Salt Tapas & Bar (16Jun12)

Read & heard some good reviews + I love tapas so we couldn't wait to try this new place at Raffles City. Set up by Aussie celebrity chef Luke Mangan. Casual setting & part-alfresco. Some servers were kinda unpolished but that was okay for the lunch crowd. Wonder how they fare at dinner time. I'm sure it can get pretty crazy. Spanish music was a bit too loud.

Move on quickly to the food reviews. I wanted to order everything on the menu hee hee. Such is my weakness for tapas. Took one lunch set (free flat bread + 3 tapas) for $33.50 and everything else ala-carte. 1st tapas that we chose from the set was the tuna tartare. Love it! The sauce complements the fish very nicely. 2nd, crispy soft shell prawns which we thought weren't crispy enough. Yes it has some cruchiness but when you're talking about shells, anything less than REAL crunchy can render it unpalatable. True enough, a lady next to us started shelling the prawns. Imagine the effort and the (puny) reward. I don't think she enjoyed that! 3rd, truffle fries that garnered considerable negative reviews but which we thought were not bad. Expectations maybe? Somehow PS Cafe's truffle fries seem to capture everybody's hearts.

Beef tongue - I ordered this of course :p Who else eats such a thing? It's alright but I think won't be my first choice next time. Bone marrow - another of my favourite. It's alright as well, not crazy tasty. The generous garnishings kinda overpowered the bone marrow taste. Parma ham - super value for money! $10 an order for a significant number of pieces. Definitely a must-have.

Last but not least, alcohol. We had Spanish cava (much cheaper than champagne), 2 whites and a red (150ml each). Satisfied =)

So far there's only 2 tapas restaurants on my "keepers" list. This, as well as Sabio. I've tried Don Quijote (Dempsey), Serenity and Fandango and they're no where near.

Name: Salt Tapas & Bar

Location: #01-22A, Raffles City Shopping Centre, No 252, North Bridge Road, Singapore 179103

Expenditure: S$150 for 2 incl. alcohol

Langkawi weekend (Jun12)

To speed up my posting I'm gonna do a photoblog for this trip. Just photos and captions thank you. =)

Accommodation @ The Andaman (~220sgd a night). Just slightly worn but clean & spacious so I'm totally happy about it. Room service char kway teow is tasty. Photos courtesy of my sis.

Started the day with a morning swim and spotted our first animal - a carefully camouflaged flying squirrel!

Hotel provided free shuttle (prior booking required) to town area: monwedfri to Kuah Town & tuesthurssat to Cenang Beach if I'm not wrong. Pick-up at 11am and back from town at 4pm. We went on a sat and were dropped off at the Underwater World after a 33km 40mins ride. Simple seafood lunch at Langkawi Eagle House. Nothing special but decent food at least.

Motorcycle convoy spotted (some travelled from as far as Singapore). Followed by the Cenang Beach itself where lots of water activities were going on. Then massage and fish spa at a spa joint beside the restaurant. Good service. Went back twice. First attempt at being gnobbled by fishes. Nobody said it was this ticklish! (see expression on face)

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Other photos of hotel and its surroundings: Corridor. Restaurant front. Volleyball court among the trees. Swimming pool. Evening at the beach. Sunset. Humongous lizard. Elderly monkey ♥

Langkawi Cable Car & Oriental Village. Not to be missed!! So much more enjoyable than expected. Too bad the suspended Skybridge was closed for maintenance. I love the blue that engulfed us. Not for the faint-hearted though. Feels higher than the stated 700m above ground.

Other information:

• Seven Wells Waterfall might be worth a visit, although we could see it at a distance from the cable car.
• Dragon Dynasty Restaurant near Kuah Town. Chinese seafood. Air-conditionned. Cheap and good. Love the signature crispy duck.
• Langkawi Taxi (http://taxilangkawi99.blogspot.sg/): Super convenient to book a taxi for the day. It's like having your own car/van without having to drive it. Price is 210rm for 7 hours (add 50rm if you stay at the faraway Andaman hotel like us).

Tokyo/Kyoto Apr12 - Day 5

Booked a Kyoto 4-Day Train & Hotel Package by Hikari Shinkansen on JAPANiCAN.com (way in advance as well). JPY28,400 (S$450) per person. We chose the Late Departure option whereby the bullet train departs between 1030am to 1210pm - a much more comfortable timing. The tickets and final itinerary were delivered to our Tokyo hotel 2 days prior to departure. You can find out more about the package on their website.

It took us about 45-60mins to get from our hotel to the Shinjuku station then to Tokyo station and finally to the Shinkansen platform. DON'T BE LATE because the trains, despite running on a tight schedule, are super duper punctual! They arrive on the dot, stop for approx. 3 mins, then off they go.. no questions asked. Efficiency's the word man.

It took almost 3 hours to get to Kyoto but the ride was very comfortable. Huge leg space with recline seats. The high frequency also means that the trains are not too crowded, so it's easy to relax and perhaps catch a nap. The pushcart that's supposed to serve food and drinks is quite miserable though, so be sure to prepare some solid snacks for the journey.

The hotel (called Hotel Hokke Club Kyoto) included in the package is located right opposite the Kyoto Station. Perfect! Upon arriving at the station at 130pm, we lugged our baggages and walked there. Check-in time is strictly 3pm so we went off to have lunch in the vicinity.

Initially S and I were very fearful about the condition of the "free" hotel. But what can I say, hotels in Japan are really, more often than not, clean & pleasant. No frills, no windows, but excellent location. So no complaints :) Everyone was a bit tired from the commute so we stayed in and r&r until night time. Because they're so many attractions to visit in Kyoto, I decided that we had to start somewhere that night. And Yasaka Shrine it is. Was very happy to find that this place is always open! Phew. Just strolled around in the nice cool air.

We walked further in until we found the Maruyama Park (see, killing 2 birds with 1 stone). I knew immediately that this would be the highlight of my trip. Look at how beautiful it is. I love everything about a) the brightly illuminated pink flowers b) the temporary platforms & tables for dining c) kneeling/sitting cross legged traditional style d) cold weather f) hot pot g) hot sake and h) the light-hearted atmosphere! It's a hefty price for the "cover charge" (JPY500 per person) for dining at the tables so if you want to save on it, bring your own picnic gear and plomp yourself somewhere near, like what all the local youngsters did :) This is one truly memorable experience.

And of course, not forgetting the famous Weeping Cherry Tree. Looking at other photos online, I'm convinced that this tree looks better at night with that pitch black background and the flowers being the only illuminated object around. ♥