Ferringhi Grill @ Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa

The night before my sister and her husband left to go back to Australia, my parents planned for a nice family dinner at Ferringhi Grill. Ferringhi Grill is a fine dining restaurant at Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa up at Batu Ferringhi. We have not been there for many many years, and for the kids, it was the first time. Kids below 7 years old are not allowed in the main dining room, however they can make special arrangements for a private room, if available, so it is advisable to call and book early if you are planning to bring young children there for dinner.

We were not disappointed with the setup of the private room. The table was beautifully decorated with candles and rose petals.

The food here is rather pricey but I suppose you pay for the ambience and not so much the food. Taste is okay, but I guess it's a whole new dining experience. We had some food that was prepared right before our table.

And here's what I ate. Even if you just order a main course, there will be an appetiser, salad, palate cleanser etc served to you. I had the sirloin steak with pepper corn sauce and sauteed mushrooms. Their tomato soup is a must try as it is one of their signature dishes. And although we ordered crepes suzette for dessert, they also served us yummy chocolates at the end of the meal.

We took lots of pictures that night, and here are some of my favourites. As my sister would put it, these are my most favourite people in the world :)

And not forgetting the selfie in the bathroom! Haha :)

It was a great dining experience, we hope to be back soon!

Ferringhi Grill @ Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa
Tel: 04-888 8888
Fax: 04-8811800
Website: Ferringhi Grill

Family swimming day

Believe it or not, we have not used our apartment swimming pool in years. Heidi is almost 3, and she has never been in our pool! I actually don't know why as it is really nice and private, because hardly anyone ever uses it - probably they are like us! Lol :)

So anyway, the kids were all hyped up about the swimming time they had at E&O the week before so they were asking to go swimming again. This time we let Helene have a little dip as well since she had no more runny nose. So this was her first time in a swimming pool :) In the picture below you can also see her 2 little bottom teeth. These are the only teeth she currently has :)

Here are more pictures of us. Hannah was excitedly flapping around in her swimming arm bands. We will probably be looking into sending her for swimming lessons sometime this year.

 

The portion of the pool that Hubby, Helene and Heidi are in has warm water, so suitable for younger kids that they don't get too cold.

Incidentally, little Helene is exactly 9 months old today, still as happy and cheerful as ever! How do you not love waking up to this face :)

Another wedding

Not even a week after my sister's wedding, Hubby's cousin also got married so we had another wedding banquet to attend, this time at Gurney Hotel. We all got dressed up nicely at home and took a photo of ourselves, using a selfie stick! We actually got this as a free gift from Nando's, but it has never been used. So we figured this was as good a time as any to give it a try.

It was an enjoyable evening; Helene had a nap half way through and got up before it was over, but Heidi slept quite early on and she didn't wake up right till the next morning. So this time Hubby was the one who had a sleeping toddler in his arms (she fell asleep on me at my sister's wedding). I managed to take some pictures of all of us when Helene was awake and being carried by other people.

Here is a picture of the two of us which we took much earlier on before the dinner started:

The next morning was the tea ceremony. We were all at the bride's house nice and early to wait for the groom's arrival - and he arrived in this! :)

It was not easy getting 3 little girls and ourselves ready so early in the morning, especially after a late night the night before, but we managed it somehow :)

It was my second time drinking very expensive tea in less than a week, but it was a fun morning with the groom and his groomsmen being made to do very "challenging" tasks by the bridesmaids (there were 11 of them!) So after all that, it was picture time. Here are 2 for the album for our side of the family, adults and kids.

E&O staycation

My sister had her wedding reception in Penang at the E&O Hotel, so we were booked for a night there. Tip: Book a Corner Suite at the Victory Annexe wing - you won't regret it!

The moment we entered the room, the wow factor was there. This has so far got to be the best hotel room I have stayed in, even better than Rasa Sayang here in Penang or the Four Seasons in Bangkok. It had a dining area, living area, huge bathroom with free standing bathtub (which the girls loved!), double rainshowers and a big balcony with an amazing view.

Check out the photo grid which I posted on Instagram:

The little girls all dressed up for dinner downstairs:

This was Heidi's first time as flower girl and we thought she would be afraid but she did very well, holding my sister's hand as they walked into the ballroom.

Our girls with the bride and groom waiting to walk in. 

I had a baby or toddler most of the time in my arms that night (partly why it was a good idea not bringing them to Australia) so I didn't manage to take a lot of pictures. Here are some that I do have:

The next day, after breakfast, we took the girls to the pool at the Victory Annexe at the Planter's Lounge on the 6th floor. Guests at the Victory Annexe have the option of having breakfast at the Planter's Lounge or at Sarkies downstairs. They sure had a ton of fun. Little Helene enjoyed dipping her feet in the pool as well. She couldn't go in because she was still having a bit of a runny nose.

It was lovely, E&O. We will be back.

Our trip in photos

Happy new year 2015! Hannah and I spent the new year in Adelaide for my sister's wedding. We flew on Christmas night and arrived early on Boxing Day. It was a relatively short trip but we were quite busy with wedding preparations and all.

Here are some of the highlights of our trip - I'll let the photos do the talking :)

We had delicious pizza for lunch the first day we arrived - yummy!

Hannah enjoyed making animal shape waffles with Nanna - I actually brought the waffle iron home so hopefully we will have the chance to do this again.

We also went strawberry picking at Beerenberg Farm. The strawberries were really red, big and sweet.

Okay, the photo above does not do justice to the strawberries - now can you see how big and luscious they are?

We went for a meal at the newly opened Jamie's Italian restaurant in Adelaide. There is no point calling in for a booking as the tables have been fully booked months in advance. However, you could go there and leave your number and they will call you once there is a table available. Our wait was 1 hour and 20 minutes, so we decided to wait at the bar and have some appetisers and drinks while waiting. This is the exterior and interior of the restaurant. It used to house a bank, hence the official looking exterior.

When we finally got a table and ordered, the food was worth waiting for. Hannah had her kid's meal of fish fillets and chips, and the fish was actually salmon, her favourite fish! So that made her a happy kid, together with her vanilla ice cream with butterscotch sauce and honeycomb crumbs! They were nice enough to serve her kid's meal when we were waiting for our table, as we told them that she was hungry. They also gave her a special binoculars type of contraption which she could see the kid's menu in pictures. The linguine was al dente and delicious, and the Epic Brownie was the best I have ever eaten. Will definitely be back here again, and hopefully this time, the wait won't be as long!

We also went to Gumeracha to visit the big rocking horse, and this time, Hannah was a brave girl and made it all the way to the 2nd level. Maybe next time, she can go all the way to the top! Nevertheless, she still got a certificate to say that she had climbed the horse. No pictures on the big rocking horse, so we took one on the little rocking horse :)

After visiting the rocking horse, we stopped in Hahndorf, which is a German town, for a German lunch at the Hahndorf Inn. Best apple strudel I've had :)

Check out my wedding nails :) My sister booked us an appointment at her regular nail place and I got this idea from one of the articles she posted on our Facebook group for her wedding :) Hannah got hers done too, and she definitely enjoyed it.

The wedding festivities started on 2 January with a small luncheon at a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown called Ming's Palace. The food was delicious. Here we are with the bride and groom and my cousin's daughter Ellie.

And then it was the big day! Here we are all dolled up. My dress was made by my mother's friend Joy, who made all the bridesmaid dresses, and she did it in an amazing 3 days because I was only measured when I arrived. Hannah wore a new white dress with a matching purple sash also made by Joy.

My sister the beautiful bride:

The wedding was held at St Paul of the Cross. Here we are with Adeline and Robert at the church after the ceremony:

Before dinner:

The wedding reception was held at St Francis Winery and my sister did a pretty good job with the decorations. The venue looked really beautiful:

And there was these big letters set up on the lawn for the bridal party and guests to take photos. I thought this was a pretty cute idea :)

After all the wedding celebrations were over, it was almost time to go home. Hannah enjoyed her last ice cream in Adelaide the night before we left to come back. Love that look on her face :)

Here we are at Adelaide airport. It was a fun trip and we look forward to coming again!