I didn't expect culture shock in Hong Kong, since I lived in Kuala Lumpur city all my life. However, the busy streets, LOUD and trendy citizens, having the ladies wearing the same Louis Vuitton handbags and men in black all the time, really shocked me. That aside, this post is about "The FOOD" in Hong Kong that should not be missed. *huge grin*

Food Set Number One

Polo Pao (Pineapple Polo Bun) + Chin Dan (Fried Egg) + Chee Cheung Fun (Rice Noodle) + Pei Dan Sau Yuk Zhuk (Century Egg and Lean Pork Porridge) + Nai Cha (Milk Tea)

Food Set Number Two

Dan Tart (Egg Tart) + Ling Mut (Ice Lemon Tea)

Food Set Number Three

Chu Pa Pao (Pork Steak Bun) + Dan Tart (Egg Tart ) again.. + Ling Mut (Ice Lemon Tea) again..

Food Set Number Four

San Chu Yok Kon (Wild Boar Dried Meat) + Chu Yok Kon (Pork Dried Meat) + Kai Yok Kon (Chicken Dried Meat) + Whatever dried meat that you want

Food Set Number Five

Seriously..I have no idea what are they buying or choosing. But, the locals claimed it to be good for blood circulation. Standing next to me, was an old lady. I asked the po po (grandma) in Cantonese language "Po po mat lei ke?" (What are all this grandma?) She answered "Wa.. kang hai ho ye lo. Lei emm sik sek" (Wa.. good stuffs. Don't you know how to eat?) I went bewildered and *gasp* =_=""

LASTLY, Food Set Number Six

How can you not have seafood in Hong Kong? Pao Yu (Abalone) + Scallops are popular especially. It is cheaper than Malaysia, that I know of.

Sincere appologies to all Muslim friends. Pork somehow very much served in Hong Kong dishes. You can find pork burger in Mc'Donalds too. Muahahaha...
Less than 4 hour plane ride to Hong Kong from Malaysia was worth while for me..*drool**

An Italian traveller once told me that people fall in love with a country on the basis of 3 things; the air, the food and the people. For me, I first fell in love with the Chinese signage in Beijing! Especially the huge ones with neon lights (I loved it!). Then it was the food. Especially Peking duck! For the record, I’ve never like duck dishes, wouldn’t even eat ‘em if I’m paid to. But Peking duck was DELICIOUS! Then it was all the good looking men in Beijing! So tall, well build with good looking features. Wow, I wouldn’t mind living in Beijing (at all!)! Hahaha..

From Tianjin Binhai International Airport, we took a shuttle bus to Beijing. That took us approximately 2 hours. But for those in a rush, you can also opt for the bullet train which would only take 30 minutes.

Beijing was cold and extremely grey! As we approached the city, I was awed by the China Central Television (CCTV) building. I’ve never seen anything quite like this before. So unique, so artistic and so beautiful! It sure did take my breath away, literally.

Photo credit: http://www.e-architect.co.uk

We checked in to The Great Wall Sheraton Hotel and went food hunting with our colleague, Bingo.

After we stuffed ourselves silly, Segatron and I went back to our room to get ready for CAPA (Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation) annual award presentation.

AirAsia and AirAsia x bagged Airline Of The Year award. While Tony bagged CAPA Legend Award. It was truly a momentous day for all of us.

After the award presentation, it was party time AirAsia style! We head to Lan Club - a club frequent by China’s celebs.

Designed by Philippe Starck, the decor was truly extravagant! It has crystal chandeliers, baroque paintings, Victorian styled tables lining and even private bathrooms!

To be continued...

The time was 11.20pm. Realizing that I have not eaten the whole day had my stomach grumbled frantically. Thank God for Old Town cafe at LCCT. The curry mee has never taste so good.

It was a beautiful night, and our flight to Tianjin was scheduled at 1am. It was good to see some familiar faces on this trip. With 29 of us it kind of feel like going on a field trip. Everyone was happy because we were going to Beijing to celebrate our winning for CAPA’s Airline of the year award. 3 years in a roll. Now, that’s pretty awesome.

For me, it’s the thought of gracing the soil of China that had me all excited. There’s something about China that intrigues me – something that I can’t quite put my fingers on. Albeit being a Malaysian Chinese and able to read, write and speak the language, I often don’t consider myself ‘Chinese’ enough. First of all, I’ve often been mistaken for a Malay, Thai and sometimes Japanese and Korean (God knows why!) Second of all, I guess I tend to see the world and human beings as One; beyond race and skin color. But the diverse culture and the way of life have never failed to intrigue me. And so is China, the land of the dragons.

The flight to Tianjin was pleasant and I managed to sleep for a few hours. Though seated at the economy seat I must say the A340 was really comfortable (with plenty of leg room!) for long haul flight. I wouldn’t even mind taking a 12 hour flight to London in economy that’s for sure :)

The break of dawn and the sight of the orange color horizon at 30,000 feet were breathtakingly beautiful. I could feel the excitement bursting in my veins knowing that we would be landing shortly at Tianjin Binhai International Airport.

However, as fate would have it, there was a runway difficulty which resulted in inability for the aircraft to land. After hovering on air for about 30 minutes, we detoured to Beijing Capital International Airport for refuel. Unfortunately we are unable to disembark at the Airport. From locating a free parking bay and the refueling took about one and half hour before we took off to Tianjin Binhai International Airport again.

Confusion and frustration was felt by some of the Chinese passengers but the cabin crew did a good job in controlling and explaining the situation at hand. A sense of relief was felt when we took off to Tianjin Binhai International Airport- knowing that we would be able to land and disembark soon.

I guess the most anticipated announcement from the Captain at that moment (for me at least) was indeed ‘Cabin crew, please be seated for landing.’ But luck wasn’t at our side. When we were about to land at Tianjin Binhai International Airport, the Captain took an emergency take off and aborted landing – due to zero visibility caused by the heavy fog.

Anxiety filled the aircraft and when we aborted landing for the 2nd time and I found myself consoling the Welsh couple seated beside me. Funny how at that time I wasn’t worried at all; probably because I knew we were in the good hands of Captain Hans and Captain Ling - Who did a fantastic job in updating the passengers on the flight situation.

Finally, we managed to land at the 3rd attempt and had everyone clapped for joy! So in all, we arrived in Tianjin at 1pm instead of 7am. We were 6 hours late but I am sure relief took precedent than any other possible negative feelings.

As the saying goes ‘Better be safe than sorry’. Kudos to Captain Hans, Captain Ling and the rest of the cabin crew for getting us land safely.

Our CEO would like to say a job well done during the Padang crisis. Special thanks from the Australian High Commissioner of Kuala Lumpur to our staff, Danny Ng Choong Wai, Rakesh Subramaniam, Zulfana Dewi, Panbala Nair and Adlah Sabri bin Zulkifli for great support on the ground during the incident. Kudos and thanks for upholding the values of All Stars!

We are proud of you and we insert the copy of the letter from the Australian High Commissioner of Kuala Lumpur. Let us all be inspired to always strive to got the extra mile and do what we can always in view of excellence.

All Stars always! All for One, One for All!

Bali is one of the most popular island destinations in the world especially for honeymooners.The island's varied landscape of hills and rice terraces, beaches and volcanic sites has made this paradise a perfect holidays to choose.My trip to Bali with my colleagues gave me an answer why people love to spend their holidays here.There are so many things to see and to do in this 'Island of the Gods'.Below I listed down some of the best things to see in Bali that totally based on my personal experience and opinion.

1. Sunset/sunrise

Once in Bali, watching the sunset and sunrise is a must.I believe that everyone who has been to Bali agreed that the sunset and sunrise at Bali offer such a magnificient view if the weather allows.The famous tourist spot to watch the sunset is at the Tanah Lot.I arrived there around 6pm and watched the sun went down and slowly disappeared in front of my eyes.The sky was orange in colour that created a romantic moment and a breathtaking panorama of the surrounding.While for sunrise, i catched it at the Jinbaran Beach nearby the hotel.I didn't regret to wake up very early in the morning just to see the spectacular sunrise moment.

2. Cultural Dances

Bali is renowned for its variety of cultural dances.As majority of the Bali's population adheres to Hinduism, the balinese dances are often influenced from the Hindu epics such as Ramayana.I have the chance to watch two Balinese dances when i was in Bali.Those are the Kecak Dance and the Barong Dance.I really enjoyed the Kecak Dance performance as it was performed by a group of men sitting in circle and repeatedly chant 'kechak cak' where indirectly become a background music of the show.

3. Paddy Terrace

Looking at the lush-greenery of paddy terrace at Tegallalang is actually a good therapy to relax our mind and to exercise our eyes.Surrounded by cool atmosphere due to it's location at the hillside, paddy terrace area in Tegallalang provide a picturesque panorama and fresh air suitable for relaxing.My short break at the area make me feel so calm and peace.This is one common view and one attraction not to be missed when visiting Bali.

4. Volcanic Site

As Indonesia lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, Bali is no exception to experience a series of earthquake and volcanic eruption.Two famous active volcanoes to see in Bali are Mount Agung and Mount Batur.My journey by mini bus to Kintamani, where the Mount Batur lies left an unforgettable memory as it was my first time visiting the volcanic site.The surrounding is cold and awesome with the Mountain stand still seems ready to explode.Having my lunch at the local restaurant facing the mountain was absolutely a perfect day.Later,my visit to Lake Batur that created from the eruption of the mountain just added some sugar to the trip.

5. Beaches

Famous among the tourist, Kuta Beach has become a favourite for everyone who looks for water sport.The beach stretches as far as the eyes can see.The waves are suitable for surfing,that's one of the reason why the beach is always packed with surfers all around the world.I was lucky to stay at the hotel nearby the beach.I love to stroll along the beach watching people playing beach soccer,sunbathers in colourful swimsuit,paragliders in the air, masseurs doing their job..what more i can say.The beach is lively with different of activities.Besides Kuta, some other beaches such as Nusa Dua and Jinbaran offer a different panorama where these area preferred by people seeking for quite environment.

6. Arts & Crafts

Planning to bring something back home, Ubud area, Celuk and Mas village are the right places to go.Ubud is the place to look for amazing and quality painting but cheap in price.While Celuk and Mas village are home to wood carving and silver jewelery that offer variety of hand-made stuff.Watching the locals made the furniture using their own hands was a great experience.It is not an easy stuff but with the skill learned at an early age,the result is superb.

7. Temples

Hinduism is the most dominant religion being practice in Bali.It is no surprise to see countless of temples around the island.Either it is small or big temple,one thing for sure all of them carry the same Balinese architecture with the wall carving influenced from the ancient Hindu era.My visit to Taman Ayun Temple helped me to know about the Balinese culture and tradition even better.I'm impressed to see the multistoried roof and the surrounding of the temple which seems so peace and harmony.

I believe that Bali has a lot more to offer than what in this list. I wish I will have a chance to visit this Island again and explore another part of it.Bali,see you soon..