Category Archives: Travel

Miss Marple’s Tea Room – Dandenong Melbourne, Australia

14 Friday Nov 2014

Posted by in Australia, Gastronomy, Oversea Restaurants, Travel

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It has been raining everyday in KL now for the past few days. I love rainy day (but hate the traffic caused by it), especially if it’s raining in the evening. It always makes me feel like late winter in Melbourne. I love the fresh earthy smell and also it makes it so much cozier to snuggle in my warm bed and blanket at night.

For some reason, this also reminds me of Scones in Dandenong !

Don’t ask me why?! During my 6 years staying there, I somehow always end up going to Dandenong during late winter ! Maybe it’s because it’s usually low-peak season… And this means most shops are less crowded, including the famous Miss Marple’s Tea Room. Or maybe, I just love the air in Dandenong during that time of the year.

This quaint little place is furnish to ooze the typical English tea room. Walls are lined with a row of teapots, old mementos and nick nacks. At the back of the room, there’s an actual fireplace. Thankfully, most of the time we are there, it’s so empty that we get to sit really close to the fireplace. (Mum love it)

Miss Marple is famous for their Devonshire scones. Please note that personally, I won’t call it scones because it bears nothing like scones. lol… I remember the first time I had it, I was shock !!! IT looked more like a huge slab of raisin bread that tasted like a dense ‘fatt kou’ (it’s a sweet chinese steam cake normally used for special occasion).

Scones !!!

Yes – That huge slab of square loaf thingy… it’s the so-call scone. LOL….But overtime, I kind of got used to it and rather enjoy it. I love the combination of the whip cream and sweet tart jam spread over the chunky loaf.

Aside from their famous scones… I love their Belgian waffle. Crispy on the outside, soft and moist inside. nom nom nom… Belgian Waffles

Please beware that during peak season / hour, the queue to get in can be quite scary. I am not a fan of queueing up. So, I’ll usually skip Miss Marple if there’s any queue… But, if you are visiting Melbourne and is in Dandenong, why not give it a try?

Our usual Spread

Café de la Paix – Paris, France

19 Sunday Oct 2014

Posted by in France, Gastronomy, Oversea Restaurants, Travel

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Because of its location, this restaurant screams tourist trap! But, do I care? NO…

I love this place.Cafe de la Paix

Smack right next to the Opera metro station, it is so convenient to reach this restaurant. This restaurant is usually quite full during dinner time. I think it’s from the theatre-doing crowd. So, do call in to make reservation in advance to ensure a pleasant start to your evening. (I hate waiting in a line). OR, like hubby and me, we usually dine REALLY (for European standard) – early around 6:30pm.

I absolutely love the tall romantic columns and classy finishing of this place. The service here is great – maybe a tad slow sometimes because of the crowd. But, if you are enjoying yourself in such an amazing environment, whey rushes dinner? Sit back, relax and enjoy each other company!

Waiting to be seated

From our seat

Aside from the usual French fare, Café de la Paix also serves seafood platter. And, if you know me… you will know I NEVER say no to seafood platter. Since it’s just the 2 of us, and we had a rather late lunch, we decide to just order their Plateau “Café de la Paix”.

Look at the AWESOME fresh seafood. Nom nom nom…  I will let the pictures speaks for itself. How can anyone resist this?! Freshly shucked Oysters of few varieties, Fresh Clams, Baby prawns, langoustine, brown crab (tourteau) and sea snails (bulot). You can’t spot some of them because it’s hidden beneath the langoustine. But, hub and I was seriously stuffed after all that.

Seafood Platter 02

Seafood Platter 01

Langoustine

If you want your own combinations, feel free to let them know. They have tons of fresh seafood on display outside their window.

Bountiful Seafood Oyster Galore

This place definitely remains my favourite whenever I drop by Paris. But do take note, this place is not cheap. But, I think it’s worth the experience… And, if you do drop by Paris on a romantic holiday – why not?! 😉

My First and maybe Last trip to Disneyland – Tokyo Disneyland, Japan

08 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by in Japan, Travel

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This blog post have been sitting in my to-post list for ages… almost 6 years actually! (hehehe…) So, it’s kind of an out-dated one. But since it has been AGES since my last post (more then 6 months), I figure it’s better than nothing. LOL.

When I was young… I always dream of going to Disneyland. It was like one of my ultimate wish. But unfortunately, that dream didn’t materialised until much later. During one of my business trip to Japan, I had 2 days of free and easy slotted right in between meetings. After discussing with my Japanese colleague, he insisted we head to Disneyland when he found out I have never been to one. I was not very keen as I am not a fan of rides or crowd. But, he won. So, we went.

Arriving at the Resort Gateway Station, we took the Mickey Mouse monorail to the main entrance. Resort Gateway Station

Look how cute, the iconic Mickey ears for windows. Mickey Mould window on Train

This was how much the ticket cost in 2008. But, bear in mind that Japanese yen is much stronger then compare to today. One day adult ticket in 2008 was 5,800Yen (which was about MYR230+ then). Today, the same ticket in 2014 is about 6,400Yen (about MYR 190+). So, for those thinking of heading to Japan… now is a good time! (aside from the radiation worry and etc…) Disneyland Ticket price

It was near to Christmas when I go so the whole place was deck with Christmas decoration. They even created snowman Mickey!!! It’s so weird…but still cute. LOL.

DSC04946 DSC04947 DSC05055Since I am not a fan of rides, I think I only went for 2 or 3… really SLOW rides. I didn’t want to spend the whole day hugging the dustbin and throwing up. My colleague was not impressed and he was really embarrassed when I force him to go on the merry go round with me… Hahaha.

What I really enjoy most was checking out the structures and amazing colors of the decorations. How can you not love the iconic Disney Castle, right? DSC04995DSC04959 DSC05014 DSC05017

There were 2 highlights for me during this visit.

The parades in the afternoon and evening. It’s very different. So, I think it’s good to stay for the evening parades as well… Just make sure you dress warmly (in winter) and grab a spot at the front before it starts. The evening show ended with amazing fireworks. DSC05050  DSC05125

And, Meeting Mickey Mouse., of course !!! BUT, I had to stay in the queue for almost 1 hours for that ! And, I was already lucky since everyone rush out from their queue when the afternoon parade started. I decided to forgo the whole parade and ran to queue and meet Mickey.

Did I enjoy myself? Yes – it was ok. Just not as great or fantastic as I hope. Maybe the novelty has already worn off.

Would I go Disneyland again? Maybe not… but then, who knows… never say never.DSC05063