New Look Bukit Bintang

It must have taken at least four years to get the MRT done around the centre of town. That was how long that famous intersection at Bukit Bintang was thrown into chaos, followed by the closure of Bukit Bintang Plaza - which is still being rebuilt.

Still some landscaping needed doing ...Another entrance round the cornerThose iconic landmarks ...It had finally be opened and the place had been cleaned up quite well. The traffic were starting to build but the flow was a lot smoother than it used to be. It looked less chaotic but I was sure once the new Bukit Bintang Plaza was built, the chaos would return.

Let's go across ...Passed the old Bukit Bintang towards Capitol Hotel and Low YatThe old car park being torn down ....The new MRT station there was still spankingly clean, transforming this area.

Back to Bukit BintangThere used to be a nice cafe there, which had been closed earlier this yearI am sure this crossing would be iconic in the futureI was at the intersection a few Sundays ago to have a feel of how the place had become. More cosmopolitan but on the whole rather too sterile for my liking. Maybe in the months to come, the place would acquire a character of its own, if not back to the old charm.

The Pantry

One of the advantage of staying around Bangsar is the number of cafe around where we live. Some were better known than others, some were right hidden gems. But lately the turnover rate of those cafes were pretty high, reflecting the uncertain economy.

The entrance with the rustic doorPleasant and uncluttered The special for today - linguine marinaraWe found a new place to sit a couple of Sundays ago about 5 minutes drive from the apartment. Nestled at a residential area in Lorong Kurau, The Pantry looked plain on the outside but really cosy once you stepped in. The rustic door helped the ambiance somewhat and inside the soft music in the background just set the mood for you to relax.

Tea for AnitaAnd coffee for me ....Anita went for the linguine marinaraI had the salted beef with plenty of cheese and fries The items on the menu were staples in these cafe but the highlight must be the pasta. It was fresh and delicious, served in portions just nice for a late afternoon snack or a spot of early dinner. The coffee was not bad either.

On the couple of occasions we had been there, the place had been relatively quiet but the quality of the food appeared consistent. It was not a bad place to spend an hour or so on a Sunday afternoon having a conversation or just catching up with things.

Sampling the ambiance ....

Ornaments and bitsI might be going there more often should I have some free time. I kinda like the place ....

Update on Sunday, August 13, 2017 at 11:23AM by Haris Abdul Rahman

Just found out that The Pantry will be closed and today was its last day ... Details here.

The Third Floor Cafe

Big books. And good coffee. On a Sunday afternoon. Sounds like a perfect way to end the week.

That was what I had earlier today when I ventured to Isetan at Lot 10 as I got a spare couple of hours. The initial plan was to see a 3D printing demonstration but I realised that the timing was not right. I had to be back home before the program started. So, the hour sipping coffee and browsing books at the third floor at the Isetan store sounded fine to me.

Just in case you were so enamoured and wanted to go to Japan straight away, there was also a travel agent on the same floorIt was rather difficult to term the place. Was it a cafe with books, or a cafe at a bookstore. Seemed like most people were doing a bit of both. The coffee was OK, not the best in town, but the books there were something else especially when you venture towards the travel books section. Great material, in heavy minded volumes. The books on urban landscapes and street photography definitely tickled my fancy as lately I found those to be the kind of photography I like - or more like the only photography my schedule allowed me to do plenty of.

I decided against buying the books as I had to trek back to another store where I parked my car and I had a couple of stops in between. Maybe I would come back to buy some books. It would complement the volume I had in my living room nicely.

The cafe counter

Apart from the cafe and books, the third floor were also dedicated to workshops for origami as well as all things Japanese. Take that day for instance, there was a Japanese artist who came to do a demo on 3D glass printing. There were more activities laid out for the rest of the year - which you had to enrol and pay for of course. I might just bring Idlan there one of these days if the event was right ... he loved origami.

Lot 10 hosted - and still hosts - the first Isetan Store in Malaysia. There were a few others now but the one in Lot 10 had been renovated into what was termed a “Japanese Concept Store”. It had ample space with plenty of room to browse around. There were no items cluttering the walkways and it did not have the typical “pushy” salesperson common in KL. You can just walk around without being bothered. Definitely a place worth visiting ....

It Has Been a While

It had been a while since I had the chance to have a nice walk in town, just with my camera. Ramadhan, then Raya made for busy weekends. Last Sunday morning, I had a couple of free hours and I did just that.

I kinda got a good feel taking wide-angle street photos lately. I had the choice of either the Alpha 7 with the Batis or as I did this time around, the X-Pro2 with the 10-24 mm wide angle zoom. I got off the rounds early, got to the bank and sorted out my credit card payments plus a quick stop at Low Yat checking out the new gadgets.

What did I check out this time? The new 10.5 inch iPad Pro. Definitely nippy but my old iPad was still working fine.

I spent some time around Pavilion looking for a new pair of shoes, but nothing caught my fancy. Going out this early on a Sunday meant that there were hardly any traffic to content with. Everything was smooth and I get to see and do what I planned smoothly. I was back at the apartment well before lunchtime ...

The Preparations

When Anita got her mind set for something, she would obsessively pursue it. And the family open house the other was no exception. She was planning it for some time and got all the logistics organised well ahead.

For her part, she cooked her famous soto. She ordered a few items from her Instagram contacts as well as getting one of her friends to bake the cake for us.

Her Mum helped with the decorating and she got one of our maid's friend to stay over as well.

Certainly all her effort came into fruition as things started to fall into place. Luckily since our apartment was recently renovated and one of the leaked bathroom had been fixed. A few days before, she went to Sungai Buloh with her friend to get some fresh flower pots for the balcony. Therefore decorations was rather straight-forward.