The World of DC Exhibition, Tropicana Gardens Mall

To be honest, I really wasn't expecting much when I finally found the time to go see what the fuss was about with the DC exhibition in Tropicana Gardens mall, especially after the Gunn-Safran takeover and the fallout from the restructuring. 

As I got upstairs, I forgot that the mall app had a RM5 discount on tickets, so I managed to redeem it right there and then as I was waiting for a couple other people ahead of me in line. NGL, RM55 was not cheap, but on par with the Marvel exhibition from the before-times. 

Because it was still a long-ish weekend and (presumably) people are still stuck in highway traffic, it wasn't all that crowded, so managed to take some unobstructed pictures of the exhibits. 

I went into this exhibition not having seen the Henry Cavill Superman movies, nor the Batfleck movies, so those particular displays went over my head. The rest (Aquaman, the 2016 Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey, etc) were just okay. There's also some interactive stuff too, but ehh.

It's pretty similar to the Marvel one in that it's mostly props and costumes (not sure if they were actual ones, or just replicas but I wager it's the latter) with a bunch of Instagrammable/photo op displays for people to take pictures with and of for the 'gram. But it's mostly focused on the earlier DCEU movies and characters - Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the earlier Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey... no Shazam! 

If you want to see this, go ahead but I wouldn't pay full price for this. 

Week 6, 2022 - CNY edition

As you read this, CNY started on Tuesday this past week. Some offices that are closed the whole week and/or a lot of people decided to take the whole week off. Wish I had that luxury, but no; was back at work on Thursday. And the Winter Olympics also started in Beijing this week.

With both paternal grandparents now gone, things are more up in the air now? At least this year we joined in on the reunion luncheon event on my mother's side (couple of other aunts also no longer have in-laws to see, so they've been erm, joining the two uncles and their families for several years). Potluck, so loads of leftovers. As it's du jour now, hot pot/steamboat was on the menu. 

• So apparently the Criminal Minds revival (10 episode season on Paramount+) is back on the table, but with only six cast members? They would definitely have to explain why Garcia came back since they wrote her out already. With MGG's Dr Reid not (?) coming back, it would make more sense for whoever is left of the BAU to use all 10 episodes just to solve ONE case now LOL. In case anyone's wondering, I say Daniel Henney might not be back cos he's in Europe doing another show. 
• I would be okay with Marg Helgenberger reprising her role on CSI: Vegas next season since apparently Petersen and Fox are not coming back (don't blame them). 
• Sad news: Tongan flag bearer couldn't make it to the Olympics due to natural disasters in Tonga.
  Not-so sad news (?): Another oiled up, topless male athlete representing American Samoa stepped up to the plate during the opening ceremony... so I heard. 
• The Red Lobster in Malaysia is closing shop. Kinda sad, but I heard it wasn't that great and I tak sempat makan there cos the outlets also few and far in between LOL 
• Dragged my butt over to the Midvalley to check out Muji's sale before it closes for renovation (they're occupying the space vacated by the Japanese restaurant). Only got a couple of things myself because it was 20% off, which is not bad for Muji cos they typically only do 10% discount or whatever. 
• Saw Wrath of Man on 2nd day of CNY in Jaya.
• Also finally had time to go check out myBurgerLab's fried chicken sandwich spinoff ChickNBuns on CNY because. 

Week 24, 2018 - Father's Day/Hari Raya

Happy Father's Day... if you're celebrating. And Hari Raya being on Friday and Saturday meant a three day weekend for everyone else. A lot of work places started getting quiet this past week as everyone's beating everyone else out of town, which I guess didn't really work cos everyone else also had the same idea? Apparently traffic was really good on Raya Eve? (Allegedly)

Weather still hot as balls.

• World Cup's started in Russia on Thursday, which was still Ramadan (which might explain Saudi Arabia getting creamed in their matchup?). How annoying would that be, having to leave town as a football fan. But since the games are being shown on RTM, that's really a non-issue? 
• If you're not a sports person, there's a new season of Queer Eye also out this weekend. 
• Went to KLCC one last time to collect the Bookfest tickets that I won, but since I was there so late, I gave them away to this couple who were about to spend RM5 on entry. 
• McD's D24 McFlurry is back. As someone who doesn't really like McFlurry, once is enough for me. 
• Since Kate Spade's passing, anything bearing the name has increased in price, especially in the second hand market. Which I find odd because the family doesn't even own the brand anymore, they're just giving Tapestry (Coach's parent company) more money only. 
• Finally found an excuse to check out Bangsar South this week - to change Touch n Go card and transfer the balance to a new card. After finding out the hard way that it's already expired... at the toll plaza. Cis. 
• Car key also finally came apart. Cost 3 digits for the guy to remove the chip from the old to transplant to the new key body. More cis. 
• Malaysia's best known TV cross dressing Nyonya passed away this week. 
• Saw Mike Vecchione perform at The Crackhouse on Saturday. 

First Impressions: Robinsons Kuala Lumpur, Shoppes at Four Seasons Place

Despite being a card carrying member of Robinsons for years (because it's free), I have little reason to spend much time and money there. So why did I decide to go check out the brand new flagship, downtown location? Just because. Also need the fodder. I was there on Vesak day, as malls are my temple. 

It's in the Four Seasons Place, RIGHT NEXT TO KLCC/PETRONAS TWIN TOWERS. I couldn't find the parking information on their website earlier, so I messaged them on FB and I almost did a spit take when I found out how much it was (RM5 first hour, RM4 subsequent hour, etc), but shouldn't be so surprised cos it's downtown parking. The parking rates are really convoluted, so unless you're a 1%-er, you might either want to park elsewhere or take public transport down. It's right across the road from Avenue K. 

If you ever felt that the Gardens store was a little claustrophobic, there's no worries about that there... just yet. It's pretty spacious, all things considered. There's also complimentary store-wide Wi-Fi.

Some opening promos

I kinda also wanted to check out the non-halal food court in the basement (hilariously named Malaysia Boleh). After looking at all the expensive stuff upstairs, you won't feel too bad about spending 1, 2 digits on local dishes you can probably get outside of downtown, but too hungry to care. 

Not the cheapest Hokkien mee ever at RM12, but ok-lah.
Sad that there's no pork liver.

I don't know about going again.... if I have time and energy, I guess. 

Labour Day Lobster Roll

Had no real plans for Labour Day, so when Nice Catch announced that they were giving away 100 free lobster rolls, I figured why not.

Again, I don't know what time the first people in line got there, but there was already a line and I only joined around 11.30 a.m. because it was still going to be quite a wait. No, I wasn't kaypoh enough to ask. 

Have to like that one of the T&Cs was that no under-18s allowed a free lobster roll, after years of entire families take up space and numbers in line and me being annoyed AF about it. But I figured their parents could always order something else for their offspring. 

Fast forward 2 hours in line later: they literally only started to check everyone's Facebook accounts (one of the T&C was that you needed to like and share the particular post) and for everyone to give their details on a clipboard at 1 p.m. on the dot. The first 20 something people were seated first, and they were only turning tables every half hour, so I technically only got inside around 1.30 p.m.. And they allocated some of the tables, if not half the place, for actual PAYING customers. 

Me and 4 other people, as the first few of our batch, we got to occupy the bar/chef's table seating next to the open air kitchen. So the chef gave us not just a portion of truffle-infused chips, but also a side salad with some salmon on top. I can't complain about that. They were not kidding about how everything's made to order: chips were fried and truffle oil infused to order, the rolls and greens were assembled to order. No wonder the wait. 

This was before we all got the lobster roll, which thankfully was pretty good; the lobster wasn't totally coated in mayo or whatever, the brioche bun was deliciously buttery. Okaylah, it might've been the hanger talking (the guy ahead of me was supposed to be working today [StanChart employee, I gathered from the lanyard] and he was getting hangry too). Now I'm not sure if it was really good, or if it was because I had been waiting in line for 2 hours.... But I did manage to finish the lot, so I'm glad that it was only a half roll. 

Better free half roll than paid half roll 

They also have a promo where you can get two half lobster rolls for RM69 and two full sized lobster rolls for RM109. The chef had a point when he said they wanted to make lobster more accessible for people. He didn't mention Burger & Lobster by name, but we all knew that's what he meant. I can't remember how much the latter were, but yeah, this is definitely more affordable and accessible than B&L. 

I had wanted to get a drink afterwards and I realised that I forgot my wallet. I wasn't entirely sure if I had enough small change to scrape up to pay for parking so I finally made use of Maybank's cardless withdrawal. Since I had my phone it was just a matter of initiating the transaction on the app and  Bob's my uncle. Never mind that I had to suck it up and pay the RM1.06 transaction fee, but yeah. Thought it was a good time to get home since I can't do much else sans wallet and I had another thing I had to go to. 

Isetan The Gardens 10th Anniversary

Hadn't put two and two together that this was happening on a (shifted) public holiday (Friday) until pretty late. 

Despite leaving home pretty late for this sort of thing (9 something), I joined the line at around 9.45 ish. When I saw how long the line was, I know I wasn't getting a goodie bag already. (I asked one of the people running the event; apparently the line started around 7 something in the morning, to which I say: there's no beating old people at these things). 

I guess it was either dumb luck or karma (the lady before me asked if I could hold her place while she went to the loo; I said sure) cos I got the last number for the same day, RM10 cash voucher, for the 151st to 200th people in line. Me and the mum before me also fielded questions about the long line. I had to keep telling people who were trying to join the line after that the numbers are all gone when there should be someone working the event do that and not me..😒

I get that they were trying not to give families more than one goodie bag, but shit still happened and there were entire extended families with more than one bag each. Going by the sneak preview of the bag on Instagram, it was just as well I didn't get one 😝

If nothing else, with just the envelope that held the voucher I managed to redeem coffee, cake and ice cream (that I dumped into the black coffee to make an affogato cos I didn't want my hands full). What did I use the voucher on? The Shiseido Perfect Foundation Brush, which I was able to get both the parking voucher and another RM10 voucher as it was RM100 after the voucher. 

Afternoon in Genting

Normally, I would avoid places like Genting Highlands during a long weekend but because of the Sephora store opening...

Once I was done in Sephora, I was getting really famished but I also needed to use the bathroom first. Luckily the bathrooms in SkyAvenue were decent, but that's cos the place is still relatively new. Finding something to eat at SkyAvenue is like deciding how you'd like to be gouged, because of the highland surcharge, but I know that I would rather go someplace I can't already find in KL. But finding that place as a solo diner was annoying. I wish restaurants had a solo diner line. 

The line at Burger & Lobster was INSANE. Also, RM100 for a lobster roll was too rich for my wallet, even if you have Genting Resort membership. Luckily I got a coffee from 8 Ounce Coffee downstairs before looking for sustenance. 

So I settled for a Japanese place across from B&L, Tampopo Delicieux, because I was getting hangry and didn't want to go too far for alternatives. Maybe it's the long weekend crowd, but the service wasn't that great. Food was edible, but that was because I went with a basic salmon teriyaki set. RM40 was a bit highway robbery IMO, but still nothing compared to paying half that price (average) at Malaysian Food Street upstairs. 

Took the cable car back down to GPO and the line to get on the gondolas was probably longer than the actual ride, but the line moved pretty fast, all things considered. Behind me was this married couple (about the 'rents' age) who had been in Genting for 4 days already (it's amazing the things you would tell complete strangers) and wanted to check out GPO. The wife was a little nervous about the cable car ride and hadn't been on Genting's cable car for 33 years (that's what she said). So (hilariously enough) she peppered me questions about the ride, etc while the line was moving, which I thought I answered adequately, under the circumstances. 

That aside, I have to give the people working the SkyAvenue Skyway station props for the crowd control: they had to balance the tour groups, families and everyone else in between. 

Anyhow, seven of us got on a gondola (the couple, a group of three ladies, an elderly gentleman and myself) and the auntie buried her face in her scarf for the whole ride (taking occasional peeks). At least we weren't in a glass bottomed one, or that would make things worse. 

Spent the next couple of hours at GPO before calling it a day. Between the crowds and how barang tak banyak despite the sales, there wasn't anything that caught my eye. Left around 3 something and it started to rain when I got on the KL - Karak highway (luckily not before, as I was driving down the mountain). 

By the way, the weekend and public holiday parking is now RM8, and weekday parking is RM5. Almost did a spit take when I saw the parking fee... until I swiped my Genting Rewards card for the waiver. Fuh lega....

Sephora SkyAvenue opening

It was a crazy plan, but what the heck. 

I woke up around 7 something, showered, ate a quick breakfast at home so that I wouldn't have to make a makan pitstop on the way. Left PJ around 8 something and because it was early and drove semi maniacally, I got to Awana Skyway in under an hour. 10 minutes on the cable car later, I was at SkyAvenue. It took time to find the Sephora store and to find another way there because mall access from the cable car station still haven't opened. Figured there's probably access from the hotel side. 

By the time I found the place...

Line behind me

Realistically, I know RM100 voucher is out (also, what time did the line start?!); but I'm not sure about the rest of the door gifts (next 200 get RM50 voucher; the 200 after that get a gift bag). Before 10 a.m., they announced that they were giving out numbered stickers to people in line, but that took a while because there were a lot more stickers than usual. I was ready to walk away if I didn't get a sticker. Behind me were two Filipino ladies who bus-ed it from KL for this, so at least I wasn't the only crazy one. 

They also gave out bottled water to people in line, cos heaven forbid that anyone would pass out from dehydration. 

RM50 voucher it is.

By the time the doors actually opened, it was closer to 10.30 a.m. There were ladies giving out lollipops and samples, but the young lady with the beauty sample tray was all like "cannot choose" when I asked for a specific product sample. Like I needed more body moisturizer samples... 😒 

Took me awhile to decide what to use the voucher on (Kat Von D foundation), but it took me WAY longer to pay for it. As fast as the cashiers were going (props to them), but the line to pay still went from one end of the store to the other, partly because they had to open things like makeup palettes for the customer's visual inspection before checking out, which, with that many people, took time. At one point, they asked if people had their actual member cards cos their system went down, which wasn't a thing for me cos I brought my OG Black card. 

By time it was my turn, I plonked down the item, voucher, Black card and payment card cos I wanted to GTFO to pee and get something to eat. 

PS. No Nadia sighting. Phew?

KL International Book Fair

Because it was Labour Day, I decided to check out the KL International Book Fair, which is back in PWTC this year. By the time (after lunch) I got there it was pouring outside, and I found out the hard way that the bus station (Hentian Putra) is being torn down and all other neighbouring parking options aren't there. So me and many other cars ended up parking in Sunway Putra Mall (fka The Mall). 

You know the parking situation is shit when these are plastered everywhere... 

Luckily I got a legit parking spot in the end, so I didn't have to disengage the hand brake and gear. 

I think I was at the bookfair for about an hour tops? 80 (if not 90%) of the booths there were all local publishers that put out either Malay or religious titles or both, so I got bored pretty quickly. I found the one hall that was quiet because they were foreign university textbook publishers in there. 

I hadn't been back since The Mall became Sunway Putra Mall, so it's been years. Luckily for me, there are less cekik darah malls closer to home so not going back to Sunway Putra Mall any time too soon, hopefully. 

CNY at Hammam Spa, Publika

I've tried the Christmas promo and also the Ramadhan promo (not for actual working people unless you take the time off), but not the CNY promo, which is basically their signature hammam, gommage, a seven flowers bath and 60-minute massage, which, after a year I had, I kinda needed one (the seven flowers bath). 

My experiences at the Publika outlet were pretty good in the past (here and here), so I made an appointment for the second day of CNY, which was not that hard to get. I couldn't believe that it's been a couple of years since I've been back. If it was busy, you couldn't really tell cos you're not really bumping into other people while you're in there.

I tried to ask for the same hammam lady over the phone, but when I called I was asked if I wanted the "old" or the "young" Nadia (no idea if was referring to their age or whoever was there the longest...?). I had a 50-50 shot and long story short, didn't get the same Nadia I met a couple of years ago (apparently she's also mentioned by name by fellow Foursquare users as a go-to, so...). Oh well. To be fair, the one I got in the end was okay too.

There's something satisfying and gratifying about seeing all the exfoliated skin all over the marble slab washing away down the drain.. I was waiting to see at what point would the seven flowers be incorporated and it was towards the end. I was also alone in the hammam area, so no complaints from me. 

The massage was also pretty relaxing for the most part. I think they used some orange scented oil (this is why I don't usually do aromatic oil massages cos I never seem to smell the oil) on me...  

There's worse ways to spend a public holiday... 

Week 52, 2016 - Christmas time!

It's Christmas. I went to several different places: Midvalley/Gardens, the Borders warehouse sale in OUG, Stickerrific (cos today was their last day of business before moving to their new premises in a couple of weeks) and Amcorp Mall. 

• Water disruption exercise which drove a lot of people mad. 
• Christmas Roast of Douglas Lim on Monday night. 
• Cold Storage in IPC also closing down. But can't wait to see who takes over the space.

Pavilion Elite

Drove to Pavilion on Monday to check out the new extension, Pavilion Elite. And because it was a national public holiday, it's flat rate parking at my usual parking place (yay; also, if I told you where, I would have to kill you). Because of the cray cray congestion in the vicinity, the short GOKL bus ride from Cosway to the standalone Sephora on the other side took longer than it normally would (hey, if I don't have to walk it, I'll take it). 

Anyhow, the extension is still not fully occupied, which I get. Fine. But walking around I heard the sound of angels singing in my head (I know, I'm weird like that). There's also an underground tunnel linking Pavilion to Fahrenheit 88 - a great candle princess alternative to crossing at the traffic light outside, I tell you. But didn't get to try that way because I didn't have time and I wasn't really planning on going to F88. So I'll save that for another time.

The relocated MUJI store is HUGE. Also enjoyed my cuci mata at The Planet Traveller and all the stuff they have there (I know - for someone who doesn't travel a whole lot, I love looking at travel stuff), and the Wallet Shop next door. 

There's finally Klean Kanteen in Malaysia!

This looks like the inside of someone's fridge... ROFL

The only thing I did buy was... one of my many kyptonites, brownies. Downstairs at Brownies Bar by The Accidental Bakers. Having had their brownies before, RM 10 for a couple of them is worth it. Also, it was the last day of the promo, so I got lucky...?

There's also a mini Softsrve outlet downstairs and there was a long line because they had flavours exclusive to there and not at their other outlets. 

My only gripe is that the extension is not accessible from every single floor inside Pavilion. 

Rock Corner Liquidation Sale :(

The Rock Corner at The Curve is closing down next month, so they've been selling everything off for the last month or so, but now CDs are half off, vinyls are 30% off, and everything else is 20% off...

I was there today and after several trips, I finally found a couple of CDs I don't mind having: a Blue Man Group album and the most recent Muse album. It was literally two for the price of one. 

While paying, I chatted with the Indian uncle who's been there for as long as I can remember, weeks away from losing his job, who asked me where am I gonna buy my tickets then...? (Which is true: it had been my go-to since the 1U branch closed, as the other outlets are in KL, but I'm that weirdo who's mostly there to buy event tickets). The only plus side (he told me) is finding a job closer to home (the guy has been commuting to Mutiara Damansara from Rawang) now... 

Bittersweet haul

I will be sad to see it go... 😟

If you still buy music the old fashioned way, you still have time to check the sale out. However, YMMV. 

Aidiladha 2016

Today being a public holiday, I kinda planned to go check out Popular's RM5 Fiesta in Viva Home. The sibling only came along because there wasn't gonna be any lunch at home, but also to up his Pokemon GO game, which was fine by me. 

Didn't buy any books this year (didn't see any graphic novels this time) because I wasn't really in the mood, but I did get myself a new roll of plastic book wrap. Also had lunch at the Thai restaurant there before leaving.

Also swung by Amcorp Mall on the way home because I hadn't been back to BookXcess for the longest time. The park across the street was buzzing with people and Pokemon lures as people are trying to catch Pikachu (makes sense, since there's a TNB office nearby and it's an electrical creature) and what not. 

Finally called it a day and went home. Feeling a little tired because I'm feeling a little under the weather (funny feeling in the throat, etc)... 

Week 29, 2016 - Long Raya weekend

Because Raya was on Wednesday and Thursday this week, civil servants got Friday off, giving them a five day weekend (if they hadn't already taken Monday and Tuesday off too). And also some private companies too. If you got a five day weekend - I hope you had fun.

Just my luck that Raya is on the same week as 4th of July - there's nothing new on TV. Had to resort to watching shows I otherwise would not have time to watch... like Drunk History or Unwrapped 2.0.

• I should go to Bookfest Malaysia on a weeknight more if I knew it was going to be less chaotic and crowded than on weekends or public holiday (it's always around a school and/or public holiday). The Raya exodus helped in that it didn't take me that long to drive to KLCC on a weeknight.
• Won a box of assorted tarts from Ling's Kitchen (who make lovely dessert tarts). 
• Went to Pyramid one of the days of Raya, and went to Midvalley on Friday. Yep, I was one of those people who's work closed on Friday. 
• Some study claimed that eating pasta doesn't make you fat, so keep calm and eat pasta? :P
• Thought Raya was a good time to get things like pillows and quilts cleaned at the local coin laundry. Went again a couple days later when Mum wanted the sofa covers clean and boy, dragging those things myself is a pain in the bottom. 

KL International Book Fair 2016

Killed a couple of the afternoon hours by driving out to MAEPS for the KL International Book Fair, with pretty low expectations - I hadn't attended for a number of years now, mostly because it was in PWTC (and the travel wasn't worth it), and also knowing that I would come up empty handed because about 80% of the booths carry Malay or religious titles and I'm aware I'm not the target demographic. It was either this, or pay too much for parking at a mall with everyone else who hasn't left town, so whatever. 

When I finally got there, there was a RM3 fee (entrance or parking, I'm not sure) which I was peeved about until I saw the MAEPS trams out and about - it's been ages since I had last ridden one of these (okay, not since Big Bad Wolf Books had their sale there one year), so as long as I didn't have to walk from where I parked (I probably could've walked if I had to, but really...), I just hopped on a passing tram and enjoyed the ride. Well, I enjoyed it more than this pakcik, who was a bit anxious about where the tram was going until we got right to the door. His kid was more calm about it than he was. 

Because it was spread out over 3 different halls, it took me some time to cover it all (even though I could've done without going to Hall D), but by the time I got out of Halls A and B, it was raining heavily. I was there probably an hour, 90 minutes tops? The only thing I got was a free poster of who the current ministers and their deputies are, and a booklet about GST from the Kementerian Penerangan booth. Yeah it's not just book publishers, there's also a BSN presence, your local universities, different ministries... Can't help but notice that I was probably one of the few non-Malay visitors there... 

Because of the weather, the trams just drove into the canopy so alighting passengers aren't sopping wet. I also didn't know them trams had window panes. I hopped on the next tram back to where I parked and left. 

I was feeling peckish by the time I got back to PJ, I stopped by the only Starbucks on the way home with free indoor parking and had both the S'mores frapp and a S'mores tart. 

All I can say about that was I'm never having the S'mores frapp ever again. 

Week 7, 2016 - Ren Ri 2016

Chinese New Year was on Monday and Tuesday this year, so a lot of people (and Chinese-owned companies) took up to this entire week off (I only got Wednesday off). As a Klang Valley born and bred, those of us that are still here are enjoying the nice traffic and parking situations, especially when it came to doing bank errands (more parking than usual at certain branches) on the two working days we got, so whee...!

Today being the 7th day of CNY, it's also ren ri aka "everyone's birthday". And also not forgetting the Jade Emperor's birthday celebrations later/next day... 

• Really joined the line at Line Clear when I went there for lunch on Monday.
• Checked out da:men on Tuesday.
• Saw Deadpool early on Wednesday, before the local and even American screening...?
• Mother's side CNY gathering on Thursday at the uncle's place. 
• Saw the last Tales from the Bedroom at KLPAC's Pentas 2 on Friday. 
• Unsurprisingly, Rakuten in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia is closing soon. 

First Impressions: da:mén, USJ

Went to check out the latest all in USJ, da:mén (which literally means "Big Door") just to get out of the house and I otherwise wouldn't venture to that part of USJ normally. (It's located down the road from Summit)

Fortunately, parking there is free until the end of the month. Otherwise, it'd be RM2 for the first three hours. Pretty much like Midvalley/Gardens.

It was just as well that parking is free, because occupancy at the moment is barely half full. And also no mobile reception in the mall. 

The lower ground floor is pretty much where the supermarket (Jaya Grocer) and most of the eateries/food court is. And probably the most happening floor at the moment. 

The only thing that excited me was this... 

Is Singapore's Pasarbella opening a Malaysian outpost? I wouldn't mind, because the one in Singapore is a pain to get to :P Wouldn't mind it more if the retailers from the Grandstand space was here, but that's just my laziness talking.

Other than that, no real reason to come back here any time soon. 

Line Clear Restaurant in Kampung Baru (LC Restoran KL)

Against (perhaps) our better judgement, the sibling and myself decided to check out the KL branch of the (in)famous Line Clear nasi kandar, LC Restoran, located in Kampung Baru, for lunch on the first day of CNY (it's not like we could go during Raya...). Even though we had breakfast less than a couple of hours before, we left home around noon. 

The sibling had already scouted out the best place to park (it's on Waze) - there's a parking lot out back for the Line Clear clientele. Between the both of us, he was the only one who's ever been to the one in Penang. 

Entrance from the unpaved parking lot in the back

As to be expected, there is a line - apparently all the non-Chinese in KL had decided to check the place out too..? At least we weren't lining up out on the street.

There's also an air-conditioned VIP area downstairs and a surau upstairs. You would think there would be more seating upstairs, but they don't. Ish. 

Check out the crazy line

One of the things about being in line so long is that you have all the time in the world to study the menu and judge its prices. We joked with this makcik ahead of us about the price of the poppadom (RM1 for 3 pieces -_-) - the usual, "for that price, can fry our own" etc. 

Check out the prices :P

 I scoffed at the tagline, "Always Clear". Clear my ass lah :P

So close, yet so far.

At this point, we were probably in line for at least half an hour. Luckily I was still full from breakfast earlier and managed to stay hangry-free. 

So by the time I got my lunch (curry drenched rice, fried chicken, some fried bittergourd, and cabbage), I was properly hungry and we were in line for almost an hour. When I got to the front of the line, I think I understood why the line was so long and so slow - things like basic fried chicken run out pretty quickly, and I waited an awkward couple of minutes for a fresh batch to come out of the fryer (which is a pretty long time). By the time I got my food, there were no more clean spoons and I had to settle with eating my meal with just a fork (if there's anything I learned from angmo food shows: you could eat rice with a fork, but it'll be slow). Tip: if you get the chance, get the cutlery first, even if you hadn't gotten your nasi just yet. Have you tried eating fried chicken with just a fork? I had to use my hand towards the end. 

Nice to look back :P

Lining up for the food is one thing; getting a table afters is another - tables were being taken up by people waiting for their family members who are in line for food. Luckily I found a table quickly by unabashedly asking a family of four if the table next to theirs was taken (it wasn't); can't trust the sibling to do anything one, table also yours truly must scout :P 

I heard from the guy we shared a table with that if you came in a group of five or more, you get tableside service and the food comes to you in family serving portions... Don't know how true is that, but if the family of four we shared a table with also had to line up for their food, they probably had a point :P  And the guy was erm, surprised that Chinese people also "tau makan" nasi kandar. Errr... okay then. 

Prep station for group orders

For my plate of rice, they only charged me RM6.60, which wasn't too bad I suppose, but it's also pretty basic. Not sure if I would come back again any time soon or ever... 

Over the long weekend...

Thursday: Went to Midvalley and The Gardens. Finally had Mikey's New York Pizza for lunch and frozen custard (located across from the GSC, where the McD used to be). 

Friday: KLCC during the day because I thought I would be able to finally get the rims on my sunglasses changed, only to find out that the wrong part had arrived (same model number, but way different item altogether). After making a calm, pointed comment about the RM7 round trip LRT fare from PJ, we agreed that they would send it to a store closer to me when the correct item FINALLY arrive. 

Spent Christmas evening at The Crackhouse, where there were about a dozen people besides me. There was complimentary cake on the tables, but I don't think anyone took more than a nibble. Rizal van Geyzel (the resident bumi partner) was host, with a couple of the open mic regulars Luwita and Hannan Azlan (with her ukelele) before the double headlining acts, Jinx Yeo and Papi Zak. Not a bad way to spend an evening as a heathen. 

Saturday: Spent the afternoon in IOI Mall as the car was getting the 4 layer polish, etc at a shop across the highway. Remembered why I hadn't been to IOI Mall in years. 

Because it took so long to finish, also ended up a little late for a wedding reception at Dad's friend's place in a posh, a lot of security kind of neighbourhood in Shah Alam (one of his kids was getting married). I usually don't go to these things, but knowing the hosts, I figured the makan should be different from usual.

Mum thought it was someone else's wedding kenduri because it had that vibe as we walked up, but nope, right place and wedding. Because of the host family's rojak background (don't know the specifics), there were buffet lines for Thai food (as well as a corner for the Thai desserts, kuih pelita and red ruby and eventually wedding cake), Middle Eastern, a small carving area with the sides and sauces. The booze was on the front yard where the massive extended family was. 

Talk about small world: my bro's friend (who's GF is a relative) recognised my dad when the latter was at the house that morning for the ceremonial part of the nuptials. So at least my bro had a kaki at that wedding party and wasn't bored. Me? I kept myself occupied by trying out a little bit of everything.

Sunday: Killed a couple of hours in the afternoon in KL and at Hail's Soft Serve.