The Loaf, Bangsar Village

Even though Bangsar Village had been the place we roam regularly, today was the first time we stopped over into The Loaf. The myth was it was a simple bakery. The fact was far from that. It was way more than that. It was a proper bistro, serving a wide range of food, from local, to Italian and Western.

We went there to join Dina and Azmel, friends from the times Anita was in the UK. We met after Friday Prayers, while Idlan was at the Lego camp.

I ordered salad and salmon panini, even though I have had lunch earlier. Anita had some salad, but the best order was from Irfan, who had mushroom soup, garlic bread, chips and fruit punch. Dina and hubby had some pasta, and we managed to sample some of their food. No, much to Idlan's disappointment later, they did not do pizza - we went across to Ben's for that later.

The ambiance of the place was really cozy, complete with fake trees with sound of chirping birds coming off them. The lighting was really nice, and the tables were well spaced apart. There were also seatings by the walkway, but those were closed this afternoon.

Langkawi sunset on the right and fruit punch on the left

The nicely presented mushroom soupThe garlic bread was really good - Irfan finished two orders of them. The fruit punch was excellent - which again Irfan had two portions of. My panini was rather too salty - which I suspected came from the cheddar cheese they used but the salad was fresh. The balsamic vinegar to top my salad off was a bit too strong for my liking. I had a slightly different mocktail, called Langkawi Sunset, which was excellent as well.

The pasta as it happened was a revelation, and we soon realised that we should have ordered those instead. We were too full to order dessert, and by the time that was due, Idlan had finished his camp. He wanted to have pizza.

I would definitely return to The Loaf soon, to sample some more of what they had to offer. The menu suggested that it was suitable for either lunch, tea or dinner. I did not think that they offer breakfast. The waiters there were also very informed of the menu and described the food very well, to help us decide on what to order.

Irfan munching away at his garlic breadThe panini had arrivedMy potato and avocado saladAzmel and Dina were doneDina said that, she personally preferred the outlet at Pavilion. The menu there was slightly different apparently. She had been a veteran at The Loaf, even holding a store membership card to accumulate points and get discounts.

The outlet was located on the Ground Floor of Bangsar Village II, right next to Delicious, by the main foyer. This outlet definitely got our seal of approval.

Decorations at The Curve

Among the last venue I went to photograph for the Raya decorations was The Curve. I dropped by the place when the stalls were being set up a few weeks ago, but this time, I took a camera along.

Nothing fancy. Just a few stalls at the central foyer and a small stage.

To be honest, the decorations this year had been universally disappointing. Compared to the last couple of years, this season had been a downer. Well, there would always be next year ….

The Open Afternoon

That was a full afternoon. Right after Smurfs, we rushed to Bangsar Village to buy food and cakes for the open house later on.

After Asar, a few of our cousins turned up with their families. Some of them had not been over for quite some time. A nice chit chat. They stayed until Maghrib.

We were lucky that we had enough food. Apart from the take-outs, Anita cooked spaghetti and another cousin of ours made a curry. Unfortunately, one of our uncle couldn't make it as he was taken ill after his chemotherapy last week. He was feeling weak with some mouth ulcer to boot. We may need to go owe at his place to visit in the coming few days.

Looking forward for another full day tomorrow. A few of Anita's friends from the UK would be meeting up for afternoon tea in Bangsar. Will be joining them after Jumaat prayers.

Having a Smurfing Time

Lunchtime Thursday. Just about the best time to hit the cinema. Except that it was a public holidays and we should have considered ourselves lucky to have bought the tickets ahead of time, on the day the movie opened nationwide. The place was full.

We ordered our food and drinks, then took our seats. Irfan sat next to me and he was already clapping before the opening credit. The power of marketing eh?!

The movie was a fun ride actually, although I remembered as a child, the original comics from Peyo were much more interesting. The plot was cheesy as you would expect, nowhere near as good as Rio or Kung Fu Panda, but really, you couldn't expect to see a Spielberg masterpiece here. It was fun, and my boys had a great time.

The graphic was excellent although one couldn't help but notice that the human actors were doing their scenes in front of a green screen. Their movement were kind of awkward, accommodating the Smurfs character into the frames which was obviously inked in digitally afterwards. But believable still.

The waiting area after the boys were done with it ....The lights were too dim for photos. Irfan settling into his seat ....The movie was rather short by all accounts. It started just before 12.30 and we were already out of the theatre by 2.

All in all, it was a fun day out. My boys had been talking about the movie for quite some time and when I told them I got tickets for today's show, they woke up pronto this morning. Would I recommend the movie? Definitely. Especially if you have kids with you. A feel good movie, most definitely.

A Mini Open House

Our house was scheduled to be attacked today. By our cousins who had returned from their kampungs or those who had been having celebrations of their own in the last couple of days. They called first thing this morning, and would be coming late afternoon to visit their uncle and aunts. Busy day beckons.

Since we have already planned for the movie lunchtime, we had to do a bit of shopping first thing, and I can hear my Mum-in-law already started ordering people around. My task for this late morning was to get a quick groceries done as well as picking up some food from Bangsar on the way back from the movies.

The Raya tsunami was finally hitting the household!