After the Johnny Walker event last year I would never have thought that I would have the opportunity to attend another this year. Albeit sudden and without the company of madmen this time around. Held at MAEPS which is ironically located inside the grounds of UPM it was smaller in size in terms of attendees and venue. Though the air conditioner was working rather well it was made even more exclusive as invitations was rediculously hard to come by.

Being a mostly beer person, I took up the opportunity to attend as my sister had an extra invite at the very last moment to try some new concoctions created for the event. It was fairly interesting to say the least. There was a bartender who created a coconut with Jony Walker mixed with dry ice. It was quite a show I might quite add as the bubbling mixture looked as if we were going to drink some sort of magical potion. On a side note: Anything with alchohol is a magical potion. I prefer the my drink on the rocks pure just the way it was meant to be. Thank you very much.

Cue the bartender with the spooky glowing eyes.

The FREAKING AWESOME AMAZING chocolates were back. I can’t put it into words how this balls of chocolatey goodness can ever be made. I would love to know where they get it from. I could write a poetry and compose a song on how good it was but it won’t be today unfortunately. I wonder who/what supplied it. Have to find out one day.

Met a few of my sister’s friends and although I was getting really bored I bummped into my old friend Tony Eusoff. It’s been years since we had worked together and he still remembers me and my sis. Amazing how time flies.

Well, coming back to the event. The music was okay. The atmosphere was good. The gold label drank when I was invited into the VIP area was a VERY NICE touch I have to say. The attending crowd was in a lack of a better word very nicely dressed and was very pleasing to the eyes. *hint hint* Should have worn my suit though. It felt as if I was working during the event or something.

Overall, it was very well organised and totally exclusive as per stated. I just hoped that I would at least gotten a few invites to bring my buddies in though. We would have brought the house down. Well, maybe. Its nice to try new ways of drinking Johnny Walker but all in all as I had said I still prefer mine neat on the rocks as that how I prefer to keep walking.

P/s: Yes. I’m bloody hell back into blogging. For permanent this time I bloody hope.

With the untimely death of Yasmin Ahmad I really though I would never ever watch a good local made movie again. It was not until I saw the trailer and poster of controversial rapper/singer Namewee first ever movie. With a cast of local big names like Adibah Noor, Rashmonu, Aflin Shauki just to name a few it looked promising and fun.

Directed, written and staring Namewee himself it was a huge challenge for him in producing this movie. Albeit especially with a limited budget of less than a million ringgit. But all I can say that it was done rather well for a first time with limited budget and equipment.

The story in short (as I do not want to spoil the story for you) is about a boy who grows up to become Chef Huang (Namewee), a local neighbourhood hero who helps the people in the area of their problems. Facing financial trouble after his return from studying Chinese cooking in China he helps Xiao K (Karen Kong) to get back her father’s restaurant in a family dispute through a cooking competition.

Facing his arch rival from China, Lan Qiao (Dennis Lau) he goes on a journey after receiving guidance from Kak Noor (Adibah Noor) the incredible Nasi Lemak seller to make the best Nasi Lemak. On this journey he meet various people and find out the true meaning of Nasi Lemak.

A story full of satire based on Malaysian culture, race, food and general (mis)conceptions on everything Malaysian. It is a movie that will tickle your tummy silly and will blow you away with the witty dialogue and the parody of local current events. Worth every cent spend.

The movie however is not perfect but it is certainly passable. The editing and video quality need much improvement as transitions from one scene to another was quite sudden and sometimes just weird. Although how good a Canon Mk2 might be the quality can be seen to be not on par if it was shot with a more higher end professional movie camera. Camera work can be done a little better as well. Do NOT get me wrong. Even with this slight shortcoming due to the budget obviously it should NOT deter you from watching this movie.

Although mainly in mandarin which I do not speak although I understand it to a certain extent(I’m what you call a Banana, just don’t call me chao banana!) with a dash of various others like Malay, English, Tamil and even Hokkien and Hakka the script is witten pretty good, the music…funny, the story is awesome and you’ll come out the hall with a smile on your face. I highly recommend that you watch it with friends for the extra atmosphere especially if they are well informed about local current events.

The trailer:

Official themesong from the movie:

Will definitely rewatch again.

Due to a stroke of unforeseen luck, I had the opportunity to attend this year’s Hennessy Artistry thanks to invites by Vince and Spinzer Tock. Hennessy Artistry boast one of the best music events featuring artist from all over the world(which yes does include our very own Malaysia as well). This year’s guest performance was by Spinderella, Vandalism and our very own Kyoto Protocol. Set this time at Opera in front of Sunway Pyramid the glitz and glamor can be seen from the impressive display of well…interactive showcases at the entrance. After checking in the registration counter, guests who registered themselves on the Hennessy Artistry Facebook page were given a special RFID tag that they could use to update their Facebook page with contents during the event itself.

I have to admit. Being the country with the most Facebook friends in the world, the ideas was BRILLIANT. Guest were invited to play a ‘Fruit Ninja’ like game on an iPad, take photo in front of a green screen and edit it Ala Purikura and also mix their own 60 second music by placing colored giant hockey puck like objects onto an interactive table and then upload the said music or picture onto their Facebook wall. The top five high scores on the ‘Fruit Ninja’ like game will even be given a limited special edition 70 oz Hennessy to boot!

I’ve only been to The Opera just once and it was more than enough to know that the place is small and cramped with pretty bad air flow in the middle. Although I thought that this time it will be different as being an invitation only kinda event that crowd control wouldn’t be a problem but oh was I wrong. It became packed. So pack that it looks like The Opera on a weekend and it isn’t a complement. Everyone felt so hot it wasn’t even sexy anymore.

Being a once-in-a-year event I was expecting to see a free flow of Hennessy being served. Pure or cocktail’ed. WE(as in everyone) were ridiculously disappointed. At the Johnny Walker’s Black Circuit event a few weeks back free flow was NEVER an issue and boy was it awesome. Hennessy however stooped to the level of being a scrooge on it and even opened its doors to outsiders who may enter if they open a bottle. What??? An ‘EXCLUSIVE’ event that serves limited amounts of alcohol and allows uninvited guest to attend? Yes. It just lost its exclusiveness. The event was supposed to highlight four new types of cocktails made by using Hennessy. Too bad at the end I had more non-alchoholic cocktail than what I’m suppose to be trying. In light of all this I really REALLY like that lemon-lime concoction. Damn it was refreshing.

On a high note, the music performance was incredible. All the bands were amazing in their own rights. Vandalism especially in my opinion or maybe its because I just prefer their genre of music. Anyways, it was kinda disappointing to see us Malaysian not getting into the mood of the performance though. When stuff like “Put your hands in the air!” was screamed/sung/mentioned 90% of the crowd went “Is she talking to me ah? Eh, I think she’s calling you lah!”. I mean seriously guys?

In the end, we left early since we had nothing else better to do there and in desperation for some booze we even chipped in to get a bottle of a Limited Edition bottle of Hennessy to drink. Golden bottle looks damn GOOD though. It seems that, right after we left part of the plaster ceiling collapse bringing the event to an early end. I actually had more fun eating at the nearby Chinese food stalls that standing at the overcrowded venue.

Overall, although its my very first(and maybe last) Hennessy Artistry event I would have to give it an equivalent of a 3 out of  5 stars. Assuming I gave start ratings in the first place la. The music was good. The drink was good but the amount was not. The venue was disappointing and the service? Well, it was bad. No exclusiveness for a supposed exclusive event. The money used for the additional attractions outside was actually really insignificant to the overall reason to have the event itself. Better take the money for a better venue and more booze. I may not be a VIP at the VIP lounge but then again if a rival company can do it then I don’t see why not.

And no, I’m not still kinda pissed for not being able to place at the top 5 for the “Fruit Ninja” game. I got kicked down to 6th place by some guy in front of me and I was not allowed to replay even after waiting stating that the game ends at 1am even though it wasn’t mentioned anywhere. Damn. Okay lah. Maybe I am, just a little…maybe.

P/s: Due to me being as blur as usual. I totally forgotten to bring my camera to the event. So all picture credits go to Denise with the Olympus E-PL1.

2010 was a really REALLY weird year for me. It was a years of change, joy and also sadness. All mixed up in a giant blender top off with some disappointment.

1. FINAL YEAR PROJECT

Pretty hard to miss this one here. Its my Final year pursuing my degree in electronics engineering in Multimedia University. It was tiring, kinda fun, painfully sad and satisfying when this was all over. It was a solo project. Not a very smart thing to do mind you. It didn’t really work out in the end and although I wanted to do this in a team I was unfortunately to receive the short end of the straw…again. As usual, I could sum up my entire university life in just two words really. Lonely and disappointment. Yes I did meet some really great people and had some wonderfully crazy times but the times I had IN class with people just didn’t really work out.

The yellow block of cheese robot didn’t move in the end after building it up due to very bad board fabrication. Would have done a better job if I had a partner to do it with. Anyways, whats done is done. No use crying over spilled milk.

2. USA SUSI TRIP

The land of liberty and freedom. I had one heck of a shocker when I found out that I was selected as one of the 7 Malaysians to participate in the year’s summer Study of the US Institute program. I had loads of fun there. Meeting the people. Seeing the sights and listening to the sounds of a country I have admire from behind a TV screen all my life. The Americans and their lifestyle may not be perfect or great but no ever country ever is. They might have their problems but their ideals ingrained in every citizen is really something to admire about.

Its hard to describe something as an experience into words. Only that it was EPIC. Although, there was a certain incident that made the rest of the SUSI participants hate me. I blame it on the huge age differences and on how I view things differently. I will return to the US of A that I guarantee but without the extra baggage.

3. END OF STUDIES

About two months after the SUSI program ended, I finally completed my extra semester for an additional subject and also partly due to the US trip. I was actually pretty weird going to class without seeing most of the people I knew throughout the years. Almost all of them had graduated by the time I came back since the convocation was held during my entire flight duration back to Malaysia. Finishing up my degree should feel satisfying but again…I’m not really feeling it that much. Maybe because I have a freaking study loan the cost of a brand sparkling new Toyota Vios with automatic transmission to boot literally up my ass. That was really a punch to the balls especially since they decided to start the payment counter in May and NOT in October when Ive actually finished my course.

4.WORK WORK….CARRY ON NOW…

A couple of weeks after my final FINAL paper I started working with an engineering firm nearby as a project engineer. They were supposed to be dealing in building control systems as part of a green building kinda program. I though ‘Hey, this should be interesting as by joining the project team I will be learning so much and benefiting from it too. HAHAHAHAHA.’ I was wrong…I became a site supervisor instead. After over a month of not delivering what they hired me for I quit and a week later with recommendation from my sister, I’m now at my new job doing sales and marketing in an events company that specializes in trade shows. I do not know whether I feel lucky or not because I really hate conducting sales. But I’m now trying to stay positive….really…really hard. Hehehe. ;;>__> On the plus side, I’m now at least involved in the events field. Although, it is not what I expected it to be. This company may be small, old school and very obsolete but at least I’m being given opportunities to learn and grow.

It has been a tiring but not entirely not great year for me. I just hope and wish that this year in 2011, would be a better life changing year ahead. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY AND GOD BLESS!!!!!!

Not this Skyline lah...

Anyways, lets get on with the review. Its been sometime since I’ve wrote a review but Skyline is a movie, from what I can tell is made on a budget. You can easily tell when not one of Hollywood’s A-listers are on it. Its an alien invasion doomsday movie with a slight twist. Spoiler alert this review contains mind you.

Plot

The movie starts by introducing our hero of the story, Jarod (played by Eric Balfour) and his pregnant girlfriend, Elaine (Scottie Thompson) sleeping at his best friend’s Terry (Donald Faison) posh LA penthouse apartment suite who after a hard party night wakes up to a tremor brought by large glowing blue balls that came down from space which can be seen from the trailer. After almost being sucked into the blue light, Jarrod  is seem to be experiencing some changes within himself. With no news of any explanation or rescue, the party waits while observing the alien ships arriving from the penthouse suite apartment literally abducting masses of humans by sucking them up into their mothership. They now must find a way to escape and survive this massive and otherworldly invasion force.

The Review

Everybody likes a good alien invasion movie and so do I. Skyline has the capability to do just that and with a limited budget of only around USD$10 million they did a pretty descend job. The special effects were mind blowingly surreal. The character and mechanical designs of the aliens is suprisingly good as well. However, the script and acting for the most part could have been better. There were some really awkward and just plain silly moments of pure screaming. Honestly, the screaming was just plain annoying. The acting was kinda stiff too from some of the cast especially with Eric’s role.

Conclusion

It was in the end, it was just an okay movie to watch. Great eye candy with loads of CG shots but with a more veteran cast and a bit tweeking of the script it could be much much better. The ending of the movie is left hanging and in the end it looks like a long expensive short intro movie for an upcoming video game. Still a good watch.

The first day was to be honest an unexpected uncontrollable headache. The university apparently decided to have an open day on the very same time and the actual venue for GACC was pushed to the nearby classrooms which was hot, small, cramped and ridiculously hot. Did I mention hot? Cause it was like HOT! The air-conditioning was futile with the large amounts of visitors packed into the small makeshift venue. The MC’s both veterans of the ACG community were however there to lighten up the mood and try to create a fun atmosphere.

Then came the usual mix of activities that one would have expect from a large ACG event such as stage performances, competition and tournaments. The second day was a relief as the GACC committee was finally allowed to use the Examhall and to the relief of the visitors as well as it was fully air-conditioned. Cosplayers and the number of visitors were well below the amount seen in previous years. I guess maybe it was just at the wrong timing and the long distance from Kuala Lumpur. In any case, it was still a memorable event with friends meeting up and enjoying themselves with the ongoing activities in and out of the hall.

Yes, I know this isn’t much of a review but I was busy manning the the Anime Depot and the Emina booth. Besides I was too damn tired anyways. My head was spinning the entire weekend I was there. Too bad for me I guess. Be cause of that I really wasn’t able to take much pictures that I would like too. Now that was dissappointing to say the least.

In other news, I’ve finally made a proper watermark for all my future picture uploads. Looks way better than the previous one. As I’ve mentioned previously, I did not have much of a chance to take pictures of cosplayers and the like during my time at GACC but take a look at some of those that I did. Did some experimental photoshop. Kinda like how it turned out. As usual, comments and constructive criticism is very much appreciated.

[View with PicLens]

Sony A350 with kit lens. I so need to get myself a flash unit for the camera…sigh.

The beginning of the year started off really bad with heartaches after heartaches. Living everyday was like a zombie living with the only purpose of eating brains. Sad. Pathetic really.

Then came the build up to Daicon. The event that I put my heart and soul in. It was all fun and dandy until politics kicked in and people who I once though as my friends became my foes. It pains me to see such an occurance but alas that is life.

My internship was a first taste of a standard salary man lifestyle. Very stable if I do say so myself but very boring as well.

Cosplayers. Geez…this was the year I finally came out of my shell and met so many great people in the cosplay community. Seeing them giving their best from making their costumes to trying their bestest in being in character really encourages me to organise more cosplay related events for them.

AFA09 was great other from me going all crazy at the end due to amassing tiredness. Apologies to my cousin Janice and Crystal if I scared you there. I feel if I was more energized it could be even more fun. My first full attempt at cosplaying as well. Not very well executed. Need more practice.

Cosplay photoshoot. I’ve been learning alot from every photoshoot I get invited too. Really happy got to meet many photographers as well like Aoshi and Linkinstreet and cosplayers alike too. Now I really need to upgrade my equipment cause I’m at my limits at what I can and cannot do with what I have. Any sponsors?

Last but not least….I’ve met someone. That certain someone was the one who lifted me up from all my deepest depression period ever. All these unexpectedly too for the both of us and I’ve never been happier in my entire miserable life…until today. Its about 2 months till the time of this writing since we’ve been together. No regrets. Thank you dear.

But what do I see in 2010? Organizing one of the biggest event I’ve ever conducted in my life, finally finishing my studies and starting my own company might be somewhere in there I guess. But anyway, Happy New Year to all my readers and all my family and friends and I wish you all a good health and great prosperity!!! Time to think of a new resolution this year. Maybe loosing weight may not be such a bad idea i think…

P/s: I wish a slow and painful death to all my enemies. XD

Dear Modern Warfare 2,

Fuck you. Why must you be so awesome? Why must you be THIS awesome? It has been years since I have place my grubby little hands on your (Call Of  Duty) series. Killing people has never been so much fun since 2001 the second World War in Nazi occupied Europe. Those were the days where pixels were still quite blocky and my limit was 20-30 minutes each time because my head will just hurt. Frame rate issue or enviromental texture maybe? But anyways, I do not have that problem anymore. Even on my computer that is 2+ years old. It is amazing how the new you can be run so smooth like a river running down an open battlefield.

But I do have an issue with you though. Whay must you have such an engaging plotline for your single player campaign? Is this some Hollywood conspiracy? How can you do this to me? You’ll just have us the player wanting for more. Thank god I have not played the original Modern Warfare yet. Will get a copy to try that out soon. But in the meantime can you not be so freaking good? I mean, how about my studies? I have a midterm and presentation and not to mention my Final Year Project research to do all in this week alone.

Climbing a mountain with ice picks have never been more exhilarating, going on snowmobile rides have never been such a rush and fighting against waves of Russian troops has never been as crazy as this. I even had a dream last night about this. You sucK Modern Warfare 2!!!! You suck for pulling me into the zone of no return. Damn you!!!!!!

Now If you would excuse me I have a game to finish work..yes..yes work…work to be done.

With love and hate,

Clow

P/s: Damn you Ganaesh for influencing me into this!!!

I had the lunch special to see what was the real deal with the food. Logic states that if one cooks good food and its cheap then other more expensive stuff on the menu should be good. Well I guess I just decided to give this particular theory a try. Lunch set comes with a soup of the day and a salad and your choice of entree (main dish).

Bread serve with some sort of garlic butter is usually served I think but it wasn’t served when I went there the 2nd time. In this pic the soup was celery soup, the next day it was pumpkin soup. I prefer the celery soup compared to the pumpkin soup. It was too think im my opinion. Had some curry powder mixed in it I think to give it an extra flavor but to me the more I drank the more it felt like Indian Dall.

Avacado Chicken

Large pieces of grilled chicken breat with mashed potatoes sanwiched in between topped with an avacado dressing. The Avacado Chicken was tender and the avacado mix gave it a slight tang to the flavour which was quite refreshing.

Steak and Chips

The steak was pretty good. I ordered for medium and it was soft, tender and juicy but it was cooked a little too rare  in my opinion as the meat towards the center was too raw for me. Had to ask for it to be resend to the kitchen for it to be recooked. I didn’t want to take the chance to ruin my holidays with food poisoning so I had to better play safe. The fries were fresh as we could taste the softness and the crunchy-ness of the outer layer of the home made fries.

Eton Mess

Salmon Wrap

Chicken Wrap

The salmon wrap and chicken wrap were what I would just call as alright. The chicken used in the chicken wrap was tandoori chicken and the smoked salmon in the salmon wrap was just so-so in my opinion. The potato chips were good as a snack though.

Baked Chocolate Pudding

But what I felt was the best item to have during my 2 times at The Apartment was the deserts. The Eton Mess although ironically messy it was refreshingly tangy and sweet but not so sweet until it causes diabetes after consumption. The fresh strawberry chunks with strawberry jam really creates a magnificent flavor with the meringue used. The baked chocolate pudding will definitely be a wet dream of any chocolate aficionado. Soft, sweet and warm chocolate all baked in a small cup/bowl with a side of vanilla ice-cream. The cold ice cream really brings a contrast to the warm chocolate. Truly a must try if you have a sweet tooth and an insurance policy.

Nice relaxing atmosphere for a chill out session but will I go again to try the main menu this time? Definitely, yes but I’ll have to save before I go first otherwise this student writer will be eating grass and riding a cat driven cart to campus for classes. Unless somebody wanna foot the bill of course. XD

]]> http://clowonline.com/2009/10/23/lunch-in-the-apartment/feed/ 5 http://clowonline.com/2009/10/15/the-agave-experience-fronteras/ http://clowonline.com/2009/10/15/the-agave-experience-fronteras/#comments Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:27:35 +0000 clow http://clowonline.com/?p=845 I’m a guy who loves spicy food. I’m also a guy who really enjoys spicy food that will make you stop, drop and roll with your mouth thinking that it was actually on fire. I’m always up for the next burning hot challenge and then I stumbled upon a blog post by a certain local celebrity blogger by the name of Kenny Sia who tried having some Hanabero chilli peppers at a Tex-Mex restaurant in PJ.  The place was called Frontera’s and its where I had my first Agave Experience.

Frontera’s located at JayaOne along Jalan University in Petaling Jaya not too far from University Hospital. Situated at a cozy corner of Jaya One among all the other eateries was quite comfortable for us as we decided to sit outside dining alfresco style. Due to complete randomness and may I say boredom I took the opportunity to organize a small testosterone challenge for a guys to separate the men from the *cough*ladies*cough*. The challenge was to consume Frontera’s infamous Killer Spicy Hanabero Chicken Wings without drinking water in which the first one who do losses. Yes, we behave like little children sometimes. XP

To be perfectly frank, the Killer Spicy Hanabero Chicken Wings was spicy indeed but not as tongue melting as we expected it to be. Maybe being Malaysian consuming heavily spiced and spicy food all this years might had screwed up our taste buds. I personally quite enjoyed the chicken wings but since we were sharing I felt it wasn’t enough. But alas, I have to keep my stomach available for the main course. Sean had the Chili Con Carde and cheese enchiladas, KCLee had the chicken enchiladas, Silencers the chilli cheeseburger, while I had the beef enchiladas beef special cheese chilli beef burritos a regular beef burritos. Almost everything I wanted to order was so good they ran out of it. Fuck my life.

According to Klue Magazine Frontera was voted in having the best Margarita in town and I would have to agree with that judgment. I had the Horny Margarita. It was sweet and refreshing and it doesn’t leave a bad aftertaste in my mouth like most Margarita. It was so refreshingly good they are the only place apparently that serve in in jugs. Definitely, a hit with the ladies.

Horny Margaritas made from Hornitos Tequila

The food was good. Once Sean’s Chill Con Carne arrived the rest of us went digging into his food cause it looked so damn good and we were blown away at the very first bite by the spice and fragrance of the beef. It is a definite must have on a first try.

Chilli Con Carne

If someone ask you “Can I has cheezeburger?” just say yes and point him to what Silencers had. A huge chunk of tender beef patty topped up with cheese and chilli served together with a side of homemade fries. Simply delicious.

Frontera's chilli cheeseburger

The cheese enchiladas, chicken enchiladas, and burritos is served with some spiced Mexican rice and frijoles refritos (Refried beans). I just wished I could have tried the beef enchiladas

Cheese Enquiladas

Chicken Enquiladas

Beef Burritto

The Hanabero Chicken Wings is truly a must try. They serve the the wings with a few spicy level choices like in Nandos but if you think you can handle the heat try the KILLER type. We had it and we had a blast.

Killer Spicy Hanabero Chicken Wings

We met Larry the owner of the place after our meal to talk to him about Frontera and we had an educating night about tequila and all its intricacies. Fronters serves only pure 100% Agave Tequilla and we can clearly see and taste why. Usually when served tequilla most places have salt or lime to go with it. Its so that the crappy taste can be masked. Most tequilla served is not 100% Agave tequilla and is only about 60% pure. The other 40% is mix with anything the producer wants.

I really recommend this place should you have the urge to try some authentic Tex-Mex fare with some wonderfully good Tequila.

As a side note, we also took the manly raw hanabero chili pepper challenge among ourselves. Suffice to say it was a tie between me and KCLee. *cue evil laughter*

Everyone takes a slice each, chew 7 times or more then swallow. Last one standing wins. It was a draw between KCLee and me.

P/s: Apparently, Tequilla does not contain a certain chemical unlike all alcoholic drinks that gives a you a hangover in the morning when you drink too much of it. SALUT!!! XD

Pics courtesy of KCLee and omoshiroi.org.