Malacca

 

Been to Malacca thrice - twice for department trips. Guess the proximity of Malacca from Singapore makes for a good (but exhausting) one day trip.

Always new things to discover - didn't remember Hard Rock Café when I was at Jonker Street 2 years back and it seems like there are more cafes sprouting up in the area. So I might just make a trip there again this year (and perhaps include Port Dickson as part of the itinerary) since I have leave to clear :) We'll see...

 Jonker Street - Jonker 88

 

 

Realised that Jonker Street in the day is a bit different than night. We tried the Chendol and Laksa at Jonker 88 which is quite famous. There are other local food to try too but we were full. LOL.

Yummy Chendol - we tried three types! :)

And Gula Melaka goodness in all three!

Always like the shop houses in Jonker Street. Let's feast in the courtyard!

Laksa - a mixture of coconut and Assam. It's nice but the concoction might be a bit powerful for weak stomachs...

Earlier posts about Malacca:

My Golden Half - Roll 2

Laidback Malacca

 

City Square, Johor Bahru

 

And yes, we visited City Square again! And had the Taiwanese food again at Taiwan Nostalgia Café!

 

 

 

From top left/clockwise: Oyster Mee Sua, San Bei Chicken, Fruit/Flower tea...

 

 And dinner at Old Town White Coffee before we headed back to Singapore.

 

 

Didn't knew there is a tea-time set that you can order - comprises of a smaller portion of the main course and a drink. Value for money, I say!

 



New addition to City Square. Food court with interesting designs :)



And many new cafes too - always reasons to cross the causeway, I guess :)

 

Earlier posts on visits to City Square, Johor Bahru:

Across the causeway again

Marching on - JanuarIED

 

知己 l MCA

昨天与YK去看 《歌剧魅影》， 有一点感触。
近年发现老友与从前不同了。不知是不是岁月让大家不介意拆下面具。 以真面目示人并不是不好，但有时让人觉得不知所错。 也许有一些朋友应该疏远，也许 美国作家切波斯基在《壁花男孩》说的是：“物换星移，朋友离去。人生不会为任何人而停留。” - 美国作家切波斯基，取自《壁花男孩》

"Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn't stop for anybody."
 - Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower 

Well, it's kind of funny how the opening paragraphs lead to a post about the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (MCA). Well, I guess a museum is a place where I like to visit without friends. Although I visited  MCA with a group of friends. LOL.





 

Our guide for the day who took us through various artwork that were contemporary in a nice way. Not sure if you know what I mean but some contemporary art can be too overwhelming! 

At the entrance facing the harbour...Maybe this man was waiting for the rain to stop too... 

A peek at The Rocks from MCA :)

 

And here's a peek into MCA via below video. I like how the museum show glimpses of its surrounding through the windows. It feels so integrated, like how art should be integrated in life :) Guess I would have lingered longer if I was not travelling or if I was travelling solo... and I really look forward to my next solo trip...

 

慢活 l Pies & Coffee

八月十八日，艳阳高照

好久没有用华语blog 了。
慢活是我最近上网时看到的。慢活应该是指慢慢地活，不被时间环境限制吧。
慢活人人向往，但在生活步伐如此快的都市，可能慢活吗？
即时在旅行时，也未必能够慢活。赶飞机，赶火车，赶巴士。赶导览，赶开幕，赶关门。
赶赶赶。有时我们觉得旅行就是慢活，但有时我们只是重演了办公室里的快活。　
我想，要学习慢活就应该从生活开始。我真的很想学习慢活，从这一刻开始慢慢地活。

今天本想九点起身去游泳。结果九点半才醒来。吃吃早餐，看看报纸，十点半才出发。游呀游就午时了。本来想去tiong bahru一带吃brunch，却临时改变主意，去了rochester mall pies & coffee。一来，还没去过那。二来，觉得那会清幽些。就这样游游永，喝喝茶，吃吃派，看看杂志报纸过了几个小时。
我不知道这算不算慢活，但我好像慢慢地活过来了。也许这才是慢活的定义。



Pies & Coffee at Rochester Mall, next to The Star Vista, is such a sanctuary! There were so few people around, contrary to what I thought...

My simple yet yummy lunch - lamb shank pie and yuzu tea.



The last time I had lamb meat was at Sydney where I had a lamb burger... Some of my friends don't like lamb meat because of the 'smell' it exudes. But I like it - it's what made lamb meat special, right? Very tender and savoury. I did not try the other pies, which I will (soon, I hope). But I'm quite sure the other pies taste equally good!



Hot yuzu tea. I wanted to order an ice honey yuzu tea but I guess I did not order the correct item. Quite interesting - not sure if yuzu is a spice, but as tea leaves, the spice flavour was quite strong. Maybe I should have ordered a coffee, since the café is Pies & Coffee. LOL.

Listening to the fountain, facing the colonial building that houses Starbucks. And quite devoid of a crowd. What a sanctuary!

There's indoor seating too for those who need the air con. Go for the outdoor, I say. It's really quite windy and with the sound of the fountain in the background, it was quite therapeutic. And guess what? I spot some power outlets along the wall, so this could be a good place to surf the net and blog. LOL

Found the Piettiquete in the Pies & Coffee website so funny! I just ate it - I'm so unpiettiquete! LOL.

 

For those who do not understand what I posted in Chinese, it was about slowing down in life. And I really felt that Pies & Coffee helped me to slow down today :) The popular cafes are really crowded these days, so if you are looking for a quiet place to chill, do check it out :)

PS: Trying to upload a short video of the café so you get what I mean about the place being a sanctuary :) Stay tuned!