will i am's delayed diary

On the second day of Year of the Rabbit, we made a trip to Bagan Sungai Burung to visit my maternal cousins. Did the usual visiting at the fishing village. For the first time ever, my cousin brought us to the nearby beach. The mind-blowing thing was that it was just a stone's throw from the old house. Just a short walk. Guess we never went there because it isn't a particularly beautiful beach. The government fortified it with stones to stop erosion. According to my cousin, its popular for wedding photography among the Malay community. That beach is close to the estuary of the Bernam River, so once in a while there would be tourists waving to us on their boats. Being a fresh spot, we took quite a number of photos. Would have taken more if not for the sweltering sun.  With the touristy things out of the way, it was time for a hearty home style seafood hotpot. Anticipating our arrival, my cousin laid crab traps at two in the morning, and brought home loads of flower crabs when the...

Tried my level best to catch up. Finally I'm blogging about 2023, although its 2024 in just a couple of days. No parties, no raves for New Year's Eve. Typical for me to spend it at church although in recent years, there's no fireworks or fellowship. Just the mandatory mass, and "Year in Review" video.  In the first week of 2023, there was already a wake service for a fellow BEC member. The death statistics have been higher than usual. On a happier note, the year started with a gathering at Apollo's house. His mum cooked up a storm again, and we had good bitching session. In terms of the Lunar Chinese New Year, preparations were heating up everywhere. The morning market was flooded with new year goodies, and students peddling calligraphy. Along with it, the signature traffic gridlock. At church, decorations were also in full swing with help from various Mandarin BECs. All sorts of design ideas were thrown around, and combined with a mash of whatever we could fi...

KH did all the necessary checking and found a BKT place in Klang that was open on the fifth day of CNY-- Restoran Weng Heong , one of approved entries in Gratitude's list. He treated us to a big, meaty breakfast, a mix of soup and dry BKT. Klang Food Centre was also open, so we also left with bags of pau . With nothing else better to do, we went to Central i-City for coffee. Thought Chong Kok would be open, but it wasn't. The Loaf came to our rescue instead. The shopping scene there was also pretty lame, but the CNY decorations of choice was really quite unique, incorporating very stylized illustrations by Phannapast Taychamaythakool, a Thai artist.  Walked into Nale for a fried nasi lemak lunch and was later greeted to a familiar face-- Namewee . Turns out he was there with the case the cast of Nasi Lemak 1.0 which ironically is the sequel to Nasi Lemak 2.0. Since we had nothing better to do, we stayed on for the promotional junket at the center court. From our observatio...

I agreed to join KH's friends for a lousang dinner on the 4th day of CNY. Started off at OUG to pick up Terrance. Had the chance to play with his fat British Shorthair called Tigger. Definitely not the friendliest of animals. Huge, furry thighs. From there, we carpooled with another friend and headed to Restoran Siu Siu . It was a full house.   One of the guys had a 'license to drink' that night, so we continued on ay Monkey Bar , Taman Danau Desa. where Terrance's boyfriend, Phillip joined us. Somehow the conversation of the night centered a lot around dating gay dentists. And it was such a coincidence that I bumped into ex-General Manager over there. Wonder if he noticed that KH was busy feeling up my thighs. 

As usual, Reunion 2.0 was organized at my place after The Tribe was back from BIL's hometown of Melaka. Both KH and SK were also invited to the lunch. Plenty of food to go around. Little Monster was in a foul mood because he was trying to mimic a hamster's sleep cycle. Angpau's all around and even Henry the hamster was not left out. And of course we went out hunting for a cafe ( we don't gamble, and not like we watch much TV anymore ) because the weather was to oppressive to stay in.  Torte by Linda proved to an excellent place to chill on a sweltering CNY afternoon. Amazing drinks at great prices. When it's CNY, go visit the Malay-owned joints, when its Raya, go look for the Chinese. Haha.  In the evening, we were out again. This time for some Hokkien Mee at Damansara Uptown Hokkien Noodles . Well, not like we were craving for it, just that there weren't many shops doing business during the holiday period. My nephews didn't like the choice, so they were sa...

Chinese New Year Mass was reinstated in the Year of the Tiger, after a pause caused by the pandemic. The liturgy was pretty much the same, except for the limited seating, and SOPs. The seat registration ran out faster than a BTS concert. Thankfully, I was part of the Hospitality Ministry, so I was guaranteed a place. Not so hectic like years past as some things were scaled down, with the exception for the decorations. Someone sponsored a few hundred outdoor electric lanterns, and the CNY centerpiece that the BECs set up outside the church entrance had to be redone because a freak storm mad a mess of things. For the first time, the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur celebrated the CNY mass at my church.  Just like the CNY mass, Apollo's CNY lunch was also brought back. However, Apollo's mum did a hotpot version instead of her usual dishes. There were some special ingredients like her homemade century egg dumplings, and  yu fu.  Lovely to be able to gather for CNY again. Missed the...

The pandemic was still in full swing, so my brother was still stuck in Singapore. 2022's reunion dinner was just my mum and I. Even so, we had a table full of food. Mum downgraded the menu a littttleeeeee bit. On KH's end, he arranged dinner with some relatives at Copper Mansion. For some years now he had been hoping that we can join our reunion dinners, but my mother still prefers it to be a 'family' thing. A quiet affair, but we still enjoyed dinner and drinks. Even took a short video to share with the Tribe. A little later, KH came over to spend some time. Mum dug out the Monsters' old stash of firecrackers, and we got started on the King Cats, Small Bees, and Pop-Pops, I even set up a tripod for some light painting. Took some photos together, and KH chose one of the more lovey-dovey shots to send out as his WhatsApp CNY greeting. *sweat* 

On the last weekend before CNY, mum and I went to the Gardens Mall after church. The exodus was already in full swing, so the roads and malls were quieter than usual. Perfect time to camwhore at the mall decorations. It was also a fruitful last minute shopping trip for mum and I. Managed to get some new clothes for the season. The pinstripe pants did make my ass look good, and a flowery satin shirt that is definitely something out of place in my wardrobe. Unlike the straight boys, I didn't need to raid the underwear shelves at the department stores. Underwear shopping happens all year round for me. Haha. Never a shortage of new underwear. All that walking around really worked up an appetite, and it didn't help that we had a light lunch. Stopped for French toast and coffee at Hoshino Coffee . The retro booth concept is great for privacy. It was already pretty late by the time we got out, so why not have dinner before going home. Brought mum to Sumitaba at Bukit Jalil for a grill...

The whole Lunar Chinese New Year went by without us visiting malls to admire the seasonal decorations. Although times are bad, the malls didn't crimp on their budget. Best thing was, they weren't in a hurry to take down the decorations. Maybe a way to attract more customers. One Utama did an exceptional job setting up a Forbidden City meets hanami scene. It was very photogenic, and I was surprised that many of the visitors engaged in the traditional activities that were prepared-- Chinese chess, jianzi , and pitch-pot .  A few hours walking around One Utama, and my legs were spent. Need to get my 'shopping mall legs' back. Also noticed that One Utama has a new mini extension near One World Hotel.  In the evening, went over to MaisonSK 2.0 for a dinner party. Apollo joined us for a dinner with steamed crabs, Cordyceps flower soup, and stewed pork tendon. SK took the chance to show-off her handy work having installed DIY vinyl flooring strips in her study room. The end r...

CNY was an excuse to meet up and have good food, and drink. Danny organized lunch at his favourite restaurant, Seafood Legend ( formerly-known as F1 Kitchen ). KH and I just brought our stomach capacity, while Ivan brought a bottle of Yamazaki whisky and Qinghua Fenjiu baijiu . The get-together was also a chance to celebrate his life planner qualification to Court of the Table. We toasted to Danny's continued step up in his career. Ivan had a recent upgrade too-- fatherhood, and it showed on his face. Haha. The food was amazing, and the chilled Yamazaki was really smooth.   It was a late lunch, so by the time I got home, it was already 4-ish. Together with mum, we went to our next appointment-- a CNY visit to Apollo's house. Although we couldn't have our usual CNY lunch, a quick visit was a good substitute. Every time we go to Apollo's house, his garden seems to get bigger and bigger! Since we were in Petaling Jaya, KH suggested that we try Pepo Pizza . The place is hi...

Malaysia was still in the tight grip of the pandemic, so the international borders were still closed. For the first time, my brother was not home for reunion dinner. He was stuck in Singapore, ordering take out for dinner with his flat-mates, Although my brother couldn't make it, we were joined by SK. The Tribe organized their own reunion hotpot dinner, and KH ate with his parents. Since last year. he had wanted us to have a joint reunion dinner. I didn't agree in 2020, and this year, the SOPs answered on my behalf. On the eve of the Chinese New Year, I was busy outside washing the cars, cleaning the carpets, and vacuuming the interiors, while mum was busy in the kitchen preparing dish after dish of yummy food. By the time I was done, I felt that the sun had nearly fried my brains.  Although there was only three of us, that never stopped mum from cooking up a feast. Here's what we had on the table: Pepper pig stomach soup Fried Threadfin Steamed Cod Pan-fried scallops and p...

Once again, I was at Bandar Rimbayu for a party with SK's ex-colleagues. The potluck luncheon was to celebrate Chap Goh Mei, marking the end of CNY, and to fete the February babies. The host prepared some delicious dishes like kam heong prawns, vinegar pork trotters ( with black beans ), steamed pomfret, and a luxurious dish of abalone and scallops in brown sauce. SK brought a dish rice wine chicken, while another guest came with osmanthus-goji konnyaku jelly. For dessert, we had birthday cake with kopi o .  Come evening, KH brought mum and I to Dong Zhen Temple in Jenjarom. It was his second visit in the span of the week. He had just visited with his mum. Before admiring the lights at the Buddhist temple, we had dinner at Ban Siew Keng, a Taoist temple along the main road. The plaza in front of the temple was transformed into a Taiwanese night market complete with food stalls and carnival games. At the side were permanent structures that housed various food vendors. We chose to e...

The celebration of Renri , or literally People's Day, dates back to the Han Dynasty. The 7th day of the Lunar New Year, marks the creation of mankind, literally everyone's birthday. Before lou sang became generic affair, it was customary to lou sang on Renri . This year, I joined a bunch of sisters whom I never met before. Every month, they have a sharing session, discussing about various topics affecting the gay community. Primarily a Chinese-speaking group. Surprised that KH actually can fit in. They organized a dinner at Restoran Sek Yuen , one of KL's oldest Cantonese restaurants ( since 1948 ). The restaurant along Jalan Pudu now occupies three shop lots, and on that night, they seemed to be operating at full capacity. Our party occupied three tables on the second, and boy was it cramped ( the good 'ol pre-Covide-19 days ). KH introduced me to all the fabulous guests. I only knew three of them, the rest were all fresh faces. I had to be on my best behaviour. :P. ...

Gratitude came all the way from Klang to treat us to a CNY lunch at Restoran Jing Man Lou in Seri Kembangan . It was a shocker to find that the whole restaurant was crawling with multi-coloured Styrofoam dragons. A few tables were occupied, but hardly full. The CNY menu was also limited which did not please our host.    The main point was to have lou sang , and of course have a pot of waxed meat rice. The food wasn't very impressive, but perhaps it was because we didn't order their signature set which is a 10-dish platter with one soup in the middle.    As though the meal wasn't enough, we went to Day Nine Kitchen for coffee and dessert.   SK's stomach is like a black hole, she could still order bagels immediately after a heavy lunch.   Back home, I put up customized Catholic CNY couplets that I requested from my secondary schoolmate. SK collected it from him during her recent trip to Kuantan. 

The second day of CNY fell on a Sunday, so we were at church for the second day in a row. From church, we immediately set out to Teluk Intan for a day trip. My body was creaming for coffee, so we made a short stop at one of the larger Shell stations along the North-South Highway for Costa. Truly an overpriced cup of coffee. Weak. The moment we exited the highway at Sungkai, we saw a huge commotion by the side of the road. Loads of people of were stopping to have lunch at Nasi Bambu Sungai Klah . Heck, why not give it a try. My brother loves Malay food anyway. The place is like a huge mess hall. Although it's open air, the interior was super stuffy. Twin queues start right at the entrance. There's small table stacked with large stainless steel trays in between both lines. Mum and bro took the left queue, while I took the right queue. The right queue was for the grilled section. Among the specialties there were kambing salai buluh perindu , ayam percik , ayam nusantara ...

The first day of the Lunar Chinese New Year is always a tiring day for me. We'll be at church bright and early to help out with all the preparations : Moving a few hundred kilograms of mandarin oranges into place at the side of the altar. Arranging extra chairs outside the church. And make preparations for the Rite of Commemoration of Ancestors after mass proper. Here's an excerpt from the Herald :  Since giving respect to the family’s ancestors is also vital to Chinese New Year, the Rite of Commemoration of ancestors began after the final blessing. First an introduction on it was given, detailing why departed relatives are remembered with great  respect — because they were responsible for laying the foundations for the family. Honouring the ancestors on the first day of Chinese New Year is a way of fulfilling filial piety. It is a tradition of the church to offer special prayers to our departed loved ones during Mass. The rite of commemoration of the anc...