. . . and its getting worse!

4 September 2009

Blue skies . . . then back to haze!

The good thing about jet lag is that you are awake at the oddest hours, catching the reruns on TV and then watching the night skies light up.

1 September 2009

When the blue skies emerge, it is so pleasing to the eye, and you have to dig deep into the memory banks as to when was the last time you did see the sky so blue.

1 September 2009

The next morning the pink hues dance across the skies cheekily, taunting the watcher.

2 September 2009

Only to turn into a muddy haze once again. Bummer!

3 September 2009

Hazy days

These are the Malaysian sunrises we long for.But instead, for the past 12 years, from July through to August, we get this. Global warming in your face, literally! Visibility down to 5 M, smell of burnt ash hanging in the air, tearing of eyes, itching of skin and exacerbation of wheezing if one is proned. Thank God for gyms and spinning classes. The added fear this year is the H1N1 flu pandemic which is likely to be worsened by the haze, the Minister of Health Malaysia nonchalantly informs the public.

This satellite picture shows the offending areas of forest fires from Central Sumatra being carried over by the winds to Malaysia. Also affected are Thailand and Singapore. The El Nino weather phenomenon which was worst in 1997-1998, led to drought and forest fires amounting to US$9 billion in economic losses. This year promises to be a bad El Nino effect again.

This picture, taken at mid-day, reflects the gloom and doom that pervades space and people alike giving rise to a feeling of lethargy and listlessness. So apart from the loss of tourism, transport and farming, manpower wastage is high.

KL skyline in better times, when blue is the actual colour of the sky.

Tea with the girls . . .

I haven't done this in a long time. Tea with the girls.

Come to think of it, I have never had the luxury of time to indulge in these tea things until now. How sad is that?

It was always an endless immersion in studies, full time work that knew no beginning or end and of course family which is a continuous cycle of events. That took a good number of years to sort out. By the fourth decade, as the nest emptied out, one finds time on ones hands, and that my friends is a new experience and a challenge.

Like all voids, it gets filled up with a variety of things, each taking its own course to sustain itself or be discontinued. Fitness activities like yoga, pilates, spinning, walking or gym work are highly sustainable if one has a penchant for what is called wellness these days. Meeting like-minded people is the next step in the process.

So while there are hen's parties and ladies teas, time spent with new found friends with similar interests can be most refreshing. Recent past has seen a couple of occasions where these tete a tete's have been both enlightening and special.

The array of topics covered from philosophy of life and living, to ancestral roots, to children, careers and relationships is a wonderful sharing experience when the mix is right. It is never too late to experience life in different forms.

December 2008

What have I been up to this month with only 4 entries compared to 11 in November and 15 in October? Well lots, really. As you may have read, I visited Hong Kong and Macau in early December, but that's not much of an excuse is it? Ok then when I got back, the Bukit Antarabangsa tragedy occurred, so in sympathy I decided to start on a landslide spring cleaning project and complete all outstanding projects at home. The kids were due back on the 20th, and after procrastinating for months, I was now in a big hurry to get the apartment ready before their return. The last time all four of us were together was in February this year, where we converged in Melbourne from Tokyo, Edinburgh and KL for a close family friends' wedding. I had planned to repaint the wall accents to match the new theme of 'bright and light' furniture in lime green, fuchsia and turquoise and a touch of chrome in the new square dining table. Its a good thing I delayed the paint job, because the lure of wallpaper was beckoning fast and furious. I couldn't get enough of wallpaper browsing, but in the end made the final choice. After the recent dream holiday in Pangkor Laut, I never got over the serenity of billowing filmy drapes in the breeze, so the quest for filmy drapes began. Got those too.
Getting the wallpaper and curtains up first before deciding on the paint job was wise. Furniture needed to be moved around and around before it was deemed right.

The brown and red front door was painted over with metallic blue with just the right amount of brown showing through to avoid a flat solid effect. Initially I had intended to cover the red with silver, but it looked so good with the blue that I shelved that idea. Instead a thin trim of bronze was applied using masking tape to protect the red.

As it turned out, the doors now reflected the colours of the Balinese paintings without a conscious effort of doing so.

The process of change does not stop, but seeps around corners into other spaces. The terracotta walls and diminishing natural light from adjacent towering blocks had left the lift lobby rather dark. A splash of blue (Jotun paints can be mixed to any shade in one and five litre tins - odourless and fungicidal to boot) applied with a roller using the right pressure and a narrow brush for the edges and corners gets the job done without too much pain.

Now all terracotta walls needed a blue wash to pull the colours together.Of course after a back-breaking day of painting, my partner returned from work and caught me with my paint brushes down and remarked, "What was the colour of the wall last time ah? " And that my friends sums up a satisfying days' work.

So now with the kids home, the landslide makeover done, approved by loved ones, we can usher in the New Year with joy and hope that yoga is not banned and that hill slope building projects will be better controlled in the future. Amen.

Old Cafes in KL - Coliseum & Old China Cafe

If you Google Coliseum Restaurant KL, 60300 hits will pop up.

Located at 98-100 Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, this colonial establishment is a rarity in that it remains an unpretentious cafe and hotel. Established in 1921 as an inexpensive alternative for the planters and tin miners who couldn't afford the Station and Majestic hotels, it still fits the budget of the discriminating traveler looking for a good deal.

Imagine the discussions in the 1950's, when planters and tin miners gathered on Friday nights to discuss anti-communist strategy during the Malayan Emergency.

Now, a must visit for tourists, proclaimed by Lonely Planet, Frommer's etc, this watering hole is refuge for the sun burnt traveller to enjoy a cold beer, whisky soda or Singapore sling and absorb some nostalgia.

A Dutch visitor commented: 1920s ambiance reminds me of Amsterdam! Feel at home there immediately....Great place for a cold beer in town or meeting up before going somewhere else. I love sitting there in the afternoon with a drink and making my phone calls, then move on to the next destination. Totally like typical Amsterdam cafes like Weyers and the likes of that.

Locals enjoy the food as they relive childhood dinner treats with parents:-

I love dining at Coliseum restaurant, seeing people from different races & background and even "Mat Salleh" love this place very much. With RM 16.90++, you can enjoy a super large chicken chop set ever in town.

I've being going to the Coliseum for years and in the past have had some of the best steaks I've ever tasted. However, like your other Jan 2008 reviewer, my January meal was awful. We didn't eat 5% of the steak, paid and left. I love the place but it seems it has really started to serve substandard food.

I've been there since childhood like most of its ardent visitors but since recent years, all I heard was that the place serves pork and that its halal status is questionable...could anyone verify this please...I really want to bring my family there just like how my father brought us there last time..

Hotel rooms are huge, albeit without bathrooms (some rooms have sinks), and come with ancient electric switches, tables and chairs, high ceilings and wardrobes. Bathrooms and toilets are on the hall, with spigots and plastic buckets replacing the old Shanghai jars.

Room rates: Single room with fan RM 28 , Double room with fan RM 33, Single room with air-con RM 38 , Double room with air-con RM 45.

The Cafe serves up old favourites like chicken chop, Hainanese chicken rice, fried rice and sizzling steaks with lots and lots of gravy. This cuisine is typical of the Hainanese cooks who originated from Hainan way back when. They settled in Malaya and were invariably employed as cooks and house keepers for the orang puteh. The rest houses all over the country and hill station bungalows were run by these 'cookies', often a family affair where the husband was caretaker and chef, and the wife saw to the laundry and making of beds etcAfter a couple of sizzling steaks are grilled to perfection beside your table, you meekly say thank you and attack the succulent meat, guilty and embarrassed that the whole room is now filled with smoke and steam due to your steaks!

As you enjoy yummy old time simple desserts like banana split, fried banana with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce, pancakes and honey or the piece de resistance bomb Alaska, you can't help but notice the oldest waiter you've seen, still sturdy and supervising his young protege.

The Coliseum Theatre, one of the oldest movie theaters in the country, was built in 1921 by the Chua family next door to the cafe. The Art Deco styled building is capable of seating 900 people and also features a balcony.

This cinema hall has been running continuously (save for a break during the Japanese occupation during World War II). Nowadays with the increasing popularity of Bollywood films, this cinema specialises in screening this genre of movies.

The Old China Cafe, located at one end of Petaling Street at 11, Jalan Balai Polis, draws 230,000 hits on Google.

This 1906 shop house served as a Guild Hall of Selangor & Federal Territory Laundry Association for 67 years before it was converted to the existing cafe. The clan house for Chinese launderers and dhobymen was set up to look after the welfare of this group, from finding jobs, sending money home to China to housing them.

The speciality of the house is Nyonya food, and the menu of Pai Tee, mee siam, asam laksa, bubur cha cha etc is proudly displayed on the rattan blinds. Typical marble topped coffee shop tables and black wood bentwood coffee shop chairs of yesteryear feature prominently.

Much of the memorabilia from the Laundry Guild are retained to give that authentic feel. The walls are covered with sepia photographs, old documents and two Feng Shui mirrors facing each other representing good luck ad infinitum.

Treasured wall clocks and even an old General Electric fridge circa 1970 is still in use. The creaky staircase leads to the antique gallery on the first floor.

The best part of this tale is that I only recently discovered Old China Cafe myself, through a French lady who practises acupuncture at a Chinese medical hall in Petaling Street. No kidding. Now who's introducing what to the locals, I ask you?