Lee Kum Kee – the name that is synonymous with the finest in authentic Chinese sauces and condiments since 1888 recently hosted the “Chinese Cuisine Forum” featuring China’s renowned Master Chef Li YaoYun, an authority in Szechuan and Huai-Yang cuisine. The forum was attended by notable chefs from the Chef Association of Selangor and Malaysia, Head Chefs of key Shanghainese and Chinese restaurants in Selangor and members of the media.

During the roundtable, Master Chef Li who is also Lee Kum Kee’s Consultation Chef shared his perspective on the current trends in Chinese Cuisine, specifically in Szechuan and Huai-Yang cuisine around the globe. He also touched on the eight main Chinese cuisines – Shandong, Szechuan, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiang-Su, Zhe-Jiang, Hunan and Anhui cuisines. These Eight Major Cuisines are very distinct in terms of flavor. The uniqueness of each cuisine is differentiated by the region’s climate, environment as well as local produce creating unique cooking methods leading to its distinctive flavor and taste.

As the foremost master in Szechuan and Huai-Yang cuisine, Master Chef Li highlighted the unique characteristic of the two cuisines.

Szechuan cuisine is famous for its bold and oily flavor marked by the liberal use of chili pepper, pepper and Szechuan peppercorns. The cuisine is characterized by the words ‘numb’, spicy, ‘umami’ and aromatic. Great favorites amongst the Szechuan dishes include ‘Couple’s Lung, Kung Pao Chicken and Twice Cooked Pork.

Huai-Yang cuisine, in contrast, is milder and emphasize on the natural flavors and taste of the ingredients. Popular dishes include the Stewed “Lion’s Head” Meatballs, Dong Po Meat, Mixed Strip Vegetable and Osmanthus Salty Dark.

Master Chef Li, one of the greatest chefs of our time also shared his culinary journey, taking us on a magnificent trail of Szechuan and Huai-Yang cuisine that is dated back to the pre- Qin dynasty. In his journey of more than 50 years he has seen many different styles and variations of cooking, with new innovative dishes created. He also demonstrated dishes of Szechuan and Huai-Yang both in traditional and current styles. Master Li, who lives by the axiom “Not forgetting one’s roots”, has crafted many innovative dishes in line with current trends and yet maintains the nostalgic flavors of the yesteryears. His belief and actions are in line with Lee Kum Kee’s mission and vision to promote the Chinese Culinary Culture around the world through innovative new products and delivering the authentic, quality flavors of the tradition.

To prove his mastery of the intricacies in Szechuan and Huai-Yang cuisine, Master Chef Li cooked up an authentic Huai -Yang dish - “Lion’s Head with Crab Roe”. This famous Huai-Yang dish of large pork meatballs stewed with vegetables was favored by Premier Zhou En Lai (First Premier of China) during the First Grand Banquet for the Ceremony of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Master Chef Li’s current trend of cooking method boasts the best of contemporary presentation yet unveiled a taste of nostalgia infused with Lee Kum Kee’s sauces.

Recently Salina & Associates PR helped Lee Kum Kee organise a media tour to their Headquarters in Hong Kong as well as to their largest plant in Xin Hui, China. The media members from Singapore & Malaysia were invited on the tour. The main aim of the tour was to highlighting the quality standards set by LKK in ensuring their products are of superiority. At the same time, it also serves as a familiarization tour to understanding the brand better. The members of the media from Singapore and Malaysia were shown the LKK’s technology, facilities and diversification of the business towards health products (Infinitus). The members of the media were given a guided tour around the Tai Po plant in Hong Kong, the Xin Hui plant in China as well as the Infinitus plant in Xin Hui to have a comprehensive understanding on the manufacturing of Lee Kum Kee products and Infinitus’ health care products.

Day 1

The Singapore media departed from Changi International airport led by Lee Kum Kee’s Regional Marketing Manager – Danny Khoo and myself. We arrived an hour before the Malaysian team due to the different flight origin. Despite the 1 hour wait, Lee Kum Kee took great care in ensuring the media were provided with light refreshments upon arrival. The Lee Kum Kee bus was on standby at the airport and the bus driver was very helpful in getting all the suitcases on the bus. There were 6 journalists from Singapore and 9 from Malaysia. Salina & Associates PR also managed to secure a TV station on this trip for an exclusive coverage.

Upon arrival at the Marco Polo Hong Kong hotel everyone’s luggage was swiftly taken care of by the hotel while everyone was led to a restaurant for refreshments and a briefing of the entire trip. The media kit was handed out the journalists and everyone was assigned their rooms. After the briefing session it was a free evening for the journalists to walk around the streets of Kowloon. Dinner was buffet at the hotel and all the journalists who dined were only required to charge their dinner back to their hotel room.

Day 2

The second day started early for the TV crew as they had to shoot Lee Kum Kee’s Culinary Artist Ms. May Lau demonstrating 3 dishes using the 2 new sauces. The TV Crew was at the Tai Po office as early as 7.00am for the shoot. The rest of the media had breakfast at the hotel before we adjourned to the Tai Po office. In Tai Po everyone was greeted by the Executive Vice-President of Corporate Affairs Mr. Leslie Fung and was immediately brought on the tour around the plant. Members of the media were brought to view how Lee Kum Kee monitors the production chain remotely. One of the main highlights of the trip which was the quality control was demonstrated by the media visiting Lee Kum Kee’s laboratory. Ms. Biggar Cheung the Senior Q&A Manager gave a very good and in depth explanation on the stringent controls practiced at Lee Kum Kee. She also explained on how blind tests are usually conducted on a periodic basis ensure quality standards are met.

Adjourning to the auditorium, the members of the media were shown a magnificent video which explained the history of the brand in a brief and non-conventional manner.

Lunch was an eye-opener for the media as everyone was allocated a seat with their names on a place card. Instead of just a normal place card Lee Kum Kee made an effort to further highlight about the brand with fast facts about the brand written on the cards. The group was split to 2 tables with the media, PR representatives and LKK Team evenly spread out to ensure everyone gets a chance to mingle.

Place card with my name and fast facts about Lee Kum Kee

Presentation of the food was brilliant and the taste was of course excellent considering that it was prepared with Lee Kum Kee products by a reputable Chef. Lee Kum Kee also arranged for their Culinary Artist, Ms May Lau to explain as each dish was served. She did a great job by explaining the products used in each dish as this helped show the media members the versatility of the sauces and products Lee Kum Kee has to offer. A nice touch to the lunch experience was also a overnighter bag provided by Lee Kum Kee for the media in anticipation of the next day’s journey to China. Half way through the lunch, the Lee Kum Kee team switched tables in order to allow the media to have casual chat with the key personnel of Lee Kum Kee. Present at the lunch was also the COO of Lee Kum Kee, Mr George Tsang.

A media Q&A session followed immediately after lunch and the media members were given a chance to ask questions in a formal setting. This was a good arrangement as the environment was conducive and everyone got the chance to table their questions. Answering the questions from the media were the COO – Mr George Tsang, Executive President of Corporate Affairs – Mr Leslie Fung, Regional Marketing Manager – Mr Danny Khoo and Regional Manager – Mr Leong Chee Kang.

Media Q&A session moderated by Selina. (L-R : Regional Manager – Mr Leong Chee Kang, Regional Marketing Manager – Mr Danny Khoo, COO – Mr George Tsang, Executive President of Corporate Affairs – Mr Leslie Fung and Selina)

Fun was the next order of the day where the members of the media got to view Ms. May demonstrating live a few dishes and a special plum sauce drink but their culinary skills were also put to test. During the demonstration the media had a field time snapping away at the finished dishes and also tasting them. Chop Suey or Mixed Vegetables.

(Clockwise from L-R : Kung Pow Tofu with Cashewnuts, Stir Fried Lily Bulbs with Mushrooms, Stewed Beef in Jelly, Classic Chop Suey and Seafood Chowder)

Following the demonstration the members of the media were divided into 3 teams of 4 members comprising of 2 from Malaysia and 2 from Singapore. Everyone put on aprons and they were all in for a cooking competition. An array of perishables and Lee Kum Kee sauces were available for the teams to choose from. Each team was given 30 minutes to discuss, prepare, cook and garnish their dish for the competition. It was sheer fun for everyone in action with some preparing the garnishing, while others were cutting the meat/vegetables and the more adventurous ones volunteered to be the chef for the team. All the teams performed well hence everyone was a winner in their own right and were presented with a gift each from Lee Kum Kee.

(From T-B : Selection of items, Team 1, Team 2 and Team 3)

(From T-B : Stir fried prawns by Team 1, Pan fried lamb by Team 2 and Stir fried mixed vegetables with scallops by Team 3)

Leaving the Tai Po office after 5.00pm, the group headed to the Hoi King Heen Restaurant in Intercontinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong for dinner. After a 45minutes journey from Tai Po in the drizzle the group arrived at the hotel for the dinner. Most of the journalist weren’t hungry and in fact they were very full from the abundance of different dishes which they were served throughout the afternoon at the Tai Po office. Majority of the dishes served during the dinner were not even half finished as the journalist only sampled the dishes instead of really eating it for dinner.

A dish worth mentioning was the Beggar Chicken. Unknown to some, the process of retrieving the cooked chicken was quite an experience. Some of the journalist even tried their hand at smashing the packed salt which sealed in the herbed chicken.

Chef Leung

Everyone had a pleasant surprise when the Head Chef Leung Fai Hung at the Chinese restaurant appeared to personally prepare the dessert for everyone. The dessert was certainly awesome and it was 1 dessert which none of the media members have ever tasted before. After the dessert was served, Chef Leung stayed on to explain about the current eating trends. He also patiently answered the many questions put forth to him, in the most professional manner. After a very long day everyone was sent back to the hotel to rest for the next day’s journey to Xin Hui, China.

Day 3

Everyone was punctual for the next day’s trip to Xin Hui. Members of the media were given the option of leaving their big suitcases behind under the safekeeping of the hotel. PR helped the client ensure that the suitcases were properly tagged and kept before departing for the 3 and a half hour long bus journey. Water was made available on the bus for everyone. Going through 2 immigration checkpoints was a must but the process went on smoothly but with a slight glitch with the cameraman getting “stuck”. Mr Leslie Fung was quick to jump in and assist by helping the cameraman answer some queries by the customs officer.

Upon arrival at Xin Hui everyone was taken to the Xin Hui Phoenix Hotel’s Chinese restaurant for lunch. Yet again the lunch was a lavish affair with an array of dishes served. After lunch the visit to Lee Kum Kee’s largest plant in the world kicked off. The group was warmly greeted by the Lee Kum Kee team in Xin Hui and everyone grouped for a photograph at the entrance to the huge plant.

The plant visit kicked off with an introduction of the plant by the Plant Manager. The entire process of making soy sauce was explained thoroughly before everyone was brought out for the tour. As the plant was so big we had to travel from one section to the other in the bus. Staying in line with the global trend of going green and preserving the environment waste treatment was also something the media got to witness. Besides waste management, Lee Kum Kee also showed they used solar energy to generate heat which was part of the required process in sauce making. With the use of solar, Lee Kum Kee saves by using less coal in generating heat.

We were also brought to see a beautiful garden which was within the plant. The garden was created with the workers in mind. Lee Kum Kee wanted to create a good working environment for their staff hence the garden was a recreational area where they could relax in between work. A large dining hall which sits not too far from the garden was the cafeteria for the staff and could fit in 1000 people at a single sitting. We were also shown the warehouse where all ready products were kept before they are sent off to the trade.

A trip to a plant is certainly not complete without seeing the product being packed. At the packing section of the plant, the media were shown how the Lee Kum Kee products are being packed and how there was no requirement of handling of the products before they were packed. Only after the products are individually packed and sealed only we got to see some handling of the products by the workers whereby they were arranging the cartons of packed products. This clearly shows that the possibility of human contamination was basically at 0%.

At Infinitus

After the plant tour in the sauce factory, the media were brought to view the adjacent plant which is also owned by Lee Kum Kee group, the Infinitus. Upon arrival at Infinitus the group was warmly welcomed by the team from Infinitus. It was a short tour to allow the media an insight to the diversification of Lee Kum Kee group’s business.

(T-B: Entrance to the ancestral hall, Shan of NTV7 demonstrating his drumming skills, ancient bell)

The group was also brought to view the Lee Man Tat Secondary school before visiting the ancestral hall of the great people of Xin Hui. At the ancestral hall, Mr. Lee senior was recognized as one of the notable people of Xin Hui who has brought great development to the province.

The group adjourned back to the hotel for check in and to freshen up before dinner. Dinner was at the Chinese restaurant of the Royal Hotel which was beautifully perched on a hilly area. The view was pleasant and the food was needless to say, superb. Everyone had a great dinner. Some journalists who researched about Xin Hui before the trip came across a famous local produce, the dried mandarin orange peel. Lee Kum Kee being very obliging host took the effort to bring the journalist to the shop to get the orange peel while the rest of the journalist were sent back to the hotel. The rest of the night was free and easy for everyone. Some took the opportunity to walk around at the nearby shopping centre while others chose to stay back in the hotel to rest and some even went for a relaxing massage before calling it a night.

Day 4

As early as 8.30am, the eager journalists were seen having their breakfast and some finishing the breakfast. Everyone was eager to head back to Hong Kong as they were looking to explore and shop around Hong Kong. The journey back to Hong Kong was pleasant with no hiccups. Upon arrival at the hotel the Lee Kum Kee team swiftly arranged for the rooms allocation. Before everyone left for their room the Lee Kum Kee team from Malaysia bade farewell and individually thanked everyone for joining the trip. Being typical Eastern cultured people, the team too took the opportunity to apologize for any short comings of the trip.

The rest of the afternoon and till the check out at noon the next day, everyone went around by themselves. All the journalists were given a small sum of Hong Kong dollars at the start of the trip and this was to compensate them for the meals which were organized.

(Kowloon, Hong Kong by night)

Day 5

At check out, Anthony Chan the Corporate Affairs Manager ensured that all bills were settled and everyone was safely on the bus before he left. At the airport the Malaysian team immediately checked in upon arrival while the Singapore team had to wait for their flight which was an hour later.

On the whole, verbal feedback gathered from the media members were that it was a very well planned media trip put together by Lee Kum Kee and everyone enjoyed themselves. The food served throughout the trip was excellent and carefully arranged to incorporate the different Lee Kum Kee products. As a host Lee Kum Kee did a great job by ensuring everyone’s needs and requirements were well taken care of.

Theobroma Chocolate Lounge does not only serve delectable culinary delights, they also recently culminated their very own charity campaign Theobroma “Sweet Essentials” Campaign which ran from the 1st of December 2009 till 31st of January 2010.

Throughout the campaign period, RM1 from every transaction made at all Theobroma Chocolate Lounge outlets was being accumulated to be donated to the PRIDE Foundation. The “Sweet Essentials” campaign which was jointly supported by PrimaNora Medical Centre managed to raise RM20,000 for the Pride Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to enhancing breast cancer awareness and improving accessibility to treatment and care amongst Malaysian women.

Salina & Associates PR also contributed a sum of RM2,000 to Pride Foundation in support of breast cancer awareness.

Obesity and low fitness levels are main concerns in our current society. Quoting our country’s Health Minister, YB Liow Tiong Lai in his speech at a recent health awareness seminar, YB Liow said “Our population is literally growing sideways and getting out of shape over the years. We are currently facing an epidemic of overweight and obesity, which is apparent if we look at those around us.”

Nando’s Restaurants, Malaysia’s caring chicken player is making effort to help alleviate the ministry’s concerns over the issue and recently launched Nando’s Health & Nutritional Campaign, themed as “ Eat Responsibly”. Through the Eat Responsibly campaign Nando’s will be advocating the importance of healthy eating as well as combining it with proper fitness regime. The campaign runs from 29th October 2009 – 3rd January 2010 with a series of interesting activities lined up for the consumers.

“We believe that our core product which is our signature Peri-Peri Flame Grilled Chicken made from freshest A-grade butterfly cut chickens, with excess fat trimmed off, no added colourants, flavourants, additives or MSG would be the healthier meal option due to the ideal calorie count and high protein level,” said Mac Chung Lynn, CEO of Nando’s Restaurants at the campaign launch.

Mac added “On top of that other benefits would be Nando’s famed ingredient, the Peri-Peri is rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin A, high in anti-oxidants and the best of all is the capsaicin in chillies which helps enhance metabolism and burns fat.”

As a start to the campaign, Nando’s with the help of Kevin Zahri, Malaysia’s own health celebrity have carefully chosen the most suitable sidelines to accompany its existing Peri-Peri Flame Grilled Chicken for the campaign’s Peri Hearty Meal.

Nando’s Peri Hearty Meal consists of a ¼ chicken with the sidelines of a serving of grilled vegetables and a serving of Mediterranean rice. To compliment the healthy meal would be a bottomless Coke Light. Nando’s Peri Hearty Meal is available at all Nando’s restaurants for RM 17.80.

To encourage the consumers to select the Nando’s Peri Hearty Meal, Nando’s will be rewarding 5 lucky diners to fun-filled activity holiday package for 2 to Club Med Cherating. On top of that there will also be 50 consolation prizes of RM100 Nando’s gift vouchers. To stand a chance to win the holiday package or vouchers diners would only need to make a purchase of RM25.00 at Nando’s with a condition that the purchase must include at least an order of the Nando’s Peri Hearty Meal.

To further advocate healthy eating and healthy lifestyle, Nando’s will be collaborating with Malaysia’s No.1 health advocators, Fitness First for a 7-week fitness regime challenge. The challenge will see 2 lucky radio listeners who will be selected through the radio station’s online search to undergo training along with Jakeman and Rudy under the guidance and supervision of personal trainers from Fitness First. Both the lucky listeners will compete against each other to be the fittest throughout the 7-week challenge and Fitness First will closely monitor their weight, body fat and Body Mass Index (BMI). The winner of the challenge would have the opportunity to bring along a friend and holiday together with Jakeman and Rudy at Club Med Cherating. Besides that, Nando’s will also be offering members of Fitness First the Nando’s Peri Hearty Meal at only RM14.50.

Whether you are keen on keeping fit or staying healthy, Nando’s Peri-Peri Flame Grilled Chicken would be the perfect meal choice to compliment your daily regime. And you might never know you could end up winning something the next time you visit Nando’s because at Nando’s there is always a surprise waiting for you!

Visit Nando website for more info.

If you were driving around town in the morning or stuck in a jam after work early this year, chances are you may have seen a Volkswagen car housed in a transparent lorry right next to you! You may have also seen CIMB’s Tow truck boys giving out goodie bags and cash rebates whilst buying your groceries from the local supermarket or banking somewhere in town.

After CIMB Bank’s inaugural success with its’ Dream Deposit Campaign in 2006 and Dream Deposit Drive Campaign in 2007, CIMB is back again with the same campaign only with bigger and better prizes to win! The campaign which was opened to all CIMB customers ran for 4 months from March to June 2009.

Who wants a ride ?

CIMB Bank showcased a 3 ton lorry which housed the car of the month and toured the nation daily. Cars up for grabs were:

• March 2009 – Volkswagen New Beetle 1.6I
• April 2009 – Volkswagen Golf GTi 2.0I Turbo FSI
• May 2009 – Volkswagen EOS 2.0I TurboFSI
• June 2009 – Volkswagen Touareg 3.6I V6 FSI

The lorry made an average of 5 stops at CIMB Bank branches around town and at high traffic areas in Peninsular Malaysia. During each stop, the tow truck crews distributed flyers about the campaign, CIMB Bank goodie bags and cash rebate to its customers.

All that was needed to be done was just to open a CIMB Bank or CIMB Islamic account and deposit a minimum amount of RM500. For existing CIMB account holders, the same minimum amount of RM500 is required.

The campaign received an overwhelming response; and four very lucky female winners emerged as winners of this campaign and received the keys to their brand new Volkswagen car.

Excitement!

We, at Salina & Associates PR would like to express our heartiest congratulations to these four very lucky ladies!

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and Jill a dull girl. No matter how much work one has to do, one needs to take a break and do a little exercise to keep the body fit and healthy.

The launch of Cambert’s new product; Sweet Sweat™ made it’s release on the 8th of April at Celebrity Fitness, One Utama. Some of our favorite local personalities such as Jonathan Putra, Moe Nasrul (Fly FM radio announcer), Diana Rusdi, Nigesh Armon as well as Alam (So You Think You Can Dance S1 winner) were present along with the media.

Guests were ushered to a counter where they were treated with BMI and BP checks courtesy of Damansara Specialist Hospital, and then to a short product presentation by Mr Edwin Phang, Sweet Sweat™ Product Executive.

The REAL fun began when Ms Coery Sik, a dance instructor from Celebrity Fitness took over the stage and wowed the crowd with some of her hip hop moves. The guests were then invited to join in the fun; but not before applying Sweet Sweat™ on their body! A crash course on how to “bust a move” with Flo Rida’s “Low” booming from the speaker box was enough to keep the guests perspiring bucket loads.

At the end of the session, everyone was dead tired after the ‘few’ minutes of their life; shaking their bum and sprawling their thighs. I guess the public service announcements are true whereby stressing on the fact that the public is in dire need for more exercise!

More about Sweet Sweat™

Sweet Sweat™ a unique formulation with all natural ingredients and patented by Sports Research Corporation, USA to enhance your exercise. Sweet Sweat™ accelerates and enhances Thermogenic Action; the key to improving your workout effectively and efficiently.

Health enthusiasts will know that Thermogenic Action is the process in which energy is consumed and heat is produced during exercise thus leading to increased sweating and burning, giving you a more efficient, effective and faster burning workout.

Buenos días! Salina and Associates welcomes all of you to a new Madrid where passports and visas are not required at all!  Yes, I’m talking about real live Madrid in the heart of KL!

So ladies and gentlemen, dress up in your killer red heels, cashmere scarves, polished shoes and satin bows! Turismo Madrid (the Madrid Tourism Board) is here to flaunt their flamboyant designer wear and astonishing artistry which will leave the streets of Kuala Lumpur on fire!

In conjunction with F1 week in Malaysia which sees thousands of tourists and Malaysians alike in a feverish F1 frenzy, Turismo Madrid decided to organise a whole week of exciting Madrid themed events to give Malaysians and F1 visitors a taste of what Madrid has to offer, a chance to discover the great cultural activities of Madrid, its food, fashion and history of magnificent architectures and luxurious art pieces.

The 31 March 2009 saw the Madrid Week open with a very special performance of traditional flamenco by Jerez Puro.Compañia de Maria del Mar Moreno - a co-presentation between Turismo Madrid and Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS at PETRONAS Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur City Centre.

The performance entitled “Esencia”, took the audience to the roots of the mysterious spirit of traditional Spanish Flamenco. Award wining dancer Maria del Mar Moreno and main singer Antonio Malena together with a group of 8 singers, dancers, guitars and palmeros performed from the deep wounded cry of “Seguidillas” to the jubilant joviality of “Bulerias”; capturing the whole sphere of human emotion in this brief encounter with Spanish culture.

Guests were treated to a very unique concoction of molecular cuisine, followed by  an iconic tapas performance by starred Michelin Chef of Madrid - the very charming and talented- Chef Paco Roncero!

The performance by Jerez Puro.Compañia de Maria del Mar Moreno certainly had us all mesmerized while the delicate molecular cuisine had us all in awe! Unfortunately one week of Madrid was certainly not enough! Looks like its time to start a putting some money away for a real Madrid getaway….or for those of us who find that a bit difficult perhaps we may see more of Madrid in KL next year……

Well, to wrap things up, ‘me la pasé bien’ (the entire Salina & Associates had an amazing time!)

Ya me despido,

Adios!

Out of the 4 days in Bali, today seems to have the finest weather! How is that possible? Ugh.

After having a quick breakfast, some of us started to unwind by reading a book by the pool area. While Lydia and I went for more shopping right after breakfast, we were adamant about getting a certain dress for Caitlyn, Lydia’s princess. And we did so happily!

While Nadia and Fauziah, continue shopping for more dresses and gifts for love ones! Selina and Sherilyn also didn’t miss out on strolling around Kuta area for more good buys.

Since we are all PR practitioners, and we are used to doing things in advanced. Proactive they say. So there was no rushing to pack. We took our time strolling around Kuta area and taking lots of pictures. By lunch time, we have arrived in Denpasar airport waiting to board the next plane. =)

All in all, a memorable trip with colleagues/friends who is close at heart.   

Next stop.. Cambodia!!! The land of space cakes! *whoops*

Well, Selina and team has come to realised that no time is the best time. There is always something going on, client to attend to- work we have to finish, appointments we have to keep and people we have to see. 

The only reason we managed to spend this 4 days 4 nights in Bali is because Selina believes in reward system.  Also because she was adamant in getting everyone a blackberry. So we can work from wherever we are, to prove to our clients that we always have their best interest at heart. 

What’s the point of making so much money but losing the essence in life? While, making time certainly can gain you some fierce mutual understanding, unwavering support and never ending giggles!  

The day lady boss gave up on our tour guide for being ignorant and insensitive.

What happened a day ago in the van.

Selina: (drove pass some nice stores) Eh, Mathir!! Nak Pergi sini la!! Boleh?? Aiyor.. Cantiknya..

Mathir, the tour guide: (motionless) ah… ya. Nanti kita balik sini, depan pun ada.

Selina: (Drove passed even nicer stores with beautiful vases) Oh Mathir! nak pergi sini juga nanti… !!

Mathir: (Ignorant, didn’t answer Selina) …

Selina: (Talking to us) This fellar, ignorant only… see la! sure won’t come back one.

All of us at the back: (Burst out laughing in agreement)   Hahahaha!

So, Selina and Sherilyn decided to have the day all to the both of them only where they were supposed to take up surfing lessons! But it was a gloomy day and it was raining. So they ended up in Seminyak town instead, spending quality BFF time. This is another place I would recommend if you like chilling out.

So the rest of us carried on with the touring plan and went to Tanah Lot, the famous temple on water. We continued to do some minor shopping at Tanah Lot. Almost all of us got an extra painting from there, it was simply irresistible.

Dinner was served at a restaurant near Tanah Lot. How ironic can it be? We’re from Malaysia and having dinner eating Malay food and almost all of the dishes were greens. Well, we didn’t mind at all, since we’re all health freaks. Later that night, the tour guide dropped us in front of Hard Rock Café by DEMAND. And we walked quite a distance back to the hotel while stopping by shops to pick up more nice souvenirs and so many dresses.

You wouldn’t believe how tired we were when arrived back in hotel. Lydia and I were exhausted yet happy with our findings! While Carole, Fauziah and Nadia went for a night swim and have quality girly time.