The best way to experience Singapore is through its food imho. Honestly there's nothing much to do in Singapore other than to eat really. Park Regis Singapore is currently offering guests their #sginsiders trail which takes them on a walking heritage food tour around Chinatown from now till Oct 2019. Put on your walking shoes and make sure you hit the ground running hungry. Every Saturday at 9.30am, the walking tour brings guests to four famous homegrown food spots, all within a short walk from Park Regis. 

The tour starts off at Hong Lim Market and Food Centre, where we had the local Singaporean breakfast set of kaya toast and a cup of ‘kopi or teh’ (local coffee or tea). While kaya toast isn't anything special to locals (we get Yakun toast everywhere), the experience was quite nostalgic. Seriously when was the last time you actually had toast at the hawker center? Also, we got to try the Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff (#02-36). This stall has been around for decades and they've been hand making their crunchy puffs for decades now. Expect crunchy flaky puffs stuffed with a variety of fillings such as chicken, sardine and otah. 

I was super excited about the second stop, which is the 83-year-old Cantonese pastry shop, Tong Heng! Before egg tarts were made trendy by foreign imports from Hong Kong i.e. Honolulu and Tai Cheong, Tong Heng was already serving their famous diamond-shaped egg tarts. The egg to tart ratio is extremely high and i'm always amazed at how that thin crust could hold up the wobbly custard. Escape the hot Singapore weather and enjoy the piping hot and crispy egg tart in Tong Heng's air-conditioned space. Yes you can dine-in at Tong Heng now! Other than egg tarts, there are also other traditional bakes like char siew sor, wives' biscuit etc. 

I've tried several Singapore Airlines Business Class products and have been waiting to check out the A350-900 Business Class design since it was rolled out 2 years ago. I originally thought i'd be able to check out the then new design on my SIN-NRT flight but they did not retrofit that particular SQ B777-300ER. I finally managed to do so on our honeymoon by taking the twice weekly non-stop SIN-BCN flight on SQ and then another flight from Barcelona to Casablanca. The honeymoon travel posts will eventually come (2 years later). 

We all know that the A350 is a new generation aircraft and i thought that the flight experience is a lot more comfortable than the other aircraft- it's quieter and the air feels less drying, so yes, tech works.

There are 42 Business Class seats in a 1-2-1 seat layout. As you can tell, the seats are generous in size, though not as huge as the older designs. But hey, even if you're a big dude, the 60" seat pitch and 28" seat width beats many other airlines offering out there. 

The Scottish leather seat can be adjusted to your comfort with the numerous buttons to play with. There are two new seating positions—the Lazy Z, a cradling position that ensures your weight is centered and balanced when you’re sitting down, and the Sundeck, a lounging position that extends the base and foot of your seat so you can stretch and rest your legs on the ottoman. 

The seat also transforms into a 78" flat bed when you're ready to snooze and it comes with a cushioned headboard, complete with linen, duvet and pillows. This is why i love taking SQ business class on long-hauls. The side lights were very useful for reading under different conditions, be it sitting upright, in-bed, or lounging. I don't think Jr was too bothered by my light as it didn't spill that much into his cabin. Also, there are also 2 earphone jacks, for sitting and lying down. I thought that is a very thoughtful design!

Oh hey Sri Lanka, it has been a while! I know i've procrastinated on the writing, probably because i lost all my photos and i've no idea how. But anyway, thank god for Facebook because i uploaded some pictures along the way. So here is finally sharing my experience in this very exciting country.

Sri Lanka will have a place for you, no matter what kind of traveler you are. For the active traveler, you could climb mountains, kite-surf the massive waves, or go diving if you wish. Nature lovers would enjoy hunting the elusive leopards in the safaris, or catching a glimpse of whale sharks. Learn the rich history of the country in the Cultural Triangle. Or if you're seeking some peace and down-time, the tea plantations in Nuwara Eliya will be your cup of tea. Me? I'm an all rounder so i did everything. Here's how i did it.

After a night's rest in Negombo, we started off our trip with the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka, where 5 UNESCO World Heritage sites are located. First, the Golden Temple of Dambulla, also known as the Cave Temple.

This cave monastery with its five sanctuaries, is the largest and best-preserved cave-temple complex in Sri Lanka. There are 157 statues and Buddhist mural paintings in the compound, which you will explore barefoot. Note that there's a short climb as the cave is on the top of a 500 ft rock mass.

When we thought that was the most active part of the day, our guide drove us next to Sigiriya Rock Fortress, the Lion Rock. The history of Sigiriya dates back to over 5000 thousand years! The climb isn't that bad actually but if you're scared of heights.. then you'd probably have some issues with this. 

Check out the scary stairs around the vertical walls!!

Another day was spent at the ancient city of Polonnaruwa, another UNESCO World Heritage site. the medieval capital of Sri Lanka. This is considered one of the most beautiful centres in Sri Lanka’s cultural heritage and the second capital of the Sinhalese kings back in the 11th to 12th century A.D. 

Visit the world famous rock-cut Buddha statues of Gal Vihara and the Parakrama Samudra (‘Sea of Parakrama’), a 2500-hectare man made reservoir built by King Parakramabahu I (1153 –1186 AD) with a capacity of 134 million cubic meters. 

If memory didn't fail me, we skipped Anuradhapura as it was further up north. Plus it was more than enough ruins to last the trip. For visiting the cultural triangle, we stayed at Habarana Village by Cinnamon. The food at the hotel wasn't too bad and they have a huge international and local selection. 

The lunches for the first 2 days were all typical Sri Lankan food- curries in all forms, served with rice and roti (bread). 

Expect to eat a lot of brown and yellow stuff if you were to stick with the Sri Lankan diet. The curries are very mild imo. Here's a short read on some dishes that are commonly served in Sri Lanka. My favorites are the green jackfruit curry, coconut sambal, and the hoppers are not bad too. After 2 days of the typical Sri Lankan food, we reached our quota and went with international cuisine for the rest of the trip. :P

Then it was off to Kandy for the Sacred Tooth Relic Temple, the most revered Buddhist temple in Sri Lanka. From ancient times kings have kept the Sacred Tooth Relic in their kingdoms as a symbol of power. It is a traditional belief that, whoever takes possession of the Tooth Relic, ruler or invader, has the power to rule the people. No world domination for me because the tooth is under lock and key, and only taken out for display during important celebrations.

The no-shoes policy will certainly cause you a lot of pain, especially outdoors. Thank god there's an air-conditioned mall nearby which serves Baskin Robbins (i can't remember which) which is perfect for the Sri Lankan.

The drive to Dick Oya continued after lunch. The destination was the charming Governor's Mansion, a fully restored English styled mansion located 4000ft above sea level in the tea valley of Hatton-Dickoya. This is where we prepared ourselves for the Adam's Peak climb ahead. Word is that the British royal family were hosted in the suites before. We had the entire mansion to ourselves when we were there! The dinner here was really decent. We had stuffed crabs, a proper steak, followed by desserts. 

TBH, i did not do any research on Adam's Peak, and i included it because many itineraries said that you can catch a gorgeous sunrise there. And so, that's how we ended up climbing 2243m/5500 steps up this sacred mountain at 2am in the morning. The mountain is known for the Sri Pada "sacred footprint", a 1.8m rock formation near the summit, thought to be the footprint of Buddha/Shiva/Adam/St. Thomas (you get the point that it's sacred). 

Anyhow, it's all stairs and the entire way up is brightly lit. If all the old grandmothers and grandfathers can climb this thing, you can too. Just give yourself sufficient time to get to the top and also keep warm. There are shops along the path where you can buy snacks and drinks. There are toilets along the way but well, they aren't the cleanest. I held my pee in from 2am till we got down to the base at 8ish am. I thought i was gonna die from an erupted bladder. 

There's a temple at the top and there's a ceremony every morning to mark the break of day. It gets crowded so get there slightly earlier to snag a spot for sunrise. 

We got back to our mansion at about 9ish 10am and we took a long bath to refresh ourselves. Breakfast was a sumptuous affair on the terrace before we headed to Nuwara Eliya. To get there, we wanted a train ride experience but didn't wanna toot the whole way to the tea valleys.

So our driver-guide packed us on the train, made sure we were safe (he's such a mother bird), and drove our luggage to our pick up point (2 stops away) and waited for us to arrive. We were exhausted from the climb since we did not get much sleep at all and ended up dozing on the train. Before we fall asleep, we caught glimpse of the rugged hills, and then the manicured tea estates.

The reason for visiting Nuwara Eliya was for the tea plantations. It was in our itinerary but my gf was way too exhausted to want to do anything else when we got to our hotel. Despite our guide's protests, we stayed in. :P So if you have the change, go see the fields, pick some leaves, and have some tea! 

This is the view from our accommodation: Blackpool Hotel

Another highlight of the trip was the Safari visit! I thought it was seriously amazing that we could see animals in the wild so close to Singapore! We'll save that Africa safari trip for the future. We decided to check out Yala National Park as it has the largest leopard density of leopards in the world.

Here is a listing of the animals that you may see, as provided by my tour guide. You may see Elephant, Sloth Bear, Sambhur, Spotted Deer, Wild Boar, Stripe-necked, Brown & Ruddy Mongooses, Black-naped Hare & several civet species.

In the water holes you may see Mugger Crocodile, Painted Stork, Lesser Whistling Teal, Black-headed Ibis, Eurasian Spoonbill, Great, Median & Little Egrets & the rare Black-necked Stork. Also drive up to the Buttuwa Tank to see the rare winter visitor, Bay-backed Shrike. The migrant bird species that you are likely to see include Indian Pitta, Brahminy Myna & large flocks of Rosy Starling flying for roost. The monsoon forest vegetation of the park is dominated by Palu Trees (Manilkara hexandra) and the thick undergrowth is dominated by thorny bushes. 

As we only got to our resort late morning, we had lunch before heading out for the afternoon safari tour. Be prepared for a bumpy and dusty ride in the safari jeep. I was amazed at how i was able to doze off on the ride.

We woke up early next morning (before sunrise) for another half day of hunting down the leopards. Unfortunately for us, it was few moons just several nights ago and the leopards were all hibernating after their hunt. so NO LEOPARDS for us. Only a lot of elephants. We spotted a large cat too but i can't remember what. LOL. 

We stayed at the nearby Laya Safari resort which is by the sea. Dinner was included in our stay and there are live bbq stations which were pretty decent. 

After exploring the land, we headed to Mirissa to catch some blue whales in action! For this, we based ourselves at Matara and stayed at Amaloh by Jetwing. 

We got up bright and early for a morning drive to Mirissa Fishery's Harbour for a whale and dolphin watching experience. Well.. be prepared to get a tan, plus endure a rocky ride out. I must say it wasn't the most comfortable experience but seeing the wild dolphins was worth it. We also spotted a blue whale after what felt like forever. The whole trip took us a good 6 hours i believe! 

Our last stop of the trip was to Galle, before we headed into the capital to catch our night flight. The main attraction is the Dutch Fort-Galle, yet another UNESCO world heritage site. We had a short wander around the fort walls to stretch our legs mainly. I'm glad we did not spend more time than required here. 

We had half a day to chill around Colombo without much to do really. Of course we occupied ourselves with a tea break and had the most amazing bakes at The English Cake Company- The Cakery, followed by a long spa session at White by Spa Ceylon, before dinner at Ministry of Crab.

Our 9 day tour with Jetwing Eco Holidays was US$1485/pax and it included the accommodation with half-board, transport and guide, entrance fees (to the safari as well) and the dolphin and whale watching charges, as well as our Ayurveda treatment. I thought it was a steal! They are more focused on nature travel and may not be able to provide a lot of information on cultural sites. 

XOXO
Travelerintransit

I don't know about you but i usually base myself at Shinjuku when i visit Tokyo. The location is relatively central (other than Shibuya) and extremely colorful (Kabukicho is Tokyo's red light district), has easy access to the airport, plenty of shopping, and lots of food. 

It's impossible to go hungry in this relatively mild red light district. If you're looking for something to fuel your late night partying, there are plenty of izakayas here! Check out the smoky Omoide Yokocho 思い出横丁near Shinjuku Station West Exit for all that bbq.

Lest you think i'm going all R21 on you, this post is on the other eats that will last you from dawn till dusk. I'm just scratching the surface as usual with only highlights of what i ate/checked out. 

PERK ME UP

Wake up to the smell of fresh coffee over at Blue Bottle Coffee! Well this is one of my favorite coffee chains from U.S. and i would buy their packaged cold brew for times when i can't make a pit stop at their cafes. Be prepared for the queue though, this cafe is extremely popular. 

We googled for the best pancakes in Shinjuku and Sarabeth's popped up. Well it's not Japanese pancakes (they hail from NYC)! We would have considered Clinton Street Bakery if not for the fact that it's not within walking distance from our hotel. Sarabeth's is conveniently located at Lumine II Mall right next to Shinjuku station. We had 2 of their signatures- the lemon ricotta pancakes (thin and fluffy with a light citrus, could do with way more syrup), and a creamy eggs benedict. They are satisfying enough but i wouldn't wait more than 30mins for this. 

QUICK EATS

When you are on the go, sometimes you just want a quick meal. Well here's introducing my favorite comfort food go-to MATSUYA.

If you want a Gyu-don (better than Yoshinoya), you have to come here. I'd dedicate at least 1 meal to Matsuya in every Japanese city that i go to (if available). What's not to love about thinly sliced marinated sweet beef and oozy onsen egg on rice! I always get mine upsized just for the meat! Thank god there are 5 outlets just around Shinjuku station!

I really do love my Ichiran ramen. It's 24h, it's fast, and it's tasty, and there are 2 outlets in Shinjuku. Perfect for that weird-hour hunger pangs. I'll always add their soft boiled eggs! 

On our most recent trip to Tokyo, we also tried another rather popular ramen, Fuunji Ramen. They are very famous for the tsukemen (noodles with dipping sauce) and i tell you.. it's an umami bomb. The super rich chicken broth is topped off with dried fish powder and you'd be surprised by how much of that rich cream the chewy noodles could pick up. I ordered the special without knowing what it entails. Turns out that it's a super large portion of everything, tsukemen style. Their soup ramen is less of an assault to your palate. I'd say go for the small portion, unless you're a big eater. We found it impossible to get through half a bowl each but the petite Japanese ladies don't seem to have a problem slurping theirs. 

Shin Udon is just around the corner from Fuunji Ramen and i've not managed to try it on 3 occasions for various reasons. We were either too full, too hungry, or too tired to stay in line for the handmade buckwheat udon that are made on order. There was always a substantial line for this 6-seater (except the time we were really full). Maybe next year. 

TAKE IT SLOW

We tried our luck at Tempura Tsunahachi Shinjuku one night, after giving up on the queue at Shin Udon. And oh boy were we lucky to be immediately ushered into this popular tempura establishment without a reservation! Our fellow diners marvelled at our good luck as we tucked into the set meals, priced at ¥2300 onwards. 

The draw here is the fresh live seafood that is lightly battered and fried in sesame oil. Boy the prawns and eel were swimming right before us and we witnessed way eel after eel being skinned and thrown into the boiling oil. The basic set comes with two shrimps, assorted seafood, vegetables, anago (sea eel), kakiage, appetizer; and a set of rice, miso-soup and Japanese pickles. The more expensive sets uses better ingredients such as tiger prawns and you get more items as well. Their omakase is only priced at ¥8,000 (SGD$103). 

If you can't get into Tempura Tsunahachi Shinjuku, you may get lucky at the other very popular tempura restaurant, Funabashiya Honten, which is just opposite.

I wanted Unagi-don and the nearest to us was Unagi Unatetsu (Nodaiwa and Izumoya are too far from Shinjuku). Well.. lunch turned out to be at least a 45min wait in the smoky restaurant as the chef lovingly grilled the fresh eels over charcoal. We could not understand the menu but it seems like there are other skewers available. We simply ordered the unagi-don, and a una-tamago as a side. As the wait progressed, we regretted not ordering a bigger portion (we both went for medium). The silky tamago helped to ease the hanger pangs a little. 

What's great is that the don wasn't overly doused in sauce, even though it could do with a little more oomph in the flavor. The portions could also be a bit more generous! We paid about ¥8000++ for the 2 of us. It's definitely not as satisfying as the one i had at Atsuta Horaiken in Nagoya.

If you're wondering why this is under the 'take it slow' category, it's because the wait is long. But once the food to you, you really wanna gobble it and leave before you smell too bad. 

Shinjuku Kappo Nakajima is where i'd want to really take it slow for dinner. This one Michelin-starred restaurant offers traditional Japanese cuisine made with seasonal ingredients. For dinner, their Chef's selection is priced at ¥15,000, which features their specialty soup dish, the Owan. Their sardine lunch set is but a fraction of this price at ¥800 and you get to choose from 4 types of preparation- Sashimi - raw sardine with seaweed and sesame, furai - fried sardine, nizakana - sardine in soy sauce and yanagawanabe - sardine cooked with egg.

Now now, with so many options to pick from, why wouldn't anyone wanna base themselves in Shinjuku on a trip to Tokyo?

XOXO

Travelerintransit

Bangkok is one city that i'll never be sick of dropping by for a chill weekend of food, massage, and cheap shopping! As we usually do relatively short trips, i've finally accumulated sufficient food content (ones worth sharing) for a proper Bangkok eats post. This post focuses on Thai food but if you're looking for brunch options, check out this other Bangkok brunch post.

Best Bangkok Pad Thai Thip Samai

313-315 Maha Chai Rd

I've heard of Thip Samai for the longest time but i've always been too lazy to travel to just one spot for simple street food. Plus, pad thai is great almost everywhere in Bangkok no? Apparently the locals love this and there is always a queue (that is very fast-moving thank god). 

Charcoal fire is used to produce the scorched smoky flavor of the noodles, which are fried in shrimp oil for that lovely orange appearance. Toppings such as tofu, little shrimps (like sakura ebi), leeks, egg, and bean sprouts are added. We went with the superb Pad Thai wrapped in egg (THB90), which comes topped with 3 chunky deep sea prawns. 

There's another version which has bits of fried egg instead of the egg crepe. They are the same essentially, except for their plating. I really enjoyed the chewy rice noodles. Make sure you add on more crushed peanuts and some chili flakes for texture and flavor!

Woke up late for brunch in Bangkok and haven't done your research on where to go? Well well, my suggestion is to head to theCOMMONS at Thonglor, which is still the hippest district in BKK (i believe). The eco-friendly mall houses artisan cafes and eateries and also cool shops. Plus the architecture is interesting enough for you to just wander about and appreciate it. Oh and it houses Roast, which is BKK's favorite cafe.

The Commons is divided into 4 sections – Market, Village, Play Yard, Top Yard. Most of the food offerings are at the Market, while Roast is at the top level. 

Since this post is about brunch, i'm gonna focus more on the brunchy, wake-me-up kinda food. Do note that there are other heartier, meatier, savory options available at The Commons. 

Roast

Mon-Thu: 10am-11pm / Fri-Sat: 9am-11pm / Sun: 9am-10 pm

Possibly the kick-starter of Bangkok's love affair with brunch, Roast nailed it with their all-day breakfast. The chunky crab cake eggs benedict left us wanting for more. How is one crab cake even enough! Oh and the strawberry waffle is another must order. You could also have burgers, steak frites, roast chicken etc. should you dine later. Coffee here is such as lunch (burgers) and dinner (steak frites B890, roast chicken B480). Thanks to carefully-sourced beans roasted in house, the coffee here is excellent. 02-185-2865, 

Egg My God

Daily: 9.30 am - 10 pm

Egg, egg, egg, and more eggs! I don't know about you but i think egg is a superfood, plus it's so versatile! Egg My God uses eggs on their own, as an ingredient, a side, a main, and in their desserts. Oh and they also have it in its preserved form- think salted egg yolk angel hair pasta with truffle and chive oil, shiitake.