Perth 2013 - Day 2 - Caversham Wildlife Park, Lobster Shack, Pinnacles dessert, Sand dunes of Lancelin

Day 2 marks the actual start of our trip in Perth. We booked a tour day via this website for a Full Day Pinnacles, Koalas and Sand Boarding 4WD Adventure before we departed. This tour costs AUD215 and top up another AUD15 and you will get a lobster lunch (plus a can of coke). Trust me, unless you are allergy to lobster or seafood, you should just upgrade to the lobster lunch. Most of our travel mates ended up paying AUD30 for the lobster lunch and that was on top of the normal lunch (I think is chicken or beef with salad). 

Okay, back to the morning. We woke up pretty early as the pick up timing for the trip was at 7.20am. Having researched for cafe that opens in the early morning, we had intended to visit Miss Maud Apple Straduel which is located two junctions away from our hotel. But at the first junction, I was happy to see a familiar shop - PIE FACE. I tried this in Melbourne some years back and I remembered them serving delicious pies at affordable price. Without further ado, we went to the shop to see if it is open. I'm glad we did!

I ordered the chicken & mushroom pie -  served piping hot and they are generous in their fillings. The crust was fluffy. Overall, PIE FACE has yet to let me down so far!

Pie Face

After the pick up at 7.20am, we were brought to the retail shop of the company. There, we were directed to another bus for our tour. It was quite a wait that we left for the tour at about 8.30am. What a waste of time - if only, we could have find our way there instead of being picked up at 7.20am. 

The first stop was to the Caversham Wildlife Park in the Swan Valley to view koalas and hand feed kangaroos. Some years back in Melbourne was my first encounter with Kangaroos. I thought they were really cute and were not afraid of humans. This time round at Caversham Wildlife Park, they are allowed to roam freely in their enclosed area. With us around, I guess they know they are up for treats. Following us and eating from our hands, they are simply lovely bunch of animals. They do not hop like what we see on TV, but they are still adorable. 

Koalas, on the other hand, totally ignored us. Sleeping is a super huge part of their life and well I guessed we were in luck when we saw the eyes of Koalas. We could not go near them but we were allowed to feel them with our back hand. Cool! Nice way to interact with animals! 

Caversham Wildlife Park in the Swan Valley

Well, I did not really like this segment of the trip - the Lobster Shack - but I enjoyed the food though. One of the best food I had in Perth. We had a tour of the live lobster processing plant which we put on the audio guide. Nothing fanciful, nothing that I remembered clearly except the big lobsters reared in the plant. But the lobster was great - remember to top up AUD15 when you purchase the item. 

Come the lobster meal consists of half a lobster. 3 lobster cakes, hot chips, salad and a drink. They were prepared right in front of you and of course, served piping hot. The lobster meat was clearly fresh and tender. The lobster cakes, though fried, you can still feel the freshness. The salad was a good way to reduce the sinful hot chips! I enjoyed the meal totally! Did I mentioned, a can of coke cost AUD3 and thus, we got the coke to go with the meal.

Lobster Shack

Covering 17,491 hectares, the Nambung National Park is home to Western Australia's renowned Pinnacles Desert. It is really a natural phenomenon with thousands of huge limestone pillars rise out of a stark landscape of yellow sand. Totally amused by the scenery, totally impressed that the dessert is still well-maintained though I think the limstone will slowly evolved further in future -  what we saw back then will totally be different if we were to see it all over again!

Pinnacles Desert at Nambung National Park

Another highlight of the trip would definitely be the Sand dunes of Lancelin - massive white sand dunes, the biggest in Western Australia. It was the first time I tried sandboarding. It was really cool but remember to bring your shades along! You could barely open your eyes without shades. But you need to walk up the sand slope first - Minutes to walk up, seconds to come down. Totally love the experience. Before the sandboarding, we were 'treated' to a 'roller-coaster' ride in the 4WD coach. Super! But the downside was - you were be filled with sands for the journey back!

Sand dunes of Lancelin

After the bus trip back to Perth City, it was already around 7pm. Time to dinner hunt. After walking down Murray Street, we decided to walk into Breve Cafe & Bar - it is the few shops that are open and serve FOOD. Looking at the long list of items they serve, we decided to order the Avocado Quesadilla with waffle as desserts. We did not really want to over order for dinner as we deemed servings in Australia to be quite big a portion for us. Furthermore, we love to snack!

Alright - I have to say, it is the first time I tried Quesadilla. It was quite nice with the meat filling and the avocado spread completed the taste experience. The waffle with ice-cream was a pleasant way to end the tiring day. 

Breve Cafe & Bar

Address:
Pie Face -
110 William St, Perth WA 6000
Breve Cafe & Bar -
158 Murray St, Perth WA 6000

Taiwan 2013 - Day 4 - Kenting

Day 4 was the co-trip with a couple from the USA. And we went for a trip round Kenting. 

First of all, we started the day with the east coast of Kenting - 船帆石 (Sail Rock). See the natural phenomenon, does it look like a face? Cool, and with the blue sky white clouds accompanying us, it was really great. There is also an exhibition centre near the place where you can learn more about the sand and the place.

Next up, we went to the 鑾鼻燈塔 (Eluanbi Lighthouse) which is within the Eluanbi park. We spent almost 3 hours in the place. There is admission fee to the place but it was not that expensive (I forget how much that was). The lighthouse is considered one of the most popular icons in Kenting. Though we could not enter the lighthouse for a better view of the place, the lighthouse itself blended well with the sky. Within the park, you can take a trail along the sea and enjoy the sea breeze and view. After some walk, we reached the next phenomenon - 鹅銮鼻公园的亲吻石. The 2 rocks seems to be kissing and that's how it got the name for it. 

Top:  1. 船帆石 (Sail Rock), 2. 鑾鼻燈塔 (Eluanbi Lighthouse) 3.鹅銮鼻公园的亲吻石
Bottom: 1. 臺灣最南點 (Southern Most Tip of Taiwan) 2.龍磐 (Long Pan) 3. 风吹沙

Following up, we went to the most southern tip of Taiwan - 臺灣最南點. Kenting is at the southern part of Taiwan and there we went to the most southern tip of Kenting. Did not get to take much photos there as there were a crowd of tourists there as well.  But well, we needed to walk for 10 minutes in order to reach the place - that's how deep we needed to reach the tip. 

For a relaxing view, we were brought to 龍磐. We were facing the big sea with nothing to block our view. The wind was strong and the place was really amazing. It seemed that we owned the sea, the land and the sky. I really hoped I could stay there the whole day, relaxing and doing nothing but to stare blankly at the sea. 

Next up was another phenomenon - 风吹沙. How did the place gotten its name. It seems that the sand at the beach is blown up by the big wind and slowly with time, the sand covers the piece of land and slowly forms what we see now. WOW, imagine how strong the wind is in order to make the light sand 'flew' such a long distance. 

Time for lunch at 2pm was well, making us hungry. We were brought to 恆春古城 (Hengchun Ancient City). This is an old town but it was made popular after a movie Cape No. 7 (海角七號) was filmed there. The guide recommended us to try the local dessert - 绿豆蒜. For a hot day, this cold icy dessert really made my day. We did not have any staple food as we were told that he would bring us to a seafood place for meal. 

So we took the time to explore the place like the stand alone southern gate that was left, the house which the male lead lived in in the movie - you need to pay a fee to step into the house and well, we did not since we were not into the craze. 

Top: 1. 恆春古城 (Hengchun Ancient City) 2. 南门  (Southern Gate)
Bottom: 1. 阿嘉的家 (Ah Ga’s house), 2. 绿豆蒜

After our seafood, it was time for sunset. We reached 白沙灣, Baisha Bay. Okay, remember the movie,  Life of Pi? One of the film locations was at this Baisha Bay. Taiwan is really a great and nice place for film making. 

Some of the sunset I took along the way and at 白沙灣, Baisha Bay

After 白沙灣, Baisha Bay, it was time to head back to our minsu. After some wash up, we headed back to our food street for dinner. Seriously, we still had many food that we had yet to try. The highlight for the night was the stinky tofu. It was really delicious! The cheese shrimp balls was not that bad but too bad, the lady boss was not flexible enough. There was this tourist lady who liked to try mixed flavours, and paying at a premium price but the boss rejected. Wonder if it was communication breakdown or that the lady boss believed that certain sauce can only go with certain ingredients and that's why she was not willing to compromise. The pan fried dumpling was special - normally we always had the steamed kind. The boss even told us that he has relatives staying in Singapore. So coincidental!. 

Food, Food and more food
1. 臭豆腐　2. Cheese Shrimp Balls, 3. Pan fried dumpling 

The food street ended our night in kenting and time to pack up for our Kaoshiung! Kenting, you have been very nice to us with all the great food and the great weather, we will miss you!

Grub @ Bishan Park

When you asked me to dine at the park, the first thing that comes to my mind is PICNIC. But I was wrong. There is a café, GRUB, situation at Bishan Park which is recently opened on 1 May 2013. I have not heard of this place at all but a cafe in the park sounds great. Basically, it is not a very big café and they do not take reservations. Thus, do make your way earlier to avoid disappointment. And, do bear in the mind while waiting for a table to feast, the mosquito might be feasting on you first. I guess that is the only downside of having a café close to nature. 

The menu is not very extensive and they do offer breakfast. Not a bad choice for brunch on weekends. For dinner, there are either burgers (which comes with French fries and there are a couple of optional add-ons to the burger) or main course. As we are going for handcraft beer (which costs S$10 each and the variety is quite good and the waitress might be introducing you some that are off the list. So do ask whether they have any special beer in store), I decided to order the Slow Roasted Pork Belly with mango sauce, mash, cherry tomato salsa. I assumed that the pork belly will be oily and the beer could just help me wash off the oiliness. 

Slow Pork Belly

I was not disappointed with this dish – it is not oily at all. Soft and tender could be used to describe the pork belly. It practically ‘melted’ in my mouth. The refreshing mango sauce gave the dish a sweetness element. Sitting on a bed of mash potato, this dish is awesome. The portion, however, is rather small but aren’t we glad that it leaves some space in the stomach for their desserts! 

Churros

Churros with dark chocolate and tangy creme anglaise There aren’t many cafes in Singapore selling Churros (Spanish doungnut). I remembered the last time I had churros was at Universal Studio Singapore last year. It took quite a while to serve this dish but it was pipping hot when it was served. Wonder if they missed out on the order or they actually fried it only upon order. They were crispy on the outside but soft and fluffy on the inside. It came with 2 dips, the dark chocolate and tangy creme anglaise. Personally, I prefer the tangy creme anglaise sauce. It brings out a refreshing taste but I guess maybe it is due to the fact that I love dishes that have fruits elements in it. 

Waffle

The Belgium waffle is served with grilled banana and salty caramel and dark chocolate sauce Similar to churros, the waffle was soft yet crispy on the outside. The combination of chocolate sauce and salty caramel gives the dish a sweet yet savoury taste. Really went well with the waffle. The banana was grilled (yes, grilled, not just plain fresh banana for display) and it was fantastic. 

This is not a bad place to chill but it is a bit out of the way and they allow pets in their outdoor sitting area. So it could be a good place for dog-lovers to bring their pets to join in the gathering with friends and family! 

Grub
510 Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 (Bishan Park 1)
Singapore 569983

Blue Blue Sky!

I love looking at the blue blue skies and love how the different trees complement the visual against the sky. It would be great when there are clouds especially those candy floss clouds. So fluffy, so carefree high up in the sky.

 Working in an office environment make it hard for us to appreciate the blue sky. We could have stepped into the office when the sky just got lighted up and when we knock off, the sky has turned dark to welcome the moon and stars. It's great to have the weekend where I can stare blankly into the sky, doing nothing but clearing up the busy mind that had worked hard over the weekdays... Blue blue sky... I love you!

Remembering the days in June when we encountered the haze. Those days were bad. The clear blue sky was gone and gave a gloomy feel to everyone. When the news mentioned about the return of the haze, it unintentionally affected my mood. But aren't we glad now that we are still seeing the blue sky. Though it is scorching hot in the afternoon, I rather the sky stays as it is now!

Some of the shots i captured while waiting for the bus at the different bus-stops around Singapore.

Blue Sky