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| Favorite! |
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| Really good chicken biryani. Just look at the grains of basmati rice! |
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| Spicy noodles which are supposed to make you tear when eating. NOPE. |
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| Love the night lighting! |
PICTORIAL: Wuhan (Aug - Oct 2013)
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Cambodia - Angkor Wat -
Shanghai - The Bund -
Mongolia - Ugii Lake -
Cherry Blossoms at Wuhan University
Friday, October 18, 2013
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Solange goes back to school
Yep, I'm currently in Wuhan!
It's been a week in Wuhan, and I've been so busy throughout with registration, finding an apartment (to no avail) and going for classes. As a background, I'm studying in Wuhan University, entering as a Year 3 student in Chinese Language. It's not such a good thing to be exempted for two years' of studies, because I've to clear the same number of electives in a shorter time. My timetable is almost packed to the maximum, where I almost have lessons from 0800-1725 everyday.
Honestly speaking, I kinda like this university, but I've a huge problem with its international students' hostel. I'm disappointed and still feeling very depressed that I've to stay in this hostel. It's dirty, old, gross, disgusting... I simply can't wait for that day to move out of this place. I tried finding an apartment outside campus but there wasn't enough time to do so, hence, I've to make do with this disgusting place for 6 months.
On the other hand, I like everything in Wuhan. Many people probably don't know much about Wuhan. It's actually the capital of Hubei province. It is also well-known as one of the hottest cities in China. It's a big city, but not as glamorous as Shanghai and Beijing. With its rapid development, Wuhan has progressed much. You can find your branded goods here, international well-known brands like Uniqlo, Sephora and H&M have also made their presence here. To add on, Wuhan has a metro now too, and the government aims to have 10 lines of metro in total. Currently there are 2 lines, and the govt intends to add 1 line each year. The metro is awesome! It's clean, fast, quiet, and if I may say, it's actually better than Singapore's MRT.
Having just arrived for just 9 days, I've explored pretty much as I usually travel by foot or take the public transport. Before I moved in to the university's hostel, I stayed in a hostel in Han Yang (汉阳). The hostel is located in an arty-farty place, and the people in the hostel are really nice. I enjoyed my stay there very much. There was a lake (月光湖) nearby, and I took a walk along it with my friend, and managed to enjoy a nice sunset view there. (Please stay tuned for my next entry which I'll post some pictures I've taken).
On another day, my friend told me he saw a recommended night street in Wuhan on the internet, and so we decided to go there. He forgot the name you see, so we just told the taxi driver that we wanted to go to a popular night street. In the end, we ended up not where we had in mind, but we discovered a new interesting place. It is called Han Jie (汉街), and it's a three-streets long of shopping, mainly big international brands. It's a new place and you probably could get whatever you need, from souvenirs to clothes to food. If you're in Wuhan, I'll strongly recommend you to check out this place.
The next day, we went to check out the night street that we had in mind. We went to 2 famous streets though, one was Hu Bu Xiang (户步巷), while the other was Bao Cheng Lu Night Market (保城路夜市). The first is a street full of street food, and mind you, it's really good street food there! The latter is a street where you can find really cheap buys, but do note that it's really crowded! The latter is located in Han Kou (汉口), but fret not, you can always take a metro and walk there if you're not staying in that area.
So far, I've seen much, especially the small districts (小区) when I went to look for an apartment. I even found an estate which looks like Singapore's Punggol. I was really tempted to stay there, but it's too far from my university. I've also been eating the local street food, and I really enjoy these food so much. It's cheap and delicious. My favorite is still meat skewers (羊肉串).
Well, I'll try to update as much as possible, with pictures too. (I've a busy timetable as I'm taking 10 mods this year though). So.... Do check back often for updates from me! :)
Ciaos.
It's been a week in Wuhan, and I've been so busy throughout with registration, finding an apartment (to no avail) and going for classes. As a background, I'm studying in Wuhan University, entering as a Year 3 student in Chinese Language. It's not such a good thing to be exempted for two years' of studies, because I've to clear the same number of electives in a shorter time. My timetable is almost packed to the maximum, where I almost have lessons from 0800-1725 everyday.
Honestly speaking, I kinda like this university, but I've a huge problem with its international students' hostel. I'm disappointed and still feeling very depressed that I've to stay in this hostel. It's dirty, old, gross, disgusting... I simply can't wait for that day to move out of this place. I tried finding an apartment outside campus but there wasn't enough time to do so, hence, I've to make do with this disgusting place for 6 months.
On the other hand, I like everything in Wuhan. Many people probably don't know much about Wuhan. It's actually the capital of Hubei province. It is also well-known as one of the hottest cities in China. It's a big city, but not as glamorous as Shanghai and Beijing. With its rapid development, Wuhan has progressed much. You can find your branded goods here, international well-known brands like Uniqlo, Sephora and H&M have also made their presence here. To add on, Wuhan has a metro now too, and the government aims to have 10 lines of metro in total. Currently there are 2 lines, and the govt intends to add 1 line each year. The metro is awesome! It's clean, fast, quiet, and if I may say, it's actually better than Singapore's MRT.
Having just arrived for just 9 days, I've explored pretty much as I usually travel by foot or take the public transport. Before I moved in to the university's hostel, I stayed in a hostel in Han Yang (汉阳). The hostel is located in an arty-farty place, and the people in the hostel are really nice. I enjoyed my stay there very much. There was a lake (月光湖) nearby, and I took a walk along it with my friend, and managed to enjoy a nice sunset view there. (Please stay tuned for my next entry which I'll post some pictures I've taken).
On another day, my friend told me he saw a recommended night street in Wuhan on the internet, and so we decided to go there. He forgot the name you see, so we just told the taxi driver that we wanted to go to a popular night street. In the end, we ended up not where we had in mind, but we discovered a new interesting place. It is called Han Jie (汉街), and it's a three-streets long of shopping, mainly big international brands. It's a new place and you probably could get whatever you need, from souvenirs to clothes to food. If you're in Wuhan, I'll strongly recommend you to check out this place.
The next day, we went to check out the night street that we had in mind. We went to 2 famous streets though, one was Hu Bu Xiang (户步巷), while the other was Bao Cheng Lu Night Market (保城路夜市). The first is a street full of street food, and mind you, it's really good street food there! The latter is a street where you can find really cheap buys, but do note that it's really crowded! The latter is located in Han Kou (汉口), but fret not, you can always take a metro and walk there if you're not staying in that area.
So far, I've seen much, especially the small districts (小区) when I went to look for an apartment. I even found an estate which looks like Singapore's Punggol. I was really tempted to stay there, but it's too far from my university. I've also been eating the local street food, and I really enjoy these food so much. It's cheap and delicious. My favorite is still meat skewers (羊肉串).
Well, I'll try to update as much as possible, with pictures too. (I've a busy timetable as I'm taking 10 mods this year though). So.... Do check back often for updates from me! :)
Ciaos.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Travelogue: Cambodia
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| Sunset at Phnom Bakheng |
It isn't my first time to Cambodia, because I simply love this country so much. To me, I find Cambodia to be warm and chill. Perhaps it's where I come from, where somehow, I always feel that everything is always in a rush, or that people always have a motive for doing something. But in Cambodia, I like how slow-paced things are, and I truly feel the sincerity shown by the people there. Cambodia's probably one country I wouldn't mind going back again and again.
I strongly recommend covering Phnom Penh and Siem Reap together, and you'll be able to see the difference between them. If you're going from Singapore like me, it's better to head to Phnom Penh first, since the airfare to Phnom Penh is cheaper than to Siem Reap. Then, it's adventurous to take a bus to Siem Reap.
I personally prefer Siem Reap to Phnom Penh; the latter seems too crowded to me. I think there are more foreigners in Siem Reap, so probably that's why I felt more comfortable there.
Here are some of the things to do / places of interest to me.
I strongly recommend covering Phnom Penh and Siem Reap together, and you'll be able to see the difference between them. If you're going from Singapore like me, it's better to head to Phnom Penh first, since the airfare to Phnom Penh is cheaper than to Siem Reap. Then, it's adventurous to take a bus to Siem Reap.
I personally prefer Siem Reap to Phnom Penh; the latter seems too crowded to me. I think there are more foreigners in Siem Reap, so probably that's why I felt more comfortable there.
Here are some of the things to do / places of interest to me.
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| Cheap, safe and comfy bus ride to Siem Reap |
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| Catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat |
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| Sit by the river outside Angkor Wat and eat breakfast |
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| Visit Banteay Srei ('ladies' temple) |
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| Visit Ta Phrom |
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| Visit the National Museum to know more about the history |
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| Visit Toul Sleng (be emotionally prepared) |
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| Visit the Central Market / Night Markets (don't forget to bargain :p ) |
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| Go to FCC Phnom Penh to enjoy a good view during happy hour! |
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| Attend a cooking class if you've ample time |
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| Chill at Pub Street in the night |
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| Explore cafes which offer good ambience and good food |
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| Must get something from Blue Pumpkin! I super love their ice-cream! |
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| Try some fried tarantulas if you dare |
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| Last but not least, take a selfie for remembrance! :) |
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Breakfast @ Arteastiq
Since teenage years, I've been quite lucky to win some some magazine contests. As technology advances, we now have blogs and Facebook, and so there're more avenues for giveaways and contests. Up till now, I've won quite a few, and most recently, I've won myself a free breakfast for two at Arteastiq. It was a Facebook contest organized by Rivalife, and I was lucky enough to win. So, Saturday saw me having breakfast with my sister at Arteastiq, with compliments from Rivalife.
The hungry us proceeded to order not long after. As you can see from the pictures, there were only 5 options to choose from and out of those, there was only 1 option for a sweet breakfast. It happened to be my first choice, but the waitress told me they weren't serving it. In the first place, if that item wasn't available, why put it on the menu? Secondly, the menu was limited enough, and still there's one option less to choose from. I asked the waitress what was it that wasn't available (was it the pancakes? or the oatmeal? or the nuts?). She just told me the whole item wasn't available. Since she didn't get my point, I repeated my question because I thought, if it was the oatmeal which they didn't have, I wouldn't mind having the pancakes with just the nuts.The second time she told me she didn't know what was it that they didn't have, so the fed up me asked her to check with the kitchen (what nonsense, if don't know then ask, right?). After a while, she came back and told me the whole item was not available, but I could have pancakes only if I wanted. SO?! Was it the oatmeal or the nuts?! Okay anyway I was so fed up that I just chose another dish.
Arteastiq is a pretty cool restaurant in my opinion, because it offers a space for people to do art too. I've walked past a few times and thought it looks pretty inside, but I've never wanted to try because they do not have a proper kitchen and the pricing was a little high for microwaved food.
Before I went, I made sure that all arrangements were made and I was given confirmation that all's been well arranged. However to my dismay, things didn't turn out to be what I'd expected. Firstly, when we reached, there wasn't any reservation made under my name! So after a couple minutes of checking, Sis and I were led to a small table when the entire back section was empty. And according to Sis, the number of reservations were not that many for the entire section to be reserved. We requested to be seated there and after some reasoning, they told us we could only sit there till 1230pm. Well, the place was really quite nicely decorated.
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| The limited breakfast menu. |
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| I'm used to starting my day with a sweet breakfast. |
The hungry us proceeded to order not long after. As you can see from the pictures, there were only 5 options to choose from and out of those, there was only 1 option for a sweet breakfast. It happened to be my first choice, but the waitress told me they weren't serving it. In the first place, if that item wasn't available, why put it on the menu? Secondly, the menu was limited enough, and still there's one option less to choose from. I asked the waitress what was it that wasn't available (was it the pancakes? or the oatmeal? or the nuts?). She just told me the whole item wasn't available. Since she didn't get my point, I repeated my question because I thought, if it was the oatmeal which they didn't have, I wouldn't mind having the pancakes with just the nuts.The second time she told me she didn't know what was it that they didn't have, so the fed up me asked her to check with the kitchen (what nonsense, if don't know then ask, right?). After a while, she came back and told me the whole item was not available, but I could have pancakes only if I wanted. SO?! Was it the oatmeal or the nuts?! Okay anyway I was so fed up that I just chose another dish.
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| The next most appealing dish to me, esp the potato medallion. |
The food didn't take long to come, since they simply microwave the food. And to my horror, my dish turned out like this:
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| I opted for sausage and no eggs because I don't like eating eggs. |
How the hell is my exact dish the same as the one pictured?! I was totally appalled and requested to have the menu again to double check if my potato medallion was missing. After confirming, I asked the waitress if the dish was served correctly. She told me she'd check with the kitchen and guess what? She told me yes, there wasn't anything wrong with my dish, and it was indeed the potato medallion, just that it melted because it was pan-fried. WTF?! Even a 7 yr-old kid could tell that was a pan-fried medallion. What stupid excuse! I was extremely pissed! But no matter how I reasoned with the waitress, she didn't seem to understand me, so I couldn't be bothered to talk any further to her.
In the end, we quickly ate our breakfast and left that horrible place. While checking out, the cashier wanted me to pay, but I told her I was there because of the contest I've won. She checked and there wasn't any information about it, so I showed her my email confirmation, and she told me I'd get 20% off. What, kidding me? I showed her again and told her it was supposed to be complimentary, and finally, she gave it to me.
Oh, what a terrible breakfast experience I had! But nonetheless, much thanks to Rivalife and Arteastiq for the complimentary breakfast for two!
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
The Little Prince Cafe
So, hello there! Decided to start the blog going by blogging about one of the cafes I've been to recently.
Monday afternoon had me in this little cute cafe in the Jalan Besar vicinity - The Little Prince Cafe.
Monday afternoon had me in this little cute cafe in the Jalan Besar vicinity - The Little Prince Cafe.
The cafe is way too cool. It is really new, only opened for two weeks. I first got to know about this cafe from one of my previous lecturers' facebook. See, I'm a BIG fan of Le Petit Prince. I super love everything about it. I even bought myself the Moleskin Le Petit Prince diary. So when I knew there's this cafe which is everything Le Petit Prince, I knew I gotta check it out myself.
This cafe isn't hard to find, it's located really near City Square Mall (see below for exact location). Its surrounding looks kinda terrible, with construction works going on. But that place's developing, so can't help it. Anyway, this cafe is really little, probably sits a maximum of 15pax. It's beautifully decorated with Le Petit Prince designs and also has a pretty extensive collection of related stuff, especially books.
Moving on to the food they serve, oh well, they actually do serve quite a variety! From sandwiches, to quiches, to cakes, and of course drinks.
What I liked was the variety of tea drinks they serve. Besides your usual types of tea, they also have Iced Rambutan Tea (which I got) and Iced Peach Tea, both made on the spot. The coffee beans they use are Australian, so it should be quite good. I had a tough time deciding whether to drink coffee or tea, but chose the latter because it's hard to get Iced Rambutan Tea (S$4.50) elsewhere.
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| The tea was really fragrant, and it wasn't too sweet overall. I definitely recommend this! |
I also decided to try two of the cakes, because it was a Monday and I needed to sweeten my Monday up. Okay, actually it's because their cakes all seemed so tempting. The cakes are baked by a home baker.
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| Avocado Cake (S$3.90) |
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| Strawberry Marshmallow Cake (S$3.90) |
The Avocado Cake was disappointing because I could hardly taste any avocado. It tasted more like pandan cake to me. On the other hand, the Strawberry Marshmallow Cake was awesome! REALLY GOOD. From the taste to the texture of the cake, everything was so good. I especially loved the neapolitan flavor, and the marshmallowy bites it offered. Yum yum, would love to have it again!
The person also offered a complimentary sugar roll, and it was equally good. I don't really like eating sugar rolls, but the ones they serve are really pretty good tasting. And guess what, the sugar roll was served on a super cute Le Petit Prince plate.
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| I WANT! |
Overall, this little cafe is worth checking out. I'll definitely go back to try their savory food and also for the marshmallow cake. If you're interested, The Little Prince Cafe is located at:
- 62 Somme Road, #01-03
- Singapore, Singapore 207877
- (Closed on Tuesdays)
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Back to writing
And that's exactly why I've decided to start blogging again. As I'm going back to school again in three months' time, I decided I need to start polishing my writing skills again, lest I flunk my papers in school.
Of course, as I'm starting to explore places/countries more these days, I thought it'd be good if there's a space where I can share my pictures and experience, or at least for remembrance.
Well, I hope I'll be able to keep this space alive and going for the next few years maybe?
Of course, as I'm starting to explore places/countries more these days, I thought it'd be good if there's a space where I can share my pictures and experience, or at least for remembrance.
Well, I hope I'll be able to keep this space alive and going for the next few years maybe?
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