will i am's delayed diary

When I first got my Almera, I scratched it at church against a pillar. That was the right side. So like a good Christian, I turned the other cheek, and scratched the left side as well. That happened against a wall at the wet market's multi-level car park. My heart sank when I heard the groaning of metal against concrete. Ugh. The damage was worse than the right side. Oh well. The body and paint work would cost a bomb so... I'll just let it be for now. As much as I tried to forget about the whole incident with the car, it still managed to make my Mee Kolok and  Laksa Sarawak lunch at Rumah Asap Tan 16 a little less fantastic. By dinner time, I was feeling much better and enjoying my Japanese meal at Uroko . It was SK's first time there and she was quite impressed by their Salmon Ball Salad and kushiyaki . Since Happy Mansion was nearby, we went there for some coffee and cake before calling it a night. Tried Good Blue Men and we weren't disappointed by

I was on leave again, and the kids were at my house. Brought them out to breakfast at Restoran Hao Peng You at Taman Damai Utama. Big Monster complained that the nasi lemak was tasteless, but he finished most of it anyway ( + yu tiao ). The little one, finished one big bowl of wantan mee , while mum and I shared a bowl of fish head noodles. Somehow, MYR6 for a bowl of wantan mee sounded kinda alien to my ears. Was it that long since I ate out? Next was a trip to Giant Bandar Kinrara 5 for some grocery shopping. Amazed that the Christmas decorations weren't half bad. Think they got their suppliers to sponsor it. Giant set up a Christmas cabin, and beside it was a large Thomas Train carrying loads of Kit Kats and M&Ms. Carlsberg also had their own cabin made out of beer cans. Something a witch would do to lure unsuspecting alcoholics in the forest. Lunch was chicken rice at Restoran Kong Sai , Taman Equine. The Monsters were too rambunctious so I kinda let a parental roar sl

For the longest time, mum and I had not visited Paradigm Mall after Sunday mass. Not wanting to hurt its feelings, we made a trip there on the second Sunday of November. Wanted to have something light, so we went to Sushi Zanmai , which I must admit was a mistake. Sad that their standards had dropped so much. I ordered a plate of hamachi nigiri sushi , and when it came, it looked like someone just took randomly slice piece of fish and dumped it on sushi rice! And I was even lucky enough to have an add-on of ebiko on the fish. The contract between Paradigm Mall and AirAsia BIG has also ended, so one can no longer collect BIG points from expenses at the mall. In the evening, MaisonSK hosted dinner again, with the usual faces-- Apollo and QueerRanter-D. But we had a special guest that evening, Gratitude who had come all the way from Klang. Dinner was followed by a platter of cured sausages with figs, apples, and cheese. I also took the opportunity to organize a Nu Skin ageLoc spa p

Traffic warden duty at church is one of the least desirable, but the rainy weather made things easier in a way. At least I did not need to deal with the sweltering heat. Carrying around an umbrella is simple enough to keep dry. When my mother and brother came out, I asked them what's for lunch. Mum suggested Japanese food. Racked my brain for a good option. Thought about Uroko, but I'm kinda bored with that. Picked KH's brain instead. He suggested that we go to Uokatsu at Plaza Damas. FYI, it's opposite Hartamas Shopping Center. Just take the bridge, and the shop is just a few doors left. Uokatsu is a no-frills Japanese restaurant. No fancy decorations here, and the whole place is wafting with the smell of dashi . Everything is practical. Sit, order, and eat. Even the menu had no pictures, just a piece of A4 paper. Since there were no visual cues, we just made some random choices with some input from the helpful waitress. We had a mixture of items-- sashimi platter,

It's been increasingly hard to meet KH these days although we are no longer in an LDR. But that doesn't stop us from putting in extra effort to make things happen. In a few days, he would be taking a flight to San Francisco for the Nu Skin Global Convention in Utah, so he took me out for an early birthday dinner. At first he suggested an Italian restaurant near my office but I felt that it was too expensive. In the end, we went to Komura in Corus Hotel ( an option for a post-dinner check-in? ). Neither of us dined there before, so it would be a surprise. Komura looks like a small Japanese village with cobble stone walkways and thatched roofs. There are no tables in an open area. Every table is enclosed in a tiny 'house' ( tatami room ). Such a concept gives privacy to everyone ( smooch all you like, but keep an ear out for a rap on the screen door ), but if you're claustrophobic, then its not the place for you. Food quality was pretty good, and the waitresses did

The market was kinda quiet during the Malaysia Day weekend. Less cars, more parking. Tell-tale signs of the coming Mid-autumn Festival was also evident with sale of mooncakes, pomelos, lanterns, and chu chai peng . I wouldn't say that the sale of those items were exceptionally brisk. Kinda expected with the current sluggish economy. During my Friday night paktor session with KH at Kuchai Entrepreneur's Park, we drove past Village Sang Nyuk Noodles . Recognized it from those sponsored posts on Facebook, Gourmet Hunter KL, I Love Malaysian Food, and it's many cousins. Decided to give it a try for my post-market breakfast stop. We ordered both varieties, the Sang Nyuk Noodles ( soup ) and Hakka Noodles ( dry ). If you're the the type who likes the broth porky, then this is the place for you. I disliked the Hakka Noodles because the sauce was too sweet. For MYR7, you get a good portion of sliced pork ( tender and smooth, but the texture is a bit too soft ), intestines, l

Once in a while, we would meet up with Gratitude and his mother over dinner. Arrangements were made by SK and we met at Papasan Canteen , Kuchai Lama. Thankfully, Gratitude was happy with the food and the prices. Mother Theresa also approved. Lucky for us, SK made a table reservation because the place was packed. The favourite of the night was the salmon mentai maki. Coincidentally, we also bumped into Vinz who was there with a group of friends. Turns out that Vinz knows the owners. Seeing that we know Vinz, the owners sent over free ice cream! Wow! The next time I go there, I definitely need to do some name dropping.

First world problems: What to have for lunch after church? Some times I would just drive with no destination in mind, and I would suddenly get inspiration. Mum and I ended up at Uroko , which was quite a good choice because it's near my church, and I always wanted to give it a revisit to try the raw seafood on their menu. The sashimi moriawase was definitely worth it. The menu states 16 pieces, but I think we got 20 pieces. Other than that, we ordered grilled mentai prawn, grilled beef, and soft-shell crab salad. There were big, big chunks of crab in the salad... so meaty! Lunch was with mum, so dinner was with KH. Made a radical choice for dinner-- native East Malaysian cuisine, a taste of Borneo. Thirty seven years as a Malaysian, and I never once tried this variety of food although I had tasted food from faraway countries! When we entered Javian Kitchen at Taman Equine, it was pretty quiet. Both of us did not have any experience with this type of cooking, so we just

Saturday was spent at the market as usual. Normalcy had returned with the passing of the peak of Raya celebrations. People were getting back to work and the market saw a glut of fresh produce, bringing the prices down. The face of the OUG morning market is constantly in flux. The latest addition is a food truck selling cakes. The truck was decorated in such a way that it would look perfect in a carnival. Lets see if it will survive. My breakfast was a plate of wantan noodles from Daniel's stall. Mum just ate a couple of hard-boiled eggs and knicked some charsiew off my plate. Mum had a more proper meal during lunch. With the ingredients she bought at the market, she whipped up two hot bowls of YTF topped with chicken and hard-boiled egg-- one clear soup, and one curry. A very satisfying meal. Been wanting to try Uroko , so I brought my mum there. Never noticed those shops, must be new. Few years back, I used to take that route from Section 17 to bypass the toll when h