COME AND SEE THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BRUNEI’S MUSICAL PRODUCTION OF SPEECHLESS!!! YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS IT!! Written and directed by our very own Mrs Rowena Bracken (Head of Drama at ISB) with the help of Mr Richard Edwards and Miss Marieta with music – think Glee, Romeo and Juliet and Westside Story all set in 2 modern day high schools.

Friday 18th November 2011: 7.30pm

Saturday 19th November 2011: 2pm

Saturday 19th November 2011: 7.30pm

3 chances to watch a spectacular piece of musical theater. Tickets are on sale at the ISB Main office. Adult: $15 Child/Student: $10 Family (2 adults, 2 children): $40 The tickets can be buy on the night too if they still have seats so it is better to buy it before the night!

Featuring songs from the Pointer Sisters, Michael Jackson, Robbie Williams, Lady Gaga, the Stereophonics, Pink, Cats, Rent and many more It’s going to be a weekend to remember, you don’t want to miss it!

Click image to enter website and start shopping

Click image to enter Facebook page

I just left for KL yesterday for a quick weekend trip to cover the Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM) tonight which is happening at Bukit Jalil Stadium. This is perhaps the first of its kind that I’m going to do coverage and I would like to thank my “friend” for giving me this opportunity. I won’t spare much details as yet but I shall be updating on Twitter @ranoadidas on the red carpet and the actual show later tonight (well, that depends if my DIGI line gets good reception).

I will be having two more trips to KL before end of 2011 – One for RedBull Rookies finale and hopefully for the Asia-Pacifi Nuffnang Blog Awards 2011 – and both happening this December. Sadly enough, my Bangkok trip is postponed due to the flood crisis in Bangkok and another trip that I will miss out is ASEAN Bloggers Summit next weekend.

I won’t be posting much today and guys, have an awesome weekend.

I can’t remember how trips I’ve been on AirAsia.. and the perks of having aisle hot seats —> no neighbours haha.. Or I just plain lucky

Hello ladies… Always a pleasure to have you on board

Yummmmm… I never missed ordering this on my flights on AirAsia.. I highly recommend you this when you book online

Seeee.. I told you it looks yummy and tasty too.. I don’t recommend you to order on the spot because hot meals normally run out quickly

This is the first… AisAsia is giving out TuneTalk sim cards to interested passengers and I was one of them :p

You can then register at the TuneTalk counter after the immigration counter

A quick meeting with Michelle from AirAsia.. It was a pleasure to have finally met you in person 🙂

Then I caught up with Liz and Leo who were on the same flight with me

I tried the LCCT public transport to KL Central. Only cost me RM12.50 and this is way cheaper than catching a cab. The 20-min bus ride will send you to one of the train station then it’s another 40 min train ride to KL Central

I’m amazed by the train. It has YES Broadband connectivity and the trip only took 40 mins to KL Central. Oh yeah, this boy almost didn’t wake up on the final stop *lol*

I took a long afternoon nap since I slept quite late last night and I did some last minute shopping at night. Well, I ended up buying one item only

I checked in at Piccolo Hotel. I stayed here once during my F1 FAM Trip few years back and I have a pretty big room to myself. Oh yeah, the perks of having two beds :p

You’re the Apple of My Eye: Wowww.. Just woooww!!! I’m always a sucker for romantic movies but this kind of genre, I do have high expectations but this popular Taiwanese movie hit the right note and I was mesmerized till the end. Yes, I teared up inside and I’m pretty sure this movie won’t be released in Brunei due to some of the contents. This is the best movie I’ve seen this year. Period. Verdict: 9/10

Yes, I will be catching the AIM tonight live at Bukit Jalil Stadium. The invitation card said “glamourous” for the dress code *lol* I’m not gonna dress up extravaganza :p

 

KaPOW Burger will have a special buy 10 basic KaPOWs and get the 11th for Free! As part of 11.11.11! Have you been KaPOWeD? *T&C applied. Kapow stations opens 5:30pm onwards later. So have you tried @KapowBurger? 

 

All BarelyThere members will entitle extra 11% discount which mean you could enjoy 10% + 11% discount for all items while non member still be able to enjoy 11% discount. They sell Hello Kitty items, lingerie, costumes, games etc. You can call 824 8680

 

Starting from 11:11AM to 1:11Pm, customers of Mr. Baker’s Bakeshop can enjoy a buy one gets one free deal on cakes, pastries, breads, buns and mini cakes etc on a first come first serve basis. No advance booking and while stock lasts only. Promotion only applicable at our main branch at Batu Bersurat. Follow @MrBakerBakeshop for updates

 

For FES Retro, they will be having special promotion at their new outlet (Times Square). The 11th paying customer will get a free polo tee and meal voucher

 

Yayy…. I’m flying today to Kuala Lumpur via @AirAsia and this will be the fourth time this year on AirAsia. Awesome!!!

 

Make sure you make your way to KFC’s newest outlet at Airport Mall. There will be tons of activities lined up later. Way to go, @KFCbrunei

The official soft opening will take place this morning and only open to the public by 3pm. Once you bowl there, you don’t just bowl but you also feel the experience. Two thumbs up!! Follow them on Twitter @MegaStrikeBowl

Thank you, @thannsanctuary for participating in the 11.11.11 gimmick.. So just read the poster guys for their promotion today

“Hi, cuppies for today are Vanilla and White Choc Cheesecake, Choc-Salted Caramel, Lemon Love, One-Bowl Choc. Pls kindly reply if you’d like some. Thx & Stay Sweet!” – Birthday celebrant Handara. Do call 861 0656 for details and happy birthday by the way

Immortals: Plot could have been better and there weren’t much twist either. Visually, it was awesome at times but I felt something was missing. This is no way near the level of satisfaction I had for 300. Nonetheless a commendable effort. Verdict: 8/10 though a 7 would be justifiable

Read below for the updates of the Airport Mall logo and it’s looking wicked too 🙂

Click poster to enter Facebook page to find out more

There will be tons of activities at KFC Airport Mall later so do check it out!!!

The launch of the Double Zinger Burger…. Now you’re making me hungry!!!

On the eve of 11/11/11, KFC Corp., the brand famous for 11 herbs and spices announced today that it has discovered an unpublished “food autobiography” of the company’s founder, Colonel Harland Sanders, hidden in the company’s Louisville archival storage facility for the past 40 years.

The original autobiography provides an authentic look into the life of the world’s legendary entrepreneur and is centered on his passion for food, hard work and the importance of home-style country cooking. In it, the Colonel shares his personal memoirs and perspectives, life lessons, anecdotes and stories about everything from food to family, business, hard work, customers and franchisees and importantly, some of his own favorite personal recipes.

An excerpt from the opening chapter reads:

“This is a new kind of book. There’s never been another written like it as far as I know. It’s the story of a man’s life and the story of the food he’s cooked and eaten, running right along with it. The food I’ve liked, the work I’ve done and the way I think are all the same thing. I’m going to tell how I grew up and at the same time how you can have the kind of food I grew up on. I’m making room in these pages for real old-time American country and farm cooking before it’s forgotten. I was a farm boy and lean toward farm cooking. To me, my recipes are priceless.”

The Colonel learned to cook down-home, country-style food at an early age from his mother and carried those skills with him throughout his life. In the “food autobiography”, he shared for the first time his personal collection of favorite recipes that he gathered and perfected over his lifetime, including his very first recipe to make light bread which he mastered at age seven. A range of dishes are included for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with instructions on the right way to make biscuits, pancakes, omelets, casserole, pies and much more. One of his goals for the unpublished book was to provide inspiration and practical lessons for the home cook as well.

“We’ve uncovered a new secret of the Colonel’s and we want to share it with millions of KFC fans around the world,” said Roger Eaton, Chief Executive Officer, KFC Corp. “Colonel Sanders was a lifelong cook and sage and his life lessons are just as powerful and relevant today as they were forty years go. He is known for creating delicious home-style meals, developing recipes from scratch and sharing his strong beliefs with friends and family along the way. That’s why we are so delighted to let KFC fans know we will be releasing the ‘food autobiography’ next year,” added Eaton.

At the age of 65, Colonel Sanders turned a $105 Social Security check into a global chicken empire and until his death at the age of 90, traveled 250,000 miles a year visiting KFC restaurants worldwide.

The original manuscript for the “food autobiography” was discovered by accident by a 30-year veteran of the company who immediately realized the value and significance of the find. The Company believes that if someone less knowledgeable about the brand had found the document, it likely would have stayed in the archives and remained undiscovered for years.

The original “food autobiography” has been put in the KFC’s vault, next to the Secret Original Recipe®, which the Colonel made famous. The vault was modernized and remodeled in 2009 to go high tech. The custom-built, digital FireKing safe protecting KFCs secrets weights more than 770 lbs. and has a one-half inch thick steel door. The computerized safe also has a dual-opening system that requires both a smart key and a personal identification number (PIN). A built-in silent alarm and time lock feature provide additional layers of safekeeping which alert the security team of any attempted intrusion and allow access to the safe during pre-set periods of time. The vault is under 24/7 closed circuit monitoring as well. Text courtesy of KFC.

Something to start off your meal

The soup of the day then was lentil soup

Seabass as the main course

I had the beef shanks as my main course.. Thumbs up!!

From the set lunch, you can choose either dessert or soup

It was great catching up :))

The promotion at Savy’s Brasserie

The Brunei Darussalam AIDS Council is a non-profit organization and we have been around for a good 11 years. We try our best within our means to educate the society on HIV & AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Infections, teenage pregnancy and social issues.

They give accurate information about HIV & AIDS and they are here to tell you that no one is immune to HIV. The best ways to prevent HIV is through education and correct behaviours. BDA Council have worked very hard to address the widespread misperception that HIV/AIDS is just “an old social problem”. They pay visits to schools, youth clubs & community gatherings to give talks, run workshops, forums and give free consultations.

Help them reach out to more people. Help them educate your children to ensure that they grow up to become responsible adults. Help us to spread correct information about HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections so the society can make healthy life choices.

They are an organization who really cares for the society’s perception of this disease because lack of accurate information can lead to irresponsible behavior and making wrong choices that can change your lives forever.

Join them to mark World AIDS Day this year. They will be organizing a charity bazaar and a dualthlon on the 11th of December 2011. They also welcome companies, organizations and individuals who wish to help fund our event and help us raise money to run better workshops and talks to educate your children, family and friends about respecting yourselves to get to ‘zero new infections’. Oh, for your information, the theme for this year’s World AIDS Day is “Getting to Zero: Zero new HIV infection, Zero AIDS-related deaths & Zero Discrimination”

Remember, no one is immune. A person living with HIV looks just as healthy as who ever you are looking at right now- you can’t tell who’s got what. Go to www.facebook.com/worldaidsdaybrunei for more information and you can also follow on Twitter @BDAIDSCouncil

The SocMed gang had a fun outing few days ago at the dry run of MegaStrike Bowl. I had one of the worst in terms of scoring *lol* Regardless, it was the fun factor and of course, the more the merrier. I’m impressed with the interior of the MegaStrike Bowl and it seems that they have put so much effort in building up the bowling area. I can’t imagine how they would bring the huge machinery to the 3rd floor and everything was done within less than 4 months.. Amazing!!

Now with three public bowling options available in Brunei, the culture of bowling is coming back! I remember I used to be an avid player (socially) and it was good for passing time with friends. Ok, those were my teenage years. Now bowling can get its groove back if Mega Strike Bowl play their formula right which I’m pretty sure they are on the right track.

Utama Bowling has been around for more than 25 years if I’m not mistaken and now they will face stiff competition unless they revamp or upgrade their facilities. Today (and many weeks, months to come), most visitors will lead to Mega Strike Bowl and this will be another pulling factor to draw the crowd to the Airport Mall.

Congrats to the guys behind Mega Strike Bowl and they are humble in person too. The SocMed gang will be organizing a mini-competition in December so stay tune for that. For now, let’s bowl for fun 🙂

The registration and payment counter

I love the new balls

The guys from MOFAT were at the dry run

Yooooo… BAG Networks represent!!!

So who got the highest among you guys?

Is it true about big size shoes?? 

The awesome ladies from The Brunei Times

They were watching video clips on the making of Mega Strike Bowl

The Cosmic Bowling session will depends on the demand of bowlers. Perhaps, it could only a weekend thing or three times a week.

It is such a spacious place. The cost of bowling is $6 per game, $1 for shoe rent and $1 sock for ladies and $1.50 for men

I’m pretty sure BruneiTweet bit my lowly score of 63 points *lol*

Fadhil the man was enjoying two games of bowling that he sweat more than playing football

The management team of Mega Strike Bowl with the local media

The Airport Mall, the country’s up-and-coming shopping destination, will be unveiling its all-new logo, created by Brunei’s award- winning creative agency Mixmediaworx, the same agency that created the international APEC CEO Summit logo for Singapore two years ago, on November 11, 2011.

The Airport Mall’s new logo reflects futuristic theme of progress and excitement, coupled with the elements of multi-coloured, multi-dimensional and multi-faceted designs. Creative Director at Mixmediaworx, Hamdi “NJ” Matussin said: “The Airport Mall logo is created to inspire. With an array of wide-ranging outlets at the mall catered to all walks of life, this logo is a distinct blend of exuberance and flair, youthfulness and stability, with modernism and a touch of class.”

NJ added: “The Airport Mall’s initials ‘A’ and ‘M’, have also been incorporated into the logo in a subtle, yet effective way, further demonstrating the sheer innovation and all-around appeal of The Airport Mall.”

Dk Hjh Asiah Pg Hj Damit, a representative from The Airport Mall said that their grand opening will be in January next year. “But we want a historical date, we have chosen that to fall on November 11, where we will reveal the logo’s identity,” she said.

Mixmediaworx’s engagement stretches beyond just logo creation, the main aim is to provide consultation and marketing for the mall, for it’s long-term strategic direction.

In the near future, visitors can expect a new and fresh exterior of the mall, with a re-designed interior and consistent branding throughout the mall to match its identity.

Along with The Airport Mall’s identity launching on 11-11-11, visitors can also expect the opening of the new 22-lane bowling alley, Mega Strike and the opening of KFC (B) Sdn Bhd’s 11th branch in Brunei.

Current tenants at The Airport Mall include Korean cosmetic brand Tony Moly; well-known Bruneian travel agent Darussalam Holdings; Cosmopolitan College, Urbanchic Boutique; MAYA Silk, gadget store NASH and SKH Supermarket. There is also talks about DST and Matadoe coming on board in the not too distant future.

The Airport Mall is currently 80 per cent full in terms of confirmed tenancy. The announcement of a partnership with creative firm Mixmediaworx last week, will see the property gain a strong and recognizable branding w kxith exciting out-of-the-box concepts await in the months to come. Text courtesy of Mixmediaworx.

Get your tickets now and enjoy our local talented students

LANEIGE Broadway Musical is back again this year to be held on 26 November 2011. The responses from secondary schools have been very encouraging. There are 20 secondary schools that are going to compete in this charity competition performing some famous scenes from popular Broadway musicals like The Lion King, Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, The Sound of Music, Mama Mia, Oliver, Wicked, Grease, High School Musical, etc.

This is the 2nd year that LANEIGE co-organizes the competition with the Department of Schools, Ministry of Education. It was a remarkable, educational and meaningful occasion in 2010. There were great opportunities in discovering young peoples’ talents, energy, imagination and leadership skills. These were recognized in their contributions to each performance. There was a variety of development and creativity in music, communication, teamwork and culture exchange. Students were able to be part of and enjoy a number of musical performances within the local arena and this had never been experienced before. 

On another level, LANEIGE and the Ministry of Education wishes to emphasise that the main objective of organizing this charity competition within schools is really to raise the awareness in the public to look after those who are less fortunate. Through this charity competition, LANEIGE and the Ministry of Education wants to particularly encourage a wide spectrum of our youths today on the need to be more caring and compassionate. Our youths are our future: they would be the ones to continue to look after and manage the country. This charity competition is at the same a way to provide a platform and to expose students’ talents and creativity. 

Another important reason is we to give an opportunity to students to communicate, perform and develop artistically in English language. With the continuous support of Ministry of Education and generous sponsors including: HSBC, Brunei Press Sdn Bhd, Jasra Harrisons Sdn Bhd, Milo, Royal Brunei Catering Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Shalim (B) Sdn Bhd, Nyuk Lian Printing Company, Ranoadidas, Red Dot Studio, CFBT, Studio Scene and Brunei English Language Teacher Association. 

In addition, there will more to explore during the event, delicious irresistible foodies will be available on the day at the event like Bunny’s Yummies, Scoop Frozen Yogurt, Chicken pie by RBC, and many more food surprises to be arranged by the kind support of Brunei Food Bloggers.

The LANEIGE Broadway Musical Charity Competition 2011 will be held at the ICC Main conference Hall on 26 NOV 2011 at 1pm. Tickets are now available on sales at all LANEIGE branches (the mall 2428222, Kiulap 2232282, K.B. 3347217). 100% of ticket sales would be donated to KACA and Pusat Bahagia. To enjoy a meaningful and enjoyable afternoon of Broadway Musicals,for a good cause, get your tickets now for a wonderful afternoon with family and friends.

At the press conference recently held at STPRI

Patricia, Marketing Manager of LANEIGE holding the poster

Group photo with committee, sponsors, judges and coaches

Images from last year’s Musical Broadway at OGH

Images from last year’s Musical Broadway at OGH

Closing date is 14th November

ITPSS is also running a website design competition and stand a chance to win a MacBook Air. Click image to see more details.

Doing the Lady Gaga moves for the audience

Luk dropped a lady shoe while doing the cat walk

“Rolling down the river” dance by Urban Vibe

Luk of Century Travel (Manggis) was full of joy as he was one of the lucky winners

Lucky draw winners that night

Wafi from Darussalam Holdings got a prize too

They won trips to resorts and hotels at KL and KK sponsored by Tourism Malaysia

Woww.. She’s flying to London.. One of the grand prize lucky draw

Another winner for the trip to London

Urban Vibe with their last performance of the night

I have to say these guys were impressive that night. Abacus Brunei made the right choice for entertainment 🙂

Before the night ended, everyone did a 5-minute Zumba session

Video presentation of Deseo

The face of Deseo and winner of Deseo talent search

Denise with the Top 5 finalists

Clothings from Deseo

Lexy did bring some cheers from the crowd

Lots of guests turned up for the event

One of the consolation winners

One of the best dressed guests that day

Rachel was announced the best dressed guest

Denise with the ladies wearing Deseo dresses

Denise with her parents

30 winners have been drawn by Holika Holika to catch CNBlue Concert in Bangkok and also a two night stay at Bangkok which is currently under flood crisis. Hence, the concert has been postponed to February 2012 and it’s slated for the final week of February 2012.

During the draw, Doris Lee, Holika Holika sales manager and selected guests were asked to draw names. As part of the package, the lucky winners will receive free air tickets including accommodation, as well as tickets to the CNBlue concert and on top of that, each will be given BND 100.

The lucky drawn campaign was organised by Holika Holika and they had to spend a minimum of $50 and above on a single receipt at any Holika Holika branch and they had to fill an entry form too.

The trip is a way for Holika Holika to treat their customers for being a part of the cosmetics line’s vision, which is to “create a dream come true for all individuals”. Winners will be notified by Holika Holika.

Below are the list of the 30 winners.

1) Law Yen Yen
2) Nazirahwati Binti Talip
3) Dk Nurul Hazimah Pg. Mohin
4) Chong Siew Yin
5) Noraisah Abdulllah Tee
6) Nan Ni Ni Hlaing (Annie)
7) Jacky Chong
8) Jenny Koh Fong Jtuan
9) Wong Siaw Ling
10) Carol Lim You Zhen

11) Edah Buntar
12) Esther Elizabeth Sihawa
13) Pang Ze Yuan
14) Helena Soh Ai Choo
15) Aimi Zawani Ajamain
16) Meriam Bte. Hj. Lamit
17) Muhd Ibnur-Waie Bin Ali
18) Elli Goh Mei Tieng
19) Angie Teo Chen Chen
20) Siti Nurromeyna Khairah Binti Abd. Rahim

21) Hjh Aisah Mohamad
22) Ong Siew Eng
23) Azim Jaya
24) Siti Aisyah Abdullah
25) Fatimah Hj Timbang
26) Nauyah Binti Hj Hasshim
27) Evelyn Chang
28) Lim Lee Min
29) Jessica Chong
30) Ysabelle Chong

She’s flying to Bangkok!!!

She’s flying to Bangkok too!!!

Another excited winner who will be catching CNBlue in February

Emily (in pink) was unlucky not be one of the chosen ones

Thanks to @denogoh of @TheBruneiTimes who is currently in Honolulu for the coverage of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Hawaii this week. I shall be posting pictures behind the scenes and Hawaii is one of the places that I want to visit one day. I’ve heard so many great things about the place.

I’m also following @timothy_ongTM (Dato Timothy’s Twitter) on the updates at Honolulu, Hawaii. Thanks for the pix @denogoh.. well, at least both of us are flying to Bangkok next year for the CNBlue concert *lol*

Deno Goh and Ubai are currently in Honolulu, Hawaii

One of the stations for APEC

Now this looks pretty Hawaiian to me

Click image to find out more

This is another regional blogging event that many are fighting seats for. It’s no easy task but hey, this is still worth a shot. Next month, Nuffnang will be hosting the Asia-Pacific Blog Awards 2011. It will be held at Putrajaya Marriot, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards is brought to you by Volkswagen Malaysia and Putrajaya Marriott

Two years ago, the award was held in Singapore and the ever-popular @xiaxue bagged three awards including Region’s Best Blog. So who will it be this year? The nominations are closed and it will only be listed on the website on 15th November 2011.

Today I’m aiming for that special seat and to be part of the prestigious event this December and hence I’m pointing out three good reasons why I should be part of the 500-guest list 😀

1) This could be the first chance for a Bruneian to be part of this prestigious event and furthermore, no Bruneian has been represented in such event (please care to correct me if I miss out). I do hope a few more Bruneians can be part of the regional event. It would be a shame for Brunei not be listed among the 500 attendees. Let’s put Brunei on the map.

A coverage of such event in my blog will generate more interest for my readers and they can also learn from the experience. I plan to do a live update through my blog and Twitter too. Apparently, someone has nominated my blog for the upcoming awards (Thanks to whoever you are).

2) To meet-and-greet other regional bloggers apart from Brunei. With the number of blogs slowly fading away after the emergence of social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram etc), it would be a privilege to meet existing bloggers who have made a difference in different parts of the world. I do hope to bump into superstar bloggers such as @Xiaxue (Singapore) and funny man @KennySia (Kuching) whom have bagged awards in 2009 Asia-Pacific Nuffnang Blog Award. I’m also rooting for my friend @SuperAdrianMe (Singapore) get shortlisted as a nominee because I love what he does.

3) The concept of Nuffnang has proven to be a success and it has been ongoing for years. It’s quite interesting that a friend of mine also works in Nuffnang and it would be indeed a great honour to meet the actual guys behind Nuffnang and I would also take the opportunity to interview the founders of Nuffnang. Keep it up!!!!

So there you go, guys!!! Nuffnang, if you read this, you know who’s the best bet to represent Brunei and I do hope others will get selected too.

The past winners and finalists of The Asia-Pacific Nuffnang Blog Awards. Image taken from Passportchop

Ok, yesterday I witnessed and truly enjoyed the insightful presentations on innovation by the MBA students from UBD. Not only they are in tune with their innovative ideas but they surely showed some passion and love too. It was also great to meet up with Soon Loo (center) who travels back and forth to Brunei and inspire the students. More updates of the presentation this week.

After a few years, Zul Faden (formerly known as Zul F) finally debuted his solo album with the collaboration of Phuturephase Production and Music Expression. Formerly under the management of Origin Artistic Management, he gained creative control of his music and almost all his songs in the new album “Memori Cinta” are written by him.

Two weeks ago, Zul Faden performed a few songs to commemorate the launch of his debut solo album as well as the launch of his website www.zulfaden.com. The launch took place at Jerudong Park Mini Amphitheatre and he’s also the ambassador for the said venue.

There was also performance by our popular singer Maria and Lily Chiam. Too bad Hans Anuar wasn’t there to perform the song “Sepi” but they did improvise by having a music video of the single with Hans Anuar’s voice streaming out of the audio while Zul Faden sang live. Interesting..

It was also a surprise moment for Zul Faden as the organisers did a surprise advanced birthday for him. The cake was sponsored by Eric from Mr. Baker’s Bakeshop and ironically it was Eric’s actual birthday too.

Congratulations to Zul Faden on the success of his debut album and I do hope you soar high in your music career. It’s good to see our music local scene being recognised and I hope this momentum will spur more local singers.

Guest of honour receiving souvenir from Zul Faden

Zul Faden belting out of his songs

A duet with Maria

Maria, Lily Chiam, Zul Faden and DJ Izan

A surprise greeting song from Expression Music

Mr. Eric presenting birthday cake to the Zul Faden

Eric giving his testimonials on Zul Faden’s success and talent

VIPs and guest witnessing the launch of Zul Faden’s album

The famous hairstylist Moore won a voucher for answering a pop quiz

Another guest was brought on to stage for another pop quiz

Peaches and Dea posing for RA

Man, this is tough… Not to have my facial hair trimmed or shaved and it has only been 9 days and we are three weeks away from getting it trimmed or shaved *lol* So peeps, it’s #Movember month where it’s a campaign to highlight the awareness among men on prostate cancer in Brunei.

#Movember has been around for a decade but this is pretty new in Brunei and thanks to the trio @mujahidjohar @zulfadly @thewheat who successfully launched the #Movember campaign in Brunei and you can follow them on Twitter @movemberbn and they also have the support of the National Cancer Center (NCC).br />
The campaign will end on 3rd December though I won’t be around and there will be activities on that day and perhaps a session for “public shaving” (for facial only of course *lol*). Venue is yet to be confirmed. For now, you can visit this website from The Wheat [here] and you can follow them on Facebook [here] or Twitter @MovemberBN. If you have any queries, you can email at MovemberBrunei(a)gmail.com

Want to be part of the campaign? Courtesy of The Wheat. Click image to enter

Guess who??? Click image to find out

Click image to enter Facebook page

Click image to enter website and start shopping

Suite Lola is a solution provider for online shoppers especially those who spend more of their $$$ online than shopping physically. I’m a regular online shopper when it comes to books (I source them from Amazon) and the delivery and the pricing have been great so far for me.

So how does Suite Lola accommodate or make your online shopping more enjoyable? Let’s put this way.. Have you ever experience a situation where you can’t access to the wide range of products especially from the US? Have you ever had problems of shipping your goods to Brunei because for a fact they don’t ship certain products to Brunei? This could be the fact that some retailers only accept US Credit Cards.

Or perhaps, you are very particular about shipping charges hence Suite Lola will provide you the best information to save on shipping costs. Just put this way — Choose any products you want to buy online (from US, UK, Canada or Singapore sites) and use Suite Lola to facilitate your shopping needs.

Winnie Sia browsing through Suite Lola and she signed up on the spot

But first thing is first, you need to register as a member of Suite Lola and they will need two requirements from you – 1) a photocopy of your IC 2) a photocopy of your utility bill such as your phone or electricity bill. Don’t worry as these requested items are treated as confidential. The purpose of these is to make sure that the registered person shopping through Suite Lola is legit and also for security purposes for tracking good delivered to your doorsteps.

Signing up is FREE and for regular users of Suite Lola, you will be eligible to be a premium member where your shopping becomes cheaper as well as shopping rates too.

Suite Lola has two types of services:

1) Self-service: Use your Credit Card to shop but you use Suite Lola for shipping
2) Concierge service: Where retailers don’t accept your CC so Suite Lola will buy and ship for you. A small fee is required for regular members but once you are a Premium member, the fee is waived.

Hmmm this might be a slightly confusing for starters but once you get the hang of it, it’s all good. You can click here for more about shippinbg. Not to worry as Suite Lola also has a FAQ section for any queries that you have. This, for me, is one of the best idea for Bruneians and residents who are spend a lot on online shopping.

For any queries, you can email suitelola(a)gmail.com. And yes, there’s a LiveHelp online chat on their main page of Suite Lola too. Do stay tune for updates next week on Suite Lola.

You can read Debbie Too’s update. Click [here]

Now I can shop at UK site such as Adidas (hmmm nice StarWars collection) and let Suite Lola facilitate my shopping needs. This is a screen shot taken from Adidas UK website.

The screen shot of Suite Lola website. If you don’t know where to shop, then enter Suite Lola as they have more than 400 online shops for you to browse thru. Click image to enter

New bags of Hello Kitty at Barely There, Tanjung Bunut. Call 824 8680. Click image to enter Barely There’s Fan Page

Guest of Honour Dato Paduka Ali Apong, Chairman of BEDB, urged the local businesses to be innocative and enterprising and not to depend on domestic market for future growth. He believes that Brunei can be a big player globally in terms of innovation and technology. Dato Paduka Ali Apong also spoke off building customer relationships, R&D innovation and the ease of doing business

It was great Local Brunei Development forum hosted by Asia Inc Forum. The keynote address was given by Dato Paduka Ali Apong, the Chairman of Brunei Economic Development Board, and he emphasized the importance of customer relationship, R&D innovation, enterpreneurship and intellectual property rights. He hoped that these can help to acheive the vision of “Wawasan Brunei 2035”.

I really enjoyed the line up of speakers that day and of course, the invited speaker of the day, Brenda Bence, who shared her advice of the importance of branding. I believe this is what is lacking in Brunei – branding and producting positioning.. Though it exist, not much emphasis has been given on branding and this is one of the reasons why businesses fail.

I hope to see more of this forum as it will aspire more businesses, corporate industries and even government sectors on the importantce of creating local business in the country. Thank you, Asia Inc Forum for the insightful forum. There will be more coverage this week on the rest of the sessions.

Invited guests at the Local Business Development forum

Brenda Bence with moderator, Andrew Dy

Mohd Roger Ainsworth, General Manager of Megamas Training Company asking a question

Dato Paduka Timothy Ong, Ken Marnoch, Dato Paduka Ali Apong, Pierre Imhof and Stuart Kemp

So which brands represent you once you see this slide? I think you know which one will represent me 😀

Invited guests at the Local Business Development forum

Michelle Kho and Sophia Siu learned a few things on branding and customer service

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The Adventures of Tintin. We caught the sneaks yesterday at The Mall Cineplex and judging from Rottentomatoes, it had a pretty high rating (85%) and furthermore, it’s a Steven Speilberg + Peter Jackson movie. There have been tons of hypes with the popular comic Tintin and I grew up reading their graphic novels (Though I have to say I don’t remember the characters very well until the movie brought me flashbacks of the past).

So what are my views of the movie? According to Winnie, the director kinda changed the bits and pieces from the original script of the graphic novel. To me, it was well paced though I’m not concerned of the changes in the script. However, I felt a lack of chemistry and also the charisma from Tintin himself. The development of the story could have been tweaked and focused more on his character.

There are some scenes of violence (gun shots and sword fights) so this movie won’t be ideal for lil kids unless you’re not too concerned about it. Graphic wise, it’s the best I’ve seen for an animated movie. It’s good to Tintin turned into a movie. I was entertained but I won’t say that the movie was that absorbing. Verdict: 7/10 but lilmopiko gave it a 6.

Tower Heist. I’ve seen a lot of Ben Stiller movies but I was disappointed with Little Fockers (3rd installment of Meet the Parents). To see him team with Eddie Murphy, I thought it was a huge gamble as well and this is due to the fact that most of Eddie Murphy’s movies have been failures (Imagine That, Meet Dave) apart from the Shrek series. So I had low expectations on this movie but to my surprise, I kinda liked the movie.

The plot was slightly different and there was more humour element than the usual Ben Stiller slap-stick comedy so I thought that was kinda cool. Eddie Murphy didn’t get that much time screen and sometimes it’s better that way too since he can get a bit annoying on screen. This is another movie that I do recommend you guys to catch. An above average comedic social drama. Verdict: 7/10

Paranormal Activity 3. How can a movie of this magnitude can still bring frights to cinema goers? The formula for Paranormal Activity kinda of movies are usually based on the degree of suspense it can deliver to us. Just like how Blair Witch Project managed to persuade us to watch the movie for different elements of surprise. So to have a third installment for Paranormal Activity is a tall order and I was hoping that the producers haven’t exhaust themselves with same old ideas.

But guess what… The movie succeeded in giving me the spooks and more to my movie partner then Winnie Sia *lol* Thumbs up to the direction and the editing of PA3 and I’m still curious how the actual “ghost/spirit” looked like. I remember someone tweeting that Paranormal Activity Tokyo Night was entertaining which is the Japanese version. Do catch PA3 which is still showing in cinemas after 3 weeks which shows how popular this movie is in Brunei. Verdict: 7/10

RA One. How does he do it? Sharukh Khan doesn’t seem to age, does he? He just turned 46 last week and he doesn’t appear in his mid-40s. Anyway, his latest flick RA.One is the talk of the town and when that happens, even our SocMed group got sucked in to watch the flick last week. Did you know RA.One had the biggest opening week in India, raking in almost US 40 million?

Box office success aside, this doesn’t mean that the movie might be well received among critics but it did get a fresh tomato rating on Rottentomatoes surprisingly. My thoughts in a few words? Great dance/soundtrack, wonderful costumes and props, but suffered in a shaky, unrealistic plot. Well, this is the part where you leave your brain home. 60-70% of the action sequences were “over-the-top” but isn’t that your typical Bollywood action flick?

The humour was a saviour in some way and the chemistry between the characters were slightly messy. I was drawn by the presence of Kareena Kapoor on screen though. You can catch this movie at Seri Q-Lap Cinema but I was slightly put-off by the price-tag of the movie even on a week night ($10). This Bollywood film was entertaining but had lots of flaws. Verdict: 6/10

Captain Azwan Salleh of Brunei u-23 (left) holding on to George O’Callaghan during training match. This evening he led the Brunei team against Timor Leste. However, they lost their opening match 2-1 despite scoring earlier on. Ribeiro Almeida of Timor Leste scored a brace. It was a historic win for Timor Leste as it was their first victory in the SEA Games since their participation in 2009. Mohd Najib scored for Brunei Darussalam.

Murilo Ribeiro (left) scored twice for Timor Leste yesterday. Image by Heru Haryono/okezone

Brunei’s Ak Mohammad Fakharrazi (yellow) fighting for a ball with Timor Leste’s Wellington Rocha Dos Santos during their SEA Games Group B qualifying match in Jakarta yesterday. Picture: AFP

The standing so far and Brunei will take on Laos tomorrow (Monday) 5pm

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It was an entertaining event at The Empire Hotel & Country Club. Abacus Brunei hosted their 21st Abacus Appreciation Dinner for all their partners and travel agents (the 200 movers and shakers of Brunei’s flourishhing travel industry).

The dinner was to highlight and appreciate the continuous efforts of their travel agency partners in Brunei for the past 21 years. For your info, Abacus is Asia’s leading provider of travel solutions and services. If there’s no Abacus, then it will be difficult to do your bookings for your flights. So this is where Abacus come in and do that support.

Irene Soon, General Manager of Abacus Brunei, said that Abacus will continue to introduce innovative technology solutions and services to help travel agents improve and enhance their services. She also thanked Abacus International Pte Ltd, Royal Brunei Airlines, Baiduri Bank, Cityneon Displays and Constructions, Royal Brunei Catering, Tourism Malaysia, Tokio Marine Insurance and TTCO Enterprise for sponsoring the lucky draw prizes for this evening’s event.

Irene soon, General Manager of Abacus Brunei, giving a few words before dinner

Century Travel bagged all the Top 3 rewards for Travel Consultant. Prizes presented by guest of honour, Aji bin Hj Puteh, Acting Deputing Chief Operating Officer of Royal Brunei Airlines and Director of Abacus Brunei

Century Travel (Bandar) came 2nd in Top Travel Agent Performing Award

8th place Mas Sugara Travel Services receiving award from Guest of Honour

Freme Travel (KB) came 4th in Top Travel Agent Performing Award

Group photo with the Top 10 Travel Agents in Brunei

Darussalam Holding is ranked in the Top 10 for Top Travel Agents in Brunei

Top Travel Agent at Abacus Holiday Travel Fair

Top Travel Agent – Freme Travel Services
1st Runner up – Pan Bright Travel Service
2nd Runner up – Southern Cross Travel Agencies

Travel Consultant Reward

Top Travel Consultant – Miss Lim Yah Hui from Century Travel Centre
1st Runner up – Mr. Luk Boon Hwa from Century Travel Centre
2nd Runner up – Miss Yee Leng Kam from Century Travel Centre

Top Travel Agent Performing Award 2010/2011

1) Freme Travel Service (Bandar)
2) Century Travel Centre (Bandar)
3) Pan Bright Travel Service (Kuala Belait)
4) Freme Travel Services (Kuala Belait)
5) Anthony Tours & Travel Agency
6) Pan Bright Travel Service (Bandar)
7) Century Travel Centre (Manggis)
8) Mas Sugara Travel Services
9) Darussalam Holdings
10) Southern Cross Travel Agencies (Seria)

Some of the entertainment during the 21st Abacus Appreciation Night

Some of them had to do the “Zumba” action

Urban Vibes surely entertaiend the guests last night. Awesome dance sets!!!

Spin the Wheel was quite popular and lots of fantastic prizes

Plenty of food to go around as well

3 years and still counting.. Congratulations!!

Denise Chai of Deseo (2nd from right) with her friends from overseas and Thanis Lim

Denise Chai with her friends after the event

Denise Chai with Deseo’s staff who have helped the business sustained this far

Edgar with his daughter Natalie also attended the celebration

It’s happening today and extended till Sunday. This is the week to commemorate “Farmers’ and Fishermen’s Day and this is the 2nd time Brunei celebrated this event since His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam declared that the event should be celebrated every 1st November.

Around 200 booths participated in the jam packed event and it’s located at Recreational Park at Kg. Parit (along Jalan Mualat/Limau-Manis) and I tell you that it was so congested yesterday when I dropped by for a quick coverage. The car queue was pretty long and I’m pretty sure Sunday (tomorrow) will be worse.

Exhibitions and trade fairs are opened for the public for five days from November 1 to 5 with a number of additional activities including a colouring contest, scene drawing competitions, identifying fruits, vegetables, fish and agrifood competition, digital photography competition and fish tank fishing competition.

What’s a great about the event is that I noticed a lot of families bring their kids and this is a great platform for kids to be educated on agriculture and fishery in Brunei. One set back though – the toilets. They had no water supply then but I’m not pretty sure if it’s only temporary. So my advise is to clear your bladder before you visit the carnival 😉

Well done to the organisers.. Though it wasn’t heavily advertised but wow… the crowd just kept on flowing and flowing.. and further more, this is not located at a prime area like ICC or BRIDEX. So thumbs up to the organisers.

Pehin Yahya handing over mock cheque to Lau How Teck (R), the recipient of the “Successful Farmers’ Award”. Taken on 1st November. Image courtesy of Saifulizam of The Brunei Times

Kids love to fish apparently

I’m not fond of durians but I’m sure most of you are

There’s also a quiz section on the photography section

You can grow some fruits one day

Ok, I’m not a big fan of this game though

Yes, the long queue just for the event

BRUNEI’s premier destination, The Airport Mall has signed on local creative firm, Mixmediaworx for their expertise in branding, marketing and consultation. The Airport Mall, is looking distinguish itself from what other Bruneian malls have to offer, which has prompted the partnership with Mixmediaworx, to develop a brand which will be synonymous with Bruneians.

Dk Hjh Asiah Pg Hj Damit, a representative from The Airport Mall, said: “We are pleased to announce our partnership with Mixmediaworx, Brunei’s leading and preferred creative agency, for the branding of our mall.”

She added that with proper branding and consultation from Mixmediaworx, The Airport Mall would be able set itself apart from other shopping destinations in the country. With Mixmediaworx on board, The Airport Mall will have a new and fresh exterior, a re-thought interior, a logo and consistent branding to match.

Mixmediaworx’s Creative Director Hamdi “NJ” Matussin said that it isn’t often that shopping centers in Brunei have strong and recognizable branding. “The idea is not to rely heavily on major tenants to pull the crowd or shoppers in, but to stand out as a one-of-a-kind shopping mall that represents all its tenants as distinctly as possible,” he said.

With Mixmediaworx’s involvement, it will help with the positioning of The Airport Mall towards the local market.

“We will identify strengths, weakness and opportunity in line with creating The Airport Mall’s identity development,” NJ said, adding that the exercise will take about 6 to 12 months to complete.

The huge atrium at The Airport Mall put to good use.. Taken during the Abacus Holiday Travel Fair back in October 2011

The logo, which will be unveiled on November 11, took around a month to be confirmed. NJ added: “Our association with The Airport Mall will see a whole new brand concept for the mall, inside and out.”

With most malls in Brunei having with cinemas or hotels to pull crowds, The Airport Mall is looking to go a different direction. Mixmediaworx believes that although challenging, they will be able to propose and suggest the right approach to make The Airport Mall Brunei’s preferred destination.

Dk Hjh Asiah said that with their property, one of the biggest advantages is the huge atrium which will be able to host a wide array of events or roadshows. “Currently, Alhamdulillah… we are more than 80 per cent full in terms of confirmed tenancy. With the appointment of a creative agency, this is our serious next step. We believe that they can market and brand our product, The Airport Mall, to be a success,” she said. Text courtesy of Mixmediaworx.

Fifteen schools will be taking part in a programme that will teach entrepreneurship through mentoring and coaching, in hopes of inspiring and equipping Brunei’s younger generation to learn and succeed through enterprise.

Hj Abdul Rahman Hj Nawi, acting director of the Curriculum Development Department, Ministry of Education, said that the Brunei Entrepreneurship Education Scheme (BEES) which is in partnership with Brunei Shell Petroleum, would be available in January in selected government secondary schools, technical schools, Arab school, and a private secondary school.

“The ministry hopes that within three years time, all government secondary schools and technical/vocational schools will have BEES programme runnning in their schools. To ensure sustainability plan for the continuation of BEES programme, the Ministry of Education will take ownership and operation of the BEES programme in 2015,” he said.

Also in attendance was Ken Marnoch, Managing Director of Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) and he believed that the program builds on efforts in building a dynamic and sustainable economy for Brunei. This is very ideal platform to encourage the local to be more entrepreneurial and hence contributing to the nation’s long-term economic development.

Marnoch hopes one day we can find the next Tony Fernandes or Steve Jobs from Brunei. This concept of entrepreneurship programme such as BEES have been proven in other countries.

A big thumbs up on this matter as I’m a firm believer of entrepreneurship. Text by Deno Goh of The Brunei Times and images courtesy of BSP. Click [here] for more coverage.

Hj Abdul Rahman, Acting Director of the Curriculum Development Department, MOE, hopes that BEES programme will be implemented in all government secondary schools in the next few years

Ken Marnoch, Managing Director of BSP, said that 10 volunteers from BSP and Brunei LNG would parter with advisors from UBD and other school teachers in the BEES programme

Group photo with the volunteers

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Last year, he helped created awareness for the Pakistan flood victims

He’s very involved with Beach Bunch activities and a good ambassador too

And yesterday, he experienced another magical moment. His newly born daughter Eva Lim. Congratulations, dude

It’s happening tomorrow and Deseo will turn 3 years tomorrow and all are invited to Deseo’s anniversary celebration. It will feature their latest collection, special discounts and there will be tons of activities where you can win attractive prizes.

Deseo is located at Regent Square on 1st Floor at Kiulap. The event starts tomorrow at 2pm. Maira, Deseo’s talent search winner, will be there as well.

Maira, Deseo’s Talent Search winner, will be at Deseo tomorrow too

Wuuuuuu… the spinning wheel at Deseo 🙂

This is sometimes the hardest part for any entrepreneur especially in Brunei. Yes, we have heard of grants provided by governments and semi-government bodies. However, raising funds from venture capitalists ain’t easy. This morning, Keeran Janin’s company MeSixty Sdn Bhd gets a major boost from a venture capitalist from Singapore, Accel-X Pte Ltd.

MeSixty, only founded this year, will use the new inject funds for the development of a range of innovative applications built around its technology which indexes and analyze geo-social media (social-media created with mobile devices and tagged to location). This is a great move the company as we all know how mobile devices (even tablets) are fast becoming the primary way of accessing social-networks: presenting big opportunity for companies such as MeSixty.

The funds will allow them to accelerate further in their development stage in order to enter the arena with a unique product and solid value-proposition. With the funds, do expect them to expand in human resources and so far they have four developers and 3 creative professionals working on the prototype.

Today was the signing ceremony between Keeran Janin, co-founder of MeSixty and Edmund Yong of Accel-X Ptd Ltd and it was witnessed by Vincent Cheong, CEO of Brunei Economic Development Board.

Keeran Janin, co-founder of MeSixty, was very excited about the project and he hopes the injected capital can further accelerate his project. MeSixty is at in infant stage and it’s similar to Flipboard (iPad apps) but with the integrations of social-media features. Keeran also shared that this is the biggest milestone he has achieved as a technopreneur. He hinted that the iPhone/iPad apps will be launched in the a month or two. So far, there are a hundred beta users where the developers are fine tuning the apps.

Guests who attended the signing ceremony at the iCentre

Keeran Janin shaking hands with Edmund Yong of Accel-X Pte Ltd as Vincent Cheong, CEO of BEDB looks on

Liam Janin, Social Cartographer of MeSixty, Keeran Janin, Co-founder of MeSixty and Shafique Hussain, Creative Marketing Dynamist of MeSixty

Are you fan of CNBlue? or for this case, any Korean band? I watched some of their music videos and they are pretty good. Now you guys get a chance to watchCNBlue at Bangkok in mid-November and the catch is you have to purchase Holika Holika’s Garden Recipe Set and fill in the form for the lucky draw.

Did you know that the Brunei partner Braun On of Holika Holika will be bringing 30 WINNERS…. Yes, 30 winners to Bangkok to catch CNBlue… Now that’s a big sum and it’s a good chance for shoppers to stand a chance to fly to Bangkok.

The entry forms are available at any Holika Holika branch at Times Square, Hua Ho Yayasan, Hua Ho Kiulap and The Mall and the last day of entry is Sunday, 6th November 2011. The draw itself will take place on 8th November 2011.

The 30 winners will be awarded to a three-day two-night trip to Bangkok, along with hotel accommodation, concert tickets, spending money, and a chance to meet the band in person. Now that’s what I call an awesome promotion.

Will both Denise and Sim Yuan win a chance to fly to Bangkok?

Some of the products at Holika Holika

Denise sending her form for the lucky draw

The lucky draw box will be drawn on 8th November

Carol also tried her luck to catch the Korean band

So do shop at Holika Holika at The Mall, Times Square, Hua Ho Yayasan and Hua Ho Kiulap

DO YOU have a taste for Indian cuisine? If you just can’t get enough of good Indian cuisine, head down to Orchid Garden Hotel in Anggerek Desa where Chef Kamal and Chef Shukur whet your appetite with mouthwatering and delectable treats and flavours from Northern India for everyone to enjoy.

The Indian Food Promotion has started and will be ongoing until November 12 at the Goldiana Cafe and Lounge. For adults the price per person is $20.80 and just $12.80 for children below 12 years old. Among the number of delicacies available at the cafe are the Prata Corner where Dosai and Chapatti is cooked and served with your choice of dhall and curry.

Let’s start off with main dishes where you will be treated to various staples such as steamed fragrant rice, Indian fried noodles, Croquette ‘masala’, crispy squid ‘chilli and pepper’ and the fish curry ‘Lanka style’.For those who are up for a spicy adventure, there is the roasted lamb leg with spices and yoghurt, the Indian omelette and the ever popular Briyani rice among others.

There are also stalls that prepare specialised dishes such as the Fritters stall where you can find pakoras, wade, samosa, muruku and puri. In stall number two, you can have the Kortu with condiments such as onion, egg, green chilli or curry sauce. Don’t miss out on the rice cakes at stall three and also try out their assorted peanut ‘Indian style’ such as the fried green bean, fried channa bean, cashew nut, peanut, mix muruku, kidney bean masala, green bean masala or the chickpeas masala at stall four.

Have a Chendol with ice cream with ingredients such as red bean, kidney bean, glutinous rice ball and many others.For soup lovers, you might want to try the Mulligatowny soup, Spiced Mutton soup or Fiery rasam soup.

If you’re looking to finish off with some dessert, why not check out the three types of assorted cakes served at the cafe such as the pandan kaya cake, pineapple upside down or the ever popular carrot cake. There are also the vermicelli pudding, mini fruit tartlet pie and creme brulee available. Text by Anwar Rosly from The Brunei Times.

The promotional poster for OGH Indian Food

The Chicken Vindaloo

I highly recommend this dish – Kortu

Dosai anyone?

Anwar enjoying his meal at Goldian Cafe and Lounge

Something for dessert 🙂

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