Pet Project Malaysia 2013

Pet Project 2013 came and went just like that. I really wished it was a monthly event but I think all the volunteers, the organising commitee and founder Sabrina Saw will be dead tired on their feet if it were. You cannot imagine the amount of planning and preparation that went into pulling off this massive event all in the name of animal welfare and for that, I applaud the entire Pet Project team and the teachers and students of The British International School of KL. Well done, guys!

Only two years old, the event that brought together animal welfare and fitness was held on the 23 March 2013 at the British International School of KL and saw an estimate of over 1200 attendees by noon to participate in an array of fitness-oriented activities and workshop as well as to purchase food and items for a good cause. All proceeds raised in this event were donated to several animal welfare organizations and shelters.

Peace for Cupcakes

Take me home!

 SPCA and Malaysian Independent Animal Rescue (MIAR) held an adoption drive where several of their shelter puppies and kittens were adopted on the spot. Yay! While it was great having the younger ones taken into new homes and families, it was still heartbreaking to see the older animals still stuck in their cages with their pitiful gaze looking out for the person to whom they can devote all their love to.

Are you my new friend?

I am the owner of four beautiful and unique mix-breed dogs and xx number of cats (all adopted from the shelter and streets) and no word can describe how much joy and laughter they bring me everyday. They are the reason why I strongly stand for 'Adopt, Don't buy!'

The day's currency

 While I may not be able to adopt those up for adoption at Pet Project, I hope the little contribution I made by purchasing the coupons helped. Coupons were used on that day to buy entry into their assortment of workshops ranging from golf to basketball to yoga and finally to dance.

Be Urban Wellness booth

For those concerned about injuries or their individual fitness performance, Urban Wellness had a booth there where you get an expert to teach you on how to warm up properly and which part of your body to focus on to improve amongst other areas of expertise. They have a very impressive state of the art spa and treatment center in Clearwater, Damansara Heights which I highly recommend checking out. Trust me, I've seen the place and it made my jaw hit the ground. More info on Urban Wellness here.

Performance by the Chiqaz

Now, there was one event I was looking forward to and that was the Dance Masterclass with Tony Stone, choreographer for the King of Pop, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce and Chris Brown to name a few. I have an undying passion of dance and to learn from the great man himself was really something I looked forward to for months. A huge supporter of animal welfare and everything charitable, Tony Stone held the class pro bono just like the previous year and we only had to pay RM30 (15 coupons) to take part in his class.

Coupon Burger!

 Mindful of the big group of participants this year, Tony conducted the class in an easy and fun manner that allowed everyone to pick up the moves with no problem. It didn't matter if you were a kid or an adult, klutzy or coordinated. What was important was that we all tried. His energy was infectious, his friendliness inviting. The supposedly one hour session became an hour and a half and we were burnt exhausted when it ended. I wonder how much calory I lost doing the routine repeatedly.

Tony Stone and I.

 To wrap up Pet Project 2013, I camwhored with Tony, something that amazed even the great man. To quote my friend and fellow blogger, Senri of Journey of the Little Biscuit, "Self-shot is more "heng" because asking other people to take was too mainstream."

Once again, hats off to the Pet Project team for pulling off this event and thank you for allowing me to help out in the only way I know how, through my blog. I hope to work with you guys again next year!

For more pictures, drop by my Facebook page here.

If you missed this event and want to find out more about animal welfare, just click on my 'Animals matter to me' page.

TTFN!

Nuffnang Tastebuddies @ Kelantan Delights

Not too long ago, I wrote a post on the countdown for the Top 3 millie crepe cakes I have tasted. That was actually in conjunction with Nuffnang's membership recruitment to join a new group in the likes of their Shutterbug (photography) or Fashionista's (fashion) groups.

Needless to say, I am happy to announce that I have been chosen to join the new Nuffnang Tastebuddies foodie group. Basically we are a group of bloggers that share the same habit of always snapping pictures of the food in various angles and lightings for a good ten minutes before allowing you to even inhale it.

Kelantan Delights

Our first ever Tastebuddies gathering was held at the Kelantan Delights restaurant in Sooka Sentral on the quiet Sunday afternoon of Easter. When asked why Kelantan Delights as opposed to other well known eateries, Laura from Nuffnang explained that it was because not everyone has tried Kelantanese food before and it would be a good food experience to try together. I couldn't agree more.

TomYam Kelapa Muda

Did you know that Kelantan, being neighbours with Thailand, is heavily influenced by their Thai cuisine? This was why when our appetizers bore a similar resemblance to the traditional Thai food, Tom Yam soup and Mieng Kham but with a local twist. The Tom Yam Kelapa Muda was served in shot glasses with a fresh prawn and coconut flesh to accompany it. I enjoyed the blend of spiciness and coconut creaminess in the soup, knocking back two shots one after the other like vodka.

Sirih Daun Kadok

The Sirih Daun Kadok was basically the Thai Mieng Kam with more or less the same condiments of peanuts, ginger, lime zest, dried shrimp, onions, dried coconut and a sweetish sauce. I usually DIY my sirih leaf with ample sauce and peanut for an extra crunch but then again, to each their own.

Nasi Dagang Ikan Gulai

For the main dishes, we had to select two dishes out of four mains and after much debate, I opted for the Nasi Dagang Ikan Gulai and Laksam. While the Nasi Dagang Ikan Gulai wasn't too bad, I prefered the Nasi Kerabu Ayam Percik my friend ordered due to the rich santan-filled curry that accompanied the soft blue rice. Otherwise, the fish was fresh and meaty and soaked in its own curry wonderfully. The rice and pulut came all the way from Kelantan as did most of Kelantan Delights' ingredients to ensure the authenticness of the dishes.

Nasi Kerabu Ayam Percik

It was my first time trying Laksam and I found myself loving the fish gravy it came in. Instead of the meehoon, Laksam is served with rolled up flat noodles, loads of vege and shredded bits of serai for a kick. On the side, it also come with diced chilli.

Laksam

To wrap up the main course, Nasi Tumpang was served. Back in the days, it was sort of like an eco-friendly tiffin carrier for farmers to pack their meals for the entire day in one simple green leaf. It comes with various layers of rice and ingredients. The top layer is eaten in the morning before work begins while the second layer is eaten for lunch and the finally layer is taken before leaving the fields to provide energy for the trip home.

Nasi Tumpang

The Nasi Tumpang at Kelantan Delights is bigger than other Kelantan eateries in Kuala Lumpur and comes with ample of tightly-packed rice, sambal, fish curry and chicken floss. I believe it would go splendidly with the coconut curry from the Nasi Kerabu.

Lompat Tikam & Ketupat Sotong

Finally, despite our full bellies, there is always room for dessert and especially a dessert called Lompat Tikam. Sharing the plate with the sweet green and pink Lompat Tikam is the unusual Ketupat Sotong. The sotong seemed to have been marinated in Gula Melaka and its texture was chewy. There is nothing savoury about this dish as it is all sweet but the ketupat stuffed inside the sotong helps to balance out the sweetness. I swept up the Lompat Tikam last using the soft green kuih and the harder pulut rice to soak up the coconut and Gula Melaka sauce for a sweet finish.

Thank you Nuffnang & Kelantan Delights!

As we were all recovering from overindulging, Laura held a history and geography quiz and several bloggers won prizes courtsey of Kelantan Delights and Nuffnang. We wrapped up our first Tastebuddies gathering with a quick mingling and phototaking session. With that, meeting adjourned.

Kelantan Delights
Kelantan Delights has successfully combined tradition with class for a comfortable dining experience. It's definitely a place you would bring your boss or clients to impress. However the Sooka outlet opens only on weekdays while the Subang outlet opens daily. For more information, drop by their website: http://www.kelantandelight.com

Sooka Sentral Branch
1-5, Level 1
Sooka Sentral
Jalan Stesen Sentral
50470, Kuala Lumpur
tel: 03-27851945
Hours: 11am-10pm
(Closed on Saturdays and Sundays)

Subang Jaya Branch
Ground Floor East Wing
Wisma Consplant 1
No 2 Jalan SS16/4
47500 Subang Jaya
tel: 03-56117845
hours: 11am-11pm

 

 

G.I Joe: Retalitation movie review

The first G.I Joe movie came out in 2009. That was four freaking years ago. Admittedly that movie was a complete letdown for an action movie so it was no surprise that it took them so long to come up with the sequel which wasn't really much for a sequel. Of course, then again, the release of this movie was delayed for over eight months from its original date in June 2012.



Courtsey of ChurpChurp

Gist
The only sense of plot continuity that you get going in for G.I Joe: Retaliation was that the President of US was replaced with a Cobra impostor Zartan who orders the elimination of Joes to start world domination. Other than that, I suggest treating it like a new movie altogether.

Why? Because other than Duke (Channing Tatum), Snake Eyes (Ray Park), Mr President (Jonathan Pryce), Storm Shadow (Lee Byung-hun) and Zartan (Arnold Vosloo), everyone else is a new face to the movie franchise including the director. Step Up director, Jon Chu embarked on this action pack movie with the same treatment he gave the Step Up franchise. Loads of dazzling action sequences to pave the way for a predictable storyline.

Verdict
Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis helmed the cast this time, taking over the lead roles from Tatum's character but it was Adrianne Palicki who stole the screen with her character, Lady Jaye's determination to reset the standards of a male-dominated field of warfare without loosing too much of her femininity. After all, what is more sexy than a girl who knows her way around a gun. However Lady Jaye also seemed to have daddy issues which the director played off during her interactions and need for approval from the original and older Joe (Bruce Willis)....which is a bit creepy.

On a side note to Mr Willis, as much as it thrills me to see you still kicking ass in all your shining glory, having you as an another badass character that so closely resembles John McClane or even Mr Church from the Expandables just demonstrates that type-casting will follow you till your veteran years.

In true Dwayne Johnson style, his character Roadblock just singlehandedly beats the crap out of everyone that crosses his path although nothing was quite as epic as his fight with Vin Diesel in Fast Five. Speaking of which, Johnson will be having a good year this 2013 with several action movies lined up for him.

Moving on to the action scenes. What can I say. Jon Chu knows his action cinematography well. The fights are nicely chereographed especially the snowy mountain scenes between Snake Eyes and Jinx (Elodie Yung) versus red-cladded ninjas. You'll get explosions of cars and buildings (and people) and rapid combats that hardly leaves you with space to digest the plot and I think that was his objective.

The plot was as aforementioned predictable and does not explain how or why none of the original characters like the Baroness or Scarlet returned or where Jinx, Lady Jaye and Roadblock came from. It was for this reason that I asked you to treat it like a new movie rather than a sequel.

Would I watch it again?
Hell yes! I am in fact, watching it again today at the relaunch of TGV One Utama. But more on that later. G.I Joe: Retaliation makes up for where the original movie has fallen in terms of action sequences and eye-catching cast. You go in expecting mindless actions and that is exactly what you get.

G.I Joe: Retaliation hits the big screen this 28 March 2013.

DIY Pork Chops with Apple Sauce

One particularly disappointing experience of a restaurant had me craving for pork chop with apple sauce (yes, I know my craving can be very specific.) So I decided to try making my own pork chop and it was surprisingly easy. The recipe I used was a variant of one from My Recipes.

Ingredients
Applesauce:

2 tablespoon butter.

Click to see savings

2 red apples (peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped)

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

Pork Chop:

4 (5-ounce) bone-in center-cut pork chops

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoon butter.

 Preparation

1. To prepare applesauce, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add apples to pan; cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add 1/2 cup water, sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt to pan; cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover and cook 15 minutes or until apples are tender. Mash gently with the back of a spoon.

2. To prepare pork, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper; dredge pork in flour. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add pork to pan; cook 5 minutes or until golen. Turn pork over; cook 3 minutes or until desired degree of doneness.
Tip: Coat the pork with flour for a crispier exterior.

3. Serve with applesauce and salad or mash potatoes. And ta-da! Hassle-free homecooked pork chop.

I must say I was quite pleased with the way this attempt turned out. *pats self on back*

Become Mr Lens Affiliated

Hey, guys.

As some of you may or may not know, I am a contact-lense wearer. As a kid, I had a nasty habit of sitting very close to the television when watching Power Rangers, resulting in the deterioration of my eyesight. For years, I was taunted with the nickname 'Four-Eyed Nerd' due to my large thick glasses which led to my very low self-esteem.

Thankfully, my mom introduced me to contact lenses and suddenly life became so much better in all sense. Little did I know then that contact lenses would become a raging beauty trend with more and more people looking to diversify their looks.

Thanks to Mr Lens, picking your ideal contact lense has never been so easy. Catering from daily to monthly users, from recreational to convenience wearers, Mr Lens offers the largest inventory of contact lenses online in Malaysia at the lowest price. Some of the familiar names they carry are Freshlook, Acuvue, Freshkon and Air Optix amongst many others.

Mr Lens Affliated Program
Bloggers in Malaysia are in for a treat with Mr Lens Affliate program. In a few simple steps, you are your way to earning referral fees when your readers buy something from Mr Lens via your advertising banner!

Step 1: Head over to this link.

Step 2: To be newly affliate, click continue.

Step 3: Fill in your information and details. To find your SWIFT code, click on the link and find your bank. Remember to tick the T&C box!

 Step 4: You'll get this window. Just check your email as according to the instructions. Click continue.

Step 5: This is your Affliate Account page where you can check out your stats and traffic.

Step 6: Just copy paste this to your blog html, arrange to suit your layout and voila! You're all good to go!

Now all you need to do is entice your readers to shop at Mr Lens through your link, sit back and watch the moolah roll in!

On top of that, if you blog about this program and submit your blog post to the Butterfly Project Facebook here, you will also get to redeem two boxes of Freshlook Colorblends Lens from Mr Lens at the end of this campaign!

If you need more convincing to enter this program, one lucky Mr Lens Affliated blogger will walk away with a Nikon Coolpix 300 camera worth RM1200!

Mine! Mine! Mine!

So what are you waiting for? Start blogging! And non-blogger readers, start shopping!

RWGenting's YNOT Graffiti Competition Finale

Hey guys.

Have you seen these colourful bus stands around and about Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur?

They are the work of students from three colleges and of two artists for the Genting's YNOT Graffiti Competition. The competition is RWGenting's way of allowing the youth and the young at heart to express themselves by painting Genting's Outdoor Theme Park with their own creative input.  Check out this link to see the gallery of entries: https://apps.facebook.com/ynot_graffiti/

Cast your votes between 15th – 28th March 2013 for your favourite design. The winning artist will get the chance to unleash their creativity on the walls of Genting.

In conjunction with the Graffiti Art Competition, eight masterpierces by IACT, Alpha and Aswara colleges and artists Chekri and Nazmi have been placed on eight bus shelters around the Klang Valley.

Here are the locations:


Jalan Semantan by Alpha

Lebuh Bandar Utama by Alpha

Jalan Ampang by Aswara

Jalan Pudu by Aswara



Jalan Raja Chulan by Chekri

Jalan Barat by IACT

Jalan University by IACT



Jalan Sultan Ismail by Nazmi

Simply by tagging a picture of you with the bus stand artworks, you might stand a chance to attend the Finale Event on the 13th and 14th April 2013, up in Genting!

What are you waiting for? Either cast your votes today for your favourite design or grab your camera and start snapping! Good luck!

For more information, log on to RW Genting's website.  

Just Heavenly, Oh So Heavenly

Glorious cakes!

Bloggers and the media have been raving about this particular cafe located in Bangsar Shopping Centre. The brainchild of Nigel Skelchy and Allan Yap, Just Heavenly cafe offers a comfortable dining experience with a clear simplistic theme of calming blue, white and brown. Prior to visiting Just Heavenly, I tormented myself by reading up blog reviews on it and knew more or less what I wanted.

Simple inviting decor.

Sourdough with Nutella, bananas,
hazelnuts and orange reduction.

To start, I ordered the cinnamon toasted sourdough, topped with Nutella, delicious bananas and hazelnuts with a drizzle of orange reduction. The sourdough was toasted to perfection with a crunchy base that goes well with the Nutella spread and the lightly toasted bananas on top. A definitely must-try.

Moroccan Mint tea.

To cleanse my palate for the next dish, I ordered the Moroccan Mint tea which came in a triangular teabag to allow the tea leaves to seep better in the hot water.

The Classic Carbonara

Just Heavenly's Penne Carbonara comes highly recommended and I could certainly see why. The sauce was deliciously creamy and not too thick or too rich. With ample bits of bacon and mushroom, I could easily finish off the whole plate myself. My dining buddies who tried it too agreed it was one of the best carbonara they have tasted.

We also ordered Coconut Chicken Salad, Chicken & Avocado Open Sandwich with Cranberry Sauce. and the Tiger pie.

Coconut chicken Salad.

Coconut lovers would enjoy the Coconut Chicken Salad as the chicken slices has been cooked in coconut milk, giving it a nice juicy flavour. The chilli dressing offered a combination of sweet, sour and spicy to the salad made of cucumbers, pineapple, fried shallots, onions and lemongrass.

Chicken & Avocado Open Sandwich.

The Chicken and Avocado Open Sandwich was unusual for a lack of a better word. It looked like salad served on a fluffy pita bread but don't let its appearances fool you because it was delicious. While the chicken was juicy, the avocado was soft yet crunchy and the cranberry sauce complimented the entire dish with its sweetness.

Tiger Pie

The Tiger pie has no tiger in it but it does have beef.  Lots of it. The puff pastry was buttery and airy and soaked in the yummy beef sauce wonderfully. The beef chunks were succulent and juicy. On the side, a serving of mash, peas and gravy completed this wholesome comfort meal.

Durian Chocolate cake.

And of course, this being Just Heavenly, we must have their cakes to finish. It wouldn't be a complete affair without their famous cakes. The Durian Chocolate cake was just heavenly! (forgive the pun). The moment the fork sliced open the chocolate layer, the scent of durian hit us at full force, indicating its freshness. Real durian flesh was used for this delight, making it a definite must for durian lovers.

Key Lime Pie.

Another recommended slice of heaven (again, forgive the pun) to try was the Key Lime Pie. Unlike many places, Just Heavenly was really generous with the amount of cream which helped tone down the sourness of the lime custard. I dare say, this was one of the best Key Lime Pie I have tasted.

Carrot and red velvet cake.

We also had the Red Velvet and carrot cake but these two barely held a candle to the Durian Chocolate and Key Lime Pie in terms of flavour. Texture-wise, I would say they were moist with a good proportion of key ingredients like the cream cheese on the Red Velvet and crunchy nuts in the carrot cake.

Overall, food was a constant bullseye. Service was a bit slow but this was probably due to a lack of manpower at lunch hour. The waiter servicing us was accommodating and helpful in recommending dishes to try. Ambience was easy and relax and you don't feel the need to rush through your meals to make way for the next customer. Just Heavenly is a great place to just sit for 2-3 hours, catching up with friends over coffee or tea and cakes.

If this is what heaven is like, I would like to make a reservation please.

Just Heavenly indeed!

Just Heavenly Cafe
Level 2, West Wing
Bangsar Shopping Centre
285 Jalan Maarof
59000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603 2011 4866
Opening hours: Daily 9:30am – 10:00pm