Another Swarovski Christmas

Unexpectedly, my sister turned up at our doorstep on the morning of Christmas eve. Naturally, the kids were thrilled to see her. We had a day out in Bukit Bintang ahead of us. First stop was Pavilion Kuala Lumpur to look at the Christmas decorations. Like past years, there was a huge tree out front. The only difference was that they had a train that traveled around the tree. In my opinion, its quite a nuisance to have that when so many people mill at the entrance. Swarovski returned as the main sponsors for the center atrium's Christmas decorations, but I wasn't very impressed by it. This time round, the center atrium is dominated by a castle and a crystal carousel. In the overall theme, it's not very attention-grabbing. Mum shopped while I kept the kids in check. The typical running around, and crawling in and out of clothes racks. Difficult to shop in peace with kids around. All that running around helped the kids build up an appetite. By noon, they were asking for food.





At first, we thought of eating at D'Empire, but after looking at how limited the menu was, we walked out. Instead, we ate at Pigs and Wolf located on the Dining Loft. Much better options there. The Christmas set looked like a steal, so we ordered that. MYR60 bought us a soup, main, dessert, and ice lemon tea. They served a cream of potato soup that came with a side of bacon. Both kids gave a squeal of joy when they saw the bacon. For the main, we chose the Prawn and Salmon Pesto that came with generous portion of smoked salmon, and juicy prawns. Dessert was a slice of moist chocolate roll. In addition to that, we got a plate of Carbonara with pork sausages for Little Monster. Big Monster practically polished off a Mighty Piggy Burger all by himself. He loved the thick, juicy patty made from US pork. Since he ordered a burger, his uncle could get a pint of Asahi for MYR10.







Their neighbours, Starz Kitchen and Rocku Yakiniku both had Santa Claus out front to attract customers and spread some Christmas cheer. But not all Santa Claus are created equal. Starz Kitchen obviously had the bigger budget. They actually got a fat gweilo to play the part. The wig, beard, and costume was also much better. The guy from Rocku Yakiniku was Cina-fied version in an ill-fitting SuperSave costume.

Last stop for the day was Isetan the Japan Store. Had to be very careful in there. Porcelain art with a price tag of MYR14,000 located at child level? OK, shoooh, we are going to the other floors. Didn't stay long really. The kids were tired and Big Monster even started sneezing from all the air-conditioning.



Mum and I attended Christmas Eve mass at church that night. There was the usual caroling before mass. During the procession, Baby Jesus was held aloft by the priest and subsequently placed into the manger, and incensed. Everyone was all dressed up and parishioners exchanged greetings to mark the happy occasion of Jesus' birth.