will i am's delayed diary

SeputehDAP Swiped from williamnyk . Note: I hope this is not too late... For the past month, I had attended two DAP Seputih Community Center Building Fund dinners. Not that I'm affiliated with Teresa Kok's (affectionately known as Seputeh's MUlan) political rocketry, but was there to "return a favour" as Chinese would say. Both dinners were held at Thean Hou Temple and was attended by many supporters especially from the Chinese community. It's always fun going to these dinners as we get to see a side of politics that is not usually reported by the media. The structure of these gathering are always the same. Fiery speeches, multimedia presentations, video clips of MPs arguing in the Dewan Rakyat ( definitely more interesting than the ones the show you on Bulletin Utama ), live performances (sometimes), karaoke (usually by the MPs to raise some funds) and a good old traditional Chinese course dinner ("cold plate", Tom Yam Prawns, Braised Pork Knuckl...

I received shocking news at work today. SK called to say that my mother had been robbed somewhere in Dato' Keramat . Luckily, she emerged from the ordeal unharmed and safe, sans a little cash, some jewellery and her handphone. A stroke of bad luck and even worst sampah masyarakat . She went for an art expo at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, Jalan Maharajalela and took a wrong turn while trying to get home. She's quite unfamiliar with the road and the road signs are practically Greek to her, so she ended up on Jalan Ipoh-Jalan Ampang. Whilst jamming on a 3-lane road, a Chinese crook got in at the passenger side. For some unknown reason, she did not lock the car doors that day, hence the whole ugly episode. The skinny Chinese crook discreetly took out a knife and asked her to drive on. The celaka was careful not to arouse the attention of the vehicles beside them. But truth be told, the drivers behind would have noticed something amiss, but as expexcted, nobody would really...

Serviette Swiped from williamnyk . Celebrated Mel's 26th birthday last Saturday and it was a celebration steeped in tradition. Will-Mel tradition that is. Minimal guests ( planned to have 2 others, but the mutant flu virus currently devastating the Klang Valley had rendered both of 'em bed-ridden ). Great lunch. Chit-chat over coffee. Fini . It sounds simple, but it always works. Lunch was at Melaka Street Restaurant , the exact same location I had my birthday lunch last month. No complaints, the food's real good. Mostly spicy numbers. All great with rice. The original plan was TGIF, but... KK: Lunch at TGIF?! Pelik la... Cla: I want! I want! Never had it before... Mel: Err, if we go there, it's gonna be the 3rd year in a row I celebrated my birthday at TGIF... Since KK and Cla were a KKM statistic, we changed the venue. So easy planning something when there's only two. :P. This time round, we ordered Nyonya brinjal ( stir-fried with baby prawns, stir-fried to a d...

ku2 Swiped from williamnyk . After getting sick of all the cheap eating establishments in the vicinity of Plaza Vads (the artiste formerly known as Prince, oh wait, the building formerly known as Plaza IBM), I decided to try a slightly more upmarket alternative-- 18th-20th Century Restaurant . Weird name. Don't worry, you won't see this on the menu: Mee Goreng, circa 1910 . The shop's interior is very Old Town and woody. Marble-topped tables, rattan stools, wooden goldfish chairs ( you know what I mean, right? ), birdcages, the works. It was even graced by Maria Tengku Sabri of Jalan-Jalan Cari Makan . It certainly looks nice, but the food is not very satisfactory. I ordered the set lunch (RM13++). It came with an appetizer of fried springroll, fried wanton or chu cheong fun . The main dish was "Sweet & Sour Fish with Chinese Fried Rice". As you can see from the picture, the plates are over-sized, and the food portion is like hors d' ouvres . I was defin...

dodol Swiped from williamnyk . What am I holding in my hand? 1) A mortar shell 2) A dildo 3) An ear of corn 4) An oversized suppository 5) salami 6) One of the magic beans from "Jack and the Beanstalk" Well, it's actually dodol in a fancy dried-leaf packaging. So Elven waybread, right? I bought it for my brother for when he came back after the Raya holidays. Me: Hey bang, nak saya belikan dodol dan lemang? Bro: What kind of question is that?! Of course buy la! He always tells me that he's deprived of good Malay food in Singapore. Can't find a decent nasi lemak , etc... But truth be told, KL food ain't that great. Banyak tipu-tipu. It seems that every Tom, Dick and Harry can open a stall to sell substandard traditional fare-- Penang Laksa la, Nasi Dagang Kelantan la, Laksam la, Nasi Kerabu la . KL-ites who miss their hometowns will just have to make do. Still can't beat the originals. Berbalik cakap pasal makanan Singapura , I'm really not used to th...

Rings Swiped from williamnyk . Ever since my home was burgled 2 years back (due to some negligence on our part and shoddy contruction), my mother has had an epiphany regarding jewellery and keeping valuebles at home. Although I was the biggest victim (lost some USD, IDR, MYR and my bro-in-law's handphone) and my mother only lost some worthless costume jewellery (which the burglar promptly dumped n the vacant house next door after he found out their true "value"), she never-the-less came up with a philosophy that buying jewellery is useless. If your jewellery is showy, you dare not wear it out for fear of snatch thieves. If you buy it and keep it under the mattress, you can't show it off and there is a chance that burglars will cart it away (even safes are no deterrent -- stories of thieves moving 50kg safes from 14th floor balconies, forcefully removing ATM machines, drilling into bank safety deposit box rooms even). It seems futile, but moderation is the key...

ytf1 Swiped from williamnyk . Much to the disdain of some of my readers, I must report that over the weekend, I was a gourmand again. A 180 degree turn from my usual cafe and restaurant visits, this time I was stuffing myself at grimy roadside establishments over at Puchong Bt 14 . A predominately industrial area with horrible roads and a "new village" feel to it, it has quite a few gems to offer. The first place I visited was Tai Yau -- a "big fry" shop. I had always wanted to try this place out ever since my olfactory senses caught a whiff of stewed pork wafting out of that place. Unfortunately, that place was quite a big disappointment. Obviously such places are not expected to get an "A" for hygiene, but that place is quite nasty. You know the concentrated garbage liquid that drips out of garbage trucks? That place has puddles out front, adding to the wonderful aroma of the food. The utensils are just as nasty. The kitchen, now don't go looking the...