2012 HK Trip - The Week in Hong Kong

Location: S.A.R. Hong Kong, China

When I laid out my plans for this trip, I didn't know that I will land in a politically defining moment for that foreign piece of land. Hong Kong was set to vote for its new Chief Executive and I was there on the first day to witness through news report the selection of Leung Chun-Ying as the new Chief.

Chief Executive of Hong Kong

The coveted position is both important and unusual to the people of Hong Kong. When Hong Kong reverted from British to Chinese rule, the position of governor was replaced by Chief Executive as the head of the government. Although an election is performed to obtain a new Chief Executive, what differs the system from the usual democratic election is that the candidate is elected by an electoral college (currently stands at 1,200 strong) consisting of private citizens and bodies instead of by the population of Hong Kong. In other words, as was reported in some medium, this is a "small-circle election".

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.

Batu Tenggek (Sitting Boulder) - Remembrance

Location: Teluk Intan, Perak, Malaysia

Located in Teluk Intan is the queer Batu Tenggek that is listed within most travel guides and blogs on the place but there is surprisingly little information about it apart from those that are echoed among the said guides, given the fact that it is comparably more famous than Hock Soon Temple (福顺宫).

Sitting on top of a pedestal is the boulder that is famed in Teluk Intan yet surprisingly little was said about why it was chosen to be erected here.

Singapore Food Blog - IKEA Restaurant @ Alexandra

Location: Alexandra, Singapore

I never was familiar with IKEA, nor was I familiar with Swedish meal, until I was introduced to both in an IKEA restaurant. Yes, that's right - if you are as unfamiliar with IKEA as I was, they have a restaurant within the boundary of the furniture giant and it is operated under their name.

The one that I visited in Alexandra was packed full of people in the weekend, greeting you with a long queue  and throngs of crowd. From what I understand, it is as such on weekdays as well, showing how popular it is with the locals. Then again, where else can one sample Swedish food while shopping in a furniture concept store?

Welcome to IKEA! The restaurant itself jutted out from the large container-like furniture giant. Seated by the windows will offer diners an unobstructed view of the hustle and bustle of traffic and pedestrian beyond the transparent glass.

Bookmart @ The Central, Clarke Quay

Location: Clarke Quay, Central Business District (CBD), Singapore

Updated 30-Jun-2014: This store is permanently closed.

Never have I thought that I could get books at a bargain price until I came across Bookmart. Originated from Japan and with over 100 shops in that nation, the store just started the branch in Singapore a little over a year ago.

The reason why books sold here are cheaper lies in the fact that these books are not new - not firsthand anyway. Bookmart applies the concept of buy and resell, but even though the books are secondhand, most of them are still in tiptop condition, spotless save for a few wrinkles.

Located in a partially hidden aisle stood Bookmart, one of my favorite bookstore offering used books and medias at bargain price.

Increment of Food Price... again!?

This is purely my observation as a Chinese ethnic, on stalls operated by Chinese ethnic. Chinese New Year had came and gone, and to the Chinese ethnic, this is a second new year. And as expected, the price of food and drinks had went up, again. That was somehow the question which your parents will usually ask the first thing they visited their local haunt: drinks price got increase ah?

My time in Singapore may not be long, but I was surprised by the fact that the price of hawker food remain low in general, in comparison to Malaysia, even though the former had to import their raw material. From what I heard, an increase in Singapore's hawker food price had not been major for a long time (of course, I could be hearing from the wrong source). 

Lucky Garden, Yong Peng (永平) - Garden of Fishes

Location: Yong Peng, Johor, Malaysia

If one was a frequent traveler going back and forth from Singapore to Malaysia, it would not be hard to notice that there is no major town between Johor's northern town of Muar and the suburbs of Johor Bahru.

Vehicles of all sorts lined the area, patiently awaiting the tired drivers and bored passengers before continuing forth to their various destinations.