Chef Jake Nicolson awarding first prize at Taste of Australia in Brunei. Congratulations to Julie Marker who won with her Chili Lime and Salted Egg Pie! 

The Radisson Hotel, Bandar Seri Begawan was abuzz yesterday with the sounds and smells of the Australian High Commission’s Taste of Australia event. The crowds came out to see renowned Australian Chef, Jake Nicolson, in action in the kitchen, to show off their own culinary talents and learn about great Australian food products available in Brunei.

Speaking at the event, Australian High Commissioner, H.E. Nicola Rosenblum said “Australians and Bruneians have many things in common – countries endowed with natural beauty, warm and friendly people, a common Commonwealth heritage – but if there is one thing that truly brings us together it is our shared national obsession with good food! Today has been an opportunity to share in this passion, both by showcasing quality Australian products which are available in Brunei, and by also celebrating Bruneian enthusiasm for cooking and for fabulous flavours.”

Mr Daniel Havas, Senior Trade Commissioner, of co-sponsor Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), said “Australia is fortunate in that the rich variety of terrains and climates across our continent allows our farmers to produce an abundant variety of premium offerings all year round, but Australian farmers are also committed to constant quality improvement, research and innovation to ensure that our vegetables, meat and dairy products are the best they can be. Austrade is pleased to work with our local partners and distributors to bring these exceptional products to the Brunei public.”

Australian High Commissioner, H.E. Nicola Rosenblum, renowned Australian Chef, Jake Nicolson and Siti Zaleha Kaprawi of Astera Consultant

Chef Jake Nicolson and Thanis Lim judging the food competition at Taste of Australia

Chef Jake trying out the delicacies at Tamu

The event saw renowned Australian chef, Jake Nicolson, sharing his culinary skills with the crowd, demonstrating two dishes which will be served to VIP guests at a dinner this evening, and judging a cooking competition with local food celebrity Thanis Lim. Chef Nicolson said “I have been so impressed by the inventiveness and passion shown by the Brunei cooks today! It has been such a pleasure to learn about Bruneian ingredients and recipes, and to taste everyone’s food. I will certainly be taking a few new ideas back to Australia with me.”

The Australian High Commissioner also thanked the event’s sponsors and participating businesses, saying “An event such as this one relies on the support of a wide range of people. I would like to convey my sincere thanks to our sponsors and participating organisations who have supported us so generously.”

During his visit to Brunei, Chef Nicolson has also been exploring Brunei flavours at the Kianggeh Fruit and Vegetable Markets, Kampong Ayer and Gadong Night Markets. Images taken from Australian High Commission Facebook Page.

The soft introduction of the Nissan NV350 Urban Wide Wide Version at Boustead Showroom

Check them out at the showroom until 31st May 2017

The long wait for an all new Nissan NV350 Urvan Wide Version finally comes to an end in Nissan Showroom, Beribi. The previous version of this vehicle has been very popular in the car industry and this Nissan NV350 Urvan Wide Version is bound to bring a more satisfying ride for customers.

The new Nissan NV350 Urvan wide Version endowed a 2488cc in-line 4 cylinder engine that runs on petrol instead of the normal diesel. This new QR25DE petrol engine delivering a 108kw/5600rpm ensures a smoother and cleaner ride for customers. Not just that, petrol engines are known to be at a lower maintenance cost compared to diesel engines.

This vehicle tends to idle at a lower than normal RPM which improves fuel efficiency and cost-saving. The size of this vehicle is one of its strongest points that made it able to transport large, bulky items from one place to another. The high-roof and wide body of this Nissan NV350 Urvan Wide Version composes convenience for users to enter and exit the car with ease.

This new vehicle has rear independent air-conditioning that is controllable with a central control switch. One of the purchasing reasons of this vehicle will be its flexibility in handling different types of situations that range from travelling to working. Most will find this vehicle useful as due to its 9-seater competency especially for large families. Equipped with a rear leaf spring, the vehicle is known to sustain heavier loads. Together with its acknowledgeable huge luggage capacity of 3000L, this vehicle serves as a very strong transportation tool especially for business owners and private entrepreneurs.

In terms of safety, Nissan’s concept of ‘the vehicle that helps protect people’ has always been the priority for the Japan manufacturer when producing a vehicle. This new vehicle consists of VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control), a system that uses various sensors to monitor driver inputs and vehicle motion. Nissan’s top-notch Anti Braking System (ABS) helps to avoid skidding especially in emergency braking. Added new features to this new Nissan NV350 Urvan Wide Version include existence of a foot brake, a factory fitted centre hand rest and storage compartment and a headlamp zer.

Feel free to drop by to the Nissan showroom, Beribi to have a closer look at the all new Nissan NV 350 Urvan Wide Version which will runs till 31st May 2017. Images courtesy of @kurapak

Hj Madli Mohd Yussof, National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam with Wu Chun, Managing Director of Fitness Zone. NFABD entered a partnership with Fitness Zone as the “Official Health Club”

The signing ceremony between NFABD and Fitness Zone

The National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam(NFABD) is pleased to announce we will be entering a partnership with Fitness Zone for them to be our ‘Official Health Club’.

The most established fitness club in Brunei, Fitness Zone needs no introduction and we are proud to say our national teams will be training at the best facility in the country, and we are confident this partnership will boost our national players’ morale and determination during training.

“This is wonderful news!,” said national coach Kwon Oh-son.

“This is great for the development of Brunei football and will help to spread the news that exercise benefits everyone and improves your health.

“As the national team’s head coach, I would like to say thank you to NFABD President His Royal Highness Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah for supporting this cause and to Fitness Zone for providing such great help to Brunei football,” he added.
With football the number one sport in Brunei, NFABD is confident our partnership with Fitness Zone will boost the popularity of the sport in the Sultanate and draw more fitness enthusiasts to Fitness Zone for the opportunity to train next to the national players.

NFABD is thankful that Fitness Zone have agreed to allow our national players this chance to train at their state-of-the-art facility, and we hope this will be the start of a long and successful partnership.

Checking out the facilities at Fitness Zone

The football players under NFABD

Fitness Zone, the leading fitness and health club in the country warmly welcomes the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) and its national teams in their new home, as Fitness Zone Kiulap will now be their “Official Health Club”.

The national football teams will have access to various facilities and resources of Fitness Zone for their training requirements to adequately prepare them for their competitions abroad where they would proudly banner the flag and pride of Brunei.

Wu Chun, in a statement said “We at Fitness Zone want our National Team to feel appreciated and we hope to share our expertise to improve their performance”. He further added that one of the long standing missions of Fitness Zone is in supporting our local athletes.

This partnership is a great way for both parties to highlight the importance of staying fit, and healthy, not only for athletes, but for the public in general, and the youth, a segment of our society where obesity is prevalent due to less physical activities as a result of modern technologies. Our students, and children will now see their role models actively engaging in fitness and sports.

Fitness Zone through its owner and Managing Director Wu Chun, has always believed in the propagation of health and fitness in the whole of Brunei. With this partnership with the NFABD, that belief will be further boosted and realized as the members of the National Team will also serve as Fitness Ambassadors of Fitness Zone, as great role models for others to follow and emulate especially the youth. Images courtesy of NFABD.

The mock terrace for public viewing at Terrazzo@Tanjong Bunut

Terraces and other resident developments are on the rise now. Yes, it might be a perfect time to invest or buy in property before it rises again. The latest one that I visited recently was called Terrazzo. It’s a property development run by Precise Development under the leadership of Jake Goh.

There are 19 units, consisting of modern terrace houses and a few have been sold. Location wise, it’s pretty good, located at Tanjong Bunut, just minutes away from Hua Ho Tanjong Bunut. As you know, this area has slowly become a prime area with many recent developments.

The Terrazzo is a modern double storey terrace house. The net area is approximately 2,200 sq feet. It consists of family living area, dining area, a store, a dry kitchen, a maid room and even bathroom at the ground floor. All the bathrooms are fitted with water heater.

The whole terrace will be fully furnished as well. Every bedroom is fitted with wardrobe. For the kitchen area, there will be a stove, an oven, a hood and cabinets. For the car porch area, it can fit two cars and also inclusive of lights and fittings. The windows are fitted with white powdered coated aluminum frames with light green tinted glass.

With the recent launch from Precise Development, they are offering a house package. Which means that it comes with living area furniture, living area table, living area cabinets, dining set table, king size beed, bed tables, queen size bed, single bed, carpets and more.

For more info, you can visit their main office at Menglait – Unit No.20, Ground Floor, Bangunan Hj Hassan Abdullah, Kg. Menglait, Gadong, BSB BE3719. Or you can visit their website at precise-development.com.bn or their Facebook Page.

You can also reach them at 889 00002 or 242 0418.

The construction is expected to complete this September if I’m not mistaken

The home package will include this as well at the living/sitting area

The dry kitchen is fitted with stove, hood, oven as well

The dining area

The master bedroom

The area outside the master bedroom

One of the rooms upstairs with single bed

One of the rooms upstairs with queen bed

After a year of hiatus, I’m back again. Hopefully to work closely with Progresif for my movie reviews. This should be exciting 😀 For now, enjoy my episode on the summer wager between Del Goh and I on who will win the box office summer movies of 2017. 

VR Arcade now open to the public located at Hua Ho Manggis Mall. Image by BIG Borneo.

Kurapak and I had first hand experience before it was opened to the public

Finally it’s here.. The virtual reality games.. We see it on TV or on the net or even at other countries. Now it’s here in Brunei for the very first time.

Check out VR Arcade (@vr_arcade) at Hua Ho Manggis Mall (1st Floor) and do try out their latest game arcades. The company owned by Sujee Hannah Abdullah Chan revealed that there are more games to come in the near future and so far, some of the VR games are on the first to be released in our region. Cool.

All games will able to enjoy a minimum of five minutes and you will have to purchase the tokens in order to play.

As for the price, it ranges from $2 to $4 and it’s very competitive pricing when compared to other regions where it will easily cost at least $10.

There are hints that VR Arcade might appear during the upcoming Consumer Fair so the public can get up close and personal with the VR machines. So do stay tune and see what’s in store for VR Arcade.

For your info, VR Arcade also caters for birthday parties and special events and the machines are also available for rent.

For updates, you can follow @vr_arcade or just drop by VR Arcade at Manggis Mall.

Devin Edwards, Chief Marketing Officer of Progresif enjoyed some VR experience. Image from Devin.

Grand Motors Sdn Bhd, the exclusive distributor of Kia vehicles in the country is inviting you to a world of dynamic driving and more through the 2017 Kia On Tour & Test Drive. The first leg of this year-long event will be from 10 – 14 May at The Mall, Gadong and the test drive event on 14 May at the SEAMEO-VOCTECH Regional Centre from 9:00AM – 3:00PM.

Kia On Tour & Test Drive is on its 4th year now of bringing Kia vehicles closer to its market. This nationwide tour will commence from May until October 2017. Kia will be visiting different districts in Brunei Darussalam – Brunei-Muara, Tutong and Kuala Belait. Customers will have the chance to explore Kia’s fun-to-drive vehicles and experience a dynamic driving adventure. Exclusive Kia Smartphone Speaker will be given to those who will test drive during the tour.

The 2017 Kia on Tour & Test Drive is part of the larger global roadshow project initiated by Kia Motors Corporation in Korea to enable the population in its network of dealers covering countries in the US, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia and the Pacific to see, feel and experience Kia. It is part of Kia’s global commitment to surpass customer expectations through continuous automotive innovation.

Check out the Kia on Tour at the Mall from today till Sunday. Image courtesy of Mantuka.com

It’s open to public from 10am to 10pm at The Mall

Kia Smartphone Speaker (minus the phone hehe) will be given to those who will test drive during the tour

Dr Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Muda Abdul Fattaah, a member of the Board of Directors at Baiduri Bank watches Qawim bin Haji Aslimon lift the Baiduri Masters championship trophy last Sunday. Image courtesy of Fadhil Yunus of Borneo Bulletin

The 22nd Baiduri Masters charity golf tournament concluded with a prize presentation at the Indah Hall, Royal Brunei Recreation Club and was attended by Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Muda Dr Abdul Fattaah Ibni Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri Pengiran Perdana Wazir Sahibul Himmah Wal-Waqar Pengiran Muda Mohamed Bolkiah, a member of the Board of Directors at Baiduri Bank.

In his welcoming address, Mr Pierre Imhof, CEO of Baiduri Bank, spoke on the aim of the Baiduri Masters. “We organise the Baiduri Masters as one of our contributions to supporting our community by making a difference. Through this platform, we help to raise funds for local charities, particularly the charity organisations that cater towards individuals with specials needs with the hope to alleviate their burden.”

From the Baiduri Masters charity golf tournament proceeds, B$65,000 was donated to five charity organisations during the prize presentation ceremony.

The first cheque was presented to Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam was received by Hj Ahmad bin Hj Abd Rahman, Policy and Planning Trustee of Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam. This was followed by the second cheque for SMARTER Brunei and was received by Malai Hj Abdullah Malai Hj Othman, President of SMARTER Brunei. The Learning Ladders Society was presented with a cheque and was received by Dr Nornasibah binti Hj Abd Samad. The next charity organisation to receive their cheque was the Developmental Paediatric Services and was received by Hj Amin bin Hj Ibrahim. A cheque was also presented to YASKA and was received by Siti Zaleha binti Abdi Manaf.

A cheque was also presented to the Community Development Department, JAPEM. The cheque was received by Hj Rosmadee Hj Mohd Daud.

Presenting the mock cheques to Pusat Ehsan, Learning Ladders, SMARTER, YASKA, JAPEM & Development Pediatric Services

Shortly after, the presentation of the coveted Green Jacket by Mr Andrew Young, President of the Baiduri Masters Organising Committee to the 22nd Baiduri Masters Champion.

This was followed by the official announcement of the 22nd Baiduri Masters champion. Presenting the Challenge Trophy to the champion, Qawim Hj Aslimon was Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Muda Dr Abdul Fattaah, the Guest of Honour of the event. Qawim Hj Aslimon was also awarded a cash prize of B$1,500. He is a first-time champion and concluded the tournament with a gross score of 75.

A first for the Baiduri Masters Charity Golf Tournament is the introduction of the Ladies Gross Champion, Vanessa Boumba Marie. She concluded the tournament with a gross score of 77 and a cash prize of B$500.

Novelty prizes for the Hole-in-One, Pace Setter, nearest-to-pin, longest drive and lucky draw prizes were also presented.

In the Hole-in-One challenge, Dato Paduka Hj Suhaimi bin Hj Gafar walked away with a cheque of B$20,000. DP Hj Suhaimi aced hole 12 on Friday, 5 May 2017 around 5pm. DP Hj Suhaimi would be the second ever golfer to walk away with the cash prize of $20,000 with Kahar Bakar being the first 2 years ago. The cheque of $20,000 was presented by Mr Pierre Imhof.

In the Pace Setter Challenges for both Fridays, 28 April and 5 May 2017, Nujaimi Hj Jumat and Suhaimi Hj Ibrahim walked away with cash prizes of $200 each. Nujaimi ended his round with a nett score of 69 while Suhaimi ended his round with a nett score of 67.

In the nearest-to-pin category, for Hole 2, Hj Shaiul Rizal PD Hj Ahmad’s ball landed 39cm from the pin; Hole 5, Daniel Giam’s ball landed 46cm from the pin; Hole 12, Chu Vui Kiat’s ball landed 35cm from the pin; Hole 14, Hj Jafar Latif with a distance of 60cm from the pin; and Hole 16, Qawim Aslimon, just 1.45m from the pin.

Dennis Koh won the prize for Longest Drive for the men’s category; for women’s category, Almas Syadzwanie

Also in attendance at the prize presentation dinner were cabinet ministers, members of foreign diplomatic missions, sponsors, golfers and senior officials of the Baiduri Bank Group.

The Baiduri Masters is organised by Baiduri Bank Group with the support of event partners QAF Brunei, QAF Auto Sdn Bhd, Brunei Press Sdn Bhd and RBA Golf Club Sdn Bhd.

Fans of Jovian before entering the venue

JBoxing happened with a huge bang yesterday at The Empire Hotel & Country Club. As you know that Jovian Ready-to-Wear (RTW) event is always popular in Malaysia and it’s already happening in Brunei Darussalam. The event continues today till Sunday, 7th May 2017.

This time round to expect different range of designs and JBoxing is also an event whereby all Jovian fans will gather all at once as to own their favourite Lebaran pieces.

Bajoo is proud to partner with Jovian for the JBoxing event. Also part of the event is their exclusive main partner, Baiduri Bank Group. The expectations are quite high as they expect around 20,000 visitors over the three day period.

For Jovian, he has always wanted to host an event in Brunei and he figured that this is the right time. To Jovian, Brunei has been his favourite destination as he has many support from Bruneians and royalties. For your info, Jovian Mandagie is the cEO and Creative Director for Jovian Apparel.

Yesterday a few thousands showed up on the 1st day of JBoxing event in Brunei. Do expect more in the remaining two days. Good luck to Bajoo and Jovian. Some of the images courtesy of @kurapak

Hajah Halimah won a voucher from JBoxing from my repost contest. Happy shopping

Some of designs on display

Locally made

Founder of Bajoo with founder of Jovian Apparel

Dato Paduka Haji Suhaimi bin Haji Gafar strike a hole-in-one and walked away with BND 20,000 on the 4th day of Baiduri Masters 2017

In what has turned out to be a spectacular start to the second weekend of golf, the Baiduri Masters 2017 saw Dato Paduka Haji Suhaimi bin Haji Gafar ace hole 12 to snag the $20,000 cash prize. He became the fifth ever golfer to strike a hole-in-one in the 22 year history of the Baiduri Masters and the second ever golfer to walk away with the $20,000 cash prize. Kahar Bakar was the first golfer to walk away with the $20,000 cash prize in 2015.

Under sub-optimal conditions for a round of golf, DP Haji Suhaimi bin Haji Gafar, with luck on his side and armed with his trusty Maruman Majesty 9-iron, struck his Titleist NXT No. 1 ball at 5pm which bounced on the green and rolled straight into the cup.

A hole-in-one prize works on the premise that if there is more than one winner, the prize will be shared among the winners.  As such, DP Haji Suhaimi bin Haji Gafar will have to wait until the end of the tournament this Sunday to know if he is the outright winner of the $20,000 cash prize.

By the end of today’s session, the Top 16 Leaderboard saw a lot of movement with the addition of five new contenders: Khairul Khamis, Irfan Rahman, Kalali Hj Munchit, Hj Khairul Jamaluddin and Dennis Koh.

Suhaimi Ibrahim took the top spot with an impressive score of 69. He improved his previous score by 3 strokes and moved up 4 places. Tied for second, third and fourth are Ahmad Yani Hj Md Noor, Pg Hj Ahmad Zaki, and Seruji Hj Setia with a gross of 71.

For fifth and sixth place, Hj Shahminan Hj Damit and 2013 Baiduri Masters Champion Khairul Khamis are tied with a score of 72. The next five spots saw Nujaimi Hj Jumat, Irfan Rahman, Kalali Hj Munchit, Zulehram Yakub and Pg Hj Zamani Pg Hj Ahmed tied with a gross of 73 each.

Similarly, the next three spots also saw a tie between Hj Khairul Jamaluddin, Md Kamarul Hafiz and Pg Hj Razali Pg Sabli with a score of 74.

Rounding off the top sixteen were Dennis Koh and Rudy Hairywan Yussof with a tied score of 75.

Dato Paduka Haji Suhaimi bin Haji Gafa with his golfing buddies

The leader board score

The Baiduri Masters 2017 will continue tomorrow with the final round being played on Sunday morning. The top 16 gross players at the end of tomorrow’s session will make the cut to vie for the Green Jacket and Challenge Trophy.

Besides the coveted Baiduri Masters Green Jacket and Challenge Trophy, the golfers also have the chance to score the fantastic hole-in-one prizes comprising two luxury cars and three cash prizes of B$20,000 each.

Other than the BMW 320i M Sport at hole 14, other hole-in-one prizes on offer this year are the Mini Cooper S for Hole 5, and B$20,000 cash each for Holes 2, 12 and 16.

Additionally, there will be novelty prizes up for grabs for the nearest to the pin throughout the tournament and also longest drive as well as lucky draw prizes.

As with every year, proceeds raised during the Baiduri Masters will be donated to local charity organisations that help persons with special needs integrate into the wider society.

Those who haven’t registered for the tournament can still do so at the RBA Golf Club, First Floor, VIP Room. Registration for Saturday afternoon and Sunday opens at 6.00 am to 8.30 pm. Participants are encouraged to play more than once to improve their chances of winning, and they will enjoy a discount on the registration fee on their subsequent rounds.

The Baiduri Masters are held over two weekends at the RBA Golf Club, Berakas and played on format System 36 (Stroke Play) and the challenge trophy will be decided on gross. The Baiduri Masters tournament is divided into 4 divisions – Men’s, Group, Ladies and Junior. The Men’s division will be further divided into Men’s Gross, Men’s Nett and Senior Golfers Nett.

For more details, the public can log onto the website www.baiduri.com or call the Baiduri Bank Customer Helpline at 244 9666.