A nice lunch at the Smokehouse, Telawi, Bangsar

Irfan is starting off his new series of classes at Pingu's English. There are 3 levels of classes, and each modules are divided into units, the first level being 8 units if I am not mistaken, taken over a period of about 6 months, depending on the number of hours spent. He finished his level 1 classes last month, and at the end we were not sure whether we should enroll him for level 2 or not. He is due to start at Sri Utama next January to join Idlan. As he really liked his teacher - Teacher Kumari - we decided to start him on a weekly program, basically just some reading lessons. The first class was today, every Saturday at noon.

The decors are up at Bangsar Village

While waiting for his class to finish, Anita planned to use the time to shop for groceries and others at the nearby Bangsar Village. For today, my in-laws decided to tag along. We got there in plenty of time. After sending Irfan off, we headed straight for groceries. The Xmas decor is just being readied. After all it is some 6 weeks away. There was a huge Xmas tree in the middle of the main lobby. After mingling around for a bit, the in-laws wanted to look for a spot for lunch. We went for the Smokehouse, next to Madam Kwan opposite the Bangsar Village II.

We have been eyeing the place for some time but never had the opportunity to try it. Today was the day. When we entered, we were presented with the menu and made our selection while seated in the cosy ground floor area, themed alike an authentic English living room. A fireplace would not appear out of place here, nice with plush sofa and magazines. After we made our orders we were ushered upstairs to take our seats. We were quite welcomed to have some drinks downstairs prior if we want since the chef will need some time to prepare the meals, but since Idlan was already restless by then, we went straight up.

All the meals here we prepared on site in the kitchen. There were no such thing as microwaved frozen food here. Everything from the salad to the whipped potatoes and chips were freshly prepared. There were 2 kinds of meal, prepared from a menu devised by two chefs. One is purely English, pudding, roast and the lot. The other is Thai. They were both delectable.

My delectable chicken pie

Anita had some fried mee hoon and tom yam soup. They were both very good. Idlan had some fried chicken cobs, plus chips with mushroom sauce. Very nice! Mum-in-law had roast chicken while my dad-in-law and me had chicken pie ..... Gorgeous! Everything was freshly prepared as I mentioned. The staffs were very friendly. However, since there were plenty of competitions for food in the area, there were hardly any customers at the time we dined. What do you expect when Madam Kwan is right next door. We were too full by the end when the asked if we wanted deserts.

Hari Raya Holiday - Day 01

KLCC Night Walk 6, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

Yes! The holidays already started, but unfortunately without a bang. As those who followed my tweets had learned, Idlan had high temperature last night and had to be taken care of. He seems to have been better during the day and started playing his Wii again. That's a good sign.

Lat's artwork in perspectiveI had plenty lined up to do. To start off, I sent the car for service as we are planning to use it for our trip to Penang after Raya. Then I took Irfan to his Pingu School while Anita had her manicure and pedicure. Bak home, we ran a few errands, going to the bank to transfer our maids' money back home. We then headed out to buy some groceries before it started raining heavily. I have yet to do my own shopping, so I decided to do it after iftar. I set of alone to KLCC.

I had the opportunity to observe Lat's artwork close-up that evening, and it was mesmerising. Simply breath-taking, true to form. Lat s a famous cartoonist and I grown up with his comic as staple. He takes a very dry view of current affairs and hit home with his drawing. He takes no prisoners, and regularly lampoon famous public figures and normal boring daily routines alike. I find his drawing funny and touching, but the best of all was his series on kampung life. If you grow up in kampung, you can't help but smile every time you read it. And this is no exception.

The life-size mock-up of a kampung houseThe Ghazal trope on showIn the main foyer in Suria KLCC, are life-size work of his 'Kampung Boy' series, with all its stereotypical characters, complete with a full-size kampung house. When I arrived there, there were also traditional ghazal troupe playing, and tourists were taking the opportunity snapping away. Let's start with the positives, the artwork was classy, and very well presented. The troupe played very well, excellent sound system and acoustics at the foyer. The vantage points and access was great. I spent almost 20 minutes looking at all that was on offer. Next to them are stalls selling gifts and cookies, all themed similar to the artwork. Very neat indeed.

What is ashamed was there was no guidance for the tourist. It's fair for us who are familiar with firstly Lat's work, but more importantly the selling of the kampung concept to the visiting tourists. There were no tourist guides explaining the goings on, what the exhibits are, not even pamphlets for them to read. I can't help but to realise that there is an opportunity missed here. Worst still, the only access to staff for information were in the form of security personnel, and they were all non-Malaysian! Alamak! Imagine if a tourist ask what was the guitar-like instrument the troupe was playing, I would offered to run around naked at the foyer if the Nepalis 'Pak Guard' can say 'gambus'. If you hear in the news that a naked streaker was cought in KLCC, you have yourself an exclusive on who it was and why.

After doing my shopping, I headed for some food. Unfortunately, most of the food were sold out at the stalls since there was a rush earlier for iftar. Even O'Brien ran out of white bread for sandwiches, and they only sell sandwiches. Had some nasi ayam, then off for some coffee at Starbucks before a quick stroll. There were still plenty of people at Suria at 9.30 last night, by the time I headed home. It was a pleasant walk in the end. At home, the boys were helping their Mummy and Grandma baking some cookies for the Eid. The smell was nice. Idlan's fever was also down by then. Alhamdulillah.

You can see the Twin Towers through the roof

Some Haagen-Dasz is always nice

Some Haagen-Dasz is always nice, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

After Berbuka last night, I had to drive Anita and Irfan to Bangsar Vllage. She had to return Idlan's baju Melayu. It was too big. We managed to exchange for a smaller one. But boy, was Bangsar crowded. It was Friday night after all.

The packed foyerWe reached there close to 9, and the shops will be closed in an hour. In the foyer of Village 1, there is an open market. There are stalls selling Raya clothes and hampers and the likes. The hampers were particularly nice, though they are not cheap. I suppose you get what you paid for. The acid test was whether the Raya cookies in there was as nice as it looked. Therefore, we insisted on trying some. Surprisingly they were good. Enough reason for Anita to splash on one. I'm not sure who she plans to give it too.

A cousin of ours used to do hampers and deliveries in the last few years. I am not sure if she is doing it again this year. She said that the return is good, but it was hard work, especially the delivery part. She was still making deliveries on the evening of Raya.

I have taken both Tuesday and Wednesday off. Coupled with Monday being 'Merdeka Day', I will have 5 straight days off work which is nice. Initially we wanted to travel to Penang, but in the last minute we decided otherwise. We will be heading for Port Dickson instead later today. A couple of days holidays for the boys. That would be nice. Planning to do a bit of street photography while I am there. Shame that I can't go for my Assam Laksa and Teh Tarik in the town because of Ramadhan. The stall might be opened at night though.

Bangsar Outing

090606 - Hot Chocolate @ Fit for 2, Bangsar Village, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

My nephew is due for admission again tomorrow for the planned op initially canceled on Wednesday. He was penciled in for the first on the list on Monday. We decided to take him out today.

Irfan and Idlan @ Fit for 2

When we sent Irfan to school last week, we noticed a Lego workshop in Bangsar Village. My nephew being an avid Lego fan was keen to attend, hence the visit today. With the father's day coming up in the next few weeks, Bangsar Village is running a father and son look-a-like contest. Anita obviously was interested, and we duly obliged.

The cosy interior of Fit for 2Lollipop for Irfan

While waiting for the Lego session to finish, we went to a cafe in Village II called 'Fit for 2". A neat chic little place, basically with emphasis on mothers and their babies. Not only that they have a decent selection of baby food, they also have activities such as yoga over there. The furniture are very neat, with a little corner for toddlers. The joint might be difficult to find if you are not familiar with Bangsar Village II. Get the lift to the top (third floor). Yes, the one with Celebrity Fitness. It is right on the opposite end, on top of MPH. Unfortunately right opposite is the Kiz Gym .... and that's where Idlan and Irfan was headed.

We finished things off with lunch at Madam Kwan.

Irfan's First Proper School Day

Finally Anita got her wish. She always dreamt that one day, her kids will be attending school and she will have the day all to herself. Today is a step in the right direction. Irfan attended her first proper pre-school day.

The day obviously started early. We sent Idlan to school first just before eight. Got Irfan ready, and off we went to Bangsar. Irfan attended the Pingu's English class, just opposite Bangsar Village II, a strategic place for Anita to indulge should she be able to in the future after dropping Irfan off.

We were rather nervous at the beginning, not sure if he will cause a ruckus. In the first 20 minutes or so Irfan was rather quiet. The principal and owner of the centre, Puan Sarah was there. They were expecting another child but he/she did not turn up. While Irfan was getting introduced to the place - and watching a couple of episodes of Pingu of course - Anita was chatting with the principal. She is the sister of the founder of Krista Kindergarten and she herself owns a couple of franchises in Setiawangsa and Melawati. The idea of the Pingu's English school in Malaysia has always been her idea for a while now, but due to certain circumstances it was only launched last year.

She appears to have vast experience. She studied initially as a fashion designer in Melbourne before going into education. She did pre-school training in London and has been involved in schools and kindergarten to a certain extend for at least the last 10 years. She certainly was very approachable. Looking at her we realised that she has been in a few magazines and newspaper articles before.

Currently there a around a dozen of students. Since the classes were scattered, we have not met any of Irfan's fellows. He will be attending the classes three times a week, lasting an hour each. So the school run will be rather interesting. As soon as Irfan finished his class, Anita will have to rush to fetch Idlan.

However today, Irfan did not want to go home at 11. I had to fetch Idlan by myself and then took him to Bangsar. The first day went well. No tantrum. He enjoyed his colouring and plasticine work. Looking forward for tomorrow's class.

 

After class we had lunch at Bangsar Village, then went to Kiz gym for the kids. Anita was checking out Fit for 2 next door. Quite interesting. A keep fit thing for mum and baby. The shop was empty though but the food looked nice. We drove home around 3, and the two boys were fast asleep in the car and did not move a beat when we took them into their bed. Hopefully Irfan still have the same enthusiasm for Pingu tomorrow.