Wagyu, Wagon, and Watching the Semis Take Shape

Please click the photo above to play the daily videoEngland versus Norway called for an early start, and it delivered — a proper quarter-final, the kind that refuses to resolve itself tidily and drags you through extra time before letting anyone breathe out. Bellingham was, once again, the man of the moment, a brace that carried England through to a 2-1 win, the second goal arriving deep into extra time when the whole thing looked like it might crawl towards penalties. Haaland, by contrast, had one of those days that happens to even the best of them — quiet, contained, never quite finding the space he's spent the tournament living in. England through to the semis. Norway home with their heads held reasonably high, having gone rather further than anyone expected of them this time last month.

Ward round followed straight after, conducted with one eye on proceedings elsewhere, as Argentina and Switzerland were doing their own version of the same drama in Kansas City. Extra time again, a Julián Álvarez strike from distance eventually settling it, Argentina through 3-1 and now lined up against England in the semis — which means Wednesday just became rather significant viewing.

Lunch was the day's proper centrepiece: Bendang KL, a first visit, tucked into Kampung Baru in a way that made the whole outing feel slightly like a discovery. We'd booked ahead and arrived early, which turned out to be the right instinct entirely — by the time we left, the place had filled up considerably, queues forming at the door for a table we'd had the good sense to claim in advance. Mak joined us, the lunch doubling as a proper extension of the birthday celebrations, and the food more than justified the trip — good service too, attentive without hovering, the sort of lunch that makes you wonder why you hadn't been before.

From there, a change of pace entirely: Mid Valley, and the ongoing saga of Irfan's phone situation, which finally resolved itself with his old SIM card reactivated and back in service. Not the most glamorous stretch of the day, but satisfying in its own small, administrative way — one of those loose threads finally tied off.

Dinner at home rounded things out gently: a beef carpaccio salad, light and unfussy, exactly the sort of thing an evening asks for after a day that had already delivered its fair share of drama, both culinary and footballing. Two extra-time quarter-finals, a new restaurant discovery, a resolved SIM card, and a semi-final now looming on the horizon — not a bad haul for a Saturday, all told.