Review on Uncle Roger's Fried Rice

A couple of Mondays ago, I left work on time and decided to drop by the Fuiyoh! It's Uncle Roger outlet at Pavilion Bukit Bintang mall to try his infamous fried rice.

There was a queue in front of the outlet, comprising of working crowd in the area who had got off work, as well as tourists. Thankfully, the patrons inside the restaurant finished their meal fast and I was seated within 20 minutes.

The menu had limited choices of food. Apart from a few types of fried rice and side dishes, there was nothing else. I was disappointed.

In the end, I ordered the UR's Special Fry Rice with Crispy Sunny Side Up that looks like this:

It costs RM27.85 for this plate of fried rice, which in my opinion is totally not worth the money.

The fried rice was quite dry to my liking, and the taste was average if eaten on its own. What gave the rice a taste boost was the accompanying sambal which was served in a soy sauce plate.

The portion was small. If I'm playing almost RM30.00 for a plate of fried rice which had to depend on sambal to save it, it better well be a bigger portion. However, that was not the case. Hungry patrons or big eaters would need at least two portions to fill their bellies.

The couple at the table beside me shared a tiny plate of fried rice, so I assumed they were there just to try the fried rice and see what the hype is all about. 

For me, it would certainly be a long time till I patronize the outlet again.

Review: Redang Beach Resort

After visiting Boracay in January, I needed to get another island fix and decided to return to Redang Island in the state of Terengganu in Malaysia in April. It was my third time on the island.

This time we stayed at Redang Beach Resort simply because the facilities are good and the rates were pretty reasonable. I paid RM693.24 for a 3 night / 4 day weekday snorkelling package. The cost includes the following:

- Return ferry from Shahbandar Jetty (in Kuala Terengganu) to Redang Island

- 3 nights in a Standard Room (twin sharing) at Redang Beach Resort

- 4 meals a day (breakfast, lunch, tea & dinner)

- Marine park fee

- 2 snorkelling trips a day

I thought since we went on a weekday, there would be less people and we would have the whole resort to ourselves. Unfortunately I was wrong and there were large groups of travellers (mainly Malaysians) whilst we were there.

CHECK-IN

When you arrive on the island, you will be ushered to the registration counter here:

All guests will be briefed by the staff too.

Guests may go to their rooms after check-in provided the rooms are ready. Otherwise, have to wait.

My bed had a broken wheel. I got the staff to repair it but it broked again when I sat on the bed. So I lived with the broken wheel throughout my 3 nights at the resort. It was not so bad after all.

LANDSCAPING

One of the features of Redang Beach Resort that I like is its landscaping.

There're manicured paths leading to the rooms:

This is the common area fronting the beach:

Another view of the common area fronting the beach:

Sorry this photo is dark. Either I need to improve my photography skills or editing skills.

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Now let's talk about the most important thing for most travellers - meals!

All meals are served in either Home Town:

... or New Town:

The menu is the same in both locations.

In respect for its Muslim staff, the resort does not allow guests to consume alcohol in Home Town or New Town. However guests may do so at Summer Point (more on this place later).

We were assigned to Home Town and this is the buffet counter there:

The soup, dessert and drinks counter:

The resort does not provide mineral water bottles in the room. Instead, guests may get an unlimited supply of drinking water from the huge silver container that you can see on the right of this photo. I must say that this is a proactive effort to minimise the usage of plastic bottles on the island.

The salad and dessert counter:

It was barbecue night on our first night there:

Unlike most hotels in KL where the kitchen staff will barbecue the food for guests, in Redang Island Resort you'll have to barbecue the food yourself. In the end I didn't eat anything from the barbecue counter because I ain't got no patience to stand near the burning charcoal.

Another plus point for Redang Beach Resort is its wide variety of delicious food. To give you an example, here's the barbecue menu on the Sunday when we were there:

- Asparagus soup
- Salad bar
- Spaghetti
- Fried rice
- Cheesy mussel
- Creme corn
- Chicken wings
- Pandan chicken
- Chocolate cake
- Peach tart
- Watermelon
- Oranges
- Cendol
- BBQ stuff - satay, sausages, fishball, etc.

I was impressed with the quality of food (especially for that price) that I went up to the chef and commended his cooking.

If you still need to stuff your face with food, you may proceed to the Kopitiam which sells Malaysian food and cafe food:

Here's the menu in Kopitiam:

Note that you'll need to pay for anything that you order at Kopitiam as its not part of the snorkelling or diving package. Kopitiam also sells birthday cakes to groups who come to the resort to celebrate birthdays. 

DAY TIME ACTIVITIES

Now let's move on to activities at the resort.

Snorkelling and diving are the most popular activities on Redang Island due to its rich marine life.

Redang Beach Resort offers diving or snorkelling packages which includes 2 snorkelling trips a day or 3 - 4 dives a day.

This is the Dive Centre where divers get ready for their dives:

If you just want to laze by the beach, there are beach chairs for you to lie on:

My favourite is the hammock:

Lying in the hammock with the cool sea breeze blowing is one of the best feelings in the world. I slept in the hammock for a couple of hours each day that I didn't go for a single snorkelling session :-)

Benches are also available if you need to do work or even chat with friends:

There are two small pools for guests who prefer to swim in chlorinated water:

The waters in the pools were cloudy due to the many idiotic guests who swam with their clothes on.

Redang Beach Resort also has a mini mart, souvenir shop and batik painting centre for guests who wish to express their creativity on a piece of batik:

If you've got nothing else better to do, then perhaps you may want to look for squirrels that run around freely on the island:

Photo credit to Celia.

NIGHT TIME ACTIVITIES

When the sun has gone down and you've had your dinner, you have the option to go to Summer Point for a couple of drinks as you enjoy the live music:

The live band was getting ready when I snapped this photo.
Summer Point is the only location in Redang Beach Resort where you can drink alcohol.

On alternate nights, the DJ comes on and he spins from this place which is located right on the beach:

See the benches in front of the stage? Guests sit there with their friends, drink as much as they want and dance their hearts out to the tunes played by the DJ.

After reading my review and seeing all the photos, what do you think of Redang Beach Resort?

As for me I had a peaceful time there and will certainly come back again.

Turtle Sanctuary or Turtle Torture at Glory Beach Resort?

I was at Glory Beach Resort in Port Dickson last weekend with my family.

What turned out to be a weekend getaway to celebrate my brother's birthday turned out to be a stressful experience with turtles. 

You see ... Glory Beach Resort boasts of having a turtle sanctuary and conducting turtle conservation activities. 

The resort claims to have release close to 8,000 hatchlings into the sea since conservation initiatives began at the resort around 8 years ago.

Here are some photos of Glory Beach Resort's communication on its turtle conservation activities:

Main display in the lobby informing guests about the feeding time at 11.00am daily and the 8.00pm evening talk held every Saturday and on public holidays.

Buletin board with turtle news. 

 More information.

Glory Beach Resort has a nice beach where turtles come to lay their eggs. When the eggs are hatched, the resort keep the hatchlings in the Turtle Hut until the little critters are older before letting them go into the ocean.

Hatchlings in the Turtle Hut.

This is the water tank which houses 5 adult turtles: 

Saltwater from the ocean is pumped into the water tank. The resort said they'll release few of the turtles into the ocean soon because they're now older and able to fend for themselves. Moreover the tank is not big enough for 5 adult turtles.

Since wildlife always amazes me, I took the opportunity to attend the 8.00pm talk that Saturday evening. 

I must say that the speakers did a relatively good job in creating awareness amongst the guests on turtle conservation. Here are few points from the talk:

a) There were initially 30 different species of sea turtles on planet earth. However there are only 7 species left. 

b) Out of the 7 species, 4 species come to Malaysian beaches to lay their eggs. The 4 species are green, hawksbill, leatherback and olive ridley.

c) We must not throw rubbish (especially plastic bags) around because it'll end up in the ocean and cause death to turtles that consume the plastic bag. 

The speakers also had a box where guests can put in their contribution which will go towards turtle conservation efforts at the resort. The speaker told us that the resort buys turtle eggs (RM2.50 each) from the market so that they can hatch them to be released into the ocean. Donors who contributed minimum RM10 received a key chain each.

After the talk, the speakers said they were going to show hatchlings and turtles for educational purposes. 

What happened next, I didn't expect at all:

I thought they were going to just show hatchlings to the guests. To my horror, they distributed 5 hatchlings for guests to touch and hold.  

I'm no turtle expert, but I do know that turtles (especially its hatchlings) are delicate and need special attention. They are certainly not to be handed around to be touched and manhandled. 

When I asked the lady speaker whether it's ok for the hatchlings to be treated like that, she said it's ok for educational purposes.

Next they brought out one of the turtles from the water tank:

Can you see all the hands touching the poor animal? After the spectacle, they washed the turtle with fresh water before placing it back into the saltwater tank.

Due to popular demand there was another talk on Sunday morning before the 11.00am feeding time. Again they brought out one of the turtles for show and tell:

Must be damn cool to and ego boosting to take photos with wildlife, post it on social media and receive many Likes.

Feeding time. Would have been bitter sweet justice for the turtles if someone got bitten. 

If this turtle could talk, he would have said, "Fu*k off you dumb humans and leave me alone!".

Seeing all these makes me wonder whether Glory Beach Resort's turtle conservation efforts are monitored by the authorities. The speakers claim that they are working in collaboration with the authorities and WWF. 

When I checked, they only had a Certificate of Appreciation from the Fisheries Department of Malaysia displayed in the lobby: 

Doesn't mean anything. 

Don't get me wrong here. 

I commend any turtle conservation efforts including that of Glory Beach Resort. After all, everyone of us has a role to play in giving these beautiful creatures a chance to survive in this harsh and dangerous world.

However I disagree with the way these turtles are treated at the resort.  

If the resort wishes to show and tell, they could just show the hatchlings to the guests, not hand them around to be exposed to so many dangers. What if one of the guests (especially children) accidentally drop the hatchling and stepped on it? Accidents do happen, you know.

As for the adult turtles in the water tank, the resort could just let the guests into the tank area to look at the turtles but don't allow any touching. Placing the animal on the table for everyone to see and touch will cause distress to the poor animal. 

Now that you've read my story and seen the photos, what do you think about the whole incident?

Note: You may read more about sea turtles at the WWF website here.

Orangutans, Proboscis Monkeys and Sun Bears

During the Eid holidays in July, LvH and I made a weekend trip to Sandakan. Our mission: To visit the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary and the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre.

From Kuala Lumpur, we flew to Sandakan in the state of Sarawak and stayed at Four Points by Sheraton because the company that LvH works for has a corporate rate there.

This is a lovely hotel with sea frontage. While having breakfast on our last morning there, we saw navy ships and air force fighter jets patrolling the area. It was something I've never seen before. I didn't snap any photos because I was enjoying the moment. 

For a traveller, taking a taxi seems to be the most convenient way to move around in Sandakan.

I didn't even bother to find out how to get around by bus because it seems like buses were non existent or extremely infrequent in Sandakan. I think that's why almost every local has their own mode of transportation to get around.

There are taxis waiting outside the hotel and the drivers follow these fares religiously: 

For convenience sake, we booked a taxi for the whole day to take us from the hotel to the 3 places, i.e. (in choronological order) Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary and The Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (located beside the Sepilok Orang Utan Centre).

According to the driver, we need to visit those places during the feeding times because that's when we'll be able to see the animals. 

So the best itinerary would be to head to Sepilok first thing in the morning to catch the 10.00am feeding time. After that drive to Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary for the 11.30am feeding and then back to Sepilok to visit The Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (no specific feeding time).

Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre

We reached the centre at approximately 9.30am just in time for the 10.00am feeding time.

Before entering the centre, all visitors must keep their bags in the lockers provided (maybe it's to prevent any crazy visitors from kidnapping any baby orangutans!).

These are the entrance fees to the centre:

I let LvH bring his camera into the centre and I kept mine in the locker. The only camera I had on me was my mobile phone.

Feeding times are at 10,00am and 3.00pm daily. It's important to take note because you'll need to arrange your visit according to the feeding times.

As you can see from the photo just above this text, visitors gather at the feeding platform to view the primates partaking in their food. 

The crowd was considerably large that day. Maybe because it was the long Eid holidays.

When the caretaker started dishing out the food on the feeding platform, it took some time for these shy primates to make their appearance. But soon the orangutans started emerging from the forest one by one. Some of them looked hesitant and unsure at first. But soon they started partaking in the spread of fruits, vegetables and milk.

I was rather disappointed that only a handful of them came to the feeding platform that day. Later the taxi driver informed us that not many orangutans could be seen during that time (July) because it's the dry season when flowers are abundant in the forest which translates to an adundance of fruits too. So these orangutans have a wide variety of fruits to choose from in the jungle. 

It is only when food is scarce in the jungle that the orangutans come to the centre regularly for their meals. And this is usually during the rainy season at the end of the year. So take note if you want to see orangutans appear by the dozens at the feeding platform.

Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary

This brochure contains all the essential information like getting to the sanctuary, entrance fee, viewing time, etc. 

Entrance fee to the sanctuary is relatively high, especially for non-residents. Someone told us that the high prices is because the sanctuary is owned and managed by a private company and therefore there are no subsidies like in a government organisation.

I was telling LvH that with these entrance fees, the sanctuary better be serving the monkeys food equivalent to the standards of caviar, truffle and wagyu beef - the three most expensive food in the world.

From Sepilok, it took us approximately 40 minutes to get to Labuk Bay by car. We made it for the 11.30am feeding time on Platform B. There are 2 feeding platforms hosting different feeding times. 

During the feeding, the keeper brought fruits and vegetables to the platform where the monkeys stomp down the wooden platforms for their meals.

These monkeys come in all shapes and sizes. Some of the female come carrying their babies around their bellies. The bigger ones are usually the male. Some of them end up fighting with each other over the food.

What makes these monkeys fascinating is that their large noses make them look like humans, including their ...

The sanctuary is not only home to proboscis monkeys but other animals as well:

We were lucky to see a trio of hornbills in the trees. Reminded me of the movie animation, Rio, except that these birds didn't do the samba :-)

Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre

After watching the proboscis monkeys at Labuk Bay, the driver took us to the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) which is located opposite the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre.

Opening hours and entrance fees can be obtained here. There are no specific feeding times so you can just walk in and view the bears in their habitat. According to the BSBCC website, there are about 35 sun bears at the centre. 

I've always had a fascination for sun bears after watching a bunch of these cute fellas dancing in their pen (don't know whether that's the right word) at the Air Keroh Zoo in Malacca many years ago. 

"No, I'm not having a hangover. I'm just hanging out."

According to the BSBCC website, the main threats of the sun bear are deforestation, commercial hunting and pet trade. These bears are often found in appallaing conditions, without a home, a mother, or left to rot in tiny cages. Reading about all these makes me sad.

After visiting the orang utans and sun bears, LvH and I were talking about adopting either an orang utan or a sun bear. LvH said we should name it Lima which is a combination of both our family names. I thought that was a brilliant name!

Day Trip

It's possible to visit these 3 centres in a day trip from Kuala Lumpur. Take the first flight in the morning to Sandakan. Upon arrival head straight to Sepilok, followed by Labuk Bay and BSBCC. In the evening, take your flight back to Kuala Lumpur.

The only thing about this method is that you'll need to make prior arrangements for a car to wait for you at the airport. A day trip may be tiring but you would save on lodging costs and time.