HB

A long, personal journey worth having.

Herb marinated thigh with grilled Portobello mushroom, okra and chicken couscous

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This is a completely home cooked meal that we made from scratch *together*! 🙂

chicken couscous rice

Of course, we didn’t rear the chickens, plant the mushrooms or made the couscous but other than that, everything was done properly and it turned out to be a wonderful meal! I wanted her to have a good impression of couscous since I like it so we made that with chicken essence from cooking the chicken!

couscous chicken

You will need:

  • Chicken leg/quarter – drum and thigh (one per person)
  • Herbs (fresh is better)
  • Portobello mushrooms
  • Fresh milk
  • Salt and pepper
  • Okra
  • Couscous

I didn’t take the traditional photo coz some things were done on the fly. I also decided against using the OXO Chicken Cubes and went with the flavorful chicken goodness that the pressure pan cooker produced.

chicken

The chicken leg (cut that includes the drum and thigh) were selected very carefully – my dear choose two of the best on offer, with a larger one for me. Strangely enough, this cut is called Chicken Maryland in some places, but for me, that is a dish, not a quarter cut of chicken.

marinated chicken

It was then marinated with a variety of herbs and spices for a full 24 hours while wrapped in an air-tight bag inside the refrigerator.

frying chicken

The chicken was then taken out of the bag and then fried with a bit of oil inside a pressure pan. The bits of garlic and lemon used to marinate the chicken is also fried alongside but save a bit of the juices for the end.

grilled chicken

The pressure pan was then closed and the chicken allowed to cook for 30 minutes with a turnover at the middle. That’s her part, cooking the chicken. I did the much easier couscous and BBQ mushrooms. 😉

chicken essence

I bought store-brand Tesco couscous. I wanted to go for the whole wheat version but at her suggestion went with this instead. You’re supposed to add 1.5 parts of water to 1 part of couscous.

cooking couscous

However, I decided to use 1 part water and the remaining 0.5 parts were composed of an equal mixture of fresh milk (which I find makes couscous taste better) and the sauces from the pressure cooked chicken.

couscous

I cooked the couscous and let it stand for 5 minutes before fluffing it out to individual grains using a fork. It turned out fine except for a little caramelization at the bottom, which was discarded.

Oh, and we also blanched some okra (lady fingers) in hot water and ate most of it before leaving two (2) each for the dinner plates. smirk

portabello mushroom

The Portobello mushrooms are the huge teacup sized ones that cost RM 4-5 each and should only be cooked for a minute or so to retain the awesome juiciness of these flavor absorbing beauties.

grilling mushrooms

The couscous was infused with the natural flavor of chicken derived from the juices during pressure cooking and tastes absolutely wonderful! It’s a bit like chicken rice, except it’s couscous.

xx hot peri peri

I didn’t think the dish needed any other flavoring but put in some Nando’s XX-hot Peri-Peri Sauce anyway. I reckon our version tastes better than Nando’s any day! :p

chicken couscous

It was an awesome collaboration in the kitchen that resulted in a delicious dinner!

Death by Chocolate Ultimate Breakfast Wrap

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death by choc wrap

I made this sinfully delicious wrap for *breakfast* over the weekend. I just woke up and wanted to get something to eat. We went grocery shopping the night before and we always get a huge tub of ice cream before heading back. My dear picked this one:

death by chocolate

It’s appropriately called Death by Chocolate Premium Ice Cream. It’s described as “a chocolate lover’s delight featuring decadent chocolate ice cream, chocolate candy pieces and crunchy almonds”. It also has bits of chocolate brownies inside!

death by chocolate ingredients

To make the Death by Chocolate Ultimate Breakfast Wrap, you will need:

  • Wholegrain tortilla wraps
  • Death by Chocolate Premium Ice Cream (or any other ultra chocolate ice cream)
  • Soft cheese stick from a bakery
  • Muesli

The muesli is not just there to give it a healthy illusion – it actually tastes really yummy! It’s Dorset Cereals – 50% of the contents are fruit, nuts and seeds. I was eating the Super Cranberry, Cherry and & Almond – described as “an exquisite blend of cranberries, cherries and almonds with raisins, sultanas, sunflower seeds and toasted cereals”. It’s essential for the crunchy texture it provides!

muesli

I also thought that putting a soft cheese stick (we got it from a bakery) would make this a more substantial meal since we’re going to share it. I was right since it was so good I think she ate more than her fair share. smirk

I scooped out *almost a pint* of the Death by Chocolate ice cream into a tortilla wrap and sprinkled muesli on it before adding on the cheese stick. I couldn’t actually wrap it so we ate it like a soft taco.

death by chocolate us

I had one bite and she had one bite and we started taking bigger and bigger bites and before long it was all gone. It’s coz we used so much ice cream in the wrap, it’s the exact opposite of the healthy Greek yoghurt sandwich I made. This one is absolutely delicious – so much so that it was devoured more than eaten. Haha!

death by choc

I gave her more though coz I know she really liked it. <3

Think Blue. – National Challenge 2013. Think a trip to Germany!

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taschenbergpalais keminski

Volkswagen Malaysia has kicked off the Think Blue. – National Challenge 2013 in Malaysia to spread the philosophy of Think Blue. and to display the brand’s efforts on the importance of fuel savings and that a change in driving behaviours could further reduce CO2 emission.

The hunt for Malaysia’s most fuel efficient driver is on and that person will get the chance to compete with others like him/her from around the world at the Think Blue. World Championship 2013 in Germany!

think blue logo

The qualifying round starts from 1-21st July and there are 2 ways you can take part:

1. Register at any Volkswagen dealerships in Malaysia
2. Play the Challenge online via Facebook at www.facebook.com/VolkswagenMalaysia

To be eligible, participants would have to be aged 18 years and above and possess a valid driving license in Malaysia.

Shortlisted participants will move on to the Think Blue. – National Challenge 2013 that will be held from August 17th to 18th, where they will be competing against each other in real driving situations to become Malaysia’s most fuel efficient driver.

The winner of this Think Blue. – National Challenge will then represent Malaysia in the Think Blue. World Championship 2013 in Germany from September 6th to 10th, 2013 and stands a chance to explore Germany, from Wolfsburg to Frankfurt, via a German-engineered Volkswagen, to become the world’s most fuel-efficient “Think Blue.” champion.

eco footprint

The Think Blue. World Championship app reveals another facet of Think Blue. – Volkswagen’s holistic approach to sustainability. The game heightens awareness of more efficient driving and shows that all drivers can make their own personal contribution to environmental protection without sacrificing driving pleasure.

The principle of “Think Blue.” is perfectly reflected by the game and inspires everyone in adopting a healthy driving behavior in an exciting and entertaining way.

Now, let me inspire you to take part in the challenge and be in the running to win a trip to Germany by sharing my own personal experience gained from a Volkswagen trip there last year.

obama hotel

I went to Germany on a Volkswagen trip last year. It was a very interesting trip, while in Dresden, I stayed at Hotel Taschenbergpalais Kempinski – it’s the very same place President Obama stayed in while he visited Dresden. That’s a bit of interesting trivia there. I didn’t know until we checked into the hotel.

driving germany

Anyway, I traveled from Dresden to Wolfsburg (where the Volkswagen factory is) and then to Berlin and Frankfurt and had a blast going around and experiencing new things. It was my third trip to Europe at the time.

electric car charging

I like how the bigger cities have initiatives for fully electric cars with special parking lots. The same parking bays have charging facilities too – meant to encourage people into adopting a more environmental friendly mindset and behavior.

up car

It’s not just about up! – their fully electric car.

think green

It’s an entire mindset that affects every single aspect of Volkswagen’s efforts to create environmentally friendly products and solutions. It’s about encouraging eco-conscious behavior and a sustainable future through economical fuel consumption and reduced carbon emission.

glass factory

This can be seen from their production facilities (this is the famous glass factory right outside Dresden)…

vw mini

…to the fun and educational interactive displays at Wolfsburg where you can learn a lot more about Think Blue.

e drivers

The initiative is present from the manufacturing floor to the topmost management decisions. I saw various places where you can sign up to test drive the Golf Blue-e-Motion.

eco cars

The people in Germany are very conscious about vehicle emissions. They even have various ratings on their car based on how environmentally friendly the car is. In fact, electric cars are also cheaper due to tax breaks.

think blue

I think Think Blue. is an amazing holistic mindset that we need to instill deeper over here – such as little things like no-vehicle zones and priority parking for electric vehicles.

water usage

I have had the chance to experience Germany from Dresden to Frankfurt thanks to Volkswagen and now you can have the same experience, but only much better!

wolfsburg station

I can guarantee you it’ll be one of the most valuable experiences of your lifetime!

germany trip

Find out more about how you can win a trip to Germany by being the nation’s most fuel efficient driver at thinkblue.volkswagen.com.my.

Yip Chee May Big Bun and other interesting night market food

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Yip Chee May Big Bun (RM 6)

yip chee may bao

Yap Chee May is a huge adult film star in Hong Kong back when I was a kid. She’s famous for her big boobs and this absurdly huge bun is named after her. Ong Kee Yap Chee May Big Bun is made in Taman Connaught, Cheras and pays tribute to the Category III Hong Kong star.

yip chee may big bun

It’s a pau (Chinese meat filled bun) that’s supposed to be the size of the DDD breasts of Yip Chee May. At least, that’s the marketing spiel, I don’t know anyone who actually went up to measure her assets to make sure this conforms to the exact dimensions but it’s ginormous!

yip chee may bun

I found this at the local pasar malam and it’s a dinner plate sized egg and chicken filled bun that’s actually really yummy! There’s a lot of prime meat inside but one downside is that it also has the chicken bones attached so you have to eat it carefully.

yip chee may bun

This RM 6 big bao is so huge it’s a meal unto itself!

Chicken Floss Bread with Dried Meat + Egg (RM 3.50)

ba kua bun

It was a dinner cum stroll along the night market and we also found a stall selling Chinese burgers. I call them that coz everything is Asian – from Chinese style bakery bread to the strips of ba kua (pork jerky) and chicken floss inside.

chinese ramly burger

I was a but puzzled as to how they’re going to put the egg into the fried bread…

pork floss burger

…it turns out that it’s cooked on the same flat top surface before ba kua, cucumber slices and chicken floss is layered onto it.

chinese burger

It’s a Ramly burger, Chinese style! 🙂

Taiwan style pancakes with sweet and savory fillings

taiwan crepe

You can choose everything from Taiwan sausage, slices of luncheon meat, pork floss etc from an array in front of you for a customized crispy pancake that you can eat while walking.

Golden Swallow durian

durians

It’s durian season again! Ling hasn’t tried the Golden Swallow durian that I like so much so I got one for her to try.

golden swallow

It’s RM 18/kg which is a bit steep and the durian I chose cost RM 30 for the beautiful single-seed-per-segment fruit. I can only find this from independent sellers at night markets and not from the durian buffet chains.

golden swallow durian

It tastes sweet and creamy – we shared one seed when it was opened and bought the rest back. There’s only a few but it’s a quality over quantity thing – if you want cheap durians with a lot of seeds and flesh, D24 is the way to go.

apricots

It was a good trip where we got RM 10 apricots (the same ones sell for RM 12.99 at supermarkets) but the best bit was still the Yip Chee May big bun.

yip chee may filling

It comes with a small sachet of chilli sauce too! The second largest pau I’ve ever seen – Sin Kwang Foochow Big Pau looks like a airplane landing strip compared to it. 😉

yip chee may us

It’s delicious and can be more than a handful for someone to finish in one sitting. smirk

How to kill mosquitoes!!!

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mosquitoes

I remember very vividly the first night I was in Phuket a couple of weeks ago. My buddy Marco kept insisting that there were mosquitoes in the room and they were biting him. I neither heard the tell-tale buzz of a mosquito nor felt the itchiness that ensued from a bite…

….until he sprayed some anti-mosquito repellent on himself.

phuket

Everything changed! The moment he sprayed the personal anti-mosquito I felt all the horde of blood sucking, disease carrying critters all over me.

I had mosquito bites in places I didn’t think was possible!!!

Now, that highlights a problem with personal mosquito repellent. It only works for one person. Thus, when he passed the atomizer to me and I started spraying, the mosquitoes went back to him. He had to spray again and the buggers came over to bite me again. We were just a couple of feet apart!

It’s a lot like this video except we neither managed half the great music nor a quarter of the dance moves in our efforts at insect pest control. Haha! It’s a funny one, I’m sure everyone in Malaysia has that experience of mosquitoes before, whether just irritating or dengue related.

aedes killer

I have since discovered a wonderful contraption that allows everyone in the room to be free of the pestilence. It’s called the Khind Magic Aedes Buster and it’s the best thing since sliced bread in the arena of insect repellent technology.

My dear sleeps over sometimes and we need something that works for both of us (instead of the personal mosquito repellent that just moves the blood sucking insects back and forth). I unpacked it and assembly just takes a couple of minutes. The concept is easy – it works by mimicking the human body!

khind aedes

Odour
The CO2 produced by the Titanium Dioxide Coating mimics the same carbon dioxide exhaled by human beings. You can actually rub a ripe banana or it’s skin onto the exterior to enhance the scent to attract mosquitoes up to 100 feet away!
Light
The UV light attracts mosquitoes within 30 feet away.
Heat
Heat released by the UV lamps and the dark colored body of the buster mimics body warmth and lures mosquitoes within 10 feet to the buster.

What happens then is the the mosquitoes goes into the trap windows and gets directed down to the sticky mosquito collecting area where you can get it with the glue tray!

khind aedes buster

There’s also 2 x extra ultra-violet lamps and 2 x hygienic glue tray included – you only need to change the UV lights once a year if you use it 4 hours per day. There’s a timer which allows you to use switch it off after 4 hours too!

aedes machine

I really found it quite useful in providing restful sleep. I like how there’s already an existing pair of UV tubes inside in addition to the spare ones so it’s ready to go after placing the glue tray. I reckon it’s a lot cheaper when you calculate all the smelly insect repellent you have to spray over 2 years when compared to the Khind Magic Aedes Buster IK 610 which just retails for RM 132!

2 x Khind Aedes Buster Give-away!

I’ve got two (2) units of the Khind Magic Aedes Buster IK 610 to give away! Just leave a comment with an anecdote on the worst mosquito bite experience you have and two of the most creative answers will fear mosquitoes no more!

Contest closes 7th July (Sunday) so start commenting now to win a unit!

You must be able to pick the Khind Magic Aedes Buster IK610 from KL.

khind giveaway

The winners will need to require to provide their details upon being selected. It’s just that simple! I’ve been using it and lovin’ it so far so it was nice of the folks from Khind to provide 2 additional Khind Magic Aedes Buster IK 610 to giveaway to my readers! 🙂

new aedes buster

It comes in dark blue and maroon and there’s a 2 year warranty to boot. You can also go to the Khind Facebook page for their contest in addition to the two units I’m giving out on sixthseal.com. Just be sure to place it 3 feet off the ground and 10 feet away from you for best results! You want the mosquitoes to think it’s the human body, not you. 🙂

Buying a new car or just thinking about it?

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bugatti veyron

I’m part of the latter. I’ve driven my faithful Vios for 7 years now and I’ve found myself browsing around to see the latest car news and what car to buy. A lot of people gravitate to heavy news sites but I think the success of a car site is that it’s accessible to people who don’t know a lot about cars (or newbies rather) but yet is still fulfilling enough for the hardcore crowd who wants all the juicy, technical stuff.

live live drive

It needs to capture both sides of the market and I’ve found LIVE LIFE DRIVE to be one of the sites that I browse just about daily nowadays.

It has just about everything you’ll think of, from the latest news to a widget on the side with the most researched cars with immediate star ratings and a link to the review in question,

research cars

I found that feature most useful when buying a dSLR and loved the sites that has it – it shows what cameras (or cars in this case) are popular now – they’re popular for a reason, and shows you a quick rating with a review hyperlink. It’s perfect for those who’re strapped for time or just wants to see what the popular options are.

The other awesome feature which I first found useful when shopping for a dSLR (which come to think of it is a lot like a car) is this:

livelifedrive

You can browse News, New Cars, or Buy a Car by the manufacturer! This is very useful if you’re only interested in, say, Euro cars or have always bought from a Japanese brand like Honda.

The interesting thing about LIVE LIFE DRIVE is that it’s actually a print magazine. That’s where it’s origins are from but all the news and articles are also available online.

I found the Price List feature to be very useful too!

installement

It lists all new cars and shows the full price as well as the average installment price per month so you can quickly browse through and see what you can (or cannot) afford. smirk

That’s the research part of buying a car, or just browsing for news if you’re interested in automotives. There’s also a site where you can actually purchase a new or used car!

carlistmy

It’s called Carlist.my and the best feature of it is that it hooks you up with used car sellers. You can browse by various search parameters or just by price.

You can also choose whether to buy direct from a seller, dealership or sales agent. It’s very useful for when you want to make that step to purchase a new car. 🙂

carlist

There’s more than 119,000 cars for sale on Carlist.my and for those kiasu ones amongst us (hell, who isn’t?) there’s a feature to compare prices of the car you intend to buy too!

lamborghini miura

It’s a great sister site to LIVE LIFE DRIVE and the place you go when you reach the point where you stop thinking about buying a car and actually do something about it! 😉

Pork & Prawn Salsa Burritos with Century Egg + Cheddar Cheese

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surf turf fajitas

I’ll call it Surf and Turf Burritos except it doesn’t exactly qualify as such. Heh. I made this for our anniversary – it’s a bit of an eccentric mix between East and West, and it sounds like fusion gone completely wrong but for some reason it works! 🙂

pork prawn century fajitas

You will need:

  • Plain flour tortillas
  • Prawns (shrimp – and lots of it)
  • Pork (minced)
  • Newman’s Own Medium Chunky Salsa
  • Duck century egg
  • Aged cheddar cheese
  • Iceberg lettuce

minced pork

We got the Jamie Oliver Pink Himalayan Salt and Tellicherry Black Pepper on sale. It was something like RM 7.99 each from Meatworks, which makes it a pretty good deal. I used it to season the pork and prawns.

jamie oliver tellicherry pepper

I actually wanted to make crispy tacos for our anniversary but went with fajitas (burritos to be more concise, it doesn’t have grilled meat and it’s wrapped) instead – our brand of choice is Mexican Discovery Plain Flour Tortillas.

newmans own salsa

I first pan fried the minced pork with a bit of olive oil and added ½ of a 1.5 kg bag of defrosted peeled prawns into the mix before adding in the salt and pepper.

salsa reduction

The salsa was added into the mix at this point instead of during the wrapping process. I figured the prawns and pork could do with a bit of taste. I simmered the concoction on low heat until it reduced to just a bit of sauce.

pan heating tortillas

Next, I diced duck century eggs (there are chicken and quail versions nowadays too but I like tradition) and cheddar cheese into bite-sized chunks…

iceberg lettuce

…and went all ninja on the iceberg lettuce. smirk

pork prawn fajitas

The tortilla wraps were heated for a few seconds on a frying pan (that’s why we used Mexican Discovery, it has a higher moisture content and can be subjected to this) before being used as a base to wrap all the ingredients.

wrapping burritos

I scooped in the hot pork and prawns salsa mix before adding sliced iceberg lettuce, century eggs and cheddar cheese. The entire tortilla is wrapped up burrito style.

The trick to doing this well is to not over-fill the tortilla wraps.

berkeley farms moose tracks

My love came with dessert – a double slice of cake, which we ate with a 1.5 pint tub of Berkeley Farms Moose Track ice cream. The ice cream is loaded with peanut butter cups (kinda like Reese’s Pieces) and fudge and I originally thought this Californian ice cream was pretty crappy but changed my mind after eating it a second time.

It’s a good desert to finish everything off!

ling hb fajitas

I think it has become somewhat of a tradition for me to cook during our anniversary and I’m glad I managed to do it this time too. I’m lucky to have you dear! *hugs*

century egg fajitas

The pork and prawn fajitas may sound a bit weird but it goes well together. Try out the duck century egg and cheese combo – they both have that umami taste to it, and I’ve finished the rest of the tortilla wraps with that and a bit of lettuce and honey glazed ham. 🙂

I was blown away!

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hb ling melbourne

This is a picture of me and my love in Melbourne. I remember the day very vividly, we had just arrived late the night before, crashed at a motel near the airport and came down to the city to explore the place. It was just after we’ve checked into Rydges @ Swanston and we’re just about to take a tram for breakfast at Hardware Lane.

It wasn’t the moment I fell in love with her (that was earlier in the year) but it was the moment I really knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.

hardware lane breakfast

The cool wind blowing during late autumn while we shared a Big M milk and some candy bars. Stamping our feet to try and keep warm while waiting for the tram. It was a great trip together and we later drove to Phillip Island where the wind was so cold and strong that we were both literally blown away. 😉

I’ve been on many other trips with her since then, from Siem Reap to Bangkok but nothing beats that first vacation to Australia.

ling hb

It’s quite a long story, how we met, and I know that she’s someone that I’ll be with for the rest of my life. I was not wrong. We’ve have our ups and downs and we went through it all like mature adults and I finally realized why all my previous relationships didn’t work.

She kept by my side through thick and thin and supported me during a dark period of my life. I also helped her through the things life throws at you and we’re much closer and stronger now because of it.

ling birthday

I don’t think either of our parents approved much at the beginning but after seeing us together, I like to think that both sides know that we care and love for each other. I love you dear! *hugs*

That’s my KDK “Blown Away Moments” Contest Entry. Well, technically, only the first two paragraphs are – it needs to be under 300 characters. 🙂

kdk blown away

KDK is giving away RM 3,000 cash to the winner of the contest. Just submit your “blown away” moment – your first date, your first concert, the day you got your result, or the day she said “yes”. It’s all about the happy moments in your life – the important ones that shaped your life, and you could stand to win the prizes above!

blown away

Surf on over to the KDK Facebook page and share your happiest moment in life with a photo by going to the Blown Away Moments app. Contest ends 30th July so get on it! There are weekly and a RM 3,000 grand prize! Here’s my entry – vote for me by clicking *here*! 🙂

My stay at Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort

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baby elephant

I was in a Phuket a week ago – it was actually just 2 weeks after my Bangkok trip so I went to Thailand twice in just a fortnight. However, Phuket is very different from Bangkok. Bangkok is where you wanna go if you like to get stressed out. If you want to relax and chill – head on to Phuket! 😉

outriggers phuket beach

Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort is a newly re-opened family friendly beach-front property – it faces Bang Tao beach. The entire resort has been completely renovated to modern standards during April 2013. However, the traditional Thai touches and warm hospitality are still there.

elephant

(like that baby elephant – it’s my favorite and it comes out to be fed twice a day!)

outriggers phuket

The best thing about Outriggers Laguna Phuket Beach Resort is the Water Park built right into the resort. In fact, it’s central and visible from reception! As someone who loves the water, I enjoyed this tremendously. It has multiple interconnected sculptured pools just beside the beach and to top that off, a water slide!

water slide phuket

It’s not just a small little water slide either, this long and curvy water slide is usually seen at dedicated theme parks and it took me 40 seconds to get from top to bottom!

You can watch this (slightly anticlimactic – forward to the 40 second point) video I asked a friendly vacationing family to help me take. I waved at them at the start and immediately went down the water slide. I splashed down at the end of the slide into the pool at around 40 seconds, and immediately went up again!

water park

It’s a lot of fun! 🙂

orchid

Outriggers Laguna Phuket Beach Resort is only 20 minutes from the airport – we had a car from the hotel waiting to pick us up, complete with wet towels and bottled water. We got an intricate bracelet made of orchids (I’m sure there’s a proper term for this) and a drink of water while we got checked in too! Gotta love Thai hospitality!

room

The rooms were surprisingly modern (or maybe not since it was just completely redone a few months ago) – flat screen Smart TV, a bath/shower combination, a day bed, free WiFi in all rooms (reliable and fast) and best of all, all rooms have a balcony or porch that looks out to the water!

balcony

You can have a beach view or a lagoon view (or both if you get the Club Suite) and it’s extreme proximity to the beach actually gives you a wonderful perk – you can hear the slow and calm waves from your room lulling you to sleep at night! 😀

lagoon

Okay, I mentioned a lagoon – Outriggers Laguna Phuket Beach Resort is actually part of the Laguna Phuket Destination Resort which links several resorts together by a lagoon. There’s a complimentary boat that takes you to all the different resorts and access to golf clubs and even a shopping strip mall!

boat ride

The boat service departs every 20 minutes and you can tell the guy where you want to go.

laguna phuket

If you want to get to places faster, there’s also a complimentary shuttle that gets you around the resorts and access to the 18-hole golf course which departs every 15 minutes!

chilling

Of course, there is no real need to leave Outriggers Laguna Phuket Beach Resort – with the awesome white sand beach and azure calm sea right after the lobby, you can just chill by the beach and have a beer or a bite to eat at the various restaurants in the resort.

view

Breakfast is a truly awesome affair with an amazing spread that kept me full most of the day!

egg station

All the basics and more are there, customizable too!

triple egg

I had a 3-egg sunny side up with cheese and chives only. 🙂

phed mak bloody mary

There’s also breakfast juices/cocktails which changes daily – like this local flavored Phed Mak Mak Bloody Mary.

room view

I like how I can just trudge down from a good night’s sleep being lulled by the tides into breakfast, get something nice and healthy to eat, grab a cocktail and head out to the pool or chill by the beach.

bang tao beach

It’s truly one of the best resorts I’ve been to in Phuket – modern amenities combined with Thai hospitality on the quiet Bang Tao beach (trust me, you don’t want to go to the (in)famous Patong beach – that’s like Kuta beach in Bali, a noisy tourist trap). I really liked the location and the tranquility of Outriggers Laguna Phuket Beach Resort – I can chill by the Bang Tao beach and go down the water slide and hug a baby elephant twice a day!

phuket elephant

How many places can you do that all in? 😀

Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort
323 Moo. 2, Srisoonthorn Road, Cherngtalay,
Thalang, Bangtao Beach, Phuket 83110, Thailand
Phone +66 76 360 700, Fax +66 76 360 670
reservation.phuketbeach@outrigger.co.th, www.outriggerthailand.com

Generation Today – Win a laptop if you can steal it!

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Interesting fact: The Intel Anti-Theft Service is a *tied* into the hardware so you can’t bypass it by changing a HDD and re-installing a new OS or by flashing the BIOS. You can lock and track your device by just logging into a web page, thus rendering it totally unusable for the pilferer. That’ll effectively turn it into a brick or a very large paperweight!

starcraft collectors edition

I’m a huge fan of Starcraft. I played the original, the Brood War expansion and Starcraft II. I have Wings of Liberty installed on this very notebook I’m writing on and my girlfriend saw me drooling over the Heart of the Swarm Collector’s Edition and secretly bought that for me. I used to compete in Quake III professional tournaments too (ranked #42 in PGL 2001 Melbourne).

My notebook needs a bit of extra processing power for the latest games though so I thought I’ll get the newer Intel CORE i7 ones with more RAM. This is where Generation Today comes in! It’s an absolute blast of a road show extravaganza till 30th June lined up with awesome events!

notebook

Heck, you get to win a brand new Ultrabook if you manage to defeat the Intel Anti-Theft Service with the given clues!

How cool is that?

steal notebook

beat anti theft

I’m a Computer Science graduate and I’ll certainly love to give it a go! 🙂

Oh, and there’s also exciting stuff going on like The Longest Touch Challenge (get your mind out of the gutter) which gives one school a complete computer lab and the participants gets to walk away with awesome prizes to boot.

intel roadshow

Also available is the Graffiti Touch Challenge where 2 units of Asus Fonepad will be given away!

There’s also a promo where you can trade-in your old PC/notebook for a brand new Intel PC at up to RM 600 off! I’m not quite ready to trade mine in yet but I’ll certainly be going for the fun and games, the biggest being a contest where you can win an experience of a lifetime worth RM 8,000!

intel contest malaysia

It’s based on the 5 senses:
Taste
VIP Fine Dining at an Exquisite Restaurant for 2
Feel
Luxurious Spa Trip to Bali for 2
See
KL Skyline Helicopter Ride for 2
Touch
Langkawi Sunset Dinner on a Yacht for 2
Hear
Captivating Musical in Singapore for 2

The Intel Generation Today Road Show will be held at the following till 30th June:

longest touch

You just need to purchase an Ultrabook or Intel-powered device to qualify for the Experience of a Lifetime Contest by filling up the form and choosing which experience you want! I’m due for an upgrade anyway and a vacation sounds fun!

You can join the contest by surfing over to Generation Today or get more details on the promos, contests and road show venues and locations! It’s happening in 14 cities around Malaysia. The Generation Today campaign is sponsored by Acer, Asus, Dell, HP and Lenovo. I’ll be either at the Publika or Sunway Giza road show for the fun and games, and maybe trade-in for a new Intel CORE notebook, see ya there!

generation today

Join the coming roadshow at Publika, KL to collect the final clue that will be released on 21/06/2013, 5 pm!

Plus, I really, really like the idea of walking away with an Asus Vivobook S400 Ultrabook if I manage to nick it in the Unlock The Ultrabook challenge! 😀

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