March was my birthday month. Yes, every day was a celebration except for 1^st March. That was sister number 2’s birthday. I let her have that day.😊

My idea of celebration almost always involves desserts of some form or other. Chocolates, cakes, ice-cream, and chocolate-coated biscuits. The thing is I eat them all-year round. There is no shortage of sweet things in the fridge as I get given and/or buy them myself. And yet, I remind and announce to my two closest at-home target audience, my husband and mum, that there will be loads of desserts and treats in March.

I always make a song and dance about my birthday. I like birthdays. Mine and others. This year I decided to have a birthday month. Yes, I know people who are not really into birthdays. For them, it’s just another day. For me, it’s a bit of excitement, anticipation, and reason to try out huge amounts of chocolaty, creamy, buttery, and sugary goodness. Plus, it’s a timely excuse to try and make each day a little different. And, feel a little special.

As part of the celebratory process, my husband and I discovered a few new restaurants and cafes that serve delicious desserts and tasty real food. My husband doesn’t mind the ‘gooey goodness’ so long as he can have a savoury pastry and/or actual food at some point while we are out. Instead of going to the same old, same old places (we still do, they are still nice and we still like them), there was a genuine effort to not take the easy options and actually try new things. It felt carefree and adventurous. Like being on a holiday. Away from the same-same.

We even walked more, and found new routes to take. We drove out to places we sort of stopped going to or had forgotten to visit in a while. We ventured outside KL by train via the LRT and MRT. The latter is new, clean and best of all, convenient. Living in the city centre has its ups and downs. The ups are everything is within walking distance including the train stations. There are five big shopping centres near us. They are the LINC, Intermark Mall, Suria KLCC, Avenue K and Pavilion. Restaurants, cafes, and food trucks are everywhere. Ample choices. Easy access.

The downs are the city is a heat-retaining concrete jungle, too many people and unending traffic jams. Plus, we tend to lazily and conveniently veer towards the plentiful choices at our doorstep. This is true. Some days, I feel there’s a little less ‘get up and go in me’ and more ‘got up and went already.’  The solution? My husband and I agreed to give each other a nudge and pick-me-up when the other thinks, acts and talks old. It works most of the time. And, it did in March, mostly.

This is not a review but we had fun trying out, amongst the many places we visited, Kenny Hills Bakers, Café Kitsune, Dip n Dip and Bubu Kobo. The desserts and meals were delightful. The deco/layout, location, and uniqueness were inviting. These made the dining/eating out experience memorable and in some instances, return-worthy. The outlets were just names on a Google search. I didn’t know anything about them apart from the fact that they served desserts that looked rather yum.

Of the lot, my now favourite is Kenny Hills Bakers at the TRX Exchange. The deco comprised glass frontage, high ceiling, open kitchen, and alfresco sitting. Located on the park level, it offers seriously magnificent views of the TRX tower and surroundings. A big draw for me.

Café Kitsune was another interesting find. We didn’t know it was a boutique café/restaurant. There were clothes as well as cups and key rings on sale. We also didn’t know it was French-Japanese inspired, and that Kitsune meant fox. It became half apparent when we saw the image of a fox drawn on my husband’s café latte.

I like the cutesy name, Bubu Kobo. It’s not an ice-cream although it’s served in an ice-cream cone. It’s actually a Japanese Mont Blanc. Hmm. Think mountain. Think layered ice-cream cone. From the bottom up the filling was made up of ‘kuri’ or chestnut pastry/puree, sponge cake, butter cookies, almond flakes, vanilla gelato, and spaghetti-like chestnut pastry/puree and rose gold flakes.

All last month, my husband and I managed to introduce variety into our day-to-day lives. We tried and did not-similar things. We went outside our comfort zones. And, most importantly, we manoeuvred our gallivants so that I was present to care for my mum when Kalyani, the caregiver, was not. It’s not easy, always being on the clock. Watching the clock. And, knowing I have to metaphorically clock in every day, 12×7. But, we did it.

It was a happy birthday month.