Another note from Irfan

When I was away doing my ward round yesterday morning, Irfan had a ..... misunderstanding with his grandmother. I couldn't contain my laughter when I saw this note in front of our room when I got back.

I think he would make a great blogger. He sure loved to put his grief in writing. Bless .....

Return to Pegaga

For dinner tonight, we returned to Pegaga. In fact, I was craving for proper Malay food. Being out all day, I don't think Anita could cook, and the dinner at Pegaga was heavenly.

It was just the two of us. The boys were already at home, having their dinner. Anita had kerabu and nasi goreng, whole I had my usual fix of daging salai.

The main part of the restaurant was booked up by a family celebrating a birthday, and even the space outside was occupied and we had to wait for our table. Good to see that the business here was really picking up. When I started going there back in 2011, the place was rather empty. We saw the potential of the place even back then with a clean surrounding and great cooking.

It was probably a busy night as the staffs were rather on the grumpy side tonight. But the food was still great.

Welcome to the DARC Side

I just had words that my host from the party yesterday only just left DARC after an overnight stay and a hefty lunch. They hired a room which Anita used to shower the kids yesterday, a nice a roomy one, complete with the usual mod cons. As for the lunch, they served nasi padang every Sunday afternoon. And the patron were not charged a single sen, but urged to pay for what they thought the meal was worth .... And this novel concept permeate through to all aspects of the place. A strong sense of community.

As I mentioned, we took up membership to the place yesterday. It only cost us RM180 form the whole family forms year. And we would later get discounts for use of the facilities and horse riding lessons which according to my friend, were the most reasonable in town. You would not get the price anywhere near what offered anywhere else.

DARC offer care and training for the horses in their stable. They relied on members to volunteer in terms of time and money to make the place work. Therefore, the members felt that the place belonged to them, and most of the members hang around there regularly. You could even go a step further and sponsor the individual horses. And when it came to riding time, you would be able to ride your horse for free.

They adhere to strict regulations in terms of attire and etiquette. Members were briefed on the safety and precautions when riding and being around these animals. By training, you would gradually master the technique and could even became trainers yourself, or enter tournaments. A bit too early yet for us. We had yet to start any lesson. That would come in the coming weeks.

DARC however was not all about horses. Apart form the room and facilities for parties and events, they have motor cross, archery, gyms and play area for children. Around the rooms, they also had a swimming area for children. They have fencing lessons, and of course the restaurants. We had drinks yesterday while watching a football match at the centre.

Safety firstI don't think we were this good .... yetI had to convince the boys that swimming during party was not a good idea .....Of course you can choose to stay here overnightThe main issue would be logistics for us as we had to travel across town to get to Denai Alam. It should be bearable traffic on Sundays via the highway. And fitting that into their swimming lessons and later, sports clubs, their weekend would be full of activities.

As I mentioned, DARC had quite an atmosphere and we felt good signing up for membership. We would start our riding lessons soon, and it would not just be the kids, but for Anita and me as well.

More information about DARC here.

Sushi Lunch

It had been a while since we been to Express Sushi at Great Eastern Mall. I had been writing and raving about the place since 2009, and this afternoon, my boys asked for their chicken teriyaki from the place. The food was still as good and fresh.

I had my belly and beef udon, while the boys had their usual. It took us a while waiting for Idlan to finish his bowl of rice. Good thing that we came early since we had to rush across town next for his swimming lesson.

Over the years, the quality had declined somewhat, although the ingredients were still fresh. The owner has since opened a restaurant at a golf club in town, and the main chef had since moved there. There was definitely a subtle change in the taste, but compared to other - often overrated - restaurants, this place was still hard to beat.

Usually, the journey from GE Mall to Bukit Kiara would take less than 20 minutes. Unfortunately, we were caught in the queue to get into PWTC for the MATTA. We just made it in time.

Open and Closed

The Golf Club we go to for Idlan's swimming lesson will host the Malaysian Open next weekend, and it looked like the preparations were well on the way. Next weekend's lesson would also be cancelled for the event.

Stands were being erected, generators and TV cables been installed, new tents also materialised, with the sponsor's colour. The whole place appeared to have taken a different tone with hectic workers and supervisors everywhere.

According to one of the friendly staffs there, the whole place would be taken over by the tournament. All the facilities and events suspended from the beginning of the week with players coming over to do practice rounds and have a feel of the course. It would be one of the main highlight of their calendar. It was ashamed that Tiger Woods won't be coming ..... They all wanted Woods.

Sure looked like the club was working overtime with the golf course being manicured for the tournament. That would also meant that they would be swimming at the apartment next weekend.