The girl is mine…

Never one for such formalities and pageantry, I hardly ever watched the live telecast of the National Day parade but this year is an exception because my daughter is taking part…

She is somewhere there among the 2000 teacher trainees from various institutes in the country and 100 from Institut Perguruan Sultan Abdul Halim (IPSAH) in Sungai Petani, Kedah.

They have been brought all the way to participate in this year’s parade. Things were not all that encouraging right from the start since they arrived some 9 days ago. They were dumped in some apartment in Putrajaya, given nothing but ONE mattress each and they had to practise morning, afternoon and night – rain or shine! All I could say to her was that she should take it as a learning experience and such adversities would only serve to make an individual stronger and able to face the challenges ahead in one’s life…and more appreciative of whatever little blessings that we might have in our midst but had failed to realise it and appreciate them.

As the days passed, she began to get used to it all and was getting excited about the big day and being a part of it all.

Say what you want about me being biased and what not, but I think they put up a good show…and what is most important is that my girl is part of it all.

However, now that I am posting something about the event, there is something that I would like to bring up. My wife and I went to Seoul, South Korea in the 80s. I do not know if it is still like this today but at the time, much of the things were underground – the shops, the people moving around. They said it was because they feared an attack by North Korea. So, at ground level, it seemed like a pretty quiet city but once you stepped underground, it was bustling with life with crowds of people going here and there. At a certain time of the day, suddenly everybody stopped and stood to attention. My wife and I were still walking, oblivious to what was going on. Then I realised that the national anthem was being played over the public address system, so we quickly joined them and stood to attention as well.

This is a photo of the crowd at Dataran Merdeka as the national anthem was being played…

Unlike the South Koreans, it is a real shame that nobody stood to attention to show their respect and sense of patriotism. Some even stood with their arms folded. Little things mean a lot and it is through the little things along the way that we can learn to love our country. Don’t bother talking about anything else if we can’t even do this little bit…

And to get back to the post proper, thumbs up, girl! Way to go! Daddy’s very proud of you and for your contribution to this great day!

Shall we dance…

From Melbie’s blog and it seems that she got it from Noktah Hitam

DANCE

By FADZILAH AMIN

We are like partners in the ronggeng,
Approaching nearer, nearer, nearer;
But just when one would think we’d meet at last,
We turn away, reverse our steps, withdraw.

And like the ronggeng too, my life seems now,
With steps mechanical, repeated, meaningless;
Arms swinging back and forth, expressing nothing,
Feet pacing up and down the floor, going nowhere.

I am tired of going through these ronggeng motions,
Long to break this impasse of reserve;
If only at one point our hands would clasp,
What rich variety of movement and gesture could be ours.

The Anak Dalam Gading Dancers from SMK Lundu. Photo from Fred’s album@www.friendster.com

So, reach out and touch somebody’s hand and make our country a better place, if we can. It’s up to us, you and me! A Happy National Day to one and all…

P.S.: This is about the way things are and how we may make it better. PERIOD. Please do have the decency not to spam my comment box. All comments deemed unsuitable for general attention WILL be deleted. Kindly take note, thank you!

Stories…

Sometime ago, I was tagged by cc of www.quaintmelody.com and my apologies to her for having taken my sweet time to get down to it. Well, as they say, better late than never! LOL!! This particular tag is about books and reading. It is a bit long, so I have left out a few of the questions. These are the ones that I have chosen to respond to…

Do you remember how you developed a love for reading?
When I was young, I loved reading comics – Superman, Batman, Flash, The Phantom, The Green Lantern, Aquaman…you name it, I had read it! I also had an auntie who would buy books for me for Christmas, birthdays, doing well in examinations, so I guess that also contributed to the inculcation of the reading habit in me since young.

What are some books you read as a child?
I do not think there were any Ladybird or Bookworm books at the time. I remember I had some fairy tale books with big letters and lots of colourful pictures. I had “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” and “Bluebeard” among others and I read Enid Blyton too…and later I progressed to The Secret Seven, The Famous Five and so on.

What is your favourite genre?
Fiction, of course…and I like to read the works of local/Asian writers with the more familiar setting and culture.

Do you have a favourite novel?
I loved “Goodbye, Mr Chips” by James Hilton and my all-time favourite has got to be “Twilight of the Nyonyas” by Chin Kee Onn…

…until I read Mitch Albom’s “Tuesdays with Morrie”.

Do you read nonfiction in a different way or place than you read fiction?
I do not usually read non-fiction books unless I need some information, so it is definitely different. In fact, I have not bought many – just this collector’s item…

and some books on science or nature…but I do keep abreast with such factual stuff in the magazines that I subscribe to. My missus buys a lot of recipe books though (…but hardly ever cooks! Can just drool over the pictures! Sob! Sob!).

Do you buy most of the books you read or borrow them or check them out of the library?
I normally buy my own. I love the smell of new books…like the smell of new currency notes and I cannot stand old books that have turned yellow and have a horrible stench. I may borrow from friends and family sometimes but not from any library.

Do you keep most of the books you buy? If not, what do you do with them?
I normally do…but sometimes people borrow and never return. Darn!!!

What books would you like to reread?
My daughter does that but I usually don’t except for some humorous light reading books like these perhaps…

Who are your favourite authors?
None in particular, but I used to like the short stories written by Catherine Lim, especially her “Little Ironies – Stories of Singapore”…

So there you have it, cc! I’ve done it…but I’m not going to tag anybody though. Wouldn’t wanna spoil their weekend. We’re having an extended one here because of National Day. Do have a bash this weekend, everybody!

P.S.: Oops! Looks like cc tagged jeremychee and I was tagged by him. Haiz! Old man lah! Memory not so good anymore (but can remember sweet young chick better! Hahahahaha!!!!). Coincidentally, we have the same title for our posts. I know “Stories” by Taiwan singer, Ch’yi (Best known for her theme song from the Chinese movie, “Your smiling face” or her cover of Mac Davis’ “Whoever finds this, I love you”).

Just the two of us (2)…

I went out on a dinner date on Wednesday night with one young hot babe who was celebrating her 23rd birthday. Gee! I’m more than twice her age!!! So all you guys out there, go eat your hearts out! Hahahahaha!!! Well, the birthday girl in question was Clare of Kampua Talk…

We went to the cafe at the Garden Hotel where the food has always been to my liking and comparatively cheaper…

I’m not too sure about their slogan though – linguistically, that is! Anyway, it’s the food that counts…and nothing else matters or at least, for someone my age! Clare had lamb chops…..

– nicely-grilled, juicy tender lamb chops! One advantage in dining with a sweet young thing was I got to eat half of the lamb chops. Hehehehehe!!! And good grief! She did not touch her french fries and coleslaw and everything on the side!!! I would have wanted all that as well, but I had to keep myself in check as I was being the perfect gentleman…and did not want to shock the other diners and embarrass the poor girl! ROTFLMAO!!!

So I quietly licked my own plate clean… 

This is their tom yam spaghetti. I used to have this quite often when it was on promotion and was available at a lower price. Now at RM12.00, I would rather go for the other options like their fish and chips or mixed grill. But since I had not had it for quite sometime, I decided to go for it just for a change. I also had my daughter’s favourite dessert (Gosh! She’ll kill me when she reads this! Drooling away there in Sungai Petani, poor thing!) – pancake with ice cream…

My daughter will always have it everytime we dine at the place. It is really very nice…but a bit expensive at RM6.00. On the other hand, the lamb chop is very very cheap especially when we compare it to the other places in Sibu or elsewhere (not counting those NCCA* “taman selera” places).

Well, I hope you enjoyed the dinner (and the company), Clare…and wishing you a really great year ahead! Those of you who would like to read about our date from her point of view…and drool over her much clearer and nicer pictures can click this link to her recent post on it in her blog. Just don’t say that I didn’t warn you! LOL!!!

* No class at all

You can do it…

In one of my previous posts, Drumsticks was asking me for lessons on cooking. Well, for beginners, I think Chinese cooking would be the easiest…and fastest and anybody can do it if he or she gives it a try. LOL!!! And you should pay attention too, Melbie!!! Humph!!! What do you mean you are too lazy? Hahahahahahaha!!!!

Well, yesterday I cooked this simple chicken dish. I marinated the chicken in soy sauce and added a teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of sesame oil. Then I cut four thin slices of ginger, heated a bit of oil in the wok and threw in the ginger. Keep stirring till the slices have turned a bit brown, then put in the chicken. Keep turning the pieces over and over to coat them in the simmering soy sauce. Never mind that the sauce is starting to stick to the wok. After a while, add water. Stir the water to dissolve the soy sauce that has stuck to the wok and leave it to simmer…until it dries up and you have only a little bit of thick soy sauce gravy left. Now it is ready to serve. This was what I had in the end…and it was nice! No salt and no msg!!!

Then I also cooked a vegetable dish – French beans! I usually cut them thinly and diagonally. Take two cloves of garlic, peel and chop them into tiny fine bits. Heat a bit of oil in the wok, throw in the garlic and saute until golden brown and then, put in the French beans. Add a teaspoon of chicken/ikan bilis (anchovies) stock…and a bit of water. Keep stir-frying till the beans are cooked…and this is what you will get.

Normally, I would break an egg and stir it into the veg for additional flavour…but my mother has developed an allergy to eggs, so I did not do that yesterday.

And if you’re one of those who must have soup with your meals, there are many easy-to-prepare clear soups in Chinese cooking, but maybe you would like to try this one…

Just follow the instructions on the packet, and this is the secret! Add a tablespoon of dark soy sauce…and when the soup is ready, you will get something like sharks’ fins soup, minus the sharks’ fins which is fine, consideriing that the fish is endangered and many activists will be cursing and swearing at you for eating that! Make sure you keep stirring the soup though and turn down the fire once you have brought it to boil or it will overflow and stick to the bottom of the saucepan as well.

So, ladies…now it’s over to you. But before I sign off from this post, I received something from that old Cock(a) via email and I would like to share it with everybody. Well, Clare did a bit of pole dancing recently (I thought that is something they do at places like Patpong in Bangkok? LOL!!!), so being the kiasu fella that I am, imagine me doing that as well…

ROTFLMAO!!! Have a nice day!

Say it right…

Some teachers, in their anxiety and eagerness to ensure that the students catch everything they say, will speak slowly and articulate each and every syllable in a word slowly and clearly…

This teacher is probably saying, ‘This…is…a…boy,’ and getting the students to repeat in chorus after her. But in real life, people do not normally talk like that and hence, many students, once they step out of the school, will find it very difficult to understand what people say. Native speakers, for instance, will join all the words together, especially when one word ends with a consonant and the next word starts with a vowel. So, ‘This is a  boy’ will end up sounding as if it is one word, like this: ‘Thisisaboy’.

I have often wondered why teachers love to drill their students to chant sentences in that unnatural sing-song manner considering that in real-life, people do not speak like that nor do they speak in complete sentences all the time. The teacher will sing, ‘Where are you going?’ and the students will emulate her style of speaking and reply, ‘I am going to the market.’ Normally, we will just respond briefly, ‘To the market.’

But come to think of it, I would say it is a blessing in disguise that teachers do not drill their students to chant in the proper consonant+vowel manner. Imagine the whole lesson with the whole class of 30-40 kids screeching at the top of their voices, ‘My pen is red!’

Don’t get it? Then maybe, the following may help. I got this from my radio friend, Martin Edwards, in the UK. He sent me an email to tell me about his friend who jammed the office photocopier when he dropped his pen in between the rollers. The guy quickly borrowed another pen from a friend to write this note which he stuck to the machine…

Get the joke now…??? LOL!!!

Easy way out…

No prize for guessing what everybody has been cooking lately! Bongkersz sent me an mms of the end result and Gerrie emailed to me the photograph of hers. That’s right! Everyone was cooking curry with the A1 instant curry mix that I featured in an earlier post…and they were all very pleased with it! Like I said, it is very nice, minus all the hassle of preparing the multitude of ingredients for cooking curry.

Now, how would you like to take the easy way out and cook this absolutely delicious dish next? Very quick and no hassle whatsoever!

This is our very own homecooked satay chicken. I prefer beef though but like what I’ve been saying, we’re pretty short of fresh beef supply here. The other day, when I bought some for the curry, it cost RM25.00 a kilo. Anyway, to get back to the dish, you can also cook this dish in a matter of minutes without having to suffer all that trouble of getting the ingredients ready…including grinding/pounding the groundnuts. I have seen some attempts at doing everything on their own but the dish, though delicious, looked greyish and not very presentable.

Well, this is the secret…..

All you need is this can of wee’s sate sauce, selling at the mini supermarket near my house for only RM3.30. I would just use it to fry the meat together with a couple of stalks of serai (lemon grass), add water and knotted pandan (screwpine) leaves and let it simmer till the gravy is absorbed by the meat and thickens. My missus, other than the serai and pandan leaves, would go through the trouble of pounding shallots, garlic, kunyit (tumeric), chillies as she says it will taste nicer. Definitely, but it is not really necessary!

We have been using such canned satay sauce to cook beef for our Christmas and Chinese New Year open houses for a long time now. At one time, the brand was GT but then, that disappeared from the shelves. After that, we had Ayam Brand which tasted nice but the golden yellow colour did not look very appealling. I used to add chilli sauce to give it a more reddish colour. Now we have wee’s and it is as nice as GT. Do give it a try!

And since we’re on the subject of food, after the church service on Sunday, my wife and I stopped for brunch at one of our regular coffee shops and I had this bowl of lor mee…

That only cost RM3.80 for one big bowl and with all the pork belly, pig’s liver, intestines and other innards and even half a hard-boiled egg, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that it is a lot cheaper than the RM4.00 char hor fun in Penang or the RM3.50 char kway teow in Sungai Petani. Despite the rising prices, it is still much cheaper here in Sibu.

And still on the subject of food, I think my old missus must have missed me a great deal as I was away for over a week. Nope! She did not dent the car; I’ve already checked that! LOL!!! But since she was not working on Saturday, she went marketing in the morning and cooked an elaborate meal that day.

We had garlic-fried freshwater prawns (udang galah) and udang galah masak kunyit (freshwater prawns with tumeric) soup. We can get these medium-sized river prawns for less than RM20 a kilo…but sometimes, at the native jungle produce market, they will sell them by the plate at RM10.00 each. You should be able to get around 20 prawns or so…but the other day, it seemed that the price had gone up to RM15.00 a plate. Then she also fried those jungle ferns (paku) with dried prawns (udang kering) sambal.

Gee! If that is what I can get, perhaps I should go away more often! What do you all think? ROTFLMAO!!!

I’m coming home…

Well, I’m home already…but that day, Friday, I had to get up early to get ready and to check out of the hotel before John (my Penang taxidriver friend) came to pick me and take me to the airport at 6.00 a.m. My flight to KL was at 8.15 a.m. but Air Asia would only open their counters 2 hours ahead of the flight and passengers would have to check in no later than 45 minutes before the scheduled time of departure.

Soon I was there at the airport…

It seemed that they had done a bit of facelift works and this is the MAS check-in area. I wondered who designed the place because I took one glimpse at it and Calvary came to mind! The Air Asia counters were in a new section at the far end. After checking in, I walked around for a bit and I saw that unlike before, most of the shops were open. This one reminds me of Huai Bin…

I remembered that he had posted an advertorial promoting those products not too long ago. After a while, I proceeded to the departure lounge…

Inside, the shops were open as well but I did not buy anything as I was only carrying one hand luggage (I had no intention of paying the RM3 and by the way, if you do not pay online and have some luggage to check in at the airport, you will have to pay RM10, excluding the exorbitant overweight charges! Gee! Isn’t that sheer daylight robbery?) and inside I already had a box of tambun biscuits…

that Gin, my daughter’s friend, had given me and I also bought a number of packets of these…

-McVITIE’S Scottish shortbread that I got from Tesco in Sungai Petani for RM5.60 a packet. I’ve always loved the rich buttery taste of Scottish shortbread…but Walkers that is available in Sibu (and the duty-free shops) will cost over RM10 a packet and I don’t like the Australian-made Butterfingers, not that they’re any cheaper, sold at Ta Kiong!

The plane took off on schedule and we had a smooth flight. Upon approaching KL, I saw grey silhouettes of the Petronas Twin Towers and KL Tower in the distance protruding through the snow-white mist that shrouded the whole city (or was it haze?)…and all the shadows of the rectangular structures (skyscrapers) that stood straight and tall. Somehow or other, I imagined the cemetery in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video. Gosh! I guess I have a hyperactive imagination… The landing was horrendous though for we landed with a heavy bump that scared all the passengers out of their wits, no thanks to Captain Arif and 1st Officer Azwan.

Upon landing at LCCT, I rushed to check in for my flight to Sibu. That is one thing about Air Asia flights. You cannot check in all the way when you are on transit flights, and the same too when you do the booking online. You will just have to plod on doing sector by sector. Never mind! When you’re an el-cheapo like me, you should expect some inconveniences.

Loitering around the departure lounge, I spotted this…

and this…

and if you think their English is bad, wait till you hear the BM. The flight was at 11 and at 10.30, everybody started to queue up in an orderly manner even though there had been no announcement yet. At 10.45, an Air Asia stewardess informed passengers that the flight had been delayed as the aircraft had been held up in Langkawi and the flight “dijangka tiba pada pukul sebelas setengah minit…”. Talk about precision! They even counted half a minute, though I could jolly well guess that she meant “sebelas setengah pagi”.

Ah well, I guess now everyone can fly wait!!! It actually arrived later than that and we only boarded the aircraft at around 12 noon, an hour later than the scheduled time. At least, this time the landing was fine…and finally, I was safely home in one piece but in less than two weeks’ time, I will be on the move again,  heading eastwards to this place…..

Island in the sun…

I first went to Penang in December 1973 and I loved the place then. The trishaws ruled the road and everything was cheap and nice. I think it was a duty-free island at the time. I was staying with a friend in Pulau Tikus and I remember watching the dragon boat race at Gurney Drive, going up Penang Hill, trying my first Penang laksa (Yucks!)…and even going to Carmen’s Inn at Merlin Hotel (Now Bayview) to see the Alleycats.

The next time I went to the island again was in the late 80s when I attended a course at RECSAM. Everything had changed. The roads were infested by a multitude of motorcycles and cars as well and everytime I had to cross the road, I had to make a dash for it or else I would have to wait forever. I was there again with my family in the 90s. The traffic in the city was still as bad…and I think by then, KOMTAR was already standing tall – the tallest building in the country at the time…

Today, it is still part of the city’s skyline but the last time I was there, it was like a deserted, haunted house. All the shops had closed – gone bankrupt or moved elsewhere except for a few miserable ones with hardly any customers. On the other hand, the mall next door was bustling with life! 

But when I went last year, I found that the traffic had improved tremendously. There are now new roads everywhere but I would think that the shops need a new coat of paint to make the city centre look more presentable, especially now that the city has been made one of the heritage centres in the country. The other day, I walked around the vicinity of the hotel where I was staying and saw some old buildings that have been nicely restored and preserved…

This one houses the Indian restaurant “A passage thru’ India”, next to a Japanese restaurant. I’ve heard of the place though I’ve never dined there. I certainly hope to check it out some day. And this one has been turned into a pub…

…the Uptown Bistro. Another place that caught my attention was a cinema along Penang Road. From the posters, I guess that it only shows Indian (Tamil) movies and while a movie is on, you can actually hear it outside. That was reminiscent of the cinema in the late 70s in Kanowit;I was thinking then that those who were poor and could not afford to go and see the movie could at least, sit outside and listen to it. And they have this outside the cinema… 

I remember in my younger days, we had these stalls outside the cinemas and we would buy our sweets, chewing gum and tidbits before going in to watch a movie. This particular stall it seems, sells the Indian delicacies like muruku, kacang putih and so on.

I think we should try and restore and preserve those old buildings that represent our rich historical past instead of demolishing them…or redoing them so much that they are simply no longer the same (like in Singapore! Today it is more like one giant Disneyland, I would think!) Sadly, most of the old buildings in Sibu are gone. Sungai Merah no longer has any hint of what it used to look like. As far as I know, only the shops along Old Street (now renamed) have stood the test of time.

Unfortunately, I only had one brief evening to explore the areas around the hotel where I was staying in Georgetown. But I did manage to meet a few Penang bloggers that night – two, to be exact. This is Faizal of faisaladmar.blogspot.com… 

I think I ended up in his blog through a link in zewt’s or somebody’s, I can’t exactly remember. He has put up a post about our meeting-up that day, so you can all click the link and go over to have a look at our photos. Eyew!!! The two of them equal one of me!!! Gosh! Am I that huge? ROTFLMAO!!! Faisal brought along with him another blogger, Joseph – born in Kuching, grew up in Sandakan and working in Penang…

Just fancy that! Three strangers from three different corners of the country getting together and ending up as friends, isn’t that nice? Joseph’s blog, all4one-greatness.blogspot.com, it seems, is more politically inclined and if I’m not mistaken, he has more than one.

I could not get to meet Jenn of simplicity-jenn.blogspot.com but God willing, our paths will cross one day. And don’t worry, Faisal and Joseph! It was just a brief encounter no doubt, but I was glad to have made the acquaintance with you guys and we’ll meet again some day, won’t we? Cheers!

One night…

I arrived in Penang after 4.00 p.m. on Thursday and it was rather cloudy that day, with rain at certain places along the way from Sungai Petani. There wasn’t any jam on the bridge, thank goodness but there were a few police road blocks along the way, probably because of the Pematang Pauh by-election. I stayed at the Cititel Penang along Penang Road…  

One thing that I noticed instantly was that the road was not as congested as during my previous trips. That could be due to the increase in oil prices, so unlike before, people are now no longer as reckless in zooming here and there at any time of day like there is no tomorrow. I also found  out that some of the shops have closed down, like one cake shop/bakery right across the road and also a shop selling clothes and souvenir Penang t-shirts.

I have been staying at the Cititel Penang all this while…

…and I am quite used to the place already. This is the hotel lobby…

…and as you can see, it is a lot nicer than the one at Mid Valley in KL. For RM140.00, I would get a much bigger room like this…

…with a view of the sea.

I had a better picture in one of my earlier posts, taken on a nice sunny day with blue skies and everything nice. One peculiar feature of Cititel hotels is that there is a ceiling fan in the room and the security is very good. You would need to use your room card to go up in the lifts to your floor. But what I like best about this hotel is the hawker stalls across the road at this place called Red Garden… 

There are so many stalls there that one would be really spoilt for choice. I had this plate of char hor fun (RM4.00) which is something like kway teow except that it is not cut into thin long strips…

…and this plate of ikan bakar (grilled fish)…

The last time, with my family, we had ikan bawal hitam (black pomfret) and it was really delicious…but that evening, they only had very big ones, so I opted for this piece of stingray instead. It was very nice too and cost RM12.00. It appeared to me that they just marinated the fish with curry powder and grilled it on a banana leaf on a hot plate…but what made it absolutely tasty was the sambal that came with it! I loved it!!!

No sooner had I had my fill than I saw the lok lok satay stall just opening for business. Gee! I haven’t had that for ages but I was already too full from the feast I had. Guess that will have to wait till my next visit as this time around, I was just staying for only…one night!