jalan-jalan: langkawi

Throwback. Way back to a month ago. LOL.

It was for the husband's birthday, to be exact. Bought the ticket about a year ago when AA had gila punya sale. RM 150 for return tickets for both of us. Gila, no? Tu belum masuk luggage la. Dah masuk luggage, lain cerita. Hehehe.

I always wanted to go to Langkawi. Always. The first time I went, I was 10 years old, I think. That was like 20 years ago, man! Tak reti apa-apa lagi masa tu. I didn't even know kat Langkawi boleh dapat coklat murah. Should I knew back then, harusla arwah Abah kena pow sakan dengan anak-anak dia, kan? Then, last year pergi sekali dengan Mama, tapi pergi balik hari la. Macam Amazing Race masa tu! Sempatla pi tengok orang buat gamat and Makam Mahsuri dan jugak lokasi wajib, Kompleks HIG. Borong coklat. Hahaha!

So this time around, pergi berdua-duaan sahaja. Kemain! Our flight was early morning, pukul 8.30 pagi kau! A word of advice, when you board a plane at KLIA2, do be early. Boarding gate jauh-jauh belaka for domestic flights, I kid you not. We got there in the nick of time, mind you. Termengah-mengah jugakla bila sampai nak board the flight. Reached Langkawi around 9.30am. The weather was so freaking nice, alhamdulillah.

Alright, since we arrived early, it's not possible to check in yet. So I suggested we go to MARDI Agro Technology Park. We rented a Myvi for RM 120 for the duration of our stay (3 days, 2 nights).

Entrance fee so cheap - RM 7.00 for locals.

The agro park visit was fun, tapi sayang, most fruits were not in the season yet. You'd be surprised to learn that they plant passion fruit and grape as well. The park guide will take you around the park, explain to you about some of the fruits. Best of all, you will be served with fruits, buffet style for free. Eat all you want. 

The fruits that we had at MARDI Agro Tech Park. Sweet and juicy!

Our guide was really great, friendly and funny. Mind you, we have many Arabs during that time, and he remembers each of their names. He was entertaining, courteous and rather skilled at taking photos to please the visitors. Memang pro ah abang ni ambik gambar. Here is one example:

Kemain beriya pegang belimbing 'gergasi'!

LOL. There are other photos he took, but I think I'll keep the rest for ourselves la. There's one photo of me konon-konon panjat pokok kelapa. Hilarious, I tell you. Padahal pokok kepala tu pendek je, a bit taller than me. So he asked me to wrap my feet around the coconut tree and he shot the photo from below, kengkonon nampak macam tengah dok panjat pokok kelapa sambil petik buah kelapa la. Hahaha! But it was good fun. Lagi-lagi bila tengok these Arab people yang macam terpegun tengok pokok semalu. Pokok semalu, ok. Kita ni pokok semalu main pijak pandang sebelah mata pun tak hingin. Orang Arab ni, siap ambil gambar pokok semalu. Do go visit the park, okay? 

Next, we went to the Underwater World. We're playing tourist this time around. I mean, why not, kan? Bukan selalu dapat peluang macam ni. Oh, for civil servants, ada special price ya to enter Underwater World. Bring along your staff card and show it to the ticket counter to receive special price. To some people, mesti boring masuk Underwater World. I, on the other hand, spent hours inside. I watched all those sea creatures swimming around in awe, mesmerized. Macam orang jakun pun ada. Macam small kid pun ada.

Pretty fishes all around! Nak bela kat rumah boleh tak?

The place was well kept, that I can tell you. Clean, well maintained. The sea creatures and some other creatures looked healthy, their tanks were spotless.

Spider crabs from Japan. I wonder if they're edible? LOL.

Jakun sikit tengok spider crab ni. Sebab tak pernah tengok. Hahaha!

 We spent so much time in there, we didn't even realize it was already lunch time! Perut pun dah mula la menyanyi lagu rock kapak. So we went out, pondering where to eat. Husband suggested we go to Kuah town to look for food. On the way nak pi Kuah tu, we saw one small kedai makan, Alia ke apa nama dia. From the look of it, locals were the majority of the diner there. Some were in their office attire. You know what they say la kan, eat where the locals eat. And we weren't disappointed at all! Home-cooked lauk, sedap sampai menjilat jari oi! Believe it or not, we had our lunch every single day at that kedai makan. Yep. Tak tipu.

Then, check in time! Yee-haa! Bellies full, setengah hari dah berjalan, we could feel the tiredness seeping in. Ecewah! Tired la sangat. For our stay in Langkawi, we've chosen Malibest Resort, situated on the stretch of the bustling Pantai Chenang. We managed to get a Superior Room for RM 160.00 per night. The room is huge and most importantly, clean. And the view. THE VIEW. I fell in love with Langkawi, head over heels, from the view alone.

How can you not fall in love with this kind of perfection?

Ahhh... I miss Langkawi now.

The view at dusk. Ain't it pretty?

Morning view. Sorry, am a bit obsessed with the view.

Second day, we went for island hopping. We booked the island hopping trip from AB Travel, the same operator that owned AB Motel, not far from Malibest. They offer the best price for tours in Langkawi. The island hopping costed us only RM 25.00 per person. Other operators are charging RM 35.00 per head.

Waiting for the boat to pick us up for the island hopping trip.

The first stop was Pulau Beras Basah. The water was so clear, glinting emerald green in the afternoon sun. Felt like I was in another world, honestly.

Pulau Beras Basah. Jatuh cinta lagi!

The sun was shining brightly, the wind was blowing gently, chasing the heat away. And the water was oh so cool. We took a dip, then just relaxed by the beach, drinking in the beautiful view. I was a bit pissed, though, sebab ada jugak orang buang sampah merata. Botol air, plastik makanan. Bangang betul orang buang sampah merata ni. Takde sivik!

Birthday boy with his tax-free cigar after a dip in the cool water.

Next, it was Pulau Singa Besar for eagle feeding. Unfortunately, tak boleh turun kat pulau ni as the jetty has collapsed and looks like they're not in a hurry to fix it. My guess was they want to keep the visitors away from the eagles. Jadinya, the guide just fed the eagles in nearby. Dia baling kulit ayam into the water and the eagles came out, swooped down upon the food. Majestic creature, really. Didn't manage to take any photo, though.

And the final spot for the island hopping trip was Pulau Dayang Bunting, or the Pregnant Maiden Island. We visited the Dayang Bunting Lake as well. Nak pi tasik tu, you have to climb a bit la. For someone as unfit as me, memang mengah jugakla. But still, I got there. Siap sempat berendam lagi dalam tasik. Kalau orang tanya, nak pi lagi tak Tasik Dayang Bunting, I'll say yes all over again. Best apa!

Tasik Dayang Bunting

Honestly, I had fun. It was the best 3 days of my life. I fell in love with Langkawi. I told husband few times, that we must come back. Kereta kabel tak try lagi, Muzium 3D pun tak pi lagi. We have to come back next time. Angkut sekali my siblings kalau boleh, it'll be more fun. I'll be back, Langkawi, belive me.

Coklat? HAHAHAHA. Mana boleh tinggal.

Nah amek kau!

Okbai.

makan review: the birdmen co.

I've seen photos and tweets popping up on my timeline regarding Birdmen Co. for quite some time. Another new makan place, I thought, I should check it out. Now, hubby and I, we love chicken wings. The best one we had was in Sabah, but that's another different story. Let's get back to Birdmen. Located at SS15, Subang, The Birdmen Co.'s main attraction is their chicken wings. There are 6 flavors to be devoured - the regular fried, honey mustard, original BBQ,  original hot sauce, garlic parmesan and Asian Sensation. There is also a sample platter consisting of all 6 flavors of the wings. Other items on the menu are Crispy Loaded Potato Skin, Two-Hands Burritos and desserts (only cakes for now). Soft drinks, Teh Botol Sosro and Gems bottled drinks are also available.

Right. Let's get this on. The first item we tried was the Crispy Loaded Potato Skin.

Crispy Loaded Potato Skin - RM 12.00 for 3 pieces.

The potato skin was quite promising, to be honest. The stuffing of cream cheese, cheese sauce and beef bacon -- they're generous with the stuffing/topping. And it didn't taste bad at all. However, it was not crispy, did not live up to its name. And then we found out the bottom of the skin was hard, macam kulit kayu. I do not know what went wrong, or even if it was suppose to be like that. I've had potato skin before, takde la pulak keras macam kulit kayu kat bahagian bawah tu. So for this potato skin, I'm gonna rate it 3/5, just because of the generous topping.

Next, we had the wings.

Sample Platter - RM 15.00 for 6 pieces

We chose the sample platter so we could taste all the wings. Husband's first tasted the Asian Sensation wings. "Sedap," he said after one bite. Then he proceeded to tell me that it's a bit spicy, the spices used came off a bit strong for his taste. And he said "Coating keras." I took the honey mustard wing and sank my teeth into it. So the batter was a bit hard. Hard, not crispy. I didn't quite like the taste of it -- too sharp and tangy for me so I gave it to husband to finish it up. Next, I tried the regular fried wing. Yep, again batter was hard and the wing was a bit dry. I couldn't finish that one either. And I didn't even want to taste the rest of the wings. I asked husband to finish it all up. 2.5/5 for the wings.

I went for the burritos next. I already felt kinda deflated at this moment, so I was really hoping that the burritos will not completely make our dining experience at The Birdmen Co. a disappointment.

Two-Hands Burritos - RM 15.00 for 12" of tortilla filled with buttermilk-brined chicken strips, guacamole, special sauce, cheese, lime rice and beans.

On the first bite, I thought, hey, not bad. At the second bite, though, it changed. The chicken strips were, unfortunately dry and tasted weird. The sauce was too sour-ish for my liking, too acidic. It kinda overpowered the overall taste of the burritos since you could taste nothing but the acidity of the sauce. It was a struggle to finish half of the burritos, truthfully. My heart sank. Husband will hate the burritos for sure. He hates sour-ish food. And I was right. He took one single bite and his face changed. He put down the other half of the burritos and wiped his mouth. His face fell a bit. I finished the burritos, by the way. I was taught to always finish the food on the table and not to waste any. Biarlah tak sedap macam mana pun. 1.5/5 for the burritos.

Maybe we were unlucky last night. Maybe things went wrong somehow in the kitchen. Chef sakit perut ka, kan? But I should've heed the sign. Sampai-sampai depan kedai, it was deserted. No customer at all. Patutnya masa tu dah tau, it wasn't a good sign. It was still early by KL standard, around 9.30 PM and the place was deserted. Apa punya nasib la. We were disappointed, needless to say. Husband said never again, sekali dah cukup. I thought the same thing. And I got one pengajaran, do not believe the hype on the social media 100%. What a bummer.

Go to The Birdmen Co.'s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for more info on their location, operation hours and complete menu and some other promo stuff.

bye bye love

Baru semalam, cakap pasal anak kucing. Baru semalam. I found out the gender as well. It's a girl.

And last night, she left us. She died in my own hands.

Little kitty in memory...

When we got home yesterday, we saw that she was already weak. Macam demam. Hidung berair, shallow breathing. Lepas Maghrib, terus cari vet, but unfortunately vet semua dah tutup. Went home, tried to keep her comfortable and warm. Susu tak nak minum langsung. But she kept making this very small and weak meowing sound. It broke my heart.

Around 11.00 p.m., I heard her meowing again. I picked her up gently, cooed for a while when I suddenly noticed that she wasn't moving anymore. Her breathing stopped. My little kitty, gone. I cried and cried and cried for a good 15 minutes before my husband took her away from my hands and brought her outside to bury her little body. His heart broke as well. We cried in silent for a little while more.

Rest well now, little one, rest well. We'll miss you.

main mak-mak

Last 2 weeks (ke 3 weeks eh? Dah lupa), a cat gave birth somewhere on the roof of our house. Up in the ceiling, to be exact. How do we know? The noises, the little mews. Dah dia nak terberanak atas tu, nak buat macam mana, kan? So we let it be la even with the constant mews of the little kittens. Which cat yang beranak atas siling tu, I don't even know. We have few stray cats (or neighbor's cats) around the house area, so I can't really tell which of them gave birth.

Anyways, after 3 or 4 days, I noticed 1 little consistent mew. For 2 days and 2 nights, the mew never stop. Only 1 single mew, day and night. Alamak, I thought, the mother left her kitten or what? After 2 days of waiting, just in case the mother came back for that 1 little kitten, we (or rather the husband) decided to go up and check the ceiling.

When husband first got it out. It was a difficult rescue mission, for sure!

True enough, 1 ekor kitten sudah kena tinggal dengan mak dia. Kesian. Maybe the mother forgot? I don't know lah. We brought it down, lepas tu we kinda terpinga-pinga kejap. Eh, nak buat apa dengan anak kucing ni? It was so small, so little, so fragile, I was afraid that we might break the little poor thing. Tapi mengiau bukan main kuat lagi kau. I guess it was hungry. 2 hari kot dok mengiau atas siling tu. Nasib baik tak kena makan dek tikus ke musang ke apa.

So little, so fragile. But yet, frantically kicking every time we picked it up.

Because we were so clueless, tak terpikir pun nak google ke apa, we gave the little kitten susu yang dalam kotak tu. Logically, it must be hungry la kan. The lil one drank it anyway, through a small straw. Like I said, we were clueless. The rescue was done on a Thursday morning some more, nak pi kerja, tak boleh nak pikir sangat. We wrapped the kitten in a kain, put it in a box then we were off to work, all the time praying and hoping that the kitten will be safe.

At the office, barulah google everything up about newborn kitten. So I found out they cannot drink cow's milk sebab kittens cannot tolerate lactose. Dang. I didn't even check if the little kitten's body is cold to the touch. Dang again. I read up, shared with the husband. We were like excited parents kot. But I was worried the whole day. Anak kucing kecik je kot. What if dia tak survive? What if balik rumah je, dia dah mati? I could not bear the thoughts. Balik tu, we looked for a pet shop, found one and straight away bought a feeding bottle and formula milk (goat's milk) for kitten.

The botol and the susu. Susu is RM 25.20, botol is RM 7.90

Balik rumah, check, yay, it's still alive! Mengiau dengan sangat kuatnya siap. Little fella must be super duper hungry. So husband cleaned it up, I made the milk and tried to feed it. It was awkward at first. Awkward gila! I mean, kena pegang betul-betul to feed the kitten because it was moving frantically! Tak ke naya kalau susu masuk hidung karang? Nevertheless, we managed to feed the kitten. Barulah stop mengiau. Fuh, legaaaaaaa!

So after 2 @ 3 weeks taking care of the little kitten, I am happy to report that the little one is still pretty much alive and kicking and mengiau dengan kuat bila dia lapar. I had very little expectation at the beginning. A little kitten without the mother... I dunno if it is going to survive for long. But hey, it is still with us today! Minum susu makin banyak. Unfortunately, we had to leave it hari-hari bila pergi kerja. So that means no susu during the day. So sorry, kitty.

We're not certain of the gender of the kitten, yet. Husband said jantan, because he can see the balls (bahaha!). But I think the kitten is a still a little too small to tell now. We don't even have any specific name yet for the kitten! I just call it 'Kecik', but husband alternates between 'Leman' and 'Baby' at times. I just hope the kitten won't grow up with identity crisis. 

Takde gambar latest sebab susah nak ambik gambar dia. Tak duduk diam punya anak kucing ni! Problem now is, we'll be going to Langkawi early April for 3 days. We don't have anyone to jaga the kitten yet while we're away. Nak minta tolong Mama is impossible kot because it have to be fed manually. Adoi. Cemana ni?

pantang

No ice cream.

No chocolates.

No sodas.

No iced drinks. Or any sugary drinks.

No dairy. Which includes cheese, yogurt, butter and all that jazz.

Yeah.

Welcome to my life.





P/S: I want to write more, but I'm afraid I'll just rant mindlessly.