Irtiza and I went to Sunway Lagoon last 29th December; the same day when we went toy-crazy and dropped by at the Mattel Clearance Sale at SSTwo Mall. The journey was due to one solid reason; 4 redemption vouchers to watch the Beauty & the Beast: The Musical that I got from the Hitz Cruisers last 12th December.
The redemption vouchers
I nearly missed the fine print on the vouchers; they need to
be exchanged with real tickets at the Sunway Lagoon counter. As the 31st
was the last day of the month-long performance, I chose the next day (the 30th)…in
order to avoid things like New Year-related traffic jams, satanic cults, and drivers
who opt to disagree with the ‘Don’t drink and drive’ motto (Actually, the last
two should belong in the same category).
The Sunway Lagoon
A big bird
The redeemed tickets
The next day, after fetching wifey at her workplace, we went
straight to the Sunway Pyramid. The visit was a great deal for me, as for years
we kept making cancelled plans to go to the shopping complex, especially during
Christmas seasons, when the building was filled with beautiful trees, plastic /
stuffed winter animals, and politically-correct depiction of Santa Clauses.
The first 10 minutes in the Sunway Pyramid gave a sense of
what’s familiar and what’s new. A lot of the Egyptian statues were gone now, and
replaced with modern decorations. But what remained the same was the
ice-skating rink. It was once a dreamy, memorable place…where I dreamt of
becoming a professional skater, while singing to Robbie Williams’ She’s the One,
and make noble sacrifices.
"...if there's somebody...calling me on...she's the one..."
The Amphitheatre from afar (the one below the high-rise building at the right side)
After identifying the location of the Amphitheatre from
afar, we went to search for food. After avoiding restaurants that may end up
using our money to cater missile-buying, illegal occupations and stuffs, we
finally chose Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen.
Hmmm....let me see...
My first encounter of the chain goes back to the year 2008;
the time when a branch was made available at TTDI, and Starbucks’ only
jurisdiction was from within the four walls of a shopping complex. The first
memories of the menus were mostly the salty muffins / cookies, and the fried seafood.
Then, over the years, it seemed that they made recipe modifications to suit the
local taste buds…and it was indeed a profitable business move.
This somehow reminds me of 'True Blood'
What we had that day at Popeye’s was a delish. I ordered the
Seafood Meal, while both Irtiza and wifey had Popeyes Bonafide Chicken set
each. The fried chicken was tasty, but it seems that nothing can challenge the Colonel’s
secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices. The fish was soft, moist, and enjoyably
tasty. The mashed potato was a little bit chunky, but it was tasty nonetheless.
A pic before dinner
My Seafood Meal
The Popeye's Bonafide Chicken set
Eating in motion
Seriously, this really reminds me of 'True Blood :O
After dining and etc, we went to the Surf Beach entrance, and
did a lot descending actions using the escalators to the Amphitheatre. We were
surprised to see a big crowd in front of an entrance to the venue. We were
surprised still that we were given free train rides to reach the place. The
train ride was brief, but it was an enjoyable one (I think I left my gut at the
first train station, when it sped maniacally like the 90’s KL Mini Busses).
The Surf Beach Entrance
One of many escalators, and the big crowd
Expecting to see Dumbledore on board
We finally reached the Amphitheatre, with people filling-up
1/3 of the seats. It was a very big place, no walls, but with a very big
canopy-like roof on top. There were very big, rotating fans at the ceiling…and
at that time, I kinda regretted watching the Final Destination installments
(Hollywood damaged me good).
Tadaa...it's the Amphitheatre!
A pic before the show
Irtiza was bored. Thus, he experimented.
A RM90-worth of ticket seat for the pillow, bag and stroller. Yes, I'm that rich.
The show was almost punctual when they started…which goes to
show that only Malaysians follow the Malaysian time. The setting was a
combination of simplicity and extravagance. But what captured me the most was
the spectacular singing voice of the characters; mainly those of Bella, the
Good Witch, and the Evil Witch.
I love it when they did the interactive sessions with the
audience…it was creative and entertaining. I love it when Gaston argued funnily
with the crowd, and ended the argument by saying “No Lah”. The addition of
popular songs in the performance like the Gangnam Style and Born This Way was a
fresh approach to facilitate the storytelling.
The Evil Witch was a great and brave acrobat. There was a
surprising scene when the Evil Witch ‘flew’ from the top of the amphitheatre to
the stage with her broomstick (with the help of a little magic called the ‘Flying
Fox’ of course).
Even when the tale was over, the performance team did a
little bit of the ‘Christmas spirit’ performance, with the unexpected ‘falling snow’
for those who were patient enough to wait till the very end of the show.
Expensive much?
The journey back was a tiring one, as the entire crowd travelled
back to the Surf Beach entrance on foot. We suffered a few aches or more from
that. But the night was a memorable and beautiful experience. It was the first
musical that we watched as a family…and hopefully, there will be more to come
in the future :)
A tiny little video that I did of the day. Enjoy :)
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