Bali Kuta Resort by Swiss-Belhotel from Agoda.com

We planned for a five days and four nights stay in Bali. Having only booked three days and two nights at Amadea Resort in Seminyak, hubby shopped for the other three days and two nights stay in Kuta. After reading some reviews, he decided to book Bali Kuta Resort’s room via agoda.com. For the superior room and two nights, it costs RM 376.62 (or US$119).

 

Upon arrival at Bali Kuta Resort on our third day in Bali, the normal registration procedure went on. Similar to what we had in Amadea Resort, we were given a 10 minutes free massage voucher for two and free breakfasts for our stay there. We were led to the room. Well, it is a different feel, given that we have downgraded from a five star resort to three – four star resort.

 

Once entered the room (room number 516), I actually felt creepy. The room was spacious but lights were dimmed. If I am not mistaken, some of its lights were not functioning because some switches do not work. One of the toilet lights is not functioning too. On the same night (after we were back from our outing), we felt that the room was so stuffy. Hubby called the receptionist and informed them about the stuffiness and how the air conditioner does not seem to be functioning. They sent their engineer to our room to check and adjusted it. But, it made no difference. Hubby then called the receptionist and they finally agreed to change our room.

 

The bell boy brought us to another room (this time 523). The room is smaller and most of its lights are working. It still looks dark, but less creepy. Air conditioner was better but it seems like lack of gas. It takes time for the air conditioner to function properly. I noticed that most of the furnishing there was designed especially for the westerners. For example, the cupboard and toilet basin were at very high levels. Compared to Amadea, it lacks facilities like hair dryer. The room looks old and create uneasiness to me.

 

We also went for the free massage. Unlike Amadea, it does not give us the choice to choose whether we want it to be shoulder massage or foot massage. We did not add on time to the massage this round.

 

The breakfasts were taken on their second floor. Well, compared to Amadea, they do have wider range of choices. We did not swim at the resort given that we have to walk through its reception to get to the pool.

 

Location wise – I think it is less strategic if you were to go to the beach (well, this could be linked to its price compared to resorts located right in front of the beach – it is a budget resort). Nevertheless, it created a walking opportunity for us. And, we managed to explore walking to Kuta Square, Legian and Kuta Beach.

 

Well, it does not “force” its customers to paying the donation compared to Amadea.

Groupon purchase – Stay for 2 at Amadea Resort and Villas + Daily Buffet Breakfast + 1-Way Airport Transfer for 3D2N (RM549)

In February, hubby has planned for another honeymoon trip to Bali. Coincidently, there were quite many promotions on Bali resorts from the discount sites. Finally, he choose the groupon purchase. He took the 3 days and 2 nights stay at Amadea Resort and Villas located at Seminyak for RM 549 while it is worth RM1,185. [Voucher number: 1/2300]. However, before he made the purchase, he emailed the hotel (at reservations@amadeabali.com) to check the availability of the dates we wanted. The reply was spontaneous.

 

After the purchase was made, hubby instantaneously gave the booking details. The booking includes daily breakfast for the stay and free 15 minutes massage. Also, hubby requested for a deluxe room with the King size bed, which was a free upgrade from a superior room.

 

So, the day finally arrived. We were brought by our driver to the resort. Well, we were quite amazed that its entrance was so small but once entered the reception area, it is quite huge. We were greeted with cheer and politeness from the lobby. We needed to get on their buggy ride to get to their reception. Once arrived at the reception, we showed the receptionist our booking details. They needed our passport for verification and swiped hubby’s credit card as a deposit. We were given the room key, the breakfast vouchers, vouchers for welcome drink and voucher for two persons’ free 15 minutes massage at their spa. We also asked for their wifi password, which they gave us on a piece of paper. We were then led to our rooms, which was facing the pool. The staff who guided us also explained the items in the room.

We were amazed at the spaciousness of the room and the bathroom. It was truly amazing for me personally. The place is clean and new (the resort just opened for less than a year). We really enjoyed the two nights stay there. The resort is also going for environmental friendly moves. Instead of the normal plastic laundry bags, they gave the environmental friendly bag.

For the free massage, we upgraded it to another 15 minutes of body massage, where it costs additional Rb50,000 per person.

 

The breakfast provided was normal. One setback is that their café is located quite a walking distance from the reception. We had our free welcome drink on the next day.  We also managed to get a dip in their pool at night. Officially, the pool is opened from 9 am to 6 pm. However, we were told that we can enjoy the pool facilities beyond the opening time, as long as we remain quiet and did not cause disturbances to the other guests.

 

On the day we check out, we were shocked to see an additional Rb10,000 was imposed for charitable donation. It seems to be compulsory but we are not sure how the fund will be mobilised and we had no choice. Otherwise, it was reasonable to pay RM549 for the two nights stay. Well, hubby found that one does not necessary has to go through discount sites to get this rate, as one can book at this price while some online website. Also, we did not utilise the one way airport transfer, as we were extending our stay in other part of Bali and we had a driver.

 

Poor service on return visit @ PJ Women Specialist & Family Clinic, SS2, PJ

After the previous visit, I have decided to re-visit this clinic since it has my record. This time around I called the clinic one day before the visit. I was asked to come at 10am on a Saturday, March 31. So, the next day I went to the clinic the next day. I did all the similar tests as previously. It costs me RM390.

This time around, I am really disappointed with the service for these points:

1. The doctor (same doctor) continues his mumbling when telling us my condition and so forth. He used medical terms, which we don’t understand and did not care to explain.
2. Previously, credit card payment was permitted, which we remembered vividly. But, the nurse denied it and said that credit card payment was NEVER implemented.
3. This is the WORST – the doctor said that if they did not call me in two weeks time, give them a call. We really can’t believe that the clinic wants us to remind them to remind us. True enough, close to three weeks and today, I made a call to ask if my medical reports are ready, just as I mentioned my name, the nurse right away says that it is ready without having to check on the records. The reports are ready and yet she did not put any effort in reminding me to pick up the reports.

Truly disappointing! Highly unlikely that I will return to this clinic for such kind of service. We noticed that there are increased in patients. Therefore, it is important to call in before you visit the clinic.

Only upgrade we saw – the doctor’s room has been expanded. The machine for ultrasound has been moved next door. The doctor is still using his old laptop. The system in the clinic hangs so easily that he got to restart the laptop and asked his nurse to do the same.

Follow up read: I have changed my gynae

Licensed Money Changer, Silver Stream Sdn Bhd @ Lower ground floor Subang Parade

We were supposed to change our money for our next trip at Halasuria (M) Sdn Bhd located at Empire Shopping Gallery. However, we stumbled into another money changer in the next door shopping mall, which is Silver Stream Sdn Bhd.

 

Last week, we actually found that Silver Stream actually provides a better rate compared to Halasuria. So, when we decided to exchange our currencies today, we went both places to spot the difference. For Indonesian rupiah, Halasuria was selling at about RM 342 for Rp1,000,000 while Silver Stream was selling at RM339.5 for Rp1,000,000. Therefore, it is about RM2.50 cheaper from Silver Stream.

 

Without hesitation, we exchanged our rupiah at Silver Stream. The man was friendly when we presented ourselves at the counter. We told him that we had RM2,000 and asked how much would we get. He immediately computed at the rate RM339 instead of RM339.50, where we had Rp5.9m. He did not charge the additional 10 sen required. He gave us an envelope after we asked for it. Well, I would rate the service is as good as Halausuria.

But, we were really glad that there was some extra savings from the rate given. We saved about RM3 per Rp1,000,000. Therefore, the total savings were up to RM 17.70 (however, this exclude the possible discount amount by Halasuria).

 

Discount sites

In effort to create savings, I actually took the “extra” miles, looking into discount sites. Well, it all started with searching for value buys for my beauty products and services. It slowly flowed into other categories such as photobook and food.

I will usually look into it. When I spot a deal, I will usually consult hubby if I should go for it. Sometimes, if the deal is going for few more days, I will take a break from looking at it and re-decide. This certainly prevents overspending.

I have no particular preference for any discount sites. I will visit the sites as long as they are updated often and have value buys pertaining to our needs.

The discount sites that I often visit are:

Groupon

Webuy

Everyday

I love discounts

Streetdeal

Mydeal

Milkadeal

Jackcow

Gooddeals2u

Deal4real.asia

I have not purchased from every single site that I visited, but the sites that I have most frequent purchases are Everyday, Streetdeal and Groupon.

I do look forward for more deals from these sites. Not only it creates savings, it also bring us to new places that are not known to us. So far, we did not face any problem redeeming the items/services using these vouchers.

 

Follow up read: Jackcow no longer recommended by 17chipmunks

The famous wantan mee in Aman Suria

We got to know about this famous wantan mee in Aman Suria from a close friend since one or two years ago. It was previously located at SFS Kopitiam (or 747 Kopitiam), Jalan PJU 1/3C. It has now moved to Shang Yi Fatt Kopitiam, which is perpendicular to SFS Kopitiam (for reason that we don’t know). The hawker stall is famous for its char siu wantan mee or the curry wantan mee.

 

Well, I would rate the service as “good”. The main chef or the boss is actually very friendly. If one is standing there waiting for the noodles to be packed home, he shows off his cutting skills and then offer the waiting customers some char siu to try on. Though they have a large number of customers especially during weekends or public holidays, they have a system of recording who came first. Nevertheless, I would warn that it is a long wait during peak hours, weekends and public holidays. There was once we waited for almost an hour. However, due to the long wait, sometimes customers will approach the lady boss on their turns – where at times, she could give you unfriendly respond.

I will deem the price as reasonable. While the first few times I felt the noodles are good, after a long while, I guess I am finding it quite normal though hubby and my close friend still find it so delicious. So, it is up to you to judge!

 

Manicure at VDream Hair Studio, Taman Megah, PJ

I got to know that VDream Hair Studio at Taman Megah, PJ does nail manicure when I was passing it after my session with Cool Nails (which I was not happy with). So, yesterday when hubby went to his session at Acupuncture Yee Chou, I tried my luck to see if I could do manicure, given that one of my nails broke. This time, I brought along my oil replenishing, bottom coat and top coat.

It was close to 7.45pm when I dropped by at the saloon, which was actually waiting to close at 8pm. I actually apologized that I came so late, but the manicurist, Lynnshiea says that it is alright. “Even if the customer walks in at 7.55pm, we will still serve.”

Once entered, she told me to pick a nail colour immediately, which I did. Then, I told her that one of my nails broke. She told me that nothing can be done except to cut it off, which I then told her to proceed. Before beginning, she sterilizes her tools.

I observed that her style of manicure is different. No soaking of fingers, but she used one sort of liquid to soften the nails. She told me that there is a lot of “dead” cuticle, which has hardened. Also, she noticed that it was really badly shaped – which does not look rounded or square. She patiently shapes my finger nails and not cut it off immediately using a nail cutter. She explained that it was her style to do that because the nails will not break off easily. The nails are nicely shaped and she makes sure that it is of expectation, by asking be if it is alright. Well, she does not provide any hand massage or applying any lotion to the hand. She also does not clean the other side of the nails (internal? I don’t really know how to describe here). There is no special nail dryer seen, as she uses the hair dryer to dry up my nails.

She applied the coats that I brought along, but told me that the top coat that I bought is one that needs a lot of time to dry up because of its thickness. But, she says that since I have already bought, use it up first and then recommended me another type of top coat – which dries up faster – that I can buy in the future. After making the payment, I wrote my contact number for her to update me on promotions. The thumb nail colour got smudged, but she helped me to re-colour it. The manicure service cost RM30 (which is RM2 more expensive compared to Cool Nails).

I personally like her service – that she is patience in shaping my nails. My nails are re-shaped to what I wanted and all at the same length. She is also not pushy, but just let me know of the promotion that they are having. The only setback about her is that she does not really speak (or I did not hear her speak) English.

Since she is the only manicurist and pedicurist, she reminds me to ring her up first in the future for appointment. She is off on Fridays. Most of her customers are the customers that frequent the saloon for hair styling, and do not want to waste time waiting for the hair to be done. She also offers nail arts (but I did not ask for the pricing). Well, there is high possibility that I will be back here.

Dining at Medifoods, Jalan SS18/6 Subang Jaya using voucher from everyday.com.my

Spotted this deal – 2 Bowls Organic Daily Fresh Handmade Wantan Mee (Egg /Spinach / Pumpkin) + 2 Bowls Organic Vegetable Miso Soup + 2 Plates Organic Fruits + 2 Cups Organic Green Tea @ Medifoods – in late March for RM11.50. It is located at Jalan SS 18/6, which is not too far from our place. So, we bought it and only utilised it today. [Voucher number: 70908262277]

 

We managed to find Jalan SS 18/6, Subang Jaya but could not find the shop. We initially thought we were “scammed” as the shop row ends at number 53, while Medifood is at number 59. Looking at the voucher hard, we spotted the telephone number and thus, made a call. We were given some direction and at last managed to find the shop. The shop is rather hidden, and it really shows how poor is the planning of the road in that area.

 

Upon arrival, we handed over the voucher. The waitress immediately asked our choices of wantan mee and the types of soup (two types). We took spinach mee, pumpkin mee, wantan soup and the sweet and sour soup. Immediately after the order is placed, we were served with two plates of guava and two hot green teas. We waited about 10 minutes before the food arrived – which actually tell us that it is really freshly cooked.

 

The green teas and guavas

Pumpkin and spinach wantan mee

Soups

We rate the food – rather good. Though the portion looks abit small, at the end, our stomach was filled. The boss of the restaurant also took the initiative to approach us and asked how was the noodle – which shows how the boss appreciates its customers’ presence, despite the price is discounted.  They also did not put pressure on us to order other food. The place has also got a good ambience – very nature feel. Given that it is a corner lot, the outdoor portion is being decorated as if we were in a little forest.

 

The actual price of the wantan mee

Price wise – I took a look at the menu. The wantan mee was actually at RM8.50 per plate and green tea is about RM2.00 (which actually tells us so much more savings we get for buying the voucher). For organic food, I think the price is reasonable.

 

If we are really into organic food, bet we will return to this place. Also, it is a good place for light discussion with family and friends, given the ambience.

The ambience

1 Main Course + 1 Drink + 1 Dessert @ ISENBIN Taiwanese Restaurant (SS2) for only RM9.90 deal from mydeal.com.my

Isenbin has been our favourite hideout place of late. So, I was quite excited to see the offer on Isenbin at mydeal.com.my. The deal includes one main course (from 5 choices), one drink (from 24 choices) and one dessert (this dessert is not served on a daily basis). And, it costs RM 9.90 (instead of RM18.70). We noted that the main courses are priced either at RM8.90 or RM 9.90. And, their drinks are either RM3.90, RM4.90 or RM5.90. So, this is definitely a good buy. Therefore, we bought two of the deal on March 27. We got the vouchers once payment was made, but it is only valid from April 2 to June 2 (Voucher numbers: AB42F483 and CC23765A). The voucher can be used only on weekdays, but since we frequent there quite often on Friday night, why not? Also, this is our first purchase from mydeal.com.my.

 

Once arrived, we handed the printed voucher to the cashier. Then, we choose our choice of main courses and our drinks. We were served the drinks and the dessert first. The food was freshly prepared. We choose one spicy ramen and the other ramen soup. I think that the food is really made in house rather than the instant noodles. The ramen actually tasted more like pan mee. Overall, the quality of food is good (yes, this is the first time hubby and I tasted Isenbin’s food despite being there many times) but the quantity does not measured up sufficiently for the price of RM8.90.

 

If we were to eat and drink without the deal and not including the price of the dessert, it will cost RM28.60. With the deal, we paid only RM19.80. This means that we saved about 8.80 or 30% of the original bill. For us, it totally worth it.

 

Also, despite frequenting Isenbin many times, the staffs are always friendly and greet us with a smile.

 The drinks and desserts

Ramen noodle soup

Spicy ramen noodle soup

Product review: Clarins Gentle Eye Make-Up Remover Lotion

I am a big fan of Clarins products since my skin has improved from the day I started going for its skin spa and using its products. However, there’s one product that I would not really recommend one to buy. It will be the “Clarins Gentle Eye Make-Up Remover Lotion”. Why do I say so?

 

After the third time using, I felt that it did not clearly removed the eye make-up (each time). Stains can still be seen at the tip of my eyes. In addition, it is not really gentle to my eyes in the sense that it makes my eyes painful or in Malay – “mata pedih”.  It results to the need for me to close my eyes and tearing. Luckily I bought a sample bottle to test out. Or, could the “sample” bottle be the product?