It is now mid-week after the weekend at Booth F1.03, Amcorp Shopping Mall. I am sitting at the Corner table just next to the glass entrance / exit door at Good Ground Bakery. Soft, soothing, piano music is coming from a single, light-colour, small, round, multi-directional speaker, sitting on a table behind the counter. It goes unnoticed by most people. The music is loud enough to fill the whole room but not loud that you would have to raise the volume of your voice to speak to each other.
The weekend at the booth seemed to have gone by (what should the filler word to describe the ‘speed ‘in time be? [1]) quickly. We set up our booth by 10.00am and before long, we had visitors stopping by. The Batik Influencer was busy from the word “go”.
We had many first timers visiting us at out booth. They also became customers or would be customers. I sold multiple diecast vehicles, including Hotwheels. When I first started selling off my Hotwheels and diecast vehicle collection, I had well over 500 vehicles. Now, I am left with less than 100. I’m glad the vehicles have found homes with their new owners. All those who purchased these diecast vehicles from me, are all collectors themselves.
People browsing through the pre-loved, well kept items. Sold many more Hotwheels, and other brands of diecast vehicles.
Trying on a JEANNIE’SOWN Batik Cape creation to get a feel. She bought.
As we went through the second day, Teacher Annie, Laura’s pre-school teacher at Beaconhouse, came by our booth. It was so nice to meet with her after all these years. Annie remembers Laura well and asked after her. We brought each other up to speed of what we are doing now and also about our families.
Timeless
Look who showed up. Teacher Annie, Laura’s pre-school teacher. Looking good as always.
One of the highlights of the day was I purchased a green Fudora. Another was that Jeannie acquired a beautifully crafted copper bracelet, decorated with colour stones. The bracelet is a birthday present for Laura as her birthday is in a couple of days.
Guys from La Salle Klang re-unite. Mervin Gomes (front), Terence Singh (back) and I.
Towards mid-afternoon; Mervyn Gomes dropped by, bringing with him a fellow Klang La Sallian; Terence Singh.. Terence’s brother is the famous singer, guitarist, song-writer, performer; Gerard Singh. Gerard is well known as the guitar man.
Terence, who resides in Johore (2); usually meets with Mervyn quite often. Terence whipped out his smartphone and called another old friend, John Stotdard; on Whatsapp video. It was good talking with John. It has been many years since we last met. These guys were neighbourhood friends in the 1970s and 1980s. They are several years my junior, more my youngest brother, Malcolm’s, age group.
The author writes: Just short of singing our alma mater La Salle School, Klang’s anthem. Mervyn Gomes (front), Terence Singh (back) and me, the Hatted Writer. Mervyn is in a typical La Salle Klang pose (I think😉)
This beautiful hand made copper bracelet the Batik Influencer bought as a birthday gift for Laura, our daughter.
Nice bag.
I had the opportunity to meet with many BMW owners and enthusiasts. We touched on many topics of BMWs. Most of them, including me; are more “old-school” BMW guys. Today’s BMW models seem to have lost its plot. Moving into electric vehicles (ev), they look just like any other ev. Hard to tell them apart from say a Chinese make.
The Batik Influencer, showing some of her “JEANNIE’S OWN” Batik Cape Creations.
And the nicest smile goes to…
I had the opportunity of meeting with several readers of leatherpotato.com. They have been supporters for a long time. One of the best comments I received was, “Your writing is definitely by a human. We can feel the humanness in the way you express yourself and put your views across”. Another comment received was that she liked how I “toyed” around with the English language.
Listening with attentiveness as the Batik Influencer explains and demonstrates the multiple ways of using a JEANNIE’S OWN Batik Cape Creation.
The Batik Influencer explaining the various ways of using the JEANNIE’S OWN Batik Cape Creations. It can be worn for all occasions.
Trying on a JEANNIE’S OWN Batik Cape Creation.
Looking very royal with a JEANNIE’S OWN Batik Cape Creation.
Before we knew it, it was the end of the day. We packed up (took us nearly an hour to pack our things) and headed back home. On the way home, the question….that question…”What do you want to have for dinner?” “Anything”, was the answer. Great!
NOTES: 1. “Very”, “rather”, “alarmingly” 2. Johore is the southern most state of Malaysia.
One of the most innovative inventions of our time must be the camera. Here, “our time” would be taken to mean that we get to use this invention when we are here and alive.
In 1816, Frenchman Joseph Nicéphore Niépce invented the first photographic camera. (1) Think of it. We don’t just get up one morning and say to ourselves, “Today, I think I am going to invent something. Hmmmnn. What shall I invent?” And in Joseph Niépce’s life, “I think I want to invent an image capturing device. I will call it a camera. “Today, the camera comes in all shapes and sizes and used for almost everything. Yet, it does not seem to have even scratched the surface of its full potential.
How many of us think that we aren’t smart (enough) to invent something. Yet, many inventions are by accident or a stroke of luck. A good example is “velcro”. George de Mestral was a Swiss electrical engineer who invented the hook and loop fastener which he named Velcro.
Story has it that de Mestral’s clothing became entangled in a patch of burrs and, this led him to wonder what made it stick. Years of research followed, and in 1948 he invented Velcro. (1)
A close up of how velcro works.
velcro
Back to the camera. As I move closer to having my first book published, I have to create a recognizable “writer’s image”. The word “closer” here, is not so much as the distance between one object to another. Here, “closer” is in relation to time.
Funny how that is happening when a deadline has not been set. However, I am mentally preparing to meet a deadline, even though one has not been set. I am already visualising the next two books to be out in less than two years. But first, the first book.
I just realised that at any time, I always have three cameras with me. The most used camera is my Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra which is more than just a decent camera. Rated as the best smartphone camera (and still is amongst the best) when it launched. The next camera is the one that comes with my Samsung Galaxy Z-Fold 5. It is right that amongst the best.
Insta360 Go 3 action camera
Then, I have the Insta 360 Go3 Action camera. It is so small, I thought it can do anything. It can. I just have not made the time to really use it.
All these cameras are helps towards the writing bit. So, I am well equipped as you can see. I take pictures of what I see and tell write about them.
Readers will read the books, articles, essays, stories from the writers. They will know what flows from the pen, computer keyboards, etc that comes from the mind of the writer, the creator. This means that the writer is always behind the pen; as an artist behind a paintbrush, which he “tells his story on canvas”.
While grabbing a fast dinner, I fooled around with the camera. I thought the background setting was just right – grey, red and black. I had my newest hat, a flat cap, (which is the lightest hat I have), on. As my mind wandered, I started shooting. It is absolutely fascinating to think that what the mind can think, we can conceive, make it happen…that is if we put our mind to it. Is the writer an inventor?
NOTES 1. A camera is an optical device that captures pictures that can be kept internally, sent to another place, or both. These visuals might be simple photos or moving images like videos or movies. vedantu.com 2. The name “velcro” – is a combination of ”velvet” and ”crochet,” the French word for hook It is made of two strips of nylon. On one strip is a pile made of tiny loops. The facing strip is covered with tiny nylon hooks. When pressed together the strips adhere, but they can easily be peeled apart and put together again. de Mestral eventually sold the world license for Velcro and lived on royalties and profits from his Swiss factory. nytimes.com
Phew! What a hot day, today is! The skies had a bit of an overcast, which looked like a good time to do my 10km walk.
I started my walk at around 2.30pm. The weather was very warm, with times when the sun’s rays (or sunshine) sneaked past or through the overcast skies where the light grey clouds provided the shade. The walk was hot but not as hot as yesterday. Yesterday, was not piercing hot, but dry, humidyfying hot.
It was cooler today, but make no mistake, the humidity was as uncomfortable as ever.
Had a refreshing cold shower when I got back and was ready for the rest of the day.
Picked Jeannie and Laura up from their respective places of work. The traffic was good, not too heavy. The weather was clear all the way, compared to what seemed like torrential rain at this time, yesterday.
We were a few minutes early for Laura. Jeannie walked over to the MyNews store nearby, to get us a couple of cold drinks. She of course, took the opportunity to buy some of her favourite junk snacks.
Laura and Jeannie both, talked about their day at work. Some ups, some not so ups, busy – their day at the office was good.
Got Laura to the gym just past seven. So, now, “What to eat?” Since we had some grocery shopping to do, we thought we’d have dinner at the SS15 (1) Kwai Sun coffee shop / Kopitiam / restaurant. After dinner, we could walk next door to K. P Mak, the fruit grocer, to buy one whole watermelon. The whole watermelon, even when cut into big, chunky slices; would last us for nearly a week. A refreshing fruit for hot weather like this.
Jeannie order claypot noodles (2) and I, my usual – “Sing Chow Mei Fun” or Singapore fried noodles. (6)
Jeannie’s meal order: Claypot noodles. It came with egg and lup cheong.
Jeannie’s meal was cooked in a… you guessed it: claypot. I am not too sure whether it is just for style, the noodles being served in a claypot or whether there is a distinct benefit in cooking the noodles in a claypot or whether there is a difference in taste. #2 in the notes, suggest there is. I have yet to try a meal like this.
The claypot noodles is prepared and cooked with a black sauce. It comes with a single-fried egg (3) and lap cheong (4) in the main dish. To me, lap cheong is an acquired taste.😁This meal also comes with a little side dish of cut chili padi in black sauce. (5)
Having fun with this new fangled feature. Trying out the A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) camera feature. Here, I created a copy of the rim of the claypot, separately.
Jeannie said her meal was “a bit on the salty side” (local description for being a “little salty”). This was her main meal for the day as she did not have time for lunch. She visited a relative who is in hospital during her lunch break.
My “Sing chau mai fun” or Singapore fried noodles, tasted good as usual. The meal was not overly spicy this time. The “volcanic heat” spicyness (that is not even adding the chili padi yet) was toned down this time. It sort of made me think that this meal was prepared by a different cook. The guy that usually prepares this dish – you perspire (drip in sweat) profusely just by looking at it. That is how chili hot this meal usually is. You suffer eating it. However, you will come back for more.
Most restaurants, coffee shops or kopitiams prepare this meal with tomato sauce. The taste will tend to be more tomato sauce or sweet in taste. However, here, at this restaurant, you get to taste the noodles as it should be. You can actually taste the noodles with the fried egg in it, long beans, fishcake, 2 small prawns (which I put in Jeannie’s plates as I don’t eat prawns), carrots, bean spouts, cabbage and spinach.
It comes with a small side dish of chili sauce. Don’t let its orange colour fool you. It is really potent and should be eaten with caution. The best way of eating this is to lightly dab your chopsticks in it, then pick an amount of the meal with it that you are going to put in your mouth. In this way, you will safely eat your meal, at the same time get the taste of the chili sauce. It does taste very good.
Kwai Sun Restaurant is the place to come for good “Sing chau mai fun” or Singapore fried noodles, at least in Subang Jaya.
When you ask for “Sing chau mai fun”, the taste and even what it looks like will vary from one restaurant / coffee shop to another. Most of the chefs (cooks, really) are not formally trained. One cook to another will give you what they think this meal should be. Through experience, they improve on their cooking skills. This is one way of trying the variants of this meal.
Fooling around with A. I. (Artificial Intelligence) photography. Here, the prawn was separated from the meal.
After our dinner, Jeannie and I walked over to K. P. Mak, nextdoor; to buy a watermelon. We asked their “expert” watermelon chooser worker to pick a good fruit for us; which he did (I think. Hope the fruit is good).
We then stopped by at Jaya Grocer in Empire Gallery Shopping centre to get a bottle of decaf coffee (it has been quite a while since I last had a decaf), and a few other items; which included another cold drink. The temperature seemed to be climbing as the evening wound down. What would be nice right now is to have an A.B.C.…
NOTES: 1. SS15 is a bustling town centre (the first town centre) of the city of Subang Jaya, in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. “SS” or Sungai Way-Subang The SS in the neighborhood’s name stands for Sungai Way-Subang. Addresses in PJ are standardized. The town is divided into numbered sections (seksyen), which are denoted with just S (eastern PJ), SS (central and western PJ), PJU (northern PJ), and PJS (southern PJ). 2. Claypot Noodle also known as “nga poh meen” or “sar poh meen” is a popular hawker dish in Malaysia. The dish came piping hot, usually served in the individual clay pot the noodles were cooked in. Health Benefits. Despite being relatively low in some nutrients like fiber and protein. marketboy.sg Is Claypot good for health? According to Ayurveda Specialist at Dr. Vaidya’s, Dr. Surya Bhagwati, “cooking in a clay pot not only has a variety of health benefits but also makes for an easier cooking process and in the end, a more flavorful and nutritious dish. Due to its numerous health benefits, Ayurveda suggests cooking in a clay pot. mitticool.com 3. In central and northern India’s English-speaking middle classes and mid-level restaurants, “single-fried” refers to sunny side up (also known as a “bullseye”). 4. Lap cheong (Cantonese, or simplified Chinese; traditional Chinese; pinyin: làcháng; Jyutping: Cantonese Yale: laahp chéung) is a dried, hard sausage usually made from pork and pork fat. It is normally smoked, sweetened, and seasoned with rose water, rice wine and soy sauce. The taste of lap cheong is distinctly different from better-known dried sausages, such as pepperoni, dry chorizo, or dry salami. Instead of a burst of garlic and spice, you’ll get hit with a tinge of sweetness and a bit of saltiness. 5. Bird’s eye chili or Thai chili or more commonly known as chili padi in Malaysia; is a chili pepper variety from the species Capsicum annuum that is native to Mexico. Cultivated across Southeast Asia, it is used extensively in many Asian cuisines. wikipedia 6. Singapore noodles, or Sing Chow Mei Fun as they are commonly known here, or Singapore mei fun; is a very popular dish in Malaysia as well as the US. It is made with thin rice noodles stir fried with a rich savory curry sauce and loaded with vegetables, meat and seafood. It is a matter of debate where this dish really originated.
Phew! What a week it has been. Sunday is almost up. I used to have calendars and time system planners with the week starting on a Sunday. I can’t remember why. I mean I was following the Time System programme. I purchased their most expensive leather binder and every accessory they had. I believed in the system so strongly, that I encouraged my circle of friends to use the system.
Before I got married, I encouraged my then girlfriend to then fiancé to now wife, to use the Time System by getting her a set, too.
Time System Planner
And before long, this form of time management system became a thing of the past. At least for me. I was a techy guy and soon everything was on this gizmo called a smartphone. Fast forward to today, I have everything on my smartphone (hope it does not get too big for its “boots”?, as technology on phones are constantly evolving.
The company from what I gather on its website, is still doing well. It is a system worth following. Though I am not a Time System user now, I still implement many ideas from what I learnt when I used it for over 12 years.
Now, my week starts on a Monday. Has been for many years. It also means that I am in tune with schedules of other people.
Right now, this very moment, while working with this essay, I am eating one of those commercially made fruit cake slices, which is very (very!) dry, and below o.k. in taste; just eaten two Panadol and drinking a mug of ice cold milo. Fruit cake – not much of a choice since I bought it from a convenience store nearby. And I am hungry now, since dinner was light and eaten fairly early. And yes, eaten two Panadol (paracetamol tablets) – it is the local way, the Malaysian way of saying “just taken” when it comes to medicine.
So, the week has been pretty interesting. Jeannie, my wife; took a couple of days leave from work. We visited a couple of new places to eat. My good friend, Dick Black from South Carolina, U.S.A.; remarked that we seem to be eating out all the time. Good point. We are. I think it has to do with traffic jams too and from work. It takes a good chunk out of our day, each day. Which means we rather eat out and make our way back when the traffic presumably has eased up.
We welcomed the public holiday, Wesak (celebrated by people of the Buddhist faith); when we took a break from travelling through traffic jams. In the evening, I had an accident when I momentarily was airborne, while leaving a pharmacy in Taipan. I injured my knee and hands. Jeannie was with me at that time. She rushed me to the clinic to have my wounds treated.
Thank you family members, friends and readers for the hundreds of messages of concern and wishes for a speedy recovery. The wounds are healing nicely, though there is still some pain. I have been off my daily 10km walk. Waiting to get back on soon.
“Yes” that was what she said – she has announced that she is engaged to be married. Laura, our daughter; is very happy. We, the Batik Influencer, Jeannie; and I, the Hatted Writer; her parents; 😁, are very happy for her.
The weekend at Amcorp Shopping Mall was pretty exciting, quieter than most weekends. However, it did have its fair share of great moments. Jeannie met and introduced batik and her JEANNIE’S OWN Batik Cape creations to many people. Her batik capes are simply vibrant – for official, casual, anytime wear.
Perfect!
“Can I dance in it?” The lady seemed to be gesturing with her actions.
We met with a person working with a NGO for refugees. He talked to us about the refugee status in Malaysia and with neighbouring countries. Malaysia has been accommodating. There over 250,000 refugees here. They are still “stateless” – waiting (some for many years) to get some form of recognition. People are without jobs, children without school. They don’t have identification papers (lost when they left their home countries). To make things slightly easier, they are all born January 1st. The NGOs have been working at their best to help see to the needs of the refugees. We are sure to meet this person again as he hails from Klang. He went to the same school I did (he is many years my junior).
Jeannie, in a songket – like JEANNIE’S OWN Batik Cape.
Now, that the week has past, which was the future before it started, which had multiple unplanned for events together with those that were planned, we take all the “+”s and bring it with us to the new week ahead. We will strive to put in more than just our best in the journey ahead of us and aim for happiness as the result of all that we have achieved.
A touch up, a minor one at that; is supposed to be with minor pain. “It is only logical”, as Spock of Star Trek would say. Hah! I think this is an irritating pain.
One thing led to another, and I began looking for another tattoo on the net. I was just going to see what was new, that was all. From one set to another to another, to other sites…the latest…the greatest…2024 small tattoos… for men… finger…arm…shoulder. The internet was flooded with what everyone of them said of the sites they were promoting: theirs was the best.
Then to choose one which has a meaning.. a symbol…, there was an infinite number to choose from. I stayed away from the ones that looked scary. I didn’t want to choose one that if I was to wake up in the middle of the night, would scare me out of my skin.
I chose some designs, finally; after more than an hour of searching. They each had a nice meaning linked to it. My final choice was between a rose and the word “continue”. I chose to give meaning of my own: Rose is a symbol of life, love and beauty. In any situation, it picks itself up and continues to add value to beauty and its surroundings. The word “continue” means we have to continue to strive for more than the best in all we do.
Like in most times, I always sought the opinions of the ones closest to me. Laura just had her second tattoo done. She said it was between the rose and the wave pictures. The rose ended up as the winner.
Rose
Wave
Before last night, I had no plans of getting another tattoo. I was just going for a touch up to the last tattoo I had done, only.
I got to the Dr Ink Studio a few minutes before my appointment time. I had to go through the usual: one of the employees sprayed a light disinfectant around me. I met Soon, who was his usually very pleasant, polite and courteous self.
Soon showed me to the chair that I would be sitting on , while he did the touch up. I also told him about my choice of the rose.
Should I say, “Ouch” or “Oo-la-la”? My first tattoo touchup.
A touch up, a minor one at that; is supposed to be with minor pain. “It is only logical”, as Spock of Star Trek would say. Hah! I think this is an irritating pain, somehow even more painful than when it was first done.
Before Soon started on the new tattoo; I asked him multiple x multiple (instead of using the word “many” – being American) questions like how much pain will I really be going through since that the thumb area was a sensitive area with constant movement. I was expecting him to say, “It isn’t going to be very painful”. However, he said it was going to be slightly more painful that the tattoo done on my arm. My questions were based more on my concerns of taking care of the tattoo just after its done for the next few days. He allayed all my concerns.
I said, “Let’s do it!”
Then, I realised it was shaving cream, which had disinfectant properties, too. Here, Soon shaves off whatever hair(s) I may have in that area.
At first, I thought this was a disinfectant, applied.
Whatever residue balanced, is wiped clean.
Steady as it goes: the exact placement where I want it to be and where it will look at its best all the time.
The stencil-ed picture is transferred on. The stencil is then removed before the procedure starts.
The ink.
The outline already looks good.
The saline is supposed to lighten the colour of the ink a bit (I think) to create hues of colour(in this case, black).
The procedure: Microscopic injecting of the ink.
One painful leaf almost done. The rest of the picture to go.
Done. The masterpiece.
I was impressed with the professionalism that Soon displayed in carrying out this task. All you gals n guys wanting to get tattoos done, should see Soon.
Should you get a tattoo or tattoos done? If you are thinking about it, now is a good time as ever.
A rose is but a rose… unless it’s tattoo-ed. Then, it is a rose, tattoo-ed. It reminds you that life is about love, and love is about life.
NOTES: The ink is injected INTO the skin. Artists create your tattoo by injecting ink into your skin using an electrically powered tattoo machine. This machine looks and sounds like a dental drill, with a needle that moves up and down to puncture the skin between 50 and 3,000 times per minute.
It is about that time… Which is anytime is a good time for coffee. Wherever you go, there will be coffee in some form or another, available.
Coffee seems to have revolutionized the way we live. it has been around since longer than I can remember. And I got “involved” with coffee longer than I can remember. It was not just black coffee, or coffee with sugar or plain white coffee. It’s not became it is available in fancy styles and described with exotic names. It was not for its anti-oxidant good health(?) properties. I just like coffee.
On one of my many visits to cafes, shopping malls and public events recently, we, meaning my wife, Jeannie, and I; recently visited Central Market or as it is more commonly known in Kuala Lumpur as “Pasar Seni”. Pasar Seni is Malay for art market. So, you’ve guessed it. You can get almost anything artsy here. No fancy art galleries. Just local artists displaying their works, mainly for sale. Two of the most common types of art available here are batik and paintings on canvas. You can also get on a smaller scale; local handicraft.
Central Market has evolved from just being an tourist attraction for arts and souvenirs. With its recent renovations and new look in an old era “facade”; it now has a fairly large convenient store / supermarket, a couple of food courts (or is it two food courts in one?) and several new restaurants.
On the day of our visit, there was a bazaar going on in the main foyer(?) or hall. Lots of booths showcasing all their products. Definitely a ladies’ attraction as most of these booths catered to the likes of ladies.
While walking along the lanes there was a booth that caught my attention from a distance. It looked like it had some coffee products. I made a “bee” line towards it. As I got nearer to the booth, I noticed it had signs (I took it was the brand) “KOOPI” in strategic spots of the booth.
“Would you like to try our coffee?”, this bright, young lady asked, as she offered me a small cup of coffee. “Don’t mind if I do”, I replied. A possible write- up? Maybe, I thought to myself. When I tried their version of “Ipoh White Coffee”, I quite liked it. The young lady was Kate Poon. She served me the sample of what I presumed was their best seller. I asked Kate to let me have another shot of this coffee sample. By this time, Jeannie had caught up with me after making her rounds to all the booths and shops in the building.
The KOOPI brand, the new kid on the block, experienced however with four generations of pleasing the tastebuds and exciting the senses of customers.
Kate was manning the booth with her mother. She told us the story of her entry into the foray of the coffee business. Coffee beverages and restaurants are highly competitive. There is no resting on one’s laurels in this business. Kate told us of how she is part of the 4th generation of the family coffee restaurant / kopitiam / coffee shop, business which has its heritage dating back since its establishment in 1937. I could see the twinkle in her eye when she talked passionately about KOOPI.
I liked the little samplings of the different coffees she had on offer. However, I wanted to see if I would enjoy sipping these coffees while I went about my daily grind of my work schedule. So, I purchased one of each of the coffees she had on sale to take home.
The kopio-O kosong (coffee “black” – no sugar, no milk) empty pack. I forgot to take pictures of it before drinking the coffee.
The first coffee drink I had was The KOOPI black, or “kopi-O kosong” (no sugar and milk). This drink came in a soft plastic pack with a screw-on / unscrew cap. I found this soft “bottle” quite unusual. I kept this drink in the fridge so I had it when it was nice and cold. I guess you can pour the contents into a cup and microwave it if you prefer this drink hot.
I invited Jeannie to try this coffee. She found it quite strong. I thought the drink was o.k.. This variant of coffee is offered especially for those who like their coffee without the clothes on (meaning the coffee – no sugar, no milk; not that you have to drink this coffee in the buff 😉) According to Kate, these beans are locally sourced. For the average coffee drinker, they will not be able to tell the difference between one kopi-o from another.
For the pros, they would talk about the different types of beans, the roasting process, roasting temperatures, length of roasting times, etc.
I prefer to enjoy the coffee as it is, take it for face value without getting too technical about preparations. I would talk about the aroma, the taste, how it pleases my senses, etc. It is like driving a car, I won’t be too caught up with the number of turns each wheel does in a minute or over a given distance. I would concern myself more with the ride, comfort and some of the additional benefits like automated air-conditioning. Sometimes, I think these “coffee experts” like to think themselves as they are the ones that make coffee what coffee is today, so when they talk confusingly or mumbo-jumbo and you have no idea what they are talking about; they must be experts.
The next day, I chose the KOOPI “Ipoh White Coffee”. I refer to it as “KOOPI Ipoh White Coffee” because “Ipoh White Coffee” is not exclusive to the KOOPI brand. Therefore, you can’t just say you want to buy “Ipoh White Coffee” because there are many local brands that offer “Ipoh White Coffee”.
Their white coffee also came in a soft plastic pack with a screw-on / unscrew cap. This I would think, is their signature drink, appealing to the masses. I had this coffee straight from the fridge, the way I like it – ice cold, not just chilled. It was nice, Jeannie liked it, too. This was the first sample that Kate gave me to try and I immediately took to it. Now, that I had more of it to drink, I reaffirm that this would be a best seller. It has a very nice blend of its coffee with milk, where the milk is not over-powering in taste. I recall that this was a comment I first made when I initially tried the sample. The drink is not too sweet, too. I think that this drink seems to have got it right where the emphasis is on the coffee taste, with the sugar and milk lending the right mix to the blend.
Last of the coffees but not the least was their white coffee “kaw” (or strong). It came bottled, in a fairly common shaped bottle, like the ones used by more and more cafes for their signature or more premium coffees they usually have on sale. This white coffee kaw or locally referred to as “kopi peng kaw”, was definitely in my “perfect, I like” category. This coffee, like the other two; came straight from the fridge, the way I like it – ice cold, not just chilled. Glass bottled; the coffee was “extra cold”. It was smooth, delicious, a thirst quencher, and would go well with any meal you had.
Jeannie found the drink just a tad bit strong, not too strong; just a tad bit strong only.
The white coffee “kaw” or kopi peng “kaw” in a nice, comfortably shaped, “take-me-anywhere” bottle with a very colourful label on the front, and the nutrition facts (white lettering with black background) on the other side.
The packing, as you can see from the pictures below; meant “premium”. The white coffee “kaw” or kopi peng “kaw” as it would more commonly be referred to as, comes in a nice, comfortably shaped, “take me anywhere” bottle, with a very colourful brand label on the front, and the nutrition facts (white lettering with black background) on the other side. Then it has a black tape with “Ipoh White Coffee” in English and Chinese characters in gold lettering, running from the front of the bottle, right across the top of its cover, to the other side of the bottle. This is like a seal, sort of a nice touch to its finishing.
Kate has a lot going for her brand, “KOOPI”. She’s bright, she’s energetic, does not seem too overly ambitious, and seems to be enjoying the “ride” of being a part of a potentially super successful coffee brand. Who knows, she could be the next very successful “Kate Spades” of the business world. Don’t forget me, Kate; when you get to the very top 😉😁
The author, with the wonderful Kate Poon.
NOTES: The packet drinks are not officially launched yet as they are still testing the markets. The bottled drinks are available at 1. a booth right outside Jaya Grocer at Starling Mall, Damansara Uptown, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. 2. Sun Yin Loong Restaurant (their family restaurant), Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
Every single person on planet earth that is here, present; has a story of their own to tell; whether it is in their mother tongue language, English or a different language; whether it is in the form of pictures, dance or any means of communication; with the hope that what is communicated to the audience; will be received by the audience in exactly the way that it was communicated, without losing the essence of the message. What is most important is that each story is different.
This is something that A.I. or Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT can never do as these can only generate information that was pre-installed with data. Whatever information that is churned out from these two software is sort of a “done this, been there” information. Admittedly, “can never do” could be a bit far fetched.
Don’t surrender decision making to computers all in the name of making life easier for us. The truth is: it doesn’t.
While on your own path, wherever that leads. Run your own race, wherever that goes. Quit comparing your life with another. We are all on a journey, but our paths are different. Our stories are unique.
