ZAATAR RESTAURANT REVISITED FOR A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

My gastronomic adventure partner celebrated his birthday today. He decided to revisit Zataar Restaurant in Puteri Harbour for the Arab food, and I quickly agreed with his choice. We were here the first time last May [READ HERE].

We arrived at the restaurant at about 2:30 p.m. and the seats on the ground floor were mostly occupied. Guess this place was popular among the locals and visitors.

Apple Juice

Maqluba Rice

Lamb Kebab

Kunafa

The food was good and the birthday boy was happy. Wishing Mr. Redzuan a happy and healthy life ahead and may we continue to embark on many more gastronomic adventures after this.

THE SPECIAL EVENT FOR THE RETIREES ORGANIZED BY JOHOR BAHRU DISTRICT EDUCATION OFFICE

A special event was organized by the Johor Bahru District Education Office for the academic and non-academic staff who had already retired and will be retiring soon. As for me, I have been a retiree for 11 months already.

The event was held in Yanalis Club & Cafe in Puteri Harbour, Iskandar Puteri.

I met a few friends there, but there were people who did not turn up for the event.

First, there was Puan Suhana Suratman, an ex-colleague of SMK Taman Universiti.

Then, I met Mr. Armugam who sat at the same table, an ex-colleague of SMK Dato' Jaafar.

A friend of Universiti Pertanian Malaysia [UPM] who was doing her Bachelor Degree in Counselling, Puan Hafsah, was also there.

It was just a brief function and I had to get some other food which was more filling at other place right after leaving the venue. That should be the very last party related to my retirement, in the last month of 2024.

PLAYING TOURIST GUIDE WITH TWO TOURISTS FROM BRUNEI

   16TH JUNE 2023    ~ During my recent trip to Brunei, I made a new friend there. It was a long story and will tell you all about it later in my blog post in the near future. Mr. Zerol first messaged me, telling me that he and his friend would be arriving in Johor Bahru ion Friday morning, 16th June and that would be less than 24 hours. [They were here for work/business related matter actually] Being a seasoned tourist guide to my friends who came visiting, I was always ready to welcome my friend from Brunei with open arms. Guess what one could do in one day in Johor Bahru?

1. BREAKFAST AT SELERA JOHOR

After fetching Mr. Zerol and Mr. Muiz at Senai Airport, we went straight to Selera Johor Foodcourt to get breakfast Johor style. I guessed they were spoilt for choice and eventually settled for Mee Rebus Johor and I added a plate of Sate. I just hoped they liked the food chosen.

2. TAN SRI HASSAN YUNOS STADIUM

A.K.A LARKIN STADIUM

On the way to the hotel, we stopped at Stadium Larkin, one of the training grounds for JDT football team. This was not my first time to discover how Bruneians were fans of Johor football team. They managed to get a few merchandise items from the store there. And I took them to another [indoor] stadium for the JDT team at the city centre.

3. LEGOLAND MALAYSIA AND THE LOBBY OF LEGOLAND HOTEL

After the Friday prayer, my travel companion to Brunei, Mr. Solihin, joined the excursion. He drove us to Legoland and I think both visitors had been here before many years ago. Fortunately, I managed to talk to the person at the door of the Legoland Hotel to give us the permission to go the hotel lobby to have a look around the place. That would be my first time too to be inside the hotel.

4. PUTERI HARBOUR

The next place we brought the visitors was Puteri Harbour which was not far from Legoland. The only thing that we did was to take photos of the scenic marina late in the afternoon.

5. ASAM PEDAS KAMPUNG SUNGAI MELAYU

It was time for the early dinner and I specifically chose to go to the Sri Pantai Asam Pedas Restaurant located at Kampung Sungai Melayu. The best thing was that to see my guests enjoying the Johor dishes a lot.

6. SULTAN IBRAHIM STADIUM

A.K.A JDT STADIUM

This was the place my guests requested to be taken to. This was my second time taking other people from other place to this stadium. I had never known this landmark was popular among people outside Johor.

7. LAMAN MAHKOTA

The very last spot one had to go to when in Johor Bahru was The Crown at Laman Mahkota. This should also conclude my one day tour of the city with my two new friends from Brunei.

Too bad they would be meeting Mr. Muiz's friend the next day and would be flying to Kuala Lumpur on Sunday morning. It was just a short meeting and it was a memorable one for me, and hope for them too.

Parting is a sweet sorrow and I do hope we will be meeting again some other time in the future. It is always my pleasure to play tourist guide again if they make a return trip.

A WALK AT PUTERI HARBOUR

    26TH MAY 2023     ~ One scenic place in Johor Bahru would be Puteri Harbour. Hence, this should be an option of a spot to go to when a friend comes visiting.

We were in Legoland Sealife and Puteri Harbour was just nearby. There were not many people that Friday evening so we could have the place to ourselves.

Unfortunately, it was quite cloudy that evening so the photos did not turn up beautiful. Believe me, they could be much better if the sky was bright and blue.

Another mission accomplished. I was glad to choose this place to take my friend from Labuan to at least take a lot of photos.