His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam (R) with Her Majesty Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha during the Royal Powdering ceremony (Majlis Istiadat Berbedak Pengantin Diraja) at Istana Nurul Iman.

Their Majesties at the Royal Powdering ceremony

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam pouring colour paste on His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik

The royal wedding festivities for His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik and Dk Raabi’atul ‘Adawiyyah Pg Hj Bolkiah continued with the Majlis Istiadat Berbedak Pengantin Diraja at the Istana Nurul Iman last night.

Immersed in culture and tradition, the Majlis Istiadat Berbedak or Royal Powdering Ceremony saw members of the royal family and the bride’s family take turns applying coloured powder and scented oil onto the palms of the couple.

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, arrived at the Balai Singgahsana Indera Buana together with Her Majesty Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha and other members of the royal family.

The ceremony began with four Awang-Awang lighting the Dian Empat, a set of candles, before another pair of Awang-Awang placed the two-piece Kasur Namat consisting of a yellow mattress and silk mat at the centre of the candles.

In an exchange of formalities, Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Dewa Major General (Rtd) Dato Seri Pahlawan Hj Mohammad informed Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Lela Cheteria Sahibun Najabah Pengiran Anak Haji Abdul Aziz about the ceremony’s commencement.

YAM Pengiran Lela Cheteria then duly conveyed the message to His Majesty. Following the consent of the monarch, the royal groom was escorted into the hall by His Royal Highness Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah.

His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik was also accompanied by a grand entourage made up of 40 sinipitbearers or spearmen, along with Yang Mulia Juru Bini Dayang Hajah Rokiah, two Hulubang Diraja carryingpemuras or gun and karga, which is used to carry the bullets.

Smiles from Their Majesties

(From R) Her Majesty Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha, HRH Prince Mohamed Bolkiah and HRH Pg Anak Isteri Pg Anak Hjh Zariah Al-Marhum Pg Pemancha Pg Anak Hj Mohamed Alam

Her Majesty Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha pouring colour paste on His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah pouring colour paste on His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik

Her Royal Highness Paduka Seri Pg Anak Isteri Pg Anak Sarah pouring colour paste on His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik

HRH Prince Mohamed Bolkiah pouring colour paste on His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik

HRH Prince Haji Jefri Bolkiah pouring colour paste on His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik

The Hulubalang Asgar clutched the kalasak or shield and kampilan, a long blade, while the Dian Tunggalwas carried by Awang-Awang. There were also seven Pahawai Lelaki or chosen men bearing a puan, atarian, a kabok and panastan, a Kiap, a chupu, a pasigupan, and a kaskol.

The Dian 16 was carried by 16 Awang-Awang, while other Awang-Awang held Alat-Alat Kebesaran Diraja consisting of 16 Pedang and Perisai, 16 Tumbak Benderangan as well as eight Kabok and Panastan.

Sounds of Dikir Marhaban filled the hall, prompting all attendees to stand up. Outside the Balai Singgahsana Indera Buana, a 17-gun salute went off to signal the start of the ceremony.
His Majesty then initiated the ceremony by placing coloured paste and scented oil onto the palms of His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik. This was followed by Her Majesty, other members of the royal family and parents of the bride.

A doa selamat was recited by State Mufti Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Seri Maharaja Dato Paduka Seri Setia (Dr) Ustaz Hj Awang Abdul Aziz to conclude the end of the royal groom’s powdering ceremony. Text courtesy of Rabiatul Kamit and Rafidah Hamit of The Brunei Times and images by Haqimie Fazizul (@haqimie267) of rano360.com

HRH Prince Haji Jefri Bolkiah pouring colour paste on His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik

HRH Prince ‘Abdul Wakeel pouring colour paste on His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik

HRH Princess Ameerah Wardatul Bolkiah pouring colour paste on His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik

(From R) HRH Prince Haji Jefri Bolkiah, HRH Princess Hajah Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah and HRH Princess Hjh Majeedah Nuurul Bulqiah

(From R) Her royal highness princess Azeemah Ni’matul Bolkiah, HRH Princess Ameerah Wardatul Bolkiah and HRH Princess Hjh Masna

The four Awang-Awang lighting the Dian Empat, a set of candles

The invited guests at the Royal Powdering Ceremony

 

HRH Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah during the Istiadat Menghantar Tanda Diraja dan Pertunangan Diraja ceremony for His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik who was engaged to Dk Raabi’atul Adawiyyah Pg Hj Bolkiah yesterday

HRH Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah upon arrival at the Royal Engagement

The Royal Engagement reported from The Brunei Times. His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik is officially engaged to Dk Raabi’atul Adawiyah Pg Hj Bolkiah after she accepted the pre-engagement gifts presented to her family’s representative during the Majlis Istiadat Menghantar Tanda Diraja and Pertunangan Diraja.

The royal engagement ceremony took place on the third day of the royal wedding festivities at Istana Nurul Iman, which was attended by HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah, head of the ceremony.

The Tanda Diraja ceremony, steeped in royal customs, saw an underaged girl dressed like a bride in red, who was led into the Royal Banquet Hall by a royal court official.

Meanwhile, the Pertunangan Diraja, which is held in tandem with the Tanda Diraja, included an underaged boy and girl dressed like a groom and a bride in yellow led into the Royal Banquet Hall together with gift-bearers.

Gifts for the bride-to-be included a complete set of clothing, a pair of bangles and earstuds, pairs of shoes, a strand of necklace, and a silver vessel used to store four betel nut silver boxes named kaskol langguai.

Other gifts were a letter, surat mahar, describing the groom’s agreement to marry the bride and a list of all the gifts. The mahar or dowry was worth $1,000.

The gift-bearers were accompanied by 16 underaged Awang-awang carrying royal ceremonial candles called the dian enam belas.
Also part of the delegation was a group of 40 male youth walking in pairs and carrying royal regalia items including the sinipit (spear), pedang (sword), perisai (shield) and tombak (shield embellished with gold and silver bands).

The gifts and three underaged children were then brought to Baitur Rahmah, where the bride-to-be’s family representative waited to accept them.

Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Lela Cheteria Sahibun Najabah Pengiran Anak Hj Abdul Aziz, Chief of Adat Istiadat

The arrival of the delegation bearing the royal engagement gifts was marked with a 17-cannon salute at the Istana Nurul Iman compound.

A verbal exchange then ensued between YAM Pengiran Indera Setia Diraja Sahibul Karib Pengiran Anak Hj Idris Pengiran Maharaja Lela Pengiran Muda Abdul Kahar, head of the gifts delegation, and Pengiran Maharaja Setia Laila Diraja Sahibul Irshad Pengiran Anak Hj Abdul Rahim Pengiran Indera Mahkota Pengiran Anak (Dr) Kemaludin Al-Haj, who accepted the pre-engagement gifts on behalf of the bride-to-be’s father.

Legislative Council member Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Maharaja Kerna Dato Paduka Seri Hj Yaakub Pehin Orang Kaya Maharaja Diraja Dato Paduka Hj Zainal was then appointed to deliver the gifts to Pehin Manteri Bini Hjh Aminah Hj Md Yassin and Pehin Jawatan Bini Hjh Siti Hj Mohd Yusof Khan at the Balai Singgahsana Indra Kenchana.

Pehin Manteri Bini Hjh Aminah and Pehin Jawatan Bini Hjh Siti were responsible for inspecting the gifts.

While YB Pehin Dato Hj Yaakub waited outside with the 16 Awang-Awang carrying the 16 royal ceremonial candles, 16 Dayang-dayang entered Balai Singgahsana Indera Kenchana carrying the same royal regalia.

Another group of Dayang-Dayang also entered the balai to exchange a set of gangsa (brass receptacle), signifying that the bride-to-be has accepted the gifts and is now officially engaged to the groom-to-be.

The delegation led by YAM Pengiran Indera Setia Diraja Sahibul Karib Pengiran Anak Hj Idris returned to the Royal Banquet Hall and delivered the news to HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah that the bride-to-be has accepted the gifts.

A doa selamat was then read out by State Mufti Pehin Datu Seri Maharaja Dato Paduka Seri Setia Dr Ustaz Hj Abdul Aziz Juned to bless the ceremony before HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah gave his approval for the ceremony to conclude. Text courtesy of Waqiuddin Rajak and Ak Khairuddin Pg Harun of The Brunei Times and images by Fazizul Haqimie (@haqimie267) of rano360.com

 

Check out our latest review of Furious 7 featuring Rano and his co-host Del Goh on The Popcorn Panel

 

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Download SnapFeed app on your smartphones and check out the latest deals in Brunei and also get rewarded from respective merchants such as BurgerKing, KFC and Sushi Tei to name a few.

 

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BIBD held its annual dinner for staff under the Islamic bank’s group of companies at the Grand Hall, Indera Samudra of The Empire Hotel and Country Club in Jerudong last Friday.

Themed ‘Nostalgia’, the dinner honoured the hard work of the bank’s employees that had contributed to numerous achievements in the past year.

The dinner started with a recitation of the Doa, which was then followed by welcoming remarks by BIBD Managing Director Javed Ahmad. This then proceeded with presentations for Long Service Awards to around 70 employees from the BIBD group.

Among those present to witness the special occasion was the guest of honour, Deputy Minister of Finance Dato Paduka Hj Bahrin Abdullah, who is also the Chairman of the BIBD Board of Directors. Also present were other BIBD board directors and members of the Shariah Advisory Body amongst some 700 personnel from the bank along with its subsidiaries; BIBD At-Tamwil and BIBD Securities.

The annual dinner caps off another milestone year in BIBD’s rich history in Islamic finance, earmarked by notable efforts such as the launch of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, BIBD Advocating Life-Long Learning for an Aspiring Future (ALAF) Programme, along with its first batch of students receiving the programme’s support, among other charitable activities. The programme, now in its second year, aims to help bring more educational opportunities to underprivileged children.

The guest of honour, Deputy Minister of Finance and Chairman of the BIBD Board of Directors Dato Paduka Hj Bahrin Abdullah (L), hands a certificate to a BIBD employee while BIBD Managing Director Javed Ahmad (C), looks on

Last year also saw the bank’s involvment in several key projects such as the relaunch and rebranding of its Perdana Privilege Banking arm with a new lounge and image, which is located on the first floor of the Kompleks Setia Kenangan, and the organising and chairing of the 4th China-ASEAN Interbank Association (CAIBA) Executive Meetings, held for the first time outside China.

The bank also managed to retain its international recognitions such as the Best Retail Bank in Brunei (The Asian Banker), and the Best Bank in Brunei (Global Finance), and Bank of the Year in Brunei (The Banker).

Also in the year, BIBD has been ranked 42nd in terms of Soundness (Capital Asset Ratio) and 697th overall in the top 1,000 World Banks by “The Banker” in 2014, and 14th Strongest Bank among 500 Banks from Asia pacific by balance sheet by The Asian Banker. Image and text courtesy of BIBD.

 

Photo opportunity with the owner of L’Orient, Sabrina Wong

Late post. A friend of mine Sabrina Wong has finally found a more permanent place for her boutique. Ironically all the different locations that she has tried are all in Kiulap. I kinda prefer her new location of L’Orient and it’s located near Regent Square (newest building) and from the looks of it, her boutique is the first tenant officially operating business in that new building.

So what to expect from L’Orient? If you are into fashion especially the female, you will enjoy the stylish collection designed by Sabrina Wong the owner herself. Now she has upped her game by collaborating with Wilson MC Lau by designing new art fashion collection called the “reach in and stretch out”.

Her shop also sells accessories and bags apart from the interesting range of clothes. The prices may be too high for some but you will know where the dollars are spent. Sabrina has really built her reputation as one of the top designers in Brunei and she has traveled across the world to share her passion and creativity in terms of clothes design.

If you are into a stylish and modern feel look, do consult with Sabrina because she’s really good at it. Do check out her ‘Sab Five Five’ label too. That has been a big hit for her.

Also, keep up to date with the store by visiting its Facebook at www.facebook.com/sabfivefive or its Instagram @sabfivefive. For any enquiries, please contact 2239988 or 8989132.

Quite a good turn out during the official launch

Keeran Janin among the invited guest

Refreshments outside Sabrina’s shop

Josie Abdullah with Sabrina

Sabrina and her friends

 

Hj Azhar bin Hj Ahmad, the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence as the guest of honour during the recent dinner meeting of the Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club.

Normally the meeting for Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club happens on the final week of the month. So recently it was held at the usual place – Mutiara Ballroom at Radisson Hotel. The meeting is different to that of Brunei Speakers’ Club, OTTERS Club and UBD Toastmasters Club. It is done in a formal dinner setting but with the inclusion of toastmasters meeting.

The dinner meeting from Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club is always open to guests and it’s good to see different guests every now and then. The guest of honour then was Hj Azhar bin Hj Ahmad, the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence. He was very impressed with the toastmasters meeting and he gave one a good advice that fear will always be there but it’s how we see fear as opportunity.

This month of April, another dinner session will be held but I’m not currently sure of the dates. If you are interested, you can email me at ranoadidas (a) gmail

Fatin won Best Table Topics that evening

Anyati sharing a laugh with the audience

Deno Goh talked about finance during his table topics session

Group photo with the attendees

Delwin Keasberry playing the role as the Timer

Noting relating to the dinner but click image to see last week’s Brunei Speakers’ Club session. Image taken by Reuben Chin.

 

The Brunei Music Society is presenting the 6th biennial Young Musicians recital on April 10 at 7.30pm at the Arts Centre of the Jerudong International School.

A total of 24 items will be presented by aspiring musicians between the ages of eight and 25, all of whom were selected from over 70 entries.

According to a press release, the final selection includes an exciting array of instruments from violin, cello and piano to saxophone, trumpet and clarinet. In addition, there are three string ensembles.

Applicants, who were required to play at a Grade 6 level or above, submitted an audio recording which was reviewed by a panel of judges from the committee of the Brunei Music Society.
Students who will be performing on April 10 learn music at several local music schools and at the international schools. They are all students who know the importance of persistence and hard work and have spent hours practicing to reach their current level of skill.

Tickets can be booked via SMS (no calls) to 8820014 and via email at bruneims.tickets@gmail.com.

Or via this online booking form http://goo.gl/forms/ERdATcH7cC

 

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Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark driving the new Audi R8

Check out the video on Audi in Avengers

The Next chapter of the successful cinema collaboration between Audi and Marvel Studios: The heroes of the new Marvel film “Avengers: Age of Ultron” drives Audi – especially Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. The film releases on 23 April in Brunei.

In this comic book movie, the most powerful superheroes in the world fight for the survival of humanity. Among them is the tech-savvy billionaire Tony Stark – known to cinema audiences as Iron Man from the successful film franchise.

“This is a strategic partnership. The cinema is a perfect stage for Audi, for rapid high-tech cars play a large role in many films, “says Loren Angelo, director of marketing, Audi of America. The brand has been working with Marvel together for eight years; in the Iron Man movies Stark drove an Audi R8.

“Tony Stark embodies a modern mix of entrepreneurs, engineers and especially technology trendsetters,” says Giovanni Perosino, Director of Marketing Communications at AUDI AG. “The Audi R8 is thus exactly the right car for him.” In addition to the super sports car in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” the Audi TTS Coupe and the A3 Cabriolet will have significant screen time.

The film will be released locally on 23 April. For Fans who don’t want to wait that long, they can go to the website (www.audi.de/marvelsavengers) to view a previously unreleased trailer of the movie and a video of the Audi Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Check out the video on Audi in Avengers

 

Suhaimi Hussain, CEO of DST cutting the anniversary cake

Claps and cheers can be heard during a jovial cake cutting ceremony the DST booth at the Yayasan branch in the capital, last Wednesday.

The merry ceremony was part of DST’s 20th anniversary celebration, which was officiated by the guest of honour, Chief Executive Officer of the company, Suhaimi Hussain, who was witnessed by the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of DST, Marsad Hj Ismail, along with other employees of the telecommunications company.

Aside from the celebration, DST also marked its anniversary with a recitation of Surah Yassin and Thanksgiving Prayer ceremony at its headquarters in Tungku Link the previous day.

Among those present at the event were the guest of honour, a member of DST’s Board of Directors, Abdul Lattif Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Setia Dato Paduka Hj Md Yusof, Suhaimi and the company’s management and staff.

The ceremony ended with the Asar Prayer led by Imam Hj Shari Awang Murad. Also held as part of the ceremony was a Khatam Al-Quran by management and staff who have participated in the ‘One Day One Page Al-Quran’ programme for DST staff after their completition of reciting 30 juz of Al-Quran 20 since August 2014.

For this year, DST has launched a variety of attractive promotions on its products and services as a token of appreciation to loyal customers in line with this year’s theme objective, “The Year of Giving”. Customers can look forward to great deals in the new broadband promotion, “Data Bill Cap” — which caters to GO! Broadband 68 and GO! Broadband 88 customers — allowing customers to continue their broadband experience at no charge after they have exceeded their free monthly data entitlement, however, with a reduced speed based on Fair Usage Policy. Apart from that, Easi subscribers can now try the ‘Easi Refresh’ promotion, which is aimed at better savings and convenience. The promotion extends the validity period of Easi recharge amount of $100 from 180 days to 300 days. Subscribers will also get an extended grace period of 30 to 60 days to recharge their expired Easi account before termination.

More information and updates regarding its promotion and events are available through DST Care 151 as well at its official website http://www.dst-group.com or through its Facebook and Instagram @dstbn. Text courtesy of Norliha Din of The Brunei Times.

 

Joanna Kwan playing the lead role as Mary Poppins. Awesome!!

Awesome dance choreography

Though I was still tired from the short Labuan trip, I managed to catch the Mary Poppins on the final night. The previous musical broadway performance from @relentlessbrunei (Relentless Entertainment) was two years ago and it was entitled Enchanted Forest if I’m not mistaken. Last weekend, @relentlessbrunei upped their game with a rendition of Mary Poppins in Poppins the Musical.

Well done to the cast of Relentless especially Joanna Kwan and Zainal Bostaman. It was the first time I saw Zainal acting on stage and Joanna is no stranger in the acting scene as she carried the show with her role as Mary Poppins. The dance choreography was impressive as well and my best scene of the play was the “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”.

To be honest, I know of Mary Poppins’ movie existence but I never really take notice of the plot until that night. The only problem I noticed for their show was the microphone issue though this is a huge improvement from the first night from the word of mouth. This is because not all microphones had the same audio level. I couldn’t hear Aaqiil’s voice properly and some of the voices from the cast weren’t really articulated.

Other than that, the show exceeded my expectations and I applaud Relentless Entertainment to bring this musical show once again to the public. Keep up the great work!! I’ve flooded with tons of pictures. Enjoy!!

Aaqiil being suspended in mid-air

Kevin Cheong and Joanna Kwan

Zainal Bostaman (right) was pretty awesome

Friends giving support for the cast of Mary Poppins

 

Check out our latest review of Furious 7 featuring Rano and his co-host Del Goh on The Popcorn Panel

 

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The monthly winners of the Multi Tier Savings Account – Get Rewarded from Your Savings promotion at Baiduri Bank. Image courtesy of Baiduri Bank.

To encourage customers to save more, Baiduri Finance launched a savings promotion in January with attractive cash prizes to be won monthly.

At a prize presentation event held at the company’s head office in Sumbangsih Bahagia, Beribi this afternoon, four lucky customers were elated after being picked as winners in the second monthly draw.

The Multi Tier Savings Account – Get Rewarded from Your Savings promotion offers customers who deposited fresh funds of B$5,000 into their new or existing Multi Tier Savings Account (MTSA) a chance to win monthly cash prizes and be in the running to win the grand prize of B$50,000.

Md Shahidullah bin Md Mafizuddin, Jong Boon Nee, Cheong Huat Joo and Wu Siew Poh were rewarded with B$4,000, B$3,000, B$2,000 and B$1,000 respectively. These amounts will be credited into the winners’ existing MTSA as part of the promotion’s objective to further grow customers’ savings. They are the second batch of winners to receive cash savings from the Multi Tier Savings Account Deposit Promotion.

On hand to present the prizes to the winners was Hj Mohd Rayme bin Hj Bakri, Marketing Manager at Baiduri Finance Berhad. “We are now in the third month of the promotion,” he said, adding, “This promo will end in June, so there’s still time to get lucky and win big in our upcoming draws”.

Baiduri Finance’s MTSA is intended to provide accountholders with worthy interest gains within a short period of time. Requiring only B$50 for account creation, savers can earn interest rates of up to 0.65% flat rate per annum, and ease of managing their accounts through Baiduri Personal i-Banking, and all Baiduri Bank branches. MTSA customers will receive Baiduri VISA Debit cards upon account opening and can perform banking transactions via all Baiduri ATMs and CDMs nationwide.

Information on the MTSA promotion is available on www.baiduri.com or customers can contact the Baiduri Call Centre at 2449666.

 

Pre game photo of Matahari FC against TOT United. Image courtesy of Standard Chartered Brunei.

TOT United of Malaysia emerged as the winners of the Standard Chartered Trophy Regional Tournament held in Kuala Lumpur held last Saturday 28 March 2015. The winners managed to best their counterparts, PTT GC of Thailand and Matahari FC of Brunei Darussalam and will go on to compete in the Standard Chartered Trophy Finals Tournament, held in Liverpool Football Club’s Homeground, Anfield this coming May.

Marilyn Graeme, Head of Corporate Affairs said:

“We’re extremely delighted to have been able to leverage on our partnership with Liverpool FC to give our local talents and rising futsal stars an opportunity like this to gain exposure outside of Brunei to push themselves and test their skills on a regional amateur level. Well done to Matahari FC and we hope they will continue to shine on in their future futsal challenges.”

The Standard Chartered Trophy Brunei Local Tournament was held on 16, 17, 20 and 21 of February. The tournament saw 24 teams compete for the chance to represent Brunei in the upcoming regional tournament. During the closing ceremony of the tournament, a mock cheque of BND2400 was handed over to JAPEM on behalf of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports for the Humanitarian Fund of the Malaysian Flood Disaster. The funds were raised from registration fees collected from the participating teams, 100% of which was donated.

19 countries have been globally selected to run the local qualifying tournaments and select winning teams. The winning teams will then advance to the regional stages to compete against other countries. The winning teams from the regional stage of the SC Trophy will then go on to the finals, held at Anfield Stadium in the United Kingdom. This is the fourth year that the Standard Chartered Trophy tournament has been organised and this season sees Vietnam defending their title from last season.

The Standard Chartered Trophy Brunei 2015 was supported by The Ministry of Culture Youth & Sports and endorsed by the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam.

To find out more about the Standard Chartered Trophy follow the bank’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/StandardCharteredBN.

Pre game photo of Matahari FC against PTT GC. Image courtesy of Standard Chartered Brunei.

CEO Standard Chartered Malaysia giving out tokens to the players. Image courtesy of Standard Chartered Brunei.

Group photo of the Bruneian, Thai and Malaysian Teams at the post-tournament dinner. Image courtesy of Standard Chartered Brunei.

 

I can’t find a proper mask. But not to worry, the air quality is still considered good according to today’s paper.

This is one of the hottest times in Brunei and it’s no surprise that forest fire will happen. However, I didn’t expect it to create such a nuisance because of the haze factor. We all keep hoping for rain to reduce the density of the haze. I also would like to salute our brave fire fighters who are doing their best to get rid of the fire. It’s never an easy task especially in the forest as it is difficult for the fire brigades to access the source of the fire in the middle of the forest.

So do take extra measures or even wear a mask if possible. Frankly speaking, I hardly see people wearing mask. Maybe the level of haze is still considered low (the PSI reading has ok so far) but sometimes precaution is much better approach. I can still smell the scent of smoke once I stepped out of my home. I live in Beribi but the source of the fire that I know is either near UBD area and Jerudong. So you can tell how damaging a forest fire can do.

Keep up the good work especially those in the Fire and Rescue Department.

Keep up the good job, firefighters. Image courtesy of The Brunei Times.

The smoke last week around KB area. Image courtesy of @marul69

 

Burger King – Buy 1 Free 1. Limited time only 😀

 

When will the time I carry this solid trophy legitimately as a gold winner?

Brenda Chang, Financial Controller of RBA Golf Club, Asmadi bin Haji Alimustapha, General Manager of RBA Golf Club, Mr. Andrew Young, Deputy General Manager, Operations Management Division of Baiduri Bank cum President of the Organizing Committee of Baiduri Masters 2015, Mr. Pierre Imhof, CEO of Baiduri Bank, Mr. Albert Lau, CEO of QAF Group, Mr. Roger Fletcher, General Manager of QAF Motor Group, Reggie See, General Manager of Brunei Press and Hazizah Osman, Deputy General Manager of Brunei Press

Consecutive run of 20 years is a milestone on its own. Baiduri Bank Group has been running their Corporate Social Responsibility programme for a very long time and the biggest avenue is the Baiduri Masters. This year it will be a bigger edition with a few interesting mix in terms of categories. The Hole-in-One prizes are amazing too as usual.

There will be a team category and very ideal for Corporate teams to be involved in the Baiduri Masters while swinging for a good cause. A new car introduced by QAF Motors will also be featured in one of the holes – BMW 218i Active Tourer and it’s not officially launched yet in Brunei. So it’s pretty cool for the new BMW model being one of the hole-in-one prizes. Awesome!!!

The golf tournament will take place on May 1-3 and May 8-10 at the usual venue, Royal Brunei Airlines Golf Club (RBAGC). The 20th Baiduri Masters Charity Golf Tournament, it will be played on format system 36 (stroke play) and the challenge trophy will be decided on gross. So who will be the person to be wearing the Green Jacket in this year’s edition of Baiduri Masters?

Baiduri Bank Group gave their deepest appreciation to their strategic partners – the QAF Group of Companies notably QAF Motor Group and Brunei Press who have been their longest strategic partners. This morning witnessed a signing ceremony among partners for the upcoming event at QAF Centre.

The three luxurious cars will be the Porsche Panemera (Hole 2), BMW 218 Active Tourer (Hole 14) and MINI One (Hole 5) and all of these can be won at the 20th edition of the Baiduri Masters. The registration forms will be available pretty soon (hopefully by this week).

Wanna win a Porsche Panemera? Just get a hole in one effort on Hole 2 at Baiduri Masters 2015 LD

The new BMW 218 Active Tourer will be one of the prizes for hole in one. Awesome!!!

During the press conference for Baiduri Masters 2015

The media taking questions to the organizers and partners

What is Baiduri Bank’s intention for the Baiduri Masters? The intention has never change and it’s to raise funds where it will be channelled to a number of charities and welfare bodies. They believe in supporting programmes that offer educational opportunities and assistance to children with special needs. Registration fee is BND 120 for adults and BND 60 for juniors. For team, it will be additional BND 25 per person (x4). The fee is inclusive of green fees, buggy, buffet breakfast and lunch.

So who are qualified to be in the Team? It is open to all amateur golfers in a team of 4 players with a valid handicap or club verified handicap (which ever is lower) of 18 and below for men, and 24 and below for ladies.

The charitable bodies will be Pusat Ehsan, Child Development Center, Yayasan Kanak Kanak Kanser (YASKA), SMARTER Brunei, Learning Ladders Society, Paediatric Department, RIPAS and Special Education Unit, Ministry of Education.

 

Triple H’s entrance promoting the Terminator: Genesis blockbuster movie at Wrestlemania. Image taken from WWE website

Wow, wow, wow!!!! What a Wrestlemania!!!! One of my bucket list is to watch Wrestlemania live in the US. This year it was held at San Francisco at the Levi’s Stadium and it had a WWE Wrestlemania record attendance with more than 70,000 fans. Crazy!! I watched the PPV with Jason Rumpun and we were exchanging predictions on the matches.

I won’t be spoiling the results as Wrestlemania is still one day old and some of my friends will be watching it tonight on their computers. My favourite matches are Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns surprisingly and also Sting Vs HHH. Well, the ladder match was also great and so was Randy Orton vs Seth Rollins. The in-ring promos were awesome and okay, I just almost love everything about it. Royal Rumble sucked bad time and the Fast Lane PPV was a bit of a redemption but Wrestlemania 31 was a huge improvement. I didn’t expect much initially but it exceeded expectation.

I’m definitely buying the blu-ray for this Wrestlemania. I give this a 9/10 and one of the best Wrestlemania I’ve seen in many, many years. Highly recommended.

Brock Lesnar was dominant last night and it’s not surprised that WWE offered him a new contract. Image taken from WWE website

Rusov has been giving the US title more value than before. Image taken from WWE website

One of the best matches – the ladder match for the Intercontinental title. Image taken from WWE website

Is that DX I saw last night? Image taken from WWE website

 

Follow @icentrebrunei on IG for updates

Innovate “Talking Technology & Entrepreneurship” Forum is a platform to promote a future of innovation and Entrepreneurship with a global perspective in Brunei Darussalam. The forum explores topics like emerging trends in technologies, insights on successful startups, opportunities and challenges in securing investment funding.

Over the years, iCentre has brought in international and regional speakers from recognized organizations to share their expertise and knowledge in hope to inspire others.

The speakers are Marcus Tan, co-founder of Carousell, a mobile app marketplace in Singapore, Azlan Ahmad, founder and Excecutive Creative Director of Mixmediaworx. and Wayne Chia, CEO (SE ASIA) and co-founder of Techsallor.

The event will take place on Tuesday 7th April at The Empire Hotel & Country Club. It will be a morning event and it will be concluded with a networking lunch.

 

Reuben Chin, a dedicated Toastmaster member from Brunei, earned his dual awards in both Table Topics and International Speech in Division K Contest in Labuan last Sunday. He was runner-up in both category.

What a great weekend!! I missed the cricket world cup tournament where Australia won. I missed another Earth Hour event in Brunei. I missed a few activities. It wasn’t that bad after all since I spent my weekend in Labuan to support my toastmaster buddy Reuben Chin who was eyeing for a victory in the Table Topics and International Speech Contest. Only the winner will have the ticket to the District Level to be held in Kuching.

Reuben has already mastered his speeches in Area level (Brunei) and he was the cream of the crop. I’m amazed how the numbers showed up from Brunei toastmasters (from 4 clubs) to witness to conference and supporting Reuben in Labuan. Our attendance alone showed why the toastmasters clubs in Brunei are pretty strong in Division K. The majority in attendance was mostly from Brunei toastmasters. Amazing!!

Reuben may have not won first place but it didn’t let him down. He remembered last year coming third place in Area Contest and now reaching a step higher, finishing 2nd in Division Level. Yes, we noticed the pattern and I hope he will bettered himself and I know he will because his passion is to grow as a community leader through the tools of toastmasters. You did your very best buddy and you have improved not just a speaker but as a role model leader to many including me.

Good luck and I shall see you in Area Contest perhaps 😀

Intan receiving her honors as the Division K Champion in International Speech and her speech touched the audience and great delivery as well.

Celebrating both birthday celebrants including our very own special guest Grace who joined us during the Convention trip in Labuan

Group photo of toastmasters from Division K. Click image to enlarge.

The Brunei Toastmasters attending the conference as well as supporting our Brunei representative, Reuben Chin

Allen Ang trying out Seng Yee’s cactus hat

I’m not sure how to caption this picture

The Brunei entertaining the guests during dinner

Derby and Julius during our popular Wolf game. I was labeled as the professional wolf.

The Brunei gang on the ferry on the way to Labuan

 

I’ve blogged about Divina before and the business’ primary focus is renting out dresses especially related to fairy tales to cater for the kids. Divina has been around for many years and the previous location of the shop was in Yayasan and now it has moved to Menglait which provides a better space because now Divina has introduced a new service for photo shoots especially for family portraits. Now you can dress up elegantly from renting from Divina and use their backdrops to make the picture more surreal while wearing elegant dresses.

Last Sunday, Divina feted the winners for the three categories of the Divina’s Dress-Up Contest. In Category A, baby girl Nayla Arissa binti My Azeli won first place followed by Nur Faiza and Stephenie Wong. In Category B, Thian Siao Fen @ Samantha took first place and first runner-up was Dayangku Nur Atiyyah Azzahra while Siti Nur Aziah binti Yunos came third. As for Category C (for the boys), Dario Ling Yi Hao claiming first place, Mohd Azrin bin Shadanan came second and Christopher Wong came third.

The winners walked home with vouchers worth $100 for first prize, $80 voucher for first runner-up and $50 voucher for second runner-up.

The top three winners of the Divina Dress-Up Competition. The prize presentation took place last Sunday

Nayla Arissa binti My Azeli won first place in the first category. Image courtesy of Borneo Bulletin.

Dario Ling Yi Hao won first place in Category C for the boys section. Image courtesy of Borneo Bulletin.

Christopher Wong came third in Category C

Mohd Azrin bin Shadanan came second in Category C

The winners last weekend

Divina now also introduced a newer service where mothers can also dress up to compliment their daughters and sons. They have brought in some beautiful dresses for rent for the adults. Do check out the images below for details.

Divina Brunei Sdn Bhd rents out accessories such as hair veil, tiara, hair accessories. For those who want packages, Divina has different packages. Refer below for details.

Premium Set 1 $48

1 Dress, 1 Hair Accessory, 1 Cardigan/Shawl, 1 Hair Veil, 1 Petticoat

Premium Set 2 $88

2 Dress, 2 Hair Accessories, 2 Cardigans/Shawls, 2 Hair Veils, 2 Petticoats

Premium Set 3 $168

4 Dress, 4 Hair Accessories, 4 Cardigans/Shawls, 4 Hair Veils, 4 Petticoats

Premium Set 4 $228

6 Dress, 6 Hair Accessories, 6 Cardigans/Shawls, 6 Hair Veils, 6 Petticoats

Divina Brunei Sdn Bhd closes every Monday. Otherwise the business is open daily from 10am to 6pm. It is located at Unit 4, 1st Floor, Bangunan Hj Hassan Abdullah, Spg 32 Kg Menglait, Jalan Gadong. You can check out their Facebook page or call 223 0759 or 872 2028.

Now even mothers can dress up 😀

Some of the backdrops that can be used

Chin Wei had fun during the photo shoot

Now mothers and young female adults can dress up too

The young emcees announcing the winners

The interior view of Divina

The map of Divina at Menglait

 

Relentless Entertainment (Relentless) is all set to bring a beloved tale of a magical nanny to the stage with Poppins The Musical this Saturday and Sunday at the Jerudong Park Amphitheatre.

Sharing the stage alongside the actors and dancers from the entertainment and events management company on the first night of the show will be 30 special stars from Pusat Ehsan, who will delighting audiences with an opening number.

The special needs centre is also one of a handful of local non-profit organisations that were given complimentary tickets to attend the show.

Other special needs organisations include Yayasan Kanser Kanak-Kanak (YASKA), the Centre for Children with Special Needs (KACA), Learning Ladder and the Society for the Management of Autism Related Issues in Training, Education and Resources Brunei (SMARTER Brunei).

In a press statement by the Relentless, the company has given 1,000 out of the 4,000 seats to special needs centres.

“Every child from the organisations will be given a goodie bag,” said the company’s founder, Mardi Hedus.

Tickets for the two-day event, which starts at 7.30pm, are still available at various locations such as Patisserie Cake Shop at Mata-Mata Gadong, Misato Japanese Restaurant both at Kiulap and Mabohai, Laneige at The Mall and in Kuala Belait, and at Fitness Zone both in Kiulap and Serusop.

The tickets are priced at $10, $15 and $20, and a portion of the proceeds will be given to charity.

For more information, please contact Mardi at 8235455 or 8243222 or emailrelentless.brunei@gmail.com. You can also follow Relentless on its Facebook at facebook.com/relentlessstudiosbrunei and Instagram@relentlessbrunei. Text courtesy of Michelle Tan of The Brunei Times.

The cast posing for the media. Image courtesy of Michelle Tan of The Brunei Times.

A new sneak preview of Poppins the Musical. Image courtesy of Michelle Tan of The Brunei Times.

The cast and crew are ready for the weekend

 

The vice chairman of SCOT Khairul Azmi Hj Salleh with the committee of the SCOT Run 2015. Image courtesy of Analisa Amu of The Brunei Times.

The Society for Community Outreach and Training (SCOT) announced its inaugural charity run ‘The SCOT Run 2015 – Fight Poverty through Education’ recently at the Youth Centre.

The run is slated to be held on May 10 at Taman Haji Sir Omar Ali Saifuddien in the capital.

The vice chairman of SCOT Khairul Azmi Hj Salleh, at the announcement ceremony, said that the run will put an emphasis on the ongoing SCOT Education project.

“Majority of the funds to be raised (from the run) will be channeled to serve an additional commitment to provide scholarships of empowerment to deserving and most progressive students for the phase 2 of SCOT Education,” he said.

In an interview with The Brunei Times, Noor Faezatul Iradah Mohd Ali, the project manager of SCOT Run 2015, said that they are expecting more than 3,000 participants for the run.

“With the funds collected, we will use it for training students that we are yet to choose from various institutional organisations who then will be teaching English in Cambodia for the underprivileged,” she said.

In 2013, the SCOT Education programme under SCOT comprised of 11 weeks of volunteering activity in teaching English to about 120 students at the Youth Development Centre (YDC). It was then followed by a two-week volunteering activity in teaching English to underprivileged students in Cambodia.

In a press statement, it stated that the objective of the SCOT Education is to empower and build confidence of trainers through English language skills training so as to equip them with better employment opportunities.
The online registration for the SCOT Run will be opened from March 21 to April 5 at www.fightpovertywithus.org/scot-run.

There are three categories opened for the public namely: 3km fun run “Hopeful Fighter”, 5km “Passionate Fighter” and 10km “Knowledgeable Fighter” with registration fees at $25, $30 and $35 respectively.

The payment for the registration will be opened from April 3 to 5.

Venue for registration payment will be updated through the website including dates and venue for kit collection. SCOT also announced that any companies that wish to support, sponsor and be a part of the SCOT Run 2015 are welcome to email them at info@fightpovertywithus.org.

Click image to enter website

 

Mabohai Shopping Complex is proud to announce that David Atthowe, founder of Nomadic Lion, will be joining our Earth Hour Event on Saturday, 28 March 2015 at 8:00 pm.

In 2014, David, along with his partner and Indonesian friend Yusep Sukmana walked 3,350 km all the way from Malaysia to Brunei. They walked to raise awareness about the Rainforest and people of Borneo.

During our Earth Hour Event on Saturday 28th March, David will give a special talk on the topic “Walking change: connecting with the earth and how we can all use our own art to create change.”

Nomadic Lion founder David Atthowe, who hails from Norwich, England, and Yusep Sukmana from Ciamis, Indonesia, have visited a number of landmarks in Brunei and other tourist hotspots including the Ulu Temburong National Park in Bukit Patoi in their 2014 ‘Walk of Borneo’ expedition which commenced in Sabah last August 2014. The Brunei Tourism Development Department supported the effort of the duo by raising awareness of their project and how it could help as a catalyst for people to protect their environment.

The nature-loving duo initiated their first project in 2014 by walking the entire length of Peninsular Malaysia to raise awareness on the environment and its people who live in harmony with nature. A documentary of their journey will describe the current situation of the local environment and the organizations working to protect it.

The Management of Mabohai Shopping Complex said:

“ We are delighted to have Mr David Atthowe join us and share his experience and how he has used his “own power” so to speak, to help raise awareness on protecting and preserving nature. We invite the public, especially those who would like to learn more about his experience to join us on the 28 March 2015 and be part of the Earth Hour experience at Mabohai Shopping Complex.“

 

Zairani Munching won two return tickets to London and received the prize from Nicky Wong

Out of 100 shortlisted entries, Zairani Munching was the lucky lady who took the Shop, Dine and Fly grand prize – taking home two return tickets to London for two with a $2,000 travel voucher.

The lucky draw took place at the Mahligai Hall of The Airport Mall, where the lucky participants were treated to drinks from Gong Cha and food from Cheezbox. The prizes from the lucky draw also included luxury and household items, such as mobile phones, BBQ sets, blenders and coffeemakers.

Winning the first prize was Md Azlan Seruji, who  a return air ticket to Hong Kong with $1,000 travel voucher for two. The second prize was won by Evelyn Salius which was return air tickets for two to Singapore with a $800 travel voucher.

The Shop, Dine and Fly grand draw was a collaboration between QQeStore.com, QQ Mobile Shop, Gong Cha, OHSO Premium Kids Wear and CheezBox Café and Restaurant as a way to thank their loyal customers for their endless support.

Md Azlan Seruji won  a return air ticket to Hong Kong with $1,000 travel voucher for two

Evelyn Salius won return air tickets for two to Singapore with a $800 travel voucher

Top ten winners of the Shop, Dine and Fly promotion

 

Kamarul Dzaman Ajimain @Marul69 presenting a Dining Privilege Card to one of the followers of @Bruneifoodies. Image courtesy of Norliha Din of The Brunei Times.

For their love of food, lucky followers of a local blog dedicated to gastronomic delights each recently won a dining privilege card, worth $88, from Royal Brunei Catering (RBC).

The food lovers were the first 50 to submit their names and details at the Brunei Foodies’ App as part of an RBC Dining Privilege Card (DPC) give away competition.

Presenting the prizes to the winners at Seasons Restaurant was the Assistant Manager for RBC Corporate Sales and Marketing, Ivy Chong and on behalf Brunei Foodies was Kamarul Dzaman Ajimain or Marul. Also present to witness the event were the management of RBC and the restaurant.

The Give Away competition was in conjunction with the food bloggers’ achievements in reaching more than 11, 700 followers on Instagram as well a way of thanking their loyal fans for their support for their Instagram account and the Brunei Foodie Mobile App.

Aside from prizes, guests and winners were treated to dinner at Seasons Restaurant. Text courtesy of Norliha Din of The Brunei Times.

Group photo of the winners

 

Pierre Imhof, CEO of Baiduri Bank Group with the senior management

Pierre Imhof presented red packets to underprivileged students

In celebration of Chinese New Year 2015,  Baiduri Bank Group belatedly held a lavish eight-course dinner at Indera Samudra Grand Hall, The Empire Hotel & Country Club recently. Standing in the front line was CEO of the group Pierre Imhof as well as the management committee and senior executives who greeted 1,500 guests who are based in Brunei-Muara and Tutong districts.

Present too was Yang Berhormat Pehin Kapitan Lela Diraja Dato Paduka Goh King Chin along with foreign dignitaries, prominent businessmen, customers, business partners and associates of the group.

The evening began with a cultural performance by talented students from the Chung Hwa Middle School Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB). Imhof then proceeded to deliver his opening speech, welcoming attendees and highlighting the major progresses and achievements of the group during the past year. He applauded Baiduri Bank in achieving three awards – Domestic Retail Bank for Brunei 2014, for the second time from Asian Banking and Finance; Best Banking Group for Brunei 2014 for the sixth time from World Finance; and Brunei’s Safest Bank 2014 from Global Finance, New York.

In addition, Baiduri Bank became the only bank in the Sultanate to receive Standard & Poor’s credit rating of BBB+/A-2 by an international rating agency.

In keeping up with the Chinese New Year tradition, Baiduri Bank Group donated ‘red packets’ to underprivileged students in order to provide financial support. The donations were presented by Imhof and received by respective principals and students from St Andrew’s, St George’s, Chung Hwa Middle School and Seri Mulia Sarjana School. The night was further painted red with a line-up of local performances and lucky draw prizes as well as best wishes toast by the management to the guests.

Performances

Entertainment during the event

The winner of the singing competition

A night full of red

 

Fitness Zone, in collaboration with Shooting Stars Basketball and The Energy Kitchen, will be hosting the first ever Fitness Zone Holiday Basketball Camp for 5 days from 30 March 2015 to 3 April 2015, during the school holiday week.

Shooting Stars has been conducting weekly basketball clinics for kids of all skill levels from age 7 to 17 with the aim of promoting a healthy lifestyle for kids and learning teamwork skills through the game of basketball.

This camp will focus on intensive basketball drills and exercises but what is really interesting is that there is a focus on nutrition and healthy eating for the participants. Lunch will be provided each day by The Energy Kitchen and there will be a Fitness Zone Dietician to provide nutrition information.

So to the parents, this is ideal for your children to balance out between studies and extra curriculum activities. This is a great avenue for kids to interact with one another and also with young adults.

If you are interested, please emailshootingstarsbn@gmail.com or contact +673 7290011 for more information and also follow them on instagram @shootingstarsbn

 

Chef Ben Wu doing some cooking demo for the guests at Fun Bee Park last Sunday

A great turn out last Sunday

A celebrity chef all the way from Malaysia hosted an exclusive cooking demonstration to the public of the Sultanate. Chef Ben Wu, a renowned chef originally from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia has been airing in the Malaysia’s local radio sharing food preparation and healthy eating habits. He has been followed by the local media during his cooking demo and expo shows due to his fun character and smooth flow of entertainment to his guests. He has been one of the in-house featured Chefs over “Y3K” magazines every edition whereby he has been sharing his winning recipes from rice and noodles to meats to desserts.

In cooperation with Fun Bee Park and IA Salon, a total of 42 guests enjoyed the cooking show which highlighted traditional recipes locally and infused dishes. Chef Ben titled his show: “The Lost Recipes” which featured mostly the local taste of past years dishes. Ten amazingly quick and easy recipes from soup, rice, cake, meat, juices, and ice cream were personally prepared by the chef for the attending guests.

Soup recipes such as ABC soup which chicken bones was boiled with cut potatoes, carrots, and tomatoes. Another mouth watering soup was the Tom Yam soup with chicken meat marinated with savory spices perfected to taste.

Ikan Asam was also a hit to the guests which were prepared and fully cooked in quick minutes. The fish dish was filled up with seasonings and organic spices to infused local taste with modern recipes.

Other lost recipes were popcorn, Kuih bakar, Kuih Ketayap, and Sos Chilli. Fruity juices were served to its freshest qualities, such as the creamy mango shake and Jus Vitamin King, a concoction of pineapple, honey, and sour plum.

The cooking demonstration ended up with food tasting of all traditional recipes that the hosting chef has prepared. In addition to the courses, Chef Ben’s team people cooked dishes that were local favorites such as Pumpkin chicken curry, Tom yam mee hoon, Patin fish with durian, and Nasi goreng with salted fish and pineapples. A group photo with Chef Ben, organizers, and invited guests sealed up the event and everyone was looking forward to the future demonstrations and cooking show.

Chef Ben Wu with some guests

Both of us were given ostrich eggs.. Unique…

The kitchen area at Fun Bee Park

The trademark pose of Chef Ben Wu

Guests trying out some food

 

There are no words to conveniently describe or do justice to the fabulous Showcase Concert at Jerudong International School (JIS) last weekend.

Held in the institution’s auditorium, the room reverberated with endless applause as philharmonic attendees enjoyed the spectacle performed by students and directed by Paul Edgeler and which covered a wide spectrum of popular music styles.

From lush, richly orchestrated Broadway numbers and beautiful acoustic ballads to catchy jazz standards and unapologetically loud, high-energy dance numbers, this year’s concert catered to everyone’s taste.

The audience was further enthralled by a gripping performance by violinist Shian Li Esther Chiam, who won the Junior World Champion Instrumentalist award for Brunei in the World Championships of Performing Arts in 2014.

Her solo performance of Smooth Criminal, accompanied by the orchestra, was simply dazzling.

Smiles further widened as JIS Year 11 pupil Aziz Harun took to the stage to perform Senyum, which was written and produced by Faizal Tahir and Mike Chan and received over 900,000 views on YouTube (amazing).

The concert was divided into two parts – the morning session for invited schools and members of Pusat Ehsan, while the nighttime performance was for guests who purchased tickets. Text by Ikhwan Salleh of The Brunei Times and images provided by Lily Chiam unless stated.

She can sing too. Thumbs up to you Shian Li

A special rendition of Smooth Criminal by Shian Li

Trio performance by Azemah Abdul Rahman, Eden Chiam and Yi Ping Sim. Image courtesy of James Kon of Borneo Bulletin.

Eden Chiam belting some notes

Aziz Harun with his popular song, “Senyum”. Image courtesy of James Kon of Borneo Bulletin.

Image courtesy of The Brunei Times.

The finale

 

Trying out different Chinese tea at Tea-Fu Chinese Tea Shop located at Gadong Central

Many selections to choose from at Tea-Fu Chinese Tea Shop

A few years ago, I had an outing with my friend in Penang and we had a great conversation by the beach and he brought along a travel tea pot where we had endless drinking of Chinese tea in small portions. Without realizing, I actually drank more than usual because the conversation with my friend Tungie was great and the Chinese tea complimented well with the setting.

Fast forward to this year, I was impressed that Brunei has a Chinese tea shop which located at Gadong Central. It is called the Tea-Fu Chinese Tea Shop. They sell the authentic Chinese tea sachets and not only that but also assorted accessories and ornaments that are made from Chinese tea. For your info, they are imported from China and Chinese Taipei.

What I like about Tea-Fu Chinese Tea Shop is that you are able to taste the samples from the wide variety of Chinese tea and depends on what you really want to benefit from drinking Chinese. Apparently different Chinese teas have different functions and it does cater to the needs of the individuals.

Hence the customers can sit down at a dedicated table behind the shop and you can sit down and mingle with the managers or the staff at Tea-Fu who can guide you on what suits you.

Did you know that Chinese tea is not just about consuming it but also the preparation in a much traditional way in moderation. I have a friend from Singapore who actually takes up tea lessons where they will teach you techniques of brewing and even pouring the tea to the mini cups. So it’s cool that the owners of Tea-Fu are able to educate their customers on brewing tea the right way to get the most out of the (essence) tea.

The prices vary from different types of teas and like I’ve mentioned before, each tea caters to different benefits.

There’s the White Tea, Green Tea and Black Tea.

The White Tea reduces risks of cancer, blood pressure, cholesterol level and cardiovascular diseases and strengthens our bones and teeth as well as our immunity. The Green Tea reduces cardiovascular disease, cancer and you will have lower risk of getting Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease as well as reducing the risk of diabetes. The good thing about the Green Tea is that it helps to burn fats and boost your metabolic rate. As for the Black Tea, it reduces cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. Drinking lots of Green Tea will give you healthier skin and hair and good immunity.

You can visit Tea-Fu Chinese Tea Shop at No.37, Ground Floor at Gadong Central (same row with Sushi Tei and Mr. Baker’s Bakeshop) and you can also call 242 8979 for more details.

Brewing tea to get that authentic taste

Tea is ready to be served

The art of pouring tea

Before the tea is being brewed

This is actually made of tea. Interesting and it’s for sale too

Located at No.37 Floor Floor at Gadong Central.