Hubby & I had a wonderful trip to Penang + Langkawi on Nov 2018. We spent 2 nights in Penang, and 4 nights in Langkawi. Took Aeroline from Corus Hotel, KL to Penang (surprisingly very enjoyable bus ride with free blanket, water, plenty of leg space as we are on the first row!, free meal). The bus ride cost only RM60, go try Aeroline.

We spent 2 nights in penang, then took a really short flight from Penang to Langkawi (where we spent 4 nights), the plane ride is really short, the plane ascends, then descends straight away :).

Our hotel in Langkawi – M Hotel. We had been to this hotel before, and it is still clean, and cheap.

Char Kuey Tiaw in Ying Her kopitiam, walking distance away from M hotel

Tasty enough to eat 😛 Wish the portion is bigger though

Apom Guan

I think i over order, i think i order 40 pieces or more, something like 25 or 30 pieces for me, 15 for hubs. Too much till it spoil my appetite for few days after that :\

Kek Seng kopitiam, love their durian ice cream and soft jiggly jelly, as for the ais kacang, so so.

Must go Presgrave Hokkien Mee (similar to KL’s HarMee), must visit! Very flavorful and tasty

Wanted to go Chulia Street (Mother and Son Wanton Mee) and Kimberley Street (for 4-fruit drink), but both of them closed on Mondays! End up in Gurney drive for above. Apparently the stalls there are quite territorial, and if you sit in certain place, you should order the drink only from that area.

Our weight 😛 quite heavy

Still in penang here. The next morning (Tuesday morning), we wanted to eat something else (i think wanton mee in New Lane or something), but not open, so we ended up eating roti canai etc in lorong susu which is a pleasant surprise, food are quite nice here, and unique, the roti canai comes with pickle onion.

Eating hokkien food in Hock Chuan Heong Restaurant before our flight to langkawi. We arrived quite early, before they open for business, recommend to reach here at 12noon and not earlier. The seats fill up quite early when they open around 12noon/12:30pm.

Or chien is satisfying enough

Like this Bak Kie (pork soup) though i will still pick out the celery leaves

Once landed in Langkawi, we rent a car from a area with 10 over car rental agents. I think the pricing should be around the same (if they see you are local), we rented a Honda City for RM80/day from Indra Travel & Tours (The price is calculated on a 24-hour basis. So we rent the car from Tuesday afternoon, and return it on Saturday afternoon is considered 4 days’ rental, total RM320 (additional RM50 deposit is needed, just return it with petrol indicator around the same level, and you can get the deposit back)

We stayed in Labu Labi for 2 nights. It is a sea side single storey chalet/room located on the north end of langkawi, a bit too far from kuah town actually. We actually did not spend much time here (as we have to drive 30 minutes or more to where most things are – food/shopping) , so it is kind of wasted renting this place, RM290-RM300/per night. You can either rent through Agoda or with them directly: https://www.labulabiresidence.com/. You get 5% off if you rent directly from them, but the cancellation/refund is really strict.

There is a night market in Ayer Hangat (1.5km) away but we did not manage to go there.

very spacious

If the window comes with grill, i would have open the window during night time and it would be nice to sleep with sea breeze, but there is no grill there, so it is kinda of wasted to stay here only to sleep in aircon room.

view towards to backdoor, there are 2 doors (front & back) into the room

The beach is really just few steps away from our room

There are around 11 chalet like ours

Beach

Walking next door is a really delicious fish and chips shop called Scarborough fish & chips

Nice view, and very breezy and it is about to rain

yum, my favourite, fish and chips.

Next day, we went to fancy breakfast 😀 in St Regis which cost RM170 per pax

There is also food you can order ala-carte, unlimited, too little stomach space though, and my stomach is still affected by too much apom the previous day (in Penang)

more ala-carte

more ala-carte…

ala-carte…

…

they are some unique jam like papaya jam, tangerine confiture etc…

pastries

butter balls (salted & unsalted)

cold dishes (salmon, tuna, salad etc)

hummus etc

cheeses, yummy!

porridge

yogurt

nasi lemak

should have tried the dish in the middle, i think it is buttered spinach or something

mango lassi, smoothies, full cream milk, chocolate milk, soymilk

dried fruits and nuts

yogurt

ala-carte, looks yummy eh, it is good… Egg Benedict with hollandaise sauce which taste and smell so buttery

This is really good as well, cheesy scramble egg toast, the egg taste divine

juices, unlimited

yum, cheeses

tomyam is quite nice, surprisingly

porridge

pastries and their jams

more to munch, they got macadamias!

munching continue although i am stuffed

walking around St Regis Langkawi compound

Sunset Cruise by Tropical Charters

Nice experience, never been on sunset cruise before

inclusive of a meal, yummy!

Buffet spread on the boat, there are more dishes inside

They barbequed satay on board. You can see a metal BBQ rack hanging off the metal bar of the boat.

In Labu Labi, where we stay for 2 nights

island in a distance.

water here is not exactly very clear, but quite clean

From beach, looking towards labu labi chalets

It is really just situated next to the beach.

Breakfast is provided, simple things like bread, onion omelette, tomyam meehoon, banana, and surprisingly very yummy and satisfying because the food are prepared fresh and in small batches (they replenish when the food are finishing), thus piping hot when served.

tomyam meehoon

Langkawi cable car!

going uphill

 middle station, can skip stopping here, instead just go straight up to top station for best view

 Really windy, and quite chilly here, though sunny.

 Nice view, Langkawi cable car is a must visit, would like to revisit <3

 Really scary walking on the bridge, as it is so high up and swing slightly, it is really windy here as well.

 Last 2 nights in Langkawi: we stayed in Andaman Resort

 hotel room

 bath

 shower

nice place to stay, and this resort is the lower end (price wise) of the high end resorts in Langkawi. Will like to try double kayak or single kayak one day.

 Medan Selera Nelayan (near Kuah town), cheap seafood meal (Malay style cooking)

 All the above for RM66, to much food for 2 pax, can skip the clam (taste ok only), and maybe try other fish next time

 Hotel breakfast <3

 salad

 cheese and dried nuts

 fresh juice blend

 like this station where we can make our own fresh juice, yum!! Apple + beetroot + lemon is nice

 water, coconut water etc

 porridge and nasi lemak

 mushroom, baked beans etc

 eggs, any style

 pastries

 bread

 more bread

yumm, i love rice and eggs, and potatoes

 the banana cake taste quite nice, though it look plain

 porridge

 fruits

 beach <3

 under the shade, took a nap here <3 Want to come here again~~

 Our stay comes with RM100 dining voucher, so we went to their award-winning restaurant, called Jala.

Sort of expensive, fine- dining-feel restaurant, but the food are quite big portion, and we are filled nicely.

yummy freshly baked bread. According to the server, it is best to come here early as their bread get hard as the night goes by. Above are olive/cream cheese, hummos and bell pepper dip. Yum! we asked for bread refill.

 My red mullet dish, RM115

 His slow cooked seabass, RM105

 view from our table, the water here is very clean, cleaner than Labu Labi chalet. The beach is facing Thailand…

 This is a must order dessert in Jala, Chocolate & Banana RM55, really good, especially the chocolate bar, just enough sweetness top with layer of saltish chocolate. Could be the best chocolate dessert i ever had

 Map for Andaman Resort

 view from our table again.

A random meal of laksa on the way to airport, which is tasty! before we drop off our car to the car rental people (located in the airport) & board our place back to KL

 Breakdown of cost for this wonderful trip:

Penang M hotel (2 nights)	220
Langkawi labu labi (2 nights) booked from their website for 5% off	551
Langkawi Andaman (1 night resident package, with breakfast and free RM100 dining credit)	880
Langkawi Andaman (1 night, without breakfast)	688
Langkawi Andaman dinner (Jala restaurant)	225
Aeroline (KL -> Penang)	120
AirAsia (Penang -> Langkawi)	180
MAS (redeem points, only airport tax, Langkawi -> KL)	45
St Regis breakfast (2 pax walk-in)	340
Scarborough fish & chips (Langkawi)	72
car rental (4 days in Langkawi)	320
petrol	50
skycab (2 pax)	70
crystal yacht sunset cruise (2 pax, bought from Fave)	462
Chocolate	300
Taxi (KL airport to home)	75
Total	4598

Breakfast:
Four Seasons, Datai, Danna, St Regis

Places we were considering to stay: casa del mar, meritus, sunset beach resort, The Andaman Resort

Address: Jala Restaurant @ The Andaman Resort
The Andaman Resort, Jalan Teluk Datai, 070000, Langkawi, Kedah.
6 pm to 10:30 pm. Closed on Mondays.
604- 959 1088

Recommended / Must Go:
1. scrumptious yet affordable seafood at Medan Selera Nelayan Bukit Malut (located between Kuah and Pantai Cenang), open from 6pm onwards
2. Crystal Yacht: Mobile: +6012 408 7866 or +6012 440 7866 I Office: +604 955 6545, sunset cruise depart from Resort World’s Fun & Adventure centre, depart 5pm sharp, best to arrive meeting point 4:15pm (Crystal Yachts looks to be more popular than the other one called: Tropical Charters)
3. Cheap duty free (Teow Soon Huat Duty Free Sdn Bhd in Kuah & The Zon duty free shop in Cable Car area/Underwater Park). Do not go to Jetty’s (jetty from Kedah etc) duty free shop – and it is very expensive, very expensive in airport as well.

Useful infos:
Panorama Langkawi SkyCab (RM40), Wed-noon/9:30 – 7pm world’s steepest cable car rides. Walk over or get on the SkyGlide (RM10) inclined elevator towards the Langkawi Skybridge

Below are some on our itinerary but we didn’t manage to go
1. Smiling Buffalo Cafe
965, Kuala Cenang, 07000, Langkawi, Kedah.
8 am to 4 pm. Opens Daily.
6017- 364 3319

2. The Fat Frog
90, East Estate, Jalan Padang Matsirat, 07000, Langkawi, Kedah.
12 pm to 3 pm, 6 pm to 9:30 pm. Closed on Mondays.
604- 955 1153

3. Mardi Agro Technology Park (8.30 am. to 5.00 pm. except Friday)

4. Nasi Dagang Pak Malau, a hut located next to a paddy field which serves authentic Nasi Dagang. Some say this location already closed, and there have moved to Dataran Helang
Jalan Makam Mahsuri
Kampung Mawar
07000 Langkawi
Open: 8am – 2pm (closed on Monday)

Trip to Ipoh in June 2017. Foh San for dimsum

Our room, view to bathroom

living room

2nd room

3rd room

living room, viewing to our master bed room

chicken feet, my fav

the obligatory chicken rice in Ipoh

Tong Sui Gai is not as good as i remembered

ok la

Visit to Michaelangelo Pizzeria

Half and half is the way to go here, yummy pizza

Indian area in Ipoh which has a few shops selling tidbits

Back to KL, we stop at Restoran Soon Hock near Sungai Buloh for meal

170, Jalan D/A 6, Kampung Desa Aman, 47000 Sungai Buloh, Selangor

Food are resonably priced and big portion

Honeymoon trip to Osaka last year~ First off, we went to redeem our free meal from Green Market restaurant in KLIA2, yum yum, so filling, above is my vege bibimbap.

Our side dishes, gyoza and agedashi tofu

and His ebi-don.

We took air asia to Osaka, we bought the ticket quite late, around 1.5 months before departure, and i think it cost us about RM2500 for 2 pax. Once arrive, we took the express train from airport to namba. The weather is really cold in mid November, walking around the street is a struggle, as my lower leg feels dry and i have to tuck my hand into jacket. At night, instead of walking to our destination directly, we have to find “refuge” in having stop(s) along the way, walking into stores to “warm” ourselves before continue the walk to our destination. Really recommend to wear long john/warm long socks underneath pants.

Rate on that time (Nov 2017) is about 100 yen = RM 3.71

Our hotel’s bathroom, we stayed in Holiday Inn Osaka <3

Address: 5-15 Souemoncho, Chuo, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture 542-0084, Japan

It is walking distance away from Don Quijote/famous “the running man” billboard

Bathtub

Our room, spacious enough

My first meal, there is a connecting 7-Eleven! Bought my egg sandwich, yum!

Walking distance away from Ichiran ramen, among the few ramen we had (this and Ippudo), i find this is more tasty, although Ippudo is more spacious and have complementary side dishes

yum, the stock and noodle, all really delicious

Ichiran order sheet

Walked a bit in 24-hours Don Quijote before calling it a day

Back to my favourite tuna sashimi shop in Kuromon morning market. so good, cold sashimi dipped in wasabi+soy, mmmm~ Some cuts are slightly better, i gotten the 210 yen ones (RM 7.80), and there are very chewy and not that enjoyable, but next day gotten a slightly more expensive one, and it is much better.

mmm~

ok la, warm food on cold day, other that that, nothing much here

Piping hot takayaki from Wanaka, nice

lots of store selling dried scallop from hokaido, above is one of the cheaper one (1800 yen for 80g) ~ RM67

Scallop in a sit-in restaurant in Kuromon, this is so so, small-ish and salty. We had a much better one another day at a road side stall in Kuromon market, which has a long queue, and you eat standing.

wagyu and Kobe

This is quite good price as well, 250g for 5750 yen ~ RM 213. About same price per gram, as the smallish package i see earlier.

Ippudo in Namba

Quite nice, with complimentary drink which is nice to pair with ramen soup which is normally very salty

Our bill 1830 yen (~RM68) for 2 pax, we ordered 2 ramen, with add on 1 fried rice. I think it is slight cheaper than in Malaysia…

Kaiyukan aquarium

Mon-Sun, 10AM-8PM
¥2,300 for adults aged 16 and over
Take the Chuo line towards Cosmosquare and get off at Osakako station. It’s a five-minute walk to the aquarium from here

They look evil

shark trapped in small aquarium 😛

New discovery: 551 Horai, very yummy very paired with their spicy yellow mustard.

Pablo, we packed 1 back to hotel, disappointing to me, i find it taste more of heavy/whipped cream than cheese. 850 yen (RM31.50) for original.

Mizuno (1 Chome-4-15 Dōtonbori, Chūō-ku, Ōsaka-shi, Ōsaka-fu), one of the few Okonomiyaki (i think 3) we had. Yummy! Long line, make sure to come early, about half an hour before their opening time, else you have to wait for others to finish dining.

Scallop and pork

This is quite good as well, chilled tofu salad with sesame dressing

We walked a lot, in the cold, and till our back ache, so this is one of the break we had, eating ice cream in Doutor. Miss this, delicious dessert. I think Malaysia don’t have this kind of shop, serve match drink, and nice ice cream.

Doutor coffee shop

Pablo

Luke Lobster!!! really good, and not that expensive, considering there is loads of lobster meat on it.

We had Lobster rool (US) 1580 yen ~ RM59

So good, and the bun wiped with salted butter is reallly goood as well

And this is really gooood, cake roll in Salon de Mon Cher (1 Chome-13-21 Nishishinsaibashi, Chuo, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture 542-0086, Japan). We bought 1 cut cake roll, it is not cheap, but it is yummmmm~

Hubby’s beef bowl

My kimchi rice, in a random shop

Then I had 3 plates of sushi in 元祿壽 in Shinsaibashi i think. This restaurant has lots of variety and cheaper than our sushi chain.

and this!!! this kind of green grapes, not sure what it is called, we got the above fruit basket from a supermarket, as it went on sale 200 yen (RM 74), the kiwi/persimon are bigger than the usual, but the star is definitely the grape. It does not taste like grape, it is much better, unexpected taste and very very nice. We see this is BIG supermarket, and it cost much more expensive here

Melon, taste normal, and expensive, not worth it

back to my favourite tuna sashimi shop in kuromon market

much better this time, as i got a slightly more expensive one than i had in previous day. I think this is the 800 / 900 yen ones

unagi egg

This is highlight of our trip as well. We got the 1500 yen/100g type, mid range in terms on price

The left side is ours, 3353 yen (~RM124)

So juicy, tender and nice!!!

This is the scallop shop i was talking about, much better than the previous day one

We tried japanese curry rice from a shop in kuromon, not bad.

over-rate white strawberry juice. not worth it

ice cream in random shop

One of those time, when we are very cold walking in the street at night, and just find a random shop to eat and rest our feet. This is quite a posh looking restaurant. We had chicken waffles

I had pasta, not bad.

another visit to the sushi chain, nice warm chawan mushi, which i think i had more than 1, real crab leg inside, not crab stick 😛

cheese tart in a random shop

with chestnut, so so

Rest our feet kind of visit to restaurant not in itinerary 😛 It is nice… Fugetsu, a famous restaurant chain.

We had okonomiyaki!

nice!

a side order of potato with asparagus, quite nice.

551 Horai’s siew mai, best eaten with their spicy yellow mustard

Gyoza

We had high hope for this grape, hoping it will be as good as the green type we had, this is such disappointment, it was just usual grape, and with seeds!

That concludes our food-filled trip to Osaka.

Food we didn’t manage to try:

1. Crepes from Cocorico Umeda, hankyu umeda (outside ticket station)

2. Umeda Sky building

3. Basement foodcourt – Kiji for Okonomayaki
Recommendation from online: show up early!! they open at 11:30 and we arrived around 11:15 and there was already a line. in Umeda Station, look for number 11 on the map. Its a small place somewhere on a corner on B1

4. Muteppou ramen, near Subway: Daikokucho, 1 subway stop from our hotel-Namba station (main branch in Osaka, having branch as far as Australia) Address: 1-5-21 Ebisuhonmachi, OsakaNaniwa-ku, Hour: 11:00-15:00 & 18:00-23:00

4 days 3 nights trip to Penang with bf. We took Air Asia flight, totaled about RM320 for 2 pax inclusive of 1 nasi lemak and 1pc 15kg checked in luggage in return flight

First up, we had our breakfast in KLIA2 Green Market. Above is menu for free meals offered for certain credit card.

yummy crisp salad with goma/sesame dressing

His chicken katsu don with sashimi! and pumpkin croquette

My vegetable bibimbap, yummy! so filling and nice, soft boiled egg in it.

Our hotel in Penang – M Hotel penang in 19-21, Jalan Rangoon, quite new hotel, i think open last year, so their decor etc are quite modern and still new. We got a single + double bed room with window for only RM379 for 3 nights all tax inclusive, cheaper than the walk-in rate above

Reasonably big room with flat screen TV, the TV program is very limited though, no english movies, just about 7 channels malay/hokkien/mandarin TV series/news channel

another view

toilet, very clean and looks new

view towards the door

Joez coconut jelly and coconut shake, the jelly is nice, but the coconut shake tasted very vanila ice cream without taste of coconut

coconut water

open 8am – 7pm daily

Dinner time. This is a MUST EAT – Presgrave Lane 888 Hokkien Mee – or we KL call it prawn mee, added pork rib, roast pork and pork intestine, RM9 for above, sooo good, especially the roast pork with crunchy crackling. YUM

888 Hokkien Mee

67, Lebuh Presgrave

5pm – midnight (closed on Thurs)

Thereafter walk to Kimberly street for more famous eats:

71, Lebuh Kimberley

6:30pm onwards, closed on Thursday

aiming for the braised chicken feet

famous kuey chap stall

opposite are char kuey tiaw in front of Sin Guat Keong coffee shop and the very-nice-four-fruit-dessert-drink, direct translation from chinese

“four fruit dessert drink” (direct translation), very nice and refreshing, not too sweet. We had 3 of this

kuey chap, broth tasted like bak kut teh which is okay, i like the unique noodle though, not bad

soft, nice chicken feet

char kuey tiaw is so so only

2nd day morning breakfast, Wong Chau Jun restaurant located same street as our hotel in Rangoon road

Wong Chau Jun Restaurant’s fish hor fun

73, Jalan Rangoon

open 8am – 2:30pm

one of their famous dish – steam fish with kuey tiaw, quite nice

walk a few street away to char kuey kak stall, very unassuming stall selling simple dish, but very nice, in fact went there on last day to have this again, this is located outside a coffee shop, also mentioned in missuschewy’s blogpost

Sister Yao’s Char Koay Kak

94, Lorong Macalister, George Town, 10400 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

7am – 1pm

this is the stall

Yummyyyy!

kek seng ABC with durian ice cream and jelly is really nice.

382 & 384, Jalan Penang

12am – 4:30pm

assam laksa is not as good as before, so so

Ming Xiang Tai, their salted egg pastry is really nice.

many branches, head quarter is in burmah road

went to FHP – Food Hotel Penang near Straits Quay convention centre, so disappointing, the exhibition is really small and nothing much to see, there is a private yahct area behind straits quay, there is really a waterfront vibe here, similar to overseas’, relaxing place with spacious restaurants, too bad the weather is too hot

another view of yachts

Since it is too hot outside, we went inside to restaurants along straits quay and had a lazy afternoon having some munch in Real Food restaurant, a vegetarian restaurant,above is mushroom soup, tasted a bit weird when served without cream. Refer to other blog post: Ken Hunts Food, they also have a branch in One Mont Kiara mall.

the breakfast set is quite nice, dipping the crunchy hard bread into the really nice egg yolk, the baked bean has a weird gummy texture though, all for the name for vegan…

After lazing few hours in straits quay’s Real Food restaurant, we made our way to Ferringhi area

Ferringhi beach

another view

there is starbucks just along ferringhi beach, nice place to hang for a lazy afternnon, thereafter just walk to the beach during evening time.

chappati in Long Beach food court, Ferringhi, too good! made fresh to order, this store is located in the most end/corner of the food court.

Long Beach Food Court

6:30pm – 11pm

the pancake by Pancake Queen, a stall in Long beach food court, it is okay, very light pancake, wish there is real butter though

Evening time, oyster omelette in New Lane food stalls, near Sunway hotel, okay only

Next morning, Pitt Street Kuey Tiaw noodle

famous stall in Lebuh Carnarvon, open around 9:00 am – 2:30 pm or later

Few shop away is Kafe Ping Hooi’s Tiger Char Kway Tiao 8am – 2:30pm – 179, Lebuh Carnarvon, but not open on that day

with eel balls and flatten minced pork, quite nice, the eel ball is very floury texture though

same street to Lam Ah beef noodle in “O O Cow White Coffee shop” – 156, Lebuh Carnarvon, can skip this, used to be so much better. Next door is Hwa Lam coffee shop – 266, Lebuh Carnarvon which serve Turtle soup, but unfortunately not open on that day we were there.

Apom Guan, really good, we had 50 pcs take away!

Apom Guan 10am-5pm, closed on Sunday

Hon Kei Food Corner 汉记, serving everything pork

located in 45, Lorong Kampung Malabar, George Town, 10200 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.

9:00AM – 3:00PM & 5:00PM – 12:00AM (Closed on Thu.)

they serve everything pork, my pork noodle comes with many parts of pig including pig brain by default! Pig brain dont taste nice, it is floury…

went to Sister Yao Char Koay Kak again, it is that good, for me anyway

having piping hot egg tart while tapao-ing the salted egg-lotus paste pastries back to kl

in penang airport

premium lounge, so much to eat here, but i am too full

yogurt, coffee, jam, orange etc

cereals

pastries

plain porridge with condiments: salted egg etc

they have many dishes avail for order!

I took porridge with lots of salted egg, and order a nasi lemak. Full to max!

Till another makan/holiday trip~~

Wanted to go to Penang National Park / Tropical Fruit farm, but didn’t make it

Went to Raub on a Wednesday and it took us 1.5 hour to reach Raub from KL. Raub is situated just 30 minutes away from its more famous neighbouring town – Bentong. If ever you visiting Bentong, you may take a short day trip to Raub. Both town are famous for its durians especially musang king. My trip to Raub is mainly to experience how handmade soap is produced and also trying out some of the food in town.

The fastest way to Raub from KL is thru Bentong town, 30 minutes drive from Bentong

Arriving on the premise of “Soap Maker Raub” which is in a residential area to get first hand info on how handmade soap is made. I was given a house tour. Surprise… behind the house are vast land area and there are 2 chicken pen with egg-laying hens.

loot of the day: 3 fresh eggs collected for the day

there are many plants next to the chicken pen, ie eggplant, pumpkin etc, spot the small purple aubergine in the above pic

what a beautiful big bunch of banana at the back, and that is the gate leading out to chicken pen behind

nice long papaya as well

that huge bunch of “monster” is a passion fruit plant which climbs from ground flour towards the balcony on top floor of the house

many passion fruits like above, but there are not ripe yet

3 noisy but friendly Belgian Malinois shepherd dog

and they have bees as well, the bees are kept for dual purpose, producing honey and also to increase pollination of fruit plants in the garden. The bees are stingless bees, ie there won’t be accidents of getting stung

the longish plastic-y looking tube thing is entrance for the sting-less bee

whereas to the top of the trunk is a wooden box which the honey are housed, it is deviced such so that the honey can be easily harvested from the box.

My visit to “Soap Maker Raub” is to see first hand how one of their best seller – “Perak Activated Carbon Soap” is made. “Soap Maker Raub” also provide DIY handmade soap courses and sell handmade soaps. For handmade soap lesson, each student can bring back 1kg bar of soap, which can be cut into 10 pieces, each weighing 100g. The DIY handmade soap course may differs in terms of process/ingredients from which you will see in following photos. If you are interested, their contact details are listed in end of this post.

“Perak Activated Carbon Soap” contains extra virgin coconut oil EVCO, palm oil and cocoa butter. It is made using low temperature method of soap-making, ie the above mixture of 3 oils will have to be about 35 Celcius before mixing in the rest of the ingredients.

Soap making may sound fun, but safety precaution is a must, and it is advisable to be performed only by person who has chemical/lab knowledge. The strong alkaline that is used in soap making is very pure and corrosive, in fact alkaline is more corrosive than acid, and will become blind if it alkaline touch the eye, thus eye protective mask is a MUST, respiratory mask is recommended as well to protect from alkaline vapour/fume.

This is the step that all need to be EXTRA careful, put protective google and nose mask on especially for first timers. The alkaline powder is weighed into a non-reactive glass container.

then put in the distilled water. Be VERY CAREFUL as the alkaline will start bubbling and producing much vapour and fume. Open all the windows and door of the room to ensure the room is well ventilated , and fan blowing air away from you, ie to blow the alkaline vapour away from you, as the vapour may cause throat irratation etc. Lift the funnel slightly to let the vapour out from the side else the vapour in the bottle might push the funnel up which will be very dangerous. Once the water are all poured in, put the cap on, and gently shake to melt the alkaline powder in water.

Cool the bottle and mixture down by soaking the whole bottle in water. This is also while waiting for the oil mixture to cool down.

oil and alkaline mixture are both cool enough for mixing

Pour all the alkaline water into oil mixture

Mix using an immersion blender, correct method has to be employed in this step to prevent the mixture which is still very alkaline from splattering. *Reminder: Wear protective eye goggle

Coconut shell activated carbon which has deep cleansing properties is added to the soap mixture

 

Pour soap mixture into mold

We covered and let it solidify before cutting into small soap bars

Normally handmade soap can only be cut after 12 hours. Above is the solidified soap. For people not able to stay till next day for soap cutting, an option of soap being mail ordered to you is available.

beautiful bars

To be cut

wow, so many bars of soap

Soap maker Raub’s “Perak Activated Carbon Soap” can be bought for RM25 each

All the soap produced by them, from left:

Perak Activated Carbon Soap, deep cleansing properties

Bentong Ginger Soap

Sabah Seaweed Soap, moisturizing effect with honey in it

Raub T3 Soap, for whitening

Soap for pets, for anti-bacterial

 

Normally, handmade soap has to be left to cure for 1 month , allowing it to fully dry and harden. All ingredients of their soap are from Malaysia local farm, no artificial perfume, coloring and preservative

 

All the soap contains extra virgin coconut oil which is extracted from fresh coconut without heat treatment.

Besides visiting “Soap Maker Raub”, we went to try a few food, first is curry noodle

It is located in 15, Taman Emas, Sempalit, Raub

Young man cooking the curry chicken which normally ready everyday around 10am – 10:30am

nice huge wok of curry chicken

they also selling local “dao1 ma2 qie4” which is hakka pan mee, this is famous noodle in raub, can be found in many coffee shop here, not bad as well

the curry noodle is nice and piping hot, however i would recommend to order the normal one with chicken pieces, and not with drumstick as the meat inside the drumstick is kinda bland. Actually we didn’t specify to have drumstick, but they gave us drumstick which is more expensive.

Another famous restaurant in Raub, Ah Loong Cafe

wanted to try their dao1 ma2 qie4 as well, but it was sold out, the famous Hong Kong “god of cookery”  Liang Wentao dined here as seen in above pic

My pork noodle, the soup is dosed with slightly a bit too much sugar? Taste just ok, RM5

Wanted to try the famous raub kuih shop in Bukit Koman, Raub as well, but there were not open that day, saying Astro AEC will be coming to film him 2 days later…

Soap Maker Raub: 

Phone/Whatsapp: 011-2913 2234

Email: soapmakerraub [at] yahoo [dot] com

Facebook: Soap Maker Raub

Ah Hen Curry Noodle:

15, Taman Emas Sempalit, 27000 Raub

Business hour: 10:30am – 4pm

Telephone: 013-9508 363    

Ah Loong Cafe Pork noodle:

313-A,Kampung Sempalit,27600Raub,Pahang.

Telephone：017-6686377

Business hour：7am-1：30pm

Raub famous kuih:

4,Bukit Koman,Raub27600,Pahang D.M.

Business hour：10：30am – 3pm

Telephone：012-7276236/017-3716236, call ahead as there are sometimes not open

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www.nanyang.com