Bringing Back Cocktail Hour – KL (Kuala Lumpur), Malaysia

We toasted the generosity of Colleen who used the Bring Back Cocktail Hour feature to sponsor an amazing bottle of Prosecco at Table 23, a small, contemporary restaurant in a great little neighborhood that offered both charm and character. 

After the bottle of bubbly, we moved right down the street for live, local jazz at No Tie Required.  We loved KL and want to extend our appreciation to Colleen for generously sponsoring our delicious libations for the evening.

KL (Kuala Lumpur) Malaysia – A City for the Senses

The Many Sides of KLWe really enjoyed KL, a friendly cultural melting pot where we felt safe and welcomed.   Rather than write a long blog for this recent trip, we thought we’d let the pictures do the talking.  From left to right:

• The refreshingly sweet taste of Cendol, a coconut based frozen drink with gummy worm-like green gelatin.
• The strong smell of incense during “borrowing day” at Sze Ya Taoist Temple.
• The cooling feeling of mist blowing from Merdeka Square Fountain.
• The hard-to-hear sound of Matt ordering the “3 BBQ Plate” within an extensive food court - He nearly ordered three “3 BBQ Plates” by mistake…What a pitty that would have been!
• The colorful sight of deities lined up at Sri Mahamariamman Hindu Temple.

Will we make it back to Malaysia again in the future?  Our senses indicate that the answer to that question is a resounding yes!

Bringing Back Cocktail Hour – Manila, Philippines

At Manila's Sky Deck restaurant we witnessed dusk approaching as city lights awakened to illuminate our surroundings.  We proposed a toast to the generosity of our good friends, John and Brea who used the Bring Back Cocktail Hour feature to sponsor a perfect evening of dinner and drinks.  The rooftop venue offered a panoramic skyline view, efficient service, and a live band.

The highlight of the evening was the meal which contained a delicious selection of Philippine heritage dishes such as Lengua Sevillana (Slow braised ox tongue, mushrooms, and olives) and Callos Manileno (Spanish style slow cooked ox tripe, ox tail, pork knuckles, roasted bell peppers, olives, and chorizo).  For desert we enjoyed Ensaymada Pudding, a decadent, custard-like bread pudding with crème a l’angiaise and fresh mango.

The meal was accompanied by local drinks of Tanduay dark rum and San Miguel Pilsen beer.  We extend our appreciation to our generous dining benefactors for sponsoring an incredible, memorable evening.

Guam - A Few Surprises

Glow in the Dark Fish at Piti Bomb Holes

We thought we had Guam figured out – An Americanized destination between Hawaii and Manila where we would acclimate to the time zone changes.  We were told the food wasn’t exciting and we shouldn’t expect much…Going in with this expectation, we were surprised to discover a few gems along the way.

It started at Hotel Nikko where we met TOTO, the sophisticated Japanese-style toilet that included what we’ll refer to as an advanced “cleaning feature” complete with instructions on its use.  Did we use it?  We’ll just say one of us let our curiosity get the better of him or her.  Do the surprises stop there?  Heck no!

We spent the next morning exploring the town (Tumon).  We ate at a local breakfast place named The Kracked Egg.  Jenn went for the Ramen noodle with spinach, spam, and poached egg – totally yum.  Matt added on a French toast slice stuffed with ham and cheese accompanied by apple Mogu Mogu (drink).  It’s like any other fruit juice, but with gelatin bits added for texture.  It sounds weird, but is quite tasty.  It’s apparently sold in Asia Pacific areas, so we’ll try some of their other flavors during our future travels.

Guam has a huge (HUGE) Asian influence and it is a popular Japanese tourist destination.  We didn’t put it together until we saw the TOTO and realized that many signs are in Japanese with English subtitles.  The food is Asian-influenced as well and we had the privilege of eating one of the best meals of our lives at Toh-Lee Restaurant.  Almost all of it was seafood (lobster, stuff crab claw (stuffed with more crab), whole fresh fish, etc.)  It was a flavor sensation and we ate every bit of it up.

We rented a car to further explore the island and found the usual activities – snorkeling, sightseeing, and pretty beaches (the best of which was difficult to reach, but worth the effort – Ritidian Beach).  After three weeks of “beach time”, we are ready for city life again – Just in time to leave for Manila tomorrow. 

Fact or Fiction? Shaved Ice Vendor Experimenting with Sushi Flavors

Haleiwa Shaved Ice

The following submission is either completely fictional or is fact-based.  Please post a comment noting whether you think it is True or False with your own entertaining or supporting commentary.  The answer will be revealed in a future comment on this post.

Our stay on Oahu and Maui is reaching its conclusion and somehow we nearly missed out on a Hawaiian islands’ tradition, shaved ice - That tasty treat known in Ohio (where we grew up) as snow cones.  Luckily, our travels this week took us to the little town of Haleiwa where we encountered Matsumoto’s Haleiwa Shaved Ice.

This legendary shaved ice hot spot was hard to miss with its long line of customers cascading onto the sidewalk.  We spotted a camera crew from the local news outlet and quickly learned that Matsumoto’s supplemented its traditional syrup flavors (i.e.: cherry and banana) with more creative offerings such as green tea and pickled mango, but that wasn’t what had attracted the media.  Further investigation revealed that the owners were experimenting with a new flavor based on sushi grade ahi tuna which was presented with an optional dollop of fresh wasabi.

When asked about the creative offering, the shop’s representative informed us that it was created in an effort to appeal to the Japanese tourist community which contributes strongly to their business.  While sales of the unique flavor have not been significant, it has garnered positive press and increased foot traffic to this local institution which currently sells more than 1,000 shaved ices each day.