People used to say “When in Rome”
“Do as the Romans do.”
Well.
This was probably not quite what they had in mind.
ADV: Maccing Around The World
This is one of my favourite movie scenes in Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.
John Travolta’s character asked Samuel L Jackson.
Travolta: You know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?
Jackson: They don’t call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese?!
Travolta: No man, they got the metric system. They wouldn’t know what the f— a Quarter Pounder is.
Jackson:Then what do they call it?
Travolta: Royale with Cheese.
Jackson: Royale with Cheese! Hahaha! What do they call a Big Mac?
Travolta: A Big Mac’s a Big Mac, but they call it Le Big Mac.
Jackson: Hahaha! What do they call a Whopper?
Travolta: Dunno man. Didn’t go into Burger King.
McDonald’s is the ultimate symbol of globalisation taking place. In virtually every country in every single part of the world, you are more likely to find a McDonald’s outlet than a Malaysian embassy.
I travel a lot, and I make it a point to go to a McDonald’s restaurant in every foreign country I visit. It’s always fun to spot the subtle differences in their restaurant menus.
The thing I like most about McDonald’s is that whilst their traditional menu is pretty much the same worldwide, they usually have special menu items to cater for different tastes in the different countries.
Like here in Italy, there’s a McFlurry made with Baci chocolates.
McSawadeekap
In Thailand, they have the Samurai Pork Burger (basically pork burger in teriyaki sauce).
In South Korea, you can get a Bulgogi Burger.
In India, there’s even something called a McSurprise Burger.
What’s in it? I don’t know. It’s a surprise. If I tell you then it wouldn’t be a surprise.
When I visited Egypt last year, I laughed my backside off when I found out their grilled chicken foldover is called McArabia.
In New Zealand, they have the Kiwi Burger that is not actually made of kiwi bird meat.
And if you ever go to the Phillipines, you can try out their McSpaghetti.
And how could I possibly resist my all-time favourite McDonald’s menu item, the Fan-tastic Rice Burger, which was sadly only available for a short time in Hong Kong and Singapore.
It’s this really delicious burger that uses rice patties in place of buns, and in between them are some shredded beef or chicken that oozes with yummy gravy. I still dream of that taste in my mouth after having tried them 2 years ago.
In Malaysia, the variations in our McDonald’s menu is quite admirable. Not many other places in the world offer Bubur Ayam McD or Ayam Goreng McD as standards on their McMenu.
You can NEVER get porridge or fried chicken at a McDonald’s in Australia. It’s just too weird to picture Ronald McDonald holding onto a piece of fried chicken.
I remember back when McD’s opened their first outlet in Kuching, and this was before they have Ayam Goreng McD on their menu. I brought my mom along and for the life of her, she just could not understand why a fast food restaurant does not serve fried chicken.
To her, that’s about as inexplicable as a kopitiam NOT serving coffee.
I haven’t been to a local McD’s in ages. But having visited so many of their outlets all over the world, I must say I’m impressed with how well our outlets measure up.
Nowadays you can chill out and even watch late night football at some McD’s outlets.
Many of their more popular outlets have gone 24 hours. Some even have a 24-hour drive-thru service.
And if you’re really lazy, there’s even McDelivery 24 hours available at certain locations.
I popped by McDonald’s at Sunway Pyramid recently and I noticed they now offer this McSaver menu everyday promotion.
Looks like the guys at the golden arches are getting generous, slashing prices off their best-selling items to help us save on the costs of living. As if McD’s aren’t cheap enough already.
The prices may be slightly dearer in Sabah and Sarawak, but there’s a good variety of great deals on the McSaver menu.
Cheap snacks like French Fries, Drinks and Apple or Banana Pies are only RM2 each. And if you add a ringgit more, you can get items like the Cheese Burger, Bubur Ayam McD, Nuggets, 2 Pies or even the Sundae at just RM3.
Then there’s the new Spicy Chicken Wrap, which is something unique only to McD’s in Malaysia. Can’t find it anywhere else, and now it’s only RM4.
The best deal from the menu? Most definitely it’s the Filet-O-Fish.
The Filet-O-Fish at McDonald’s is possibly one of the best around. Breaded fish patty on half a slice of cheese, topped lightly with tartar sauce and served between soft fluffy steamed buns. If there’s a better implementation of fish burgers around then I have yet to try them.
These buggers (no pun intended) usually sell for RM5.30, but now it’s going for just RM4 each.
Gotta be lovin’ it. 🙂
A Very Old Church
Italy is a country blessed with many old and beautiful catholic churches.
One of the greatest grand old churches in the world is the Duomo di Milano – literally, the cathedral of Milan.
I actually came across this building unexpectedly when I lost my way around the narrow streets of the city. The first time I laid my eyes on it, it took my breath away. With its imposing Gothic facade and its amazing spires rising above the surrounding designer boutiques, I was left in absolute awe.
It costs 7 Euros (RM35) to use the elevator. The views from the top of the cathedral are worth every penny of it.
Adorning the top of the tallest spire, holding a cross, is the bronze statue of Madonna. Not the singer Madonna. The religious figure Madonna.
The exterior of the Duomo di Milano is simply extraordinary.
There are at least 3,200 statutes, all intricately carved out of stones, marbles, bronze and gold, crammed onto the facade, pillars and buttresses of the structure. Eventhough parts of the building are still undergoing restoration when I visited it, the beauty of the cathedral is undeniable.
The complexity of building such a complicated structure got me wondering how much time it actually took to build a church like that. My travel guidebook said it was built in 1397 and wasn’t finished until year 1812.
That is a blardy long time to finish a building like that.
In Kuching, our oldest temple is the Tua Pek Kong which is probably only 100 years old. And to us, that is very old already.
In comparison, the Duomo di Milano is at least 600 years old.
The cathedral is so old, at least 11 different chief engineers worked on it. It is so old, it takes over 8 generations of builders to build.
Heck. It is so old, even the statues’ boobs start sagging.
The Last Supper
Leonardo da Vinci painted this way back in 1492.
Now, people like me pay 8 Euros (RM40) just to watch this piece of work for 15 minutes. Even a foot massage costs cheaper than that.
From the back wall of Santa Maria della Grazie church in Milan, Italy.
Jesus said to his twelve apostles, “One of you shall betray me.”
Happy (belated) Easter, Jesus.
ADV: INTI University College
Sometime ago, INTI University College (INTI-UC) invited me over to the campus in Nilai to cover its graduation ceremony for kennysia.com
It’s been ages since I set foot in a campus and my trip to INTI-UC brought back some warm memories of the good old times of my student days.
The trip was also my first time to Nilai in Negri Sembilan.
Nilai is a booming town that is ironically closer to the KL International Airport than KL city itself. I was picked up at the airport by one of INTI-UC’s officers who drove me straight to the campus.
The whole journey took us less than 20 minutes.
Too bad
INTI’s Nilai Campus has been around for a good ten years, and it does show its age.
One of the first things that impress me is how much emphasis is put on on-campus housing, or the “Halls of Residences” as they call it. There’s got to be at least 15 blocks of hostels here of different rates and configurations.
Parents come and dump their kids here so that they can learn how to become more independent. International and outstation students make it their home away from home. With such a large expanse of residential units, the university college can accommodate tons of boarding students.
Confucius is so confusing it makes me confused
Instead of following the usual way of naming their buildings Block A, B, C, D and so on, the Halls of Residence are named after famous scholars. So we’ve got a Block Confucius for Block C and a Block Darwin for Block D.
Maybe it’s to inspire students. Or maybe it’s the work of evil people who wanna make people confused.
The room I was put in was in the “Shakespeare” block. Though old, the unit is large and well-furnished. It comes with an internet line provided free-of-charge, but too bad you can’t download too much data over it.
Fair enough. You’re meant to come here and study, not download MP3s and watch Youtubes dammit.
It’s no five star hotel but it’s a lot better than most hostels I’ve seen which smell so bad not even homeless people would wanna stay in them.
All the creature comforts are concentrated here. There’s an ATM machine, a convenience store, a hair salon, a computer shop and a cybercafe all located in the same area.
It’s not all fun and games here of course. They do have some common rooms here in the Halls to encourage group studies.
Recreation-wise, students are spoilt for choice because there’s a gym, soccer field, squash courts, badminton courts, basketball courts, pool tables and even an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
Something interesting I heard about the swimming pool. Over there, every Thursday night is Ladies’ Night.
Unlike at the pubs, Ladies’ Night there isn’t a time where all you lovely ladies out there can pop by and get a free drink. Ladies’ Night at the INTI swimming pool is the time where only girls can use the swimming pool, and no guys are allowed.
So guys, remember to pack your binoculars.
Right across the road from the Halls of Residence, linked by an overhead bridge, is the campus’ illustrious academic wing.
It feels a little bit more “authoritarian” over here. Nestled among nicely landscaped gardens, the long corridors, brightly lit classrooms and uptight labs give it a feel of campus life.
The environment here is lovely. The acacemic wing of the campus is kinda similar to what you see in those Taiwanese college drama series like Meteor Garden.
Without that stupid boyband F4.
It is very quiet. There isn’t a lot of things to do on this side of the campus ground apart from going to classes, going to the labs and using the library.
Come to think of it, there isn’t a lot of entertainment or distractions around Nilai in general. The town is isolated from all the entertainment and shopping malls of KL. Depending on how you see it, that could be a good thing or a bad thing.
Optimus Prime learns how to write
If your purpose of going to college is to study, then it’s a good thing.
If your purpose of going to college is to party, it’s a bad thing.
Like most private university colleges in Malaysia, INTI-UC’s main attraction is its 3+0 degree programmes where students can study at INTI-UC and graduate with degrees from UK’s Coventry University and University of Hertfordshire.
They also offer degree transfer programmes where you can do part of your studies at INTI-UC and complete the rest overseas.
No doubt INTI-UC has a peaceful study environment and the students there do really concentrate on their studies. Many of them come to Nilai to study only and nothing else.
It is very obvious, because they all have that look on their face that screams, “I’M A VIRGIN.”
Sorry for being mean. 😛 But of course, not all are like that.
Some of the students are kinda cool. I spotted this bunch that looked like they should be accompanied with some hip hop music from P Diddy.
Nilai is very laid back. Even without modern day entertainment outlets like cinemas, shopping malls and nightclubs as distractions, the students here sure come across as a happy bunch.
They spend most of their free time participiating in club and society activities. Through these they get to know lots of new friends.
I think I might die of boredom if I ever live in Nilai. But boredom isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
When you strip away all the superficialities of a big city, I guess you bond with people around you a lot better.
Some graduates I spoke to really cherish the new friends they made there, to the extent that they said their time at INTI-UC is the best time of their lives.
Nilai residents’ most favourite past time is staring blankly at plants and watching them grow
No ,I did not graduate from INTI-UC. But my short trip to the campus brought back nostalgic memories of my student days.
Although I’ve been out in the workforce for almost 5 years now, it was during my uni years that I’ve grown up and learnt the most.
Things hadn’t always been smooth sailing of course. I remember the nightmares chasing assignment deadlines, working on Matlab, making friends with Ohm’s and Kirchoff’s Laws, learning everything about FIR, FFT and DFT until I wish the lecturer would just bloody STFU.
Yes, it was torture. But it was worth it.
I left my uni a much mature and better person in the end.
Diving With The Poor Knights
While I was in NZ, I had my best diving experience ever at a place called the Poor Knights Islands.
The Poor Knights Islands are called that way because from the way they’re shaped, they kinda look like chess pieces of knights that have fallen down.
They are located 40 minutes away by boat from the remote coastal town with a funny name called Tutukaka, which itself is some 150km north of Auckland.
Diving in New Zealand ain’t cheap. Then again, with views THIS amazing, I couldn’t resist forking out the NZD$190 (RM500) it is required for the experience.
Believe me, it was worth every single penny of it.
There was nothing quite like dropping down below the crystal blue waters of the Pacific Ocean to find yourself surrounded by masses of beautiful marine life, kelp forests and an abundance of underwater caves.
It was beautiful. An explorer once described Poor Knights Islands as one of the top 10 dive sites in the world, and I agree. Diving in NZ is definitely very different to diving in the tropics back home.
Superman goes diving in New Zealand
The water is cleaner. The visibility is clearer.
The fish in NZ are bigger.
Kinda like the women here too.
Our dive guide brought us down to 30 metres – the deepest I’ve ever done. We explored a submerged cave and went through what they call an “underwater chimney”.
It was the most awesome experience ever.
When we entered the cave it was pitch black and I couldn’t see anything. All I could do was paddle hopelessly in the dark. As we continued to swim aimlessly forward, suddenly this faint blue light came in from the end of the tunnel and I’m bathed in it.
Swimming through that hole, it almost felt as if I was born again. I felt alive!
Now I know what new-born babies went through when their mother squeezed them out.
With water so clean and clear, I got up close to many sea creatures, like this tulan-looking moray eel. My guide pulled me away immediately after I took that shot because apparently this eel was coiled up ready to attack.
The only problem going that deep down is that I used up my oxygen tank rapidly. By the time I got up the boat after the first dive, I was so sick and drowsy that I puked over the railings twice – something the Kiwis onboard joked as “more food for the fishies”.
It was worth it though.
The one thing that continually impressed me about diving in NZ is how clean and pristine the Kiwis maintained their waters. For once, the destination truly lived up their brochure description of an “untouched paradise”. I saw not even a single dead coral nor a speck of rubbish (except for my puke) while diving at Poor Knights Islands.
It’s amazing to see how gung-ho the Kiwis are on the climate change agenda. Every New Zealander has the habit to do all they can to protect their environment, and any damage to the natural habitat of wildlife is heavily frowned upon.
Over there, anyone caught littering in the ocean will be thrown into the water to physically retrieve it. Over here, all we seem to know is how to pay lip service about “protecting our environment” and not do anything about it.
And that’s really unfortunate.
It’s unfortunate because Malaysia has among the world’s largest bio-diversity, and yet we do not really seem to know how to treasure what we are blessed with.
One example is the turtles we have in Malaysia, like what Su Ann said.
Our turtle nests have been decreasing at such a scary rate.We don’t know how blessed we are. People from all over the world travel to our doorsteps to watch our giant turtles hatch their eggs in their natural habitat. And what do we do?
We sell those turtle eggs for RM1.60 each and eat them openly in the restaurants. Smart right?
The reason the Poor Knights Islands in New Zealand is so beautiful is because it’s virgin and untouched. Everything there was left as it is with minimal development.
If the Poor Knights Islands were located in Malaysia, I bet you two coconuts that the place will be filled with all types of buildings in no time.
It’s the same thing here in Sarawak. It’s next to impossible for tourists to see our famous orang utans in the wild anymore because of all these massive deforestation that’s been going on. When you rob these gentle creatures of their natural habitat, where else could they go?
There’s no space left.
In Malaysia, conservation is always playing second fiddle to economic development and convenience.
I think it’s ridiculous, and really sad. Compared to countries like New Zealand, we certainly have a lot of catching up to do. Old habits are hard to break, but something about our attitude towards conservation has gotta change.
So after reading Su Ann’s blog, this is what I pledge to do.
I used to eat turtle eggs everytime they were offered to me. I pledge that from now on, I will stop doing so.
I used to do sweet nothing-at-all when people throw their rubbish off the boat. I pledge that from now on, I will give them hell.
I used to scold people using “chao turtle”. I pledge that from now on, I will not use turtles and scold them with “chao chicken” instead.
Every little bit helps mah.
WWF-Malaysia runs a fantastic turtle conservation program to protect turtle habitats and educate local communities, and I pledge my support for them.
My first action start with a small donation of RM3 by sending an SMS with the text “WWF<space>my full name<space>my e-mail” to 39398. It’s so easy to do, I did it and I urge everyone to do the same.
Some people may be skeptical about donations, but there is nothing to worry. More information, including audited reports on how the donated fund was spent, can be found at wwf.org.my
Change may not come overnight. But hey, hopefully every little action we do will mean something, and ultimately influence those around us.
This community message is brought to you by kennysia.com 😉
Too Fast, Too Furious, Too Tired
My travel schedule has been absolutely crazy this past week.
No thanks to my perfectly planned schedule being disrupted by the elections, my two weeks worth of commitments were all pushed back and lumped into one single weekend.
That’s not an ambulance plane. That’s just an airplane from Swiss Air
Some people say they envy my life.
Well my friend, you DO NOT want to live my kinda life. Especially not when it involves jumping on 5 different flights to attend 4 different events in 3 different cities. It’s way too hectic.
The way I look at it, hopping on an aeroplane is a bit like having sex.
It was exciting the first few times you do it. But after a while, it just feels so bland and normal.
(Disclaimer: This statement in no way implies that Kenny Sia is getting any. Kenny Sia is still a virgin. Just like Chua Soi Lek.)
Last Wednesday, I took a 7am flight out from Kuching to KL for the filming of Malaysian Dreamgirl.
The girls were getting their photoshoots done for Women’s Secrets lingerie and I was there to work the show.
Fiqa
Under normal circumstances, watching twelve girls modelling in their bras and panties is supposed to be a very exciting thing.
Yeah, of course I was excited at first. Which guy wouldn’t? It’s not everyday a guy gets to witness a lingerie photoshoot right?
Nadia
Problem is, we started filming at 3pm and didn’t finish until 4am the next day. That’s 13 hours of work to sit through (and we ended up using only 8 minutes of my footage). Not to mention I didn’t get much sleep the night before because I caught an early morning flight.
By the end of it all, I was so NUMB and TIRED I did not even get a kick out of looking at hot chicks in skimpy clothes anymore.
It was scary, ok?
Seriously, I was beginning to worry if my disinterest in women was caused by me being too tired, or if I was turning gay.
The following day, I was flown to Bangkok to do a TV commercial.
It’s for a Malaysian snack food company. And no, it does not involve me grabbing a transvestite’s boobie.
It was fun because it was my first time acting in front of the cameras. The thing is, I had no idea it would take so long just to film a 30 second commercial. We took 12 hours in total, starting early at 6am and finishing at 6pm just to get the whole thing right. It was hard work and I was just one of the supporting casts, not the main guy.
The reason why it was filmed in Thailand is because the Thais are known for making superbly hilarious commercials. Funny Thai commercials are all over Youtube.
This one is no exception.
I wish I could tell you more, but I couldn’t. It was a very interesting experience for me and a real eye-opener working with the Thais. If I’m not mistaken, I might possibly be the first Malaysian blogger (who’s not a trained actor nor a model) to be asked to appear in a big-budgeted TV commercial.
Suffice to say, you will see the commercial here FIRST before it hits the TV screens once it’s completed.
The advertiser who hired me has told me that, and the premiere of this TV commercial will happen on kennysia.com. 🙂
I wished I could enjoy Bangkok more but unfortunately I had to cut it short.
I told Timothy I wouldn’t miss Nuffnang’s first year anniversary party for anything and I kept my word.
Saturday night, I flew from Bangkok back to KL and immediately rushed straight to Borneo Baruk Club where the event was held.
Dawn Yang of dawnyang.com
Because of my flight, I arrived late and came in only when the event was starting to draw to a close. Nonetheless, it was nice to meet up with so many Malaysian and Singaporean bloggers, and everyone had a really good time.
A few people noticed already that I looked tired, and that’s true. Fact is, I hadn’t been eating or sleeping right for the past few days.
That night, I myself didn’t sleep until 3am. And then I had to wake up at 5:30am to catch another early morning flight.
This time, I flew from KL to Johor Bahru to deliver a blog seminar at the Landmark IT Mall Computer Fair. With barely 3 hours of sleep, the kids attending my seminar must’ve wondered why the organisers had invited a zombie to talk about blogs.
In the evening on the same day, I flew back to Kuching.
When I finally reached home that night, I was already tired as a hamster.
So really, a typical week in the life of Kenny Sia is too fast, too furious, and honestly not that easy to handle. A lot of sacrifices has got to be made, particularly on my social life. If there’s any consolation, at least I am getting paid for most of these side projects. It is a lot of stress, but at least it is fun and it is something different.
I just really need to take a break though. So I’ll be away tomorrow for the rest of March to escape, recharge my batteries and hopefully think of new ideas to pump back into kennysia.com. Ironically, that would involve stepping on the plane again to go to a foreign land.
I need to do that, else I’d really go crazy.
Don’t worry, I’ll be back.
If Thais Speak Hokkien
Reader Hugh Koh sent this in to me from his Bangkok tour bus.
I don’t know what to say.
Maybe they just wanna show people where the toilet is.
Jay Chou World Tour 2008
It was absolutely mindblowing.
Say whatever you want about him.
Call him overrated, call him an untalented actor, call him a sell-out. At the end of the day, there is absolutely no doubt that Jay Chou is THE biggest star to come out from the Chinese music industry.
His sold out concert at the Stadium Merdeka proves just that.
The funny thing is that I wasn’t even supposed to be at the concert. I just happen to be in KL around that time when I found out about the event.
Hotlink, as one of the co-main sponsors of the event, was gracious enough to extend a media pass for me. In return, I’m to cover the event on kennysia.com – which I plan to do so anyway. 😉
Thanks to Hotlink, I attended the Jay Chou World Tour concert in KL as part of the media contingent.
May I just say out of all honesty that the marketing comms people from Maxis are among the nicest I have dealt with. Not saying this just because they gave me free tix to the concert. I have dealt with hundreds of marketing people in my line of work, and the attentiveness of the two girls from Maxis, Catherine and Sham, are easily head and shoulders above the rest.
As if it wasn’t good enough that I attended the concert of a music artiste I idolised for so a long time, I was allowed to be in the media pit located right in front of the stage.
By 8:30pm, the spotlights were dimmed one after another. I could literally feel the electricity in the air.
The ground beneath my feet was rumbling. The 26,000 strong crowd were screaming their lungs out in pitch black.
Before long, dancers dressed as terracotta warriors scuttled out on stage for a short opening sequence. A floating platform emerged from beneath the stage. On that platform is the headliner himself – Jay Chou.
Just the mere sight of Jay live in person drove the entire Stadium Merdeka into a wild frenzy.
Dressed in what can only be described as an elaborate piece of purple ancient warrior costume, Jay opened with a fast-paced number Huang Jin Jia (Golden Armor) from the movie soundtrack Curse of the Golden Flower.
Rocking to the sounds of this energetic rock song, the Malaysian fans from the front to the back of the stadium screamed, jumped and danced to their heart’s content.
Jay Chou responded by tearing off his coat…
… into something a little lighter.
Some say this outfit makes him look like a Chinese Michael Jackson, and I couldn’t agree more. 😛
Sadly, we were only allowed to be in the media pit for the first three songs he performed. After my time was up, I was moved to the ticketed section on the other side of the stadium. But not before I caught this incriminating photo.
HOR! WHAT IS THIS?! Lyrics on the TV screen!?
Too bad got lyrics on the screen, he still didn’t use it. Quite a few times during the concert, he forgot the lyrics to his own songs and impromised by muttering some nonsensical gibberish.
Blame his lyric writer Fang Wen Shan for writing such cheemology Chinese.
After the first few uptempo songs, Jay followed up with his more soulful melodies like Zhui Hou De Zhan Yi (The Final Battle), Bu Neng Shuo De Mi Mi (Secret) and Tui Hou (uhh… Go-stan?)
A lot of effort was put into the visual presentation of each set of his performance, and I love it.
For Niu Zai Hen Mang (Busy Cowboy), he got his posse to dressed as clowns and Vegas showgirls. They even did a line dance and Jay Chou wiggled his ass on stage.
I thought was damn gay, but the fan girls love it anyway. Jay Chou mah. Anything he does, they’ll suck up to it one.
Jay Chou’s musical career started because he loves to play the piano, and the audience was treated to see just how good he is at it.
His famed crystal piano made an appearance during his performance of Hei She You Mo (Black Humour). Here, Jay showcased his amazing piano skills, playing Chopin’s many pieces before breaking into solos for songs like An Jing (Quiet) and Zui Chang De Dian Ying (The Longest Movie).
It was just him and the piano, and it was all really very romantic. It was so romantic that you could propose to any girl in attendance, and they would willingly accept your hand in marriage.
To watch Jay Chou perform these classics live on the crystal piano is already worth the price of admission itself, but he gave us more.
Chinese theatrics accompanied the performance for Qian Li Zhi Wai (Thousand Miles Away) and Qing Hua Ci (Porcelain Vase), which he sung beautifully like he was singing Chinese opera.
Another kick-ass moment was when a giant red shoe and two ah lian dancers appeared and danced around Jay Chou during his performance of Ye Qu (Evening Melody).
The outfit those two dancers wore reminded me of this one girl who auditioned for Malaysian Dreamgirl. Those who watched the first episode will know which one I’m talking about. 😉
Sexy tango dancers in red for Mi Die Xiang, which is a jazzy lounge-y number.
One of the girls had a HUGE smile on her face when she got to do her tango one-on-one with Jay.
The highlight of the concert for me was when Jay Chou introduced his proteges Nan Quan Ma Ma onto stage. Armed with a musical instrument each, the group held a very cool unplugged session. They interacted with the crowd, talked about Malaysia and performed re-worked versions of some Jay Chou classics like Ren Zhe and Shuang Jie Gun.
This part of the evening was my favourite because it was as intimate as it could get. Definitely one of the rare times I see the singer-songwriter side of this often times very commercialised artiste. He even sang a brilliant Theresa Teng classic Ni Zhen Me Shuo (How Do You Say), dedicated to the older fans in attendance just so they don’t feel left out.
The concert lasted for about 2 full hours.
Twice, Jay Chou teased the crowd by exiting the stage and dimming the spotlights, prompting all 26,000 of his fans to yell “ENCORE! ENCORE!” Then suddenly he’ll pop out and make everyone cheer like crazy again.
But eventually it was time to draw the concert to a close.
The finale was damn awesome. Jay rapped to Shuang Jie Gun, holding the microphone on one hand and playing with a nunchaku on the other.
For the final few lines of the songs, fireworks boomed and shot up to the skies everytime he sang “HUR!”. It was so cool I can’t even begin to describe it.
Personally, I thought the concert was exceptionally well done from top to bottom!
I totally enjoyed myself. Jay is always known for being shy and introverted, but at the conert he entertained us with such vigor and intensity. That just goes to show what a talented performer he is.
Some songs he sang at the concert also brought back some memories. During my student days, it was Jay Chou’s songs that took me through many uni assignments, many friendships and heartbreaks.
It was surreal yet at the same time nostalgic for me to witness this same person performing live in the flesh right in front of me. It was like somehow he played a part of my life.
For that, I’m really appreciative being given an opportunity to witness Jay Chou live in concert. Never in my life would I expect to be given this chance. Thanks again, Hotlink. 😉
Here’s a video I took on snippets of the Jay Chou World Tour concert in KL.
One thing I know for sure, this wouldn’t be the last time I attend his concert.
ADV: Even Malaysians Can Be Irish On St Patrick’s Day
Everyone wanna be Irish on St Patrick’s Day.
Even if you’re just a poor clueless little Malaysian.
St Patrick’s Day on the 17th March is a holiday originating from Ireland, where the Irish feasts all day long to commemorate the death of their heroic patron saint. Legend has it that good ol’ St Pat banished the snakes from Ireland and into the sea, thereby saving Ireland from certain doom.
Not much is known about the snakes after they’ve been banished into the sea.
But I’m pretty sure those snakes swam across the ocean into Malaysia, where they eventually grow up to become Petaling Street vendors.
No wonder they always try to rip people off!
Still, it was funny how last time when St Patrick caught snakes he was regarded as a hero.
Nowadays if we try to “catch snake” during working hours, we get scolded by our bosses.
Ridiculous.
Anyway, I was invited by the good guys at Guinness for the media launch of their St Patrick’s Day celebrations in KL. With good food, good company and freeflow of Guinness Draught offered all night long, of course I jumped at the opportunity lah!
The event was to kick-start a month-long celebration of all things Irish and Guinness. After enjoying such immense popularity worldwide, Ireland’s favourite black beer is bringing the spirit of St Patrick’s Day to Malaysia.
And I think it’s fair that they bring St Patrick’s Day to us. After all, we gave them like… Chinese New Year?
The evening was cheery and jovial despite it being a media event. We were served not just Guinness Draught, but a nice selection of sushis, nachos and quiches as well. Truly international!
Even the Guinness Draught served that evening was unique. The ice-cold beer was poured into the glass, then placed on a special surger unit to create “the perfect pint” – black at the bottom, and a creamy layer of froth on top.
Halfway through the celebrations, a bunch of dancers came out wearing some outrageous hats with famous buildings on them, to signify how St Patrick’s Day is celebrated internationally.
Sorry lah, but the last time I had to wear something like that on my head was when my teacher punished me in primary school.
Fortunately, the real part of entertainment that evening came later, when Emmanuel Stroobant from AFC’s Chef In Black showcased his culinary skills in front of the live audience.
The celebrity chef was tasked with coming up with a dish using Guinness as its key ingredient. It was really quite amazing to watch how he did it. I thought the guy is simply gonna pour Guinness on a rack of lamb and just say, “Nah, that’s your dinner!”
But no.
He smoked it.
He iced it.
He ground it.
Chef Emmanuel’s cooking demonstration sure beats me trying to cook Maggi.
In the end, the chef came out with Guinness-flavoured ice cream, and what can only be described as Smoked Guinness Lamb. It was really quite special.
I mean, if you asked me how to make Smoked Guinness Lamb, I’ll probably just get a lamb, feed it some Guinness, stuff a bunch of cigarettes in its mouth and say, “Nah, your Smoked Guinness Lamb”
The good news is, throughout the whole of March only, everyone can enjoy these good Guinness infused cuisine at participating outlets throughout KL.
Bossa Nova at Parkroyal, Bulldog, Delaney’s, Jarrod & Rawlins, Nikko Hotel and Sevenatenine will all be serving their own Guinness-inspired creations specially for St Patrick’s Day.
In the meantime, see if you’ve got the luck of an Irish by playing the game at guinness.com.my
There’s phat prizes to be won if you’re one of the top three scorers: a Dell Inspiron laptop, a Canon Ixus digital camera and an Apple iPod Touch. That’s some pretty flash prizes just for playing such a simple game.
The celebration in Malaysia will culminate with the main event – the Guinness St Patrick’s Festival this Saturday, 15th March at Plaza Mont’Kiara.
There’ll be some serious entertainment going on from 5pm onwards. Not forgetting of course – loads of beer, a slice of the Irish culture, and the magic of the Chef in Black himself.
If you love to party, there’s no reason not to be at Plaza Mont’Kiara this Saturday.
It’s the next best thing to celebrating St Patrick’s Day in Ireland itself. 😉