November and December are Malaysia school holidays. Therefore, I am going to suggest a family trip destination which I have covered last school holidays. It is the A'Famosa Theme Park and Resort located at Alor Gajah, Malacca.
It was a sunny morning when Ben10 started his journey to the south from Penang. :)
For lunch, we stopped by Yap Hup Kee(叶合记) at Off Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur.
This restaurant was suggested by my collegues, KK. He suggested two KL eateries to me, one is Yup Hup Kee and another one is Restaurant Ahwa Dai Lok Mee which we covered on our way back. According to him, this restaurant serves the best curry Chee Cheong Fun(aka steamed rice roll) and a good variety of Yong-Liu(aka Yong Tau Foo).
The curry Chee Cheong Fun did not disappoint us. Silky Chee Cheong Fun in a bowl of rich, fragrant and mild spicy curry, topped with some crunchy dried shrimps. For the Yong-Liu, it might not be the best I had tried so far, but the standard was definitely above average and we had a satisfying lunch.
After lunch, we continued our journey to A'Famosa. Once we reached there, we headed directly to Beverly Hills Condominium. We have booked 3D2N packages for 4 adults at RM832(including peak season surcharge), which have included 2 nights stay in a 2-rooms apartment, 4 adult tickets for Animal World Safari, Cowboy Town and Water World. As for the two little kids that tagged along, we bought child tickets for them on the spot, no extra charge for accomodation.
check-in counter
the small but compact living hall
the kitchen and dining table
Clockwise from left: master bedroom with two queen beds,
dressing table in master room, two single beds in second bedroom
It was a Friday, so we decided that we should go to Animal World Safari and keep Water World for Saturday. Our logic was water activity does not require to queue, so it is safe to cover it on a busy Saturday.
The little complaint I had was A'Famosa imposed parking fee to all its car parks. As a result, we had to pay 3 parking fees for 3 theme parks. Another alternative was to catch their shuttles between the accomodations and theme parks at RM1 per person per way.
A'famosa shuttle
One of the must-watch show in Animal World Safari is wild wild west show. For show time, please refer to their webpage(find link at the bottom of this post), they have a very informative page.
The kids were impressed by the show. It was an exciting show with realistic gun fires, explosions, fistfights and high-altitude falls.
Then we went to another two shows, multi animal show and bird show.
orang utans, birds and some other animals
elephant show
dotted deers
I did not expect a safari park adventure where we had to sit in a caged truck. After the truck entered two gates(double protection?), we saw wild animals like sunbears, tigers, lions etc next to our trucks. The kids were so scared that they dared not to move away from their seats. ;)
This was the caged truck, not too sure if we were visiting the animals or the other way round. :p
lazy crocodiles
lion
tiger
sunbear
deers
We left Animal World Safari after the caged truck's trip. Dinner was at Restoran Long Shin(龙城酒家） which was located at Tampin, 10 minutes drive from A'Famosa.
It was an air-conditioned restaurant.
We ordered 4 dishes, including a steamed Patin Fish(巴丁鱼). The price was reasonable as the total bill including drinks for 4 adults and 2 kids turned out to be RM60+. With the same price, I bet we could only get 6 plates of chicken rice with 6 cans of coke at A'Famosa.
Then, we went back to A'Famosa again for Cowboy Town.
The entrance ticket only covered Carnival, the rest was not free.
Red Indians performing the heady fire-blowing act.
Few tourists were invited to join the Red Indian's performance.
Parade by A'Famosa characters
We had the opportunity to shake hands with the characters. The kids enjoyed themselves.
The carnival ended with fireworks.
some firework shots
There was also a small fun fair to keep you entertained.
My all-time favorite entertainment, massage was also available, but it was too late to book a session.
Since we still have another mission to complete in another half an hour, we played few games of pool while we waited. We showed the kids how to play the game and were amused by their actions. It was so fun!
Then it was time to complete our mission. It was the much-hyped Ah Ta Satay which opens from 11.30pm-3am daily(note the unusual business hours). We reached there slightly before 11.30pm and we occupied the second table.
They also served Char Kuey Teow(fried local flat rice noodles).
Guess what, the customers have to D-I-Y their side dishes(onions and cucumbers) and self service the dipping sauces. Ridiculous? Not only that, when the stall was super-packed, the eagerly-waited customers would even help to grill the satays.
customers helped themselves to the dipping sauce.
satays on grill
Our plate of satays
side dishes and dipping sauce
the dull looking but delicious char kuey teow
I had 5-year Kajang Satay's experience and have been eating Penang char kuey teow for 6 years. ;) And I would say even with such comparisons, this little stall still worth a visit. But make sure you go there at 11.30pm or even earlier to avoid the long waiting time.
Yap Hup Kee(叶合记)
45, Jalan Brunei Barat Off Jalan Pudu 55100 Kuala Lumpur.
9am - 5pm, 5.30pm - 11pm(Off every alternate Tuesday)
A'Famosa
View website
Restoran Long Shin(龙城酒家）
Jalan Clonlee 2,
Taman Clonlee 2,
Tampin 73000,
Negeri Sembilan,
Malaysia
GPS Coordinates: N02 28.199' E102 14.231
Ah Ta Satay
Jalan Haji Zainuddin,
73009 Tampin,
Negeri Sembilan,
Malaysia
GPS Coordinates: N02 28.176' E102 13.785'
