ABBATravel: February 2015

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

SFO - To Do (Faiz To Do ABBA Contribution 25Feb2015 Gilroy Premium Shopping)

San Francisco - To Stay
San Francisco - To Do
San Francisco - To Eat

SFO - To Do
Gilroy Premium Outlets
ABBA Contribution by Faiz 25thFeb2015

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Click here for ABBA location of Gilroy Premium Outlets, 681 Leavesley Road, Gilroy, CA 95020, United States
When traveling to San Francisco, shopping at the premium outlets is a must. Not only are the discounts great, the outlets also offer choices not available elsewhere in retail stores in the city center.

Most of the fashion retailers at the outlets carry the latest collection for the season, as well as past collections which have heavy discounts. A bag from Coach for example, has its price tag slashed 50% off, and top of that , a further 40% to commemorate the ongoing President's sale.

There are many outlets available, which can be done comfortably even on the short stay of SQ2. One of it is Gilroy Premium Outlets.

With over 145 fashion retailers, Gilroy is a must stop to get all your fashion needs.

To get there, head south via San Jose, on the Highway 101 South to 152 West Leavesley Road. The drive is relatively easy, with plenty of road signages to guide you. The journey is about 80miles one way, lasting about an hour or more depending on traffic conditions.

When heading back, you would want to avoid being on the road at 6-7pm on weekdays, as most of the traffic commuters will be heading back to the major cities of San Jose and San Francisco, resulting in massive jams.

(A point to note, Gilroy actually offers additional 5% discount off the car rental fee from either Dollar Car rentals or Thrifty Car rentals if you are a member of the Gilroy VIP club. These car companies can be located near the hotel). Click here for Car rental options.

The outlets are divided onto four sections, with the visitors information counter located at Building C.

Head here first to get the leaflet and map, plus additional coupons (when available) for further discounts on selected items.

The opening hours are 10am to 9pm Mondays to Saturday, and 10am to 7pm on Sundays. The stores are constantly updated, with new shops replacing the old. Check the website for store listings.
Click here for ABBA location of Gilroy Premium Outlets, 681 Leavesley Road, Gilroy, CA 95020, United States

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Hong Kong - To Eat (ABBA Contribution by Frankie Tan 24Feb2015 Dim Dim Sum)

Hong Kong - To Stay
Hong Kong - To Eat

Hong Kong - To Do
Hong Kong - To Buy

Hong Kong - To Eat
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Dim Dim Sum
(900m from Parklane Hotel and Voted Best Dim Sum in 2011)
*ABBA Contribution by Frankie Tan 24Feb2015*

Click here for ABBA location of Dimdimsum Dim Sum Specialty Store, G/F, 7 Tin Lok Lane,, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

HKG - What to eat Dim Dim Sum An alternative good Dim Sum place approx 10-15 min walk from Park Lane hotel. This branch is small so go early at 11am. Good quality Dim Sum and not too expensive. Voted best Dim Sum in 2011.

Nice clean environment and good fast service.
*ABBATravel Entry*
English menu is avail on request. What's even better, they have full pictured menu for easiest ordering. From both local and friend sources, they said this place needed to queue for almost an hour before even getting to step inside. However, we were really plesantly surprised to be seated no problems at all at 1040am on a SATURDAY. The place opens only at 10am. When we finished at about 11.30am the place still had plenty of seating.

Ordered On:
05March2016
Every single RED STARED item
(except the Deep Fried Dumplings with Wasabi Filling)
Standouts from the stared ones
Steamed Shrimp Dumplings*Usually its more or less the same standards in Hong Kong, but man this place has one of the much thinner skinned ones, with a huge succulent and bouncy prawn on the inside.*
Crispy Rice Rolls Flour with Shrimp

*Something different I hadn't had this before. You've got the lovely soft exterior and the lighty crispy interior. Really lovely combination of textures and tastes!*
Pineapple Buns with Pineapple Custard Filling

*A different take on the standard po-luo pao I must say. Nice
Crispy Sweet Potato Dumplings
*They look like Ferrero Roche Chocolates. Cute fried balls of fragrant taro and sweet potato fillings. Really good. This had a second round of orders to finish up.*
Taro Filled Matcha Tea Cakes

*Though I didn't pick up a lot of the green tea accents, but the Taro was super smooth and fragrant. Its got a lovely crispy exterior which compliments the puree of taro on the insides.*
Pretty Standard tasting Items
Shrimp and Pork Dumplings with Crab Roe (Siu Mai)
Pan Fried Stuffed Eggplant with Teriyaki Sauce

*Interesting presentation and pretty decent as well*
The ones that lack luster:
Piggy Custard Buns

*Nice to look at but insufficient custard that's for sure. On video, people poke the nose holes and it just oozes out which wasn't the case. The conclusion, the better it looks, the worst of it is in taste. It looses hands down to Fu Shin's Shark Fin Restaurant Salted Custard Buns which we double ordered.*
Black Truffle and Mixed Mushroom Bun

*It look pretty like a giant mushroom but its really soft bun to look like mushroom with some mushroom filling on the inside. Not fully stuffed but really light on the flavor.*Other Non-Stared Stuff We ordered
Beef Meatballs with Sun-dried Tangerine Peel
*Didn't pick up on the hints of the tangerine but it was quite good*
Steamed Squid with Garlic
*Its a little light on the salt to be honest but the others liked it and said just give me a hot bowl of rice and we're golden!*
Steamed Pork Rib
*A classic order and really has nice soft white bone.*
Steamed Poached Pear with Mandarin Peel and Honey

*Pretty alright with some mixed reviews. Its warm and the soup with the herbs used are good for clearing coughs.*
Total Fed 7 at 696HKD to be exact. 100HKD Each

Pardon the missing of shots, but the food came too fast and furious that no time to take pictures. Just Wow! I'd come back here. Both for price and quality of food to try some more of their non-starred items. The place is reported to be popular with the locals. They have a unique take on the usual Dim Sum which makes dining here both interesting and stomach filling for sure! The prices are very reasonable and the choices are abundant! Worth while to check it out and give it a try.

Ordered On
24thFeb2016
ABBA Contribution by Frankie Tan

Total HKD 285 fed 3.

Click here for ABBA location of Dimdimsum Dim Sum Specialty Store, G/F, 7 Tin Lok Lane,, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Top Eats List Updated 04Aug24

My Top Must Eat List
updated 25Oct2023

Sure there are loads of countless reviews out there, but here are my personal check off dining places that'd I'd recommend to others to go try if in the country.

Am sure everyone's got their favorites as well! Feel free to contribute your top eats from anywhere to Facebook: ABBATRAVEL's Facebook page

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A
Australia Chain - San Chuorros (Best Hot Chocolate. A must try!)