Johor Bahru

To get away from the weekend monotony, Em-J had this idea to spend it at Johor Bahru, Malaysia. I don't really mind travelling there since it's less than a half hour away from where we're staying. I met up with him and Danny who were both coming from Segamat and we were both surprised that we were wearing the same shirt.



After circling City Square for a bit, we hailed a cab and asked the driver to take us to the nearest Jusco since I couldn't remember the exact branch. We ended up in a wrong one being that it was quite small with just a few places to eat at.

We asked around and we were told that the one that we're looking for is Jusco Tebrau.

A trip to JB wouldn't be complete without having lunch at Nando's. They have a completely new menu and I felt that the prices aren't as cheap as before. It's almost the same as that of here in Singapore.



The mall is quite nice, I thought of Powerplant while we were having lunch looking at the people passing by.



We also chanced upon the coolest candy shop ever, Country's Tid-Bits and Candies Cottage.











What sets this apart from the usual candy shops more than just the great variety is that you're free to try everything! Yes, FREE!!! We sampled the sweets all to our hearts content. We love it!!! We ended up buying two big bags of sweets even though we've already had more than our fair share.

With nothing else to do, we decided to watch a movie since they are already showing The Woman in Black, a week earlier than in Singapore.



After the movie at 10PM, we received another pleasant surprise when we found out that the mall is still open giving us a little more time to look around and do a little bit of grocery shopping. I also saw this cool little angry bird cake.



And I got talked into buying this Cherry drink.



Before heading to Singapore the next day, we had lunch at Stone Grill. Great food at very affordable prices.

Citrus Hotel, Johor Bahru

Citrus Hotel is located just across City Square. Its location is perfect if you're looking at a place near immigration which is exactly what Em-J wanted. From City Square, exit out of the office side of the building near McDonald's and cross the street.





The area reminded me a bit of Chinatown in Manila, there are outside eateries just nearby and some stores at the checkpoint are open till 11pm if you find yourself hungry late at night.

I arrived at the hotel at 3pm and they asked me to wait while they are checking me in.



The lobby looked like a simple boutique hotel and wifi was pretty strong. (I realize later that it might not have been the hotel's wifi that I've been using since theirs is password protected.)

I followed up with them 10 minutes after but they're still not done. Weird cause there's only one group checking in before me and there are, at that time, 2 front desk staff there.

After a 45-minute wait, this is what the lobby looked like, lots of people waiting for what should be a simple check in procedure. I would totally understand this if I came for an early check-in but I didn't.



I was finally given my room and I headed straight to the elevators which would fit about 4 average adults. The hallway smelled faintly of rice sacks as if you're in a warehouse.

The family room was very spacious which was a surprise.





It did look a bit bare with just the minimums. A couple of beds, a desk and a TV, right behind the wall is a pretty big wardrobe with a mirror for a door which was nice. I also noticed that the floor by the foot of the bed is uneven.



The bathroom looked like a bathroom from someone's flat but the good thing about it is that it's quite spacious. Just don't forget to switch on the heater from outside before taking your shower. What I particularly didn't like about it is that the bathroom door has no lock.





While it comes with free wifi, don't get your hopes up, it was almost non-existent. We called the front desk several times and we were given a username with a number from 1 - 30. We had to try each one to see what would work and when it did connect, it didn't stick.

It also comes with free breakfast at the cafe on the 2nd floor.







Breakfast was a simple affair but I have to point out that the service was superb. The people from the front desk should learn a thing or two from the waitstaff there.

Overall, while there are minor inconveniences, it's a good enough place to stay at.

Magnum Mania

When Magnum was made available in Manila two weeks ago, my Twitter timeline was flooded with Magnum mentions. It was a huge success, so much so that it has already sparked a little negativity on Facebook.

It made me suddenly crave the expensive bars of creamy goodness. I originally didn't pay much attention to Magnum because there are Cadbury ice cream bars available.



I had a change of heart when I saw the ad below and I've been hooked.



Heist, Benicio del Toro, Bryan Singer and a gold ice cream bar, what's not to like?



When I finally found the time, I headed to the grocery and a new flavor caught my eye. Limoncello!



Except for lemonades, it hurts my throat, I love everything with lemon and this lemon liqueur flavored bar that tasted a bit of candies is not an exception.



The Irish Cream flavored ones are also good.



A 6-piece mini costs about $10 (330pesos) which amounts to 55pesos for one mini bar.

Last Sunday, my friends saw this new flavor, the deadliest so far.



2 caramel layers, 2 chocolate coating and ice cream.



One bar is about a 5km run. This flavor I won't ever have again, if I can help it.



A 4-bar box costs $15 (495 pesos), about 120 pesos per bar.

Seeing how pricey the ice cream bars, we got all excited when we saw the Magnum bars in Malaysia being sold cheap at about MYR10 ($4.34, 143pesos) for a 3-bar box!



We had the Chocolate Truffle since it's not being sold here. It did taste a bit like our Pinipig crunch but a good buy nonetheless.