This place is closed down already and now runned by Nasi Ayam Periuk Besar

I still remember the last trip when I visited Kulim, my customer brought me to a place with a similar name as Old Town. When he told me that “We have Ho Town in Kulim now”, I simply replied “I know” and after he brought me to this place it is not the usual Old Town but is Ho Town instead.

To locate Ho Town is not very difficult. If you are exiting from BKE and heading to Kulim High Tech Park, take the exit to Lunas and turn right to Jalan Lunas. Keep driving for about 30 metres and watch out for Ho Town which is on your left.

Ho Town is a place to get away from the hassle city. Although this place has the similarity of some of the franchisee style restaurant, they still have their own unique selling point.

They have the Hainanese-style coffee and the aroma was very thick. Coffee, Hot – RM1.80. Coffee, Ice – RM2.00. For those who prefer cold drinks, Mango Ice Blended – RM3.20 would be a refreshing drink to have.

One of their specialties here is chai kuih. It is one of the place in Kulim which sells fantastic chai kuih. There are 2 types of chai kuih, pan-fried type and also steamed type. Pricing as below:

• Chai Kuih (Steamed), 3 pcs – RM2.00
• Chai Kuih (Steamed), 5 pcs – RM3.20
• Chai Kuih (Pan-Fried), 3 pcs – RM2.20
• Chai Kuih (Pan-Fried), 5 pcs – RM3.50

You can opt for ku chai or fried bang kuang as the filling of your chai kuih.

The pan-fried type of chai kuih was very unique as the chai kuih that we had outside mostly are steamed type. This chai kuih had the crunchiness outside, while soft and hot in the inside. With the dip of chili sauce, it was such a perfect combination.

For those that still prefer the regular chai kuih rather than the creative new way of pan-fried chai kuih, the traditional type of chai kuih was also very good as the soft and tenderness of the skin made this dish a signature dish in here.

Besides chai kuih, they served spring roll (3 pcs) – RM2.90. Crunchy, hot and spicy were what I could describe when placed in to my mouth.

Overall, this is a great place for snack with great chai kuih and spring roll. It is an excellent getaway to be for tea time, with free  WIFI access.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

Family Friendly
Parking
Pork Free
Alcohol
Credit Card
Smoking
Reservation
Private Room

Operation hours: 9:00am – 10:00pm (daily)
Contact: 04-484 1010
Address:No. 295, Jalan Mewah 8, Taman Mewah, Lunas, Kedah, Lunas
09600 Kedah

(Stefanie Chuah, Miss Malaysia/World 2009, Runner Up)

However, there is a break away which can fulfill all the requirements above.  Packing up a few dresses which include your swimwears, prepare RM180 for the ticket and heading to Pulau Payar.

There are only 2 places that able to depart to Pulau Payar, one is Langkawi and the other one is Swettenham Pier, near Penang port.

It is indeed quite a long journey to depart from Penang port to Pulau Payar. The duration of travel takes approximately 2 1/2 hours. My advice, prepare some snacks and breakfast for your journey would be a wise choice.

Instead of sleeping during the whole journey, you can always walk to the deck of the boat to have a wonderful view back to Penang. What a beautiful island, from far.

If you are feeling tried after watching scenery, you can always take a short nap during the journey. Remember to beware of your outlook, someone is dripping saliva when sleeping.

The boat will drop you at the Pulau Payar platform upon arriving. The platform is quite big and stable.

At the side of the platform, you are allowed to snorkelling within the safety range to enjoy underwater coral and fish.

Fishes gathering around you once you step into the water. This underwater pictures are contributed by Waco Chan.

We were told by the safety guards that they always see naked ladies swimming at the island nearby, which I am very doubtful of.

There is also an underwater observation on the platform that allows you to enjoy the underwater world if you are not used to snorkelling.

There are many fishes under the sea which I am not sure of the species too.

There was also a mermaid who followed us to Pulau Payar for the modeling photo shooting session. Her name is Stefanie Chua, the winner of Miss Malaysia/World 2009 Runner Up.

Special thanks to Patrick Soon, the owner of Studio Moon Spell for the great arrangement so that I have the chance to brush up my shooting skill.

After first half, lunch was served at 12:30pm. There were 20 over varieties of food available to choose from. Anyway the taste of some of the dishes still have room for improvement.

After the lunch break, the second half session was to Pulau Payar Marine Park, to reach there we were taken a ride on a small motor boat.

The surrounding of the beach was very clean and picturesque.

You can see through the sea bed with its crystal clear sea water.

In fact, you can see dozens of fish swimming by.

The only drawback at this place is they have stopped the shark feeding session. As the life guard claimed there were too many casualties and also accidents happened. This program needs to be terminated. Therefore, not much sharks can be seen around nowadays.

Overall, this is a great place to relax and get away from the bustle city. There are many species of fish around and it was very comfortable to walk under the soft white sand beach. Other than the quality of the food that needs to be improved, the rest is up to standard.

The particular duck rice stall is located at Lunas town. I had tried to locate the actual location under Wikimapia but too bad I only able to zoom until town view level, the rest is out of border.

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=5.43&lon=100.531597&z=14&l=0&m=a&v=2

Anyway, Lunas is just a small town and the name of this shop is call “Tan Kee”. It is located beside the main road to the town. The stall again is another duck rice shop. It’s a PRO shop that only sells duck rice and no other. Check out the wrinkle of the sign board you already know this shop already operate for quite sometime.

Check out this logo, there are a few competitors there. According to local people there, this is the best in Penang and Kulim. However, there is another shop that sell even better but it’s located out of town. Too bad no guidance there, if anyone of you do know the location please let me know so that I can explore out.

The “Chai Bui” soup as usual that always comes in a set with duck rice. Too bad it still not as tasty as  Taman Lip Sin – Roasted Duck Rice (If you had missed out my previous post click here for details)

“Loh Nui” (Black gravy ) and ”Loh Tau Fu” (Black gravy ), this is just an appetizer. In Taiwan, people there used to tapao these into the cinema for snack. Too bad that is not practical in .

The Duck is prepared in a way that the skin is very crunchy crust thin . The soft tenderness of the duck meat mix with bean sauce gravy is just so good to be true. The plate below is for 2 persons portion. If there are more people in a group they will estimate more portion. So far compare to the previous posts that I published, the tast of the duck skin from this stall is still the best. Of course great food come with great price (Great power come with great responsibility) and the price is not as cheap as previous post of duck rice that I had, for 2 persons, its costs RM25. Another advise, do not go there during lunch time if you don’t have time. As you know commercialized location always with people.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall