Stars Studded Louis Vuitton Island Maison Opening, Sands Marina Bay Mall

I was in Sands Marina Bay Mall yesterday evening and saw a lot of people around the Louis Vuitton Island Maison. I heard from my sister that Chow Yun Fat and about 20 more celebrities will be coming for the opening ceremony. I was able to capture some of them making their entrance through the elevator. There were Vivian Hsu, Vicky Zhao, Lisa S, Ana Rivera (not Amanda S, sorry :p), Takeshi Kaneshiro and Chow Yun Fat. In between there were also Korean celebrities like Kwan Sang Woo, Japanese football player Hidetoshi Nakata, Bollywood stars and Cate Blanchett.

Here's the video that I edited. Sorry for the dark lighting.

No question that Chow Yun Fat was the friendliest and was love by the crowd there.

Meeting Up With Karen Kong 龔柯允 in Hong Kong

I went to Hong Kong two weeks ago for about a week there. Firstly, it's a family trip there to of course travel and sight seeing, secondly is to attend my Hong Kong cousin's wedding lunch ceremony at Yuen Long and lastly is to watch 趙增熹分子音樂盛宴 Chiu Tsang Hei Life in Concert. Chiu Tsang Hei 趙增熹 is actually a famous song producer and song writer in Hong Kong. He became very popular with the public after he took the part as a judge for the reality singing contest The Voice organized by Hong Kong TVB station for two seasons.

I got to know about this concert from Karen's Facebook Page. She's one of the performer in the concert. The concert consists of 8 female singers, Chiu Tseng Hei told the media that he also plan to do a male version of the concert. The concert I watched have Kay Tse 謝安琪, Kit Chan 陳潔儀, Ella Kong 官恩娜, 鄧小巧 (finalist of The Voice season 1), 王嘉儀 (finalist of The Voice season 1), 邵美君 (a talented musical actress that can act and dance) and of course, our very own Karen Kong. Secret performer is Miss Chan Chan 陳潔靈. The concert was great and I like the way he rearranged some of the songs. Oh, Hacken Lee was one of the audience on the night I watch.

Andy Lau was not there but he sent his regards.

Apart for watching the concert, I was also able to meet Karen Kong after her performance. Thanks to Ardiles Nip one of her fan from Hong Kong that managed to alias with her manager to arranged this short meet up with Karen. For those of you that don't know who is Karen Kong, she's actually a Sabahan but now based in Hong Kong mostly. She made a breakthrough there when she successfully PKed the finalists in two different episodes of The Voice. I've know about Karen even before that.

Picture taken in Feb 2009 outside Studio V in 1 Utama.

I can feel that her hand is very cold when I shook her hand during the meet up. I think that's why her singing is a bit shaky during her parts. It's about 15 degree Celsius that night in Hong Kong and they still blast the air con like nobody's business.

With Karen Kong after her performance in the concert.

Group photo. The one in green sweater is Karen's Malaysian friend that is now working in Hong Kong. He came to the concert to surprise her.

In short, the HKD$400 I spent for this concert is really worth it. I also bought Kit Chan's latest album and also Chiu's intrumental album (songs that he composed for movies). Here is the video of the Finale of the concert.

Gary Chaw 曹格 - Back In Control (曹之在我)

It's been almost 1 and a half year since Gary Chaw 曹格 released his last album. A month ago, he released his latest album Back In Control (曹之在我). Lucky for us Malaysians, Sony Music Malaysia decided to distribute the album. So after Jay Chou and Lee Hom, Gary is another composer/singer that is under the Sony Music Malaysia label in this region.

Gary Chaw was back last week for a short press conference on his latest album Back In Control (曹之在我). Thanks to Sony Music Malaysia and Kel Li, Tian Chad and I got to attend the press con. The press con started off with MYFM DJ Royce Tan doing a brief introduction and then continued by showing us the MV of 爺爺 (Grandpa). It's a song written by Gary for his grandpa that he was not able to be by his grandpa's side when his grandpa passed on. The tune is very touching and if you watch the MV and has the same experience you might feel like crying too.

After the MV screening, it's time for Gary Chaw to come on the stage. Royce stated to ask Gary about the experience of making the MV for 爺爺 (Grandpa). Gary said,"I didn't think too much of it at first. The production team hired an 80 year old actor to pretend to be my grandpa. When the shooting starts, the "grandpa" start to pat on my head and say "乖，乖 (guai, guai)", and my tears started to flow out non-stop. This lasted for a few minutes only than the director shouted "Cut". When I looked up, I saw that the director is crying too. He has the same experience of never got the chance to say goodbye to his dad that has passed on."

Being a Sabahan, Gary told us that he should come back to Malaysia more often because now he is not used to the weather here and got a running nose once he got back here. Yes, we're all looking forward to that. It's good if you'll held a concert here in Malaysia too, Gary. ;)

Adrian (Managing Director of Sony Music Malaysia) presenting a souvenir to Gary to wish him “马到功成”.

Gary signing his autograph on the backdrop

There are ten songs in his latest album Back In Control (曹之在我). Going for a newer direction, breaking away from his previous albums. Most noticeable is of course the song he wrote for his grandpa, 爺爺. A very touching ballad that is written to remembers one's elder that has passed on.

"丑角 (Comic Relief)" is a love ballad that talks about how one is only a comic relief to the one he loves and is happy to be just able to do that even though the one he loves doesn't love him back. A very Gary Chaw's style of ballad that one can find in "背叛(Betrayed)" and "無辜(Innocent)".

For some easy listening and a Jazzy feel, I will opt for "喔愛 (Oh! Love)". It's not the normal heavy sadness song that one normally found in Gary Chaw. This song is about how one is openly admitting his love to his loved one and are happy about it.

One would have thought that it's a 中国风 (Classical Chinese meet modern music style) kind of song when listening to the opening of "驚天動地 (Earthshaking)". I was surprised that it turned out to be a rock song. Not those overy powerful rock song like heavy metal rock but still able to pull up a punch. Nicely done in the music arrangement here.

I can find the playfulness of Gary Chaw in the song "WHY WHY" by singing in different tone and attitude in each different phrase. It reminds me of his previous song "咖哩熱狗 (Curry Hotdog)". It's one fun and catchy song to listen to. I found myself singing the chorus just after listening to this song for 2 times.

悲歌王 (Sad Songs King) as the name suggest is not a happy song lol. Well, it's not too sad either. Another typical Gary Chaw's ballad. For those that was attracted by his style of ballad when they first know him will like it. As for me, it's a bit too cliche.

I feel very relax when I was listening "大女人 (Strong Woman)", the arrangement of this song is more to the relaxing side as if one is lying on a beach thinking about the woman he loves that is a strong and modern woman 大女人 and he himself is a 小男人 (the man behind the woman).

香檳時光 (Champagne Time) is another Jazz piece in the album but it's more towards the big band kind of Jazz. Well, Frank Sinatra happens to be one of Gary's favourite singer. I can imagine the MV being Gary on the stage singing with a band behind him in a lounge.

I don't know why I kept thinking of "Loving You" by Minnie Riperton when I am listening to 我也愛你 (I Love You Too). I was like waiting for the la la la la to come up but half way through the song I noticed the different already. Instead of continuing slow and easy like "Loving You" there will be the climax that goes into loud and high notes.

"片尾曲 (Ending Theme Song)" is another typical Gary Chaw's style ballad song. Oh well, this why fans love him anyway. It's his personality in his music.

Gary Chaw 曹格 - Back In Control (曹之在我)
01 爺爺 (Grandpa)
02 丑角 (Comic Relief)
03 喔愛 (Oh! Love)
04 驚天動地 (Earthshaking)
05 WHY WHY
06 悲歌王 (Sad Songs King)
07 大女人 (Strong Woman)
08 香檳時光 (Champagne Time)
09 我也愛你 (I Love You Too)
10 片尾曲 (Ending Theme Song)

My favourites are 爺爺, 丑角, 喔愛, 驚天動地, WHY WHY, 大女人, and 香檳時光. If you like Gary Chaw's music, this album is a must buy. Those that don't listen to his music can start by buying this album.

The talented Gary Chaw 曹格

Me, Gary Chaw, and Tian Chad.

Hitting the High Notes with Lin Yu Chun 林育羣 Malaysia Showcase

I was invited to Lin Yu Chun 林育羣 未來的第一站 大马音乐会 Malaysia Showcase last Saturday at Rootz, Lot 10, Bukit Bintang. Thank you Sony Music Malaysia. Not many familiar faces there. The only one I knew there is Tian Chad. He then bumped into his friend Patrick. I think most of the bloggers went to the other event happening at the same time. Yupe. I saw loads of Tweet from there.

Oh. You don't know who is Lin Yu Chun or more popularly known as his nickname Xiao Pang (小胖). He went on to One Million Star Season 6 (超级星光大道 6) and PKed the contestants there. Then the video of him singing Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" got so many hits on the Internet that the people from US of A started to noticed him. They even nicknamed him "Asian's Susan Boyle". The people from Sony Music then signed him up as a recording artist and as the saying goes, the rest is history.

He was down in Kuala Lumpur to promote two of his debut album, an English ("It's My Time") and a Chinese album ("未來的第一站') . I think he is still in Kuala Lumpur because I heard him doing interview on local Chinese radio station 988 yesterday night.

There were a lot of media there that night. I overheard someone from 8TV 八八六十事 was there too.

Camwhored with Tian Chad while waiting.

After an hour of waiting, finally DJ Jason from MYFM took the stage and introduced Lin Yu Chun.

Chit chat later, everyone is waiting for him to sing. The first song he did is a song from his Chinese debut album. I didn't manage to take video of it though.

A bit of interview with DJ Jason after the first song.

Then he sang the song that made him get noticed, and the crowd went wild. "I Will Always Love You". Man, the high notes that he can do will embarass a lot of female singers.

Time for some fun and game with his fans. There of the fans picked have to sing one song from the album. Juliana, one of his fan there flew all the way from Sarawak to meet him.

Two songs are not enough of the crowd of course. He then sang a cover that he did on one of 順子 Shun Zhi's hit single 星星 (I Am Not A Star) from his Chinese album.

He sang one last song from his English album, "Under Your Wings", which is composed by Walter Afanasieff, whom produced "My Heart Will Go On" for Celine Dion.

It doesn't end there. It's now autograph session for the fans. He did another one at 3pm in Lot 10 a few hours before. One of his PK mate from Malaysia 馬嘉軒 was there to give him her support. She was the first one to get his autograph.

Fans lining up to get his autograph.

After almost half an hour and it's all done. It's time for Lin Yu Chun to say goodbye to his fans. Ah such talented young man.

P.S. For those of you that don't know. PK means "Player Killing",in One Million Star, not Penalty Kick or Pok Kai. It's like a one on one between two or more contestants, the one of the lowest score will be "killed" (put in the loser's area).

High Tea with Candy Cheah in C.Club

Simon Says: The new Honda City is launching soon. Click here to find out the excitement in the city. Interested to book, you can give a call to Albert from Honda. His mobile is 016-350 0011.

About a month ago I got a call from Alice telling me that I've won the 98.8 FM SMS contest for high tea with one of our local diva, Candy Cheah. The venue will be in The C.Club. ^_^ I read from the food blogs that the food in The C.Club not cheap wei, and now I get to eat free and with a celebrity some more. Woot!

The C.Club, 5th & 6th floor The Pavilion, KL.

They are having a contest to win a Subaru car that day. The last one standing and having his/her palm on the car wins. Crazy, that day was so bloody humid and the sun is like bbq fire.


I was, as usual the earliest to arrive. As in any other event, I like to be on time. I'm so not Malaysian. LOL.

Just plain ice cold water in an expensive crystal glass.

I was shown to the table where Candy is sitting. It feels kind of weird because I've bought her debut album like 10 years ago and now she's sitting right in front of me. Lucky, she's started to break the ice by chatting with me first. I then relax a bit and show my thick face self. :p



Kacang putih in The C.Club. So out of place right?

Because it's high tea, so I ordered tea.

The tea I had.

Tomato bruschetta.

The bruschetta is not too bad, I had a few of those.

Deep fried shrimp with special mayonnaise sauce.

This is very yummy too. Crispy and springy.

Fried dumpling.

The fried dumpling is not too bad but the filling is a bit small in portion.

Egg sandwich in the middle and tuna croissant at the bottom.

The egg sandwich is nothing to wow about, my favourite is the tuna croissant, the croissant smell so nice and the skin is still crispy and buttery taste. Beats Delifrance's croissant for all I know.

Chicken wings only the drumstick side.

One of the fan that got invited is a vegetarian, Candy is so nice that she ordered a salad especially for her. The leaves looks like rocket lettuce and the dressing, I guess is balsamic vinegar with peach at the bottom.

Candy with her invited fans.

I found her latest CD in the goodies bag I received.

So, I ask her to sign the CD for me. Thanks Candy. The song I like most in the CD is Forgot (忘了), you can go here to listen to the sample. By the way, Candy will be launching her newest CD soon, 5 songs from this CD plus 5 new songs and a DVD with her MV. I caught one of her latest ballad in 98.8 FM, it's not bad.

Candy signing the CD cover for me.

Me and Candy Cheah.

Me doing the Karen Cheng in the toilet. Bloody nice design wei the toilet.

Group picture of the fans and Candy.

The handsome guy here is Yi Xin (一心), 2nd Season Project Superstar Finalist. He's the newest artist managed by New Pro Star.

Yi Xin's friend Jack of JNK. He's the top 5 of 2nd Season Project Superstar. He was there to promo his newest drama series in 8TV Step of Dance.

Me and Jack of JNK.

Thanks to the hard work of the staffs from New Pro Star to organize this meeting. They're Alice, Albee, and Austin.


Alice, Albee, me and Austin. They're the 3 As.

The boss of New Pro Star, Charles.

Look for Charles if you think you have star quality. They're looking for new faces to join as artist or MV actor/actress too. Go here and scroll to the bottom if you're interested. Maybe I'll go for casting too. Nah, just kidding. LOL.

FHM 100 Most Wanted Women Party, The Loft

After the Clorets press conference, I drove down to Heritage Row for FHM 100 Most Wanted Women Party. Since there's still a few hours before the party start, I went up to Nuffnang's new office to lepak. Mike was there too. He got invited to FHM Party as VIP while I have to queue up.


Mike surfing porn blogs in Nuffnang's office.

Nuffnang team is busy in a meeting.

They do need to stock up the fridge though.

Nice view of Heritage Mansion.

About 6 p.m. Mike and I went to the mamak nearby to yum cha while waiting for the 7.30 p.m. party start time. While we're there Jane and Edwin passed by and we asked them to join us because there's still no queue yet at the entrance.


Time to queue up.

Saw Nigel and Kelz at the back of the queue.

After about 30 minutes of wait, we're able to make it inside. Bloody Mike already went in earlier with his VIP pass. Went out the balcony and saw Pietro and Rudy there. With them is Moe Joe.

Delicious finger food was served that night. Two bottles of Carlsberg per person.

Camwhoring with Jane.

Levy Li, Miss Malaysia Universe 2008

Kel Li

Amanda the Panda. Have been bumping into her quite often.

The fehmes Nigel Sia with Levy.

Amber Chia with moi.

Me with Sarah Lian. She's the top most wanted in Malaysia, don't play-play.

Kathy

A nice surprise that night was to bumped into an old friend that I haven't met for a few years. Kathy Wong of Style Magazine (same management as FHM). She previously in Female Magazine.

Celine Yap, another regular in this kind of event.

Belinda Chee

I spotted that they were doing some shoot on the invited most wanted women at one corner, thus I was there to take pictures too. lol.



Vanessa Chong of Amazing Race Asia 2 fame and Mix FM DJ Jay.


After that the party is about to start and all of the celebrity went inside. On the stage MCing for the night were Serena C and Pietro from Mix.FM. Serena C ask three female volunteer to go up the stage to play a game. The game is to pole dance and the pole is Pietro.

Pietro the Pole

Serena C making sure that the participant is touching Pietro.

Amanda is one of the participant

After that it was the guys turn, and Serena C is the pole. Of course, no touching is allowed. I was one of the participant thus no pictures here. I was on stage pole dancing. Buy FHM September issue, and you might be able to see me belly dancing around Serena C. I got a goodies bag for showing my belly on stage -__-

Next game, they asked for 5 volunteers. This time each of them have to down a bottle of Carlsberg fast, after that put it in their pants.


The five drinkers.

After all the fun and games, it is time to introduce the most wanted women in Malaysia. Joe the Chief Editor of FHM gave an opening speech before that.

Joe giving his opening speech

The first most wanted that come up the stage is Belinda Chee.

Jay was the second to come up the stage. Each of them received a trophy from FHM.

Vanessa Chong was next.

Amber Chia catwalk the stage in style. Her catwalk was flawlessly excuted and end with a few great poses. This is the different of a seasoned professional model with others.

Atilia Haron

Sarah Lian, she's the Top Malaysian Most Wanted this year.

Next up is performance by KL Stompers.

Spotted a leng lui in the VIP area, Chelsia Ng.

Spotted two more gorgeous outside in the balcony. Sharon & Irene.

Me camwhoring with Miami Vice sunglasses from the goodies bag I got for pole dancing or belly dancing.

Manage to take pic with Serena C before she calls it a day.

Caught Mike camwhoring with his DSLR.

Mr. Edwin, heard he's still single girls.

Manage to snap a photo with Olivia.

Regina of FHM.

Last but not least, my goodies. Clock wise from the top: Hannah T CD (sexy pics inside), Miami Vice sunglasses, Mooks Jigsaw Puzzle (at first I thought it was T-Shirt -__-) and Speedo All Water Sports Goggles.

Well, if next year FHM have the same party, I'll be the first one to buy the magazine and get the entry pass. Ciao. Hope they photoshop my belly before publishing it in their next issue.