Unlike the last protest, we didnt have to go in a night earlier, as there was no city lockdown. Cops finally realized how futile and dumb dat is.

Trains were packed

Walked in from Central Market station via back streets. A bunch of Greenies were coming from the opposite direction

Dined on pork n beers for d long day

While we were eating in Chinatown, as we were early, there was a huge roar outside, along Jln Bandar.

To the right...

To the left

The Chinatown sector had started their march to the rendezvous. And they kept pouring. For about 15 minutes. Probably 15,000 or more  in this group i reckon.

We (a group of 7) walked out soon after, and made our way through some back roads, headed to Merdeka Square.

Full n ready

We went from Chinatown, to CM, to Tun Perak by Masjid Jamek

There was a huge crowd on Tun Perak. From the junction of Merdeka Square all the way to Puduraya and beyond, all 4 lanes were choked with people. Maybe 50,000 here. Further than the eye could see.

This turned out to be the biggest, and quite a hardcore group later.

Everyone just chilled, listened to speeches, chanted, and some sat. We found some space to chill on Jln Melayu, n put on some reggae tunes.

After about an hour, we stood up and our small group were discussing our next course of action, such as happy hours, when i felt a familiar taste in my eyes.

“I think it’s gas.” i said. Weird, cos there was no sign of trouble, and bored people were about to leave. In fact, some had left as we were told to do so about 10 minutes beforehand.

The music stopped.

I moved up to locate the source, as everybody was still chillin n there was no gas visible, nor were there any sounds. A few seconds later, the crowd rushed in our direction, coughing and crying. The gas had kicked in, and from where we weren’t sure.

Anyway, many were first timers n panicked, squeezing into Jln Melayu. It got messy. They were trying to get away, but it was too congested. They panicked even more. The gas really started to kick-in.

Then we heard there was no exit on Jln Melayu! Some climbed over the railing and jumped onto the riverbank. Which was risky.

Stretcher crew n medics from Civil Defence. There were many ambulances in action from Red Crescent speeding around. Good job guys

I rounded d crew n decided d safest option was to head against d crowd, towards d gas, back to Tun Perak. Just before we got there, several gas canisters landed in front of us. Dat was a surprise, coz we never saw any riot police / FRU.

We decided to dash thru them anyway, and got onto Tun Perak, rejoining the main group at Jamek . It was a relief.

Some so-called protestors disappeared and went home crying after the first taste of gas. Haha. Amateurs. But at least they showed.

Mask helped a little, but its d eyes that get hit

From then, it was non-stop gas. The FRU would fire, we would suffer / throw canisters back / wash-out the eyes, then regroup. Many times. The Tun Perak group still stretched all d way to Pudu, but where we hung was d frontline at Jamek.

Everyone helped each other by providing water, salt or antacid-water mix. They gassed us for an hour, but we were goin nowhere. Then they sent in d water gun. Bad news.

Good news? A guy who got drenched shouted “Air biasa!!”. We laughed at the ‘fire truck’ and moved forward again. They were outta chemicals.

We weren’t really doing anything when we were attacked, hence we had no reason to leave when ordered by the cops.

Anyway they probably broke the law by attacking places other than Merdeka Square.

Squeezed in one posed shot, with BBQ goin on @ the Jamek LRT

After countless canisters, they sent in a large arresting team, which came charging with cable-ties. We dispersed.

A few hardcore guys again regrouped at Jamek, battling till 6pm.

Back to Chinatown, and we spotted a guys selling ice cold beers. Grabbed a few. Soon, i spotted gas. A small group were being harassed by the FRU. We joined them.  Some tourists too. Showed the FRU countless ‘affectionate’ signs after they fired horizontally at us.

Satisfied, we finally got d train back.

There were quite  a few posers at d event, posing n taking pictures at every opportunity, like it was some sorta fuckin bloggers event or sumtin.

Home. And thirsty!

Anway, hit 42 East for drinks around 6pm. Got gassed so much my eyes were still tearing a little, 2 hours later. The other souvenir i got was a gas canister. Its quite retarded to fire one of those directly at people. Someone who found the shell said it was made in Israel. Great.

Trample all over us, why dont u

All in all, an exciting day.

Somehow had beers on three separate occasions that day.

Problem was, many SB (Special Branch) were disguised as protestors (as seen via many photographic evidence), and they were the main trouble-makers, trashing stuff, beating uniformed cops n shit.

D cop on d right sure looks like d protestor on d left

D Bangla cop sure looks like d protestor who's kickin a traffic cop. Real scumbags eh

Awww, cant take your own gas? The macho pig from the first picture is actually a little babyyy. Wail away boy

Checkit - there were even phone jammers to disable our communication. Where are we, Libya??

Crowd this year were younger and older. Also, in wheelchairs, one-legged, blind, makciks, grandpas, etc

The police also beat-up many Press photographers – who were clearly on the job. Dats as ridiculous as riot police beating regular cops coz they were there. They also deleted photos / stole Press cameras.

When the law enforcers regularly break d law, dont expect regular citizens to respect the law. The cops also removed their badge numbers!

If there was a little ‘rioting’, my guess its by the crazy cops, not the cool protestors.

Anyway, check dis shit:

Uniformed mob!

And this:

This video will definitely cross half a million views. Good.

I hope the next protest will be against the goddam pigs, who were excessive n uncivilized. I’ll be there.

At least, the gas cleared my hangover and dead brain cells.

Brain damage from CS gas: OK la, still coherent

Lagers & ales (like Kronenbourg Blanc) for $5 and $10 a pop.

There’ll be food too. And so-called Malaysians who havent had toddy can break their virginity too, with Coco Cabana toddy.

Daylight sessions. I like

Goes on from 2.30pm to 7pm, this Sunday at bakita in Changkat Bukit Bintang.

I might bring some of my Baad Apples Cider™.

Shd be as chilled n friendly as before; am planning to make it four outta four. Coz Thirsty Sunday’s always fun.

Tents were set-up in the garden.

Fancy tent

It was quite an event.

There are three varieties now, in lil 250ml bottles – the Blond (gold, abv 6.7%), Blanche (white, 6%) and Amber (dark, 6.5%). I’m impressed with the alcohol levels. The Blanche is also available in draft.

One of many

The Blond is an easy-drinking ale, light-tasting and a lil sweetish. Good for most situations. It’s been available here since April last year.

The Blanche has a fruity nose, some citrusy notes even, and in the mouth its light and clean, with no hints of bitterness at all. Refreshing.

Mad Max losin it

The dark guy, Amber (aka Grimbergen Double) is also an easy-going ale, and considering its colour, it’s only a light malt, and a sweetish finish.

Super colour

The beer is served in a chalice, to add a barbarian touch.

The fathers at the Abbey of Grimbergen founded by St Norbert in the village of Grimbergen near Brussels logically used the hops and barley that grew around the abbey to make beer, which was consumed by travellers at the attached inn.

The phoenix logo is actually the abbey’s coat-of-arms. The Carlsberg Group has acquired its license to brew.

Garden gig

The beers are brought in by Luen Heng, and the RRP is between $20-25 at selected bars. Brussels Beer Cafe definitely has them.

The sprinklers almost went off

Brain damage: 7.5/10

Cocktail bars in KL tend not to do too well, tho they start pretty ambitious. I have several explanations for this.

The main one is the pricing system in this country. On top of the govt tax, bars and clubs mark-up their drinks 100% easy, and many even mark-up 200%! Cocktails? Probably 300%.

Why mark-up so highly? Because they do. And anyway you’d probably blame the government for the high prices.

(If they use cheap-shit alcohol, mark up is 1000+ %)

Cocktail culture? Not yet. Maybe not ever

Hence, people prefer to buy bottles of spirits – more bang for your buck. Higher ROI. If everybody bought individual drinks all their lives, all drinkers wd be broke by now. Cocktails? Double-broke.

So we’re so used to keeping things simple – a bottle of whisky, a pitcher of Coke or water. Done deal. Vodka? Orange or cranberry. That’s as complicated as the cocktails get for the general population.

Cocktail orders tend to be limited to sangria, margarita, mojito

Another major factor is the local F&B industry have really fucked things up. Many bars are stingy, and instead of using regular spirits in their cocktails, they use cheap-ass moonshine from Klang, meaning the cocktails taste like cock. Malaysian have gotten used to crap cocktails because of this, and so are not into it anymore. Besides shit taste, u could earn yorself a good hangover.

So-called popular bars do this too, so better check next time ur there. And many bars also use crap mixers, even if they use premium spirits. What’s the point?

U wanna pay 20-30 bucks for a piece of shit?

As for me, even tho i’m all over the  goddam place, i’ve  rarely come across really good-tasting cocktails, even by good bartenders using good shit. 80% are unbalanced and not smooth. Most are too sour, many are too sweet. One sip may be fine, but then finishing the whole glass is a different story. It can be a struggle!

What a waste of alcohol. And a waste of hard-earned money.

I think these bartenders need to drink their own cocktails a lot more, and not dip a skinny-ass straw into it and have a tiny sample. Of course most cocktails taste fine like that. Drink the whole glass. Or three.

Some bars even hire clueless foreigners! But i’ve already talked about this before.

I usually reserve cocktail-making for my house parties or travel or my blog parties.

Yea baby!

I’ve done a better job than some of these guys if i say so myself, with my Kelapa Rock (coconut water-based cocktail) and Brown Brown (Milo-ais based cocktail), among others. Easy, tasty.

At the moment, the better-known cocktail bars are View Bar, 21 and Tate. Be prepared to pay high prices.

One of the longest-living and coolest cocktail lounge was Chill. It was real smooth. Great cocktails, reasonable prices, great chilled Ibiza and Hed Kandi tunes in the afternoon/evening (and soul/funk house later at night, courtesy of DJ me!), funky decor, cool guys, and hot chicks. It had a good four-year run, but was ahead of its time.

Like dumb blondes, some only LOOK good

I look forward to cocktail bars for mainstream drinkers, with good mixers, normal-standard spirits, reasonable prices, balanced-tasting drinks, cool decor, and innovative bartenders. O yea, solid tunes too.

Only $12 NETT for an ice cold Guinness Draft, all day, all nite. Goin on for the entire month of March.

Arr!

And over at Jarrod & Rawlins (D’sara Heights), today (Thu) sees a St Patrick’s party from 6pm, with free/cheap Guinness, foodstuff, stand-up comedy & more.

'Perfect pint'?? Isn't that extinct? Very misleading term, GAB. It's not "responsible".

Go delve into the darkness of Guinness. Try and survive.

It’s from the Sauza family, the people who bring us Sauza tequila, which is the house-pouring and cocktail base at Frontera Bar & Grill in Jaya One.

The last time i was at this Tex-Mex joint, i got blasted (tx to Kenny Sia) on some crazy Mexican chili called habanero, and tequila of course.

Ramesh of Frontera introduces us to the first of two Tres Generaciones, the Reposado (which means it’s aged between two months and a year). This one did four months in American oak. Obviously it’s 100% agave.

Reposado

The bottle is cool, like some ol skool Aztec shit. Funny, i just talked about the Aztecs in a recent post.

It has a citrusy nose, while very easy on the palette. You can swirl it around your mouth without any facial reaction then swallow. It’s got a smooth, and a lil spicy finish. No salt or lime necessary of course.

Yup, a tequila that can be sipped. But as it’s the super premium range of Sauza, expect to pay 50 bucks a shot.

The other one is the Anejo (meaning aged minimum of one year, but less than three years).

Style

The Anejo has a caramel tinge, but is less sweet and spicier. This one did 12 months in toasted American oak.

Frontera makes all its margarita from Sauza gold (which is 100% agave tequila), so u can be sure its good shit. And, rather than regular sugar syrup, the cocktail is sweetened with imported agave nectar. It tastes like herbally honey. Awesome flavour. Almost like a Ricola! Haha

And the margaritas are made with fresh lime juice. No cordial crap. A pitcher is 110++ (7.5 shots of Sauza).

Special

Frontera has the $50 for 3 deal for Guinness etc all day. Happy hours is 5-9pm, where margaritas are 2+1.

There are a total of 11 different tequila here (including Patron), besides a wide range of Mexican food. The nachos platter kicks ass.

Brain damage: 7.5/10

Nice

The Porsche Design Studio, created in 1972 by Dr FA Porsche (whose cool granddad designed my cool car), has collaborated with JW to produce the ‘Blue Label Collection by Porsche Design Studio’ – four fancy collector’s items, including a luxurious ‘mini’ bar.

Chillin with the Chiller

The design classics from the Collection are the Cube, the Mini Cube and Chiller. All three follow the blend of beauty and functionality epitomized by The Private Bar, fusing the classic and the modern through luxurious leather and brushed metals.

The Mini Cube

They’re priced from $860 for the Chiller, which i think is real cool and a good deal. The bottle’s case opens up to double as an ice bucket!

The Cube

The Private Bar? It’s this eight-foot tall bar in a vertical cube. Hit a button, and the cube’s top rotates automatically and opens up to reveal a luxurious bar, with a couple of Blue Label bottles, four glasses and an ice bucket, ready to rock. An alcohol Robocop.

The tall, robotic bar, aka Porsche Design Studio Collection Private Bar

It’s crafted from the finest materials, including luxurious leather and brushed titanium. Also has a chiller built-in.

Strictly for Blue Label

If you get order one, JW will throw in an ultimate Blue Label luxury experience in Scotland giving you access to the secrets behind the Walker family’s blending crafts and some of Porsche’s most powerful cars.

But at 500 grand apiece, you better be a multi-millionaire eh?

Sudah mari

It’s been available since Nov last year at duty-free, and was meant to be exclusive to that segment, but not anymore.

Should be enough for our table

“Overwhelming demand dictated that it should be introduced to a wider audience but still as a limited edition targeting key gifting occasions,” says Charles Wright, JW brand manager.

Charles, a major fan of the DB

It uses whiskies from Scotland’s west coast, thus making it peatier, smokier and more intense. I enjoy it with water. Anyway i reviewed it a few months back here.

The bottle is nice – shape-wise, the same at the Black Label, with a charcoal tint. Labelling is a lil different. ABV is unchanged at 40%.

We also enjoyed a guided tasting session

U can get your thirsty throats satisfied with this award-winner at Cold  Storage, Jusco, Sunshine and other retailers. Recommended retail price is about $209.

U want it, get it, coz it’s estimated to run locally until CNY 2012.

Yea, the chilled event at a chilled day-drinking spot is blessing us again. The last event was in April.

Kick-off remains at the excellent time of 2.30pm.

I might go heavy Saturday nite, so really hope i’ll make it to Bakita this Sunday. The last two Thirsty Sundays were pretty solid.

The cover is $25, but u get coupons worth $25. How nice.

Lagers and ales are $5 and $10 per cup, and there be grub.

My Sundays have been getting nice ‘n nasty recently.

Chillin

This is a bar modeled after a speakeasy – which is an establishment that illegally sells alcohol.

Cigars? Cigarettes?

Speakeasies flourished during Prohibition in the US, between 1920 and 1933, when alcohol was illegal in the US.

Whose stupid idea was dat??

Obviously the policy failed. And created mobsters, like Al Capone.

Luv d special bulbs over d bar

Anyway, Tate is cozy, dim and intimate, so i reckon it fulfills some criteria.

Patrón-based margaritas goin out

It’s also impossible to find da joint, unless you’ve been tipped off.

Where's da party, dammit?!

After a few drinks, boyz got experimental with the knight

Brain damage: 7.5/10