MY FIRST TIME AT TOPPEN SHOPPING MALL

6th MARCH 2021 ~ Toppen is one of the latest shopping malls in Johor Bahru and it was opened to the public in November 2019. However, only after than one year, I finally stepped my foot here. And that happened as my friend arrived late for our lunch date at the cafe in IKEA so I had to do something to kill time.

Toppen is attached to IKEA so in a way, they are expecting people to stop by once they are done shopping for furniture, electrical appliances or/and other household necessities and accessories.

There were not many people when I was there in the afternoon. The crowd was bearable and manageable. There were more people at IKEA Cafe than at the mall. One reason: the Singaporeans are not here.

There were actually other attractions at the mall, like at the rooftop area that I might explore some other time.

So will I visit Toppen again after this? I surely will but just to go and eat at the restaurants there, and not to shop. This should be a suitable venue to hang out with friends.

A FAREWELL GATHERING FOR A COLLEAGUE BEING PROMOTED AND TRANSFERRED

Another farewell gathering was held by the male staff of SMK Dato' Jaafar for a colleague/friend who was promoted to a higher post and transferred to SMK Aminuddin Baki. This time it was Mr. Tukiman Sarmin's turn to be sent to another school. When the directive letter was already issued, there was nothing else could be done except to follow what was required.

The venue chosen for our dinner was Grand Seafood Restaurant in Kempas. It was first dining experience there and by looking at the crowd having dinner, this place should be popular among locals.

It was just a short get-together for everyone and it was time to formally bid Mr. Tukiman Sarmin farewell. As for me, I will be seeing him time and time again for all the endless meetings, as soon as next Sunday.

Thanks to everyone who had spent some of their precious time away from their family for this dinner. This was our third time going out together in a big group this year and might be the last one for this year.

MY HOMETOWN GASTRONOMIC ADVENTURE - WOODFIRE BURGER

The latest food craze eating spot had been opened and luckily someone had agreed to give it a try. It is located at the food court in Taman Suria, opposite Giant Hypermart which is very near to my house.

I arrived there at about 8:20 p.m. and there was already a long queue forming in front of the counter. After the order had been made and paid, one would get the number and have to wait for his turn. And by 8.45 p.m., the stall was already out of food and the counter was closed for order.

If you are wondering, how long did we have to wait for our food, it was about one hour and fifteen minutes. We were told  (by someone reliable) there was some sort of technical matter  in the kitchen which had caused the delay.

It was worth all the wait nevertheless. The burger was something to die for. You could also get other western food here like steaks.

It was past the business hour when a kitchen staff, who happened to be an ex-student of SMK Taman Universiti, Mr. Muhammad Zul Helmie, came out from the stall. We managed to chat for a short while before we made our way back home.

I must thank Mr. Zharfan Amir [SPM batch 2011] for the dinner treat at Woodfire. We shall meet again in the upcoming outing, and it will  be my turn next. 

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE PANITIA'S ANNUAL LUNCH SESSION

Towards the end of the year, work starts to pile up, and the list of things to do seems to be endless. After our continuous in-house training sessions for English teachers of SDJ, guess it should be the time to unwind and for once forget about the stress in life.

We chose to meet at Secret Recipe in Mid Valley, the newest shopping mall in town which happens to be near to the school - which should be my first time in this restaurant. Eating lunch at 3.00 p.m. was a bit too late but we had made sure our stomachs were empty just for this session.

Once in a while, we need to eat good food [READ: other than food from the canteen outside school] and spend time to gossip. This is like an annual event for us but to be able to do this just once a year is already an achievement.

Thanks ladies for the time and the company. Don't forget we still have to continue with our in-house training sessions after this. *sigh*

"Once you have to start counting calories,
it takes away from the joy of eating."
~ Mireille Guiliano ~

MY VERY FIRST TIME AT AEON BANDAR DATO' ONN

7th AUGUST 2018 ~ Finally, I set my foot inside one of the newest shopping malls in Johor Bahru, AEON Bandar Dato' Onn.  I immediately fell in love with this place because it was still shining new and there were very few people around.

Everybody's favourite shop is here

The best part of it is there is a huge surau (praying place for Muslims) in the mall - much bigger than the one in Bukit Indah. I went to the room on the ground floor but, to my delight, there was ANOTHER surau on the second floor near the entrance of AEON outlet.

the waiting space outside the surau/washroom

Once the cinema start operating, I am sure there will be more people going there.

I am definitely coming back as there are many restaurants located in the building. This should be a good meeting/hanging out place.