Palm Garden Hotel Putrajaya- Spacious and homely- Malaysian hotel review

Palm Garden Hotel is located just next to IOI mall. It is also adjacent to Le Meridien and Marriott. Stayed overnight to attend my specialist placement meeting.

First impression-relaxing and laid back. Spacious. We booked deluxe King sized orchid room. It's as big as a studio. With enough space for baby Bing to run around without knocking into things. Despite the extended bed, Bing just wanted to snuggle against mommy when he slept.

Huge bathroom too with attached bathtub. The hotel is a bit old but well maintained.

Wonderful fish ponds along the corridor.

Buffet breakfast. Mostly Malaysian food-nasi lemak, fried kuay teow, rice porridge, baked beans, chicken sausage, omelette, Danish, croissant, bread, fruits, coffee and tea from the espresso machine.

Overall, comfortable. Friendly staff. Well maintained. Affordable. Will consider staying here again.

Verdict 7/10

Polpetta cafe- it's raining meatballs

No plan is always a good plan. We were heading to PJ for a meeting. Searched his off-peak app and discovered this hidden gem Polpetta in Petaling Jaya.

The cafe gave us a very homey feeling. Baby Bing was absolutely in love with the tic tac toe set.

The cute soft toy hung on the door also functioned as the door bell.

The menu was laminated. Guests then placed their orders using marker pens provided. Much more eco friendly then handing out papers.

This was our mixed meatball with extra helping of mashed potatoes and classic tomato sauce. To our surprise, We loved mushroom ball the most, followed by beef ball then chicken ball. Huge juicy balls with flavors permeating our palate. The tomato sauce had the right punch of herbs as well.

We also ordered kaya toast for baby Bing. Toast was cripsy and I think kaya was homemade :)

Staff were also friendly and enjoyed playing with baby Bing.

Cosy environment and good food. Price mid range. Spent RM20 only. Got 25% off with offpeak app. Shall visit again with friends. 

Rama V fine Thai cuisine

After a not so satisfying dinner, we were craving for more. En route back to hotel, we drove past Rama V. It's reputated as the best Thai restaurant in Malaysia.

Spacious interior with a nice tropical garden and fish ponds within. Baby Bing had so much fun exploring the place.

The food was indeed superb! Pad Thai with fried tiger prawn. Such an ordinary dish but they made it so extraordinary! One can't help but devouring the dish even though we were already half full. The combination of fresh squeezed lime and peanuts brought out the flavor even more.

I have never really like roast duck that much because  it's usually fatty. Rama V really changed my opinion as the skin was so crispy and fragrant without fat! Duck meat was also marinated to perfection.

Victor used his entertainer food voucher so we got this vegetarian green curry for free. The gravy was so appetising that we had so much rice.

Ramadhan buffet spread on display :)

The dessert was the much celebrated red Ruby crystals or thap thim krop. Crunchy water chestnut coated with soft and chewy sago coating. Together with slices of fresh jackfruit and coconut milk, the flavor was just heavenly.



Spent RM130+ altogether. A bit pricy but the taste and portion was worth the price tag. A must visit!

The essence of health and youthfulness- clean water

As a doctor, people often ask me the secret of health and youthfulness. It's very simple : healthy diet and exercise. This had been well tested throughout centuries. This is why I really support Jamie Oliver's food revolution. 

Eating well is the foundation of good health. Supplements and detox sessions are expensive plus they don't work and they run the risk of damaging your kidneys and livers. Period. And clean water is the absolute essence to eating well. Unfortunately tap water in Malaysia and Singapore are not fit for consumption prior to boiling or further filtration.

World health organisation places utmost importance in water sanitation. One too many death resulted from consumption of turbid water, especially children suffering from gastroenteritis in under developed countries.


I chanced upon this water filtration company- Cleansui on Facebook. It's a Japanese brand. Hands up who drives a Japanese car here. We absolutely love Japanese products right? As with all other Japanese brands,  cleansui emphasizes on research and technology. This is the technology behind the filtration system.


This is a very easy way to get clean water still rich in minerals without boiling. The product of filtration- clean water! No more crowding your bench top with water bottles.


So you might say there are so many other brands out there. Why choose cleansui? Personally I find the versatility of the products attractive.

There is your standard table top water filter for landed properties. An outdoor filter is optional.

Given that more and more live in high rise buildings,  cleansui also provides an alternative table top water filter that comes with a washable membrane pre-filter.

There's your normal water jug with a filter cartridge changed regularly.


If you think it's too bulky, they have one designed just for individual use. This is great for students or those who work on the go.


There's also a portable version that is good for travelers. Just fit to any tap, then tada clean water! No more worries about water quality anywhere.


For ladies, this filter is just the right one to get the perfect facial cleansing! We often spent thousands on facial treatments or products. But if the water used to clean our face has impurities, all these will go down the drain.

A clean shower for everyone at home :) This also makes sure 99.9% of chlorine in your shower water is removed before use.

                                  


The price is also very attractive. It is comparable to water filters made locally.

So why don't we all just drink bottled water instead? Given that we are all too familiar with funny odor and color in our tap water sometimes. Read this interesting article from the Star- the case for tap or bottled water.


I'm sure you all have made your decision by now. Click this cleansui page and get the right water filters for the health of your family members!

GG seafood- freshness in a pot

 This is the topic of the town recently. Just opened on 3 June. GG seafood gave out quite a few free sets but I didn't get any. Still we decided to try it out with my cousin.

Layout simple and enough space for our kids to run around. Staff friendly as well.

We ordered fried grouper with tomato based soup. This combination goes really well. Will appreciate other options as well because kids can't really take spicy food. One set can feed 3 to 4 people. Other seafood included were clams, prawns and lobsters. Freshness guaranteed. However the fish was too cripsy and there wasn't much flesh for the children.

Side orders:
fried mushroom coated with salted egg. Just the right amount of punch with generous golden egg yolk coating. Will be better if slightly less salty.

Fried chicken coated with fermented bean curd. No more description needed. Yummy!

We were also offered a 40% discount as it's the opening week. The bill amounted to RM150+. Might visit again depending on the price tag and occasion.

Specialist placement meeting

Here's where everyone meets. Be it masters of internal medicine or mrcp graduates. After completion, we all end up in this meeting room at putrajaya ministry of health to search for our destiny. Cream of the crop with different purpose in life.

Before the meeting, we were required to submit proof of our exam results and rotations completed. Other documents needed were a passport sized photograph. The person in charge matron rohani will then ask us to complete a few forms stating our service history.

For those who have completed at least 3 year Medical officer training will be called for the specialist placement meeting. Then an excel marking sheet was filled in prior to the meeting to determine your score. One is ranked  based on years of service and places served (the more remote, the higher marks ). The higher you rank, the better chance you have to get your placement. Spots are service based, which means unpopular places, ie out of klang valley, have the highest need for new blood. New spots also open up when there are transfers.

Dr letchmann jokingly welcomed us to the fraternity of physicians, stating that diagnosticians are the most important in healthcare. He also told us not to snapshot  the legendary whiteboard which displays our placement and make it viral because it is not final. So sorry guys, no sneak peek.

We were then divided into 4 groups for brief individual interview. Met Dr Chris again. He remembered me as the noisy one from Serdang mrcp mock exam. Straight to the point, I was ranked 20 out of 56. Smacked in the middle. If luck has it, I'll get kuantan because we still have 3 vacancies. Had to put second and third options just in case someone with high marks decide to bump my place. The interview was straight forward and finished in 5mins. We then had to wait for everyone else to be interviewed. Then decision will be made.

Another long torturous wait when bosses are busy placing everyone's name on the board. Managed to meet my ex colleague during housemanship!

For those who are not satisfied with their placement, they can appeal once when they have received their placement letter.

Finally, the legendary white board is filled with names- new life and dream for this new batch of specialist! Good luck everyone.

Daddy's cafe Pangkor- western Asian fusion by the beach

After a whole morning of fun at the beach, we were so hungry when we spotted Daddy's cafe. 

It's located just by coral bay. Wonderful sunny day and cooling sea breeze. We chose a table outdoor. Who would want to sit inside when it's so beautiful outside?

Ryan and I found the most intriguing names on the menu. So we ordered

Twiggy bomb. It's a combination of lamb chop and roast tiger prawns. The huge slab of lamb was totally worth the price tag at RM29. But it was a tad too heavy on salt.

Fire twister. It's a rice dish with pan fried mackerel marinated in some spicy sauce, accompanied by fresh salad and sambal belacan. Fish was very fresh and the whole combination was just very soothing to the palate.

Fish and chips! Classic and well battered fillet. Crispiest chips which baby Bing enjoyed so much.

Seafood claypot cooked in tamarind based curry including soft shell crab, squid and prawns. Fresh seafood cooked to perfection.

Fried rice :) in all its glamour
I love prawns!

Vegetarian version

Cappuccino. Kind of disappointed because it's made with evaporated milk, not fresh milk. As a result it tasted kind of off.

Great atmosphere. Reasonable pricing with generous portion. Each main cost from RM20 and above. Taste slightly above average. Would have rated it higher if not for the over salty lamb. Given the chance will visit again.