8GCC Annual Dinner 2011 at Saloma Bistro

Time flies when you're having fun - and even when you're drowning in a sea of endless work. At least while I'm still in the first quarter of 2011, here's a short post about the recent annual dinner of the 8th Generation Civic Club (or 8GCC for short), held at the Saloma Bistro in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

A short recap of 8GCC's previous annual dinners:-

• 1st Annual Dinner - 23 Jun 2007 - The Ivy, Asian Heritage Row
• 2nd Annual Dinner - 11 Oct 2008 - Republic, Sunway Pyramid
• 3rd Annual Dinner - 31 Oct 2009 - Rama V (Fine Thai Dining Cuisine)
• 4th Annual Dinner - 8 Jan 2011 - Saloma Bistro, Kuala Lumpur

Well, it looks like 2010 was a busy year for all of us, as the 4th *annual* dinner actually took place in 2011. Looks like there should be one more dinner later this year, as theoretically 2011 should be the year for the 5th annual dinner.

Now, anyone who has driven in KL would know that GPS assistance would be minimal, due to the tight and twisted network of roads that permeated our capital city. Besides, with detours as a result of ongoing construction projects, as well as the SMART tunnel (which goes underground, essentially cutting off the satellite signal) could have proven challenging in the worst case scenario.

Fortunately, I did not travel alone - as I joined Bro Fendi (Afryna) and Osman. Together, our three-car convoy made it right on time at the Saloma Bistro, at the heart of the city.

Looking around, besides the fact that there were probably around 80 to 100 Honda Civics, the KL tower and Petronas twin towers were visible, not far away from our location.

There were a few familiar faces and old acquaintences, like Bro Kenneth (Netken), Phyrus, Mike (former club president) and White Wizard. Finally met up with Bro Estima too. Unfortunately, this year, I did not manage to catch up with Desmond and Leon, though.

As you can imagine, a buffet-style dinner for such a huge crowd resulted in a long, long line of hungry people. But then, there was probably no better way to serve so many people and still offer a variety of food, while keeping the price (due to service charges) down.

No 8GCC event would be complete without the usual *auto show*, which this time round was divided into Type-R and Non-Type-R categories. Just looking at some of these cars, it's amazing to note the extent of which some people will go to in modifying and customizing their rides. Though there was not really much variation among the cars (after all, a FD1 looks like an FD2, and worse still, practically all Type-R's were white), there were some, like the owner of the "Ayumi" Civic, who went beyond the typical civic modder.

We arrived fairly early - with plenty of light, it was easy to capture the details on some of the rides on display. As night falls, the cars did not fade into darkness, as on came the neon lights and LED, which transformed the parking lot into a light-and-sound show!

And of course, there were 4 hired models (in red and white attire, not to be confused with the rest of the participants) to help complete the night (what would a full-fledged car event be without models?).

Well, after the dinner, since my two convoy-mates weren't staying the night in KL, the three of us headed back home (Melaka was just ~2 hours away). Even at that late hour, KL traffic was still bustling, but once we hit the Sungai Besi toll plaza, it was smooth all the way home.

It was another successful event pulled off by the 8GCC committee (mostly those from the Central Region, who found it most convenient logistically). Though my old-time / core Melaka team were no longer by my side (Takashi, Hanne, Nick, Ah Wei and Kenjiez), I felt happy to still be a part of 8GCC culture....

More photos HERE