PERFECT SPECIMEN: Shirota Yu | しろた ゆう

One of Japan's most beautiful faces.

Shirota Yu is a famous recording artist in Japan. He is a member of the famous all-boys stage acting group called D-Boys. He is also a model, an actor, a music writer and a seasoned surfer; spanning his fame to Taiwan, Korea and Southeast Asia.

Shirota was born in Tokyo on 26 December 1985 to a Japanese father and a Spanish mother. His family moved to Barcelona when he was 2 and returned to Japan when he was about 8 ad stayed for good. He speaks Spanish, Japanese and English fluently.

His last name can also be written as "Yuu".


More photos of Shirota here...

Eurasians are the hottest people on Earth.

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Shirota’s Official website and his blog.

*Photos courtesy of Shirotayuu.com

ANNOUNCEMENT

Starting 25th of February, BISEAN would be blogging from Beijing, China.
It would be our new base till December.


This means less travel to Southeast Asian countries (except Thailand), less parties in KL, Singapore, Bali, Saigon, Manila, etc. But of course, BISEAN would still be blogging about everything Southeast Asian.

Sofia and Morgan was offered modeling contracts in China.
BECAUSE I JUST BOUGHT IT! *the agency, I mean*


Thanks for your time.

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CULINARY GEMS: Nasi Lemak

We already made a blog entry of this heavenly food last year. It was listed on the “Our Cultural Treasures & Icons” group because it wasn't written with the recipe. You can read it here.

Although Indonesians has their own version, this particular recipe is Malaysian style. Maybe we'll have the Indonesian recipe soon.

Due to popular demand, here’s the recipe. You might wanna try it on your own because this is truly Southeast Asia’s culinary gem.

Here…

Preparation Time 30 min
Cooking Time 30 min
Serves 8

Ingredients

For the rice:
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup water
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 (1/2 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
Salt to taste
1/2 whole bay leaf
1 cup long grain rice, rinsed and drained

For the garnish:
2 boiled eggs
1 cucumber
1/2 cup raw peanuts (or already cooked)
1 cup dried anchovies

For the sauce:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 tsp chili paste
1/2 (4 ounce) package white anchovies, washed
2 tbsp white sugar

Directions

1. The faster way is to use a rice cooker. Stir together coconut milk, water, ground ginger, ginger root, salt, bay leaf, and rice then cook it.

2. Meanwhile, de-shell the eggs and cut into half or quarters. Peel and slice the cucumbers.

3. In a skillet, use a little oil over high heat. Fry the peanuts, when it’s cook and red – add the dried anchovies. Cook till crispy. Keep stirring. Set aside.

4. For the Sambal (chili sauce) -- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in the skillet. Stir in the onion, garlic, and shallots; cook until fragrant, about 1 or 2 minutes. Mix in the chili paste, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the chili paste is too dry, add a small amount of water. Stir in remaining anchovies; cook for 5 minutes. Add sugar and salt (to taste); simmer until sauce is thick, about 5 minutes.

See photo how to serve it.


*Thanks to Ariff for the photo.

ASEAN’S FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS

Foreign Direct Investment reflects the confidence of foreign companies/enterprise that their investment is safe in our country.

The ASEAN acquired a total of almost US$52.4 Billion foreign direct investments in 2006. A total of 89% came outside the ASEAN and 11% came within the association.

Where did their investments (89%) go to?

1. Singapore

US$ 22,917,700,000
2. Thailand

$ 7,933,900,000
3. Malaysia

$ 5,591,900,000
4. Indonesia

$ 4,031,700,000
5. Vietnam

$ 2,178,100,000
6. Philippines

$ 2,440,600,000
7. Cambodia

$ 327,700,000
8. Brunei

$ 423,800,000
9. Laos

$ 176,800,000
10. Burma

$ 115,200,000


And where did we invest (11%) among ourselves?

1. Thailand

US$ 2,822,100,000
2. Indonesia

$ 1,524,500,000
3. Singapore

$ 1,137,700,000
4. Malaysia

$ 467,800,000
5. Vietnam

$ 181,900,000
6. Cambodia

$ 155,500,000
7. Philippines

$ 95,600,000
8. Burma

$ 27,800,000
9. Laos

$ 10,600,000
10. Brunei

$ 9,700,000

It all boils down to foreign confidence – our government’s policies to attract them, our discipline as a people, our geographical location, facilities, etc. etc.

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*Data source: ASEAN Secretariat. Data as of August 2007.

SE ASIA’S FIRST SATELLITES IN ORBIT

The very first country in the world to launch an artificial satellite into orbit is the Soviet Union in 1957. The United States followed the next year. From then on, all of the world’s wealthiest nations launched theirs in the 1960s.

Only nineteen years later, Southeast Asia’s first satellite was launched by Indonesia in 1976. Who among us haven’t heard of the famous Palapa Satellite? Well, I did! And they launched another one the next year, the Palapa 2.

Our region used Indonesia’s Palapa for broadcasting and telecommunications until Thailand launched its own satellite in 1993 named Thaicom, Southeast Asia’s 2nd country after 17 years.

Three years later, Malaysia launched MEASAT in 1996 and the Philippines launched Mabuhay1 the next year.

All of these satellites (and succeeding ones) were launched by the help of western countries. BUT starting 2010, Southeast Asia would have space rocket launching capability --Thanks to our wonderful neighbor, Indonesia. (source)

Indonesia will build Southeast Asia’s very first Spaceport. It is said that it would be Asia’s most advanced facility surpassing even China’s. This will fortify Indonesia’s dominance in Space Technology in our region and ensuring Southeast Asia isn't left behind.

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PERFECT SPECIMEN: Maya Karin

Southeast Asia's answer to Linda Blair.

Maya Karin is one of Malaysia’s most famous faces. She is the "Linda Blair" of Southeast Asia being famously known for her horror movie roles spanning her celebrity status in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei. She is also a VJ, a recording artist and a supermodel.

Maya Karin Roelcke was born 29 October 1979 in Bayreuth, Germany to a German father (Gottfried) and a Malaysia mother (Che Zan) of Malay-Chinese-Indian decent from Penang.

She started as a spokes model for big names in the beauty product industry in 2000 and in 2002, released her debut album as a recording artist and earned her music awards. Her very first movie earned her active awards in 2003 and in 2004, she got Best Actress awards in Japan and Spain.

Despite her hectic schedule, Maya is an active advocate of environmental causes. She is World Wildlife Fund’s spokesperson for Malaysia and particularly fond of Asian elephants. Maya and the WWF is currently planning the Elephant Collaring Expedition to help save this specie from extinction.

More photos of Maya here...

(Click photo to enlarge)


Eurasians are the most beautiful people on Earth.

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*Photos courtesy of Piclogic

BISEAN’s 10 Most Romantic Places for Valentines

This could also be the most romantic places in Southeast Asia -- but of course, we got millions more undiscovered. Here are the most romantic dinner we have actually experienced and oh-boy! are we impressed or what?

1. Sky Dining on Cable car, 230 ft above sea-level. Unusual, total privacy and great view of the Lion City. Sentosa Island, Singapore.

2. Dinner on the legendary “Maeyanang” rice barge cruising the great River of Kings. Unforgettable evening to see Bangkok’s landmarks by boat. The Oriental Bangkok, Charoen Khrung, Bangkok, Thailand.

3. Dinner at the Alkaff Mansion. Old world charm, ultra-luxurious, 1930s mansion on a hill overlooking a beautiful park. 10 Telok Blangah Green, Singapore.

4. Indulgence at Amankila. After a relaxing massage, indulge in nice candle-lit dinner at the pool side on a cliff over looking the Strait of Lombok. BISEAN’s favorite place in the history of histories. Amankila Resorts, Bali, Indonesia.

5. Dinner at Casa Manila. Experience the opulence of Filipino culture in the turn of the century. Relive the 1800s. Take the “Calesa” (horse-drawn carriage) through the cobble streets of the Walled City after dinner. Calle Real, Intramuros, Manila, Philippines.

6. Dinner at the Seri Angkasa. Indulge with 360 degrees view of cosmopolitan Kuala Lumpur more than 1,000 ft. above sea-level. Nothing can come close to this. Menara KL, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

7. Bonfire and pot dinner at Dam Tre Island's secluded beach. The whole stretch of tranquil and virgin beach all to yourselves. Nin Van Bay, Vietnam.

8. Dine al fresco at the Vertigo among the moon and the stars. Open air restaurant at the penthouse, 63 stories high. Breath-taking 360 degrees view of the City of Angels. The Banyan Tree Hotel, Sathorn Road, Bangkok, Thailand.

9. Indulge and dine like Imperial couples in the 1920s at Doc Cheng’s. The best restaurant in the whole of Singapore. Raffles Hotel, Singapore.

10. The list is not finished…care to recommend?

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TAMARAW: Half the Size, Twice as Fierce, Totally Rare

At first, it looks like a juvenile water buffalo. But if you look closely, not quite really. Before you go near it to do a little petting… you might wanna think twice -- This is the Tamaraw*! Waaaah! The rare dwarf buffalo known for its legendary fierceness.

One of Southeast Asia’s gems in the animal world can only be found in Mindoro Island in the Philippines. No other island, country or continent in the world has it. You are looking at one of the world’s rarest mammals!

The Tamaraw /tah-‘mah-‘rao/ was first described to science in 1888 by a French zoologist. It was classified as sub-specie of the Water Buffalo in 1958 and declared a new specie in 1969.


How is it different from a common carabao? Tamaraws are short and stocky, hairier, with gray-white markings on the face, hooves and inner front legs. Their horns are shorter, straight and resembles a “V”. They are solitary, shy and not very friendly. Oops! Change that to: “not friendly” AT ALL!

How rare is rare? Just 50 to 100 are estimated left in the wild. This is in stark contrast to 10,000 in the 1900s. A critically endangered species with a life span of only 20 years! Oh people, have mercy!

Why are they diminishing fast? I was told that Tamaraws were harvested for their meat! What? Who eats buffaloes? Honestly. -- And of course, loss of habitat. *sigh*

There is a law in the Philippines prohibiting the killing and even wounding a Tamaraw. It was passed in 1936. But still, the number of Tamaraw dwindled to what it is now.

Making laws are not enough! The Tamaraw is a national treasure and a symbol of the Philippines. When are going to start to care? When they are all gone? Can you take an extinct national symbol?

Save our forests. Save the Tamaraw.

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*Bulbalus mindorensis

10 LARGEST LAKES OF SOUTHEAST ASIA

Here’s another one to disprove the claims of the largest in our region – the lakes.

Just like our rivers, lakes are important for trade, livelihood and traveling around. Some lists would differentiate natural to man-made. Some would list according to types and there are more than 15 types of lakes. This list includes all of them, since we are talking about the total area it covers.

Here are the largest lakes in Southeast Asia… (Lake, Country, Total Area)


1. Tonlé Sap, Cambodia, between 2700 – 16000 km²

2. Lake Toba, Indonesia , 1130 km² (World’s largest volcanic lake)

3. Songkhla Lake (ทะเลสาบสงขลา), Thailand, 1040 km²

4. Laguna de Bay, Philippines, 940 km²

5. Lake Towuti, Indonesia, 561 km²

6. Lake Jempang, Indonesia, 450 km²

7. Lake Tempe, Indonesia, 350 km²

8. Lake Lanao, Philippines, 340 km²

9. Lake Poso, Indonesia, 323 km²

10. Indawgyi Lake, Burma, 300 km²


The largest lake in Brunei is Tasik Merimbun. Jurong Lake is the largest in Singapore. In Laos, it's the Nam Ngum Lake. And it's Ba Be Lake in Vietnam. The largest lake in Malaysia is Kenyir Lake in Terengganu and Ira Lalaro is the largest in Timor Leste.


*Data source: Lake Basin Management Initiative of the World Bank exclusively for BISEAN, Photos by Google Earth

PATRICK RIBBSAETER Revisited

The Universal Player.
He was the very first Perfect Specimen featured on this blog.



Our coach Patrick already has his own Marketing/PR firm and his own modeling agency and god-knows-what-more. Aside from his signature line of Universal Player, his uber-wild parties, he still find time to blog.

BISEAN calls him "Coach" because we come to his blog everyday to check the "quotes of the day" and some lessons and tips in to success. As we told you before, this dude got brains.

BISEAN doodled some art and came up with couple of new "samples"...we hope the Coach likes it...






Visit his blog here.

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A LUNCH WITH PHILIPPINE POLITICIANS

BISEAN sitting down with a couple of Philippine politicians at lunch watching a “hearing” in the Senate about some corruption scandal against the government.




ON TV:

Star Witness: “Blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah. Smiles. Blah, blah, blah.

Accused: “Blah, blah, blah.”

Star Witness: “Blah, blah. Yaddi -yaddi -da-da”.

This went on for like half an hour.


ON OUR TABLE:

All quiet, trying to focus on the proceedings. Sofia forking her dessert, Morgan studying the center-piece flowers and I… having a headache trying to decipher the Filipino words they are saying…

When the Star Witness’ face was focused again on the TV, Tommy blurted out…

“HE’S A BIG LIAR! Can’t they see it? The eye movements, the muscles on the cheeks, the lingering of words! He’s lying! His shoulders gave it away! He’s making up stories!”

Every one on the table was startled. Tommy didn’t know that all those politicians on our table are pro-Star Witness and against the government.

Hahaha!

Frankly…I also know that witness is adding and sensationalizing facts! Tommy is a Doctor of Psychology. He’ll spot a lie even before you open your mouth.

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