Second Homecoming: Part One

KL Return, 30th April to 5th May.

Just got back from my 2nd trip back to KL, and what a trip it was. I managed to do most of the stuff that I wanted to do, which was to watch ‘Iron Man’ on the big THX screen (you can never get this in Labuan!!!), finally tasted the deliciousness of ‘DELIcious @ Marc Residence’ restaurant that everyone seems to be raving about, tried-out the newly opened ‘Wendy’s’ at Sunway Pyramid and even managed to pay Melaka a visit on a 1-day trip. Oh, and yes, I managed to get my J.Co donuts too, and not forgetting a steaming hot cup of ‘Hazelnut White Cofee’ at ‘Oldtown Kopitiam’. For more details, kindly read on my dear friends!!!

P.S. I’ll be splitting the post into a few parts as I think it’s going to be waaaaaaay too long for a normal decent person to digest it all at one go. So, for the first part it will be ‘Day 1 and 2’….

Day 1: Wednesday Night

I still remember the day when I touched-down in Labuan, fresh from my 1st trip back to KL that another journey to the capital was going to the a long and hard one. But would you know it, before I got time to feel home-sick and all that, a month had passed and my second journey to KL is now upon me once again. While packing my things for my 5-day home trip, I could not contemplate that I am actually packing for a trip home, and not for work. I could not feel excitement; I could not feel the thrill of heading home. Why was that? I could not answer you, probably because I am now so used to the life in Labuan, or my last trip back to KL was just a short distance back. Or probably I was just dead tired that day from the rush to complete my work. And that was how I felt when I boarded the plane.

Tugging all those “excess baggage” of chocolates, alcohol and souvenirs had become a big burden too, as on my left hand there was a big bag containing 10 bars of ‘Cadbury’ chocolates, 3 bars of ‘Meiji Rich Strawberry’ chocolates and bars and bars of other chocolates that I had no memory of buying, and yet its in my bag. How come??!! Then on my right hand was a bag for alcohol; 1 bottle of ‘Dom’ and another bottle of ‘Chivas’ (‘Dom’ is considered medicine so I think I am entitled to cross customs with another bottle of alcohol). Then there was my backpack which contained my laptop, a few stuffed bears as souvenirs and a few loose cans of imported drinks and beer (which I think is illegal as I am already bringing over 1 bottle of ‘Chivas’, but what the hell). And the sad point is, all this stuff is not for me but for silly friends that are so demanding. See how good a friend I am??!! When I die I want my ashes to be kept in a jar inside all of your rooms!!! Just joking ;)

Upon touch down in LCCT airport, I coolly walked straight out of the gates to avoid any custom checks (but nowadays I hardly notice any customs officers anymore) and the first thing I see is….no one I know. Crap. There was no one to fetch me from the airport back to my Subang home. Sigh. My friend can only fetch me from ‘KL Central’ (which is probably a good idea as my friend was a girl and I didn’t want her to drive all the way from Ampang to LCCT at night all by herself). I bought a bus ticket to ‘KL Central’ and the bus was conveniently parked a few feet away. Just as I was sitting down, the bus departed nicely on time. Perfect. Around 40 minutes time I arrived at ‘KL Central’ and my friend was already waiting, my first contact of KL life for over a month.

We didn’t head straight back to Subang as I was feeling hungry. So, since we are so near to KL and it is KL that I had not seen for over a month, we drove straight into the heart of KL itself: Petaling Street. At this infamous street known for its right and wrong reasons, pockets of eating stalls lie along it with offerings of bountiful delicacy. No, there are no fried crickets or cockroaches to be had, here lies gifts of ‘Lo She Fan’ (very famous not only among the locals that reside around Petaling Street, but famous throughout KL in general), ‘Tai Chow’ (ever popular with the late-night eaters) and humble offerings of porridge. We sat ourselves at the ‘Tai Chow’ corner and tucked-in a big plate of ‘yee mee’ cooked in Hokkien style. This stall was not a stall in particular, but its actually a restaurant that had extended its cooking area onto the streets, I guess to appeal to the ‘Tai Chow’ eating masses that ‘Tai Chow’ should always be cooked out-doors and not in-doors!!!

After that satisfactory late dinner we headed back home to Subang and I had my rest for the next day…

Day 2: Thursday

The next morning I woke-up feeling very puckish for hot mouthfuls of ‘Dim Sum’. SL was around to accompany me to satisfy my body-burning desire for buns of the pork variety, so I suggested we go to a restaurant that had recently expanded its reputation for not only providing good and fresh baskets of ‘Dim Sum’, but also dishes of Chinese delicacy that is not only tasty but plush with variety. The place was ‘Reunion’ at ‘Bangsar Shopping Village 2’, and when we arrived, it was packed and we were placed on a waiting list. No matter, a man that looked like the Captain of the restaurant wrote my name and hand-phone number down and politely asked us to walk around the mall while waiting for their call when seats become available. It was a good idea at that time, so we walked. And walked. And walked until my stomach was rumbling. We went back to the restaurant and asked if there are any seats available but they gave a shrug of disapproval. However, I did notice that big crowds were going into the restaurant quite regularly but a table for 2 persons for me was not yet available. And why was that? Is business for 2 persons not profitable enough for this restaurant? I do not know, so we walked off and gave up on this place. So remember guys and gals out there, they do not serve groups of 2 and below as I guess it is not profitable enough for them, so don’t waste your time there as they are hungry, money-minded parasites gunning for nothing but your $$$$!!!!

Anyway, we headed downstairs and decided on another place to eat and ended up in ‘Marmalade Café’. I’ve heard a few good things about this place so we decided to have a try. Ambiance-wise there wasn’t much to shout about but I have to say that the place was bright with adequate sunlight coming into the café so it gave the patrons a sunny spark to eat and chat enthusiastically.

So this was what I ordered:

Spaghetti Cabonara: Not so good, I’ve tasted much better. Not creamy enough!!!

Spaghetti Funghi: This is much better as the taste of garlic and mushrooms was nicely blended, not too heavy and not too light. The best dish of the afternoon!!!

Salmon Frittata & Chocolate Oreo Mint Shake: The drink was very nice (how can you go wrong with Oreo’s?) but the Salmon Frittata however was disappointing. It was not salty enough and the salmon was just too hard to find!!!

The bill came out to be around RM70 for those few dishes so this place can be quite expensive!!! I mean, I don’t really mind the price as long as it is worth my money. So, as a warning, do not simply order and check prices first before messing with the waiters as not only are the dishes kinda expensive but not all dishes tastes good. As a better and safer bet, go to ‘DELIcious’ just downstairs of ‘Bangsar Shopping Village 2’. Prices are about the same but MUCH tastier, and most of the time you cannot go wrong with the dishes you order (which means most the dishes tastes good lah).

P.S. I didn’t go to ‘DELIcious’ this time because I was saving it for Saturday at Marc Residence, KL. It will be in next post soon!!!

With my stomach filled up, we walked around the mall and bumped into a ‘FJ Benjamin’ clearance sale inside the mall. If you don’t know what ‘FJ Benjamin’ is, they are a fashion apparel supplier of top brands such as Guess, GAP, Raoul, La Senza, Banana Republic, watches from brands such as Nike, Victorinox, Nautica, Bell & Ross and many more.

This sale was by invitation only or if you have a HSBC credit card, you are allowed to enter. Luckily, me being a guy filled with debt and have to rely on credit cards to survive (haha), I whipped out my HSBC credit card and was politely whisked into the sale. The place was packed to the brim with people, but fortunately the air-con was powerful enough so shopping was a breeze. I saw a GAP khakis that I really liked, the color was greenish-greyish and the cutting was semi-baggy and was not too straight. Perfect. But the price: RM 250. CRAP. Isn’t this supposed to be clearance SALE??!! I was really tempted but decided not to buy it as I am saving to buy a new handphone soon ;) I saw so many nice stuff there, simple good quality ‘Guess’ T-shirts was selling at RM 40 and ‘Guess’ jeans was going for RM 100. The design and style may not be the most current but for casual branded wear, I think all this stuff are a steal!!! But I didn’t buy anything haha.

However SL went berserk on the buying and bought 3 ‘Raoul’ shirts, 2 ‘Guess’ T-shirts and nearly bought a ‘GAP’ bag. Total bill for the spurge: RM500. Omigod, I can eat so much with RM500!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Luckily I didn’t pay for the bill so I’m safe kekeke….

We spent almost 3 hours inside there, looking and testing out garment after garment of apparels. After our shopping was done, we were dead tired and wanted to go somewhere to drink and chill. ‘Coffee Bean’ was packed so we left the mall and crossed the road to ‘Mango Mania’. We were chit-chatting about the things I’ve missed since I was away from KL and suddenly another group of people that had done their shopping at the same clearance sale sat beside us. They noticed we had bought something there as well and politely asked us what we bought. Wow, I didn’t know people can start a conversation with strangers just by asking on what we bought at the same place!!! They looked like friendly people so we compared stuff and chatted on when and where will be the next clearance sale. At the moment, with all the shopping and chitchatting about clothes and sales, I truly felt like a 40-year-old auntie. God, what’s happening to me??!!

On the next post (Day 3 & 4), shopping and eating at a pasar malam & dining at DELIcious @ Marc Residence, KL. See you then!!!