Stockholm 'survival' guide

I have to travel to Stockholm to attend to some important matters and now after the trip, before I forget all the details (and also to serve as reference to myself in future shall I visit Stockholm again), I just want to share what I experienced to help others make their travel plans. If you're looking for a back-packing style of travelling, please stop reading further and buy a Rough Guide. I've only been to Stockholm once for a short weekend, I am not an expert about the Stockholm; however, I do live in a more expensive Scandinavia city and has extensive travel experience, plus, it's my blog :p

First of, hotel. If you do not die of staying right in the middle of everything that happens in town, then consider just a few metro stations away from the city centre, definitely brings your money more worth of its value. I guess it's no mystery to many but Stockholm in particular is worth while to do so because the city is of a decent walking size. If you're not too unfit & the weather permits, you can plan your sight seeing trips without breaking your wallet by the areas - on foot. Most hotels in Stockholm include breakfast, which saves you quite some money unless your idea of breakfast is a croissant and coffee from 7-eleven ;) The one thing that is not common in Stockholm hotel is the coffee / tea making facility which is probably common in other places, so set the expectation right. 

Now after selecting your hotel, how are you going to get into town from Arlanda airport (assuming you are flying to Arlanda)? Arlanda Express which costs 260SEK one way, takes 20 minutes to go into city centre and is the best option if you're travelling alone and press on time. If you travel on Saturday/Sunday or in summer, you only need to pay 280SEK for two person for a single journey. Plus, you can bring up to 4 children below 17 years old for free. And if you're only in Stockholm for a weekend, from Thursday/Friday until Satuday/Sunday of the same week, then get a weekend return ticket for 325SEK, you can also bring up to 4 children for free for the ride. Remember, if you do not stay right next to the Arlanda express station, you'll need to purchase tickets for use of public transport (unless you have the Stockhol card).

We travelled to Stockholm, arriving on Saturday & departing on Monday and decided to take a taxi directly to our hotel. Our taxi ride costs 495SEK fixed price from the company called 'Airport Cab', nice clean Mercedes with very good service. Taxi Stockholm / Taxi 020 charges 520SEK one way and you shouldn't pay anything more than that. If you pre-order a taxi, additional fee will incurred for the waiting & parking time.  There are quite a number of 'private taxis' in Stockholm and there's no regulation about taxi fare, so watch out for 'black cab'. Taxi Stockholm, Taxi 020 (very yellow painted cars) & Taxi Kurir are the major taxi companies with compatible price and their service is also more trustworthy. 

From the city to the airport, it should be cheaper (because there's no airport tax) and the fixed price taxi rate for Airport Cab is 390SEK. If you really can't find any Airport Cab, there are plenty of taxis in town that is more than willing to take you to the airport. However, remember this direction should always be cheaper than 520SEK, so negotiate the price and definitely get a final agreement on price before getting on taxi. We paid 450SEK from city centre to Arlanda airport. It is possible to take public train to the city from airport but it's not cheap, changes are required and the local train only travel nearly once an hour, not recommended.

So how are you going to move around in town? If you have purchase the Stockholm card, then you can disregard this section but if you haven't, then please read on. If you visit Stockholm in summer, I'd highly recommend walking. Stockholm is a good size walking friendly city. Plan the areas you want to visit by location, then you can easily save hundreds of Swedish kroners on public transport, plus you get a better overview of the city by walking. 

Inevitably, at some point, you'd have to take public transport. A single ticket cost 36SEK and allows you to travel within zone1, which is pretty much everything interesting in Stockholm. If you have the need to travel more than a few times, you can purchase a 'pre-sale strip' of 16 zones at 200SEK for a total of 16 zones. A small note for the strip: minimum travelling zone is 2 zones; which means, even when you only travel within zone 1, the booth personnel will stamp two zones on your ticket. Even with that, 2 zones = 25SEK with the strip, you still save 9SEK each trip.

16-zone strip (on the left) and a single trip ticket (on the right)

Another option is of course to get a day pass, which save all the hassles but it doesn't really come cheap at 115SEK; a three day ticket is however more reasonably priced at 230SEK. Expect to pay 20SEK extra for the smart card and the cards are valid from the hour of first use. My advice? walk around, enjoy the beautiful scenery. All tickets can be purchased at booths / kiosks with the blue 'SL' flag. For more detail info, you can check out http://sl.se/en/Visitor/Tickets/Visitor-tickets/.

Stockholm is expensive but it doesn't mean you can't visit this beautiful city if you don't have loads of money. We tried not to spend a fortune but still end up with a bill that is equivalent to a week's vacation in the middle / eastern Europe for two, so watch out your wallet & plan wisely. Hopefully the info provided above helps on top of whatever researched you have found about Stockholm, and have a pleasant trip :)

Momofuku Noodle Bar

I am a big big Momofuku fan, so much so that New York is chosen as a holiday vacation out many other interesting places in the States partly because Momofuku restaurants are there. I have a Momofuku cook book, still loving it; and have been trying to perform some David Chang experiments in my own kitchen with great success, so I have very high hopes in Momofuku Restaurants.

Not wanting to spend a fortune on the new Momofuku Ko, we decided to try the first Momofuku shop - The Noodle Bar. The noodle bar's original location is now Ko and Noodle Bar is moved to East Village, bigger space, more seats. We make it a point to visit Momofuku Noodle bar for a late lunch while we're in NY. 

I must say the shop has a very subtle facade but having previously checked out the location on Google Earth, it's not a problem finding the location. Warm welcoming staff and a pretty occupied restaurant at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon seem like good signs to me :) We were lead to the bar seats, simple 'paper menu' are provided and specials of the day are written on chalk boards hanging on the walls.

Open kitchen so diner can see all the kitchen actions; simple decó, nice & bright; and the process flow of the restaurant is streamlined to perfection, I must say. The kitchen never have to worry about take away for it is being taken care of at the bar. Even the placement of the take away utensils are thoughtfully arranged in a way that benefits the process flow. One of the head staff is closely monitoring the output from kitchen, checking the 'performance'.

We ordered the 'must try' Momofuku pork bun as starter to share, Mr.T decided to try their signature ramen and while I want to put my taste bud to test on their Kimchi stew (did I forget to mention I LOVE kimchi?).

Our pork bun arrived after a short wait. My first impression of the bun was not good. The pork is too fatty and the colour doesn't look like it's been braised well. A bite into the bun brought even more disappointment. The pork is no doubt tender and the buns are steaming hot but the combination of pickled cucumber, hoisin sauce and spring onion which should accentuate the taste of the pork are just not working. The textures are there but the tastes are missing!

Soon after, my kimchi stew is delivered and the colour just looks so luring. Does the Kimchi stew taste as good as it looks? Nah, big NO NO. The attractive colours aside, the kimchi stew doesn't even taste much of kimchi. The only thing that taste of anything in this stew is the pickled daikon. Unfortunately the daikons are cut into such a big chunk, a few bites of the same bits is enough to push me to the limit of stop eating. Pork is still tender albeit tasteless. Did they forget to season the stew?

And then comes Mr.T's order of signature Momofuku ramen. Judging from his expression, he's not happy with the quality of his noodle either. Thinking it cannot be that bad, I tasted his noodle and reluctantly, I have to admit this is an absolutely bland noodle. The only part that taste good is when Mr.T broke the egg and the yolks blends into the soup. I'm sorry to say they seem to have the ability to suck all the tastes away from what should have been a very tasty bowl of noodle (considering how many ingredients are present in this bowl).

Three dishes tasting below par on a visit really makes me doubt Momofuku's reviews & ravings. It's either both Mr.T and my palettes are totally off than those of New Yorkers or something is really wrong with the Momofuku Noodle Bar the day we visit. I also suspect they're using MSGs because we are both very thirsty after dining at Momofuku.

After the trip, I log into Trip Advisor to leave a comment and was surprise to see that others who have visited the restaurant on the same day as we did had very good review about the restaurant. Having dining from street side stalls to Michelin restaurants, I do not think my taste buds (or Mr.T's for that matter) are made any much different than others; and although hard to believe but even as a Momofuku fan, I have to say Momofuku Noodle Bar is not delivering!! 

I still refuse to believe this is the normal standard of Momofuku but I do believe they need some better quality control if this is what they are delivering daily to customers. For now, I'll just be a Momofuku cook book fan than the restaurant itself.

9/11 Memorial

On 9/11, we woke up early (despite getting up at 3am in the middle of the night) and went for our complimentary breakfast at the diners below the hotel. The diner is totally filled to the brink but the turnover rate is fast, so we quickly got our seats. I love the fresh orange juice, saw half & half for the first time, tasted a bland American breakfast then to realize apparently seasoning are to be done by ourselves (unlike in Europe) and sipped a terribly thin American coffee. Mr.T love his American breakfast though.

We went back to the hotel after breakfast for a quick use of toilet and saw some helicopters hovering around the World Trade Center old sites. Did I forget to mention I'm in the same city as 2 presidents (President Obama & ex-President Bush), senators, governors, mayors and politically important 'big shots' of US? Suddenly I feel so much more privilege to be in the city.

Subway station that stops at WTC is closed off and every single exit is guarded by 2 policemen. Due to 10th year 'anniversary' of the 9/11 incident, the entrance to the memorial site is given to family members of the victims of the attack as priority and we tourists who failed to reserve the remaining limited tickets can only walk around the perimeters that are safely guarded by almost the entire state's police force.

The crowd walking outside the perimeter of WTC

Coming out from the subway station, we were merely walking blindly in the financial district, assured on the fact that the best force are in town maintaining the security and ensure the smooth progress of the memorial ceremony. Psssk, by the way, there was a bomb threat to the memorial day but the authority has been doing a good job screening every single van that fit description, so we feel pretty safe. We walked pass the patisserie that is said to serve the best financier, but we're too full for that, so a picture as memorial.

The best financier in town?

I just love the water towers on top of the buildings and the outside staircases, and can almost see Spiderman hoovering from one tower to another.

Nice police car

One of the replacement building for WTC under construction, from battery park.

The raging bull at Wall Street

Walking pass the financial district, we tried to be smart and decided to go against the flow and take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, which turns out to be a good decision because there's literally no queue. Passing through the Battery Park, seeing the flags designed using all 911 victims names left a rather heavy impression.

As the ferry leaves Manhattan, the city's beautiful skyline that is featured in so many movies appears in front of our eyes, I almost feel like I'm in a movie. Unfortunately the weather is cloudy and hazy, it'd would have been a great view with clear blue sky.

Arriving at the Liberty Island, special agents with heavy machine guns are stationed at the dock for extra security precaution. I wanted to take a picture of them but not sure if it'll cause any unnecessary trouble, so I give it a rest. Standing at the feet of the Statue of Liberty, I can finally proudly say 'I've been here!'

Manhattan from Liberty Island

Despite the warm weather on Manhattan, once we're on the Liberty Island, the constantly blowing wind actually brings down the temperature and make it rather chilly. We take a really slow pace to go around the island, skipping Ellis Island and head back to the Skyscraper's Museum. A small free museum, nothing to shout about.

I have planned for the day's lunch to be food truck lunch but on a weekend, food trucks are not so easily available at the financial district, so we head for the subway to the new Momofuku Noodle Bar in East Village. To find out what's going on in the restaurant that sweeps New Yorkers feet away, check out Momofuku Noodle Bar.

Food truck selling soft ice

One of my colleagues says the best way to enjoy New York is by walking on the street, seeing it and feeling it; I couldn't agree more. So after Momofuku, we walked from 14th street to 37th street, passing by some of the more iconic landmarks like the Flatiron building and part of Fifth Avenue.

Our wonderful plan is to go back to the hotel for a small pit stop and then head out again to hit the town, but alas, jet lag hit us. A supposed little nap prolonged to be a good night sleep, when we wake up again, it is 3am in the morning. Empire State Building is looking gorgeous from the window but the day is gone, argh!!! We vow to do better the next day.

New York - First Contact

Finally, I set foot on the United States, and it's none other than the city that never sleeps - New York, hooray!!! My travelling time coincides with 9/11 10th year memorial, which is not intended. My brain stops working when I saw the word 'sales' on air ticket and forget about the extra security check that might be imposed during that period. Well, it turns out to be okay, nothing excessive in particular during our one week stay (except the day on 9/11 itself).

Hotel New Yorker that we stayed in

Mr.T booked us a suite on the top floor of a nice hotel and we were given a suite that not only boasts Empire States Building view (which is just a block away), but also has a Manhattan down town view and on a clear day, we can actually see the Statue of Liberty. We can't stop amazed at the suite's view throughout our stay during different times of days, good choice, Mr.T; and thanks for the stay :)

What did I say about the view? ;)

Getting to the city is easy as a breeze with the train and since we're staying at mid-town, the streets are very easy to navigate, so check in, drop baggage and done with. We then went out to Time Square to pick up our New York Pass, rubbing shoulders with people of all trades along the way and amazed at how common Spanish is in America's everyday life. Many times, I felt a deja-vu of seeing scenes from so many movies taken place in this very city. Mr.T has been doing 'research' by watching movies involving New York - Godzilla, US Marshall, King Kong, MIB etc., hence the influence...

Time Square

And then something 'magical' happens: Woodie, Elmo, the cookie monster suddenly appear on the street, how cute right? So I approach a Woodie and asked for a picture to realize the picture will cost ~USD1- 2, I was angry at myself for being naive forgetting about the realistic sides of this city. Well, that aside, we visited Hershey and M&M, saw some huge chocolates and also bought quite some amount of chocolates. Mr.T claims he didn't like the taste of Hershey (mainly due to the milk used) yet manage to eat 250g of my newly bought Hershey nougats!!

My 2USD shot with Woodie

Another shot of Time Square

Giant Hershey bar, real chocolate!

Tired, we decided to walk back to the hotel and take a rest. Along the way, a very special mini cup cake shop caught my eye, check out how beautiful the display is below. I cannot remember the shop name but there are plenty of mini cup cake stores in NY, be sure to treat yourself one.

These mini cup cakes cost a dollar each, not cheap for they are really small. After Mr.T and I munched down two, I realized I haven't take any picture and hence this is the last of it with vanilla frosting and cookie bear topping. They taste pretty good at their size, I think they'll be too sweet if they are normal sized cup cake.

The street was actually quite warm for a September day, around 26degreeC, we really appreciate the powerful air-conditioning in the hotel. After some discussion, we decided to sleep early tonight to try to gain energy for the days to come but before that, we of course have to had our first American dinner. TGI Friday is right across the street and so we went for it. 

My first encounter with American servicing, the same waiter/waitress that waits you will be the one you settle the bill with, good to know. As for the food...it's very disappointing. Mr.T's burger was very dry, the fries are fried so many times that they are too hard to be consumed; the best part of my Jack Daniel sauce chicken & shrimp platter is actually the broccoli, the shrimp is half raw and the chicken is dry, the sauce was ok though. 

And the most unwanted thing happen - jet lag. We automatically wakes up around 3am, wide awake, watching TVs, eating chocolates and taking picture from our room's wonderful view.

The jet lag goes on for a few more days but that aside, more on 9/11 day next.

A weekend in Amsterdam - 2

Now one of the things about travelling with friends (to my limited knowledge of Asian friends), we NEVER sleep before 2am. And if it's a 'long lost' friend who's not been in close contact recently, then the sleeping time just gets delayed by staying up talking, card playing, trash talking and junk food eating (sometimes also some booze). 

Being a grown up for some years now (working makes one feel old), I really miss those times and I am so glad we're on this trip because what that is lost in 'adulthood' is found again :) Having said that, it also means we have a hard time dragging ourselves out of bed in the morning. If not for the nice complimentary breakfast that stops serving at 9.30am, I don't think we'll get up before noon. 

The day starts with a self-timer photo snap in the tram. It's a result of wide angle camera, good timing with the tram stopping time & lack of others to help to take picture. Where we sit in the picture, is OUR daily seat while in Amsterdam. Nobody seems to like to move all the way to the back of the tram so we happily take up the three seater. Any more horizontal growth from any one of us, we'd have to seek for alternatives. Well, luckily that day hasn't come.

Trio in tram

We went to Van Gogh Museum without any reservation and were of course scared off by the street long queue and move on to Rijkmuseum, which also has a queue but not as long. Walking through the front green area of the museum, passing by a big pool, we found a very happy dog chasing tennis ball thrown into the water by its owner. On a sunny day, everything seems so relaxing with laughter in the air.

Spotted the 'I amsterdam' sign that everybody is taking pictures with, we simply have no chance. So we took the alternative shoot on the reversed side, not bad huh? Gosh I wish I'm a few inches taller, I look like a fat midget in between.

Then comes Rijkmuseum, totally recommend it, especially if you're Rembrandt fan or admirer of Dutch impressionist. Some interesting stuffs besides the wonderful paintings as well, like the clock that seems to have a hidden man in it. Every 5 minutes, he'd wipe off the minute hand and draw a new one, neat!

Also these gorgeous hand made baskets from craftsmen in Canton region, the Dutch brought them back for trades to the nobles. Then I realized apparently photo taking is forbidden in Rijkmuseum, oopsss...

After a good 2 hours in the museum (if my legs are not tired, I can definitely stay longer), we skipped out to a nearby square and fell in love with this little red car, it's actually a 2 seater, how cute is that?

Not hungry but very thirsty, we found ourselves into Hard Rock Café. With canal view (outdoor seats are full in such beautiful day), a cocktail in hand, the best buffalo wings I've had in a long time and in best friends' company, life is great!

We got inspired by the water cycled boats while sipping our cocktail. So immediately afterwards, we 'trail' the water cycles to the rental place and took up a boat for an hour. If you think I'll be the lucky lady being chauffeured around by my dear friends, you couldn't be more wrong. I have to do a lot of pedalling & controlling, tough luck. The view from canal is nice, slightly different from street level, and we had a great laughter fun filled ride to remember (especially when we started out paddling in circle and hitting onto boat docking at the sides :p)

On the rare occasions that I'm being chauffeured, of course I have to document it with a picture :)

With tired legs, we walk around the city a bit more, bought some cheese, chocolates & liquorice (surprise, Dutch liquorice can be really nice too), and then pay a visit to a recommended coffee shop for a last hash experience. Do I like it? umm...I can hardly feel the hash's power and I really don't like the tobacco. Maybe we got the tourist dosage but I have better ways to keep myself calm & relax (say reading?) :)

Amsterdam is a nice decent size city to walk around exploring. Way pass dinner time, just few minutes before ordinary restaurant's last order time, we checked into a Japanese restaurant, ordered a load of food and feast ourselves. Strangely though, I don't feel full at all even though the food intake is way more than what I normally do. The effect of hash? my friend is convinced it is.

Remember I mentioned they have the intention to make me drunk? after our huge Japanese dinner, we went for a pint of beer at a nearby bar, listening to free open concern music. Part of the reason for the drink is also because the tram is filled with people at 11pm, so now we know the peak traffic hour in Amsterdam is 11pm ;). When the crowd started to reduce an hour later, we took off to our hotel and had 2 shots of tequila each (last order, so no more).

Did we go to bed afterwards? of course not. Remember the 2am rule? we manage to get up for breakfast the next day and then it's goodbye. It might seem like the most purpose-less and boring trip to others; but to use, it's one of the most memorable trip and I truly enjoy myself.

Our last self-timer picture