Category Archives: Leisure & Travel

HONG KONG trip – Air Asia, overnight stay at YouniQ Hotel

Posted in Good Things, Leisure & Travel by

Since I am in government service, I need to submit my application for overseas holidays 1-2 months earlier, including proof of insurance. Initially, we wanted to fly with Cathay Pacific. However, we missed our flight at 8 a.m. I did have a bad feeling about this. After all, early morning flights are never a good idea if you are commuting from Melaka at 430 a.m.


We missed our flight for Cathay Pacific

I was fuming silently when Mr Husband decided to return to Melaka and forfeit the whole trip. I tried to get my leaves signed and the suitcases packed nicely. He cited reasons for wanting to spend the holidays with his mother instead, and that our daughter was just unlucky for not being able to go overseas. The universe must have heard my silent screams, as it turns out that my MIL already has a holiday planned with her eldest son.

Now, if it were me, I’d probably book another flight to at least Langkawi or Kuching the same day. Some sort of trip to soothe the heartache. It did not happen initially. But the final innocent laments of the daughter to say, “What a waste to get all dressed up and not go for a trip!” did the trick. And just like that, another flight was booked using Air Asia to HK the following day.

The blessing in disguise is that, instead of lugging 2 big suitcases in HK, we repacked our luggage and brought only one. We later learned that it was easier to travel in the city that way.

The YouniQ Hotel

We stayed overnight at YouniQ Hotel near KLIA. Pretty comfortable and sufficient for travellers. There is a mamak nearby and plenty of kedai runcit. I believe the room rate is an average of less than RM100 per night, depending on room size. There’s a water dispenser, an iron and a laundry area on every floor. I also saw other budget hotels nearby – Sky Star Hotel, Qlassic Hotel and Sri Langit Hotel.

After a mamak breakfast, we checked out at 8am so that we wouldn’t miss the 1pm flight to HK.

Air Asia Flight

It was a 4-hour flight. Mr Husband ordered in-flight meals that consisted of roasted chicken, biryani, nasi lemak and chicken rice. Unfortunately, the only beverage available is an Americano. Haneem slept throughout the flight.

This time we were early and ready

Hello Hong Kong

The weather in HK is like Malaysia. So is the GMT. Just that the prayer times are similar to Sarawak, an hour earlier compared to Semenanjung Malaysia. Below is our basic itinerary for the week-long trip. Some people love a packed one, but given our budget and family stamina, this is what we came up with.

I will be writing separately on the hotels we stayed at, the food, Disneyland, Ocean Park, Kowloon and Madame Tussauds. So, keep a lookout for the posts for the coming few days. Maybe weeks. I don’t think I could write about it fast enough, considering my work commitments. ha ha.

Nujum Cafe Melaka

Posted in Food and Drinks, Places to Eat by

Address: Lot 450/451, Bandar Bukit Baru Seksyen 5, 75460 Melaka. Phone: 011-1617 4226

Hours: 

Sunday4–11 pm
MondayClosed
Tuesday4–11 pm
Wednesday4–11 pm
Thursday4–11 pm
Friday4–11 pm
Saturday4–11 pm

The moment it was opened, the kids and I briskly walked over to try it out. Nujum Cafe promoted itself as a place that serves Western cuisine, and I was craving a huge chunk of meat. I would say that the price range is about Medium. It is not as pricey as the high end places like Chef Wan. Nor is it priced like the regular family bistro like Mr SteakHouse.

On our first visit there, I ordered a rib-eye. My kids had the familiar spaghetti and macaroni. We shared a Tiramisu Crepe and 2 bottled sodas from Haus Boom. It tasted like those Cola candies. My steak was just shy of RM100, and my kids’ dishes were roughly in mid RM20s.

The rib-eye was prepared quite well. It was not tough to chew.

Hence, during my subsequent visit there with my husband, I ordered a Sirloin steak. However, that second time around, the meat did not taste as good. Maybe it was a different chef. The tiramisu crepe still tasted fabulous, but I really hoped that they would remove the doily paper underneath the crepe.

Overall, Nujum Cafe provides good food. The atmosphere is also Instagrammable, which is a must nowadays. I look forward to many more meals afterwards.

Husband’s 40th birthday at GSK (pizza parang)

Posted in Food and Drinks, Good Things, Parenting, Family and Relationships, Places to Eat by

People say life starts at 40 and that every habit that you’ve moulded yourself into will become your way of life. Well, he is a health enthusiast at the moment. He has his morning jog before 6am and another one in the evening after coming back from work. Over the weekend, he is in his running shoes 3 times a day. I guess that means he is off to a good start at 40.

Since his birthday falls on a weekday this year, a staycation is not an option. Hence, I racked my brain to figure out what is best to be done for a milestone birthday. Since he seems to like Pizza Hut a lot, I thought of spending some money on really good pizza. Something fancy like wagyu. However, there were not many recommendations I could read about. Until I came across ‘pizza parang’ on Instagram. It’s a family-friendly place that serves Western dishes and, most importantly, delicious hand-tossed pizza.

Easy parking. Slight walk up the hill to the restaurant.

Grass Stream Kitchen (GSK)

GSK is located at Paya Rumput and opens at 6pm. I made it clear to Mr Husband that we are to leave early from home and beat the office traffic so that we could reach the place before the crowd comes. Indeed, we did.

We ordered a meaty pizza (RM60), a tiramisu (RM15), a mocktail (RM10) and sirap bandung (RM5). The server would cut the pizza in style with his parang once it is ready. Not bad for a 40-year-old party show. No clowns or fire-eating stunt, just pizza cutting. Personally, I would go there again and try other versions of the pizza because the crust was crunchy and nice, whereas the toppings were full and superb. The ambience is nice too. It does not open every day, thus, one should check their site first.

Huge pizza portion
Iced water is available for free. Nice to know that they have healthy choices
ordered the mocktail – a mix of coke and grenadine syrup
Tiramisu – love it
Can also easily tapau our own food as packaging is provided. Even the pizzas are served on paper plates that are easily disposed off.
I muted the sound cause I was too giggly

As for his birthday gift, I got him a Minecraft Limited Edition wallet. It was pretty sleek. I would use it if I were a man. I bought it from Fossil at Sunway Putra Mall during my convocation weekend. The sales rep was a very nice young man who helped me decide what to buy. The wallet was worth at least 5 times more than the birthday dinner. I hope he will treasure it well.

Comes in a nice metal box and a fabric casing

There was also a mini Minecraft indulgence cake I bought from Zowacakes. The size was just enough for me to cut out a few portions for his nieces, who love cakes. I still prefer the cakes from the usual Italy Cake House. Ha ha.

The cake was RM45. Ferrero bouquet RM35. All for love!

OUM Convocation 2025 (MK29): Part 2 – Sunway Putra Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

Posted in Leisure & Travel, Reviews by

Apart from Sunway Putra Hotel, graduates could also choose to stay at Seri Pacific Hotel, which is located 30 steps from PWTC. I chose Sunway Putra Hotel because it is attached to a mall, and it would be easy for me and my husband to do our 10K steps and have our meals without leaving the premises. KL is a nightmare to drive in. After all, Sunway Putra Hotel is still within (safe) walking distance to PWTC. Just use the bridge. It took me less than 10 minutes to walk from the ground hotel lobby entrance to PWTC. In fact, it is cut down to less than 5 minutes if I use the exit at the mall.

I booked a superior room for 3D2N at a total of RM 656.23 including free breakfast, tax and fees. Upon arriving at the check-in counter, my room was not ready but the nice young man at the counter said, “I will give you a better room!”. I did not think much of it and said my heartiest thanks until I reached the room.

Surprise, surprise, it was actually an executive suite!

I felt so blessed. My husband and daughter have yet to arrive, as it was a Friday. I was expecting them to reach KL by 9pm once my husband finishes work at 5PM. So, I lazed around in the room and went to the mall for dinner.

Dinner was steak at a place called Alya. I requested my meat to be medium rare. The consistency was OK, but it was heavily seasoned with salt. The mashed potatoes were also cold. I was confused about whether it was meant to be served as such or a mistake.

By 9pm, Mr Husband and my daughter arrived. This hotel has 2 lobby. One on the ground floor and the main one on the 9th floor. I registered our vehicle with the concierge. We are free to drive in and out until it was time to checkout without any parking charges. Mr Husband still had the energy to do the 10K walk at the mall once he got to the room.

Graduates for Sidang 1 were expected to be at PWTC starting at 730am. We were reminded to bring our Smart Card and to put our mobile phones and other precious belongings into the little pouch given by OUM. The key point is to travel light. Will write about the ceremony in the next post.

I had a quick breakfast whilst the duo enjoyed a longer breakfast at the hotel coffee house. I paid extra for my daughter. Thankfully, the food options and selections were good. I love that they provide huge mugs for our coffee instead of little cups. Room service is also available at a given price. Or one could just go to the mall later and have a late breakfast.

Mr Husband utilised the gym very well. He used the treadmill. The gym has a good view of the pool. Apart from the mall, he also gathers his 10K steps by walking around the hotel. I used the express check-out service where I dropped the key into a box and just like that, our staycation ended on a good note. I would definitely stay here again once I have enough money to splurge again. Ha ha.

Sahur at Swiss Garden Hotel

Posted in Good Things, Leisure & Travel, Places to Eat, Reviews by

I thought my husband was joking when he said we were going to have Sahur at a hotel. Turns out he wasn’t. Thus, the usual Speedy Gonzales packing method that I despise. I had no time to plan my OOTD and dumped whatever I thought was necessary in the suitcase for our staycation.

Ee couldn’t join us as it was not during his PB weekend. Hence, it was just the 3 of us being enthusiastic about the experience. Thankfully, Anim could wake up for sahur without any tantrum. In fact, she really enjoyed the food choices. As usual, the other Malaysians were in their modest pyjamas, kain pelikat and slipper jamban. In other words, guests made themselves so comfortable eating Sahur at Swiss Garden.

The price is reasonable for the type of food offered. I wish I had taken more pictures. InsyaAllah, we would opt for a similar Sahur experience next year instead of a packed Iftar buffet at hotels. Sahur seems calmer and more appealing to introverts like myself.