quaint melody

Quaint melodies: Hey, I received another call from the Australian number again. This time I answered the call and true enough, it’s some resort company. The lady told me I’m selected to win a $1000 reward, and I’m entitle to it as soon as I answer some questions. I got bored and hung up.

On a lighter note, a 20 year-old Christchurch student has gone creative and got lucky! He listed a ‘mystery item’ on the local auction site Trademe, the item generated a huge interest and after an initial bogus $1000 bid, it eventually sold for $440! All he wrote on the listing was ‘I will not describe this item in any detail, other than it is a physical item, i.e. it is REAL’.

What’s the mystery item? A freaking old $10 note! Haha, sucker! Once again, curiosity killed the cat! The seller did said he felt guilty the bidding went that high and decided to throw in an Armani belt though. According to the seller, the buyer has yet to contact him after learning about the ‘great deal’ he’s getting. Woops, look like someone’s not that lucky after all!

Like any weekday afternoon, I logged on to the local newspaper website for my dose of current events, while a news piece caught my eyes. It’s a photo article that’s placed in the middle of the front page. In gist, the Labour party Budget pamphlet features a happy family photo. The people in the photo are actually Americans, instead of Kiwis. Yup, it’s a stock photo purchased from iStockphoto, and some nitpicking blogger caught it out and called the newspaper because ‘it’s not kiwis’.

Well, I don’t know about you, but what’s the big deal here? So what if the Labour party spent about 10 or 20 NZ$ to purchase stock photo to use in their Budget pamphlet; So what if the family in the photo is actually American instead of Kiwi?! Big freaking deal! It’s an advertising campaign for pete’s sake! They certainly looked kiwis(and not only I said so).The photo is purely there to act as a portrait. No harm done, no law broken! Most people can’t even tell! Yet some people are making such big deal out of it! Seriously folks, do you really go through all the pamphlets and flyers to scrutinize every single stock photo for originality and authenticity? Some people just have too much time on their hands! I love New Zealand, but every so often, little things get blown out of proportion here. Some trivialized news like this is simply not worth a place in a prominent newspaper, much less on the front page. Yet there you have someone jumping up and down shouting blue murder! As one commentator simply put it, ‘The only embarrassing thing about this is the fact that it’s seen as a newsworthy story here in NZ. Get over it, get a life and move on, it’s a photo for christ’s sake!’

On the side note: Here’s a question. Do you really think every single advertising, say holiday promotion uses the exact photos taken in the said destination? Newsflash! All advertising agencies use stock images, and they choose the ones that suit the champaign best. Most of the time, they are not the same place! It’s all make believe! The most suitable pictures that depict the product in question are always chosen. Photos, so often are just a tool to give people a sense of what the company is marketing. Agencies use whatever that is most relatable and most eye-catching to promote their products. Why do you think Celcom used Leehom as their endorser? He’s not Malaysian and surely is not using Celcom network, but the campaign caught our eyes and it’s a success!

*NOT a sponsored post, heh*

Saw this funny car plate frame on the back of the car that was parked in front of us in the parking lot the other day. Very smart and cool gift for mum with a sense of humour! Heh. These frames are pretty hip right now and are available in gift or novelty shops, you can even personalise one. Cost about NZ$20++.

Other than those, in New Zealand, you can also get personalised number plate for your car, any way you like. Letters, alphabets, a mixture, as long as they are within 6 characters. So you can see some interesting and funny personalised plates around. But with only 6 letters/alphabets, it’s a matter of creativity to come up with the combination you want. Of course, the cool ones like ‘beetle’ on a WV beetle, or ‘Elvis’ were taken up fast, so some people went around and came up with creative ways to the same effect, like’ FLYAWY’, ‘NFM0US’, ‘BSHARP’. There are also plates with creative combinations of numbers and alphabets, like ‘1 DOG 1′, ‘SW1FT’. Of course, good things come with a price tag, from NZ$400+. Interested? Now, tell me what cool combinations can you come up with?!

fun plates new zealand

As many should know, we’re in the thick of the America’s Cup right now. After their loss in 2003, Team New Zealand is making a great come back. So far, leading ahead of Switzerland team Alinghi, who was the winner of the last cup. One interesting tidbit to be noted, their team consists of several kiwis(whom were poached by Alinghi from Team New Zealand) as well, even their skipper is a kiwi, Brad Butterworth who jumped boat from Team New Zealand a few years ago. That just shows New Zealand produces great sailors. Hey, Auckland is not called city of sails for no reason ok. Haha.

Talking about the race, what a cry baby Brad Butterworth turned out to be! Don’t know what I’m talking about? Read the following article.

*after the second race.
From The Times
June 25, 2007

New Zealand hit back hard by turning the tide against Alinghi
Matthew Pryor in Valencia

Emirates Team New Zealand’s momentous victory from behind against Team Alinghi, the defenders, yesterday levelled the series 1-1 and set up the possibility that the 32nd America’s Cup will be the greatest for a generation.

After the crushing defeat by Alinghi on Saturday, this was a remarkable reversal. All the more so as for the first half yesterday, the second race looked to be following the pattern of the first, as Alinghi were outmanoeuvred at the start, but surged past New Zealand in apparently the same airs. Yet Saturday’s 35sec defeat became a 28sec victory. The third race in this best-of-nine event is tomorrow.

Not since 1983, when Australia II beat Dennis Conner’s Liberty 4-3 to take “The Auld Mug” away from America for the first time since the race began in 1851, has a team come back to win the America’s Cup from 1-0 down. The past three America’s Cups – 1995, 2000 and 2003 – have been won 5-0. But New Zealand’s recovery suggests that although the America’s Cup is a “design race”, New Zealand have not been completely outdesigned. A long port tack in the second upwind leg was decisive. They showed both skill and nerve to hold on and take advantage of the windshift. Alinghi went right and the wind went left.

If it turns out to be about windshifts, Alinghi appear to be feeling the pressure and some of the toys came out of their expensive pram. Brad Butterworth, the 48-year-old skipper, railed against “spectator wash” and stormed out of the press conference. In other sports he would have been fined, but billionaire-bankrolled teams manage to make themselves look amusingly amateurish sometimes.

“It is an issue when you’re in their wake and a washing machine,” Butterworth said. “We gybed at the top in a favourable shift and we didn’t get the gain we expected. Maybe you can put pressure on these wallies [the Cup management] to get them off the course.”

Much to everyone’s amusement, Butterworth said that he did not mind losing the start, because Alinghi had wanted the left anyway. Ed Baird, the Alinghi helm who has been prevented from talking, has been absent at both starts and yesterday was humiliated by Dean Barker, the New Zealand skipper and helm.

Barker sailed over the bow of Alinghi in the prestart – the five minutes of positioning for the line – seizing the right and Alinghi’s turn for the favoured starboard tack. But in lighter winds of eight to ten knots with less lumpy chop in the sea, Alinghi excelled and sailed over the top of New Zealand.

They were 19sec and three boat lengths clear by the first mark. Alinghi lost six seconds downwind, where they had looked lethal the day before, but appeared to be in control. They tacked too early, as Butterworth admitted, lost 28sec on the leg and could find no shift to take them past New Zealand downwind. Too often the outcome of the America’s Cup is decided in the first ten minutes of the first race. However, this time it may be that each race will not be decided in the first ten minutes.

There will be no repeat of Alinghi’s “Swisswash” four years ago. It is the first time Alinghi have lost in competition since BMW Oracle took one race off them in the Louis Vuitton Cup final in 2003. For the five core members of their crew – Butterworth, Murray Jones, Dean Phipps, Warwick Fleury and Simon Daubney, all defectors from Team New Zealand in 2000 – it was the end of 16 consecutive America’s Cup match victories.

more story - Yachting: Alinghi angry at racing in ‘Las Vegas’ lottery

A real whinger, that Brad Butterworth.

Anyway, the kiwis are now getting all excited staying up to watch the game in the early morning hours (It is held in Spain this year, which is 10 hours behind New Zealand). It is interesting to note that before Team New Zealand went on to win Louis Vuitton’s Cup and leading America’s Cup, the general public in New Zealand were not so interested in the race, with majority being very passimistic, predicting them to loose 0-5 as last time. But they care now don’t they?! Quote my kiwi mate: ‘That’s typical kiwis for ya, only love it when their team wins, and jump on the loser the minute they loss the game. Even for the All Blacks!’

So go on Team New Zealand, the kiwis are behind ya! (as long as you’re winning.)

That being said, I truly hope Team New Zealand will bring back the cup this time. They’ve sailed amazingly well, especially in the last race. It’d be interesting to see what’s up their sleeves next. As some said, it’s quite an even race, Team New Zealand with their strong team, and Alinghi with their multi million dollars boat. Who will win? The skillful sailors or the million dollars sailers? We shall find out, very soon.

america’s cup

We went to hell last weekend. Yes we did, for a whole 15 minutes, for pizza that is! Heh.

Hell’s Pizza is a very successful pizza franchise in New Zealand. Started as a small pizza shop next to Victoria University in Wellington, they quickly gained attention via clever advertising campaigns. With a catchy name like ‘Hell’, it’s no wonder they created buzz around town successfully. They now have 63 stores spread around the country. I remembered when the new stores started popping up around town, their unique devilish deco certainly caught my attention. There were even hearses parked in front of the shops! They certainly took the nation by storm.

Of course, however strong the campaign is, the pizza chain wouldn’t have survived without the most important ingredient, good pizzas. They offer various gourmet pizzas, pastas and sides. The unique part is, the names of all dishes are hellish as well. You get names like Lust, Greed, Envy, Sloth etc on the menu. That certainly makes ordering fun!

Hell only offers pickup or delivery services, no dine-in. You can phone in or place an order from their website. We normally order online and collect the food from the shop near us. Their website is very cool and animated, with little devils running around. Have a looky here.

cute devilish merchandises.

They are running a series of advertisements that depict the current political events. This one is about the newly passed anti-smacking law. Heh.

cute ducklings.

We ordered snack size Touble pizza with camembert, bacon, onion, chicken, pineapple and salami.

Yummylicious spirit pasta, my favourite!

Last but not least, garlic bread. (again, modeled by Mr K’s hand. Ha.)

Next time if you visit New Zealand, don’t forget to go to Hell!

hell’s pizza food New Zealand

We see a lot of big billboards around us, especially in the central city area. Some catch our eyes and some don’t't. How often do you stop and have a look at these billboards? They are a form of advertising, yes, but some are oddly entertaining too. I love to look at billboards, to me, they are like huge colourful flyers around town. The cheeky ones especially catch my attention. To me, there’s no other platform that works as well in attention grabbing as billboards. Here are some random billboards around town that caught my fancies.

This is a series of billboards run by Tui, a local beer company with a wicked sense of humour. The advertising campaign has been running for a while now. The idea is to produce a series of cheeky lines based on current events, with their tag line, yeah right. It changes every few weeks, and sometimes in a few days if there’s a hot topic running. You can even submit your ‘yeah rights’ on their website and if they like the idea, they’ll put it on a billboard! Isn’t that cool?!

This was a hot topic earlier this year when the Auckland city council proposed a ridiculous idea to ban all billboards in town. The reason? Apparently they affect the beautiful city skyline. They even compared Auckland to Paris, because Paris has no billboards. WTH? What skyline? They approved the ugly shoe-box apartments that are scattered around the city centre, but think the billboards are eyesores?! Also, compared Auckland to Paris?! GOD! Do these people have eyes? There are some smart asses in the council I tell you, those eat too full got nothing to doer. This billboard said it all really.

p/s: sorry about the photo quality, it was taken from a moving car.

Auckland Fullers ferry got a lot of bad press because of this incident. Back in February, the ferry company left about 80 passenger stranded on Waiheke Island because the last ferry didn’t have enough seats to accommodate them. Apparently, the skipper refused to make an extra trip even when told to do so by the duty manager. He asked them to go fly kites (OK, I added this part). So the 80+ people were forced to stay on the Island for the night. Go figure!

Alternative advertisement. Haha.

Hey, someone stop the crazy driver driving up the wall!
This one is my favourite, it is actualy a model midi of actual size!

billboard Auckland

This is a huge billboard in downtown Auckland. As you know New Zealand is a rugby-mad nation, housing the world number one All Blacks. So it is no surprise that the kiwis are all excitingly anticipating to the counting down of Rugby World Cup 2007 (photo taken in January 2007). The billboard you see here has been there since last year, counting down the minutes to the first game of RWC at France in September. The RWC comes every 4 years, and guess what? Auckland, New Zealand has been chosen to host the next RWC, in 2011! Imagine what buzz it’d bring then. The nation already cannot wait!

rugby world cup RWC Auckland

Just like my many Malaysians pals, I am passionate about food, good food. You can imagine my devastation when I came to the kiwi land 7 years ago. The food variation was not that bad, but significantly less if compared to my home country. Of course, I know I shouldn’t compare, every country has it’s good and bad points, so I set myself out to an on going mission to hunt for good food, well, good Asian food mostly. Luckily, the food choices over here has improved over the years, and being the glutton, I am happy sampling away the delicious cuisines of many nations. Here’s one of the many that I love, Turkish chicken on rice.

Chicken on rice is a dish containing layers of roasted chicken pieces on top of specially cooked fragrance rice, served with green salads and homus. You can choose among the many sauces, like homus, chilli, bbq, tomato, mint and garlic yogurt as topping. I usually go with my favourite homus sauce. The taste is heavenly, oozing with aroma. Mr K and I used to have this 2-3 times a week when we were students because the shop is just right around the corner from uni. Of course, there’s their famous kebab and Mr K’s favourite Lamb on rice as shown in photo below. And let’s not forget their super crispy homemade fries, the best in town!This delicious dish is typically found in many Turkish kebab stalls around town, but I find the one from Kebab on Queen to be the best. Their warm customer service just keeps me going back for more. Why is is called Kebab on Queen? This kebab shop originated from a small (And I mean small, with only 2 small tables right in front of their store) on Queen Street, the busiest business district in Auckland. It is one of the rare food outlet that opens till late (well over mid-night) and 24 hours on weekends. Business is always busy there, and you can see long queues during lunch hours. I stayed in the city centre for about 4 years when I was studying, and used to patronise the shop frequently. So nowadays, everytime I eat this delicious meal, I eat it with a sense of memory.

Their new stall in the newly opened Sylvia Park mega mall.

MR K’s favourite, lamb on rice.

**Start Copy**

Proposition: What is your favorite food in your state or country?
Requirements: Find some info about the food and show delicious pictures of it?
Quantity: FIVE PEOPLE.
Tag Mode: You leave their blog and post link and add to the list below.

Mybabybay loves Asam Laksa from Penang, Malaysia
JustMyThoughts loves Penang Char Koay Teow
My Lil Venture loves Laksa Sarawak
Montessorimum loves Teluk Intan Chee Cheong Fun
Chinnee loves Melaka Wan Tan Mee
Leah loves Hakka Lei Cha
Hui Sia loves Crispy Duck Skin from China
Karen loves Pan Mee.
Simple American loves Cheese Enchiladas
Giddy Tiger loves Dim Sum
CC loves Turkish Chicken on Rice

**End Copy**

Here are the five lovely bloggers I’d like to tag:
Criz from Criz’s Sanctuary
KC from Earth-Bound Insight
Kok from Not so complicated…
FireHorse from Fatty Poh’s Kopi Tiam
Iwan from Iwan SanchezLet’s share your favourite food! Have fun!

Technorati tags: kebabs on queen turkish food