Good Old TVB memories

Recently I've been watching a DVD of TVB's Once Upon A Time In Shanghai, the 1996 remake on the original TVB series "Shanghai Bund". Actually kinda funny how I found the DVD, it was in one of the 'popular' DVD hawkers in Summit USJ as I was just browsing their bargain tray of old movies going at really low prices.



Really loved this show as a kid, as I used to remember watching it on TV every night the series was running on our local television NTV7 or was it MetroVision? :D

Anyways, the 2nd time watching this show was really good because I had a better understanding of the matters in life compared to when I was a kid watching the show just because I knew there were a lot of witty characters in there. Hui Man Keong, the main protagonist is my IDOL!!! The principles and ideals that he surrounds himself with is just so...............SOUND AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING! (maybe more in a future post :D as I would really love to share his memorable quotes in the movies)


For those who have no idea about the show (which I doubt if you are a Chinese), the story revolves mainly around a young man named 'Hui Man Keong' and his rise to fame, fall from grace, revenge, love life and death in Shanghai. He started out as a student campaigning for the rights of China until he was put into prison and upon his release he came to Shanghai to start a new life as a new person with newly found life principles of self-preservation before the nation's interests.



For those who would like to know more read on but beware minor spoilers!!!



He always tells his long-time friends who comments that he has changed from being a nationalist to a capitalist mob, that 'the world is constantly changing, as do people do too'. In his rise to fame, he relentlessly outsmarted a lot of people, switched sides to whomever gave him the most benefit (but with a conscience of what is right and wrong) and even came close to 'betraying' his own country by co-operating with the Japanese on war weapons import. Despite that, at the end he gave into his own conscience and stopped the trade by killing a top-ranking Japanese militant and ended up a fugitive in Hong Kong and being pursued by mobs in the process. When his wife, unborne child and her family was killed, he swore revenge and headed back to Shanghai!


His love life was even more complicated as the one he loved was Shanghai's top mob's (Foong Keng Yew) daughter Fung Ching Ching. He initially refused to start a relationship with her even when she was in love with him, as he predicted anyone with him wouldn't be happy and there would be misunderstandings with her father but in the end he gave in to his feelings. They arranged for a marriage eventually but when he sabotaged a trading deal with the Japanese, he had to escape to Hong Kong and leave Ching Ching because he was being hunted down by her father. Although he married another woman in Hong Kong and came back to Shanghai for revenge, you could see from the portrayal that his love for Ching Ching never died.

'Captivating' Crabs

Well nothing captivating about the crabs, but rather the state in which they are captivated~! Just look at how they tied up the crabs in a neat, nice and fashionable manner (they are still alive!). This way the customers get to pick crabs at their whims and fancy, without any worries of getting messy or even clamped by the crabs.

This goes to show that some aspects of China might be better compared to Malaysia, if i am not wrong live crabs being sold in Malaysia still have to be picked from the 'aquarium' and they just wrap them in plastic bags in the end.

Iron Buddha Tea

Yes you are correct, for those who drink the chinese tea 'Tit Kun Yam' in Cantonese or 'Tie Kuan Yin' in Mandarin (pardon my pinyin hahaha). Well we have a direct translation and it's by Lipton too! But only found in China :)

I'm just surprised that the name of the tea was a direct translation of the Mandarin words, I thought Unilever (Lipton's brand owner) would have more creativity than this. Maybe 'Traditional Buddha Fragnance" or something might do :)

I dunno but if anyone has suggestions, why not post it in the comments :)

New Comic Blog

This is a new site created by me and a colleague of mine named Ee Ling, the comic strip zooms in on the typical woes which are faced by executives in today's world. The inspiration came from a fellow colleague sharing his grievances when we were having dinner. Do have a look at it, at http:\\executivewoes.blogspot.com. Image below is the one of the many strips available at the site.

Chili Ice-Cream!

That's right! I was shocked too the first time I saw it on my trip to China, but this is a true 'gelato ' with chili flavor :) In case you are wondering how it tastes like, I can only give you a description, it starts off with something like a very very light vanilla taste and slowly thereafter you'll experience some spiciness in your mouth. Very unique indeed :)

Now I wonder if there will be a market for it for the Malay and Indian audience :) I'll keep the blog updated with my other items from China.

Downfalls of the MacBook AIR

Well not really downfalls, but perhaps unspotted weaknesses at first sight?

Alright after sleeping on it for a day, and when all the hype and sex appeal of the new MacBook AIR has finally died down and where my logical brain steps in to mitigate the effect from Steve Job's reality distortion field, there are actually a few quirks about the MacBook that bothers me a little. They are:-

1. No Ethernet port and 1 USB port?
   Hopefully, all offices phase out Ethernet ports and adopts WiFi in Malaysia, otherwise you're out of luck for Internet connectivity. As for USB, guess you'll have to keep a USB hub nearby because if you're gonna plug in a mouse into it, then say goodbye to your Flash Drive.
   
   
2. Puny 80GB hard disk?
   Goodbye to loads of MP3s and videos. MacBook Air is just for documents! :P
   
   
3. 2GB RAM?
   Am I suppose to just really treat this as a business only affair with the MacBook? Anyways, 2GB with no expandable option doesn't really bode well considering Vista alone requires a minimum of 2GB
   
   
4. Built-in battery?
   Somehow I have a feeling that the battery is going to go kaput real soon this way, and when it happens you're out of luck if you think you can pop in another battery and just continue your work.

At this rate and price, maybe the Dell XPS laptops still look like a better alternative considering its price tag. But then again my lust for form over function may kick in when I see this thing physically :)

MACBOOK AIR !!!

Apple just announced its latest laptop, the MacBook AIR!!! OMG it's so thin, I just love the design! It's so thin it fits into a manila envelope!



Some key features:-

• Built in isight camera;
• Full-size keyboard;
• Black keys on white;
• Backlit keyboard;
• Generous trackpad;
• Multi-touch gestures on he trackpad.
• Rotate a photo;
• Next photo;
• Pinch and zoom;
• 1.8″ ipod drive;
• 80GB HDD;
• 64GB SSD option;
• Intel Core 2 Duo;
• 1.6GHz standard 1.8GHz option.

How to IM and get Microsoft to Donate to Charity Organizations~!

I really think this program organized by Microsoft should be publicized more. You can now help the world by just chatting using MSN Messenger! It's easy, you just have to do your part to 'change' (you are really just adding text) your nickname to incorporate Microsoft's text code and it will appear an 'i'm' logo in your nickname. That is all you have to do and Microsoft will share its advertisement revenues from MSN Messenger to the organization in which you have chosen in the text code. The minimum an organization gets is USD100,000!

For more details on how to do this and help do your part to contribute to charity, read on for instructions, or just click on this link.

If you think this post was great, do leave a comment ;-)

Click here for the text code

Jay Chou Potato Chips & Icy Mint Sprite

Was at Carrefour again shopping for food and lunch too. Grabbed a pack of Jay Chou endorsed chips! :) (Talk about celebrity power eh? Almost everything in China is celebrity endorsed). There's also a Jay Chou endorsed eye drops, I'll see if I can get that on a picture or video :)

And then here is my first Icy Mint Sprite, the packaging was absolutely eye-catching interesting but when it comes down to the taste, it totally turned me off. Yeah, it had a hint of mint but overall it tasted like medicine with mint flavoring! I think I'll still stick with the lemon-flavored Sprite

And as for the last photo above, although it may seem like a usual Carrefour Supermarket but what's special about it is that all these people are queuing up for rice! Carrefour started a promotion here which goes something like RMB1.00 for 1KG / 500g of rice (can't remember which one exactly) only on designated times of the day. So, if you happen to be there at that time, you will usually see a very long queue at the rice counter.

Paper-Thin Video Display

Came across an article by USATODAY, which reports that Sony has developed a paper-thin display screen. Makes me wonder what kind of gadgets will be available once they get this technology into the mainstream market.

More at this link :- USATODAY : Paper-Thin Display from Sony

McDonalds China Style! (Part 2)

Continuing with McDonald's China Style, I bring to you their version of our Quarter McPounder (don't really recall the exact name except the Pound part). I don't know what they call it in Chinese but for those who can read Chinese please be my guest to leave the name in the comments. Pay attention to how thick their beef patty is! Malaysia's McD really needs to BEEF UP!!!




And then there is the Sweet Taro Pie (sweet potato). I don't really fancy sweet potato but those who do should find it really tasty, and the color looks appetizing too :). I still love the orange pie though.




Lastly, I'm not sure if we have it Malaysia but even if we did it was only during some promotion period, but the Pineapple Sundae is part of their standard menu here in China. I think I better stay away from this, the pineapple cubes tastes more like plastic cubes and the syrup tastes so diluted

Will leave you all with so much for now, till next time then.

KFC Zinger : Big Mac Style!

While I was walking in a shopping center in China, I saw this ad for a new burger for KFC and it's really BIG! I'm gonna try it some day when I have the time and tell you all what I think about it but for now, have a look at the sheer size. I think one serving without fries will do it for my breakfast AND lunch. By the way, it's considerably cheap at RMB11, which works out to be around RM5.50.

Dim Sum Galore

As promised earlier, today I had a chance to take pictures of all my Dim Sum endeavors :). I'll start off with my all-time favorite, the Eggyolk Bun (they call it 'Liu Sa Pau' in Mandarin).

If you have a sweet tooth then this is definitely the one! Hot steaming sweetened egg yolk oozing out from the bun, and once you taste it, it starts off with a savory taste and ends with a sweet aftertaste.


Besides the Eggyolk Bun, I had a chance to try another bun, which if I am not wrong is called the Oatmeal Bun. It basically tastes like steamed buns with Horlicks (not to my liking).



Well, all was not sweet in the morning. I guarantee you'll be full if you just have the steamed buns for breakfast! Now, what we need for this Westerner is a steak! And a Miniature Steak it is! China's not famous for their beef, so I can't compare it to Australian and American beef, but I guess it's still OK.



Next up, SPARE PARTS! (YUCK!). Not a fan of spare parts, but all the Chinese here seem to fancy them, on top you will see a bowl of COAGULATED PORK BLOOD and also BEEF INTESTINES (Gotta find a better name for it, but they call it 'Niu Bai Yeh' in Mandarin).

Will sign off for now, meanwhile I will keep the blog updated with more China experiences. Have to get back to work right now (thankfully I am enjoying the food here so I can keep my mind off work for a while at least).

McDonalds China Style! (Part 1)

Since McDonalds is one of my favorite fast food chains, it would be a sin not to visit them in another country which I am in. Among the variations that I have seen in China, I will document each of them when I have the time to try all their offerings.

For now, I will show you 2 different things that you will most probably not find (if you have then lucky you, though I know Malaysia won't have it anytime soon).

First up, ORANGE PIE! I was so excited at the sight of an orange pie when I was there for a 'to-go' order. My first thoughts on cooked orange, was "Wouldn't it taste bitter, as oranges usually would after they are heated up?". But because orange is one of my favorite flavors, I decided to just try it out. To my surprise, it was sweeeeeeeeet and really tasty! Not only did that manage to maintain the orange taste but you can feel the texture of the orange peels, a definite must-try for those visiting China. Hmmmmm, now I'm wondering do they have a MdDonalds strawberry pie somewhere around the world?



Secondly, is really nothing special. In Malaysia, we call it Spicy Chicken McDeluxe (most probably you have other names in different places), a simple fired-chicken fillet with spicy flavoring in burger style. But the reason I highlighted this is because its fillet is so much bigger compared to the ones I have in my country! It's at least 2cm bigger in length and width, and its thickness it most probably 0.5cm more then what I have in Malaysia. Too bad I don't have any pictures of the Malaysian version for comparison but for Malaysian pals, judge it for yourselves from the picture.

Dinner Outing in China

I'm currently in China and on my second day of arrival I was greeted with a lavish dinner of 'exotic' and rare food. I forgot to bring a camera during breakfast and lunch so i can't share with you the wonderful 'dim sums' yet, but don't worry I'll definitely show them once I have a chance to. Meanwhile enjoy the following:-

1) Fried Chicken - Plain old ordinary chicken but fried to perfection with fattening high cholesterol pork oil :) (YUM YUM!) HAHA!



2) Roasted Goose - I initially thought this was roasted duck (similar to those Beijing roasted duck) but turns out when one of my friend pointed out to me that it was a goose and not a duck. DELICIOUS as you can see from the picture, its texture is akin to silky smooth skin and when bitten the juices that flow out of the meat simply fills your mouth with the tantalizing herbal juices used to marinate it. Definitely on my favorite list of Chinese delicacies.



3) Shark Meat Stir-fried With Vegetable - As for this dish, the only unique part was the fact that it had shark meat in it! Never thought that they would make a dish out of shark meat but I guess anything goes in China right? (I mean since they are killing the shark for the fins, why not utilize the meat too so that it doesn't go to waste). Well, if any one of you reading this wants to give it a try, I strongly DO NOT RECOMMEND it. It resembles your familiar taste of the ordinary fishball except with the difference of a very high price tag.



4) Duck's Feet Webbings - Initially this dish wasn't on the order list, but when the people on the table realized that my tolerance of alcohol was higher than they expected, they did not hesitate to add on another few rounds of liqour with this dish to serve as an 'appetizer' to the alcohol. I have to admit that it wasn't really spectacular, given that it feels more crunchy than anything else.



5) Duck's Intestines (I don't know how else to describe it) - For the finale, like the name suggests, we had duck intestines. I usually don't take animal's 'spare parts' but in this case I was in China and everyone on the table was urging me to try some..........so in the end I obliged. To my surprise, it was actually quite nice when dipped with a sauce which tasted similar to your salsa sauce. Although it looks kinda soft, but it's actually crunchy when you take your bite on it. So, for all those 'spare parts' lover, this is a recommended dish.

Massive 64GB Thumb Drive !!!

I was just reading through the tech articles and saw that there is now thumb drives with capacities up to 64GB!!!!

God! That is nearly 80% of my 80GB hard disk space. Makes me realize how far we have come in just a few years when I am now still using my 128MB thumb drive :P

Well see for yourself how small the drive is in the picture attached.

It's been a while

Yes, like the title states, it's really been a while since I have updated my blog on any issues. In fact, I am so busy with my ongoing project at the hotel that I don't have any time for myself either.

And to make matters work, a team member has been hospitalized so now it is up to the remaining of us to get work done. Recently, there hasn't been anything that significant for me to post, so hope you all will be patient.

Meanwhile, let's stray away from technology and let me show you my country's latest mini car. Not exactly my country's invention but rather a Chinese design locally manufactured, anyways give some comments on it. I felt that the front was a pretty nice touch but the back is really UGLY!

Windows on Mac! Finally!

At long last, Windows can run on an Apple Computer (the new Intel Macintosh). The solution was found by a contest winner from a contest held to find out the solution for running a Windows on a Mac.

The person walked away with $14,000. Well worth it I say, as now all people will get the best of both worlds with MacOS and Windows :)

Now windows can run on something more stylish hehehehe :)

If you want to learn how to do just that, they have published software required and with the instrcutions too. Just goto www.onmac.net

Hope everyone is happy with the finding.

Been busy lately but here's some Vista

I have been very busy lately and will likely be the same in the next 2 months as I have a project to undertake in my work (find ways to increase efficiency and/or revenue of a 5-star hotel) in Malaysia.

But I have a special treat for you guys who wants to know how the next version of Windows called Windows Vista will look like. I included one screenshot at the side.

Just click on the link below and you will be directed to ZDNet which has tons of the new Windows Vista pictures.


Link : http://news.zdnet.com/2300-9590_22-6043696-17.html

New Apple for 2006

On Tuesday 10th January 2006, a new tone was set for Apple Computer at the annual MacWorld Expo. It is official, Apple computers are now all loaded with Intel processors (dual cores too!).

They also unveiled a new notebook called the MacBook Pro, previously known as Powerbooks. Not much the change here for the new Powerbooks besieds the new processors used but there is a little nice touch called the MagSafe, which is a power plug which easily detacches off the notebook if the plug is pulled or jerked (especially useful if people keep tripping on your power plug :)). Click on the picture to see the animation and you will understand more :).

Well I guess for hardware enthusiasts like me, the rel deal here for Apple's 'new' products are not so much the revolutionary hardware or software but I will be really interested to see if we can be running Windows on these machine and if they can, boy !!! If I get my money I will be sure to get one of these to run my Windows. You can be sure I will update evryone on the possibilty of Windows on a Mac :)