Malacca

15 THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU ARE IN MELAKA, MALAYSIA

September 5, 2017 by Little Miss Honey 1,501 Comments

My family and I have visited the charming city of Melaka, Malaysia twice already. It takes around 4 hours bus ride from Singapore to Melaka. It is a nice place to visit for a short weekend if you are living in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur.

I wanted to share with you some ideas what to do if you are visiting Malacca. Here are 15 Things To Do When You Are In Melaka:

1. Take instagrammable OOTD photos at the Red Square, Melaka Transporation Museum and its surroundings

The Red Square or the Dutch Square is a great place to start when you are in Melaka. It is called the Red Square because of their noticeable red building where you can find the Stadhuys and Christ Church. Filipino-Australian blogger, Kim Jones has a campaign with Asus Zenfone showing beautifully styled #Zenlook OOTD shots featuring the charming Melaka as a backdrop. It is hard not to miss that red-painted buildings.

The Melaka Transportation Museum is just nearby the Red Square where you can find old vehicles like a large locomotive with actual rails and a big World War II Era Propeller Train. The walls of the buildings going Jonker Walk can offer you the perfect background for photos. Look for the colorful wall with hastag #mykheils #mykheileheritage.

2. Ride the colorful trishaw and sing-along with the music booming from their speakers

Roaming around the Red Square are colorful trishaws echoing with loud pop music. It is heavily adorned with popular cartoon character stuff toys. Come night-time, this carefully- decorated trishaws will be brighten up the streets with their multicolored lights. So jump right in, sing along to their current favorite song “Despacito” on the top of your lungs and enjoy the ride. It cost roughly around RM24 to RM50.

3. Buy streetfoods or trinkets at Jonker Walk

Head to Jonker Walk for some street foods and trinkets to buy. You will see lots of finds there. However, it can be very crowded but that makes it more fun. You can find food shops and boutiques left and right. You will see unique food finds, toys, keychains, clothes, and lots more. You would even see Caucasian couple sitting in side of the street, selling their travel photos to finance their trip around the world.

4. Ride the River Cruise and wave at the people looking on

Ride the River Cruise and see the scenic features of Melaka with the river wind blowing in your face. Adult and kids would love this river tour. It costs RM15 for adult and RM7 for children 2-years-old to 11-years-old. Don’t forget to wave at the people looking on. I promise you, they will wave back.

5. Have a bear cake at The Teddy Bear Cafe

Head to Hatten Melaka at Terminal Palawan to hang out at this cute cafe filled with bears everywhere. The Teddy Bear Cafe is an adorable themed-cafe to hang out and enjoy some cake resembling a bear. Hug a bear, kiss a bear and eat a bear. Why not?

6. Cool yourself with refreshing desserts like their Chendol with Gula Melaka or Coconut Shake

Melaka sun can be hot sometimes so cool yourself with the classic Melaka desserts, Chendol with a drizzle of their Gula Melaka or Coconut Shake mixed with Vanilla Ice Cream. It beats the heat and indulged your sweet cravings as well.

7. Take a cultural flashback at Nyonya Memoirs

Get acquainted with the Baba-Nyonya Culture and the splendour of the Peranakan Era and the colourful and interesting life they have at the Nyonya Memoirs Memory Lane found at Level 3 of Dataran Palawan Megamall. Entry is RM 10/adult with free photos with the displays if we get the four stamps found inside the memory lane. Opening hours is 11 AM to 9 PM and last entrance at 8 PM.

8. Try their famous Chicken Rice Balls at Chung Wah or Famosa

Test your patience by joining the queue to taste the Chung Wah Chicken Rice Balls. Alternatively, you can enjoy the Chicken Rice Balls at Famosa at their shop which is strategically painted with red walls to resemble the Red Square. The Chicken Rice Balls have no chicken pieces in it but rather a taste of some chicken flavour in a glutinous rice ball. Pair it with steamed or roasted chicken or marinated pork, add some chilli sauce and you got a perfect meal. Both Chicken Rice Ball Shops are found near Jonker Walk.

9. Pick among the 13 Malaysian State to get a corresponding ice-blended coffee at the hip Calanthe Art Cafe

Find the Calanthe Art Cafe or better known as the 13 State Coffeeshop hidden in Jonker area. If you like quirky, hipster cafe, you will definitely love this cafe. It is filled with arts everywhere. It is called 13 State Cafe because they make a local ice-blended coffee based on the choice of state you prefer. Pick a state and it has a corresponding coffee flavour. Isn’t that cool? You have Johor, Kelantan, Penang, Sarawak, to name a few.

10. Beat your hunger pangs by eating at Satay Cell

Give in to your hunger and check out one of the favourite food haunts in Melaka: Capitol Satay Celup found at Loring Bukit Cina. Choose raw or semi-cooked meat and vegetables dipped in a hot tub of spicy, thick peanut sauce. Each skewer of chicken, fried bean curds mushrooms, vegetables, abalones, fish balls, cuttlefish, quail’s eggs, and shrimps cost RM0.90! So cheap!

11. Drink a beer or mocha latte at one of the shops by the river and do people-watching

Rest on one of the tables and chairs of little resto-bars by the river side and order a beer or mocha latte. Enjoy the serenity of people-watching and the jazz music streaming from the resto-bars stereo. We met a lively French expat who own one of the restobars with beautiful paintings on the wall.

12. Try the mille crepes at Nadeje Cake Shop

Try the mille crepes, a French pastry made of several layers of crepe stacked together at the Nadeje Cake Shop found outside of Makhota Parade. You have to queue a bit to try the famous mille crepes in Nadeje.

13. Do a mini-trek up to St. Paul’s Ruins

Do a bit of hike up the St. Paul’s Ruins and take a photo there. You get to do a bit of exercise and nice photos. You hit two birds with one stone, right?

14. Say a prayer at St. Francis Xavier Church and Christ Church

Catholicism has influenced the Malacca region upon the arrival of Portuguese Catholic priests in Malacca in 1511 which is evident in the Catholic churches in the area. The two most popular ones are the the St. Francis Xavier Church and Christ Church. They say, if you visited the church for the first time, tell God your wishes and often it will be heard.

15. Buy Heong Piah and Gula Melaka to take home for your friends

Looking for something to take home for your family and friends, buy the yummy flat bread filled with sweet sticky filling made of shallots & malt called the Heong Piah. Of course, you can also take home the popular Gula Melaka. It is a type of brown sugar shaped into a thick circular shape made from these sap of the flower buds of a coconut tree. You can buy at San Shu Gong or any nearby delicacy shops.

Let me know if you have tried any of my suggestions above. Have fun discovering charming Melaka!

5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD STAY AT THE STRAITS HOTEL & SUITES WHEN IN MELAKA, MALAYSIA

September 4, 2017 by Little Miss Honey 3,810 Comments

My family and I had visit Malacca before when I was still pregnant with my second son. It was a nice short visit and since my husband and I were able to get a long weekend leave, we opted to visit the charming city again.

Our last visit was just 2 days and 1 night, we decided to stay a little longer for 3 days and 2 nights. We booked a Suite Room with Connecting Room at The Straits Hotel & Suites and we are very impressed with the hotel. Let me tell you why.

Here are 5 reasons why you should stay in The Straits Hotel and Suites.

1. Location, Location, Location

I love the hotel location. It is right smack at the heart of the bustling city, just 2 minutes away from the mall. The guests of the hotel are spoiled with the accessibility of shopping, entertainment and dining destinations. We didn’t have any problem looking for a place to eat. We love that there are mini-marts nearby to buy our kids their fresh milk and snacks. We also can head to the mall easily if we want to hide from the hot sun.

It is just a little around 8-minutes walk to the Red Square and Jonker Walk. You will cross from Hatten Square and cut through Dataran Phalawan Mall. Tada- you are just right around the Red Square once you see those colorful tricycle adorned with lights, stuff toys of popular cartoon character, booming with disco pop music.

One great advantage of staying in The Straits Hotel and Suites is that I had booked a coach bus from Singapore drops us exactly at the hotel and fetches us at the hotel when we were going back to Singapore. Coach buses doesn’t stop to all hotels just like the last hotel we stayed up. We opted to go down at Melaka Sentral and take a taxi going to our hotel which can be so troublesome now that we have two young kids in tow.

2. The Suite Room feels like home

The suite room is spacious with its very own dining area and living area. Our active kids need the space to run around. It is beautifully decorated in a modern contemporary design with big black & white photo of the Melaka River cut into 3 parts and bright comfortable red sofa cushion. Large windows gave us generous natural lighting streaming inside the room. The living room has a big TV for my kids to watch their cartoons.

The main bedroom has a king size bed with comfortable mattress and comforter. The bathroom has a bathtub which my kids love to have a bubble bath at night. But if you are not the one who like baths, they have a separate shower area.

There is also a connecting room with two twin beds joined together for them. It has its own bathroom, closet, mini refrigerator and desk area.

The night before we head back to Singapore, I prepared the bathtub with warm water and placed a bubblebath liquid for the kids after we had a long day walking around Jonker Street. I watched them enjoyed their water fun. Then I tucked them in to bed to sleep. I told my 3-year old son, “Did you enjoy your stay here? We are going home to Singapore tomorrow.” He replied, “Like it here, mommy. Is this home?” Hahaha! I guess that is what The Straits Hotel & Suites makes you feel, just right at home.

3. Staff are so friendly and helpful

All the staff are so friendly and nice. The bell man offered us suggestions and good places to go to in Melaka. The staffs in the lobby were so amused with our kids, running around and offered them cold juice drinks found in the lobby waiting area, much to our kids’ delight. Staff would often greet us with happy smiles when we walk pass. They are fast to offer us assistance when we asked them, like the time, we were all locked out with all our access pass inside the room. Good thing, a staff came to the rescue really fast. They were kind to bring us an iron board and iron when we asked.

4. Infinity pool with great view

We enjoyed going for a morning swim in their infinity pool. Our kids can’t get enough of the swimming around. It helps however to bring some floating device for your kids because they don’t have a kiddy pool and you may have to hold your kids when swimming in the pool. You will enjoy the view from the infinity pool at the 23rd floor. You get to the beautiful Melaka outreach before you. You would see the glorious Melaka River below. My eldest son enjoyed pointed at ships, buildings and birds he saw from the pool. My husband was happy to test out his new and very good bargain waterproof camera. Check out the video he made of our trip:

5. Yummy Brunch Buffet on Sundays at Pizzaria at 23rd Floor

We are lucky to have stayed until Sunday because we got to enjoy their Sunday brunch which is at the Pizzaria at the 23rd Floor where the infinity pool is. It costs RM30 per adult and RM15 for children and senior citizen from 12:00 PM to 5:30 PM. There is a wonderful spread of Western and Malay foods to fit any tastebuds. There were pizza station, burger station, Char Kway Teow, satay grill station and deep-fried sweet potatoes & chicken station. There is juice, coffee and tea for everyone. Kids and adults would indulge in the abundant spread. They can eat and swim as well. They also provide Kids Activities like Coloring Activity and Creative Sandwich Workshop.

There are actually more than 5 reasons why you should stay in The Straits Hotel and Suites but let me just stick to 5 Reasons for now. I should mention that breakfast every morning at the 3rd was enjoyable. They provided generous platter of different breads and muffins for the carb-lovers, yummy selections of fruits, a spread of Malay dishes to acquaint foreigners’ innocent palates and many many more. They also have a gym if you want to squeeze in an exercise on your trip. They also have conference rooms for those who wants to combine business and relaxation in one trip. We have enjoyed our stay at The Straits Hotel and Suites immensely. It is such lovely place to stay when you are visiting Malacca. We will definitely stay in The Straits Hotel and Suites when we visit Malacca again.

The Straits Hotel and Suites

No 1-B , Jalan Melaka Raya 2 , Taman Melaka Raya, 75000, Melaka Malaysia

Contact Number: +606 289 8555

Fax: +606 289 8488

General Inquiry: enquiry@straitshotelsuites.com

Room Reservations: reservations@straitshotelsuites.com

Sales & Marketing: sales@straitshotelsuites.com

Website/ Facebook / Instagram

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post in collaboration with The Straits Hotel and Suites Melaka. All opinions are my own.

GOODBYE 2015! HELLO 2016!

January 1, 2016 by Little Miss Honey 1,230 Comments

Goodbye 2015! You have been a challenging year for me. But you made me stronger and taught me a lot of things about life, my strength & capabilities and my weakness. Being a new mom, a wife, a full-time doctor, a blogger and all the other hats that I wear can test my ability to manage my time and priority-setting. You have opened up opportunities for me and new horizons that I never ventured before. Overall, you were a good year that made me a better person and well-equipped to face 2016.

I love looking back at the highlights of my 2015 before venturing into the fresh new pages of 2016. Here we go:

NEW BLOG LOOK

For 2015, one of my new year resolution is that I will have a blog makeover and that I will be more consistent in blogging. I ask help from Martine De Luna and Patricia Alix-Villa in improving my blog. Martine gave my blog a clear direction while Patricia gave me a fantastic blog design that resonates with my blog manifesto. Like wonderful (blog) fairy godmothers, they worked their magic in my blog and soon after, I have consistent blogger invites, collaborations and sponsorships. It kept me busy, happy and satisfied. I am really an authentic blogger now! Hahaha! I gained a lot of new blogger friends, created great relationships with brands and discovered new restaurants/boutiques/spas/salons/brands. But I also realised that I don’t want to blog because I want to be famous or use it as my sole source of income rather it is my outlet for inspiration and creativity. I am extremely proud of what Little Miss Honey blog has come about this year. I hope for more collaborations, more invites, more opportunities and more inspirations from me to you & from you to me.

2. NAJ’s BAPTISM

I was happy that Naj this year became a member of the Catholic Church. My religion and faith are very important to me. I want Naj also to be part of something that I strongly believe in. I would love to raise him to be a good Catholic boy and have a close relationship with God.

3. NAJ TURNED ONE YEAR OLD

Wow, I can’t believe I have a one-year old son! Time does fly so fast. He was just this teeny-weeny fragile baby that I use to carry with my K’Tan carrier and now he is this self-efficient toddler who can run faster than me, climb chairs to get what he wants, dance, say a few words and give you the cutest smile that will melt anyone’s heart. We celebrated his birthday in Kuala Lumpur . It was a simple but fun travel birthday for our 1-year-old adventurer.

4. BABY #2

We did planned for Baby #2 this year. We hoped that I would get pregnant by the end of the 2015 but Baby #2 came a few months earlier than we expected. But hey, it was such a beautiful surprise! We were ecstatic! I am currently 7 months pregnant now and I will be giving birth soon this year. We are having another boy! We will name him Howell Fynn. We are so excited to meet him. I am grateful for this gift of life God has showered into my family. Please keep praying for both my health & my baby’s health and also, a safe delivery.

5. MALAYSIA TRIP

We went to two places in Malaysia this year : to Kuala Lumpur for Naj’s 1st year birthday and to Malacca for babymoon. I think travelling is the best teacher. It teaches you of new cultures and new discoveries. You also learn more about yourself and your travel partner along the trip. Few of my best realisations often happen in my travels.

In Kuala Lumpur, we got a taste of the urban vibe of the city that is very similar to Manila. We got to have a quick trip to the windy Genting Highlands and visited the entrancing Batu Caves. Of course we got to see the beautiful Petronas Towers.

In Malacca, we were able to see the rich culture & colourful ambience of the place. We enjoyed taking lots of photos, walking around the streets, eating lots of satay, eating coconut ice cream and learn more about the Peranakan culture. Too bad, we weren’t able to try their famous Gula Melaka Chendol.

6. OLD & NEW FRIENDS

I also realised that I am grateful that I kept a wonderful group of friends that I have been friends since I was in Grade 1, friends in high school in Saudi Arabia, friends in medical school and friends I met in my clinic in Singapore (some have left the clinic already but we still keep in touch). I also gained new friends this year which gave my life more color and happiness – blogger friends, new doctors colleagues, new sisters in Christ, etc. Friendships should be nurtured and valued. Friends should not be taken for granted nor used. Keep people in your life that will give you inspiration, support and love. Avoid toxic people as much as possible.

7. RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

One of the most rewarding aspect of my 2015 was my relationship with God. I promised that 2015 is the year I will try to cultivate a more personal relationship with God. No lukewarmness or being a “cafeteria Catholic“. I have to say it is getting better and better everyday. Like any relationship, it takes time. But I am happy that it is in the right track. I am putting all my trust, my obstacles in life, my plans, my fears all up to Him this year.

So there is it, my 2015. So 2015, I am letting go of the past; letting go of the things that we don’t have control of or we cannot change; letting go of dreams that is not for us. This 2016, I am opening my world to new adventures and new challenges; opening my heart to a different type of love; opening my mind to a whole new way of thinking. 2016, I welcome you. Be gentle to me. Be kind to me. I am ready!

I can’t wait for what 2016 will bring for me. I am excited to make my new resolutions tomorrow. I may have not mentioned to you that New Year is my favourite holiday. So tell me, what do you expect for 2016?