A Saturday That Behaved Itself

Please click the photo above to play the daily videoFor once, the Saturday round had the decency to be brief. I went in braced for the usual open-ended morning and was pleasantly disarmed to find it wrapped up sooner than expected — one of those rare occasions when the work and the clock cooperate rather than conspire. I was home early enough to have lunch at the table, an ordinary thing made faintly luxurious by how seldom the timing allows it.

The afternoon was kept deliberately loose, the day's real business reserved for the evening. There is a particular pleasure in a weekend with a dinner pencilled in and nothing much before it — the gentle anticipation of an outing, with hours to spare before it arrives.

Idlan, ever attentive to the finer details, slipped off for a haircut first, then met us at Pavilion looking suitably tidied. We had booked RasaNya, a nyonya-themed steamboat place, which is precisely the sort of inventive idea that could go either way and, happily, went the right one. Idlan committed fully to a mala broth, the kind of decision that announces a young man's confidence in his own heat tolerance. Our own tom yam, ordered with the modest expectation of mild, turned out considerably fiercer than advertised — a reminder that one should never quite trust a broth that looks innocent. We ate well, and warmly, in every sense.

Afterwards we drifted over to Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad to walk off the meal, the evening air doing its part to cool the lingering tingle of the broth. Idlan, with the unhurried instincts of his generation, steered us to Niko Neko for a matcha, while I opted for ice cream — the sweeter, simpler choice, and one I have no intention of apologising for. There is something companionable about each of us choosing our own indulgence and ambling along with it in hand.

We took our time with the stroll along the River of Life, that stretch where the old city wears its best lighting and the water is made briefly theatrical. By night it has a quiet grandeur, the historic façades softened and the river itself behaving as though it has always been this picturesque, conveniently forgetting its more workaday character by day. The place was still buzzing — couples, families, the usual evening crowd out enjoying the cool of it — and there is an easy contentment in being one small part of that, neither hurrying nor lingering, simply present.

It was the sort of Saturday that asks for nothing in particular and gives back a great deal. A short morning, a meal at home, an evening out with one of the boys, good food, a gentle walk, and a city looking its best. No grand events, no fireworks — only the steady accumulation of small, good things that, taken together, make for a thoroughly satisfying day.

We came home unhurried and well-fed, the broth still faintly making its presence known. Some Saturdays simply get it right. This was one of them.

The City, Twice

Please click the photo above to play the daily videoThe long weekend announced itself properly — rounds started early and wrapped up by noon, which is exactly the kind of Saturday morning that earns its afternoon. With the rest of the day wide open, I took Anita into the city, starting at Central Market.

There was a bittersweet errand first. Nala, the outlet in Kasturi Walk, is doing a closing down sale. It's always a shame when a place you've browsed happily over the years decides to fold. You don't realise how much a shop has become part of your mental map of a place until someone announces it's leaving. We paid our respects in the way one does — by buying things at a discount and feeling vaguely guilty about it.

Lunch was at Pak Jen, quick and unfussy, the kind of meal that exists to refuel rather than linger. It did its job admirably.

Afterwards, we wandered across to Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad, mostly on a whim, and found ourselves genuinely surprised. The new wing was open — something I hadn't expected — and it's been fitted out with a cluster of restaurants and cafés that give the whole building a completely different energy. Heritage architecture with modern tenants. It works rather well.

We tried Tannin Hill, a tea house that offered a tasting menu. The concept was lovely, the execution generous — perhaps too generous, if we're being honest. By the fourth or fifth steep, we'd crossed the line from pleasantly caffeinated to faintly overwhelmed. There is, it turns out, such a thing as too much tea. A sentence I never expected to write.

We walked it off, exploring the rest of the new spaces, and somewhere during the stroll the idea formed: we'd come back this evening with Irfan. The place deserved a second visit, preferably with a different stomach.

So that's exactly what we did. Dinner at Jibby Chow, because Irfan had his heart set on dim sum, and Jibby Chow delivers on that front without argument. Idlan was too tired to tag along, which is the quiet prerogative of anyone who's had enough socialising for one day. No judgement. Some evenings you simply don't have a second outing in you.

After dinner, we returned to Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad as planned. The building looks different at night — the lighting picks out details you miss in daylight, and the whole precinct takes on a more relaxed, almost European quality. We stopped at Niko Neko for matcha, which I'll describe diplomatically as an acquired taste. Irfan seemed more convinced than I was. I suspect matcha is one of those things you either feel strongly about or simply endure politely while waiting for someone else to finish theirs.

The walk back was the best part, really. The city at night, properly strolled rather than rushed through. KL rewards you when you slow down, and tonight it was in a generous mood.

River of Life Video

I was on call yesterday and to be honest, rather to tired to bring up an a blog entry. But the video I recorded last Saturday night at the River of Life in the City Centre would serve as another teaser of what coming in the next few entries ...