Karaoke Finds A Home...

Karaoke diehards of The Royal Lake Club of Kuala Lumpur finally got a dedicated lounge to call their own last night - thanks to years of ceaseless pleadings, cajolings, petitions as well as well-timed indignant outbursts [read berating the sitting Board at AGMs to make them feel guilty .... :-)]

The lounge is located at the old building, taking part of the space of erstwhile Bunga Raya Chinese restaurant which has been shifted to the main lobby for easier accessibility due to high traffic.

The one-time restaurant is now home to the club gymnasium, aerobics room and karaoke lounge (with two private rooms attached).

We gave the spanking new AV system a go last night. Everyone agreed it needed a bit of fine-tuning.  

Frankly, the old system at the theatrette has more 'ooomph'. Hope they'll do the needful pronto since the place is operational as of today.

Operation has been extended to six days a week (closed Mondays) as opposed to the previous three. There is a full-time DJ now, with a stand-in whenever required.

Another bit of cheerful news is that F&B service is now available within the lounge, eliminating the need to bring our own bottled drinks (food was strictly off-limits in the theatrette). 

A waiter is on hand during operation hours while drinks and finger foods can be ordered from the Poolside Terrace cafe and Tokyu Tengu Japanese restaurant next door.

Best of all, there's a new lift installed especially for karaoke patrons, in particular the senior citizens.

Heck, almost all of us diehards are SCs! I certainly find climbing up the many flights of stairs taxing on my wonky knees.

The lift is located on the ground floor facing the mini fountain underneath the staircase leading up to the swimming pool.

Finally having a place to call 'home' no doubt soothes the frayed nerves of long-suffering Lake Club karaoke fans.

They had suffered the indignity of being shunted from place to place within the club for umpteenth years, with all kinds of lame excuses ranging from no space to no budget to no priority..

The lounge's new system is fully computerised and song selection is up-to-date. However, members can still bring their own discs (but originals only, to avoid future legal entanglements re copyright issue).

Some 50 members, mostly karaoke regulars, turned up for the official opening last night by Club President, Dato Ir A. Sani Karim. Due to space constraint, the organisers were unable to invite more.

General Committee members too were there in full force. Thank you guys for the support..

Dato' President chipping at the ice block to reveal (and subsequently sign) the plaque. 

A mean crooner himself, Dato' Sani started the ball rolling with perennial favourite "My Way."

Yours truly staking a claim on the limited number of chairs.. 

There's a grinning Leona with the V sign..  

Charges (for the private rooms) are pretty reasonable. Lounge singing, as before, is FoC (i.e. no cover charge) but is strictly for members, while the private rooms are for both members and their guests...

All things considered, we are pleased our pressuring efforts have finally borne fruit...