Happy Holidays!

Wishing my patients and friends Merry Christmas for those celebrate it, and Happy Holidays for those who don't. I noticed this rather festive banner in front of the Palliative Ward and it hit me that tomorrow will be a holiday. 

When I was working in the UK, Xmas was the time when I was definitely on call since I'll be covering my colleagues who were celebrating. The actual Xmas Day was usually quite but the days leading up to it and the days following were usually among the busiest in the year. Relatives would send their parents and oldies to be admitted while they enjoy the festives period and at times it felt really sad that the system has been manipulated somewhat.

The days after Xmas were usually busy for the right reasons as patients tended to stay at home during the Xmas and came to hospital right after. They tended to be more ill by this time. I used to hate this period. Luckily I will be having the weekend off. Will be traveling tomorrow to Kuala Kangsar for a couple of days, having a look at Puan Anita's house there which was just been built. Will blog from there then. Again, Happy Holidays. 

Idlan and Irfan met the Power Rangers

It was Saturday once again and Irfan was due for his Pingu class. I had to do my ward round this morning. I had to leave early, finish the round, then headed back to fetch everyone back to Bangsar. Missing my breakfast, I had my brunch at Delicious in Bangsar Village II. Class finished by 1.30. Time to head for Sungai Wang.

Latte at DeliciousIt started raining heavily on the there, and parking was full. We had to move along and parked at Low Yat, right down to Basement 5. Brought the troops up and had to cross over to Bukit Bintang Plaza. For Christmas, Sungai Wang had a promotion going, with the Power Rangers character appearing during the weekends. There was an appearance at 4 pm. Since we arrived early and got our tickets, we waited along at McDonald's for more snack. We were right in front of the queue by 3.45.

Irfan browsing the toys while waiting for the RangersIdlan waiting patientlyThe Power Rangers appeared right on time. There were only 3 of them though, not the usual 5. It was not the original character, but the spin-off called Jungle Fury. Don't worry, my boys knew all about them, what their real names were and what they do. Daddy was disappointed as the good old pink Power Rangers did not make an appearance.

The stage where the Rangers came on to. Unfortunately I got my hands full with the biys when they came on stage and did not manage to snap.The scarf on their neck made the swans looked kinda .... gay!When the time comes to go up the stage for the photo-op, Irfan had a stage fright. Idlan was fine and went ahead to have his pics taken, all smiling. That cost us RM10, then we waited for about 15 minutes for the photo to be developed. We were all tired at the end, but unfortunately, the rain fell again and we had to wait for the drizzle to stop before crossing back to Low Yat.

Taking Mum to Lunch at The Curve

My Dad was pestering me for quite a while for some Western Food for lunch. He wanted some Roast Chicken. Since everybody was free last Sunday afternoon, I took both my parents out. Puan Anita wanted to buy some shirts for the boys as well at The Curve. We arrived rather later than usual and was caught with the heavy traffic on the way in. With the school holidays and end of year sales, the crowd was bigger than the usual Sunday.

Entering the main foyer at The CurveDon't touch!

After having our lunch at Marche, we decided to have a quick stroll around the place while Anita went about to do her shopping for the boys. The Xmas decorations were in full show, complete with carol singers, Santa and his helpers. Unfortunately Anita's flu was taking her down and after only half an hour, we decided to return home. She has been having fever for the last few days, and it was about time she saw a doctor. It all started earlier in the week when she took my maid to see a local GP after she complained of painful eyes. She had some infection there and was given some drops. While waiting to see the doctor, there were a few patients with heavy cold at the cramped room. She started having sore throat the same evening.

I was trying to figure out why this cute Santa helper was wearing a table round her waste?The main foyer was transformed with the decorations

We went to a clinic in Bukit Antarabangsa where my parents lived. she was given antibiotics and since then had been feeling much better. We spent the rest of the afternoon at my parents, just sitting around while Anita had some chicken soup.

Xmas Decorations Exploration - Great Eastern Mall

In keeping with the 1Malaysia spirit, Xmas is the time when Malaysians from all walks of life celebrate few things in common. It's the end of the year, school is off, the paycheck comes early, usually with bonus on tow and you can see sales everywhere! 1Malaysia indeed! So we celebrate it as with our brothers and sisters in this great nation of hours ….. we go shopping!

The foyer from the 3rd floor

In the last few weeks, we took the time to visit many of the shopping malls around Lembah Kelang. Most of the big ones were covered, some have already been blogged. During this weekend alone, we visited three. The keyword there was 'visit'. We hardly bought a thing. What typically caught my eyes were the decorations. The first one I liked to mention is the Great Eastern Mall. We went there for dinner last Friday evening. The was a Jazz Band coming to play at Alexis, so that's where the hip crowd were. In the main foyer, they have stalls and a stage. Apparently, during weekends, there will be visits by Santa and his helpers. Rudiolf included as well.

Idlan, Puan Anita and IrfanThe decor there was children friendly compared to other places. There is a snowman, a few Christmas trees. There was a stall keeper handing over candies to kids when we were walking by. The stalls mainly sold ornaments, cards and toys. Not much to shout about really. Maybe because it was in the evening, there were hardly anything going on. According to the shop keeper, there will be carol singing, life band, balloons and other fun stuff during the weekend. That will be a better time to come visit.

After checking out the stalls, taking pictures and mingling about, we headed upstairs for dinner at Cozy House. It was usually packed but for some reason tonight, it was quiet. For some reason, I fancied a steak. The way it was written on the menu made me order it. Apparently it was supposed to be spicy. After all, the name was 'Bombay Steak'.

The not so well done Bombay Steak - you can even almost taste the blood. O positive I think - don't argue, I'm a HaematologistWe soon found out why they were losing clientele. The food was not like it used to be, and a far cry from its sister restaurant, Cozy Corner at Ampang Park. In fact, the food there had also deteriorated if you read my entry a few months back. Not only that there was hardly any spice, the 'well done' steak I ordered came almost straight from the fridge. Nearly as raw as the sashimi I enjoy. The fried rice was not great either and Irfan only managed a couple of bite. Since the theme seemed to be raw, we might as well head to the basement floor to Express Sushi for some proper raw stuffs.

We did some groceries right after that before heading home. The verdict - better to head there during daytime especially weekends. There will be much more activities there then.

Date of visit - Friday, 11th December 2009

I would have preferred PC Fair, but ....

Although the plan was to have a quiet afternoon in after my lunch, it turned out that Puan Anita (for which my wife will be referred to from now on) has other plans. She had earlier took the boys out for lunch at Sri Ayuthaya in Wangsa Maju with the in-laws. After the boys were full, she planned to leave them at home and ask me to drive her to MidValley. There is an exhibition there that she wanted to visit. Typical of her. It was called 'Modern Home and Lifestyle Fair'. I was wishing it was PC Fair instead!

Yes! The crowd was driving me crazy!Puan Anita likes this kind of things, especially when the children were not on tow. She will plan these visits ahead of time, often either here at MidValley or KLCC. This time around, a few items caught her eyes. Wallpapers and floor coverings. I did not pay much attention as I was looking at some beds and automatic gate system on the other side.

Where the big cars getting sorted by the valet when the parking is fullLooking down on the main galleryMidValley on Sunday afternoons were typically packed. We reached there as people were easing home, at around 3 pm. As today was the last day of the exhibition, they were giving away freebies and good offers. There was a Pioneer Blue-Ray player going at RM799. I was excited initially but unfortunately the salesperson put me off. It was something he said that changed my mind. A great way to lose business I thought. Mind you, the PS3 were going at RM1299 and they do come with Blue-Ray player as well. That may be a better deal all around if you are into games. I am happy with my PSP at the moment.

The main foyer at the GardensAs far as exhibitions go, this one was pretty average. Most of the exhibitions around KL always have this problem when it comes to expectations. As the name suggested, I was expecting many home gadgets to be shown, televisions, modern beds, state-of-the-art freezers and washing machines. Unfortunately it was nothing more than just a trip to Harvey Norman, although some of the offers were quite decent.

Another thing I was excited about was the Xmas decorations were in full swing both at the Megamall and the Gardens. There were many stalls and activities. Carol snugging, Santa and his grotto to mention a few. The decor here was definitely better than the one put up currently at KLCC and on par with Pavilion. I was also looking forward to see the decor at the Curve, IKANO and Sunway. These were the places to visit if you want to go festive.