2013 Hanoi Trip - Bánh Cuốn Gia Truyền

Location: Hanoi, Vietnam

Full experience of my visit to Hanoi can be accessed through the list below:

Attractions:   St Joseph's Cathedral | One Pillar Pagoda | Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum | Thang Long Water Puppet Theater | Lý Thái Tổ Garden

Dining:          New Day Restaurant | Sketch Coffee | Dương Hoa Kem Caramen | Thu Nga Kem Xôi & Chè Thái Lan

More about Hanoi can be read through the list below:
Vietnamese Dong

It is surprising how we compare foreign food experience with what is familiar back home. Similarity can, more often than not, allow us to resonate with a dish which we may not know how to pronounce yet remember the taste as good as if we have tasted it daily. Such is the case for bánh cuốn. And we tasted the best yet in Bánh Cuốn Gia Truyền.

And in case you wonder how to read it, bánh cuốn, is pronounced close to "baan guan".

Bánh cuốn preparation in progress...

2012 HK Trip - Good Start Restaurant 囍点

Location: Mong Kok, S.A.R. Hong Kong

My first night in Hong Kong was filled with adventure - all of my focus was on getting my bearings and finding my way to the hostel. Despite my understanding of Cantonese and Mandarin, aligning myself in a foreign place was still an adventure, especially with the hustle of night time Mong Kok.

By the time I settled down, it was already 10p.m. This was usually a bad news, since I was used to stalls closing down before 10p.m. Without any particular shop in mind, I just wandered down the streets and with some hesitance entered this shop which looked decent from the outside.

Welcome to Good Start Restaurant! Its name 囍点 actually transliterate into "Happiness Point".

Malaysia Food Blog - Fish Head Curry @ Kam Loong Restaurant (阿福街金龙阿仔咖哩鱼头)

Location: Jalan Wong Ah Fook, Johor Bahru (near City Square and JB Sentral)

Only realized now that I had not penned any article on Malaysian food, so I guess this has the honor of being my first article to promote Malaysian food. Fish head curry is particularly famous in Malaysia, but different regions of Malaysia, even different ethnics of the same region, have their own secret recipe. This makes consuming the curry a new experience wherever you go.

Malaysia Food Blog - Tuck Kee Restaurant @ Yau Tet Shin Street

Location: Yau Tet Shin Street, Ipoh

If you have read my previous article on Mix Fruit Ice and crave for more of Ipoh's more locally available food, then here's another one located just nearby the area. The shop's name may or may not be familiar with most people since there are 2 'Tuck Kee' along the same row of shops... heck, they are practically sister shops next to each other, except for the fact that there is another shop in between the competing business.

The shop is nothing to scream about, except for the fact that it has been in operation for a very long while, which lent credit to how popular it is. Another sister shop named 'Sun Tuck Kee' (that's new Tuck Kee for you non-Cantonese speakers) provides similar choices of dish.

Malaysia Food Blog - Fatty Loh Chicken Rice shop

Location: Georgetown, Penang Isle

When I first heard of the comical name Fatty Loh (大肥罗), it was because my colleagues said that it is one of the must-visit shops for chicken rice enthusiasts. His name resounds throughout my colleagues, and by chance I managed to visit the shop in a sunny afternoon when I drove past the street. And what do you know, if you read its logo carefully, it does say "Penang's Most Famous Chicken Rice".

Chicken rice may not be any extraordinary dish for Malaysians, but it is not easy to find a decent one anywhere. With stalls sprouting anywhere a shop is located like mushrooms after the rain, the dish is enough to satisfy one's belly but not one's taste buds. For this shop, they serve enough to satisfy both.