Showing posts with label Exclusive. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Exclusive. Show all posts

Selera Warisan Meldrum returns this Ramadan

 

Selera Warisan Meldrum, simply translated as A Taste of Meldrum Heritage, is the theme for a menu of traditional favourites served in a breaking-of-fast buffet spread at GBW Hotel Johor Baru that was so successful that it was brought back again this Ramadan.

 

Fresh cut fruits and desserts to satisfy every
sweet tooth at the breaking-of-fast

It was good to be back again at GBW Hotel to savour a breaking-of-fast buffet dubbed, Selera Warisan Meldrum Kembali Lagi or A Taste of Meldrum Heritage returns again.

 

Strategically located on Bukit Meldrum, this buffet theme was named after its historical location in the heart of Johor Baru and aims to satisfy the cravings of diners homesick for homecooked specialties and for families to bond over familiar favourite food.

 

Serving diner with juicy portions of
the whole roasted lamb or Kambing Golek

Chef Karim and his culinary team at the GBW Hotel Johor Baru are presenting this sumptuous spread of familiar dishes served within the café and which also spans across the length of the hotel lobby with live-cooking stations in the outdoor terrace.

 

There were more than 100 dishes in this generous spread for the breaking-of-fast buffet that will not only tantalize the diners’ tastebuds but also give them that much longed-for comfort and taste of home.

 

Crackers to savor with your meal

In the Appetizer section the buffet begins with a choice of preserved dates and a range of mixed salads in various types of Kerabu and fresh ingredients provided for diners to mix their own Rojak Petis and Gado-Gado.

 

There are choices of local crackers like keropok made with fish and prawns as well as pickled fruits to whet the appetite for more food from the hot buffet.

 

Familiar dishes in the hot buffet included Kupang Masak Merah Berserai (mussels),

Sotong Paprik (squid), Udang Sambal Petai (prawns), Kambing Rendang (lamb), Daging Biryani (beef), Ikan Bawal Percik (fish), Ayam Kuzi (chicken) and Telur Bistik (eggs).

 

The aroma of freshly grilled skewers of satay!

The daily menu served in the hot buffet is a range of popular local dishes prepared with meat, poultry, fish, seafood and shellfish as well as local vegetables in menus that will rotate so that diners may savour something different each time they dined at this buffet during Ramadan.

 

In the outdoor section, live-cooking stations, designed as stalls, serve Kambing Golek or whole roasted lamb, Ayam Golek, Beef and Chicken Satay, Chicken Shawarma, a choice of noodles like Curry Noodles and Mee Rebus, as well as stir-fried noodles.

 

Sticks of Beef and Chicken satay topped
with tasty peanut sauce

Rice lovers will enjoy Nasi Briyani Ambok (lamb) served with dhall or lentil gravy. Don’t miss the counter for a taste of comforting Bubur Lambuk, kept warm in a deep soup pot and garnish the rice porridge with condiments for the best experience of this traditional breaking-of-fast staple.

 

At the GBW Aneka Sup stall, diners may taste a rich beefy soup and add in a choice of cut meat, carrots and potatoes, topped with a dollop of spicy dark sauce.

 

Murtabak and Roti Jala or net bread are freshly-made to eat with gravies while the Goreng-Goreng Bukit Meldrum stall offers deep-fried items like fried bananas with cheese, sweet potato slices, small spring rolls, samosa and cubes of deep-fried durian.

 

Take your pick of ingredients to savour
with a piping hot bowl of beef broth

Indoors, the eye-catching, colourful array of cakes, tarts, puddings and pastries are designed to tempt while an assortment of local kuih and sweet broths vie for equal attention.

 

This meal ends sweetly with a choice of warm and cold desserts in the form of Pulut Serawa Durian, Cendol Durian, shaved ice ABC-Cendol, a range of ice-cream flavours and fresh cut fruits.

 

There is a choice of thirst-quenching cold drinks as well as a range of hot beverages like Coffee, Tea, Milo and Teh Tarik or pulled tea.

 

Prayer rooms are prepared for the convenience of Muslim diners, and parking spaces are provided in the indoor carpark.

 

Traditional Bubur Lambuk
topped with condiments

After the leisurely meal, parking tickets should be endorsed at the hotel reception to enjoy a flat rate parking fee.

 

Selera Warisan Meldrum Kembali Lagi Ramadan Buffet is served daily from 6.30pm to 9.30pm at D’ Meldrum Café on the lobby level of the hotel from now to April 8, 2024.

 

Take advantage of the of the Buy 10-Get one Free group deal on the adult price.

 

Rate at RM108 nett per adult, RM58 nett per child aged six to 12 years and RM88 nett for seniors aged above 60 years.

 

Also check out the cake counter for a takeaway deal of 30% discount on cream cakes.

 

GBW Hotel is located at No. 9R Jalan Bukit Meldrum, 80300 Johor Baru, Johor.

 

For reservations, Tel: +6016 710 0048, +6016 723 3558 and +6016 710 0073.

 

For more info, visit official Facebook page and website: www.gbwhotel.com.my

Meeting media from the Middle East

 

When I received the invitation from Anantara Desaru Coast Resort & Villas to meet media members visiting from the Middle East, I did not hesitate to ask for more information about the publications they were writing for.

 

With media representatives from the Middle East
along with Dane Halpin [2nd from Right]

This was of interest to me because I was once the Johor-based writer for Travel Times, a pull-out section dedicated to travel that came with The New Straits Times, a leading English newspaper here that also had an online version.

 

Last October, when Anantara Desaru Coast invited me to meet with German media representatives from leading newspapers and magazines based in Austria, Switzerland and Germany, I had the pleasure to relive moments when I was in their shoes, visiting destinations to write from my experience for the Travel newspapers.

 

Once again, this event will be hosted at The Observatory, the bar which overlooks the beach and swimming pools, with a panoramic view of the resort and beyond to the South China Sea in the horizon.

 

An inter-active time with the media reps

When I arrived at The Observatory, dark clouds were low and heavy with threatening rain. The wind that evening in early March was at such a high velocity that whipped my signature chic hairdo into what I would call, a wind-blown look.

 

I gave up on styling my hair back into shape when I was introduced to Dane Halpin, Director of Public Relations & Communications, MINOR Hotels, who was visiting from their corporate office in Thailand.

 

As always, Anantara Desaru Coast General Manager, Christian Gerart, gave me a warm welcome to the Resort.

 

Isabella [Left] and Dane [Right] kept me
engaged in a lively conversation over dinner


After a brief chat, Christian left for another appointment while Dane joined the guests from the Middle East in getting to know more about Johor through My Johor Stories.

 

When we gathered around the table prepared for the event, introductions were made and I was able to put a name to each face.

 

Isabella Sullivan who writes for Near+Far, an online magazine that covers luxury travel, including know-how, travel trends, up-and-coming destinations and tried-and-tested hotels.

 

Sharing an old photograph with the media reps

The Near+Far website was launched in March 2023 for curious, modern Middle Eastern travellers who are in search of beautiful places, things and experiences.

 

Selina Denman who writes for Conde Nast Traveller Middle East, a regional edition of US-based Conde Nast Traveller magazine, and covers luxury travel, providing inspiration and advice for discerning travellers seeking unique, unforgettable and luxurious travel experiences.

 

And Emily Baxter who writes for Destinations of the World News, a luxury travel magazine that covers the hottest destinations, most luxurious hotels and extraordinary travel experiences.

 

Guests at The Observatory can enjoy reading
the trilogy of My Johor Stories placed there

Launched in July 2006, this monthly magazine is for first and business class travellers, five-star hotel guests and travel professionals.

 

Joining these media representatives was Duaa Radwan of Dash Consultancy, a Public Relations agency in Dubai that represents Anantara properties in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

 

The guests then received the trilogy of My Johor Stories tied up in pretty ribbons.

 

I encouraged the guests to untie the ribbons and flip through the pages of my 2017 MPH Non-Fiction Bestseller, My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage, along with My Johor Stories 2: Interesting Places and Inspirational People, and the final instalment, My Johor Stories 3: Proudly Johor, Then and Now.

 

Enjoying a chat with Duaa Radwan
while Dane looks on

I am glad that Anantara Desaru Coast understands that people liked to stay in a place with a story and have been presenting My Johor Stories books to VVIP guests and foreign media so that they may continue enjoying their experience in Johor by getting to know more about Johor from my books after their stay at the Resort.

 

Then I learnt that this media group visited downtown Johor Baru that morning and passed Sungai Segget – our city’s main waterway – with stops at the Johor Street of Harmony to see flower stalls and dessert stalls in Little India, Johor Old Temple, Sikh Temple and traditional bakers at Salahuddin.

 

Showing Dane some old photographs that
support my stories in My Johor Stories

I also learnt that they were well-travelled media and have stayed at various Anantara properties in worldwide locations.

 

Their brief experience in downtown Johor Baru gave me the starting point to share with them about Johor culture and heritage and welcomed them to interrupt me with any queries so that I may clarify and provide any relevant info they may need.

 

Among interesting snippets about the Johor rulers, it was my pleasure to share with them briefly about how Johor developed from the time when forests were felled to produce timber for export, the first industry in Johor, the rich heritage in road names, as well as our pepper and gambier heritage and how the motif of these plants were recognised as a Johor icon.

 

I was happy to autograph my books for the guests

Because “A picture is worth a thousand words,” I encouraged them to turn to various pages in my books to refer to the photos there for them to better understand what I was talking about.

 

As we enjoyed a delightful dinner together, I continued to answer their curious questions and also took the opportunity to get to know them.

 

While the media representatives are based in Dubai, Isabella and Selina have lived there longer than Emily and are respected writers who have earned a reputation as credible sources of information.

 

With Duaa and My Johor Stories books

That evening when I met Duaa, it marked the first time I ever met with an Egyptian.

 

When she explained that the meaning of her name was, ‘prayer’ it struck me that her name, Duaa, sounded similar to doa, the Malay word for ‘prayer.’

 

In the course of conversation, I learned that this was the first time the media from the Middle East visited Johor and felt deeply honoured to be part of their experience.

 

It was very encouraging to know that their experiences in Johor will be published in their Travel publications and personally, I was more than pleased that they will also take home a bit of Johor in My Johor Stories books.

 

Thank you, Anantara Desaru Coast Resort & Villas for letting me share with your guests a bit more about Johor and for your continued support to My Johor Stories.

Selera Citarasa at Tea Garden for Ramadan

 

In January 2024, I read the news that a proudly Johor brand, Tea Garden, was inducted into the prestigious Malaysia Book of Records with two remarkable feats.

 

Facade of the Tea Garden outlet at Taman Molek

As I read on, my mouth watered at the memory of its taste because Tea Garden earned the recognition for the Most Sold Baked Herbal Chickens in a Year and the Most Sold Hainanese Milk Tea in a Year, a very interesting record of achievements.

 

During the recent Chinese New Year season, relatives and friends who came to Johor for a visit, happened to dine at different Tea Garden outlets and then shared photographs as well as their positive comments with me.

 

Chef Dzulkifi and Chef Stephen
with the Selera Citarasa spread

I have always enjoyed the menu at Tea Garden – that remained consistently good – and could not help but felt strangely proud to hear the good feedback from visitors who dined there recently.

 

Not long after that, I received an invitation from Tea Garden for a preview of the new menu for the Ramadan and Raya season, and did not hesitate to accept it.

 

Hosted at the Tea Garden outlet at Taman Molek, a giant outdoor banner announced that this café brand was certified Halal for diners to dine with comfort and confidence.

 

Established in Johor Baru in 2005 to serve a menu of authentic Malaysian cuisine, this café brand has since expanded with over 30 outlets locally in Johor and to the Klang Valley as well as abroad in Perth, Australia.

 

A serving of Hainanese milk tea:
You may wish to have another cup
after one delicious cup!
Founded by Hainanese with four decades of culinary experience, Tea Garden continues to maintain their founders’ original belief in serving homemade recipes and cooking from scratch using quality ingredients to ensure that diners will enjoy the wealth of Malaysian food culture and heritage.

 

This Ramadan, the culinary team led by Chef Dzulkifli Abdul and Chef Stephen Khiew have curated a menu of delightful dishes for the breaking-of-fast dubbed Selera Citarasa.

 

Staying true to its tagline, Serving Malaysia’s local best, the festive menu comprised rice and noodle dishes like Ayam Percik served with Egg Fried Rice, Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng Berempah, Laksa Johor Spaghetti and Sup Kambing Mamak served with Rice.

 

Platter of Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng Berempah

The platter of Ayam Percik served with Egg Fried Rice was a clever combination of Chinese-style egg fried rice with a grilled, tender and boneless chicken chop topped with a generous drizzle of Percik sauce, complimented by a side of achar pickles and papadam crisps.

 

Malaysian favourite, Nasi Lemak topped with a bull’s eye egg was featured in the Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng Berempah platter.

 

This came with a quarter portion of chicken and sides of sambal, achar pickles, chunks of raw cucumber, toasted anchovies and peanuts.

 

Tea Garden version of Laksa Johor Spaghetti

The Tea Garden version of Laksa Johor was served garnished with slices of bunga kantan or torch ginger flower and sprigs of daun kesum or Vietnamese coriander.

 

Meanwhile the serving of Sup Kambing Mamak came with a portion of rice and salad that tasted just right with the side of mouthwatering blend of sambal.

 

This menu also offers a choice of popular snacks that include pan-fried Gyoza stuffed with minced chicken and Siew Mai made with minced chicken and shrimps.

 

Taste the rich flavour of Sup Kambing Mamak
 
Another popular pick at Tea Garden must be the Kentang Goreng Special, potato fries served with their signature sambal-mayo dip sauce.

 

Two refreshing thirst-quenchers featured in this new menu are Soda Bandung Selasih and Sparkling Kedondong Assam Boi, designed to awake an appetite for more food.

 

Diners may, of course, pick familiar favourites from the regular menu so I did not miss the opportunity to reacquaint my tastebuds with another taste of their popular Baked Herbal Chicken served with white rice.

 

Some items in the Heat & Eat range of food

It was good to see that Tea Garden now has a Heat & Eat range of precooked frozen food (inside a chiller) for diners to buy back, reheat and eat at their own convenience.

 

Among the popular items in this range were the quarter portion of Herbal Chicken, Chicken Rendang, Salt-baked Chicken, Glutinous Rice, BBQ Chicken Bun and Black Sesame Bun, Siew Mai and Gyoza, just to name a few.

 

In the current promotion, every purchase of Heat & Eat items worth RM39.90 will receive a Free cooler bag with a batik motif designed by a local artist.

 

A festive gift: twin-pack jars
of Nasi Lemak Sambal
and Curry Paste

This promo also includes ready-to-eat, twin-pack jars of Tea Garden, Nasi Lemak Sambal and Curry Paste (RM23.80) that comes with three pieces of RM5 vouchers (worth RM15).

 

Yes, I liked what I ate at Tea Garden and also bought some Heat & Eat items to savour at home, neatly carried in that cooler bag, designed with a beautiful batik motif.

 

The Selera Citarasa menu will be served at Halal-certified Tea Garden outlets* in Johor and the Klang Valley throughout the Ramadan and Raya season 2024.

 

Also available for takeaway and order delivery with Foodpanda, Grabfood and Shopeefood.

 

*EXCEPT at KUU Kopitiam Senai International Airport, Kuu by Tea Garden at Eco Botani and Aeon Tebrau City.

 

For updated info on Tea Garden, follow official pages on Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok @teagardenmsia.

 

Farewell, CG Jeevan Singh

 

In January 2024, when Consul-General of Singapore in Johor Baru, CG Jeevan Singh and I exchanged New Year greetings, he mentioned that his time in Johor Baru was coming to an end very soon.

 

A sea of guests gathered in front of the
'photo booth' for a photo memento with the CGs

This jolted my memory and made me consider how the years have flown since we bade farewell to his predecessor, Rajpal Singh, and welcomed Jeevan to Johor Baru.

 

Jeevan said that a reception will be held in March to introduce his successor and did not hesitate to tell me that he had given him all my books to read up before coming to Johor. He even emphasized that My Johor Stories were compulsory reading.

 

I believe Jeevan gave that instruction in jest but I still felt much honoured to have had the privilege to get to know one CG after the previous CG, who were based in Johor Baru in the past terms.

 

One for the album: With CG Jeevan at the event to
speak on Across the Straits: Johor's View of Singapore

Then I received the invitation to the reception from the office of the Consulate-General of the Republic of Singapore in Johor Baru and I made a note on my calendar because I was determined not to miss this event.

 

In 2019, not long after his arrival in Johor Baru, Jeevan reminded me that our paths had crossed in 2014 because I covered an event which he and other members of the Consulate-General of the Republic of Singapore in Johor Baru, took part.

 

With CG Jeevan and Gregory
Lui at my book launch event

Then only did I recall that I published a piece on the humanitarian walk by United Sikhs in Streets Johor, the Southern section of The New Straits Times newspapers dated 10 June 2014.

 

Jeevan then invited me to be part of a panel of speakers to meet a delegation of Singapore civil servants who will be in Johor in January 2020 as part of their Specialised Understanding of Malaysia and Indonesia course, organized by the Singapore Civil Service College.

 

He explained that this study visit was a crucial component of the course that will help the participants appreciate first-hand, the history and depth of Singapore’s relationship with Johor.

 

So it was in January – just before the global pandemic reached our shores – when I was among the panel of three speakers in an informal, closed door discussion to speak on the topic, Across the Straits: Johor’s View of Singapore.

 

Then on March 18, 2020, the borders between Singapore and Johor were closed and in the subsequent months, the word, unprecedented, suddenly became widely used.

 

CG Jeevan and his wife, Sima, were among the
participants in my Heritage Walk in April 2023

When the borders between the two nations were closed, I could only imagine how challenging it was for the team at the office of Consulate-General of the Republic of Singapore in Johor Baru who were literally, so near and yet so far away from their families.

 

Two weeks turned into two months and it was some two years later when life slowly returned to near-normal.

 

The global pandemic also delayed my work on the manuscript for Book Three, the final instalment to complete the trilogy of My Johor Stories.

 

CG Jeevan and Sima with participants 
at Johor Baru Kwong Siew Heritage
Gallery to learn more about the
Cantonese Heritage in Johor

I was deeply honoured by the presence of many distinguished guests, with Jeevan among them, on that momentous day in December 2022 when My Johor Stories 3: Proudly Johor, Then and Now, was finally launched in a simple event.

 

Then in 2023, in an effort to bring life back into the city, Think City Johor Baru provided a grant for the My Johor Stories in Downtown Johor Baru project where I hosted Heritage Walks and Book Reading sessions in the first four months of 2023.

 

Jeevan encouraged his team to participate in my Heritage Walks organized in various themes and I was pleased that two members from the office of Consulate-General of the Republic of Singapore in Johor Baru, were among the participants in my Walk in February 2023 that featured the Heritage Traders theme.

 

Then in April 2023, I more than was thrilled when Jeevan and his wife, Sima, registered and joined my Heritage Walk to gain further insight into Johor culture and heritage in the Cantonese Heritage theme.

 

Fast-forward to the eve of the date for the reception, I was at a family dinner to celebrate my niece’s birthday where I met her uncle, Gregory Lui Poh Sek, my brother’s brother-in-law who is Chief Financial Officer with AME Elite Consortium Berhad at Senai Airport City.

 

During our chit-chat, we shared a laugh because Greg finally discovered that the Chief Executive Officer for Senai Airport City and Head of Group Property at MMC Corporation Berhad, Gan Seng Keong, with whom he had a business relationship, was in fact, my cousin.

 

A photo memento with CG Jeevan and Sima,
and CG Kuan Khai and Teresa,
Latha Pillay and Thanam V Suresh

I remembered that I met both, Greg and Gan at the previous reception hosted by the office of the Consulate-General of the Republic of Singapore in Johor Baru so I asked Greg if he will be there for the reception to bid farewell to Jeevan and to welcome his successor.

 

I guessed his reply will be, “Yes!” because I know that Greg and Jeevan were acquainted when they were at my book launch event for My Johor Stories 3: Proudly Johor, Then and Now, in December 2022.

 

When I arrived at the reception that evening, a large crowd of guests was gathered in front of the ‘photo booth’ set up for the photo session with the in-coming CG Ng Kuan Khai and out-going CG Jeevan Singh.

 

As I recognized many friends among the guests, I noted that the crowd there were made up of a veritable Who’s-Who in Johor and beyond.

 

With CG Kuan Khai and his wife, Teresa

While Jeevan was preoccupied with posing for photos, I was warmly welcomed by Sima who graciously introduced me to Teresa, Kuan Khai’s wife.

 

I soon became aware of the queue of guests who were waiting to capture a photo memento with the two CGs and spotted more familiar faces including that of Johor Mejar Cina, Dato’ David Wong Khong Soon, whom I choose to address as, Uncle Dato’.

 

Meanwhile the crowd was swelling by the minute and as soon as I had my group photo snapped with the two CGs and their spouses, I made my way to the ballroom where the event proper will be held.

 

Among other familiar people in the foyer, I also met with Mr & Mrs Yap Yew Peng, parents of the savant artist, Yap Hanzhen, who completed an impressive sketch of the Johor Bahru skyline for the office of the Consulate-General of the Republic of Singapore in Johor Baru.

 

Incidentally, the story of Hanzhen and his gift in drawing was documented under Portraits in my 2017 MPH Non-Fiction Bestseller, My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage.

 

Speech by CG Jeevan Singh

As more guests trickled in, I saw Greg but because I did not see my cousin in the crowd, I checked with him by text and Gan promptly replied saying he had to decline the invitation because he had a prior appointment in Kuala Lumpur.

 

The reception continued in the ballroom with speeches, first presented by Jeevan and then followed by Kuan Khai.

 

Jeevan shared briefly about his term in Johor and expressed his appreciation to all who helped him, his team and family, especially through the lockdown periods.

 

He ended his speech by raising a glass for a toast and invited Johor to extend to his successor, the same support and cooperation as they did to him.

 

In his speech, Kuan Khai quickly established a bond with Johor by sharing that he used to visit his grandfather who lived in Serkat, near Pontian, and went on to say a few words on how he and his team will work together to continue the warm relationship between Johor and Singapore.

 

Speech presented by CG Kuan Khai

Meanwhile I took time to admire the bright backdrop design that clearly featured familiar landmarks in Singapore on the Left and landmarks in Johor on the Right.

 

And in the Centre was an artist’s impression of a train on rails built upon raised tracks, an illustration (my guess!) of the Rapid Transit System or RTS that will link our borders, scheduled to be completed by end 2026.

 

While guests were welcomed to enjoy a dinner buffet spread, the reception continued with more photography sessions with both Jeevan and Kuan Khai.

 

When I had the opportunity for a chit-chat with Kuan Khai and his wife, I felt ridiculously grateful when he expressed his determination to read My Johor Stories to get to know Johor better.

 

I echo the words on the backdrop design which read as, Selamat Jalan to Jeevan, Farewell my friend, and Selamat Datang to Kuan Khai, Welcome to Johor!