Lunch Delight

In the last couple of weeks, my Dad had been complaining of headache. He had also been laser on his diet - he loved his lamb - and ran out of his tablets. Sure enough, his blood pressure was up. So, I changed some of his treatment, as well as plan for a new pair of glasses for him. He needed a new prescription.

So, right after the clinic was done - Anita was present as well - we went out for lunch near the hospital. For some time, I had been wondering what the Kelantan Delights restaurant had to offer. There was where we went for lunch.

A nice restaurant, and the food and service was better than we expected. Our order came pretty fast - there were not that many patron there then - and the waiters were pretty attentive. And they were from Kelantan judging from their dialect, which was appropriate.

We ordered from the a la carte range, rice, vegetables, fried whole fish, some rendang as well as kerabu mangga. The place also offered set lunch if you were on the go, but since we wanted to share the food around, we did otherwise.

The fish was very nice, and so was the ayam percik. Kerabu was also better than expected and we finished everything. We even had desserts - against my advice, Dad had some tapai.

I would definitely be returning. I wasn't sure if the recommendation applied to all their branches - in have only visited the outlet at Subang Jaya so far. Service was quick and food was good. Price was not bad either - the set menu offered good value.

Zoo Negara Part 2

From Part 1

Yes, there were plenty of constructions going on around there. But the operative word here is "around". There were plenty of housing projects going on white close to the Zoo compound. Ironically they were called Zoo View. At the rate they were going, there would hardly be any zoo left to view ......

The animals looked thin and unhealthy. The giraffe looked malnourished. Even the elephant looked gaunt. The sheds looked in need of repair. In fact the whole place needed a facelift. They need a new management. They don't need to look abroad. Even the Bird Park in town was in a better state. I was sure they could learn a thing or two from there.

The place was depressing. It seemed that the management lost focus of what their strengths were and trailed to capitalise on it. They should consider giving away most of their exhibits as clearly they were not able to look after them and concentrate on a few star attractions. They have a great number of flamingo there and the lions and tigers were a big hit with the children.

The amphibians and reptile exhibits were maintained very well, and it was great that my boys spotted it and spent some time there. The penguin house was also great fun, and clearly the animal show was organised quite well. Quite rightly the staffs pointed this out as a must see. Shame that space was limited and the weather was too hot. They should make more coverings as I was sure the place would be soaked through in heavy downpour.

The cafe was not bad, although rather run down. We didn't have to go to the toilet - Thank God. The drink machines were mostly broken, or did not accept paper money - more kiosk needed, run by actual staff. There should also invest in children guides with organised activities. This should be done by professional rangers. I seemed to be guided by buggy drivers as we were taken around by the tram. Even my children pointed out that there were hardly any information they could read about the displays. There wanted to learn more, but there was just nowhere for them to turn to. A missed opportunity here.

We left right after the animal show. The boys only caught some of it as there were just to big a crowd there to be comfortable. We left after having some ice-cream and looking at penguin house. They were too exhausted even to enter the children area. They wished that they had spent more time at the reptiles and amphibians exhibit. They wanted to see more snakes and camouflaging frogs.

Will we be recommending the visit to anyone? As much as we want to support Zoo Negara, we found that the management had missed the boast for far too long. Something needed to be done as very soon, nobody would miss it should it be moved. The location seemed to be prime land to be converted into residential zone, and soon that may be a serious consideration. This is a serious problem and should be addressed professionally, but it doesn't seemed to be a priority. Going to zoo Negara when I was a child used to be a treat. Now, it was just a sight for sore eyes ......... Shamefully mismanaged and soon would be run to the ground.

Zoo Negara Part 1

The last time we visited Zoo Negara was back in 2008. I think it was the end of that year since both my boys were in their matching red England jersey then. And we still had our old maid with us. We lived quite close by, and during weekends, the place was full most of the time, putting us off from going there.

So, when the boys asked us to head over there during the recent Thaipusam break, I got interested. At least, I would be able to wipe off the cobweb on my 7D which had hardly been used since I got the X100, and the the X-Pro 1. Zoo Negara it was.

For a public holiday, the place was relatively empty. We were still to find a parking spot at the main carpark despite turning up close to 2 pm. It was also a bright sunny day, a Sunday. We were prepared for a long day, queues and all. But we didn't have that.

There were a few reasons for that. The entrance fees had just been hiked up from RM 20 to 30 for locals. And then you had to pay for almost everything. A simple little paper maps would cost you RM 2 and a ride on the tram - which was previously free would require a ticket purchase. RM 2.50 I thought.

But all the price increase did nothing to improve the sorry state of the zoo. In fact, it had gone downhill since our last visit. Shameful really, as this was supposed to be one of the main tourist attraction for the foreigners. Those visitors would be astounded at how bad things were there, and as local, I wouldn't impose such a trip to any of my friends coming over from abroad. A far cry really from Singapore Zoo. Even Zoo Taiping was in a better shape. And they charged a pittance to get in.

Continued in Part 2.

Paperless

SDMC Desa ParkCity has yet to have a proper launch. It was opened to then public on 12.12.12. They had a few deliveries on the day, but since then, they had only accepted walk-in cases. Efforts were still being made to get insurance approval for the Center, and it looks like that would only come in the next couple of months.

So, I had only seen my first patient there yesterday. The first after a couple of weeks. And then I realised that the place was completely paper-less. A shock to the system none the less. And I had a crash course on how to muse the system courtesy of one of the ER nurse. Learn I did.

The system was actually straight forward if you keep things simple. Almost all the features could be accessed from the main page, including blood results, history, Xray as well as charging and ordering your next tests. Same with ordering then items from the Pharmacy. Apparently referring patients to another Doctor could also be done online.

The system was actually rather slow when loading, which is troubling as the patient load was still minimal. Imagine implementing such system in a busy hospital?

A good start, but after using the system, now I appreciate writing on paper that bit more ....... I would need some time to get used to this.

The Sony RX1

After the Leica S 2 sent my head spinning, I visited the Sony Center at Suria and for the first time handled the new RX1. This is a full frame digital compact. Not really a compact as it was the size of my X-Pro with the 18mm lens attached.

This camera has a Carl Zeiss optic attaches to it - a 35mm f2 prime variant. No changeable lens though. It is permanently attached. But as lenses go, this appeared to be a sweet one. And the price tag? RM9990! OMG! This a premium compact if there was one.

Although not as expensive as the Leica M system, coming from Sony, this is expensive. The reviews I read had been rather mixed, with a rather disappointing low light performance despite the sensor size.

It was also not exactly compact. The lens does not retract inwards, and the package on the whole was a bulky one. Not exactly pocketable as is its little sister, the famed RX100. I have yet to see a real review from a user in the field, so I would reserve my judgement on this little gadget, but when it was first announced, I did have high hopes for this camera. As much as I did with my current camera, the Fujifilm X-Pro 1. I wasn't exactly looking for replacement as the camera produce superb photos, the kind that I wanted, but it was always nice to know what was on offer. I felt that Sony may soon be doing some tinkering with this one, and would be releasing a version 2 of this promising camera soon ....... Watch this space.