KEVIN MEETS THE STARS

FOOD TASTING REVIEW FOR CHINESE NEW YEAR 2012 AT CHECKERS CAFE DORSETT REGENCY KUALA LUMPUR

2012-01-12T15:47:00.000+08:00

I was fortunate to be invited to afood tasting session at Checkers Cafe Dorsett Regency Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

Dorsett Regency Kuala Lumpur

Check out Checkers Café’sfabulous spread of New Year specialities specially put together by their teamof talented chefs for an unforgettable Lunar New Year celebration together withfamily and friends.

2012 is the Year of the Dragon, the mightiest ofsigns in the Chinese zodiac. The Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar NewYear, occurs every year on the new moon of the first lunar month, about four toeight weeks before spring. This year,the Lunar New Year celebration falls on 23^rd January 2012 and tousher in the auspicious Year of the Dragon, the hotels owned and managed by Kosmopolito Hotels International namelyDorsett Regency Kuala Lumpur, GrandDorsett Subang, Grand Dorsett Labuan, Maytower Hotels & Serviced Apartmentsand Silka Johor Hotel have come upwith a series of feasting and staying options for the occasion.

Feast on sumptuous yet traditionalofferings of Yee Sang with crispy salmon skin, braised sea cucumber withmushroom and dried scallops, glutinous rice balls featured alongside with otherequally mouth-watering offerings such as Seafood On Ice; a-ala-minute dishes;homemade soup and irresistible selection of desserts that will definitely leaveone craving for more.

We started our course with a mocktail called"Prosperity Splash" concocted with pineapple, dragon fruit, mandarinorange and a tinge of honey. Very refreshing indeed. Apparently, this was notactually on the menu, accordingly it was whipped up by the Chef at the eleventhhour. Respect!

Crispy salmon skin and other condiments for the YeeSang

Our first dish was Salmon Yee Sangwith Crispy Salmon Skin

Crispy salmon skin made the Yee Sang experience a truly unique anddifferent.

Rating: 8.5/10

The Pan-fried Lamb Rack with Chef Special Sauce. This is THE one of my favourite of the night! The lamb was tender and marinated with the Chef's secret sauce. It as pan-fried to perfection!

Rating: 9.5/10 (Must try)

Next came the Braised Shark's Fin withAssorted Seafood like dried scallops, mince crab meat and fish maw. The stock hasthe right texture and the shark's fin is acceptable and the taste was neitheroverwhelming nor lack of.

Rating: 8/10

One of the Chinese New Year must havedish is the Steamed Chicken with Herbs. The chicken is tender and not overcooked.It is not "Kampung Chicken" but the herbs sauce still managed to seepinto the meat.

Rating: 7.5/10

Deep-fried Cod Fish With Superior SoyaSauce. Not overcooked. The skin was crispy whilst the flesh was stillsucculent and juicy and with the superior sauce, a delectable for the tastebuds!

Rating: 8/10

A staple seafood dish to usher in the lunarNew Year. This is the Deep-fried Prawns with Seafood Sauce. The prawns couldhave been a little bigger (and this will make it more presentable). Somehow Itasted the meat a tad overcooked.

Rating: 7/10

This is also one my favourite dishesand an essential dish for Chinese New Year. Braised Fish Maw, Sea Cucumber,Dried Oysters and Black Mushroom with Seasonal Vegetable. This time broccoliwas used. The fish maw and sea cucumber is cooked to perfection with the sauce percolatingthe seafood. The oysters surprisingly is big. Not those minute ones you see atsome restaurants but this one is fairly big and fresh.

Rating: 9/10

Fried rice with Ginger and Salted Eggwas next on the menu. The colour was a tad bland and honestly it lacked thesavoury "wok" flavour. However, the salted egg coated every grain ofrice and it was not salty and the flavour was just right.

Rating 7.5/10

The ever favourite Fried Sesame Seed Ball with Red Bean Paste filling.Very nice.

Rating: 9/10

Sweetened Red Bean Paste. This pasteis really good with mandarin orange zest. You can only taste the zest only ifyou swivel the paste in your mouth for a moment to enjoy the taste (not gulpingdown like drinking medicine). The paste is thick enough but not to the extentof lumpy and gooey. I think an immersion blender was used to pureed the paste,not the normal blender.

Rating: 9/10

What's Chinese New Year without thetraditional "nian gao" or simply called the Chinese New Year cakemade of glutinous rice and sugar and steamed to the perfect brown colour. Thisdish is the very essence of a Chinese New Year delicateseen.

Rating: 9/10

The Junior Sous Chef Lai Chan Meng,the man behind all the wonderful dishes whipped up for the review. Thank you.

To end the evening we were each givena box and what a surprise we found in the box. I call it the ProsperityMuffins! I simply cannot take enough pictures of these intricately createdmuffins from the pastry section of the restaurant. The muffin is as big as thebox (no illusion photography was used as I am only using a Nikon Coolpix 8MPand not a SLR, there is so much one can do with a camera costing less than RM300.)The muffin is of butter with some orange zest and is sinfully delicious. Thetopping is made of marzipan and there is gold coin and a traditional rice jarwith words of good fortune and prosperity for the lunar New Year!

Rating: 10/10

Overall dining experience: 9/10.(Highly Recommended)

Reunion Buffet Dinner 22^nd January 2012 Price: RM108.00++ per person	‘Gong Xi Fa Cai’ New Year Brunch 23^rd & 24^th January 2012. 12.00 noon to 4.00 pm Price: RM75.00++ per person
Joy & Luck Buffet Lunch Monday to Friday 25^th to 31^st January 2012 2^nd to 5^th February 2012 Price: RM75.00++ per person	Prosperity Buffet Dinner Monday to Friday 23^rd to 31^st January 2012 1^st February to 6^th February 2012 Price: RM85.00++ per person

· 50% discount for children between theages of 4 to 12 and senior citizens of 55 years old and above.

· Prices quoted are subject to 10%service charge and 6% government tax.

· 38% discount for blog readers (referral blog name must be quotedwhen making table reservation).

For reservations, call Checkers Café @Dorsett Regency Kuala Lumpur at +603 2716 1000 extension 188 or log onto dorsettregency.com/kualalumpur

LionDance Performance

For a rousing start to the Chinese NewYear celebration, don’t miss out on the lion dance performance on 26 January2012 at 9.30am at Dorsett Regency Kuala Lumpur’s Main Lobby.

DATO SITI NURHALIZA BIOGRAPHY ON HISTORY ON ASTRO

2012-01-03T22:01:00.000+08:00

HISTORY™ willpremiere a special biography on 11 January, 2012 on HISTORY™ on AstroChannel 555 and HISTORY HD on Astro Channel 575. This one hour biography, SitiNurhaliza documents the life of the iconic songstress from her earlychildhood years through adulthood and her rise to fame.

This is also in conjunction with Dato' Siti'sbirthday which falls on the same day of the premiere.

Tocelebrate the New Year, a Press Conference was held at the Courtyard GardenRestaurant. In attendance were Dato' Siti Nurhaliza, Zainal Alam Kadir (Journalist,Writer, Producer and at this event the emcee), Lina Tan (Executive Producer ofthis biopic and founder of Red Communications) and Chris Humphrey (ExecutiveProducer, AETN All Asia Networks).

The multi-talented Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza is a recordproducer, song writer, television presenter and recently an entrepreneur withher own line of beauty products called SimplySiti. Early July this year, shewon her 10^th Regional Most Popular Artiste in a row beating otherfellow artists from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.

From the tender age of nine Siti discovered the meaning of providing for her familyafter having gone through a series of hardships. Her prowess in the vocal department captured her listeners from the onsetand when Siti won the Bintang RTM in 1995, record companies were alreadybidding for her. Her eponymous debut album - Siti Nurhaliza was released in1996. Siti only 16 at the time may have appeared naïve, but she was rooted inher principles. Against industry standards and expectations, Siti stood herground and set principles driven limitations to much criticism. Siti juggledwork and school at the beginning of her career and nearly did not compete in apopular awards show, Juara Lagu that eventually turned Siti into an overnightstar. After Juara Lagu 1996 there was nostopping her. School was over and career took centre stage. Siti's rural imageand taste drew attention throughout her career. Like in many things Siti overcame it by improving herself and by stickingto her principles.

The documentary explores further the life of thissuccessful songstress through interviews with her family members andpersonalities from the industry, such as Rozi Abdul Razak – Sister InLaw/Manager, Najip Ali, Jennifer Thompson, Zainal Alam kadir, Adnan Abu Hassan,Nurul Shukor, Michael Ong, Christian Alexanda and Bryan Buoro.

From left (Zainal Alam Kadir, Dato' Siti Nurhaliza,Chris Humphrey and Lina Tan).

“Siti’s story is one that is truly inspirational. Sheis indeed one of Malaysia’s treasures and we are honored to have her storyproduced and aired on HISTORY™ andHISTORY HD” said Chris Humphrey, Executive Producer for AETN AllAsia Networks.

Dato'Siti addressing the media.

Lina Tan describes the conceptualization of thebio-documentary to all present.

Group photo session with Lina Tan, Dato' Siti andChris Humphrey.

Different poses for my "up-close and personal"time with Dato' Siti Nurhaliza.

Dato' Siti's personal autograph.

Siti Nurhaliza will premiere on January 11, 2012 @ 10 pm exclusivelyon HISTORY™ (Astro Channel 555)and HISTORY HD (Astro Channel 575). Don't forget to catch it, however, if you miss this time and date, there are encore telecasts:

[1] 12 January 2012, 8PM

[2] 14 January 2012, 6PM

[3] 15 January 2012, 9PM

Finally a VERY EARLY BIRTHDAY GREETING TO DATO' SITI NURHALIZA!

PJ DAWN 2012

2012-01-03T16:28:00.000+08:00

Fancy running around the vicinity of Petaling Jaya at 3am? Here's the perfect chance.

PJ Dawn 2012

Date	: 13 May 2012, 03:00AM
Location	: Stadium Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya, Selangor

PJ Dawn 2012 will be held on 13th May 2012.

Category & Distance:
A: Men Open (18 years & above) - 21km
B: Men Junior Veteran (40 to 50 years) - 21km
C: Men Senior Veteran (51 years & above) - 21km
D: Women Open (18 years & above) - 21km
E: Women Junior Veteran (35 to 45 years) - 21km
F: Women Senior Veteran (46 years & above) - 21km
G: Men Open (18 years & above) - 12km
H: Women Open (18 years & above) - 12km

Trophy and cash voucher for top 5 finisher of each category.
Finisher medal for all who complete the race.

For further inquiries, contact:
No.51, Petaling Utama Avenue,
46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Phone: +60166996795
Fax: +0377821977
Email: info@pjdawn.com

Visit website for more details.

http://www.sports.my/events.php?event=481-pj_dawn_2012

Registration Details

Registration starts : 01 Dec 2011 to 01 Apr 2012

Entry info & cost:

Registration fee:
Category A, B, C, D, E, F
Early Bird (Before 31/1/2012) - RM45
Normal registration (1/2/2012 - 13/3/2012) - RM55
Late registration (14/3/2012 - 13/4/2012) - RM65
Pacesetters member - RM45 (RM65 for late registration)

Category G, H
Early Bird (Before 31/1/2012) - RM40
Normal registration (1/2/2012 - 13/3/2012) - RM50
Late registration (14/3/2012 - 13/4/2012) - RM60
Pacesetters member - RM40 (RM60 for late registration)

Register online.

CHRISTMAS PARTY 2011

2011-12-27T12:44:00.000+08:00

Was looking forward to this Christmas do at a bestie's place. She has always been the hostess with the mostest. (and I am not getting paid to say this...it's from the bottom of my heart).

Let's not reveal any names and refer to her as Ms A. She always whip out the tastiest grub and most of it learnt with a keen eye and interest from AFC (Asian Food Channel from ASTRO). And with a touch of her own creativity, viola....a meal fit for a king!

A white Christmas....where's the snow Ms A?

The appetizer....the ORIGINAL traditional fruitcake with all the basic essential ingrediants including a touch of Brandy (the most important). Fruitcakes sold outside are all Halal (except for places like Cold Storage or Marks & Spencers), its such a bummer to get a REAL fruitcake. Ms A (8.5/10)

Not a fan of pork but this dish look absolutely delectable. Its simple Roasted Pork laced with potatoes and bread. I did not eat the pork but this dish seems to be the favourite amongst all. The potatoes laced beneath the pork absorbed all those goodness (juices) and is so delicious! (9/10....census wide because I did not take the meat)

Shepherd's Pie...instead of putting beef, its filled with sausages! (9/10)

Glutinuous rice (a touch from the East). (8.5/10)

Fried Wanton (a fusion of the East as well...the filling is fresh and was crispy till the end) (8.5/10)

The infamous curry chicken that I had to wait for 5 LONG years to taste from an aunt but it was worth the wait (9/10). Thanks Auntie!

Lemon Buttermilk Cupcake! (One of my favourites!!!) (9/10) An absolute competitor to Bisou Cake Shop anytime!

A wonderful cheese tart made by a real Frenchman...Merci, Monsieur Vincent! (8/10)

The dessert....simply called Red Velvet. The cake is made from buttermilk and the frosting is a combination of cream cheese and mascaporne cheese. Ms A, THIS is my favourite! (9.5/10)!

And my Christmas gift (not disclosing the content but it was such a sweet thought, Ms A).

Thank you for the invitation and the company. Nothing compare to an awesome get together with close friends and family members on such an occasion.

The rating for the party (as requested by Ms A....9/10)

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2011 AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012 TO ALL!

ASTRO FIESTA

2011-12-22T18:50:00.000+08:00

Astro customers can usher in the new year and celebratethis holiday season with the much anticipated return of the Astro Fiesta Channels on Astro Channel 150-152 in SD and Astro Channel 155-157 in HD only from 26^th December 2011 – 8^thJanuary 2012. The return of AstroFiesta is once again our way of expressing our appreciation and gratitude toall our loyal Astro customers over the last 15 years and is available for FREE,exclusively to all Astro customers. The Astro Fiesta channels will include someof the best programmes from many of our local and international channelpartners on Astro.

Also, Astro customers will be treated to a Preview of the all new and exclusive FOX Family Movies Channel, which willbe available on Astro Channel 152 inSD and Astro Channel 157 in HD for a limited timefrom 26^th Dec 2011 – 8^th Jan 2012 . Viewers can lookforward to various family signatures movies on FOX Family Movies including The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, TimBurton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, Toy Story 1,2,3 and much more.

That’s not all! Astro is also pleased to announce the launchof STAR World HD (Astro Ch 722) on Dec 26^th, 2011 as an additionto the High-Definition channels currently on the Astro B.yond platform. Now AstroB.yond customers subscribing to the Astro Variety package can watch many oftheir favourite shows on Star World HD in High Definition like American Idol S11, Glee S3, JuniorMasterChef Australia S2, Dancing with the Stars, America’s Next Top Model S17 andmany more.

Make a date with Astro Fiesta this holiday season forsome of the best local and international shows - something for everyone and forthe whole family to truly enjoy.

Fans, both young and old will not want to miss the allnew TV series of Nickelodeon’s Kung Fu Panda: The Legend of Awesomeness– whereby the First episode will premiere exclusively on the Astro Fiestachannel prior to being shown on the Nickeoldeon channel. Other favouritesinclude Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix, Phineas andFerb the Movie: Across the Second Dimension, The Amazing World of Gumballand many more.

Astro Fiesta will also showcase a fantastic line-up ofboth local & international performances with the likes of KonsertAura 3 Diva featuringMalaysia’s top 3 divas Dato’ SitiNurhaliza, Ella & Ramlah Ram and the recent Suara Kami concert with top notch local acts Yuna, Hujan, Pop Shuvit and international superstars Hins Cheung, RaNia and Nelly. Other must see performances andspecial events include The 2011 Astro Classic Golden Melody Finals,VivianChow Specials, K-Pop Countdown, 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards, MTV WorldStage 2011, Elton John – Red Piano, Andrea Bocelli – Concerto: One Night inCentral Park, Nirvana – Live At The Paramount, Amy Winehouse: Live in London andmuch more.

Also, catch many of the local and international blockbustermovie releases like Kembar Siang, the chinese movie My Sassy Girl 2, theromantic Tamil comedy movie Manmadhan Ambu and the romantic musical Engeyum Kadhal. For Hindi moviefans, don’t miss the all time record breaking mega hit movie – Bodyguard.

This year’s Astro Fiesta has also included anotherspecial line-up of some of the finest documentaries about Malaysia from ourInternational channel partners. These include Discovery Channel’s Revealed:Malaysia’s Royal Rites, National Geographic’s A Leader’s Legacy: Tun AbdulRazak, The Untold Truth about SuperMokh and many more.

It’s all happening here on the Astro Fiesta channels from 26^th December 2011 – 8^thJanuary 2012, especially for all our Astro customers. Be sure to join in onthe celebration this holiday season! For more details, please log on to www.astro.com.my

ASTRO NJOI LAUNCH

2011-12-21T14:52:00.000+08:00

NJOI,Malaysia’s First Free Satellite TV from Astro

Astro today announced the launch of NJOI,Malaysia’s first free satellite TV for everyone to share and enjoy. NJOI ispart of Astro’s aspiration to make lifelong learning, information, entertainmentincluding sports available to all in Malaysia, for free.

The huge banner at the Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) Cochrane Perkasa, Cheras to welcome our Prime Minister

The residents around the area queuing up to enter the event. The queue was apparent even at 9am even though the event was slated for 12 noon.

The huge tent accomodating the residents from the PPR Cochrane Perkasa

The tent for Penerima Sumbangan "Back To School" of Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan

The VVIP table

Amongst the VVIPs slated to be present are Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia, Yang Berhormat Dato’ Joseph Salang Gandum, Deputy Information, Dato' Raja Nong Chik Dato' Raja Zainal Abidin, Minister of Federal Territories and Urban Well-being, Dato' Rohana Rozhan, CEO of Astro, Henry Tan, Chief Operating Officer of Astro, Dato’ Haji Badri Haji Masri, Chairman of Astro, Ralph Marshall, Executive Deputy Chairman, Astro, .

The media and other VIP tables

VVIPS mingling at the tent

Our own Prime Minister, YAB Dato' Seri Mohd Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak visiting the home of a resident and presenting the NJOI decoder to a eKasih recipient and taking a moment to chat with the lucky resident, Rahimah bte Abd Majid.

Dato’ Rohana Rozhan, Chief Executive Officer ofAstro said, “When we launched our service 15 yearsago, we believed that Astro has an important role to play in narrowing thedigital divide, thanks to our satellite technology which provides the mosteffective reach to all homes in the country. We would like to thank allMalaysians for their support in helping Astro achieve a 50 percent penetrationof Malaysian TV homes. Our challenge and aspiration at Astro is to continue tolearn from our customers in order to provide a holistic value proposition whichfits the individual lifestyle of choice, preferences, and budget of each andevery customer. We understand our responsibility to the community. We currentlyhave a low entry pack of RM37.95 for customers to enjoy Astro. A customer can then choose to add on genre packagesand innovative services like HD, Video On Demand or Personal Video Recording, inaccordance to his or her individual preferences. Soon, Astro will also beavailable on-the-go through companion devices of choice."

"With NJOI,we are taking that one step further by making available to all in Malaysia, thefundamental core content in lifelong learning, information and entertainment includingkey sporting events for free."

The Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak said at the launch of NJOI, “Knowledge is a very important component of any highly progressive society, and it is the foundation upon which a nation of excellence is built. Giving the Rakyat access to a wealth of information is critical in producing multi-talented, highly skilled, creative and innovative workforce necessary to build a knowledge-based economy towards becoming a high-income nation."

ThePrime Minster added that the introduction of NJOI from Astro is an exemplaryrepresentation of a People First service, as it not only eases the rising costof living and reduces the burden of the Rakyat; it also provides the Rakyat thebasic right to good quality education, information and knowledge to all Malaysians,for free. The landmark entry ofMalaysia’s first free satellite TV will create an abundance of choices in freeor pay TV content for all Malaysians.

YB Senator Dato' Nong Chik, YAB Dato' Seri Mohd Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak, Dato' Haji Badri, YB Dato' Joseph Salang Gandum and Dato' Rohana Rozhan launching NJOI

From left to right: Dato' Rohana Rozhan, YAB Dato' Seri Mohd Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak, Dato' Haji Badri, YB Senator Dato' Nong Chik, YB Dato' Joseph Salang Gandum, Dato' Johari and Ralph Marshall

YAB Dato' Seri Mohd Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak presenting NJOI decoders to eKasih recipients

From left to right: Shaiful Zahrin Subhan (VP, Business Segment ASTRO), Liew Swee Lin (Chief Commercial Officer, ASTRO), Dato' Rohana Rozhan (CEO ASTRO), Henry Tan (COO ASTRO)

With thelaunch of NJOI, Astro today fulfills its next promise in bridging the digitaldivide for all of Malaysia. NJOI will be introduced in three phases.

In thefirst phase, Astro plans to distribute 50,000 NJOI decoders and satellitedishes to recipients under the eKasih programme. This initiative is part ofAstro’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme in creating a socialimpact by giving free access to education, information, entertainment andsports to low-income communities, social and charitable organisations, as wellas homes in areas with no current access to TV and Radio services. Totalinvestment for the CSR initiative in respect to the set top box, dish andprogramming costs is estimated to be about RM500 mil over the next 5 years.

In thesecond phase, the NJOI service will be made available toall by the first quarter of 2012, where a customer can purchase the decoder anddish at a one-off payment, install the service and start to enjoy the 37 TV andradio services, comprising of lifelong learning, information and entertainmentincluding sports for completely free, with no monthly subscription.

In thethird phase of NJOI, customers can choose to buy additional content at theirown discretion, from a menu of attractive content through a prepaid mechanism,which will be available by the middle of 2012.

Thechannels included in NJOI from Astro will consist of quality educationalchannels, such as Astro Tutor TV UPSR, PMR and SPM, Astro Vaanavil’seducational belt—consisting of UPSR Neram, Manavar Mulakkam Science Capsule, andThirumbi Parkalama—as well as other entertainment and information channels likeAstro Prima, Astro Oasis, Astro Awani, Astro AEC, Jia Yu, Makkal TV, CCTV4, BernamaTV, iView, iMus, TVi, TV1, TV2, Astro Xiao Tai Yang (coming soon) and 19 radiostations.

NJOIis enabling everyone to access enriching content—the best of information,entertainment, sports and lifelong learning—that are in line with Malaysia’s pushfor a knowledge-driven nation. Astro’s continuing investment in talent,creativity and technology aspires to provide valuable content, which allcustomers can choose from in accordance to their individual needs, preferencesand budget.

Fahrin Ahmad, the emcee

Yee Min, Astro's 2009 Star Quest winner

Adira, runner up of 8th season of Akademi Fantasia

Mawi

Stacy, winner of 8th season of Akademi Fantasia

Aanantha, THR Raaga DJ cum singer cum actor

Veteran rocker, Ramli Sarip

For more details on the NJOI service, please goto www.astro.com.my or call 03-9543 8100

MISS UNIVERSE MALAYSIA ORGANISATION (MUMO) CHARITY YEAR END PARTY FOR FUGEE SCHOOL

2011-12-21T00:46:00.000+08:00

Fugee School was co-founded by Deborah Henry (Ms Universe Malaysia 2011) with Shikeen Halibullah providing an education to all refugee kids in Malaysia. They are taught different subjects ranging from English to Mathematics to basic Accounting skills and even Business skills to enable and equip these children to have a brighter future just like any other kids who deserve to have in our country Malaysia.

For further information and become a volunteer for this school visit the website http://www.fugeeschool.com/home

Recently, Miss Universe Malaysia Organisation (MUMO) and the good people at Nestle had a Year End Cheer Party for these kids and their parents. This party is for them to "chill" out, mingle and enjoy the holiday spirit. MUMO and Nestle have been a supporter for good causes and this is one of many.
I was honour to be among the invitees to witness the event graced by Andrea Fonseka (the National Director of MUMO and Ms Universe Malaysia 2004), Kimberley Leggett (the reigning Ms Universe Malaysia 2012), Deborah Henry (Ms Universe Malaysia 2011), some finalists from the Ms Universe Malaysia 2012 and Nestle representatives.

These kids are so precious and deserve all the love in the world even though they are refugees.

The Principal of Fugee School officiating the event

The parents and the children all eager to witness the commencement of the event

Many activities were lined up

The children doing their routine. They sure can sing and dance

A group of girls performing some cultural dances for the audience

A smile for the camera for these girls who performed with such colourful costumes

The "rappers"...they sure can rap....in English too! And they know who 'Lil Wayne is...waddup, bro!

I had to take a picture of this uber cutie pie all decked up for the event.

Nestle representative explaining the benefits of nutrition to the audience during intermission of the performances

Quiz time for the kids who attentively listened to the talk by Nestle

Kimberley giving out presents who answered the quizes correctly

Prize winners, the Principal, Kimmy and Nestle represtatives posing for the camera

More performances and sketches by the children of the school

Deborah giving her speech for this event

Kimmy giving some encouragment words to the children

Gathering for the group photography session

Group photography session with everyone. SMILE!!!!

Segregating and distributing the teddy bears

One for the camera, CLICK!

Kimmy presenting goody bags to all the children of the school

Kimmy giving her autograph to the children

Kimmy and her endless smile

Kimmy taking a breather and hydrating herself

Deborah Henry and Kimberley Leggett posing with the Principal of Fugee School and Nestle representative

Deborah Henry all smiles at the event. Great charity work, girl! RESPECT!

Deborah with the kids

Andrea Fonseka hanging out with the kids.

Lucky boy with the bevy of beauties (left to right; Sim Li, Jing Yi, Juanita Ramayah (3rd runner up), and Magdeline Wang)

Jing Yi with a child from the school

The girls having some fun at the event

Taking a break with Kit Kat with Jing Yi...anyone wants to accompany her?

Andrea busy at work with her SLR...she sure can "click". LOL!

Finally all's done for the day and Andrea breathe a sigh of relief and is satisfied with the charitable cause. Feeling on TOP OF THE WORLD!!!

Thanks to MUMO and Nestle, the event was very successful and it gave so much fun and cheer to the children and their parents. Kudos!!!

ASTRO BATTLEGROUND 2011 FINALE

2011-12-13T14:04:00.000+08:00

‘ Astro Battleground 2011’, thesignature annual street dance competitiongrand finale was held on 10^thDecember, 8pm at Sunway Giza Shopping Mall with awesome moves and show offsfrom the finalists. Anticipated with great dancing skills and creativity, thetop four teams of Astro Battleground 2011; Chique De Luxe, FIX, 2nd Floor andKatoon Network battled it out to win the ultimate title and the grand prizeworth RM 65,882. Finally, Katoon Network unleashed their talents the momentthey entered the "battleground". Their energetic choreographyoutshined the battle opponents and won Astro battleground 2011 champion. 1^stRunner Up and Best Choreography’ Award won by FIX. 2^nd Runner Up won by 2^nd Floor and 3^rd Runner Up won by Chique De Luxe.

Inspired by the theme, ‘Battleground, the INTERNATIONAL BattleZone’, the grand finale saw four teams showcasing their creativity and fabulousdance moves in three stages namely ‘Musical Instruments’, ‘Musical Love Story’and the ‘ Battlezone’. Kicking off with the ‘Musical Instruments’ stage, thissession will see each team assigned to a 4 selected musical instrument styles:Bollywood, Chinese, European and Indonesian. On the other hand, the ‘Musical Love Story’ stage will see Miko, Bai Ling, Peace and Minas guest artists perform to themes such as ‘Moulin Rouge’, ‘Titanic’,‘Ghost’ and ‘Pearl Harbor’.

Performances werejudged based on creativity, original choreography, dance skills, showmanship,attentiveness to music rhythm and synchronization of dance moves. The groupwith the highest accumulated score was ranked 1^st and won the ‘Best Choreography’ award,together with RM 2,000 cash and 6 cameras sponsored by Canon.
Co-hostedby Gan Mei Yan and Serena C, the AstroBattleground 2011 saw a talented line up of judges such as Xiao Hui(Hsieh Hsin-Hui), a well-known choreographer from Taiwan; Marcus Tucker, apopular dancer and former judge from the U.S.; Aga a.k.a. Swiftlocker, a dance teacher from Taiwan;Loose Joint, the founder of hip hop street dance; and an international judge,BooGTom from Korea. Former champion representativesfrom Astro Battleground 2007-2010 infused some zest to the show.

‘Astro Battleground 2011’ was organized by Astro Ben Di Quan, withCanon as the main sponsor, MY FM, the official radio station; Giordano, apparelsponsor; Diva production, official cosmetic sponsor; Miko Hair Studio &Academy, official hairdo sponsor; and A|X Armani Exchange, as the official apparelsponsor for the host.

Astro Battleground 2011 Grand Finale Result :

Champion : KatoonNetwork

(Total RM65, 822)
Canon Cash Prize RM45, 000

Pioneer’s Dancer Audio System, Steez (everyone each) total RM6, 594

Giordano Cash Voucher RM5, 000

Elba Espresso Maker (everyone each) total RM3, 840

MineAlesi Figurine Trophy RM 3, 000

Puma Watch (everyone each) total RM2, 388

1^st Runner up : FIX

(Total RM 24,394)
Canon Cash Prize RM12, 000
Giordano Cash Voucher RM 4,000
Elba Microwave Oven (everyoneeach) Total RM3, 954
MineAlesi Figurine Trophy RM 3000
Elba Food Steamer (everyone each) Total RM840
PensonicRice Cooker (everyone each) Total RM600

Best Choreography’ Award : FIX

Canon Cash Prize RM2, 000
6 pcs. CanonCamera

2^nd Runner up: 2nd Floor

(Total RM 13, 380)
Canon Cash Prize RM6, 000
Giordano Cash Voucher RM 3,000
MineAlesi Figurine Trophy RM 3, 000
Pensonic Slow Cooker (everyone each) Total RM 780
Pensonic Rice Cooker (everyone each) Total RM 600

3^nd Runner up :Chique De Luxe

(Total RM 11, 062)
Canon Cash Prize RM3, 500
MineAlesi Figurine Trophy RM 3, 000
Elba Juice Extractor (everyone each) Total RM 2, 562
Giordano Cash Voucher RM 2,000

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS!

CRIME AND INVESTIGATION NETWORK SAFETY CAMPAIGN (ASTRO CHANNEL 732)

2011-12-04T12:06:00.001+08:00

Crime andInvestigation Network launched its one-day Crime Prevention Workshop titled “Be Alert and Aware This Festive Season” at 1 Utama Shopping Center.

Partnering withCrime and Investigation Network to host the workshop were The All Women’sAction Society (AWAM), Prince Court Medical Centre and 1 Utama shopping center . The workshops aimed toeducate the public on how to be safe during upcoming holiday season.

The workshop washeld from 11am to 3pm at the Main Entrance of 1 Utama Shopping. Participantswere joined by AWAM (All Women’s Action Society) and medical experts from thePrince Court Medical Centre. First aid and general safety tips were shared withthe public. This was followed by self-defence demonstrations by KickStartAcademy.

Emcee of the event,Constantine Anthony

In addition, Crimeand Investigation Network also embarked on a safety campaign with the “Board ofHope” a message board where members of the public were encouraged to voice outtheir dreams to a safer nation by posting a note on the message board. Theexercise aimed to create a greater awareness with regards to crime prevention.

Judith Koh, Past President of AWAM

Chris Humphrey, Executive Producer AETN All Asia Networks

“Crime andInvestigation Network is delighted to launch its crime prevention workshoptoday, with the support of The All Women’s Action Society (AWAM), Prince CourtMedical Centre and 1 Utama. We hope that through this initiative and theprogram ‘The Murder of Canny Ong’ premieringthis December 12th on Astro Channel 732 will encourage the public to worktogether towards a safer Malaysia as well as creating greater awareness onsafety ,” said Chris Humphrey, Executive Producer AETN All Asia Networks.

Chris Humphrey

“As a feministorganisation, our stand is that everyone has the right to live in dignity andsafe from violence. We support initiatives like this one that encourageMalaysians to speak out and take action against violence.Together we can create a safer Malaysia,” said Judith Koh, Past President ofAWAM and One of the Organizer of Citizens Against Rape Campaign.

Judith Koh

Joanneof AWAM

Demonstrationfrom AWAM volunteers on sexual harassment

Dr.Saharuddin Mohd Yasin of Prince Court Hospital

Very realistic self-defence demonstrations from KickStart Academy

Kudos to the "actors" from KickStart Academy for the demonstration!

Azalea,the KickStart Academy Director

This December on CI, Crime Investigation Asia reveals the truths behind The Murder of Canny Ong which premieres on December 12 at 10pm and The Masseuse Murderspremiering on December 19 at 10pm exclusively on Astro Channel 732.

Thedocumentary includes personal interviews from:

[1] Pearly Visvanathan Ong, Mother of Canny Ong

[2] Amidon Anan, Deputy Superintendent of Police and head of Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) Malaysia at time of crime

[3] Dato Salehuddin Bin Saidin, Deputy Public Prosecutorat time of crime

[4] Rosal Azimin bin Ahmad, Solicitor for Ahmad Najibbin Aris

[5] Muhammad Haniff KhatriAbdullah, Leader of Defence team forAhmad Najib Aris

[6] Fay Angela D'Cruz, Journalist

[7] Dr. Geshina Ayu Mat Saat, Criminologist/Psychologist

[8] SAC Abu Bakar Mustafa, CID Chief at time of crime

[9] Lance Corporal S.Ravichandran, Policeman on patrol dutyat time of crime

[10] Noreen Natasha, Canny Ong’s best friend

KARNIVAL KAMPUS ASTRO 2011 AT PUSAT SAINS NEGARA, BUKIT KIARA

2011-12-03T01:11:00.001+08:00

This school holiday season, be sure to make your way tothe upcoming Karnival Kampus Astroon Dec 10 (Sat) & 11 (Sun) from 9am - 5pm at the Pusat Sains Negara, Bukit Kiara for 2 days of fun filled learningactivities. Karnival Kampus Astro isopen to the public and everyone is invited.

Children can look forward to a fantastic and excitingline-up of fun learning activities at the KarnivalKampus Astro from many of your favourite channels including Disney Channel, Animal Planet, Discovery &Discovery Science channel, History Channel, National Geographic Channel, AstroTutor TV, Astro Ceria, Astro Xia Tai Yang and Astro TVIQ.

At the KarnivalKampus Astro, children (under the age of 18 years old) will be a given aspecial passport book for them to collect stickers from the respective channelbooths and take part in these activities like face painting, hand wax souvenirsand redeem popcorns upon completion of the stickers collection. Kids can alsotake part in a variety of other fun-filled activities and games like quizzes,solving puzzles and many more to win exclusive merchandise and gifts.

That’s not all. In conjunctionwith the launch of the new season of Sains Comot on Astro TVIQ, you’ll get the chance to meet Prof Comot (Khairul Nizam Nazri) in person andperform all sorts of out-of-this-world scienceexperiments at the Karnival Kampus Astro. Prof Comot will be at the Karnival Kampus Astro on Dec 10^th (Sat) at11.30am-12noon, 2.30pm-3pm and Dec11^th (Sun) at 2pm-2.30pm. Also, be sure to catch the all newseason of Sains Comot on Astro TVIQas it promises many new and interesting science experiments with the likes of bouncingeggs, colour changing milk, homemade deodorant, water rock and many more. Tunein to the premiere of Sains Comot onDec 10^th every Saturday at2.30pm on Astro TVIQ (Channel 610) – the #1 local show in Bahasa Malaysiaon TVIQ.

TUNE GROUP "BIG" LAUNCH AT VERTIGO CLUB

2011-11-14T16:50:00.001+08:00

An innovative global loyalty programme that allows members to earn points when travelling and shopping, and redeem the accumulated points for exciting rewards including flight seats was launched here today.

The programme, called BIG, enables members to earn loyalty points called ‘BIGGIES’ when shopping with the programme partners worldwide including AirAsia and the Tune Group of Companies. Other BIG partners include Indosat in Indonesia and CentralWorld in Thailand.

As a global loyalty programme, BIG membership is borderless and open to anyone aged 2 years and above, anywhere in the world. Each member, nicknamed ‘BIG Shot’, is issued with a BIG card carrying the cardholder’s name and membership identification number, or BIG Shot ID.

In Malaysia, the BIG card doubles up as a BIG Visa Prepaid card, which cardholders can reload at all major banks or online at BIG’s website tune2big.com. Cardholders can now shop at millions of merchants worldwide where Visa is accepted, both online and over the counter. BIG Visa Prepaid is eligible for those aged 18 and above.

AirAsia Group CEO and Tune Group Co-Founder Tan Sri Tony Fernandes says: “The BIG launch today is a major breakthrough as we seek to reward our loyal guests and customers. BIG has certainly given a new definition to frequent flying and loyalty programmes as we know them. Merchants and partners should view BIG as an extended marketing and loyalty arm in further growing the businesses and market shares.”

Tony adds: “The greatest feature of BIG is the redemption of flight seats. However, AirAsia and our other related businesses are just some of BIG’s participating merchants and partners. Members can look forward to a whole new world of rewards and benefits when they shop using their BIG card. It’s about turning your everyday lifestyle spending into rewards and before you know it, you are ready to fly to your dream destination.”

Tune Money CEO Peter Miller says: “We have termed our target market for BIG as the ‘young at heart’ who would like to fly for free. Essentially, a card for the now majority of consumers who are comfortable transacting online such as booking AirAsia flights and would like the opportunity to earn free flights and more from their online and other transactions.”

Peter adds: “In keeping with the Malaysian government’s Economic Transformation Programme, the Visa-enabled BIG card is very well-suited to the modern cashless consumers as it offers reduced risk for online consumers compared with the traditional cards; for travellers they can simply load up their card before they fly as opposed to carrying wads of foreign currency with them and why pay cash when you can pay with your card and earn free flights, free hotel stays, ‘Big Shot’ privileges and so much more.”

BIG was soft-launched a month ago and has so far received 60,000 applications. BIG will be further promoted using social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Providing further details on how the BIG loyalty programme works, BIG CEO Johan Aris Ibrahim says: “Earning points or BIGGIES is simple. Just present your BIG card at Visa merchants and BIG partners or quote your BIG Shot ID when you shop online and BIGGIES will automatically be loaded into your account. For example, each RM2 transaction with BIG partners like AirAsia, AirAsia Megastore, AirAsiaRedTix, AirAsia Go and Tune Hotels will earn you 1 BIGGIE.”

“For the BIG Visa Prepaid card in Malaysia, each RM2 transaction paid on the card will generate 1 BIGGIE, while selected erchants will give double the points. This is on top of the points you earned as a BIG Shot so that means you can earn even more BIGGIES at a faster rate,” explains Johan.

There are 1,500 BIG partners with more than 3,000 retail outlets around the globe where Big Shots can collect double BIGGIES, both online and offline. On top of that BIG has also set up an online shopping mall at shopbig.tune2big.com, featuring more than 1,000 cross-border global merchants allowing BIG Shots to earn BIGGIES.

Johan adds: “Apart from collecting BIGGIES, our strategic partners also enable their current members to convert their existing loyalty points into BIGGIES, providing them a wider option for redemption.”

A BIG Shot can start redeeming from as low as 400 BIGGIES. Those with insufficient BIGGIES have the option of topping up with cash.

For more information about BIG and to sign up as a BIG Shot, visit shop.tune2big.com

Pictures from the launch:

The prettiest lass (stewardess) with the something "BIG" ;)

The ever affable Tan Sri Tony Fernandes sportingly posing for my camera.

Air Asia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani who just completed the Powerman Lumut the day before but still in high spirits at the launch. Way to go, Azran!

Tune Talk CEO Jason Lo and no he wasn't singing at the launch.

Jason trying to look serious....there was another impromptu picture which cannot be shown. Hahaha!

DIGI "LIVE" PRESENTS GARY V IN MALAYSIA 2011

2011-11-13T22:31:00.001+08:00

Finally Gary V (THE MAN) - I heard this alot when I was "prowling" along Kota Raya area on a Sunday after a nice brunch at Starbucks nearby before Gary V (one of the most popular icon in Philippines). I thought I'd just immerse myself into the atmosphere and headed into Kota Raya and to my surprise, the saloons were packed, the place was totally out of this country! I thought I was in Makati, Philippines (where I went once for a Silverchair rock concert).

Gary V was going to have showcase at the the adjacent building (Wisma Fui Chiu) and the fans are all getting ready to attend.

The one-hour showcase was brought by DiGi and Muzikon.

The stage setup at Wisma Fui Chiu.

The die-hard fans queuing (part 1).

The die-hard fans queuing (part 2).

Another aerial view of fans queuing up (do you spot yourself in there?)

One more view for good measure.

The fans filling up the ballroom fast.

DiGi Pilipino Idol (Malaysia) 2010 winner Leah Gerald belting out three popular songs before Gary V hits the stage. Wow! Power packed lungs! From Celine Dion to Mariah Carey, she could deliver! She deserved to be crowned!

Aaaah.....THE MAN himself came on with full glory of a leather jacket with a fur hood.

The screams were deafining when he decided to take his leather coat off.

Doesn't he look similar to Ricky Martin? No wonder he was also called the Ricky Martin of Philippines once upon a time ago.

"Now look at me when I am singing" joked Gary V. He is full of sense of humor and energetic. If nobody did not know, he is diagonsed with stage one diabetes and requires insulin jabs many time a day for the rest of the his life. That is the reason he is carrying an auto device that is connected to his stomach giving him auto streaming of insulin throughout the day.

He had a 8 song set list: Lean One Me, Sana, Di Bale, When I Hear, Spain, Ayu (in Bahasa Malaysia), Shake and I Will Be Here

Gary V and his legion of fans!

An affable Gary V cheering on with his fans after the showcase! The energy he exudes is amazing!

Autograph session.

With Leah Gerald

Lucky Leah Gerald! Wink! Wink!

Gary V announcing lucky fans (DiGi subscribers only who downloaded his ringtone) who will have personal hi-tea with him

The Philippines Embassy with Gary V

Thank you to you, Gary (THE MAN!) who came to mesmerize us in Malaysia. We are all hoping to see you again in a full fledge concert soon!

We wish you all the best

For all, Gary V has released a Malaysian Edition of his album. Go purchase the original! Below is how the original album cover looks like:

HIDDEN CITIES WITH ANTHONY MORSE ON ASTRO HISTORY CHANNEL 555

2011-11-11T13:49:00.001+08:00

HISTORY's flagship original production HIDDEN CITIES is returning to HISTORY (ASTRO CHANNEL 555) on 23 November 2011 at 9pm. This season, the 8 part series devotes an entire hour-long episode, for the 1st time, to Malaysia's hidden gem in Bumi Kenyalang (Land of The Hornbills) - SARAWAK!

Host Anthony Morse explores the forgotten kingdom of a former British adventurer. The White Rajahs of Sarawak were the only Caucasion kings to rule over a dominion in South-east Asia. Moving southeast from the capital of Kuching to Sri Aman, Anthony reveals the secrets behind a disappearing headhunting tribe, the Ibans. We also learn about the tragic story of early Chinese gold miners in Bau district as well as the healing rituals of the Melanau people.

HIDDEN CITIES 2 tails the adventures of effervescent Anthony Morse as he goes in seach of Asia's forgotten treasures. Enlisting the aid of local guides, historians, archaeologists and scientists, Anthony attempts to unearth secret treasures such as the Jewish ghettos of Shanghai where the Jews worked when China opened to a treaty port in 1842, the lost temple city of Muara Jambi in Sumatra and disused British Military underground facilities, abandoned after WWII in Singapore.

Spanning across China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, HISTORY's HIDDEN CITIES 2 is produced by Singapore based media company Beach House Pictures with the support of the Media Development Authority of Singapore.

This programme is presented by Canon and Maybank, in association with Caltex.

Anthony Morse was in town recently and AETN All Asia Networks hosted a luncheon with him to talk about his adventures, trials and challenges throughout the filming of the series. He even exude a certain passion towards hosting this series which I find an amazing trait in an adventure host.

I managed to catch up with Anthony and as effervescent as he is, he is a wonderful host and listener too! Secretly he has a passion for acting too! So it won't be a surprised if we see Anthony in a TV series or a movie. Besides that, he admires Samantha Brown (another adventure/travel host) whom I also had the pleasure to meet earlier this year and was inspired by her.

The get together was held at Restoran Bijan (an award winning fine dining Malay cuisine restaurant in Jalan Ceylon).

The girls will definitely scream and swoon over his good looks if this Press Conference was held in a public place.

According to Anthony, the most difficult shoot was in Sumatra in terms of the extreme tight production schedule, macro environment entities (e.g. rainstorm etc).

Here are some very amazing photos of the 8 countries he visited. He even got to interview Imelda Marcos!:

Indonesia:

Malaysia:

Philippines:

The "Dirty Harry" pose

Anthony with Imelda Marcos!

Sichuan (China):

Singapore:

Thailand:

Vietnam:

Yangtze:

Truly beautiful photos of the countries he visited. Well, I hope after this 8 parter, there'll be a third season on the board. Who know what Anthony will uncover and interview next?

Great meeting you Anthony!

SONY WALKMAN NWZ-W262 MODEL FINAL REVIEW

2011-11-06T10:42:00.000+08:00

Pictures of the new Sony Walkman MP3 W262 Model:

Unboxing the contents

Myriad of colours for all

Thanks to Sony Malaysia I have been giving the Sony WalkmanNWZ-W262 a real stress test. Ever since receiving it on 14 October 2011, I havebeen using it from running in hot weather and under the rain too, to travellingin public transportation. And it is still holding up.

Compared to the older generation of W series (W252 andW202), it is much lighter and smaller and surprisingly fits snugly into the earfiltering most outside sound. This new model weighs approximately 32g and itcomes with a myriad of 4 trendy two-toned colours (blue, pink, black and white).The colours are not of hideous shades but trendy and complements individual’s activelifestyle.

Besides that, its features like lightweight and water-resistanceis a plus sign for active people like myself. I do not have to worry aboutnormal Walkman with wired earphones (fear of sweat damaging it, how to clean itafter a run, the dangling or wires during a run etc).

I have utilised it for my all my training runs (totally about150km) since obtaining the set. With 2GB storage like its predecessors, I canrun a full marathon with it without concern of running out tunes to accompany meand feeling the uneasiness of something being stuck to the ear (hence theemphasis on lightweight). For one, it does not look like a blue tooth when Iuse it to travel in public transportation.

The furthest I have used to run with it is 20km. And I haveno qualms or complains whatsoever that it made me uncomfortable during the run.The buttons for switching songs, volumes etc are pretty user friendly too. Itis at the bottom of the unit and its does not take a rocket scientist to figureout which buttons to press during the run.

For 2GB, I cannot gauge how many songs an individual candeposit into the unit but according to the specifications, it is approximately470 songs (128kbps). The reason I make this statement because I upload longmashes and remixes of songs which sometimes go on for more than an hour for justone track and I normally use 192kbps for better quality audio. For audioquality it is rather good but of course, do not expect perfect bass or treblebut it is adequate to fulfil my running expectation.

Washing the unit is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Just rinse it underrunning water and wipe it clean and its ready for use.

Charging is also relatively easy with the USB cable. Thefeatures of this model are similar to its predecessors but of course there are someimprovements in terms of style, colour, weight and the strap connecting theleft and right ear units is more flexible compared to W252 and W202.

The price is very affordable at RM299 per unit.

A little warning though, do not use this unit if you aredoing your training runs on open roads (as it sieves out most outside noise dueto the EX headphones). I tried it once and I was nearly grazed by a motorcyclistas I could not hear the honking). In addition, do not use this unit whendriving (this one is common sense).

Other than that, this unit is excellent for parkrunning/race and our current active lifestyle (regardless whether a runner likemyself, or students (hence the affordability factor) and working adults whoprefer a frill free MP3 unit with basic but up to par standards features).

An added advantage is, it has good after sales service, unituser friendliness and hassle free, and lightweight (I cannot stress thisenough).

I hope Sony will add more storage memory and increase itscontinuous playback time in future units of the same calibre.

My rating for this unit:

Ease ofinstallation: 9/10

Ease ofusage: 9/10

Features: 8/10

Sound: 7/10 (well, it does not have ClearAudio technologies (e.g. Clear Bass, Equalizer etc) like other series, howeverI have taken into consideration on the part of being a runner, I may not needthese features as I just need motivation and companionship during my runs).

Storage: 7.5/10 (This could be improved infuture models)

Trendinessand stylishness: 9/10

Price: 9/10

Overall: 8.5/10

ASTRO "BATTLEGROUND" 2011 TOP 10 PRESS CONFERENCE

2011-10-29T12:05:00.005+08:00

This year’s theme is ‘Battleground, the INTERNATIONAL Battle Zone’. Theexperienced line up of judges include, Agaa.k.a. Swiftlocker, a dance trainer from Taiwan; Loose Joint, a freestyleUnited States Hip Hop legend; and an international judge, BooGTom from Korea. Joining them are the ten finalists; ChiqueDe Luxe, LA Sista, Oh My Goodness, Freshype, FIX, Le’Z, Coming Soon, KatoonNetwork, Dem Lepak Boyz and 2nd Floor who will battle in the firstsemi-final round this 29 October, 3pm at the Pavilion main entrance.

To escalate excitement from the crowd, special guests from Astro BenDi Quan like Wan Chean, Danny Koo, Kim, Yoke, Yi Wei, Qi Hui, Penny, Bai Ling, HanWen and Rui Li will kick start the first semi final round. The top 4 finalistswill then qualify to battle in the Grand Finale on 10 December 2011, 8pm atSunway Giza Shopping Mall.

Canon, the mainsponsor for the competition will be giving away RM 75,000 cash prize. The ‘Astro Battleground 2011’ Champion will walk away with RM 45,000 cash prize byCanon together with other attracting prizes.

In conjunction with ‘Astro Battleground 2011’, Canon will alsoorganize a “Canon In-Action” Photo Contest. For those interested, with good photographyskills can send in their details and select a semi-final round session theywish to attend on the Canon website. Successful pre-registered participants are required to register themselves at theirselected session. Photos taken during the Battleground semi finals (29 Octoberto 1 November 2011) using a Canon camera will get them to stand a chance to wina Canon printer. These selected 3 winners from each session will meet duringthe final round and the most outstanding photograph taken during the “AstroBattleground 2011”Grand Finale will win the grand prize, Canon EOS 600D!

‘Astro Battleground 2011’ is produced by Astro Ben Di Quan. Canon is the main sponsor for the show, Giordano, as the apparels sponsor; MY FM, theofficial radio station; Diva production, the official cosmetic sponsor; MikoHair Studio & Academy, official hairdo sponsor, and A|X Armani Exchange, as the official apparelssponsor for the hosts.

The top ten finalists:

FIX

Chique De Luxe

Oh My Goodness

LA Sista

Le'Z

Dem Lepak Boyz

Katoon Network

Freshype

2nd Floor

Coming Soon

Emcee with a humor for the day : Astro's Ben Di Quan Bernard

Astro's Ben Di Quan Bernard with Aga a.k.a. Swiftlocker and BooGTom from Korea

Aga a.k.a. Swiftlocker (Judge) showing some dope moves

BooGTom from Korea (Judge) showcasing some killer and smooth grooves

Astro's Ben Di Quan Artistes

The artistes showing some cool moves

The Top Ten Photo call

The artistes photo call

Personalised portraits of Astro Ben Di Quan's artistes:

Bai Ling

Wan Chean

Danny Koo (Ah Boy)

Kim

Yi Wei

Qi Hui

Penny

Han Wen

For more details, log on to www.facebook.com/astrobattleground

MY ASTRO ON DEMAND FAVOURITE 2011 BRINGS MICHAEL TSE AND RUCO CHAN

2011-10-21T23:30:00.000+08:00

Met up with popular TVB actors Michael Tse and Ruco Chan at a recent press conference in ASTRO. The actors were here to launch an online voting campaign organized by Astro On Demand (AOD) with MY FM as the official radio station and supported by Hong Kong TVB. The campaign allows Astro customers to cast votes for their favourite artistes and drama series.

These are the mouth-watering pictures including a scanned copy of their autographs from the press conference. Enjoy.......

ASTRO TVIQ Clever! Edisi Malaysia Returns!!!!!

2011-10-17T18:49:00.002+08:00

If you find yourself wanting to learn evenmore about science with host Aznil Nawawi and his scientist extraordinaire,Rafidah then keep an eye-out for Clever! Edisi Malaysia Season 2 beginningSaturday, 22^nd October 2011 on Astro TVIQ (Channel 610).

Clever! Edisi Malaysia returns with brandnew episodes, new celebrity guests and new science experiments targeted at producingan engaging and interactive format for school students through its 360° approach:on-TV, online and on-ground directlyinto selected schools nationwide. Thedevelopment of its second season reinforces Astro’s commitment to encouragelifelong learning among young Malaysians by combining education withentertainment.

In the Clever! TV show, science meets comedyand learning is fun! Viewers can join Malaysia’sleading host, Aznil Nawawi and his wacky scientist side-kick, Rafidah, as theychallenge two teams of students to discover the amazing world of sciencethrough five scientific topics of mind-boggling questions and genuinelyspectacular experiments. Each teamconsists of one celebrity and one school participant who compete to correctlyguess the phenomena. Scientist Rafidah is then summoned with the task ofconducting the experiment directly before the audience, designed to answer onceand for all the most amazing scientific riddles.

Students can deepentheir understanding via the dedicated Clever! website at www.astro.com.my/clever for catch-upepisodes, activities and useful information about science and an interactivechat box for students to speak with fellow science lovers. Those looking for anexperiential hands-on encounter with science can visit Clever! ScienceCarnivals at various locations across the country, an in-school initiative packed with liveexperiments and interactive science exhibitions featuring host Aznil Nawawi andScientist Rafidah. These carnivals willbe held in Sabah, Sarawak, Terrenganu, Penang, Melaka, Johor and Pahang and areopen to the public for free.

Join celebrity guestsZizan, Johan and Nabil of Raja Lawak, Jaclyn Victor, Ana Raffali, SarimahIbrahim, Diana Danielle and Didie Alias, to name a few, as their scientificknowledge is put to the test in their quest to be the winning team.

The launch and press conference was held at Delicious, Marc Residence KL. The food is, I must say, lived up to its restaurant's name.

A very creative doorgift. Mind you the beaker is made in the EU! Look closely!

Dino, the emcee for the day.

Mr Ravi Gopal, Head of Education Astro.

Press conference in action with Rafidah, Mr Ravi Gopal and Aznil Nawawi.

Ravi Gopal, Head of Education at Astro says, “We have maintained the same spirit of Clever! Edisi Malaysia’s first season, which is to help students learn and understand science via an entertaining and engaging show format. This season, Clever! will be bringing even greater experiments and even more fun on the basis of engaging students, stimulating their minds to spark reasoning and creativity. Clever addresses a series of scientific topics and mind boggling questions like can one cook eggs with 50 mobile phones? How can we keep worms away from vegetables? There are even experiments which are safe for kids and the whole family can try at home!”

Ravi adds, “With a 360-degree approach wehave invested in bringing the educational content and fun learning aspect ofClever! to TV, online and on-ground, bringing the show hundreds of kilometersacross the country to engage students in the rural and remote areas. For the Malaysian edition of Clever!, we continueto work with an award-winning local producer, combining global know-how withlocal insights to make the learning accessible & relevant to childrenacross Malaysia.”

Photo call session with artistes, selected contestants, hosts and Mr Ravi.

Aida (AF9)

Fina (AF9)

Anding

Rafidah and Aznil having some fun.

Aznil Nawawi solo shot.

Rafidah solo shot.

From the set of the Clever! Studios....fun and learning is all around....

Clever! airs every Saturday at 1.30pm from 22October on ASTRO TVIQ (Channel 610). Theprogramme is in Bahasa Malaysia, and can be viewed by ALL Astro subscribers aswell as government schools. Visit http://www.astro.com.my/cleverfor more information on Clever! Edisi Malaysia program synopsis, schedules andCarnival details.

ASTRO “BATTLEGROUND” 2011’S TOP 14 CREWS TO BATTLE IN PRELIMINARY ROUNDS

2011-09-23T12:16:00.000+08:00

“Battleground, the INTERNATIONAL Battle Zone”, is thehottest street dance competition organized by Astro, and subsequently after thesuccessful audition on 27^th August the competition heats up with the1^st to 4^th preliminaries on 24^th and 25^thof September 2011, from 1.00 pm to 7.00pm at e@curve(centre atrium).“Battleground” 2011 is sponsored by Canon as the mainsponsor, Giordano as co-sponsor;Diva production as officialmake-up sponsor; Miko Hair Studio & Academy as official hairdo sponsor, MYFM as the official Radio Station and A|X Armani Exchange as hosts apparel sponsor.

The top 14 crews who made it to “Battleground” 2011 are, Chique De Luxe, LA Sista, 20 Cents, OhMy Goodness, Freshype, Floor Digital, FIX, Le’Z, ComingSoon, Katoon Network, Dem Lepak Boyz, ThePuzzle, D8 Century and also 2nd Floor. The teams were handpicked by judges, Aga a.k.a. Swiftlocker, a danceguru from Taiwan; Loose Joint,pioneering generation of new school dancers who coined the dance style namedHip Hop from U.S.A; and an international judge, BooGTom from Korea, to showcasetheir dancing skills in upcoming preliminaries battle. Notable dance crews include, Katoon Network the 2009 BattlegroundChampion and the gorgeous all girl dance crew Oh My Goodness and Chique De Luxe. The top 14 crews will battle it out in a series ofpreliminaries and semifinals with only 4 finalists qualifying to battle in theGrand Finale on 10th of December 2011.

At the same time, Canon, the main sponsor, offers a total of RM75,000 in cash. Besides, Canon will also organize “CanonIn-Action Photography Contest” during Astro “Battleground” 2011 Preliminaries,Semifinals and Final. This is the battleground for budding photographers to capturethe memorable scenes in “Battleground” 2011 during Battleground preliminaries(24^th & 25^th September) and semi finals (29^th, 30^th October and 1^st November) with a Canon camera andget a chance to get to win a Canon Selphy Printer CP800 for each session. Participantswere required to pre-register themselves online and register themselves at thesame event venue. Canon will select 3 winners from each session and theselected winners will led to the final round and win the grand prize, Canon EOS600D with outstanding photograph on Astro “ Battleground” 2011 Grand Finale.

Astroinvites you to tune in to Astro “Battleground” 2011 exclusive on Astro Wah LaiToi (Channel 311) every Saturday beginning 15^th October at 7.00pm. Formore information on Battleground, log on to www.facebook.com/astrobattleground

GARY VALENCIANO (GARY V) LAUNCHES LATEST REGIONAL SINGLE

2011-09-21T14:47:00.001+08:00

Muzikon (a new Regional music label based in Malaysia) in collaboration with DIGI recently brought in Philippines' pop music icon whose being in the entertainment industry for 28 years and has eleven albums and eleven AWIT (Philippines equivalent to the Grammy Awards) under his belt, Gary Valenciano or popularly known as Gary V.

He was in town to launch his latest single titled "Ayu" - sung in Bahasa Malaysia.

The affable and approachable Gary was delighted to hang out and shared stories to the media about his past, his forray into acting and music and his future plans.

Normally, when I hear about Filipno stars, the ones that pop into my mind would be Lea Salonga, Regine Velasquez and Jed Madela.

It was amazing to hear Gary V's voice during the "live" session at a media conference.

The press conference was held in conjunction to unveil his latest regional single titled "Ayu" and a forthcoming two showcases to be held in Kota Kinabalu at Horizon Hotel on 12 November 2011 and at Wisma Fui Chiu on 13 November 2011.

From left: Ms Pearly Lim (DIGI's Head of Events, Sponsorship & Activation), Gary V and Mr Richard Voon (Managing Director if MUZIKON). According to Pearly, DIGI is excited to once again collaborate with Muzikon and offer DIGI customers a not to be missed unique experience with top Filipino act, Gary V who will be performing live at his first Malaysian showcase.

Richard Voon futher elaborated that the latest regional single "Ayu" by Gary V is the continuation of Muzikon's mission to promote Malaysian artiste and music across the ASEAN region. The company enables ASEAN artistes to explore each other's markets and encourage them to sing their songs in a different language and the company is very fortunate to have one of Philippines most popular artiste and living legend to participate in this mission.

Gary V giving us his thoughts and responding to an array of diverse questions from the media.

Pearly Lim from DIGI presenting a token of appreciation to Gary for his gracious attendance.

Gary V getting ready to perform 3 songs for the media but the highlight was him singing in Bahasa Malaysia. Watch the video below:

Gary V performing "Ayu"

Photo call session.

ASTRO SUARA KAMI 2011 CONCERT

2011-09-18T23:14:00.020+08:00

I was invited to the Suara Kami Concert and jumped upon the chance to catch international acts like Nelly (Hot In Herre, Dilemma and Just A Dream), Rania (popular k-pop group) and local groups like Altimet, DJ Fuzz and gang, old school "goreng" guitar rockers, Yuna, Faizal Tahir and others.

A carnival-like atmosphere around the stadium commenced at 12pm while the actual concert began approximately 8.30pm.

Highlights from the Press Conference
Before the actual concert, there was a Press Conference with some international artistes and local acts organized by Astro at a leading 5 star hotel. I was privileged to be one of the attendees and managed to get some up close and personal pictures and videos of them. And I managed to get a firm handshake from Nelly as well!

With Nelly:

For HD experience of the above interview, follow this link to You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b48zvlYMdC0&feature=autoshare

With Rania (Ean was so mesmerized by their beauty....all 7 of them! They are VERY hawt!):

With Naresh Iyer and Chinmayi:

I managed to get the autographs from Rania and a sampler single (Dr FeelGood) which was written and produced by Teddy Riley.

At the Suara Kami Concert 2011
Despite the drizzle and close to heavy rain, people still throng in droves to Stadium Merdeka for this massive concert featuring international acts like Rania, Hins Cheung, Naresh Iyer, Chinmayi and headlined with Nelly. Local acts included Hujan, Yuna, Pop Shuvit, Faizal Tahir, Stacy, Altimet, DJ Fuzz and gang, Psycho Unit, old school rocker (Joe of Wings, Kid Search, Hillary Ang, Man Kidal), Azlan and the Typewriter) and local dance crews Ruffneckz and Soul Krazy. What a lineup!

It was televised "live" on TV9 and this is first time a spiderweb camera was used.

Jin of Hitz.fm and Jehan Miskin entertained the crowd before and intermittently during the concert.

The official emcees for the show: Aznil Nawawi, Reneetha Veeraya, Ean and Hui Min.

Soul Krazy dancing off with Ruffneckz.

Naresh Iyer and Chinmayi taking the stage.

Moots of Pop Shuvit and his group rocking the crowd wild!

Halfway through the show, a surprise visit from our dear Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor delighted the whole stadium. Our PM was so sporting he whipped out his Iphone and recorded the crowd in attendance!
THANK YOU, Prime Minister and wife for attending!

Yuna entertained with "Gadis Semasa".

Popular Canto pop singer from Hong Kong, Hins Cheung rendering 2 songs, "My Way" and "Deadline".

Faizal Tahir giving us Karma.

Stacy having a light moment before launching to a medley to dance hits - "Casanova" and "Jahat".

Rock legends (Man Kidal, Joe Wings, Kid Search and Hillary Ang) with Lan Typewriter giving us a medley of Pawana, Seruan and Sejati).

Rania performing in gold glitter and tantalizing moves. They sang their most popular "Dr Feelgood" followed by "Masquerade" and "Stand Up 4 Love".

The highlight of the evening was Nelly, no doubt. He came on with his posse, belting out "Party People" mixed with "Hot In Herre", followed by "Dilemma" and his recent hit "Just A Dream". The crowd went wild!

For HD experience of Nelly's performance of "Just A Dream", follow this link to You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r4BmZFp_es&feature=share

Aznil Nawawi, Reneetha Veeraya, Ean and Hui Min introducing the finale performance by Altimet, DJ Fuzz, Point Blanc, Ila Damiaa and Rabbit Mac with their famous Malaysian Boy song:

Altimet, DJ Fuzz, Point Blanc, Ila Damiaa and Rabbit Mac Finale Performance of Malaysian Boy with all fanfare except the kitchen sink:

For HD experience of this performance, follow this link to You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kShpzzfGjeQ&feature=autoshare

SONY W SERIES WALKMAN LAUNCH

2011-09-16T23:16:00.001+08:00

Sony Malaysia recently unveiled the new series ot its line-up of Walkman media players - the NWZ-W260 series, delivering superior sound, sophiscated design and enhanced features for an unparalled audio experience.

Fast rising Malaysian duo Thomas Jack have been selected as its Brand Ambassadors.

The new W series are 25% lighter than its predecessors at a lightweight 32g and features a new comfortable ergonomic fit, the new Walkman NWZ-W260 series is ideal for fashionistas or sports enthusiasts alike.

It comes in variety of 4 funky and trendy two tone colours: Blue

Black

Pink

White

Featuring a smaller, more compact design and new range of chic colours, the wireless Walkman W260 ensures fuss-free music navigation without the need to mess around the tangled wires (tell me about it!).

This is a fascinating demonstration...all four W series walkman were submerged and rinsed in this plastic sink. This is to authenticate its feature that it is water resistant and washable as well. Therefore it is easy to clean after a night out in the town or an intense workout (excellent for a long distance runner like me!)

Mannequin display of how to wear the the device.

Mike Kam (Product Trainer, Brand Activation Management Division) explaining on the Walkman W260. The Walkman comes supplied with Content Transfer software that simplifies drag-and-drop music transfers from your computer or iTunes library, while the Quick Charge function providing music playback of up to 60 minutes with a 3-minute charge. A fully charged device will give up to 8 hours of uninterrupted music playback that would outlast even the longest gym workout and as for me probably 2 full marathons (42km each).

Panic Crew of Showdown 2011 entertaining us with some of their nifty moves and grooves while wearing the new Sony W260 Walkman.

Representatives from Fitness First showing us some steps to get fit and healthy.

Some lucky bloggers who won themselves a set of the new Sony W260 walkman during the lucky draw session.

Now I can't wait to get my hands on these fabulous Walkman to review it during my training and actual runs.

For more information on the new Sony Walkman NWZ-W260, visit any Sony outlets nationwide and for more details and specifications visit, www.sony.com.my and/ or www.facebook.com/sonymalaysia.

This model come in capacity of 2Gb for the affordable price of RM299.00