Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Penang Bicycle Lane Downtown - Queensbay Mall Bayan Lepas

The weather in the morning was cloudy with slight drizzle and it was looking good for a ride where I wanted to check the bicycle route from downtown to Queensbay Mall. We parked our car somewhere near Carnarvon Street and took our bikes out for the adventure.This was my first attempt with the help and information gathered from the internet we headed to look for the lane.

This is the Phase One of the Penang Bicycle Route Masterplan covering a distance of 12.5 kilometres starting from Pragin Road - Carnarvon Street intersection to Queensbay roundabout.
It was reported that the cost for this phase was RM30 million with a distinguish bridge crossing over Sg.Pinang connecting Kapal Singh Drive and the old development of Macallum.
After the bridge the path runs parallel with the river side towards Kapal Singh Drive of a newer and nicer surrounding.
The start of Karpal Singh Drive is one of the remarkable features of this east coat bicycle lane.
A beautiful promenade renamed as Karpal Singh Drive in honour of the late Mr. Karpal Singh also known as The Tiger of Jelutong.
Celebration of Our Blue Sky sculpture is one of the several sculptures found at the promenade.
At the end of the promenade at McDonald is a new food court as we were coming to the rear of the court.
It is BSP Waterfront Food Court and Market, just wondering how popular is this food court.
Somehow the smooth flow of our cycling was interrupted as we were led to travel close and along Dr. Lim Chong Eu Expressway. It is a busy road and it does not seem to be friendly at all, fortunately it is only a short stretch.
It was a great relief after a short encounter with the heavy traffic at the expressway we then found ourselves in a nice landscaped environment.
Even though there are measure to prevent motor cyclists to use the lane, there were several motorbikes we met "sharing" the lane.
Two nice running statues positioned strategically along the lane.
We love this part of the bicycle lane, the trees have already maturely grown and a perfectly shaded area for cycling.

It is definitely quiet on a weekday there wasn't any cyclists during our our ride except a few motor cyclists and a jogger.
One of the couple of bridges along this route.
The bridge at The Light Waterfront Linear Park.
A blend of old and modern features seen along the route.
Fishing boats seen under neath of the Penang Bridge. I like cycling through this huge concrete structure as it is very cooling.
Jabatan Laut Jetty nearby the huge bridge.
There are a few warong along the seaside and there was only one opened at that time. We enjoyed the sea breeze and the fresh coconuts by the seaside. It is surely a nice place to take a rest and enjoy the scenery.
A development of modern dwelling on a reclaimed land that aims to place Penang in the international scene for property investment.
Passing by Pulau Jerejak Jetty.
An interesting piece of cycling structure hidden in the lush of greenery.
The path behind the vicinity of Gold Coast Resort Condominium.
That was it, Queensbay Roundabout is just right in front and we are turning back to the city. Mission accomplished.
The connection from the rear of the high rise dwellings to the main road.
The route along Bayan Mutiara.
This is a narrow crossing and it needs improvement.
After crossing the bridge over Sg. Pinang and going below Dr. Lim Chong Eu Expressway we came to a lane with old warehouses and workshops. This stretch is heavy shaded I got a good feel when I was going through it.
Green dedicated bicycle lane connecting back to the old heritage city.
The many winding turns on the lane at Jalan Gurdwara. All in all it was a good initiative of Penang to make Penang a safe place to cycle and with a vision to create a complete cycling route throughout the island.
These are some negative elements noted at this bicycle route, such as construction debris found on the lane, thick and slippery steel cables that can easily cause a moving bicycle to slip and fall.
The missing lane that breaks the rhythm of the ride and one has to be careful when cycling at this area.
Vehicles blocking the flow in front of a warong (something that must be good & popular at the stall)
Let us hope that these areas can be improved immediately and making this route a super friendly place to cycle for all. Thumb up for Penang and we shall be back.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Oinkz Burger at Section 17 Petaling Jaya

We were attracted by a few of our cycling friends who visited this joint recently and we simply could not resist ourselves after looking at the pictures posted at Facebook and die die we wanted to try.
So we headed from home to Section 17/38 at Petaling Jaya to search for this place, it was already late, past 9pm the place was dimly lit and I thought it has already closed and had to look for alternate place to eat.
Thank goodness it was still opened but the buns were all gone so we have to eat without the bun. This was mine pork burger "Hambo" single layer of pork patty with bacon, egg, cheese, caramelised onions and fried mushroom for RM12.00
Zu Yi had one similar like mine but with 2 layers of patty and bacon and it is called "The Godfather". My son had a wonderful time with Godfather and vouched to come back to see Godfather again. By the way it is priced at RM17.00.
Mummy had "The Transporkters" and she wasn't too happy with it after trying ours. It is a breaded pork patty deep fried and served with caramilised onions and cheese for RM12.00.
Roti Babi a side order to share and a bread to replace the missing buns. Oinkz Roti Babi was good but I still prefer my burger and it is priced at RM8.00 
A bowl of golden fries what went well with our sinful burgers.
Oinkz balls were too dried but my son enjoyed it, the topping is horseradish cheese sauce for RM8.00
Zu Yi sinking his teeth into the juicy homemade burger with his hands gloved and a happy father watching the son satisfying himself with the food.
The condition of the burger after several bites on Godfather, the patty is delicious, fresh, tender and juicy.
Oinkz opens from 6pm to 10pm, during the day it a typical kopitiam, on the same row as 7-11 store and sited at a corner shop lot. On the overall the burgers are yummy and worth coming back for more. Thumb up!
Oinkz
Jalan 17/38, Section 17
Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 019-612 8060
Opens Wednesdays to Sundays (6pm to 10.30pm)
GPS : 3.128320, 101.634086

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Restoran Nyuk Min 玉明美食小厨 @ SS2

It was a Sunday evening the same question was raised again as expected "where to eat ah?" Well I love the young ones they are the scouts marking new places to venture and Wei Xiang remembered a place that smells awesomely good when he was passing by once and so we went for the hunt in SS2. I noticed that most of the tables in the shop are small tables catering mainly for groups of 2 to 4 persons. It is kind of a fast food joint and it was packed to the brim when we arrived. 
A sweet and sour pork though the portion was small but just enough as we were indulging in quite a substantiate of dishes this round. 
Three colour steamed egg 蒸三皇蛋 for Jo as she was on a meat fast.
Deep fried pork loin that was tender and juicy.
Spinach soup with century eggs and anchovies topping, I enjoy soup and like this one.
Curry red snapper was below our expectation dish.
Homemade seafood tofu.
Sambal Kangkong belacan a strong flavour veggie simple yet delicious.
Deep fried battered prawns doesn't look impressive but palatable.
Braised pork belly with yam (wu tau kau yoke 芋头扣肉) was good.
Fried Loh See Fun for two persons we just wanted a feel of it and it did not pass the satisfactory level from us but anyway this place is still a recommended place to visit. We will be back for other their dishes. Thanks to Wei Xiang.
Restoran Nyuk Min
 玉明美食小厨
38, Jalan SS2/66, Petaling Jaya, 47300 
Tel: 03-7874 8717
GPS : 3.119159, 101.620180