The Zon Regency Hotel and Tai Son Restaurant at the duty free zone in JB

I'd managed to get us a decent deal for a night's stay at The Zon Regency Hotel at Stulang Laut - just SGD 75 nett inclusive of all taxes and breakfast. It was very easy to drive from the Malaysia Customs to the hotel which is located along the coast of JB facing Malaysia at the Stulang Laut area.

The hotel is not easily missed. As you can tell from the picture below, the hotel is like one of those massive hotels at Genting (First World anyone?).

Our check-in at the reception went smoothly. Strangely though, the hotel did not ask for any sort of deposit - whether by way of credit card or cash. In the lift, we found that we need to swipe our room key on a panel before we can press the button to our floor. I am surprised that the hotel has this type of security. However, the elevator is rather slow (we stayed on the 13th floor) so we had plenty of time to "fun" around.

Stepping out of the lift to the corridor, I was struck by how the layout of The Zon Regency Hotel so closely resembles that of Marina Mandarin's. Except that this hotel had no air-conditioning whatsoever in the corridors. The carpet of the corridors was also threadbare and stained. In short, the hotel looked like it it was old and could not care less about aesthetics or the comfort of its guests.

Our room was decently sized and we had a great view of the causeway and the coast. The TV was a small old CRT TV with some cable channels and the bed was too squishy and soft to be comfortable. However, the floor of the room was filthy and we decided to keep our slippers on the whole time. Forget hotel room slippers - none were provided. The hotel room was in short, basic and bare. WIFI connectivity which was free was sh*tty in the rooms, making it difficult to surf the net. And the bath-tub was grotty which meant no soaking in it.

 There was a departmental store called the Zon which was deserted on a Saturday afternoon. And rightly so. Talk about an extremely poor selection of cheap goods which were marked down even further. I love a bargain as much as the next person but the items on sale was just too awful to be bought.

The only decent shop to shop in the complex was Watson. There were also quite a number of KTVs on the third floor of the shopping center, and many booze and cancer-stick shops. Oh, and chocolate shops too. Prices were not cheaper compared to Singapore except for the duty-free items - booze and cancer-sticks. However one is not allowed to bring alcohol (beer etc), spirits or wine to Singapore without declaration of the same at Customs so we did not buy any alcohol at all.

There was a Mary Brown's and we probably should have eaten our dinner there or at Starbucks. However, we ended up giving the restaurant just outside the hotel, Tai Son Seafood restaurant a shot and it was a waste of good money. RM75 spent on satays (those were decent), fried noodles (oh so plain and unexceptional for RM12!), vegetables (awful ) and a sambal stingray which my CEB proclaimed the worst singray meal he ever had. I am not sure what we were paying such high prices for - maybe the view of Singapore across the water, which is nothing spectacular.

The breakfast buffet the next morning was alright. Edible but not tasty. Parking at the multi storey carpark is complimentary for hotel guests.

The Slog Reviews: 6/10. A very basic hotel hotel surrounded by lousy food and shopping. A good place to stay only if one is intent on buying lots of cheap spirits up to one's hotel room to drown one's sorrows. The swimming pool is also smallish, outdoors and looks just plain awful.

Thai Odyssey - the best massage in JB

I never used to like massages but my first boyfriend was a fan of massages. I would go shopping while he had a massage, especially when we crossed the causeway to City Square where Thai Odyssey is located. My second boyfriend went for massages every week or so too, and I went with him once but the experience was so painful that I swore never to go again.

Well, since last year, age has caught up with a vengeance and I experienced backaches (esp lower backaches) and other body-aches that made me downright uncomfortable. I wasn't incapacitated by any degree but the soreness and sometimes, pain would make grouchy me even more grouchy.

Today was 1 of those days where I awoke with a backache between my shoulder-blades that would not ease up. And remembering how a Traditional Thai massage at Thai Odyssey (the city square outlet) eased the aches I had once before, I made my way to the outlet at KSL city.

Thai Odyssey at KSL City is located at one corner of the 2nd floor near the bridal shops and appears to be dimly lit at the reception area and throughout the entire shop. But the staff were friendly and accommodating even though I walked in without an appointment. I had my feet washed before exchanging my flip flops for their bedroom like sandals. Unlike the outlet at City Square where there are individual rooms with thin walls, privacy for each person here is assured through the use of curtains. Despite the appearance, everything appears to be very clean (From what I can see at least in the dim light), and smells fresh and nice.

I had the 90mins Traditional Thai massage (RM108) because I had more time than usual, and the 60mins massage was just RM20 cheaper. I was at first apprehensive of the masseur's capabilities because this was my first time at Thai Odyssey at KSL City but at first touch, I knew I was in good hands. Somehow she knew exactly which areas hurt the most and needed the most stretching and man, it felt good. And of course, hearing the crack of my spinal cord being manipulated gave me a feeling that I was "fixed" good. I was served a cup of tea at the end and found my flip flops just outside the curtain when I was done.

Oh, and after the massage, I did not have any bruises whatsoever unlike the times when I tried other massages which were really torture sessions. There was this massage place my CEB brought me to at the recommendation of the wedding studio early this year, and at the end of the session, my back looked like this. The masseur said it was because I had too much heat, and that's utter crap - she was just rough and applied too much pressure. The bruises were so bad that I had trouble sleeping on my back the first night! And when I tried another massage place at KSL's ground level, I had bruises around my shoulders because the lady squeezed so hard there. She said I had too much heat too. What bull. And for those places, the masseurs aren't the shop's employees (unlike Thai Odyssey) but come to do a massage when called for by the shop owner. 

Ugh.I'm not paid in any way to write about Thai Odyssey but I thought I'll share about this great place to those looking for a clean safe pleasant place for a cheap massage in JB / Johor. And unlike those "promotional" massages in Singapore, there is absolutely no selling or promotion by the staff of any massage packages.

You can check them out at this link (click here). They appear to be a well established branch with many outlets throughout Malaysia including KL.

Euro Rich Hotel @ Bukit Indah

Pariss Hotel was fully booked during the December school holidays so we decided to try Euro Rich Hotel for one of our weekend getaways. According to Agoda which I usually use to make hotel reservations, the room I booked was the last room available for that Dec weekend. So, while I thought we were lucky to get a room, I had my doubts if that was really the last room. Well, when we checked in, we were told that indeed it was the last room. However, the room wasn't ready so we waited at the hotel lobby which was very simply done up as a waiting area without provision for refreshments to be purchased ie no bar/restaurant/cafe at all.

After we had lugged our bags up the large flight of stairs to the second floor (the hotel has a total of 3 floors with the rooms occupying the 2nd and 3rd level) and to our allocated room, we were rather dismayed to find that the room was not only windowless but tasteless and tiny. The Slog Reviews: 2/10. Don't ever book a night's stay at Euro Rich Hotel. Pariss Hotel in the same area is just SGD15-20 more and is like, a million times better (as I'd reviewed earlier). Euro Rich Hotel is not within walking distance of the hypermarts (it is located amongst shophouses which have nothing very much) and the cramped rooms are dismal without windows. The design of the bathroom is ridiculous with a shower head placed in between the toilet bowl and the sink. If one takes a bath, it means the toilet seat and the basin area where one's toiletries are laid out would get wet. The whole affair is just horrid and the rating of 2 is for the lcd tv which has cable tv. This is definitely more like a low end motel than a hotel. The layout it such as to maximise the most number of rooms that would fit in the building and without consideration of aesthetics. Not a good place to spend one's time. Ugh.

Pariss Hotel at Skudai JB

We decided to go to a different hotel for a change (from Thistle) this weekend because much of what we need to do is around the Skudai area. My CEB had noticed PARISS Hotel from the past few day trips we had made to Bukit Indah and suggested trying out this hotel for the weekend given how new and modern its facade is. We reached the hotel about 630pm and keeping our fingers crossed tt there were still rooms given the number of cars parked outside, we left our bags in the car and went to enquire at the rather decent looking reception located just next to the front doors.

Having learnt a lesson in Muar which we were at last week, I asked to have a look at the room first b4 committing a good RM124 for a night stay despite the outlook of the lobby. Talking about room rates - there was a strange kind of promotion this hotel had and one I have never encountered - without a company namecard the cost of a night stay in the superior room would be RM138. If one signed up for the hotel's membership at RM70 then the rate would be RM110. Breakfast is not included and there does not appear to be that option at all as there are no restaurants within the hotel. But the hotel is right next to Giant supermarket and there are plenty of eating places(including KFC) less than a 5mins drive away.

We were very pleased with the room as it was spacious, clean and new. There are Singaporean channels available on the 32inch LCD TV but the reception isn't that good. And there aren't cable channels like HBO and AXN. There also isn't a mini-bar in the room but at least a safe is provided (the one in our room was spoilt though).As for the bath room, there isn't a bath tub but there is a rain shower and ample toiletries are provided for guests. It is an extremely good deal for less than SGD55 an night which is probably why the lifts (there were only 2 smallish ones, 1 of which didn't seem to work) were packed. Not too bad for a weekend getaway!

After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick

I haven't written for a week since the last post because I pretty much lost the inspiration/will to get up in the morning, much less blog or write. No prizes for guessing why - I am the champion of wallowing - I could hit rock bottom and scrabble for some time there instead of bouncing up.

A friend of mine who had met my CEB told me to go hang out with my CEB because that "Bag of Nonsense" would make me laugh again. And indeed, despite my best efforts to bemoan my current situation, my CEB cheered me up considerably in no time at all, enough for me to burst out laughing even. We also went to Kong Kong Taison Seafood Restoran and needless to say, the RMB164 meal revived my spirits. Nothing to put a person in a better mood than food! We had 2 large crabs (more than 1 kg each) cooked in 2 different styles

Chilli sauce:


Black pepper:

And for once, we were allowed to sit in the air-conditioned area because we had breached the RM150 mark with all that food - crabs, lala and kangkong

After lunch, it was off to his favourite hotel in JB and despite us vowing not to have dinner at all after all the "pigging-out", we ended up driving out still about 8.30pm, at his behest, to have porridge at Tang Shifu at Sutera Mall. I wanted something different so I ordered the Shi Quan Mee Suah with Ginseng and Fish Maw (RM 16.90) and that, was pretty good!

Because they forgot his order, we waited a full half hour more for the food to be served, and by that time it was too late to get my craving for the white chocolate macademia nut cake fulfilled. Believe it or not, Secret Recipe would not sell me any cakes at 9.50pm on a Sat night because they said the cashier had gone home. So, we decided to head back and when we tried to start the engine, we found the batt was flat. I'm not kidding. There we were in an open-air carpark in a foreign land (without the same standard of public transportation as SG) with a car that wouldn't start. And oh yeah, it was raining to boot. My CEB found a guy who had the one of those jump-start cables but the cables were too weak (wrong voltage). Thankfully my CEB had the presence of mind to run into Carrefour just when they were closing and buy a pair of jump-start cables with the right voltage. The next morning, I was praying that somehow the batt would start up but no such luck. And, the brand new cables didnt work - the car batt was so low that the usual beep sound when I click the unlock doors button didn't even sound! I suggested asking the hotel for help and one of the staff found a cab driver who drove over and using that same set of cables, he managed to jump start my car by pulling on the trottle bit of the old cab's engine. Apparently the cables didn't work with the first two cars we tried with because the air con in the cars were turned on while they were revving the engine. After that, I drove to the Autobac place and paid RM250 for the battery to be replaced - it was a particularly nasty experience, esp when the batt first went flat in the night - but I think that my CEB and I are getting slightly better at handing stressful situations together after laying down some basic ground rules.

So when I read the book After Ever After a few nights ago , a book which was obviously meant for a different target audience (teens), one part of the book stuck with me. Ok, context first - the book is told through the eys of a young teen who is a cancer survivor (Jeff). Jeff has a best friend at school who isnt past the 5 year mark for cancer (Tad). When Tad has a relapse (and yes, he eventually dies), Jeff beats himself up for it and his school's guidance teacher asks him for his application form. Jeff is suitably puzzled (as was I). The teacher explains that the application form is the one he filled up to get cancer. Obviously there isn't such a form. The teacher then explains to Jeff that one doesn't always get to choose the cards one is dealt with by a higher power - one just has to play one's cards as best as one can, even if one is dealt a lousy hand. (As my friend, The Slug (not The Slog, mind!) would say "Go down fighting always rather than roll over and show your belly").

So this timely reminder that life is indeed a series of accidents and choices (both of which can be either good or bad), together with my CEB and my beloved boss's advice/plan, has set me right back up on my feet again instead of scrabbling at rock bottom. :)

I am The Slog, hear me roar...:D

Thistle Hotel in JB

Following my earlier entry about Tune Hotel in JB, I would recommend anyone who has to spend a night in JB, to stay in Thistle Hotel instead. The hotel building used to be under the Hyatt group until a couple of years ago when Thistle took over. So, while the building and rooms are not spanking new, the hotel makes a really affordable AND more importantly, comfortable weekend getaway.

I would add though that there is a rather large difference between the superior rooms and deluxe rooms at Thistle, having stayed at both in the past few months. The price difference though is marginal (SGD 20 max) and one should therefore book the deluxe room (see pic below) where the bathtub is far cleaner (the superior's tub was so grotty we didn't use it) and situated where one can soak and watch TV at the same time. For the superior room, the bathroom is located at a corner of the room instead (ie one cannot see into the bathroom from the bedroom.)

Although the bed looks rather large and provided a really comfy night sleep, we discovered that it comprises of 2 super single beds pushed together which means therefore that the bed sheets must have been custom-made.

The toilet is rather simple but pure luxury compared to Tune Hotel's. Ample clean towels nicely rolled and conveniently placed, tissue paper and toiletries (shower cap, ear buds, toothbrush etc) all provided. Like the toilet I do :)

The best bit about the toilet however is that there is a separate area for showering and a bath tub for soaking and watching TV from the tub. My CEB, as you will note from the picture below, is all about enjoying the view from the hotel room while eating chocolate cake. The Deluxe rooms at Thistle faces Danga Bay, quite unlike the Superior rooms which faces the carpark.

From the hotel room, we could also look down and get a view of the entire swimming pool. Towels are provided at the Hatch Fitness Centre located near the pool and hotel guests can use the facilities at the Fitness Centre which includes a sauna (separate ones for male and females).

The package we had purchased came with breakfast and the buffet breakfast while nothing impressive, was pretty decent (though not decent enough for one to pay the full price seperately for the same if it doesnt come in the package) - Western food (Cereal and the hot items like sausages etc), Malay food (nasi lemak), Chinese food (prawn noodles etc) and the mandatory egg station. The view at the dining area was pretty nice with the full length glass windows overlooking the pool area.

As usual, my CEB, who knows how I like my eggs (sunny sides up!) did his trademark face thingy with the eggs. :) I guess in the end, it is the small things that does matter... :)

The Slog Reviews: 9/10. Thistle Hotel's deluxe room is the best place to stay in JB thus far. Value for money, and not that kind of Tune Hotel's value for money.

Tune Hotel at Danga Bay, JB

This weekend was meant to be one of the few "Stay in Singapore and get things done" weekends but my CEB wanted some quality time together so we reached a compromise. On Sat morn, we stayed in Singapore doing what we had to do till 3pm and then drove in to JB until Sunday afternoon 12.30pm when we made our way back to Singapore to do the rest of the stuff.

Given the short period of time we would be in JB, we decided to try out the budget hotel, Tune Hotel at Danga Bay. This is the second time I've stayed at a Tune hotel, the first being the Tune hotel at Kota Kinabalu where I was pretty fine with the place other than than the fact that the hotel room had no windows, and the corridors were narrow like a prison.

The Slog Reviews: 7/10. We had no problems with the check in and check out. A deposit of RM5 was required for the room key card at check in and refunded promptly during our check out. The counter staff was polite, fluent in English and rather helpful. He gave us a useful $ saving tip which is that we should have bought the aircon svc for 12 hours instead of 24 hours because everytime one leaves the room, the aircon is switched off when you remove the room key card. And there is no way to replace the room key card with another hotel's room key card. I had bought 24hrs cos I figured if we checked in at 4pm, the aircon would be switched off at 4am the next morning but nah, in the end, when we went out for dinner etc, we had more than enough spare aircon time. Anyway, if one runs out of the 12 hours aircon time and requires more, one can purchase the same from the hotel later. As for internet service, there are about 4 computers provided at the lobby for guests' usage free of charge. I wasn't sure how safe the computers were so I didnt go to any sites which required passwords. As for the room itself, I didn't think the room was too small - certainly no smaller than the master bedrooms of the new condos these days. There was a rain shower with hot water. No toiletries at all, no towels, no hot water facilities in the room, no clothes cupboard but hey, there was a window this time. I am not sure why the hotel claims to have a 5 star bed but this is the first hotel where I've stayed at with my CEB where I woke up almost every 2 hours (and woke him up too) ie I had a really bad night sleep unlike the other hotels I've stayed at. It was really bad - I'll check my hp and it would be 2am, then 4.20am then 540am then 7am then 830am...I don't think I'll be going back to Tune Hotel at JB any time soon. There are plenty of hotels in JB which are just as reasonably priced and worth trying out I think.

Kirishima Shuzhou Japanese Restaurant

I was clearing out my office drawers this morning and I found the receipt for this restaurant which I'd kept for the purpose of blogging. But of course, per the previous entry, I haven't done so and now not just my memory of this experience, but the receipt as well is blurred, very blurred.

Anyway, I'd been told repeatedly that this is THE restaurant that Japanese in JB go to for a meal. So if one is looking for a place in Johor Bahru which has jap food that taste very similar to that found in Japan, Kirishima and not Nijyumaru, is the place to go. So one weekday evening in late June, because of the hour (8pm), we decided to forgo the usual grocery shopping and just have dinner (and pump petrol of course) in JB. Parking at Crystal Crown Hotel which is where the restaurant is located cost RM3. Here's a pic of the entrance of the restaurant on the second floor of the hotel (accessible through the lobby).


The menu which was rather impressive looking (despite the words "Japanese casual style dining) had a wide range of items for us to choose from. As we were pretty hungry, we ordered the sets. I ordered the Soba Takikomi which cost RM38 and this is just 2/3 of the set. The rest of the set (consisting of chawan mushi etc) can be seen in the last pic.

My CEB on the hand, who eats sashimi unlike The Slog, ordered the xxxx (receipt has blurred) Gozen which cost RM48. We were absolutely floored by the size of the set when it was served!

We also shared a Agedashi Dofu (RM 12) and if my memory serves me rightly, this dish was the only one which wasn't too our liking. Not that it wasn't good, but it tastes rather different from the agedashi tofus that we have at Jap restaurants here.


The bill for the food alone (see pic below) was RM98 but with the govt tax of 5% and svc charge of 10%, the total amt payable was RM112.70 altogether. That's why we end up going into Msia so often - it's impossible to get this amt and quality of food at a restaurant in a hotel for less than SGD 50 in Singapore!



Here are the restaurant's details:
Open from 12.00-2.30pm / 6.00-10.30pm throughout the year.
Address: 117, Jalan Tebrau, 80250 Johor Bahru, Johor. (Crystal Crown Hotel)
Tel: 07-276 2838

Restoran King Crab (black pepper crabs) (second time)

I like the pic below. :D All the photos I have taken (except photos on holidays) thus far have been with my trusty Sony Ericsson W995 phone and this is one of the few photos that I am extremely pleased with because of the clarity of the image. Clams. Lala, to be specific. Ordered at Restoran King Crab which visited less than a week later because I had recovered slightly and we both wanted to try the black pepper crab there. This dish wasn't my idea but it turned out to be absolutely smashing. The Slog Reviews: 9/10. I would have given the dish a perfect score if not for the many empty shells in the dish! The server had recommended this cooking style which is the restaurant's speciality and the soup turned out wonderfully herbal-tasting and perfect for someone with a cold/cough or a rainy day. The meat was cooked just right and not rubbery tasting the least but sweet and full of flavor. As mentioned before, the cost of dishes at this restaurant is on the steeper side and this cost RM20

We also ordered a beancurd with eggs dish. The Slog Reviews: 7/10. The beancurd came with pcs of mushrooms and some green veg along the sides. Nothing remarkable and the gravy appears to be from a bottle with shrips of dried oyster within.

We made the unforgivable mistake of ordering only one crab (600gm @ RM7/100gm) and it proved to be insufficient for the two of us mad crab lovers. The Slog Reviews: 9/10. Not sure what kind of black pepper paste was used to cook this crab but it didn't leave a fiery burning feeling in the stomach. I'm almost too embarassed to post that I did ask my food companion if I could lick the shell because the sauce (there wasn't much of it sadly) was that good. The crab we had chosen was of course fresh and nothing beats the white meat of a crab cooked together with black pepper sauce. I want more, and soon!

Total cost of the 3 dishes, a pot of jasmine tea for two, rice and towels came to RM 91.50 of which RM 8 consisted of the govt service tax and service charge of 5% each.

The address of this restaurant can be found in my previous entry (click here).

Restoran King Crab (creamy butter crabs)

Even though I had been really sick, I was struck last week by an inexplicable desire to eat crab. Despite the advice from well-meaning friends, I meant to have my way and persuaded a fellow seafood lover to take me for crab. He was low on gas and we both went in to JB for fuel for the car and our bodies.

I'd heard about this restaurant for some time but never had the opportunity of being there before so we decided to look for "Restoran King Crab" based on directions from the web. We found it without any problem at all - turn left right after Jusco, keeping Jusco on the left of the car at times and one can see the bright large yellow signboard of the restaurant easily along the row of shophouses on one's right side.

The restaurant was empty on a weekday night at about 8pm except for one table so service was pretty prompt. It appears that there might be two levels to the place as there was a staircase at one corner of the restaurant but since the place was empty, we had our pick of tables on the ground floor. Service was prompt given the number of wait staff around and the menu rather extensive with meat dishes, various types of seafood (prawns, prawn mantis, crabs, fish), veg and beancurd. However, based on my experience at various JB restaurants, I would say that the prices could be said to be very steep given the lack of ambiance and the type of food (veg dishes are double normal prices!). For example, a small-sized serving of vegetable with eggs which we ordered per the pic below cost RM15. The Slog Reviews: 7/10. Athough the veg was fresh and the dish rather tasty, the price was prohibitively expensive for a very simple dish.

What would be worth ordering IMHO would be what this restaurant is good for, and specialises in - crab. Because I was coughing rather badly, my food companion and I decided to have the crab baked with creamy butter in claypot instead of black pepper. This is how the dish looked like.
And was it good? The Slog Reviews: 9.5/10. Finger licking good! A million, or rather a billion calories in this dish alone given the amount of butter and milk that went into making the thick sweet gravy that the crab was served in. I tried to moderate the amount of gravy that I was slurping up given the lack of exercise the past few weeks ( because I'd been sick) but it was so good that resistence was futile. Crab was fresh of course and priced at RM7/8 kg. The cost of the meal was about RM80 with 5% GST and 5% Service charge. Towels and tea are also chargeable.

Restoran King Crab
No 1 and 1A, 3 and 3A, Jln Harmonium 23/12 Taman Desa Tebrau
81100 Johor Bahru
Tel: 607 3513333

Restoran / restaurant Pekin at Sutera Mall

My sis and I once had a discussion whether it was right to critique a restaurant based on just one dining experience and whether a review of the place based on certain items from the menu was equitable. We had to agree to disagree in the end as the arguments/reasons for both sides were equally compelling (I took the view that it was equitable, if you must know.)

My third visit to Restoran Pekin at Sutera Mall (the last being Mothers' Day) impressed me enough to conclude that the standard of food and service at this place is consistently good. This time, we went there for dinner because I wanted to introduce my herbal-prawns-loving companion to the fabulous dish there. Quick, attentive and polite service by the servers upon entry into the restaurant and unlike previous occasions, a complimentary plate of guava was served as an appetiser.


I was rather in the mood for something "porky" and ordered a most sinfully fattening dish - a medium-sized plate of roast pork. The Slog Reviews: 8/10. Tough and crisp fried skin atop soft squishy fat combined with soft tender meat makes a most delicious morsel in one's mouth. However, too much of this dish can get a little overwhelming because of the sheer amt of oil that oozes out from the fatty portions.

And of course, we had the herbal prawns (which was the purpose of our going there). Now, if you are wondering why there is more soup than the previous time (the soup came up to half the height of the bowl the last time), it is because I requested for more soup when placing the order. And that's what I mean by excellent service by this restaurant - I've been to horrendously more expensive restaurants, made special requests when placing an order and had to send back the dish to the kitchen because these requests were not communicated to the kitchen. The Slog Reviews: 9/10. My companion agreed heartily with words and action that these were the best herbal prawns he'd ever had. I think that we should order a medium/large portion next time!

Picture below shows the 3 dishes we had. The last dish was the 3 eggs dish which was as good as ever. Cost was about RM 80 in all which translates to SGD 32 only. Not a bad deal really given the ambiance, service and quality of food. To prevent the law of diminishing returns from setting in, I have resolved not to go to this restaurant for the next 2 months at least! :D

Oh, and I forgot to mention, we were given a bowl of complimentary dessert each. I'm not sure what it was because I didn't dare to try it - it looked and smelled "Chinese-herbal" so my companion wolfed it down along with his own bowl in a jiffy. I don't suppose I'm going to lose much weight given the way we both enjoy food so much unless I up the number of gym sessions a week or continue with this rather nasty cold.

Kong Kong Tai Son Seafood Resort (2nd time)

The drive to Kong Kong Tai Son Seafood Restaurant isn't that difficult when done during the day, unlike in the night. In fact, it is quite a pleasant drive with a goat farm along the way and scenary like the one below (took it out of the car window). One has just to head in the direction of Pasir Gudang and from there follow the signboards that say Masai, and then, Kong Kong (if both options appear, choose Kong Kong) - you know you are headed in the right direction when you pass the ScienceTek (science tech, I suppose but that's how the word is spelt in Msia) Park.

It was a blazingly hot day when we turned right at the end of the long stretch of dirt road towards the direction of the restaurant. The restaurant looked relatively empty at about 12pm but it quickly filled up around 1pm with large groups of families (including Malay familes so I suppose this restaurant is halal). We asked for a table in the air-conditioned area but were told that we could not have the same unless we spent RM300 at the restaurant. Bugger that.

So we ended up sitting on the outdoor deck with a fan blowing directly at our table and enjoying the view from our table per the pic below.

First up, the sambal kang kong. The Slog Reviews: 8/10. A rather generous helping of fresh greens for just RM6. However, nothing remarkable about the dish. Will try another veg dish the next time.

The next dish, my food companion's favourite - herbal prawns. At RM 8 per 100gm, we ordered 400gm of prawns which they caught before our eyes and weighed. The Slog Reviews: 9/10. A must order if one loves fresh succulent sweet prawns. No wonder prawns make such effective baits - a sweet morsel for both man and fishes alike! This dish was done so well that my food companion has been bugging me to go back for more but alas, my weekends are fully packed.

The only dish which we were entirely not satisfied with was the mantis prawn. The restaurant insisted that we had to order 2 of the creatures as the kitchen would not cook one. Having no choice in the matter, we selected 2 mantis prawns, each about 150gm and asked the restaurant to cook them in the style they deemed best. And this, this below is what they came up with. The Slog Reviews: 6/10. There was so little meat in the mantis prawns and this method of cooking the prawns did not bring out the flavor of the prawns at all. In fact, having the prawns steamed brought out the hideous purple color of the creatures which was quite an appetite killer. So far, the best way of cooking mantis prawns seems to be the way this restaurant cooked it for me at Kota Kinabalu which made the dish (fried with salt or chilli) a delight.

There was a promotion for the lala at only RM 8.80 so we had those fresh out of the tanks too. The Slog Reviews: 8/10. Order these if not anything else if you are a shell lover. We had them fried with chilli and they were so fresh and mouthwateringly good!

And no, I'm not done yet. It's amazing how much 2 people can put away but my food companion being a fellow seafood lover wanted to have crabs too and at RM8 per 100gm, we ordered 2 of the crabs cooked in black pepper. The Slog Reviews: 8/10. Freshly caught from the tanks, stir fried with spicy black pepper, white soft sweet flesh contrasting with the slightly fiery taste from the pepper - just one word. Order!

Below, a pic taken (as usual with my Sony Ericsson W995) of all the dishes that 2 of us put away that afternoon - note that 4 out of the 5 dishes were live seafood dishes.

And the price of the seafood feast which was fresh right from the tanks? See the receipt below inclusive of 3 cans of coke, fruit juice, rice, peanuts and towel - only, and I mean, ONLY RM 141.60 which equates to SGD 60. Msia Boleh indeed! :D

Mother's Day 2010 - Restoran Pekin at Tmn Sutera

My mother had mentioned that she wanted to go Genting and I was all ready to take her to Genting for Mothers Day during the Mothers Day weekend this year given the number of points I'd chalked up playing the jackpot machines the past 2 times this year. As it turned out, my mum changed her mind at the very last minute and so I decided to take her on a weekend jaunt to JB instead and buy her Mothers Day lunch at Desaru. However, because I needed to get some fishing tackle for the fishing trip and I wanted to buy durians, I ended up taking her to Restoran Pekin at Tmn Sutera which I'd been for dinner once before. I hadn't realised how big the restaurant is until that day because I usually park near Carrefour at Tmn Sutera and walk to the restaurant from the mall which is connected to the restaurant. This time, parking was full so I parked near the restaurant and I realised that the restaurant has tanks full of live fishes (including one huge grouper) outside. Service was very good and even though there were 3 of us only, we were quickly shown to a table big enough for 8 because we were next in line. The restaurant was relatively crowded with large families but the restaurant managed the customers' needs very well and the servers were very attentive. At the recommendation of the server who had waited on us, the first dish we ordered was the bbq pork ribs which was amongst the specials of the day. The cost was RM 5 per pax and the dish below cost RM 15. The Slog Reviews: 9/10 for presentation and taste. The meat was fresh and the skin gently warm and slightly crispy. What gave the dish extra oomph was the sweet sauce that came with it. The restaurant was most obliging when we asked for more of the sauce to go wtih the bbq pork ribs. Thumbs up. I also ordered the same dish that I had the last time with a friend - the speciality egg but a medium sized helping for the 3 of us given how much my companion loves egg dishes. The restaurant maintained its standards and like the last time, this dish was awesome (and made even more awesome at only RM 15). The Slog Reviews: 10/10. This dish is full of chicken, mushrooms, eggs all cooked to tender perfection with the right mix of moisture to the dish. A must order, esp for egg lovers! I had initially ordered cereal prawns but my mum vetoed the idea and said that we should have drunken prawns if we were going to have prawns. And, Mother was Right. The Slog Reviews: 10/10. The soup that the prawns came in was the best I'd ever had for for this dish. Although the dish was a bit pricy at RM38 for a small portion, the prawns were so fresh, firm and sweet and the soup tasted fantastic with a capital F. I would order this dish again without a doubt. The only drawback is that like all good things in life, there wasn't very much soup and when we asked for more, the restaurant explained nicely that they could not give us more soup. While I am not a chicken lover (not a white meat gal), my mother's favourite meat is chicken so we had the cheese-baked chicken too. I can't remember if we ordered a small or medium portion but the cost was RM18 and there wasn't very much of it (See the pic below). My mother claimed that this dish wasn't challenging to cook when it came but after she'd eaten a bite of it, she said that this dish was cooked to cheesy perefction - not a single burnt part of the cheese which was spread and melted evenly over the tender chicken. The Slog Reviews: 9/10. After the meal, we were a bit thirsty because the weather was boiling hot and I suggested dessert. The mango sago was RM 5 while the honeydew sago was RM3.50. The Slog Reviews: 7/10. A bit too sweet for my liking - one can almost taste the sugar. Would advise trying another dessert. Below is a pic of all the dishes we had on the table :) And guess what the total cost of the meal was....seriously...my jaw fell when I got the bill! I think I'm going to move to Malaysia already. For a meal at such a nice restaurant with such good service and food, the price is unbeatable. Do go to Restorant Pekin at Tmn Sutera if you are around the area. I think it is one of the places with the best Chinese food in JB. However, be warned though that they do not serve dim sum at all, not even for lunch.