Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Mile High Shot - RPLL 22June2015


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 22June2015 RPLL

23June2015 RPLL arrival aicraft

22June2015 A different look at Manila on a clearer day. 

22June2015 A different look at Manila on a clearer day.  
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Friday, June 19, 2015

Mile High Shot NZAA 16June2015


Auckland - To Eat 16June2015 (Federal Delicatessen, Mantingfang)


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16June2015
Federal Delicatessen
(300m walk from Heritage Hotel. Located opposite sky city casino)

Open till late:

Sun to Wed night, kitchen last orders are at about 11pm. and Thur to Sat, kitchen last order is at 1am.
Click here for ABBA location of Federal Delicatessen,located at 86 Federal Street located right beside Auckland Skytower/Sky CityCasino.
Ordered On:

16June2015



Yodi Bagel - House pastrami, Swiss, habanero mustard and pickle. NZD13.50
The Best Ugly - Salmon lox, cream cheese, dill, capers and red onion NZD14
Clam Cioppino - Cloudy Bay clams with tomato , Pernod and crayfish brothNZD26
Three pies for NZD18
NY cheese Cake
*A cheese cake that's done really well. Heavy cheese cake and absolutely delicious*
Banana & Toffee Pie w/caramel popcorn
*So unique and good. The banana pairs well with the toffee and the Carmel popcorns added a fantastic texture and dimension to the dish*
Lemon Meringue Pie mom's recipe
*Not overly sour and a great balance of flavors. The most refreshing of the lot.*
Total NZD71.50 Fed 3

The bagel sandwiches were pretty alright. Simple and can be reproduced at home. A little on the pricy side. The seafood clam soup, though delicious, but again on the pricey side.

However, the really, really, value-for-money and absolutely delicious, must return for, are the pies! So good that we almost returned for a second visit on the next day. A must try, with everyone having their favorites. We opted out of the pumpkin pie on the first visit, but the standard of the pies were up there that we were saying if on the second visit we were going to give the pumpkin pie a try! For your sweet  tooth fix!

Yam Cha All Day 11am-9.30pm



Ordered On:
25June2016

Ordered On:

17June2015


Carrot Cake

Good pan fry on the exterior and pairs well with chili oil.
Beef Tendons
Custard Bun
Nice creamy interior and more of a sweet than a savory. 
Pork Bun
Pork Porridge
A little more watered down to my liking.
Fried Cuttle Fish
Very nice crisp, with a thin batter exterior.
Durian Puff Dessert
Very thin and light exterior. More cream than durian bits.
Fed3 Total NZD37

Respectable Dim Sum joint, even by Hong Kong standards. Good value with some stand out dishes and dessert.

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Moscow - To Eat ABBA Contribution (11June2015 by Ghim Chuan Cafe Pushkin)

Moscow - To Stay
Moscow - To Do
Moscow - To Eat


Moscow - To Eat
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*ABBA Contribution by Ghim Chuan 11June2015*
Cafe Pushkin
 (Ghim Chuan's Best dining experience in Moscow)


Click here for ABBA Location of Cafe Pushkin, Café Pushkin, Tverskoy bulvar, 26А, Moscow, Russia 
ABBA Contribution by Jasmine Yii
FIRST COURSE 2) Beetroot salad (lunch set menu)

Feedback- ok to so-so. A salad mah

Salmon & pancake (lunch set menu) 

Feedback- good.
Herring with warm potatoes (lunch set menu)

 
 Feedback- expect saltiness since it's pickled herring but ok.SECOND COURSE 3) chicken noodle soup (lunch set menu)

Feedback- ok but slightly salty.
SECOND COURSE 2) consommé with dumplings (lunch set menu
Feedback- good but slightly salty.
Dumplings is Russian styled with 3 meats combined together (pork, beef & lamb)

MAIN COURSE 4) beef stroganoff with mushrooms, onions & mashed potatoes (lunch set menu) 

Feedback- good though entirely different style to the beef stroganoff from A la carte. (Photo in comment section)
MAIN COURSE 3) Veal rissole "Pojarski" (lunch set menu) 

Feedback- good.
MAIN COURSE 2) Duck leg confit (lunch set menu)

 
 Feedback- good & duck leg is very tender
MAIN COURSE 1) pike stuffed with fish & apple confit (lunch set menu) 

Feedback- excellent .
Pike is very finely chopped. More similar to a mousse style.
Taste is heavenly!!! unlike any fish dishes I had ever tasted before. (Wouldn't have guess it's fish with the way they do the seasoning)
Strongly recommended!!! ❤️

ABBA contribution by Ghim Chuan
 Well-deserved rave reviews from tripadvisor. From the first moment you see the restaurant from outside till you step food out of the restaurant has been nothing short of excellent. Restaurant’s name is Cafe Pushkin. Located in Pushkin square. http://www.cafe-pushkin.ru/en/
One has to leave his or her jacket at the basement and receive a delicate token in exchange. Food is great but at a cost. You get what u pay for. In addition, the waiters are more than happy to show you around the 3 story restaurant with more than 40yrs of history. No tips expected from the in-house tour, but a small amount would be nice. Definitely worth a trip to have a good dining experience.
Click here for ABBA Location of Cafe Pushkin, Café Pushkin, Tverskoy bulvar, 26А, Moscow, Russia

Munich - To Do (11June2015ABBA contribution by Ghim Chuan Eagle's Nest at Obsersalzverg)

Munich - To Do
Munich - To Eat
Munich - To Buy
Munich - To Do
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Eagle's Nest at Obsersalzverg
*ABBA Contribution by Ghim Chuan 11June2015*



Getting There

This is not a trip for you if u find travelling long trips tiresome. It takes 3hrs one way to get there and another 3hrs back from Munich. So be prepared for for a long day.  

You can sleep on board the trains on the way though.

The journey involves 2 trains, 2 buses and walking through a tunnel into the mountains before coming to a lift that will bring you straight up to the Eagle’s nest.


*Text from Wikipedia* The Kehlsteinhaus (known as the Eagle's Nest in English-speaking countries) is a
Third Reich era edifice erected atop the summit of the Kehlstein, rocky outcrop that rises above the Obersalzberg near the town of Berchtesgaden. It was presented to Adolf Hitler on his 50th birthday as a retreat and place to entertain friends and visiting dignitaries. Today it is open seasonally as a restaurant, beer garden, and tourist site. (source: wiki)


First and foremost, take note that the opening hours to the eagle’s nest is seasonal. During winter, the road up the mountain is closed and hence visitors are only allowed to visit somewhere between May and October.
Please check if they are open before making your way there. You may refer to the following website for its availability.

The tour suggested below is organised by this same company as well.

To
get there, first purchase a bavaria ticket that will allow u to travel unlimited number of times on trains n buses for a day. 23euro for one and additional 5euro for each accompanying passengers up to a maximum of 4.

Hop
on the U or S bahn to the central station. From the central station, take a train to the destination Berchtesgaden. Train schedule can be found from http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/index.shtml .

This will probably involve first a train towards Salzburg and then a train transfer at Freilassing to another that terminates at Berchtesgaden. From there, there is 2 ways you can see the Eagles nest.
1.     Join a tour which starts at 1315hrs daily whenever the Eagle’s nest is open. Only one tour each day. It includes commentary about its history and its role in WWII. It cost 53euro for a 4.5hr tour. Starts and ends at the tourist information just outside the Berchtesgaden station. Location of the tourist information is about 200m from the station exit, at the 1 o’clock direction at the other side of the roundabout. Refer to the above website. You may be coerced into prebooking a tour with them. But an advice would be to sign up on the spot as the weather on that day maybe pretty bad and ruin the experience of the whole tour itself.

2.      Take a bus 838 from Berchtesgaden station exit and make your own way up to Dokumentation Obersalzberg. Fare is covered by the Bavaria ticket purchased earlier on. 
 

At the Dokumentation, one can purchase the entrance to the underground bunkers and a specialised bus ride up to the eagle’s nest. Cost 16euros return ride, including the admission to eagle’s nest. Note that the schedule for bus 838 is not very frequent. Hence it is best to check the bus schedule before proceeding from the above bahn website.
Difference between the two approaches is that one has the historical information provided while the other has the flexibility of time schedule. Option 2 will probably miss out on a lot of historical information and not see this as a trip to do with hitler, just a scenic destination. If you are done early while on option 2, you may wish to check out the nearby lake Konigssee, touted as the cleanest and deepest lake in Europe (you can take a cruise ship over it and take in the spectacular view) and the famous salt mine in Berchtesgaden.


Otherwise, it is quite an experience to take a bus halfway up the mountain, walk through a long tunnel dugged into the mountain and take a lift up vertically through the mountain to reach the eagle’s nest.



***trains and buses schedules are particularly important on this trip. So be sure to check out the bahn website and plan accordingly***
 Getting There Via Car
ABBATRAVEL Entry
 

15Sep2016
Renting a car in Munich is a little bit more complicated. Firstly the hotel car rental comes and goes as they please and they are rarely at their station. Your best and only bet is to go to Munich Main train station and choose from the multiple companies. (Located on the second floor of Munich Main train station, we went with Hertz.
 Rented on 15Sep2016
130Euros for the Car full insurance coverage. Seats 9people total!
*NOTE IF TRAVELLING Outside of Munich there is a Toll fee to be paid and bought at any of the petrol stations that goes for 8Euros. BUY IT! The fine is 120Euros for non-compliance!*
Eagle's Nest
ABBA Travel Entry
 Visited 15Sep2016
 Visited 15Sep2016
Departed Munich at 1030am and arrived at 12.30pm at base of Eagle's nest
Rest of the info as indicated above. The only way up the top is with their tickets which includes the chartered bus rides up. There are fixed timing departures and one needs to validate the return journey back down. Really cater 2-4hrs for the exploration of this amazing feet of German Engineering, and the 'summer home' of Adolf Hitler. 



The ticket price maybe the pricing of the car itself, but its beauty, historical significance are well worth the trip up. Being on the ridge, you get panoramic shots on both sides. There are even tracking routes for the more adventurous ones 

*3 Pics featured above from Jared's Camera*

*The Feels*

*haha. Best memory ever.*
Apparently the word is that the foot of Eagle's Nest eats, aren't that great and the top where the summer home is now is converted to a eatery for the public which offers better eats. Standing over 6000ft above, this feat of German Engineering quenches the thirst of hungry visitors in a splendid surrounding! 
Food was okay only and nothing to scream about. Beer could be colder. We were just filling ourselves up to keep us going before heading into the town of Salzburg, located next door for the garden grounds where Sound Of Music was filmed. This is a must go for history buffs, and if having to choose a mountain ridge to explore, this would definately be on the top of the list.
ABBATip:
- Being 6000ft up, temperatures are cooler by about 12degrees than at the base. There wasn't much wind chill up there, however, it can potentially get really cold. The sun was more of a factor.
- Definitely cater time to enjoy a beer and the sights at the Eagle's Nest