Ozzie Outing

Nearly forgot about mum's quarterly visit to the gynaecologist. Skipped marketing at OUG and headed to Bandar Puteri instead. The visit took longer than usual because the doctor was more than half an hour late getting in. Whenever we are in the area, we always go for the delicious Teochew fishball noodles at You Fishball Noodles. Can't beat the texture because no flour is added into the saitou fish meat.





Robbie, an IG friend of SimonLover and I was in town. He was on vacation with his Malaysian hubby, and Kuala Lumpur was the last leg of their journey before returning to Melbourne. A good opportunity to meet him in person. Mum dropped me off at the LRT station on her way out to a meeting. I got off at Plaza Rakyat, and walked the rest of the way to Merchant's Lane. Not a great idea as the sun was really merciless that afternoon. Took me some time to find the place as it was my first time there. Found a small sign with the words "We are beside a stationery shop, with a teal door". Felt like I was on a treasure hunt. Finally found the staircase. The mirror sign didn't make it easy to spot.



The waiting list was no joke as a line had formed halfway down the wooden stairs. Mostly teenagers and young adults. SimonLover and Robbie were already there and they had already eaten. And there was a surprise tag-along, e10, SimonLover's sun-kissed housemate. Robbie was as charming in person as he is online. Unfortunately we didn't get to meet his husband as he was resting in the hotel nursing a sore throat. I wasn't really hungry so I had an iced latte with a slice of cake. The Vanilla Chocolate Salted Caramel cake tasted pretty good, but it had trouble staying together in one piece. Like the other gentrified, hipster cafes, Merchant's Lane maintained its old world charm while injecting some modern design. The place is made up of three distinct sections with its own characteristics. Imagine having spiral incense as decoration.



Once we had eaten, it was time to see the sights. The first stop was the Chan She Shu Yuen Clan Ancestral Hall. Although small, the architecture is traditionally ornate. The skyline is dominated by the PNB 118 building which is still under construction. Sticks out like a sore thumb.





We double backed up Jalan Petaling and made a detour into Kwai Chai Hong, KL's latest tourist spot. A dilapidated alley and drug addicts den was cleaned up and transformed into a photo-op corner, kinda like a mini Concubine Lane. What can you expect to see there? Well, some murals, a fake wooden bridge, lanterns, and a hundred year old street light. While we were there, a bunch of fabulous geilou tourists came along and Robbie had a fine time picking out his favourite.







Moving on, we traversed Jalan Balai Polis, Jalan Panggong, Jalan Sultan, and out to Jalan Tun H. S. Lee. For the first time, I entered Sri Maha Mariamman Temple. Nothing much to see really, but it was a good place to sit down on the cool floor to escape the sweltering heat.





Lastly, we had a quick look at Guan Di Temple. That was when e10 had to leave for his doctor's appointment. Simon offerred to drive him, so we all walked back to the KLSCAH open air parking. Dropped him off at Imbi, while we proceeded to Lot 10 with our guest. Robbie wanted something local for tea time, so we went to Hutong. Simon and Robbie had tong sui and ABC, while I had a bowl of Soong Kee mixed beef soup. Our topic of interest is always sexy underwear and hot guys, that I didn't know that Robbie is a vegetarian. Siew bao was out of the question, so we got some egg tarts and kaya puffs as our tea time snacks.





After a long and sweaty afternoon, we walked Robbie back to the Westin Hotel and bid him farewell. I took the train back home. KH dropped by for a while during dinner. It was a rainy evening. He accompanied mum and I at Washoku.