KL Part I

We headed down to KL during the recent long weekend and I was so looking forward to a long awaited catch up with friends and their children. Unfortunately Hubs caught a cold ... then he generously spread it to poor Bubs who promptly ran up a fever (thank goodness for that small bottle of paracetamol we brought along) and by the end of the trip when both of them were nearly recovered, it was my turn to fall ill. I felt so crummy, I even turned down a last minute shopping trip :( That was how tired we were all feeling!

We ended up having to cancel most of our meet ups but managed to squeeze in Fairy Godma who was intent on seeing Bubs, come bugs or high water. We rested in the hotel most of the time and went out for a few quick meals and mini trips.

Bubs went "ohhhhh" and a look of sheet delight lit up his face when he spotted Optimus Prime and Bumblebee at Mid Valley Mall. I was awestruck at how huge they were and when Hubs reminded me that the ones in the movie were even larger, I shuddered a little, wondering what would happen if they suddenly came to life and destroyed everything within sight ... hokayyy, time for me to take my meds again!

I was excited to find this freshly pressed pomegranate juice stand at Cold Storage and though I choked at the price tag of RM18, I figured we could all need the extra vitamin C considering we were all feeling so blah. It was an eye opener - incredibly tart with a slight tinge of bitterness but very invigorating. Hubs refused to even take a sip as he swore he could sniff the astringent scent from far away but I wheedled Bubs into taking a gulp.

After hearing about how good Ipuddo Ramen is and how Penangites are eagerly awaiting the opening of its first outlet in Penang, we decided to give it a go at the Gardens outlet.

The first to arrive was the braised pork belly in a steamed bun (RM7). I initially dismissed it as a char siew pao wannabe but had to literally eat my words - the soft, pieces of pork were tender, well marinated and was a delight with the soft, fluffy bun. 

The ramens come in 3 choices of broths: original Tonkotsu, special miso blend and spicy Karaka miso. Hubs opted for the classic white Tonkotsu and I opted for the miso blend with garlic oil. You are further allowed to customise how well you soft the noodles cooked: soft normal, hard and very hard. Add ons are available in the form of poached eggs, extra pork belly, seaweed  and a wide range.

Hubs commented that the original broth (RM26) was slightly bland though Bubs and I enjoyed the Akamaru Shinaji broth. You can customise the taste with the assortment of spice shakers provided at the table: sesame seeds, pepper and chilli flakes. Bubs was happily nom-ing on a piece of seaweed and insisted that he could help me grind the white sesame seeds at the same time - this kid is going to be a multi tasker in life! 

We added on another bowl of sake mentai rice - grilled minced salmon and cod roe with rice (RM11) and this is the ultimate comfort food: it was rich, gooey and was very filling after a few bites.

Fairy Godma provided us with Groupon tickets so we went to KLCC Aquaria on a public holida: BIG mistake. It was so crowded and packed, everyone was jostling for space :( Plus since friends warned me about what a long walk the convention centre was from the shopping mall where we parked, we brought along our Ergo carrier. I was so paranoid about losing Bubs in the crowd so the Ergo came in very handy as I could always feel him strapped securely to my back. Not to mention, with Bubs now at 16kg, carting him around for 2 hours helped me burned off calories so I could feel less guilty about nom-ing more ;)

The touch and feel pool was hands down - pun intended - my favourite part of the aquarium. You could reach into the waters and gently touch the marine life as long as you don't lift them out from the water, though Bubs refused to put his hand into the water. I felt really squeamish when I touched the sea cucumber, it was jelly soft and I quickly let go.

The travelator inside the sea tunnel was the highlight - except Bubs saw this humongous shark with 3, yes, count them, rows of sharp teeth swimming above us and started freaking out. We'd to show him that we were safely protected by a glass cage (I'd to quell paranoid thoughts about what to do if the glass broke) before he calmed down. Even then, he was holding on really tight to us. I guess it's a good thing he couldn't read yet, the sign stated that the creatures inside are actually 30% bigger than what they appear to be ;)

We were lucky enough to spot 2 divers inside: one was feeding the fishes with a bucket of, well, chopped up fishes, and the other was carrying out maintenance work. Bubs was staring at them in fascination and at that point, I realised the 30% smaller scale was real because the divers did look tiny inside the tank.

If you asked Bubs what was the best bit about KL, I think he's still a little dazed by the fact that he met one of his favourite superheroes: Batman at Pavillion mall. We didn't even realise there was a meet and greet session with Batman, he just appeared out of nowhere, walked up to Bubs (who was wearing his Superman tee) and patted his shoulder. The look on Bub's face was priceless! His eyes went as wide as saucers and he kept staring at Batman in disbelief. To whoever it was in the Batman suit that day, thank you very much from the bottom of our hearts for making a little boy very happy :)

After all the calories I burned, it was time to reward myself with a little treat from Delectable. They have a cafe at the Gardens so it was a nice treat to just kick back and smell the (yellow) roses while enjoying a tiny treat.