Hangzhou
Time for Physic 101, did anyone know how fast an average bullet speed? Conventionally, a bullet travels at the speed of 370 m/s or 1332 km/h. In other words, it travels at Mach 1 or better known as supersonic speed. If you have studied at one of the online colleges for math you already knew this.
Due to the high velocity and momentum when it fires, bullet is recognized as deadly as it can penetrate through almost any medium known to man.
Bullet train is otherwise. It travels at the speed of approximately 350 km/h. Eh.. if you look at the speed, it is no way close to bullet speed but why it is called bullet train?
Must be some glitch in dictionary as it is only considered F1 train to me.. yea, it is close to F1 speed. Regardless,China just operated the first bullet train ever! It is a great success considering the train is always filled with passengers.
The train itself is fairly new, it is separated to super VIP, VIP and normal class. Generally it is distinguished by the seat size. So if you are super fit, I mean fat, don’t doubt but go for super VIP.
One thing I find it unsafe. The comfy seats are without seat belts. Imagine an emergency stop occurs when it travels at the speed of 350 km/hr. Gosh, I can’t even imagine that.
If you survived the journey of approx 1 hour fromHangzhoutoShanghai, you will be greeted with the tunnel of light. Like many said, don’t walk towards the light but there is an exception.
Ohh before you alight the train, make sure you wear your thick winter jacket as I nearly catch cold even though I have safety fat factor. The journey was rather relaxing except some dudes beside me were enjoying stinky beancurds!
As soon as you managed to find your way out from the station, you are now arrived in Shanghai Hong Jiau Train Station. Over here, you can start to sense some degree of civilization.
If you are not in rush, you can either choose to shop around this area or get to subway straight away to your next destination. I must say, it is quite an experience to travel in F1 speed for almost 1 hour 
Bullet Train in Shanghai Hong Jiau Train Station
GPS: 31.192695, 121.321517
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As many might know, my initial Christmas plan is to travel to Hong Kong Disneyland to fulfill my childhood dream. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I re-routed my destination to Hangzhou instead.
So yea, please don’t ask me anything about Hong Kong and the whole long to-do list that I have to put on hold now. Thanks to THE hotel that cancel my booking last minutes.
Every cloud has a silver lining. Despite not be able to physically visit Hong Kong, White Snake movie by Jet Li bring me to Hangzhou for what I consider as second prize.
I might not be able to pull Mr. Mickey’s ear or molests Little Mermaid, but I still get to try out Cantonese dim sum in this classy hotel-alike restaurant called Conrad La Superieur. This is the kind of restaurant at which culinary arts graduates from accredited online colleges try to get hired.
The waitresses have quite a simple job as all they need to do are just passing around paper menu and pencil to me and that’s all. I have to do all the ticking and waving before they attended to you again.
No one actually pushing the dim sum trolley as what shown in TV, THAT is the downside. But hey, they served egg tarts and phoenix claws too, just like any other dim sum place that I have been.
All the dim sums are served hot, I mean really hot. More like the chef only cooks when you order it. So if you ordered custard bun, or ha kau (shrimp dumplings) like what I did, it might take slightly longer than you thought.
Maybe because the dim sum is freshly made, the texture and taste are well preserved. Of course, it is another sign for you to order more too.
Beside char siu pau which I think is quite common, they served pretty good deep dried spring rolls. The spring roll itself is nothing special but after you dip in homemade vinegar sauce, I bet you will want more.
Maybe I should try to fry something and dip in vinegar. Who knows, it might turns out to be good too. If it does, I can make a business out of it.. If doesn’t, well it will still end up in toilet bowl.
Now comes my favorite dish.. a dish that hardly goes wrong. Chee cheong fun it is. Not that I like chee cheong fun but I love the soy sauce gravy. Yum yum..This is really satisfying..
In total, I ordered much more than that. So, I ended up paying a fortune before I leave. This breakfast cost me about RMB 161 (~RM 80) but hey, if I stay here longer, I will go to this place again for sure.
Conrad La Superieur
TEL: +86 – 571 8782 7888
EMAIL: gangli227@126.com
GPS: 30.245796, 120.164627
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Light bulb is created for a reason. If you fail your history lesson before, let me introduce Thomas Alva Edison, an American inventor who claimed that he haven’t fail although he found 10000 ways something won’t work. He is also a man who claimed “Genius is 1 percent inspiration, 99 percent perspiration.” Whatever that means, I must admit he is a true genius as he can forsee the importance of light in the next century.
One of the enigma he resolved is night market. Imagine if you visit a night market without the source of light? How are we going to bargain and hunt for things that appeal to us? Thanks to him, I get to visit Night Market in Hangzhou“visibly”, a place where I considered very congested with human traffic, a heaven of pirated goods and a perfect shopping place for girls.
Considering that I am gay virtually and not very much into pirated stuffs, I am here for a sole reason, STREET FOOD! While everyone is busy bargaining for great deals, I am busy hunting for local food. So, without further ado, I bought homemade tofu with eggs and traditional rice cake at approx RMB 10 (~RM 5) each. The tofu is super delicious, slightly spicy and the traditional rice cake is pretty much tasteless 
.
My food hunting does not stop there. I continued to hunt for long queue restaurant. Why long queue? As a rule of thumb when you travel abroad, “long queue” restaurant perceptively means they serve good food. Without knowing what it is, I bought this stuff. Looks very oily and unhealthy food means it is a right choice. It is actually freshly prepared tako balls with dried minced pork. This is a good one that I actually go back there the next day to get it again.
By setting my budget approximately RMB 50 (~RM 25) for my dinner (thanks to Lou Wai Lou, West Lake for drying my whole week budget), it is definitely not enough for to feed someone as fit as me. Following my instinct led me to Chicken Hero, another famous franchise inChina. When I reached there, I know I have made a right decision. By paying about RMB 15 (~RM 7), I get the whole piece of deep fried chicken with seasoning powder. It is just nice to crave my hunger deliciously.
I am not sure if I share with you before that I am a fan of bubble milk tea. Without miss, everytime when I come across this, I will definitely grab a cup. Again, long queue attracted me.
If I am not mistaken, I paid approx. RMB 8 (~RM 4) for a cup of bubble milk tea. The drink is definitely easing my thirst after whole lots of deep fried stuffs. It is a great paid off considering I spent 10 minutes for my order. So, don’t be upset when your fund is running low. All you need is just finding a right place for a right food and bet you won’t need to die of hunger.
Night Market in Hangzhou
Youdian Road, Hangzhou
GPS: 30.251913, 120.168961
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Lonely Planet used to be one of my best companions when I travel abroad. Not because I am lonely but it helps to locate scenic locations and recommended delicacies in foreign places.
To avoid myself from associated with the word “lonely”, Google turns out to be my best buddy. Instead of flipping the book, I can easily acquire valuable information by gently touch my wife, iPhone :p
Every corner of the world has their own specialties. It is like a “must try” delicacy. For example: Tapas in Spain, Tom Yum in Thailand, Laksa in Penang and bla bla bla.
No exception for Hangzhou, the largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Over here, you “MUST TRY” few famous dishes in Lou Wai Lou (楼外楼), the most authentic restaurant in West Lake.
Like many tourists, I enter this restaurant with a hope to try every recommend dishes here. So I started to speak to the waitress in my broken Mandarin. Honestly, I have no clue 9 out of 10 words she said.
Thanks to the pictorial menu that bridge the communication gaps. I ordered Long Jing Cha (龙井茶) , the famous tea for only 12 RMB (~RM 6) each. If you are intending to add a little fat, go for Tong Po Rou, (东坡肉).
If you ask me, I didn’t know that Hangzhou is famous with beggar’s chicken. The only time that I came across with this dish is in “So, the Begger” movie. I thought it is just a mythical dish.
Right now, I get to try it myself. Many claim that this restaurant serves the most original version of beggar chicken. So, don’t be surprise if more than 90 % of customer here ordered this too.
While happily enjoying my meal, all of the sudden, a kitchen crew brings a pail with this ugly creature. Gosh.. totally spoil my taste. I am like, “What are you doing?”
This fish is about to sacrifice itself to feed my stomach. In few minutes, this fish turned out to be West Lake fish in Vinegar Gravy, one of the chef recommendations in this restaurant.
When I call for bill, I nearly get a heart attack as this lunch cost me RMB 445.40 (~RM 200 ish). Until now, I still try to justify that this lunch is worth the money. The dishes are quite unique but I have to go on diet for few days after that 
Lou Wai Lou
Gushan Road, Xihu,
Hangzhou, China, 310007
GPS: 30.250258, 120.141935
WEB: www.louwailou.com.cn
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