Visiting KaiKai And JiaJia At Giant Panda Forest, River Safari (Singapore Zoo)

Finally the Giant Panda Forest exhibit which is located in the new River Safari is open for public preview since early December 2012. And since this is the last week of school holiday, my kid and I decided to take the opportunity to visit KaiKai (凯凯) and JiaJia (嘉嘉) . The pandas preview is allocated for a 15 minutes viewing session through different time slots (refer below) which is available for a top-up of S$5.00 (Adult) and S$3.00 (Child; 3 - 12 yrs old)  to the regular zoo admission price (you can check the ticket price lists here).

Although we reached the ticket booths around 8.45am (on a Thursday) but there were already quite a number of people queuing ahead and some of the time slots are selling fast too. And for your information almost everyday the viewing time slots will be SOLD OUT even before noon time. (updated status of the time slots can be found on their official site here)

At the moment, the entrance to the Giant Panda Forest is access via through Singapore Zoo (until river safari is fully open to public in 1st quarter 2013) at the admission queue which is around the Rainforest Walk that is opposite the Otter exhibit as shown on the Zoo map.

You won't miss out the entrance as there are a lot of direction signboards similar to the above shown

Although we purchased the 10.20am slot, but we are able to go in around 10.05am to queue up for our turn to enter the Giant Panda Forest which is a about few minutes walking distance away from the entrance.

Queuing up to enter the Giant Panda Forest

Upon entering the Giant Panda Forest, the first to greet us is this cute little "Red Panda" which share certain similar traits with the giant pandas because they both feed predominantly on bamboo and have extra "thumbs" to hold their food.

At the open kitchen window, there are displays showing KaiKai and JiaJia's Menu of the Day so that we get to know more about their diet and types of food they consumed.

Most of us were quite disappointed as JiaJia (嘉嘉) was taking her beauty sleep during our visit. although most of us couldn't do much but everyone is still very excited to snap photos of JiaJia or with her in the background.

JiaJia (嘉嘉) is taking her beauty sleep

Whereas KaiKai (凯凯) on the other hand is more active as he kept roaming up and down around the enclosed area making his "Panda Walk" for visitors to take photos/videos of him. Overall the pandas are not as chubby as what we thought off but they are definitely the most cutest animal of all.

Both me and my kid are very thrilled on this visit and we all felt that 15 minutes preview time is really too "short" to juggler around with those "three" cute fellows.

After the Pandas preview, you could also grab some lovely souvenirs shown above from their gift shop which are only available at the Giant Panda Forest outlet ONLY.

Mama Panda Kitchen

Above are the second reasons of our visit to the Giant Panda Forest. I first saw this Panda Pau from two of my friend's instagram posts which me and my kid fell in love immediately. This Panda shaped like steamed bun is so cute and irresistible despite of it's pricing.

Panda Pau from Mama Panda Kitchen

This cute Panda Pau is shaped to look alike like a panda head and it is filled with sweet and fragrance red bean paste which resemble our local "steamed red bao (豆沙包)" but with an over-rated price of S$2.90 each or 4 for S$11.50. Although the price is on the high end side but still you can see these cute panda pau appears on almost all the occupied tables. 

Giant Panda Cappuccino from Mama Panda Kitchen

This Giant Panda Cappuccino (S$5.50) is equally cute as compared to the Panda Pau above and it is a "must order" so that you could get a pair of this adorable panda to accompany you for either breakfast or tea-break.

On top of the above, the Mama Panda Kitchen also served hot food like Braised Beef Ramen Set (S$13.90), Chicken Cop Ramen Set (S$13.90), Vegetarian Bamboo Rice Set (S$13.90), Snacks and etc (all sets including 1 main, 1 side and 1 dessert).

View of the River Safari

View of the River Safari

Even though the visiting time for the Pandas are quite short and rushing but we all had an enjoyable time with the Giant Panda. We would definitely look forward for the official opening of the River Safari and our next visit with KaiKai and Jia Jia.

For more photos of our Giant Panda Forest and Singapore Zoo visit, please refer to the photo album over at Cuisine Paradise Facebook page HERE.

Have a great weekend everyone!!! Cheers!

Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) Food Trail 2012 - Singapore Jurong Bird Park

Continue from my previous WRS (Wildlife Reserves Singapore) Food Trail 2012 post, here is the second part of the food trail journey where we headed over to the east side, Jurong Bird Park to have an interesting Lunch with Parrots.

The concept is quiet similar to the one we had for "Jungle Breakfast with Wildlife" at Ah Meng Restaurant mentioned in the previous post here.

"Lunch With Parrot" is an Asian-style  Buffet which starts from 12 noon to 2.00pm whereby the showtime is allocated at 1.00pm in order to let the guest enjoy their lunch before the show. Reservation or enquiry can be made by telephone call at (65) 6360 8560.

Although the lunch buffet does not have more varieties like breakfast we had over at Ah Meng Restaurant, but you still can find some local delight such as fried rice, fried noodles, fried chicken, prawns, curry, fresh fruits and etc along the buffet line.

Surprisingly their Laksa taste quiet good with a fragrant broth that is not too over powder with the coconut taste.

Yummy Cereal Prawns which is fried and coated with crispy aromatic cereal that makes you crave for 2nd or 3rd helping.

Fried Chicken (original) and Spicy Mexican Chicken

These are our lunch spread while enjoying the interesting Parrots performance. Overall the buffet items were quiet good based on the price and it do served with coffee/tea and dessert such as ice-cream too.

While enjoying our buffet lunch, we were also able to watch the 1.00pm Parrot Show which was  very entertaining especially for little kids. And for those who are keen, you could also be a volunteer and have fun performing together with the parrots.

Pikasso is the one and only Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo that paint and guests can also purchase one of Pikasso’s works while the proceeds of the sale will go to the conservation and upkeep of the birds in the Park.

Ippy is the Scarlet Macaw that loves to teach the audience how to keep fit by doing back flips and sit-ups

After lunch we walked over to the "Southeast Asian Birds Aviary" opposite Songbird Terrace where it has the largest collection consisting of 260 Southeast Asian species and showcasing 100 of the region’s most exotic and endangered birds.

The Birds N Buddies Show (11.00am and 3.00pm; daily) at the Pools Amphitheatre is one of highlight programme among visitors. In order to grab a good seat for a better view of the show, remember to be there at least 15 minutes earlier to avoid the crowds.

Little Audience enjoying her participation of the show.

After the 3.00pm show we went over to "Kings of the Skies Shows" (10.00am and 4.00pm) at Hawk Walk. Here we were able to see the most of the majestic birds such as eagles, hawks, falcons, vultures and owls in one arena.

One of the brave audience who had a close-up encounter with the magnificent falconry.

On that day, my boy also had a chance to have such a close encounter with the Owl.

After the Kings of the Skies Show, we walked over to the Breeding and Research Centre which was just next to it.

The Breeding and Research Centre (BRC) is where the incredible journey of life begins for some of the Park’s resident birds. And here we are able to go behind-the-scenes and get a first hand glimpse into the growth process of these birds.

In the Incubation Rooms, eggs are kept snug and warm in their special incubators which equipped with automatic egg turners to keep the temperature and humidity of each egg constant. At maximum capacity, each incubation room can hold up to 180 eggs of various species.

Next at the Nursery is the place where the hatched chicks are to be fed and looked after. The hatchlings are housed in brooders, a temperature and humidity-controlled environment in order to keep them safe and warm. And from the clear glass panel, you can also see how these adorable juveniles are fed by their “bird nannies”.

From the brooders, chicks move on to the Weaning Room when they are fully grown to help them acclimatise to the environment as well as get ready to join the rest of their family in the respective exhibits.

Photo credit:- Celes

Our WRS Food Trail 2012 day programme ended with a happy "nest and egg" photo taken outside the Breeding And Research Centre before we headed back to Night Safari (upcoming post) for the evening programme at Ulu Ulu Restaurant.

Till then have a great weekend ahead. Stay tune for the last post of our WRS Food Tail 2012 at Ulu Ulu Restaurant, Night Safari (updated on 21 Aug 2012).