Chemically Ripened Durians

Have you heard the whispers? It's been going round the island sometime now.Rumour has it that farmers are resorting to this tactic to increase harvest.They pluck the fruits down and ripen them with chemicals.What exactly I do not know but if the 2002 article below is any indication,most are banned.

The quality of our durians are becoming more and more questionable,more so since many have spotted supplies being brought into the island from as far as Johor and even Pahang to cope with the demand.

Not one to take the trouble to go allllll the way up to Bukit Jambul even though some outstation friends will be raving mad about them.No Siree.
Neither am I fanatical or fussy about only devouring the species that's currently 'in' or expensive.Absolutely do not appreciate the udang/red species.

Ever since the start of the durian season (soon ending) clusters of sellers have cropped up on the roadsides hawking their wares.One would assume that the farm owners themselves would take to the streets but no,a good majority are resellers.
Some are just out to make a quick buck although they may be so clueless in wrestling with it they end up butchering the fruit due to lack of expertise.

These temporary vendors initially attract the curious buyers who after a regretful session of poor quality and tasting durians would see them in mid season struggling to sell their wares.Not all are bad,the good ones have their wares wiped out in a matter of hours.Repeat customers and word of mouth see to that.

On the other end of the spectrum,is a mobile van fruit seller next to Sg Kelian hawker centre who somehow seems to be able to muster durians out of thin air almost all year round much like the fella in Macalister Road.This Sg Kelian fella used to be the one I went to if I had sudden cravings off season

.

Yet for the past year I seemed to have developed an intolerance to durians.
Every feast would be followed by a tummy ache.

I completely stopped patronising him after the last two purchases lead to a bout of dizziness and vomiting.

At that time I thought nothing of it, that perhaps I had some sort of intolerance or allergy towards them.So I stopped eating durians until this current season.

I tried the temporary night stall near the chinese medicine shop in Fettes Park .No problemo.Upon comparing Sg Kelian to this new source,these were the differences

1. Fettes Park's did not deteriorate fast when the casing was removed and the fruits wrapped under cling wrap
2. Sg Kelian's would be sweating and the fruit not be firm anymore (it was mushy)even if we took 5 minutes to enjoy it elsewhere.
3. Fettes Park's flavour was more robust and texture thick and sticky
4. Sg Kelian's was either hard and dry or sweaty and watery
5. Sg Kelian's tasted flat at times (the argument was it was the start of the season/end of the season/intermarriage with thai durians)
6. MOST important lesson I learnt was that Fettes Park's did not make me feel ill or dizzy,with absolutely no tummy upset THUS preventing smart alecs from scaring me by insisting I should check to see if I had high blood pressure and all that crap

Now we know why thai durians imported into our country are hopelessly flavourless.

------------------------------------------------------------

2002 article taken from http://www.digitaljournal.com/

BANGKOK (dpa) - Old Bangkok hands like to tell the story - no doubt apocryphal - about the fat German tourist who devoured a ripe durian, followed by a bottle of Thai Mekong rice whiskey, then took a hot bath and exploded.

The tale's shred of credibility comes from the durian's notorious gaseous, sulphuric content, which accounts for its pungent odour and a taste that is sometimes compared to eating ice cream in a garbage dump.

But for the connoisseur, durian is truly the King of Fruits. And Thailand is, beyond question, the durian capital of the world.

In the April-to-June hot season the smell of fresh and rotting durian seems to permeate nearly every corner of Bangkok, causing durian lovers to swoon and the uninitiated to retch.

Oddly, durian thrives only in Southeast Asia, and not even everywhere in Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.

It is native to the Indonesian archipelago. The name durian comes from the Indonesian word meaning "thorny", which describes the durian's spiked, dull green or brownish exterior.

But even on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra, where the fruit are grown commercially, the best durian are called "durian Bangkok".

In Thailand, durian lovers say eating the yellowish, creamy inner fruit causes the body to get hot. Eating it late at night, or with alcohol, is not recommended because sleep will be affected.

Durian is also said to stimulate the libido. According to a Malay saying, "when the durian fall down, the sarongs rise up."

Choosing a good durian can be a challenge even for those with a refined taste for it, according to Bangkok restaurant critic and author Ung Ang Talay, who has been a durian aficionado for some 30 years.

"You should find a durian vendor that you know and trust," he says. "Some people can tell a good durian just by looking at it."

Others rely on their sense of smell or use a bamboo stick to tap the outside of the durian and listen for the right tone.

During the peak April-May durian-eating season, when the Thai markets are overflowing with the stuff, vendors will sometimes be willing to cut a small, triangular piece from the shell and allow customers to poke at the yellow flesh inside to judge its ripeness.

But even this test is not foolproof because in recent years some unscrupulous durian traders have been treating their fruit with chemicals to make them ripen prematurely, rather than leaving them on the tree to ripen naturally.

"It's worse than ever," Ung Ang Talay laments. "When the vendors dip their durian in this chemical the durian ripen artificially. But they taste bland, not sweet or nutty. It's like chewing paper."

The chemical problem has caused a crisis for Thailand's durian exports. Last year, Taiwan rejected its usual large annual shipment of Thai durian when the chemicals were detected.

"If the farmers keep using these chemicals they will kill their own businesses," said Pornpom Laogitpaisal, an official of Thailand's Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives.

She said the chemicals, mainly formalin and sulphur solutions, have been banned, but enforcement of the ban has been spotty.

Thailand's durian crop this year is expected to total 890,000 tons, about the same as last year, with about 100,000 tons due to be exported mainly to other Asian markets, with much smaller amounts going to Europe, Australia and North America.

Nearly all the durian exported from Thailand is the popular "mon thong", or "golden pillow" variety.

But there are dozens - some say as many as a hundred - other kinds.

Industry sources say 60-70 per cent of the Thai durian crop is mon thong, which is known for its small seeds and sweet, creamy meat.

But the "gan yao", or "long stem", type of durian also has its fanatic supporters.

"Gan yao are the most expensive durian in my shop," says Pang Sora, who has been proprietor of the Ran Sora specialty durian shop in southern Bangkok for the past 27 years.

"I like gan yao the best myself," she says as she taps a ripe- looking, long-stemmed beauty in front of her shop. "Most of my long- time customers like it best too. In fact, gan yao is our specialty.

"Next month (April) we'll have the most gan yao. Then in May we'll have the most durian of all kinds, mostly from Prachinburi and Chantiburi provinces. A lot in June, too."

These days durian can be enjoyed all year around, although the price is high and availability low in the winter months. During these months, the true fanatics make due with sweetened durian paste and durian ice cream.

In addition to gan yao, early ripening "chanee", or "gibbon," and the ubiquitous mon tong, Pang's shop also carries the more rare "durian boran", or "natural durian" such as "gop", or "frog", durian.

"Most people don't know about the gop durian," she says. "But they are very delicious, very sweet. When we get them in they sell very fast."

Market prices vary from less than 100 baht (2.32 dollars) for a peak-season chanee or mon thong, to 1,000 baht or more for a prime gop or gan yao.

Bersih 2.0

You know how after feasting on durians ,we discard the kernels?
And because there were so much more durians,basketfuls left to be eaten,we didn't even bother to remove the tiny pieces of flesh still stuck on them?
Well,I would equate the Bersih 2.0 Rally to a critters and insects buffet invitation to clean up the kernel (Malaysia) so that every lalat (PKR),weevil(NGOs),maggot (UMNO YOUTH) and sandfly(PERKASA) can get themselves KOTOR fighting amongst themselves for a stinking piece of the political durian pie.

Am featuring what I think is the best article that sums up millions of THE OTHER NON PROTESTING SILENT Malaysians two cents about the nuisance rally.
If there was an award for most humorous,comical political article this would deserve more than a medal for making light of a very stressful point of headache for the rest of us peace loving citizens.

Don't understand why the organiser/antagonisers can't be more original? Why copy the thais and don yellow and red?Why heed people whose salary alone exceeds a couple of entire households combined ,and allow them to lead us by the nose to throw the country into chaos?

The police did a great job in outwitting the two main troublemaking camps.Boy you are smart! I am awed.Hope your chemical laced water contained lots of Ridsect since all those protestors were just plain and clear hooligans.
----------------------------------------------------------
No winners,Just losers
The Star 10th July

IT’S becoming tiring for many Malaysians. We are talking about our politicians and supporters regardless of their political affiliations.
Take, for example, the organisers of Bersih 2.0. They need to realise that not all Malaysians are their fans. Not all share their beliefs and decision to stage a rally in Kuala Lumpur.
Their supporters have the right to argue and convince others that it is their constitutional right to protest but, again, do not expect everyone to share their enthusiasm.
When jazz singer Datuk Sheila Majid tweeted: “I am disappointed with all political parties, NGOs and Bersih. There are better ways to approach,” she immediately received a nasty rebuke from a PKR activist who shot her down, saying he used to respect her. She probably lost a fan because of her tweet.
There are enough people who would like to tell them that their protest was illegal and that they should know this is basic law.
Protesters should know better that when you attend a demonstration, it is not going to be a picnic. One should expect to be arrested and hauled into a Black Maria, so let’s not kid ourselves into believing that the cops would give them a red carpet welcome.
Certainly, only a politically naive person, or someone in self-denial, would believe that Datuk S. Ambiga was acting on her own.
Yes, of course, it was not politically motivated. The opposition politicians just happened to be there. Yes, they just bumped into each other at KL Hilton.
In the case of the government, many are also shaking their heads at the authorities’ sledgehammer treatment of Bersih 2.0.
Just weeks ago, not many Malaysians knew who Ambiga was. Thanks to the over-excitement of the authorities, she has become an icon overnight.
And don’t blame Malaysians for being cynical over the claims that communist elements were involved in the rally. More so when those dreamer socialists were said to have T-shirts bearing the names of dead Commie leaders.
Suddenly, Che Guevera, whom many teenagers at Pertama Complex had all this while thought was Bob Marley, was declared dangerous and subversive.
Then there was the obsession with the colour yellow. By the way, there were enough Malaysians who actually believed the Digi Man was arrested by the police, although the e-mailed picture was doctored.
But it was a funny spoof, and I wish there were enough Malaysians with a sense of humour to laugh at the fat yellow man.
Arresting people who wear yellow T-shirts with the word “Bersih” is not going to help the government win votes. Something is wrong with us if we believe revolutions can be launched by wearing yellow T-shirts with the word “Bersih”.
One need not be a rocket scientist to know the political backlash of such an action, even though there may be good security measures.
And the police, trying too hard to be friendly, put on its Facebook pictures of those detained being served with a buffet meal. There were round tables covered with tablecloth. Not bad at all, man!
No wonder there are many people who think a protest in KL is really a stroll on a weekend.
And then there was Perkasa’s Datuk Ibrahim Ali. The man is really comical. After driving enough people into a frenzy with his racist tirade, he decided to stay home. At one point, he claimed he could mobilise 15,000 people. As a face-saving gesture, he declared he would take “a stroll” at Tasik Titiwangsa. It must have been a pretty long stroll. He was probably walking around in circles.
And we can assume everyone would declare themselves winners. Bersih 2.0 will say that they managed to stage a protest despite the police locking down the city.
The authorities, too, will say that they won this round by claiming that the Bersih 2.0 crowd wasn’t as massive as they had expected.
Ibrahim Ali could also declare himself a winner as he could have successfully earned a place in the Malaysian Book of Records for taking the most number of strolls at Tasik Titiwangsa.
Umno Youth’s Patriots can also claim to be winners despite walking barely 200m before being tear-gassed and arrested.
There was another record – Anwar could still post a tweet at 4.40pm that says “undergoing CT scan for injury. Wishing #Bersih all the best.”
How he could take his mobile phone into a CT scan machine is a wonder. The Opposition leader had purportedly fallen during the protest.
Either Malaysians must be very bad in Maths or they are very good at exaggerating. The police said there were only 5,000 protesters whereas Datuk A. Samad Said said 50,000 while the pro-opposition Malaysia Chronicle news portal claimed 100,000 people.
The silat exponents turned out to be a lot of hot air in the end.
The biggest losers were the public who got stuck in horrendous traffic jams. Businesses can count their losses, vendors could not distribute their newspapers, commuters found at least eight LRT stations shut, the city’s cabbies had to stay at home and, worse, terrified city dwellers had to stock up on food unnecessarily.
And taxpayers must certainly be wondering why their money is being spent on bringing so many cops into the city – and serving a buffet meal to law-breakers at Pulapol – when they should be busy catching criminals.
It must be brought to mind that not everyone who supports Bersih 2.0 are pro-opposition. Many middle class urban voters are unhappy about many issues and it won’t hurt the government to listen to them. Don’t give up on them so they won’t give up on the government. Some concerns are legitimate ones that need fixing.
Likewise, Pakatan Rakyat should not misread today’s rally as an endorsement of the Opposition.

100 Rich Insurance Agents Gate Crash Durian Party For 500 Poor Labourers

The crime : Robbing durians,rambutans and mangosteens meant for poor labourers that keep our island clean
The culprits : Rich conmen Insurance agents that were in the vicinity for a 3 day seminar meant to fatten their asses up with buffets,tea breaks etc.
The victims : Poor labourers who cannot afford the better grades of durians on their measly salaries

The culprits who were last spotted donning green t-shirts,greedily gulped down up almost $10,000 worth of expensive grade durians in less than an hour.Not satisifed with their loot they proceeded to tapau balik(takeaway)
Who needs Bersih (I would like to state that I am not a supporter of their cause)when you have scumbags like these that act the way they did?
No amount of pleading nor reasoning could get these vultures to back off.
They just HAD to polish everything up.

If you check on the clue given by the paper,Takaful is the only company with a green logo.
I'm not saying that they are the prime suspects,but if yes,they should be ashamed of themselves.
Anyhow the next time you renew any policy or pay up,do try your best to grill your agent(let's try all the insurance companies ok?) if their people were involved.

Read on

----------------------------------------------------
Bittersweet Treat For Labourers
(9th July) The Star

A  LOCAL fruits party which was meant as a treat for about 500 Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) labourers turned out to be a bittersweet affair when about 100 gatecrashers ended up eating most of the durians.
Penang municipal councillor Ong Ah Teong, who is the council’s public health standing committee alternate chairman, has lodged a police report against the group, said to be agents of an insurance company.
He said the councillors had bought 2,000 high quality durians of over 20 varieties and other fruits worth a total of RM10,000 out of their own pockets for the party, as a mark of appreciation for the labourers who had been working hard to keep the island clean and tidy.
Ong said the open-air fruit party was held on Wednesday near the council’s premises at the Esplanade but just as the labourers were about to savour the fruits, about 100 individuals clad in green T-shirts with the insurance company’s logo showed up in trishaws and started eating the durians.
He said the gatecrashers were told that it was a private function for the MPPP workers but they ignored the organisers and continued eating
He said in less than an hour, most of the durians were snapped up by the intruders and some of them were even spotted packing the fruit to take home.
“The event started about 5pm and was supposed to go on until 8pm but by 5.30pm, only a few basketfuls of durians and some rambutans and mangosteens were left behind.
“We had pooled together our own money to buy the durians, and we really think it’s unfair of them to just gatecrash and consume most of the durians, despite repeatedly being told that the event was not meant for them,” Ong told reporters after lodging the report at the George Town police headquarters yesterday.
He said the individuals appeared to be well-off and able to afford to buy their own durians.
“We bought high quality durians such as ‘Ang Hae’, ‘Khun Poh’, ‘D6’, and ‘Ang Sim’,” he added.
He also said a few of the gate- crashers claimed they were informed by trishaw riders who were taking them around George Town that the durian party was part of their three-day seminar programme held nearby.
The insurance company was not available for comments at press time.

For Patiently Sifting Through My Posts

Merdeka is coming up and as I look back it is almost going to be a milestone of one babystep year since I started ranting about the state of affairs with regards to the foodscene in Penang.
For your info this measly blog of mine with almost zero pics,kosong promo,zilch kangtao hookups and bad layout has managed to attract 20,523 hits to date ever since.
As such,just keep a watch on this post,as I intend to reward you readers for being so supportive(for those pro borhochiak) and on the other end of the spectrum so busybody (for those against this blog but every now and then dropping by).
Some told me I was nuts for rewarding you guys even though I don't earn a cent from hammering my thoughts in here.

The prize won't be THAT big okay?Just in the spirit of fun.
Will keep you posted once everything is ready.
Remember to check here.

Home's Cafe @ D'Piazza Mall

We came here because of the 3 day IT Fair.
The thing about D'Piazza Mall complex is that the ventilation is very bad (as awful as PISA),air conditioners help just a wee bit in alleviating the heat,and the toilet and wash basin systems are just plain,illogically missing,or placed in a weird way like it were meant for home use.

The entrance is as confusing as Tesco Tg Pinang.
In fact it is so confusing the organisers of the fair had to stick computer printer arrows up on the side of the complex to lead potential customers inside.Those that gave up,abandoned their vehicles on the road shoulder.
As you follow the arrows,should you decide to bypass the back of the complex and make one round to exit where you entered,you will still need to encircle the place again cos the whole of the inside looks so dark,lifeless,very un-complex-like and uninhabited.

Who the heck plans places like D'Piazza Mall and Tesco Tg Pinang?
Who are the smartass architects and feng shui masters?
You can't view much life from the outside and as you drive by,you don't see much activity either.The traffic flow is darn complex and navigating it is as horrid as going into a plantation.
Both professionals should be fired and barred from building planning ever again.
Worse of all,I heard that the mall was fully snapped up.Pity the buyers.

Never mind all that,back to business of scouting the many makan places available.I only had the patience to look on one corner.Cos the centre is so empty,with so many shop shutters down(those available sell cheap kuih,newspaper etc),it looks a lot like the wet market makan area opposite Sunshine Square( fast forward to 2011 and people can still come up with such backward ideas) with workers on strike.

There was a corner hawker type of kopitiam full of inconsiderate smokers.Nope.
There was a super warm satay place.No way.
Next to the satay was a cooler but empty klang bah kut teh.

We settled on Home's Cafe kopitiam cos the set up attracted our eye.Nice cool marble tables and old style matching chairs were a plus but the airconditioning was the deciding factor.

Thankfully we plonked our weary selves down.Ah,nice,nice respite.
Until they plonked some dirty ragged laminated menus in front of us.
I looked around us,the floors were icky,there was dirt here and rubbish there which nobody seemed to bother to sweep away or pick up.
The tudung clad cashier and waitresses were acting like they were some useless cheap lelong plasticware roadside shop assistants.
ONLY THE MEN WERE WORKING HERE.The women are mere wallflowers.No one would mind if they looked hot.But they weren't.
The waitresses had a hobby called Nobackbone.They liked to lean their butt against the cash register,their back against the wall,their legs against the lower serving counter and their arms against any available concrete structure.
The kitchen was so small ,I was amazed at the various stuff the Nepal/Bangla (Ipoh horfun bangla style anyone?)cooks could churn out.
Initially I had wanted a meal but looking at the sour,dissatisfied,unhappy faces of the many (suckers like me)patrons around,many of whom looked like they could not stomach their meals,I decided to test the waters by just having a drink.

Your drink will arrive in a nice ceramic kopitiam cup,accompanied by a PLASTIC spoon.You get the feeling that this outlet presumes that all customers are incapable of handling ceramic spoons.
And they have the guts to proclaim that they've been around since 1948.If I wanted this type of drink I might as well go to 7eleven pay for a 3in1 satchet,add hot water and drink that.
Verdict : FAIL

OK FC

Warning:  View this video only on an empty stomach.

Bali Hai @ Gurney Drive

Their motto is "If it swims we have it".But what I want to add after the end of the meal is..."Ya,but even after you cook it,I still don't like it"

Looks pretty impressive from the outside with pockets of ang mohs in neckties and luxury cars  but is typical chinese restaurant chaos on the inside.Table clearers are a busy,frustrated and harassed lot.Order takers are on the same plateau.

Well if the ang mohs and expat customers like the Japs,Chinese nationals and Indons are any indication.....they speak a thousand words about the food here.

It's a great place if one is particularly hankering after a specific seafood or species of fish.
Great place if you wanna impress a client with the erm...lively seafood aquariums atmosphere awaiting you to pick the next victim for slaughter.
But I find the food rather plain,terribly boring,totally uninspired.... with less salt and no aji used.

Although the portions are huge and value for money compared to the standard pathetic servings dished out by most places on the island,you will be unable to finish it cos there is simply no uumph to their dishes.

Fish may be fresh but I really do not like to dine on fish kept in tanks that have been treated in anti chlorine,anti fungal,anti itch and anti the seafood dying before you choose them to eat,premarinated in chemicals sold in any Koi shop.

Shellfish can sometimes contain one or two bad ones among the good which I find not cool in the least.So not cool.

Their supposedly famous fried kangkong belacan is famously awful,not in the least fragrant,too oily and totally borhochiak.I felt like a goat munching on oily,old,fibrous weeds after they got entangled in a longkang annexed to a geoduck tank.

Fried rice is worse than most school canteen's,a complete disgrace to fried rice and a most regretful order.

There is no airconditioning cos it is an open air concept.
Ventilation and cooling systems are not bad but is little help battling against the constant pollution spewing traffic passing by,and no use at all against enzyme mudball ravaged Gurney Drive beach that turned into an ugly eyesore of a mudflat after two volunteer to fling episodes.

Not impressed in the least.
Good place to fleece someone you don't like or put it on the kiamsap company's bill,
yet you still won't walk away with a satisfied smile
cos frankly speaking the food makes me wanna swim 6 feet under
and Neptune walk on land just so he can sock it to em

Horseshoe Crabs @ Seafood Restaurants

When I was little I spotted this helmet like dinosaur era relic crawling its way across the ferry in Bahai towards the sandy beach nearby.
A Malay man alighted from his motorbike and did not let it go far as he soon picked it up with a big smile across his face.
I asked my cousin what it was and he said that it was a very delicious delicacy but it was rather cruel to eat cos people would only eat its eggs and discard the rest.Much like shark fins where the fins are eaten and the majestic beast thrown back to a watery grave unable to swim after that mutilation.

Have seen it in many seafood restaurants but have never had the heart to try it cos of my brief childhood encounter.
Maybe this is nature's way of putting its brakes on us greedy,never satisfied humans from expediting the extinction of ocean species.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Do Not Eat Horseshoe Crabs,Say Officials (The Star ) 18.06.2011
Two die of poisoning after consuming creatures known as 'belangkas'

Kota Kinabalu :
Fisheries and health authorities have warned the public against eating horseshoe crabs after two people were suspected to have died of poisoning recently.
A joint statement by state fisheries department director Rayner Stuel Galid and health department deputy director Dr Jamal Muhi said the two fell ill and died after consuming horseshoe crabs caught at Marudu Bay.
It added that 18 people who had consumed the crab were also treated after suffering symptoms of poisoning at the Kota Marudu hospital.
Horseshoe crabs including those found locally such as mangrove horseshoe crabs, can turn poisonous according to the season,especially during breeding months.
The flesh,unlaid green eggs,testis and viscera of the horseshoe crabs know locally as belangkas can contain high levels of a poison called tetradotoxin,studies have shown.
Tetradotoxin is a potent poison that attacks the nerve system when eaten and is similar to the toxins found in puffer fish.
Typical symptoms of this type of poisoning include stomach cramps,nausea,vomiting,headache,dizziness,reduced body temperature,numb lips and general weakness.
In severe cases the affected person might not be able to open his or her mouth fully to speak,suffer sensation of heat in the mouth,throat and stomach,muscle paralysis,increased sallivation,drowsiness and loss of consciousness.
Horseshoe crabs can be found throughout the South-East Asia region.
The creatures would normally linger in shallow waters with soft ,sandy bottoms or mud flats including in coastal mangrove areas.

Taiwanese Bubble Tea Syrup

Update :

(please refer to http://www.moh.gov.my/ or http://www.fsq.moh.gov/ for the full,current list)

Bubble tea syrup brands,health,energy and beauty drinks found to contain DEHP

1. Top 1 -Watermelon syrup (importer F&B Sdn Bhd)
2. Top 1 -Crystal Sugar Aloe Syrup (importer : F&B Sdn Bhd)
3. Top 1 -Yam Syrup (importer : F&B Sdn Bhd)
4. Good Day -Mango Jam (importer : F&B Sdn Bhd)
5. Oriyen Nutri Grow (Boy) Orange Premix -sold by direct selling Cosway (M) Sdn Bhd
6. Lennox Firm-Up Collagen Drink-Leton Products (Pty) Ltd (suspected cos it contains grape syrup from CZC) 
7. Strawberry syrup -from CZC Bubble Tea Supplier
8. Strawberry syrup- T&M Resources Corporation,imported by Elegant Solutions Trading
9. Grape flavour concentrate - from CZC Bubble Tea Supplier

-----------------------------------------------------------

My suspicions in the previous taiwan related post have been confirmed.

For the past ten years,we have been consuming bubble tea which made its first inroads into the pasar malams and hawker centres before establishing themselves in the shopping complexes..
Worst of all they have been marketing bubble tea as a cool beverage targetted at teens in particular.
Now the ministry tells us that it is contaminated with DEHP.

The offending brand used in bubble tea is :Strawberry Syrup
Manufacturer: T&M Resources Corporation
Importer : Elegant Solution Trading
Doesn't make a difference who sells or makes them to us cos first of all labels can be reprinted and facts changed.
On top of that,how are we to demand from the bubble tea franchisee that we insist on knowing who their source is,and what is stopping them from bluffing us right?

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Bubble Tea Syrup Is Unsafe (The Star) 18.06.2011

PETALING JAYA: A Taiwanese product commonly used in bubble tea drinks sold in the Klang Valley has been confirmed by the Health Ministry to be contaminated with the carcinogen diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP).
In a statement, Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the product had been identified as the “Strawberry Syrup” manufactured by T & M Resources Corporation and imported by Elegant Solution Trading.
Two other products suspected to be contaminated by DEHP were
Chuang's Square Cookies the brown sugar, all-wheat, almond and sesame variants
Natural Beauty Drink Powder
Natural Beauty Fruit and Vegetable Powder.
“The ministry has instructed the companies concerned to recall their products immediately while samples have been taken for analysis. All retailers have also been advised to halt sales of the food products with imme-diate effect.
“Customers who have bought the items are advised not to consume them,” Liow said.
The manufacturers for the products were
Chuang's King Tai Chang Food Co Ltd
Prince Pharmaceutical Co Ltd while the importers are
Syarikat Nguan Seng (1990) Sdn Bhd and
Billion Synergy Sdn Bhd.
Liow also said that another 15 food products from Taiwan had been tested and found to be free of contamination, including New Choice Pudding, Lychee Syrup, Honey Peach Syrup and Black Tea imported by Elegant Solution Trading.
Other products free from contamination include Power Bifidus Yogurt Drink, Kinohimitsu Japan D'tox Juice and eight Cosway Oriyen products.
Other food products found not contaminated include Singlong Ho Egg Noodle, Sun Chi Song Hua Ban Noodles, White Jade Noodle and MIC's Taiwan Lemon Wafer.

Kiew Brothers Boxing Chicken Dried Meat(Wo Lai Ye)aka Oloiya bak kwa & 2 Penang Bak Kwa Outlets

I don't know why The Star newspaper under reported this article from Bernama.

Not only that it also left out one of the brand names reported.

My guess is,the business must involve some big guns or political donors with ties to the MCA.

The Kiew Brothers Boxing Chicken brand has its roots in Petaling Street.It used to be so famous that if a Penangite were to find out that anyone were making a trip down to the capital city,they would request that you help them purchase a box back home for them.

Before you read the article below here is a list of popular bak kwa brands in Malaysia.

Which of the 3 are the culprits?

So far we only know of one Kiew Brothers.

Question is...which ones are the remaining two brands ordered closed down in Penang?

1. Foo Heong("Ju Xiang")
2. CHOP LOONG KEE SDN. BHD("loong kei")
3. Chun Me Food Trading ("xin quan mei")
4. Tan Heong Kee("Chan Heong Kee")
5. Wing Heong
6. Kiew Brothers("Wo lai Yeh")
7. Hock Seng Guan("Fuk Sing Yun")
8. Eng Hock Hiong("Wing Fok Heong")
9. Anthony Un Jang-Yang("Un's Bakkwa")
10. Hock Chuan Hiong("Fu Chuen Xiang")
11. Bee Cheng Hiang (the singaporean franchise that's found everywhere)

Rule of the thumb is...if your bak kwa doesn't turn mouldy even after a couple of months in the fridge,never buy it again.

-----------------------------------------------------

Cap Ayam smoked pork producer faces court action

The Malay Mail

Tuesday, June 14th, 2011 17:34:00

PORT KLANG: Court action is being taken against the producer of 'Cap Ayam' smoked pork containing preservative that exceed permitted levels.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said Rule 147 of Food Regulations 1985 states that processed meat should not contain over 200mg of nitrate and nitrite.
"This is a serious offence and convicted meat producers face RM20,000 maximum fine or jail not more five years or both under Section 13B of Food Act 1983," he said after monitoring food products imported from Taiwan here today.
Nitrate and nitrite are preservatives used in processed meat to inhibit bacteria growth and enhance colour.
Liow said when consumed, nitrate will be converted into nitrite in the body and join red blood cells (methemoglobin).
"High red blood cell will reduce its ability to supply oxygen to organs making the person tired, dizzy, difficult to breathe, look pale and suffer headache and palpitation.
"Food subjected to high temperature or high acid will result in amine from meat protein and reaction with nitrite will form nitrosamine which can cause cancer."
He said the ministry analysed 80 samples of smoked pork, sausages, dim sum and pau and found three samples of smoked meat with excessive nitrite.
One sample from 'Cap Ayam' brand had been ordered removed from stores nationwide while the others were produced by two shops in Penang which had been ordered closed

Bak Kwa/Bak Kua/Bak Gua/BBQ Pork Can Cause Cancer

In case you don't know what Bak Kwa is,it is a sweet caramelised jerky made from barbecued pork meat that draws the crowds partly cos it showcases the cooking process in front of the shop much in the same way as if a red indian were mass messaging another with unfathomable smoke signals.

 

We chinese people have been so stupid over the past 50 years or so to equate expensive prices,perfect snow white grains and spotless uniform vegetables to quality produce.
With industrialisation and science merging together to form a toxic food industry,pioneers (or what I call unscrupulous conmen masquerading as businessmen)convinced our people via adverts and so on,that luncheon meats,fried dace and seasonings like oyster sauce were clever ways to please the family while appearing like a million dollar cook.Chefs and hawkers made a killing by introducing us to unsafe additives sold out of our view like farming pesticide in a bottle.
I don't care what the food technologists tell us cos they've been indoctrined with facts that have been drummed into their heads that enabled them to graduate and not be jobless.

 

One by one the seams are beginning to unravel.Very soon is there no food left that is safe to eat?

 

With the expose on rubbish pork finally sinking in,outlets selling BBQ bak kwa saw a dip in sales too.
Still we liked to buy these as snacks or to bear as gifts when house visiting during specials occasions.

 

Now this.

 

In anyway when consuming barbequed meats or burgers it is best to counter the carcinogic effect from the burnt areas with some raw salad or a squeeze of lemon and onions.But we don't.Cos either we are stingy or lazy or the Bak Kwa seller is stingy or lazy.

 

The problem with Bak Kwa is,it not only consists of partially cindered parts like what you find in satay(satay always comes with onions and cucumber),Liow now gives us in black and white the excessive amount of nitrate used in it's production.
No wonder it could last so long in the fridge without ever turning mouldy.

 

Anyway,I do know some buddhists who will refuse to eat onions and garlic.
That is bad for your health ok?
To reject the cucumber and onions that come with your satay is sheer cancer propogating folly.

 

In fact,with regards to this topic,we Malaysians rank as the most troublesome tourists in the world due to our varied cultures and unreasonable beliefs.
Whoever takes them on a group tour will have the nightmare of having to contend with demands from total vegetarians,partial vegetarians,buddhists who refuse to eat garlic,onions and beef,hindus too,no pork for muslims,eggless eaters,diners that cannot eat spicy food,others that must have a spicy dish,those that must have chinese meals,soya sauce,belacan,sambal,budu,salted fish and cili padi,too heaty this,too "windy" that,this too much "angin",why don't they sell nasi lemak,roti canai,tau sar pau......even if they were right smack in the middle of the Antartica.

 

I am already having a headache just thinking about it.

 

Please read the article below and recollect how much of the BBQ pork strips and floss/serunding(which is getting increasingly whiter and paler...suspicious eh?)you have had over the years.

 

If you were greedy and ate alot I have no words to console you.If it will make you feel any better,I  will share a story about a non meat eater.

 

I once knew a non smoking vegetarian,who despite exercising regularly died of cancer.Some whispered that the cancerous genes already exist in our body.Some insisted it was second hand smoke.
I blame it on two things

1. his penchant for the delicious taiwan sifu taught,marketed and sold to Malaysian hawkers and restaurant cooks, fake fish,fake chicken,heavenly dishes that killed him.After all,how on earth does one replicate the taste of meat without some nasty chemicals involved ?   OR
2. the vegies he ate that came from Cameron Highlands were coated so liberally in Malathion and fungicide with no regards for a window period of waiting before harvest,no amount of washing could have possibly removed it

 

Feeling better?
Nope?
Me neither.
We are all doomed.
--------------------------------------------------------------

 

Three Dried Pork (Bak Kwa) Products Recalled From Market : Liow (14.06.2011)- The Star

 

KLANG: Three dried pork (bak kwa) products have been recalled after tests found they have too much nitrate, a preservative that can cause cancer if consumed excessively, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.
“The maximum amount of nitrate allowed is 200mg in one kilogram of meat. The samples were found to have more than 1,000mg of nitrate,” he told reporters yesterday after checking the mechanism on monitoring imported food here.
Liow said legal action had been initiated against the food processors.
On another matter, Liow said the South Korean instant noodles Shin Ramyun (Shin Ramen) have tested safe for consumption and did not contain carcinogen di-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP)

 

McDonalds @ Prangin Mall,Gurney Plaza & Penang Airport

Why Prangin Mall ?

1. The cashier/staff like to make gecko/cicak sounds  if you decide to change your order
2. The floor is full of black footprints that are left unmoped,you feel like you are dining inside a dirty toilet stall
3. The place is severely understaffed and the staff are highly strung/under pressure cos this is a high traffic outlet
4. This complex is also a hotspot for Penang teenagers to make out/kiss etc etc(the girls are very brazen and always make the first move in grabbing the boy suddenly to plant a wet french manouvre).Be prepared to watch pimply lovebirds exchanging saliva coated with onion breathe as you munch on your burger or in front of the lifts after your meal

Why Gurney Plaza ?

1. This outlet is filled with happier staff.However their kitchen staff often play the fool.When you eat you might be treated to sounds of them screeching,giggling,laughing and screaming loudly.Once in hysterics they will also run around,chase each other with mops and utensils.In the end it will screw up your order.Examples.....a friend once ordered chicken porridge that consisted of an entire soup cup of pure chicken meat plus tasteless soup minus the rice porridge.Another got a double cheeseburger minus the cheese.Both true stories.
2. There are lots of oversized staff here that look like they ate up half of the kitchen contents,refuse and budget.All great adverts for a fast food outlet that claims to be nutritious and healthy.
3. Update september 2011 : The outlet emenated a horrible stink.The smell is as bad as one of the badass toilets at 1st Avenue Mall or the hawker centre near the Heng Ee roundabout.Upon further snooping around,I found that it comes from their bins and the counter where one gets the condiments like sauces,sugar and creamer.Every customer that walked in today,had a big frown due to the unbearable stench.The staff were nonchalant about the smell.I rest my case.

Why Penang Airport ?

1. Sit in the middle where there are cushions and check the glass divider.It is a living display for Fingerprint Art that has not been wiped for ages.Beneath it,is a Dust Art Instillation.
2. Diners clear tables for the staff here,not the other way round
3. Do not look under your table like I did.Unless you love to check out air travellers discards,tissues,used nappies and other yucky icky things(thank the low cost carriers for turning nice spanking airports into third world bus depos for trash travellers)
4. Cranky,grouchy,growling,fierce female ninja staff lie behind the cash counter.The most ferocious and largest of them all,Shera the Ninja Sumo Mistress turns into a Genghis Khan to defend No.5(refer below) the instant you raise an issue with the bill.She will turn men into meek mice with her loud booming voice that can shrink testicles when she says "SO WHAT'S THE PROBLEM????"while scrutinising the limp bill with an outraged look,to which you will feebly offer her a "nothing....nothing".She is so menacing I bet she could intimidate even Karpal.
5. Blur male staff take your orders and screw them up if you make your order in English.To avoid an encounter with the Ninja Sumo Mistress,do tell the boys your order in Bahasa Malaysia 

Taiwanese Banned Beverage,Yoghurt,Jam,Sports Drinks,Health Capsules,Bubble Teas,Powdered Drinks Alert

Read the article below plucked from The Malay Mail.Liow goes on to allay our fears that these items are not imported into Malaysia.

However if you have a circle of importer and repacker friends,you would know that it would be best to avoid those nice juices,even yoghurts and jams that have a thick body to them since their sources are most times not revealed on the labels.
In case you do not understand what I mean,it is like how the Singaporeans and Japanese import in our products and relabel them as Made in Singapore or Made in Japan.
I also do hope you know that cheap Korean noodles come from China and are not made in the Korean Peninsula.Their noodles have a vegetarian gluten feel and thickness to it unlike most of the noodles imported into our country which are thinner.When you go on tour and are herded into their korean shops that offers cheaper Korean noodles and seaweed by the boxful do bear in mind that you are purchasing made in China korean noodles instead.

Coming back to this latest food scare,the Hongkong government has warned that the substance used could shrink testecles and cause kidney toxicity.The Vietnamese and Pinoys have issued alerts too.
It all came about when the culprit in the storm of a bubble teacup substituted palm oil with DEHP and DINP to cut cost.

If it can affect up to 400 different kinds of drink brands,would bubble tea stalls that get their supplies from taiwan be affected too?
Think about it.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Tainted food & drinks from Taiwan alert

Submitted by francisnantha  

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011 23:04:00

Food and drink products from Taiwan tainted with toxic chemicals di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) and di-isononyl phthalate (DINP) are prohibited in Malaysia, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.
Liow said among the restricted products are Uni-President Asparagus Juice by Uni-President Enterprises Corp Taiwan.
Also prohibited are Sunkist Lemon Juice, Sunkist Lemon Juice Drink with Aloe Vera Pulp, Sunkist Orange Juice and Sunkist Orange Juice drinks manufactured by Country House Inc in Taiwan and exported to Malaysia through Sunlight Foods Corp, Taiwan.
"We are also monitoring the market and entry points for food products imported from Taiwan such as fruit juices, jelly, jam, yoghurt and sports drinks," he said in a statement today.
Liow said the ministry was informed by the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that traces of DEHP and DINP, which are used to make plastics more flexible and durable, were found in products exported from the country and might have carcinogenic effects.
Other affected products are sports drinks from Taiwanese company Young Energy Resource Co Ltd such as the Speed Sports Drink (600ml), Speed Sports Drink (Lemon Flavour)(600ml) and Dong Nung 1000 Sports Drink.
However, Liow said that the Food Safety Information System of Malaysia revealed that these products were not imported into the country but the others had been ordered for immediate withdrawal from the market.
"The ministry will confiscate tainted products still found in the market and take action under the Food Act 1983 on individuals involved in importing, storing, preparing, distributing and selling these goods," he said.
Liow added that the public needed not worry about imported food from Taiwan as they had imposed control on affected items.
For more information, the public can contact the ministry's Food Safety and Quality Division at 03-88833652/03-88833653 or visit its website at http://moh.gov.my or http://fsq.moh.gov.my/

Maid In Hell

Update :
If you have information on human trafficking or if you suspect your neighbours maid is a victim of it please call 999.
Or check the website http://www.moha.gov.my/  for more info.
--------------------------------------------------------
Do you know where your neighbour's maid comes from?
Do you care if she was forcefully trafficked here?or if she was tricked into her thankless miserable job washing two cars twice a day inclusive of the floor mats,bathing and walking the family dog,gardening,cooking,babysitting,changing nappies,picking the other kids up from school,running the hawker stall,moping,cleaning,etc etc all in one day?
If you report an illegally employed maid will you be saving her or damning her?
Thousands of Cambodian families have been unable to locate their loved ones once they step on Malaysian shores.
Can we do anything about this?
Can you sleep easy knowing some of these girls have been kidnapped and held hostage in nice neighbourhoods doing the above chores from 5am to 1.30am?
Is there any difference we can make instead of closing one eye to cruel neighbours?
They have no one to turn to.The only person I know brave enough to fight for their rights here is Irene Fernandez who has done time behind bars for their cause.
I want to do something proactive and I will start by highlighting this issue which is not highlighted by any local paper yet due to the many restrictions in place to clamp their mouths shut.

In my forays overseas I have been asked this question."Why is Malaysia notorious for credit card fraud worldwide?"to which I had no answer.
But on the 29th of May I read the article below from the Bangkok Post on a flight back from the capital,after indulging my tastebuds in everything Thai and so much more.
This was an eye opener since I personally know of one "Maid Per Hour" illegal business operator staying in the Tanjong Bungah area who managed to upgrade from a medium sized apartment to a sprawling bungalow in the space of six months.
I don't usually poke my nose around so much but from what I understand,I know that he supplied maids by getting them via a complicated way that involved them travelling up to Penang via buses from many entry points around Malaysia.This part time maid venture has made him cash rich,really cash rich.
Reading the article below shocked me.
You come to your own conclusion after reading it.
----------------------------------------------------------

Cambodia's Recruitment Nightmare

Despite government denials,rights groups have uncovered evidence that licensed agencies are sending thousands of women and underaged girls to work as domestic servants in Malaysia, frequently under abusive conditions.

On the final day of her investigation earlier this month into firms recruiting Cambodian staff for foreign markets _ primarily girls and women destined for Malaysian households _ Human Rights Watch's Jyostna Poudayl noted she was "surprised" that not a single recruitment agency had been shut down.
She was also surprised to find that in Kuala Lumpur, where she began her one-month investigation, the Cambodian embassy did not even have a labour attache to handle the often desperate phone calls it receives from women and girls trapped in abusive households, their passports confiscated by their employers or the firms that placed them.
Ms Poudayl might have been less surprised had her investigation included more interviews with Cambodian and international detectives investigating the 34 recruiting firms licensed by the Labour and Vocational Training Ministry.
"There is no doubt that the Labour Ministry is receiving bribes from companies wanting to avoid scrutiny," a senior officer with Cambodia's national anti-trafficking police said on condition of anonymity. Payments are made in the office of a deputy director-general at the Labour Ministry who is one of the architects of Cambodia's overseas job placement strategy. During a lengthy interview with him at his office in mid-March, staff from recruiting agencies delivered bundles of bank notes to his staff in exchange for the certified applications required to send recruits overseas.
Besides accepting cash from firms, Labour Ministry officials also have financial interests in some of them, and this is creating "unfair competition" within the industry, an Association of Cambodia Recruiting Agencies (Acra) board member said on condition of anonymity.
Opposition MP and former minister of women's affairs Mu Sochua said she suspects that corruption may be rife at the Foreign Affairs Ministry as well, pointing to the unusual speed with which thousands of passports have been issued to women and girls bound for Malaysia.

Licensed companies have also subcontracted recruiting to multiple unlicensed firms, which have in some cases destroyed files, making it next to impossible to trace some of those who have "disappeared" in Malaysia, according to police.
"It's an investigative nightmare," said British detective Eric Meldrum, who is working with Cambodia's anti-trafficking police to investigate recruiting firms, through the Australian not-for-profit organisation Southeast Asia Investigations into Social and Humanitarian Activities (Sisha). "We have hundreds of family members who have not been heard from by their families since they were sent to Malaysia, and no one is looking for them."
"The sheer magnitude is unbelievable," Sisha founder, former Australian detective Steve Morrish, said. "If one Australian tourist went missing in Malaysia you'd have a national taskforce investigating," he said. "In the six years I have been in Cambodia this is the pinnacle of human trafficking, it's the most extreme exploitation."
The recruitment of underage girls has been a focal point for anti-trafficking groups. Legally, domestic servants must be 21 to work in Malaysia, but girls as young as 12 have been recruited.
The Labour Ministry deputy director-general admitted that his ministry makes no effort to verify the authenticity of birth certificates delivered by recruiting firms. But he insisted that their forging had been stamped out last year by the Interior Ministry.
Human Rights Watch, however, found new cases last month, as did the rural-based Sao Sary Foundation (SSF) and Sisha, which obtained the release of a 12-year-old girl from a training centre in April. All three organisations also found new cases in which women had had up to a decade shaved off their birth certificates so they could slip in under the 40-year-old age limit imposed by Malaysia.
Mr Meldrum and Mr Morrish also believe that criminal activity in the recruiting industry is vastly under-reported because the recruiting occurs in villages where outreach by Phnom Penh-based human rights organisations is scant, and high rates of illiteracy prevent families from filing complaints with authorities, some of whom are also working as agents for recruiting firms.
Rights groups and opposition MPs have also focused on the more than 90 training centres in and around Phnom Penh where girls and women are often detained in overcrowded and unhygienic buildings, some wrapped in razor wire. These prison-like centres have also provided the local media with a buffet of shocking stories to select from, including suspicious deaths and desperate attempts at escape.
In one high-profile case, Heng Hak, a 31-year-old mother of two, was left with broken bones in both legs after she became entangled in razor wire and fell while trying to climb down from a third-floor balcony. Mu Sochua said the woman wanted to return to her village to visit her children. But the Labour Ministry official had a different theory. "She was trying to sneak out to visit her boyfriend," he said.
Cases accumulated by rural NGOs and Sisha, however, have come primarily from distraught families whose daughters or wives have disappeared in Malaysia. They have also found corruption permeating local governments.
Some recruiting companies are paying commune councillors and village chiefs to identify the most impoverished households in a village _ those with single or crippled parents, those who are landless, or those who in debt to microfinance institutions and unable to feed their children, according to Martyna Gacek, a criminal lawyer working as a child protection officer at the SSF.
The recruiting agents offer immediate financial assistance, sacks of rice and promises of high-paying jobs in Malaysia.
Once they get to Malaysia, however, they have no rights under that country's labour laws because they are classified as "domestic servants" rather than employees, according to the pre-departure guides produced by the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) last year. The guidebooks are printed in English and Khmer, but despite the great care the IOM put into producing them, it has neglected to ensure that they are distributed, police and NGO staff say.
"What was striking was the lack of information among the migrant workers, and the level of deception. They have no idea what their rights are," Ms Poudayl explained the afternoon before she flew back to New York. She explained that the purpose of her report would be to "widen the discussion".
However, by the time it is published in September, several thousand more Cambodian women and girls will have joined the estimated 40,000 already in Malaysia. And, like the carefully researched and produced reports on the same issue that have preceded it since 2006, Human Rights Watch may fail to influence a government that includes officials at all levels who are profiting from a booming and lucrative industry.
The number of recruiting firms in Cambodia has more than doubled since Indonesia placed a temporary freeze in 2009 on sending new domestic helpers to Malaysia, following reports of extreme abuse there. But exactly who owns these firms remains murky. An Bunhak, president of Acra, said it was difficult to trace ownership of the companies because those named on the licences were often nominees. He also pointed the finger at Malaysian-owned firms as the worst offenders, accusing some of recruiting mentally ill women from villages. "All the Malaysians care about is quantity," he said.
All costs, from advance payments to families, HIV screening tests, food and accommodation in training centres, plane tickets, and bribes to forge birth certificates and expedite the processing of passports, are paid by the recruit. Sisha alleges that these costs are often inflated, and estimates that it takes about six months of domestic servitude to repay them.
Unlike Human Rights Watch, however, it is not interested in widening the discussion. "Recruiting companies are turning Cambodian women and girls into commodities and no one in government seems to care," Mr Meldrum said.
The detectives want arrests, and they are going after the company owners rather than the agents scouring the countryside.
So far, they have helped police gather evidence of alleged criminal activities by six of the licensed firms. These case files have been forwarded to Phnom Penh prosecutors, and include evidence of criminal activity by the country's oldest firm, Cambodia Labour Supply, as well as one owned by a member of Acra's board of directors.
But these files are sitting on a prosecutor's desk, and even if they move forward, they will have to navigate a court system that Cambodians themselves, according to a survey by Transparency International earlier this year, regard as the most corrupt institution in their country.
Still, Mr Morrish does not think the situation is hopeless. "The government is dancing around the issue, but the problem is very easily fixable," he says. "If the police, courts and government take a stern stance and enforce the laws in place they could fix this mess in three months."
But he adds a note of caution, saying this would also require a change in mindset to one in which the rule of law takes precedence over culture. It's unclear what he means by "culture", but Cambodia has had a recurring pattern of exploitative, corrupt and ultimately self-destructive governments, and there is increasing alarm here that the current government is stifling dissent when the challenges it faces requires a more sustainable approach.

One & a Half Hours Later

KL is an impatient fast paced city unlike Penang.When it comes to food we are like angels that are so patient waiting for it to arrive.The longer it takes the more we are under the misconception that the food must take some effort to prepare and therefore must be delicious.So we wait and wait and wait.

This is a fatal mistake when Penang operators take this kind of attitude down to set up shop in KL.It will signal your demise.Cos unlike Penangites,there will be some KLItes that storm out in an outraged huff and never return.Those that sit it out until the food arrives will pay the bill with a black face and swear not to return.

But our hawkers and restaurant owners are so molly coddled by us.To wait 45 minutes to kingdom come at a popular place is the nothing of course compared to a one & a half hour one.
The only person so far on  this island that can get away with this miserable waiting time and still flourish is that bloody James Foo,the one that causes parking obstructions in Fettes Park cos he seems to get into countless fights with other business owner from the now closed down Syawara Steamboat that had to station a guard in the parking lot to the small time ckt seller that he bullied relentlessly in front of all his customers many years ago.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Mother's Day Dinner Frustration (Malay Mail)

IMAGINE being forced to wait for your food for more than one-and-a-half hours on a special occasion with your loved ones.
Describing the recent dining experience at the “worst restaurant he has visited this year”, 38-year-old Nelson Lin from Kuala Lumpur tells Hotline that on Mother’s Day (May 8), he went to Ahimsa Vegetarian Restaurant in Endah Parade, Bandar Baru Sri Petaling, for dinner with a group of eight adults and four children, including his 82-year-old mother.
LIN says there were many customers when he reached the restaurant at 6.45pm and some of his family members who arrived earlier were already seated.
According to him, they waited for more than 15 minutes before someone came to take their orders.
“My brother wanted to order ala carte dishes but was advised they may take a longer time to prepare as there were many customers at the time. So, we opted for the dinner set as recommended by the lady boss and chose the least expensive nine-course set (RM395) out of the two set options.
"Drinks were also served after some time. After waiting for 30 minutes, my brother asked a waiter about our order but was told to wait.
"Looking at our family members who were famished, my brother again went to the cashier counter to enquire about the food but was told the restaurant had run out of gas. They were replacing the gas tank and they told my brother to wait."
LIN says his family waited from 6.45pm to 8.15pm before the first dish arrived.
At 8.45pm, LIN’s group received the fifth course out of nine dishes.
“Due to time constraints, we could not afford to wait for the full course. Even when settling our bill, everyone had to wait for a long time.”
LIN says the five dishes came up to RM300 (instead of RM395 for the full course) and the family paid RM354.17 in total, which included drinks and miscellaneous items.
“Looking at the other patrons who brought their kids and elderly parents to the restaurant, I saw children crying and the senior folks’ faces going pale with hunger."

● AHIMSA Vege Health Food Industries Sdn Bhd general manager Andy Low Kia Heng says: “Even though LIN’s description was a bit of an exaggeration, we believe he did not make this up. We would like to offer our apologies.”
Low says most restaurants, including the Ahimsa's outlet in Endah Parade, were packed on Mother’s Day.
"The mall uses a central gas supply system that is channelled to the restaurants. On the day in question, the air conditioning system developed a low pressure condition and along with other restaurants in the mall, they did not have gas supply until 7.45pm.
"At that point, our restaurant was already filled with customers and without gas, it could not function.
“We did not want to make a fuss with the mall as we have a good relationship so we just have to absorb all our customers' feedback."
Low says to make up for the inconvenience caused to LIN, Ahimsa wishes to meet with LIN over a meal to extend their sincere apologies.
When contacted, LIN says he can understand the difficulties faced by the restaurant at the time but looking at the service and response of the staff, it was rather unfortunate for the customers.
LIN, who eventually accepted Low’s invitation after a second persuasion, expressed his ordeal to Low when they met.
“Because of their sincerity, I accept Ahimsa’s explanation. I’m satisfied with the management’s immediate response."

A Typical Modern Penang Grandmother

Some Penang grannies are a beautiful bunch if you view them from the back.They look sexy as a hot bod  lithe young nubile twenty year old nymph dressed to tease in a tight mini and tee,with shiny skin and lovely long hair to boot.
That is until she turns around and the toll of all those years of cruel dieting and ruthless exercising shows.
Some say these grannies seem to have forgotten their age,and pudding face which exposes the lies Estee,Olay and Shiseido cooked up.
Those who do realise that their mien looks like a cellulite ridden @$$ and have the $$$$$ for some invasive procedures end up looking suspiciously like an old washed up trannie from a Pattaya cabaret or a chinese/malay version of Joan Rivers face.
Heck,shopping centres from the island to butterworth and Ipoh even have the guts to award these 'fixed up' Ah Poh's,The Most Beautiful Mom titles with newspaper write ups to boast about.
These cut,stitched or injected neneks might make those of their age group jealous about their 'youthful'looks yet when they walk into any hawker centre or foodcourt the hush that greets them is not due to admiration but because each table has no tam pui like in the old days for us to puke.Indigestion due to internal shock is the order of the day.
Just when you think you have seen it all,few years ago I had to do a double take and nearly keeled over when I spotted in a petrol station an uncut,unstitched and uninjected old money Ah Mah in her 80s (I kid you not!)bending over to fill up her ride while flaunting her knobbly knees,thighs(groan...she exposed everything everyone didn't want to see till just below her buttocks) in all her shortest miniskirted glory.
Next time god,just spare me the sleazy old maid and zap my innards out onto the tarmac for me will ya ?


While this Disturbing phenomenon has been going on for years here,apparently there are pockets of these ladies too in Kayel (Cheras in particular) similar to what we have today in Penang.
So the picture below is just an example of how not to dress gracefully when one ages.
I have included it here so that you may plaster paper cut outs of Barbie's miniskirt and a very trendy top on top of it and alakazam...you get a vision of the typical modern Penang grandmother(uncut,unstitched,uninjected version) that makes the young ones scream.
After they cut,stitch and inject we still wanna scream.
Cos both versions look like Frankenstein's sister.
You can't turn broth back into rice.

Photo taken from the Malay Mail's "Too Sexy For My Shirt"(google that and check out all the reader comments at the bottom of the page)

Nyonya Breeze Desire @ Straits Quay

September Update :

Now got set lunch already plus with a new write up by one of the Borhochiak awarded lousy writers should have more people streaming in.
The thing about Straits Quay in general is,people just seem to want to wander around,gaze around and take pictures.The setting makes them afraid to spend their money.This is the same case scenario with Island Plaza.
Even their flea market is one of the most miserable ones around,apparently heard tru the grapevine that this due to the local staff that are very discriminatory towards our own locals just cos the boss is angmo kau.
The situation is so bad that one can even find a Kacang puteh seller hawking his wares in this posh looking place.

To throw their cash around happily,people hop into their cars and head to Gurney Plaza.

------------------------------------------------------------------

A quick round up

Cons
1. No set lunch compared to their town outlet
2. Big army of staff,miserable pockets of diners
3. Got tax here so will be more expensive than town
4. Food just as bor kau lak as their town outlet
5. Final bill can make your eye pop out and wonder if you are paying for their venture here
6. The Can never smile Rosie the taukeh soh comes out for some air every now and then(reminds me of a tilapia fish in a pond) like in the old outlet

Pros
1. Nice airy convent/missionary school classroom type setting
2. Nice ocean view
3. Pleasant nyonya uniforms on sweet young waitresses
4. Friendly service as usual from the head males
5. No restrictions on their menu offerings compared to their town outlet where fixed days are reserved for certain dishes
6. Better fixtures and interior decor

Bak Chang A1 Mobile Van @ next to 7th Day Adventist Church

With the Dumpling Festival around the corner,I get sudden hankerings to enjoy these remarkable offerings.
Although I do have my favourite places,most of the bak chang sold in Penang itself are pretty acceptable except for this place in my opinion.
But if you ask most Penangites they will proudly herd you here,in a split second and force this down your throat like most well meaning Malaysian hosts.

Have tried the bak chang at many places before but I always avoid this van converted into a mobile foodstall.
Unless that is,that dear aunt of mine decides to bring their darned $6 dumpling(she loves me so much she has to get me the biggest size!) as a gift when she comes a house visiting.
Not wanting to dissapoint her I disappear into the kitchen to hide my heaving shoulders as I unwrap the most clumsily wrapped dumpling on the face of earth.

Just why is this is the most famous bak chang stall in Penang?

I'll tell you their 2 secrets.

1.Sugar (so much it defies logic,therefore I think they must have added Equal sweetener as well)
2.Extremely generous amounts of fresh stewed pork,chestnuts,salted egg.

Their owners discovered this secret a long long time ago.
Add a ton of sugar into the glutinous rice,mask it with a tinge of salt,good quality pepper and 99% of Penangites are sold.
Yea it's that easy to sell us winning foods here.
Quite the opposite of the government's "Kurangkan Gula" campaign.
Do that here and you loose your customers.
Seriously.

Which is why when Penangites go anywhere throughout the whole of Malaysia they bitch about the food in other states.
In order to momentarily solve your problem whether you are in KL or JB just carry a canister of syrup(preferably made from rock sugar) with you.
Add two tablespoons to your single plate of hokkein mee,curry mee and mix,mix,mix while it's hot.Mask it with deep fried onions(this is only for hokkein mee) and a little sweet soya sauce.Walla...you get a whiff of home.For fish curry just buy from the mamak stall,add mint leaves and one tablespoon of your home made rock sugar syrup concoction.When it comes to CKT (stress that you want it kurang,kurang,kurang eu/minyak)sprinkle the syrup via a shaker,mix while still steaming hot.
What we don't see,we don't care to know.
Who cares how much sugar the hawkers put into our foods as long as we didn't see with our own eyes?
Not me.Cos I do care since a dental appointment is astronomically challenging,billwise.

As I was saying earlier,the dumplings here are very clumsily wrapped.
There is an art to dumpling wrapping but the heir apparent who has taken over his Ah Sook's glorious money making empire,either doesn't care or has employed a fed up,overtaxed,abused and tired robotic Bangla to do the job like a one or two man factory hand.
That this stall makes so much moolah ($$$$money) it enables their entire clan to indulge in a couple of weeks long holiday overseas every year is beside the point.
We made them this rich just based on them exploiting our insane sugar craving.

Why on earth do we Penangites consume so much sugar in our foods and (not to mention deep fried pork lard/santan)in our diet yet think that,that, is what makes a good dish without recognising the unhealthy amount present in our diet?
Then in the next breathe walk the entire length of Gurney Drive (4 laps is a minimum,nuts!)because of the guilt factor we harbour after eating all that no,no,bad foods until the day we end up there in our 60s after a stroke disables half of our face or using walking aids into restaurants to scare the shit out of the next generation of kids.

Before I end allow me to add that I absolutely hate the mushrooms encased inside this A1 bak chang cos it has somehow managed to absorb some really icky smells from the lard.Ugh!
But in order not to cause my dear aunt heartache,I swallow the damn slimy smelly thing.Someday I will have to own up to this and break her heart when I tell her the hard truth,but in the meantime this coward most times dumps 3 quarters of the uneaten chang at the back of the fridge(I assure her I will have it for dinner/supper later).Oh the lies one has to tell when offline.
Maybe after I loose all my teeth I will have this to mutter to myself
"Hauch gum ai ditchen hafch zer nerf do sell hersh hwen ai hadtch zher chans.Hauch gum?hauch gum?"

In short eating the bak chang here is like slowly taking in a mouthful of condensed milk to coat your gums,followed by massaging your teeth with a blackforest cake to create new cavities* and finally topping it with sticky caramel made from glutinous rice and soya sauce pork belly stew to drill the nail into the coffin.

Even the flouride in your toothpaste cannot save your soul after this experience.

* Americans and Aussies might love this

New Zealand = Anti Chinese

I have never liked the New Zealanders.
Racism against us yellows or oriental looking people has been happening from way back.
The first chinese arrivals centuries ago worked their tortured lives in gold mines.They were shunned,punished and labelled as dirty chinamen.
The country is beautiful but the people are not.

Today the white Zealanders won't patronise oriental run shops(Korean/japanese/thai we are all the same to them) hoping for them to rot,they treat us with disdain and when we are on tour in their country they cannot hide their disgust at us armed with our cameras spoiling their white man's landscape for them.
They frown at us.shake their heads at us,treat us like major irritants and turn away from us because they truly believe that we are disease ridden.
As such I can't believe that the the author of the article below as well as his interview subjects didn't notice the resentment all this while.Where has he been ?
Maybe it is because he behaves like most overseas chinese who don't mix around much,stick to our own kind within the safe cocoons of home or of chinatown or a chinese restaurant,act pretty pompous when they have a little property and treat others like trash even if they have none.Just a guess but we'll never know.Who would admit to that openly?
So many Malaysian Chinese made a beeline for this country in the past,bragging about the free education and great environment their children would have in this place.Some thought Christianity would open doors and gain acceptance for them.
But today,just like the children of those who migrated to Canada,their offsprings trickle back here for opportunities their parents were so sure would not be made available to them today.
Ever hear of the Singaporean specialist in Sydney who drives a taxi for a living because he cannot find a job?He was too embarassed to go home.

Travelling to NZ is not all blue skies for us orientals.
There have been reports of fish and chips outlet cashiers yelling at our kind,not taking orders,ignoring us.
Senior citizen tourists hollered at,rudely mistreated by customs officers and made to march flights of stairs regardless if they were fit or not.
There are tracts of the country that are isolated and if you were to self drive and your car has a breakdown,pray you do not come across one of these haters.
The high incidences of rape cases against female travellers here too,have not been highlighted.Neither has there been any travel alert on either issue.
Before you decide to book your flight here,think it over.
This is NOT a friendly nation.

Overall there is widespread and deep seated hatred towards us (just like those brainless white south africans who hate every race even their own when there is none left on the planet)

Dear Mr Charles Chan,open your eyes.

You cannot see the colour of the heart of the people you are mingling with.
These skinheads are Not delusional when even the ordinary Joes do ensure oriental tourists get their bristling jolt into reality loud and clear.
They are sure of whom they want to hate.They have been from the start.
You are just in denial.

Read on

-------------------------------------------------------
Return Of The Skinheads
(Charles Chan)

HERE we go. A white supremacist group from quake-ravaged Christchurch is once again trying to resurrect what many people thought was a dead issue in New Zealand.
Over the past few weeks, hundreds of flyers urging “like-minded” people to “join the resistance” against “the Asian invasion” of NZ have been found stuffed in letterboxes of homes in Auckland suburbs like Pakuranga, Howick and Northcote.
According to media reports, similar flyers have also been distributed in Christchurch and Nelson in the South Island.
This delusional campaign for Kiwi supremacy is the work of a small group called Right Wing Resistance (RWR), mainly made up of people from skinhead gangs or associated political movements
Led by Kyle Chapman, a former skinhead, former leader of the neo-Nazi National Front and one-time Christchurch mayoral candidate, the leaflet drop is an obvious attempt to stir publicity in an election year.
Coming from Christchurch, this campaign certainly sends the wrong message as the city is counting on Asian airlines like Air Asia and Southern Airlines — which recently inaugurated services to Christchurch — to help revive its tourism industry.
But the town that promotes itself as the “Garden City” sadly has a dark side as the “skinhead capital” of New Zealand. Now the RWR wants to spread its wings to Auckland, the most ethnically-diverse city in NZ.
The group has launched a recruitment drive in Auckland and is planning a “massive anti-Asian rally” in Queen St before the Nov 26 general election.
In response, some people are planning a “diversity march”.
Chapman, who wants to set up a “unified mini-state” in North Canterbury, describes his organisation as a “unified resistance movement against mass immigration, the dilution of our European culture and pride.”
In his mindset, an ever decreasing European population will lead to a loss of white power in NZ and he blames bad government policies, greedy politicians and businessmen for this situation.
Chapman is right on one point. Once dominantly white NZ is certainly becoming darker, browner and yellower.
According to a recent census report, the number of Asians in NZ will nearly double from 350,000 in 2006 to 790,000 in 2026, while at the same time the Maori population will increase from 565,000 to 820,000.
In economic terms, it means new migrants contribute $1.9bil (RM4.5bil) to the economy every year, and tourists and international students a further $2.9bil (RM6.9bil) in foreign exchange.
The New Zealand Asian population — made up of 42% Chinese, 30% Indian and 30% other ethnicities in 2006 — is projected to exceed the Maori population past 2026.
Skinheads like Chapman and his ilk say they hate Asian migrants because they “stole jobs” and “destroyed white New Zealand culture and heritage” but the truth is that the growing presence of Asian migrants has been a crucial contributing factor to job creation in NZ.
Sadly, Asian migrants including those with professional skills and qualifications are facing discrimination in getting jobs with local employers saying they lack “NZ working experience.”
Many Asian professionals like accountants and engineers are driving taxis and working in supermarkets to survive.
Immigration NZ says stopping migration will mean that by 2021 NZ’s population would drop by 9.6%, GDP would fall by 11.3%, available labour would drop 10.9% and the export sector would decline 12.9%.
The RWR has also resorted to resurrecting the Commie bogeyman, claiming “too many Chinese are coming in with communist affiliation.”
“We don’t want to be taken over by communists,” he told the New Zealand Herald.
Chapman’s Asian-bashing has filled the air waves on Chinese talkback radio. Many in the Chinese community fear it could get out of hand.
The concern is shared by police who have launched an investigation to determine whether the anti-Asian leaflets constitute an offence under human rights legislation.
Chapman’s anti-Asian bias may find some support among the far-right, extremist fringe but far-minded New Zealanders are outraged.
Former Olympian Dick Quax, who won silver in the 5,000m at the 1976 Summer Olympics, found one of the leaflets in his Pakuranga home.
Quax says he has never seen anything like it in his 20 years in East Auckland.
“It’s disgraceful and despicable,” he says. “Words cannot describe my loathing for these people.
“It’s quite clearly hate speech.”
Malaysian-born Mervin Sing-ham, director of the Office of Ethnic Affairs, sees the distribution of the leaflets as a clear attempt to cause fear among Asian people living peacefully in NZ.
Massey University sociologist Paul Spoonley says although the group is small, they do need to be monitored to avoid them getting any bigger.
“They are a concern, they are white supremacists, their website makes that clear,” he said but he felt the group would not get much support for its rally in Auckland.
“If you don’t oppose them on the outset, there’s always a chance they’ll become more serious.”
Chapman agrees that people will be offended by the pamphlets but claims the right of free speech and says he is sick of the problems caused by Asian immigration “being swept under the carpet all the time”.
“While it is despicable, not much can legally be done about the leaflets,” says Race Relations commissioner Joris de Bres.
Free speech is a right for all, including racists. That’s democracy at work and on balance, we are all better off because of it.

Ye Olde English @ Ipoh

Yes another departure from the norm.

Over the years we have been slowly exploring the charming town of Ipoh for good eats.
Still I think their noodles (yellow noodles:hard,bleaugh ..rat tail noodles and.hor fun: stinks of brown rice husk)are really one of the baddest in the country and possibly the world only they themselves don't know it yet.
Most times I drink the soup and discard the noodles.
Whatever Ipoh people may brag about their noodles,most of it is really unpalatable if you ask me.

It took us years to discover our own little gems even at off the beat paths where one would least expect to find great food.I attribute this to the water over here.Can't be anything else.
The hawkers and some hotel operators here aren't really big on presentation.
Most times the food looks like shit but tastes like heaven.
Noodles may look like Penang's but feels like air dried hardened Playdough and if you were to swallow it,you might feel like an anaconda devouring dry crooked,stinky fermented spaghetti.

Personally we've had many peeves,in particular,that cluster of famous chicken rice/horfun stalls in the centre of town which I found to be overcrowded chaotic hype,idol worshipped hongkong stars pictures rather than substance.
Another time I had what I call condom soup which was actually a kind of rubbery cream coloured pre soaked urchin I think,but it got more disgusting the more I ate cos it looked like the nyonya deep fried pig skin but tasted like chewing many mini foamy bathroom sponges.
I call it condom soup cos it really does resemble tiny floating condoms in one bowl of diluted sperm soup.
Gross out.Totally.Yea.

This tale below is the one that will be repeated to eternity within our family.
One night we made one detour here to this lively area just behind Tesco/Jusco adjacent to the North South Expressway.

I just want to tell you unsuspecting and innocent Penangites a few things.
If you ever decide to come and stop here for a bite,please take note of the following

1. If you intend to have dinner here,do not eat your breakfast,lunch and dinner 3 days before arrival
2. Cos this place was designed to fatten up people
3. The waiters are huge.their male customers fat.Thinner men come here to hangout while they have some jumbo drinks and a plate of appetizers only.Smart buggers.
4. Their skinny female customers can polish off one entire gargantuan serving without sharing a plate like our Penang table sluts.
5. The mixed grill is really,really,really bad compared to Penang
6. The mixed grill is super,chunky,huge.gigantic,enormous.It starts off as one large murtabak sized slab of beef,on top of a big marble chunk of lamb,followed by a barbarians portion of chicken and more underneath(at this point my dear lost his memory and so did I,so although there were more ingredients we really cannot recall)
7. The mixed grill can feed an entire Penang family of 7 for a week(ok I am exaggerating here,make that 2 days )
8. The Ye Olde Spring Chicken is actually a whole Lea and Perrin marinated and deep fried medium sized chicken(scream! how to finish?) that bounces back like Pantene coated chicken when the waiter places it down in front of you.I swear it is true.I saw it bounce ok? Huhuhuhu.
9. The children's set is as big as Dome's large breakfast set plus a soup and adult sized drink.Just what did we get ourselves into?
10. Their regular drinks never seem to end so don't make the mistake of ordering the Jumbo size.You will have nightmares of drowning fruit in a glacial floodgate.
11. NOBODY shares ONE dish among four persons in Ipoh so don't disgrace us here.Choose from the snack menu if you must but avoid ordering the cute looking potato prawns.It is downright awful!
12. there is nothing English about their dishes.You get a smorgasboard of ipoh,thai,western etc etc instead.Only their name,fries,potatoes and L&P sauce usage makes them think they are Ye Olde English.
13. You place your order hongkie style.Pencil,paper,number,tick.

In case you don't believe me,be my guest Ye New Sucktomer.