Our ‘let’s-check-out-all-the-fine-dining-restaurants-listed-in-Tatler’ escapade recently took us to Top Hat, situated at a bungalow overlooking KLCC. I was pretty disappointed with the food, and I though Rahsia was a lot better. We had nasi lemak (too little nasi, too much throat-gagging kangkung); chicken mushroom pie (very tasty and filling, maybe a bit too creamy with boring side veggies); tiramisu (a titanic one); cendol (not bad at all) and the usual ice lemon tea and coffee. The bill came out close to what we got in Rahsia though. But we had more food at Rahsia!
BUT I loved the deco, very welcoming and erm, nice (somebody help me with some interior design jargons here). We sat near a young couple, who was, one minute they were laughing, and another minute I could see the girl close to tears. At another table a Chinese couple was trying to explain to their mat salleh friend what is nasi ulam. Thank God they did justice to it kih kih. We hung-out a little longer outside the bungalow, admiring the great view of KLCC and its reflection on the Exxon-Mobil building. Aah.
My only gripe about bungalow-based restaurants is the toilet. Often they are scary, with minimal lighting and you won’t get to the loo until you bump into some relics or some unlighted rooms that would give you goosebumps. *shivers*
I recently finished reading Karim Raslan’s Ceritalah 2, which boast his collection of articles published throughout the region for the past couple of years. I like Karim Raslan. The first time I met him was 6 years ago, I remember sitting in the front row, looking up to this towering figure who was then talking about career choice or something. Such a handsome gay man. But sometimes I wonder, if he’s such a good writer, observer, critic and what not (particularly about the political scene), is he actually doing something about what he wrote? Or is he just expecting the power of his pen would eventually change the world? All these talks, summits and conventions – are they really effective? And what’s with this affection about Michelle Yeoh anyway? (woops, forgot to mention Datuk). (Click here to read a short story by Karim Raslan).
But the book was a good read (except for the art reviews). I’ve never been very observant of the political scene and its complexities (go figure) so reading it was a good crash course for the ignoramus me. I’m currently reading Andre Dubus III’s The House of Sand and Fog. Not so bad lah. Sofarsogood. My reading 2003 page has yet to be updated though, I fucked up the HTML codes again.
