Food..The Thai Way

Get your food senses ready for this!

Fried pork leg /Huge Fried prawns/Pig head skin & snout

Fried pork pieces/Fish Ball/Tom Yam Khun

Braised pork /Pad Thai/Grasshoppers Delight

Tasty silkworm/Wan tan mee/Teh Tarik

BBQ Honey Ribs/Trotters Fried Chicken & parts Celophane noodles & others

BBQ Honey Pork Ribs Paku Salad Mango Salad & Kangkong

Fried Pork Leg [ Best ] /White & Black Pulut/Fried Sotong/Prawn

Braised Pork ( BESTEST )/BBQ Pork [ BESTEST ]/Spare Part Soup [BESTEST]

Some food which will be sorely missed by me until the next time!~

Kap.......

Sawadeekaa..... the sweet traditional Thai welcome, was gaily and nasally uttered as we made our way to the lush and beautiful land of Haadyai, Thailand. It was to be a memorable holidays for my family and family friends that had travelled together with us.

Indeed, the last time, I stepped into this land was sometime in 2008. Some things have not changed like the slipping of the ringgit note into our passports at the checkpoint while the atmospheric aromatics of lard smell permeates the surroundings. Ahhh! Smell of good food in store for a food lunatic like me! Fifteen of us lined-up and trudged through throngs of sweaty bodies before we could get our passports stamped for a holiday at our destination.

As it maneuvered towards the side road near a makeshift stall [ which later turned out to be a mobile petrol station ! ], I could see the driver paying some Bahts to the proprietor and then a long hose with an open nozzle at the end was put into the van petrol tank.

Two upright clear canisters with measurements mounted on the table were then filled up with petrol as they were pumped using a electrically controlled hydraulic.For those of us who were in the van, it was a great adventure as we catch on with some sleep and one of the most curious thing that happened was when the van stopped for re-fuelling. When filled at the right amount, the petrol was then released to the hose and finally into the petrol tank with the use of a special force dispelled. The proprietor would then lift up the hose to dispel all the petrol and then, the job was done. Now, that's what I call, capitalism and ingenuity at its best!

Along the way, the King's poster portrait together national flags and the palatial flags adorned every street corner of our journey. Countless number of beautifully erected temples had sprung up while the road safety aspect was still at it's low ebb.

I guess, road safety is not the priority of the Thais. Anyway, excitement fills our hearts as we arrived at Asian Hotel, Haadyai, our "home" for the next 3 days.

The hotel had been renovated, spruced up and service was definitely much better. We had our assigned rooms and after cleaning up, we were off to get some grub to fill up the rumblings in our stomach. We got ourselves, after some directional chaos, to a restaurant called Ah Ha Restaurant for some pork leg and pork specials! Yup, Haadyai is known for their braised pork leg and pork based products which we sampled thoroughly over our 3 days stay.

Tom Yam Khun was the next meal which we would soon discover that the sometimes the red orangery clear looking broth can give you quite a "kick" and quite a potent fire to your gastronomical palate and while you are at the bathroom too!

The next fun was our food fare at street food. With greater wisdom and much bravery, we tried out every possible street food we could get from our hands to our mouths. How interesting it is to see that every part of the lovely pig had been made into culinary goodness in every way. Yeah, I just love pork and turning them into balls, sausages, broth, chunks of goodness - fried, saute, boiled or even BBQ were just fantastic! The one thing we have not tried was the pig head skin and the snout. Other than that, every imaginable part including the spare parts of the pig had been consumed by all 15 of us!

This time around our food fare had been widened as we got ourselves to a new place to sample some fine Thai food which were reasonably priced too.Fares like Paku Salad adorned with fresh big prawns and quartered boiled eggs,Thai Mango Salad, Tom Yam Khun with assorted fresh seafood, Fried Pork Leg, BBQ Honey laced spare ribs, Black & White Pulut Specials, Green Curry, Celophane kueh teow with pork meat and spare parts soup, BBQ home made sausages , Bee Hoon Rojak specials, Pad Thai, Mango Pulut with coconut milk, wan tan mee, porridge with spare parts soup [ midnight snack! ], cold desserts with assorted goodies, teh tarik special near the back section of Lee Garden Hotel, Fried Grasshoppers and Fried Silkworms with spicy sprinkle are dishes to die for!With the amount and quantity of food we consumed together with the amount of walking we did for the days, [ Thanks to SLing regimented walking to all the available supermarkets and joints available in Haadyai town! ] it all balanced out nicely for meal.

I gained no weight nor lost any weight either. Yup! I am one happy dude and as happy as a bumblebee could be! The other craze was the buying of Zebra stainless steel products which is actually a good thing. The prices here in our hometown are 50% more than the prices in Haadyai and that's a fact! So, it is really worthwhile to get the Zebra stuff from Haadyai provided you have got the hands and legs to carry it! Hahahahahhahaaaaaa.........

It was fun travelling with these friends who were just game for every adventure of place and culinary taste. It was also nice to raise your palm together and say, " Kapkunkaa " after a sale had been made or simply as a sign of thank you. Truly, the Thai are really hospitable people and it is joy to see it being expressed in their own way.

The other observation I made while I was in Haadyai was that the pedestrians are actually the king of the roads second only to the Tuk-tuk. I guess, I was really impressed to see cars and motorcycles stopping dead in their tracks whenever pedestrians like us cross the busy street. I must say, these are mean streets with loud engine roaring tuk-tuk, cars, motorcycles and lorries,man.Talking about Tuk-Tuk, well, these drivers are experts at maneuvering the busy streets together with their focused will to send their customers to the respective places.

Each ride is 20Baht per person per journey to anywhere in town of Haadyai including the outskirts, I am told. We took plenty of photos as we board our Tuk-Tuk to the various destinations like the Night Market and the restaurant at the fringe of Haadyai town. The rest of the journey were made with our most trusted mobile transportation - the S.O.P.W.D. No.11 a.k.a. our feet!

All in all, it was good fun, good times and good food indeed. Would I do it all over again someday?

Yes, I would, most definitely! BTW, to family friends who made it all possible with your great understanding, your palatable love and great finesse in dealing with situations, I say to you " Kap kunkaa, everyone"!

Christmas with the Community - TOP Style

What do you get when 15 people in a condo woke up at 5.30am on Christmas day and started getting ready for a very special Christmas event? Well, surprisingly, you get quite a chaos but orderly chaos of fun, laughter and comical goodness.

That's what we had when we got ready to serve in Tabernacle of Praise, Penang - Christmas with the Community 2010 event.

It was a glorious and beautiful morning and I believe God must be smiling on that special day. As we arrived at the church, we immediately had praise and worship session, prayer and devotion for the day before we serve the community.

It was a great opportunity for all of us to sample a taste of what a good, vibrant, caring and community-conscious Penang church can do to impact the society and the community. For far too long now, friends have only listened to the stories I tell them of the very heart of this wonderful church but that day, my friends could actually feel the heart of this church and serving the Lord with their hearts bare out. In our status conscious churches today, it is not easy to see the humbling of the leadership, but in TOP church, it is a joy and privilege for me and my friends to be able to serve the Lord in such a capacity and to see deacons/board members together with their leaders working their hearts out to serve the community, pushing out dumpster after the event or even serving in stalls and helping out the elderly with humility and heart.

My team and I were assigned to registration counter and I must say, everyone did their work nicely. Just pause for a minute and think this : Here are 13 people from Melaka who knows no one at all, manning the front of the event and doing the registration - serving with all our hearts To me, that is God's miracle indeed.

My friends did not know who were the church members except for Vive & Sathy, BA & Jessy, Kuna & Cheng, Pst. Gideon and who were the public but somehow, we managed to get everything done smoothly without a hitch and getting it done with a big smile on our faces.

With our southern Hokkien accent, it was easy to spot us out immediately but God made it all work out just fine. It is really amazing indeed.

I guess, I am thankful that as we started the day with the Lord's prayer at the sanctuary and later on, carrying out our works, we begin to see how God unravel the day for us to see. All of us were so blessed to see a team of 14 hair stylist coming full force in cropping the hairs of the elderly and the needy. Then, there were food galore and games stalls for everyone to enjoy. There were ample of food and gifts while the atmosphere was an eclectic atmosphere of love and fun. There was blood donation campaign [ Jason, Shirley, LG,Errol, Jessica and myself took part in blood donating process ] , health screening and children's coloring competition. There were also cash donation, food stuff presentation and free school clothing donation events which was attended by YB Jeff Ooi and YB Quek. It wasn't so much for the attendance of these so-call big shots but the biggest big shot of that day was Jesus.

I am really blessed by the entire events that took place. I am even prouder of my friends and our children who participated in serving in the registration and games counter. One could easily count out the cost for holding such an event but I want to tell you this simple fact that will knock you off your chairs today.

The fact is that there is absolutely NO CHARGE for members of the church and the public to come for this event. Meaning, it is a FREE OF CHARGE [ FOC ] event for EVERYONE. The church through her congregation paid every single cost for the entire running, feeding and blessing the community project! I am so thankful and I continue to pray that God would continue to pour in the showers of blessings unto this church as they take on more community projects beneficial to the community and society as a whole. This is the heartbeat of God - not fattening the coffers, not benefiting just a few influential people, not making a name for themselves , not having more fixed deposits or even sell coupons for the projects!

My friends and I together with our families traveled well over 500 kilometres to learn this lesson of humbling to the heartbeat of God. I can safely tell you this fact that there isn't a single inch of regret, tiredness nor grumblings from all of us to come here in TOP, Penang and served with all of our hearts for this community event. In fact, it made us all believe that there are still hope for good men and women in our churches today who sees beyond the boundary of walls, money, fame and popularity in serving the heartbeat of God.

I guess, you must be curious what physical souvenir did they gave to us for helping out, in fact , to all their church helpers that day, right? Well, I got a TOP cap, a TOP towel, plentiful food and drinks and a whole load of wonderful memories that would last me a lifetime which is actually more than what I'll get from where I come from! The best part of all, it is all FOC! I am so very blessed indeed. Wouldn't you be if you are in my shoes?~

Soul Food...

A Great Gentle Reminder

1. Children are not pets.
2. The life they actually live and the life you perceive them to be living is not the same life.
3. Don't take what your children do too personally.
4. Don't keep score cards on them - a short memory is useful.
5. Dirt and mess are a breeding ground for well-being.
6. Stay out of their rooms after puberty.
7. Don't worry that they never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.
8. Learn from them; they have much to teach you.
9. Love them long; let them go early.
Lastly, You will never really know what kind of parent you were or if you did it right or wrong. NEVER. And you will worry about this and them as long as you live.

But when your children have children and you watch them do what they do, you will have part of an answer.

I came across this article while I was clearing out some files from my computer unit. It is so apt and it definitely kept my feet firmly set on the ground. Sometimes, I do really really asked myself if I have been a good father to my children. I'll never know yet but I want to believe I have been a good one.

God bless you!~

Love

Blessed Christmas, everyone!

Drive safely, take good care of yourselves during this festive season and Happy New Year!~

Toothless joy....

Yesterday evening, after work, I decided to make a stop at my favourite hide-out, Popular Book Store to browse some books and also, get some stationery before going home. I usually spend about 30 minutes or an hour to browse through books, magazines, bargains and read some biographies on some astounding personalities. Like I said, I enjoy reading very much. A old friend used to tell me that if we stop reading and learning, we are going to end up brain dead!

As I was browsing through some stationeries, I noted two young, school-going age children tugging along with their mother browsing through the stationeries. I smiled at them and they smiled at me. BTW, I don't look like a monster or ogre and I AM pleasant. Anyway, the young girl smiled flashing her missing front tooth while the boy also had missing teeths at the front. It was kinda a cute sight, actually. I chuckled a little but that picture of brother and sister were inprinted in my mind. The mother smiled too. I could see clearly that the mother was definitely on a budget when getting the school-bound children's stationeries picking out the bargains from the offer bin area. The children were excited as their mother picked out the stationeries. I analysed the mother's facial expression as she chose and re-chose stationeries just like I would do, actually.

Then came the moment when the boy stepped up to his mother and said that he wanted the nice blueish in colour pencil box while the girl took the pinkish in colour pencil box. The mother took one look at the price and told her children to pick others instead. The children just looked at her and told her that it was what they wanted and it was the cheapest. I guess, they have been well trained indeed. The mother then stooped down and told her children that she will get it for them next month. She told them that she is going to buy the pencil which comes with the plastic pencil box and she cajoled them to the ones which comes with the pencils in it. Dissappointed but obediently, the children did not kick a fuss and put the pencil box at the pencil box bin area. Honestly,I was an earshot away as I was browsing through some markers and highlighters. So, I could easily hear their conversation and it was in English. They then moved on to some other stationeries while I just picked up the two pencil boxes and had a look at it. The price, well, it wasn't expensive and in fact, it was well within one's budget if you asked me personally. I slipped it into my basket together with the stuff I am getting for myself and I walked to the paying counter.

I made the purchases and after paying the amount, I told the cashier to pack the two pencil box in a different plastic bag. I then told the cashier while pointing to the mother and the two children that those two children are my cousins and the two pencil box are for them. I told the cashier to give it to them when the mother pays for her stuff and say Merry Christmas on my behalf. She said okay and I was out of the book store with my own purchases.

Yunno what, I may not be smiley nor nice to everyone in this world today but hey, it's Christmas and what better way to be part of Christmas by blessing others, right? Like I said so many times before, the smiles of these young ones are just so priceless especially the ones who are toothless! In our world of stress, pain, chronic personalities, moronic thinking, shallow minds, joy, laughter and fun, somehow, the pelting rain just doesn't matter anymore........somehow.

Fine Night....

Me & Mrs.Jones joint holds a very special place in my heart every time I think of an entertainment outlet to go with visiting family friends and close friends. Located and nestled at one of the centre street of Jonker Street, it is a watering hole with live singing entertainment goodness. Music is good [ if you want latest songs, get out of this place. This ain't the place! ] while the proprietor is always friendly and accommodating. It is really a decent place while my friends and I enjoy this place a lot. I have brought many good friends at this place to "chill out"- as the young people would say. It is nice to unwind and get some time of relaxation with your group of friends. I certainly did so with good friends after attending a wedding dinner that night. With good company, sporting personalities and boisterous voices, you can be sure that it would be a fun-filled night. This time our group was a bigger group but no less noisy and fun jammed people.
There were only a few tables occupied that night and so we had so much fun fellowshipping with one another and enjoying our drinks. It was really good to unwind, catching up on news, talked with one another and made plans and so on. It was also great to have Raymond & Cristal, Yvonne & LG, Jason & Shirley, Din & Abbs joining us for a good time this round. That night, I sang " Quando, Quando, Quando" while JWee sang his rendition of Man Bai's " Kau Ilham Ku ". It was really fun and really a night to remember. I must say that it was a great night for all of us. There is no need for justification and what not because at the end of the day, like I said, it was a great night out for good friends. I must say, I really treasure and cherished the times we spent there. It is hard to explain when you get together with good friends for a nite-out. Seriously, it is really hard to explain.

As I drove home that night, still very much sober, I couldn't help but remember all the nite outs I have had in my life. Sure, there were so pretty ugly ones but my life had changed so much. I guess, like all "middle-aged " young man, I'll take the good nite outs into my heart and learn form the ugly ones. The last thing I remembered when I got home that night was that I changed into my sleeping clothes, took my pillows and plonked my weight on the cold tiles in my bedroom. After that, it was pure bliss and I slept soundly. Seriously, it was just pure bliss! Wish I had more nights like that - Yeah! the sleeping part-lar!~