Cables....

The other day as I was travelling back home after work in the evening, I noted something peculiar at the high power transmission tower near Bukit Serindit Recreational Centre. I guess, I must say that I was really very surprised at what I saw and how another human being would risked their life so that we could have our comfort of running electricity supply in our homes. I never thought of the men who would risk their lives at the high tension cables lest carrying out maintenance or even repairs to damage cables. Seeing those workers hanging precariously on the tower with their harness or even with all their safety gears, it kinda gives me a kind of appreciation to these men who risk their lives to earn a living daily. One wrong move at what they are doing and they'll be charcoal and beyond recognition,man. I am serious, man. I consider these four people to be very brave individuals and these are the real "unsung" heroes each day, actually. OK, you may argue that they may be well-paid for the work they do but on the other hand, if you ask me, I wouldn't want to risk my life with such work no matter what amount of money you will offer. It is just too scary, man. One slip, one drop of the tools, one unaware mistake, one wrong move - it's game over! Human barbecue on the way!  

I guess, it made me re-look at the things I do each day and just count the blessings. Yeah, we may not have the perfect job right now but thank God, we don't have to be the human BBQ each day, man. Yeah, we'll get a verbal roasting or even a barrage of heavy work at our work place but comparably with this, let's just be thankful, shall we? I wondered what would the families of these individuals pray as these folks goes out to work each day? Probably, just seeing them walk through the door after the day is done, alive,  is indeed a blessing itself. No matter what, the scene of four men carrying out repair works at the power transmission tower left a lump in my throat. I tell you this much, we are just so blessed at times and we don't even know it.~  

Anti-Lynas - Support Them!

I may not be any nearer to Gebeng or Kuantan  but THIS CAUSE I support whole-heartedly.

Wouldn't you?

Inspire...

Someone asked me this morning, "What's with the baking stuff these days?". In order to get the best reaction ever, I curtly answered, " I am dying..." Then came the eyes bulging, the furious shake of the head and the flurry curt mantras of " Choy! Choy!Choy! Don't say such thing early morning-lar!'" I then calmly told her that I had not finished my sentence when I was interjected by the serious eye bulging activities plus the carousal tirade of yester years superstitious mantras. I went to explain that all I wanted to say was that I am dying to try out traditional food galore these days. People just don't want to make such kuih-muih anymore. Most of the excuses were too tedious, too much needed and simply heading towards the doom diabetic era with such traditional kuihs. Anyway, I went on to explain that I wanted to re-sample some of the finest kuih or even traditional sweet cakes which I had had during my early days. More often than not , we are able to relate to our childhood memories through the food that we had consumed over the yester years.  

Have you ever wondered how come traditional kuih-muih are really getting less and less in market while more often than not, "modern" cakes and foodstuff are overtaking our taste buds over the years? I would even go to the extreme to say that foreigners are learning to replicate our traditional kuih muih as sellers ( traditional kuih sellers) ; more often than not had to employ foreigners to do the work as locals tend to give up on making such kuih-muih. It is such a sad sad turn of events indeed. At the end of the day, we will simply see the diminishing traditional kuih and the death of our food culture as the young and hip are into other modern stuff. I take heart that I may be old school but I am beginning to enjoy doing the traditional kuih stuff. I know it is hard work and mom had said so to me some time back but I just wanted to learn some and try to put them in my scrapbook cookbook so that I could remember them some day or even my children could learn to do them one day.  I love the diverse and colourful Nyonya kuih varieties. I remember how my late auntie whom I shall call Auntie Bt.7 who is an excellent pulut tekan maker. I got to taste this fare even when I was a young boy and she was that meticulous when it comes to creating Nyonya kuihs as her husband was simply just too cerewet ( fussy) with the quality of kuihs produced. Her kaya paste was smooth and easily the best I have tasted over the years. This was the accompanying  goodness with pulut tekan fare. She was also very good with kuih wajik, lepat, angku and all the rest of the goodies. By the way, she wears a sarong , kebaya and complete with sanggul and what not! Ah! She has a violent temper too but she has the sweetest heart of all my aunties. The other late auntie whom I shall call Auntie Muar was an expert for kuih kochi, kuih talam, kuih genggang and so on. The other auntie of mine, Auntie Kulai was seriously a master biscuit maker. She practically raised her family in Kulai by pying her biscuit delights in Kulai. How I miss those wonderful kuihs.......Mom is great for kuih bakul, kuih dodol, kuih bangkit, kuih baulu, kuih kapit and Hainanese Chicken Rice! That's gotta be traditional, man! Yeah, sorta Baba Nyonya heritage here but still very Hainanese in many ways. I guess, like all moms around, my mom is also the live wire when it comes to food - both savory  and sweet. Maybe, I have "inherited " some of the influence from her. Honestly, it is good to be able to learn to do some cooking, baking and conjuring up of sweet desserts - the old fashioned way. It does help when the spouse "boycott" on meals preparation period! Hahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....................  

Basically, I love cooking too. I guess, when I am cooking, baking or moulding a dough, it gives me a lot of freedom to be relaxed. I do find that it to be a  stress reliever while I could systematically get myself in order. It helped me to be focused and at the same time, I am able to enjoy the very fruits of my labour when it comes to cooking or baking or even making traditional fares. Do you enjoy sambal belacan- the one that the bird eyes chillies, the nicely toasted belacan paste are pounded up nicely added up with a fine squeeze of calamansi juice & pieces and eaten with the accompanying ulam or even cucumber and rice? Well, I love these simple fares. Saliva dripping,eh? What about ikan kembong or ikan cencaru stuffed with sambal then fried up or BBQ to perfection? My all time favourite is duck with salted vegetables and assam keping soup,man! This was my late dad's signature dish. Oh! How I relished to get a bowl of this made by the hands of my late father! Yeah! I miss all those dishes and even if those dishes are around, they had become too commercialised and the taste had completely run off.  I am thankful that mom still took the trouble to teach me some of the savory dishes whenever I asked her and I do hope I get the chance to learn more. I really want to learn as much as I can and challenge my taste bud. I also want to pass out the habit of cooking albeit the present generation who are more keen to eat dinner at stalls, restaurant and food stall rather than cook the food themselves. Yunno, we actually can cook wonderfully fulfilling meals for our family if we try hard enough. 

I was told not too long ago by SLing that she likes "pak thong kou" ( a kinda sweet dessert ) a lot and it is her favourite dessert. I remember telling her that I would do it for her soon. You know as well as I know, our "soon" can sometimes be "never", right? Well, I took up the challenge and I was determined to get that out. So, as usual, though I have never ever made this sweet dish before, I really took the trouble to read up and gather as much information as possible. One of my colleague even told me that it would be a difficult task as she had failed many times in trying to re-produce this stuff. Well, this evening, as I sit down here writing this, I have a tray of "pak thong kou" resting on the table ready for breakfast tomorrow morning. I just hope it turn out right. Like I said so many times, it is not about showing off or arrogance or even trying to be cocky and so on. I just want to say that it can be done if we look at the ingredients, study them and know what the ingredients are. Even if it doesn't turn out right, I'll learn from it and come back stronger and rectify the mistakes plus move on. I think, the most important thing is to try it out first and hope for the best. If we fail, we try again until we get it right, right? Look, many times, I had failed miserably at some of the desserts but I still continue to fine tune ingredients or cooking time or even the quantity of ingredients. Like I said, we all want to churn out good nutritious food for our families , right? We can if we try our best and learn some cooking or baking.

Start today and get rid of the silly notion that it "all females only" thingy. Hey, some of the best chefs in the world are men. So, get out there and surprised your family with a good meal made by you. I tell you, the fun is so much different. It's quality and appreciative time. Never mind if it is a chicken curry or some fried vegetables dish. The most important thing - you have tried your best at giving your best shot at the meals! Inspire and humour yourself ~  I DID!

Father's Day...

Early this morning, I received a call from my son, JWee wishing me a blessed Father's Day. In the midst of my drowsiness of the early morning ( I don't quite like mornings but the biological clock in the head seemed to malfunction this morning! ), I took a few minutes to adjust to the sleeping effects. It was a nice way to start the day ,actually - getting wishes from your children on an auspicious day like this. When it all seemed to settled down, I was wide awake and filled with a sense of fulfilment. I guess, in many ways, fathers around the world would be glad to receive such greetings from their children,right? I thank God that I must have done something right after all these years. Yunno, as parents, you will never know how your life would affect your children and like any other parents, we try to do our very best for our children. Yeah, it is never easy to express what you actually feel inside but for me, I just pray that they would turn out alright and always be grounded in the firm foundation of God. I guess, in many ways, I really wish that my children would always rely on the sure thing- GOD for their every day needs and supplements. For me, I just hoped that they have learnt some fine pointers in life. 

I am also glad that I had attended service that morning with the family and it was the first time I felt fulfilled in such a long time. I guess, in many ways, simple messages presented in a good manner can be an well-oiled lubricant to the ailing heart. The message of the day was crystal clear, methodically systematic and compact. Elder Wong F.M.had shared a well-oiled message and I have been blessed by the message. Even Elder Chua's announcement and short sharing was clear and precise especially on safety aspect of the family home and the reminder of sharing quality time with our parents. They beamed the caring reminders that had been lacking in our lives sometimes and hit the core of hearts. Anyway, being visitors, my family and I were blessed with lunch at the end of the service and a gift for Father's Day celebrations.  I was looking forward to the warm fellowship and the spirit of the heart.  We also met up with many friends and shared some lighter moments after service. It was good to be able to chat up with old friends and make new friends.

Turning back the clock a few hours earlier ( Saturday night ) , we had had a "Fatherless Day BBQ" [ SLing, Din and myself are fatherless! (tears  in our eyes!) ] celebrations at Din's place. It was kinda an impromptu celebrations which started from the living room of my place and ended up at the posh garden setting of Din's place. It ALL started when we saw the barbecuing of the monitor lizard as lunch by some bushmen in Australia on Nat Geo special and that was it! The ideas flowed as great thinkers and doers think alike! We were joined by Stef Sim who dropped by to sample my scones and she whacked like 3 scones with good dollop of strawberry jam on top of each and everyone of it! The moral of the story is simply that BBQ and spontaneous planning of a good meal can be done with great friends. The tau kees, the fishballs, the chicken wings marinated with terayaki sauce and garlic, lamb shoulder with teriyaki and mixed herbs ( Swear ! I did not even eat any of them! My heart is still pumping - thank God for that! ) , corn cobs, drinks, mee goreng and bee hoon goreng ( courtesy of Errol & Jessica ) seemed to be mighty fine celebrations. All in all, it was a time of great fellowship and sharing of thoughts. Stefanie Sim dropped by in the night after spending some quality time with her family for Father's Day dinner in a restaurant. She is a really thoughtful daughter and I remembered travelling back with her for Mother's Day celebrations not too long a go. Way to go, Stefanie Sim!

So, to all fathers , where ever you may be - HAPPY FATHER'S DAY and know that your tireless & selfless sacrifice, dedication and determination are appreciated not just on this one day but every day of your lives as you continue to be the pillar of strength for your family well-being ; spiritually, socially and financially. take good care of yourself and your family! GOD bless each and everyone of you!

Scones, a success story!

For many years now, I wanted to re-visit the palatial deliciousness,gastronomical and the gorgeousness of the scones which was baked by Evelyn, our family friend while visiting Evelyn,Timothy and their two girls, Elizabeth and Elysha in Cameron Highlands some time ago. I still remember the delightfully good tasting scones for tea and it was really an exploding joy to palate of taste in my mouth. The butter and jam makes it all such a inter-twinning delight as you consume the scones. Never could get anything close to what she had done while scouting for it in stores and I had promised myself that someday , I am going to try out this good stuff and set the scones made by Evelyn as my gauging standard. I then decided last Friday that I am going to try to make some scones and I quickly went to shop for the ingredients. Like as always, I browsed the Net for some fine recipes and I decided to use the "River Cottage" recipe as I saw it twice on TV on how the baker together with one of the ladies baked some nice looking scones. As always, I tweaked the recipe a little bit and I just visualize every step of the baking process. I guess, I must confess that I pray a lot as I use these rough hand to bake the scones.

So, I woke up early at about 7.30am on Saturday morning and started preparation of the ingredients. As we had an appointment for a picnic, I was pretty confident that I could bake some scones but the taste will be another matter altogether. As always, I was prayerful and hoped that I would get the baking right and may the scones turn out good. So, I must confess that baking helped me to relax a lot. I can tell you this - I put my heart and soul as I do the baking. It was never to show off or any of that kind of arrogance. I was genuinely wanting to learn to bake and put out some nice fluffy scones on the tables while enjoying something near to that taste I used to taste before. The benchmark was indeed very high and I tell myself that I would have to try, at least to get the process right. So, I started mixing the ingredients - in went the self raising flour, the baking powder, the butter and the gentle process started.  Then came the the sugar, the salt, the vanilla essence and the milk. The mixing with the hands started and it was really a gentle process. The dough was then formed and with the use of a big piece of tiles, I placed the dough  on it and gently knead it. It was soft, sticky and smelled nice. I then started to cut out the scone pieces with a round cutter unto the soft dough. Placed them on the tray and brushed them nicely with milk. Then it is off into the oven for baking. 10 minutes into the baking time, the kitchen permeates the beautiful aroma of the scones in baking process. It was sweet smelling and one fine smell. Never mind if the scones looked like the Leaning Tower of Pisa but the most important for me is that they turned out nice. That was my concern rather than the tilting piece. 

When the scones came out from the oven, They came out pretty okay. My heart was racing a lot as the scones came out for the oven. Afterall, I have to, at least, ensure that the scones are edible and not chipped some people's tooth or hard like roti kok! Anyway, as I cooled them off a bit after exiting the oven, I could see the golden brown delight looked good. I was happy and when it came to the tasting part, the scones passed the test. Yup! Errol & Jessica plus Josephine, together with Din & Abby plus the children were my human test subject this time on my creation and they took up the challenge admirably well. They gave me the thumbs up and I was really happy. As I took one and tried it, I must admit they tasted fine and good. Yunno, it was such a sense of achievement and a relaxing hobby. The texture was there. The taste was there while the    overall feel of the scones were there. What a joy it was to my heart that I am able to get the baking right. It was a beautiful feeling. 

So, the question is - Did my scones even come close to match Evelyn's scones? Well, I still feel that her scones were way  much better but mine did not do that badly though! YES, it doesn't matter. As long as I can popped it into my mouth and know that is a scone, I am more than happy. Just glad to be able to patiently carry out the baking process. Somehow, tea time would never be the same again, right?

Apom Telor....Yeah!

When I was in Penang for the holidays, there was a variety of food that I had sampled but none was as distinctively memorable as the apom telor. The RM1 "mee mayat" was the all-time classic while the apam balik with corn and sugared grounded up groundnuts was holistically the food grail of traditional desserts or sweeties but it is the apom telor that made me go crazy if I didn't make an effort to learn on how to make it. So, like all good things, I researched and poured my energy laboriously over the electronic media and even asked some Indian friends on the recipe for it. Finally, after some tweaking of ingredients and quantity, I managed to churn out some decent apom telor a few hours ago.

Yup, it was fun as I gathered all the ingredients which were simply rice flour, dry yeast, salt , sugar, eggs and water for my little experimental adventure. I even got the portable stove ready together with the small kuali bought during one of our night walks at the Indian street in Penang. When SYuen handed me the wooden small spatula for the evening, I am all ready for the experimental culinary adventure. In many ways, I am a food freak. I always try to get the good food taste which had lingered in my taste palate and try re-producing them with slight twist of taste. I must admit that some turned out okay while some turned out with disastrous results. All in all, I try refining and I like food experiments. What can I say, I just love food. I taste it, I see the ingredients; I see myself doing it and then I go right ahead to get the ingredients and just whip the dish out. My family seemed to like it and so, I must be doing something right.

Anyway, for apom telor, I just mixed all the ingredients together and everything seemed to be alright. They turned out okay but it is really hard work especially the swirling of the hot small pan and turning the apom to ensure an even cooking area. Anyway, I learnt a lot by watching the seller in Penang doing it. BTW, the Indian seller in Penang uses 3 small black round bottom kuali and with charcoal flame stove! I struck a conversation with the Indian apom telor seller and though he did not divulged the ingredients of his mixture, I could smell some of the ingredients and how expertly thin the concoction was spread over the kuali. For commercial purposes , the mixture was more watery but if you were to make it yourself, might as well indulged a little bit. I guess, it is actually the technique of making the thin crispy apom that makes it such a crazy dessert with quite a price tag too for wafer thin desserts! Frankly , I think, it all boils down to technique of getting the ingredients in balance, control of fire and steady hands. BTW, apom telor is as traditional as it can get and one of my childhood desserts in those years. Never forgot the taste and never want to forget it. I am really very happy being able to make this dessert or tea fare. 

Anyway, the apom telor comes out fine as far as I was concerned and I am happy. SYuen and SLing are happy with me and that is mighty fine with me. Why? Simply because they are my fiercest critics, I tell you! Sub-standard foodstuff will not be tolerated and will end up in the bin! Yup, these are tough food tasters, I tell you. Anyway, it was really fun for me to play with the ingredients and get my saliva and taste bud up there again. I feel pretty good being able to churn out some nice dessert fare. Hopefully, I could learn some more other food stuff because we are all learning each day and there is no shame in learning something new each day lest these traditional food fanfare will die off soon. Let's make an effort to try to make some of these traditional kuihs or foodstuff. Sure, we can get them at the markets and so on but it sure taste better when you make it on your own and you could spend more time with your mom, grandma. auntie and so on. It helps to build relationship too and at the same time, it helps to maintain a small part of our culture. 

My next project.....well, I want to make rava thosai since SLing & SYuen liked it so much. Actually, this afternoon, I saw the rava thosai mix in the supermarket. As always, it was tempting enough but I want to do my research on the ingredients, the cooking techniques and so on before I actually get down to it.  Yes! I've gotta get the flat hot plate for this but then again, I could always improvised, right? I also have to learn to cook the dhall curry or sambal would do nicely. Either way, I like dhall curry a lot but I always get mixed-up with the spices and the quantity of it. Well, I'll cross the bridge when I come to it!

So, go out there and horned your culinary skills. Yes, it helps you to be relaxed, laugh at yourself more often and at least, get one meal ready for your missus and the family. That should make her very happy especially if the guys take part in cooking something nice even if it is just the ABC soup-lar. Cheers and looking forward to Rava Thosai making!~

Motto for SANE LIVING....

Pain and suffering are inevitable but misery is optional.

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like clearing the driveway before it has stopped raining.

Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else.

Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either. Just leave me alone.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and a leaky tyre.

It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal the neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.

It's a small world. So, you got to use your elbows a lot.

We are born naked, wet, and hungry. Then things get worse.

No one is listening until you make a mistake.

It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

It is far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help.

If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.

If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

If you lend someone $20, and never see that person again; it was probably worth it.

If you haven't much education, you must use your brain.

You can't strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

When someone says, "Do you want my opinion?" – it is always a negative one.

The word “listen” contains the same letters as the word “silent”.

The trouble with work is - it's so daily.

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little “extra”.

Scientists say 1 out of every 4 people are crazy. Check 3 friends, if they are OK, you're IT,man!

Have a great SANE day ahead!~

Close to heart....

They say spending time with your loved ones are really special and I must agree fully with that statement. From the hot sweaty afternoon on the highway to the dawning breezy streets of Penang, it was really delightful being able to catch some much needed rest and relaxation. Driving long distance is interesting to me as I get to see the views, sights and even get my adrenaline pumping just thinking of the food I'm gonna have for the week. You see, I am a food junkie and I like food. Sorry, I love food. I may not partake much or be seen like a glutton slob in stalls or restaurant but I really love food. That's why travelling to Penang is such a joy to me, Not only will I get to spend time with my "family" - Vive, Sathy, BA , Jessy and a host of friends, I get to sample some of the finest food available. I am not talking about food from some fancy restaurant though I must admit that there are certainly a lot of good quality restaurants in Penang. I am talking about the simple fares such as char koay teow, koay teow theng, assam laksa , fried mee sua, fried tang hoon, cendol, rava thosai, Indian food, the Chinese food fare, the nasi kandar, the seafood fare, ambra drink, buah pala drink, the durians and the list goes on. 

I must say that I am just so blessed. Many would choose wealth over a lot of things but I chose simple things in life - being happy with family and friends. Never mind if the months have been very challenging for me and SLing but God is more gracious to us , I guess. I must admit that my family may not be rich and yes, we do struggle like any other family but it's the great bond both family and friends helped us a lot to enjoy our outings/holidays. I guess, God has been really good to us despite our difficult times as He provided to us for this holidays as I received my incentive just in time. If you really know me, these are things I treasured the most - the memories of friendship and sharing good times together. I was glad to have Wei, Jade, Ryan and Ashley plus mother-in-law joined us in Penang for a great time of outing. My sis, Lee Lee was our tour guide for the weekend and it was fun being able to travel from one end to another end to have fun. Staying at Vive & Sathy place was heavenly to my family as the morning breeze and view are just so refreshing. That is the epitome of a great holiday , actually. BA & Jessy are just lovely as they brought us to sample simple home cooked meal in a restaurant tucked in one corner of the town.      

There was one morning, I woke up quite early to enjoy the view and it was raining cats and dogs.There was just so much of blurriness and massive outpouring of tears from the clouds. The water droplets were simply torrential, continuous and huge but at the end of the day, there was clearing of the hazy surroundings and everything was cleared up and you could see the mountainous landscape ever so clearly. It was just so beautiful. These are simple things that I just love, I tell you. 

Anyway, spending time with Wei, Jade, Ryan, Ashley and mother in law in our short tour at Penang Hill and Toy Museum was fun especially with the antics from the two tiny tots. They were indeed a handful but stupendously charming and fun to be with. Food time was fun while the sea food fare we had were interesting. Getting the children to eat wasn't fun but humorously funny.The cajoling, the incentives and the persuasion techniques used were astoundingly fun. It was really satisfying and heart-warming for me to see Wei & Jade having fun at the foods and just enjoying their holidays. They really deserve a good holiday and I am so glad they took this holiday. I have seen how much they had sacrificed for their children just as SLing and myself had done over the years when our children were younger. They do deserve a good break to refresh, rejuvenate and restore. Nevertheless, I could see that they enjoyed themselves and at least, this will be a good start for them to get more holidays and much needed rest. 

Personally, for me, I am very happy to be able to share some time with my sister, LeeLee. I am very proud of her and her achievements over the years. So glad that she has been where she was due to her hard work and sheer determination in life over her years of stay in Penang. We had some good time of bonding as family and that was priceless, I guess. 

All in all, SLing and I had a great time in Penang. Even eating rava thosai can be such a delight to us as we spend our time in Penang. Personally, I wish I had more days to enjoy my holidays but I guess, the memories are more precious. That, I will take it close to my heart!~