My vision of Reimagining Energy.

With the hope of glamour and glory I dig deep into the dearth of my mobile memory to find an image taken recently during our recent Chinese New Year celebration at work that would depict the theme of the PETRONAS CNY Photography contest.

Fortunately I captured an image during the Yee Sang tossing, amidst attempting to repeat the Chinese wishes as facilitated by the MC of the evening.

Yee Sang tossing apparently is a must during CNY celebrations. The action itself symbolizes wishing for another great year filled with abundance and prosperity.

But seeing a group of friends and family sharing a dish, tossing away (without any spills mind you!), I also think about unity! Aaaah... isn’t that worthy of a “PETRONAS TVC” like moment in it’s own way???

Here’s my humble mobile shot, my one shot at popularity, fame and prosperity… 

Title: Unity Energizes Prosperity

Category : Mobile

Welcoming the Golden Dragon – PETRONAS style.

Any Malaysian would be no stranger to PETRONAS’ out of the box ad campaigns. So much so that each festive season, we would be looking forward to their TV commercials.

For the recent Chinese New Year celebrations to usher in the year of the Golden Dragon, PETRONAS has produced  some heart warming TV commercials that were shot in several countries.

If you missed them… check them out here:

CNY_TVC1      CNY_TVC2      CNY_TVC3     CNY_TVC4

“The TVC is meant to celebrate not just the Year of the Dragon, but the spirit of perseverance, adaptability and determination as captured in each of the stories it depicts.    This energy is something that should inspire us all as we navigate through the challenges we face in life,” said PETRONAS’ Senior General Manager of Group Corporate Affairs Division Dato Mohammad Medan Abdullah during the recent PETRONAS CNY event that was held last Tuesday at Galeri PETRONAS.

In conjunction with that, PETRONAS has also collaborated with Leica Camera AG and organized a photography contest themed “Reimagining Energy^TM “. 

To participate, all you need to do is to capture your CNY moments that best reflect the spirit of “Reimagining Energy^TM“ and to submit your photos at PETRONAS’ Facebook page and stand a chance to win great prizes.

If you have absolutely no clue what kind of pictures to submit, here’s an idea as explained by Dato Mohammad Medan, “Energy is everywhere, in everything we do, and especially at this time. It could be the excitement and the bonding during the reunion dinner, or it could be the hustle and bustle of shopping for and decorating the home. It could even be a portrait of the wise grandfather of the family, or a picture of the lanterns that light up our cities”. 

So start snapping people! Besides the promise of prizes, (if that does not entice you enough) what about the prospect of having your memorable shot being displayed and exhibited at Galeri PETRONAS? Hmmm, does that get you “energized” (no pun intended here)?

For budding photographers out there, PETRONAS will also be conducting photography workshops at selected schools and colleges. This is to develop the skills of the younger generation, to express themselves through photography.

The “Coming Home” TVC will air from 17^th January until 6^th February 2012. For more exciting surprises, the public may visit PETRONAS’ YouTube page.

Spritzer Dispenser - Simple Yet Divine

Simply divine new Spritzer Mini Dispenser will ensure that you shall obtain the best of spritzer bottled mineral water anywhere with simply divine ease & convenience!

Spritzer Group – the most integrated and largest bottled water producer in Malaysia is now introducing their largest pack size bottled water – in 6L and 9.5L in eco-friendly PET bottles.

Their unique newly patented design with spill proof caps will ensure that it solves all spilling issues on replacing the empty bottle. No spills & No hassle. Simple yet Divine!

With this feature in mind, Spritzer water dispenser makes the possibility of having good quality bottled or mineral water much easier to be supplied be it for your home, office or hotel guestroom or even outdoor activities. Spritzer mini dispenser will assure that you would have an easy and convenient supply of highest quality water from an independent source. We no longer need to worry about any water filter malfunction or a water supply shortage, lack of water pressure and any other troubles that could arise from the normal water filter.

I had the opportunity to “test drive” the Spritzer Water Dispenser at the comfort of my own home just recently.

                                                                        

 Spritzer Mini Dispenser – the contraption consists of only 2 items:

1)      The lightweight mini dispenser – which is a patented design that is easy for moving.

2)      9.5L eco-friendly PET bottles

Here is a step by step instruction of how I assembled this Spritzer Mini Dispenser myself.

I could actually lift the 9.5L bottle up (that by the way is not a restrained and forced smile).

Lifting out the lightweight mini dispenser from the box.

Out of the plastic packaging.  (Yes, I can be quite detail when I want to!)

  

Simple lightweight contraption.

Pick a spot to place the Spritzer Mini Dispenser.

 Moving on to the bottled water - Peel off the sticker on the cap.

Like so…

There is a safety spill proof cap under the sticker seal. This will ensure that the bottle will be easily transferred onto the dispenser.

All that is left to be done is to place the bottle onto the waiting dispenser

One can do so even while smiling at the camera

I am just making sure that I have placed it securely. You will know once that it is secured, the water will bubble up a little when the spill proof cap is penetrated.

Mission completion - without fuss!

Now all that is left to be done is to pick your favourite glass to begin enjoying Spritzer!

Just to prove that it is even easy to be moved after assembly, I even lifted the dispenser and bottle to another part of my kitchen where it is more accessible.

So, think no more if you are looking for a portable, lightweight mini dispenser.

Spritzer Mini Dispenser is now only available in Giant, Cold Storage & selected petrol kiosk.

Note: Spritzer advocates, "Not all bottled waters are the same." For the protection of Spritzer customers and in line with the Malaysian Food Act and Regulation, Spritzer bottled waters are clearly distinguished by their caps - white for drinking water and assorted colored for natural mineral water.

Please see below for: Spritzer 9.5L and 6L with mini dispenser series available in stores.

Kids Eat Right With NATUREL - Bento Workshop

 As a working mother of 3 children (aged 10, 7 and 3) I am always faced with a challenge when preparing meals at home. I need to ensure that what I prepare first and foremost would “look” appetizing in their eyes but of course contains all the nutrition required by growing up children and well balanced, and not to mention does not take forever to prepare.

When I got the invite to attend a NATUREL Bento workshop at Bayan Indah with the knowledge that there would also be a Consultant Dietician who would be discussing Eating Right Meals for Kids I was estatic. Firstly, it would not be my first experience at Bayan Indah and cooking “with” Rohani Jelani (read: learning to cook with RJ). I attended a bread making workshop at her lovely home about 4 years ago, and fell head over heals in love with her whole house, especially the kitchen and pantry.  Therefore, an opportunity to join a cooking workshop at her place, I would be crazy to say no, wouldn’t I?  Secondly, it’s a BENTO workshop, bearing in mind I had no clue whatsoever what BENTO is, apart from a tray like boxy meal that I have come across in food courts at the mall. I’m guessing something Japanese! I like Japanese cuisine, so yeah sure why not. Finally, since there will be a discussion thrown in about ensuring cooking the right meals for kids I was ready to have a wonderful learning experience last Tuesday… and learned I did (with loads of fun and goodies brought home)!

The lovely  Indra and  Rohani Jelani with us the early birds:  yours truly and Pat (of onabentofrenxy.blogspot.com)

I was the first blogger to arrive, hi!hi! That’s enthusiasm for you… plus I also checked out the location of Bayan Indah 2 weekends earlier to ensure that I would not get lost on that day! Since I was early, I had a good look around at Bayan Indah, after 4 years, a lot has been done to the place, I even managed to say hi to RJ beforehand and to declare to her I’m a returning fan to find out from herself  the major upgrades that has happened to Bayan Indah since I was last there. So, the kitchen just got bigger and jaw dropping better, and the pantry just left me speechless!!! She has also turned what was previously her living quarters upstairs into a B&B (as she modestly put it), but it’s a resort standard for your information!!! Right, for those who are not familiar with RJ, she is a food consultant & founder of the Bayan Indah Culinary Retreat. She has been writing recipes for publication for over 20 years. After graduating from the London Cordon Bleu Cookery School in the mid-eighties, she worked in commercial kitchens as a pastry cook before pursuing a career in journalism, cooking for and styling the food pages for a leading English language women’s magazine. Now, RJ provides recipe consultation and food styling services to food companies, restaurants and magazines.

This Bento workshop is a product of RJ’s collaboration with NATUREL, where she has designed some creative but simple (read: simple yet divine J) recipes to provide solution for mothers to help children eat right through a healthy and balanced meal.  NATUREL Blend Cooking Oil is a blend of canola and sunflower seed oils. It contains Omega 3 and Omega 6 which are Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) that cannot be produced in the body and must be obtained from food. EFA is essential for normal growth in children, and in aiding regular cardiovascular and neurological function. The food prepared using NATUREL oils (NATUREL Cooking oil, NATUREL Olive Oil and NATUREL margarine) do not lose its taste and texture even when kept refrigerated for a few days. This makes it ideal to help mothers (like me) to prepare hassle-free meals.

Before we started the hands on cooking session, there was a 30 minutes interactive presentation by Indra Balaratnam, a consultant Dietician who touched on “ Healthy Eating Habits, Meals and the right portion sizes for kids”. Indra currently runs her own dietetic practice, based in Kuala Lumpur which she started 10 years ago. She specializes in dietary counseling to patients on how to improve their diets to better manage their chronic diseases and she also undertakes special projects consulting multinational food companies, industrial caterers and private schools on nutrition quality and menu planning. Indra stressed on the importance of good nutrition for kids which are :
1) for energy 
2) for physical growth and 
3) for mental development .

Essentially mothers like me should ensure our children also have a balanced diet (in the right portion sizes) that consists of a variety of different food from the 5 food groups as presented in the The Malaysian Food Guide Pyramid as shown here in order to get the most vitamins and minerals.

NATUREL worked with Rohani Jelani and Indra to come up with wonderfully simple yet divine recipes NATUREL-ly using NATUREL cooking oil that we had a chance to prepare during the workshop. The recipes that we tried were Baked Doughnuts, Prawn & Spring Onion Omelette with Rice Cakes, Rainbow Cake and Pasta bows with chicken and tofu patties.

Rohani briefing us on the recipe that we will be working on before

we started our culinary experience in her kitchen.

This is her lovely open plan kitchen, only a portion of it.

You must try one of her cooking lessons at Bayan Indah one day.

My Workstation - all manners of kitchen gadget and essentials to work with.

NATUREL cooking oil and NATUREL Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Our key ingredients for our meal preparation.

I am preparing the prawns for my Prawns and Spring Onions Omelette – Bento Style.

My cooking partner Shasha – preparing the batter for Baked Doughnuts.

Rohani giving us tips and tricks to preparing our recipes.

This is the way you prepare the omelette – slow and easy.

The omelette is then place on a bamboo (sushi-making) mat, to roll the omelette in.

Let the omelette cool before cutting into slices. 

Leave the omelette to cool before cutting into slices.

Like so...

My NATUREL Bento done!

Shasha’s finished doughnuts… yummy!

Even though, each person prepares one dish, we all get to take home

some dish prepared by others.

All neatly BENTO-ed in these lovely Rubbermaid food containers.

Group picture at the end of the cooking session.

NATUREL-ly I had a divine time at the workshop learning lots of new things, getting new ideas about meal preparation for my children and not to mention making new blogger friends. Bringing home a huge goody bag was of course a welcomed bonus – NATUREL-ly!