The Annual Dinner

No, this isn't the usual formal annual dinner where everybody must attend and pretend to enjoy themselves. Where the Boss would give a speech and awards given to the best employee and the managers patting themselves on their collective backs saying how good they have done in the past year.

This was a ritual. Every Ramadan the Bosses from the Oncology team would organise a berbuka puasa event for the nurses and staffs of the Oncology team, and this year it was held last night. Last year, the hosts, Dr Matin Mellor and Dr Ahmad Kamal had it at Sime Darby Convention Centre, and even though the food was great, the grappling to get to the food and the fact that the venue were slow to prepare the dishes left a sour taste to the mouth quite literally.

This year it was more organised. And the fact that the venue, Holiday Villa was just around the corner from the hospital helped quite a bit. No more parking a mike away from the hall this time around. And if you felt like it, there was always the option walking to the hotel.

The venue was bigger than I thought. We were tabled at Victoria Hall, right at the very end but the food was aplenty and there was hardly any queue most of the time. The selection was also pretty decent as most of the Ramadan Buffet I attended before only paid a courtesy attention to the actual food. There were mainly local and Indian affair although there was a bit of Japanese, a grill and some pasta. Enough to keep everybody interested. But the Malay desserts were smashing.

The place was rather crowded however and it was not designed for privacy. No real room for chit chat across table. The place was too crowded to mingle around as well. Food, a bit of chit chat and we were done. Not before a group photo though. And as usual, I bought Puan Anita with me.

Low Key Birthday

Idlan turned 11 yesterday and this time we didn't prepare any real party for him. He wasn't really. Keen although he did ask for a cake when he woke up yesterday.

Luckily, a quick call to my sister sorted that out and in the afternoon, we set off to Kajang for dinner and of course the cakes, celebrating it with his cousins.

Nothing fancy. He already got his birthday present the evening before. Maybe we would have lunch with his grandparents later on Sunday...

As for the rest of the day, we didn't do much especially with the rain outside. He also preferred to stay in and play with his cousins.

Subak

It was a rather unusual name. I was sure there was a meaning behind it. Something profound!

That happened to be the name of the restaurant we tried last weekend for Mother's Day dinner. Located at Bukit Lanjan, it was certainly secluded although only 5 minutes away from the Curve and TTDI. The concept? Pretty much Malay traditional, but the food certainly wasn't. It was fusion, ranging from tom yam to wagyu steak. The only thing missing was sushi!

And the food was gorgeous. And the ambiance was certainly romantic, something I wouldn't mind taking Puan Anita for a date to.

Idlan having a feel of the ambianceThat's one big shell!That lead to the washroomThe buffet area was closed that nightThe dinner on Saturday evening was for my Mum, and my sister Julia and her family was there as well. We arrived there first, so Idlan and I went about exploring the restaurant while waiting for Julia to turn up. The layout was a plot of land on top of a hill, with the central area being open with a small water feature. The area in the outside were for big groups, while more private seatings for couples were scattered across the water feature, with the tables decorated with fresh flowers and lit with candles, to the sound of flowing water.

There was also area a separate area for parties. That evening there was a small wedding reception going on.

The path leading up to the restaurant looked rather slipperyThe children talking about games ....While the parents having a look at the boutique That's a nice touchI had a spare rib, Idlan had nachos, Anita had soto, while my Mum had some rice. My Dad went for steak. The food actually arrived in good time, and they were very well-presented and was very well-prepared. My rib was a bit too raw for my liking, but the soto and rice was delicious. All the food was prepared a la carte although there was a buffet area, which was closed that evening. The owner mentioned that there would be buffet during Ramadan.

We had a great time. The host came over to our table to greet us. There was also a small boutique owned by the owner's niece at the reception which Anita had a look at.

A wedding reception going on at one endAlmost doneThey travelled quite a bitLocated at the top of a hill meant that it took a bit of a climb to get up, which may be tricky if you have a bad knee. It may also be slippery when wet. The parking was also hap hazard by the roadside, and since the area was located in the middle of nowhere, security may also be an issue. Better be careful where you park!

I would highly recommend this restaurant for its food and ambiance. The price was also quite reasonable. More information about the restaurant is available here.

Friday Outing

The boys were finally done with their assessment and from Friday, they would be off for two and a half weeks. Easter break of sorts. Some of their friends were going abroad. The boys had to make do with a trip to Kedah next week, providing the MPV - currently at the workshop with gearbox issues - was sorted.

As soon as they arrives at the apartment on Friday, they decided to stay in, play with their Lego and video games. Anita wanted to go out for dinner but both of them didn't want to follow.

That would mean a date night for Anita and I.

Looks like some serious filming is going on here ....

We went over for a walk around Pavilion as Anita had to buy some gifts for a birthday party the next day. I took the time to walk around to take some street photos. Weather was overcast. Had a nice walk around, although there were not much to snap at.

I decided to only bring my GR along and ninja around for a bit.

Dinner was at Tony Roma's. But we left early as they boys were at the apartment only with the maid. ‎

Tutup Kedai

I have always had a love-hate relationship - mostly hate - against Ben restaurant chain. Their food was never the best, but the attitude of their staffs which got to me. Arrogant would be an understatement. As if they were a bunch of connersier.

After a couple of bad experiences, I tended to stay away from them. It didn't make much difference as they were full most of the time.

What I finally got ... some really nice meet land, with tons of ajinomoto I was sureIndeed ....So, when I went to Bangsar Village earlier - not to Ben's but to Mahbub instead, I was surprised to see the branch there had packed up. Maybe it had something to do with GST but I very much doubted that. They still have plenty of branches around town. Anyhow, I still felt the branch at Bangsar Village was somewhat iconic and it would be missed. ‎In fact, they have an outlet on the other side of Bangsar Village on the same floor, with a slightly different concept ...