Samsung NX300

Samsung NX series had recently launch its new model to its successor (NX210) and is embeded with ton of features but the main focused (or rather advertised) feature would be on content sharing among devices across platform.

The mirrorless camera is receiving pretty good demand in the market and it is no surprise that you'll be seeing more supply and model based on this technology in near future with more innovation integrated to it. Samsung NX300 is one that packed with rather compact features but does it meet the expectation as its owner expected it to be? Here's what I think.

The outer appearance is designed in such way that it has the leather like texture and feel that is comfort to the palm even in long shooting hours. The body itself was surprisingly light in weight but the lens itself might put on some burden to it, but nevertheless it is still at an acceptable weight overall and required a smaller storage room compare to a DSLR.

The body is also design in a way similar to DSLR where it fits your grip perfectly and the few common button you would usually find in a DSLR. If there's one thing I like about the NX300, it has to be the dedicated video recording button located at the top right side of the camera. With just a press you're making video record within second, it fits perfectly in current fast moving environment.

The AMOLED tilt display on the other hand had some restriction where it can only be angle up to 90 degree max. Personally would prefer the tilt to be flexible or at least to the extend where it aid in making 'selfie' an enjoyable experience. Its really a waste not able to see yourself live in the 3.31" (84.0mm) display.

Remember I mentioned that the NX300 focus pretty much on content sharing earlier? Well here they are. The NX300 is equipped with not just Wireless technology, it also has NFC integrated to it. With both technology connection to a smartphone is now made easier and possible and one of it I find it usefully especially when travelling has to be the remote viewfinder.

It basically transmit the image from the lens of NX300 to your connected device so that you can position the camera in your preferred location and control it over your phone. Great example on how this feature aid would be taking a portrait with your loved one together with the great scenery behind you while you're on a vacation. You can have some simple control from your phone too like setting timer, photo quality, flash and etc. Photo sharing too is so simple that even a kid can do it. All you need to do is just a tab between your NFC device to the NX300 and content will be shared.

The setting adjustment however is not that friendly according to my standard. Although there is a "dedicated" scroll wheel on top of the camera, the tricky part is that you will have to goto each individual setting by either using the button keypad or a touch on the screen before scrolling. For one who had been using a DSLR for a long time, I tend to forget to switch before scrolling and end up have to reorganize the setting again. The dynamic dedicated key might need some time to get used to it but the most important element is that it might reduce portability among camera user. With ISO level up to 25K there's no doubt capturing low light image can be done without the aid of a flash, but you will just have to accept the noise that come along with.

The photos above taken with NX300 at a low light condition and is also the first time I'm using it to snap photo. It seems that you really need a stable hand for that perfect shot and there's not even a single room for a slight movement. The other thing I would like to highlight is the auto focus function in NX300. It tend to focus on the wrong side of an image and is pretty difficult to get it focus on object you want from the distance you desired. Although with just a touch you can set the focus area, it would required both hand to do so and might not be that friendly at certain times.

Generally there's no question about the photo taken during day time as everything is just picture perfect. As for night scene / low light / indoor environment, I think there's still room for improvement. With the wireless technology, it drain battery faster than you could finish a cup of water and extra battery is needed when you're heavily depending on that feature. With the price of over RM2000, it could it costly to some and the interchangeable lens would cost a bomb too. Perhaps an alternate version of NX300 can be taken into consideration where least used feature like 2D/3D can be removed to slash the price lower for more affordability purpose.

Escape - Teaser and Launch

Ever wonder why screen resolution of your phone is getting bigger (or longer in some case) nowadays? Well one thing for sure, manufacturer don't design your devices in such way just for fun, but instead they were made to make your leisure / entertainment time pleasurable. With that in mind Celcom is introducing its newly app known as the ESCAPE.

ESCAPE in nutshell is an app where it allow you to carry your world of entertainment in the convenience of your pocket. You can download the app for FREE from Google Play Store / App Store and once done you're half way done. To truly enjoy the services, simply sign up for an account and do note that this services is exclusively for Celcom user. You can register at www.ESCnow.com or click on the "Start Here" button on the app. In less than a minute you're about to feel how entertainment is redefined.

With huge collection of movie with a variety of Hollywood, Korean, Indonesian, Hindi and local movies, ESCAPE too provide live events, live news, concerts and TV series on your PC / mobile device. You will never find the word bored in your dictionary again when you have ESCAPE on your device. With feature like Pause & Play across devices anytime anywhere, you get Irresistible moments, Unmissable events.

The library of movies is neatly sorted out according to popularity, genre, date, and the list goes on to ease you in any given situation. For example you wanted to watch something that would cheer you up by making you laugh but you don't know what movie falls under that, a tap on Giggles would get you a list of comedy and you would probably blame the God for not giving you extra hours each day.

The list doesn't just stop at movies, ESCAPE also offer Series from those you watched the good old days to those you're not aware off to-date. Amazingly you are carrying loads of movies and series without adding weight in your pocket. Hi-resolution images are delivered via adaptive streaming technology for excellent video quality across devices

Just when you don't have time to finish even 10% of the video content, you're pushed with on going event. So the next time you missed out some awesome event near your area, you got no one to blame but yourself for not having the ESACAPE app. Oh did I tell you that ESCAPE works on both PC / Smartphone / Tablet (compatible with iOS, Android, MacOS and Windows)? Gone were the days where you yawn x100 time while waiting for your GF to be ready for date, or the days where you don't know what to do when your appointment postphoned for hours. With ESCAPE the pleasure time is always yours, anytime, anywhere.
In conjunction with the launch of ESCAPE, Celcom also organized a Guess and Win campaign. The game is pretty simple and all you had to do is to guess the mystery person. Clues given were

• “I’ve been to Shanghai twice. In a rush hour, three times.”
• “I guided The Kid. I became The Master.”
• “I’m Mr. Nice Guy. But don’t pick a fight with me.”
• “I’ve been a panda. I’ve been a hyena.”

You too can watch the embeded video above for more clue. Guess it right and you could win an irresistible reward on ESCAPE! Steps are pretty simple too

• Just SMS your answer to 20888
• You can send as many as you want! 
• Exclusively for Celcom customers.

For more information, visit www.ESCnow.com now.

Crayon Burger

Crayon Burger is the home to colorful buns that is situated in the center of SS15 Subang Jaya. The natural colorful bun is also a distinctive factor that visually separate Crayon Burger from other burger joint out there. As colorful as Crayon Burger's bun get, I'm surprise that the inner deco was rather plain with most of the area and utilities covered with white over dim yellow lighting. There is however a wall on the left where you can draw and write on. Crayon Burger provide a spacious dining area where they could fit approx 40-50 pax comfortably simultaneously. Surrounding is pretty clean, neat and simple and wasn't over crowded even when they were serving over 20 customer at the time we were dining there.

Among the colorful buns were

• Signature PINK Bun 
• Light GREEN Vege Bun 
• GREY Poppy Seed Zombie Bun 
• RED Velvet Bun
• WHITE Milky Bun

and there will be more to come

Double Rainbow (Chicken) - RM18

Double Rainbow (Beef) - RM18

Classic Crayon (Beef) - RM12

The Boss (Chicken) - RM16

Hashtag (Chicken) - RM15.50

Zombie Burger (Beef) - RM14

The Boss (Beef) - RM14

Peanut Butter Bacon (Beef) - RM15

Cheese Fondue (Beef) - RM15.50

Cheese Fondue (Chicken) - RM15.50

The good thing here at Crayon Burger has to be the option to have your patty in Beef or Chicken across the menu, and the downside here is that the flavor profile is very much similar to each other across the menu which kinda explain why I would describe the burger one shot instead.

First and foremost, as color as it look, the buns were merely for visual purpose, except for the poppy seed bun which I didn't have the chance to try. 

Next quoted from other foodies who is also there that the minced beef flaky which is not only messy but also difficult to consume, and there is also a heavy presence of the beef smell.

For the Chicken patty on the other hand, it was grilled over the flame and is topped with cheese. The melted cheese will bring some crispiness to the outer layer of the breast meat but at the same time it enhanced the saltiness to it as well.

The Boss has to be the only one that I enjoyed most among the 7 other types of burger served. The Boss is made with Mild Wasabi Mayo, Egg, Onion Ring, Swiss Cheese and a patty choice of either Beef or Chicken. You can actually taste everything sandwich between the two bun and yet the taste blend in quite well.  The Wasabi Mayo however doesn't have the kick to spicy things up and it would be good if slightly more and not overly done wasabi is added to it and it would definitely bring the uniqueness to the fullest.

Personally I too enjoy the Hashtag burger which is made of Hashbrown, Jalapeno Cheese Cream and Chicken Patty. Hashbrown was good but it was soon overpowered by the Jalapeno Cheese Cream leaving only the crispiness of the Hashbrown.

With a RM5 top up you will get a Fries and bottomless cup of Softdrink. Crayon Burger had to improve the flavor profile for its burger inside out. Marinating the patty in different style / ways might help differentiate the different type of burger from the menu. With stiff competition walking distance away, it would seems to me that this might be an alternate option instead.

Location

38, Jalan SS15/4, 

Subang Jaya 

45200 Selangor, Malaysia

Operation Hours

Contact

crayonburger@gmail.com

Website

http://www.facebook.com/crayonburger

https://twitter.com/CrayonBurger

Stickhouse - Italian Handcrafted Gelato

Not being a dessert person, I didn't know there's any differences between a gelato and sorbet. Things changed when tried the Stickhouse healthy gelato concept originated from Italy. Stickhouse is probably the pioneer introducing gelato on a stick to bring back the good old time when we had our ice cream during school time.

Before I continue, let me give you a crash course on the difference between gelato and sorbet.

• Gelato is an healthier option compare to ice-cream because it had more milk than cream where ice-cream had more cream than milk
• Sorbet on the other hand contain no milk at all thus there's no fat in it and everything in it is pure fruits

With that being said, Stickhouse gelatos are produced using only 100% natural and genuine ingredients with no added artificial flavouring, colouring, or preservative. The base includes

• Inulin - A vegetable fibre extracted from chicory aid in increasing the absorption of calcium, digestion, and reduces cholesterol
• Fructose - Log glycemic index natural product contained in fruits, honey and some vegetables and plants
• Carob Bean Flour - Act as natural stabilizer, good for digestive disorders.
• Sodium Caseinate - High quality protein product obtained by fresh pasteurized skimmed milk
• Egg White - Pure protein source with high biological value and is fat free.

Since most Malaysian had sweet tooth, you can opt to go for add-on dipping with a selection of White Chocolate, Chocolate, and Black Chocolate where they were all pure chocolate. If the dipping doesn't satisfy your craving, you can also go for topping from Almonds, Hazelnuts, Pistachios, and Chocolate Rice. You might notice their dipping and topping is pretty limited compare to others and that's because Stickhouse is still looking for alternative way to come out with more option without using 'nonsense' in it.

Stickhouse had a very strong fan base in mostly Europe country as this point of time and is now venturing into Asian country like Seoul, Manila, Jakarta, Singapore, Thailand, China, and now Malaysia. I was told that Stickhouse produced an accumulate total of 24 flavours so far but not every outlet / region had the same flavour. Even here in Malaysia, only Citta Mall had lychee flavour whereby other outlet might have different type of exclusive flavour. Stickhouse Malaysia is also the first and only to have Gelato on a Stick with Durian flavour and guess what they only use D24 Durian to make it, didn't I told you Stickhouse use only the best ingredient?

Stickhouse's Gelato has NO added air in it making it denser and creamier in its texture and offered a rich and strong taste to every bite. The Sorbet on the other side is best describe with 2 words - fruitilicious delightful! It taste exactly like your ordinary fruits minus the mess / effort to peel. It is indeed a dessert that you can enjoy to the fullest without guilt. Personally I love the Gelato for its rich flavour and smooth texture, I would however prefer the dark chocolate that I dip in be less sweet and slightly more bitter. The Sorbet is good all by itself without dipping and/or topping. It has the fruit fragrance and natural sweetness in it.

Price wise some might find it pricey but it could be justify by its tip top ingredient and process of making assurance that each bite is a blast. The mini stick is sold at RM5.80 where the Regular at RM9.80. Separate charges on the dipping and topping with RM3 for full dip / topping and RM1.50 for half dip / topping.

Stickhouse currently had 3 outlets in Malaysia and their focus is on quality rather than quantity. You may locate them at the following venue

CITTA Mall, GK-07

1 Jalan PJU 1A/48, 

PJU 1A, Ara Damansara,

47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Sunway Pyramid, Lot LG2.RINK,

Jalan PJS11/15, Bandar Sunway,

46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

The Gardens

LG-K28, The Garden Mall,

Mid Valley City,

Lingkaran Syed Putra,

59200 Kuala Lumpur

Do LIKE their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/stickhousemalaysia as they're having some giveaway where you could win yourself some cash voucher. For those who wish to enjoy their healthy dessert at half price, do leave a comment below and I'll get you some vouchers. *Limited voucher only*

Win an iPad from Carama here

You've probably read about Carama in my previous blogpost here - http://wssoo.blogspot.com/2013/08/find-reliable-workshop-here.html and now if time for you to win an iPad Mini along with some Carama point where you can utilize it for your next schedule maintenance.

The mechanism to win one of these cool prize is pretty simple, just follow these steps and you're one step closer to be the proud owner.

1. Sign up as a member at http://www.carama.com/
2. Fill in your answers here http://bit.ly/15PEehM

Do act now as the closing date is 20 September 2013.

The T&C link can be found here. URL: https://www.facebook.com/castrolmalaysia/app_190322544333196

Milo Fuel for Champions

Milo which is also Malaysia's much-loved beverage, contains PROTOMALT and ACTIGEN-E that gives you energy day ahead, had been associated with sports for years now and is always promoting the awareness and encouraging busy Malaysian to be active when it comes to health.

With that in mind, Milo launched the Milo "Fuel for Champions" campaign in its effort to drive the true value of sports and continuously develop young athletes as champions of the nation alongside with Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) in a ceremony officiated by YB Encik Khairy Jamaluddin, Minister of Youth and Sports Malaysia, at National Aquatic Center - Bukit Jalil National Sports Complex.

It is also a huge encouragement and motivation to our national athletes who will be competing in upcoming 27th SEA Games in Myanmar with the launch. YB Encik Khairy Jamaluddin also gave credit to Milo for its continuous effort in such encouragement for over six decades.

A short performance by Malaysian synchronized swimmers were just astonishing and it was my first time watching it in such close distance. Dancing through the rhythm, they (synchronized swimmers) did it like it is a competition and every moves and pose strike perfectly.

Also present at the Milo Fuel for Champions launch were

• RAdm (Read Admiral) Dato' Pahlawan Danyal Balagopal Abdullah, Vice President of Olympic Council Malaysia
• YB Dato' Seri Zolkples Embong, Director General of National Spots Council
• YB Dato' Dr Ramlan Abd Aziz, CEO of National Sports Institute of Malaysia
• Mr Alois Hofbauer, Region Head of Nestle Malaysia/ Singapore
• Yong Shin Min (National Basketball Team)
• S. Kannanthasan (National Relay Runner)
• Hakimi Ismail (National Long Jump Athlete) 
• Khoo Chai Lin (National Swimmer)

The launch wouldn't be more complete without a nice chilling cup of awesome Milo or better known as Milo Truck. Guest were invited to lunch in the stadium and with that it was overall a successful and meaningful launch that get us Malaysian hyped up for the upcoming SEA game.

*This Sponsored Post is by Nestle*