Bali Trip 6D5N (25/08/2017 - 30/08/2017)

It's been a while since the last time I updated my blog. Thought of sharing out my most recent trip to Bali with everyone as a guide if you are planning to head there for a short getaway.

Tips:
#1 Arrange for airport pick up beforehand so that you have a piece of mind that transport has been arranged and you do not need to run around finding local taxi drivers to drop you off at your hotel. Just in case you are unlucky, you might get cheated and end up paying a big sum for taxi fare. I paid IDR 150,000 from airport pick up to hotel at Kuta/Legian/Seminyak area. If you were to go to Ubud from airport, they charge a little extra (approx USD 25 one way) as it is much further.

#2 If you are travelling alone, you can arrange to join the local tours. If you are travelling in a group (best is group of 4), you can hire a local driver to drive you around to places to visit. Most of them provide suggestions of places to visit and eat. I hired Gede Wiyata (instagram: bali_happy_tour) for 3 days which cost IDR 650,000 per day. He is definitely not the cheapest around but he drives a Toyota Kijang Innova which is more comfy than some of the ones who offered slightly cheaper out there (Suzuki APV or Toyota Avanza). Apart from that, he's quite flexible with the hours. We hired him for slightly over 12 hours for each of the 3 days and still pay the same amount. Most drivers allow the hire for a maximum of 10 hours (approx 45-50 USD), additional charges applies for each additional hour.

#3 Do not drink water off the tap. Always buy mineral water from the convenient stores.

#4 Include breakfast in hotel to save you from finding decent food places around the area. Most of the shops do not open till around 10am to 11am.

Day 1
Boarded the 13:50 Jetstar flight from Perth to Denpasar. Due to the excessive number of flights arriving Ngurah Rai Airport around the same time as ours, landing got delayed for a little longer than usual. Of course, the immigration section took a while longer too as it is packed with people. One of the security officers actually offered us to go to the fast track lane, but "ah-ha" he wants some tips from you! I decided to just queue up and wait for my turn. Got shocked when I arrived at the arrival gate as there were lots of people, mainly drivers, waiting for their respective passengers. Thank goodness Gede spotted me! En route to hotel from airport was horrific due to the traffic. Took us approximately 45 mins to an hour to arrive at our hotel - The Akmani Legian which is located at Jalan Legian, Kuta. After checking in to the room, left for dinner at the famous Made's Warung at Jalan Pantai Kuta. Prices are reasonable, food and drinks aren't too bad either.

Day 2 - KINTAMANI Tour
Gede picked us up from hotel at 09:00.
Went to Warung Sari Nadi for Babi Guling for breakfast. Food isn't too bad but it's quite spicy.
Head to Tegenungan Waterfall (IDR 15,000 pp).
On the way to the next destination, we stopped by for some local durian along the street.
Head to Gunung Kawi Temple (IDR 15,000 pp).
Then to Tirta Empul Temple (IDR 15,000 pp).
Had lunch at a nearby restaurant named Pangkon Bali. Wasn't satisfied with the food served there. Atmosphere is pretty nice though.
Next, head to Tegallalang Rice Terrace (IDR 10,000 pp).
Went to the famous original crispy duck restaurant, Bebek Bengil for dinner. Atmosphere is good but I find the food is overrated and definitely overpriced.
End of Day 2.

Day 3 - BEDUGUL Tour
Went to Kopi Pot for breakfast. Food was pretty bad.
Gede picked us up at 09:00.
Had 2nd round of breakfast at Babi Guling Pak Malen, Sunset Road. By far the best babi guling I had tasted over there. Ordered jeruk hangat (warm orange juice) for drink and it's good!
Head to Taman Ayun Temple (IDR 20,000 pp).
Head to Monkey Forest (IDR 25,000 pp). Not worth the money.
Then to Ulun Danu Temple and Beratan Lake (IDR 50,000 pp). One of the best places that I've visited over there.
Had lunch at De Danau, just across the road from Ulun Danu temple.
Stopped by some coffee place along the street to explore and understand how Luwak Coffee is made, also tasted a few other varieties of coffee and tea.
Caught the sunset at Tanah Lot Temple (IDR 60,000 pp). Love this place too!
Had grilled pork ribs and crispy pork knuckle at Warung Sunset. Unfortunately it is again overrated and overpriced too.
End of Day 3.

Day 4 - ULUWATU Tour
Breakfast at Warung Tujuh, Food ain't good but still edible.
Visited Nusa Dua area.
Lunch at Babi Guling Rahayu.
Head to Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) Cultural Village (IDR 100,000 pp). Also watched the free Balinese dance and Barong Keris dance.
Visited Blue Point beach and saw lots of surfers from afar.
Head to Uluwatu temple (IDR 40,000 pp) for sunset. Had to give the Kecak dance (IDR 100,000 pp) a miss, but if I were to head back, I will definitely not miss this special dance.
Went to Lia Cafe at Jimbaran for seafood dinner. A whole new experience to have dinner by the beach.
End of Day 4.

Day 5 - Free & Easy
Breakfast at Made's Warung again.
Visited Kuta beach and tempted to do some surfing but did not go ahead.
Walked North along Kuta beach up to Legian beach. Then went to Beachfront shopping centre to see what they offer.
Went back to Kuta beach to catch the sunset once again.
Had dinner at Sate "Bang Udin". Had chicken and goat satay sticks and they are very tasty and cheap too! Also ordered teh botol for drink.
Went to Warung Mina for a Smirnoff Ice drink and enjoy the live band for an hour. Love the experience and atmosphere and the people there!
End of Day 5.

Day 6 - Free & Easy
Breakfast at Lucky's Warung. Food was ok but juice was really cheap and nice! The juice was only IDR 10,000 a glass.
Lunch at Warung Etnik. Had some Western food there and it's pretty bad.
Chill and walk around the area for a while before heading off to airport.
Airport drop off (IDR 150,000 one way).

Now, looking forward to my next holiday. Till then. Ciao!

Cover [A-Lin 现在我很幸福]

Attached below is a cover done by me 2 days ago.

Cover by Venny [A-Lin 现在我很幸福]

Well, I admit it's not perfect. Still trying to improve on my vocal. Anyway, enjoy =)

Chocolate Brownie

Having a sudden craving for brownie, so I went to google some brownie recipes online. The recipe that I followed was from bestrecipes.com.au and it came out to be delicious! The brownie was crunchy at the outside and soft in the inside.

Here's the recipe for it.

Ingredients
125g butter
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup plain flour (sifted)
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup white choc bits

Procedures
1. Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat.

2. Stir in the sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla essence and salt.

3. Remove it from heat and allow it to cool slightyly, then quickly whisk in the eggs.

4. Fold the mixture through the sifted flour and baking powder, and add in the white choc bits and mix well.

5. Spoon the mixture into the baking tray with baking paper on it.

6. Bake at 170C for about 25-30 minutes.

7. Allow the brownie to cool before cutting it into small pieces.

8. While serving on the next day or so, heat up the brownie for bout 15 seconds in the microwave and serve with vanilla ice cream.

It's very simple. Hope you like it =)

Cheers!

Apple Crumble with Custard

So, after watching My Kitchen Rules, I got inspired by Mick & Matt to try out their apple crumble with custard recipe but I did not use berries and coconut as used by them.

Well, here's the recipe.

Ingredients
Crumble:
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp plain flour
30g butter
45g (1/2 cup) rolled oats

Fruit Filling:
4 large/6 small granny smith apples, peeled, core removed and cut into small pieces
60ml water
80g brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Custard:
300ml thickened cream
125ml (1/2 cup) milk
3 tsp vanilla essence
4 egg yolks
75g (1/3 cup) caster sugar

Procedures
1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. To make crumble, combine sugar and flour in a bowl. Add in butter and using your fingertips, rub in the butter to form crumbs. When butter is well combined with the mixture, add in the rolled oats until well-combined.

3. To make fruit filling, put apple, water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring it occasionally, for 10 minutes or until apples are almost tender. Add in the cinnamon when sugar has completely melted.

4. Dish the fruit filling onto the baking tray and top with the crumble.

5. Bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.

6. To make custard, put cream, milk and vanilla essence in a pot over low heat and cook, stirring for 10 minutes or until almost boiling. Set aside the mixture for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in another mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns pale. Gradually whisk the hot cream mixture into the yolk mixture. Transfer the mixture into a clean pan and stirring it over medium-low heat for bout 10 minutes or until custard is thick enough.

7. Cut the apple crumble into your desire size and serve it with custard and vanilla ice cream.

Bad presentation =( Will try harder next time...

Enjoy the dessert. Hope you like it!

Tiramisu

Made tiramisu the other day! It's equally easy as the green tea tiramisu that I made before. Below are ingredients and steps that I followed and would like to share with you. Hope you like it =)

Ingredients

3 tablespoons of espresso
3 tablespoons of rum

500g Spongefingers

For Mascarpone Mixture:

3 Egg yolks

1/2 Cup of sugar

250g Mascarpone Cheese

1 Cup of fresh cream

1 Tbsp of vanilla essence

Procedures

1. Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl set over the water bath. Beat till the mixture turns pale yellow and has doubled in volume. After that, cool the mixture in an ice water bath.

2. In another mixing bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese until it becomes smooth and creamy. Don't overbeat it or it will become clumpy. But if that happens, don't worry as you can still smoothen it with the cream later on.

3. Next, fold the mascarpone cheese into the slightly cooled egg yolk mixture above (step 1).

4. In another separate bowl, whip the fresh cream to soft peaks. Add in vanilla essence into the cream.

5. Fold the mascarpone mixture (step 4) into the whipped cream until well blended.

6. Add in the espresso or coffee powder, together with rum, into a bowl of hot water. *Amount of espresso/coffee & rum is up to personal taste*

7. Dip each spongefinger into the brewed espresso (don't let it sit in too long as it will become very soggy and wet but do give it a second or two so that it gets a little softer). Place the dipped spongefingers onto the baking tray that you're using (I used pyrex dish).

8. Spread the mascarpone mixture on top of the dipped spongefinger, and repeat this until the dish is filled up. *It's up to you to put the spongefinger or a layer of mascarpone as the bottom later, but the top layer must be the mascarpone mixture!*

9. Refrigerate it for a couple of hours (preferably overnight) to let it set well.

10. Dust some cocoa powder on top of the tiramisu before serving.

*The final product*

So, just try it out yourself! It's awesome =)

Your feedbacks are most welcomed!

Cheers.

God Bless You!

林俊傑 - 學不會

你的痛苦 我都心疼 想為你解決
擋開流言 緊握你手 想飛奔往前
我相信愛能證明一切 夠真心會超越時間
多付出也多了喜悦 讓幸福蔓延
總是學不會 再聪明一点
記得自我保護 必要時候講些 善意謊言
總是學不會 真愛也有現實面
不是誰情願 就能夠解決
一次爭吵 一個心結 累積著改變
内心疏遠 足夠渺小 外表多濃烈
才發現愛不代表一切 再真心也會被阻絕
這世界天天有詭雷 隨時會爆裂
還是學不會 少浪漫一點
拼命著想的事 未必帶來感動 或被感謝
還是學不會 解釋我最傷 最累
從此都不願 怪誰
把每段痴情苦烈 在此刻排列面前
也感覺 不埋怨 去懷念
總是學不會 再聰明一點 記得自我保護
必要時候講些 善意謊言
不是學不會 只是覺得愛太美
值得去沉醉
流淚

王力宏 - 依然愛你

Another favourite song! <3

一閃一閃亮晶晶

留下歲月的痕跡

我的世界的中心

依然還是你

一年一年又一年

飛逝僅在一轉眼

唯一永遠不改變

是不停地改變

我不像從前的自己

你也有點不像你

但在我眼中你的笑

依然的美麗

日子只能往前走

一個方向順時鐘

不知道還有多久

所以要讓你懂

我依然愛你 就是 唯一的退路

我依然珍惜 時時刻刻的幸福

你每個呼吸 每一個動作 每個表情

到最後 一定會

依然愛你

我依然愛你 或許是 命中注定

多年之後 任何人都無法代替

那些時光是我這一輩子最美好的

那些回憶 依然無法忘記

我依然愛你 就是 唯一的退路

我依然珍惜 時時刻刻的幸福

你每個呼吸 每一個動作 每個表情

到最後 一定會

依然愛你

你每個呼吸 每一個動作 每個表情

到永遠 一定會

依然愛你

张栋梁 - 世界上最爱你的人

Love this song :)

在这个寂寞爆满的城市

许多人爱上了许多人

要不就留下深度不同的伤痕

要不就厮守一生

在这个感情脆弱的城市

许多人离开了许多人

有些到头来终于能再次复合

有些成了陌生人

谁是世界上 最爱你的人

我不轻易问 我安静的等

绕了一大圈 也许才更能

看见我坚定不移的眼神

谁是世界上 最爱你的人

时间会选择 上天在看着

如果你不想 那么快就承认

让答案在风中慢慢地飘着

在这个感情脆弱的城市

许多人离开了许多人

有些到头来终于能再次复合

有些成了陌生人

谁是世界上 最爱你的人

我不轻易问 我安静的等

绕了一大圈 也许才更能

看见我坚定不移的眼神

谁是世界上 最爱你的人

时间会选择 上天在看着

如果你不想 那么快就承认

让答案在风中慢慢地飘着

就算不确定不停在发生

我非常确定什么是永恒

谁是世界上 最爱你的人

时间会选择 上天在看着

如果你不想 那么快就承认

让答案在风中慢慢地飘着

飘在你的耳边轻轻暗示着

谁是世界上最爱你的人