A meal, a bowl and a cuppa

A rather last-minute arrangement last Friday resulted in me having dinner with KK the very next day. As I had to send in my old iBook to Apple Centre for some much needed repairs, we both decided to meet up in 1U, the ultimate shopping haven for the nouveau riche of PJ.

K and I have known each other for about four years and our friendship is one of mutual respect, tolerance (well, mostly he tolerates my idiosyncracies and unsightly nose hair due to momentary lapses of grooming hehehe), shared love for pop culture and last but not least, our peculiar sense of humour. And by peculiar, I mean laughing at jokes only both of us would find funny and driving everyone else crazy by singing out loud a stripped down, bass-only version of Madonna's "Sorry". But more importantly, K is a true friend who has seen me through the worst of times and also was there to celebrate the best of times with me. I can only hope that I have been and always will be there for in his hour of need.

Thinking that we should have an early dinner to beat the buka puasa crowd, we found ourselves at the famous Peranakan Place restaurant at 6.20 pm. Ok, you'd think that that was early enough but apparently, it was almost fully booked (note I said booked not occupiedMost of the tables have been reserved for their muslim patrons to break their fast at around 7.00pm. However we were lucky enough to get one of the remaining tables, albeit an almost microscopic sorry excuse for one, considering the amount of food we ended up ordering. To make a long story short, we had a great dinner; the food was so delicious that both of us forgot to snap any pics of it all. One personal recomendation: their Sotong Sambal is out of this world!

Later, over a shared bowl of delicious soursop ice kacang, we engaged in a spirited conversation with topics ranging from the haze that has blanketed the entire country, to racial politics in Malaysia and Singapore, and also catching up on the latest goings-on in the music scene.... "London... london... londy!"

Afterwards, K decided to go bowling. It was great fun and also gave K a chance to practice his form. After playing four games, and looking at the scores, I can say that when he's in form, he's really good. But he's not consistent and his performance would dip dramatically in the next game, but then pick up just as well in the third. As for me... well, I was pretty consistent. Consistently mediocre, that is.

Not bad for someone who hasn't bowled in over a year, eh? Actually..... this wasn't our scoresheet. It belongs to a petite Malay girl in the adjoining alley. A real cili padi at bowling! I'm just too embarassed to put up our scores.

A venti mocha latte was next on the agenda as we popped down to the nearby Starbucks for a drink. It wasn't very crowded, which was odd considering that the entire mall was still packed with shoppers and movie-goers. Still, we had to wait for about fifteen minutes before we got our drinks, but the friendly staff on hand made up for it.

As we sat down, I thought I saw the local tv personality Adam Caruthers at the couch section having his cuppa with a few very lovely ladies. Sigh. I should have gone into television. Then again, a friend working in the entertainment industry once said that I would do very well in radio. When I asked about my prospects in tv, he kept quiet. Hmmm......

It was indeed a very enjoyable evening, one which I haven't experienced in quite a while. An opportunity to catch up with a dear friend and share about what we have been up to lately. Despite the inability to meet up due to our hectic daily schedules, the bonds of our friendship are still going strong. I guess when all is said and done, that's what really counts.