Hash run – Babysitting

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ksp hhh

I went for the Hash Run organized by the Sibu chapter yesterday afternoon, this time in the capacity of a babysitter. In an effort to boost attendance rates, I rallied two of my friends to the event. This is the first hash run for the both of them, so I played the role of the trip sitter.

ksp me cf

Due to the unavailability of alcohol in the Sibu HHH chapter, I decided to preload myself with some of the amber fluid before going for the run. I’m actually not a very patient person and can be prone to irritability at acts of perceived tardiness and I figured the combined GABA agonists (old readers would catch this reference ;)) would make me more amiable.

ksp route

This route was more difficult than the previous hash run, and that makes things a little more challenging since I had to carry a backpack (not mine) and the hilly terrain and longer distance makes things a little more exerting.

ksp main road

The interesting bit about this weekend’s run is that it went through the main road a couple of times…

ksp rest hut

…and features a rest hut!

ksp moses

This is our resident Moses reincarnate to guide the trekkers through a particularly grueling bog. I declined the assistance of the biblical figure and ended up in the bog, completely soaking my trainers and socks.

ksp sprain

Halfway through the trek, one of my friends took the liberty of spraining her ankle. Kudos to her for slogging it through anyway despite the pain.

ksp exit

There were several exit points at the path and we chose not to take it and slugged on, despite the sprained ankle of Jolin and my friend being thoroughly exhausted despite her yoga training.

ksp pitcher

I’m glad we didn’t take the exit coz I found this pristine pitcher plant along the route. I thought these things only exists in Mt. Kinabalu!

ksp trailblazer

Nevertheless, Jolin’s sprained ankle was bothering her towards the end of the run and it was decided that we’re going to beat a new path through virgin rain forest since we had missed the final exit.

ksp kampung
 

The trailblazer managed to find a path through a kampung (Malay dwelling community) and we took a longer, but less challenging (without the gradient factor) route.

ksp end

I have leaned something during this trek – to be more tolerant, patient and caring towards others. I have a tendency to be over competitive and want to be the leader of the pack but this time I brought up the rear to accommodate for the two friends that I had brought along…

…and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. 🙂

The Great Sarawak Blackout

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blackout

The entire state of Sarawak experienced a total blackout last night with confirmed areas being affected including Sibu and Kuching. The traffic lights were not working and I’m sure quite a few fender benders occurred when two unyielding parties collide (pun intended). 🙂

blackout dinner

It felt like going back to the Dark Ages (haha) with all the shops closing down (probably to prevent theft and also due to the non-functioning electricity-dependent POS machines) but most restaurants remained open. We made the most of the ambiance…romantic candlelight dinner konon. 😉

The Making of the Nike Advertorial

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nike script

I received the Nike advertorial pretty late in the game (pun intended) and scripted out two major scenes that I wanted to be in the writeup. The first was to be shot at an athletic wear/sports gear shop/active lifestyle outlet (I don’t even know what these places are called nowadays anymore ;)) to do the visualization (Read: camwhoring) aspects of the design contest.

script

Due to the limited number of such outlets in Sibu carrying Nike products, I decided to go to Lea Sports Center at Wisma Sanyan since I distinctively remember them having a Nike showcase while I was…er, getting adidas trainers earlier this year. 😉

cast crew

Thus, I geared up in my Nike ACG (All Climate Gear) windbreaker that I got in KK back in 2004 before climbing up Mt. Kinabalu (the highest mountain in South East Asia) for a bit of product placement pimpage and went out with Clare to do the photo shoot after work.

script 1

It should be noted that my tracksuit trousers were actually adidas and so were my trainers. It doesn’t look very obvious though so I thought it would pass The All Seeing Eye of Nike. 😉 I do have Nike apparel in my current wardrobe – I remember getting a limited edition Nike tennis shoe during the Melbourne Open 2003 and have several other pairs of Nike trainers.

nike sweatshirt

There’s also a Nike sweatshirt with a hoodie that I got for chilly spring weather in Melbourne which has found a new role as a tattoo concealer for Casual Saturdays in the office. The dress code in my office does not allow for visible tattoos so I wear long sleeves every single workday – even on Saturdays. Yes, we do work half day on Saturday over here in Sarawak.

nike swoosh

We then proceeded to eat dinner at Sushi Tie and got the waitress to camwhore with me. I liked the deer-caught-in-headlights expression on her face. I’m going to caption this “Fear the Nike Swoosh“. 🙂

script 2

I proceeded to Delta Mall to meet up with Mary who was going to do the second major scene for the advertorial. I got a a lot of stares from people due to my athletic gear – I looked like I just finished a particularly grueling training session, but I kinda liked the attention. Heh! You’ve got to be able to take the double takes and stares if you’re a blogger going all out.

clare mary

Anyway, the second bit called for a video shoot in which I was getting heckled by two people while running laps around the mall. I initially planned for Mary to be doing the heckling but she introduced me to this guy who was PERFECT for the role. This is the take with only Mary doing the heckling:

I preferred the one with both of them doing the heckling so that’s the one I submitted for the advertorial. Mary is great as usual with her excellent repertoire of expressions and I loved the guy coz he pulled off the correct intonation and derisive-yet-humorous gesture in a single take. The video calls for me to be doing slow laps (basically a simulated slow run) while two people calls out:
“You run like a girl” and
“My grandmother runs faster than you”

script 3

The duo had great localization which was not in the script with Mary going “You run like a girl lah” and the guy going “Hey, my grandmother runs faster than you, okay?” which I really liked.

However, the best scene in the advertorial is, IMHO, one that I did not anticipate or script out. I was having my nicotine fix after finishing the photo shoot when I saw a security guard outside the mall doing the same. I remember the shoplifting scene for the Oreo advertorial and decided it would be fun to include the same theme into this one.

guard

I got the security guard to grab me while I was attempting to run and he was kind enough to comply. This was the best ending for the writeup since I figured I could put in a quirky caption before the contest regulations. It ended up being “…and design a lightweight pair of trainers so I can outrun mall security next time“. 🙂

Deleted Scenes:

ready alt

Ready…

set

Set…

go

Go…

I had also planned a Ready, Set, Go series of photos (this is the original trio) with me doing all three poses but decided to include just one (the Ready pose) due to fears of an unintentional overdose of camwhorage. 😉

The exclusion was a really good decision in hindsight coz it seems so cheesy now. Heh!

Bonus Features:

jay chou

The girls convinced me to do a Jay Chou pose. I’m not even sure why I did that, since I don’t even listen to his music!

This was one of the fastest advertorials that I’ve ever done with all the shoots completed in a day from script to editing. It was fun to go with the flow and see what scenes came out that wasn’t planned out. Cheers to Mary and Clare for helping out on this one!

McDonald’s Gold Medal Meal Beijing 2008

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gold medal meal

McDonald’s is having a promotional meal for the Beijing 2008 Olympics which is due to commence today on 08/08/08. It’s called the Gold Medal Meal and consists of a Spicy Chicken McDeluxe, Onion Rings (or French Fries), Carbonated Drink and a Sundae for RM 14.80.

gold medal meal meal

I went to check out the promotion just now during lunch break. It’s to get into the Olympics fever and all, since the opening ceremony will be held tonight at 8 pm. The excessive amounts of eights are due to the number 8 being an auspicious figure for the Chinese.

coca cola contour glass

The Gold Medal Meal also comes with a limited edition free Coca-Cola Contour Glass. This Beijing 2008 glass features five (5) different designs – Swimming, Athletics, Basketball, Volleyball, and Archery.

gold medal us

I’m having the worst pimple outbreak in the history of my life. I’ve never had problems with pimples or acne and I’m not sure why my face looks like a pizza right now. My friend tells me I’m just having my adolescence late…at the ripe old age of 27. I think I’m going to have to get some pimple cream before the Olympics opening ceremony tonight…which means a guide to managing pimples is coming up. 🙂

gold medal meal coma

The sheer amount of food in the Gold Medal Meal is certainly a combination guaranteed to induce a post-lunch coma.
Oh well, “One World, One Dream“, right? 😉

Tasting Room wine bistro review

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tasting room

Tasting Room wine bistro is located at Bangsar above Wine Cellar. It’s a wine bistro operated by the same people who runs Wine Cellar. The interior is very tastefully decorated and there is an al fresco balcony with seating arrangements for the nicotine brigade.

tasting room interior

I went there for dinner with Nicole and Grace. I was supposed to meet up with Nicole earlier at The Curve for a late lunch after finalizing the details for my sister’s wedding in KL but she couldn’t make it so we decided on an early dinner at Tasting Room instead.

into the future

Tasting Room has a themed wine tasting menu called Wine Flights. I went for the Into The Future 3-glass experience. It’s described as “A unique opportunity to time travel” and comes with the tag “Please ask for more information or be really adventurous; take the flight and see where you end up!”

future making

Into The Future is priced at RM 35 and includes a 2006 Alkoomi Shiraz-Viognier, a 2016 Alkoomi Shiraz-Viognier and a 2026 Alkoomi Shiraz-Viognier (!). You’re supposed to compare the taste between the original 2006 Alkoomi Shiraz-Viognier (the control glass) and see how well the wine ages with time.
 
into the future paper

The three glasses of wine (all originally the 2006 Alkoomi Shiraz-Viognier) are arranged on a paper liner and the sommelier starts the process of aging the wine 10 years into the future for a taste test comparison and then 20 years into the future.

chef du vin

I’ve read about this in Nicole’s blog and it gives you the opportunity to sample wines many years into the future by using a contraption that ages wine automagically at a rate of one year per second.

future 66

I also asked to age the wine 60 years into the future to beat Nicole’s 50 year old futuristic wine and ended up tasting a 66 year old wine from the future. It did lose much of it’s taste and was rather flat in nature but hey, I drank a wine from the year 2066! =D

nicole wine

Anyway, we started off with a bottle of wine that Nicole recommended. It’s a sweet white wine with a really long and foreign name which I couldn’t for the life of me commit to memory.

spaghetti raw egg

I opted for the Spaghetti Carbonara (RM 26.90) which is served with a half cracked raw egg in the middle of the dish. I was impressed by the presentation. You’re supposed to stir in the raw egg into the pasta.

fois gras

Nicole had the customized version of the Pan Seared Fois Gras (RM 29.90) which is described as “lightly fried with enoki mushrooms and expertly paired with delicate salmon roe quiche”.

pasta duo

Grace went for the Pasta Duo (RM 29.90) which is “an unusual combination of squid-ink angel hair and green tea soba pasta served with moist and juicy pan-seared scallop”.

second bottle

We ordered another bottle of wine and ended up staying for more than two hours. The total came up to about RM 400+ which is pretty reasonable, considering the two bottles of wine that we ordered. I think this is the second most expensive dinner I’ve ever had, the first was for a bill of RM 500+ for two. 😉

tasting room us

Tasting Room is a great place for gourmet food cooked with passion and fine wine and the ambiance is perfect for conversation. The proprietor is friendly and the sommelier is very helpful. It gets two thumbs up from me.

Wine Cellar – Ambassadors of Fine Wine

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wine cellar

Wine Cellar is a dubbed as the Ambassadors of Fine Wine and they rightly deserve the title. The place has a vast selection of wines and runs regular seminars and wine tasting sessions. These people are very passionate about wine, and it shows. 

wine cellar seminar

I spent an evening there with Nicole having dinner at Tasting Room (review upcoming) and attended a wine tasting seminar entitled “How to bluff your way through Bordeaux” conducted by Ron. I love the unpretentious presentation and they seem eager to share their knowledge about wine. 

wine cellar nicole

The wine tasting seminar showcases the two types of Bordeaux wines and how to differentiate them. My palate is less than sensitive so I’m probably the worst person to be attending a wine appreciation session but I do like wine, being the tipple of choice after distilled spirits. 😉 

wine cellar afterparty

The Wine Cellar people are very down to earth and I spent an enjoyable night talking to them and drinking wine after the Chelsea match. It was at some point during the night that someone suggested Nasi Lemak Ganja (so called due to the spicy sambal, not the addition of cannabis, much to my disappointment ;)) for supper. 

nasi lemak famous

Regina drove down to the stall, which is actually called Nasi Lemak FAMOUS… 

regina chicken

…and choose several pieces of chicken for our nasi lemak. 

nasi lemak prepare

The proprietor ended up making 12 packs of nasi lemak for take away. Heh! 

nasi lemak ganja

We adjourned back to Wine Cellar and had the Nasi Lemak Ganja together with some wine and port. It actually goes quite well with the more flavorful port. 

lindsay

This is Lindsay… 

me lindsay

…and the obligatory XX Chromosome pose. 😉 

wine cellar group

Thanks for a great night people! I was quite inebriated when I ended up at Grace’s apartment and passed out, rather than slept. 😉

The perfect metaphor for gaining weight – The Rice Theory (TM)

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my weight

I just weighted myself at a weighing scale and noticed that I am now clocking in at a rather  respectable (?) 69.2 kg.

me on scale

This is approximately a 10 kg increase from my previous weight (before rehab) and I had a friend relate to me how gaining 10 kg actually feels, but since it’s so subtle and nefarious you don’t actually realize it. It’s called The Rice Theory (TM).

turtle rice

The Rice Theory (TM) was related to me during dinner just now by my friend who watched me binge on food and then went with me to the mall for the weighing machine and it goes like this:

lugging rice

Pick up a 10 kg bag of rice from your nearest mall and try lugging that around. Imagine yourself carrying that 10 kg bag of rice. The. Entire. Day. Everywhere you go. 24/7. That’s how gaining 10 kg of weight feels like.

Jesus Christ, I need more exercise…

I love dogs!

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dog yum

Ever since I admitted to a certain indiscretion during my youth on Yee Hou’s blog chronicled in the comments here:

Hmm…I’m not sure if PETA reads your blog but I’ve done it before with a couple of friends when I was really young. Involved a stray dog, similar situation (target, rather) and a firecracker tied to said anatomy.

I know it’s evil. Sorry. I think I was 10 or 12 back then.

Dr. Tan: I have a little question though. How the hell did you manage to get hold of the dog and not have him bite you?

WTF man so evil one you.
Huai Bin | Homepage | 08.01.08 – 12:01 am | #

It was quite easy. The dog was a stray and thus quite easily tempted by food. It (he) was eating the Chinese New Year bak gua and my friend duct taped either a chai lei or ta di lei gong (those huge crackers) to his scrotum area.

I am sorry to say that I was the one who lit the fuse.

Dr. Tan: I once threw a chai lei onto a zinc roof of some kampung guy and a hole appeared.

I also heard rumours that two da di lei gong can blow apart a public phone, after which you can access the coin box.

What happened to the dog?
Huai Bin | Homepage | 08.05.08 – 11:35 pm | #

I don’t know. It ran away like a bolt of lightning after the firecracker exploded. There were drops of blood on the floor and everything. My bad.
Huai Bin | Homepage | 08.06.08 – 5:21 pm | #

I have felt the urge to repent and proclaim my love for all canines around the world. I love dogs. I’m sorry I aidded and abbetted in neutering one with a firecracker in my youth. =D

KL Trip Day 1: Meeting up with the Nuffnang team and Julian Hopkins blog research project

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bangsar heights

I arrived in KL last Monday to do some stuff related to my impending sister’s wedding. I was supposed to meet up with Grace at 6 pm after she gets off work coz I was crashing at her place at Bangsar Heights for two nights, so I had an entire afternoon to kill.

julian hopkins

I arrived at around 12 pm and met up with Julian Hopkins, who is doing a blog research project. He’s doing his doctorate in cultural anthropology about bloggers and wanted an interview with me. Read more about this research program about bloggers here.

soo kee

Julian wanted to bring me to this famous duck rice stall but it was closed so we ended up eating at the equally renowned Soo Kee Ipoh Chicken Kueh Tiaw soup.

soo kee stall

I expected the kueh tiaw to be like the Sarawak type of kueh tiaw (which is thicker) but the ones served here are much thinner and it’s really good.

soo kee chicken

The broth was absolutely infused with chicken soup and it’s very tasteful and not too filling as to induce post lunch coma.

soo kee soup

I love this stuff, I haven’t had it before since I’m not a big fan of soup dishes…until now. The Soo Kee Ipoh Chicken Kueh Tiaw soup really is that good. Anyway, Julian brought me to Monash University after that for a taped interview, which took up most of the afternoon. He kindly sent me back to KL Sentral so I could meet up with Grace. Julian is a really nice person so help out with his research program okay? 🙂

grace ong

Grace took me back to her apartment in Bangsar Heights where I stayed for the next two nights. I wasn’t really comfortable with the idea of sleeping with my future in laws since I smoke and all that and Grace’s room is a smoke-free room (as in you can smoke for free ;)).

jalan alor

I wasn’t due to meet up with my sister’s fiancé’s family until the next day so I hooked up with the Nuffnang team for dinner at Jalan Alor.

alor eat

Timothy suggested Restauran Sun Chui Yuen which is a bit of a tourist trap.

alor beer

I had a couple of beers…

alor food

…and we ordered quite a lot of food.

alor nuffnang

L-R: Samantha, Timothy, Nicholas, Yee Hou, Grace, Huai Bin (me).

Thanks for the dinner Nuffnang! It was great meeting up with all of you. The Nuffnang team are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. 🙂

Noodle throwing @ Siong Kee Mee Kampua

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siong kee

Siong Kee is one of the most famous kampua noodle stalls in Sibu. Siong Kee Mee Kampua is located in Taman Muhibbah. The proprietor is the one manning the stall and has almost acrobatic displays of noodle handling from the pot of boiling water to the bowl.

siong kee kampua

This friendly and unassuming owner is a Guinness World Records holder (!) though not for kampua noodles. He is credited under Most weddings attended by a best man. Mr. Ting Ming Siong from Sibu, Sarawak has been best man at the most weddings in the world with 1,393 occasions and counting. His record holder status can be verified here.

siong kee card

He even has a name card that lists his achievements in…er, matrimonial services, and he is also the Malaysian Book of Records holder in that department. Siong Kee Mee Kampua is very busy almost every night due to the good noodles that he churns out (and I suspect his acrobatic feats and record holder status as well).

Kampua noodles is actually very simple to make but this man is the only one who makes it entertaining to watch:

siong kee 1

1. Blanch noodles

siong kee 2

2. Throw noodles up in the air (no one else does this except him) and catch it again

siong kee 3

3. Mix noodles with a lard based sauce

sibu noodles

I’m not sure if the noodle throwing actually adds anything to the flavor (though rumor has it that it makes the noodles more pliable) but it certainly makes for a very lively performance.

Everybody loves kampua throwing!

sibu kampua

I’ve been told by kampua aficionados that you should always eat the noodles plain to gauge the taste properly. Kampua is served plain de facto but you can opt to have it with soy sauce, soy sauce and chilli, or chilli sauce.

kampua me

I ate this one plain and I pronounce it good!

kampua us

I was searching for his record in the Guinness World Records website and chanced upon a record that I could easily beat – Most Ferrero Rocher chocolates eaten in one minute which currently stands at a meager five (5).

Watch out Reuben Williams! I’m gunning for your record. I can do six easily. 😉

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