Category Archives: Reviews

Sahur at Zenith Hotel Putrajaya

Posted in Leisure & Travel, Reviews by

A one-night stay is not enough. I booked a room here because my sister was organising an Iftar get together at her place.

Zenith Hotel Putrajaya is a bit far from shopping complexes. The view from the place is great, and it offers some privacy for visitors. Guests may park in the basement. Just bring your Touch and Go card to the reception for validation. Then it would be free. There’s also another huge open-air parking space in front of the hotel. That would be suitable for non-staying visitors who come for weddings or the Ramadan buffet.

I booked a Deluxe Twin room through Agoda for RM 291.27 per night, including tax and fees. It comes with breakfast for 2 and access to its facilities. Since it is Ramadan, breakfast is converted to sahur for muslim travellers. I added another RM38 for my daughter’s sahur fee.

The room was spacious. I was beginning to think that maybe it was an upgrade because it definitely looked different from the pictures I saw. The lake view was majestic as I could see the pink masjid from afar. I really liked that there’s a specific tap for drinking water in the room.

My least favourite feature of the room was the bathroom. It was separated from the sleeping area by a glass window. Although there are additional blinds, I still felt exposed while showering. Of course, this is a great thing if I am staying alone. I could soak in the bathtub and watch TV in the bedroom through the glass. However, when you have kids of an older age, you do feel a bit self-conscious. I could peek at my kids in the bedroom through the blinds. They probably could do the same if they want to.

So I resorted to showering in the dark. To hopefully reduce the silhouette effect that comes through the blinds.

Room services are available. The menu seems good.

Sahur starts at 430AM. The buffet is last served at 530AM, but guests are welcome to continue their meals until Fajar prayers. I did not take any pictures of the spread (because it is just too early for photos), but the options are great. I thought it was acceptable. I had a decent nasi lemak, a cup of strong latte, pastries, yoghurt, and juice. My daughter had noodles, cereal and juice. It was a nice sahur session.

We checked out by 11 am, as we do not want to get caught up in traffic heading towards Melaka. It was a partial experience as I did not check out their gym and pool. Perhaps later, when there is more time.

Klana Resort Seremban – old but gold

Posted in Leisure & Travel, Reviews by

I felt guilty that our kids did not go anywhere special during the 3-week school holidays. Healthcare professionals do not get leave easily. In any situation, it is always ‘perkhidmatan diutamakan’ in government service. I know the kids don’t really mind because they are spending time at their grandmother’s house anyway. And like all wonderful grandmothers around the world, the kids were fed and cared for with a lot of love. Even then, as a parent, I still felt like doing something nice for them.

So during the last weekend of the holidays, I made a booking at Klana Resort Seremban. My son preferred a place near his school because he wanted to be early for registration day. He wanted to get the bottom bunk of the bed in his dormitory.

I booked a Triple Family Room with a garden view. The total price was RM 464.70 for a 3D2N stay. The room has a 1 King bed and 1 single bed. Hence, the rooms are located near the pool, not facing the pool. Still, the pool is within walking distance. It took less than 1 minute walk. I like that the pool facilities are mom and kid-friendly. It’s like the Amverton Hotel in Melaka. There is no specific dress code. Thus, I could happily jump in with a comfortable T-shirt and leggings. There is no lifeguard, so do be mindful of your own family members. Clean towels and a place to change are available at the pool. Interestingly, they also serve pool snacks.

I did not include breakfast services because we wanted to buy them from the nearby stalls. We had roti canai on the first morning and nasi lemak with fried chicken on the second morning. The room was spacious and super clean. I loved the bathroom. Most importantly, it has a dryer and a balcony where we can hang our swimming attire to dry. There’s Netflix, and so we watched a few good movies on it.

The area does look a bit eerie at night, but since we spent most of the time indoors, it was not a bother. It felt a bit quiet and dark as we checked in earlier. It is because we arrived near 8PM. Putting that part aside, we had a really great stay. The kids loved the pool eventhough the trip was a short one. Alhamdulilah.

Our room is the one in the white building

November babies celebrating at KJAYA BBQ, IOI City Mall

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

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.

MOXY Putrajaya Hotel – our Deepavali staycation

Posted in Good Things, Leisure & Travel, Reviews by

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.

Orange roses from Alice Florist

Posted in Good Things, Just For Fun, Online Store by

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.