Movies: Maleficent

Movies: Maleficent

Another movie that I managed to catch quite soon after its release! A movie whose trailer you should have seen pretty often if you are a movie goer. If not here is the link to the creepy movie trailer.

Creepy isn't it! Yea.. its amazing how Angelina Jolie has such big lips O.o! Did you recognize the song? Here's the happy version

Ok enough of joking, this movie is retelling of the classic movie from disney a long time ago which is the story of sleeping beauty. That means that there is no dwarfs (that's snow white) or woman fighting in china (that's mulan) or fish woman ariel (that's the little mermaid) and there is also no pumpkin carriage and glass slipper (that's cinderella).

Yes, there are that many princesses so its good if you don't get mixed up. Elsa is from a different league though so there is probably no confusion there!

Anyway on to the review for this movie!

Here she is! Look at the lips!

Storyline 3.5/5

Its a pretty creative retelling of a story that some of us might have grown up with, and for those who didnt grow up with this, it would be interesting as their understanding of the traditional fairy tales are now going to be slightly different. None the less as far as the storyline goes, its pretty interesting right from the start till the end and most likely won't bore you to death.

Its not particularly fast paced and there is not too many giant twists in the movie aka, you probably will have an overall idea what is going to happen next as the movie progresses. Nonetheless the story has a good pace and does not have a really slow moment due to good injection of humor and interesting fillers.

Its however not fast paced and would probably be too slow for action lovers. In fact, this is not a pure action film so don't expect to see too much action. This is probably the problem here because the trailer showed some scenes that seem to indicate that there should be a bit more action then what is finally presented. 

Character 3.5/5

The character as played by Angelina Jolie is pretty realistic and real. She did a good job portraying Maleficent and expressing her inner most feelings. The other supporting characters have bit more minor roles but most remain distinct and somewhat endearing to the audience.

This movie is really told in a fairy tale spin which probably was meant to cater to the younger audience so you will not see people who are pure evil but rather people who are just grossly misunderstood. It overall keeps a rather surprisingly light hearted tone which may put off some people if they are expecting a pure evil witch.

Cinematography 4/5

Surprisingly for a non action film, the cinematography is actually pretty good with epic shots and good perspective shots.

There are also a lot of visual effects to emphasize the magical world they live in which adds good entertainment value to the movie.

Music 4/5

Music is well done in this movie and very prominent adding much immersion value to the audience. You will get more into the movie thanks to the good soundtrack.

Spectacle 3.5/5

This is probably a movie that emphasizes on storyline. However, if you are the kind of person who needs many twists and turns to keep the movie exciting, this movie might not be able to interest you fully. The action and epic scenes are fun and a welcome addition but none is really deeply emphasized in the movie so the hard core action lovers will not like this movie. I only highlighted this grouse purely because the trailer for this movie seems to be indicative of more action in the movie which was not what they did focus on.

In the end, I would say that it is a fun experience and somewhat interesting story line, but is not really anything out of the box.

Overall

Storyline: 3.5 (A different storyline that will intrigue you at the start, but as you start to understand what is the main thrust of the movie, there will be nothing astonishing)
Character: 3.5 (Good acting by Jolie and development of Maleficient character that adds a lot of entertainment and fun to the movie)
Cinematography: 4 (Good shots even during the action sequences but could have used more)
Music: 4 (Good accompanying music that added a lot of value to the movie)
Spectacle 3.5 (Its a interesting retelling of the story, there are some action elements but none of them are top of the class)

Overall: 3.7 (I would say this movie won't be a waste of your time especially if you have children who are interested in this story. But for adult level there is no big draw to see the movie unless you just want to see how a bad character can be portrayed in the different light. Not a show for those who want action though so take note of that.

In the end, if you were to be seeing it, just go there with the expectation of a retelling of a old fairy tale from a new perspective and that should be it. Don't expect anything else other then that or you will be disappointed. All other action scenes are just complimentary)

Will be going to see the next movie Edge of Tomorrow within the next week so if you want to wait for my review, just wait till then :) Cheers!

Movies: X-men Days of Future Past

Movies: X-men Days of Future Past

Finally! The next installment to the xmen franchise has arrived. This follows a list of about 7 movies, namely X-men, X2, X-men The Last Stand, X-men Origins Wolverine, X-men First Class, The Wolverine. Basically, if you are looking for movies that are X-men related, just search for all the movies with Hugh Jackman as the Wolverine and that would be it. As long as he is in the movie it is a related movie already. Do remember that the avengers world which is Iron man, Thor and Captain America are also related in some far way to X-men. Even the Fantastic Four and Spiderman are all related as they are from the Marvel Franchise.

Nonetheless how has this new movie performed? Read on to find out!

Heres the movie and pretty much the two mainmainmain characters

Storyline 4.5/5

I would say that especially for Marvel fans you are going to like this movie for the story line. It takes into account every single movie that has happened before this and yet in the end it does something that impacts all the previous movies. No spoilers here but really. It gets you thinking.

For those who do not follow Marvel however it is not that bad also cause the main gist of the storyline is not hard to follow with the objective being very clear from the beginning and aiming to reach the objective for the rest of the movie.

There is some thinking involved during the movie thanks to mystique and her shape-shifting prowess but nothing too hard to follow even for those not into the Marvel world.

However to be honest, to truly enjoy all the smart additions and salutes to the previous episodes, see the earlier movies by whatever means necessary. Call your friends and relatives for a sleep over cum movie night. You will see and draw links all over to the previous movie that you have seen and feel more entertained and fulfilled when you spot the links.

Characters 4/5

The x-men universe is so full of unique characters with personalities that you cannot really honestly expect any movie to introduce all of them in greater detail. This is even more evident when you realize that some characters in the movie, you might not even know his or her name. Thankfully for x-men, people generally just want to see their powers and as a result the movie can still cater to all the audience members whether they are fans or not.

An advert of the movie

See the poster above, well of all these characters, actually two of them practically just appeared for seconds. In fact... One of them on the left really literally appeared for just 3 secs. See if you know who. I also dont really remember seeing the person on the furthest left during the entire movie...So thats the problem with the X-men universe as it has too many characters that might drown off a person new to the franchise. 

There are easily another 5 characters that have substantial amount of screen time in this movie but have No lines. They just come in and show off their power and then something will happen to them... TWICE. Shall not spoil the movie and let you go see it for yourself but it is pretty funny, entertaining and sometimes even sad. Still it adds a lot to this movie. You will understand when you see it.

Cinematography 4.5/5

The movie starts off strong and shows off the varied abilities of the mutants from the get go. It then moves on to the main idea of the storyline and within the line, additional characters are shown using their powers in their own unique way.

This is where the Cinematography comes into play. There will be one scene at the earlier half of the movie where they will utilize all the tricks of the camera to highlight the true power that some mutants will have. The movie does this a few more times such as how it highlights Magneto's and Storm's immense power over metal as well as how the x-men uses their teamwork to "overcome" the odds in their own fights. 

There are a lot of epic shots as well as good fighting scenes although obviously they could be much longer to show off more. 

Music 4/5

There are some fantastic use of music to the movie that really adds to the entertainment value of the movie. You will be immersed in good surround sound to show off the impact of every mutant power during the movie and that makes the movie that much more enjoyable. Its this kind of sound effects that you must go to the theatre to experience and its a lot more expensive to try to do up at home. So do yourself a favor if you love action movies and see it in the theatres.

Spectacle 4.5/5

The storyline for X-men is strong and in terms of action and fight scenes, it does it very very well. The whole time limited idea of the movie also adds to the edge of your seat experience that adds a lot to the fun of the movie. Add to that the introduction of many new characters with wide and varied powers even if only for a short stint, the movie will keep you entertained. It did get slightly dry towards the center but the great start and exciting end makes up for the entire movie.

I would say for those who have seen the previous x-men movies, it adds a lot of additional value to the movie as you can see how some of the movies started or ended up the way they did and you will have a very complete or better view over the movie. Further more, some of the things that happened during the movie seems to be preparing the viewer for the future movies so if ever u are gonna see the future movies, you will probably benefit from seeing this one. Hence there is really no reason to skip this movie especially since it falls under the most generic action genre coupled with a good storyline. Also given its long show time, it is also money well spent.

Its a movie that gives its viewer all they would want, and more.

Overall

Storyline: 4.5 (Exciting storyline that has its fair share of twists thanks to Mystique. Even for non-fans, its easy to follow)

Character: 4 (Many new characters with exciting powers revealed. Unfortunate that some names are not even mentioned. But of course that might take too much extra and unnecessary time?)

Cinematography: 4.5 (Good shots and angles to make the movie even more immersive and exciting)

Music: 4 (Good music that adds strong movie going value to the audience)

Spectacle: 4.5 (For fans, a definite watch. For action lovers it does well in its aspects also. Even storyline is not shabby)

Overall: 4.3 (A movie that only flaws is due to its time limitation but it is pretty impossible to try to improve on one without affecting another aspect for example improve on character development without harming how exciting the movie is. Fans of the movies must see this show and for 2 hours plus show time, its a easy movie to see even if you dont like the genre. You can even go in with expectation and the movie will most likely deliver. 

But to truly enjoy this movie, I repeat again, consider seeing all the previous episodes first cause they really add a lot of value in terms of knowing the world, knowing the characters and the struggle they face. Go ahead and plan when to see this movie, you should be able to enjoy it.)

Also note that there IS an after credits scene as per Marvel movie tradition so stay till the very end. By very end i mean SIT ON THE CHAIR TILL THE LIGHTS COME ON!

Have fun!

Movies: Godzilla

Movies: Godzilla

A movie that will more likely cater more to the older audience as compared to the newer generation. With remakes of the movie starting from 1954, it has probably crept into the minds of the older viewers. With the advent of this Godzilla movie in 2014, it has made sure that the newer generation have their chance to be educated on this famous japanese icon. If you know who Godzilla is, then you are probably someone who can enjoy this movie. If you don't know who Godzilla is on the other hand... well read on and find out whether this should be your chance to know him.

For those who are unaware.. Godzilla is that huge creature in the middle spitting lazorbeams of power! HES NOT A DINOSAUR and has no relationship to Barney. Unlike Barney, Godzilla loves NO ONE!

Unlike other movies featuring characters like Iron man, Hulk blahblahblah, there is no need to see any previous Godzilla movie to enjoy this one. In fact, some might say to not see previous movies as they were horrible remakes. But is this movie in the same state?

Storyline 3/5

I would say that this entire movie storyline is just to lead up to the introduction of the above named creature. The appearance and role played by the above named creature is so essential that actually, when you reach the main climax of the movie, you don't really even bother about what the story line is about.

In fact, what the humans do in this show is completely senseless and insignificant in this show that you really don't see the need of the humans to be in this show in my opinion. Lets put it this way, the humans played zero relevance role in the fight against the monster in this show. They did absolutely nothing, but since this movie needs to start of with some human story and perspective, they did this put in a passable storyline to lengthen the time and get things started at best.

Don't come into this movie expecting amazing storyline with twists and turns.

Character 3/5

As said above, the storyline that involves the humans had little significance to the movie expect making it last longer. Add to this the fact that the movie considers almost everyone else to be expendable and does not see the need to add any background stories, there will be little affiliation to all the characters in the movie.

Add to that the fact that Godzilla is supposed to be mysterious in terms of origin and motive, you realize that at the end of the movie, you learn or understand little new things about Godzilla nor the people involved in this movie.

Cinematography 4.5/5

This is where the movie shines. In fact, this should be the reason you come and see this movie. If you wanna see how nice human technology stands up to creatures or rather, you wanna see complete obliteration of what humans can offer against these creatures, this is the movie you should see. 

The shots are epic and very awe inspiring. A lot of zoomed out shots but the way the story is told is also done uniquely. Sometimes by outward shots, and yet somethings via news reports and other times through the eyes of some of the people in the movie. This is probably the focus of the movie and the way the movie will immerse you.

Music 4/5

This movie has good music, or rather, this movie has a lot of BASS. And I mean ALOT. So much so that you might feel that Godzilla is right outside the theater stomping around. And this is probably good as it adds immersive value. The soundtrack in this movie also helps the overall feel of the movie justifying its above average score.

Spectacle 4/5

For the fans of Godzilla, this movie has provided all that has made Godzilla action so attractive to lovers of this creature. Those who don't know about Godzilla but like to feel the impact caused by huge monsters, this movie can provide that too. At the end, you will probably go off saying that this movie was "awesome". By awesome I don't mean totally great, but rather awe inspiring. You will know the difference if you see the movie.

As long as you can look past the average story line that at the end, you will probably have no feeling or regard for, you should be able to enjoy what this movie has to offer.


Overall
Storyline: 3 (Basically just the material that holds the movie together and allows progress. Nothing more then that)
Characters: 3 (No one is really important in the movie, no one is really elaborated upon.)
Cinematography: 4.5 (This is what you should see the movie for, and it was really obvious that effort was put into this)
Music: 4 (Good strong bass. Might even be too loud. But giant monsters ain't suppose to be quiet and weak sounding)
Spectacle: 4 (Fans will love it, action lovers too. Story lovers not so much. Godzilla movies was not really focused on story lines to be honest)

Overall: 3.7 (Fans of Godzilla as well as action fans will definitely like this flick. Storyline lookers not so much. For those who do not know Godzilla however, try to keep your expectations slightly lower, just expecting to see some pretty good movie shots and you should be sufficiently appeased at the end of the movie. Not a show that requires you to think too much, just a show that requires you to keep ur eyes and ears open, and enjoy the experience. If you can look at it like this, add to it the 2 hour movie price tag, it's a pretty worthwhile movie)

Agree with me on Godzilla? Comment over here if any!

Food: TomYum KungFu (Mookata)

Food: Mookata

Good evening all and a happy mother's day to all :) Finally finished some exams at school and realised that its time to get back to writing and stop being lazy. So I was looking back at all the stored pictures on my phone and found about 3 or 4 places that i was supposed to review. So I will review this one first being a nice interesting place that I been to!

When writing this review i finally understood what mookata means. Its basically the word they use to describe their unique BBQ steamboat style. So you will see many different mookata shops all around using the similar BBQ steamboat pot with different stall names! Now that we got that out of the way, lets get to the food.

Scroll down for details such as location and prices!

Food 4.5/5

Note that this place is not a Buffet style type of steamboat but rather ala carte orders. We ordered a bit too much for 2 people (unfortunately it was finishable) 

We started off with the appetizer which is this tasty little mango salad thingy! As with mango salads, its supposed to be slightly spicy and this tasted pretty good!

Appetizer to start off! Mango salad

 The next dish was some green curry chicken.. unfortunately, if you know me well you know that i am not a fan of chicken. However I am a person who is quite choosy about curry. Generally for this dish, the taste was there but was slightly watery and not strong enough. You can add it to your rice but its just ok la in terms of taste improvement.

Green curry

The next dish i ate was this one. Forgot what was inside it but it was really nice because it was crispy when freshly cooked. Unlike some other fried food like this, the portion was just nice and it didn't taste too boring or the chinese word is "NI". Not sure about the english equivalent for this.

Friend something.. suspect it was prawn i guess

 Finally, here is the main course or the main draw of the night which was the BBQ steamboat itself. Its charcoal based and you can see the soup is off at the side. This means that as you cook the food the juices from the cooked food will actually flow into the soup and make it even more tastier. I guess that's the style over here.

The highlight of the night, mookata BBQ steamboat

 You can actually choose the meats and the veggie from the menu and it is changable cause we actually didnt want to eat the prawns. So we got it changed to fish meat or something. They also gave some LARD which my friend taught me to put on the top of the BBQ first to oil the entire BBQ surface before starting to eat it. Very interesting methodology! You can see the menu choices in a picture further below.

Meat and assorted veggies!

 See the lard at the top? and see the meat get cooked! Don't worry the soup is entirely refillable at no charges. It was actually quite nice to slurp off towards the end of the meal! Note that for cooking the fish, it tends to be a bit more sticky so my friend told me to boil the fish meat slightly in the soup portion first!

Cooking in progress!!

 The meat was actually very nicely marinated till we actually ordered a second serving of meat. It was pork however if i wasn't mistaken.

Need more food and nourishment!

They had also two different choices of chilli to choose from and unlike some buffet settings both chilli choices did taste pretty nice and seems thai like. It was a good addition to the food.

Overall the taste of the food was actually pretty good and tasty and the soup also became a very nice addition to the meal.

 Atmosphere 3/5

Undoubtedly, as with many of the shops in this vicinity, space is a major constraint and you can feel this as the shop is relatively narrow although the tables are spaced to the most extreme positions already. You will be sitting either on the small chairs or on the seemingly stone benches along the walls of the place if you take a seat inside the restaurant itself. Hence once you sit inside, you are actually probably gonna be trapped by the seat and your friends so toilet breaks become a big deal!

This place tried to do something useful by actually putting a wooden board across two tables when the people are well seated to increase the eating space which is a nice move. The staff are pretty non-intrusive and they wont bother you but neither are they much of a positive or negative impact to the experience.

Overall, not the best place to sit and talk, but it is good enough for you to sit and eat and its not too tightly packed till the staff will bump into u and stuff. Hard chairs though but probably can survive for the eating time!

Price 3/5

Below is the menu for eating. Unfortunately I didn't photograph the entire menu but this shows the standard BBQ set that you can order.

Its strangely cute that for adding noodles and some different kinda prawn u need to add 5 dollars O.o.. thats why we didnt get that.. but in any cases this is the price range, not entirely cheap as these prices just add 10 more dollars and you can have buffet at some places.

Overall for 2 pax, we paid about 80++ dollars which is pretty pricey for 2 pax. Of course we did order quite a lot overall and probably overate but the food doesn't look as expensive as it looks and the portions are not entirely filling so you might order more then usual.

Accessibility 3/5

TomYum KungFu Mookata is pretty near the chinatown mrt if i am not mistaken but you probably have to walk about 5-10 minutes away. Sadly seems like the place is pretty popular so you might want to consider calling in reservation before going as you will take some time to eat and its not very big so waiting time could get significant. 

But all in all, for this end result below its pretty ok...

End result of the dinner

Overall

Food: 4.5 (The food taste is unique and pretty tasty that we had second helpings. It is an interesting experience to try and the tastes should be pretty favorable)

Atmosphere: 3 (Not entirely big shop and a bit cramp, but there are some things they did to try free up some space)

Price: 3 (Portions are not very big, and the food is not entirely cheap. Not very expensive either also for the occasional dinner especially)

Accessibility: 3 (It's near a MRT and walkable from there. Small shop leads to slight crowds though)

Overall: 3.4 (Definitely a place to try once in your life and you could go there for the rough special occasion. Not sure about other Mookata but thanks to my friend for opening my eyes to this type of food, I am sure I will visit another Mookata shop in the near future! Try it our yourself and I think you will appreciate the experience!)

For more details you could check this place for location and opening hours 

http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/tom_yum_kungfu/

Movies: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Movies: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Is there anyone who hasn't of this guy? Its evident that now Marvel is raking in the good dough and has a high budget to move from comics to the movie theater with the chunk of Marvel based movies being made these days. Every major hero from the avengers has now the individual chance of having their own sequel and episode 2 and this is the one for Captain America. For those who dunno about this dude with his nice muscles and everything, here is how he looks alongside his good friends

Heres the Capt in all his glory and ready to rumble

Captain America, less clothes but still as ready to rumble 

Ok now that we are done swooning at muscles, lets move on to the review as to whether this muscles.... i mean movie is worth seeing.

Storyline 4.5/5

This movie follows Captain America as he lives life as a hero in the modern world. Halfway thru, something happens and blames are thrown around and suddenly the good ole captain becomes seen as the bad guy. Overall, a story driven by betrayal that gives chance for the heroes to show their special moves.

Note that this movie is not just a action flick with a fix premise and the whole movie then focuses on the same premise. Nope, that is not this movie's description. Rather, this movie has an important story it wants to tell about the background and growth of Captain America and along the way there are various twists and turns. Hence you do need to somewhat understand what is going on to appreciate the movie better.

However, the storyline, being the main show focus does take up a huge chunk of movie time and as such it might be slightly boring for the pure action viewers. They do make a conscious effort to inject humor in this movie and they are generally pretty good and entertaining.

Character 4/5

This movie introduces more then just Captain America. In fact, there is emphasis on the Capt, a new super hero called Falcon, Black widow and even good ol' Nick Fury. Even the Winter Soldier is slightly introduced in this movie as the main villain. 

All the characters are distinct enough in terms of fighting styles and their backgrounds and the way they do things so its clear that all of them have their own individual problems. You will see the Capt clearly as the leader of the team, the widow as the spy like figure, Nick Fury for all his shady undertakings and distrust etc. This is the emphasis of Marvel. However, there is not really enough time to squeeze more character content into a supposed action based show as one might like but you have to draw the line somewhere.

Cinematography 4.5/5

This movie has a good mix of shots that are very clearly filmed especially in action scenes so you pretty much get to see good fighting scenes throughout the show. All the fights have their unique defining moments and are not mere fights for the sake of fighting which is a good plus to the movie.

There are also a few good epic and wow shots throughout the movie that add a lot of enjoyment value to the movie.

Still there are moments that can still be slightly more improved to reach levels like the 300 movies (although I haven't seen the latest one) but all in all the shots are quite well done and do add great entertainment value as well as impact values (meaning you feel the impact as if you were hit by them) in the movie.

Music 4/5

The movie and its positive effect on the movie are appreciable. Its no musical, but you will definitely notice its presence and it will set you up for whatever section of the movie you are currently at.

Spectacle 4.5/5

If you are a Marvel story line fan, this is a no brainer. Long movie time, strong storyline and good action scenes that fully emphasize on the strength of the Capt makes this a must see show. For action lovers, you won't be entirely disappointed but the strong story line will put off those who just wanna see action which is not the main emphasis in this movie. Also if you are too tired, towards the center of the movie there is some very content heavy sections. It might make you fall asleep.

None the less, if you are going to see the next movies like the coming avengers, then you will see this sooner or later so you might as well see it in a movie setting where the sounds are louder and you can feel the impact.

Overall

Storyline: 4.5 (Strong storyline, clearly the emphasis, might be too strong till people who cannot pay attention fall asleep though, hence can improve on pacing)

Character: 4 (Introduction of new characters all whom are distinct. Just a bit little time for full backgrounds and emphasis)

Cinematography: 4.5 (Good shots, fight scenes are very impactful. Just lacks large epic battles of huge proportional and maybe even more creative shots)

Music: 4 (Significant booster to the immersive values)

Spectacle 4.5 (Everything a Marvel fan expects of the movie, story line and action is done well above average)

Overall: 4.3 (A strong scoring shows that this is a show that fans must see, but action lovers can also find enjoyment in this movie. You don't need to have any particularly low expectations of this movie to really enjoy it as it does provide good quality entertainment to all but the worse critics. Go ahead and see it if you need some form of entertainment as a 3 hour action movie that has a high probability of being entertaining is a good time sink and investment of your time.)

Hotels: Shamrock Hotel

Hotels: Shamrock Hotel

Another popular place that many people will visit in Asia is the city of Hong Kong or more correctly termed as the special administrative region of China, Hong Kong. It is one of the most densely populated regions in the world. Hong Kong also has a very comprehensive transport network which makes going around the area pretty easy. Most people go there with the main objective as shopping, with a bit of sightseeing in the itinerary and we will cover this in the review on the place itself. For now, here is the review on the hotel that I stayed in during our visit to Hong Kong. Do note that actually Hong Kong is divided into two regions which is the mainland, which borders China, and Hong Kong Island itself. This hotel is in the mainland Hong Kong.

Details of Hotel

Name: Shamrock Hotel
Location: 223 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Jordan, Hong Kong
Number of Stars: 3 stars
Room of Review: Standard
Highlights of Hotel: Near MTR, Located in tourist area, located in shopping belt, nightlife
Date of Review: Beginning March 2014

This is the hotel's main door and actually its quite easy to spot as long as you go down the correct road. Just try following the map given in this blog and it should be fine. In anycase, this is one of the bigger hotel as it has its own building which is maintained by the hotel itself. There are other hotels that just take a few floors off a residential or shopping building which might or might not look older.

Comfort 3/5

From the pictures of the room here,

Pardon the mess

Even has a cool looking chandelier... interesting location at the aircon vent

Apparently, in Hong Kong, rooms are supposed to be miserably small... i have heard stories about how only one person can be standing at a time and the other must be seated on the bed to have space to move around... Fortunately, this was not the case of Shamrock hotel! In fact, it seems that this hotel room was actually even bigger then my hotel in Taiwan!

So as you can see here, there is more then enough space to leave your bags around. The room also has a control panel right next to the bed that controls the air con temperature and lights and everything else including an in build alarm clock. Of course in the end it all boils down to how much did i pay for this hotel so we will cover that in the last category.

Airconditioning and bed softness was all pretty comfortable with nice thick blankets although it was slightly creeky. Would recommend keeping the windows closed most of the time though as there is nothing nice to see outside the windows and it seems a bit messy. Room was also not entirely new and has a slight bit of musty feel.

Service 3.5/5

Services that i was able to experience in this place was door opening service and also holding on to your luggage before check in and after check out just in case you wanted the additional shopping time.

There is 24 hours service and the staff are able to understand English with little problems. There was also a rack with information on tourist attractions although it was not very detailed. Overall they seem rather profession. There is also the need to put a 300 HKdollars deposit though and checkout was fast and painless.

They do daily cleaning of the rooms as well as replenishment of towels although this is the kind where you need to dump the towels into the bathtub for replacement. They didn't help to tidy up the room however. (I had one hotel whereby the staff actually folded all the clothes that were strewn around and even arranged all the clutter on the table. Not sure if you appreciate that though)

There is no water provided to you though although there was extra pillow and blankets. The lift was quick to get to the floors and there are two lifts so this is a plus for this hotel.

Front desk

Lobby sitting area... or actually WIFI area.

Overall they seem pretty willing to please although they are similar to Puri hotel in that they are not totally able to exceed expectation and go the further distance.

Amenities 3.5/5

Starting at shower amenities, this is what you get for the price.

Yep there is a tub

As you can see, its compact and yet spacious enough for a tub. Didn't manage to utilize it during my stay there too but you can see this hotel does provide quite a bit in terms of amenities. Soap, shampoo and tooth brushes were also provided.

There was also a kettle and cups that you can use to make your tea if you are that kinda person. There was also enough alternate towels for floor mats as well as two big towels for the normal bath.

There was a full bar fridge provided under the television that is permanently switched on that you can use to keep the drinks you buy outside cool. No microwave or other cooking amenities nor was there any laundry capabilities although they did have the laundry bag so you probably can get your things cleaned... for a price.

They do have a closet that you can use to hang your clothes with a safe this time provided with English instructions. THERE IS ALSO NO FREE WIFI IN THE ROOM which is why the lobby is crowded with people looking for internet connection. A sad thing for a hotel in this time and age.. In fact its so sad i shall deduct a 0.5 score right now. This will not be an issue if you are planning to get a data plan for like the 4 or 5 days that you are here in Hong Kong.

Overall, they have slightly better then average amenities. Obviously, pools and other recreational facilities are pretty rare in these kind of cheaper hotels and this is non-existent here.

Location 4/5

There are two aspects of location that are particularly strikingly good. The first is that it is literally almost next to the station for the MTR.. like a bit more then 20-30 steps to the MTR entrance. You probably can see a pattern that I love hotels near the public transport. Also the location of Jordan is between two pretty good shopping area which is Tsim Sa Tsui and Mongkok. Mongkok is where the night market is and TST is the more expensive shopping area. It is also quite easy to get to Hong Kong Island itself from here so this is probably another of the pros of this place. There was actually a night market street called temple street in walking distance from this hotel so it might be an additional plus to the hotel.

The other advantage is that this place is directly along the route of a few buses that come from the airport itself. So instead of spending 100HKD for the fast rail after which you still need to change train, you can actually take a 33 HKD for A21 or 39 HKD for A22 bus straight down ALMOST to the door step of the hotel. The hotel will be like maybe 50 m from the bus stop itself. Just get out when they say Jordan.

Just to make it clear though, because this area is in the shopping belt, meaning that you have small shopping centers all around, it is also apparently located pretty near to the red light district of Hong Kong. That being said, it seems that in Hong Kong, you are not allowed to publicly solicit for business so it is overall pretty safe and I did observe some police presence in my time there.


Cost Efficiency 3/5

The cost of the room was actually just above 300 SGD for 2 nights there whilst in taiwan I got the room at Puri hotel at SGD 330 for 3 nights. Over here you probably have to consider, what are you here in Hong Kong for. Disneyland train stop is actually closer to the airport and there is also an outlet shopping center nearer to the airport and this is about 40 mins away by train. So if you are bringing kids along you might prefer to stay closer to the airport especially if you are not spending too many days there. On the other hand, the public transport to Ocean park as well as Victoria peak which are other popular tourist destinations are on Hong Kong Island itself which is where this hotel is closer to. Young couples might prefer this hotel for the reasons listed above.

The over cost is just SLIGHTLY a tad bit pricy but if you really are conscious about the room size this price might be just right for you.

Comfort: 3 (Does feel slightly old, but not till its uncomfortable. Rooms seem bigger)
Service: 3.5 (Service is there, but not exceeding impressive)
Amenities: 3.5 (No wifi is a big deal, but actually provides quite a bit of good amenities)
Location: 4 (Fabulous central location for most of the activities that one will do here)
Cost Efficiency: 3 (Pricey, probably for room size and location but there is overall a good feel because it is really easy for you to get anywhere.)

Overall: 3.4 (Incidentally, this hotel actually got worse then Puri hotel although it was bigger. Probably because this hotel didn't manage to score in the small parts which was like Wifi and probably the price point too. None the less i would say this score indicates that it is a fabulous place if you want a above average comfortable room to stay in but if you plan to spend alot of time in the room, maybe not a good idea.)

Thats the end of the hotel review section of my Taiwan and Hong Kong trip. Shall start on the other categories soon, probably weekly.

Hotels: Puri Hotel Ximen

Hotels: Puri Hotel Ximen

Introduction

There are many places and countries to visit in the world. For the people living in Asia however, one place that they will visit in their lives is probably Taiwan. Taiwan is actually quite a big place and when you go for tour fairs, there are many choices of whole island tours of Taiwan that can be from 6 days or more or tours for smaller sections of Taiwan that can be for 4 days or more. For those who are not interested in the hurried itinerary of a tour group especially if they are going with friends, you can always op for a simple holiday in one of the many main cities of Taiwan.

One of these cities is Taipei which would be the area of interest in this review. Along the way i will list down some of the considerations that i made in choosing this hotel and see if these are the same considerations you have

Details of hotel
Name: Puri Hotel Ximen
Location: 108, Taiwan, Taipei City, Wanhua District, Ximending
Number of Stars: 3.5 stars
Room of review: Standard Twin
Highlights of Hotel: Close to shopping area, restaurants and MRT station
Date of review: End Feb 2013

This is the hotel entrance

Comfort 3.5/5

This is the bed room

As you can see, the room is REASONABLY sized, with two good beds... actually the begs are fantasy.. its the kind of bed which is very very soft.. those you sink into. Also the provided blankets are extremely thick and feels kind of fluffy.

Everything is very very well placed so there is more then enough room to move about the place but you probably won't be able to fit more then 2 extra friends into this room if you wanted to.

Note that not all rooms have windows, but to be honest given the location of this hotel, your window will have little of a view. None the less for those who are slightly claustrophobic this might be a consideration for you, to request for a window at least.

The toilet which is pictured further below is pretty well spaced and you wont feel TOO squeezy inside although the shower and toilet bowl are pretty close to each other and the water can flow from one end to another. At least the decor is nice.

There are no extra pillows or blankets given in the room itself. The aircon is pretty good and strong but since it only functions when there is a key card inserted, you should make sure you have one key card in all the time. Thankfully, the hotel actually provides you with two key cards so you can actually leave the place and have all your switches and air conditioning powered up.

The lift also seems kind of old and fortunately we were on the first floor. We did see some people waiting for the lift so its quite likely that if you were on the other floors, you might take just that bit longer to get out of the place thanks to the slow lift.

As the hotel is small, there is actually some sound seeping through from other rooms although it was never significant for us that it hindered us from sleeping. Just for your information here.


Service 3.5/5

Services provided by this hotel includes, water replacement daily, bathroom replacement, daily cleaning of the rooms.

The staff are also pretty friendly looking, and on our last day, they were recommending methods on how to get back to the airport early in the morning. They might not be too conversant in English though. It is good also that at night the receptionists are guys, so you might feel a bit safer. The guys also look really nice and friendly so I wouldn't worry about them.

Still, there are areas for improvement like to help you open the door (although the door is tap once and it will open automatically), and also maybe bringing you to the room itself and introducing you to the amenities of the room. Will tell you more later.

All in all, they seem "ready to serve" but it is more of those where you can ask them for anything and everything, but they will not aggressively volunteer their services. They are also not really aware or aggressive on giving recommendations on where or what to eat.. they did recommend a famous oyster bee hoon to us which means they are somewhat aware, but in the morning when we asked where we could do breakfast, we were directed to some place which only had one open shop.. So this can be someway they improve, maybe have a map inhouse that can help tourists find their bearings and eat some of the recommended food here.

Amenities 3/5

This is the shower

Lets talk about the shower amenities first! Shampoo and soap are all provided as well as toothbrushes, shaver and shower cap. There are also towels for both face and body and a floor mat. Its interesting that the mirror is heated so it will actually not fog up, which is a very interesting consideration they made.

There is tea and cups provided with a kettle for those who like their tea in the room. They also have a safe and a mini fridge.. problem is they did not really come and tell us how to start up the fridge and remember earlier how i said that the key is needed for the electricity? Yep.. that means that if you are using the fridge, you must have one key inside the slot at all times. Its also those kind of 6 pack fridge as opposed to a bar fridge so you should expect to only put only some drinks inside. The instructions to the safe was also not entirely clear and we actually had problems getting it to work for us. Of course you can just ask the staff member.

There is no cooking or microwave here... probably cause this is taiwan and if you want anything, you can really just go outside and buy... unless its 1+ am.. in that case your only choice is the nearby macdonald as everything else is closed.

There is also no explicit closet here but they provide you with 4 hangers at the mirror for you to hang your stuff. After dumping all our luggage on the floor there was still enough space to walk around so I would say its still ok. They also provide a desk with a chair for you to do any work or writing.

Location 4/5

The whole reason this place was chosen was because of location location location... Its location is so fantastic, after leaving this exit, you probably just need to walk about 80-100 steps and you are there. Note that you need to turn right into a smaller alley and the hotel will be on the left. It is slightly blocked by the billboard signs so you WONT be able to see the hotel's name till you walk slightly into the small road.

But anyway back to location, this hotel is one stop away from Taipei Main station and from the main station you can go almost everywhere. Hotsprings at Beitou, yep. Pingxi rail, yep. Airport via High speed rail or public bus, yep. Night markets are also pretty convenient although this hotel is nearer to Shida night market as opposed to Shilin although Shida is said to be the 2nd biggest night market... Nonetheless lets not forget the fact that you are actually right next to Ximending which also has a movie theatre along the area. Thanks to the strong rail network however, you can pretty much be where ever u wanna be in max 1 hour.

Basically, living near a shopping area has this benefit. Do all your eating and touring for the entire day towards evening, come back at 10 plus.. OH too early?? Just go out of your hotel and walk the streets for awhile and get some snacks. Tada. Full use of your time. If you stayed in the more traditional main area hotels you probably wont be able to justify leaving your room at 1030 and since you need to be back before the public transport stops, you might only have maybe 30-40 minutes of extra shopping time.

There also seems to be a bar area behind the red house at Ximending so this info is for those interested. Finally, this hotel is really almost directly opposite the Ximen police station so you may have a bit more peace of mind when staying here.

Cost Efficiency 3.5/5

I seen the price for this hotel range from 80 to about 100 SGD per night. My room was 100 dollars per night and it tends to get overbooked pretty quickly. It was full on the Friday we were there. Given the more modern decor and since it doesn't look or feel old, it is pretty above average kind of cost efficiency especially when you think about the convenience that the location brings.


Comfort: 3.5 (Fabulous especially if you are those who want just a place to sleep, but its above average for the common user also.)
Services: 3.5 (Has room for improvements but at least the staff are doing some work)
Amenities: 3 (The basic amenities are provided but some amenities like the safe and fridge are mini versions)
Location: 4 (This is the main advantage of this hotel and should be the major reason you choose this hotel, everything to visit is convenient from here)

Cost Efficiency: 3.5 (I personally felt i paid slightly above what i was comfortable with [was expecting just about 80 sgd] none the less i could justify this by the good location)

Overall: 3.5 (If it was slightly cheaper, this hotel would be a definite get for me. None the less its not a place for big families though as the rooms are really well arranged to maximize the space already so there is no running place for kids, but for couples and solo travelers its a decent place to stay and you won't regret staying here especially when you leave your room to begin your tour and when you come back home, you realize that you have a shopping area at your backyard.)