Life. Travel. Food. - A Visit to Anfield

Anfield is the Home of Liverpool Football Club. To many fans, this place is more than a stadium to many Liverpool fan. It is the Shrine of Football and, literally, shrine to many LFC fans and their family. Many LFC fans had spread their ashes on the pitch making it more spiritual than any other football field in the world. 

Statue of Bill Shankly Outside Anfield

The Kop is the 12th player on the field. As Liverpool's legend, Kevin Keegan, put it,"When they sing 'You'll Never Walk Alone', my eyes start to water. There have been times when I've actually been crying while I've been playing." That's the connection between the players and their fan making this football club so special.

The day was 23rd September 2012 and Liverpool played Manchester United at home. It was a match that appealed to even the neutral. The match was scheduled to kick-off at 1.30pm. We had a stadium and museum tour booking at 10.30am.

We planned for an early breakfast and met other Liverpool fans who were also going for the match. We decided to go early and share a cab with a Hong Kong fan living in Shanghai. We left the hotel at around 9am and Anfield was just a 15 minutes drive away. The cab driver was an Evertonia and took us on a tour to Goodison Park before arriving at Anfield.

Paisley's Gate and Match day.

We were not the earliest. We met and interacted with many fans who also traveled long distance from their home in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Brazil, China and East Europe. It was already an experience meeting fellow Kopites and seeing the passion for a common institution come together.

There were plenty of photo takings both before, during and after the stadium and museum tours. The match day package came with a buffet lunch either at Shankly or Paisley suites. Both suites were packed with people but the buffet spread was good.

Liverpool have a new manager in Brendan Rodgers who came from Swansea City to replace Liverpool's legend Kenny Dalglish. Dalglish and his assistant, Steve Clarke, were sacked by the owner, Fenway Sports Group, after only one full season in-charge. They led Liverpool to a League Cup triumph, FA Cup final but an unacceptable seven in the league missing out on the Champions' League qualification.

Brendan Rodgers came with a big reputation of leading Swansea City to 11th place in their first season in the Premier League and beating teams like Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City along the way. He promised to bring the "tiki-taka" style to Anfield. 

As a Liverpool fan, I do not want Liverpool to emulate the way Barcelona play. Liverpool FC is bigger than any club on earth and will play in our own style - the Liverpool way. It is a club with 5 European Champions title and 18 English League titles. Mid-table mediocrity should not be tolerated under any condition. 

His only other managerial experiences were with Watford and Reading since 2008 and 2009. He left Watford on mutual consent due to poor result. His career win average was around 41%. He has better his career average at Anfield with 42% win. In my opinion, still mediocre! However, if he works hard and remains humble, he will be successful with the support of the management as all the players and fans will be behind him.

Several high profiles Liverpool players like Dirk Kyut and Craig Bellamy, opted to leave the club at the end of season of 2011/2012. Others senior players like Charlie Adams, Andy Carroll and Alberto Aquilani were also allowed to leave to trim the wage bill and align with FSG's objective of bringing in young players with potential re-sale value.

Brendan Rodgers signed Fabio Borini and Joe Allen for nearly 19 million English pounds. Both used to play for him at Swansea Ciy. He also signed  Moroccan winger Oussama Assaidi for around 3 million pounds and Nuri Sahin on loan from Real Madrid. None of the signing have made any significant impact yet. Joe Allen was the only one who has shown some potential of a worthy Red. Assaidi did not even featured in any league game - I wondered why? Liverpool chased openly for Clint Dempsey but failed to raise fund to close the deal. Then there was "complaints" of lacked of striking options which I felt was not justifiable.

Liverpool's result leading to the Man Utd game was bad and was at the bottom of the table. They lost 3-0 on the opening day to WBA, coached by Steve Clarke. Then drew 2-2 with Manchester City followed by a 0-2 lost to Arsenal at Anfield. Then a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Lights collecting only 2 points from 4 games. The worst start since the 70s. Thus, a win over Manchester United was not a confident possibility while it was still the hope of every fans.

Status of Bill Shankly outside Anfield Stadium & Shankly's Gate

Food court village and family village for family of fans

Memorial of Hillborough outside Shankly Gate along Anfield Road

Anfield: Kop End taken from Centenary Stand

Anfield Road. Liverpool fan displaying 96 in
tribute to the Hillborough victims

Kop end - The Truth in Support of the Hillborough victims

Liverpool team line-up:
Pepe Reina (Goalkeeper), M. Kelly, G. Johnson, M. Skrtel, Dan Agger, J. Shelvey, J. Allen, S. Gerrard, L. Saurez, R. Steering, F. Borini

Manchester United team line- up:
A. Lindegaard, Rafael, R. Ferdinand, J. Evans, P. Evra, R. Giggs, M. Carrick, A. Valencia, S. Kagawa, Nani, R. Van Persie

The game may have ended 1-2 in favour of the visitors but it was nevertheless an experience for any Liverpool fan going to Anfield for the first time. This game, like any Liverpool-Man Utd encounter, had all the ingredients that signified of the rivalry of the two team.

Shelvey was sent off. Gerrard scored at the beginning of the second half. Rafael snatched an equaliser 6 minutes and Manchester United came from behind to win with a Robin Van Persie goal during the 81st minutes. A controversial penalty. There was a penalty call for Liverpool disallowed.

The timing of this game also coincided with the release of the Hillsborough disaster's report making the environment more tense than usual. Fans holding up placards forming "The Truth", "Justice" and "96" was displayed at the Kop end, Main stand and Anfield Road stand respectively. There were more securities and United fans were held for more than 20 minutes after the game to avoid any crashes.

Liverpool needs time to transform themselves into the force that can challenge for the title. The question is how long? Brendan Rodgers should be credited for bring players like Raheem Stirling, Andre Wisdom, Suso and Jonjo Shelvey to the fore but they are still learning their trade and not really for top 4 challenge, let alone winning the league. Enrique, Downing, Saurez, Johnson, Agger and Skrtel have all performed well during the later part of the season but would all leave if Liverpool lacks the ambition to win the League and Champions League.

With due respect to the players that Brendan's signed, Borini and Sturridge are not in the same class as Van Persie, Torres or Aguero. Allen, Sahin or Ince is not in the league of David Silva, Eden Hazard or Juan Mata. Not that they cannot grow into that league but whether they would still be playing for Liverpool when they reached their potential and would Liverpool have any chance of winning the league title in the next few years with them. In addition, why try to sign Butland if you have Pepe Reina and the priority is a have an established striker?

Liverpool needs players who WANT to play for this club. We need some men of steel in the middle of the park and people with the hunger and determination to win. Hope they will bring in some good signings in the January transfer window.

Nevertheless, the manager may have his difficulties and I hope Liverpool will have a Rodgers' gate in a decade's time to commemorate the success - many many titles - that Brendan Rodgers bring back to this club.

Despite the performance, I am still a Liverpool fan and will stick by the club. It was an amazing experience for me. The atmosphere at Anfield was electrifying and the passion of the Kop have to be experienced first hand being there during the game and not from watching them on television or internet. I argue all the fans to make the trip, at least once in their life time.

You'll Never Walk Alone

12.12.12 12.12pm

Everyone should feel special today as it is a once in a life time opportunity to be part if this unique timestamp: 12-12-12 at 12.12pm.

It has been a turbulance year. A year of many events both positive and negatives: financial crisis in Europe and the USA coupled with slowdown in China and India. High inflation all around especially Asia. Rise of protectionism attitude. Then there were the havoc of hurricane and earthquake that left many homeless.

There were also plenty of celebrations around the world with the FIFA World Cup, Olympic, Paraolympic and the Queen Jubilee in London. The re-election of President Obama as well as the successful leadership handover in China.

With this commemorative post to this unique timestamp, I wish everyone good health, happiness and good fortune. Success in everything you do and the restoration to rationality of Mother Earth and its citizen among the others.

Life. Travel. Food. - 17 Cities, 6 Countries, 6 Months - A Great Enlightening

Boats along Phong Phang, Phuket

The last six months have been extraordinary for me, at least they were different from the usual corporate work life and travel. The break gave me time to think, reflect and learn. I met people of different nationalities,  spent time to interact and exchange and learn their culture. I traveled to 17 cities in 6 countries during the six months. I had the opportunity to witness the splendor of many wonderful architectural and art pieces, fascinated by the rich culture and history as well as indulged in local cuisine, wine, beer, coffee and desserts from roadside stall to cafes and restaurants.

The trip started with pampering and relaxing massages in Phuket with lavish seafood and authentic South Thailand's Isan cuisine to the sophisticated metropolitan and busy night markets of Taipei. There was also the  beauty of Tamshui and traditional Long Shan Shi.

Westminster Abbey and The Big Ben, London

I went from the majestic Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace in London to the electrifying Anfield in Liverpool where the passionate Kop sang to the support of the Hillsborough victims to the arrogance of Old Trafford at cold Manchester to the rustic of South London. The visit to Anfield was one of the highlights of this trip.

My Canon camera broke down just two hours into the trip and all the photographs were taken using Iphone4S. There was certainly limitation using a phone camera but it had proven to be effective and reliable.

I witnessed the influence of the Roman empire walking the spectacular Colosseum and tasted the traditional rugged Romano quinto quarto cuisine at Testaccio. Then there was the splendour of St. Peter Basilica at the Vatican.

Coastal view of Salerno

Salerno, a city in Campania in South-western Italy and located off the gulf of Salerno, has splendid coastal shoreline. Salerno Cathedral, built around 1076 and 1085, was believed to house the relic of St. Matthew. Coming to Salerno was another highlights of the trip. I attended my first Italian wedding ceremony capped with a medieval style performance. It was an intercultural wedding between an Italian and a Peruvian.

Vicola Della Neve was one of my favourite restaurant for this trip and they served excellent Salernitana pizza and Polpi salad. Their local dessert, La Scazzetta, a sponge cake filled with cream and wild strawberries covered with strawberry icing, was a must-try. It has a strong flavour of rum or maraschino (a cherry liqueur). It was the nearest gateway to the world famous UNESCO World Heritage Site, Amalfi Coast (or Costiera Amalfitana in Italian) and Positano. It was this leg that I tried aperitivo like Cordino and digestivo like limocello and grappa. Salerno was renounced for their own type of parmesan cheese.


Florence or Firenze, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was the next stop. Florence is noted for its history, culture, Renaissance art and architecture and monuments including Michelangelo's masterpiece, David, at Galleria Dell' Accademia. The Gothic style Florence Cathedral, Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, together with Baptistery and Giotto's Companile, are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site covering the historic center of Florence. The city is also an important center of Italian fashion and is home to the brands including Salvatore Ferragamo, Gucci and Roberto Cavalli. I also had the opportunity to try the best of Tuscan cuisine, bistecca all fiorentina or Florence style T-bone steak, prosciutto Toscano (cured dry ham) with honeydew, Chianti in traditional fiasco and Vin Santo (traditional Italian dessert wine).


At Pisa, I visited La Piazza Del Doumo and the Leaning Tower of Pisa, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. The seven floor romanesque styled bell tower stand 57m tall and was opened in 1372. The tower leaned at around 3.99 degree.


Venice, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, was also known as City of Water, The Floating City and the City of Canal among others. I did a night river tour around the island. I went to see the process of the making of Murano glass and the tranquil but colorful Burano. There were also the brilliance of the chefs at Osteria Oliva Nera making fantastic Venetian cuisine using traditional ingredients like Zucchinni flower, parmesan, mozzarella and ricotta cheeses, fettucine, squid ink as well as the classic Venetian style calf's livers with polenta. The dinner ended with a glass of frangolino and tiramisu.

Snow-capped Mountain Taken from Plane from Venice to Charleroi

I flew from Venice to Charleroi, Belgium, by Ryanair. It was a pleasant flight and the service was better than my expectation. Charleroi is a city south of Brussels and is a municipality of Wallonia. It has a population of around 600,000. This place was my base for my week in Belgium. Like most European city, Charleroi has a vibrant Sunday market with tradition dating back to 1709 and many museums. French and Dutch were the main spoken languages in most of part of Belgium.


My main mode of transportation traveling within Belgium was their inter-cities trains which was effective and convenient. It is about 55km from Charleroi to Brussels and around 1 hours by train. I enjoyed Brussels. The city offered a good mix of historical and monumental places of interests and modern vibrancy in their restaurants and pubs. Grand Place gave a different visual experience during the day and at night. Then there were the Royal St. Hubert Galleries, Maneken Pis and Atomium Structure. I met the a number of Scottish partying near the Grand Place as there was a Belgium-Scotland FIFA World Cup qualifier the next day. It was great fun to mix around with die-hard soccer fans.

Bruges. Venice of the North. UNESCO World Heritage Site

Bruges was one of my favourite city in this trip. Bruges, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, and had a population of around 150,000. It was also known as "Venice of the North" being also a canal based city. This place, unlike Venice, was well maintained and not as crowded as Venice or Rome. The city was also home to some of the most famous artwork including the Madonna and Child sculpture by Michelangelo and historical architectural.


I took a ride to Namur. It was a wet and windy day with temperature below 10 degree C. Nevertheless, it offered amazing views looking into the city from the different sides of Citadelle or Castle of Namur. The fog made the view more mysterious and picturesque. The castle, built in the 1600s, at the confluence of two major rivers, Sombre and Meuse, was a fortified position command post.  It was classified as a Wallonia's Major Heritage Site. In addition, I also visited the Citadelle de Namur.


Food was certainly my agenda in any leg of my travel. In Belgium, I tasted excellent mussels, Belgian frites, waffles and wide varieties of chocolates.

One of the Gates of Namur Citidel

From Belgium, I took a drive to Kinderdijk. A village 15km east of Rotterdam. The village was located at the confluence of the Lek and Noord rivers and the windmills, built around 1740, for drainage purposes. The 19 windmills was the largest concentration of old windmills and had been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.

Madurodam, is a miniature city located in Scheveningen, The Hague (also known as Den-Haag). It was built in 1952 and featured the major landmarks, history and buildings from the different location of the Netherlands. Then took a drive to the city of Den-Haag for a view of the famous Peace Palace and the International Criminal Court. A separate trip was made to Roermond, Southeastern part of the Netherlands, to the designer outlets for some shopping before I went back to London to watch the Royal Guard Mounting at the Buckingham Palace, M&M World at Leicester Square and the amazing British Museum.

Windmill at Kinderdijk, Netherlands

It was an enjoyable and educational trip. I am planning to share my experiences and photographs of places, restaurants, food and activities that left an impression in the upcoming posts ...

Life. Travel. Food. - Lessons

Reflection
(Night Scene of Albert Dock, Liverpool. Taken by Iphone 4S)

"By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest." - Confucius

The greatest reward from the working in the various industries for the past eighteen years were the accumulation of the diverse experiences and the many opportunities to meet and learn from people from diverse nationalities, culture and expertise. The interactions and exchanges from extended association through work and social activities provide in-depth understanding and learning of diversities. The diversities created many opportunities to share ideas and development of new ideas. They created opportunities to learn from each other and adapt the ideas from others. The recent break and travel broadened my horizon and enhanced the diversities. The break from routine also provided valuable time to learn new ideas, reflect, unlearn and relearn. The followings summarized my thoughts and guiding principles ...


Lesson 1: When you're down, you know who are those around you.

Lesson 2: There is no alternative to working hard.

Lesson 3: Wrong decision is better than no decision because you can right a wrong decision.

Lesson 4: Challenges, barriers and differences can be opportunities. Embrace them.
Lesson 5: There is no greater joy than sharing and enriching the people around you.

Lesson 6: Size matters in business. Create economy of scale in both width and depth.

Lesson 7: Prioritize your priorities though there are some things such as health, family and friends will always be important.

Lesson 8: Not everyone sees what you see and the way you see. Trust your vision. Follow your heart.

Lesson 9: Serve with your heart and perfect the craft along the way. Your customers will be able "see" with their hearts too.
Lesson 10: Fundamental values such as honesty, humanity, goodness and integrity are congruent across culture, languages and have no boundary.

Lesson 11: Follow your passion, have strong purposes and execute with pride.

Lesson 12: Establish control, without which no vision or dreams can be realized.

Lessons are on-going and there will be more as I go on and experience more in life....

The SIGREA Daily: Technology, Business, Science and Sustainability (Daily Update)

Life Lesson with Einstein

Sounded so simple yet they eluded the majority.

Taipei Eat Eat Eat ... and Drink

The food trail started the moment I arrived at Shilin Night Market (off Jian Tan MTR station) starting with the traditional Smelly Beancurd or Chou Tou Fu (Left Pic: Top Right).  It was fried fermented beancurd served with cabbages with strips of carrot and some spice sauce with a strong pungent smell that was very recognizable from a distant. However, the smell disappeared the moment the tou fu was put into your mouth. It was crispy on the outside and soft and smooth on the inside and went excellently well with the cabbage and chilli sauce.

Next on the list, moving clockwise, would be the Hu Jiao Bing (literally translated as Pepper Biscuit) but is  known Pepper Bakemeat. Pepper Bakemeat has the shape of a pie and was crispy on the outside but juicy and rich on the inside with ingredients like chicken, potatoes,  green beans and a variety of  spices. It was also very affordable at only NT$40 (approximately S$1.70) each. 

It was difficult to miss the traditional Taiwan Oyster Fried Egg. There were a variety of versions and this one was a simple omelette with a spread of sweet sauce. It was a combination of Taiwanese-style omelette with oysters. It was simple but very tasty.

At the bottom right corner is peanut ice-cream. There were also many variety of ice-cream in Taiwan such as Fried ice-cream  and even pig-blood ice cream. Nevertheless, the peanut ice-cream had a layer of freshly grind peanuts on the skin-wrapper (like the Chinese popiah or springroll).

Next on the list may not be easily acceptable by foreigner but this is a delicacy and favourite among Chinese, namely the Taiwanese and Hong Kongers. Chinese, for years, had included pig, chicken and cow blood in many of their dishes and, in this case, the dish was "Ya Xue Dou Fu" or Smelly Tou Fu served in soup with duck blood and vegetable. The duck blood was crystallized into cube form. They were soft and had the texture of jelly. It didn't taste bad except that the soup was a little oily for my liking. However, some foreigners may not like it due to the sight of blood.

On the top right corner (right pic) had an interesting name called "Guan Cai Ban" (棺材板) or Coffin Board and also known as Coffin Shaped Bread. It was made up of bread approximately 1 inch in thickness where a fifth was used as the cover and the other 4/5 as a bowl to contain the fillings. The bread was first toasted. The filling was cooked separately and pour into the bread. There were many different kinds of fillings like chicken, pork, mutton, beef, prawn, cuttlefish and even combination of different flavour. They were served hot with some cream sauce and beans. The taste was very good and unique - creamy with good texture from the bread, beans and the slice meat.

I will start with Ah Liang Mian Xian (麵線) (Left Pic: bottom) also from Shilin Night Market. The typical tourist would definitely recommend Ah zhong Mian Xian (also at Shilin Night Market and they are also located at Zhong Xian Dong Lu and Ximending) but this one was less commercialized and nearer to the local traditional taste. Ah Liang Mian Xian was less starchy. It was also more general with the oysters and intestines.

Not included in the picture (as I ate them too quickly and forgot to snap) were the grilled chicken roll (鸡肉卷) located at the entrance to Shilin Night Market from along Wen Lin Lu. Each cost around NT$40. They came in different flavour such as Spicy, Black Pepper, Pepper & Salt, etc. It was quite difficult to miss the store as they always had a very long queue. It was really, really good and yummy!

Qing Wa Xia Dan (青蛙下蛋) or, literally Frog Lays Egg, was very common around Taipei. It was no more than ice jelly with pearls and a bit of lemon. Excellent dessert to quench thirst!

At the top was from a popular store near to Xi Men Ding MTR.  The shop was always packed. Ya Rou Bian (鴨肉扁土鵝專賣店), located at 台北市萬華區中華路一段98-2號 No.98-2 Yi Section, Zhonghua Road, sold braised goose meat noodle and braised goose meat. The shop name Ya Rou actually meant Duck Meat and can be quite misleading. Nevertheless, the full name indicated that their product was locally breed wild geese which were supposed to be more lean and tender than the normal goose.

The Ma La Guo (麻辣鍋) was from one of the best chain in Taiwan. 鼎王麻辣鍋 (Tripod King - http://www.tripodking.com.tw/html/about/index.aspx) has 7 branches in Taiwan with 2 in Taipei, 3 in Taizhong and 2 in Kaoshiung. The two shops in Taipei were located at 台北市光復北路89號 and 台北市中山區長安東路二段131-1、131-2號. We visited the latter. The decor was nice and warm and the staffs were friendly, patient and excellent in their service. Reservation had to be made at least a couple of weeks in advance and each table given only 90 minutes to complete their meals. Despite that, there were still people willing to queue outside the store to try their luck to get a table. The hot pot that we had was a Yuan-yang guo or a mixutre of spicy(麻辣鍋) and sour vegetable (東北酸菜鍋) soup base served with general portions of duck blood and sour vegetables. You can request for different level (less, medium and Very Spicy) of spiciness when ordering. The menu had a wide variety of ingredients that one can order and add depending on your preference. They include various types of poultry, intestines, fish and meat paste balls, seafood and dumplings. They also served an excellent sour plum juice (冰鎮酸梅汁).

Moutcha Cafe (沐茶閱讀咖啡館) was located at the 10th floor of 70, Xi Ning Nan Rd, Taipei. This cafe offered a soothing atmosphere with plenty of personal space to enjoy your food and beverages as well as the wide range of books, magazines and comic available for their customers. The cafe has a simple food menu with a variety of finger foods but a good lists of tea and coffee. This place is highly recommended to relax after a long day of shopping and walking. 

I went to Yang Ming Shan (陽明山) National Park, Zu Zi Hu (竹子湖) looking for a lake as 'hu' meant lake in Chinese only to realise that there was no lake. Many fellow tourists apparently also did not do their research and were looking for lake too. It was referring to sea of Casa Lilies or Hai Yu. However, Hai Yu was seasonal and only blossomed at around March - April and was not available when I was there. You can imagine the scene of a sea of white lilies during its blossom. It would be an amazing scene and I would love to return.

However, I had simple Taiwanese lunch at the local restaurant at Ding Hu. It was simple yet tasty. I had Sweet Potato Soup, Dragon Beard vegetable and Satay pork. They were very local and that was the first time I had Dragon Beard vegetable. It was a fulfilling lunch.

TamSui (淡水), located north of Taipei, had long history of being a commerce center and shipping hub since the early 1600s. Tamsui was used by the Dutch and later the British. There was the scenic Tamshui Fishermn's Wharf (淡水漁人碼頭) with the Lover's Bridge cutting across Tamsui River. Then, there was the historical Hongmao Castle (紅毛城) or Fort San Domingo which was first built by the Dutch in 1641 as Fort Antonio.  紅毛城 literally meant the Red Hair Castle.

The other prominent landmark of Tamsui had to be the famous Tamsui Old Street and Waterfront or Tamsui Lao Jie (淡水老街). The walking street had a variety of restaurants, handicraft stores and local food. The strip served wonderful fish ball, iron eggs (eggs stewed in a mix of herbs and spices until pickled) and, of course, one of the most iconic local specialities in TamSui (淡水) located at the famous  or Tamsui Old Street and waterfront, would be the famous Ah Gei. There were two Ah Gei Lao Dian in Tamshui. The original shop was at the end of the slope and the one in the picture was later opened so that more customers can enjoy in the comfort of air-conditioned environment. Ah Gei (left on the pic) was their famous specialty. It was crystal noodle stuffed in fried bean-curd and served in mild sweet and hot sauce.Ah Gei, also the name of the shop, was also popular with their plus-size fish ball and meat ball (right in the pic above).

It was worth for any tourist to dedicate a day to Tamshui to enjoy the scenic river views and wide spread of food.

cha FOR TEA and Movenpick cafe were few of the modern day restaurants that I visited during the trip. The other one was Sugar Cafe and Restaurant located at Ren Ai Road.

Sugar Cafe and Restaurant was a small cozy restaurant of capacity of around 50 - 60 guests and with the likes of sandwiches, pastas and one of the best Risotto I had for years. The ambiance was excellent for the lunch crowd. It was not too noisy but there were sufficient interaction among the customers. The staffs were friendly, warm and attentive.

cha FOR TEA (www.chafortea.com.tw) is a Tea House chain with dine-in and to-go stores all across Taipei. They served a variety of fruity tea, both cold and hot. Luo Sheng Hua with plum was one of the most popular drinks in Taiwan. They also had good set menu for afternoon tea.

I also went to Movenpick Cafe at Taipei Station near to Cheng Ping Bookshop on the last day. They served menu like pastas and cakes and, of course, coffee and tea. Presentation and quality of food and beverages were good and price affordable.

They were still many local specialties and popular restaurants that I did not have the time and opportunity to try. I will definitely try to visit the city again to do more eating.

Size Matters but So is Depth

Rapid technology advancement reduces time of information flow leading to a closer world. It allow easier and wider access to goods and services. Thus, increasing trade. The distance between buyer and seller also increase and, yet, transaction time have been greatly reduced.

Traders and service providers have more options. Depending on their adaptability, creativity, resources and risk appetite, their perceived market size change. However, it is nevertheless bigger than before.

As number of opportunities increase, and resources remain short, mindset changes. Benchmark also
Increases. Barrier to new business rises. So is expectations. Demand increases. Prices and cost of production follow.

From the perspective of a merchant, the market of their priority will be any market that offer the greatest opportunity of success, the least risk and competition or the biggest profit potential.

Thus, a market of 80 million people is more attractive than one of 4 million. A market with highest disposable income stands better opportunity to have more option for products and services.

From the opposite angle, a small market will not attract merchant leaving consumers less choices and more expensive options. Worse if the small market does not have strong purchasing power. Thus, not only the size of the market matter, the quality of the consumers is also a key factor.

The New Work Order (NWO)

Not in order of importance.

1. From Cooperate to Collaborate. Objective oriented. Seek mutual benefits. Leverage on crowd/customers to solve your problems.

2. Broad Width of Experiences are more Important than Qualification. The NWO is about getting all necessary things done. Not just being expert in one aspect.

3. Design is Everything. Incorporate design in your processes, products and even marketing campaigns. Design aesthetics. Incorporate convenience. Enhance experience.

4. Leverage Technology. Embrace social media, cloud and mobility. Enhance visibility. Enhance connectedness. Improve efficiency.

5. Knowledge is key but share to improve. Open source. Seek & share new ideas. Help orhers in need. Credit source.

6. Embrace diversity. Adopt firm core values. Globalization. Understand cultural differences. Respect.

7. Trust. Promote transparency. Deliver promises. Consistency. Less control is more. Quality.

8. Promote Social Responsibility. Encourage participation. Contribute to communities.

9. Passion. Making things happen. Impossible is nothing. Enthusiasm. Freedom of expression.

10. It's all about Growth. Expansion of territories. Depth of customer intimacy. Number of customers. Its not about cost-cutting.

Recruiting for High Performance Team

The reality of life is that business management is nothing but basic common sense. The every aspects of business from recruitment to product development to sustainability are common sense to the dismay of many qualified MBA professional.

A successful business usually started with a concept, a percieved need for the product or service in the market place kick-start by a bold and enthusiastic individual with a vision to scale the every aspects of the business and, more importantly, add values to the process of the customers.

The team is then formed with individual of matching skill sets who believe in the vision to polish the product or service to add value to individuals or other businesses.

The intent of forming a team is simply to do more. Logically, the coordinated effort of two individuals can produce more than one. The assumption is that both believe on the same vision and the effort are coordinated. The key to team is to ensure that one plus one be equal to more than two. The output is is the process of leadership motivation multiply by the way things are done. Thus, the output of two individual should produce more than the sum of two individuals.

Efficiency is a result of a good plan of approach and continuous practice and rehearsal till flawless. The plan of approach becomes a system where individual within the team knows what to do and complement each other's short coming. Their behaviour becomes habit and habit becomes culture. The high standards maintain by the leader and existing team member becomes the culture of excellence.

Any new addition must increase the value to the customers, either directly or indirectly, by increasing the efficiency of the team. That is, two plus one should equate to more than more than the existing average output.

This can only happen if the new addition fit into the existing culture of the existing team, subscribe to the same vision and is a strong individual who can redefine and take the existing definition of excellence to the next level. The individual can and preferably is also a strong leader.

It is well proven in elite military units that strong leaders can perform in a team. Any doubt should be eliminated because everyone in the team should be a leader in their respective role.

Thus, in recruiting new addition into a high performance team, the criterion should be clear. Recruiter should have clear understanding of the vison of team leader, value expected from the new addition, value system of the existing team, character expectations of new addition, vision and ideologies of new addition and leadership initiatives & innovation. Improvement to the team will always be there as long as the leader and the team are clear of what is the next level and what is needed to achieve the next level.

End of a Chapter

May 15, 2000 - 25 April 2012.

It was more difficult than I originally expected to face this day. It was truthful that I will exit with a heavy heart.

The journey ended and the past 11 years 11 months & 11 days was a rewarding & fulfilling experience for me. It is a milestone in my professional career. It was never just a job even from the start. It was always much more than that. Thus, sentiment ran deep as I walk out of the main door for the last time as an employee.

I was attracted by the mission of this institution and personally experience the power of the mission. During my association, I met many talented individuals from around the world driven to serve the mission. As the founder mentioned in his article released on May 1, 1913 that we were very proud of our work because, above any particular interests, we are doing something for humanity and our greatest asset is not our people or our plant or any tangible thing that can be expressed in figure, it is our goodwill. I was extremely proud and honor to do play a small role in advancing the mission.

The most rewarding aspects of the work was the opportunities to create jobs growing from a 6-man office to nearly 70 including teams in Malaysia & Thailand, notwithstanding, the good men and women who have contributed so significantly & did me so proud. Most have grown and left to take on bigger roles in other organisation. Others will definitely be taking on key position in the organisation in times to come.

I would also like to mentioned that other than the experiences, knowledge, skills, techniques, methodologies, track records, friendships & comradries gained over the years of service, nothing else belong to me after the last day. Thus, I was willing to share, especially for the continuous growth of the local organization and also because as I share I gain a more indepth understanding of the subject.

I was extremely grateful to the well-wishes during the last 2 weeks of my service. I was humbled by the fanfare and did not feel that I deserved them. Nevertheless, I was very appreciative by the attention, gifts and all that were done.

Thus, I was left with two unanswered questions before the final closure of this chapter.



1. If all is well, why leave?
2. Where will be the next sestination?

To the first question, there were several aspects.

I started with a mentality that we should not ask what the organization can do for us but what we can do for the organization as the organization was there before us. Thus, I was grateful with the opportunities I received.

It is conventional wisdom that if it is not broken, don't fix it. One should only leave the organization if you are unhappy. I enjoyed every moment of my 11 years 11 months 11 days. However, I also believe the notion of seeking your next peak at your peak. I am leaving behind a proven successful team with the highest growth percentage within the company globally.

In addition, being at the same place for too long, I was beginning to take things for granted. As such, a change of environment would bring me back to earth. I was also feeling stagnated with my progress with the organization and felt the need to grow my career, not in small incremental steps but through achieving quantum leap which was unlikely to happen with my current opportunities & environment.

I am not contended to be mediocre. I would like to be at a place where I can be much better appreciated and where I can contribute more significantly to the vision. A place where our vision are aligned. A place where I can grow due to my ability and not because I was there for long or stifled because of (lack of) relationships.

Then, I also realised that I do not have too many 10 years left in my career and, thus, the urgent need to do something different.

The company was putting in a new process and this made the timing better as my successor can focus on the new process. The incumbent will also have time to plan & build for the future with a strong team managing the day-to-day business.

As mentioned to many people, I will be taking a break before deciding what would be the next project. It has been a privilege to be able create job and I will do my best to continue. I have always enjoyed the public service work that we have done with schools & social welfare groups and I hope to continue to integrate this aspect in my future work. I have always like to go into education, conference & e-training kind of knowledge solution providers but all were preliminaries. Whatever the next project will be, it will be to manage and conquer the sigma of realities of lifes

For every hello, there will be a goodbye. Its time to say this goodbye well so that we are ready for the next hello. I am closing this chapter with this post. I hope I have added values (however small it may be) to any aspects of your career or life during when we cross path and I look foward to the day our path cross again. Thank you for making this journey memorable. Till then, adios.

March 26, 2012

This is an important day. A day that I put my thoughts into action. I have offically handed in my transfer request. Err.. No.. I am not a footballer. I just formalized my intent to leave the organization.

It was after much delibration that I finally exercised my decision made many many months ago. I will part with this great organization that I had devoted so much of my time and effort in the past 11 years. It all started with the faith to serve the customers but was humbled, over the years, by their support.


The feelings were mixed. On one hand, I was sad to leave behind a bunch of great folks and fellow teammates who had work so hard over the past years. On the other hand, I was happy to finally able cut the ambilical cord to allow myself to move on to pursuit other interests. I also believe that this parting will also allow the team to make changes and go on to achieve greater success.

The journey was never smooth sailing and had many challenges. It was nevertheless filled with joy and memorable experiences. During the past 11 years, I had the honor to witness many great leaders in action and had the pleasure to work with some of the most brillant and passionate co-workers. I was fortunate to be part of this organization and take pride in their mission. This was definitely a worthwhile journey to venture.

The opportunity to create jobs was the most significant opportunity & experience that define by decade with the organization.

There were people who asked why I haven't made the move earlier?

The decision was made 3 years ago when several opportunities were offered to me. However, at that time, the team of average 2 years was young and was not able to hold their own. At least this was my assessment. I could be wrong. Nevertheless, right or wrong was no longer important.

Then there was the need for succession as in my post of Dec 29, 2009. There were several more than qualified candidates and the team has sufficient knowledge and maturity to achieve many more successes. More importantly, there was the presence of a highly motivated successor who was very committed to take the team to the next level.

It is natural that when the child grows older, it is time to cut the string and let go. By the end of my tenure, I will serve my 11 years 11 month & 11 days.

Thank you for the opportunities.
Thank you for the support & teamwork. Thank you for the memoable experiences.
Thank you for the friendship.

This place & the people will also have a special place in my heart.

Enter The Dragon

The year of rabbit ends in the next few minutes and the sign will change to Dragon, a symbol only used by emperors and kings in ancient China. It is unknown if Dragon existed or a myth but is definitely a representation of auspicious and positivity.

The bunny created chaos with numerous disaters such as Fukushima earthquake, Thailand's flood, financial crisis in Europe & the US and many as mentioned in my earlier post. Hopes were pinned on the Dragon to turn around world economy and resume peace with Mother nature.

Many hope for economy revival and the upcoming election in the US will give politicians some incentives to do the right things to turnaround the world largest economy. Europe can get their house in order and manage their debt situation. China will continue their growth and cushion the void left by the western world. India does its part to support global economy growth while the Middle Eastern nations continue to maintain oil price at a reasonable and affordable levels. Brazil and other oil producing economies will support the global course as they enjoy their profit. Last, but not least, South East Asia maintain their investment and continue to collaborate for growth.

It is also expected that fertility rate will increase during this year of kings. In short, year of Dragon will be a year of prosperity and plentiful. Let's also hope that this is a safe year for all.

Nights Out at Clark Quay & One Fullerton