Kuala Lumpur: High Tea and Teeth

Nails painted

Fancy Chinese New Year dresses and suits worn

Serious diners worthy of being allowed into the Mandarin Oriental Hotel for high tea.

Chinese New Year Mandarin oranges given to us by the Mandarin Oriental.

Clotted cream for scones, BABY!

But, even better for the Moms - excellent CHAMPAGNE!!!

All under the tall Petronas towers

Fancy dressup for our 2nd high tea!

Damn, Griffin looks good, and he knows it!

Note to Patrick: She is STILL wearing the pink cowboy boots you got her.
Even in sweltering, sweaty, nasty intense heat.

Meg the turtle researcher extraordinaire, Mike, and fam

Mandarin Oriental High Tea

The kids actually sat and chatted

Abraham, drawing Komodo Dragons with Meg, entranced by her magical abilities with kids

Tooth lost at the Third, Mom-Alice High Tea

February, 2011

Three High Teas in one month. First, Rebecca was dying for a high tea before she left. So, on her last day, she and Hunter took us out for Chinese New Year high tea at the Mandarin Oriental hotel, just under the Petronas Towers and an easy walk from our apartment. We had to paint the girls' nails and work on their matching hair-dos before coming. Then, we noshed on all the exotic Chinese items over high tea, not your typical high tea -- including a mushroom-chicken-filled Rabbit-shaped dim sum, with little red eyes. Of course, the kids only ate the scones with clotted cream, despite all the exotica in front of them.

Rebecca introduced me to a new, rich tea, and the kids had a near-spicy tea they loved with lots of ginger, lemongrass, and verbena. They learned to sit with a napkin across their laps, daintily dipping biscotti into their honey-filled teas. Of course, my favorite moment was when Becca ordered us champagne and we sat on the roof overlooking KL, with our kids drawing pictures next to us, reminiscing over our time in KL together, feeling more bonded than ever, so happy Becca got to know and picture one of the most salient years of our lives.

And, we went back for more! We took Meg there for her birthday, along with her friend Mike, both Fulbright student scholars doing fascinating work. Meg completely charmed my kids, once again, with her magic touch with kids. Click HERE for a video of our high tea with Meg and Mike.

Alice and I returned for a Mommy-Alice-only high tea a week later. Alice spent most of our tea intensely focused on her loose tooth. It didn't stop her from stuffing scones down her throat, but by the end of the tea -- Voila! I yanked the tooth easily out. But, we didn't forsee all the blood. Yes, at the fancy Mandarin hotel. But, that's their job, it turns out, to smooth over bloody messes with finesse. Alice may have bloodied up their starched napkins, but she was cleaned up quickly, fawned over, much fanfare was made over her tooth, and she left with a clean tooth wrapped up like a nugget of gold.

Kuala Lumpur: American Association of Malaysia Ball

February 28, 2011

Ken and I were invited to join friends in a table at the American Association Ball. While we had fun drinking, dancing, and eating with the largely American crowd filled with embassy, oil, and teaching types, I may have had just as much fun shopping with Alice for my fancy dress and shoes. And, Ken got to shop for local formal wear which is a batik shirt. He didn't giggle in giddiness as Alice and I did as we shopped.

I wish you could have seen a video of the Muslim Malaysian women at the ball gown store trying to non-verbally explain to me where I needed a strapless push-up bra for my dress. Are you surprised my dress had batik-ed butterflies covered in sequins when Alice shopped with me? And, then we went to Jimmy Choos. Yes ladies (and Brendan!) Malaysia has Jimmy Choos which I dared not enter in the U.S. But, here I strode in with Alice and stared at the outrageously beautiful and priced shoes. The gay, tight-suit-fitted Chinese Malaysian staff awkwardly broke it to me that no Jimmy Choo store in Asia has shoes that fit my BIG American feet. However, they do have a SECRET CLOSET (!!!) with previous collections at a FAT DISCOUNT with many shoes in my size.

Oh my god. Alice and I sat down and spread the shoes in my size out carefully. And, she immediately honed in on the fanciest satin pair, laden in sparkly sequins wrapped all around my feet. While I hobbled on my walk home at the end of the night, I happily cringed in pain while picking up the long trail of my dress.