Bersih 2.0 - from within the eye of the storm

I'm torn..

On the one hand, I understand why some need to resort to street demonstrations to make their views heard. On the other hand, I also fear for its ramifications. It only takes a little to ignite the fire within to turn peaceful demonstrations to all out rioting.

I feel for those who've had enough with the sad state of affairs, but I feel even more for my family for whom I am the sole breadwinner to. Yes, I've been told its 'just a peaceful walk' but for me this 'little' walk has elements of wild abandon I can ill afford right now.

So, for better or for worse I'm sitting on the fence. The photos below are not so much about Bersih 2.0, but about how the city centre became a ghost  town because of it..

AM Updates: Went out for breakfast only to find most shops closed. Used a point-and-shoot camera so as to not attract attention.

Jln Munshi Abdullah towards Jln Ampang

along Jln Munshi Abdullah

along Jln Munshi Abdullah

along Jln Dang Wangi

along Jln Dang Wangi

along Jln Dang Wangi

along Jln Dang Wangi

along Jln Doraisamy

along Jln Dang Wangi

along Jln Munshi Abdullah

Eye in the sky (big brother's watching)

PM Updates: Went out for lunch, still the roads were desolate. This time felt a little bolder so I brought my DSLR along.

along Jln Munshi Abdullah

along Jln Munshi Abdullah

along Jln TAR

along Jln TAR

along Jln Raja Laut

along Jln Raja Laut

along Jln Esfahan (Sogo)

along Jln TAR

along Jln Dang Wangi

Bus/Taxi lanes between Sogo and Pertama

along Jln TAR (more uniforms than civilians)

along Lorong TAR (night market)

Dang Wangi Police Station

our condo

PDRM chopper on a slalom course (between buildings)

Note: I'm glad I didn't join in the 'walk', I later learnt the tear gas might have proved fatal for someone with asthma (me)..

Lunch @ IKEA

IKEA Food Court

No. 2 Jalan PJU 7/2, Mutiara Damansara

47800 Petaling Jaya

We took Brendan out to lunch today to treat him for doing well in his recent mid-term exams.

what, no shades?

off with the shades, its time to give the fedora a chance

They had Swedish meatballs, as usual..

but I went decidely English:)

absolutely ravenous boy!

We've been noticing a marked increase in Brendan's food intake nowadays. Heck, we're not complaining as his meal portions used to be bird-sized.

He now eats more that Cat and I combined.. kanak-kanak membesar, hehehe:)

Restoran Yu Kee Bak Kut Teh (revisited)

Restoran Yu Kee Bak Kut Teh

54A, Jalan SS 14/2

Subang Jaya

47500 Selangor

Coordinates: 3.072724, 101.590367

Yes, we're back and yes, this has got to be a firm favourite of our family as we've been coming here close to 10 years now. In fact we've mentioned this place here and here before.

To reiterate, I know there are 'better' and more authentic BKT shops in Klang (a dime a dozen if you ask me), but my idea of a BKT fix is when the broth is absolutely black and 'herbalistic'.

Brendan and his preoccupation with sunglasses

that's more like it (Mom's into sunglasses too)

shades off, its down to business:)

lovely lovely BKT!

i can almost smell the herbs:)

Introducing My Daughter..

This is something I've been putting off posting for a while now. If you've noticed, there's a pronounced gap in my postings between February and May last year.

It was because we went through a personal tragedy during that period. We lost our daughter (7 months stillborn) in March 2010, and despite what everyone has to say on the matter it will still take a while for us (me, at least) to get over.

Thing is, I don't know if you can "get over" something heart-breaking like this. The best you can do is to "get with" the pain, and live with it, pick up the pieces and live through it.

Okay, enough with the melodramatics. We've decided to honour her memory by celebrating Bethany Joy Lim Jia Qian's (that's her name, in its full glory) birthday as we would our own, and we've adopted her due date as her birthday.

Bethany would have been a year old toddler today, so enjoy the photos. I've deliberately refrained from commenting on the photos so as to not trivialize the occasion. Sometimes pictures do paint a thousand words.. Enjoy:)

Aysa's Wedding

HGH Convention Centre

475 Jalan Peach Ave

Sentul

51000 Kuala Lumpur

+60340456166

info@hghconvention.com

Coordinates: 3.179786, 101.693244

Our neighbour's daughter got married today, and we were of course invited to make merry and join in the festivities. The wedding was held in a rather upscale and posh looking school hall in Sentul.

We were not even aware this function/convention hall existed until we received the invitation from our neighbour. If we're not mistaken this 'convention centre'  actually belongs to Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (C) Sentul.

Aysa's mom..

Aysa's dad and siblings..

my son the poser (gets it from his mom, definitely)

the bride and groom making a grand entrance

the chicken was to-die for!

while the mutton was divine!

ooh la la..

great decor and ambience:)

Aysa and hubby leaving the hall

managed to sneak a shot with them:)

This has definitely got to be THE best indian wedding we've been to..

CK Kopitiam Corner

CK Kopitiam Corner

Jalan Galian 3/93

Taman Miharja

55200 Kuala Lumpur

Coordinates: 3.124167, 101.723889

After 'migrating' to Kuala Lumpur in September 2002 we lived for a while with my sister in Subang Jaya before finding a condo to rent here in Taman Miharja, so coming back here every once in a while is pretty nostalgic. For a while, Brendan used to attend the kindergarten 'Tadika Intelek' nearby. The roar of the trains (from the LRT tracks a stone's throw away) was something we eventually got immuned to.

This is one of our fav mixed rice shops. Why? the price! You can hardly get mixed rice for under RM4 these days, and CK Kopitiam Corner is one of the last few.

as the name suggests, its located at the corner..

The 1st shop after exiting Jln Cheras..

before reaching Miharja Condo

unfussy about his choice of dishes

This cost more than RM4 tho..

Restoran Win Heng Seng

Restoran Win Heng Seng

183, Jalan Imbi

50100 Kuala Lumpur

Coordinates: 3.145486, 101.715000

Brendan had extra classes at school today till 12:30PM, and he's due for tuition at Ampang 2 hours later. We decided to have lunch near our home, and ended up in Imbi.

We've seen this restaurant before but parking is quite a challenge in this area. We ended up paying RM4 just to park nearby.

Pressed for time, and being new to the place we played it safe and ordered 3 plates of Wan Tan Mee.. and guess what? It was divine!

Its the shop at the corner

Right on the main street

Brendan still in uniform

Eat and run (to his next class)

A bit pricey (RM5 per plate), I guess that's the going rate in Imbi?

But in the end it was well worth it, I guess

We found out later the kueh tiau soup here is quite good as well (we noticed quite a few patrons ordering bowls of it). We'll be back soon!

Caveat Emptor - Restoran 9898

Restoran Nine Eight Nine Eight (9898)

Jalan Pandan Indah 4/10

Pandan Indah

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Coordinates: 3.131643, 101.752989

This time we've not writing to recommend a shop. On the contrary, its to issue a stern Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware) statement.

Its Sunday afternoon, and after a leisurely drive around Ampang we found ourselves at Pandan Indah, and in particular along the street where this restaurang was located.

Looking like any other run of the mill  chinese restaurant, we decided to have lunch here.

Restoran Nine Eight Nine Eight

or is it Restoran I Ate I Ate (your money)..

Do you suppose their prices are due to their 24 hours status?

The photo below is of the chap fun stall we (Brendan, Cat and I) had rice. We each had only two dishes, but the total came to almost RM20!

The offending chap-fun stall

The drinks were another thing. Cat's  herbal tea cost RM1.80, Brendan's can of 100-plus was RM2.40 while my customary iced coffee was RM2.00.. can you believe that?

The guy in the center nonchalantly recited the mad prices to us!

We don't know about the rest of you, but we distinctly had the feeling we were victims of daylight robbery. This is definitely a place we'll avoid like the plague in future.