Category Archives: Places to Eat

Places I ate during my solo stay at MITC Melaka

Posted in Food and Drinks, Places to Eat, Reviews by

First of all, there is a 24-hour McDonald’s restaurant just beside the MITC Hotel that you can walk to at any hour of the day for a meal. There’s even a Petronas Mesra in case you yearn for something as simple as a Gardenia roll or mineral water. Better still, walk over the huge MITC carpark and make your pick of the restaurants sat nicely in the row. Further down, there are a few other restaurants worth mentioning, such as Maniss Cafe, Bangsawan, Mi Tarik Lanzhou, Restoran Akar, Asam Pedas Nek Jarah, etc. Even Mixue is there if you need a quick sugar fix.

Anyway, these are the places I went to for my dinner during my 4D3N stay at the MITC hotel. All within walking distance. My walking distance is 30 minutes.

GEPUK KE KUNYIT

I dined at the place and chose a Daging Kunyit dish. It was RM13. Looking at the menu, it looks mid-range and very family-friendly. My meal set comes with refillable drinks. The rice portion was huge. I think it is best shared between 2 people. The soup was nice. It did not give me a headache, as some salty ones can do that. I requested sambal biasa, meaning mild version. It was palatable. After the meal, I spent 30 minutes at the big MITC carpark, brisk walking to get my metabolism going.

BRUH KITCHEN

I read a positive review of this place. A friend at work recommended the Brisket. Hence, I walked from my hotel, The MITC Hotel, to this restaurant. I reached there by 6 PM. Malaysians tend to have their dinner much later, and so there was no crowd. I ordered my meal via QR scan, and it arrived in less than 15 minutes.

I agree with the 5-star Google reviews. The brisket is to die for. Mine was the Beef Brisket Menangis priced at RM42.90. It came with 3 different sauces. One had a tangy taste, the other was spicy, and one had a familiar taste. The tangy one was nice. I also had the house special drink, the Avocado Milkshake.

After eating this meal, I had to walk longer to digest everything. I felt that the cream overpowered the avocado taste, but yes, I would definitely bring my husband and kids here again, to appreciate the wonderful food they have at this place.

MIXUE

I feel that I need to specially mention this Orange Punch drink. I love it. Even with 30% sugar.

SECRET RECIPE

This restaurant has become a household name for its cake selection. I was desperate for a cake on one particular day. I think I went here on a Friday night. I had beef lasagne and an Indulgence cake. Of course, it was delicious. This branch is located in front of Mydin Mall. Then I did my 10K steps in the mall and around Kota Fesyen.

BOTANICAL GATEWAY CAFE MITC

I had lunch here, just after my hair spa session at Poppy Beauty Spa. I believe this cafe was once Richiamo Coffee. The layout was the same, only they sold other food. It still has pastries, but I was going for a heavy lunch. I chose the Fish and Chips. It did not have the classic tartar sauce, which is a shame. I had my meal with plain water because I wanted to have Gigi Coffee afterwards. It was OK, but I prefer the ones from Windmill station.

This sums up my dining experience during my MITC staycation. Hope it helps.

Snap N Snack – celebrating husband’s birthday

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Celebrating the birthday of family members is probably one small gesture one could do as a family to appreciate their presence. To honour them as a gift to the family. This is because, despite saying that family is important, our actions may suggest otherwise. We either get caught up in work or prioritise other commitments. Hence, to put aside a small portion of your time to spend at least an hour on a simple meal and a birthday cake suffices in some families.

We did just that for my husband’s birthday. He is a busy man at the workplace and is very committed to his side quest of becoming fit. Probably doing Intermittent Fasting. Or being on a product/medicine that he wants to be discreet about. Either way, agreeing to his own birthday dinner is great. I chose a place close to home called Snap N Snack.

I honestly have to tell you. This may not be the best place to get your fix of Western dishes. However, it does boast an Instagrammable venue with a comfortable vibe for family dinners. The latter being the reason why I opted for this place to have my husband’s birthday celebration. By the way, this year, I gifted him some probiotics. A box of Watson probiotics (+ collagen) and a bottle of GKB Lactobacillus Plantarum. I hope he has (better) guts this year.

At the restaurant, my daughter ordered the mac and cheese. The cheese was on the heavy side and was likely prepared by a young cook, as it was salty. Youngsters nowadays seem to be desensitised to sugar and salt. Fortunately, my kids are able to tell when a particular dish is flavourful due to its original taste or burdened by preservatives. My quesadilla was not on par with what I had before at a different restaurant. Even then, I respect that it is their own recipe, only that it was not to my liking. The birthday man had pasta. I ordered a banana split to substitute for the birthday cake. It was alright. In fact, perhaps the only thing we loved about the place was the ambience, the banana split and the service.

The workers did try their best, including the cook. It was just not up my alley. Thus, I chose not to submit my Google review of this place. I will come later and try other dishes. Maybe then I’d find something I like and be able to give a balanced rating for Snap N Snack.

Craving asam pedas in Muar

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I was not a fan of asam pedas. Until I had my MIL’s asam pedas. The visuals of her dish are mouth-watering with its bright red colour, but it is not spicy at all. Since then, I have discovered asam pedas tetel and other proteins in asam pedas. I tried making asam pedas, but the balance seems to be off. You need a good mix of chilli and tamarind paste.

Before Ramadan, my father was craving for a particular asam pedas in MUAR. It was Asam Pedas Kak Yah, located near Masjid Jamek Nurul Iman Parit Bakar. The journey was an hour’s drive from our house. We ordered 2 portions of mayong, 2 portions of pari, 1 portion of vegetable, 2 portions of telur dadar, 4 plates of rice and 4 drinks. The total amounted to a reasonable RM80.

We reached there just after 11am. The crowd had not arrived, so we were able to have our meals peacefully. Overall, it was a great lunch.

15th Wedding Anniversary at Wagyu Melaka

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Recently, we celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. Usually, I would be able to arrange a short staycation somewhere, but for 2025, our date fell in the middle of the week. It was difficult to apply for leave as it was also the school holidays. So, the competition for annual leave is fierce.

The best I could come up with is a special dinner. With the kids.

I made a reservation at Wagyu Melaka, located at Kota Laksamana. We can redeem a wagyu stick for our special occasion. Since we were not big eaters, we ordered the RM150 family set meal and a kids’ meal for our daughter. The food was astonishingly good. The taste of the meat came through with minimal flavouring. Just the simple salt and pepper.

Since Mr Husband has already gifted me with an Umrah trip (he paid at least 90% of it), the least I could get him was this gadget I found online. It could translate a foreign language in real-time. I have no idea if it works, but surely it counts for something. Ha ha ha.

The city of Madinah

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Everyone who has been to Madinah would utter the word, RINDU. In fact, both Mekah and Madinah taught me how to carry my worldly burden differently. The worries of my job, my family matters and others seem so small and distant. The goal there was so clear. To worship and please Allah.

The stay at Madinah would have been better if I had gone for the ziarah. Even then, the calmness in just seeking to pray 5 times at the masjid, reciting the Quran, and just resting at the masjid was enough.

Haramain Speed Train

2 adults, 1 kid: RM 662.00

We checked out of Al-Kiswah Hotel and took an Uber to the station. My husband had bought the ticket online. Once the train arrived, we boarded the designated carriage and looked for our seats. It was a 2-hour-plus ride at a speed of 300km/hour. Before this service was available, Jemaah would take the 6-hour bus ride to Madinah. The fare is of course cheaper.

We enjoyed our doughnuts, and soon enough, we arrived in Madinah. The temperature was slightly cooler compared to Mekah.

Al-Mustarah Hotel, Madinah

5D4N: RM 968.00

It is a new hotel, and we loved that it has a shuttle service. The shuttle would leave 30 minutes before prayer times. Occasionally, the shuttle was full, and visitors needed to find their own transport to the masjid.

The hotel is located near eateries as well. We did not include breakfast services with the room. Overall, it was a really comfortable stay. The hallway smells clean and fresh all the time. The sheets were crisp, and having a mini pantry to prepare our beverages was great. They even have a Netflix service in the room.

Masjid Nabawi

The beauty of Masjid Nabawi rendered me speechless. I could only pray that Allah would bestow His Mercy and Rahmat towards those who keep this place beautiful and clean for all worshippers. Finally, I get to see the majestic umbrellas, the prayer halls and sniff the smell of the masjid. Although I did not get to set foot in Raudah, the chance to just be within the grounds of it was a grateful experience.

We were very relaxed in Madinah. We joined the obligatory prayers, and we read the Quran. We ate, we shopped and we rested. Then we prayed again.

We bought souvenirs here. My daughter bought bracelets and chocolates for her friends. I did the same. We also bought Saudi snacks to bring back home. We had sips of Zamzam water in the masjid. In short, our main focus there was just to perform our ibadat.

I wish to revive theย spirit of my personal ibadatย in Malaysia. Slowing down in my prayer movement. Improving my Quran recitation and supplication. Perhaps polishing my Arabic. I learned it in secondary school. When everything you do is focused towards worship and pleasing Allah, indeed, I do feel that my problems back home are so small.

I can see why muslims want to return for Umrah again and again. It resets your life and thoughts. It stills your heart and programs your mind to believe that Allah is The Al-Mighty and that He loves you and will take care of you, no matter what you’re going through. Trust in His plans and at the same time strive to become a better muslim.

Our time in Madinah passed by really quickly. Soon it was time to go home. That will be the matter in my next post.