Christmas Trip in Prague - Hotel Rott

This is my first time I stay in Western country's hotel --RottHotel, located at the center of the city, quite convenient indeed.

Rott Hotel is one of the 4stars luxury hotel in Prague, with lovely external and interior design, especially its special elevator in the middle of the hotel lobby.

Hotel room is very tidy, simple but clean. One thing to mention there is no kettle in the room, and no preparation of mineral water. It was kind of strange, because usually hotels do have a kettle, plus some tea bags, coffee, and mineral water to the guests.As we had arrived at the hotel, but since my friends feel tired, would like to get some rest before going around, so I thought wanted to make myself a cup of noodles (cup noodle, which I brought from home). No kettle, what should we do? Then I went to the hotel's restaurant, and request some hot water from the waiter.  The waiter looks a bit puzzled, took a coffee cup fill in some hot water from the coffee machine.

Buffet breakfast was nice and various choices provided. The restaurant's decoration was nice and feel warm and happy to dining inside.

Great experience in staying in this hotel, and will stay in this hotel if going to Prague again. 


Hotel Rott
Address: Hotel ROTT, Malé náměstí 4/138, 110 00 Prague 1
Tel: +420 224 190 901, Fax: +420 224 216 761
E-mail : reservation@hotelrott.cz
http://www.hotelrott.cz/

Christmas Trip in Prague (1)

During the time in the UK, besides studying, occasionally I do like to travel and eating around with friends.   One year in December, I with three of my friends departing from the Newcastle, United Kingdom fly all the way to Prague. I feel very excited. My only impression to Prague was one of the Jolin's song: 布拉格廣場(Prague Square), and I was much looking forward to experience the "Prague square". 

Prague is the capital and largest city of Czech Republic, located at the center of Europe. It has about 10,28 million of population.

We wake up at 7am to prepare ourselves, and the plane took off at 9.45am. We reached there about 1 pm.

After some rest, we started walk around at nearby. Local residents are not fluent in English, so there will be a little difficult in communication. Fortunately we found many Asian tourists. However, in order to draw customers' attentions, some of the hotels, restaurants and specially those stalls and shops' staff speak some simple English and Chinese, I even heard someone greet me in Japanese! We had our dinner in the U Stare Pani Hotel restaurant.

As we had walk whole day, we feel a little thirsty, so we thought to order glasses of water. When the waiter heard it, he looked puzzled, and had double confirmed our orders. After a while, the waiter serve us glasses of water with a small plate under the it, one the plate there is two small bag of sugar. I was wondering, and smile.

Actually, I guess because of the cold weather, the local people drink wine to keep themselves warm, so they seldom drink plain water as us do.

Marudi – a beautiful town

Marudi is a riverine town located at the north of Sarawak and nearby the border of the country of Brunei. It took about 2 hour’s journey from Miri city to Marudi and about 21km from Miri city before the estate road way to Marudi city. Is kind of exploration and experience to have ride on estate road because of its uneven and narrow road, some may even not enough for 2 cars to pass by. It will be suffering as it took more than 1 hour to drive on this estate road to reach to the ferry point.

Estate road way to Marudi

There would be two ferry points where we need to across 2 rivers before reach the Marudi town.

Marudi has its own port where people taking speedboat as their transport. It also has its own airport where it just located very near to the residence.  Seems Marudi has all three kind of transportation in its town: Air, Water, and Land.
The first impression to me is that this little town, a place that is far from the city, giving me a warm feeling. There are lots of shops although all not opening during chinese new year and the road is clean and seems everything tidy and just furnished. It’s a kind of small but a wondeful place to live.



Marudi port where you can see many boat or speedboat there

one of the landmark of Marudi



Taman Tasik Marudi


Photographer: W.Y.SAM

Seafoods at Yehliu, Taiwan

Yehliu GeoPark, a beautiful seacoast in Taiwan, located in Wanli Township, Taipei. It has been known as Taiwan's North Coast's Pearl, rocks that been existed since million years ago with blue sky, rocks, wave, and beach has make it a beautiful panorama and well known throughout the world. Which make it so special are the rocks with different type of shape and forms: Candle rock, Ginger rock, Mushroom rock, Fossil, Pot hole, Queen’s head, Elephant rock, Earth rock, Fairy’s shoe, Marine bird rock, Bean curd rock and etc.

Nearby the Yehliu Geopark is the Yehliu fishing port with lots of fresh seafood available, therefore many seafood restaurants along the street walking to the Yehliu Geopark. While you are walking pass by the restaurants, you can see many restaurant workers standing outside their shop calling and shouting for business.
After visiting the Yehliu Geopark, my husband and I had decided to have our lunch at one of the restaurant there – San Ye Mei Shi (三叶美食海鲜). Well, what had it attracted us were the word at signboard: “fresh seafood set meal for NT1000” and the aquariums in front of the shop that fill full with different fresh seafood.

As we do not really know how to order, the staff had recommended us to take the set meal NT1000, which can serve up to 4 persons. We were desperately want to try the local seafood, the set meal including 3 seafood (steam prawn, ginger clam, squid, 1 crab soup, 1 vegetable, rice and tea).

Since it located near the port, the prawn and crab very fresh indeed. Personally like the crab soup with shao hsing rice wine (紹興酒) ,make the soup smell good.

 

Fried squid with vege, not bad just that the squid was difficult to chew.

Overall, my  impression on this restaurant is quite good, food tasty and staff are quite nice, we ate for quite long (more than 1 hour) but they still treat us politely, not as some other restaurant, keep looking at you to "signal" you that your time is too long. No extra charge (feel worry before enter to the restaurant because scare they will charge extra to foreigner). But next time, I will suggest not to order set meal, because seem not quite worth as going there surely main purpose is to eat seafood, and the set meal included a vege that seem like a normal dish, and the squid was fried with vege. Since there already has vege in our meal, why not order another type of seafood instead, NT1000 for 2 is not cheap too.

Enjoy Grilling

After doing some research online, I had decided to have a try in 極屋精饌燒肉 ,
which is a grill meats restaurant. What I had found from comments online, it has quite a worth eating, with acceptable ingredients at a reasonable price. It is located at Taichung town, opposite GuangSan Sogo, easy to locate, just get off from bus at Sogo bus station, walk along ZhongGang Road (中港路一段) for roughly 2 minutes, and you will see the 極屋 restaurant.

極屋精饌燒肉
 
It offers variety of choices in terms of pork, beef, mutton, chicken meat, prawns, seafood, and vegetables. While each type meats have choices like pork meat has streaky or known as belly, pork butt (shoulder butt or collar butt). I didn’t know which part is best to eat, so I just simply choose some to have a try.

Chicken Soup in pot
Before we made the order, the waitress had served us a pot of chicken soup, for us to warm our stomach and chase out cold. Feel warm after drinking the soup, but personally do not really like the taste.

I had ordered a set meal for two persons price at NT676, where I can choose two sets of main course, 6 plates of small dishes, an additional dish (either rice or udon mee), two cups of drinks, and two desserts.

Beef Set

Pork meat (side dish), seafood set

It use charcoal to grill

Main course mean the big plate of meats you choose, there are three choices: pork, beef, or seafood. Since we can choose two sets of main course, I had ordered for beef and seafood. I like beef a lot. I like the rice too, quite special, with some smash fish meat on top, smell good and tasty.

Smash fish meat rice

Dessert - Ice cream and chees yogurt

Desserts are ice-cream and cheese yogurt. For me, the desserts are just so-so, still ok, but not impressed me. Overall, this restaurant is quite worth eating, especially the set meal, where we can eat until stomach full. Of course, the choices and quality of the meats are less attractive comparing with others higher class restaurants, but with the price that 極屋offer is worth to try.
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極屋精饌燒肉
台中市中港路一段340號
No 340, ZhongGang Road Section 1, Taichung City.
(台中廣三SOGO對面 opposite GuangSan Sogo)

Taiwan Ginger Duck

Once I reach Taichung, the very first thing to do is to find some good foods to eat. After walking a while around Fengjia (逢甲), attract me was a signboard with "Ginger Duck" word. 帝王食補 KING DUCK located nearby Fengjia night market 逢甲夜市 in Taichung, Taiwan. Oh my, can you imagine how good it is, to have a hot soup in a cold weather is. I never try ginger duck before but had heard lots from friends and from Taiwan drama series.
 

Set Meal



Ginger Duck

The set meal cost NT168 per set, which included a ginger duck soup, vegetables set, mee suah noodles (面线) and a cup of juice. It serves in a small steamboat bowl and the most important ingredient, of course is the ginger itself.
I like this ginger duck; it has strong ginger smell and taste good, but is better not to cook it too long, as the taste change to a bit bitter at the bottom. After having this ginger duck, I feel much warm and had stopped running nose. The mee suah noodles (面线) with sesame oil had stimulated my appetite.

Ginseng chicken soup
 
Ginseng chicken soup is quite a big bowl that can serve 4 persons. Soup is a lot, but the ingredients, I mean the chicken is not many. Maybe the bowl is too big, or this is only the starter for them.

My hubby like this chicken soup more, but I do prefer the ginger duck. It much suit my appetite.

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帝王食補 KING DUCK

04-27086967

(逢甲店) 台中市西屯區逢甲路173號

http://www.tain.com.tw