TKS?

Siew Yum and I have been on a journey to find us some Sichuan food in KL to rival that of Dainty's in Melbourne. Oooh just the mention and thought of Dainty's is making my mouth water. How can one have such fond attachments to food??! Siew Yum will understand me.

Months ago as I was driving along Jalan Alor, with its brightly lit restaurants side by side along the entire street, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, a particular restaurant with a huge neon sign with photos of the food they sell. Actually most of the restaurants along Alor have a huge neon sign with photos plastered on it. Somehow, I noticed this one, Kedai Makanan & Minuman TKS. No, I dont know what it stands for. So, as I noticed the neon sign, I spotted a photo of the chilli fish hotpot I always crave for when in KL. So I tell Siew Yum and Audrey Hepburn my delightful find. Audrey Hepburn asked if it was safe in Alor, you know how its not known for its cleanliness or hygienic premises. Well, I dont know if it's safe, but we always seem to eat at WAW and we're still alive. So cant be that bad.

Long story short, months went by and we never went to try TKS out. Then just about 3 weeks ago, Mr Fukuharu told us about a great Sichuan restaurant in KL. And guess what? He had suggested TKS. So Odie, Siew Yum and I went along with Mr Fukuharu to give this Sichuan place a go. We ordered all the things we would order at Dainty's and the food was yummmmmo!! The place was quite ordinary though. By the road, sitting outside, inhaling the fresh whiff of sewer stench and rats running around (Lesson #1 to note, never look down when in Alor, you never know what you might find). Every dish looked almost the same as Dainty's, some even tasted better than Dainty's especially the Chilli Pei Dan.

Since then, Siew Yum and I have been there again and brought Twitter and Audrey Hepburn along. They were in heaven! No longer do we have to wait till we make a trip to Melbourne for this taste of gluttony heaven. We have it in the heart of KL :-D

I love Sichuan food!

To Scruff or Not To Scruff

By definition a "scruff" is an untidy person. By definition a "scruff" is also mostly only used to describe men. From the way they dress, to the way they keep their hair, to the 5 o'clock shadow which unfortunately appears on their faces on a daily basis (Chinese men are an exception here, havent met one who can successfully have a 2 o'clock shadow, let alone a 5 o'clock one).

Mind you it is each to their own, but hair in general irks me. Hair on the body and hair on the face, both as bad as each other. Just imagine hugging a big hairy bear in bed. So not cool. Perhaps some women keep warm that way, I just use a thicker blanket to keep warm. And just imagine pashing someone with a stubble, definitely not cool. We women go home with a sore, raw and peeling chin. In my opinion, clean cut is the way to go. Nice smooth skin, no hair to ruin MY complexion.

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Dont get me wrong, scruffy unshaven men can look good too. And yes, they just LOOK good. Not good to touch, kiss or caress.

Many of my girlfriends will disagree with me. I know Samantha Jones loves it, body or facial hair doesnt bother her. Like I said it is each to their own. I just cant understand it. I once had a boyfriend who decided it was cool to grow a goatee, which eventually became a beard. Eeeew ....... Needless to say, I stopped kissing him from that point till we broke up.

The MM Experience

As we journey through our 30s, are we looking for a good time or a long time?

Miss X hooked up with a dashing MM a few weeks ago. And we are talking about a good time not a long time. Once a week, straight forward agreement, no strings attached. The first few encounters were somewhat romantic, in a 4 star hotel, all very covet Carrie-esque a la SATC. She checks in first, he comes later or vice versa. Perfect arrangement. Up until 2 weeks ago. MM gave Miss X a link to book a hotel on a pre-arranged day. She does as she's told, rocks up to the venue 2 hours later to discover, it is infact a backpacker's hostel. Around about this time when she was telling me the story, I was rolling on the floor. So it has progressed from 4 stars to no stars in a matter of weeks! Looks promising indeed.

She goes ahead, reluctantly checks in, and fuming at the same time. Lucky she got a private room and not a bunk in a dorm. After checking in, Miss X, her heels, her LV bag and her newly purchased bottle of wine adjourned to the "private room", totally sticking out of the crowd like a sore thumb. The room looked decent so far. She had 2 hours to kill before MM arrived, so decided to pour herself a glass of wine to calm the temper or else god knows what will happen to MM when he finally shows up. Now, in a backpacker's hostel, one must not assume it is like a hotel. There were no wine glasses in the room! Never fear, there's always the communal kitchen down the hall way. No wine glasses there either, so I suppose a coffee mug had to suffice. Classy.

MM arrived some time later to find a rather tipsy Miss X, and was just as surprised at his choice of hotel. Cant believe they didnt just check out and go somewhere else. In the middle of the night the PA system (yes, there was a PA system in every room) came on with an announcement about "Rock Night" happening down in the bar. Oh, and free pancakes for breakfast the following morning.

I guess we should try everything once in our lives. I've experienced this through Miss X. Thanks.

I Love Dubai!

Nobody told me Dubai was such a wonderful city! Almost everything is man made from the high rises to the palaces to the beaches. I think what impressed me the most about Dubai was the cleanliness, the modern-ness and the obscene wealth in some of the people on the street. Oh and also because it was my next stop after London. We all know how cold, gloomy, old and dirty London can be. Stepping out of the plane in Dubai airport, I was just taken aback by the bright sun, the modern airport and how clean and shiny everything was!

No visit to Dubai is complete without visiting the Burj Al Arab. It has always been my dream to spend one night at the Burj, but ofcourse that was not to be. The magnificent Burj Al Arab is on an island of it's own shaped to resemble the sail of a dhow, an arabian vessel. Truly a beautiful construction. The Burj is a self claimed 5 star hotel, however people around the world often label it "the world's only 7 star luxury hotel". And believe me, this is no simple 5 star hotel. Just to walk in if you're not a guest will cost you USD$60! For guests booked in to the Burj, extra services include your very own butler, your own maid, even your own photographer to follow you around town just to take photos for you. Such luxury only money can buy.

Lucky for me, I had made reservations to have champagne brunch at Al Muntaha, reservations I made while I was still in Melbourne. Al Muntaha is located 200m above the Persian Gulf in the Burj with a full view of Dubai. The food was exquisite, the service was impeccable and the ambience was just divine. Just the dessert spread was bigger than some buffets I've seen. Cakes were adorned with gold flecks, everything was just so glamorous. Sigh ......

The man made beaches are a picturesque scene. Beautiful gold sand and exceptionally clean. I swear I will visit Dubai and stay at the Burj one of these days.

A Glimpse Into A Man's World

It’s funny how I can be one of the boys on the odd occasion.

Some time ago in KL, I caught up with an old friend Mr B. He joined me at La Bodega in Pavillion where I was having drinks with quite a few of my friends. After drinks someone suggested we all go get a massage. Sounded like a great idea at the time so I agreed. Mr B suggested we go to a spa. Now a spa in KL is no ordinary spa. He explained that this particular spa we were adjourning to was a gentleman's spa. Interesting. However, as he is a valued customer there, they would make an exception and let women in. Two women specifically. That would be me and Piggy. Piggy was a little reluctant initially. But what the hell, we were with four other guys and they were all my friends. I was sure it would be safe, physically safe, not sure though if we would be traumatised by this experience.

We followed Mr B, all six of us, all men with the exception of two. We arrive at Citrus Hotel . Cant say it was located in a desirable part of KL, off Jalan Raja Laut, scary and dodgy infact. We patiently and curiously follow Mr B into the building to Level 1 where JJ Spa was located. As soon as the elevator doors opened, Mr B was greeted with a familiar "Welcome back Mr. B". Wow, he really was a valued customer there. After some negotiation, us ladies were allowed in.

As Piggy and I strutted across the tv room, it was evident that we were the only two women who did not work there. Drinks flowed freely and we could smoke almost anywhere. After a beer, we were lead to the change rooms, which also doubles as the spa room, the sauna, the showers, the smoking room and the toilets. Yes, it was all in one room. Piggy and I were given robes, shorts and a towel. As this was a gentleman's spa, there were no ladies toilets or ladies showers. We had to turn the sauna into a makeshift change room. When we came out dressed in our robes and shorts, the boys were all in the spa. So what do we do? We join them ofcourse. It was quite a sight. The spa was relatively huge, enough to fit 20 people I reckon. Piggy and I jumped in robe, shorts and all. Piggy kept asking me "Do you think this is a good idea jumping in with all these naked men?". My response, "Why not???". If I could get naked and jump in I would.

After 10 minutes in the spa, we all got out to get ready for our 2 hour massage. Piggy and I were lead to our massage. Thankfully we were placed in the same room together. I thought it was quite odd that the room we were given had mirrors on all the walls. That thought didnt last long though. I soon fell asleep through my massage. Coming out of the room, Piggy and I walked past other massage rooms and they all had showers in the corners of the rooms with mirrors on all walls including the ceiling. Hmmmmm ...... The girls coming out of the rooms were dressed or under dressed I should say and also wearing killer stilletos. Hah! Now I know the true meaning of a gentleman's spa. Piggy and I had just experienced the best massage in a whore house!!! Our two masseurs were magical but were also the daggiest chicks in the whole place. No skimpy outfits, no stilleto heels. Damn!

Piggy and I headed back to our makeshift change room but not before witnessing naked men in the showers. Wonderful. They didnt even have shower curtains behind the showers??

What a great experience that was. It's funny when I think back now. What would all those naked men in the showers have thought when they saw two women walk through? Did they think we were hookers??? Hahahaha ..... I guess we'll never know.

I was later told that the four guys with us actually could select their masseur from a lineup of skimpily dressed ladies. Extra services cost extra ofcourse. And did our four friends opt for extra services? What do you think?

I wish I was born a man.

Friends For Life

Life is full of surprises. One minute you're in heaven, next minute you could be down in the dumps. What makes us tick? An important aspect of life is to have close family and friends around you. You cant change your family but can you change your friends? I like to think that the close friends you have will stick with you through thick and thin. There are some friends you share tales of life with, some you share career changes with, some you share sordid details of your love affairs. Are there ones that you just share every single thing with? I'm still trying to work this out. As one journeys on through age, we discover that things change, new buildings emerge, new walls are built and new friends are made. My travels have taken me to many parts of the world. Through this, I've met some really great people I'm proud to call good friends.

I'm blessed with many close friends around me, ones I party with, ones I go shopping with, ones I share sordid details of my love affairs with, ones I share family issues with and intellectual ones who understand changes in my career. I refuse to believe that all these people come and go. I want all of you to stay.

Somehow there arent many I can share every single thing with. But that person is out there. And I thank you for being there. What would I do without you?? You've seen me in tears, you've seen me in times of joy and you've been there when I've been desperate financially. I hope you will be there through all my birthdays, through my wedding, through the birth of my children, even through my divorce if it comes to that, oh and lastly, I hope you will be there to share a bottle of wine with me when we end up in a retirement home or a mental asylum together, whichever comes first!

So many of you are in different time zones and yet we can pick up where we left off whenever we meet. Hugs and kisses to all of you.

This is what makes me tick.

Young Boys These Days

I was back in KL recently and was introduced to this guy The Kid. Young guy in his early 20s, not bad looking, very naive and innocent. Suffice to say also with little or no experience with the ladies having only had one girlfriend in his life.

We met up for drinks one night and The Kid met a hot chick at the bar. He was successful in gaining her personal number and even told me that she gave him the correct number unlike others in his experience. They play phone messaging with each other throughout the night and then he courageously asked her out. Her response? "I'm going away for work for 2 weeks, sorry". When he told me this, my instant reaction was "clearly she is making excuses and doesnt want to meet up with you". Why do I say this and not give this chick the benefit of the doubt? Well, she didnt offer to meet up another time when she returned from work did she? Texting each other through the night went so well until he ruined it by asking her out. Women are natural flirts arent they? Some play it all the way, some just dont know how to react when push comes to shove.

The Kid was adamant this chick was into him and honestly had to go away for work. I tried hard to explain that it's not him and that some chicks like to flirt and flirt only with no intention of taking the situation any further. This is something he refused to believe.

Weeks later he still hasnt successfully met up with this hot chick. I rest my case.