The Third Floor Cafe

Big books. And good coffee. On a Sunday afternoon. Sounds like a perfect way to end the week.

That was what I had earlier today when I ventured to Isetan at Lot 10 as I got a spare couple of hours. The initial plan was to see a 3D printing demonstration but I realised that the timing was not right. I had to be back home before the program started. So, the hour sipping coffee and browsing books at the third floor at the Isetan store sounded fine to me.

Just in case you were so enamoured and wanted to go to Japan straight away, there was also a travel agent on the same floorIt was rather difficult to term the place. Was it a cafe with books, or a cafe at a bookstore. Seemed like most people were doing a bit of both. The coffee was OK, not the best in town, but the books there were something else especially when you venture towards the travel books section. Great material, in heavy minded volumes. The books on urban landscapes and street photography definitely tickled my fancy as lately I found those to be the kind of photography I like - or more like the only photography my schedule allowed me to do plenty of.

I decided against buying the books as I had to trek back to another store where I parked my car and I had a couple of stops in between. Maybe I would come back to buy some books. It would complement the volume I had in my living room nicely.

The cafe counter

Apart from the cafe and books, the third floor were also dedicated to workshops for origami as well as all things Japanese. Take that day for instance, there was a Japanese artist who came to do a demo on 3D glass printing. There were more activities laid out for the rest of the year - which you had to enrol and pay for of course. I might just bring Idlan there one of these days if the event was right ... he loved origami.

Lot 10 hosted - and still hosts - the first Isetan Store in Malaysia. There were a few others now but the one in Lot 10 had been renovated into what was termed a “Japanese Concept Store”. It had ample space with plenty of room to browse around. There were no items cluttering the walkways and it did not have the typical “pushy” salesperson common in KL. You can just walk around without being bothered. Definitely a place worth visiting ....

Isetan Lot 10

This place is neat. A piece of Japan in the middle of KL. Bukit Bintang to be specific.

I managed to get home earlier than usual last Tuesday and I decided to ask Anita for an afternoon out. This time it was slightly different. I took her on the new MRT, after sampling it myself for the first time earlier last weekend.

We parked at NU Sentral as I usually do, took the MRT and came out of the station right in front of Lot 10. I told Anita that there had been some major renovations going on there and the new Isetan at Lot 10 had been completely transformed.

Some nice lighting on the top floorThose were killer macarons Time to explore Anita was skeptical at first. But it didn't take long for the place to win her over. The Lower Ground floor where all the food were left the biggest impression on her. I was more into the the "workspace cubicles" on the third floor. They had a nice little care with some really cracking books around there.

Let's start with the food as I felt that the cubicles deserved a separate entry. Most of the items were rules in especially. The cakes were luxurious and really tummy, although very costly. Anita bought to slices and even before we left the store, those had gone through her mouth. They were that good.

There were a number of sushi bars there as well. We didn't try them as we were not sure if they were halal. Plus it was still too early for dinner. We had a good look around. The Waugh beef specially imported in .... those scrumptious cookies and short cakes! Too many temptations.

Really wished that I could spend more time there. Maybe sample a cuisine or two. But not today ... Many more floors to explore ...

That Famous Cube

That famous cube in front of Lot 10 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

The weather was hot and I would have usually had some ice cream at the nearby vendor. Surprisingly not that many people about this afternoon despite it being a Sunday. Time to head towards Pavilion. I parked there.

Sunday Afternoon

We arrived back to Gombak to be greeted with the news that the water supply had been cut. Not much notice were given out as the cut was due to some contamination issue at the treatment plant. Some diesel seeped through rendering the water unsafe for use. What a bummer!

We contemplated repacking and head back to apartment but that would be too much of a hassle.

After sorting out the children's homework and settled them down, Anita and I went out. Bukit Bintang today as Anita wanted to shop for some dress there. That gave me the chance to venture into Low Yat. The mission that afternoon was to look for a Bluetooth earset for my phone.

Tough luck. Not many good models available. Most of them were made by Jabra and I have already got an old unit I could still use. Nothing much on show that day. Even iPhone 6 ran out of stock .... a slow weekend for them I guessed.

We parked the car at Pavilion and after Anita was done with her shopping, we were caught in heavy rain to get back to the car. We ended up stopping for some coffee at Lot 10 instead.

After half an hour or so, we decided to walk through the rain, but on second thought, bought an umbrella from one of the street peddler there - for RM10! But it did its job. We got to the car and started driving home before getting drench. The rain that afternoon was torrential, with flash flooding in a few places in KL. We got home just in time ....

Show Offs

Yes, it was a known fact that we Malaysians like to show off. We like to iild the tallest, make the biggest, but still traffic congestion was still a bind and flash floods a constant thorn. But I digress.

Yesterday afternoon, I strolled around Low Yat , and as usual, I parked at KLCC and walk my way across on the walkway towards Pavilion. A nice relaxing walk actually, and I get plenty of photo ops to go along with it. In front of Lot 10, there was a group of boys with pogo sticks - a proper metallic ones and they really launched themselves in the air. I was not sure if it was an impromptu thing, but doing it at a busy - one of the busiest in town - was never a good idea …..

Further down, there was a huge group of motorcyclist about to converge in front of Pavilion. Most of them were from Kelantan, as there was the small matter of the Malaysia Cup Finals between Kelantan and Armed Forces the same very night, followed by the Malaysia MotoGP the next day. Perfect excuse for a weekend trip down to KL.

And there were at least 100 high-power motorcycles on display ….. and the noise they made …….