sponsored post – Page 20

Being GOOD is for LOSERS!

June 7, 2011 by HB

witch

I’ve always identified more with villains than heroes. Growing up, Professor Moriarty was more my cup of tea than Sherlock Holmes. Lex Luther appealed to me more than Superman. I can relate better to Darth Vader than Luke Skywalker. Magneto and his band of evil mutants seemed way cooler than boring old Professor X and his cadre of do-gooders.

7atenine

It was thus the natural choice for me to prefer the Super Villains event to the Super Heroes party. I just came back from Encore’s Super Villains party in 7atenine at the Ascott on the 1st of June and it was awesome! There was a photo wall where you can write a quote on this speech bubble and mine goes “Being GOOD is for LOSERS. Evil FTW!”.

super villain

I also came dressed in black, as did Lainey – every villain worth his salt instinctively knows that having a wardrobe full of black articles of clothing is essential. It’s the color of choice when it comes to villain attire. 😉

bar

7atenine was decked out in decorations straight from a comic book – there were “POW!”, “BAM!” and even “SMACK!” signs all around the place. There was a Super Heroes party held about a week before the Super Villains bash. The four cocktails are specially concocted for these two events and features two villains and two heroes respectively.

signature cocktails

I tried all four of the cocktails. It’s the best part about Encore’s parties – I’ve always appreciated a nicely done cocktail and with acclaimed mixologists coming in, you can always expect a new and different signature cocktail every time.

captain jack

Captain Jack
This is a cocktail inspired by Jack Sparrow (of Pirates of the Caribbean fame). It’s made primarily with Jack Daniel’s (thus the name) and Poire William eau de vie, which is French for “water of life” but is actually a fruit brandy. The pear Poire William goes very well with JD and this is one the strongest cocktails amongst the four.

lady luck

Lady Luck
It’s made with Finlandia vodka with watermelon and citrus. It’s pretty good but I liked the others better.

Juggernaut

Juggernaut
This was my first drink when I went in. It’s served in a tall glass and at the first glance, it didn’t seem like anything special. However, when I tasted this Jack Daniel’s and lemonade cocktail I was really impressed. What sold me was the grated toasted walnut that lined the rim of the glass. It’s like a martini but with toasted walnut instead of sea salt on the rim. It’s the most interesting cocktail among all the four available. Licking the finely grated toasted walnut before chasing it with a sip of the drink is a treat for your palate. Two thumbs up for innovation!

cocktail making

Red Sonja
This cocktail is a concoction of various berries (Bavarian black berries, blueberries and raspberries) with Finlandia vodka. It is thirst quenching but it doesn’t pack much of a punch, alcohol wise.

devil

The cocktails go for RM 17 nett but you’ll get a better deal when you buy 2 at once for RM 30 nett. I spent over RM 100 for drinks that night, although I didn’t drink all of it. Fresh was quite enthusiastic – she practically shouted “I CAN HELP YOU FINISH THAT!” happily towards the end of the event, and hey, who was I to stand in the way of ethanol induced gaiety? 😉

lainey

Anyway, there’s an upcoming event called Heroes Vs Villains on the 8th of June which is the culmination of the two parties. Super Heroes and Super Villains will come head-to-head in this ultimate party!

heroes villains

Check out the poster above for more details!

hui wen

I managed to meet Hui Wen from Singapore who came to Super Villains. Now that’s someone I haven’t seen in ages. It was good to see her there. 🙂

There’s also entertainment in the form of dancers – click play on the video clip I took for an idea of what Encore’s parties are like. It’s all about fellowship, entertainment and deliciously made cocktails.

mixologists

Come and join us at Heroes vs Villains for more fun than you can shake a stick (or a light saber) at.

…and don’t forget the hot DJ who will be spinning music the entire night. You won’t be able to sit still, the music is so good you’ll be grooving to the beats in no time. Especially after you’ve downed a cocktail or six. 😉

Planking

June 1, 2011 by HB

I just came back from a trip to Kuantan where I got to swim in the blue seas and get some planking photos done. Heh!

You’ve all heard of the phenomenon that started in Australia and swept worldwide…unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past few months, that is. It really only hit mainstream news when someone died while planking on a balcony.

I’ve seen some crazy stunts by plankers on the Planking Facebook page which started it all. What is planking? In a nutshell, all you do is lie face down with your hands by your side at the most ridiculous places. It’s just as simple as that.

I did the heated swimming pool rail at the resort (or at least tried to). This is a totally failed planking attempt since it’s really hard to balance on a wet and slippery 10 cm rail and perform a perfect plank.

The good: I was cheered on by a bunch of people vacationing there and chilling in the pool. Plus, since it is the Hyatt Grand Regency Resort, none of the staff wanted to be the one to stop a paying guest at a 5 star hotel. Heh!

The bad: I have bruises everywhere and my family jewels hurt like nobody’s business. Why? Think about it. It’s a 45 degree railing. You’re planking on a steep downward incline, trying to get the perfect form. It’s wet. When you lose your grip (what grip?), guess which part of your anatomy hits the rail before you slide into the pool or fall on the side? Yes, ouch indeed. -_-

I also did the notorious balcony planking photo there. We were at the 4th floor so it wasn’t very high up and the rail was relatively large enough to do it without an excessive chance of you falling down and ending in the ER. It’s not the perfect form but it’s close enough without being too dangerous. Also, if you look, there is a safety awning which would probably hold my weight if I fell down the wrong side of the building.

I have to say though, planking is a very idiotic meme that has swept the net for reasons unknown. It’s dangerous and it’s stupid. I suggest you do something better with your time…like playing the Funbots Dance Facebook app!

It’s also another Facebook activity so there’s that in common. Heh! It’s basically a game by Munchy’s to celebrate their 20th anniversary. They’ve been around since 1991 and this year, in the spirit of the Share the Fun campaign, four Funbots have been created – Michael Oven, DJ Mixer, ChopChop, and BeatBox. Witty!

There’s a real life parallel to this – the Funbot characters will begin their physical journey from 19th May, starting at the Munchy’s factory in Batu Pahat and ending in 1 Utama Oval Concourse where there will be a grand celebration from 1-5th June. Mark your calendars now coz fun and games await! Come and join the celebrations! 🙂

In the meantime, stay out of trouble and play the Funbots Dance app on Munchy’s Facebook page. It’s strangely addictive and you get to win prizes including a Macbook Pro, iPad 2 and other Apple products instead of a trip to the hospital. 😉

You can also track the progress of the Funbots journey to 1 Utama on the page. Come and beat my score now! w00t!

Is there an evil gene?

May 30, 2011 by HB

7atenin9

What makes people evil? What is evil? Does “evil” merely mean “different” e.g. beyond the norms of what society (which obviously means the majority) expects a person to behave? Or do you think there is a gene that causes pure evil to manifest?

One of my favorite phrases is the one that go “True evil is defined by the antipathy of the common man to society’s ills”.

mixologist

Well, I’m not about to go into a religious or philosophical debate but I’ve always been fascinated by the Italian/Sicilian Mafia in the glory days. They were villains, but somehow, gentlemanly villains. They were suave, dressed well and offers you…well, offers you can’t refuse. 😉

party people

The omerta (code of silence) is a fascinating thing, sociologically speaking – it worked until the Mafia started to get into the narcotics trade which carries a far heavier sentence. I reckon the RICO act was the death of organized crime as it is.

you hit us we hit you

I just came back from Australia where I went to the renowned Casino Beef Week 2011 in Casino, New South Wales. Casino as in the small rural Australian town, not the place where people wager hard earned money on. Anyway, the theme for this year was simply “Italian” and a lot of the residents came out dressed like Mafiosi.

security under new management

I reckon the Mafia is the gold standard in villainy – a lot of people aspire to be like them (at least the ones who are still in their teens anyway ;)) but you have to hand it to them – it is an impressive organization.

joker

However, there are much cooler villains – like the ones in DC comics. I have to say my favorite has gotta be Joker from Batman Begins. Who would have thought “Why so serious?” would become a catchphrase for ages and psychopathic (or at least sociopathic) behavior has become the embodiment of cool?

Who is your favorite super villain?

I’m asking coz there’s an awesome party coming up and you will get to dress as your favorite super villain!

Details:

super villains

Encore is back the themed event Super Villains where you get to test out 4 new signature cocktails (Captain Jack, Juggernaut, Lady Luck & Red Sonja) priced at RM 17 each (or two for RM 30). There will be only 100 of these to be served during the night.

girls

You can also mix you own cocktails and after 11 pm, there will be 4 hot dancers to spice up the night. Super Villains will be the theme of the night so expect dressed your favorite villains to make an appearance serving you.

party

HORECA throws great parties; I’ve always attended all their events. In the spirit of the subject of villainy, let’s hear your thoughts on the Scared Pose Look (TM) that we thought up while we were down under.

Who do you think has the best scared pose? It’s the same set and setting, at an apartment we were staying at in Byron Bay:

ringo
Model #1: Ringo

alycia
Model #2: Alycia

Choose one and tell me why you think they have the most scared pose and I’ll give 2 free drink vouchers each for the 5 most creative comments. Just comment before 4 pm on 1st June!

I also have extra drink vouchers so if you bump into me there, tell me to buy you one of their signature cocktails…that is, if I haven’t already used it myself. 😉 Come and have a blast with us this 1st of June. I’ve just got one question for you…

Why so serious?

What is your first car?

May 27, 2011 by HB

My first car was a second hand vehicle I picked up during my university years in Melbourne, Australia. The cars are cheap over there, especially used cars, and it’s served me well during my time there. I was rather sad to see it go.

However, it does make me wonder – if I were in Malaysia at that time, what car would I choose as my first car?

Well, if I used the same selection criteria, it would have to be economical, fuel efficient and yet look awesome. I can really only see one possible selection here.

Did you know that the Myvi is the bestselling car in Malaysia for 4 years running? I can see why it’s so popular – it’s priced cheaper than most other cars in the market and unlike other Malaysian made cars, this one actually looks great!

The Myvi is a result of a collaboration between Perodua with Toyota and Daihatsu and even Richard Hammond (of Top Gear fame) praised the Perodua Myvi. I know a lot of people who owned Myvi’s as their first car – some of them still drive them. It is a rather neat car and the size and engine makes it very practical for use in Malaysia with our traffic congestion and parking problems.

On another related matter (you’ll see), the song Marry You by Bruno Mars has been stuck in my head for ages. I saw the glee version of it first and I didn’t know who the original artists were. I was a bit appalled when I found out it was Bruno Mars coz I don’t listen to pop music so I decided this would be my secret guilty pleasure. 😉

I’ve always liked how the cast of glee can break into song and dance at the drop of a hat and pull it off so well. I can’t sing to save my life. People PAY me to stay out of their karaokes. 😉

Okay, I’m exaggerating there but you get the point. I’m basically tone deaf but I like to sing anyway. I love singing in the shower, when I work, and I occasionally also inflict my horrible singing upon all and sundry. This is one of those times.

I made a video with my own version of Marry You – I totally butchered the lyrics, of course. It’s meant to be a bit of a parody, like the fun and quirky Singaporean “remakes” of popular songs back in the ’90s, and most importantly, leave a happy vibe. Don’t let my singing put you off, check out the video that I made:

This video is for The Perodua Auditions in conjunction with the launch of the Perodua Facebook page. They’re running a contest where you can win RM 10,000 by making a video and sharing it with your friends. The video can be about anything – sing, dance, act, jump, scream or just show why you’re Perodua’s biggest fan and upload it. Don’t forget to include the line “Perodua, lagi best” as part of your video – it’s the only requirement. 🙂

Feel free to submit as many videos as you want as this contest does not require proof of purchase or anything ridiculous like that to enter. You can get a better chance at winning the RM 10,000 grand prize if by sharing it with your friends and getting them to vote for you. There will be also 5 consolation prizes of an iPad 2!

Well, not this one, this is the custom engraved iPad 2 that I just got, but a new iPad 2.

Like the new Perodua Facebook page now and start uploading your videos and sharing them in The Perodua Auditions to be a winner! RM 10,000 and iPad 2’s are up for grabs, so it’s nothing to sneeze at, and it’s just so easy to join. 🙂

The Pursuit of Happiness

May 9, 2011 by HB

happiness

The United States Declaration of Independence has an oft quoted line – Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. It’s misunderstood by a lot of people. Your happiness is not guaranteed…the sentence is supposed to give you the basic unalienable human rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (emphasis mine).

What is happiness? Well, it depends on the individual but it is your right to seek your own happiness. To me, happiness is a state of mind where you’re content with everything in your life.

flying

Happiness is something money cannot buy. A lot of people are unhappy about their financial situation but I believe that’s an unnecessary worry. The Chinese has a proverb that goes “Money is something that you can always earn back when you lose it”. There’s another phrase that goes “There will be water if God wills it” but that comes from the less reputable and more modern Dark Tower series of books by Stephen King. 😉

roman bath

Happiness is a state of mind that I always try to strive for. I’m happy when I’m doing the things I like such as travelling. It enriches me and makes me a more understanding and better person when I meet new people and learn about new cultures. I’m even happier when I’m spending quality time with loved ones – friends, family, my girlfriend.

It’s all too easy to get caught up in the rat race and forget about the simple things in life that lifts your mood:

Finding a parking space as soon as you enter a full car park
The smell of freshly cut grass
Laughing at corny jokes
Having a baby smile at you
A fellow commuter stopping to let you drive out of a particularly busy exit
Waking up and realizing it’s the weekend so you can sleep in
Watching a sweet TVC that makes you smile

These are all little things which makes yout day just that little bit brighter. It has a cumulative effect and happiness is highly contagious – it’s like laughter. It’s meant to be shared. 🙂

I watched the Cadbury TVC and repeated it twice coz it was just so sweet. I found it adorable – the simple sweet joy (pun not intended) that permeates the entire commercial. It has all the elements done right – the humor, the camaraderie of neighborhood love, and a dash of romance.

resort

I took it upon myself to make a video similar to that. I was in Miri, Sarawak at that time to help my girlfriend move her stuff to KL. We spent a weekend in the Marriott Resort and Spa in Miri. It’s located right on the beach by the South China Sea and we booked a chalet facing the pool and sea.

You just need to open the sliding glass door to get out. There’s a balcony which is less than 10 meters from the pool – it’s almost like having a pool right at your doorstep!

view

I thought up the idea of having a series of unfortunate events much like the original TVC. The entire video was shot over a period of 2 days. I didn’t have a professional videographer so I had to think of how to get the scenes right.

I also wanted a “happy” vibe so everything is shot in daylight – it’s bright and sunny with no indoor scenes except the initial phone call. I’ll go through the more interesting bits to give you a behind-the-scenes peek at the making of the video. 🙂

The splash

tripod

The first mishap you see (the one where I exit the house just to get splashed by a wayward neighbor’s dirty mop water) is done using a tripod. The one holding the bucket is…*drumroll*…Jeanie herself. The bucket was too heavy for her and we had to do two takes. I ended up changing coz the first splash totally failed – she went into the scene, propelled by the momentum and weight of the bucket of water.

We filled it with less water in the second take. I didn’t want to use up the rapidly dwindling backpack of attire I brought along. 😡

The car not being able to start

You’ll see the same car in the next scene so I did an extreme close up so you won’t see the make, model or color of the car. 🙂

The accident scene

car

This one wasn’t too hard to do. It only required the two of us to pull it off. I filmed Jeanie driving towards me. I told her to put her foot on the gas and not worry about hitting me.

After that part was filmed, I passed the camera to her and she filmed me being caught like a deer in the headlights as the car (apparently) came barreling down on me.

The next scene was me twitching on the car bonnet after being “hit”. It took some video transitions to make it look comically realistic (without actually hitting me with the car).

It was originally longer but I thought the bit where I ended up wandering about dazed after being hit was a little too much so I cut it from the editing board. You can watch the full original scene here:

I spent a lot of time editing the videos – it’s a good learning process but it took me the better part of 3 days of almost continuous tweaking to get the timing and synchronization right. I’m a newbie in video production, thus the learning curve.

The sea

beach

This is one of the scenes that I took out of the video as I thought it won’t contribute much to it. The beach walk also had to be sped up 4x so it won’t drag on.

The underwater scene

underwater

This is a bit of a retrofit. It was meant to be all fluff – a cool video taken underwater. I have a waterproof digicam and I figured it would be nifty to take a video underwater. I knew it won’t make much sense since I appear with my shirt on in the next scene…until I saw someone being escorted out by security.

pool

The Marriott has a strict policy – only guests are allowed to use the resort facilities and The Proverbial Light Bulb (TM) came on. It shall be the scene where I evade the guards! smirk

I put that in the caption (used the Confucius angle), and the rest, as they say, is history.

The end scene

people

After all those trials and tribulations, we finally shot the last scene beside the pool. There’s this comfy sofa and we enlisted the help of a kind lady from France who was more than obliged to help us film this scene. The inter-cuts you see at the end is filmed by us – I did her and she did me.

The chocolate

cadbury old

I swear this was the hardest part of the video – we went to several different shops in Miri but none of them had Cadbury Dairy Milk. They have others – the ones with nuts, Old Gold, and others…but not the original. It took us 2 hours before we stumbled upon a shop that sells it. I bought 5 x 75 gram bars.

cadbury new

I then realized that it was the old packaging when I chanced upon a shop with the new packaging. I bought more of it and re-shot some of the scenes again. I have a lot of chocolate now but I love Cadbury Dairy Milk so it’s all good. 😀

cadbury dairy milk

We actually did share it – there were a couple of kids running around in the resort and I passed them several bars. I thought their parents would balk – candy from strangers and all that, but they thanked us for it and one even bought us drinks from the poolside bar.

poolside

The kids loved it. One of them came up to me and she showed me her toy – a launcher she was playing with beside the pool that launches a baby dinosaur up into the air by pumping air into the tube. That was the highlight of doing the video – sharing the Cadbury chocolate and seeing the little ones enjoying it by the pool during their holiday. 🙂

Here’s my masterpiece:

What do you think?

Do you need a dose of happiness? Join the Cadbury Facebook page and get some! 🙂

Castrol Football Crazy’s Longest Pass. Pass it on and be on TV!

May 6, 2011 by HB

I just went to the ESPN Star Sports launch of Castrol Football Crazy’s Longest Pass campaign in Malaysia yesterday. It was awesome! I got to talk to the legendary Steve McMahon – he’s the former England international and ex-Liverpool player extraordinaire.

Someone mentioned that Steve looks really tough and rough but he’s really a nice guy. Heh! I tend to agree – he’s a very affable fellow, with years of experience in playing real football behind him. We all had a wonderful time chatting with him.

Steve has an amazing record with 200+ matches under his belt, and he’s scored 50 goals altogether. He shared some really interesting insights about the Malaysian football scene in general how it can be better.

Anyway, back to the launch, it was at Bangsar Shopping Center and I saw Mark Ng (Marketing Director for Castrol Malaysia and Singapore) when I walked into the concourse. I’ve met him a number of times in the past and he’s really friendly despite his position. Awesome guy, it’s always a pleasure to bump into him. 🙂

There were two girls donned in the red and green colors of Castrol at the photo wall and we took a photo with them…or rather, we were ushered towards the wall to take a photo with them.

La Bodega had a couple of tables reserved for the event so while we were waiting for it to start, we got a couple of healthy shakes inside. That’s Jestina and Mimi in the background, looking through the menu and deciding what to order. I thought it was a rather artistic shot. *self praise

ESPN’s Castrol Football Crazy’s Longest Pass launch started with the hosts of the program (Adam, Patricia and Jason) introducing Steve McMahon and a local guy who can do AMAZING things with a football. He was on stage, basically dancing to a song with his football.

His control is impeccable – the football was on his neck and he somehow got it between his legs in a rapid twisting motion.

You’ve got to see it to believe it. I hear he’s the best freestylist in Malaysia.

The other thing that really impressed me was the neat trick they pulled off with Jason. Adam and Patricia were on stage, trying to find the missing Jason (word was he went to the toilet) when the TV came on.

It turns out that Jason wasn’t anywhere in bsc at all. It was a pre-recorded feed which syncs perfectly with the other two Castrol Football Crazy hosts. The banter went on and Jason kicked a ball from the TV (remember he’s not actually in bsc), which appeared on stage and Adam and Pat took the ball from there.

What can I say? I’m a sucker for nifty launch gimmicks.

…and that is what ESPN’s Castrol Football Crazy Longest Pass is all about! It involves all of us (yes, including YOU way at the back) making the longest pass in Asia. Just record a scene of you kicking a football to someone else off-screen and upload it!

The best videos will then be chosen and edited to make a seamless football pass throughout Asia! Imagine your kick going to someone in the Philippines and then to Japan etc etc – you’ll get the drift. I watched the promo commercial and it’s set to be an amazing campaign!

The ESPN people recorded us making football passes on stage and I had to do several takes coz I kept wanting to do something fancy but failed. T_T

I’ll be getting the video after they’re done with post-production and I’ll upload it for you all to see what it’s like. It was a lot of fun to be part of the Castrol Football Crazy’s Longest Pass campaign!

In the meantime, why don’t you record a video of you doing the same, upload it and send it to cfclongestpass@espnstar.com with your full name and country details? Just use anything – even a phone cam would do, and if your entry is good enough, you’ll be featured on TV across ESPN Star Sports’ network as well as on the Castrol Football Crazy Facebook page. 🙂

You’ll basically be in a video featuring a never-ending football pass throughout Asia! Find out more and be a part of this campaign by surfing over to the Castrol Football Crazy Facebook page.

Look ma! I’m on TV! 😀

KFC O.R. Chicken Chop with mushroom gravy

May 4, 2011 by HB

kfc

I passed by the newly relocated KFC at KLCC with Jeanie a few days ago. I haven’t eaten for 24 hours prior to this (we were down with a bug) and was quite keen to get started. I noticed they have a new promotion going on – the KFC O.R. Chicken Chop with mushroom gravy.

chicken chop
The latest version!

I remember having KFC’s O.R. Chicken Chop back in 2006 so I was keen to check out the new and improved version. We both ordered it and this seems to be a whole different incarnation. The platter of the good stuff came with a chicken chop, some potato wedges, sweet corn kernels and mushroom sauce served on the side.

kfc chicken chop plate
This is KFC’s ’06 varient – you can tell by the smaller photo – that was the standard size in my blog back then. 🙂

Chicken chop is a uniquely Malaysian dish – created by Hainanese cooks back when the British ruled the lands. However, it has become a standard feature in a lot of places now. KFC’s variant is slightly better – it’s also de-boned so you can eat the entire drumstick (chicken chop is always made with a drumstick) but it’s battered and fried in the tradition of KFC’s Original Recipe.

kfc or chicken chop

The KFC O.R. Chicken Chop (circa 2011) is very crispy on the outside and retains the tender chicken juices on the inside. The have also improved on the mushroom sauce this time around. I like how it’s served on the side so you can decide how much you want on your chicken chop.

However, the best part about the KFC O.R. Chicken Chop is the addition of sweet corn kernels. I love sweet corn and this provides a whole new dimension to the dish – there’s a sweet component when you shovel some of the corn into your mouth and it goes very well with the chicken chop – a very nice touch!

chicken chop promo

The KFC O.R. Chicken Chop with mushroom gravy combo retails for RM 9.90 with all of the above and a drink of Mountain Dew. It was so good we finished everything except for the potato wedges (my stomach has shrunk during the 24 hours without food).

kfc chicken chop

The KFC O.R. Chicken Chop with mushroom gravy is a wonderful option when you pass by a KFC outlet the next time. It’s quite different from their 2006 incarnation and I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…

manager

…it’s great comfort food! 🙂

First landing

April 26, 2011 by HB

christchurch

I remember my first trip to New Zealand – my entire family went with another family for our first landing (one of the prerequisites to get a Permanent Residency). We arrived at Christchurch and rented a caravan large enough for our family of 4 and their family of 4 and did nothing except go to prospective high schools to prepare for our education there two years later.

The first few days were a drag – we went to several schools before deciding on either Burnside or Riccarton high school. Next was the search for a home stay since we were minors and my dad finally settled for one right behind Riccarton High School (which was the one we ended up going to).

auckland nz

The rest of the time however was marvelous – we spent a couple of days in Christchurch, swung down to Dunedin (primarily to prepare me and my sister for medical school – she made it, I didn’t), met with the steepest road in the entire world before heading to the North Island.

rotorua

We pretty much toured the entire NZ in 3 weeks just by driving. My favorite place would be Rotorua – the air smells like sulfur and everything is more expensive than other towns but I loved the mud baths and our motel even had its own private spa!

luge

I was also an adventure fiend back then and went for this precarious ride called the luge (and got teased mercilessly by the other family’s twin sisters for pronouncing it loo-gee) where I nearly shit my pants by intentionally steering down “Advanced” instead of “Beginner” and careening down the side of a hill with sheer cliffs and nothing but centrifugal force to avoid you from tipping over.

I got out all wobbly legged and was properly chastised for heading down the Advanced route when I’m not supposed to.

bungee

I also went bungee jumping – AJ Hackett originated from New Zealand, but to be honest, the luge experience scared me more than the bungee jump coz I was supposed to steer but I didn’t know how to.

riccarton high school

Fast forward two years and I found myself studying in Christchurch. My parents decided on RHS primarily coz it had a low ratio of Asian students compared to Burnside. They are firm believers of fitting in and immersing yourself into another culture, which I guess rubbed off on me during my travels.

I joined the drama club (best thing that happened to me) and had a leading role in the end-of-year school play Peer Gynt. I also got kicked out of school for disciplinary issues but we shall not be discussing that today. 😉

fishandchips

The year that I spent in Christchurch was a lot of fun. The temperature drops down to the negatives in winter and despite being only 15 years old, I was very active in the rave scene. I can be seen at Ministry most weekends, which is where most of the good raves are found. I love eating fish and chips loaded with ketchup during the colder days of the year and explored every nook and cranny of the city (as much as a 15 year old who hung out with uni students who could drive did).

Christchurch is a beautiful city and although I’ve been to Auckland late last year to see my mom, sister and niece, I still prefer Christchurch to Auckland. It’s like how I love Melbourne but can’t get into the groove of Sydney.

christchurch-tram-nz

It’s a perfect place with quiet spots like Church Corner with its quaint dairies (a grocery store of sorts where you can get hot food and drinks) and yet with a vibrant night life, if you know where to look. You can even hang out in the city square where there is a huge ass chessboard with equally gigantic pieces.

Christchurch is also great as a base to REALLY travel around New Zealand. Just rent a car and explore the South Island before hooking back up north.

dairy

It’s been ages since I’ve been back to Christchurch and I’ll really love to see how much it has changed (and perhaps see my old principal, whom I had a lot of run-ins with and show him I didn’t turn out to be a total delinquent after all ;)) so it was great news when I heard that AirAsia X is now flying to Christchurch from an amazing RM 499 one way!

Man, you gotta give AirAsia X kudos, they’re adding more and more destinations exponentially – it really makes travel much easier at a great value!

You can also get the chance to win an awesome 7D/6N holiday in New Zealand courtesy of AirAsiaX by participating in the Faces Go Places contest on their Facebook page. Just upload a photo of your face to their Facebook application, which has a variety of activities you can match an expression to. Add a caption and share it with your friends to get votes. It’s that easy!

manic

This is my maniacally excited face. Heh! The Faces Go Places contest is where it’s at. Come on then, give us your best shot mate! 😉

A touch to remember

April 21, 2011 by HB

aquaria

I went to the launch of the Tupperware One Touch Airtight Challenge a couple of days back. It was held in Aquaria, KLCC. I was there quite early and Joanna spotted me from the registration counter. I was interested in what Tupperware was unveiling since I heard it was going to be something unusual.

tupperware

I met Christine and Ee Ling inside the cordoned off area. I was talking to Ee Ling (Senior Manager of Marketing Communications & Corporate Affairs) about the Tupperware brand. Somewhere during the conversation, it was mentioned that they have added new colors to the containers to counter the “aunty” image of Tupperware.

ee ling

I was surprised – that is news to me! I’ve been living with Tupperware for ages – lunch boxes and water containers when I was in primary school – it has always been a premium brand to me. Heck, I was telling my girlfriend that I’ll be attending a Tupperware event and her first reaction was to get all excited and ask if they’ll be giving away Tupperware containers as door gifts.

snacks

I told her I didn’t know, maybe, maybe not. It turns out that Tupperware WAS indeed kind enough to give us some. I’m sure that’s going to make my girlfriend very happy. Heh!

You know, back in the days way before man roamed the Earth (and people and to walk 3,000 miles to go to school – one way) people used a lot of interesting but ultimately slap dish ways of maintaining freshness. I call this period of darkness BT (Before Tupperware).

old skool

One of the common things that my grandma’s generation does is to use a serviette (or a piece of newspaper) to “seal” a container tighter – this container usually being a cream cracker aluminium tin. They were big fans of recycling and reusing stuff back then. 😉

transfer

It’s all well and good but it doesn’t work very well – the mee sua (longevity noodles) that was given to me for my birthday started going a bit off. It won’t keep very long, unless it’s in a REAL airtight container, not something an old Martha Stewart playing MacGyver thought up several generations ago for making a semi air tight container. 😉

karen

Anyway, back to the Tupperware One Touch Airtight Challenge launch, have you ever wondered why the snacks you put inside Tupperware never goes stale? It’s airtight! In fact it’s so airtight they’re putting a Samsung Galaxy Tab inside it and submerging the Tupperware in a glass aquarium!

Karen of Tupperware went down in SCUBA gear for the launch of the Airtight One Touch Challenge. She was accompanied by two other divers who were feeding food to the fish in the huge tank in Aquaria, KLCC.

feeding

The Tupperware One Touch container she’s carrying in this video has a Samsung Galaxy Tab inside it! It’s switched on and fully functional. It’s meant to show the air tight capabilities of the Tupperware One Touch container.

samsung

There was a banner unfurled underwater and turtles slowly gliding past us – it really was a grand launch. 🙂

We were brought on a tour around Aquaria, KLCC and reached another area of the aquarium where there will be a permanent fixture of a Samsung Galaxy Tablet inside a Tupperware One Touch container. The unique thing about this is the placement of the container – it’s inside an aquarium in DEEPFOREST.

cell

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is fully functional – I tried calling it from my cell phone and it rang with my number on it! It’s going to be there for about two months and it’s there for a reason. More about that later!

cheesie

Tea was served after the launch and we headed back with goodies galore from Tupperware. We received a box of One Touch airtight containers and I’ve already put it into good use!

I bought some of my favorite cookies – this one is replacing Tim Tams as my favorite due to its slightly more complex coconut flavor. It’s two biscuits sandwiching a chocolate center. Arnott’s Kingston biscuits, which I hated when I was going through university in Melbourne but have grown to love now.

The problem with buying cookies is that I can’t finish them in one sitting (but chips is another matter) and if you just put it in the fridge, it goes a bit off and absorbs the other smells in your refrigerator. 😡

It’s just not meant to be stored that way…which is why the packages have “Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place” printed on it. Now that I have the Tupperware One Touch containers, I can indulge without having to worry about finishing the entire pack or risk it going bad.

instructions

This allows me to make great discoveries like this Italian delight. Forno Bonomi Savoiardi Ladyfingers is awesome! It tastes great when you dunk it into hot coffee – the entire biscuit rapidly absorbs the liquid like a sponge. You can even make a no-bake tiramisu with the biscuits when you’re bored of eating it.

I also included my current favorite brand of chocolate chip cookies (from the US of course). This is Pepperidge Farm Sausalito Milk Chocolate Macadamia with whole macadamia nuts in a chocolate chip cookie. It’s not cloyingly sweet…in fact it’s rather bland (in a good way) compared to most choc chip cookies – you can taste the subtle flavors – definitely a product for adults.

onion rings

…and my current favorite snack – Burger King’s onion rings! It’s also made in the USA and it’s quite expensive at RM 9. However it tastes REALLY good and somewhat like the real onion rings from BK. Of course, onion rings from BK would be cheaper but it won’t be as crunchy as this!

fresh

I have the gene that causes me to eat a whole bag of chips so putting this into a Tupperware container makes the excuse “Oh it’s going to go stale if I don’t finish it so I might as well eat the whole bag” moot. 🙂

storage

I like how the One Touch containers are stack-able too – it really saves space – the snacks and cookies go into one cupboard and the noodles go into another.

food

I’m loving it!

Do you want to win your own Tupperware hampers and Samsung Galaxy Tabs? Just type <TupperwareAirtight>space<Your Name> and send to 012 783 0790. It’s a regular cell phone number, not one of those short codes where you have to pay though your nose to text. I like the consideration given – you only pay the regular SMS charges that your cell provider charges! 🙂

contest

Every 100th SMS received will get a Tupperware hamper full of products worth RM 50 and a chance to win a Samsung Galaxy Tab! There are three (3) Samsung Galaxy Tabs to be won. The contest ends on the 31st May 2011 and you can actually see it happen in real life if you head down to Aquaria, KLCC!

call

Just go to the DEEPFOREST section and look for the aquarium with the Tupperware One Touch container with the Samsung Galaxy Tab inside. It’s fun to text and see your SMS appear. 😉

enjoy rings

The number you’re looking for is 012 783 0790. Head on over to Tupperware’s Facebook page for more information on the contest!

A trip into the F1 Paddock in Sepang / Malaysian Grand Prix 2011 race

April 15, 2011 by HB

me anita

The paddock! It’s the dream of every F1 fan to be able to walk amongst the pit crews, engineers and drivers prepping the F1 cars before the start of the race. I was fortunate enough to be able to join in just one such expedition.

f1 paddock

There are scheduled pit walks if you’re a member of the F1 Sepang Paddock Club (where you have to shell out a staggering amount for the privilege) but ours was by the Lotus Renault GP team.

girls

Our liaison was Anita Nyers, who travels around the world with the Lotus Renault team as Liaison Officer. She brought us into their allocated garage, which was bustling with activity. There were people hurrying around, all wearing the Lotus Renault GP shirt. I am also donning one of the tees – which I got from PROTON, who is supporting Group Lotus in its sponsorship and involvement in F1 through the Lotus Renault team.

lotus tag

This is the almost magical Lotus Renault GP VIP Garage Access tag that granted us entrance into the area. I still have it. 🙂

sepang

The paddock visit was scheduled at 11 am in the morning and I drove down to Sepang much earlier than that (didn’t want to risk missing this chance) and parked in PA1. The SIC has decreed that parking this year will be slightly cheaper – I paid RM 50 for the ticket, which is valid for two days. I like the parking spot, it’s right in front of the Sepang International Circuit.

f1 sepang

Anyway, back to the paddock trip, we saw the Lotus Renault GP team working on the cars, tuning and checking every single component before the race in their garage.

garage

The weather and track conditions (temperature of the ground, ambient temperature etc) are tracked constantly with computer monitors. It’s an engineer’s wet dream.

computer

They use all this data to give them an edge in the race. Here is a tyre stack – two front and two rear wheels which will be used during the race. There are spares in stacks all around.

tyres

The interesting bit about this contraption here is that it HEATS the tyres starting from 3 hours before the race based on the track temperature so it’ll perform optimally.

lotus garage

The attention to detail is incredible and F1 cars are amazingly complex machines.

helmets

These are the real racing helmets that the drivers will be using later.

Here’s a video of The Paddock! Experience it vicariously! 😉

driver

Oh, we bumped into the Malaysian driver for Lotus Renault GP while walking in The Paddock – here’s Fairuz Fauzy.

lotus renault lounge

We were also brought into the hospitality lounge where there’s anything and everything you can think of. I had a bottle of Italian sparkling water. There’s Evian, Perrier, various carbonated drinks and even Corona beer in the fridge. You can help yourself to it, or more accurately, Lotus Renault GP has a staff member which helps you get it.

monitors

They actually FLY these people all the way around the world with the Lotus Renault F1 drivers – everyone from the pit crew to the chefs. The drivers have very specific diets and brings along their own chef and food.

monitoring

I discovered a coffee machine which is quite nifty – you just put a packet of coffee that you choose from a dispenser above and put the entire thing in. There’s no need for you to open it or pour it out. The entire packet – unopened – goes into a slot and out comes your coffee. I don’t care if it makes me look dumb, but I’ve never seen anything like that before.

I also had a croissant (which is one of the largest I’ve ever seen) and a banana coz I didn’t have breakfast and then we walked out to watch the pit girls parade past, waving to the drivers and teams in The Paddock.

Here is one final video of the Lotus Renault garage in The Paddock!

parade

We had to vacate the premises soon after that for the qualifiers so we did. I watched the 4 pm qualifiers and went back to catch some much needed sleep before the real finals on Sunday.

paddock

Sunday came and I decided to go 5 hours early to beat the jam. It turned out to be futile. It was congested at certain parts of the road to Sepang and though the traffic police did a great job in directing, it took me the better part of two hours to get there.

view

There’s still ample time when I got there so I parked and started walking around before deciding I wanted to go up to one of the towers instead of sitting at my allocated seat. There’s a girl at the entrance which checks your ticket but I guess I was quite official looking with my tags and all on Saturday so she didn’t ask me for my ticket when I went up.

prep

I decided to stroll up again and smiled at her. She recognized me from the day before…and yes, did not check my ticket. Heh! I went up to the 3rd floor, which offers an awesome 360 degree view of the track – I can see the starting point, several straights and two bends.

flags

The pit girls came out parading the flags of the participant countries…

ready

…before the F1 cars came roaring out of The Paddock and into their allocated slots.

Here’s a video of the lineup of all the F1 cars at the Malaysian Grand Prix 2011 final race!

There was an initial placement round and then the race started proper…

…and they’re off!

start

Man, was it exciting! Red Bull Racing’s Sebastien Vettel started charging right off but Vitaly Petrov of Lotus Renault was right on his ass, giving him lots of pressure. Vitaly finished 3rd with his Lotus Renault in Melbourne before this so he was a favorite in Sepang. His pacing was impressive and it must have kept Vettel looking at his rear. It was unbelievable!

bend

I was rooting for Nick Heidfeld though. He’s also with the Lotus Renault team but didn’t start out as well as Petrov. However, he just kept at it and it paid off at the end, as you’ve probably heard.

chase

Petrov did things with his Lotus Renault F1 car that it was not meant to do – aerodynamic stunts – and had to retire at the 52nd lap. It was sooo close to the end but unfortunately he hit the side of the track and actually became airborne for a while before gravity took hold and pulled the car back down. The impact damaged the front so he had to exit after that.

chasing

I was standing all through the entire race – running from one side of the tower to the other to see the action. Nick of Lotus Renault was the dark horse in this race and I like rooting for the underdog. He kept on pushing the limits.

watch

The other fans up there were equally excited, some flew thousands of miles just to come and root for their team.

corners

It was a nail biting race – each lap saw cars trying to outmaneuver each other at bends and vying for position on the straights and Hiedfeld of Lotus Renault managed to come in at 3rd place!

race

It’s not the chequered flag but being able to stand on the podium is quite an achievement in itself. This is especially sweet for PROTON since Lotus Renault’s Heidfeld did it on home soil. 😀

finish

Out of the 3 Malaysian backed teams, only the Lotus Renault team managed to get into the top 3 and pop the cork on the champagne bottle in the podium. w00t!

tickets

Lotus Renault GP is sponsored by Group Lotus. PROTON in its support of Group Lotus’ sponsorship of the team kindly provided me the tickets to F1 and the rare chance to go into The Paddock and even better – get INSIDE Lotus Renault’s garage. Not many people have that chance and I’m glad I managed to experience it.

I also went to the Rain concert which was included in the ticket.

anita nyers

Thanks to Jeffrey and Alvin from PROTON for being great hosts and Anita Nyers from Lotus for being an awesome tour guide. I can now say that I’ve held a real F1 steering wheel in my hand and rubbed shoulders with the pit crew inside the Lotus Renault paddock. 🙂

An interesting fact about the Lotus Renault team: Their golden suits is not just for the bling factor – it allows them to stay cool in Malaysia’s hot weather compared to their traditional black ones.

straight

Now that the Malaysian leg is over, I have one more year to recover from the sonic assault on my ears. I didn’t wear earplugs on both days and I think I might have developed slight hearing problems. 😉