Walking the City Awake

Please click the photo above to play the daily videoSunday started with purpose and good company. Azul and Robin were already waiting when I arrived — our walking group has become one of those fixtures that anchors the weekend properly. This morning brought a few new faces too: Jon, Andrew, and Santik, who folded into the group with the easy camaraderie that seems to happen naturally when people walk together. There's something about moving at the same pace that shortcuts the usual small talk.

Breakfast was at Al Baik, which set us up nicely for the miles ahead. But then came the gut punch. Light Capture Cafe — closed. Gone since January, apparently. I stood there processing this with the particular devastation reserved for discovering a beloved spot has vanished while you weren't paying attention. You always assume these places will just be there. They aren't obliged to wait for you, of course, but it stings nonetheless.

Medan Pasar remains under renovation, still wrapped in its scaffolding and promises. KL is a city perpetually in the process of becoming something — whether that something is better or simply different remains to be seen. We stopped instead at Makan.BUZZ, which was living up to its name with an energy that bordered on infectious. Full tables, good noise, the clatter and hum of a place that knows it's doing something right.

From there, we cut through Central Market and threaded our way through Chinatown towards Merdeka 118, the tower making its presence felt long before you're anywhere near it. The real destination, though, was the lobby — Azul has his work displayed there, which is no small thing. It's a grand space, all height and light and polished surfaces, and seeing someone you walk with on Sunday mornings represented in a building of that scale gives you a quiet thrill. We admired it properly, because that's what friends do.

The return leg took us to Dayabumi via the MRT, legs pleasantly tired, the morning's mileage sitting well in the bones.

At home, I caught the first episode of Star City over lunch — the new For All Mankind spin-off. Early days, but it has the feel of something that knows where it's going. Enough to warrant a second episode, certainly.

The afternoon turned domestic. A drive out to WMart and Bangsar Village for groceries, which is the kind of errand that passes for leisure when you're in the right mood. There's a meditative quality to choosing ingredients when you already know what you're cooking.

And what I was cooking was wagyu. Sunday steak night remains non-negotiable in this household, and wagyu elevates the ritual to something approaching reverence. Seared simply, rested properly, served without fuss. Some traditions don't need improving, only honouring.

A full day, but the right kind of full. The kind where your feet ache and your kitchen smells wonderful and you've seen a friend's art on the wall of the tallest building in the country.

Return to Alexis

Alexis at The Gardens, Mid Valley used to be a popular place for us to have lunch. Unfortunately, since a change of menu and the predictable drop in quality, we only went there often. After about 7 months, we were there again for lunch on the Chinese New Year Eve.

The place was empty, as you would expect when we sat at the sofa seats by the entrance. We then realised that they had extended the restaurant. It now occupied the whole wing, more or less twice the size it was before. The food remained the same although I was disappointed with my rocket salad. The main was all together a different story.

The rocket salad looked better than it tasted. It wasn't as fresh as I would have wished, and they put too much pepper in it.Next came the really nice, oven-cooked pizzaThe wagyu was definitely the highlight. Heavenly!The wagyu beef steak was exquisite. It did not come cheap however and I ended up sharing with Anita. The boys had one whole pizza each and try finished them. And Irfan enjoyed his chamomile tea.

A dash of honey in his chamomile of course ....Taken from the floor above, the restaurant had expanded to occupy the whole end of the wing.The wagyu was definitely very nice indeed and the side mashed potato and sauce was also hard to beat. A definite recommendation.

Kampachi at Pavilion

The owner of Sushi Express at Great Eastern Mall told us once that his usual sushi place is Kampachi. They had a couple of restaurants, the flagship being at Equatorial. Last weekend, we decided to give its sister restaurant at Pavilion a try.

To be honest, we were disappointed. Not only that the price there seemed double to what we would have expected to pay, the quality was not that good either. The place was quite OK and the food were presented well enough, but that did not compensate for the high price.

We tried their wagyu beef, as well as some rice dishes. It was just OK. Nothing spectacular. The children's meal was rather unique however, presented in cosy little containers. The boys has some chicken teriyaki. They did not complain so, it should be fine taste-wise.

Would I be coming back? Don't think so, but I am willing to give the main branch at Equatorial Hotel a try. I prefer my wage somewhere else anyhow.