Open Door Policy
The once-sleepy Tiong Bahru estate seems to be coming alive as more and more cafe – Drips Bakery Cafe,
Forty Hands, and Open Door Policy – open in the area.
Celebrated galpal birthday here a couple of weeks ago and i must say its a really nice hidden restaurant. Its not exactly accesible to get there — you’d have to walk for about 10 minutes to get into the old estate area from tiong bahru MRT, but the street has a sort of peaceful and quiet charm as the place is still under-developed.
It’ll be impossible to miss the modern-chic looking bistro among all the coffee shops. The bustling restaurant offers a great juxtaposition to the quiet neighbourhood locale.
We ordered chicken wings - they were served with a curry mousse and yoghurt bits on the side. The chicken was absolutely fabulous although the portion was way way too small for the likes of me...and not forgetting to say it was pricey!!
I ordered the chilli crab linguine - The noodles were al-dente. perfectly done. However the sauce was a pure disappointment. it tasted like watery ketchup with mini bits of crab meat. I was left wondering where the hell was the chilli crab???
The grand finale was a very modern white-choco mousse with raspberry, well balanced and sweet enough to go home so happy and craving for more.
Penang Day 2-4
Day 2 and 3 was mostly spent in the Hotel's pool and bumming at the beach and dinner we went to Gurney to check out the local cuisines.
Indulge ourselves in Penang’s famous culinary scene. Penang’s many culinary highlights attract visitors from all over the world. It’s not surprising as there’s just so much to discover, from my absolute favourites Penang
Char Kuey Teow and
Penang Laksa , to
Nasi Kandar,
Mee Rebus,
Hokkien Mee, oyster omelettes and spicy southern Indian curries. Penang is a true culinary gem! Head to Penang’s famous Gurney Drive (a beautiful seafront boulevard with many restaurants, cafés and hotels) to kick off our culinary adventure.
Penang Day 1
Day 2 of our drivacation started with a quiet breakfast at the Ancasa Resort. Nothing much to talk about the Resort.The breakfast was pretty scanty and the restaurant really needs a lot of cleaning and not really put together. We wouldn't have stayed more than a day.
It was raining slightly by the time we got to the car and it was drizzling all the way till we reach Penang. It was approximately 3.5 - 4 hour drive up to Penang from PD. The drive was very much scenic as the landscape changes to be much more beautiful with the hilly top of Cameron highlands and the uniqueness of Ipoh with its limestone caves..
The children was truly excited once we reached the Penang Bridge. Georgetown is definately beautiful with its gracefully restored heritage shophouses.
As we passes by Georgetown, i was taken away by the beauty of Penang Hill. It has a funicular railway, jeep track and hiking trails and definately looks cooler at the top with clouds covering parts of the hilltop.
We then finally reached our destination, Hard Rock Hotel Penang which rests on Batu Ferringhi beach.Home to numerous hotels and inns, the Batu Ferringhi beach is one of Penang’s most popular beaches. It’s also a great spot to view a spectacular Penang sunset. Watch as the colours of the sea and sky change from warm pastel hues to a deep crimson red.
Checking into HRC Penang was a breeze, service was excellent. They were fast and efficient despite the many many guests coming in to the hotel. We checked the pool out as soon as we got ourselves settled in our rooms.
Awesome pool area as its very big and has this water slides and water gun jets that was build in the pool. There is always something going on at the poolside where the Rock Agents will keep you entertained or you can simply enjoy the music and drinks served at the swim up bar. It is also fun to try the water slides or reserve a private cabana. Here, you can jump right into the pool from the room's deck!
Incredible oversized free-form 26000 sqft swimming pool, replete with sand islands ...
Dinner was at a simple but beautiful restaurant.We went out from the hotel to have our dinner at Batu Ferringhi.
It feels like we are dining in a secret garden
Road Trip To Penang
December was such chaos!!! A really busy and trying work days that have left me breathless most days. Working very early and ending my day late daily was very stressful for a working mom. Thank god for the great support system at home that made my working life bearable. These people are my mom and my helper. They deserve a awesome holiday don't they.....so the decision to go and have a good time in Penang have been on my mind and hubbs for a while now. Its one of those states in Malaysia that i had never been in and wished to go. Flying there is going to be expensive so we opt for the more exciting and inexpensive version of a vacation which is a drivacation.
The idea is to stop and rest a day in Port Dickson and continue our drive to Penang from there and on the way back a 2 days stop in KL before the drive back home.
We started our day early at 8pm and drove all the way to Port Dickson with stops before PD for lunch. Reached PD at around noon time close to 1. We stayed at the Ancasa Resort for the night and rested well before heading to Nazreen Seafood for dinner.
The food here is really fanstastic and delicious with dinner costing us at only RM 80. We ate the Sweet Sour garoupa, fried quail, Tom yam soup, sambal kang kong and fruit juices. It would'nt be called a good holiday without the great yummy food!!......aaahhh a party in my tummy!!
Day 4 HCMC
Another place that we went to is the Independence Palace.Also known as the Reunification Palace, it is built on the site of the former Norodom Palace, is a landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was the home and workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
It was the site of the end of the Vietnam War during the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, when a North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through its gates.
The palace has around 100 rooms and two basements. The basements contain all the things they needed during the war.
The flat façade of the building stands out when compared to the rest of the buildings in the area and with the Vietnamese flag waving on top it was easy to see that there was something “official” about the place.
The tickets were 15000 Dong per person (about a dollar sixty)
In the blistering heat of HCMC
The rest of the day after this bit was spent in our hotel pool and sauna..enjoying the last bit of holiday we had left before our midday flight home the next day. I would definately like to come to Vietnam again, exploring the likes of Na Trang or Danag..
The once-sleepy Tiong Bahru estate seems to be coming alive as more and more cafe – Drips Bakery Cafe, Forty Hands, and Open Door Policy – open in the area. 
The grand finale was a very modern white-choco mousse with raspberry, well balanced and sweet enough to go home so happy and craving for more. 
