3 Westin, Langkawi

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23 Aug – 25 Aug - 2 Nights

This was my first time here in Langkawi. I heard of the place in newspapers where it was some destination for international governmental meetings. Since I was going to Bangkok, might as well drop by here instead of Penang which I had been twice before, one time in my childhood and another time a few years back.

The only Westin I can consciously compare to this place with is the Rapunzel-like modern tower in the bustling city of Singapore. Imagine to my surprise when the view of the hotel came into being. It is a low building with side wings that spreads out like a phoenix towards the tropical sky very unlike the sky reaching structures in large cities.

Very spacious and elegant looking.  It would be a nice area for me to write and veg out the day if I have the time.

If only the weather is Mediterranean and not tropical.  It would be so nice to sit out in the open.

This is the next wow factor.  The ocean view is amazing and the pools look so inviting.  As a matter of fact, a dip after checking in!

The surrounding is rustic and yet a touch of  modernity. 

A welcoming gift.

The room is more spacious and luxurious than the ones I had stayed in Singapore for the past 9 days in Singapore.  The floor is teak and not carpeted.  This is old world luxury, 

The beds are comfortable, firm and the pillows are soft. More importantly, the air conditioning is quiet.

A nice frosted glass to the bathroom instead of a massive solid blank wall. 

Perhaps it is because of the tile colors that the bathroom looks dated.  This is OK since I am not spending my entire time in there to luxuriate myself in the bathtub.  I leave it for Cleopatra to have her milk bath!

It's definitely the color of the tiles that make the bathroom looking old and dated.  The glass doors don't match in color and style.  I am sure they were installed at different times.

Best window view of any hotel I had stayed during this Asia trip.  I would like to complain about the heat and humidity but I did not for there were occasional showers now and then.  After all, just a three day trip before Bangkok.

These warnings are adorable until one’s belongings are swiped by the critters.  It shows that the hotel surrounding is in midst of the forest wilderness.  

Personally I did not see any but my two friends espied them congregating in the next morning, in the veranda across our room.

This place has the most beautiful pools because of its sea view and the neighboring islands.  The crystal clear blue water is so inviting.

So enjoyable that I did not get out of it until darkness descended.

It was nice laying on top of here to get a body massage.

By now, it was time for us to leave and get ready for dinner. There are always two sides to the same coin. On the flip side to tranquility in the remote area, one becomes the captive audience to the hotel. Transport is extremely inconvenient in the day and at night, next to impossible especially getting back to the hotel at night when this is my first time here in Langkawi. The hotel has no incentive when money is to be splurged

 elsewhere.  

Their anchor restaurant is called Tide, a semi open air restaurant. I am sure they are trying to save some air conditioning costs. Looking at the menu, I was not surprised that the food is expensive and nothing seemed interesting enough for me.

The three of us each had a complimentary smidgen of an appetizer. A small piece of fried chicken on top of a salad.  Wasn’t too bad since it was free.

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I had a Cesar’s salad with a soft shell crab because other items have something in them that I didn’t like. Didn’t want to risk on anything strange and ruin my night.

French onion soup for a friend.  It wasn't as salty as the usual ones which was good.  However, it wasn't the best either.

His main entree was this pasta cooked in squid's ink.  I am not enough to try to have a taste of it as the moment I saw the color, I lost my appetite.

Another had this pan fried fish which the taste was so-so but to me feels too dry.  And as for the fries... They were as limp as a grandfather's...

Needless to say, we were the only patrons in the restaurant.  They should be thankful that I didn't complain as I was getting tired.

After last night's experience with Western food, I am not even going to try these.  Anyway, I am impressed by their wide menu selection of both "international" and local offerings.  It should be impressive after all, the buffet is not free.  If I were not impressed, then it must be terrible to begin with.

This looks good enough to try...  But in the end, it wasn't as good as it looked.  The flavor was lacking.

These were freshly made and so I was in roti prata heaven.  Indeed, they were fluffy and most satisfying.

It was worth the wait...

The dipping sauce for the roti prata.  Unfortunately, they skimmed on the meat and hence the flavor was plain,  However, mixing it some some other curry sauce with cooked meats did the trick.

Again, looks were misleading...

At least these potato and onions tastes good if you add a bit more salt or curry to them.  I also mixed them with the sunny side ups.

I am sure all the baked beans come from the same source.  Not even want to try them.  How could they go wrong. I can always have them in LA and if not, I would be terribly disappointed and less room for my stomach.

Having salad in a buffet is just a waste of your hard earned cash.

Condiments for Chinese porridge.  They look good and would have some porridge if there are no better alternatives.  A good bowl of porridge in the morning always perk me up like the proverbial cup of coffee.

In the end, I had a bowl and I would have gone for another one if I didn't see there was something coming up...

The sunny side up looks interesting and I was craving for some eggs which I had not had for a few days now.  The texture from the crispy bottom made the enjoyment of the eggs better when I mixed in with the potato and onion offering.

Bread pudding with butter and berries.  

Ayam (chicken) Goreng Berempah.  Very delicious.

Malaysian style Char Kuay Teow.  It's mainly Chinese flat noodles cooked in a black sweet soya sauce with dried shrimp, fried onions, Chinese sausage, shrimp and in the old days, with cockles.  Looks good but I prefer the Singapore style as the color is blacker.  I miss the pork lard that was used to stir fry them.  Now, for health, vegetable oil is used. 

All these different kinds of curry were very tasty.  I wish I have a larger stomach.

Sambal anchovies (ikan bilis) cooked in sambal style.  This is the first time in my life, that I found out that I had been eating anchovies all along!

The spring rolls tempted me and also to prove to myself that if they were not freshly brought out, they are not going to be crispy and I was proven right.

All these Malaysian desserts are so colorful looking and I would have been tempted if I were a dessert person. Have to save stomach room. Of course there will be exceptions.

 

I am always partial to bacon that are thick and meaty looking and not too crispy. So I had two small pieces just to satisfy my craving.

As one can see from my plate, the sunnyside ups were a hit with me.

From past experience, not going to touch them if they are not freshly put out.

I was going to wait for these pancakes but then my eye espied something even better...

Not these ordinary looking sandwiches which I can make them myself at home! It would be very stupid to even try them unless there is nothing else on the table and one is famished.

Or these... What I saw was on someone's plate...

Neither were these but what the guy was making at the end of the table...

This is my childhood favorite.  I know it was "longevity cake" 萬壽糕.  It is Apom Balik in Malay.  The filling is usually peanut or coconut and is only tasty when it is piping hot and fresh out from the pan.  When it becomes cold, the crust becomes limp and the texture becomes gooey soft.  It is quite rare to find them these days as most of the younger locals opted for the sweeter western type of desserts.  I find Western dessert, especially American ones too sickly sweet.

I don't seem to get enough of them and whatever stomach space I had, were filled with them.  I even had one for takeout!

All in all, my experience in Langkawi can be summed by, "One time is more than enough" unless one likes to have a two days of getaway from civilization and is willing to spend the time at the hotel.   Because of its remote beauty, it is also extremely inconvenient to go anywhere.  Transport to say the least is a hassle, especially trying to get a ride back to the hotel.  I do not believe the hotel is willing to make things convenient for the tourist if money is spent at other places. 

Except for the breakfast buffet food elsewhere is not that great as well.  The old town we visited may have its old charm but definitely not the restaurant food.  I did not have the time to try the open air night market street food because by the time I was ready to eat, I was caught in a torrential storm.  I was more antsy trying to get back to the hotel because darkness had befallen and I did not know the way to walk back.  In the end, I was lucky enough to get a van to drop us back when I saw some passengers alighted from it.

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