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Friday, December 26, 2008

Hangzhou Day 2

We started our half day tour the following morning by waking up around 9am. After getting ourselves ready we head out to hunt for breakfast. We asked the hotel reception for recommendation but somehow we never able to reach the place. So, on the way we settled on this place. Not too bad as it is just across our hotel. Max Xu our driver (occasionally he will explain to us on the history of the place) meet us at the hotel lobby. We started off the tour at Silk processing factory. They also sell merchandise in this place where I got myself some panties since other items are too expensive for my pocket. Thereafter he stop us a this shop selling pearls. I’m not crazed at all since I’m not a pearl fan. I’m more a diamond person (hint to hubby ;).

Next, Max drove us to Lei Feng Ta (Pagoda). Lei Feng pagoda (is a five story tall tower with eight sides, located on Sunset Hill south of the West Lake) was built at the order of King Qian Chu (born Qian Hongchu) of Wuyue. It was built to celebrate the birth of Qian Chu's son, born to Huang Fei, one of his favorite concubines. The 1st original structure wasn’t there which only leaves the base structure. The collapse of the pagoda is due to one of the reasons that the locals beliefs that bricks from the tower could repel illness or prevent miscarriage, thus believing in this supersitious many people stole bricks from the tower to grind into powder. Later in 2002, the govt built a replica of it.

The ceiling of the pagoda

Dad been here during his land tour and Zach was sleeping. So, Dad offer to baby sit Zach and MH and I went up to the Pagoda. We can see the whole lake of Xi Hu and is beautiful and serene.We spend about an hour there and by time we met Dad again, Zach is awake from his afternoon nap. So we decide to stop by at the nearby restaurant to have some snack. We ordered spring roll with lotus roots as stuffing and a bowl of fish soup to share. Not too bad but the service sucks. After taking our order, we noticed some waiters sleeping outside and when my Dad went in to use their toilet, he claims that all the waiters are sleeping! When we ask for some chilli sauce, they took some time to serve us and when finally brought the chilli we had a shock as they just slam it on the table. Mind you, it’s a glass table. Lucky it didn’t break.

Next Max drove to Dreaming of the Tiger Spring at Hupao. We spend about an hour there. History about this place was a monk who happens to find this place and later he decided to leave as there's no water to survive. So one day God tells him that he will be able to survive as a pair of tiger will show him the water source. Hence, the following day he stumble upon 2 tiger digging on the ground and this is where the spring water originates and the well is found. Till todate, locals throng to this place to collect the sprint water.
This was the originated well. It was preserverd and sealed. Water is still crystal clear as we can see thru the glass panel.
A pool of spring water flowing down from the originated well.
I'm a little teapot short and stout, here is MH and Zachary, when we are steam up hear we shout.....!
Dad was curious and seeing this healthy old man drinking and collecting the spring water. he drank some too. This man told us not to worry much on drinking the water as it’s very safe and clean. Looks like he has been here collecting water many times. Anyway, we did try drinking some and it was very sweet and refreshing. I just had a few mouthful and that’s it. Very skeptical if my tummy can stomach in and I do not want to end up having diarrhea during this trip :p. Anyway, Dad was keen in bringing the water back to boil for his tea. So, I use Zach drinking bottle and see how clear the water is. We went up to the well and I can’t deny the water is crystal clear. Apparently, few centuries back the well water is use to boil the Longjing tea and it seems that it will gives off a very sweet and nice aroma. So Dad was very curious and brought it back to hotel to try. Verdict, no difference from the hotel tap water..ahaha…
After which, Max brought us to the Longjing Tea village to buy some high grade tea (I aint an expert in tea so I can’t qualify if they are high grade tea). Anyway, we end up buying 2 packs after some tea tasting on different grades. We bought their so call middle range to suit our requirement and pocket too. Here’s MH pulling some water from the well.Somewhere in the tea village, we came across locals washing their clothes at a pond using traditional ways. With a stick looks like a bat, they hit the clothes like how I use to hit cockroaches. I shall post a video (not me hitting cockroaches!) on the ladies washing clothes.Max drop us off at our hotel lobby around 5:30pm. We went back to hotel to freshen up before heading out for dinner. We had a simple dinner somewhere near our hotel. I bought some snacks as starters before our main meal and this is what we had. It was grilled in perfection. It was still early, and we decide to visit Qing HeFang Historical St (Qing Hefang Lishi Jie) most of the shops and stalls are selling local knicks knacks. Dad bought some green tea and I came back empty handed. Dad took the opportunity to take a photo with this man while buying the tea from him.He felt the old tradition clothes are rarely seen these days. It was an enjoyable walk as many things to see and Zach was curious with all the lightings and as usual busy people watching. When we reach the entrance of Qing Hefang, we were warmly greeted by a smiling and laughing Buddha.

MH with the Laughing Buddha

Dad, Me and Zach

Another closed up photo of Zach and Mummy touching the Laughing Buddha tummy.
We spend about an hour and the night is still early. So we thought of heading to another shopping street but it turns out like our pasar malam. Nothing interesting and I have nothing to buy. It was so crowded and jam pack with people. So we decide to leave the place early and back to our hotel to rest and call it a night. Before sleep, Zach was playful and he was crawling all over the bed and playing with the mirror. He does know he's on vacation.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Day 3 in Hangzhou

We decided to spend 2N/3Ds in Hangzhou during our stay in Shanghai. According to Marco polo, Hangzhou is "the finest, most splendid city in the world" and Hanzhou is famous for its West Lake, surrounded by gorgeous hills. There are islets and temples, pavilions and gardens, causeways and arched bridges surrounding the beautiful lake.

The night before, we went to Shanghai Train station (Shanghai Nan Zhan,) to purchase our ticket. We took the fast train (CRH/D train), which they called in Chinese as (Dong Che).

Very impressive train station they have and it’s clean and nice. I’m impressed with the modern and development they have in China as to compare to Malaysia railway system. Between Shanghai and Hangzhou the distance is about 200km and we reached Hanzhou in 1hour and 18mins. Imagine if we can travel from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh (almost the same distance) versus 2 hours of driving. And we only need to pay about SGD$14/trip. Malaysia should seriously look into the railway system and it does not only improve and expand the economy by attracting more foreign investment but also reduce the inconvenience to netizens.

Look Zach had his own seat as well! We took the 1145am train and we reach Hangzhou slightly after 1pm. The fast train is very comfortable and it so happen that our seat has a space beside us to park Zach’s stroller. So, it looks like he has his own seat as well and we do not need to carry him. Can see that Zach enjoys this trip. We check in to Ramada Plaza Hai Hua Hotel. I book this hotel from the good reviews it has from TripAdvisor. It was mentioned that it’s about 5minutes walk to Xi Hu lake and it’s very accessible to all shops and eateries. We also book our train ticket back from Hangzhou to Shanghai with the hotel and they only charge RMB5 (SGD1.13) per ticket which I happily pay them as this saves us so much trouble from joining the superb long Q at the train station. In fact most hotels do provide such service.

After refresh and about 1.5 hour rest in the hotel, we headed out to Xi Hu lake. The hotel called a cab and I believe they have some connection with the local tour agent. We had a van drove us to Xi Hu lake at the price of a cab but he was trying to sell us his local package tour for the next day. He offered RMB300 for full day tour and we bargain down to RMB150 to half day tour which I feel this is fair since we will not wake up at 8am and be out the whole day with Zach in tow. It’s tiring and so we decide to take it easy with the half day tour and I’m happy this arrangement suits us well!

The cab stop us at the Broken Bridge and ends on the other end.
Sunset at Xi Hu Lake
It took us about 20mins stroll and by time we reach the other end, it’s about 5pm and we had dinner at Lou Wai Lou, a well known restaurant in Hangzhou where you can try their specialties such as Beggar's Chicken (jiaohua ji), shrimp with longjing tea leaves (longjing xiaren). Too bad, we didn’t order the Beggar’s chicken as it contains beef in one of the ingredients (abit strange) and give a skip and order the Dongpo pork.

Here's what we ordered.

Hua Tiao Chui Ci (Drunken Chicken)

Mua Yu Sun Kan (Bamboo Shoot fried with sesame oil)

Kan Cha Xiang Ling (Fried Beancurd skin - super crispy!)


Dongpo Rou (Stew pork) Sorry, I was too greedy and forgot to take pic. And here's the left over from what I had. :)

Jin Sa Nan Kua (Pumpkin fried with egg yolk)

We had a good dinner and most of our dishes ordered are delicious and not too salty/oily/spicy (except for the Dongpo fats – but it’s divine! :p). The bill came to about RMB132 which I find for the 3 is reasonably fair.

After dinner, we had a walk around Hangzhou town and on the way back to hotel I stumbled upon this stall selling this look alike roti canai.
I decide to try it and bought one with egg. It tasted just like roti canai but more fragrant with some black pepper sprinkle on it. Dad love it too and he ordered another one for himself.
After which, we head back to hotel to get ready for our day tour the next day.
Next, Day 2 in Hangzhou coming up...

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Lunch @ Lan Jou Chen Chong Niu Rou La Mian, Wulian Road, Shanghai

On Day 2, my cousin decides to bring us to this Chinese-Muslim restaurant that sell “la mian” (Ramen) near to where he lives. They have all sorts of la mian which you can order from their menu. Since this place is Chinese-Muslim they are specialize in beef la mian. Since I don’t take beef I ordered the chicken version fried with some chicken cubes, bell pepper and vege.

While waiting for our food, I was watching this guy making and pulling the “la mian” for our lunch. Dad ordered the Niu Rou Ramen -Beef Ramen (RMB9)Cousin ordered his all time favourite Dao Xiao Mian-Knife Shred Noodle (RMB12). This is how the Dao Xiao Mian is make.
And MH and I had the Chicken Ramen (RMB12)According to cousin, the beef ramen stock is very delicious and yummy and the ramen is springy enough. And for my cousin all time favourite, I must caution to those who only likes “mee hoon kueh” you will love this. It’s thick and chewy enough. For mine, it’s like “pan mian” (Sg version) fried with chicken cubes, bell pepper and some greens.

I’m curious if I am able to pull the la mian as easy as the guy above. I have been watching him for about 15 mins and I concluded it’s not as tough as I imagine. In fact, the process has been written in picture memory. For those who are interested, you can try and let me know.

1. Make the dough - flour, water, pinch of salt and sugar. Knead the dough until it is springy and firm.
2. Roll the dough like a log cake and start pulling it horizontally.
3. After pulling the dough, fold the dough into halve and pull again.
4. Repeat Step 3 as much as you can until you have enough ramen to eat. The more you fold the dough into halve, the more strands you have. The more your stretch the dough the finer your ramen will be. Sounds simple? O la la.......

This is what I observed during the 15mins wait for my lunch and I think you just need more practice and skill to hold the ramen when you pull them. Practice makes perfect right?