Return to Harrods

WelcomeI have a confession to make. In the last couple of months, I returned to Harrods at KLCC three times - four in Puan Anita’s case. We celebrated our parents anniversary there the other night, and recently, we went there to have afternoon tea and ended up having dinner instead - it was nearly 5.30 pm then. I feel I was in a better position to comment about the venue by now.

Yes, it kept up to its billing. The great service we had when I went there for the first time was not a one-off. We were treated very well and some of the waitresses even remembered Idlan and Irfan when we returned, which was nice. They knew which was our favourite table, and what we ordered when we were last there. And the great thing was, all the staffs there were local. Communication was never an issue, and so far, we have yet to get our order being messed up. The standard that they kept there was exemplary and I am sure it will be a challenge to keep it up.

Harrods at KLCC was located on the first floor of Suria, right by the middle escalators, on the same level as Godiva, which was the shop right next door to it. The entrance looked innocuous enough, mainly what appeared to be more of a souvenir shop at the front end. But if you walk further in, there was a minibar and then the door into the restaurant. There were I think only around 10 tables, and the seclusion added to its exclusivity. There are also balconies for the cigar smokers to hang around at, overlooking the KLCC Park and fountain - nicer in the evening. The table setting were proper English, complete with silverware and napkins. The toilets were also very clean, with hand towels provided for patrons.

My fruit cooler, mainly berry ....Irfan was clearly bored..... until the drinks arrivedThe much talked-about roast beef and Yorkshire puddingHow about the menu? Yes, it was pretty limited, maybe about 8 items for starters and only a couple of soup selection. There were not that many more for the mains. But what it lacked in quantity more than was made up quality-wise. Not just the first-rate waiter service, the food were cooked to your specification and were very nicely presented. The buns served before the starters were heavenly, coupled with the homemade butter. By now, my favourite entree was asparagus and cheese, while the mains was the seared cod. Puan Anita still preferred the roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. I tried it once. Was not that excited. The boys obviously loved their English Breakfast Tea. We tend to order them fish and chis, which came in large portion. Idlan especially liked the tartar sauce which came with it. I was yet to discover my favourite drink here, a good excuse to come there again. As for the dessert, well, I have yet to sample them as either I was already too full, or the boys were already too hyper that I had to take them out for a walk. Usually it was the combination of the two.

Pictures of the main Harrods branch at Knightsbridge adorning the wallsPopping out at the balcony for some fresh airThe main drawback for the place - as you could imagine would be the cost. It is rather on the expansive side, but not too excessively so. Put it this way, the Chinese meal at Hotel Nikko or Mandarin Oriental were way more expansive than this place. Would I come here again? Of course. Who will I bring? Only Puan Anita and my boys - for now. I can’t afford to bring anybody else! Would I recommend it to anyone else? Definitely! If you have been to the real Harrods in London, you will definitely enjoy Harrods in KL.

Hari Raya Holiday - Day 01

KLCC Night Walk 6, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

Yes! The holidays already started, but unfortunately without a bang. As those who followed my tweets had learned, Idlan had high temperature last night and had to be taken care of. He seems to have been better during the day and started playing his Wii again. That's a good sign.

Lat's artwork in perspectiveI had plenty lined up to do. To start off, I sent the car for service as we are planning to use it for our trip to Penang after Raya. Then I took Irfan to his Pingu School while Anita had her manicure and pedicure. Bak home, we ran a few errands, going to the bank to transfer our maids' money back home. We then headed out to buy some groceries before it started raining heavily. I have yet to do my own shopping, so I decided to do it after iftar. I set of alone to KLCC.

I had the opportunity to observe Lat's artwork close-up that evening, and it was mesmerising. Simply breath-taking, true to form. Lat s a famous cartoonist and I grown up with his comic as staple. He takes a very dry view of current affairs and hit home with his drawing. He takes no prisoners, and regularly lampoon famous public figures and normal boring daily routines alike. I find his drawing funny and touching, but the best of all was his series on kampung life. If you grow up in kampung, you can't help but smile every time you read it. And this is no exception.

The life-size mock-up of a kampung houseThe Ghazal trope on showIn the main foyer in Suria KLCC, are life-size work of his 'Kampung Boy' series, with all its stereotypical characters, complete with a full-size kampung house. When I arrived there, there were also traditional ghazal troupe playing, and tourists were taking the opportunity snapping away. Let's start with the positives, the artwork was classy, and very well presented. The troupe played very well, excellent sound system and acoustics at the foyer. The vantage points and access was great. I spent almost 20 minutes looking at all that was on offer. Next to them are stalls selling gifts and cookies, all themed similar to the artwork. Very neat indeed.

What is ashamed was there was no guidance for the tourist. It's fair for us who are familiar with firstly Lat's work, but more importantly the selling of the kampung concept to the visiting tourists. There were no tourist guides explaining the goings on, what the exhibits are, not even pamphlets for them to read. I can't help but to realise that there is an opportunity missed here. Worst still, the only access to staff for information were in the form of security personnel, and they were all non-Malaysian! Alamak! Imagine if a tourist ask what was the guitar-like instrument the troupe was playing, I would offered to run around naked at the foyer if the Nepalis 'Pak Guard' can say 'gambus'. If you hear in the news that a naked streaker was cought in KLCC, you have yourself an exclusive on who it was and why.

After doing my shopping, I headed for some food. Unfortunately, most of the food were sold out at the stalls since there was a rush earlier for iftar. Even O'Brien ran out of white bread for sandwiches, and they only sell sandwiches. Had some nasi ayam, then off for some coffee at Starbucks before a quick stroll. There were still plenty of people at Suria at 9.30 last night, by the time I headed home. It was a pleasant walk in the end. At home, the boys were helping their Mummy and Grandma baking some cookies for the Eid. The smell was nice. Idlan's fever was also down by then. Alhamdulillah.

You can see the Twin Towers through the roof