20

November
2008

Gending Kedis

category: travelling, whingeing
by Yun, 2 Comments »

Set against the backdrop of a hillside, Gending Kedis is one of many luxury resorts in Bali. Its location at Jimbaran Bay is only ten minutes away from Ngurah Rai Airport. It offers you a selection of 19 luxurious villas. Each villa is configured with large one bedroom up to four bedrooms, a private swimming pool with sundeck, a fully-equipped kitchen with a dining room, and spacious living space. In Gending Kedis, you can find a secluded tranquil hideaway with incredible views over a steep forested ravine.

During our vacation in Bali last September, we had a pleasant stay in Villa Jelantik, the four-bedroom pool villa of Gending Kedis. With the resort’s unique location on a ridge of land, Villa Jelantik is designed in three levels, creating a significant sense of privacy and spaciousness. The main entrance leads us to the main level that includes a spacious living room and the master bedroom. Inside of the living room has a 42-inch LCD TV complete with a DVD player and a satellite cable television. Movies and games are available for free at the reception desk. The master bedroom comes with a 29-inch LCD TV and a fantastic bathroom with natural stone and marble finishings, as well as equipped with a huge Jacuzzi bathtub.

Stepping down to the middle level, you will find a modern kitchen, a dining area, a bar lounge, and an infinity pool with sundeck at the corner. In addition, beside the pool are two bedrooms, each with a private bathroom. The kitchen is fully equipped with a stove, a microwave, a large refrigerator, a coffee maker, a water dispenser and other kitchen utensils.

On the lowest level, there is only a bedroom with a total seclusion from others. The size of the bedroom is in between the sizes of the master bedroom and the middle level’s bedroom. The bedroom on this lowest level has a private bathroom with a large bathtub and a big shower area.

Inside of the villa has a Balinese look. All interior decorations such as paintings, abstract sculptures, art cravings, and wall panels, are finished with a touch of Balinese arts in an impeccable standard. It surely creates a homely atmosphere and a warmly inviting retreat for the resort guests.

Gending Kedis has its own restaurant, named Alcedo. Staying in Gending Kedis, you have the option to eat your breakfast either at Alcedo or in your own villa. But A and I never had a breakfast at Alcedo because we preferred to eat outside everyday. There were simply too many restaurants to try in Bali!!! So, we cannot provide an accurate comment about Alcedo. From what I heard from A’s relatives who regularly ate at Alcedo, they said that they were fed up with Alcedo’s few menu choices. Alcedo only gives a selection of two kinds of breakfast: Indonesian and continental. We strongly agreed that Alcedo should improve the variety of breakfast selections so that resort guests could eat different kinds of breakfast during their stay in Gending Kedis. In our case, we stayed there for six days. I could understand how disinterested A’s family and relatives became after several breakfasts at Alcedo. On the positive sides, the staffs at Alcedo restaurant were warm and friendly, and its location offered beautiful views of the thickly wooded valley.

Pampering myself with spa and massage treatments is a must when vacationing in Bali. However, spa facility at Gending Kedis was still unavailable at the time we visited. But we could request to have the indulgence of the luxury spa treatment in our private villa. Having spa in our own villa would give us no privacy because there were A’s family members and relatives staying in the villa. So, none of the ladies were interested in experiencing their spa service. Then we decided to have a lavish spa at Prana. It felt heavenly. I will make a separate journal about Prana later. Stay in tune!

Note that this villa has no beach access. The resort provides a shuttle to go to nearby beach and golf courses. It is just a phone call away to a butler service, and a driver will be ready to take you to your preferred destination. Their service was good. People working there were very nice. Housekeeping service was excellent. I can say that, compared to some of more well-known luxury villas in the island, Gending Kedis is a fair value for your money. Perhaps, the key reason is because Gending Kedis is a relatively new luxury villa which is not yet popular among incoming tourists.

A lot of my friends asked me after my vacation, “How was Gending Kedis?” I honestly thought that the villa was good. But it didn’t really meet my expectation. I anticipated that the villa would be better than what I actually saw. Because of the nice photographs of the villas available at Gending Kedis’ website, my expectation was so exceedingly raised that I could hardly wait for my Bali vacation. However, images are often way much better than reality, aren’t they? To summarize, Gending Kedis with all of its standards offers a fair value price, and I was happy staying there, although not to the fullest of my satisfaction. ^_^

16

November
2008

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice

category: restaurants
by Yun, 9 Comments »

A while ago, a friend of mine asked me, “Have you tried Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice?” And my answer was no. We then had further discussions on that subject from which I realized that so many people were talking about the fame of Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice. As a consequence, tasting their chicken rice quickly climbed to the top of my Singapore to-do list.

Hainanese chicken rice is a Chinese rice dish most commonly known as the “national dish” of Singapore. It primarily contains boiled chicken meats, served at room temperature and eaten with oily tasty rice that has previously been cooked with herbs and chicken stock. The dish is generally served with two kinds of sauce: soy sauce and chili sauce. However, I usually eat the chicken rice with no sauce at all, with the intention to enjoy its real taste. To me, soy sauce and chili sauce can disrupt the deliciously natural taste of the chicken meats.

Hainanese chicken rice is one of the comfort food I must have whenever I visit Singapore. I can eat chicken rice almost everyday during my stay in Singapore, and I never get bored. Unbelievable, huh? Believe me, you can easily find stalls at any hawker food centers in Singapore selling Hainanese chicken rice.

Even though Chatterbox at Mandarin Hotel claimed itself as the home of “Mandarin Chicken Rice” but I found their chicken was too lean and extremely dry. It’s healthy but not typical good chicken rice for me. ^_^ Besides, their famous chicken rice was very pricey too. I would rather eat chicken rice sold at one of any hawker food places than at any upscale restaurants, because chicken fats give excellent tenderness and delicious flavors.

Local foodies have voted Tian Tian as one of top five chicken rice stalls in Singapore. Makansutra, a Singapore-based food company that does not sell food but promotes the joy of eating Asian food, has given Tian Tian’s chicken rice with a “die, die must try” rating, and proclaimed them as one of the fifteen Hawker Legends of Singapore.

In my visit to Singapore last August, I finally made my way to Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice. Woo hoo! Their chicken was succulent, tender, and juicy. The rice itself was flavorful and just perfectly right (not too hard or too soft). The chicken oil was just a right kick, poured on the top of the chicken rice. Anthony Bourdain reported, “Chicken rice is so fragrant and delicious that it can be eaten on its own.” which, in my opinion, was very true. Overall, the meal I had at Tian Tian was outstandingly good.

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice

Maxwell Road Food Centre, Stall 10

Singapore

Opening hours: 11am-8pm, closed on Mondays

13

November
2008

Founder Bak Kut Teh

category: restaurants
by Yun, 5 Comments »

Do you sometimes feel craving for a late supper? In my case, it always happens anywhere and anytime, including in my vacation time in Singapore. I believe that there are numerous restaurants or food stalls opened until late night in Singapore. But my knowledge of eating places in Singapore is limited. I only know couple restaurants that stay opened until late, and one of them is Founder Bak Kut Teh (or Founder Rou Gu Cha) located on Balestier Road in central Singapore.

I recall eating bak kut teh in many different restaurants before. I didn’t really like it. I was not a big fan of bak kut teh. My specific reason was because the herbal flavor of bak kut teh soup was typically too strong. The soup taste always made me unwilling to revisit any bak kut teh stalls.

However, approximately three years ago, a friend of mine, L, invited me to have a late supper at Founder Bak Kut Teh restaurant. Hearing about bak kut teh, I reluctantly accepted her invitation.

“Uhmmm, okay… Maybe I need to taste another bowl of bak kut teh again after all these years.”

The fact that they served a very tasty soup (with less herbal tasting) but more peppery and garlicky forced us to become fans of their bak kut teh. A is a fanatic fan of this restaurant’s bak kut teh because he loves the peppery taste of the soup, as well as the lean meat of the pork ribs. After our first eating experience, we consistently visit this restaurant each time we stop in Singapore, and never miss even once.

Eating at Founder Rou Gu Cha is not complete without consuming you tiao (Chinese doughnut) by first dipping it into their hearty spicy pork rib soup. You can enjoy their pork soup as much as you want, since they continually refill the soup. Also, we always combine the pork ribs soup with their salted vegetable. And not to forget to order their home-made barley drink. We love it very much.

Don’t be surprised if you will probably need to go through a long wait time before you can eat at this place. But, don’t be disheartened. There is a well-known saying that you must follow where crowds go to find the best place to eat. Yeah… I cannot agree more with that sentence! So, waiting to enter and eat at this restaurant certainly is worth it. This restaurant is famous in Singapore. As a proof of its popularity, the restaurant wall displays many photographs of the owner with various Taiwanese or Hongkongese movie stars.

Till now, Founder Bak Kut Teh remains as our most favorite bak kut teh restaurant. How about you? What is your favorite bak kut teh restaurant? Please share it with me. Who knows I will get a chance to bump into one of your suggestions.

Founder Bak Kut Teh

347 Balestier Road

Singapore

65.6352.6192

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