Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett dies

Sad day for fans of these two entertainment legends. Both have played a big part in my growing up and I will always remember the moment I heard the news today.

Farrah was probably the most beautiful woman in the world in her prime and although she had limited acting ability, managed through hard graft, to earn respectability as an actress.

I can't say anything about MJ that has not been said already. Despite his weirdness and eccentricities, he was truly an undisputed musical genius.

RIP, Farrah and Michael. I managed to find these pics of them in their prime, and how I want to remember them before the ravages of age and diseases.

Swine Flu A(H1N1) in Malaysia

EDIT: 4th July 2009:
Have a read about the experience of this Australian father and son being held in quarantine here, after one was diagnosed with AH1N1.




Having read this article in the Star today, I have googled but could not find further information. I felt I therefore, that I had to write an email to the tourism board (enquiries@tourism.gov.my) to clarify the country's stance on this matter. I keep seeing these "Malaysia Truly Asia" adverts here on a daily basis, but I feel people enticed by it could unknowingly be subjecting themselves to a 7 day prison sentence!

Malaysia does not have a Swine Flu problem (under 100 confirmed cases to date), but the government's policy on swine flu could keep the visitors away.

I shall be publishing any response I receive on this blog.


Dear Sir / Madam,

I am writing on behalf of the many people around the world who may be planning to visit Malaysia. Having read the article below in the Star today, what assurance can you provide us, that foreign visitors from the same countries will not also be unnecessarily quarantined as a result?

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/6/23/nation/20090623120307&sec=nation

The country relies heavily on the tourism industry, and in the current economic climate, it certainly cannot afford to lose out on this avenue of income because of government policy, which is not in line with the World Health Organisation's stance on the virus. Back in April, the WHO stated:

"Given the widespread presence of the virus, … containment of the outbreak is not feasible. The current focus should be on mitigation measures.."

I shall be publishing this email in my blog here and would be grateful for a response and assurances you can provide which may affect the readers' decision whether to visit Malaysia or not.

Thanks in Advance

Mini food crawl with some floggers

Back in November last year, when I was in Malaysia, I met up with veteran bloggers Teckiee, WMW and Preciouspea. As my visit was brief, there was no time to gather more people together but we had a good time and they introduced me to a couple of places I have never been and ate food I have never eaten before.

First off was this place in SS2, PJ. Not far from the LRT station near Sea Port school. It was a hawker street not unlike the one at section 17, but seemed cleaner and had more stalls.

Preciouspea had this bowl of rice porridge (congee). The most loaded congee I have ever encountered! I wish I had more stomach, then I would have tried this dish too, as well as the one I was having!


Then we had a bowl of some vegetarian dumplings. Looked like dim sum or yong tau foo, but it was very different. I dont really know how to describe this, except that it was different from anything I have ever tasted before, not in a bad, nor good way.. if you understand what I mean. Anyway, its very cheap and if you know and can get to this place, you have got to try for yourself to make up your mind about it.


My dish was a humble plate of Economy noodles. It was neither mee nor meehoon. Something in between. It was cooked with shredded vegetables and had a dollop of green chilli sauce on the side. It had a very home-cooked taste to it, which was a refreshing change to the msg-laden food you tend to get from hawkers.


After that, we moved on to Taman Tun Dr Ismail. I remember this area well and used to frequent it when it was a new town back in the 1980s. It has not changed very much apart from some of the gloss of from the area seem to be missing and it is not as clean as it used to be.

We went to a "famous" satay outlet called Satay Kajang Haji Samuri. It's the first time I have seen satay being cooked from a kitchen at the back of a shop, rather than in front, outside a shop. Looks like a sanitised version of you traditional grotty satay stall.


When they served the peanut sauce, the chilli was in a separate bowl. I think more satay sellers should do this as it allows you to adjust the spiciness of your peanut sauce.


We then had a plate consisting of perut (stomach / beef tripe ) satay on the top row pictured and chicken satay. I am really no expert judge in satay, but these taste as nice as all the satay I had on my recent visits. No less, no better. However, it was the first time I ever had stomach satay. I would love to have this again the next time I visit as I am a big fan of offal.



And so that rounded off the night. Thanks teckiee, wmw, preciouspea for the company and the food.

Thai Tom Yam Baked Fish

This dish was inspired by a dish I had from a food court in one of the many malls in KL when I visited last year. I am sure most of the Malaysians reading this have come across Thai food stalls selling set meals like ikan Bawal & lala with rice, sotong and udang with rice ....etc. I had the bawal version and sussed out how it was made from the strong taste of Tom Yam in the dish.

So, I started with the fish, seasoned with salt, sugar and ginger, and separately, chopped lemon grass, onions, ginger and garlic, and some Tom Yam paste.


Firstly, I fry the chopped ingredients together till slightly browned, then add the Tom Yam paste and fry lightly till fragrant.



Then spread the mixture on both sides of the fish and add slices of tomato on top.


After that, I wrapped the lot in foil and baked it in the oven. Baking takes up to three times a long as steaming, so allow for this.

Here is the result ... not the best looking, I know, together with the broken bits because I was checking to ensure it was fully cooked! It could have done with a sprinkling of spring onions and coriander here for aesthetic reasons, but, it tasted wonderful, regardless!