My paternal grandmother turns 87 today! She counts her birthday according to the moon, so we always remember that when it’s Deepavali, it’s her birthday.
She was born in 1929, and has been described to me as being extremely creative, intelligent and cunning in her younger days. She would gamble with some folks in Seremban (the harmless kind where you draw lots with other peeps in the coffeeshop then whoever wins claims the whole pot) and whenever she won- would buy precious stones or jade with which she would set into intricate jewellery she designed with the goldsmith to create matching sets of earrings + necklaces + rings. She passed them all down to us a few years ago, claiming ‘she’s gonna die soon’ to which i’d softly smack her and ask her not to be silly.
When she was a young girl and the Japanese invaded Malaysia, Aunt G told me that Mama and her sisters had their hair cut short and charcoal smeared all over their faces cos they were so pretty. My great-grandfather would disguise and hide them so they’d pass as boys as not to be raped by the soldiers. I shuddered inwardly when i heard that. She’s been through so much… and to think we wanna complain about the traffic jam(?!)
After my Yeye passed away, Mama moved to London to live with Aunt G, where she made a whole bunch of new friends, took all sorts of classes (English, computer, exercise, others i don’t recall) and would go sailing to exotic locations with her buddies.
Mama is diabetic, and i’ve always had to hide my chocolates from her (with strict instructions from Aunty Gerry) so she wouldn’t find them and scoff them herself. Having a wild sweet tooth; she’s known to eat half a bar, wrap it up nicely and then tuck it away somewhere like a squirrel hiding their nuts. When she’s questioned about it, she’d look at the ceiling and blame her bad memory / old age saying she doesn’t remember, much to my aunt’s frustration. Tho we’d laugh about it later.
My grannie is a talented writer. I read some letters she wrote decades ago, and was moved to tears as how seamlessly her words flew on the page like poetry, bubbling up mixed emotions of pride and anguish in me. If there is someone i got my writing bug from, i would highly suspect it from her… I think a fair number of my qualities come from her genetic end. I once posted a pic of Mama in her 20s which many commented looked astonishingly like me. 😀 I liked hearing that.
The last time i was in London to visit (exactly a year ago), i followed her to the Chinese centre where she had 1.5 hours of aerobics exercise with a large group of seniors in their 50s-80s. I’m pretty sure there were a few who were in their 90s cos they looked like wrinkly old turtles and i had so much respect for how they were still moving about staunchly! I must mention that i got tired after an hour of that aerobics, and i do powerplate! 0_0
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Mama was in KL for a few months with Aunt Gerry & Uncle Mark joining in from London, so i gathered together all the pix we took together as me memory of their trip here.
My mum cooked dinner for us one night. Home-cooked is always the best!
Look, Mama and i are colour coordinated!
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3rd April 2016: Klang with Mama and Aunty Jeanette
One Sunday, the three of us got into a hired car to visit Mama’s hometown where she grew up. I was unabashedly snapping pictures like a tourist cos dude, i’m in Klang! XD
We went to eat bak kut teh at this coffee shop one row away from the shop lots (that used to be where Mama grew up)
I tend to divide my time between days i get to stay in and focus on my laptop and calls all day,
and days like yesterday where i’m out at up to 6 diff locations in 12 hours!
This is a quick post cos i gotta run out in 20 mins!
If you’re looking for something to do this week, check out Collecteral by Design Union. They’ve got an exhibition i’ve bought tix for and will check out this weekend, and last night we went for the documentary screening of Stefan Sagmeister’s The Happy Film. So glad i bought the tix on the fly when i got the emailer weeks ago.
Mouse on my carpet cos i have random things like that.
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After a workout at Bodytone yesterday, i ran for lunch scheduled with Ai Chiin at our regular Jap spot, Ju Ne. She turned up with Cristina who’s in town to promote her new SS17 line!
Whereas previous collections featured stunning macro shots of insects and materials, this season Cristina worked with her sister to product a range of equally alluring silk+cotton scarves featuring close-up photography of bacteria found on their personal possessions XD
Went back to Cuevolution to take a quick look but i can’t shop in 2 mins, so i’ll return at a later date! You can view new pieces from designers Cassey Gan, Gayeon Lee, Maricel Pamintuan, Moto Guo, and Steven Tai in the Cuevolution showroom located at Block B2, Level 1, Unit 9 in Publika.
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After meeting in Bukit Jalil, drove back, emails, then got ready real quick to head to KL for Isetan The Japan Store launch at Lot 10.
Thanks to Han at Centro Hair Salon for my new blue bangs. I needed a change and he gave me what i felt. Thanks Han 🙂
Eyeshadow: Dream On from Urban Decay’s Alice Through The Looking Glass palette
Under eye liner: Dior Pro Liner 272
Lipstick: CLIO Lip Syrup in Silent Wine
Concealer: Too Faced Born This Way
Powder and mascara: Dior
After over an hour in traffic we finally arrived around 6:30pm at Lot 10…
Car breakdowns suck… and they almost always happen at the worst possible times.
As King/Faridah and I were on our way back to KL from our annual Penang #TerribleTwoTravels trip last year, we sulked and hummed ♪ back to life, back to reality ♪, when our car suddenly decided to stop working on the North-South Highway. In the middle of the mountains, trees and all! Also, we weren’t even close to a helpline.
King: Penang doesn’t want us to leave!!!
Me: I know! But… we can’t even go back now…
We were stranded for quite some time before two friendly Abang Polis came to our rescue. We ended up having to wait a little close to two hours for a tow truck to come, and then sat in our poor car that was ON the tow truck with the windows down all the way back home. It took us over 8 hours to get back and it rained halfway. The worst part about it all was how difficult it was to get help! I almost resorted to calling up some friends to shamelessly ask if they could come help haha.
When Joyce was telling me about CARPUT, I just thought about how great it would’ve been if we had known of a service like that then! CARPUT is a free app that connects drivers with trusted roadside professionals who will come and get you and your car safely back on the road as efficiently as they can.
Started by the guys behind The Battery Shop, CARPUT offers services such as on-site battery replacement, flat tyre replacement, tow-truck services and will even rush to your aid if you’ve run out of petrol. The #KinkyBlueFairyTeam got in touch with Mark Chew to find out more about CARPUT and what they do.
KBF: Tell me briefly about yourself and your partner(s).
MC: Eugene Tan founded The Battery Shop in November 2014 after returning from Melbourne. Seeked out a strong core team in Ezra Tay (Head of Operations), Mark Chew (Head of Product) and Mike Kee (Head of Business Development) to bring automotive assistance in Malaysia to greater heights.
KBF: What is CARPUT / TBS?
MC: The Battery Shop is a service that delivers and installs car batteries within the hour. Ever been stuck behind the driver’s wheel unable to start your car? We want to help drivers get back on the road, with great products, customer service and reliability. What initially started out as a website spun another idea. What if we could use technology and the same excellent customer service we stand for to other parts of automotive assist?
Thus, the CARPUT app came along – an extension of The Battery Shop. We envisioned an easier, quicker, safer and more transparent way to call for help when your car breaks down. Instead of limiting ourselves to just car battery problems and jump-starts, we are expanding along the lines of spare tyre replacements, towing and petrol delivery when you run out of petrol (shame on you!), making sure that you’re well taken care in a time of distress. If Grab/Uber is the app for people who don’t drive, then CARPUT is the app for people who drive.
KBF: What are the charges like for your services?
MC: We offer competitive pricing for our batteries, but they vary between car makes & models (delivery and installation is free). Jumpstarts are RM50, Petrol delivery RM50 (10litres), spare tyre replacements RM50. Towing varies and is based on towing distance.
Also – we will inspect your battery, we won’t change it if we don’t need to! Sometimes a jumpstart is all that’s required.
KBF: What are the coverage areas of your services?
We currently service Klang Valley and we’re aiming to optimise CARPUT & The Battery Shop in KL & PJ before heading out to be nationwide. We expect to be up and running in the key cities of Malaysia (Penang, Johor!) in the near future.
Malaysia just lost one of their leading fashion designers two days ago. But that aside, it’s not his being a designer that makes us weep so. It’s his being a wonderful human being.
Sonny, me and Mama G at my blog’s 11th anniversary party
The first time i had a meal at Sitka Studio was last year during the Love, Bonito appreciation lunch + dinner we organised. Since then, i’ve taken my mum to Sitka Restaurant downstairs and been meaning to return with Jun which we finally did! Joleyn was doing some freelance PR for them and asked me if i wanted to go, to which i said yes yes yes but our busy social calendar prevented Jun & i till i determinedly blocked the date weeks in advance.
Sitka Studio (which sits on the first floor) has a tasting menu which only happens twice a month. The contemporary restaurant is led by Chef Christian Recomio– also the owner of Moonfish Café in Aberdeen, U.K., a popular establishment with Spanish and French influences thanks to his previous stints in Barcelona and Northern France. He cooked at Moonfish Cafe for a decade, garnering it mentions in the Good Food Guide and a constant Runner Up position in the Observer Food Monthly Best Restaurant category from 2011 through to 2014.
Now, Christian has found his base in Malaysia to focus his craft and passion for food, with partner Jenifer Kuah. I’d heard of Jenifer from Joleyn but never met prior to that night, and found her an extremely warm personality (I can imagine Christian going: “And me, what? Cold?” Well, you are definitely very focused in the kitchen till some drinks ‘warm’ you up post-work?)
Jenifer has been in the industry for 10 years with four distinct restaurants in her repertoire. With Sitka Restaurant and Sitka Studio, both Christian and Jenifer get to work on their vision of putting Malaysia on the food map by making good food from local produce made accessible to as many people as possible.
Proclaiming Sitka Studio a non-pretentious space, the dishes are created from local ingredients that are “caught, picked, foraged or grown within a few miles of Kuala Lumpur with only some interesting products brought in to complement, not dominate.” e.g. the truffle shavings we got to enjoy that night!
Sitka aims to show off the best of Malaysia’s produce by sourcing from local producers and building relationships with farmers, fishermen and milk producers to ensure everything is fresh and chemical-free. The team then experiment with new and traditional techniques like fermentation, brining, pickling, smoking, salting and marinating to present fresh ideas on a plate. Which are delicious. Very delicious.
But enough talking, there’s nothing like pictures of what we actually ate.
Sourdough bread with cultured butter so soft it felt like cheese, topped with fresh truffle shavings.
Sitka had fresh Italian summer truffles which they microplaned over their homemade butter, shrimp dumplings and almost anything they felt worked.
The tasting menu for that week.
Foie gras, cauliflower puree and grape on flattened chicken skin… this was one of my top two favourites that night.
The flavours of the rich foie gras and subtle creamy cauliflower gave a velveteen sheen to the crispy chicken skin in my mouth, which i would have happily nibbled on and praised the heavens for anyway.
Christian told Jun and i how he worked at the legendary Noma, to which both our mouths dropped open.
