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The Curve @ Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya

The Curve is the latest concept shopping mall that opened up in Mutiara Damansara, completing the Holy Trinity (IKEA-Ikano Power Center - 1 Utama - The Curve) of consumerism. The Curve is located right opposite Ikano Power Center and the architecture of the place is dominated by...well, curves, so to speak.

The anchor tenant at the main entrance of The Curve is The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Despite the prime real estate space, it seems that this coffee chain does not attract as much patrons as the Medusa figurehead located further in The Curve. Personally, I'm partial to Starbucks too, so I didn't linger here.

The Curve is being promoted as a different designer shopping center and it just opened recently so I decided to spend an afternoon there to check it out. Please don't let this photo of the rounded interior fool you - the tenancy rates at The Curve is still relatively low, which is understandable, considering it's new.

The escalators at The Curve are also subtly curved...I half expected the toilets to be curved as well, but I can report with authority that the washrooms at The Curve are perfectly conventional. The Curve implements a very interesting concept of segregating the fashion outlets from the eating establishments. The Fashion Mall covers the interior of The Curve and The Street Mall twists and bends around the exterior of the entire three storey shopping mall.

I found the architecture to be very novel and charming...each floor is logically partitioned into two sections - The Walk and The Street. It gave me the feeling that The Curve is half a shopping mall, albeit a very artistically designed one. The Walk refers to the air-conditioned interior of the mall and it leads out to The Terrace.

The Street takes up all the outdoor space around and inside the mall. It's an open aired path lined with shops. The right side of The Street is dubbed the Western Courtyard, while the left flank is called the Asian Courtyard. The Street is almost as big as The Walk and each of the five floors follows the same The Street-The Walk partitioning, including the two basement car parks. I'm just as confused as you are regarding the architectural decisions and would in fact like to have whatever he/she was taking when this concept mall was drawn up.

The Ground Floor, First Floor and Second Floor all leads out to The Street at various points. It's meant to be a mall that embraces the air conditioned comfort of modern shopping malls on one side and an al fresco open air retail space on the other half. It's not as bad as it sounds though; The Curve is just a three storey mall, so it would take a lot of effort just to get lost. The balcony lining The Street is densely packed with ceiling fans, which is a really good idea in our climate.

The Street leads to The Piazza at the end of the shopping mall and the same segmented design is replicated across all the floors so it's actually pretty nice to walk around inside before stepping out to stroll around in the fresh air. There are also several decorative structures interspaced outside, like this water feature (a pretentious name for a fountain) and gazebos. That's a T.G.I. Fridays behind the fountain.

The palm tree lined street is a refreshing change from the usual enclosed shopping centers around here. There are also transparent glass walkways interconnecting the two courtyards at the upper floors of The Street. I had lunch at the excellent The Bakery Moments (review tomorrow) - a Norwegian bakery concept store that just opened its first establishment here.

The Curve seems to have the potential to become a great specialty mall like bsc in Bangsar. It's small but cozy, and while it's true that The Curve can't compete in size or secure mega anchor tenants unlike the two massive neighboring shopping malls, it makes up for it with quality specialty cafes, bistros and other eating establishments. I like The Curve - it exudes a certain charm that large commercialized shopping malls lack...

Posted in Interesting by Huai Bin at 07:04 PM Permalink | Comments (25)

TiuNiaMa.com and TiuNiaMaChowHai.com is live!

sixthseal.com is proud to present two new sister sites - TiuNiaMa.com [tiuniama.com] and the twin, TiuNiaMaChowHai.com [tiuniamachowhai.com].

The two complementary sites will serve as a general purpose insult automation system. It would be like sending things in an offhanded manner to /dev/null on a Linux box. ;)

I'm busy enough with work to have to answer trolls so from this day forth, I declare that trolls of a minor annoyance would be directed to tiuniama.com.

The more irritating trolls shall be brusquely dismissed to tiuniamachowhai.com which would leave me with much more time to spend on the blog.

The two-tiered significance of the domains would be apparent to people who can converse in Cantonese. ;)

Tiu Nia Ma means "fuck your mother" and that's exactly what the tiuniama.com domain is meant for.

Tiu Nia Ma Chow Hai builds upon the phrase and literally means "fuck your mother's smelly cunt", which is a mouthful (no pun intended) and a little too long to type tiuniamachowhai.com too.

Okay, so I was bored and started to see what domains were available. I know, I know, I'm crude and I have too much time on my hands (comes with not sleeping). It also gives me a sense of satisfaction when I finish one of these out of the blue concept projects. :)

Thus, I would like to announce the two new additions to the sixthseal.com family - tiuniama.com and tiuniamachowhai.com! It comes in handy as a single URL insult. Nifty. ;)

This post is dedicated to minishorts [minishorts.net], the domain names were inspired by her tirade about the Malaysian blog microcosm [minishorts.net]. I checked and saw that both were available, so I just bought them on a whim. Naturally, this dedication isn't meant to offend, since I like her and all...

...but on the other hand, I can't very well bestow the dubious honor on some poor old 41 year old auntie going through her menopause can I? ;)

Posted in by Huai Bin at 07:30 AM Permalink | Comments (20)

Butler's Family Restaurants, KLIA

Butler's Family Restaurants (with an 's' apparently) is located near the arrival hall of KLIA (Malaysia's international airport). My flight arrived one hour early and Air Asia does not serve meals on their flights so I decided to grab some breakfast here before I head out of the airport. I've passed by Butler's Family Restaurant more than a few times but never did feel the urge to sample their food offerings.

Butler's was not exactly bristling with patrons when I walked in. In fact, I've never seen the place even partially full in all my flights through KLIA. Nevertheless, I was undeterred by the lack of clientele and ordered from the breakfast menu. Butler's Family Restaurant serves breakfast from 5 am - 11 am.

I had the Butler's Special (RM 6.80) which took ages to arrive because (and I quote) "the order number was obscured by your notebook, so we didn't know you still have outstanding orders". No apologies, just a matter of fact statement. I told her that I could count the number of people in Butler's on the fingers of one hand, and I couldn't understand how an order could be missed. She just reiterated the obscured order number and told me it's on the way and left.

I don't know where they hire these people, but they should not be in customer service. I had not had my morning coffee yet (and that's not a good thing), so I walked over to the counter and asked for the manager, who apologized for the waitress. I was pretty irate though, and the manager probably sensed this, and offered me a drink while I wait for the Butler's Special to be served. Thus, I had coffee on the house, and all is forgiven. ;)

The less-than-stellar service aside, I can't recommend this eating establishment with a good conscience though. Butler's Special isn't anything special at all...the dish comprises of a sunny side up egg, hash browns, a sausage, toasted bread, butter and jam. It was supposed to have a muffin as well, which the waitress forgot and made me have to go back again. I don't like having to make so many return trips just to get food and I made that very clear when I went for my muffin.

The muffin wasn't even good...it was dry and stale...

I appreciate the manager's efforts to make things right, but the food is deplorable and the service non-existent, so please, if you happen to pass by Butler's Family Restaurant in KLIA - keep walking! ;)

Posted in Food reviews by Huai Bin at 08:57 AM Permalink | Comments (27)

Hapuskan Najis Dadah!!!

Hapuskan...

Najis...

Dadah!

Mesyuarat kommuniti ini dibawakan oleh sixthseal.com - tumpaskan najis dadah!

*Peralatan di dalam klip video di atas bukan dadah sebenar tapi garam dan pensil. Marilah kita bersama-sama menumpaskan musuh negara nombor satu! Hapuskan kegiatan hisap dadah and bawalah penagih dadah ke taman negara untuk kegiatan sihat and cergas!

Malaysia Tanpa Dadah 2035!

Edit:

Here you go, tiuniasing, here's the subject. It's not dadah though. It's just a salt sachet. It's a bit chunky coz it's sea salt.

Hmm...my written Bahasa Malaysia is still functioning. Good. Just checking...I hit my head pretty hard on the floor when the quake hit.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 08:36 AM Permalink | Comments (18)

Powerful 8.7 magnitude earthquake Indonesia felt in KL, Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Another strong earthquake which was measured at a preliminary magnitude of at least at 8.7 Richter scale hit Sumatra just after 12 am local time today.

The meteorological department is issuing out precautionary tsunami alerts and is advising citizens staying in coastal areas to move at least 1000 km inland. Fishermen (both the marine kind and the ones fishing for grossly misplaced sympathy) were seen tying down their boats, and there are some reports of preemptive intentional destruction of boats in the hopes of getting a government handout.

Among the areas that were reportedly hit by the tremor were Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, Klang, Johor Baru and Muar. Communication channels were abuzz with inane chatter about the catastrophe by unaffected individuals wishing to appear worldly and concerned. Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) has been dispatched to the affected areas in an attempt to quarantine this extremally virulent outbreak the CDC calls "bleeding heart disease". ;)

The strong tremors were felt as far away as Kuching, Sarawak where cigarettes were shaken loose from their packs and garbage displaced.

Toilet seats were also reportedly affected by the earthquake, with many reports coming in regarding toilets backing up. Several people were also hospitalized for mania resulting from overexcitement over the latest news of death and destruction.

Internal Security and Public Order director Comm Datuk Othman Talib made an announcement to appeal to the Malaysian public to remain at home and refrain from going to work or school until the destructive potential of the earthquake is established.

Those who are already at work or school are advised to evacuate immediately and return to their homes until the threat has passed.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 05:13 AM Permalink | Comments (16)

Starbucks Enticing Espresso Rhumba Frappuccino

I'm at the Starbucks in The Curve right now; enjoying a Venti sized Espresso Rhumba Frappuccino. I've been here since noon - I heard it's the newest concept shopping mall in KL and came here to check it out (photos and write-up later).

The Starbucks "Enticing" Espresso Rhumba Frappuccino is billed as "our signature Espresso blended with ice, coffee and rhumba chocolate chips, topped with whipped cream and delicious chocolate drizzle".

It's the latest promotion at Starbucks and the windows are adorned with the Espresso Rhumba Frappuccino stickers. The Tall sized ones goes for RM 11.50, the Grande ones for RM 12.50 and the Venti for RM 13.50.

I went for the Venti size, which is what I usually get...there's no such thing as too much coffee. ;) It tastes good - the Espresso Rhumba Frappuccino has bits of chocolate in it that melts in your mouth (as long as you don't choke on it first by sucking too hard).

I'm just chilling here with the Espresso Rhumba Frappuccino and a bottle of Perrier before waiting for my flight back to Kuching. It's a business trip and I've finished the assignment here so I'll just be looking at the...bulls...

Hmm...

Oh, and the Starbucks staff just gave me a free sample of the Caramel Frappaccino.

Posted in Fast Food Inc. by Huai Bin at 02:57 PM Permalink | Comments (20)

Restoren Islamik Balkis

Restoren Islamik Balkis is a Halal eating establishment in Sibu. I like the name of the place so we decided to go there for lunch. Just because it has a cool name.

I had nasi briyani (RM 5) which came in one of those huge steel plates. Restoren Islamik Balkis serves very generous portions of food. The nasi briyani came with a prime cut of chicken too - the classic 10 piece cut that produces the drum attached to the thigh (I'm being pretentious here ;)). My gf went for the roti telur which she finished, so I guess it was good.

I'll recommend going to Restoran Islamik Balkis for the nasi briyani though - the meat is very tender, with an almost melt in your mouth texture, and the rice is soft and tastes better than most nasi briyanis I've had. It comes with three different kinds of dips too. There's a fourth receptacle on the dish but I'm not sure if they left out one or it's meant for discarded bones. ;)

Restoren Islamik Balkis - the best nasi briyani in Sibu to date...

...and no, they did not pay me to say that. ;)

Posted in Food reviews by Huai Bin at 08:48 AM Permalink | Comments (12)

The art of garlic

Finely chopped garlic is usually a mainstay in banquet style Chinese restaurants. I've recently been introduced to an unorthodox but delectable method of extreme garlic consumption from a dining companion. He is truly the undisputed sifu of garlic consumption - the man eats bowlfuls of garlic and I don't mean the sauce sized ones...I mean the soup sized ones.

The art of garlic consumption applies to the peanuts Chinese restaurants serve when everyone is seated. Before I was enlightened by the ways of the garlic, I used to eat the salted peanuts as is...just like everyone else. I have discovered a innovative method of peanut enjoyment via excessive garlic consumption and I've never looked back. I feel that it's my duty to pass on the gastronomic garlic kung fu before all knowledge of this art is lost. ;)

The first thing to do is to fill the sauce bowl with garlic. The key to a successful mixture is to pile the finely chopped garlic into the sauce bowl. As a reference, please crosscheck the first picture with this one. I took all that garlic. It should look like a mountain (or at least a small hill) by the time you're done.

The garlic mound should then be doused with vinegar. It's the one of the far right. Garlic mountains are always made with vinegar. Soy sauce is a big no-no. Go with the vinegar love.

The next step is to soak (marinate) several peanuts in the garlic-vinegar concoction for at least several minutes.

The peanuts in garlic are ready to eat after that. It is extremely essential that chopsticks are used. Each peanut should be scooped up with an excessive amount of garlic and the whole portion should be chewed thoroughly to allow the garlic flavors to propagate through the palate.

Trust me, it's good. I'm an extreme garlic convert now. ;)

It also helps to pass the time before the main courses arrive...

Posted in Food by Huai Bin at 08:40 AM Permalink | Comments (11)

Maggie Mee Assam Laksa

There is nothing much that can comparable to the homely feeling of eating a bowl of steaming hot instant noodles, home cooked naturally. I have been deprived of this simple pleasure for so long (it comes with not having cooking facilities at my place ;)) that I've almost forgotten how good it is.

I don't even like Maggie Mee Assam Laksa (I'll go for Curry flavor any day)...but it kinda grows on you...and there's just something about two packets of Maggie Mee noodles, cooked slightly soggy, with just the right amount of soup and two eggs that's really heartening. It's like coming home. :)

Posted in Local food by Huai Bin at 08:28 AM Permalink | Comments (13)

Data center migration - sixthseal.com and other sister sites down (oh, and I'm in KL now)

My apologies about the downtime that sixthseal.com and all the sister sites experienced over a period of 24 hours - the server farm I'm on migrated to another data center (which would mean faster speeds).

It's not exactly the best of times for sixthseal.com to go down as my weekend has been crazy...I took a flight back to Sibu Thursday evening on a whim (long Easter weekend) and I was booked to fly back to Kuching early Monday morning.

However, the office called me over the weekend to inform me that our biggest client in KL needs asistance so I had to cut short my holiday and come back to Kuching at 12:45 pm. I woke up at 4 am today and went to the airport to catch a flight to KL (only Air Asia flies at unholy hours like these) to catch a flight to KL.

I just arrived in KL and I'm going to get some breakfast before meeting with the clients - I will post all the backposts in chronological order soon. I'm going to write on the plane since it's Air Asia (no newspapers) and the flight takes 1 hour and 40 minutes. My apologies about the 24 hour downtime across all the sites.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 08:22 AM Permalink | Comments (2)

Gelato Cafe

Gelato Cafe is the new Sugarbun offshoot that's supposed to fill the void in iced confectionary products that was left when the previous Sugarbun attempt in this market (remember the Caprilla chain?) folded. Oh, and btw, I'm in Sibu now due to a last minute, wtf, let's head home decision. ;)

Gelato Cafe occupies a small compartment beside the Sugarbun outlet in Jalan Wong Nai Siong. It's a really small place, but I'll go with cozy instead, considering we have shares in Sugarbun. ;)

The seating arrangements put me at a loss for words though...it's...very colorful...

Gelato Cafe has a less than stellar portfolio though - there is a total of eight (8) menu items.

This is the Waffle Gelato (RM 3.90) that my gf ordered. It was alright, with one minor issue...it's not gelato...

I went for the Almond Shell Delight (RM 2.90) which is one of my favorite things to order. Imagine eating the plate after you're done with the dish! ;)

This is the strangely named Gelato Quick (RM 3.90) that we shared. It has two scoops of something-which-is-not-gelato garnished with peach slices, coconut shavings, corn, a cherry and one of those cocktail sticks you can poke your eye with.

Gelato Cafe also has a prominently displayed sign that made me laugh out loud. It's not gelato, but it's cheap (as long as you don't break any glasses) and the sign is really something you need to check out. ;)

Posted in Fast Food Inc. by Huai Bin at 09:58 PM Permalink | Comments (9)

Thanks to Big D for the US $ (and also the grandma card)!

I received an envelope from Derek in the mail today. Big D is one of the senior moderators at limteh.com and he was kind enough to help out with the bandwidth bills of the sixthseal.com umbrella of sites.

The contribution was double wrapped (two envelopes - the only way to send cash via post) and the bills hidden inside a Hallmark greeting card. There was a US$ 20 bill and a US$ 10 bill. The card happens to be one for grandmothers, I appreciate the thought, grandson. ;)

This is the "Happy Birthday Grandma" card that Big D sent the cash with. I figure the post office people would feel really bad if they didn't deliver this to a poor old helpless lady. Heh! The correspondence is applied mosaic for confidentiality.

In God We Trust.

Thanks, my friend...it's really great that you went though all the trouble, much love (in a totally heterosexual, brotherly way, of course ;)), mate!

Posted in by Huai Bin at 03:18 PM Permalink | Comments (14)

Homemade chocolate mousse write-up

This is the photo of the chocolate mousse I made after three days of preparation. The recipe and step-by-step procedures will be furnished below, including a video clip of the interesting chocolate mousse dynamics.

Step 1: Line the mixing bowl (toilet bowl) with serviettes (toilet paper).

Step 2: Start putting in the first layer of chocolate (shit). The first chocolate layer should be semi-solid in nature.

Step 3: Line the first layer of chocolate (human excretion) with more serviettes (TP) and add another layer of solid chocolate (#2).

Step 4: Garnish the second layer of solid chocolate with another layer of serviettes and squeeze in a final layer of melted chocolate (liquid shit, best obtained when you really need to go).

Step 5: Marinate the chocolate mousse at 37 degrees Celsius for three days.

Step 6: Serve at room temperature. Recipe serves 2 people.

Download: Chocolate mousse serving method [sixthseal.com]

It's actually just my backed up toilet which was attracting fleas of all sorts. Watch the fleas swarm out as I take a piss in the movie!

sixthseal.com - Pushing the boundaries of good taste since 2002. ;)

Posted in Hmm... by Huai Bin at 01:11 PM Permalink | Comments (61)

Rin Japanese cigarettes

Rin cigarettes is the latest offering in the Japan tobacco market and has an almost Zen like minimalist approach to the design of the pack. It's marketed by Japan Tobacco (JT) and the most interesting thing you'll notice straight away is the URL listed in front of the pack - http://www.mhlw.go.jp/topics/tobacco/main.html. It goes to a WHO tobacco health warning website. You think you've seen everything, and something like this comes along... ;)

The back of Rin cigarettes is similarly verbose, in a minimalist way, of course. Did that even make sense? Nevermind. Anyway, Rin cigarettes from JT come in a beige colored pack with a single red Japanese character for "Rin" (I presume) which makes it stand out. This product was bought in Japan (Thanks ff!), so the only English characters I could make out is the phrase "Japanese Original Blend" and the numerical "100%".

The flip top pack is embossed with a raised grid texture too - a very novel design decision that I've never seen implemented in cigarette boxes before. The grid is not merely functional e.g. to provide a better surface grip, but is pleasing to the senses as it portrays a throwback to the old days of Japan (not that I would know what that is like, it just gave me that feeling).

The open pack of Rin cigarettes also reveals another complementary unconventional design aspect - the filters of Rin cigarettes come in a very interesting shade of light amber. The grid texture combined with this unusual choice of filter makes it stand out from other cigarette offerings.

Rin cigarettes is a near full flavored cigarette blend at 11 mg tar and 1.2 mg nicotine per cigarette too. It tastes good...very smooth draw and it has a nice, toasty aftertaste.

The tobacco contained inside Rin cigarettes is unusual too...the color is distinctively different, but unfortunately, I only noticed that when I used one to spin...it matches the filter color in some shades. Nice...

Posted in Ethanol and tobacco by Huai Bin at 02:06 PM Permalink | Comments (29)

Fidelity Sound Division recording studio

Fidelity Sound Division is an entertainment and multimedia production house located at Jalan Abell in Kuching. I've been hanging around the studio lately, and the place is amazing...the first time I got to see the interior was sublime, for the lack of a better adjective. I did not know that a place like this existed in Kuching. FSD is located on the 1st Floor of Lot 97, Section 50. The front of the place is non descript, so I never noticed it before until recently.

Entering the recording studio reveals the lounge, which has a P/S 2 hooked up to a large TV and speakers and seats huddled around the coffee table. There's a post-production work area beside the lounge with broadband net access as well. I'll tell you one thing - this is a great place to hang out and chill. It's also less than a minute's walk from my office. ;) The recording studio is always filled with the label's DJ's as well as friends, there's never a dull moment. It's seriously great...

There are rooms flanking the left of the studio, with specialized functions for each. This is the mixing room. Fidelity Sound Division is involved in Event Management/Support, Mobile DJ Solutions, Music Training Centers, Multimedia Publication and Consultation Services. The Fidelity Sound Division's website is at www.fidelitysounddivision.com [fidelitysounddivision.com].

The mixing decks look impressive to my untrained eye...there's a lot of sweet hardware in Fidelity Sound Division's recording studio...

The next room is equipped with everything a band needs to get up and running. The room also functions as a recording room for bands and Fidelity Sound Division provides the services to facilitate an album release. Nifty.

The third room is outfitted to be a conference room...

...and this is Rizal Wahab, the man who owns the place. The Il Padrino of the recording studio. I just managed to meet him today, and he's a great guy. He used to be from Australia too, so that's something we all have in common. The interesting thing I got to know today is that the legendary annual Crown Plaza rave is also organized by Fidelity Sound Division. Rizal is the Managing Director of Fidelity Sound Division and he also plays as DJ Reeze. He's a DJ and had a residency back in Perth club.

His office is a sight to behold...there's a plethora of collections on display; the equipment in there must cost more than what I make in 10 years. Prime...

There are seating arrangements to the side as well as a collection of flyers...

The cabinets lining the side is also filled with various collector items...it's an interesting place.

There are also mix decks towards the back and the windows faces an unlikely structure. Rizal showed me the view from the window - it looks straight into the Padungan Police Station. Heh!

The side is filled with a keyboard and a framed autographed football jersey. Nice.

I managed to catch last year's rave on Rizal's Mac - it was recorded with surprising clarity (both video and audio). Rizal was the opening act (DJ Reeze) that year. The Fidelity Sound Division recording studio is also actively promoting their resident DJ's. Thanks for showing me around, man.

Fidelity Sound Division is like an oasis in the middle of the city. The ambience is all good vibes, it's the best place to hang out and just chill in Kuching...

Posted in by Huai Bin at 12:18 AM Permalink | Comments (23)

Flame bloggers for fun and profit!

Did I say profit? I meant traffic. ;)

Enjoy.

Dear Lilian,

Peace be with you, sister in Christ. Now that we've got the formalities out of the way (don't believe we've been introduced), I would appreciate it if you could spare a couple of seconds of your time to address an issue regarding a comment posted in the weblog mental jog at (http://jogalong.blogspot.com).

I would like to highlight the entry made on the 4th of February, 2005 with the title yo, come let's drink tea! (Permalink: http://jogalong.blogspot.com/2005/02/yo-come-lets-drink-tea.html), in particular the first comment in the comment section, if you'll be so kind as to refer back to it.

The entry in question focuses on an upstart forum called LimTeh.com (LimTeh.com is a sixthseal.com venture). I believe that the first comment was written by you, or person(s) using the "lilian" nickname with a back link URL pointing to (http://lilianchan.blogspot.com/).

I navigated over to the weblog in question and was informed that This blog has moved to http://chanlilian.net/. I proceeded to the URL and arrived here. You must be wondering what great news I must be carrying about our Lord Savior, Jesus Christ, to have traveled so long and far, and to that, I say...there is none.

He did remind me that it'll be His birthday again in nine months, and told me that I had better get him something stronger than wine if I'm to be considered for the Heaven Guest List, but that's it. Hmm...come to think of it, he did sound kinda judgmental and rather unlike his usual forgiving self, but that could be coz of the drinking...

I digress. I did not come here with glorious news of the divine nature. It's something more earthly that I've traveled thus yonder to share with you.

I am writing to relay my feelings regarding the comment which was made on the 4th of February, 2005 at 1:33 PM (GMT +8) which reads:

QUOTE
Lucia
I hope you will exercise your wisdom over there because as I see it, it has undertones of substances abuse. I can't be sure but you are free to ask around from our wiser and more established forummers. Go on, jump on me but I have to say what I have to say.
UNQUOTE

The off-handed remark and pre-assumptions which is cocooned within the barbed comment really...er, hurt, my feelings. For a moment, it felt like there was sand in my eyes, and maybe there was, with the construction going on outside...and the word "forummers" really did hurt my eyes. It's a piercing sort of pain, like it's telling me that there's too many m's. I'm sorry, but that's what happened.

It also made me feel like my heart was being slowly shredded apart, with each word that flashed before my eyes, but perhaps that could be attributed to sympathomimetic induced cardiac dysrhythmias...yep, nothing feels like tachypnea and tachycardia with a dash of intracranial pressure in the morning. It just wakes you right up...works like magic...okay...right, I will stop pretending to make sarcastic comments disguised as small talk and get to the point now.

I appreciate the fact that you've voiced out your personal views and I absolutely agree that you have a right to speak out. Now, if you'll allow me to reciprocate, I must correct you on several factual malfunctions in your comment.

1. The LimTeh.com forum does not have "undertones of substances (sic) abuse". I ABSOLUTELY RESENT the negative connotations loaded in that phrase. I would like to correct you, once and for all, and make it clear that the LimTeh.com forum neither condones nor discourages substance use. Instead, the practice is embraced.

2. I would like to compare notes with you on the second rebuttal before making a statement, because I would not think of making assumptions about you, but wtf, we haven't got all day, so, getting right to the point, I find the phrase "wiser and more established forummers" to be offensive and derogatory to me.

Please allow me to get on my moral high horse and make the following statement:

I would not think of making assumptions or judgment calls against you, lilian, because I don't know you in person.

Now, as I dismount the virtual horse, I would like to convey the urgency of time by discreetly glancing at my watch and concede that you are probably wiser than me, due to your...seniority, shall we say?

The part I will have to check my facts (people still do that in this day and age, you know) is the bit regarding being an "established forummer (sic)". LimTeh.com is a proof of concept venture launched recently, so if that's what you're referring to (which I know you're not, I just wanted to clear all bases), so it's only been online for a couple of months.

I have to remind you that chanlilian.net does not have a forum to form a basis of comparison though, which renders the statement completely invalid and pushes it into the domain of a self-serving, self-righteous, masturbatory statement. I really hope you don't have a forum, coz I didn't check and I would look like a total ass if you've been running one for decades (which is technically possible, with you being a mother and all, I plan to keep my blog going for decades too).

Nonetheless, I believe that's not what you're trying to convey due to the language semantics (oh, btw, don't mean to be a Grammar Nazi, but substance doesn't have an s suffix). I get the impression that you're referring to forum participation...and this is where I have to solicit your input.

I have been actively involved in forums/BBS/newsgroups/mailing lists (now that was old skool) before 1993.

The above statement is:

TRUE
I have no more questions. You are the old skool master and the title "established forummer (sic)" is rightly yours, as befits your (insert euphemism for age before posting, don't forget now, no cheap blows). - Oh no, I forgot! Sorry!

FALSE
I'm afraid that I've been involved in BBS since 1993, using a dial-up to call BBS systems around the world. Yes, we needed to pay the international call charges. It was fun at that time.
I've also been active in various mailing lists, and was a moderator and compiler (weekly digests) for several in 1994 and I also got into newsgroups at that time (which, I'm ashamed to say, mostly involved alt.binaries.sex).
I have also joined various forums throughout the years as my interests change and have been around long enough to know I don't have to jump at my own shadow at any hint of academic discussions on topics of questionable legality (God Forbid!) due to the existing protective legal framework.

The point of this entire dick sizing exercise (which is rather pointless, considering I'm the only male here) is to communicate my indignity at this attempt to challenge my experience. I'm just kidding, I'm not actually indignant, nor do I care about all this, I just have a lot of time on my hands.

Well then, sorry for being an asshole, no hard feelings, all in good fun, blah blah, and all that. I realized that I have other things to do...but! But, but, lilian, my sister in Christ, I always have a spare minute to share the word of Christ with a fellow Christian.

I'm dusting my worn copy of the Scripture now and there's a very wise paragraph that goes "Judge not, lest ye be judged yourself."

Hang on...my bad, that's a Metallica CD...right, here's the good book.

It says "You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

Jesus, the Bible can be a bit harsh, eh? Hypocrite might be too strong a word. However, that doesn't invalidate the general lesson. It's a very simple concept actually. In fact, it can be distilled down and still retain the message.

Speck-brother, Plank-own.

I just felt like sharing that piece of scripture with you. It's so easy to forget the holy gospel in this day and age....

Peace be with you always, and God Bless! Thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely yours,
Poh Huai Bin
Chief Operations Officer
Department of Social Manipulation, Coercive Persuasion and General Bad Influence of a Vague Nature
(commonly known as The DEPT of S&M and CoPu(lation))
"Where we turn tabula rasa into tabula rasa."

Postmortem: The flame wasn't concise enough, and this is compounded by inconsistent wit. This makes for rather dry reading, which is the opposite of what a good flame should be - think barbeque and steaks, juicy and irresistible. Certain parts should be, in retrospect, left out, as a four page flame is really overkill. I got bored of writing halfway. It's a good thing I had an ending ready, or it'll be one of those tapering off, half assed flames. ;)

Rasa means "feel" in Bahasa Malaysia. I shouldn't have to explain, spoils it, but unless you skim read, you should have either got it or didn't, so for those who didn't...it's supposed to mean "Where we turn blank slates into feeling slates".
The word "rasa" is slightly more intense than "feel", so it's more in the context of "feel me?"

Posted in by Huai Bin at 11:46 AM Permalink | Comments (40)

Photos of me in the newspapers (yes, again, again)

There was a thing (yes, a thing) going on at the Civic Center in Kuching yesterday and ntv7, RTM, Vision 8, etc (basically the entire alphabet soup) were there as well as major papers from Malaysia.

Most of them featured the guest of honor (not us, the big wigs, it wasn't a press conference for us), but surprisingly one of the papers did print a full page story of us. I did manage to position myself in front of several press photographers and rolling TV cameras but I don't know if I managed to get my ugly ass on the air coz I don't have TV.

I got into Sin Chiew Jit Poh, one of the largest Chinese dailies though...here's a scanned image of me. Unfortunately, the shot didn't have one of my much lauded Kung Fu Hustle (TM) poses. The images in this post are all from Sin Chiew Jit Poh.

Oh, mirror mirror on the wall, who is the biggest publicity whore of them all? ;)

Posted in Huygens Asia by Huai Bin at 10:35 AM Permalink | Comments (15)

Pall Mall Classic cigarettes

Pall Mall came out with Pall Mall Classic cigarettes earlier this year as a limited production run. It's billed as a cigarette with more refined tobacco mix and the classic taste of the original Pall Mall cigarettes. Unfortunately, Pall Mall Classic was taken off the shelves due to low consumer interest before I could get a pack.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a 25 pack of Pall Mall Classic at the store of the grocery shop one of my friends own. It was supposed to be recalled by the manufacturer, but he kept one anyway, and gave it to me, knowing my legendary tardiness and paradoxical fondness for new and/or limited edition cigarettes.

The gold foil preserving the (dubious) freshness of these long due cigarettes has the letters "Pall Mall" inscribed on it.

Tearing off the foil lining reveals the familiar sight of the 25 cigarette array (used to get Marlboro 25's in uni coz it's cheaper)...

...and each of the Pall Mall Classic cigarettes has the standard black font "Pall Mall" letters scripted on the tip.

Despite the time, the Pall Mall Classic cigarettes taste good. There wasn't any hint of the staleness that I expected. I thought Pall Mall Classic is a great complement to the existing Pall Mall line. It's a mystery to me why Pall Mall decided to pull Pall Mall Classic off the shelves.

Just like the mystery behind Cherry Coke being taken off the shelves years ago. It still keeps me up at night...

Posted in Ethanol and tobacco by Huai Bin at 11:57 AM Permalink | Comments (23)

Red Tea Road Ice Shop

This is the Red Tea Road Ice Shop located in 3rd Mile Bazaar, Kuching. There's another branch of the Red Tea Road Ice Shop/Hong Kong Restaurant chain near where I work, but for reasons unfathomable even to myself, we headed over to the one at 3rd Mile instead.

The Red Tea Road Ice Shop just started operations when we got there, but things seem to be looking suitable industrious in the ice tea preparation center.

The outcrop balcony seating arrangements were (again) suitable well populated with people. If I may, can I please redirect your eyes to the two ladies sitting closest to the digital camera?

In particular, I would like to highlight this tattoo that one of the girls had on her. Now that we've got that out of the way, let's move on to Red Tea Road Ice Road drink offerings...

I had two drinks - this is from the Brewed Ice Tea menu...Golden Lime (RM 3.00). It's bubble tea without the bubbles (the sago pearls, rather) and its not ice blended. It's alright, but for maximum heat dissipation, I would recommend...

...the Red Plum Ice Blended Tea (RM 3.50 with optional sago pearls). It's ice blended, and it's made with plums, that sour fruit that is strangely thirst quenching in its own peculiar way...

It's perfect for the hot weather these days too...aggressive behavior and "sexually abusive" impulses can be curbed with a little bit of 0 degree Celsius water. ;)

P/S - Read today's The Star to get that last one.

Jesus, I'm pimping the paper and I'm not getting paid for it... ;)

Posted in Food reviews by Huai Bin at 10:59 AM Permalink | Comments (18)

Rom Orchid Garden review

Rom Orchid Garden is a lush restaurant tucked away in a remote area...the small gate allowing entry to this eating establishment cum private orchid garden looks like the creeper vine gate heading into The Secret Garden come to live.

The small, swinging gate at the entrance of Rom Orchid Garden leads to a meandering small staircase lined, nay, overfilled with flora of all sorts. First perceptions lead one to believe that there isn't anything except a private orchid garden here...

...and that's the image the proprietor likes to project. Word has it that the proprietor turned down the publicity generating Jalan Jalan Cari Makan TV series to maintain Rom Orchid Garden's current status of relative anonymity - a secret, if you will, to be shared through word of mouth.

Rom Orchid Garden has several segmented eating areas and the partitioning is perfect - there's virtual privacy from the natural flora and fauna being used to separate dining areas and the excessive shrubbery leads to a serene atmosphere, a nice oxygen replenishment pit stop from the city.

The interplay of shadow and light which occurs naturally from the floral arrangements also allows for a tranquil eating experience without the tranquilizers. ;)

This is Rom Omelette which is "cooked with chicken" (RM 4.50). It's a very spicy and filling appetizer. I will come to realize that Rom Orchid Garden serves very spicy food.

My dining companion went for the Nasi Lemak (RM 4.50). It's well cooked, spicy, and comes with a prime piece of meat (the upper bit of the chicken drumstick).

The Sup Tulang (RM 4.50) which Rom Orchid Garden serves is also very good. It seems to have a reputation of having good sup tulang, which literally translates to bone soup.

I went for the Rom's Prawn Mee (RM 5.00) which is described as "yellow noodles served with special gravy, prawns, and vegetables". The gravy is very special indeed, as the color indicates...very high level of spiciness.

I could not stop my eyes from watering with every bite of noodle I take or every sip of the wonderfully spicy gravy that I took...but take it I did, and I finished everything in the bowl. I give this dish two thumbs up for sheer audacity in the spice department!

Rom Orchid Garden is a nice, private halal restaurant which is perfect for lunch...that is, if you can find it. ;)

Posted in Food reviews by Huai Bin at 09:10 AM Permalink | Comments (24)

Lite-Up cigarettes - RM 1.50 only!

I'm pleased to present to you the cheapest pack of cigarettes I've seen to date - it's called Lite-Up and comes in a red box and retails for the amazingly low price of RM 1.50 per pack!

Lite-Up cigarettes is made in Sibu, which also happens to be my hometown. It's a limited distribution locally produced tobacco product.

The pack of Lite-Up opens up to show the standard King Size filter 20's cigarettes. It has a stylized L on the tip of the cigarette and a stylized "LITE-UP" font in red on top.

I can't say much about the taste of the cigarettes...it's not all that good, which is pretty much obvious when you take into account the incredibly low RM 1.50 retail price.

You can't argue with the price though...and the tobacco is nice and dry. I just use the tobacco to spin. ;)

Posted in Ethanol and tobacco by Huai Bin at 09:35 AM Permalink | Comments (21)

Newman's Milk Chocolate TV Mix

The most interesting about the TV Mix blue tins of chocolate from Newman's is the solid and well made build quality. The experience I've always had with (suffix/prefix) TV snacks have always been slightly disappointing with regarding to the aesthetics. Case in point: Arnott's TV Snacks with cardboard boxes. It shouldn't need a fancy container, really, coz it's likely to be consumed while watching that episode of The Sopranos, but still...

Newman's, now, they went at it in a whole new approach. The Milk Chocolate covered assorted TV Mix chocolates is housed in an impressive Colonial style (actually I don't know what art/masonry influence period it came from, I just pulled that out of my ass) metal housing, complete with a fully functional gold latching system that looks archaic, but pleasing, at the same time.

The latching gold piece with a hinge goes around the circumference of the Newman's milk chocolate TV Mix metal box and functions to secure the container when it's not supposed to be ajar. The latch piece and cool metal box of these chocolate TV Snacks makes it a pleasure to just put it on my lap for easy access whenever I wanted one of the chocolate covered snacks.

The push down and flip up double action golden latch piece is intuitive to use and did not cause any accessibility problems with the chocolate. The solid feeling latch opens with a satisfying click and flipped shut using the same mechanism too. The gold latch manages to stay shut every time with no degradation in terms of wear and tear despite the much higher than average times it was flipped open, just to feel the latch and hear it go "Click!" ;)

The other thing which stands out in the Newman's Milk Chocolate TV Mix casing is the felt lined blue and red recessed top, seemingly to isolate the ambient moisture from affecting the chocolate produce. It looks normal on the outside, but the red and blue interior lid poly/foam adapter goes flush against the four sides of the metal container and the latch circumference when the lip is in a closed position.

The Newman's Milk Chocolate TV Mix opens up to reveal a wrapped package of chocolate covered candy. Newman's, in addition to making precision custom containers, also makes chocolate, in case it slipped anyone's mind. Confectionary is their primary line of business. Newman's is an Australian brand, operating from Victoria; which happened to be the same state I was staying in before I started working, so I'm familiar with their product line. It tastes like chocolate should...rich, creamy and (cloyingly) sweet. ;)

I love the variety that the Newman's TV Mix offers too - there are several types of nuts (hazelnuts, almonds, etc.) covered with chocolate and a few (I counted three) surprise non-nut item to add variety. It's one of the things you either love or hate.

I love licorice. :)

Posted in Snacks by Huai Bin at 04:00 PM Permalink | Comments (46)

Eternity Moment

Eternity Moment. The exquisite CK female fragrance I bought for you...

Eternity Moment. The toxic old crystal methamphetamine I bought for myself...

I messed up again. The siren call got too strong and I had to chase that high. Eternity in a moment...or one moment in eternity...to be faster, stronger, better than everyone.

I still want out though. I always want out. I don't want to be stuck in this compulsive cycle. I want to quit. I will quit. My methamphetamine use has affected me in everyway especially when I binge and go on a run like this, not drinking, not eating, not sleeping. I can't hold it together anymore.

I can't be like other people, who can use it for a day or three and then stop while eating proper meals. I guess my brain chemistry is just wired different. I think the new term for it is Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS). I just go on and on to chase that high...the one that's never attainable...but I go for it anyway.

I realize that this cannot go on, coz it kills me every time I go on a meth run. But I've said this before and you've seen too many promises broken and broken again. I've made a mess out of my life again and I desperately want to put the pieces back together again. I do know that I cannot make you happy, as much as I like to. I know you've been sticking with me all this while even though you have your (justified) doubts about me.

I love you, but I'm no good for you. I can't remember the last time you were really happy - it must be years. It's hard for me to lose a level headed person like you; you have always been the floating buoy in the turbulent deep seas that I always swim out to. I can't be selfish though...even though you forgive me, there's too much deceit and guilt in this relationship. It can prove to be too much to live with...

I'll miss you and I'll always love you, my dearest wife. Thanks for being with me all these years...

It's hard...when the night has come, and the land is dark...
...and the moon is the only light to see.

No, I won't be afraid. No, I won't be afraid.
Just as long as you stand by me.

Darling, darling, stand by me...
Stand by me.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 01:31 PM Permalink | Comments (101)

Thumb slices kitchen knife

I have butterfingers...I managed to slice a kitchen knife with my right thumb last night at a friend's house. I'm not used to a kitchen knife for precision work, and that combined with my innate clumsiness resulted in the slicing of a cross section of my right thumb topography.

Well, the thing that happened was, I was trying to open a plastic packet and put the kitchen knife with the business end upright (facing me) while I used a downward motion to push the plastic baggie down to leverage on kinetic energy, which would hopefully result in a clean shear down the plastic. Alas...my right thumb was in the way....

I didn't even realize I cut myself until I saw the skin flapping around (it went down to the dermis) and blood coming out at a prodigious rate. My friend handed me tissues and I've been applying pressure on the wound without much recourse. I did not feel pain, and I forgot about my thumb most of the night.

Except when I looked at it, of course...I did not put a band-aid or anything on it the whole night, and I was thinking I could get an infection due to the depth of the would (went through the sub dermal layer). I had cold chills and a slight fever as well, which made me wish I bandaged the damn thing. I still haven't. ;)

I went to a really great recording studio with a couple of friends last night...the place was amazing, I didn't know there's a facility like that in Kuching. I'm planning to record a session this weekend. I'm making arrangements for one guitar, one bass, and one drum player who knows NOFX/Green Day songs or is good with playing printed guitar tabs on the fly.

I've always wanted to record a demo but I never did get around to doing it. Now that the arrangements have been made, it looks good. The next project (which I've mentioned previously on the blog) I want to do is a self-produced movie using a script I wrote (it's a realistic love story with violence and drugs) but I have neither the right cast nor a fucking video camera. I want to do that before I get too old, so I'm going to be working towards that too.

Anyone in Kuching interested? I need two female leads (preferably aesthetically pleasing) and a lot of supporting cast, preferably not looking like choir boys or the bookworm of the class since it's going to be a gritty and realistic film - if you feel at home at a dodgy club, that's the look that's perfect for the film. Not the dressing up for the meat market look, but come out and play, no holds barred look. It's obviously a labor of love, so I can't pay the cast...the obvious benefit is being in a film (however limited distribution it's going to be).

I've actually got the two female leads but one of them went to KL so I'm looking for a Ah Lian type of girl (who can speak English, obviously, it's just the look we're going for), since the other female lead is going to be the nice girl next door. It sounds cheesy, but I promise it's not - it's hard hitting, realistic, gritty (using this word for the second time) movie shot in and around Kuching and KL. The male supporting cast is partially filled up from a verbal agreement with some of my friends - these I specially picked coz they have to fight, and I'm not going to compromise the film by using post-production...

I got into the concept when I was involved with a student film production in Melbourne, and realized that making a film isn't that hard, if you're going indie. I wrote the script that year too, but I incorporated some changes every now and then when I'm in the mood. The protagonist is going to be yours truly, and no, it's not impossible to be in a film and direct it at the same time. I've actually done a lot of groundwork on this...everything except the two things I need to do it.

I even got a club to agree to let me film in the premises in the morning! It's good, obviously they can't allow a crew to take up floor space during the night, and they'll get the DJ and lighting and sound systems up...and if you've been to a club in the morning, you'll find that it's not very different from the night if the systems are set up. There's two scenes planned for this venue - a raid and a gang fight outside. These two scenes are going to require a lot of people, I've got the latter covered, but will need some people for the former.

Like I mentioned, I still need a couple of people for supporting cast members, and I have to tell you up front that it's not for the squeamish...the last thing I want to hear is people telling me "I don't know how to smoke" (Pet peeve: I hate actors who don't inhale - it's distracting, why cast a non-smoker for a role like that?), "I can't make out with that girl, I already have a gf", "What? There's going to be drugs on the set?!? I'm supposed to do it for real?", or anything along that line. I reiterate - Not for squeamish.

If it makes people feel better, I will be receiving my share of whoop ass and dishing it out in the film too. I probably should mention that the substances featured in the film is non-psychoactive substitutes for legal reasons...but off the record...

Everything will be real - real fights, real blood, real sex, real drug use. It's going to be perfect...

P/S - Does anyone have replica firearms which look like a Beretta 92D?

Get yourself in the most uncompromising self-funded Malaysian produced independent movie! ;)

Posted in Hmm... by Huai Bin at 06:42 PM Permalink | Comments (31)

Giant Kobe Wine Pocky

This is the giant Pocky featuring the Rose Kobe Wine flavor that's only available in Japan. I'm told that each prefecture in Japan has its own district exclusive coating that best describes the character of the place.

P/S - Please ignore the underwear in the upper right hand corner on the photo.

Going back to the regularly scheduled programming, the giant Pocky contains 24 individually wrapped Pocky sticks. The huge box has "Pocky" in gold font as well as stylized "Rose" lettering to indicate the flavor.

There is a logo on the box which indicates the special flavor of this Pocky - Kobe Wine. For those who are not familiar with this popular Asian snack produced by Glico, Pocky is a long and thin biscuit, and comes in various flavors, with some only available in certain areas, like this one.

The pink box has the number of Pocky sticks in the box written on the front of the box. 24 sticks.

The side of the box gives a hint on what is about to come - wrapped pink Pocky sticks.

The other side has the nutritional information listed.

To show the impact of this gigantic Pocky box, here's a size comparison with a standard pack of cigarettes. It can go three up and 2 1/2 over. It's that huge...

Opening up the box, the wrapper is pink, with gold lettering and graphics featuring the Kobe Wine theme.

The graphics on the wrappers on the Kobe Wine Pocky sticks are nicely detailed, starting with the Pocky label, with the regional specific flavor (Kobe Wine), followed by a bottle of wine, a cork and then a corkscrew...

The giant Kobe Wine Pocky has a purple-red hued coating and tastes like blueberries with a slight rose wine touch to it.

Download: Giant Pocky (Kobe Wine Flavor) [sixthseal.com]

Pocky makes for compulsive eating...you can't just have one. ;)

Posted in Snacks by Huai Bin at 12:05 PM Permalink | Comments (36)