Being Humane

And then she is 12

2012-02-07T23:26:00.002+08:00

Though it is not called for any celebrations for a year in respect of her paternal grandmother's recent demise, a 12 year old birthday for a girl warrants some kind of milestone acknowledgement. Besides her late apachi would be the first person to feel bad for her grandaughter missing her birthday. So we decided to hv a small low key do sans the candles and frills just amongst us.

In view of that, I thought a small homemade cake would be apt. Hence i summoned my baking angel, considering my baking mojo has been dwindling again lately and consulted my favourite cookbook, the Google. In seconds i decided on a uncomplicated marble cake recipe, birthday girl's request btw next to blueberry cake. Love my kid, she keeps it really easy for mom.

So there, a doll cake was the most easiest to ice, by the way and so be it. Once the cake was out of the oven, we whizzed off to Carrefour, picked up some stuff including that little doll that looked 10x sweeter than any overpriced barbies. Then got back an hour before the cutting cake time and plunked the doll into the middle of the cake and whipped up a creamcheese frosting (love the silky texture of creamcheese) and within half an hour i was done with the cake. Isn't that wonderful!!!

Time really flies (as clichéd as it is). From a bony lil creature who hated eating, she has blossomed into a pretty young lady, gentle in soul yet able to bounce back in any trying situations and a wisdom beyond her age with a natural inclination to nurturing her little one year old brother. She loves studying, does it at her own initiative and brings home good results. What else can a mother ask for.

Oprah can say whatever she wants, but for me , my kids are my true life purpose. I think whatever insight/skill i possess was meant to put into good use raising my kids. Guiding them the best way i can the best i know of so that they hv a well balanced future with love in their hearts, wisdom in their soul and in the best place they want to be, is my ardent wish for them.

Goin to be a challenging year for her with UPSR and all. God bless.

The 'Complete Idiot's Guide' to Tosai (dosa) making

2012-02-04T13:42:00.001+08:00

First of all, it is tosai, not dosa just like it's Deepavali, not Diwali.

Some people, just want to be different, for that silly superficial sense of superiority. God knows why! (yes, im sure God does) Especially when their religion tells them to get rid of egos and embrace 'one for all and all for one'! Yet they go ahead and something totally opposite! Strange species, we are! We love to complicate things.. such as making tosai!

Ok, so, with my record of

1) having been brought up hvg homecooked tosai made from scratch by my grandma in my little hometown,

2) getting culture shocked in being introduced to the often over-fermented, cardboard like mamak tosais in my twenties in KL city 24 hour restaurant, where i moved to further my studies,

3) to that one time i experimented with the instant tosai mixture that landed on every cash and carry shelf some 10 years ago

and finally,

4) hvg tasted the overpriced tosais in northern indian/southern indian/ exclusive restaurants sprouting out in KL city these days;

I think im more than qualified to doing this. Breaking the code for making really awesome, fluffy, how-grandma-done-it, soft tosai!

Now, what most tosai(dosa) recipes probably won't tell you is to please please pleasseee do trouble yourself in sourcing some really good Grade 1 peeled and still whole ulunthu @ black dhall @ urad dhall.

I normally get the AKS brand locally, the grains are bright and plump. Trust your eyesight, Grade One means fresh, no blemishes or dusty/powdery exterior which probably means its getting ready to rot, no way!

You may want to experiment different varieties of ulunthu for yourself like I did, you will quickly find that good quality ulunthu will ensure a great smelling and tasting and non-sticking on the pan tosai.
(My grandma though used the only available version those days i.e. the unpeeled and it is tedious work separating the skin from grain after soak and she made super tosai)

Once you have that covered, next source for a grade 3 (if possible broken) rice instead. It will ferment faster and contains less bleachings. Of course some claim basmathi or ponni or that special tosai rice that looks like risotto rice yields you better results, well, go and experiement! Now that you have both main ingredients together, let's get cracking.

Stick to the age-old ratio of 2 cups rice : 1 cup dhall, for best results in fragrance, taste and fluff.

But if you are one of those who actually prefer the mamak restaurant variety which often ends up like cardboard once cooled for 5 mins, then you need to up your rice ratio by another cup or two. This i guess is a way for them to save cost. BUT for me, real tosai is all about the ulunthu. Remember more ulunthu is more protein, more rice is more carbo/sugar, even if some claim the rice turns into protein through fermentation.

1) Check the grains for any tiny bits of gravel or dirt what-so-ever. Then rinse both grains a few times till the water is clear before soaking. Whether you choose to soak them together or separately or whatever, trust me, it doesnt really make much difference.

2)Soaking needs just enough water to cover an inch off the surface of grains. Soak preferably for 2-3 hours. You can throw in a tsp of fenugreek if you want but i normally go basic.

If you asked why they add the fenugreek, one might say it is for preserving it (but you are going to ferment it anyway!) or because 'my mom did it', some say the fenugreek seeds holds onto carbon dioxide hence making tosai fluffier, so just dont break your head over it.

For eg one 80 year old aunty i know adds cumin and turmeric into her mixture, that's fine, its aids digestion and kills germs. But she goes through an extra step of cooking a cup of her tosai mixture till it turns into porridge-like before pouring it back into the main mixture. 'Why?' I asked her. "I dont know", she said, "I just follow what my mother used to do". My two cents guess is probably, to make tosai fluffier or easier to ferment whatever but it goes to say a lot of us just keep repeating things because someone else did it which is such a damper on learning something new. What is wrong in experimenting even age old recipes and tweeking it here and there to suit yourself? Who knows you might learn something they all missed!!!

3)Now, after 2-3 hours when grains are all swelled up nicely like a man with a beer belly, plug on your blender. Its fine even all you have is that RM69 on promotion Pensonic blender you bought off the shelves at Carrefour 2 years ago.

Don't get me going on how people those days used that humangous grinding stone where you have to squat for hours rotating a heavy piece of granite with one hand, over another square piece with the hole in the middle while your other hand swiped back the grains into the whole to mash.. been there seen that done that!

It doesn't really make better tasting tosai, mind you, people say that because they want to hang on to their past in some way or other and think they had it better.
Plus, it is not for working/new world women these days who have to wear the pants and skirt at the same time. We are not sticking to bullock carts because of those days, are we, guys?

While we are that, you know the big hype about the Sumeet grinding machine? Yes, it's a hype. You dont need Sumeet to make tosai mixture, period. Now if you are talking about making vadais, then yes, you need some grinder like Sumeet or similar to get that really thick mixture but nowadays you have plenty of choices. Just go and choose what suits you best.
Ok, now that i hv done some public service by shedding some light on the over-rated Sumeet issue and hopefully made life a bit less complicated for beginners in tosai making, let's get blending.

4) Load up the soaked grains 3/4 way up the blender and top with enough water (use the water used to soak) to cover 3/4 inch off the grains' surface. Now blend for 15 seconds, stop, blend again 15 seconds, then stop then blend 30 seconds then stop and now blend like a minute. You get what i mean, why i stop is to get the grains rolling faster, unless you have a more effecient blending machine, stick to the instruction on your machine.

5)All in all you probably need to add up to like 4-5 mins of blending/grinding and you will get mainly a smooth, creamy texture with a tiny bits of grainy effect (like those facial scrubs off the Body shop shelves), get it?

6) Ok, for the final grinding add in half a cup of leftover rice, if you have any. Otherwise, don't fret over it.

Now dip your hand into the mixture and give it a few nice whirls. It's therapeutic and it's like adding your personal touch in your tosai, let's say. :) And, apparently some hidden bacterias in our skin will kickstart the fermentation process faster. Sounds offputting? But hey, the human body is made up of big globs of bacterias and other microbes! Maybe it is time we looked at bacterias in a different way.

7) Pour mixture into a deep pot with a loose lid, filling up halfway and leave it over your fridge or anyway warm to speed up the fermentation process which may take up to 10-12 hours.

Note : It be ideal to time you soaking and grinding to end by bedtime so that you can go to bed and your mixture will be ready by the time you get up the next day.

8) Once the batter has risen nearly double in height, foamy and lets a slightly fermented smell, it's ready to go. If you find it a bit too foamy and thick, just add half a cup of water so it is at a pouring consistency. Add enough salt.

Let me break the next myth. You don't need that flat black tosai pan (tosai kallu) to make good tosai. Those days they didnt have stickless and so the tosai kallu maker was making big money. Now you have options. As a beginner, you dont want to have to mess with a sticky pan and rubbing onion juice all over it or worse still, end up with tosai that gets stuck to pan that you need a paint scrapper to scrap off the burnt muck risking damage to the pan further.

9) So save yourself the headache/heartache and go for non-stickless pan, it is foolproof. Wipe some oil with a small clean kitchen towel or like me use the disposable towel all folded up thickly and quickly dipped in a spoon of oil.

10) Get a medium but wide heat going so it heats up the pan evenly all over. Pour a ladle full and spread it around with the back of the ladle. Cover and cook till slightly golden, turn over and cook another 15 seconds.

If you feel like making ghee tosai or onion tosai or egg tosai or masala tosai, just water down the mixture a bit more and sprinkle more oil onto pan and spread a thinner layer and top with whatever ingredients you want. To get it crispier like the mamak version, generously sprinkle more spoonsful of 3rd grade 'for commercial use' oil and take a number at your cardiologist office.

11) As an alternative to the coconut chutney (mind you, some fearful western marketeers are making 'claims' that the coconutl is full of cholestrol and other bad stuff in order to protect their olive oils and butter sales EXCEPT, recently their consumers hv gotten wiser and are grabbing coconut oil off the shelves) try out my version of vegetable chutney instead and you have your daily intake of vegetables half covered! The best way to get small kids and the overgrown big kids to eat their veges is to cook this chutney ive mentioned and pour it into your chicken curry or fish curry or sambar! Not only does your curries ends up really thick and creamy, delicious, the kids will hv no clue!

Living unconsciously

2012-01-20T01:20:00.000+08:00

Following the demise of my MIL nearly 3 week ago, i cant dismiss the rather profound 'realisation' that this human life i am experiencing is not even about humans. Haha! It kinda shakes the so called 'reality' your life has been built on for years. Yeap, as i sat there watching the motionless empty shell that was my MIL's former self, I started contemplating on the living around me that day and it has not stopped. I sit here by my window typing this i hear cars whizzing by and it is amazing that it is not the bodies of human who are driving those cars, but the lifeforce within. As we interact with each other every day, it is easy to be taken by a person's physical make up and mannerism. If we stop to think really of the lifeforce behind that makeup of body, bones and skin, what exactly does that life look like? Is 'it' female or male,16 years old or 80 years old? Shouldnt we be communicating at that level instead of wasting time and space at superficial level? Which brings us to the next question.Beyond that human life, what is really that life force all about. What is the purpose and intentions? Is it just getting up daily to find a living, procreate, eat, defacate and eventually drop dead? I look at my life for the umpteenth and reevaluate my journey or what is remaining of it. I know ive already crossed my middle years. This human body, brains and mind behind it is not easy to navigate because of its DNA limitations and apparent lack of mastery. In some ways, i have narrowed my life or shall i say hv been narrowed down for me. I have very simple needs and wants these days. Simple pleasures is like sitting with a nice cup of tea watching the little ones play while my two dogs outside slumber away, their wet noses twitching away in their doggie instinctiveness. A simple uncomplicated meal and a quick drive. I happen to feel that taking a drive shakes my mind off the 'settled dusts' of surrounding vibes by way of technology or other human thoughts. It completely clears and invigorates you.Alternatively, finding yourself a secluded spot in a corner of a park or open space does the same trick. Of course you can achieve the same, sitting down in meditation for a while. Whatever way it is, a small period of blissful space daily completes my day, like nothing else.Hence i believe the only way to live is discover what you are to do with the body and mind your life force hv chosen to live with. Identify your gifts and limitations. Gifts being your go ahead sign and limitations being your keep away sign. Whatever you do in between is just details, more like shades and colours that is up to you to choose and will. copyrights reserved.

2012-01-14T00:43:00.001+08:00

Why women are so mean to each other?

2012-01-09T12:46:00.000+08:00

I dont think it is a mystery at all why women tend to be mean or the least over-judmental of each other. It all starts with the way girls are brought up by the society. Girls particularly are expected to look pretty and do sweet things in order to be 'better than the other girl'. Then as they grow they are expected to be the 'better woman' to get the better man. And then she has to be the 'better wife', 'better mother' or 'better worker'.

They however begin to lose steam as they approach 50s coz they know their looks or performance are no longer subject to much scrutiny anymore. Then they might settle down in their own skin to being themselves and accepting of themselves and others because plainly there is nothing more to 'fight about' or 'fight for'. Or in my case, im just so tired of the shit. Been there, done that, enough already people, lets fine something better to do in our short limited life span.

I was recently introduced by a close acquaintance to a bunch of her friends. It was without much effort i could hear their thoughts 'ooooohh, so this is she!!!' and i know ive been talked about a lot, not entirely in a good way. This acquaintance has a tendency to obsess and make big about the tiniest of things and go about creating some delusion that she is the only one who knows things best and takes some really skewed pleasure at being condescending at others. I believe it all stems of her deep insecurity of her looks and her capabilities. She feels better dragging everyone down so she can stay on top of things. Rather sad actually. Though at most times i just let it pass, sometimes it rather irritates you when she complicates things unnecessarily for everyone around her which would otherwise turn out just fine. Oh well. That probably is bad karma on her side, to act and behave from a point of ignorance and spread toxicity around. Her challenge probably is to realise her follies before it gets real bad for her.

Wouldnt it however be so wonderful if women moved around in a natural and genuine spirit of sisterhood and mutual compasion? The world definitely be a more loving place if that happens. Who knows, let's just hope!

In life and in death

2011-12-31T14:47:00.000+08:00

As i waited for my mother in law's remains to be brought back from the hospital, i feel compelled to look within me. As usual we did not hv the greatest MIL-DIL relationship but something about someone's death that breaks whatever barriers left within you. There is a benign presence and you know the only thing left is love, forgiveness and farewell.

I feel a stillness in me, and a numbness of emotions, almost expanded over my being. Death is one of life's grand processes, no bigger or lesser than birth. A part of me feels overwhelmed that she is already moving forward in the soul journey to next level. It is really something that we need to acknowledge more deeply when the tears fall in grief, willing them back.

Death comes with a blessing. It provides sudden empty state of presence to reflect about the next course of our lives. It makes life suddenly very limited and insignificant. Where do we go from here? Often it alters the very way we hv been leading our lives. What is of utmost importance? Bickerings, petty lil fights, comparisons, jealousies, hatred, blames, ... etc.. is never worth it in human relationships. It is a total waste of time and energy. When we are in our last moments, do we think of what accounts we hv to settle with others? I think most only think about the love they hv given and received from others.

Today three children have lost their mother, a mother who supported them with all her care, forgiveness and love almost feverishly. It is heartbreaking to hear their cries of mourn. Mother's love is the closest you can get to highest form of love, they say. And my MiL was an epitome of loyalty and support, almost to a fault.

Just a month back, she brought out all her old albums. As i sat there next to her while she explained all her old photos, i cant help but feel a light around her, a strong, warm energy that enveloped me. I felt then whatever small misgivings i had felt towards her in our imperfect MIL-DIL relationship slowly melt away to be replaced by a benign love. Her face was strangely radiant. This always happens to those who are close to natural death, it is said.

When finally i saw her remains, it was with a kind of wonderment that this physical body that once pulsated with life now looked like an empty shell. The spark was gone, the soul has left. And it was with a sudden shock i realised that all these years i had not been communicating with the body at all but in fact with that invisible life behind it. It is that life that we are all going to miss.

My prayers for her soul. May she rest in peace.

copyrights reserved.

Vegetable chutney with crepe

2011-12-30T16:17:00.000+08:00

A good alternative to coconut chutney is mixed vegetable chutney. All you hv to do is get the basic sweet, sour, spicy elements of chutney covered nicely.

I 'discovered' this recipe for myself 5 years ago in the kitchen cracking my head how to get my then 6 year old to eat at least 3 types of veges daily. She loved her chutney though and so there ! The mains are pretty basic, i like the combo of cauliflower, celery and carrot. Celery particularly gives it a very savoury twist.Start with 2 cups chopped cauliflower, one cup chopped celery and one cup chopped carrots. ( you can try other vegetables like long beans, french beans, brocolli, cabbage, radish, pumpkin, squash and all their varieties, I dont think leafy greens would go well, though)

Sauted the veges with 3 cloves of garlic and 2 medium red onions, finely sliced with a tbsp of pure coconut oil or butter. Pure coconut oil gives it a smoky taste. Add two chopped tomatoes.

Once vegetable is half cooked and lightly browned, pour 2 cups of water and let simmer. Add 2 tbsp of evaporated milk that really creams the veges. Add salt, 3 tsp of lime juice. Finally saute half tsp mustard, cumin and fenugreek seed in a tbsp oil with a sprinkle of curry leaves and pour on top of cooked veges. Let cool 10mins and roughly puree with handheld blender.

Fire up you non-stick pan and get the crepe done with. Alternatively it goes great with itli, dosa, capati or rice.

copyrights reserved.

Kevar and rice puttu

2011-12-30T04:04:00.000+08:00

Love kevar puttu. Love the rice flour version too. So why not combine them. It's been ages and good puttus are hard to come by these days.

I roasted a packet of rice flour and half a packet of kevar flour, coz i had half left in the fridge. I like to brown the flour a bit for the toasty smell.

I like to work the flour while still hot. Sprinkle some salt into flour and handfuls of water till it forms really thick bread crumbs. Heat up steamer and throw a daun pandan into the water for the nice fragrance. Load up flour into steamer and steam for 10 minutes. You can use puttu steamer if you like. I like it freestyle. Then give it a quick stir around, sprinkle a few more handfuls of water, stir again and steam for another 10 mins. Finally warm a tbsp of ghee, throw in 3-5 cardamons and sprinkle over cooking puttu and stir.

Steam another 5 mins and puttu is cooked once it is translucent and fluffy. Can be eaten with the usual fresh grated coconut/jaggery combination or eaten with curry/sambal/egg/banana version like how my other half does.

copyrights reserved.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

2011-12-30T01:30:00.001+08:00

While the baking bug is still fluttering around in my kitchen, i thought of experimenting frosting for cupcakes. Im yet to discover the best vanilla frosting recipe with that fluffy texture. So i thought why not try out a creamcheese frosting instead. For that i used 3/4 cup Tatura cream cheese, 1/2 cup Golden Maid dairy spread because i like the lovely butter taste in it (only RM3.65 per slab) and 1/2 cup icing sugar all whisked up. I decided to to add a tbsp of hot water because the cream cheese was still cold and i was impatient. And, I got the fluffy texture! The cupcakes were a Golden Buttercake mix the man picked off the shelves in Mercato, Sri Hartamas. Expensive stuff, shame to waste it away so i ended up eating most coz some uniniated people just dont understand anything other than vanilla, chocolate or strawberry frosting!! Huff!

Love the tiny silver sprinkles, btw. Beats the hard old bigger ones and soooo pretty. Aww..

copyrights reserved.

A very Merry Christmas gift

2011-12-25T03:23:00.000+08:00

It all started when we were browsing through the Xmas stalls in Sri Hartamas while waiting for the man to finish up some work. Saw a nice Xmas decorative cake tin and thought it be nice to bake a fruit cake and pack it in for a home made gift.

And so it started, the rounding up of the ingredients. An almost full bottle of cognac sat in my bookshelf for a year now, next to half a bottle of black label. Yes, my bookshelf contains food items, haha for lack of space and novelty, yea rite. And a hunt in my baking supplies, i still had the silverbird fruit mix from 6 months back, still within expiration and the rest was easy.

I had earlier referred to my favourite recipe book- The Google and discovered this easy peasy job. I halved the ratio.

http://incorrectattitudes.blogspot.com/2009/12/lili-marlenes-christmas-cake.html

All went well till i attempted to pry the cake off the tin and it did the crumble tumble on me. Never made it to my lovely tin which i had incidentally bought for RM7.90. But it tasted wicked with all that cognac. Apparently i had misread the recipe and another cup of flour had escaped my attention. How can that happen???!!

So ran to the nearest store to grab another 400gms of fruit mix and this time was extra careful, but apparently not careful enough for i missed out on the 1/2 tsp baking soda. Geez, was too late, cake in oven already. Dint rise as the first one but am hoping the 2 sloshes of cognac i fed it with will moisten it up somehow to some agreeable state. Fingers crossed. Cake into tin and Merry Christmas to all!

copyrights reserved.

Banana and Chocolate Chip Muffin

2011-12-24T01:31:00.003+08:00

As it is usually the case, you are left with a bunch of ripe bananas which begs for some action or else... And you probably end up with a cekodok pisang if you are true blue Malaysian. But sometimes you find that you want to put in a bit more effort into it. So out comes the baking utensils and you switch on the oven.

Google is my favourite cookbook. Anything under the sun, tried and tested, the very best of recipes. Go knock yourself out!! Haha!

My pick for the day - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chocolate-chip-banana-muffins-2/

Perfect and fluffy. Just watch on the quality of chocolate you use, it makes all the difference.

copyrights reserved.

Vegetable Sandwich and Strawberry Milkshake

2011-12-17T15:47:00.003+08:00

I got up this morning and thought, 'ah, vegetable sandwich'. No? Oh well.
So i got to shredding a quarter cabbage finely and scraped one fresh carrot. A small onion finely sliced too. Add a dash of pickled gerkin vinegar with dill and a sprinkle of himalayan salt... sounds so glamour la! Haha, actually a squeeze of lime and plain salt will do just fine. Plus a dash of extra virgin olive oil, like french dressing ler. Of course you could dunk all into mayonaise and call it an American coleslaw, if you like. For topping, sliced up a plump tomato and a cucumber.

Throw a loaf of bread into the 'picture'....

Nice butter to coat the bread and walla...! You hv a sandwich.Optionally you can squeeze on some mayonaise.

Ok, to the meat eater and tuna eater who so big heartedly obliged my vegetarian menu for the day without complaints, here's a treat well deserved-strawberry milk shake-the short cut way! Whats new!

4 tbsp Lady's Choice Strawberry jam with juicy pulps
One litre fresh cold milk
4 tsp sugar,
2 tbsp Sunkist Lemon cordial
4 cups of ice crush/cubes.

All into blender and blitz for 45 seconds. Serves 4. Here comes brain freeze!

copyrights reserved.

Back to midnight baking for a brief

2011-12-16T03:00:00.006+08:00

Baking bug is back. I managed a batch of curry puffs earlier and that got the ball ..err.. the dough rolling. A batch of mini sausage buns and another one stuffed with cheese for the vegetarians.
Is yeast a living thing by the way?

The dough equation that works for me best so far. .

350gm super fine flour,
6gm (or half a 11g packet) of Mauripan yeast,
1 teaspoon bread improver,
1 teaspoon dough softener,
50gms sugar,
1 tbsp corn oil,
1/2 teaspoon salt if you wish, i normally dont.
1 cup warm milk to get the yeast going

copyrights reserved.

Curry Puffs and Teh Tarik to brave the monsoon?

2011-12-16T00:00:00.000+08:00

Its been rainy days for many weeks now. Monsoon History is coming to mind. Im counting the blessings, really. It's been such a relief to escape the scorching tropical heat and save up on the air-conditioning. Nature's greener and generally people calmer and subdued. Even my dogs seem to be curling up more and snoozing away.

So it's been a while since i churned out the puffs. Tedious job but what is life without challenges? Haha, especially when momsy and an enthusiastic 11 year old helped to get the major task done-chopping potatoes!

The filling. 3 large potatoes and 2 equally sized sweet potatoes. Cube and boil/fry still 3/4 cooked. First the trinity, onion-garlic-ginger. Saute 2 big chopped onions, 5 clove garlic and half inch ginger in 2 tbsp butter. Combine the potatoes and let em soak up the essence of the trinity. Sprinkle a tsp each of chilly, cumin and turmetic powder and half tsp cinnamon powder. Then add a cup of water and let potatoes cook through. Add salt, a tbsp of chilly sauce, tomato sauce and oyster sauce. This is just flavouring, if you are using chicken or sardine or dried prawns, you can omit. Let all dry up nice and sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves and curry leaves. Let cool.

The pastry. 600gms of flour, combine 3 tbsp butter or margerine and a tsp ghee. A pinch of salt and a tsp sugar. Crumble. Then add a cup or more of ice water and form smooth dough. Keep for 20min in fridge before you form the puffs. Fry over medium hit.

copyrights reserved.

Chinniah, Krishnamal, Abimanan.... just names from the past?

2011-12-15T00:19:00.001+08:00

The Chinniah Family in 1957

The Chinniah Family in 1977

Great Grandad- Abimannan-The Firsts of Postman in Kroh
He cycled up hill and down hill 40 miles a day to deliver letters

Later in life as how i remember him

Grandad Chinniah with his fav car -the same model he chose to own even in the last years of his life till he couldnt drive anymore.

He was homeguard in Army

After Merdeka.. he joined local health department

And also a stint with the local political scene of those days..

With Manickavasagam

Like John Wayne eh! Alamak, who is that little kid next to him ah?

Quite a hunk, wasn't he!

Granma with her padi

She too was an active society lady.. hvg cookin lessons!

The Loving Couple -decided to take this pic with daughter Sati at a studio on an outing to Penang

Gosh, why do i still miss them so much :(

Chocolate chip muffins

2011-12-11T17:48:00.001+08:00

Tried Nigella recipe first as that pic of her wearing the tiny little 'English Muffin' t-shirt tends to leave some visual imprints in people's mind ;), but the recipe didnt really work for me. And my Haier oven is a bit of an ass, more efficient in 'grilling' cakes than baking 'em.

Finally grabbed another similar recipe off the net (credits goes where due) and this is the basic ratio which i twicked a bit (actually more than a bit).

3 cups self- raising flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1tsp baking soda all nicely mixed. In a separate bowl, combine (twick! instead of melted butter)1 cup oil (corn or canola is the best choice) , 2 eggs, 1/2 milk (twick! plus 3 tsp lime or lemon juice) and whisk a bit. Pour little by little into flour mix, and combine 1 1/2 cup of good chocolate chips. (i used Van Houten mini chips). Bake according to your oven instructions till slightly golden at the sides. The recipe said 12 muffins, but i got 16.

Mano's cry

2011-12-08T14:20:00.001+08:00

Ive always wondered what is about the mind mechanism which has immense potential to create instead can crumble into such a bad state disrepair that it starts purging out hell after hell for the very same person. It seems such a vague borderline and a matter of very delicate chemical balances, almost like an ml of too much or pain and suffering, the mind turns toxic.

Psychiatry has attempted to treat such imbalances with various chemicals and therapy but almost to no vail and in many cases only worsened such conditions. The most the medications do is drug up the whole pathways as to render the person unconscious most of the time hence making them almost forgettable.

Ive always wondered how we could go about rectifying the damages, is it like a harden scar on the mind's makeup which we need to scrap and discard or is there ever going to be a quick fix solution to ease the misery on millions of people in this world who are stuck with that diseased mind.
Why havent the greatest scientists and discoverers done anything concrete about it instead of just running the bush and inventing other useless things to destroy the world.

I hv an aunt with schizophrenia and bipolar rolled into one. My early responses to her predictably reflected how others, especially the rest of the family treated her, her siblings especially. There was admittedly much criticism, disapproval, patronising and condenscendings all her life. To mask her initial distress, she resorted to binges and had periods of hysteria in her teens.

Instead of gentle understanding and support to ease her out of it, she was also subjected to ridicule by her own brothers (elders) and sister who failed to put themselves in her situation. Though she is highly intelligent, creative and extremely sensitive to the feelings of others which i believe is the source of her downfall and putting her psychological self in a very low place of self chastisement and meek acceptance of a bad fate or karma. It is also a very very sad place of self defeat where she believes she deserves all the bad treatments she gets because she had done something bad.

It is easy and equally hard to blame the rest of the world for their cluelessness and ignorance. It took me 40 years to finally hv an inkling of the sadness that runs through her soul each time she feels all she has left in her life (she is 48 now) is to lap up whatever titbits of care or affection that is dished out to her when people feel they can afford the time and space from what they claim to be their very busy lives chasing money and other such.

Just a week back, i think i heard her soul rise and speak in a moment of clarity. She stated her disappointment of being unvalidated each time she tries to voice out her heartaches. Her opinions are callously brushed off like that of an unintelligible idiot. No one takes her seriously when she wished to voice her emotions. So when she eventually is driven into her outbursts, she is told to shut up and go take her medications or else....! Despite all this unfairness, when she does settle down in one of her better moods, she can be the most selfless of all to the point of self-sacrificing in order to please whom she cares for. Rather remarkable it is, the need to be loved and what it does to the soul that is deprived.

It took me a while to check myself and remind myself of what had inspired my blog title. Being Humane. Just because a person is suffering from a diseased mind and behaving irrationally or even meanly does not mean we have the right to treat them inhumanely. Inhumane doesnt hv to be a point where you abuse them but can be a lack of care and respect for that human as a spiritual being experiencing various human lives. We are after all no lesser or greater than one other no matter what degrees we hold, what great jobs we do or what caste or creed we belong to. End of the day, just humans, we all are. And the endless hurtings, must stop.

Kuala Lumpur, 1880s

2011-11-23T20:27:00.001+08:00

Sometimes in order to appreciate our present world, it is necessary to take a good look of our past. Sometimes when i drive through the streets of Kuala Lumpur town amidst the old architectures, i find myself drawn towards its past and history. I wonder how Kuala Lumpur was 150 years ago, before WW1, how the world was generally.

SS3, Petaling Jaya

2011-11-03T18:05:00.001+08:00

Living room-bright breezy spacious

Good energy feel is utmost importance

Dining opening to garden

vast land space for kids and dogs to run around

Trifle in a square dish

2011-10-31T22:30:00.001+08:00

I made trifle today. First time. In a square plastic dish. Because it was practical. And easy to store. Since i was not having any more Deepavali parties. Which reminds me of the pavlova. Of which i never took pic of. But it finished in 20minutes. So back to the trifle.

First layer was swiss roll, chocolate and vanilla which i bought for RM3.20 at Jusco Kepong.

Underneath the mango and passionfruit (leftover from the pavlova stock) i had poured in a litre of strawberry jelly mix which unfortunately seeped immediately into the rolls instead of the vision of a red translucent layer i had in mind.

I had run out of custard i found to my dismay half way into trifling... so i had to make do with a cream caramel ready mix, it was ok.

And i had half a packet of strawberry from pavlova stock again, so in that went though i wish i had more fruits.

Then i quickly dished up a chocolate frosting layer except it didnt turn out as smooth and silky as i hoped for. But i am hoping however, the Cadbury powder and the capful of whiskey i threw in there will make a difference.

Finally the leftover half of carton of President cream all whipped up.

I shaved in half a small bar of dark chocolate Van Houten and squeezed in some Hershey chocolate sauce.

The side view, the final testimony to a good trifle i guess, did i pass?

copyrights reserved

7am Arivu and China batterings.

2011-10-31T02:16:00.000+08:00

Don't waste your money on Velayutham, people there are 101 similar Vijay masala movies you can watch for later but right now, spend some time on the last 20mins of 7Am arivu. Nothing in this universe happens without a higher reason and this is a wake up call.

At the least, this goes to every Indian even those who proclaim they dont watch tamil movies, GO spend some time watching the first 20mins and the last 20 mins of 7am Arivu and fast forward the songs.

And yes, we Indian in Malaysia has long been kowtowing to the Chinese, even fearful of them when MANY of them couldnt even be bothered much with us except call us black (hak geh, kling kwais) and liars when they are actually the greatest liars and cheats in town and in true sense deserves no respect as humans.

I generally find them rude, inconsiderate, bad at using public toilets and very greedy, maybe there are a few rare nice ones, but on the whole, still cheats. Take for example, 2 years ago, we spent 16K getting some new furnitures for the house from a chinese furnishing mall in kepong, a high concentrate of chinese here. In 2 days, one of the cabinet doors gave way, my daughter bed planks gave in in a week, her study table wobbled, the rocking chair arm fell off, the cupboard rocked and the sofa, well.. decided to sink one by one. Then i had to spend another 5K replacing these stuff with Ikea products and mind you, i have no complaints so far. Not that i think of the white counterparts too highly either, these morons who introduced all sorts of systems in the world and now that everything is backfiring they are running off to India for higher meanings in life, yoga, avurveda, vedics, enlightenments.. yes. And then there are the Indians, who had it all but squandered it all away because we are too caught up in colour of skins and castes just like how in the movie the Indians 1600 failed to file the formula to cure the disease that Bodhidharman helped to cure and put themselves in a shitty situation.

Watching this movie that reflects the my very personal sentiments, i felt a rush up my head overwhelming my entire being. I have been willing for something like this to happen. Right now we are like guinea pigs going aroung in our little lab rat oblivious to whats going around or just in denial of our sad situation.

Finally the real Indians who are worth all the salt we eat and a part of Indian cinema coming to their senses!!!
We have second guessed our own credibilites for centuries now ever since our ancestors allowed power and wealth crazy invaders occupy old India. We now hv that worship the pink and yellow skin syndromme, failing to realise they are actually where they are because some great beings of old India had actually imparted valuable knowledge and wisdom onto them. And now we are kowtowing to the worst hybrid of bottomless laziness (you know who i mean) who are also resorting to lies, manipulations and suppression in order to live in comfort without much work.

Back to the film, i can understand why Bodhidharma had to go to China and get rid of the disease but what i cant understand is why he had to stay and teach them kungfu and mind control, wasnt that a miscalculation on his part, especially when they finally killed him to save themselves, typical eh of the specie, excellent at copycatting and calculations but seldom has conscience. I believe this genetic mutation was caused by their desperation to escape poverty, starvation and death in China that they finally got rid of their their humanity in order to just survive.

Body balances

2011-10-21T12:26:00.002+08:00

Sometimes after a phase of bingeing or feasting, the body winds down for a rest period of light stuff, you'd find suddenly tt the idea of a simple cucumber sandwich or a piece of juicy rose apples seems so inviting to your palate and stomach.

And naturally of course, you wake up the next day, to find your face looking younger and glowing coz your body didnt hv to spend too much energy burning the heavy stuff. Wonderful ain't, how nature finds its balance? Now doesnt that get you thinking about the bigger stuff in life.

copyrights reserved.

Yashiran's love of nature

2011-10-13T02:27:00.000+08:00

Giv'em toys, giv'em stuff.....

'tis green green grass that finally fascinates 'em

copyrights reserved.

Vadai moru curry with pineapples

2011-09-29T15:48:00.001+08:00

It's hard to satisfy all palates in one dish. While i might prefer the sourish white version of morkolumbu, the man of the house prefers curry in everything and then there's momsy who doesnt like anything spicy and kiddo who will whack anything spicy and sour.

So wat i do, is keep to everything to medium and hope it makes everyone happy.

I picked up 8 ulunthu vadai from my fav local restaurant this morning, i hd a packet of homemade tairu in the fridge and the man's hd purchased a peeled pineapple from village grocer the other day begging for some action.

So heat up some oil in a pot, whack in 3 chopped onions, 3 minced garlic, 1/2 inch ginger pounded. Also roughly grounded of a tsp jeera, coriander and cumin. Then whack in (jamie oliver lingo) 2 tbsp of fish curry powder and 2-3 cloves, a stick cinnamon, star anise, cardamons.. all for extra kick and a dash of garam masala and nutmeg powder. Wanted to achieve the nutty chettinad texture without the kas kas. Once the aroma lifts, in went 2 chopped tomatoes, a cup of thick coconut or dairy milk, a cup yogurt and 3 cups water. When it comes to simmer, whack in the vadai, a cup of chopped pineapples and curry leaves, let cook 3 mins and shut off. Salt to taste and a sprinkling of sugar. Thick and nice.

Serve on hot par boiled rice and a vege of choice, i opted spinach for added iron. For extra heat, i added some minched cilipadi for the man.

Potato and Soymeat Cutlets, Ponnaganni Keerai Kadeyal

2011-09-29T00:24:00.000+08:00

It is Navarathri again for the year, September 28 to October 5. I nearly let this slip though till my girl reminded us her school was doing the Saraswati puja. Interesting is this celebration of the tridevis, Durga, Mahalakshmi and Saraswathi. The shaktis wielded a power so tremendous that even the trimurthis were quite wary of it.

According to Hindu-blog, "The nine-day festival of Navratri in Hindu religion is held in honor of the nine manifestations of Goddess Durga. Navratri literally means ‘nine nights’ and is celebrated differently in different parts of India by Hindus. But in all places the victory of good over evil is celebrated and Goddess Shakti is propitiated. Such adoration to Mother Goddess is unique to Hinduism. The festival also marks the arrival of winter season, a period when Nature undergoes several changes. Navratri celebrates the victory of Goddess Durga over Mahishasura, the buffalo-headed demon. She fought for nine days and nine nights before emerging victorious on the tenth day. Goddess Shakti in the nine forms is worshipped during the period for knowledge, wealth, prosperity and auspiciousness. Knowingly or unknowingly during this period we also recognize the primordial source of energy (Shakti), which manifests in all living and nonliving."

I asked the man of the house whether he was interested in doing 9 days of vegetarian thingy. Surprisingly, he said yes!!

So, since momsy came down yesterday afternoon, i hd some time off from chasing the rambunctious one year old around the house. I actually welcomed the quiet, undisturbed hour of scrubbing toilet, kitchen and the rest of the house which was in really in dire straits for months.

Finally, having cleaned out old dust and grease off the stove, i was excited in planning a good vegetarian menu for the next 9 days. Something nice, different from norm, no 'nigella express' but more of 'french food at home', slow and steady from scratch .

I had a packet of ponnaganni keerai in the fridge, an impulsive pick from a quick visit to Village Grocer to get some NZ Ambrosia apples which the little boy hearts (and a cuz is promoting as the best of apples). Unfortunately dint find any, so got some NZ Rose apples, a bit harder to bite but fragrant and nice.

I was surprised to find a green vege as rare as ponnaganni at a up market grocer, i thought you could only find that in Sentul Pasar, the most. Ponnaganni again brings back memories of my grandmother who taught me how to pluck the top shoots of wild ponnagani growing in the corners of our frontyard, still wet from morning dew for her cooking.

So keera kadeyal it was, with split green dhall as base. 250gm of the ponnagani (RM2.90), leaves removed and rinsed. Boil a cup of split green dhall with 3 cloves of crushed garlic, 3 green chillies and salt to taste. Once dhall cooked, in goes the leaves, lids on and let cook, approximately 3 mins on high fire. Once the vege wilts, leave lid open so that the green doesnt turn brown. In another pan, melt 2 tbsp ghee (for richness) and fry a teaspoon cuming, half teaspoon fenugreek, half teaspoon mustard seeds, a big onion sliced, a big tomato sliced, some curry leaves and combine a juice of a lime. Mix into dhall and vege and let cool. Once cooled say 10 mins, its time to bring out my loyal Philips handheld blender. Effecient, less washing and easy to achieve the rustic texture you need for kadayel.

Ok, that done, i had 2 kgs of potatoes left. Cutlet. I hd soymeat. I boil the potatoes, mashed em and combined 5 shallots, 3 cloves garlic all minced and a few dashes of garam masala. Salt. I then soaked the soymeat in hot water till it doubled in size, then squeezed off water and sauteed in a 3 tbs ghee, (for richness) and once lightly browned, drained and mixed a tbsp of fish curry powder, sprinkling of salt, a squeeze of lime, a fistful of chopped mint and coriander leaves. Mix well and let cool. Finally fill balls of potato with a soymeat in the centre and form cutlet, for extra heat, chop some cilipadi and fill together with soymeat as per your heat tolerance. Dip in milk then corn flour and again milk and finally breadcrumbs ( i used japanese tempura breadcrumbs) and fry till brown.

Serve with par boiled rice. Drizzle more melted first rate ghee if you desire. Yummy yummy.

copyrights reserved.

Veni weds

2011-09-17T01:27:00.001+08:00

copyrights reserved.

My Life's Equation

2011-09-16T04:10:00.001+08:00

My early childhood was spent in sunkissed bushes running after baby goats, chicks and little puppies. It was solitary time for me mainly being the only child.

Lazy late afternoons spent talking to plants and imaginary friend called Ina and me being Ita, the secondary one. Ina was better than me, more complete and Ita looked up to her. Strange, i wonder why i had that alter ego.

My shoulder to cry on were the many dogs that grew up with me and passed on. Id say they were my guardian angels, always around to watch over me when i spent hours in the wild, totally oblivous. They were source of unconditional love, a touch of compassionate universe embodied in furry warmth with a wet nose. It was carefree, fear-free childhood abandonment.

Rainy days had me sneaking out of the house trailing clear cool little streams over brilliantly green grass. And ah, the sheer delight in finding natural water sources and little fishes in ponds. Hours passed on that way, nurtured by nature. I'd remember going home everyday with some mud or stain on my clothes, much to my mom's chagrin. No matter how much admonishment would stop me from going back the next day to the arms of loving nature. To think now of how many risks were involved in a child roaming the woods alone those days long ago, i can only say nature protected me and kept me safe and today i give my thanks.

When i started going to school, id wake up and hv my bath and stand at our bedroom window facing east and watch the sun rise slowly over the hills. It was a daily wonder for me, something i truly missed when we had to move later on.

When i learnt to cycle, id breeze through morning dew downhill to school, arriving at the gates, white shoe shine runny and nose freezing. Evenings were spent cycling as far as i dared to go before night fell and crickeets called.

Then at 9, the equation changed suddenly. Life no longer was of innocence. Was robbed of me. I can hardly remember the years after that. Like a missing gap in time, some things are better left not remembered i guess, it is again nature protecting me in the only way it knows best.

Teen years raced by in a blur. Unhappiness, unfulfillments, again not much worth remembering except for the crushes and puppy loves. Early twenties, the equation didnt change much, ups and downs. Severe knocks and dents. By the time 30s came, my soul was broken, very tired. And then something happened.

They say went you hit bottom, you will somehow bounce back. What a bounce back! The nature of human spirit. Slowly steadily, things turned around. The equation was balancing up. Today, life is a simple equation, basic, agrees with me. I was asked dont i have any big ambition left. Uh huh, i never really did actually. I just wanted a slow cruise, a pleasant one through life, no biggies for me.

Im grateful today, because my life was always blessed, regardless of my trying times, something always carried me through. Or someone. Love. From a higher place. I say higher because only a higher place is capable of such selfless love, compassion and strength.

Call it whatever we want, God, Universe, Source ... im grateful that as the days go by, I have been blessed enough to witness and experience that LOVE.

That's my life's equation.

Pokarekare Ana

2011-09-16T00:22:00.000+08:00

Shahrukh leaves Gauri for Priyanka!

2011-09-14T19:11:00.001+08:00

"At last, the cats are out the bags, at least, the Bollywood sneaky cats that is, after the initial doubts and second guessings. Just when you think there is hope still for true love and sanctity of marriage in power crazed world, another one bites the dust.

Just when we start to think Saif Ali is really a creep to walk out of his family leaving his young children and not so young wife to fall at the feet of lizard like Kareena and Aamir Khan is not so perfect after all if he cant perfect his marriage in the first place, nevermind the scripts and the numerous takes.

At least Salman is not a hypocrite in this whole lot.

But too bad, just when we think Shahrukh must be really a man of integrity to battle the currents of odds.. truly in control of his inner devils, alas, he too has to let it slip. All for the charms of the other woman.

Of course, one can't underestimate Priyanka these days. Ever since Fashion, she had been maturing in her elements, that hosting of Zee Cine Awards 2011, was a home run. She is truly over any inhibitions now and is directly channelling her inner yogini in all her performances. Oh yes, we all can see she is glowing with some strange new power. This is rather irresistable to any man especially one who thinks he deserves to be the best and have the best.

While Shahrukh over the years, have been testing and switching heroines for that moolah racking chemistry' (as one can't really rely on Kajol's spritely performances forever for it gets boring people after some time, besides she is more interested in child rearing she claims) that would bring him save him a grand retirement fund in his twilight years. Probably the Dubai ventures didn't go as planned and the IPL is still trudging on.

On the other hand, we have Priyanka who has been bowling over some important people of Hollywood with her newfound talents and high connections must seem particularly very inviting for a man with insatiable appetite for success. Especially a man who is past 40s on the brinks of mid life crisis with an aging wife whose botched plastic surgeries no longer flatter that same face that once Shahrukh said was a picture of calmness and zen in his life, something ran around hunting in Mumbai beaches, their love story has come to an end. Looks does count, people.

But to his credit, he must have tried really hard to resist but probably the pull of money and power was just too strong especially when it came with the unabashed adoration of a young, beautiful woman.

Oh well, in one of Koffee With Karan session, Karan had quipped what Gauri would do if Shahrukh happened to stray. Didn't she reply something along this lines 'I just pray I will have the courage to find another man myself'. Well Gauri, you better start hunting, gal."

source :Bollywood gossip, Bollywood news

AYO! At least i thought there was one happy ending. This news sucks. SRK and Gauri was such an e.g of loyalty and undying love..!! Especially so when the future and emotional needs of children involved, it is really irresponsible, selfish and INHUMANE of fathers and mothers to go about their own feelings, BE HUMAN for God's sake. Once you bring children into the world, there is no more about you, it is about them, the equation changes. Cant you morons see the 'hurt' in your children's eyes before you go galavanting off with another woman and that woman too, come on, what do you get out of seeing these innocents souls hurting?.

Near Death Experiences, Coma, Life after Life, A Muslim's Coma Experience....

2011-09-14T16:05:00.001+08:00

I was chattin on FB today with an old friend about his coma experience that happened to him a few years ago.

Ive always been interested in life after death experience.

When i was 9, i was under a tree rocking on a stool when i fell backwards and hit my spine on a brick. I remember before falling seeing my grandma 10 meters in front of me and when i woke up she was holding me and it only felt like a fraction of second, my blackout.

And then at 13 i was on phone talking to a friend when it was raining thunders and lighting outside. Suddenly a 'whack' got me flying back a few metres from the phone. Again blackout of a few seconds. I found that i was more amazed that scared, the experience totally invigorated me.

So by the time i hit 15 and i was nonetheless to say, very intrigued with death experiences and such. Being young and entitled to the foolish that comes with it, i was ready to throw caution to the wind, One late evening, in a euphoric state of adventure and youthful carelessness, i decided to fiddle with death.

I wont tell how i did it but of course, the attempt totally backfired on me. All i felt was a kind of a whack in the middle of my chest (lk that shock they give ur heart in medical tv dramas) and i was back to see my mom and grandma screaming as they hd no idea why i hd collapsed through a plywood partition, that stands testimony till today of my foolish antics. Curiousity almost killed this cat. And, i was disappointed i saw no light or tunnels or higher beings ...

After that, i humbly kept my curiousity limited to reading books and much later with the advent of internet, hundreds of articles and websites about it. Then 2 years back i chanced about this book, Journey of the Souls by Dr Michael Newton and i was floored! It totally resonated in me.

As i feverishly turned the pages, inside I was going.. ooh ...ah! Now i understood certain things in life, why some people annoyed you, some people enriched ur life, why ur life was or was not going the way it should.... it totally made sense. That book was about case studies of what people experience after life and death, the process of birth and our will and choices in it, which the author accesses thru a series of past life regressions. Totally cool.

It talked about how we as souls chose experiences where we can learn to conquer many of our weaknesses such as anger, forgiveness, compassion... human experiences in order to evolve as souls. It also talked about our guides who help us through the process of learning and how we hv cluster soul groups, members of which might be born together with us in different roles like father, mother, husband, wife or such life after life while they too go through invidual process of learning. Where we choose to be born, with whom or by whom is something we ourselves hv decided before we embark on another life experience on earth. Sometimes we choose really difficult ones to accelerate our learning process, something we succeed , sometimes not, and we go back and reevaluate our mistakes and failing to come back again with renewed efforts. Life changing and totally cool.

But i was curious though, whether real people of different faith also went through similar experiences. In school i studied Islam for 7 years. I wondered how Muslim people would experience death.

Coming back to my chat today, i asked my Muslim friend what he experienced. After a bad accident, he was pronounced brain dead by the doctor who was already signing his papers. All he said was, 'It is all true, Kalei, what u read , wat u see in movies, i saw that white shadow (light, im guessing) and my old friend who died 10 years ago came to me and told me to go back. There was no movement, but i know what he told me, we then hugged and i woke up, i realised it was already 3 months after my accident.'

I asked him why he wont write about it, he said, people (im guessing other muslims) dont want to know these things, Kalei. I understood.

By writing this, im just trying to emphasis that every teaching originates from one source, but it is we the humans who put up the barriers, not really in the name of that source but because of other world things we intend to possess. Every human wants a comfortable life, wants better things but is stepping on the needs of another making us a better human? No, especially when you use ur religion as a weapon and means to achieve ur greed and wants. When spiritual teachings collide with material greed, truth is blinded.

If the message of 2012 is true to its many prophecies, people who vibrate at this low level of ignorance or denials, people who brush away the truths of life in order to justify their earthly pleasures and luxuries, people who step over the sufferings of another to achieve that, will eventually vanish from this existence which is destined to be a wholly enhanced state of human experiences for those who are true to their spiritual essence.

Apparently we hv a year to buck up or bugger off to a lesser world of more endless sufferings, gosh, that be some sort of divine justice after all.

copyrights reserved.

Fish kofta, Spicy vege soup, Turmeric Chicken

2011-08-15T01:46:00.021+08:00

'Shall i buy some chikin today?'he asked around 10.30am before driving off.
T'was Sunday, so no excuses.
'Ok la' was my weak answer. Is it age or does your passion for cooking slowly diminish as the years go by? I baked my first cake at 8 years and made my first sambar at 13 and I didnt stop for many years. I soooooooooo loved cooking,baking and dint mind the cleaning too, but these days, it is such a draaaaaaaaaaaaag. I just seemed to hv lost it. PRobably it started like 10 years ago when i was going thru very difficult times in my life and was challened to the core of my being. After that many of my passions seemed to hv drained out of me and ive not been inspired. That best seller has been steeping for 6 years now. Sigh.

Anyway, around 12.30pm, arrives the still warm kampung chicken which was probably alive and all cooped up just a while ago and a kg of shark fish, all nicely cleaned and cubed. (suramin la).

Ok, you can do this, I thought. Where was that woman 15 years ago, who single handedly dished up breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner for 25 people for 3 whole months in an ashram in a jungle with no tap water or electricity. Uh huh.

Since i had been researching on tuna kofta (balls) recently for the one year old's upcoming birthday, i might as well try a sura fish version and see whether i can get it right. Besides, I had still a packet of russet potatoes in the fridge.

A kg fish boiled in salt water. Drain and mash.
A kg potatoes boiled in salt water. Drain and mash
2 big onions, 3 clove garlic, half inch ginger, 3 green chillies, 5 green cilipadi, and a teaspoon of horseradish (optional) all minced up tiny, ok i cheated and used my loyal Philips Handheld Blender/Mincer, just a 10 second blitz job. Then salt as per your taste. A dash of garam masala. Mix all, break a egg yolk and form balls. Dip in white egg and breadcrumbs and fry over high heat for a minute till browns. This got done by 1.30pm. You get around 40 balls half of which were gone before i was done with the next. No worries of wasted food in this household as long it is savoury and spicy..

Could use the chicken bones to form stock or just plain water. Roughly grind in pestle and mortar a teaspoon each of coriander, cumin and black paper. Boil 2 liters water or stock and add the spices, a cinnamon stick, 3 cloves and star anise. Once chicken bones ok, add chinese cabbage and tomatoes. Smash 5 cloves garlic and dunk. For added kick, try cilipadi, add salt.

By now the one year old came toddling into the kitchen screaming 'tata tata', his latest syllable past few days. I hv no idea which grandfather (tata) he is addressing or not. Both are long gone anyway. Or maybe he is trying to tell something, is he??? You know never know, right. The 11 year old was getting restless chasing after the one year old. I guess she got more than she bargained for when she asked for a playmate a year ago, though she specifically wanted a girl to play barbie with. I convinced her that in her old days, when i am gone, she will hv a little brother to carry things for her, haha! The 43 year old btw, was glued to the tv as usual, oblivious to the ruckus going around him. Strange how men are able to switch off that way. Me, i cant, i am aware of every little thing that happens around me, so much so ive been accused as being a mental torture while i was preggers and my all senses hit sky high. Haha! You think i was not tortured, for the baby's sake i fought hard to stay in control, which is why i gv him so much space now to make up for the torture he probably went thru in womb. Sad really. Ok, close chapter, not worth it. Let the universe take care.

Next dish was inspired by my ogling at top Malay blogs about Ayam masak kunyit. But the essential ingredients curry leaves and serai didnt make it back home so i hd to improvise.

1 chicken cut to small pieces. 1 tbsp turmeric, 5 big onions ringed, 5 cloves garlic sliced, half inch ginger sliced, 1 green capsicum chopped, 1 brinjal chopped, pepper. Marinate chicken in turmeric and salt for one hour. Fry onion, garlic and ginger and dunk chicken, cook over medium heat till chicken dries up, then pour 2 cups water and let it cook fruther, once cooked, add vegetables and pepper. Salt.
Lunch was finally served at 3.30pm. God bless.

copyrights reserved.

Brinjal @ Eggplant @ Aubergine @ Kathirikai

2011-08-02T00:09:00.011+08:00

My favourite vegetable for the moment, yes, is brinjal, yes. It comes in many colors and shapes. Shiny deep purple, green, white and white/purple strikes. Also in long or round or oblong shapes. Dont forget their favourite Thai cousin, mini version aka terung pipit aka sparrow brinjal aka sundakkai aka turkey berry aka ma waeng.

Again my vivid memory of this vegetable has to come from my maternal grandma, bless her, i grew up watching her cook from the time i was 1 hanging out the kitchen window talking to the trees and birds till i was well into secondary school, about 16 years. She planted a few vegetables for her use like chillies, long beans, okras (ladies finger) and brinjals.

Half way into her cooking, she would call out to me... 'Girlie!!!!! Can you go out and pluck a few brinjals. Make sure get the big ones only , ok, and watch out for the pricklies..!"

You see, the brinjal plant had those prickly little 'hairs' on its leaves that can get stuck to ur skin and give you pain and itch at the same time. And there are tiny thorns on the branches. But I loved going hunting for brinjals as the brinjals like to hide behind the leaves and you hv to peek it from the bottom up to look for ripe ones. Some can go totally undetected if you are not careful. So yea, finding them is like a little treasure hunt. And the tiny purple flowers a delight. On the green brinjal plant, you get white flowers instead. Nature's a genius, innit?!!!

My taste for miracle of a vegetable grew as i found newer ways to savour than just dumping wedges innto fish and dhall curry. There was the spicy sourish pachadi with raisins, another family favourite.

Then somewhere in my teens, my mom learned to make the pal curry version for my grandad.It was a totally white creamy version, sourish and flavoured by cinnamon stick coupled with soymeat masala, it was simply divine. I got hooked on it.

Strangely so, it is rather the men more than women who hv developed a special taste for this vegetable.

Then once i moved to the city, i came across the mind blowing steamed or lightly sauteed brinjal laden with belacan or sambal sauce. The steamed version really brings out the natural sweetness of the brinjal flesh once cooked.

I was amazed to find a raw version came thinly sliced in a Greek sandwich at Oliver's Super Sandwiches in Midvalley(now extinct). I thought eating raw brinjal can give you an itch but it did not at all. Of course the west likes to retain the taste of the original ingredient even its meat or vege dishes while the east likes to camouflage it in as much as spices, chillies, herbs or other condiments.

The lastest version i had was in pasta, tomatoey, slathered in olive oil and grilled . Very moorish.

And not forgetting again, the sundakkai, good for your blood version, can be fried or made into sambal or thrown into puli curry or even fish curry like i did some time back. Lovely. Not bitter at all.

So there is my tribute to brinjal, i felt like it tonight and so this came to be. Brinjal, so yummy.

note : pics belongs to owners.

Karuvattu kolumbu (Dry salted fish curry)

2011-06-18T01:00:00.006+08:00

Why is it that certain food just taste good because of the memories it carries?

Of course i was not really a great curry eater in my youth but lately been having this 'urge' or craving hv u nots to eat karuvattu kolumbu, since i spotted a vegetarian mochai kottai curry at Anantha Bhavan, Bangsar one lazy Sunday afternoon. See how the brain makes the connection-karuvattu kolumbu normally comes with mochai kottai, right, just how your grandma made it?

So since my salted fish stock was still tucked in a corner of the fridge shelf for nearly a month now, it just begged for some action. Out came anchovies (ikan bilis lah!) as well. And i had thrown a couple of tins of Edberg canned 4 beans into the shopping basket when we dropped by this rather 'out of norm' convenience store at Lorong Kasipillay after a meal at Tasty Chapati like 2 months back. So since got no time to soak mochai kottai, as usual, i improvised lah with the canned stuff.

For this curry, you really cant cheat on the oil. Once in a while eat extra oil, no need go cardiac MRI la.

4 tbsp of corn oil heated up in a big pot. In went 3 chopped onions, one whole bunch garlic all given a quick crush on the tumbuk belacan (pestle and mortar).

Add 1 tsp fenugreek, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp jeera and 1 inch cinnamon. Saute nicely.

Spoon in 5 tbsp fish curry powder of your choice (better still if you blend your own as the taste will just get better with fresh spices).

Let oil break on surface, now add a cup and half of already washed ikan bilis and the salted fish chunks. Let it all nicely fry in the curried oil for like 2-4 mins.

Once you get the ikan bilis smell filling up the space around you, time to drizzle in like a cup of water, slowly.

Once it starts to simmer, dunk 4 chopped potatoes and pour another 2 cups of water, let cook like 10 mins till potatoes soften.

Finally, open the can of four beans of lima beans, kidney beans, butter beans and chickpeas. Rinse them out in hot water to get rid of that weird canned taste. Dunk all into the curry.

Add tamarind or lime juice to taste and salt as you like. No need coconut milk. Serve with nice fluffy rice or bread or tosai or roti canai. Next day, if you have leftover, just break a couple of eggs in it and dunk more bread. After that, dont eat curry for 3 days, easy only.

copyrights reserved.

I-City, Shah Alam

2011-06-03T18:00:00.009+08:00

'Shall we take the kids to I-city,' I asked.
'I-what?' the papa
'I-city la, Shah Alam'
'Where is that?'
'Shah Alam'
'We'll see'

Then a week later about 7pm he comes home.
'I thought you want to go I-city'
'Are we?' i asked.
"Get ready la' he said.

At 8.30pm we are at out at the Duta roundabout.
'Ask your stupid machine la how to go' he said
Stupid machine means the N8's GPS navigation system, a machine incidentally that he gifted me. It had remained stupid since the day we tried it out last week and it kept pointing exactly where we are and even though he made some deliberate wrong turnings, it still pointed exactly where we were. I guess, it made the whole world seem a really puny place all logged up in a tiny machine. For him, it was a control issue-a tool monitoring his movement from a satellite in space, i guess it is a challenge for most men who dont even like to ask for directions. Anyway...

We reached this place called I-City at 9.00pm and had to pay a RM10 entrance fee. It was crowded.

Despite the spectacular show of lights, it was this donkey that got papa's attention.
He wanted to sit baby on it and take a pic. I was sensing something more personal actually.

After this, he says, 'Lets go for the Snowalk'. But that's another story probably you dont want to know. Clue- compulsory wear of smelly sweaty thick jackets and stinky fish market boots. A horror for germophobic like me. For RM25 i think per paxper entry to Snowalk and another RM10 for the fish market boots which are compulsory wear that are incidentally very slippery on ice and RM10 for gloves and the list goes on. We were out of the freezer box in less than 3 mins coz it was too slippery for the granma and grandkid and i was dying in the sweaty smell of the rented jackets,.... yucks! So if you wanna go, wear your own stuff.

copyrights reserved.

Mango cheesecake

2011-06-03T17:13:00.007+08:00

I ate my first cheesecake at age 16 in Ipoh and was hooked. Never tried making it tho as the thought of it was daunting.

Two weeks ago, bought my first cream cheese from Cold Storage. It sat in our fridge and stared at me everyday. So yesterday finally, the time was here. Before i could change my mind, i whipped up a yogurt butter cake for the base.

250gm Tatura butter
100gm castor sugar
3 medium eggs
1 cup sweetened yogurt (i used peach flavoured)
300gms flour.

Cream butter and sugar. Break in eggs, dump in half flour, then the whole yogurt then the rest of flour. Bake. When cool, slice cake into half. You can eat the top half if you want or you can layer the cake. I didnt bother halving the ingredients la which would have been a smarter move. Anyway...for the creamcheese mix:-

250gm creamcheese
400ml whipping cream
30gms sugar
A cup Alphonso (or any) mango pulp
3 Chukanan (or any) mango diced (2 cups)
1 1/2 tbsp gelatin or i used mango jelly mix, dilute in half cup hot water just before you pour in finally so it wont jell.
1 tbsp lime (or lemon) juice, adjust the tang to ur taste

Whip creamcheese with sugar. Whip cream separately till it thickens. Combine both, the pulp, lime juice and jelly mix. Arrange the diced mangos on top of bottom layer cake. And pour cream cheese on top and freeze overnight.

copyrights reserved.

Broga Rabbit Farm

2011-06-03T16:43:00.017+08:00

We were at Delicious in Bangsar where my aunt Saro was treating us to the best Lemon Meringue pie, when she mentioned, let's meet up at Broga for some pork knuckles for lunch tomorrow. Not for me, my other half who is a pork-a-holic. For an instance he was undecided, then pork won.

As we were there first, aunt had mentioned earlier about the rabbit farm. I thought it was a fun farm la, something the kids would enjoy. To my dismay, as we drove up, i smelled grilling meat. There it was it, rabbit satay, rabbit salai. Aiya, nvm, skip the dead animals, tho hubs so wanted to try the satay, i steered clear towards the living animals instead. Strangely i didnt take any pics of the hundreds of rabbits there, though they were quite well kept in clean cages and places and we got to sit on stone stools and feed them. Must be the thought that they might get chopped up for the next satay which i dont want to remember them by.

'What you looking at, you think I look funny, u ugly two leggeds? Hand me those green apples in your hand before i butt ya fat asses!'

Hello there, lady.

Is that ur old man over there with 'em carrots in his hands, can u get him over here? If you do, il gv you my best smile.

Like my smile, lady? Those are real vegetarian teeth, u know.

It was rather the goats and monkeys that amused us, goats-me, monkeys-him, the kids-the spectators of the suddenly-gone-silly amma and papa over farm animals.

'Apa khabar, Dato, lama tak jumpa wo'
Not really.
The little beruk is snatching away cut green apples from the Darwinian evolved big beruk.:)

copyrights reserved.

Tofu sothi

2011-06-03T14:47:00.006+08:00

I guess it is safe to say that i never really sat to eat restaurant food until i was 16. Coming fr a small town where the womenfolk of my grandma's era took pride in providing homecooked for their families, eating outside especially by womenfolk was still frowned upon during my early years.

My late grandma being the only regular cook for the family as far as i remember believed in providing a wholesome fare. Hence we ate the best of fishes, high end vegetables and own homegrown poultries. At one time she even grew her own rice.

When comes to cooking we would hv a mix of traditional indian, a bit of chinese (the veges) and a fusion of some. I realised now she also had cooked a lot of other ethnic food like Sri Lankan and Kerala. I remember her thick creamy sothi, made from the coconuts off her trees, scraped by hand and squeezed out of 1st , 2nd and 3rd cream. I myself hv sat on the low stool coconut scrap many a times in 13s and 14s as i was on afternoon school and was at home in the mornings to see her cook. It was a task i used to dread together with the spice grinding and i cant imagine how the old lady managed it with ease even with her old age and body aches. (My mom seems to be complaining of body aches all the time even if she has to just stir fries some veges for her own consumption and enjoy an idle retirement. )

It was my grandmother and and my aunt mano who taught me to make sothi. How to heat it on low fire so that it doesnt curdle. And when granma made sothi, it was always accompanied with a fried fish dish or 'ikan rebus' par-boiled salted mackerel, with sambal petai (a touch of Malay cooking too). Sometimes she skips the plain sothi for sothi with taugeh and also fish sothi. I love eating sothi with just some pickles and rice.

So here it is, after a long winded intro, the tofu sothi. I dished it up yesterday for my now very particular vegetarian mother who is visiting, who has been complaining every food we give her or buy for her tastes like 'shit'. Hmm... with all those pills she pops in from headache to back ache, stomachache, to knee pain and leg ache to god knows what else, no wonder her tastebuds hv taken the toll. She disapproves of us taking non-vege in her presence, peering down her nose at our plates. Especially prawns, coz it was one her favourite seafood and she had to quit it when it started making her face swell. She drinks calf's milk tho, yes, i meant calf's milk, it rightfully belongs to those baby cows from whom we mean humans snatch away its milk. So vegetarians who drink milk and hv dairy stuff, you are no where better la. haha!

Tofu sothi, just squeeze half a scraped coconut with like a litre of water-try to use fresh coconut to make sothi as it tastes creamier, fragrant and refreshing- save the coconut powder for curries. Keep coconut milk aside.

I pre-sauted 5 cubed hard tofu in a tbsp of corn oil so that it browns a little.

Then boil a litre water with a tsp of fenugreek, 2 ring sliced big onions, a cup of chopped pumpkin, 2 halved green chillies, a ping pong ball sized tamarind soaked in a cup of water and squeezed out of its extract, also salt to taste.

As liquid begins to boil, i pour in the coconut milk and turn the heat very very low and keep stirring constantly so it doesnt boil and curdle, i also throw in whatever easily cooked vegetables at this point, my choice was 2 chopped tomatoes and a fistful of bak choy. Let veges soften a bit. Then lastly in goes the pre cooked tofu, check again the seasonings if it ok.

Remember not to allow coconut milk to boil and curdle, spoils the whole sothi experience. Dish out and serve with something spicy or tangy. I served with with artificial (?) chicken flavoured soya meat light masala and potatoes as old lady said she felt like having vegetarian chicken (!). My mom, Brownian motion personified.

copyrights reserved.

Teacher's Day Cupcakes

2011-05-27T17:53:00.004+08:00

I remember teacher's day excitement was more pronounced during primary days. The whole class would get down to planning what to bring and what nots. As a class monitor for three years in a row, i took it upon myself to organising it from foods to entertainment. But my mom would complain when i try to get her to make the best goodies to take to school-my mom never was eager to participate im my school activities. It was a kinda competition who brings the best stuff. I remember one year mom was so pissed off at being disturbed, she just dished out some kesari the night before. Me being in Malay medium school and one of only 3 Indians, no one ate even a morsel of kesari. I remember being really sad when i had to pack the whole thing back home and felt mom truly sabotaged me. So the next year, I decided i wasnt going to ask mom do anything and took some groundnuts from grandmother's grocery to school. They were a hit. Nothing left. I stuck to kacang for the next 2 coming years. Rest case.

Therefore i knew where my 11 year old was coming from when she came home excited wanting me to make something really nice for her teacher's day. I immediately went into that 'il-be-the-mother-my mother-never-was' mode and baked 2 batches of lemon cupcakes. I got kiddo to participate and whip up the frosting.

2am, these got completed. As i settled into the arduous task of washing buttercream off the utensils, for a second, i felt like ...what the hell... and then i checked myself because that was what i grew up observing, a reluctant, emotionally absent mom who was well into her chronic depression and slept most of her non working hours away. I just told myself instead, wait till my kid comes home tomorrow beaming from ear to ear. And she did. Her cupcakes were a hit. Little things but they matter.

copyrights reserved.

Come on, were Maria Shriver and Californians that clueless?

2011-05-21T01:56:00.004+08:00

First of all the marriage was unlikely, a Kennedy niece marrying some overpumped up semi-coherent Austrian actor. Then he becomes the Governor of California and i couldnt help thinking, is this the best Californians can do? Then we didnt hear much of him. And then just a couple of years back Maria appears on Oprah with a book on how unhappy she was with what she had in her life. She looked depressed and tortured and looked ready to burst and Arnold was conveniently missing too in times of his wife's obvious distress. I was thinking what the hell are you moaning about, you seemed to have everything in your hands and you are complaining about what you dont? Something was wrong.

And then this? Just after he finished term and Maria's parents are dead and gone? Come on la?

First, Maria Shriver, who went along with her cheating man's partying with his mistress had no doubt or suspicions, come on?
Second, the whole of California, forget US, didnt anyone know or hv enough proof of his groping habits, yet you guys went ahead and elected him president?

Id say Maria and Arnold are both liars. Both cheated their families and both cheated the people who voted for them. Voted them down. And Mildred, geez, what can you say, pathetic.

Onion pakora

2011-05-05T18:53:00.010+08:00

Ample leftover corn oil post yesterday's curry puff fry. Hv to use up somehow hence this next dish, onion pakora. Pakora recipe varies a little here and there according to taste.

My version.

2 cups dhall (chick pea flour),
1/2 cup wheat flour.
3 big onions, chopped or sliced according to your choice.
3 green chillies chopped
A fistful of coriander leaves chopped.
2 stalks of curry leaves chopped
1 teaspoon cumin.
2 tbsp chilly powder or more if you like it really spicy.
Salt to taste

Combine with water to form batter that is easy to drop into oil.

Fry at high heat to minimise oil absorption. Drain and serve with mint chutney or chilly sauce or just with teh tarik.

copyrights reserved.

Curry Puffs

2011-05-04T18:55:00.011+08:00

I am reminded how about 12 years ago, in a crazy fancy, an aunt and I took up the challenge to outdo the famous giant curry puffs sold by mamaks in Penang roadside stalls. Though we did manage to churn up a fair competitor in the form of chicken curry puff, the tediousness of chopping potatoes and the really hard sweet potatoes put short to our grand mission. This version however is much more toned down, child-friendly and vegetarian.

5 big potatoes, chopped and preboiled in a lightly salted water with a teaspoon of sugar as i couldnt get sweet potatoes. (Originally the potatoes were fried but these days, at this age, one could really benefit from skimming the fat.)

In a wok, heat a tbsp of corn oil and fry coarsely grounded of a half teaspoon each of cumin, fennel and mustard seeds. Then add a big onion chopped and 2 cloves garlic and 2 tbsp of fish curry powder (i prefer Lingam or Alagappa). Dunk the drained potatoes. Salt and add chopped coriander leaves. Sprinkle some water and mash the potatoes around so everything amalgamates nicely and potatoes becomes fluffy. Then let it cool.

3 cups self raising flour ( i use this because it absorbs less oil and cooks quickly over high heat giving a crisp exterior and puffed up inside- hence puff :)
3/4 cup butter or marg of your choice.
I like also to add half a teaspoon of black pepper, coarsely ground.
Half a teaspoon of Maggi seasoning if you like or just plain salt or for a richer taste you could add a shaven clove of garlic in the pastry.
Stir around till forms breadcrumbs and drip ice water to form a smooth dough.
Divide into 20 and flatten to fit the medium-sized curry puff mould.

Spoon in cooled potatoes. Leave pastry to cool in the fridge like 10mins. Heat up 2 cups of corn oil (a bit expensive but it has higher cooking temperature and gives puffs a better taste)

Because of the self raising flour, these puffs only took a minute and a half to cook and brown, sans the oil absorption.

copyrights reserved.

Banana Muffin

2011-05-04T18:36:00.005+08:00

The internet, is Godsent. I think it is God's way of reminding us to care and share and not think too highly (or even lowly) of ourselves as we are, what someone famously said, spiritual beings having billions of human experiences. In the last ten years, internet has been my source of solace, wisdom, inspiration, knowledge and i tell you, the best ever banana muffin recipe. If only i can remember where i last jotted this one from, but 'whosever' it is, the credit is solely yours. Vaguely it was 'a cat that can cook' :).

Here goes.

4 large bananas mashed (use your favourite, mine, rastali)
3/4 cup fine sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup good butter (i swing between Tatura butter or Meadow Lea marg)
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir the wet things first and then combine the dry stuff. Easy peasy. No tweaking necessary. Makes 12 muffins, a rare combination of moist and fluffy.

Cheese and almond bun

2011-05-04T18:19:00.007+08:00

I had some extra dough after mini sausage buns (because i skimmed the dough on the sausages for lesser carb). So i divided into two, tucked a slice of cheddar cheese in the centre of each dough, smoothed it up, swipe a bread knife lightly to part the dough slightly, swiped some milk, sprinkled a teaspoon of chopped almonds and a sprinkled of coarse sugar.

Soft fluffy bread goes great with black coffee.

copyrights reserved.

Mini sausage buns

2011-05-03T16:11:00.014+08:00

This time i tried a different dough ratio to get a softer bread. I think this nails it.
350gm super fine flour,
6gm (or half a 11g packet) of Mauripan yeast,
1 teaspoon bread improver,
1 teaspoon dough softener,
50gms sugar,
1 tbsp corn oil,
1/2 teaspoon salt if you wish, i normally dont.
1 cup warm milk to get the yeast going

Filling
24 mini sausages, i used Ayam Dindings
some pepper, cumin, garam masala
oil to saute

Stir dry ingredients and then pour milk little by little till you form a dough, then drip in a tbsp corn oil and knead further till absorbed and you hv a smooth dough. Leave to double then divide into 24 pieces to form the rolls around mini sausages. U probably need a pingpong ball size dough, just roll within your palms and stretch to form a five cent diameter 'snake' and roll around mini sausages that i preferred to pre saute with a bit of pepper and cooled down.

Swipe the top with milk and a sprinkle of my favourite spice, cumin. Too bad i didnt hv curry leaves, would hv smelt heavenly. What the heck, a dash of garam masala might do the trick instead. Give it another 10mins and bake in a pre heated oven 180 degree Celcius for 10-15 mins, till the top is golden brown. Take out from the oven immediately and for an extra shine, swipe a bit of butter on top. Sells like hotcakes, though i personally think salty preserved meat is better left where they belong, probably a century ago when refrigeration was almost none and it was the sole means of survival during winter times.
copyrights reserved.

Restoran Teck Wah, Sri Segambut

2011-04-26T01:31:00.012+08:00

Been to this place umpteenth time and each time i intended to, i end up forgetting taking pics. But this time with the baking fever gluing my fingertips to my cam, i finally was able to lend some justice to this chinese restaurant. I prefer dishes with less salth and where the cooks keep healthy in mind in their dishes. This is one of those places you dont come back feeling all cloyed up and thirsty coz of the megaload of corn flour and msg. This and De Seafood Land which we discovered a year ago in Kepong but tts another post.

We kept the menu simple this time which suited me just fine because there is nothing more offputting than over ordering food where it hits you right in the face. Since we all love bayam (spinach), we had the belacan version. For me, this was enough with rice. Quite yum.

The very happy bayam lover, whether stir fried, in kadayil (pureed) or soup. She normally polishes off half a plate of the vege. Im just glad she is eating vegetables at all, considering she used to scream at anything green on her plate when she was between 2-5 and considering other children her age balk at all things vege.

I had looked forward for some really sweet and crispy young, thin, asparagus but got this fat ones which was quite bitter. Served in garlic sauce it was passable.

Ah, the highlight of the dinner was this asam tilapia fish. Not every restaurant gets the asam factor right but this one hit the high. Tangy, full in flavour, with slices of okra, long beans and hints of petai, the sauce was moorish.

Of course, pig-o-holic needs his fix. Though i did sometime back prefer pork to chicken, but i gave up in memory of my late maternal granma who never allowed the stuff into her household in memory of her late parents who refrained from eathing pork. Besides that, i refrain from even chicken these days, maybe its just me but chicken meat and smell nauseats me after my body rejected it during my last preggers.

Sister and brother, groggy fr sleep. Both must hv some past life connections, they were bonded from the womb itself.

copyrights reserved.

Chocolate filled Buns

2011-04-26T01:23:00.009+08:00

How about buns filled with chunky chocolates. Why not.

Same dough except this time i added a teaspoon of bread improver into the flour.

Not bad at all.
copyrights reserved.

Tuna Bun

2011-04-26T01:10:00.008+08:00

Im on a roll. While the baking fever has gripped me, let me just hv some fun. Tuna bun with Ayam brand Kurang Pedas Tuna. You can find ur own preference. I would hv preferred the tuna in water roughly mashed up with chopped raw onions with the tiniest little bit of mayonaise but my stock was out. For my 11 year old, tuna is tuna in any form so nothing goes to waste.

So there you have it, each ball of dough filled up with tuna filling. Dough recipe still same as in Cheese bun. Just mix 350gm super fine flour, half a 11g packet of Mauripan instant yeast, a teaspoon of bread improver, 50gm sugar and warm water to combine and add a tbspoon of oil and knead till the dough smoothens. Let rest for 30 mins.

All assembled and ready to go face the heat, haha, sounds like so long ago in school and those something went wrong impromptu office meetings. Yikes. Let dough rest another 15mins.

Glistening (because i brushed butter on top as soon i get them out of the oven), warm, say bite me and two buns vanished before i can go get the cam.

Instant Cheese and Cumin Buns

2011-04-25T03:53:00.009+08:00

My new boss is very demanding. No offdays, no rest hours and no clocking outs.. everything must be done according to his schedule or else he will holler the house down, yes, the house. My boss is 8 months old and my life now, revolves around him. Except for the half an hour gaps he 'allows' me between his naps during day time, im at his beck and call. He doesnt let me out of his sight. Nope. Hence housework and cooking and everything else, if ever possible, has to be done within those gaps. At times, if you sneaked a peek into my household, you'd probably see me hurrying around the house like some mad woman to hang out the laundry, wash the dishes or cook some pretty quick meals with no frills. Therefore, anything more 'extravagant' as baking has to wait cause you cant leave half way to finish up later, if you know what i mean.

However on this seriously ungodly hour of the night, i found myself wide awake pushing my luck a bit. Yes, at 3.am, i am still up though the Boss is well into his long nightly sleepers. Quite impulsively, in a state of insane rebellion, id think, I found myself cleaning up my mixing bowl and in went 350gms of fine flour, half a packet of Mauripan instant yeast, a teaspoon of bread improver, 50gm sugar before mixing them around and adding like 3/4 cup of warm water before kneading them into a dough. Finally a tbspoon of corn oil and the dough was done. Now the actual instructions said to leave it to double for 30 mins, knead again and leave another 30 minutes and them form them into balls and leave a final 15mins before baking.
But as i glanced at the clock showing 3.30am already im thinking, 'what were you thinking woman?!!!' Ok, its time to bring it down. So taking from the first round of knead, i sprinkled a teaspoon of cumin which really is my favourite spice and tore off two cheddar cheese slices into four.

Then i formed 8 little balls with the dough and pressed the cheese into its centre and arranged the smoothened ball into my small baking tray 8". Then tore off another slice of cheese to garnish on top and swiped evaporated milk on top of buns. Ok, at least i should allow the yeast to do its work right, so i gave it 15 mins, no more. Then in the balls went into the oven and after 40 mins, there you go. Not disappointed at all.

The texture was like potato buns, dense yet fluffy and a mouthful to munch on, just how a good self respecting bread should be, thats my opinion

copyrights reserved.

Sura (shark) fish varuval

2011-04-24T23:56:00.010+08:00

And so i found 3 huge shark (sura) steak, each about six inches in diameter, thankfully skinned but totally uncut in my kitchen sink this morning, with specific instruction 'please make it really hot and spicy with lots lots of onions'. So there i was again at the uneasy task of having to handle raw meat,quickly i rinsed off the meat and sliced the stuff into half a centimeter thin strips.

Into a hot chinchatti with 2 tablespoon of corn oil, went 6 huge onions sliced up in strips together with 8 chopped green chillies. When sauteed nicely and lightly caramelised, dish out and drain.

With the remaining now onion and chilly infused oil, dunk a small cube of butter and half the fish strips (you have do it twice coz there is so much fish unless you want to take the short cut and use more oil). Now since this is probably a young adult fish judging by its size, ( i tried not to fixate on the image of a young fish swimming happily in the sea before being caught by in a fishing net and gasping for breathe till his little life prematurely ended, i hope my meat eater considers vegetarianhood soon) expect the meat to be slightly on the tougher side and swell up.
Sura fish has plenty of its own liquid so let it dry up as it cooks. Salt as u like, u can also add cumin if you like but im doing it pretty basic. As the liquid dries up and oil breaks out again, check whether the fish is cooked.
And now for the special touch, crush 5 cloves of garlic and dunk into the fish. Why do it at the final stage? So that you get the fresh aroma of garlic on the fish but not in the meat so it retains its natural sweetness. Just mix around like 2 mins, dish out and drain. Into the remaining oil, sprinkle really hot chilly powder (i like Alagappa coz it delivers each time), about 2-3 tbspoon as per your level of heat and a teaspoon of turmeric powder. Now dunk back the fish and sprinkle with 2 dinner spoon of crushed black pepper (im following spesific instructions, remember)and also curry leaves.

Just mix around till the chilly powder starts to brown lightly and chilly fumes rises. Dont overcook till charred, unless you like it. Off the fire and let it sit there for a couple of minutes.

Then dish out and sprinkle with the sauteed onions and chilly. Serve with rice and rasam or hv it on its own with bread and a simple salad or chapathi and raita. Works fine all ways.

copyrights reserved.

Vegetarian Banana Leaf

2011-04-20T01:09:00.006+08:00

Absolutely. Banana Leaf is not a meal, it is an experience. And if u really want to experience it in whole, just order vegetarian in any self respecting restaurant worth its salt and let it unfold. Never settle for anything less than everything. All the tastes, spicy, salty, sweet, tangy, even little bit of bitterness, cold, hot, mushy and crispy..yep, the whole works. Dont look back at those places that serve you a total disgrace of 3 sorry vegetable mush, a diluted sambar and stale papadam, erase that place off you memory because you deserve nothing but the best of it all.

And if really want to top it all, sit crosslegged on the floor in a row like this, in a temple or a feast and get served piping hot, dont fret if some sambar get spilt on the floor, it is in honour of Bumidevi who blessed you with her abundance. Embrace it with humility. It is a spiritial experience.

pics niyasworld

A shocking discovery

2011-04-15T15:23:00.003+08:00

What do you when the person you think you known well reveals something totally shockin about them? Jus recently someone i had know for about 6 years and would think is not capable of certain things turns out to be incorrect. What do you do when you discover a married person having visited Swingers, extra marital dating and paedophile websites and totally deny about it but you know the computer files dont lie? Should you distant yourself from such people? It is amazing how such people sometimes are so well versed in the art of lying and acting that they can deceive themselves. A double life andpersonality they lead. But what do you do if you are in a position where you have to deal with them? How do trust them? What can you do when they are in close proximity with small children and have a family? I wish i knew what to do.

copyrights reserved.

Economy Meehoon (Rice Vermicelli)

2011-04-09T21:12:00.003+08:00

When there is only a stick of cucumber left in the fridge drawer and a packet of chicken nuggets in the freezer you dont want anything of, you have to settle for what you have. On such days, the loyal meehoon in the corner of your kitchen shelf will come in handy. Hence economy mee hoon. Onion, garlic finely chopped sauteed lightly, pour in water, a dash of tomato and chilly sauce, soya sauce, oyster sauce, chilly powder, an egg and in goes the pre soaked meehoon and fry till the liquid dries up and cover for 2 minutes under very low heat for the fluffed up texture.
Done. 20 mins.
copyrights reserved.

Instant pasta (Tuna fusili)

2011-04-09T16:39:00.016+08:00

Instant, lazy, convenient... watever but while i do understand the pride people take in making food fr scratch, traditions and all... it is not really unwise to look for an easier alternative when one is pressed for time aka.. cooking within t half hour ur baby takes a nap and you are holler free. My eldest will eat anything with tuna in it. Pizzas or pasta, bring it on.

From my kitchen supplies. Originally wanting spaghetti, but i ran out, i settled for a packet of fusilli. Olive oil, check. Instant pasta sauce, check. Tuna, check. Oregano or basil? My oregano supply was older so must finish. Parmesan cheese, i ran out so settle for sliced cheese. One has to be ready to compromise and improvise in life and cooking. (Btw, that tuna brand in the pic, do steer clear. This brand's products suck in my opinion and taste, but the man likes to try out new flavours and gv tgs a second chance, which can turn out either way sometimes so i go with it.)

Boil pasta al dente.

Once cooked, drain excess water and return to very low heat, empty the instant sauce, tuna and cheese onto the still steaming pasta and a quick stir.

The tuna as i feared was dismaying. The so claimed cili padi tuna actually tasted more like there was two cups of sugars in it. Hence i had to make quick amendments by adding a small can of Del Monte tomato puree to kill of the sickly sugariness of the pasta, cant say i succeeded much in the end because the sweetness remained in aftertaste of the pasta. So next time il stick to Ayam brand.

A sprinkling of oregano and if you happen to have fresh karpuravalli in your garden, be informed that is oregano species and it be more flavourful to use it. Finally quick dash of olive oil and you'll notice your skin will glow the next day! Beauty tip. copyrights reservedl

Chapatis and potatoes (so called healthy version)

2011-04-09T15:17:00.011+08:00

"Chapatis or pasta for dinner?" i called him at work. "Pasta's too heavy. Make me chapati and potatoes." he said. "Ok, shall i use the calorie free potatoes you bought the other day?" I asked. "huh?" Old habits die hard. How many times hv we realised we are hooked on something by way of habit and familiarity? For a man who was raised on stringhoppers, potatoes, eggs and curries from the time he was 5 month old, i reckon it must be impossible to actually feel any better eating anything else. So potatoes it will be. But i need to improvise.

There you go, four good sized potatoes, a big onion, garlic and plenty of green chillies that actually make the dish. Curry leaves never made their way from the market.

All chopped up, a sprinkling of cumin and mustard seeds. A teaspoon of corn oil for a light coat, saute 3 mins.

Combine a litre of water, a teaspoon turmeric powder and salt. Let cook till potatoes soften to a fluffy texture. Half a teaspoon of lime juice right before you lift off.

There mushy potatoes Indians so love, a humble dish but not to be underestimated.

Serve it with chapati, poori or tosai or a side dish to rice though in this modern convenient world where we dont really do too much of physical work, it be wise to opt out. copyrights reserved.

(Healthy) Mutton curry

2011-04-07T12:56:00.012+08:00

For all their left-brainess, men, can be pretty clueless sometimes. Just like the time about 25 years ago, right after my SRP exams, my late grandma and my mother left for a trip to India (yes without me, my mom isnt one of those mothers who take their kids everywhere) and i was assigned with housekeeping job and cooking for my grandad. THe next morning itself, old man goes to market and plonks a kg of fresh mutton on the table. You see, grandma had him on once a forthnight only red meat ration. So i guess it was his celebration of freedom, hehe! Or maybe he was miffed old lady left him and went. Hmmm...

ANyway, there i was, only recently initiated to cooking sambar (dhall curry) and some chutneys and veges and i was just going on one of those vegetarian stints. What the hell was i going to do with a kg of raw meat. I had never handled that bloody stuff!!!!

So i scoured through some old recipe books. And came across a dry mutton dish in a Malay, yes, MALAY, haha, recipe book. I dont how i did it, but old man ended up eating without a complaint. Whew!

So yea, fast forward 25 years and yesterday, my good husband plonked another kg of local mutton on the table and disappeared. Local mutton means, uncut, chunky bones, ribs and all. Whats with men and meat, huh? Is it a cave man thing?

So there i was without a proper chopping board or chopping knife, my tactical manevour/excuse for not wanting to handle raw meat in past present or near future. Squeamish stuff. Just like the time he plonked 2 kgs of live crabs in my kitchen sink and i was like 7 months preggers but to his credit, he ended up cleaning them for me. But thats another (horrifying) story. So there it was again, staring at me, almost challenging me against my own reluctance. Ok... i thought, i can handle this.

I got out the clean plastic board, a sharp knife i was saving for special occasion and in 2 minutes (that means going blue holding my breath) skinned off the meat from the bone and dumped them into a broth of water, meat tenderizer, garlic, ginger, one cinnamon stick, 3 anise seed, 7 cloves, a tsp turmeric and slammed the lid onto the pot. I scrubbed off the board in a frenzy and scrapped off the surface since my mind was imiganing excess of blood and carcass invisible stuck to its surface. I scrubbed the sink with loads of dishwashing liquid, scrubbed my hands with loads of medicated handwash and yes, now i am an offical compulsive obsessive, germophobic.

So yea, back to the mutton curry. I decided i was going to 'thank' my good husband for this 'challenge' by cooking him a perfectly healthy version, haha, compared to his mother's ghee, coconut milk, oil freeway, aka cholestrol laden and artery clogging version the son is accustommed to and thinks is good for him till he landed under the ECG machine. (why do we so love the unhealthy stuff).

So in went five stalks of finely chopped celery so he wont detect them which he didnt till i told him (after he finished licking off his fingers). In went a huge onion cut in rings. I skimmed off the oil from the meat itself floating on the broth. I blended 1 tbsp coriander, 1 tbsp fennel, 1 teaspoon cumin and toasted them without oil and dumped them into the broth together with 3 tbsp of chilly powder since he liked his curries to kickass (the next day of course). And also in went 2 chopped large potatoes, well, it would be mean to hold back his potatoes from a man, more so a curry lover. 1 hour 45 mins later, with a light seasoning of salt, a squeeze of lime juice(never underestimate acid in your curry, it just brings all the flavours together), 1/4 cup of skimmed milk and finally 3 chopped tomatoes (for the heart), i presented this to him with a side dish of light brinjal chutney (not a drop of oil too), served on pulongo (parboiled minus starch aka calories) rice. There, my good deed for today is done.

copyrights reserved.

Indus Civilization

2011-04-01T22:32:00.006+08:00

Some people say that Rama was actually a Persian prince. And that Ravana was not really the crook he is deemed to be after all. He just got pissed off he was duped into missing Sita's swayamvara (bride choosing husband process in ancient India) where he was the first likely candidate strong enough to lift the Shivа Dhanushа (Lord Shiva's Bow) and string it and win Sita. Rama apparently was late but someone decided to dupe Ravana by stating his kingdom was being attacked and was on fire. As he left, Rama stepped in and stole Sita from Ravana. Something to think about, isnt it?

And then we hv the actual Lanka bridge which showed up in satellite images. Im thinking though, these ancient humans had so much of energy and time those days to track over vast lands on their horses, elephants and camel for months onwards to conquer kingdoms and kidnap princesses.Seems that as the world got smaller and more accessible, people started getting less ambitious.

Nevertheless, the haunting tales and charms of Ancient India remain as a far glow in horizons of the human mind. The beauty, the courage and the wisdom never fails to enthrall and inspire. Maybe they didnt hv the internet, ipod, ipads and other stuff to keep them distracted hence they had plenty of time to dive deep into the traverses of their minds and spend years building monuments and carving grand and intricate palaces and creating other great works of arts. Now civilisation has just got lazier and less motivated everything is available in the push of a button or a click of the mouse.

The largest civilization in the ancient world developed in the Indus Valley of India over 5,000 years ago. The Indus and Sarasvati river valleys of Bharatvarsha (present India and Pakistan) were the home to the ancient civilization of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa.The early cities of India developed along the Indus and Sarasvati rivers starting around 3500 bce. They are called the Indus-Sarasvati civilization or, sometimes, the Harappan culture. It was the largest and most advanced civilization in the ancient world.NEARLY ten thousand years ago when mighty rivers started flowing down the Himalayan slopes, western Rajasthan was green and fertile. Great civilizations prospered in the cool amiable climate on riverbanks of northwestern India. The abundant waters of the rivers and copious rains provided ample sustenance for their farming and other activities. Some six thousand years later, Saraswati, one of the rivers of great splendour in this region, for reasons long enigmatic, dwindled and dried up. Several other rivers shifted their courses, some of their tributaries were ‘pirated’ by neigbouring rivers or severed from their main courses. The greenery of Rajasthan was lost, replaced by an arid desert where hot winds piled up dunes of sand. The flourishing civilizations vanished one by one. By geological standards, these are small-scale events; for earth, in its long 4.5 billion years history, had witnessed many such changes, some of them even accompanied by wiping out of several living species. But those that occurred in northwest India took place within the span of early human history affecting the livelihood of flourishing civilizations and driving them out to other regions. Apparently according to geologist and archeologists, Saraswathi river was lost to tectonic activities.

There are 2,600 known Indus sites, from enormous urban cities like Mohenjo Daro and Mehrgarh to small villages like Nausharo. The cities of the Indus Valley Civilization were well-organised and solidly built out of brick and stone. Their drainage systems, wells and water storage systems were the most sophisticated in the ancient world. They also developed systems of weights and trade. They made jewellery and game pieces and toys for their children. From looking at the structures and objects which survive we are able to learn about the people who lived and worked in these cities so long ago.

But the mighty Sarasvati River dried up, and what was once a fertile area became a desert. The people of the region moved to other parts of India and beyond. By 2000 bce the civilization had entered a period of decline.

The Indus Valley people gave to the world its earliest cities, its town planning, its architecture in stone and clay, and showed their concern for health and sanitation. They built a scientific drainage system in their cities.

There is enough evidence to show that some of the early conceptions of Hinduism are derived from this culture. On the whole, the present civilization is a composite product resulting from a fusion of several cultures where the contribution of the Indus Valley is of utmost importance.

copyrights reserved.

Inhumanity and fake 'gurus'

2011-03-31T23:54:00.039+08:00

This post has been relocated for one main reason that I dont wish to share my sacred space with the mention of these characters anymore . Click on the link below to go to the said post

http://sanskaras.blogspot.com/2011/11/inhumanity.html

Since i cant relocate the comments, they will remain here for reference, esp those from its fanatic members and silly goons that are self explanatory, im sure you can decide which.

Selvaraghavan's second marriage, a bad joke

2011-03-29T16:11:00.009+08:00

Normally such things fr the Indian cinema clowns dont really bother me but the recent second marriage of the creep Selvaraghavan left such a bad taste in my mouth for many days i simply hv to vent. Here's an excerpt of media write up

"Selvaraghavan and Sonia Agarwal divorced just a couple of years after marriage through mutual consent and the director remained single since then. He has reportedly found love once again with Geetanjali entering his life. She is assisting him in the ongoing project Irandam Ulagam with Dhanush and Andrea and has completed a course in filmmaking. Selva, in a recent interview, has said that he has found true love and is blissful that Geetanjali stepped into his life."

WTF!!!!!!!!!! This idiot was caught shagging that half baked actress Andrea on the movie sets by Sonia his wife that ended in her asking for divorce. And suddenly he is hopelessly in love with his true love, Geetanjali????
S L A P me please. It is a wonder in the first place that Selvaraghavan with his really creepy face and creepy personality and even creepier, stupid movies asofar can even get a gorgeous woman like SOnia to marry him in the first place. Whats more disappointing is the Indian movie fraternity turning up full swing to 'bless' the so called true loves. What a load of pigshit.

The creep looks constipated for both his weddings! one should b beaming next to his true love. What if, WHAT IF.... Sonia shagged some director on her movie set while being married to Selvaraghavan and then she divorces him to marry another guy proclaiming it is her true love, would these clowns even be seen in the same room with her????? Whoever attended this joke of a wedding, well, it speaks for itself. Thats the Hypocrisy of Indian Society in full degree for you. The women are just plain stupid to hang on to the so called culture of unconditional obeyance and loyalty beyond human reason and human rights.

The irony in all these, the same clowns go to temples to worship God in goddess forms to gain favours but cant bring themselves to respect their women even as a human with feelings and rights! Come on la, BE HUMAN first la b4 u go and waste ur family fortune on ur stupid movies and shag all ur actresses, wasnt that how you met Sonia? Hv some dignity, hv some conscience before you go around trying to educated the society with your weirdo movies. And while you are at that, ask ur brother to quit acting. He is such a bore.

. http://socyberty.com/issues/status-of-women-in-hypocritical-indian-society/ http://rotikapdamakaan.wordpress.com/2010/10/13/racism-in-india-an-insight-into-one-of-the-worlds-most-hypocritical-nations/ copyrights reserved.

Arundhati-The Movie

2011-03-09T14:00:00.005+08:00

Not everyone likes curry. Not everyone likes TamilMovies. In fact the usual masala mix of boy meets girl, the usual ensuing problems, the pelvic thrusting dances, heroine skin shows, slapstick comedy by the usual comedians (ok,maybe you can watch Vadivelu again and again) and the predictable climax can numb your senses to sleep. But once in a while a masterpiece emerges that get you really thinking about it the next few days. Movies like Anniyan, Ghajini, Baba, Perazhagan, Pithamagan, Ayan and such... u know...stays with you. They are gems of Indian Cinema.

This one is not Tamil movie but Telugu dubbed in Tamil. I nearly missed watching it. Hubby as usual had bought a few latest DVDs and left them unwatched. It was my daughter who out of boredom a few days back put on this movie, Arundhati. I knew the name well but i had refrained fr watching it coz im not a fan of Anushka, the actress who i feel has not much of a talent anyway considering her role in Singham and such.

But i was bowled over. This movie, the storyline, the momentum, the logic, the special effects.... yes, even Anushka's acting, was mindblowing...totally gobsmacked. Those scenes where the old Jakkama image surfaces in the present Arundhati's face...wow! That just hit home for me. Because i was always a believer of the soul and it gets done what it needs to get done. Though the present incarnation Arundhati is somewhat of a scary scarecrow compared to the brave and valiant Jakkama of the past, it was the Arundhati's own ignorance that is used to make her step into that old mansion, hence bringing Jakkama a step closer to fulfilling her destiny.

Unlike usual Tamil movies involving power of good and Goddesses where the God/Goddesses appear in the climax scene to venge the villain that gets us thinking , where are the Gods these days?. In this movie however, the strength of the character came from her own soul's inner strenghth channeling the Jakkama Goddess's courage and made totally believable in modern times. The story line was thought out intelligently and got me all choked up inside...hats off Telugu Cinema!

]

My favourite scene where her Jakkama's past incarnation and soul memory resurfaces in the present Arundhati when finally confronted again with the preatma she put to samadhi.

This is the scene where she sacrifices her life in a really gory painful death in order to remember her vows in the next birth. Yup,mindblowing eh!

The haunting Jejjama/Jakkama song

The super cool climax scenes with all the latest special effects ud find in Lord of the Rings

Satori

2011-02-25T04:22:00.004+08:00

As i neared that huge ancient tree during my evening walk, i felt an urge to sit by the banks of the lake. Ive known this lake my whole life but today, there was something different about it, something more profound.

As my gaze swept over the shimmering surface of the lake reflecting the late evening sky beyond the hills.. something started to happen within me. A shift of consciousness. This was it, the moment i had been waiting for in this lifetime.

The grass at my feet turned vibrant green.. came totally alive. Everything quietened down. Then it became still..silent.. yet living. I became still. All i heard was the soft breathing of my body. Like on an autopilot, my body kept operating but my mind was ceasing to be.

Seconds passed.. every tangible thing just melted away until, there was no boundary between me and the grass and the waters and the sky and everything else in between and beyond. Finally I knew what it meant to be one with everything, what it meant by being one for all.

That state was perfect.. as it is. No thoughts, no urges.. just being. Life existed in everything and everyone as singular yet connected experience...just perfect. No need for change. That moment was present and complete. It was silly that i had every questioned what was life. I was life, life was me. No need for queries.

Then it occured to her. This was going to be the highest moment of my lifetime. And that beyond that i didnt really hv any other higher purpose in this life. All I had to do is embrace what life was giving me to experience. To stop fighthing against it. To learn to love and give love. To be human. As simple as that.

And with that, awareness crept back into my limbs and thinking came back with it. As i came back to my reality, i knew something in me had changed forever. I had been given a new lease of life, i was truly blessed.

copyrights reserved.

Foie gras, wagyu beef, suckling pigs and castrated roosters

2011-02-11T23:37:00.003+08:00

What better testimony to the human sickness than these so called luxury food? Food forced down the throats of helpless ducks, beer and fat dunked cows and baby pigs snatched from the suckling mothers to be slaughtered and roasted; roosters who hv their testicles chopped off...how shitty does it get? To see these humans paying premium price with satisfied smiles on their faces gorging down these tortured and brutally killed animals... is soooo sickening it makes me wanna walk right up to them and give them a whinging smack.

copyrights reserved.

40, what the heck!

2011-02-07T15:20:00.007+08:00

I am 40 tomoro. Did i age? I check myself in the mirror. Fallen eyelids is all i see..or well, at least at face level. Not bad, some still think im 18, thank you God for the genes.

Am not bothered too much about how i look really, there is always the northern border to cross over for plastic enhancements if i want to.

Hv i wisened? Can't say, i do see things clearer. Hv accumulated insight into human behavior and can understand why some people do some things that may not hv seemed logical to me 20 years ago including myself. I can more or less foresee how the family and close mates will respond to stimuli...lol! Yea, like right and wrong buttons to push. 40 years of character observation not gone to waste. Helps to manevour around fragile egos and emotions.

I am more patient, or maybe that is just brain cells burning its end and unable to sustain shitty feelings. Im not so obsessed about my weight or getting things perfect or hang on to anger. It becomes easier to forgive and forget which is the greatest milestone on piece of mind.

What do i wish for for 40? Nothing like world peace or enlightenment like i would hv thought at 20. In fact at 40, i wish for abundance of good fortune, to be abundantly (not filthy) rich as i hv the others under control. I want to get that Volvo S80-i dont care what people has got to say about Volvos-, i want that dream house with that pool and rooftop and horses running around the field, i want that round the world trip and i want to party every other week.

Had enough of limiting myself due to fears and doubts. So yea, nothing less. I wish for the best, since anything lesser will not be good enough. I wish for the breaking of all limitations, man made and self inflicted. I wish to live the fullest as i want it, when i want, where i want it and how i want it. No guilt, no doubts, no inhibitions. Yes, i wish freedom from human encumbrances from all perspective. I wish to be the master of my universe... hehehe! Yea, maybe sounds like a 10 year old and some may say midlife crisis, but hey, it makes perfect sense somehow.

copyrights reserved.

My obsession with ancient India continues...

2011-01-11T21:46:00.007+08:00

If i had a wishlist turning 40 it'd b a trip to Jaipur nxt to the Kumoun Yatra.

A collection of marble vases with vedic art which i'd turn to surreal lampshades..

A collection of intricate Rajasthani wooden carved arts..includes furnitures..

The most beautiful Indian antique carved bed...for me to dream away those few minutes of free time i hv these days..

And yea, a glorious assemble of Jharokas to frame anyting and everything.

Dela song-Johnny Clegg

2010-12-12T23:38:00.001+08:00

The (Socially Inadequate) Indian Daughter In Law

2010-12-12T09:38:00.013+08:00

I am a socially inadequate Indian DIL. First of all im of chocolatey brown skin that actually glows like honey under warm lighthing...but who cares...Indians love their DIL to be peaches or wheaty...it is an obsessive thing. Better still you are a Malayalee girl..though God knows everyone knows that history points to Malayaless fairness coming from the spilled seeds of whitemen invaders off the shores of Keralas over the centuries..a process of bastardisation that many Malayalees (and probably many of those Indian origins of the borders..as well the Northerns) are afraid to acknowledge less they are thrown of the societal pedestal they built for themselves. Back to Indian obsession with skin colour, i think that could also be remnants of the white men programming, those bastards are first class at brainwashing and mass hypnotism... that's why they are capable of ruling the world tho they hardly have half the courage Indian warriors of those days had.

I knew an acquantaince who married this girl. She was very fair, a very suspicious Malay lookin colour. No one knew what really was her parentage coz she was adopted...but he married her anyway coz she had pretty toes that looked perfect in red nail polish..lol..which was really funny coz this girl was rather dumb. She had such fixation with branded things tho he was only an average blue collar and hardly able to service her so called 'expensive tastes' and she ended borrowing money 15 mins (30 mins with me tho) after she got to know anyone. But he forgave her tho he was drowing in debts and unexpected attacks from frazed friends and relatives, and i guess being police was really hard on him too...but he forgave her each time...coz she was really fair and looked really angelic. Apparently fair is synonymous to innocence too...again false programming .."black is evil, white is pure" by the white men...lol...(sigh)

Indians pride themselves to be the world's great believers in God yet can't seem accept what he had bestowed upon them...in fact they end up degrading other humans based on the skin colour and caste (which is another shitty story for some other day) that is no fault of theirs. Isnt it amazing to think that this race that is synonym to wisdom and enlightenment and great sages and vedas... Mahrajas and dynasties of those days? Indians i guess... hv lost their way...sad really..as Vivekanda said Indians are traitors of their own kind...having betrayed India many times to the pig skinned ...not really white. (sigh)

This colour prejudice is actually an obsession of the older generations, the aged aunties and uncles of yesteryears. Their clueless parents and in laws probably did it to them too. Don't know when the adulation of white skin began, maybe with the invaders as their own Gods Krishna and Siva are darkskinned. Indians also fail to realise that it is a clever manipulative conditioning by also the so called higher castes like brahmin (who we all know are basically Aryans, not really Indians in the aunthentic sense and again good at brainwashing and have reinterpreted the vedas according to their advantage to guard their so called supremacy) who want to safeguard their future. You see, the problems with Indians, they are too scared to question certain things. Fear paralyses their thinking. They were shut up for centuries with threats of dooms in afterlife by these Brahmins if they questioned.
Ironically the Sri Lankans, a group of tribal Indians who wouldnt take this shit from the rat-tailed Brahmins decided to move south and join the white men to build a better life for themselves..and actually got carried away with it...which unfortunately ended up as another form of betrayal of their kind. Oppression always finds an ugly way out.

I dont care a damn for the castes... it was never meant to be a hereditary system.. those days it was convenient to class people according to their capabilities so it was easy to slot them into responsibilities in a close knit kingdom. You see, those days they never had A'Levels, or Diplomas or Degrees or PhD to help segregate. So people were classified as per their natural inclinations. But the devious Brahmins decided had to manipulate the whole system to their advantage...as in many civilisations of the world. I digress.

So, I refused to be sucked into that shithole, like many other right thinking Indians... complete waste of our time when we have better things to do with our lives rather than watching Tamil series and gossiping about relatives. And it is heartening to see the new generations are crossing over that delusional state and learning to take pride of who they are, no matter, pink, yellow or brown.

So yea, back to my predicament, first im not fair so that is a grievance really handy against me. Secondly i dont kiss up...not in my genes, not in my upbringing and not in my liking... yup.. i call a spade a spade and this sense of loyalty in every traditional Indian family.. i think it is really stupid, goes against human rights and actually sabotaging the betterment of the individual and his family in the long run.

I mean, love doesnt mean that you have to accept a person blindly and indirectly encouraging their wrongdoings. If you loved your child, wouldnt you teach him the good and bad. Wouldnt you fret to see him go the wrong way... falling over and over..would you rather tell him he is wrong and help him to clean up his act or would you pat him and say that he is perfect and the whole world is screwed up? Isnt that sabotaging that child? Especially if you are backing them up coz you are afraid to lose their affection? A child that grows up to be a good human being will eventually realise that sometimes your parents need to be cruel to be kind and appreciate that you had the courage to take that step. .

Many Indian parents...they dont do that. They cover up for their kids, they live in denial... its all due to their own selfishness in the end..they are scared they will lose their child if they are hard on him... they think by closing both eyes the child will remain with them forever...a barter trade of emotions ..but in many cases, they end up losing that child when the child knows better. Otherwise the child grows up to be really manipulative, abuse the situation to his advantage and in many cases ends up abusing the parent because she is weak.

So i dont do that, i dont believe in blind loyalty, so shoot me. I'm not comfortable receiving such thing too. You have been put on earth for many lessons and you are never too old to learn..why waste the precious opportunity. I stick my head out when i see injustice done and have got my head shot down many times for it. But guess what, i can die happily knowing i have not done anyone any unfairness and that's all it matters.

So yea... im the wrong colour and i dont kiss up. These are the main two criterias in which i have failed miserably in being a good ..er.. INDIAN ..daughter in law...in the blurry eyes of the old system (those old aunties/uncles era) i guess... . I do feel sad though and wished they saw things from my perspective without judging me... but alas.. they are old bamboos too hard to bend. They may hv to return a few lifetimes to realise and attone for this human injustice they hv done.

But i live in faith that all this stupidity will end one day... will be wiped out by the smarter, more discerning new Indian generation, the ones who would be open to growth in being a good human being. Hopefully by the time my children grow up... i hope they become the wise, dynamic Indians who once ruled the face of this earth.

copyrights reserved.

Possession

2010-12-06T10:48:00.005+08:00

Hey!! Human!! What you looking at huh???!!!

You want a piece of me... you want??...YOU WANT??!!

The corn is mine... Bugger off now.

copyrights reserved.

Ganesha, Intelligence in Art

2010-09-30T23:39:00.010+08:00

Decor India

2010-09-30T11:39:00.005+08:00

From the intricately carved pillars of ancient palaces of India to the delightful beads of Rajasthani adornments, bejewelled temples, Kashmiri furnitures and silk saree curtains, India's colorful decor is a pleasure to the senses and shifts your consciousness.

pic credits rang-decor and google images.

The rut of acceptance

2010-09-08T19:47:00.003+08:00

Time and again im just freakin amazed how life throws at me the absurd of situations. Again and again. Enough already Mr Universe. How am i goin wrong at my lessons? Or is it just my test papers lying around about me waiting for me to get rid off?? Absent parents, absent partners, am i supposed to just accept that is as far as i can go in this lifetime? Coz nothing seems to be changing for better, except my capacity to adapt to it has reached a record breaking level that i could be reaching sainthood anytime or lose my sanity altogether.

Life could be worse. Hate comforting myself just so i remain sub-standard. What a crappy feelin being in that rut of acceptance. What does it take to break out of this bondage?

Food must evolve. Time is running out.

2010-08-16T15:14:00.003+08:00

Geez, it's high time how we eat our food needs to evolve. People are practically eating themselves to early deaths. Even the Asian favourite staple food of rice and dishes is going the wrong way. Wheat based food, noodles for Asians and pastas for west is another killer. Forget burgers, fried chickens, french fries and pizzas already. What are we people thinking??? It is scary. Salt, msg and cornflour drenched Chinese; chilli, coconut milk and oil drenched Indian and Malay food; potato, cheese and flour based Western food, it is just so totally wrong, completely wrong. These were foods of those days, when people walked for miles, farmed and prepared food from scratch, did loads of hard menail labour, sweated and drove their bodies to extreme exhaustion. Decades ago when megamalls, cold storages and frozen food were some ridiculous notions. Now the world has gone really lazy. The only physical exertion we probably do mostly is to swivel in our office chairs and lift our hands to type on the keyboard. Do we need those burritos, chicken rice and nasi lemaks anymore? The only exercise we get to do in the mornings is to jump out of bed with the alarm ringing and into our cars or buses, cursing the jams and those idiots who delay us from reaching work 5 mins before punch time. The same goes in the evenings, rush home, grab dinner and plonk on sofa to catch some tv time before knocking off again. We humans, people, lead a miserable miserable life. That state of mind doesnt help either. Depressions, frustrations and other forms of stress pulls us even lower.People are just left a shadow of what their psyches or humanity are meant to be.

We need to change. Cut working hours by half. That includes school hours too. Take more time be out there with nature's flow than fighting it. I think it is atrocious that small kids are plucked out of bed before sunrise, bundled into uniforms and packed off to school like some machines. Only to reach school and made to stand in line just to be programmed by a shaky, pyschologically challenged school system and turned into robots. It is treachery of human soul. And dont even talk about what they are fed in school canteens. Atrocious.

Humans are strange creatures. More than half of us just follow what the other half is doing without even asking why. And most probably the other half are the ones making money out of the other half followers. In the end they makes others rich and end up in premature death serving the other half.

Stupid really.

copyrights reserved.

Hinduism- The Proof of Vedas

2010-08-13T09:55:00.000+08:00

When he is married to mom.

2010-08-06T19:27:00.007+08:00

Most Asian men, mainly the first born especially from an average (predominantly Indian) family is married to his mom.

I was engaged to one such more than a decade ago that gladly ended before I entered the hell on earth. This mother clung to him in desperation in everyway possible, basically sabotaging our relationship with her emotional blackmails and very clever manipulation. Oh yea, she put on the big act of welcoming me into the family in front of him while scheming what was her next course of action. Of course, they always had assistance as in the form of a sister, who pathetically compares what her brother has not done for her which he had done for me, even to the point of wanting the same clothings i wear , the jewelleries he bought for me though i held a job that helped me buy myself these things and she didnt even bother to hold down the job i helped get her. I am then and again amazed how these women are so well versed in the art of brainwashing and subtle suggestions of their sons from young as to deeply embed guilt and a sense of owing in their minds so that the sons will never abandon them for another woman. In most of these cases, the mothers are housewives or widows with no sense of self-worth, have husbands who care two hoots for them and have no real interests in their lives except cooking the sons' favorite dishes and displaying a sense of loyalty that grossly shames the basic human rights of others, meaning, the sons can commit murder and they will role on the floor sobbing their sons are innocent. And they probably had a mother in law who did the same to them, so it becomes a legacy actually. In this case, this guy went on to marry a more assertive girl (than me) who successfully weaned him of his bondage and migrated overseas, not before he came to see one last time to apologise for not being strong enough to stand up for us that time. Now the mother lives all alone in a huge house that her son had bought when we got engaged, having lost her husband early and the rest of the kids leaving home. Sad ending really.

After that short nightmare, i steered clear of such men but sometimes life happens. I ended up with another similar, only thing this time i thought i was wiser but ended up being duped into it. It started harmlessly enough. But the warning did come, jus in the case of the first situation, his own aunty warned me of his mom but i didnt take heed. In the second situation, his ex girlfriend gave me the sound, but this frail old lady and a supposedly innocent, caring demeanour at first cleverly masked what actually lay beneath the surface. As it unfolded, time and again, i was shocked and amazed how such negativities can be rolled into a form of human being. The subtlety at which she operated, injecting guilt and emotional blackmails when her son least realised it and using her so called 'old age and illness' as a leverage, she kept a nice cult family revolving in her little world, preaching family bond when actually it was all bondage in which she was master controller of it all. And her greatest achievement though, was on top of it all, she managed to come out of it looking like the helpless victim. Of course no one is actually 100% fooled. When i caught on to her act, she revealed her true colours and spat venom but of course he never got to witness it worse still he joined in the bandwagon on a false sense of returning loyalty. But by now, i learnt not to take these things personally. This are miserable souls trying to spread misery. In fact her own people came forward with some good advice, that she was the one who had messed him up in the first place. The effort in putting up with all the pettiness clings to me like a piece of dead skin that refuses to give away. The saddest part is when you find it so hard to bring yourself to respect a woman who does another woman injustice just so she can continue living in denials. But im not going to let this bother me, it is her karma whether she chooses to spend the last remaining years of her life in good will or bad intentions. It is her choice and ive made my choices not to dwell in it or be pulled into it. I have a life to live and small lives depending on me but sure as hell am not going to put up with any crap.

However to be fair there are great mothers too. I knew an exclassmate whose mom was such a gem. Though he was the first born and only son, she raised him well as a man. Being a widow, she didnt dwell in self pity but kept herself busy with church activities and glowed with light and positivity. She made sure her son treated women like ladies and she was loyal to her kind first before she was a mother to her son. Meaning, she always made sure her son respected women and she stood up for other women even if it was her son who may hv wronged them. Blessed is the woman who ends up with him. That's life.

copyrights reserved.

Decoding life

2010-07-23T10:14:00.003+08:00

I was standing outside the house this morning, waiting for my dogs to have their romp and in that faint early morning light, i had a strange moment. I saw the same early morning traffic whiz by but today it seemed different. It was almost for a second the world stood still for me and i was like the eye of the hurricane and everything else was rushing round and round in mad circles around me in a blur.

Yes, I was part of it all once, the rush, the hassle to get somewhere, get something done, as fast as you can for a day only had 24 hours and you have to survive, pay bills and get along. I did it coz everyone else did it. It was the only life i knew the rest of the world lived and i went thru the motions though somehow my heart was always heavy. Life was the wild web we have woven for ourselves.

Really, is life meant to be lived this way? In anxiety, full of self inflicted pressures, always in a hurry? To go where? For what? Why?

My aging mind is tired of keeping up to the farce. I guess it is sometime now ive let go, ive fallen out of race. I am on the sideline watching it go on forever. New faces, new circumstances but the problems remain the same. Hopeless, purposeless... a waste of precious time as humans on earth.

My dogs came tumbling back, ears flapping, wind in their furry tails, tongues hanging out happily, flushed from their delightful romps in the dewy bushes. No care. No concern. Just happy to be alive. Both jumped on me, the younger one tugging at my pyjamas as though wanting me to join along the fun. They couldnt see any reason for me to be unhappy about. They rolled on the ground, tugging each other's tails, playfully nipping about. They were totally into it, life's play. So simple as that. Wild abandonment and free. I was smiling.

Then i turned and walked back into the house and thought about the day ahead. The unnecessary issues waiting to be tackled. Issues of work and relationships that just won't even be there if only we humans learned one thing, to be free of ourselves.

Boney M - The South Indian way

2010-05-26T22:43:00.002+08:00

Monkeying with the white tiger...

2010-05-26T15:01:00.003+08:00

Found these funny and amazing pics online. They have special meaning for me and all credits go to the photographer and subjects.

What's with the French and powdery blue...

2010-05-26T11:37:00.004+08:00

Coz im loving 'em..!

Kerabu Taugeh

2010-03-15T21:47:00.005+08:00

The Chinese throw them into their fried noodles and my grandmother cooked it in sothi (salty sour sweet coconut milk and turmeric gravy)and the Malays have an interesting way of turning them into a delectable herb based salad which i love called Kerabu Taugeh. Beansprouts they are, must be loaded with life force as they are crounchy young shoots of green beans, more famously known in this region as taugeh, humble looking, one of the cheaper vegetable but i must say is seriously undermined.

Belukar Semang, Pengkalan Hulu

2009-12-04T14:02:00.001+08:00

On a spur of the moment, we decided to take a long drive into Tasek and came across these nature's miracles. Perfect picnic spots, you call it. With these sceneries, what else can you wish for.

Finally i realised why Tasek was named Tasek!!!!;)
copyrights reserved.

Restaurant Huang Chao, Pengkalan Hulu

2009-12-04T14:00:00.000+08:00

In the good old town of Pengkalan Hulu (Kroh)...

A new restaurant has come to sprout...

Ah Seng, an old ex classmate and his brother have decided to go all foodie in biz..

What are friends for if you dont back one another up...and so we were there last week..

And mind it, the opinion is totally unprejudiced.. for the food was really good. A bubbling claypot of tofu and vegetables...

Mixed vege.. generously done..

Greens... how i like them.. lightly sauteed in garlic.

Big prawns in belacan sauce.. my favourite dish for the night..

Chicken is black soya sauce and dried red chillies..sauce was super moorish..

Good job Ah Seng ah!

copyrights reserved.

SPM 2009 English Essay Tips-Part 2

2009-11-17T10:40:00.004+08:00

One word essay.

Moon
His name was Moon . No one knew why how he got that name. He didn’t have any parents. He didn’t have any family. Our village head, Darus, saw him crying by the village roadside 70 years ago. He was only around 3 years old then. He only wore a torn short when Darus found him under a tree. It was raining that day. When Darus asked his name, the boy only said one word, ‘Moon’. Moon was shivering in the cold. He was very thin and looked like he hadn’t eaten for a few days.

Darus took him home and Minah, Darus’s wife fed him rice and salted fish. Together they already had eight children and they were poor. They only survived from the paddy field and the small farm they owned. Sometimes they hardly had enough food for themselves.

But Darus and his wife were very kind hearted. They had no heart to send this little boy away. So Moon stayed with Darus’s family all his life. They tried to change his name but Moon refused to answer to any other name. He was close to Minah and used to follow her everywhere. But for the first 10 years he never spoke at all to anyone. He ate only when he wanted to, he slept out in the verandah and he didn’t like anyone to touch him.

When he was 13, he followed Minah to the paddy field to collect ‘siput’. It was then a huge python crept up behind Minah and Moon had screamed ‘ibuuuuuuuuu!’ and saved Minah. After that, everyone in the village had praised him for his bravery. Slowly Moon opened up to everybody. He started to smile a lot too.

The only thing he liked doing was to carve. From small pieces of wood, he would carve out little figurines. First they were rough, child’s work but as he grew up they become masterpieces of art. Otherwise he helped Darus in his paddy field. Time passed very fast. Moon grew up to be a short sturdy man who spoke little but smiled a lot.

One day a tourist bus broke down near their village. The tourists were from United States and Europe. They had walked around the village while waiting for their bus to be repaired. As they wandered around they had met Moon sitting under a tree and carving a beautiful work of art. They were impressed and offered to buy all of Moon’s carving. One of them was a rich businessman from Texas. He decided to market Moon’s carvings in America.

Moon became famous. He was even invited to US to promote his work. The villagers were very proud of him. Moon had made their village famous all over the world. With his money, Moon helped open a business in the village and trained many villages in the carving. In just a few years the villagers became very rich from the wood carving export.

Moon came back from America five years later. He said he was happy in the village. His life was there. Moon never got married or had any family of his own. He gave all his money to Darus’s family and anyone who needed his help. He continued staying in Darus’s old house even after Darus and Minah passed away and all their children left to get married.

When he was 73 someone found him under the same tree where Darus found him 70 years ago. It was a cold rainy right. He was dead. He had his carving knife in his hands. As the villagers carried him home to be buried, the sky cleared suddenly and a full moon shined brightly. Moon’s face, though he was dead, looked so peacefully that it made them cry. The little boy who came from nowhere and helped their village had finally left them.

A 'sad' themed essay

Lily was born blind. Her father left when she was born. He couldn’t accept the fact his child was blind. But her mother loved her very much. She loved her so much that whatever Lily wanted, her mother gave her. Her mother gave her the best. Eventually Lily got used to getting things her way which made her a bit self-centered.

Years went by and Lily grew up to be a young woman. Lily went to a special school for the blind to learn Braille. Her mother worked very hard to finance Lily’s education. One day her mother fell ill and passed away. But she left Lily with enough money to be independent. Lily was quite good at her studies that she even managed to get a job as a telephone operator. At her workplace she met a young man named Sean. Sean fell in love with Lily. He loved her very much that he was willing to die for her.

One day a friend invited them to attend a seminar together. The seminar was specially conducted for blind people. It was about new methods and discoveries to aid blind people. One of the speakers was an eye surgeon who was experimenting on a latest surgery procedure to restore eyesight. But his procedure needed a voluntary eye donator and the waiting list for donated organs was already very long.

When they went home Sean spoke to Lily. He asked her whether she wanted to have the operation. Lily said she wanted it but she dare not hope at all that she would see again. Nevertheless Sean urged her to sign up for the procedure.

One week later, Lily received a telephone call from an eye clinic. They said that can help Lily to see again. They told her that they had an eye donator. Lily was ecstatic, she couldn’t believe the news.

The next day Lily went in for the surgery. Sean came to wish her luck. They held hands for sometime before she was taken into the surgery room.

All went well. The doctor told Lily that she would be able to remove her bandages in two weeks time. Once she removed them, she would be able to see.

For two weeks, Sean came to see her everyday. He brought her favourite food and kept her company. Then it was time to remove the bandages. As the doctor removed them, he told Lily to be open her eyes carefully.

Slowly Lily opened her eyes. They hurt a little. Then she saw some light. It was all so strange for her. She had never seen light. She blinked her eyes. Then she was able to see figures in front of her. Sean and the doctor were standing there watching her. It was then Lily learnt that Sean was blind like she had been. Somehow she felt a disappointment in her heart.

Weeks passed by and. Lily learnt to live a new life with eyesight. She was very happy that she can see again. But she began to feel uncomfortable being with Sean. She didn’t like that he was blind.

Then Valentine ’s Day came. Sean asked Lily to marry him but Lily refused his proposal. She told him that after being blind herself for so many years she cannot think of a life with a blind man. Sean was heartbroken but he left and never came back. Lily married another man and lived happily.

Five years later, Lily met Sean’s friend, John on a street. He told her that Sean was knocked down by a car five years ago and had died. Before John left, he told Lily, ‘Take care of your eyes, Lily, because before they were your eyes, they were Sean’s.”

A 'thriller' themed essay

Leela was in terrible pain. She regretted waiting so long before seeing a doctor. She thought it was just a stomach cramp but it turned out to be acute appendicitis. The doctors needed to operate on her before it was too late. She was very worried and she hated hospitals.

Her ward room mate, Jenny, a young Sabahan girl comforted her. Jenny told her not to worry about her surgery the next day. Everything will go well, she said. The hospital had the best doctors and staff. They shared a first class room together and spent some time talking that first night Leela was there before she fell asleep.

Early the next morning, the nurses came in to prepare Leela for her operation. It was lunch by the time she came out of surgery. The doctors kept her in the observation room until evening before returning her to her room. Weak from the surgery and anesthetic, Leela feel asleep. In the middle of the night, Leela woke up, feeling very thirsty. She turned to her bedside table to reach for a bottle of mineral water.

Then she heard Jenny asking her if she needed help. Jenny was awake too. They spoke again for a while. Jenny asked her how she was feeling and Leela told her that she was still had pains in her stomach. Jenny lifted her hand and placed it on Leela’s stomach. Leela felt it cool and comforting. Slowly Leela drifted back to sleep.

Leela was awakened by her family the next morning. Then the nurses came to check on her and advised her to get more sleep. By evening the doctors decided Leela was ready to leave. As her family helped her to pack her things, Leela asked a nurse where Jenny was. The nurse gave her a funny look and said Jenny has been taken for surgery just like her.
Leela requested the nurse to thank Jenny for her and the nurse hurried away.

Three months later. Leela’s colleague, Khatijah was admitted after a serious car accident in the same hospital. That evening Leela and another colleague went to visit her. Her family was there by her bedside. Their faces were somber and a man was seated there looking dejected. Leela recognized him as Khatijah’s husband, Ahmad. Khatijah’s condition was serious and she is not expected to live through the night, said Ahmad in tears.

Leela felt so sorry for them that she and her friend decided to stay a while longer into the night. As she was talking to Ahmad, from the corner of her eyes, she saw a figure slip out of Khatijah’s room from afar. The figure looked so familiar. She excused herself and hurried after the person. ‘Jenny!’ she called out. The person did not turn back. “Jenny!” Leela called out again. She was sure it was Jenny and couldn’t understand why Jenny didn’t acknowledge her. She saw Jenny turn and enter another room. When Leela approached the room, she opened the door but there was no one inside. Strange, she thought. She turned around and nearly bumped into someone.

‘Jenny!’ Jenny was standing behind her. Leela asked Jenny what she was doing there. Jenny told her she was also visiting a sick friend. So Leela told her about Khatijah. Jenny looked sad. She told Leela that the doctors had tried their best but Khatijah had passed away. Leela started to tell Jenny that Khatijah was still alive and not passed away but Jenny was already leaving her side. At the same time, Leela heard a commotion down the hall near Khatijah’s room. She rushed down the hall. Khatijah had passed away and Ahmad was distraught. But Leela was shocked. How did Jenny know? She was sad for Khatijah’s demise but the thought of Jenny refused to go away.

She quickly walked to the nurses’ counter and asked a nurse there if she could talk to her. She then related her experience. The nurse looked at her and smiled slowly. She told Leela was one of the lucky ones who had survived a serious surgery with Jenny’s help. The ward staff all knew about Jenny. She had been one of the nurses there ten years ago. She was one of their best nurses, very caring and committed. Unfortunately she had died when the ambulance she was traveling in crashed. Jenny had died in the line of duty. But she had never left the ward. Periodically she ‘visited’ patients to heal and comfort them. Yes, they all knew about Jenny.

copyrights reserved.

SPM 2009 English Essay Tips

2009-11-06T17:36:00.007+08:00

These are five sample essays for trial questions. Good luck people!

Describe a place you go to when you feeling sad or down

It is a huge old tree by the lake. The branches hang low though the trunk probably needs three people’s arms to go around it. The strong roots have through the years intertwined to form a nice cradle for anyone who wish to sit there and a feel a need to be cuddled. Like an old wise woman or man, it stands there patiently day in day out, be it rain or shine, exuding compassion for all those seek refuge underneath of its heavy branches.

They say it is more than a hundred years ago. The first pioneers of this town probably rested under its cool shade. Even those 100 odd elephants belonging to the Siamese who once ruled this land more than a century ago probably rubbed their tusks against it.

If you really consider it, it is the best spot in town. For at least fifty metres in radius, there is only solitude. I love it there. It is quiet and peaceful. It frees the mind. Troubling thougts drift away easily into the gentle breeze across the serenity of the lake water. The gentle lapping of the clear lake water against its emerald green bank forms ripples that mesmerises you as you watch. The lone insect or two hovering over the lake's surface or the occasional white swan like birds that swoop in for a quick catch of fish fry, it is a liberating sight.

In the early mornings, you can see clouds of mist moving against the distant mountains. Fresh and invigorating, it fills you with hope. In the evening, when the sun sets down in the east; its golden streaks in the sky get reflected on the lake waters, then time stands still and you marvel at the magnificence of life itself. It fills you with gratitude and reverence.

I go there when I’m feeling down because it never fails to lift my spirits up again. I wonder sometimes whether it is a magical spot or is it charmed. I have seen lovers sitting on the stone bench beneath it, lost in time. I have seen others sit underneath that tree, in contemplation, a faraway look in their eyes.

I just hope it will be there to last my lifetime at least. Almost like a refuge for me to run to in times of sorrow, I would be broken hearted to see it go. Many such old trees have been felled to give way for developments. But i hope at least, this one tree will stand the test of time.

How to promote unity in Malaysia

Our beloved country Malaysia has always been well recognized globally for its multi racial society that lives in harmony. It is important to maintain this unity that makes us all uniquely Malaysian. Unity must start from everyone’s heart. It must start from young. It must start from all levels.

First of all everyone must respect the various differences that can exist in a multi racial society, be in religious or other practices. Maybe one racial practice may contradict the belief of another but when you respect that difference, you learn to accept it as well. The best possible way to promote this would be to organize activities where everyone can learn and share more information about each other’s culture. We could organize more campaigns or even camps for everyone to participate, from school level right up to corporate world. We could make more documentaries for people to watch and books for people to read. A learned society is indeed a wise society.

Secondly unity must be promoted from young. From the small steps of kindergarten right to the halls of universities, parents and teachers play a crucial role in this. Children learn by example therefore parents must set a good example of interacting well with a multi racial and multi religious society. Prejudices and biases learnt at childhood will manifest into more serious level at adulthood. Teachers must reinforce unity in school. We must have students of different races work close with each other rather than segregating the groups.

Thirdly, from the man on the street to those on top rungs of the society, unity must be close to their hearts. They must believe in its goodness and really want it in their hearts. Likening unity to bridges that connect the people and disunity to walls that divide them, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak recently urged the people to repair their bridges and tear down the divisive walls that existed among the races. The way we interact and treat our neighbours, our friends, the people on the street, will all affect how we relate to each other. When we relate to each other with an open heart, it will be returned in many folds.

United we stand, divided we fall.

Honesty pays

His mother struggled to call out to him between her breaths ‘Mat… Mat..”

Ahmad was at the back of the house climbing the old guava tree when he heard his mother’s feeble cry. He dropped down and leapt up the wooden steps into his old kampong house.

“Mat, help Ibu to take my medicine on the kitchen shelf” his mother pointed weakly at the broken kitchen door, her other hand holding her chest. Ahmad dashed into the kitchen, the shelf was too high for his height, he quickly pulled an old cracker tin and stepped up. He found the familiar brown bottle at the back of the shelf but it was empty.

“Ibu, did you get new one?” he yelled out of the kitchen.

“No, Ahmad, only the one on the shelf…” his mother’s voice died off.

He dropped the bottle and ran out to see his mother collapse on the old tattered linoleum on the floor.

“Ibu ! Ibu! Hang on please, I’ll be back with the medicine fast!” He saw his mother’s eyes close before he ran out.

He grabbed his late father’s old bicycle and peddled as hard as he could, his heart thumping, tears blinding him. He had only one thought in his mind, he must get to that medicine shop, the only one in town, his only hope.

As he raced up the bumpy lone road and reached the junction to the nearest town, a motorcycle rattled past him. A Chinese farmer was carting his vegetables to town. They stopped at a junction together. As the man turned into the opposite lane, Ahmad saw something drop from the motorcycle. It was an old wallet. In a split second, Ahmad had to make the decision to stop or keep going his way.

The wheels of his bicycle came to a screech as he halted on the gravels. He picked up the wallet and yelled as loudly as he could to the Chinese man on the motorbike who was already riding away fast. The man couldn’t hear him. He got back on his bicycle and cycled towards the man more furiously than ever, shouting on top of his voice at the same time. Suddenly the man looked back and stopped his bike. Ahmad waved the wallet at him. The farmer grabbed at his side pocket and realized it was empty. His face was filled with gladness when Ahmad gave him back his wallet.

“Thank you so much, my boy.”

Ahmad hardly had the time to utter ‘You’re welcome’ as he was back on his bicycle cycling away, never even looking back.

Moments later he reached the medicine shop and ran in ‘Sir, please I need medicine for my mother. She is having an asthma attack and she can’t breathe’.

The man behind the counter quickly took out a small bottle, put in a plastic and rang the cashier’s machine. “That will be RM12.00.” he said

It then hit Ahmad, he had no money with him at all. In his panic, he had not stopped to think about money at all.

“But uncle, I did not bring any money with me,” Ahmad muttered

“Then you want me to give you this medicine free?” the man asked, his face annoyed.

“Please Uncle, I promise to pay you back…” Ahmad pleaded

“Do you how many of you kampong people walk in here and ask for free medicine, you think what, I am running a charity here?” he demanded

Then out of the corner of his eyes, he saw someone place a RM50 bill on the counter.

“There, is that enough for your medicine?” It was the same Chinese farmer from the motorbike. He took the medicine and pushed it into Ahmad’s hand.

“Take it and hurry now.” The man smiled kindly at him.

Factors to consider before choosing a career

As soon would be school leaver, I am faced with dilemma of making decisions. With so many fields offered by the higher institution, including mixed courses, it is not an easy choice.

While we are often encouraged to choose a field that is profitable and that is guaranteed to make a living for us, other factors such as our own talents and interests seem to be equally important. Many took up careers such as lawyer, doctor and engineers because they are popular choices only to realize later it was not meant for them.

Personally I feel the first and foremost to be considered is our passion. It is not only about what we like doing but is it that we like doing so much that we tire doing it no matter how difficult it gets. What are our personal values? Do we like to heal others, do we like to experiment, do we like calculation, do we like to organize or even do we like to do creative work or do we like working with children? The test is to think about what activity that we did filled us with complete happiness and that is an easy pointer.

Secondly we have to consider our skills and talents. By now, we should have an idea of what we are good at. What we want to do and what we CAN do can be totally different things. For example, being able to be creative and design well can indicate a path into Graphic Designing, being able to get along very well with people can indicate a career in Public Relation and having a head for math and balancing sheet could mean a career in Accountancy.

The third factor to be considered is our own preferences and personality. Are we an introvert or an extrovert? Do we like working alone or working with others? Do we like working 9-5 in an office or do we like doing field work? Often many make the mistake of choosing a supposedly lucrative career in an office and end up feeling suffocated within four walls the rest of their lives. This could end in a lot of frustration and unhappiness.

Fourthly we need to research as much as we can on our choices of career before making a decision. World trends and job scopes are ever changing. For example the field of IT and business is ever volatile; we have to be ready for the challenges ahead. Keeping ourselves informed of the latest information would prepare us for it.

And finally we have to be able to adjust and adapt. In the time of economic crisis and downsizing of many companies, people who can multitask become valuable asset to a company. While specializing means expertise, it is also good to learn up other relevant skills on the side. As they say one is never too late to learn anything.

By considering all these factors, one should be able to make a wise choice in a lifetime career.

She

She was different from the rest. She was quiet and she kept to herself while the rest of the school went about daily lives. She joined us in the beginning of our Form Four school year. I remember she walked in during the first lesson one morning and the English teacher introduced her to the rest of the class. She didn’t smile at all and quickly settled into her table and chair. She more or less blended into the background from that day forward.

The word was she came from a very small town, maybe that explained her timidness a bit. She was average in build and had dark chocolaty skin. Small features on a somber face, one thing that stood out about her was her eyes. They were deep and searching but most of the time she kept them lowered from the rest of us. Her name was Meena.

Maybe she was not that easy to like or maybe she couldn’t speak English very well which was not a cool thing in an English speaking convent school like ours, she didn’t have many friends. When she was forced to speak in class, her voice stammered and the fingers holding up the book trembled visibly. Some of us in the class felt sorry for her, a few girls even mocked her nervousness. Call it a prejudice or pettiness, but eventually everyone kept away from her.

Throughout those two years in school, I sometimes noticed her seated at the steps to the main school hall during recess. She was often huddled over a notebook, furiously scribbling away. I did get curious once, so I approached her and offered her a slice of my sandwich, trying to take a peek at her writing. She quickly put the book away and politely refused me. I tried getting her to talk to me and asked her whether she liked being in this school. She searched for the right words but from her halting explanation I understood she found an all girls school convent rather snobbish after 10 years in a rambunctious co-ed school. .

During Form Five year end school performance, our class decided to stage a variety show about Angels and Devils. The organizing committee comprised some snooty girls who saw it fit to allocate Meena the role of the Devil’s apprentice because of her dark complexion and her anti-social personality before giggling away. I did feel sorry for her but surprisingly she happily participated in the training wholeheartedly and I can’t help but feel respect her for it. She went on to surprise everyone by signing up for the year end talent time contest. A few girls sneered behind her back when she brought a wooden guitar to school for the contest.

“She is going to make a fool of herself, ” Winnie, one of class reps said.

I actually held my breath when she went up the stage that morning, wearing a pale yellow flowery dress. As she sat on the stool and adjusted the microphone, the speakers whined a little. The crowded school hall fell into silence. She held up the guitar and started plucking the strings. The speakers whined louder… and went dead. The teachers rushed to check the sound system, Meena just froze on her seat. I wished she had said something funny, but she just sat there staring at the end of the hall. Oh no, I thought, was she going to make a fool of herself?

Then one of the teachers went up to her and motioned her to start playing. She snapped back to live and began strumming again. When she opened her mouth to sing, a lot of mouths fell open in the audience too. We had no idea, she had an amazing voice. Her voice was rich and haunting, it echoed from the far ends of the hall. Her singing and the sound of her guitar blended into a great harmony of a country and western song she had composed herself. Everyone was stunned. When she finished, it took us a while to realize she has stopped and then the applause came. It was thunderous; some of our class girls jumped onto their feet and clapped furiously, their faces beaming with pride. We were very proud of her and there were no guessing, she was the first prize winner. It was almost a poetic justice.

The next day, the final day in school, she was the talk of the school; everywhere she went she was crowded by new found fans who congratulated her. Finally she was alone no more, suddenly everyone wanted to be Meena’s friend.

copyrights reserved

Chocolate Truffles

2009-10-25T20:44:00.005+08:00

Life is sweet when you can bite into one of these ...

.. and sweeter still.. when you have friends who care enuf to lug them across the sea and gift you these.... mmmmmmmmm

Chocolate champagne truffles.. what else can you ask...

Hare Rama Hare Krishna - 1971 Hindi Movie

2009-10-21T12:12:00.004+08:00

I don't remember who that it was in my family who played these songs over and over in our household 35 years ago but these songs have stuck to my subconscious for 3 decades and refuses to go away.. not that i mind though ;)

Deepavali Rainbow Cake

2009-10-09T20:05:00.007+08:00

Light aside.. what else defines Deepavali more than the use of vibrant colours. Hence there is the Rainbow cake.. a sure hit with the kids. Here's the trial run.

For best effects, get those white cake mixes, otherwise the colours will be muted by the yellowish butter. While some opt to pour in all the colours in one tray on top of one another, for best visual pleasure, take the long cut...use separate trays.

Stack 'em up and ice them in between. Isn't that a delightful sight already?

Ok.. for the icing, you can opt for whipped cream or butter cream. Use more sprinkles.

It's worth it.

(fr. aswewalk)

Aren't Collages Fun?

2009-09-28T23:06:00.005+08:00

Totally. How else can you view many angles of one great thing... ?

The Blue Pavadai Girl

copyrights reserved.

Restoran Cheun Fong, Pengkalan Hulu

2009-09-24T12:12:00.013+08:00

One of the few remaining original wooden shophouses in Pengkalan Hulu, weatherbeaten but still standing. The British requirement for high ceilings are evident in these old buildings but i always wondered why the attics though.

See the Siamese shop next door, well.. it was my kindergarten nearly 35 years ago. The old teacher still resides there, by the way.

Food preparations vary according to locations, period, that especially is Chinese food. While in KL for a mixed vege you might get a stir fry of cauliflower, broccoli, young corn, carrots, lettuce and some good quality seafood... in a small town you might just have to settle for a combination of basic mustard greens and chinese lettuce with occasional sad looking prawns past it's freshness dates camouflaged in heavily starched and MSG sauce, yes, rather dreary. And ask for Hokkein mee expecting to satisfy your craving for those big noodles version loaded with lard, crispy porkskin, seafood and work hei (fiery 'breath' of the wok that gives your food the smoky flavour) only to end up with the usual yellow mee off the packet version with a few miserable chicken or pork pieces thrown in lacking in all the good seasonings and special sauces yet having to pay premium price.

And no thanks to economic downturn when food serving portions (even KFC reduced its chicken piece sizes) started getting smaller and finally compromise on quality as well, I've had my share of bad experiences and i sort of gave up expecting too much after a while. Till i discovered there was some hope after all, in this understated Chinese coffee shop called Cheun Fong Restaurant located at the only traffic light junction in Pengkalan Hulu town, a stone throw away from Hotel Hilltowne. .

Ah... finally .. a Hokkein mee worthy of its name.

Here is a chicken only version, but you can opt for the more luxurious pork and seafood version except i was abstaining from pork that day but sumptuous nevertheless. Load it up with their special belacan sauce, super kick lor. Make sure you ask for it.

Of course, you can't order Hokkein Mee and not have Kungfu Chow... that's the Cantonese Kuay Teow (fried noodles) swimming in egg sauce. As you can see, it is real egg sauce and not the watered down starchy version of some 'cheating' food outlets who thinks a customer can't make out the difference between an egg sauce and a tapioca sauce.

And some people,not me coz i really can't understand our Asian fixation on rice, but e.g. my kid and you know who you are can't survive without their daily intake of that starchy stuff. Yes, fried rice it is then. A small serving will do. The rice is done perfectly.

And what else to wash it all down, the oil and the cholestrol, but the good old Chinese Tea. There is also a good black soybean drink that i usually order, it is rich and refreshing. My tummy is satiated.

Note : The restaurant opens for business after 11am and closes at 11pm. Prices are very reasonable. The only minuspoint, the cook sometimes goes on leave for a few days every month.

copyrights reserved.

Monkey Beach, Penang

2009-09-24T11:02:00.001+08:00

It was not really a planned trip to Penang but had to be in Penang for a reason and finished the needful early. So with extra time in hand, decided to take a long drive beyond the usual Tanjung Bungah/Batu Ferringhi stretch and ended up in Teluk Bahang.

Ah, a national park in Penang, maybe next time.It was evening alredy.

But guess what, they had boat rides, sounded good.
Plus the boatman was desperate to convince that visitING a private beach full of monkeys is something not to be missed... what the heck! Though you know, monkeys normally dont sit in one place waiting for visitors to come... but hey.

Off we go..

Nothing like sea breeze in your hair...

The beach was beautiful, yes. Clean waters and sand and very private. Belongs to some tycoon i hear who eventually abandoned it. But famous for campers and picnickers.

And there it is, ladies and gentlemen, the promised monkeys... er... monkey actually, lone one, who really is not bothered except for the tit bits he can find to munch on. He took a long look at the newcomers and decided they had nothing he wanted and went off to sit on this abandoned stall.

Hellow? Who is watching who again?

'Ah, useless humans, couldn't be bothered!! They dont even have the decency to bring me some bananas. I am not posing for pics for free!'

Ok.. random pics.. kiddo was trying out her photography skills.

copyrights reserved

Okra @ Gumbo @ Lady's finger @ Vendikai Stew

2009-09-17T14:07:00.007+08:00

Okra or gumbo is definitely better sounding names. Rather squeamish isn't it to be slicing through it while calling it lady's fingers. In Tamil, known as vendikai, the Indians love it in all their curries especially fish curry, spicy masala and dhal flour batter dipped fritters too. Believed to be brainfood, eaten a few days before an exam is said to improve brain function. Hmm... try it out la..who knows.

Well basic Indian cooking is to smother most vegetables in oil, spices and coconut and a tendency to overcook them into mush, I believe for a reason those days. And then there is the other extreme western side who like their stuff as raw as possible. I prefer the middle path, less of everything else and lightly cooked. So you can see ive thrown them directly into a pot of bubbling water.. about a litre for 300gms of okra. I believe oil was used mostly in olden days to preserve the cooked food longer, otherwise i can't really vouch for any added taste.

I have diced some onions, sliced a tomato, plucked some curry leaves from the backyard and flicked some fenugreek from mom's spice box. Mental note : time to top up my spice stock.

Have you ever seen purple cilipadi? Pretty isn't it? By the way, i believe the same silly fella who came up with name 'lady's finger' must have thought up 'bird's eye chilly' too.

So there, everything goes into the pot of nearly half cooked okras. Add a tsp of turmeric powder to counter my chesty lungs (cough!) over the last 3 days. Lower the heat.

Very quickly add a cup of full cream milk (or santan). Add salt and squish half a lime. Turn off before milk curdles.

Obviously mine did curdle a little while i was 30 seconds late into snapping the last pic. So watch out.

How to eat it? Think it as a stew. If you want a meatier version, you can add in prawns or chicken or squids or even tofu. Any combination of carbo will sync well. Or you can do without if you dont sync well with carbo. ;)

(copyrights reserved)

Food...the root cause of all evil?

2009-09-11T15:24:00.006+08:00

I wish man didn't make such a big deal about food. I wish man never learnt to cook, salt and flavour his food. In fact i believe the main cause of pollution, disease and other global problems is in the way we humans consume our food. Greed and obsession. The quest to eat better than the other man. Totally going against what nature intended in the first place. Nature intended us to eat one type of food at one meal. At intervals. Even seasonal fruits are seasonal for a reason because too much of it is not good for us. Nature intended us to have uncomplicated food. Nourishing, fresh and in proportion. You really cant munch a lot of raw stuff can you? If we had just stuck to what and how nature provided us, there would be no issues of wastage, toxins, obesity, cancers and the need to diet in the first place. If man just grabbed the next fruit or nut or vegetable he sees along his way to appease his hunger, there be no need for mass cultivation, food hording, canned food, hypermarkets and global famine. Look at the animals. They eat when they have too and they dont waste. Meanwhile they wander around for miles in nature, working out, living in harmony and totally at peace. They bask in the sunshine, swim in clear waters and take short naps. They mate according to season, dont rape their youngs and die without any hassle. They dont boast about having the best foie gras, wagyu cut or truffle. They dont gorge on cheeseburgers and coke and complain about the calories later. I could go on... but talking about food, all i want know is a nice bowl of sauteed broccoli.

copyrights reserved.

Legendary Langkawi

2009-09-09T21:22:00.010+08:00

Langkawi was a blast.

The first indicator was the cheap Firefly tickets secured. The seats were fairly comfortable but for an hour flight and a return ticket of RM100 for one, what the heck. They served a muffin and a paper cup of diluted juice. The return flight though was delayed 3 hours coz of bad weather but overall was a pleasant journey.

Then took a chance with Malibest Resort after some good and a few bad online reviews and it turned out well. Tucked in Pantai Cenang which reminds one of Tanjung Bungah/Batu Ferringhi stretch in Penang, there were wooden chalets, concrete ones and tree top chalets. Opted for the wooden one above about 10m from the sea.

But if you are tsunaphobic, make sure you get the tree top then.

Except for a beat up rented car and the frequent rain, which became quite bearable after a trip to the Duty Free to load on Merlots and coolers which were glee-inducing cheap, dunking in the warm sea waves under icy cold rain became an exhilarating experience.

Food as exceptional especially seafood like prawns which were super fresh sweet. Debbie's place which is open for dinner across Malibest had decent sized fusion cuisine compared to the usual American portioned western food, quite ridiculous for smaller Asian tummies. Nice ambience and be prepared to pay for it as usual.

Was surprised there were quite a selection of good Indian restaurants like Taj Mahal, Tulsi Restaurant and Papadam Ria. Palace d'India which was just in front of Malibest was decent but won't try Bombay Palace across the road again.. ridiculous menu of naans with every dish and didn't particularly relish Arabian humus stuff..left a bitter after taste in the mouth. And then the usual mamak fare, had a quick lunch at Tomato Nasi Kandar the day. Took a drive to Kuah town and discovered a gem of an Indian restaurant called HMA restaurant which served superbly spiced dishes that means non of that standard Baba curry powder stuff one finds everywhere.
Torrential rain prevented a trip to the cable car and the famous hanging bridge. Oh well... that may have to wait.

Opted instead for a quick drive to Kota Mahsuri of the famous Mahsuri Legend. Was kind of strange, didnt really fancy visiting the grave of a wrathful woman who according to belief cursed Langkawi for seven generations for being wrongfully executed. But since already there, might as well go through with it. One thing was sure, these still unerased historical facts point towards a strong ancestorial connections between the Malays and the Siamese. Got some traditional Gamat stuff for aching bones ..but mostly the stuff was about male virility...always about sex, isn't it? Wasn't that why that poor Mahsuri woman got executed in the first place.. coz some nuts horned after someone's else's wife? They never learnt!

The Pantai Cenang stretch was full of souvenir shops.. some quite cheap.. got about 4nice t-shirts for less than RM50.. quite a feat! Definitely a revisit to cover the other 98 cluster of islands... in a better weather next time for the sea sports and island adventures ... and yeap, Mahathir's bakery too. ;)

Kediaman Abu Nur, Pengkalan Hulu

2009-09-08T19:35:00.007+08:00

A hunt for a catfish farm into the suburbs of Kg Simpang Pulai in Pengkalan Hulu led instead to this establishment tucked amongst the streams and hills, Kediaman Abu Nur.

The building was impressive and i thought probably Abu Nur was a pioneer in this historical town. And then i spotted a lone young girl sitting over an hedge and asked her if she knew of the fish farm.. she said, "i dont know, you could ask my guardian." No one else was in sight. I wondered what she meant by her guardian. Then i decided to ask around and realised it was an orphanage that doubled as an old folks home. A quick search on net actually found website. www.abunur.net. A Muslim based organisation, it was founded in 2002 on a two acre land and is now home for about 20 young girls.

(pic: ummahaid)

Rainstorm

2009-08-22T12:49:00.004+08:00

Went to Lake Garden for a walk on Friday morning to be confronted with this sight

The Rainstorm came quite unexpectedly. Till things were flying off the roof, never realised the torrential rain and heavy gusts of wind outside. Couldnt even open the doors, it was that strong.

A lone pine tree, i think at least 30 years old, came to rest unceremoniously too. Heard a car got crushed too in town.

So who is mightier? Who is in whose care? Nature or puny man. Time to think and be grateful for what we have.
copyrights reserved.

Spiced Pureed Spinach

2009-08-21T16:07:00.010+08:00

Ya ya, it is spinach, second it is pureed and thirdly it looks like something a baby threw up. Popeye didnt really do a great job either in getting kids to eat their spinach. Maybe this spiced, sour, hot version might.. gv it a try with hot rice, pasta, naan, capati or thosai or even garlic bread. But pureed stuff must be eaten as simply as possibly to get the maximum benefit.

Bought RM2 worth of kampung bayam from a Gandhi worshipping old Malay man at the pasar malam. "Did you know Gandhi was a vegetarian?" he asks me. Duh. Anyway, the greens looked super fresh (farm) fresh and minus the pesticides.

Lugged it home and chopped off the soil covered roots before soaking them in a large bowl of tap water for 5 minutes to losen whatever soil grains left. Rinse 3-4 times till there are no more sediments in the rinse water.

For the puree, boil a handful of gram dhall with 2 cups water. When half cooked, throw in the greens, starting with the stalky ends first and 5 mins later the leafy part. For the spices you need, prepare 5 cloves crushed garlic, a marble sized ginger, 2 onions chopped, a tsp each of coriander, cumin and its bigger cousin, jeera or aniseed and of course, mustard seed. You also need a handful of dried and fresh red chillies for heat, you decide how much you want or none at all. A tbsp dollop of really fragrant high quality ghee.. (no compromises) it decides the quality of your puree. I used Leila ghee (Sime Darby) which is super aromatic. Heat up ghee and toast all of the prepared stuff. 1 min.. and empty them into the 3/4 cooked spinach. Sprinkle fresh curry leaves and a diced tomato. Squeeze in a lime. Salt as you like. No more water is needed coz the vegetable sweats. Switch off, while the greens are still green in colour and not turned some brown mush. Transfer to a dish and cool off.

About 10 mins later, load into a blender, add like a couple of spoonsful of boiled water if you need too and blend a few seconds. I like to keep it rustic plus overblending will give it a metallic taste which is offputting.

There.. a bowlfull of natural goodness.

A spoonful of powerpacked and more importantly natural vitamins, minerals and above all.. iron. How can you even compared this to those lame overpriced tablets off the pharma shelves?

copyrights reserved.