Gaudi

I'm not a die-hard Antoni Gaudi fan but I'm sure without him, Barcelona won't be as colorful & beautiful as it is today, probably JUST another Mediteranean city. I visited 3 of Gaudi's work while I was in Barcelona: Park Güell, Casa Batlló and the Sagrada Familia. Some similarities among these magnificent creations yet each one of them is idividually unique.

With Gaudi's magical touch, a failed housing project is magically transformed into an 'extravaganza' world famed park -- Parc Güell. Every single detail reflects Gaudi's ingenious architecture and wild creativity. I'm absolutely impressed especially on his mosaic works. The only regret is to miss the Gaudí's house, "la Torre Rosa," which contains furniture that he designed.

One advice: to avoid squeezing yourself between the crowd; waiting forever to take a shot that you want; and inevitably stand in other people's way, go early. Better yet, go when it rains. I think it'll be nice to see how the water flows from the Gothic serpant's mouth, not a bad idea eh?? :p

Sagrada Familia is another world famous Gaudi creation which is still under construction. The construction was halted at some point due to Gaudi's sudden death (also due to the political instability back then). Totally stunned with the Gothic side, it looks like there are so many crying faces, and feels like it's melting down.

The only down side is the dusts due to construction inside the church. Missed the opportunity to go up the church, didn't want to wait 45minutes & my feet can't bring me all the way up the staircase. By the way, remember those tour guide pictures without cranes? I'm very sure those pictures have been altered, there's no way any photographer can avoid those cranes. See it for yourself.

And if you visit Barcelona, please please please, DO NOT even think about skipping Casa Battló under any circumstances. While the outer shots of the building is free (since the building is just by the road side), my advice is to go into the house, you won't regret the €16 entrance fee. Again, be early, else you'd end up with long queue at the ticket booth and hundreds of visitors in the house.

Gaudi definitely was trying to make the house 'round'. One can barely find any square joints in the house. Even the staircase is 'round' shaped (the handle fits into the shape of our palm, so comfortable), using the concept of water. With brilliant ventilation and light exposure, he made the house a living piece of art and yet perfectly functional.

Missed his other great works but then again, there must be some reasons for me to go back to Barcelona, isn't it? Gaudi o Gaudi, I wish you're still alive so I can see the completion of Sagrada Familia following your wish, maybe even more of your great buildings.

I took so many pictures but out of courtesy to the spirit of blogging, I decided to 'only' upload some here and put a bigger fraction of my trip pictures in facebook. You can check it out here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=421954&id=1136537319&comments#/album.php?aid=22202&id=1136537319, only if you want :)

Vacation

I'm in Barcelona now! Just took off from Copenhagen Sunday morning, arrived shortly before noon. Barcelona just finish its natural 'shower' when I arrived, so the weather is a bit chilly but temperature stays at around 15 degree Celsius with beautiful sun.

Took a stroll down La Ramblas, wander around the Barrí Gothic area and visited Picasso Museum. What's better than a jacuzzi bath in hotel afterwards? It was a pampering 15minutes of jacuzzi bath, and all I feel now is relax (but also tired, actually).

Barcelona is gorgeous. Narrow streets with 4-5 storey buildings along each side; tall unique Gothic churches; open air café & restaurants; artistic atmosphere; romantic squares; Mediterranean breeze blowing; colorful unique designs & a lot more famous landmarks (I have a long list of Gaudi's must visits to go), I think my 5 days stay here will be wonderful.

Will try to upload some picture during the trip but if I haven't do so, the only reason is because I'm too tired to be able to do anything at the end of each day. If it happens, I promise will upload most of what I see when I go back to Copenhagen.

Here's some pictures of the hotel I'm staying to begin with. Until next blog, stay around!!

Pic: view from hotel room (open air restaurant view)

Pic: Snap shots from corners of the hotel

Pic: La Ramblas street view from hotel

CPH PIX

Running from 16-April until 26-April is Copenhagen's Film Festival http://www.cphpix.dk/n/a1.lasso?e=1 which present Copenhagen's cinemagoers with unique films from all over the world focusing on new talent. It's a huge event that covers more than just film. Check out the website to know more.

When I was in Malaysia, typically 8-20 foreign films are shown during our 'film festival' but in Copenhagen, the versatility is magnified at least a hundred times, covering from far east to Europe, comedy to avant-garde. I'm surprise to see quite a number of Singapore Films are featured as well (not that I'm from S'pore but it's the closest to home, so...)

Even though I'm overwhelmed with the selection, my choice of films are restricted to language limitation for if I choose an European film, most probably it'll be shown with Danish subtitle and I'm not exactly up to speed to catch the essence yet. So I put my scope on Asian movie, narrowed down to a Korean (My Dear Enemy) & a Kazakhstan movie (the Native Dancer).

From its opening shot -- a long take that follows tightly wound thirtysomething Hee-su from her car to a racetrack, where she surprises her ex-b.f., Byeong-woon and demands the 3.5 million won ($2,600) he still owes her. The ex-bf is laid back & broke but he suggests her to drive him around town to meet some friends who can help (borrowing money, of course).

A middle-aged business woman loaned him a sizable amount, but Hee-su wanted the full amount and refuse to settle on 1/3 of the money. So they continue & as the journey goes on, they meet a wealthy bargirl who insulted Hee-su; Byeong-woo's former girlfriend and her weird rich husband; single mom who owes Byeong-woo favour; police woman who used to be Byeong-woo's skiing student; his cousin & some biker friends.

Initially I thought the focus is on Byeong-woo since he's the one linking one scene to another with mostly all the dialogues, but as the story developes, it becomes clear that Hee-su is the sewing thread. Following Hee-su's emotional as she discovers more of Byeong-woo's life, when she gradually change from sternly demanding her money, to understanding the other good qualities of Byeong-woo, to growing sympathetic for him, I have to admit I felt like being in her shoes for certain duration.

This film is far from a laugh-out-loud comedy (in fact, I think it's rather 'grey'), but the snappy dialogue between the characters and the fluidity of the script manage to make audience burst out in laughters from time to time. I don't know about others but I kind of like this film. I'm not too keen about the pace (it gets boring at certain interval) though. If it can pick up a faster pace or shorten by 20 minutes, it could be better. Anyway, that's just me.

Sakura Festival

18 & 19th April is Copenhagen's Sakura Festival for year 2009 by Langeline, along the coast line, where a lot of Japanese activities are held in conjunction with the cherry blossom (in Japanese: sakura) festival. I was told that the cherry trees are so small that they usually don't blossom well in Danish cold spring but this year seems to be an exception.

I went there with a friend and is absolutely stunned with the magnificant view that I see. If I can describe it with one word, I'll say it's breathtakingly beautiful. 200 Japanese donaetd cherry trees blossom so well with white / pink sakura, you won't believe how many pictures I've snapped (and I still don't think it captured 10% beauty of the true scenario).

Here's some to share:-

Pic: Snap shots of the sakura festival with various small Japanese stalls

Pic: Closer look at the cherry blossoms

Pic: the 'photographer' in action being photographed


Pic: Sakura festival 'grand' view

After the festival, I was tempted by someone to go to Japan end of this year. Shall I or shall I not? still thinking...but I'll definitely go to the Sakura Festival again next year (if the weather is good)!

Copenhagen Back to Live

Even though spring started theoretically a few months ago in Denmark, signs of spring have only been 'restored' since last Tuesday (very precise, isn't it? haha). Small young green leaves start to grow on trees, some small yellow flowers are already blooming among the grass, flower buds can be seen everywhere, I feel like Copenhagen is coming back to life again.


Sneak out on weekend with camera and took some gorgeous (maybe to my eyes only) pictures of late warm spring and actually met with a church wedding, sweet :)

15 degree, cool breeze, bright sun & new life everywhere, isn't it just scenic? I begin to understand why H.C.Andersen can write so many great fairy tales now...

Mongolian Beef

I've never heard of Mongolian Beef before so when I first stumble upon it, I was so curious & make it a must try it recipe. I googled it up and fo

und that it's a dish serve in Chinese-American restaurant, so it's probably only those who's been in / in The States know this dish.

Anyway, the recipe is so simple, you'll need:

500g flank steak, thinly sliced
1/4 cup of cornstarch
3 tsp canola oil
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1/2 cup of water & soy sauce (each)
2-3 tbsp of brown sugar (can always put 2, taste it & 'change' later)
some red peppre flakes (to taste)
3 scallion, slice crosswise into 2-3inches piece

Preparation:-
1. Pat the steak slices dry & mix them with corn starch. Make sure all pieces are well coated. Shake off excessive corn starch & put aside.
2. Heat half the oil in large wok & add garlic + ginger. Add soy sauce + water + brown sugar & pepper flakes. Stir & cook the sauce at medium high heat until boil & transfer to bowl (sauce should be watery).
3. Turn the heat up, add in remaining oil. When the oil heats, add in beef & cook until it's all browned. Pour the sauce back into wok, coat the meat with it & turn the heat down. Add green onions when the sauce is thicken & stir for about a minute.
Serve hot with rice / egg noodles.

Hoisin sauce is actually the main ingredient for this dish which I didn't use at all. However, this is by far one of the most delicious beef cooked Chinese style and it's so easy. I'll definitly cook a lot of this in future.

Chilled Cha Soba

It's not that Copenhagen doesn't have good Japanese restaurant, in fact, there are some that's really good & authentic, but I just can't find chilled green tea soba here. I was spoilt with selection back home & always miss it while I'm away so I bought a couple packs of green tea soba with me to Copenhagen during my recent Penang trips.

Chilled soba, as the name implies, is soba (Japanese buck wheat noodle), together with a quail's egg, tempura shreds, wasabi & spring onion, served chilled with a bowl of dipping sauce/soup. Can be served alone but I often like to order mixed tempura (prawn, mushroom & vegetables) to go with it.

Now with the main raw ingredient from Penang, I can cook it at 'home'. I avoided the hassle of deep frying tempura and made pan fried chicken. Turns out to be okay as well. The reason it's okay and not good is because my soba is not chilled enough & I'd still prefer tempura if I have a deep fryer. Maybe I should buy one?

Penang's Top3 Buddhist Temples

Whenever I have friends visiting Penang (and I'm of course the tour guide + driver), there are several great temples that I must bring them to.

1. Wat Chayamangkalaram
- World's third longest reclining (or 'sleeping') buddha with Thai influence in the temple's architecture. Series of painted pictures telling the story of the Lord Gautama Buddha. Behind the reclining Buddha are storage of cremated urns with photos of the deceased. Siamese style dragons and guards at the entrance of the temple.


2. Dhammikarama Burmese Temple
- Penang's first Buddhist temple, built in 1803, situated directly opposite the reclining Buddha temple. Two huge and imposing-looking chinthes (mythical beings that are combination between a dragon, a dog and a lion) guard the entrance to the main prayer hall that house a big standing Buddha.


3. Kek Lok Si Temple
- With a seven storey main pagoda of the temple that houses 10,000 Buddha statues and a magnificant 30m tall Statue of Goddess of Mercy, it is the largest Buddhist temple in South East Asia...and the temple is still 'growing'.

Bad Audees

Audees is one of my favourite restaurant in Penang, or shall I say, used to be. Environment was nice & food was always good with relatively wide selection of wine http://www.audees.com/. This time when I was in Penang, I recommended it to my travelling colleague & we went there one of the days during very late hour at around 10pm, planning to try out the Wagyu beef.

Audees' operates until midnight (well, at least that's what they published). When we got there, the restaurant is empty, no reception but I can see some movement in the kitchen. Took me 10 times more 'excuse me's to get attention. I mean, if you do not want to receive guests anymore, just don't take us in. We were taken in but the service is not what it used to be.

We weren't even asked for drinks, the waiter rushed to get our main course order but with a lot of items in the menu not available (needless to say, that includes the Wagyu beef). Before we even have chance to look at dessert menu, we were thrown the bill. I mean, the waiter shown up with a bill in hand suddenly & say it's closing time at 11.20pm, so what can we do other than pay & leave?

My travel companion is not very happy with the service (well, actually also the food). Maybe because I gave him a perception that Audees is a fine restaurant with good service. I'm surprise myself. I guess things change along the way when I was away.

Anyway, if you're considering to go to Audees for a supposed fine dinner, then choose normal dinner hour & preferably set your expectation lower. Just to avoid yourself from being too dissapointed :s

Spa Indulgence

Spa is not so popular in Denmark, don't know why. Maybe due to the expensive price?! A simple spa + sauna session cost 10 times more compare to Malaysia. So one of my itinerary in Penang is always to visit a spa. I 'failed' my mission last trip and manage to make time for it this time (yeah!)

My travel companion loves spa too, which makes it easier to co-ordinate our activities. To be honest, when I was in Penang, I didn't have much spa session so when it comes to selecting a spa location, I can only trust the Internet. Hence, we make our ways to Danai Spa http://www.danaispa.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=70 for a 2.5hrs indulgence session immediately after I recovered from flu and never regret it.

Pic: Snap shot at Danai Spa entrance, a bungalow converted 'secret garden' ;)

Started with 90 minutes of full body massage, then a 40 minutes milk & honey body scruo, follow with 20 minutes of Muscle Ease Salt Soak...ends with a 10 minutes jacuzzi with seaview, what more can I ask for? If I go back to Penang again, I'd like to try their body wrap. Hmm...how about chocolate body wrap? lol...