Voyager Of The Seas - Royal Caribbean International [Shore Excursions At Malaysia]

First of all, this is a very over due post which I have no time to finish after my last two posts(here) on our 6 days Voyager Of The Seas Cruise Trip during June school holiday. Along the journey there were 3 ports of call whereby we stopover at Port Klang, Penang (Malaysia) And Phuket(Thailand). Since on board I am very excited to visit Penang as I have heard and read a lot of good reviews on their food especially Penang Laska, Cha Kway Teow and Bak Kut Teh.

In this post, I would like to share with you some of the places and food that we tried during our Penang stopover.

PORT KLANG, MALAYSIA

{Day 2} On the second day of our Cruise trip (read more here), we had a half day stop over at Port Klang which is a town and the main gateway by sea into Malaysia. Passengers on board could choose to stay on board during the embarkation or pick-up a short tour around Kuala Lumpur or etc.

Port Klang Cruise Centre, Malaysia

Since we did not join any day tour for Port Klang stopover, we just went around the Port area, have some bites and take some shots on the cruise ship from the port.

PENANG, MALAYSIA

{Day 3} It was our first trip to Penang by Cruise after so almost 15 years since my last visit with tour group during my secondary school days. And indeed the view of Penang from cruise is amazing and beautiful too.

Our Shore Excursion ticket for "Taste of Penang".

Tourist Discount Card @ Wah Thai Native Products for getting their local products.

Freshly baked and packed Tau Sar Piah and Ma Ti Su which makes you crave for more. They have quiet a few different flavour but I still prefer the normal traditional type.

Coffee Time! What about a cup of Penang White Coffee!

Bak Kut Teh and other spices packet which are great for making yummy herbal soup at home.

After grabbing some yummy Penang local products, we stop over at their shopping mall to do some quick shopping before lunch.

Parkson Shopping Mall which similar to our shopping mall concept which cafes, shops and eateries.

Our lunch was at New World Park Food Court which surprising look clean, spacious and with cooler environment. There are also many different food stalls selling their well-known local delights such as Penang Char Kway Teow, Penang Laksa, Claypot Bak Kut Teh and etc.

These are some of the dishes that we tried at their New World Park Food Court.

Chee Cheong Fun (RM 3.00) with the “heh kor (prawn paste)", chilli and sweet plum sauce is a special Penang specialty which is worth trying.

The super long queue Char Kway Teow (RM 4.50) which is very fragrant with nice wok taste and nicely fried noodles.

First time trying Penang style Bak Kut Teh with so many ingredients in it. The soft and juicy pork belly, fried beancurd sheet and yummy pig intestines sure goes well with the herbal soup.

The Shore Excursions ends after lunch and we are back to the port area around 2pm. Since there were still time before the cruise leaving for the port, we decided to go around the town on our own to explore.

Fort Cornwallis is an old star fort located on the northeastern coast of Penang, Malaysia. Even though the fort was originally built for the British military, its function and historically was more administrative than defensive.

The Chapel at Fort Cornwallis which was built in 1799.

View of the coastline from Fort Cornwallis.

I still remember clearly it was a lovely sunny Monday with good view of Penang and it was indeed a memorable trip there too. We really enjoy those delicious Penang food as well as it's historical scenic view, look forward to go back again and explore more on Penang soon. 

Do stay tune for the next post on our Phuket shore excursions soon. More photos of this Penang Excursion could be found at Cuisine Paradise Facebook Page HERE.

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Crabtree & Evelyn 2012 X’mas Food Collections

Christmas is a time of joy as well as preparing gifts for family, friends and loved ones. For me I always love Crabtree And Evelyn fine food range such as their Biscuits and Tea which I often stock up at home for afternoon tea-time or when there are guests around.

Every year a month or so before Christmas, Crabtree and Evelyn will launched their limited edition X'mas collections from food to personal care gift ideas. Below are some of my personal preferences from Crabree And Evelyn 2012 X'mas Collections which I think it would come in handy while preparing your coming Christmas gifts.

Mini Biscuits (S$60.00) is a perfect gift for anyone with a sweet tooth! This beautiful gift box contains six different flavours of Crabtree And Evelyn indulgent biscuits which baked in Great Britain using a traditional recipe. When eaten you could find generous chunks of different fruits and chocolate within the biscuit which make it an irresistible melt-in-your-mouth experience.

This gift set contains Double Chocolate Chip Biscuits(100g); Traditional Shortbread (100g); White Chocolate And Raspberry Biscuits (100g); Strawberries And Cream Biscuits (100g); Chocolate Chip Shortbread (100g); Lemon And White Chocolate Biscuits (100g).

If you can’t pick between your favourite treats, then go for the Festive Indulgence (S$58.00) pack where you can have them all with this beautifully packaged seasonal selection. This gift set, comprised of limited edition Christmas Spice Ginger Biscuits (165g), and three festively decorated 65mm baubles each containing a different delectable fudge such as Christmas Spice, Clotted Cream and Chocolate.

With a wide assortment of gifts housed in beautiful and colorful keepsake containers, Noël it is recognised across the globe as Crabtree And Evelyn’s signature Christmas fragrance. It has a blend of fresh balsams, cranberry, apple, and citrus complemented by spicy star anise, clove, and nutmeg, instantly evoking the spirit and smells of holiday festivity throughout the home.

Noël Fragranced Candle (S$50.00) helps to create a luxurious glow and ambiance in your home for the holiday with our festively fragrant.

Noël Set Of Three Fragranced Candles (S$65.00) features the festive fragrance of Noël and vibrant red glass holders that will add a burst of colour to the season.

Noël Home Fragrance Reed Diffuser (S$75.00, 192ml) let you indulge in the continuous and celebratory fragrance of Noël in the elegantly designed reed diffuser.

Noël Home Fragrance Spray (S$28.00, 100ml) instantly infused your home with the festive scent of fresh evergreens, bayberry, zesty orange and warm spices.

I am sure all woman love to have a pair of smooth and delicate hand, so with this La Source Hand Care Tin (S$55.00) it would make a prefect gift to ensure those delicate fingers are well looked after. Inside this unique keepsake tin is a complete hand care kit that includes La Source Nail And Cuticle Therapy, La Source Hand Remedy, La Source Hand Recovery, La Source Hand Therapy and La Source Buffer to ensure even the most hardworking hands looking at their best during this festive season.

{New} Evelyn Rose Ultimate Luxuries (S$168.00) consist of Crabtree And Evelyn’s signature scent blends of English roses with the exclusive Evelyn Rose for a fragrance with unique charm. This would be a perfect gift for woman who is both feminine and graceful. This set contains, Evelyn Rose Shower Gel (250ml), Evelyn Rose Body Lotion (250ml), Evelyn Rose Hand Therapy (100g), Evelyn Rose Eau de Parfum (50ml) and a Compact Mirror in Gold.

There are a lot of afford and meaningful products which you could take a look from Crabtree and Evelyn 2012 X'mas Catalogue at this link HERE. I am sure you would find something useful for Christmas Gift(s). And for your information Crabtree & Evelyn recently opened their 11th store at the latest mall The Star Vista (located just beside Buona Vista MRT Station) at unit #01-03.


* All related photos and products related information such as pricing in this post are credited to Word Of Mouth Communications Pte Ltd and Crabtree And Evelyn.

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The Boxing Crab Seafood Restaurant At Sentosa, Underwater World

A week ago, together with couple of friends we visited The Boxing Crab Seafood Restaurant which is launched by Food Junction.  Nestled in the beautifully quaint stretch of Sentosa, the 250 seater (with both indoor and alfresco) restaurant overlooks the panoramic sea where patrons would be exhilarated by the sights of traversing cruise liners and ferries while dinning. On top of it, there are two VIP rooms which can accommodate up to 20 persons per room for Birthday or office functions too.

If you are looking for dining experience which is away from the hustle and bustle city life, perhaps the eclectic menu  (comes with mud crabs, swimmer crabs, flower crabs, prawns, garoupa, scallop and etc) from Boxing Crab plus affordable prices and variety of culinary styles (Chinese, Balinese or Western) would be a great consideration.

Pastry And Cake Counter plus Open Concept Kitchen View

Other than serving seafood or ala carte dishes, The Boxing Crab also cater Quick Lunch Set features dishes such as Roasted Sirloin, Lamb Korma, Grilled Portobello Mushrooms, Scramble Egg Croissant and etc.

Pastry and Cake which display over at the dessert counter

During teatime, the restaurant also offers Afternoon Tea Menu such as: Waffles, Pancakes and Crepes with toppings of fresh fruits and single scoop of ice cream of your choice. Or you could make your choice from the Ala Carte afternoon snacks like pies, tarts, sandwiches, cakes and etc to go with a cup of premium coffee or tea.

Stimulator (back) and Detox(front)

The restaurant also has a FULL page of Beverage choices ranging from Smoothie, Fruit Juice, Soft Drinks, Coffee/Tea to Beer, Champagne, Wine and etc. For something different, we tried some of their smoothies which are:-

~ Energy Enhancer : Consists of juices from Orange, Pineapple, Lemon, Kiwifruit, Passionfruit together with Yogurt, Ginseng and Honey

~ Stimulator : Consists of juices from Orange, Pineapple, Lemon, Kiwifruit, together with Ginger and Honey

~ Detox : Consists of juices from Apple, Celery, Beetroot and Ginseng.

My choice was Stimulator which blends well with the choice of fruits used leaving you with a cross between sweet and sour after taste. And when sipping the you could also taste bits of ginger which spicy up the taste too. All smoothies are at S$7.00 per serving.

For appetizer, we had Otah Otah Cigar (S$12.00) which was crispy on the outside and piping hot with otah filling inside. The otah within is not too spicy or dry and overall the "spring-roll" like finger food was also not too oily to taste.

{Must Try}The Steamed Bamboo Clam with Minced Garlic (market price) was steamed to perfection with the flavor of the meat being locked in with a small serving of vermicelli in dark soy sauce. Furthermore the bamboo clam meat is well-cooked and tender with some amount of fragrant minced garlic on it leaving you asking for more.

For the main courses we started with the Charcoal Grilled Snapper (S$28.00) which accompany with 3 different types of dipping chilli sauce .  The fish used is very fresh and it is slightly charred on the outer skin with chunks of white meats underneath but the only setback was certain parts of it tends to be a bit dry and tough. Other than fish, you could also choose from their seafood range such as Prawn, Squid or Clam. 

{Must Try} I have tried Salted Egg Crab With Pumpkin from other seafood restaurants before but this Braised Claypot Crab with Superior Broth and Pumpkin (market price) from Boxing Crab was indeed a hit and something special that you should try.  The unique flavor of mixing superior broth with pumpkin gives it a rich flavour with thick golden sauce that compliments well with the fresh steamed crab. Almost all of us love the pumpkin sauce which we can't stop sipping on it.

{Must Try} We also tried Caramelized Spicy Crab (market price) which is a good choice for those who prefer something non-spicy as compared to the usual Black Pepper Crab but yet filled with similar wok-hei flavour and flavourable caramelized taste.  The first taste of the dish reminds me of another hawker food that is the "Black Fried Carrot Cake" because both of these two dishes have similar after taste.

For tables with "Crab" orders, there would be a set of "surgery tools" (shown above) which consists of Gloves and Utensils to make picking the crab meat easier. If you want to keep clean while eating those crabs, there are also Aprons available for your used.

Overall their crabs are indeed very fresh with firm, thick  and juicy flesh which is naturally sweet and flavoursome with the choices of cooking methods.

Seafood Mee Goreng (S$25.00, medium) was delicious with the right amount of spiciness and flavour together with the combination of fresh seafood which is heavenly enough to whet everyone's appetites.

DESSERT

After the meal, if you still have room for dessert you could pick a choice from their dessert column where they served both Asian and Western desserts such as cakes, waffles, ice-cream, yam paste with gingko nuts, warm almond cream and even pan-fried water chestnut cakes and etc.

Below are a few dessert items that we have tried and most of us prefer the Tropic Pineapple Sorbet which is an interesting dessert that combined both sight and taste satisfaction. Whereas if you have sweet tooth, go for either Meringue with Chantilly Cream or Catalana Cream with Caramelized Sugar.

Meringue with Chantilly Cream (S$8.90)

Traditional Sicillian Cannoli with Sweetened Ricotta (S$11.90)

Tropic Pineapple Sorbet (S$11.90)

Yam Paste with Gingo Nuts (S$5.00)

If you intend to try out their yummy "Crabs" with over 10 different cooking selection, here is a Good Deal for you to enjoy the 1-For-1 Crabs promotion which ends 30 November 2012.

(1) 'Like' Boxing Crab facebook page HERE.
(2) 'Share' the 1-for-1 crabs promotion with your friends
(3) Print out the coupon and show them your facebook that you've liked them
(4) Enjoy your crabs

For more information, you cal call The Boxing Crab at (65)6274 7760 or visit their Facebook page HERE for more details.

THE BOXING CRAB
80 Siloso Road
(Sentosa Island, behind Underwater World)
Singapore 098969
Reservation: (65)6274 7760

Opening Hours
11:00am to 11:00pm (Daily)

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