[AWWW YEAAA] McDonald’s Samurai Burger: It Came and Disappeared…But It's Coming Back

I can’t remember the exact period but I believe it was more than a decade ago (I was still in school back then) since McDonald’s offered Samurai Burger as part of their menu. It was before (again, if my memories served me correctly) Prosperity Burger and I believe many of you out there still remember about it.

I don’t get to eat much McDonald’s back then as it was considered rather premium by my parents, so naturally I never get to taste Samurai Burger…until recently. Yup, Samurai Burger is back. Ok, it is more like McDonald’s first offered it (UNANNOUNCED) only at a handful of McDonald’s branches around Klang Valley for just one week and then, it disappeared.

Really, that was exactly how the story went. Those who followed my Twitter or Instagram and my Facebook friends would remember that on the day of Adidas King of The Road [here's my race report of the event], I actually had Samurai Burger as my lunch (and my post-run reward) at McDonald’s Sunway Pyramid. I then had another serving of the burger - in its Double Samurai form - for dinner at the same branch.

On the following day, my housemate actually went to the same branch but was told that Samurai Burger is no longer on the menu. He was not the only one though as many of my friends were frustrated as well when they received similar reply at other listed branches.

That being said...don’t fret if you feel that you are missing the Samurai Burger train as it will be back on McDonald’s menu tomorrow, September 20! This news was first delivered to me by gnomeMY who received a SMS from McDonald’s earlier today and I’ve also confirmed it with a staff at McDonald’s Mid Valley during lunch.

Furthermore, the proper Samurai Burger menu will also be accompanied by Katsu Curry McShaker Fries and Sakura McFizz which were missing from the initial one-week limited run. Well, you can already guess what I’m going to have for lunch tomorrow then…I’m going to take it as my last megafood before I resume training for the upcoming Nike We Run KL 2012, lol.

Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/chapree and Instagram via this ID: chapree2277. Also, check out Lowyat.NET for daily tech goodies on weekdays!

[Running] Race Report: Adidas King of The Road 2012 16.8KM

Yup, this corny pose was one of my official photos from the run. Courtesy of Adidas Malaysia.

So, the Adidas King of The Road is here once again. Took place on 9th September, it was pretty much identical like last year's edition with two types of categories (10k and 16.8k), same venue (start/finish at Sunway Pyramid with New Pantai Expressway as the route) and…yeah, pretty much the same vibe all over again.

But then again…I stepped up the game this year by participating in the 16.8k category instead of last year’s 10k and it is now the longest distance I’ve ever attempted. Pre-race, I believed that I’ll be able to finish the run within 2 hours but unfortunately, I eventually clocked around 2 hours 20 minutes.

The route, as tracked by Nike+ SportWatch GPS. Click on the picture to enlarge it on a new window.

Originally, I divided the race into three different pace level – each in batch of 6km. So, basically it should be mid/hi 7min/km from 0km to 6km, then hi 6min/km till 12km and back to mid/hi 7min/km for 12km till finish. Obviously, my plan was shattered to pieces as you can see from the timing that my Nike+ SportWatch GPS tracked during the run:

Click on the picture to enlarge it on a new window.

There is only one reason to this - I totally overestimated my general fitness level. As whenever I tried to push towards 6min/km, the feeling of side stitch came in - so, to be safe, I slowed down but with fatigue building up as the distance added up, I never really able to go faster. Nevertheless, I’m still pretty happy since not only it was my furthest run for now but I did couple of “first” in this event such as taking gel during the race and wearing a compression long pants (a Nike Swift Running Tights, to be exact).

Now officially a member of Kelab Seluar Ketat. Picture courtesy of Adidas Malaysia.

Managed by the highly experienced Hivelocity Events team (if I’m not mistaken), Adidas King of The Road 2012 got my thumbs up in terms of the organizer’s capability of executing the event as expected. The number of water stations along the route were quite adequate with one for each 3 km in addition to excellent (IMHO, of course) medical support throughout the route – paramedics, mobile medical personnel on bike checking out on participants, Deep Heat sprays etc.

My only complaint (sort of) is that there were barricades at the both sides of the starting line which made it hard for 16.8km participants that came late to the starting line to enter the starting area since they have to go through throngs of 10k runners that lined up behind the 16.8k group. This is rather very very very small thing though; not a biggie at all.

The ever popular Photo Wall.

Also, I felt that the vibe at the finishing area while were quite exciting since you can’t beat the feeling of completing a run, it was also quite dull at the same time. Apart from free Nestle cereals and Milo as well as a rather awesome photo wall, the race carnival area didn’t offer anything much despite being called a “carnival”. While this is not essential and certainly didn’t really affect my race experience, I do feel that some post-race activities/entertainment could liven up the area and give participants something to do beyond the typical “run, take medal, snap photos with friends and go home” routine.

Nevertheless, will I return next year? I like the route, so you most probably will see me again – assuming that Adidas will continue to use NPE as KoTR route. Even if they decide to change the venue/route, chances are you still going to see me again. :)

For the meantime, do check out other photos that managed to snap at the even through the link below.

[Don’t Sleep On This] Levi's x Nike SB Dunk Low Pro To Hit Kuala Lumpur Today!

Now that I’ve passed on the community message, it is time to talk about the main show. So, yes, the Levi’s X Nike SB Dunk Low Pro is coming to town and it is surely going to be big as both the Quickstrike as well as Hyperstrike pairs will be available for sale at Showroom in Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur.

Obviously, with such limited amount of pairs to be sold away (especially the Hyperstrike version as there are only 500 pairs of it throughout the WORLD), the good people at Showroom have made sure that it is not going to be easy for you to cop them. They are going to sold them Dunks off via ballot and this time around, the amount of tickets that you can register are according to certain criteria that they’ve listed down at their official Facebook page.

Both Dunks are priced at RM 429 each which is slightly more than normal Nike SB releases…what do you expect? This is not any ordinary release but then again, what is so special about these two Nike SB Dunk Low Pros? I’ll tell you in the next post.

[Image source: Showroom]

[Swoosh] Special Edition Raffle For Levi’s x Nike SB Dunk Low Pro By KLKix Community

If you haven’t heard of it yet, the elusive Levi’s x Nike SB Dunk Low Pro collection is about to hit Showroom in Berjaya Times Square tomorrow. I’ll be touching on that in the next post but for the meantime, let’s cut to slightly more urgent news first.

In conjunction of arrival, local sneaker community KLKix (www.facebook.com/KLKix) will be celebrating the release of Nike SB x Levi’s Dunk Low Pro in their own way. How? Via a special raffle!

[The actual shoe, as posted by KLKix’s chef-de-mission, Azuwan]

For only RM 20 per ticket, one will have the chance to grab the Quickstrike edition (the one in black colorway) of Levi’s x Nike SB Dunk Low Pro via the special raffle. The deadline to grab the raffle ticket will on 12PM of 31st August 2012 (that’s tomorrow’s noon!) and the winner will be announced on the 1st September 2012.

The amount of raffle tickets that you can purchase is unlimited, so you can decide whether to put your luck on a single ticket or put it on multiple tickets. Imagine, the opportunity of getting the shoe for less than its RM 429 price tag...I’m sold, son! So, if you are thinking of joining the party, hit up KLKix Sneaker Community’s joint at Facebook for further info.

On another hand, don’t forget the huge release at Showroom in Berjaya Times Square too! Details coming in a bit but if you can’t wait anymore, head on to Showroom’s Facebook right away.

[Image source: Levi's, KLKix and Showroom]

[LULZ] When Hurdlers Not Giving A Single F*** Anymore

Supposed that you failed the first two hurdles and already lost your footings but you refuses to back down. So, what are you gonna do?

Well...keep calm and end the run like a boss:

I'm pretty sure that not a single f*** was given that day. *clap clap clap*

[LULZsauce: YouTube, passed by Mr Editor - Lucas Lau]

[What’s Up] Maroon 5 Live In Malaysia Presented by Yes 4G: Tickets Anyone?

If you must know, Maroon 5 is one of my favorite bands around – I don’t care what is your opinion on that, lol - and I tremendously enjoyed my time during their previous show in Kuala Lumpur. Just few months ago, the band has released its fourth album called Overexposed and is currently on tour once again which includes Kuala Lumpur as its stop. Yup, another KL show for the band, wooohoooo!

Presented by Yes 4G, the Maroon 5 Live in Malaysia will take place on 20th September in Stadium Shah Alam and the show will be opened by The Cab. Tickets for the show are readily available from Ticketpro but then again, you can actually obtain the RM 298 ticket right from Yes 4G themselves for (almost) free.

Here is what you need to do:

Existing Yes 4G subscribers: Pre-pay or reload RM 300 to your Yes 4G postpaid or prepaid account.

Planning To Subscribe for Yes 4G: Sign-up to either Zoom, Huddle or Huddle XS Super168 Postpaid 24-months plan.

In case it wasn't clear enough:

Once you are done with either of the options above, all you need to do next is to fill in the online form at www.yes.my and wait for the confirmation e-mail which will contain the information on where to pick up the ticket. Before you get too excited, do remember to check out the complete detail at Yes 4G’s website and remember - the offer above is only valid till 2nd September 2012 [Update (06/09): the redemption date has since been extended] 15th September 2012.

Meanwhile, for the rest of you who are just looking to score for free tickets, Yes 4G is giving them away from 1st to 10th September at 11am daily through its official Facebook page. Regardless of the method you choose to obtain your Maroon 5 tickets, see you at Stadium Shah Alam on 20th September! :D

[Balls of Steel] Transmission Tower Worker P.O.V, 500 Meters Up In The Air

I’m very grateful that my job revolves around talking cock about interesting things in the world of consumer electronics, technology, lifestyle, sports and beyond – all within the safety of my office/home chairs and desks. They are many out there who risked their live at their work place on frequent basis...like a transmission tower climber.

Imagine what shown below as your "office". High up in the sky, without any walls and roof. No elevator with some free climbing might be needed to complete the job faster.

Apparently, transmission tower climber in US can make up to more than RM 197,000 (USD 63,000) annually. That’s more than RM 16,000 per month. A lot of pay indeed but do you have enough balls (without even counting the expertise to repair whatever up there) to climb up those towers? That’s why we all down here and they are up there.

[Image: Ken Colwell, used under Creative Commons license. Balls Busting Sauce: YouTube. Money Sauce: eHow]