Tuesday, May 30, 2017

LA - To Eat (30May2017 Outback Steakhouse)

Los Angeles - To Do
Los Angeles  - To Eat

 LA - To Eat
Outback Steak House
240m walk away form Wyndham Hotel
An Australian chain steak house that's located across  the road with a full fledged bar.


Ordered On:
30May0217

Blooming Onion USD8+
Summer pale Ale.

Steaks come with their signature potatoes and choice of sides.
13Oz Ribeye and 12Oz Sirloin Cut 23USD+-24USD+ respectively


*The meats pretty okay prepared. Nothing phenomenal. I felt that the seasoning was a little heavy handed on the salt. The actual fat distribution of the meat was disappointing and the texture of the meat itself was firm and not as tender as hoped. The sirloin was similar but with more flavor from the fat strip at the top. Their signature jacket potato was huge and only could work through about a quarter of it. The blooming onion was the filler. Sweet onion fried to a oily crisp. The petal ends were nice and crispy but the bases soaked up much of the oil which made it heavy to finish. Good to share among at least three to four individuals.* 

 Total: 77USD fed two
 "Don't Bother/DWT (Don't waste time)" - Han. Disappointing for a steak house really. Maybe the slow roasted prime rib or 22Oz (623gram) bone-in rib eye would have been better, but if coming here, order their massive steaks to share or try the tried and tested Morton's just further down the road (1.5km walk).

LA - To Do 28May2017 (Disney Land)

Los Angeles - To Do
Los Angeles  - To Eat

 LA - To Do
Disney Land
28May2017
click here for posting on Disney's California Adventure located oppostie 
Click here for Follow ABBATravel's Facebook page 
Getting there:
F
ree shuttle provided

- 1/2hourly scheduled transport starts from an hour before doors open and half hourly returns an hour after parks closes.
ABBATip
- Always go for the fast passes and check you're getting the right ones. Fast pass are issued from machines at the rides which allocate a time for you to return for a ride. However take note that due to multi-purposing of the place and adding to original standing structures, make sure you get the right fast pass for the correct ride.
The original Disney Land that started it all. A nice throw back to this nostalgic place for the humble beginnings as the original Disneyland. 

The age of the place is starting to show slightly as Disney constantly tries to renovate the older attractions, updating them to newer themes with their expanding licenses. This can also be seen with the lack of themed dining halls to serve up food and beverage and the revamped structures to accommodate the huge following and tourist influx. Even the parade vehicle haven't changed much since years back and are starting to show their age through the paint work.

You never know if Jack might make another apperance.
Stand-outs were their Starwars depot with the Jedi training academy and meet and greet sessions with the members of the Dark Side and rebel alliance. 

Many of the ride are very familiar to those familiar with Disney parks. Where this place would be superior to its neighboring variant California adventure which caters more to the older age group of teens and up would be here is more character driven. Cast members show up periodically around the park for great photo ops, meet and greets.

Their stage shows are good and even the kiddy folk tale readings are a good laugh with live piano music and shouldn't be missed out.
Try to stay for the night scene in Disney Land as really the whole mood and atmosphere changes. They could have updated the roster roll for the parades and their electronic light displays with more future tech. 

The finale at the end gives a solid 20mins worth of fire works display which is always a huge crowd pleaser. 

For more kid friendly rides, much more meet the characters opportunities, and a walk down this historic park of what started it all, Disneyland is the place to go. For more grown up rides, and modern build, California Adventure Disney is the one to go to.

Sunday, May 28, 2017

Narita - To Do 27May2017 (Don Quijote Located behind Aeon Mall)

Narita - To Stay
Narita - To Do
Narita - To Eat

Japan Narita - To Do
Click here for ABBATravel Facebook page
Don Quijote
Located behind Aeon Mall

(recommended to check out by others)


Ever had the chance to venture beyond Aeon mall? Or has Aeon Mall been the one stop shop to everything you ever needed?
Don Quijote is located just a short walk beyond the back, offering all sorts of good for sale. In a quick one liner, its their version of Mustafa Center. Open 24hrs with goods sproiled on both sides of the isle.
Though the shopping experience at Don Quijote may not be as organized as Aeon mall, they do carry some interesting stuff that Aeon does not carry. An all in one bazaar which offers tax free shopping (same as Aeon Mall) so don't forget to bring your passport out whilst shopping. Price wise its hard to tell which is cheaper. The green tea product for product bought here was about 80yenn more expensive that Aeon's but the sauces were 10yenn cheaper? Its really hard to say without more price product for product comparison but here's another joint recommended by others to do your shopping at.

Uniqlo is also located opposite to this structure but we never made it there.

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Dubai - To Eat (14May2017 Al Tawasol)

Dubai - To Stay
Dubai - To Do
Dubai - To Eat
Dubai - To Eat
Like ABBAtravel on Facebook to get the latest updates
Follow us on Instagram @ABBA_Travel #ABBATRAVEL
Al Tawasol
Recommended by others to order the Lamb Mandi
Ordered On:
Lamb Mandi
 14May2017
50Dirhams
*No minimum order and charges apply for delivery.*
This is a pretty expensive order if comparing to the usual Briyani orderss that go
for about 15UAE. However, compared to those orders, here you get a lot more meat! The dish isn't spicy, but more fragrant. The basmati rice is aromatically cooked and goes very well with the lightly spiced tomato chutney and dhall.The meat is probably braised and fall off bone tender greatness. However if stronger flavors and spice are what you are looking for then sticking to the briyanis would be better. Wanting to try something, filling, non spicy? You could go for the Lamb mandi. Comes in other meat combos as well.*
Click here for Tawasol online menu via Zomato

Sunday, May 7, 2017

Copenhagen - To Do (Half day Trip to Christianshavn) 06May2017

Copenhagen - To Stay
Copenhagen - To Eat 
Copenhagen - To Do
Copenhagen - To Buy
Copenhagen - To Do

Like ABBATRAVEL Facebook page to get the latest updates!

Christianshavn Half Day self walking tour
06May2017
Getting there
25kroners per way covers two zones and gets one to Christianshavn, located 5 stops away. Alternatively as a distance check, 5.3km run/jog gets you there as well.

Click here for ABBA location of Christianshavn

Freetown Christianshavn is largely known as the hippie side of town. 

We had downloaded a free walking Copenhagen app to check out the main attraction on Christianshavn. There is a free walking tour to join as well. Personally the ones that stood out by order or greatness were, Freetown Christianshavn, followed by Church of Our Saviour for its iconic structure that lines the city skyline and lastly a walk by of now closed Noma (at one point the world's number 1 restaurant.)
*Where Noma used to be but has shifted operations to Japan.*
Christianshavn Free town

Free to enter but they don't like having their pictures taken. Its like the Amsterdam of 
Copenhagen but amped up 10folds. 
There was cannabis sold everywhere with the grounds having lots of small stands selling various stuff and eats around. Am not sure if those eats included special ingredients. Interesting experience and a swing back to the peace loving 70s.

Chruch of Our Sviour
40-45Kr for Adult to enter. A hike up this iconic structure gets you a panaromic view of the city. 
 *Can you spot Tivoli?*
 *Top most point*

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Singapore - To Eat (1May2017 Open Farm Community)

Singapore - To Stay
Singapore - To Eat
Singapore - To Do
Open Farm Community
click here for Open Farm Community website 
came recommended by others


Click here for ABBA location for Open Farm Community, Singapore, 130E Minden Rd, Singapore 248819
Located at the edge of Damsey, Open Farm Community focuses on locally sourced foods to bring a creative spin to dishes.

The evenings are nice and cool, and dining out would be a really nice setting. When we visited, it was however a little hot and stuffy on the outside and opted for an indoor seating.  The large glass panels drew the outdoor view indoors and the fresh herbs table settings were a nice touch.
Ordered On:
01May2017

 48hour Barolo braised oxtail strozzapreti parmesan wafer, garden thyme SGD30
 *Tender for sure, but on the salty side. They could have extracted more of the connective tissues and tendons for some textural differences for this oxtail dish. Pasta was okay as was the meat to pasta ratio. The parmesan wafers were a nice artsy touch. Presentation wise lacked and the garden thyme really didn't add that much to the dish.*
 Roasted Red Snapper, calamansi and seasame cucumber salad, garden roselle and hibiscus ketchup, pickled cucumber. SGD32
This dish really sounded good on paper but fell short on flavor. The roselle hibiscus ketchup is a stretch to discern the taste. In fact it tastes very similar to strawberry jam. The stomp print is very pretty but that's about it. The salad with calamansi were unappetizing and probably not the flavor profiles we were accustomed to. The red snapper however was beautifully prepared with a crispy skinned top and moist meat. The skin was great, but the fish itself needed some seasoning.* 
Smoked paprika buttered sweet corn, salted caramel popcorn, chimichurri SGD17
*Another top seller. Interesting plating and combination of textures. The popcorn was a nice addition. However for the asking price, it was just corn. Not some phenomenally sweet corn either. The chimichurri sauce did add a nice green vibrancy to the dish but wasn't strong enough to really add to the dish.*
Lemon Tart sweet basil ice-cream  SGD18
*It looked really good on Instagram, however... The 'sweet' basil ice-cream is more cream than anything else and could have worked better with more sugar. The fried basil topping would have worked better with a candied basil. The lemon tart was the only delight. Beautiful brittle layers, with a lemony thick cream centers. Though it doesn't cut nicely, but the flavors definitely delivered.*
Total Fed 2 at SGD114.15
Service was standard. Nice fruit and herb infused water served with the meal but could have used with more ice to offset the warm Singapore heat. Though the atmosphere was nice, food wise was mostly song and dance and lacking in any real wow factor. Some of the elements had were nice, but not enough to overcome the other let downs.

The plating for the corn and the dessert were exceptional but for the asking price, especially so for the corn was too high.

Nice concept, but lacking in great tastes. Food took about half an hour plus before arrival and we were the first of four orders in.