Rabu, 20 Februari 2013

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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The Malaysian Insider :: Food

Sailing into the Chinese New Year at Extra Supertanker

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 04:44 PM PST

Lou Sang with a new twist. No artificial colouring found here... everything is au natural.

PETALING JAYA, Feb 21 – Everything was au naturel in the Yee Sang, with artificial colouring in the ginger pickles or crispies. There was also a new twist to the dish at Extra Supertanker – instead of salmon we had crispy white bait poured over the Yee Sang as we were tossing it.

This was to make sure the white bait stayed crunchy when we ate it. Tart, lightly sweet and nutty, the Yee Sang was delicious.

Although it's the last week of Chinese New Year, some of the specially created and auspiciously named dishes here will remain on its a la carte menu and will be available even after the festive season.

The Two Style Turbot is yummy... even the bones can be crunched and eaten.

The Two-Style Turbot may be called just that instead of the fancy "Yat Farn Foong Soon", which means "everything will be smooth sailing." Here you have the turbot fillets stir fried with black fungus, eringi mushroom and ginger slices, splashed with a little Chinese wine. The bones are deepfried and also served as the second style.

The first style expresses the clear sweet flavours of this Icelandic fish, the second lets you crunch on the crispy bones, so that nothing is left on the plate.

Bird's Nest Soup is usually a dessert but here it has been turned into a soup with crabmeat and crab roe. It tasted amazing and luxurious, the smooth blobs of bird's nest nudging gently against your palate as you sip the soup.

There are whole chunks of fresh, sweet crabmeat in it and lovely roe too. It's soup to send you soaring to the highest level in your career, if the auspicious name for this is to be believed.

The Bird's Nest Soup is a great alternative to shark's fin, and it's on the regular menu.

Yam Treasure Trove... a must-try dish.

The Yam Treasure Trove is irresistible for the thick ring of yam filled in the centre with stirfried broccoli, sugar snaps, cashewnuts, ginger, carrot, waterchestnuts, mushrooms, celery and fish paste. The soft, sticky yam is a contrast to the fried pieces of bouncy fish paste, crunchy waterchestnuts, vegetables and nuts.

Sea Cucumber is "hoi sum" in Cantonese, which sounds like the word for happiness and this accounts for its popularity during Chinese New Year. Here we get served with a big, thick sea cucumber stuffed with fresh scallops, carrot, mushroom, celery, sugar snaps and water chestnut.

Tiger Prawns with Chef's Special Sauce symbolises lots of laughter, as in "Hee Har Tai Siu." The sauce is chilli hot, sweet and gingery, but it was a little too intense and I felt it overwhelmed the prawns.

I would go for the Claypot Braised Lamb which is unapologetic in its heavy, garlicky and spiced nuances. The lamb is tender and I detected the fragrance of limau purut leaf as well. It tastes even better when the meat is dipped into a fu yue or fermented beanpaste sauce.

The Lap Mei Farn here is cooked with Thai fragrant rice, with knobs of arrowroot or ngah koo in it. All the wonderful aromas of the sauce from the waxed meats and sausages waft up as the rice is stirred up and served with a platter of pork and liver sausages, waxed duck and pork.

Deepfried Nin Ko with Yam and Pumpkin is a popular Chinese New Year dessert.

Dessert is Nin Ko with Yam and Pumpkin. I was surprised to hear that the nin ko is from Thailand, but it's gooey, caramelly and so delicious fried in this way.

We also had a healthy and delicious Double-boiled Snow Pear with Hasma, Chinese almonds and red dates. I could almost feel my skin getting smoother with each sip!

The Lou Sang with White Bait is RM68 for a half portion, and RM88 for a full portion, Bird's Nest Soup with Crabmeat RM48 per bowl, Turbot RM12.80 per 100g, Yam Treasure Trove RM68 (large), Stuffed Sea Cucumber RM200, Braised Lamb RM80, Tiger Prawns RM10 per 100g, Lap Mei Farn RM95 (large), Nin Ko RM4 a piece (minimum 4 pieces), Double-boiled Snow Pear RM16.

Extra Supertanker is well-known for its Lap Mei Farn... seen here before the waxed meats are put in.

Extra Supertanker is located at 48, SS20/10, Damansara Kim, 47400 Petaling Jaya. Tel: 03-7726 7768, 7726 7769. It's also at No 1 Club Drive, Bukit Utama, 47800 Petaling Jaya. Tel: 03-7726 8877

What the stars will be eating on Oscar night?

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 03:33 PM PST

Chef Wolfgang Puck is at the helm of his 19th Oscars party. – AFP pic

LOS ANGELES, Feb 21 – For the 19th year in a row, caterer to the stars Wolfgang Puck will be at the helm of arguably the most glamorous event in the world when he feeds the Hollywood glitterati foods like mini Kobe burgers and chicken pot pie with shaved black truffles.

The menu for the Governor's Ball, the post-Oscar celebration, sticks to Puck's tried and true repertoire, diverging little from last year's selection of eats.

Like last year, Puck will be serving a souped-up version of chicken pot pie topped with generous black truffles for the 1,500 guests expected to attend.

As guests mix under a 37-metre crystal chandelier and mingle around a 5-metre tall golden Oscar in the centre of the ballroom floor, servers will offer smoked salmon Oscar hors d'oeuvres, mini Kobe sliders with aged cheddar and remoulade, Japanese peach salad, steamed red snapper with Thai spice, and tuna Niçoise with green olives.

Vegan options include kale salad with grilled artichoke and lemon vinaigrette, beluga lentils with cauliflower and baby vegetables, and farro with apple, beet and spiced walnuts.

For dessert, Puck is offering shaved ice cream and Concorde grape.

The 85th annual Academy Awards airs Sunday on US network ABC at 7pm EST and will be televised live in countries around the world. – AFP-Relaxnews

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

Milan strangles Barcelona in shock win

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 03:23 PM PST

Match winners Boateng Muntari ecstatic at the end of the match at home in their San Siro stadium. — Reuters pic

MILAN, Feb 21 — Barcelona's hopes for a treble were hanging in the balance after they were strategically outplayed in a 2-0 defeat by AC Milan in their Champions League last-16 first-leg match yesterday.

Second-half goals by Ghanaians Kevin-Prince Boateng and Sulley Muntari left Barcelona with a huge task in the second leg after a night when Lionel Messi was conspicuously quiet for the Catalans.

Barcelona were fuming about the first goal when the ball appeared to strike the hand of Cristian Zapata before it ricocheted into the path of Boateng to fire home in the 57th minute.

There was no doubt about the second, however, as Stephan El Shaarawy lifted the ball up for Muntari to volley past the helpless Victor Valdes with 10 minutes left.

La Liga leaders and Copa del Rey semi-finalists Barcelona, who failed to score for only the second time this season, dominated the first half in typical fashion but struggled to get past Milan's two lines of four defenders.

The Catalans' starting line-up featured 10 players from their youth academy and nine internationals with world and European champions Spain.

They were facing a Milan side patched together during the course of the season after a firesale of top players during the off season to help balance the books.

The contrast was apparent in the first half as Barca passed the ball around with amazing speed and accuracy with an almost telepathic understanding.

Milan's approach was much more haphazard as they struggled to string passes together, lost possession in key areas of midfield and thumped hopeful balls forward.

"The result is what it is. We had the game under control, although admittedly we didn't create too many clear chances and neither did they," Barcelona's interim coach Jordi Roura, standing in for Tito Vilanova who is recovering from throat surgery, told a news conference.

"We hoped we could wear them down. Their first goal was an isolated attack following a shot and a rebound.

"It's a bad result but I'm absolutely convinced that we can turn this around in the second leg with the support of our crowd."

Allegri unmoved

Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri was typically unflappable.

"The boys deserved this result. They didn't give anything away at a defensive level and they made the most of the chances we had," he said in his usual monotone.

"We made some mistakes in the first half but we improved a lot in the second... the tie is very open."

Milan, who failed to win in their previous seven meetings with Barcelona, fired an early warning shot when Muntari went close with a dipping 30-metre volley which flew over the crossbar after five minutes.

El Shaarawy should have done better when he was sent clear by Kevin-Prince Boateng's flicked pass but failed to control the ball as he raced towards goal, allowing Carles Puyol to intercept.

From the corner, Boateng, who played for Ghana at the 2010 World Cup, hooked the ball just wide of the far post, giving Barca another scare.

Barca, who could have had a penalty when Dani Alves' whipped cross clearly hit Philippe Mexes' outstretched arm, took control with their familiar slick passing.

But they did not create many openings with Messi repeatedly blocked out by a pack of defenders who hounded him every time he got the ball.

The second half started with more Barcelona possession before Milan struck the first blow. A short free kick was played by Riccardo Montolivo, his low shot struck Jordi Alba, ricocheted against Zapata and fell to Boateng to sweep into the goal.

Barca protested furiously, clearly unsettled and the match degenerated into a niggly affair, with the visitors infuriating the crowd at one point by keeping possession after a drop ball.

Andres Iniesta was close to equalising with a shot which swerved wide while an out-of-sorts Messi blasted a free kick high into the stands.

Instead, Milan added another when Muntari sent the 75,000 crowd into raptures with a stunning finish to an excellent move.

"We did not play with our usual fluidity," added Roura. "We did not create the chances we normally create. I don't think it's correct to talk about the referee."

The return leg is on March 12. — Reuters

Serena pulls out from Dubai with back injury

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 07:58 AM PST

Serena Williams of the U.S. listens during a news conference at the WTA Dubai Tennis Championships in Dubai February 20, 2013. — Reuters pic

DUBAI, Feb 20 — Serena Williams withdrew from the Dubai Championships because of a lower back injury just minutes before she was due on court for a second round match against Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli today.

The American's withdrawal means that the world's two best players are both out of the tournament after Victoria Azarenka, who beat Williams in the Qatar Open final on Sunday, also pulled out earlier in the week with a foot injury.

Williams, the newly installed world number one, aims to return at the Sony Ericsson Open, which starts in Miami on March 18.

"I've just had some back problems the past couple weeks," Williams told a hastily arranged press conference.

"I thought it would get better as the week went on but it didn't. I don't want to keep pushing it and make it worse."

Williams, 31, said her back also troubled her in last week's Qatar Open.

"It's not at a level where I can compete where I feel comfortable to not make it worse," said Williams, who came on court to apologise to fans for her abrupt withdrawal.

The American's problems appear to stem from January's Australian Open, where she suffered a shock quarterfinal loss to US teenager Sloane Stephens, having been forced to briefly leave the court for medical treatment after jarring her back.

Bartoli will now play former world number one Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals after the Dane routed Chinese qualifier Zheng Jie 6-0 6-1. — Reuters

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

Kristen Wiig and Seth Rogen to appear in ‘Arrested Development’

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 07:57 AM PST

Actress Kristen Wiig. — AFP pic

LOS ANGELES, Feb 20 — Kristen Wiig and Seth Rogen will appear in the fourth season of "Arrested Development," which is set to arrive on Netflix in May.

It is not yet known which parts Kristen Wiig ("Bridesmaids") and Seth Rogen ("Knocked Up," "The Green Hornet") will play. The two comedians, who are favorites of director and producer Judd Apatow, will be joining the Bluth family.

The eccentric family that went off the rails when the father was arrested for the misappropriation of corporate assets will be back in May for 14 episodes. The whole original cast will be back for the fourth season: Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Will Arnett, Portia de Rossi, Tony Hale, Jeffrey Tambor, David Cross, Jessica Walter and Alia Shawkat.

However, this new season will be different from previous ones as each episode will focus on one character and will be told from his or her point of view. Mitch Hurwitz came up with this twist as he could not get all the actors together at the same time. — Reuters

Oscars in Hollywood cliffhanger over Best Picture, Director

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 06:39 AM PST

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LOS ANGELES, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Sunday's Oscar ceremony is set for a cliffhanger ending after a topsy-turvy awards season that has left the two top prizes - Best Picture and Best Director - too close to call.

With just days to go before the movie industry's highest honors are handed out on Feb. 24, awards watchers are keyed up for one of the most exciting nights in recent Academy Awards history.

Despite entering the Oscar race with a leading 12 nominations in January, the front-runner Best Picture status of Steven Spielberg's presidential drama "Lincoln" has been undermined by a slew of awards picked up Ben Affleck's Iran hostage thriller "Argo."

But an "Argo" win despite Affleck's omission from the Best Director shortlist would defy the conventional wisdom that says the Oscar for Best Film usually brings a trophy for its director.

"Argo" would be the first movie to take home the statuette for Best Picture without its director winning even a nomination since "Driving Miss Daisy" in 1990.

"Everything is kind of haywire, so those of us in the (awards prediction) business are all left scratching our heads and saying what does it mean?" said Matt Atchity, editor in chief of movie review website Rotten Tomatoes.

After beating "Lincoln" at the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, directors, producers and writers guilds, "Argo" now has the edge in the Best Picture race.

"Even if 'Argo' wins for Best Picture, which is kind of a foregone conclusion at this point, it still feels exciting because 'Argo' has managed to keep this underdog status even though it has been winning every award," Dave Karger, chief correspondent for Fandango.com told Reuters.

"If 'Lincoln' wins, ironically it will be considered an upset even though it has the most nominations. That's what's strange about this year - all the rules seems to be turned on their heads," Karger added.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday underlined the stiff competition. Some 17 percent of the 1,443 people questioned in the United States between Feb. 15 and 19 thought that "Lincoln" was most likely to win Best Picture, but the same percentage gave their backing to musical "Les Miserables."

"Argo" was thought most likely to take home the Oscar by 8 percent of those questioned, while "Django Unchained" and "Life of Pi" tied with 4 percent. Some 41 percent of those asked in the Reuters/Ipsos poll were unsure which movie would win on Sunday.

Jockeying for position

Unlike last year when silent film "The Artist" had the race sewn up weeks ahead of the Academy Awards ceremony, four films have moved in and out of the front position six times since September, according to movie pundits at Goldderby.com.

They include quirky comedy "Silver Linings Playbook" which won the top prize at the Toronto film festival, and "Les Miserables" the screen version of hit French Revolutionary stage show which has a strong fan following but which got mixed reviews.

"The fact the front-runner has changed so many times has made it exasperating, but almost more fun," said Karger.

"Argo" is thought to have come through less because of a sympathy vote for the snub to Affleck and more because of its deft blend of thriller with a satire on Hollywood movie making. The movie is based on the true story of the CIA rescue from Islamic revolutionary Tehran of six U.S. diplomats who pretended to be producing a fake film.

"I think people genuinely love that movie and it's very inclusive to the Hollywood professionals who are voting on these awards. It allows people in Hollywood to say, we helped get those hostages out, and there is an appeal there," Atchity said.

"The critical reaction to 'Lincoln' tended to be that it was a very educational and really impressive film but it didn't grab you emotionally the way some of the other nominees did."

Directors Tom Hooper ("Les Miserables"), Kathryn Bigelow ("Zero Dark Thirty") and Quentin Tarantino ("Django Unchained") were also left off the Oscars short-list although their movies earned nominations.

That leaves Spielberg as presumed favorite for a third Best Director Oscar after victories with 1990s films "Schindler's List" and "Saving Private Ryan."

But don't count out David O. Russell for "Silver Linings Playbook," and Ang Lee, the self-effacing Taiwanese director who brought Yann Martel's mythological shipwreck survival novel "Life of Pi" to the big screen.

"No one thought that book was filmable, and yet Ang Lee was able to pull it off. When you think this was the same man that made 'Brokeback Mountain,' 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' and 'Sense and Sensibility,' he is so versatile it's astonishing," said Karger.

"Lincoln" is distributed by Walt Disney Co. and 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp ; "Argo" is distributed by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner ; "Les Miserables" is distributed by Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corp ; "Life of Pi" is distributed by 20th Century Fox; "Zero Dark Thirty" is released by Sony Corp's movie studio arm; "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Django Unchained" are distributed by privately held Weinstein Co. — Reuters

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The Malaysian Insider :: Breaking Views

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The Malaysian Insider :: Breaking Views

Serena pulls out from Dubai with back injury

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 07:58 AM PST

Serena Williams of the U.S. listens during a news conference at the WTA Dubai Tennis Championships in Dubai February 20, 2013. — Reuters pic

Williams, the newly installed world number one, aims to return at the Sony Ericsson Open, which starts in Miami on March 18.

"I've just had some back problems the past couple weeks," Williams told a hastily arranged press conference.

"I thought it would get better as the week went on but it didn't. I don't want to keep pushing it and make it worse."

Williams, 31, said her back also troubled her in last week's Qatar Open.

"It's not at a level where I can compete where I feel comfortable to not make it worse," said Williams, who came on court to apologise to fans for her abrupt withdrawal.

Bartoli will now play former world number one Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals after the Dane routed Chinese qualifier Zheng Jie 6-0 6-1. — Reuters

Kristen Wiig and Seth Rogen to appear in ‘Arrested Development’

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 07:57 AM PST

Actress Kristen Wiig. — AFP pic

LOS ANGELES, Feb 20 — Kristen Wiig and Seth Rogen will appear in the fourth season of "Arrested Development," which is set to arrive on Netflix in May.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

Timeless suits from London’s Savile Row back in fashion

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 07:08 AM PST

Sales consultant James Field adjusts the tie display at bespoke Savile Row tailors Anderson & Sheppard in central London February 14, 2013. — Reuters pic

LONDON, Feb 20 — With a blazing fire, leather sofa, and a half-empty bottle of single malt whisky by the door, London bespoke suit-maker Anderson & Sheppard feels more like a gentlemen's club frozen in time than a 21st century luxury retailer.

At the back of the shop a number of impeccably dressed tailors cut cloth on wooden work benches much like they have been doing for the last 100 years. One can almost imagine past customers like Charlie Chaplin, Pablo Picasso or some faded Victorian gentleman turning up at any moment.

This Savile Row tailor, where first names are banned and customers are always "sir", may feel like a museum to Britain's faded imperial glory but the bespoke menswear business on "the Row" is enjoying a remarkable resurgence.

Anderson & Sheppard is just one of the names on London's most renowned street for high-end tailors.

Alongside Gieves & Hawkes, Dege & Skinner, Henry Poole & Co and others, tailors on "the Row" have been dressing royalty, aristocrats, statesmen, great warriors and the wealthy since British dandy Beau Brummel first introduced trousers to fashionable London society at the start of the 19th century.

Behind the fusty facade "the Row" is attracting a new generation of less exclusive young clientele despite suit prices starting at 3,800 pounds (RM18,629) with a combination of client discretion, a subtle online presence and absolute attention to detail and quality.

Anderson & Sheppard had a 2012 turnover of 4 million pounds and growth has been over 13 per cent every year since 2009.

A number of other houses on Savile Row have also enjoyed over 10 per cent growth in recent years with total revenue for the informal group of suit makers now estimated to be 30-35 million pounds.

"We're doing very well actually. We've found that business has picked up in the last few years, and we couldn't be busier," Anderson & Sheppard manager Colin Heywood said as he showed Reuters around the shop.

Cutter Danny Hall cuts cloth for a dinner suit at bespoke tailors Anderson & Sheppard in central London February 14, 2013. — Reuters pic
RENAISSANCE

The renaissance of classic British menswear is a dramatic turn-around for an industry that was left on the ropes by the rise of decent quality ready-to-wear suits and shirts in shops during the 1970s and 1980s.

Clothes that were then dismissed as old fashioned, over-priced and going the way of bowler hats, are now the subject of renewed interest reflected in sartorial blogs and forums from India to the United States.

"We've noticed that we get a lot more younger customers coming in. I think that's particularly the result of the Internet. There's so much more written about bespoke tailoring now in books, magazines and online," Heywood said.

The celebration of Savile Row's handcrafted suits in online forums, top men's magazines and promoted by its own association on the Savile Row Bespoke website has allowed tailors on the Row to make a centuries-old tradition irresistible to well-off modern men seeking top quality.

"People find it a lot more accessible and I think it takes away that fear element of people coming in for the first time," Heywood said.

One customer, 38-year-old James Massey who runs a public relations firm, said a bespoke suit was impossible to match.

"I could probably go and spend the same amount of money in Selfridges on a Zegna suit that's made in a factory in Italy with a bit of hand stitching, but this is actually made specifically for me," he said.

Dylan Jones, editor at GQ UK, puts the renaissance of British tailoring down to the way men now shop for clothes.

"It's a generational shift. Men today consume far more like women. They're far more sophisticated consumers than they used to be and they expect very good produce at every entry level," he said.

"Menswear is starting to approach 50 per cent of a lot of people's business. It's a real growth industry."

Savile Row is particularly popular in international circles where the classic British look is increasingly fashionable.

"One thing that plays fantastically well with foreign press and buyers is the heritage aspect of what we do and there is so much interest in Savile Row," Jones said, referring to the events he runs as chair of the menswear committee for the British Fashion Council.

Within this overall growth market where men are spending more on clothes and demanding higher quality, Savile Row remains uniquely placed in a global industry which luxury consultants Bain & Company estimated was worth more than US$34 billion (RM105 billion) in an October 2012 note.

"London is the home of menswear. We invented the suit and Savile Row is the most important men's shopping street in the world which offers a quality and aspect of heritage that you simply can't get anywhere else," Jones said.

Jennie Badero (L) and Jamie Poulton work on garments at bespoke Savile Row tailors Anderson & Sheppard in central London February 14, 2013. — Reuters pic

COTTAGE INDUSTRY

While big fashion brands such as Tom Ford, Dior, and Paul Smith, invest heavily in marketing, distribution and staff, Savile Row tailors remain a cottage industry employing only a few dozen people who produce suits on site.

With fewer overheads and an international reputation from generations of suit-making which does not cost a penny in advertising, Savile Row is a surprisingly competitive and durable business model.

"Any of these big fashion brands will have a much bigger mark-up than the Savile Row tailors. No one goes into bespoke tailoring to get rich," said James Harvey-Kelly the menswear designer for French brand Vicomte A who also runs his own made-to-measure company.

"The quality is sensational and that's what Savile Row trades off. They use sensational cloths and its sewn together by absolute experts. They last for generations."

On the other side of Piccadilly the manager of traditional shirtmaker Budd, Andrew Rowland, said his company was reaping rewards for sticking by its principles through the tough times.

"We've never done anything different, but the others have weakened," he said in the cosy shop just off Jermyn Street above which bespoke shirts are still scissored by hand.

Jermyn Street used to be the home of London's bespoke shirt-making industry, but many of the old stores such as T.M. Lewin and Hawes & Curtis expanded into mass sales, pushing down the price by producing shirts in Vietnam and Turkey.

One long-term customer is British actor Edward Fox, who played the title role in "Day of the Jackal". Before sitting down to a cup of tea with Rowland, he explained why he has been coming back for 55 years.

"This is a Budd shirt. It must be at least 10 years old. Just as good today as it was 10 years ago. You don't actually have to spend that much on clothes, you have to look after clothes and you have to buy well originally".

However, traditional tailoring is not always ideal for more design-conscious people, according to Harvey-Kelly.

"Everything for them (Savile Row) is about it falling perfectly with no creases. But in the modern day people sometimes want it to look a bit uncomfortable. They want it to be slim and curl on the sleeve and a lot of tailors refuse to do that".

Heywood at Anderson & Sheppard when asked about modern fashion trends said he had noticed a "slight lean towards narrower trousers".

"We're not fashion-led. Fashions change very quickly and what we like to do is create a suit that's a timeless classic that you can wear in any decade". — Reuters

Diet drinks may not fuel your appetite

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 03:18 AM PST

Some researchers have proposed that drinks sweetened with artificial sugar might disrupt hormones involved in hunger and satiety cures, causing people to eat more. — PIc courtesy of Coke.

CHAPEL HILL, Feb 20 — Take another sip of that Diet Coke without fear that it may be spurring your appetite. Apparently, diet soda drinkers don't eat any more sugary or fatty foods than people who stick with water instead, according to a US study.

Some researchers have proposed that drinks sweetened with artificial sugar might disrupt hormones involved in hunger and satiety cures, causing people to eat more. Others hypothesised that diet beverages could boost the drinker's preference for sweet tastes, translating to more munching on high-calorie treats.

"Our study does not provide evidence to suggest that a short-term consumption of diet beverages, compared with water, increases preferences for sweet foods and beverages," wrote lead researcher Carmen Piernas in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Piernas, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health, and her colleagues, looked at 318 overweight or obese adults in North Carolina, all of whom said they consumed at least 280 calories' worth of drinks each day.

One third of the participants were advised to substitute at least two daily servings of sugary beverages with water. Another third was instructed to substitute diet drinks, including Diet Coke and Diet Lipton Tea.

"Artificial sweeteners are a lot sweeter than regular sugar, on the order of 250 times sweeter, so that's where the concerns came from," said Vasanti Malik, a nutrition researcher from the Harvard School of Public Health, who was not part of the study.

After three and six months, people reported their food and beverage intake on two different days in detail. A previous publication showed that participants in both groups lost weight.

According to the new report, water and diet beverage drinkers reduced their average daily calories relative to the start of the study, from between 2,000 and 2,300 calories to 1,500 to 1,800 calories. At both time points, people in the two groups were eating a similar amount of total calories, carbohydrates, fat and sugar.

Six months in, the only differences were that members of the water group ate more fruit and vegetables, and people randomised to diet beverages ate fewer desserts, compared to their diet habits at the study's onset.

"That's sort of the opposite of what you would expect if consumption of diet soda increased the preference for sweets," Malik told Reuters health.

Some studies have suggested an increased risk of cancer tied to certain artificial sweeteners, but convincing evidence is lacking, Malik said.

In addition, a French study, which appeared in the same journal, found that Frenchwomen who drank beverages sweetened with either real or fake sugar were more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes over 14 years than those who stuck with water.

Piernas warned that everyone in her study was heavy and trying to lose weight, so the findings may not apply to normal-weight people who drink a lot of diet beverages.

"We're trying to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage intake in the population for obesity, so the next logical question is, what substitutes can be used?" Malik said.

"I think (diet drinks) can be consumed in moderation, along with other beverages — water, coconut water, sparkling water, that type of thing."

The research was partially funded by Nestle Waters USA, which provided the water used in the study. — Reuters

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The Malaysian Insider :: Books

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The Malaysian Insider :: Books

New Murakami book out in April, publisher says

Posted: 19 Feb 2013 03:58 PM PST

TOKYO, Feb 20 — Author Haruki Murakami's new novel will hit book stores in April, three years after the final instalment of "1Q84", his Japanese publisher has said.

Publishing house Bungeishunju Ltd posted a small advert in newspapers on Saturday, which said only: "Haruki Murakami: Long awaited novel to arrive in April."

"This project is coming on as a top secret," a company spokesman told AFP yesterday. "The advert has all we can say for now."

He confirmed only that the novel would be in Japanese. No information was available about any possible future translations.

Murakami's three-volume novel "1Q84", which can be read as "1984" in Japanese, proved a worldwide phenomenon.

The publisher, Shinchosha Publishing Co, and Murakami (right) — who rarely gives media interviews — kept a veil over "1Q84" before the first volume hit stores in 2009, after many readers asked not be told about the plot in advance.

Unlike in English-language publishing, Japanese authors are rarely tied to a specific publishing house over different books.

Murakami's novels, which have drawn international acclaim and been translated into almost 40 languages, include the titles "Norwegian Wood", "Kafka on the Shore" and "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle".

The author, who divides his time between the US and Japan, has a huge following, with fans praising his lyrical and surreal prose, which often takes as its subject Japanese people living on the margins of a homogenous society. — AFP/Relaxnews

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

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Najib, Abdullah akan dipanggil jadi saksi kes PKFZ

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 03:04 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, 20 Feb — Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak dan bekas perdana menteri, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi akan dipanggil bagi menjadi saksi kes Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik dalam pembelian tanah projek Zon Perdagangan Pelabuhan Kelang (PKFZ).

Bekas menteri pengangkutan Dr Ling didakwa menipu Kabinet kerana menandatangani pembelian tanah yang mengakibatkan kerugian kepada kerajaan.

Peguam Dr Ling, Wong Kian Kheong memberitahu mahkamah hari ini Najib dan Abdullah adalah sebahagian dari senarai saksi pembela yang akan dipanggil.

Turut akan dipanggil ialah Tan Sri Fong Chan Onn, menteri Kabinet Datuk Seri Rais Yatim, timbalan ketua pegawai eksekutif Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd Datuk Faizal Abdullah dan pakar Sajjad Akhtar dari firma perakaunan.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, perdana menteri yang memimpin selama 22 tahun, menghabiskan pengakuannya sebagai saksi pembela keempat.

Hakim, Datuk Ahmadi Asnawi menangguhkan perbicaraan sehingga 12 Mac dengan memanggil Tan Sri Fong Chan Onn sebagai saksi seterusnya.

Dr Ling, yang berkhidmat sebagai menteri pengangkutan selama 17 tahun dari Januari 1986 hingga Mei 2003, didakwa menipu Kabinet untuk meluluskan pembelian tanah bernilai 999.5 ekar tanah untuk projek PKFZ, yang menyebabkan kerugian kepada kerajaan.

Projek yang pada mulanya bernilai RM1.1 billion apabila dicadangkan Dr Ling pada 1997, meningkat kepada RM4.6 billion pada 2007.

Kajian dari firma perakaunan PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) mendedahkan pada 2009 jumlah kerugian termasuk kadar faedah dari pembayaran hutang mungkin mencecah RM12.5 billion.

Sejak Disember 2009, enam individu didakwa di mahkamah termasuk presiden MCA, Dr Ling, seorang lagi bekas menteri pengangkutan, bekas timbalan presiden MCA Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy. Kedua-duanya dituduh menipu Kabinet.

Dr Ling juga menghadapi dua tuduhan alternatif menipu Kabinet dengan mempercayai bahawa pembelian-pada RM25 psf dan 7.5 peratus kadar faedah sudah diketahui dan dipersetujui JPPH walaupun tidak ada sebarang persetujuan.

Beliau bakal menghadapi penjara sehingga tujuh tahun, atau denda, atau kedua-duanya sekali dibawah seksyen 418 Kanun Keseksaan.

Dakwaan alternatif dikenakan penjara lima tahun atau denda, atau kedua-duanya sekali.

Urusniaga LTAT beri durian runtuh kepada Raja Ropiaah, kata Rafizi

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 02:11 AM PST

Pengarah strategi PKR Rafizi Ramli. — Gambar oleh Choo Choo May

PETALING JAYA, 20 Feb — Senator Datuk Raja Ropiaah Abdullah menerima jutaan ringgit lebih dari klausa tersembunyi dalam rancangan kerajaan persekutuan membeli tanah di Bukit Raja, kata Rafizi Ramli hari ini.

Pengarah strategi PKR itu pagi tadi dibenarkan menyemak dokumen perjanjian tanah dan mengkaji saham Boustead Holdings Bhd selepas beliau membeli saham firma tersebut.

"Saya terperanjat kerana apabila kita semak klausa itu satu per satu, sebenarnya ada banyak lagi penyelewengan yang dilindungi dari pengetahuan orang ramai dan pemilik saham," kata Rafizi dalam sidang medianya hari ini.

"Raja Ropiaah menerima keuntungan berjuta ringgit atas angin."

Boustead, syarikat yang dilaburkan oleh tabung kerajaan Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) mengumumkan tahun lalu membeli 80 peratus saham syarikat Deepak Jaikishan, Astacanggih Sdn Bhd, dan sebidang tanah bernilai RM130 juta milik Awan Megah Sdn Bhd, syarikat ketua wanita Umno Selangor Senator Datuk Raja Ropiaah Abdullah.

Selain dari RM130 juta yang diumumkan sebelum ini, Kementerian Pertahanan menganugerahkan syarikat Raja Ropiaah Awan Megah Sdn Bhd RM15 juta dalam kontrak tambahan pada 26 Jun 2012.

Awan Megah juga menerima 23.2 ekar tanah dari asal 223.2 ekar, yang berpotensi bernilai jutaan ringgit.

Sejumlah RM4 juta juga diberikan kepada Boustead kepada proksi bernama Putra Nazrain Abdul Jalil untuk membeli 20 peratus saham Astacanggih Sdn Bhd yang dimiliki peniaga permaidani kontroversi Deepak Jaikishan.

Anak syarikat Boustead, Bakti Wira Sdn Bhd mengambil alih semua komitment Awan Megah kepada syarikat pembuat plastik GuppyUnip Sdn Bhd untuk membatalkan perjanjian sebelum ini.

Dalam perjanjian sebelum ini, Awan Megah bersetuju untuk bekerjasama dengan GuppyUnip, dan pemberian kredit diberikan oleh United Overseas Bank (UOB) kepada GuppyUnip untuk membiayai modal Awan Megah berjumlah RM59.25, premium untuk perpindahan nama tanah dari kerajaan Selangor dan kos penyediaan pembangunan kawasan tersebut.

Dalam dokumen tersebut, ia juga dipersetujui Deepak tidak akan membuat sebarang kenyataan tanpa kebenaran Boustead.

"Ini membuktikan dakwaan saya bahawa perjanjian ini hanya mahu mendiamkan Deepak," kata Rafizi yang membuat dakwaan tahun lalu sekiranya tuduhan dibuat oleh Deepak ke atas pembunuhan model Mongolia Altantuya Shaariibuu tidak dianggap serius, tidak sekali-kali LTAT akan membuat perjanjian itu.

Beliau mengulangi bahawa beliau "tidak sabar dan bersedia" menghadapi Menteri Pertahanan Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi di mahkamah selepas kes saman di Mahkamah Tinggi bulan lalu, Rafizi menegaskan Ahmad Zahid belum lagi berhadapan dengannya dengan sebarang kes mahkamah.

Pengarah strategi PKR itu berjanji akan mendedahkan lebih banyak lagi perjanjian sejak beliau mendapat banyak maklumat dari lawatan beliau ke Boustead.

"Pasti akan seronok menjelang pilihan raya ini," katanya lagi, bergurau.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

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Tidak bijak menyemai cinta kepada negara lain

Posted: 19 Feb 2013 05:01 PM PST

20 FEB ― Kad Hari Raya Cina yang dipercayai dihantar ke rumah setiap pengundi Cina mengandungi petikan kata masyhur pemimpin besar pembaharuan parti komunis China, Deng Xiaopeng yang maksudnya kira-kira ibarat menyleberangi sungai sambil menyentuh batu.

Kata-kata hikmat Deng itu diungkapnya dalam program transformasinya, menguluarkan ekonomi kemunis China yang gagal di zaman Mao Zedung kepada ekonomi pasaran terbuka bagi menjadikan Tanah Besar China gergasi ekonomi dunia.

Kalau orang Melayu kagum dengan kata-kata Hang Tuah, "Takkan Melayu hilang di duna", maka demikianlah terpesonanya masyarakat Tionghua dengan kata-kata Deng itu.

Najib Razak dipercayai menggunakan kata Deng itu bagi meraih sokongan pengundi Cina dalam PRU13 ini. Demikianlah bergeliganya orang politik untuk menuai apa jua politik dari apa jua peluang.

Kalau peluang Barisna Nasional untuk meraih sokongan pengundi dari membawa artis Psy dari Korea dirasa kabur apabila ribuan penonton di Pulau Pinang secara spontan berkata "Tidak" kepada Najib ketika ia ditanyanya, apakah pengiriman kad kata-kata Deng itu dapat mengubat hatinya dan hati BN khususnya MCA?

Apa yang menarik kita ialah dalam kempen Najib memperkasakan semboyan 1 Malaysia mengikut acuan Malaysia sendiri, mengapa dia mempesonakan masyarakat Cina dengan keagungan tokoh pemimpin pembaharuan komunis China itu?

Pada ketika kita mahu bangsa Malaysia mesti bangga dengan kepintaran dan kebijaksanaan orang Malaysia dulu dan sekarang, kita mahu keturunan Cina bangga sebagai orang Cina Malaysia dan orang India bangga sebagai orang Malaysia, apa bijaknya mengajurkan kepada warga kita kagum dengan orang dari negeri asalnya?

Kita tidak anti tamadun China dan tidak berseteru dengan kerajaan, rakyat dan pemimpin Tanah Besar China, tetapi tidak seronok kalau rakyat kita diajak berbangga dengan asal usulnya. Kita tidak boleh sekat Cina dari mengenang negara dan bangsa China sama seperti tidak dapat menghapuskan ingatan S. Samy Vellu kepada keturunannya, tetapi kita rasa tidak bijak disemaikan terus rasa cinta kepada asal usul itu oleh pemimpin seperti Perdana Menterinya pula.

Apa yang Najib buat itu menyamai apa yang bapanya Tun Razak buat semasa kunjungan rasminya ke Beijing merasmi permasyhuran diplomatik Beijing-Kuala Lumpur tahun 1974 dulu.

Saya bersama dalam rombongannya. Dalam setiap tempat yang dilawati Tun Razak menyebut kata-kata Mao yang jadi kebanggaan setiap komunis yang mendewakan Mao. Ketika ke kilang dia menyebut apa Mao kata tentang, ketika sekolah apa pula Mao kata tentang pelajaran.

Pada masa itu Malaysia masih sebuah negara anti-komunis dan kata-kata Mao itu adalah kata-kata semangat dan ransangan komunis.

Sebagai pemimpin Malaysia dan bangsanya ada nilai-nilai agung tersendiri, ajaib juga apabila Tun Razak mahir dengan qotation Mao dan menyebutnya di sana sini dalam lawatan itu.

Kita faham akan seni dan kepintaran diplomasi, tetapi tidak sampai kita boleh dilihat sebagai pencarum kepada orang lain.

Saya tidak pasti apakah Tun Razak buat begitu bagi mengikis stigma yang beliau masa itu dikatakan tidak mesra Cina? Dan adakah Najib juga memanfaatkan kata-kata Deng disebabkan pengundi Cina dikatakan tidak mesra BN?

Tetapi langkah yang pintar ialah biar kita rebah dan bangun dengan jatidiri orang Malaysia sendiri. Bukan melalui kebijakisanaan orang lain.

Adakah kad raya dengan kata-kata Deng Xiaopeng itu BN dapat meraih semula undi orang-orang Cina?

* Ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis

A short memoir of former slaves

Posted: 19 Feb 2013 03:28 PM PST

FEB 20 ― Once in a while, I'll catch up with a few friends who, like me at one time, worked for VVVVVVVVVIPs.

When we worked for these people in power, we survived on little sleep and whatever that was left of our sanity. We barely lasted a year; it was never the work, it was dealing with the personalities. But I suppose that's how powerful people become who they are. You'd have to have a streak of madness in you to get to that position.

I still remember the day, after months of late nights and worrying over everything, a friend offered me Xanax to calm me down. I took it, and spent the whole weekend dazed. Boy, did I fly! I don't think I ate, showered, prayed, anything! I remember sleeping a lot!

What was a blissful weekend came to end when my father came to visit me, and saw me half stoned from the anti-depressant. I think he whupped me with his bread (my father loves bread... everywhere he goes, he has bread with him) and told me to quit my job. I developed an ovarian cyst soon after that, and resigned.

But my experience is very mild compared to my other friends'. Oh, I am nothing but a speck in the universe.

You must have heard of the Chinese man who goes on all the official visits abroad and pays for everything, right? He does exist. He pays for everything, including all those handbags.

This time around, he didn't come.

I have this friend who is now a corporate man. Once upon a time, he worked for a minister. He travelled the world with this man. He's seen it and been there and done that, lost his hair, and a few more things along the way.

He's dealt with the bodyguards charged with detouring Puan Sri so she would not catch the husband in the act with hookers and mistresses. He's had to deal with his boss's constant change of ideas, et al.

The boss travelled a lot overseas as part of trade missions. There's a lot of shopping involved for everyone in the mission: There were bags to buy for the wives, girlfriends, mothers, brothers. And for the VVVVVVVVVIP's wife, all shopping would be settled by the famed Chinese man.

As you know, in Europe and the US, there are many designer outlet stores, and that was what my friend was looking for. He wanted to buy a Coach handbag for her at a Coach outlet, and maybe drop by the Nike outlet.

One day, Puan Sri wanted to go shopping, and shopped she did. Chanel? Done. Prada? Done. She shopped and shopped and shopped. And guess what? The Chinese man was not around to pay for her handbags.

Now you don't go and tell the cashier, I can't pay for these handbags. And most women ― especially big-haired Puan Sris ― will kill if their handbags have to be returned.

Someone's got to pay. For all the handbags.

The staff whipped out their credit cards and wallets. The bodyguards. The PA. And my friend, too.

"Babi betul, Dina. I came home and got into trouble with my wife because I didn't get her a Coach bag. All I wanted was to buy her that from an outlet store and see la what happened!"

Shortly after that, my friend resigned. Now he is at peace. He still has less hair, though.

Another friend of mine, after working so hard and seeing so little in his savings, decided he wanted to become a mistress. You read that right: HE wanted to be a mistress.

"Screw morals. I have to think of my pension plan."

A very married VVVVVVVVVIP who was a proxy of a VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVIPPPPPP took a liking to him (they had met at a few... serious events), and they made plans for a tryst in one of the many penthouses in the city.

Our friend was all fluffed up and ready. He sat in the plush sofa, waiting for his man to come out from the room.

The door opened.

"Is that you, my dear?" His man quavered.

My friend smiled, looked up to flutter his lashes and gaped.

Tan Sri pakai sari.

He quit the scene, and left his saree'd and bejewelled would-be lover. As he told us (who were trying very hard not to squeal with laughter), "In this relationship, there is only room for one woman. And that is ME!"

"Ooo," we squeaked.

Needless to say, his days as a would-be mistress are over. He'll just have to slog like everyone and die penniless, and he'd be in good company because many Malaysians are struggling too.

Many people think working for big names is glamorous. If only they knew!

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Rabu, 20 Februari 2013