Let's Move

It had been a hectic week. As soon as the CNY holidays were done, I was on call again on the Wednesday, right into Valentines Day. Then came the time to move to our apartment, leaving the rented unit which we occupied - well, at least I occupied whenever I was on call - for the last year.

The new unit was in the same building but on a different - lower - floor. With bigger floor space. Now the boys have rooms of their own, although there was a bit of an argument yesterday about who got which room.

The new unit belongs to us and we were more than happy to move in, although we would have wished for a bit more time to do a bit of work on the new apartment. Luckily, the maids helped out with the cleanings and the removal team we hired was very capable of getting the move done without a hitch.

So, I was waiting for the apartment owner to come around for us to hand back the keys. We never had any problem with the unit, in fact it was a lovely one, but rather small for our need in the future. It may be good enough for rent for another couple of years, but to own, we decided against it. The owner was keen to sell is the unit but the asking price was just a touch too high. We had to look elsewhere. And it was a blessing in disguise.

So, I better get on with the move then ...... Will blog later.

Return to Rebung

After the packing was done for the day, I invited my parents and sister to join us for dinner to celebrate Irfan's birthday. We went to a restaurant not far from the apartment, a familiar one called Rebung. It is owned by a celebrity chef, Chef Ismail and the Angkasawan, Sheikh Muszaphar.

The blast time I was there was a couple of years back for iftar. We booked a table earlier as to not have to worry about seating outside and creating too much noise with my boys and their cousin about.

The table was waiting for us when we arrivedThe birthday boy taking his seatKicking things off with satayThe buffet spread was simple but had all that you need. Starters, light meals, nice rice dishes, prepared on site, and not to forget the desserts.

I did the rounds, and had satay for starters and then laksa Penang. For the main meal, I took three dishes with the rice - sambal tumis, masak lemak daging salai and asam pedas ikan pari. This was followed by ABC and teh tarik. You could also have roti jala, roti canai, rojak among others if you fancy them. Failing that, there was always ala carte. That was what we did for the children. All this in the background of a live singer. Nothing fancy, but it helped liven up the atmosphere.

A decent spread. Not too many items, but they were all nice.I hope that the nasi lemak was not from the morning stockThis two had been yapping up all eveningFinishing things off with ais kacangI must say that all the items were above average in terms of quality, and well worth the buffet price - which was not exactly cheap. If you have visitors coming over, you could certainly bring them here to sample the local food. It doesn't have the glitz of Songket - no shows when we were there - but the quality of the food alone was enough to make up for that. Highly recommended.

Puteri Harbour Visit

When we left for JB, we were told that apart from Legoland, there was another attraction nearby, mainly for children. We then found out about Puteri Harbour, and Hello Kitty Land. Oh dear! Those were for girls. Luckily, at the same venue there was the Little BIG Club, where characters like Barney, Thomas the Tank Engine and Pingu was on display. So, why not.

It was Saturday today and after a long day yesterday, I was hoping that the boys would go to bed early for an early start this morning. Well, they went to bed well last midnight. In fact, I was snoring away while they were still running around the room. And this morning, it was almost midday when they finally woke up. It was a late start to the day then. At least, they had their brunch in the room before we set off.

Puteri Harbour was the second destination for the day for us. We were at Taman Merdeka before that, an interesting walk. It was around 3 pm when we finally arrived at the theme park.

In contrast to yesterday, the park was indoors. So, the elements was not a factor. It was comfortable for everybody, meaning less number of grumpy children ..... and parents. But similar to Legoland, the place was overpriced and not yet fully completed. Signage was still a mess and parking was a pain.

Entrance fee was RM50 per head for individual tickets, or slight less than RM100 if you go for both Hello Kitty Land and Little BIG Club entrance tickets. We just went for the Club. According to Irfan, Hello Kitty are for girls. Right on!

What did we get in return. Actually, we enjoyed the Club more than Legoland. The boys knew the characters from when they were toddlers. And Irfan actually went to Pingu preschool. A visit by Barney and Pingu caused them to go berserk, quite literally. And of course they got their photos taken with them. Both Pingu and Barney. Thomas and Bob the Builder came a bit earlier and we unfortunately missed it. They went into the play areas, took on some of the rides - they were all pretty simple although a couple of them were not for the faint-hearted. Dodge-em was great fun.

The place was comfortable although the seating area for waiting parents were rather limited. Toilets were also a challenge. They could do with a fee more. The other gripe in had was buying photographs at the exit. There was only two work stations and if you were stuck behind a fussy group - like we did today - who just couldn't decide, first which photo to pick, and then what background to add, before taking another 10 minutes to decide on the frame, then you were done!

Personally, even though the place was smaller than Legoland, it was value for money for us. Puteri Harbour definitely would have more to offer when other attractions opened there, such as the Let's Place, a restaurant featuring work from the famous artist. The gift shop was already operational but one had to wait until later this month before the restaurant was opened.

If you were in JB for Legoland and have some extra time to spent after that, then Puteri Harbour would be well worth your time.

Zoo Negara Slideshow

As mentioned in the previous entries, our Zoo Negara is in a sorry state, and I felt that things could have been a lot better. Lack of funding should never be an excuse. For the entrance fee we cough up to get in, we should expect more. Some downsizing maybe?

The visit was blogged here and here.

Irfan Was Seven

Being on call during the long Chinese New Year break as one thing, but being on call on my son's birthday was quite another. Irfan turned 7 yesterday, and although we planned to have a quite dinner together, but finding out that I was on call, my parents-in-law took the boys and Anita out for lunch.

After finding out about the plan, I devices one of my own. I finished my clinic on time, sorted out what needed to be finished in the ward and headed out into town to surprise them. I arrived at the restaurant about five minutes after they did. And was quickly spotted by Idlan.

Next came Irfan's surprise present. Can't tell you what that was ......