Duckie's Food Blog

Hello Kitty Terminal & Air Asia X

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:57:02 PST

This is by far the CUTEST airport terminal I've ever came across. I'm sure everyone knows about the Hello Kitty Terminal C3 in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. The entire terminal was 'kitti-fied'!! and I wanted to take like a million photos but sadly, I'm to get to another terminal. Then again, best terminal ever!!!

AirAsia X - surprisingly quite confortable

Uncle Chin's Chicken Rice and 7up - also surprisingly good

Breeze @ Taipei Main Train Station

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:13:00 PST

If you're in Taipei chances are you will pass through Taipei Main Tran Station.

On level 2 you'll find it full of places to eat, from fourmet food courts to restaurants

I especially love this one, notice they put the pictures of all the chefs of the stalls in the food cour

So clean and well decorated

Taiwanese spring roll with pork, tea is free

... so yummy ...

This spring roll is from another stall and with chicken meat

Dry Beef Noodle

Soup that comes with the beef noodle

Thick noodles feels like kaoy theo cross with noodle

Oyster Omelet with fried bee hun and blood curdle soup

Love the big oysters

Of course the obligatory buble tea for desert

Breeze has so much to eat I wanted to stay there the whole day!

Wulai, Taiwan

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 19:04:07 PST

Wulai is a small town in Taipei County, Taiwan, famous for its hot springs and aboriginal culture.

Local bamboo cooked rice

More like a Taiwanese version of pulut

Shilin Night Market, Taiwan

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 18:00:03 PST

The Shilin Night Market is a night market in the Shilin District of Taipei, Taiwan, and is often considered to be the largest and most famous night market in the city. Shilin night market is the King of night markets in Taipei.

Rows after rows of shopping!! One night is not enough to cover the entire night market!!

White rice in sausage shape with proper sausages

Lime juice with jelly

Keelung, Taiwan

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:30:00 PST

Keelung Harbour

Keelung has probably the biggest night market in the whole of Taiwan. Keelung's Miaokou Night Market is famous throughout Taiwan for its large selection of food. The food in our night market is really nothing compared to this. Here are a few pictures of the food in the night market.

Jiufen, Taiwan

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:30:03 PST

Busy old street of Jiufen

So much shopping to do here

Most people come to Jiufen to drink tea. I had my fair share too.

My dim sum snack

My desert at Jiufen, Taro balls with red bean soup

Taroko Gorge, Taiwan

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:42:00 PST

Taroko Gorge is Taiwan's top tourist attraction

In Taroko you can sample some aborogine cuisine such as this one in Bolawan Leader Village recomanded by Lonely Planet

Round 3 - unfortunately the food was not as great and is definitely not recommended due to mainly the over priced buffet meal

Unfortunately they do not provide ala cart menu anymore but was a buffet lunch - bbq wild pork

Some bbq sweet patatos

Wild vege salad

You best get your meals at the Park Visitor Center

Mushroom Chicken

with wild cabages - heap and nice

Hualian, Taiwan

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 05:27:40 PST

Chatime in Hualien. This is so so popular in Taiwan!! I'm not exactly a big fan of Chatime though.

My friends thought I went to this shop because of all the pinky uniforms but seriously, it's because I'm about to die of thirst!!

Sour plum tea, so refreshing on such a hot day. Never tried that flavour here though.

Taiwanese take on sushi

Taitung, Taiwan

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 23:43:00 PST

Taitung County is a county in eastern Taiwan. While its name means "Eastern Taiwan", it is also known as "Houshan" by many of the locals, meaning behind the mountains or the back mountains.

But this post is not about the mountains but about the 'yummy-licious mouth watering' pastries from ObaMaCake.

Taitung is a city on the eastern Pacific Coast of Taiwan

I decided to try some pastries instead of thenormal Taiwanese cuisine - This is Obama Cake

The pastries in Taiwan are really nice

Here are the selections that I purchased

Cijin Island, Kaohsiung

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:32:44 PST

Cijin Island, Kaohsiung is a small island just a 5 minute ferry (Cijin Ferry) journey from Kaohsiung Harbour. Cijin Island is reputed to be the best place to eat fresh seafood in Kaohsiung.

Bording the Cijin - Gushan Ferry

Panoramic view of Kaohsiung from Cijin

Cijin Island weekend market

So many stalls of food especially seafood

Tainan, Taiwan

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:32:00 PST

Next stop, Tainan. Tainan is a historical city in southern Taiwan.

Seen here is Chihkan Tower formerly Fort Provintia in West Central District, Tainan City

It is also famous for some of Taiwan's special cuisine.

Many restaurants can be found near the Chihkan Tower such as this one.

Tender and juicy pork with bamboo shoots and rice. My very first time eating bamboo shoots and they tastes kinda weird.

This is the delicious Tainan special shrimp rolls.

For lunch the next day, I decided to come to this shop next to the Chihkan Tower.

This is the famous Tainan Coffin toast.

Looks a little mushy but it tastes delicious!!

Alishan, Taiwan

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 23:24:00 PST

Nice pleasant journey to my next destination of Alishan. Should I start singing 'the' song?! Nope ... bad idea!!!

Thought I need to huff and puff all the way but I was surprised that the walk up was not too bad after all. Nice fresh air.

Accompanied with yummy fried seafood noodles.

With of course what Alishan is also famous for ... mushrooms!!! Stir fried shitake mushrooms

Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:15:00 PST

Sun Moon Lake is the largest body of water in Taiwan as well as a tourist attraction.

Sun Moon Lake is located 748 m (2,454 ft) above sea level. It is 27 m (89 ft) deep and has a surface area of approximately 7.93 km2 (3.06 sq mi). The area surrounding the lake has many trails for hiking .. which means more huffing and puffing away!!

Lots of food stalls here.

Stinky Tofu. I'm not describing how it tastes or smells like but all I can say is not my kind of thing to eat.

Muar Chee

Super huge, compared to our local muar chee.

Bubble tea

Taipei 101

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 22:51:00 PST

Spin the globe and here we are ... landed in Taiwan this time!!!

First thing I did after I landed was to visit the Taipei 101. Taipei 101 formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a landmark skyscraper located in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. The building ranked officially as the world's tallest from 2004 until the opening of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010.

After a few hours of shopping I was so hungry. This shop was newly open on the day I went and the que to get into this shop was like miles long!!!! Didn't know Taiwan is such a shopping heaven!!!

Luckily there is a huge food court at the concourse.

Can't wait to try some typical Taiwanese food but since we're in foreign territory with a tiny language problem ... the safest would be to start with the food court!!!

This was what I ordered, the obligatory noodle with egg, oyster omelet and some vege.

p/s : In conjunction with the culture .. I shall try to write my posts as culturally accurate (go figure it out yourself!!) as possible

Padington House of Pancakes, Gurney Plaza

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:38:00 PST

Since I'm blogging about places to eat at Gurney Plaza, here's another one.

The only Paddington House of Pancakes in Penang is at Queensbay Mall and since I do not go there very often, I've never been to this place although it has been there for ages already.

When it opened at Gurney Plaza, I was more than happy to go try. I've never had savory pancakes before and the pancakes I've ever had are the ones with butter and honey for breakfast.

This place has very reasonably priced lunch sets and we've ordered one set each.

Pasta with sun dried tomato, but seriously, can you even spot the tomato?

Pancakes with mash potato, sausages and bacon. Love the mash potato!!

Dutch Crepe. Looks more like pancake with pasta sauce!!

Drinks that comes with the lunch set.

Duckie's Comments : I still prefer my pancakes as dessert rather than as a meal. Feels weird having savory pancakes. And that is the reason why we ordered our dessert ...

The Little Nyonya Cuisine, Gurney Plaza

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 23:28:00 PST

Lots of new shops and eateries opening in Gurney Plaza and this place, The Little Nyonya Cuisine (which is no longer a very new place), is currently one of my favorite place for lunch.

When I saw the menu, I immediately thought of this place, Restoran White House at Penang Times Square. Same shop!!!

Chicken Curry Noodles

Sambal Prawns Rice

Nyonya Chang

But I don't exactly like it coz I prefer my chang savory and not sweet.

Tom Yam Fried Rice with Pandan Chicken

Indonesian Prawn Rice, my current favorite.

Sambal Squid Rice

Nasi Lemak Special

Milk Tea

Cappucino

Cendol

Duckie's Comments : Price is reasonable but the place is sometimes quite packed, especially during lunch.

Fruzze Frozen Yogurt, Straits Quay

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 23:15:37 PST

I'm back!!! And I have a whole lot of posts all scheduled for the next few weeks.

Here's what I've wanted to blog about ages ago.

Ever since Fruuze Frozen Yogurt opens at Straits Quay, I've stopped going to Tutti Fruiti at Island Plaza. Reason being that Fruuze is so so so much cheaper than Tutti Fruiti. They don't go by weight and they have just as much toppings and flavors.

My favorite ... Original & Blueberry. They not only have it in cups but in cones as well!! Love this place!!!

Lots of unhealthy toppings which I like. I've never liked frozen yogurt with fruits toppings anyway.

See ... chocolates, oreos, and more chocolates.

Here's another picture, just in case you can't see clearly my choice of toppings.

Duckie's Comments : I'm still trying to collect more stamps on my card!!! Just a few more to go!!!

El Casa Wine & Dine Restaurant, behind Northam Hotel.

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 20:50:00 PST

I never knew this place existed until my very good friends treated me to a lunch there for my farewell.

El Casa - Wine & Dine Restaurant. I love the simple setting and they looked like they have a pretty good selection of wine too.

Here's what we had ...

Salmon

Pasta with salmon

Chicken Maryland

Seafood Paella

Duckie's Comments - Food is good!! I love the food there and the price is reasonable too, considering the food comes in rather big portion. And easy parking as well. Park right in front of the shop.

Food Gallery, Penang Times Square

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:29:59 PDT

Back to Malaysia, and back to blogging about local food.

First stop, Penang Times Square Food Gallery. I've heard a lot about this food court ... lots of varieties, food is good, etc and I thought, why not go check this place out.

Here's what I've tried ...

Beef Noodles - literally only noodles and beef, and 2 stalks of veggie. Completely tasteless!!

Curry Mee - not bad.

Pasta with grilled chicken - thank goodness for the cheese or else this is tasteless as well.

Mango chicken with rice - this dish is the opposite. Super sour!!!

Fish Cordon Bleu - not bad. Too much crusts though.

Chicken Cordon Bleu - also not bad but same thing about the crusts.

Ice Cream - nothing special.

Duckie's Comments - Price is reasonable. They give a little stamp card to collect stamps in exchange for meal voucher or something. Sadly, food is really not good. Threw my stamp card away as I don't think I'll be going back there. And why do we have a Times Square anyway? It is not like there's anything special there. Another wasted super huge but empty shopping complex.

Dhow Cruise Dinner, Dubai

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:16:42 PST

I'm really slacking on my blogging nowadays. Just realised that my posts seemed to be stuck in London still!!!

Anyway, we had a 1 day stop over in Dubai on our way back from UK. Bad idea to stop over in Dubai in summer when the temperature is 40'C and Ramadhan month. No food everywhere and can't go anyway coz it's just too hot!!!

We however manage to do a mini cruise with dinner in the evening.

Took the dhow cruise dinner from Oasis Palm.

Dinner is actually a buffet dinner on the boat cruising along the river. Good thing the boat is air conditioned!!

Selection is not much ... but good enough.

Starters & Main

Soup

Dessert

Night view of Dubai from the boat / river.

And this is the Burj Khalifa known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration, and is currently the tallest structure in the world, at 829.84 m (2,723 ft).

Snacks at the airport

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:12:39 PDT

Final day in London starts with ...

... a quick breakfast at Burger King ...

... a rather long walk to Buckingham Palace ...

... Westminster Abbey ...

... Westminster Palace ...

... one last look at the London Eye ...

... and off to the airport.

And one last cinnamon bun before flying off ... to DUBAI!!!!

Lots of walking and very little eating day in London

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 19:12:00 PDT

Day 2 in London or perhaps the one and only day in London started out with a simple breakfast from one of the shop 2 doors away from our hotel. Only 1 full day to walk around London and I'm determined not to waste any bit of time.

Cheap and good breakfast that comes with coffee, and very near to our hotel as well!!

1st stop of the day, St Paul's Cathedral, a Church of England cathedral dedicated to Paul the Apostle.

Good thing we had proper breakfast or we would not have enough energy to climb 300+ steps all the way to the Golden Gallery, i.e., top of the cathedral!! View from the Golden Gallery was magnificent!! Totally worth the climb.

Next, we walked across the Millennium Bridge to take a ferry to the Tower of London. Stopped by to take a photo of the ever famous Tower Bridge. No time to go up the bridge though.

Spent a good few hours walking around the Tower of London. Another place that is totally worth the visit.

Had a quick simple lunch outside the Tower.

Fish & Chips, and once again, not newspaper wrapped. I'd definitely prefer it to be in the Styrofoam box and not newspaper wrapped!!

Ended the day with a ride up on the Eye of London. Love the night view of London!!!

Palace of Westminster at night.

No dinner for the night. Too much walking and too tired to eat dinner.

Snog, Covent Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 19:24:00 PDT

After spending some time in M&M's World, and buying a whole lot of M&M's, we continued our walking around Leicester Square, Covent Garden & everywhere nearby.

First stop, Covent Garden. Too bad we were rather late and the Apple Market was closed already. Went back there the next day, though.

Stopped at this frozen yogurt shop called Snog.

Look at all the cartoon characters painted on the wall. This shop is so cute and it's pink!!!

Lots of varieties of toppings for the frozen yogurt.

We bought the special couple's combo. Cheaper, more toppings and a limited edition spoon.

This is what we got. And notice the spoon, it's pink!!!

Took our yogurt, walked to Trafalgar Square and finished our yogurt there. And I kept the spoon, of course!!!

M&M World, London

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 22:21:13 PDT

After our chicken rice dinner, we countinued our walking around the area and ended up in M&M's World.

If not mistaken, I think this place is located at Leicester Square.

This 35,000 square feet store selling M&Ms products and merchandise.

This place sells everything M&M's ... from clothes to accessories to soft toys.

And lots of M&M's figurines.

M&M's figurines of all things London / UK.

And look at the multi colored M&M's!!

This place is so colorful it makes you want to just buy and eat all the M&M's there!!!

Mixed colored M&M's.

And there is actually a que of people wanting to take photo with these figurines!!

Young Cheng Restaurant, Chinatown, London

noreply@blogger.com (Duckie) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:00:01 PDT

After spending the whole afternoon at Hampton Court, we met up with a friend to who took us for a walking tour of London (Chinatown, Soho, Leicester Square, Covent Garden, etc.)

These places were packed full with people but perhaps it was also because we went there on a Friday night and everyone is out after work.

A photo of this Chinatown arch is a must!! Nothing special actually. In fact, this place was packed but still, every tourist I know will definately have a photo of this arch no matter how packed the place is ... and me included!!

Our friend took us to this place (her favorite) for chicken rice. Once again, I would never have dreamed of having chicken rice in London, but as she said, after staying there for a long long time, we do miss what we eat here, and got chicken rice is better than none!!!

Pot of tea.

Chicken rice. Nothing special actually. In fact, I prefer the ones back here in Penang better.

Chicken and roast pork rice.

Sweet & sour pork rice

Veggie in oyster sauce.

Honestly, if it is not for me friend, I would not have eaten here. Food is not bad, but nothing special at all. Still, this place was packed. We were brought the bill and asked to leave once we finish our food coz there was a long que outside the shop. If this shop is here is Penang, I'm sure there will be no que at all!! But then again, perhaps the 'overseas' effect and 'lack of local cuisine' effect makes this place so popular.