A little of everything-The Rojak!

ladies will swear that they are in seventh Heaven when they see a plate of rojak!It's more a lady's starter dish before the main course is eaten.I have seen many men too indulging in this mouth-watering delicacy though many will swear that its one of the 'must have' for the pregnant ladies!!!

What is this specialty that can make our saliva drool like there is no tomorrow?

Rojak, a Malay concoction comprising of a little bit of green unripe mango,nutmeg,cucumber,mankuang,,pineapple and other local fruits/vegetables mixed with thick Hae Kor( black prawn source)and roasted peanuts.Some enterprising stalls also add in small fried prawns and Ee Char Koay(a long piece of deep-fried ancient bread usually goes best with thick black coffee)

Almost all of the rojak sellers claim that theirs are the best but only an expert can tell where to go for such good titillating fruit/vegetable dish. My friend,Paul from Great Britain,dared not taste the thick prawn source or he would get high from it!For my two children, they must have generous amount of the thick black prawn source spilling onto the fruits/vegetables together with lots of fresh roasted peanuts to make the dish look very appertising!

I too have my 'Rojak king' on the island.Try the Hock Kee rojak stall right at the Mccallum Street flat and tell me what do you think?

Daniel's taste-bug was stirred up by GP Rojak at the Gurney Drive Hawker's complex while Paula's Ah Chye Rojak needs a GPS bearing to find him as he is all over the place!Mohan and wife prefer the Esplanade stall and Jong together with Paula concurred this fruit/rojak stall is rather good but pricey. Anyway to each his/her own but if you find a better rojak starter pack,just page me and I will be there!

Jong's Penang food bash!

Thank you Kensan for the breakfast! I just got back today, persuaded by friends and relatives for food food food. I never miss my hokkien mee in Presgrave St (Snar Teow Lorr). Ask for extra pai-koot or sio-bak, superb. The o-chean(oyster) and tauknua chen are also good. So is its kueh-kark. The wantan mee is also good. I also love the ice kacang.

The pek-kueh tng and heng jin char along Kimberly St are also nice. Too bad we don't have them here in Ipoh.

Amazing you have not visited Ipoh in 10 years? How come, afterall it's only 1.5 hr drive away? My friends and I used to drive all the way to Penang just for the day's food! Once we left at 7 am, returned home at 7 pm and we consumned 11 types of hawker food. We had wanted to eat more but the stomach could not take it anymore. That was years back. Today we are all comparing our middle-age spread, trying not to consume carbs after lunch!

Btw Presgrave St is Snar Teow Lor, not Cheet Teow Lor(7th st) which is Cecil St. That's my territory - I grew up in MacCallum St - Gor Teow Lor(5th st). That whole area used to be gangster haunts but ever since young I will fight to my last breath if anybody ever includes MacCallum St because that's the only one left "clean"! Why? - because that's a street of government/public servants and professionals. We were all so safe, being surrounded and protected by those gangs. They never ever touched us. We were left alone. Imagine walking the dark streets(our lightings were nothing to shout about) late in the night for supper. Not today, can't even walk safe in broad daylight without handbags being snatched!

The ice kacang too is superb!

Kiam-Chye Boey:

We should remember how our elders used to “tapau” every remnance of good festival food on the table to turn them up into favourite of everyone - the ‘kiam-chye-boey’ a chopsui dish in Cantonese it’s called “choy-keok”. Wow I remember how popular they were but today because of health awareness and hygiene to prevent spread of heppatitis, such practice is strongly discouraged and discontinued. Whenever I have cravings for “kiam chye boey”, I’d have to buy the ingredients to ‘artifitually’ churn out ‘kiam-chye-boey’ using half a bird of roast chicken, roast pork, cans of mushrooms, lemon grass, dried chillies, carrots and plenty of kiam-chye and kuah chye! Anyone for this dish? I have a suggestion, can we get Paula distracted from her ’stress’ and pass her this “assignment”? And we will all be there to test it out if she would do a good job of it?!

~jong.-Thanks to youu too for sharing!

Ipoh's hawkers's food anyone?

I have not venture south to Ipoh since my last posting in Manjung several years ago.I still remember briefly that Ipoh do produce good food.So when Bee Chooi calls me to run errand in Ipoh, I grab this opportunity to do what I really want to do that is to sample and revisit as many interesting eating places within the short time frame. Of course,things would have changed after ten years and so far I do some research on some of the foods and drinks Ipoh is famous for. Let's roll on....

Ipoh is famous for its Chinese food.

.Ipoh bean sprouts chicken"芽菜雞" , which consists of chicken meat, assorted chicken innards and bean sprouts boiled in hard water and served with soy sauce and sesame oil. Ipoh's bean sprouts are very fat, short and tastier than those produced outside Ipoh; thus, Ipoh's beansprouts also receive orders from other states. Famous bean sprout chicken noodles include Onn Kee （安記芽菜雞沙河粉）and Lou Wong (老黃芽菜雞沙河粉） Restaurants, both of which are located at the junctions of Yau Tet Shin Street 姚德勝街 and Osbourne Street.

Ipoh Sar Hor Fun"怡保沙河粉", which are rice flat noodles prepared in hard water and served in clear chicken and prawn soup with chicken shreds, prawns and spring onions. Famous sar hor fun purveyors include Thean Chun and Kong Heng Restaurants, located along Leech Street 列治街 in the Old Town. Other popular food choices include chicken and pork intestines satay, curry pork skin chee cheong fun, and their custard! Custards are usually sold out around 3pm weekdays and noon on Saturdays and Sundays.

Ipoh Chicken Rice. The famous Ipoh Chicken Rice can be found in Bak Gong restaurant located near the Foh San restaurant in the city centre, open in the afternoon.

Hor Hee noodles 河熹粉. This is a very delicious kuey teow noodles with fish balls and fish pastes. The most famous stalls selling Hor Hee include those located in Heng Heung restaurant next to restaurant Sin Yean Lee in Ipoh Old Town (open only at night), and also the "Gao Peng" restaurant at Chamberlain Road in Ipoh New Town (again, night only).

Dim sum“点心”(fish balls, fried items, dumplings, buns, served in small quantities). Foh San(富山) restaurant, located nearby the tauge ayam outlets, is a famous dim sum restaurant. Yuk Fook Moon Lau(玉福满楼） (open in the morning and also at night), located behind Excelsior Hotel, sells excellent dim sum too. Ming Kok （明阁）, which is just opposite, is the best dim sum restaurant in Ipoh. Also try out or take away the Cha Siew Bao", Chinese pork pao (bun) sold in Yuk Fook Moon Lau. Be warned: Go there early in the morning, around 6am-7am, because it is quite difficult to get a table at a later time.

Beef noodles 牛腩粉 The famous Buntong restaurant sells very delicious beef noodles, beef balls and yong tau foo (stuffed tofu). There are three other restaurants in Ipoh famous for Beef Noodles, run by three brothers originally from the Buntong Village of Ipoh: 1) Kong Meng Restaurant in Old Town Ipoh (morning till noon); 2) Taman Rishah Restaurant, between First Garden and Menglembu (noon till evening); 3) Jalan Theatre, near the Rainbow food court, in the Ipoh city (evening till night).

Chinese restaurants (a favorite place for holding Chinese wedding dinners; but also for casual dining) which serve excellent seafood and meat. The famous ones among Ipoh natives are Overseas（海外天） restaurant opposite Excelsior hotel, Mun Zhong （民众） restaurant in Jalan Pasir Puteh, Pusing Public Seafood Restaurant （布先民众海鮮酒家）on Jalan Verasamy (Try their signature dishes: Pan Fried Prawn in Special Soy Sauce, Sweet and Sour Crab, Shark Fin Soup, and Abalone in Chef's Special Sauce), “Tung Hoi （东海） restaurant in Menglembu & branch in Ipoh Garden South, and Lee How Fook （利口福） restaurant on Jalan Kampar. Two restaurants that serve very good Nyonya (Straits Chinese) cuisine are Yum Yum restaurant at Persiaran Greenhill near Excelsior hotel and A-Ssam House restaurant near Jalan Yang Kalsom.

Fish ball noodles鱼丸粉/yong tau foo攘豆腐. Some of the recommended outlets are Nam Fatt （南发） on Jalan Kampar, Tai Kar Lok （大家乐） - the best one in the city centre near Hotel Excelsior - and also one stall located in Pasar Pasir Pinji (open nights only).

Chow hor fun炒河粉 or Kueh teow basah are rice noodles fried in such a way that it is a little wet with dark gravy (as opposed to the Penang char kueh teow which has no gravy but is fried with egg, prawns or cockles and the Cantonese-style wat tan hor 滑蛋河, which is completely immersed in clear, egg gravy). You can get chow hor fun in all Chinese restaurants in Ipoh. The best chow hor fun can be found at a street stall in the Mengelembu town area and one restaurant near Xin Hup Zi (originating from Buntong; only open at night).

Hakka noodles客家麵. A few restaurants around the city sell delicious Hakka noodles with yong tau foo. The most popular Hakka noodles are offered by Yin Yau Kui at Hugh Low Street (Jalan Iskandar). This shop specialises in noodles rather than yong tau foo. Another lesser known favourite, known to local old-timers is located at Majestic Food Centre at Osbourne Street (Jalan Tahwil Azar). This stall offers much better yong tau foo compared to Yin Yau Kui but Yin Yau Kui's noodles are superior. There is one near the Mun Zhong restaurant in Jalan Pasir Puteh and one in a food court behind the Olympia College or Jalan Yang Kalsom (both open mornings only).

Salted chicken or Yim Kok Kai 盐锔鸡. The chicken is baked in salt in such a way that the skin and meat is so delicious that you will finish it all. Whole chickens are wrapped in "oil paper" and then baked in large woks filled with heated salt. The restaurant that sells salted chicken is Aun Kheng Lim Restaurant, located at Theatre Street, opposite Martell house or near Bak Gong restaurant in the city centre. It is so popular that you must call to order before you drop in. Tel: 05-254 2998.

Roasted duck 燒鴨. The duck is roasted in such a way the skin of the duck is so crispy, smells great and tastes delicious. Recommended famous restaurants that sell roasted duck: Yeong Wai （楊威） restaurant in Greentown Business area and Tuck Kee （得记） restaurant in Pasir Pinji, Ipoh. There's also a restaurant called Kedai Hong Kong in the Tasek area. The chef famously studied his duck preparation in Hong Kong. A couple of ex-staff have opened their own duck restaurants in adjacent restaurants.

Curry noodle 咖喱麵. In old town Ipoh, Sin Seng Fatt （新成发）, which is located near Kong Heng restaurant in Market Street, sells very delicious curry noodles. The curry paste of the curry noodle is so good that it's packed and sent to franchises in Hong Kong. They have a franchise at SS2, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. (open mornings and afternoons only). Another famous shop known to the locals is Sin Chuan Fatt (新泉發) on Jalan Pasir Puteh, which is known for its very spicy and thick curry paste, fried chicken and pork to go with the noodles. Lesser known are the restaurant facing the roundabout beside MGS secondary school (open mornings and afternoons only) and a coffee shop called Sin Chuan Fong （新泉芳） on Hugh Low Street.

Prawn mee 蝦麵 or Hokkien mee. This is the same as Penang's Hokkien Mee. This noodle soup tastes spicy and sweet. Recommended for prawn mee is the roadside stall on the road between Yik Foong complex and Super Kinta shopping centre (open from night and until early morning).

Sze Chuan food 川菜. There is a very good Sze Chuan Restaurant located in Fair Park. (There is only one, along the way from Ipoh General Hospital to Ipoh Indra Mulia Indoor Stadium.) They serve some very authentic Sze Chuan-style dishes that can only be described as heavenly. Don't forget to order the deep fried "Man Tou" “馒头” or Chinese "Pau", Cheong Chang Arp (sauce-layered duck), Sze Chuan fried long beans, Taufu cooked Szechuan-style and Tong Por pork meat. These are signature dishes at this establishment.

Chinese Vegetarian Food 素食店. There is one restaurant, Restaurant Sin Meng Kee 新明记, in the city centre that offers good Chinese vegetarian economical rice. It has many dishes in its menu. Main shop located at Jalan Dato Onn Jaafar and branch located at Jalan Lau Pak Khuan, Ipoh Garden and Kinta City food court (open morning until evening).

Claypot Chicken Rice 瓦褒鸡饭. This is a hot and delicious. Ipoh's famous exponent of this dish is located in the Bercham village area, at Lorong Bercham 4, opposite the Old Bercham wet market (open only at night).

Chinese-style Satay 沙爹. This is skewered meat seasoned and flavored with spices and served with cucumbers, onions and a chunky peanut sauce. Please note that the Chinese-style of satay (compared to other satay) contains pork and is thus unsuitable for Muslim tourists. The preferred stall is in Thean Chun Restaurant, Ipoh old town (open mornings and afternoons).

Malay/Indian Food

Laksa Perak 叻沙. This is a noodle dish which is similar to Penang's famous Asam Laksa but with a different taste. Laksa in Ipoh tastes a bit sour and spicy but not as sweet as Penang's Laksa. The ingredients of the noodle soup include prawn paste. There is one very good Laksa stall in Farlim, Ipoh (opposite the Setapak driving institute, on the way to Mengelembu from Ipoh; open Sunday afternoons only). The other one would be the Laksa stall in Kong Heng Restaurant.

Cuttle fish 鱿鱼雍菜, served with kangkung or water convolvulus vegetable and a sweet and spicy sauce on top of it.

Soup and fried rice. Try Darus sup in Tawil Azar stalls in Ipoh town-simply delicious. The best soup in Ipoh.

Samosas. There are great samosas and other great foodstuffs to be found in Little India.

Food courts. If you just want to eat a variety of good Ipoh food in just one place, go to Anika Selera or Gourmet Square and Woolley Centre in Canning Garden. Try bubur cha cha (at the first drinks stall counting from the Woolley Centre) and seafood in Aneka Selera (Toong Koo Theng) 冬菇亭. Try the Marmite Crab or the sweet & sour crab and the fried balitong. Also try the ABC dessert (Ice Mix 杂雪) in Woolley Centre. It is made up of a bowl of sinfully delightful mixture of red bean, cendol (green strands of pandan flavoured rice flour), jelly, peanuts and palm seed kernels topped with shaved ice, rose syrup, evaporated milk and corn. For the more health conscious, there is a fruit variant you can order. The other two great food courts are Rainbow City food court opposite Sam Tet primary school in Ipoh and all the street food stalls in Mengelembu old town (all opens at night only). You can find a lot of choices of good Ipoh food in these food courts.

Note that it is quite difficult getting a table at many coffee shops during weekdays and especially on weekends and holidays, so try to go early, not at busy times.

Drinks

Ipoh White Coffee, which are coffee beans specially roasted (with palm-oil margarine). Its colour is similar to that of cappuccino when served with milk. The best can be found in the few coffee shops located opposite the Kinta Heights flats in Ipoh's old town such as:

• • Nam Heong Restaurant (Distributor of "3 in 1 Ipoh Old Town White Coffee")
  • Xin Yun Loong restaurant (Open mornings and afternoons only)
  • Xin Yuan Hoong and Xin Yuan Foong (All open mornings and afternoons only).
  • The aroma, taste & texture of the original thing is definitely superior compared to the commercially-packed sachets or the Ipoh White Coffee sold elsewhere. These coffee shops are likely to be crowded during teatime, especially on weekends. Food-wise, you can get fried noodles/vermicelli, satay, congee, kuih, etc. at these coffee shops. Also order tasty toasted bread with kaya (coconut jam) and butter to complement a good cup of white coffee (known as a "Yin-Yang" toast). Nowadays you can get a good cup of white coffee in coffee shops around Ipoh city.

• Tau Fu Fah (豆腐花), or soybean curd. It is claimed that Ipoh or Kinta Valley water makes this drink tasty. This drink is good for the body after travelling on a very hot day. The soya bean is fresh, sweet and smooth. Once you are drinking this soya bean curd, you can feel the smoothness and freshness of the soya bean smoothing down through your throat. It is served steaming hot with pandan syrup. The stall named Kei Foong, or Funny Mountain in English, is located at Osbourne Street (Jalan Tahwil Azar), near Restaurant Foh San. It has a drive-in delivery service. Also try the following delicious varieties:
  • soymilk only
  • soymilk mixed with cincau
  • soybean curd with soymilk.

The Funny Mountain shop is open from 10.00am to 7.30pm. Tau Fu Fah and its variants can also be found in stalls by the roadside in various places.

• Tong Sui (糖水), sweet dessert drink that will definitely refresh your body on a hot day. The most famous, located at what locals call "Tong Sui Kai" (糖水街) or Desert Drinks Street, is opposite Sam Tet Primary School (noon till late night). The most popular tong sui at this place would be black sesame (芝麻糊), mo mo cha cha and red bean (红豆沙). Also recommended is one located at Restaurant Cha Yong, behind Pizza Hut in Ipoh Garden South. Another few stalls are located in the Ipoh Stadium's food court and in a food court near the former Ocean (now The Store) supermarket.
• Anyone game to join me in my adventure to Ipoh?
  

Fine Dining in Penang?

I come across an interesting article from the Business Times Singapore which should be of interest to fine diners as a whole to quote:

"PENANG, Nov 15 — Yes, there's more to the Penang food scene than its famous char koay teow. Here's a guide to boutique restaurants and fine dining along the heritage trail.

When was the last time you went to Penang specifically to eat at a fine dining restaurant? Is there even such a thing as a fine dining eatery in this hawker capital of Malaysia? It's precisely because Penang is so strongly associated with mouth-watering char koay teow (even the patois spelling is different), assam laksa, wantan mee (with thick black sauce), prawn noodles (Hokkien mee) and nasi kandar (Indian-Muslim curry rice) that no visitor or overseas-based Penangite in their right mind would think of anything else the moment they reach the island. Even on a three-day, five-meals-a-day eating trip, you would only scratch the surface of what Penang's hawkers have to offer.

Besides, Western-style dining has always been “second-class” where the local palate is concerned. Considering that whatever Western food being served was usually second-rate and found in touristy spots like Batu Ferringhi, the reputation wasn't exactly undeserved.

But things have been changing over the past couple of years. Now that Penang's George Town has been recognised as a heritage city by Unesco, it looks set to follow in the footsteps of cities like Hanoi with their boutique restaurants.

In fact, such developments have given Penang a new cachet beyond that of “koay teow paradise”. It's now hip to be in Penang, especially when conservation and cuisine add up to a totally different cultural experience. So, if you can tear yourself away from your second plate of koay teow, we show you how to get the best of food and history as we guide you along the heritage trail.

The High Court and Port area

The Sire Museum Restaurant (4 King Street, Tel: 04-264-5088) tops the list of restaurants to check out in Penang, especially if you're an antiques buff. The food there is fusion — think Asian spices and herbs in continental dishes — and done very well. The restaurant is worthy of a fine-dining tag, even if prices are steep by Penang standards. The whole building has been lavishly restored and would have been more authentic if it didn't have Vietnamese paintings in the front room. After lunch or dinner, you can spend over an hour looking through the impressive collection of antiques from the Yeap Chor Ee estate. Yeap was one of Penang's leading tycoons and philanthropists.

This part of town isn't very far from Penang's Little India, but if you want Northern Indian food rather then the more pedestrian Southern Indian, there's Spice & Rice (1 Green Hall, www.spicenrice.com.my, Tel: 04-261-8585), right opposite the handsomely rebuilt High Court. The building used to house the North Malaya Chinese Textile & General Merchants Association in the late 19th century. The Indian restaurant serves both Northern and Southern Indian fare, and the tasty dishes are fairly authentic. We tried dishes like mutton rogangosh, hydrabadi murg and aloo gobi (from RM14 to RM22) and scooped up all the gravy with our prata-like garlic and butter naans.

For Hainanese food with a view, Hai Nan Town (Tanjung Marina or Church Street Pier, 8A Pengkalan Weld, Tel: 04-263-8633. www.hainantown.oomph.com.my) is one of the best in town and is located at a newly built waterfront marina. Enjoy the sight of Penang's traditional ferries going in and out of the ferry terminal while you tuck into curry kapitan, assam prawns (tamarind-coated prawns), and fish head curry. Give the ju hu char (stir-fried jicama and dried cuttlefish) a miss because it's not as good as the Peranakan version, but the sambal kangkung (water morning-glory fried in sambal chilli) is among the best in town.

Around the E&O Hotel area

For some of the best fusion fine-dining fare on the island, 32 at the Mansion (www.32atthemansion.com, Tel: 04-262- 2232) — just look out for the house number — is a must visit. The restaurant is housed in an original Italian-style mansion built in the 19th century, and has a bar/lounge as well. The interior and decor is drop-dead gorgeous, especially the dining area in the conservatory where you can look out to the sea. The owners of 32 were the early pioneers of stylish dining in Penang, and they also run the trendy Beach Blanket Babylon down the road, at the refurbished Garage, an art deco building which used to be the Wearne Brothers' garage that serviced British Leyland automobiles like Austin, Morris and Jaguar, belonging to the rich and famous in colonial Penang. You can of course also pop in for an English afternoon tea at the E&O Hotel, built by the Sarkies Brothers in 1884 who later set up the Raffles Hotel in Singapore.

The Armenian Street enclave

Armenian Street is the heart of the heritage movement in Penang. More than a decade ago, conservation wasn't hip but just a battle fought valiantly by non-governmental organisations. But once these organisations started to make some headway, the first wave of state-supported heritage restorations began in Penang, with the restoration of an early Achenese mosque to an upper class Muslim residence (The Syed Alatas Mansion). Sun Yat Sen's base in Penang is also housed here, and the street has three clanhouses, including the poster clanhouse — the Khoo Kongsi — which is hidden away in Cannon Square.

A street once dotted with karang guni businesses, the restored shophouses have been converted into art galleries, architects' and lawyers' offices and a few “heritage” restaurants. Colonial Restaurant and Nanyang Cuisine have Hainanese food but the fare isn't very consistent so you might be better off sampling the hawker food at the corner coffeeshop opposite Yap Kongsi which has a wide variety of stalls.

But if you want to take a break from local specialities and have some Austrian fare instead, check out the Edelweiss Cafe (38 Armenian Street, www.edelweisscafe.com) which is packed with antiques and designed to look like the kopitiams of old — complete with Czechoslovakian-made coffeeshop chairs and marble-topped tables.

Penang Hill

David Brown's Restaurant and Tea Terrace (Strawberry Hill, Penang Hill, Tel: 04-828-8337) is a little off the beaten track — all the way up Penang Hill, to be precise — but it's worth your while to climb up on foot (it'll take anywhere from an hour if you're fit to three if not) or drive up to this faux English cottage (it's new, but supposedly in the cottage style that David Brown, a nutmeg merchant, would have had it built in the 18th century), and enjoy the cool air and hilltop scenery. If you're lucky, the funicular train might be working, but otherwise, hiring a chauffeured car up and down costs only RM80 per car.

The restaurant was opened by the late Peter Lee, who also owned and ran The Smokehouse Hotel in Cameron Highlands which serves arguably the best scones with clotted cream in the country. Everything at David Brown's is typically colonial English, and the food is good although prices are a little loftier than down the hill. Hits include the robust tomato consomme and the spiced mulligatawny soup, while the menu includes English fare like chicken and mushroom pie, fish & chips, and Chicken Maryland (breaded chicken).

If manicured lawns and all that effort to recreate life in 18th century Penang isn't quite your cup of tea, just walk a wee bit up the hill and check out Bellevue Hotel, owned by renowned architect Lim Chong Keat. The hotel which seems to represent the architect's interests and influences — think mystic Bali, exotic animals, architectural innovation — is caught firmly in a '60s-'70s retro time warp but its fascinating view (from the “backside” of Penang Hill rather than the front that faces the city) includes an abandoned building on a hillock which used to be Crag Hotel, also once run by the Sarkies Brothers. Bellevue is for the bohemian naturalist who hopefully has a taste for down-to-earth Hainanese char bee hoon, cooked with gravy.

And if you hang out on the verandah long enough, underneath the bowers of a flowering plant with aqua blue hornbill-shaped flowers, the waiter will point out where the resident wild snake or two are curled up overhead.

Bellevue is almost the complete antithesis of David Brown's, and stays under the radar. For that reason, David Brown's is a breath of fresh air for Penang Hill which has long needed a quaint place serving well-prepared fare — never mind that it's all a bit contrived. It's a blast from the romanticised past, which seems to be the way forward for Penang's dining scene. — Business Times Singapore" unquote.

NO MILK TODAY!

Phew!Holiday ends so fast and before you knew it, it ended!

But what worries me greatly is the food all babies,toddlers and kids associate with- their milk! With ever increasing numbers of babies being sicked, the latest figure added up to 53000 children sickened with tainted milk and with several deaths reported I have decided to research on this phenomena to update all mothers what caused these lovely bouncy baby to be sick. to quote from 'Doctors 2008 blog':

Mixing Melamine and Milk

If you think that only milk and milk products with only Chinese names are contaminated with melamine, the results released by the Center For Food Safety of Hong Kong as reported by China Daily yesterday raised the possibility that the practice may be more widespread.

Of 65 different brands tested, one contained melamine at a level of 1.4 ppm(parts per million), the safety limit being 6.3 mg per kg body weight per day. While the level detected is below the safety limit, it was enough for the authorities to have it removed from the shelves. However, to allay concerns, this product, named as Nestle Dairy Farm Pure Milk (Catering Use Only), was actually manufactured on the Chinese mainland.

The recent outbreak in mainland China was reported widely in the media the last 2 weeks and to date, 53,000 babies are affected, 13,000 hospitalised and 4 have died , and counting..

Melamine - the high content of nitrogen(blue dots) are similar to that of amino-acids which make up protein

Melamine is used in making plastics and is loaded with nitrogen molecules. Because of the high nitrogen content, this makes milk products appear to have a higher protein count as the current methods of measuring protein are based on measuring the nitrogen content alone. Health experts say that ingesting small amounts does no harm, but sustained use especially in babies and children can cause kidney stones and renal failure, as melamine is insoluble in the human body and tends to deposit itself in the kidneys which cannot remove it from the system via the urine.

But why add melamine in the first place? This allows milk to be diluted with water by the unscrupulous and the greedy to give more volume. The ‘protein’ levels are then built up back by adding the protein substitute (melamine).

A burning issue is that, while the NZ government raised this issue as early as March this year, no action was taken by the Chinese government. One of the reasons quoted by some newspapers was that the Chinese government had issued a 21-point plan to all journalists covering the Olympics to avoid taboo subjects, including food safety issues (point 8). A sort of news censorship to put the Beijing Olympics in a spotless stage. I guess I should add the melamine issue as an addition to my series of earlier posts on “Beijing Olympics Face Major Health Issues”…. unquote.

Curry Mee Anyone?

This evening I just felt like eating Penang curry mee and the Goodall Hawker stall opposite the Penang Chinese Girl High School at Bagan Jemal was simply ideal.There was this lady with a friendly smile greeting me and off I ordered my first bowl of the tasty curry mee.There are also other stalls all over the island and they are equally famous and mouth-watering! Here we go:

1.This pic was taken at the "seven road" market stall.Don't they look very appertising and spicy?

2.Next to the Island Park Chung Hwa Chinese school,there is a corner coffee shop which sells some of the most delicious hawker's fare among them Char Keow Teow and Wan Tan Mee. A very experienced young man sells the only curry mee in this locality.Try it and tell me what do you think of this curry mee?

In the same shoes!

After reading my blog on fuelling change and the single mother, a friend asks me what about those in the salary brackets fromRM3000 and below? What about those retirees and those considered as the ' living deads' whose lives have changed forever with the fuel increase? To convince me he lists below the monthly expenses incurred via e-mail to quote:

Can A Family Man With Salary RM3,000 Survive In Malaysia ....!


Can a family man with Salary RM3,000 survive in Malaysia

Let's do some simple calculations here.

In Malaysia , the average family income is RM3,000/month
(where father works, mother doesn't).

I understand there are many families whose
monthly income does not reach RM3,000
but, to make things simple,
let's take RM3,000 as the figure. Ok lah, right?

Okay, let's start rolling with a family which has
Papa, Mama, 1 daughter and 1 son. Ngam-ngam ...

Calculation starts...

Electricity and water bill: RM100
(No air-con, No home theatre, No water heater ... ok?)

Phone bill ( Telekom): RM100

Meals for a happy family: RM775
(3 meals on RM25/day, RM25 for 4 persons...?)

Papa makan / teh-tarik during working hrs: RM155
(RM5/day, RM5 ... can eat what?)

Car repayment: RM400
(A proton saga aeroback, 7 yrs repayment)

Petrol (living in city, traffic-jam): RM300
(go to work, bring son to school,
only can afford one car running)

Insurance: RM650
(kids, wife and myself)

House repayment: RM750
(low cost housing repayment for 30 yrs,
retired still have to work to pay!)

Tuition: RM80
(got that cheap meh? i don't think so)

Older children pocket money @ school: RM20
(RM1/day, eat bread?)

School fees: RM30
(enough ah?)

School books and etc: RM100
(always got extra to pay in school)

Younger children milk powder: RM50
(cannot have the DHA, BHA, PHA one, expensive)

Miscellaneous: RM100
(shampoo, rice, sauce, toilet paper)

Oh wait!!! I have to stop here, so...
No Astro,
no movie @ cinema,
no DVD,
no CD,
no online,
cannot KFC,
cannot McDonald,
cannot go Park walk during weekend (petrol expensive),
no chit chat on phone with grandparents, and etc...

Let's use a calculator to total up... WALAO EH! Shit! RM3,610 already....

EPF belum potong, income tax lagi........oledi RM3,610 ....

How to survive lah tuan-tuan dan puan-puan sekalian ???

Our Deputy Prime Minister asked us to change lifestyle?

How to change? Don't eat? Don't work? Don't send children to school and study?HOW about himself??O ya, he is different...

Besides that, I believe in Malaysia population, there are millions of rakyat Malaysia which still don't earn RM3,000/month!!!

Unquote.

Fuelling change!

Since the fuel price increase by 78 cents to RM2.70, many lives have been affected in Malaysia.I was rather moved by a single mother who had this to say and to quote:

I have read so many times about the price increases but so far I feel that nobody actually knows or cares about how much we, the general just below-average and under-average income earners live!

In your papers you had an article on how people manage their income but most of them earned RM3000 on average!

What about me? And those in my shoes??

I am a single parent! I am not a charity case (though it looks like I'm being pushed into that), I have one kid 3 yrs going on 4. My ex-husband doesn't support me with anything! I work in a factory as an assistant officer. My net income is RM1300 per month!

To get to work 7 km away and to send my kid to the babysitter, i have to drive because the public transport only decides to turn up when they feel like it!!!!!!!!! Moreover, to get from my house to my job of only 7 km away, i have to travel on 2 buses that will take me 20 km in all different directions before getting me to work. (What great public transportation we have here!) Just for your information, I live in Seremban; not too far off in the rural area but just about 1 hour's drive to KL. But, we have very crappy public transport services. And I imagine most towns have this same crappy service too!

The 13 year old Wira I drive actually belongs to my brother-in-law. God Bless him, he let me use this car when he bought a new one late last year (an Iswara) so that I can get to work on time.

I live in a rented house of which I pay RM280 a month and my babysitter costs me RM270 a month. My utility bills come up to RM100 and my phone bill around RM80. I had to cancel my credit card which I had from my single and carefree days and now I'm paying for it monthly until the year 2010! RM160 every month! Then, I put money aside for my kid's milk, diapers, food, gas, rice, (all these used to be around RM250 a month) and of course, petrol! I used to spend RM120 for petrol a month. And that would leave me RM40 a month for doctor's fees, and maybe getting a new pair of slippers for my kid or whatever is needed for her. (How I've change my lifestyle! I have not had a hair cut in 2 years! Let me just say I've made changes to my lifestyle, drastic changes from 2 years ago when my ex-husband left!) However, still, I used to get by.

But then came the petrol price increase!

Chicken price has gone up (I'm not even going to talk about the rice price!), eggs, milk, vegetables, fish, all up! Even if I sell this old car I still will not be able to cover my expenses for food! How much and how long do you think that RM625 cash will help me?? I'm so sick and tired of hearing them say change your lifestyle! There is nothing more for me to change!

Unless I skip some meals, maybe my breakfast and my lunch?? But then, what if I get sick? Who will care for my daughter? How do I pay for the doctor? And if I don't go to work (because I'm sick), maybe I may not even have work anymore?? Then who will pay all the expenses? Where will I live? Can the Government give me a house?

Now, when I'm struggling with my income, what about my other friends in this factory whose salaries are RM550 a month. Then, there are 2 women here who are widows with school-going kids! Who have worked as operators for 5 - 8 years here and their salary NET only reaches RM650 a month! Lucky for them, they have their own houses and do not pay rent! Lucky for them too, they either walk or cycle to work. But don't think the price of petrol has not affected them! Because they still have to buy food and clothes and pay for their kids' school bus fares as all have increased! But their income remains the same! So tell me, how can they get the RM625 subsidy??? What is the government going to do for them??

All I hear on the government focused news are how they are trying to find ways to help the civil servants. I'm not saying they do not need help, but, WHAT ABOUT US??? Is anyone doing anything for us or would you all prefer we just die off quietly?? Our income will not be increased, and you can bet because of everything, the company will not increase the salaries for next year as well because they need to cut costs or close shop! Then what will we do??

Do you know that you can get welfare help if your family's income is RM350 and below only? This was what my friends were told and because they have work, they are not entitled to welfare help!

So, can someone explain to US, THE REAL PEOPLE, WHAT THE HELL IS THERE FOR US TO CHANGE??? AND DO NOT TELL US TO GET ANOTHER JOB BECAUSE WE DO NOT HAVE THE TIME!!!

I really do want a reply from someone who can really give me good, clear answers. Not some "merry-go-round the bush" answer!

Thank you,
A desperate mother!

Unquote.

The Time is Now!

This month on May 11 we celebrated Mother's Day.On June 15, we look forward to Father's Day. As food for spiritual thoughts,I would like to quote a poem from Robert Paul Moreno which surmise our feelings as a mother and a father:

The time is Now!

If you are ever going to love me
Love me now while I can know
All the sweet and tender feelings
From which the true affection flows

Love me now while I am still living
do not wait until I am gone
And then have it chiselled
in marble
Sweet words on ice-cold stone

If you have tender thoughts of me
Why not whisper them to me?
Don't you know it would
make me happy?
and as glad as can be

If you wait until I am sleeping
Never to waken here again
There will be walls
of earth between us
And I won't hear you then

I won't need your kind words
When the grass grows over my face
I won't crave your love and kisses
In my last low resting place

So if you love me,even a little bit
Let me know while I'm living
so that i can treasure it!
unquote

To our two children,Shu and Jin, we thank you for the laughter and the good time we share. When things gone bad,you will surely have our comforts and shoulders to cry on.

Happy Mother's day and Father's day to all mothers and fathers!

Uniquely Singapore!

It had been a long time since I stepped into Singapore.There were of course interesting tourist destinations to choose from in Asia such as Bali in Indonesia, Siem Reap(Angkor Wat) in Cambodia or the Niah Caves in Sarawak, East Malaysia.But I chosed Singapore as I really wanted to compare its past and present.It was a long and interesting journey from Penang to Singapore as I decided to travel by bus so that I could also check on the various food-stalls operating along the North-South expressway.The pit-stops were plentiful, the journey eventful and the stalls that served the various varieties of food whether they be Malay, Chinese or even Indian dishes, all were very tasty though a bit expensive.Who cares if you are hungry,anything goes!

I arrived at Woodslands checkpoint around 1900 hrs after a heavy traffic jam from Senai,Johore.Earlier the Malaysian immigration officer was cheerful though overworked and I got my passport cleared within 10 minutes.We rushed towards the Singapore Immigration and Customs complex,there were three to four long lines of people from all over Asia.A group of young tourists from China looked puzzled at the forms to be filled and so were the Philippino and the Indian families behind me.Perhaps they did not understand english,where the crux of the problem was and they were unable to fill in the forms properly or that we tourists all have the look-a-like features of Mas Selamat, the militant fugitive who escaped from prison recently and that was why the Indian lady immigration officer checked all of us thoroughly including comparing my passport and my mycard! I managed to leave the complex only after 2135hrs after being barked at by a pregnant Malay lady immigration officer after my protest to another lady Indian immigration officer who later apologized.At the customs inspection area,I was roared at by the Chinese customs officer as I did not put my Malaysian coins in the X-ray machine!This is what I called 'uniquely Singapore' after getting battered by some ugly Singaporeans and what a good start for my latest impression of Singapore not to mentioned that my bus left us!By the way,aren't all tourists the guests of Singapore,therefore we should be welcomed with open arms?This perception was definitely further from the truth based on our truly unforgettable 'first impressions'!
Once in Singapore,things livened up.The supper at Holland village were superb though it was already 2330hrs.The crowd had fizzled out and most shops in the locality had since closed except for the bars and Mexican fast food chain.We managed to eat porridge at the Chinese restaurant next door.
The next day,we managed to take a bus to Singapore botanical garden.It was really beautiful with man-make lakes and waterfalls, but I still loved my Penang botanical garden for its natural surroundings and its floral and fauna.Next stop was Orchard road and just imagine,things changed completely except for the Tangs and Marriott landmarks that I could clearly remember!The Food Republic food-court ( on the same row as Takashimaya) here was huge and clean and I should say they served very good dry beef noodle and Hainanese chicken rice but not the char koay teow, hokkien mee or nasi kandar which we dearly love to eat in Penang.

At the Lau Par Sat food court, there were certainly much to choose from.Ikan Panggan at stall No.18 was delicious.If you liked Satay Itek(duck satay),you could get this delicacy at Rahim stall No3 and 4.Clarke Quay,another tourist attraction, was our next stop.It was really an enchanting evening to relax here but we also managed to rave with the extreme thrill seekers who rode those GX5 Extreme Swings at the complex.

The Vivo City,another tourist attraction and a great shopping destination was another experience one would not want to miss.If you are there the next time for lunch,rush to the Marche restaurant for an unforgettable food feast.For just SGD28.00 you could vet your appetitites on the various servings and drinks!Or what about a fine dining in a cable car to Sentosa Island/Mt Faber and back?

Anyway, the fabulous Singapore Sale is back with its unbelievably great deals,anyone game to have an unforgettable experience?

Remembering the Dead!

Only the Chinese New Year and Qing Ming are two very important occasions that bond the Chinese families together.Qing Ming or Cheng Beng happened to fall on April 4 this leap year.The sky is expected to be clear and bright which bears the festival's name.This festival is sometimes called 'clear brightness festival','grave sweeping day','all souls' day' or 'spring remembrance day'.

Chinese families would visit the graves of their ancestors to observe the ritual ten days earlier or after the actual date to pay their respect or to show filial piety to their loved-ones.Normally a date will be set for members of the family to go to the cemetery or the columbarium to pay respect to the patriarch or the matriarch of the family.They would bring along food which their departed loved-ones would usually like to eat while they were alive, joss-sticks and hell money to burn by the grave side.Some richer families burned paper replicas of modern items such as cans of beer,designer clothings, mobile-phones,televisions,refrigerators,paper houses and even luxury cars.To supplement these they even burned a paper petrol station or even a designer's paper bra!

Since my family had all relocated to Penang from the east coast state of Trengganu years ago, we did not visit the graves of our loved-ones but still remember them by setting an altar at the front poach of my mother's house and invited the departed for a feast.Beside the joss-papers,and the burning of joss sticks,we would lay out tray and tray of food that my deceased father,his father and those that left earlier on in time to invite them to eat what we the livings can afford to offer.Normally,we set up vegetarian dishes , a cup of coffee, some fruits like bananas and pineapples etc.After all had prayed,then my brother would take two coins and toss them into the air to 'check' whether all have finished the grand feast and if so by the denoting of the coins,then the joss papers together with the hell notes and whatever paper peripheries would be burned for the deceased.My brother would take a pot of tea to circle the burnt items while at the same time calling our loved-ones to accept whatever were offered by the livings.Of course,once the ritual was over,we too will have a grand feast on the food just to add to our blessings!

For those who visited the graves,they would also bring along the cooked food with roast chicken or roast pork which their ancestors relished together with trays of fruits, to be laid out in front of the tomb.The family members would start cleaning the grave off the weeds and placed pieces of joss-papers all over the grave together with tiny pieces of paper flags.I was told that once the grave was attended to, the relatives of the dead need not have to do this ritual again even if they came to pray later within the set dateline!Once the joss-sticks and candles were lit in front of the tombstone and the food were laid out together with flowers,then the younger family members such as the grand children or children of the ancestor could start lighting up the paper offerings to the departed soul.For most of the graves in the cemetery,new soils or earth would be added to the tomb or grave in the believe that the descendent's would be doubly blessed with further prosperity as the dead was responsible for ensuring fertility in the family as well as in the fields. Sacrificial food and hell notes are offered to the ancestors so that the descendants will receive abundant blessings.

The whole episode sounds like All Souls' day for the Christians but to us Chinese this is the highest mark of filial piety instilled to us by our parents from a very young age to honour our dear departed in the hope that our childrens' children would continue this grand tradition!

A perfect storm!

For many, the Malaysian election results after 8th march could be considered as a political tsunami but to most of us,we would rather associate them with a perfect storm.Many experienced and well-tried politicians were swept into the abyss just like committing 'harakiri' in Japanese. In the aftermath of the storm, my state of Penang fell into opposition grip and so were the other four states in Peninsula Malaysia.Well, what has this got to do with food,one wonders?
Like food, election is just a matter of choices for the voters. Hawkers' food for that matter evolved from the kitchens of our fore-fathers or mothers.Though time tested recipes basically passing from words of mouths(or should I say through many many mouths)that we got the present concoctions that you and I are presently enjoying the tempting and mouth-watering char koay teow,curry-mee, char hor fun, hokkien char and many more!
But What I would like to share here is the Nyonya restaurant presently run by the third generation Khoo family at Nagore road, off Burma road.
To most old-timers, the previousDragon King restaurant at Bishop street would draw packed crowds for lunch and dinners.Since it was then next to my bank,Public Bank,I would without fail came to the same table reserved by the young miss Khoo either for myself or my clients.I did all the bank marketing and entertaining on the same table every working day of the week without fail and on top of that I get more customers to bank with my bank and they were the same customers of Dragon King! This cute restaurant had a very cozy ambience with proper lightings and superb services.I once told my management that to win more customers,one needed to introduce 'service with a smile"concept and I actually picked it up at Dragon King.
Now after more than 30 years,the young Miss Khoo,the previous supervisor of Dragon King Restaurant decided to continue the fine dining but this time, she moved to Nagore road. Many new restaurants serving nyonya food in the mean-time sprang up but ended their natural death due to the lack of customers or due to keen competitions from the hawkers' food. But Miss Khoo's Nyonya restaurant continued to survive and grow.I had the opportunity to talk to the elderly Khoo who said she learned the recipes from her mother who managed the earlier restaurant together with her aunt and a family relations.When Dragon King was at its peak,she managed it but now her daughter( third generation Khoo family) single-handedly cooks, takes orders and does her own marketing.
So when my wife decided to treat Ken and Yukii for a farewell dinner, I suggested we had it at Miss Khoo's Nyonya restaurant!
We started with the traditional Paiti(vegetable mixed in a cup),Roti Babi(pork spring roll),Kerabu Bok Nee(vegetable with dried fungus),succulant Assam Prawn, followed with chicken curry kapitan,Loh-Bak(another pork spring roll) and turnip fried with small strips of squids(Ju Hu Char).Of course,Yukii enjoyed these dishes as they are not spicy (at the most up three ritcher scale!)My wife and I were very facinated with the way Ken and Yukii managed to take out the shells from these prawns.I also noticed they did not eat the red lining of the prawn which is considered a delicacy here and If I were them,it will be very 'adventurous' to attempt to suck out the juice from the prawns' head!
We ended our meal by toppling up with black glutinious rice with suger coconut palm and pieces of mangos (Or Choo Bee pengat)I have never eaten such a delicacy before and all at the expense of the chef herself.
Thank you Miss Khoo for the fine Nyonya food you and your generations have dished up for us from time to time.Incidentally this cozy restaurant is also mentioned on Tokyo Channel 9 TV programme and the traveller's guide book "The Lonely Planet".

Food for thought in a National Election.

This is it!Just barely 2 hours to go before Malaysians go to the poll.Today being a national election day,most 10.5m eligible voters will rise early to go to their respective polling stations where they were registered to exercise their national rights as malaysian citizens.Of course,my vote is my right and have I made up my mind as to which party I am going to put a cross(X) on the voting slip?In our land, we have the Barisan National party comprising of juxtaposition of parties based on various races of Chinese (MCA),Indian(MIC) and Umno malay parties.There are also other loose mosquito parties aligned to the major parties linked to this alliance, which has been ruling the country for the last 50 years. On the other end,we have the Oppositions comprising of the DAP(Democratic Action Party),Kealiran and the PAS parties.Before I share my voting secret with you, let me also share with you what we eat before casting our votes.
I would love to eat heavy breakfast in the morning. I would go the an Indian-Muslim(mamak) restaurant to have roti canai with egg or plain,or a tosai or a chapatti.Those are flour based pancakes to be eaten with gravy or with just sugar to accompany them.On my left side of the table there will be a glass of teh-tarik(tea with milk) to wash down these oily food.Most of the time, I would love to go the food-court at the Sungai Ara market to eat Wanton mee(sometimes pronounced as One-Ton mee. No,we do not eat a ton of noddle for a single breakfast,just that some hawker stalls try to be fanciful!There are dry noddles,wet noddles,curry noodles,plain gravy noodles etc.These hawkers will sell them the whole day,so not to worry that you will miss these wonderful concoctions!Try also the hokkien mee or the curry mee.These are more spicy but if you can take them it's O LA LA!
What about our malay friends in the polling centre?What do they eat for lunch?The Election Commision would usually arrange to cater nasi lemak for them.It is actually rice cooked in coconut milk with half a slice of egg and some anchovies to go along.It can be very spicy at times but I believe if you can tell the maker in advance that you do not want the chilli gravy that goes with it,you are perfectly safe!
My wife,one of the returning officer in the center, can opt for a hailanese chicken rice.Her mum cooks this speciality perfectly and I would never want to miss her cooking!AH Fatt chicken rice shop at Fette's Park did a very good job in concocting these hailanese dish.Try the assam pedas or the Kiam chye soup that goes with the chicken rice!I would rather not explain what this soup is make of for this will stir up the food adventure in you. Of course, these officers mostly government servants would be given malay traditional queh(Cake) to go along with their coffeee and tea in between!
Anyway, the center opens from 8am to 5pm.Then the counting officers will take over until the results are known.Good luck to those candidates whom you have seen their faces on the posters or flyers fluttering all over town!
Now coming back to me,who will I vote? The BN or the Oppositions?Wow? A rather difficult decision to make but I will definitely not shriek my responsibility. Or rather would I say that I would vote for the candidate with a PROSPEROUS SIGN and not one with a THIN AND HUNGRY LOOK because the latter would not be able to take care of the country but his own personal pocket!What say you? Voting is your right, so vote wisely!

Penang hawkers food

For the first timer to Penang,Malaysia, welcome!Those who like spicy food,it should have been no problem but those with weak stomach,just taste these food first and get your taste buds adjusted to the varying degree of spicy temptations that the hawkers here can offer.A Japanese friend of ours,Ms Yukii found these food so tempting but with just a small sip of the gravy would send her to the toilet!Whereas her husband, Ken-san(that's how my blog is named after!) can eat anything in the sun.My wife and I will surely miss this young couple who will be going back to Tokyo, Japan in a week's time.
Just last week too, we met a friendly Australian couple, Wendy and Barry Cooper from Melbourne.An elderly couple who preferred to travel light.At the foothill of Penang Hill, a famous landmark where most tourists will ask their tour guide to take them to.After climbing the Tee Kong temple or popularly known as the God of Heaven temple,my wife suggested to me to climb the Penang Hill as we have not done so for so many years.We happened to bounce into one another and decided that we would make Wendy and Barry remember their holidays on this sunny island of Penang a memorable one.What they wanted to hear,see and taste we guide them to the best of our ability.We took them to our home on Chinese New year and let them taste the love letter,Kueh Bankit,Kueh bulu and many more.To their delights,they took all in their stride including the madarin oranges!We ended up at the New world park for the Kueh Teow thing(gravy noodle),Char Kuey Teow(Fried broad noddle),yam rice to go with yong tow hoo ,ice kachang and lots of fresh juices. The next morning, Barry could not wait to tell his other tourist friends during breakfast at a five star hotel at Batu Feringgi!
Bon Voyage Ken and Yukii, so too to Wendy and Barry Cooper!