13 years and going strong. I remember the stories that Vincent Pao, General Manager of Concepts Computer, shared on how it all began and the history was pretty interesting too. What I am amazed is how their company is one of the most successful in the IT field.

From what I can see, Concepts Computer’s competitive edge lis on the demand driven by consumer, government spending as well as capital spending by businesses. With the right market products and innovations such as Acer, Epson (printers), Microsoft, TechOneGlobal and Timetech, it has positioned Concepts Computer as one of the IT market leaders in Brunei Darussalam.

Vincent Pao is very thankful to his customers for being supportive of Concepts Computer. Congratulations buddy on being the driving force behind Concepts Computer and keep it going :)) Sorry about the Manchester United’s recent drop of form though *lol* Images below courtesy of Concepts Computer.

Vincent Pao delivering his speech during the 13th year anniversary

The cake cutting ceremony

The door gifts for the invited guests

The mingling session with the invited guests, media and staff of Concepts Computer

The group photo of the team of Concepts Computer

Here are some of the products that made Concepts Computer the one that people sought for

Delicious, freshly made, and oh so satisfying. Double the taste. Double the enjoyment.

Be dazzled by the two patties of golden and juicy chicken housed on a perfectly tasted bun and dressed to thrill your taste buds is the Double McChicken.

Dive into two golden flakey, fish fillets and tasty cheese which is topped with tangy sauce in a lightly steamed bun. A favourite amongst others is the Double Fillet-o-Fish.

McDonald’s Brunei is bringing back the doubles favourite to satisfy your every craving. Meal prices range from B$6.00 onwards or hurry down to McDonald’s for your next scrumptious meal or call 2449669 for deliveries. Text courtesy of McDonald’s (Brunei).

McDonald’s Doubles are back!!

“Creativity amongst individual is always encouraged by McDonald’s” said Dk Kemariah Pg Hj Duraman, General Manager of McDonald’s Brunei. “Activities like art and photography will encourage them be innovative and creative, and give the local artists a chance to express their feelings through their work”.

As the main supporter of the “Spirit of the Games” Art Competition which is organised by the British High Commission in Brunei Darussalam and the Brunei Art Forum, McDonald’s Brunei will be contributing food vouchers to lucky participants who joined in the competition, whereby they can either dine in or takeaway.

McDonald’s commitment to the Olympic Movement began since 1968 and this year marks the ninth consecutive Games for McDonald’s as the Official Restaurant of the Olympic Games.

The “Spirit of the Games” Art Competition is open to all citizens and residents, and is divided into three categories, Art, Photography and Sculpture. Deadline for all art submission is 15th May 2012.For more information please visitwww.bruneions.com or the British High Commission. Text courtesy of McDonald’s (Brunei).

Azimah of McDonald’s with the Art Forum poster

The caption says it all. Image taken from Soccernet.

The header that separated both sides. Image taken from Soccernet.

It wasn’t a classic but it was a good professional win for Manchester City as they have leveled on points with their better rivals Manchester United. It was quite a surprise to see MU dropping points unnecessary and we are talking of 7 points which is unlikely of Manchester United. For the past few seasons, they would finished better in the final third of the season.

So what went wrong? Was it Sir Alex’ formation and choice of players? Are the players to be blamed? Was it the Cardiff break trip that backfired before the derby match? Looking at the stats, MU didn’t muster any shots on target at all which is very rare coming from the defending champions. A win for United would have virtually handed United the title or even a draw at Etihad Stadium. So what gives??

The title race is definitely not over and Manchester City have Newcastle to play against which will be a tricky tie. MU will be hoping for the results to be in their favour. Will City win their first title since 1968 or the experience of MU will haunt City as a title pretenders? Interesting final games to watch and also for the neutrals :))

I was invited to the official launch of Butra Home Concept (BHC) launch last week. I remembered Shaun Hoon, Growth Engineer of Catalyst (under Mixmediagroup) ever spoke off creating a magazine of some sort and now his baby project was made possible. He presented the idea and the vision of BHC for the benefits of the sponsors and the readers in front of a packed audience at the Brunei Hotel.

In my opinion, this is the right track for Catalyst to launch a home, lifestyle magazine as the demand for housing is increasing especially for the young generation. For your info, the BHC magazine was made possible by Butra HeidelbergCement (or where we are familiar with the name Brunei Cement) and the magazine is also free with contents relating to home improvement and lifestyle and also future businesses that relates to home and living.

I browsed through the magazine and I’m very impressed with the layout and the content though I thought the pictures could have been sharper on some of the pages. Other that that, this magazine has the appropriate content and highly recommended for those interested in buying a home or looking for ideas.

“The project has been around for six months and it was Stuart Lee’s idea (from Butra HeidelbergCement). One of the challenging part is to get consent for taking photos of people’s houses for the magazine’s content, ” said Shaun of Catalyst. “But I’m quite fortunate that most are willing to agree for their interior to be featured in BHC. Another challenge is to get advertisers on board in the beginning.”

Shaun is thankful to Butra HeidelbergCement for entrusting Catalyst to execute the delivery of the magazine. The cement company also have worked with Mixmediagroup on previous CSR projects and the relationship between the two have soared to new heights and prompted to engage their services on new projects.

For those who wants a digital copy, you can actually download the PDF file on www.ButraHome.com :))

Shaun Hoon of Catalyst explained the objectives and vision of Butra Home Concept magazine during the launch

The invited guests at BHC launch at the Brunei Hotel last Thursday

One of the guests flicking through the home lifestyle magazine

Guest of honour Hjh Normah, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR), handed the certificate to HSBC

Hjh Normah handed the certificate to Valor Property

Hjh Normah handed the certificate to MaxTrack Company

Shaun was much relieved after the launch of the magazine

Marcelino Ugarte, Managing Director of Butra HeidelbergCement, spoke to the media on BHC’s vision and their reason for BHC’s existence.

“We realised we (Brunei cement) is the foundation of the home. We want to get involved in building and helping customers and end users to complete their homes. We feel that there is a need to consolidate the ideas of the architects, constructors, end users and others and collaborate with each other to build a perfect home, ” said Marcelino.

“It’s exciting time now for home owners and most of them want to have nice home or stylish one and of course, a functional home. There’s also a gap that we feel the magazine will help to bridge that gap in creating a home.”

Marcelino also revealed that he doesn’t want the BHC magazine to end up with too many advertisers with lesser content especially articles on home. The content is very important to draw in more readers. As for now, BHC have 5,000 prints which is being circulated. He’s very confident that the magazine will be sustainable.

It’s pretty interesting to see a cement company launching a home lifestyle magazine and this shows how diversify Butra HeidelbergCement as they are not just focusing on producing and supplying cement. When asked, Marcelino won’t revealed just yet on their other ideas or projects for the community but there will be more coming from Butra HeidelbergCement in the near future.

Butra HeidelbergCement have worked with the Ministry of Health (on their diabetes campaign) and Ministry of Development under JASTRE (on their No Plastic Bag weekend initiative). They have also sponsored international events such as Tour de Brunei. So do look out for Butra HeidelbergCement for updates and they surely have contributed positively to the Brunei community. Two thumbs up!!

Deno Goh of The Brunei Times interviewing Marcelino Ugarte, Managing Director of Butra HeidelbergCement

Shaun posing with the first edition of Butra Home Concept magazine

The Brunei-Australia Association (B-AA) held the “Brustralia3: Foodie Challenge” last Sunday. The event was held at the residence of the Australian High Commissioner Mark Sawers. Also present were representatives from Royal Brunei Airlines, Schlumberger, HRD Global Education Services, as well as members of B-AA.

Members of B-AA prepared 12 dishes, which guests of the event got to taste. The guests were then asked to vote for their favourite dish. The winner of the challenge was Thanis Lim for his Sour Plum Lamb Stew with Rice. Lim won a return air ticket to Melbourne sponsored by Royal Brunei Airlines.

Member of the B-AA Reeda Malik said, “It’s a pretty informal thing as members just turn up and bring a dish to participate. It’s good fun and quite a number of the members are very good at cooking.”

The association has more events in the pipeline this year, which includes its annual gala dinner. The B-AA consists of Bruneians that have studied or worked in Australia and Australians who are currently in Brunei. Events such as Brustralia3 were organised to rekindle old friendships as well as providing an opportunity to make new ones. Text courtesy of Zatty Joanda of The Brunei Times. Images courtesy of SocMedBN.

Thanis Lim won a return ticket to Melbourne for his popular dish sour plum lamb stew

Australian High Commissioner Mark Sawers welcoming his guests to his residence

Some of the guests who showed up at Brustralia 3

Guests had the chance to try all the food that were brought for the event

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After HSBC announced its latest figures of close to 6,000 registered participation last Thursday and the moving of its closing date to April 28, there was an even larger number of enthusiastic sign-ups in the last two days at all of HSBC’s branches in the country.

With the registration for the HSBC Walk Run Cycle 2012 closed as of last Saturday, there are now altogether more than 9,000 registered sign-ups for this charity event, a record-breaking participation since the WRC’s inception, the bank said in a statement.

This is the number of participants of the Walk Run Cycle 2012

“I am in awe of the support that the Bruneian community has given for the HSBC Walk Run Cycle 2012. This indeed shows the generosity and the enthusiasm to give and be part of the largest charity event held in Brunei Darusslam. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who made the enormous effort to sign up. Both our sponsors and the HSBC team are extremely excited and are busy with the necessary preparation to ensure the safety and security of all the participants in the walk, run or cycle as well as in the carnival itself,” stated Lim Boon Teck, Manager Corporate Sustainability, HSBC Brunei.

As preparations are in place, further announcement on the progress of the event will be made through the media from time to time.

HSBC Walk Run Cycle will be held at Taman Haji Sir Muda Omar Ali Saifuddien (SOAS) on Saturday, 19th May 2012 at night starting at 8.00pm.

If you are wondering, I’m referring to a hotel in Singapore during my recent hotel hopping adventure. Albert Court Village Hotel is one hotel that I quite enjoy and it’s located at Little India. The rooms are spacious … Well, we were staying at club level rooms as we could enjoy extra service and amenities.

What I love about Albert Court Village Hotel is how they maintain the vintage feel and the culture of the past and yet have that modern feel atmosphere. It has 210 rooms and suites which offer modern facilities and amenities valued by today’s contemporary business and leisure traveller.

You can catch the MRT at Little India if you plan to make your journey to other places such as Orchard or Bugis and it’s walking distance too. What I enjoy also is the Trishaw Tour where you can booked from the hotel itself and you will enjoy the 20 minute ride around Little India. Sometimes I wonder where they (old men) get their energy from. They even play old school music to the delight of my ears.

The published price for the normal packages starts from $215++ and thank you to Albert Court Village Hotel, they are willing to give a 10% discount to my readers if you book online through this link [click here].

On trip advisor, it’s ranked pretty high with many votes on “Excellent” and “Very Good”. You can view all the comments on Trip Advisor by clicking here. Though it’s a bit far off from Orchard (where most Bruneians are aware of), I wouldn’t mind staying here and it’s pretty cozy and it’s good to be away from the busy life of Orchard too.

This is the logo of Albert Court Village Hotel. Apparently a few Bruneians have stayed here too

The landmark of Albert Court at the courtyard where the taxi drop off is

The nostalgia feeling at the dining area

I saw Steve Lai on appearing on Channel News Asia upon checking in. I hope to catch you on my next trip buddy :))

Another plus: They have iMacs for in-house guests at the lobby area

Alex and Jan Shim enjoying the ride on the Trishaw

Debbie Too also had fun during the ride

For club patrons, you need the room key to enter the club area

My room at Albert Court Village Hotel as I was taking my power nap

The room is pretty spacious and I would recommend you to try Albert Court Village Hotel

New shoes at Charles & Keith

New shoes at Charles & Keith

New shoes at Charles & Keith

New shoes at Charles & Keith

A great watch.. I don’t mind watching this again

It’s kinda off odd that Singapore hasn’t released Avengers yet. The blockbuster movie is set to be released in Singapore tomorrow 1st May whereas Brunei was fortunate to have a release last Thursday midnight. The sessions were already packed in Brunei since the weekend and it was tough to get tickets since many corporate companies booked the screens and this shows how much Avengers lived up to its hype.

So did the movie live up to its hype? Overall, it did.. The build up scenario is a must because we as the audience must know how the Avengers assembled in the first place. It’s not an easy task to have many individual super heroes in one movie or in this case a 150 minute movie. I’m quite impressed with the direction it took and what amazes me how both the human characters and their super hero personas have some degree of strong presence. For instance, I would enjoy the character of Bruce Banner and also Tony Stark. However, I couldn’t feel the difference for Black Widow/Nastasha Romanoff who is played by my favourite actor Scarlett Johanson and she does kick ass in the movie.

This is definitely a crowd pleaser but not as classy as X-Men: First Class which for me is the bench mark of Super Heroes movies. Well, Dark Knight is still top for me. I wonder if a cross over of X-Men and Avengers would come true. Anyway, enjoy the movie and don’t forget to vote your favourite Avenger on the poll (right hand side of my website). Verdict: 8/10