Life between trips

The Shanghai Starbucks Roastery is huge. Spanning 30,000 square feet it is made up of 2 levels.  Coffee and food were served on the first floor. The stations on level one are Main Bar, Pairing Bar and Princi (Bakery)  Tea and spirits and food are served on the second floor. The stations on level two are Teavana and Long Bar and  of course the newly created station Mixato. The place is packed on a weekday late morning but seats can still to be found relatively easily. Starbucks inhouse tea brand Teavana The journey of the bean - the roasting journey. And its one of the rare places you can buy freshly roasted coffee beans for own consumption. The food from Princi. The pizza is served warmed but not so for the bread. I requested to for the bread to be heated up but was refused? stating that it has to be served cold. It was only when i insisted that they obliged. Unusual latte art on my Latte. And this must be really difficult to make. The mor...

The iconic Shanghai bund  外滩  is a must see in Shanghai .  It is a representation of bygone heydays of the past as a powerful center of foreign influence in Shanghai.  The buildings fronting the Huangpu river are clearly distinct opposites. With  art-deco and western style buildings lining one side of river while on the opposite are modern high rise buildings with the most distinct being the Oriental Pearl Tower and Shanghai Tower (the tallest building in Shanghai at present moment). The night and day scenes of the Shanghai bund is also dramatically different.  If time permits it will be good to enjoy the views of the day and night. But of course, the night views offers the spectacular light show along the waterfront from 7 pm till late.  Round up the night with live jazz music at the Peace Hotel Old Jazz Bar. Reservations must be made in advance. This place is highly popular and reservations are difficult. We are l...

Zhu Jia Jiao China, Shanghai, Qingpu, Xinfeng Rd, 美周路36号 邮政编码: 201713 Set between Dianshan Lake and Dian Mountain, it is a famed ancient town labeled as Shanghai's Venice. History for this place dates back 1,700 year.  Getting there is relatively easy from Shanghai city. I stayed near Yu Garden and all we need is to switch to Line 17 at Zhu Jia Jiao Station and walking to the watertown. We choose the lazy option, taking the rickshaw to the place.  I spent the day wandering through the old streets and crossing the numerous bridges.  Donghu Street - Yong feng bridge Daxin Street - Zhong guan yin bridge Great North Street - Qi jia bridge, Cheng huang bridge, Lang bridge, Tai an bridge, Fengsheng bridge (Biggest and longest) Xijing Street - Yong quan street, Zhong long street, Yong an street Resting on the boat  after long walks in the town, we decide to take boat ride to the next destination. But this is a very short boat ride ride, maybe 5 mi...

Planned itinerary from Perth to Monkey Mia. This trip is requires driving long distances with travelling time of 2 hrs to 4 hrs in between destinations.  Here's a day by day for reference. Click on link for more details on the place of interest or the food.  Day 1:  DO:  Flight from Singapore to Perth. Arrival at 7 pm EAT:  Dinner at Little creatures STAY:  Perth: Pensione Hotel, Perth Day 2:  DO:  Perth en-route to Pinnacles - Hutt Lagoon - Kalbarri National Park EAT: Breakfast at Hylin (Perth) , Lunch at Lobster Shack (Cervantes) , Dinner at Kalbarri Edge Resort Restaurant. STAY:  Kalbarri Edge Resort, Kalbarri Day 3:  DO:  Kalbarri National Park EAT:  Breakfast at The Gorges Cafe (Kalbarri),  Dinner at Upstairs Restaurant (Kalbarri) Day 4: DO:  Kalbarri National Park, Hamelin Pool Stromatolites EAT: Breakfast at The Gorges Cafe (Kalbarri), Lunch at the Pelican caf...

STAY:  Perth: Pensione Hotel, Perth 70 Pier Street, Perth City Centre, Perth, Australia 6000  I have blogged about this place before and because of the previous good impression. We decided to return to this place again.  The rooms is adequate size and clean as i remembered. A few things have changed though. There is no parking space allocated to guests. And if you require parking space you need to reserve in your booking and additional charges apply. The space where you parked your car while you pick up/ drop off your luggages could be fine summons if you leave your car idle there for more than 15 minutes.  Alternatives is free street parking on the roads which is 2 blocks away from the hotel. But you need to pick up your vehicle before 8 am.  STAY:  Kalbarri Edge Resort, Kalbarri 22 Porter Street, Kalbarri, WA, 6536 Australia Clean rooms though a little dated in furnishings. The rooms are huge and can accomo...

L'Italiano   204 Marine Terrace, Geraldton WA 6530, Australia The place is packed when we arrived at 8 pm for dinner. We are told we may need to wait another hour or 2. So we decide to takeaway our dinner and that also requisite a wait of 20 minutes for our order.  I was full of expectations for this but sadly the food does not deliver.  Pizza is so-so only. Gnocchi is very creamy but it gets to you after a few mouthful. Quiet Life Specialty Coffee  287 Marine Terrace, Geraldton WA 6530, Australia This place is highly popular. It was soon packed soon after we arrived.  The allure will be no other than the coffee.  Bae's order for breakfast is Brekky - a mashed up of eggs, bacon, cheddar and house made onion jam. And he is munching this in bliss while i am tackling my greens. I tried out a little detox meal. The green life make of seasonal greens, avocado and quinoa, tumeric hummus with soft boiled egg and salsa verde. To...