will i am's delayed diary

The second day of the new year started off with another food coma. SK invited mum and I to an omakase dinner at  Chipta 11A Curated Dining . The location is unique~ right above a 7-11, and we visited on a Sunday, so the surrounding area had transformed into a night market. For our 6PM slot, we were joined by KH, and Apollo. SK managed to get us seated at the counter so we could watch the young chefs in action. Eye candy enhances the umami of any meal. Definitely enjoyed the experience. Good sake pairing, nice ambience, no pretentious servers, just the pure enjoyment of food.  P.S.: Who are you ordering for dinner?

Well, well, well, Will.I.Am has finally exploded into 2022, and its just Q1! An accomplishment worth celebrating? Haha. On the last day of 2021, I had a production migration that went a little south, but the team got it settled by midnight. Had to forego NYE party, but I would rather have my beauty sleep. On the first day of 2022, KH organized a lunch at Copper Mansion in Petaling Jaya. It was a nice Peking duck meal with mum, Connie, Little Connie, and KK. Business was brisk, with many people dining out. A good sign for the new year.  "Can Lou Sang or not?” "Sorry sir, not yet start"  Bwahahaha. 

Christmas is not complete without a pair of sexy underwear. Once again Guru B  posted me a Christmas gift from halfway around the world. This time, it was a PUMP jockstrap. I've never bought this Montreal brand before and I must say I'm impressed with the quality and the design. On the packaging it says "Perfect For Selfies". Gotta believe that. Thanks so much! Got a bag of coffee beans from my office gift exchange. Not good for selfies, but definitely something that I appreciate. 

'Twas a short trip, we check out on Boxing Day. We picked up mum as well, as The Tribe was not done with their travels. First activity of the day was breakfast at the famous Cecil Street Market . Many stalls were not open, and it was a Sunday. Does not compute. We found a table near the entrance, and went hunting for food. I queued for Lum Lai Duck Meat Koay Teow Th’ng , while KH joined the queue for Chulia Street Curry Noodles. My queue cleared pretty quickly, and I managed to carry the hot bowl of soup noodles back to the table with my shaky hands. KH didn't enjoy my success, and gave up because his line didn't move. He returned with Hokkien Mee instead. Many of the market's kuih stalls were near our table, so we had an easy time to make a selection. I made another round, and randomly bought a packet of nasi lemak from a grumpy old lady. I didn't quite get the price, so I just gave her RM50, and I got a balance of RM47.50 back. The price shocked me because it came...

KH took a long nap, but I fiddled with my phone instead. Our dinner plans were at Kirishima , Cititel. The Japanese restaurant was an easy walk from our hotel, passing by the famous Chowrasta Market. Only after we were seated that KH made a funny face and declared that he chose the wrong venue. A glitch in his memory. LOL. Managed to meet up with Pooh, and Drew2.0, who is a friends with KH ( very young, still studying ). Not impressed with the food. Got Drew2.0 to recommend us a place for drinks and he didn't disappoint. He led us to Chulia Street which was pretty happening. Parking was a bit of a challenge, but we managed to get a spot, and walk the rest of the way.  The LGBT speakeasy bar was located at a back lane, and we were buzzed in. A very intimate setting, just like a Japanese Izakaya place. Everyone sat at the bar counter ( and everyone seemed to know each other ), with the raucous bartender duo as the focal point. Didn't know what to order, so we just let the bartend...

Bright and early the next morning, we ventured to Kafe Ping Hooi for breakfast with The Tribe. The place is home to Tiger Char Kway Teow, KH's top pick for his Penang CKT fix. The place is definitely maintains an old school vibe with wooden booths and vintage mosaic flooring. The Loh Bak is also quite amazing. Cutiepie's parents had invited us to a Christmas lunch at their house, so we had find a place to kill some time. Queensbay Mall was pretty close to Paya Terubong, so that was our pick. Their creative director's choice of fire-red Christmas trees is really out of this world. Wonder if the decision is related to the fact that CNY is hot on the heels of Christmas. Did some aimless shopping, and later ended up at Coffee Bean for our daily allowance of caffeine.  It was nice to visit Cutiepie's childhood home, and see how a traditional Catholic household celebrates Christmas. Glad to see her parents, and I got to meet her sister too. The hot day was remedied with cold...

One power nap later, KH and I were ready to start our Penang adventure. First order of business was dinner. The Tribe and my mum were already waiting for us at Lorong Baru , which was just a short walk away from our hotel. Plenty of good food at that open air night market. Before I tucked into those Penang goodies, I started with curry noodles that my sister packed from Kuala Sepetang. Who would have thought that a pack of cold curry noodles could taste so good? Imagine when its piping hot! According to my mum, the curry is made from a seafood stock that's full of prawns! Then we started on the yummy Penang food~ Char Kway Teow , Lobak , ABC ( the syrup they use is out of this world ), and the vile Heko CCF . And it was such a small world that we bumped into Sol at the makan-makan place. We still had time to kill before midnight mass at Our Lady of Sorrows, so went searching for dessert. Mama Bang was a mistake. After we had cam-whored at the shop, we took one look at the menu, a...