Doctor's Day

Something unexpected. The nurses and the hospital celebrated the Doctor's Day yesterday with kind gestures of flowers and a nice lunch.

Complete with live musicMyself, Liza, Li Ser and TharmaSome proper coconut drinkThe swag bagThe lunch was prepared by our kitchen staffs and it came complete with singing and entertainment. We actually had fun and for a change talked about something outside the hospital while in the hospital. And something to take away to boot .....

The Blue Coral Aquarium

*This entry follows the set from our outing in September 2015 to celebrate my Mum's birthday at KL Tower*

Conveniently placed right at the entrance of the KL Tower, the aquarium offered something different.

They had more than a dozen tanks in the place, with species ranging from the children favourite the clownfish - Nemo - to a small shark. Quite colourful and I must admit that my children enjoyed it.

Quite a nice detour after having lunch at the revolving restaurant ...

Entrance fees was rather steep at RM12, but it was not too bad. The staffs were mainly foreigners though making communication somewhat "challenged" at times. Since space was rather limited, the aquarium could get a bit crowded as you would have to double back on one of the ends before you get to the exit.

It was no Aquaria but it was not half bad ....

At the New Rebung

Restoran Rebung had moved. They were no longer located at Lorong Maarof. Since the New Year Day, they are now located on the roof of a car park block right opposite the main entrance of the Police Headquarters in Bukit Aman, right in the middle of Tasik Perdana.

At least that solved their parking problem!

The unmistaken image of Chef IsmailThe logo and theme remained the same, but notice the particulars has changedCertainly parking is not going to be an issue from now on ...My Mum was leaving for Sungai Petani with my Aunt this afternoon and I was asked to sort out their transport to KL Sentral. So, we decided to have lunch as well, and knowing how fond my Mum and Aunt for Chef Ismail, we called the restaurant number only to be told that they have moved.

Determined, we went on to find where the new venue was. It turned out to be rather straight forward. We drove towards the Police Headquarters and looking around, we stumbled on a huge banner of the restaurant. True enough, it was on the fifth floor of a new car park complex - so new that they have yet to start charging the entrance fee yet.

I think the new space is more spaciousMy Aunt making her selectionMore room outsideAnd of course, there was space for karaokeAfter parking, we took the lift to the roof where the restaurant more or less occupied the whole floor. They have a huge kitchen, both indoors and outdoors seatings - indoors was better since it can get really balmy in the bright sun at a roof of a carpark - complete with a stage where the chef was known to belt a tune or three!

We sat down for a buffet lunch, and they had selections - the mains - in the indoors as well as tit bits at the stalls outdoors. I was sure that there would be green shrubs and herbs lining the whole restaurant as time goes by. There were also private rooms which I was sure would be popular in the future.

His signature on the platesThose were not for take-awaysDetails of the new placeThe food items more or less remained standard and as usual of high quality. And Chef Ismail himself was on hand to welcome the guests when they walk in or left, turning on his charms. Despite being in operation for less than a week, the place was full when we there this afternoon. Definitely will be coming again in the future. The cost? Anita paid today, so I wouldn't know ....

Afternoon in Bangi

Syahril and family had finally moved into their house which they bought about 10 years back. And yesterday, we were there for a bit of housewarming and basically all round good food. Minus Itul unfortunately who decided to move her knee operation date forward to the day before the meet. Silly her!

I also got the chance to put the new MPV into top gear on the drive there. We were late obviously as I could only go after my Saturday morning clinic, and it was just after 4 pm when we finally arrived there.

There were three main items, the roast chicken, laksa johor and some Korean sliced beef - courtesy of Azi and Amin - which made up the main dishes. Of course I had all three. And then came the famous banana toffee cake baked lovingly by Yatt.

All Itul got was some photographs obviously! And as for the boys, they skipped everything and we ordered pizza in the end. It was a great afternoon, but unfortunately as we didn't have a maid at the moment, we had to leave early. Plenty to do for Anita at home.

The KL Tower

The last time we had a meal at the revolving restaurant must have been a couple of years back. It was under a different management and the food then was better than when we visited recently.
On the plus side, there was a few new attractions - the old Blue Coral aquarium and F1 simulator were still there - including a new mini-zoo. There was also a new platform opened with shops and space for cultural dances and activities, dubber the 1Malaysia Cultural Village. There was also a crane pulling up a table for dinner should you wished to have your dinner dangled up in the air. Not my cup of tea however!

The Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve had now been reopened and one can walk down the hill via a jungle trail from the tower. Certainly the tower had plenty of things going for it at the moment.

Not much of a view unfortunately with the haze ...There are a few taller ones ....But, the management would have to be more slick. There was the perennial issue with parking which was a pain. Luckily this time around Julia booked a spot with the valet. And booking our table at Atmosphere 360 was a bit of an ordeal. I had to personally turn up there to finalise the booking as initially the management insisted on me paying the 50% deposit. I wouldn't mind paying the deposit but I had to either bank in the money into their account and email them the receipts, or alternatively give them my credit card details, which included a photocopy of the card front and back! That would be silly don't you think.

So, I might as well turn up there and pay up front. And then there was the surcharges for the window seatings and the fact that they could only accommodate up to 10 on a single table. We were in a party of 11! So we had to book 2 tables, and had to pay the surcharges twice!

Do not look at the sun!My Dad having a peekCoupled with a limited selection of food and lack of a la carte menu, bringing kids would not be much fun. The lunch buffet package cost around RM90, and dinner package cost twice that. I guess you would be paying for the novelty factor.

I wished that the management could get their activity streamlined fitting with their status as one of the premier destination in Kuala Lumpur. And another thing, I could see that although the locals made the majority of the front line staff members, there were plenty of foreigners about. What impression would this give to our visitors?