Podcast review of Captain America: Civil War with regular co-host Del Goh

 

His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen and Her Royal Highness Princess ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah handing over a mock cheque to Pengiran Datin Hajah Noraini binti Pengiran Dipa Negara Laila Diraja Pengiran Haji Abdul Momin, Executive Trustee of Pusat Ehsan. Image courtesy of Dean Kassim of Borneo Bulletin.

Group photo. Image courtesy of Dean Kassim.

His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen and Her Royal Highness Princess ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah yesterday graced the handover of funds amounting to $53,122, that were raised during the recent Charity Polo Day 2016.

The handover was held at Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam (Pusat Ehsan) in Bengkurong.

Upon arrival at Pusat Ehsan, Their Royal Highnesses were welcomed by the centre’s Board of Trustees, and given a briefing on the new rehabilitation centre, which is shortly due for construction.

After the briefing, Their Royal Highnesses were ushered to the Multipurpose Hall, where they presented the mock cheques to Pengiran Datin Hajah Noraini binti Pengiran Dipa Negara Laila Diraja Pengiran Haji Abdul Momin, Executive Trustee of Pusat Ehsan who received the donations on behalf of the centre.

Charity Polo Day 2016 was recently organised by Cityneon Brunei to raise funds for the special needs students of Pusat Ehsan.

Currently, there are about 156 students registered at the centre’s Bengkurong branch, while another 53 special needs students are registered with the Kuala Belait branch.

Photo opportunity with members of the Royal Family

Her Royal Highness Princess ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah lifting the Charity Polo Day 2016 trophy two Sundays ago

His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen and Her Royal Highness Princess ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah during the polo exhibition match

The project, which is under tender process and estimated to cost around three million dollars, will be built on a land plot opposite the current building that houses Pusat Ehsan.

The construction project will be carried out in stages as it is mostly dependent on the centre’s funding.

The new centre is expected to accommodate more students with special needs, as well as individuals requiring occupational therapy. Text courtesy of Rokiah Mahmud of Borneo Bulletin.

 

Today and tomorrow (Saturday) only

 

Too bad it was a short presence of the Audi Q7 but it definitely suits the theme for the action sequence. A pretty darn good car chase scene and Black Panther chase made cooler in the tunnel chase scene #TheGreatQ

 

Yang Berhormat Dato Paduka Awang Haji Bahrin bin Abdullah, BIBD Chariman and Minister of Development (Centre), handing over an award to Dayangku Noruldiana Shim binti Pengiran Hj Hashim (left), while BIBD Managing Director, Yang Mulia Mr Mubashar Khokhar (right) looks on

BIBD recently held an annual dinner to appreciate and acknowledge all the hard work and contribution of the BIBD family in the past year. These efforts have culminated into milestones and achievements, earmarked by Standard & Poor’s A- rating, its first ever Riba Symposium, chairmanship of the CAIBA (China-ASEAN Interbank Association), and the BIBD Headquarters re-launching. In 2015, the bank also managed to retain its international recognitions such as the Best Retail Bank in Brunei for the third year running (The Asian Banker), and the Best Bank in Brunei (Global Finance).

The event also saw the personal recognition of several bright BIBD talents as they have also contributed as ambassadors of BIBD and Brunei Darussalam. Dayangku Noruldiana Shim binti Pengiran Hj Hashim was commended for being conferred the Highest Achiever Award in the Islamic Financial Planner category in Kuala Lumpur. Also highlighted was Hjh Nurul Akmalina binti Hj Yahya’s recent achievement in the national finals of the Musabaqah Membaca Al-Quran competition.

The event started with a recitation of the Doa, which was then followed by welcoming remarks by BIBD Managing Director, Mr Mubashar Khokhar, where he shared significant milestones for the Bank, which included the fourth consecutive win in 2016’s Best Retail bank from The Asian Banker. “Alhamdulilah, all our efforts thus far have placed us on a solid foundation, prepared for the challenges and eager for the opportunities ahead”, said Mr Mubashar. He added that BIBD’s continued growth also increases its commitment to supporting Bruneian businesses through comprehensive banking solutions such as the BIBD SME 360, aligning the Bank closer towards His Majesty’s vision in developing a dynamic and sustainable economy.

Some of the BIBD associates in their costumes during the theme dinner annual event

The best female dress for the event

Mr Mubashar also highlighted BIBD’s successes also allows the Bank to raise its efforts to support the community, especially through its flagship CSR initiative, the ALAF (Advocating Life-long learning for an Aspiring Future) Programme. The programme, now in its third year with more than a hundred students, aims to Prepared by Corporate Communications, BIBD PRESS RELEASE MDO/PR/2015/016 bring more educational opportunities to underprivileged children, aligning BIBD further with another element of His Majesty’s vision, to develop well-educated and highly-skilled Bruneians.

Mr. Mubashar summed up his remarks with encouragement and inspiration for all BIBD staff to continue working together and delivering world-class banking products and services. “Ultimately, it is up to our unified efforts to ensure that BIBD cements its position as The First Choice for all our employees, customers and stakeholders”, concluded Mr. Mubashar. This was followed by presentations for Long Service Awards to employees.

The Guest of Honour at the event was Yang Berhormat Dato Paduka Awang Haji Bahrin bin Abdullah, Minister of Development and Chairman of the BIBD Board of Directors. Also in attendance was Yang Mulia Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Abdul Aziz bin Orang Kaya Maharaja Lela Haji Yussof, Permanent Secretary at Ministry of Religious Affairs and Chairman of BIBD’s Shariah Advisory Body. Also present were members of the Board of Directors, members of the Shariah Advisory Body, along with some 800 BIBD personnel, and their spouses. The event was held at the Indera Samudra Grand Hall, The Empire Hotel and Country Club in Jerudong.

 

Interesting offers from Kia models

 

Louis Loo Kee Lee (left), founder of Plus+ Magazine and Kristy Lim (5th from left), founder of Piccolo Café with representatives from Jerudong Park Medical Centre and staff from Piccolo Café during the Save Life by Giving Blood campaign at Piccolo Café last week.

Late post. It was the fourth time that I have donated blood for a good cause. This was part of the Plus+ Magazine drive collaborating with Piccolo Café and Jerudong Park Medical Centre (JPMC). There were a total of 36 donors though there were many that had to be rejected due to low blood pressure, cholesterol and low haemoglobin levels. Though I have to say kudos for their thoughts and efforts to show up at Piccolo Café to donate.

The event began at 10am and ended at 4pm. Kristy Lim, owner of Piccolo Café was quite overwhelmed with the responses from the public and it was also the first time such event was held at her establishment.

During the blood donation drive, donors were treated to light refreshments courtesy of Piccolo café.

They were also given three complimentary issues of Plus+ magazine as well as special goodies from JPMC. Perhaps another one next year, Kristy? 😀

By the way, Piccolo Café are treating their customers a free additional shot of espresso for all coffee beverages from today until 10 May! Such good news for those who love their extra shot in their cuppa.

The screening process to see if you are eligible to donate or not

Refreshments for the donors that day

Thank you, Kristy, for the opportunity 😀

 

The Audi Q7 will have a critical role in a major action scene in the upcoming blockbuster due to open locally end of the month #TheGreatQ

 

Team Flintstone (orange), Team Ninja Turtles (green) and Team Simpsons (yellow) with the patron of Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Mariam during the prize presentation of the Charity Polo Match 2016 held at the Royal Brunei Polo & Riding Club, Field II.

His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen with His Royal Highness Prince Jefri Bolkiah

Her Royal Highness Princess ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah with her brother His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen

The sportsmanship gesture between siblings.

His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen in action for Team Ninja Turtles

It was a close match between Team Ninja Turtles and Team SImpsons

Her Royal Highness Princess ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah with YAM Pg Anak Hj Abdul Ali Yil-Kabier

YAM Pg Muda Bahar for Team Simpsons

Team Ninja Turtles and Team Simpsons

Abdul Azeez for Team Simpsons

Farid Abdullah of Team Ninja Turtles

Puan Hjh Mariam, the patron of Pusat Ehsan, handing out the prizes to the players

HRH Prince ‘Abdul Mateen receiving a token from his mother

HRH Princess ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah receiving a token from her mother

HRH Prince Jefri Bolkiah for Team Flintstone

HRH Princess ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah receiving the trophy

HRH Princess ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah lifts the trophy after Team Simpsons scored the most

The umpire receiving a token from Puan Hjh Mariam

The group photo with the polo players and the umpire

Our first time watching a polo match. Actually I did watch polo when I was like 10 years old.

It was such a great turn out. Kudos to the organiser for creating such a successful and meaningful event

During the prize presentation

HRH Prince ‘Abdul Mateen had coffee from Piccolo Cafe booth

Sugar and Spice was one of the busiest booth

The grand prize of the lucky draw of the Charity Polo Match 2016. There were around 20 lucky draw prizes.

He is one entertaining emcee who gave such a colour commentary during all the matches

One of the invited guests

Even the kids were waiting for their numbers to be called out

… and finally one of them won something 😀

I had free cookies and even a drink.. Thank you 😀

 

His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen was recently featured in GQ Thailand magazine. Catch HRH tomorrow during the Charity Polo Day 2016 at Royal Brunei Polo & Riding Club, Field II.

It’s happening tomorrow at Royal Brunei Polo & Riding Club, Field II where you will get to witness the Brunei Polo Team in the Charity Polo Day 2016. The highlight of the event will be the Royal participants including His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen who is an avid polo player.

The event will be held tomorrow Sunday, 17th April 2016. The carnival starts from 2pm to 8pm. The polo match will be from 4pm to 6pm.

There are still tickets available for the BND 5 and BND 2 for adult and child respectively. Furthermore, you will be able to enjoy some of the food vendors during the charity event. If you want to enquire about the tickets, you can call 243 1204 for more details.

His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen playing polo. Image taken from @tmski

 

Patrons enjoying the Kashmiri Night @ Bombay Place Batu Bersurat.

The menu list for Kashmiri Night

Have you tried Bombay Palace? It’s one of the popular Indian restaurant in the Sultanate. The first branch is located at Batu Bersurat and recently they just finished their buffet promotion for the patrons to try out the dishes from their new chef from Raddison, India.

Now the former Radisson, India chef will be busy preparing the menu for the Kashmiri Night (buffet) at Bombay Palace’s second outlet at Kuala Belait. Yes, there’s a branch at Kuala Belait where it will be priced at $13 adults and $7.90 for kids below 6 years. The buffet will be from 6pm to 10pm. Do look at the poster below for the full menu.

For me, I love the Fish Kashmiri and Chicken Nawabi Roll. The garlic naan is also quite tasty. Good thing the owner of Bombay Palace scouted a good chef from India. For bookings, call 334 2513 or 869 4840 at their KB outlet. It’s located at Lot 6176, Jalan Masjid, KB Town.

What I had during the Kashmiri Night food promotion

The setting at KB branch of Bombay Palace

call 334 2513 or 869 4840 for bookings

 

Check out the KFC Crispy Tenders.. Yummy

KFC introduced its all new Crispy Tenders range that comes in a variety of combos offering fans its succulent KFC chicken without the bones.

Crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, the KFC Crispy Tenders are made of 100% whole boneless chicken fillet fried to perfection. For a limited time only, it is available with all time favourite jalapeno cheese sauce dip to complement the Crispy Tenders, adding to the enjoyment, from as low as BND 2.50 ala carte.

“We want customers to have a hassle-free way of enjoying their favourite KFC chicken minus the bones. It’s convenient, has all the meat in every bite and has the same great KFC Hot & Spicy satisfaction. KFC Crispy Tenders is also available in a variety of combos including the Bucket Sensasi that gives you even more value,” said Jaymee Lau from the Marketing Department of KFC Brunei.

The KFC Bucket Sensasi includes KFC’s new Crispy Tenders with jalapeno cheese sauce dip, KFC’s signature fried chicken, coleslaw, mashed potato and Pepsi at a value deal of only BND 23.90!

The KFC Crispy Tenders and Bucket Sensasi are available nationwide at all KFC restaurants while stocks last. Relish in your KFC chicken with or without bones with this limited time offer!

We were hungry during high tea 😀

Thanks Jaymee for your hospitality

 

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam (C) in action during yesterday’s His Majesty’s 69th Birthday Polo Cup at the Royal Brunei Polo and Riding Club in Jerudong. The monarch’s Black Team is through to today’s final after defeating Yellow Team 11-4 in the first day of the four-team tournament yesterday. Image courtesy of Ridhwan Kamarulzaman of The Brunei Times.

It’s never easy when you have a lot on your hands. One reason why I had to forgo my traveling trips for this month especially Denmark. Two big weddings and a Toastmasters competition coming up and not forgetting His Majesty’s birthday celebrations in all the districts. It’s a month that will test my endurance in my late 30s *lol* I still feel I have much to offer (physical and mentally). Oh yea, there are still some corporate Open House invitations before end of August. So I need to squeeze in for that too.

Everyone keeps asking me “How’s the (Brunei) economy?” If someone asks me that particular question then it could be implying that the local economy is going through a transition. Spending power has been lesser than usual. It was evident during Ramadhan where bookings for restaurants didn’t top their benchmark of last year’s. Well, this could be down to another reason (too many new cafes and restaurants). Even purchasing of cars lately have been mediocre to say the least. How so? Because of the new directive from Monetary Authority of Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) that consumers have less flexibility in applying car loans. If you look at it in a positive way, there are good points to why this can benefit the end users in a long run. For me, I am very grateful of our stability in many areas including the economy in Brunei and not forgetting the harmony and peace. After reading what other regional countries are experiencing, it gives me a higher level of gratitude to His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan and His Majesty’s government.

I kinda enjoyed Hjh Normah’s presentation. She’s the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources and she gave an insight on the current business environment in Brunei at a different perspective. We shouldn’t just use excuse such as the size of small population or the size of the country as Brunei have untapped opportunities through means of natural resources and culture. It’s never a disadvantage as well being a Muslim country as Brunei can be one of the international hub for the halal market where she highlighted the presence of Bruneihalal brand in the UK, specifically their distribution centre in Birmingham. The other big opportunity is Bio Innovation Corridor (BIC) which serves as base for manufacturers of halal products including food, cosmetics and medicinal and health supplements. She kicked off her presentation by saying Brunei is a good place to detox (mostly from entertainment).

Tonight I will be busy with my gadget(s) taking live feed and snap chatting on Azeez Jaafar and Nisaa Suresh’s Berbedak ceremony tonight. I have been having lack of sleep for the past two weeks or so but it has been fun.

Hari Raya celebration at BIBD Open House with Hj Rozan Yunos and his spouse

The Brunei Robotics Olympiad on the Regular Category. The Open Category will be on 29th August. I shall be covering that event.

Hjh Normah Suria Hayati Pehin Jawatan Dalam Seri Maharaja Dato Seri Utama Hj Mohd Jamil Al-Sufri, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (3rd from left) was the guest of honour at LBD forum yesterday, hosted by Asia Inc Forum and Baiduri Bank and Brunei Press as partners

The DJs from Pilihan at BIBD Open House. It was indeed a very packed event.

Finally the BBA got rid of the dirty mattress. Just a note though that there isn’t any cushion to soften the impact in case a player runs too fast.

Ah, the mini Zinger from KFC. I’m glad they released this as part of their ongoing menu.

Our toastmasters club at Brunei Speakers’ Club is growing week by week. Last night we had the strongest in terms of numbers and it was a wunderbar experience. Keep up the great work, lads!!

My favourite dish of all the Open Houses I’ve been 😀

Always inspired to know a passionate barista/entrepreneur

After my posting on IG, her green tea creme brûlée has been one of the popular items in her cafe. Must try.. Love the texture. Available at Piccolo Cafe (bandar)

My toy, Slyer, watching Minul and I in action on the court. I’ve been losing five straight times against him. What gives?

At Royal Brunei Airlines Open House

Check the new facelift for the Citroen DS3. The price is slightly higher. However, now the current DS3 is selling at $25,750 and it will be sold at that price until all stock is sold.

Now the Acer Iconia Tab 8W is back in stock and it also comes with Microsoft’s new Office 365 (one year subscription). Teachers and students will be able to enjoy the privilege as they will be given a special discount. Now available at Concepts Computer.

Two inspired runners who ran the Sundown Marathon 2015 in Singapore recently and both are using Polar watches. Do follow @polar_bn for updates. More stories on Polar (Brunei) on the sponsorship of local athletes.

Good thing about Snapchat

Thanks AB for the hospitality last week.

A Marvel adaption movie ruined by Fox. How could they?

The logo of my sister’s wedding

Best part of family weddings is gathering and reunions 😀

Now our inside driveway has been transformed into temporary tents

My siblings 😀

My chubby lil sis in her excusable pyjama

Been busy preparing with invites and the protocols for the upcoming events at home. September please come sooner 😀