will i am's delayed diary

On Friday night, mum and The Tribe took a flight to Shanghai for a week-long vacation. That gave KH and I the perfect chance to have a 'vacation' of our own. More about that in a bit. On Saturday morning, I woke up bright and early to get to the dentist. Been more than a year since my last scaling and polishing session. By 8:00 AM, I was at Drs Wong and Partners ' HQ at Sri Petaling. Since Dr Wong only took walk-in patients on Saturday, I cranked up my kiasu -ness. Little did I realise that I lapsed into ultra- kiasu ness ( to quote Ridhuan Tee ). I was even earlier than the nurses. Basically waited for an hour before I could even take a number. And another forty minutes before I was in the chair. Gosh. In the treatment room, the nurse prepped me with a pair goggles and a bib. The goggles were something new. She then told me to be patient as Dr Wong would make an appearance shortly. When she recounted a story about a patient who stormed out of the chair due to lack of...

It's not often that I get to celebrate KH's birthday on the exact date. So when the opportunity presented itself, we arranged something special. Right after work on a rainy Friday evening, we made our way to The Table , Isetan the Japan Store. The Table is Isetan's latest offering of an eclectic collection of Japanese restaurants on the fourth floor. The whole floor had very subdued lighting with a ceiling that was an organised mass of noren . Out of the 5 restaurants there, KH chose Sushi Azabu , a traditional restaurant that specialises in Edo-mae style sushi. Edo-mae is basically old style Tokyo. Another interesting fact is that Sushi Azabu's mother restaurant is in New York, and was accorded a Michelin star! At 6:30 PM, we were the first customers. Both chefs welcomed us, Chef Toshihide Terado and Chef Saito Makoto Sam. We took the best seats in the house, right at the sushi counter where one can watch the master at work. KH chose the Omakase while I went ...

When choosing a location for Sunday post-church shopping, I rarely ever consider Suria KLCC. So when I brought mum there, it was a fresh experience for her. It had been years since she set eyes on the Petronas Twin Towers. Lunch was at Miss Kwan's where we had curry noodles and nasi lemak. Mum had a productive time at Isetan buying some clothes and facial care products. It's interesting that camera film companies are dabbling in skin care now. With the advent of digital photography, consumers no longer have need for camera film and only a minority develop photos anymore. Understandably, that was a painful crunch for companies like Kodak and Fujifilm. However, some of them have bounced back and retrofitted their extensive research in photography to skin care. Interesting ain't it? Fujifilm's foray into facial care products is spearheaded by its brand Astalift , which mum bought. Some months back, a conveyor belt sushi restaurant called Sakura Sushi opened in Band...

Some three years ago, BIL's sister purchased a condominium at V Residence , off Old Klang Road as an investment. Recently, she took vacant possession of the unit and we were invited to go take a look at it. V Residence is actually located right behind Pearl Suria Shopping Gallery. The access roads are a little icky due to its close proximity with the old residential area at United Garden. However, things were quite good within the compound. Although not completed, the lobby looks pretty classy with a modern design and water features. The workmanship was also beyond my expectation. The unit was partially furnished with a completely working kitchen, done up bathrooms, and cabinets in all the rooms. Air conditioners were also provided for the whole place. Not much of a view from the balcony because it was blocked by Pearl Suria Residence. Oh well. Also checked out the facilities-- an infinity pool that ran along one corner of the building and a sky garden. Mum and I went for l...

I first met Ry in 2007 when he was with YKLS . Quite an impressive fellow-- high flying corporate figure and dragon-boater, who cooks and works in the arts. Since that one show, I had not met him or watched him perform till a decade later! On a whim, KH and I went to catch his Friday show of "Life Sdn. Bhd." at KLPAC. While on the road, we bought the tickets off TicketPro. Dinner was settled at Scrummy , a cafe that didn't seem very popular. Our waiter was quite green with an inability to describe most of the items on the menu. And I would even venture to say that he does not even know how to take an order properly. That kinda explains the food blogger event going on at the other end of the premises to try hype things up a bit. The spicy seafood pasta that I ordered wasn't half bad, and KH's chicken chop was decent too. When I told Nicky05 that I was dining there, he hissed his disapproval! According to him, the place never had a following and he suspects that i...

SK's birthday was in the fourth week of February, but scheduling clashes pushed her availability to the last week of month. Since that was the case, her birthday celebration was combined with KH whose birthday was in the second week of March. No point mobilizing the BFF twice in such a short period. KH chose Marta's Kitchen , a popular place for paella and tapas in Desa Sri Hartamas. The restaurant is actually located inside The Signature Desa Sri Hartamas, a hotel cum serviced apartment. At first, we wanted to park at the basement car park, but we quickly backed out after seeing the charges-- MYR10 for the first hour and MYR5 for subsequent hours. Daylight robbery. The place was already packed with customers at 7:00 PM. Seems to be a favourite with expatriate families in the neighbourhood. No wonder they kept asking me to take the table at the verandah for 'my comfort' as the interior was quite packed. Not much space to maneuver. At first, I made reservations for...

One week after having the roast pork at Wayne's Cafe , I was back there with mum and Little Monster. Little Monster wasn't very impressed with it. We had capacity for more food, so we hopped over to Menya Hanabi just a few doors away. Gave it a try since it was newly-opened. Unfortunately, the menu was very limited. One item, and one item only-- dry soba. But that's their signature item and they are good at it. The bowl of dry soba was topped with nori , negi , charsiu , minced meat ( that they call the Nagoya mince ), raw egg, and ajitama (a freebie for  liking their FB page ). The staff took pains to explain how best to enjoy the meal. First, I mixed it all up and took a bite in the original form. Secondly, I tried with chili powder. Thirdly, I doused the soba with vinegar that had been infused with chili and kelp. At the end, there was still ample gravy and minced meat at the bottom of the bowl. I handed the bowl over to the staff behind the counter and they put in a...