During the HOMEDEC weekend at KLCC Convention Center, I had the privilege of attending a workshop hosted by Nippon Paint with a bunch of usual suspects. I went with the “not another boring event!” mentality, but came out with a host of knowledge about colors and living spaces I didn’t have a clue about, it was a very pleasant surprise to say the very least.

attending the very informative presentation – Redmummy, HB, CityGirl

The workshop started out with a presentation by Ms. Gladys Goh of Nippon Paint, in an almost classroom like environment, we learned about colors.

Color to evoke emotions, one of the things I never thought about, for example:

• Yellow – Happy
• Purple – Romantic
• Light Green – Refreshing
• Light Blue – Soothing and Calm
• Maroon – Passionate
• Red – Energize

So for example, it is appropriate to paint a study room light blue, but you wouldn’t want it to be all romantic and purple. Make sense, no?

colors galore, with small tubes for painting decals too

Next we also learn about color schemes. Again, this is something that I’ve never really given any thoughts.

• Monochromatic - the simplest and least imaginative, a single color in combination with different hues that gives a cozy, relaxing, and sooth ambiance. Easy to not go wrong.
• Adjacent/Analogous - picking a few colors within 90 degree of the color wheels (colors that are close to each other.)
• Complementary - using colors that are opposite to each other in the spectrum, like blue and orange to create contrast of cool & warmth.
• Triadic - this is probably the most daring one, choosing 3 different colors that forms a triangle on the wheel, for example, green, yellow, and maroon. This can create a vibrant theme but if you’re not careful, the living room might turn out to look like a kindergarten.

look at my creation, hohoho

Other than the roles of colors and color schemes, there were other useful tips in painting. Some of these are just common sense that we often overlooked.

For example, always paint the ceiling, follow by walls, then windows and doors before proceeding to floor (yes, some people do paint their floor).

Other good habits in painting smart is to ensure that you always paint the difficult area first. Paint the edges, corners, and high spots before proceeding to the main area. Keep strokes continuously and do it in the same direction (up-down or left right), and always paint two coats or more.

Huai Bin, Cheesie, Ms. Wong Meng Lee, and Redmummy’s husband’s creations

After the lecture we were each given our canvas to experiment on some wall arts.

Now some of you might say that wallpaper and stickers are and easier solution. To a certain extend, they are, but with our climate, wallpaper is usually not a very long term solution, same goes with stickers.

For those with a braver soul looking for a more permanent solution, using real paint for wall art is the way to go. We use a variety of different colors and the tools provided (brush, masking tapes, foams) and created our own wall art.

KY, Cindy, Cheesie, BeautifulNara, Redmummy

With some masking tapes I did some square thingy on my canvas and also experimented with drawing a tree free hand. I think the results are alright, a little more care and thought with it I’m sure I’ll be able to come up with something better. Huai Bin’s wall art was probably one of the weirdest, while Cheesie of course, stamped her canvas with pieces of cheese (then added a really fat rat).

Next up would be my living room make over with a fresh coat of paint and some wall art. I’ve actually found a designer to aid me in the wall art department since I basically accepted the fact that my designing career won’t really go anywhere.

Stay tuned!

Tags:  beautifulnara,  cheesie,  cindy,  huai bin,  lunch money,  redmummy

Posted by KY | 25 Comments »

It’s out, and I now got not one, but two units of Blackberry Curve 8520 with me from the xBerry launch party last Saturday at Republic, Sunway Pyramid.

I got the phone from the one-day only deal at RM 888 + RM 50 xpax reload + RM 8.50 for a celcom prepaid number. Total damage = RM 945.60.

brisk business at the launch party, check out the giant 8520

I got the extra unit for a colleague who didn’t want to miss out the deal but couldn’t make it to the party. There were hundreds of people at the event and within a couple hours, half of the 500 allocated units of Curve were already gone.

The phone is now RRP at RM 1188, still a pretty good deal since it’s completely unlock and you’re not tied down with any contract.

KY, Cheesie, Tzia, and Cindy at xBerry party

Now I’m just waiting for everyone to get their BB services activated so we can have BBM orgies! That’s you Cheesie and Cindy!

Tags:  8520,  blackberry,  cheesie,  cindy,  kerol,  tzia

Posted by KY | 35 Comments »

When I was going to college, my only mean of transportation was my old trusted Honda EX5, and I would ride to everywhere (even from KL to Penang, but that’s another story). Most journeys are boring and monotonous, but the one stretch of road I always remember is from KL to Subang via Federal Highway, next to the GAB factory. It was the sweet smell coming out of the factory, yums!

So when I received an invitation to a blogger’s meet by Heineken at GAB’s a few weeks ago, it was almost like a “yes I’ve been wanting to do this for along time” moment.

The Tavern at GAB, why was Desmond checking out Mell’s food ?

It was actually the last event Mell I attended before she left for Melbourne, and Huai Bin was nice enough to give us a lift since my car was still in the workshop getting a much needed paint job. Thanks pal!

The three of us were greeted by the good people from GAB, and immediately we were served a glass of chilled Heineken to start the evening. This is as fresh as you can get when it comes to beer.

a well stocked buffet line

We started to attack the buffet line as the other guys starting come arrive. The number of dishes prepared was well adequate and a few dishes were actually quite tasty. The lamb was succulent, and Mell particularly loved the grilled sweet potato that went so well with the cold beer.

KY & Mell, Simon, ST, Audrey, Tim, Kenny, HB, Cindy, Tock

The other usual suspects slowly arrived at the scene. Timothy and Audrey, Gareth, Robb, Carol, Kenny, Cindy, Tock, Cynthia, Simon, and a couple other Nuffies too.

We were just chilling, have a beer each and did a lot of catch ups. I mean, we usually meet over events and parties where it is mostly too loud to talk, so a change of scenery to the quiet and exclusive bar set up at the Tavern was actually very nice.

Cindy, Audrey, and Robb in beer pouring competition, Robb failed

The gang were then challenged to play bartender for a round and see if we can pour a perfect pint. I got to say, this thing looks simple enough but I ended up with about 65% beer and 35% foam, fail.

Cindy, who hailed from the kampung in Johor did the best among us (I wonder why!) and got an almost perfect pint. Audrey, despite being slightly vertically challenged, did a whole lot better than the over confident Robb. Lesson learned, never judge a beer lady by their looks.

Win a trip to Krabi! (shhh, that’s the tropical beach)

Jasmine and Evonne then introduced us to Heineken Star Final 2009.

The Star Final 2009 is a 3 day trip to Krabi, all expenses paid, to watch the UEFA Champions League final on giant screen by the beach while gulping down Heineken with people from all over the world. I am very please to say that Suan, Horng, and I have already won our tickets at previous Heineken event.

how do you like my raft?

But of course, you have a chance to join us too by playing the game on the Star Final site, and you can do it from now until 30th April.

Basically the idea is like this: create a raft (customizable to pwetty colors!) and sail to from South Africa to Thailand. The virtual trip takes 5 days, and by the end of it the one with most points gets to win 2 tickets to Star Final 2009. You can play as many times every 5 days until the end of next month. So first if you don’t succeed, try again!

the fleet I’m in has 2 rafts so far

There are certain things in the game you can do to pick up more points. Like joining a bigger fleet, answering football related questions correctly as fast as you can (only 3 questions each time though!), or by inviting more friends and subscribing to Heineken newsletter.

I must say that the game is very well designed, the graphics are top notch and it is actually pretty fun and interactive. You can see people from other part of the world, message each other (appears as a bottle floating next to your raft), view fleet, and of course, your own raft. Everything is also customizable, very neat.

I’m still playing for fun even though I’ve already won the tickets.

LapSap (Blink and XU), DJ Goldfish, Bumblebeez,

Other than the that, Heineken will also be having a string of events led by the main showdown – “A Night in Rome” at Hap Seng Star Mercedes-Benz Auto Haus on Jalan Sultan Ismail on the 25th of April with LapSap and The Bumblebeez spinning.

There will be giant projectors, mock Roman architecture and Champions League paraphernalia, fashion shows, performances and all that jazz too. It should be pretty awesome! See you there!

Tags:  audrey,  champions league,  cindy,  heineken,  huai bin,  kenny sia,  lunch money,  mellissa,  robb,  tavern,  timothy,  tock

Posted by KY | 17 Comments »

Remember at the post on Guinness Gastronomy Workshop with Chef in Black Emmanual Stroobant, I suggested that Western food places should look into adopting some Guinness inspired dishes? Well, about a month back I had some Guinness dishes, but instead of Western, it was something of an opposite: Japanese food at SOMO Mont Kiara.

SOMO mont kiara, dinner for two

I went to SOMO with the infamous Cindy, who happened to stay around the area.

The restaurant is basically fully alfresco with a smallish set up, a dozen or so tables under a retractable canvas. The ambiance is pretty comfortable and actually a bit unique as far as Japanese outlets go: outdoor, a bar, LCD tv player sports, and music.

two Guinness inspired dishes

The Guinness inspired dishes were not actually on the menu, so I spoke with the friendly manager and requested for them. The grilled beef set and seafood set was suggested, and I also ordered sashimi for two, shisamo (grilled pregnant fish), and a pint of Guinness as good measures.

SOMO was not among the restaurants that ran the Guinness-infused Christmas main course promotion like these below. However, like many restaurants, you can sometimes get the chef to cook up something different, if only you ask nicely.

• The Magnificent Fish and Chips at Changkat Bukit Bintang, KL
• SevenAteNine at Ascott, KL
• Gypsy Wine & Bar at Changkat Bukit Bintang, KL
• Ronnie Q at Bangsar
• Cafe Chulo at Jaya One, PJ

the girl, the sashimi, the seafood, and the soup & chawanmushi

The chef did probably take slightly longer than usual to prepare the dishes. While it was tough to find the hint of Guinness from the grilled seafood Cindy ordered, the beef I had was excellent. The slight bitterness contributed by the black beer was clearly present in the meat and actually adds character to the otherwise sweetish dish. It was really good, I think SOMO should consider making this dish a permanent fixture on their menu.

Cindy, Shisamo, and yours truly

The sashimi for two consists of squid, sweet shrimps, octopus, tuna, salmon, and a generous portion of salmon roe. They were fresh, served on ice, and made for very good appetizer. The grilled shisamo too was done properly even as first time eater of the fish, the girl said it was good. And of course, the Guinness drought was excellent.

SOMO is a stone’s throw away from Plaza Mont Kiara

The sets also come with miso soup and chawanmushi, they are priced at RM 35 and RM 45,  sashimi was RM 60. Together with drinks and shisamo, the dinner came to just a little over RM 200. It was very satisfying though, good food, great atmosphere, and of course, a very good company.

Address:
Lot 2B, The Shoplex@Mont Kiara, Jln Kiara
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
GPS: 3.166571, 101.652696
Tel: 019-312 6528

Tags:  cindy,  guinness,  Japanese-Food,  mont-kiara,  sashimi,  shisamo

Posted by KY | 27 Comments »

If my memory serves me correct, this should be the third time Cheesie and I went for a seafood dinner. Together with Cindy, we decided to give South Sea Seafood a try instead of Lala Chong, which we went on the first two occasions.

There are a few more seafood places in the vicinity and I have a feeling it’s only a matter of time before we sample all of them.

South Sea Seafood, very big selection of live seafood

South Sea Seafood is located just next to the runway of the old Subang Airport, parking is a relatively painless affair as the restaurant has a dedicated free car park right across the road with friendly parking attendance ever so eager to assist you. Definitely a plus point.

There are plenty of aquariums with live and some pretty exotic seafood on display at this restaurant, snow crab, abalone, mantis prawn, geoduck, etc. Pretty similar to Pantai Seafood in this regard.

baked crab, steamed red snapper with ginger, two-style kailan

For the three of us, we ordered a couple kilograms of baked crabs, a pretty good portion of steamed red snapper, and a two-style kailan to go with some rice. Crustacean, fish, vegetable, balance and complete.

The size of the baked crabs was very good. The top half of the claws were as big as Cheesie’s oversized shades, and most importantly, they tasted so succulent and flavorful. By having crabs prepared this way, you get the natural flavor of the seafood, and thus freshness is most important since there are no strong spices and other ingredients masking the original taste. For good quality crabs, avoid having them with fancier preparation methods.

Cheesie, Cindy, and Yours Truly having a crabby time!

The steamed red snapper is topped with a layer of finely chopped garlic and spring onion. The greenish sauce goes well with the fish and gives it a slightly spicy and fresher taste.

Deep fried shredded kailan leaves topping the more conventional sauteed vegetable of the same kind looks like a pretty weird combination, but they actually tasted rather nice. The crunchy deep fried leaves carries a texture not unlike dried Japanese seaweed and gives the normal kailan dish another dimension. I liked it.

South Sea Seafood is located by Subang Airport runway

The girls had some ice cream as desserts to conclude the dinner. Everything came to a total of a little over RM 100, a pretty average bill for what we ate. Cindy also wrote about the experience here, where she tried to play with a small boy during our dinner (small boy didn’t want to layan her).

Address:
No 229, Jalan 2A,
Kampung Baru Subang,
40000 Subang, Selangor
GPS: 3.140688,101.54691
Tel: 03-7846 1401

Tags:  cheesie,  cindy,  crab,  fish,  seafood

Posted by KY | 33 Comments »