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Monday, August 29, 2016

Kiang Kee Bak Kut Teh (强记肉骨茶)

Kiang Kee Bak Kut Teh - a familiar name for many as it is renowned for its delicious Bak Kut Teh that has attracted many locals as well as Singaporeans to travel far just for a taste of the pork ribs.

Setting off from home before sun rise, we traveled more than 1 hour, driving past Kota Tinggi, before arriving at our destination. Suggest to key in the co-ordinates on your GPS and it should be pretty easy to spot as there are many cars and even tour buses parked around the area.


We arrived at 730am on a Saturday morning and it was already 75% occupied. By 8am, most of the seats were filled up! Lucky for us, we were able to place our orders before a group of tourists swamp in. Dining under the attap roofs is something that we don't get to experience everyday. Apart from keeping us cool, it felt nostalgic and sheltered us away from the morning sun.

Pricing is clearly labelled and there are some side dishes and home-made drinks that you can order. We highly recommend their Buah Long Long juice as it is one of the best that we have tasted so far. We could have ordered more but it was already SOLD OUT! :O


Check out their open kitchen and the entire row of charcoal stoves where all the cooking takes place! Sitting and smelling the fragrant aroma of the Bak Kut Teh, while waiting for ours to arrive is making us famish!


Thankfully, our orders arrived just in the nick of time. :)


Salted Vegetable - RM2 : One of my favourite side dishes whenever I have Bak Kut Teh. Not overly salty and it goes well with the rice. A nice starter and appetizing dish in my opinion.

Stir-fried lettuce (油墨菜) - RM6. Paid for this dish separately on the spot, excluded from the main billing. 

Pepper Stomach Soup (猪肚汤) - RM16. Smooth and tender Pork Stomach soaked within the tasty, peppery broth. 

Bak Kut Teh - RM60 :  What we have been waiting for! The piping hot claytop with generous servings of beancurb skin looks absolutely mouth-watering already. Not forgetting the tender and juicy pork rib meat dipped in the herbal broth brings this claypot of Bak Kut Teh to perfection.


Pork Leg/Pig's Trotters (卤豬腳) - RM16 : Another favourite dish of mine where I can scoop some sweet sauce and spread onto my bowl of rice. I know it is pretty sinful but the tender, fat and juicy meat is adictively delicious.


We spent about RM130 (approx SGD44) for our BKT meal (6 person share). Reasonably priced and affordable. Operating hours starts early and they close around noon time where most of the pork ribs have been sold out! If you are travelling up along Kota Tinggi, do drop by early and check out Kiang Kee BKT.

Adding Kiang Kee as one of my favourite Bak Kut Teh place in Johor Bahru. Would definitely love to frequent more often if not for the longer distance.

Kiang Kee Bak Kut Teh (强记肉骨茶)
Address: Batu 8, Jalan Mawai Kota Tinggi Johor, Malaysia
GPS: 1.827702, 103.958317
Operating Hours: 730am - 12pm (Closed on Mondays and Tuesday)

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Creamery Boutique Ice Creams @ Mount Austin

Whenever we are looking for places to dine, Taman Mount Austin is one of our top considerations. Over the past year, we witnessed how it has transformed and developed into an estate with housing, entertainment and wine/dine options. Number of restaurants, cafes and hotels have also increased over a short period of time and we are spoilt with choices. 

From empty shop space, now the rows of shop houses have blossom and filled with eateries. After having our dinner, we like to go cafe-hopping or visit the dessert house for supper.  

Creamery Boutique Ice Creams is one of my favourite dessert house which serves delicious lava cookies! Plus, it is only a few minutes walk from Prince33 Hotel, our top preferred hotel to stay in Mount Austin.


Like other cafes, the interior design of Creamery is simple, bright yet cozy. 

If this is the first time you are visiting Creamery, check out their black boards for instructions on how you can order. The Hot Cookie Map shows it all, simply pick your cookie type and flavour of your ice-cream, and awaits the dessert to be served !  It is that simple!


There is a nice variety of ice cream flavours to pick from. All looked so delicious I must say. 

I picked the brownie (should have tried the choco lava) with one scoop of ice-cream flavour of my choice at RM15.90. I was WOW-ed to see my dessert being served on a saucepan with my favourite ice-cream topped on the hot pan-fried brownie cookie. Scooping some ice-cream and a chunk of cookie from the pan and savour the sweetness on my palate was simply awesome! A bit of chill from the ice-cream, and a bit of warmth from the cookie tantalized my taste bud.


Too bad our children were too full to tag along with us for ice-cream treats. Maybe next time we will bring them along. :)

CREAMERY BOUTIQUE ICE CREAMS
Address: 33 Jalan Austin Heights 8/3, Taman Mount Austin, 81100 Tebrau, Johore, Malaysia
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creamerybjb

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Mummybebe - Farlin Baby Products (GIVEAWAY)

[Review + Giveaway]

Lately, I have been introduced to mummybebe - where mummies can shop for their family's necessities in just a click away. Of course, I think daddies play an important role too and parents being multi-taskers, would love to devote their precious time for their children. mummybebe, an established importer, exporter, wholesaler and distributor of some of the leading brands, makes shopping easy as it holds a wide repertoire of safe and interesting products at mummybebe.com.

Some of the brands you can find at the e-boutique include:
~ Farlin Baby (from Taiwan)
~ Bright Bots (from Australia)
~ Bubba Blue (from Australia)
~ Galipette (from Fance)
~ Farlink (from Singapore)
~ HopZalong (from Singapore)
~ Karibu (from Hong Kong)

Farlin is an established and renowned brand since 1972 and we were invited to try Farlin Liquid Cleanser and Clothing Detergent wash. Some may raise their eyebrows and question : Do we have any use on the baby products since our children are much older in age? Our answer : Why not!?


On the contrary, I find it really versatile and useful. Farlin Baby Liquid Cleanser is not only just for washing of baby bottles, I find them effective in cleaning our water bottles that we bring to school or work daily. A plant-base cleaning agent, made of organic/natural ingredients, food-grade certified by FDA, ecological with ingredients sourced naturally, phosphate-free and fluorescence-free, the eco-friendly cleanser, plus a natural grease remover extract, is definitely safer and gentler compared to using the normal detergent to scrub and clean our bottles!


Unlike the other cleansers, Farlin is PH5.5 which is mild and non-irritated for sensitive mother's hand. I find it soothing to my hands when rinsing off the soap from all the bottles and don't feel as dry compared to the other washing agents. It is also suitable for all purpose cleaning of fruits, vegetables and toys!

To wash, simply squirt some Farlin Baby Liquid Cleanser into the bottles or into water basin and start washing. It has a mild tangerine scent which smells refreshing.


We use Farlin Clothing Detergent to wash our clothing. The anti-stink formula leaves the clothes with a mild, fragrant and soothing scent after washing. I really LOVE it after our first wash as it smells so nice! Usually I will put some comforter together with the washing powder to 'enhance' the scent and softness of the clothing, but with Farlin, one scoop into the washing machine does the job beautifully.

The eco-friendly organic cleanser removes the stain and grease on the clothing. If you have baby or young children at home, this would be perfect for washing children clothing as its mild formula is hypoallergenic for baby. It has low foaming and no residue, making it gentle on sensitive baby skin.

Even though our children our older, my kids and myself have sensitive skin and we tend to react (feeling itchy) to strong washing agents.

If you like to try out Farlin Baby Products, it is available at various participating retail outlets.

Alternatively, check out mummybebe.com and start shopping!

GIVEAWAY

Good News! Chance to win $50 e-Voucher to shop at www.mummybebe.com! We have 3 sets to give away!

To stand a chance, simply
1) Like www.facebook.com/mummybebesg and www.facebook.com/farlinbabysg
2) Share the above Facebook links on your Facebook. 

Leave me a message once you have done for the above on our blog post. 

We will announce the winners on 28 August 2016.

~ GIVEAWAY RESULT! ~

Thank you for your participation. 3 lucky winners have been drawn!

1) NETTY LIE
2) JEAN NEO
3) SUZANNA LIM

Congratulations for winning $50 e-voucher each! You will be notified on how you can collect your prizes.

Disclosure: All comments and opinions are personal and no monetary compensation was received. Farlin Liquid Cleanser and Farlin Clothing Detergent was received for review purposes only.

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Sawadee Resort Hotel & SPA (Near KSL City & Holiday Plaza)

It was another weekend of exploring in Johor Bahru. We drove across the causeway without any concrete plans on where to stay as we know there are always options open, and if we cannot find any rooms, home is not too far away.

Apart from looking out for good food, we also keep an eye on hotels located in strategic location. For those who frequent KSL City and Holiday Plaza, you may have noticed Sawadee Resort Hotel & SPA which is located directly opposite Holiday Villa. Initially, I thought it is only a massage and SPA centre but only to learn that room stay is also provided.

Our radar alert is on and we wasted no time walking in to check out the rooms.


The boutique hotel has 44 rooms all located on the 5th and 6th floor of the building. Consisting of a mixture of Family room (2 King), Romance room (1 King), Superior room (2 Single) and Deluxe room (1 King).

A point to note is lift access is only up to the 5th floor. Hence, you (& your luggage) have to climb the staircase up one floor if your room is on the 6th. Parking for hotel guests is complementary. It is located at the basement level and unfortunately, there is no lift access from the carpark to the lobby as well. Hence, if you have a lot of luggage with you, it will be a little inconvenient.

We took up their family room located on the 6th floor as the other room on the 5th is occupied. Family room is priced at RM200 per night, plus a deposit (refundable upon check out) of RM50. If you need another key card, another deposit of RM50 (refundable) is required.


The children LOVE the room as it is big and spacious! Most importantly, the Free WIFI signal is relatively strong and they get to play games. I like the design of the room where the beds are separated by the divider, plus there are two television sets! We get to watch our favourite channels separately, keep a close lookout of our kiddos, enjoying our comfort without comprising privacy.


Usually there are only 2 pillows per bed but at Sawadee, there are 4 which gave us the extra comfort! 


Before the children decide which bed they want to rest for the night, I quickly picked the platform bed as it is very near to the window and I get to enjoy the window view while catching the show on TV.


View from the room with Holiday Villa just right across the road.

Apart from ample walking space within the room, there is also a dressing area with a big mirror where you can blow dry your hair and do your makeup.

Bathroom is clean and neat and basic amenities is provided for the entire family.


In addition, hotel guests enjoy complimentary breakfast between 7.30am - 10.30am at Sawadee Cafe. There isn't a lot of variety at the cafe but enough to fill our tummies before we check-out.

Whenever we are at the hotel lobby, the children like to have a match at the soccer table.  


Level 1 - access to lift and Sawadee Cafe

Hotel Lobby area

Apart from room stay, Sawadee offers hotel guests and their customers free access to their Sauna, Steam Bath and Jacuzzi facilities. If you wish to have Traditional Thai Massage service, it is conveniently located within the boutique hotel (charges applies).

For families with very young children, it may be best to keep in your room as more customers and masseuse can be seen at the lobby area in the night. As we only stayed for 1 night, we did not went for the massage nor use their jacuzzi/sauna facilities.

The only 'complain' I have is the floor of the room not being very clean and the dark stairways up to our floor. Otherwise, we had a comfortable stay for a night. Sawadee Resort Hotel & SPA is strategically located beside Holiday Plaza and KSL City is only about 5 minutes walk away.

Summary Notes:
Room
- Free Wifi
- Air-condition
- Window view - depends on room type
- Flooring - Tiled
- Water Flask - available
- Safety Box - not available
- Hair Dryer - available
- Phone - not available
- Mini Fridge - not available

Toilet/Shower
- Bath towels are provided
- Combined Toilet and Shower room
- Water Heater available.
- Disposable toothbrush/toothpaste provided

Parking & Security
- Basement Parking - available.
- No security guard observed

Sawadee Resort Hotel & SPA
Address: 163, Jalan Dato Sulaiman, Taman Abad, 80250 Johor Bahru, Johor
Website: http://sawadeeresortspa.com/

Want to find out more where you can stay in Johor Bahru?
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