Pauline's Eatery at First World Hotel (Tower 3 Lobby) @ Genting Highlands [Malaysia]

Google Maps review rating score of 4.9 from over 6,000 reviewers; that's a feat in my opinion and even though I had wanted to try Pauline's at tower 3 of first world hotel in Genting Highlands for a while now; the queue was a major deterrent. 

This time round, I was determined to pay it a visit. Reason being that my annual pass for the Genting SkyWorlds Theme Park was expiring then, and it would likely be a while before I would go up the highlands again. p.s. throughout the annual pass, I went up four times!

Ordering via the laminated sheets above; do note that aside from snacks, pastry, polo bun and selected dim sum, all the others would come with a free drink (17 to choose from). Only problem? I don't know the prices for the majority of the food, only the drinks.

Well, I don't believe the prices will be exorbitant given the pretty normal setting and for me, I was more curious as to the reason for the high review score. Anway, after you order via the two pretty gals at the counter, you make payment and proceed to your table and await your food, and drinks.

Iced Coffee - came complimentary with our meal, the primary issue was that you can't ask for less rice as it came from a premix dispenser! Surprisingly tasted quite nice! 

Hot Beauty Snow Jelly - although more a jelly than a drink, this was counted as one of the options for the free drinks. Now, peach gum, one of the ingredients, is expensive and cheapo me decided to order an extra main so that I can get the above for free too!

Priced at RM 4.50 without any meal, the texture was thick, and not watery as with the case for most dining establishments wishing to earn more profit margin. I bet uncles and aunties would love this, especially given the cool highland temperature. 

Toast Bread with Half Boiled Eggs - a classic breakfast set for Singaporeans and Malaysians, the portion seemed quite little but again, I am all for small portion eating so that I can leave more stomach space for other food.

Filling for the toast bread appeared to be pathetic and I am preparing myself it would disappoint. Turned out the spread was consistent and every bite featured the fragrance of butter and the sweet taste of kaya. 

Dry Wantan Mee - wanton mee is one of my favorite foods (granted I have a lot) in Singapore and the above stood out for its two large fried dumplings and generous serving of thick-cut char siew! 

Sadly, both were better off removed, especially the char siew which was literally just lumps of meat that didn't taste like char siew. Noodles were the stars for the dish; although drenched in the signature Malaysian dark sauce, they weren't overly sweet and had that light tinge of peppery flavour that enhanced the taste. 

Signature Fried Laksa - just the name alone enticed me to order! The noodles weren't our familiar thick bee hoon, almost like an uncut bee tai bak! Taste wise, very good! More like a fusion saucy laksa with chilli and tomato sauce added, resulting in a fascinating taste that was a perfect balance of tangy, flavourful, sweet and slurpy! 

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No doubt a satisfying meal for just the two of us. Frankly, a 4.9 score was an overkill and even for the signature fried laksa, I do enjoy the noodles but not the accompanying fried chicken (frozen taste), and the pieces of chicken and fishballs added. Sometimes, more don't mean good. Personally, a 3.5 to 4.0 might have been a better score for what we had. 

Address

Near Ground Level Lift Lobby, Tower 3,

First World Hotel, Genting Highlands Resort, 

69000 Genting Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

7.00 am to 12.00 am

Pricing

Toast Bread with Half Boiled Eggs - RM 12.90

Dry Wantan Mee - RM 15.90

Signature Fried Laksa - RM 18.90

(Subject to Tax)

Sunway Pyramid Hotel - Deluxe Room @ Petaling Jaya, Selangor [Malaysia]

Nowadays, when I travel to Genting Highlands, I prefer to fly instead, using the Seletar Airport to/fro Subang Airport route, via the propeller plane of Firefly Airlines, as I couldn't endure the long bus ride back to Singapore! 

It would be too rushed from Genting Highlands to Subang Airport; hence, in my recent trip, we opted to stay a night at Sunway Pyramid Hotel, a four-star establishment, and took the opportunity to meet up a few of Alex's game friends. 

Checking in and instead of getting a welcome drink; we were gifted a welcome cookie instead. Unlike those pre-packaged cookies, these were served warm with a taste similar to those from Subway! I am not complaining at all.

Collected our room keys!

Room Number 09134

Our deluxe room at 28 square meters on the 9th floor. Recently renovated in 2017, with over 600 rooms, our block was the shorter one; albeit nearer to the reception and main entrance.

Classy looking and fully carpeted, I did find the layout a bit strange as the first thing that greeted us immediately after entering the room was the double bed. 

Typical room amenities that included the in-room safe, the mini-fridge, the electric kettle, and also an iron with ironing board. For me, the most important had to be the safe since I do bring along my personal laptop along when I travel.

Our room was supposed to have a window view and it sure did; although it looked out into the inner corridors, that didn't appear to be accessible, serving as an aesthetic purpose with no practical use for hotel guests. This to me, felt somewhat cheated.

The washroom seemed like it was based on the 1980s design; functional no doubt, and without a bathtub, which I can really do without as a walk-in shower is safer in my opinion. 

Emergency escape plan for your reference.

A lot of rooms for just one level. 

Gymnasium

The resident fitness center was located on the block right behind ours, and required taking another set of lifts to access. Decently sized; my issue was that it's pretty isolated and when I am the only one using the gym at around 9.00pm, it felt a bit too eerie.

You can opt to visit another gym at the sister hotel next door; Sunway Resort Hotel. A much pricier hotel, you would be guaranteed with a much bigger, bigger equipped facility.

There's even lemon-infused water! 

Swimming Pool

Even though Sunway Pyramid Hotel had no swimming pool, you can also choose to visit the one at Sunway Resort Hotel. Pretty nice, with a cascading waterfall; the only disadvantage is its proximity to the buffet breakfast restaurant, and the gym.

Buffet Breakfast

Located at Sunset Terrance of Sunway Resort Hotel, this buffet breakfast was already included in our room package, with no option to opt out since I am not exactly a breakfast person and could do without.

However, if it is already part of the room pricing, I am not going to waste my money! To host all the guests from Sunway Pyramid Hotel and Sunway Resort Hotel, the restaurant had a lot of seating, with plenty to offer, from local delights to international cuisine like Middle Eastern.

Hope the above gave you a good gauge.

It's easy to miss out on the live stations as they were placed outside the air-conditioned area. In addition to the egg station, there were also stations for tosai and Swedish crepes.

I didn't have much, attacking more on the fruits. For the rest of the food, I thought they were okay; not really worth wasting my precious calories on.

One thing that I really enjoyed though; was the teh tarik!

There's even a section for kids, with their favorite food, at a height that's just right for kids to help themselves, like adults. Not sure if the parents were happy with the food selection though. 

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A primary benefit to stay at either Sunway Resort Hotel or Sunway Resort Hotel would be the ease of access to Sunway Lagoon theme park, which should be considered as Malaysia's best, and most comprehensive given that one ticket gave you entry to "water, amusement, wildlife, extreme, scream, and Nickelodeon zones"! 

Acc

ess for Sunway Pyramid Hotel and Sunway Resort Hotel, respectively. Since my annual pass for Genting Skyworlds had lapsed, maybe I should go for for the Sunway Lagoon theme park annual pass instead.

And maybe next time, I could book for the more atas Sunway Resort Hotel. Problem was that a recent accident at Sunway Lagoon theme park, and this kind of gave Alex the jitters and he is having second thoughts! Not for me though; an accident means the theme park will tighten safety even more, and that's beneficial!

Address

Persiaran Lagoon, Bandar Sunway, 

47500 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Map

As above.

Website

https://www.sunwayhotels.com/sunway-pyramid/

Pricing

Deluxe Room - S$127.76

(via Agoda.com)