Wadi Hadramawt

In the last few years, we have done Chinese, Indian, Minang, Western, Thai, so we thought we try Arab this year. Before everybody went overboard, the reason why we tended to go out for a big meal during my birthday was because I share it with my father-in-law - and Dr Mahathir as well if you must know - so, the family was actually celebrating his birthday and I just tag along for the ride. It tended to confuse my boys though as both their father and granddad share the same birthday.

Anita picked up Wadi Hydramawt. Every time we drove by Jalan Ampang, she kept looking at the restaurant and this time, she wanted to give it a try. Booking was straight forward, she asked for a private room upstairs and we turned up just after 8.30. Walking up the stairs proved a nuisance both for my kids and parents. So, be careful if you we planning to venture into the private rooms. We did not pre-order our food though.

Taking time to orderLet me start by commenting on the venue. It was a converted bungalow building, more of a colonial touch, right of Jalan Ampang, to your left if you were driving up from Ampang Park towards Jelatek. The building did look extravagant from the outside, and there were ample parking space for the patrons. It was attended full time apparently, so it was well-lit and safe. You have a choose of eating at the open verandah, or inside the building - our room were upstairs on the first floor. Pretty cosy but was crowded when we arrived. Sitting in the room, with the air-conditioning on cut us away from the buzz happening around.

The menu was straight forward, and we all took orders of rice with either chicken, lamb or fish. And here is a tip should you were there for a visit - order the set rice meals, such as chicken mendy rather than fish. The fish took a good half an hour to be ready, and were the laser to come. All the other rice meal I was sure were pre-cooked. The drinks came fast, so was the salad. Being a Sunday evening, I could appreciate that the restaurant was fully booked, but what did not help was they were clearly short staffed. And the staff on show were a mix of local and Arabs, and the Arab waiters could do with some English classes, as their Malay we non-existent. All that said, the waiter assigned to our table was courteous and did not mess our order at all. His English was another story.

So, what did I sample? Olive and hummus salad for starters, then chicken mendy for mains, with side orders grilled chicken - which looked and tasted pretty much like tandoori - and lamb with brinjal curry. For drinks, I had some freshly - and I really mean fresh - blended mango juice. We also had a variety of salads, and my children and father-in-law had fish for their main meals.

My chicken mendyTime to tapau!

On the whole, the food was better than expected. I couldn't resist the comparison with Al Rawsha, another Middle Eastern restaurant we frequent. The menu was comparable, and so was the price. I have to say that Al Rawsha's food was a touch better, with greater variety. The service at Al Rawsha was a bit slower though from what I experienced before. Al Rawsha's "castle" near Bulatan Pandan was much bigger however, although during peak hours, parking there could be a pain despite having attendants to help out.

On the whole, if you were craving for some Middle Eastern food, you could do much worst than here. Be prepared to pay a premium as it was not cheap. I might come here again on the odd occasions, and I would recommend you do the same as well from time to time. More information available here in their rather extravagant website.

Birthday Came Early

My birthday would be a couple of weeks away but I have been going on about what I wanted as a present for quite some time. So, I got it early this time. It was not something fancy but enough to make a few people turn with glee.

It was a head phone. But not just any other head phones. It was the one I sampled when I was the Apple Store on London. It was one of those made by Monster, called Beats. It appeared to be the in thing at the moment. While on the Tube the other day, everyone was listening to an iPhone, and apart from the usual Apple earphone that came with the phone, there were a fair few using either Beats or Bose. Bose were basically for too expensive. Beats would do nicely.

There were a few models to choose from when I went to the main dealer at Low Yat. Somebody recommended him on the forums, and the gentleman appeared to know his stuff. I settled for the Studio model, black in colour. It was iPhone compatible with the built-in microphone as part of The noise cancellation technology used as the microphone when you make phone calls. Quite clever really.

I would definitely write more after a couple of weeks with the earphone. For the time being, let's enjoy the sound, and think about the permanent hearing damage later .....

Yesterday's Do

Irfan's birthday party finally took place yesterday. As per his request, it was held at KL Bird Park, where Idlan had his last year. On that occasion, Irfan really enjoyed himself, so much so that he specifically wanted his big day to be there as well. He got his wish yesterday. This time, we mainly invited his school friends, but disappointingly, some cancelled at the last minute. Those who came - around 20 children, had a whale of a time.

What was obvious was the fact that the patents were impressed as well. Though most of them had heard of the bird park, not all of them have been there. Even those who have been there were not aware of a restaurant they have there called the Hornbill. One don't need to enter the park to enjoy the food there and from past experiences, the food there have been excellent.

Hornbill also host rents such as birthday parties and corporate dos. We learned about it when Anita had lunch there a couple of years and tried it foe Idlan's birthday last year. It was a hit then. The food was good and the event was very well organised by the resident event manager. The package included food, entrance to the park as well as private tour with one of the rangers. The children also enjoyed a bird show at the amphitheater. There were plenty of activities to be had, and the children really enjoyed. Shame for those who cancelled or did not turn up as it was not your typical birthday party.

I will blog about the actual event later with more pictures. Rather pushed for time at the minute.

KLGCC Party

Children were getting posh nowadays and yesterday, Idlan and us were invited to a birthday party at the famed KLGCC - Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club - yesterday. So, we went, despite me being on call - the iPhone ringer on extra loud volume of course. The theme was military outfit, and we completely missed that. Anita missed that bit on the birthday card.

The last time I went to the Club was some three years ago when the Medical Unit held their annual dinner there. In that time, the place appeared to have been renovated. The entrance was different, so were some of the facilities. The lobbies were certainly more relaxing compared to what I remembered. Shame that it would cost quarter of a million for membership!

As for the party, it was for a pair of siblings, one was Idlan’s classmate, while the sister was Irfan’s. Most of the children and parents were from Sri Utama, mostly well known to us. The party started at 3 pm, but as I was on call, and just in case I was called in, we decided to head there early. The party was held at one of the banquet halls, complete with bouncy castle, and other children tit-bits, such as games area, candy floss, but no clown. The main event was hitting the pinata and the cake.

Food there was excellent. I had a couple of helpings of the bread and butter pudding of course. The children were having a whale of a time, jumping around and playing games. Idlan especially was reluctant to go home when we had to leave. On the way back to the car, we passed by the driving range, and saw a couple of young kids hitting the golf balls with their instructor. It looked like the facility for golf here was top notch. My Dad-in-law has membership to a few other clubs, and was talking about Idlan having some lessons. Maybe we would do that if the boys were interested.

Suraiya's Birthday

Suraiya's birthday party really went well today, although a few people couldn't make it at the last minute. The boys enjoyed themselves. Chicky, the mascot was there of course. Of course both Idlan and Irfan had their moments - with their tantrums of course. Idlan planning on sabotaging the birthday cake.

It was always a good idea to have birthday party at a venue rather than at home. You can rest assured that the caterer will not be late, plenty of food will be available. Decor will always be provided, with a party organiser usually. But the beat thing of all, you don't have to do the cleaning up. I have been to some well-organised venue party in the past. McDonald's and KFC were very good at these usually. We, of course had Idlan's at the Bird Park, and although we spent quite a bit of money, I thought it was well worth the price.

Chess anyone?Next stop was Wangsa Walk Mall to get a new pair of school shoes for Irfan. He was certainly growing up fast indeed. I reckon that he will need a couple of pairs of new one for the next school year. There was a giant chess competition in the middle of the Walk which was quite interesting.

Irfan's new shoesLet's kick the AndroidUnfortunately I had to do a bit of work in the afternoon. Right after that, I went to Sg Wang to sort my credit cards and had a quick tea there. There was no new DVD out from the looks of things. I headed over to Low Yat next. There were showing off the new Android tablet by CSL. I ha a quick look. They were running 2.1 and was a bit buggy still from the looks of things. They were certainly smaller than the iPad. Will I invest on them? Not yet at least.