Holiday travel tips and experiences: Chinese New Year

Friday, February 26, 2010

Malaysia Shopping Day Trip 20th Jan 2010

Since a few months back, Mother had wanted to go Malaysia shopping. However due to unforeseen circumstances, she had undergone an operation and was not in the mood to go into Malaysia for some Tesco shopping. Since she was feeling slightly better today, we decided to drive into Malaysia and check out the Chinese New Year goodies as well.

Leaving Mother’s place around 1130 hrs, we made our way to Tuas checkpoint and was on the look out for a petrol station to top up petrol so that we would not be flouting the ¾ tank rule for Singapore registered vehicles. Alas, we did not come across any on the way to Tuas checkpoint and upon reaching the Second Link, we had to make a U-turn back into Singapore to find a petrol station. That set us back for more than ½ hour.

By the time we reached Tuas checkpoint and cleared both Customs and Immigration on both sides of the Causeway, it was 1230 hrs.

Getting into Malaysia's Sultan Abu Bakar's Complex

Adhere to the correct lane

Coast is clear with no queue at all

We decided to head for Tesco in Kulai as we had seen both Tesco and Giant hypermarkets when we passed Kulai previously. Using our Garmin global positioning system to direct the way, it took us about twenty minutes to reach our destination, Tesco in Kulai. It was a straight road with little traffic. Since it was almost 1300 hrs, we were looking out for a good place to eat.

Straight road with almost no traffic

Not having eaten there for lunch or dinner before, we were not too sure where to eat. However, as we were following directions from our Garmin global positioning system, we saw a sign for Ji Guan Restaurant and realized that it was just next to our destination, Tesco.

Kulai exit 252

Can't miss the Tesco sign

In fact, heading to Kulai from Singapore via the North South highway is very simple. The moment you see the Kulai exit 252, you will pass the Kulai Toll and just head straight all the way in. You will see signs to Ji Guan Restaurant and Tesco on your left at the T-junction.

Going to Kulai via the North South highway, you will pass by 3 tolls. Toll charges were RM10.80 (USD3.20), RM3.90 (USD1.15) and RM1.60 (USD0.45) respectively.

Ji Guan Restaurant

Deciding to give Ji Guan Restaurant a try, we parked at the huge parking lot and made our way to the Restaurant. Although it was 1300 hrs, which is lunchtime, it was quite empty. We ordered a few dishes including steamed live fish, sesame chicken, a vegetable and a soup. The quality of the food was good and we fully enjoyed the fish soup as well as the steamed fish.

Ji Guan Restaurant

Very tasty soup

Fresh steamed fish

Vegetables

Chicken

Delightful lunch at Ji Guan Restaurant

Overall the lunch cost us RM125(USD36.70) for four of us. The fish alone cost RM60 (USD17.60). If you do not wish to spend too much, then go without the fresh seafood. This is definitely a great place to eat and you can enjoy the food. We were given a complimentary plate of fruits comprising pineapple and watermelons which were very sweet.

Next we headed next door to Tesco to start our shopping in Malaysia. Parking in Tesco Kulai is free and you get a good variety of goods here. Before even going into Tesco hypermarket, we had already started shopping at the various shops along the walkway and bought some clothes and Chinese New Year stickers.

Chinese New Year decorations

More Chinese New Year decorations

Even Chinese New Year plants on sale

Shopping

Lots of shopping available

Once we hit Tesco hypermarket, we were thrilled to find a t-shirt with all the $$$ signs on it. Mother bought a total of 13 such t-shirts to give the children and spouses for Chinese New Year. (Yippee! I have $$$)

As we walked along the aisle, Mother was happily reaching out for items from her wheelchair and putting them into the trolley. We managed to do some heavy shopping and bought some Chinese New Year goodies as well.

Purchases from our shopping spree!

After walking for a few hours, we went to the food court and were looking forward for some yoghurt. Sadly we were informed that the machine was out of order. Thus we tried the Kiko ice at the next kiosk. Made of shaved ice and at RM3.50 (USD1.00) a cup, it was a nice way to keep cool.

Mother then bought her favourite kuih bahulu (small sponge cakes) before we were ready to head back to Singapore. Leaving Tesco at 1630 hrs, it was another smooth journey back to the North South highway and back to Singapore. There was no need to use our Garmin global positioning system as it was a straight road.

Smiling all the way...

Thank you for shopping at Tesco

Mother enjoyed her day out at Tesco shopping and was already looking forward to her next Malaysia shopping trip. Returning back to Singapore via the Second Link at Tuas Checkpoint was also a breeze. As can be seen from the picture, there were no queues as well as we headed back to Singapore.

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Thursday, February 5, 2009

Sydney 22 Jan – 28 Jan 09 **Day 4

Sydney vacation Day 4 with even more pictures of Sydney Australia.

The Grand Dame of Australia - The Sydney Opera House

Today, we hired the coach to bring our whole group shopping. As we have some elderly people with us and being in such a big group, it was more convenient to do so.

Shopping started at Paddy’s Market and this time we found a shop that opens only on Sundays selling ladies blouses for AUD20 each. Some of these were made of sheersucker material that is a non-iron material. We bought a few different colours each with different designs as well as some sweet coloured cotton tee shirts with nice flower prints. These fabrics are supposed to allow the body to keep cool even in hot weather and supposedly can last ten years.

You can get souvenir items like Australian tee shirts, boomerangs, tidy bags, non-woven bags, key chains, handbags, etc… A good range and variety.

The Rocks

Next we headed north to The Rocks Market. Here you have another flea market which runs only on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am – 5pm. With more than 150 stalls housed under a sail-like canopy, the Rocks Market has something for everyone, including antiques and collectibles, art, fashion and beauty, food, homewares and furniture. A different range of products from what we saw in Paddy’s Market. More Aussie souvenirs and curios can be found here. We were fortunate that the weather today was not as hot as yesterday and walking in the open air market was quite comfortable. You could get organic dried fruits with no sweetener and no preservative. We were surprised to find that the organic dried pineapples tasted great as a snack or dessert and was simply delicious. A 180g packet costs AUD20 and it was almost all gone within the day.

Organic dried fruits

Other knick knacks

There were also fudge bars with various flavours including mint, mango, caramel, etc… You could sample some of the flavours before deciding what to buy. Buying in a batch of seven costs you only AUD20 whereas buying individually could set you back by USD3.50.

Fudge bars

Another interesting item that you can find here is the shoe deodorizer and wardrobe insect repellent. These are made from all natural herbs like lemon eucalyptus, lavender and rose and geranium to remove the odour and repel insects.

The Rocks is the historical precinct of Sydney, being the site of the first colonial settlement in Australia in 1788. It is home to Sydney’s oldest pubs and has a vibrant restaurant scene. It is also one of the city’s most exciting shopping, dining and entertainment precincts.

Next stop was Bondi beach, Australia’s most famous beach with the golden sand and turquoise water. We were originally supposed to have lunch at Bondi beach area and enjoy the atmosphere there. However, lots of the restaurants were full and as we had a big group, it would have been difficult for most of the restaurants and cafes to accommodate us. So we took a walk along the area and watched some pretty cool surfers and waves and enjoyed some sea breeze before moving off.

Bondi Beach - the sea, the surfers & the wave plus artwork

Even the seagulls love Bondi Beach

The 4 Muskeeteers enjoying a AUD4 hotdog

Bondi Markets is open only on Sundays from 1000hrs to 1700hrs. You can enjoy the roar of the surf and invigorating sea breezes while you search for the next big fashion designer, clothing, jewellery and cool gifts. The market is also a great place fro star-spotting.

We moved back to Chinatown area and finally had lunch at Super Meal Chinese Restaurant. The service was slow, most probably because they were not prepared to handle our big group at such a late lunch hour. However, the food was not too bad. We tried the Grandma’s Spicy Beancurd with rice. This would have tasted so much better if not for the fact that certain parts tasted pretty salty. However, the beef congee was great and smooth and was good value at less than AUD10. If you are not a huge eater, each portion should be enough for two persons. We also ordered various drinks including passionfruit soda and mango soda. These tasted quite sweet. The black sesame crushed ice was the best with a pleasant taste of black sesame.

Minced beef congee

Passionfruit and mango soda flanked in between by berry

Grandma's Spicy Beancurd served with rice

We had originally planned to go to DFO, Direct Factory Outlet, which is supposed to be Australia’s premier factory outlet centre and has over eighty individual retailers. However this happened to be a little out of the way at the Homebush area near the Sydney Olympic Park and so we finally decided to go back to Paddy’s Market as some of the group members wanted to go back to the same shop in the morning to get more of the ‘cooling’ blouses. Those who had enough of shopping for the day went directly back to the hotel. The others went ahead to do more shopping.

Harbourside shops

Dinner saw us back at Harbourside at Darling Harbour to do a bit more shopping as well as fill our stomachs. Harbourside is Darling Harbour’s main shopping mall, with boutiques, specialty stores and dining venues. This beautifully positioned waterfront development ranks as one of Sydney’s most elegant and innovative retail centres. You will be able to find a dozen or more alfresco eateries with some very stylish a-la-carte restaurants here, all with superb views of Cockle Bay, the city skyline and the rest of Darling Harbour. The shops here stay open till 2100hrs every night so you can shop at your leisure after the day’s touring.

Aborigine playing the digeridoo

Professional street entertainer playing with the remote control car

We decided to try the food court at ground level. The food here was not cheap and the portions small. We ordered some chicken sukiyaki noodles which was oily and the chicken was tough. The pizza had some great votes. Oporto, a fast food restaurant just beside MacDonald’s, served grilled chicken and burgers and had the thumbs up as well. We finished off the meal with Anderson’s ice-cream, AUD4.50 for a single scoop and AUD6.50 for a double scoop.

Oporto

Chinese New Year decorations at Star City

Tonight being the eve of Chinese New Year, Star City Hotel had arranged some Chinese New Year celebrations at midnight. The God of Fortune was there to hand out hong baos or red packets. These are traditionally given by the married adults to the unmarried and filled with money. There was a dragon dance as well as eight lions and the traditional fire crackers being let off. Great performance especially for those who have never seen such a performance before.