If you do enough research, there are probably a lot of HALAL options at HK. I am saying this because I know for sure that we didn’t do much Googling. Still, we had good food and our stomachs were full.
Most of the time, we ate pre-packed meals that I brought from Malaysia. The usual ones are from Brahim, Sharifah and PAMA. This time around, I have Khairul Aming’s Dendeng with Prego. Kembara meals are quite expensive, so I did not buy them.
In Hong Kong itself, Mr Husband bought some bread, milk and carton drinks. The peanut butter was delicious, but we were not allowed to bring it in our hand carry back to Malaysia. An act I find it hard to grasp. Is it because of the bottle? Or is it because it is already open? I am bringing back a lovely item from HK to Malaysia, why can’t I? Anyway, I redha. I just said, Go ahead to the officers when they wanted to take it away.
Islamic Centre Canteen, Wan Chai
Average price: HKD 30 – 60 per dish.
This is the type of place where you go to ensure that the stomach is fed. There is no aesthetics to it. Just a delicious meal with vegetables or protein cut up in a way where it doesn’t matter how weird it looks on the plate. As long as it can be bitten into or chewed up. The fish and meat chunks were huge. The chopped onions were bigger. The taste, however, is super nice with the compulsory hint of MSG. Better than loading it with salt.
This canteen is located on the 5th floor of the mosque. Better known as Masjid Ammar and Osman Ramju Sadick Islamic Centre. It is situated right behind our hotel, The Charterhouse Causeway Bay.
Ee really liked his sweet-sour rice. I had their beef noodles. I wanted to see if the Mi Tarik we have in Malaysia is authentic or otherwise. We shared beef fried rice, and I think we ordered a tomato-based chicken dish as well. Since the portions are huge, we felt that adding on dumplings was a bit on the heavy side, so we skipped that. The iced lemon tea is purely black tea with lemon slices instead of the canned ones we have in Malaysia. So, there is that bitter tea aftertaste.
Tahitian Terrace (Adventureland), Disneyland HK
Average price : HKD
I have mentioned this place before in my Disneyland post. The Laksa has a rich, flavourful broth. I would ask you to try the Black Lentil with Biryani and Paratha. That one is super delicious (to me). The price is of course, Disneyland price. Ha ha.
Soy sauce chicken, Ocean Park
This was a miserable meal. We thought this was the only Halal option here. Turns out there were a few other options. Well, this is what you get when you don’t read enough reviews. Our bad!
Miss India, Kowloon
This was an impromptu choice. We were walking around Kowloon (will write about it later) when suddenly a man handed us this paper. Since the kids were already tired, hot and hungry, we thought a meal would get us going again. However, to be honest, we did not enjoy our food. It was only later that we found reviews that say, “avoid at all costs!”.
Lanzhou Beef Noodle
This was a familiar taste since we’ve had the Lanzhou noodles at MITC, Melaka, before. This was about HKD 48 per bowl. My kids loved it a lot.
This is my first time going to Disneyland, including my kids. However, this is the 4th time my husband has been to Disneyland. eyes uprolling in jealousy
After a heavy breakfast in our room, we made our way to the nearest station by 830am. This time we already have our Octopus card, which makes travelling on public transport so easy. Once we had made the necessary station changes, we finally boarded the special Disney train to Disneyland itself.
Mr Husband brought our tickets online. I do not know for sure if he bought it from Klook or something, cause well, I am not the one paying. Mr Husband said we couldn’t bring in any outside food, although I was pretty sure I’d read somewhere that packed snacks are ok. Even then, he and the kids really tried their best to finish our packed biscuits. However, I did keep a few of them and my mini Beryl’s chocolate in the front pocket, hoping that it would not be confiscated at the security. It didn’t, and I get to nibble on them whenever I feel nauseated from the rides.
Tips ;
Bring a water bottle, wipes, a hat or a fan – anything that could help protect you from the sun and cool off
Wear comfortable shoes and attire – while it may seem cute to put nice princess dresses on your kids, Hong Kong weather is hot! At least bring an extra T-shirt and pants.
If necessary, have your anti-nausea meds before you come. I had terrible vertigo on some of the rides. I really needed to close my eyes
Plan your rides and shows if you’re kiasu kaw2. We did not plan and missed out on photos with characters, some shows and attractions. Some of them we didn’t go on purpose because the rides seemed scary. Hence, we didn’t go to the Animation Academy, Art of Animation, Barrel of Fun, Fantasy Gardens, Garden of Wonders, HK Disneyland Railroad (closed), Mickey’s Philharmagic, RC Racer, Toy Soldier Parachute Drop, Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleigh and maybe a few more.
There’s a Quiet Room that Muslims can use to perform solat. Even a wudhuk area is provided. But do bring your own praying attire if you need to use one.
Having said that, there is a HALAL restaurant in Disneyland. It is located at Adventureland. We had rice dishes and laksa.
Of all the shows, aim to at least watch The Lion King show. To me, that is a must!
The best minifan ever. The centre is so cold, like ice, you can place it on your face and neck for an extra cooling effect. The battery lasts for more than 3 hours with a full charge.
The Quiet Room
The Halal restaurant at Adventureland
The crowd waiting outside The Lion King show
The grand setup of The Lion King show
Here is my take on these attractions.
Ant-Man and The Wasp
Our task was to shoot the enemy using our laser guns and collect points. I sat with my son, and he was doing very well shooting down the wasps. I certainly could do better.
Big Grizzly Mountain
This is easily one of my favourite rollercoaster rides. It has enough thrills that excite you, but is not dangerous at the same time. It reminds me of The Mummy Ride at Universal Studios, Singapore.
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
A benign ride where even a toddler could operate the handles and make Dumbo fly. I think we had like 3 or 4 circles before it stopped.
Fairy Tale Forest
This was surprisingly fun due to its interactive features. It is a forest that tells the story of our favourite Disney princesses. Do take note that there is a wheel just underneath the book that you could turn and make the replicas in front of the book do something. I realised this quite late, and it was just too tiring to go back and turn it for other characters. For example, in the Beauty and the Beast section, you could see them dance once you turn the wheel. It was so magical.
There is also another box at the side that you could interact with.
Frozen Ever After
This is one of those rides where they bring you through the story. Minor fast-paced areas, but nothing too scary. Toddlers would love it.
Hyperspace Mountain
I had bad vertigo in this one. Thus, I am unable to describe how it was, but my daughter loved it. I just know there are lots of movements, and there’s a glow in the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling. Forgive me.
Iron Man Experience
This is where we assemble in a room, seated on the aircraft and are supposed to just tour Iron Man’s place comfortably. Of course, we were attacked and had to escape. So the ‘aircraft’ was hovering in all directions with our feet dangling from the floor. The visuals and sound effects were great. Not bad.
Iron Man Tech Showcase
We went in for the air conditioning. Basically, it’s like a display of Iron Man’s suits, fighting tech and buildings. Helps to cool off the body a bit after all the heat.
It’s a small world
You sit in a boat and just cruise the canal with the song ‘It’s a Small World’ on repeat until your ears bleed. To make it interesting, find your own country and see how it is depicted. If it is included. It is a good setup for a scary movie, though because there were lots of dolls.
Jungle River Cruise
You could choose to go on the English/non-English tour boat. We went on this twice. I thought that the script would be the same. Turns out our first lady guide, Yama, was much better and more entertaining. Although the animals during the cruise were knowingly fake, we enjoyed it just the same.
Mad Hatter Tea Cups
Another vertigo-inducing ride that kids seem to tolerate better than myself. It’s just a spinning teacup, but I was nauseated.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Similar to Frozen, this ride tells you a story about Winnie the Pooh. It’s just nice to be seated and see the colourful displays and special effects.
Mystic Manor
Honestly, I have no idea Mystic Manor exists in Disney. It was nice, though. During our first time, the ride malfunctioned and all of us were escorted out. However, we were given coupons so that we could bypass the queue later. To which we did when it was up and running again. The story was entertaining and so magical.
Slinky Dog Spin
Pretty much like Dumbo, only this time we are going around in circles on Slinky. I have to say the Toy Story area was really hot as they tried to emulate a Cowboy area in a deserted land. There were hardly any trees, and the area was just brown all over. The toilet was a great place to cool down and relieve ourselves. Some visitors were even sitting at the entrance of the toilet as they couldn’t cope with the heat.
Of course, Disneyland is a great place to go. Apart from the heat. I hope that my blog readers will be able to set foot in it someday. We said goodbye to Disneyland before the fireworks started, as we wanted to avoid the crowd. We had dinner at the hotel with food we tapau nearby.
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.
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!
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.
Minci Moss 