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Some friends arranged for lunch and asked me to try out this restaurant. Apparently this place has just opened. A North Indian restaurant with a celebrity chef.

The chef is Varun Inamdar and his bio sounds super impressive.. personal chef at one time to PM Modi? And ranks 3rd globally on YouTube after Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay?

The place was half full when I arrived and the chef came out to chat and take pictures, which was nice.

We ordered some appetizers, most of which were nice. I didn’t care too much for the fried okra. The one comment I have is that some of the dishes were slightly salty, especially the tandori items.

Main course of roti and chickpea was decent and but the tandori chicken was salty.

We tried the chocolate dessert. Nice but I wouldn’t say that it was extraordinary though.

I would certainly give this place another shot, if I can find the right company.

Last night I watched this documentary which is on Prime.

The documentary is based on the travels by Chinese lady, now living in the US, who goes back to China after delivering her first child to visit her parents.

When she was born in China, the one child policy was firmly in place. She explores the reasons behind the policy, the way the policy was implemented and all the propaganda that went with it. She looks at the impact on families and women and mothers in particular. During that period, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of babies were abandoned on the streets, thrown into rivers or aborted. It is heartbreaking to hear a man talk about a baby that was born and abandoned on the street for 2 days before it died. He talks about how it bitten by mosquitoes and had bite marks all over.

It was also interesting to hear the reactions to the policy of the people who lived through that period. In particular that of a family planning doctor who says she must have aborted at least 50,000 babies. Most were alive when born. The mothers would be dragged there by village officials and she would perform the abortions.

It also notes the rise of forced kidnappings during this time. These babies were handled to state run orphanages who put them up for international adoption with lots of false paperwork. Lots of money made by everyone involved in this process except for the families of the abducted babies.

A simple documentary but thought provoking.

I really enjoy the drive back from KL. You can avoid all the traffic by picking the right timing.

So I left at 10 am this morning . Arrived at Tuas checkpoint at 130 pm with a 19% charge remaining and I was home by 2 pm.

And this was with a 5 minutes stop at Pagoh cos I wanted to buy muar otah for someone, which they didn’t have and they were not too helpful anyway.

Finally ate here. I have been hearing about this place for so long and finally the opportunity came for a meal here.

They now have 7 outlets now in KL and one in JB with plans to open in Singapore.

They are famous for their fish noodles. They have many varieties of fish and different types of soups and noodles.

The food was good. I just had fish with a clear soup and am glad I finally ate here! Also ended up with 2 packets of their famous prawn crackers.

Dinner on Saturday with my ACS group was at this restaurant.

This is a well established restaurant in KL and I am told it originated in Ipoh. Has been around for 50 years.

I recall eating here some 20 years ago with a friend. The location has remained the same.

Well the food was decent but it was just good to get everyone together to have a meal!

More meats than vegetables with a suckling pig for starters!

Yesterday’s lunch was at Upper Palace Restaurant at TRX. This was my recommendation.

We started the day with multiple change of plans.

The initial plan was to meet at 8am and to have breakfast at a place in SS2. Mildred and her husband would join us there.

Then in the morning, Benson said he would not join us for breakfast. Peng Tiam didn’t want chee cheong fun for breakfast and wanted ba ku teh instead.

So we decided to change the venue to Sun Fong at Jalan Imbi for 930 am. Before that Peng Tiam and his wife wanted to walk. So we walked around KLCC for 45 minutes at a super brisk pace!

After bkt we went to TRX where there was some shopping followed by lunch.

Fortunately everyone enjoyed the food at Upper Palace.

So I had my ACS dinner group which also came up to KL for the weekend, to meet at Wong Mei Kee for lunch. The plan was that they would drive up straight here before checking into the hotel.

I arranged this because one of the group members loves char siu and barbequed pork.

A 30 minutes wait to pay and another 30 minutes wait for the food to arrive. And the verdict was unanimous. The food is rather average. We had so much left over. So much for all the hype.

Drove up to KL today. Left home at 6am sharp. Decided to leave a bit later this time.

Managed to clear both the Tuas and the Johor immigration by 625am with a 92% charge remaining.

Arrived at Ayer Keroh Starbucks at about 825am with 48% charge. Had an espresso while charging the car. Charged it to 78% and left at 845am. Arrived in KLCC at 1020am with 50% charge left. Perhaps leaving a bit later does make sense cos its about the same arrival time as when I left earlier!

WeCare Arts exhibition was launched this morning at the National Gallery by Min Edwin Tong and the 5 Mayors.

The idea of this project is to bring art to the various community organisations and beneficiaries.

The event started off with a speech by the Minister and performances by 3 beneficiary groups.

The actual exhibition was not that impressive.

The room was small and the configuration for exhibits was poor. I didn’t think the public would make it a point to come and visit this small room on the 4th floor of the National Gallery. But I am sure they have a plan to get people to come here. Anyway I had a good time chatting the Mayors. I also caught up with Mei Ling!

Today. I was invited to this event which was held at the Pan Pacific Hotel at Claymore.

This is the 3rd time I have been invited to their independence day celebrations. The previous 2 events were at the Sheraton Hotel. But this hotel has a outdoor area as well but as always it was packed with people.

There were the usual formalities and the singing of the national anthems. The Mexican Ambassador, in his usual inimitable style, made a very rousing speech.

MOS Alvin Tan, Poh Li San and Vikram Nair represented Singapore tonight.

I left early just after the speeches and didn’t have any dinner. Just too tired on a Monday.