My brother Matin shares the birthday month with my daughter. This year, we are celebrating at KJAYA BBQ located at IOI City Mall. I reserved a table through their WhatsApp number for 10 adults and 3 children. Children under 100cm eat for free, while those less than 130cm are given a children’s price. I paid a deposit of RM200 to secure the reservation. Most importantly, it is certified as HALAL.
I opted for the All You Can Eat 8 Meat BBQ Set. Adults eat at RM59 and kids at RM29. We were not big eaters. The portion was more than enough. We did not even refill our meat as they were a lot. The rice, kimchi soup, iced green tea drink, sauce and side dishes can be replenished as much as we like. The ice cream and chicken wings were served only once. But like I said, we couldn’t handle it. Thankfully, we are allowed to tapau.
There is also a family BBQ Set, a la carte meals and fried snacks.
I’d really want to try the Japchae and Jja Jang Myun next time. Maybe the Kimchi fried rice too, and see if I could recreate the same dish at home. The chicken wings that came with our set were delicious.
My daughter gets a free mini Oreo bingsu (worth RM11) with a birthday song. She was elated but slightly at a loss on how to respond to the birthday treat. The bingsu was delicious. To be honest, we did not ask for a treat. It was offered by them.
My sister was hosting a BBQ at her place after Maghrib. This means we need a place to stay afterwards. So I searched for a nearby hotel that could double up as a great place to stay over the Deepavali long weekend.
MOXY Putrajaya Hotel was recommended by my dad. There were also raving reviews considering it is a newly built hotel situated adjacent to the lively IOI City Mall. I was torn between booking the room through Agoda or as a Marriott member via their website. I finally did the earlier one because the price was RM200 cheaper. You could get a lot with RM200.
3D2N – RM 1025.30 including taxes and fees
Since most reviews said that the rooms are small, I opted for a Booster, Deluxe Twin Room. Simply because apart from the twin bed, it also has a sofa. I was surprised that when we reached the room, they had an additional smaller bed near the sofa. Which is a good thing because my son could sleep on it instead. Although there was only one access card, you did not need it as a power card because the air-conditioning and lights were already switched on. Parking was free at their designated space in the shared basement area with the mall.
There is a swimming pool and gym on site. I believe there is also a skybar somewhere. The lobby is very lively as they have a lot of games and activities there.
The beds had motion sensor lights attached at the bottom. So does the lights underneath the sink in the bathroom. The hotel has nice-smelling shower gels, shampoo, conditioner and hand wash. The hairdryer is a good touch. There were comments about the lack of an iron and wardrobe in the room. That was not a problem for me as they have their own ironing room and there are knobs on the wall to hang our clothes.
Free beverages were provided on top of bottled mineral water. I love that they have a mini fridge too.
IOI City Mall is easily accessible on foot. We had our lunch, dinner and 10K steps exercise at the mall all the time. Since I only get to go to IOI City Mall on special weekends (since it is not in Melaka), I really had a good time window shopping there over the weekend. My husband and kids prefer to watch their movies in the room. I had my 10K walk at the mall instead.
We only had breakfast at the hotel, and it was delicious. Our room rate included breakfast for 2 adults. I paid another RM63 for an adult and a child. I honestly loved the vegetable curry at the vegetarian corner, the beef side dish for the nasi lemak, the teh tarik and the assortment of pastries. The croissant was buttery and exquisite. Even the roti bakar and half-boiled eggs were nice. My kids enjoyed the yoghurt and mee goreng.
Overall, the stay was worth the money. I would definitely recommend it to families with little kids or the elderly. Also, to ladies who want to spend Me Time there for a few days.
When I was a medical student in Preston, I often frequented my local grocery store and grabbed a simple bouquet of flowers. Simply because it looks pretty by my window. Flowers are somehow not a thing in Malaysia. Yes, you get flowers for special occasions. But less likely on days where ‘you just feel like it’ or ‘just because’. Hence, giving flowers became a seasonal and special occasion gesture only. The thing is, I am one of those ‘just because’ people. I would love my desk to have a vase of them ever so often.
Hence, can you imagine my joy when I saw this florist selling a minimalist option? No fancy paper or wrap. Just fresh flowers in brown paper. They are so budget-friendly.
I stumbled upon this option during one of my doomscroll days on GRAB. It was priced at RM26.50 per bouquet from Alice Florist, Jalan ONG KIM WEE. I immediately ordered it and had it delivered to my house. I bought 3 because I wanted to give them to my friends. Indeed, I received those mini packages of happiness in less than an hour. They were out of pink roses, but I was equally happy with the orange ones. Now, if only my husband could get me one of these every fortnight. That will be great. Ha ha.
If you are like me, who has kids and a husband with different interests, and all you want to do is stay there for the whole weekend and GRAB food, this is the place. Admittedly, this hotel is far from where the local attractions and beaches are. In other words, if Zombies decided to attack the hotel, it would take a while for people at Teluk Kemang would know. It’s quite isolated from the touristy area.
However, my family and I already have plans. My daughter and I are going to enjoy the Splash Park to the max. Whilst my demure husband and son will stay in the room, watch Netflix and make sure the food ordered by GRAB has arrived by the time we return from the Splash Park
Splash Park
The Splash Park is within the hotel grounds itself. Access is through the restaurant. It does not have a strict dress code, which mothers with muffin tops love. They may not have a lot of shaded area,s but you can always bring minimal items with you to the pool. We just went there with our slippers and put them to the side. Plus, they provide beach towels and also clean toilets for you to change into dry clothes if you wish, before you go up to your room. We just patted ourselves dry. Did I say it was FREE once you stay at this hotel? Did I also say that it is very kid and elderly friendly? I saw a few grandparents enjoying one of those bucket splashes on the boat.
The park is huge and is able to accommodate the high volume of visitors. To me, this is enough entertainment for parents with little children. There are a few water slides, which are enough. The depth of the pool is also less than 0.6M m. I feel that I would enjoy this more than going to Sunway Lagoon or any other parks that would cater for more adult visitors.
My daughter and I went to the Splash Park 3 times during our 3D2N stay there. Once after checking in and then twice the next day, morning and evening. I am sunburnt already. I have stripes on my face!
The Family Room
My husband and 14-year-old son, on the other hand, preferred to stay in the room to watch endless Netflix (free WIFI) and GRAB food. I had thought men would enjoy the park more. I was wrong when it came to my husband and son. It seems that they prefer less movement. Ha ha.
I booked a Family Room with breakfast included that could fit around 4 to 6 people. Perhaps more. It has a double bed facing the forest. Then, there are two bunkbeds that are double-sized as well. Obviously, my daughter and I shared the bunk bed on top, my son had the bottom one, and my husband had the double bed to himself. There was also a comfortable sofa with a large space in front of the TV that could fit another set of toto, if you bring one.
The toilet was OK. There is heated water with a provided toothbrush and soap. I like that the floor is made up of a material that easily dries over the day. The lighting in the toilet was also nice, as I felt so pretty while drying my hair with the hairdryer.
There is a water dispenser on my floor, making it easy to refill our jug, which is also provided in the room. I paid RM 1068.9,8, including tax and fee, through Agoda.com
Breakfast
Since our visit was during the Merdeka weekend, we anticipated a huge crowd during breakfast. Indeed, there was a queue despite abiding by the recommended hours given by the receptionist. We would give our room numbers and then the number of pax and wait at the lobby for our table.
Of course, this is Malaysia, so we know that some visitors may not follow the recommended time given to them. After all, it can be challenging if there are kids involved. It’s quite hard to stave off hunger when they need to be fed. Plus, kids do take their time to eat their meals. So, patience is necessary as we witness parents struggling to feed their children.
The good thing is that the staff is very attentive and friendly. They would make sure that everyone has a good breakfast experience. The tables are wiped clean. The food is replenished at all times. Unlike certain hotels, they just don’t replace the empty trays of food. Quest Hotel is different. There would always be fresh cucur, fresh fruits cut up, milk for coffee, and other items replaced, etc. Furthermore, it is worth waiting for breakfast because the spread is delicious. Cuma kena tunggu je. On the first day, we had to wait for 30 minutes. On the second day, the wait was less than 20 minutes. I think if you can remain hungry for a while, you can come a bit late. Say, by 930am. It is because most parents would bring their kids to breakfast early, because well, the offspring become wild creatures when they don’t get food. It is also because most parents would want to bring them straight to the park after the meal, before the day gets too hot.
Overall, it was an enjoyable stay. I dream of coming here again, in the near future.
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.
Minci Moss 