From Kuala Lumpur to Medan and Danau Toba, and Everything in Between - Pt1

I just got back from Medan and Danau Toba, short holiday with my friends. Masya Allah... this island on island  is simply breathtaking! Don't you agree?

I bought the tickets on impulse on Jan 2011 because I was browsing around Air Asia's website out of boredom when I found a very great deal (RM16 return ticket per person,wtf?) to Medan. Then I tweeted about it and my friend quickly get hers too. Fast forward 9 month later...

.......here we are, reading (or pretend to read ;p) the Indonesian map, routing ourselves around North Sumatera.

Living proof that we actually just pretending. We got Supir to drive us around actually. :p

While I was there, I kept thinking that I should blog about the tips and whatnot on Medan (specifically Danau Toba) holiday because there are so many things that we are no aware of and couldn't get enough information from the net. ( or am I too dumb that I don't know how to google?). I won't share much about things to do because there are numerous website giving info about that, but more on little little things like how to behave at the airport, supir, timing, fares and others.

Anyway, let me start with the very beginning.

LCC TERMINAL, KUALA LUMPUR - POLONIA AIRPORT, MEDAN

Our KUL-MES flight was scheduled on the 15th of September, 0740hrs. Well here's a little "interesting story" about our departure the other day. We nearly missed the flight! (0_o). We took SkyBus from KL central and we missed the the 5.30am bus and was forced to wait another 30 min for the next bus to depart. The journey took a solid 1 hour, it was already 7am when we reached LCCT! Thank God for mobile check in! We were a bit relax after we arrived at LCCT since the ticket showed 0710hrs departure time, so we off to perform our subuh 1st but boy oh boy apparently the departure time was 0700hrs! And the Air Asia staff gave a really good panic attack on us that we practically running towards gate T72 thinking that the whole flight was waiting for us. But actually, the plane was so far off the gate and our 400m dash deserves a gold medal in Olympic that we were among the earliest to board the plane. Such a drama. Haha. 

On the plane finally. BIG tips, don't fall asleep without finished packing or you end up in such a drama like us!

It took only 1 hour to reach Polonia Airport, Medan. But since we haven't had our breakfast yet and we were sort of really exhausted from the drama earlier we decided to buy breakfast on board. A freaking RM23 breakfast. But oh, I really have to mention this, Air Asia's Tandoori Wrap is the yummiest! We end up buying another 2 pack on our flight back to KL and I am drooling while typing this.

Touched down Polonia Airport on time, passed the immigration and horas! welcome to Medan.

A few tips on Polonia Airport:-

• They don't mind photography. Snap while you can!
• Upon exiting the airport, a lot of people will come to you offers taxi or even grabbing the bag from you. They will follow you although you said no. So if you want a cab, took a Blue Bird's cab because they charged based on meters so you won't get rip off. 
• If you are going somewhere distance like Lake Toba and haven't make any arrangement yet, ask around 1st. Bus is the cheapest alternative but not advisable because it will take you longer time. If you travel in group take a supir in minivan (our case is Toyota Innova) instead. They charge Rp600k to Rp700k per car so the more people you travel with, the cheaper it will be). Bear in mind, if you take the minivan, you have to pay for their meal also. Normally there will be 1 stop for meal before you reach Lake Toba.
• Whatever "hospitality" that they offer at the airport comes with a price. So pick up you own bags, check in and find the way yourself if don't want to end up paying them anything. You may say no but they will still help you and demand a fee in return. 
• Airport tax is Rp75k per person that you can pay at the left side of the entrance door before you depart from Medan.
• No bottled water is permitted at the waiting area. But they allow you to go in and out as you pleased and you may drink the water outside.

That's all about the airport. Will write about getting to Lake Toba in the next post.

Till then. :) 

Las Vacas, Mont' Kiara

Best.Steak.Ever. Hands down.

Got to know about this from foxyfarah's blog. Decided to give a try today since all of us didn't take any breakfast, we deserve a feast. They have 2 outlets if I am not mistaken (Kelana Jaya & Mont' Kiara) but we went to Mont' Kiara because it is nearer to our house.

Parking was no problem. We parked alongside of the road. It's illegal but most people park there. Oh, for those who wanna know the location, it's at Mont' Kiara Shoplex, next to Baskin Robbin and near the new 1Mont Kiara shopping complex.

With my beautiful daughter. The one and only.

Right before indulging the meat. Still looks slim. hehe

The meat lover

Sauces

Mine. Beef Wraps. So yummy I am drooling while typing this. The portion is not so big tho. Good for weight watcher's like me (yeah right!). They have veges and cheese melted inside. 

Husband choose all  day breakfast since he was still in the breakfast mood. Not bad either. Combination of steak, lamb, turkey strips, big size hotdog, sunny side up egg, and salads. For the 1st time I prefer beef rather than lamb. Drooling!!

After finish eating we decided to have ice-cream for dessert. Actually we kind of promised Rania that she can have an ice-cream if she go shower that morning.

Lucky she didn't recognised this pink logo is actually an ice-cream logo. Hehehe

So we walked further down to Plaza Mont' Kiara and....

......having a Mc Donald's ice cream instead. Jimatttt duit. hehe

This was taken by my daughter. She's all grown now can take picture of mummy. *wipe tears*

Anyway, I don't think I will be visiting Victoria Station of San Francisco Steak House for a looooooooong time. :)

The lucky part of being unlucky

So, I was admitted (again) to DHS last Tuesday but discharged now with a big hole underneath my left armpit. Goodbye to sleeveless. God loves me so much, he constantly scarred my body so I will dress appropriately.

This was before the surgery. 

Anyway, the doctor gave me a week to rest but dear God I barely even sit let alone resting at my home because......my sister's handbag was snatched by a motorcyclist theft the day I was discharged from the hospital! She was on the way back after visiting me and was stopping for red light when suddenly a motorcyclist crashed her window and took her bag away!

She is fine btw. Just a bit depressed because she lost her Coach Sabrina Bag, her iPhone complete with charger and her RM1000 worth of make ups. 

Well, guess who's gotta teman her here and there to replace her IC and etc?

Yes, she don't care that I have to rest. She blame me because she got snatched AFTER visiting me. (T_T)

But hey, I am a super nice sister plus I am NOT capable of sitting in the house and doing nothing.

So guess what is the 1st thing she did after replacing all her important documents?

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The lucky part of being a snatch theft victim.

She is one happy lady now. Forgot about her loss already.

Really, if i were to lose my handbag, I will be devastated if I lost my iPhone too. I mean come on.. we would drive all the way back home if we accidentally left our iPhone at home aren't we?

But, she was not the only one who was on cloud 9 the other day.

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eheheheheheheh

The Wall of Frames

Ever since we moved to our current house, I've been wanting to do a wall of frames along our hallway. The idea is to hang as much multi-colored and multi-sizes of frames as it can be. But after one year, our wall still empty the idea remains as idea. (T_T)

My number one problem is of course too lazy to pick and edit pictures. The bad side of having a digital camera . Thousand of photo for each event we went. Editing is one more thing. Lazy! But not urban la if don't edit kan? LOL. Okey not funny.

Anyway, few weeks back we bought a new sofa to replace our current one that is so ugly and uncomfortable. We bought it few years back when money was really tight then. Alhamdulillah, now got extra rezeki, we can finally change it to the new one.

So with the new sofa, I got exited all over again to proceed with the Wall of Frames idea. So far, I have selected and edited 50 pictures and counting (yeay!) and now in the process to print and finally hang them all. Let's hope that by next week the wall is full and beautiful. Might share with you guys later IF the plan is a success. Haha. Kalau buruk diam-diam sudah. For the mean time, this is a few that I picked. I personally love them so much! Never thought that the simple and stupid picture can be such personal. :)

Rania = shrek.

OMG loveeee this.

My beautiful daughter. Can be such a heart breaker in the future don't you think?

Okey, I want to hang this picture until she's 25! Haha

OMG, I just realised that I am the one who took all the photo. I can be a nice photographer, no?

Sleep Mode

I would love to write again.

No bullshit.

The truth is, I used to write when I was in the office. There and then was the perfect place and time when I have tons of idea what to write. Didn't have that privilege anymore tho. Current job require full concentration (and limited access to the internet.) (T_T)

Lets not whine about that shall we?

Anyway, it was 5 minutes passed 1 am and I am so sleepy. I slept for 2 hours only yesterday and been working till 9pm, home only at 11pm took a shower, nap a bit and here I am explaining myself to you guys why I am still up at this hour. pfft. Is this the life you really looking forward to read about? i doubt it.

I shall sleep now. I am starting to write crap (T_T).

Good night world. It's good to know you still remember me. :)

Sometime ago at one of my favorite place in the world

A picture..

So that you won't forget me.

Sorry I am not on top of the game lately. I lost my touch. Will write back.. Maybe soon maybe not so soon. :)

Have a nice day!

Kuasa Membeli di Hujung Jari

Noooooo. Not online shopping. But this!







This pretty girl was running up and down grabbing one top after another, put it on, posing for the camera and whatsapp me the pictures.

Just to fullfill her responsibilities as my personal shopper. :)

I love you lah pompuan!

Later I give you a kiss okey?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Italian Anyone?

Italiannies, One Utama. Feb 27,2011

I am starting to fall in love with the new hijab style I am wearing. I hope that this love will eventually help me to be full time hijabi, Insya Allah.

Although at some angle I really look like an Indonesian (thanks to my big fat face) but don't care lah. Husband said I am pretty so Indon or no Indon, I am cool with that. (^_^)

Anyway, this was taken when we were having our lunch at Italiannies earlier.   

Complimentary bread. This is the one that I heart the most every time. EVERY TIME! and it's FREE.

This time we opt for their Classic 2 course meal since the husband is not feeling very well and their portion is quite generous. Then we add another ala-carte kids meal for Rania. Just nice for the 3 of us. :)

Appetizer : Toasted Bruschetta

This appetizer is the ultimate winner if you ask me. Never fail me. Not even once. No matter which outlet we went, the tomatoes they used are  really really fresh, marinated perfectly and the Pesto sauce is TDF definitely.

Main Course: Fettuccine Amatriciana

This is the 1st time I tasted this. When it comes to pasta, I am really old-fashioned one. I only dare to eat bolognise, carbonara, and olio oglio, but I am so tempted to try other pasta ever since I watched Julia Roberts eats her pasta in Eat, Pray, Love. Well this is the 1st step of many many more to come!

Close up. We put grated parmesan on top. OMG it was so goooooodddddd! Tomatoes is still the base. Not far off than bolognise. :)

This is kiddy meal. Fried chicken with Pomodoro Sauce. 

I am crazy over pineapple juice so this Yellow Birdie is my choice every time. 

We went for shopping after that. Nothing new about that though. But silly me bought a top ( I really want that top since forever!) and 2 scarves only to find out that I have no scarf to go with the new top and no tops to go with the new scarves. Good news is now I have reason to go shopping again but bad new is I can't wear that top yet. :(

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On a different matter, we went to our dear friend's birthday party on Saturday at Octavia, Sri Hartamas. Such an awesome place for party. The place has a BIG ASS KING SIZE BED AT THE LIVING ROOM PEOPLE! Theme for the day is Morroccan but me didn't 100% comply with the theme. But at least I wore the right color! 

My point is I LOVE MY SCARF! So i want to show off to the whole world. Haha.

Kbye!

P/S: This is such a lengthy post to make up with my silence last week. forgive me okey. :) 

Life is a pure blessing

Lately, I never talk about my feelings anymore. Not like last time when I pour every single thing here.
Though life is  not that great for me sometime, I tried not to hold onto that feeling. I learned to let go and move on. Learned to see things in a different angle. Most of the time it works wonder.

But sometime, it didn't. Just like today.

Before I reached home, my plan was to write down my feelings in my blog. I am so angry and sad at the same time. But, in between my plan and actually reaching home, I played with my sick kid at Mum's, brought her out for dinner, went home after dinner, realized that i left my home keys at mum's, went back to mum's place to get the keys, went back home again, played with my sick kid (again) at home, scolded her then soothes her then scolded her again and soothes her again, tug her to bed, and now, i am completely forgotten why am I so angry before.

Oh well, maybe next time.

For all I know, even life is not that great sometime, there will always be something else that we have that can make life feels great again. We just have to know where to find it.

This is where my heart and life belong....

Teaser : February Babies Birthday Celebration

Will update soon. I am recovering from fever and migraine 

Best Nasi Lemak....(so far)

Nasi Lemak Kedai Kuning, Kg Sungai Penchala

This is superb I tell you and I hereby crown this Nasi Lemak as the most humbly delicious nasi lemak ever.

Okey, I know I crowned Chawan Nasi Lemak before but sadly they are not consistent. Been there 3 times and the taste differs each time. So it is not fair if I said that they have the best Nasi Lemak and then when you guys read my review then go there but it doesn't taste that good pun. They you guys said I am lying pulak. (T_T)

But this one...oh boy.. Eat there like more than 10 times already and they tasted the same. Deliciously same! The nasi lemak is so simple but they still preserve the originality. They still add santan and daun pandan to the rice so it is so fragrance that you don't mind eating the rice only. The sambal is hot enough, ikan bilis garing and cucumber is so fresh. I don't know how to describe it but this is the ultimate best close to home-cooked nasi lemak so far.

How to get there?

Enter Penchala link and turn left to Sungai Penchala (turn right if you are from Mon't Kiara). Left again at the traffic light. (you'll see a mosque opposite opposite you). Go straight until u see a kedai runcit on your left. The stall is in between the kedai runcit and motorcycle workshop.

Lisa, why are you so pretty?

I am in loveeeeeeee with the blazer!

Can fat person like me wears that and look just as beautiful as she is?

picture credit to Oh Bulan

On something that I never thought could be

Ini belog sudah betul betul jadi tempat rujuk makanan. Hehe

I am falling in love

Alice in Pink & Olive - Kinki Shoe by Shahida Shariff

Bow - Kinky Shoe by Shahida Shariff


Picture credit to Button My Buttons.

I want! I want! I want!

Nilai 3 : A few tips and an awesome curtain

I was thinking about changing my curtains since last September but never really had a chance to do so (got money, no time. Got time, no money. Got time and money, lazy). Not that I hate my current curtain but each time my opposite neighbor and me opened our doors, i can see right through their house straight to their curtains and they can see mine, I feel so embarrassed I tell you. My curtain looks like nothing but a piece of ugly cloth hanging on my wall (T_T).

Ugly right? Who the hell bought this curtain anyway?? (T_T)

So last Saturday, I was supposed to go to a friend's wedding in Melaka. I was all dressed up and I even brought a bag full of clothes and swimming suits just in case we decided to stay in Melaka for a night. But at Plus Highway near Nilai there was a massive traffic going south and the weather was so freaking hot hubs told me that he was not in the mood to drive in this kind of situation. Plus it was nearly 1 pm at that time and we are afraid that the ceremony is already over by the time we reach there. So hubs said he wanna turn back to KL but we were so close to exit Nilai so I said why not. Lets take the exit and go to Nilai 3. I heard there's a lot of choices for curtains.

So glad we make that turn. Because it definitely turn my living area from zero.....

To HERO!

This one is the color without lighting. Ignore the masham kid at the middle.

A few tips if you are going to Nilai 3

• Most stores operate from morning till 8pm sometimes up to 9pm on heavy crowd day.
• Oh and they open on public holiday too!
• It is freaking hot there, so don't forget to bring drinking water to hydrate yourself so that you can think clearly before making any purchase. But if you forgot, it's ok because there are so many stalls selling drinks and foods.
• But better not to eat so much. The toilets are super dirty.
• Most shops sells similar things. Example, they have like 6 different curtain shops in a single lane! So better if you pick the lane that attract you the most, park and then walk from end to end.
• If you are looking for curtain like me, better you survey at least 3 shops and compare prices because the price differs from one to another even though they are selling the same thing! Don't be surprise sometimes the difference is up to RM10 per meter!
• Lastly, bargain! bargain! bargain!

And I bought an accessories organizer too! You know me, I am not a very neat & tidy person so normally I will chuck all my accessories inside my drawer and all the necklace will be tangled with each other. Then, I'll be too lazy to separate them and worst I'll forgot that I even owned one! So, I was looking for an organizer and wallah! see how neat & tidy I am now.. hehe

Definitely going there again. We are aiming for a big size mirror next and another curtain to replace my bedroom's curtain. :)

Tutti Frutti Substitute : JCool Frozen Yogurt from JCo

JCo, Pavillion. Feb 4, 2011

I swear this froyo is so yummy and value for money. First time I had it was in Bandung.

Unlike Tutti Frutti, JCool price is fixed and you can pick your desired toppings to go with the froyo. It saves me from getting heart attack when paying. Can't really remember the price but the one that we bought is RM10.60 (tax incl) consist of 1 froyo and choice of 3 toppings. We choose peach, grapes, and longan.

The size of froyo and how much the toppings are determined by your luck (err maybe being cute also might help) because it is up to the shop assistant how much they want to give you. See the photo above, that was mine and my cute friend gets double my size (T_T). Not fair! But I have to admit she's cute while I am 1 kg near obesity *looks down.wipe tears.slowly disappear*.

Cute friend with her super cute tembamdebabnakgeget baby

Anyway, the downside is they only have the original flavor for their froyo which is fine with me because I don't fancy flavored yogurt. And some more, no chocolate syrup or whatsoever to go with it which is fineeee with me also. Conclusion if you ask me, no downside lah. Hehe.

So if you haven't tried it yet, go to JCo (So far I only went to JCo at Pavilion and Giant, Kota Damansara) and buy one. It might be your favorite too.