Sunday, March 13, 2016

March school holidays: Angry Birds Activity Park in Johor Bahru.

Started the March holidays with a jam. Literally.
We were stuck at the Johor customs for 5 hours. ZOMG.
Due to bad planning on my part, I had initially thought that we could set off at 0830am and still make it in time for a full day at Legoland, because being a Saturday, I assumed most people would have already driven in from Friday.
Obviously, thousands of other JB-goers also thought the same I did, and so we were stuck in a 5-hour jam.


By the time we reached JB, it was already 3pm so we changed plans and went to Angry Birds Activity Park instead, since we have never been there before.

angry birds activity park
Angry Birds Activity Park

Level 3, KOMTAR JBCC,
Johor Bahru City Centre,
80000 Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Opening hours: 10AM - 10PM daily, with several timings of 1-hour closure.

angry birds activity park
The indoor park covers 26,000 sq.ft. and is strategically located in the premises of KOMTAR JBCC, Johor Bahru City Centre's newest premier shopping, dining and entertainment destination.

angry birds activity park
They are having a March holiday promotion now. FREE ice-cream cone, meal voucher and 6R family photo with every ticket purchased.
Senior citizens aged 60 and above enter free.
We bought the family package for 2 adults, 2 kids for RM$280 (less than $95 SGD per family).





During their 1 hour closure from 5-6pm, we went for our meal with the free vouchers and went to select our family photo for printing.


angry birds activity park
When the Flock members re-opened the park, we went in again for our second round.



angry birds park
Parents also can play!


Hubby challenged me to play this jumping activity and I chickened out last minute.
So he had no choice but to go first HAHAHAHA.
*this is for children aged 10 and above.

angry birds park JB
He assured me it was fun and not scary at all (if you are at the top and look down, it actually looks scary and higher than it is!!!!) and forced me to JUMP!!!
The feeling like wanna commit suicide!

angry birds activity park JB
Our free 6R photo came with soft-copy also which you can scan into your Wechat.

 We then ended the day with a scrumptious seafood dinner at Taman Sentosa.
This is our favourite seafood place and the stall we frequent is still around. In fact, all the shops in the area also didn't change!

Their signature dish is the butter crayfish.

Overall, a great outing for us despite the last minute change of plans due to massive jam.
Despite being not-so-new, it was our first time there and glad the kids enjoyed themselves.

With the March holidays promotion, it is very worth it!


Tuesday, March 1, 2016

{Travel Tuesday} Hong Kong in 2 days: Day 2.

On Day 2 of the trip which also happened to be Sunday and the day for us to fly back to Singapore, Hubby had a work meeting so I decided to venture out on my own to hunt for my Hello Kitty dim sum fix.

As someone who has always been kayu in directions even in Singapore, it sure took me a lot of courage.
The taxi driver, despite my giving him the address and asking the concierge to reinforce to him and make sure he knows the way, told me point-blank that he has never in his life heard of HELLO KITTY DIM SUM in Hong Kong.
But alas I found it!  

Driver dropped me off at King George V National Monument museum and said that is the nearest place according to the address I provided.
I then walked around the vicinity, asked some helpful shop owners, and finally found it.
It is actually just right beside the King George V museum!

#givesMyselfaPatOntheBack


Check out the photos on the menu, EVERYTHING also Hello Kitty one!

Me wearing my Hello Kitty tee and posing with Dim Sum kitty.
So cute until can vomit HAHA




Can I finish these all by myself?
The answer was YES!
P.S. Cos I walked and walked in the cold and this was the first meal of my day mah.




Hello Kitty Chinese Cuisine Restaurant:
Lee Loy Mansion, Canton Rd, Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong.
If you are taking a cab, just alight at King George V National Monument Museum and the restaurant is right next to it.

Yay so proud of myself for finding directions on my own in a foreign country.
Luckily Andy didn't come along with me as I think he would much prefer those traditional Cha chan teng type of breakfast which serves ham-and-macaroni, milk tea, and toast.
Ok this marks the end of our 2-day HK trip which was rushed because it was meant to be my birthday celebration cum Hubby's business trip.
Depsite it being a quiet birthday, it was a good one.
The only thing I disliked, however, was being away from my children, which made me sad and pine for them all the time.
Luckily for free wifi in most eateries and malls, I got to call them through my helper's Whatsapp.

Hope you find the tips I shared useful for planning your next makan mission.


{Travel Tuesday} Hong Kong in 2 days: DAY 1.

Day 1 of our Hong Kong food pursuit from morning till night is in this one post!

Scroll down if you want to know where to go for your Little Twin Stars and Gutedama fix, try the infamous Australian Dairy Co steamed milk, Kam Wah cafe, etc.
Morning bath with a view before heading out to start the day of To-conquer food list :)


澳洲牛奶公司  Australia Dairy Co.

47 Parkes St, Jordan, Hong Kong.
There was a snaking queue already by the time we got there at around 10-ish.



We started queuing all the way to 4 shops away!

Thankfully, we only waited for 10 minutes.
Hongkies are a bunch of highly efficient people.
Super long queues formed outside famous eateries are a common sight (as with popular things like Jenny Bakery etc), but if you are alone or in pairs, chances are you won't have to wait long as diners in HK always eat-and-go.
No dilly-dallying or sitting down to chit chat as you will be chased out!
That is just the Hongkie culture.

If you've done your homework, Australia Dairy Co is infamous for their terrible service (as read on Trip Advisor and other random blog posts).
As a matter of fact, we were so lucky to get the rudest and most foul-tempered employee as our server that morning. HAHAHA the experience was just ZOMG.



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After having a hearty breakfast at Australia Dairy Co, we headed to The One Mall at Tsim Tsa Tsui where....

We had the ICON Twin Stars and Gutedama dim sum for lunch.


Too adorbs to be eaten!

Before the food actually goes down the digestive tract, act-cute poses are mandated.

Hubby totally indulged me and even joined in my act-cute nonsense :P

Aiyo the oozy oozy Liu Sha custard made from salted egg yolks is making me fat!


Queued and gotten the Jenny Bakery cookies. I ish a happy girl!

Jenny Bakery: 54-64 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, shop 24 Ground floor of Mirador Mansion.

(Note: now they're having renovation so the temporary stall is moved upstairs to level 2 right above the original shop. Signages available which you won't miss).

As I am typing this post now at home, Ashton already ate 4 pieces.
The coffee flavoured cookies are my favourite.


Central is well-known for its high slopes.

Yung Kee Roast Goose.
There has been news that Yung Kee is headed for closure after its descendants failed to derive at an agreement over the business.
One of the restaurant's founder's sons, Ronald Kam, even went to open his own roast goose restaurant called Kam Roast Goose.
Therefore before they really close down, Andy & I want to give it a try.

Yung Kee: located at Central 中環 Wellington St, 32-40 號, Yung Kee Building, Hong Kong.




The sliver of fat under the crispy skin is simply orgasmic especially when dipped into the plum sauce!

After our feast, we took the monorail from Central to Causeway Bay.
I've always been intrigued by the transportation infrastructure of Hong Kong. How a big island can be connected by so many MTR lines, mini buses (Xiu ba), and their endless supply of red-and-white cabs.



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Finally, after our aimless walking, exploring the back lanes and lesser known streets of local markets selling all sorts of produce, food, fruits, vegetables, flowers, we were hungry again and dinner beckoned :P

Settled for Kam Wah cha chan teng for dinner.
Kam Wah Cafe is located at Mong Kok East, 47 Bute Street, near to Tung Choi Street.
After dinner you can go walk the night market which is also the Women's street at Tung Choi.



The melted cheese on this one is a winner.

Much as I love Hong Kong for the vibrance and energy, there's no denying that HK is easily the rudest country in the world, so just get used to it.





Things that can happen to you and WILL happen to you in HK (especially if you're non-Cantonese speaking):

- Get scolded by cabbies for not knowing your directions or at least have an address ready before you board.

- Get scolded by random people on the street if you walk too slow/ too fast/ too into their way.

- Get scolded by passers-by if you stop and take photos as you are considered traffic obstruction.

- Get scolded by vendors if you try to bargain and ask for discounts. Sorry mate, you can do this in Bangkok but never in HK.

- Get scolded by servers and wait staff if it's a busy day and you are taking your own sweet time taking selfies or photos of your food/ food in your mouth/ food on cutlery reaching your pie hole.

- Get ignored when you try to make eye contact/ wave to service staff.

- My colleague once shared with me that she tried to order dim sum in Cantonese but because she wasn't proficient in that language, the waiter walked off from her table as she was taking too long to articulate what she wanted.


WHAT TO DO if the above happen to you:

- Nothing. It's a cultural norm for the rudest country in the world. Just take a deep breath and try waving or calling out to them again.

- Don't try to order things in Cantonese if you can't speak Cantonse well. Just speak in Mandarin. They hate PRCs and will associate any Chinese-speaking person as PRC but it's better than pretending to be someone you're not - a Hongkie. You won't out-rude them.

- Get used to it really and carry on as per normal. Don't take it personally as they certainly don't.


Don't forget to check out Day 2 of my trip, which is about the famous Hello Kitty Dim Sum restaurant!