I was in Halo Cafe Miri when the nation countdown to its 50th birthday. The cafe had interesting programmes lined up for that special night - with lucky draws and gifts giveaway. Miri was chosen to host this year’s state-level Merdeka celebration and early in the morning there are colorful arrays of events staged at the Miri Stadium. Thanks to Ian from Miricommunity.net for the coverage.

Back to the cafe, I’ve only come to know that the cafe is actually owned by one of my friends back in Melbourne - Mr. Kuek, and some other shareholders as well, namely the son of Honda Miri’s tauke (boss).

Following is a few shots I’ve taken inside Halo Cafe.

Wall decor in the cafe.

The performance stage, lights unlit.

Yes, they serve Tiger beers/alcohol in this cafe, too!

This is how the waiter dress.

Seatings inside the cafe.

Heavy rain outside Halo Cafe.

As soon as the fireworks goes off sharp at 12 midnight, the rain pours down and the fireworks lasts for about 10 minutes, or less? Must be very anti-climaxing for all the high-expecting guests and visitors, including me.

For all those who’re there at the City fan garden, it must be quite a scene to see them running for shades when the rain comes pouring down.

Well, some feedback for the cafe, I think it’s a lil bit too pricey for those someone like me. No doubt it’s a cool place to sit back with a cup of Jasmine tea and listen to live band performing. But not on a frequent basis. The audio system still has room to improve, I reckon the speakers are too focused and bass levels are too high they create distortion. Staging and tunings are expected to be better.

Take a chance to tease your taste buds as they serve a variety of delicious western/eastern fusion foods.

By the way, who wanna go and see Lim Yu Zhong’s mini concert at Imperial Mall Miri, I’ve got 2 tickets to give away courtesy of Miricommunity.net and Halo Cafe. Please SMS me. I’ve won it off Miricommunity but I couldn’t make it there. Someone please take my ticket

Take it today, cause the concert is on tomorrow 3rd of September, 2007. After that, it’s gone :/ So be quick.

Many people had come to my blog seeking for RH Hotel’s contact number. Obviously, for a new hotel, they had not yet been published on Yellowpages. So I went on and called their parent company, Rimbunan Hijau Sdn. Bhd. and got their number. I then made a confirmation call to RH Hotel to be doubly sure. Here goes.

For bookings, please call:

Rimbunan Hijau Hotel, Sibu (Formerly known as Everly Hotel)
Contact No.: 084-365888

Took a lot of pics of my hometown last time I was back. I took the chance to try out the new 4-star hotel in town, RH Hotel (formerly known as Everly Hotel).

There’s one catch in their sub-level parking area where you’ve to pay RM5 (approximate, forgot the actual price) regardless of whether you’re just trying to enquire about their room rates/availability, or just there to take a piss. Many other hotels, or shopping complexes allow a 10-15 minutes free parking threshold for customers who’re just there for some quick business. I wouldn’t be down at the parking lot if there’s enough parking space up there, there just ain’t any left as the hotel is build around a crowded zone of the town. Heck, or else you think Rimbunan Hijau built this hotel for free?

Double Deluxe.

First thing I’ll check upon entering any hotel rooms I reside is the bathroom. I reckon a good clean bathroom represents the overall cleanliness and standards of the entire hotel. This bathroom is spacy and comfy.

Basically, my room is at the very corner of the hotel facing The Sanyan Tower, which means, I have a 180 degree view of Sibu town.

To the right is the view of Malaysia’s largest town square - the Sibu Town Square. You can also see Malaysia’s longest river powered by Teh-C Peng (Iced Milk Tea).

Center is the view of the Sanyan Tower on the right hand side, while the Public Bank Tower and Fu Yuan Methodist Church is the visible landmark here.

Pan a lil’ bit to the left and you’ll see almost all of Sibu’s hotels, plus clusters of old shops. Most of the shops are there since World War 2, I guess?

This is possibly the oldest surviving petrol station in Sibu. My parents used to re-fuel here when I was young, but the town had now expanded far beyond the center and more of fuel stations were built nearer to each of their respective community. Anyone still using Esso nowadays? Not much I guess.

I’ll be back in Sibu on New Year’s eve and New Year’s day. Catch up with me if you wish. See you there and Happy New Year!

It’s been a while since I last blogged. I’ve been on lazy-mode since coming back from New Zealand, and it took me more than a week to finally process the pictures and post them out here.

I don’t know why, perhaps it’s the lazy nature of the New Zealand countrysides, but I haven’t got any inspiration to write anything yet. Anyway, since the old saying goes “A picture is worth a thousand words”, I’ve prepared this 8,000 word post for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!

The Flight

Panic status is still on ‘relax’ mode. That means there’s plenty of time to shop around for alcohol.

I’m flying on an Emirates Airbus 300 and I must say, I’ve never seen this feature on any other airlines before. There’s actually 3 different views that you can choose from! This shot showing the aircraft approaching the runway. It’s pretty cool ya know.

Just peel one of these off and stick it on your seat, and the air-stewardess will obey your command. No kidding, it works!

Welcome to Auckland

Auckland’s Sky Tower greets as I approach the city centre.

Sky City welcomes the year of the dog.

A big banner wishing you a Happy Chinese New Year.

One of the streets in Auckland decorated by the red Chinese lanterns.

Usual scene of the crowd in a casino during every Chinese New Year. Let me tell you, almost 80% of the visitors are Asians.

That’s all for now folks. More in the next post.

Went to Box Hill Centro today to get myself groceries for next week. Not surprisingly, it’s jam-packed! During weekends, this place is usually stuffed in the afternoon until about 4-5pm. I even took 15 minutes wandering around the parking lots for spaces. This market place is similar to Springvale, just that the population is mostly Chinese, while Springvale’s a Vietnamese suburb.

Most of the shoppers there are locals from the City of White Horse, while others are from surrounding suburbs, like I am. People flock the marketplace for the cheaper price on daily supplies, groceries, and other essentials.

At one end of the market, I saw this group of shoppers. Madness! I’ve no idea what they’re looking at.

Let’s bring the camera closer to the action. It’s the mangoes! Cheap mangoes at $1/kilo. Mangoes here are usually priced at $2 per piece - that’s one hell of a pricey commodity there. Come to think about it, last time I can climb up my neighbours’ tree and get them for free!

Peoples here are crazy about cheap stuffs, as long as they’re cheap, they’ll buy, quality’s not really important. You know those cramped veges and fruits, usually those big hypermarkets will just throw them away, what a waste. Here, they sell them for 50-70% off and it’s still a profit for them!

Noodles Galore! Seen any of those before? What can you come up with all these different kinds of noodles?

Shanghai, and Hokkien noodle.

Pure Egg, and Shanghai Noodle of a different brand.

Chow Mein, and Peking Noodle.

Of all these noodles, I only knew Hokkien noodle - Penang’s famous, ask Penang mom and she’ll tell you stories about it! Pure egg noodle - used in Char Siew min and others, and Chow mein - fried noodle, everyone knows that. I’ve never tried Peking and Shanghai noodle before. Maybe next time.

Nevermind those noodles, I’m quite sure I know these type of noodles.

Instant Noodles!!! Student’s best food - the must have survival pack! Keeps your tummy quiet, economically.

Christmas is around the corner. Decorations are all up and shops are selling X’mas merchandises.

Christmas decorations.

Christmas gifts and cards.

I’ll try to snap more Christmas-related photos from now on. At the mean time, please head over to Wuching’s blog for more santa claus!