Search This Blog

Friday, March 30, 2018

MELTINGLY GOOD: A EUROPEAN CHEESE RACLETTE

The wheel of cheese on the Raclette machine is heated to the right temperature and scraped onto a plate, to be enjoyed with condiments such as bread, raw vegetables, fruit, meat, potatoes and many more.

If the only melted cheese you’ve tried is on pizza or a toastie, then you have a lot to experience in the incredibly satisfying world of molten cheese. But when it comes to melting cheese not all cheeses are equal – some melt better than others, allowing unlocked textures, flavours and taste to ooze out. Being a cheese lover, I sure you will like watching the cheese melt and its flavour.

Chef Pierre Gay, a cheese master, cheese connoisseur and expert from France, shared his extensive knowledge on European cheese through a Raclette party jointly organized by the French Interbranch Dairy Organization and European Union, to promote the pre-eminence and finesse of European Cheese.
The beautiful assortment of condiments such as sliced capsicum, carrots, mushrooms, meat as well as pickles, grapes and pineapple, to be enjoyed with the various types of European Cheese.

“Raclette is a fairly new concept in Malaysia and for a country that loves cheese so much, this is an experience that Malaysians do not want to miss,” explains Chef Pierre Gay. “Raclette is a cheese made of cow milk that has been broiled or melted under direct heat until oozy and a bit crispy and usually scraped over potatoes, crunchy vegetables or cured meats” says Chef Pierre Gay.
Chef Pierre Gay, the cheese master, cheese connoisseur and expert from France explaining what Raclette means and demonstrating a Raclette machine at the European Cheese event on 22 March at Cocott’ KL.

He went on to explain that watching the cheese melt and being scraped over the food is part of the sensory experience of a Raclette. Chef Pierre Gay is the owner Pierre Gay Fromagerie – one of the oldest cheese houses in Annecy, in the Rhone-Alps in eastern France. The fromagerie known in the region for its fine cheeses was started in 1935, and Pierre took over the company in 1989 from his father. Pierre’s dedication and efforts paid off when he was crowned Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) year 2011, a recognition of being the top in his trade.

He stated the secret to choosing the right cheese for a Raclette is the moisture content “The more moisture the cheese has, the better it melts. Generally European cheeses are more suited for Raclettes and the favourites are the signature Raclette Cheese, Emmental and Comte. Once melted they will have a nuttier, sweeter flavour.”
Chef Pierre Gay demonstrating the suggested pairing (roast potatoes) for Raclette cheese

With a mission to educate the public in Malaysia of the different varieties of European cheeses, and how best to enjoy them, Chef Pierre Gay gave an insight into the world of European cheese through a Raclette Party recently at Cocott’ KL.

Members of the media and guests also had a chance to melt and enjoy Brie, Reblochon, Fourme D’Ambert, Comte, Saint Nectaire, Gouda and Scamorza over table top Raclette machines, enjoyed with various cooked and raw vegetable such as Sliced Fresh Pepper, Button Mushroom, Tomatoes, Corn Kernels, Sliced Green Onions, Pineapple, Baked Potatoes, Cooked Carrots & Peas, Sliced Conference Pears, Sliced Green Apples and Seedless Grapes along with different meats including lamb, beef bacon, smoked chicken and sausages. The tantalizing spread also featured baguette bread, trimmings such as silverskin onions, gherkins/cornichons and spices such as pepper, salt and chilli flakes. 
(from left) Chef Pierre Gay, the cheese master from France, Richard Krystkowiak representing SOPEXA and Chef Jean Michel Fraisse posing in front of various types of European cheeses demonstrated at the Raclette fete on 22 March 2018 at Cocott’ KL.

The Chef used Raclette cheese which he melted in a large Raclette machine, then scraped over the cured meats and condiments to the delight of the guests. “The Raclette cheese is an excellent melting cheese and the main cheese used in raclettes and fondues. Pungent yet savoury, the Raclette’s pH level gives it the perfect melting point resulting in a molten liquid that is stringy and holds its shape at the same time,” he added.



(from left) Chef Pierre Gay, the cheese master, cheese connoisseur and expert from France and Chef Jean Michel Fraisse, speaking about the various types of European cheeses, their flavours and ideal pairing condiments for a Raclette feast

Considered to be one of the most versatile foods in the world, cheese can be eaten as it is, paired with a classy wine or even incorporated into any dishes – from cold to hot, sweet to spicy, from appetisers to desserts – most cheese recipes only need a few additional items added to the star ingredient to make them fantastic. With stringent quality control and regulations in Europe, European cheeses are always of the highest quality, and the best cheese products are readily available to the consumers in Malaysia.


A Raclette which is a new concept in Malaysia is a great way to enjoy European cheeses and can be recreated easily at home to be enjoyed with friends and family, giving the traditional cheese platter a noveler and enjoyable upgrade. Organise your own Raclette Party and get ready to melt into an epicurean journey with the world’s best European cheeses.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Blackout Fest turned theme park’s Surf Beach into a special outdoor festival in the dark


Sunway Lagoon’s Surf Beach welcomed guests to its first Earth Hour Blackout Fest – in conjunction with the global Earth Hour initiative by encouraging guests to switch off non-essentials for an hour to conserve energy. The night’s celebrations went beyond merely turning lights off for a memorable night of entertainment and togetherness. It's first time that Sean and I attended the Sunway Lagoon Earth Hour Blackout Fest!

The blackout event kicked off on a high note with life-sized board games such as the 4-D Twister and Giant Jenga, water activities including the FlowRider, and exciting Dome Bouncy House and Gladiator Challenge inflatables.

Guests “lighting up” the Earth Hour block letter
Guests were spoilt for choice at the food corner with varieties from Cubes Pizza, Starbucks, Nathan’s Famous, Burger King, and local flavours such as char kuey teow, roti canai, roti John, fresh coconut water, teh tarik and more!

The Earth Hour initiation commenced at 8:30pm when all lights were turned off and the giant block letters that spelled “Earth Hour” were lit. The hour of darkness lit up beautifully in the dark, and the Surf Beach echoed with serenades of live performances by talented local artists, The Impatient Sisters, V5 and RazQa.

The Impatient Sisters putting on their hauntingly beautiful voices

Guests were further entertained through the blazingly captivating Thumbuakar Fire Performance and the night concluded with Sunway Lagoon’s original choreographed production, the Tale of Mount Berapi.

Sean Choo, General Manager of Sunway Lagoon commented, “Earth Hour is not just about conserving energy, but to disconnect from gadgets and reconnect with people. We have our local artists on board to this event for an extra special night, aside from the fun and interactive activities to get public outdoors with their family and friends. Apart from the day park’s attractions offered, this shows that we are still one of the best avenues for the Best Day Ever!”

The 4D Twister activity
Wave at bigger and wilder splashes at Sunway Lagoon’s Aqua Run 2 this coming 22nd April 2018 (Sunday) where participants will go through 12 fun zones at the fun run spanning 3.5km!
All package purchases are inclusive of entrance to Aqua Run and Sunway Lagoon’s park admission ticket at only RM150 (price applicable for Malaysians). More details are available at www.sunwaylagoon.com/aqua-run-2.

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Refresh Your Car! with automotive fragrance

The official launch with the VIPs holding the mockups of the 4 product formats for Refresh Your Car!®  in Malaysia from left to right: 
- Mr Thean Ong Khee and Mr Sam Tan Suang Jak with the Dual Vent Stick 
- Mr Alberto Ramirez-Icaza with the Mini Clip Oil Diffuser
- Mr Lee Kim Chye with the Gel Can 2.5 oz
- Mr Aaron Abner Ang with the Dual Scented Oil Diffuser.
 Shopping for automotive fragrance? Do check out the on going roadshow of Refresh Your Car at 1 Utama Shopping Centre. Today is the last day to shop there, you can check out the full range of Refresh Your Car! scents and products formats available in Malaysia, with four booths evoking the scent categories - Fruit Garden, City, Beach and Snow-Capped Mountains.

"In recent years, Malaysian residents are registering more than half a million new passenger vehicles every year. Meanwhile, in this tropical climate, unpleasant odours can often linger in our cars despite our efforts to keep our cars looking and smelling good. We see this as an opportunity for us to enter the automotive fragrances segment in Malaysia. With Refersh Your Car!'s patented odour elimating and masking technology, we are extremely confident that we can offer an impactful difference to car owners in Malaysia, who face the impact of humid weather on their cars every day," said Aaron Abner Ang, Senior Brand Manager - Malaysia, Singapore & Indonesia, Energizer Holdings Inc.

Energizer Malaysia expanded its brand portfolio in Malaysia on 23 March 2018 with the official launch of the Refresh You Car! automotive fragrance brand - one of the leading automotive fragrance brands in the United States. Energizer Malaysia's holding company, Energizer Holdings bought over HandStands Holding Corporation, the former parent company of Refresh Your Car! in 2016.
 Refresh Your Car! air refresher products are offered in four formats in Malaysia:
  1. Vent sticks unique to the brand
  2. Mini-clips oil diffusers
  3. Dual-scent oil diffusers
  4. Gel cans
 Consumers will be able to experience the brand's odour eliminating and masking technology in action through demonstrations and also enjoy the Virtual Reality Drive with Refresh Your Car! at the roadshow. 
 Refresh Your Car! products are available for purchase from 23 March 2018 at all AEON stores and other selected supermarket chains. For more information, you can viist www.refreshyourcar.com

Saturday, March 17, 2018

ENERGIZER® SHOP IN THE DARK 2018

Busy lifestyle didn't stop me from taking some times off. Anyone short of batteries, listen up as there's chance to win shopping spree worth up to RM12,000 each? Get your shopping carts ready and get energised! Grab your chance to be one of the lucky ten (10) participants to win a shopping spree worth up to RM12,000 each with the return of the ever popular Energizer® Shop In The Dark campaign! Energizer®, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of primary batteries and the Maker of the World’s Longest Lasting Battery is launching Energizer® Shop In The Dark 2018, bringing back the popular competition for the third consecutive year – now bigger and better than ever!


“The high participation level and public enthusiasm for the Energizer® Shop In The Dark campaign for the past two years has motivated us to not only bring it back for the third year running, but to make it more exciting than ever! We have even bigger prizes and more ways to sign up this year so don’t miss your chance! We are making our roadshows and our Virtual Reality challenge at the roadshows more accessible than ever – by bringing the roadshow to more than 60 locations in seven cities around Malaysia – including to Sabah and Sarawak for the first time,” said Aaron Abner Ang, Senior Brand Manager – Malaysia, Singapore & Indonesia, Energizer® Holdings Inc.


The call for entries for this year’s Energizer® Shop In The Dark 2018 contest is open from 14 March until 31 May 2018. Entry submission can be done beginning 14 March by participating in the Virtual Reality challenge at the roadshow locations; or beginning 15 March by submitting entry forms online or via mail-in, or by playing the online game on the competition microsite. Consumers can submit entries through any of the methods or even all three methods, making it easy for members of the public from states outside the roadshow locations to participate. Every entry submission via the Virtual Reality challenge and the entry form submission will require new proof of purchase comprising a minimum RM15 worth of Energizer® or Eveready products in one receipt.


A total of ten (10) finalists will be chosen - six (6) from the Virtual Reality challenge participants, three (3) from the contest form submissions and one (1) from the participants of the online game. All ten (10) finalists will participate in the grand finale where they will each have 10 minutes to shop till they drop in a shopping spree worth up to RM12,000 per finalist. The grand finale will be held at a location and date to be announced later.

The dedicated microsite for Energizer® Shop In The Dark 2018 at www.sitd2018.com.my offers a one-stop source of information on the competition. Members of the public can check the full list of roadshow locations, view the entry mechanics and contest rules for Energizer® Shop In The Dark 2018, submit the online contest form and play the online game on the microsite. Find out more at www.sitd2018.com.my and stay updated on Energizer®’s activities via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EnergizerMY/.

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Helpful Tips for Moving Long Distances

Most people would agree that it is a lot easier to move from just one side of the city to the other. If you forget something, all you have to do is turn around. You can clean the new house, move everything in, and then go back and clean the other house. Long-distance moving can be a little bit more challenging. The following tips can help.

Many have found that hiring professionals is definitely the way to go when it comes to moving from one state to another or across the country. If a person lives on the East Coast, they could hire long distance movers NJ to help them move to the West Coast. When this happens, the movers are going to do the bulk of the work. They will be the ones responsible for making sure that your possessions are packed, well taken care of, moved, and then unpacked. They carry insurance, so if something happens along the way, you do not have to worry.

Organization is key when it comes to moving to a different city. You want to plan ahead so that you can stay organized during the entire process. It is a good idea to make to do list and to mark boxes so that you know what is inside. Take some time to think about the best plan as far as how to pack, when to get a moving truck, when to start the journey, and other the decisions that need to be made. If you look at the pros and cons of each option, you are setting yourself up for the best move possible.

If you have children, you want to pay special attention to their needs to as the move is going on. There are a lot of things that you can do to reassure your children so that they are happy and excited as the move progresses. Parents do not need the stress of unhappy or stressed-out children in addition to the stress that usually accompanies a move. If parents assure their children and plan ahead, they can make sure that their children are confident.

Thursday, March 1, 2018

AirAsia Flights, Why Them?

travel with my kids and have a good time together
Good day, readers of mine! How are you doing? How is your day? How is work? How is school? 
How is everything in your life? Hope everyone is doing well and if you’re having a crappy day at work or 
school, just know that at the end of the day, when you get home, you leave all of it back in its rightful 
place;  the office and the school. Life is so much more than that, so don’t beat yourself up over it.

Okay, life philosophy is done for the day, let’s talk travel. Who likes travelling? I know I do, otherwise,
 I would not be interested in writing this entry. Although, in today’s entry I’m not going to write about all 
those cool places out there, I’m here to talk about the bird we’re using to get there. A little backstory on 
AirAsia. It was founded back in 1993 and commenced its operations on 1996. The big man running this 
industry is Tony Fernandes, which is very well-known, right? Especially after his book released just 
recently. So, fast forward to present day, AirAsia have various awards around its belt including World’s 
Best Low Cost  Airline by Skytrax. In short, if Skytrax acknowledge you, then you’re the boss.

Its business has been growing steadily and now practically available in every OTAs you can find including 
Traveloka. One thing I can say about this particular OTA is they offered a lot of promotions, not just on 
flights, man but hotel as well! I’m surprise myself! Okay, back to the topic. So, being available in every 
OTAs out there is not the only reason why if you are looking to buy flight ticket, you turn to AirAsia, 
there are other reasons as well which we will cover below. 
So, let’s see why people try to find AirAsia flights, shall we?

Cheap is the New Magic Word

The people in Skytrax didn’t give AirAsia the title for World’s Best Low-Cost Airline just for kicks. 
AirAsia really does provide the best price in the house. When I said the best price, I mean cheap prices. 
You can get flight ticket as low as you can imagine when it is the promotional season. AirAsia has this 
motto “Now Everyone Can Fly” that fits the nature of their aviation industry perfectly.

Southeast Asia Globetrotter

There are more than 400 routes prepared with the majority of it centralizes across Southeast Asia. 
They have routes to Europe but they are very scarce compared to those around Southeast Asia. 
I think this is why AirAsia is widely popular because considering there are so many routes in Southeast 
Asia you can choose from, it’s practically there if you need it. It’s all the convenience you need to travel 
with ease because you know for a fact there will be a route for you.

Good Service Comes Easy

I gotta be honest, services are on the top list of what really influence the progress of our travel experience. 
Do you agree? If one experience crappy service with the airline at the early on, then, you can presume the 
kickstart to your travel agenda is pretty much screwed. Everyone deserves a good service, right? It’s no 
denying that every airline out there is throwing their guts in order to provide excellent service. 
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but regardless, the strive for perfection is nonstop. AirAsia is 
no exception. They have been through quite a tough break before finally getting to that stage of having 
really good services to provide for their flyers. Kudos to them.

To me, one of the plus one in the service department is the pre-arranged seating where you get to choose 
your own seating arrangements to your liking. I don’t know about you but finding the best seat is like 
HAVEN! Other services they have is like the in-flight comfort kit, low fare finder, self-check-in where you 
can do it through the web, kiosk or mobile.

Congrats if you made it until the end of the entry! I’m sure there is more that can be added but I’m 
sticking with three reasons for it. If you have anything you want to share, you can freely do so in the 
comment. Let’s have a discussion on this, it’ll be fun! Anyways, gotta go! 
You guys have a great day ahead and enjoy your long holiday!


GUARDIAN ‘INSPIRES INCLUSION’ TOGETHER WITH YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2024

Kuala Lumpur, 8 March 2024: This year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) theme, ‘Inspire Inclusion’ resonates very closely at the heart of gu...