Cheap cheap foot massage

Found a small local thai foot massage near Mydin in Anjung, called Foot feet. Promotion for 60 mins massage for Rm35!! There's wifi as well :)

Medini zone in Iskandar granted property gains tax exemption

Thought this is an interesting update: "Malaysia has granted a substantial tax break to a zone in a showpiece investment project near Singapore, a move likely to provide crucial support to a US$800 million (RM2.5 billion) initial public offering of the area's developer next year". Time to relook into investment strategy for this area?

Jingle Bells Jingle Bells

Wow time flies, James will be 7 months at Christmas, can't believe that it's only 2.5 weeks to Christmas! We've bought and put up our Christmas tree. This will be a very special Christmas since we're a family of 3 now.

For those who are looking for Christmas trees, we bought our for SGD260 from Verge in Little India Singapore. There's a whole floor filled with Christmas tree and decorations in this building. For the decorations, we bought it from Metro in Plaza Pelangi in JB.

Verge is located at 2 Serangoon Rd Singapore 218227

View Larger Map

Happy decorating your Christmas Tree!

Iskandar Malaysia Low Carbon Community Implementation Book

"Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on Wednesday launched the Iskandar Malaysia Low Carbon Community Implementation Book to enable the residents of Iskandar Malaysia to enjoy better living with the use of more efficient energy in 2015". Read more here.

I'm a skeptic but am willing to give the government a benefit of the doubt. Let's see how much of this is actually implemented on the ground (doesn't look like UEM gets the memo though).

Adorable Puppies In Urgent Need for Loving Homes

Helping neighbour to spread the message: Ms Crystal found 13 puppies born at a construction site by 3 mummies. Unfortunately, 1 was dead as rammed by lorry. Fearing for their safety, Ms Crystal have re-homed the rest and is left with 2 puppies. Ms Crystal is only in JB during weekend and she cannot request for her friend to foster these puppies permanently. Hence, please help to post and share this if you cannot help these puppies. Otherwise, the puppies would have to be returned to the construction site. Thank you very much!

New food delivery online service - Foodpanda

Hi everyone, I received an offer to try out a new food delivery online services, Foodpanda, which now includes Chatime, Starbucks and a few other restaurants on board. Check it out. Would be good to have more variety other than just pizzas!

Anyone looking for private shuttle service between East Ledang/Ledang Heights/HH to Singapore?

We're looking into possibilities of setting up private shuttle services btw our area & Singapore for those who commute daily for work. Hence, we'd appreciate if you could take a few minutes to complete the survey so that we have better picture of needs for the neighbourhood. Thanks a lot for your help and please also help to spread the words and pass the survey to others in the neighbourhood.

Survey: Executive Transport Services

Very bad traffic at Singapore Tuas checkpoint every day in past 2 weeks

Life's back at work has been quite tough, added by the stress of daily commute in past couple of weeks. Traffic is usually pent up all the way til end of 2nd link bridge in morning (7.50-9 am), which means it takes an average 50 minutes to 1 hour just to clear the bridge. Traffic leaving Singapore at 5.45-6pm is also bad with queuing time of average 30 minutes. Hence, daily travel time has been averaging 3.5 hours per day :(

Let's just hope that things will improve this week....argh!!!!

Have good Sunday everyone,
Erika

Pinewood Johor to host a USD55M American TV series

This is so cool and I'm so looking forward to this!

"A US production company — yet unnamed — will be the first to utilise the spanking new studio and production facility that has been open since July this year. The production team will include 30% Malaysian crew and seven interns from local institutions of higher learning — a requirement set by PIMS in a bid to grow opportunities for local talent involvement in foreign productions. CEO Michael Peter Lake told The Malaysian Reserve, the details of the production and producers of this production will be unveiled by the end of this month."

Property gain tax changes (RPGT) from Malaysia 2014 Budget

Sharing update from 2014 Budget:

REAL PROPERTY GAINS TAX

* For gains on properties disposed within the holding period of up to 3 years, RPGT rate is increased to 30 percent.

* For disposals within the holding period up to 4 and 5 years, the rates are increased to 20 percent and 15 percent, respectively. Malaysian property firms with exposure to this tax change include UEM Sunrise, Mah Sing Group  and Tropicana Corp . 

* Raise the minimum price of property that can be purchased by foreigners to 1 million ringgit from 500,000 ringgit. 

* Prohibit developers from implementing projects that have features of Developer Interest Bearing Scheme (DIBS), to prevent developers from incorporating interest rates on loans in house prices during the construction period.

* Financial institutions are prohibited from providing final funding for projects involved in the DIBS scheme. Malaysia's top three banks are Maybank, CIMB and Public Bank.

Johor move to cool down property market | Free Malaysia Today

Many would have been aware of this, but in case if you've not heard about recent cooling measures in Johor, the government will be imposing processing fees of 4% and 5% of the property value starting next year. This is a dramatic increase from current fee of RM10K.

Another measure is in limiting the number of foreign ownership. “Local buyers will not be able to transfer ownership of their units to foreigners once the 30 per cent quota (for foreigners) has been filled. These are just some of the steps that the state government will be introducing to safeguard the interests of locals,” Johor’s State Housing and Local Government Committee Chairman Abdul Latiff Bandi said.

We do feel that the property market has started to slow down, partly also due to financing issues faced by many interested buyers. Banks are more strict in giving out loans and the cash over valuation amount is quite significant, hence only cash rich investors would be able to invest.

The next wave could be when Educity, Pinewood etc open up, let's see what the future entails :)

Johor move to cool down property market | Free Malaysia Today

Legoland Waterpark is Open

Yeay, the LEGOLAND Waterpark is finally opened! The waterpark features 20 rides and attractions and over 70 LEGO® models, with key higlights such as Build-A Raft River where kids customize their own raft made of soft LEGO bricks before floating down a lazy river.

You can purchase 1-Day Theme Park and Water Park Combo Ticket online for RM140 & RM112 adult and child respectively. 

I managed to upgrade my annual pass to premium pass to include entrance to waterpark. Looking forward to visiting soon. 

Congratulations LEGOLAND!

Hershey's opening a plant in Johor

Yipeeee choc coming to Johor!

http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2013/10/05/Hershey-plans-Msia-plant-It-is-expected-to-invest-RM816mil-in-stateoftheart-facility-in-Johor.aspx

Singapore Malaysia High Speed Rail Economic Impact

Read this recent article that the proposed High Speed Rail has been marked by the Government as an Entry Point Project under Economic Transformation Programme which was expected to generate an additional RM6.2 million gross national income per year and create 29,000 jobs in direct and indirect employment by 2020. RM6.2M sounds a little bit low don't you think? Anyhow, it'd be great to have an efficient transport link between the 2 countries, hopefully there's a stop near home as well so we don't have to rely on driving cars all the time.

Best steak in Johor

Loveeeeeee Grill Bar Steakhouse! The place was closed in our 1st attempted visit and we finally get to eat there at our 2nd visit.

I was looking for rainbow trout but i couldnt see it in the menu so i ended up ordering Wagyu steak with BMS 5...had no idea what that meant until that dinner. BMS stands for the beef marbling standard, thr higher the BMS index, the higher grade hence more expensive the steak is. It was my first time eating wagyu steak and i must say that it was so soft and tender, so yummy!

Everyone ordered steak as main course but some had steak Dianne and others ordered fillet Mignon. Steak diane was about 120RM, wagyu steak 110RM and fillet mignon RM60.

We also had starters and appetizers. I had Iobster bisque as starter and creme brulee as dessert. For the three of us, dinner cost RM539. Expensive for Johor, but cheap for Singapore standard. Unfortunately, i was too excited and forgot to take pictures of starter and the steaks!

The restaurant has a cosy and nice atmosphere, service was good. I would definitely like to go back there.

The restaurant is always full, so best to call and make reservations a day or two before planned dinner.

Njoy!

Grill Bar Steakhouse
202, Jalan Sri Pelangi, Taman Pelangi, 80400 Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Johor

19-Oct: Went back for another steak dinner. We tried the special of the day "Steak for 2" Prime Rib dinner (900 gram, cost RM307), it was yummy. Dinner cost RM508 in total, including starters, rib, drinks and dessert for 2 people. I still loveee the wagyu, will stick to wagyu next time! 

Took picture of everything but the prime rib (arghhh - mommy's brain!)

Johor unlikely to hike property ceiling price from RM500K to RM1m - StarProperty.my

Interesting quote: foreigners are no longer allowed to buy from Malaysians in the secondary market. I wonder if they meant both bumi and non bumi lots?

Johor unlikely to hike property ceiling price from RM500K to RM1m - StarProperty.my

Happy 50th Anniversary Malaysia! (16th Sept)

Tomorrow is the 50th Anniversary of Malaysia Day, a day in which Malaysia was formed back in 1963. Malaysia was formed by four nations — the Federated Malay States, Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah. This interesting article highlights the history of Malaysia's journey.

Selamat Hari Malaysia, thank you for having us in your great country!

I Love My Neighbourhood

I love our neighborhood! People say hi, you actually get to know your neighbors, you can walk down the street and be invited into a birthday party and we get together once a month for a street potluck party. Everyone whips up something in their kitchen or buy something from the store, all for the spirit of sharing, socialising and having fun. It's also a play date for kids, sometimes we even have kids performance (singing and dancing) :)

Most important of all, we've made good friends who are like families to us, who are always there whenever we are in need of help. Thank you guys!

To all newcomers, welcome to East Ledang, I hope you enjoy your stay as much as we do.

Have a great Sunday!

Channel Newsasia Documentary on Iskandar

Very recent documentary on Iskandar by Channel News Asia. Congrats Tina John for being in this documentary :)
 

Calling Motocross riders/fans - Enduro Cross event 8 Sep 2013

For motorcross KTM fans, come join the fun at the Enduro Cross event on Sunday 8th Sept 2013. Details are below:

Days Schedule (starting at 9 am): 

• Registration 
• Riders Briefing 
• Stage 1 Trail 
• Kids Moto 1
• Stage 2 Enduro
• Kids Moto 2 
• Stage 3 - Extreme
• Bike recovery, chill and results comilation 
• Price presentation

Ulu Choh is only 15mins north of East Ledang area, by car. 
Driving Directions:


View Larger Map

Start address: Lebuhraya Persisiran Pantai Jb - Nusajaya 
End address: Lebuhraya Skudai - Pontian
Start at: Lebuhraya Persisiran Pantai Jb - Nusajaya 
1. Head northwest on Lebuhraya Persisiran Pantai Jb - Nusajaya - 1.4 km 
2. Slight left to merge onto Lebuhraya Hubungan Kedua Malaysia - Singapura - 4.9 km
3. Take the exit toward Lebuhraya Pontian - 500 m 
4. Keep left at the fork and merge onto Lebuhraya Pontian - 2.8 km 
5. Continue onto Jalan Tanjung Kupang - 7.7 km 
6. Turn right onto Lebuhraya Skudai - Pontian - 2.3 km
Arrive at: Lebuhraya Skudai - Pontian 

GPS Longitude E 103 33' 4" Latitude N 1 32' 46" decimal 103.55 1.541 Deg/Min/Sec 103 33 23 1 32 27

Air Asia Johor - Jakarta flights from Senai Airport

Afternoon everyone,

Thank you to my readers who have stayed with me throughout these years. It's always nice to meet some of you in person and hear that my blog has been useful in helping your move to Johor. That's the main reason why I started blogging 3 years ago and still continuing to do so (albeit less frequent now). Thanks for your readership!

Before Hari Raya, we went back to Jakarta to spend time with my family. It was James' first flight ever so we were a bit nervous but he was such a good boy throughout the trip.

It's so nice to finally have direct flights between Johor Jakarta. Johor Jakarta flights are operated by AirAsia and flight time is o average 2 hours 50 minutes. 

AirAsia flies 4 x a week to Jakarta from Johor.

The Flight Schedule is: (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) 

QZ 8189 Johor Bahru – Jakarta; 16:50 hours – 17:45 hours 

QZ 8188 Jakarta – Johor Bahru; 13:15 hours – 16:10 hours

Trip cost ~ RM250++ one way.

The arrival is in T3 CGK which is great, the other two terminals in Jakarta airport is jurrasic and pretty embarrassing!

On our way to Jakarta, we met with other family who came for 2 days holiday to visit Legoland. On the way back to Johor, there were so many Indonesian tourists who came here for the Hari Raya holiday. Legoland has definitely started to make names for Indonesians, woohoo! There should be increasing no of Indonesian tourists and investors soon, if not ready. 

Let's hope that AirAsia will start a Johor - Bali flight route soon!

Happy Friday everyone!

Erika

Johor Property Show Happening This Weekend

Just found out that there's a Malaysia property show this weekend in Traders Nusajaya hotel. Here's the write up about this show:

• Exclusive Registration and Preview by Tanah Sutera and Country Garden Danga Bay Property Launch Access Up to 10 Property Developments in One Central Location
• Enjoy Up to 5% Rebate for Selected Property Developments 
• Gain Expert Insights via Our Speaker Sessions about Johor Properties
• FREE Shuttle Service from Singapore to Traders Hotel, Johor Bahru
• FREE Shuttle Service to Visit Actual Development in Iskandar

EVENT DETAILS 
27 July - 28 July 2013 10:00 - 19:00
Level 4, Iskandar Ballroom, Traders Hotel, Puteri Harbour, Johor, Malaysia Persiaran Puteri Selatan, Puteri Harbour, 79000 Nusajaya, Johor Darul Takzim, Malaysia

New outlets for dining - Traders Hotel Harbour Cafe & Tam Zabb Thai Lao Restaurant in Nusa Bestari

With the newborn baby, we've not been out much so it's so nice to be out recently to try out a couple of new dining places.

Harbour Cafe @ Traders Hotel Nusajaya

For lil James' 1st month celebration, we took the house crew to dine at the newly opened Traders hotel's Harbour Cafe.

The buffet dinner cost RM78++/person and offers standard international spread of cuisine, ranging from sashimi, indian, chinese, roast lamb and chicken to tangine. Desserts selection include chocolate fondue (white and normal choc - super yummy), cakes, fruits, ice cream and local dessert, e.g. cheng theng. Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to take pictures (i'll update this when we dine at the restaurant again).

Food was good and ambience was nice. Though not something you'd go every day, it's so nice to have a more upmarket dining option selection finally in this area. The restaurant was quite packed even though we went mid week. We were told that the restaurant's usually fully booked in the weekend.

Phone: (60 7) 560 8888
Location: Block 1, Level 1
Opens daily from 6.30am - 11pm
Dress Code: Smart Casual
Smoking Policy: not permitted in Harbour Café (indoor area).





Tam Zabb - Thai & Lao Restaurant @ Nusa Bestari 

Last week four of us went to try a newish (opened since Dec'12) Thai Lao restaurant in Nusa Bestari. The restaurant is owned by Benny, fellow motor-cross rider that Ian came to know from riding in Johor. Benny's wife is the head chef and is from Northeastern Thailand, hence their aim is to provide authentic Thai food.

Courtesy of Tam Zabb Facebook page

For the four of us, we ordered steamed fish, pandan chicken, pineapple fried rice, pork larb, chicken sauteed with cashew nuts, tom kha gai, stir fry kailan and banana with palm sugar dessert. I've also tried the lemongrass drink as well as pandan soda, both of which are very refreshing drinks.

Food is authentic Thai, unlike many Thai restaurants which taste more Chinese than Thai. Food has the right spiciness. Unfortunately I wasn't able to eat too much of it due to breastfeeding (God I miss chillies!!!) The restaurant is very nicely decorated, modern and simple. I love the Sweedish looking tables and chairs which were made by Benny's father as we were told. The ambience is very cosy.

The meals are also reasonably priced. All of us are pretty happy with dinner so we'd definitely be back for more. Unfortunately I didn't get chance to take decent photos but there's a recent review on Johorkaki which is quite detailed.

The restaurant is located at:
48G Jln Bestari 3/2 Tmn Nusa Bestari, Johor

Phone	07-232 5859
Email	info@tamzabb.com

Mon: 12:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Wed - Sun: 12:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Biggest Legoland waterpark in the world is coming to Nusajaya

Wohoo, more attractions being added to this area! The Legoland water park is expected to be opened this October and will have more than 20 water slides and over 70 lego models.

This water park sits on a large area equivalent to 50 football fields and is now 70% complete. Driving past Legoland, we can also see the hotel construction progressing. Can't wait to have more entertainment options nearby, great job Legoland!

Launched: Smart Way To Book Taxi In Iskandar Malaysia

I'm very slow nowadays..I know :) but I thought this is an interesting update to ease transportation challenges in Iskandar.

An application, which is named MyTeksi, would help commuters to book taxis via their smartphones in a fast, convenient and safe manner.

Paim embarked on the usage of the MyTeksi application with taxi drivers from Koperasi Permodalan Melayu Negeri Johor (KPMNJ). By year-end, Paim hopes to achieve 1,000 registered taxi drivers using the application. I've downloaded the app and played around a little bit. App looks quite user friendly but it does not seem to register my address (it's listing a wrong street name instead) and there's no taxi nearby. I guess it'll take some time for this app to be taken up by taxi drivers in Johor, if it does, it'll be a very convenient way to book taxis.

Paying House Assessment Tax & Quit Rent

Afternoon all, just a quick note to share useful information from a friend on how to pay taxes for your properties in Johor:

1. House Assessment – Open main page of Majlis Perbandaran Johor Bahru Tengah and click on the ‘e-cukai’ at the ‘Public’ drop bar
a) http://www.mpjbt.gov.my/web/guest/home
b) http://210.187.76.162/obe/searchbil.asp#

2. Quit Rent – open website of Johor Government and click on the online payment. Refer guideline as attached herewith.
a) http://www.johordt.gov.my/ptj/
b) http://onlinepayment.johor.gov.my/

The guideline can be found here

Twin Villa Series 1, Phase 1 East Ledang for Sale

Hi Everyone,

There's another property for sale, i.e. a semi-D for sale in our development. Phase 1, series 1 (same layout as ours). Asking price is RM3.05M.

Happy to connect to the relevant party if anyone's interested.

Have a great Sunday evening,
Erika

Beautiful Bungalow in Leisure Farm for sale

Afternoon everyone, helping a friend to post on a bungalow for sale in Leisure Farm.

Leisure Farm (RM7mil nego)

Built up area: 5,000 sqft
Land area: 18,000 sqft
Furnishing: Fully furnished 

Drop us a message if you are interested to find out more.

Happy Saturday,

Erika

Regency Specialist Hospital Johor

Besides Columbia Asia, we have also visited Regency Specialist Hospital a couple of times.

"Regency is the first private hospital in Johor Bahru to be approved under Ministry of Health, Singapore, for the use of Medisave overseas for the approved hospitalisation and day surgeries. Regency was conferred the Malaysian Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) certification by Ministry of Health, Malaysia, for providing healthcare services to regional patients". - See more at: http://www.regencyspecialist.com/about-us/introduction/#sthash.RWqTnql6.dpuf

Located in Bandar Seri Alam, this hospital is bigger than Columbia Asia but is quite far away from East Ledang (about 40 minutes drive).

 We first went to Regency to see a Obstetrics & Gynaecology (O&G) specialist for a second opinion. We consulted with Dr. Thokha Bin Muhammad who heads up the O&G Department in Regency. He is a very experienced and senior, as well as friendly. I was happy and quite impressed with his professionalism and expertise. The downside of the trip was the 2 hours queue. He's a very popular doctor and he takes time to talk and explain to each of his patient, hence the waiting time is quite long. While waiting, I had to undergo some tests in the labour ward and that's when we found out that the labour process had started. Apart from Dr Thokha's clinic, the hospital was very quiet and I didn't see anyone else hospitalised in the labour ward. 

For second visit to Regency, we brought James to see Dr. Chang Hok Keong from the Paediatric, Paediatric Cardiology & Neurology department for a checkup on James' heart. He's the only paediatric cardiologist in the whole of Johor! Dr Chang did an Echocardiogram scan and provided a very thorough explanation of his diagnosis. We're also happy with Dr Chang's consultation.

Overall, we are happy with the two doctors that we've seen in Regency. They came across as being very senior, knowledgeable and also able to explain their diagnosis & recommendations well. Hence, I think it's worth checking out this hospital before heading over to SG hospitals.

Regency Specialist Hospital is located at: No. 1 Jalan Suria, Bandar Seri Alam 81750 Masai, Johor, Malaysia - See more at: http://www.regencyspecialist.com/contact-us/contact-information/#sthash.h8IozZ2c.dpuf

P/S: There are shuttle buses to pick up patients from a number of venue in Singapore everyday - must be quite popular with Singaporeans perhaps? 

Best wishes, Erika

Our experience with Columbia Asia Nusajaya Hospital

Thought I'd share our experience in healthcare facilities in Johor.

Some of you may know that I gave birth to baby James in Columbia Asia Nusajaya hospital. We decided to switch from Raffles Hospital SG to Columbia Asia when I was about 7 months pregnant, mainly due to the hospital's proximity and flexibility of going home post delivery (Myself and baby would be stuck in Singapore for weeks if we're to deliver in SG as we'd need to wait for James' passport to be completed).

Columbia Asia Nusajaya is quite a new hospital located near Bukit Indah (10 mins drive from East Ledang).
Columbia Asia Sdn Bhd is 30% owned by the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) and 70% by a US-based fund, the International Columbia USA LLC (ICU), which comprise over 150 individual and institutional investors. The hospital provides quite an extensive range of health services as you can see here.

• Obstetrician and Gynecologist

The Obstetrician and Gynecologist in Columbia Asia that I see is Dr Teh Jin Teik. He's the most popular Obstetrician in the hospital and is always busy. For Saturday's appointment, we would usually arrive ta 7.45 am (or before) to queue for registration and return to hospital at around 10.30 - 11 am for our consultation. There's no appointment system in the hospital, you have to register and queue.

Dr Teh has been very wonderful, friendly & soft spoken and very patient. He did my C-section surgery successfully and even removed an inflamed appendix in the process. If I have any emergency questions, I could sms and he would reply :) He also answered our questions on our baby even though he's not a pediatrician.

• Pediatrician

The pediatrician in Columbia is Dr Razlina Johari. We've been to 1 consultation with her (1 week post birth) and I am far from being impressed, in fact I wouldn't recommend engaging her unless if you absolutely have no other choice. We found that she has poor bedside manner and was not forthcoming to provide details about the health concern she raised for James.

• Hospital facilities

Operating room was very new and follow standard health and hygiene regulation. I remember one of the assistant surgeon was extremely helpful and friendly. I was petrified going into the surgery room and she helped to calm my nerves. THANK YOU!

The delivery wards are also very new and clean. There was only 1 other lady who gave birth in the same period as I did so the wards were mostly empty and we had more than enough nurses to cater to the two of us. The nurses were very nice. I really liked the Chinese older nursery nurse who gave me a lot of tips about breastfeeding & postnatal care as well as an Indian younger nursery nurse who was always bubbly and cheerful.

I stayed in the hospital for 2 nights post my C-Section. The total delivery hospitalization and medication charges were ~ RM 11K (including appendix removal). Overall, I am happy with my delivery experience in Columbia Asia. The only regret/downside is that Ian was not allowed into the surgery room, I would have much preferred to have him by my side during the labour process.

P/S: We have a friend who cut himself and severed some nerves on his thumb. He was hospitalised and engaged Dr Yoga Raj to do micro surgery to fix the cuts. Surgery went well and our friend's since recovered. Our friend is happy with Dr Yoga Raj' professionalism and expertise.


View Columbia Asia Hospitals in a larger map

All the best for all pregnant ladies out there!
Erika

Baby James arrived on 25th May 2013

Hi everyone I hope you're doing well. We are very happy to share with everyone that our baby James was born safely on saturday 25th may 2013 at columbia asia hospital. We are all settling in  and adjusting to our new life with our adorable little james.

I will be back updating and replying 2 messages on my blog  as soon as I can. Thanks everyone for your support!

Proud New mum,

Erika

Looking for Organic Food Supplier/Grocery Wholesales/Fresh Seafood Wholesaler?

Good morning all,

I've finally finished work and am now on my 1st day of maternity leave. Baby is due any days now so I'm planning to take it easy before the storm hits :) I'll try to spend these few days updating my blog as much as possible (few posts have been sitting in draft for a while, sorry again for being M.I.A).

In today's post, I'll be sharing very useful information shared by our neighbour (Thanks a lot Merizsa) on food suppliers in Johor:

1). Grand Meltique

Food seafood and Japanese food lovers, Grand Meltique is a wholesaler which sells live and frozen seafood suppliers as well as Japanese food. Based on feedback from our neighbour, this wholesaler supplies pretty good shashimi grade salmon fillets which are cheaper than supermart. You can check out their website on the type of seafood available.

2). Total Ocean

Supplier of organic food. The proprietor, Mee Ling can converse in English.

Next to Total Ocean is a grocery wholesaler called Soon Huat. Very reasonable prices. The proprietor is an Indonesian Chinese. She can't speak English though. Only Mandarin and Teochew.

3). Harvest Frozen Food Sdn. Bhd. 

Harvest is a small family run wholesaler of frozen and chilled meat, fine food and a variety of condiments. I did a massive purchase to stock up on rib eye & T-Bone steaks, beef ribs, beef slices for shabu2, lamb cutlets, leg of lambs, dory fish, fish & chips, scallops and more for RM670 (we're talking about supplies sufficient to last for few months). The guy in the shop is very friendly and would help to cut and airpack your steak cuts.

Location: No. 101, Jalan Sutera 1, Taman Sutera Sentosa, 80150, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Email: harvestfrozen@gmail.com, sales@harvestfrozen.com 
Website: www.harvestfrozen.com
Operating Hours: Monday to Friday - 9am to 5.30pm Saturday - 9am to 2pm Sunday - Closed

I hope these are useful, happy food shopping!EO

Our List of Reliable Contractors & Shops

Finding good reliable contractors in Johor is like looking for needle in haystack (at least from our perspective). Hence, I thought I'd share a number of contractors who we find are good and reliable.

Renovation contractor: Image ID & Furniture, Nick Pang, +60127282733. He's our master ID contractor for stage 2 & 3 renovation of our place. He's very responsible and reliable, we're very happy with his work.

Electrician: Afung +60127978839, subcontractor we knew from Nick. He did our electrical work and aircon servicing. Always friendly & reliable, but only speaks Mandarin and a bit of Malay.

Locksmith: Golden Key @ Bukit Indah Branch, +6072368012. Very good locksmith, fast response and good quality installation of door locks. 

Green Forest Plumbing Hardware Trading: Summer solar water heater, +60167788931. Fast response, installation went smoothly and we're still very happy with our solar water heater a year + on. 

I hope this helps, all the best with your house fitting/renov!

Have a great weekend, 

Erika

A Little Taste of Mexican in Nusa Bestari

It's always great to see more variaties to local dining scene. As soon as Piedra was opened, it became the talk of our neighborhood so I was very eager to test out the food.

I must say that they did not disappoint at all. Food was great, atmosphere and service was also great. Since it was a while ago (sorry i have been very slow in updating my blog...i know), i cant remember the names of the dishes, but all of them were very nice. I also love the buah dong dong drink (not really Mexican but love it anyway).

Dinner for 4 cost us about RM200+, including a few bottles of beers. When we went couple months ago, the restaurant manager/key chef (transferred from Sg temporarily) was very friendly and nice. I'm not sure who's running the restaurant now but i hope the quality of food and service remain great.

I would recommend this eating joint, even if you're not into Mexican food, go for few drinks and enjoy the open seating concept.

Enjoy!