So last night, 7th April 2017, 29 LGs (and some of our kids) met up in Cyberjaya for the first ever #LocalGuides Meet-up in Malaysia’s tech capital.
Big thanks to Cyberview Sdn Bhd for supporting and sponsoring our humble meet-up. With their help, all of us got to go to all these restaurants and cafes and fill up on all the goodies for FREE! In the words of one senior LG: “Who doesn’t love FREE FOOD?”
We kicked things off at precisely 8pm at the impressively cool Cyberview co-working space/smart city accelerator called #Coinnov8. Their big boss Managing Director Datuk Faris Yahaya was there to greet us and officiate the proceedings.
After the short briefing and a quick ice breaker (LG Bingo!), we boarded the bus for our first destination, Nasi Kak Wok Cyberjaya for some authentic Kelantanese food. I asked them to prepare quarter portions, but even then we were getting stuffed. And this was the first stop! They were so kind to reserve the ENTIRE RESTAURANT just for us. Aren’t we special? Most of the LGs have never met each other before, but that didn’t stop us from making a bona-fide riot. Since it was a private party, why not?
After helping to clean up (LGs are such a polite and helpful bunch :p), we got on the bus again for a bit of a different scene. How does a Five Star Resort sound? The Cyberview Lodge Resort and Spa was the first building ever built in this city, and we were heading to their awesome Xing Zhu Chinese Restaurant. When we reached the Resort, affectionately know as CVL by the locals, we were greeted by a line of senior staff of the hotel, led by Mr Fawzi, Director of F&B. Talk about being treated like royalty! As @Shirni said “This is a real VIP meet-up!”. A short walk through their manicured lawn, we arrived at the posh Xing Zhu, where they had a massive buffet of Dim Sum spread out for us. Heavenly! All you can eat Siew Mai, Carrot Cake, Wontan, Dumplings, Chee Chong Fun, Fried Rice… and lots, lots more. I had to keep reminding the group (and myself) that this is only the second stop, and we have many more places to explore on the Food Crawl.
The Executive Chef made an appearance, and said that what he prepared for us was just “…the tip of the iceberg”. Oh man! Be still my beating heart! We tried to dial down the laughter and noise since we were at a fine dining establishment, but that was futile. LGs may be polite and helpful, but they sure can be noisy! 
Some of us wanted to spend more time at Xing Zhu, but a Local Guides work is never done! Off we go, leaving the opulent poshness of the resort, and head into the wild unknown of hipster-central: Container Avenue.
A short ride (and sing-alongs and prize giving on the bus), and we were at Prima Avenue, where the uber-cool Container Avenue is located. Inside its confines (made of, what else… shipping containers) we were to find three more food outlets, all eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Local Guides…
First we we served really yummy and authentic cendol (a sweet concoction of shaved ice, coconut milk, palm sugar and … err… cendol) by Cendol Station. Delicioso! Terima kasih to Mr Deva for making the arrangements and waiting for us to arrive.
Then Ayers Rock Express, a specialist purveyor of high quality imported meat blew everyone’s minds with a sampling of their steaks (yes honest to goodness steaks cut in small shareable portions) and grilled chicken. Oooh lala. Big ups to owner/operator Mr Marius for having us!
Last but not least, we feasted on Mr Ong’s TK Kabin’s goodies - real hometown Pan Mee, Nasi Goreng, Mee Kari and lots of other local favourites. By this time, we were struggling to find space in our bellies, but being the true professionals that we were, we didn’t let something like feeling full from keeping us from out duty to try out all the food on offer! Eat we must, and eat we shall!!
I was looking for some wheel barrows to push some of the gang who couldn’t barely stand up. But again, our dedication to our craft (gorging) keeps us going. Its a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it. I rallied everyone around our Local Guides Banner, and we marched off to our next stop!!
We arrived at the cosy, cool and hip Drizzle, greeted by the two young and fair co-founders, Fateen and Sofia. You go girls! At this joint we were presented with their home made cakes, and unique French baked goods (Madelienes and Financiers). We also got to order whatever speaciality cofee or teas that they had. Did I mention that this was all for FREE? THANK YOU CYBERVIEW AND DRIZZLE!
I’d like to thank everyone who came and joined in the fun. The senior LGs played their part and helped out the newbies. I couldn’t have done it without them!!
You can watch the recap video here: https://goo.gl/photos/CsaqPVHfzHnrbmNg9
Thanks again everyone!! I had a blast. I hope you did too.
