Dec 4, 2014

Quill City Mall, Kuala Lumpur

Quill City Mall, Centre Court Christmas tree.
Located along Jalan Sultan Ismail is a new mall called ‘Quill City Mall’ (http://www.quillcitymall.com.my/) which opened its doors in the month of October 2014.

It used to be an abandon project for about 10 years after former owner of the project Vision City (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd ran into difficulties during the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis (source: The Star)

Quill City Mall, Centre Court top view.
It has 7 floors (Lower Ground (LG) to 6th floor), at the time of writing this only the LG till 3rd floor are open with various shops, eateries, and boutiques. The main anchor tenant is AEON (http://aeonretail.com.my/).

With Christmas is around the corner, the centre court of the mall is decorated with a Candy Theme. The weekend program from November till December (2014) includes dance performances, Christmas Carollers, and Santa Claus.

Quill City Mall, Centre Court Christmas decorations.


Quill City Mall, Centre Court Christmas Carollers.I was able to record the performance of the carollers on 30 November, and this group is from the Young Choral Academy (http://www.youngchoral.my/).





If you wish to see the live performance, the Young Choral Academy will be on every Sundays at 12:00pm, 2:00pm and 3:00pm (till Christmas day).

Santa Claus appearance are on the Saturdays and Sundays till Christmas day (25 December 2014). Shoppers were welcome to take photographs with Santa and Santa was also giving lovely treats to young children.

Quill City Mall, Santa Clause Meet and Greet.
Quill City Mall, Santa Clause Meet and Greet 2.

There are two sessions; ‘Meet & Greet’ where Santa is stationed at the centre court stage to meet the shoppers and their children for photo opportunities, and ‘Santa's Walkabout’ where Santa will be walking around the mall to spread joy and treats to all.


Getting There


Location: Same side of the road & just before University Kuala Lumpur, and directly opposite Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur. Google Map location.
Monorail station: Medan Tuanku station (http://www.myrapid.com.my/rail%3Fcode%3DMRL#monorel)


A few Pros

Quill City Mall, upper floors.
  • The location. If you’re not keen to drive there you have the option to take the monorail and stop at Medan Tuanku station. If you are working around the vicinity, there is an elevated & sheltered walkway / linked bridge that is connected to the mall.
  • The walkways in the mall are large and there are sufficient benches for you to rest your feet when you are tired.
  • There are ample car parks. 3 floors of them (P1, P2, P3) and designated areas for women drivers.

A few Cons


Quill City Mall, Entrance.
  • The location, if you are driving to the mall. There is a possibility you will overshoot and pass the mall’s entrance ramp because the Medan Tuanku monorail station blocks its view. There is insufficient signatures before the monorail station stating that the mall’s main entrance & driveway is coming up.
  • The Parking Rates. RM3 for the first two hours, RM2 for the subsequent hour, and then 5th hour onwards, it will be RM3 per hour (yes, the hefty parking charges is not the only turn off but it test your math calculation as well).
  • The Exits. Existing the car park you have two options; the front of the mall which is ‘Jalan Sultan Ismail’ and the back of the mall which is ‘Jalan Dewan Sultan Sulaiman’. If you’re exiting through Jalan Dewan Sultan Sulaiman, the road goes through a road that is completed and you have to drive pass some roadside eateries which conveniently place tables on the road (meant for vehicles).


A few final thoughts

Quill City Mall, Christmas decoration outdoor.
The GSC cinema and food court (Food Junction) are targeted to open in the month of December 2014 and January 2015.

To encourage more people to visit the mall, the PARKING FEE will be waived on WEEKENDS for the month of December 2014. YES FREE PARKING. You will still need to collect the entry ticket and validate it before you exit the mall - I suppose it is to keep count of the number of vehicles entering the mall.

The official opening of the mall was said to be on 13 January 2015 and there will be celebrative events & performances leading to the weekend, 18 January 2015. There was also rumours that the K-Pop artist Rain (Jung Ji-Hoon) will be performing there.

Nov 30, 2014

SWAT Paintball, Janda Baik

In the month of September 2014, I had my first experience with Paintball. Normally when I am invited to join in these activities, I will normally hear PAIN-ball (without the ‘T’), hence my reservation to participate.

Getting there

Locating this place was not easy because it was not marked on Google Maps, Waze, or Garmin maps (at the time we went).
  1. Nearest landmark you can search for in Garmin Maps, Waze or Google Maps is ‘Masjid Sultan Abdul Bakar, Bentong Pahang’.
  2. Upon reaching the mosque (masjid) there is a turning towards the river, Sungai Benus.
  3. Cross the bridge and you will see D’Ark Training & Resort Janda Baik on your right-hand side.
  4. Proceed down the road till you see SWAT Paintball on your right-hand side (picture). 
SWAT Paint ball - entrance.

There are the GPS coordinates;
  • Degrees, minutes, and seconds (DMS): 3°20'03.5"N 101°51'41.0"E
  • Decimal degrees (DD): 3.334300, 101.861404 (Location: Google Maps)

Price

For a group of 11 people, it cost us RM715 and we were provided 100 pellets each. It will be best to contact SWAT Paintball directly for pricing. Their contact details can be found below;

SWAT Paintball, Janda Baik's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/SWAT-Paintball-Janda-Baik/171199306285263

Safety Briefing

Before we were allowed into the battle field, the game warden gave a brief history of Paintball, it started in the west where loggers will mark trees to be cut down by painting on the trunk. Progressively they found a faster way to do that with an air gun that shoots out paint pellets. It was further customized and evolved to the game we know today. The game warden concluded, ‘It’s not a called ‘gun’ it is called a ‘marker’ ”.

The warden then proceeded to explain about our equipment;
    SWAT Paint ball - Briefing.
  • The air powered marker – always the safety on and barrel-sock on when not in play.
  • The full face mask – never take it off during a game
  • The body vest – reversible to indicate which team you belong to; basic black or jungle camouflage pattern.
  • Paint pellets – made of gelatine which burst on impact. It contains a solution comprising of colouring and soup (to make it easy to wash off). Apparently it is ‘halal’– just in case you get hit in the mask and some of it get spread over the mouth, according to the warden.
SWAT Paint ball - Briefing.SWAT Paint ball - Briefing.

The Rules

There were some rules that we needed to abide by before we started the battle;
  1. There is a designated safe distance for shooting an enemy. Do not shoot is the target is less than 3 – 5 meters from you, it can result in serious injury. If you manage to sneak up on someone, point the gun but do not shoot, ask ‘Do you surrender?’, if the person surrenders, he/she put the marker safety ‘ON’, needs to raise both hands up, and walk out of the area. If there is a standoff (nobody surrenders), call for the game marshals (whom are in the area) to mediate.
  2.  A shot is only a ‘confirmed kill’ when the pellet burst and there is splatter on the body. There are times the pellet may fail to burst on contact, graze the body (felt a pain) or ricochet & hit. When you felt a hit, touch the area of impact to confirm that is a splatter; if there is a paint splatter – you’re dead, if there is none – play on.
  3. Headshot kill. There are times when the game is made more challenging when a kill is only confirm then the shot it at the head (with paint splatter). If you get hit on any other part of the body – play on. This can be an extremely painful affair as the enemy might torment you but hitting everywhere else EXCEPT the head. DO NOT SHOT THE BACK OF THE HEAD.
  4. Once a KILL is confirmed (or a surrender occurs), the ‘dead’ needs put his/her gun safety ‘ON’, raise both hands up and exit the battle area. Wait till the next round.
  5. DO NOT shoot the Game Marshal(s) – they will identify themselves and normally wearing bright identifiable colours.
There may be other rules based on the provider, game warden and/or game marshals so LISTEN CAREFULLY for a fun-fill experience and to avoid undesirable outcomes.

The Surrounding

Extracted from their Facebook profile;
This 3 acre centre has 2 fields – one field is suitable for beginners and smaller groups that can be customised and divided into 2 or 4 smaller fields; and another of natural, jungle terrain catered for the ‘hardcore elite’- with natural stones and forest trees possibly hundreds of years old as obstacles. Our objective is to create that natural forest, ‘jungle warfare’ feel to your games, which is why at SWAT Paintball, we use minimal artificial props as possible.

We were shown the field of battle,
SWAT Paint ball - Entrance to the 'Killing' field.

where we will play two types of battle;
  • Capture the Flag – the objective is to assault the enemy camp and capture the flag
  • Last Man Standing – the objective is to wipe out the enemy, leave no many ‘standing’.

Few final Thoughts

At the end of the event, we played about 2 rounds of ‘Capture the Flag’ and 3 rounds of ‘Last Man Standing’ … by then we had players who declared they were too tired to carry on and are ‘permanently dead’. We still had some paint pellets left and the Game Warden suggested that those who wish to continue can either play
  • ‘Target Practice’ – shooting water bottles there are suspended on a pole
  • ‘Show down’ – where two players have the same amount of pellets, stand a safe distance, face each other, and take turns shooting each other. The person getting shot can evade by moving the body only (it is supposed to give you a chance to be like in the ‘Matrix’ – bullet time & evade).
All in all I had two noticeable bruising to show for; one on my head and another on my belly. I had an enjoyable time and if I were asked to play again, I will give it another go.

More photos of the surroundings;
Photos of teams playing at SWAT Paintball, Janda Baik's Facebook albums

SWAT Paint ball - The arena. SWAT Paint ball - The arena.
SWAT Paint ball - The arena. SWAT Paint ball - The arena. SWAT Paint ball - One of the base (Red). SWAT Paint ball - The arena. SWAT Paint ball - One of the base (Red). SWAT Paint ball - Around the arena. SWAT Paint ball - Around the arena. SWAT Paint ball - Jungle experience. SWAT Paint ball - Bridge. SWAT Paint ball - Water way SWAT Paint ball - One of the base (Blue). SWAT Paint ball - One of the base (Blue). SWAT Paint ball - The jungle. SWAT Paint ball - The jungle.

Oct 21, 2014

Bayers Dual Stage Slow Juicer (JAT Demo)

A month ago we shared about a purchase, Bayers Dual Stage Slow Juicer.
Write-up: http://www.justathoughtah.com/2014/09/bayers-dual-stage-slow-juicer.html

To provide a bit more information on the product, we prepared this simple 2 minute clip to demonstrate its usage.

Sep 24, 2014

Restoran Capitol Satay (Celup) - the One and Only

She said;

Melaka, a food heaven known for its “Chicken Rice Ball”, “Chendol Durian”, “Pineapple Tarts”, “Satay Celup” and many more. During my many previous trips to Melaka, Satay Celup ('Celup' is the Malay word that means dip or dunk) is the only indulgence that I never got to taste. Previous attempts when I arrived at the shop - it was either closed, or a very long queue has formed. The many ‘incredible comments’ online saying that Satay Celup is so tasty that you should not miss, made me crave for Satay Celup even more.

Restoran Capitol Satay sign.

Finally I started craving for it again after hearing from a friend that recently visited Melaka. So my hubby and I dropped by Melaka just for Satay Celup.

Restoran Capitol Satay - the queue.
We arrived Capitol Satay Celup before 5pm, the first thing we saw was the long queue outside the shop, and people in the restaurant savoring the Satay Celup; looking at the notice board and we realized the restaurant actually opens at 4pm daily; no wonder the long queue.

It was quite interesting that there were many notice boards where the restaurant owner declared that there are no other sisters, brothers and branches of Capitol Satay Celup, and the shop we went to is ‘The ONE and ONLY’.

Restoran Capitol Satay - disclaimers.
NOTICE: "Please be informed that Capitol Satay DO NOT have any sisters, brothers or branches in Malacca or anywhere else. DON'T BE MISLED!". There are actually 2 MORE of these notices at the 2 front pillars of the shop (not in the picture)


Restoran Capitol Satay - the wait.
After waiting for an hour plus, we were finally seated.

As we sat down, the shop assistant start preparing the satay sauce for dipping, smelled good!

There were quite a variety of satay sticks available; fish balls, tofu, prawns, kangkung etc, all were common food that we have in steamboat restaurant. I especially enjoyed the tiger prawns, scallops and abalone.



Restoran Capitol Satay - food selection.
Now, if you were to ask me if I will revisit satay celup again since I craved so much for it?
I think my answer is ‘No’. I will not specifically go for it but I will not mind going with a group of friends if anyone were to suggest to go for Satay Celup.

If you ask me, "Why ‘No’?"
Hmm… now that I have tasted it, the ‘curiosity cat’ in me is satisfied.

If you ask me, Why the ‘curiosity cat’ did not have the urge to go back again?
I think the answer will be… Satay Celup is just any food that you can dip in satay sauce, and I do think to a certain extent that the satay sauce overwhelmed the natural taste of the food.

Restoran Capitol Satay - enjoying the experience.

However, if anyone that has not tasted Satay Celup, I will encourage to you to try it at least one time, maybe you will like it. Whether or not you will like Satay Celup, it is personal preference, I do know some of my friends are devoted fan of Satay Celup.


He said;

I am not the type of person who will wait in line but I am willing to satisfy my partner. So that Saturday weekend (20 September 2014) we stop over at Melaka for the famous Capitol Satay Celup. Prior to going I had to do my 'research';
  • Where is the shop?
    41, Lorong Bukit Cina, 75100 Melaka.
    GPS Coordinates: N2 11.710 E102 15.137

  • What time does it open?
    4:00pm

While I am a person that does not like waiting (too long / in a queue) for food, I am willing to go early (before the shop opens). We arrived 4:45pm and noticed that there were customers already enjoying their satay celup and a long line has formed - The food blogs I 'researched' said the shop opens at 5.00pm - outdated! It now opens at 4.00pm.

Never mind, I was still in a good mood so we waited ... waited ... and waited till 5:49PM.

This single shop only had 10 tables of various sizes, and depending on your group size the shop assistant will sit you accordingly. Since it was only my partner and I, the shop assistant asked if we were willing to share the table with other patrons. IMPORTANT TO NOTE: if you are willing to share your table, you risked the chance of other double-dipping into the Satay Celup broth (e.g. dip to cook, take a bite, "oh ... not enough sauce", dip the stick back into broth again) .

Anyway, we shared the table with 3 other patrons. I took a few sticks from the fridge and each stick cost RM1.00. Some of the more premium ingredients like tiger prawn, abalone, scallop, and cutter fish were provided later by the shop assistants.

The first bite, I taste a 'burned taste' - this was due to the heavy satay gravy ingredients that is settling down at the base of the pot - getting burned. Subsequently (and periodically) the shop assistants came by to control the gas flames, add more satay gravy, and stir the whole pot vigorously. It was fine after that.

This is not the first time eating satay celup as I've been to another restaurant providing the same. Based on memory, that experience was better. Anyway, I had my taste of Capitol Satay Celup, on to the next indulgence.

Other Comments;
I posted some photos of the experience on Facebook and some of my friends (from Melaka) had this to say;
  • Try the Satay Celup at Ong Kim Wee. We locals prefer there
  • It's (Capitol Satay Celup) overated!
  • Suggest you go to Ban Lee Xiang at Jalan Ong Kim Wee. Not so crowded and easy to find parking. And the boss is more customer friendly compared to Capitol. And it is open around 4pm or 4.30pm... 

Sep 17, 2014

Citrus Zinger Bottle (2.0)


During a walkabout after dinner I spotted that a local supermarket, Aeon (www.aeonmalaysia.com.my) has started selling bottles similar to the Citrus Zinger Bottle. There were two sizes available, 428ml which cost RM29.90 and another larger one, 628ml which cost RM39.90.

Citrus Zinger Bottle alternatives

Citrus Zinger Bottle - BPA & EA free. Made in TaiwanMine was cheaper, 28 OZ (approx 828ML) for RM14.55 (find out how I got the best deal here). I looked around the bottle sold at Aeon and I could not find any information on where the bottles were made. Mine had imprints at the base of the bottle;

Citrus Zinger 28 oz. www.zinganything.com. 
Patent Pending - BPA and EA free - Made In Taiwan




Tips to improving the bottle (D.I.Y. style)
After using the bottle for some time now, I am quite satisfied with it and the added lemon flavour to my drinking water.

Then a friend suggested that after each drink of the lemon water, I should rinse my mouth with plain water. This was because the lemon can corrode my teeth (she claimed). Since I am not a doctor nor a dentist, I did the only logical thing - Google for the information. There were some articles and write-ups but nothing definitive.

I thought it was too much hassle to drink lemon water and then plain water each time. So what choice do I have now?

One option to reduce the effect is to drink through a STRAW.
Prior to my online purchase, I had seen citrus zinger bottles with straws fixed unto the top cap. I felt it was not necessary, and the fixed straw will obstruct me if I choose to drink from the unscrewed cap. 

Remember my walkabout earlier? well knew of a brand of bottle supplier called 'Bros' (www.bros.com.my) that sell a wide range of plastic drinking bottles that comes with colourful designs, various sizes and accessories. The best thing of that brand was they also sell replacement parts.

I found one pack of replacement straws for their 550ml and 750ml bottles which only cost RM7.90.


Citrus Zinger Bottle adding a straw

The Outcome
The Bros straws was the appropriate length for my bottle but due to the juicing apparatus, the straw could not go all the way down & was protruding on the top. No worries, the top portion is made of rubber which is bendable. Alternatively, you can snip/cut off the excess.

Another plus point is if I do not wish to use the straw anyone; since it is not fixed to the cap, I could just take it out, wash it and store it (for use at another time).

Citrus Zinger Bottle - in use.

All in all another satisfied purchase and enhanced experience.

What other ways can you think of improving your experience? feel free to share in the comments below.

Sep 16, 2014

JAT’s Trick to getting the Best On-line Deals

In my first few posting I mentioned about items that I had purchased online (Bayers Dual Stage Slow Juicer and Citrus Zinger Bottle). In the past, when I was looking for stuff and appliances, I will go from one (physical) shop to another to compare prices, quality and have a feel of the product. The only things I was comfortable purchasing online were plane tickets and hotel reservations.

These days, I have grown accustom to purchasing various items online. There are so many online purchasing sites, deals, and (so called) group/bulk purchases. To name a few that I frequent;

Different sites offer different types of deals, some may focus on food, some on electronics and some are all-encompassing. Now with online purchases, one cannot physically check on the quality and have a feel of the product, however I still wish to make sure I get the ‘best’ deal.

Do I go from one online site to another to search and compare prices?
There is a trick that I use and it is an online site called bigsale.com.my. This site has a section called ‘Daily Deals’ that pulls information from numerous online sites (like the above) and consolidates them together to one single site.


Comparing products and pricing.If you are looking for something specific, you can enter your ‘Search’ name and then ‘Sort By’ price for example (click on the image to enlarge). Remember the slow juicer I purchased, I use this trick to search for it.

This trick allowed me to;
  • Compare Prices of products matching the search.

  • To see if the product is being sold on multiple online sites.

  • If it is sold on multiple sites, is their ‘Value’ and ‘Savings’ the same? – this to be important (to me) because I have seen different sites selling the same product (identical brand & supplier) but their value and savings are different. This indirectly tells me that someone is lying.

  • To find similar products but at a more economical cost.

  • Compare other finer details like ‘delivery time’, ‘warranty periods’, and possible hidden charges/conditions (e.g. meal/food deals that only valid on non-public holidays – pay more (surcharge) if you wish to use it on public holidays).

  • See how many OTHER people are comfortable buying that item or deal. It is not a hard-and-fast rule but my thought is if more people are purchasing it there is more likeliness I can find reviews about it online.

Once you're comfortable with the amount of information you have, click on that specific deal and it will direct you to the site offering it.

So there you have it. I hope this post has been helpful to you, and please feel free to share your thoughts on how you get the best deals online in the comments section below.

Sep 15, 2014

Bayers Dual Stage Slow Juicer

On 28 July 2014, I purchased my first slow juicer, a Bayers Dual Stage Slow Juicer by Zenergy Marketing. It was purchased online from Groupon (www.groupon.my) for RM399. There were many options and different brands available - ranging from RM300+ to as high as RM2000. This was my first attempt to juicing, so I thought I will not spend so much money first. However, if the frequency increases and a better appliance is called for, then I shall invest again in the future.

Bayers Dual Stage Slow Juicer, bubble wrapped

It arrived on 4 August 2014 with Skynet (www.skynet.com.my) local carrier courier service. The package was properly packed with layers of bubble wrap.  
Bayers Dual Stage Slow Juicer, Box

I was rather excited hence I purchased apples, oranges and carrots to test our my new kitchen appliance.
Bayers Dual Stage Slow Juicer, box side view
Side view of the box where it explains how it works. Click on the image to enlarge the view.

DUAL-STAGE JUICING, Stage 1: Juice is extracted through the first crushing stage then squeezed during the second stage pressing stage; resulting in higher yields of juice and an extremely dry pulp. The secret is in the double-angled auger carefully crafted with precision engineering.

Bayers Dual Stage Slow Juicer, box side view 2
SEPARATION, Stage 2: The extracted pulp is then filtered through a metal gauze which only lets through the liquid. The fresh juice pours into the juice jug while the fiber into the pulp jar. 

Another side of the box where it shows the different components of the juicer. Click on the image to enlarge the view.

Bayers Dual Stage Slow Juicer, unpacking

The un-boxing. Comes with an easy to follow Instruction Manual.
Bayers Dual Stage Slow Juicer, dissembled
The different components that makes up the juicer. From right to left;
- Feeder Hopper
- Transparent pitchers for collecting the pulp & juice
- Cleaning brush
- Plunger
- Metal gauze
- Double-angled auger
Bayers Dual Stage Slow Juicer, ready for use.

Ingredients to be juiced, apples and carrots.
Bayers Dual Stage Slow Juicer, juicing in progress
Apples juice.
At the base of the juicer are suction cups which holds unto the glass table so that it does not shake or vibrates too much during the juicing process.
Bayers Dual Stage Slow Juicer - juicing. Top view.

Carrot juice.
There is a small tray on the top of the juicer (feeder hopper) with allows you to temporary place your cut pieces before inserting them into the feeder.
Bayers Dual Stage Slow Juicer, juicing and pulp produced.

Juice is separated to the circular nozzle on the left side of the juicer while the pulp are directed to the right side rectangle nozzle.

The appliance comes with two pitchers / containers for collecting the pulp and juice but I thought it would be easier for measuring the volume of juice produced with a measuring cup.
Bayers Dual Stage Slow Juicer and fruits

I'm looking forward to experimenting with my recipes and improving my health with delicious juices.