I.M. Mag Feature!

I've just got hold of the I.M. Magazine last week! I couldn't wait to see what's in store... mainly for I was told by the editor that the interview conducted earlier would be featured in it.

And true enough, it is!








I'm happy for the fact that this article is featured in the Perspire To Inspire segment - something so close to me!

Thank you, I.M. May you keep inspiring! :)

*The full article is also available at I.M. Perspire To Inspire: November 2009

Dreaming Of A White Christmas

It's the time of that year once again... where the happy & merry mood takes place.

And this is really the time for holidays especially with the 2 long weekends ahead (Christmas & New Year).



I was tempted to go to somewhere cold this year, especially after experiencing such cool weather in Shanghai last year. And the fact that it snowed in Beijing this year!

But then, unless I take a long holiday, even the long weekends don't make it so possible. And that's something I can't do this time round due to work commitments.

But that is fine with me. I'll most likely spend some time at the malls - that at least gets me closest to the cold if not white Christmas haha.

How bout you? Have you made any holiday plans? :)

Oh or Wow... Malaysia (Some Serious Thoughts)

I've been having this thought about beloved Malaysia for a while now, and thought I'll just share this...

Before I started my travels the past few years, I've always thought that Malaysia is huge. Afterall, we always compare our country with Singapore... 26-28 million vs 4-5 milion. Of course, that makes us rather big lah.

But then I started to travel to our other neighbours - to the likes of Thailand, Indonesia & the Philippines. And what I realise is that we are not so big afterall... Even the smallest of them all, Thailand, has a population of double of ours (at about 60million Thais).

Now, though size matters, but that's not all. In our already not so huge population, we then get a very segmented country. We have our 5 major races (Ibans are no 1 in Sarawak while Kadazans are no 1 in Sabah).

While this is all nice for our tourism campaign where diversity is cool (truly Asia), but then some parties would say that this is actually an disadvantage as well. For when we want to sell something, we always have got to ask - who are we selling it to (more specifically, which race?).

Go even further, divide us by language... and then we have the urban-ites, some of who like you and me, speak English. Taking the Chinese as an example, we now have the English educated Chinese, the Mandarin speaking Chinese, etc.

So, our already not so big country now becomes even smaller when one is in the media business. Now, let's take the media industry for example. How many (race A) watch (race B) movies or listen to (race B) music? Or for that matter, are there any successful 1Malaysia movies, ever? (pls see the word successful).

This makes me envy our neighbours. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but in overseas, it's just the Thais (speaking Thais), the Indonesians (who all speak Bahasa Indonesia fluently), the Pinoys (Tagalog), etc. When you come out with a movie - it's for the nation. So is the music.

I've always believed in this as a disadvantage. And apparently, I'm not alone. I've heard others complaining the same. And so did one CEO from one of the most popular internet news portal in the country, who voiced his views in a forum forum I attended recently.

But then, like they say, the grass is greener on the other side. The chairperson from USA mentioned that despite all these (which he says actually is just swirling in our heads), he points out that benefits of working in a smaller country is huge.

One, we get to work with the big players/ brands much easier. Plus, the fact that we are so multi lingual, we can reach global with more ease (language wise). So he asks us to use this 'disadvantage' and turn it around to a good one.

While I agree with him on these points, but the one question remains... can any of our things (think movie, music, website, other media) ever reach to a wide audience in Malaysia - a true blue 1Malaysia thing?... Is there, or should we resign our fate to keeping things targeted just for 1 race each time?


*I have 3 different language stations preset in my car. Some people wonder why... I wonder why not? (Wei shen me bu ke yi ah? Tak salah kan? Can one mah) :)

Filipino Food!

In my Philippines trip, I sure had a good share of Pinoy food. Here are some of them.

Aristocrat Chicken Barbeque

My very first meal was this restaurant with a tagline - 'home of the best chicken barbeque in town'.

When you have a tagline like that, it comes with high expectations. It was not bad - but I'm not sure if it really is the best in town?

However, what I like here - trying the pork dinuguan (pork blood stew!). Minus the name aside, the stew is quite tasty actually. And so is the mango juice - my first in the Philippines, but definitely not the last!

Fruitas

Talking bout mango juice, the one I enjoyed most is from this fruit juice chain - Fruitas. The mango juice comes with a good thick serving of pure fresh mango... just so suitable for the tropical weather in the Philippines!

Jollibee Hamburger

Like the Fruitas, this is one food chain every visitor must try. The queues in the Jollibee outlets are always so long... I was surprised that Megamall has 2 big outlets at 2 different levels!

This is really heaven for hamburger lovers... it's one of the best burgers I have ever eaten! The beef pattyt is cooked just nice reatining its juice yet well cooked. Double thumbs up!

Andok's

I tried a fair bit of their local Pinoy food chains. This one is Andok's - famed for its grilled chicken. The food was alrite for a quick bite.

Greenwich Pizza

I even tried their pizza from this quite popular restaurant chain. Look at the toppings!

Red Ribbon Cake

I was very amazed with all the local food chains in the Philippines - and was also game to try the cake at this shop. This shop was crowded and the cake - yummy!

Kamaiyan Saisaki Dads Buffet
One of the recommended buffets in town is the Kamaiyan Saisaki Dads Buffet. It boasts of 3 different types of food - local Pinoy dishes, western & Japanese. This sure made me full! What I like here? The lechon (roasted pork)!

SM Food Court (Pinoy Food)

As they all say, the Philippines sure is the pork gourmet nation. And one of my last meals was more lechon plus other local Pinoy food at the food court at SM Marikina Mall. Oh yes, there's the pork blood stew again! :)

Cafe Juanita
I was fortunate to have visited this restaurant as well - known for its local Pinoy dishes & also for its antique decorations...

There are actually 2 restaurants here - both by the same owner. One is the simple food at the counter while the other, dine restaurant style.


Larry's Cafe & Bar

I tried some very good cake at this bar cum cafe, located in Serendra. The atmosphere in the place is cosy as well. Truly a must come back visit!

Balut!

Of all the food I tried, this one tops them all...! I've roughly heard about the balut & dare not try at first. Afterall, balut is the nearly developed embryo of a duck... and some friends mentioned that one might actually see the duck embryo while eating the egg. But then again... anyway, I tried it and was lucky that mine wasn't that raw. Taste - delicious!

Well, there it is - the final piece of my Philippines travel this year :)

The BIG Bibik: Feature & Reviews

Here are some reviews we've had with The BIG Bibik & The Little Nyonyas show. As usual, any feature or review gives a nice feeling & a proud moment :)

A feature by Malaysia's lifestyle magazine - I.M. I've always liked this magazine and to be featured by a magazine you like - that is double thumbs up! :)

Malaysia's national paper - The New Straits Times. I'm happy for this full page review... plus the fact that this is my first time my works is featured in this newspaper. Truly, the power of believe :) (full article at Bibik Is Back).

Over the causeway, the entertainment magazine, I Weekly (1st October 2009 issue), did a recipe feature.

This is also the first time my works have been featured on this entertainment magazine.

Not sure if there are more to come, but am keeping my fingers crossed :)


*To the journalists from IM Magazine, The News Straits Times & I Weekly, here's a big thank you :)

Dreams Are Achievable

Every now & then, there comes a reminder that dreams are not just dreams in the clouds/ air... but something achievable & attainable.

It's always amazing that I receive these reminders when I need them most... here's a video I just watched recently while in the midst planning ahead. Though I've watched this before, this is a good reminder.





This video sees Charice, a Pinoy from Philippines, Asia - at a young age singing a duet with her idol, Celine Dion.

Charice just proves that age is no barrier to our dreams (and so are all the other excuses). And the fact that Asians can make it in Hollywood... really, the future is ours to create :)

From Friends To Heroes

One of the few things I look forward each day apart from visioning my dreams is watching drama series.

Actually, it has been a very long time since I watched drama series... it was only recently I started watching & at times rewatching Friends. The last time I was hooked to drama series would be watching Friends itself during the university days. But even then, I wasn't following up with the show weekly.

But now, I can proudly say I've covered Friends in full from Season 1 to the finale in Season 10!

As much as I wished there is Season 11, but well I have to move on (and life goes on? lol). Anyway, I don't think rewatcing it anytime soon is a good idea... especially not when I need to see what's popular in the media hub of the world - Hollywood.

Then, I have heard of Heroes - and I thought it does look appealing. So, I bought my first Heroes DVD box set this year! (I know it's now already Season 4 and here I am just finished watching Season 1... there sure is lots to catch up with USA media!).

I find the whole Heroes concept very cool. Superpowers & superheroes have always been cool plus the fact that Heroes do have quite an interesting storyline & characters. I particularly like the double character of Niki-Jessica & also the current Hiro-future Hiro, who I think both acted very well showing very different characters despite being the same person. Overall, very creative I must say.

However, I'm not sure if it's because of tiredness or late hours, but at times I do fall asleep while watching Heroes. Some friends say they are confused on Heroes, while some say there's a lot of talking. I find the jumping of scenes makes the show not a very smooth watch.

But still, for it's high USA ratings, I think 'it's my duty' as someone in the media industry to watch the series... just like the Heroes have a mission "Save the cheerleader, save the world". hehe :)