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

15Dec2014

Hilary’s Boat Harbour – Perth (March 2014)

Posted in Holidays, Perth, Travel with Kids by jahbella

The last day of our Perth Holiday 2014 was spent at Hilary’s Boat Harbour. It was quite a drive out from where we were staying (approx 45 minutes) and I would have given it a pass, if not for the fact that I had to collect our photoshoot pics. But I’m so glad that we were ‘forced’ to make that trip and quite sad that we didn’t do this earlier in our trip.

We were spoilt for choice when it came to food options but we settled for The Sorrento Beach Shack because of its very apparent child friendly facilities. Jah was more than happy to explore their dedicated play area and he would have gone home with a few of those toys if he had any say in the matter.

Close by to the restaurants, was a little inlet with very shallow waters and a nice sandy ‘beach. Thanks to our photographer’s advice, we came prepared with swimming gear and a nice picnic mat. The weather was nice and warm and Jah had tons of fun trying to catch little fishes with his sand bucket. To be honest, Joel and I had lots of fun trying to catch them too. :p Bella entertained herself with ‘sand eating’ on the beach and well making new friends. 🙂

There was also a little playground on the beach but that area got a little hot towards mid-day.

I wished we could have spent the entire day at Hilary’s! There were attractions like a Marine Discovery Centre or ferries to take you to Rottnest Island. There was even a water theme park situated right next to where we were. I think the kids would enjoy it if they were a lot older. And there was definitely no shortage of food and drinks options to keep everyone full and happy for a whole day.

This brings me to the final instalment of our Perth Holiday 2014! It also just made me realize that since we only scrap the surface with this trip and fully intend to revisit most of these places, our to-do list for future Perth trips just got longer!

Recap of our Perth 2014 Itinerary

Day 1: Four Seasons House

Day 2: Swan Valley Caversham Wildlife Park and Margaret River Chocolate Factory

Day 3: The Maze, Chinese Food and San Churros @ Northbridge

Day 4: Penguin Island

Day 5: Trigg Beach Family Photo Shoot

Day 5 (Part 2): Lansdale Farm School

Day 6: Kings Park Lotterywest Family Park

Day 7: Swan Valley Cuddly Animal Farm

Day 8: Adventure World

Also check out our Perth/ Margaret River, Western Australia Trip (Auguest 2016)

So yes, if anyone thinks Perth is too boring and has nothing fun to offer the kids and adults, think again! 🙂

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

9Nov2014

Kings Park Lotterywest Family Park – Perth (March 2014)

Posted in Holidays, Perth, Travel with Kids by jahbella

We have been to Kings Park many times over the years but we never quite explored it from a parent/ child’s point of view until now. I have to say that it is an awesome place to spend the morning with the kids! We also intentionally planned our trip to Kings Park Lotterywest Family Park on a Tuesday morning, in hopes of avoiding any weekend family crowd.

We came prepared for a ‘picnic’ with picnic mats and sand toys. The food issue was settled at the Stickybeaks Café which was located within the Kings Park Lotterywest Family Park area. We ordered fries, muffins and pies (yum yum!) and set up shop on the grass. Come early and take your pick of any spot in the park!

A quiet start to the morning

A yummy muffin from Sticky Beaks Cafe

Continue reading →

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 →