Royal Selangor Pewter Factory, Kuala Lumpur

The Royal Selangor Pewter Factory is a must visit museum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

It is one of the best known Pewter brands in the world. 

Even Harry Potter bought a pewter cauldron ,standard size 2 and I'll bet my book case,that that cauldron came from here.

A dull grey alloy, that can be shaped to make durable objects and some objets d'art. 

 A guided tour of the factory reveals its colonial history and how one family and some royal patronage has gone on to shape such  widely exported products.
They export to India too BTW. We were informed by the almost invisible employees of the museum.
Such concentration...
Had i ever toiled with such concentration, i would have cracked the exams of the entire world. All I can garner at the moment -scant scenes from  my English lit class...

Double,double toil and trouble
Fire burn and caldron bubble...

OK, the lady was making beakers...

Passing them on to her neighbor who hammered them so...I so wonder who she was thinking of, when she hammered those even wedges onto the glass?

 We tried the same at the School of Hard Knocks. Just after the museum tour finished.
First the name is hammered onto the pewter disc...I hammered the boys names too. I was missing them.
And you try your best not to hammer your fingers...

Like Sneha here...

While posing for a group  pic. 

 These were stationed at every table...they assume you know how to spell and hammer. These are slim metal rods with letters in reverse. Just like the type writer keys of yore.                                                                                                                           

 
 Now that very disc is placed on that hole in the wooden block and you hammer away. I will never reveal whose head I was imagining under that pewter disc.
Never.
Ever.

 And finally Smiles.
Shonita found the right use for her pewter disc.
Only it was too small.
We really needed this...

The largest  beer tankard in the world.2796 litres weighing almost 1600kilos. Imagine the size of the hand that will be able to lift such a tankard. Maybe Orion?

That was the complete knock.

Collections and souvenirs and objects you can buy here are many. I loved this chess set...but it was way out of my budget.

royal selangor.com

This chess set is limited edition, from the Lord of The Rings series. Recognise the chess men? There are Hobbit glasses you can drink from and even Smegul/Golum shot glasses to drink from. 

And you pay for them with INR. Check out the Lord Of The Rings Collections at the Royal Selangor.    

This museum was time and money well spent.

Steeped in history, one will never know how many men have given their lives  to mine this dull grey Malaysian treasure.

So what are you visiting today???                                                          

Some Shopping at the Mega Shopping Festival, KL and Penang

#MalaysiaJao and Shopping. That's what we were here for.
So agenda on course.
Shopping.

This is the Mitsui Outlet Park,KLIA Sepang. Yes,the Japanese Mitsui.

So close to the KLIA ,that you can shop between flights. This outlet park has just a season old stuff.
On Sale.
And the deals are great. So its a fab way to spend time if you are waiting for a connecting flight.
The Mitsui Brand Outlet is Swanky and has discounts galore , I found a bag at an amazing price.
Le Creuset also had an outlet at almost 50% discount.  But I had a lot to shop for before buying cast iron pans.

Yes ,I know ... make decisions in haste and cry every time you fry an egg later.
I cant believe that I chose a handbag over a cast iron pan.
Vanity !

I had an agenda.
An emotionally expensive agenda.
A story that deserves its own place in this blog post.
There was another bag too...
A backpack.
Nike.

Nike.com

The goddess of Victory.
Which I finally found at the Gurney Plaza Shopping Mall, under the moonlight ,by the sea.
The shopping mall at a hopping distance from the g hotel Kelawai where we were staying.
And when I actually found and bought what I was made to...it was that elusive feeling of having climber Mt Olympus.
The back packs ...were the subject of many calls and whatsapp messages. Let me just say that Calling and Internet services in Malaysia are just great.
And then the AirMax.
Even though these are the third on his shelf...

Which one do you think I bought? Ah the second...

Yes, the second. By virtue of the fact that EU size 45 is not available in black. Mine would have had heels BTW.
And after all the scouting in Bukit Bintang, KL( Pavilion, Berjaya Times Square, Fahrenheit 88, Starhill Gallery, Sephora,Lot 10  and Mitsui Brand Outlet Park), I finally found the AirMax2015 in Queensbay Mall, Penang .
One of the largest malls in Penang,here I also found what I had been looking for.

Porcelain.

And Tea.

 And some tea pots...

 Oolong tea...Somewhere in here,but my box definitely had Oolong.

 And a lesson on how to brew and pour tea at the Purple cane Tea house, Queensbay Mall.

And some Korean sheet face masks and also some local perfumes in pretty recycled bottles that are painted.

 The bottles are brought back by the customers for a discount of RM 5 .

 And some employees paint them.

The perfumes were all for about RM 79.00. Not a bad deal at all.
After dinner at The Bayview Hotel Three Sixty° Revolving Restaurant and Sky Bar we went to visit Batu Ferrenghi, the night market in Penang.
Of course, some more shopping...

But my owls deserve another blog post.


So what are you shopping for today???

360° View- As High As You Can Get- Malaysian Holiday-Atmosphere 360°

The climb may be tough ,but the view from the top is always worth it.

Our last evening in Kuala Lumpur ended in a truly spectacular place. The revolving restaurant @KL Tower,Atmosphere 360°.
The restaurant is atop a tower with an observation deck and the revolving restaurant on top. With probably the fastest elevator around(any lift is fast if you compare them to our lifts in Mumbai), the ride to the observation deck takes less than 40 secs.
The Menara Kuala Lumpur is the 7th tallest free standing tower in the world. 

The entrance lobby is decorated breath takingly with the Muqarnas pattern with  beautifully inlaid diamante crystals.

 It was a little difficult to capture the image of the geometric patterns, primarily because of the lights and flashes going off everywhere. The pattern is based on a millennia old geometric pattern that is specifically done by the  Iranian craftsmen from Isfahan.
The observation deck was full of families beautifully dressed in the Baju Melayu and Baju Kurung, patiently waiting for Iftaar.

This group of kids thought I was positively nuts, when I asked if they would smile for me for a picture...

You can see the Petronas Towers from here. Also visible was the shopping district , the Golden Triangle and Bukit Bintang ,and the Pavilion Shopping Mall  and the Royale Chulan Hotel that we had just visited.
That is why its called the observation Deck.
Close to Iftaar time, we moved to the restaurant.
What struck me first was the view.

And then the food was another visual treat.
We had been introduced to the best of Malaysian Cuisines already, but this was a spread.
I only wish I had been 10 years younger, I would have eaten so much more.

Always start with desserts first.

But here, that is not a good idea. All these desserts and more you can eat again, but the fish...

OK ,this is where I tried the tuna carpaccio and the mussels and the scallops and there were oysters too.

The trick with raw fish is COLD and lots of lemon juice.

And if your nostrils can take it...wasabi.

OK, this was not my plate, just the other food blogger with us,this crab leg was what I really wanted to try, and it was fabulous.

That was my plate with the chicken satay and peanut sauce and the Roti Jala and Chicken Murtabak, the roti similar to our Baida Roti and the relish was pulled meat Serunding Daging.

The satays were super fast moving...

especially the Chicken satay.

And that was cooked shell fish.

And some fabulous Gado-Gado salad.

The company was good, the view fantastic and the food ,even better.Now that the palette had gotten used to the flavors of the region, the food was just WOW!

I only rue the fact that I couldn't eat any more of the crab.

The only thing I wouldn't have tried was the custard made with Durian. Was I grateful that my Allergic Rhinitis had played up exactly then allowing me to not smell the Durian.

So when are you going to Atmosphere 360°???

Advice from the pure of heart #SachchiAdvice

I've been fighting a loosing battle these last few years.

Every passing day, my clothes have become progressively tighter and I have switched my fashion sense to wearing loose ,ill fitting kurtis with ginormous salwars.

And then my favourite denims have been pushed to the back of my cupboards or stashed into suitcases never to be opened for years.

Do I see a tiny nod? Oh I so love you...at least you are acknowledging weight gain like me.

It's not my fault that I am a great cook and baker. My boys have superb metabolism,so they naturally don't put on weight.

But at times I feel as though the very air I am breathing is transforming into fat and getting stored in my adipose tissue.

The way out looks so easy. 

All the weight loss pills and slimming clinics in the market can run the economy of a third world country.

And boy have I been tempted.

Have I succumbed?

I'd be lying,if I say no.

I have ,a few times.

Desperate situations call for desperate measures.

And then ,whenever I have discussed these issues with my mum...

All she ever said was a stern no.

Even though my money is for me to blow as I see fit,she has been been keeping track of all my expenses. Any big expenditure and she wants to know why I was wasting my hard earned blood money. The money I have burned my blood to earn.

She has been counselling me,about my diet and about the food I should be eating.

She has been sending me nuts and flours so I can eat healthier.

She has even bought me clothes a size smaller so that I would want to work out.

My mum is a yoga person, why those genes haven't tread my nerves and fibres ,I fail to understand?

But she has ensured that I don't take shortcuts.

My mum has been encouraging me to go for walks, but nice workout gym wear and shoes. She has been keeping track of how much I am am working hard to get fitter. For her this journey is not about #FatToThin ,it's all about being fit.

It would have been so easy to fall for some scheme-y or real weight loss formula,but she has been constantly pushing and advising and encouraging me to burn it all away.

Even when I tell her that the weight loss till now has been dismal. She still tells me to carry on.

After all ...only someone who care will bother to give the right advice.

Thank god for her #SachchiAdvice ,I could have burnt thousands of rupees instead of fat and I could have been lying in hospital because of the ill effects of unscrupulous weight reduction medicines.

So I continue to burn away the fat , a few grams at a time. 

I continue to bear with the sore muscles and sweaty Tees and sip on boring water.

Just so I can get back and call my mum and tell her I am closer to becoming physically fitter.

I may not be getting any younger, but I sure am getting the right advice.

I am shedding those ill fitting clothes, a shirt at a time.

And I am so much closer to my Purani Jeans.

Kyonki #SachchiAdvice Sirf Apney Hi Dete Hain.

“I am participating in the #SachchiAdvice Contest by MaxLife in Association with BlogAdda.”

A Burst of Colour to Brighten your Day -Bed Bath and More

Colour is like food for the spirit- plus it's not addictive or fattening.
                                                                                                           Isaac Mizrahi

Coming from a food blogger that is saying it all.
Imagine , your plate in front of you and not a wee bit of colour to entice you.
Totally unappetising.
Look around,if your walls are a plain, grazed , wasted shade of white or an industrial shade of chalky yellow,how monotonous your world would be.
No shiny pale white palate ,no a accented highlights wall, just plain ,boring ,dull un-coloured ,muted colours.
Instead of resigning oneself to a colourless existence because it is so difficult to reach a paint store and decide the colour of your bed room walls in dismal lights and sad surroundings, Bed Bath And More offer you an easy solution.
For those of us who love the virtual world ,this is a fantastic way to make what is virtual our reality.
All you need is the #PaintFinder on the Bed Bath And More website.
Of course the website has a whole hoard of tempting and inviting stuff to add beauty to the freshly painted walls that you will want after you run your fingers on the colours put here.
Did you even know colours had such appetising names?
And that Yellow Gold is the life of this world.

It's just so warm and enticing and gives such good vibes.
It shows that you are good natured  and affable and enjoy a good sense of humour.
So naturally,there will always be laughter around you.
And where there is laughter, love and friends and food can never be far behind.
And when you're a part of a household that has love laugher friends and good food, happiness will always trail you.
I would love to bring this sunshine colour into my bedroom,so that the first Ray's of the sun can transfer their energy to my walls and I can draw from them through out the day.

And choosing the colour is so easy.

Jus choose the paint shade and then try out the various nuances and tones and hues.

And once you decide on what shade you want, feed in the wall area and doors and windows And Bed Bath and More will deliver your shade card to you ,so you can decide on your final choice.

The colour will be computer coded and made and Voilà,you have your own personal sunshine.

My other favourite room is my kitchen. Imagine as a food blogger this is where I should be spending most of my day.

Even when I am not baking for my blog, I am cooking for my boys and for friends.

So this my choice of brick red colour echoes my tenaciousness and flaunt my labor of love , my food.

In a room so serene and positive,I cannot but make the best of cakes and cookies and desserts. The will to live life fully is borrowed from the colours that surround us. And here ,the walls are a beautiful shade of red. It will drive away monotony and spread love.

Sit in front of the walls that bore you, imagine vivid colours with a little help from the #PaintFinder and start your journey to a newer ,transformed you . Allows Bed Bath and more's Colour Therapy to work its magic on you.

Surf the website, get stuck, book mark pages, check out your favourite decor elements that will make the wall paints stand out and do this.

   

 “I am participating in the #PaintFinder activity in Association with BlogAdda & Bed Bath & More“