A Different Start

During the New Year weekend, we had a small leak at the kitchen. The workers needed to switch off the tap for 24 hours. Therefore Anita booked a hotel room for us overnight while the work were being completed.

It was more of an apartment unit than a room which she got. It was called the Gardens Residence and it came in a single, double or triple bedroom setup. Only a single was available and there were than enough room for us for the night.

If not for the slow wifi and limited cable channels - which meant no United match that evening - things could've been better.

The best thing about the place was you just had to go to the ground floor and you were already at the Gardens Mid Valley. Shopping galore! That also.made getting fried more straight forward to add to the decent room service Gardens Residence offered.

There were also a gym and swimming room available for guests although sadly I didn't have much time to explore.

Would definitely worth a visit with the apartment going at quite a reasonable price. Location was great although I had to get up early the next morning for my ward round ...

All Planned Out

I may have pulled out the short straw. But it was something which needed to be done. I was asked to organise the upcoming Malaysian Society of Haematologist Scientific Meeting for 2018 and I felt that one day I would be organising it like many other before me.

We do the meeting every year alternating between Kelang Valley and elsewhere. It was JB in 2017. I remember my first such meet in 2004. It was held at Marriott Putrajaya, which was secluded compared to how it is today where the IOI Mall sat next to it. It was barren back then.

The first order of business was to book the venue. Again, it would be the newly renovated Shangri-La KL, as it was a couple of years back. I surveyed a few other spots but none had the same facility as Shangri-La and it was at a right price.

Then came the team. And this would be a good one. My mates were helping out and now we were just waiting for the sponsors and registration to come in. Still plenty needed to be organised but I'm quietly confident that it would turn out OK. Although I am fully expecting more grey hairs by the time April comes.

New Look Pertama Complex

The main entrance to Pertama Complex had been under constant renovations for the last couple of years. That made access to the shopping mall rather inconvenient, putting off people planning to go in.

Yesterday, on my way to Kandaqstan launch, it seemed that the renovations were completed. I felt compelled to enter the building and have a look.

The central foyer by the main entrance appeared brighter and more openThe back lane remains the sameThe main change I saw was to main lobby. The facade was ageing before, not been given a new coat of paint. I also though that the lighting had been changed, the whole area looked more cheerful. Deep down, it remained the same old Pertama Complex. The old leather shops were still there on the upper floors.

I also made my way to once-mighty Foto Selangor. It had definitely seen its best day. Half of the shop now stored electronic goods rather than camera. Sad really. I supposed that was what the digital photography revolution did to the old brick and mortar photo shops. And they were only mainly selling consumer-grade cameras there now ... Had to look elsewhere if you want those fancy lenses.

There were more activities at the back rather than the frontThe once-mighty Foto Selangor looked to have downsized big time ...I remembered that there were I plenty of food stalls back in the days. They seemed to be missing now. Maybe the renovations had phased them out. I guess, in years to come, old malls such as this and Campbell would start to diminish a la Ampang Park, Sungai Wang Plaza and Yow Chuan. Unless these places managed to reinvent themselves to sell niche items to cater for a specific demographic of consumers. Leather goods maybe?

Kandaqstan

I'll give that 3 bendi! Or words to that effect!

Yesterday, I attended a book launch by a certain Jahabar Sadiq, somebody who's writing I had admired from afar for quite some time. It was great to meet the man himself albeit briefly.

He wrote a book on his appreciation of nasi kandar, traveling from Penang to KL to sample them all and give his review. Rather than stars, each venue were given scores in terms of bendi. You'll catch the flow when you read the books.

The launch was at Coliseum Café at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. A fitting venue if not for the errand Facebook directions. I was sent to a different part of Chow Kit upon parking my car at Maju Junction. Should've followed my instinct than the online directions.

Ini kari lah!The launch was scheduled for 4 pm with lunch from 3 at a nearby Ibramsha Nasi Kandar - appropriate plan. Unfortunately it was 4.30 when I finally made it to the door of the café and missed all the talks and speeches. Luckily I managed to grab the very last copy of the book and managed to get the man himself to autograft it. The extra 2 km walk was well worth it ...

Looking forward to read the book and try a few of the venues. I am familiar with some of them - Kudu bin Abdul which was my late Father's favourite came to mind. So, let the nasi kandar hunt begin ...

I am sure Kandaqstan would be available at many good book stores - and some not so good ones - around town. Do try to check it out ...

Xmas is Near

For the last few years, the Xmas decorations at Pavilion had been the benchmark for all the other shopping malls in KL. So, when I was there a couple of weekends ago, it wasn't a surprise that the main foyer had been cleared away for the Xmas treats to be reacted.

The area was still restricted when I was there. Maybe by this week, we could go in. Let's see what is in store this year ...