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KFC Chicken Rice Meal in Johor Bahru

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I have to admit that the chicken rice is actually quite tasty. There is a sweet aroma in the rice and the rice is firm and moist. The chicken rice set consists of rice, 2 pieces of chicken, a meat ball soup, cold cucumbers and a medium size coke. I don’t mind eating a second bowl of rice if I could place a order ( I don’t think you can just order rice) .  For the meat ball soup it is a letdown. The meat ball taste salty and I get the impression that I am eating a low quality meat ball. The 2 pieces of spicy chicken is really good – the KFC chicken in Malaysia taste so much better than their counterpart in Singapore. If you observe, the chicken served in Malaysia is always bigger and juicy than the chicken that is served in KFC Singapore. The 3 peices of cold cucumber taste refreshing – it is fresh and I think it has been kept in the fridge

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KFC Chicken Rice Meal at Johor Bahru

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On the whole, I did enjoy eating the KFC’s chicken rice meal. The cost of this meal is slightly close to RM10 which is very reasonable. I think the KFC should remove the meat ball soup and replace it with a vegetable soup. The vegetable soup could consists of cabbages, tomatoes, beans and tofu. It is more nutritious and personally, I think more people will enjoy it. I had also ordered the 3 pieces chicken meal set for my friend. If I can still remember the price for the 3 pieces chicken meal set is less than RM12. For those people who enjoy eating KFC’s chicken, the 3 pieces chicken meal set is the ideal meal. The KFC outlet at Sutera Mall was very crowded during lunch hour. So many Malaysians do enjoy eating at KFC – so be prepared to queue and wait patiently for your meal.

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KFC 3 Pieces Chicken Meal set - include one cold drink - Coke or 7 UP

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Sutera Mall in Johor Bahru

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After a long ride in the bus, I alight at the bus stop and walked towards the huge car park in front of the mall. The car park was very spacious indeed and I could see a lot of vehicles parking and moving along. Sutera Mall is very long in width but short in height. That is the typical design of many malls in Johor Bahru. It is relatively a new mall – only 2 years old and there is only 3 levels – the basement, the ground floor and the first floor. Though there were many people at that time, it does not feel congested at all as the mall is very spacious; with wide corridors and walking space. Just right outside the mall, I saw 3 rows of 3 storey shop houses; and there are many restaurants over there. Besides restaurants, there are 2 budget hotels – the Kingston Hotel and the J Hotel. The cheapest rate for a single night is about RM$90 which I think is very reasonable. Both the Kingston Hotel and J Hotel have family rooms too – the rate is from RM$130 – $180 without breakfast.

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Carrefour in Sutera Mall

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There are simply too many food outlets in Sutera Mall. I think the management of this mall should add more non food outlets to have a good merchandise and tenant mixed in this place. Anyway, I went to KFC and bought a meal set for lunch. The KFC outlet at this mall is very spacious but there was a long queue at the counter – perhaps they should get more staff to take orders. There is also Season restaurant – for those who love ice cream and western food.  The anchor tenant for this mall is Carrefour which occupies the ground and first floor level. This hypermarket is always crowded with shoppers. I just wonder why do some people need buy so much food? There is also a small pharmacy shop on the first floor but it carries a limited range of merchandise due to its small size. I saw many vacant shop units at Sutera Mall and wonder why stores like Watsons, Guardian and MacDonald s are not setting up their business here?

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Garden Pond at Sutera Mall

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I spend about 5 hours in Sutera Mall and also visited the rows of shops near the shopping mall. On the whole, I find this mall a very relaxing place as compared to City Square at Johor Bahru city. Besides this mall and the rows of shops, there is nothing much you can see here. There are no temples or places of interest to visit. I will try to visit this mall again and hopefully I can find the time to spend a night at the budget hotel over there. Most likely, I will then spend most of my time eating at the different restaurants here. To go back to Singapore, you need to walk to a exit door which is near to the KFC outlet and then you can see the car park. Just looked further ahead and walk further straight, you can see a small bus terminal with the Causeway Link yellow buses parked there. Ask the bus driver for the timing and the cost of the ticket is RM$6 for a single trip back to Jurong East Interchange in Singapore.

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Grand Paragon Hotel Johor Bahru

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I went into this shopping mall through one of the many entrances and the first thing that greeted me was a fast food restaurant followed by Cold Storage supermarket. I was rather surprised to see Cold Storage supermarket at Plaza Pelangi. The supermarket was neat and well stocked up with lots of fresh fruits, groceries and daily necessities. It was quite crowded too, as it took about 10 minutes to pay for my purchase at the cashier counter. I do noticed that prices at Cold Storage supermarket is normally higher than other local supermarkets. But their key strength I think is freshness of products especially fruits, vegetables and meat; and wider variety of merchandise. The MacDonald restaurant that was next to Cold Storage was also crowded and it took a while before I could find a empty seat. This particular outlet seems to be quite cramped up in terms of space and sitting arrangement. I still prefer the MacDonald outlet at Holiday Plaza – it is very spacious.

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Plaza Pelangi Johor Bahru

Many years ago, Plaza Pelangi was a hot spot for many Malaysian and Singaporean shoppers. It was the place to visit if you want to buy the latest fashion and accessories. But now I saw many empty shops especially on the higher floors of this mall. There were only a handful of shoppers but most of the fast food chains seem to be doing quite well. So only a selective retail stores are still drawing in the business. Unless the management of this mall is able to address this issue of attracting more tenants and improve the mall facilities which appears worn out; this mall is unlikely to attract many shoppers. In fact, I could see more shoppers in the older Holiday Plaza mall than Plaza Pelangi.

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Cold Storage at Plaza Pelangi

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I spent about 3 hours in this mall before I decided to head back to Customs & Immigration. I wanted to try taking a bus back from Plaza Pelangi to City Square but it was raining. So I went back to where MacDonald was situated; and went out of the entrance to the taxi stand just outside. There were plenty of taxis waiting. Surprisingly quite a number of taxis in Johor are now using the taxi meter to determine the charges, which is the right thing to do. For taxis which do not use the meter, do remember to set a fix price before boarding.  If I could remember clearly the cost of the ride to City Square was RM$8/- using meter.

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Plaza Pelangi Johor Bahru

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Holiday Plaza Johor Bahru

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As I was staying in 11@Century Hotel which was just 10 minutes walking distance from Holiday Plaza, I wanted to take the opportunity to revisit this mall. As I walked into the mall, I felt as though time has stood still for this place. All the fond memories that I had about this mall came back to me quickly. I am pleasantly surprised that the MacDonald restaurant was still there, unchanged and stood up to the test of time. Everything was exactly the same; even the small playground was still there. In addition, there are still shops that sells pirated games, CDs and movies. The stall holders were still aggressively calling out customers to buy games software and CDs.

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MacDonald at Holiday Plaza

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The mall was not crowded when I was there. Perhaps it was because I visited this place on a Friday afternoon where people are still at work. There were still many shops selling clothes and hair salons. There was also a Guardian pharmacy where I bought a few medicine. Also there was the Parkson store which is the mall anchor tenant, selling almost everything you need. For food outlets, you have MacDonald, KFC, Pizza Hut and a Chinese restaurant situated just outside the side entrance on the left; where it is nearer to Mutiara Hotel. If you are keen in buying local produce such as local coffee, candies, food and other products, I saw 2 stores selling these local products. For those who wants a makeover, be it your hair or any part of your body, there are plently of hair and beauty salons. Just go the highest floor of this mall, all the salons are there for your picking.

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Holiday Plaza Johor Bahru

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KFC's Black Pepper Chicken

I liked the look of the black pepper chicken. It was crispy brown and covered with a considerable amount of black pepper. When I ate the black pepper chicken, I liked it immediately. I can smell and taste the flavor of black pepper covered on top of the crispy chicken skin. Normally, I do not eat food served with black pepper, as I perceived it as a ‘heaty’ food.  I gave the remaining one piece black pepper chicken to my friend and she also gives the thumbs up to this new recipe. Comparing it to the hot and crispy recipe chicken, I think the black pepper chicken adds more punch to the taste – definitely stronger taste and spicy. If you asked me to choose my favorite – it would be the original KFC chicken. If I were to order the original recipe chicken,  I could easier finish up eating a 3 piece meal myself.

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KFC's Hot and Spicy Chicken

I saw that for their morning breakfast menu, they have the nasi lemak and chicken porridge meal served with coffee or tea. I will try them when I am in Johor Bahru again. I hope that the black pepper chicken is not deem to be a replacement for the hot and crispy chicken recipe in the long term. I am sure there are people who still love and swear by the hot and crispy chicken served by KFC.  For myself, I still stick to the KFC famous original recipe chicken.

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IT shops at Danga City Mall

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I took a cab from City Square mall to Danga City Mall and it was a short journey and the cost was RM$6/- using the taxi meter. I went into the shopping mall and there was no sign of any exhibition on the atrium. I saw the atrium space was being utilized for  a small skateboard event for kids. I went to the reception counter and asked the receptionist whom seems to be clueless about the Home & Delight Expo event. I was very disappointed but decided to browse the mall since I was already here. I saw that management of Danga City Mall had apparently transformed this mall into a IT center. There are many shops selling computers and computer related products. But the problem is, there are hardly any visitors on this Friday at about noon. As we all know, a mall success depends on large inflow of visitors and customers. Danga City Mall apparently has a problem here and appropriately this problem should be fixed quickly. But to be fair, this current transformation was far better that my previous visit to this mall a couple of months ago. You can read my previous blog on this mall if you wished. At least the management of this mall has managed to transform this mall into an IT center; where previously most of the shops in this mall were empty. So the crucial thing now is for the mall to attract more customers and visitors – I hope they succeed.

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Exhibition at Danga City Mall

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After browsing through the shops, I wanted to leave this place and go back to my hotel. I walked to the nearest exit – not the main exit and as I walked out, I saw a large signage at the next Annex building – thank goodness it was the Home & Delight Expo that I was looking for. Then I remember that at the Danga City Mall website, the information stated that the Expo will be held at Danga City Mall. I hope that the management could put it more precisely like this – Location: Danga City Mall – Annex Building. Also the management should put up signage at the main atrium and reception counter. This is to first tell the visitors that there is indeed an exhibition going on right now and then direct them to the exhibition hall. My first impression on this exhibition hall was that it was small and so there were limited companies participating in this Expo. There were furniture, home appliances,  food, home renovation, credit cards companies, home service and accessories, etc. I was there on the first day of this exhibition and there was only light traffic ( visitors ) at this event.

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Exhibition at Danga City Mall

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Many sales promoters at this event hall were busy handling out their brochures to me and trying to make a sale. A few promoters even followed me as I walked through the aisle. I think some of these promoters were definitely going overboard with their sales tactics. And I wonder why there were so many booths selling induction cookers? The promoters from different booths were demonstrating the benefits of induction cookers to the visitors. But I thought induction cooker is already a common item in the kitchen. I have an induction cooker at home and many consumers are already well informed about this  product years ago. The food section of this event was good. I bought Mulberry jam, keropok ( fish crackers) and some other food products. I was also impressed by the booth selling Lactovida health products – The Power of Moringa. The staff at this booth was very patient in explaining to me the benefits of this herbal drink and also offered me a free sample cup. There was no hard selling tactics, just simple explanation of the benefits of Moringa. I was also impressed by the sales staff ( or I think he is the boss ) of the booth selling wrought iron gates. He was also patient in his explanation on all my queries regarding wrought iron gates.

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So the whole I have a great time at this exhibition event. I bought food products which seems to be quality products to me and took a lessons on some new products which I have never seen before. I am looking forward to more of this exhibition in future. I was carrying bags of products and was walking to the designated taxi stand outside the mall. There was not even one single taxi there but there were so many cars parking at the taxi stand. How can a taxi make its way here when there are so many cars parking at the taxi stand? I walked out to the front part of the building almost reaching the main road and then I was able to catch a cab back to my hotel.

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Main Entrance to Exhibition at Danga City Mall

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The first problem in getting to this hotel is the name of the hotel itself. I told the taxi driver the name – 11@Century Hotel and he was clueless. Luckily, I did some homework and told him that this hotel was quite near the Holiday Plaza mall. With this information, all was well and I reached the hotel from Danga City Mall in about 15 minutes. My first impression of this hotel was that it was a small hotel, quite a tall and small building. The lobby of this hotel looked very new, bright and clean. When I checked in, I was told that there was no breakfast because the Coffee House which was near the check in counter was still under renovation. The staff told me that the Coffee House will be ready for business in about one month time. It is fine with me because there are so many food outlet and coffee shops beside this hotel.

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I went to my room – the room that I booked was the standard room. I need to tap the magnetic card on the door before I could gain access to my room. First impression, the room was rather small but well organized. I think the management should improve on the lighting by adding additional lights so that the room can be brighter. There is a divider which separates the small bedroom from the mini pantry and bathroom. Strange though, the bathroom was rather spacious. You could easily put in 5 persons into the bathroom and still be comfortable. All the things in room as well as the bathroom were new. There were complimentary coffee and  tea bags with a small kettle, a small safe but unfortunately, there was no mini fridge. I think it is a disappointment not to provide guests with a mini fridge in the room.

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The bedroom itself was compact and the queen size bed that fits into the compact bedroom also appears compact. But in fairness, the bed was comfortable and clean. And there was a big LCD Panasonic TV on the wall, so I could watched TV from the comfort of my bed. There was one table lamp on the side table and there was no light on the ceiling. So this makes reading on the bed rather uncomfortable. There was one huge air con duct on the ceiling which gave constant cold air onto the room. One strange thing was that there was a humming or thumping noise during the night at about 10pm onwards from outside or adjacent areas. The noise was not strong, sounded like a drum or beat. I wonder whether was the noise coming from the bars or nightclubs nearby, or perhaps it was generated by a machine – such as a generator.  Luckily I am someone who can sleep even when it is noisy.  Anyway, the noise was gone at about 3 am in the morning when I got up to go to the bathroom.

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Bathroom - 11@Century Hotel

Now my assessment on 11@Century Hotel. It is a good hotel, with great location and comfortable room. The minus point is the lack of mini fridge and the low noise emitting into the room during the night.  I am unable to comment on their food, because the Coffee House was not ready. Hopefully I am able to find some time in the future to stay at 11@Century Hotel and then give a follow up report on this hotel.

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Free Beverages - 11@Century Hotel

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Marina Bay Sands

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When I arrived at the Marina Bay Sands, the first thing that I saw was that there were lots of taxis queuing up for customers. So the surcharge imposed apparently was a success. There was very few people taking taxis from here and I noticed that many people choose either to walk or take a bus from/to Marina Bay Sands.  My first impression of Marina Bay Sands Mall was that it was very spacious and I liked the high ceiling. As I continued to browse at the mall, I saw that there were many vacant shops. Apparently this mall was still very new and many tenants have yet to move in. In fact there are many ongoing renovation works going on at this new mall. The main attraction of this mall was the entrance to the casino. There were so many people queuing up at the entrance, consisting of tourists, foreign workers mainly from China and India and some local Singaporeans. I guess the casinos in Marina Bay Sands and Sentosa are currently the favorite hot spots for these foreign workers.

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Marina Bay Sands Mall

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I spend about an hour in the Marina Bay Sands Mall before moving off. There was nothing much to see as the renovation works have yet to be completed. Perhaps I will come back to Marina Bay Sands again at the end of December this year. Food and drinks sold in this mall were rather expensive too. A normal plate of chicken rice costs S$5/-; whereas in most malls you can get the same plate of chicken rice for S$3.50.  Is it a case of high rental rates or simply profiteering – I am not sure. But if you want to have an economical meal, you could simply head back to Suntec City or Marina Square where there are plenty of food outlets and fast food restaurants.

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Marina Bay Sands Mall

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Walking towards Helix Bridge

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The Helix bridge was indeed beautiful and my first impression was that a lot of effort and money must have been pumped in into building this bridge. The Helix bridge has been described in the press as a architectural marvel and an engineering feat. Its structure consists of many layers of steel, glass and special lights. If the sole purpose of the Helix bridge is to create a beautiful impression, then it has succeeded. However, I always feel that the purpose of the bridge besides its design is to fulfill its basic function in serving the people using it.  On that day, I saw so many women and some children holding on to their umbrellas when crossing the bridge – why? It was because the Helix bridge has failed in its functionality test of providing shade for pedestrians. And I am very sure that when it rains, I will be soaking wet as well when I am walking on this bridge. In short, there will be no relief at all from the intense sunlight and rain for pedestrians using the Helix bridge.

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Helix Bridge Marina Bay

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It makes me just wonder how the planners and relevant authorities can approve the building of this bridge which cost millions of dollars, without the mean test of functionality and going to the basics of determining its practical use. A pedestrian bridge no matter how beautiful it is, must served its basic purpose of providing easy access and shade; and protection from heat and rain for its customers ( pedestrians). This reminds me of the numerous upgraded bus stops in Singapore that look good in design but provide little relief when there is a heavy rain.

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Helix Bridge - No shelter from Sun and Rain

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If you intend to visit the beautiful Helix bridge during the day, do remember to bring along an umbrella or sun shade; and of course don’t forget to bring along a cold bottle of mineral water. Or otherwise visit the Helix bridge during the evening, so it will be much cooler. Anyway, the Helix bridge is just a short bridge as it has not been fully completed yet. To walk to Marina Bay Sands, you still need to continue to walk along the pavements next to a main road. And this will take you approximately 10 minutes without any shade before reaching the Marina Bay Sands Mall. By that time I arrived at Marina Bay Sands, I was soaking wet with sweat on my shirt.

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Plaza Seni in Johor Bahru

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Perhaps the reason why the locals in Johor Bahru still visit Plaza Seni is the it can offer a different range of merchandise and services not found in big mall such as the City Square Mall. If you can keen in buying leather belts, bags and imitation brands of leather goods, you can find it here. There is a small store just outside the main entrance which sells traditional Malay and Indonesian products such as Jamu, toiletries and traditional herbs and medicine. For food, there is a fruit stall just outside the entrance that sells cut fruits at a very reasonable price; and there is also a Rojak stall there. There are also food outlets at Plaza Seni and nearby is the Nasi Kandar food outlet which is open 24 hours. For young teens that love bright and ‘loud’ T-shirts, you can go up to the 2nd level and there is a small shop that sells a variety of T-shirts meant of teens and youths.

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Plaza Seni in Johor Bahru

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Prices of merchandise and services in Plaza Seni is much cheaper as compared to the large beautiful malls and you get more personalized service too. Formerly I often skip Plaza Seni whenever I am in City Square, but now I try to make it a point to visit this mall which is just 5 minutes walk away. There are times where I can pick up interesting wallets or products which are beautiful, useful and at reasonable prices. The shopping environment here is very local, informal and disorganized – which is why it still can attract smart and informal shoppers looking for bargains. Oh yes, strangely enough there is a large dental clinic on the second level. I couldn’t remember the name of the dental clinic in Plaza Seni but I saw that it was quite crowded with patients. so business must be good.  Perhaps if I there again, I will find out how much it cost to clean and polish my teeth.

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Plaza Seni in Johor Bahru

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