Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa, Penang

Penang needs little introduction to many visitors to Malaysia, having long been known as one of Southeast Asia’s finest destinations. Its delicious street food and outstanding beaches have made it one of the most popular destinations in the region.

During my recent trip to Penang, we stayed in Rasa Sayang Shangri-la and it was a luxurious and impressive experience. The resort is lavishly located besides the Batu Ferringi beach offering a comfortable island retreat. Here are 5 reasons why I love Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa.
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Premium Room with Spectacular View
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My spacious premium room at Rasa Wing comes with a huge balcony commanding spectacular views of the sea and garden. There is an in room locker, television, air con where you can control, ironing board, mini bar and stationery in each room. Each room has a seperate shower and bathtub with bathroom amenities from L’occitane! It is so huge that Rae and I couldn’t bear to leave the room every morning. What made me excited is the bathtub at the balcony which can shower and see the stars at night!

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Authentic Ethnic Cuisine at Spice Market Cafe
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The Spice Market Cafe is a casual restaurant which offers authentic ethnic cuisine from Chinese, Indian, Nyonya-Baba, Japanese, Thai and Western from 11am till midnight. The restaurant has kitchen, noodles and fruit juice bars for us to watch the chefs prepare the dishes. There’s also outdoot seating overlooking the Batu Feringgi Beach. Having a meal here under the tree is unforgettable with birds singing and gentle sea breeze blowing.

I like their Char Koay Teow (RM36) which was gussied up with prawns, cuttlefish, bean sprouts, chilli paste and egg. My flavourful Nasi Lemak (RM38) is served with prawn sambal, chicken curry, beef rendang, anchovies and hard boiled egg. The Chicken Tikka (RM36) marinated in yoghurt, chilli, garlic, ginger and blended spices adds that smokey aroma, enriched with mint dip, basmati rice and papadom.

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First To Serve Cronuts to Penang
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Everyone loves a good food trend. Sometimes, trends quickly turn to obsession. This year that has been the cronut, a croissant-doughnut hybrid bred in New York and quickly copied around the world. In conjunction with the cronut’s debut into Penang shores, Rasa Deli introduces cronut flavours that include a combination of fruity, tart and creamy tastes. Flaky on the outside with a creamy surprise inside, cronut is made of laminated dough, filled with scrumptious cream and fried to a specific temperature. Each cronut is individually rolled with flavoured sugar as a finish touch.

Created by Chef Dino Wan, there are 6 flavours available: Toffee, Orange, Lemon Raspberry, Chocolate Brownie, Apple Crumble, Nutella Banana and Vanilla Oreo. The cronuts are not as oily and chef adds crunch with 3-dimensional cubes of cookies, slices of bananas or raspberries toppings, depending on the cronut flavour you choose. It makes each cronut pretty as a picture! My favourite is the Lemon Raspberry with a totally refreshing red raspberry in lemony dough. I also love the Apple Crumble cronut which is not excessively sweet and had chewy bits of apple bits.

To retain its freshness, the cronuts are made with ONLY 100 PIECES available from 3-4pm daily. It is available exclusively at Rasa Deli for RM9.50+ per piece.

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Private Dining Affair at Feringgi Grill
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Because we stayed in Rasa Wing, we had a choice of a private semi buffet at Feringgi Grill or a breakfast buffet spread at Spice Market Cafe. Feringgi Grill is a fine dining Western grill at night with a bird’s eye view of lush tropical greenery. I have read so much good reviews about the restaurant and this is a restaurant which I would want to visit again for dinner.

Our breakfast at Feringgi Grill is a simple affair with semi buffet of salads and bread, and western breakfast cooked a la minute. We can order eggs of our choice: fried, scrambled, poached, boiled, omelet or benedict, with choice of breakfast sausage, grilled tomato, hash brown, beef bacon, chicken ham steak, baked beans or herbed mushrooms. We also had fluffy fresh waffles with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, berry compote and pistachio powder.

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Garden Paradise on Earth
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It was raining during my stay in Penang but it didn’t dampen our spirits at all. In fact, the weather was much cooler and there was a light breeze when we took a walk in the garden. In this resort, garden is the focal point. They have like more than 100,000 plants within the resort which includes palm trees, tropical flowers… and they also have a Spice Garden! And the main pool is perfect for us chill out under the sun. It is a garden paradise! Because of the raining weather, we weren’t able to catch the beautiful sunset. But if you are visiting here next time, be sure to park yourself at the Pinang Bar beside the beach to enjoy the beautiful sunset.

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#MYEatPlayShop Instagram Contest
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Do you travel to Malaysia frequently? Or do you have something interesting to share about your trip to Malaysia? From September 16 to October 13, share what you love about Malaysia through the Instagram lens – be they your favourite place to eat, to play, to shop, or something close to your heart.

How to join:
1. Follow @MYEatPlayShop on Instagram.
2. Share your photos/videos on Instgram and hashtag #MYEatPlayShop and mention @MYEatPlayShop (Remember to set your Instagram to public!)

Prizes:
– 6 most creative and engaging Instagram entries will enjoy 3D/2N Deluxe Room Stays
– 1 instagram video will win 1 week suite stay
at participating Shangri-La and Traders Hotels & Resorts in Malaysia

View website: http://eatplayshop.my
Contest ends on Sunday 13 October 2013, 23:59. Good luck!

I will be sharing more Penang posts next week, remember to check it out!