NoorJannah's Kitchen, Singapore :: the one and only Opeh place in the entire world~

 [thanks to Mazlan for the pictures! click to enlarge]

Andy, in front of Al-Jannah restaurant (behind him)

My husband dragged me along with him on his latest business trip to Singapore. And I thought he is such an awesome guy. So I bought him a shirt while he met his bosses i.e., went shopping (tips rumahtangga bahagia #30) and blogged this down.

The first night we were there, Andy, his friend and colleage took us to this little place for dinner and I thought it was worth a review. It is unique and different and a fun night out of our little hotel room that is the size of a shoebox but equipped with modern gadgets. That's Singapore for you: small and expensive.

otak-otak: sotong, udang and mackeral flavours

Sotong goreng tepung. The batter tasted suspiciously of Adabi Tepung goreng pisang.

We started off with otak-otak. One piece is SGD$1.80 and you have to get five minimum. Don't be surprised but it tasted nicely like the ones at home, except the shape and size has gone through somewhat of a drastic transformation (its not cone-shaped but a big flat square). We hesitated to try some but the kindly lady at the next table said it was very good and we should try it. And it was.

Andy, our Singapore food expert.

Owner of the restaurant, a very kind elderly pakcik (melayu)

The guys ordered the beef hor fun in opeh dish and I noticed the couple at the next table had gear box mee hun opeh which looked increadibly tasty too. But me myself just ordered nasi and telur dadar (A!) that night because I didn't feel so adventurous. I tasted some of Mazlan's though and it was not bad (average of 3.5 out of 5 from the guys). I would say a good sound B from my few spoonfuls. The opeh leaves are worth the drive all the way from Chinatown nevertheless, its the only time you can relate to all those Lat cartoons. You can't find it no where else in the world. 

Enjoying Singapore. 

Inside Noorjannah's Kitchen. 

The mosque at Changi Road, Kembangan, Singapore.
Very conveniently located across the road from Al-Jannah.

Masjid Kassim is just across the street less than 30 m away from the restaurant (waze it!) and after dinner we went and had our jama' ta'khir maghrib and isya' prayers there. Side note, be careful of smoking in Singapore because it's illegal and you could be fined SGD$300 or thrown into jail for polluting the air and jeopardizing the health of others. Don't say I didn't warn you. They have cameras all over in this small country. And RFID detectors for that card they make you buy for your car.  :O

Noorjannah's menu. Click to enlarge.

NoorJannah's Kitchen
Kembangan, Singapore (waze it!)

Cleanliness: B
Food: B; A for being creativity though!
Price: A -- for Singapore, it was OK
Service: B+
Atmosphere: B
Satisfaction level: A -- enjoyed the night out immensely

Travel Destination :: Fraser's Hill Olde Smokehouse Hotel :: Very English~

Ye Olde Smokehouse

This was a Groupon Coupon Holiday so while I am at it I am going to give you some Groupon tips, derived from more than 365++ days of valuable Groupon experience. First of all, carefully read the disclaimer on the hotel deals. Secondly read the room description and get the hotel number for questions. This Groupon we bought was a suite at an old English Hotel for RM270/night. But then because we went on a weekend we had a surcharge of RM110. This resulted in an RM380 /night stay---RM5 less than if we booked the hotel direct. So we didn't exactly get a spectacular money saving deal from Groupon.

Garden where we had breakfast

Signboard near entrance

But nevertheless, it was a wonderful English holiday. And Fraser's Hill is wonderfully clean. The weather wasn't cool, in fact it was the warmest of all the highlands I've been to in Malaysia. There are very few activities to do if you want to have a family weekend though. It's more suitable for oldish married couples who want to come and relax and enjoy dinner and breakfast in each others company. Because that's all we did really.

The bed. And our bag.

Fire place by living room.

The hotel has 12 rooms only. Our room had creaking wooden floors, a gigantic old wardrobe, a little sitting area and all the makings of possible supernatural activities. A chat with the managers enlightened us on the hotel's history: it used to be a hospital. In fact, it's mere existence was donated by some Iluminati sect. Nevertheless, we slept amazingly sound that night. I mean, just look at the bed, its like sleeping on a fluffy cloud.

Lilies. I loved these. The whole house
and garden was filled with lots of flowers.

Breakfast on the terrace overlooking the garden.

There's no air-conditioning in the room but the night air was cool and breezy thanks to a small fan on the dresser. There's no TV set in the room either and since we had room service, we just stared each other down over dinner. Then we had a good conversation about the latest technology trends. I am not going to post our dinner pictures. The room was dark and the pictures came out all wrong.

Study room. On second floor

Front living room. Reminds me of the B&Bs back in the UK. Friendly kitchen at the back.

Our suite name. Suites were named and not numbered. How sweet.

English breakfast that came with room. Included in room rate.

The quaint mosque in Fraser's just a few metres from our hotel.

Tips for Fraser Hill visitors:

1. The road up to Fraser's is only 30 km uphill but the twists and turns were horrendous and some parts of the road was a bit too narrow for comfort. There were also encounters with tanah runtuh and tanah terbakar areas that looked like we were heading for trouble. I recommend going up and down the mountain only during sunlight and good weather. 
2. Make sure you have a full tank when you head up the mountain. There are no petrol stations in Fraser. The local jimat store has them on sale for RM10 per 1.5 liters (and even then the bottle isn't full). The jimat store dude didn't even want to sell us the petrol. He said they were for emergencies only (read: unless your car is dead stay away from my petrol). I had to use my Level 5 Blooms Taxanomy communication skills to get some petrol off of him. 
3. Don't bother packing any warm clothes. The weather is as warm as it is in your house with the aircon turned off. Just pack some regular clothing and some comfortable all-terrain shoes. Its nice to have a walk of the area in the mornings and evenings.
4. Fraser's may be a bit too quiet for children. We recommend you take them somewhere else. Like a hotel with a swimming pool. There are lots of Groupon's for that.
5. Things to do in Fraser's: golf, walk, run, horse-riding, boating, eat and sleep. I recommend two nights in Fraser's for a perfectly well-rested holiday.

The godfather. Be warned.

Thanks to my husband for his companionship and good company :)

Mines Wellness Hotel :: for business and pleasure

A room with a view~

Don't think we are a super lovey dovey romantic couple because we are not. Although I know my husband is completely crazy about me, there are many different versions of crazy. I can imagine now his exasperated look at me as he addresses another one of my idealistic issues--as he calls it. Bismillahitawakkal tu ala'Allah.

Thus is the introduction to the next romantic getaway post. This time we are staying and reviewing the Mines Wellness Hotel. As organizer to a workshop for the faculty, Ms Saraswathy, the manager, has kindly and most wonderfully obliged me and partner a complimentary room and dinner, and I thought the place was awesome and deserves an awesome review.

We arrived around 8 pm and were put in Room 525 which has a king-size bed and an amazing view of the lake. True, there was a ferry cruising on it playing loud ghastly music, but even that didn't affect my mood. Just sitting on the porch and staring at the lights as it bounced off the lake gave me the most serene feeling of calmness. It must be the water. Hubs was smiling too as he ipadded and youtubed. There was a No Smoking RM200 fine sign if you smoked in the room or even if we remotely suspected you smoked in the room which I found quite amusing. Nama pun Wellness Hotel kan. But hubs was not deterred. He gave new meaning to the saying where there's a will there's a way.

your favourite food blogger

And her SO

We went down for dinner at 9 pm and if it weren't for the family at the next table and the waiters, we would be the only ones there. Dinner was satisfying, although I felt everything needed a dash of salt. But then I remembered we are taking about Wellness here and salt should be restricted for better health. Mushroom soup? check! Chicken salad? check check! Ceaser salad? Big check! Grilled fish? Super check! and hubs meal: mixed red meat platter. Check!! Diet down the drain? Very big CHECK!

Our freshly blended juices. On the house~

Chicken salad. A very small serving. But just enough!

Ceasar salad. Less salt for better health. 

Hubs unhealthy meat platter. To compensate for the healthy salads
we had earlier. Ngehh~~

Bottom-line, I loved the place and so did hubs. We had a very very very pleasant evening there and slept like logs with the curtains open facing a most serene view. The fact that the stay was free and food salt-free made the stay even more awesome. However, I wouldn't mind paying if each stay was as comfortable and refreshing as this one. On a side note, the workshop that kicked off the next day was great too and some of my friends and colleagues complimented on the place and food.

Thank you Ms Saraswathy for having us on very short notice. Looking forward to many more workshops and stays at Mines Wellness in the near future.

Mines Wellness Hotel
Seri Kembangan, Selangor
Excellent for Workshops~
Reasonably priced~

Cleanliness: B
Food: B+
Price: A
Service: B (food was a bit slow to arrive), everything else was great.
Atmosphere: A++ wonderful.
Satisfaction Level: A (very happy with stay)

Swez Brasserie Eastin Hotel PJ: For a Lovely Surprise Anniversary Dinner

Desert. Truffles and raspberries. So delicious.

This post is dedicated to my significant other, and the wonderful staff at Eastin Hotel with whom I promised an awesome review. Also for all those wonderful wives out there who are thinking on surprising their equally wonderful husbands, here's an idea for you that works. Insya'Allah.

My husband did not see this one coming because it was so intricately planned, if I may say so myself. I asked him to accompany me to Eastin Hotel for a meeting with a virtual friend, and he took the bait and obliged.

I would like to thank the Eastin staff for the crazy rose arrangement on the bed. That was really thoughtful (and funny) I thought, but priceless indeed. I was just as surprised as my husband. He was still looking about the room for the friend we were supposed to meet. He chewed a rose petal and said: these are real~~ I nearly suffocated him with a pillow.

Thanks to the staff at Eastin for the very romantic rose petal arrangement.
 If it was up to me, I would have just strewn everything on the bed.

We went downstairs for dinner at 8:30 pm, and I whatsapped the restaurant in advance telling them of our impending arrival. Hubs was already raring on buying me dinner and he had been surfing on the internet for nice restaurants in the PJ area. When we reached the lobby, Mr Ah Kit (the coffeehouse manager on duty that night), managed to persuade him to a table to check out the menu. But when we got to the table, it was already set and dinner was served. My husband's expression was priceless. Certainly worth more than dinner. If I could replay life, I would have that one expression on repeat 1. Especially when we have our squabbles. 

The food was delicious. I had ordered the dishes in advance back in the comfort of my cold little office a week ago: rack of lamb and brownies for desert for hubs, and salmon and apple pie for me. But I must say again: it was superb and it was perfect. I loved the table arrangement and the garnishing on the food, especially desert. I did mention to the staff this was a surprise anniversary dinner for my husband, but the arrangement they made exceeded my expectations in every way. And for that I owe them a surprise dinner. Which reminds me of the infinite filter I am teaching in class.

Salmon. A!

Rack of lamb, medium well. Superb!

Apple pie with ice-cream.

Brownies with ice-cream. A++

Thanks to Mr Subra, Mr Ah Kit, and Mr Henry for the wonderful arrangments to make this occasion a special one for us, also to Ms Jessylina from reservations for the flower arrangement, and to Ms Iris from customer services for lending me her personal phone charger because I didn't pack one (if you need their numbers let me know). And finally big thanks for my husband for coming along. And for pampering me and spoiling me all this while. And for being very patient with me. And for paying for the anniversary dinner I set up ----behind my back. 

Congratulations to everyone who is celebrating another anniversary this year too (especially my good friend and colleague Zu who shares the same anniversary date with us, except she's on her tenth one!). Life is certainly a very tough journey, but the love and support of a good spouse makes it endurable and worthwhile. Alhamdulillah.

So be a good one! :)  

Our first anniversary. Praying for many more to come. Ameen.

Swez Brasserie, 
Eastin Hotel, PJ


Cleanliness: A
Food: A
Price: Worth it.
Satisfaction Level: A++
Service: A++
Atmosphere: A

Holiday Destination: Hot Springs Sungai Klah

[Click on pictures to enlarge. Thanks Abang for the pictures].

All clean and ready to go home. Thank you Hotsprings for a wonderful day!

Oh my Allah. I have wanted to review this place for so long, but always got deterred. I would type it all in, stare at the screen and delete what I wrote. Or I'd be happy with it but won't hit the publish button. My Hubs says just leave it if you're not feeling it. But it's such a nice place not to review.  So today I thought I'll put it in anyway, because the school holidays are near, and you must be pulling your hair out wondering where to take the kids this time. Well this is a nice place. And it's cheap. And it's near.

The park was nice, clean and calming. 

We were in Sungai Klah for a wedding last month (my entire family), and I knew about the hotsprings, so I suggested we go. My bestie had her family day there and although she never elaborated on the experience afterwards, I gathered she had a pretty nice time. So we had packed extra clothes in advance, and were looking forward to a relaxing day with our toes in hot water doing nothing.

When we got there, it was around 3 pm already. There was very little people about although it was a nice and sunny Saturday afternoon. We parked the car in a dedicated parking lot and walked up towards the ticket booth. Tickets cost RM12 per adult, and you board a friendly little tram to enter the park.

I was expecting little ponds of hot water in the middle of a wild forest with chalets scattered here and there, lots of mosquitoes whuzzing by your ears and rubbish everywhere. But I was wrong on all counts. The place was clean, interesting and nicely laid out. No mosquitoes, no rubbish, and clear of mat rempits. In fact, it surprised me that there was such a small crowed of people for such a nice place on a weekend.

As soon as we arrived, we headed straight for the biggest pool. On the way, we passed by an egg-boiling area where people were sticking their egg boiling apparatus into the hot water and waiting excitedly for their eggs to cook. Since we had just came from a kenduri that had tempoyak and rendang tok, we K.I.Ved and continued on. 

The main water pool was a good size, with two water slides set between some artificial rocks. I quickly changed into my swimming clothes--my old pajama pants sorry--and joined the crowd. Ohhh~~ it was such great fun~ If you've been to Sunway Lagoon, you'd know the big crowd just spoils about everything. That day, it was just perfect. There was an average of 2 people per 20 squarefeet which was just fine with me. I had my space. I splashed and sploshed and threw water at hubs like a cheesy Sudirman-Anita-Sarawak music video. He ran around in slo-mo like a Baywatch lifeguard.

The main swimming pool. This is just one half of it. It was big.
 There was another hotter public pool on the other side of the park. 

Hot water fountain, with water at 100 degrees celcius.

After an hour of swimming, playing on the slides and acting like we're 18, we propelled ourselves to the present and decided it was time to explore the rest of the park. So me and hubs left the rest of the family (who can't get enough of the pool) and went back to the egg place. For the next half hour we soaked our feet in the hot water pond, took some pictures and watched people boiling and eating eggs. Then hubs said we should check out the Jacuzzi's.

sheemzhotsprings

sheemzhubs

The Jacuzzi's were in a dedicated area further into the park. The open-air jacuzzi's cost RM75 per hour and roofed-air-conditioned ones cost RM100 per hour. We were quite surprised we could get a jacuzzi immediately. The lady at the counter seemed bored and eager to get rid of us (her FB status was getting hits on "two more customers. help, need new job"). She ushered us into the little compound and left us without so much as a goodbye. We locked the door from the inside and looked around.

The jacuzzi place. Although it was a Saturday there wasnt that much people
around and we got a room immediately.

The open-air jacuzzi had a high wall running around it, and was very private. There was a roofed platform with benches to put our stuff on, a little room with a clean white toilet bowl, a stone water basin that looked like it came from the Hang Tuah era, with a slab of stone next to it for a stool, and a shower. The Jacuzzi pool was set in the middle, surrounded by what looked like some really crazy wild plants. The water was really really really hot and it took us approx 10 minutes to work up the courage and several buckets of cold water, before we finally jumped in. I think I just killed all the bacteria in my system that day with the heat and cold I subjected myself to. And upped my immune system by 100%. When we left an hour later, we were calm, collected and squeaky clean.

The private jacuzzis are very private
and romantic.

Roofed platform where we changed
and put our stuff

Stone water basin, stone slab and
shower. I loved it.  

The jacuzzi with natural hot water

We went to get an ice-cream sandwich after that and checked out another large swimming pool (but we didn't jump it, we were already very tired), a 100 degree fountain, a little river and a bridge. We waited at a nice little gazebo for the others to finish swimming and clean up to drive home to KL.

All in all, it was a great Saturday at a very very pleasant park. The place is awesome for the whole family and just great for some quiet time away with your significant other. However, according to my BFF, the place is very hard (keras). In Malay terminology that means banyak hantu. Her husband was involved in the development and he vows never to take her and the kids there ever. But to be perfectly honest I was totally unaware of any paranormal activity, although hubs said he felt like we were constantly being watched. I have yet to scan our pictures carefully of any weird 3rd presence. If I do find something extraordinary, I will make an announcement on the Asian Food Channel.

Map of the park. Click on picture to enlarge.
It was a really nice park!

Sungai Klah Hotsprings
Take the Sungkai Exit off Lebuhraya Utara Selatan

Cleanliness: B
Price: RM12 per adult. Very very cheap for such an awesome place.
Satisfaction Level: A++
Service: B
Atmosphere: A. I thought it was OK. Banykkanlah zikir kalau rasa takut :)