Thrift Traveller tips: Halal food in Melbourne

I was in Melbourne in end Jan /  early Feb this year.
Amazing to see so many more halal food outlets there now.  It is so easy to get halal food now.

One of the food I always enjoy when in Melbourne is the roast chicken with stuffing and chips.
 1/4 chicken with loads of chips cost only AUD6.50

Check out my article on the roast chicken shop in Brunswick, Melbourne.

T Cafe Cameron Highlands

During our last visit to Cameron Highlands, we finally got the chance to try the famous T-Cafe, located above Mary Brown restaurant in Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands.

Its a quaint little cafe, owned apparently by the auntie of this guy I met few months ago. She had about 3 staff helping her. Service was quick and efficient..

The serving size though could be better improved for the price paid.. My partner had to order additional food coz he wasnt full with his spaghetti..

I tried the famous scones and jam and butter..
The verdict..I think the scone still cant beat the scone sold at Cafe in Kinokuniya KLCC.

Then I had a chicken lasagna..which unfortunately has more vege than the chicken and taste not that great..

My partner had spaghetti..which wasnt enough for him..

so then he ordered fried rice..which turned out to be the best meal we had at T-Cafe Cameron Highlands..

But anyway..it was worth trying..since me and my cousins had always wanted to go there but its usually closed on Sundays..

Breakfast at Jasmine Restaurant, Brinchang, Cameron Highlands

We had our breakfast at Jasmine Restaurant in brinchang, cameron highlands..

In the cold morning weather of Cameron Highlands, hot milo tasted so good...haha....

my partner had roti canai..which was all right..but i've tasted better in KL.

The crispy paper tosai, served with dall and curry was just so yummy.

Where to eat in Brinchang, Cameron Highlands?

There are so many places to eat at brinchang, Cameron Higlands.

There are chinese restaurants, mamak restaurants....even secret recipe has opened here...

In the middle of the town, near the spot where the Pasar Malam used to be few years ago..you can get cheap breakfast at the small stalls.

Now there is even a huge KFC restaurant in brinchang, cameron highlands.

So...where did we end up eating in brinchang? look out for the next post.... :)

Hotel Rainbow, Cameron Highlands Malaysia

On our last budget trip to Cameron Highlands, we were driving around looking for a hotel to stay at Cameron Highlands.

There are many choices of hotels cameron highlands. Basically we checked out a few hotels such as Tudor Home Inn, Bala Cameron Highlands Cottages and lots more hotel cameron highlands.

In the end, my partner preferred Hotel Rainbow due to its reasonable price, convenient location and ease of access and parking.

Hotel Rainbow is located at center of Brinchang Town. The Cameron Highlands Night Market which is held every saturday is just behind 100m away from the hotel. There are many shops and budget hotels in the area too.

The Rainbow Hotel is a 5 storey building with lifts. It has various sizes of rooms, i.e. superior, deluxe. We got a room which can fit 3 person for only RM170 per night (walk-in rate on Saturday). If we had pre-booked it, we could have gotten it at only RM140 per night.

The room had 1 queen bed & 1 single bed. good value if you travelling in 3 person group.

The room came with TV, dressing table, fridge, kettle and huge cupboard.

The bathroom has a shower and bath tub, along with toilet and marble top vanity / sink area.

The staff were friendly, though a bit sly at the time we checked in. Coz when we first visited the hotel, we were told the room is RM160. Then when we came back, we were told the price is RM170 by a senior staff. It was rather dissapointing to be told wrong info, or maybe they were just trying to earn side income.

Anyway..its still quite good value considering its convenient location in Cameron Highlands.

Cheap food at KLCC

If you happen to be visiting KLCC, to have a look at the Petronas Twin Towers...do take the time to try out the various food outlets in the shopping mall Suria KLCC .

The prices can be rather expensive though, but it just depends on your budget..


If you are on really tight budget, one of the cheapest places to eat is at the Cold Storage takeway food area.

You can get a pack of fried rice or fried noodles for only RM 2.20 (USD0.60) . The fried rice is slightly spicy, but rather tasty actually even for a quick lunch if you happen to be on job assignments in KLCC.

Travel tips to Johor Bahru

If you are planning to visit Johor, a great value hotel to stay at would be the J.A Residence which is formerly known as Compact Hotel.
The hotel is located at Jalan Wong Ah Fook.
The Immigration office & Causeway to Singapore are only 5 minutes walk to the hotel.
It is also just 5 minutes walk to City Square Shopping Mall. In addition, food is easily avalable in the hotels surrounding area.

I stayed here twice during my visits to Johor this year. Its great value for the money paid, and would be even more worthwhile if you are travelling in group of 3.


I only paid RM120 for a large room with King Sized Bed, and this includes breakfast.
If you are travelling in group of 3, you may wanna consider getting an extra bed. That will work out to be about RM50/person. Better than spending about the same for the cheap backpackers hostels but having sleepless nights.