Play On, Johann, Play On!

Long long time ago, when I was still straddling my bike to school, I will come home and hear The Blue Danube played over my late dad's tailor shop. He may have one of the best hi-fi in the 70s. Blaring out hits of western classical music, ironically, influenced through all the Cantonese melodrama of the silver screens. Imagine Patrick Tze Yin with Chan Poh Chu, the golden darlings of the 60s, waltzing to Johann Strauss The Blue Danube.

The melodic expression through the flare of the dancer's gown, the flow of her sweeping sequins, round and round the dancers will go, the rhythm lingers on long long time after.

When I stood in front of Johann Strauss world famous bronx statue in Stadtpark in the city of Vienna, round and round, The Blue Danube, danced in my head.

We stayed in Hilton Vienna Hotel, Stadtpark is situated just across the street from the hotel. Visiting Stadtpark was not in our Insight Tour Eastern Europe tour itinerary. The day we were on the city tour, I was curious to see a group of Asian tourists walking into the Park. I wondered what was so great about the Park that the group made it as their visiting stop. While our bus was moving, I looked across the garden and I could make out the little bronx statue, a figure I was sure I had seen it somewhere. Immediately, I pulled at Peter's sleeve and asked him to look too. And there it was, gleaming in the morning winter sun, the violin on his shoulder, standing rhythmically astute.

I got excited. Since we didn't have time that day, I told Peter we will wake up early the next morning to take a stroll to the park.

Hilton Vienna had one of the best breakfast spread in Europe. Hot breakfast too. We had our noodles (yes, noodles in Vienna, for breakfast, what a joy, coming from Malaysia!) We were very satisfied with Insight Tour. The hotels were top class and close to the city. Walking distance to many exciting shopping malls and interesting sites.

It was freezing in February. But I wanted to see the statue. This was our last day in Vienna, so I better make the best of the time before boarding the city airport train. The train station is strategically situated just in front of the hotel, so making walking everywhere really convenient. (We took Easyjet : London-Vienna-London)

The Park was beautiful, even in winter. I was astonished the statue was small. I always thought that it will be a big one. I think it is maybe 2 feet taller than me if I were to stand beside it on the platform. Nevertheless, it was very inspiring, knowing that a great musician was once forbade by his own father not to play the violin, and his tenacity has turned him into the Waltz King as we know him now.

Amazing photos at Lantau Island, Hong Kong

As I walked up the 268 steps to the statue, this is a picture taken with Canon IXUS 860IS, 28mm wide angle lens. I captured the offerings by devas to Buddha. And the clouds open up to receive the blessings too. I like this picture. I cropped it and made it into a black and white shot. It gave it the wow factor.

I have been to Lantau Island many times. Each time when I am in Hong Kong, I will take the whole day to just be in Lautau Island. Waking up late, take it slowly, finishing a hefty crunchy beef ball noodles with all the beef's "spare parts". Order myself a tall glass of Hong Kong lady's panty-hose milk tea, which has a distinctive taste that only Hong Kong can create that so far.

Then, take the MRT to Central Pier for the ferry to the Island. Upon reaching, alight a bus that will take almost an hour to reach the foot hill of the world's largest bronx Buddha statue. (About 2 years ago, MRT has extended its service to Lantau Island, but you still need to take the 1-hour bus to the peak.)

From here, it was a full array of inspirational photo taking.

The last trip was exceptionally art-stimulating. There were plenty of flags planted at the Heaven's Altar (Tian Tan). The Heaven's Altar is the smaller version of the one many tourists will visit in Beijing's Forbidden city. The Hong Kong flags made a significant display enhancing the composition of the pictures.

This one I took it standing at the edge of the Heaven's altar looking up at the Buddha statue, accentuating the sky with its peaceful glow.

This is another picture taken as I walked the trail at the Heart Sutra, 38 obelisks planted on the shoulder of Lantau Peak. It is about 20 minutes walk from Po Lin Manastery. It was only open to the public in 2005. I have been there twice.  I purposely tint it to orange so that the silhouette of the person sitting on the rock stands out conspicuously. Thus, adding a sense of care-free spirit.

Noah's Ark in Hong Kong

Noah's Ark has docked in Hong Kong.

Apparently, it is the biggest replica of the biblical famous Ark in the world today. It opened middle of 2009. When I was there end Sept, I just needed to make a trip there to see it myself. Moreover, taking a trip to Ma Wan island (also known in English as Park Island) where it is located, is in itself a breezy weekend walkabout.


There are quaint little shops the moment I got down from the ferry. I took the ferry from Central Pier 2 to Ma Wan Island. On my way back, I realized that taking the ferry from Tsuen Wan is closer to the MRT station and also cheaper. It is HK$20 from Central to Park Island, one-way. From Tsuen Wan, it is only HK$8 one-way.

It was an easy getaway from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong activities, you can stroll freely on the road or just walk by the beach. There are hardly traffic plying the road. I guessed maybe it was a weekday. Many would have left for work.

What I don't understand is the location of the Ark, why is it built almost below the Tsing Yi bridge. It is underneath the highway leading to the airport. Even taking a picture will definitely frame in the bridge in the background.

Felt like Tokyo when in Hawaii

 

Waikiki Beach is such a breeze to do a walkabout. The beach is clean, full of shopping malls, beautiful things and people to watch out for. There is also an Apple flagship store just a few yards away from the beach. Imagine going into Apple shop in your Hawaiian blue floral shirt and crocs flip-flop with a straw hat, getting into the grooves of i-this and i-that. The feeling is 500GB vs SPF60, zap on the music and slap on the sunscreen lotion.

Somehow the feeling in Waikiki (not the whole of Honolulu) was not American, it was like walking in the streets of Tokyo minus the population and the neon lights, speaking English but reading Japanese, eating American foods in Hawaii but eavesdrop Japanese chit-chat. 

Strange!?

There are more Japanese writings and Japanese people in Hawaii than, I think, anywhere else in the world outside Japan, per sq m space.

For a while, I was confused, was I in Waikiki or on the beach in Odaiba. Everywhere I looked, there were signboards, flyers, buntings, banners etc all in Japanese.  At one of the biggest mall in Waikiki - Ala Moana Hawaii Centre, almost all their eatery counters have their signs in foreign language, Korean too.

Nevertheless, the beauty of these clusters of island that formed the archipelago, being so divinely protected exclusively by the Pacific Ocean, is blessed with so many natural wonders. Great place to just unwind and not to worry if you have covered any other places in Hawaii. Being in Honolulu alone is all that is - for the time being! 

A Sunday Tea Time Treat - Apple Strudel

 

Merdeka holiday was truly relaxing. Sat, Sun and Mon, the traffic in Kuala Lumpur during the holidays was so free. Getting to places within minutes. So easy that I found too much time to spare, even after watching a few shows on TV, ran a few errands and meeting up friends for meals. Then, I decided to bake - hmmmm...., took out some cookbooks, browsed through them and found Apple Strudel. Oh, that was easy, I thought. Got the ingredients and created a perfect Strudel for a Sunday tea time treat. 

Since I posted these photos on Facebook, I have received many of my friends asking me for the recipe. So, here goes :

Apple Strudels

• 4 green cooking apples
  
• 30g butter
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• ¼ cup sugar
• ½ cup sultanas
  
• 2 sheets ready-rolled puff pastry
• ¼ cup ground almonds
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons soft brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 220℃. Brush two oven trays with melted butter or oil. Peel, core and thinly slice apples. Heat butter in a medium pan; add apples and cook 2 minutes until lightly golden. Add orange juice, honey, sugar and sultanas. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and apples are just tender. Remove from heat and cool completely.
2. Place a sheet of pastry on flat work surface. Fold in half; make small cuts in folded edge of pastry at 2cm intervals. Open out pastry and sprinkle with half of the ground almonds. Drain away liquid from the apples and place half of the mixture in the center of the pastry. Brush edges with egg and fold together, pressing firmly.
3. Place strudel on prepared tray seam-side down. Brush top with egg and sprinkle with half of the combined sugar and cinnamon. Repeat process with other sheet and remaining filling. Bake 20-25 minutes or until pastry is golden and crisp.

This is my experience and suggestions :

• Puff pastry to be moved from freezer to lower fridge (chill room) to thaw. Remove from fridge only when ready to roll. I took 2 pieces out of the fridge, when one made a perfect strudel, the other had softened so much it was impossible to fold and got sticky too, so it got out of shape. But still taste fantastic.
• I took a little longer to make because this was my first time making apple strudel. With this experience, it will be easier the second time. In fact, making this is so easy, within an hour, we can have a mouth-watering dessert with a dollop of vanilla ice-cream. Next time, I can prepare the filling a day before or earlier, then fold it with the pastry, bake it, just perfect for an after-dinner dessert.
• Next time, I may try to use other fruits, like pear, instead of apple. Also, freeze dried cranberries instead of sultanas. Yeah, and maybe use more than 1 type of fruits, hmmm...
• Instead of putting the strudels on the surface of a baking tray, I placed a piece of aluminum foil on the tray, buttered it and sprinkle with flour, then place the strudels on top. After baking, the strudels can be removed easily and save me from washing the tray, just dispose of the foil.
  

175 years famous Sacher Torte, Vienna

Can you imagine having a cake that was made famous in 1832?
People from all over the world still highly recommend it especially when you are in Vienna?
A cake that is famous for 175 years? Unbelieveable.

But I must say, when you are seated in a cafe that reminisce the time of the renaissance, where the Queen has her tea in the garden and pastries are served with “Wiener Melange” (coffee with milk), you know you epitomize the elite group that spurred from the upper lips of the distinguished people who just love fine foods.


When the bus turned into Wien (Vienna as being called in German, which is their official language), our Czech guide told Peter and I that we must try the Sacher Torte, lest we have not set foot in Vienna. It is like saying if you have not tasted asam laksa, you cannot say that you have been to Penang. (Sacher is pronounced sa-her)



It was kind of nice, actually, to alight from the bus and saw Cafe Sacher, which is a hotel that was founded since 1876. I was so fascinated, bewildered somewhat, like everything seems to be in the 18th or 19th century in Vienna.  A tiny entrance that has a charming demeanor led us into its cloakroom first. My gosh, they have a cloakroom and a butler who takes our jacket. This service costs us €1 (RM4.50, just like parking your car) per jacket and you must leave it in the cloakroom, jackets are not permitted in the dining lounge.

The Sacher Torte is a soft chocolate cake with apricot jam in the chocolate icing. I am sure there are some secret ingredients that made it to be so world famous and mouth watering. If you buy it off the shelf, it is packed in a wooden box with the Sacher seal for originality. You can buy it at the airport or airflown to your home if you order online.

We wanted to just eat it fresh with “Wiener Melange” and enjoy its hotel ambiance. So, even if the whole Sacher experience costs us about €25 (RM115.00), I must admit that it is uniquely a Franz Sacher's feeling (the 16-year-old young chef who created it 175 years ago). The sweetness and the ingenuity of it will stay at the tip of my tongue for a long long time.

When you are in Vienna, ask every Viennese for the great Sacher Torte, I am sure they will be so glad as to lead you to the famous Hotel Sacher.

10 days in Bali

Since I come home from Bali, friends were appalled when I told them I was there for 10 days :


"You were alone-ah? Traveling alone, good meh?"
"What did you do, having 10 days in Bali?"
"Bali very small island, what can you do there? 10 days, such a long time."

I was with a group of friends for the first 5 days, then they left and I moved to other parts of Bali on my own.


Bali is a big island compared to Pulau Pinang or Singapore. It is almost 19x the size of Penang Island  and almost 9x the size of Singapore.  You can find practically everything you want for a great holiday escapade in Bali : trekking, nature walks, mountains, temples, volcanoes, art, shopping, temples, food, organic stuff, temples, biking, cycling, temples, padi fields, 7-star spa resorts, temples, surfing, para-sailing, scuba diving, snorkeling, temples......really, everything you want for a good time.


I have been to Honolulu, Hawaii and I was in Kuta, Bali. I would say that what Hawaii is to the West, Bali is offering it to the South Pacific, maybe minus a few G-strings and Biceps. But at a fraction of the cost for Asians, Bali is still the best choice.


I like this description from one of the website about the island which many Balinese are Hindu : "Bali is a society of hamlets clustered around temples. Bali as a culture organism, the villages are its vital organs, and the network of temples its nervous system."


Where did I go in Bali?


Kuta -  south : beach resort, sun, sea, water sports, thousands of tourists, constantly jam packed with people, action place.


Ubud - centre : art town, handicraft, creative stuff, organic foods, spa, spiritual activities, yoga, nature walks, great food especially Babi Guling, Bebek Betutu and Bebek Bengil.

Mt Batur - north east : temples, Pura Penulisan, Pura Gunung Kawi (Water Temple), mountainous terrain, restaurants on side of cliffs.


Mt Agung - north east : mountain scenery, cool air, Besakih Temple, lunch en route is best.


Amed - east : beachside resorts, azure sea, hardly anyone around, beautiful beach and lovely villagers.


Mt Lempuyang - east : about 3,000 ft above sea level, a sacred Balinese once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage trek up, with more than 1,000 steps to the summit with 6 temples along the way.


Candidassa - east : beach resort, spa resort, small place but lots of restaurants.


Tanah Lot - south west : temple in the middle of the ocean, great sunset viewing point.


Uluwatu - south : temple perched on a cliff, beautiful sunset and sunrise viewing point.


Sanur, Jimbaran, Nusa Dua - all beachside resorts.


So many things to do in Bali, all alone to enjoy it. Hmmm....so in touch...

Even having breakfast on the beach under a coconut tree, banana pancake with honey, fried egg and coffee + the breeze from the idyllic sea at 7 on a bright and sunny morning, makes it all worthwhile to live.