Sydney Day 3

Its the third day, taking things slow now. Woke up late, decided to drive to Hawkesbury Turf Club which was having its race day today. Its about 65km away and a nice leisurely drive through the suburbs. 











In Malaysia there are just 3 turf clubs. Two in HK. In the state of NSW alone, there are 4 city tracks (bigger races, Canterbury, Rosehill, Randwick and Warwick Farm) and 4 provincial tracks (Illawara, Hawkesbury, Newcastle, Gosford). They really love their racing in Australia. Now multiply that with the other states, thats why you have horse racing everyday, plus greyhounds and harness (trotting).

Its very nice to drive to a provincial track, the people are very laid back, everyone comes dressed casual, drink lots of beer and wine and families wander around the track having picnics. Plus you get to see real horses racing and you can have a bet as well. You get to see more country folks at provincial tracks and its kinda nice.

Prior to that, headed to Marrickville (about 25 minutes from the city, an enclave of Aussies from Vietnam) to get my fill of pho. They do this very nicely thanks to great tasting OZ beef. Side note, OZ chicken dishes are tasteless, take anything with chicken its tasteless due to the "healthy feed" for the chicken.

If you visit Sydney, you will inevitably visit Star City, the casino. There are plenty of good places to eat there. The hard to book a seat, Momofuku is here. Failing that, you should at least try the Messina gelato, unbelievably good.

The famed patisserie Adriano Zumbo is here as well. His shop is quirky, he has revolving small desserts much like the sushi revolving thing that you can pick and eat.

Possibly catching Legally Blonde the musical sometime later in the week.

Sydney Day 2

Gee, this travel blogging is not exactly a lot of fun. Had to send photos from my I-phone (which does not take sufficiently good photos like the new Samsung phone) to my email before I could post about it. The first photo is the beautiful QVB, wonderfully restored by Ipoh Gardens, a fact not known by many people.

The 3 levels huge Apple store on George Street, eternally packed. No, I did not buy the new mini I-pad. Tempted though.

Anyway, tried to do all my shopping needs in one afternoon. 

Another mega store, Louis Vuitton, thankfully, no need to buy anything there for anybody (gulp).

The ravishingly beautiful and large Zara store.

So what did I buy? Stuff I couldn't get back home. Bought tons of stuff from Dymocks Bookstore.

 This one even our wonderful piracy industry did not put it in their list. Its probably the funniest series made in recent times. So glad to snare these two DVDs.



Yes, I have a strong penchant for horse racing and horse racing personalities and stories. More wonderful books to add to my reading list.

Went to my usual pizza parlour, as long as they made a decent pizza, I always have my own alacarte order: tomato paste, cheese, pineapples, garlic, chilli oil and anchovies ... mamma mia!!!

Took my pizza to Watson's Bay or better known as The Gap. There had been too many suicide attempts in the past that they had to put up fences and signs like this around the place.

Anyone who was an overseas  student in Sydney for the past 30 years would have eaten at this place in Chinatown. Its called Minh Hai and they serve this huge crispy grilled maryland chicken with rice, sauce and soup. Nostalgia food.
  

Towards the evening, ended at the only casino game I willingly play, Texas Holdem. At least we do not lost to the casino (they just take a cut of the pool) but to one another. Thats my table. Did OK, left after 3 hours, tired already. Yes, the table had 7 Asians and one gwailo.

Sydney Day 1 (Morning/Noon)

Great smooth flight, nary a hitch, the winds were behind us all the way we made the trip in 6 hr 50 min instead of 8 hr, amazing. Taxi cab flag fall was at A$3.80 (RM12.50) and the 12km trip to Kings Cross cost A$52 (RM165). Nice...




















Now time to pick up my car rental. If you plan to drive, you should anyway, its brilliant and you cannot get a better deal than Bayswater Car Rental, the one with the "No Birds" tagline. Don't ask why they have that tagline. All in it only cost A$33 odd per day inclusive of insurance.

The guy at the front desk was from Thailand, we chatted about Thai politics, and then gave me a really good deal. The car I have had JUST 12km on it, ...  it came in yesterday. Now I know what its like to be a high ranking UMNO-putra seeking out corporate deals from Ministry of Finance and EPU.

Landed a bit too early to check in the hotel, so grabbed a hot ham and cheese croissant from Infinity Bakery @ Darlinghurst, plus a flat white and headed for Centennial Park, should be sparse this early in the morning. What better way to enjoy breakie than with the animals and fauna.

Some friends commented why go to Sydney during summer ... well cause the weather's perfect, December/Jan are the worst months. Nov is still good, landed in the morning with 18C, sun shining bright, no sweating 24C in afternoon .... dipping to 18C by 6pm and probably 14C come midnight.

Finally checked in, many wondered why I did not stay in the city. Its silly to stay in the city, parking is horrendous, probably cost you A$80 a day. I am staying at Coogee, Crowne Plaza, have a look at the view from my room, the  you'd understand why. Anyway, its just 20 minutes from the city.

Sydney Confidential

I will be making a quick trip to Sydney, flying off tonight. It was kinda last minute as I had not planned to do so. However, my closest auntie just had a minor operation so I thought it was best to make the trip with the stretch of holidays this coming week. 

I used to go to Sydney every year but haven't been doing so as my last trip was some 3 years ago. The majority of my relatives are in Sydney and most do come back to visit anyway. 

Another reason to get away was that I can sense too many things happening around me all at once, most of them good stuff. Its good to get away and stand back and refresh, to look at things anew. Things couldn't be better at Murasaki ts, while its hectic, and while waiting for the office to be fully renovated, its my last chance to get away for sometime as I will be pouring myself back into the mix later on.

I thought I will try to do a travel blog for the next 7 days for this trip, see whether I can cut it as a travel blogger for a change. I kinda know Sydney very well as I was driving a taxi during my university days, all in I studied and worked there for almost 10 years. 

Yes, the first question everyone ask when I say that is why did I come back. I was too young and while I love Sydney, its not my backyard. I like the transparent and incisive newspapers, but most of the news articles were not about the people I really cared about. Maybe in my naive ways, I wanted to see what I can do for my country. 

Realistically, the bulk of the businesses in developed countries like Australia belonged to the big corporations. It is not entrepreneurial enough. In Malaysia, you can come up with a good idea and find funding relatively easily. Heck, you may even get to have an appointment with the CEO of most top 100 companies in Malaysia after just one or two layers of contact and networking, something you cannot possibly dream of doing in Australia.

So, in my rush, I packed packs of heong paeng (from Ipoh) and two packs of freshly ground almond powder. Its my second time bringing over the powder, I always like the look on the faces of the Customs and Immigration officers when I show them the packets of powder, so blatant, looking so much like cocaine...lol.

Why Obama Matters

Spent nearly the whole day following the US elections, why you might ask. If we were to have a global elections between Obama and Romney, I bet you it would be a landslide favouring Obama. The USA represents democracy for the rest of the world. Most citizens of other countries would watch and hope that the election and political processes in their own country may one day somehow live up to the US standard.

Obama is more than just the leader of the free world. He represents more than that. He made the world less racial. He represents the blurring of how people are treated badly because of the colour of their skin or where they are from. Although far from supporting GLT rights outright, the Democrats is the better of the two. It is a more enveloping and compassionate platform.It embraces.

On the fiscal and economic issues, Obama has done decently after taking over the legacy of issues from the Bush administration. Many things have been done but the real recovery will be slow. You cannot possibly do that overnight, no one can. Hence the re-election is all the more significant in that the economy isn't that well yet.

How will the markets take the Obama win? Markets would have preferred a Romney victory but an Obama victory is also not that bad. The first issue they have to address will be the fiscal cliff coming due in January 2013. It is likely something will be worked out, which will propel markets higher then. There is still tons of liquidity on the sidelines.

To Mitt Romney, who put up a good fight but his platform wasn't that different enough, plus he wasn't clear enough in supporting immigration, illegal aliens, GLT issues and the financial proposals lacked thoroughness and details. Still Mitt, look on the bright side, you could have also been an Astro employee with tons of IPO shares on margin.

Street Vendors / Local Farmers

This may be a small thing but we should really make it a concious effort on our part. Always try to buy from street vendors and local farmers plying their trade in a stand alone kerb stall. Their margins are low, they are trying to cut out the middleman, they are trying to cut out the wholesalers and distributors. They are trying to mitigate the effects of big bulk discount supermarkets. Of course I am not talking about those Petaling Street stalls that sell fake goods with 500% mark ups and they expect to be bargained down more than 50% anyways.

When you see genuine street vendors "making their own stuff", cooking their own food for sale, or local farmers plying their produce, .... try and buy from them, and try not to bargain. The same ringgit usually means more to someone than to us. Be thankful that we may have a job, a network or an education and work experience that allow us to make money much easier than a lot of other people. Being thankful is one thing, trying to be a good custodian of our good fortune and good things that come to us is another.

Have a good day....

Before Halle, There Was Vanessa

Most readers would readily acknowledge that Halle Berry is the prettiest African American woman around. But before there was Halle, there was Vanessa Williams. I think Vanessa's story and career are so much more exciting and eventful. Plus she got talent.



Born in March 1963, she made headlines as the first African American woman to be crowned Miss America back in 1983. Fairytale right?! Wrong, she was later forced to renounce her title after Penthouse bought and published naked photos of Vanessa. To me that is a sham. Its like giving the Nobel Prize for physics to Einstein for E=mc2, and then taking it away from him cause he posed naked for Men's Health prostrate cancer issue.


Yes, such titles may have some sort of decorum for behaviour but naked pics are not such a big thing. Its not illegal, even  if you did something illegal like kill somebody ... I doubt they would take away her title. Killing somebody is OK but nude pics are a no-no. What a pretentious Puritanical society we like to think we have - and we like to impose those stupid rules on others instead of trying to live our own lives well.

Never mind, most people in Vanessa's position would have shrivelled into a cave and hid. Not her. In 5-8 years after that she morphed into a wonderful singer with multiple number ONES.


Then she went into acting in movies such as Eraser and Dance With Me. B grade type of movies that did not really let her shine. But its television that caused her star to rise again ... After multiple lack lustre movie roles, she then captured everybody's attention as the self absorbed megalomaniac ex-supermodel Wilhelmina Slater with absolute conviction and aplomb in Ugly Betty. She got 3 Emmy nominations for that.


What a lady, what a woman!

Possibly The Best Indian Mamak Rojak

Trying not to say this or that is the best anymore ... taste is so subjective. However, many of you would swear that this ROJAK place is the tops. No need to argue, the queue says it all. Be early (3pm) and the queue will always be at least 5-6 people deep, be late and you will enjoy an even longer line.

Rojak is rojak, it all comes down to the "fried stuff", how crunchy and flavoursome, and their keropok is something else ... its thin and when you dip into the sauce, its magic. The other main ingredient for a good rojak is the sauce, not too sweet with the right chilli kick.

Empurau ... Baby!!!

Had a special treat last night a few friends from Sarawak came over and brought a 5kg Empurau fish as well. we had it cooked at Unique Seafood SS23 and it was wonderful. Even with 13 people, we couldn't really finish the fish (as there were other dishes as well).

In case you were wondering, thats just one fish sliced into two. My friend got it from friends of an estate who caught it from a river. He probably got it for a couple of thousand ringgit. If Unique Seafood had an Empurau this size, they'd probably retail it at RM8,000 or more.

The scales were fried as probably they were too thick to be eaten off the fish being a 5kg fish. The last Empurau I had we ate the scales off the fish and they were wonderful.

While eating a 5kg fish was unique, I think the best size for an Empurau is probably 1.5kg-2kg. Still a fabulous treat.

Asia's IB & Equities Business Levelling Out

FINANCEASIA: Asia’s investment banking industry has changed dramatically during the past four years. The ready supply of equity deals that once attracted banks from all around the world is now a shadow of what it once was. So far this year, equity deals have generated fewer fees for banks than advising on mergers and acquisitions, according to Dealogic.

That is quite a change. As recently as 2009, equity capital markets made up a whopping 69% of Asia’s investment banking wallet. During the bumper harvest of 2010, equity deals generated roughly $3 billion in fees, while this year Asia ECM is on target to earn around a third of that. Put simply, nobody is making any money.

Fees are down, but banks are still over-staffed for the level of activity. Everyone is chasing the same deals, which generally means that there is less to go round. The desperation is a sure sign that more cuts are on the cards. According to some, headcount may still need to come down by as much as a quarter.

“People are sitting around doing nothing,” said one senior banker last week. “The good ones are asking us when the next round of cuts is coming — they want us to do it sooner rather than later.”

The question facing Asia’s investment bank chiefs is whether today’s low level of activity is a permanent adjustment, or whether the flow of initial public offerings will one day return.

Most are betting that this is the new normal and that the years of bloated fees from China ECM deals were the anomaly. The more optimistic are even inclined to accept this as a healthy development.

“If you look at the breakdown of fees across the businesses in Asia today, it looks very similar to our business in New York,” said the banker. “It looks sustainable.”

That’s true. The fee pie is a picture of neatness — roughly one-third M&A, one-third ECM and the remaining third split evenly between debt capital markets and leveraged finance. If banks can reduce their costs and some of the less competitive players exit, as expected, the industry may return to an even keel.

The challenge is choosing where to find the savings amid the egos and personal fiefdoms of the region’s most senior bankers. With the benefit of hindsight, cutting in China rather than Southeast Asia would have been a profitable move at the start of this year because, if 2012 is indicative of the future, Asian investment banking is no longer just a China story. During the first three quarters of 2012, China accounted for less than half the Asia ex-Japan fee pool.

Yet some banks have struggled to cut their losses there, thanks in part to the years of plenty that went before. Most of the profits earned during the past few years came from China, which means there were plenty of powerful voices steering the cuts towards other parts of the business during the first round of cuts.

A lot of the over-staffing in Asia is obviously at the more junior levels. Bankers found it easy to argue for bigger teams when they were earning huge fees, and jobs were handed out liberally to many a nephew of someone or other. So there is still plenty of room to cut costs, but the next round may also see some more senior names let go as banks are forced to take some of the tough decisions that they have so far dodged.

How they manage that process could set the tone for how their business will perform during the next few years. Welcome to the new normal.

Best Chapati Ever??? What About The Curries & Dips??? ... Teh Tarik Too???

Since I am not a young ciku anymore, and since I love Indian food (southern northern whatever), I guess I have tasted quite a bit of Indian food. But its always a big danger to claim this is the best of whatever ..., because statistically we cannot make that claim till one has tried all that is out there ... and even then, there will one or two buggers who will say their mum makes it best.

So, here goes nothing and everything, the best ever chapati I have tasted (and accompanying dips and curries as well) belongs to Restoran Santa Sweet House @ Jalan Sarikei, next to Tawakal Hospital.



Chapati is such a simple thing, how to be the best? One, straight off the pan piping hot, pick your chapati straight from the pan. Two, its the thinnest chapati ever, really really thin, I don't know how the guy does it. Three, sufficiently crispy on the outside and because its thin you don't get the doughy feel at all.

You can have it with their famous dhal or their even more famous sardine curry. The sardine curry has the right touch of spices and sweated onions that kinda pops in your mouth in a refreshing way.




The mutton curry is very very good as well.

But you know what was the best discovery ... its their teh tarik ... I can verify its the most pleasant one I ever had because they use fresh cow's milk..... OMG its that good.

I guess when the owner is a hands on guy, ultimate nice guy .... and you taste the chapati, ....  if one can ensure that the simplest thing on their menu is already so damn good, you can bet that the rest would be deserving of equal grand treatment under the auspices of the owner.

Must try everything, the gulab jamun and osen chicken sambal are divine as well.

Yes, too good to be true, so many wonderful stuff all under one roof. Plus its a very muhibbah place too, all Malaysians once having taken their seats nod knowingly to one another, ...  that "hey, so we are dining at the best place money can buy of chapati and curries" look.



No 15, Jalan Sarikei, Off Jalan Pahang
53100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Phone: Joe- 0162648836; Gopi- 0149263052

Chart Of The Day

We all know what Microsoft stands for, milking the one main product which wasn't really theirs to start off with forever ... well, the end is near. Apple which nearly collapsed many times till Steve Jobs returned to the fold, is now officially the most valuable company in the world, surpassing Microsoft two years ago and has never looked back.

As of yesterday, another behemoth has gone past Microsoft, Google.