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Monday, November 30, 2015

Hua Hin (Thailand) - Rest Detail Resort

We chose to stay at the Rest Detail hotel in Hua Hin after hearing mostly good reviews from the travellers. From Bangkok, we booked a cab through the website online (THB 4,200) for round about trip which I thought was decent. The driver was very experienced with the road and we managed to reach in about 2 hours since there's not much traffic during the weekends. Note: If you need the driver contact, just PM me directly and I will give you the details.
 
In total, we spent about 5 nights in Hua Hin and all the stays were very pleasant throughout. On hindsight, it was actually just nice for us because we really want to enjoy our trip in a slowly relaxing manner and not rush it throughout. For the others, most people would spent only a day or two, which I think is a little bit of a rush.


 

Their classic Hotel Logo
 
When we reached the hotel, we were greeted by a very pleasant frontdesk who helped us to check in. We were given a nice welcome drink while we were awaiting for the room key while roaming around the resort. Immediately, I can already feel that all my nerves and mind from work seemingly gone away and I knew this was the perfect resort to get away from the daily hustle and bustle of life. How I wish I could have stayed there forever!!! 


Such an Amazing View



Once we get the key, we were led by one of the front desk guys into our room. I don't know if it is just me but I always get this excited feeling entering into the hotel room for the first time, leaving that suspense finally awaiting to burst out. When the door was finally opened, I was almost shell shocked because this is by far the BEST hotel room I have ever entered in my life. Not only does the room has a breathtaking sea view, but they were also extremely spacious and the room was very fragrant when we came in. Immediately, my wife and son roam around the room in happiness like I do too.
 
The room we chose was the rest horizon because it came with a huge balcony and Jacuzzi which obviously we enjoyed very much. In fact, I think this is the most popular type of room and you would need to book it early in order to avoid any disappointment. Based on what we know, the room was fully booked throughout and I had to make bookings about 6 months in advance.


 
 





Overall, I think I would rate the resort as one of the best I have stayed in my life. Although they are located somewhat further away from the town area, it provides a really nice serenity and peaceful surroundings that really entices people like us who wants some family time together.
 
The breakfast has also a very wide range of menus that you can choose from, including some of the famous local thai food, boat noodle, som tum, and many others.
 
For anyone who is going hua hin, I think this is almost a no brainer not to choose this resort. My wife even tells me at the end that she hopes to stay there for longer because she just simply love the atmosphere very much. Oh well, maybe we'll go back there on another day in the future.




Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Cato Restaurant Review - Modern Asian Cuisine Bar

We were looking for a new place to chill and hang out, and we found a place named Cato restaurant, which is located right across the Little India Temple at South Beach Road.






Cato is a restaurant & bar which offers Modern Asian cuisine and fusion and over 60 small batched craft beers and spirits from over the world.
 
We reached earlier than our scheduled appointment so we took the chance to tour around the second level which is perfect for chilling and just listening to live music.

Bar Area

Live Music

Anyway, we proceed to order from our menu for food and drinks since we are already hungry for the food.

Garlic Fries @ $8

Garlic Fries is pretty good and in fact I think it rates amongst the best dish throughout the night. The texture was crispy and the taste of garlic is strong giving a very unique perspective for the tongue. The portion is pretty decent too for a group of 4 to share.


Crispy Squid in Thai Glazed Sauce @ $12
The squid was very delicious as well since the texture is crispy and the taste of lemon thai sauce was succinct enough. I also like that they used baby squid instead so it comes in a nice small pairs where we can fit the whole thing into the mouth straight away.

Acai Cured Salmon @ $18

Steamed Baked Pork Cheek @ $28

Tom Yum Prawn Risotto @ $24

I was expecting quite a lot from the 3 main dishes but they are only pretty average to be honest. I think I have tasted much better elsewhere with a much better value out there than this one. The portion was not only small, but they also pale in comparison in taste. I was pretty disappointed with the main dishes overall.


Papaya Dessert

Apple Cider
Overall, I think I paid around $180 in total for 4 person. It's a very expensive meal because we ordered a few drinks but I think the main dish doesn't come cheap either. But the most important part was that I was left disappointed with some of the dish and it did not fill my stomach when I left the restaurant. Heck, I even had to go across Chinatown to buy some carrot cake home!!!
 
The restaurants did have some promotions ongoing with specific UOB credit cards and AMEX platinum but too bad I don't have those cards.


Friday, November 6, 2015

What Vitamins Do You and Your Children Take?‏

When I was younger, I wasn’t a big fan of supplement, also known as Vitamin. I remembered my dad asking me to swallow a few tablets of supplement and I absolutely hate it because it feels like a medicine. I was eating regularly like a normal person so I don’t think supplement is a necessity.
 
As I grew older, and getting exposed more to the vicious air conditioner in my daily cubicle in the office, my health and anti-body started to get weaker. I would at times get chill in my body (air-con was blowing straight to me, urghh) and sneeze a few times, but I wasn’t sure if this was a preview before I catch a cold.
 
Now, I started taking one vitamin on each alternate day and have them rotated between the two. I felt my inner body much stronger to fight against the daily cough and flus all around the buses, mrt and office. Of course, I wasn’t keen of using supplements permanently to depend on it, and the intake subscription was very minor that I think it’s not harmful to the body. Still, I was at times sceptical about how certain vitamins can be helpful, especially since I read the article about how one famous scientist, Linus Pauling have promoted vitamin C as a cure for all numerous ailments on a regular basis. Maybe someone in the industry could advised me better on this.
 
Sambucol
 
This is a great product which I’ve recently started taking, and the same goes for my kid.
 
The supplement is made from natural black elderberries which has twice the natural antioxidant capacity of blueberries and more than 50% the antioxidant capability of cranberries. For your information, antioxidants support the immune system by helping neutralise the harmful effect of free radicals.
 
 

 
 
Their taste is pleasantly sweet so children would naturally love it.
 
The supplements have very extensive well received reviews which you can read at Amazon or iherb forums.
 
 
       GNC Vitamin C (500g)
 
This is the other supplement that I am taking on alternate days.
 
 
 
 
 
They are not anything special, other than the fact that it helps to boost the immune system through timed release of the vitamins throughout the day.
 
If I happen to consume a lot of natural oranges or lemons during the day, then I would naturally avoid taking this.
 
Nordic Fish Oil
 
This is one which my son really likes and everytime I gave it to him, he savours it with joy and his intelligence seems to increase by a mile.
 
 
 
 
This version of Nordic’s Emulsion contains cod liver, which is rich in Vitamin A & D and is a rich source of essential fatty acids (Omega 3), EPA and DHA. It helps to build the body’s natural resistance to infections and brain health.
 
Chances are if your son is already consuming plenty of proteins from the fish he ate in his meals, then this is not a necessity. But again, I think it can serve a purposeful need for supplement, especially those with certain deficiencies.
 
 
While I understand that these supplements are not mandatory, I am curious to hear what kind of supplements do you or your children take. Please let me know and maybe we’ll chance upon a great product.