Penang Holiday (Oct 2014) – Adventure Zone

Posted in Holidays, penang by jahbella

Adventure Zone was initially meant to be a back-up activity in case it rained during our time in Penang. How could we let good sunny days go to waste, after all we were staying at a hotel with fantastic pool facilities and a nice beach right in front of us. However the kids got alittle bored of swimming everyday and so we had to bring in our stand-by activity.

Adventure zone is a facility with drop slides and play equipments for the whole family. There were slides available for all ages and also for those with little dare devil children (I didn’t know mine were until then). For those who are considering to go to Adventure Zone, please bring along socks, long pants and a long sleeve top , this is to help prevent ‘burns’ when coming down the slides and they are really strict on the dress code.

I know my kids look like they are on a winter holiday

It is located within the grounds of the Shangri-La Rasa Sayang Resort and Golden Sands Resort so it is ultra convenient for families staying there. It is a 3 minute cab ride away from Hard Rock Penang. The good thing about the place is the fact that adults need not pay if they were accompanying a paying child.

Upon entering the facility, you will find lockers for you to keep your belongings and a small café area for the kids to take a break or for parents of older children to ‘hang out’. The café area has an unblocked view of all the slides so that you can keep a watch on your kids from where you are. It is also located right next to the toddler play area which is very convenient.

Toddler Play Area (Separate from the big play area and slides)

We spent alittle bit of time at the toddler play area for Jah and Bella to warm up but they really didn’t need much of that. I think all our indoor playground sessions in Singapore made them a little more adventurous. :p

We initially rode tandem with Jah and Bella on the ‘gurney sack’ slide but it wasn’t long before Jah wanted to go on his own and we were coming down the slide, side by side. The only downside of him having so much fun and wanting to go again and again, was the fact that I had to repeatedly climb up the long flight of stairs for 3 seconds of ‘thrill’.

Whee! It was quite fast!

Thank goodness there were other areas for them to explore and Jah and Bella occupied themselves with climbing up ramps and across ‘bridges’.

Miss Dare Devil Bella

We were there for almost 2 hours and in that 2 hours, Jah had silently worked up the courage to attempt one of the vertical slides. I never knew this boy was so fearless. I have to say that it was probably easier for him to attempt it since I was lowering him down the side whereas other kids and adults (like myself) had to sit on the ledge and well push ourselves off the ledge. Scary stuff!! (And it wasn’t even their scariest slide).

The scariest slide of the lot…we didn’t try it

My little fearless boy looked like a rag doll coming down the slide and he was so disoriented after landing in the ball pit that he wasn’t quite sure where to go but 30 seconds later, he wanted to go again!

I have to say that we didn’t really expect much from Adventure Zone but I guess sometimes all you need are a few slides and a dose of courage! We will be back the next time we are in Penang for sure!

JahBella’s Mummy

8Feb2015

Penang Holiday (Oct 2014) – Yummy Food Outside of the Hotel!! Fishing Village Seafood, Nonya Breeze, Golden River Zi Char)

Posted in Eating Out with Kids, Holidays, penang by jahbella

So yes while we thought that the food at the Hard Rock Hotel Penang was pretty awesome, we did still head out for our food fix. No, travelling with two young kids was not going to prevent us from savouring the good food that Penang had to offer. We just had to think alittle more creatively and do alittle bit more research and planning. This meant no Gurney Drive Hawker Centre (although I would admit that we did try one evening but it was pouring!) and also meant that exploring the alleys and road side hawkers of Georgetown was out of the question. However I have to say we did really well and so if you are looking for something alittle more kid friendly (places where there are high chairs), something super yummy and authentic and something that won’t break the bank…Read on for our 3 recommended restaurants in Penang and we will let the photos do most of the talking…;)

Golden River Zi Char

Located in Batu Ferringhi and a 3 min taxi ride away from Hard Rock Hotel Penang. This zi char restaurant was not found on the main thoroughfare and we actually had to do abit of way-finding in the rain (walking over from our tailor) but we were well-rewarded with good homely zi char food.

Nonya Breeze

I did quite abit of research on this one..more so because I really wanted to try the Nonya food in Penang but most places were either really far out from where we were or were supposedly so good that you had to wait a long time for your food. Waiting is not really an option when you have kids who like to do things really ‘chop chop’ – yes I think they inherited that trait from me. :p So I kept Nonya Breeze on my ‘standby’ list of places to eat at if we were in the vicinity of Straits Quay Mall. I have to say that this place did not disappoint because Joel actually requested that we come back the next day for lunch. So please do not be shocked by all the photos, we ate there on 2 separate days!!!

Fishing Village Seafood

This place is really really rustic and you would need a driver to bring you in and preferably wait for you to finish. The drive was approximately 15 to 20 mins from Hard Rock Hotel Penang and in the other direction away from the city. So plan this for a night where you just intend to have dinner and head back because there is nothing much to see or do in that vicinity. The food though was worth it and we even indulged in some crabs which we don’t normally have when we eat with the kids. Portions are not huge so we managed to order quite a number of items and finished everything! (Note – there were only 3 adults and 2 little ones).

Rustic side of town

Everything feels so old school…down to the highchair

Jah took a walk with Joel and discovered the beach and a little jetty of sorts..

So the next time you are in Penang with the kids and lament that you can’t enjoy the Penang goodies with kids in tow, you know where to go…:)

JahBella’s Mummy

19Dec2014

Hard Rock Food – Room Service, Kings Club and Restaurants

Posted in Eating Out with Kids, Holidays, penang by jahbella

Penang is definitely the haven for good food and I am always complaining that there is just never enough days on our Penang trip to eat everything we want to eat. This is made even worse when your hotel also serves fantastic food!! Yes it is a torture to be spoilt for choice. :p

We started our trip on a really good note – awesome Italian food at the Hard Rock. We were rather tired by the time we arrived. After an hour long car ride and kids nearing their nap time, I was very worried that waiting for lunch would be a nightmare. However the food was served really quickly and the good service and bubbly staff were really infectious. You can tell from JahBella’s big smiles that they had forgotten about the long journey here already and a nice nap was awaiting for our full bellies.

We over ordered!!! The portions were huge even for the kids meal!

She doesn’t smile when waiting for her food anymore…:( She screams!

First of many mocktails during the trip

We had the standard buffet breakfast at their main restaurant during the first half of our stay (when we were staying in the Lil Rock Star Suite. Given that the hotel was on full occupancy, there seemed to always be seats available at the main restaurant. The variety of the buffet was also really good – from Asian (Hawker fare) to Cereals to Western to their own ‘pau’ section. Kids were also given their own cutlery which made the experience extremely kiddy friendly.

Appetizer?

During the second half of our stay, we enjoyed our breakfast at the Kings Club (when we were staying in the Rock Star Suite). The Kings Club breakfast offered a very limited buffet spread with the standard cereals, fruits, muffins and a small selection of hot food. The real star of the Kings Club breakfast is their ala carte buffet menu that you can order from. Having your food served to you is always welcomed when you have kids to take care of. We were so spoilt for choice and we had to stop ourselves from over ordering.

Its almost like he had breakfast in bed…

Hot breakfast served at your table

Breakfast Menu! Hungry yet?

Staying at the Rock Star Suite also allowed us access to the Kings Club to enjoy teatime snacks and evening cocktail. We were there for a quick evening cocktail before heading out for dinner and Jah was extremely happy with the chocolate tarts and mocktails. 😉

Want to share? 😀

While room service is often a last resort, Hard Rock’s Room service is one of the best I’ve had. The kids were too tired after their morning swim to head anywhere so we settled for room service and discovered a gem! Jah loved his Fish & Chips while we were very very pleased with their Nasi Goreng. We were not expected much but found their Asian fare to be pretty authentic. We also tried their lamb with pea mash and I can tell you that I have never tasted such a good pie before. The room service meals were so good that we actually had it for two days.

So if you are concerned about what to eat in Penang (hmmmm..) especially if your kids might be too tired to head out or if like me, you had a little one with a fever on the last 2 days. Then Hard Rock is the perfect place to base yourself out of and enjoy their wonderful yummy treats.

Next Up – Yummy Food Outside of the Hotel!!!! (Fishing Village Seafood, Nonya Breeze, Golden River Zi Char)

JahBella’s Mummy

10Nov2014

Penang Holiday – Hard Rock Penang Facilities (Oct 2014)

Posted in Holidays, penang, Travel with Kids by jahbella

Apart from impressing us with their rooms and service, Hard Rock Penang wowed us with their ultra child friendly facilities. The main draw of the hotel for families would be their awesome pool area. It’s almost as if the pool was made to cater to every segment of guests that Hard Rock Penang could possibly think of.

Pool and beach view from our room

Sandy area close to the beach

We have the pool with its waterplay area for the little ones and then the slides which were not too thrilling so that the little ones could go on it safely. It also catered to the tweens and the young at heart adults like myself who could ‘pretend’ to use it because my child wanted me to follow him. :p

We also have the pool area which was filled with a sandy bottom (I think this might be a Hard Rock feature) except in this case it is found near the area leading out to the real Batu Ferringhi Beach.

And last but not least we have the pool area where pool side rooms could access directly to and also certain pockets of deeper waters to discourage the younger kids and provide abit more peace for adults who want to lounge around.

Besides the pool, the Hard Rock Penang also has a very good kids club. While we didn’t get to try the kids club programme which included cooking and art classes. We enjoyed the toys and equipment within the kids club and it allowed us to distract Jah when we needed to pack to move rooms. In fact Jah was more than happy to be there and kept asking to go over. I was super surprised by this and he actually allowed me to leave him there for a little while when I had to go back and check up on the packing. Jah is ultra clingy to me and the fact that he could let me go and just hung out with the kids club facilitator, is testament to how comfortable and friendly the environment is.

All in all, a perfect hotel for families with kids who perhaps want to spend more time within a hotel than out. 🙂

Cant wait to go back and let the kids try the programmes and maybe indulge in some spa services ourselves 😉

Next Up…Hard Rock Room Service, Kings Club and Restaurants

JahBella’s Mummy

23Oct2014

Penang Holiday – Hard Rock Penang (Oct 2014)

Posted in Holidays, penang, Reviews, Travel with Kids by jahbella

Yes so we are finally back from our Penang trip!! We have been to Penang as a family before in fact this is actually Jah’s 3^rd trip to Penang if you count the shore excursion during his 1^st cruise trip. However this is the first time that we have actually chosen to stay at and explore Batu Ferringhi. Before I give you the details of where we stayed and what we/ the kids did in Penang. Here’s a short summary of what is coming up for our Penang Holiday Series – October 2014.

Hard Rock Hotel (Lil Rock Star Courtyard Suite vs Rock Star Suite)
Hard Rock Facilities – Kids Club, Pool
Hard Rock Food – Room Service, Kings Club and Restaurants
Adventure Zone
Yummy Food Outside of the Hotel!!!! (Fishing Village Seafood, Nonya Breeze, Golden River Zi Char)

The Hard Rock Penang where we stayed at, is located at Batu Ferringhi, which is an approximate hour drive away from Penang International Airport. We arrived at Hard Rock Penang around 1pm, had our lunch at their Pizzeria (the staff there were really happy and energetic which got us off to a rockin’ start!) and headed over to our room. Continue reading →