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Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts

Monday, August 31, 2015

Taiphoon Formosa Cuisine Restaurant (台风膳房台湾料理) at Taman Sutera Utama, Johor Bahru.

Taiphoon Formosa Cuisine restaurant 台风膳房台湾料理 (N1.51433 E103.66898) is located exactly same place with Taroko Teppanyaki along Jalan Tanjung Sutera 8/2, Taman Sutera Utama, Johor.

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We were there quite early and it was not that crowded. The restaurant cozy and tidy environment remain the same, equipped with air-conditioning and free Wifi services.

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Cozy and tidy setting of the restaurant

The humble and friendly owner - Mr Thomas started to introduced their signature dishes to us once we settled the table. At first, he would like us to try out the imported Taiwan teas which are not easy available in Johor Bahru, as the name of the tea was 'Shan-lin-xi' (杉林溪). Beside this, they also have another 3-4 more imported Taiwan tea in the restaurant.

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Alisan tea 阿里山高山茶

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Highlands tea 高山极品茶

This was my first time tasting the Taiwanese tea, surprisingly...it was not in brown colour...but totally plain and no colour at all. The aroma was spreading around our table once it pour into each small cup, we like it very much!

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Shan-lin-xi Taiwanese tea 杉林溪高山茶

We let Mr Thomas to introduced their signature dishes on the dinner...and the dishes were :-
1)  Taiwanese pork knuckles 台湾猪脚
2)  Shredded pork with mashed garlic 蒜泥白肉
3)  Mapo toufu (stir fried toufu in hot sauce) 麻婆豆腐
4)  Garlic sprout bean curd 蒜苗豆干
5)  Braised intestine 卤大肠
6)  Stir fried Chinese broccoli 清炒芥兰
7)  Meat ball soup 贡丸汤
8)  Chicken cooked with ginger and wine in casserole 三杯鸡
9)  Chives and cabbage dumplings 韭菜和白菜饺子

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Taiwanese pork knuckles 台湾猪脚

The taste of the Taiwanese pork knuckles was slightly different from our local braised pork knuckles, it was mild and not too salty but with a nice aroma. Beside that, the pork knuckles was cooked with peanuts and it went well with a plate of plain rice. Like it!

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Shredded pork with mashed garlic 蒜泥白肉

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This was a popular dish in Taiwan. The sliced pork was boiled and served with the mashed garlic sauce and almost 13 types of ingredients like onion, ginger, soy sauce, rock sugar, anise, Chinese cinnamon, salt and many more...the pork were half lean and fat, and succulent, with all this combination of the ingredients above...resulted this delicious dish on our table.
This was one of the best dish of our dinner! Awesome!

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Mapo toufu (stir fried toufu in hot sauce) 麻婆豆腐

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Mapo toufu (stir fried toufu in hot sauce) 麻婆豆腐

Mapo toufu was nice with a little spicy on the gravy on the smooth bean curd, the taste was above average.

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Garlic sprout bean curd 蒜苗豆干

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The garlic sprouts bean curd available locally too, but fried with certain different local ingredients. Garlic sprouts were just nice with the crunchy bite with a level saltiness.

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Braised intestine 卤大肠 + 卤蛋

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Braised intestine 卤大肠 + 卤蛋

The braised intestines is widely available locally especially at the Koey Teow Kia restaurant, the only different about this dish was the sauce from Taiwanese recipe. It really brought me back to Taipei for few second when I taste on it. Nice!

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Stir fried Chinese broccoli 清炒芥兰

Stir fried Chinese broccoli was average and it was a local dish, not Taiwanese signature.

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Meat ball soup 贡丸汤

Meat ball soup was prepared with meat ball (minced pork) with white radish, the size of the balls were bigger than what we have locally, the soup was tasty and all of us like it.

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Chicken cooked with ginger and wine in casserole 三杯鸡

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The dish above also known as three cup chicken, a popular dish within Taiwan. The chicken cooked with ginger and wine, topped up with basil leafs. Taste was slightly different compare with local clay pot yellow rice wine chicken. Taste above average.

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Chives and cabbage dumplings 韭菜和白菜饺子

Homemade dumplings skin and rich stuffing. Dip into the vinegar and ginger, it was perfect
Based on my personal taste bud, I like their dumplings very much! Chives or cabbage, I grabbed both! This is one of the recommended dumplings you should order!

Beside the dishes above, we did ordered some of the Teppanyaki dishes from the restaurant...chicken, lamb and beef.

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New Zealand beef Teppanyaki

Overall, we like the food over here. I'll be back often for the mashed garlic sliced pork and the dumplings!

The business hour of Taiphoon Formosa Cuisine restaurant is 11am - 10pm, daily. Do drop by if you happen at Taman Sutera Utama area (if you are reading from your smartphone, you can click on the GPS coordinates and launch Google map navigation to the restaurant.)

*  The above food descriptions were based on my personal taste bud.

Taiphoon Formosa Cuisine Restaurant 
(台风膳房台湾料理)
99, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/2,
Taman Sutera Utama,
Skudai - Johor Bahru.
Open everyday 11am - 10pm

Location of Taiphoon Formosa Cuisine Restaurant 台风膳房台湾料理 at Taman Sutera Utama, Johor Bahru.



Tuesday, January 07, 2014

Deluxe Harbour View Room in Traders Hotel Puteri Harbour, Johor

"Traders Hotel, Puteri Harbour, Johor provided Malaysian's stylish guestrooms and suites range from 33 to 96 square metres in size, and each is outfitted with a spacious bathroom, 40-inch TV, IDD dual direct line with voice mail, motorised day and night curtains, iron and ironing board, in-room safe deposit, a mini-bar, hairdryer, and coffee and tea making facilities, among other practical features. There are also two rooms with special features designed for persons with disabilities."

There are total of 283 rooms in Traders Hotel Puteri Harbour, Johor. 129 of Deluxe rooms, 90 of Deluxe harbour view rooms, 14 of Premier rooms, 18 of Traders Club rooms, 23 of Traders Club harbour view rooms, 8 of Executives suites and 1 of Specialty suite.

We were having a 2 days 1 night city escape and enjoyed the comfortable Deluxe harbour view room. Let me show you in the photos below...

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Nice fishes on the wall...

The view through the window was marvelous! Harbour view...

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The room equipped with an extra sofa bed, and that was my comfort bed, let my wife and daughter enjoyed the King size bed...
There was a study table at the corner and provided with complete necessity like international power socket, wired network UTP port and even HDMI + audio jack to the TV.

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The study table at the corner...

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The power sockets and the ports...

There are total of 9 power sockets in the room, and it was really convenience for me and my family to charge our gadget during the night. No need to fight for it anymore! Haha! This was my first came across the hotel room provided so many power sockets at every corner in the room.

The bathroom is spacious and the tempered glass showering area is wide enough for a big size person.

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All the bathroom necessity even a table clock was provided...

"A pampering stay on the Traders Club floor ensures the needs of savvy travellers are cared for the provides use of a *private lounge with breakfast, refreshments and evening cocktails; personalised check-in and check-out; meeting area and club concierge. Guests will also appreciate the complimentary suit pressing and shoe shine service, daily newspaper and fresh fruits. Shangri-La's Golden Circle members can enjoy special privileges and earn reward points while staying at the hotel."

Even the rooms in the hotel are fully covered with the good coverage WiFi signal, the network port still provided for those old model of notebook which is without the WiFi card built-in.

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The reading LED light beside the bed

The rooms rate is not fixed for every booking, you can login to their website (URL below) and do your reservation early to get a better rate.

We enjoyed the comfort stayed in the room and being greeted by every staffs who passed by with a lovely smile.
We were really satisfied and my daughter said, she want to re-visit the hotel again! :)

Related post :-
*  The Traders Hotel at Puteri Harbour Nusajaya, Johor.
*  Sumptuous 4 course dinner at SkyBar and buffet breakfast at Traders Hotel Puteri Harbour, Johor.

Traders Hotel, Puteri Harbour, Johor.
Persiaran Puteri Selatan, Puteri Harbour.
Nusajaya, Johor.
Tel : +607-560 8888    Fax : +607-560 8999

Location map of Traders Hotel at Puteri Harbour Nusajaya, Johor.


Saturday, December 21, 2013

The Traders Hotel at Puteri Harbour Nusajaya, Johor.

The Traders Hotel (N1.41773 E103.65641) is located next to the Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park at Nusajaya, Johor. The hotel was just started operation in the year 2013 which only few months ago...
There is a highway connected to the Second Link and North South Expressway to the location, so there shouldn't be any problem if you drive from the north or even coming from our neighbor country - Singapore. (you can refer from the G map below)

"The mid-market Traders brand, managed by Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, cater to today's savvy and passionate traveler with brilliant simplicity and warm sincerity. They provide a friendly yet professional environment designed to complement guests at work, rest and play.

In 1989 the first Traders Hotel opened in Beijing to complement Shangri-La's China World Hotel. Building on Traders Hotel, Beijing's success, today there are 15 Traders hotels in operation, with a scheduled opening in Doha Qatar."

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Traders Hotel, Nusajaya - Johor.

We were having our 2 days 1 night city escape trip in the hotel on one of the weekend during this school holiday.
The hotel provided 2 storey of basement parking and limited parking at the front of the hotel. The lobby is situated on the 1st floor and the whole lobby is decorated by the nature theme of ocean. You can see the shape of waves are decorated everywhere included the lighting, reception counter and the sofa for the guests. The carpet is pepper stone design in the wave shape too, and if you notice one of the wall paper is in blue color that represent the ocean...
This lobby is special!

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The lobby of Traders Hotel

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The comfort lighting in the shape of waves

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The carpet at the lobby

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Even the lift lobby also having the wave's shape wall light...

We were invited politely to the Lobby Lounge by the women at the counter while waiting for our room checking...impressed.

The Lobby Lounge
The lounge is just located next to the lobby and it was a relax and comfort place to have a drinks or enjoy your favorite coffee. The lounge is having a simple and yet relax design, it'll be a good area for a tea break with your friends or clients.

Photos of the Lobby Lounge :-

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The old Johor map on the glass. This is the map where Johor was started.

I was surprised when the staff brought over their iPad for my signature to check in the room, and I found out later that the hotel is practice in the paperless concept to "Protect and save the Earth"! There will be no paper during your check-in and check-out, if you insist on the receipt while check out, the management will email it to you. Amazing and I like it very much!
This was the first hotel within Johor I came across practicing this 'green' concept. Excellent!

Let me bring you for a virtual tour around the hotel before the rooms...

The function rooms are located at the 4th floor (which also the top floor) of the building 1, and we walked passed the main ballroom...

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The corridor access to the Main Ballroom

The decoration of the ballroom is mainly about wood, and we saw some interesting 'Batik' wood craft decor in the room...

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 The Batik wood craft as a decor in the room

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There's also a VIP waiting room situated at the lift lobby of the 4th floor, provided for those who are waiting for the event.

Walk across the sky-bridge to the building 2, the roof top garden is perfect relax area for guests and you can capture the breathtaking view of the Puteri Harbour.

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Puteri Harbour of Nusajaya, Johor.

At the left side of the roof top garden, there's the Traders Club Lounge exclusive for VIP guests. It's the place for VIP guests to meet and dine their clients who visit them. There's also a meeting room in the Traders Club Lounge where the guests to held a discussion with their customers.

Once you step into the lounge, you'll see rows of comfort sitting area...where you can having a chat or reading your favorite books...

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The lounge designed a full grass on the other side that makes a nice view of the Puteri Harbour.

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The dining area is located next after the relax area...

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All the decorations are based on nature and fishermen. If you notice the walls are decorated like the fishing net and the main attractive area is the foods area. There are many different type of fishes hanging on top and there are beautiful! Nice!

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Awesome decor of the Traders Club Lounge

You will have a option to choose a privacy dining area which is separated. The fishing net deco are more clearer at this corner...

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The harbour view meeting room has all the basic facility such as fax machine, printer, internet access and etc.

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On the right of the Roof top garden is the health and fitness center.

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The health and fitness center of Traders Hotel, Nusajaya

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The GYM center

It's definitely a nice place for gym because it has a nice harbour view from the glasses...

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The health center will be start operating soon in the months later...

After walk through the fitness center, another sky bridge connected from building 2 to 3. I like this well designed bridge very much! The Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park is on my right and the Puteri Harbour is on my left. I cross it many times...:)

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On the other side of the bridge, we reached the infinity swimming pool and the SkyBar of Traders Hotel.

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There are children pool, jacuzzi pool and a big pool overview the scenic view of the harbour, coastal of Johor, Straits of Johor and partial of Singapore.

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Lazy chair are ready to serve in every corner of the pool...

You even can enjoy a few mugs of ice cold beer or your favorite cocktail in the SkyBar (just open not too long ago) just next to the swimming pool...the SkyBar is a total new concept that you can refer to my previous post.

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The SkyBar of Traders Hotel Puteri Harbour, Johor.

Among all the area in Traders Hotel, I like this view (below) very much! Standing on the bridge connected building to building overview the Little Red Cube below...(I snapped more than 30 photos just about this view...)

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Me and my family had awesome breakaway on the 2 days 1 night city escape! We all love the hotel and the surrounding very much! I over heard the conversation between my wife and my daughter said...they want to come here and stay always...:)

Below photo was one of the wood (tree) decor I like, it located at the forth floor of the building 2.

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Please visit their official website (below) for the rooms rate. Their rates are different that depends on the earliest booking, means if you book early you'll get a better rate!

I'll continue the room that we stayed and other type of room available on my next post, that will also include the delicious meal that we enjoy in the hotel. Not to forget the Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park too. So stay tune!

Related post :-
Deluxe Harbour View Room in Traders Hotel Puteru Harbour, Johor.
*  Sumptuous 4 course dinner at SkyBar and buffet breakfast at Traders Hotel Puteri Harbour, Johor.

Traders Hotel, Puteri Harbour, Johor.
Persiaran Puteri Selatan, Puteri Harbour.
Nusajaya, Johor.
Tel : +607-560 8888    Fax : +607-560 8999

Location map of Traders Hotel at Puteri Harbour Nusajaya, Johor.