Month: July 2008

Hash run @ The road in the middle of nowhere

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road to nowhere

I went to a hash run at 4 pm yesterday to get my mind off things and to do some Healthy Stuff (TM). The HHH (Hash House Harriers) are a group of hardcore runners who loves to go trailblazing based on the concept of a paper chase.

intro

It’s not the paper chase you’re familiar with and definitely not what African American rappers mean when they say “outlaws on a paper chase, can you relate” or “Cash Rules Everything Around Me, CREAM, get the money, dollar dollar bills, yo”. This is a traditional paper chase with a “hare” dropping shredded paper as a trail and the rest of us “harriers” following the trail.

To do this, you need:

trainers

Running shoes (or just trainers)

sunblock

Sunblock (which I later found out was a Bad Idea (TM))

trail

The trail goes through hilly terrain and some intimidating foliage. Steep inclines and sharp descents were not uncommon and I was told that this was one of the easier trails.

descent

It wasn’t sunny enough for the sunblock to be really necessary, and after a while, you realize why it’s a Bad Idea (TM) – the sweat dripping from your brows gets mixed with the sunblock and starts stinging your eyes.

paper trail

The group soon separated into a less orderly fashion and the paper trails was all that is left for the harriers. There were constant calls of “On On” – a HHH tradition and a sweeper at the back to collect the paper trail.

bamboo

There were bamboo trees that looked like a scene from a Chinese wu xia (martial arts) movie…

pitcher plant

…and even miniature pitcher plants!

vistas

Stunning vistas marked the end of the trail. It was indeed invigorating to go on the run. I managed to make pretty good time despite being relatively unfit.

bushed

I must admit that I was totally bushed when I got out though. Heh!

chiller

The Sibu HHH were experienced enough to bring a chiller with plenty of bottled water and isotonic drinks…

watermelon

…and watermelon!

watermelon eat

Nothing beats a cold, juice slice of watermelon after some exertion. Mmm…

sandwiches

Sandwiches were also available for those who want a bite to eat.

However, one question still bugs me though…

sibu hhh

…what happened to “The drinking club with a running problem”?

Amber fluid, amber fluid, where art thou? 😉

Former drug blogger comes clean about his past

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sixthseal

I was featured in Nicole Tan’s column of The Star today. I logged on this morning and saw the rather…dramatic, shall we say, title and and the first thought that came to my mind was not a thought per se, but rather an abbreviation – OMFG.

Word has also been going around that I’ve been dating around the office (which is totally untrue – I go out with coworkers for lunch, but I don’t have any relationships in the office). If I were any younger, my immediate reaction would be anger and disappointment rolled all into one huge boulder…

…but having mellowed out a bit, I have learnt to accept that gossip will go around, and like Chinese whispers, everything gets twisted into something nowhere even near the resemblance of truth.

[Edit: Hmm…I realize this may have been a bit of a low blow on my part. I apologize. My bad.]

Nicole, don’t worry about it, it’s not your fault. I agreed to do the interview and all credit AND blame should rest with me for the consequences that come after that.

God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change
Courage, to change the things I can
and Wisdom, to know the difference.

Payung Cafe review

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payung cafe hidden

Payung Cafe is a new eating establishment nestled in a quiet corner of town. It’s only open for dinner so not a lot of people are aware of the existence of this place yet. Payung translates to “umbrella” in the our fine national language.

payung cafe

Payung Cafe is meant as a secluded al fresco dining establishment that allows you to BYO wine. It has a nice, quiet ambiance that is well suited to conversation. The owner of Payung Cafe is also the resident chef.

ambience

The concept of Payung Cafe is to serve fusion food incorporating elements of the ASEAN countries. The seating arrangements are comfortable, with freshly cut orchids garnishing the tables. It’s nice touches like this that gives out good vibes to the customers.

payung green tea shake

The special of the day was the Green Tea Shake (RM 5) which most of us opted for. It’s made from freshly brewed green tea, not the stuff in cans. It tasted great, the milk doesn’t overpower the green tea and less milk is a Good Thing (TM) nowadays since I seem to have become lactose intolerant ever since I was admitted into ICU for overdosing and got renal and liver failure. Strange eh?

payung papaya salad

The Papaya Salad (RM 5) was the recommended appetizer which we shared. It has strong Thai influences and tasted surprisingly spicy (even for me). It’s nice though, chillies always get the appetite going, or so I’ve heard. 😉

payung spring rolls

Spring Rolls (RM 6) is the Vietnamese influenced starter and it tasted pretty authentic. I know coz I did a tour of duty back in ‘Nam during the 60’s. Me love you long time!

payung shrooms roll

We also ordered the Mushroom Roll (RM 6). I have a lot of experience with the more magical variety of mushrooms and I’m sorry to inform you that this doesn’t contain that kind of mushroom. 😉

otak rice 

This is the Otak Rice (RM 8) that Joyce ordered. She missed the otak otak from her days in JB and have been craving for it since.

otak otak

It was so good that she ordered another four (4) otak otak (RM 32) for us to try. Payung Cafe’s implementation of the otak otak contains a secret killer breed of chillies that makes it so spicy even the hardened ones amongst us (me and Kath) were tearing up due to the sheer Spice Factor and the others won’t even touch it. Heh!

payung beef ball bread

I went for the Beef Ball with bread (RM 15). The presentation for this carnivore staple is great, with mint leaves garnishing the dish. However, it should be noted that the portions at Payung Cafe tends to be on the small side. It’s a little bit too small for a main dish.

payung beef ball

There were about 3-4 large beef balls (not the dangling kind, the processed meat) covered with thick tomato based sauce…

payung bread

…and three (3) minuscule slices of garlic bread accompanying it. I wouldn’t even go so far as to call it bread, it’s more like crumpets.

payung pork chop

Colin had the Pork Chop (RM 18) which was also rather conservative in size. Size does matter, okay. It tastes good though, I had a small bite (which took up about 1/4 of the pork chop).

payung dessert 1

The proprietor was kind enough to serve us complimentary desserts though. He also handed me a pen and paper and asked me for my dubious guidance in naming the dishes. The first one was a baked banana pie sprinkled with powdered sugar. I wrote down Tropical Paradise, Bonkers for Bananas, and Banana Pockets.

payung dessert 2

The second dessert is a soft custard topped (heaped, more like) by ground peanuts, sultanas and raisins. I could only think of Nuts about Raisins and Tropical Shower. I don’t know if he’s going to end up using my suggestions but it was a fun exercise nevertheless.

payung group

The obligatory group photo thus ends this post. I’m the one in white. 😉

payung cafe end

Payung Cafe is a quiet alcove nested in a town that has excellent service and great food. The ambiance is soothing as well. They could do with larger portions for the mains but overall, we enjoyed the experience. Cheers!

Contest: Five (5) FREE tickets to see Chelsea FC Live in KL

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Chelsea Asia Tour 2008
Chelsea Asia Tour 2008 Malaysia

Chelsea is going on a tour around Asia and they’re scheduled to perform at the Shah Alam Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at 8:45 PM on the 29th of July, 2008. Heineken is sponsoring five (5) free tickets to watch Chelsea LIVE and I’m going to give them away to the first five people who gets the answers to the five questions below correctly.

The winners will also get an exclusive invitation to Heineken House, a hospitality tent where only invited people can attend. The hospitality area includes light finger food, good music and good company. Also present is the opportunity to win some autographed merchandise.

Chelsea Football Club (also known as The Blues, due to their colors) is probably the second most recognizable English Premier League team. They’ve spent most of their history playing in the Premier League and I’ve had considerable success betting for this team in the UEFA Champions League in 2000. 😉

chelsea crest

Chelsea FC was founded in 1905 and has thus been around for more than a century, much like Heineken. Their official crest features a blue lion looking backwards and holding a staff. Their home colors are blue but their official away colors will probably be a shade they call “electric yellow” when they play in the Shah Alam Stadium later this month.

Chelsea is a team to watch out for, having ranked the highest in the UEFA coefficient ranking system after the 2007/2008 season. I tend to root for the underdog so I’m always pro-Chelsea instead of Manchester United, which has become rather commercialized as of late.

Chelsea is also noted for football hooliganism during the 1970’s and the 1980’s and the “Chelsea grin” which I first came upon while watching the movie Green Street. My favorite line from that movie was “Do you take…American Express?” before the GSE (a fictitious football firm) jumped in to save the day. I love that film and highly recommend it to everyone who’s interested in movies.

Chelsea is coming to Malaysia to play against a Malaysian lineup in a friendly match for the Malaysian leg of the Chelsea Asia Tour 2008. RM 50 says Chelsea would win, Asian handicap of 1 goal to Chelsea. Any takers? 😉

camwhore

Heineken is Chelsea’s official beer and it’s one of my favorite lagers. It’s a standard 5% alcohol content beer and the interesting history behind the beer is the development of Heineken A-yeast for the fermentation process by Dr. H. Elion in 1886. The good doctor was a student of Louis Pasteur, the very same man who made pasteurization a household word.

This beer has been around for over 100 years and in the good old days of football in England, beer is drunk before, during and after a game. I’m a big fan of Heineken myself and the best I could do is drink it during…

lunch

…lunch,

dinner

and dinner. Heineken is pretty much a common name in Malaysia, having established themselves as a brand to be reckoned with. Most people would associate a foreign beer with Heineken. It’s kinda like the Malaysian brand name association:

When you have a headache, you take? Panadol
When you want instant noodles, you eat? Maggi
When you order beer, you ask for? Heineken

Contest for five (5) free tickets to watch Chelsea during the Chelsea Asia Tour 2008 Malaysia and the included invite to the Heineken House.

Please answer the following five (5) questions and email it to sixthseal@gmail.com to win a ticket to watch Chelsea live in KL on the 29th of July.

1. Where is Chelsea’s home stadium located?

2. Who is Chelsea’s all time top goal scorer?

3. What is the official founding date of Chelsea Football Club?

4. What kind of beer is Heineken?

5. What is the official corporate logo of Heineken?

Bonus questions:

hint 1

Hint: Origin

hint 2

Hint: Firm

Terms and conditions:
1. Only email submissions are accepted.
2. Please provide a valid cell phone number with your contest entry for validation.
3. The first five (5) winners will be awarded one (1) ticket each.
4. In the event of a tie, the bonus questions will be used as a tie-breaker.
5. Each person is only allowed to make one (1) email contest submission.

human crest

The human Chelsea crest wishes you luck! Cheers! 🙂

Anything. Whatever.

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anything whatever

Anything and Whatever is one of the most novel concepts in the beverage industry I’ve seen to date. I’ve been hankering to get my hands on the drinks from Singapore, which was recently launched in Malaysia as well, and finally got the stuff today.

poslaju

I’m supposed to say that it was sent to me from Singapore by the person who sent it. It’s not available over here in the remote jungles of Sarawak yet so my friend sent it in a package to me. She wanted me to be the first in Sibu to try it and surprised me with the package.

alatulis

Unfortunately, she declared it as “alatulis” (stationary) so it got caught up in Customs. I’m sure they were wondering what kind of stationary weighs 0.797 kg and makes a clanking sound when you shake the package with a liquid sloshing echo. 😉

anything whatever box

Naturally, astute readers would comment on the fact that Singapore doesn’t have PosLaju (which a next-day courier service run by the Malaysian government). This begs the question on where it was actually sent from and by whom – both good questions…to which I have no good answer. 😉

anything

Anything is a carbonated drink which can contain anything from Cola, Cola with Lemon, Apple, Fizz Up, Cloudy Lemon, to Root Beer. You don’t know what you’re getting until you open up the can. Fascinating concept, eh?

whatever

Whatever is the non-carbonated cousin to Anything and contains a surprise flavor that ranges from Ice Lemon Peach, Peach Tea, Jasmine White Tea, Apple Tea, and Chrysanthemum Tea. The can is not labeled (except with a huge question mark) and you don’t know what you’re getting until you open it. Fun!

anything me

I got the Fizz Up for the Anything can. It tastes like 7Up and is a fair emulation of the latter. It tastes alright, but the fun with Anything is that it could be…well, anything!

whatever me

Whatever dealt me with the Peach Tea. This tastes like the Lipton Peach Tea. Nice! I just adore the concept of not knowing what you’re gonna get until you open up the can.

It’s just perfect for people like me who loves surprises. Thanks D! 🙂

Guide to making rojak

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rojak

Rojak is a local variant of the fruit salad that is usually served with thick, dark sauce and topped with coarsely ground peanuts. It’s a very popular dish for snacking on and Bintangor rojak is one of the most famous rojak concoctions out there, much like Klang bak kut teh. Keing managed to get hold of the rojak sauce from her trip to Bintangor and we decided to make some rojak at Joyce’s house.

The sixthseal.com Guide to Making Rojak:

You will need:
Cucumbers
Pineapples
Potato cakes
Tofu
Rojak sauce

slice cucumber

Slice some cucumbers into coarse chunks. You can peel the cucumbers beforehand if you don’t like the skin. It is important to slice both ends of a cucumber first and use the ends to rub the cucumber – this somehow attenuates the bitterness of the cucumber through reasons unknown to modern science.

diced cucumbers

The cucumber should be processed to be roughly angular chunks instead of pure circular slices for authenticity. No one slices cucumbers into rojak – slicing cucumbers is better suited to sandwiches and eye masks.

heat oil

The next thing to do is to heat up some oil in a frying pan. This is for the tofu and sweet potato fried in batter (optional).

sweet potato

The sweet potato slices in batter can be bought from your friendly neighborhood kueh vendor for RM 0.30 per piece. This can be fried (basically reheated) later for the rojak.

tofu

The tofu should be fried whole instead of being sliced. This is so the frying process only imparts a certain crunchiness to the tofu while maintaining a soft and sauce absorbing interior when sliced.

cut tofu

Joyce tells me that fried tofu should never be sliced – it flattens the entire thing. The proper method is to cut it using sharp kitchen scissors.

build up

The build up of ingredients should be contained in a large base serving dish for easy tossing and mixing.

pineapple

Next, the pineapples. Now, dealing with pineapples can be a bit of a prickly problem. This is due to the circumference of  “thorns” on a pineapple (which is one of the naturally occurring Fibonacci sequences in the world). The trick is to slice in an oblique direction down the entire length of the pineapple to cut out the “eyes”. The de-thorned pineapple can then be further sliced into appropriate lengths…
(Or you could just do it like us normal folks and get the pre-sliced pineapples)

pineapple chunks

…and then chunks. Pineapple must be present in rojak despite the hassle involved. It’s not rojak if there’s no pineapple in it.

rojak sauce

The essential ingredient in rojak is undoubtedly the rojak sauce. This is acquired from the famous stall in Bintangor and has a thick, gooey consistency. It’s RM 7 for a bottle of the sauce.

ground peanuts

Ground peanuts is an optional but highly recommended ingredient. You can get it pre-ground in hypermarkets and other supermarkets or just do it yourself in a food processor/mill.

add sauce

Heap all the ingredients into the bowl and then add in the rojak sauce to taste. The rojak sauce should completely cover and saturate all the ingredients until it puddles down at the bottom of the bowl.

add peanuts

Sprinkle ground peanuts over it…

mix

…and mix it well. Don’t toss it like a regular fruit salad, the pineapples are fragile and would likely bruise. Just mix it carefully, blending in all the sauce into the ingredients.

meal

We also had Coke chicken, prepared by Joyce earlier in the day. It’s awesomely tender, the meat practically falls off the bone! It tastes great too. Katherine’s mom also cooked some curry chicken, and she brought a pot of it over and made it into a meal.

rojak done

Here’s a closer look at the finished rojak.

Borneo Cultural Festival 2008 Closing Ceremony

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bcf 2008 closing

The Borneo Cultural Festival 2008 has come and gone and the closing ceremony during the weekend was a grand affair, with fireworks and performances to mark the end of the BCF 2008. I have attended the festival for most days of the week and the turnout was great, with the festival being packed full of people despite the drizzle.

This is a performance by TUKU KAME featuring Jerry Kamit during the closing ceremony. They’re also slated to perform at the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) later this week in Kuching.

eddy mary poh poh

I haven’t had dinner yet, and thus we went in search for food with Eddy, his nephew, Mary and Mr. Poh (not me). Last call for tuak and all that. 😉

pansoh ikan

We had pansoh ikan (fish cooked in bamboo)…

lemang

…and lemang (glutenous rice wrapped in pandan leaves).

I heard a haunting refrain of The Phantom of the Opera and went to film a video of the performance. You have to watch this – the vocal range of the female singer is amazing!

me simmy

I also went to Simmy’s booth while I was there and talked to her about photography and models in Sibu for an upcoming project I’m doing. She’s a professional freelance photographer and she has a website with her photography portfolio.

haircutting demo

The major hairstylists were out in force at the BCF 2008 with free haircutting sessions. I just got a haircut but went for it anyway just for fun.

getting haircut

She ended up butchering my hair a little, with one side longer than the other but people claim that it’s not very noticeable anyway, having the chubby face that comes with my weight gain.

me hairstylist

I’m not very sure what to think of that. Blessing in disguise? Or friendly hints that I need to lose some weight? Hmm… 😉

carnival

The BCF 2008 is also about having fun and the carnival games is a place where you can get fleeced into paying RM 100 for a Made in China stuffed toy that costs RM 0.20 and yet have fun while doing it. Fleeced for fun. 😉

bingo

There are a lot of different carnival games ranging from bingo…

ping pong

…to ping pong ball based games.

playing ping pong

I managed to get a turtle key chain for my efforts.

turtle

“May you have a prosperous and beautiful future”. Wow, thanks turtle! =D

shooting

There is also a shooting game that I played in an inebriated state…

idiot

…doing the usual stuff people do when they’re less than sober. I love the expression of the guy next to me. 🙂

I find that I’m a little bit annoying (even to myself) when I get past a certain state of sobriety though.

darts dodge

It’s also not a good idea to be going for the dart games in an inebriated state. Look at how far the girl is dodging from my questionable aim. Hmm…I didn’t notice that until now. She memang siam hui hui.

darts 2

I managed to win RM 2 after spending RM 25…and I felt pleased. Jesus Christ…

childish

I’m so childish sometimes, I amaze even myself…

mary wins

Mary, rating higher on the sobriety scale than myself, managed to win two pillows. Hmph…

bcf finale

BCF 2008 is fun for all ages (and especially for the inner child in you). There are cultural shows, fashion shows, and games galore. You can drink yourself into a stupor and shoot less-than-straight photographs of the events (which is quite fun in it’s own right). 😉

I’m not sure if you’ll want to fly all the way here if you’re not from Sarawak, but the timing is good – right before the RWMF 2008 kicks off in Kuching, so drop by if you’re already here. Cheers from Sibu!

Harajuku girl

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harajuku girl

This is one of the hairstylists for Alan Hair Saloon that I met during the BCF 2008 festival. I found her rather attractive and took the opportunity to carve another notch in my belt, er…I mean, create content for the XX Chromosome category. 😉

harajuku girl me

She has this innocent look that renders well for image capturing…very photogenic indeed. I’ll have the full writeup of the BCF 2008 closing ceremony up later tonight. Cheers!

The Sibu bloggers welcomes bongkerz

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ruby bongkersz

STP called me up this morning, awaking me from my slumber, to inform me that bongkersz a.k.a. Bong Chan Siong from KL has arrived. I called Mary up and told her to meet us at Ruby Restaurant to give bongkersz a dose of Sibu hospitality.

ruby butter prawns

bongkersz has been craving for the butter cheese prawns from Ruby Restaurant and STP brought him there to indulge in The Good Stuff (TM). I arrived fashionably early due to my driving skillz (of which my repertoire includes running red lights and driving in excess of the speed limit) and Mary arrived fashionably late due to her being the tau keh nio that she is. 😉

stp coffee

This is STP’s famous ice blended coffee which I didn’t partake in, preferring to go for Heineken instead. Catch sixthseal.com on Wednesday, there’s a surprise in store for football (soccer) fans. 🙂

us bongkersz

L-R: STP, bongkersz, Huai Bin (me), goolooloo

ruby xx

Mary is probably going to do an XY Chromosome post on bongkersz and we’re having this friendly competition going on, so I dragged the nearest XX Chromosome (which happened to be the waitress) for a photo shoot. 😉

ruby xx me

I have been told that my XX Chromosome entries are biased to a certain extent towards people of a similar ethnicity and I’ve addressed that issue in the annals of sixthseal.com – it’s not about racial relations but a more pragmatic reason – there are just more Chinese in Sibu than other races.

I have put this up once and for all to debunk the myth that the XX Chromosome category favors aesthetic looking people from a certain race. It doesn’t. XX Chromosome in sixthseal.com is pro affirmative action. =D

Sushi Tie @ Wisma Sanyan review

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sushi tie 2

Sushi Tie has opened another new outlet in Wisma Sanyan, Sibu. This sushi juggernaut has established itself as the only Japanese food outlet here that actually manages to thrive and expand from it’s original location to a major mall and having a third outlet in the construction stage.

sushi tie 2 waiter

This outlet maintains the much of the warm and friendly ambiance of the first Sushi Tie but the impact is somewhat lost in such a huge area. The place always looks empty due to the sheer amount of floor space available there.

sushi tie 2 int

The seating arrangements has been upgraded with numerous Japanese style sitting pit (don’t know what the proper term for this is) and there are several new items on the menu as well. I went there with my latest conquest, I mean, my dining companion to check out the menu during lunch. 😉

gindara set

I ordered the new Gindara Set (RM 15.90) for lunch. It came with the standard trimmings – miso soup, the tofu thing, rice and slices of watermelon.

gindara

Gindara means silver cod fish in Japanese and it’s a whole fish deep fried in tempura batter and served whole.

chicken katsu don

My dining (lunching?) companion opted for the Chicken Katsu Don (RM 11.50).

salmon salad sandwich

There are other new items on the menu for appetizers. This is the Salmon Salad Sandwich (RM 4.90). We both agreed that it was rather bland (we actually said it sucked but that’s not proper terminology for a food review). 😉

salmon burger

The other one is the Salmon Burger (RM 4.90). This is an interesting fusion of Japanese and Western influences.

salmon burger inside

It contains a piece of deep fried salmon sandwiched between two layers of vinegar rice with a piece of lettuce with mayonnaise inside and a swirl of 1k island sauce on top. It’s actually pretty good. 🙂

me cf

Hola from your resident food critics!

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