will i am's delayed diary

Remember my cancelled trip to Danang due to well-timed cyclone? To make up for that, KH arranged a trip to Surabaya at the end of November. The itinerary included waterfalls, and volcanoes. Nothing too strenuous he assured me. The night before our departure, KH notified me of some bad news. Surely it wasn't another cyclone! Batik Air had chopped our direct flight to Surabaya into a transit at Jakarta! Because of that, our arrival would be late, making our schedule a little more hectic. The check-in queue at the airport wasn't too bad. And there was small consolation of a check-in cutie in my line of sight. Tall Thai boy from the looks of it. Pretty good leg room on the Batik Air flight, and we were given a cheese bun, and a muffin. At 4PM+7, we landed at Terminal 3 of Soekarno Hatta International Airport. Thinking back, it was 19 years since my last visit, and that terminal didn't exist back then. Pretty large and empty, and for some reason the airport authority has a th

2022's All Soul's Day trip happened on the 29th of October. In a departure from past years, we did not have breakfast at Lorong Maharani, but went to Kedai Kopi Ah Wah instead. Lorong Maharani has already declined to a state where there's not much to eat there anymore. But we still go there to buy Nasi Kunyit for dad. Also stopped by the wet market to get flowers.  Years of rain and shine had eroded the gold paint on dad's tombstone, so we had a touch up this year in addition to the regular grave sweeping, incensing, and prayer recitals. The weather was so hot during the end of October that we actually hid in a Starbucks for a couple of hours. Once we had cooled down, we headed to my maternal uncle's place. Big Monster was elated that my uncle had miku in stock. Lastly, we visited my paternal aunt, and by that time, the kids were already depleted. Before leaving Teluk Intan, BIL suggested that we make a stop at Glutton Square for the famous yutiao at Stall 52 .

Being the local foodies, the responsibility to keep Ashton well-fed fell onto KH and I. Sharky and his boyfriend also joined us to share the calories. We ventured to Klang to have BKT at Teluk Pulai on a rainy Deepavali morning. Once again, we failed to get a glimpse of the hunky son who chops the meat. With a food quorom of six, we could order the wet and dry varieties, and an extra serving of intestines and stomach. Naturally, we raided the Klang Food Centre pau shop after our meal.  There was no time for Ashton to digest his food as we immediately dragged him to Chong Kok Kopitiam for some old school coffee and toast. Although it has heritage status, frankly I'm not impressed with the place. As long as Ashton was satisfied with the Telur Goyang that he ordered. No kaya for him as his Taiwanese tongue doesn't fancy anything coconut-based. Kenji and Ashton rushed off to do some gadget shopping, but KH and I stayed a bit longer in the old part of town. Wandered into Laman

Being a cradle catholic, Cutiepie doesn't really celebrate Deepavali. For fun, she invited us over to her house for a Deepavali eve dinner party. Actually she expected us to dress up in ethnic wear, but I missed her cue. My bad. When we arrived at her place in Semenyih, she welcomed us in a resplendent black Punjabi suit, all decked out in jewellery. Fitting the theme of the Festival of Lights, the porch was decorated with oil lamps. Decked out on the dining table was her daughter's favourite vomit beans, prawns cooked in coconut cream, and stir-fried asparagus. The pets were also part of the festivities. Right after our meal, we headed out to play fireworks with the kids. Cutiepie's hubby exploded after he saw one of the sparklers get too close to the cars on the kerb, so we went to main jauh-jauh . Did our best to exhaust the supply of fireworks, and then headed back in for some apple strudel that KH bought from Klang!  

Kenji's hubby, Ashton flew all the way to Kuala Lumpur from Vancouver for a conjugal visit. :P. On the day of his arrival ( luckily he didn't seem too jet-lagged ), we had dinner with him at Grub by Ah Hong . Gordon Ramsay's Beef Wellington was all over social media at the time, so I guess that also inspired Kenji to pre-order Grub Hong's Beef Wellington that costs over RM400! Expensive, right? But still cheaper than Grodon Ramsay's. Chowed down lots and lots of beef that night, but I'm not really a fan. Stay tuned for how we stuff Ashton with Malaysian food in the coming posts. P.S.: Before dinner, KH actually dragged me out to WFH from Terrasse , a hidden cafe-resto located above Salon Uniseks Carnation. Our tea time was duck confit! XD  

The festivities for my birthday came to a close with an omakase dinner organized by SK. Red was the theme for the night, so I turned up in my Christmas pants.  Hisho is located in one of the deadest malls in town, DC Mall. Apollo knows the owners of the restaurant, so there was some special treatment. Frankly, it was one of the biggest omakase meals I had ever envountered. The first course was like a personal "Five Happiness" platter, and I was already half full after that. Portions were large, but truth be told, didn't taste very premium. Most importantly everyone had a great time. Until B43.  P.S.: The pastries in the first photo was from The Bread Shop . Made a stop there before dinner because we got out of the house pretty early.

Bear with me, this post is still on the topic of my 42nd birthday ( and my 43rd birthday ain't very far away lol ). Dearest KH planned a day out with me, just the two of us. He chose Lalaport BBCC because of the "teamLab: Resonating Microcosms:" art installation. Lalaport busier than usual that day because people were lining up to purchase Westlife concert tickets. The line started all the way in the middle of the mall right out to WoW Plaze where some were under the sun. Thought that concert ticketing is fully online these days. Wonder if it helps to deter scalpers. Funny thing was, the people who were queuing looked way too young for Westlife. Curious.  Before lunch, we headed up to the rooftop get sunburned. The recommended timing for the teamLab thing-y is in the evening, but we weren't particular about it. In the sun, it's a practically a field of shiny chrome Weebles that trigger sounds when you rock them. But I was also reminded of a field of metallic Xenom

Tater was in town again for 'work' and more importantly to spend time with friends! Impeccable timing as well because my 42nd birthday was coming up. Celebrated with a little 'pool party' at the Westin ( Tater missed the cute boys at the front desk ). Thank goodness for the awesome weather and sexy trunks. Our dinner plans were at Lai Ching Yuen , Grand Millennium Hotel. Realized that we seldom have Chinese food with Tater although he's such a rice queen. The restaurant was so empty that it felt like we had booked the whole place. Birthday boozing and coffee session was sponsored by Tater at 443 Bar Lounge .  Great ambience. When I got home and opened the present from Tater, I was wow-ed by the strappy harness style underwear that he got. Definitely need to shave before rocking that pair! Note: Sorry Tater for disrupting your diet plans!

The next morning, we freshened up and headed down for the buffet breakfast. Bumped into the same posse of geilous from yesterday. Once we had our fill, we walked over to the KTM building to admire its neo-Mughal architecture and do some cam-whoring. With nothing much left to do, we packed up, and checked out. Heard good things about Bray , so we gave it a try. Located at the quiet Menara See Hoy Chan, it would seem that they subsist on business from the developer's corporate office staff. The Seafood Stew with Saffron was pretty good (the pesto pairing a bit bizarre), but the ten sen face from the cashier really spoiled our appetite. Not impressed with the expensive almond hazelnut croissant. Unlikely that we would be making a repeat visit.  Waffles was next on our list, so we went looking for If Only . The location was a bit weird, so we had to double back a bit before we successfully found it. Our server was really friendly and she commented that KH and I looked like twins. That

Both KH and I were looking forward to our first overseas trip in a long time. We didn't brave that hellish passport renewal queue at Jalan Duta for nothing. Our tickets to Danang were for the 27th of September. Packed my bags, and ordered my Grab. But it was not to be. Super Typhoon Karding left the Philippines and made its way across the South China Sea, turning into Typhoon Noru. Noru was slated to make landfall at Danang on the 27th, on the same day of our scheduled arrival. Of course, the airport was closed, and all flights cancelled, and our travel plans were blown away by a strong gust of wind. My Grab driver was already halfway to my house when I called him to cancel. He was nice enough not to charge me a single sen. Dragged my luggage back upstairs with a hint of dejection. However, all was not lost. The ever resourceful KH immediately arranged a staycation. Packed my overnight bag, and headed to KL with KH, dressed in my short shorts and rainbow socks. Parked at Lot 10, a

Out of the blue, Sharky introduced a new friend to the group. The fella was a Malaysian who had spent a lot of his life in the UK. Recently, he relocated back to his kampung , and was eager to meet more friends. Met Kenni over dinner at 8Haus , Jalan Sin Chew Kee together with Kenji, and of course Sharky. Kenni told us that he had walked all the way from Jalan Petaling, which is something that most KL-ites would agree that is 2000 steps too many. Over dinner, we did some prying, and it was revealed that Kenni was back in Malaysia to reflect on his career choice as a child specialist. He was hoping that he could perhaps pursue something in the realm of dance. Totally different paths. As shocking as Kenji's liking for BKT although he says he doesn't like pork.  Years and years of reading about my food escapades, you would not be surprised to learn that our dinner extended to WUDI Cafe a few doors away ( too little carbs for the youngns ). Often there was a group of geilou on th

Whenever friends come visiting, I'm usually stumped as to where to bring them. In the end, it's always Jalan Alor. Such a lack of imagination I must admit, but it was a walk down memory lane for Nic and POD who were visiting from Singapore. In 2010, they stayed at the seedy Federal Hotel with its bad springs and busy hallways. Fast forward a dozen years later, this 'old married couple' was holed up at the JW Marriot. Definitely rounder and greyer. Haha. Jalan Alor had somehow evolved to a very touristy area with Sala Daeng vibes. Pretty shocked. Braved the crowds and gauntlet of of menus shoved into our faces to reach the restaurant at the far end of the road.  Great to catch up with them at Restoran W.A.W.  over the perennial favourites of grilled chicken wings, satay,  and roast pork noodles. Bunny ordered their ham choi soup and it was surprisingly good. Business was so good that after eating, it felt impossible to get the bill paid. Continued on at  Coffee Academi

When your hotel is just beside Taiping Lake Gardens , there is no excuse for not waking up early and having a nice walk around it. The historical park offers beautiful landscaping, and wonderfully fresh air. The old raintrees ( some so bowed down that the town council support them with steel crutches ) really give a distinct character to the place. Most people go jogging around it, some pull out a book to read, sitting on one of the many benches overlooking the lake. While others have a picnic on the grass with their family, and the select few dress up their cats in dresses and let them roam around ( not sure if pets are allowed actually ). After a round of strolling and camwhoring with the aunties, it was starting to get sunny. Retreated back to Medan Selera Tai Hu for breakfast. Breakfast there was even more disappointing than dinner.  Checked out from the hotel and headed to the Church of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart , which was actually under extensive renovations. They let us in

Covid put a two-year damper on my BEC outing plans. On Malaysia Day 2022, we were finally able to organize a short 2 day-1 night trip to Kuala Sepetang, Kuala Sangga, and Taiping. Surprisingly, two of my neighbours joined because they were intrigued by the itinerary. It didn't take long for our registration drive to fill up one express bus. On the morning of the 16th, we left KL a little late due to some stragglers, and encountered some congestion on the highway. An expected situation considering it was a long weekend. Lucky for us ( some would disagree ), our tour guide was a chatty fellow, so he could really talk and talk and talk. When the tour guide wasn't talking, we had onboard rosary prayers and KTV.   Arrived at Kuala Sepetang at 1 PM, so the bus directly dropped us at Xin Seafood Restaurant . Strategically located on the banks of Sungai Sepetang, we got to a great view to go with our seafood lunch. Once we had our fill of fish, cockles, prawns, calamari, crabs, and cla