The scope of Home retail and RENOVATION IS A WIDE ONE but the amount of retailers and promotional products on display related to the industry present at the Fair was not representative of this field.We had a good time testing out all the bedding and pillows on display, though and walked away with pillows (worth RM 165.00 a piece each !) and nothing much else.Sad really, as the Melaka MITC is a good hall and venue for these promotions. But, the support and sales must have been a concern of the retailers when they considered all these factors as I'm sure business men will never pass up a good opportunity to sell. Sad story but seems one of the Achilles heel of malaccan retail and infrastructural offerings. We have the buildings and infrastructure but we lack the purchasing power and sheer numbers in terms of sales.
Even our chief minister seems to understand the underlining causes of the poor response to the prospects on offer in this fair city, but due to the politics of the day and the stand taken by them in relation to the types of business and people they want to nurture and support, the apathy and lack of business acumen amongst this populace down grades the fantastic opportunities this city offers to the world.
Anyways, as i was saying, after the visit to the Fair we carried on towards the Melaka Raya supermarts and the Club to relax, recover and recuperate. Of course, we took up the offer to sample certain dishes on offer in the buffet our SMR Club operates and enjoyed the fraternity of friends and flavor that preceded these events.
The crowd was jovial; the food was good
( I took particularly fancy to their wonderful sweet and sour chicken !) and surrounded by the bevy of beautiful young ladies in low cut blouses, it was a proper occasion to let loose and be happy.
The next day was meant for some fast driving and walking tour of Kuala Lumpur with foreign clients so we call it quits after the meal around 5 pm and headed towards to the sanctity of home and hearth.
Unfortunately, I couldn't sleep the entire night and only managed to drowse off towards 4.15 am before awakening at 6.00am to prepare myself for the meet and greet session with my clients.
Had my break fast at a usual mamak stall in front of the entrance to Tmn.Merdeka and met some former friends that I used to work with back in the days when we used to haul goods in lorries and trucks from Melaka to JB after school hours as clindens.
Not many people know that word now days but it used to mean" second driver "or support driver during the age prior to the north south highway when every thing from goods to people were hauled across malaysia using the old coastal roads and inner throughfares of the interior. I would have been only 15 or 17 at that time when I did this work daily after school hours. We normally made the return trips within the day or by early morning the next day in time to attend school ! I also remember taking sub contracts at that age together with my class mates and best friend Vincent ( now a software engineering dept. head for Likom) for what is now known as the Multi Media University. That place was built with our blood and sweat as many incidents still fresh in my mind occurred during the construction period. At that time there was no such thing as occupational and safety officers at these sites and the many lost lives; broken bones; fights and accidents were norm around these sites and stand testimony of those hard and often rough times.
Coming back to the present, because we started off early from malacca, we had time to do some hardware shopping at Berjaya Times Square;enjoyed ourselves silly at their indoor theme park; later when off to climb the Batu Caves in Selangor, and continued the late afternoon with some fancy driving at the tracks in Batu Tiga before having dinner at the Petronas Twin Towers.
A throughly enjoyable day for all of us as the clients were very happy and satisfied with the planned itinerary and our services and that in itself is a huge compliment to us!
The Car;The Location;The Record.
Further along the week, we found ourselves enjoying the company of the Marina Sands sales team on the personal invite of Arthur Chernov; their Vice President for International Sales as they started on their first ever sales promo in south east asia. It is an honor for me and my son to be amongst the list of invited VIP's as Lenny (the Sales Manager for Malaysia & Indonesia) told us that we were the only selected invitees from Malacca ! The rest were all high rollers from Penang and KL and Media people only. Being the only Blogger around, you bet I took some nice photo's of the entertainment and Food to comply with the nature of this Blog for your visual entertainment !
The night started off with pleasant company from the ladies as we were entertained with pre-dinner drinks, liqueur, and canapés. After the obligatory greetings and smooching, we entertained ourselves with the other attendees and mingled with the crowd as Utheya (my son) followed along. I think it was an eye opening session for the young lad as he had never been to these cocktail and smooching events before but it was good that he is able to acclimatise to the surrounding rather fast and was able to enjoy himself though I could see that he was not very comfortable in these surroundings.
The surprise of the evening was when Sarimah Ibrahim took to the stage as MC and belted out a very nice opening song for all of us . What followed was the obligatory speeches and welcome talks by the Hosts and a very nice video on the immense project called the Marina Bay Sands Casino and Convention Centre in Singapore.
This was quickly followed with some dinner Jazz sung by a songstress that I could not identify but who sung like an angel. Such a beautiful voice ! The Band accompanying her was also superb and it was a pleasant start to a wonderfully charged evening. Great Tempo, Beautiful Voices, Wonderful Songs. Simply Superb-lah!
The Meal was started by a serving of delicious smoked tartar with mesclun greens and lotus roots chips with burgundy plum & onion dressings
Followed immediately by a chicken consommé with lemon-grass and chicken ravioli (a kind of wanton with spaghetti type pasta) Highly tangy but light and filling. A good soup based with asian flavors and western fillings.
We had a Lemon Sorbet after that and this was followed by a plate of Fillet Mignon for the others but my son and I ordered the Salmon steak with sundried Tomato, baked with parmesan and artichokes.
The meal continued with much gaiety,song and entertainment by the MC and her team while we plundered the next course which was the Mille Feuille of forest Berries topped with Yoghurt Ice cream !
The mignardies (after dinner chocolates & pastries) that was specially prepared for our table. Absolutely mouth watering and visually stunning, wouldn't you say ? The chef certainly out did himself here!
So, there you have it. The past few days in the life of one happy Malaccan.
Cheers, everyone !
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