Celebration of GMH & RMH's Makeover

The celebration began with a speech by YB Datuk Haji Talib Zulpilip, Assistant Minister of Tourism, Sarawak & Chairman of SEDC Sarawak.

YB Datuk Haji Talib Zulpilip

YB gave a very enlightening speech introducing what Sarawak has to offer apart from staying in our own local home brand hotels, how friendly Sarawakians are, etc..

VIPs

After YB’s speech, the other VIPs joined the YB on stage to launch the “Makeover” of both hotels, featuring a video about Sarawak and hotels in depth.

Makeover launch

About the makeover:

Both Kuching hotels were under renovation from August 2009 till December 2009 for Grand Margherita Hotel and January 2010 till June 2010 for Riverside Majestic Hotel.

“The completion of the makeover of both Grand Margherita Hotel & Riverside Majestic Hotel allows both hotels to stay on the competitive edge when it comes to offering the best standards of service and up-to-date products, if not state-of-the-art. To add on to the ease of booking a room at the 2 hotels, they had also recently launched their mobile booking websites at m.gmh.my and m.rmh.my. Room reservations can be done while on the go and within minutes so there’s no more hassles of having to go through tedious phone calls or filling up lengthy forms. With the new look, new ambience and all new quality of service, both hotels would remain the preferred choice and continue to make a mark in the hospitality market in Sarawak.” – Eileen Chong, Marketing & Communication Officer, GMH & RMH.

watching the video on stage

VIPs on stage

When the video finishes, VIPs and guests were invited to the next room for refreshments. When it comes to food, hurhurhur.. Of course you’ll see me walking around with camera in hand and taking pichas of food while other guests looked at me with ??? on their head. T________T

Fried spring rolls

Karipap aka curry puffs

Chris digging in

fried bee hoon

kuih-muih, cookies and cakes

kuih-muih - local delicacy

Chocolate Mousse Cake

Fruits

How often do you find strawberries being served in a plate of fruits? Most of the time, strawberries are found on pastries and cakes as decorations. Now, can have strawberries openly without having to snatch it from pastries and eyes war with other people. Teeeheee…

scones

Coffee & Tea

There’s even a mini Rainforest music gallery entertaining guests with Sarawak’s musical instruments.

Sarawak instruments players

Some must take pichas of us enjoying our food too..

Chris, me, Eileen & Tian Chad

It was nice to finally meet Chris in person and Tian Chad again.

Eileen, Patrick and Me

Thanks for the invitation and having us over for the celebration of the hotels’ makeover. It’s always nice to meet familiar faces and it didn’t felt like I was away from home!

with YB, VIPs and managers

And of course, a picha with the VIPs to show off everyone.

Before I end this post, please check this out:

KL Bizmart Special Offer

‘KL Bizmart’ Special Offer:
RM100++ for Grand Margherita Hotel
RM120++ for Riverside Majestic Hotel

Booking period: 30th July to 1st August 2010
Stay period: 30th July to 31st December 2010

Book online at
www.grandmargherita.com / m.gmh.my (mobile online)
www.riversidemajestic.com / m.rmh.my

]]> http://annna.net/grand-margherita-hotels-riverside-majestic-hotels-makeover/feed/ 2 http://annna.net/asian-bloggers-social-media-conference-2010/ http://annna.net/asian-bloggers-social-media-conference-2010/#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:51:47 +0000 annna http://annna.net/?p=5726 I will be attending the Asian Bloggers & Social Media Conference 2010 tomorrow and Thursday (July 27-28, 2010). This is my very first time attending a conference which is all about blogging and social media.

Our former Malaysia Prime Minister YABhg Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad will be attending the conference as well (get to meet him leh). There will be a list of impressive speakers from different background; corporate, bloggers, journalist, etc..

Click picha for larger view

Kenny and Mike are flying all the way from Kuching for this conference. Kenny is one of the speakers, so, he sure have to fly to KL for it. But MIKE purposely come all the way from Kuching for the conference! So, all the more reasons why I should participate also, right? Hahaha.. Well, that’s part of the reason.

The main reason to attend this conference is to brush up on blogging, learn how I can make the best out of the social media, enhance networking and learn business business stuff from Dato’ Sri Tony Fernandes and make more money out of blogs.

So, who else is attending the conference? Don’t be shy to say, “Hi!” to me yea, because, I’m shy myself *cough cough*

Race Kit Collection hall

This is how the collection hall looks like and it was partitioned according to run segments.

Different categories of marathon

Full marathon is 42km; categorised in Blue color.

Half marathon is 21km; categorised in Green color.

As for 10km run, it was categorised in Red color.

Me, Yien & Rose

The trios from Kuching. Yien and Rose flew all the way from Kuching for the run. I came to KL earlier than planned for the run.

Me, Rose, Shirley, Yien & Rachel

The Kuching trios with KL girls; Shirley and Rachel.

SCKLM Race Kit

This is my race kit. There’s a New Balance shirt, D-tag for shoe, BIB, runner’s guide book, Newbalance 30% discount voucher and SCKLM bag.

The BIBs

My BIB number is 80189 and compared with Rose and Yien’s BIB, the variance between our BIB is so faaaaaaaaar away!

PLUS, due to the stoooopid system error, they didn’t even print my name on the BIB. So geram!

Me, Rose, Yien & Kelson

Everyone slept very early the night before the run, approximately 11pm!! I, on the other hand, had problem sleeping and stayed up all night. T______________T

We got up at 4.30am and got ready.

We were supposed to leave before 5.30am but camwhored too much that we had to miss breakfast with JJ, Forrest, Shirley and Rachel. Met up with them at Dataran Merdeka instead.

We managed to drop by 7-eleven and grabbed some sandwiches and hot drinks for breakfast. It’s not advisable to run with an empty stomach.

D-tag on shoes

We had to put on the D-tag on our shoe laces so that the timer can trace us during the start and end of the race and accumulate our running time. Very high tech!

We had to walk from the parking to Dataran Merdeka. It was like a warm up session for us. When we arrived Dataran Merdeka, I was very impressed with the whole event! It’s so happening. It’s so crowded. Best of all, we got FREE Power Bar and Nose strip before our run.

Shirley, Rachel, Forrest, Smashpop, Kelson, Hikaru, Yien, Me and Rose

A group photo in front of Dataran Merdeka while waiting for the run to start. At this point, I got very nervous and excited at the same time! We camwhored a lot while waiting, so I felt a little relaxed. Didn’t bring my phone nor camera, luckily Rachel brought her camera and Yien brought her phone. So, pichas are all taken from them both :3

Another group picha

Shirley, Rose, Yien and I

This is how the finishing and starting line looks like:

Finish and Start line

This is our front view. So dem lotsa people! Felt like we’re so far behind……….

Crowd in the front

…not till you see the crowd behind us!

crowd from behind

Sooooo MANY People!

According to JJ, there were approximately 7,533 runners (4,321 Men, 3,212 Women) for the 10km run! So dem lots!

Here’s our results SCKLM 2010 as compiled by JJ:

SCKLM 2010 results

I’m ranked 706 out of 7,533 runners! I’m like in the top 10% of the group!! :3 *Proud*

All credits to Hikaru who ran with me. Otherwise, I don’t know if I can complete the run within the time limit of 90 minutes to entitle for the SCKLM 2010 certificate! Glad he was there when I almost gave up for the run. He pushed me forward, motivated and supported me to keep running till the finishing line. T___________T This is not just 10km of physical  run, but a mental challenge to keep running and going forward!

Yien and I with our finisher medal

So proud to complete our very first 10km run! Furthermore, we were in KL! A truly mad experience worth kept for life!

Kuching girls made it!

We got the 10km Finisher medals, so we are chio.

Girls Power!

Group Picha

Proud of ourselves and glorious moment shared together!

I got Medal

The moment I reached the finishing line, I told myself, “YES!!! I DID IT!”

No words can describe how I felt at that very moment. It’s too glorious to be described in words!

Thanks to all for the encouraging and motivative messages through SMS, Twitter, Facebook, and Plurk.

I DID IT!

P/S: Might be joining few runs organised in KL and Penang. Well, that will depend on my body fitness. Hahaha..

XPLAY Party @ Paragon, Kuching

was at XPLAY Party on June 18, 2010

Xclusive VXP invite

The week before I left Kuching, I attended the XPAX XPLAY Party by XPAX. It was a great party and it makes me miss Kuching now even more. The people, the parties, the excitement, the Xtraordinary performers and so much more! Kuching is getting more and more happening these days! With events and parties boomings in clubs and hotels, I’m glad I get to attend one of the biggest and happening parties like the XPAX XPLAY Party in Paragon, Kuching before leaving for KL. So happy that Bro, ahlost, Yien, Gladys and Kelson joined me to the party! They registered and got their Exclusive FREE Invitation to XPAX XPLAY Party from Xpax Facebook.

XPLAY Party Xclusively for XPAX FB Members

Dressed up for Partay!

Exclusive Invitation to XPAX XPLAY

everyone has it

We arrived early and we had plenty of time to camwhore before the party began. There were Celcom promoters promoting that evening’s promotion:

Reload RM30 to your XPAX, entitle yourself to 3 FREE drinks and 1 Blue Bear.

And there is RM10,000 to be grabbed daily. Am not sure on the details, but you can check it out here. 

Even set up an XPAX booth for XPAX users to reload and get rewarded!

 Spotted emcee Gary outside Paragon near the XPAX booth promoting the night’s promotion. Silas was emcee-ing earlier, but I missed out on him. huhuhu..

At the entrance, we were greeted by the bouncer. He was checking for entrance passes which looks like this:

I on the other hand, took a picha with him. LOL

When we walked in, the stage was the first thing I saw. So X!!

Even got their own XPAX spotlight!

As the VPX pass holder, I can go up to the VIP areas. There were like 2 floors mingle around but I stayed at the ground floor most of the time. More happening and more friends to hangout with ma. Hehe..

From the top floors, we get a more spectacular view and more of the overall view of the party.

Left: Blue Teddy Tattoo; Right: Heineken label

The first 200 person to register for the Exlusive Invitation to the XPLAY Party gets a FREE drink.

 You know there’s a party when you hear overblasting bass and cheers from the floor! The first performance was by Soul Higher!

The three dudes who wow-ed the guests of the party with their Xclusive moves.

The night went wild and rocking hard with DJ Monkey and DJ Funkzu (after DJ Monkey)  spinning the night away. There’s also the amazing beatboxer, Shawn Lee who performed too. 

The XPLAY Party gathers not only the people, drinks, music and performances, but also the one night of unforgetable memories…

Since I’m not in Kuching anymore, I’m sure going to miss lots parties and happenings with all these fun and spontaneous peeps! But, I got to know that XPLAY Party  is not only limited in Kuching, there was one in Sunway that Yomi attended on June 19, 2010; which was  a day after the Kuching’s XPLAY Party. Hohohoho… Sure is looking out for more XPLAY Parties. :3

Time to Play! Time to Party! It’s the XPLAY Party!

“You’ve got the passion for music. And you’ve got the thirst for awesome parties. Now you’ve got XPLAY to satisfy your needs.”

What? Where? When? How?

DJ Funkzu and DJ Monkey will be spinning tonight. This is one adrenaline pumping night with Hip-Hop VS Electro all in one place which you don’t want to miss!

Date: Fri, 18 June 2010
Time: 9.30PM till late
Venue: Paragon, Kuching, Sarawak

Join me and others for XPLAY Party TONIGHT!

Entrance is FREE.

All you need to do is register for the party to get yourself an exclusive FREE invitation from Xpax Facebook.

I have prepared a STEP to STEP on how to get the FREE invitation, from login to Facebook to printing your Exclusive FREE Invitation to the XPAX XPLAY Party:

1. Login to your Facebook.

2. Go to XPAX FB page and “Like” it.

3. Click on the XPLAY at the top tab of the page:

Click on the “GET FREE INVITES”

4. You will be redirected to this page:

Click on the “Get Free Invites” button again.

5. Fill in the form to register for the XPLAY party

6. Once you SUBMIT the registration form, you’re almost done.

7. Go to your email and wait for the INVITATION.

Check your email for the XPAX XPLAY Invitation. Please be informed that it might end up in your SPAM/JUNK mail. So, to avoid “missing” the email, add XPAX XPLAY (gotx@xpax.com.my) into your contact list.

8. Print your Exclusive FREE Invitation

Finally, print out the INVITATION and present them at Paragon’s entrance tonight! Check for your name in their FBlist, and you’re good to party.

* * *

Here’s the BEST part.

Be the first 200 fans to register and get 1 FREE drink of your choice. Told you it’s TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday, Thank God It’s FREE).

]]> http://annna.net/exclusive-free-invitation-to-xpax-xplay/feed/ 4 http://annna.net/fifa-world-cup-launch-rajang-bar/ http://annna.net/fifa-world-cup-launch-rajang-bar/#comments Mon, 14 Jun 2010 06:40:19 +0000 annna http://annna.net/?p=5425 Ole! Ole Ole Ole!

FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup fever is back! Now, hosted in South Africa. Even though the game is in South Africa, we can  save $$$ and time from traveling all the way to South Africa, just by relaxing with a bottle of beer or cocktail in hand watching the matches through the TV or big projector screen. The power of technology, huh.

some football match on screen

For the first FIFA World Cup match between South Africa VS Mexico, I watched it with my Level Up kakis (gym-mates) at Rajang Bar, Grand Margherita. Well, it was a surprise birthday party for a friend and we ended up watching the game together since it was on screen. hekhekhek..

FIFA World Cup Cocktail @ Rajang Bar

Few nights before the opening of FIFA World Cup (June 9, 2010), I attended the FIFA World Cup Launch at Rajang Bar, Grand Margherita with ahlost, Jimmy, Mike and Pazuzu.

Me, ahlost, Mike & Jimmy behind us. Where's Pazuzu?

It was a private party in Rajang Bar.We were among the media and press, along with the regular guests  and clients of the hotel at the launch.

the crowd

The crowd was punctual and the event hit off on time

Organisers & Sponsors

The launch was organised by Grand Margherita and co-sponsored by LEA Centre and Guinness. The lucky draw offers is applicable for both Rajang Bar and The Club, Riverside Majestic. Just only Rajang Bar has the exclusive FIFA World Cup 2010 Cocktail/Mocktail. Read ahead for more details..

#1 FIFA World Cup 2010 Cocktail/Mocktail

FIFA World Cup Cocktail awaits

At the entrance of the Rajang Bar, we were greeted by their waiter wearing Adidas shirt holding serving us with either FIFA World Cup Cocktail (with cherry) or FIFA World Cup Cocktail (without cherry).

FIFA World Cup Cocktail @ Rajang Bar

FIFA World Cup Cocktail @ RM35 each

FIFA World Cup Cocktail @ RM35 each

The FIFA World Cup Coctail is RM35++ (price subject to taxes), served in the gold cup and best of all, you can bring it home as a souvenir! The cocktail is a mixture of alcohol mixture served with a slice of lemon and cherry on top.

As for the FIFA World Cup Mocktail, it is RM25++ (price subject to taxes) is a mixture of fruit juices.

#2 The Privilege Card

GMH & RMH Privilege Card

If you are a holder of The Privilege Card, you are entitled to 10% discounts (before taxes) for food and beverage in either Rajang Bar or The Club.  If you don’t, fret not, you can always sign up for one for FREE (subject to availability).

#3 FIFA World Cup Lucky Draw

FIFA World Cup Lucky Draw

When you make a minimum purchase of RM30 in a single receipt, you are entitle to join the lucky draw. There are 2 lucky draws. First is the mini lucky draw which is drawn at every match during the half time break. The prize is ADIDAS merchandise.

As for the second lucky draw, which is the Grand Lucky Draw, which will be drawn at the end of FIFA World Cup. The grand lucky draw’s prize is RM1,000 ADIDAS Gift Voucher.

#3 FIFA World Cup 2010 Launching

getting ready

So, what’s in the box?

Opens up the Box & Gift Voucher presentation

Then, we all know that under that white box is a replica of the FIFA World Cup trophy.

Immediately after they revealed the trophy, the representative of LEA Centre Sdn Bhd. presented the RM1,000 ADIDAS Gift Voucher to the representative of Grand Margherita.

Everyones a piece of the trophy

And that’s the end of the launching and comes the food!

#4 Cocktail Food

cocktail food

Brinjal Fritter with Mayo

huhuhu.. I’m not a brinjal person, so I didn’t try this. Albeit, it looks nice and should probably taste nice too.

Salmon sushi

Salmon Sushi, everyone’s favourite.

say Ahhhhhh

Then, I thought of sharing it with the football player, but he so nice, let me have it to myself. Hahaha..

more cocktail food

Then, there were more coming out :3

FIFA World Cup food tag

Cute and creative food decor.

Potato Salad

The potato salad was delicious. Soft and sweet. There’s a funny story about eating the potato salad. As it was cocktail food, don’t expect holding a spoon on one hand and the other to fetch food. Hence, it was kind of awkward to eat the salad with hand. So, we used the lettuce as a spoon to scoop the potatoes. lol.. Half way eating, I ate the “spoon”.

Cheesecake with mint leaves

The cheesecake was served on fruit parfait. Excellent combination and easy to eat. Just wallop the whole thing into our mouth.

some weird sauce

I have no idea what this is, but it tasted like chilli sauce with onions and spring onions in it. According to Jimmy, it could be sauce for other food. =/ I almost down the whole thing.

Boxing Chicken

This is delicious. Snapped a few pichas feeding the chicken to some more football players but the pichas turned out to be super blur, so I decided not to post it. Mehh..

Frankfurters

Some hotdog grilled or maybe just panfried with blackpepper sauce and sitting on mashed potatoes.

Grilled doree fish with mayo

The doree fish is superb. Wish I had more servings on this. hehehe…

American Chocolate Cheesecake

Another cake for us :3

FIFA World Cup makan-makan

Well, it’s FOODball.

#5 FIFA World Cup Deco

In conjuction to FIFA World Cup, they decorated the whole lounge with mini footballs, posters of fehmes football players, and lotsa ADIDAS stickers around too.

footballs everywhere

cute mini footballs

I want the ADIDAS football

If you think small balls are eyesores, wait till you see the BIG ball.

GIANT football

FIFA World Cup trophy glasses

FIFAness

And if you think the replica glass of the FIFA World Cup trophy is too small for you to camwhore, check out their GIANT FIFA World Cup trophy.

GIANT trophy

The GIANTness makes me looks like an elf!

with the GIANT trophy and GIANT ball

Or perhaps if you think that the GIANT trophy would look too fake, you can always camwhore with their replica ones, which looks like the real thing.

with the Replica FIFA World Cup Trophy

Still not convinced?

The "kiss"

A kiss on the trophy as though I won the World Cup.

#6 Pichas

The management

I also want to be in the group picha

Bloggers and Patrick

with DJ Gary

#7 ADIDAS Goodie Bag

ADIDAS goodie bag

The sponsors prepared a goodie bag for each one of us.

ADIDAS FIFA World Cup cap

Inside the goodie bag, we got ourselves an ADIDAS FIFA World Cup cap and ADIDAS sticker. SWEET!

Us 5 with our cap

Took this picha without flash because we were camwhoring in front of the mirror. It was so dark, it made us look like Africans for FIFA.

#8 The After Party

At every launching or events, there’s always an informal party whereby we drink with strangers or newly made friends. These are among the drinks ahlost and I enjoyed:

Tequila shot

Tequila & Beer

POP

ahlost & I with our Tequila shots

Now back to FIFA World Cup, where’s your ideal place to watch FIFA World Cup?

Taken from MCFA site

Hmm.. I’m actually quite disappointed lah because there are about 10 cats  only at the cat show. Mehhh… Within 20 minutes, I’m done gucik (tickle), poke, tail/paw pulling and taking pichas of the cats (didn’t take pichas of all the cats because most of them show their backs only :L).

The cats are all pedigree cats and I only liked one out of the many. See for yourself:

don't kajiao me lah

Flat face. Looks like Garfield minus the slim and long fur body.

Meow

Among all the cats, I like this breed the most, because it is the most cat among all. It has the look like a tiger, pretty eyes, sharp ears and long legs. Also, it doesn’t look manja (pampered).

only know to sleep. meh

Poor kitties.. Being displayed in the cage and taken photographed, no one to pamper them. They just sit in the cage and snuggle in their blanket for warmth.

muka penyet

Don’t really like this breed of cat. Looks like lion in tux!

Where's my Sabrina?

OMG! this cat, the ears is naturally bend outwards one! So geli! >.<

ugry

Actually, this cat is pissed. LOL!! I very evil go disturb it while it is sleeping so it didn’t want to pose for my camera =X *runs*

Rwoww Rwoww.. I mish my Miu Miu. T_____T

This year, I witnessed Earth Hour 2010 with ahlost, Dys, JF (please update your blog), Frankie and Kally. Year 2010 is the second year for Green Heights Mall to host Earth Hour in Kuching. There were stalls being set up along the carpark outside the mall, selling goodies related to Earth awareness, food and etc..

lelong lelong

food for the hungreh

We wanted to have dinner before heading to Green Heights Mall but as usual, time is always ahead of us. End up dinnering or just snacking on some “mamak stall” at the Earth Hour event.

sausage burger =/

Beef Burger

Anyway, our main reason to be at Green Heights Mall was for Earth Hour lights out and to support our friend, Frankie, who was performing with his bandmates during the event.

frankie

The goodeh buddies:

ahlost

JF aka San Yang

Dys

Yours truly

Kie’s band was the first to perform. Thanks to LanMao (EOS500D) owner who lent me LanMao and using my own SD card to take the following pichas:

#1

Recycle reduce replenish, VOTE EARTH

#2

with the blue lighting

#3

with the purple lighting

#4 Zzzz… blur picha.. I’m not good with the settings wei..

I dunch like your pink pants :L wtf

#5

in Black & White mode

#6

view from backstage with JF in action

#7

from the floor with the standing candles

#8 Get your candles ready for the light out

kie with his candle

#9 Camwhoring at WWF stall

WWF <3

#10

I sahpot WWF

#11

Dys sahpot WWF

#12 Shopping continues during the lights out

shopping in the dark with candles

#13 The crowd supporting Earth Hour

at least 300 ppl here

#14 Met familiar face at the event

Yo! Fahriee!

#15 The show must go on..

oop.. suppose to focus on the closer candles but it focused on the guy =/

#16 with so many people crowding in sucha small space, there’s only one word to describe the event, HOT!

Get REVIVE to cool down

#17

Should make a better arrangement on the candles

#18 Random shot – blur coz kid cannot stand still

some cute girl with her parents

#19 Hello, Kally!

Sorry for the blur picha

My first time meeting Kally in person. Nice to meet you!

#20 Kids and candles

They sien play with candles, went to watch show

#21

the mini ARGH

#22 SuperFlash

Guess who?

#23 ARG minus H

Dys, ahlost & I

#24

with ahlost

Beh tahan (cannot stand) the crazy heat, we left Green Heights Mall for supper/late dinner at………………..*show you in next post*

Pullman Kuching's Grand Opening Gala Dinner Programme & Menu

Colosseum was decorated with handmade or tailor-made props to match the theme of the night, China Shanghai Paris. In other words, the theme was Black and Red. I wore a simple black dress with a red  clinch belt around my waist to match the theme. Simple yet elegant? *perasan*

with the paper Eiffel Tower & napkin

Camwhored with the props on the table, the Eiffel Tower. It is just too cute to  not camwhore with it :3

with the entrance sticker on my arm

Upon registration, Frankie got me the Pullman Kuching’s logo sticker and sticked it visibly on my arm. Every guests of the gala dinner has it on them.

As mentioned earlier, I was at the dinner with ahlost and JF. We met lotsa familiar faces at the dinner;  Jeffrey Sia, Alex Lau (body combat&pump-mate), Fahriee, Cyril, Angel Pep and BF, the Aviva, friends, etc…

JF

with pretty ahlost

Ahlost’s hair looks great that night. She got her hair washed from the hair saloon shop in Sekama for only RM18. FML! Should have joined her for the hair wash. Piff…

Please notice the curls on my hair.

Story of the hair:

I went to Cutting Edge, The Spring for a hair wash (RM25) and to get a glamour hair blow. The fella who washed my hair (I’m sure he’s younger than me) is very talkative. Ask east ask west (obviously trying to dig info), taking what seems like forever to wash my hair. Then, he asked what type of hair blow I want. Told him just blow it straight down with a curve into my face. Guess what he did, he made curls. Not only that, the curls didn’t even last throughout the night. Piff.. Talk about having a glamour hairdo. MEHHH… Not surprising that he asked for a colleague (who blow curls so much nicer) to give him a hand to do the other side of my hair. The curls he “tried” to make looks like sh*t!! Long story cut short, I have two different waves of curls on both side of my face. FML!

met Alex at the dinner

Fahriee & Cyril representing Shiok!

Unfortunately, we were not all seated on the same table. Oh btw, Cheesie and Jaclyn were there for the dinner too. No pichas taken with them as we were seated in different tables and also because yours truly is shy.

This is a rough idea on where we were seated during the gala dinner:

where we are seated

The CM and VVIPs  were seated in a long horizontal table facing the stage. The best seats in the house. Get to have the best views on the stage, no interference while watching the first ever performance by Chinatown Shanghai in Malaysia.

the screenview from our seats

This is the view of the screen from the stage from we were sitting. It’s pretty far away so, it’s quite a small viewfor us. lol

Presentation

The evening began with the slide presentation of Pullman Kuching’s construction progress.

IeatU

I was very hungry during the presentation. =X Dinner began at approximately 8.55pm T_______T

Table settings

This is the table setting for the night. Many tools (utensils) to use for food attack >:]

softdrink & Chinese tea

We were served with either soft drinks (choice of Coca-Cola, Sprite or Orange) or Chinese tea. The soft drink is nice because they don’t put ice in it Chilled soft drinks and not iced ones.

Pain mean bread in French

On each table, there were Pains (bread) to keep the hungry ones quiet. =x

Condiments to go with the bread

Didn’t try the bread nor condiments as I was saving the tank for the real deal of the night (I’ve studied the menu upon sitting).

Enjoy the menu:

Mise en bouche (Pre-starter): Quail Ravioli, truffle cappuccino

Pre-starter: Quail Ravioli

Mise en bouche

Just a mouthful of tasty pasta wrap. Wish to have another spoonful of it…

Petite Entree (First appetizer): Prelude, Synphonie de la mer (Prelude, Symphony of the Seas)

with the Petite Entree/First appetizer

Petite Entree: Prelude, Synphonie de la mer

First appetizer: Prelude, Symphony of the Seas

South-China Sea lobster carpaccio

Wok-tossed peppered crab claw

Marinated Hokkaido giant scallops in passion fruit reduction

All is great except for the crab. It was kind of overcooked as the meat is very much stucked to the claw. Hard to eat as you need to scrap off the meat from the claw.

Grande Entree (Second appetizer): Acte premier, les parfums de I’Asie (First act, Perfumes of Asia)

with the grand entree/second appetizer

Acte premier, les parfums de I'Asie

Fine Oolong tea smoked duck breast, Chawan mushi of foie gras with confit Anjou pear

Succulent juicy & tender duck breast meat *slurps*

My favourite one of all :3

Soupe (Soup): Interlude

The Soup of the night

Blackened chicken consomme, infused in jasmine and Chinese herbs

Jasmine flower

*nom nom nom*

The cookie with raisins in it tasted weird to go with the soup =x it sure is a whole new experience to drink oriental soup with a piece of cookie. Teeheee…

Poisson (Fish): Acte second, L’orientale (Second act, The Oriental)

Slow-simmered "Foo Chow" fish dumplings in citrus & lemongrass scented broth

the "Foo Chow" fish dumplings

Viande (Meat): Intrigue, la rencontre des saveurs (The plot, Encounter of Flavours)

ahlost & I with our Encounter of Flavours

Ignore the reflection from the plate on my face. meh…

Camwhore with mah beef

Rib-eye Bulgogi infused with abalone & matsutake jus

boiled & deep fried kuay tiaw

The kuay tiaw cooking method reminds me of the Ying Yang kailan (2 in 1 cooking style on one dish), where the kailan leaves is cut into very thin slices and then deep friend, and the stalks is stir fried. This kuay tiaw, I think it’s both boiled and deep fried.

Rib-eye Bulgogi

Tender & sweet

The rib-eye aka beef steak from the beef rib is well done and pretty chewy.  It would be better if it is medium well done, so that the meat would be more tender and juicy. *perfecto* However, it’s not easy to please everyone in a banquet as everyone has their own preference on how well done they like their steak. So, no hiam-ing for this case.

Dinner was scheduled to end at approximately 10.45pm followed by fireworks, but dessert was not out yet. Ahlost, JF, Jeffrey and I stayed back for dessert, while the rest went off to capture some fireworks pichas. Good thing we stayed back for dessert as it was more worth missing out on the fireworks.

Dessert: Acte final, Delices sucres (Final act, sweet delicacy)

I has bird nest for dessert

Chilled rock sugar, premier bird nest & ginseng

For dessert, we had BIRD NEST in GINSENG okay! It was a very nice dessert! :3

I has bird nest for dessert (repeating again)

Another picha to rub in for those who missed out dessert for fireworks *evil*

Chilled rock sugar, premier bird nest & ginseng

Bird nest is one of the luxurious food on earth as it is among the most expensive animal products eaten by human. It is believed that bird nest help make your body, skin and face looks younger. On the other hand, ginseng is believed to relieve stress and gives good health and stamina to your body.

ahlost plays hide and seek

Ordinary girl like me can’t afford bird nest with ginseng. So, I ate ahlost’s portion because she don’t like the ginseng taste. Ji lucky sia lo..  Hohoho ..

Do I look more youthful than before?

Throughout the evening, guests were entertained by Chinatown Shanghai. It is said to be their first time performing in Malaysia. It was a very Broadway-like performance minus the theater. Here are among the pichas taken on the performances:

Love the lighting

hosting the night away

musical dance & songs

nice costumes

she has a very lovely voice

Final dance of the night

Super tall fella posing in front

The fella with the top hat is supremely tall! *digs Facebook*

Our boobies is just at the height of his waist!

See! So tall right?!

with the Chinatown Shanghai babes

They are pretty, sexy, hot and talented! I feel so fat and short in between them. Meehhh…

Apart from Chinatown Shanghai, look who else is performing in the house:

Aviva - Alex Chai singing

Alvin the wolverine, the basist

The evening is not just about entertainment, eating and socializing among guests. There were interval during dinner for cheque presentation Interhill Group and witnessed by YAB Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud to PERYATIM Kuching Education and Basic Living Fund for 152 orphans, PETIPUN Education Awareness Programme for Penan Communities, and DBKU Plant-A-Tree Programme.

Each organisation receives RM43,000

I also want cheque.

After the cheque presentation, there was a special cake cutting ceremony specially arranged for YAB Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud for his 29th Anniversary as Chief Minister of Sarawak.

CM checking out the cake

VVIPs join in the fun on the stage

CM is happy

I am just a small photog among the paparazzi

The cheque presentation and cake cutting were the intervals during dinner.

Where's everyone?

Of course the evening did not end just like that. We got ourselves a ticket entrance to Liquid Blast! Party.

Thank you, Stephane!

Next stop… Liquid?

Where to next?

See you there…

The Gunners....pick your size

The Star Sarawak Edition was officially launched by YB Datuk Amar Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Johari bin Tun Abang Haji Openg, Minister of Housing and Urban Development Sarawak, representing YAB Chief Minister of Sarawak. YB was accompanied by The Star’s Executive Deputy Chairman Dato’ Clement Hii, Datin Linda Ngiam, Mr Ng Beng Lye, Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai and Mr. Rajah during the launching.

Dato' Clement Hii & YB on the stage

The event started with registration of invited guests and members of the media. The invited guests were mostly from business organisations and associations. I went over to register as a Media. :3

Registration Counter

Each registrants received a copy of The Star and an envelope consisting of one month FREE subscription of The Star and 10% discount voucher to shop at LEA Centre.

FREE copy of The Star Sarawak Edition of the day

While waiting for the arrival of the VVIPs, guests were seated and entertained by the Sarawak Cultural Village’s ethno-fusion band, Tuku Kame.

Tuku Kame entertaining guests

Upon the arrival of the VVIPs, Silas, emcee of the day,  gave a short introduction of The Star Sarawak Edition.

Emcee of the day, Silas

Then, there’s the opening speech by Dato’ Clement Hii.

Welcome address speech by Dato' Clement Hii

“The Sarawak edition will be presenting local stories and events in a fresh, exciting and comprehensive manner. The main focus of The Star Sarawak edition will solely be on Sarawak alone and our readers will be able to receive a copy of their newspaper by six in the morning daily at a price much lower than previously.” – Dato’ Clement Hii

Abang Jo's turn

YB expressed his impression on The Star Sarawak Edition during his speech, “I was impressed to see The Star at my breakfast table this morning. Normally we have to wait till about 1pm for the paper, but today it came together with the other papers at 7.30am.”

Launching via laptop on the stage

Abang Jo was accompanied by Dato’ Clement and Datin Linda during the launching.

View of the launching from the registration counter

The press conference took place after the launching.

Press Conference with the Media

There were refreshments prepared for the guests and media.

food to feed the guests and media

Someone arrived on time for the food..

Kenny: Just in time

The food they prepared for guests and media (mostly nyonya kuih):

Egg sandwiches

Rojak

Chai Kueh

Kuih Melaka

Curry puffs

some coconut kuih

Nasi Pulut Panggang

Tropical fruits

There were chill out session which include games and quiz. There were giving out 7 units of Celcom Vodafone USB modem stick. I won one unit on the first round :3

My stick

Fahriee, don’t jealous, k? lol

After that one round of quiz session, Hafiz, the Juara of Akademi Fantasia Season 7, made an appearance on stage and sang a couple of songs.

Hafiz, Juara Akademi Fantasia 7

Hafiz looks like Fahriee kan kan kan?

From left to right: Norman, Allen, Me, Fahriee, Bongkersz

We met Bongkersz during the launching. Nice to meet you, Bongkersz!

* * * * *

The Star Roadshow will be at the Spring from March 7 till 14, 2010. There are promotions and mysterious gifts to be redeemed. Visit The Star Circulation Counter and check out The Star Sarawak Edition subscription offers (valid for a limited time only)!

Package A
Subscribe 2 months + get 1 month FREE at only RM56 (save RM52!)

Package B
Subscribe 8 months + get 4 months FREE at only RM224 (save RM209!)

* From 7th to 14th March, Package B subscribers will also receive a special gift: a Starbucks voucher or two free music lessons from Maestro Music School (on first-come-first-served basis)

I’ve calculated, if you subscribe for the promotional packages, you are paying less than RM0.70 only for a copy of The Star! Subscribe now and jimat!

This is Royal Oak.

This is where Royal Oak is located in Hills Shopping Mall.

This is what Royal Oak have at their entrance.

This is what Royal Oak looks like on the inside.

Lovely ladies serving in Royal Oak.

This is part of the view you get from the first floor of Royal Oak.

This is happening at Royal Oak for this coming weekend.

The Ministry of Beats Volume 1 is organized by Shiok.org and it is presented by Hills Shopping Mall and Royal Oak. The event showcases the collaboration between percussionists and a DJ. It is definitely a new thing in town! It is like a mini rainforest, but happening in the city. This will be the most happening event of the month. You can also RSVP and get your tickets via Facebook Or win free passes to the event! How? Just by participating Dine with Annna PrizeGiveAway #7.

This is what you get during the Ministry of Beats Vol. 1 event.

Tickets are selling at RM20, inclusive of a bottle of Heineken and lucky draw.

Dine with Annna PrizeGiveAway #7

To save your RM20, just answer simple questions below and stand a chance to win free passes to the event! *huehuehue*

The first THREE (3) to give the correct answers for the following questions, win the free passes to the event.

Questions are very very simple. Just answer the following in the comment section. This contest ends and winners will be announced on January 27, 2010.

1. Where is the Lounge @ Royal Oak?
2. What is happening on January 30, 2010?
3. How much is the entrance fee for the event?
4. What is inclusive with the entrance fee?
5. What do you look forward at the event?

Good Luck & All the Best!

Hope to party with you……….

These are the peeps you will be partying with.

My Privilege Book 2010 Roadshow

The new issue of My Privilege Book 2010 is out for sale already. If you haven’t purchase the new issue, you can buy it from the Roadshow at a very special price or get if for FREE if you read along this post to find out how. *cheeky grin*

My Privilege Book 2010 for sale

For every purchase of My Privilege Book 2010, you are entitled to redeem the following items on the spot during the roadshow:

Come and claim

You can claim all these during the roadshow and these are EXTRAS! If you purchase after the roadshow, you will not be able to enjoy all of the special promotions from the roadshow and to claim most of them, you will need to use the vouchers from the privilege book.

I’ve claimed mine.

Lucky dip

From the lucky dip, I got a Cystalbowl gift voucher worth RM10.

I have Tune Talk number

In less than 10 minutes (or longer for you if you want to pick your preferred numbers, I tried getting nice numbers), I got my first Tune Talk sim packs. There are lotsa benefits being a Tune Talker. Check it out more from the roadshow.

My TuneTalk number is 010 5353 9XX

I’ll use my old phone for my new number. *digs storeroom*

one FREE game from Crystalbowl

I’ve claimed my one FREE game voucher from Crystalbowl. PLUS, I got you (readers) some FREE games too. Will organise a FREE game “tournament” or something at Crystalbowl and we shall bowl together. Do drop your name here if you’re interested – LIMITED VOUCHERS.

P/S: do you know that there’s MINE Karaoke in Crystalbowl? LOL!! What a great place to hangout. Bowl, karaoke and makan makan.

There are some discount vouchers for Karaoke and  some makan makan promo along with the FREE game voucher.

Nail art @ RM1 each finger

I’ve claimed everything from the roadshow except for the body and nail art because I have no patience in waiting for my turn. LOL.. Will claim it within these 2 days of the roadshow.

On second thought, YOU MIGHT SEE ME AT THE ROADSHOW AGAIN BEING A KAYPOH:

Promoting My Privilege Book to passerby

Tried to convince a passerby to purchase the privilege book BECAUSE I THINK IT’ IS SO VALUE FOR MONEY.

If you are still thinking and deciding whether to purchase My Privilege Book or not? Here are the shortlisted 6 reasons to buy it.

Reasons to buy My Privilege Book 2010

When you purchase the privilege book, you are paying less then 10 cents a day to enjoy savings up to RM5,000!!  As a consumer, for sure we would love to pay less $$$ for goods and services which are worth more than what we pay. So, when you dine in a restaurant/cafe, go for a hair cut, spa, holidays and etc within the selected merchants in the privilege book, you get to enjoy special promotions or pay less for it!!

The SUPER BIGMy Privilege Book 2010. Seeing a backdrop as cool as this, for sure we camwhored with it.

My Privilege Book 2010 Backdrop

There are a lot more pichas taken using JF and Frankie’s DSLR, might be able to see them in Facebook. Hakhakhak.. All funny stunts!

ahlost and annna

ahlost cute!!

ahlost and I attempted to steal bring it back. But it’s so BIG!!

JF act kuat

Yea, JF alone can do all the work, just need to make sure no one notice that the BIG book is missing. LOL!!

Ok enough laughs on the funny stunts. Now, for the ultimate part of this roadshow.

My Privilege Book is giving 3 FREE copies up for grabs!!

Just be the first 3 early birds to show up at the showroom on 20th December, 2009 (Sunday). Whisper as they say, I think if you shout out their slogan and present your 2009 My Privilege Card, you have higher chances in winning the FREE copy.

Tips:

#1 the Spring opens at 10am, be there before 10am and wait for them to open up.
#2 I THINK the slogan is found at the back of the Sales Agent’s T-shirt. Make sure you bring along your binoculars to spot for the slogan.

If you missed the chance to get the FREE copies of My Privilege Book 2010, fret not, don’t go home crying, but go home to print this cash voucher:

My Privilege Book 2010 RM5 Cash Voucher

Print and cut out the RM 5 cash voucher for My Privilege Book 2010, not necessarily have to be in color, black&white will do. Just present this cash voucher and you are automatically entitled to purchase My Privilege Book 2010 RM5 cheaper than normal price.

The so called secret, “shhh… best kept Secret in Town…” is not so much of a secret anymore since you read it from annnaDOTnet. HOHOHO!! Rahsia terbongkar sudah!!

For more info, visit My Privilege Book.

Liquid

Last Saturday was Liquid’s poolside opening party and I was there for it. The earlier private session was 7pm, and the party was opened to the public at 8.30pm.

I iz at Liquid

It was a poolside theme party and the theme for that evening was “North Pole”. Hence, the dresscode was white and NO, we didn’t see anyone dressed in white bikini or white robe (acting polar bear).

Liquid's Poolside Theme Party, North Pole

Not many dressed up for the party, but we did. I mean, what’s the fun of a theme party without dressing up for it, right?

Yien and Na posing by the bar

During the private session, guests were pampered with generous free flow of cocktail food and drinks.  I enjoyed this session the most, well, it is obviously at my best interest. There were free flow of WINE and food!

Enjoying wine

Free flow of wine, beer and softdrinks. The boys enjoyed their beer, the girls enjoyed their wine.

I lafu wine

Love the wine they served. It’s easy drinking and not too dry and the after taste is sweet. Everyone enjoyed themselves and happy. Alcohol makes people happy. LOL

Cocktail finger food

There were three varieties of finger food and I’m putting my guesses on what they’re called:

My guess: Nachos with sour cream

The round chip tastes like nachos with sour cream on top. Crispy and yummy!

My guess: Chicken Tandoori with Sour Cream and Mint Leaf

It certainly looks like Chicken Tandoori with sour cream and mint leave. I may be wrong. Nonetheless, it superb! Had a few servings of this =X

Salmon Shot

Among all the three finger food, I favour this Salmon shot the most.  I had lotsa shots of salmon.

<3

There’s this big Dewar’s balloon by the poolside and I tried to pull it down but it was very heavy! It made me feel like floating up in the air when I slowly released it. It’s like UP is going to happen right here at that moment!

Annna's version of UP

By the way, there’s an opening special for a bottle of 12 years old Dewar’s whiskey. Check it out.

The pool was decorated with polystyrene ice bergs. The surroundings were decorated with white balloons, penguins and they even played the movie, Happy Feet at the white all via projector. If only there were real polar bears or penguins swimming in the pool >:]

View from the other end of the pool

LIQUID from the swimming pool's view

Ice Berg floating

the screening of Happy Feet

Overall, Liquid is a nice place to hangout and chill with friends. It’s not smokey and best of all, I didn’t get a single mosquito bite throughout the night! The ambiance and settings are great for friends to catch up, chit chat, gossiping networking, business meet ups,  and etc..

Very like the environment here

There are many choices of seating:

comfy zone facing the pool

camping by the pool

chairs for wet butts

Comfy and cozy living room settings

Since Christmas is just around the corner, and we were all dressed in white, we looked like  a choir group for  Christmas caroling especially in group pichas. Pure and angelic. Tahaaa!

Christmas Carolers look alike

The evening did not end just like that. We took lots and lots of pichas and they are all so memorable. Of course we didn’t go home empty handed. Santa Alicia distributed door gifts before we left for our late supper.

For Project 365: Day 259 December 5, 2009

There, the blue boxes held by Santa Alicia are the door gifts. Not telling you what is in it. Join the next theme parties to find out.

Attended Liquid's Opening Party Dec'2009

Thanks to Alicia for extending the invitation. It was a great pleasure to be at the opening party.

I didn’t upload all the pichas here. You can view the rest of the pichas in the slideshow (or Facebook):

Complimentary House Cocktail

Liquid’s Poolside Theme Party

Red Hat Party | 12 Dec 2009

The Grunge Party | 18 Dec 2009

Christmas Island BBQ | 19 Dec 2009

Time: 8.30pm
Price: RM23 nett, inclusive of 1 house cocktail

LIQUID
Level 2, Pullman Kuching,
No. 1A, Jalan Mathias,
93100 Kuching, Sarawak.

For enquiries or reservations, please call 082-222888 or send an email to H6332[@]accor.com.

Level Up Fitness Roadshow

The roadshow is located in front of the “Customer Service” counter. From the view up here, it looks like they are promoting exercise equipments. =X

For Project 365: Day 203 October 16, 2009

They displayed a few machines from the fitness centre to let the public feel and try them. “Belum cuba, belum tahu. Sekali cuba, hari-hari mau.” – ”NEVER TRY NEVER KNOW”. The treadmill and bicycle are the common machines any gym has. But the third one caught my interest (which I didn’t take any picha of it =..=). My first time seeing it and I can feel lotsa calories burnt just by imagining me working out on it! Why not you go over and check it out yourself.

Annna and Ahlost with Kenny

ahlost was in town running some errands and she dropped by after I called her telling her how enticing the package is.

The RM99 Early Bird Special includes:

• Unlimited usage of gym facilities (machine, shower, locker, etc)
• FREE classes – Body Combat, Body Pump, Yoga, Aerobics and etc.
• FREE 1 personal training worth RM80
• FREE 1 Totally Orange Juice
• Goodie Bag – Level Up fitness backpack, T-shirt and towel

“Membership registration is now OPEN. The first 100 people to sign up gets the Early Bird Special price of just RM99 per month. This offer is NOT to be repeated in the future.”

FREE Vouchers

Goodie bag: Level Up bag, tee and towel

The consultant attending to us was merely mentally tortured by us. Hahahaha!! Maaf ya, Mawar! We kept asking her funny questions and also joking around. When we mentioned that, Ok! We’re signing up! She thought that we’re pulling her legs. lol..

I've signed up!

ahlost signed up!

Considering that both of us, jogs at the MBKS park as early as 6am, occasionally – whenever I can wake up for it the weather is in good mood, we signed up for the membership. We signed up because

• We don’t have to bother about the weather
• It is located in the city center, 5 minutes drive from my nest
• It opens as early as 7am (has a shower, so can shower after the work out and head over to work)
• The machines are of the best brands of exercise equipments from USA
• Got FREE classes
• Got Goodie Bag upon sign up
• So I have something to howlian in my blog. LOL!!

So, when can I start running? Officially on November 1st, 2009. That’s when the calender month of the contract starts.

Kenny is organising a preview session of the centre before its official opening (Oct 25th, 2009), especially for bloggers. If you’re  interested to join in the preview session, just send an email to Kenny at im@kennysia.com.