It was a long time since we had been back to Desaru and thought it would be nice to head back and bring our kids.
We had brunch at the famous Restoran Tong in JB on the way to Desaru. They're famous for their delicious Bak Ku Teh and kampung chicken. Do go early though as they are known to be sold out by 1pm (it's that good!). We love it so much, we go back almost every other month!
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| Restoran Tong (Address: 41, Jalan Hang Lekir 10, Taman Skudai Baru, Skudai, Johor; Opening hours: 9am (8am on weekends) to sold out, which is typically around 2.30pm) |
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| Clockwise from left: Baby Boy is sleepy..; Side dishes that left much to be desired; Traditional tea that goes with Bak Kut Teh. |
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| Kampung chicken, so yummy! |
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| Bubbling traditional style Bak Kut Teh |
We did some shopping at the nearby Tesco Extra because, well, everything is one third the price! *laughs*
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| Tesco Extra (Address: Mutiara Rini, 81300 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia) |
Then it was approximately 2 hour drive to our accommodation in Desaru, Lotus Desaru Beach Resort.
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| Lotus Desaru Beach Resort (Address: Lot 1854, Jalan Desaru Bandar Penawar, Kota Tinggi Johor Darul Ta’zim, Desaru, Malaysia) |
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| Map of the resort grounds, which is massive! |
This place is huge and has everything you need in one resort including spa, shops, beach, water sports, swimming pool and even a water park! It's so big that you'll need to travel via their internal shuttle tram as it's too tiring to get from one place to another by walking.
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| Lotus Desaru shuttle tram service |
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| It's built for people to hop on and hop off so make sure your kids are holding on to the railings! |
We booked a Two Bedroom Suite with breakfast (we are 3 adults and 2 kids) for S$185.54 per room per night. Price was ok for the amenities that we got to enjoy.
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| View from the entrance of our room |
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| Clockwise from left: The very spacious toilet attached to the master bedroom (comes with a bathtub); Standard toiletries are provided; Baby Boy making himself comfortable on the king size bed in the master bedroom. |
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| Left: The master bedroom leads to a balcony that overlooks the water park (we're quite lucky to get such a good view); Right: The twin beds in the second room, which also has its own attached toilet. |
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| Clockwise from left: Checking out the balcony; Spacious living room; Small kitchen area with microwave and kettle. |
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| The water park! Girl was so excited when she saw it! |
We ate our packed wanton mee in our room before heading out to check out the rest of the resort.
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| Our late lunch/tea |
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| Merry Christmas! |
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| Clockwise from top left: The swimming pool full of fully clothed people. Don't they know you're supposed to wear swim wear when you swim? Weird.; Large selection of seasports that don't come cheap; A large retail shop that sells everything you'll need; Funfair that was largely neglected because there were other more interesting stuff to do at the resort. |
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| Clockwise from left: This way to the beach or water sports; Trampoline for kids; Parasailing! |
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| Clockwise from left: Me and the kids; A lovely day to be at the beach; Remember to heed the warnings as you're swimming at your own risk. |
We headed to the famous Super Lobster Restaurant approximately 30 minutes away for dinner. With a name like that, there's no need for introduction on what they're famous for!
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| Super Lobster Restaurant (Address: No 1, Sungai Cemaran, Desaru, 81930 Kota Tinggi, Johor Darul Takzim, Malaysia) |
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| Lobsters!!! Yum!! |
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| Lobster steamed in simple sauce to bring out its original sweet flavors |
There's nothing like eating the most expensive seafood and paying one third the price! We love Malaysia! *laughs*
Update
Super Lobster has moved to this address: 7, Jalan Jenahak, Kampung Sungai Rengit, 81600 Bandar Penawar, Johor, Malaysia.
Day 2
We had buffet breakfast at the main dining hall (food was so ordinary but value for money) before heading straight for the water park!
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| Clockwise from left: MIL and my girl in the kid's water playground; Baby slide for the kids and a huge coconut that dispenses water every few minutes; Splashing around in the water. |
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| Clockwise from left: Even baby loves sliding down the slide into the water; The adult slide was the highlight for the girl and I! We went down like at least 20 times!; The slide was called Lazy River but frankly it wasn't exactly lazy! Get caught off guard and you'll be submersed in the water! Do not let your children ride this without you. |
After an afternoon at the slides, we headed off to Desaru Fruit Farms.
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| Desaru Fruit Farms (Address: No 1, Sungai Cemaran, Desaru, 81930 Kota Tinggi, Johor Darul Takzim, Malaysia) |
We had just missed the farm tour and didn't want to wait for the next one so we headed to the famous Ostrich Farm instead. The entrance fee was RM15 (adult) and RM10 (children), which was quite reasonable I thought.
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| Clockwise from top left: Welcome to the Ostrich Farm (Address: EMR 15, Teluk Ramunia, Kota Tinggi, Johor; Opening Hour: 10am - 6pm); Demonstrating how an ostrich egg looks like; Touching pieces of ostrich shell; Look at the side of the yolk!! |
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| Left: 2 month old ostriches!; Right: 2 week old ostriches! So cute! |
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| Clockwise from left: An older ostrich (1 year old maybe?) looking at is curiously; One of the workers demonstrating to us that the ostrich bite was not painful (erm, I don't think so?! Haha); This guy really loves his ostriches and they love him too. They come to him when he calls! |
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| Girl was very apprehensive but curious of these giants |
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| Clockwise from left: Touching the fresh ostrich egg, which was still warm!; Everyone of us couldn't believe our good luck; The girl carrying two empty ostrich eggs because we can't trust her with the real thing. |
There were two very tame ostriches whom the farmers have kept for a long time and they were therefore the only privileged ones who were allowed to roam freely. Our guide encouraged us to touch one of them and he obediently allowed us to. What a privilege!
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| The safest place to touch an ostrich is its neck |
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| Taking a family photo with the other ostrich; This guy is so tame that I saw another visitor taking a million selfies next to him and he didn't even move an inch. So cute! |
There were some empty ostrich eggs for sale so I bought one to paint on. Will post about it once I'm done I suppose =)
We headed to Jade Garden Seafood Corner for dinner as we were really famished after a long day.
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| Clockwise from top left: Jade Garden Seafood Corner (Address: Lorong Siakap 1, Sungai Rengit, Pengerang, Johor); Hubby looking at all the fresh seafood and deciding which to order; Obviously we must order lobsters!; A small play area was found next to the restaurant to entertain the kids. |
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| Holding the lobster that he has chosen, look at how big and juicy it is! Yummy! |
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| Clockwise from top left: Vegetables and noodles are a staple of every meal; Fresh steamed fish with soya sauce; Bamboo clams with glass noodles; Big oysters for the hubby! |
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| Clockwise from left: Me with the salted egg lobsters (yum!); Look at the juicy meat!; The steamed lobsters for an original sweet taste. |
Since it was our last dinner for the trip, we decided to go all out and order 4 lobsters since they cost S$60 per lobster (still infinitely cheaper than lobsters in Singapore). So yummy! Definitely worth every penny =)
Day 3
The resort gave us some cash vouchers, which we decided to use for our lunch before we left Desaru. The food was ok, not great, but well, it was free so we shouldn't be too picky.
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| Clockwise from top left: Teratal restaurant; Our cash vouchers; Fried noodles for the kids; Pizza for me (looks good!). |
We did some final shopping at Sutera Mall on our way back to Singapore. The mum-in-law wants to do some grocery shopping.
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| Sutera Mall (Address: 1, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/4 Taman Sutera Utama, 81300 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia) |
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| Letting the girl ride in these battery operated cars since they were much cheaper than Singapore |
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| One of the shops that had a corner for kids to play for free while their parents shopped. More shops should have this! |
We ended our trip with dinner at our favorite restaurant in JB, Restoran Xinming Chu! It's situated only 15 minutes from Nusajaya (Legoland). We dine there every time we're in Malaysia because the food is that good (but very sinful if you're watching your weight like I am!).
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| Restoran Xinming Chu |
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| Clockwise from left: Steamed clam soup (so yummy!); The kids' favourite Hokkien noodles! They clear the plate every time (and you know how discerning their taste buds are); Our family's favourite, claypot rice with crab! This is so addictive and yummy! A must-try if you visit! |
And that was the end of our short but exciting road trip. Thank God for Malaysia. Otherwise, we'll be stuck in Singapore *laughs*
Can't wait for our next road trip!
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You can also follow my travel adventures on Instagram via the hashtag #madpsychmumtravels! =)
