Friday, April 21, 2017

Putrajaya with Kids - Day out at IOI City Mall

Seems like there is a lot of long weekend this year, so with nothing to do, we decided to venture to IOI City Mall at Putrajaya with the kids. We were not planning to go inside District 51 even though I think it looks really cool cos my 8 year old is not a fan of climbing. He wanted to go and bowl so we said ok. Unfortunately, there was a crowd when we arrive and we had to write down our name on the waiting list and hang around the area to wait for them to call our name (they don't even want to call you so you can't go elsewhere while you wait for someone to finish playing) In the end, after waiting for 30 minutes, we decided to just go to District 51 Upper level (just a few doors down from the bowling alley) You don't need to pay the entrance fee to access the upper level as you can only look over the obstacle course. Other games available are on token basis. So, there's a bumper car, 4D simulation rides, archery and some kiddy rides (cars and motorbikes).. My kids really like the bumper car. 


ioi 101 mall
Putrajaya With Kids - District 51 @ IOI Mall

Putrajaya With Kids - District 51 @ IOI Mall


For the toddler, I took him to Kidszoona inside Molly's Fantasy (Arcade) for a bit of indoor play (Entrance fee RM10) , it was a weekday around lunch time and he was the only one playing haha! (Husband took leave on Friday) but he didn't enjoy himself playing alone without his brothers and after about 30 minutes asked to go out to play at the Arcade instead. 


اسواق بوتراجايا
Putrajaya With Kids - Indoor Playground at IOI City Mall

putrajaya with kids
Putrajaya With Kids - Kidszoona at IOI City Mall

IOI Mall
Kids Indoor Play Area at IOI City Mall - Putrajaya

101 City Mall kids
Kids Indoor Play Area at IOI City Mall - Putrajaya

Kids Indoor Play Area at IOI City Mall - Putrajaya


Afterwards, we look around the ice skating rink but decided not to go in cos my toddler will not be able to join.

حلبة التزلج على الجليد بوتراجايا
Ice Skating @ Putrajaya

Ice Rink @ IOI Mall - Putrajaya


There is also a train ride (in front of District 51 - upper level) and a Dinosaur ride (big fixed ones and small mobile ones) near the ice rink. 


بوتراجايا مول
IOI City Mall With Kids - Putrajaya

IOI City Mall With Kids - Putrajaya


Overall, the kids quite enjoyed themselves, especially with spending our money at the Arcade 😅 while I wished that there is a babysitting service available so that I can go shopping haha! 

Eating choices were aplenty and guess what my kids chose to eat? Hot Dogs! sigh.. life of a mother.. 

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Jalan-jalan Kuantan / Gambang & Mangala Resort Review

Gambang Getaway @ Mangala Resort


We wanted a short getaway from KL the other day and husband suggested Kuantan sebab rindu nak makan Sara Thai :p  wanted to try a new place to stay so husband chose a new resort (at that time) called Mangala Resort.. I tanya bagus ke review? he said ok.. new place.. hmm.. oklah kat Malaysia ni kalau baru semua ok haha.. maintenance tu yang problem selalu..  tak tahu pulak yang sebenarnya resort ni kat Gambang so... kalau nak gi makan kat Kuantan tu nak kena drive 30 minutes gitu.. tapi tak pe lah hajat di hati nak chill and relax je.. tak nak keluar2 sangat...

Mangala Resort - Hall and Dining + View

hotel best di kuantan
Mangala Resort - Main Bedroom and toilet.



We took a villa overlooking the lake with 2 rooms as we brought along husband's mum. The place was nice and clean and huge.. both beds in the room was super comfy. Atmosphere pun very relaxed dan mendamaikan betul.. I think my MIL enjoyed the ambience.. macam duduk kat kampung you.. furnishing kayu.. depan ada tasik.. bunyi burung2 berkicau.. petang2 dapat tengok sunset.. cuma upsetnya menu is very limited.. (breakfast, dinner, in room dining) sebab guest tak ramai kan.. aaaand on the second night.. cable dorang down kena gigit tikus ke apa ke tak tahu lah.. so.. hari kedua onwards kita orang takde tv.. hai.. budak2 ni tak kisah sebab main internet terus.. tapi kesian lah my MIL nak tengok tv tak boleh.. 

Siapa yang bangun pagi2 tu.. dia ada guided tour of their orchard.. I tak pergi lah cuma I tahu ada Dragon fruit orchard kat situ.. dia kasi juice dragonfruit free je sebab diaorang tanam kat situ kan.. then ada cycling jugak kalau siapa yang minat tu.. cuma basikal untuk budak2 takde.. 

Mangala Resort pools - from left : jacuzzi, kids pool and deep pool 


Anak2 I suka main bath tub dia sebab besar.. and also pool area ada 1 deep pool, 1 shallow dan 1 jacuzzi.. even the jacuzzi pool pun besar jugak boleh lah muat lebih dari 6 orang.. still ada space nak pusing2.. 

Restaurants around the area macam tak banyak.. ada 2 restaurant melayu kat main road, kita orang breakfast kat restoran "Air Tangan Ibu" all the way.. then for lunch restoran arab nama dia "Land of Paradise" asalnya nak makan kat restoran melayu lagi satu tapi restoran penuh dan lauk dah nak habis.. so.. kita masuk je restoran arab ni.. tak sangka sedap plus kita jumpa air lemon + pudina yang memang susah nak jumpa kat Malaysia ni 😄 tu satu jug I dengan husband yang lantak hahaha

Makanan Arab @ Gambang : Land of Paradise


One of the days kita gi Gambang Safari.. tengok dari luar macam dah run down je tempat ni.. naik bus pulak so bumpy.. kesian my MIL.. I tak amik gambar lah.. apa binatang yang ada pun dah lupa.. yang tak boleh lupa tiger je.. sebab takut dia terkam kita dalam bas.. kita tak pergi the water park.. tak tahu macam mana condition dia.. lepas habis naik bas kita patah balik tunggu bas untuk turun sebab kawasn berbukit.. nak jalan2 dengan MIL tak sampai hati lah.. 

Then husband I nak makan Sara Thai.. kita orang pun pergilah Kuantan kan.. I ternampak Gio Mall punya sign.. (I tak tahu ada Cattleya, Modvier, Bella Ammara semua kat situ< memang tak plan) memandangkan ada masa.. I cakap park lah tepi tu... I nak gi shopping jap.. :p 

Shopping @ Gio Mall - Kuantan :p


The next day, I ask husband I bawak I gi Ariani pulak saja2 je.. sebab hari asyik hujan ..nak gi Teluk Chempedak dengan anak2 tak boleh.. lepas tu kita try cari kedai pisang goreng arang yang femes tu.. sebab MIL i suka pisang goreng.. gunalah google maps kan.. nampak kedai dia gini:


Pisang Goreng Arang Kampung Tengah Kuantan - Susah nak dapat parking


Tak nampak pun dia goreng guna arang.. pisang goreng pun rasa biasa2 je.. 

The day nak balik tu baru tak hujan.. kita singgahlah Teluk Chempedak walaupun masa tu panas terik jam 1 tengahari.. nak sedapkan hati anak2 nak main pasir punya pasal.. Teluk Chempedak ni banyak tempat makan.. tak tahu mana yang sedap.. I cuma pergi kedai atas 7 Eleven beli keropok lekor dengan kentang goreng cemil2 untuk anak2.. lepas tu cuci mata jap tengok2 tudung tapi tak beli.. dan melayan anak2 main bubble kat tepi jalan :) 

teluk chempedak kuantan
Jalan-jalan Kuantan With Kids - Main pasir di Pantai Teluk Chempedak


Jadilah cuti sekejap kat Kuantan..Tapi next time kalau datang.. I rasa duduk kat Cherating lagi bagus lah.. senang laut depan mata.. kalau duduk kat Gambang nak kena drive 30-40 minit baru dapat tengok laut.. macamana nak main laut tiap2 hari kaaaaan?

  

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Hong Kong Part 2 : Makanan Halal di Disneyland, Ocean Park dan Wan Chai

So.. it's a well known fact kan yang Disneyland Hong Kong ada 3 tempat makan halal:

1) Explorer's Club @ Mystic Point 

2) Tahitian Terrace @ Adventureland

3) Main Street Market

Also kalau tak silap I, kalau u stay at Disneyland Resort Hotel pun u boleh request for halal food.. 

Makanan halal di Disneyland Hong Kong

Makanan at Disneyland tu ok ok je pada I, boleh lah buat tahan lapar.. we ate dekat Adventureland, banyak orang Malaysia masa tu.. ada yang dah habis makan tapi duduk sembang2 macam tunggu orang.. I pun pelik.. rupa2nya ada tempat solat kat belakang.. husband yang bagitahu.. I tak tengok lah sebab anak i tgh syiok tidur kat lengan.. sampai lenguh lengan..



Then kat Ocean Park pulak ada 3:

1) K15 Dive into a Float (Summit Area)

2) Kiosk 03 Panda Food to go (Yang ni kita cari tak jumpa2 saje je nak tengok walaupun anak2 dah kenyang makan sarapan Chung King Mansion tu..  lepas tu ada jumpa Malaysian family satu ni, dia tanya mana makanan halal.. I said Dive into A Float jauh atas lagi cos kita orang kat area fountain tapi Panda Food To Go tak jumpa2.. last2 kita nampak family tu makan kat Panda Cafe (so kita assume tu halal lah)

3) Bakery Kitchen of Bayview Restaurant .. hah.. yang ni pun kita tak jumpa..

masa nak balik tu, dah nak dekat pukul 2 lebih.. perut dah lapar dah.. tapi tak sampai kat summit area sebab anak2 dah penat.. husband pun malas.. cari2 yang Bakery Kitchen pun tak jumpa.. so husband cakap jom gi makan dim sum kat Wan Chai Mosque Canteen.. I cakap u google lah dia tutup pukul berapa sebab tak silap I baca dia tutup dalam jam 3 gitu.. so husband I pun google lah pakai google maps (almaklum free wifi at Ocean Park) and google maps kata opening hours 10 am - 9pm.... I pun macam tak percaya tapi since husband dah cakap gitu I pun ok je lah.. sekali dalam taxi husband cakap.. eh dia buka 10 am - 3pm lepas tu tutup jap kul 6pm - 9pm buka balik for dinner.. hhhmmpph.. dalam taxi tu juga kena refer balik restaurant list yang kat Wan Chai and we headed to Istanbul instead at 177-179 Wan Chai Road (crossing fingers yang dia tak tutup sebab anak2 dah merengek2 lapar)


Istanbul @ 177-179 Wan Chai Road (detour kat sini sebab Islamic Canteen tutup jam 3-6 petang)

Siapa yang biasa makan makanan turkey ni tahulah dia very tawar makanan dia.. yang tekak sambal macam i cakap kurang rempah haha tapi oklah .. sayur2 dia fresh.. sultac (desert mcm puding nasi gitu) lembut dan manis.. dan kunefe (gambar bawah belah kiri) manis sikit dan takde susu.. i suka yang ada susu hehe..

so.. ni kali trip gi Hong Kong takdelah makan macam Oh My God sedapnya gitu.. semua biasa2 je :p
Lepas tu ada sekali kita orang nak singgah Great Indian Kebab Factory last time kat Mira Mall kan.. rupa2nya dah tutup eh branch tu.. sekarang Great Indian Kebab Factory di Wellington Place rupanya.. hmmm.. oklah tak dapat makan all you can eat buffet lunch dia haha..

Untuk siapa2 yang nak tengok hotel mana yang ada halal cert.. nah kat bawah ni I screenshot kan pdf from The Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong's list from www.discoverhongkong.com.

Hotels with halal kitchen from www.discoverhongkong.com


Dah baca Part 1? :


Monday, April 3, 2017

Makanan Halal Hong Kong

ok.. so kitaorang pergi lagi Hong Kong setelah 4 tahun.. sebab malas nak gi jauh2 dengan anak yang bawah 2 tahun yang tak tahu duduk diam dalam kapal terbang ni.. husband tanya nak duduk mana kali ni? Cos last time kita duduk kat Grand Harbour Kowloon sebab bilik dia besar boleh accommodate 2 adults and 2 kids..  cuma leceh sikit lah nak travel pada I.. kalau malam2 tu jalan2 kat TST area pastu nak balik naik taxi banyak taxi driver tak nak amik.. kena tunggu jugak shuttle yang dia provide nearby sheraton tu.. I tak tahu pulak yang Harbour Grand Kowloon ni dah dapat halal certification for their kitchen masa tu.. sigh.. kalau tahu agaknye duduk jugak kat situ lagi 😂 I just told my husband.. takpelah kita orang duduk je mana2 hotel yang dekat dengan Chung King Mansion since banyak kedai makan halal kat situ buka dari pagi (730 dah buka dah) so breakfast senang lah.. 

Sampai je hotel, kita orang letak barang then terus gi Chung King Mansion nak cari late lunch.. hajat di hati nak cari one indian restaurant yang kita pernah pergi last  time.. butter chicken dia punya lah power.. tapi both husband and wife dah lupa dah nama kedai and lif mana yang kena naik.. dan kebanyakan indian restaurant yang tingkat atas2 tu buka for dinner.. awal dari jam 6 petang dia tutup.. yang buka dari pagi tu yang kat tingkat 1 dan tingkat 2 yang naik tangga je takyah naik lif.. 

so kita makan je lah kat kedai mana2 yang tingkat 1 tu.. lepas tu rounding2 amik brochure dan tanya2 restaurant halal yang mana buka awal untuk sarapan and boleh delivery to hotel. Ada dua restaurant yang kita tanya, satu tu Bismillah Fried Chicken dan lagi satu kedai india tak ingat dah nama dia.. yang india tu makanan dia sedap, teh masala dia pun sedap yang Bismillah tu prata dia tawar, tapi anak2 i suka nasi goreng dia.. even though pada I macam berminyak dan terlampau banyak sangat ayam dan sayuran (mungkin nak kasi berbaloi harga yang mahal tu :p )

Halal Food at Chung King Mansion - Hong Kong

Yang ni gambar one of the days kita breakfast kat situ...selalunya dia hantar je kat lobby haha senang kerja..

Setelah beberapa hari makan nasi goreng untuk sarapan, husband I cakap kita try pulak lah Syed Bukhara Restaurant - kata Malaysian food.. ada nasi lemak.. ok so kita pun try lah makan kat situ.. resaturant ni kecik je, bertentangan dengan Hung's Chinese Restaurant.. tapi Malaysian pun Indian Malaysian lah jugak... so nasi lemak ada, yang lain samalah prata, tapi ada tosai dan mee goreng mama.. gambar mee goreng mama tak sempat nak snap.. cuma tak rasa macam mee goreng mama ye.. rasa manis2 macam mee cina je pada I.. yang tosai tu cerita kelakar.. I mintak "Egg Toast" sekali datang "Egg Dosai" lah hahaha I dengan suami tengok je lah each other.. tak pernah umur makan tosai telur..

Nasi Lemak dan Tosai Telur @ Chung King Mansion


Gambar restaurant tak ambil.. anak sibuk nak susu..  makanan ok2 je..


halal chinese chung king mansion
Hung's Chinese Restaurant (Halal) at Chung King Mansion

What's the use of staying near Chung King Mansion if you don't eat there kaaaaan? So.. salah satu petang tu.. kita makan di Hung's Chinese Restaurant.. husband order macam untuk 10 orang.. malu lah pulak dengan orang kat meja sebelah.. tak habis pun.. terpaksa taupau.. makanan kat sini sedap.. kita order udang goreng tepung, sayur dua macam dan ayam goreng.. sedap tapi mahaaaal... makan sekali je kat sini..

Another time kita orang nak gi dinner tapi nak jalan gi Chung King macam jauh sebab kita jalan2 kat Toys R Us Harbour City.. so on the way balik hotel tu (jalan kaki) kita orang jumpa Haiphong Mansion dulu jadi kita singgah lah ke Mr Kebab.. (wah tempat ni dah popular tau.. dulu kita pergi baru buka tak ramai orang.. and the waitress yang serve kita 4 tahun lepas masih ada pulak tu haha)

Late lunch @ Mr Kebab - Haiphong Mansion (Halal Food in Hong Kong)

Haiphong Mansion ni dia dekat dengan Kowloon Mosque. Kita order hummus , mandi lamb (untuk husband) 'adas (sup kacang tu) untuk baby i - suka sangat dia.. kebab, fried chicken dan spaghetti untuk anak yang lagi dua yang dah besar tu.. budak2 tak berapa suka spaghetti dia, tapi ayam dengan kebab dia orang ok je.. lamb mandy tu tak ingat dah rasa macam mana.. ke.. i tak merasa sebab sibuk melayan si kecik 🤔 tak ingat dah..

then.. the day before kita balik kaaaaaan... i ni boring lah tak merasa bershopping sebab ada anak kecik susah sangat nak bershopping dengan dia yang suka berlari ke sana sini..sedangkan husband i syiok je keluar gi tailor baju kaaaaaannnnnn.. abih asyik keluar gi fitting tak habis2.. i kena duduk hotel jaga budak2.. so.. one of the evening, I cakap I nak keluar gi beli Long Champ hahah.. sebab I baca2 Long Champ ni murah jugak at Hong Kong..so.. I pergi lah K11 Mall yang dekat dengan Hyatt Hotel, lepas tu ternampak papan tanda Kohinoor Halal Restaurant oposite Hyatt

Kohinoor Indian Restaurant in front of Hyatt Hotel TST

Tapi esok nya dah nak  balik dah.. so tak dapat lah nak cuba makan kat sini..

Nak kata next time.. tak rasa nak pergi Hong Kong lagi lain kali 😝

Oh.. by the way.. for a list of hotels that has halal kitchen , you can check out this link


Nak baca part 2?:

Hong Kong Part 2

Saturday, April 1, 2017

Potato Battery Experiment - Why is mine not working???

So, the topic this term is still "Foodnimals" and Mikail was given an experiment last two weeks as homework. It was the potato battery experiment..The instructions didn't come with pictures so the parents were pretty much guessing how to do it and most of us turned to Google of course. 

I am not going to explain the science behind the potato battery here as I'm sure you can find that all over the internet. The basic thing that you need to know is that - the two main elements that are producing the energy are the copper (positive electrode ) and the zinc (negative electrode) the acids in potato just causes the reaction between the two to produce power. With that in mind.. your battery is not going to work if you don't have the two elements together. 

Things that you will need are:




For those who are clueless (like me) what kind of nails should you buy and what are alligator clips:


I bought the nails above and alligator clips from ACE hardware. The alligator clips are like this:




The experiment pretty much works on all citrus fruits I think cos we tried oranges and lemons but using potatoes produces more power. I read somewhere that cooked potatoes works even better but nah we were too lazy to cook them. 

All you need to do is:

1) stick 1 nail and 1 coin on each fruit / potato (not too near)
2) connect the nail from 1 fruit to the coin in the other with the alligator clip (please buy one with the wire attached and not just the head)
3) then take the second alligator clip and connect the nail to the - side of the battery slot of the timer.
4) lastly take the third alligator clip and connect the coin to the + side of the battery slot.

Like this (tadaaa!)

potato battery experiment
LED timer on lemon battery and potato battery (pic is of 4 potatoes because I was trying to power up an LED light bulb earlier and I was too lazy to take away two potatoes)



Remember to buy a timer that runs on 1 AAA battery. I bought my first one (the white one from Daiso but it runs on the small LR44 battery which was why I couldn't use the alligator clip cos the + and - slots are tricky to find. So I had to use copper wires instead to try and find the + and - points. The second LED clock (red color) I found at Mr DIY and costed me RM8.60 (if I am not mistaken)

Now, you will read somewhere also that you can do this with a LED bulb and you might go like me and say.. hmm.. LED bulb is waaay easier  to find in hardware stores than a LED timer or clock.. yes easier to find BUT if you want to use a bulb instead, you need to buy exposed ones like these:

LED bulbs for potato battery experiment (found in ACE Hardware store)

So, some parents like me tried the LED bulbs and then hmm.. theirs didn't work.. the bulb just won't light up.. why??? that's because the LED bulbs uses more power than the LED timer or clock.. so using two oranges or two lemons won't work.. heck even 4 potatoes connected with alligator clips didn't work with those bulbs up there.. I had to use 4 potatoes connected with copper wires.. then the bulb lighted up.. and mind you I was only trying to power up one LED bulb.. 

So.. if you are feeling adventurous and wants to do the light bulb.. you might need these as well:

electrical tape
Pliers to cut the wire, copper wire and electrical tape to connect the wire to the bulb)

So, you just cut the copper wire using the pliers to desired length and wrap the wire one end around the coin and the other end around the nail. (repeat till all nails and coins are connected to each other) and then connect the last coin to one end of the bulb and connect the last nail to the other end of the light bulb (hard to tell which is which so if it does not work, change the side of the bulb that you connect the coin/ nail to) like this:

This is the LED light bulb bought from ACE.. it requires 4 potatoes connected with copper wires to light up. 


I tried to light up the LED bulb from ACE once by using two oranges and again by using 4 potatoes but it didn't work.. then I went to find a smaller light bulb (lower voltage) and the 4 potatoes worked but the light bulb is not very bright as picture before. 


All this got me curious.. so I went to the hardware store again and bought a multimeter haha and tried various things:



So.. as we can see.. two oranges produces the least power.. 2 lemons are much better and the 2 potatoes win by a slight margin..


why my potato battery does not work


4 potatoes connected using alligator clips produces lesser power than 4 potatoes connected using copper wires.



orange battery experiment


And then we tried a different approach.. will moving the nail and coin closer to each other produce a higher voltage or lower? apparently moving them closer (nails and copper coins not the oranges yeah) produces higher voltage... then I thought since the source of electrons are the copper and zinc elements.. what if I put in two coins and two nails in 1 orange? what will happen then? and you can see from the picture on the far right above.. the voltage went down :p 

Waahhh.. ok.. the geek in me is now satisfied haha.. the mommy gets more excited than the son 😬

Hope your experiment works!