will i am's delayed diary

  International Women's Day is celebrated on the 3rd of March, highlighting the importance of women's rights, and achievements. I remember that it was a Sunday, and I brought mum, the most important woman in my life, out to lunch at Ichiriki , The Gardens Mall. Our full pork lunch began with a decadent kurobuta katsu topped with grated cheese. Next came a belly-warming pot of motsunabe, filled to the brim with minced pork balls and tender pig stomach. Extremely satisfying. As the day wore on, it rained quite heavily. Mum and I stopped for a cup of latte at Jaya Grocer. As luck would have it, I bumped into my primary schoolmate from Kuantan there.  That was IWD lunch. IWD dinner was arranged with my mum's friend, whose son is one of the founding partners at Down To Bones . Guess the pork theme from lunch continued right through to dinner! She treated us to a nice dinner of signature pork ribs, and mushroom soup. I noticed that they have a new variety of pork ribs now that...

Free flat-screen TV from my credit card application. Fantastic deal from Standard Chartered and RinggitPlus. 

KH dropped this package in my lap when he picked me up from my office for lunch one Monday afternoon. That shibari package was actually from Janvier. A pair of underwear from the Private Structure warehouse sale back in September 2019. The pair of jammers had been aging on his cubicle for close to 6 months. Back then it was just MYR15 per pair. During the so-called MCO flash sale, it went for MYR25. Saved MYR10 to buy more underwear. LOL. For me, such long underwear is reserved for night use. The fit is good and the material is comfortable with a well-designed pouch. Thumbs up.

  Been a long time since mum and I visited Holy Family Church in Kajang. On the first Sunday of March, went there for the Rite of Election for the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur. Catechumens from the Klang Valley, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, and Terengganu congregated in Kajang for the important rite. It was presided over by Archbishop Julian Leow. Think that was the last big gathering for the Roman Catholic Church before the MCO. The rite ended at 4:30 PM, so it was kind of alang-alang ( neither here nor there ). Didn't want to waste the trip to Kajang. Decided to stay back for dinner, but we had a few hours to kill. Nearby was a new cafe named Shijian Canteen which looked pretty interesting. I ordered a hipster iced tea dubbed "Feeling Taste". I didn't know how to feel about that. LOL.    At 6 PM, we made our way to Kedai Makanan Wan Fatt which is located behind the Tin Hong Si Temple. Being one of the early birds, we easily secured a table at the famous r...

  Mum was treating us to a dim sum brunch, so she asked us to choose a location. KH made a few inquiries and he came back with the name Grand Imperial . We chose the branch at Sunway Velocity Mall, a place that we rarely venture to. Getting to the restaurant wasn't straight-forward as its location was unique. Followed the signs like it was treasure hunt. FYI, the restaurant is located on L5, but can only be accessed via a specific escalator / elevator on L4. After going through the menu, I came to the conclusion that Oriental Treasure had a more interesting menu. Anyway, if you ever go there, do order the jellyfish appetizer that's marinated with a 12-year black vinegar and wasabi. Excellent taste and texture. Har kaw and s iew mai are up to standard. The pan-fried radish cake was flat. XLB tasted good, but could use more soup. And don't bother with the snowy BBQ pork bun. Even a char chan teng like Fu Wah makes it better. Amazingly, we did quite a fair bit of shoppin...

   On Sunday morning, saw a sad post from my mum's friend on Facebook. It was an obituary for her ( mum's friend ) mother. Right after church and lunch, we made our way to Nirvana Memorial Centre to pay our last respects. At the lift lobby, I tried to find old lady's name in the parlour directory, but I wasn't successful. Going through the Facebook post again, I realized that we were at the wrong Nirvana! Gosh. Didn't know that there's a newer building at Bukit Seputeh, near the Kwong Tong Cemetery. The place is called Nirvana Life Centre. Since it was newer, it was also more posh. Many hotels don't even look half as good. Luxurious, with premium materials and workmanship. Mum's friend wasn't there as she was still out of the country. Didn't matter as mum knew a few of her siblings anyway. Turns out that the old lady choked on her breakfast... After a short prayer, chat, and a cup of black coffee, we left. Rest in peace, Aunty.

  Every year it's the same : goodbye CNY, hello Ching Ming . The morning market's prayer item merchants start stocking up on all sorts of Taoist paper offerings. Amidst all the 'traditional necessities' like Hell notes, and gold bars, new products do pop-up to match the times. This time round  I spied a premium Japanese sushi and sashimi platter on the shelves. And then I saw a lacy bra set complete with bling-bling. It got me thinking about the gei lou market. Someone needs to produce some chi chat jockstraps, harnesses, latex suits, and ... you get the picture. My afternoon was spent at KLSCAH, attending an event entitled "Spring Gathering and International Mother Language Day 2020". Pak Samad made an appearance, and even recited poetry. Several Chinese associations also showcased their dialects through songs, drama, and speech. A bunch of Rohingya children also sang a Malay song about their oppression at the hands of Burmese military and Buddhist extremi...

As usual, mum and I were roaming Paradigm Mall after church on Sunday. An 'angel' passed me a red helium balloon with heart-shaped chocolates anchoring it down. The boy was dressed like a like a white Dobby with wings. He was wearing white shorts underneath his thin 'pillowcase'. Should have went for a white G-string instead. I let the balloon float above my shoulder. When I was in PDI, a toddler actually followed me around. Guess Pennywise the Dancing Clown got it right. When we got tired, we sat down at Starbucks for coffee. Spotted Starbucks Shawn having a chat with his buddy. Looked pretty young and straight, wearing a Raglan T with sneakers. Is he your cup of coffee?

  SK recently received her bonus payout, so it was the perfect excuse to wine and dine. She treated mum, KH, Gratitude, and I to a modern tapas dinner at Little Pig . Started off the night with some red and white sangria, and then she started mowing through the menu! That's the fun thing about eating with SK. I recommended the Crispy Pork Belly Eel Bao, and she loved it so much that she made a repeat order. The simple dish of potato omelette was also surprising good. The grilled octopus came with a sauce that screamed Kayu Nasi Kandar. I'll let the photos do the talking!