Germany Part I - Cologne and surrounding cities

This is my first business trip with HCL AXON and the second business trip in my career. It was winter in Germany. The temperature ranged from approximately 0 to 9 Celcius. The weather was quite pleasant, with sunlight most of the time and occasionally cloudy with some rainfall. So far there were no signs of snow.I took a flight from KL to Frankfurt, transiting in Singapore. The flight was rather uncomfortable as I was squeezed in between and the air ventilation was not good. I had a hard time sleeping because it was rather stuffy.

I arrived in Frankfurt on Saturday at around 6am. There was hardly anyone in the airport and the immigration check was very fast. I did not need to queue or fill in any forms. They just checked my passport and asked a few simple questions, that’s all!

After collecting my luggage, I headed straight to Frankfurt Airport station (the regional train station) which is within walking distance from the airport. I was amazed by the types of train they had in the station. From there I took a train to Cologne, staying in an old friend’s place (Special thanks to Christoph and his wife Lee for hosting me) for the first 2 days.

Cologne is the fourth largest city in Germany and it was built by the Romans. The first day was rather cold because it was windy and I was not feeling well due to the lack of sleep. After taking some pastry and a hot shower at Christoph’s place, we departed to the city again by the city train. We stopped at the Heumarkt station and walked from there. Just beside the station there was a Christmas market and a skating ring. There are many stalls selling various types of food, including sausages, mulled/hot wine, Christmas cookies and cheese. There are also stalls selling Christmas decorations. The place was crowded. Around the same area, there were many more Christmas markets and they were all very crowded.

Note: Mulled/Hot wine is only available in Germany around November/December. It cost around 2.5 Euro each. Drinking mulled/hot wine can keep you warm during the cold season. Highly recommended.
After having a scroll around the Christmas market, we visited an art museum called Walraf-Richartz Museum. This museum has a huge collection of paintings by painters who are least famous. There is a story behind each painting. In the olden days, Germans like to draw portraits of their family members and then hang them at home. There are a lot of paintings of Jesus as well. It is interesting that they actually analyse the strokes, drawing styles, materials and colours etc to determine its authenticity. The photo frames are also very interesting because each drawing comes with its own frame. There are also a lot of studies regarding the preservation of the paintings and how to restore them to its previous glory.Another interesting place is the Catheral. It is a UNESCO heritage built by the Romans. This is a must visit place for those who are visiting Cologne. It is one of the tallest buildings in the city. The exterior design looks rather complex but the interior design is very simple and majestic. The building is very strong, able to survive through the war and earthquake! It is very amazing how people in the olden days design and build such a huge building.

We spent the second day visiting the smaller cities near Cologne. The countryside was more relaxing. We visited a castle in Bruehl called Augustusburg Palace, which is also a UNESCO heritage. This palace was built by the commission of Clemens August, Cologne’s elector and archbishop in 1725. Its completion took around 40 years. The building has a simple structure but the interior design is simply magnificent. Many famous architects contributed to its interior beauty, making it one of the most glorious residences of its time. It is a prime example of German Rococo art. It is interesting that China’s pottery was a “hit” back in those days and commonly found on top of furniture.
We visited two Christmas markets on our little tour. One of them was at the countryside. The combination of old buildings, river, bridge and the surroundings really give me a magical Christmas feel. I finally understood what Christoph meant by “the Christmas markets in Cologne were not romantic”.We had dinner at a very deserted restaurant located in the middle of the woods. The restaurant’s environment was very nice and warm. The pork knuckle was rather hard. Their homemade wheat beer was rather light. The mascot of the restaurant (a fox) made me excited the most.
On November 28 I departed to Heidelberg by train. It was a 2-3 hours train ride. From the window it was rather misty outside, signs of rain coming soon.

P/s: I was fascinated by the cars here. Most of the cars on the road were BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen. I am not an expert or fan of cars but I just love their designs~

I shall continue the rest of the story in Part II… :)

Coupons

Recently many people are talking about coupons websites such as Groupon and Everyday Coupon.

Below are some FAQs for sharing. Please note that these are just my personal comments as a customer of coupons:

1) What is coupon?

A coupon is like discounted voucher. Normally customers will get approximately 50% off for a product/service. You can buy vouchers at a discounted price and then claim for the product/service (e.g. body massage, spa, GPS).

2) How does coupon works?

• Select the coupon that you want to purchase.
• Pay online via Credit Card or direct debit.
• Once the deal is closed, you will be received a notification. Print out the coupon and then use it.

3) What is the difference between Groupon and Everday Coupon?

The mechanism behind Groupon and Everyday Coupon is the same. They are just like two different companies.

4) What are the "hidden" clauses?

Coupons can only be purchased within a short period of time. Please read the terms and conditions properly. Things to take note before you purchase a coupon:

• Validity period – The coupon can be used at certain dates and time only. E.g. It cannot be used on public holidays.
• Outlets – The coupon can be used at certain outlets only. E.g. It can only be used in Jalan Yap Kwang Seng’s Tony Romas.
• Reservation – Certain coupons contain a minimum days for reservation.
• Number of pax – Certain coupons contain a requirement for min/ max pax.
• Package – If the coupon comes with a combo such as 8 course meal, normally changes are not allowed.
• Additional charges – E.g. Sometimes using the coupon on weekends contain additional charges.

5) Why companies are offering coupons?

Below are some of the reasons:

• Attract new customers
• Improve business
• Promote a new branch or company
• Promote their product/ services

Note: For a lot of restaurants on Groupon/Everyday Coupon, the food is normally so-so or bad.

6) What are cons of using coupon?

• Coupon needs to be purchased in advance and use it at a later time. If you want to use it immediately, sorry coupon is not the one.
• Coupon can only be used at selected dates and time.
• You need to abide to the terms and conditions of the coupon. E.g. Need to make reservations.
• The respond for cheap coupons (e.g. RM1 for 3 hours of karaoke) are normally ridiculously overwhelming. So in the end you may not be able to use it as it will be overbooked.
• Some products/services may not meet your satisfactions.

Tips before buying a coupon:

• Always check the terms and conditions buying any coupon. No point buying a coupon which you are unable to use unless you plan to buy it as a gift.
  
• Check out feedback (e.g. forum, blog, friends) by those who have used the product/service before.
• Info such as number of pax who have bought the deal can be used as a decision making tool.

Hope this helps :)

International Buffet @ Rise

The international buffet in Rise restaurant, Marina Bay Sands Singapore is the best buffet I ever had in my life so far. Special thanks to Shum Lik for recommending and sponsoring the meal. It was an unforgettable experience!

Marina Bay Sands is a beautiful integrated resort, fronting Marina Bay in Singapore. You can take a MRT to Marina Bay (the last station of the North South line) and then walk for around 15 minutes to Marina Bay Sands. The building is very unique so you definitely won’t miss it.

It was raining so the photo looks a bit greyish.

Sunrise is a restaurant in the hotel. The buffet cost around 60 SGD per pax including tax and etc charges on a Public Holiday. At the exchange of 1 SGD = RM 2.45, it cost around RM147 per pax. However the experience was marvelous. You must experience it to believe it.

What’s so great about the buffet?
- Superb service! – They address all your needs with a smile!
- Incredible variety – It truly lives up to the “international” standard. Let me start with my favourites. They serve crabs in 4 different ways of cooking. The sweet and sour crab was superb! Fresh and huge prawns! They don’t have much varieties for Japanese food but their sashi is work mentioning! The size and thickness was just nice and it’s very fresh! The grilled fish, the toufu~ For western they have a variety of bread, cheese and daily products. They have a number of varieties for desserts and I love~ their berries! The berries were not sour and fresh (of course not as fresh as directly from the farm)
- Fresh ingredients – Almost everything was delicious simply because of the fresh ingredients.






















After the recent international buffet at Sudu Restaurant in KL Hilton (which cost around RM90 per pax excluding tax and other charges), I would strongly recommend friends to go for this international buffet in Singapore. With an additional RM40, the service, food variety and taste is totally different - like Heaven and Hell.

Above is the feedback from an extremely satisfied customer and a new fan of the Rise’s international buffet :)

Euro Deli

I knew about this European restaurant during Oktober Feast some years ago. They were the food and drinks suppliers of the event. I visited this restaurant at Damansara Kim, Petaling Jaya some weeks ago when I was still staying in Tropicana. The place was almost full as we entered at around 7pm.

Euro Deli offers a lot of variety for European food and drinks (including beers). They also have a corner selling bread, raw meat, ham, sausages and other packet food products. WARNING: This restaurant sells porky! Absolutely "kurang" halal.

Euro Deli is very generous in terms of ingredients and portion. Each order comes with freshly baked bread and butter. Yummy~I ordered their signature Apple Macaroni with bacon, ham, cream and cheese, and apple mousse. The taste was superb! Although I ordered the Apple Macaroni as an entrée, the portion was more than sufficient for me. Luckily I didn’t order it as a main.

Beer is a must when it comes to European food. *I am starting to miss Danish delicacies* Fell in love with this beer~

On the other hand, their Pork Knuckle was just so-so. The outer skin was very thick and overall it was difficult to cut. I would still prefer George and the Dragon for this.
This dessert was just so-so. Nothing to brag about.
I would recommend this place to friends who enjoy non-Halal European food and some beers :)

Transition

I recently realize that leaving somewhere where I had been working and staying for years requires courage to accept change during the transition.

A month ago I started my new job in Technology Park Malaysia (TPM) in Bukit Jalil, leaving HDS where I had been working for the past 3.25 years. Now I embarked on a new journey in HCL AXON where everything is new – role, environment and faces. My new office is located in a huge building which design reminded me of the British Museum in London. The building’s shape is oval and there are a number of lifts around the building. Different lifts lead to different levels and offices, which is rather confusing at first.

Driving between Damansara and TPM during peak hours was torturing. It took approximately 40 mins to 1 hour one way. Therefore shortly after I was onboard, I made a painful decision to shift from Damansara to Sri Petaling. At first I was really reluctant to move mainly due to the high rental in Sri Petaling and leaving close friends in Damansara. Well things are better than expected. My new place is within walking distance to kopithiams and around 5-15 mins drive to TPM. Overall the food here is quite nice – slightly cheaper, larger portion, quality ingredients and delicious! I love the barley drink here~ They really boil it to the max!

Bukit Tinggi BBQ

I visited this restaurant with Jason, CJ and Susan around a month ago. The restaurant is located in a “hidden” village on the way to Genting Highlands and oppose to what the name implies, they do not offer BBQ nor fried food. Therefore there wasn’t much choice when we reached there at around 8+pm. In fact, we were their last customers.

We ordered their signature seafood wok, steam lala and fried egg. The signature seafood wok’s portion is huge and suitable for 4 pax! It came with a combo of crab, lala, prawns, vege and also soup! Argh… we shouldn’t have another dish of lala! The whole meal cost around RM40 per pax.

Tang Sifu

I visited this restaurant in Damansara Uptown with Aunty Goody several months ago. They also have several branches in places such as 1U. Well the place is fancy, the food is nice but the price is definitely premium. We ordered a soup set and a plate of vegetables and it cost around RM50!