THE magnificent view of the South China Sea catches my attention as I wait at the seating area at the lobby of Anantara Desaru Coast Resort and Villas, waiting to be checked in.
Our drive to the exclusive resort was escorted by pouring rain but as soon as we arrived at the resort, the sky suddenly turns a little brighter.
Aamina, my daughter who was then a little clingy and edgy because of the roaring thunder, immediately cheers up at the sight of the clear weather.
She's happily sitting beside me on the sofa facing the view, claps in amusement - a new skill she picks up to show that she's in a good mood - when the sun rays slowly peek through the curtain grey skies.
"Your room is ready Mrs. Hanna and Mr. Amzar but do take your time here to enjoy the view," says a lovely lady in an earthy-coloured uniform, distracting me from the beautiful scenery.
She serves us each a cold glass of refreshing welcoming drinks made purely of infused ginger and lemongrass essences, as well as fresh cold hand-towels to freshen up, after a long journey to get here.
Located in the east-coastal side of Johor, Anantara Desaru Coast Resort and Villas is one of the few luxurious accommodations available at Desaru Coast Resort, a premium integrated destination resort along a 17km unspoilt beachfront.
STAY
There are several room and villa categories for guests to choose from including the Premier Room, Premier Corner Room, Deluxe Sea View Room, Deluxe Sea View Corner Room as well as the Lagoon Pool Villas with the choice of either one or two bedrooms.
There are the Beach Residences for guests wanting a more exclusive stay with direct access to the beach, and complete with a butler service. The residences have either three or four bedrooms.
Ours, a more affordable range, is the Deluxe Sea View with a large private balcony complete with a seating lounge overlooking the sea vistas.
The room is tastefully designed with luxurious wood-and-marble furniture that gives it an elegant look with warm ambience.
A perfect honeymoon nest, the room has a king bed that's super plush. Aamina enjoys snuggling in the comfy luxe bedding whenever we are in the room - in fact, it's so comfortable, she sleeps all night!
The room also has two dining tables (can also be used as a working desk), one inside and the other at the balcony where we enjoy our in-room dining looking out to the beautiful scenic ocean view.
Among the luxury amenities in the room that really wows us include the Nespresso coffee machine, something that coffee-lovers would enjoy using especially to kick off the day before having breakfast.
However, my favourite part of the room is definitely the bathroom. It is a luxurious bathroom complete with bathtub and separate shower and toilet compartment.
Not only that, you can leave your toiletries behind because the hotel provides luxury bath amenities, such as bath salts, bubble-bath foam, and many more, and they smell wonderful!
EAT
One thing that impresses me the most about Anantara Desaru Coast Resort & Villas is its variety of F&B options.
For our daily breakfast, we have an amazing buffet selection at Turmeric,its main restaurant that serves fresh fare, but focuses more on authentic Malaysian selections as well as Thai cuisines.
I love, love, love its interior and ambience. While the buffet counter offers live cooking stations, the interior is done to depict the local market but with stunning traditional decorations and patterned tiles.
There's plenty of seating, inside or at the terrace overlooking the lagoon pool - everywhere you are seated gives you an Instagram-worthy background perfect for a picture.
The Turmeric also offers buffet dinner, with a variety of cuisines for but I highly recommend for you to check out the Thai selections such as the Tomyam, Som Tam, Mun Pla and many more.
There are also Laksa Johor, Lok Lok, as well as the Sweet bar with all traditional favourites such as assorted kuih talam, agar-agar, as well as Thai must have, the kao niew mamuang also known as mango sticky rice.
On our second night, we head to the Sea Fire Salt, a signature Anantara dining experience offering succulent grilled seafood and prime cuts of meat. Located at the beachfront, the restaurant offers al-fresco dining where you'll get to enjoy dinner with amazing breezy ambience.
This evening, we try out the tasting menu consisting of a five course menu, kicking off with one of my favourite seafood, a cold plate of fresh rock oysters with homemade ponzu, salmon roe and pickled ginger.
Another cold-dishes that is being served is the scallop carpaccio served with mango salsa, caviar, radish and gremolata - which is quite a sweet twist that really compliments the umami flavour of the scallop.
For the main dish, the chef has prepared two of house signature selections from the charcoal grill which is the Sea.Fire.Salt Platter Himalayan Salt Brick as well as the Angus Rib Eye.
The Sea.Fire.Salt Platter Himalayan Salt Brick is basically a mixture of the fresh catch which is everything seafood including rock lobster, giant prawns, callops, seabass, calamari and soft shell crab. The portion is… HUGE!
We take our time enjoying everything on the wooden plate, which also consists of several sides such as truffle fries, mesclun salad, house Wagamama Dressing and Lemon Butter Sauce.
The Angus Rib Eye in the other hand, weighing almost 320gm is cooked medium well, just the way I like it, and is also served with few sides such as truffle mashed potato, asparagus, sauteed mushroom and selections of sauces like whole grain sauce and apple balsamic.
For the steak, we are being presented with a selection of steak knives with assorted handles to our preferences including stainless steel, carbon, marble and many more - which is quite fancy I must say.
We want to skip dessert as we are super-full by the end of the dinner, but the chef insists we try out the Sweet Pantry, which really concludes our evening with a sweet ending.
The Mont Blanc, which is a Manjari Log is just thick creamy rich chocolate log served with sweet mango brulee and cinnamon gelato, which really compliments the whole dessert.
The chef is also too kind, preparing mini mac and cheese for Aamina, which in the end, both my husband and I end up finishing because it is that good!
DO
Three days and two nights here at the resort, of course we've planned many great itineraries to really make our holiday a memorable one.
Besides enjoying our morning by the pool, and evening by the beach, I have also signed up for the Spice Spoons class, which is one the signature Anantara experience.
While my husband takes care of Aamina in the room enjoying her mid-day nap, I head to Turmeric to meet up with the cooking host, a Thai Chef.
"Here, we offer our guests a chance to learn how to cook either Malay or Thai cuisines," she says before announcing that she will be teaching me two Thai dishes and one Malay dessert.
Through this class, I get to learn the importance of each ingredient in creating distinct flavour profiles found in Thai cuisine, especially.
First, the chef shows me the ingredients that she has prepared for the menu.
For the steamed sea bass, the most important ingredient is the fresh catch itself. She teaches me how to debone the fish, so that it's easier to eat.
Next she prepares the sauce. Among the ingredients needed is chillies, lime, garlic, coriander leaves and its roots, nampla (fish sauce) as well as gula melaka or palm sugar. The ingredients are mixed and pounded in a lesung batu (mortar).
We then put the fish on a big serving plate, and ready for the stuffing which is basically lemongrass and galangal inside the fish and blanched Chinese cabbage are put on the side before we steam it.
When the fish is ready, we put the sauce on top, and garnish with thinly-sliced lime, chopped coriander leaves and chillies.
The second dish is a Thai favourite, Tom Yam. I told the chef that I like (and had learned from a Thai chef to cook) clear soup Tom Yam but I would really love learning the red creamy Tom Yam recipe - which we will be learning today.
The ingredients for the recipe is basically similar to clear broth which is lemongrass, lime leaves, garlic, coriander leaves, mushrooms, chillies, nampla and seafood of our choice, today we will be using huge prawns the size of my palm. But an additional thing is the Nam Prik Pao, which is a type of red chilli paste used by many Thai cuisines, especially Tom Yam.
For the broth, well, at home I usually make stocks using chicken bones, but according to her, I can also make stock using prawns shells. First, we take out the shells, and put them in a pot with water and coriander roots.
This will take about half an hour, so in the meantime, we prepare the other ingredients which need to be chopped or cut.
Making Tom Yam is actually so easy! The trick is knowing which ingredients to put on first, but the most important part is to only put the lime juice when the broth is already boiled and when the stove is off.
For dessert, a Malay chef teaches me how to make a traditional Malay kuih called Ketayap, or also known as coconut pancake.
However, I do not learn from scratch as the mixture has already pre-mixed but I learn the basic techniques of making the pancake by cooking it in a pan, putting in sweet coconut grated fillings and then rolling it.
When we settle cooking, I get to enjoy the fruits of my labour with a lunch feast sent to my room and enjoy it with my husband at the balcony overlooking the ocean view. On top of that, participants of Spice Spoons are also given wooden chopping boards, chef hat and apron as a souvenir to bring home.
Besides cooking class, I also join a nature walk hosted by Hidayat. A very knowledgeable young man with a passion for nature, I get to go on a learning experience about the plants and trees in the area.
We talk about the species of Frangipani which has two types - the typical white and yellow which many of us are familiar with, and the red one which is planted here on the property.
He says that while the white frangipani has a superstitious background, the red frangipani which is vibrant and stunning has many medical benefits including it could cure flu and sore throat.
Other unique plants that are around the area include button ginger with the bright ruby red spiky cones as well as the Hong Kong Chinese orchids which according to Hidayat, the flower looks like the flower on the Hong Kong's flag and the plant is native to the country it was named after.
Wanting to pamper myself to the fullest, I head to the Anantara Spa which offers a serene experience where you get to revitalise and refresh with state-of-the-art beauty or tap into Thai and Malay wellness wisdom.
The spa offers six treatment rooms with en-suite bathroom, a relaxation area, shower facilities as well as using premium branded products.
I choose the Anantara Signature Massage which is a 60 minutes treatment that reveres Eastern and Western massage techniques, combined with a signature oil blend, stimulate the circulation, promote deep relaxation, and restore energy flow for supreme wellbeing.
The ritual begins with a refreshing rose petal and chrysanthemum cold tea and lavender-soaked cold towel which already refreshes my mood.
I get to select the playlist for the Anantara Spa sound which has either Chill Out, Grounding Element, Eastern Harmony, Dream State or the Soothing Spa Rhythms.
Next, is the selection of oils of either Sweet which uses rose and jasmine for skin hydrating, Smooth which uses cedar and sandalwood for relaxation, or the Spice oil which uses Black Pepper and Ginger to warm the body.
The massage is very relaxing although I opt for the deep pressure as suggested by my therapist, Lily. The massage completes with a face massage which uses a mist infused with peppermint oil that really wakes my inner soul, as well as a hot towel to wipe up my feet.
To end the whole experience I am served with ginger tea, a way to warm up the whole body.
Besides all these amazing activities, you can also enjoy cycling around the facilities, and bicycles are free to use!
GO
Take the family for a splashing good time at Adventure Waterpark Desaru Coast or golfers can go to The Els Club Desaru Coast which comprises two beautifully manicured golf courses that feature 45 holes in total.
There's also the Riverside, which is a 23-acre waterfront landscaped retail and lifestyle village offering exciting retail outlets, restaurants, cafes and entertainment.
Planning to go to Singapore? The Desaru Coast Ferry Terminal has just launched a daily ferry service trip to (and from) Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal which takes online 90 minutes. Ferry services are available from Thursday to Sunday for only RM377.60 (two way).
VERDICTS
HIGHS Everything is luxurious. And, there's plenty of things to do on your holiday - be it at the beach, the pool, the garden, the room, and even the kitchen where you can join in cooking classes hosted by a Thai chef!
LOWS Desaru Coast is located too far from the city. It takes about four hours to drive from Kuala Lumpur, and more than an hour from Johor Bahru. But, the promise of a serene getaway definitely worth the journey.
ANANTARA DESARU COAST RESORT AND VILLAS
Persiaran Pantai, Desaru Coast, 81930 Bandar Penawar, Johor
TEL 07-828 0888
EMAIL desaru@anantara.com
WEBSITE www.anantara.com/en/desaru-coast
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