Friday, May 31, 2013

YTL's Tanjong Jara Resort - Day 1

We actually booked a package to Tanjong Jara Resort (TJR) for our 'babymoon' while I was preggers with Evan. Unfortunately, had some complications during the pregnancy i.e. ovarian cyst and we had to cancel the booking. Eventually, when the kids came along, we did not have the opportunity to visit TJR until now - to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary! We booked the all-inclusive residents' package for 4D/3N and enjoyed an additional 10% off since we booked 30 days in advance.

We drove all the way from KL to TJR in Terengganu. Long drive that took about 6 hours - no thanks to heavy traffic due to some roadworks in the land of kerepok lekors. Nevertheless, we were glad to finally arrive at the reception of TJR. Immediately, the gong was sounded to announce the arrival of new guests. The porter promptly took down our luggage and escorted us to the reception area where we were greeted with another staff who served us roselle juice and offered us cold towels. Checking in was a breeze and we were escorted to our Bumbung room. Bumbung rooms are rooms on the upper floor Serambi rooms are on ground floor. We got a Bumbung room with a lovely view of the sea.

Good points: Balcony, high ceiling, more privacy, most economical room available.
Not-so-good points: need to climb stairs to access - not so convenient with kids or senior citizens.
Lay-out for both the Serambi and Bumbung rooms are the same.

 King size bed 

 Day bed - can fit 2 small kids or 1 big kid

 Study desks on both sides of day bed

 Super large and spacious bathroom

 Vanity table inside the bathroom

Bathtub flanked by shower room and toilet


View of Serambi & Bumbung rooms. 

Anjung rooms are also another choice - most expensive - but it's an entire suite - just like a little house on the beach. 

We proceeded to the Nelayan for our late lunch. 
We ordered: 
1) Nelayan's Caesar Salad
2) Tomyam Soup with grilled prawns
3) Terengganu's Delight
4) Satay - mixed chicken & beef
5) Coffee & Tea

All were very tasty and satisfying except the beef satay which was had a rather chewy texture. And there were no hard boiled eggs in their version of the Caesar salad.


 Caesar Salad


 Terengganu's Delight


Satay

Walking on the beach

We explored the resort by foot and then decided to take a rest in our room befoe going back to the Nelayan for our dinner much later. Our dinner was supposed to be in Di Atas Sungai but since a company has booked the entire restaurant for their function, we were upgraded to the Nelayan for fine dining.

This time, we ordered the following for our 3-course dinner:
1) Soft shell crab
2) Mushroom soup
3) Catch of the Day - grilled red snapper in Malay style with chilli
4) Baked Seabass with kaffir lime & lemongrass
5) Apple pie
6) Flourless choc cake with vanilla ice cream
7) Coffee

The Nelayan's impeccable service and delicious offerings did not fail to disappoint. This time, my only grouse was that the seabass was a tad too bland for my liking but it was actually very well baked and had a lovely soft texture. We were also given complimentary bread and spring rolls served with a shot of pineapple/celery juice as starters.

 Soft shell crab

 Seabass

 Red Snapper

Choc Cake (to die for!)

Will blog more about TJR tomorrow! Planning to view the sunrise, go for the Jara Hill walk and Sucimurni experience..... plus gorge on eat more food.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Celebrations in the month of May


My mom turned the big 70 on 7th May this year. So I planned a surprise cake for her. I invited my parents over to my place on Mother's Day which fell on May 12th. The cake was completed in the nick of time just before they arrived at my home. 

We reserved a table for dinner at one of our favourite restaurants: Dancing Fish, BSC. I managed to sneak the birthday cake into the car & into the restaurant without my mom suspecting anything! After dinner, the staff brought out the cake as a surprise! 

The cake was a 2-tier cake, base tier was a dummy so I had ample time to decorate that tier in advance. The upper tier was real cake i.e. vanilla butter cake with strawberry jam in between the layers - very delicious! The design of the cake was inspired by a similar cake I saw done by a cake designer based in Paris. 7 butterflies with the 7 colors of the rainbow..... to signify 70 years of good health and colorful memories! 


The 3 grandchildren posing after dinner in front of a toy shop. My nephew on the left also celebrated his birthday in May - on the tenth. I made him a 2-tier cake to mark the occasion.


Then the very next day, 13th May, I celebrated my own birthday! Dear hubs bought me a strawberry japanese cheesecake as a surprise since he can't bake nor decorate a cake. Yums! The cake was very light and yummy! 

Before bidding farewell to the month of May, hubs and I will be travelling to Tanjong Jara Resort to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary! The actual date is in June but we decided to celebrate early! It will be the first time that we will be away sans kids. That will be my next blog post!