La La Chong Seafood, Damansara

Usually, we drove all the way to Kuala Selangor for our routine seafood feast. Yesterday was the first time we actually had something similar to this - a Chinese seafood meal - in town. And it was near Damansara, a place I was not really familiar with, but was glad to have come.

The occasion was Puan Anita's birthday. I wouldn't tell you how old she would be then, but there was a reason why all our cars carry the plate number 9972.

Earlier in the day, she was treated to a day at the spa in Ampang by my friends from the UK. After she was done, I picked her up from the spa, and we drove across to Damansara. The traffic was kind. The direction to the place was a bit tricky though, but I just followed the car in front.

There, we were joined by other friends - Amin and Syahril. In the end, it was a table for 13. We had the usual stuff - steamed fish, sweet and sour crab, soup, prawns etc. Azida, one of our friend, ordered lala - cockles - which was appropriate given the name of the restaurant. We were well bloated by the end of it.

My favorites were the steamed fish and crab. God knows how high my cholesterol went. The sauce went down really well with the hot steamed bun. All sticky and yummy. Unfortunately, I forgotten to snap pictures before we settled down for the food as there were plenty to catch up with the friends. And of course, I was busy stuffing myself as well.

The sight of my plate at the end of it. And this was my forst plate. I had two more after that ....I pity whoever having to clear the table after us .....I swore Syahril did this ....All the photos I had were of the damage that was done after the meal. I would definitely recommend the place again. Parking was aplenty, but the trick would be to find the restaurant in the first place. If you were keen, just enter these coordinates on your GPS - 3.124067, 101.607992 - and hopefully you'd be pointed to the right direction. Oh! And the Thai fresh coconut drinks were not to be missed as well!

I could see that the place would be packed for an evening meal. We actually arrived at the place after 3 pm, and there were hardly anybody there. The place were opened from lunch till late evening, and there was a separate air-conditioned area. The facilities there were clean, with plenty of places for handwashing as well. Refer at the photo above for the address and telephone number. Oh! They provide free wifi at the venue - albeit a slow one.

Away to Bolton

It was not a vintage performance, but it demonstrated the art of the being ruthless in front of goal very well. In terms of the number of chances created during the early exchanges, United was not ahead by much, but they finished their moved brilliantly.

Bolton defenses and midfield just could not contain the energy of United on the day, though United had to make an early replacement, putting the more pedestrian-paced Carrick on for the injured - later to a suspected broken foot - Cleverley. It was a typical Kevin Davies challenged coming from the blind side, missing the ball and catching the trailing leg. It looked innocuous, not even warranting a yellow card from referee Andy Marriner, but it was damaging enough never the less.

The opener came under 5 minutes, with Nani providing the low cross from the right and the newly-minted England International, Gary Cahill given a lesson by Chicarito. He was literally turned inside out, not even sure where Chica was. One nil.

The second and third came from Rooney's neat finish with Phil Jones providing the assists, the first being a good cross for Rooney to tap in, and the second, a low drive into the bottom corner, after a mazy Jones run, taking on four Bolton players. Not bad for a big guy. It remained three nil until the interval, although Chica did put the ball into the net the fourth time, but it was flagged off side.

United started the second half slowly, but soon settled back in with two quick goals. The first from Chica, an opportunistic but clinical finish. Nani receiving a long pass on the right touch, took a couple of defenders, and was clipped in the area. Referee played a good advantage, with the ball falling to Carrick after Nani was taken out. His low cross deflected nicely for the pouncing Hernandes waiting at the far post.

Soon after, Rooney completed his hattrick, again thanks to the skill of Nani, drawing the defenders towards his side of the field, creating daylight in the middle of the park for Rooney to receive his cut back. Another low drive to Jaaskelainen right hand corner, and it was five.

That stayed until the end of the game, with United deciding to rest some key players right after. Unfortunately, there were battle scars, with Evans having groin tweak and Evra overstretcthed his knee.

There were uncertain moment at the back with the physical approach of Bolton, but United defenders coped well. Even Rooney chipped in with a couple of vital blocks. De Gea was gaining confidence as the game wore on. Another clean sheet.

Man of the match? Rooney most definitely. His all round game, from defending set pieces and playing his colleague in in the middle of the park and the final third were exemplary. Eight goals in the first four Premiership Games of the season, and two hattrick in a row. He has to be the most in-form player in the League. Looking forward for next weekend game against Chelsea. But in the meantime, there was the matter of the trip to Benfica for the Champions League mid week.

Chinoz, Bangsar Shopping Center

On a recent visit to Mid Valley Gardens, we noticed that the Chinoz Cafe in the middle of one of the main foyer had been closed. That was curious considering the demography of the visitors at that neck of the woods. We were more familiar with their branch at KLCC.

The last time we were at Bangsar Shopping Center, we decided to give the Chinoz branch there a visit. We had light lunch and as usual, the boys wanted pizza.

The seating was outdoors, right by the main entranceA nice place for people watching and chill outIrfan enjoying his fruit punchThe menu was similar to the KLCC branch, with pizza, sushi and the usual choices of salad and drinks. They even offer Sunday Roast, just like at KLCC.

We sat at the outdoor bar area, very cosy and suitable for people watching. Seats were very comfortable. The boys selected the sofas. The waiters were very attentive, and took our order very efficiently without even taking notes. Service was very prompt.

I had rocket salad, and a Japanese rice and salmon set for the mains. The boys had their pizza and Anita ordered smoked salmon and avocado salad. Anita's salad was amazing. The menu was also very clear about which food used alcohol in their preparation. No problems there.

My iced coffeeAnita's gorgeous salmon and avocado salad. Highly recommended.Idlan's hot chocolate in a nice little mug.My rocket saladThe boys, with what else, but pizza.Last but not least, my main, which was sushi rice with salmon and miso. Very nice.

My salad and mains were very well-prepared. I really couldn't complain about the food quality. The service was prompt. I would definitely be returning, not just for the food and service, but for the ambiance as well. Highly recommended, although I suspect the place would be packed in the evening.

Remembering September 11th

Just after the first tower being hitI couldn't helped but be reminded of the events of September 11th, with all these TV shows and articles on the net. Some of them more over the top than others, often being over-dramatic and American-centric. Like it or not, all of us could remember what exactly we were doing when we first heard of the event.

I was actually in clinic, still working in Manchester back then. I called my next patient a couple of times, and when I tried to get the nurses to call out the patient's name, I realised that there was nobody paying attention. Everybody was glued to the TV screen. I took a peek. The first tower were just hit then. Straight away I called Anita, and she was watching the live coverage on CNN. It was I think about 3 in the afternoon then.

While talking to Anita, The second plane flew into the tower. I was in shock. Everybody on the waiting room, watching the TV screen were gasping. And then, there was a complete silence. We then rushed through the clinic - there weren't that many patients to start with. Some of them even volunteered to skip.

Finished the clinic early and rushed back home, in time for the tower to collapsed. It was round-the-clock coverage after that, but it soon got silly when one Moslem group after the other were accused of doing the act. We soon left for Trafford Center to get some dinner.

While at the Trafford Center we learned that both building were down. Called my Mum at home to catch up about what the reaction back home in Malaysia was like. My Dad has not slept all night watching the news. We then learned about another plane hitting the Pentagon as well.

One of my Uncle, working for RTM at the time was in the US on duty and he was stuck there for the next week as air traffic grind to a halt. His flight took him via Europe and he was stuck in London for another couple of days, unable to get a connection home.

The tower collapsingSatellite imagery of the dayMy brother-in-law, was seconded from Petronas to Exxon, and was based in Houston, Texas in 2001. It was early morning when he learned the news, and by midday, he was already back to his flat. The office were closed for the next few days as American picked up the pieces and took stock of what had happened. He also decided to stay indoors during the period as there were some group targeting Moslem at his area. Apparently, Houston has a good-sized Moslem population and people were pretty uptight then.

I am sure all of us could still remember exactly what we were doing at that point in time. Talking to my Dad, he said, it was like the day Kennedy was assassinated, or the Moon Landing, the Challenger disaster - I was at MRSM on the day of the Challenger disaster, in form 2 - or even the Acheh tsunami. I remembered that one really well as well. Like it or not, the memory would stay with us forever. I wondered what your memory of the day was like ….

If you are in the mood, read about how the students in the class where President Bush heard about the attack react to the event. They are all grown up now.

Tom Yam for Sore Throat

I knew that it was a bad idea. My sore throat was improving and the first thing I wanted to eat tonight was some tom yam. That would definitely kill my throat by bedtime. One of the restaurant at Danau Kota does a very mild tom yam. That was where we got the food from tonight.

Update on Thursday, September 8, 2011 at 11:39AM by Haris Abdul Rahman

Unsurprisingly, that strategy was doomed. I ended up with diarrhoea and bloatedness all evening. But by 2 am, slept like a baby until the morning. Almost back to my all self now, with a bit less energy, and dehydration. Nothing that a bit of 100 plus can't fix.