Pirates ah-hoy!

The good thing about sponsoring movies - the privilege to watch it first before anyone else does. Please don't be envious...the movie will premier this Thursday anyways. ;)

The special screening is gonna be in 3D~ Woot!! It's my first time, can't wait~ =D

Canoodling, Bangsar Village II

Almost every Friday night after work is reserved for private dinners with WL. We would either go for something a little lavish or hit the hawker stalls for more affordable treats. This time, WL decided to bring me to a restaurant that he had been wanting me to try. And there we were, hand-in-hand heading towards Canoodling at Bangsar Village II.

This restaurant was recommended by his friend & upon arriving, I'd have to say that the entrance is pretty fascinating.

This restaurant is very concept driven & incorporates a colour theme from the decor right down to the utensils used. Yellow is their choice despite it being a difficult colour to mix & match - they have embraced it well, keeping it chic & contemporary.

The kitchen adopts an open concept with stainless steel upholsteries installed. Indeed clean & sleek. Me likey~

The one thing which caught my attention was the white piece of paper spreaded across the table. Apparently, customers are encouraged to doodle on the paper with crayons provided on each tables. After doodling, customers can opt to upload & tag the Canoodling page. Seen here is WL attempting to become an artist & his doodling outcome. =P

Now here comes the food choices...basically, Canoodling serves noodles only as their main course - be it Malay, Chinese or Asian style - the dishes are infused with some Western flair. Like I said, it's not your typical noodle restaurant. So what was my order, you asked? Being a traditionalist at times, I got myself a bowl of pan mee with anchovies, poached egg & dried chilli flakes cooked in dry style.

Whereas WL ordered braised duck & ginger noodles. This dish is pretty worth it considering the duck drumstick given. =D

The taste? Well, it's not great but for some reason the dishes tasted pretty unique. My pan mee texture is springy & yummy despite the anchovies tasted too salty for my liking. WL's choice was not bad but according to him, it wasn't as good as before. Originally a slightly soupy noodles had for some odd reason transformed into thicker gravy. Hmm hard for me to judge if it was delicious.

We ordered some side dishes as well - fried chee cheung fun & fried calamari. The chee cheung fun was pretty interesting cuz it tasted like char kuay teow while the fried calamari was mediocre. Perhaps the squids weren't too fresh leading to softer texture.

Overall, the food is okay considering the price averages at RM9.90 per bowl. I normally wouldn't expect a restaurant at posh areas like Bangsar Village to charge such price cuz it would probably be around RM12.90 or higher. If you're up for noodles, do drop by this place. It's a pretty cozy place to hang out, trust me~

Address:

Canoodling
2F29, 2nd Floor, Bangsar Village II
No. 1, Jalan Telawi Satu
Bangsar Baru
59100 Kuala Lumpur

Contact:

03-2287 1566

Opening Hours:

11:00am - 10:00pm daily

Links:

http://www.facebook.com/canoodling.big

http://www.thebiggroup.co

P.S. I think the owners are opening this restaurant soon next to Canoodling =D

Hong Kong Dessert @ SS2, PJ

I'm not a big fan when it comes to tong sui & I cringe each time when being asked to eat a bowl. Nevertheless, I still can make it an exception when sharing it with WL. Hours earlier, we had a satisfying dinner at KFC SS2. Burp~ The night was still young & both of us were reluctant to head home early. And I had a sudden craving for tau foo fa & just had to lay my hands on it again after eating it yesterday.

We went to the same place last night at Hong Kong Dessert, SS2 but I've forgotten to take some pics. So now I'm sharing with you my experience on the desserts that we both ordered

My choice was a soya beancurd sweetened with palm sugar powder, instead of sugar cane syrup. For RM3.50, the portion is pretty huge which is quite affordable. The texture is soft & very smooth which are important elements of a good bowl of beancurd. My only issue is that the palm sugar as substitute is too sweet for my liking. Hence, I still prefer the good 'ol sugar cane syrup with ginger.

WL ordered a coconut milk with sago & pomelo. Of course, it tastes sweet & fragrant but it's nothing extraordinary. Just another dessert to indulge after a sumptuous meal. The price is okay for the portion given, in my opinion.

Well, if you ask me...I would consider dropping by for a quick dessert once in a while. The desserts served are not something to die for & they're a little pricey for ordinary desserts. Anyhow, the larger portions & an air-conditioned shoplot more than make up for the slightly high price. Just don't expect too much or else you'll be disappointed.

Address:

Hong Kong Dessert
36, Ground Floor
Jalan SS2/63
47300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor

Contact:

03-7873 0148

Opening Hours:

2:00pm to 2:00am (Weekdays)
12:00pm to 2:00am (Weekends & Public Holidays)

Ridiculously fast & furious

Yeah, yeah. I know you've been groaning cuz this movie franchise is getting tiresome. But who can resist watching it when it's one of the summer releases? Besides, its simple but action-packed storyline is not too difficult to consume, no? Better than movies like Priest, for instance.

I went to watch with WL without much expectation in mind. I mean, you watch this kind of movie for entertainment & not taking it too seriously. There's not much of racing in this fifth instalment as the creators try to inject more rich plot, focusing on the characters' emotions. And it's pretty fun to see several main characters from the Fast & Furious series coming together as a team for a major project within the movie.

If you're unfamiliar with the series, Fast Five is loosely based on the timeline shortly after Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) was sent to jail by cop, Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker). The latter with the help of Dom's sister, Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) rescued Dom from prison. Just bear in mind that Dom's girlfriend, Letty (Michelle Rodiguez) is already dead in this movie.

Some of the dialogues are pretty cheesy but quite funny too. There's even scene where two cars are dragging a bank vault on the highway! I'm not revealing any further in case you haven't watched yet. Bet you'll enjoy it anyhow. Just remember to not take it too seriously. =)

Oh my Thundergod~

It's the Labour Day weekend! What better way to spend the much deserved holiday for us workaholics out there? That's right, catching a movie at the local cinema~ Me & WL started the weekly movie marathon by watching the first summer blockbuster, Thor.

The movie turned out to be alright...not great but not that bad either. The plot was kept simple within 1 hour 55 minutes but we felt the ending could've been better. It was a tad too simple, really not what we expected. Perhaps the ending should showcase a war between two realms - Thor with the help of his warriors joining hands with his father to battle Loki & Loafey with the other Frost Giants. Maybe the comic wasn't written as such, huh? *sighs*

Anyways, who can ever forget the yummy-licious actor with the hottest bod & sexiest gruff voice ever? The rising star, Chris Hemsworth is the God of Thunder with his "heavenly" body in the movie.

For the first time, WL has the same taste as mine when it comes to men. LOL. I guess my baby is envious cuz there's no doubt Chris is a real charmer. His beautiful eyes & gorgeous capture hearts of many who saw the film. And we were gushing all over Chris~ Omg, so bimbo-fied. =P

The movie may not be great but it wouldn't hurt if there's an eye candy as the lead. Besides, this movie is purely for enjoyment & it's not trying hard to be Oscar material. The movie was still fun to watch, anyhow. =D

Gimme a hammer!! Rawrrr!

Wedding of the century

When Prince William & Kate Middleton announced their engagement last November, I was telling myself that their wedding will be another history in the making. The wedding date was set to be on 29 April 2011. Only 5 months to prepare for the grand event.

Actually, I was more excited to see how Kate's wedding dress would look like. I'm sure it's every girl's dream to look the best on their big day. I was having a mental sketch on how the dress would be. Modesty & appropriateness are important elements in designing a dress for a royal wedding, therefore strapless gowns or anything which bears too much skin is out of the question. I was imagining her to probably don a simple, off-shouldered white satin gown with fine, intricate floral embroideries. Another option would be a princess-like long sleeve gown with moderate puffy shoulders, reminiscent of Princess Diana's dress. The veil would be made of soft silk with a tiara to complete the look. The train of her gown shouldn't be too long but just the right length for that elegance & grandeur.

The live telecast of the wedding concluded hours ago & I was watching the several highlights from YouTube. The most critical moment of all was when Kate stepped out from the car, revealing the dress designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen design house in which the media have been speculating for months.

Credit: Nick Edwards/Photoshot/IPHOTO

Below is an excerpt of an article by Kate Hogan from People magazine.

The dress was composed of French Chantilly lace and English Cluny lace throughout the bodice, skirt and underskirt. The skirt, made of ivory and white satin gazar, was designed to emulate an opening flower: padded at the hips, it flowed out to the floor. The back of the dress was finished with 58 gazar and organza covered buttons fastened by Rouleau loops. The ivory silk tulle veil trimmed with hand-embroidered flowers was held in place by a Cartier "Halo" tiara, loan from the Queen. Her diamond drop earrings by Robinson Pelham was a gift from Kate's parents.

I was staring at the dress in awe. The dress is simple yet so lovely - felt like straight off a fairy tale wedding. Despite Kate looking rather thin due to pre-wedding jitters, the dress was flattering. Who said ivory was too yellow for the royal bride? The colour is gonna be the top choice for modern brides who are looking for something new & fresh aside from the traditional white gown.

Seen here is the young couple exiting Westminster Abbey after the solemnisation, followed by the bridesmaids & pageboys.

Credit: Toby Melville/Reuters/Landov

The most romantic scene just like in the movies is probably this photo of William & Kate sharing their public kiss at the balcony at Buckingham Palace.

Credit: Matt Dunham/AP

To sum it up, the wedding was grand but not overly extravagant...and I still love it. It really does look like a fairy tale wedding coming alive from those storybooks that we have grown up with. Prince William & Kate now carry new titles - Duke & Duchess of Cambridge - in relation to tradition. Here's wishing the royal couple an abundance joy & happiness for their marriage & may their romance continue to blossom in years to come.

Visit the following sites for more new & pics about the royal wedding:

People Magazine

The Royal Wedding

Parking no more

The construction of our new office building will officially start next Monday after weeks of delays. Our parking cum warehouse will be demolished to give way for the 9-storey building, estimated to complete in 2 years time.

Our cars will be prohibited from parking within the office compound. In order to accommodate our needs, our company has (thankfully) rented an empty land to serve as parking lots. It's a pity that the road condition in the parking is abysmal cuz it's not properly tarred or cemented. Some spots were partially cemented & seem to be remnants of the previous building. Nevertheless, it's still not a good reason to continue wearing stilettos or wedges cuz the chances of twisting your ankle is high. What's more, it's a 5 minute walk to the office. :/

Harbouring strong hopes that the road condition wasn't as bad as described, I drove past the parking lot while heading home. To my horror, the parking lot was partially flooded with water level almost 2 inches deep. What's more the entrance has a steep slope leading downwards to the lot which can only house 134 cars at the moment.

Walking to & from the parking lot will be so much hassle as the rain is constantly pouring almost every morning & evening. The thought of rushing to collect the car from the lot before 6pm is killing or you risk getting your car locked up inside cuz security guards will only be there until 6pm. Apparently, there's no electricity supply & there's no point assigning a guard on duty when the lot is pitch black at night. All of us have to endure this for the next 2 years while waiting for the new building to be ready.

We don't have any choice, do we? *sighs* =(

Umbrella thief

You wouldn't believe what I'm about to tell you. For the 2nd time, my umbrella was stolen again. Yes, AGAIN. But strangely enough, this unidentified thief was kind enough to return it back to its original place where I had left it. However, that small little good deed doesn't make he/she more considerate than before.

Dear thief, the fact that you didn't even bother returning immediately after borrowing my umbrella will have me brand you as an asshole. Why? Cuz I had to walk under the rain to get my car. I'm thanking God that the evening was only a drizzle. Dear thief, to even dare take it back home & only quietly return it the following day is still unforgiveable. Why? Cuz due to your selfish act of not wanting to get drenched while walking to your car has caused great harm to me. And I'm irrevocably pissed!!

From now on, I'll only bring along WL's humble Tetra Pak giant umbrella to work cuz its size & weight is too cumbersome for any thief to handle. In addition, I'll no longer leave it at the vase but I'm hiding it under my workstation. Sure bet this will stop your inconsiderate actions against me. =) Yesh~

A cool place to gather

With only my 2nd month working, I was required to attend our next big event. This time, it was the Viera media launch & sales convention for dealers which was held at Genting International Convention Centre. Me & my colleague joined the coach which was originally hired for the media. I slept throughout the trip cuz my seat partner from the media agency was busy chattering away with one of her good friends from the media. What's more, the bus driver seemed to be inexperienced driving up Genting as the bus was struggling the climb the steep slopes. On 2nd thoughts, it was good to be slow & safe but made me wonder if the bus would fall backwards instead. :/

When we arrived, me & my colleague joined the group - other colleagues & agency - hanging out at Starbucks. I ordered a cup of hot chocolate to warm myself up while my colleague ordered some croissant (expenses on my agency guy, tee-hee! ^^). We chatted a while & not long after that, it was time to proceed to the convention hall as the media launch commenced.

The hall was indeed a sight to behold as stunning visual effects were projected on the giant white screens. Perhaps it was nothing new for most my colleagues but it was definitely an eye-opener for me.

I shall skip the details of the launch & the sales convention as there were too many things to recall. One notable thing worth mentioning is the guy who co-hosts a veteran song programmed on Astro AEC was invited to conduct the marketing presentation session. He appeared on stage with a pirate costume, impersonating Captain Jack Sparrow in his usual hilarious demeanour. His presentation skill was pretty superb but sadly, the slides were too lengthy so the session got rather dull after a while.

Apparently, we had some displays at the Universal Walkway at First World Plaza. The world's largest plasma display was set up there for both media & public viewing as well until the weekend. It was a pity that I missed the chance witness it myself. Time was just so limited... =(

Time passed by pretty quickly & it was time for our gala night (thank God for no special themed attires *phew*). Food was okay but what more can you expect from a halal banquet dinner. The night was eventful, of course. =) A special guest performance by Maria Codero from Hong Kong really brought heat to the night.

The gala night came to an end soon after Maria Codero concluded her last song for the night. My colleagues, agency guys & I gathered to take some really funny pictures as rememberance.

For those of us who'll be staying for the night, most of us headed for 2nd round of partying at a club. Little did I or we expect that there would be a raid! Thankfully, it was the Muslim authorities & not the police officers. Nevertheless, they were still party poopers - spoiling the mood of all the partygoers who mainly consist staffs & dealers from our company. All of us were stuck at the club for almost 30 minutes cuz the authorities didn't allow us to leave, even though they were only inspecting the possibility of any Malays drinking alcohol. By the time the inspection was complete, we left the club & walked back to our rooms. My roommate went for a late night supper while went to bed due to exhaustion.

Well, this was pretty eventful for me as a first-timer attending my company's main function. I bet there must be more to come...

Great makeup deal

Being a Stage cosmetics member, the benefits are pretty worth it. Members enjoy 10% discounts on every item purchased at full price. On top of that, I get discounts off on other services ie hair & makeup services, photoshoot services etc. As part of their efforts to increase loyalty, members will receive discount vouchers for products & photoshoot services.

I received my vouchers in late February, in conjunction with my upcoming birthday in March. To pamper myself, I visited the Mid Valley outlet to grab my swags. I certainly didn't expect that Stage is having a nationwide clearance sale for all its existing products. Discounts up to 70% off retail prices, can you believe that? Wi the price slashed, I had to buy more in order to meet the minimum amount of RM60 in order to use the RM30 voucher. I came back home with 6 items at a dirt, cheap price. =D

1. Wonderlust Lipstick - Cameron

2. Nail Colour - Awesome

3. Picture Perfect Liquid Camouflage - Ingenue Genie

4. Picture Perfect Foundation - Pixie

5. Brow Defining Pencil - Sesame

6. Prime Time Eye Perfecting Base - Vanilla

In total, I only paid RM34 after deducting the RM30 voucher. At retail, sure bet that I couldn't even get as many items with RM60. What a great bargain to begin with! =D

On top of that, I still collected 34 points for the amount I paid. This is one of my best birthday gift this year~

iPhone 4 ad wars

The Malaysian advertising scene seems to be changing lately. Advertisers who were once passive have evolved into active, more aggressive players to outshine each other. Even mentioning competitors' names doesn't seem to go against the local advertising laws. Last year, there was a public spat between Air Asia & Tiger Airways on which racial background has good understanding of Asian markets & better of managing an Asian team. This spur Air Asia to release an ad to mock its competitor, as I blogged about it here.

Now we have two telco giants competing against each other to offer the most affordable iPhone 4 package. The history goes like this...Maxis was the first network provider to bring in the iPhone 4 package with plans starting from RM100 a month last year. About 2 months later, DiGi managed to secure the deal with Apple to be the next provider to offer plans starting from RM58 a month to attract both new & existing subscribers.

Of course, DiGi did tremendously well for its affordable package plan cuz it managed to not only attract new & existing subscribers but successfully converting Maxis customers into Digi's. And I'm not ashame to admit that I'm one of them! XD I believe this success stems from DiGi's main objective to be transparent in terms of charges, unlike Maxis' aplentiful hidden costs. Not surprising if many Maxis customers felt cheated.

Anyways, back to the main point of my post. Realising this, I supposed Maxis is trying hard to regain its customers by introducing a slightly more affordable iPhone 4 plan.

Now this is getting more interesting. On the same date when the above Maxis ad was published, DiGi counter attacked by releasing their ad...coincidentally just 2 pages after the Maxis ad. Do take note though that these ads are not the first insertions. I'm impressed with how DiGi defended themselves! =D

Maxis didn't respond with another ad, obviously. Look, they've already got the pricing strategy all wrong. Hardly a miraculous ad could save them from DiGi's undefeatable price. I'm loving all of these competition between advertisers. Hoping for more to come...oh wait, I've just spotted another war between Carlsberg & GAB on the Putra Brand Awards. Let's see if I can get hold of them & post it up. *runs off to dig my stacks of newspapers*

Selfish-ness

It's my usual routine to bring along an umbrella to the office & place it in a vase which stores everyone's umbrellas. Just in case since the sky was gloomy & wet for the past few days.

One morning, I placed my umbrella at the vase & walked into the building. The sky turned dark & started raining heavily in the noon & continued during the evening with a light shower. When I left the office, I went to collect my umbrella. Guess what? It was missing from the vase. I searched high & low for it but it was nowhere in sight. I had to shade my head with a woven bag & walked to my car cuz it was drizzling. I reckoned that someone might have borrowed it & forgot to return back to its original place. So I decided to wait for the next day.

It's been a week now & that jackass didn't even bother to return it. Why people can be so fucked up?? I certainly didn't mind if he/she borrowed it so as long as my umbrella is returned back to me soon after usage. What if that evening's weather wasn't a drizzle but heavy rain? What am I to use to protect me from the rain? Did it ever cross your mind that your simple selfish act can cause so much misery?

YOU JERK!!

Pray for Japan

I was in the midst of working in my office when everyone was suddenly buzzing about the earthquake that hit Japan. I told myself that it's nothing new since tremors occur every now & then in the country that lies in the "Ring of Fire". I became more curious as the hours passed by cuz it had became the main topic of conversation. Sensing the urgency, I visited Yahoo! & was shocked to discover the severity of the damage caused by the undersea earthquake.

A 8.9 magnitude earthquake occurred at the epicentre offshore of Sendai, triggering a 7 metre tsunami which completely swept everything in its path - buildings, cars, ships & even the small airplanes at the Sendai airport.

As you can see, sea waves were gushing inland ever so violently just like scenes from Hollywood disaster movies such as The Day After Tomorrow. The aftermath of the tsunami was catastrophic. Seems like whatever was depicted in the movies are not exactly exaggerated. It can happen~

Initial reports indicated that 1,000 people were dead, 300+ injured & close to 700 missing. Death toll is expected to rise as more bodies are being washed ashore. Back in 2004, the tsunami which hit Acheh was devastating enough to make me teared up. To witness this calamity in Japan was even more heartbreaking. Let's pray that Japan will rise from the rubbles & become a stronger nation - rebuilding the affected city & economy. May the Japanese stay strong during these dark hours.

Disclaimer: I do not claim any ownership for all the above pics. They were taken from various websites related to the Japan earthquake disaster.

Land of the golden palm tree

I was pretty excited when I had the opportunity to attend the Lumix new line-up launch which will be held at Golden Palm Tree Resorts & Spa, Sepang. To my colleagues, it's just another launch that happens probably twice a year. To me, it was eye-opening experience especially coming from an FMCG company which hardly has any budget to even organise in-store activities.

We set off at about 10am in one of our agency's car as the event is due to start at 2pm. The drive took more than 1 hour, a surprisingly long journey cuz it's even further than LCCT. It's another 30 mins drive from Sg Pelek town, nearby Morib. Upon arriving the coastal area, the resort is visible from a distant view.

The lobby has a unique open design concept which is a shape of a pavilion with very minimal walls.

Each villa is built on stilts which stretches out to the sea. From bird's eyeview, the whole resort is a shape of a palm tree, reminiscent of The Palm in Dubai.

Due to the distance, a buggy is required to travel to the furthest villa from the lobby.

Our giant backdrop with our new brand ambassador, Ms. Natalie Den Dekker.

I shall not speak much about the event for fear of revealing too much private info. Anyways, the launch ended at about 4pm plus. We left the resort at about 5pm & only arriving back to the office later than 6pm. Spending the day there was a little tiring but quite interesting. The resort reminded a lot about Legend International Water Homes, only a little more lavish.