Raising Awareness on Deaf Culture Through The Starbucks Signing Store

Starbucks, in partnership with the Society of Interpreters for the Deaf (SID), developed the Outreach Community Program to enhance Deaf livelihood and enrich customers through a series of free workshops held throughout the year at Starbucks Bangsar Village II. There are currently three types of workshops within the program: the Personal and Professional Development Workshop, the Deaf Empowerment and Awareness for Youth workshop, and the Signing Workshop. All of these workshops target to benefit 840 people in Malaysia every year.

These workshops hope to help the Deaf community develop their soft skills to prepare them for employment, and to also provide free Sign Language Classes for the public so that customers can learn to communicate with the deaf and understand deaf culture. These sign language classes, or Signing Workshops, are held six times every quarter. Syllabus within these workshops include common sign language such as everyday expressions, action words, people and relationships, food and beverages, and many others.

In addition to the Signing Workshop, there is also the Deaf Empowerment and Awareness for Youth Workshop which engages youth from deaf schools and institutions on life saving and financial tips, including topics related to Cybercrime, Introduction to Financial Planning and SAVEME 999 Deaf. Meanwhile, the Personal and Professional Development Workshop helps the deaf community develop soft skills, such as work ethics, teamwork and career attributes including professional writing, coding and web development, amongst others, to help the deaf community prepare for employment.

This interactive learning experience provided through these workshops brings together Starbucks partners (employees), persons who are deaf and hard of hearing, the neighborhood community, individuals and many more to learn more about sign language. Through these signing workshops, the mission of being performance driven through the lens of humanity resonates strongly at the Starbucks Signing Store as it empowers the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community an opportunity of equal rights and access to information and communication.

Cold Storage Kids Run Returns to Promote Healthy Living Among Children

The Cold Storage Kids Run is back for its second year running and is better than ever! This year’s Kids Run featured a longer route and a challenging obstacle course that promised an exciting day out for children and adults alike. Part of an initiative by Cold Storage Malaysia to promote Malaysians on the importance of living a healthy lifestyle, the 2018 edition of the Kids Run aims to promote healthy routines from a tender age.

Malaysia is one of the top four most overweight countries in Asia Pacific and the rapid rise of overweight children is alarming, as they are at a higher risk of becoming obese as adults and that could lead to many health complications.1 With the advancement of technology, most children and parents take for granted the importance of regular exercises and a balanced meal. Couple that with parents busy schedules, children tend to eat unhealthy food most of the time and do not get enough important nutrients that their body needs in order to grow.

Cold Storage Malaysia is leading the conversation on promoting the importance of an active lifestyle as well as an adequate diet to the public, especially to the future leaders of our country. The Cold Storage Kids Run further emphasis their commitment in inspiring both children and adults, to make healthy food choices by providing a fine selection of fresh and high quality groceries in our stores. This event is part of their continuous effort in educating children on the importance of a balanced lifestyle since young as it could encourage them to start adopting to healthy habits in the future.

Speaking at the event, Pierre-Olivier Deplanck, Managing Director of GCH Retail (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. said, “We wanted to create a fun activity that our customers and family can participate and at the same time the activity should consist of educational messages that is explained in an exciting manner. Once again, Cold Storage Malaysia is proud to call the Kids Run initiative as one of our best effort in promoting the importance of living a balanced and healthy lifestyle.”

Prego Buddies - Fun Shaped Dry Pasta for Kids

Prego, the expert in pasta meals, is introducing its first fun-shaped dry pasta for kids, Prego Buddies. The dry pasta, made from natural tomato and spinach powder comes in exciting sports and space shapes to help busy mums entice their kids with wholesome yet fun pasta meals.

With Prego Buddies, busy mums can get the goodness of vegetables into their kid’s meal and more importantly, meals can be done in 10 minutes when paired with any Prego pasta sauce, or by adding their kid’s favourite ingredients like chicken or tuna.

“Kids love pasta and with Prego Buddies, we are giving mums a solution that makes kids mealtime convenient, delicious, fun and easy,” said Michelle Nunis, Marketing Director, Campbell Soup Southeast Asia.

“With Prego Buddies, a wholesome kids’ pasta meal is done in minutes. So, it is a great option for mums to prepare whether it is a meal for school recess, as an after-school snack, or for an easy, delicious lunch or dinner meal at home.”

[Review] NUViT Dermal White Series

We Asian are obsessed with fair and white skin, especially Malaysian. There's a report made in Malaysia concluded that three quarters of Malaysian men thought their partners would be more attractive if they had lighter skin complexion, a beauty standard they call the “Pan-Asian look”. Don’t believe me? Ask the men around you.

However, living in our tropical country, we can't escape from the sun. We are exposed to sunlight most of the day. Overtime, our skin can begin to experience hyper-pigmentation or our complexions can start to look a bit dull – hello freckles, sun spots, and acne scars.

Hence, it is important to apply a good sunscreen protection daily. However, if you want to achieve radiant luminous skin, using whitening skincare products can give you the extra glow.

I recently discovered NUViT, a skincare brand that specializes in delivering highest quality and effective skin care product by incorporating advanced clinical technology with natural plant based extracts. Since I am into natural plant based skincare, I decided to give NUViT Dermal White series a try.

NUViT Dermal White skincare series uses 3 simple principles such as SPOT, ENTIRE and ENHANCE to achieve depigmentation efficacy. The main ingredient of NUViT Dermal White skincare series is B-trans5™. Targeting skin dullness, uneven skin tone and dark spots, B-trans5™ has a unique combination of formula to effectively inhibit the formation of melanin, repairs skin and has high antioxidant capacity. It brightens, evens, and makes skin complexion flawless.

B-trans5™ contains 3% tranexamic acid, AA-2G, Vitamin B3, daisy flower extract and vitamin E to fully inhibit, desalinate, and reverse the formation of melanin. These can effectively prevent spots formation.

NUViT Dermal White skincare series contains 3 products: Brightening Spot Correcting Serum, Essence Fluid and Spot Corrector. Let's look into them individually below;

NUViT Dermal White Brightening Spot Correcting Serum (15ml | RM69.90)

NUViT Dermal White Brightening Spot Correcting Serum is incorporated with the patented Tetrapeptide-30 in the formula. It helps in spots reduction and skin brightening. Apart from that, it offers instant and over time correction on existing spots, scars and acne marks. It also removes dull skin caused by inflammation and dryness.

The product comes in a tube form, which made it easy to squeeze out the amount we need. After cleansing your skin, apply the spot serum on the targeted areas every morning and evening. Dab and let it fully absorb before apply other skincare products. The texture is like an emulsion it sinks into your skin immediately. I like that it has a pleasant floral scent.

Meet 'Maya' – Your New BFF for Family Planning

26 September is not only my Birthday, it is also the World Contraception Day! World Contraception Day is an annual worldwide campaign centers around a vision where every pregnancy is wanted. Launched in 2007, World Contraception Day's mission is to improve awareness of contraception and to enable young people to make informed choices on their sexual and reproductive health.
In line with this, Bayer has launch the technology-driven chatbot called, 'Ask Maya', which is supported by FRHAM and MPC-YPC. 'Ask Maya' chatbot is dedicated to increasing access to and availability of family planning services and education.

Dr. John Teo, Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist and Member of the Medical Committee of FRHAM, has shared his thought on family planning, sexual and reproductive health at the launch event. He shared “Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) in Malaysia is 22% for all methods and for modern methods it is only at 35%. What is of concern is that the rate has not improved over the last 20 years!”

“Therefore, the challenge of addressing reproductive health issues remains enormous. The 5th Malaysian Family and Population survey conducted in 2014 reported that on average, only 40% to 60% of our adolescents and young adults are aware of basic reproductive knowledge. It is also essential that women learn more about contraceptive methods and clear any misconceptions they may have,” explained Teo.

Commenting on Bayer Co. (Malaysia)'s involvement on this issue, Ms. Jennifer Yong, Managing Director of Bayer Co. (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd said, “Bayer has a long history in women's health and we have been supporting family-planning programmes for more than 50 years. Today's launch of our chatbot, 'Ask Maya', takes our efforts to the next level in sync with modern technology.”

“'Ask Maya' is hosted on Bayer's 'How U know' website (http://www.howuknow.com/), which also promotes awareness of contraceptive methods to help women make informed decisions on their sexual and reproductive health” added Jennifer.

The 'Ask Maya' chatbot initiative has been made possible through Bayer's partnership with the Federation of Reproductive Health Associations Malaysia (FRHAM) and the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society – Young Pharmacist Chapter (MPS-YPC).

New! Monopoly Cheaters Edition

Cheaters alert! The highly anticipated Monopoly Cheaters Edition has finally landed in Malaysia. Bringing a twist to the classic Monopoly board game, this outlandish game allows players to challenge each other and get away with as many cheats as they can. Get caught, and you’ll be cuffed!

Over the years, the classic Monopoly was known to have sparked feuds and arguments among players. A recent study conducted by Hasbro revealed that nearly half of game players attempt to cheat during Monopoly games and the game often ended in fights. This was due to players trying to cheat when the game was underway, using means such as sneaking extra cash from the bank or taking additional steps to avoid being jailed.

Change up game night with this version of the Monopoly game where cheating is not only welcome, it's a must do! Cheating's officially part of the game. With a set of interesting game rules, the Monopoly Cheaters Edition requires players to follow, bend or break the rules in order to win the game. Unlike the traditional Monopoly board game, the Cheaters Edition rewards players who managed to get away without being caught. The goal of the game still remains that the player with the most money at the end of the game wins, however it may be tougher and more challenging to achieve since cheating is now incorporated in the game. This means that players can skip spaces, collect extra Monopoly money when passing GO, and even skip out on rent when the tenant is unaware.

Third from left - Wu Hsiao Mae, Brand Manager of Hasbro Toy (Malaysia

“It has always been our mission to create a game that is ‘fun to play, fun to watch and fun to share’ for everyone. I am thrilled to introduce the Monopoly Cheater’s Edition to all of you. This is definitely a game changer in the Monopoly space, and the key thing here is what you can get away with,” said Wu Hsiao Mae, Brand Manager of Hasbro Toy (Malaysia). Hasbro Toy (Malaysia) is a fully owned subsidiary of Hasbro Inc.

Mid Autumn Festival 2018 @ Plaza Arkadia, Desa Park City

When I was young, I love to listen to the story of moon fairy lady Chang’E. It is a beautiful legends of love story that many Chinese would know. The story goes like this: In the distant past, there used to be 10 suns in the sky one year. The scorching heat dried up the lake and people were at death’s door. Just at that time, a hero named Hou Yi heard about this predicament. With his extraordinary power, he then pulled his supernatural bow and shot 9 needless suns down on the peak of Mount Kunlun.

Hou Yi was respected, loved and supported by them. A large number of persons of ideals and integrity flocked to Hou Yi to take him as their teacher and seek instructions out of admiration. Among those learners, there was no lack of the treacherous and cunning learner, such as a learner named Peng Meng.

Before long, Hou Yi got married to a beautiful and virtuous girl named Chang’E. They loved each other very much and got along very well. One day, Hou Yi went to Mount Kunlun to meet friends when he encountered the Queen of Heaven who gave him an elixir of life. It was said that half of the elixir could make a person live forever and the whole elixir could make a person become an immortal instantly.

However, Hou Yi was unwilling to leave his wife, and he gave the elixir of life to Chang’E for safekeeping. Chang’E put the elixir of life into a case of her dressing table, which was seen by Peng Meng who was very treacherous. Three days later, when Hou Yi went out for hunting with his disciples, the disingenuous Peng Meng pretended to be ill, so he didn’t go with them. Shortly after their leave, Peng Meng broke into Hou Yi’s House with a double-edged sword in his hand. Peng Meng threatened Chang’E to hand over the elixir of life. Chang’E knew that she couldn’t manage to protect the elixir of life.

Planning My Year-End Family Trip to Jakarta

It's almost the year end school holiday again. Every year, our whole family will be traveled abroad to create memory together. We have been to countries like Australia, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, and many more together. This year, we are planning to visit the capital of Indonesia – Jakarta.

We have heard so much about Jakarta - our neighborhood city so much. As the largest city in Indonesia, it is also the center of economics, culture and politics of Indonesia. Jakarta is an amazing and wonderful city. Many tourists have been enjoying a stay in one of the most vibrant, friendly and uprising cities in Asia. It would surely be the best city to visit to learn about the culture of Indonesia. It is an ideal place for the family vacation as it only took 2 hours to travel from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta.

Let's find out top 4 reasons why we choose to visit Jakarta.

1. Shopping

We Malaysian love shopping. Shopping is a must to most of us, especially when travelling. Jakarta has a lot of shopping malls that shoppers could shop till they drop. The top shopping mall, Taman Anggrek Mall is the city's largest, has over 500 stores on seven levels. We could certainly spend a day or two there to get our favourite stuff. No matter you are into high-end, mid-range or low-range shopping, you would find your ideal products at the various shopping mall. It is also known that we could get the best deals during Jakarta Great Sale in June and July, held to commemorate the anniversary of Jakarta's founding.

2. Captivating Culture

Indonesia's diverse group of cultures has created a multifaceted culture that one can experience via traditional performances, the Java Jazz Festival, film festivals and many other world-class arts and entertainment events hosted by the city throughout the year. One of the must visit would be The Taman Mini Indonesia Indah or "Beautiful Indonesia Miniature Park" in East Jakarta includes pavilions that illustrate life in all of Indonesia's 26 provinces.

Owning a HDB Flat As a Single in 30s

At the age of 35 and single sounds like fabulous life to some. But in Singapore, it is big deal where adulting can finally happen, buying your first HDB flat! There’s no need to worry about being affordable for HDB rental anymore. Because the amount paid for HDB rental is equivalent to the monthly instalment paid or your own house. Singapore’s Housing Development Board has their set of eligibility for the singles and unmarried citizens when they reach 35 years old and above and individual Singaporeans who is widowed or orphaned who has reached 21 years old and above to purchase or own a HDB flat unit and must be Singaporean. Not even Permanent Resident (PR) status allows Singaporean to buy a brand new or first hand HDB flats across Singapore.

Now, you have passed the eligibility tests, here is the next step to HDB unit ownership, selecting the schemes as it may help you with the grants that you may apply to help you reduce your financial burden with grants and schemes. There are two types of schemes available for the singles which are Single Singapore Citizen Scheme and Joint Single Schemes, check here for more. There can be two to four co-applicants for HDB flat.

There are few scenarios why single prefer owning a HDB flat with other co-owners:

1) Two singles who are in a relationship may have plans to get married in the future. Hence, the HDB flat that they bought may become their matrimonial home in the future. Buying a flat together may be a better idea as opposed to buying two separate HDB flats, needing to sell off one should they get married.

2) The two (or more) singles may want to buy a HDB flat but are unable to afford it on their own. Hence, they pool their resources to buy it together.

3) The two singles may have plans to live together over the long-term but have no plans to get married or be unable to be (legally) married.

There are few crucial notes of HDB flat ownership structure you will need to know especially being single and buying it with another single. Well, the most common one would be through a joint tenancy agreement which also applies on survivorship. This shows that upon the demise either one of the owner, the ownership of the flat would be passed down to remaining owner or co-owners automatically. This joint tenancy agreement applies whether or not a valid will has or has not been left behind.

‘Taobao Home’ and It's ‘New Retail’ Pop Up Store in Malaysia

Do you know where to go for great bargain and shopping deals? Yes you are right, it's Taobao! We all enjoy shopping online at Taobao in this digital era. It is easy, convenient and most importantly, affordable! It is even better now as Alibaba Group’s Tmall World (天猫海外), serving over 100 million overseas Chinese users and other buyers from around the world, launched the ‘Taobao Home’ pop up store, an offline interactive consumer showcase of offerings from its ‘Home and Living’ categories, at Lot 10 Shopping Centre in Kuala Lumpur today.

The three-day showcase is in conjunction with the Tmall World’s exclusive September ‘Home & Living promotions’ between 17 and 22 September 2018 launched on Taobao.com, which features an array of exclusive online promotions and offers from popular brands across a wide range of products.

Lilian Wu, Tmall World Southeast Asia, Head of Marketing (centre) officially launching Taobao Home Pop-Up at Lot 10 Shopping Centre, Kuala Lumpu

From today until 22 September 2018, Malaysian shoppers who visit the ‘Taobao Home’ pop up store at Lot 10 Shopping Centre will get a taste of Alibaba’s ‘new retail’ concept as visitors only need to scan the product QR code through their Taobao or Taobao Lite mobile app in order to immediately purchase their favorite items on display in the store.

Lilian Wu, Tmall World Southeast Asia, Head of Marketing giving her welcome address to members of the media and guests during the launch event

“Malaysia is a key market for our Group and we are committed to continually looking for avenues to enhance our Malaysian fans’ shopping experience through our offerings and services. We find that Home and Living products are among Malaysians’ favourite items on our platform,” said Lilian Wu, South East Asia Head of Marketing, Tmall World. “In the past year, Tmall World has rolled out compelling new localized solutions including sea freight shipping, door to door delivery and installation services to enhance the Malaysian shopping experience.”

Kleenex Ultra Soft Bath Tissue

As a mother of two daughters, I emphasize on family hygiene. Not only our house area is equipped with tissue, I always bring along tissues with me too. You know there are different grades of tissue paper that ranges from very hard or rough surface to the luxuriously soft and quilted varieties. However, when it comes to family hygiene, I only wants the best quality. Hence, I have chosen Kleenex Ultra Soft Bath Tissues!

In fact, my mum is a Kleenex user since we were young. Kleenex is our family's most trusted brand. My whole family prefers the Kleenex Ultra Soft Bath Tissues because of its 3-ply thick sheet made from 100% high quality virgin fiber. The tissues exudes a luxurious softness in each sheet, it is so soft that I can even use it on my kids when they were a baby.

Kleenex Ultra Soft Bath Tissue is developed with an advanced technology, where each sheet is specially crafted with CleanWeave design to remove dirt thoroughly while charcoal extract absorbs odor. Even my girls love to use it and they always bring it to school with them.

You can get so much more now with CleanWeave to absorb dirt. Its Cushiony softness is among the softest tissues ever and odor absorbing capability is so good that it keeps one smelling fresh and feeling good. It is indeed a good soft tissue paper for the whole family.

TM and BBC Studios launches BBC Player app Exclusively For All unifi Broadband Customers in Malaysia

We know we Malaysian love to watch TV. Now, there's a great news for all of us. BBC Studios and unifi TV has announced the expansion of the BBC Player service, enabling all unifi and pre-unifi (Streamyx) customers to enjoy the best of British documentaries, dramas, comedies, lifestyle and preschool programmes via streaming and downloading of the content to their devices.

Previously available only to subscribers of unifi TV’s Ultimate pack, BBC Player will now be available to more than two million unifi subscribers for FREE for 30 days.

“More and more viewers are going to online platforms in search of interesting programmes to watch. The Malaysian audience on BBC Player has steadily grown since the service was launched in early 2017, signaling an increasing appetite for our content online. Dramas like Victoria, lifestyle programmes like the award-winning The Great British Bake-Off, our blue-chip natural history programmes like Blue Planet II, and the ever popular irreverent Top Gear, consistently top the charts as the most-watched programmes by unifi’s Ultimate Pack subscribers, on both BBC Player and unifi TV,” said Ryan Shiotani, Vice President, Content, Asia of BBC Studios.

Ryan Shiotani, Vice President, Content, Asia, BBC Studios presents the trends in viewership especially related to contents by BBC Studios.

“It is evident that BBC content resonates with Malaysians and their families who are looking for high quality, intelligent programmes. We are glad that we are now able to offer these programmes to a wider base of Malaysians,” he added.

Emily Wee, Vice President, unifi Content (Product) talks about the collaboration between unifi and BBC Studios in bringing BBC Player to all unifi broadband subscribers.

Meanwhile, Emily Wee, Vice President of unifi Content (Product) said, “The BBC brand is synonymous with quality and trust. These are the same traits our customers expect and demand from us. We at unifi TV are happy to be collaborating with BBC to meet the diverse needs from our customers by providing a compelling suite of BBC channels as well as access to top rated British content via BBC Player.”

Funniest Person in the World Helms New BBC Earth Series, Got Science?

What is science got to do with the funniest person in the World? You may ask. Well, it is because BBC Studios announced the first BBC Earth original commission in South East Asia – Got Science? will be airs on 11 September 2018.

Hosted by Harith Iskander, Malaysia’s Godfather of comedy and winner of Laugh Factory’s ‘Funniest Person in the World 2016’, Got Science? explores and explains the science of everyday life, using reason, logic, rationale, and science. The eight episode series will explore themes of food, health, fitness, sports, anatomy and technology. Fast-paced and packed with information, Harith threads these stories together in his inimitable light, tongue-in-cheek style through his running commentary and funny one-liners. Popular myths like consuming durians and alcohol will kill you, and MSG is bad for you are just some topics covered in the new series.

(from left) Emily Wee, Vice President, unifi Content (Product); Harith Iskander; and Ryan Shiotani, Vice President, Content, Asia, BBC Studios at the media event to launch BBC Got Science? and the expansion of the BBC Player service to two million more unifi broadband subscribers in Malaysia.

“BBC Earth is home to the BBC’s world-renowned natural history, science and adventure content. We wanted to do something fast-paced, fun and informative that would be specifically relevant to our audiences in Asia. Got Science? fits the bill. The series explores the science around everyday things we see on the internet to things our mothers told us, like don’t drink alcohol after eating durian, all told by Harith in his signature comedic style. I’m very excited to see people’s reaction to the show when it airs on September 11,” said Ryan Shiotani, VP, Content, Asia, BBC Studios.

Harith Iskander (right) speaks about BBC Earth Asia commission Got Science?, an entertaining science magazine show hosted by him which is set to premiere on BBC Earth (unifi TV, channel 501) on 11 September 2018 at 8.05 pm and will be available on BBC Player.

“Science was never my favourite subject in school,” said Harith Iskander, “So I was initially apprehensive when BBC approached me to host Got Science?. I never quite understood the complex scientific theories and formulae the teachers rattled on about in school. I realise now that it wasn’t interesting to me because it wasn’t relevant to my daily life. Got Science? approaches science in a way that is fresh, fun and accessible. I hope that viewers will enjoy it and have many light bulb moments as I did.”

Got Science? will premiere on BBC Earth on Tuesday, 11 September at 8.05pm, and will be available on BBC Player at the same time.

BookXcess 16% Malaysia Day Promotion

"A book is a dream that you hold in your hand."

— Neil Gaiman

Ever since BookXcess opened its first outlet in Amcorp Mall in 2006, we quickly become their royal customer because we can buy a wide selection of books at amazing prices there. From bestselling novels, children’s books, cooking and architecture to literature, history, evergreen classics and décor – at hugely discounted prices. It's so much joy of reading by making books available at affordable prices.

To celebrate Malaysia together, BookXcess is carrying out a week of Malaysia Day Sales promotion from 16 September – 23 September 2018. Visitors to all BookXcess stores will be able to enjoy 16% off storewide with a minimum purchase of RM100.

All books in BookXcess are already on 50-80% off retail prices and this 16% promo is on top of it which makes the prices to be beyond affordable. Customers can walk-in to any of the stores below and enjoy the promotion.

BookXcess outlets are available at Amcorp Mall, the Starling, fahrenheit88, as well as gift stores called BookXcess XS in 1 Utama, SS15 Courtyard, Centro Mall, Klang.

You can also visit Malaysia’s biggest 24-hour BookXcess bookstore at Tamarind Square, Cyberjaya. The company also offers online shopping at bookxcessonline.com to meet the needs of customers outside the Klang Valley.

Get a Taste of Malaysia @ REMPAH 2018

In conjunction with Malaysia Day on 16 September 2018, Malaysians are invited to spend their holiday and celebrate the spirit of Malaysia at REMPAH 2018, an inaugural celebration of unity and harmony amongst Malaysians, through what Malaysians love best: Food, Music, Arts and Crafts.

REMPAH 2018 is organised by One Nation Fits All (ONFA), a community platform born out of the desire to build interconnected communities in the new Malaysia, and to create mutual improvement through social programmes and social enterprise. ONFA’s platform is all-inclusive, as no one should be left behind in the collective endeavour to build a caring, industrious world-class nation. The event is organised with the support of prominent partners such as Big Bad Wolf, BookXcess Sdn Bhd, Sunway Education Group, Balai Seni Negara, GanForHire, Tujuan Gemilang, Village Grocer and others.

“On this special day, from 9.16am to 9.16pm, we are bringing together Malaysia’s artistry across many fields, assembling all this talent in one place on Malaysia Day for the various segments of Malaysian society to savour and experience. The event name REMPAH is inspired by the Malay term – Rempah Ratus, which defines the beauty and artistry of Malaysian cuisine. When cooking, we need a mixture of several rempah (spices) to achieve a delicious and flavourful dish. In life, this mixture of different elements also makes for a more vibrant and dynamic society. We hope that all Malaysians will come together like rempah in our dishes, to spice up this wonderful event and enjoy the diversity of Malaysia’s culture. After all, we are all the rempah in the beautiful recipe that creates our beloved Malaysia. We also thank all our partners for their contribution and support in bringing this event to life, thus providing Malaysians a platform to showcase their talents,” said Peter Gan, Co-Founder of One Nation Fits All.

Guardian Malaysia to Step Up Collaboration with Canmake of Japan

Guardian Malaysia will be stepping up collaboration with Canmake, one of Japan’s most popular affordable cosmetic brands by expanding the product range and making them available in more stores.

Head of Marketing, Guardian Health and Beauty Sdn Bhd, Ms Wong Vai Chi, said: “This decision to give more shelf-space to Canmake is aimed at meeting our shoppers’ ever-growing needs for constantly refreshed beauty products at great values.”

Canmake, available at Guardian stores since 2015, was launched 33 years ago in Japan, where it is extremely popular among all generations as it offers an amazing range of cute, trendy, quality products at inexpensive prices.

“In 2015, Guardian rolled out Canmake at 12 stores. Today, they are available in 55 stores and by the end of the year, this would be increased to 80,” she added.

Ms Wong, commenting on the collaboration in a statement today, said: “Guardian is proud and excited to be partnering Canmake to make this wonderful range of products available to more and more of our customers.”

AirAsia BIG BIG Xchange - The World’s First Airline Points Exchange Platform

AirAsia BIG Loyalty launched BIG Xchange, the world’s first airline points exchange platform, for BIG Members to convert between BIG Points and partner points seamlessly and instantly on 14 Sep 2018.

From 25 September 2018, BIG Members will be able to link their loyalty point accounts with participating partners to their BIG Loyalty account via BIG Xchange - available only on the AirAsia BIG Loyalty mobile app - making it easier to convert to BIG Points on a single platform from lifestyle and financial partners’ loyalty programmes.

With its first partner, Citi Malaysia, on board BIG Xchange, Citi credit cardholders can now instantly convert their Citi Rewards points or PremierMiles to BIG Points and enjoy exclusive monthly member-only Final Call Sales with up to 90% off flight fares. The partnership will further extend to Citi Thailand, as well as other financial and lifestyle partners with loyalty points in the coming months.

To kick off the launch of the BIG Xchange, Citi credit cardholders who convert their Citi Rewards points or PremierMiles to BIG Points on BIG Xchange will also benefit from a bonus of 50% BIG Points from 25 September 2018 until 15 October 2018 and a 30% bonus subsequently through to year end. Additionally, Citi credit cardholders who enroll their cards on BIG Xchange during this promotional period will be rewarded with 200 BIG Points per Citi credit card.

New! Mary Kay® At Play Liquid Lipstick

Matte liquid lipsticks is so in-trend nowadays. I am glad to share with you that Mary Kay® has launched their At Play Liquid Lipstick range that offers flexible and matte coverage in no time. We have given them a try and let's read on for our verdict.

Mary Kay® At Play Liquid Lipstick has a light-weight formula which is thin and liquidy. Hence, it dries up pretty fast in seconds. It is super-pigmented and easily to be apply evenly with it's brush applicator. The best part is, it control oil and shine hence offers matte finishes for up to 8 hours.

Mary Kay® At Play Liquid Lipstick is available in six shades, each of which was designed to match a range of skin tones.

Let's look into each shades below;

Pink Shock

Merdeka Eve Laughs at SOULed OUT

Merdeka 2018 was celebrated with the air of hope and promise for change continuing to invigorate the country. For its part, SOULed OUT promoted patriotism among its patrons with deals and give-aways throughout August, which culminated in a SOULed OUT style Merdeka Eve party complete with contemporary local performances, games and prizes.

On August 30th, SOULed OUT welcomed guests for a night of Malaysian culture and entertainment at SOULed OUT Kuala Lumpur at Desa Sri Hartamas. In honour of The Nation’s 61st birthday, guests were treated to local Malaysian food and performances including a special appearance by ‘Syed Teh Tarik’ and a ‘Roti Canai Terbang’ show. For cinching victory in the SOULed OUT Nasi Lemak packing competition the speedy Jessy Wong and other winners won many attractive prizes including, of course, plenty of vouchers for their next visit to any SOULed OUT outlet.

Throughout the Merdeka Month, customers were also given the opportunity to prominently inscribe the things they love the most about Malaysia on the SOULed OUT Merdeka Murals present at all outlets were rewarded for their national spirit with a RM10 SOULed OUT dining voucher.

Featuring tropical fruits like jackfruit, lychee, asamboi, mango and of course the classic sugarcane and lime, SOULed OUT’s locally inspired selection of Mojitos were available throughout August as part of the ongoing Mojito Trio deal for RM55 at SOULed OUT outlets in West Malaysia and for RM66 at SOULed OUT Kota Kinabalu.

[Property] DK Impian @ Damansara West

We have been to Damansara West to visit the DK Impian sales gallery recently. DK Impian is a new mixed development located at Seksyen U5 Shah Alam. 

If you have not been there yet, the location is near to KTM Subang Skypark, HELP International School & University and Star Avenue Lifestyle Mall.

With so many amenities nearby, DK Impian offers the unique Soho and dual-key concept for the Damansara West area. It is a great property for investment as it is a landmark that mirrors the Gen-Y and millenials' aspirations towards iconic living. Sharing a single entrance, one room can act as a living space while the other serves as a working studio, offering balance between working and living. Purchasers can also have the option of renting out the other room as a source of passive income.

DK Impian is a 1 block 14 storey 658 units designer Soho and 5 units shop. There are a few types for buyers to choose, from 2 to 3 bedrooms with Built-up of 592sf, 603sf, 624sf, 635sf, and 646sf. With the price of RM 365k onwads, it is Equipped with amenities such as an infinity pool, sunken bridge, hot tub and barbecue area.

The Organic Kampung Chicken by AQINA Farm

From young, my mom has been using kampung chicken to cook for us as it is more delicious than any other chicken. It's even better now because AQINA has launch the Organic Kampung Chicken which has been proven to be leaner, healthier and have less fat than the conventional chicken by up to 30%. This significant discovery, announced by AQINA on 4th Sep 2018, the market leader in the production of organic kampung chicken, is backed up by various studies done by the AQINA veterinary lab experts and as well as other independent researchers.

Mr. Wesley Tan, Group Executive Director of AQINA

Meeting & maintaining the high standards of production of organic kampung chicken, AQINA Farm made history by being awarded as Malaysia’s first and only company to be presented with two (2) accreditations: 1) Malaysia Organic Animal Production (MyOrganic) and Malaysia Good Agriculture Practice (MyGAP) by the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) at an official ceremony held in KL Gateway Mall today. The launching of the event was conducted by Mr. Wesley Tan, the Group Executive Director of AQINA Group of Companies, and was graced by Guest of Honor – En Yasser Arafat bin Zainal Rashid, Principal Assistant Director – Business Development Division of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs.

As consumers, today are more concerned about health and nutritional values around the world, “Organic” section of the Poultry Aisle is fast gaining popularity, similar to the common Produce Aisle (Fresh Fruits & Vegetables) in most major supermarkets. The demand for “Organic Kampung Chicken” is fast becoming the healthier choice of many families because it contains significantly less fat, free of chemical residue and tastier cuisines. Leaner cuts of organic kampung meat make chicken an even healthier protein choice, and speed up cooking time to make it a practical choice for daily cooking. Nobody likes to think of food that’s poisonous, but commercially-raised poultry often contains hormones, antibiotics and trace amounts of pesticides, all of which can be a potential health hazard. Furthermore, chicken that’s not commercially produced tends to be more tender and have better absorbing flavors, and consumers seem to prefer the taste of organic chicken.

AQINA, the ‘Healthier Meat Choice’ provider, has been known as the leader of poultry farm for kampung chickens for the past 20 years, and is known as one of the largest kampung chicken production companies in the nation. Operating from a halal-certified slaughtering cum processing plant in Taman Perindustrian Ulu Choh, Pekan Nenas, Johor, Malaysia, AQINA has an hourly production capacity of 6,000 heads of chickens. AQINA’s expertise is in breeding kampung chickens the traditional way, by nurturing them organically and slowly, over 70 days to its optimal size, without antibiotics and growth hormones. AQINA believes that slower growth, better diet and more exercise make their kampung chicken healthier, leaner and tastier. “Slower-growing” chickens or “kampung chicken” are chickens that can take almost twice as long to reach market weight – about 81 days typically – because they do not convert feed to muscle as quickly.

New! Asus ZenBook Pro 15 Notebook

As a blogger, notebook is my everyday need in order to create my contents. As an IT graduated, I am always on the lookout for the latest notebook models. When I was invited to the launch of the new Asus ZenBook Pro 15 Notebook, I can't contain my excitement any longer.

Asus ZenBook Pro 15 Notebook launch was held at Nexus Convention Center on 28th Aug 2018. It was attended by a lot of media eager to learn more about the new notebook. Once we entered the hall, we were attracted by the giant ZenBook Pro 15 on the stage. Then, we proceeded to check out the notebook models at the display area at the corner of the hall.

After awhile, the launch was officiated by the professional team of ASUS. We were amazed with the specifications which we think you would surely love it too.

The Asus ZenBook Pro 15 is a very capable notebook thanks to its Core i9 CPU and 15-inch 4K display, but its star attraction is the World's first Intelligent touch pad that doubles as a second screen. The ScreenPad located beneath the kepboard could acts as Touchpad, Touchscreen & Extended Screen. Users can easily open Calendar, Spotify, Calculator, NumKey, Microsoft Office with the ScreenPad. The ScreenPad is 5.5" FHD (1920 x 1080) Super IPS+ display, 178˚ wide-view technology, Glass-covered for fingerprint and smudge resistance, and has the Precision touchpad (PTP) technology supports up to four-finger smart gestures.