Saturday Afternoon

After a lighter than usual Saturday Morning clinic, I had a free afternoon. Decided to have a day out at KLCC with Anita with the boys staying in and Idlan occupied with the coming UPSR - although I had hardly seen him do any kind of work!

The weather was rather overcast but the rain earlier in the day helped with the air quality. It was starting to haze again …

We had some tea - unfortunately they ran out of tomato juice, so no Virgin Mary for Anita - at KLCC before going to do a bit of shopping. I ended up going back to Bangsar later having a haircut. A nice relaxing afternoon while gearing up for the return of football a bit later in the day. Unfortunately I had yet to get my Manchester United new shirt. They kept being sold out!

It was always good to have a Saturday afternoon off. It would be conferences and meeting in scheduled in the coming few weeks …

Visiting Miss Ellie

On one of those rare occasion when I managed to escape from the hospital early, Anita suggested that we try one of her favourite cafe which she normally go to with her friends. It was a unique one, Miss Ellie Tea House at Taman Melawati. But looking at the outside, you would never have thought that the inside looked so cosy. So, I indulged her.

And pleasantly surprised I was.

Keep calm ....Nice hat ....Wouldn't mind this being my living room ....The decor was exquisite and very English. And the food was heavenly. We started with scones but the main I had pasta. Not exactly English, but the pasta was just amazing!

Let’s start with the decor. The place was not big. It had about half a dozen of tables, with a row of sofa for the casual diners. The lighting was homely and they had tit bits from the Old English adorning the walls. A few months back, my boys and their classmate made their way in much to the horror of the owner as the boys were like …. boisterous. I could share her concern as most of the decorative elements there were on the fragile site. The sideboards were antiques and the china were also proper.

Everything was freshly made at the cafe, from the pasta, to the jam for the scones. The coffee was freshly grounded and the tea was just superb.

The portion for each of the meals was large enough to satisfy, but small enough to make you ask for more. I went for the most difficult pasta to prepare, which was the pesto. And it turned out a delight. The pasta was dry enough not to go soggy when immersed into the sauce, while retaining it grainy texture and taste, while the tomatoes and vegetables tasted fresh and succulent. I just wished that the parmesan which they used had a bit more bite to it. As it was, I just felt that there was something missing. Not a complaint though, just me being fussy.

Iced coffee?Sharing them scones. And these are proper ones ....Time for the pestoPesto no more ....I had a cold-brewed coffee as it was a hot afternoon. Again, can’t fault the preparation. Well blended and not too bitter.

The place was half full even on a week day afternoon. I don’t think that they could have coped if the cafe was situated in a more affluent area such as Bangsar or Taman Tun. The sheer number of patrons would make them lose the homeliness and ambiance. I was just happy as it was, and being in the middle of almost nowhere, parking was a doodle. They are closed on Sundays and Mondays though.

Please check out their website for more details and directions to the place. I would definitely be going there again from time to time. I might try something else next time …..

Kacang!

Been at the dining table for the past half an hour. The reason? These kacang rebus! And to think of it, this was the first time that I really get to sit down since coming back from Lugano.

Can't sit for long though. I have an admission finder from the Emergency Room later, and well as going to be on call tomorrow. Better get moving then I think .....

TWG Revisited

After almost a year, we returned for a spot of tea at Twining TWG at Pavilion. The place has certainly became more popular compared to the last time we were there, and there was actually a queue to get in - for sure as it was Saturday evening then. luckily we didn't have to wait for too long.

So, off we went onto a table of four. And we waited for almost ten minutes before we were attended to, despite indicating that we wanted to know a bit more about the tea on the menu. Unfortunately, the staff that came around later was a foreign worker who spoke bad English and basic Malay. I couldn't believe it that a restaurant of such caliber had staff who struggled to communicate. And sure enough, he got the order mixed up …..

We were not in the mood to argue and just took up what was offered - and he forgotten that we ordered for two pots as he brought only the one. We were quite surprised that we had enough teacups. Then came the tricky part when the tea was finished in the pot. Apparently the tea was brewed off the pot, so refilling with hot water would not do. So, just remember that there would be no refilling when your pots were done. You need to order another pot.

The food was not bad, as we just ordered light dinner. I had wagyu burger, which was well cooked - with a tea infused sauce of some sort. I had some cocktail - lychee with tea - which was a big mistake. It tasted …. disgusting!

So, even though the quality of the food and beverages were still up there, TWG would need to pay more attention to their service. Because after all, not everyone went there solely for the food. They would like to enjoy the ambiance as well ….. suffice to say that the visit did not go as I hoped for.

Cough. Cough.

One would have thought that I would've packed it in after returning from Idlan's swimming session, I would have gone straight back home to rest. Well, not tonight. We decided to go to KLCC and ordered dinner there. Well, it was take home really. Even the boys were too tired to stay for long. But there was enough time for a quick drink while waiting for our orders.

Unfortunately, it tired off Idlan, and before long, he started to cough. It went on for a fee more minutes until he had his inhalers. It lingered on until we reached home. It looked like an early night for him.

It had been a while since he had an asthma attack. We should have given him a couple of puffs on ventolin before he had his swim. Careless on our part really. Now, he was a lot more settled, and hopefully he would feel better tomorrow morning.