Bad Air Day

I realised that KL's skyline was really bad today. Visibility at ground level was only about 250 meters. I couldn't see the twin tower from my backyard when I woke up this morning. And that is not normal.

Apparently, there had been a few hot spots in Sumatera again from the last couple of weeks. Not from bakar lemang I was reliably told. The air quality has since plummeted in our Peninsular. Today was the worst. The last time the air quality was this bad, my boys ended up with asthma attacks.

The fact that it had not been raining for the last few days did not help. The weather looked overcast. Here was praying for some proper rain. The kind with cats, dogs and other fluffy animals!

Treated for Breakfast

As expected, I was asked to sleep in the study last night. Could not sleep well. Woke up at around 4 am, with a mega sore throat. Time for some drinks and a bit of painkiller. Switched on the TV, and caught the later parts of the England-Wales match. Dozed off to sleep with the TV on after that.

I felt much better when I woke up after the Subuh azan. Time to wake Anita and the boys up by then. After she sorted out the boys at school, we went out for a spot of breakfast. Anita had to buy some books in Bangsar, and she treated me with breakfast at La Bodega. Felt much better after the warm coffee and more medications.

Still cosy and quiet at this early hoursAnita and her order of drinks. Mango juice and English breakfast teaThe order of 'big breakfast' came with sausage, bacon, mushroom, baked beans and toast. You can then select how you like your eggs.The sauteed mushroom actually tasted a lot better than it looked.Yup! I was done!I must have eaten too much, and felt bloated after that. Well, you would expect that if you just took egg benedicts and other side orders wouldn't you? But that certainly cheered up my morning. Just returned from fetching Irfan from school. The myalgia was still there, but better. Time for some more medications and some reading. Found a few interesting article about the Putera UMNO mission to Somalia, the one which got the Bernama cameraman killed. Sounded like there were than met the eyes ….. and the plot thickened.

The Joy of Being Driven

I woke up this morning with a right sore throat. My brother-in-law, spending Hari Raya break from Turkmenistan was feeling feverish since yesterday and I was not surprised if I were to catch the bug off him. The fact that I had been traveling during the weekend did not help.

My voice went all nasal by mid-morning, and I had a couple of lectures to deliver in the afternoon. My voice became worst by lunchtime, so I had some soup and salt water gargle, and the throat improved a bit. I was too tired to drive myself to PJ Hilton for my talk, and had to ask our driver to take me there.

I arrived just in time for some more soup. One of the organiser brought me some warm honey to drink and it worked a treat. Managed to deliver the talk - nasal of course. I napped on the way back in the car.

Felt a bit rough still when I woke up at home. Just had some paracetamol and dinner. Feeling less feverish. I was sure Anita would ask me to sleep in the study. She would be worried if the boys caught the virus from me. Planning for an early night.

Spice from Kepala Batas

I made it no secret that when it comes to cooking, I was no Masterchef. Every time I went back to Kepala Batas - my kampung - my parents and Anita would visit this spice shop run by an Indian Moslem family. The business been going on for a number of years and my Mum swears by them.

They had recently moved into this new shop. Previously, they had a small workshop at the back of their house in Kampung Kovil, in the back street of town, where the Indians stay in my kampung.

They had spices for everything, and everything was mixed to your taste when you order them. All you had to do was tell them what kind of cooking you liked, and how spicy or hot your want it to be, and he would suggest the rest. The owner - previously his Dad - also gave away recipes. Anita got some of them here in Gombak.

All the spices and all the coloursYou tell him what you wantAnd he would mix it for youThe spices he carried include sauces and paste from India, as well as some exotic leafs and nuts. All packaged into the kind o cooking you wanted to do. Say, if you want to cook a chicken biryani, he would ask you for how many guests, and he would tell you how much rice, chicken and spices you would need. Ace!

Listen carefullyAll packed up, and labelled of course

When we returned to Kepala Batas last weekend, we gave it another visit, and he was nice enough to let me snap some photos. He was running the shop with his brother now, and eve week they would do shipment to KL. Some of the 'kedai mamak' in KL bought the spices from him, in bulk.

Ben's General Food Store, Bangsar Village

Coming straight off his Lego camp, Idlan was understandably hungry. He did not have lunch earlier, although he had a late breakfast. Straight away, he told us he wanted pizza. We were settled at The Loaf earlier, but since it did not offer pizza, Dina, our guest, suggested we head across to Bangsar Village and try Ben's.

Again, it was quite a find. We went there a couple of months ago, but could not get a seat, and had to settle for an alternative place. Now, we understood why the place was packed during lunch.

I did not have the chance to peruse through the menu, but they mainly offer Italian and fusion food. We went straight for pizza and milkshake. It was a ten inch, thin crust pizza, and Idlan finished them all on his own - with the help of sprinkling of parmesan of course.

I did managed to sample half a slice. It was very nice. Nice crisp base, tangy tomato topping and nice smooth mix of mozzarella and cheddar. Served piping hot, in a nice little place and a personal roll cutter.

Idlan and Anita did some groceries while I was with Idlan. Irfan joined us later and we ordered another pizza for take-out.

The pizza has arrivedIdlan working on themOne more to go

Since it was a quick stop, we would definitely be returning. It must be the Raya spirit, as I was kind to both restaurants - The Loaf being the other - I entered this afternoon.

The restaurant was located on the Ground Floor of Bangsar Village, right by the main foyer, directly opposite Village Grocers. I have to warn you that the place tended to be packed during weekends, especially lunchtime ….

P/S - we had a slightly different experience the next time we came here.