MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

WISHING EVERY ONE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

LET THERE BE HOPE, LOVE AND PEACE ON EARTH. HAVE A LOVELY DAY! 

"KAH HIONG NGIU CHAP" (BEEF PARTS)

Kah Hiong Ngiu Chap, located in the Kolam Centre at Hilltop is definitely one of the most famous "Ngiu Chap" (Beef parts) in Kota Kinabalu. I have not been to this place for quite some time and was surprised that their "Ngiu Chap" was still superb, maintaining their standard.    

A bowl of stewed rib meat is highly recommended. The soup was delicious and the meat was very tender.       

Konlou Mee - noodle mixed with "Kah Hiong" special sauce.  

 

Beef and meat ball soup. I like the "daikon" (white radish), which enhances the sweet taste of soup with beef balls, beef brisket, beef tripe and beef tendons.

In Kota kinabalu, this shop is highly recommended while another one is Kedai Kopi Loi Hin in Donggonnon, Penampang as published on my blog on 10March 2012

TARAP - FRUIT OF BORNEO

From Papar, we brought back a couple of  "Tarap", a native fruit of Borneo. They are about the same size and shape as durians.

Compared to the hard, thorny spines of the durian,"Tarap" has soft spines and it 's very easy to open - simple tear the spines apart and the fruits are nestled inside, attached loosely to the stem. 

The fruits are soft and creamy and taste like the sweet custard. The flesh is easily separated from the seed. 

These fruits are delicious and go very well as dessert after a meal.  As tarap is not found in any other country, many of our friends who migrated overseas, missed the "tarap". Whenever they return to Borneo for a visit, they will for for it. The best season to taste the fruit is between Novemebr and December each year.    

PAPAR - OF DURIAN & SATAY

An unplanned trip to Papar landed us in the durian paradise. The fruit market was full of durians on that Sunday afternoon. It's the "KING" peak season - durians from all over the countryside as far as Lawas in Sarawak!     

My favourite - extra creamy with a bit of bitterness! 

 Prices ranged from RM3.00 - RM8.00 per kg.

After the feast, my brother in-law recommended that we go for the popular "Kampong Satay" in town.  

    Satay with Ketupat (rice) and peanut sauce.

These seasoned, skewered and grilled meat were just delicious.

The Satay stall's boss was hard at work, busy grilling the satay for more customers.

It has been a very long time since I gave myself such a good treat with both durian and satay in one afternoon. As we were leaving, my brother and sister in-law were already talking about returning to Papar before the durian season ends.    

MOUNT COOT-THA, BRISBANE

One evening, just before sunset, we drove to Mount Coot-tha hoping to catch a bird's eyes view of the city. 

From the observation deck, we had the breathtaking panorama view of Brisbane City.

I noticed that there was some improvement in the restaurant and cafe areas since my last visit back in 2004. 

My daughter was trying out her new camera.

It's a good place to relax and end the day.  

The only disappointment was the lack of parking bays.

From Mt. Coot-tha, we headed to West End for a dinner at a renowned Thai restaurant.   

Our starters were Fish cakes and Papaya + fried shrimps salad.

 Followed by the traditional Tom Yam Goong. 

 Red Curry

Mango and glutinous rice for Dessert. 

It was a great evening - Fantastic views from Mount Coot-tha and a delicious Thai dinner.

 

PICTURES FROM JAPAN

These are some of the beautiful scenary of Autumn in Japan and I would like to share them with friends visiting my blog. Miura san who had his vacation in "Nikko" took the pictures. Nikko is a very popular destination for Japanese as well as foreigners. It is located in the mountains of Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. approximately 140 km north of Tokyo.  

There are 48 waterfalls in Nikko, but this Kegon waterfall is the most popular with water coming down from about 97 meters..  

 Nikko has most of the country's spectacular waterfalls and scenic trails.

With the magnificent Autumn colours,  I am sure Miura san had a very good time relaxing in Nikko.

TOOWOOMBA

Our first trip to Toowoomba was in 2000 when our son entered the University of Southern Queensland. 

The new Ipswich motorway, completed in May this year has three lanes in each direction. We used this motorway to connect the Warrego highway to Toowoomba. 

It was a pleasant drive as most of the "old one lane" Warrego highway had been upgraded to double lanes since our last trip back in 2006. 

The Lockyer Valley is the most fertile valley of Queensland where some of the richest farmlands are found. 

Seeing this "Mac Donald's" signage reminded me of our many short breaks there in early 2000 while visiting our son.

Toowoomba is a "country side" city with an estimated population of 130,000.

It is known as a "Garden City" with many parks offering places for leisure and relaxation. 

We visited one the parks in the city to enjoy the beautiful landscape and flowers.

The best time to visit Toowoomba is actually in September when the yearly Carnival of Flowers is held. It's the premiere celebration of flowers, food, wine, culture, entertainment and all things of Spring. 

We headed for the University. The road was lined with "Jacaranda".

A picture for my photo collection.

We had an enjoyable day seeing most the familiar places and returned to Brisbane. We hope to come back for the Carnival of Flowers in a year or two.