UPDATE May 2014: The opening of Palm Mall is on 18 June 2014. 

Tenant update: Pandora, Brand Outlets by Padini, J.CO Donuts & Coffee and Sketchers are among new brands that Palm Mall will offer to shoppers. Beside Black Canyon Coffee, Nando's, Papa John Pizza, Sakae Sushi, Shogun and Chatime are among new F&B brands for Seremban.

The news of mirror-less in washrooms of Palm Mall is not true at all as no 'ghosts' or supernatural things happened over there and all washrooms have mirror.

#1 Overview of Palm Mall Seremban

Arial view, overlook Kemayan Square intersection.

Seremban-ese will be welcomed by a new shopping mall and boutique hotel. It is the Palm Mall, located at entrance of Kemayan Square.

Touted to be the largest and most happening lifestyle mall in Seremban. We can expect a GSC cineplex with 3D screens, a 1,114sq m Celebrity Fitness fitness centre, fashion stores, alfresco-styled cafes and restaurants.

The front counter of Golden Screen Cinemas

Celebrity Fitness has updated their latest outlet with address, Lot 2F-24, 2F-25 & 2F-26, 2nd Floor of this mall. It will be on the top floor of the mall.


As stated above, the net lettable area is whopping 450,000 square feet (10 percent of 1Utama gross lettable area). But to my disappointment, the anchor tenants comprise of supermarket, cinema and IT centre.

We need quality tenants (apparel and FB) that are well established in Klang Valley over here, although a drive to KL only takes 45 mins.

The night view of the mall

The targeted completion date is third quarter of the year. However the progress is seen to be slow. The exterior of the mall was painted with yellow recently with glass finish overlooking outside.



Palm Mall Seremban
Lot 17501 & 17502 Seksyen 2
Kemayan Square
70200 Seremban

Website

Grand opening of Palm Mall

Starbucks Malaysia will be offering complimentary grande size Frappuccino when you check-in to Foursquare at any Starbucks store during Earth Hour from 8:30pm to 9:30pm on March 31, 2012.


So that's the reward for you guys during Earth Hour.

But what is Earth Hour all about?

Earth Hour is a global event organized by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature, also known as World Wildlife Fund) and is held on the last Saturday of March annually, asking households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change.

Source: Wikipedia

Where Earth Hour began?

In 2007, WWF-Australia inspired Sydney-siders to show their support for climate change action in the first ever Earth Hour event. It showed that everyone, from children to CEOs and politicians, has the power to change the world they live in. In Sydney, Australia, 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights out for one hour to take a stand against climate change.

We in Malaysia celebrated the first Earth Hour on March 28, 2009.

Source: Earth Hour website

You want to play a role in this Earth Hour?

Firstly, reduce the electricity consumption at all time; efficiency please!

Next, spread out the message (like a virus) with 4 steps:

Step 1
Invite your friends and colleagues to like Facebook Page

Step 2
Post this to your Facebook wall to let your friends know you’re part of the world’s largest grassroots environmental movement. "I'm switching off the lights for Earth Hour. Show your support too at http://earthhour.org"

Step 3
Tweet this to show your support and use the hashtag #EarthHour in all your Earth Hour tweets. "@earthhour I'm switching off the lights for #earthhour. Show your support too at http://earthhour.org"

Step 4
Find your local Earth Hour Meetup group and invite your friends and family to join too.

The campaign's website, wwf.org.my, allows Malaysians to make “go green” pledges.




That's all for this post, long and complicated enough.

Switch off your lights!!

Just in past week, Starbucks launched new products which includes Red Velvet cake, Whoopie pies and Almond Ladies Fingers.

And I decided to have a try of Almond Ladies Fingers (ALF).

What caught my attention first? The name!!

It is said to be crunchy at outside and soft inside with cheese mocha filling.

Almond Ladies Fingers

On the top layer, there is dash of granulated sugar that give extra crunch to the top. The texture is soft, which makes no effort to bite. wtf

Served with Mocha Frappucino

Deep inside between two layers of sponge is cheese mocha filling. It is not too sweet but the flavour is lacking and not really up to my expectation.

It is not too soggy nor too dry, which I like. Balance is the word.

Display counter

Overall it is still worth to have a try. One piece/slice will never be enough!

Price: RM6
Rating: 8 out 10 (good)

View of Starbucks Sg. Wang outlet

Facing Jalan Sultan Ismail

You know Jeremy Lin? He is an Asian American currently playing for NBA club, New York Knicks.

Jeremy Lin

Ben & Jerry's created a vanilla-flavored frozen yogurt in honor of Lin named "Taste the Lin-Sanity". It contained lychee honey swirls and 'fortune cookie' pieces.

Before and after

Many people perceived fortune cookie was racist where the ingredient serving as an obvious nod to Lin's heritage.

Ended up, Ben & Jerry's replaced the fortune cookies with waffle cookies. The reason given is "a couple of [pints] got returned because the cookies got so soggy."

To me, it's just a type of ingredients that may related to Chinese. Even ice cream can be a racism issue. lol

I want to taste the fortune cookie ice cream!

Heavy downpour this evening caused Seremban town to be flooded. I am still looking for information about the flood. My curiosity grows the moment I saw the photo as no news broke out about the flood.

Been in my hometown for years, this is the 'first' time Seremban flooded.

From the photos shared at Facebook, I can say heavy rain caused Sg Temiang, a river runs across the town center to overflow.

#1 Fast flowing water (bottom) with vehicles stranded

#2 People look confusing. Where is the train?

#3 This is called 'river' track

#4 KTM Seremban station

#5 One of the main streets in Seremban

Another video from Facebook http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=341318689236409

I am sure damages from this flood cost more than we can expect. I will be going back to Seremban tomorrow, so make sure no second time *fingers crossed.

Lets hope than local authorities can solve this problem from occurring. And people please stop throwing rubbish into the river!

Probably this is the effect of Water Dragon Year..lol

Disclaimer: All the photos and videos are sourced from Facebook and Twitter. Any misuse of the photos are not intended.

As usual, mom would bake few types of cookies for CNY. Below are some of photos:

#1 Chocolate chips

Tastes like Famous Amos cookies. Crunchy texture with sweet chocolate chip. #Chocolicious

#2 Pineapple tarts

'Ong Lai' tart or pineapple tart is a must have during this festive season. Flaky and buttery biscuit base with pineapple jam topping. Don't you love it?

#3 Seaweed biscuit

It is sort of rare biscuit. The biscuit is mixed with seaweed pieces and topped with the triangular seaweed. It is sweet from first bite and gives hint of saltiness from butter and seaweed. Perfect combination!

#4 Almond flakes biscuit

Mom modified the recipe by adding green pumpkin seeds, from usual almond flakes. It's crispy in nature as the biscuit is thin.

To end this post, I wish 'Gong Xi Fa Chai' to everyone!

Apart from the dragon decoration at Pavilion KL, there is United Buddy Bears (UBB) exhibition up until February 15.

This is part of the world tour *like concert, which started at Berlin 2002.

"We have to get to know each other better ...
... it makes us understand one another better,
trust each other more, and live together more peacefully."

Under this motto, the UBB promote living together in peace and harmony on their global tour. Around 140 Buddy Bears (each 2 m tall) represent as many countries recognised by the United Nations.

Charity: Buddy Bear activities and aid for children in need have formed an inseparable unit. To date, around €1,800,000 (November 2011) have been raised through donations and auctions in aid of UNICEF and local children’s relief organisations.

Source: UBB website 

You can purchase miniature buddy bears, sculptures, coffee mugs, books and posters at here to support this charity drive.

#1 Malaysia's first ever buddy bear

The Malaysia Bear specially designed and painted by renowned Malaysian artist Imuda.

Imuda’s design featured elements of the main races, culture, flora and fauna as well as famous landmarks of Malaysia. The Malaysian Buddy Bear will join the other bears on their globe-trotting mission.

#2 Various 'bears'

The white colour bear (top left) is one of my favourite bears of all.

#3

You can easily spend over 30 minutes to shoot all the bears. And this task is even more difficult when people hug, kiss, stick, 'molest' those sculpture. LOL

I know they are adorable.

Head down to Pavilion KL to catch a glimpse of Buddy Bears if you haven't do so.

Feel so happy when receiving the mail from Mr. Postman. It's from Nuffnang.

I checked out my earnings last November and just received the cheque.

What else to write? Photos time.. what else!

#1 The cover of the mail

#2 Cheque belongs to me

The amount may be small but it's all from my hard work. I don't blog for money from my very first post *sarcastic. Thanks a lot to @NuffnangMY and fellow bloggers for your support.

My resolution is "Blog more this year".

Missed blogging for the last day of 2011. I just don't have enough time. Simple as that :P

I won't recap year 2011, instead I will start off 2012. The list of resolutions normally will pop-up or at least expect fireworks display.

As for me, I went to Kota Tinggi, Johor on New Year's eve and ended up sleeping rather than going for countdown.. lol

Stories about Kota Tinggi in the next few posts. *promise

How about yours? Going for mass celebration at Sungei Wang, The Curve or any other place?



Hope it's not to late to wish 'Happy New Year' to blog readers and everyone!

Should the world comes to an end, let it be :)

For Christmas eve, I and my family decided to celebrate at Resorts World Genting (formely known as Genting Highlands).

We booked the Genting Golden Package which costs RM47 for Return Express Bus Transfer, Skyway and choice of Outdoor Theme Park or Buffet Lunch at Coffee Terrace.

Coffee Terrace offers buffet dining from breakfast to dinner and ala-carte menu. It has six major cuisine/kitchens to choose from; Local Favorites, Nyonya, Chinese, Western, Japanese, and Western Asian.

#1

#2 Pay before you eat!

The price of buffet lunch before tax is RM55.00 (Adult); RM27.50 (Child).

#3 The entrance

#4 The various sections/cuisines

#5 The dining area

We were seated at Lanai Bar where most diners were seated. Coffee Terrace can accommodate up to 600 diners at any one time. Other sections are Private Room, Nyonya Baba Corner and Alfresco Terrace.

#6 Assam Laksa and Satay

Start of with Local Favourites, it offers Chicken Rice, Char Koay Teow and many more. For the Assam Laksa, the gravy is not flavorful enough; lack of spiciness and sourness. The taste of Satay is just average.

#7 Stir Fried Vegetables and Prawn Soup

Next section, Chinese cuisine. They serve 'La Mian', Dim Sum and other dishes where can be found in China and locally. The highlight is Stir Fried Vegetables which is freshly cooked by chef and the Prawn Soup that gives Chinese wine flavor and I guess it is boiled using prawns as the soup is sweet.

#8 Salads and Pastas

In Western section, you can enjoy Pastas, beef sirloin, Salads, buns and etc. The beef sirloin is tender enough and juicy. Olio Spaghetti is a letdown as my fellow blogger, Kelly says NO for it.

#9 Sushi, Wasabi and Japanese pickles

My priority is definitely on this section. It serves Sushi but no Sashimi for that day, thus I was *cursing. Most of the Sushi are average, while the soy sauce; tastes not 'saucy' enough. I never try tried Japanese pickles before, so I just 'stuffed' in.

I tasted Beef Teppanyaki, only cow can chew it, lol. It's overcooked and elastic like rubber.

#10 Cakes and pastry

As you can see, the various type of cakes; Cheese cake, Blueberry, Almond and pastry.

#11 Tiramisu

This Tiramisu is heavenly good where I have to get few rounds of it.

#12 Desserts

Seriously, it looks very nice and appetizing but the taste is another story. Mainly they use cream and syrup to make those beautiful dessert. The Strawberry with Crumbs (top right) is worth to try, it tastes sour and the crumb texture is good.

#13 Chocolate mint and Durian flavor ice-cream

You can get ice-cream at Western food section. Surprisingly good taste.

#14 Fruits

The service of waitress is considered good, where they will clean up those plates and refill glass of water as you eat. But I am dissatisfied with food restock/replenish, especially those Sushi and cakes. They only make effort to restock when the bar is almost empty.

WiFi service is available. Overall the setting of the buffet cafe is neat and comfortable. The choices of food, I will not say wide variety, it's just average.

I did not overeat as it will affect my digestion tract *fml. Food wastage, I can only minimise, not fully eliminate.

Food: 6.5/10
Price: 6/10
Ambience: 7/10
Verdict: A good buffet spread, worth to try.

Coffee Terrace
Lobby Floor, Maxims Genting (Genting Hotel)
Operating Hours: 24 hours (details)
Contact no: 03- 6101 1118