Selamat Hari Raya

It had been a full day of eating, drinking and all round partying. After the prayers in the morning, my brother-in-law came to visit and hang around for a bit before I received a call from my sister to come over to Bukit Antarabangsa.

More food. I was really full even before lunch. For lunch, my sister went over to one of the celebrity who lived in my Mum's neighbourhood for more food. We did not join them, and called it the day.

Irfan and his grandparentsCome evening, we went over again to my parents house and it was havoc. The sparklers were out and the boys with their cousins were really having a ball. Even helping out clearing the mess they created after playing with the fireworks.

As I was blogging this entry, I was still at my Mum's having more food, while waiting for the children to calm down. Chelsea was playing Wigan on the TV, leading 2 nil. It was halftime. I might hang on until the end of the game.

To all my friends, colleague and family, thanks for all the Aidilfitri wishes. I may not be able to reply to all of them today, but I was sure I would get around to it soon. Selamat Hari Raya.

Last Tarawikh

After Tarawikh last night - probably the last one for the year, I brought the whole troupe to join Julia's children at my Mum's place. It was havoc and we stayed well past midnight.

Julia wanted to go to Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman to look for some bargain, but I would imagine that the traffic going to be a nightmare! It sure would be fun though.

My parents would be in Kuala Lumpur through out Raya, but talking to my Dad, he was keen to head back to Penang for a couple of days after that. I don't think I could spare the time though. My break would last until Wednesday, and I would be back to work - on call as well - next Thursday. The week would just fly by like a breeze I was sure.

Dark Knight Rises

It was a bit tricky to blog about a third installment of a series when you did not pay attention to the first, and completely missed the second. Well, that was me with the Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy. I saw the first one on ASTRO, missed the second and watched Dark Knight Rises last weekend. And, true to the artful direction of Mr Nolan, I was able to keep abreast with the plot.

Close to three hours and the pace of the movie was relentless. Complete with a revelation in the end. The special effect was spectacular, but the storyline was strong enough to carry the movie through. At the end of it, it was pretty clear that Anne Harthaway can kick ass and there were room for sequel, although Christopher Nolan had made it clear that he would not be continuing with the franchise. Better quit when you were on top I supposed, because it would be kind of difficult to top this one. Great action, great storyline and superb acting, especially by the supporting cast, although through to any Batman movies, one should not take the plot too literally. Otherwise, how could you explain being alive after being trapped underneath subway rubles for three months.

I watched the movie with Puan Anita at Mid Valley, on my first day off for Raya. And as you could imagine, we were interrupted a few times with phone calls calling for errands. And even then, it was easy to get in and out of the movie. Now, what we had to do was watch the second installment. I thought it was playing on ASTRO. A highly recommended movie.

TWG Tea Boutique, Pavilion

After berbuka and prayers last evening, I took the boys out for a drive. We planned to see some lights in Kampung Baru, but it turned out that traffic was really bad. We ended up stopping at Pavilion instead for some drinks.

As we came out of the car park, we saw this intimidating new restaurant there. Well, not rally a restaurant, but more of a boutique cafe, something similar to the Starhill Tea Salon, called TWG. We saw a branch before during our stay at Marina Bay Sands Singapore earlier this year, and we got curious.

An eye-opener!

But we had a slight issue. The boys were already in their pajamas, and this being an upmarket cafe, they might throw us out. Idlan and Irfan were having none of that, and insisted to go in to have a look, bearing in mind, Irfan especially was a tea drinker. The wait did not mind, more so after Idlan went to the counter and started ordering some chocolate bars.

We were sat down in the middle of the restaurant and had a look at the menu. There was at least 200 blend of tea on offer ...... some being just simple iteration is the next, but the list was impressive none the less. Picking time.

Yes, they sell teapots tooAnd some gifts tooIdlan ordered some Assam tea - by some exotic named blend of course. A second flush brew for extra kick! Irfan went for chamomile, but mixed with some exotic herbal concoction. Being a coffee drinker, I decided to go with some iced beverage, coffee mixed with watermelon juice. Not bad.

Irfan's brew, chamomile. Very fragrant.Anita's a bit strongerWagyu burger. Well done!Irfan had some quicheYup! Grounded tea powder sprinkled on them fries!For food, I had a burger, while the children shared some quiche. The fries which came with my burger had ground tea powder sprinkled on them. And the food was actually rather nice. I would definitely be coming back for snacks.

The restaurant was situated in the second floor of Pavilion, turning to the right wing on entering them all from the Bukit Bintang entrance. More details here.

The Headline This Morning

Keeping my fingers and toes crossed ......