Thursday, April 24, 2014

Perth - Australia - 4 Days 3 Nights (Part 1) Itinerary

This is a short getaway to Perth. Previously, a friend i know also went on a 4 days short trip to perth and i was like "huh" 4 days still go to Perth. Sheepishly, i did the same and i must say this is one of the best trip to perth. Compact, fun and enjoyable. I miss the blue skies and deep blue sea.

And yes, 4 days perth! it can be done! After all perth is just a 4.5 hrs flight away. Think of it as something similar to going Hong Kong. 

The itinerary shared below is 3 days self drive and the 4th and last day is public transport. 

My itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive at 6 pm, Dinner at Miss Maud Swedish Smorgasbord Restaurant

Day 2: 
  • Rottnest Island - Rottnest Adventure Tour, Fremantle markets
  • Breakfast at Breglia's Piccolo Cafe, Lunch at Lane Cafe, Dinner at Kallis
Day 3: 
  • Caversham Wildlife Park, Margaret river chocolate factory, Cape lavender, Swan Valley Winery Hopping (Sandalford and Houghtons) and the blue house at Crawley Road, Hilary Harbour
  • Breakfast at Little Willy's,Lunch at Houghtons, Dinner at Bellafontes Italian Restaurant
Day 4: 
  • Rockingham - Dolphin, penguin & sea lion Adventure Cruise, CBD window shopping 
  • Breakfast at Tuckshop, Lunch at Viet Hoa Vietnamese Restaurant, Dinner at Red Opium
Day 5: 
  • King's park, Harbour town shopping
  • Breakfast at Toastface Grillah, Lunch at Burger edge, Dinner at airport
Details of the travel to be shared in details in subsequent post.
To see: Refer to Part 2.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Banquet Pan Pacific Hotel ~ Pacific Ballroom Wedding Lunch Review


This is the first time I attended a wedding at Pan Pacific, so the interior of the lobby and lounge area took me by surprise. Modern and the lifts at lobby are not unlike Holiday Inn Atrium.

Heading to the reception area and the ball room Pacific 1,the area was huge and fully segregated from other ballrooms. Probably the wedding is prepared for tables of 60. What i don't like are the grille doors near the reception which is a little out of place in the setting.
The ballroom highlight will be the lighting that changes colour in every few minutes. This will probably post certain challenges to photographers as its definitely difficult to capture the right moment with dim or odd colour lighting.

Theme and decoration




The ballroom decor is nice enough and there is plenty of room to maneuver through the ballroom. 





Here's a closer look at the setting under this theme.

The guest table

 The VIP table




Food
The menu for lunch is as follows:

  1. Combination of Deluxe appetizers- Roasted suckling pig, pacific clams, thai style marinated jelly fish, golden coin and soya sauce chicken
  2. Braised lobster broth with shredded scallop, crab meat, fish maw, sea cucumber & crab roe
  3. Wok fried prawns with celery and honey beans in Chef's XO sauce served in Home made basket with deep fried silver threaded yam roll
  4. Steamed sea perch fillet with minced garlic in superior soya sauce
  5. Roasted pipa duck with special barbecue sauce
  6. Braised sea cucumber & fragrant mushrooms in superior oyster sauce on seasoned vegetables

  7. Braised ee fu noodles with shredded pork straw mushrooms and chives
  8. Sweeten yam paste with ginko nuts

    Final review:

    I quite like the decor of the wedding. The reception and ballroom is spacious and comfortable.
    Food is a thumbs up and one of the better food fare served at weddings. 

    I don't really like the multi hued lights while i believe the hotel consider this as one of the selling points. But it really makes the quality and quantity of your wedding photos drop in my opinion. 

    In general, there are more good points compared to bad ones, so i guess its up to individual to weigh the plus and negatives. 


Usuki Stone Buddhas - serene and tranquil

Address :  804-1 Fukata, Usuki, Oita 875-0064, Japan The Usuki stone buddhas have been designated as a national treasure. More than 60 figur...