F1 Weekend in KL

Very nice pictures from the day dremer



The F1 circus has come to town. The second leg of the GP season at Sepang is at its full swing with almost every constructor along with their sponsors throwing parties for their clients milking the F1 franchise for some brand association and celebration. Big celebration.
My friends and I were fortunate enough to be invited by BMW to their Pit Lane Party at KLCC Park on Friday night. The joint collaboration of our hosts BMW, Petronas, Swiss-based Sauber, Dell and Intel saw a most impressive set up of a 50 meter tarmac track for demos and stunt drivers flanked on three sides by makeshift tents that houses pit lane activities for public participation. At the top of the track, sits a majestic 2-storey white lounge strictly for invited guests only. Here, the well heeled and well connected luminaries of KL sip martini and white wine, munch on chic canapes in the cool comfort of the well spread out, zen decorated lounge.
We made our rounds in the lounge, admiring the exhibits and paying our respects to our hosts making sure we were 'seen' by the right people and chatted with some.
As the clock struck 10, we thought we'd call it a night but our hosts had more in store for us.
The bar upstairs has just opened and champagne will be served. The makeshift bar upstairs could rival the swankiest in town and has what the swankiest bar in town doesn't have- a world class female DJ flown in from London playing lounge music to chill. We partied and inevitably od on champagne that was free flowing all nite.
Corporate Malaysia has indeed come a long way. And when you have big brands on your side for F1, you're in for a party!

Haven't had a champagne hangover in a long long time.

A Night in Singapore

Hill St.Fire Stn.


Spent a quick weekend in Singapore with the family and Godmas. It was to celebrate Godma Hanim's birthday.

The journey via the Nice bus from old KTM stn was quick and comfortable even pleasant save for the little 'event' at the Singapore customs when I was marched to the duty officer's room by a 'red army' type, female officer who deemed me a sinner when she led me, meaning me made to walk behind her while she brandished the bottle of champagne, that I purportedly failed to declare, striding proudly to the 'sentencing' room with me in tow. At the end, duty payable was S$8.73 which I gladly paid a very nice Malay gentleman who never gave the issue any weight at all. In fact he was even apologetic.

The New Majestic Hotel we stayed in was well, newly Majestic. Only just about a year old, this boutique hotel has only 30 rooms all individually designed by Singapore's foremost artists and designers. Our room's designer is Miguel Chew. The Coolhunter aptly calls it "the Anti-hotel, more hollywood mansion than mega chain". Well, after this experience and knowing it's at Chinatown, I now know of many such hotels to explore in future.

Dinner at Flutes at the Fort was well executed for our party of six. The venue used to be the expatriate fire chief's residence snugly tucked atop a hillock behind the Hill St. Fire Station near Fort Canning. Very nice colonial bungalow with high ceilings and wide verandahs.
The wine and food fitted the occasion pretty well. Worth mentioning was the Oyster Bay, Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. The Kangaroo loin was very gamey and chunky as the Cab Sav. that was served with it. Dessert came in a huge platter of all their offerings doubling up as Hanim's surprise birthday cake. But what topped the evening beyond the food and wine was the level of service we received from the very competent, attentive and creative head waiter Rashid and crew. This I believe, is Singapore's edge, a very competent work force.

Liverpool 4 Arsenal 1 . Revenge is sweet

Liverpool have reclaimed third place in the Premiership from Arsenal after a brilliant hat-trick from Peter Crouch and a goal from Daniel Agger gave them a emphatic 4-1 win over the Gunners at Anfield on Saturday.

Unfortunately, I missed the match. I was clubbing in Singapore.
Liverpool. Live!