The City, Twice

Please click the photo above to play the daily videoThe long weekend announced itself properly — rounds started early and wrapped up by noon, which is exactly the kind of Saturday morning that earns its afternoon. With the rest of the day wide open, I took Anita into the city, starting at Central Market.

There was a bittersweet errand first. Nala, the outlet in Kasturi Walk, is doing a closing down sale. It's always a shame when a place you've browsed happily over the years decides to fold. You don't realise how much a shop has become part of your mental map of a place until someone announces it's leaving. We paid our respects in the way one does — by buying things at a discount and feeling vaguely guilty about it.

Lunch was at Pak Jen, quick and unfussy, the kind of meal that exists to refuel rather than linger. It did its job admirably.

Afterwards, we wandered across to Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad, mostly on a whim, and found ourselves genuinely surprised. The new wing was open — something I hadn't expected — and it's been fitted out with a cluster of restaurants and cafés that give the whole building a completely different energy. Heritage architecture with modern tenants. It works rather well.

We tried Tannin Hill, a tea house that offered a tasting menu. The concept was lovely, the execution generous — perhaps too generous, if we're being honest. By the fourth or fifth steep, we'd crossed the line from pleasantly caffeinated to faintly overwhelmed. There is, it turns out, such a thing as too much tea. A sentence I never expected to write.

We walked it off, exploring the rest of the new spaces, and somewhere during the stroll the idea formed: we'd come back this evening with Irfan. The place deserved a second visit, preferably with a different stomach.

So that's exactly what we did. Dinner at Jibby Chow, because Irfan had his heart set on dim sum, and Jibby Chow delivers on that front without argument. Idlan was too tired to tag along, which is the quiet prerogative of anyone who's had enough socialising for one day. No judgement. Some evenings you simply don't have a second outing in you.

After dinner, we returned to Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad as planned. The building looks different at night — the lighting picks out details you miss in daylight, and the whole precinct takes on a more relaxed, almost European quality. We stopped at Niko Neko for matcha, which I'll describe diplomatically as an acquired taste. Irfan seemed more convinced than I was. I suspect matcha is one of those things you either feel strongly about or simply endure politely while waiting for someone else to finish theirs.

The walk back was the best part, really. The city at night, properly strolled rather than rushed through. KL rewards you when you slow down, and tonight it was in a generous mood.

The Birthday That's Waiting

Please click the photo above to play the daily videoIt's Idlan's birthday today, though you wouldn't know it from the celebrations — or rather, the deliberate absence of them. He's decided to hold off until next week when Irfan is back from London, which is either admirably patient or a shrewd negotiation for two rounds of attention. Either way, there's something rather lovely about a birthday that insists on being complete before it begins. The cake can wait. The brother cannot.

I started rounds early, the kind of Saturday morning where you're in and moving before the hospital has fully woken up. There's a stillness to weekend wards that weekdays never quite manage — fewer footsteps, fewer phones, the corridors carrying a different quality of quiet. Everything done and dusted in good time, which left me free for a nine o'clock meeting at the Amari Hotel.

The meeting room had a view that included, somewhat surreally, our apartment. There's a peculiar feeling in looking out of a conference window and being able to identify your own balcony. You're simultaneously at work and, in some visual sense, at home. The meeting itself ran through until lunch — one of those extended sessions that covers enough ground to justify the hours but still leaves you feeling like you've run a gentle marathon. By the time it wrapped, the tiredness I'd been outrunning all week finally caught up.

A nap. Unapologetic and necessary. I gave myself over to it completely, the kind of early afternoon sleep that feels almost medicinal. And then, as if the city had been waiting for me to close my eyes, the rain came. Properly, emphatically, in that way KL does when it decides to remind you that this is still the tropics. Heavy sheets of it against the windows, the sound both dramatic and oddly soothing. You don't fight rain like that. You just let it have its say.

Once it eased, we drove out to Melawati for the pasar malam. Saturday evening markets have their own particular magic — the smoke from the grills, the clusters of people moving slowly between stalls, the impossible variety of things you didn't know you wanted until they were right in front of you. We browsed, we bought, we did what you do at a pasar malam, which is essentially eat your way from one end to the other with varying degrees of restraint.

Then the phone rang. An admission, because the day wasn't quite finished with me yet. Back in I went, the evening rearranging itself around the call. These things happen, and you learn not to resent them — or at least to keep the resentment brief and productive.

Dinner was late but the mood was chilled. The house quiet, the rain a memory, the weekend still with one full day remaining. Idlan's uncelebrated birthday hovering gently in the background, a promise deferred. Next week, when the family is whole again, we'll do it properly.

When the Day Lowers Its Voice

Please click the photo above to play the daily video

A slow start to the morning — not by design, exactly, more by quiet consensus between body and bed. Some days announce themselves with energy; others arrive in soft focus, asking only that you don't rush them. Today was the latter. I obliged.

The traffic, of course, had no such gentle disposition. Heavy from the outset, the kind that turns familiar roads into unfamiliar tests of patience. There's an art to sitting in KL traffic without losing your composure entirely — somewhere between resignation and acceptance, with a thin veneer of optimism that the next light might change everything. It rarely does. But you keep that hope going, because the alternative is despair, and despair makes the journey feel even longer.

By the time I reached clinic, the day's pace had set itself. Slow. Unhurried in that particular way clinics sometimes are, where each consultation stretches a little longer than expected and the rhythm never quite picks up. There's no fighting a slow clinic — you simply move through it, give each person the time they need, and let the morning unfold at whatever speed it's chosen. Some days you're the conductor; other days you're just keeping time.

The afternoon brought rain. Proper rain, the kind that arrives with intent rather than the half-hearted drizzle KL sometimes attempts. The sky went grey, the temperature dropped a degree or two, and everything outside took on that washed, slightly muted quality that rain brings. There's something restful about working through a downpour — the world outside busy with weather, you inside getting on with things. The two activities seem to balance each other.

By evening, Anita and I went out for dinner. Nothing grand, just the simple pleasure of being fed somewhere other than home, sitting across from each other without the small distractions of one's own kitchen. The rain had eased by then, leaving the streets that particular shade of glossy that makes everything look a touch more cinematic than it has any right to. A good meal in good company on a quiet weeknight — these are the evenings that don't make headlines but quietly hold a week together.

Back home, we settled in for another episode of For All Mankind. The show continues to be a steady companion — ambitious, occasionally devastating, the sort of television that rewards attention rather than demanding it. There's a particular pleasure in watching something properly made, the way each episode builds on the last without rushing or showing off. We watched, we discussed, we paused for the inevitable "wait, who was that again?" moment. Standard viewing protocol.

After that, the evening just drifted. No agenda, no second activity, just the slow wind-down that a tired Thursday deserves. The week is nearly done, the rain has cleared the air, and tomorrow is close enough to feel within reach. Tonight, though, asks for nothing more than a soft landing.

And a soft landing is exactly what it gets.

Japan Expo Malaysia 2018

I stumbled across the event during he last installation in 2017. I happened to have a free after noon with Anita and the boys away to Port Dickson. I went for a spot of lunch at Pavilion and saw all the commotion. Apparently Pikataro was there and I managed to get a video of his performance from the top floor of the mall.

This time around, with the new Facebook Local app, finding out about the happenings in town turned out to be a lot simpler. Irfan had been keen on Japan lately so, after work, I brought him to have a look.

Can somebody explain about the guy in the blue bear costume?She doesn't look impressed ...Welcome ...Exploring the upper floors ...The whole thing appeared overwhelming to him and after a short walk, he decided that he has had enough. We had just missed the Cosplay parade at the time and there were a few singers performing at the time. The crowd was not as big as the one last year but maybe it was because the venue was more dispersed rather than concentrated at just one area.

Exploring some digital artsDrawing on the wall ...Stories to listen toStill halfway ...

We explored the six floor area near Tokyo Street where pop-up stalls were located. Plenty of offers for holidays in various parts of Japan on show, even some stalls from Japanese universities in case we were interested. Plenty of food stalls of course but Irfan was not very keen as he was not sure if they were Halal or not.

Air Asia was also in the act with some flight offers to JapanThe stalls by the fountainGirl by the fountain ...Not sure who she is but she was giving away autographs ...There were also some stalls by the fountain at the entrance. Mainly food as well as some Cosplayer hanging around. Quite fun but the crowd were less than they were last year. Maybe there were plenty of events going on at the same time this weekend. There was Riuh at APW Bangsar as well as a Kakiseni event at Public. Will be checking those out tomorrow rather ...

Cool Snap

It wasn't exactly freezing but it was enough to stop you on your tracks. 22C morning temperature is certainly well below the average for KL and it looked like for the coming weeks, that would be what we would have in store.

It felt like a cool early summer morning in England. I managed to sleep without the aircond quite comfortably with the balcony window opened a hole of nights back. And sitting at the balcony in the breeze at late evening was very pleasant as well.

Low clouds in the eveningAccording to the Meterological Office, the cold snap was brought in by the Pacific Monsoon. This would last for at least another couple of weeks. Coupled with thick cloud and morning rains, I wouldn't exactly label the weather as great. In fact, it was really dull.

Imagine if we were on a break at Fraser's Hill. I'd probably be having hot chocolate on front of the fireplace. Looking forward to some not-too-hot weather. Actually, kind of nice not having to sweat walking for my Friday Prayers.

Anita leaving the window open at mid morning ...The weekend did not fare better. On Sunday afternoon, Anita took the boys to the pool but they only lasted 20 minutes. The water was just too cold and both of them ended up with runny noses when they go to bed that evening. Best to enjoy it before its novelty wears off ...