*Click picture to vote.*
Vote PlacesAndFoods.com for Best Travel and Food Blog for World Bloggers and Social Media Awards 2012. Firstly, we are humbled to be nominated for two categories (Best Travel Blog 2012 and Best F&B Blog 2012) by our reader for the World Bloggers and Social Media Awards 2012.

We have been running this blog since 2007 and we have been involved in various blog competitions since then. Even though we did not win any award in these three years, we were excited to be selected as the top 12 finalist for the US$10,000 2010 Thailand Medical Tourism Blog Competition. It was one of the best blogging competitions we competed.

Last year, we were also finalist for Digi WWWOW Award for Best Food Blog and Time Out KL Magazine Food Awards 2011 Bloggers Selections.

In this few years, we have worked together with Tourism boards such as Tourism Victoria, Tourism of Australia, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Tourism of Malaysia Perlis, Tourism of Philippines and Singapore Tourism Board through various channels.

On our food blogging side, we usually pay our own food for our reviews. Hence, we also work together with Asian Food Channel to promote their food events in Malaysia.

We have been also contributing stories to magazines and newspapers in this few years. Thus, we were lucky enough to be interview on our national TV too.

We really hope to break our duck with this competition. For that, we need the help of our readers and friends to vote for PlacesAndFoods.com for Best Travel and Food Blog for World Bloggers and Social Media Awards 2012.

*Click picture to vote.*

Please click the link to World Bloggers and Social Media Awards 2012 and register your email and username. Then, verify your email and you can vote for us one time (per email).

We hope that we can achieve something in this competition to give us a moral boost and moral support. Thank you everyone who has been reading and supporting us.

What will you do when you are in Osaka which is just a few kilometres away from the world famous beef producing city Kobe? Of course we will go there and try out their infamous Kobe beef.

A deer with the backdrop of the gate entrance of Todaiji Temple in Nara.
We were travelling to the deer city of Nara on the second day of our trip to Kansai Japan and we decided to have our dinner in Kobe. This was our first time traveling in Japan and we were on our own. We relied on the information we researched from the Internet and the station names to travel around within Kansai.

For the best and cheapest way to travel around in Kansai, we recommend the Kansai Thru Pass or also known as Kansai Surutto Pass. A three day pass cost only 5,000 Yen (RM 200 / US$ 67) and you can travel to most places in Kansai with most busses, trains and subways except JR trains. Please do ask the availability of the usage of the pass before you travel around. For our traveling experiences in Kobe, Kyoto, Nara and Osaka, we had no problem using unlimited train, subway and bus rides.

Changing trains or subway trains are common for travelers in Kansai Japan.
For our crazy idea to have Kobe beef for dinner, we travelled from Nara to Kobe via train with two stops (we will blog in details later on tips to take train from Nara to Kobe) with a journey of one and half hour. We got our route information via the Tourist Information Center at Nara (Kintetsu) Train Station.

To make our journey more interesting, our trip to Kobe was unplanned so we had no idea where to get the best Kobe beef. With the help of a few restaurants and bars, we were recommended to go to大井肉店.

It was 8pm and the temperature was around 5 degree Celsius and we were cold and hungry. We managed to find the restaurant based on the indications (he tried to explain in English but we didn’t understand what he was saying) by the bar owner.

The 大井肉店 restaurant, please check out the map below or print it out with you want to go there.

We went to the fourth floor where they served the best steak in city and probably in the world. The restaurant owns the whole building but only the fourth and fifth floors used as restaurants.

The interior looks like a classic Western-like restaurant with teppanyaki grill on each table.

Menu at 大井肉店
We were given the menu to order and it was not cheap. A 200 gram of Kobe Beef cost around 15,000 Yen ( RM 600 / US$ 200) per set.  We ordered two sets of 200 gram of Kobe Beef and they were not that pleasant when we wanted to share it among ourselves, there were four of us.

Check out the marble-like texture of the meat.
We were introduced to our chef as he showed us the 400 gram sirloin Kobe Beef before he cooked it. You can see the details of the marbling texture of the meat. Only Kobe beef and Wagyu beef have such texture on their meat. On the other note, we managed to start a conversation with him and he told us that he was humbled to have us as his guests when I told him that we are Malaysians.

He apologized to us as he had to share the set for us as I think we broke their tradition of no food sharing in this restaurant. He told us that 大井肉店 was established in 1871 as a beef seller. The restaurant has now a history of 141 years and counting!

He started off with toasting the bread. We thought it was the appetizer but it was not. The bread was lightly toasted with butter and served onto our plate but the chef told us to wait.

The appetizer was a small piece of beef quiche.

Next was a fresh bowl of salad. The greens were interestingly topped with sesame seed and sesame oil. The sesame oil can be easily purchased in Japanese supermarket such as Isetan or Jusco in Malaysia.

Then we have the pan fried vegetables of pumpkin, mushroom, red pepper, radish and konnyaku (light green).


Konnyaku is a healthy Japanese food with jelly-like texture. We were surprised that they pan fried the konnyaku, this was our first time having a pan fried konnyaku.

Finally, the chef brought out the beef again to cook. The chef asked us how we wanted our beef cooked. We all agreed for medium rare. Look at how the meat sizzles!

Firstly, he cut off the fats of the beef and he put it aside.

Then, he cut the beef to a few strips and he pan fried it (teppanyaki style).

The chef slowly awaits the beef to be cooked.

He let it cooked for a few minutes and to our amazement, he cut it to cube sizes and served it to us.

The beef was cooked up to our expectation.

He served the cube-size beef on top of the toasted bread.

That was our first time having beef with a toasted bread!

That wasn’t over. The excessive beef fats he cut earlier on was then used to cook with bean sprout (taugeh) and spring onion.

Like the usual teppanyaki, he pan fried the bean sprout and the beef together and served it thin slices of fried garlic.

After the long wait, I wanted to eat the toasted bread first but the chef said the bread must be eaten last! Slowly, we put the beef into our mouth. The meat melts in the mouth and the taste warmth my heart. We ate the beef without any seasoning to enjoy the juiciness of the meat.  Legend says that the taste of having Kobe beef is similar of flying. Hence, we roughly understand the meaning of the flying. The meat was so soft and tender and it melted in the mouth. The proper word for the experience should be “heavenly”. They served a small glass of red wine to pair it with the beef but we ordered additional Asahi beef for the evening.

The beef teppanyaki with bean sprout was also a class of its own. The bean sprout pan fried to perfection and coated with the fragrant beef oil. However we do prefer our own Malaysian Ipoh’s bean sprout as the Japanese bean sprout was softer and smaller in size.

For the toasted bread, they brought us a very light cream cheese. As we tasted the bread, we can taste hints of butter, the cream cheese and the taste of the Kobe beef. The chef purposely put the beef on top of the bread to let additional beef oil sunk into the bread. That was really smart.

There will be no happy ending without a cup of aromatic hot coffee.

We travelled one and half hour from Nara to Kobe for the best beef in the world and we accomplished it. Although it was expensive but the experience and the taste of it will remained in our heart and memory forever. This trip was all about experiencing Japan and we enjoyed it!

大井肉店 Address, Map and Contact:

No. 2, No. 5, 7-chome, Chuo-ku Kobe, Hyogo 元町通 〒 650-0022

Kobe, 7-2-5 TEL078 元町通 〒 650-0022-351-1011 / FAX078-351-5494 (Japanese)

Tel: 078-351-1011

http://www.oi-nikuten.co.jp (Japanese)

How to get to大井肉店:

5 minutes walk from Hanshin Kobe Nishimoto,  1 minute walk from  JR Station (Motomachi Shopping Street directions)

View 大井肉店 Famous Kobe Beef in a larger map

Earlier this year I was sponsored to travel to Victoria, Australia by Tourism Victoria and Tourism Australia. There, I met Michelle Matthews, the founder and author of “Deck of Secrets”. Launched in 2003, the decks were met with instant enthusiasm and helped reinvigorate the travel genre. Now also in digital form, the guides continue to deliver useful, engaging content in innovative formats.

Michelle Matthews showing the “Deck of Secrets”
There I was given a bar tour by Michelle Matthews and this is what the VLOG is all about. The Bar Tour with Michelle Matthews VLOG series is divided to a few videos, the first one is the Curtin House.

The entrance of the Curtin House

Curtin House is a six storey Art Nouveau building on Swanston Street in the Melbourne City. It is located at 252 Swanston St, Melbourne. Watch the video for more info. Enjoy.

You can view it at Full HD 1080p on our Youtube Channel.
We hope you enjoy the VLOG, we will be posting episode two next week. Thank you, Tourism Australia and Tourism Victoria for sponsoring us and also Michelle for volunteering to be the host.

If you wonder where is the most luxurious stay in Kuala Lumpur? The answer is simple. Carcosa Seri Negara.  Carcosa Seri Negara is a luxury five star hotel on two adjacent hills within the beautiful Lake Gardens. The hotel includes two colonial mansions, the Carcosa and the Seri Negara.

The road leading to Carcosa Seri Negara, surrounded by the lush greens of Lake Gardens.
The Carcosa mansion was built in 1896-97 as the official residence of Sir Frank Althelstane Swettenham. He was the first British High Commissioner in the Malaya. The mansion was designed by Arthur Charles Norman with a cost about $25,000 and it has more than eight bedrooms and eleven bathrooms.

The grand Carcosa Seri Negara

Seri Negara on the other hand was originally known as the Governor’s Residence when it was opened in 1913 as the official guest house of Governor of the Straits Settlement. It was later known as the King’s House and it was used as Guest’s Palace hosting many visiting dignitary such as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 1987.

We recently attended our best friend’s garden wedding there and we stayed there for a night. The English high tea in Carcosa Seri Negara is one of the best in the city and having a garden wedding there is a dream to many.

The garden wedding of our best friends, Steph and Khai
The garden wedding was a memorable one. Everyone was dressed up for the occasion. We were so happy for them and it was a beautiful garden wedding. There is no other place like Carcosa Seri Negara for a grand perfect garden wedding in Kuala Lumpur.

The vow, the ring and the kiss…

The newly wed and us, can you spot us?

The English high tea set.
The English high tea was amazing. We had Smoked Norwegian Salmon-Croissant Sandwich, Cream & Cheese with Cucumber Sandwich and Egg Sandwich. All the sandwiches are homemade whole meal loaf, walnut bread and milk bread. The pastries were Apple Crumble, Chocolate Brownies, Fresh Fruit Tartlet, Traditional English Fruit Cake, Carrot Cake and Cream Brule.

The warm plain and Raisin Scones were served with Clotted Cream and Strawberry Rose petals jam.

Thus, the party continues with a dance party set on the foyer of the mansion.

Let’s not go detail on what happened after the dance party and let me show you how the room in Carcosa Seri Negara looks like. We bet you don’t want listen about our salsa dancing story.

The interior of the hotel, colonial English.

Let’s talk about the room we stayed. The room was enormous, easily can fit a dozen people inside. As the whole mansion is built by the British, the interior still remains similar up to today.

The King Size bed in our room.
There was a King size bed on one side of the room with classic table lamp on each side. The two wooden side tables are starting to tell their ages, I guess it is time for the management to do some touch ups and maintenances.

Classic English side table with the table lamp

In case we were hungry, there were always snacks for us in the room.

The sofa in case we have guests or another great place for reading.
The other side of the room was this comfortable classic 2+1+1 seater sofa. The area was lit up with two elegant table lamps.

The working desk and did I mention they provide FREE WIFI?
There was also a nice wooden working desk. Gosh did we mention how heavy the wooden chair was? Furniture made in the past was pure quality.

The antique TV cabinet with the antique TV, they should have upgraded it to a LCD or LED TV.

The turn off in the room would be the TV. Since the TV cabinet was built to fit the old style TV set, we believed it is time for them to change it to a new LED or LCD TV. We prefer watching TV channels on HD (high definition).

We thought we seen it all until we walked into the walk-in wardrobe.

Every women’s dream, a huge walk-in wardrobe

Gosh, it was huge! Rachel wished we have this kind of walk-in wardrobe in our house. Well, I also wished we could afford a place to have such a huge walk-in wardrobe too. We wish.

This really looks grand, combination of gold and white colour.

The water tap and most of the toilet accessories were gold colour plated and look at how beautiful were the two basins.

Can you see the “golden water tap”?
The bathroom was brightened up by the natural light through the frosted windows.

There were the bathtub, the toilet and the standing shower. As we mentioned, all the toilet accessories were gold colour plated but some show signs of aging.

The standing shower and the walk-in wardrobe

We had a late night sleep after our friends joined us for a great conversation cum drinking session with our newly- wed couple.

After spending a night at Carcosa Seri Negara, we woke up late as we expected. It was a good sleep and we rested well. This was what we needed after months of long working hours.

There was a little drama when the control panel went haywire after one of the light bulbs exploded. However, the hotel staffs managed to rectify the problem within minutes. The service of the hotel staffs had been excellent.

This is where we had our breakfast at the cafe.

The cuppa of coffee to kick start the day.
We went down to the café for our breakfast as the rest of our friends had already finished theirs. We were awfully late.

The English breakfast was a set of two sunny sides up eggs with fried hash brown, chicken sausage, mushroom and tomato.

Or we could have the scrambled egg with ham, sausages, fried hash brown and tomato.

Breakfast was served with a variety of fresh fruit juices, coffee or tea. We had no complains on the breakfast.

After our amazing posh stay at Carcosa Seri Negara, you might be wondering how much a night cost? The published rate for the cheapest room at Carcosa Seri Negara was at least US$ 400 per night. Room stay might inclusive of breakfast or high tea, depending on room packages.

We stayed like the royals and lived like one for one night and it was memorable. The stay was made more unforgettable with our best friends’ garden wedding. We were heavy hearted to leave the hotel as it was one of our best stays for some time. We hope the management would do a bit of refurbishment and maintenance to keep the hotel in tip top condition.

Was it worth the dollars for the stay? It was not up to us to judge but it was definitely worth a try.

Congratulations to Steph and Khai and thanks for everything, we wish may there be a generation of children, on the children of your children.

Carcosa Seri Negara Address and Contact:

Jalan Kebun Bunga  50480 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603-2295-0888

We travelled to Singapore twice this year, and three times last year. We have been staying different places every time we went down. Some are sponsored stay and some are on our own. We been looking at options for a better stay in Singapore and we found Roomorama.com

Roomorama was founded on the principle that there is more to travel than visiting a checklist of tourist attractions. It is more than renting a hotel room as it is more like a home stay. Like our recent trip to Singapore, we stayed in a neighbourhood unlike the other times we stay in the city.

There are purely five reasons to stay in Singapore with Roomorama.com:

Convenient

There are dozens of hotel booking websites on the Internet but only a few room booking websites are available. Roomorama stands out as the better ones.

We browsed and checked almost all the available options with Roomorama. Everything is just a matter of a simple click.

At first we enquire about the availability of the room. After that, we booked (upon availability) and paid in advance with credit card or even Paypal. Payment is via secured line and transaction. Then, we received the confirmation via email and also details of the room.

The place we stayed in Singapore
The great thing about Roomorama is the interaction between the owner and us. The owner suggested to us the best places to eat and where is the nearest bus stop or the nearest MRT Station. This saved us a lot of time researching about the place or area.

When we reached there, we mentioned our confirmation code and we were good to stay. It was like a “secret code”, hassle free.

Affordable

Staying in Singapore is not cheap. In this few years, I have stayed in various types of hotels in Singapore. Budget hotels are cheap but the location is not strategic, especially planning a long stay in Singapore will cost a hole in the pocket.

Roomorama offers longer stay period than hotels and it is more affordable. You can check out their prices comparing to hotel rooms. If you want to know how their rooms look like, read on there are pictures below. Bottom line is, it is cheaper whether it is a short or long term stay with Roomorama.

Location

They are lots of options to choose from. You can choose which area you want to stay. Different neighbourhood, different pricing. Each and every single room is listed with maps (with indications of bus stations and MRT stations). You can choose the hectic city stay or quiet neighbourhood stay.

Comfortable

The room we stayed is called the Cherryloft in Serangoon. It is a service apartment in a very quiet neighbourhood.

They gave us the room with a very comfortable green view. The room comes with air-cond and cable TV, more than we ask for. There were also mineral water and working desk.

The bathroom was bright and clean. It comes with hot water and clean towels.

The view from our room. =)

We were glad that the room was clean and well maintained. Comfortable stay is very important to us. We hate smelly bedrooms and dirty toilet.

Services

We had great communications with them since we booked our stay. We received sms and email on our confirmation code before we reached Singapore. Roomorama gave us a very good impression on their services.

The receptionists in Cheffy Loft was very helpful too. As a whole, it makes our stay very easy and we enjoyed the great services. We assumed Roomorama put service as their priority.

Overall, the experience booking with Roomorama was hassle free, easy and convenient. We enjoyed our stay in Singapore with Roomorama. For those who are looking for long term stay, Roomorama is something you can consider. We are not going to say anymore, just check out Roomorama.com!

The Asian Food Channel (AFC) announced that the highly-anticipated original production, E&O Search for AFC’s Next Celebrity Search will premiere on Wednesday, 9 November 2011 at 10pm on pay TV network ASTRO, Channel 703.

The exciting 8x60min series will broadcast across nine territories to a total of 45 million viewers throughout Asia. Fans can tune in to watch as celebrity chef hopefuls, who have traveled far and wide from around the region to attend auditions in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Hong Kong, come together to compete for a chance to be AFC’s Next Celebrity Chef!

As the grueling rounds force the self-proclaimed kitchen superstars to prove their skills to gain a chance to move on step closer to the coveted title, esteemed AFC Celebrity judges watch closely from the sidelines.

AFC’s own Chef Bruce Lim and Chef Anna Olson, as well as Mr. Michael Saxon, Director, Hospitality & Lifestyle of the E&O Group, have taken on the role as celebrity guest judges for the auditions. A host of international and distinguished celebrity chefs also make surprise guest appearances as judges in selected episodes throughout the series.

Chef Bruce Lim, who stars on his own AFC Original Productions, Tablescapes and The Boss, said he’s lucky to be given the role as a celebrity judge on E&O Search for AFC’s Next Celebrity Chef, “I still remember when I was working under the tutelage of Chef Gordon Ramsay. Having him as a mentor was not only a once in a lifetime experience, it also helped to shape me into the chef that I am today. Now, the tables have turned and I have become the teacher! It is hard to believe that I am literally molding the next generation of television celebrity chefs!”

Out of the hundreds that auditioned, only a total of 35 finalists, who are revealed in the premiere episode, are chosen to travel to the luxurious Eastern & Oriental (E&O) properties in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, where the entire series was shot. E&O’s numerous hospitality and lifestyle properties such as the Eastern & Oriental Hotel and Lone Pine Hotel in Penang, the Martinique seafront villa and Straits Quay Retail Marina at E&O’s master planned township of Seri Tanjung Pinang, Penang, the St. Mary Residences in Kuala Lumpur, and last but not least, the popular Delicious restaurants in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, are all prominently featured through the programme.

Throughout the series, the contestants are put through a series of creative and tasking challenges that test their abilities in the kitchen and on the stage! Those who can’t take the heat are eliminated each week. At the end of the series, the chosen winner will be signed on to an exclusive one-year contract as an AFC Celebrity Chef who will appear on the channel. In addition, they will also be awarded the opportunity of a year-long employment contract with the E&O Group, taking on the mantle of Creative Chef, E&O Hospitality & Lifestyle Division, E&O Group.

The E&O Search for AFC’s Next Celebrity Chef series will also be complemented by a microsite dedicated to the production at http://www.asianfoodchannel.com/nextafcchef. The site will provide up-to-date information about contestants, behind the scenes pictures and weekly updates about the programme.

After the intensifying teaser preview, I had a lengthy chat with Hian Goh and Michael Saxon on the details of the TV series. In total, the production team took almost 80 days to complete the series in various locations in Malaysia. Hian personally told me that this is their biggest project up to date. Hence, Michael lost 5 kg throughout the whole filming process. We were also shown a deleted scene where Chef Bruce Lim had an argument with Michael Saxon which shocked the press and the media.It was drama, suspense and spicier than our usual “nasi lemak”!

Watching the short preview teaser will easily compare the TV series to Amazing Race Asia where contestants come from different countries throughout Asia. It will be country vs country contestants and it will be interesting and exciting to watch who will represent Malaysia and who will win the inaugural AFC’s Next Celebrity Search. Did I mention that the guest celebrity chef includes Chef Wan and Chef Emmanuel Stroobant!!!

Watch E&O Search for AFC’s Next Celebrity Search as it will premiere on Wednesday, 9 November 2011 at 10pm on pay TV network ASTRO, Channel 703.

Name: CHIEW ENG WOOI

I/C no: ****** **  5461

Due to the recent flood situation, the prize validity has extended to next year thanks to sponsor Nanyang Tours Sdn Bhd

WIN a FREE 3 Days 2 Nights P2 Boutique Hotel Bangkok Contest September 2011

We are giving away a 3 Days 2 Nights P2 Boutique Hotel Bangkok package rooms for FREE! This is our first time running a contest on PlacesAndFoods.com. For those who want to travel to Bangkok, this is your opportunity to win a FREE 3 Days 2 Nights P2 Boutique Hotel Bangkok Free Room Stay Package.

The FREE 3 Days 2 Nights P2 Boutique Hotel Bangkok package (GROUND ONLY) FOR ONE WINNER inclusive of:

2 nights accommodations based on Superior Room (twin sharing)

Daily Hotel Breakfast

Airport Hotel Return Transfer (Sit in coach)

Complimentary Half Day City Tour (Sit in Coach)

Chaophraya River Boat Cruise/ Wat Arun/ Four Face Buddha/ Local Product Outlet

Gratitude for driver and guide

Package exclusive of:

Transportation arrangements such as plane tickets or bus tickets, travel insurance and expenses.

Thailand entry visa where applicable

How do you join the contest?

1. LIKE PlacesAndFoods.com Facebook Page HERE

2. LIKE our sponsor’s Facebook Page HERE

3. You must ANSWER this question correctly, how much is the Promotion Price for this Package Tour in RM (Ringgit Malaysia) per pax? Please find the answer at sponsor’s website HERE.

4. You must SHARE this page on your Facebook Page at the bottom of this page (small little facebook button) or post this link onto your Facebook wall.

Email your answers to Wilson@placesandfoods.com

Email Title: P2 Boutique Hotel Bangkok Contest September 2011

Name & Address:

Contact Number:

Answer: RMxxx per pax

Terms and Conditions:

1. Each person is allowed to participate for one entry.
2. Winners will be picked on random based on correct entries, there will be only ONE WINNER.
3. Winner will be disqualified if they did not FULFILL the SIMPLE STEPS.
4. Winner can bring a partner (twin sharing) for the package.
5. Contest ends at 30^th September 2011. Contest winner will be announced in October 2011.
6. The FREE package is valid until 31^st December 2011 based on availability.
7. Nanyang Tours Sdn Bhd will contact the winner for the arrangements.
8. Flight arrive at BKK later than 2230hrs & depart to Malaysia before 0700 hrs, a surcharge of RM 20.00 per person per way will be imposed
9. Check in time 1400, check out time before 1200.
10. This contest is for Malaysians residing in Malaysia only.

Information about P2 Boutique Hotel Bangkok

P2 Boutique Hotel Bangkok provides budget accommodation located right on Petchburi Road in the fashion friendly Pratunam area.

The setting is very close to a BTS sky train station as well as several other shopping and tourist spots including Siam Square and the legendary MBK mall. Rooms are large and bright with stylish minimalist décor and feature modern amenities including satellite TV, mini bar and high speed Wi-Fi access. Non-smoking rooms are available on request. The onsite bar / lounge is a welcoming spot for socializing or enjoying a quiet drink.

This Bangkok hotel is about 30 minutes from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

Using Random.Org, we chose a winner with random and the lucky winner is

Name: CHIEW ENG WOOI

I/C no: ****** **  5461

Due to the recent flood situation, the prize validity has extended to next year thanks to sponsor Nanyang Tours Sdn Bhd

Few years ago, TimeOutKL introduced The Time Out KL Food Awards. With the massive support of their readers, the annual food award was an instant hit and success. Hence, for this year TimeOutKL has included a Blogger’s Choice category in The Time Out KL Food Awards 2011. Gladly, we are nominated for the Blogger’s Choice Award!

As we know Malaysians grew up with hawker food and most of us starts our day with nasi lemak or roti canai for breakfast and will visit food courts for lunch and dinner. For some reason, it is still cheaper to eat out than cooking on our own for small family.

Malaysia and particularly Kuala Lumpur is popular for its delicious hawker food. Some of the best Malaysian Chinese hawker food in Klang Valley is the famous Imbi Road Pork Noodle, Mo Sang Kor Bakuteh, Petaling Street Kim Lian Kee Charcoal Fried Hokkien Noodle, Soong Kee Beef Noodle or Ho Weng Kee Wonton Noodle? However searching and going to each and every one of them will be time consuming.

Well, look no more as Lot 10 Hutong Heritage Food Village has them and it is located at Lower Ground Floor at Lot 10 Shopping Center. I brought my parents there in many occasions and they loved it. There are 26 of the country’s best that survived 2^nd and 3^rd generations. Some people say that ”you must pay good for good food”.

However, this term can’t apply at Lot 10 Hutong as most of their food is priced less than RM 10. Thus, we would order different food from various stalls and shared it together, Malaysian style.  We also love the ambience of a mixture of modern and classic design and it is fully air conditioned.

Lot 10 Hutong Heritage Food Village is a great place for family and friends as everyone can share the best food and right after that, there are so many places to walk and shop to burn those extra calories. With great pricing and good food, Lot 10 Hutong is the best to dine-in places in town!

For all of the above we chose Lot 10 Hutong Heritage Food Village for Best Hawker Food.

Vote for us! Click the vote for us button and vote for your best restaurants in KL today!

REMEMBER TO VOTE Lot 10 Hutong Heritage Food Village for Best Hawker Food!

Wait! Do check out our friend’s recommendations for Time Out KL Food Awards 2011

 A Whiff of Lemongrass>> Time Out KL Food Awards 2011 and Prime

Babe In The City >> Time Out KL Food Awards 2011 Bloggers Choice: Vote for Al Amnah

Lot 10 Hutong Heritage Food Village Address :

LGF, Lot 10 Shopping Center,

Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur

Open Daily: 10 am to 10 pm

Non-Halal

http://www.lot10hutong.com

No credit cards and no pets.

For the past few days, I have the priviledge to experience English football or soccer fever in Malaysia. I have watched Arsenal FC vs Malaysia XI, Liverpool FC vs Malaysia XI and also Chelsea FC vs Malaysia XI.

With so much going on at the transfer market, Chelsea FC is tipped to be a strong contender for next season’s English Premier League title as well as Champions League trophy. As one of the most expensive football teams in the world, Chelsea FC arrived in Malaysia in style. They enjoyed the best Malaysia hospitality by flying with the award winning airline, the Malaysia Airlines. Chelsea FC brought their strongest squad ever only with Michael Essien missing due to injuries.

As soon as they reached their official hotel, One World Hotel, they were bombarded with hundreds of loyal Chelsea fans waiting in the lobby.

Then, I attended the press conference with other media representatives. The main of attractions of that day was Chelsea FC’s new manager, Andre Villas-Boas.

As one of the youngest and most successful manager in the world, Andre Villa-Boas expected to bring back the European Champions League title next season.

There was also a question diverted to the manager. How was the experience flying with Malaysia Airlines? Watch the video below for the answer.

Chelsea FC Press Conference in One World Hotel

I was happy to be sponsored to watch and stay with Chelsea FC. This was made possible by Malaysia Airlines with Pro Events. I stayed in One World Hotel for a few nights.

I have not stayed or review One World Hotel before so I put my expectations low. Well, to my surprise they gave me a Junior Suite.

The Junior Suite is spacious and huge. There is a living room and a comfortable bed room. There is also one LCD TV on each room.

I worked at the living room with laptop using their Internet LAN cable. There is also Internet WIFI service available.

After the press conference, I went back to suite and rest. In the evening, I went shopping at One Utama Shopping Complex which is located adjacent to the hotel. Even during late night, there are always Chelsea loyal fans waiting at the lobby trying to have a glimpse on their idols.

On the next day, I had the chance of meeting the players. As usual, the lobby is packed with Chelsea supporters. Long queue can be seen and it stretched until the elevator area.

I bought three new Chelsea jerseys for this occasion. How often I have the chance to meet all the Chelsea players and let them sign on a jersey? Even if I go to Stanford Bridge, it is tough to get the signatures of all the players and the coaches. The friendliest Chelsea player is Fernando Torres, you can read about my full experience with the players HERE.

After the “meet the player” session, I went to Stadium Nasional for a VIP training pass experience. There, I met the players again with a different situation. Read about my VIP training pass experience HERE.

On the next day, I went to watch the game with my friend Tony after my last night stay at One World Hotel. It was expected a turnout of 84,000 football fans as the tickets were completely sold out.

This time, I sat at the green zone which is located at the opposite of the VIP seats. This was my first time there. Many brought their kids for the match. Some even came prepared with their face painted.

I saw Malaysia Airlines stewardess welcoming both the Malaysian XI team and also Chelsea FC team while they exit the tunnel.
I thought it would be a high scoring game. However the game was even and many never could thought that Malaysia XI played that well. Chelsea FC won by one goal margin with a controversial goal. If not, the game could have been a draw. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the game.

For the past few days, it has been fantastic for me. The total Chelsea experience is made possible thanks to Malaysia Airlines. This will be one of the most unforgettable moments in my life.

Singapore is always popular for its cuisine. From street food to world class quality cuisine, Singapore is always considered a food hub due to its accessibility of fresh food from around the world.

Singapore was part of Malaya until they independence in 1960s. For that, Singapore is still much influenced by the Malay culture and its delicacies.

There is one famous genuine Malay food restaurant located at the KTM Railway Tanjong Pagar. However, due to the agreement with the Malaysian government, the Tanjong Pagar railway station or Keppel railway station will ceased operation next month and to be relocated to Woodland Train Checkpoint. For the loyal customers of the Malay food there, don’t worry because they have already relocated to Lau Pa Sat.

It is called So Sedap at Stall 24 in Lau Pa Sat (next to Wendy’s). Lau Pa Sat is one of the most popular food courts in Singapore because of its good food and its strategic location in the city.

Mee Soto at So Sedap

We ordered the Mee Soto for S$ 3.00. The bowl comes with generous amount of noodle and soup. Topped with spices and fried shallots, there was no lacking in taste and it is as good as it gets.

Chicken Briyani at So Sedap

It was the Chicken Briyani next for S$ 4.80. The biryani rice was fragrant and the chicken was delicious. No lacking in spicy and it compliments well with the crunchy cracking papadom. Rachel loved this as it tasted very fresh.

Ramly Burger Special at So Sedap

The biggest surprise of all was the Ramly Burger Special for S$3.00. Ramly burger special is a popular street food in Malaysia. Using Ramly brand burger patties, the patty then cooked and wrapped with egg and sandwiched between the butter toasted buns together with mayonnaise, chilli sauce, lettuce, tomato and onion. It is hard to find Ramly burger special in Singapore. So Sedap’s version of Ramly Burger Special was tastefully done, no complaints.

Rachel enjoying her feast.

If you are in Lau Pa Sat and looking for gorgeous Malay food, try So Sedap at Stall 24 just beside Wendy’s!