Le Pooh in KL - Part 1

I headed down to KL on 10 Nov and I have to say, it was a relief seeing the massive jam on the other side of the highway for a change. The holidays have just started, and everyone is scrambling to head north or out of KL. It also started raining cats and dogs when I reached KL and arrived at Sunway Pyramid, my stop of choice since I'll be staying with my bestie Jo as usual. Walked around for almost an hour before Jo and Alan arrived and we headed for Zen Japanese restaurant for dinner. I find that I frequent Japanese restaurants a bit too often whenever I drop by to KL. We ordered and Ichi was kind enough to drop by a bit later to join us for dinner.

I didn't manage take any pics coz we were famished. No time to snap, just swallow everything over a lively conversation. Later on, one of the waiters came to inform us that they delivered a wrong, smaller-portioned order of sukiyaki which was meant for another table. We ordered beef sukiyaki for 3-4, but it came as chicken in a measly pot for 1-2. I didn't care as we were too hungry and just polished off everything. On the plus side, they've prepared our original order after that and proceeded to serve it, and informed us that the wrong order was on the house!

Min Huei proceeded to arrive after we were done with dinner and we continued to chat. During that time, there were a couple of lil' kids (brother and sister I believe) running around the place, and the boy accidentally knocked onto a cute waiter (OK, I was checking him out) carrying a pot of hot green tea at table right next to ours, where 3 women were seated. Hot tea splashed all over the youngest woman's thighs and left arm. Luckily, the cute waiter managed to stop the little girl, who was chasing her brother, from hitting the teapot AGAIN!

Poor thing got scalded and her skin turned red instantly. Her mother and grandma (I assume) made a big scene of suing this and that and how the children's parents were so irresponsible etc. The kids belonged to the family sitting just a few tables away and the parents didn't even bother to come over and apologized, but instead the mother just kept yelling at the kids, especially the boy. Come on lah, they are KIDS after all. Yelling at them continuously for almost 10 minutes with public embarrassment in't gonna help. The boy's mother only went over to apologize, dragging the hysterical boy along, when the young woman's mother and grandma's rantings got even louder, to the point when everyone could hear. We felt that the apology definitely wasn't sincere, just to 'save face'. She was still dumping the blame on the sobbing mess of a boy the whole time. She even threatened to leave the crying boy at the mercy of the women and just walked away in anger. What a mother of the year she is!

Just a few hours, already drama started, but I digress. After dinner, we settled for some Chatime to chat over with. It was a pity Calvin couldn't make it as he was sick and he needed to prepare for a charity concert the next day, so recovery is more important. I must say, I'm a Chatime virgin and I love the chewy pearl balls. For some reason, mine was filled halfway up with balls -_-"

On Sunday, Jo and I headed to Gayvillion Pavillion for brunch in Ichiban Boshi. Min Huei joined us a little bit later.

The 3 of us went around for some shopping, but it was just window shopping, coz I couldn't find anything that I wanted. We even went to H&M in Lot 10, but came out empty-handed. My gaydar almost exploded though.

Then, it was time for SNOWFLAKES! I made sure brunch was light to make room for it. I love Ocha'ryo!~

Because 2 wasn't enough, I got another...for free! All thanks to Jo. I'm such a glutton.

After Snowflakes,we headed to Matic for a charity orchestra concert. Five members of the MPO (Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra) were there as guest performers that night. One of 'em was a harpist and the other 4 played in a string quartet. I thought the harpist was excellent. Particularly mesmerizing to me were one of the string quartet's female violinist. Such emotion and strong gestures, couldn't take my eyes of her during the performance. Definitely one of the highlights of the evening. Kudos to Camerata Musicales for putting up a great performance as well.

Another highlight for me was when one of the blind girls came on stage to sing Teresa Teng's classic, Ye Lai Xiang. It was really moving, and she had a good vocals too!~ After that night, we kept Ye Lai Xiang non-stop. Gay dou sei XD

Stay tuned for Part 2!~

Surprise Birthday!~

To be honest, I was a little moody on my b'day. But, only because everyone I knew was busy on that night. I actually didn't feel like going out but William insisted vehemently that I did, even if it was just the both of us. So, we ended up heading to Delicious at Straits Quay as originally planned, although we arrived at 10pm. I knew instantly something else was going on when William informed the waitress of a reservation for eight at 10pm. Jeng jeng jeng!~ (Although, I've already suspected something from William's earlier insistence)

Anyhow, I was really famished so I decided to order something light s I know sweet confections will be coming my way later on. Their kitchen closes at 10.30pm, but the waitress refused to take anymore orders when I wanted to order at 10.20pm. And, I had just came after gym and was famished. Strike 1!

Then, I went to the baked goods and dessert section to order a savory Cornish that was on display, only to be informed that it was a fake and again, that the kitchen was closed. I mean, how difficult is it to heat up something that was already prepared? It's not like I'm asking them to bake it from scratch. Strike 2!

Disappointed, I had to order molten chocolate cake as my dinner (which I only ate half coz I felt a little nauseous having something so sweet and rich on an empty stomach) and head back to the table as my dear friends started trickling in.

We forgot to take a group pic coz we were pretty rowdy. Shawn came carrying a Tiramisu cake from Ritz (awesome local bakery). It was lovely. So soft and smooth with a rich yet light and fluffy cream filling. Just splendid as always!~

Me, assuming a lady-like cake cutting pose, according to Shawn.

Part of the gang.

I think Shawn was trying to hail the waiter who repeatedly forgot the extra glass of water I requested for the past 10 mins or so. Strike 3!

Seriously, I don't know if it's due to a change of management or just incompetent staff who couldn't care less about good customer service, but this is just unacceptable. Delicious in Penang has earned a BAN in my books.

Subsequently, we decided to head over to Mr. Pot at Gurney Drive area for some proper food. Apparently, some of 'em hadn't had dinner as well, and I was still craving something savory for dinner. We ended the night in loads of uproarious laughter that drew awkward and possible annoyed looks from other tables. Did I care? Not the least coz it's mah birthday!~

Thank you so much Shawn, Alvin, Dennis, Justin, Scott, Ben, Marc, Danny and David for making it. Although we started out late coz everyone was busy earlier, I had a blast just coz you guys were there. It's all that matters to me. A special thanks to William for organizing this. I really appreciated it and am so TOUCHED.

Love you guys!~

Happy 32nd Birthday to Me!~

So, I turned 32 today. Not sure what I'm gonna do or how am I gonna celebrate it yet. Anyhow, let's start off with a haircut to welcome another year younger and wiser XD

LOL, the trans assistant walked by behind me and I heard her smile at me taking this pic.

I hope my 32nd year will bring more good health, happiness and success =)

All I know is...there will be more questions on when I'm getting married from aunties and uncles T.T

I need to brace myself. Marriage questions, marriage questions everywhere!~

Happy New Yeaaar!

Happy Year of the Bunneh!~

Oops, I meant Happy New Year of the Rabbit XD

May this year be filled with joy, prosperity, abundant wealth and great health! Also, don't eat too much else your waistline will 'prosper' too =P

Entering Adulthood

11.1.11 was a special occasion. Not just because of it's numeral uniqueness, but it is the day zai2 could officially vote, drink and enter clubs without fear of raiding police dragging his skinny ass back to balai!

Naturally, we planned a surprise. Since zai2 hadn't been to The Ship before, Albin decided it was the right venue for this occasion.

As an appetizer, Albin ordered half a dozen escargot with cheesy, garlic sauce. Zai2 only ate a teensy piece, with great difficulty. I found it delightful though. First time eating a snail =P

Zai2 had fish baked in creamy and cheesy sauce. Very filling indeed.

The steaks were mediocre and felt rather tasteless to me.

I had the Chicken Au Chambertin (hope I spelt it right). It was just...meh, I've had better.

See, this ginna so excited to open his present.

Dennis got him a porcupine bag, to complement his porcupine hair XD

I bought zai2 something he always wanted. An ice-cream cake from Baskin Robbins, filled with strawberry cheesecake ice-cream and layered with caramel top. All 3 things zai2 loves...strawberries, cheese and caramel. Fat die us but as long as he's happy lor XD

Just a small, but still rather noisy gathering.

Happy birthday zai2!~

Partying Our Way To 2011

NOTE: I know that this is a LONG overdue post, but I got lazy and had trouble uploading the pics. There were too many ><

I definitely wanted to celebrate the coming of 2011 outdoors. Didn't wanna sit and rot at home while the rest of the world roared during countdown. No, I didn't plan to be Gurney Plaza, nor Esplanade where our dear CM Lim Guan Eng would be, and risk getting squashed by the masses and face the frustration of the possibility of counting down in the car amidst unmoving traffic due to blocked roads and block-headed revelers who might get a little too rowdy. I decided to head to Straits Quay with zai2 and meet up with friends there. Straits Quay is Penang's newest sea-front mall. Love the architecture but it's not fully populated yet. Only restaurants, quite 'atas' ones, have taken root. Incidentally, Straits Quay is also fast becoming a new 'IN' place for the vast population of Penang's gay people.

Massive Xmas tree...or just a tiny little zai2 XD

We also have a lighthouse, which now looks kinda eerie with the green light.

After spending 15 mins there with Isaac and Dennis, Isaac commented it was BORING. Well, the crowd congregating there were mostly family-oriented, and not even a small concert there could spice it up. SO, we decided to head over to Bagan instead. They were having a countdown event there too (which club/popular venue isn't), so we hastened our asses there. Traffic was surprisingly smooth, despite the fact that it was already past 11pm.

Can you see how hard we were partying down there?

'Train'ing to I Will Survive!~

Camwhoring on the dance floor XD

I partied so hard that night. It's been such a while since I went so wild. Drenched in sweat all the party and it's amazing my ass was still intact. Freakin' awesome way to welcome 2011!~

Shawnie's Farewell At Ingolf Kneipe

Yesterday, we headed down to Ingolf Kneipe German restaurant to have a farewell for our dear friend Shawn. He'll be leaving for New Zealand on 7 Jan, so you can still catch him until then.

Zai2 got an advance birthday gift for Shawn. A TENGA EGG XD

Ingolf Kneipe is very well known in Penang for it's great German beer and food with affordable prices. This place is always packed. If you don't have a reservation, you could end up waiting up to an hour for a table. Well, if you had to, you could chill at the bar with beer first.

Luckily for us, we DID have a reservation. We were in a German restaurant, so naturally, lots of meat and sausages!~

Zai2 and I felt really hungry, so we ordered the Caesar salad, which came lightly dressed with duck breast, crispy bacon bits and croutons. I hate a Caesar salad that's sodden with too much creamy dressing, so this was perfect. It also came with a small bread basket consisting of some sliced sourdough bread, sliced baguettes and butter.

We both also shared the Butcher's platter. It was a huge plate for various kinds of sausages and meat so we couldn't finish it. There was a big piece of roasted pork belly, which I'm usually not a fan off. But this was done superbly with the fat under the skin rendered down and absorbed into the meat. This resulted in a really crispy and caramelized skin with soft, buttery, tender pork. The various types of sausages on the platter were a delight as well. Very tasty and oozing with juiciness XD

The platter came accompanied by a thick onion gravy and German mustard. I absolutely LOVED the mustard, soooooooo good.

The pot pie was loaded with soft, fluffy mashed potato fused with oodles of melted cheese. Could use more meat sauce underneath though but no one was complaining.

Dennis had the special of the day which consisted of a duo of pork and chicken. I didn't get to taste it, but doesn't it look so inviting?

The beef roll that Shawn had was really good, according to him and zai2. And Zai2 doesn't even like beef!

Albin, a frequent patron here apparently, had the mixed grill. I wanted the bacon so bad =P

Our feast...can you believe the 6 of us managed to scoff this down our bellies?

Ingolf is definitely one of my fave places to eat. I've never had a bad or mediocre meal there. Everything is usually abundantly-portioned and very pleasant to the taste-buds.

We will DEFINITELY be missing our fave body-jammer in the group. Quite a few of my good friends have made a move elsewhere recently, either to green pastures or just a new change in their lives.