Outing to Jurong Bird Park

Weekend is always my favourite period of the week.

The busy urban life is making it difficult for us to make plan to meet up with friends for catch up. Thus, weekend is the best time for us to find time to catch up with friends and release stress.

On a Sunday morning, I met up with my 3 lovelies for an outing to Jurong Bird Park. I was super excited for it, this was my first time visiting the Bird Park. Can you believe?

We took bus 194 from Boon Lay bus intercharge to the Bird Park. It was quite a painful wait, the waiting time for the bus was like 20-25 minutes. Nevertheless, we still reached our destination.

We were here at the world's largest bird paradise that housed 5,000 birds across 380 species that fly, swim and roam freely in their naturalistic habitats.

May our wonderful journey began.

Invited KP along with me. On the way, she shared with me her interesting encounter during Taiwan trip. Argh, I want to go for a short getaway too.

Check in our first stop, Penguin Coast.

Penguin is my favourite bird species, they looked so cute.

A group photo before we entered, thanks Jas for the photo.

Omg, they were so lovely.

Instead of flying in the air, they were able to swim freely in the water.

Do you know that they spend 75% of their lives in the water?

We can't bear to live this place. All of us enjoyed watching the penguins. They were so chubby cute.

The indoor, climate-controlled den is home to 4 species of penguins – the Humboldt, Rockhopper, Macaroni and the majestic King Penguin.

Discover a panoramic view of these tuxedo cuties swimming underwater. Penguin Coast is home to nearly 100 penguins across 6 species.

Thanks Jas for the photo. We all agreed that Penguin Coast is our favourite stop.

What's yours?

With Jasmine exploring the area.

Wooh, penguins that were found at the pond outside.

Amazing, The outdoor enclosure houses the African Penguins that could adapt to the tropics.

With my 2 best girlfriends - Jas and GF.

Second stop: Flamingo Pool.

We were being attracted by their bright colour feathers and their super long stick legs. They were the top model for bird version. Flamingo also like standing on one leg, this means that they were resting.

Be charmed by the pink Flamingos.

We had reached the Wetlands.

We were figuring: "Er, why here no birds ar?"

In the end, all of them were hiding behind the rock. I thought they were statue because they were not moving.

And we found the swings at the Playland. I had not play swing for the longest time, it's so hard to find a swing nowadays?

Thanks Jas for the photo. Let's go higher!

Next, The Riverine.

We got to see upclose of the underwater aquatic birds, freshwater fish and turtles in this simulated river habitat through a glass-viewing gallery.

Quak! Quak! Quak!

We reached the World of Darkness.

We entered into a room of darkness, Asia's first nocturnal house. No pictures are taken inside as the room was too dark and no flash are allowed.

Housed in the World of Darkness are popular Snowy Owl, Malay Fish Owl, Eurasian Eagle Owl, Barn Owl, Great Grey Owl and Boobook Owl. With binocular vision and exceptional hearing, these raptors of the night are highly specialised predators who almost never miss their prey.

Conquering next, Heliconia Walk.

Was a bit bored down here because we were walking down an alley of bird cages. 

A photo with GF while the others were taking photo of the bird cage.

The red flock of birds were so captivating.

Take a look at the Shore birds.

They were often being found at the seaside areas.

Ohhh, so that's how a bird sits down???

At Lory Loft.

In the world's largest Lory flight aviary, we got to see bright colours of red, yellow, green and blue fluttering above your heads, and around us. I'm so scared that I kena bird shit. Lol.

This is also where we had the unique opportunity to participate in Lory Feeding. See all these beautiful birds were flying towards us.

Look who we found at Dinosaur Descendants:

Ostrich!

Ostrich us the world's largest, heaviest and fastest-running bird with the biggest eyeballs. It also lay the largest eggs in the world.

At Pelican Cove.

They are amazing. They are strong flier and excellent swimmer.

Captivating scenery.

This concluded by my trip to Jurong Bird Park. 

It was a fun day and great gathering. We got to understand and learnt more about the different types of birds. Hope you girls all had fun. 

Look forward to our next gathering (:

OWL Café @ The Star Vista

Established since 1956, OWL has become a distinct brand name renowned for its coffee manufacturing tradition.

Being the pioneer in local coffee culture, OWL has earned themselves the renowned household name through maintaining the high standard of food safety, manufacturing excellence and product quality.

You must be thinking, why am I talking about OWL right???

That's because OWL has announced the opening of OWL Cafe. 

Singapore’s favourite Straits Asian coffee brand delves into the F&B industry with café launch at The Star Vista, the new shopping mall next to Buona Vista MRT station..

OWL Cafe is really a nice place to chill out with great company, the surroundings and atmosphere makes it a perfect setting for the enjoyment of the authentic Straits Asian-inspired coffee and food.

The vibrantly-coloured café takes in OWL’s brand evolution from its traditional heritage to a contemporary one by combining modern settings with old-school furnishings.

OWL coffee instant pack is available in the cafe too. 

Take your pick.

Friendly staff @ work.

I ordered my favourite drink - Ice Gula Melaka Tea.

The sweetness of the ice tea is to my liking, I like it (:

The signature coffee: 

100% Authentic Kopi Luwak.

 Civet Coffee served with coffee caviar.

My first time trying out coffee caviar and it tasted really good, like jelly.

The aroma of the Straits Asian-inspired coffee waft through our senses.

Coffee lovers should try this civet coffee which is specially sourced from the highland plantation in Aceh, Indonesia. Being one of the most coveted gourmet coffee in the world, this delectable coffee ($18.90) is served after careful charcoal-roasting to bring out the richness of its aroma and flavour.

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Foodporn time.

From snacks and toast to main courses and desserts – Owl Cafe's menu cover a widespread of recipes from our culturally rich Straits Asian region which includes Chinese, Indian and Malay recipes. Owl Cafe has woo many taste buds among the young and the old today.

Hae Chor Salad

Being a halal certified cafe, instead of using the traditional ingredient of pork, Owl Cafe served it using chicken. I personally find that it tasted better than the usual pork hae chor.

Hainanese Curry Chicken

The flavourful curry served with juicy chicken. The curry was thick and aromatic, while the chicken was tender and it absorbed the curry flavour. I want to order the same dish when I am there again.

Kaya Butter Toast

The crispy crust was toasted to perfection. 

Usually when we go to coffee house, the toast was being served with 2 longish bread and the kaya and butter placed in between. Owl Cafe has a unique way of serving with the kaya and butter placed on top of crispy toast.

Spaghetti with Laksa sauce

If you love laksa, you will love this. The spaghetti tasted exactly like laksa noodles. You can also find the common ingredients for laksa  (fish cakes) in this dish.

Bawan Kepiting Broth

After having so many flavourful dishes, it's time to go for some light soup and meatballs to balance our dinner.

King Prawn Fritters with Assam Dip

I loved the fried prawn fritters, the outer crust was very crispy and the prawns were fresh.

My mum used to make this dish. Just coat the prawns with flour before deep fry.

Stir-fried Spaghetti with soft-shell crab

If you are a big eater, soft-shell crab spaghetti is what you can go for. They served a generous portion over Owl Cafe.

Roti Bakar Assam Nanas

Doesn't this look like Hawaiian pizza to you?

Thick toast crust topped with cheese, ham and pineapple slices. It tasted a little spicy to me due to the Tamarind sauce.

Cheesy Ayam Cutlet

Hainanese Chicken Chop

This is really one of its kind. This was my first time seeing chicken chop being served soaked in hainanese soup. The chicken chop tasted delicious but after being soaked in the gravy, it tasted a little bland. OWL Cafe indeed offers many unique dishes, you should come try them out. 

Jagong Smoothie

Omg, I fall in love with it with my first sip. The smoothie was heavenly good. For those who are unsure what is jagong, actually jagong means corn. The corn smoothie was really sweet and delicious, I strongly recommend this.

Make some space for DESSERT.

Durian Pengat

It was made up of thick and velvety mousse made with fresh D24 durians.

The smell of the durian was rather overwhelming. Mag was saying that all of us had the durian smell in our mouth when we talked.

Who is the fans of King of fruits over here?

Glory Hitam with Vanilla Ice-cream

Ice-cream is always my favourite dessert. I loved the combination of Black Glutinous Rice with Vanilla Ice Cream, it was delectable mixing and gobbled them down together.

Owl's Soya Beancurd

The texture of the beancurd was smooth and easily melted in our mouth.

Chendol

The perfect dessert to order to satisfy your thirst. The sweet and refreshing dessert being served with finely shaved ice.

The girls enjoyed the dinner and gathering tonight.

We came here feeling famished and left the place satisfying with a bloated stomach.

OWL Café is indeed a nice place to sit down and enjoy the meal with your company in the bustling backdrop of Star Vista.

OWL Cafe is located at The Star Vista #02-10&11

1 Vista Exchange Green