Tag Archives: halal travel

Kuching trip with my daughter – getting there with Malaysia Airlines

Posted in Good Things, Leisure & Travel, Parenting, Family and Relationships by

I had a wedding to attend. My cousin, the only son of my uncle, who has lots of girls, was getting married. Hence, I feel it is a must to attend. I asked my husband if he wanted to tag along for the short weekend trip. He was not keen. Thus, it was just me and my daughter.

I booked Malaysia Airlines (MAS) because Air Asia has a reputation for flight delays. I couldn’t afford to waste my time on that, especially when travelling with a kid on my own. The return tickets were booked 2 months in advance, for which I paid a total of RM 904.40. We checked in online 24 hours before the flight. I also made a call to customer service to request a Child’s Meal for my girl.

Travelling from Melaka to KLIA

I used my remaining hours to claim the evening off from work. The hours were from my weekend task for the NHSI programme. Once I clocked out from work, together with the luggage in my car boot, I picked up my daughter from my MIL’s house. I have asked her to have her lunch once she gets back from school, before we drive off to KLIA.

I made sure that my daughter was comfortable in the car because it was going to be a 90-minute drive to the Long Term Car Park (LTCP). It’s been a while since I went there, and I was pleased that now we could pay with either TouchNGo or a debit/credit card. The ladies’ parking area was full. This goes to show that a lot of ladies are driving themselves to their destinations. So I parked just a bit further. Then, my daughter and I took the free shuttle to KLIA1.

Boarding at KLIA1

We arrived at KLIA1 ahead of schedule, so we had a light meal at Taco Bell. Once we were done, we went to the ticket kiosk to print our boarding passes and luggage tags. Our luggage was dropped off at the counter with ease.

Although our boarding gates changed, boarding time was not delayed. We had a good window and middle seat on the plane. I have forgotten that now, on MAS, we can watch in-flight entertainment on our own devices. I did not bring any headphones with me. Haneem had to watch her Mechamato movie using subtitles. On second thought, it’s better that way cause then she could read faster in English. I am making a mental note to bring my earphones everywhere next time.

Haneem was served Mac and Cheese. I chose a chicken varuval dish with rice. It was delicious. Then we had extra drinks. We had Sprite and Orange Juice. Haneem also received a kids’ pack with a small notebook, stickers, and stationery to keep her occupied. Well, she was more occupied with her Mechamato movie. The plane departed at 19:30, and we arrived 1 hour and 15 minutes later.

Kuching International Airport (KIA)

I wanted to use MAXIM, but the app was taking forever to find my driver. I used GRAB instead. The fare from KIA to the Abell Hotel was RM 11, and it took less than 20 minutes to get there. The driver was very kind to help me with the bags.

My next post will be about the hotel and the wedding.

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.

Grand Ion Delemen Hotel, Genting Highlands

Posted in Everyday Life by

We went to Genting Highlands for the Melaka’s TYT Public Holiday. We wanted to go to Genting Skyworld. Only to be disappointed again. I will tell you why towards the end. Anyway, Mr Husband booked a 3D2N stay at The Grand Ion Delemen Hotel situated at Genting itself.

The layout of this hotel is really confusing. It has a few towers to begin with. Either way, just start the maze running at the hotel reception first. Even getting to the lobby can be mind-boggling as a first timer. The moment you park in the allocated building, head towards the lift where the tween numbers are. For example, lifts near pillars C12 and D12 on the respective floors. From that lift, press G to the main lobby. Then, from there, you will find another lift and press level 7, which is also a Level 3 upon connecting to a different tower. Can you see what I am getting to right now?

Level 3 is where all the magic happens. That is where the pool is, the dining area, the food stalls, the picture place etc.

Our room was on Level 16, and so from that lift of Tower 2 (Level 7), we found our way to Tower 7 (which is now Level 3 for it). We found our room. The size was comfortable for a party of 3. We had an RM20 burger for dinner, and our snacks were puffed in the drawer.

Mr Husband had breakfast included in our room rates. The choices were 3-star hotel delicacies. My daughter gave a thumbs-up for their noodle soup, though. She said she would come here again as an adult just to eat the noodles. That’s good. Then I can tell her to study well, get a good job that earns fantastic wages, so that she can spend it here, at Genting. I was able to get my protein in as they had this wonderful egg station, from fried, scrambled to omelettes. The beverages were also nice as they had everything from hot coffee to cold iced lemon tea. It was not entirely disappointing.

After breakfast, we took the GRAB to Skyworld on one of the mornings. Yes, GRAB exists at Genting. We did not take a lot of photos as the fog was super thick. Plus, we’ve been here before. Honestly, I was sad that the ride at EPIC world is down again for this visit. We were really looking forward to it. We even brought our raincoats. However, my daughter had a new experience. Since she has gotten a bit taller, she can now go on the roller coaster ride at the Ice Age section. She was thrilled. My husband accompanied her before asking multiple ‘are you sure?’. I personally am not a fan of high, whirling rides because I have vertigo. We stayed there till noon before making our trip back to Melaka.

Overall, it was a great stay. Pricey for sure!

Quest Hotel Midport, Port Dickson

Posted in Good Things, Leisure & Travel, Reviews by

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.

HONG KONG 2025 – Food

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

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.

That is roughly what we had in Hong Kong. I believe this article from one of my favourite websites, HHWT, is more helpful.