Yakitori dinner

Tokyo - After our yakitori delicious dinner.  Joe and our customer decided to challenge on arm wrestling - so we cleared the table which was full of beer mugs and bowls.  

Joe and I walked around Tokyochu in the evening and we found a sports bar - we had 2 rounds of darts @ Yen 1000 per game.   We talked till Joe was dozing off and decided it was time to call it a night....

Tokyo...so hot!

Tokyo - The flight SQ 12 is delayed and we arrived 30 minutes late due to waiting for a few connecting passengers.  Whilst waiting, SQ 12 miss the window clearance to take off and had to wait again for Philippines controller to give the ok.  Finally, SQ 12 is off the ground.  

Upon landing, the weather is so hot...took approximately 1hr to reach TCAT and then 30mins via taxi to Hotel East 21.   I went to the mall next to the Hotel for dinner - my favourite haunt - Tonkatsu 'Pork Cutlet'.   I chose from the menu the Tonkatsu costingYen 1380 but the waitress showed me a lower price that is on promotion. 

This is the 2nd time that I have encounter this and both were in Tokyo.    I have not encountered such good behaviour any where in all my travels. 

Best Asam Laksa in Penang

Penang -  For Lunch, we head to the best Penang Asam Laksa is at the base of Kek Lok Si Temple.   The taste is one of best I have ever tried - you can taste sweet, sour, spicy all in one go.    Rate: 9/10 - Die, die you must go!!

Then off to the Best Chendol store in Penang.  This is a non-descript hawker peddling his famous Chendol and had queues of people lining up to buy from him.

A day to remember....

Penang - After our 1st meeting - we had lunch at the most famous Char Kway Teow store in whole of Penang.  Famous for the Big prawns Char Kway Teow @ Lorong Selamat - RM$ 6 per dish with 3 big prawns.  The dish was delicious maybe due to the fact that we had to wait for quite a while as each dish had to be individually fried and also there was a queue.    But on a healty scale - the dish is nearing the 'red' alert level with its high in cholesterol of oil and pork lard.    My rating of Char Kway Teow - 9/10 - die die must try!!

Char Kway Teow hawker donning google to cook

Yummy..Char Kway Teow

After lunch, we took the ferry across of Butterworth, it was nostalgic as my Dad brought me to Penang when I was just a small boy - there were any bridge joining Malaysia mainland to Penang - all had to go via Ferry.   The ferry looks about the same - must be about 40+ years old - still running like a great old dame. 

Inside the car on board the Penang Ferry

On the horizon, another ferry returning to Penang

Donny on board the Ferry

That's Edward with Donny...

Arrived at Butterworth

After our meeting, we drop by a wholesale store for some cheap and good snacks.  Whilst we were waiting in the car - some plain clothes policemen walk up to our car and request that we come out.   There was a panic on our faces as these policeman looks shaggy so my friends had to call the help line to verify that they were policeman.  Indeed they were....   Because I was a Singaporean with no passport - these policeman wanted to put me in jail for it.  We had to follow their car not sure where they were going to bring us to but with unexpectation right into the Police Station.    We had to pay them off making us RM$ 150 poorer in our pockets.   It was an eye opener to see how the actual people that should protect you became the predator in our predicament.  

In the evening, we did not want this incident to spoil our mood - we decide to have a good meal at a Seafood Restaurant - Good Friend Seafood Restaurant.  With the technology age of GPS - there is no way you will be able to find this restaurant.   The road leading to this restaurant is dark and it is smack right behind 2 buildings....it took us a while to reach there.   But upon arrival, it was worth the journey - the food was heavenly. 

Seafood called 'helicopter'

Giant Prawns

Special cooling drink found only in Penang

Edward in the Background

Donny with the Special Penang Brew

Good Friend Seafood Restaurant: 9/10 - must must try and go.  Cheap and really good food.

Penang Food Galore

Penang - One of my favourite places for a food junkie.   I flew via SilkAir, SQ regional airline - the plane was full and the flight was short - 1hr 10 mins and we arrived on Penang airport tarmac.

I met my channel partners there - Donny and Edward (whome drove from KL to Penang - a 4hr drive), we had a number of appointments the next day.  

I took the airport taxi but the driver took me to a wrong Hotel - G Hotel ( a very nice hotel).   I had to pay another RM$ 10 to bring me to Gurney Hotel as the other end of Gurney Drive.  


Hotel: The Gurney Hotel
Located @ 18, Persiaran Gurney
Comments:   The hotel and room has a mediocre decor with nothing great to shout about.  2 of the air-cons were leaking water onto the carpet.   There were cracks on the tiles and the btw tiles were black with dirt.  Will not stay there again.   Their hotel photos on the website looks impressive but it is far from reality and badly needed renovation.

Dinner was a Hawker fare just outside Sunway Hotel - we had Lor Bak, Char Keow Teow.

Drove back to Gurney Driver for Supper - Donny had to join the queue for Rojak (malaysian salad with prawn paste) - one of the most unique taste I have ever had...

Back to Taipei

Taipei - The last time I was in Taipei was 3 years ago.   I have  a regular driver, Mr Chang that will meet me at the airport but sadly I was told by his wife that he passed away.   He was a good man....

Upon arrval, took the airport taxi to the The Westin Hotel.  

Located @ 133 Nanking East Road, Section 3 Taipei 104 Taiwan

In the evening, I went with Chung-Li to a stylish Italian restaurant on the 88th floor of the Taipei 101.   It was a beautiful view from the top of Taipei 101.   Taipei 101 also has the world's fastest elevators. These can transport passengers to the 89th-floor observatory in a mere 39 seconds.  To prevent the building from swaying during typhoons or earthquakes, an 800-ton, US$4 million, ball-shaped damper is used to dissipate lateral vibration to a spring system underneath.

http://www.taipei-101.com.tw/index_en.htm