Saturday, June 09, 2007

Starbucks: Azuki Frappucino [Summer Flavor]

(Starbucks's New Summer'07 Flavor...)

Only at Starbucks Coffee you will find this new Frappucino Ice Blended drink which is called "Azuki"... many of you may not know what Azuki is... but in Japanese it means "red beans". Yes, Japanese too eat red beans... these red beans are imported all the way from Japan and is designed to blend in well with the new range of cream base / coffee base "Frappucino" that is sold here at Starbucks this summer.

Jack and I recently went to Starbucks Coffee Media ONLY presentation day for the launch of their summer drink. It was also the time of the year to educate us members of the Malaysian media about coffee tasting, smelling the aroma... and slurping away the taste of the coffee trying to define which coffee is which. It's perhaps similar to the training given to Starbucks Coffee staffs but we were attended to by one of my friends here... who happens to be the Coffee Ambassador of Starbucks.

He is none other than Benjamin!!! For short we call him Ben and he holds the title Coffee Ambassador 2005/06 - he's also the store manager for Starbucks Coffee Damansara Uptown 1. And he's the same age as me. OMG...im not even at manager status and he's already the store manager!!! Thx Ben & Jone...we had great fun time here at this event and thx for the goodies!
The launch of the new beverage, many of the Starbucks Management staffs are very enthusiasted with the happenings here today!

My friend Ben who is here today to emcee the event... being a coffee ambassador means a lot of things...but one of it is that he's able to taste and tell the flavors apart from its distinctive smell.

There were also games for us to play... Each member of the media is given the chance to play a game and receive prizes such as Starbucks Medallion, Starbucks Mug and etc...

The Azuki Frappucino at Starbucks is available in 2 different base, coffee base for those who love coffee and cream base for those who can't take up coffee!! :P

Here's your choice to dream...that's what it says at the back!!!

The summer slice Azuki cake... designed with soft moistured layers of Azuki (red beans) in between... this cake tastes the best eaten CHILLED!

These scones are a MUST TRY!!! Azuki Scone made with a very satisfying and layered filling of Azuki...the Scones are baked to perfection and is simply awesome... never really tasted any other better scones here in Malaysia!

Enjoying free Starbucks Drinks... i had a Caramel Macchiato Grande, Signature Hot Chocolate Grande and many other drinks...Jack can't even remember his!

The summer cups... 2 new colors - perfect for modern homes!

Lets taste the new drinks together shall we! We tasted both Coffee and Cream base!

Lunch at Ikea was even more interesting when Meg came to join us! hehehe... thx for spending some time with us here today Meg, Jone and Ben! Long time no see y'all!!!

The experience... wanna know more, come and join Starbucks Coffee - its the one and only real authentic coffee company!!!

Notice the black apron instead of the usual GREEN apron... this signifies that the person is a Coffee Ambassador! - And he has gone through a written test and etc to become one!

Mobile Drink dispenser... there's only one of these around if i am not mistaken!

The Starbucks Management Team for Malaysia... kudos to them for coming up with such great new ads, campaigns and drinks for the local market. Great job!!! So, what are you all waiting for... go tryout the Azuki Frappucino... i personally prefer the cream base drink - i just think that red bean with coffee is a bit off, but that's my own personal opinion. The CREAM BASE Azuki Frappucino is worth a try and good value for money!

Talking about Starbucks... I just had an Iced Coffee from Starbucks Today, Kenya Iced Coffee that is... but if you were to meet up with Ben, he'd probably suggest you to grab an Iced Shaken Tazo Lemon Tea! Once again, thanks Ben & Jone for the great day! Great job in creating the concept of the event and how members of the media are brought through the store learning step by step more and more stuffs bout Coffee. There you had it... at Starbucks, its not all just about the coffee!!! There's more to it....!!!

Monday, June 04, 2007

Penang: Northam All Suites Hotel

(Blog Update For May 2007)

A quick getaway to Penang as a holiday...was as awesome as it could get. I met up with a whole bunch of friends and ate a myriad of food. Well all of that we'll leave it till the next update, for now i just wanna post some pics about the Hotel that I stayed in. The room is SPACIOUS, right at the top floor - level 38!!! Can you imagine that... Anyways enjoy the room! And as usual, its a sea view room located on Gurney...

This hotel room is a 2 Bedroom Suite, with 2 Jacuzzi, 1 Sauna, 5 Television, 6 Phones (yes you got me right... a sauna room that can fit 3 persons inside the suite itself).

The room is quite spacious and big... if it wasn't for the SPECIAL SPECIAL price, we wouldn't have been in here. Its quite cheap really!

Great view of the ocean, central location on Penang Island.

The living room is awesome, you can practically fit like 20 people in this suite.

There's a pantry and a dining room separated from the rest...dining table is meant for 6 persons.

The living room with ample space, sofas / cushions, study area and a big ass TV~!

Room number 1, 2 single beds...

The jacuzzi tub and as you can see they only use blinds here and just about anyone out there can peak thru inside!

So what do you do if you're the shy kinda person...

The master bedroom is far much more bigger than the other room complete with a KING size bed.

The bathroom and the main master bedroom is only separated with a clean cloth...