Day trip to Macau from Hong Kong

Now that borders have opened, travel can go back to normal to places around Hong Kong, mainly Macau and China. The whole of last year we were practically stucked in HK and when restrictions eased, we managed to go back to Malaysia and travelled from there. But now, everything has opened up and we immediately took the opportunity to cross to Macau. Macau has been my number one place to visit when I came to HK because I wanted to see those themed hotels and eat yummy Portugese food.

We took the bus from Prince Edward and the bus ride took 2 hours plus to reach Macau. We had to change bus twice because there were 2 immigrations to pass through- HK & Macau. But the scenery travelling through the Zhuhai bridge was beautiful. The ferry is more straightforward and will take about an hour and since we're going back by ferry, we wanted to see the best of both worlds hehe

The bus took us straight to our selected hotel, The Venetian.

It was really beautiful. It's like being in Venice with the gondola ride. Each hotel has their own theme and it would be nice to just hop hotels to see their architecture and design.

Then we walked out to have lunch.

Mygawd the crowd that weekend was crazy. I guess we were not the only ones wanting to visit Macau after being trapped hahahah

Lord Stow's bakery at Cotai side sells the famous Portugese egg tarts. But the queue was insane.

We saw the never ending line and we thought, we should just cross over to Macau side for the ex-wife's bakery.

In the meantime, we stopped at Tai Lei Loi Kei first.

They are famous for their pork chop. Either in noodles or..

...in buns. We got it in the pineapple croissant bun. The pork chop was tender, flavourful and yummy!

Then we had Serradura for dessert. It's basically biscuit crust with vanilla ice cream haha

And then we took the bus to Macau side to Margaret's Cafe e Nata, who is apparently Lord Stow's ex-wife lol.

The queue was long as well but after eating, now we had better mood to queue *laughs* The street wasn't as narrow as Cotai's side so it was bearable. We did queue for 40 minutes though.

Finally! I'm salivating while writing haha

Number one tip: DO NOT EAT IMMEDIATELY. It will be very hot as it is freshly made from the oven. You will burn your tongue and you can't taste anything when it's hot anyway. Wait at least 20-30 minutes, let it cool down, walk a bit then open up the box and feast on it. I know how impatient you can be especially after queuing up for so long but trust me, wait on it and it will be worth it. The custardy filling, the flaky pastry and the sweetness of the burnt crust was the best feeling. But is it worth it to wait that long? Hurmm...well, you tell me! I think we have something similar in HK at Bakehouse but it's sourdough egg tarts. Hope to try Lord Stow's one to compare hehe.

Macau has so many beautiful themed hotels and gorgeous architecture. This is the beauty of Macau aside from food.

We then walked up to Ruins of St. Paul.

Then we stopped for a Pistachio latte.

Saw more beautiful buildings.

Stopped inside a casino to rest. Yes, you can just pick any casino, walk inside and have free flow drinks and finger food. There's chairs and tables to rest as well if you don't gamble and people watch. It was quite fun hehe.

Then our friend picked us to have dinner at Broadway Macau.

Lamb.

African chicken- MUST EAT when in Macau.

Baked duck rice- another must eat

Cheese baked bread.

After that, we took the ferry back to Hong Kong. We literally took an entire day from 9am bus from HK and 11pm ferry from Macau hahaha. We definitely had so much fun but hope to go back when it's less crowded. The crowd just gives me a bit of anxiety hahaha and we just don't like queuing up for things. There's still so much more things to try in Macau like ziplining, bungee jump and we still have yet to try Lord Stows' tart, and many famous coffee shops.

Wagyu Dojo omakase

 During the CNY week, we managed to slot in a day for a beef omakase at Wagyu Dojo.

Their concept is for customers to try the entire parts of a wagyu beef. We normally eat ribeye, sirloin and the famous parts in normal restaurants. But here, we get to try each parts and each parts taste differently of a wagyu. You definitely cannot finish the entire wagyu in one seating (cholesterol alert!) and also due to the time limit of 2 hours. You will need 2-3 seatings to finish all the parts.

I ate so many parts and couldn't remember which is what so these pictures are for remembrance here.

We started with Uchibara.

In a bowl of salad.

Then came Chuck Eye Log & Ninoude.

As you can see, the chef gave us 2 portion of each meat per person. At this point, I knew I may not even be able to finish the entire 2 hours because it can be very filling very fast. If he gave 1 portion of meat would be just nice for me I think. But due to his generous portion, I think this omakase was very worth it and value for money.

Uchimomo & Katasankaku.

The chef did everything in front of us- like a true omakase style.

Katarosu.

Then there's beef soup to refresh our palate.

Uwamisuji & Zabuton.

Tongue, Tatebara & Harami.

Cooked in beef curry.

Yuzu drink to cleanse the palate.

Tongue.

Coupled with Kombu Salt. This was my favourite combo!

Also another fave- with caviar!

Wagyu Sando.

Misuji- my favourite part since I had it at Yakiniku Great.

Melts in your mouth.

Vanilla ice cream made with beef fat.

That was all I could stomach for the entire course. In fact, I almost couldn't take any more meat already but luckily the last push was Misuji which he kept the best for last.

For RM388, we think it is very worth it. It is one of the cheapest wagyu omakase thus far. We may come back to try the rest of the parts to finish the diagram haahaha. The limitation is that it could only sit 8 people and we booked 1 month in advance because it sells out very fast.

The entire experience was fun because the chef explained each part and it was quite educational. We definitely learnt a lot about wagyu these days after going for a few omakase. Some parts are definitely tougher like the tongue and some real tough ones, you need to cook in broth or be made into curry like the Shank. And then the best ones are the ones that melt in your mouth =)

Book your slots early!

Wagyu Dojo

48 Komplek Bandar Park Jalan Mega Mendung,

off Jln Klang Lama, Old Klang Road, 

58200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Japan Crate- a bit of Japan at your doorstep

Japan is well known for its distinctive Japan made snacks. And now, you don't even need to leave your house to eat Japanese food or be culturally connected to Japan. Thanks to Japan Crate, you can now get a monthly assortment of Japanese sweets delivered right to your doorstep!

The snack culture in Japan is interestingly unique in its own right, so Japan Crate strives to bring the best Japanese snacks and candies to the world. Try everything from Japan-exclusive Kit Kats to DIY candy kits, rare drinks, and more! Get a Japanese snack crate containing irresistibly tasty and uniquely Japanese treats and share them with your loved ones or keep them all to yourself—no judgment!

Japan Crate includes 18 to 20 full-size candy and snacks, a Japan-exclusive drink, a monthly bonus item, and a booklet featuring translations, fun facts, and more! Each month, each box is thoughtfully picked out to match the season or theme to bring you only the most exclusive Japanese candies and popular Japanese snacks.

I received the Christmas box in the month of December and the box was so festive looking! When I opened, I was surprised with the amount of snacks that could fit in it!

That's me genuinely happy with all the snacks received. I was not the only happy one- my husband, family & friends were excited too because they get to share these Japanese snacks which may not be available in Malaysia.

There were so many snacks to choose from but these are some of my favourites:

Karamucho Spicy Sticks.

We munched and finished this in one movie LOL! It was that addictive- with a little spice, salt & seaweed flavour.

This Diamond Ring Candy was superrr cute!

There is a ring shape so you can wear on your finger and lick the lollipop HAHA. It is cola flavoured which is really my favourite candy flavour and it was so fun!

Champagne Cider Gummy. 

I brought it to an open house with my friends and each took one and it was gone in seconds. It was chewy and yummy.

This is my favourite school candy! In Malaysia, of course it's a different brand but to be able to reminisce those school days with this Pachi Pachi Cola popping candy was so exciting especially to hear the cracking sounds in the mouth =)

Argghh! I've been wanting to try this Kit Kat Chestnut flavour after seeing it went viral in TikTok and finally managed to try it. It came with the entire bag with 10 mini bars as a bonus item for the Christmas box (super generous I must say!). The combination of sweet white chocolate and delicate chestnut cream was the perfect combo and once again, it finished within seconds with my friends hahaha

This cute Tokyo Revengers Coffee with anime characters on it had me thinking twice to open it so that it can remain as a cute item in my fridge hahaha...The milky rice cafe au lait drink was really yummy especially after refrigerating and my husband gulped so fast after opening >.<

This Candy Cane Stick was so cute, it was a highlight among young cousins when I shared this with them. It is filled with chocolate candies and was a favourite among young and old. 

This Puku Puku Tai Lemon fish shaped snack was surprisingly good. It's like a waffle with a hint of lemon.

There were random snacks included in the box as well such as fruit gummies which were sourishly yummy among the sweets. There's also a strawberry candy and chewing gum and mini milk pot candy plus green tea mochi!

And out of all the cute snacks, this was quite a surprise when I opened it. Turned out that it was a roll of sour apple candy which was what I love to eat when I was young. Only the Malaysian version comes with a lot of sour or sugary powder and this was plain sour apple which was perfect and not messy to eat. 

One thing I can say about this snack box- nostalgia. I loved snacking as a kid and when I got older, I kinda stopped and then this huge box of candies made all the memories come back. Plus, I get to share with family & friends and that's what the festive season is all about. To see people around me happily snacking, makes me happy =)

How much you ask?

US$49.95 - month to month

US$47.95 - 3 month prepay (you save $6!)

US$46.95 - 6 month prepay (you save $18!)

US$45.79 - 12 month prepay (you save $49.95!)

Japan Crate is available with FREE SHIPPING worldwide! Once you've placed your order online, processing typically takes 5 to 10 business days. Try Japan Crate right away if you're looking for something unique and bizarre and want to learn more about Japanese culture. There aren't many things more thrilling than waiting for a mystery gift to arrive and each one with Japan Crate will definitely not disappoint.