Taiping Zoo Night Safari.

UPDATE BELOW

Since I was in Taiping and held captive during the day (8am-11pm), of course I have to at least make a trip to the Taiping Zoo Night Safari.

.

Visiting hours
8.00 to 11.00 p.m
Open every night including Public Holidays

8.00 to 12.00 a.m
On Saturday nights and eve of Public Holidays

Good thing that on weekends the ticket counter closes at 12am and you can hang out with the animals till 1 am! Oh another tip, if you're from Taiping just show your IC and you'll get 20% discount!

Non of us were local but we still got the special offer. One of us managed to sweet talk the auntie^^ Shall we go?

Serious discussion about the giraffe and zebras.

I meant this giraffe

and this zebra.

Off we went. Now remember no flash photography. We wouldn't want to get the animals all stressed out and go monkey on us.

Harry Potter's owls. Wide awake O.O

It'll help if you squint a little when looking at this picture.

Do you see Bambi and his family?

Sexy zebras! and to the right an ostrich

See the silhouette? A jaguar I think.

Apologies for this one, no matter how you squint you probably cant spot the elephants to the left.

Managed to catch Simba, a jungle cat, buaya, and a few more animals as well.

Sadly it was too challenging taking pictures with a humble Sony Ericsson c903 at night, with out flash while being in a moving vehicle.

That's my excuse and I'm, sticking by it.

UPDATE

Alright due some feed back for the less then perfect ala Blair Witch Project pics at the zoo, I shall leave you instead with some pictures I manage to get last minute leaving Taiping. Taken while in the van.

A glimpse at the lovely park. The is supposedly a large lake nearby where at night you may spot some cross-dressers.

Welcome to Taiping. Saw this when I was leaving Taiping. Oh and I think the building is a prison. Welcome fellow prisoners to Taiping.

Assume the position when being shot.

Food at SSL Traders Hotel

It's dinner time at SSL Traders Hotel. So let's head on to the cafe. I usually like to start with the desserts 1st. Yes, I have a sweet tooth.

A decent spread of fruits, pudding and some local pastries (kuih)

Rice based and noodle based main course all lined up. Several chicken dishes like Ayam Masak Merah at the end.They even have individual flat-tops to keep the food nice and toasty.

Follow your nose to the patio is this nice gentleman on the barbie grilling succulent meat for you. Lamb, beef, chicken, you name it. Sorry no pork, it is a halal establishment after all.

My spread. This is just round 1 of course.

Overall the there were no complaints about the food, other then the often recurring theme or style. After about 3 days of the same fare, we humans tend to be ungrateful and yearn for something different.

Sadly my dining experience went down hill from that dinner. Not that the food was bad, but it was because my tooth decided to be wiser and emerge from my gums. Yes, my wisdom tooth was literally tearing out of my gums. Thank God for paracetamol.

Now being like a teethless tiger I could nary chew properly and neither could I open my mouth more then 1.5cm, I humbly requested the hotel to prepare some porridge for me.

The staff's were so accommodating as they cooked up a simple but very large and tasty bowl of congee for me. I could literally bury my face in the bowl. Perhaps they were sympathetic as they too had their wisdom tooth.

Hotel Review: SSL Traders Hotel

The reason why I have been MIA? I was here.

SSL Traders Hotel

Yes, I was at a hotel in Taiping, but not for holiday. I was sent to be inducted.

That's when the Queen puts a long sharp object to your shoulder and decided whether to give you a title or to poke you really hard.

I kid, me and a bunch of noobs to the corporation was sent here for induction. Lets's have a short tour shall we?

The lobby.

Love the chandelier leading to the function/ ballrooms.

My room. Simple yet tastefully decorated. Looks almost as good as in their brochure.

Luckily the girl I'm suppose to bunk with had to pull out last minute so I had the room all to my self. Joy...

Noticed something? Yeah no cupboard!

Instead they give you this thingamajig...

Well I guess they were saving space and this outdoor hanger does serve it's purpose.

The washroom.

The showers. If you've read my post on Bhundhari and Traders Hotel KLCC you'll know that I really love bathtubs. No such luck here I'm afraid.

Simple and functional Showers. Great for those who spend little time in the hotel especially when there are quite a few local attractions near by to visit. I only managed to visit the Night Safari as the inducting was carried out 8am-11 pm everyday. More on that later.

P/S: Do bring your own tooth brush/paste, condisioner and comb. Like I did ^^

Ms. White

Apologies for the hiatus. Still learning to juggle blogging amidst busy working life. Here is a short post.

Occasionally I take pictures of random cats on the streets and give them an identity. Not quite sure of the purpose of this but I feel that perhaps they too deserve to be highlighted. Maybe some might even become celebrities one day, or at least make people be more aware of treating our furry friends a little better.

Here is Ms. White. She has a lovely white coat which she cleans meticulously. Some might say she has OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)but she would just brush those comments aside as to her, cleanliness is next to Godliness. See how she seems to GLOW?

Come have sushi, on me.

Yes is true, you read it right.

You lucky reader of mine will get free sushi! Well, not quite on me but I'll tell you how.

Buy1free1 red plate at Sakae Sushi! Hontoni~

The best thing is you can buy a maximum of to plates and get another 10 plates FOC. That'll be 20 red plates per table. Mind you reds at Sakea Sushi are RM5.90 per plate.

Want to know how? Keep reading.

So of course me being the Japanese food lover, as I can't afford a ticket to Japan, dove right in.

So happen they were having a soft launch of a few new recipes, so I shall highlight more of these new born dishes.

Definitely not unagi here but was delicious all the same. Think the light garnish on the top made the whole experience lighter.

Tempura Cheese Maki. Anything with cheese is good. would have loved it the cheese was smokier.

My top favorite Japanese food, Salmon belly.

Soft Shell Crab Crepe. Quite a mouth full to say. Now say it 10 times faster. I kid. Would have been tastier if the crepe was a little more savory and warm.

Not sure what was this called, it has cooked salmon with a light creamy sauce. It was so deliciously peachy pink and it tasted yummy too.

We were too busy devouring the food that I stopped taking pictures. But here is the proof

Buy1free1 red plate at Sakae Sushi?! Hontoni~

Yes, we only managed to eat 12 plates instead of the maximum 20. No take aways.

Want to know how?

1) Get you mobile phone and make sure that there is at least rm4 in there. Yes, you'll have to sacrifice a few ringgit 1st.

2) type my111 (space) sakaesushi

3) Send it to 33365

So remember,

1) Maximum 20 plates, pay for 10 plates.

2) 1 voucher per table.

A word or warning though. You can only receive this voucher onve per year per mobile phone number.

Now go and enjoy the sushi, run along now.

Credit to a fellow girl blogger. I learnt bout this voucher from a post in her blog but have no idea who she is. If yourre reading this let me know so I can link you back^^

How Many Wiggies?

Advertorial.

How many wiggies are left on the wall, how many wiggies are left? If you take one down and pass around, ___ wiggies are left on the wall!~


Optical illusion? Nope...

For this week Project Alpha challenge

1. Count the number of Wiggies in the picture.

2. Tweet your answer to @ProjectAlphaMY and @P1W1MAX, and include the hashtag #wiggycount.

The first 10 correct/closest guesses will win a P1 bag each, and YOU the readers can guess too!

Project Alpha Season 2 is presented by Adidas Action 3 and supported by P1 and MAS.

Winter warmers...

Malaysia is a tropical country. We have summers all year around and the occasional wet monsoon. Winter does not exist in my part of the world, not natural ones at least, but once in a while we all need a little warming up in our lives.

Perhaps it from all the years of playing "Tea party" while growing up, or maybe I was inspired to have a drinking bash with the charming Mad Hatter. but when I saw Winter Warmers early this year I was estatic.

I went there with a friend of mine, AM. I was craving scones and she was kind enough to play along with my little indulgence.

A dainty rose tea cup for a dainty lady perhaps?

A cup full of love.

Of course we ordered tea, her's being Chamomile if memory serves me right

"Waiter, there seems to be a bud in my tea."

and mine Rose bud tea.

A nice spread but sadly the only the scones were lovely.

A more filling order by AM.

Lastly a picture of the Mad Hatters. This was taken during Christmas and it took me this long to rediscover and finally post it. There is some PP in me still. Want to know what is a PP? Check out this post of mine.

AM, if you're seeing this picture, SURPRISE!

Purple Flowers

I recently downloaded Picasa 3 to play around with editing pictures. Previously all of my pictures were either virgins and untouched or edited only using Microsoft Office Picture Manager.

But in recent days, friends suggested that I start watermarking my pictures. Today's post is just me fiddling around in the garden and on the computer. Any advice about the pictures are welcomed.

Please bare in mind I do not claim to be a photographer, just a noob with a camera taking pretty pictures, in this case, pictures of pretty purple flowers. So there may be terms that are incorrect.

Simple picture with added gauzy effect.

Ground zero.

This was very bright due to the sun. I believe the term is over exposed? So soften up the look by warming it up a little. Sorry about the focus.

The following 2 pictures were taken in the car. Yes, I plucked the flowers. Naughty Glow.

Something a little more artsy.

Added more shadow.

Added shadow, and soft focus effects. Yes I focused on the smallest flower on the top.

If I did something right or wrong please be patient and explain to this novice here. Thank you for stopping by.

All pictures are taken with my humble Sony Ericsson c903, Cyber Shot series. Yes I realize it's just a mobile-phone with a camera. Ain't technology dandy.

Welcome back, Chicago.

Chicago is now open in Gurney Plaza! I'm not talking about the musical.

Attention to all pork lovers.

Tired of beef ribs and craving for some tantalizing succulent pork alternative?

Chicago is now open in Gurney Plaza! Next to Gelatomio!

Sorry for the exclamation marks. I'm really excited about this place.

No, I'm not getting paid for this post though it would be nice. I acccept payment in cash or pork ribs.

I love eating at Chicago when they had an outlet in Juru Auto-City. It was a once in a year affair when we visited relatives during Chinese new Year.

Imagine how disappointed I was when finally after 2 years I moved to the north only to find out it was closed down! I literally stood at the entrance for 5 mins asking my self "Why?"

A year passed by, pork ribs-less.

But yesterday, it's back. More pictures of the interior here.

A great place for football lovers. They have big screen televisions on all 4 walls. Much to Ben's delight. Ben ordered the bottomless fruit juice. RM5.90 and we shared. Yeah, we're cheap skates. So what?

Be mindful of which flavor you choose as you can't switch flavors for the refill.

Complimentary potato skin starters. Yummy and cheezy and full of fiber.

Ben went for the rib dinner set with BBQ chicken. Succulent perfection.

Where as I went with the Shrimp. A little more pricey but the shrimp were big and juicy.

Overall with tax it came just under a hundred. Not a daily affair, but a great place to splurge on good pork ribs.

I miss the old pans they used to serve in the previous Chicago as well as the funny signs. Adds a more rustic feel to things.

Some of the waiters were very polite and attentive. A shout out to Kaka. Thanks for serving us despite the crazy crowd. And a few others as well.

But there were others who might benefit from more training. Can't put a price on great service.

Definitely will be going back again and again for my pork rib fixes.

Ms. Socks

Here is another post on the cats I meet on the streets.

Why you might ask am I doing this? Well why not? Sure they may not be the cutes nor are they pure breeds but they are lovely to me all the same and deserve some respect and love. Here being one example.

This is Ms. Socks. In the cat world grey cats are called Blue. Why? I wonder that myself too. Ms. Socks is a lovely blue specimen with, you guessed it, white socks on all fours.

No, she's not anorexic. There is no such thing in the animal kingdom. She's thin because she's starving. I felt so sorry for her that I rushed to buy her some doughnuts from a kuih seller nearby. Sure enough she nomed it all up. Poor Ms. Socks...

Will you spare some food for her?