Liverpool : European Capital of Culture

Have to keep this post short as soon, I've to return to my notes & books that are killing me so silently.

Liverpool was the second stop after Manchester. Only 55 minutes bus ride from Manchester, it is a much more interesting city, we thought. Let's see where the 1 day tour have brought us to:

Pay 6 pounds (student price) and hop on the City Sightseeing Tour Bus, where you'll get to hop on & off at your preferred tourists hot spots.




1. Royal Liver Building towering the Liverpool Waterfront. One of the 3 graces of Liverpool's Waterfront, another 2 being the Curnard building & Port of Liverpool Building.

2. the Clock Tower

3. Turning the Place Over - known as one of the most daring piece of art, it was an intervention into the architecture to date, turning a building in Liverpool’s city centre literally inside out.

4. Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King





5. Liverpool (Anglican) Cathedral

6. Albert Dock - one of the most prominent dock in this cultural city, built in cast iron, brick and stone.

7. St. George's Hall's exhibit - the famous LAMBANANA.
A cross between a banana and a lamb, this sculpture is found in most places in Liverpool. It was developed with the city specifically in mind as both the banana and lamb were once a common cargo in Liverpool's bustling docks.



8. Remember Beatles - The Fab 4 Store.
Visit to get some souvenirs in remembrance of the popular Beatles! Don't forget to take a tour to THE BEATLES STORY if you're a big fan and would like to know insights to the great foursome.





9. Camwhore at Riverside Walk on a sunny day!






10. Visit Shopping Malls in Liverpool!







11. Liverpool's ChinaTown at Nelson Street
However, The visit to New Capital was a total disappointment. Food was not up to standard or expectation! We spent about 9 pounds per person here. So not worth it :(

Deep Fried Beancurd Balls with Minced Prawns

Roasted Meat (served cold) and in soya sauce?? this was bad.



Stew Beef Brisket

Stir-fry Diced Chicken with Cashewnuts

For more pictures of Liverpool, please visit photos2share


A week to finals of the MPharm program. I need all the luck I can get! Hope my efforts are not wasted. Good luck to all my batchmates! Let's all graduate with pride & begin our long journey as a pharmacist! :)

Holidays in Manchester

The beginning of spring was spent in Manchester, in search of some well-known Chinese cuisine, taking time off strolling on high streets encircled by shopping malls and not to forget, Old Trafford of course.

To-Dos:

1. Stay in Hatters Hostel. Budget stay for backpackers and students :)
With breakfast included (toasts available 24 hours), open kitchen for cooking, you can save a lot. Environment was youthful, but if you get awful roommates. (we slept in a 8 bed dorm), it’ll be so unpleasant. Gosh. They smells!!







2. Take a bus ‘Stagecoach 250’ from the city center to the Old Trafford, where the Theater of Dreams resides. Brimming with spirits of excitement, we finally set our foot to one of the internationally well-known football stadium. Hey bros… even I’m no football fan, I was here before u guys!! *evil laugh* If you stick with Stagecoach 250, you'll soon reach Trafford Centre ( a huge shopping mall).




Took the stadium & museum tour for £7.82 (student price). Since it was the last tour of the day, it was kinda rush but we made it fun with all the silly camwhoring poses and made full use of all time.

the united trinity

Remember to get some souvenirs and merchandises from the megastore!






Old Trafford Museum
Monday to Sunday 9.30am - 5.00pm

Tour*
Monday to Sunday 9.40am - 4.30pm
* Pre-booking of tours is highly recommended. Tours are subject to change at short notice.




3. The Wheel of Manchester is located at the Exchange Square in the heart of the city centre. Price for an adult is £6.50.











4. Shopping! Lots to shop especially when they are starting mid-season sales. Stores in Glasgow can be spotted here (larger in size) and more chains of boutiques lining up. The Arndale Shopping Centre is just nestled opposite the Manchester Wheel. Selfridges and Harvey Nichols are also nearby for compulsive shoppers :)

street performers

5. Manchester China Town. Try Pacific’s dimsum (reviewed in my previous post). We visited 2 Chinese bakeries here; Ho’s Bakery & Wong Wong Bakery. Both offered their own specialty pastries.
Ho's Bakery is tucked away in a side street in Manchester on the corner of Chinatown looking at the magnificient arch. Ho’s Bakery’s Pork-filling dumpling was delicious! But the egg tarts & pineapple bun was only mediocre.




Wong Wong Bakery has more varieties of pastries (fresh from the oven), especially the egg tarts (70 pence each) and Pineapple bun with a thick slice of butter enclosed righ in the middle a.k.a. Nai Wong BoLoBao (£1.10). Sweet and crusty on top, custard filling BoLoBao is one of Hong Kong’s must-try tidbit (we’re like in HK). However, their lotus paste pastry with egg yolk was disappointing. Too sweet ;(










Both bakery shops sell their special Milk Tea too. Pearl milk tea was their recommendation.



6. Tai Wu for dinner. This Cantonese restaurant id located on Oxford Street, close to the city's thriving business sector and its many fine hotels and right in the heart of Manchester's theatreland and nightlife. A meal for 5 cost us approximately £9 per person. Here were what we chowed-down!

the interior

Curry Beef Brisket



Salad sauce Spare Ribs

Claypot Aubergine with Minced Meat & Pork & Vegetable Dumplings




TaiWu Special Pot – with prawns, cuttlefish, goose feet, fish, scallop.

TaiWu Cantonese Restaurant
44 Oxford Road
Manchester M1 5EJ


Updates at : photos2share

Pacific Dim Sum @ Manchester, UK

The main agenda when visiting Manchester besides shopping on high streets occupied with huge shopping malls and Old Trafford were to feed ourselves with DimSums located at the Manchester China Town. After strolling around in search for a rather good recommendation from friends, we reached Pacific, serving dim sums and Chinese cuisines at its lower level and Thai buffet spread upstairs.




We frequent Pacific for dim sums every lunch session. Yes. 2 consecutive days, with a day after we’re back from Liverpool. Besides the return for memorable, fresh servings of dim sums, the bargain/ deal offered made our visit a must. From 12pm-5pm everyday, Pacific bargained an offer of 30% off for all dim sums dishes! After 5pm, you’ll still get 20% off. And for every 5 dim sums you ordered, you’re entitled for 1 free dim sum dish. Plus, if you opt to have some rice or noodle servings, there’s another menu offering a wide range of choices (also with discounts).






Rice & noodles dishes ordered with special offer (lunch special) from 12pm-5pm everyday - £5.90 (original price £9.50)
Diced Seafood on Fried Rice in Creamy Sauce – highly recommended




Beef & Aubergine Rice Noodle (kuey teow) in XO sauce






Jar Leung Cheung Fun (deep fired dough wrapped in rice roll) - £3.20
This was rather special, but I find it an odd combination.







Sin Har Cheung Fun (Rice roll with Prawn) - £3.50






Char Siew Cheung Fun (Rice Roll with Chinese roasted pork) - £3.20







Tai Chi Cheung Fun ( Rice roll with scallops, topped with XO sauce) - £4.00






Sui Ching Bao (Minced seafood & vegetable dumplings) - £3.80





Choy Mui Gao (Dumpling with vegetable, prawn and garlic) - £3.50






Tai Chi Gao (Scallop dumplings) – £3.80 (very fresh & sweet – highly recommended)






Har Gao (Prawn dumplings) - £3.50






Siew Mai (Prawn & Pork Dumpling) - £3.50 (these were better than Loon Fung)






Cheung Wong Chau Sau (Pork & vegetable dumplings with seasonal sauce) - £3.50
Another lip-smacking dumpling especially when dipped bountifully into the garlic with XO and chili sauce






Ngau Pak Yip (Ox tripe with ginger & spring onion) - £3.50






Xiu Long Bao (Pork & Vegetable dumplings) - £3.20
Some were rather dry and non-soupy. Not a good order.






Char Siew Bao (BBQ Roasted Pork dumplings) - £2.90






Lo Mai Fan (Glutinous Rice with dried meats) - £4.50





Fung Jow Pai Guat Fan (Chicken Feet & Diced spare ribs rice) - £5.80







Jar Sin Yau (Deep fried squid with sweet & sour dip) - £4.00







Ming Har Kwok (Deep fried prawn dumplings with mayonnaise) - £3.50






Jar Wantan (Prawn dumplings with sweet & sour dip) - £3.50







Wo Tip (Pan fried pork & prawn dumplings) - £3.20
We don’t like its thick skin and weird taste. Not recommended.






Mini Custard Egg Tarts - £2.90
Mediocre.




In all, all dumplings with prawns in them were fresh! Love the bouncy biting texture ;P
For 3 consecutive days, the total bill came up to approximately £35 on average for 5 people. And we had this many! Definitely not a rip-off considering you’re in UK. Way cheaper than having these in London.






Besides, the lady boss was super friendly! Showing us around the restaurant and her warmhearted services definitely will impress customers for a return.

www.pacificrestaurant.co.uk

Pacific
Chinese & Thai Cuisine
58-60 George Street,
Manchester
M1 4HF
Tel: 0161 228 6668


Manchester is filled with young people! (unlike Glasgow) With large shopping malls & bigger markets easily reached, it’s a better paradise for city-craving people. Visiting Old Trafford was an incredible experience although I’m no football fan. I still adore Ronaldo, Giggs, Tevez and Beckham ;P



Next up: we’re not getting tired of Chinese food. Dinner at Tai Wu & Visits to Chinese bakery!