Although the National Planetarium has been around since 1993, I did not visit the place until around 2013. Since then, I have been truly impressed with what it has to offer, especially the dome-shaped Cineplex with the ceiling as its screen.

This is a place that is worth visiting for families especially with children, just for the experience of being in a dome-shaped Cineplex and getting the feel of watching into the dark sky which features galaxies, the stars and all kinds of mysterious space objects.

Those who are travelling from all over the country to the Federal Capital during the school holidays should include this National Planetarium as part of their itinerary.

National Science Centre

The National Science Centre is another place that I have brought my children to visit during their growing up years. From time to time, they have different exhibitions which are worth visiting.

At one point, it was the dinosaurs. I remember my son was a fan of dinosaurs and he enjoyed every bit of the dinosaur exhibition. There were many pictures taken of him with the dinosaurs.

With the recent refurbishment of the science centre, we decided to check it out again. Despite being a normal working day on December 11 for city folks, the crowd was big and parking was a real problem.

The children enjoyed every section, with different activities that they could put their hands on, from learning about green energy to magnetism and electricity, to learning about space and aircraft technology.

This is one place that you can allow your children to play everything that is installed, as a result of which the children’s curiosity is aroused, and you may find yourself trying to find explanations to almost everything.

It was partly fun and partly educational. For example, when a spark was created by static electricity jumping across from one point to another, I was able to explain how lighting (which is also a form of static electricity) occurs.

This is much better than just learning from the textbooks. In fact, I would strongly suggest that the management of the science centre to engage part time tourist guides to bring the children on a guided tour. This will be more meaningful if it is done well.

After the day at the National Science Centre, a good place to check out for food is the Coffea Coffee café at Desa Sri Hartamas, which is just 1.3 kilometres away. 

We used Waze so as not to get lost and wasting our time looking for the exact location; so, even if you are from outstation, there is no excuse that you cannot find the place. While the children can enjoy all sorts of pasta, adults should try out their Energy Bowls and maybe their waffles or puffs.

Tomorrow about the National Museum and how to get there on MRT. Check out next week about getting close to Mother Nature at Tanah Aina Raub eco-resort and some good restaurants in Raub and Bentong. End of the month’s special feature will focus on Penang and Ipoh.

What is exciting for the entire family is being able to haul in a big catch especially if it is a Patin Mekong fish weighing 27.1kg.

By large, according to Arif Hartono who works here, this is the largest fish that has been caught at this fish farm located just across the street from Tasik Biru Kundang.

The fish farm has been opened since 2008 to anglers who just want to have some thrill in fishing.

“The biggest local Ikan Patin that has been caught here weighs 18 kg,” he adds. “This was just a week ago.”

There are two ponds. Pond 1 is open 24 hours for anglers and the farm operator charges a fee of RM30 for three hours, and for an additional hour, the fee is RM35. For the more serious anglers, there is also night fishing.

“Whatever your catch, if it is below two kilogrammes, you can take it back home to cook or grill,” explains Arif. “If it is above two kilogrammes, then you will have to sell it back to us for RM1 per kilogramme.”

Understandably, this is a fish farm, where they breed the Patin fish for the restaurants.

Fishing in Pond 2 is open from 10am – 12 midnight. “Whatever fish you can catch here cannot be taken home. However, you get cash prizes if you hit a jackpot by catching a fish of certain weight,” elaborates Arif, pointing to a chart that shows various cash prizes available.

Tasik Biru Kundang is a short drive from Bukit Rahman Putra in Sungai Buloh. The local tourism industry here is just at its early stages but it has the potential to grow, depending on how the locals develop it into an interesting spot for local tourists.

On certain days, if you happen to be there when some jetskiers cruise the waters, it is fun to take photographs because the water looks blue from its reflection of the sky.

On certain days, if you happen to be there when some jetskiers cruise the waters, it is fun to take photographs because the water looks blue from its reflection of the sky.

There is not very much to expect from the scenic point of view but for a relaxing, “kampung style” outing for the children, it is a nice place to spend the day. If you have a drone with a good camera, you can survey around the lake and capture nice views.

After all, it is just a 25-minute drive on the Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong and Jalan Kuala Selangor from Petaling Jaya on a traffic free weekend.

Along the way, there are a number of food stalls. We particularly like the Patin fish cooked kampung style at Patin Mamimia Champion, a small stall operated by a former banker, Mazlan and his family. Food here is suitable for the younger children as it is not spicy.

There are also other foodstalls serving Ikan Bakar, Cendul and all sorts of local kampung-style cuisines which the children would enjoy. However, do not expect the water to be blue all the time – just enjoy the day’s brief outing and the food.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in all sorts of gastronomical delights – Western, Middle Eastern and Asian.