CHRISTMAS AT KLCC : OUR VISIT (Pt 2)

December 23, 2023December 23, 2023 / Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

http://leatherpotato.com/2023/12/20/klcc-christmas-prelude-to-our-visit-pt-1/
http://leatherpotato.com/2023/12/17/shes-in-town/

As we got on the northbound LRT train towards Gombak (the other way is southbound, heading towards Putra Heights); I still hadn’t reached that “Yay! let’s go to KLCC” mood level yet. I was quite apprehensive that it was going to be overly crowded. Getting on the train itself met with quite a bit of a crowd. We managed to get seats as we got in.

Throughout the journey, the train met with near full capacity status. At one of the stops, an elderly couple got on board. Jeannie and I immediately got up to offer our seats. A couple of young ladies got up to offer their seats to us; we, who were slight-ly older than them.😉

We were at KLCC soon enough. Sure beats driving down to K.L. which usually requires a lot of energy sapping concentration due to the usual heavy traffic.

The shopping mall was as expected – crowded. However, we still could move around without physically bumping into people. We walked to the happening place, where the main Christmas decorations were up. The whole shopping mall was in Christmas mode with all its decorations, music and festivities. I will always love toys. What better way to know the latest and the greatest is when they are introduced just in time for Christmas. I figure that toys are an excellent way to get kids and adults away from screens – phone screens, pad/tablet screens, tv screens, cinema screens.

Here I am 🎅👆, in the two pictures above; inspecting the gingerbread train. Got such thing, meh? (Local English for: “Oh really! Is there ever such a thing as a gingerbread train?” You may be forgiven to think that this a subtle “Teva” brand advertisement (hint, hint).

Santa was not too good this year, so he was punished to sit up in the clocktower for a couple of hours. Poor guy. He did not realise that they removed the hands from the clock face. So a couple of hours could be eternity.

*Since Santa was punished, up in the clocktower; we had to send our Christmas wishes by post. Mine is a Rolls Royce Spectre (not Sceptre – that’s a clone copy) – the real thing.*

*No, our day is not over… yet. Taking a break from all this Christmasing…more like from all the walking.*

We had to take a break from the festivities of walking the length and breadth of KLCC Shopping Mall for a while. Jeannie bought some curry puffs and other delights. Just before this break, I managed to find a writing instrument at Kinokuniya Book store for my mini folio.

*The mini mechanical pencil fits nicely in the zip-lock sleeve which I keep towards the back of the folder.*

The eats from “Kampong Kravers” was very, very tasty. You guys, if you ever do come to KLCC, should have a go at the variety of food they have on offer. At reasonable prices, too. Jeannie got a couple of can-packed coffees, both from the Pokka brand. Their premium rich coffee was quite nice. It did not have that bitter after taste that comes with most coffees in a can. Their Mocha was quite nice, too; though I stuck with their premium rich coffee.

*Some drinks while resting. The Pokka Premium Rich Coffee is pretty good.*

My wife, Jeannie; as usual, signed us up for the gingerbread decorating session. “Why, or why?”, I kept asking myself.

Some people around me may have thought I was a bit whacky, what with the waving my hand this way and that, raising and lowering it, opening it and closing; all these actions in front of my phone, sort of hand gestures with the hocus-poke us, abra-ca-de-bra magic mantra saying, trying to get the phone to do something. In this case, it was to take pictures.

When, the decorating session started, Jeannie and I were the two oldest amongst the children. Before long, we could hear kids telling their parents, “Stop helping me. I want to decorate on my own”. Those parents may have thought either their kids needed help to compete against us, or they themselves wanted to decorate gingerbread cookies but were to shy to come forward on their own. Now, they made it seem that they were “helping their children”. How mischievous could that be?

Jeannie told me that we weren’t (old word, not used in a long time. Pronounced as “weren’t”. However, locally pronounced as “wer-ren’t”) decorating gingerbread cookies. There were actually butter cookies.

*My work of art, minimalist, yet edible.*

That was fun. Especially getting to eat the decorated cookies after that. We were soon on the LRT train heading back towards Putra Heights, but had a stop to do, which Jeannie kept insisting we had to make. And that was to “Pasar Seni” or Central Market, where the artsy people gather to sell and buy stuff. It was only 4 stops from KLCC.

The weather held up pretty good, as we had to walk about 5 minutes (including crossing the very busy streets where vehicles do not respect pedestrian zebra-crossings at all.

*Resting at the newly opened grocery store and a food court style eating place.*

With a bit of patience, we managed to get across the busy street. When we got into Pasar Seni, we were greeted with a new, large grocery store, surrounded with many eating places. There was as usual, a wide variety of foods that one could choose from. Pasar Seni, besides the new grocery store and eating establishments, was as usual, a hive of activity.

Was trying to use the “magic wand” S-Pen to turn the butter cookies to gingerbread cookies. But I Kept getting a message on my phone that the S-Pen was connected to: “Unavailable. Maybe, in the next S-Pen software upgrade”.

Before long, (actually it was quite a long time), the Batik Influencer, Jeannie; had canvassed some of the grounds at Pesar Seni for what was new on the batik scene. She purchased several pieces of batik and a very traditional blouse for herself. She was happy.

I, in the meantime, came across Koopi, a new coffee brand in town. The booth was manned by Kate Poon and her mother. They were promoting their new brand (at least to me, it was new) by giving out taste samples.

Kate is a very approachable person. She was full of passion for her product. She was not trying to sell coffee. She was promoting an experience, a wonderful experience at that. A business that she runs with her father. She comes from three generations of kopitiam business. From the samples I tried,I liked the coffee. I purchased the different types of coffee they were promoting. Keep a lookout for my review on Koopi coffees.

We had to make our home as it had been quite a long morning and afternoon expedition. The train ride back home was not as crowded as when were we heading to K.L. We reached home with just enough time to freshen up and meet Laura and her boyfriend, Praga; for dinner.

KLCC CHRISTMAS: PRELUDE TO OUR VISIT (Pt 1)

December 20, 2023December 23, 2023 / Alan Atkinson / 1 Comment

http://leatherpotato.com/2023/12/17/shes-in-town/

Sunday morning was upon us like…well…yeah…as expected, right after last night which might surprise some people, not all…just some…was Saturday night. It was a Saturday night like all Saturday nights…in fact like all Saturdays with 86,400 seconds or 1,440 minutes or 24 hours. The point is that the day/s aren’t waiting for us; they are just whizzing past faster than Billy Whizz. It is a constant. What is not a constant is how we spend our time.

You may have heard some people or many people say, “We have time to kill” or “I am doing this or that to kill time”. I am not one of those advocates who would like to “kill time” as it may (the Englander English like to use terms like this “as it may” to add flair to the way they speak. Or perhaps they aren’t sure what they are saying. Or maybe, they are thinking out loud. But it does sound nice…what say you?😉).

Anyway, Sunday morning and Jeannie says, “Let’s go to KLCC and Pasar Seni (Central Market) (3) today. We can use the LRT (Light Rail Transport).” And I, “Erm, yeah, I guess so with a ‘Do we really have to?’ ” tone, as I expected these places to be crowded, given that it is so near to Christmas. I thought she’d let it pass. A few minutes later (With the Spongebob Squarepants’ voice)…. “Come on, let’s go”. I said ok but first, “Let’s have char siew / siew yoke for breakfast. We can go to Court 2 restaurant (Goodyear Court apartments) (4) and from there, catch the train to KL.

*Let me think, “What to eat?” Tough question.*

We were at Court 2 a few minutes later. Jeannie made the order as she was more familiar with the stalls here, and she usually does the food ordering. Jeannie ordered roast and steam chicken rice and for me, a plate of char siew & siew yoke (1) from one stall and a plate of plain wantan (2) noodles from another stall. As for drinks, she had a cup of hot Chinese coffee or “kopi panas”; and I, ice coffee, strong – literal translation of “kopi peng kaw”. We did not have to wait long for our orders to come. This is what I call “fast food”.

Both our meals came with a generous portion of meats. And, both our meals came with a small container of chili sauce to spice up and add to the already tasty meals.

*Jeannie’s roast and steamed chicken rice meal that came with a bowl of soup.*

Our meals did not only look good, they tasted good, too. They are amongst the best in Subang Jaya. As in all good food, we ate in moderation; meaning we did not over order. Jeannie and I don’t eat meats everyday. Most of the time I go in for sandwiches.

The coffee was quite good. it did not seem to have too over-bearing the taste of milk. We could actually taste coffee in the coffee drinks. I think my kopi peng kaw (iced coffee, strong) went very well with my meal. For Jeannie, she enjoyed her hot coffee after her meal.

*My “kopi peng kaw” or “cold, strong coffee”*

Soon it was time to begin our journey. Did our journey start from our house? I think it can be considered the beginning of our journey. We had to walk a few hundred metres, then up the stairs to the USJ7 LRT station.

There was hardly anyone waiting for the train when we got there. Perhaps, trains from both directions (one to Putra Heights, the other to KL [Kuala Lumpur]) had just come and gone, picking up passengers, with no one else waiting. I wonder if they were all going to KLCC. We would just have to wait and see until we ourselves arrived there.

Next: KLCC CHRISTMAS: PRELUDE TO OUR VISIT (PART 2)…coming next

NOTES:
1. Char siew / siew yoke Char Siew Yok is Char siew is barbecued roast pork, whereas siew yoke is roasted crispy pork belly.
Char siew is a type of Chinese-style barbecued pork that is made with a special blend of spices and aged over a period of time. The pork is marinated in a blend of spices and other ingredients such as soy sauce, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing wine, and honey.
2. Wantan noodles is a noodle dish of Cantonese origin. These are egg noodles made of wheat flour, egg, and water.
3. Pasar Seni or Central market in English, and KLCC; are both shopping havens located in the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
4. Court 2 restaurant (Goodyear Court apartments) are located in USJ Subang Jaya; a city in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.