First heard about Pulau Redang in Malaysia after watching the Hong Kong movie 夏日的么么茶 back in 2000; was very attracted by the island paradise with pristine sandy beaches and clear blue waters. Wanted very much to go there and then, but was put off by the long travelling time - a whopping 13 hours coach ride! Don't think I want a relaxing holiday at an island paradise to be marred by a tiring journey to and fro.
Just look at the lovely blue waters! While we were transferring by ferry to the resort, really had a strong temptation to jump straight into the water :D
Laguna Redang Island Beach Resort is clean, modern, well-maintained with spacious and comfortable rooms, exactly what I had in mind :) Wasted no time to check around the resort and beach and true to its name, Pasir Panjang definitely has one of the finest beach on the island. 
And there it stand, the "More More Tea" Inn made famous in the movie! Actually the colorful and quaint building was shifted from its original location to make way for the resort. The building is now a souvenir shop just next to the resort.
The whole stretch of Pasir Panjang Beach houses many resorts that suit all types of budget.
Although it looks kind of commercialised, the overall feel is still idyllic and rustic; perfect for a getaway for families, friends and couples alike.
The house reef boasts of many reef fishes and corals, really convenient for snorkelling since the waters is sheltered and quite shallow.
Many dead corals washed ashore.
And not to forget diving; Redang is said to offer one of the best diving in this region with an amzing variety of marine life. We did 5 dives with the resort's dive centre. The dive centre is well-equipped with experience divemasters so we were in good hands. Disappointing though, the visibility during our dives was average at around 10m - 15m.
Brought along a camera this time as we found a underwater housing during a sale before the trip but didn't manage to take many photos. Realised that underwater photography is not an easy task indeed.
Dive 1 - Terumbu Kili (South Point)
Saw large schools of fishes in a feeding frenzy on the corals; one big Titan Trigger Fish, the infamous territorial fish known to attack divers; turtle, blue-spotted stingrays, the usual reef fishes like anemones, soft and hard corals and etc.
Dive 2 - Mak Cantik (Maxi Mount)
Means 'beautiful mother' in Malay. This dive site is home to a large coral garden, comprising of many hard and soft corals. A pity that visibility was not very good due to particles but nonetheless very pretty. 
Dive 3 - Tunnel Point
We did several swim throughs at here as this site is made of large boulders pile up to form tunnel-like structures. Supposed to hear the boulders creak when surf action causes them to move slightly, but we were distracted by many large angel fish, butterfly fish and nudibranchs.
Dive 4 - Chek Isa (Mini Mount)
Another beautiful dive site but visibility was low with hot and cold current. Saw 3 white-tip sharks zoomed past (or was it just one which swam around?), was pretty excited but it all happened too fast!
Dive 5 - Mak Cantik (Maxi Mount)
Re-visit to this underwater coral garden. Saw big stingrays, turtle, cushion star, puffer fish and etc.
Well, here's hoping that my upcoming dive trip would be a good one!
Travel resources
- Berjaya Air http://www.berjaya-air.com/
- Redang Island Rendezvous http://www.redang.org/
- Laguna Redang Beach Resort http://www.lagunaredang.com.my/
I particularly enjoyed the sausage platter served with sauerkraut, mashed potato, pickled cucumber and garnished with roasted onion rings. The mixture of thin and fat sausages were lean, juicy and crunchy with different flavours like cracked peppers, cheese, smoked and more; can't exactly remember all the types now but this really converted my idea of sausages. Was particularly impressed with the sauerkraut which is finely sliced sour white cabbage; the distinctive sour taste was not over-powering and complements the robust taste of the sausages. The mashed potato was buttery and smooth.
And there was the mushroom stew with different varieties of mushroom. The full-bodied taste of mushroom lingered in my mouth and the creamy stew was rather addictive.
The signature roasted pork knuckle was tender, crackling quite crispy but meat a tad dry. Other dishes included greens, German-style pizza and seafood platter, all pretty well done. 
Also tried a few variety of beer, one of which was mango-flavoured, tasted fruity and sweet but mild. Had to skip dessert altogether as the meal was really filling and we still have the birthday cake. Must really go back there one of these days to try the desserts which I heard was good. The meal set us back by $26 per person but well worth it considering the quality of food, service and ambience; and hey, nothing beats the company and of course JUICY news :p
Really feel very blessed to be able to celebrate every birthday with this group of wonderful friends for the past 12 years. Despite personal and work commitments, everyone made effort to get together for birthdays and festive celebrations. It is also heartwarming to see the group grow literally with partners (and now babies) joining in. Thank you, dear friends! 
For Fishermen Scuba, the arrangement was such that we departed on Friday night and stayed at Hotel 
For the seasoned divers, this was supposed to be a check-out dive to warm up and get familiar with the dive gears, whereas for open water trainees we did our basic drills like mask clearing, regulator retrievals, air-sharing, emergency ascent and etc. Although we were kept busy with our drills, it was really exciting because the visibility was great and we could actually see lots of marine creatures around like clown fish and anemones.
After the 1st dive, we checked into 
After lunch and rest, we headed for our 2
The 3rd dive was at 
We are finally certified Open Water Diver! When it was time to depart, we didn't feel like leaving the island and was already craving for more dives. Definitely gotta be back again!
Opted to stay at idyllic Mayang Sari, with rustic beachfront seaview chalet so that I can simply laze by the beach and do nothing, seldom have chance to 'do nothing' since I'm a multi-tasker who cannot sit still. Ideal choice because ambience is tranquil (read: no noisy, rowdy holiday crowd) and beach is nice with clean waters.
There are only 2 restaurants at Mayang Sari, Spice Restaurant and Belle Ile. Hubby and I settled for a quick lunch of salad and burger before hitting the sea for a quick dip as the weather was humid and hot. Surprisingly, we found hard and soft corals with some marine fishes; a pity we didn't have our snorkelling gear but visibility wasn't good anyway.
Was also contemplating a massage at the Kedaton Spa (used to be Asmara Spa) but the spa was fully booked. Should have made booking in advance. Ended up strolling the lush gardens and read by the chalet patio till sun set. Took a simple dinner at Spice Restaurant before retiring back to chalet.
The picturesque beach resort offers great photo opportunities but I wasn't motivated. We checked out by noon, had lunch of fish and chips at Belle Ile and headed for home. Return journey is usually the dreaded part and made worst with a crowded ferry terminal; should avoid peak hours for return ferry in future.
Joycelyn also demonstrated the Swiss Meringue Buttercream with raspberry and chocolate variations. Buttercream make the cupcake look classy provided that they are applied well; and it's certainly not easy to use a piping bag. I used to think that buttercream is very heavy and too creamy for my liking but this tasted pretty light and smooth.
An easy and versatile decoration is icing which can be dolloped atop cupcakes using spoons. It can be tinted to different colours and flavoured to different taste like chocolate, vanilla, lemon or as it is. After the icing dries up, it will form a smooth and satiny crust which is slightly crunchy and goes very well with the tender cupcakes.
My choice of entree is fish with bread (yes, more bread as I couldn't get enough of it), came with 2 large slices of deep fried fillet, baked potato and sauteed vegetables. The tomato-based sauce went well with the fish but a little over-powering. The portion was quite big and couldn't finish most part of it (and offered them to hubby :p)
Dessert was choice of vanilla, strawberry or chocolate ice cream with watermelon and crushed peanuts. Can see the thought put into the dessert as it is not just plain ice-cream but comes with watermelon slices which are refreshing and peanuts which added crunchiness. Sweet ending to the meal! 
Overall, it was a pleasant dining experience, perfect for an idyllic afternoon. I wonder how strawberry Shisha will taste like. I don't smoke but tempted to explore. Next time perhaps.
