Fang-tastic experience at LEGOLAND’s Halloween Brick-or-Treat Party Nights

Pixs by Laura Lee and Anthony Tan

LEGOLAND staff led by its interim general manager Young Pil Kim (in yellow tee) showing the LEGOLAND hand sign with the kids.
 

It’s my first time joining LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort’s Halloween Brick-or-Treat Party Nights. Started since 16 September this year, this event is held every Friday-Saturday until 29 October, which happens to be Deepavali.

We drove from Kuala Lumpur to Iskandar Puteri, Johor on 23 Sept and arrived slightly past 3pm. After checking in our luggage at LEGOLAND Hotel, we headed for LEGO Kingdom located inside its theme park where the event is held.

To find your way to LEGO Kingdom, follow these purple footprints

The event venue was decorated in Halloween theme. There were lots of pumpkins around the place and where the food is displayed. Placed on our round table where I’m having my food are cotton wool that reminds me of cob webs.

Since we missed our lunch at Market Restaurant, one of the food and beverage outlets inside the theme park, we welcome the spread at the event venue. The chefs were quite creative in decorating the food based on the Halloween theme.

Brushing my reservations aside, I tried the green looking witch finger pretzel pods but found the bread crust inside had softened.

With the speeches over, we waited anxiously for the announcement of the shortlisted candidates for the children’s best dress costume contest.

I was elated when my friend Nannie Isa’s daughter dressed like a pontianak won. I had expected her son in Manchu attire and hopping like a ghost to bag a prize too but he didn’t.

To me, the interactive Halloween Show with LEGO Frankenstein and Witch ain’t that “terror-rific.” Perhaps it’s because I’m a jaded old journalist. Anyway, such shows and the many Halloween themed activities that have been organised are meant more for the kids.

For the Brick-or-Treat this year, there are 10 pop-up huts where the kids can collect goodies from the various sponsors such as MILO, Staedler, Julie’s, Haribo and Ribena, Canon. Wish I was a kid once again when I saw what Phil’s daughter had collected.

I quite enjoy the Monster March at the start of the Party. They were playing Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

I met up with some of the characters in the Monster March when I made my out of the theme park later. I decided to join them and scare some of the people in the outdoor theme park.

During the Brick-or-Treat Party Nights, the park hours is extended to 8.30pm. Kids who come in a costume enter for free. Tomorrow is your last chance to do so!

I had wanted to don my witch hat but couldn't find it the whole nite before we set off for the trip. Ugh!

 

Visit www.LEGOLAND.my for more details.

 

Tiara Desaru Seaview Residence eyeing more long-term stay tenants

Pixs by Anthony Tan

Did you know that the 579-unit Tiara Desaru Seaview Residence (TDSR)  in Johor was formerly known as La Cemara Desaru Resort Condominium and that it was graced by Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan during its grand opening?

At a recent press conference with a group of Chinese bloggers and media who were hosted for their stay here from 1-3 October 2016, TDSR’s new owner Dato’ Sri Jacky Ker Cherk Yee (in the centre), who is Premier Plus Property Consultant executive director says he bought over this property for around RM190 million after it was rehabilitated and completed by MB Resorts Sdn Bhd, the white knight for this abandoned project.

The RM190 million includes its refurbishment cost. According to the TDSR release distributed to us, this is the first condominium in Desaru to provide hotel service to its buyers and residents.

Ker says the TDSR still has 100 fully furnished condominium units open for sale with prices starting from RM500,000. Apart from its units for sales, TDSR has some 150 units reserved for short-term or daily rental to tourists and business travellers.

The spacious suite we stayed in is provided with clean towels, a kettle, a fridge and more than ample kitchen cabinets, which we did not use since ours is only a short stay.

It comes with two bathrooms. While a toilet roll is provided in each bathroom, only one of the bathrooms is given a small bottle of shampoo and shower gel. Fortunately, as seasoned traveller, we brought our own personal toiletries and hangers along.

I welcome the television sets provided in our bedroom and living room, which allowed us to watch our favourite programmes aired on different channels at the same time.

Ker is looking at reducing the numbers for short-term stay to 50 units as he is targeting for more long-term stay, adding that its team can provide value add services such as housekeeping, food and beverage as well as laundry to its residents or tenants for a fee.

For instance, its long term tenants can opt for weekly or monthly services. Its long-term lease from RM1,600 a month while TDSR release puts its daily “homestay” rate as starting from RM250.

Spread over 10 acres of land, the amenities at TDSR include swimming pools as well as garden and beach side cabana barbeque areas. Near block E where we stayed, we have our own private pool. We shared with Ker that the trend is now moving towards salt pool instead of the chlorinated ones.

Cycling is another activity that one can do around TDSR and its vicinity, including the beach area as it has a flat and solid surface. 

Try to catch the sunrise at the beach when you are staying. A few of our newly met blogger friends did so and were rewarded for their patience at around 7am to 7.15am on 2 October.

Visit www.premierplus.com.my or www.tiaradesaru.com for more details on TDSR.

Vivatel KL's Seafood Galore promotion

By Laura Lee

I love seafood and thus did not turn down the invitation to review Vivatel Kuala Lumpur's Seafood Galore promotion on 2 September 2016 at its Retro Café. Its release informs me that I'll be experiencing the "freshest catch of crabs, oysters, mussels, slipper lobsters, prawns and more from the sea".

As I surveyed some of the cooked dishes, my eyes were attracted to its huge prawns wrapped around in pandan leaves. I quickly picked up a piece after most of the other media had taken photographs of the cooked dishes.

I was not disappointed either when I went for its seafood on ice, relishing its fresh oysters with lemon juice squeezed on it and accompanied with Tabasco sauce while I waited for my seafood selection to be grilled.

I was recommended by one of its staff to try its Japanese marinated baby octopus served with young mango kerabu. I like baby octopus and these were quite big sized ones.

My grilled cod fish, prawns, crab and slipper lobster was finally cooked. There is a wide choice of sauces to go with them but I opted for none as I wanted to enjoy the natural sweetness of the seafood. I finished what was on my platter except for the crab which did not get to be cooked fully.

I found out later that you can also ask its chefs to cook the seafood for you in other variations like with sambal or chilli if you like it spicy. 

Careful not too over eat, I made sure I have enough room for the fish curry. I went for a meaty piece instead of the fish head and asked its Chinese chef to put in some lady fingers, brinjal and tomatoes as well. My colleague asked the chef to whip up for him seafood curry instead and it looks yummy.

This curry dish goes well with the soft and fluffy Hainanese white bread. I opted for the prata instead and have no regrets.

The chefs here can also prepare for you different types of seafood noodle. All you have to do is to select your ingredients. I asked if the sang har noodle could be done but wasn't given a positive answer.

However, one of the chefs was quite obliging to do an oyster omelete for us but it was not what we have in mind and I was not the only one who found it a wee bit queasy to swallow those big oysters down our throats. We were dreaming of the oh chien that we get at the hawkers' stalls where some starch base is.

To wash down the taste of the oysters, I went for some ice cream at the dessert corner whose selection is quite varied but there's only so much one can take for buffets.

Although there is a section where you can also have the seafood done steamboat style, I'll be trying them on my next visit with some friends since I find its RM58 nett promotion rate for those aged 55 and above quite reasonable.

Its normal rate for adults is RM88 net and RM48 nett for children aged below 12 years old. For every 10 paying adult, the 11th person dines for free. This Seafood Galore promotion is only available on Friday and Saturday from 6pm to 9.30pm.

Don't wait too long to check it out as we do not know how long this promotion will end. Those interested can call the hotel at 03-92058888 for to make their reservations at Retro Café.

Eat Travel Write Putrajaya here I come!

By Laura Lee

The night before the start of our Eat.Travel.Write (ETW) Putrajaya programme on 16 December morning, inevitably the conversation in our group chat was how to get to our new meeting point, Putrajaya Sentral, as indicated in our latest itinerary from our organiser Gaya Travel.

Our earlier tentative programme had KL Sentral as the meeting point. It was a venue most of us are familiar with unlike Putrajaya Sentral. Participants to the ETW Putrajaya programme were informed that they could park inside Putrajaya Sentral for RM4 a day if they were driving to the venue.

Since it is costly to park at the KL International Airport, the more seasoned travellers have been parking their cars at Putrajaya Sentral, especially those for three to four days' travel. Parking here would work out to be cheaper than taking a taxi to KLIA.  

See the number of cars
already parked along the road at 8.30am on 16 Dec '15

A few weeks ago on a Sunday when I was shown Putrajaya Sentral by a developer, I could see cars parked indiscriminate-ly along the road. I was told that the authorities are quite lax about issuing summons to the cars along the road where white lines have been drawn.

For those of us heading for Putrajaya Sentral from KL Sentral, we have been advised to take public transport to avoid the morning crawl.

Although I have travelled from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya many times on the MEX Highway, which has proven to be a breeze, driving during the early morning or peak office hours on this stretch can be quite nightmarish. 

I decided to take the KLIA Transit train. A check with the website, www.klia2.info, showed that the one-way fare costs RM9.50.  

Since the website also provides information on the time schedule, it helps me to plan my travel arrangements for the next day. I was elated to find out that KLIA Transit offers 30% discount on the normal fare for senior citizens who are 55 years and above.

I occasionally commute on the KTM Komuter from Kepong to KL Sentral or Mid Valley but do not qualify for senior citizen privileges as most places, including hotel restaurants, give discounts to those who are 60 years and above.

I eagerly tested out on 16 Dec morning the genuineness of KLIA Transit's offer for seniors like me. All I had to do was to show Mykad (Malaysian identification card) at the counter to qualify for the discount.

I was given a receipt which shows that my discounted RM6.70 fare is valid for travel two hours from the time of issue. By the way, there’s a KLIA Transit train plying every 20 minutes from 6.03 am.   

Owing to the efficiency of the KLIA Transit service, I arrived very much earlier than our 9.45 am appointed meeting time. It gave me the opportunity to explore the Putrajaya Sentral station, which has a board announcing that come 1 January 2016, the fares will be increased.

New rates
The normal fare from KL Sentral to Putrajaya will cost RM14 one-way in 2016 but if you were to buy it from the self-service kiosk, you can save 10% and pay RM12.60 instead. 

Use these kiosks to enjoy more savings

Apparently, a 10% savings apply for those who buy their tickets on the website or app.

The board also mentioned that you can enjoy 20% cash rebate and pay only RM11.20 a trip if you use your credit cards during promotion.

The good news for senior citizens, they still get the 30% discount for their one-way fare for 2016 alongside with the OKU (or disabled) cardholders.





Why I shy away from the National Achievers Congress 2013

By Laura Lee
For the 21st National Achievers Congress (NAC) 2013 to have been conducted annually since 1993, I found the level of organisational skill and professionalism displayed by its event organiser Success Resources to be sadly lacking from the outset.

I was elated when I received an invitation from one of the publishers that I had worked with before that I would be given two complimentary tickets to attend NAC 2013.

All I had to do was to submit my details such as name, email and mobile number (no.).

When I encountered some technical difficulties in my online registration and alerted the organiser via email, SR sales and marketing executive David Tan called me and took down the details of the complimentary ticket for the second person over the phone.

If I thought the whole registration exercise was resolved, it was not so as they got the email address of my friend wrong. Thus, he did not receive any email notification of his registration being confirmed.

I received my ticket no. via email and alerted David about the non-receipt of the ticket no. for my friend. He assured me it would be sent in due time.

The email also provided a layout plan of the seating arrangement. Since our tickets are complimentary, we were given the general seats, which are the furthermost seats from the stage.

On 29 April, I received an SMS of my ticket no. which I am supposed to show the organiser in case I do not print my e-ticket. The ticket no. was different from the one that was emailed to me while for my friend, both his ticket numbers tally. The tickets are non-transferable.

I called David the next day over the confusion of my ticket numbers. He informed me they are facing challenges and assured me that since I am registered, I should have no problems gaining admittance despite the different ticket numbers that has been issue to me.

Although the dates of NAC 2013 were changed to 1-3 May from 3-5 May because of the 13th general election (GE) which has now been fixed on 5 May, it was not an issue with me.

When I told David that I could not check the NAC’s programme on its website, he told me they would be announced during the event. I think it is very poor show when you do not know the itinerary before you go for an event.

When I asked about one of the speakers whom I know, Groupon Malaysia’s founder and chief executive officer Joel Neoh, David informed me he would be speaking the next day (1 May) at 9.30am and reminded me that registration starts at 7.30 am and to be there early if I want to collect my goody bag as it is one a first come first served basis. The door gifts were the least of my concerns.

On 30 April, I received another SMS which reads, “Gender Reminder: NAC 2013 … Hall C Level 1. CEO” The word “gender” caught my attention. I thought it was one of the SMSes on the GE.

If this SMS is coming from SR CEO as indicated by the last word of its SMS message, I am now having more doubts as to the standard of this annual congress. I was, however, thankful that the SMS told me where to go when you are at the venue.

Making my way to The MINES Convention Centre in Seri Kembangan, Selangor was a breeze that morning as it was a public holiday.

I was told to go the registration room where I could hear the speaker in the next hall. I was given a form to fill in my details. I asked the event crew, “Why am I given a form to fill in my details all over again when I had done my online registration earlier?” The reply was, “It is a waiver clause that I have to sign.”

To cut down the jargon used in its form on the legal notices, as a participant of the NAC 2013, you are asked to sign away your rights to take any photos and do any audio visual recording of the sessions, which is the exclusive right of its organiser only.

You grant SR to use you for their advertising, trade, promotion, exhibition and other lawful purpose.

The organiser does not guarantee the “completeness, reliability and current accuracy of the materials” and clears itself of making any “promises or representation of income”.

SR also has to right to make changes, including the speakers’ line up.

The form states that “If you are unwilling to agree to these terms, you do have to participate in this event” and reiterates that SR assumes “NO RESPONSIBILITY or liability whatsoever on behalf of any participant with the information and materials provided through this event.” (The caps aren’t mine.)

The form ends by saying the participant’s “only representation, guarantee, and recourse is a refund of your purchase price”.

Except for the signature, date and ticket number and mailing address, you are required to provide in the form details you had earlier given when you register online. I did that just to get the process over with and was given a wrist band to wear which would allow me entrance to the NAC 2013 for the three days’ duration.

The wrist band was glued loosely so that I could slip it off when I’m taking my bath at home. How thoughtful of the organiser but what came to mind was something else.

With SR so particular about the non-transferability of the ticket for admission to the congress, this was just the loophole the participants needed.

I entered hall C past 10am. It was filled with people. The event crew was still waiting for the extra chairs to arrive to accommodate late comers like me.

Meanwhile, they tried to slot us to the empty seats in front, which to me defeated their efforts that people like me are supposed be seated at the back rows.

The sound was so loud in front that I refused the empty seat shown to me. I found one in the middle of the hall. The speaker Cheri Tree’s voice was booming away as she shares with the audience on how to “crack” or decipher the different personality codes to help you achieve your sales.

She was talking about the characteristics of the nurturing personality type when I left the hall, which was not conducive. Also, I did not feel good with my friend still waiting for a seat and being told that later his ear was suffering from the piercing loudness of the sound system.

I left also because it was not Joel who was supposed to be speaking and nowhere in the booklet that was given to me when I registered was there any information on the programme for this congress for the next three days.

The booklet features 17 pictures of the speakers on its front cover and repeated the pictures of the speakers followed by a brief profile on them. Nowhere in the venue did the organiser attempt to put up a tentative programme either on who will be speaking at a certain time.

The booklet given contains a message from SR chief executive officer, advertisements, a page on the organiser’s upcoming events for this year and 40 blank pages where you are supposed to write your notes.

At the bottom of these blank pages with carry the heading “NAC 2013: Step Into Your Greatness”, there is a line which says these pages are copyright and all rights reserved if you thinking of reproducing it in any form without SR’s written consent.

I could not help but laugh at all these legalities. Who in the world would want to reproduce these blank notes?

On my way out, I received another SMS asking me to come early the next day to avoid the traffic and a reminder that “multi-billionaire from China will be on stage” the next day and a special one-hour session with KC See from 7.30am although the door opens at 8am.

What the organiser fails to realise that high achievers like to be in control of their lives and want to plan ahead, and not subject themselves to an organiser who likes to keep the information to themselves and release it when it suits them.

I am glad I am not a paying participant. Otherwise, I would have fumed much more at such treatment.

Great fun @Tokyo Street promotion area in Pavilion KL

By Laura Lee

Tomorrow (30 April) is the last day of the two-week long Japan Art Exhibition, which is held at the Tokyo Street promotion area on level 6 of the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. For those who still have not been to this new section of the shopping mall, do make a stop over here.

I had a most enjoyable time here when the shopping mall created some fun activities for us media to participate in so that we would get to know Tokyo Street more intimately.

Before we were divided into various groups according to the colour codes, some of us had the opportunity to have a drink first at Komugi Cafe housed in the Tokyo Street promotion area before the fun began.

There are in total 40 kiosks here while the rest are lots. While waiting for the others to arrive, some of us dabbled our hands in origami, learning how to fold a sakura.

A number of us thought that this would be one of the activities that we would be required to accomplish in this “explorace” but it was not to be so.

Don’t worry if you can’t get some of the steps correct while making your sakura as there is a helpful instructor around. Once done, don’t forget to add your sakura to the tree as you will be rewarded with a free voucher.

I didn’t pin mine up to the tree as I wanted to treasure the first sakura I made, thanks to the help shown by the instructor.

Once divided into our various groups, our first task was to dress up our chosen candidate in a kimono or yukata. Since one of the guys in our group had his hair tied up at the back and looked very much like a Japanese youth, we decided that he would be our best representative.

We were glad we selected him as we learnt later that it was easier to dress a guy in yukata than a lady in kimino. Being the first group to accomplish that, we from the red team felt very much elated.

We had to accomplish the other tasks in the various stations and were given 20 minutes at each of these stations. We had to decipher the clue given in the envelope to decide which is the selected lot or kiosk to go to accomplish our task.

At our first station, we have to figure out the different flavours of mochi that were given to our team to try. We accomplished that within 20 minutes and were told that we have a good head start against the other teams.

Our next clue took a while for us to figure out which was the kiosk meant in the clue that was given but we finally found it but there was another team there already.

We were told to wait for the other team to complete their task first before we could do ours. Our insistence of not wanting to wait for our turn paid off as the event organiser and kiosk owner cleared a space for us to start on our quest.

We were given micro-sized nano building blocks and had to make the structure specified in the picture. We wrongly placed two of these blocks and struggled to remove it. The kiosk owner had to help us get that two tiny blocks out.

When we were at Legoland in one of our media familiarisation trips and were given the opportunity to create some structures, we were given each a tweezer to enable us to remove the blocks, which were much bigger than these tiny nano blocks designed by Kawada in Japan for those aged 12 and above.

The reason given why these blocks are designed to be so tiny is “The smaller it is, the more realistic the work becomes!”

I won’t advise that these blocks land in the hands of children below the specified age group as the packaging for these nano building blocks has a choking hazard warning and stipulates that it is not for children under three years old.

When the results were revealed later, only one team managed to accomplish this task within the time given. It was certainly not us as we lost so much time trying to get the two blocks out.

In our next task, we were supposed to capture several Polaroid shots of what depicts Tokyo Street and it must have one of us in the picture. We took a photo of one us shopping at Daiso, one of favourite Japanese outlets where most of the items are sold for RM5 each.

We got a bit carried away in our photo selection for this task but had great fun nevertheless decided which kiosk or outlet to select at the Tokyo Street promotion area.

In our last task, we had no choice but to wait for the other team to finish eating the burgers before we could start on ours.

While some of us figured out the two Japanese words that we are supposed to say before we start and end our task, the others watched the demonstration on how to make the burger as they have to make it later for our team to eat it all.

We did it again within the stipulated time and rushed to deliver this envelope to the last station, which we thought was where the sakura art origami counter was.

It was not so. We finally found the correct kiosk where a man was waiting to receive our last envelope. We were so confident that we would be the winning team and overlooked the five minutes penalty for not accomplishing our nano building block task.

Although we turned out to be the first runner up, we had great fun. Our team members each received two pieces of limited edition Tokyo Street tea tray and a nano building block set.

I and some of our red team members took a picture for remembrance

The tea tray is given as a free gift to customers for every RM50 spent. There are four different motifs to select from.

One of our team members was busy shooting our participation throughout the game and stopped only to join us when we asked him to pose for one of the Polaroid shots with oversized Kitty cat and Doraemon soft toys.

In the last task, he lent us his assistance again in finishing the burger and figuring out the Japanese words. It was good bonding among us and lots of fun although we were not the champion team to take home RM3,500 worth of prizes.

Currently, also on at Pavilion KL is the KakiSeni Festival 2013 which culminates in the 10th annual BOH Camerionian Arts Awards on 1 May.

For more details on its happenings, visit www.pavilion-kl.com.

MAHB assures klia2 will be opened on 28 June 2013

By Laura Lee

Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MABH)’s release on its first quarter performance for 2013, which just came in, addresses a rumour that has been rife in the market regarding the scheduled completion of klia2, the new low-cost carrier terminal.

The airport operator said, “With regards to the construction of klia2, MAHB has noticed that some of the contractors continue to be behind schedule. The contractors, however, have reaffirmed their commitment to work towards the completion date of 28 June 2013.

“MAHB will diligently monitor the progress and will be meeting the contractors, airlines and agencies again soon to determine their readiness towards the date of 28 June 2013.

“MAHB wishes to reiterate that all stakeholders must be ready without compromising safety, quality and operational efficiency in completing klia2.”

At the inaugural flight of Air France to Kuala Lumpur on 23 April, I was alarmed when one of the industry players involved in transportation industry shared with me his concerns that klia2’s opening might be delayed possibly until the end of this year.

I was informed that of recent no photographs were allowed to be taken at the construction site of klia2.

I bumped into Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERLSB) chief executive officer Noormah Mohd Noor at the Air France’s function and asked her for her comments about this matter as ERLSB has been tasked with the construction of the RM100 million ERL’s extension to klia2.

Her immediate response was, “No comments” but on after thoughts she added that on their part, they have delivered their side of the bargain and kept to the schedule.

Since I was back at the KL International Airport yesterday for the inaugural flight of Turkish Airlines, I could not help but check with MAHB communications staff and officials who were present. I was assured that klia2 scheduled opening would remain at 28 June.

From left: Tourism Malaysia director general Datuk Mirza Mohd Taiyab, Turkey ambassador in Malaysia Her excellency Serap Ataay, MAHB Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad, Turkish Airlines board member Ismal Gercek and Azmi at the cake cutting to commemorate Turkish Airlines' resumption of flights to KL after more than a decade 

One of the assurances came from MABH senior general manager (GM) of operations services Datuk Azmi Murad, who was supposed to have left for the Airport Cities World Conference and Exhibition in South Africa as he is one of the speakers.

MAHB GM of corporate planning Randhill Singh was the last minute replacement for him as the speaker for the conference session on The Global Report, which addresses the unique economic, geographical and cultural challenges in airport city and aerotropolis development.

I asked Azizah Aziz, Tourism Malaysia senior deputy director from the director general office for her comments on klia2’s possible delay in its opening. Her reply was she is happy as long as klia2 opens this year.

This new target date for klia2’s opening was mooted by the prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who had wanted it to coincide with KLIA’s launch date in 1998. He made the announcement on 5 January this year.

The earlier date set for klia2’s opening was this month (April).

At MAHB's recent annual general meeting, its chairman Tan Sri Dr Wan Abdul Aziz Wan Abdullah had reportedly maintained that klia2, which was 82%, was on track to begin operations on 28 June.

However, research houses like RHB Research Institute Sdn Bhd and CIMB Research have raised questions about klia2 being able to meet its targeted date.