It has become an annual activity to get my family members and close friends a gift for Ramadan. Nowadays, it has become easier for me as I just need to select them from Shopee and have them delivered to their homes. This year the PKS theme is healthy fruits and nuts as opposed to the Tiffins last year.
I also ordered my favourite cookies from an online baker. These cookies are for my siblings, in-laws and neighbours. I even put money packets inside for those who are celebrating Eid outside Melaka next week.
I went to Jonker Street last weekend and got 50 boxes of Beryl cookies. Those are for my relatives and random people in my thoughts. For example, our security guard at the workplace and at my kid’s school. I think I spent just above RM500 at Beryl’s. Parking at Jonker is a nightmare.
I have also been getting a few Ramadan gifts as well. For example, the Medjool dates that I look forward to every year from my bestie Mimie. Then there was a cute mug set from Waniraul and a Mahnaz gift box from Lily Tensai. I love Ramadan because of this. Connecting with old friends and family just to tell them that they are in my thoughts forever.
I received my usual Kurma box from one of my best buddies – Mimie last week and I was thrilled. Ever since she made this an ‘annual gift’ I have stopped buying kurma for myself because the ones she got me are much more delicious. She is one of the people in my duas and I pray that she will be rewarded greatly for giving food to people who are breaking fast.
Kurma has been getting a lot of attention nowadays. It has gone viral in Malaysia for Kurma Butter and in the international scene, content creators are making Kurma Barks. Mr Husband tried out the Kurma Butter and he seemed to love it. I, on the other hand, am consuming Kurma with Pistachio spread. I believe that Kurma paired with any nut-based spread will Insya-Allah taste nice including peanut butter.
I bought this Pistachio spread from Shopee. Back then, I was simply craving for it but I did not want to get the sweet ones from the bakery store or from Llao Llao. It’s a local brand Love Earth and the price is RM29.90 for 175g. 1 TBS is 93.6kcal with 1.17g of sugar. I tend to use only half of TBS for my Kurma and take only 1. I am still on my calorie deficit programme but I needed to fulfil part of my cravings for sugar.
I am planning to make a Kurma Bark later, probably towards Eid as I still have lots of other desserts to finish in the fridge. Ramadan Kareem everyone.
Ticketing details have yet to be announced. I hope the seating arrangements are good. And the price of course. I hate having to stand – prefer a seated seat high above. And then I’ll get a new Samsung phone too.
My views doubled in 2023 in comparison to 2022. This is of course a personal achievement. My total view amounted to
4,288 views
December received a lot of visitors compared to other months with 785 views.
I find that a lot of people who stumbled upon mincimoss[dot]com are searching for reviews related to hotels and tourist attractions. That being said Leisure and Travel is my top category. I had thought that most people would be keen to look at those from Instagram, TikTok or YouTube. Turns out that some of you still prefer to read about it on blogs. To be honest, most of my stories about these places are very short because I just don’t have the stamina to write them in longer paragraphs.
I started blogging probably in 2005/2006. I look forward to another interesting year in 2024.
November is the month to celebrate my youngest brother’s and my daughter’s birthday. This time I invited the family over to Melaka. They stayed at my husband’s Homestay (which has yet to be opened to the public). It is a double-storey house with 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It is in a gated residential area, which is why I am not really a fan of going there.
Anyway, the Moss clan arrived on the Friday evening. Dad already had dinner at my place earlier. Only then did he go to the Homestay with my husband and son. I stayed behind at my own humble abode because I needed to take my daughter to her swimming class the next morning. My sister and brothers arrived much later. The plan for the weekend was to visit the Butterfly Park and then have a birthday lunch and dinner. It was all on me.
Melaka Butterfly and Reptile Sanctuary
The admissions fee has certainly increased since the last time I went here. Adults were RM27 and children were RM22. Our group had 8 adults and 5 children. I thought buying the tickets online would speed up the process of entering the park but turns out you still have to queue in line. I was a bit grumpy because first, the clan was late and second, it turns out that so many kindergartens were doing a field trip that week. Hence, the place was packed. All I wanted was a peaceful Saturday. I noticed that there were a few new attractions such as Feeding the birds, emu and turtles, making origami, a picture with the butterfly fairies and the sight of new reptile species. The food pack was freaking expensive at RM8/pack. I enquired about the group tour but it was only for school and corporate trips.
Find the snakes
The best way to navigate this place upon entering the park is to start from the left where the birds are. Then, once you exit the area, go to where the butterflies are. The entrance is inside the merchandise store. Only then do you go to the tortoise area.
My 30-year-old brother had his first experience of feeding the birds, man – that is a sad childhood. My parents should have brought him out more when he was younger. To be honest, I also had this sort of experience when I got older. Not when I was a child.
I really enjoyed the butterfly area – it felt so magical and the butterflies were a pretty sight. The last time I came here, the butterflies were feeding on soursop. Now they are eating pineapples.
The tortoises were probably feeling very full from all the feeding. Still, the kids were excited with the idea of feeding them.
Lunch at DIMA
Dinner at Ala Kassim, Taman Lagenda
My sister-in-law couldn’t really enjoy the meal because she had a GI upset. I paid a total of RM217 for the meal consisting of a party of 13. We had Pari, Siakap, Jenahak, Sotong, and Sayur Campur with mini nasi lemak and white rice. The night view was nice but there were so many vendors selling their stuff from one table to the other. It is quite merimaskan for me. I just want to have my meal in peace. I realized that we did not have a birthday cake this time – it kind of slipped my mind. Overall, it lacked something in the dishes but the taste was acceptable.
I have yet to plan for the December babies but it should be fun too.
Minci Moss 