More on Blogger MasterChef

So these are the pictures of what transpired the other day at the Blogger MasterChef semi-finals hosted by Astro and Nuffnang. This event was held to build up awareness for the MasterChef Malaysia that will be starting REAL Soon on Astro!

The Lovely Wife and the kids came along to support me and they started off with this photo.



After a briefing by the judges, we moved into the Kitchen area at The Cooking House in Desa Sri Hartamas where the contest was held. I was given station number 16 after picking out a number from a bowl. The kitchen was rather cramped and I think it was more suited to 10 people rather than 20 as every table and stove was shared by 2 people. There was a lot of bumping into one another as we cooked!

We were given MasterChef Malaysia aprons to wear and that was rather exciting!





As I mentioned in my previous post, we were given a box full of ingredients that we had to use. The main ingredient was chicken and I did ask if we had to use everything in the box. The answer was no but I assumed that one would need to use as many of the ingredients as possible. This however was not the case - you didnt have to use any of the ingredients from the box with the exception of chicken and were free to use anything that was on the counters.



In retrospect, I should have made something Western rather than the Fusion Chilli Chicken that I opted to make. There were a lot of ingredients that I didn't see that seemed to be spaced out along the cooking stations. But no excuses though. Most critical though was that I couldn't get my brain ticking given that we only had 50 minutes to think up and cook a dish. I usually spend hours and even days thinking up my 'gourmet' dishes! So Kudos to all the winners that had the presence of mind to think of something creative and execute it in the limited time available.

The Lovely Wife and the kids realised that my super duper SLR was too heavy to carry around and they made a quick detour home while I was cooking to drop of the camera. The rest of the shots come from The Lovely Wifes I-phone.

After the cooking challenge came the skills challenge. Chef Ryan demonstrated how to poach an egg using the swirl method and with some vinegar to get the proteins in the egg to bind. I've poached an egg succesfully before and was fairly confident. However, my first egg turned out disastrously but thankfully the second egg was just lovely!






I had another egg ready to go into the water when time was called. So that was a good time for The Lovely Wife to take a shot of me!




I was really thrilled as I presented my egg to the judges as I presented both my 'disaster' egg as well as the good one. Chef Ryan actually said "Well done, lovely!" as he sliced my egg and watched all the gooey goodness spill out. There were a few other cooks that managed to get more than one lovely poached egg. One of them, Yatie was given full marks for getting two perfectly poached eggs - just as Chef Ryan had shown how to do.




The results were announced a short while later and the judges took quite a while deliberating on who the top 5 should be. I have to say that it was a very humbling experience cooking with the other 20 bloggers as there were some really fantastic and creative dishes that came out. Quite a number of the bloggers managed to get pretty perfect Poached Eggs even though it was the first time they were doing it. Plenty of skilled cooks out there!

As you all know, I didnt make the cut to the top 5 but each blogger got a prize anyway. I was given my prize by one of Malaysia's well know food bloggers KY from KYSpeaks.com.




and finally, a group photo with all the other blogger chefs!



A really fun experience that I would not hesitate to do again. I met a lot of fun people and I have to say that I had an AWESOME time. The only regret that I have is that the organisers didn't let us take the aprons home. Would you believe it? We actually had to return the aprons. Oh well!

I really, really have a new found respect for those that take part in MasterChef. I realise it's really easy to be an armchair critic and criticise and make fun of the competitors but when you are actually doing it, well, it's really quite difficult.

Keep a look out for the launch of MasterChef Malaysia. Coming soon on Astro.

Father's Day 2011

This last Sunday, 19th June 2011, was Father's Day in Malaysia. I know that Father's Day is not celebrated on the same day in every country although I think the UK and the USA celebrate it on the same day.

I do know that Australia and New Zealand celebrate Father's Day in September and I know this through experience. When I was a Uni Student in Melbourne, Australia, I recall calling home just after the 3rd Sunday in June. I had a pleasant conversation with Dad who then remarked that he was upset that I hadn't wished him for Father's Day. I quickly replied that it wasn't Father's Day in Australia and how was I to remember that it was being celebrated back home in June?! He wasn't terribly impressed by my answer but nonetheless once September rolled around, I made sure I called home on Father's Day in Australia and that made him very pleased!



This year for Father's Day, we went out for dinner the previous night as The Lovely Wife had to go out of town on work on Sunday. On the Sunday morning, My little princess presented me with a lovely hand made card. My son went one step further and got The Lovely Wife to 'hijack' one of my favourite white T-shirts for him to personalise with a fabric pen set that we had bought for the kids some time back. He drew a fabulous stylised Elephant on it and then wrote a message underneath it!




The message reads: "I Love you Dads! Michael" and its not a grammatical error either as both the children like to call me Dads. Yes, with an 'S'

I was thrilled beyond words and I insisted on wearing it to church on Sunday morning. With great pride I showed it off to friends and family!



After church, The Lovely Wife had to catch a taxi to the airport while we went to Avanti Restaurant at Sunway Hotel where we met up with my Parents for lunch. We all had a good time - especially the kids who enjoyed stuffing their faces!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!

Quick Update

It looks like a month has gone by and there have been no updates whatsoever. That doesn't mean that the cooking has stopped. It has slowed down a bit but it hasn't really stopped. There hasn't been a heckuva lot of new stuff that I have whipped up although there have been a few.

The reason for my lack of updating is actually because I switched jobs and just started on the new one yesterday! Time to update this blog has been hard to find and although there are a few recipes waiting to be written up, I haven't had much 'inspiration' to do the writeups as well as not having much time. So, bear with me loyal readers and I hope to get my stuff up on this blog soon!

Hope all is well with everybody!

Malaysian Zebras love Passion Fruit - a short story with pictures

Deep in the humid Malaysian Townforest, the Zebra found an interesting plant growing. The plant was a kind of creeper and it had some oval shaped fruits on it. The Zebra was most interested as the fruit looked to be one of her favourites.



Nimbly, the Zebra pranced around the Townforest, looking this way and that. She was trying to ascertain that there were no predators around that would try and attack her. She also wanted to make sure that no other animals would hinder her as she snatched the fruits growing from the vine.





The fruit was the Passiflora edulis, commonly known as Passion Fruit of Buah Markisa in Malay. I never knew that Passion Fruit grew in Malaysia and was even more stunned to know that it was growing in our garden, I mean the Townforest.

The clever Zebra broke the fruit open and delighted in the soft, juicy interior. She quickly devoured half of the fruit before her mother asked her if she was going to share some of the fruit.


The Zebra absolutely adored the home grown Passion Fruit and only grudgingly shared some with her brother....

* My daughters favourite animal is the Zebra
* The lovely hairband was a gift from my cousin Lavinia Dhana!
* There are no zebras in Malaysia
* No animals were hurt in the telling of this story

2011 - kickstarting the Foodie New Year

Since we didn't have our usual Christmas celebration, The Lovely Wife and I decided that we would have a few close friends over on the 2nd January 2011 to welcome in the New Year.

One of my best mates, Vanesh, who has been working in Botswana for more than a decade, always comes home over Christmas and always spends it with us on Christmas day at my parents. I've known Vanesh for almost all my life and he is indeed like a brother to me. Lynn is another common fixture at all our gatherings and Tina is another friend who is really close to us. The kids know these friends of ours really well and we hope that they will continue to grow up with these friends of ours a part of their lives. So yes, it was more a family gathering as these three friends are very much like family to us. Family though they may be, it is still difficult to find a common time when everyone is available. Fortunately, tea time on Sunday seemed to work for everyone!

Tea at our house is never just about a cake and a cup of tea or coffee. Initial discussions with The Lovely Wife revolved around fried noodles and then meandered to sausage rolls and even fruit tarts. Eventually, we settled for a bunch of diferent finger food and decided to go the route of Tapas.

One thing that was the common denominator though was my Chocolate Cake. After all, I hadn't made the cake for Christmas so it seemed like a good time to make the cake and keep the tradition alive.

I've always know that Tapas is a variety of appetisers in Spanish cuisine. I've also always known that many Tapas can be ordered to comprise a full meal. What I didnt know was the origins of Tapas.

According to the Tapas entry on Wikipedia The word "tapas" comes from the Spanish verb tapar that means "to cover". According to legend, the tapas tradition began when King Alfonso X of Castile recovered from an illness by drinking wine with small dishes between meals. After regaining his health, the king ordered that taverns could only serve wine to customers if it was accompanied by a small snack or "tapa."

Other explanations say that the word "tapa" in Spanish means lid or cover and that often, a piece of bread would be placed over a glass of wine or juice to protect it from flies - thus providing a cover for the glass. At some point, this piece of bread was 'covered' with a snack.

It is also commonly said that since one would be standing while eating a tapa in traditional Spanish bars, they would need to place their plates on top of their drinks in order to eat, making it a top.

There are many other variants and explanations of how Tapas came to be but I'll stick to what we prepared.


We decided we would buy loads of bread to serve with the Tapas and so we got 3 different kinds from the nearby bakery - Sundried Tomato Loaf, Farmers White Loaf and a Baguette.



The Lovely Wife made some Tuna Cutlets.



I made some Garlic Mushrooms in Cream Sauce



and also my version of Spanish Meatballs.




And of course, my Chocolate Cake.

It was a really fun evening and I think everyone enjoyed the food. More important than the good food though was the good company. It's not easy finding good friends and good friends that become part of your family are even harder to find. We are indeed lucky that we have a lot more 'friends who are family' that are around both here in Malaysia and in other parts of the world, but just like any family, its difficult to get everyone together at the same time. Our hope for the New Year is that we will have many more of our friends over - especially the other 'Friends who are family' that are in Malaysia - and of course all the others when they come home!

Happy New Year 2011 everyone!

Recipes will be provided in due course.

Explaining my absence...

Where has the time gone?!! I just realised today that I haven't made a single post for the whole month of June and now it's already July! My cousin sent me a text message this morning to ask if I was alright as my blog hadn't been updated in a while. What a sweetie!

To anyone else that may have wondered, I'm doing fine. Work has been busy and it IS the World Cup season that only comes around once every four years. Add to that the fact that I haven't been in the mood to write, means this blog has taken a bit of a backseat for the past month.

Anyway, rest assured that I am still keeping on with this blog and have a few posts still waiting to be written up and published. The home cooking is still going strong but I have to admit it's getting a tad more difficult always trying something new.




Since the World Cup is on, The Lovely Wife doesn't get to watch much TV as both the kids and I monopolise the set for all the matches, repeats, highlights, football news, matches, highlights - you get the picture. My son and daughter watch the highlights so often that they can repeat some of the commentaries even before the commentator says it!

Last week, during the afternoon while my son was at football practice and my daughter was upstairs playing, The Lovely Wife and I sat down to watch Julie and Julia.



Unlike my American readers, I had never heard of Julia Child until I learnt who she was through the Daring Bakers Challenge of making French Bread. Doing the challenge made me read up all about Julia and for those of you that still don't know who she is, you can get a quick synopsis from the link above.

I had heard about the movie Julie & Julia but had never ever gone over to Julie Powell's blog - she has quite a few now. How I wish that my blog could become famous like Julie Powell's The Julie/Julia Project. There have been a few other blogs that have spawned off into cookbooks but this is the only blog I know off that has evolved into a book and a movie and made the author famous and I would suppose rich. Maybe there is still hope for this blog...

Anyway, the movie was pretty good fun and The Lovely Wife got to learn about Julia Child - with some additional commentary from me as there were certain parts that weren't all that clear unless you had some background info on Julia Child and Paul Child (like how they were suspected of being spies).

I thought Meryl Streep did a great job although I felt her accent and speach patterns were a bit too exaggerated. I could never figure out why Julia Child spoke that way either! Nonetheless, a pretty decent movie and the food shots all rather marvellous!

So that was a little treat for The Lovely Wife. Football is off for a while but it resumes again tomorrow with the Quarter Finals. I've got my hopes pinned on Brazil although I quite fancy the Germans too. Dont want the Argies to win and neither do I really want Spain or Paraguay. It would be great if Ghana got into the Semi's but I dont see them getting any further than that. Rounding off the lot is Holland and it would be good to see them win - only trouble is that they would have to beat Brazil to do that and I would prefer Brazil to Holland any day.

Ahhh...the joys of The FIFA World Cup!!

Beef Stew and Growing Older...

I must be growing old becuase I sound like my father. Phrases like "When I was young" seem to frequently pepper my statements. "Nowadays things are so..." is salt added to my sentences. "Remember when..." is the garlic that seasons many of my questions and "Those days things were..." is the spice that is added to many conversations. My father often starts sentences with those phrases and I guess I am becoming just like my father when I say similar things to my children. You know, like, "When Daddy was young, he didnt have a pair of football boots." Or how about, "Those days the only mushrooms we had came out of a can." And of course the proverbial "You dont know how lucky you children are, Daddy and Mummy didn't have {this, that and the other}. You get the picture! So I guess we all become our parents after a while!


One good thing about growing older is that you have a lot of memories - until your memory starts to fail that is. One fond memory I have is the Beef Stew that my mother used to make for all of us. Her stew was comfort food for us and was always looked forward to.


Like so many of the dishes I make today, the inspiration comes from the good food that my Mother would make for us. Although my mom's food was really good, I think that my own versions are better than my mother's! Then again, I had a good role model so improving on something that was already good is not too hard to do.

Mom's stew often had loads of potatoes in it but when I made this, I decided to do something a little different. I made mashed potatoes and served the stew atop a bed
of it. My little princess, who loves her mashed potatoes, loved how I served this!



This is how I make my stew.

Ingredients
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsb basil
2 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic -chopped
1 onion - chopped
800g Beef - sliced into squares
Plain flour
3 carrots -sliced
2 green capsicum - cut into large cubes
300g button mushroom - sliced
2 tomatoes - quartered
Salt
Pepper


Method
Coat the beef in some flour and then quickly brown on a hot skillet to seal the meat. Remove and set aside. In the same pan, Sautee the oregano, basil, bay leaves, onion and garlic till soft. Add in the mushrooms and cook till juices come out. Add in the beef and mix well. Add in the carrots and tomatoes and cook till carrots are soft. Season with salt and pepper. Toss in the capsicum. Add in some water and allow mixture to simmer and infuse all the flavours. If required, add in some corn flour to thicken the stew.

The beauty of a stew is that you can add almost any vegetables in to make the stew more hearty. Celery is always a good choice as is leek. As mentioned above, potatoes are always a good addition too.

I also served the stew with a dollop of mashed potatoes and some sliced bread. The bread is great to mop up all the juices. The stew goes really well with rice and even better with lightly buttered rice!



The true test of my age though is that I remember songs from a long time ago. Remember Supertramps The Logical Song?
When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful,
a miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.
And all the birds in the trees, well they'd be singing so happily,
oh joyfully, oh playfully watching me.
But then they sent me away to teach me how to be sensible,
logical, oh responsible, practical.
And then they showed me a world where I could be so dependable,
oh clinical, oh intellectual, cynical.
There are times when all the world's asleep,
the questions run too deep
for such a simple man.
Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd
but please tell me who I am...

Passing of a Grand Old Lady

My Paternal Grandmother passed away on the 29th March 2010. She was 103. Some say 102 as she completed 102 years last November. It doesn't really matter though. 102 or 103 she had a remarkable life. To put it in cricket terms, she had an Outstanding Innings! When I think about it, she actually lived through two World Wars and that by itself is pretty amazing.



From the time she turned 90, each year we we would often think that it would be the last birthday we would celebrate or the last christmas we spent together or the last easter but she kept soldiering on. And on and on and on.

Back in November, 2007, I had the honour of baking the cake for her 100th Birthday and I'm glad I had the chance to do that. Since then she has had bouts of illness and been hospitalised but she always seemed to come out stronger than before.

The time has come to pass though that there will be no more Christmases or Easters or even simple visits to my grandmother's house. She has gone and in many ways I am thankful that she has moved on to a better place.

This is my small tribute to you Grandma - a post on my blog in rememberance of you. Thank you for all these years of love, advice and guidance. Thanks for all the fun times in your house where the family would all gather over the years. Thanks for the good food that you always managed to whip up and the recipes that have been passed on down the generations. Thanks for the brass ornaments that used to sit in the 'holes in the wall' that you gave Michael on one of his visits. Thanks for everything and most importantly, thanks for all the memories!

God Bless you Grandma and may you Rest In Peace...

Happy 101

I just received this award from Elle over at Feeding My Enthusiasms. Just like her, I've received a few awards in the course of my blogging that I have neglected to post about. Time sometimes just gets in the way although the intent is always there.

This award asks the recipient to list 10 things that make them happy. Now I found it difficult to list 10 things - not because I am an unhappy person but more because it was difficult to limit it to just 10 things or people! Anyway, this is a list of 10 things that make me happy, and by no means is this list exhaustive!

1. The Lovely Wife
2. My two kids Michael and Sarah
3. Arsenal FC - especially when they win!
4. Good Food and drink. Making good food for The Lovely Wife and kids to enjoy is happiness. Finding out new ways to cook things and making new delicious recipes is even better!
5. Good Friends. Sharing good food and drink with good friends is cause for happiness!Making new friends through blogging is another source of happiness. Getting positive comments and knowing that my posts have somehow made a difference in your life makes me happy too.
6. Good Music. I'm sure many of you have many songs that instantly bring a smile to your face! Khe Sanh from Cold Chisel ALWAYS transports me back to my Uni days and I smile as I remember my mates and I standing huddled in a circle, stomping our feet and singing this song while on a bus from Melbourne to Brisbane! Happy Days!
7. Watching a really good movie
8. Reading a really good book
9. Chilling out at home and sleeping. Yeah, I can be a lazy sod!
10. Realising that you don't need lots of material goods to make you happy is happiness in itself.

I'm supposed to nominate 10 bloggers too but most of the bloggers I want to nominate have already been nominated. So, I'm going to take an unorthodox method and ask that if any of you want to take part in this award, just follow the rules as below:
1. Copy the award image into a post
2. Then list 10 things that make you happy
3. Tag 10 bloggers who brighten your day
4. Put in a link to their blogs
5. Notify the award receivers
6. Award recipients must link back to sender's blog - that's Me!

A New Year... a new blog banner....

Happy New Year everyone. It's hard to believe a decade of the new millenium has already gone by. When I was in the 20th Century, I could hardly imagine how people lived in the 1900's, 1910's, 1920's, 1930's...

I knew that the great depression happened in the 30s, WW2 happened in the 40's, I was born in the 60s and then came the 70's, 80's and 90's. My own kids will be old and grey by the time the year 2060 comes around and I will off course be long gone - or maybe a ripe old 90 something! 2060 will be the '60s to my children and I wonder how much more advanced we will be by then.

Anyway, life goes on and we get older day by day. Live well, live happily and be thankful for all that we have. That is what I have learnt and what I will try and practice this year.

With the coming of the new year, I make a little cosmetic change to my blog with a simpler and brighter banner. There will probably be more changes as time goes on but then again, maybe not. Who knows.

I'm going to try and blog more regularly this year and catch up on all the old photos that haven't been posted yet. Try being the operative word - no promises! I'm not going to start of the year with making promises that I can't keep. Matter of fact, I'm going to keep to that train of thought and just keep trying - day by day, taking one day at a time without making promises. At least not promises that I cant keep!

So blessed New Year Everyone and I raise a glass to you and yours in the hope that nothing but Peace, Love and All things good come your way. Above all, May the Blessings of God fill your lives in every way.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Just a little pictorial of the kids putting up the christmas tree. My job is always to fix the tree, check the lights and then put them up while the kids and The Lovely Wife decorate the tree...
It's certainly looking a lot like Christmas!

I just Ordered the Book!

Yes! That's Right! I just ordered the book! What Book? The BloggerAid Cookbook of course!

I can't wait to receive it. Only trouble was postage to this part of the world is expensive so I had to choose the economic shipping option. Don't know how long that will take...

The exchange rate doesn't help either so while the rest of you get to buy a relatively cheap cookbook, I don't. It's Expensive - but at least it's for a good cause and so I don't mind. I coulnd't not buy it especially when it features ME! First time I've been published in a book.

So... does that make me a cookbook writer?? LOL!

It's my Birthday today and there's no cake in sight...

It's my Birthday today and The Lovely Wife didn't get me a cake...
She didn't get me a cake simply because she felt that I make better cakes than any of the shop bought cakes and so buying a cake would just not be worth it. So instead, she got me a tub of Ben & Jerry's ice cream in lieu of a cake! How sweet of The Lovely Wife!



I got some lovely presents too that included a non-stick pastry mat and pasta tongs. We had a busy day today where most of it was spent with close friends over lunch after celebrating their childs baptism.



The lunch kind of meandered into tea and then we had to go to exchange something at the nearby shopping centre. It was almost 6pm when we returned home and that is when the The Lovely Wife and the kids presented me with my Ice Cream! I knew something was up because the kids and The Lovely Wife kept whispering and sniggering half the time that we were out!



I suggested that we wait till after dinner but they insisted that I have at least one spoon of the ice cream. I fed the kids and The Lovely Wife a spoon each too. We'll enjoy more of it after dinner tonight...

Ich bin ein Deutschlander

In November 1989, I was in my final year of University and stuck right in the midst of final exams. My university years saw the development of my political ideaology and the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9th 1989 was an event that was so significant. Never, ever did I think the Berlin Wall would fall. That event was the catalyst that brought about the end of communism in many parts of the world - especially Europe. The fall of the Berlin Wall led to the unification of Germany in October 1990.

I have visited Germany and in fact spent some time there on work. I used to go for two week stints practically twice a year from 1992 to 1996. I had the pleasure of visiting Munich (or Munchen as the Germans call it) and Hanover with brief visits to neighbouring cities like Mittenwald, Celle and even Dachau. Dachau used to be a Concentration Camp and visiting it was an experience that will not be easily forgotten. I really enjoyed Germany with its incredible history, culture, food and of course the Beer!


20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, it is sad to see that many other walls have not fallen. These walls may not be physical walls but rather invisible or virtual walls. The walls of Racism, Sexism, Inequality, Corruption and many others still exist but I believe that these walls will all come crumbling down one day.

The fall of the Berlin Wall taught me that nothing is impossible. It also made me a firm believer in the Power of the People. It showed me that no matter how strong a regime may be, how corrupt things may be, how difficult a situation may be, it is the will of the people that will finally come through. It may take a long time but change can only happen if the people will it. And once the people will it, change will come. History has shown us this not just in the Fall of The Wall but in the destruction of Apartheid in South Africa, the removal of many regimes in many parts of the world, the First Black President of the USA, the loss of the 2/3 majority of the Governing party in Malaysia's Parliament in March 2008 and many others.

These are all events that I never thought I would live to see but it has happened. And it has happened because of the Power of the People.

I celebrate the Fall of the Wall not just for the freedom it gave to the people of Germany but for what it symbolises to the rest of the world. In this age of globalisation and with the world becoming smaller through the use of technology and communications, we need to focus on our similarities and put aside our differences. We need to recognise that we are all one people no matter what our culture, our nationality or our religions.

With my frequent trips to Germany, I learnt a little Deutsche and also learnt the German National Anthem - Das Deutschlandlied (The Song of Germany). The original Anthem was 3 verses long and started off with Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, (Germany, Germany above All).

From what I was told, this phrase was not looked upon favourably after the second world war. Currently only the last stanza of the original anthem is sung. The first line goes Unity and justice and freedom
and although it is meant for the German Fatherland, I believe that today it is applicable as a call for Unity, Justice and Freedom EVERYWHERE in the world.

That is why, in commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, I join ranks with the people of Germany and declare that in the spirit of Brotherhood, Ich bin ein Deutcshlander - I am a German. in further commemoration of the Fall of the Berlin Wall and in the hope and trust that all other walls will eventually fall, I reproduce the German National Anthem...

Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit Für das deutsche Vaterland! Danach lasst uns alle streben Brüderlich mit Herz und Hand! Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit Sind des Glückes Unterpfand; |: Blüh' im Glanze dieses Glückes, Blühe, deutsches Vaterland. :|

Unity and justice and freedom For the German fatherland! For these let us all strive Brotherly with heart and hand! Unity and justice and freedom Are the pledge of fortune; |: Flourish in this fortune's blessing, Flourish, German fatherland. :|

Can you tell me how to get...

How to get to Sesame Street?!!



Did you know that Sesame Street is 40 years old? I didn't till I saw the google doodle (The modified google logo used to celebrate various occasions) that featured Sesame Street as celebrating its 40th Anniversary.

I grew up on Sesame Street but I never realised that I am older than Sesame Street. That would explain why all the characters, the human ones that is, haven't really aged all that much. Well, they have aged but havent we all...

I have always been especially fond of Sesame Street. So much so that I insisted that my own two kids watched Sesame Street rather than Barney (that infuriating purple dinosaur). In fact, Barney was banned from my home. I never liked the fact that Barney was a "dinosaur from our imagination" whereas I felt that Sesame Street was more real. Okay, so maybe I'm stretching it a bit to say that Oscar the Grouch, Elmo and Big Bird are real but they were meant to be real - rather than from your imagination. If you get what I mean...

Big Bird, Ernie, Bert, Elmo, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster,The Count, Grover and a whole host of other Monsters, Bob McGrath and the other human actors (whose names I cant remember) all became a part of our lives.

I loved the songs from Sesame Street. I love the lessons of life. I loved how they addressed issues that kids would know and would feel. I loved how it could always bring a tear to my eye or make my heart light with laughter. I loved how it always made me feel good about myself. And I love how after 40 years, it still has that same effect.

Thank you Sesame Street for the wonderful times you gave my kids. Thank you even more for the wonderful times you gave me. I hope that Sesame Street continues to live on and perhaps, just maybe, the children of my children will enjoy and grow up on Sesame Street too...in the meantime, lets celebrate 40 years, (yes Count 40 years!) of Sesame Street and lets sing along. I know you know the song...!

Sunny day - Sweepin’ the clouds away,
On my way to where the air is sweet.
Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street.

Come and play, everything’s A-OK
Friendly neighbors there that’s where we meet
Can you tell me how to get
How to get to Sesame Street

It’s a magic carpet ride. Every door will open wide.
Happy people like you. Happy people who.

Like a beautiful sunny day sweepin’ the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet
Can you tell me how to get,
How to get to Sesame street, how to get to Sesame Street, How to get to . .

100,000 hits and counting!

I was waiting and counting... counting and waiting. But when it actually happened, I didn't realise it.

Yes! A few days ago my blog reached a 100,000 hits. Thats One Hundred Thousand times that this blog has been viewed. I would never have thought that possible and I have to admit it is all quite exciting.

Exciting as it may be, I also realise that there are a lot (and I mean A LOT) of blogs that reach a thousand hits a DAY maybe even 10 thousand a day. I dream that one day that may happen to this blog too but in the meantime, I'm just really happy to have reached this milestone.

All bloggers will know that it isn't easy keeping a blog, especially keeping the content fun and exciting. I know that I have slowed down a bit in my postings but sometimes life just gets in the way. I'm trying to catch up on some of the older posts that I have planned and I'm going to try and keep this blog going.

Thanks to all of you that have visited this blog, left comments, motivated and kept it interesting for me to continue posting. It's always fun to receive comments and even more fun when someone out there becomes a friend - and there are a lot of you out there that have become good friends albeit cyber friends!

Thanks for all the support!!

How to get more Choc Fudge from McDonalds...

This afternoon, we all went out to one of the large shopping centres - just to window shop and have an outing. After walking into one shop after the other and the length and breath of the shopping centre, the kids started to get hungry. We decided to have lunch at McDonalds - good value now with meals (including coke and fries) starting from RM5.95.

After we all wolfed down our lunch, TLW enquired why I had ordered 4 meals since there were so many fries left over. I worked on the presumption that the meals were only 1 ringgit more than the burger so it was worth it. TLW pointed out that if I had ordered only 2 meals and 2 ala carte burgers, I could have saved 2 bucks and then she could have a Sundae. She was just trying to make a point and being difficult. She got her Sundae anyway!

The kids, who at first declined the offer of the Sundae, proceeded to devour it with great abandon. So much so that after the Sundae was half eaten, there was NO MORE Choc Fudge left! How do you eat a Choc Fudge Sundae without anymore Choc Fudge?


I hit upon a plan. I sent my son and daughter to the counter to ask for more Hot Fudge. I figured that if I went, they may not have entertained me but who can resist two childred 'pleading' for more Choc Fudge?

They both ran back to the table in delight with a WHOLE LOT MORE Choc Sauce than we actually started off with!

I guess the secret in getting things done is to send your kids to do it? Does that make me a bad Daddy for sending my children to get more Choc Sauce?

Today my Blog is Black

Today, the 31st of August, is Merdeka Day (Independence Day). As a Nation, we are 52 years old having obtained Independence from the British back in 1957.

52 years as a Nation means we are relatively young but there is a rot that has been allowed to set and fester and as a Loyal Citizen of this country, Malaysia, I need to know that I have at least tried to make a change for the better.

I love my country and I am proud to be a Malaysian. Because that is what I am. I am not Malay, not Chinese nor Indian nor Others - the way the Government has been classifying Malaysians of diverse background all these years. I refuse to be classified by my ethnic background. I was BORN in Malaysia and that makes me MALAYSIAN.

There have been many injustices and wrongs propagated over the years but I have always put that down to 'growing pains' and 'teething problems' and rationalised that forms of corruption and injustice happen Everywhere and Anywhere in this world.

However, just on Friday, I was sickened. Sickened that such a thing could
happen and even more sickened to see that the powers that be LET this happen.

i firmly beleive that all religions point to the same God. I prefer to look at the similarities in all religions rather than the differences. So if anyone insults or demeans, ANY religion, I take offence.

This is what happened on Friday. A religion was insulted and all those that profess that religion, by default, were also insulted. Is this not seditious? Is this not more serious than what Karpal is alleged to have said or what RPK is alleged to have said? Do acts like this not threaten the very fabric of society? Is this not a
mockery of 1Malaysia? Is this not a mockery of this nation that we all love and claim as our own?

I was even more distressed to learn about the inaction. According to some reports, police were at the 'scene of the crime' but they did nothing. Our PM has called for action but thus far there has only been talk. When a certain MP was alleged to have made statements about another religion, she was picked up under the ISA (Internal Security Act). I am totally against the ISA and do not want anyone, anytime to be
picked up under the ISA, but the silence and inaction this time is really troubling. This is definitely a case of Double Standards.

What is more troubling is the question of WHO is behind this. Is it truly a protest by a few unhappy citizens or is it something that has been orchestrated to cause unrest. The fact that this happens during the holy month of Ramadan is even more cause for concern.

I worry for my country more than I have ever worried about it before. It appears that we have not progressed in 52 years of independence but rather that we have regressed. I am disturbed that people can make such racial statements, such
provocative statements and even threats and still be allowed to get away with it. While some others are arrested and charged for stating facts.

I pray for change to come. I pray for strength to face these challenges. I pray for respect and understanding from my fellow Malaysians. We have to unite and not let a few radicals cause unrest in this beloved nation of ours. The darkness must one day turn to brightness...

I am disturbed that the voice of the people is not being fully listened to. I am disturbed that the mass media does not report fairly and without fear or favour. I am disturbed by so many more things. There is so much more to say, so much that can be done but I believe an SMS that is making its rounds sums it up pretty damn well. It goes like this...

It's your country. You deserve health, not H1N1 deaths.
Blue Sky, not yearly haze.
Safety, not police violence
Prosperity, not corruption
Freedom, Not ISA
Truth, not Utusan Malaysia
Justice, not Kangaroo Courts
Democracy, not coups
Love, not racism
Stop taking the wrongs lying down
Stop your silence
It's your country.
You have a say.
Your say is BLACK
Wear Black this Merdeka.

This is part of my say. I will wear BLACK this Merdeka and likewise, my Blog will wear BLACK too.

This is not the only thing I do, have done or will continue to do to try and make a difference. Happy Merdeka, Malaysia and I pray there will be many more - but with most of the wrongs finally righted and Power FULLY restored to the RAKYAT (people).

As the banner on the top of this blog reads, I remain, as always,

ANAK BANGSA MALAYSIA.

My connection is bust...

I've come to realise just how hooked we are to the Internet these days...

Not so long ago, I was extremely happy with my dial-up connection. Then I moved to Broadband and although the service wasn't all that great, it was still a damned sight faster than dial-up.

Just yesterday morning, my son was on the computer, happily playing some game. The connection was fine. Later in the evening, just before going out for dinner, I tried to gain access to the internet but realised that the PPP light on my modem wasn't working. I called Streamyx - my ISP provider.

As usual, they treated me like a techno-moron, someone that wouldn't have done any troubleshooting on my end before calling in to get help. Of course I had tried everything on my end first and called them only when I figured there was something wrong on their end.

I guess procedure is still procedure though coz the call centre guy said he'd have to reset my connection and then send a new signal down or something like that so please try again after 15 minutes. I didn't have 20 minutes so I tried it again this morning. What do you know - it STILL didnt work.

I called up again and this time they kept me waiting for a good 20 minutes while they tried to troubleshoot before they told me they would have to raise a trouble ticket and let their technical team look at it.

I'm currently posting this using my mobile phone as a modem. While I am amazed that I CAN actually use my mobile phone as a modem, I am not terribly impressed with the connection speed. Its also possible because I have an unlimited data package with my mobile service provider so cost wise, it shouldnt make a difference - I hope anyway!!

Maybe it's also time I thought about changing broadband service providers. Although this thought has crossed my mind before, currently my existing provider is the best there is - in my location anyway. Let's see how quick they fix my problem before I decide...

Maybe it's also time I tried to be less dependent on the Internet as well...

Fond Memories of Corned Beef and Cabbage

When I was young, I used to read the comic strip 'Bringing up Father' in the newspapers and used to get a kick out of Jiggs asking his wife Maggie to make Corned Beef and Cabbage. I used to think that was such a strange combination.

My Mom used to serve us corned beef too. She would buy the canned variety (Libby's) and then fry the corned beef. She would always break up the corned beef and then give it a good stir fry till it was a little crispy on the outside but still soft inside. This was a great dish when we were hungry or she needed to whip up a quick meal.


Since Mom always broke up the corned beef, I never realised till much later that corned beef is supposed to be eaten in slices and not broken up. But hey, who ever said there were any rules when it came to food!



When I was a student in Melbourne, Corned Beef was again always stocked in our pantry. That was the first time that my housemates and I actually made Corned Beef and Cabbage. We enjoyed it like that but as always, decided to Asian-ise it by making it Indian style! We'd mash up the corned beef, add lots of curry powder and chilli powder, fry it till it was cooked then add the cabbage and give it a good stir fry too. Libby's Corned Beef soon became a staple for us and we'd have it at least once a week. It was cheap and eaten with rice was simply delightful.

I was reminiscing with the Lovely Wife recently about how my housemates and I used to enjoy our food although on a tight budget and she decided she would make Corned Beef and Cabbage - minus the curry and chilli powder though!



All she did was to fry some onions and garlic, fried the corned beef, added in the cabbage and voila! Corned Beef and Cabbage. A very simple meal and so, so delicious eaten with rice.

Like it? As a matter of fact, I LOVE IT!