Staying In

The Monday call was a long one and it was great to be able to enjoy a midweek break. Wednesday would be Malaysia Day, a public holiday. I was able to get home after my Tuesday afternoonrounds and the good news was. the haze was improving slightly.

I took the chance to have an early dinner with Anita at Mid Valley, a really nice one before falling asleep in front of the TV as soon as I reached home.

Tomorrow morning would be a ward round morning as usual, but they are plenty of reasons to stay in after that.

The haze was one, but the planend "Red Shirt" march in town was threatening to cause tension on the street, and it was best to just observe it in front of the TV. We might spent some time at Bangsar Village since they had a program in store for Malaysia Day there. Probably worth a look.

A Hazy Outing

I had to settle some business in town and ended up walking in town in the worsening haze this afternoon. The API - Air Pollution Index - was around 120 in central KL at the time, well into the unhealthy range.

After the business was taken care of and a spot of lunch, I decided to have a quick walk towards Low Yat - none-the-less - to have a look at a few things. I brought my camera along to see how different the cityscape looked like.

Spare some thoughts to this working in this condition

I was walking without a mask and by the time I reached Low Yat, my throat had already felt the irritation. I stopped for a drink - indoors of course - before walking on. Had a look at a few items before returning back to Pavilion where I parked. There was an event by KakiSeni going on, plus other campaigns and roadshow taking place in the open. How I pity those sales people having to endure such elements.

By the time I drove home, it was already threatening to rain. The haze was still lingering thick after the rain was done and we decided it would be no school for both Idlan and Irfan tomorrow. Another day of havoc at home! We found out that other parents had also decided against bringing their children in due to the bad air quality. Should the situation deteriorates, even the school may be closed ...

EAT ME!

I wasn't being rude here, but that was just the name of the cafe at Telawi, Bangsar which we visited last Saturday evening. Anita had been talking about having churros for quite some time. It brought back memories of us strolling at Hyde Park 20 years ago when we bumped into a stall selling what was called "Brazillian Doughnut". It suspiciously looked like churros though, and Anita loved that.

She finally got her wish, all the four of us parked our van at Bangsar Village II and walked across - in the haze - towards the cafe. It was located right next to KGB (Killer Gourmet Burger) - and I believed that they share the same owner.

It was essentially a cute little cafe mainly serving desserts and chocolates. Nothing heavy on the menu, and churros was one of the main feature. We sat down and Anita ordered the churros with milk chocolate dip, I had a creme brule while Irfan had a lovely chocolate waffles. The drinks were also pretty fancy with me ordering iced tea infused with mango.

The churros came out first, and it was rather hard - not as soft as I remembered and certainly it was no doughnut. My creme brule was excellent although it could do better with less herbs. Irfan's waffles was too rich and he only managed a quarter of the portion.

Anita's hot chocolate and my iced teaIrfan's pick soda floatsIrfan desperately trying to go through his waffleDone with my creme bruleThe decorations was best described as pastel-theme. The seats were confortable and once you were inside, you would be insulated from the noise outside. The soothing background music also made a difference and there was wifi as well, but I just used my faster LTE instead.

On the whole, it was a nice little place to unwind and we would not mind going there again. The pricing I thought was rather steep but I understood that that was the going rate for the ambiance and quality food nowadays. We might order the churros again next time just to make sure that the less-than-expected delivery was just a one-off. But even without the churros, there were enough going for the cafe for us to come back. It had competition however, no less that Jasmyn's just a couple of doors down.

No Passion Derby

Traditionally, the biggest league game in United's calender is against Liverpool. Second to that would be Leeds. And now with Leeds in the lower league, Liverpool would be the game. Neville against Carragher! That sort of stuff! Where players becomes lagends after such games. As Diego Forlan would agree.

Last night came such a derby match. United lost their last match away to Swansea - a poor match to lose - and the two-weeks international hiatus seemed almost a lifetime. United made a few changes. De Gea decided to make peace and signed a new contract. We bought in a new striker in the shape of 19-year-old Anthony Martial. And I duly waited for the 12.30 am kick-off.

The last time the two teams met, Gerrard was sent off after a lunge on Herrera. I was expecting a game of passion. Of high pace and intensity.

Rooney was out injured. Fellaini started up front with both Scwansteiger and Carrick anchoring the midfield, ensuring plenty of possession and good use of the ball. De Gea started his first game of the season between the sticks. Martial was on the bench.

The first half was summerised by wayword passing and purposeless possession. It was the most pedestrian 45 minutes of football you were ever going to see. No flying tackles. United were taking the initiative to Liverpool but they lacked penetration. Plenty of high crosses to feed Fellaini, and that was about it. United backline was rarely troubled.

The second half fared better with Young replacing the disappointing Memphis. He injected pace and United started to string passes together in the opposition's half. A clever free kick left Blind unmarked at the edge of the box after a cutback from Mata. He took it first-time to the keeper's top right-hand corner. One-nil United.

Martial was then introduced for Mata. Carrick released Herrera, who was tackled by Gomez when he was going nowhere in the box. Penalty. Herrera. Roof of the net. Two nil.

Only then Liverpool decided to play. They tested De Gea on a couple of occasions but when the goal came, it was a beauty. It could've won any game of football, bicycle kick executed to perfection. The keeper had no chance. Shame that it was only a consolation, as a couple of minutes after Martial killed the game.

He recieved the ball on the left wing, cut inside, turned Skrtel twice before side-footing inside the far post. First game for United, first goal, and what a goal. He would tell the grandkids one day about the strike.

The fire was still missing at the end of game. There was no flying tackle from either side. None worthy of a debate. The referee never had to consider reaching for his red card. I can imagine Liverpool fans would not be pleased, and it may spell some trouble for Mr Rodgers. United was now second in the league behind the noisy neighbour without hitting top gear ....

T'was Getting Worse

If was bad at the start of the week before improving come Wednesday after an overnight rain. Unfortunately today, the haze had returned with a vengeance. Walking to the mosque for Friday Prayers today was pretty bad.

Good thing that I don't suffer much from cough, flu or eye irritation. But I could imagine that a host of people do. The smell along the corridor at the hospital was bad. Luckily our apartment was rather well insulated. We kept the windows and door all closed for today, and decided against going out for our customary Friday evening outing. Don't think that we would have enjoyed it.

It looked like there would be no photo outing this weekend unless the situation improved. The camera to be kept in the cupboard!