New Phase New Season

So I have started working in this company, In2 Marketing & Consulting. Today is my third day here and I am already standby on site. It is really interesting to learn so much new things in such short period of time. People here are friendly and ready to share knowledge. As long as I open up and ask, they are there to share.

It's a bit tiring though, but it's not the work load tiring that I am talking about, yet. It's the jam that made me feel so exhausted. I got to wake up at 6am daily so I can get ready, leave house before 7am so I can beat the jam. It doesn't mean I don't have to get stuck in it, but at least it is moving rather than stationary in one spot for 10mins and we only get to move 3ft forward each time?

Work load wise, I have already started working proposal on the first day in the office, which is what I expected, at least I don't feel completely like a useless person in the office. Today is my third, as mentioned, I am here at event site. First event, not really mine, but just here to oversee. 

This is the setup photo taken yesterday @ Cheras Sentral main entrance, next to Starbucks. Our event will be here throughout the weekend. So, drop by if you are nearby. We also have a program about trading in your old mobile phones for cash vouchers which you can use to purchase Intel products in selected outlet partners. So, come check out our booth here this weekend.

Final Speech

Eventi was registered back in 2009, it has been operating behind the scene for about a year and a half until I officially be director of Eventi in 2011. Everything that Eventi have today is hand build by its owners, every single details were taken into serious consideration. With clients being our top priority and quality of our work, we ensure that all clients get the best out of it. 

Today, I am writing here, to mark an end to this "little baby" that we have build since day one. We have grown together with Eventi, everyday we learn new things from it and we try our best to improve from our mistakes. I am so glad that Eventi has its own glorious times, where we almost cannot contain all the events at hands. The success and the achievement we have made, really makes me proud and it is beyond words to describe it. We have contributed blood, sweat, and tears into it, shaping and making it stand where it is today. 

I am really honoured to be writing this closing remarks, I put this to an end doesn't mean it is gone forever. It will always be in my memory, and my book of achievement. Maybe in days to come, I get to flip this book, looking back at those days, reminiscing the good old days. Also, I am proud to be able to tell my children about this chapter of Eventi, sharing my experience with my kids when the day comes.

Perhaps in the future I may get to start a new business, who knows? This would be my greatest reference when I need it. 

Before I end this, I would like to give a shout out and special thanks to these people in my life. My girlfriend, Stephanie, who have been with me, by my side whether I was up or down, sharing the joy and pain together with me. To the ex partners, though we may have disagreement, but we remain as friends, no matter what your contributions were, I sincerely thank you for contributing. To all the clients, without them, we won't be where we are today, thank you for trusting in Eventi, regardless the events were big or small, to us, it is always important and we appreciate every single one of them. Of course, our suppliers, thank you for all the support, and being there to help us to deliver the best quality of work to our clients. Last but not least, family and friends who have stood by us, believing in us that we will be successful. Thank you all once again.

To better future (*raise glass*)... Cheers!!

A9 + Bukit Cahaya Cycling Outing

So it was public holiday for KL and Selangor on Tuesday (15 July), A9 CG decided to make this an outing since the last outing was quite awhile ago. The weather was awesomely nice, kinda gloomy and it was humid as we trail the pavement. Almost everyone had rented bikes and was cycling around. 

Bukit Cahaya a.k.a Bukit Cahaya Sri Aman a.k.a Taman Botani Negara Shah Alam, yes, all three names are referring to the same spot, as long as you see skytrex right at the entrance of Bukit Cahaya, then you are in the right place. It confuses me when I was looking for more information in Google, because all 3 names came up and I am not sure if they are the same or not. So, this is to clear up some of the confusion if you guys have not been there. 

The main entrance is under renovation, it looks much nicer and grand at the entrance, not sure if the entrance fee will double up or not. As of now, the fees are below :

Adult - RM 3.00
Children below 12 - RM 1.00
Senior citizens - RM 1.00

*Prices are applicable for weekday and weekends.

Operating hours : 0830 AM ~ 0500 PM

*Closed on Mondays

Those who want to do group bookings are welcome too. For further information, you can visit Taman Botani Negara Shah Alam.

They have 2 main bicycle rental, one is right in front of the entrance after you enter, rental charges MYR 10.00 per hours, and every subsequent hour MYR 10.00. The second rental are located not far away, but its cheaper MYR 5.00 per hour, subsequent hour MYR 5.00. Now, what is the difference? why is the price cheaper by half? If you do comparison, the MYR 10.00 per hour bicycle are newer, they are all with gears and you can choose with basket or not. Whereas the MYR 5.00 bicycle are older, some rusty parts, and they may not come in gears. Bicycle with basket and definitely without gears, and bicycle with gears will not have basket. It is your call...

For those who didn't want to cycle, they have free shuttle bus, but it is from the main entrance up until Four Season Temperate Garden. By the way, the initial entrance fee does not cover this, you would need to pay additional if you want to enter. 

It was almost an hour of cycling on the winding roads, uphill and downhill, everyone got tired and rested at this stall to catch their breath and to hydrate themselves.

Personally, I think Taman Botani can be better, as we cycle, walk and using the shuttle service, we see a lot of under maintenance, some of us saw dead cats in a rabbit enclosure. There are a lot of maintenance they need to do if they want to make it an attraction to whether locals or foreigners. However, it is still a nice place to do morning jogging, cycling, or morning walk. The fresh air refreshed us, especially we who work 24/7 in the city, how often do we get fresh air?

After getting sufficient rest, now everyone is dying for food. As planned, we head down to Klang for Bak Kut Teh. Everyone was so hungry that we all forgot to take pictures before the food, so...here I can show you the during and also aftermath.

It was definitely a good outing, bonding and getting to know each other more. Great food with great company. Looking forward to another outing soon!

Coffee Date @ Artisan

*THIS IS NOT A SPONSORED POST*

So a day after World Cup has finally over, it is back to our usual dating time. This time we wanted to try out this coffee house that the hype created back then when it first started was super duper crazy amazing. 

So here we are, I walked in and I couldn't decide what should I have, but they have a diagram on the wall, showing if you want to have coffee or tea, then it leads on to milk? Ice? And at the end of the diagram is the name of the drink. I quickly read through the diagram and found myself Picolo, meanwhile my Stephanie ordered red latte. To top it up, a slice of chocolate cake.

Well, it's not bad actually. Only thing is you need to get yourself a table before proceeding to order at the counter. 

King's Brunch

It was over the weekend on a Saturday, my Stephenie had told me to clear off my schedule on that day, because she is bringing me to a new place near her office. 

So we left home and headed to Jalan Ampang, very quickly we got ourselves a parking and found ourselves at the entrance of ACME Bar & Coffee (You may get the address at the bottom of this post). It's a nice and warm place, decoration is really special, well-lit, and waiters were all friendly. 

I ordered King of Breakfast - Grilled minute steak with confit of portobello mushroom. organic eggs, sucrine lettuce, and fries.Whereas, Stephanie ordered Baked Egg Pan - Medley of red peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, shredded smokers duck tomato olive sauce, organic eggs and garlic toast.

So my food came and and I got the shock of my life, two giant mushroom on my plate. Anyhow, it was well cooked as in tender in texture, and it really gives me the taste of portobello as soon as I put in my mouth. The steak was definitely the highlight of the dish, I'm not sure which part of the steak are from, but, it was the best steak I have ever tasted. 

Stephanie's dish was awesome too, except the duck, I don't really like duck, so I tested the garlic toast with some baked egg.

All in all, it is something different from any of those brunch restaurants like 3 Little Pigs, or Antipodean and such. Worth a try especially when going in group, because they have lots of big tables, but not a lot of tables for 2. We had to share a table of 6 with 2 other couples. By the way, saw someone order a dessert, chocolate brownie or something like that, on a hot pan, and the waiter will pour a shot of chocolate onto the brownie, so imagine the when the chocolate touches the hot pan and smokes will be seen and it creates a lot of attention. Not sure what is that, but I would definitely want to try it out. 

Oh, I almost forgot about our coffee. No fancy coffee art, but, my cappuccino is so much better than Coffee Bean's or Starbucks. I have not try out any of the cappuccino in other coffee house, because usually I will have espresso or long black. One more thing to shout out is, I have been asking Stephanie why other places do not give biscotti? and I got my biscotti here, which is nice.

The day ended with a shot by the sea and sunset, but we were kinda late for sunset, by the time we arrived at the seaside, sun have already set.

ACME Bar & Coffee Address :
Unit G1 The Troika
19, Persiaran KLCC
50450 KL.

Myvi - Suspension Comparison

First of all, I would like to express my greatest appreciation towards Perodua technician for sharing this wonderful piece of information with me. I am not sure if anyone of you know about it, but hope this would be useful for those who are planning to upgrade or looking for solution or similar.

I am comparing two versions of Perodua Myvi here, one is 2012 Myvi 1.5 SE and another is 2013 Myvi 1.3 S-Series. 

Perodua Myvi 1.5 SE

Perodua Myvi 1.3 S-Series

The 1.3 S-Series were an "upgrade" from the standard 1.3. The "upgrades" are mainly using the 1.5 SE bodykit; striking colour - Ozzy Orange; 6-sopke silver alloy rim instead of 7-spoke gun metal alloy; Ocean-blue colour meter cluster backlight instead of red; and many more (I think). These are the few obvious upgrade. 

Perodua Myvi 1.3 Standard
Photo Courtesy of : http://keretaahmad.webs.com/21.jpg

Here comes the important part. When I was driving the 1.3 S-Series, 7 days to full one year old, over some of the speed bumps and I could hear springy/squeaky sound coming from the front. It is just weird coming from such a new car.  Then I tested with a 1.5 SE, about 2 years old, and there were no such sound at all. 

So I decided to check with the manufacturer, and found out that the 1.3 S-Series is actually using the 1.3 standard spring and absorber. Whereas the 1.5 SE and 1.5 Extreme are using different set. What I'm writing about here is all OEM spring and absorbers, no sporty modification.

Manufacturer wouldn't recommend that we swap the absorbers and spring during the warranty period, swap as in I order a set of 1.5 SE spring and absorbers from factory and fit it into 1.3 S-Series. It would be best to consider this swap again when the warranty is over, meanwhile, we can actually file a complain and claim a set of new spring if found by the technicians that it is indeed defect. 

I'm sorry I could not tell what is the difference, as in whether it is lower ride hide or harder spring rate or bigger monotube between the two. Perodua technician did not reveal the in depth specifications to me, but we all do know now is that, the 1.3 and 1.5 suspension setup are 2 different settings. 

So, all 1.3 standard and 1.3 S-series owner out there, if you hear some springy/squeaky sound from the spring, you know what to do. If we are not looking at having sports spring upgrade or hi-lo soft-hard adjustable, then getting the 1.5 SE suspension is another economical upgrade.

Cheers!!

Tomyam Yusuf - REVISIT

*THIS IS NOT A SPONSORED POST*

Here we are again on a Sunday night, we revisit this authentic and nice malay cuisine in Lucky Garden. 

As mentioned in my previous post, Delicious Dinner, we will return and try out the Deep Fried Seabass with 3 different tastes (Ikan Siakap 3 Rasa). To our amazement, the presentation was really awesome, colourful, and we can taste the fish on our taste bud before we even start to dig in. It has lots of garlic, chilli, onions, pineapple, and to finish it off spring onion toppings to make this fish awesomely delicious. Now, the taste of this fish is really weird to some people, it has combination of sweet-sour-spicy. Probably to certain group of ethnic people, it maybe just another sweet and sour dish. I took the first try on the fish, I immediately fell in love with it. I mean, the taste is somewhat similar, but, it is all new to me. Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, combined with the awesome sauce, that is just simply perfect.

 

 

 

Colourful and mouthwatering

As for vege, we tried a new dish recommended by Stephanie's colleague : Stir Fried Mixed Vege. Of course, we couldn't miss out the tomyam soup and the omelet.

Mixed Vege

This time, the bill came up to slightly more expensive than the previous, MYR 50.00 for all the above. Go try it out, especially the fish. One more note, when I asked for recommendation from the woman who took our order, she actually recommended steam as top of the list. So you have more than one option to choose from. Cheers!!

Delicious Dinner

*THIS IS NOT A SPONSORED POST*

Yesterday night, through my Stephanie's colleague, we were introduced to this place in Lucky Garden to dine cheap and nice Malay food. After a series of misfortune events, we finally found the spot. Don't expect it to be nice cozy place with comfy chairs. It is just a row of "shops" made of wood pillars and aluminum roof. Situated behind Giant @ Lucky Garden, look for "Tomyam Yusuf", its surrounding is all shop lots, but specifically this row is like how I described, wooden pillars and aluminum roof. They have a huge sign board so you won't miss it. 

As their signage speaks it all, tomyam is a must to order, honestly, their tomyam can even be on par with any other Thai food I have tasted so far.

Tomyam Campur or Mixed Tomyam (chicken, squid, prawns)

They are also famous for other dishes, some say the  

• Kailan Ikan Masin (Pan Fry Chinese Broccoli / Chinese Kale with Salted fish)
• Ikan Siakap 3 Rasa (Deep Fried Seabass with 3 different tastes - chili, sweet, and sour) There are lots of different version in cooking this seabass in 3 tastes. It may differ from restaurants to restaurants. We did not order this dish, we are not sure if the 3 taste is what I have mentioned here.
• Ikan Bawal masak Pedas (Deep Fried Pomfret with Chili)
• Ikan Siakap Stim Limau (Steam Seabass with lime)
• Tomyam Fried Rice
• Sotong Goreng Tepung (Deep Fried Squid)
• Ayam Kunyit (Saffron Chicken)
  
• Teh-O-Ais Limau Laici (Iced Lemon Tea with Lychee)

Like I said, we did not order any of the above dishes, this is just we have gathered and taste bud may differ from individual. If any of you have tried it out, do let me know how it taste. 

Besides Tomyam, we ordered Kailan Belacan (Pan Fry Chinese Broccoli with Shrimp Paste) and my personal favourite, Ayam Paprik (Chicken Cutlets with Chili Paste mixed Oyster Sauce)

When we began to eat, I realised that I had forgotten to order Telur Dadar (Omelet). Then we added another dish - Telur Dadar

Our dinner were beyond satisfying, it is really hard to get such nice Malay food. Maybe there are but I have no idea where to get one. Now we know, I would love to go back and try out all the nice dishes.

I have not even come to the best part yet. With all these dishes for two, the bill came to our disbelief!! a whopping MYR 26.50 !! Isn't that affordable? Now, go and try it out. Let me know about the other dishes eh!!

Here is the exact address, my apologies I have forgotten about GPS coordinates, then next time I go, will surely get them for all of ya!!

Address : Gerai No. 3, Lorong Ara Kiri 3, Lucky Garden, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia Stance & Fitment Mega Gathering 2014

**THIS IS NOT A SPONSORED POST**

It was very last minute for me when I got to know of this mega gathering which was held over last weekend, 14th June, in MAEPS. In conjunction with the World Cup season, I considered myself waking up late that morning and I thought I was so late to be there for some nice shots. To my surprise, when I arrived at MAEPS at 1245 hours, these stance machinery were still rolling in slowly. Half the hall were full, quite well organised though. They had a corner just for food, and another where all the car clubs have their booth setup. 

There were few categories that these enthusiasts can win a trophy for their sweet ride, like Best Tucked Fitment, Best Wheels, Best JDM, and etc. We could see that these amazing machinery shows the different concept of modification done. Whether it was the car owners or their friends who tag along, everyone were having fun and busy taking photos with their sweet ride being the "background" photo. Personally I am not a fan of stance or slammed ride, so I just took a quick stroll around the half filled hall and grab a handful of photos. Too bad, I was rushing off, else I could probably get hold of more sweet rides. 

Here, this is my first attempt in doing my post differently, I have compiled all the photos in a single video. Apologies in advance for the poor editing and trashy background music. I take constructive feedback and I will improve in the future should I be doing similar post like this.

Enjoy!!

Law VS. Law

Today, something crossed my mind which I have no understanding at it at all. I was at the traffic light earlier today, there were about three cars ahead of me. Then I heard from far there was a siren blaring, so I checked my mirrors and saw there was a police truck, I don't know what is it called exactly, but those were used to carry criminals in the back cage like truck. There was only siren, the revolving lights on the car roof was not working. The traffic light was still red, it was impossible for any of the motorist to make way. At this point, cars next to me began to honk, and needless to say, the cars in front began to move forward risking their lives to make way for this, police truck. When finally all the cars from the opposite cleared, the light were still green on their side and red on our side. These motorist began to "jump" the red lights just so this police truck can cross. 

My million dollar question is, do people risk their lives for these jumping the red lights? or what if the traffic light is AES monitored or camera monitored in order to capture those who jump red lights? I mean, generally, let's put all other official vehicles or emergency vehicles, like the Ambulance? Fire truck, patrol police, or this, the police truck. 1. Do people risk their lives? 2. Do people need to pay the compound if caught "jumping" the red lights. 

Just curious, I'm open for feedback. 

This is the truck I was talking about.
Photo courtesy of : http://kgsilou.blogspot.com/2013_03_01_archive.html

Weekender - 07 & 08 June 2014

It was definitely a long weekend for me and my Stephanie. With back to back events, we covered almost the whole KL, PJ, and even in Seremban and Seremban 2. 

We started with early brunch at Suki-ya, Pavilion on Saturday (7 June 2014). Stopped by at Batman event at the center concourse. So happened that when we arrived, the cosplay were there registering, not very sure what is it for, I suppose is a cosplay competition. The only cosplay I personally liked was the female joker. The rest its just...let's just say not up to my expectation. 

Sorry for the reflection...this is the only photo I took from the roadshow

We took a quick stroll and we left Pavilion, headed to Padang Timur, PJ. Here, we were suppose to check out the Burgers Carnival. It was scorching hot, we were too full from Suki-ya, again, we took a quick stroll. Personally I would say the carnival could have done better. Mainly all local burger-joints, some had people queuing under the hot sun just to get the burger, but some had no one buying from them at all. Probably I had a high expectation on this carnival, the hype and the anticipation created did not match the the expectation I had in my mind. However, the event was successful to certain extend and in some areas the organiser did well. At least, they had full-house participation from all the local burger-joint. 

Overview of Padang Timur

Stalls were arranged in horse-shoe-shape

Check out the queue in one of the stalls

Our initial plan was up to this point for the day, but because we left early in the previous 2 events, we had plenty of time to spare, and the traffic on Federal Highway from Padang Timur heading back to Cheras were gridlocked. So we decided to bring forward our program, we headed straight to Citta Mall for Art of Speed Event. To our disappointment again, when we arrived, the congestion started from the highway itself, and there were no possible way for us to get in. We left, went home to get some rest before heading down south for a coffee that we have always wanted to try out. 

After getting enough rest from the hot sun, we left KL around 2045 hours right after our fast food dinner. We arrived Seremban 2 at 2120 hours. We were not sure where is La Roasteria. We searched in Seremban 2 before getting the correct address. Thanks to waze, we finally found the place...but...it was close. We took a good 10mins to think why are they closes? Then it struck our mind, it was a public holiday...King's birthday...that's why. It added to more to our disappointment and we left Seremban heading back to KL and calling it a day. Look forward to try the coffee there some other time soon.

Lunchie with my girl

Sunday (8 June 2014). We headed straight to Art of Speed event in Citta Mall, got a parking and this is what we found. 

Part of the event, was having all these flee market stuff

Very nicely done up Ford Escort MK3

I have no idea what model is this, but surely is one great Alfa Romeo

The lineup

Is this beast on sale? 

This is rare...hotrod !!

The VW lineup...

One of the classics from VW

I would not mind one of this though

Finally!! Datsun!!

Stephanie liked this...

Coupe!! does it mean Skyline? or Datsun?

Skyline R30

More Skyline R30

Besides cars, they have bikes, custom bikes. A booth started up a Ducati, the sound was awesome...I'm not really a fan of bike, except the z800, still a newbie when it comes to bike. Apart from all that, they had local bands performing at the main stage area, some simple packed food stalls. Oh...one thing surely they had it 100 times better than Future Sound Asia's rave back in 5 October 2013. These car enthusiasts do know how to hydrate themselves, not only the beverage stalls were selling drinks, there were some stalls selling chilled soda and mineral water. Under such hot sun, water is the only way to keep everyone hydrated and making sure there are no incident. We need more event organizers like this. Kudos!!

There it was, our weekend, though lots of disappointment, and my Stephanie got sun burnt on the shoulder, nonetheless, we both had fun and finally an event that was fruitful. Great lunch, and great time spent together.

Jason's Food Hall 2nd Anniversary

*THIS IS NOT A SPONSORED POST*

Jason's Food Hall has been around since 2012, and last weekend (25th May 2014), they have celebrated their 2nd Anniversary. In conjunction with this celebration, #EventiEvents jointly with Jason's Food Hall have prepared a lot of surprises for shoppers who patron over Saturday & Sunday (24th & 25th May).

Some of the management staff having a photo with the chocolate cake

On the 24th May, Saturday. Jason's have arranged a celebrity chef to have a session of cooking demo. Shoppers get to learn simpler ways to cook gourmet at home, at the same time they get to taste the chef's cooking too.

To some of us, we may not know who Chef Zam is, he is famously-known in its industry, had gotten quite a number of honorable award and currently is a lecturer in KDU. For those who are interested to know more about him, you can visit : http://www.silverspoon.edu.my

Chef Zam preparing his ingredients

 

Chef Zam showing off his skills in cooking the main dish

I believed those who were present, definitely had their stomach filled with the delicious gourmet by Chef Zam. It smelled so nice that the 3-course were cleared within minutes, leaving me staring at the empty chafing dish hungrily.

The main celebration was finally here, on Sunday everyone woke up extremely early, and the store was opened as early as 8.00 AM. We, #EventiEvents, were making sure everything is in order and working perfectly. In this joyous occasion, Jason's doubled it by having Penfolds to launch its latest wine, Penfolds Bin 9. Besides the Bin 9 range, Penfolds also showcase other collections such as the Bin 28, Bin 150, and many others. 

Combination of reds and whites

One of the promotion that saw shoppers clearing the shelves within minutes - Port Wine

The event began with speeches by Jason's Operation Manager and followed by Winemaking Ambassador of Penfolds Asia. Then all the staff from Jason's were invited to witness the cake cutting, and everyone including shoppers get a piece of the cake thereafter.

The enriched chocolate cake, can smell it from miles away

Immediately after the cake cutting, we invited management from Penfolds and GCH Retail (Malaysia), jointly unveiled the new Penfolds Bin 9. The price per bottle was RM 84.99, and if shoppers were buying on the launch day, they get 2 for RM 150.00, which is quite a good bargain.

Unveiling the new Penfolds Bin 9

Penfolds then had a wine tasting session, opened to invited guests, media, and shoppers. They began with white wine, Penfolds Bin 311 Tumbarumba Chardonnay 2013. Served to the guests and the best pairing food - Canapés. 

Mr. Simon Cant, Winemaking Ambassador explaining the Bin 311

The Canapés pair with the Bin 311

Followed by all the reds - Penfolds Bin 9 Carbernet Sauvignon 2012, best served with chicken; Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2011 and Penfolds Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz 2011, best served with beef or lamb; Lastly, Penfolds Club Reserve Classic Tawny NV, port wine. 

Penfolds Bin 9

Just before the event ended, we had a surprise entertainment for all the shoppers and staff. Opera singer "flash mob". We had all four opera singers dressed in Jason's uniform, no one suspected anything, until they started singing. Here are the links to the video, enjoy the vocals, pardon us for the poor recording from our smart phones.

Tags : #EventiEvents #JasonsFoodHall #Events #Opera #Flashmob #Anniversary #Celebration