Genting Day Out

We decided in the end to head to avenging rather than Port Dickson. The decision was easy since the boys only got out of bed at 10.30. So, it was about 11 when they were finally ready, and breakfast was in the van.

The traffic was very kind and it took us just 45 minutes to reach the tip from our house. But not too early for lunch.

As always, parking was rather confusing as the sign-posting wasn't exactly user friendly. We went into a lane which turned out to be an exclusive entry for those with special cards. Cards for gamblers maybe. Finally we found a space on a multistory park by the old Genting Hotel. The kot were empty and soon we found ourselves on the way towards the First World Plaza, where most of the indoor attractions were located.

Lunch was the first order of business, and finding an outlet to eat here was straight forward. Most of the main fast food outlets were available here. We had pizza.

While having pizza, we talked about what to do next. Irfan wanted to enter the Snow World, and Idlan wanted to enter Ripley's. So, we had to do both.

I will blog about those separately, but suffice to say it was a great day out. It wad close to 6 pm when we were finally done, and that included a quick look at a magic show at the main lobby and an afternoon tea.

It was really foggy when we reached back to the carpark. And the weather was really cool. We wished that we could take a stroll before we leave but at the top, there were hardly any space to walk.

Another 45 minutes drive back home, and from the looks of things we should have planned for an overnight stay at one of the overpriced hotel here. A project for next visit then ......

Smurfing Good Time

The second instalment of the Smutf movie was released on Hari Raya. And with the visitors and all, we didn't get to watch it until the evening of second day of Raya. It was worth the wait as again. The movie was better than I expected.

All the main characters were back, although the story concentrated more on a few of the central characters as well as the development of the human family dynamics. Not much story of the Smurf village itself, mote on the human side this time. And mainly about Smurfette.

Rumour had it, the third instalment was already in the planning, to be released in 2015, but with a new character lending the voice of Papa Smurf. The current voice actor passed away in April. At the ripe old age of 87.

For the movie, we actually watched it at Signature Gardens, and there was hardly any crowd. Straight forward parking and a breeze of a drive into Gardens. Wish that it was like this on all our movie nights.

Definitely a recommended movie to watch for the family. Not such a surprise hit as Wreck-It Ralph, but fun none the less. And also not much of a laugh-a-minute as Despicable Me 2. My boys enjoyed it though. And that was the main thing.

Cuti Raya Day+3

A mote laid back day today, and the morning was spent at home before heading out to Valencia as in the last entry. It was almost Asar when we left and we went straight to my Mum's place at Bukit Antarabangsa. The traffic in KL was still a breeze and travelling from Sungai Buloh to Ampang only took us around 20 minutes. I wanted to stop by Kepong, at a friend's house but he wasn't in.

After a couple of hours, we went to buy dinner for the boys at a mall nearby before settling in for the evening to watch football.

Barcelona was in town to play Harimau Muda. To be honest, I was expecting the Harimau to get mauled, but they put in a good showing instead. They even scored a great goal. Unfortunately, we didn't het to see Messi play. He was injured apparently. The condition of the training pitch was bad that the venue of the match was switched on the eleventh hour. Which created a bit of a ruckus.

More food after that, and not much else.

Satay Seri Melaka

My Mum told me about this satay stall in Keramat which took orders and supply satay to party at reasonable price, and more importantly good tasting satay. We decided to try. And Anita was impressed enough that she ordered a whole lot of it for the Raya open house at her Mum's place.

The stall was called Satay Sri Melaka. They operate from their regular stall at AU5, complete with a long grill equipped with fans.

We had to pre-order and picked up the satay the afternoon before. Then we quickly froze them and reheat them in batches today for the visitors. I didn't wait long and actually had some for berbuka last night.

They were quite dear at 90 sen a stick, but compared to the cheaper imitations, it was well worth it. The peanut sauce which cane with them were also heavenly. Great combination. Much better than their Kajang btethrens who were usually overhyped, if not overpriced. No need to travel to Kajang when you could get satay this good just round the corner.

Our lotWhen we arrived to pick up our order, we saw the satay already prepared in packages across a long table at the stall, all labeled with the buyers details. We soon got our order just by showing our receipts. No messing about.

I don't think that they had any branches elsewhere. If you were interested to visit, the stall would be along a Medan Selera area next to the AU5 Multipurpose Hall. If you were from MRR2, by taking the Jalan Keramat heading to Taman Permata, the stall would be on your left hand side right after the hall.

Alternatively, just punch these coordinates into your GPS.

Selamat Hari Raya

Selamat Hari Raya. It was a really nice day, getting to spend it with my family without any distraction from work for a change. And I started my day with the visit to the mosque, just a five minute drive from my house.

We were lucky that we were there early as before long, the place soon filled up. And the caretaker forgotten to open up then third floor of the praying area. He already left for his kampung the evening before. Plenty of people ended up having to pray on the pavement outside. Luckily it wasn't raining although it threatened to do so.

As soon as we reached home, it was time for the morning feast while waiting for my brother-in-law to arrive. The children played with their cousin for a while before we had to leave to my Mum's place just after eleven. More food, followed by my Mum's lunch. I was already ready for a nap by then.

We were joined by my Uncle. My boys soon got restless as my sister and her children were in Melaka for Raya.

Their cousin and a classmate of them came to visit late afternoon. And boy, did they enjoy it. So much so that they forgotten about Smurf 2. I was sure they would remind us about that tomorrow. The visitors kept on streaming in until late, and only now that I got the chance to sit down and blog. A long day it has been.