KL Tower Mini Zoo – 9 September 2018

KL Tower Mini Zoo Farm is located next to the main entrance of KL Tower. Certain animals are allowed to roam freely in their designated sections.

It was Agung’s birthday so we decided to meet at 10am (opening time) at the entrance to avoid the crowd. However, KL Tower was already full with tourists by the time we arrived. Luckily we managed to get a parking space near the entrance of the Mini Zoo.

You can get the tickets at the entrance. We managed to get our tickets at 50% off the original price from a roadshow in a shopping mall.   

Check out the ticket prices

Parrots to welcome you

Here we go......

We were given our wrist bands and the map of the Mini Zoo. Here are the sections that we went to:

Mini Jungle

When we entered, there was a friendly goat that greeted us. Also, there were tortoises and a cute wallaby inside a human made pouch. There were other animals like snakes and chickens. Snakes were inside the aquariums while the chickens were roaming freely.

Dusky Wallaby

The explanation

Spot that blotted snake

Albino Golden Python

Falabella Stable

Small breed of horses that were somewhere else and not at their stable at the time we were there. 

Bird Aviary

We saw some birds and pigeons flying around. There will be someone giving you food for you to feed the birds and small parrots. But do watch out for birds’ poo as they are flying all over your head.  

Alpaca

You can feed this animal.

Scarecrow before reaching the Alpaca

Longkang Fishing

Kids just love catching fishes. Unfortunately, there were not many fishes and they were afraid and all hiding from the humans. There were nets and buckets available for you to catch and then to release them back into the longkang.

Jungle Café and Gift House

We thought it’s the end of the Mini Zoo when we saw the Gift House, but it’s not. There is another part and you need to walk passed the Gift House. In the café, you can buy snacks and ice cream. You can get t-shirts, toys and souvenirs from the Gift House.

Pet Village

At this section, you will be able to pet and feed the rabbits, guinea pigs and tortoises.  

Albino Long Tailed Macaque

You will be able to see some scorpions, millipede and sugar glider before reaching the albino enclave. The albino is also known as the “Snow White”. It’s quite interesting to see this kind of monkeys.

Searching for "kutu" (lies)

Nice to observe them

Raccoon

You will be able to feed the cute and cuddly teddy bear raccoons.

What to bring?

During your visit, best to bring the following:-

1. Mosquito repellant. We were not being bitten but mosquito patches would be good
2. A bottle of water
3. Poncho or umbrella just in case it’s raining
4. Cap or hat if it’s really sunny and to protect you from the birds’ poo
5. Sanitizer and wet wipes (basins and soap are provided)
6. A change of clothes (just in case). Once you are sweaty, you are smelly.

Overall & Verdict

• You need at least 1 ½ - 2 hours at the zoo
• A great place to entertain your kids
• An educational tour
• Mini zoo and not so smelly

Comparison with Farm In The City

• Small and not that smelly
• Less animals to see but still good fun for the kids and adults
• You can view the animals very quickly in a short amount of time
• No riding on ponies
• No food to eat at the café, just snacks and ice creams

The details:

KL Tower Mini Zoo

Menara Kuala Lumpur

Lot 6, Ground Floor

Jalan Punchak

Off Jalan P. Ramlee

50250 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2022 3943

Operating Hours:

365 days from 10.00a.m. – 9.00 p.m.

Email: kltower.minizoo@gmail.com

Salaree is 6 – 15 August 2018

This year will be the last birthday party for her at her kindy. Salaree requested for a Hello  Kitty themed party.

I decided to order a Hello Kitty vanilla fudge cake from Moonlight Cake House again since they have provided me with very good service the years before. I ordered the cake about 2 weeks before and picked up the cake from Moonlight Cake House in Setapak. 

We arrived at the kindy at 10.00am. This year we only had the cake and 27 party packs; 15 for girls and 12 for boys. The items for the party packs, are from Lolli Angels and I purposely chose Hello Kitty theme stationery, jigsaw puzzles and stickers. As for the boys, it was Cars stationery, jigsaw puzzle and stickers.  

Salaree’s friends stood up and sang Happy Birthday, in English, Mandarin and BM for her. After that, Salaree blew the candles and cut her cake.

At night, after her gym training, the celebration continued at SS2 for a durian session.

Trace Restaurant and Bar at Element by Westin Hotel – 10 August 2018

The entrance to the restaurant

Bar area and also the entrance

Relaxing area

This year, I celebrated my birthday at this restaurant. Since my birthday fell on a weekday, this restaurant was very quiet. They served local and western fusion cuisine and the best thing is you get to see an aerial view of certain buildings in Kuala Lumpur as this restaurant is situated on the 40^th floor of the Ilham Tower.

As a starter, they will serve you complimentary fish cracker and Thai chili sauce.

Fish cracker

We ordered: -

Lamb Kuzi RM42.00. A big portion of lamb curry, comes with biryani rice, chutney and papadam. The lamb meat was quite tender and not quite spicy for the curry.

Check out the lamb

Beef It Up Pizza RM49.00. The pizza had a thick and soft crust, and was topped with pepperoni beef, streaky beef, grilled pineapple, jalapeno and thick cheese. The jalapeno adds a hint of spiciness to the pizza. If your kid wants to eat this, you need to remove the jalapeno, otherwise it could b too spicy for them.

Beef It Up Pizza

Satay (1/2 dozen) RM28.00. The satay tasted nice as the meat was tender, served with ketupat (rice cube dumpling), mixed of cucumber and onions and peanut and sambal sauce. The ketupat was kind of a disappointment as it was tough (seems like it was not heated up properly and just came out from fridge). If given a choice, I would still prefer the hawkers’ satay anytime.

Satay

The price for the food and drinks is affordable. We were quite lucky to have Maybank credit card where we managed to get 50% discount on food and beverage for minimum of 2 diners. If you have CIMB credit card, it’s 40% discount instead. Not sure when the promotions will end. 

Nice place to dine, looking out to the skyline of KL.  

The details of the restaurant:

Trace Restaurant and Bar

40^th Floor, Ilham Tower

8, Jalan Binjai

50450 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2771 3388

Opens everyday – 11.00am -10.00 pm

Website: http://www.elementkualalumpur.com/dining                      

Renewing your Malaysian Passport in just 30 minutes– 21 April 2018

My daughter’s passport expired! My criteria was:-

·  Must go to the immigration department on a weekend, simply because I do not have sufficient leave

·  Should not have queue

·  Avoid “Puasa” month and weeks before and during school holidays

I normally go to Wangsa Maju on a weekday to renew my passport. I will make sure that I start queuing before 7a.m. and get one of the first 10 numbers given out, so that you can collect your new passport before 9a.m. and perhaps go back to work after that.

But this time, I could only choose immigration departments that open on weekends. According to the immigration website, UTC Keramat, UTC Sentul and UTC Pudu are the only offices for Wilayah that open on weekends. I’ve been to UTC Pudu before and there were no numbers left when I arrived in the evening, so we decided on UTC Keramat as it was very close to my home.

I set the alarm clock at 6a.m. and wanted to go and queue for a number but was too tired so decided to abandon the idea. I told my husband, let’s go and check out the place at Keramat after my daughter’s swimming lesson, finishing at 6p.m.

Entrance to UTC Keramat

We arrived UTC Keramat at 6.25p.m. and casually walked around to find that place and we found the counter to give out numbers. I asked the officer, “Do you still have numbers?”. Surprisingly, he said yes and asked me, do you want a number. Luckily, I brought along all the original documents required for the renewal. He checked and said there may be other documents that are required since my husband is a foreigner. Anyway, I was given a number.

Take your number here and present your original and photocopied documents. You won't miss it as you will see the counter prior to going to the entrance of the immigration

Check out the number that I got

I was called immediately and I presented my documents. For Malaysians, it’s simple. You don’t need to fill up any forms now. You just need:-

Adult

·         Original NRIC and a copy of it

·         Original expired passport

Kid

·         Original birth certificate and a copy of it

·         Original expired passport

·         Parent’s original NRIC

·         Original marriage certificate and a copy of it (not sure you need this or not but just bring, in case)

But for a Malaysian mother with a foreign father, the officers want to see the following:-

Malaysian Kid with a Foreign father

·         Original Malaysian birth certificate and a copy of it

·         Original expired passport

·         Original marriage certificate and a copy of it

·         Both parents’ NRIC and passport and copies of it

·         Foreign Parent’s entry permit stamped in the passport  

·         Foreign Parent’s work permit

When I applied for my daughter’s passport for the first time at Wangsa Maju branch, I don’t remember needing to bring all those documents above. All I did was fill in a form (you don’t need to fill in any forms now), MyKid, birth certificate and parent’s NRIC and copies of it. THAT’s ALL!!! But at UTC Keramat, they asked me for all those things above.

Anyway, since there wasn’t any queue, we were happy to comply with their request and my husband went home to get those original documents that we didn’t have. If you did not bring photocopy of your documents, you can make photocopy at this shop. A copy will cost you only RM0.20 (no mark-up unlike some other places that may charge you RM0.50 per copy). 

This shop opens everyday and until 10 p.m. It's just nearby the immigration office. 

The moment we had all the documents we wanted, we went back to see the same officer and he checked to ensure that all was in order. Once in order, he will key into the system and asked for my mobile number to be keyed in as well. Then, he proceeded to take the passport photo. PLEASE REMOVE EARRINGS AND ENSURE THAT YOUR HAIR IS NOT COVERING YOUR FOREHEAD AND SIDES OF YOUR EARS. That’s the requirement for passport photos. The he will print out a form for the parent and kid’s thumbprint.  

Seating and getting ready

Once done, please wait to be called to make payment. After making payment, we waited for 20 minutes and VOILA, passport renewed!! Collect your passport and acknowledge receipt by providing the parent and kid’s thumbprints again!!

That's the counter for collecting your new passport

I told the immigration officer at the payment counter that I did not expect things to be done so fast. He said of all the branches in Wilayah, UTC Keramat is the most quiet one. “CHEN – CHEN – CHEN”. You know where to go next……

So if you are a Malaysian, renewing your passport it is easy at UTC Keramat. You can go and renew at your convenience. Here are the summary of how to make sure you are able to renew your passport in just 30 minutes (or perhaps just being lucky on that day):-

PLEASE BRING ALONG:

Adult

·         Original NRIC and a copy of it

·         Original expired passport

Kid

·         Original birth certificate and a copy of it

·         Original expired passport

·         Parent’s original NRIC

·         Original marriage certificate and a copy of it (not sure you need this or not but just bring, in case)

AT THE IMMIGRATION OFFICE:

·         Submit your documents to the immigration officer for checking and you will be given a number and wait for your turn

·         Hand over your documents at the counter

·         Take photo and sign and thumbprint on the printed form. No filling up of form

·         Wait for your number and make payment

·         Collect your new passport

PHOTO SESSION:

·         Wear dark colours and nothing revealing, otherwise you will be given a shawl for kids or jacket for adults

·         Remove earrings

·         No hair at your forehead and ears

·         SMILE…

PAYMENT:

·         Malaysian (aged 13-59 year old)                                      RM 200.00

·         Senior Citizen (aged 60 year old and above)                    RM100.00

·         Kids (below 12 year old)                                                  RM100.00

The rules and regulations are posted outside of the office:-

Further details:

Pejabat Imigresen Mini UTC Keramat
Kompleks Keramat Mall
Jalan Datuk Keramat
54000 Kuala Lumpur

(opposite Damai Putra LRT station)
Tel:  03 - 4251 1468 / 1469
Fax: 03 - 4251 1414

Office Hours:
Monday - Sunday : 8.30 am - 10.00 pm
(Closed on Public Holiday)

Break: 7.00 pm - 8.00 pm (dinner) & 12.15 pm - 2.45 pm (Friday prayer)

Website: http://www.imi.gov.my/index.php/ms/pasport/pasport-malaysia-antarabangsa.html