Markisa

It is commonly known as passion fruit. In Malayisa also called as Buah Susu "milk fruit". It was originated from Brazil, northern part of Argentina and Paraguay. It had been brought into Malaysia since 1960 from Australia, Hawaii and recently from Africa in 2009. Somehow it growth better for the yellow passion fruit here. The binomial name is Passiflora edulis flavicarpa.

It can growth well in Malaysia. The lifetime of one passion fruit tree is about three years. The young tree started to produce the fruits when it is approximately 5 to 6 months. After the blossom of the flowers on trees, it would started to grow the fruits about 70 days.

The fruit is light and oval or round in shape. The outer skin is very beautiful in colour, a bit pink, purple, yellow and green. It has the thick airy rink and it can become the food for the farm animal. Inside there are juice and also the black seeds. It has the combination of the sweet and acidic taste. Local people believe is good for the high blood pressure people to consume.

It has the high dietary fibre, potassium, beta carotene, vitamin C ...etc. Local people mostly blend the seeds together with the juice to make an ice cube drink. If this fruit juice is added to other fruit drink, it could be directly added the flavour. Of course also good in aroma. Some also produce the fruits juice in the bottle for local people. Here, I bought about 10 Markisa for RM10.00 in pasar malam.

Do not throw away the wrinkle skin markisa, because it is not bad yet. At this time it could be added the sugar level for the fruits. we still can consume them.

Fried noodles

Today I went to one of the coffee shop in 3rd road of Machang Bubok, Bukit Mertajam for a fried noodles (炸面).

It was a very special one. The taste was good. It cost only RM3.50 per plate.

The chef deep fried the noodles then put aside. Took the prepared stock and added some seasonings and cooked with the pork, shrimp, fish meat and mustard. The gravy put on the fried noodles and then ingredients put on top of noodles.

What can I tell you is ......Yummy !

Daun Pandan

Daun (Malay means leaf) Pandan in English is called as Screw Pine. Botanical name as Pandanus Odorus P. Latifollius. It is widely use by Malaysian in cooking and as the medical remedies.

It is easy to plant in the soil and also in big pot in Malaysia, especially in village site, mostly you can see either plant in front of the house or the backyard. It can grow well through whole year and about 4 feet height.

After cut the leaves from the plant, mostly the local people will use it straight forward. They will not put until the pandan leaves dry. It is because no more aroma when it is dry.

It also called as pandan wangi (fragrant). It was widely use in Malaysia for cooking. Mostly local people use it when fresh.

They like to put a few folded pandan leaves and cook with the rice, it will have the good aroma, especially in preparing the Nasi Lemak (local Malay food).

In order to get the green colour for the food, the local people will blend or pound the pandan leaves for this purpose. After blend or pound the leaves, oftenly they will use a clean cloth and put the leaves inside and twist and squeeze it to get the green clour juice. This green colour then will be put into dough to make biscuits or cakes.

The local people also put some leaves inside the sweet soup for tea time, such as bubur cacar, bubur gandum, bubur kacang hijau, sup ubikayu....etc.

It is also has the value as the herbal leaves. Take about 10 leaves and cut into one inch wide and just boil with water. Then can drink as mush as we can. They believe the drink can make them more healthier, they can get rid of weak nerves, no appetite...etc. It also believe to relieve the headache if they cook with the root of the pandan leaves.

They also can pounded the pandan leaves, squeeze to get the juice and put on the scalp to maintain the black hair. It is believe to cure the dandruff problem.

Nine emperor Gods

In Penang and else in Malaysia, it a vegetarian seasons for the diciples of Nine Emperors God. Mostly it is celebrated with grand by Chinese and Indians. The vegetarian restaurant having more customers and also the temporary hawker stalls growing like mushrooms.

Yesterday night, the diciples went to invite the Gods from the sea. They have many activities since yesterday in the temple. Local preople told me, yesterday some of them started to take vege foods (Cleaned the stomach). From the 1st September of chinese lunar month calander, the diciples will take vege foods for 9 days. Then they will send back the Nine emperors god back to the sea on the 9th day.

At the beginning of the celebration, we can see some changes at the road side, you can see many temporary hawker stalls with yellow cloth and written the Nine emperors God characteristic hang at the entrance of the stalls. Tables and chairs had been prepared. The hawker prepared the pure vegetarian cuisine. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea time ad supper foods can be find in this kind of stalls. Varieties of food had been purposely prepared. Noodles, rice with all kind of vege foods, cake (in Malaysia, commonly called as Kuih), western food too...........many choices......

The diciples are very particular in theirs' eating ustensils, they cannot allowed the chopsticks, spoon or fork, plates and cups previously served with pork. They will use the most clean ustensils (never touch with any pork before). Most of the hawker sells the clean ustensils for the customers and of course pay by the customers.

Anyway, some of the local people who not really taken the vegetarian foods also join to eat in the hawker stalls like this. It makes the environment more grand. Of course most of the time harly to get car park area. Vehicles are every where.
The price of these kind of vegetarian foods are expensive, some are extremely expensive. Somehow, most of the local poeple never bother so much, once a year and the most important thing is cleaning of mind and physical of ownself.

Roti Nan and Tandoori chicken

Yesterday I felt a bit thirsty on the way to town, I stopped by an Indian muslim restaurant in Alma, Bukit Mertajam. I thought I just wanted to order a glass of Teh tarik ais (famous pulled tea in Malaysia) but when I saw there was a cooking tool, a clay oven which called as tandoor. I guessed, they must have the Roti Nan (flat bread, believed to be originated from Persia). Basically it is made by wheat flour, water, yeast, butter or ghee. I asked the waiter for it.....Oh ya....they have the Roti Nan...... then I just waited for 10 minutes to get ready to be served.

I saw the chef started to take the small dough (already risen) from the container and flatten it and did some "flying action" to make the flat bread dough getting wider. Then he put the Roti Nan dough on a tool which covered with cloth. Followed by with some strength and hit the dough towards the clay pot wall. It sticked to the inside clay pot wall. Slowly the dough got bubble...and bake...They use the long metal bar and picked up the Roti Nan from the clay pot wall.

They served Roti Nan with hot and with the gravy and sour cream paste for tandoori chicken in a plate.

About the Tandoori chicken, it was marinated with yogurt and tandoori masala (believed to be originated from Delhi, India). The chilli powder and tumeric made the chicken coloured with red and yellow. Anyway, some local people did said some of the restaurants try to put in a bit colour to the chicken, the purpose is to make it with nice look colour. It was cooked in the high temperature in the tandoor clay pot.

I took some tandoori chicken in other restaurants too...anyway most of the restaurant had the hard tandoori chicken...hardly to bite. However this one, not bad...but for me..a bit hot...chilli powder on tandoori chicken is too much for me. It must have been modified the recipe according to local taste.

Combination of the taste of Tandoori chicken and Roti Nan after all was not bad. The price for this whole set was RM6.00

Malaysia celebrated doubled national day yesterday

Two national public holidays were celebrated together for this year ? Actually what were the events ?

August 31st, 1957 was an Independence Day (Hari Kemerdekaan) which commenmorating the independent from the British colonial for the Federation of Malaya. So Malaysians celebrated 54 years of Independence day for this year.

September 16th, 1963 was the Malaysia Day which commenmorating the established of Malaysian Federation of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore. So Malaysians clebrated 48 years of Malaysian Day. Somehow Singapore left Malaysia as an independent country in August 9th, 1965.

This year Independent day had no celebration but to be celebrated on September 16th, 2011. Most of the people get confused, which was the independent day celebration ? Anyway, it was considered as doubled joy events for all the Malaysians. There were many comments through the local people, anyhow they were happy to celebrate together for this memorable Malaysia Day.

Malaysia National Anthem is "NegaraKu" means My Country.
The theme and logo for this year is "1Malaysia, Transformasi Berjaya, Rakyat Sejahtera" means "1 Malaysia, Transformation Success, People Peace".

The celebration of the great day was held in Dataran Merdeka on yesterday. This memorable day was attended by Malaysian and also some foreign tourist and visitors. Also present Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, Prime minister and Deputy Prime minister and cabinet ministers. Performace and parade were beautifully arranged.

Prime minister Datuk seri NajibTun Razak also annouced three laws will be either reviewed or abolished. It's about the Emergency Proclamations, Internal Security Act and Banishment Act. Most of the Malayisans so happy with these annoucement yesterday from the Prime minister, however at this moment the reality is only " possibility" for a few laws to be abolish. During this period of time the government still need to study the abolishment of the acts, it means not yet implemented. The local people said, hope it can be reality soon. Anyway it was a very good news for them.

Happy Malaysia Day !

Thai medical herbal sauna

Today is the public holiday for celebrating The Malaysia Day. It was a raining day but not too heavy.

I went to Wat Rajchaphohong, Ara Kuda, Kedah with my wife. This temple is clean and beautiful and has a very wide compound.

When you enter from the main door of this temple, please look to the far end of the left hand side, the Thai medical herbal sauna area is there, as the above picture. The Thai medical herbal sauna in this temple open at 10.00am to 8.00pm. It will only close on every wednesday.

It is for medical purpose where many kinds of herbs had been boiled. There is a fragant herbal steam inside the sauna room. At the back there are two big woks and also a lot of woods which use for the boiling of herbs to get the herb steam. Currently, there are two sauna rooms for the public usage, one for men and another for women. Every Wednesday, they will change the new herbs.

You can go into the sauna room with T shirt and short pant for men and women. Men can took out theirs' shirt. Women can wear the 'sarung' too. Do not forget to bring the big towel, it is easy to wipe of the heavy sweat after sauna.

There are two kettles at the beverage area. Before sauna we are advice to drink the herbal tea first. When you finish and before going back, please do not forget to take the ginger tea.

Last but not lease, please do donate some money into the donation box. The effort to prepare the medical sauna for us, boil the herbal tea and ginger tea; toilet cleaning and much more.....actually need to be friendly recognized !

Dog ate Human

Yesterday most of the Malaysian got shocked to the dog ate human news.

The story started with the dogs owner Andre Lumboga went back to the hometown at Manado and left the seven dogs unattended in the house. After the two weeks vacation, he came back home and had been attacked by his own dogs.

When they found him, he had been tore apart, the skull in the kitchen and the body in the living room. Dogs and human bones were on the floor. Everyone got shocked !

A group of the starving dog, acted mad because of hungriness. The owner who had been eaten up should make decision earlier that to send the dogs for cares. Then maybe at this moment he would have been safe. Unfortunately, he never done that. He ignored and neglected his responsibility. Once the dogs were starving, could they just sleep or sit quietly ?

This is the lesson that all of us need to be aware of. Do not let your pet leave unattended especially in village area, it is because they do not know where to get the food to ease thiers' stomach. It is the owner responsibility, to take care of theirs' daily needs.

Haze, haze come back to Penang state again

Although these few days Penang state was pouring with the heavy rain for several times, however it still cannot clean up the haze hazard air. Bukit Mertajam hill is in the blur view. Every where also like that condition, everything is in the condition of BLUR......rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....................

If it is the nature fire burning...well ! everybody still can understand the situation but if it is the human error, so how to solve ? Are they well listener and practiser ?

No help for the public voices to protest against the open burning of the neighbour country, Indonesia. The selfish farmers claimed that it was the traditional way to clean the land, it will stop the burning after it fully burnt down. This type of burning is cheap and easy. What a sharing !

Indonesian government made a law for them..but...implementation was failed ! The people there ignored law ! All the 'open burning' banning, they don't care.......How many times Penang state was under the haze hazard this year? Did the neighbour country realized ?

Local people became unhealthy in this haze hazard, cough..running nose...allergic..eyes pain....etc. One of my friend even have to take medical leave because he is in heavy cough.

When the haze hazard will end ? Today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow...month ? year ?

Clubs for housewives in Malaysia

I read the newspaper just now, it was about the younger housewives clubs established merely in Kuala Lumpur. It stated that many women whom joined these kind of clubs were the lonely and rich housewives that had been neglected by theirs' rich or business doing husbands. The purpose they joined the clubs were to get back the warm feelings relationships and also the satisfaction.

These housewives mentioned they would not leave the family and will live in reality. They even have a few of the boyfriends to satisfy them.

Can they do that ? Will the problem solve in long term ? Will cause the messy life or not ? What would it be when the husbands found out ? What will be the explaination ? "LOVE" ?

Why not put in this way ?

Japan has such the culture clubs and schools for the housewives. After all the children go to school and the husbands go to work, the housewife would be left alone in the house. So all the housewives have the chance to improve themselves in lifestyle. They can learn so much about cooking, flower arrangement, philosophy, playing tennis..and so much things.

Before the children and husbands go back to the house, they will reach the house a bit earlier and begin theirs' responsibility as a housewife again. This lifestyle is more meaningful for the Japanese housewives where they can gain so much knowledges to upgrade themselves to make a family more happily. They also can share the knowledges to the children and husbands in the house.

Mooncake festival

Astonauts already went up the moon ! Result : nobody there ! Are we still need to pray ? Anyway it is still a good day to celebrate this mooncake festival, a remembrance day !

Mooncakes started to be seen in the market although still celebrating the ghost festival in last month. The department store, shops and the manufacturers sell different types of the mooncakes and also the lanterns. It is not cheap unless home made. Children are so happy because they can choose the lanterns that they likes or some even make it theirs' own lantern in house or school.

Mooncakes festival is not a practise public holiday for Malaysian.

Yesterday evening, when I went to took dinner, I saw many Chinese bought the fresh fruits, flowers from the market and the particular fruits and flowers shops. They prepare all these items and pray to the Moon Goddess Chang E for tonight.

Anyway, mooncake itself is the core. Each mooncake price is not cheap for nowadays. I bought an assorted fruits and nuts mooncake for RM13.90. Each mooncakes filling is different. The consumers will choose the nice taste mooncakes for theirs' family members.

Some of the Chinese still praying to the Goddess with put an altar outside of the house, put all the mooncakes, pamelo, flowers and pray with joss sticks.

Some of them even make the party and invites relatives and friends to join. They will sleep late at night. If the next day is fall on the schooling day, the parents will mostly ask the children go to sleep first after playing and enjoying taking the lanterns.

Full moon is beautiful and when celebrating with different and beautiful lanterns will boots up the environment. Calm, cool and beautiful night.

Housewife fell on road

This morning a housewife went to market with riding the bicycle. After completed bought the items she needed. she followed the way that she usually used to go back home.

While riding on the road, a big male dog suddenly run across the road. The dog had reached the side of the road but the chain which carrier by the dog was still lying on the road and moving.

Oow......the housewife suddenly cannot controlled and balanced the bicycle. She fell off her vehicle and towards the road. It was because the bicycle was on the moving chain.

The people who saw quickly help her up and brought to the road side. She was injured on face, hands and legs. All the veges which fell on the floor was help by the people to put back to her bicycle basket. Of course the bicycles already bad in shape. Some of them went to inform her family and a van which passed by took her to hospital.

From this incident, clearly we knew that the dog had been accidently released by the broken chain. Anyway the owner of the dog need to be more careful for not to let the pets running around. Luckly, the housewife was in concious and safe in life.

We need to be extremely care if we have pets, in order not to hurt people around us. Accident cannot predict and count but we can avoid the accident which create by our pets from happening.

Mistaken the karaoke lounge with the local department office building

Many years back, a group of us went for entertainment after work in Selangor. All of us for that group were new comers. Although we do not quite understand the social custom here, we did learned from time to time but this one is not yet programmed in our mind and quite special during that time. Infact it was already like a joke or an experience which keep in everyone's heart.

That night and also in the festival seasons, we made decision to go to Karaoke lounge for the entertainment.

Suddenly we saw many beautiful and colourful bulbs lights, so my friend told us that we need to get ready to go down for the entertainment. We just followed.

When near to the gate, we just found that....it is not entertainment places whereas it was the government department building. At that time we all laughed because we thought that was the entertainment area. Again, we left that location quietly and continue to go to searh for the real entertainment place.

The next day, my local friend told me, because of the festive seasons, many buildings were setup with all the beautiful and colourful lights in order to celebrate the great event during that period. Some even put the neon running lights.

From that experience, we became more careful and alert in knowing the local people social custom and culture.

Highway driving

In this Hari Raya Festival seasons, Muslimin and muslimat all were going back to the kampung (village) or city to celebrate the Hari Raya Aidil Fitri. Some were going back by express bus, flight, boat, and passager car.....The traffic in some places quite jammed.

For non- muslim, some of them also balik kampung. They take these holiday opprtunity to see the relatives and friends in village or city too.

There were drivers who really followed the rules on road but unfortunately some were not following. In some area, one or two drivers used the very inside lane to speed up the car. It was very dangerous because some of the cars suddenly broke down and emergency parked in the inside lane waiting for the help. Accident may be prevent if those kind of driver having a bit of toleration.

Some of the drivers always overtake another car by left hand side. Well ! and some overspeed....

Mostly the highway driving people never turn on the car light. It is a good to practise switch on light during drive on highway. People can see more clearly from the front view. Accident can be prevent if we have such knowledges on road.