Category Archives: Places to Eat

Celebrating birthdays at Marrybrown

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My niece celebrated her birthday at Marrybrown last month. I asked my sister how much the venue and the activities were. It was FREE.

The birthday family
The big family – I wasn’t in the picture because my daughter was acting up

All we had to do was order their food in advance to secure the booking. The event felt celebratory yet cosy at the same time, as it was only for family members. I departed from Melaka, only to arrive on time for the party at 11am. I bought Aurora a frock. I also gave my nephew a monetary gift for his great academic achievement at school.

The food we ordered
The Unicorn cake
Colouring activities

As usual, I exchanged gossips stories with my sister, catching up with each other. It was amusing to see my youngest brother babysitting his niece and nephew on his wife’s side. They have yet to have their own. Overall, it was a pleasant day to spend with the Powerpuff siblings.

Us, without Ee as he’s at school

Kokodak Melaka

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This restaurant is located at Bukit Beruang. We were enticed by its buffet price. Adults pay RM35/pax, whereas children less than 130cm are charged RM21/pax. Upon ordering, we get a preset spread consisting of several side dishes like chicken (assorted flavours), banchan, tteokbokki, crispy pancake and fried rice. The refills for these dishes are unlimited. So is the ramen that you cook for yourself. However, drinks are billed separately. I wish they had plain water options to wash down the grease.

Since we are not big eaters as a family, we had some leftovers despite not ordering any refills. So you could imagine that there is a huge portion to begin with. If I had known that we would eat Kokodak that day, I would have fasted. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to tapau the remaining food. Which is a waste. I get sad when food are thrown out but I really couldn’t force down anymore food down my oesophagus.

Although the fried rice seemed burnt (the servers cook it for us), the chicken was delicious. I loved the kimchi. I did not eat any ramen because there was already a lot of food. The tteokbokki is an acquired taste. My daughter loved the crispy pancake. I would definitely go there again for its chicken, but I will bring people with a huge appetite to help gulp it all down.

Money well spent.

Salai at Hayyan Huda Opah’s Kitchen, Seremban

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Food amazes me when it comes to its differing, unique recipes. How can some people prepare a Salai Dish to be not as spicy as others? To me, Salai Masak Lemak almost always equates to a spicy dish. Especially when it comes from Seremban, the home of masak lemak ciliapi. I was proven wrong during our visit to a Salai restaurant there.

We decided to make a stop here at HAYYAN HUDA before the visiting hours start at our son’s school, PPGN. This particular place is situated in the heart of a kampung at Taman Bukit Temiang. Parking space is limited but there’s plenty of roadside parking. The place was aesthetically pleasing with outdoor seating. Its operation hours are from 11AM till 10PM.

Mr Husband ordered Set A and I am glad to confirm that we could palate the mild spiciness. I also loved the fact that there was a station where we could help ourselves with extra plates, utensils, tissues and even bottles of plain water. I have no idea how much the meal costs since the husband is paying. Ha ha. I never question him about the bill.

The service is fast-paced. The sets are served almost immediately once you’ve placed an order on the app. Similarly, the tables are cleared quickly so that the next customers can enjoy the food. They also have a dessert table filled with beautiful cakes and traditional Malay sweets. We bought a chocolate and carrot cake for our son to enjoy in his dorm. He has been having coughs and it seems that some of the students there have influenza. Thus, the school and hostel area have been decontaminated by the district health office. Insya-Allah we will bring home next week during Outing Bermalam.

The long weekend in Kuching for a wedding

Posted in Food and Drinks, Leisure & Travel, Places to Eat, Reviews by

I was in Kuching over the Malaysia Day weekend. I had a wedding invitation to fulfil. I flew there with Malaysia Airlines. My initial scheduled flights were canceled twice and I almost lost hope of going there. Thankfully, on the day itself, nothing sinister happened and I arrived in KCH safely.

I booked a room at the Grand Margherita Hotel this time.

Once I landed, I immediately walked over to the nearest Bing cafe to get myself a chicken panini. It is my comfort food whenever I am in KCH. As I was too full afterwards, I decided to just stay in and order room service. The rib-eye steak I ordered was disappointing. That will be another post.

The following day, I went for a stroll at The Waterfront. I walked to the end of Carpenter Street and checked out the waterfront mall as well. I bought some T-shirts for my little family and was honestly undecided on whether I should have lunch or wait for my brother from KL to arrive and eat with him. I ended up walking further towards the Borneo Cultural Museum and spent my afternoon there.

Borneo Cultural Museum

I loved the museum. The layout is like Muzium Negara but it showcased more of Sarawak’s history. I enjoyed reading and listening to the explanations about the tribes and their uniqueness. I couldn’t help thinking that if James Brooke never set foot in Sarawak, we’d probably still be fighting among each other for space and power. Somehow Brooke brought in order to the chaos and harnessed the waging spirit to fight into friendly sports like the Regatta we see today.

IG AIS KACANG, Padungan

Once my brother landed and checked himself into Merritin Hotel, we walked along the same lane and came here. They have another nearby branch at Jalan Gambier. I was looking forward to trying their mi belacan and sotong kangkung but they don’t have that in that branch. So we settled for their nasi lemak ayam, Laksa Sarawak, long fries and gula apong ice cream.

The Waterfront and Darul Hana Bridge

Later at night, we walked to the waterfront for photos and went up the Darul Hana bridge. If only they have a food court with more options towards the other end of the bridge in the near future. There was a lantern parade that night and the city was so lively. I felt so energetic during the walk. I liked that this beautiful place is open to the public for FREE. At least, families can come here for low-cost entertainment with their kids.

We had dinner at a halal restaurant. It took ages for the owner to fry our nasi pattaya and daging. Thankfully, it was digestible as sometimes the Sarawak version of these semenanjung dishes can taste awkward.

The Dead Malls

Once my brother checked out from his hotel the next day, I thought we’d go check out the mall. My sister said Riverside Majestic Mall was already dead so we didn’t go there. Turns out Tun Jugah Mall and Sarawak Plaza Mall are equally dead. I suppose the curse of shopping malls set up beside hotels is true after all. So, if say you need to go to a proper mall, my best bets are The Spring or Vivacity. We only had fast food for lunch.

We did get Sam’s ice cream though. The soft serve was OK but I felt Mokti’s gula apong flavour is more intense.

Top Spot

This famous seafood spot was just a 5-minute walk from my hotel. We had our family dinner there. Sadly, Midin was out of stock. But the other dishes that we ordered were, of course, delicious; the Egg Oyster, curry ambal, udang nestum, salted egg crabs, sweet sour fish, crab corn soup, Kerang kicap

I had an early night after devouring all that food. The wedding was happening the following day and I need to get up early.

The Wedding Reception

The event started off early at 830am. Only close family members gather for the akad nikah ceremony. Once that was over, other guests began to come to the hall by 10am for the main wedding reception. It was a short and sweet event, the food portion was adequate and everyone got a photo with the couple.

Cafe Chef Wan, The Shore

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The price range for most of their meals is between RM20 to RM40. Loved the atmosphere and the service.

The initial plan was to eat Mi Tarik. However, the branch near The Shore was closed. So, the visit to Cafe Chef Wan was an unprecedented move. I do not know whether to laugh or feel blessed by the twist of fate. I don’t think Mr Husband had this cafe in mind for dinner. Interestingly, I did experience a strong gut feeling that I would be having my meal there, only that I had no idea that this cafe wasn’t the first choice.

As usual, I entertained my own thoughts that this would be my birthday dinner celebration. Even though no one actually said that it was. Ha ha.

When I was younger, birthdays meant that we got to eat fast food. This is because I ate home-cooked food most of the time. Nowadays, guiltily, fast food has been incorporated into our daily diet so much so that it’s not special anymore. Hence, to some, celebrations have been brought up a notch by bringing them to fancy restaurants or hotels. Of course, the best birthdays are always the ones when you feel noticed, loved and appreciated.

We ordered a duck pasta dish, spaghetti bolognese, Nyonya Laksa and margarita pizza. It’s good restaurant food although the portions to me, a 4ft10 lady, seem huge. My husband with the better palate rated the spaghetti and pizza as a solid 9 over 10. My daughter scored everything as 100! The pizza could have tasted better if the crust was burnt just a little bit more. I don’t really know how to taste food. I eat for energy and to live for just another day.

I have no idea what the total cost of our meal was. After all, the husband paid for everything. I would say that the prices are ‘atas’ though so be prepared to dine like royalty.