Bangkok: Lhong Tau Dim Sum Cafe

Bangkok is hardly the best place to go for authentic dim sum, but Lhong Tau cafe in Yaowarat is a good place to visit for those Instagrammable travel moments. Climbing the steps to my booth seats was one of the most exciting dining moments on this trip. =P

Thankfully, when we reached in the mid afternoon, there was not much of a queue. We only had to wait about 10mins for an upper deck booth seat to be available. Totally worth the wait because I wouldn't want to take a normal lower booth seat when I come to this cafe, would I? Take the waiting time to browse through their menu and we decided to go for their dim sum set since it's our first visit, and would like to try a little of everything. Pretty affordable for two pax, I say.

First look at the interior - Cheena - European fusion feels. As you can see, the cafe has upper and lower booth seats, as well as the normal round tables. The cheap thrill is of course climbing up to the upper booth seats and seeing how the servers effortlessly climb up and down with trays of food & drinks in hand.

There are different drawings on the walls and our booth comes with rabbits. A little whimsical and totally irrelevant to dim sum, if I might add.

Chose this tea because of the colour, obviously. Butterfly pea flower tea served in modern tea pot mixed with traditional chinese tea cups and tray. Fusion at its best! 

The dim sum set came in an impressive gigantic bamboo steamer basket - 100 points for presentation!

I wouldn't say these are the best dim sum I've tasted, but they are decent, and there is a fine artisan feel about the whole setup. Every dish of dim sum seems to be carefully handmade, so it made me feel like the 299 baht was totally worth it.

Definitely worth a visit if you are in Bangkok Yaowarat area for the novelty factor. Otherwise, if you are in Pratunum area, you will be happy to know that there is another Lhong Tau outlet inside the newly opened Market shopping mall. The interior looks pretty similar, but when you look out, you'll see a modern shopping mall rather than the old streets of Yaowarat, which is what makes this particular outlet more interesting.

Lhong Tau Dim Sum Cafe

Address: 538 Yaowarat Rd, Khwaeng Samphanthawong

Samphanthawong, Bangkok 10100, Thailand

Hotel WBF Artstay Okinawa Naha

Media Review

We stayed at two different accommodations during our trip to Okinawa and the first one left a deep impression on me. Hotel WBF Artstay Okinawa Naha is conveniently located right smacked on Kokusai-Dori, the main shopping and dining street in Naha. Donki Donki, convenience stores such as Lawson’s and Family Mart were within walking distance and Starbucks was just diagonally across the road from the hotel. The hotel was also nearby to two Yui Rail stations with many bus stops scattered in the vicinity. The best part was that even though it was located in a prime area, the rates are very reasonable and you’ll literally gasp when you step into the boutique hotel because of how beautifully furnished it was. At least I did!

Love how the walls and ceilings are all lined with wood – I thought I was in a cabin in the woods! Everything in the space was very muji-inspired and exuded a soothing and relaxing vibe. Did I mention it smells good in there too? It was a huge contrast from the rowdy and busy shopping street outside and I felt like this was a such a restful abode.

The reception counter was decorated with colourful painting done by kids in Thailand. Many of these kids may be living with poor conditions back in their country, yet their paintings showed so much hope and joy. The hotel supports them as part of their community efforts and such paintings can be seen everywhere in the hotel.

I was actually quite surprised when I stepped into our room because Japan is notorious for their shoebox hotel rooms. Our room was actually huge and spacious – There was even a full-length writing desk by the window!

Every room in the hotel is decorated differently, and you can see all the room designs in the coffee table magazine available for browsing at the lobby area.

There are separate toilet and shower rooms, with all the toiletries provided of course.

There was also a free smartphone provided in the room, which you can bring out with you and tap on their google search functions so you don’t have to use your personal data plans. What a nice gesture!

You’ll be pleased to know that the hotel provides complimentary drinks and snacks 24 hours a day in their lobby restaurant and by that, I’m talking about many different types of coffee, 24 different types of tea, miso soup and sake! It’s beyond amazing, I know!

Breakfast was such a glorious affair here in the hotel because they serve breakfast all the way till 12noon! How awesome is that! The selection was impressive as well ranging from Western to Japanese and even Indian food!

I enjoyed all my breakfasts in the hotel because the food was good and the ambience was perfect!

Families travelling with kids would be happy to know that they not only have a kids’ play area within the lobby restaurant, they also have a food line just for the kids, and there’s even a chocolate fondue fountain!

Not only that, the hotel also provides complimentary toiletries and items for your baby and children’s needs. They are readily available near the reception counter. Really a nice gesture by the hotel, I feel!

If you are planning a trip to Okinawa soon, consider staying at Hotel WBF Artstay Okinawa Naha. I super loved my stay there and would definitely consider staying there again if I go back to Naha. =D

To read the rest of my posts on Okinawa, please go to: http://www.jbabiesinthedaisies.com/search/label/Okinawa

Disclosure: The J Babies was sponsored a 3D2N stay with complimentary breakfast for two, for review purposes. All photos and opinions in this post are solely ours.

Okinawa Travel On Public Transport

Travelling to a new country for the first time is always exciting, don’t you think? :)

Okinawa has always been on my bucket list since young, after I fell in love with a Japanese drama series – Beach Boys. I watched it umpteen times and I’ve always dreamt of stepping onto the land of Okinawa. Finally, after xx years, I did! And I love the place – everything from the pace of life to the food, people, nature… Okinawa is a very chill place that would make you feel relaxed no matter where you go, and that was exactly the kind of vacation I need before I dive into another busy & hectic year ahead!

Because it was the husband and my first time to Okinawa, I thought it would be fun to explore the place using different means for varied experiences. A quick google search came up with comments that Okinawa is best explored by self-driving, and there are limited options if you do not rent a car. The truth is that Naha (the main city of Okinawa) is very small and has a monorail system called ‘Yui Rail’ that takes only 30 minutes of journey time from end to end. We decided to take on the public transport challenge for one day, and explored Naha on monorail and buses. To do that, I sought for help from www.klook.com to get all the useful passes that would make it convenient and easy for tourists like us to get around. So glad they have everything I need!

We got the Okinawa Main Island Route Bus Pass & Monorail Pass which gave us unlimited bus rides for one day and monorail rides for 24 hours. The passes saved us time from having to purchase tickets for every trip, and we can literally hop on and off anytime and anywhere we want. Saved us lots of money that way too! I definitely recommend for those planning to explore Okinawa on public transport. There was waiting time for the public transport of course, but we also saw sceneries and views we otherwise would have missed if we had driven everywhere.

Collecting Our Klook Passes

Our flight to Okinawa landed at 8.30am at the International Airport, so we took a short 5-minute walk to the Domestic Airport (connected by sheltered bridge walkway) to collect our passes from the JTB office (Located at 1F), which opens at 9am.

If you are early and the office is not open yet, I recommend that you try the Spam & Egg onigiri from this famous shop on the same level as the JTB office, just a few shop spaces away. It was SO GOOD!

We collected our passes quickly once the office opened, and the friendly staff explained to us the usage and gave us maps for navigation etc. The bus passes are dated, so you have to decide which day you would like to use the passes. But the Yui Rail monorail passes are more flexible – It is valid for 24 hours after first tap-in.

Our public transport day was scheduled for the next day and the plan was to take a bus from Kokusai-Dori (main shopping street where our hotel was) to Shuri Castle vicinity and explore the place for half a day before going on a Yui Rail monorail station hopping trip to explore the various places of Naha. The monorail system brings you from one end (Airport) to the other end (Shuri) so you can literally cover the whole of Naha city in one day and conveniently so via the monorail. And so that was what we did!

I love taking local buses to have a taste of local living! It’s part of the fun of travelling for me. :)

Shuri Castle is one of the key icons in Naha and definitely worth a visit if you are a first-timer in Okinawa. The free access area was vast with lovely views and greeneries, but if you wish to understand more about the history, you can pay to enter the main castle. However, hearsay is that all the decor inside are not the real artefacts but replicas only. We didn’t pay to enter, but just loitered around the castle grounds to take in all the peace and serenity of the place.

Nearby to Shuri Castle is the Kinjo-cho Stone-paved path which is worth checking out. It is an ancient limestone pave and good walking shoes is recommended if you are going for this because there are lots of uphill walking.

By the time you are done with all the walking, you should be quite hungry so it’s a perfect time to settle for some good Okinawan cuisines at a beautiful restaurant nearby called Ashibi-una. I’ll be sharing about this restaurant and the awesome food we had in a separate post. :)

We spent the afternoon hopping on and off different monorail stations to explore Naha, and that’s when our monorail passes came in handy! If you are planning to do this in Naha as well, here’s my recommended itinerary!

Yui Rail Monorail Tour

1. Omoromachi: DFS Galleria, shopping mall
2. Onoyama Park: Large park with many events
3. Oroku (North exit): AEON Naha Shopping Centre, 100yen shop (Daiso)
4. Akamine (South exit): Manga Souko - Mall that sells 2nd-hand goods, Shuttle bus pick-up point to Senaga Island

It was relaxing taking the monorail from one end to the other, and when we saw interesting things or shops, we got off to explore. It was so convenient with our monorail passes! One of the main highlights for us was the trip to Senagajima (Senaga Island) and we love the place so much, we went back a second time just to catch the sunset! Getting to Senagajima without a car is very convenient. Just take the monorail to Akamine Station (South Exit) and wait for the free shuttle bus which comes every 30 minutes from 8:30 to 21:00 daily. The journey takes about 15 minutes. That was what we did!

Senagajima is super beautiful with lots of restaurants and cafes! You can even opt to stay at the Onsen Hotel on the island! More about Senagajima in a separate post. Stay tuned for that!

So, you see… exploring Naha on public transport is definitely doable, and it’s made easy and convenient with the bus & monorail passes from www.klook.com. No matter where you are travelling to, Klook always has something that can make your trip planning easier and the entire experience seamless and hassle-free. Plus, if you don’t know what you can do in a specific place, you can get many ideas from their website. I know it because I’ve used their services many times on various trips! Check them out now for your next trip here –> www.klook.com

To read the rest of my posts on Okinawa, please go to: http://www.jbabiesinthedaisies.com/search/label/Okinawa

Disclosure: The J Babies was sponsored Okinawa bus & monorail passes by Klook for honest review purposes. No other compensation was received. All opinions and photos in this post are solely ours.