Ipoh Foodpedition (28-29 November 2015)

Ipoh is not exactly synonymous with Halal Food. However, we wanted to try out their famous local specialty rather than dine on fast food or "Hipster Cafes". I'm sure the cakes are yummy and all but I can easily obtain those food here in KL. 

Our first discovery was made by accident. We wanted to go to Ipoh Parade and made a wrong turn, we saw a restaurant with a huge "Nasi Lemak Ayam Kampung + Sup Belut" signage and loads and loads of people (usually a good sign when it comes to food). We decided to give it a try and I'm glad that we did. 

 Yummy Pulut Manggo 

We ordered the Nasi Lemak set for 2 people : It came with 2 Nasi Lemak Kosong, a plate of sambal sotong (nice), a plate of sambal kerang, a plate of ayam goreng kampung (the best among all), tomyam seafood (quite a weird dish to be eaten with nasi lemak IMHO), sayur campur, 2 bubur chacha and 2 watermelon juice priced at RM49 for the set.

The nasi is on the smaller portion, so we had to order extras for my little munchkins. The total of our whole meal is a whooping RM70++, quite pricey for a nasi lemak meal I would say :p 

It is not the BEST Nasi Lemak I've tasted but it is quite good and worth a try if you're in the area :)

Our quest for Ipoh Halal Food continues the next day, Lan is not too keen on lunching in Tambun Theme Park because lets face it, theme park foods are rarely yummy and is usually over priced. So we snacked on fries and Milo BUT I just had to try this Ice Ball out of curiosity...

The ice ball (ais kepal) that cost me RM5.00. It consist of ice, sirap ros and sarsi. I can get a huge bowl of ABC dripping with choc syrup AND ice-cream for less than that in Klang :p  A rip off la... but if you're trying it out for the experience, no harm in trying. It is nice but not for RM5 hehehe

Once we're done playing in the park, we decided to stop for lunch at "Greentown Dim Sum". We heard good reviews about the restaurant and I wanted to give a try since I'm a huge dim sum fan. Despite it being 3pm and after lunch hours, the restaurant was still quite full (always a good sign)

My fave fried radish cake (no taugeh) and shrimp dumplings

The Dim Sum Set (3 types of dimsum for RM9,90,my fave is the Siew Mai) and my children enjoyed the red bean pau very much

If you are not a fan of dimsum like my hubby, you can always try their rice/noodle dishes. Hubs had the Chicken Rice Claypot dish, not bad taste wise but nothing special. 

Overall we enjoyed the food very much and won't mind coming back for more. Planning to try out the Nasi Vanggey and Ipoh Chicken Rice on our next trip *Inshallah*

Ibis Styles, Ipoh (28-29 November 2015)

It was a super last minute decision to go to Ipoh. We had to attend a wedding in Tanjung Malim and we decided that we wanted to surprise the kids with a trip to Lost World of Tambun a week before the occasion. After browsing booking.com, we decided to give the new Ibis Styles Hotel a try. We wanted to stay in town rather than stay in Tambun as we wanted to explore. I love the location, it is 5 minutes drive away from Ipoh Parade and there's a few eateries (Halal and Non- Halal) within walking distance.

Google Photo

We booked the Standard Twin Room ,the only room available online at the very last minute. The room is good size, modern looking and newly refurbished. Totally in love with the bed which is super comfortable.  

The bathroom is clean and spacey. My only complaint is that they did not provide any toothbrush along with the other toiletries. We had to call reception for the toothbrush sets which they provided for free. 

The dining hall. The decor is super modern and comfortable. Space seems a bit limited, we came down early based on reviews which stated that the cafe would be super full around 8am onwards.  Food selection is minimal, they did not have any pastries or egg station. However, they do offer both continental and Asian food selection. 

For some reason my children did not enjoy the food much. They ended up snacking on koko krunch and juice. 

The plus point is there is a playroom right across the dining hall, so parents can eat peacefully while the kids watch cartoons and play with the blocks provided. 

Review: I'm pretty happy with the room. It is a good choice in terms of location and value for a short stay like ours. I rate the hotel @ 7.5/10

Press Me: Booking.com Review

Animal Park, Bukit Tinggi, Pahang (11 October 2015)

Other than the French Village, there are a  few interesting activities and attractions available around Bukit Tinggi like the Japanese Garden, Botanical Park and the Animal Farm. 

Since it was raining the previous day, we didn't have much time to explore Bukit Tinggi. Between the Animal Farm and Japanese Garden, we choose the former as we know it will interest the children more. The entrance fee is RM4 for both children and adults. Food for rabbits/deers are available for RM2 per packet. 

Some of the rabbits and deers are allowed to roam free while the rest are kept in cages/confined areas. The kids managed to feed and play with the animals around the park.

There are rows and rows of rabbits in the caged areas.There's fluffy, dwarf, black, white, short haired rabbits. We had fun feeding them all because they're so cute. Too bad Lan is not much a pet person, or else I would have kidnap one home :p 

 There's also a bouncy castle and a small playground for the kids to play in the compound. You can also ride a donkey for additional fee. 

My husband is now a pro deer feeder :) 

The park is not big but it was spacious enough to accommodate crowds. I would most probably not make a trip up here just to visit this animal park but if you're already here, why not? Most importantly the munchkins had fun. Alhamdulliah

So where too, next???

Colmar Tropicale Bukit Tinggi, Pahang (10 -11 October 2015)

We wanted to give my dad a treat for his birthday. So what do you get a man who has almost everything? A short and relaxing trip to the highlands :) 

The journey from Klang to Bukit Tinggi took us about 1.5 hours. A pretty uneventful drive, we arrive at the hotel around 3.30pm just in time for a quick check in. The staffs was pleasant and efficient. 

The Room

I booked a 2 bedroom suit via booking.com to accommodate my parents and my family. We were given a 2 story room, complete with a kitchenette and  gorgeous view.

 Spacious living room and dining area, with a flat screen TV. Decorations are simple and very "french" but the furniture are a bit run down to me. 

 A simple kitchenette

The rooms are located on the second floor. I find the staircase to be a bit steep, creaky and super unsuitable for families with small children or older generations. So we really had to keep an eye on the munchkins from going up and down 

The rooms are spacious and comfortable but can use a bit more dusting and cleaning. Both rooms comes with a closet, drawer, and bath but only one of the rooms come with a TV. Which is fine since the other TV is available downstairs. 

Gorgeous tiles but I think they need to something with the plumbing. The water pressure is not very consistent throughout our stay here. 

The Breakfast

Our room came with free breakfast for 4 adults. The kids meals were free *yeay*. Anyway in terms of variety, they do offer quite a selection of food but I have major issues with the cleanliness of  the utensils and plates. I picked up a cup which was dusty and some plates with spots on it. The management really need to look into the cleanliness of the place. For a 4 star hotel it is very disappointing. 

The Resort

In terms of activities, there's nothing much to do around the resort. The "free" activities consist of the swimming pool and a stroll along the hotel garden.

 The main attraction would be the black and white swans. There's a lot of people in the evening so it is a bit of a challenge to snap a decent pictures with the swans. We came back the next morning so that the twins can have a good look. 

There's two shop lots allocated to kiddy rides and arcade style games. Most of the rides requires 2 tokens (1 token = RM2) so you do the Math :|

There is also some fun fair booth at the end of the resort. I saw some people trying it out, but we didn't bother.

We also bought some cute magnets at the souvenirs shop and later tried the clay painting with the kids. The twins and I choose to paint Ariel, while Ryan wanted Captain America. The two clay figurines (small/medium size) set us back around RM40

Knowing full well how expensive the food are in Colmar, we had our lunch @ Genting Sempah before checking in. For dinner we readily packed food. I checked out the menu in one of the shops and a plate of spaghetti bolognese cost RM38 and can drinks cost RM8 :( The price are quite ridiculous so we were glad that we brought our dinner from home. I did get some pastries for the munchkin. The sugar donuts cost RM5.50 and the vanilla latte is around RM12, thank god it was nice and fluffy :p

Ironically, despite everything being overpriced there is no ATM available in the area. 

Verdict

Did we enjoy our self? YES, but would I readily make the trip again? NOPE. They really need to do something about the resort shows (which is so not kid friendly) and work on some updates to the facilities. For a 4 star hotel, the standard does not show at all.

I give the trip a rating of 7/10 as a whole but the hotel is rated at around 6/10 only. 

My booking.com review

Kidzania, Kuala Lumpur (15 August 2015)

Every year I look forward to my company's Family Day simply hoping for a fun and new place to visit with the little munchkin. This year I got my wish as the family day was held in Kidzania, KL. Ryan had visited two years ago with his kindergarten but for the rest of us, it was our first time.

We reached Kidzania around 9.30am and parking was quite easy to find (standard rate RM3 whole day) However, since the building is right opposite Curve and Ikano, this is not really an issue to be concerned with as you can also chose to park in the adjacent buildings. 

We walked straight to the ticketing counter for registration and we were immediately fitted with the parks safety wristbands.We were also given a cheque for 50Kidzo each (Kidzania Currency) and a Boarding Pass to start our adventure.......

Ryan: Mummy this looked like our Air Asia plane ticket :)

My cute little tour guide, fireman and surgeon...

 One for the camera:)

Welcome signs similar to the ones you can find in the airport :) 

We immediately cashed our cheques for Kidzos at the "town" CIMB bank, upon arrival. To earn more Kidzos, you would need to "work". You can also spend your hard earn cash on "services" such as manicure, pedicure, jewelry making etc. From my observations, you would need to spend Kidzos on activities that you'll received some item in return (example Vitagen Making, Spritzer Bottling etc) but for jobs that is merely running errands (putting off fire, delivering post etc) you will receive your salary. The salary depends on the complexity of the job, holders of Kidzania passport would receive more salary for work done. 

Initially, I was quite worried that the twins won't enjoy themselves much. It took a lot of persuading and coaxing but they did end up doing quite a bit of activity between them. So Lan and I was pretty happy with that :) 

 My pump attendant 

  Super cutie window washer for hire

 Mineral water bottling session. Ranya refuses to let me recycle the bottle that "she made" so it is still sitting on our kitchen bar pretending to be a vase :)

 My research assistant making his own soap

My little sunshine (or sometime hurricanes)  

Making their own vitamins. Super adorable that their lab coat is way bigger than them.

Vitagen making activity and later enjoying the drinks they "made"

Review: All in all it was an enjoyable day. Kidzania differs from other Theme Park as it is more educational in nature. Not only is it fun, the children would be exposed to a whole list of occupations and what it entails. Such a good exposure as compared to the good old days, where most kids thinks that the only occupation available are police, teacher and doctor :p 

Tips: However, you have to ensure that your child is independent enough to do all these activities on their own as parents are not allowed to enter the activity booth. Otherwise, there will  be a lot of frustrations on both child and parents (trust me I saw plenty of over excited parents but not at all excited children). You may also consider coming during weekdays, as I heard that the lines during weekends ranges from 20-30 minutes per activity. 

For more information:  Kidzania, KL