OK, let’s hire a real architect now

I know, I have been talking about this since the last two posts but it’s time to make that move.

The design ideas need to be translated onto paper now. You have armed yourself with referrals from friends and relatives. Names of potential candidates and their contacts are listed in alphabetical order or by their reputation.

In this day and age, you can drop an email to the prospect if talking on the phone proves a jittery affair. A simple query about what design style you fancy can make you stumped silly grappling for an answer, silence looming in the air for a few seconds. Even though you think you know it, everything will be turned upside down when you are facing the architect.

We were still in London when we contacted our architect, or to be grammatically correct, the guy we hoped would agree to be our architect. It was really just a phone call away but time difference would mean that I had to time it right. Ring him in the evening then I might catch him just as he’s about to have a nightcap or something. Or make the call very early UK time so that I would reach him nicely just as he reached his office. But the truth was I didn’t want to do either. I just did not want to get on the phone because I didn’t know what to expect out of the conversation. Rejection can be cruel and that’s some scary thought.

In order to squeeze into his possibly busy schedule and make our intrusion worth considering, we decided that the contact to be made had to be somewhat special. Email would be too ordinary. Snail mail would be so passé. A phone call, well, let’s not go there again.

Then we thought of this scheme that we thought would definitely stop him in his footsteps. The idea was this: what if we sent him a series of postcards? Make that one postcard every day. Wow, that’s a brilliant idea we thought to ourselves.

And so we massaged that idea further. We actually wrote some lines together, me and my other half, to use as a guide. Satisfied that we had something going, we took no time to go down to town to look for the cards. As we were going to write the special messages, the cards we wanted had to be those with blank content. Meanwhile, the images on the front cover did not have to be necessarily strong but they had to be meaningful and relevant to our case. Here’s what we had settled with:

Post card #1: This was what we wrote: Grand Designs? No, Small Projects. Signoff: Us @ 38 MPC (Apple iPhone 4s)

Post card #2: Kevin McCloud? No, Kevin M.L. Signoff: Us @ 38 MPC (Apple iPhone 4s)

Post card #3: Opulent? No, just straight lines. Signoff: Us @ 38 MPC (Apple iPhone 4s)

Post card #4: But we like your mailbox better. Signoff: Us @ 38 MPC (Apple iPhone 4s)

We'll share with you further details in the next post. So what’s your scheme going to be?

The search for an architect has begun...

Building your house from scratch allows you to express your taste. Another delightful perk would be hiring an architect so that together you and him can build the design you like. Whatever your design taste is, you and the architect must be able to work together with minimal fall-out.

When we started the search for the arguably most important figure in the journey, we kind of knew what we wanted. That made the investigation a little easier in that we could focus on candidates that we thought could deliver. The Internet surfing began on a clean slate. There were no referrals nor famous architects that we liked to check on. In fact, our budget was more of the shoestring type so that cancelled out the latter from the get-go.

Searching for an architect that could do cement-rendered flooring should not be that difficult. Finding one that could do that and a lot more so that the overall concept fell into place was not easy. That much my other half could share.

Flooring that’s at home in a factory, exposed cable conduit and cornice-free, bare ceiling were more of what we so craved for. Basically, everything looking industrial. It wasn’t that straightforward to begin with but my other half held on and persevered.

After several hours of page returns, she finally found one that looked promising. Actually, make that very promising.

His design style was under-construction. In other words, the end product will not look finished. He seemed to fit the bill. Apart from the desirable style, his architectural approach was one that’s self-sustaining, friendly to the environment and above all, design does not have to cost. We liked what we had seen so far.

Remember to decide on the style you want. Establish a tolerance point on how much you would allow it to stray. Have some budget in mind. Do check out the names given to you by friends and relatives but don’t stop there. Make your visit to the Internet more efficient and effective by entering the right key words. Bookmark what you liked seeing the first time round because you can lose them. Most importantly, allow yourself the time to carry this act out.

Tottenham Hotspur Football Development Asia (THFDA) 2012

Thanks to the folks at Football Focus Asia (FFA), aspiring footballers in the country can now get a taste of training the English premier league way with the arrival of THFDA.

Launched only in July last year, the programme is opened to individuals aged 10 - 18, teams and coaches to experience professional football training at its highest level. Partnering with FFA and the British International School KL, this programme is a start to improve the standard of Asian football at the grassroots level.

Listening attentively to the instructions... (Apple iPhone 4s)

Check out the your man in green... (Apple iPhone 4s)

My son had joined the programme from 8 – 11 April, held on the grounds of KBU College in Bandar Utama. The programme though short at 1.5 hours per day gave him an insight into the different levels of football techniques. And you know what, even their warm up, stretches and warm down looked special.

A simple graduation ceremony (Apple iPhone 4s)

We seized the moment to have a chat with Sheldon Xavier of FFA and the coaches on the last day of the programme. According to them, our son has good skills and focus but he has to develop on his communications on the field. Son, take heed ok.

Group photo (Apple iPhone 4s)

With the coaches (Apple iPhone 4s)

Time to design

Which architecture style tickles your fancy? If you already have ideas derived from magazines or living examples now it's time to hire an architect to put your collection of thoughts to paper. So how do you select one? Can you go with any architect or would your design appetite determine who you shall work with?

An architect helps to design the dwelling unit and incorporate your lifestyle and needs in the process. Most architects should be trained to churn various types of designs but like artists, some of them would stick to a particular styling or two, styling that they prefer or have developed over the years and excel at doing so. In the architect you would want a partner who is not too overly obsessed in keeping to his design but one that has a genuine interest to make your dream actually come true.

Having said that, your taste in design would inevitably lead you to that person. Let me draw up an analogy. If you are looking for someone to stitch up a baju melayu, you can go to the Masjid Jamek area in downtown KL and find a tailor easily amongst the compact shoplots. Shops like Omar Ali is better known than the rest because celebrities and politicians endorse his work, like it or not that would add to his street cred and reputation. Omar Ali could also cut you a three-piece suit, just like the green in-house tailors at Jakel can to but why would you go to these people when perhaps Spark Manshop or Lord's could do it better?

Similar to tailoring, the partner that you want to be working with would very much depend on the architectural style that you like and just maybe on case-by-case basis, how much money you are willing to spend. If your taste in design is quite plain, any good architect in the country can attend to you. By that I mean if your desire is the typical tropical house (like most residential dwellings in Malaysia), then you shouldn't have a problem looking for an architect.

Have you seen this house before? (image on the Internet)

But if your preference looks like boxes of different sizes joined together or a wooden skeletal cube that seems to be hanging on top of a giant tree or something that your parents won't approve then there is a good chance that finding the architect who can hack that kind of work can prove difficult.

Again, the design that you wish for would ultimately point you out to the right architect but whether or not he is the right partner, it is quite impossible to tell at the first meeting. Chemistry takes time to build. Worse still is if it doesn't get built at all. But first up, where are these people hiding? Where do you start finding them?

Just like any other professionals such as doctors and lawyers, architects are not allowed by law to advertise what they are good at so don't hope to catch an ad in the press or magazines or TV. That pretty much leaves your options to only two: through word-of-mouth and of course, your favorite search engine on the Internet!

You will not find ads (because the rules extend to the world wide web as well) but personal blogs and websites are abundant, administered either by individual clients or the architects themselves. Simply enter the key words like 'architects in Malaysia' or 'Balinese home', you should suddenly be inundated with pages and pages of findings, as coughed up by Google or Yahoo. As far as locating them in this day and age, it shouldn't be much of a problem. That goes the same for their background and reputation; the said media should dish these out as well.

Referrals are another way to find your architect. Maybe you have relatives and friends who know of people who have built or in the midst of building their homes. First hand accounts on how good or bad the architect is will surely be shared. By the same token, you'll sure to hear stories about contractors too.

It makes practical sense to find out who this architect is. Use every avenue. Talk and meet with as many of them as possible. Look out for their principle and willingness to listen to you at the same time, unless you love justifying every little change you are asking on their design. Architects can be very stubborn.

It's not Japanese

One night I came back to an empty nest, save for my other half who was enjoying a nap that could have been prolonged had I not suddenly appeared at the door. I was aghast (not a strong word this) because I was really looking forward to see my boys after a long day at work. Apparently, they had joined their aunt for grocery shopping and supposedly dinner. What ever happened to the good old permission sought, permission granted thing, I thought to myself.

I was about to occupy the vacant spot next to my other half when she sprung up and proclaimed that we had 'things' to do. And left in a hurry we did.

After taking care of her 'things,' which mainly involved me driving her from one shop to another, it's finally time for a chow down and we did not take too long to settle on Bangkok Wasabe, a low profile Thai food eatery that's less than two minutes away from home. Yup, you heard me right, it's not a conveyor belt sushi restaurant.

We were the only other couple for a good ten minutes and quickly elevated to the ONLY couple in the restaurant for the entire time, that's how empty the dining room was. If only we understood Thai, we would have known if the waitstaff were talking about us or the weather in the back. Their voices were amplified by the emptiness of the space and lack of piped-in music.

Typical of a Thai outlet, Buddha and elephants were the main decoration theme. I felt somewhat claustrophobic because of the dark interior paint, as well as the split level platform, which effectively reduced the headroom by 1.5 feet. Wanting dinner light and lightning fast, we merely glanced at the menu, ordered salted fish kailan, tom yum kung to share, a single serving of white rice and pad Thai, a favourite and staple order item of mine whenever it's on the menu. The service was swift; the food arrived in no time.

If the crowd is the way to judge on how good the food is in a restaurant, then that measurement is not doing justice to Bangkok Wasabe. I know you'd accuse that we hadn't had enough to come to a landing but I'd counter that if they cook the predominant item on the menu well, you can surely expect the same treatment for the rest.

This was circa 8.45 pm (Apple iPhone 3GS)

The soup was extremely good, murky in texture and slightly orangey in hue. All the rich flavours like lemongrass, ginger flower, scallions and many other wonderful ingredients oozed out gloriously. Even the temperature was right. We almost ordered a second bowl but our sensibility prevailed and stuck to sharing.

On second thought, the bowl did look a little small to share (Apple iPhone 3GS)

My other half always has the hots for kailan of the salted fish kind, sometimes devouring the dish on its own minus the rice so she knows this stuff like the back of her hand. The leafy vegetable that arrived at our table had the word 'fresh' written all over it but still looked too green for it to be called cooked. That's just me but my other half of course knew better: she reached out using her now extended appendage made possible by the chopstick and gladly approved the Bangkok Wasabe brand.

The after effect (Apple iPhone 3GS)

Although I can't quite claim to be in the same vein as my wife when it comes to pad Thai, I have eaten enough of the stir-fried noodle to know that the bean sprouts have to be dropped fresh on top (not even steamed or boiled), the peanuts finely chopped (not whole), jumbo prawns peeled, but with the tails left on and to expect it dry and light bodied. Above all, it should taste spicy sweet or in the opposite order that is sweet spicy. I found the Bangkok Wasabe version to have ticked all the above boxes and pleased that I've discovered a tasty pad Thai near home, just in case I had the cravings...

Promising ourselves to return to the restaurant as PH household one day, we paid the bill and look forward to reunite with our two boys which we hoped would be home by then.

Say thank you please

Why is it very difficult for our drivers to say thanks when they have been given way? I mean I don't expect them to whisper the word because I will not notice that anyway, let alone wind down the window and utter it in a perfectly clear diction but not even a smile of the artificial kind, come on. Eye contact is far and few in between, especially if I'm the one asking for way. They will try their utmost best not to acknowledge my existence, effectively passing the buck to the next driver. And we shall repeat this ten more times.

Sometimes, bus and lorry drivers have better manners on the road.

What ever happened to the good old wave? Five or six years ago, I could still see drivers doing that as a signal of gratitude for allowing them the space caused by their own queue cutting but justified actions or not, nowadays the act seems to have been lost in the carbonous oxide. I get fumed up (pun intended) quickly if I made so much effort to brake or slow down as a courtesy to the offending driver only to get nothing from him, or her.

If opening your mouth or raising your hand or smiling your yellowing teeth prove too physical or perhaps not cool, try flashing your hazard lights for a couple of ticks. It's so easy. Just press the red triangle on your dashboard. One blink means thanks, twice means thank you and if you really felt guilty about that car screeching just so you could squeeze in, try multiple blinks which mean you were not supposed to cut in but had to because of another idiot but thank you so much for the trouble you took.

That's the least anyone could do if all else fails. Drivers in the UK do this and what's more, they normally accompany it with a heartfelt wave.

I hope someone will pick this simple gesture up and include it in the road safety curriculum to be introduced at our schools next year.

In the meantime, why don't you start practising it? It will be quite amusing to see that puzzled face in the rearview mirror.

Can you come back in half an hour, it's a full house...?

First stop or else dinner can't happen... (Apple iPhone 3GS)

On 9th September our younger son celebrated his 7th birtday and so we took the Plantation House household to the Fullhouse Lifestyle Store and Cafe at Sunway Giza. Sunway Giza is a type of community mall of recent age but we especially like it for its distance, which is only a few minutes walk from home, not including the several more minutes of waiting to cross Persiaran Surian, the main thoroughfare... safely.

This visit would be our fourth and we didn't mind returning because it served good and wholesome food. Before the restaurant, we made a quick dash to The Times bookstore for the birthday boy to choose his gift­—a book. He is not too engrossed on toy cars or guns or anything that boys his age would normally be. I'm glad that he is into reading. His only vice though is watching VCD. And one more, playing games, either on the computer or his iPod. I have a major problem with the last two because he can't stop once started.

Fullhouse takes after the facade of a two-storey house, the effect made more realistic by the double ceiling height of the retail lots facing the mall concourse area.

There is a pink Mini as a prop somewhere on the front... (Apple iPhone 3GS)

Hello? Anybody home? (Apple iPhone 3GS)

One thing I'm sure that will strike everyone is how the menu looks very much like a magazine. Very fun and colourful cover. In fact, it also feels like one. The paper type and the way its contents are organised, from the content page right up to the ads at the back really makes you want to have a look at the cover again to make sure that it's not Food & Wine you are reading. It even has its own comic strip! But with the booklet's odd size, you know it's a bit off to be a periodical.

The number of pages rivals that of a real magazine... (Apple iPhone 3GS)

All six of us ordered different food, which was good so that I could expand my sampling. I've always noticed that the restaurant has an extensive beverage and dessert menu but my eyes just could not escape Ice Korean Jujube Tea that I knew I had to try it. However, I doubted myself with the correct pronunciation of the word jujube for a while when the waitstaff corrected my saying by making it a three-syllable word.

While the birthday boy decided to indulge in a rather standard fare (chicken nuggets), I decided to hazard my stomach with the grilled chicken thigh served with black pepper raisin jus. OK, grilled chicken is quite a common item on a restaurant's menu but one topped with raisin juice, hmmm, maybe not so. To be honest, it was the juice that made my finger pointed to it. The mashed potatoes on the side were simply heaven. Smooth, flavourful and with character, that's how I'd describe it if I was a food critic. I will not say much about the vegetables because they were boiled brocolli and cauliflowers. How good can you make them? Exactly...

Were they really nuggets or wings? (Apple iPhone 3GS)

Back to the chicken, the meat was tender, the raisin sauce was refreshing and provided the balance to my taste bud. I was happy with my decision.

My other half would typically order a pasta dish, if a place serves pasta. And her favourite is the spaghetti alla vongole or in plain English spaghetti and clams so naturally, she ordered exactly this. When the noodle arrived, it smelled and looked fantastic. Dry or not so runny and clam meat in abundance is how she likes this particular dish. It seemed to check all the right boxes. Then after few spoonfuls, she enthusiastically pushed her plate to me, seemingly very excited at it too. I did not do anything except welcome such submission by tucking straight into it. Then after few spoonfuls, I too felt like pushing the plate to the person next to me but he was too young to take the assault, of the hot and fiery kind, on the tongue. The chef definitely got carried away with the dried chilies. My other observation about the dish was that while the pasta was perfect al dente, the sauce leaned more towards being creamy in taste rather than exuding the flavour of the mollusc. I blamed it on the kitchen help who could have drained out the juice from the can completely (you can tell they were canned clams by the uniformed sizes and shapes. Besides, they were all shelled) until I noticed on the menu that Fullhouse's take of the Neapolitan dish was butter-based. Some diners might like it but as long you are calling it alla vongole, I think one should stick to using clams as the base.

My elder son had the smooties-fruities fish, which was basically pan-fried butter fish smothered with passion berries fruit sauce. I liked the fish but thought the sauce to be way too sweet. For the eleven-year old boy though, he did not find it too sweet. The sun-dried tomatoes I suspect were the bottled version as they were soggy, not worthy to be called as that. If you can put up with the sauce, I'd recommend you give the fish a shot.

In between our conversation and masticating, I spotted this receipt-like paper on the table which was used to track the movement of the food: on whether or not they have reached the table. It's ticked manually but very helpful if you had come by a busload. On the final delivery, the waitstaff took the sheet away and check it back with the system to ensure that we received and billed correctly for the food that we ordered.

This would be good if you have 15 people in your party... (Apple iPhone 3GS)

The grilled New Zealand lamb chop also made it to our table but I could only managed a tiny morsel of the meat from my sister-in-law. It tasted delicious, the meat perfectly cooked and chewy in the way lamb should be and to top it all, drenched with a secret herb jus. She enjoyed her food quietly and peacefully, as I was seated miles away from her.

Fullhouse also do set lunches and the sets were known as Tiffany's or Tracy's or someone other's favourite meal. I asked the friendly waitstaff on who these people were. Apparently, they were the characters in the comic which can be found in the later segment of the menu. If they were real people, or better still, the chefs who created the meals, the suggestions would have been more credible don't you think?

Fullhouse comic (Apple iPhone 3GS)

Lastly, the oven roasted chicken tenderloin, which to me was no different than what I'd ordered except for the type of sauce covering the bird. Brown-coloured shitake mushroom sauce was used to conceal the quartered meat. Along with the two sides, the beautifully garnished food was okay but not great. I couldn't see that it was more special than say, Kenny Roger's Roasters but it was nice to see the nephew cleaning his plate. As long as he's contented, I got no complaints.

I didn't think the kailan went down well with the chicken... (Apple iPhone 3GS)

Families and courting couples looking for a decent casual dining experience should consider Fullhouse. For the couple, he can then walk up the stairs to the upper floor, with the fairer sex on tow of course, to check out the dresses and accessories. Don't expect a range like Isetan but you can sure expect high novelty value. For those who prefer rainbow-coloured drinks and desserts, Fullhouse will not disappoint. There are actually some real gems to look out for in the menu. Save for all the comments I've made in this posting, the restaurant does serve up quality and thoughtful edibles. Price range too is a fair and reasonable deal. The ambiance is bright and cheery and not pretentious.

For me, leaving the restaurant knowing that I was right about the contentious word was a big relief.