Band of Brothers

Last weekend was eventful to say the least. Strangely enough, it was a weekend that was spent (and supposed to be spent) with guys who are close to me especially since Jeannie's demise.

Saturday started off with Hamdan picking me up from home and we drove to Segamat to meet Sofian who was going from Johor Baru. An important last minute lunch meeting had been arranged the previous day. We would have ended up at another bro's (Syed P. M.) home for special northern laksa lunch if we did not have to go Segamat. Instead, J.J. represented me at Syed's place with Wong, Pat and Syed F. We did not want to disappoint our buddy, Syed M. who was celebrating a pertinent milestone in his business. I heard J.J. did me proud by polishing off three plates of Syed M's wife's really good laksa. I believe my "ta pau" laksa is still in the fridge if he has not also walloped that too!

Another buddy, Fauzi could not make it to Syed M's laksa session because he also had to be in Segamat to settle his son into the UITM. What a coincidence. As it turned out, Sofian's Merc developed transmission problems on the way to Segamat and he had to send his driver back to JB with it. I did not want to miss the 100 Days All Blogs gathering at Bloghouse that night. After our Segamat meeting, Hamdan drove Sofian back to JB and I managed to catch Fauzi before he started his trip back to KL. The lunch in Segamat included the famous Segamat durians.

Before we left Segamat, Fauzi the durian afficionado had to have his durian fix so we I had durians again! We arrived in KL by 7.30 pm and Fauzi dropped me off at Istana Negara where Wong was waiting. Wong and I then went off to Bloghouse.

After Bloghouse we adjourned to a pub in Ampang Point when Syed M called. We ended the night at Craven Cafe with Syed M. The day's events had come a full circle and I did get to meet Syed M although I could not make it to his laksa function earlier in the day.



I was looking forward to Mike's BBQ on Sunday night and meeting up again with some of his own "Band of Brothers" from the Royal Military College and the armed forces. Sunday afternoon was supposed to be with my kids before going to Mike's place at Subang Jaya in the evening. We were at Low Yat after lunch to pick up a computer monitor and also supposed to meet Pat and Wong there. Fauzi's sms inviting us to his house at 5.30 for a durian party put paid to that; he had durians delivered from Segamat! I decided to meet Wong and Pat at Fauzi's place instead.

Wong and Pat followed me to Mike's place and I really appreciate the host for allowing me a last minute guest in Wong. Tiger Pat's inclusion was me taking advantage in typical Tiger fashion. The bbq was in full swing when the three of us arrived late at about 8.30 pm. The traffic was horrendous for a Sunday because of the Kelana Stadium fuel hike protest gathering. Mike's guests (about 12 including us) were mostly Old Puteras but the majority that night were Tigers! OP Shafiqque set the pace for our evening's beverages by handing each of us a glass of the bestest and freshtest chilled Nira Cola (toddy) I have ever had. This was immediately followed by the chaser; a double shot of tequila!!! Pat was gone before he started!

The food. Mike definitely throws the best bbq parties this side of Klang Valley. We had the works. The salads of fresh greens, brinjal in light sambal, pan fried snow peas in olive oil, olive pate on toast, escargot, New Zealand mussel and all these was before the main items on the bar-B! Whole leg of lamb in Arabian marinade done to perfection, prawn kebab, tandoori chicken or was it chicken tikka and finally the beef tenderloin. In between we had lemon sorbet and trifle for dessert; both homemade!



Mike's food was only overshadowed by the occasion (which was not known to us till much later in the evening). It was his and Fazillah's wedding anniversary! It also happened to be the birthday of guest, Tiger RAdm Dato' Danyal Balagopal (Retd).

How do I sum up the weekend? Well one thing is for sure, the fact that your are reading this post debunks one of the most common and oldest myths in Malaysia. You can eat durians and still drink!!!