Bukit Tinggi Rabbit Park

The rabbit farm is not included in the entrance fee to Colmar. However it only set us back RM3 per person to get in, which to be honest was great value for money. Again with the food provided the boys really had fun feeding the already well-fed rabbits. They were pretty tame, which made the boys even more curious. They can’t stop petting their backs while I was holding my breath worrying about an impending asthma attack. 

The area where children can interact with the rabbits was actually pretty small, and they had to climb up a small fence to get in. The fence was to avoid the rabbit from jumping out of the compound. I counted easily 40 rabbits in the compound for children to play with. They were pretty strict though on the matter of handling.We were not allowed to lift the whole rabbit up. Patting was OK.

We spent a good hour here taking pictures and after that having snacks. There was also a small playground next to it, as well as a small petting zoo. If you were in the mood you can also take up a ride on a pony. It will cost you RM6, but we decided against it. Our boys were more fascinated with feeding the rabbit. There was also a small deer cage, and breeding area for the rabbit that if you can go an have a look. The playground was also well maintained and clean with nice grassy area. You can even bring a small mat and have a picnic there as the weather was gorgeous and it was very cool in the breeze.

Nice houses by the hillApart from the outdoor playground, there were also an indoor play area for toddlers. Parking was an issue however as they were pretty limited in number. The place was packed when we arrived and being only a 30 minutes drive from where we lived, we should go there more often. Irfan swore that one of the rabbit should be his pet, but I don’t think we were able to cope with a rabbit judging from past experience.The rabbit park is only 5 minutes downhill from Colmar. Clicking to the photo above will take you to my flickr site, where it was GPS-tagged. Finding the place should be straight-forward, and if you were staying at Colmar, there were also shuttles available to take you back and forth.

Return to Colmar

The original plan last night was to go to Gohtong Jaya for a spot of strawberry picking, but the boys only woken up after 10 am this morning. I called my Mum to see if she would like to join us, but she already had some visitors at home. We had to go out just by the four of us and at the last minute we changed plan and went up Bukit Tinggi instead. We got there just in time for lunch and after a quick stroll and a trip to the toy shop, we had some pizza at the same place we went to on our last visit. The crowd was surprisingly thin for a Sunday and school holidays. There were hardly any queue and finding parking was easy. Idlan and Anita tried their luck again at the game stall to get some sift toys but clearly they lack skill … LOL! Empty-handed, we were then treated with a power cut at the whole resort. We were lucky that we had some cash on us as we were not able to use the credit card or the ATM machine.

Since we were in Colmar only last month, we felt that we should explore further. Further up the hill from Colmar, lies a few more attractions. You get to go there for free as part of the ticket you pay to get into the main ticket. From the car park at the hotel, you will be provided with transport to take you right up.

Trying her luck. Alas, no talent ... LOL!A couple of explorersRound the blockNow it was Idlan's turnThe main attraction uphill was the Japanese garden. Apart from that, there was also the Japanese restaurant, a botanical garden and a spa. Since the crowd was small, queuing up to get into the transport up the hill was quite straightforward, although the journey was quite treacherous. The drivers were driving at F1 pace, and we were squashed from side to side. Not recommended if you have a touch of the motion sickness! I don’t know how the engine could cope with the amount of rev that they did put on. The eventful journey took a good 10 min and we alighted right in front of a small cafe.

A short climb up the hill took us to the Japanese tea garden. There was a small pond, where plenty of koi strove on the food that the visitors throw to them. To main garden teahouse offer authentic Japanese tea as well as opportunity to sample Japanese outfit to pose for pictures. There was also small hut right next to the koi pond which was very relaxing in the breeze. Further down was a small spa. We did not venture much to there. The boys had a blast feeding the koi with some food we bought at the tea house. This was actually the second time that we’ve been to the garden. I still have a picture of Idlan back in 2005 when he was only 8 month old standing on one of the bench. 

After some photographs we descended down to the meeting point and took the transport back to the hotel. We decided against venturing to the botanical garden as we did not want the boys to be too tired. The quick stop for the restroom and we took our minivan down the hill towards the rabbit farm, which I will blog more on the next entry.

Kenduri at Flamingo

CongratulationsDecember has always been busy for me. Not because of work, but due to the number of weddings I had to attend. It seems that I had invitations every weekend. Even though I was keen to attend, they can be a bit of an issue you if it were to happen every Saturdays and Sundays. I don’t usually talk about them, but I will have to give an exception this evening for a couple of reasons. It was the first time that I attended a wedding at Flamingo Hotel in Ampang. Secondly, it was one of the better organise one that I been invited to.

The gorgeous pelaminThe wedding was of the daughter of a very close family friend. I practically knew the bride since she was a young girl. A couple of months back, she, her mother and my Mum went to Indonesia to shop for the preparations. The akad nikah was held yesterday at the bride’s house, but was I was not able to attend. My mum did so on our behalf. Suffice to say that they make the plan well in advance for the ceremony and I was glad to see that everything turned out very well indeed.

My sister and her good friend texting while the proceeding was going on .... Oi! You should be concentrating!Flamingo Hotel was only about 10 min out from where my mum lives. Traffic getting in there can be tricky but it was rather light last night. After finding a parking spot, we went straight into the hall. We were given a number on to which table we were allotted to. We sat right in the end of the hall, maybe not to cause to much of a stir. We were well away from the pelamin, and since it was my sister, parents and another family friend, we spent the evening chatting away and laughing out loud. Walking in we were really surprised at how nice the hall was. It was a square, with the plumbing at one and and the high table on the side. 

 The pelamin was exquisitely prepared. There were adorned with clear crystal chandeliers with lightings and crystals, creating a shimmering reflection. The couple entered in a light gold traditional costumes, followed the obligatory doa and tepung tawar ceremonies. Very classy, and after the main meal, the they made a quick escape to change into a dark brown evening attire. The meal itself was very nice. I have been to a few other venues before and after being there for a few times, you can sort of guess what the menu would be. The change certainly made the difference, and we were served with tasty soto as starters before starting the nasi minyak meal. I must say that the meal was well above average to what was normally served. The rest of the ceremonies also went through without a hitch, and we left at about 10.30 before the crowd built at the exit.

I wish the happy couple the best for the future in starting their new journey together. And should I get another invitation to attend a wedding at Flamingo, I will definitely attend without hesitation. And for those planning a wedding, this place deserves serious consideration.

Xmas at 1Utama

The last time I went to 1Utama must have been during the Merdeka Day when they had some decor up for the Hari Raya celebration. Fast forward four months, and we were nearing Christmas. Puan Anita wanted to buy some car accessory for our minivan, planning for the weekend trip to Kuala Kangsar - she wanted to buy a bin I think - so we went to Jusco there for a quick look. There was not much in the once-fully stocked home furnishing center at the old wing there. Rather disappointing, but Anita got her bin as she wanted it. However, the Xmas decor was already up, and oh boy, weren’t they amazing.

The main foyer at the New Wing was transform into what appeared to be a skating rink. Not sure if there will be show there though.The Xmas trees here came in all shapes and sizesChocolates ........The main courtyard was transformed into what looks like a winter wonderland, complete with pebbles on the walkway. The central area was empty at the moment, but I think, they were planning to put up a skating rink judging from the flooring. The shops were up and fully made up as you can see from the pics, complete with fake snow. What interesting was the candies on offer were all imported, reminding us of Xmas in the UK. Marks & Spencer booth on the old wing also offered some authentic English condiments, such as Christmas pudding - non-halal of course, topped up with brandy sauce. The boys got some Twix bars and other chocolate.

More shops at the Old WingOrnaments ....They deserved a breather ..... There were shops selling Christmas decorations to those who will be celebrating. The ornaments looked authentic, especially the small Santa snow grottos they have with tiny little shepherd dolls and sheep. I think I will give the place another visit in a couple of weeks when the full decor would be up. Parking has always been a bane for visitors at 1Utama, and we spent a good 20 minutes trying to find a bay yesterday. The fact that we were driving a minivan did not help. We used to park at the OneWorld hotel, a building right next to the old wing, but it was also full yesterday. So, if you are visiting, be prepared to come extra early, or else you will probably be parking outside. Public transport was not an option for us unfortunately as the shopping mall was well out of any of our usual routes.

Sri Ayutthaya, Wangsa Maju

I felt a bit better today. I managed to head to Kelang in the morning, before returning to UMMC for a spot of the tutorial later in the afternoon. Since my brother-in-law, Razak was due to return to Turkmenistan tomorrow, the whole family was taken for dinner. He wanted a bit of Thai food, and we decided to give Sri Ayutthaya in Wangsa Maju a try. The place is not exactly that far from where we live, but it took us a while to reach there due to traffic. The restaurant was located right next to a local branch of Carrefour, but at least they have their own parking space.

Sri Ayutthaya is actually a chain of Thai restaurant and we were more used to its branch in Bangsar. I’ve never been to this branch before, but Puan Anita has. The branch in Bangsar was slightly smaller than this one, that was more of a converted shoplot compared to this which was a dedicated bungalow.  The decorations both interior and the outside work exquisitely Thai. It was filled with fresh flowers, nice lightings and the settee outside was very comfortable indeed, if one wanted to have some fresh air. Since we arrived the early, there hardly any crowd. They have selection of a la carte as well as set menu. Since we were not really sure what to go for we went for the set menu in the hope that the order would arrive early.

Unfortunately, since I did not bring my SLR, the pictures here does not do justice to how good the place look. One have a feeling that they were taken to another place when you step into the restaurant. But more about where I was taken to later. The set menu had starters, a five course meal as well as desert. You have to order separately for drinks. The starter we had was some fresh oysters - which I’m not that big a fan of. Razak enjoyed that. For the mains, we had buttered prawns, softshell crab, some fresh vegetables and of course Tom Yum soup. We also had an steamed siakap. As for dessert we had water chestnut.

As mentioned, the decor was very nice indeed. There were a plenty of elements from Thailand as well as fresh flowers scattered around the place. The lighting was very dimmed, perfect for a romantic dinner. The restroom was also very clean and modern. You can tell from the cutleries that the place strived for fine dining. Unfortunately I was rather disappointed with the food. I think the main problem was actually the rice, I did not think that it was steamed properly - it was too hard and raw. However, the Tom Yum soup was exquisite, that prawn was very nice and according to Razak, the oysters were fresh. They overdid it on the garlic and ginger on the steamed finish. The water chestnut was also …. average. The mango juice I had was freshly prepared, rather than a pre-packed drink.

Now let’s talk about where we were transferred to when you step into the place. One would hope that one were in Thailand. Unfortunately it was more Nepal or Bangladesh because that was where all the waiters were from. This created a problem when we were putting across our orders as they did not understand what we ask for exactly. The manager - an Chinese gentleman had to clarify them with us. They also make the mistake of bringing all the food at the same time causing us to have to wait for everything to be prepared before we start the meal. They could have at least offered us the Tom Yum first. By the time the food arrived, the boys were already restless. Idlan managed to finish three rounds of Plants vs Zombies on my iPhone by the time his nasi goreng was served. I remembered the branch in Bangsar was mainly served by friendly Thai ladies.

Was I impressed with the place? Well not exactly, but I was willing to give the place another chance since I really liked their Bangsar branch. Maybe I was there on a bad night. Would I recommend it to anyone else? I would, but I will ask them to go for the Bangsar branch instead. They also have a branch in USJ.

Sri Ayutthaya, 2, Jalan Wangsa Delima, Section 5 Wangsa Maju. Tel - 03 41436883.