Cliff(y) Goes Dining

Eat breakfast like Middle Eastern royalty! Here's my last post of 2017! It's said that Naseef Café has been serving one of the best homemade mango ice cream since 1920. In addition, it also serves a particular breakfast set that keeps people coming back for more. My BFF and I had the chance to go to the original branch at Manama Souq.

Dare to try their Exotic Salmon ? The first evening in Manama, Bahrain brought my BFF and me to Adliya, one of the four centres of nightlife in the city. We decided to go to Mama Maya, a three-storey restaurant, which was founded in June 2016. Despite its young age, it has garnered quite a few positive reviews online. 

Expect one or two Indian food everyday! To me, a 3D2N stay in Bahrain was enough. I spent my two nights at Swiss International Palace Hotel, which offers free shuttle service to and from the airport. Shown here are most of the breakfast buffet items prepared by its Swiss Café during my stay there.

Pan-fried banana on top of rice with beef? Merry Christmas, everyone! May this season brings joy and peace across the globe. For today, let's take a look at what were served by Gulf Air, the flag carrier of Bahrain, onboard the long-haul flight from Manila, the Philippines to Manama, Bahrain. 

Breakfast as early as 4.00am! Seeing a good deal online, I decided to book a room at Kabayan Hotel (3*) for my one day transit in Manila, the Philippines. As the hotel doesn't serve buffet breakfast, guests are to choose some items from the  a la carte  menu that's rotated on a daily basis.

Serving inexpensive 'tapa' since 1987! Pardon me for the short hiatus without prior notice as I've just come back from my December trip, where I found myself back in Manila, the Philippines. This time round, I'm going to write a review on another local fast food chain, Tapa King, which has got more than 80 branches at the point of writing.

"Where good food and people meet" Tucked in Jalan Kayu somewhere in the northeastern part of the little red dot, perhaps unfamiliar to many, is a chill-out spot with nett prices for all its food and drinks. It's located a short walking distance from Thanggam LRT Station.

How's the standard of the 'mui fan'   now? Starting with a single branch at Heartland Mall back in 2005, Xin Wang Hong Kong Café has grown to a total of 18 branches at the point of writing. It boasts 150 items on its menu, including favourite street food from HK and Macau. I used to frequent the eatery to get my fix of mui fan  (Chinese dish of rice in gravy).

Delicious chicken rice, though on the expensive side... After a fun-filled day at Sentosa Island last week, my stomach was growling. Not far from Beach Station is Good Old Days, a Halal -certified self-service eatery that whips up a variety of local dishes to visitors of the island. 

Where a panda soft toy watches over you while eating spicy food~ UPDATE (19/05/2019):  The restaurant has closed down. Noodle Panda at Bedok Point serves Sichuanese cuisine. As a panda-themed restaurant, there are a number of soft toys and decorative items for you to adore and take pictures of or with. However, it doesn't get too creative with its food and beverages.

A simple breakfast by the swimming pool~ Ibis Styles (3*) is a relatively new hotel that began its operation in April 2016. Given a corporate discount that I was entitled to a while ago, I decided to have a 2D1N staycation all by myself. Let's take a quick look at the buffet spread for breakfast.

In addition to pineapple pastry, how about its cranberry counterpart? Heralded as the bakery with the best pineapple pastry in the nation, Chia Te has been around since 1975. It has got only one store not far from Nanjing Sanmin Station in Taipei, Taiwan. Be prepared to queue outside as there's usually a staff member who controls the flow of people into the not-so-big shop.

Where purple yam marries cheese~ If you're looking for something to bring home from the Philippines, you may want to consider hopia , a local version of Chinese pastry filled with flavoured paste. From its humble beginning in 1912, Eng Bee Tin has stood the test of time and is well known for its purple yam hopia .

Expect alcoholic main courses onboard! Pardon me for not updating my food blog as frequently these days. It's been pretty challenging maintaining two blogs in parallel. Anyway, today's post is on two separate in-flight meals onboard EVA Air, one of which was a part of the Hello Kitty experience from Taipei, Taiwan to Singapore.

Jumbo mushrooms for 'dim sum' lunch? Located on the 31st floor of the chic W Taipei (5*), YEN Chinese Restaurant offers delectable Cantonese dishes. It's helmed by Chef Wo Hoi Ming, a renowned chef who has previously worked in big restaurants, such as Lei Garden in HK and Crystal Jade Golden Palace in Singapore.

Is the cheese potato good enough for a prince? I'm pretty much the kind of person who prefers to have a proper meal for lunch and dinner, but I guess that's not the case in Taiwan. I wonder who wouldn't be tempted by the vast array of food stalls at the streets of Ximending, Taipei.

Aromtic, smooth and silky tofu pudding for 'yu' and me~ :P Fans of almond milk shouldn't skip this particular hole-in-the-wall shop near Ximen Station in the capital city of Taiwan. Established in 2004, Yu's Almond Tofu has been whipping up a variety of dessert items loved by many.

Going crazy over unlimited supply of  滷肉飯 ! As much as my BFF and I'd love to stay at Hotel Relax II again upon returning to the capital city of Taiwan, unfortunately there wasn't anymore rooms available when we tried to book online. As a result, we booked a room at Taipei M Hotel, which is a short distance away from Hotel Relax II.

I couldn't bear to eat the Rilakkuma-shaped rice ball~ Are you a fan of Rilakkuma? I'm not, but since my BFF and I happened to be near the café that's situated halfway between Zhongxiao Dunhua Station and Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall Station in Taipei, we decided to check it out for fun. We were lucky as there wasn't a queue that rainy afternoon.

Simple, yet homely breakfast of porridge before trekking! My BFF and I decided to stay at Li-Wu Hotel for 3D2N as it's located within walking distance from the entrance of Taroko National Park. We enjoyed the simple breakfast prepared by the friendly old lady who's the mother of the owner of the accommodation.

Have you tried wild boar before? My BFF and I made a brief stop at the village of Tianxiang for lunch after a morning of trekking at Taroko National Park. We'd initially wanted to dine at Mei Yuan inside Silks Place Taroko Hotel, but apparently it was booked for an event that afternoon. As such, we went to Tian Xiang Restaurant to enjoy simple Taiwanese fares.

Such nice cuttlefish and pteridophyte dishes! There aren't many eateries around the area outside Taroko National Park. During our 3D2N stay, my BFF and I had our dinner at the same restaurant, which isn't far from Li-Wu Hotel. We ordered two dishes each evening as the servers told us that they'd be more than enough for two people.

Why eat snacks when you can have a 'bento' onboard the train? Eating  bento , or boxed meal, is something that I always look forward to whenever I'm in Taiwan and Japan. For our journey from Taipei Main Station to Xincheng Station that's the gateway to Taroko Gorge, my BFF and I bought our packed lunch to eat along the way.

Such a colourful and yummy Western platter! Having heard good reviews on Hotel Relax group, my BFF and I decided to stay for a night at its No. 2 (3*). It's situated pretty close to Taipei Main Station for us to catch a train to Taroko the next morning. On top of a few free-flow items, each guest gets one plate of Western breakfast.

Have you tried a mooncake with red date paste and roselle? Happy birthday, Pikachu! In conjunction with the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, Pikachu received flower-shaped mooncakes from Man Fu Yuan, a contemporary Chinese restaurant housed inside InterContinental Singapore at Bugis.

Torched wagyu beef cubes with rose salt, anyone? Ningxia Night Market stretches over 150 m along the road that gives its name. Despite the fact that it's of a smaller scale to the more prominent ones like Shilin Night Market , it's packed with mouth-watering stalls. I've learnt from my mistakes of not taking down the prices for the previous Taiwanese night market reviews, so I'm going to include the prices this time round.

My favourite item from the original branch is ... (hint: not 'xiao long bao') It's time for Taiwan! Internationally known for its xiao long bao  (Chinese steamed dumpling traditionally steamed in a small bamboo basket, giving birth to its name), Din Tai Fung was founded in 1958 as a cooking oil retailer. It was only in 1972 that the original place of business at Xinyi Road, Taipei became a full-fledged restaurant.

Delectable, homely local items for breakfast~ The Mabuhay Manor stands at the heart of Baclaran, which is said to be "a local shopping haven comparable to Bangkok’s Chatuchak and Hong Kong’s Mong Kok". My BFF and I decided to stay there for a night due to the free shuttle to SM Mall of Asia and the one-way airport transfer that's included in the room rate.

A combination of yam and salted egg in a rice flour cake~ By nightfall, my BFF and I were still feeling somewhat full due to the heavy lunch at Bistro Remedios . Nevertheless, not wanting to miss the opportunity to savour more Filipino cuisine on our second and last night in the capital city, we decided to give Manam at SM Mall of Asia a try.

Getting knocked out by the 'Knockout Knuckle'? I chanced upon Bistro Remedios while doing some research on the food scene in the capital city of the Philippines. It's located at Remedios Circle, a roundabout that gives the restaurant its name, which is said to be the centre of nightlife in the city. Note: I only went to the area in the afternoon for lunch. :P

Free-flow 'ensaladang', 'longanisa' and 'dalandan' drink, anyone? Guests of Hotel H2O at Manila Ocean Park are treated to a buffet breakfast at Makan Makan Asian Food Village, which is described as a "veritable pan-Asian village where the culinary delights of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Japan and the Philippines [are] abound."

Reunited with 'inasal' and my favourite Filipino dessert, 'halo-halo'! Welcome back to Manila, the Philippines! After not having inasal  (Filipino roasted chicken) for five years, the last one at Bacolod Chicken Inasal , my BFF and I decided to go to the highly popular fast food chain among the locals.

Yummy Thai main course with a truly great service! Following that relaxing moment inside the Sky Lounge at Brunei International Airport, my BFF and I boarded the aircraft that would bring us to Manila, the Philippines. The journey took approximately 2 hours 10 minutes. That'd be our second time in the megalopolis.

Decent Eggs Benedict, as well as Filipino garlic fried rice for brunch! As my BFF and I had approximately two hours of layover in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei before catching the next flight to Manila, the Philippines, we spent a bit of time at the one and only lounge at Brunei International Airport.

Melon pudding for a quiet breakfast~  There are two Plaza Premium Lounges at Kota Kinabalu International Airport, one for passengers on domestic flights and the other for those on international flights. My BFF and I went to the latter as we were going to fly in the Business Class cabin to Manila, the Philippines via Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei with Royal Brunei Airlines.

Dry 'bak kut teh' that was bursting with flavours~ For dinner, my BFF and I'd wanted to go to Ming Ge Café as we heard that the noodle dishes served by the eatery are pretty good. We then discovered that it actually opens from 6.30am to 2.00pm, sharing the same space with Da De Bak Kut Teh that operates from 4.00pm onwards on most days. 

Fried rice with a local ingredient called 'tuhau'! Given that my BFF and I only had one day at Kota Kinabalu after returning from the mountainous region, we decided to go to Imago Shopping Mall to have lunch at the highly rated Tavern Kitchen & Bar. It's a restaurant serving mainly Western and fusion dishes.

A hole-in-the-wall eatery serving relatively cheap and good lemon chicken~ For our last dinner at the mountainous region, my BFF and I went to the no-frills, yet popular Restoran Panataran just outside Kinabalu Park. There are mixed reviews online regarding the eatery, but I didn't have any unpleasant experience there.

Enjoying a piping hot bowl of noodle soup in the cool morning~ After a restful night's sleep in one of the four Liwagu Suites, I couldn't wait for breakfast. With my BFF, I had a refreshing morning walk to Balsam Buffet Restaurant, which is situated not far away from the entrance of Kinabalu Park.

Chinese set dinner with Western starter and dessert! :P My BFF and I spent our first night at the mountainous region in one of the four Liwagu Suites by Sutera Sanctuary Lodges (3*) inside Kinabalu Park. We had an elaborate set menu for dinner at Liwagu Restaurant, the same place where we had our lunch as described in the previous post .

Cheap seafood fried noodle that packed quite a punch! Located inside Kinabalu Park, Liwagu Restaurant is a cosy place to be at while enjoying the cooling breeze at the mountainous region. Whether you're going to have a big meal or simply drink a cup of hot beverage, do give this restaurant a try and you won't be disappointed.

So-so breakfast buffet, but the omelette was moist and tasty! Dreamtel Kota Kinabalu (3*) is situated next to Padang Merdeka, where many people catch minivans and buses to go to other parts of the region. My BFF and I had a quick breakfast before checking-out of the hotel to make our way to the majestic Mount Kinabalu.

Chicken patty with mushrooms and rice, anyone? Prior to leaving Brunei for Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, my BFF and I had a simple dinner at Burger King at the airport. We'd initially wanted to have an a la carte meal at Anjung Saujana that serves local cuisine, but it only serves buffet dinner during the holy month of Ramadan every year.

Enjoying baked lemon cheesecake at the comfort of the room~ On the last day of our stay in Brunei, my BFF and I made use of the in-room dining service at the lavish hotel as all the restaurants weren't opened during the daytime of Ramadan. As such, we were given a 3-hour extension for our stay, being allowed to hold the key till 2.00pm instead of the official check-out time at 11.00am.

Have you tried grape sauce chicken before? My BFF and I decided to spend a night at The Empire Hotel and Country Club (5*), which is said to be Brunei's most prestigious and luxurious beach resort. For dinner, we went to Li Gong, a Chinese restaurant that's not Halal -certified, but uses 100% Halal ingredients to my understanding.

How does its signature beef noodle fare? On the day when my BFF and I had to check-out of Badi'ah Hotel , we requested for a slightly later check-out as we'd like to have lunch first in the room before leaving. We bought food from Bristodeli Café, which is located next to the lobby of the hotel. From what I managed to gather from the Internet, it used to be Délifrance.

Wait, there's  天天 鸡饭  in Brunei? Truth be told, even though I live at Chinatown here in Singapore, I've never actually patronised 天天海南鸡饭 (Tian Tian Chicken Rice) at Maxwell Food Centre. Apparently, there's an eatery that goes by almost the same name in Brunei: 天天餐室 (Thien Thien Restaurant), which is also well-known for its chicken rice. I don't think they're related though.

Where is Tuaran? You can find a dish from that particular town here! MyTown Eating House is a highly rated self-service eatery near Badi'ah Hotel that serves Malaysian cuisine. My BFF and I decided to have a meal there, even though our next destination would be somewhere in Malaysia. The eatery works in collaboration with Justberrys to provide dessert items for its guests.

Have you heard of 'pais daging' before? Before going back to the hotel to enjoy what we bought from Nasi Katok Mama , my BFF and I dropped by the night market at Gadong. As it caters to mostly locals who drive and do takeaway, there are only very few tables and chairs to sit.

A local fare of rice and chicken with your choice of sauce! An affordable signature dish of Brunei, nasi katok (lit. knock rice) is a simple dish of rice, chicken and chili. As far as I know, it's priced at B$1.00 (=S$1.00) anywhere in the country. As I've been seeing quite a few good reviews of Nasi Katok Mama that has several branches in town, I decided to share two variants with my BFF.