Sandakan Food Festival: Calling out all foodies, this might be a good reason for you to go to Sandakan Sabah for a gastronomic trip. The 2nd Sandakan Food Festival is back by popular demand this September, in a new format that includes the rich agricultural output of Sandakan Town. Known now as the Sandakan Food & Agriculture Festival, it will offer a diverse spread of amazing food dishes, as well as amazing produce, is grown from the hinterland.
2019 2nd Sandakan Food And Agriculture Festival Bandar Kim Fung Sandakan Sabah
Tangkak (东甲) Johor is also known as "Fabric Town" or "Syurga Kain" in honour of its many textile shops. Many people know that Tangkak most famous food is the Tangkak Beef Noodles. If you are making a visit to Muar, you can pop by Tangkak to taste some of this popular dishes here. You can read about our Muar food trip from this link
Dr Wong Tangkak Tel: 06-978 1576
Besides the textile and food, Tangkak, Johor is also known for the treatment of skin allergy by Klinik Pakar Dr Wong Tangkak which is located along the main street of the Tangkak town. There are many people who have special skin allergy seeking treatment from this clinic.
On our trip to Tangkak recently, we explore some of the popular food that is served in this town. While searching for the Tangkak Beef Noodles, we found a Tong Kee Bak Kut Teh shop which is just the next door to the Tangkak Beef Noodles shop.
At the entrance, the strong aroma of the Bak Kut Teh captivates our senses and we decided to try it out (as we like to explore some options).
We ordered a bowl of Bak Kut Teh and a clay pot of dried Bak Kut Teh. We the Bak Kut Teh arrives although the aroma was strong it lacks the strong flavour of herbs that we like. I would rate it as an in-between version of the Kuala Lumpur and Klang version.
Kuang Fei Tangkak Beef
After that, we make way to the next door shop where we ordered the Kuang Fei Tangkak Beef Noodles. Taste-wise, it was as expected, nothing much to really shout about,
At RM8.00, the portion of the noodles was way too little for a town offering comparing to my favouriteTangkak Beef Noodle in Taman OUG which is RM8.50 for a small bowl, but having a meat portion that was much more than the one at Tangkak.
We ordered 2 bowl one which is, the first one was the mixed ingredient while the second was just beef balls. We order one takeaway with mix ingredient plus an add-on of 4 beef balls. When we reach home, they beef ball was missing end up we paid RM12.00 for this takeaway (felt cheated although the boss specifically asks me how many beef ball I wanted to add). Next, we made a visit to a few textile shop along the main road of Tangkak to look around on some of the offerings.
We were told that Tangkak also has a shop that sells this Roti Terbang. We decided to check it out from the Internet which later we found that they have moved out. A check with one of the staff at a textile shop says that they have since moved out to the next kampung which she gave us the direction.
Roti Terbang Tangkak
We manage to locate this shop and was lucky as it is just opening its shop at around 4pm. We were treated to the flying Roti Canai performance. Apparently, this Pak Cik is very famous as even Martin Yan has featured him in one of its TV programs recently.
Overall, the trip was nothing extraordinary for the food that we tasted at Tangkak but nevertheless, it was a nice experience to visit this little town.
For More Best Restaurant Food Trail Click on the link below:
Our third destination for the SuperStar Libra Cruise is to Penang (Day 4)
Picture Courtesy of Penang Port
The SuperStar Libra reach the Penang Island at 8am and the ship was berthed at Penang Port (Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal). Strategically located next to the Penang town, there are so many things you can see and do which is within walking distance or you can call a car sharing apps like Grab and Uber to send you to some of the other attraction Penang has to offer; like Penang Hill, Snake Temple or the Batu Ferringhi Beach.
But if you are on a budget, you can see also see part of Penang without spending a dime; seriously. You just take a short walk to the Feri Terminal Bus Station where you can board the Penang CAT FREE Shuttle Bus.
The Hop OnFree Central Area Transit (CAT) ply the route between Weld Quay Jetty and Komtar on a 15-minute intervals from 6 am-12 midnight. See the above map for reference of its point.
Exploring the grounds of the UNESCO World Heritage City has never been this convenient with the 19 CAT stops in between all the famous heritage landmarks of Penang! You can climb onboard the CAT bus and explore all the wonderful heritage sites of Penang. You can take a tour of the Queen Victoria Memorial Clock Tower, Fort Cornwallis, Penang War Memorial, City Hall, Penang Supreme Court Building, Cathedral of the Assumption, Penang State Museum, Goddess of Mercy Temple, The Pinang Peranakan Mansion, Church Street Pier, Mahamariamman Temple, Khoo Kongsi, Cheong Fatt Sze Mansion, Francis Light's grave and many more heritage sites!
Since i have been to Penang many times over, site seeing is not in my list this round. Before boarding the Penang CAT Free Shuttle Bus, we decided to pay a visit to the popular tourist attraction of Chew Jetty. The Chew Jetty is just a minute walks from the Feri Terminal Bus Station.
One of the unique features about Chew Jetty is the entire village is built on stilts above the sea; so you won't be surprised to see the sea below your feet when the tide is up.
At this village, you can see some of the houses have been converted to commercial outlet; selling from souvenirs item to food and etc.
One of the popular food here at Chew Jetty; is the Big Bowl Noodle.
Our first stop of the FREE CAT Shuttle is at Komtar. For anyone going to Penang, you can;t missed out on tasting some of the popular Penang street food. This round I will taste out a few famous fare; starting with the famed Char Kway Teow, the signature Nasi Kandar and the famous Penang Cendol.
For this trip, since I am moving around the Penang CAT Free Shuttle Bus route, I decided to taste out some of these famous eateries within walking distance of each of these stop along the route. My first pit stop is at Lorong Selamat (less than a 10-minute walk from the Komtar bus stop) which is famed for the Penang style Char Kway Teow. For direction, view the map below.
Laden with fried pork lard, it makes the noodle with an extra punch. Here the Char Kway Teow is cooked with Chinese Sausage, Cockles and Prawns. Other Penang favourite dishes that are served at this coffee shop includes the Loh Bak, Sotong Kang Kong, Fried Oyster and more.
After the meal, we decided to stroll around the Komtar area where there is an attraction called The TOP @Komtar. There is much attraction here that you can do like the Rainbow Sky-Walk, 7D Discovery Motion Theatre and more.
After the short visit at Komtar, I decided to quench my thirst with a cendol drink from the Penang Road Famous Cendol. It is just a short walk from Komtar. For direction, view the map below.
This place is packed and there is a queue lining by the cart with a lot of tourist for this famed cendol, but don;t be fooled as there are a number of shops carrying the same name; so it is best to see our photo for the right one.
Price RM2.90. You can also try out the other Penang food at this coffee-shop Assam Laksa, Fried Oyster, Popiah and Char Kway Teow too.
As I was walking to my next food destination; I pass by the Pasar Chow Rasta. You can easily buy a few of the popular Penang snack from here.
This market is also very popular for its preserved fruits.
Since I am doing a walking tour and would like to taste out another famous Penang dish, I decided to try the Line Clear Nasi Kandar as it is within walking distance from the Penang Komtar and also have a bus stop for the Penang CAT Free Shuttle bus service to take me back to the port. For direction, view the map below.
Line Clear Nasi Kandar is one of the earliest Nasi Kandar vendors in Penang. Again, don't be fooled by the signboard as there is 2 shop with the same name. The original one is in the lane beside the shop; you should not missed it as there is a queue lining there.
You can choose your favourite dishes like fried chicken, beef, squid, prawns and the famed fish head curry.
As I am on my own, calling a fish head is too much for one person, so I decided for an order of squid, beef and vegetables with a combination of curry sauces (RM17.10). This mixture is what makes the Nasi Kandar unique; as the multitude of flavours from each of the curries is intertwined with each other.
For those that love cafe hopping; can try out this 2 popular cafe; the first of which is the Awesome Canteen which has a rustic charming interior of the olden days shop house which is in 1950's era; which serves cakes, coffee and cafe food.
or you can walk across the street to the China House - Penang Longest Cafe.
serving artisan coffee and an array of cakes and dessert that makes a sweet tooth drool.
Why this is Penang Longest Cafe: You can take a walk of more than 2 minutes from front to end. In between there are many seating areas for you to spend time in each which its unique charm. This is my last pit-stop as it was time to head back to the ship.
This cable car facility provides an aerial link from the Kampung Teluk Burau to the peak of Gunung Machinchang stretching 2.2 kilometres and up to 15 minutes ride from base to the top.
If you are one of those that fear height Acrophobia then the Langkawi Sky Bridge which is the world longest curve suspension bridge might not be for you.
A purchase of the Sky Cab Cable Car ticket at RM40.00 (for Malaysian) comes with free entrance to SkyDome, SkyRex and 3D Art Langkawi.
SkyDome offers a 360 degrees 3D image projections with 12 HD projectors which can cover your field of view and let you experience a surreal experience where you can view from any angle.
Sky Rex - which features a 4D effects is 5 minutes ride that is made out of a fun-filled journey that assaults using senses-physical platform drops, dynamic motion, blasts of air, water spray, vibrations, dramatic lighting, surround sound and 3D film projected to the front and both sides of the tram, combine to give a realistic experience.
While the 3D ART Langkawi which is hailed as the Biggest 3D Interactive Art Museum in Malaysia offers a vast experience and come alive photo shoot opportunity for the visitors.
With 21,000 square feet of built-up area, it features more than one hundred 3D interactive paintings, artistically painted by a group of talented international artists.
This is another tourist attraction by Langkawi SkyCab in collaboration with Art In Paradise Langkawi that provides a new dimension and experience to visitors
For some of the exhibits, you are able to step inside or crawl into some of the exhibits to pose the best memory shot.
Make the right pose with the characters and you become the subject of the artwork on display. This is almost a surreal gallery and is a must see and does on your visit to Langkawi.
After our excursion to the Fish Sanctuary and the Selangor Dam in Kuala Kubu Baru, we headed back to town for dinner. We were made to understand that dinner is served quite early, so we headed straight to Restoran 98 aka Nine Thy Eight located at 33 & 34, Jalan Dato Balai, Kampung Tun Abdul Razak, 44000 Kuala Kubu Baru, Selangor.
There are not many restaurants in Kuala Kubu Baru that are opened on Saturday evening. Anyway, this restaurant was recommended by our friend to try it out.
Our first order is the Assam Pedas Sotong (RM15.00). A Generous serving of white Sotong. The Assam Pedas sauce was not too spicy and was good with white rice. According to the captain, we can also order this Assam Pedas style with Fish of your choice or Prawns too.
Next, we ordered one of Restoran 98 signature dishes which is the Smoked Chicken 口水鸡(烟熏鸡)(半只) (RM28.00) aka Saliva Chicken. The smoked chicken is served with pickled papaya and drenched with a homemade sauce; my personal opinion was to have the sauce served separately as I find the vinaigrette taste a little over powering. The taste of the smoked meat was very intense and we really like it.
Our last dish is also one of the Restoran signature too which is the Fried Pork Knuckle 98猪手 (RM40.00). At RM40.00 for a Pork Knuckle is a real steal here. Love the crispy skin and the well-marinated pork meat. For me, the sauce that came with it somehow does not complement well with the pork knuckle. I prefer to eat it as it is.
After dinner, it was time to leave this laid back quiet town which offers reasonably cheap and delicious food and a really nice break from the city norm. With a full satisfied tummy, we vowed to make a trip again in the not too distant future to try out the other fares that this town offer.
