Malaysia International Gourmet Festival (MIGF)

The MIGF, which starts today and ends on 29 Nov. The festival is aimed at promoting the country's best local chefs and their versatility. Among the participating restaurants are
Iketeru in Hilton Kuala Lumpur,
Lafite in Shangri-La Hotel, Dynasty in Renaissance Kuala Lumpur, Hanabi Japanese Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur,
Tamarind Springs in Kuala Lumpur,
Eest and Prego at the Westin Kuala Lumpur (both restaurants are indeed marvellous) and
The Olive in Genting Hotel (my favourite restaurant too). For full restaurant listing, click here.

Three Michelin Stars – German Chef Volker Drkosch, French Chef Joel Antunes and Spanish Ramon Freixa Reira – will be serving up a storm at The Olive in Genting. Just like the Academy Awards which are given to stars in the movie industry, those who receive Michelin Stars from the Michelin Guide signifies that their restaurants embody excellence in all aspects of their dining experience, from the quality of the cuisine to the ambience, service and attention to detail. Michelin Stars are considered the most influential and consequently most prized accolade in the culinary world. Always my dream too, to be become a Food Inspector under the Michelin Guide's guidance. In conjunction with the festival, a 3-day Epicure Malaysia Fair will be held from 17 to 19 Nov at the Sime Darby Convention Centre. Next year, the festival would be an even bigger affair with more restaurants coming on board in anticipation of Visit Malaysia Year 2007.
Tags: Food, MIGF, Restaurant, Fine Dining, Malaysia, Michelin Stars, Iketeru, Hilton, Lafite, Shangri-La Hotel, Dynasty, Renaissance, Hanabi Japanese Restaurant, Tamarind Springs, Eest, Prego, Westin, The Olive, Genting Hotel, Epicure Malaysia Fair, Kuala Lumpur

Copyright Act Breached?

A friend of mine sent this picture of a barber shop that was taken in Thailand.

If you compare this with Malaysia's low cost air carrier, which also displayed a similar logo and theme. I wonder, who copied whom.

Even AirAsia's website displayed their own theme when you click it. Breach of copyright?

Tags: AirAsia, Copyright, Logo, Thailand, Barber

World's Most Popular Blog

The weblog by Chinese starlet Xu Jinglei is now the world's most popular. With more than 60 million clicks and currently listed as no. 5 in Technorati's billboard under the category of blogs having the most links, a leading weblog search engine.

Xu, an actress-turned-director, became famous overseas when she won a best director award for "Letter From An Unknown Woman" in the 2004 San Sebastian International Film Festival in Spain.

Begun last October, Xu's blog at blog.sina.com.cn/m/xujinglei only took 112 days to break domestic records with more than 10 million visits.
Tags: Xu Jinglei, Technorati, Weblog, Most Popular, Best Director, Letter From An Unknown Woman, San Sebastian International Film Festival, Spain

Most Influential Brits Who Never Lived

Influential but has never lived?????
They have an effect on every facet of modern life. And the characters featured in a US book, The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived, have one thing in common - they are all creations of fiction.
Topping the list is a home-grown American character, the Marlboro Man - a macho cowboy who emerged in the 1950s as an advertising creation to help sell cigarettes. Marlboro Man's biggest influence on society has been to cause the death of millions from cancer.

At no. 2 is Big Brother from George Orwell's novel 1984, the face of government control, while at no. 3 is King Arthur, who the book's three authors say embodies for many the ideal monarch or leader. Santa Claus is in at no. 4 because he "makes us believe we are entitled to goodies just for living in an affluent society and governs our entire economy for the last quarter of the year".
Shakespeare scores twice in the top ten, with Hamlet and Romeo & Juliet, while Sherlock Holmes and Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde are also there. And so too is Dr Frankenstein's Monster, from the mind of Britain's Mary Shelley. Germany is represented by Siegfried, the warrior hero of Teutonic nationalism who the authors say was responsible for propelling his country into two world wars.

James Bond is at no. 51 for "combining intrigue, sex and British suavity with the highest technologies of our modern age". And there is even space for the Loch Ness Monster at no. 56, described as "the most fabulous animal in the world: Nessie's influence on the cash flow of Scotland has been significant".

THE TOP TEN
1. The Marlboro Man / 2. Big Brother / 3. King Arthur / 4. Santa Claus / 5. Hamlet /
6. Dr Frankenstein's Monster / 7. Siegfried / 8. Sherlock Holmes / 9. Romeo & Juliet /
10. Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde
Tags: Fiction, Book, Marlboro, Influence, Big Brother, King Arthur, Santa Claus, Hamlet, Frankenstein, Siegfried, Sherlock Holmes, Romeo & Juliet, Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, James Bond, Loch Ness Monster

Safest And Most Dangerous Cities

A list of the safest and most dangerous cities overall, as compiled by Morgan Quitno Press, which bases the rankings on FBI figures released in June. The list starts with the safest cities and ends with the most dangerous.

As per the list, St. Louis and Detroit have been listed as the most dangerous cities in USA. I could have forgiven these 2 cities' folks as it could been their baseball fans who had became a bit rowdy throughout the season as they celebrated their teams' advancements all the way to "world series" as per my earlier blog. Maybe some celebrations got out of hand and so happened, the people conducting the surveys were there ...... hehehe. Anyway, I still don't agree with the words "world series".
Tags: Morgan Quitno, FBI, St. Louis, Detroit, City, Safest, Dangerous

Hong Kong's Robot Staff

A robot performs as a chef prepares food at Robot Kitchen in Hong Kong. With a whir and a flash of lights, another robot whizzes to the restaurant table and takes a customer's order, while a second races to another table to deliver plates of steaming food. Robot Kitchen opened in July to cash in on the city's love affair with gadgets, claiming to be the world's first eatery staffed by machines.
Robo Waiter 1, for instance, is a crudely designed box on wheels covered in shiny paper and with an illuminated bulb to represent a head. Robo Waiter 1 is designed as a female robot, and for the purpose of delivering dishes.The computer inside can recognise voice patterns, take meal orders and send them by infrared to the cooks in the kitchen. It is steered by a video camera, which detects objects in its way and guides the robot around them. Robo Waiter 2 is much the same, but has a tray for carrying food.

Click here to see the video showing a robo waiter at work.
Tags: Hong Kong, Robot, Restaurant, Kitchen, Robot Kitchen

Get Ready to Lead

The fact is, all leaders must be born. And from there on in they are constantly learning. I believe this new era of American history will call upon leaders to possess two fundamental qualities, courage and holiness. That's why you may be experiencing difficulty in your life right now. God is getting you ready for leadership. God is getting his men and women ready to take a moral stand for Christ in a generation that is becoming increasingly hostile to the Gospel.

You might be saying to yourself, wait a minute, I'm not a leader. Well relax, even the great spiritual leader Elijah wasn't perfect. Heaven knows that King David himself had some very serious shortcomings. God will mold you into a leader for use in His purposes.
--Steve Farrar
Tags: Motivation, Leadership, Christianity, Steve Farrar