Jun 29, 2009

KL Bird Park



A wonder world of birds and a tropical paradise not be missed by all. Located in the serene and scenic famous Lake Gardens , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia ( 5 minutes from KL Sentral ), the KL Bird park is also well known as "Free-flight Walk-in Aviary", offers a 20.9 acres of verdant valley terrain to be explored...

The main feature that distinguishes KL Bird Park from any other bird parks is the concept of free-flight.

Entering the door of KL Bird Park is as if you are stepping into an enormous bird cage, where visitors will have a chance to witness at close proximity how approximately 800 birds of 60 local and foreign species living together as a perfectly balanced community in this semi-natural, man-made environment.


One of the most prominent evidence that these birds have adapted so well to this environment is that they are already able to breed naturally.


They search for their suitable nesting areas; bountiful sources of fallen leaves, branches and twigs provide the suitable nesting materials for these birds to build their own nests; they care for their babies until they grow up and the cycle continues year after year.

Admission

ADULT (Standard) RM 39.00
*CHILDREN (Standard) RM 29.00
ADULT (with MyKad) RM 15.00
*CHILDREN (with MyKid) RM 6.00


Opening Hours

The park is open daily from 9.00am to 6.00pm (including weekends and public holidays).

Visit here for more details




Hornbill Souvenir Shop - 9.00am to 6.00pm daily
Feathered Friends Photo Booth -9.30am to 6.00pm daily
Flamingo Terrace & Parrot Kiosk -9.00am to 6.00pm daily
Hornbill Restaurant & Cafe -9.00am to 8.00pm daily
Peacock Gift Shop -9.00am to 6.00pm daily















Bird show team










Jun 27, 2009

Delicious Punjabi Khaana at Dhaba Express , Anna Nagar - Chennai



Enjoy '' asli Punjabi Khaana '' at Dhaba Express, Anna Nagar

Average meal for three Rs 600 ( 1 starter , 4 types of rotis, 1 non veg dish, 2 veg dish , plain rice and sweet )

Non veg dishe starts from Rs 99 and veg dish starts from Rs 66. Cost of 3 garam gulab jamun Rs 29.

Tandoori roti - Rs 9

Rs 24 ( each ) for butter naan, garlic naan and kulcha



Tandoori roti , butter naan & garlic naan


Tandoori chicken masala , dal makhani & palak paneer


Dhaba Express
Shanthi Colony
Anna Nagar
Chennai

Phone: 044-26213645 /26261134

Land mark - Near Shanti colony signal & opp Waves showroom

Jun 26, 2009

Lankawi crocodile farm & Live show



Sprawling 20 acres, the Langkawi Crocodile Farm is specially designed and landscaped with beautiful plantation and greenery, making it looks like a recreation park. Different species of crocodiles are being kept in specific ponds, where visitors can have a thorough look at the crocodiles while walking around.

There is a special show daily in which trained handlers conduct crocodile shows. These are very thrilling.

There is another daily session also for crocodile feeding. Anyone planning to visit the crocodile park should adjust their visits to watch these shows.

I found this very well maintained. Don’t miss this place when one visit Lankawi , Malaysia














Tiffin varieties and meals available at Ganga Sweets, Anna Nagar - Chennai



Tiffin varieties and meals available at Ganga Sweets from 7 am to 9 pm.

Must try mini meals & dal boli ( Puran poli )

Breakfast dishes ( from 7 am to 11 am )

Filter coffee

Idli

Dosa

Masala dosa

Pongal

Hot poori

Medu vada

Vada curry

Rawa  kesari

Evening specials ( from 4 pm to 8 pm )

Adai Avial

Kara paniyaram

Visit here for more sweets, snacks, Agra ka petha and Bengali sweets

Ganga Sweets
S.B.O. A . School Road
Anna Nagar West
Chennai
Tel # 42645917


Jun 24, 2009

Ambya Humman ( Sweet / tangy / spicy mango dish )



Did this summer pose a problem of plenty ( of mangoes)?. Running out of ideas as to what to do with mangoes?.

Here is a dish just for you.

Yes. This is one of the truly wonderful and genuine Konkani side dish – which is known as Ambya Humman (Umman) – which is a preparation of mangoes cooked with jaggery and seasoned with the regular seasoning mix.

All Konkani people at some point remember nostalgically about this sweet -tangy as well as spicy dish – which normally is prepared as a side dish for the evening meal.
All you need is some mangoes – one can use any variety – right from Alphonso to the ones with lot of fibres which are not normally preferred. The best result is with mangoes which are ½ to 3/4th ripe.The rest of the ingredients is the regular household stuff.
Ingredients

Mangoes ( as described earlier) – 2 / 3 diced with skin, also -the seed as well with some flesh on it.
Jaggery – 2 to 3 Table spoons ( I normally use jaggery which is melted, cooled and sieved to remove impurities). Too much jaggery takes the tanginess out – and hence not desirable.
Green chillies – 2 – 3 slit length wise.
Pepper powder – ½ Teaspoon.
Water- ¼ cup

For seasoning:
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon jeera
1 spring curry leaves
1 teaspoon cooking oil
1 whole red chilli

Method

Cook diced mangoes in water along with green chillies, pepper powder and jaggery. When the mango slices appear half cooked, reduce heat.

Heat 1 tea spoon cooking oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. When they start spluttering, add jeera, curry leaves and red chilly. Saute slowly and pour this seasoning over the mango curry.
Allow it to cool. Consume when it is luke warm.

Jun 22, 2009

Awesome Malaysian Dishes





Chicken rice





Laksa


Tom Yum


Nasi lemak ( KLCC Food court )


Spring roll ( Komtar mall - Penang )


Chicken porridge ( Komtar mall - Penang )


Pattaya fried rice
( Restaurant near Penang hill )


Fried rice wrapped in omelette


Prawns rice ( Restaurant near Penang hill )


Teh tarik ( pulled tea ) - Chola spice - KLCC Food court



Chicken sizzler ( KLCC FOOD COURT )



Nasi Ayam ( Chicken rice ) - Mid Valley food court


Clay pot chicken ( KLCC Food court )


Haleem & Rumali roti (Bengali cuisine at KLCC Food court )

Jun 20, 2009

Penang Hill

Penang Hill is a hill resort comprising a group of peaks, the major hill system of Penang, Malaysia. It is 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the city centre of George Town, and stands out prominently from the lowlands as a hilly and forested area. Penang Hill is also known by the Malay name Bukit Bendera, which refers to Flagstaff Hill, the most developed peak. It is 830 meter high (2,750 foot) and it's much cooler than in the city below. It's about 3 degrees cooler than the places near the coast.




Depending on the time, one can either go up the hills by foot or by using the famous red Swiss made funicular train. Of course if you were to take a more relaxing train to the hilltop, you are going to miss on what nature has to offer such as a mist covered valley, giant bamboo trees, crystal cool pond, farm, wilddogs, birds and of course various species of plants.

Funicular train leaves every 20 to 25 minutes at a cost of RM4 per person that can carry a max
of 80 passengers per trip.

The train leaves the station at Air Itam at 6.30am and at half hourly intervals.

The funicular railway will not take you straight to the top, you have to change trains halfway. In the meantime you'll pass several small station, where the local people get on and off. There are are also some small hotels and guesthouses on this stretch. The railway was built in 1923 and it takes about half an hour to the top.

At the top of the hill, you'll find a tea kiosk, restaurants, souvenir stalls, a mosque, Hindu temple, and the old Bellevue hotel. The summit offers a magnificent panoramic view of Georgetown, the mainland and Penang Bridge.

The best time to visit Penang Hill is early morning, around nine o'clock.













View from Penang hill




Drumstick leaves dosa ( Masingapathe polo in Konkani cuisine )



Here's the recipe of Cabbage Dosa ( Cabbage polo). The ingredients are the same as that of Cabbage Dosa but substitute drumstick leaves for shredded cabbage.

Another alternate is to steam the batter like idly and consume it hot with a dash of edible oil of one's choice. The steamed version is called "Undi" in Konkani. This Undi can be fried which is another delicacy. The alternates are endless with some adding Undi slices to make "Gassi".

These make excellent snacking options for afternoons / evenings.



Useful tip:

Separating individual leaf / petal from the leafy branch is a painful process. To make it easy, I am sharing a secret. Wrap the leafy branch in a news paper overnight. Next morning, one can easily separate the individual leaf.

Health benefits of drumstick leaves

The leaves are highly nutritious, being a significant source of beta-carotene, Vitamin C, protein, iron and potassium. The leaves are cooked and used like spinach. In addition to being used fresh as a substitute for spinach, its leaves are commonly dried and crushed into a powder, and used in soups and sauces. Murungakai as it is locally known in Tamil Nadu and Kerala is used in Siddha medicine. Its leaves are full of medicinal properties. The tree is a good source for calcium and phosphorus. Also excellent natural remedy for hyper tension (high blood pressure). The leaves can also be consumed by adding it to Dal, by making poriyal of the leaves etc.


Jun 19, 2009

Chick Punch... in Anna Nagar, Chennai

As a food lover I am always Interested to see new food-shops and outlets coming up in Annanagar. The newest additions ( atleast I noticed it only recently – forgive If I am wrong) being Chick-Punch and the (Yet to be opened) McDonald's ( near Shaw Electricals, & Jayabharatham Furniture - Roundtana, Anna Nagar).

McDonald's - Anna Nagar opens on 4 th July 2009

I found Chick-Punch outlet neat and clean. Space is enough and good selection of interior, well lit. The staff is courteous ( but pushy). They have taken a leaf out of Mainland China by sourcing their front office promoters from North-East. A change ( without qualification) for Chennaites.

The food and the menu is the same as one gets at KFC or Marrybrown – but pricey. More over the products are bundled to extract at least Rs.100 per head.

All in all – it is again the same old story of “ wine in new bottle”. Visit for a slightly different experience. Also featured is the menu card and photo.




Chick Punch

2nd Avenue

Anna Nagar

Chennai

Tel #26222202

Landmark - Next to Dr. Manohar's child clinic and Nathella Jewellery