Gary Chao, Back on Form

Have you heard Gary Cao Ge’s latest album yet? This lad from Sabah packs a velvet voice coupled with explosive vocals that propels him to a level at par, or even better with any international artiste, in my opinion. Already achieved international stardom in major Chinese markets like Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and of course Malaysia, Gary keeps his super streak going with his latest effort, ‘Supermarket’ (previous albums were titled ‘Superman’ and ‘Super Sunshine’). To be honest, even though those ‘super’ albums were not so super, I was really looking forward to his latest album as always. His first breakthrough album ‘Blue’ remain as one of my all-time favorite album and it has and forever will be in the ‘loop’ mode on my iPod for many years already, and for many years still to come.

Now, his recently launched and his latest effort titled ‘Supermarket’, is a tremendous return to form. While his previous 2 albums were more playful and somewhat failed to serve as a convincing follow-up to his fantastic ‘Blue’ album, however this time around he returns to what he knows best, and returns to what made him excel, which are ballads. Track after track is easily likeable, and the more you listen to them, the more you tend to admire the depth of his songs. Depth, not just in his lyrics, but also his vocals. He boasts a voice many international artists would be proud to call it their own, and with already 4 albums under his belt, he possesses a collection of songs many artists would be envious, envious not just because they are hits, envious because they are songs that not many can imitate. For another artist to achieve a cacophony of vocals to match Gary is a tremendous challenge, and by achieving such a feat by someone would usually render him a protégé to almost certainly reach super-stardom. And that is why many upcoming artists look up to Gary, to strive to reach his level of talent.

Have a listen to Gary’s latest effort, titled ‘Ji Mo Xian Shan’ from his very latest album. It roughly means lonely man, and even if you don’t understand mandarin, the vocal of Gary mirrors the feeling of solitude and desolation of a person; the isolation simply reaches out and touches you. An amazing song, and an even more amazing vocals, he’s simply the personification of velvet soul.




From all the singers that I listen to, Gary’s the best I’ve ever heard, not just on recorded material but ‘live’ as well. His vocals do not differ much from recorded material, if not at all. Some singers sing brilliantly on CD, but when it come to ‘live’ performances, few can match Gary’s consistency. I was lucky enough to witness a performance of his many years back during a concert held by a major local radio station in Sunway Lagoon. Many singers from abroad were in attendance, so each performer had their limited time on stage. Although Gary sang only a total of 3 songs, he didn’t disappoint and it literally cemented by admiration for him. I never did get to witness a full concert from him before, but when the time comes, I will be there, God willing and finger’s crossing.

And on that note, do you know when I really got to know Gary? This is a true story, honestly. I still remember during his very early days, before when he was a superstar, I was in Sungai Wang and he was promoting his very first album ‘Blue’ at the main concourse area. Sungai Wang was packed as usual with the weekend crowd, but the queue for Gary’s signature was embarrassing compared to the other crowds there busy with better things to do like shopping. It was so bad, I honestly remember Gary literally got off from his chair at the main concourse area and started walking down towards the crowd shuffling past him that didn’t pay much attention to him. He had to get himself among the crowd to promote his CD. I asked my friend on what Gary was saying as he got near to him, and my friend replied that Gary was simply asking people to try out his album. During his early days, he had to literally look for followers. Many years passed, and look at him now. It makes you wonder how one must persevere in times of adversity and only then one can reach, and then appreciate, the times of victory.

And just to share with you, here's one of my all-time favorite Gary Chao song, titled 'Shi Jie Wei Yi De Ni'. Roughly meaning 'You are the only one', it's a simple song but it’s a simple song, but it’s simply about love, love from all walks of life in this world, because there’s always someone for somebody, it’s just a matter of time.



Ballad now, Gary Cao Ge.

Gone Gardening...

I’ve been passing by the 'Garden Café' in 1 Utama for so many times, and yet I didn’t get the chance to try it out. Well, during the weekend when me, SL and TK were in 1 Utama catching a movie, the chance finally came (and after walking around 1U new wing for God knows how long thinking of what to eat, trying to avoid the usual Nando’s, McD’s etc).

On the outside the place looks wonderful, nice concept and fresh. But once seated, I dunno, I got abit uncomfortable. Probably all those fake plastic flowery deco still isn’t as authentic as I thought. I always liked a cozy restaurant to dine, with lights down low and seats comfortable, y’know? But for this place…well…it’s quite the opposite. The lights are way bright (imitating sun light perhaps?), the seats are too up-tight and the place is too quiet. I mean, where’s the birds and the bees? Probably I had too high expectations…

As for the food? Well…we had this for dinner:

Garden Fish & Chips ordered by TK. Just original isn't it, TK?

Congee ordered by SL. At least this one had plenty of sides to munch on.

Garden Black Pepper Chicken Chop ordered by me. Nothing to shout about, but still 'boleh tahan' lah. But, it's hard to wrong with black pepper dishes isn't it?

As for the drinks, I had the Camomile tea. I think this place is more suited to tea/coffee drinking and than the food.

Iced Honey Lemon. Nice touch with the flower. But it's just plastic. Beh.

Plastic flowers and little garden ornaments are tastefully placed around the place. But if you look closely...everything you see has a price tag. Potong steam ahhhhh....

Kudos to them for having someone playing the piano once in a while for the diners.


So overall, is it worth it? Well, to be honest it's just an ideal place for photo-taking and provides a great opportunity to post nice food photos on everyone's own blog. Food wise, it's nothing special, just ordinary. I wouldn't be making reservations at this place any time soon though...

Salvation Denied

Watched 'Terminator Salvation' already?

Bottomline: much better than Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines but still not as good as Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

I think people will like this film depending on what they are looking for. If you came for the action sequences to match any Michael Bay or Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, then this movie is right up your alley. It’s an action-vaganza of giant Terminators-that-shoots-out-smaller-Terminators smashing and exploding things all over the place, aerial dogfights ala Independence Day (Will Smith’s F-18 Hornet with an alien jet engaging each other in a canyon), bullets flying left and right and any direction physically possible, it’s all here in this 2 hour plus teenage fanboy’s greatest celluloid wet dream.

Unfortunately, if you came for fresh insight into the already-oh-so-tiring John Connor saviour-of-the-world and how he morphed from typical teenage John Connor to motherfucker radio-screaming-“WE ARE ALL DEAD!!!” John Connor, then be prepared to be disappointed. No new revelations are offered for this already exhausting story arc, as the only conclusion I can make to how he became the way he is, is a logic-defying loop where he just became a motherfucking John Connor. The actual story here is mainly on Marcus Wright, played with convincing badass-dry by Sam Worthington, and his journey of defying what it means to be a “man” out of a machine (you’ll know what I’m talking about when you watch this movie).

As for my opinion, the trailers kicked-ass, the momentum of excitement was all there leading to the launch of the movie, the premise of a post-Judgment Day movie was promising. But in the end, it just did not meet expectations. Maybe my expectations were too high, or the benchmark set my James Cameron in the previous Terminators was too monumental. But whatever the reason, the first two Terminator films remain as the un-paralleled classics and thus far, we still remain in wait for a Terminator movie to match the originals.

Nice try, but no cigar McG…

Reviewed by: Raymond Choy

Verdict: 7 / 10

Land of Paradise Lost...Lawas (Not)

I think 2 weekends ago, me and a colleague hopped over to Lawas, Sarawak. Why Lawas? Well, first of all I was dead bored with Labuan and second of all, Lawas was my colleague’s hometown which he had not visited since he was a kid. Lawas is not exactly the land of paradise lost in Borneo mind you. Just think of Ipoh without the traffic. And without the good food. DAMMIT. But the seafood was pretty good there anyway. And cheap beer as usual in these parts of the world (I really wonder how 1 can of beer can go as cheap as RM1 sometimes. And it’s a Heineken. Social contributions from good friends at the customs perhaps?).

Anyway, to get to Lawas, we had to take a 40 minute speedboat ride from Labuan to Menumbok. From there, hop onto a bus to Sepitang, passing by Beaufort. And viola, Lawas it is. Cost of transportation? Under RM50. Accommodation? Staying at this small town’s best hotel would be RM50 too. And it’s pretty decent mind you.

The best attraction in town? A Chinese temple. WHOOAAA!!! Oh well. Overall, it’s a good place and a good excuse to relax, unwind, and escape from the noisy Labuan bars and cheap discos scattered around Labuan. Oh, and it a good time to test out my shiny new Canon EOS 450D camera too, courtesy of SL as a B’day/X’mas present etc etc all roled into one (and by the way, I know you had a hand in choosing and shopping for the camera Maj. Thanks!) Still trying to get the hang of it tho, but…hopefully I’ll get there ;)

No, these are not the speedboats that we took to Menumbok...

Many towns, villages or even cities are divided by long winding rivers. To get across easily, locals use small boats, there's even a boat to carry motorbikes across!!!

The cost for crossing? 50 cents.

And off it goes!! These boats will ply back and forth from one riverside to another every 5 minutes...

From what I've heard, these back-up boats will operate all at once, at times 5 to 6 boats at a time, during peak periods. Even rivers have rush-hour traffic to transport folks from kampung areas to the towns and back.

But enough of the rivers, here's Lawas' main attraction, the Chinese Temple!!! Woohooooo!!!

While my colleague prayed, I just randomly took some photos as souvenirs...

The peace and tranquility of the interior is amazingly relaxing and serene…

I think it’s always good to pass on a prayer or two whenever we can…

So you prefer clear blue skies or cloudy days?

Impressive paintings covers all four walls. But I wonder what are the stories behind them?

Going around town, found a shop selling tropical fish. But not much fishes can be found, is there?

I find this kinda amusing. A police station in a kampung house? And a Kancil as a police car? Mat Selamat beware...

Pos Malaysia Beaufort. Know what Beaufort means? It's actually French. Beau = beautiful and Fort = Port.

The scene of Lawas town at the weekend. Soooo happening.

And that's it for Lawas, Sarawak. There's abit more on my facebook. See ya all!!!

A League of Their Own...

Did you watch the Champions League final between Manchester United Vs. Barcelona? So disappointing wasn’t it, Barcelona totally outclassed United. Not the ‘goal-feast’ that everyone had predicted, and I expected United to give these Spanish a fight. But it was all one-way traffic after Barcelona scored their 1st goal. At least United could have scored some goal, then losing would not have been so disappointing. Oh well. There’s always next season. But Barcelona already had a magical season, with already winning the Spanish League and Copa Del Rey, and considering how they won THAT match against Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final, you just have to admire their persistence to win, and admit that the God’s are indeed shining their holy light on them this season. Well done Barcelona, try again next season United!!!

And speaking of the Champion’s League, here’s something that will give a whole new definition to the term ‘die-hard fan’. Read below, taken from Soccernet.com:

“A Manchester United fan in Nigeria killed four people when he drove his minibus into a crowd of Barcelona supporters after his team lost the Champions League final, police said on Thursday.

The crowd in the town of Ogbo were celebrating Barcelona's victory after Wednesday night's match when the bus drove into them. A police spokeswoman said 10 people were injured and the driver was arrested.

"The driver had passed the crowd then made a U-turn and ran into them," she said.

Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0 in what was hailed as a "dream final" between two of Europe's best clubs. Both teams have large fan bases in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation.”

To young MU fans, don’t do this at home!!!

Krispy Kreme Kharisma

Waaaaay outdate post (just for completion sake lahh)

KL Labour Day Weekend Break: 30th April ~ 2nd May '09

Day 3: Saturday, 2nd May '09.

Finally tasted Krispy Kreme, and OH MY GOWD…I’m completed blasted away by it. Thought that it would be another JCo or Apple Donuts rip-off, but the ‘Original Glazed’ doughnut is just sinfully superlicious. And when I say superlicious, I only mean and ONLY will mean the ‘Orginal Glazed’ one, nothing else!!! (Writer’s note: I first tried it in XXX and since today, the 27th May, I’ve had 4 dozens of them already. Am I fat? Thank God not yet, but continue like this, I think I’m going to be. But it’s all for a good cause!! BRING IT ON!!!). Yummmm ~~~

Why does it always looks like the Stock Market at Krispy Kreme every weekend??!! Man on phone: "Prices per dozen steady at RM19.90!! BUY BUY BUY BUY!!!"

Dim Sum All-You-Can-Eat @ Renaissance's Dynasty Restaurant

Darn, so busy with stuff until my postings all out-dated kao-kao. Anyway, here's going way back to early May, the post for that Labor Day weekend (just for completion sake lah)...

KL Labour Day Weekend Break 30th April ~ 2nd May '09.

Day 2: Friday, 1st May '09

Went out to try the all-you-can-eat Dim Sum promo at Renaissance Hotel's 'Dynasty Restaurant'. Pay RM28 for 28 choices of Dim Sum to fulfill your all-you-can-eat desires, promotion lasts until end of May I heard. Bored with the Jalan Ipoh and streetside Dim Sum fare recently, so I was really itching to munch on better quality ones. Overall the quality is above average, and the price is fair that will come up to RM30 (including tax and service charge). If your hunger for Dim Sum is massive, then this promo is right up your alley. Here's some pics:

The usual suspects of 'har kao', 'siew mai', 'char siew pau' etc. All-you-can-eat, go grab some now!!

This is one my favourite that day, with the fancy name of 'rice flour roll with dough fritter'. Sometimes these people give names so 'geng' until dunno what is it unless you really see it yourself. *Sigh*.

A dish that is worth your all-you-can-eat money: 'Vineger braised pork trotter with egg'. Grab as much as you can, this one goes out real fast!!

Desserts are aplenty too, this one is obviously 'sea coconut with longan'. The longan comes in abundance, so grab grab grab!!!

And what is a Dim Sum session without a good ol' pot of warm tea? Kinda like the teapot. Hmmm...

Overall, spent 3 hours there and was stuffed to the max with Dim Sum. I think I counted 10 baskets, 2 congee, 2 braised pork, 2 rice flour roll and 3 desserts. Maybe I've over-loaded a little haha. I don't think I'll be touching Dim Sum soon after this... *Buurrrrrrrppp*

More Angelic Than Demonic This Time Around

In my opinion, the first movie adaptation of Dan Brown’s super-duper successful line of books, ‘The Da Vinci Code’ was markedly average at best that leaved quite a sour taste in the mouth. It had nothing to shout about unlike the euphoria that the book has created. Armed with a very bad haircut, Tom Hanks was at his worst and the directional effort from Ron Howard was bland which left much to be desired.

Cometh Take 2, ‘Angels & Demons’ was their opportunity for redemption to make things right. And made things right they eventually did. ‘Angels & Demons’ in celluloid form was a markedly big improvement from ‘The Da Vinci Code’ in everyway (even Hank’s haircut). More dashing, thought-provoking and exhilarating this time around, this is how Dan Brown’s books were meant to be. ‘Angels & Demons’ is vastly more improved than their latter movie effort which was a ponderous offering albeit more famous of the two books.

Although still hampered by Dan Brown’s stocky characters and heavy facts in the books, screen-writers Akiva Goldsman and David Koepp thankfully did not go word-for-word in their adaptation and the result is many scenes were cut or minimized, such as the involvement from CERN, the character of Maximilian Kohler, and the somewhat ludicrous supersonic jet that flew Robert to his desired destinations were eliminated. As a result, more important and interesting matters came into play, such as the jurisdictional issues of policing the Vatican which is more fitting for the limited time-frame of the film.

With that in perspective, the characterization of its main players, Robert Langdon and Vittoria, get little, if no emphasis at all. They all seem like talking cardboards with just a sole purpose to move the plot along. They are not explored at the very least unlike the book, which greatly undermines their true potential individually and was the only letdown of this film adaptation.

Aiming to entertain instead of provoking any huge arguments whatsoever, this adaptation creates a skillfully executed Hollywood adaptation that contains qualities that pushes it slightly above average blockbuster fare. I guess lessons have been learnt from the past, and the result is definitely more polished, more energetic and more satisfying product as a whole.

Reviewed by: Raymond Choy

Verdict: 8 / 10

Review: Star Trek

Finally watched ‘Star Trek’ over the weekend and all doubts on this franchise re-boot is beamed out of the window as J.J. Abrams delivered with aplomb a more adrenalin-fueled voyage of the classic ‘Star Trek’ series while successfully re-introducing a fresh sense of wonder and bewilderment not experienced in the previous 'Star Trek' films over the many years. Dare I say it, this J.J. Abrams version boldly went to no 'Star Trek' film has gone before.

Many would think that this would be the dumbed-down version of 'Star Trek' to satisfy the tastebuds of the commercial masses, but I must defer. Yes, the weight is indeed shifted from sci-fi hardcore to a more light-weight version with a little sprinkle of steroids, but right now with J.J. Abrams version, there is finally a balance between the two. Hardcore trekkies will obviously despise the departure from the deeper themes of scientific exploration to a more suspense-filled sensory joyride, but I believe the film retains enough of the original Gene Roddenberry’s influence and yet successfully pumped-up the volume to create a more satisfactory end-product as a whole.

Armed with cash as big as any Vulcan rock, it is satisfying to see that the cash is used to optimum effect. The production designs are superb with ships so detailed it tingles the fascination to imagine if such a universe would eventually exist – and that this film is just a sneak peak into what our future would be. The space battles oozes with sublime special effects that would put any ‘Star Wars’ films to shame as it is the most convincingly real ever to be put into celluloid form. The sound design too is also truly extraordinary, for instance in a few sequences the use of sound – in this case the non-use of it - to convey the noiseless vacuum of space is skillfully manipulated and adds a priceless sense of distinction to the film.

But ‘Star Trek’ is not all about the technicality of the movie-making, but also about the characters that fill each of the seats on the deck of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The young actors that were called on to convey the classic characters of much-loved individuals like James T. Kirk, Spock and all are obviously daunting. But to their credit, their performances were credible. Chris Pine came off best as James T. Kirk, although being way too serious at times that made him lack that winking feeling (which may change as the origins story moves along). Zach Quinto delivers an OK performance as Spock, although I just can’t help but to see him as Sylar with a funny haircut and mutated pointy ears. There’s one scene where Spock uses his powers to make someone unconscious with his hands, and that just screams SYLAR.

The rest is Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, and at times he is uncanny with his mannerisms and dialogue, while the others like Anton Yelchin provides some light humor (and accent) as Chekov, John Cho as Sulu providing some “fencing” relief and Saldana as Uhura portraying the strong but dynamic love interest in the film. And if you have not heard it yet by now, Leonard Nimoy (yes, the original Mr. Spock) makes numerous appearances, and he is just as stellar as always. Although limited in his role, just to hear him speak simply makes his performance wonderful. And yes, he did display the iconic Vulcan salute and utter the infamous words of “live long and prosper”, so thus serious Trekkies will no doubt shed a tear or two.

All in all, ‘Star Trek’ is finally fun again and depending on any fan’s view whether this is good or bad, J.J. Abrams did however successfully managed to re-position this franchise into a whole new light, and revived this fading series that will set warp speed at the maximum to a successful future ahead. J.J. Abrams re-boot is a fitting beginning to a bold new destination that no ‘Star Trek’ has gone before, and by the end of this film when the crew is finally together and finally settled in their original positions on deck, one can’t help but to feel that the familiar universe once so loved now feels so wide open and new. One just can’t help but to feel excited to go on another voyage, to go on another Trek, and I’m sure this is a feeling many Trekkies haven’t felt for a long time. And hence, live long and prosper.


Reviewed by: Raymond Choy

Verdict: 9/10

Decepticons, ROLL-OUT!!!

The final official posters for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen hits. Lovely, lovely. Just can't WAAAAIITTTT.......