Leading the wild into the ways of the man…
Elvinna and Robyn have just submitted their resignation letters and
left Huygens Asia today to pursue their careers elsewhere. I’ve been
close to the two and while it’s sad to see them go, I wish them all the
best in their next job. Keep in touch! Much love, it’s been a privilege
to work with you guys. 🙂
Shag cigarettes is a specialty, limited distribution cigarette brand
based in the EU. It is not currently available outside of the UK, Spain
(Ibiza), Gibraltar, and South Ireland. The major distribution channels
for Shag cigarettes is the UK and I happened to stumble upon the Shag cigarette website
[shagcigarettes.com] one day and loved the advertisement campaign, so I
got Jasmine to get a carton for me before she came back.
I received the Shag cigarettes yesterday and was mildly surprised
that it made it through customs, since it does not have the requisite
watermark indicating local or duty free cigarettes. I was also more
than mildly surprised that the package was not…intercepted, shall we say; by some postal worker for their personal use since cigarettes is a valuable commodity. 😉
Here’s a look at the back of the pack of Shag cigarettes. The color
scheme of Shag cigarettes is black and there’s also a warning label on
the back of the cigarette which is about the same size as the one in
front. The whole Shag cigarette pack looks sleek and they do get
attention when you put it in your front pocket, as I’ve noticed.
There is a sign in the middle of the back of the box that has the
Shag logo and their official website. This is a very niche tobacco
product, and I was pleased that Jasmine managed to get a hold of these
and send me a Shag, as it were, as I’ve been interested in collecting
these hard-to-get cigarettes.
The top of the box is adorned by a UK Duty Paid stamp and lettering
that says “Made in the EU under the authority of Shag Tobacco Company
Ltd.”.
The side of the flip-top box has a sign indicating that Shag Cigarettes are “For Adult Use Only”, which I found to be funny.
It’s nowhere near as funny as the huge “Smoking seriously harms you
and the others around you” warning label on the front though.
Seriously? Well, no shit, Sherlock. 😉
The bottom side of the pack lists the active contents of Shag
cigarettes as having 8 mg tar, 0.6 mg nicotine and 9 mg carbon dioxide.
That’s a very low figure for a full flavored cigarette compared to
Malaysian standards which is 20 mg tar and 1.5 mg nicotine, more than
double the amount of these cigarettes.
The other side of the pack is lettered with “These cigarettes have
been manufactured from the finest quality tobaccos to give a rich,
smooth and satisfying taste”.
Opening up the pack, I found the usual foil that has the familiar “Pull” sign on it.
However, I was surprised to find some sort of script on the inside of the flip top box.
The text says “These cigarettes should reach you in perfect
condition. If you have any problem with this product please visit our
website at; www.shagcigarettes.com”. Interesting indeed…
Shag cigarettes have the “Shag” logo printed on them. I have smoked
these cigarettes yesterday and today and found them to be comparable to
Mild Seven Lights. It’s admittedly weak; this is not the “first
cigarette of the day” type of cigarette. It’s not strong enough for
that. It’s good for a fun smoke and the novelty value though. 🙂
However, I can appreciate the marketing efforts of Shag Tobacco
Company Ltd in target marketing this brand of cigarettes towards a
certain niche market that’s willing to spend for novelty value.
Care for a Shag, anyone? 😉
I just received a package from Jasmine. Guess what’s in it?
A telephone?
Nope. One carton of Shag cigarettes (in singles due to packaging
difficulties), only available from the EU. Full review tomorrow! 🙂
Thanks, Jasmine [blogspot.com]!
I went for some Kenny’s muffins just now and saw this sign. I dropped my card in. Let’s see if it gets me lunch. 😉
Sarawak Club is one of those exclusive “members only” pretentious
clubs for the people who can afford the expensive membership fees. It’s
been around since the Brooke era (circa 1876) and only members can
invite guests to go into the club.
The place still has its Christmas decorations up…and there’s the
lounge where non-members are supposed wait to be invited in by a
Sarawak Club member.
Hornbill Restaurant is the place that we went for the business lunch just now.
The restaurant is decorated in typical Chinese restaurant settings,
with a little opulence thrown in. The restaurant only had two other
tables besides us – a Caucasian couple and a group of three Tai-Tai’s,
you know, typical club member types. 😉
It seems so prim and proper, right down to the “Sarawak Club”
wrapped chopsticks and all the linen and everything that one is afraid
to sneeze for fear of being impolite.
The food we had probably cost a lot but we didn’t pay for it – it
was a treat from another company. There was seafood soup, wonderful
herbed sweet and sour prawns, this amazing concoction of fresh, cold
tofu sliced like bread and topped with a sweet sauce and diced century
eggs under a bed of lettuce, beef slices with vegetables, loads of
steamed fish and dessert.
Why are the photos taken by my digicam? Why aren’t there more photos?
Coz it seems that taking photos during a serious business lunch is
grossly inappropriate. Heck, I had to tuck in my shirt before I went in
due to the strict dress policy. Pfftttt…
Dunhill is producing elegantly designed limited edition packs for
its 40th anniversary. The interesting twist about this is that it
retails for 50 cents less than the usual price. The limited edition “40
Years of Dunhill” packs goes for a special price for RM 6.00 instead of
the usual RM 6.50.
These limited run packs to commemorate Dunhill’s 40th year of
production in Malaysia features a well-designed and stylish pack, a
nice aesthetic change from the usual bland Dunhill packs. There is the
familiar Dunhill crest spanning part of the front of the pack…
…continuing through the side…
…and ending at the back of the Dunhill 40th anniversary back. It’s very artistically done.
The back of the pack is also different from the usual Dunhill packs.
There is a script in the bottom left corner that inscribes the 40th anniversary of Dunhill text and the accompanying signature.
The same “40 Years of Dunhill” celebratory message is also imprinted on the top…
…and the bottom of the pack.
I proceeded to take off the wrap (the flip-top box also has a 40 Years of Dunhill text) and was surprised to find…
…this beautiful foil which features and intricate design with the red and golf motif! I started to pull at the “foil”…
…which disappointingly reveals that it’s a card insert.
The front of the card details this limited edition run as a “only
while stocks lasts” item to commemorate 40 years of causing cancer and
heart disease to Malaysians. 😉
The back of the card states the same thing in three different languages, just to rub it in.
Unwrapping the normal foil reveals that the cigarettes are the same as the Dunhill ones, the changes are just aesthetic.
The cigarettes are no different from the usual ones but this 40th
anniversary limited edition Dunhill packs is going to sell fast for one
simple reason:
It’s 50 cents cheaper to celebrate 40 years of causing cancer and
coronary problems to Malaysians. It goes for RM 6.00 instead of RM
6.50. Grab it while stocks last!
Dunhill – 40 years of providing cancer. 😉
I was told about this event at Civic Center on Christmas Eve – I
wasn’t sure what it was (didn’t ask) but I thought, wtf, two of my
close friends from high school are going, and they will just be in
Kuching until Sunday.
Little did I know the horrors that will await me there…it…pains me…to recollect the torture I was forced to endure…
I was so shaken by the nature of this event, this Church Christmas dinner
that Diana had to fill my plate while I was still recovering from the
terrifying choir-dressed-as-angels-complete-with-halo hymn assault. It
was not what I expected…either I was already tripping, or this is a
real Christian church organized dinner. I had a dreadful feeling it was
the latter.
My suspicions were confirmed when the pastor asked the congregation
to rise for a prayer. “I trust no alcohol is going to be served with
dinner?”, I whispered to Diana. Rhetorical question. “Sorry”, she said,
flashing a smile. Ting Chuan quipped, “I would have faked a stomachache
and stayed at home if I knew it was going to be like this” from my
other side. Amen, brother! 😉
The dishes kept coming out amidst choir refrains, a rendition of the
birth of the greatest politician the world has ever seen in more than
two millennia, and sermons. And lots of prayer sessions, naturally.
I had to seek refuge from all this, so me and Loon went out to talk about stuff. I got to know him several years
ago and haven’t seen him since. I nearly couldn’t recognize him coz he
cropped his long hair short. I found out that during that time period,
it turns out that we now share the same interests. We found out that we
have mutual contacts too, it’s a wonder I didn’t bump into him before
since he also works in Kuching.
This is the chicken dish. I know, the tablecloth does not look very
presentable at this point, but you should have seen it later during the
night, when Ting Chuan spilled my drink across the table and overturned
the chili saucer. Heh! That reminded me of the Winnie Ha jellyfish
incident, OMG that was so funny. Still remember that, mate? Always
cracks me up when I think about it. 🙂
My friends were kind enough to keep some food for me during the long sojourns to the toilets…
…and the last dish was served out.
…followed by a door gift. To be honest, it wasn’t that bad, since
our table is seated with mutual acquaintances of about the same age.
It’s great to meet up with everyone again. It’s been at least a year
since I last saw my friends.
This is Daphne and Loon. Daphne is Diana’s sister, which is how I got
to know her back in high school and Loon has been with Daphne for six
(!) years.
L-R: Ting Chuan, Huai Bin (me), Diana
Now, this is the three of us – much love, yo. They probably know more
about my *cough* indiscretions *cough* combined than any other people.
I probably should get them killed lest they blackmail me. 😉
Kidding…love you guys.
Ting Chuan is one of my best buddies…I’ve known him since primary school.
Diana is one of my ex gfs and probably my closest female friend. Thanks
for all the concern and support about my dependency. That goes out to
everyone out there!
Jesus, where is all this coming from? Could it be something I took? 😉
Babaganoush restaurant is a place that’s famous for serving Peranakan food, although its name is derived from Baba Ganoush,
a middle-eastern dish. It’s eggplant puree, basically. I’m puzzled as
to why this particular establishment chooses to call itself after a
middle-eastern dish, but I decided not to lose any sleep about it and
just get down to eating.
The interior of Babaganoush has a distinctive Baba and Nyonya (or
Peranakan, if you will) motif to it with the traditional Malay-Chinese
fusion of cultures…
There’s a nice period cabinet made of wood…
…and the best thing about this place is the wash basin area, which is decorated to look like a wooden hut. Nice!
I ordered Baba Cincao Kalamansi (RM 2.00)
for the drink. It’s very unique, I haven’t had a cincao (black jelly)
drink served this way before. The drink has a tart and sour bite to it,
which is surprisingly refreshing.
The appetizer we ordered is Chicken Hgoh Hiang
(RM 4.50). It’s described as “minced chicken with mushroom wrap in bean
curd skin”. We also detected prawns and hints of chestnut in this dish.
I was told that it’s not usually served so decoratively, it’s
speculated that the chef saw me taking photos, so the presentation was
given a higher priority.
The main dish that I had is the recommended Oat Chicken
(RM 5.50). The menu description says its “sliced chicken meat stir
fried with curry leaves, chili and oats”. It comes with rice.
I have to say that I was very impressed with this dish. The
oats were very generous and it provided a sweet and coarse texture to
the dish. The chili complimented everything well, lending a bite of
spiciness to it. The baked oats smells delicious and this is one dish
you don’t want to miss. Highly recommended!
Babaganoush does not seem like a pure Peranakan food establishment,
but they have unique fusion food on their menu. I would go for the Oat
Chicken again, it’s great!
There’s this thing about two of our office lines – one of them
apparently belonged to a pharmacy before and the other one to a
supermarket. Usually, we just tell them it’s the wrong number and that
is that.
Well, today one of them called to the line that used to belong to
the supermarket. Penny answered it the first time and said they had the
wrong number. It rang again two seconds later (the guy probably thought
he misdialed) and I decided to pick it up.
Now, the thing is, I didn’t know whether this was the previous guy
who thought he had the supermarket or a caller to our company. It was
50/50 either way. But I thought, what the heck, we’re in a holiday
mood, let’s have a bit of fun. 😉
I picked the phone up…and I said:
Me: Hello, (*beep*) Supermarket.
Caller: Hello. Is this the supermarket?
Me: Yes, it is. How can I be of service?
(My coworkers were all laughing in the front office)
Caller: I’m looking for a turkey, does your supermarket carry them.
Me: Yes, we carry 2 kg turkeys, all frozen.
(The laughter gets louder at this point, now this is just egging me on ;))
Caller: Hmm…2 kg is a little too small. Don’t you have any larger ones? Like 5 kg turkeys?
Me: Unfortunately, we only have 2 kg frozen turkeys at this time…but we can order a 5 kg frozen turkey for you by 12 o clock.
Caller: That’s a little late for a frozen turkey…
Me: Not to worry, we can thaw it out and have it ready by 12 o clock for you. Can you leave your name and number please?
(This is the coup de grace – everyone was laughing so hard and I’m barely able to suppress the laughter that’s bursting out from me at this point)
Caller: My name is Mr. Mo. My number is xxxxxx.
Me: Thank you for shopping with us. We’ll get your turkey ready by then Mr. Mo.
I quickly hanged up before I succumbed to all that pent up laughter…it was unbearable! 🙂
We need a 5 kg thawed turkey ready for Mr. Mo by 12 pm…except, he thought he ordered with the supermarket. Haha!
Mr. Mo! I’m sorry for the prank. I couldn’t help it. It was just too funny. Hahaha!
Merry Christmas everyone! 🙂
I just received a Christmas card from my girlfriend.
It’s one of the ones that plays a tune when the circuit is completed, er…I mean, when the card is opened. It flashes and muzak starts playing. Thanks Louisa!
I also got a bundle from one of my coworkers. His girlfriend wrapped the intricate ribbon tied package.
It contains various sweets. Cheers Jordan!
I don’t really celebrate Christmas (unless you count partying as
celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, Son of Man, King of Jews, etc
etc) though. I’m more looking forward to Chinese New Year, I just
booked my tickets today, on a waiting list for the 6th of February.
