Birds @ IKANO

We have our school reunion coming up next weekend. Unfortunately I will be in Lumut at the time, but Puan Anita was keen to go. Yes, we went to school together. We were what you might say, childhood sweetheart. Yup! It is sad. We first went out in 1987, got married 1997, then got Idlan in 2004. We decided to enjoy our time in UK first before parenthood. It did not turn out half bad after all. Back to the reunion.

Yup! They brought the cages in

Since I will be able to make it, she will be going with a few of her old friends. You guessed it. New clothes, new bags, new make-up and most importantly, new contact lenses!. So, we went out to IKANO yesterday to get a new pair for her. When we stepped in, Idlan shouted out, “Hey! That’s the bird park in here!”. Apparently, for a couple of weeks, the KL Bird Park was doing a promotion at IKANO. They brought over a fair few of their prized possession and the main foyer were filled with birds inside a makeshift tent. The boys were not very keen to go in, so I was not sure how much we would have had to pay to get in. But if you spent more than RM100 at the centre - which we did - we were entitled to a special discount.

Irfan waiting for it all to cookRaw fish slices before being boiledIdlan contemplating his kind of lunchThe World Cup fever hitting the The CurveWe ended up having lunch there at the steamboat joint down there, then after a quick walk across to The Curve where we parked, it was time to go. Our new maid looked tired from her journey in the day before. We bought her toiletries and the kind then was back home.

More scouting

The unmistakeable Kompleks Dayabumi - Petronas used to operate from here prior to the Twin TowersNow that we sort of like had the general idea of where to head for on the upcoming Kelby’s Photowalk, it was my turn to do another scout, to avoid any surprises so to speak. All in all, it was a very promising route, but it will need some refinements, and luck for good weather.

The starting pointAs proposed, we will be setting off from Central Market. I imagine on a Saturday morning, at 10, CM will still be quiet. I will later scout for a restaurant for us to congregate. Maybe some of us will be having breakfast there. There was a small market there today on the main walkway. Apparently according to one of the vendors, it happens there every weekend morning. From my observation, there was not very much to see there. Maybe we will walk around the area for a start before setting off to the train station.

The weekend market next to the CM.... selling all sortsFor there, we will cross a small bridge towards Kompleks Dayabumi where we will pass throguh the car park. I suggest we park there. It was indoors and costs RM2.50 per entry. The entrance is rather tricky since you have to be driving from Dataran Merdeka to get to the entrance. Through the car park, into the small shopping area at the Kompleks, we will emerge on the other side. A right turn from here will take us to Dataran Merdeka. We will instead take a left towards the old Train Station. It has now been converted into Komuter station, and part of the terminal building has been renovated int a hotel, Heritage Hotel. I will need to talk to the hotel management to see if there is any worthwhile access through the hotel, in case it leads into anywhere near the old platform. If so, that will be ace!

There is a beaten path from CM to Dayabumi, along an underpass, then across a pedestrian bridgeThis will take us straight into the carpark - I propose we park here, but public transport is of course would be betterAn exit from the carpark will lead us here. Straight down would be Dataran Merdeka but first we will head in the oposite direction.We will then reach the old train stationAn underground pass will then take us towards the KTM office right opposite. We will then move towards Dataran Merdeka, passing by Masjid Negara. Maybe more photo op there. Past Bukit Aman, we will soon reach Dataran Merdeka, Bangunan Sultan Sallehuddin - the old High Court - and the famous flagpole. Maybe we will spend a few moments here.

Fancy a quick drink?Brought back childhood memories this. Used to take the train from Penang to reach KL, and this was were we alight.Under another pedestrian underpass to reach the KTM Office buildingPassing by Masjid Negara, we will then head towards Dataran MerdekaA short walk round the corner will take us towards Lebuh Ampang. This is where the old KL meets new, with plenty of restored shop front. There will be a few Mamak restaurants, McDonald’s, Burger King and 7-Eleven to stock up or stop for lunch. We will also be passing by Masjid Jamek - the real centre of Kuala Lumpur for more photo op! Central Market - where we set off was also just round the corner.

Dataran Merdeka and the famous clubhouseThe pole needed no introductionThe Masjid Jamek forming the real center of Kuala Lumpur - where Sg Kelang and Sg Gombak met. There are plenty of restaurants near here for lunch.From here we might linger around a bit longer around Lebuh Ampang or head towards Chinatown, depending on our mood. We might already be tired by then, or filled up our memory cards …..

There will be a lot of things to photograph. A renovated shop front.Colourful and contrasting buildings - disclaimer, taken with a 7DFreedom of expressionCongregation of foreign workersKuala Lumpur welcomes youAll this scouting was done in under an hour believe it or not!I will need to scout this area more specifically to finalise the route to take to Chinatown, or even if it will be worth the trip considering the time we will be arriving there which will be right after lunch. Will update more as the time nears. Everyone are welcomed to join in on the photowalk scheduled for Saturday 24th July. For further information about the walk and how to join, please visit here. A more thorough walkthrough can be seen on my flickr set. Slideshow for this scouting mission can also be seen here. Again, all the photos here were taken using a mobile phone unless otherwise indicated.

Happy Father's Day

The boys with their cardsIt’s the third Sunday of June again, and Dads everywhere - rejoice for this is your day! Idlan and Irfan brought me a surprise on Friday. They made lovely cards for me, and when I got home from work, they drag me into the room and parade them for me. A nice touch. Puan Anita was away then, to pick up our new maid from Klang. So, I have to make some plans for the weekend. Will needed to take my Dad out for lunch on Sunday. It happened to be his birthday as well! He actually asked me to get him a new desktop PC as his current one was going kaput! Hmmmm! Maybe next month.

From Idlan... and IrfanHappy Father’s Day everyone!

Old Victoria Station

In the years gone by, we had always regarded that Victoria Station serve the best steak in town. However, we started to spot some worrying trend in the last couple of years. The steak had become less succulent. The seasoning was not as nice and even the quality of the vegetables had deteriorated. Basically , the management lost focus and stopped realising what the had developed over the years and taken it for granted. I used to go there very couple of months for the spare ribs, but lately I was not even bothered.

Right after the concert, my Mum-in-law wanted to swing by to have lunch. She wanted some lobster for some reason and the boys, still excited form the concert wanted some fish and chips. The new place has recently had a facelift and what possibly was a change in management - if not in terms of member, at least in style. The menu was slightly different with a few new items added on, but the price has also gone up. None of the steak were less than RM50 now. My spare ribs was RM57 plus tax. 

But for the price, the old taste were back. The spare ribs was very well prepared, with the gravy just nice, and was at just the right potion. The vegetables were fresh like it used to be. The mango and shrimp cocktail were very nice, and the juice were freshly prepared, although I suspected that they put in too much syrup as it was way too sweet despite the ice cubes. And the boys enjoyed their chips with mushroom sauce.

It seems that the place had returned to its roots, based on the quality of the meals. The service, as usual was decent, although I missed the Pilipino waiters who used to take care of us very well. I remember having had the same waiter attending to us for a few visits. Both him and his wife have since left for the Philippines. The waiters were now from the sound of it, local. I don’t really mind that. What I don’t like was foreign waiters who can’t even talk in English or Malay properly. That really got me going!

Station Ampang - 243, Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur - Tel: 03-4257-3388. For more information, please click here.

Scouting report

Since I spelt halfway during the Eng-guur-land game last night, I woke up extra early today. Got my gear ready and went about scouting for the route for the upcoming Scott Kelby Photowalk coming up next month. I ended up with blisters on my foot, but one had to suffer for art I suppose. I snapped the photos using the phone with the GPS on to track my position and will be discussing the route with my co-organising colleague later on this afternoon.

The route I scouted this morning was from the car park at Jalan Alor, walking towards Bukit Bintang. I then walked towards Pavilion. We will probably spend some time around here doing cityscape photography and candid snaps. The next stop will be KLCC via the Convention Centre which should be within 15 minutes on from Pavilion. This was when things get a bit complicated. Maybe w will spend more time by the park, taking more snaps.

The next challenge will be the route back. I walked through Jalan P Ramlee past the then deserted sports bar. My idea would be to start the walk possibly late afternoon and by the time we arrive at KLCC, it should be just before sunset. Therefore, it will be early evening when we pass by the sports bar again. My only worry would be afternoon rain if we start late. Alternatively, we can start late morning, maybe around 10, spend the afternoon at KLCC, before doubling back towards the PapaRich at Bukit Bintang near where we park for a spot of tea and maybe a slideshow as suggested with one of the organiser colleague. We will thrash the plan out later in the afternoon and possibly get somewhere!

For a more complete look at the route, please visit my flickr link here, where the photographs will be geotagged. The slideshow for the walk can be seen here. All the photos from this page and the slideshow wee taken using a mobile phone! You can sign up for the walk on this link.