Tag Archives: exploring Malacca

Husband’s 40th birthday at GSK (pizza parang)

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

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!

Celebrating Mother’s Day 2025 at Ames Hotel

Posted in Good Things, Parenting, Family and Relationships, Reviews by

Celebrating Mother’s Day is a rare occasion on my husband’s side of the family. I honestly do not recall any extravagant gesture for the past few years to mark that day. I do, however, remember that we frequently celebrated it when my mom was still alive. I’m not sure how it will be once my dad marries Tante. The dynamics would feel quite awkward. Maybe we would be more enthusiastic about Father’s Day.

Ames Hotel has a Hi-Tea special for Mother’s Day. I do not know how much it cost, but the food selection was great! I honestly loved it. I had several helpings of the sate and roasted lamb. My carbs were the nasi goreng kimchi, potatoes and penne pasta. The Laksa Nyonya was superb, and the dessert cakes were luscious. I had plenty of iced water to down the dishes and also enjoyed a cup of cappuccino.

My plate

Towards the end, I received a flower and a chocolate cake. I am not sure if it was free from the hotel or if it was something ordered by my husband. A big thank you anyway to our sponsor, who is my husband, who paid for the buffet and the Ames Hotel for the great hospitality.

Cake & flowers from the hotel
Ladies of the family
All of us (almost)

Sahur at Swiss Garden Hotel

Posted in Good Things, Leisure & Travel, Places to Eat, Reviews by

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.

Kokodak Melaka

Posted in Food and Drinks, Places to Eat by

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.

Amverton Heritage Resort Melaka – an escapade for exhausted parents

Posted in Good Things, Leisure & Travel, Reviews by

The room, food and activities are nice for exhausted parents with energetic children. I booked a room with two single beds on Agoda. Com. Total was RM 442.45 including tax and fee for a 3D2N stay. This time I did not include breakfast. I wanted to see whether the menu is nice. If not, we will have our meal nearby. This resort is located at Ayer Keroh. Thus, near a few main attractions and MITC of course. That is where the food is. However, we did get 2 free waterpark tickets (priced at RM15/each). I bought an additional 2 tickets.

We checked in on Friday just after our Rejab Iftar at Mi Tarik Lanzhou. Mr. Husband brought his inflatable mattress. We pushed the single bed next to each other, giving enough room for the Queen-sized mattress. There were the usual expected amenities: FREE WIFI (with a very long password), a mini fridge, an iron with a board, and a TV. Plus points, a bathtub, and room service! Although we do not need it, the idea of it being available made me happy.

Even chilling at the lobby is nice. The breeze, the ambience is just relaxing and cooling.

In-house breakfast started at 7am. The price was RM30 for adults and RM20 for children. The options were satisfactory. They had bread but not other forms of pastry. The bihun and curry were delicious. There’s nasi lemak, lontong, congee etc. I loved that they provided mugs for our hot beverages and not those tiny cups. That is the way to go! Mr Husband had a meeting that morning at a nearby hotel, so I didn’t bring the kids for a swim due to safety reasons. I worry that I won’t be able to keep an eye on both. But we did play at the playground and the kids’ zone. The entry bracelet could be worn for both days we were there. In other words, you can enter and exit the park no matter how many times you like, as long as you wear the bracelet. We went to the waterpark later in the evening once Mr Husband came back from his meeting. The employees even use the stapler to make it easy to remove and fasten again.

Our humble breakfast buffet.
After breakfast, I brought them to the playground near the waterpark. For Vitamin D.
There’s also an indoor playground – the Kids Zone. With a mini library and lots of little tables for self-activity.
There’s also a little sand area where kids can build sandcastles and stuff. There were lots of slides too. My daughter tried the ‘tall’ one. That one is only for kids between 6 to 10 years old.

That’s why I believe this is an excellent spot for tired parents. Personally, I don’t have the stamina to spend over four hours at a water park just to get my money’s worth. But at Amverton, we could enjoy an hour of water play, take a break for a meal and a nap, and then head back in the evening for another session. Later, we’d pause for dinner and even continue the water park fun the next day until checkout. It’s perfect for parents to sneak in some much-needed rest between activities. I believe the adults would enjoy the swim at the huge pool just beside the mini water park. I’ll do that with Haneem once she’s a bit older. Amverton is also lenient with swimwear. I love that we can wear T-shirts instead of a burkini.

The normal swimming pool roughly 4ft over here and the waterpark just beside it.

We used GRAB for our lunch and dinner. There’s an in-house restaurant and cafe where you can have your meal. I might consider that during our future visits. Yes, we love this place so much that we’re thinking of making it our getaway place at times when we feel that we need to go to a kiddie-themed waterpark.