Shopping St. Just a few rows of shops but mostly were selling food and snacks..

Sensoji Temple, the oldest temple in Tokyo.. It was a huge temple and it has many parts to walk about for a temple!

Get your free green tea at the side of the temple to warm your body! =) If you like, you can buy a packet home...

After spending the morning at Asakusa, then we walked about an hour to Skytree tower by passing though Sumida Park. If not, you can opt to get a taxi ride or tricycle service but it would be expensive.

Sumida Park, it would be great when sakura fully bloom!

Skytree tower! We didn't go up as we were running out of time and we were super hungry! Perhaps next time...

Lunch at Saboten Shinjuku @ Keio Departmental Store..

Pork Cutlet was the main dish! It was so so so good! They served this with rice and salad as well to get you full!

After lunch, we went to the famous Shibuya Crossing Street and visited the Hachiko Statue. Both of these were just few steps away only. But to get a good view of Shibuya Crossing Street, you can go to the upper level of Starbucks. After spending some time there, we went and shopped for our goodies and strawberries!

Huge strawberries... It was sweet!

You can also put some strawberry paste! )

Dumplings a.k.a gyoza @ Nishi-shinjuku for a short break before dinner!

The spicy version of the dumplings

The fried version of the dumplings... Just ordinary dumplings but I prefer KK one! =)

Uobei Sushi for dinner! Experience the self ordering sushi...

Each seat has a monitor to order food... Good that they will prepare freshly but cons is you can't really share!

Last stop before going back to Shinjuku!

To be continued...