Hanging Out

As a young girl growing up in Ipoh we had no internet and no hand phones.  Our needs to socialize were usually expressed in specific terms of having a purpose that would satisfy our parent's queries. Today it is much more common to hear the term "hanging out" expressed by young people or at least from those that escape from their video games, iPhones, and laptops to meet friends in person. As adults we don't use the term "hanging out" very much. Perhaps that is because we need the assurance of purpose for everything we choose to do. Maybe we are just looking  for reasons to get  together so as to avoid stating the obvious. We need socialization. We also need to socialize in the presence of company we enjoy and have a common ground with. The study of socialization (sociology) reaffirms over and over that our existence depends on it.  As frequent readers know, I enjoy writing about meeting fellow bloggers in person. Maybe the sociologist are right, maybe my existence depends on it in some way. So "hanging out" has a huge payback.


I first met Yen and her hubby of the blog Eat your heart out when I was conducting a cooking class in Pantry Magic, in Bangsar.  She approached me and asked if I was Quay Po and introduced herself. We chatted, and right away I knew this bright young lady was a warm and friendly person. From then on, we have visited each other's blog frequently and  exchanged comments. We recently "became friends" on Facebook and exchanged notes often. It was not long before we decided to meet up and "hang out". She asked me if I would like to meet another blogger Mei Yee of I am the Witch and of course, I indicated I would be delighted to. I always love to meet new friends, especially people who share the same passion  - food. To me Facebook and blogs will never replace meeting someone in person. We lose a lot of communication and risk being misunderstood when confined to the internet. Our tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language all are lost on the internet. Meeting Yen and Mei Yee was as expected, a sheer delight.

The night before our meet up for tea at The Sheraton Imperial...

I made some macarons with a kumquat, dark chocolate and cointreau filling  to let Yen sample it as promised.

 Click on the photo to get the recipe

I made sure I had enough for each person to have two and a little extra, just in case they loved them. 


Being resourceful ladies, both Yen and Mei Yee had a Starwood discount card each so we only had to pay 50% of the price per head for the high tea. However the rule was, we had to sit in two separate tables. (HUH!?)  That seemed rediculous to us and we finally need not comply after speaking to the Manager in charge. The place was rather empty and we understood why after tasting the pastry. There were not many choices served and the only item offered that we all agreed  was delicious were the mini donuts. We had no complaints about the presentation but looks can be deceiving.

My macarons became the “Star” of the day, perhaps largely because the competition was so inferior. Each of them had two and they said they love them. Yen’s hubby’s remark was even more encouraging, he stated they were much higher standard in appearance, taste, and texture than many they had purchased from commercial outlets. (What a bright and charming young man!)

We spent a cheerful afternoon together, forgetting that the food was not up to our expectation and since we did not have to pay full price for it, we did not feel short changed, for we think the ambience was perfect for a nice hang out. It was great getting to know Yen, her hubby  and meet another new friend, Mei Yee, another lovely young lady, and we all seemed to have lots to talk about despite our age difference. As if spending three hours yakking were not enough, Yen asked me to tag along with them to a happy hour cocktail food tasting for Bloggers, at Al Amar Express in the city. There I ran into my friend, Cheng Yi of Have your Cake and Eat It Too and met some other bloggers for the first time. They were a group of chirpy and fun loving people. We had a ball.

I got to sample some of the Lebanese food, their free flow cocktail drinksand wine as well. This of course led to much laughter and enjoyment. I loved their range of wine, 

affordable and good. 

All the above food was reasonably priced and everything tasted delicious.  To me, it would be great value for money. I will definitely go there again with my Quay Lo. It is a great place to meet up with friends after a hard day's work. Not only will you get great food, inventive and colorful cocktails as well as an excellent range of affordable and delightful Lebanese wine, the staff there, including the chef, the sales and marketing director, Ralph and the owner, Joseph, are all very friendly. 

The whole team knew how to please their customers and make them feel extremely welcome. I suspect that if you visit Al Amar Express just once, it likely will not be your last visit. 

Al-Amar Express

Fahrenheit88

Lot G44, Ground Floor,

179, Jalan Bukit Bintang,

55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel no: +603-2141 3814

Opening hours: 8am to 1am Daily (opens til 5am on weekends)

Email: info@al-amar.com

Website: http://www.al-amar.com/ Facebook Page


No fees or promotionl considerations were received and
my remarks are purely my own.

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