Malaysia 5 | I am Danny Foo

The 2011 historical Malaysia event

Without doubt, I’m putting this recent Malaysia rally; Bersih 2.0, as the historical event of our country for 2011.

bersih 2.0 rally — It was a peaceful rally - honest

Apparently this is the 2nd rendition of a campaign run, hence the two-point-zero since 2007. Its purpose still remains the same – raise the awareness and demand for a fair electoral system independent of third parties.

I’m not a person likely to discuss politics and I prefer avoiding any of conflicts whatsoever. I love living a fruitful and un-stressful life with loved ones while doing what I love doing. Thus, I’m only going to write about the noticeable affects to this event.

Unnecessary traffic congestion due to roadblocks

Days leading up to this day, some of my friends have complained roadblocks on highways causing congestion. And a day before today, another friend on Facebook shared that some roadblocks made congestion last until 2:15AM into the morning.

Malaysia traffic congestion at night — Hope there were rest stops

I seriously wouldn’t want to be caught in that situation. Imagine if you had to pee! OMG!!!

Nationwide curfew rumor caused concern

It did make me worry. Not because whether I’d bump into rally members. More so because of police roadblocks and being unnecessarily questioned. Plus, the whole idea of curfew was plain dumb – Malaysians mamak and clubbing hours is part of our culture. But yeah, I don’t like being in cumbersome situations.

Escalating news coverage

In the morning, news of the rally had begun coming in. By the late afternoon, its flooded my Twitter timeline. But it was good to know what was happening, despite my neutrality.

malaysia police barricade — 1st time I've seen them use this

Especially by being an outsider, you’ve the benefit to observe both sides.

Acts affecting businesses

Hear say some people got hurt in the rally by authorities. But I’ll leave that to be clarified by the news publishers unswayed by third parties. Instead, after watching a video of the authorities having to use tear gas, I thought to myself, “wouldn’t business traders nearby be affected too?”

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=616ODL1z6dQ]

Plus, they fired more than 1 tear gas canister into the area. -_-|||

We (Malaysians) are really intuitive people

Friend of mine actually took this opportunity and came up with a pet project of his own to aggregate information of the event. Let me highlight one of the geeky things about the project.

malaysians around the world — Malaysians sharing the burden

That’s a map showing the Twitter conversations happening in areas co-relating to this event. If you zoom out, you’ll even notice the event affecting Malaysia across the world from the US to down under Australia.

The wonders of technology. And Malaysia’s historical event of 2011.

My Frenching Experience in Cafe Cafe

Last weekend, me and my now fiance celebrated a friend’s birthday at a French restaurant hidden in Jalan Maharajalela called Cafe Cafe. To be honest, the only French restaurant I’ve been and know is Lafitte in Shangri-la hotel. That was my birthday with my family several years ago – yes, it was shockingly very expensive.

So anyway, Cafe Cafe looked pretty easy to find based on Google Maps.

[cetsEmbedGmap src=http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Cafe+Cafe+Jalan+Maharajalela+Kuala+Lumpur,+Kuala+Lumpur+Wilayah+Persekutuan+Malaysia&hl=en&ll=3.138309,101.702542&spn=0.011227,0.013583&sll=3.107094,101.608255&sspn=0.191978,0.217323&z=16 width=500 height=350 marginwidth=0 marginheight=0 frameborder=0 scrolling=no]

And I wasn’t really wrong. It took me a small circle to find the turn-in to the row where the restaurant was located. However, it was weird having to walk to a certain corner of the building to enter this French restaurant.

I’m not going to describe how beautiful the interior was but just let you have a look around the place for yourself.

It’s a very romantic and quiet dining environment, even when we were there on a weekend. There were only a few couples sitting inside as we walked in – definitely a good place to put on your ‘paktor’ list.

I already knew what to order after browsing the Cafe Cafe website. They have their full menu online which includes the drinks and even sets. So you won’t have to get a heart attack or hide that sad face when you pay later. Lol.

The primary reason we wanted to celebrate at a French restaurant was to try the cuisine called; foie gras. Better known as, duck liver or fat liver as interpreted by Wikipedia. This delicacy is nothing like eating your chicken or beef liver. The outer layer was very soft and crisp to give it a very light crunch while the meat, if you could call it that, was so soft it melts in your mouth. It ain’t like chocolate but the exploding taste and melting feeling in your mouth easily made it my favorite of the night.

Having the set that night, my meal started with the chef’s special which was a slice of salmon, cucumber and carrot wrapped together. Then came my order of escargots – snails, if you didn’t know. In a basic butter with garlic preparation, the escargots were quite satisfying but I still prefer the ones at Lobsterman.

The next course was a mushroom soup which tasted a little diluted to me. Then came my main course – lamb shank.

Truthfully, I didn’t want to put any expectations on the lamb shank once I read VKeong’s experience. But with an open mind, its taste definitely wasn’t the usual preparation of lamb shank. The sauce used isn’t your typical western preparation – brown and a little salty. This was a little sour but had a very full taste.

Being foodies, we cut bite sized pieces of whatever we ordered and barter trade to compare our dishes. Between the group, I had a piece of chicken and cod fish. Again, the fish wasn’t prepared in its usual manner. It had this sea taste but not fishy.

After the mains, I still had a raspberry sherbet to most likely clean the palette. My last dish of the night was the mango mousse dessert which completed my meal rather nicely. I wasn’t overly full but just nice.

So to say the least, it was a good frenching experience and I wouldn’t mind coming back again.

Karma slapped me in the face of my car!

They say karma comes back to haunt you. Well, mine anxiously came and slap me in the face, of my car. 🙁

I’m really not sure what triggered this bad karma to be honest. It literally just started happening on Friday.

Little boy’s Daddy didn’t have his happy meal

As I was turning into a parking lot (near King Crab) on Friday, I noticed this Dad and his little boy from the passenger’s side. I knew I had enough space to turn in without hitting anyone and I didn’t want to stop traffic behind me. But as I turned in, I heard a light knock on my car. I looked at my side mirror to find the Dad walking his kid to the back of his MPV but didn’t notice anything wrong. So I continued to move forward and park my car.

Then again, I heard a knock and when I looked to the side, the Dad had a face like he never got his happy meal. Puzzled by the situation after parking, I turned off the engine and got out of the car and asked; what was wrong? In his grumpy face (like I steam rolled over him) he said, “you never saw the kid ar?!”

So I responded back in a firm tone as he did to me, that I did and then he lashed back, “why didn’t you stop then?!” Hence, I answered assuringly I had enough space to go in without hitting anyone. And to be honest, how the f*ck could I hit anyone with the side of my car while I moved in like a snail! Macam his kid going to climb below my car while he held his kid’s hand?! -_-”

Before Daddy tried to fork me, I just apologized and walked off. I looked at the wife and thought how an embarrassing moment this could’ve been for her husband. As much as he was doing his Daddy’s duty there. Because I honestly still think, it was all uncalled for.

The Myvi and AAM

On the next day at night, Ariel called me in panic because the Myvi she took to work couldn’t start. I drove over to see what the problem was and first thought came to mind was the battery.

I asked my Dad to help call AAM since I’ve not registered with them yet. Once AAM arrived, the mechanic asked me to try starting the car to see if it was the battery. The guy took out a battery from his van and installed it into the MyVi. After being instructed to start the car, it came back to life! Hooray!

But I suppose champagne popping was too early. The very next day when we wanted to get lunch, the car was dead – again. Same problem of not being able to start and worst of is no electronics work. In addition, do note if you drive a MyVi, you can’t manually lock your car boot if all electronics are dead. At least, I know I couldn’t.

So this morning, a friend’s a mechanic came over to look at the MyVi. He said the battery seemed like it was dead. When he switched out the battery, the car was fine again. He was great to loan me his battery while he takes back the AAM unit to charge. He wants to rule out the hunch AMM may have supplied me with a faulty battery.

My friend on Facebook however, told me it may be something wrong with the alternator. A device which helps charge the car battery or something like it. I’m unsure of this but hope it’s only the battery.

Karma really wanted to fork me

After half a day of meetings, I was on the way to bank in money to Simpleet’s account. Malaysia seriously must improve their road system because this accident left 2 victims; me and the blue BMW.

As illustrated amateurishly, there were 2 lanes and those were the exact arrows on the road. When the traffic light turned green, I followed the arrow and headed straight and little did I know, the car on my left (blue pill) decided to make a right turn instead.

After hitting, he immediately stopped further in front while our cars were hindering traffic a little. We got down to assess the damage and I noticed the medium sized dent in his back door while my car had a smaller dent with paint transfer (sounds like CSI).

The first thing he said, “I was signalling” and asked why didn’t I signal I was going straight. Well, based on the road directions as drawn out in white arrows, I technically wouldn’t have to signal if I was going straight. So I answered him, “how was I suppose to signal if I wanted to go straight? Do I signal left?”

Instead of making an argument in the middle of the road, I asked him if we could move to the side where we didn’t block traffic. We stopped at a nearby building, came down from our cars to assess the damage again.

Honestly, I knew his car would be worst of than mine because it’s a BMW and his dent was much larger. When he started the conversation to ask how this would be settled. I told him, “we’re both not in the wrong. I can’t blame you and you can’t blame me”. He extended his arm out with an agreeing open palm to shake on it and smiled before we both left.

Because honestly, we’re both victims here of the bad road system and if we wanted to blame anyone, I’d blame the one who decided on those arrows!

After my banking business, I thought back to why karma couldn’t wait to slap me these following days.

Was it the Daddy without the happy meal? Was it the discussion I had before my banking business? Or, have I had a streak of good luck and to balance it, I had to accept this bad luck?

Well, I would never know. And as I believe in the Secret, I would have to accept what has happened and merely look forward to continue filling my mind with positive thoughts.

I guess my act of giving this month will be to help my Dad fix up the car and give business to the mechanic I’ll meet to fix the dent soon. As some say; the more you give, the more you will receive. 🙂

Uniqlo Malaysia and the Exchange Policy

I headed down today for Day 2 since Uniqlo Malaysia opened at Fahrenheit 88, Kuala Lumpur.

uniqlo malaysia entrance

Traffic was smooth sailing thanks to the public holiday; Deepavali. But I was greeted again by the queue which had already started at Uniqlo Malaysia. 0.0

Don’t exchange during Uniqlo Malaysia opening day

My purpose of visiting Uniqlo Malaysia so soon again was to exchange a pair of jeans I bought. Weirdly enough, even with the same waist size, this particular pair had more room compared to the others.

uniqlo jeans Caryn and Orchid were asking me what I bought from Uniqlo Malaysia on Twitter. Well, 4 pairs of jeans and 1 pink Minnie Mouse t-shirt for my girlfriend (not pictured here). The Uniqlo tote bag was free for purchases above RM200. And what I really liked about it was, it had a pocket inside of it! 😀

Hoping to skip the queue this time, I went up to the 3rd floor and caught one of the Uniqlo staff trying to enter from the shuttered entrance. I asked her if I’d be allowed to walk-in if all I needed to was exchange my pair of jeans for a smaller size and if I could, try it on first.

Alas, she said I could exchange within a 30 day period so if I wanted to exchange it today, I’m forced to join the 3-hour queue for to enter and exchange. Sigh.

I still made the most of my visit today

Not wasting the trip down and my RM3 parking, I thought of filming the queue to show you roughly how long is it. 😉

body shop promoter — Click for larger version

Today, Body Shop used the opportunity to place a promoter right beside the queue promoting their latest fragrance. Smart!

And in a bright printed dress, she stood tall on a mini stage with a fan cooling her down. It’s hard to miss her though I wonder how’d she spray the fragrance on the ladies from that height.

And by the way, Fahrenheit 88 doesn’t have a lot of parking bays. I had to create my own parking spot when I reached – thank goodness for MyVi. 😛 But as mentioned in my first Uniqlo Malaysia post, be prepared to pay RM3 first hour and RM2-3 every additional hour if you’re staying long.

Well, looks like I’ll only make my product exchange 1-2 weeks later. Hopefully by then, there’s no queue and I can browse the Uniqlo Malaysia outlet with comfort, and without smell. 😛

Uniqlo Malaysia Opening Day Photos and Video

Malaysian’s 2nd home no doubt, can be shopping malls.

Brave the queue or test your patience

Me and Hawk headed to Malaysia’s first Uniqlo store opening at Fahrenheit 88 (formerly KL Plaza). We arrived around 10:30am and stepping out of lift, were greeted by the throngs of bodies already queuing. Plus, it wasn’t just any queue.

uniqlo malaysia crowd

It was a queue which spanned from the front entrance, into the concourse, to the back of the mall and back out again to the main entrance of the Uniqlo Malaysia outlet. Within 30 minutes, the morning queue grew till people started forming a line to the wall.

Though one of the good things which happened was the spillover business to kiosks nearby. The kiosk with yellow, orange and white balloons (I think) sold some gelato to patrons queuing for Uniqlo. 😛

In the morning, some VIPs were there to officiate the opening. And I heard someone mention, apparently one of the VIPs was Maya Karin. *shrug*

And before I forget, even after you’ve reached outside, there’s still 1 more queue before you can step into Uniqlo Malaysia.

As the crowd started moving, onlookers started gathering outside Level 2 of Uniqlo Malaysia. Only to peek inside the store and envy the shoppers inside who’re making purchases. Honestly, me and Hawk were thinking, why on Earth are they torturing themselves? LOL!

Drinks on the house

Some lucky people were given free drinks courtesy from one of the F&B outlets in Fahrenheit 88. I don’t remember the name but they’re located on Level 2.

free drinks for uniqlo malaysia patrons Once inside, the ground floor looked like it was ransacked. Seriously. Clothes were on the floor. They were piled on top of each other. Some chucked aside like it was someone’s house. But what bothered me most was a lurking stench. Thinking to myself, someone had really really REALLY bad body odor. Yuck!

Inside Uniqlo Malaysia at Fahrenheit 88

In terms of staff, they had enough and Uniqlo prepared their Malaysian team well. They were still mindful to help customers find sizes, even in this chaotic and smelly environment. Kudos! Plus, you’ll never not know where’s the back of the line – here’s why.

Come to think of it. They should’ve placed one of these staff in the mall, together with the sign. This way, everyone can tell where’s the start (or end) of the line.

In the Uniqlo Malaysia store, you’ll find garments from simple T-shirts to formal wear to winter wear. In my view, Uniqlo’s line of clothes is for the simple and functional consumer at an affordable price with awesome quality. The fabric used for most of their garments were soft and comfortable. Including their UJeans! 😀

men's underwear and socks — Men's underwear and socks

And here’s what really happened.

Me and Hawk didn’t queue the moment we reached. Instead, we observed the crowd and estimated the time it took at the time to reach point A to point B. The crowd like this may have spooked us off a bit. 😛

As it was nearing 12pm, we decided to hunt for lunch and later come to back to re-assess the situation. The line was shorter but it was at its shortest much later.

In our hunt for lunch, we spotted the YES cube and troopers.

yes marketing cube and storm troopers

YES is the new 4G broadband offered by YTL Communications.

We stood in line from 1:25pm inside the mall only to reach the outside queue about 2 hours and 30 minutes later. Once inside, we rummaged through what’s left of the t-shirts on the ground floor before heading to the Men’s section on the 3rd floor. If you’re looking for UJeans, don’t waste your time on the ground floor. There are shelves of it upstairs! 😉

If you’re going to use the fitting room, estimate 30 minutes to 1 hour wait time. And for UJeans, you’ll want to try all of them irregardless of it looking the same. Because 1 of the pairs I bought fitted differently compared to the others. Which is weird, I know.

And here’s a very important message:

Uniqlo Malaysia now opens at 11:00am and closes at 8:00pm.

Plus, I read on their Facebook page they discourage patrons queuing from 7:30pm.

Which I suppose is understandable, thinking back to the mess they’ve to sort out before closing time. In addition, it’s a long weekend, so you can expect a crowd these 3 days.

Fahrenheit 88 parking rates

Monday to Thursday: RM3 first hour and RM2 every additional hour
Friday to Sunday: RM3 first hour and RM3 every additional hour (ouch!)
Maximum per day: RM15 flat rate

You can get RM1 off parking if you spend more than RM100 in a single receipt. This needs to be verified at the concierge services counter located towards behdind mall.

But I paid the painful maximum rate of RM15 yesterday parking from 10:30am to 6:00pm. My advice, take the train to Bukit Bintang and walk. Unless you’re only expecting to spend less than 1 hour there.

Must Read: Time spent at Uniqlo Malaysia store

2 to 3 hours average queuing time to get into Uniqlo Malaysia
1 to 2 hours shopping time depending what you’re buying (best to plan ahead)
1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes queue for fitting room (you may find women on men’s floor)
5 minutes to 1 hour waiting time at cashier (depending on crowd)

To the patrons today, good luck. To Uniqlo Malaysia and the staff, gambatte! 😀

Limited Offer: Opening items sale period

uniqlo opening special prices — Click for larger version (650kb)

Note the following items will be on sale for a limited time only.

2010 UT-shirts collection: RM29.90 (November 4 – 18, 2010)
UJeans collection: RM49.90 (November 4 – December 2, 2010)
Fleece collection: RM49.90 (November 4 – 18, 2010)
Free tote bag by spending Rm200 in a single receipt. (November 4 – 7, 2010)

And it’s subject to while stocks last. Me and Hawk personally went for the jeans only. Plus, when I asked a Uniqlo staff, he said the offer only applied to Regular Straight Fit. It would be disappointing to find this was untrue right now.

But overall, I love the outlet and clothes. It’s going onto my regular places to shop list. 🙂