MALAYSIA NEWS: Air quality declines in Klang Valley (Updated 2)

Air quality declines in Klang Valley (Updated 2)





PETALING JAYA: Air quality in parts of the country have deteriorated due to local peat fires in Selangor and forest fires in Indonesia bringing over haze to Malaysia. At 5pm Friday, Port Klang and Cheras recorded unhealthy API readings of 136 and 109 respectively. Shah Alam’s API reading went up to 120 from the 95 recorded at 11am. Overall, 21 areas recorded good air quality while 26 areas recorded moderate air quality readings. Other areas close to heading into the unhealthy quality range of between 101 and 200 include Kajang (100), Batu Muda (99), Petaling Jaya (93) and Putrajaya (92). Compared to Thursday, yesterday’s API readings showed a general decline in air quality in the Klang Valley. Thursday’s API readings for Petaling Jaya was 76 while Cheras recorded a reading of 73.

The three peat fires identified in Klang and Sepang coupled with trans-boundary haze from Indonesia has led to unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings in Port Klang, Shah Alam and Cheras. The fires are a regular occurrence in Sumatra and Borneo during the dry season due to fires being started to clear land before the planting season starts. The dry season also occurs in Malaysia which tends to ignite peat fires that compounds the annual haze problem. As of 5pm, visibility in Subang was at 5km. Petaling Jaya recorded visibility readings of 2km at 9am which later improved to 4km at 5pm. Visibility at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport went to as low as 3km to which an airport spokesperson said the situation was being monitored

For the latest Air Pollutant Index Readings, please check http://www.doe.gov.my/ under API reading column.

Stories & photos courtesy of The Star

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My comments: Hazy days are here again. Remember to take care of yourself. Try to drink more water as possible and avoid yourself from going out too offen. If possible, hook up yourself with a mask when you go out too. Taking additional vitamins can help you to strengthen your antibody as well. If you feel any of your body unwell due to the hazy situation, remember to consult a doctor. This message is brought to you by alexleow-kimmy.com

Soccer News: Man Utd accepts Real Madrid's world-record bid for Ronaldo

Man Utd accepts Real Madrid's world-record bid for Ronaldo

LONDON: Manchester United accepted a world record transfer offer for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid on Thursday, clearing the World Player of the Year to negotiate personal terms with the Spanish club. The Premier League champions received an unconditional offer of 80 million pounds (US$131mil) for Ronaldo and unlike in the last off-season, United is now willing to see its 24-year-old star performer join a major European rival. United said: “At Cristiano’s request - who has again expressed his desire to leave - and after discussion with the player’s representatives, United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the player.

“Matters are expected to be concluded by 30 June.” The Portugal winger spent last June pushing for what he called at the time a “dream move” to Madrid, but any transfer was blocked by United manager Alex Ferguson, who travelled to Lisbon to persuade his player to stay at Old Trafford. That didn’t stop Ronaldo being linked with Madrid and Ferguson’s irritation boiled over in December when he said he “wouldn’t sell Madrid a virus,” describing the club as a “mob.” But now a world-record bid appears too hard to resist for the heavily indebted Premier League club. Ronaldo, who was under contract until 2012 at United, plunged his future into doubt after losing the Champions League final to Barcelona last month, despite having vowed to stay at United in the build-up to the match and even in a broadcast interview conducted with himself.
The return of Florentino Perez as Madrid’s president has changed things as he looks to spend to return the Spanish side to the glory days of its “galactico” era. Kaka was signed from AC Milan earlier this week for a reported fee of around US$92 mil. But the offer for Ronaldo would eclipse that and the US$65mil, the club paid to get former France striker Zinedine Zidane from Juventus in 2001. - AP

Best Of TVB Drama: The Threshold of a Persona (ID 精英)

Title: The Threshold of a Persona (ID精英)

Cast: Roger Kwok, Yoyo Mung, Patrick Tang, Raymond Cho, John Chiang, Toby Leung, Natalie Tong, Power Chan

Episodes: 30

Release date: 1 June 2009

Filmed: March 2008

Producer: Marco Law

Scriptwriter: Choy Ting Ting

Synopsis

First TV series with immigration workTop confidential of Hong Kong’s border security Immigration Department is guarding the door of Hong Kong, and seeks out to prevent doubtful identities and criminals from entering Hong Kong. It only not creates a highly demanding task for immigration officer and also raises a further question - how will they make identity verification as accurate as possible?

FONG TSUN KIT (Roger Kwok) becomes friends with two other candidates CHENG PAK YUE (Raymond Cho) and YIP ON KEI (Yoyo Mung) while applying for a post in the Immigration Department. YU is an aggressive person. He later moves to the Police Force and is promoted to Senior Inspector of Regional Crime Unit. While investigating a murder case, he realizes that the new gang leader WU KIT SUM (Wong Tak Bun) has killed somebody because of KIT’s wife. It totally turns KIT’s life upside down. As a good friend, KEI helps KIT take care of his son after a failed relationship with YU. When two hearts meet, an extraordinary link spontaneously draws them together. Meanwhile, AU SHUN FUNG (Patrick Tang) appreciates KIT’s ability very much and recommends him to MAK KAI MING (John Chiang), Head of Investigation Section. KIT gains approval and he is determined to start anew. While carrying out an investigation on a fraud syndicate, he comes upon his missing wife and uncovers her long-hidden identity. RATING: 3/5
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首部入境实况戏剧高度揭示香港边关安危
入境处专责管制边防治安及验证出入境人士身份，确保香港境内安全；身为入境处的纪律人员对身份辨识的敏锐度因而比任何人为高，但单凭一张证件或一纸文件，是否就可百分百道尽事情的真伪呢？方浚杰(郭晋安)因投考入境处而认识同期学员郑柏宇(曹永廉)及叶安琪(蒙嘉慧)，叁人遂成好友。野心较大的柏宇后 转投警队并跃升为重案组高级督察，当调查一命案时，发现黑社会新贵胡杰琛(黄德斌)因浚杰之妻而杀人，令浚杰生活出现突变。刚与柏宇分手的安琪为帮助好 友，主动为浚杰照顾儿子，经常陪伴左右，令二人处於一种非情侣却亲密的微妙关係。另方面，甚欣赏浚杰办事能力的欧顺风(邓健泓)，希望带浚杰走出阴霾，向 主管麦启铭(姜大伟)力荐他加入调查组，令倍受关怀的浚杰重新振作，力争上游，顺利加入调查组。不久浚杰便着手彻查一个假证集团，期间竟再度遇上失纵多时 的妻子并发现其非比寻常的真正身份……。Rating: 3/5

WORLD NEWS: More bodies found near Air France crash site (Updated 2)

More bodies found near Air France crash site

RECIFE, Brazil, June 8 — Search crews retrieved four more bodies from a crashed Air France jet yesterday, spotted other corpses and found a large amount of debris from the plane that plunged into the Atlantic ocean. Six bodies have now been recovered from the plane, following the discovery of two unidentified males on Saturday, five days after the Airbus A330 crashed on its way from Rio de Janeiro to Paris killing all 228 people on board. Investigators are considering the possibility that the speed sensors on Flight 447 may have iced up, and Air France said late on Saturday it was accelerating the replacement of speed sensors on all its Airbus long-haul planes.
Brazil’s navy said yesterday it had retrieved three more bodies and France said a helicopter operating from one of its naval frigates had recovered another body from the world’s worst air disaster since 2001.

“Hundreds of items are being found and being stored until we know where they should go,” Brazilian Air Force spokesman Henry Munhoz told reporters in the northeastern city of Recife, where the bodies and debris will eventually be brought. Several other corpses spotted yesterday by Brazilian Air Force planes are expected to be picked up later in the day, search officials said.
Brazilian network Globo reported on its website that a refrigerated truck used to store corpses was waiting on the islands of Fernando de Noronha, 230 miles off the coast of Brazil. Twelve Brazilian planes, one equipped with radar equipment that can detect material in the water, two French planes, one French ship and five Brazilian navy ships are searching the area about 680 miles northeast of Brazil’s coast.

SUBMARINE TO JOIN SEARCH

France has also sent a nuclear-powered submarine that should arrive on Wednesday to search for the black box flight data recorders that will be crucial to understanding why the modern plane fell from the sky as it passed storms today. The Emeraude is equipped with powerful sonars to help detect the black box’s beacons that stay active for 30 days. The plane’s pilots may have set the aircraft at a dangerous speed because they were relying on faulty speed readings, investigators believe. Air France said it had begun the switchover of speed sensors five weeks before the crash, but only after disagreeing with Airbus over the planemaker’s proposal to carry out tests before replacing them. An Airbus spokesman declined to comment and said it could only discuss the investigation with French air authorities. The head of France’s air accident agency BEA said on Saturday it was too soon to say if problems with the speed sensors, known as pitot tubes, were in any way responsible.

LOST DATA

The agency said the A330 had sent out 24 error messages in four minutes including one indicating a discrepancy in speed data. It said similar problems had happened before.
Air France said it had first noticed in May 2008 that ice in the sensors was causing lost data in planes like the A330, but that it failed to agree with Airbus on steps to take. According to Air France, Airbus offered to carry out an in-flight test on new sensors this year but the airline decided to go ahead and started changing them anyway from April 27. It did not say whether the crashed plane had the new sensors but its last maintenance hangar visit was on April 16.
Some of the A330’s 50 or so other operators defended the plane’s safety record at an airlines meeting in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, saying the crash was an isolated incident. But Airbus has faced problems with the speed sensors dating back to at least 2001, forcing changes in equipment as well as the pilot’s flight manual, according to online filings. In 2001, France reported several cases of sudden fluctuation of A330 or A340 airspeed data during severe icing conditions and Airbus was ordered to change the cockpit manual, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration. – Reuters

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My comments: Again, we offen listened to tragic accidents, terrorist attacks and sometimes tragic weather and sometimes it cannot be avoided. It could be a human error which causes this but sometimes we cannot put the blame on human hands also as some things are unpredictable. What we can do is to keep it as minimum as possible. For those who have been killed on this incident, my deepest condolences towards their family members. Life goes on everyday......

FOOD HUNT: Lan Je Steamed Fish, Kota Damansara

Lan Je Steamed Fish, Kota Damansara Review:

Today is Sunday. Eventually it was a tiring Saturday day outing yesterday as we just had our gathering from our BSKUPMKTC gang. So today, since Kimmy is not feeling so well since Saturday, I have decided to look for her in the evening. I'll let her rest at home on Sunday morning and afternoon but took her out for yet another food hunt with her. She said OK and we are get set GO! to Kota Damansara. About 15 minutes drive from IKEA, CURVE or 25 minutes drive from Kepong towards Sungai Buloh, this restaurant serves the most popular steam fish in the Klang Valley. Introducing Restoran Lan Je, the most popular steam fish in the Klang Valley. This is their branch in Kota Damansara as their original restaurant is in Rawang. Kimmy tried before the Rawang branch and found out it's very nice and unique especially the steamed fish. So we kicked off our journey at 5.30pm from Bandar Sri Damansara and we reach Restoran Lan Jie, Kota Damansara at about 6.00pm. But I was surprised that as early as 6.00pm, there are many tables already filled up with customers and I can see they are having a brisk business. OK. According to Kimmy, normally we need to wait for 1 hour after we order the steamed fish due to many customers in the retaurant but today since we arrived pretty early, it only take up to 25 minutes for the steamed "Fei Chau" (Talapia) fish to be served.

I did not take my lunch today because I know I need to keep my stomach empty to eat more during dinner time. Today besides ordering the "Fei Chau" fish (Medium Size), we also ordered "Yuk Sui" Tofu (Small) and normal fried Kangkung (Small). So, the "Fei Chau" fish arrived first and without wasting any time, I took a piece and put into my mouth. And guess what, it was tremendously delicious and very special. Topped with dashes of soy sauce, chili bean paste sauce, diced garlic, shredded ginger, chili padi, it encompass all the intense natural flavor of the "Fei Chau" fish. We also like the fact that the fishes were steamed just right, resulting in a sweetish, smooth and velvety flesh. As much as we enjoyed our steamed fish immensely, we were sweating buckets for being over ambitious by asking for the very spicy version.

Almost everyone in the restaurant was having a whole fish to themselves, hence we follow suit (RM 14 - RM 18, varies according to size). There is only one style of cooking for the tilapia fishes, but one can choose from the level of spiciness - non spicy, mild, spicy and ears burning, sweat forming spicy which is basically no chili padi, very little chili padi, plenty of chili padi and a very generous sprinkling of cili padi. That’s the difference! OK. Enough of the fish and of course once you reach the restaurant, you MUST TRY IT! Let's continue with the tofu and the kangkung. For me it's just normal and nothing much special. It's not bad nor not too good as well. It's just a delicacy to filled up your stomach besides only eating the Talapia (Fei Chau) Fish. We left at about 7.45pm and the billed came is a bit expensive but still it's worth and value of money. The total amount is RM36.50 = Talapia Fish (RM16.00), Tofu & Kangkung (RM7.50 each = RM15.00). Rice - RM 3.00 and Drinks (RM2.50). RATING: 5/5

Address:

F-50G & 51G,
Jalan Teknologi 3/9
Kota Damansara
PJU 5 PJ
Open from 11.30am-3pm, 6-9pm. Closed on Tuesdays.
Tel: 012-669 9919, 016-6189919

Gathering: BSKUPMKTC gang members gathering at AMP Karaoke Sunway & Michealangelo SOHOKL

Hi all,

Today we already have our gathering and I can tell you we had a wonderful time during our gathering. Me & Kimmy are very happy with the outings organized today as we have a wonderful time singing and then eating. Firstly I arrived at Kimmy place at 12.15pm and pick her up. Then we had lunch together. After that we go and pick up Yen Peng and straight we head towards Sunway Pyramid to AMP Square Karaoke. Since today is public holiday, the mall was extremely packed and we hardly can look for a parking. It took us about 30 mins to find the parking and finally we manage to find the place at Sunway Hotel parking. We walked towards the karaoke and the time is 2.20pm.

Finally we reach the karaoke and we started to sing. We were at Room 30. We sang lots of Mandarin and Cantonese songs (almost 80%). A total of 7 of us turned up and we sang a lot of song. Let me describe the people who sang today. We kicked of with myself first. For me, I am very satisfied as I sang a lot of song also including Sam Lee songs, Gary Cao / Genie Zhuo, Rene Liu, JJ Lin / Ah Sa as only these few songs I can sing in full. You know I do not know how to read Chinese well so i sang a few of them. Besides, I also do performed HINDI songs (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai) and THAI SONG (SA BAI SA BAI). They clapped hands and laugh all the way for my performance. This is the 1st time I am singing the songs. Kam Siah Kam Siah! :) Next my darling Kimmy, she also sang a lot of songs as well. She manage to sang her favourite from Jolin Tsai, Guo Jing, Landy Wen Lan & Janice Wei Lan. For Yen Peng, she sang a lot of Wang Lee Hom songs. No doubt, she's a fan of LeeHom and she had been joining their fans club for quite some time. For Yen Sim, she likes to sing a lot of love songs and also Steve Chai who performed FAMA songs quite consistently with Sai Kit. For Kevin, he loves Janice and Justin songs very much as he keeps on singing it all the time. The most quiet but good in rapping is Sai Kit. He seldom sings but he perform superbly well in FAMA rap songs. Bravo brother! Keep up the good work. RATING for AMP Karaoke: 4/5 (Service is just OK. Not as good as expected but the songs are very updated and you can even find very old old songs)

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Then in the evening after the Singing K, we went for makan / eating session. Since it's already dinner time, we decided to go to SOHOKL in Mont Kiara to enjoy my dinner with the gang. We have chosen Michealangelo as our dining restaurant because of the food. Previously I have tried out this restaurant and found out the food was fantastic and nice. This time with 6 person joining (without Sai Kit because he got something to do, he left after the Sing K session) we have ordered 3 pizzas and 2 speghetti and guess what, we cannot finish the food and have to tapao. The Pizzas was tremendously rich with ingredients and it was very fresh and nice to eat. Meanwhile for the speghetti, the mee was solid and nice to chew. They uses Olive Oil to cook and it's healthy. Althrough it's too oily for those speghettis, but still it's a healthy oil to consume. If those who are reading this blog, I seriously recommend you to try out this restaurant at SOHOKL as every pizzas or speghettis that you choose, it's tastes delicious. Check out the mouth watering pictures Below are the rating of the food: RATING: 5/5

Those who joined the gathering:

1.)Alex
2.)Kimmy
3.) Yen Peng
4.) Yen Sim
5.) Chai
6.) Sai Kit
7.) Kevin Kong (turned up last minute)

P/S: Check out my Friendster & Facebook for FULL PICTURES VIEW. Photos from Alex Leow & some courtesy of Yen Peng. Thanks so much Yen Peng.

Upgrading completed on alexleow-kimmy blog (Updated)

Hi All,

Please be brought to attention that the upgrading service has finally completed. The official address to this website is http://www.alexleow-kimmy.com/ However, if you type http://alexleow-kimmy.com/ or http://alexleow-kimmy.blogspot.com/ , you are still able to go in but will be directed to http://www.alexleow-kimmy.com/

(Updated): For your information, if you are searching for alexleow-kimmy quick links, it had been removed until further notice. This is because the LABELS inside the main page has done the job of seperating the topics. There's still main page links available in case you click on any of the LABELS link and UNABLE TO FIND the main page link. Thanks!

Regards,
Alex Leow
Blog Owner

Leisure & Lifestyle: What is SmartTag, How It Works & Useful To You?

What Is SmartTag, How It Works & Useful to you?

Okay. Let me get started with this topic. First of all, do you know what is SmartTag? SmartTag is a device (refer picture above) who needs to be attached with a Touch N Go card and it enhances the convenience and efficiency of paying for low-value but high frequency transactions.It is able to reduce the transaction time effectively at the point-of-usage and eliminate the hassle of preparing small change for the fare. Are you clear with the point?

Next we are going to take a look at how it works. When you have purchase the SmartTag, you can now insert your Touch N Go Card into the device and start using it. You can purchase the SmartTag device at selected toll plazas. Info http://www.touchngo.com.my When you are going to pass by the toll gates, remember to look for the signboard SMART TAG and only uses that LANE. When you pass by, remember to take out or display your SmartTag Device as the device will communicate with the toll device using the infrared technology. REMEMBER A REMINDER TO ALL, once you drive along the SmartTag lanes, please drive at the speed of 40km/ph or less to enable the device to communicate with the infrared. Once it had been detected each other, the toll barrier will open automatically and you are ready to GO!

Last but not least, is it useful to you? My advice is for those who offen uses the toll plazas should purchase the SmartTag. The reason is you may skip the queues and save your time. The price of the SmartTag is RM100 if you reload RM100 (purchase at selected toll plazas). Info http://www.touchngo.com.my. You also may reload the Touch N Go card at selected petrol stations, selected toll plazas & selected banks also offering the services with an additional charges of RM0.50 (except toll plazas with no extra charges). I have been using it for 4 years now and I found it very convinient. Why not you try it? Give me some feedback on it and share with others who also want to purchase the SmartTag. RATING: 5/5

Politics: Penanti By-Election Results: What the outcome of Penanti by-election means

What the outcome of Penanti by-election means

KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — The result was expected but not the voter turnout. As expected Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) candidate Dr Mansor Othman won the Penanti by-election after getting 6,052 votes, defeating three independent candidates – Aminah Abdullah, Nai Khan Ari and Kamarul Ramizu Idris with a majority of 5,558 votes. What was unexpected was the turnout at the end of the polling period which stood at only 46.15 per cent. Only 7,100 of the 15,384 voters came out to vote in the by-election – a sharp fall from the 82.1 per cent voter turnout recorded during the last general election. Many political analysts and party machinery were taken aback as they had expected a turnout of between 60 to 70 per cent, but instead it turned out to be “the lowest voter turnout in election history”. Political analyst Dr Sivamurugan Pandian of the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) said the outcome showed that PKR hardcore supporters came out in full force to vote, confirming recent studies which suggested that both PKR and UMNO had between 30 to 35 percent hardcore support in the constituency. “Although it is not good for the election process (lower turnout) and PKR did not achieve the target voter turnout of between 65 to 70 per cent, the higher majority they got did indicate that their supporters came out in full force to vote as compared to the last general election,” he said.

Also, though the Barisan Nasional (BN) did not contest the by-election, it had to study and learn from it, such as how PKR could effectively mobilise their supporters to come out to vote and continue with their offensive campaigning, even when their main contender was not contesting.
The BN decided not to contest the by-election because it felt that the vacancy was due to flippant reasons. “BN has to evaluate the strategy used by PKR, who managed to bring out their hardcore supporters in bigger numbers compared to before. During the last election, PKR had won the state seat partly due to the swing from the BN supporters to it, which gave Fairus (Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin), its candidate then, almost a 2,000 majority. In this election, however, it is clear that the votes were from their own hardcore supporters,” he said. Another political analyst, Dr Oh Ei Sun, said the outcome of the by-election was less meaningful as basically it was a walkover as the major opposing force did not take part. “To some degree there was a contest, but basically it’s a walkover. Both the Pakatan and BN can interpret it any way they want but basically it is meaningless,” he said. Dr Oh said PKR would interpret the winning in more ways while the BN could say the low turnout showed that the people were not in favour of such by-elections.

The only interesting point in this by-election, he said was that despite the three independent candidates losing their deposit, they still managed to garner a combined total of five per cent of the votes. “We thought that they were insignificant all this while, but they did manage to get some votes. This has raised some questions and showed that PKR needs to have better coordination between their national, state and local leaders and look at internal party sentiments,” he said. On the other hand, several political leaders, especially from BN argued that the high majority obtained by the PKR candidate could not be used as a yardstick as he had won it against independents. “In today’s politics, independents actually have no place, unless they are very much liked by the people. Independents by-large are politics of yesterday and if you win against them, it actually doesn’t mean anything,” said Penang Gerakan chairman Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan. – Article taken from Bernama 01/06/09 & pictures by TheNutGraph.

Best Of TVB Drama: The King Of Snooker 桌球天王

Title: The King of Snookers 桌球天王

Cast: Adam Cheng, Niki Chow, Patrick Tang, Joyce Tang, Derek Kwok, Benz Hui, Halina Tam

Episodes: 20

Release date: 30 March 2009

Filmed: August 2008

Producer: Tong Kei Ming

Scriptwriter: Suen Ho Ho & Lo Mei Wan

Genre: Modern

Synopsis

The all-conquering snooker player YAU YAT KIU (Adam Cheng) takes everyone by surprise when he suddenly retires from the snooker world. This comes as a huge disappointed to his daughter YAU KA KAN (Niki Chow), who has always wanted to follow in his footsteps. She feels bewildered too, for although KIU pretends he does not care about the snooker any more, he has set up an extremely difficult game in his restaurant. His purpose cannot be more obvious: he is waiting for someone to solve the game. KIU comes to know KAN TSZ HIM (Patrick Tang) by chance. Noticing his flair for the snooker, KIU decides to make an exception for HIM and teaches him all he knows about the game. Later, KAN manages to persuade her father into taking her in as well. HIM fancies KAN, but she is fond of LUI KIN CHUNG, KIU’s bitter foe (Derek Kwok). CHUNG is a crafty person. In order to win the game, he fools around with HIM’s aunt CHIN TO TO (Joyce Tang), who is also HIM’s manager. HIM falls out with KIU because of CHUNG. Both master and disciple come to settle their scores on a snooker-table in the end. RATING: 4/5

桌球界战无不胜的游一桥(郑少秋)突然无故隐退，令一心想继承父亲衣钵的女儿游加勤(周 丽淇)失望之餘也大感不惑，因为她眼看父亲表面上扮作不在乎桌球这回事，在自己经营的餐厅内却设下一席桌球「难局」，等待有心人前来解破。直至一天，一桥 遇上对桌球有独特天份的靳子谦(邓健泓)后，即破例收他为徒，并打算将毕生的球技传授给他，加勤央求父亲一视同仁，因此也成了子谦的师姐。子谦对加勤襄王有梦，但加勤的芳心却似乎另有所繫，那人正是视其父亲为天敌的雷建衝(郭政鸿)，他为人奸险，求夺标，不但以感情引诱子谦的姨妈兼经理人钱滔滔(滕丽名)令子谦与一桥反目成仇，最后更把两师徒逼上战枱以一桿定天下.. RATING: 4/5