Monday 5 September 2016

Trip to Zenxin Organic Farm with an Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II

It is September?!  And it is the school holidays again?!  Oh my, where did all those time go.

Last school holidays, we went for a road trip to Melaka with friends.  Some 240km drive using the North South Highway, we decided we shall break the journey into 2, by stopping at Zenxin Organic Park.

Starting our journey at around 8.00am, the boys self-entertained by drawing on large Sketch Books from Daiso.


Once we exited from the Air Hitam exit, this is what we saw.  Turning right and driving for a few minutes, we reached Zenxin.





We were there to join the Farm Tour!


Not before we have a family shot!


Entrance tickets seem reasonable for the range of activities.  Additional activities such as archery are charged separately.



The tour starts with an educational video, followed by walks through the park.  A very hot day, little shade so we were all sweating at the end of the tour.  I cannot imagine joining the 2.30pm tour.


That is dragon fruit!




Some of the plants, fruits and herbs we saw.



One of the highlight was this.  Harvesting their own vegetables.  The boys pulled out vegetables and we are allowed to fill up one bag each.  If we were heading straight home, I will fill it up and bring home to cook.  It's organic!


Feeding the pets at the Happy Farm.  Surprisingly, E was pretty enthusiastic and willingly fed and pet them.  


Part of the tour includes milk bottle fish feeding.  Initially, when I read the title on the brochure, I was wondering how it is.  So this is it.  Holding the bottle that has a large hole in the teat, fish feed is slowly being poured / sucked out.  


One of the activity includes a hand-on workshop.  The boys had a try at making curry puffs.  The curry puff dough and ingredients were pre-done and all we had to do is wrap them up and cooking them in the oil.


Now they know it is not easy.  Even folding the curry puffs require some skill and lots of practice.


We had lunch at the Chef Garden Restaurant since it was near lunch time.  They serve set lunch and what interests us was the hotpot.  








It was alot of food although we ordered for 2 pax.  Organic greens are good, yea?



My only issue is the number of houseflies.  Although they provide some repellent, there were still many houseflies!  The boys could not "tahan" aka tolerate it.  I guess we are all used to air-conditioned food courts and our hawkers and coffeeshops are not "swarmed" with flies around.

My friends at some tables (nearer to the inside of the open space, al-fresco concept dining area) had fewer flies visiting them and their food.  So, if you have children or even yourself who cannot eat at ease with such flies, then I suggest either sitting nearer to the cashier area or skip having lunch there.

We ended with a round of archery.  For RM10 for I think 10 arrows, not something we can get here in Singapore.


Jalan Batu Pahat, Kampung Melayu Batu Lima
86000 Kluang, Johor, Malaysia

The photos for my Melaka trip are mostly shot using the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II.  I do not exactly need to say the specifications of this camera as Google will tell you everything - the reviews from professional photographers.



As it is a compact with interchangeable lens, I used mostly a prime lens (M. Zuiko Digital 17mm F1.8) this time and I really love my photos.  Especially of close ups.  Colours are vibrant too.  My only rant is that it is a tad heavy with the lens.

Another note is that, with prime lens, I got to make sure that my focus is correct.  Sometimes, when I asked someone to take a photo for me, the focus is on the wrong person, wrong place.  This I believe needs some understanding and of course, checking of the photos after each shot, if unused to it.


Disclosure: We had the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II on loan to us for 2 weeks for the purpose of this trip.  No monetary compensation was received.  All photographs and opinions are true to my own.

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9 comments:

  1. So gross the flies!!! Especially when you are having ur meal n having to share with them... my hubby won't be able to "tahan" it! I wonder why the management don't do anything about it... never heard about this place, thanks for the info!

    Jamie Chaw,
    http://karmie080808.blogspot.sg/

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  2. We too recently visited an organic farm and it was so refreshing...Like you said, organic veggies do taste much better than the usual ones...

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  3. We visited some farms in Malaysia but not zenxin yet. Looks really fun!
    Yeah...most farms (so far all farms we have visited) have tons of houseflies because of the environment. Houseflies aside, we love the organic food that the farms prepared. Simply delicious!

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  4. Farm tour - how interesting. I didn't even know you can plant Mulberry in this weather. Thanks for sharing!

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  5. This reminds me of taking our kids to a farm in India and definitely organic farming is a good thing for kids to learn.

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  6. Have drove pass Zeng Xin on a few occasions, but yet to pop in.
    Seems like another interesting farm visit with plenty of family activitis :)

    cheers, Andy
    (SengkangBabies.com)

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  7. It sounds so fun! I always wonder what we can do in Malaysia, but now that I have seen this post, maybe I should explore farms for the kids too! Houseflies are damn gross lah.. usually I bring my portable diffuser, then I diffuse peppermint oil or lavender oil. They stay very far away from these smells and we can eat in peace hehehe

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  8. I cannot stand houseflies all around too, especially at eating areas. Speaks a bit about the cleanliness of the place I feel and if so, I'm not comfortable eating in such an area hahahaha

    Ai @ Sakura Haruka

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  9. What an interesting place! I don't mind the flies etc...it's all in the 'package' and its a good trade off for the type of exposure it will give our kids. Thanks for sharing.

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