Neroteca

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

A couple of Sundays ago, Allan was off in Bali and I was at a loose end for Sunday breakfast, so I took myself off to Neroteca.

Situated just off Cangkat Raja Chulan, very near Little Havana, it isn't exactly in the most visible spot in town. However, you can't deny it's central location. It's smack dab in the Golden Crescent/Triangle.

Neroteca is one of those places which has a very comfortable welcoming interior. Great interior decor. Casual, contemporary, it's one of those places which are becoming more and more visible in Kuala Lumpur. A place which many people will say makes them feel like "I don't think we're in KL anymore, Toto" but in a good way! ;-)

Sitting at the breakfast bar and reading the Sunday papers was a fantastic way to spend a lazy Sunday morning/afternoon.

My cute waiter was attentive, knowledgeable, and efficient. No complaints about the service.

Since I was on my own, carrying my HUGE D70, they must have been wondering why I was arranging the items in front of me and snapping away. Roasted Garlic Olive Oil, Balsamic vinegar, and a little salt was a nice twist on the usual dip.

Wonderfully, crusty bread to go with the dip. Why does anyone even bother with butter anymore. Yum!

Imported Bottled Water. This is the part I find rather curious. In the US alone, the Bottled Water business is estimated to be around US$8 billion. Insane!

An Italian sausage and mushroom stew with polenta. The sausage was spicy, but a bit too salty. Texture was great. The Polenta was firm and smooth. Perfect. The mushroom stew was lovely, rich, earthy, yum!

Neroteca sells pastas, to frying pans. Very interesting concept. The way theplace is laid out definitely makes one want to cook.

The dessert selection is a bit thin and in terms of price, rather steep.

Cold cuts. Looks good. Everything is imported by the looks of things.

The Chef in the kitchen.

All in all, a very enjoyable experience. One that I am itching to repeat. Any takers?

Wooo hooo I'm Cyclops (When he hits his 40s lah)

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

You Are Cyclops

Dedicated and responsible, you will always remain loyal to your cause. You are a commanding leader - after all, you can kill someone just by looking at them. Power: force beams from your eyes

Uncle Cheng's Beef Noodles

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Went to this place on the recommendation of wmw. I was actually looking forward to trying his Bone Marrow soup actually. But that's only available on special order.

Uncle Cheng was very efficient and pleasant. And in about 10 mins he had our beef noodles on the table. The portion was sufficient without being overly generous and it was served with a small bowl of beef broth. Having said that, the meat was tender, the sauce, beefy, and the tripe was very nice.

At RM6 a bowl, it's not the cheapest in town but I attribute that to the price of beef. There are no shortage of customers though.

I must admit I wasn't overwhelmed but it was a nice change and in a corner of town I do not visit often. I was very pleasantly suprised to see the number of packed coffee shops down that road. Do go give it a go. I'm waiting for him to call me to tell me when the Bone Marrow soup is available.

Uncle Cheng's at Khasiat Coffee Shop
Jalan 17/12, PJ(take the 2nd left after the Shell Station, which should be on your left, and the 1st left thereafter)
+60-12-3030626

Interfaith Prayers for YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Marina was kind enough to invite us to an inter-faith prayer session at Blog House this last Sunday. Marina and Tara have become fast friends ever since we met them during Just Heavenly's infancy. And on Friday 7 September, she smses us to ask if we'd like to come. Obviously, Allan and I felt we should. So at 7pm on Sunday 9 September, we turned up to be greeted by Ivy Josiah, Ria Thomas, Marina & Tara. We hadn't met up with Ivy & Ria for some time as well. So it was a welcome reunion. Ria quickly intercepts us and tells us that Marina has already performed her ablutions so please don't touch her or offer your hand for her to shake.

It was the start of an evening of possibility, of enquiry, and of heart warming togetherness.


The prayers were to start with the Maghrib prayers. Then each of the major faiths would say their prayers according to their tradition. The Christians were represented by Archbishop Murphy Pakiam who is actually my Archbishop, seeing as I'm Catholic. The Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists, and the Bahai's were also represented. The Muslims were represented by an Imam Feisal of the Cordoba Initiative, an ecumenical organisation dedicated to multi faith understanding.

After the Magrhib prayers, we took our seats and each of the representatives of the religions said a prayer for the continued speedy healing of Marina's Dad as well as peace and harmony for all of Malaysia.

Allan, Ria and I sat together and the one thought that was going through my head was "this is how everything should be." It felt so right, so doable. Infinite possibilities opened up for our young nation. And for a moment, in this little corner of Malaysia, we had our Bangsa Malaysia. We were proud to be able to share in this moment where we could contribute to prayers for the Tun.

Imam Feisal said it best when he wrapped up the prayers for the evening by saying that while each religion had their own traditions, there is an ethical universality to all religions which we can embrace in these interfaith prayers. Read the Cordoba Initiative website linked above to understand more. There was such a serenity and gravity to all of the representaties and it was, in my mind, a moment of sheer possibility. And the power of that possibility drives me still. I hope we have more of these. Marina, thanks for organising these prayers for your Dad. We continue to pray for his continued and speedy recovery and we're heartened and gladdened by the new entry on your blog.

CORRECTION! King Crab Restaurant

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

My Bad!

I made the assumption that the Butter Crab at King Crab was made out of margarine. I have since been informed by Precious Pea that the CFO emailed her to tell her this is not the case. My apologies to King Crab Restaurant.

I must admit, I did make the assumption based on my previous knowledge of Chinese restaurant chefs. Many of them do use margarine. I'm glad that King Crab Restaurant doesn't. In other words, the Butter Crab IS free of transfats.

All the more reason to go and eat there again.