Wedding at the Marina

Last weekend, Syahril invited us to attend his sister’s wedding. It was a two-day event, the Saturday being the akad nikah as well as aqiqah for his daughter, followed by a reception on the Sunday. I was stuck at work on the Saturday and was not able to go. However, we were able to join them for the reception.

The reception was held at a new restaurant at Marina Putrajaya called Bora Ombak. We were quite familiar with the Bora Ombak branch in Ampang, but this was the first time we were at the new outlet. It was a decent-sized hall, catered for wedding right at the marina offering a great vista of the beautiful surrounding.

Some advert for the place ...The pelamin"Forever starts today"Gamelan is readyBeing Putrajaya, access from KL was straight-forward and the venue offered ample parking. I had been there a few times - before the outlet was open - to fly my drone before.

The food was great and we got ourselves a great spot at one corner of the hall. Since we left the boys at home, we were able to enjoy the food and the occasion without worrying about them.

It was full houseSyahril making sure everything was in orderAnita also wanted to get her photos done at the boothThe happy couple cutting cakeSpeech from the father of the bride ....A great day out actually and the unique venue offered a new perspective. It was a hall best used for daytime event as the natural light coming through the large glass windows really spurred up the place.

The marina was located right next to Pullman Putrajaya, and Syahril and his family actually spent the evening there. Not a bad place to hold a reception actually .....

Anita's Birthday Lunch

Anita actually had two lunches yesterday, with two sets of friends. And I was only invited to one, as the other was with her girlfriends. I had to cope with being the chauffeur though.

For the lunch that I joined, it was at La La Chong, a familiar place we went to before. Great cooking, with almost fresh seafood - somehow it was not so fresh yesterday. Great company, and great crab ....

Started with the prizes first ....Hmmm .... What to order?Crunching the starters ....The place was surprisingly empty for a Sunday afternoon, so we got our food fast and got to enjoy some privacy. It started with exchanges of gifts, some chit chat before the food came over thick and fast.

We ordered a couple portions of crab, a couple of fish, some cockles and vegetables. I must say that I was impressed by the crispy mantis prawns. The sauce on the crab was to die for - and most probably would so judging by the amount of calories and fat we consumed.

The orders then started to line up. This was the mantis prawn. Gorgeous!The table was soon full .....The birthday girl wanted to try everything ....The killer dish. Quite literally. The fatty crab ....The steamed fish was another revelation. Rather than steamed in a broth, the fish this time around was dry, leaving just succulent flesh to be scrapped and enjoyed with some garlic sauce. The cockles were too bitter for my liking though, so I didn't take much of that.

The crab was best enjoyed with some fresh bun, straight from their oven. It complemented the sauce beautifully, and it was not a surprise that it finished in double quick time.

Then there was time for cakes ....Nice one to top things off .....As I mentioned, the crab was not as fresh as I would hope. Thankfully, the cooking was great, and the sauce really made the dishes work. But compared to the fresh seafood from Kuala Selangor, it lost out big time. But for city dwellers like us who couldn't make regular trip out of town, it was not a bad return. Definitely would recommend the place although the crab may set you back a few bob. And not to be had regularly if you wanted to take care of your arteries .....

How to get there? Rather tricky to be honest. I would recommend that you just punch in these coordinate - 3.124607, 101.607771 - into your GPS devices and just follow the directions. Roughly it was located behind Tropicana City Mall, in Damansara.

Aqiqah at PJ

Being on call today did not stop me from attending Dina's child's aqiqah, although we arrived fashionably late, just in time for the food. Actually, I arrived earlier than Anita as the venue was actually only 10 minutes away from the hospital. Managed to get there right after my first couple of admissions.

Anita was still feeling under the weather and she had to go straight home after lunch, while I went back to the hospital for yet another admission before returning to the apartment. The apartment sure looked rather big when it was empty …..

Al Fatihah

Learned this morning that a dear friend and a former colleague passed away after some period of illness. He had a big scare a month ago, but recovered and we were optimistic than he would get better. Unfortunately that was not to be.

He was among the first few people who welcomed me when I first joined Universiti Malaya. An imposing fella, but a gentle giant deep down, he soon left for Germany to complete his PhD and further studies. He came back a few years back, and since then, I learned that he had been fighting diabetes.

He bounced back somewhat, but since the beginning of the year, he had not been well. Enough about that.

Prof Salem. Alfatihah. I would miss his quip about computers and gadgets. Even after I left UM, I still get the occasional emails or Facebook messages about tech. He had been updating his social media outlets until recently, but I only learned about the sad news this morning. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to attend his solat this morning as I learned about the news an hour too late.

It had certainly been a sad year for the Medical Department at UM. We had lost a couple of very capable Faculty Members. Alfatihah to both of you, and condolences to the family.

Lunch at Kuala Selangor

Thursday was a day I planned to spend with an old friend, who is now working in Germany. Frankfurt was a new place for him and we certainly ha plenty to catch up on. Previously Specky was based in London.

He was back for a week, after a meeting last week. I went over to pick him up at around 11, and the initial plan was to head for a restaurant in town for lunch. Instead, we ended up in Kuala Selangor, having a gut-busting seafood meal. Two full-fat meal in a week was not good!

Central KL was hazy for the past week. It made such a change to have some fresh air.Getting settled in. The cutlery and utensils were left in warm water. A method for sterilisation I supposed. Autoclave anyone?It was a warm day and the cool lychee made a whole lot of difference.Lunch in Kuala Selangor was good as usual, and we went to one of the riverside restaurant in Kuala Penampang, our usual spot. We used the newly opened LATAR highway this time around, cutting the journey time considerably. With RM6 toll, it only took us under an hour to travel from Kepong to the restaurant. Usually, it could take close to two.

I only just realised the name of the restaurant after being here many timesThe landmark for the restaurant was this fat crab right at the front.The aftermath after the mealI could swear it was all his fault!We had sweet and sour crab, steamed fish and some cockles. And we still made it back to KL - for a post-lunch appointment to meet another friend - just before 3pm. A quick coffee, then off to drop Specky off at his parents.

Specky would be around until Sunday, but he had a family wedding to attend from tomorrow.