My Favourite Stuff of 2018

Just realised I missed out on this great tradition last year. The horror! Well, it's back again. All of my favourite stuff from an eventful year!

Vacation 

Dubai

What an awesome time we had in Dubai! And it's not just the shopping; old Dubai has its own charm with the museums, the boat ride and souqs. And then there's also the desert for a one-of-a-kind adventure. If you have the moolah, dump it on Dubai : ) 

Book

Billion Dollar Whale

A gripping read. You can virtually see the movie as you're reading every step these scoundrels make.

Movie

Bohemian Rhapsody

I love music documentaries/biopics, so this is a no-brainer, really. 

Animation

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

An awesome cinematic experience. Damn, there's so much to like about this masterpiece. 

Song

Lihatlah

Hehe. I'm biased, of course. But so proud of this song that I got to collaborate on. And remember the name: Yazmin Aziz. 

Netflix Shows

Ozark, Line Of Duty, Happy Valley

We've had Netflix for a while now, but 2018 saw us bingeing on all the good bits. So many shows, so little time. And these were my three favourite ones!

TV Show

Kidding

Jim Carrey in a whole different light. Seriously, watch this bitter sweet dark comedy, folks!

Live Show

Guns N Roses

It was raining almost throughout the show. What an epic night!

Historic Event

GE 14!

Apart from my own personal milestones, this was the greatest day ever!

Food, Glorious Food!: Mee Bandung In Muar

We're in Muor and having the best Mee Bandung in town! It's at a typical Chinese coffee shop that also sells Malay dishes. Brilliant muhibbah spirit! The mee bandung itself is wonderful with thick gravy and packed with flavours. It's like how people would cook at home, without the frills to suit city taste buds. 👍👍😊 @ Mee Bandung Abu Bakar Hanipah

Food, Glorious Food!: The Halia, Singapore

Had an excellent breakfast at The Halia at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Tasty food with peaceful, green surroundings. Perfect!

Food, Glorious Food!: Well, Not Really...

 

We tried this new restaurant near our place yesterday after seeing some good reviews online. When we came in, we were greeted by these two young boys (16-18) who turned out to be the waiters (part time, or maybe related to the owner).

One of them took our order. We ordered 2 wet butter chicken rice sets. My wife then asked the boy what was inside the club sandwich. He didn't know, and went off to ask. He explained to us in an unconvincing manner. My wife said nevermind, and ordered the butter chicken rice as well. She also ordered carrot juice and said twice, "tak nak gula".

The first thing that arrived at our table was the club sandwich, which we said we didn't want. Then the 2 sets of butter chicken rice came. Then the carrot juice which was, you guessed it, NOT the "tak nak gula" version my wife ordered.

We changed the drink, but shared the club sandwich. The food was generally OK. But I was also looking at this guy whom we assumed to be the owner. When we left, we was playing with his phone instead of saying a simple thanks to his first time customers.

But really, why invest so much money in opening a restaurant and pay little attention to the BIGGEST part, service? Why get these two untrained boys to take the orders and talk to customers? Good grief.

The Great Heritage Project: Let's Get To It!

Every time I travel to other parts of the country, I usually rant about the same thing (actually, even to downtown KL): How our old, pre-war buildings are not well taken care of. 

These buildings are historically and culturally important and should be preserved and appreciated. But usually, you'll see them rotting away OR refurbished to look gaudy and unappealing. 

Recently, we took the trunk road from Tanjung Malim to Ipoh and we got to see all the towns in between, each with their own identity, their own set of beautiful old buildings. Happy to see that some have been maintained well, but others left much to be desired. 

Pls refer to pictures attached.

I know that most of these buildings are privately owned and not protected by the relevant laws, but speaking as a lay person, would love to see this become the priority of local governments. There should be more engagement with the owners too, and a masterplan to get everyone's buy-in, even the rakyat. (Do let me know if this is all being done.)

But yes, I am happy and encouraged to see this initiative by DBKL and CGB Consultants in KL! (Refer to pics below). 

Let’s also widen the scope so budgets could be allocated for even non-heritage sites. 

Come on, let's get this done folks!

My 7 Favourite Skyscrapers

I'm not a fan of heights, but I AM a fan of super structures and skyscrapers. And in conjunction with The Rock's latest film, here's the list of my favourite skyscrapers (that I've been to):


The Empire State Building, New York
Spent a few hours in New York City back in 2000, and this was the first thing I did after getting off the Greyhound bus. Didn't have much time, so I just admired it from the ground and asked some random mat salleh to snap my pic (fanny pack and all, haha).

Taipei IOI, Taipei
It was a rainy afternoon when I arrived in Taipei that day in 2003, but I was in awe when I first saw the building from inside the cab. It was near the hotel where I stayed , so took the chance to get up close and personal as well. I remember a similar shopping mall to KLCC there but not much more.

Eiffel Tower, Paris
My first visit was in 2010, but it was more memorable when I brought along the fam a year later. We stayed near the Gare du Nord and took the City Sightseeing Bus. I remember the bus taking a turn somewhere, and voila! - the Eiffel Tower was in our sights. Waaaahhh, was pretty much how we reacted : )

The Shard, London
There was a (short) period of time in my life when I would open the window every morning, and I could see this 72-storey magnificent structure.

Eureka Skydeck, Melbourne
Went up the 300-m Eureka Skydeck back in 2012. A great way to see most of Melbourne, definitely.

The Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur
Yes, of course. Even after all these years, you still can't get your eyes off it. Especially when it's all lit up at night. Sayangi Malaysiaku!

Burj Khalifa, Dubai
Ah, the tallest building in the world! And we went right up to the 124th floor this past January. It's really an awesome experience! You get a cool guided tour on the ground floor, and it actually takes only ONE MINUTE on the super-fast elevator to get to the top! And what a view from there! Totally worth the experience : )

Hey Look, I'm On Radio!

I've done radio interviews a few times in my lifetime, and each time I'd think, "Damn, this is no easy thing." Even after I've done 'live' TV hosting, especially with "Malaysia Hari Ini", and also those Steve Jobs-style product launches, I have always maintained that radio would still be the hardest for me. 

BUT that didn't stop me from taking up the opportunity given by Mr Radio himself, Halim Othman.

Halim is currently presenting on Suria FM for the sports-based program Grandstand. And since the end of last year, he had wanted me to be his partner! But it only came to fruition a couple of months ago, and now I'm a regular guest presenter on Grandstand!

I never felt comfortable sitting in a radio conti before. I felt like it was just too cramped, and you're basically isolated from everyone else. Unlike TV where the set is usually bigger and you have a crew fussing over everything, I always felt like it was a tougher proposition to conjure up the energy sitting all alone, or even with a partner.

But yeah, I took up the challenge. For one, I know Halim really well, and we are pretty much on the same wavelength. Our conversations have always been interesting, if I may say so myself. Haha. But this was also a challenge for him. He took this an opportunity for HIM to learn what he wants in a co-presenter, and so he's been guiding and coaching me accordingly.

And yeah, so far I've enjoyed the journey tremendously! The show is on every Sunday 10am to 12pm, and in that two hours we jam for 7-8 talksets. It's a mix between planned conversations and what come up spontaneously. Of course it helps that it's a sports show, and personally I have a LOT to say every time lah : ) What more with the World Cup now!

Not sure how long I will be doing this gig, but it's been an awesome ride so far. Only this past weekend we had someone saying, "Buat radio ni macam relax je kan?" Well, if only! I mean on TV, you might get away with things cos it's a visual medium, but your words obviously come out clearer on radio. Not that you are not allowed any mistakes tho.

So, do tune in to Grandstand! If you're not in your car, it's also online or just download the Suria app!

5 Things My Late Mother Taught Me..

5 things my late mum taught me:

1. Don’t swear (so I still feel guilty when I do it now sometimes)

2. Be kind, but fight back against bullies

3. Say “Please” and “Thank you”

4. Never EVER hit a woman

5. Always come home before Maghrib

(In my heart and mind every single day since she left us)

3 Days In JB

Yup, it had to happen lah. A vlog on my own beloved hometown, JB : )

Jalan-Jalan Dubai 2018

I've seen Dubai on transit before, but have never had the chance to explore it. Wifey, on the other hand, goes there annually on business, so she knows the place quite a bit. But she also made plans last year so that Tia and I could finally get a taste of the place. So yeah, our 2018 got off with a bang when we finally made the trip there!

So it was a first long distance father-daughter trip as we made the trip via Silk Air/Singapore Airlines. The journey there was a pleasant one, even with a three-hour transit at Changi. In fact, Tia quite enjoyed hanging out at Changi with so much to see and do.

In Dubai, we stayed at the Novotel World Trade Center, only minutes from the airport. It's a pretty busy place during exhibition seasons, but it's also close to everything you need; restaurants, stores and MRT station.

Anyway, we spent six incredible days there, doing loads of awesome stuff and enjoying every second of it. The weather too was kind to us, as it was in the teens most of the time. We were told that it was cooler than it normally is this time of the year, so yay us! Hehe.

And here are some of the highlights, as well as our 3-part vlog: Our Dubai Adventure!

We didn't get to go to that many malls, BUT we made it to the top 2 destinations; Mall of Emirates & Dubai Mall. But here's the thing; the malls were so huge that we probably got to visit, at most, 20% of the shops (although we made at least THREE trips to Dubai Mall alone).

Needless to say, the malls had everything under the sun. All the brands, all the restaurants, and they were all bigger and better! Good thing too that our hotel provided free shuttle buses to get there, so we did save quite a bit there.

We also took the MRT to get to the old part of Dubai to visit the Dubai Museum and the Dubai Creek. These are must-visits if you're ever there!

A friend also brought us on a yacht cruise! Damn, that really made us feel like some sort of hedge fund power brokers. Hehe.

Another highlight was of course the Desert Safari experience! It's incredible how they've managed to monetise empty land! There were tons of people on the same trip, relishing getting thrashed around in a 4x4, riding camels and having a barbecue dinner while enjoying bellydancers strut their stuff : )

And yes, we actually went up the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, for a bird's eye view of the city.

Enjoy a bit more of our pics, and please watch the vlogs!