Hong Kong International Airport

Hong Kong International Airport is known as Chep Lap Kok Airport by the locals, as it was built on the Island of Chep Lap Kok which was reclaimed for the project. Completed in 1998, it now handles almost 50 million passengers a year.

The old Hong Kong Airport was right on the island itself, and landing there was decidedly more exciting as at some point you seem to be flying right into the island. The runway extends into the sea, and on more then a few occasions aircrafts had overshot the runway and ended up in the water.

Chep Lap Kok Airport however doesn't hold such excitement. Designed by famous British architect Sir Norman Foster, it is covered in a sea of grey. I can never understand why grey is such an attractive colour for high-tech architects. It gives the place an overall "sameness" that can be disorienting.

Once when I was in transit to China, I went into a bookshop and was tempted to buy a book. As it was quite a heavy tomb, I decided to get it on the way back. While in transit I went back to what I thought was the same bookshop and looked for the book. For the life of me I couldn't find it, eventhough I was so sure of it's location in the shop. I later on found out that I was actually in another shop at a different end of the airport, and as it was the same chain it was done up in exactly the same way - down to the shelves and graphics. And because the airport looks the same from almost everywhere because of the overall greyness, I am sure this happens quite a lot !

The ceiling is one of the most interesting aspects of the design, with origami-like skylights which let in natural light.

The food hall is where some splashes of colours were allowed.

The main "fuselage" of the airport which connects to the departure lounges. There are long stretches without travelators so be careful with your flight time or you may end up having to run to the gate - as I did on one occasion.

Eating in Kuala Lumpur - Essence at Hotel Imperial

This is our third meal courtesy of the Starwood Privilege Membership. This time I did have to pay for it, but the damage was reduced by a RM 75 voucher, and 50% discount using the card. All in all a buffet dinner for 2 at a 5 star hotel for around RM 80.00, not a bad deal.

Essence is the coffee house at Hotel Imperial Kuala Lumpur. Imperial is an older 5 star hotel, but given a facelift recently. It is still one of the top hotels in town, but location wise not as convenient as the ones in Bukit Bintang. 

The look of Essence is modern Asian, with a strong colour palette. Red is used quite prominently, giving it a strong Oriental vibe. As with most modern coffee houses, the kitchen is visible from the dining area. Buffet lines are placed outside the show kitchen counters, with different stations for different types of cuisine.

The buffet dinner comes with a free flow of red or white wine, tea and coffee. The cooked dishes were all quite good, so was the cold deli section. One of the stand-outs was the chicken satay which was done to perfection. As in most hotel buffets, the highlight is usually the desserts , and Essence doesn't disappoint in this area. The dessert section is given it's own exclusive corner, with a beautiful spiral-shaped counter. All the desserts were done to a very high standard. The problem was knowing when to stop !

The spiral-shaped dessert counter.

Fresh oysters, prawns and other goodies.

Baked oysters, beef steak, salmon and baby octopus.

Nice desserts.

Eating in Kuala Lumpur - Eest at Westin KL

Another nice meal courtesy of Starwood Privilege Membership. This time it's Eest at Westin Hotel.

Eest is a "Pan-Asian" restaurant which brings together the cuisine from several Asian cultures including Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese and Malay flavours under one venue. The interior design is truly stunning - a modern interpretation of Asian elements which is done to a very high standard of finish. There is a main dining area next to the open kitchen, and private rooms at another side. Actually there are several open kitchens for preparation of different orders from the pan-Asian menu. 

The really beautiful interior.

We went for the Dum Sum Brunch which is served on Saturdays and Sundays. This is an "eat all you can" concept from the dim sum menu, which has quite a wide selection. As expected, the dim sum is not as good as at specialty dim sum restaurants. It's missing one of the key ingredients - pork, as this is a Halal establishment being in a hotel. Having said that, most of the items are really quite good. The pastry and fried items were generally more successful then the steamed items.

The complimentary starter was great- a selection of mini-items from all over Asia.

One of the highlights was the Chee Chiong Fun with black cod. These are flat rice noodles wrapped with black cod inside, served with a sweet soy sauce. The pieces of black cod were sweet and succulent, and the texture of the rice noodles were just right, not too soggy and still with a bit of firmness to the bite. Just great !

The sweets are definitely the star here. Clockwise from right - green tea mochi icecream; bubur cha cha - a sweet soupy dessert with coconut milk, chunks of sweet potato, yam, tapioca jelly and sago pearls (this one was just like what mum used to make); poached pears in sweet tea broth, and mango pudding. The mango pudding was so good we had to have seconds ! It was topped with a sweet cream and black olive tapenade. The slightly bitter olive balanced off the sweetness of the pudding perfectly. This was an unusual combination which really worked.

As an extra treat, we bumped into famous Aussie Chef Christine Manfield giving a special cooking demonstration to a group of lucky foodies. She looked exactly liked in her photographs - clean, sharp and efficient. Like a good kitchen knife !

Eating in Kuala Lumpur - Al Nafourah at Le Meridien

I recently had a short break in Kuala Lumpur with my other half. We decided to use up all our Starwood Privilege vouchers, so stayed at the Westin which is conveniently right across the road from Pavilion Shopping Centre in Bukit Bintang. For lunch we went to Al Nafourah - the Middle Eastern restaurant at Le Meridien Hotel. Le Meridien is at KL Sentral, a little bit outside the city centre - but it was worth it as Al Nafourah is a truly beautiful restaurant. The interior is done in Moorish style - you will feel like you just entered a Moroccan palace. There are 2 main dining areas, and several private corners with curtained canopies. All in all a very elegant and romantic setting for a nice meal. 

The beautiful waiting room - the Arabian Room.

As part of the Starwood Privilege Membership, we got a complimentary voucher for set lunch at Al Nafourah. The Al Jabal set lunch comes with an appetizer, main course and desert. 

The appetizer was a Chilled Seafood Cake with Salad of Kidney Beans and Chickpeas. It was quite interesting, the first time I had a Middle Eastern seafood cake - it tasted quite light and subtle, with hints of prawns and crab meat. The bean salad had more of a taste kick, flavoured with herbs and spices. 

One of the great things at Al Nafourah is the pita bread which is made fresh at the restaurant. I could just eat loads of it on it's own.

Main Course was Oriental Spices Roasted Chicken with Tomato Confit and Mediterranean Vegetables. This was really nice - the chicken tender and smokey, and the accompanying ingredients helped to perk up the taste-buds. 

For dessert we had a sweet date pudding followed by Illy coffee. It was very good.

Phuket - Anantara Resort Part II

As I mentioned in Part I of this post, landscaping is the star here. The lush planting and attention to detail in the landscaping is simply breathtaking. Everything just seem so natural, even though you know every single plant and feature had been put there by human hands.

This was the first time I saw ducks frolicking in a pond at a luxury resort.

The swimming pool is quite elaborately decorated with sculptures and curios.

The signature restaurant Sea.Fire.Salt near the pool. They serve seafood and barbeques, and even have a Salt Sommelier to pair different salts with the dishes.

The Anantara Phuket is a stunning resort which is a mus-visit if you are in Phuket.