Tag Archives: halal travel

The Everly Putrajaya Hotel – meeting my prospective stepmother

Posted in Everyday Life, Leisure & Travel by

My dad is driving me nuts with his holier-than-thou attitude. I am trying my best to not snap back at him like any respectful daughter should be. So is news about Fattah Amin. How do I stop reading about him on my feed? It has started to become so irritating to see the public putting him on a moral pedestal.

On a different note, my dad introduced us to his girlfriend a few weeks ago. We had tea together at Secret Recipe, Alamanda Mall. Our prospective stepmother is from Acheh, Indonesia. They were introduced to each other via a mutual friend. She comes across as a lovely lady, a single mother who single-handedly raised 2 children for the past 10 years since she divorced. She earns a decent income working in administration to support her living expenses.

On the day, we exchanged pleasantries. My younger sister and my niece joined us too. Throughout the meeting, I couldn’t help wondering why is it of all the ladies that my dad could have met, he decided to go for a relationship that crosses international borders. To be honest, I have some concerns about how my dad plans to navigate his life as an elderly, married man with 2 stepchildren later on. However, I think it is something that we will address later on. We ended the session amicably and parted ways.

Although the meeting was short, I took the opportunity to bring my husband and daughter together with me to Putrajaya. I booked a room at The Everly Putrajaya Hotel. This time hoping for a better experience than the one we had before. Indeed, it is much better now. The hotel and Alamanda Mall are so close that I could walk there. We had dinner at Sepiring that night out of curiosity. Mr Husband had his nasi lemak pandan and my daughter went for curry noodles. I had the kid’s menu mac and cheese. We had a really rested night afterwards.

The Deluxe room
Dinner at Sepiring

The Deluxe Twin Room was priced at RM 299.92 per night. Breakfast was included for 2 adults. I had to pay extra for my daughter. There’s a mini fridge and we get two key cards. I love that the hotel is putting in an effort to become more sustainable by serving their drinking water in glass bottles. Which could be refilled from a water station near the elevator.

The hotel lobby was quirky yet welcoming. The aroma of coffee from its cafe was so enticing. The check-in process was incredibly fast. So are the lifts despite the high volume of visitors using it during the peak hours of checking-in.

Breakfast was satisfactory. Nothing very memorable or nasty either. However, I do have to mention that they have a huge selection of pastries to choose from. The seating arrangements felt a bit crowded though. The space from one table to another is quite narrow. Just enough for a pair of buttcheeks to walk by. The coffee dispensed by the machine tasted horrible. Even instant coffee sachets were better.

This hotel is convenient to choose if say I wanted to go to Alamanda Mall for a mini staycation. Although the mall is not that huge as compared to IOI City Mall, the shops there are still OK for families to go to and enjoy their weekends. Sadly, the GSC cinema has closed down. So the only thing that can keep you entertained is yourself with your family. Ha ha ha.

Parking is free. Just hand in your touch-n-go card to the reception.

Cafe Chef Wan, The Shore

Posted in Food and Drinks, Places to Eat, Reviews by

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.

Serapi Hotel

Posted in Leisure & Travel, Reviews by

Serapi Hotel is the best choice of hotel (so far) if your travel plans involve a lot of visiting relatives who are staying around Matang or Petra Jaya. That was the uttermost decision-making point that made me choose this hotel as opposed to my usual selections around the Padungan area. This hotel should not be mistaken with another Serapi (Verdure) Hotel at Hospital Umum Sarawak. Our hotel is located near Satok.

Waiting for our rented car
The lobby

I booked 2 Twin Rooms at the hotel for a 5D4N stay. It costs me a total of RM 1526.40. There was free parking space for our rented car (limited), breakfast and WIFI (too slow, we used our own line). I had one room with my daughter and my husband shared another room with my son. I decided to book two separate rooms for comfort because the kids are growing and the bed is too small to fit all of us together.

Check-in was at 2PM. We had a few minor inconveniences upon checking in. My room couldn’t be opened because the battery for the door was out. So, the hotelier gave me another room on the same floor. My husband on the other hand had a non-functioning air conditioner in his room. They had a really warm night and were so hot that they had to open the windows. They were given a new room the next day.

At this hotel, housekeeping is not done daily. You need to put in a request before 4pm. I just wished they would clean the bathroom better. The walls need some scrubbing.

Breakfast was ok. We really loved the chicken and fried dumplings. The selection was acceptable. The coffee was ok. Of course, the coffee I make at home tastes better. The location was great considering the activities we planned. Serapi Hotel is a bit further than town but there are plenty of eateries to go to nearby. Understandably, these places are not open on Raya. So, we really missed out on delicious mi kolok and laksa Sarawak. But I look forward to my visit in September for my cousin’s wedding.

Another area of the lobby
Checking out

Lexis Port Dickson

Posted in Leisure & Travel by

I thought my daughter was joking when she said we were sleeping at the hotel for the night. It was after all a Friday evening and I have just completed my work day. Naturally, I was knackered and just wanted to get dinner over with. I’ve even got my weekend planned out with submitting my IOP assignment at the top of the list. Turns out, she wasn’t joking.

Mr Husband had some vouchers for a staycation at Lexis Port Dickson. Which means I pack the bags reluctantly but excited at the same time. I lugged my very slow laptop with me (I need to either have it repaired or get a new one). We reached Port Dickson just after 8pm. Thankfully I have ordered Shopee Food for dinner back in Melaka – Zikgu Burger. So, we brought that along with us.

Tired faces. My daughter slept in the car.

Our staycation was not those Chalet ones but the room was still huge. The layout was a bit odd because upon entering the door, we were met with the bathroom first. Then, there was another door from the bathroom that leads to the main bedroom, which fits 1 King Bed and 1 Double Bed. The bathroom has a separate toilet, shower and tub. Then the usual amenities include a small pantry with a mini fridge, a TV, FREE WIFI, complimentary bottled drinks and beverages, a hairdryer and toiletries.

The odd entrance into the hotel room

My daughter really enjoyed the bathtub.

Our package came with Free Breakfast for TWO adults. We paid for our kids separately. The breakfast spread was great and they even have cards that show how many calories each food has. I did not take pictures of the food because there were so many people and I did not want to hold the queue. I loved that they had mugs for our coffee. It is more satisfying than a miserable cup. After breakfast, we walked around the chalet area where the sea view was so beautiful. Then we stayed in the room all day apart from going out for lunch and dinner. The kids enjoyed watching movies with their dad on the projector we brought with us while I did my assignment. Alhamdulilah, I managed to submit it before the time deadline.

Overall, it was a great stay. Perhaps later when I am less obese and look better in a burkini, I would go for another stay there and enjoy the pool. They have a dress code there. I am looking forward to another staycation but I hope it will be less of a surprise trip.

Mudzaffar Hotel, Melaka – now a 3-star hotel?

Posted in Leisure & Travel by

I was really looking forward to a posh stay at Mudzaffar Hotel, Ayer Keroh Melaka. The type of stay where I can cuddle in with room service food.

I booked a Deluxe King room for 2 with my daughter including breakfast. I was on leave because I needed to complete my assignments. My daughter has conveniently finished her academic year at kindergarten which means that she is ‘available’ on Friday. We checked in immediately after I fetched her from school on Thursday.

Check-in was a breeze as I had already paid online. I just needed to pay an extra RM2 for tourism tax. Parking was easy and the hotel was within walking distance to various places to eat. There is also a swimming pool at the hotel but we didn’t bring any bathing suits. Simply because our room already has a bathtub. So, my daughter could easily dip in the tub no matter how many times in a day. She brought her toys to play with and she had a great time soaking in it. The interior decor of this hotel is dark. It would probably look majestic at night but we didn’t step out of our room to actually see what the lobby looks like at night.

I wished they had a mini fridge in my room. I missed having my iced beverages. There were small hiccoughs in the room – the lingering pandan scent (reminds me of a ghost), the non-existent feet wiping the bathroom mat, and the blinking aircon panels. Otherwise, most of the services provided are okay. The staff were exceptionally gracious and polite. They do not come across as pompous at all.

For dinner that night, we walked to a place called Ceqlapaq Restaurant and ordered Laksa Sarang. It was delicious and the broth was rich in fish bits. Another plus point is that it is not spicy making it children-friendly. The portion was too huge though, so my daughter couldn’t finish it.

The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel. Because my daughter wants to do her Number 2, we have to eat very fast. So mengada this daughter. Thankfully, the spread was delicious although most of its options are Malay delicacies. I loved the coffee and the nasi lemak sambal was not spicy.

Overall, the stay wasn’t that bad although I did feel ‘cheated’ that there was no mini fridge in the room. I took it for granted that a hotel of such prestige (I thought this is a 5 star hotel) would not have a problem in providing a little fridge for their guests especially when I had paid RM 247.77/night including taxes, fees and breakfast for two. Turns out other 3-star hotels could do better.