December in review, part I.

I thought of doing a '2007 in review' post to end the year, but then I don't want to celebrate things I don't believe in, like New Year celebrations, Mother's Day, Wear Everything Backwards Day and others. A new year is nothing more than a time to change the calendar [that's what it means to me, anyway], so I am just going to write about the things I saw / did / attended / experienced in the month of December.

Buildings and architecture.

A new building is fast a-rising at the corner of Jalan Esfahan and Jalan Raja Laut. It's CIMB's [a local bank] new building, possibly going to be its HQ. How do you find the criss-crossing frame? Does it serve a purpose, to hold the entire structure together like a massive scaffolding, or is it just to hold fluorescent lamp tubes so that it will outstand DBKL building's light display at night?

I was having a leisure walk in the old parts of KL, from Masjid Jamek to Jalan Gereja to Central Market when I saw this old-school kopitiam at a row of pre-war shophouses nearby Medan Pasar called Sekawan Kopichop. I've never eaten Siamese Lemak Laksa and Mee Jawa in my life, so I might consider this place if I were to be hungry when I am in the area [and also if it conforms to my eating standards].

I was about to head back to PJ the other day using the Dataran Merdeka - Padang Merbok route. Just behind Bank Rakyat's Modernist-looking building, there is a street called Jalan Tangsi, where Wisma Ekran is located. I see this Art Deco building each time I go through this route, but only now have I the chance to check it out.

I am very glad to see such architecture still standing in KL. No need to destroy old buildings to build skyscrapers when we've got so much land! But then... we'd have to clear out forests and all, so...

A leap away from Wisma Ekran is Galeri Tangsi, an art gallery that's a hit among the intellects and PAM-heads [to be explained in the next paragraph]. Check out the elaborateness of this one.

Galeri Tangsi is connected to Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia's [PAM] office. It was closed for the day, but what I saw from the window is a pretty airwell in the middle of the building, with some posters of projects PAM has done.

Culinary adventures.

I've written a bit about this restaurant in TTDI called Wak Chai, which serves Johorean cuisine and free WiFi to MacBook Pro users. I was there with my mother to enjoy a plate of Mee Siam, which is a favourite of Loloq, a very famous local composer [who was there to enjoy Mee Siam, too].

For some peculiar reason, Mee Siam is very popular in [and might be from] Singapore. It's rice noodles served with sourish gravy filled with Tau Choo.

And since that I am well-known for my Mac fangirl tendencies, I approached this man [named Hafiz, I believe] to congratulate him for using a MacBook Pro.

On a different day, my mother and I had a lunch of Laksa Johor at the same restaurant. The portion was huge, which is good enough for two people. My mother commented that it would be perfect if there weren't any excess oil.

This will be the third time I am posting a picture of Capital Cafe's Meehoon Hailam. This is probably my Food of the Year [though, Mee Bandung comes close]. There is nothing extraordinary about it, but only Capital Cafe can give you the lovely 'dining' experience [sharing tables with strangers, the multi-racial crowd, the smoke from the satay grill].

Luncheon with my mother at Sentidos Tapas, Starhill Gallery, which we think, has the best Tapas in KL [we don't agree with La Bodega]. A wonderful meal of oxtail, prawns, stuffed potato and grilled button mushrooms. Layer them on top of an olive oil-drenched bread and chew slowly. It will put a smile on your face.

One night, my mother made a su'un soup with potato and beef, and cereal-covered butter prawns to eat while watching Friday night TV shows.

Spending [more like wasting] loads of valuable time at Pavilion makes me hungry. My favourite stall in the food court Food Republic is Toast Box, a stall that grills their bread the old-school way. My favourite item on their menu is Nasi Lemak special, which has some meat floss-looking thingies and a piece of fish cake, alongside sambal, anchovies, cucumbers and a tiny piece of omelette. Though, the amazing-looking thing at this stall is the butter mountain, which goes onto your roti bakar that you will dip in a tasty cup of kopi.

The next post will be about the events I have attended, and some special sights I have shot during my long long KL walks.