Iftar Weekend with the SPK and BBGS Girls!

It was certainly a crazy weekend... we had to squeeze two major buka puasa events that same week!

As always, Hubby doesn't like to go out for iftar. He's willing to make an exception somewhat for the first half of Ramadhan; but the last ten days are a big no-no for him. That, plus the dateline of my helper leaving for her Raya holidays... meant that we had to squeeze iftar with both equally important groups, on the same weekend!

On Friday night, the SPK gang came over. Pot luck style as usual. Out of the six, one is always the designated cook. She is so good at cooking and efficient in the kitchen, that she usually ends up making the main dish. The rest supplements it with whatever we can. So that day we had ikan patin masak tempoyak, pucuk tempoyak, ikan talapia sambal, sup tulang (made using that famous Noxxa), ayam goreng, daging hitam, sayur campur... and for moreh, meehoon goreng, satay and murtabak!

Superb dessert line too - cucur udang, buah melaka (some people call it onde-onde), karipap, tepung pelita (Aiden's favourite), keropok (for Ian) and last but not least, I ordered an orange cake with chia seeds. Chia seeds are now all the rage for losing weight, so that night we used that rationale to justify our cake frenzy session!

Extensive spread.

Dessert area... oh my calories! And that's 10 cups of rice for six families. 

The men enjoying their food after solat maghrib. The ladies... lepas azan dah terus makan!

Moreh time!

Cheeky group photo.

After the group photoshoot, we moved to the garden for our yearly tradition. We've been writing messages using sparklers since we became friends in 2011, making this our 5th Eid together. In 2014, we realized that we had to start including the year within the message, so that we could keep track of the photos. So here's a compilation of our sparkler shots since 2012 till now. (Read about our past iftars here and here.)

From bottom to top, 2012 till 2016.

Here are the full shots from this year's attempt:

The full 2016 shot.

That's not PM but rather DM6 - the number signifies the number of ladies in the gang.

This one is a new one - one of the daddies eagerly joined in for the 'underline' at the bottom.

The next day was all about the BBGS ladies. Last year it was held at my house, but this year we decided to beralih angin to Dayang's house. Out of the 7, only 5 were able to make it. Since I was in charge of dessert (they were hoping that I would make pavlova), I took the lazy way out and bought cucur udang instead. #soontobemaidless #malasnakkecahrumah

Aiden was given a huge privilege that night. Since he was the only child fasting that day, he was allowed to sit at the big table with the other adults. I've said this once but I'll say this again - I am really impressed by his dedication at fasting. Hubby and I never expected for him to be able to fast full day, everyday, to date. He has exceeded our expectations!

Kesian Aiden gigit jari tunggu waktu berbuka.

All of us smiling after a full meal of nasi arab.

Then we moved on to desserts!

Meanwhile, the kids were busy in the toy area. Ian seems to really enjoy cooking! #realmencancook

Oh my, two anak dara flanking Aiden!

Ian finally came out to join the fun.

My BBGS girls have started adopting the tradition too!

Here's our shot for 2016. (Dayang, how come you can't even make a straight number 1???) *giggles*

Confident enough to hold it on his own!

While Hubby was taking shots of Ian holding his own sparklers, I was always just by Ian's side to ensure that he didn't touch the fire... or anything of that sort. Of course nothing happened while we were being vigilant. Just a few minutes later while the gang were doing our sparkler messages... as soon as the sparklers died out, I immediately walked to Hubby to review the shot, andddddd guess what happened.... Ian came up to me and grasped the end of my sparkler, in an attempt to take it. Although the fire had died out, it was still hot! He immediately let go and started crying. I was shocked... but thankfully nothing serious - only a slightly reddish mark on his palm. *sigh* Hard lesson learnt - always throw away your sparklers before reviewing the shot!

Last photo for the night.

As if one camera wasn't enough!

Thank you SPK and BBGS ladies, for a wonderful iftar together. You know who you are! *smiles*

Weekend Getaway at Grand Hyatt KL

We had a quick weekend getaway at Grand Hyatt KL just before the start of Ramadhan. Since it also coincided with the end of school holidays, we decided against traveling outside of KL. (Our initial plan was to put up in JB and visit the Singapore night safari but we settled for a city getaway instead.)

Upon arrival, the concierge took our bags from the car and we walked into the ground lobby. There were two counters, one was serving a customer while the other was unmanned. Since I had done my research prior to our arrival at the hotel, I knew that the check in would be done at the sky lobby. But no one was around to show us the way! Finally the concierge walked in and showed us towards the lift. Hmm... Not a good first impression.

The sky lobby overlooking the breakfast area.

The check-in was such a surreal experience. I love love love the sky lobby and the stunning view of the city. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the affability. Upon our arrival, despite some staff milling behind the counter, no one greeted us yet again. In the end I just picked a counter and queued for my turn. Registration was seamless and professional, but somehow I did not get the hospitality that everyone was raving about on Trip Advisor. (I even had to haggle to get a late check out!)

We were walked to the lift by the check-in staff, as he explained about the various facilities available at the hotel. Room was posh and very well maintained (it is a spanking new hotel, after all), and cleverly laid out with an amazing view of the city. (No view of the Petronas Twin Towers for us though.) Floor to ceiling windows, luxurious bed, marble decked bathroom, a spacious walk in wardrobe, even a proper lighted dressing table and stool complete with magnifying mirror for applying make up. 

Our view as we walked through the front door. On the left was the entrance to the bathroom area, or walk straight to enter the bedroom.

Floor to ceiling windows.

Amazing view of the city. Imagine working at the desk with the Petronas Twin Towers in the background!

Kids enjoying the view.

It was not easy to get a decent photo with that much sunlight pouring in!

But of course, the best feature of the entire room was the 'privacy' function at the shower room. With just a press of a button, the clear glass surrounding the shower room would turn 'frosted' for privacy! Amazing! As Hubby said, "This is why I paid so much for the room!" *chuckles* I was so impressed with the whole thing that I took a video of the 'frosting' effect. Its on my Instagram, if you're interested.

Before the privacy button.

After the privacy button!

The view from inside the bathroom with the privacy button turned on and off. Can you see Aiden peeking in curiously?

Roomy walk in wardrobe. The single sink (literally just by the bed) and the dressing table at the end.

Concierge arrived shortly. Very polite and helpful. He asked whether we needed anything else for the room so we asked for extra towels. Unfortunately it never came. (Why ask when you're not going to deliver?)

The square bathtub was a bit impractical for adults, but it was certainly a good fit for the two boys!

They had Nickelodeon too!

The swimming pool was nice and relaxing, the kiddie pool tucked away at the far end of the pool. There were only 3 loungers (some sort of four post suntanning bed) by the pool so you have to make an effort to go over really early if you want to use those. They even provided floats, swim boards and pool noodles for kids, on a first come first serve basis of course. 

The kids helped themselves to a pool noodle each.

There is also a restaurant/bar by the pool. We didn't get the chance to have any meals there though. Next visit hopefully!

The three 'loungers'.

The other end of the pool area. On the left is the walkway leading to the kiddy pool.

Aiden splashing about in the kiddy pool.

Ian posing with his adorable goggles. Check out that button nose and pout!

Aiden and Ian really enjoyed themselves, well until Ian came running to be saying "Akit, akit!" He pointed to his arm, I pushed up his swimming suit sleeve and there was a slight scratch. I gave it a kiss and asked him to go back into the pool but he insisted that it was painful. So I pushed the sleeve up even further and I saw that his upper arm was red and there was a bump with a puncture in the middle. Something bit Ian in the pool! I stopped a staff (must be a high ranking staff as he was in a blazer, mind you) and told him that "my son got bitten in the pool" but I was quite disappointed with the reaction that I got. He walked me to the spa and asked the spa staff to "amik cream, dia kena gigit nyamuk". WTF. Nyamuk ape masuk dalam pool? You didn't even bother asking me what happened and you assumed it was a mosquito. Thank goodness the spa staff were helpful, they even offered to arrange for transport to the clinic if required. We respectfully declined.

Before the drama.

Smiling happily.

We brought the kids back to the room, had lunch then later returned to the pool. The spa staff recognized us and asked about Ian's condition. I appreciated their concern! I'm also glad to report that after our very unimpressive first start, everything started turning for the better. On our way down to the lobby for dinner, we were greeted enthusiastically by a front desk welcome staff (where were you when we checked in??!!), who even walked us out and showed us the shortcut to KLCC. After dinner we returned to the hotel and we were welcomed warmly again. We got back to the room and discovered that room service had entered our room for turn down. Unfortunately they didn't bother making our beds (erm isn't that what turn down service is for, to prepare the beds for use??) so that was a bit odd. Pillows were a bit flat, even for me, who hate pillows that are too 'fat'. Hubby struggled with the pillows, so in the end he used the sofa pillows to sleep instead. Appreciated the electrical sockets by the bed. Strong and fast internet WiFi too.

Getting ready for dinner.

We waited for an hour before we could get a place in Chillis. But I persevered... anything for their chocolate molten cake! 

Playing tourists at the KLCC park.

I didn't realize KLCC had musical fountains, ala Dubai! We had fun watching the captivating music, water and light spectacle.

Best picture we could get at the lobby at night.

Breakfast was beautiful! Beautiful views and beautiful food. I'll save that for a separate post. In a nut shell, it was certainly a culinary tour of the world. Expect the buffet to serve food that are not generally served elsewhere. We really enjoyed ourselves that morning. Superior service from the breakfast staff... they even made time to make small talk with the kids.

We had another round at the swimming pool that morning. We were lucky to score a lounger so I was able to lay down in the shade while Ian played in the water just by my side. Hubby reported that he saw a bee near the swim area, so we deduced that Ian must have been stung by a bee.

Here's a picture of my feet enjoying the sun.

The loungers were actually on a platform surrounded by water, so I was able to let Ian loose in the water by my side while I lazed around.

I love this Ogival floats. It kept Ian's head from being submerged in the water.

So proud of Aiden, he can now float on his back too. Ian on the other hand, wanted to copy his brother. Thank god for the marvelous floats!

Check out and concierge were quick. The checkout staff asked whether I had a good stay. I replied by complaining about the towels and the bee bite. She was very apologetic about it, and even gave Ian a box of chocolates as a gesture of regret.

Checkout with a smile!

Computers in the sky lobby.

Yummy chocolates, courtesy of Hyatt.

My verdict? Mixed feelings about the hotel. Given the price that we paid for the room, I felt cheated in the hospitality department. I felt so much more welcomed at KL Hilton or even at Renaissance JB. But we did meet some very warm, helpful, prompt and efficient staff at the tail end of our stay. So I guess it all boils down to luck? If I return, it would be for the breakfast buffet, top notch furnishings and the stunning views.

Last few pictures before we left the hotel.