Phuket II

At the risk of sounding kampungan, I was really quite blown away by the Spa Pool Villas at Banyan Tree. The only time I've ever stayed at a pool villa was at Losari Coffee Plantation which is near my home in Semarang. There was a pool in the unfenced garden of our villa that overlooked the gorge so that was pretty darn gorgeous. The Spa Pool Villa has no view to speak of but the pool is w/in the compound of the villa, just a hop and a skip away from the bedroom so it feels very private. At 550 sqm, the incredibly low rate meant that, per sq meter, this could possibly be the cheapest luxury place I've stayed. hah! That's such a positive way to look at a price tag, I shld be a motivational speaker.





The spa pavillion is above the pool, overlooking brackish marshland. The jacuzzi tub is on the left bank, behind the plants.




The bedroom is a glass space that looks like it's floating on the water lily pond.



Garden tub for soaking after boiling in the jacuzzi and floating in the pool. Emerge shrivelled.



In a villa that overlooks the lake.



We went to the Trisara for lunch. We almost stayed here so I wanted to check out the place that we missed. Gorgeous view of the ocean from the restaurant and the main pool.




We went to view an Ocean Front Pool Villa. Breathtaking.



So, it was a short break but it felt really relaxing. It was a potent combination of good food, Sukothai massages and the exhilaration of having my very own pool!

Malaysia Food Trip

Went on a restaurant review trip (work meets pleasure) in M'sia for a couple of days. Here are the highlights:

Taibak
Taibak is a fast disappearing Peranakan dessert. Squiggles made from rice flour are served with sugared water. The blue squiggles are dyed with the petals of bunga telang.




Kue Koci
The owner of Banya Restaurant in Malacca gave us a bag of these beauties! They only make it occasionally for personal consumption as it's very laborious.



Made from glutinous rice flour dyed with bunga telang and filled with grated coconut sweetened with gula melaka. So sedap!




Ayam Buah Keluak
A favourite Peranakan dish usually made w/ pork. Buah keluak is the hard black nuts bobbing about in the chicken curry in the photo. The nuts have to be soaked for days before they are cracked open. The inside of the nut is scooped out and prepared, usually mixed w/ pork, fried and then stuffed back to simmer in curry. The taste of buah keluak is creamy, rich and very slightly bitter.




Outta this world okra
This dish from Banya Restaurant is simply best lady's finger dish ever! The sambal was AWESOME! It had an addictive lime-lemony zing. The sambal all other sambal aspire to be.




Lantern outside Banya Restaurant
A pair of these handmade lanterns cost over 2000 RM! An old master lantern-maker makes them to order in Malacca. It takes about 2 weeks to make and paint a pair.




Stuffed pig stomach
Shockingly ugly dish. This pig tummy was served in a soup tureen. I thought it was a foetus! The soup was very peppery, the way I like innards soup to be.



The pig stomach was taken back to the kitchen to be fried after all the soup was served. The stuffing of glutinous rice remains moist and flavourful while the skin of the stomach becomes crisp. Fried, boiled - it is still quite a stomach-churning sight.




No Campbell's canned soup here
Huge earthen vats in Toi Son restaurant in JB. The big ones are about 1.4 meters each. These vats were brought over from Guangdong, China. They are heated by charcoal inside and are used for double-boiling soups.


Pots of soup like this kampung chicken ginseng soup are double-boiled in the vats for at least 6 hours.




Goose web
Looked like the wrinkly fingers of an old witch.



So, it was an interesting trip. But now that the heavy coma-inducing fullness has gone away, what I want is my mum's beef semur. And roti bakar. The charcoal-grilled chocolate-and-banana kind. The kind that makes cardiologists rich and ensures their soccer mum wives get the latest luxury SUVs. Oo, and I am craving some kickass mangosteens too.

Phuket Jul 1-3 2005

Had lots of fun in Phuket w/ Gang and Adriane, idiots extraordinaire. Stayed at Central Karon Village. Our room was nice, had a good seaview and the bathroom was huge. It even had a resident fish that lived in a glass bowl smack in front of the toilet bowl so you could admire him going about his business while you go about yours and vice versa. Good company, really. The hotel is built on a steep slope so going about the hotel either requires a sweaty trek uphill or downhill, or you could do it the lazy hoochie way - wait by the side of the pathways for a buggy to pick you up. The beach is a hot walk away and really not a very hot beach at all.

So, we went to check out other beaches like Kata, Nai Harn (courtesy of Karen Tong, dangerous driver who probably learnt her driving from HK cabbies)and Patong beach which had coconut vendors! You won't believe how difficult it was to find coconuts on other beaches! Patong beach also scored extra brownie points for having clean and convenient loo facilities. Just hop into the Uncle Ronald McDonald's!


Pool at Central Karon Village


View of Karon Beach from CKV's Cliff Restaurant


All I need for the beach - Saveur, sunscreen and shades


Awesome mango w/ sticky rice!