Read more about the article Windsor Plaza Hotel Vietnam: Exploring District 5 for shopping, food and culture

Windsor Plaza Hotel Vietnam: Exploring District 5 for shopping, food and culture

I was told that there is a a popular saying in Vietnam that goes “Eat in District 5, Live in District 3, See in District 1“.

Well then, I’m obviously in the right place since my hobby is eating! 🙂

I was coddled and cosseted in the comfortable 5 star hotel – Windsor Plaza Hotel (review HERE), located within District 5 and spent my daylight hours exploring its surroundings.
The best part of the hotel (to me) is its proximity to 2 wholesale haven – An Dong Plaza (air-conditioned) and An Dong Market (dry/wholesale produce market).

An Dong Wholesale Market

On one morning I went shopping as early as 6:30 am at An Dong wholesale market which is akin to Pratunam Bangkok with its grubby exterior, tiny lots and narrow aisles which are mostly blocked by the shopkeepers sitting in the aisles as they have nowhere else to sit.

Local products are the top priority here with a plethora of messy, winding stores offering shoppers Vietnamese candied fruits, clothes, local produce and handmade items.


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Read more about the article CANCER: Lung cancer and melanoma – treatment via Immunotheraphy

CANCER: Lung cancer and melanoma – treatment via Immunotheraphy

I’m not scared of death.
Seriously, I’m not.

What scared me shitless however, would be impending death and suffering.

I have first hand experience of the pain and frustrations when the body fails.
I’ve had my fair share of emergencies admissions to hospitals for the past 30 years. I still have a rod in my femur courtesy of a bike collision with a car a decade back.
I had a scare earlier this year when I suffered abdominal pains daily for 2 weeks but was bedridden with no diagnosis. At times, the C word almost came up, for such unidentified illness seem to point at CANCER. I had a MRI done. The hospital bill (Tropicana Medical Centre) was about RM10,000 for a 3D2N stay. But thankfully, I’m cancer-free.
So far.

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Read more about the article KL Hokkien Mee – Where’s the best/your favourite?

KL Hokkien Mee – Where’s the best/your favourite?

There’s an obsession among Klites for the black KL Hokkien Mee. It is a craze that I can’t quite fathom.

Personally I don’t fancy KL Hokkien Mee because of the distinct kan sui taste in the fat, doughy noodles and the fact that 9 out 10 Hokkien Mee that I’ve had so far were just plain salty and reeking of grease.
And the very reasons why it is popular – “wok hei“, umami-ness from dried sole/flounder powder and fresh, crunchy lard are the 3 crucial elements that are sadly missing in MOST versions of hokkien mee in KL/PJ.

Imagine a bland, soggy, greasy plate of fat noodles – you mean to say you actually find that enjoyable?

So then why this list? Is it a compilation of the “best Hokkien Mee in KL/PJ“?


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