Review: Tiara Beach Resort, Port Dickson

This is our second visit to the Tiara Beach Resort, with the first being in 2007. Even though the gap was a mere three years, but the once-proud Resort looks like it has aged thirty years. From its worn-out furniture to its lacklustre rooms, the Tiara is like a crown losing its gems and diamonds, bit by bit.

Reservation and check-in:

We tried our luck on the Friday, and luckily, we got ourselves a room. The reservation informed us that we booked for a one-room apartment, but upon check-in, it turned out that the rate which we paid was for a studio room only. It was poor communications and a serious error by the management, but no amount of complaining was going to rectify the situation. We double-checked our reservations, but my tip to you is, triple check if you want to reserve rooms at the Tiara.

The check-in process was chaotic. I have not seen anything like it before. There was a pre-check-in counter to get your confirmation slip and a queue number, before we can proceed to the real check-in counter to get our keys. the queue number was so long that it was worse than at the Immigrations Department. The Lobby was so packed that it looked like the market and the toilet was so filthy. The staff was made up of trainees and clearly lacked experience and courtesy.

Imagine my irritation, when at the pre-check-in counter, the staff could not find my name and blankly stared at me and said, "Sorry encik, nama encik tiada..", much to my chagrin and annoyance. She didn't even try to double-check. Finally, her colleague next to her came and help, and of course she found my name, as it was right there all along. And my queue number was a good and solid 70 persons ahead.

while waiting for check-in

If it wasn't for the entertainment provided at the Lobby, I would have lost my temper. Being Christmas, the Tiara had Santa Claus, the Teletubbies and two clowns (one of them was on stilts, which was cool) to keep the children occupied.

So a misinformed reservation department, chaotic check-in and lazy staff, we would like to proudly rate 1 mark out of 10; and the single mark is for the entertainment.

Room:

We were given block F (the last block), which was okay, but we had to make one big turn around to get there, and the parking were full. The annoying thing was the parking bays were full because the management of Tiara deemed it fit to fill about 10-15 bays with kiosks and stalls to make more profit. Maximizing the profit but depriving the paying customers of comfort and convenience.

Our room was on the 3rd floor (all blocks have 6 floors with about 20 units on each floor); but there was only one small and miserable elevator to serve them all. The management would like their clients to use the stairs but, in all their stupidity, forgets that people who come to Tiara do so in large families and carry lots of luggage. The notice at the elevator lobby reads - "Strictly for unloading baggage only" - do you think children and senior citizen would be able to climb the stairs all the way to level 6?

Anyway, upon entering the room, that's when we realized we got the studio room. Calling front desk would be useless, because they insisted that the rate we paid for was really for studio room on weekends, but I was informed otherwise during reservation. It was miscommunication but I still blame the management for giving inaccurate and contradicting information.

As for the room itself.. where do we start to complain. The furniture was so worn-out it looked like it came from a government rest house. The curtains were so dirty and looked unchanged for eternity, they were so decayed and torn apart. The toilet was not clean too. And the room was dusty like it was not cleaned for a long time. We had to pay deposit if we wanted the remote controls to the air-cond. And nobody from housekeeping showed up when we requested for.

Disappointing and a shambles, totally unworhty of our money. 2 marks out of 10.

The Water Park:

The one and only reason people still come to Tiara - the massive pool and man-made beach and water park. Since the 13th of December, entrance to the Water Park area will incur entrance charges of RM20 per adult and RM15 per children, but when you book a room, you get complimentary entrance according to your room types. For studio, you get complimentary entrance for 2 adults and 2 children, and you get to wear wristbands according to colours designated for the day. But we saw that the implementation was not strict yet, but at least bring the wristbands along to the water park because there will different prices to pay for other facilities, if you have the wristbands (like renting a bike, foot masage, fish spa and more).

The massive pool was really big enough and we still managed to find a spot for our little family to soak and splash. However the much smaller kiddies playground pool was packed and the water looked murky. Anyway, the whole park has enough water and inflatable slides to keep everyone happy and enjoyable. There were enough lifeguards on duty too.

As for the bike rental, it was RM8 for 30 minutes for single rider (with wristband) and RM10 for 30 minutes for twin (the bipeds). A bit expensive but you can cycle around the vast Tiara area, and we don't think they're too rigid with the time. Other facilities available are gymnasium, games room, indoor playground, sauna and karaoke.

The Pavillion Area:

At nightfall, the Pavillion area comes to life with its brightly decorated and colorful trees. A giant screen monitor was showing cartoons as early as 7.30 pm. Kids were safely running around the area, and playing the UFOs (of course, sold at the area). There were stalls selling toys and snacks.

Then the stage hosted a magic show and an acrobatic performance from China. For the more relax-inclined people, a live band played at the restaurant, where you can also test you karaoke skills. In short, there are many activities to keep you occupied until your bedtime.

The water park and pavillion are the only saving grace left for Tiara, but there are now many up-and-coming water parks. And some of the facilities should already be included in the entrance fees. We give the pool and pavillion combo 8 marks.

Service and food:

The temporary staff was, like stated above, lazy and unhelpful. However, the more experienced permanent staff at the front desk was friendly and courteous. Don't expect concierge service though.

Breakfast was no longer included in your room rates by default anymore (replaced by the entrance fees), so we never had the chance to try the food. There are a number of restaurants in Tiara. Or else you could head for PD town or down to the Melaka border for seafood.

We didn't try the food so we can't rate it, but we can give the Tiara staff 5 marks out of 10.

Overall:

The Tiara could boast of its unique attraction a while ago, but with so many other similar-themed resorts, why should we come back? A total refurbishment of the accommodation facilities should be on the resort's priority list, as well as a total revamp of their reservation and check-in mechanism. The water could do with some updating too. The entrance fee will prove unpopular in the longer term.

A disappointing place to have your holiday, we will decline to recommend Tiara to people looking for a value-for-money vacation in PD. An overall mark of miserable 4 for this miserable resort.

Cendol Durian

Lepas rasa tak puas hati minum cendol jadian hari tu

Terjumpa cendol sebenar di Sweet Chat

Cendol Durian!

Mantaplah!!!

Hilang kemaruk 2 in 1

~kemaruk cendol dan kemaruk durian~

Cendol Klang

 Sanggup wooo meredah hujan cari kedai ni

 Nak makannya semangkuk jer

ada cendol biasa

cendol aiskrim

cendol pulut

cendol durian jer takde!

 Ni landmark dia

aishh.. tak nampak pulak nama jalan tu yer

haaa..

Cendol Klang

Jalan Nanas, Klang

jumpa masjid ni, jumpa la kedai tu

Fofularrrr beb!

Hujan-hujan pun tak putus-putus orang keluar masuk

kira kedai 1Malaysia lah!

Cina, Melayu, India, Bangla (eh!) semua masuk pekena cendol!

Hasilnya..

cendol memang mantap

tapi santannya pekat sangat kot

so cepat muak

makan semangkuk, TAK terasa nak tambah lagi!

hahaha

Kedai ok.. spacious

tapi nak dapat parking agak payah sikit!

err.. ataupun mungkin sebab hujan kot

hurmmm...

.

Lontong Klang

Salah satu signature dish di Klang

kat sini gerai dia 2 lot

sebelah untuk lontong, nasi lemak dan air

sebelah lagi tempat untuk prepare roti canai

Lontong Biasa

Nasi Impit

Serunding Kelapa

Tauhu goreng

Telur rebus (setengah biji)

Tempe goreng 2 keping

Begedil

Sayur - Kacang Panjang, Kubis dan Sengkuang

Sambal

RM 3.00

Lontong Sotong

Sama macam lontong biasa

tapi ada tambah sotong sambal

RM 4.50

Lontong Special

Sama macam lontong sotong

tapi tempe dapat 3 keping

nasi impit ekstra

ada telur goreng

RM 6.00

Kedainya kat sini...

Opposite Jusco Bukit Tinggi Klang

Buka setiap hari kecuali Isnin

Sedap!!!

tapi budak-budak tak boleh makan sebab pedas

kalau nak makan jugak, kena mintak asingkan sambal

=)

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Boston's Steamboat

My mother treated us to the Boston World - Steamboat Restaurant at AEON Bukit Tinggi, and this was awhile back, so this review is a little delayed. As its name suggests, this outlet specializes in Steamboat, and the menu is quite extensive. As you often do in a Steamboat outlet like this, you always go for a set, or a packaged menu as they offer value for money.

But first up, Mummy had the Blue Curacao drink - of course this one is non-alcoholic version lah. This drink gets its name from the island (Curracao), as the drink is made from dried orange peels which were grown on the island. So the drink was a bit soury, tinged with ice-cream soda and a peel of lime - great.

We settled on the set for two - where everything on tray comes in pairs. Prawns, fishcakes, fishballs, noodles, etc - we greatly recommend this - the portion was just right. There were four of us adults and we ordered two sets of this, plus extra rice noodles - tak habis makan!

Boston's Steamboat comes with their own specialty sambal and sesame oil in soy sauce which complements the taste of your steamboiled condiments. The key to enjoying a steamboat meal is how long you dip your condiments into the soup, though we are no experts ourselves, we can definitely tell you to not soak your noodles for too long. Just select a few fishballs, vegetables and dip them for 3 minutes, then eat, enjoy, then repeat process.

Although Boston falls a little short of our favourite Steamboat hangout (Johnny's), they do have a good sambal and soy sauce, and the interior of the outlet was presentable. And the Curacao was good too.

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Restoran A. Hassan Ayam Kampung

Di kawasan komersil baru Seksyen 7 Bandar Baru Bangi, ada restoran Hassan Ayam Kampung yang memang femes dengan ayam kampungnya, sejak dari outlet di Puchong dan Hentian Awan Besar tu. Cawangan kat Seksyen 7 ni besar, luas dan selesa sebab 2 tingkat dan berkonsepkan rumah kampung. Lauk-pauk dia pun diservekan di kedua-dua tingkat, so senanglah, tak payah turun naik kalau nak tengok lauk.

Lauk-pauk kat sini pun memang banyak pilihan lah - dari ayam, daging, ikan, sayur, kerabu - semuanya masakan tradisi kampung. Rasa pun boleh tahan, sedap dan berselera. Memang menjadi tumpuan lunch crowd dari pejabat-pejabat berdekatan.

Kalau berpeluang, singgah la kat sini, pilih tingkat atas so tak sesak sangat, kalau pegi masa weekdays. Cubalah rasa ayam kampung goreng yang memang specialty outlet ni. Juga rasalah lauk-lauk masakan kampung, tak rugi, at least boleh tahan la.

Info: Restoran ini dirasmikan oleh Tuan Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat, ada gambar dia kat dinding restoran. Selamber je Tok Guru datang tak ghoyak kan, kalau tak boleh la pegi jumpa dia, amik gambar..


...............................................

He he he
Saje nak tunjuk bukti kukuh
Bahawasanya
Tok Guru Nik Aziz
telah merasmikan kedai ini...

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Mali's Corner

Outlet: Mali's Corner

Where: Platinum Walk, Setapak

What: Char Kuey Teow, hawker food in a trendy place

Mali's Char Kuey Teow is so popular among KL-ites that its reputation is legendary, and can rank itself in the same hawker-fare bracket as Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa, Hokkien fried noodle, and others of its genre, as one of KL's must-try food. An appearance in Astro Prima's Warung Kita programme brought our attention to this particular warung (featured was Mali's original location in Wangsa Maju). However, Mali's has moved into the upmarket with an outlet at the Platinum Walk in Setapak.

The outlet is simple, nice and ordinary - so it fits the hawker food that it serves. Practicing the self-service concept, walk up to the counter and order. But you can have only char kuey teow, nasi lemak and nasi ayam hainan (up to 4 p.m.) here.

Pic 1 and 2: The service counters.

So go for the big one - order Char Kuey Teow Special - special because it is served with shrimps. And the shrimps are a lot - we counted nine succulent, big ones in the dish. As for the taste, it was just so mesmerising, every spoonful was majestic it simply melted in our mouth. You just want to have more.

Pic 3 and 4: Savour the succulent Char Kuey Teow Special. And empty your plate. See how many shrimps are served.

We also tried the nasi lemak - erm, well, it tasted like any average nasi lemak.

Verdict:

Staff: Friendly enough, but I do have a minor grouse - its self-service concept. When you serve hawker fare and only have three dishes on the menu, perhaps self-service is not the way to do it.

Decor: Simple but comfortable enough. But the open kitchen was a nice addition, so you can drool while they fry your order of char kuey teow.

Pic above: More dining space at the upper level of the outlet.

Food: Aiseh, no need to repeat myself here. Mali's deserves a spot in the Travel Channel as one of KL's international-class hawker food. Bourdain, try this one out.

Coming back: Definitely absolutely. KL's finest.

I'm Going to the Gatsby Deodorant Street Fair

Gatsby, the really popular and renown maker of quality beauty and hair care products for men, will be throwing a street-themed bash for its Malaysian consumers next month. Billed as the Gatsby Deodorant Street Fair, it will take place on the 17th of April 2010 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Front Foyer, Ground Floor of the Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur.

First established in 1976 by the Japanese company Mandom (of which Mandom has a far older history when it was still known as the Tancho Stick), the Gatsby brand shot to prominence with the release of "Moving Rubber", a series of exceptionally cool hair styling products. At the Street Fair, Gatsby will launch its latest product, the Double Protection Deodorant, which will be available in both roll-on and spray can variants. Knowing Gatsby as a stylish and exciting brand, the Street Fair is ought to be an enjoyable affair, with a lucky draw being the highlight of the day. Various exciting gadgets worth up to RM15,000 will be up for grabs.

And of course, being a Japanese-based company, the Street Fair will also have a lot of fun and amusing games on offer. Among them is the Sumo Wrestling in air-bag suits, gladiator battles, and many more. You can be sure that the games will be funny, addictive and not really be about winning.

So mark your calendar for the Gatsby Deodorant Street Fair, and here are the details again:

Date: 17 April 2010

Time: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Location: Front Foyer, Ground Floor, Berjaya Times Square, KL

And do drop by this link for more info on the event. See you guys there!

Village View

Place: Village View, Jalan Reko, Bangi

Ambience and setting: Kampung-style, rustic Malay setting. Huge and spacious, but poorly-lit. For large family outing, choose the rumah kampung seating - a mock pondok with hollow space underneath the table so you can bersila or stretch your legs.

Food: Seafood, Malay and Thai cooking, Western

Review: We came in an entourage of fourteen, so the pondok was very suitable. At least the kids will not disturb other patrons. We find the Jalan Reko branch was very much bigger than the one at Selaman, and the waiters were a lot more efficient too. The service was okay, tak cepat sangat tapi tak la lambat sangat.

Food: Kitaorang rasa specialty sini ialah Ayam Boxing, Ayam Pandan (tak berapa sedap) dan mungkin Tomyam Poktek (serabut sangat). Tapi untuk malam itu, sebab Along dan Kak Fatin yang belanja, so kami tunggu makanan sampai je la, which was Siakap 3 Rasa (ikan garing, kuah ok), telur bungkus (pedas), Tomyam Campur (ok) dan Kailan Ikan Masin (tak nampak ikan masin). Overall, boleh la.

Verdict: Restoran konsep ni memang banyak kat Bangi - especially kat area Selaman (tapi jangan pegi Yankie's Hut tau) - dan kedua-dua cawangan Village View ini memang antara yang terbaik, choose the one at Jalan Reko if you want the ambience. Highly recommended.

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Why I Want The BlackBerry Storm 2

It was a dark and stormy night. This was my first stint deep in the jungle of a hostile country, as part of a reconnaissance mission. I was parachuted off a SOAR helicopter two days ago, and landed about twenty kilometres away from the missile silo. A fast, hard march ensured I arrived at the silo’s perimeters just after dark. I chose my lying-up position and camouflaged myself. My order was to observe and capture images, never to engage. I still had two hours before the first light of dawn emerged and so I caught a nap.

Awaking after about two hours later, I was startled by the sound of a convoy of army trucks arriving at the silo. I took out my smartphone and by the slightest touch of its screen, brought up its camera function. The 3.2 megapixels camera had autofocus function, so I did not have to worry about blurred images. I captured the images of the convoy unloading crates and crates of cargo. Satisfied with the images, I prepared it to be sent. A few more nimble touches of the screen, and the pictures were sent via email. It was technology at its best.

After that, I observed more activities at the silo and I took pictures of them all. Storage wasn’t a problem, as the smartphone had a 2 GB flash memory built inside its stylish yet rugged exterior. Everytime I sensed a picture was significant, I immediately sent it straight to intel. And never once the smartphone let me down.

When the day had turned into darkness, it was time for me to go. The darkness masked any moonlight and blanked out the stars, and I did not want to struggle to navigate my way out of here. I took out my now trusty smartphone, and started its GPS mode. The device kicked into gear and found the three satellites which are needed to triangulate my position. Within minutes, I had it. The rendezvous point was due North-West, and about thirteen kilometers away, so it was hard running all the way to make it on time for exfiltration.

The helicopter was there, and swiflty I was out of the jungle. I made a call to headquarters. The voice on the other was remarkably clear and crisp, this was one good phone. I confirmed: mission accomplished, now enroute for de-brief. I looked down on the jungle and thought about my short but important mission – I came in invisible but stormed like the whirlwind – the smartphone was a reliable partner.

And the smartphone’s name was apt too. It was called the BlackBerry Storm 2.

Celcom, which has recently become the no. 1 telco provider in Malaysia, is the most perfect home for the BlackBerry. Both brands are premium, innovative, timeless, dynamic and appeals to a wide range of users. Young and old, techie or not – all of them will appreciate BlackBerry’s top of the range technology with Celcom’s leading edge expertise. Celcom’s prepaid package, the simply-named but very catchy X, is very tantamount to the crucial teenagers and young adults market. Got X, got it all; seems to be the catchphrase of the cyber generation. Celcom’s BlackBerry X packages augur well for this age bracket – affordable but still maximizing the most that the BlackBerry could offer – messaging, calls, email, surfing, and lots more.

Celcom have grown rapidly in the last five years, and it looks like that they are going to stay at the summit for a long, long time.

Tooth Fairy

Tooth Fairy (PG-13)

Look, The Rock seldom chooses a bad script, but sometimes he stumbled upon an average one. Like this movie, for instance, which was pretty average - but The Rock puts in his charming persona (and his famous wink) to pull this movie above average. Not entirely funny, but enjoyable, the Tooth Fairy is a feel-good movie suitable for the whole family. It's about going for your dreams as shown by The Rock's character as an ice hockey player who quite never make it, and paralleled by his girlfriend's son's ambition to become a guitar player.

Tooth Fairy casts The Rock as a once-promising hockey player Derek Thompson, who has been stuck in minor-league obscurity for years. Nicknamed "The Tooth Fairy" for his signature move which is a brutal whack that always costs his opponent a tooth, Derek spends more time in the penalty box than on the ice. Having given up on his dream of stardom long ago, he feels little guilt about shattering the hopes of others, even his girlfriend's young daughter who still believes in tiny fairies that steal into children's rooms in the middle of the night exchanging lost teeth for dollar bills.

Derek is charged with "disseminating disbelief" and promptly summoned to tooth fairy headquarters, where he's outfitted with wings and a uniform and ordered to spend two weeks collecting kiddie teeth. This movie is quite predictable but some of the jokes are good enough and The Rock will keep you entertained with his lovable screen persona.

Most memorable moments:

1. Billy Crystal's cameo, as Jerry, the fairyland's inventory keeper. Short, but extremely hilarious appearance from the veteran.
2. The Rock and his case worker, Tracy trading jokes about 'wings'.
3. The scene before The Rock and Tracy says goodbye - "Maybe we can stay in touch," - "Yeah, we can email or something," - "Wait, do you blog? Do you have a blog? I'd love to read your blog!" - "Oh, oh, yeah - we can Facebook too!"

This is a good movie for the whole family, and deserves a shot simply because of The Rock's performance. Mummy gives Tooth Fairy a 3.8 rating.

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

Outlet: Bubba Gump Shrimp

Where: Sunway Pyramid

What: American diner based on the fictional Bubba Shrimpin’ business in the Forrest Gump movie.

Perhaps you’ve all been to this outlet by now, and for us, this is our third time to Bubba’s, but our maiden visit to this Sunway Pyramid branch. Before that, let me tell you what I personally like about Bubba’s. First, it’s an all-American diner, so the staff are friendly and the food portion’s huge. But secondly, and most importantly, they do not serve pork or alcoholic sauce/drink/seasoning in their dishes. In the US, they do serve pork chops or use wine sauce and whatnots, but they make an effort to subsitute it over here in Malaysia. Commendable, because some American franchise, like TGI Friday’s, never do it – they still use Jack Daniels in their steak – although you can ask for it to be subsituted, but that’s not the point. You’re in Malaysia lah, TGI Friday’s, not Miami.

So top marks for Bubba’s, and even higher marks for their food. Always, always, always, order shrimp when you’re here, do not order something like rice or chicken in Bubba’s. Go for the shrimps, and there is a lot of variety to choose from. As the portion is huge, my wife and I shared the Bourbon Street Boromundi – shrimp in sauce, grilled boromuni fish, mashed potatoes and garnished with nachos. Awesome! The shrimps bathed in the sauce, and dripped when you chew. Fresh and juicy, the flavour of the dish simply fills your mouth and mesmerises your senses.

As for our drinks, Mummy ordered the Jenny’s favourite – a concoction of raspberry, vanilla and strawberry, and it was heavenly smooth and cool. A must-try, it will complement any food absolutely. I had the Speckled Lemonade, a tad sour but it was okay.

We also had a side order of fries for the kids, and the fries were served the real American way, meaning it was big, tasty and full. For a change, I recommend you to have the fries with malt vinegar, maybe you’ll like it!

Verdict:

Staff: How’s-it-goin’ and how-ya-doin’ are what they’ll greet you in Bubba’s, so that means they’re friendly and efficient.

Décor: The walls are adorned with memorabilla from Forrest Gump, and some American vehicle number plates. And of course, a lot of décor from where Forrest Gump came from, Alabama.

Food: Shrimps. Order shrimps. Any kind of. End of story.

Coming back?: You betcha.

Tutti Frutti

Outlet: Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt

Where: I0I Mall New Wing, Puchong

What: Frozen yogurt which comes in a myriad of flavours and tastes, crowned with a variety of your favourite toppings. This US franchise is brought in by the Naza Group.

Firstly, this is yogurt, not ice cream, so forget about a sultry-Baskin Robbins-like moment. Yogurt is supposed to be a healthy supplement to your diet, but you cannot escape its soury, icky and dull taste. Peach yogurt, anyone? No, I don’t think so too.So when you freeze it and give it some wacky flavour, perhaps you’d get a winning formula. That was what Tutti Frutti achieved. We tried a cup of Berrylicious and Chocolate Raspberry, and both was good.

Before I go any further, let me remind you that Tutti Frutti is an almost self-service outlet. So follow these steps when you do get there:

1.Arrive at outlet, don’t get puzzled why the staff greeted you but never try to serve or take your order. Then, slightly embarrased, we realized it was a self-service outlet.

2.Take a paper bowl. They say you can choose sizes, but at that time we only saw one size.

3.Go to the dispensers (like the one you find at 7-11 for Slurpees), choose your flavour, and start dispensing. Now listen, they WEIGH how much you dispense, and you get charged by WEIGHT. So that was a new concept for us, too. Just follow the instructions. Don’t ask the staff to dispense it for you, like I did. They’d refuse (and cakap dalam hati – tak reti baca arahan ke ini orang?).

4.A tip: don’t dispense too much (one reason is that you don’t want to your cup to be too expensive), but the real reason is that the yogurt might look fluffy and soft and the portion small, but once the yogurt settles down, it might be too much for your palate. So dispense wisely! Half a bowl would be fine.

5.Choose your toppings. Again, your final bowl of yogurt + toppings will be weighed, so choose your condiments smartly. There’s a huge variety of toppings to suit everyone, from fruits, nuts, chocolate and syrup, as pictured below.

6.Go to the counter and have it weighed, and pay up.

7.Have a seat, and enjoy!

Our Chocolate Raspberry was the better of the two, as the flavour mix was clever and the taste quite fabulous. The frozen yogurt melts in your mouth, of course, but it leaves a lingering after-taste which you do not want to wash down by drinking water. It is not eating like your favourite Baskin Robbins, but it is better than the over-rated and over-hyped Haagen Dazs.

Verdict:
Staff: They are there to stand around and guide you, in case you can't use the dispenser, but otherwise they're polite enough.

Decor: Decked in bright colours and simple white furnitures, the place practically lights up and sets the mood well for a cool snack on a lazy, hot afternoon.

Order: Well, we tried only two, so maybe you'd want to have something save, and avoid any strange flavours.

Coming back?: A new alternative to eat something healthy, the fun way. Even if you hate yogurt, you’d like this one. Highly recommended.

Nuclear Education 101: Malaysia Energy Mix

What is nuclear power? A simple definition is, nuclear power is power (generally electrical) produced from controlled (non-explosive) nuclear reactions. So, if and when they say we are going for nuclear power, that means we are going to utilise nuclear energy to generate electricity (i.e. by heating water to create steam, which is then used to turn the turbines, and generat electricity). It doesn't send any 'nuclear' reactions to the power cables, or to our homes.

A small country like Malaysia, at least need to consider the possibility of having a nuclear power plant. It should be considered in Malaysia primarily for national energy supply security, beyond 2020; and for sustainable national development. This would mean to avoid, or try to avoid green-house gas (GHG) emissions. A nuclear power programme development in Malaysia will help the nation’s industrial, educational and quality standards.

For your info, our current national energy mix is as follows:- natural gas (57%), coal (34%), hydropower (7%), oil (2%) and renewable energy (less than 1%). Even though we have different sources of energy (this is called the Five-Fuel Diversification Policy), in actual fact Malaysia relies heavily on only three effective fuel sources – gas, coal and hydropower.

And all three are running out fast, namely circa 2020 – 2025, there will be a need for an additional major source of energy beyond this period. In 2009, 15% of the world's electricity came from nuclear power, despite concerns about safety and radioactive waste management.

To be continued..

Nuclear education 101 is a personal view aimed at raising public awareness about nuclear technology.