Christmas Decoration at IOI City Mall, Putrajaya

This year, IOI City mall goes full fledge with Christmas decoration in the East Court (new wing). Compared to last year, this new wing is now fully occupied (if not, more than 90%) with high-end brands and has more crowds now.

The outdoor is not left out too...

This is the stretch of outdoor alfresco dining with various well-known restaurants & cafes such as Cafe Chef Wan, Kenny Hills Bakers....etc

Back to indoor: The mall East Court with an LED screen display, featuring various brand's ads.

One year plus after its opening, business seems thriving with more shops opening in this new wing.

Meanwhile at 'The Symphony' located in the old wing....it still have some 'charm' with fountain and outdoor picnic/seating area. By evening, youngsters and some families would leisurely hang out at the open area to enjoy the fountain.

Before leaving, I 'tapao' a box of gochujang boneless chicken strip for dinner.

RM16.50nett

This portion is too much for one pax, therefore i split it into half for next day's lunch.

This is the non-spicy gochujang...it tastes like the sauce used in Chinese dish 'pai kuat wong' (pork rib king)...except that this is chicken (instead of pork).

Nak Nak is a local brand, subsidiary of K-fry and it specializes in Korean fried chicken. They also sell burgers, loaded fries and milkshakes. In short, it is Korean fast food, by a Malaysian company.

Peace Cafe @ 3rd Level Skycasino

After exploring FUHU @ Crockfords, next is to try out Peace Cafe, which is located at the same level in Skycasino.

This was a lunch set meal, consists of pandan mochi, a canned drink and a stewed pork with sea cucumber, mushrooms & black fungus. Quite tasty to eat with rice.

the only thing to complaint is that the pork is too fatty.

For dinner, I had scallop & abalone claypot rice. It came with the same dessert (mochi or yogurt) and drink.

It also serves supper for late nite owls (like me). I had charsiew bao (bbq pork bun), siu mai and a cup of hot Chinese tea. This seems like a breakfast for some.

The following day, I had soup noodle with bacon and fish balls. I like their springy wanton noodles.

For lunch, lamb shank with rice. Just meh! too gamey😖

Dinner was fried rice with sunny side up egg, luncheon meat & prawns. It was served with scallop soup (so flavorful!), mochi (dessert) and drink.

I rearranged the prawns so that they look neater for instagram😂

Supper was fish porridge.

[Below] The cloudy morning view of the iconic Genting logo on top of the building.

December Birthday 'Gifts' - Part 2

continuation of the free 'gifts' that i claimed for my birthday....

 4. Ole-Ole Bali

I heard about this place being so generous to treat anyone with an extravagant Nasi Campur meal (Balinese style) on their birthday. This has been around for quite some time but i never try it coz i was skeptical of such claim. After googling and watching some Youtube/TikTok videos, i finally believe that this is real. So, on my birthday, i purposely made a visit to Ole-Ole Bali in IOI City Mall to claim the free meal. This 'offer' is free to public, just need to show the IC to prove your birthdate.

The 'Nasi Campur' meal is worth RM44 in the menu!

[Below] Side view

[Below] Side view from another angle. The dishes include:

grilled lemongrass prawns, squid, fish, beef rendang, sate lilit, lawar kacang (beans salad), rempeyek (anchovy crackers), sambel terasi and sambel goreng.

It was a weekday and i went there around 4pm+ when the place was quite empty.

This place is nicely decorated with dim lights.

The ambience is like a 5-star Balinese resort....

Their decorations are so extensive with Balinese gong, bamboo lights, payung ('tedung Bali'), coconut husk hut, etc....which transform the corner into a mini Balinese resort.

I paid nothing at all for this wholesome dining experience. Just walk-in, eat and walk-out😆

Delicious dishes, my favorites are beef rendang, sate lilit and rempeyek. 

Kangkung, grilled squid and fish taste good too!

I wish to come back again on next year!

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5. Baskin-Robbins free one junior scoop ice-cream

Lastly, the next free gift which i never fail to claim on every year is BR ice-cream!

this time i had the 'pistachio' flavor.

There are more gifts from various merchants but I'm contented enuff with these five😁

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Unrelated to the above, i also had a few rounds of BR ice-creams complimentary for Digi & Celcom subscribers. My entire family and I have both Digi & Celcom lines, so we had some ice-cream feast...

The complimentary one-scoop ice-cream is limited to 11k quota per day nationwide from 8th to 10th December and is claimable from 2pm till 4pm.

Here are what we had:

[Below] 'Cookies n Cream' flavor

My verdict: tastes like Oreo cookie with milky vanilla.

[Below] 'Jamoca Almond Fudge' flavor

My verdict: tastes like tiramisu. It has almonds, so there's some crunch.

[Below] 'Caramel Praline Cheesecake' flavor

My verdict: tastes like caramel, milky, but can't taste any cheesecake, sweetest compared to the rest.

cheers!

The queue around 2pm++ on a Saturday, in Pinnacle mall.

So far, I have tried quite a few flavors (from previous years until today), and here are my favorites from most to least:

Macadamia Nuts 'n Cream

Pistachio

Cookies n Cream

Jamoca Almond Fudge

Chocolate Chip

Caramel Praline Cheesecake

From the above, you'll notice that i prefer nuts and some crunch for my ice-cream😋

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Here's my simple birthday cake from annoying sister.

A small size cheesecake from Berry's (RM28)😂

December Birthday 'Gifts'

It's December and what's more exciting than to celebrate my birthday....woohoooo!!! *besides Christmas

That's because there are lotsa free 'gifts' that i could claim....

Here are the items that I have claimed for my b'day:

1. BananaBro - free squid ring with any purchase

I became a 'member' since 2 months ago and during these period i have received a complimentary 'chicken varuval' (as member's welcome gift) and this time a free squid ring as my birthday gift.

Here's my extravagant meal😃

My kinda happy meal, coz the default 3 veg dishes, rice, curries & papadam in BananaBro are free-flow.

Look at this golden crispy squid ring, although not free-flow, but the portion is more than enough for a solo diner...definitely recommended for sharing.

2. Two Pesos - free extra meat with any hotpot

I became member just 2 months ago (almost same time as BananaBro) and similar to BananaBro, they have member's welcome gift too.

Also, another complimentary extra meat for my birthday.

I purchased the 'Quick Easy Lunch' set with fish meat and claimed the 'extra meat' (Australian beef).

Total bill came up to RM14.85nett for this solo hotpot meal. Quite worth it!

3. Family Mart sofuto

This is no 'stranger' to most FM members....all u need to do is to install the app, become a member via the app and instantly received a free sofuto (any flavor) worth RM3.90

Currently the seasonal flavor is Taro Coconut and it is quite popular till out-of-stock by evening.

I went there again on another day and managed to claim this FOC😋

 

Sweet taro and coconutty taste like aiskrim potong....I wish this sofuto flavor can be available for a few more months.

to be continued with more 'free gifts'.....

7-Eleven Cafe, hawker foods and Baker's Cottage egg tarts

Tried out foods in 7-Eleven cafe. These days this convenience store is getting competitive too with having more warm food options. Many years ago, there is no such 'cafe' and the usual 7-Eleven only have slurpee and frozen pre-packed meals, but nowadays they even have dine-in section like Family Mart or CU.

I bought a box of aglio olio with prawn spaghetti (RM8) and a chicken ham french toast (RM6 or 8, can't recall).

The staff reheated them for me after payment is made.

The aglio olio spaghetti is still al dente despite being reheated after taken out from the fridge.

It is flavorful despite plain looking. The prawns are fresh and bouncy too. Worth buying.

French toast with chicken ham is just so-so, nothing special, but is quite filling.

On another day, i tried their Homesoy melon soybean ice-cream. Tastes artificial. I prefer they sell the original soybean flavor.

They also have onigiri...

I have previously tried onigiri from Family Mart and CU. Let's see how this fares....

Tastewise and texture on par. I wish they put in more chicken fillings.

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[Below] Usual hawker food 'pan mee' in soup. These days a bowl of pan mee costs RM8.

Claypot lou shi fun with raw egg on top😬

Do u dare to eat?

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Passed by Baker's Cottage one day and decided to get myself a box of Portuguese egg tarts.

RM11 nett for 4 pieces. Great deal.

so yummy, definitely will buy this again😋

Ba Hao Dim Sum 8號点心 @ Sri Petaling

Dim sum brunch on a Saturday morning with family. Went to Ba Hao Dim Sum coz we never try this shop before.

We ordered:

A trio platter, which consists of egg tart, polo bun and charsiew pork bun.

The charsiew pork bun has crispy crust, similar to Tim Ho Wan version.

classic siu mai and salted egg custard bun (lau sar pao)

prawn dumplings

teochew dumplings - this one has chives and peanuts inside.

and my favorite fried radish cake😀

I like this so much that I ordered a second plate (for sharing)

The bill came to RM87.45nett

KUL - LHR on MAS Airline

The flight from KUL to LHR took about 13 hours. My flight supposedly departs at 11:50pm, slightly before midnite on Halloween day (31 Oct), but was delayed by 15-20 minutes due to some technical checks.

All seats fully occupied, no empty seat left. Most passengers are foreigners (white ang moh), with only a few Asians. Perhaps Asians are not keen to travel on this day😂

A few hours before, some online articles circulated that MAS will be providing free wifi onboard to all passengers (including economy class) starting from 1 Nov onwards, but not sure if it will be on this flight yet.

So, i tried my luck to connect wifi on 1 Nov (just a couple of minutes away), but nope it wasn't ready. 

However, I managed to online while on my flight back to KL (16 Nov) and was happily reading some of your blogs and watching Youtube while at thousands feet up there.

Moment after the flight took off, i was served with my favorite snack - MAS signature peanuts are the best!

After the 'starter snack', the main meal (supper) was served. I had beef brisket with potatoes and i requested for extra bun coz i was kiasu hungry😁

The smoked salmon with potatoes salad is extraordinary good, with the quality on par with those served in high-end restaurants. Dessert was cake (can't remember what cake is that), but it tastes alrite too. Overall a good meal. Well done, MAS!

As this is considered a long flight, some light meal were served mid-flight. I did not take any picture of it coz the light was dim, but i remembered being served chicken sandwich/roll. I finished it and went back to sleep.

2 hours before reaching LHR, breakfast was served. I choose to have nasi lemak with chicken rendang. Instead of sausage with potato (western breakfast) I choose the nasi lemak coz i know MAS airline nasi lemak got 'standard' especially when it is prepared by the Malaysian kitchen (regardless of the caterer).

However, despite the top notch nasi lemak, I noticed that alot of the 'white ang moh' on this flight doesn't know how to appreciate this spicy food, hence not many choose the nasi lemak. Only a few Asians who had this. 

Fragrant rice and the chicken rendang is not spicy at all. The breakfast also includes a croissant, yogurt and fruits.

This would be my final nasi lemak until i return to Malaysia....bye bye nasi lemak!

Reached LHR airport in the early morning when the skies were still dark. After checked-out terminal 4, collected my luggage and checked-in at terminal 5, there wasn't any time left for leisure stroll. I had breakfast, charged my phone, went to refresh myself at the toilet and checked emails before the next departure at 10am.

Gloomy morning skies in London....Next flight is on British Airways....