Thursday, Old Ground Revisited

Please click the photo above to play the daily videoAn early start today, the sort that gets ahead of the traffic rather than negotiating with it, which made a pleasant change after the week's earlier skirmishes with the roads. There was a procedure scheduled for mid-morning, the kind of thing that demands a particular sort of focus — narrow, contained, no room for the mind to wander off and check on the rest of the day.

Lunch afterwards was quick, more habit than event, followed by an equally brisk ward round, the two of them dispatched together with the efficiency of someone who had somewhere else rather pressing to be. That somewhere was Wangsa Maju, a trip out to the lawyers to collect some documents, the sort of errand that sounds simple in the abstract and always takes slightly longer in practice.

I parked at Wangsa Walk Mall, which gave the whole outing an unexpected undertow of nostalgia. Old stomping ground, that — back when the boys were small and school runs still governed the shape of the week. Anita used to while away the hours there with the other mothers, waiting out the school day in the sort of unhurried company that seems, in retrospect, to belong to an entirely different pace of life. The mall hadn't changed much, structurally speaking, but it was busy in a way that felt newer, more purposeful, less like a waiting room and more like a destination in its own right. Strange, how a place can hold its shape and still feel like it's moved on without you.

I didn't linger longer than the errand required, documents collected and back on the road before the afternoon could get any ideas about traffic. Home came with an early dinner, the evening arranged around getting ahead of tomorrow rather than settling into tonight — packing for an overnight trip to Kota Bharu, leaving straight after work, which gave the whole evening a faint air of preparation rather than rest.

There's a particular rhythm to packing for somewhere brief, everything pared down to essentials, nothing indulgent, the sort of packing that's really just a list with clothes attached. It didn't take long, though the act of doing it always seems to sharpen the awareness that tomorrow will be a longer day than most, work first and then straight into travel, with whatever rest is going wedged in somewhere between the two.

Looking back at the day, it had a good shape to it — brisk where it needed to be, unexpectedly reflective in the middle, practical at the end. Wangsa Walk Mall wasn't on the agenda when the day began, and yet it ended up being the part that lingered longest, the way old places sometimes insist on being noticed even when you've only popped in for paperwork.

Bag's packed, documents collected, procedure and rounds behind me. Kota Bharu tomorrow. For tonight, that's quite enough.

Groceries Hunting

The morning ward round finished quite early actually even though I started later than usual since I decided to enjoy the breakfast before leaving. So, it was well before midday when I returned home.

Anita was about to leave the house then to do the groceries. It wasn't the usual load. It was quadruple the usual as we were planning to leave for the apartment for the rest of the school holidays, and the kitchen there was rather bare.

Fresh ....We went to a couple of places, a warehouse then the usual supermarket. Others almost 3 pm before we returned as soon it was time to pack and shift the stuffs to the apartment. A mini nightmare if you ask me.

As part of the plan, we would be moving the MPV and my C200 along. It would be a couple of trips with me sending the driver back after unpacking. And there was an admission at the hospital. Guess, that would have to wait.

U-Cafe Wangsa Walk

Anita and her friends had been harping about it for the last month or so. During one of their get together, the had tea at U-Cafe at Wangsa Walk Mall in Wangsa Maju. It was a revelation to them. And after having a sample of the place yesterday evening, I couldn't agree more.

It was a simple cafe which was built as an annex at the the main entrance to the mall. You couldn't miss it if you enter from the main car park although the sign to the restaurant was rather obscured. Once you were in, you would've to negotiate a flight of stairs onto the main deck, but the place was secluded and cosy.
With a nice jazz music in the background, I studied the menu. It was fusion food, Oriental meets the West. I soon settled into a seafood platter, salad to share with Anita and Nasi Ayam for my main. I couldn't fault any of them, although the portion for my rice was on the small side, even for me.

I had some mint lychee for drinks, and it was a real thirst quencher. The salad was heavenly, fresh and topped with some form of cheese dressing. The seafood platter was Anita's favourite, serving sample of skewered prawns, soft-shell crabs and squids. It was also the most expensive order on the table.

The seafood platterMy sumptuous RM10.90 nasi ayamAll done!For RM10.90, the Chicken Rice was definitely well worth the order. And I could've had a couple of them with the small portion and all. The price was very reasonable.

Highly recommended. I would like to sample other sites in their on my next visit. Make sure you look for signs for U-Cafe the next time you visit Wangsa Walk Mall .....

Iftar at Sri Ayuttahaya

It was work last night, but tonight iftar was with family. Destination, Sri Ayutthaya in Wangsa Maju, one of the more upmarket-looking Thai restaurant around where I live.

I couldn't pretend that I like the place, but for the family, it was about the go-to place as far as Thai food restaurant if we were planning a family do. Good ambiance, clean environment, not bad food, but with a good efficient service - if the place was not packed that was.

The upper floor was kept empty for the evening.So, for fear of the place being crowded and full car park, we set off early. We were there well before 7, and we later found out that the restaurant was only half full. Instead of having a buffet spread, the restaurant offered a Ramadhan set menu for Iftar, making selection easy and food preparation straight forward. We know exactly what to expect, and the food came in early as well as they were pre-prepared.

It was my brother-in-law's treat this time and he was the one doing the ordering. We had the usual selection of tomyam soup, soft-shell crabs, vegetables and fish as part of the set. Food quality was pretty OK, but for the amount you paid, you would really expect something special in the meal. In the scheme of things, it was just about fine.

The food came thick and fastWe ordered separately for the boys. They had some fried rice. As you can see, the tomyam just looked too menacing for them.The fish was definitely the best dish of the night. And it didn't take long to finish it off .....The boys had to cool down after the sweet dessert.Time to go .....You couldn't fault the ambiance and service though, but bear in mind that the place was only half full. A couple of years back, we came here for a usual dinner and the service was rather poor. It was better tonight, but the food remained the same. I would recommend the sister outlet in Damansara if food quality was the one you were looking for.

For dessert, we had the firm favourite, water chestnut. On the whole, we quite enjoyed the dinner tonight. We ordered separately for the boys as the food were too spicy for them to stomach. 

Tax deadline

My colleague, Edmund always joked; there were only two things certain in life, death and taxes. And he was not wrong.

Just in case you guys were unaware, the deadline for last year's tax return filing would be the evening o the 31st of April 30th of April. Yes, you were quite welcomed to wait until then, but I prefer to get gongs over and done with. Since I was relatively well and free earlier today, I filed mine and submitted to my local Tax Office just opposite Jaya Jusco in Wangsa Maju.

There were hardly anybody there today, but I can imagine the place turning rowdy by the end of the month, judging from past experience. The office used to open till midnight on the final few nights, although now, a lot more people used the online e-filing service. Why didn't I do the same? Well I prefer to be old-fashioned when it comes to taxes. So, as they say, the rush was on .....

Update on Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 9:08PM by Haris Abdul Rahman

Thanks Ervan for spotting the messed up date!