Malaysia is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world due to its breath-taking natural beauty and scenic attractions. Numerous international visitors head to Malaysia on an annual basis in order to experience comfort and so it is not surprising that there are lots of luxury resorts in the region.

A list of the best luxury resorts in Malaysia is given below:

Pangkor Laut Resort

The world-class Pangkor Laut happens to be a privately owned island situated three miles off the West Coast of Malaysia. The area has formed over a period of two million years and has now become the site of one of the top resorts in the world, nestled amidst the shade of lush green forests. There are no other resorts nearby and visitors are free to enjoy the secluded bays next to the pristine beaches, the colourful evening skies and the serene ambience of the region. Natural beauty, luxury and an age-old wilderness combine together to form an environment at Pangkor Laut where magically memorable and peaceful moments are common. Out of the 300 acres of the island, just a small portion has been used to develop the Resort along with its eight different Estates. The wooden buildings tend to blend effortlessly into the forest background and tourists are sure to be amazed by the roofs which open up to allow trees to continue their journey skywards. The whole region respects nature and rewards visitors in countless memorable ways. Prices start from around 900 RM but you can get discount codes at Expedia to slash the prices.

Four Seasons Langkawi

The Four Seasons Langkawi is the ideal resort for tourists in Malaysia who wish to experience the comfortable sounds of the Andaman Sea and enjoy the pristine sunset views on the beach. There are ninety-one separate large-sized guest accommodations which happen to be a fusion of contemporary resort elements and traditional Malaysian design aesthetics. The décor consists of soaring ceilings, timber floors and sprawling open verandas. A few of the villas and all the lower-level pavilions include secluded outdoor showers and bathing areas that evoke the sensation of a gentle tropical rainfall. One of the main attractions at the Four Seasons Langkawi is the Restaurant Serai which serves amazing Mediterranean and South Italian cuisine. The dishes are all created with the freshest ingredients and natural spices and herbs. Four Seasons Langkawi redefines the whole spa experience offering total escapism that leads to a healing of the mind and the soul.

Shangri-la’s Tanjung Resort and Spa

Located seven kilometres away from the Kota Kinabalu International Airport, the Shangri-la’s Tanjung Resort and Spa is a beautiful resort that embodies the best of accommodations in Malaysia. There are six different dining and beverage venues at the resort, catering to varied tastes. The accommodations are exquisite and the guest rooms at the hotel provide access to stunning views of the majestic landscape encompassing the hotel. Guests are going to be pampered by the wide range of amenities on offer. On-site spa services are available for guests and the hotel provides one-stop service offering various meeting facilities and support for smooth events. Guests can choose from 10 function rooms or a larger ballroom capable of seating 1,200 people.

Ritz Carlton

The Ritz Carlton is located in Kuala Lumpur and enables guests to experience the finest sights, sounds and flavours that Malaysia has to offer to tourists. Situated downtown in the Golden Triangle business district, the Ritz Carlton Hotel showcases the rich traditions and culture of the Kuala Lumpur region. Every visitor at the hotel is able to indulge in soothing spa treatments and they can dig into sumptuous and award-winning cuisine available at the site. There are also provisions for the visitors to experience amazing comforts right in their rooms. Apart from twenty-five meeting rooms, there are four distinct restaurants at the Ritz Carlton.

Shangri-la’s Rasa Sayang Resort

This resort is located on prime real estate – the great stretch of Batu Ferringhi Beach. Tourists will be able to experience lots of attractions nearby, including the Goddess of Mercy Temple, the Penang Museum and Art Gallery and the St. George’s Church. The resort has two wings which are integrated effortlessly within a wonderfully landscaped 30-acre tropical garden, embodying the best of contemporary Malaysian design and architecture. Guests can avail the on-site spa that offers full-body treatments, dining and a cocktail bar, a business centre and a fitness centre.

You can book these resorts online at Agoda or Expedia. Groupon Malaysia also provides discount offers for many of these spas and resorts time to time. Check here latest deals from Groupon at Savingmart.my.    

So, what are you waiting for? Pack your luggage and get going. These luxurious accommodations in Malaysia are waiting to welcome you and pamper you with the best treatment.

Are you familar with the term tempoyak? For those who are not familiar with the term, tempoyak is actually the local fermented durian paste. Tempoyak is quite common especially in Pahang and Perak and can easily be obtained from the local wet market. The Tempoyak, or rather the durian paste generally taste sour and salty with a lot of nutty durian flavour. It is not usually eaten on it’s own and is usually used in cooking traditional fish curries (Gulai Tempoyak).

It takes a skilled cook to make a great curries out of Tempoyak paste. And here’s one fabulous place where you can enjoy Gulai Tempoyak at a fraction of the price; in Gopeng, Perak.

Keep a lookout for this sign

Tetatak Tempoyak Nda is one of the food tourism attraction in Gopeng, Perak.

What’s interesting about this place is that the restaurant provides full, authentic kampung dining experience where you can either choose to dine al-fresco

Or inside the kampung house itself. Note: you’ll need to take off your shoes if you opt to dine inside the restaurant.

The restaurant may look rather small on the outside

But it could easily accommodate large crowd.

Teratak Tempoyak Nda serves authentic gulai tempoyak in claypot.

The gulai tempoyak set.

The set usually comes with a plate of rice topped with a homely omelet and a side of ulam of the day and a spoonful of authentic sambal belacan.

There are plenty of Gulai Tempoyak to choose from over here. Bestsellers are usually the fish variant of the curries. There’s tempoyak ikan patin, ikan keli and of course, the common ikan kembong. But if you’re to ask me, I would highly recommend the well famed Tempoyak Ikan Patin for the whole gastronomic experience.

Not a fan of fishes? That’s fine. Just give this a go: Gulai Tempoyak Udang Galah. (RM9.90).These plump and fat fresh water prawns are naturally sweet and fresh. The tempoyak curries does nothing but enhance the taste and will have you ask for more steamed white rice to go with em.

Those who can’t do without modern delicacies, no worries. Teratak Tempoyak Nda is also offering some western food selection here.

Burger, sausages and the good old greasy fries for those who really want some Western fare.

And if you dropped by during tea time and wants something light instead of the heavy rice and Gulai Tempoyak, just pick this off from the menu; steamed or toasted traditional bread with butter and kaya (creamy and rich jam made from coconuts and eggs).

Or if you want something unique and filling, try this Maggie Kerabu. the Maggie Kerabu is actually Pre-fried instant noodles, tossed in Thai fish sauce and assortments of shredded things like sourish mangoes, cabbages, celeries and topped with crushed peanuts and seafood like cuttlefish and prawns. The instant noodles is served piping hot, but it is nice to be eaten cold too. Taste-wise, it is a tad spicy with a hint of sourish Tomyam flavour, but you could request to omit the sliced bird’s eye chillies if you can’t take spicy food. This Kerabu Maggie is definitely worth your money and of course, the calories count.

There are plenty of beverages sold here in Teratak Tempoyak Nda, but I’d recommend ‘Bittersweet‘ (RM3) for you to cleanse your palate with. It is a special, one of a kind drink concocted from lemongrass, apple, mint leaves and asamboi.

Overall, the dining experience here in Teratak Tempoyak Nda is wonderful. It can be likened to the ‘balik kampung’ feeling where the staff treats you like their own family and ensure not only that you have the best food but the full Malaysian hospitality experience while you are there.

If you are ever in Gopeng Perak, do drop by:

Map

Address:

Teratak Tempoyak Nda
No 12, Kampung Pulai a/c,
31600 Gopeng
Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia

Where can you enjoy delicious lobsters at a fraction of the price? Here’s where; Red Lobster, Quill City Mall.

Red Lobster is an American casual dining restaurant chain that is headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It has history dated back to the 1960′s and with more than 700 locations in North America, Canada, South America, the Middle East and Japan.

Red Lobster is most famous for their live Maine and Rock lobsters. I brought my son for a food tasting here in Red Lobster, Quill City Mall and we really like what they have to offer. Bonus: Service is superb here. So yes. If you want my opinion, it will worth every penny paid if you’re to dine here.

Lobster Bisque (RM11.90 per cup, RM19.90 per bowl). Very rich and creamy with a generous amount of lobster meat chunks. It is a tad salty for me but the accompanying Cheddar Bay biscuit complemented it well.

Seafood Marinara with Grilled Lobster, Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp, Butterflied Fried Shrimp and Lobster -Crab-Seafood Stuffed Mushrooms. The platter provides a wholesome meal, definitely. Everything was fresh and flavourful and not entirely overwhelming on the palate.

Chocolate Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream was divine and definitely something you wouldn’t want to miss if you have sweet tooth.

Overall, the dining experience in Red Lobster Quill City Mall is pleasant. The staff are eager to please and very attentive too. Definitely will be going back for more to try other lobster dishes that they are offering soon.

For more info on Red Lobster, like their Facebook page here : https://www.facebook.com/redlobstermalaysia

Address
Red Lobster
Lot G-02, Ground Floor
Quill City Mall

Contact: 03 2602 1946

Business hours: 10am to 10pm

I had my first Hallyu fever when I was still on high school. It’s a huge hit in Malaysia and the Korean Drama ‘Winter Sonata’ was all everyone talks about. Thinking back, it was a rather slow and draggy drama, but if you ask me what I like about that drama is that it is filled with beautiful sceneries. Since then, I got hooked with those lengthy Korean dramas.

One of my all time favourite would be ‘Jewel in The Palace’. It is a costume historical Korean drama that tells the story in the palace and it featured a lot of traditional Korean food. Each time I watched that drama, I’ll crave for Korean food.

And speaking of Korean food I’ve tried plenty and here’s sharing with you an authentic Korean food outlet in Quill City Mall, Sopoong.

Sopoong served a variety of authentic Korean food and below is some of their bestsellers.

The dishes offered here in Sopoong.

Bulgogi, RM19.90. Bulgogi is actually grilled marinated sliced beef. I love these. They are thinly sliced, perfectly marinated and grilled to perfection. It wasn’t chewy and was very juicy.

Kimchi Jiigae, RM15.90 is spicy kimchi soup. This one is pretty rich and spicy with a tad of sweetness to it. Good on it’s own or accompanied by steamed rice.

Dakgalbi, RM18.90 is a popular Korean dish generally made by stir-frying marinated diced chicken in a chili pepper paste based sauce, and sliced cabbage, sweet potato, scallions, onions, perilla leaves, and rice cake together on a hot plate.These stir fried marinated chicken pieces are cooked to perfection. Absolutely delicious and I definitely wouldn’t mind another round of it in the nearest future.

Bulgogi Dolsot Bibimbap, RM22.90. Basically this is a Korean mixed rice dish topped with sliced marinated beef. Highly recommended to those who love rice.

Dolsot Bibimbap, RM15.90. A more economical version of Korean mixed rice. Unlike the Bulgogi Dolsot Bibimbap, Dolsot Bibimbap does not have sliced beef on top of it. Taste-wise, it is still superb without the additional beef slices.

Japchae. Japchae is a Korean dish made from sweet potato noodles stir fried in sesame oil with vegetables and flavoured with soy sauce, and sweetened with sugar. It is served garnished with sesame seeds and slivers of chili. This dish is typically served at Korean parties and special occasions,with seasonal vegetables added. Japchae is most commonly served as a side dish, but feel free or order it as one of your mains.

Gimbab. Gimbap is a popular Korean dish made from steamed white rice and various other ingredients, rolled in sheets of dried laver seaweed and served in bite-size slices. One could easily mistake Gimbal for sushi. But I assure you that they are two different things though they look similar. Whereas the essence of Japanese sushi is vinegared rice, Gimbap does not use rice vinegar but rather sesame oil.

Sopoong offers plenty of Korean food at fraction of the price, you may want to give this a go should you crave for some good Korean food.

Sopoong
LG-13A, Lower Ground Floor
Quill City Mall

Contact: 03 2602 3779

Business hours: 10am to 10pm

I’m not a coffee drinker. Just take a look at my blog’s title. It says: Over A Cuppa Tea. 😉 Originally, whatever I wrote here in the blog, is all my thoughts on things that is written over one cup or tea. No more, no less. But as time goes by, that over one cuppa tea writing somewhat changes as I delved into somewhat travel and lifestyle genre of blogging. Although I like being able to write at such speed, I can’t really say that I miss it. Writing over a cuppa hot tea instead of leisure, can be rather stressful and the tones are not always pleasant.

Anyway…like I said, I’m not a coffee drinker. I’m one of those ladies who prefers delicate tasting tea over the full bodied and bitter coffees, but my husband is a coffee drinker, and having a very hectic schedule, I tend to appreciate his companionship more, and one of his favourite lurks is those fancy coffee houses and cafes serving handcraft or fancy coffees, so every now and then, I’ll share a cuppa coffee or two with him, with mine always being those fancy and chocolaty variation like Mocha Frappe or Coffees laced with crushed biscuits or chocolates.

There is a few cafes that is fast becoming our favourite hang out place, but there is one place that I’ve patronized alone during my food trail session with my son in Quill City Mall, which is the Coffee Planet.

Managed to try Cappuccino, RM10.50. So…did I like it? Umm…like I said, I’m not much a coffee drinker, so I can’t honestly tell you that I like it, only can describe the taste. The cup of Cappuccino is at the right temperature and while it is rich and creamy, it is also full bodied and aromatic with a tad of acidic taste.

While Coffee Planet is well famed for, of course their coffees, they also have a selection of non caffeinated drinks like chocolate drinks and juice. And yes, they do have tea too. I tried their Iced Peach Tea and I’d say, that was divine and I definitely would not mind a second glass of it.

Coffee Planet also served both sweet and savoury pastries and a healthy selection of assorted sliced cakes to enjoy with your beverage.

The cafe interior is pretty contemporary while the price is quite competitive with other cafes in Kuala Lumpur. Here’s the pricing of some of the commonly ordered caffeinated beverages for your reference:

1.       Americano, RM7.90
2.       Caffe Latte, RM10.90
3.       Cappuccino, RM10.50
4.       Mocha, RM11.50
5.       Mocha Hazelnut, RM12.90
6.       Espresso Caramello, RM11.90

I’d probably be back to try their Mocha and Mocha Hazelnut should I drop by again. Below is their location should you wanna give em a shot:

Address
Coffee Planet
Lot 2-11, Second Floor
Quill City Mall

Contact: 03 2202 7622

Business hour: 10am to 10pm

More information on Quill City Mall, do hop over to their website here; https://www.quillcitymall.com.my

It’s pretty much sizzling hot these days in Malaysia, and I find it affecting my mood in a rather negative ways. Well, don’t blame me. I think a lot people gets irritated easily when they are under the weather. Lucky for me, though, there is a sweet way to combat the heat; indulging in the sweet gelatos.

Gelato is the Italian word for ice cream, derived from the Latin word “gelātus” (meaning frozen). In English this word commonly refers to varieties of ice cream made in a traditional Italian style. Gelato can be made with milk, cream, various sugars, and flavoring such as fresh fruit and nut purees. It is generally lower in calories, fat and sugar than ice cream.

There’s plenty of cafes selling gelato in Kuala Lumpur, but I find most of it are rather pricey.

But I suppose, the gelato prices in Mammamia, Quill City Mall is still pretty much reasonable.

It costs RM7.90 per small scoop.

And RM11.90 for two scoops of same flavour or two different flavours.

Mammamia have a generous selection of gelato, but below is some of their bestsellers:

– Kitkat
– Ferrero Rocher
– Kinder Bueno
– Kinder Joy
– M&M
– Smarties
– Snickers
– Nutella
– Milo
– Bacio (chocolate-hazelnut)
– Pistachio
– Hazelnut
– Durian
– Mango
– Yogurt flavor
– Cheese Cake flavor

Apart from gelato, Mammamia is also selling ice cream cakes, 1kg of ice cream cake for RM85.

I managed to try two flavours the other day when I was there. ‘Strawberry Yogurt’ flavoured gelato and ‘Lemon’ flavoured gelato. Surprisingly, I find the lemon flavoured one is much more refreshing and pleasant in comparison to the sweet strawberry yogurt flavour.

I’ll be going back for more and if you ever drop by Quill City Mall, you may want to give Mammamia a try.

Address:

Mammamia
Lot 2-03, Second Floor
Quill City Mall

Contact: 03 2602 2470

Business hour: 10am to 10pm

More information on Quill City Mall, do hop over to their website here; https://www.quillcitymall.com.my

Thinking of traveling to Taiwan? Taiwan is a wondrous place for travelers, but can be quite pricey if you don’t plan your budget properly. If you have been dreaming to travel to Taiwan but have limited budget, it’s best that you grab the best travel deals at Taiwan Travel Fair.

Whether you are considering a first or subsequent visits to Taiwan, there’s never a better time to tour the island than in 2015! Taiwan Tourism Bureau Kuala Lumpur (TTBKL) is organising its first-ever Taiwan Travel Fair in Malaysia. With the theme of “Time to Enjoy Life”, it will be held at 1 Utama Shopping Centre, where the public can get the best deals for Taiwan travel at this one-stop event from 25 to 29 March 2015.

With the first Taiwan Travel Fair, TTBKL hopes to present great value travel deals to Malaysian families. They have tied up with top Taiwanese and Malaysian travel agencies to offer a variety of exciting packages and the most attractive travel deals for all destinations in Taiwan. This also includes customised packages or tours specially-catered for Muslim visitors.

For visitors of the fair who purchase any tour package from participating agents, they stand a chance to participate in a lucky draw for every RM500 spent. Prizes include Taipei return flight tickets sponsored by China Airlines and Eva Airways; and East Asia cruise on Star Aquarius, Star Virgo and Aquarius liners sponsored by Star Cruises. So do make a date with us and visit the Taiwan Tourism Fair to bring back these fabulous prizes!

The Taiwan Travel Fair will be held at the Oval concourse in 1 Utama Shopping Centre from 25 to 29 March 2015. Opens 10 am daily. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/tbrockl !

Based on a survey conducted by Taiwan Tourism in 2012, the top attractions for inbound tourists are sights and sceneries, food and shopping. As such, the Taiwan Travel Fair will also highlight three major experiences under the theme of “Time to Enjoy Life”:

Time to Eat

When it comes to food, Taiwan has it all. Dine like royalty without paying a king’s ransom for it. From juicy seasonal fruits, sumptuous traditional Chinese dishes, healthy vegetarian dishes, icy desserts to creative tea drinks, Taiwanese cuisine makes full use of local ingredients and age-old techniques to surprise and satisfy your palate.

Don’t forget the world-famous night markets, filled with the enticing aromas of delicious street food and snacks!

Time to Shop

Taiwan is a shopaholic’s dream come true, with many large shopping centres and chain department stores in all four corners of the island. Shop for anything you want, from high-quality made-in-Taiwan 3C products, to famous highland tea and handmade weavings.

For the fashion lover, all kinds of affordable clothing, leather goods and branded products are at your fingertips. In Taiwan, you are sure to find just about everything you want.

Time to go on Two Wheels

These days, the LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) trend is gaining popularity as people begin to be more health and eco-conscious. Taiwan is well-known for its LOHAS practices, and there is no better way to experience it than to travel along the breath-taking coastal highways by bicycle! Immerse yourself in the beauty of nature and appreciate the simple yet wonderful things in life with your loved ones.