Cliff(y) Goes Dining

Award-winning pineapple buns! Today is 29 February 2012, and for no other concrete reason than just for fun, I should write a review since the next time I'll get to write on 29 February will be in 2016! Anyway, I only have one lesson on Friday: CHEM4620 (Organometallic Chemistry) from 3.00pm to 4.20pm. Thus, on one of the Fridays, I went to visit the HK Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) and the Golden Bauhinia Square in the morning.

Virgin experience with pumpkin soup and red bean pie! "You go to HK to eat McDonald's?" Haha, basically I wasn't really hungry after gobbling a lot of food during the welcome lunch in HKUST  specially provided for exchange students. That night I spent my time in Paradise Mall, which offers romantic serenity with Roman fountain, Greek columns and grand-looking statues. I spotted McDonald's and went there for a light meal before going back.

Eat, drink, socialise and just get a pass for each module! Yes, one of the professors during the welcome talk actually said that we, exchange students on the pass/fail grading system, just had to get the bare minimum passing requirements and use most of our time to explore the region and, basically, be happy. A buffet style welcome lunch was then provided.

Luxurious-looking bento sets! UPDATE (25/01/2015):  The restaurant has closed down. Initially, I didn't have the intention to eat (another) Japanese food when I walked into Harbour City, the biggest shopping mall in Hong Kong. Actually I wanted to try Café de Coral out until I realised, upon stepping my foot into the eatery, that it's run by Asia Pacific Catering which also runs a business in HKUST. The options offered the other day were more or less similar to what I could find in the school canteen, with a bit of more lavish stuff. I'll talk more about Asia Pacific Catering next time!

How fantastic is the legendary egg tart in HK? Recipes for egg tarts found online often have the name Tai Cheong embedded, testament to the fame and popularity of the original one. I believe there are already more than 10 branches in HK (Macau included), but the original one is nested in Lyndhurst Terrace.

Extensive list of full-bodied congee! Okay, we're on to something more of HK cuisine. Looking for warm food in iSquare shopping mall after being blown by cold wind outside, I eventually decided to try the congee at Praise House. I'd been wanting to try it out when I saw the branch at the airport, but the other day I had to rush to the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), the host university for the NUS departmental-level exchange programme which I've been selected for.

Good ramen, even better gyoza! UPDATE (25/01/2015):  The eatery has closed down. Yayyy, this entry marks the beginning of Hong Kong food reviews! I hope you're not going to throw shoes at me for not reviewing dim sum  or something for a start, but anyway, I just want to begin with the first outside school eatery I visited in HK. HKUST canteen food reviews will come at a much later date since I still have to explore the mind-blowing variation of food here.

Chicken rice on a bus! When I was planning for the trip to KL, one question struck my mind, "Which bus should I take?" I then did online research, and many people recommended travelling in the luxurious Solitaire Coach of Transtar Travel, a Singapore company specialising in coach travel and tours since its inception in 1994. When the day came, I found myself seated on one of the comfortable seats on the upper deck, enjoying my journey.

Mind-boggling international buffet spread! I first knew about Coffee Terrace many years ago from a TV programme in Indonesia (sorry, I can't recall the name of the programme). Finally I got a chance to step into the restaurant for lunch when I did a side trip to Genting Highlands during my KL trip. There are six different stalls : Western, Japanese, Western Asian, Chinese, Nyonya and Local Favourite, in addition to the dessert section. Plain water is included in the buffet.

Decent pork-free buffet breakfast! :) Citin Hotel (3*) is a hotel brand that marks its presence in the bustling cities of Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Even though it's not a luxurious hotel, I won't mind staying there again as it's not only affordable, but also value-for-money. I purposely stayed in the Masjid Jamek branch the other day because it's just a stone's throw away from the ever-busy Masjid Jamek LRT interchange station in central KL.

Full-bodied beef noodle soup! Yet another simple review of the day... Basically I was overwhelmed by the dining choices available in the tall and wide Berjaya Times Square shopping mall. I gave up looking at the directory, and went straight to the Taste of Asia food court which apparently offers a mind-boggling variety of food with its 28 stalls. At first, I didn't know how that I was supposed to go to the front counter to get a prepaid card to pay for the meals until the auntie explained it, in Chinese (thank God, it was understandable).

Cooling effect of 'cat's tears'! I'm going to do a very simple review today. The humble  air mata kucing  (lit. cat's tears) stall located at the junction of Petaling Street and Jalan Hang Lekir has been brewing the ever-popular concoction of dried longans, Monk's fruits (usually known as luo han guo ) and rock sugar.

Mouth-watering charcoal grilled fish! :D When I told one of my friends that I'd be going to KL, she immediately asked me if I liked ikan bakar  (lit. grilled fish) and mentioned Pak Din as I nodded my head. Apparently, Pak Din's ikan bakar  is popular among not only the locals, but also tourists alike. It may be a bit difficult to find the place if you're not taking a taxi, but since I managed to walk to the place with a piece of map, it should be manageable. Okay, I need to admit that I forgot to take note of the prices, so I'm relying on my memory as I quote the prices below.