Day 6- New Zealand South Island- Milford Sound- Lone Star

Today I finally managed to back up my NZ pictures. Yes 10 months after my trip. Looking through the photos I really missed my NZ trip. But most of I really really really am looking forward to the next similar trip. I am so excited about it that I fear it may not come true! Yes I am such a worrier!

So I am continuing to blog about NZ to relive my beautiful memories of a pretty pretty trip. This is Day 6 of my NZ trip-which is could most probably be one of the most memorable days in 2009.

Day 6- NZ- South Island- Milford Sound:

If my memory hasn't failed me the journey from Queenstown to Milford Sound took 8 hours in all. The journey was however extremely scenic throughout the entire journey. Like the saying goes it's the journey that matters not the destination.

First scenic stop: Te Anau- Largest Lake in South Island

Spells peace and calm. I recall buying a chocolate muffin here. It's the last stop to refuel before hitting back onto the Milford Road.

There are many many pitstops for picture perfect and take-my-breath-away moments along the Milford Road. But maybe because there were just so many that one's senses have become numbed!

One of them is Mirror Lake:

This mirror lake was pretty but wasn't as massive and "reflective" as what I recalled Yosemite's Mirror Lake to be. Maybe it was the weather too. I have a fetish for blue cloudless skies and US has many of those days.

Finally arriving at Milford Sound.

Milford Sound is just so weepy! It really depends on pure luck what weather you get when you visit Milford Sound and I suspect weather played a huge role in creating the atmosphere and my impression of of Milford Sound. Afterall first impressions are the deepest.

The waterfalls were pretty but it just kept raining! I just could not fully appreciate the waterfalls in the rain and mist and cold!

I must say that if a deeply depressed person was to visit Milford Sound on that day, he would surely be even more depressed! The weather that particular day was super gloomy and the rain and cold didn't improved the atmosphere. But then again, I think Milford Sound would be so pretty when the skies are blue- just as how the postcards capture them. I would have prefer Milford Sound that way.

The cruise brought us really really close to the waterfall-

Reminded me of the Niagara falls boat ride. The only difference was that the Niagara Falls boat ride provided us with good solid raincoats. Thank goodness I brought along my disposable raincoats that really came in handy (though not 100% waterfall-proof). I was damped and cold after the boat ride.

After the less than an hour's boat ride, we journeyed back to Queenstown. Me being quite sad because the highly anticipated highlight of Southern Island has just been completed until me discovered Hokey Pokey Ice Cream:

Hokey Pokey Ice Cream is 100% NZ. And I miss it much. Have not had it for 10months.

En route back to Queenstown- Almost reaching Queenstown:

This is one of the most picturesque photo of my entire NZ trip. I recalled saying to myself that even from the coach I could have a 360 degree view of raw Earth's beauty. It was truly a wonderful journey.

I really won't forget this extraordinary journey through around mountains and plains and sheep and birds and flora and fiona.

Pretty and weird flowers- never have I seen these before!

Another reason why Day 6 was such a highlight of my NZ trip was because of this extremely delicious and satisfying dinner- which was turned out to be my pre-birthday dinner.

Dinner @ Lone Star- The best meal I had in NZ!

Lone Star Loaf with Garlic & Herb Butter!

I love bread more than rice and other carbo. And this loaf of bread was fresh and warm, so comforting in the cool evening.

Seafood Chowder with another slice of toast herb loaf

The Magnificent Salmon- pan fried and served according to the mood and swings of the season!

It was a rather cold summer. And the mood of the season happened to be Thai Sauce.
My mom started cooking this combination after the trip.

Slow Braised Lamb Shoulder with butter spinach, carrots, mashed potatoes and red wine sauce.

I wasn't too keen in consuming lamb after seeing so many cute/gentle/ meek sheep throughout the trip. Am still trying to stay away from lamb as much as possible.

Okay, I don't have a perfect memory. But I managed to find the Lone Star menu online and correctly matched the picture to the item in the menu! Hence, after 10 months of consuming this meal, I can still mix and match correctly. This signifies one thing- the meal was extremely memorable.

Jelly Beans after you have foot the bill

Very happy and satisfied and stuffed Me outside Lone Star.

Day 6 was truly an exceptional and really memorable day.

Dim Sum @ Crystal Jade- IMM

I love Dim Sum if you haven't realise the number of posts and photos on Dim Sum. I am Cantonese afterall.

And among all the Dim Sum dishes, my love for egg tarts runs deep and wild.

Crystal Jade Egg Tarts are huge! It's almost twice the size of a normal egg tart! And it's filled to the brim with pillow-soft egg that isn't overcooked and the crust is how I like it- buttery and flaky. So heavenly!

Char Siew Soh.

One of my other all-time favorite Dim Sum dishes.

Char Siew Soh from Crystal Jade looks so stuffed! It's as huge as it's friend-the egg tart. It's so filled with Char Siew fillings that it's worth every single cent. Mr Char Siew Soh and Ms Egg Tart may not be delicate and petite but rather it's looks like a healthy and happy sized dim sum. Looking at them makes me happy.

I like the Carrot Cake in XO sauce too.

It's different from the usual Dim-Sum carrot cake that is either steamed or pan-fried. It taste more tasty and less eggy than the usual hawker stall Fried Carrot Cake.

Seafood Sheng Mien

Decent with wok hei. Not too bad.

Water chestnut cake.

It's a bit too starchy for my liking but it does taste nice initially.

And finally the most unique dim sum dish- Chrysanthemum & Ginger Jelly

The slight hint of chrysanthmum and jelly makes it very interesting. Never had this combination before. It's rather refreshing and tasted better and is lighter than the water chestnut cake.


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Still dreaming of my egg tarts and char siew soh =)

I miss NZ!

I miss New Zealand from the bottom of my heart....

I was watching the latest episode of the Amazing Race where the teams went to Netherlands and it reminded me a lot of NZ! It brought back so much sweet memories of my trip earlier this year.

Free roaming sheeps in South Island.

Queenstown. One of the most pretty places on planet earth.

Looking at the pictures makes me feel so peaceful.

Baileys Muffins

Don't be fooled by my teddy bear deco on these muffins. These ain't kiddy muffins. They are Baileys Muffins

What I like about these muffins are that they smell and taste like the Baileys drink! I got the recipe off receipzaar and I would recommend all muffin lovers to try it! The receipe is really easy. I increased the amount of Bailey's to half cup while decreasing the volume of milk correspondingly. And the result... the muffin rose really well, tasted and smelt exactly like Baileys. It's such a unique taste that you will never find it in the stores.

The muffins remained moist and feather soft after being kept overnight. Look at how lovely the interiors of the muffins are. It's really not easy to produce muffins of this texture .

Day 3 Langkawi- Breakfast, High Tea, Middle-eastern dinner at Sheraton

Day 3.

Started the day with another round of great breakfast.

I liked the item on the top left hand corner. I think it's called roti jala. Interesting and something that I have never tried before. And guess what, they served bread pudding for breakfast. I suspect it's all the leftover croissants that go into the bread pudding. Anyway, I am not complaining. I like bread pudding anyway.

Took a long walk along the beach and explored the resort to burn some of the calories consumed during breakfast.

Came to realise that the foundation of the resort is built on wooden stilts!

And then a storm began to brewing!

Definitely no outdoor activities for Day 3!

So it was indoor activities like sauna and Jacuzzi for the day. And not to mention lots of CNN! Which I really like watching CNN cos it makes me feel like I am on holiday! (Just like having orange juice on flights.)

The package I booked came with a free high tea. It was a perfect time to do so since it was still pouring.

I never had this type of 3 tier high tea set. The quality isn't great but the idea of spending sunday afternoon munching away of high tea with no worries in mind is a one of the best feelings in the world.

I love scones. This scones was the best snack among the 3 tier.

The nicest scone I have tasted is at Shangrila Hotel- Rose Cafe's high tea. But this scone with raspberry jam is satisfying enough!

Egg Tart

Creme Burlee

These three items were decent in taste and looked so pretty in the photo.

Dinner time:

I found this dinner delicious! Maybe because I haven't tried Middle Eastern food before. The tandoori salmon was great. Tasty and crispy on the outside. If I had a choice, I would choose to eat my salmon tandoori-styled. And the eggplant with cheese and lamb reminded me of lasgne. The naan was fresh and yummy too. I think it was the best meal of the trip.

The view from the Middle Eastern restaurant.

Setting sun...

Sheraton Langkawi- Feast Buffet, Cables Car, Seven Wells Waterfall, Mangrove Tour

Sometime about 2 weeks ago....

Day 1- Flight from Singapore to Langkawi. A 2 hour flight that turned into a 6-7 hours flight! Thunderstorms in Langkawi forced the flight to detour to KL for refuel after circling the air for 30 mins. What a ride. And being on a budget airline, it's pay for your food and drinks at exorbitant prices! By the end of the 6-7 hours, I was really starving and camel-thirsty!

Driven by hunger and rain and tiredness, we decided to have the international buffet at the resort's cafe-Feast for dinner. (It was still pouring when we landed. And the surrounding area was flooded!

Salad spread:

The buffet spread was really quite crazy. It included on the spot bbq/ grilled seafood. They served nice prawns but they were not as tempting as the dessert spread. So colorful and pretty and a really wide spread!

Fondue condiments.

Would really like to try all the desserts but it was just too many! I like the on-the-spot crepe and mocha ice-cream best. They served nice cookies too.

Best of all, they had this wonderful spread of condiments for the crepe! Peanut butter, butterscotch, maple syrup!

Peanut butter with mocha ice cream! Yum!

The ultra long flight and the over-eating really allowed for a good night sleep!

Day 2
Woke up to yet another buffet! Breakfast buffet! I adore breakfast and its eggs, pancakes, waffles, yogurt, milk and all. And boy was I happy to discover that the breakfast spread is as good as last night's dinner buffet.

My fav section of the breakfast buffet is this:

Love the waffles!

I love the fresh watermelon and honeydew juices too!

Worried that it might rain cats and dogs like the day before, we decided to explore Langkawi island in full force since the weather looked much better than the day before!
Starting with the Cable Cars:

It's a steep ascent and descent too! I wonder what happens if it breakdown.

View from the cable car while ascenting the mountain...

Guidebooks will sure showcase he nicest view from the lookout point but one that particular day, the visibility was so poor due to low cloud cover that this is what the view is actually like. (Something the guidebook will publish.)

Next stop- Seven Wells Waterfall

I love waterfalls and this waterfall was so full. Must be from the crazy downpour the day before. We only managed to trek half way up the trail as the trail was blocked by fallen trees (most likely due to the heavy rainfall and strong winds the day before too.)

We made a picture stop at one of the beaches in the north of the Langkawi. I can't recall it's name but it's really a quiet beach :

Next stop. Mangrove tour. I kinda like this tour. It was great to explore the interiors of this island that's known for it's beaches. Plus I like taking boat rides.

I like this picture. The sky is blue and I can almost feel the wind in my hair right now.

This is where the mangrove swamp meets the Anadaman sea. Reminded me of New Zealand's Milford Sound.

Eagle feeding.

Never saw so many eagles in my life before. (Actually never seen an eagle before.) Lang (in Langkawi) stands for eagles. And it's really approriate to name the island after this brown bird. Anyway, the boatman threw some chicken skin into the water and within seconds the area was swamped with eagles swooping in from all direction.

Our tour ended at Eagle Square. Not too long after we disembarked from the car, a storm was brewing.

The storm was over as soon as it started. And I managed to capture the all important shot that proved to all that I visited Langkawi!

We made our way to Langkawi Fair- the most famous shopping center in Langkawi. But trust the urbanite, it's a huge disappointment. The malls in Johor Bahru are better. Disppointed, we made our way from Langkawi Fair to this Pasar Malam (Night Market). My dad actually convinced us to hike from the shopping center to the market. It took 20mins or so, walking along the main roads.

But we made it! Colourful kuehs, curries, snacks and drinks.

We liked this peanut pancake with corn. It's actually available in Singapore's pasar malam too. Like the combi- peanut and corn.

This custurd/ kaya mini pancake was rather good too.

We headed back to the resort for some cocktails and that pretty much round up Day 1 and 2. Thank goodness the weather held up fine!

Langkawi, Malaysia

And now I am all ready to plan for the next holiday. . .

More pictures to come . . .