Sanrio Hello Kitty Town

Okay to continue with my Johor posts. So the first stop of the day after brunch was Sanrio Hello Kitty Town!

We took some photos outside before going in:

It really was quite empty for a Saturday morning:

We made it just in time for the beginning of the Bob the Builder show! Besides Hello Kitty, there is also another theme park for Bob the Builder, Thomas the Train, Barney, Pingu, Angelina Ballerina etc.

After the show, it was time for rides. As there was hardly anybody around, the kids managed to go on each ride several times, sometimes twice or three times in a row without even having to get up, as there was no one else in the queue! My hunch on the fasting month was right.

We saw a few more shows during the course of the day - Hello Kitty Candy Parade, Thomas the Train show and of course, Barney! Barney was really the star of the day. We also took the opportunity for group photos with the characters.

There were also lots of indoor playground and play-gyms, so the little ones like Helene really had a ball (literally!)

So that wrapped up a tiring but fun-filled day for the kids! All of them knocked off around 8.30 pm that night after an early dinner, seeing they had woken up so early that morning. The next day - it was time for Legoland!

Hubby's 41st

Okay, so I know I was supposed to continue with our Johor trip posts, but since today is Hubby's 41st birthday, this post is dedicated to him!

His celebrations started off with a special coconut cake bought for him by his niece Cass. She brought it over to our place to cut with all the kids.

Kiss for Daddy:

He also got a card and red packet from my parents before they left for Australia, so that was an early birthday gift for him.

We also had dinner at Kebaya Dining Room last Sunday evening. We were there 3 years ago to celebrate my birthday and he really enjoyed the food so we decided to go back with our friends again.

The food was good, but somehow it wasn't as good as the first time we had it. The price has not increased - RM128 nett per person per set. We had 8 people so you can imagine the spread! Even though we felt the food was not as good, business was really good that night as the restaurant was full house.

Last night, in anticipation of more cakes, I didn't buy a whole cake, but I stuck a candle on a little cupcake and we had another round of singing and blowing the candle as many times as Helene liked :)

Today, on his real birthday, we had lunch at Kirishima Japanese restaurant at Cititel hotel Penang. The food here is good and we always enjoy it. As usual, we only remembered to take the first few dishes, and forgot about the rest!

The cake was really yummy too!

Happy birthday boy!

3H in Johor

Ever since that Heidi found out that Hannah had been to Hello Kitty Town and Legoland about 5 years ago, she has been pestering us to take her too. So this year we finally decided that we would make the trip, since Helene too is now already 4 years old. I was looking for suitable dates as we didn't want to go during the school holidays. It would just be too crowded and kids wouldn't be able to enjoy themselves. So I found a long weekend (26 May to 29 May) where the kids would only have to take one day off school as 29 May was a public holiday - Wesak Day. Incidentally, it was also during this year's fasting month, so we were expecting lesser people.

Once we decided on the dates, we found out that Air Asia had very reasonable prices - around RM170.00 return per person. Air Asia is the only airline which has direct return flights from Penang to JB. Timing was also good, as we left Penang early in the morning at 7.00 am which meant we didn't waste that day for travelling. The return flight timing was also good, at 3.45 pm.

After we checked out the dates and flights, we decided to ask our friends to join us, as kids will always have more fun with their friends rather than their parents! We haven't had a trip together since Hong Kong which was almost 2 years ago, so we thought that this would be a perfect opportunity for us to get together again.

So once all the logistics were sorted out, all the kids were very excited waiting for the day to arrive, especially Heidi! I jokingly told her that because of her, 16 people were going to Legoland! Yes 16 people, 7 adults and 9 kids in total!

Although we had to wake up crazy early on 26 May (which was also Hannah's real birthday!), for once there was no grumbling and requests for "5 more minutes". All were showered and changed in record time.

Excited kids arriving at Senai International Airport:

And excited adults too!

We took a Grab to our first hotel Somerset Puteri Harbour Iskandar Puteri which was about a half hour drive away. This was within walking distance to Sanrio Hello Kitty Town. Only our room was ready as it was only around 9.30 am, so the others dropped their luggage in our room. I booked a 1 bedroom premier apartment which was about 1000 square feet for only RM337 per night after taxes, and the room also came with breakfast for all of us. It was a duplex type apartment and was very nice and new.

The bedroom and one bathroom were upstairs, while the living, dining, kitchen and another bathroom were downstairs.

So after dropping our luggage, we decided that we should eat something before heading for the theme park, or else the kids would not eat anything. There were many restaurants along the way (the area is called Puteri Harbour) but only Kenny Rogers was open at that hour of the morning.

The kids were getting impatient so we had to finish up quickly and the next stop is - Sanrio Hello Kitty Town!

Mr Chew's Chino Latino Bar

We decided to try this place during our trip to KL after my friend tried it and said that it was good. This is not going to be a full-blown restaurant review as it was just my sister and I, so our stomachs limited the variety of food we were able to try.

It was not too crowded for lunch, not sure whether because it is the fasting month, but we made a reservation just in case. The restaurant is at the penthouse of Wolo Hotel in Bukit Bintang, which is just across the street from the H&M store at Lot 10.

Here are some of the interior views of the restaurant:

Your server will teach you how to fold your own chopstick holder, so that was a fun activity while waiting for your food to arrive.

There was a set lunch menu offered for RM49.90++ but we opted for the ala carte menu instead to try some of their more famous dishes. For starters, we had the nori taco with sushi rice, salmon belly and salmon roe with tobikko mayo (RM28 per portion) which was simply delicious! This was a combination of a sushi roll and a taco rolled into one.

For the main course, we shared the pan-seared barramundi with spicy tamarind chilli sauce, coconut cream & pineapple and avocado ginger flower salsa (RM75). The fish was cooked to perfection and the sauce was delicious too. It was a sort of twist on an elevated form of laksa lol.

Then finally for dessert, we had a dessert from the set lunch menu which was coconut and passionfruit sago pudding (RM15) which was yummy to the last bite. It was quite a big portion so we were glad that we decided to share.

The total bill came up to around RM170 for the both of us including taxes There are many other things on the menu which we wanted to try but we just couldn't take it in. Will definitely be back again!

Here is the relevant info for Mr Chew's Chino Latino Bar taken from their website:

 The Penthouse, WOLO Bukit Bintang,

Jalan Bukit Bintang,
55100 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia

Telephone +60 3 4065 0168
Fax +60 3 4065 0166

We are open every day

Lunch 11.30am until 2.30pm
Dinner seatings 6.00pm until 8.30pm; & 8.30pm until 10.30pm

Bar 5.00pm until 1.00am
Happy Hour, 5.00 until 8.00pm weekdays (excluding public holidays)