Acme Bar & Coffee @ The Troika

View my Flickr photo set



Monday, December 19, 2011 - Two days later and we found ourselves back at Kuala Lumpur. But forget the bears, that's old news. I'm here to tell you about the spectacular dinner we had.

Ellie (@ellyasam on Twitter), Josh (@joshualeesl on Twitter), Ju Ann (@khoojuann on Twitter) and I initially planned to walk to Delicious @ Dua Residency from Ju Ann's condo in the Oval KL.

Then the rain came.

As we now drove toward Delicious, Josh remembered reading about this new restaurant at The Troika, a nearby condominium that was probably just as new. Never doubting Joshua's extensive knowledge of eateries and the like, we decided that's where we would have dinner.

After overcoming two unnecessarily difficult security guards, we managed to park at the Troika's then empty underground car park.

Emerging from a spiraling staircase, we left the main reception hall and were welcomed by Acme's giant logo and front doors, both under the gaze of the KLCC twin towers.

Walking past the heavy (understatement) doors and into the cool of the restaurant, we instantly fell in love with the atmosphere. Disguised as a typical New York loft, Acme resonated with smooth jazzy tunes. We were seated beside a large wall of glass, the skyline of KL beyond.

The menu, presented as a clipboard, boasted a small array of foods and beverages. We decided to share.

Now, what you've probably been waiting for since you've starting reading this post: the food.

Of course, I understand how incredibly difficult it can be to imagine food described by words. Don't forget to view the slideshow above (or if you're reading this on a handheld device, you can always view the photos on my Flickr account using the link above).

1. Japanese Scrambled Egg Salad with sesame dressing.

2. Fresh Tomato Mozzarella Fettuccini with buffalo mozzarella and grilled artichokes.

3. Roast Confit Lamb Shank with cumin onions, burnt cauliflower and roast potatoes.

4. Slices of Sour Dough Bread because we assumed all lamb shanks are served with sauce.

5. Coconut Bounty Cake

6. Cempedak Cake

Now, I won't go into detail in reviewing each dish, because all effortlessly satisfied (and I believe I lack the journalism fortitude to deliver veracious and clever cuisine reviews). But I will note that, personally as a meat-lover, I thought the lamb was absolutely brilliant.

At a reasonable price of about RM37 each, we happily paid the friendly waiters.

We took a little time to walk around, take in the interior design. We were introduced to the amiable sister team, who we speculated to be the owners of the establishment as they welcomed guests at the receptionist counter and around Acme. But that's pure speculation.

All in all, Acme delivered. You should go.

---

@bernardsam on Twitter:

---

Christmas Day
It's Christmas Eve!
25.12.2011

United Buddy Bears

View my Flickr photo set



Saturday, December 17, 2011 - "We have to get to know each other better. It makes us understand one another better, trust each other more, and live together more peacefully."

Ellie (@ellyasam on Twitter) had just arrived in Malaysia, and Josh (@joshualeesl on Twitter) with his younger sister Jasmaine (@jasmaine98 on Twitter) joined us as we traveled to the Pavilion KL.

As we drove past, we noticed these towering and super flashy bears erected in a perimeter around the complex and its welcoming fountain. Naturally, we had to join everybody else and take photos. It was practically the only option available.

Even cooler: Each was assigned to a specific country.

Only after getting back home late that night did I delve into what those bears actually meant. I mean, a hundred or so bears. Come on. Gotta be a catch. Right?

So I Google'd (don't tell my dad, he works at Microsoft) "bears pavilion" and after a surfing through a few pages, BOOP. I found out they were world touring Buddy Bears. Like the Gummy Bears, only way cooler and not edible (as far as we know).

These aptly named, United Buddy Bears, travel here and there every so often, promoting peace and harmony. Around 140 bears are designed by different artists on behalf of their native countries. I personally thought the bears were adopting that scary pose bears do before pouncing but, really, they're made to stand in that way to give the idea that they're "standing together hand in hand." Oh, and these bears have racked in about €1,800,000 (November 2011) through donations and auctions in aid of UNICEF and local children’s relief organisations.

Also, I'm now one of the 25 million or so visitors world-wide to have been photographed with the bears. Probably only one of the fewer to have hugged one (not photographed, sorry). Jealous? They'll be around 'til the 15^th of Feb next year.

If you're the type for details, look no further than here (http://www.buddy-baer.com/)

---

@bernardsam on Twitter:

---

Christmas Day
I'm secretly an elf. Don't tell.
25.12.2011

Stupefy!

This is how my day began (don't worry, I'll get to the movie asap): I woke up to the sound ringing bells, the doorbell kind. I was supposed to be up by 10:30AM, but I naturally silenced it.

Uncle Po Chuan was around our neighbourhood and decided to pop by. If he hadn't I'd probably be late; for today at 2:00PM, I'd be watching the seventh Harry Potter film with some old ex-Cempakan buddies.

A couple of hours later, I'd be at Melbourne Central (the shopping centre that's exactly where you'd think it is) looking for Sharon Chen. Remember her from Year 8 2007? Well, I instantly recognised her sitting on a bench. Just for the fun of it, I called her, told her to look the right as I moved, like the ninja I am, to her left. "Now look to the left. How've you been?"

Minutes later, Ellya walked through one of the many entrances with Chin Khong Fwu (KFC/KUNG FU PANDA) and he looked like he was doing great!

After meeting up, we went straight to the cinema while at the same time, catching up with the last few months of our lives.

We entered a very large cinema room, labeled Hall 3. I was honestly quite surprised it was opened early. I haven't watched a film in the cinemas in Australia for a good 2 years now and they're quite different from Malaysia. The most important difference is that they don't serve caramel coated popcorn; how they survive zombie apocalypses and romantic endeavors without it is anyone's guess. The seats were decent and large for a boy of my size. Soon the trailers popped on but there was nothing new to pique my interest. I'm fairly updated with the comings and goings of the movie realm so I simply satisfied myself with guessing correctly what each trailer entailed.

And now, Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows. Be warned: minor spoilers lie ahead.

Right off the bat, I'm a Harry Potter film fan. I've never read the books, not sure if I'll begin, but I'll always continue to watch the films -- including the last one next year. David Yates (director of the films since Order of the Phoenix) has very clearly crafted a masterpiece. From the more mature tones to the engaging cinematography (my favourite being the chase sequence through the woods), you have a film that has been growing up since the beginning.

Gone are the days where we expect new actors to play new teachers in each film, and gone are the days our heroes are, for the most part, trapped within the confines of Hogwarts. This is a film that very brilliantly strides in a new direction.

Also I have to say: the three lead roles have never carried their roles this well in any of the previous films.

Though the film somewhat skips ahead on particular explanations or events that transpired in the books, if you've seen the past films you should have no problem in working it out.

I found a hefty portion of the adventure akin to Lord of the Rings; just with taller, shoed hobbits and without the muttering of "my precious". You'll understand when you're in front of the screen.

The best part about this film is that it is not unlike the finales of the TV Series Lost. This is a film that brings everything back from the past, from actors to props to those "hey, that was in the first film!" articles, for the final stretch to answer questions, build new ones and set the film on it's inevitable course to the end.

Now, after the film, we walked to Albert Park on the south end of Melbourne. There was more catching up to be had, definitely. There were loads of events in the city, with popular places being packed with people wearing all sorts of bright colours.


Me: "Say, did anyone here find your name wicked when they first heard it?"
Khong Fwu: "Yeah. They told me, 'Your name's Kung Fu? Bullsh*t."

At around 5:00PM, we started to walk back towards the city to go our separate ways. I used a bathroom on Collins Street which was exactly like a dungeon. It was beneath the ground carved into the side of aging building, with grills and a smell that certainly smells like a dungeon (overexaggeration).

Ended up having a Subway dinner with the family, and that was my entire Saturday.

^{*image taken from IGN.com}

Camping Out.

It's been a real busy month.

Between the 9th and the 26th, I've been surviving on my own at home. Mum's with the twin down South while Dad was out West with the Microsoft team.

During this time I've done all sorts of shenanigans.

Mostly I spent my days with the Teoh's (Jessie, Jason, Jayme). Known them all since I was 7 and they've been just swell to me. Oh, and if you've spotted me out during this time it's thanks to their drivers.

Yes, I'm a P-certified driver in this country but I'm faced with a predicament that most newly made drivers face: the no car problem.

Dad's car went intimate with a rock at 110km/h, so it's got a scar like John Locke on the windscreen. Mum's car is the only one left but being a Volvo XC90, it's a monster to drive -- tank-like. In the event that I do wreck the Volvo (though doubting that I would, heh) Dad's gonna come home to the no car problem.

The very next day after my dad left, it was the Damansara IU Day. I've already blogged about this here.

Two days later on the 12^th, I participated in the Inter-House Debate Competition. I've lead the team for Seladang for two years running both for golds. This year I left Shanker Vasu the responsibility of the team, while I rode shotgun; the de facto Obi Wan role. We racked in another gold for Seladang.

Tomorrow after that I went over to the Curve to watch Eclipse and hold a Farewell Dinner for Cherise, courtesy of Kevin (organiser) and the Wingmen (Kev, Muhaimin & Joshua). We even filmed a video in a No Photography area. More on that right here.

Up next was the CIS/CILC Commencements 2009/2010 over at the new CILC Campus on the 16^th. I thought this year's was brilliant, despite not getting any awards, and it ended off on the perfect note. For the details, pop on over here.

Sometime after that I fell into a pretty bad sickness.

One week later, Joshua Lee and Ryan Wong came over to stay for two nights. Ryan's been staying in Dubai for the past two years now, and the last time I saw him was way last year. Ryan came over in the morning and we began training up on Modern Warfare 2 before Joshua came. He sorta looks like Austin Powers at the moment. He used to brag about being a super pwner on the battlefield, but never seemed to prove it. Until now, he's become pretty good. Introduced him to the ModNation Racers creation tool and he just went crazy -- he is doing a graphic design course. Josh arrived much later, then we walked over to McDonald's for dinner; a whopping 2km away. Later (after much fragging), we went over to the badminton courts for some challenge. Much to our surprise, all of us were evenly match (and this was when I was sick, mind you; HAH). I gave up near the end -- the sickness was kicking in again and I had the urge to get rid of the McD's; something I did not want to do. So to ease my suffering we walked 3km to the nearest 7 Eleven to buy carbonated drinks. Joshua wanted the bike, so he cycled there and I cycled back -- at the same pace as we walked, of course.

Few hours later, one of the highlights of the month: Lasertag. It's sort of like paintball, only with different weapons and none of the pain. Lasertag's a little different from paintball where you don't go to a place to play, they come to you. Josh and I rented out Central Park just for the occasion. We needed people in the short time we had leading up to the Saturday so we did all sorts of advertising; phone calls, Facebook, Twitter, you name it. Most of all we just wanted to spend time with all our buddies or make a few new ones before college. Turned out to be super fun. Just before we all left, I proposed we all eat lunch together and that we did at Carl's Junior. It was my first time there, but pity my illness jacked my appetite.

Throughout the month, Andrew Sachdev's got me invested into Online Multiplayer. I've always been a single-player geek, never really thought much about the online universe. With so much time on my hands, and no way to get to all my friends, Andrew opened the door to all that. So far other than Andrew my only "friends" are Jun Vinh, Samuel Aw and Bernard Keo. Great experiences, all-in-all.

Last but not least, the day after lasertagging and a day before my Dad returned home from the states, I participated in a Emergency First Response Course lead by my old buddy, Jason Teoh. He's been recently promoted to diving instructor and held the course along with his much older friend Jean Luc. from France. As of that afternoon, I'm a fully realised Emergency First Respondent.

It's been a really busy month, and I've still got 16 days before I fly off to the South. I'd be crazy to think something wouldn't come up to make it busier, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Oh, and have you played Starcraft II? It's mind-blowingly crazy.

---

IGCSE Results @ Cempaka Cheras
International General Certificate of Secondary Education
12.08.2010

---

Flight to Melbourne
10:30PM
20.08.2010

Veiled Sun.

Spontaneous, totally improvised. Unplanned. Adaptive.

That's how us Wingmen roll. Kevin, Joshua, Muhaimin and I just don't think that far ahead. Whenever we try, we just disappoint ourselves and succumb to our inner nature of escaping the inside of the box.

Kevin organised this outing yesterday for Cherise; mostly for Cherise.

She's flying South this Saturday, if you don't know already, and if you're reading this Octopus: "Safe travels. :)"

Popped through one of the Curve's many entrances, and almost instinctively went straight into BORDERS.

Being there early and knowing no one would be here until 45 minutes later, I needed something to do. Something to occupy myself with.

After finding BORDERS selection of books typically unnew, I decided I'd walk over to Popular on the other end of the road to see if there was anything of particular interest.

On my trotting way, I was hoping I'd see at least one familiar face down the halls -- was disappointed in the end though.

Another big thought that was rolling in my head was whether I should buy this game, ModNation Racers, at the store right opposite the Popular bookstore.




It's this game that's sort of like the classical Mario Kart Racers, but with a whole new idea tossed in. You essentially "Play, Create & Share", exactly how Sony Entertainment puts it. You really design and build your character, kart and track. Complete creative freedom.

See, none of the video-game outlets in KL (at least the ones I've visited) seemed to receive a stock for it. Plus here's a little tip from me: When a shopkeeper says, "Oh, it's out of stock already" they actually mean, "Oh, I've never heard of what you said of before and probably will not again until a couple of week later."

Giving it some thought, I popped into Popular, grabbed the latest issue of EMPIRE and began reading about Inception; a film I think will just not raise the bar but run it through a wood chipper, douse the remaining sawdust in nitroglycerin and set it on fire.

Before I could decide on whether I should spend RM215 on a video-game, Keevin called. "Check if there are still tickets for Eclipse," he told me. So checked I did.

There was barely anyone there at Cineleisure, didn't expect anyone to be there actually. It was a school day, and it was just after 6:00PM.

Long story short, we got the tickets and everyone was here except Joshua.

We still had his ticket but no way to get it to him. We decided, we'll pop out through the film to get him in. You can tell our anticipation for the film wasn't die hard; thus mostly for Cherise.

Probably the only initial motivator for Muhaimin and I was seeing Alice again. Oh, yeah. ^*deepsigh

So Eclipse.


"Doesn't he own a shirt?"
- Edward to Bella, when seeing Jacob

Well it's definitely much better than the two previous films -- but the previous two didn't really pose much of a challenge to top. The action scenes were definitely better, I mean they got Muhaimin throwing jabs in his seat.

I thought the songs they chose to compliment the scenes were pretty good, but when I got the soundtrack I only really stuck to two of them.

Joshua got in the later part of the film, but I have no idea how. Didn't even see Kevin leave his seat. About sometime after he got in, he fell asleep. That said, you probably might wanna choose him to recap the film for you.

When the credits started rolling, all of us were standing up giving standing ovations. No idea whether that was for "Great improvement!" or "WTF? It ended? YES!"

Min and I went straight for the bathroom, and it was to be the first time we were in the Premiere Class Bathrooms.

They have a mirror that's a television screen that's motion sensored. Guess it's a marketing scam.

They even played soothing acoustic music. Min asked me to guess who was playing the music. I replied naturally with, "Who?" "Me," he said. I turned to him and he was facing the standingpeeplace smiling.

Strangely, all of us were wearing really formal shirts. Heh.

We went to Marche's afterwards and this really fancy place didn't allow you take photographs.

Being the model citizens we were, we took a video instead:




Link on YouTube: here

You can blame Joshua's stubby fingers for blocking part of the camera and the microphone.

We left with a picture that Muhaimin has yet to upload.

Then, the Teoh's picked me up.

I've known this family for about a decade, more than half of my life, and it wasn't who you expected it to be. In the driver's seat was Jason Teoh, riding shotgun was Jamie and Jiah Sze (Jessie) on the passenger.

A history lesson: Jiah Sze was my second best friend, ever. Jason, the third.

We went back to my place, and I introduced them to Rayne. Rayne absolutely loves Jamie for some reason, but he wasn't as hyper as I thought he'd be.

We went for a nice hour walk under the stars, and returned to the television to watch (500) Days of Summer. But before it could end, they had to leave.

It was nice to catch up with them.

Now onto Friday for CIS Commencements 2009/2010!

---

Inception
The dream is real.
15.07.2010

Español.

I know it's been a week but it's the thought that counts, right? :)

Friday, 18 June 2010 - Right. So Joshua Lee, Ju Ann, my other half and I were supposed to be slicing grass out on a golf course, but we swerved away at the last minute.

Alternately, we decided badminton would prove appropriate for our separate golf experiences. Ju Ann was the only one with a handicap among us, and she would totally whup our asses.

We played doubles for most of our time at the courts.

Joshua would take point, and I'd cover him from the rear. A perfect team we were, trashing the girls right and left. The only problem was Joshua never really bent down, 'costing us a few shuttles. I was waiting for the chance to give an uppercut to his rear; but no such luck.

There was one time I sent a shuttle rocketing for the other side, only to be knocked back by the flip-end of Joshua's racket. Real smooth, I know.

The courts were shockingly huge. There were about 16 courts stretching out into the oven-like warehouse. That wasn't it; there were about 5 more futsal courts to the side.

At about 1:35PM when our court reservation ended, we decided to pop over to Leisure Mall for a good movie and lunch. See, the lot of us were only heading home at 6:00PM.

As the courts were at the foot of this cliff, we had to climb a hefty and winding flight of stairs to get back up. Ellya tried calling a cab company while Joshua and I sneaked our clothes on in one of the neighbouring courts.

They gave the incredibly annoying Pokémon-like music and left us sitting on the curb for about 10 minutes.

When they did pick up, they said, "No cab" and hung up right after.

It was about then, we decided to walk to Leisure Mall; or hail a cab somewhere in between. Walking to Leisure Mall was no leisurely task. It was quite daunting.

Taking several turns and running after three cabs, we eventually got one. Plus, being the hero that I am, I saved Joshua's bags from being owned by someone else twice.

My second time at Leisure Mall. It's no Pavilion, but you've got anything you need right here. Parts of the place were obviously renovated; Joshua confirmed this.

After deciding Subway would make a better meal than A&W, that's exactly where we went off to. Not entirely sure what the others had, but I had myself one 6inch Parmesan Oregano with Tuna and a whole lot of sauces.


"Mustard, Mayo, Ketchup, Barbecue Sauce, Oils. Mmmm."
"Eugh."
"What? I like my sauces."

It was about 2:45PM when we left Subway, and about 2:50PM when we stopped by the cinema.

We tried to decide on a movie, I mean with so many choices which would be able to please all of us and the time? We had to leave by 6:00PM, all of us, and we had to find something that would start showing about then.

In 10 minutes, Pixar's Toy Story 3 would light up a cinema hall and we chose to be in there 5 minutes before.

As usual before any film flares up the screens, we were to bear witness to number of commercials; be they for films or beer.

Most were for new animated films from both renowned and local digital studios, but there was one that really caught my attention.




The Legend of the Guardians: the Owls of Ga'Hoole. The trailer used 30 Seconds to Mar's single Kings and Queens to brilliant effect. It had this sort of epic feel to its presentation, and when I found out Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) was directing, I just went "Of course." I also totally recognised Hugo Weaving's (Lord of the Rings, Matrix) voice in the beginning.

The Legend of the Guardians is based on the first three installments of the book series: The Capture, The Journey, and The Rescue.



Then Toy Story 3's short began.

Pixar's been long known as the "can't miss" studio of our era. Even their short before the main film was something of a breath of fresh air. Totally new, mixing CGI with classic animation it's just something you have to see in action.


"Awh. She's just like you, Joshua."
"I never really played with toys when I was little."
"What? I'm talking about the skirt."

As with everything Pixar does, the attention to detail here is incredible. The split-imagery within the daycare/Alcatraz is great. How the slide in the playground becomes a watchtower at night. How the bead mazes double as razor wire. How marker smudges become prison tats. The level of detail, in things like Woody's rounded-down hairline, is astounding. And yes, that's the voice of John Morris, now 23, playing Andy once again. Why get the same actor when only a few might notice? Because everything is everything here.

Three movies have now shown us that the story of a toy is, overall, a sad one. But not one without pride. And not one without joy.

About 45 minutes before the film ended, my mum started SMS-ing me that she was already arriving. When we left after the show ended, she was already on the way. She said wait outside under the bridge.

So we waited there and when we did see her, she couldn't stop. Therefore, Ellya and I had to run after her. Eventually though she slowed down at the corner and we hopped on.

Man, it was a long day.

Dealing With Half.

For more pictures from today, click here.

We sat down on steel chairs, surrounded by Japanese food and more, but what did we do? We were calculating the maximum volume of coke a oddly shaped glass could contain.

This is what happens when you put Year 11 Terrans together in a single restaurant.

Even after IGCSE, we still wanted to see our skillset put to good use rather than let them wander or used in academic ventures.

Still, it did help keep my mind off my ear infection. Yeah, that's right: ear infection. Waking up with it on the last day of the production (more on this in the next post) was definitely not part of my plans. Now I'm rendered partially deaf and have resorted to unintentional whispering to avoid yelling.

Forced to drop a terrible smelling liquid into both ears three times a day, I'll hopefully be rid of the pain and discombobulation tomorrow when I get the treatment done.

Honestly, I miss burping/yawning/coughing without feeling any pain and actually hearing sounds from my right. Strangely, my left year (which is apparently more clogged) seems to be able to take in sounds from the world reasonably well. Huh.

Anyway, we found ourselves in Sunway Pyramid to celebrate a little late freedom by ice-skating. Though we never touched the ice in the end; too crowded, you see.



After a first lunch with Ellya and Hana, I went for a second lunch with Pearl Lynn, Amy Woo, Momoko Uchi., Melanee Low, Ooi Zhao Feng, Derrick Tan, Tim Foo, Lim Wei Jie and Yeoh Yi Shuen. ^{*yes, i used our seating positions to remember}

Hana slept over last night and as usual, the twins and her spent their night talking.

After consumption, we met up with Joey Mok, Chai Ai Di, Caezun Yee, Jac Lim and Zhan Hao at the skating rink. This was about the time when we realised the rink was way too crowded for us to crowd.

While the girls spent thirty years in the bathroom, the men (minus the gentleman, Caezun) formulated a plan. We would hold a competition to determine the most manliest man here.

The prospect of winning such a competition inspired a bit of unexpected vertigo.

First: archery. Second: pool. Third: bowling.




With the time we had, we only made it through the second portion. Zhan Hao and Wei Jie were the obvious winners for archery, but pool brought about an unforeseen circumstance.

Zhan Hao, Wei Jie and I were challenged to our limits. We played game after game, studied angle after angle, and in the end forgot how many games we'd played.



Most of us left after 5:00PM, but we left with plans for our next shenanigan: paintball.

---

E3
Electronic Entertainment Expo
14.06.2010 - 17.06.2010