SORRY FOR MY LONG ABSENT

Dear All

Sorry that I have been absent for too long.....not that I was taking a long vacation but was having chronic diarrhea and was hospitalized for 25 days....

Now that I have been discharged from the hospital and resting at a place where someone is like a Guardian Angel, always looking after me and taking care of me. I also would like to thanks some of my old friends who never failed to lend their support when I needed it and also, my family members, sorry to have made you all worry days and night and thank you all.

I hope to regain health and post more and share more with all....as my blog says "Let Us All Be Connected" and always keep in touch.

That's all for time being....

Andreano

Rainy Afternoon On 5th September 2012

As I am still resting at home, recuperating from my sickness....suddenly, it begins to rain which this morning, it was such a sunny day.  Here are some photos taken from my residence....well, just for fun and to kill my time... The sound of the falling rain is calming and it brings peace to me...

Taken from my balcony

Taken from my kitchen

Taken from my bedroom's window

Ramdon Shots Around Klang Valley

It is such a boring Saturday afternoon, so, I thought I put up some random shots around Klang Valley or alternatively known as Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan Area (consisting, the districts of: Kuala Lumpur, Selayang, Gombank, Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, Subang, Serdang, Puchong, Klang, Putrajaya, Cyberjaya and Kajang). Just some photos for your eyes and viewing.....

Sephora @ Kuala Lumpur City Centre

Petronas Twin Towers at night - glowing like diamonds - taken from Sky Bar of Traders Hotel

IOI Boulevard, a commercial plus Food and Beverage Hub at Puchong, near my residence

Shojikiya - A Japanese Grocery / Snacks Shop at Empire, Subang Jaya

An angle shot of a fruits bar kiosk at Empire, Subang Jaya

A big glass of Hoegaarden beer for a visiting overseas friend (Only fruit juice for me..hehehe)

A Tin Mug - In Memory of My Late Father

Recently, the Chinese, the Buddhist all around the world, celebrated the annual Chinese 7th Lunar Month's Ulambana Festival. It is a day where one pays filial piety to his/her parents and ancestors, to help them to be released from all sufferings from their past negative accumulated karmas. Special Buddhist prayers on that day, could be dedicated to the dead or the living...including to oneself.

As I was sicked, on 25 August 2012, I could not join my family members for the Ulambana prayer for my late father, where his ashes is placed at the Kwong Tung Chinese Cemetery (Heritage Park)'s Pagoda.  I have no regret but peace, to have spent 8 full months with my late father on father-son moments before his last breath....

Here is a photo of the exact type of tin mug that my late father always like to use for his drinks, i.e. for his iced tea, iced orange juice, soft drinks, including hot beverages....you could always hear the stainless steel teaspoon cling-clang when he stirred his drinks / beverages in the tin mug....and you know, Daddy's home.....

A tin mug - in memory of my beloved late father....Namo Amitabha, Namo Amitabha, Namo Amitabha.

Tin Mug

Entrance to Kwong Tung Chinese Cemetery (Heritage Park), Kuala Lumpur

The Pagoda where my late father's ashes is placed in

Flowers were everywhere on that day

 Photos from Kwong Tung Chinese Cemetery (Heritage Park) - courtesy from my Sister Sara.

Those who would like to understand more about Ulambana Festival, may read a Sutra about it by clicking on this link The City of 10,000 Buddhas Website

  

  

Delicious "Sambal Petai" Dish (Stinky Bean)

Recently, I have been not so well with stomach upset and my younger sister, Sara, in her own way to motivate me to get well soon, sent a photo of her home-cooked "Sambal Petai"....Oh gosh, it is one of my all time favourite dishes.  Petai as commonly known by Malaysians or Pakia Speciosa / bitter bean / stink bean / twisted cluster bean to westerners, is a popular bean in South East Asia. It is so versatile that it can be cooked in a variety of ways, even eating raw, pickled or boiled. 

Many people have issues with Petai as well, as they smell stink....but to Petai lovers, it is exotically and appetizingly fragrant.  One of the effective ways to take away / reduce Petai smell is to have brinjal dish to eat along...or place a brinjal in your toilet which the brinjals must be cut into half then cut into cross section in centre. The brinjal shall effectively absorb the Petail stinky smell and help you control the "smell pollution" hahaha.

According to traditional knowledge and scientific research, Petai is beneficial as natural laxative for those with constipation, regulate glucose level of diabetes patients, boost energy level (hence rather heaty), relaxant and improve mood, contains iron and good for anemia, high in potassium and low in salt which is good for high blood pressure and stroke and natural antacid for heartburn.

Don't be turned off by the Petai stinky smell...try it and I have known several foreigner friends that were initially cursing the smell...had fallen in love with Petai very much.

Younger sis, Sara's home-cooked Sambal Petai with Chicken and Chilli

Naturally, how petai look like in its "case" on petai tree

Petai, seeds after taken out from its "case"

Brinjals, effective natural vegetable to counter Petai's stinky smell

  

Great Ways With Greath Healthy Smoothies

Here is an idea from an affliate, Sunfood. Make your healthy smoothies with great natural goodness from Acai Powder, Goji Powder, Maqui Powder, Cacao Powder, Spanish Bee Pollen and Chlorella Tablet. Hmmm, though I am not sure how Chlorella tablet's smoothie would taste like....I wonder....hahaha. Since Sunfood is having some offers, why not try them?  Click on Acai Powder banner at top right of my blog for Sunfood online store.

Siput Gonggong ( Dog Conch Snail )

Oh dear....I was browsing through web today and I came across, a very very long missed favourite seafood of mine, i.e. Siput Gonggong (or Long Long by Malaysian Chinese) or Dog Conch / Laevistronbus Canarium to westerners.

Siput Gonggong are sea snails and they taste delicious and tender. The simplest way to enjoy Siput Gonggong is by boiling them in water for a few minutes (best is 15 minutes) then lift up, use a tooth pick to pick the flesh out and dip into some hot sour chilly / cayenne souce...mmmmmm! If you want a more savoury taste, "Siput Gonggong Masak Lemak Chili Padi" or dog conch snails cooked with coconut cream and hot cayenne / chilli. That would really open up your appetite and make you crave for more...

So have you tried Siput Gonggong? If not, give it a try when you are in Malaysia....

Boiled Siput Gonggong

Siput Gonggong Masak Lemak Chili Padi / Coconut Cream and Cayenne Dog Conch Snails

More Photos from Tioman Island Resort Vacation

Here are more photos to share from my vacation trip at Tioman Island Resort, Pahang, Malaysia. Enjoy....

Lavender Bistro At Senai International Airport, Johor, Malaysia

Sometimes, I could look very square and geeky....like in the following photos. I was laughing at myself too. So innocent and good old scout boy looks. Anyway, as you can see, it was taken at Lavender Bistro (a Malaysian brand cafe chain) at its Senai International Airport in the state of Johor (near to Singapore), Malaysia. An overseas friend came by to visit me when I was residing and working in Johor (2008).

I really like the unique bottled flowers decoration at the background...they are simply charming and captivating to look at. As it was lunch time, we had one of Malaysian's favourite food, Nasi Lemak. 

Lavender Bistro cafe does serve great tasting food, especially from its Tebrau City Shopping Mall branch in Johor (the bistro was founded in the state of Johor). It was one of my favourite spots for lunch, tea break and dinner when I was residing in Johor.

A good old boy scout looks...hahaha

Admire the background...not me.

Bottled Flowers....captivating to look at

A variety of tropical flowers and you can see orchids too

Nasi Lemak....yum! However, I don't eat chicken wing. I prefer chicken breast meat and beside the rice is Malaysian's traditional fish chips...we called it "keropok ikan"....the fish chips can be very addictive once you have a taste of it

Belated Post : Year 2011's Birthday Celebration

Well, this is kind of belated post. Here are some photos taken during my year 2011's birthday celebration at Italianies Restaurant at Sunway Pyramid, Bandar Sunway. Seen here, my 2nd sister, Lyana; Younger Sister, Sara; Youngest Sister, Julia and her little girl and little boy, i.e. Angel and Anthony. I just recovered from a sickness then and looks kind of pale...it was my treats to my sisters.  Eldest Sister, Jenna could not make it while, Younger Brother, Poh - he always missed any kind of family celebrations, plus he works on weekends.

The serving portion of the foods seem like for one person but actually, they were very big plates / portions. The 6 of us could not even finished the food...LOL.  The foods were great.  The photos were courtesy and designed from Sister Sara.

My post with the birthday cake - courtesy from my sisters

Seen here, Julia, Angel, Anthony and myself

Here, Lyana, Sara, myself and my niece and nephew

The mixed fruits salad ... very refreshing

The fettucini that we ordered....delicious

Hmmm....and I forgot the name for this one. Looks like our Malaysian giant curry puff....hahaha but it's not.

Playful Anthony with his food.

Aluminium Foil Wrapped Herbal Tonic Chicken

Recently, an old friend, an Indonesian Chinese, sent me a photo of his Aluminium Foil Wrapped Herbal Tonic Chicken. Looks appetizing and packed with health benefits. According to him, he learned the recipe from a cooking class conducted by a 5-Star hotel chef in Singapore and mmmmm, the chicken tasted juicy and tender, plus the Chinese herbal infusion that made-up the recipe.

I could list down the ingredients for this herbal tonic chicken but I prefer to present my friend's version of his recipe, since the photo is from him. So, let's wait until his return from his business trip in overseas.

The benefits from herbal tonic chicken: tonify liver, lung, kidneys, improve vision, promote blood circulation, improve stamina and overall vitality. During summer or on hot days, it is recommended to exclude one of its ingredients, the Dang Gui (Chinese Angelica root) - this root / herb is kind of very yang / heaty...It is also recommended that fresh farm spring chicken is used for added efficacy.

The herbal tonic chicken is wrapped in aluminium foil and steamed

Aluminium Foil Wrapped Herbal Tonic Chicken - Ready For Enjoyment

Life Saviour - Unusual Chronic Cough Remedy

Today, I would like to share an unforgettable chronic cough experience I had a few years back when I was working / residing in Singapore. Out of no reason, I was down with chronic cough for a month plus! It was torturing and put me almost breathless. So serious that I coughed whole day for a month plus, I had trouble getting-up from my bed, standing and extremely exhausted for only a few foot steps...I was so weak and I could hardly eat...

I thought, I had contracted tuberculosis or some kind of chronic bronchitis or lung infections but after medical investigations, I had none of those. I consulted many modern medical doctors from private clinics, private hospitals and government hospital. I was even taken to Singapore's famous cough specialist by my ex-boss but nothing works! In fact, the medications / drugs were "killing" me....my body ached all over and my kidneys were in great pain each time I consumed the prescribed medications. I thought I was dying....

As a last resort, I turned to Chinese herbal specialist, a generations trusted old brand, Eu Yang San herbal retail chain. The herbal specialist inspected my condition, looked at my tongue, asked a few questions and recommended a remedy to me with full confidence that I would be cured within 3 days!!!  I was asking myself "Are you sure?" So I asked him, what actually caused my chronic cough? He told me, it was nothing, it was just a hot / heat cough which is curable! I was like "Huh???!!! I had seen so many doctors and specialist and it was not cured" I then told him, I didn't have fever and the doctors did not detect any fever. He replied, "Yes, modern medical could not detect such "heat" as it is underlying within the body - only by inspecting the tongue, pulse and assessing the cough conditions, could this "heat" be detected visually, not by termometer." He further explained, there are two type of cough, i.e. hot cough and cold cough.  So, a few lessons learned.

So, I asked, what herb was he recommending? He smiled and pushed 6 boxes of yellow box to me. Reading the Chinese wording on the boxes...I was stung for a while. I asked him "Are you sure? Snake bile fluid???" (snake liver acid, in other words) He said, "Yes...the only effective remedy for such condition. Other herbal mix might take too long to cure or unable to fully cure the hot cough."  Having no option, I agreed to his recommendation. I asked him, why the yellow box type and not other colour? He said, since I had cough for about 1 month plus, my hot cough would have subsided...so stronger dosage was not recommended.

How it tastes like? Ewwwww....so smelly like snake! The snake bile fluid is processed into powder form, so it is easy to mix with warm water and go down the throat. Religiously, I medicated myself with the unusual remedy and true enough...within 3 days, my cough was completely cured!!!!

I hope this information has been valuable to those who suffer from "strange", prolonged and chronic cough and could not find the cure. It could be just hot cough or cold cough....Isn't that unusual? Some times, you thought modern science would help us but it turns out to be otherwise.....time honoured natural remedies are still needed to fill in the blank which modern medical science could not resolve.

Lastly, the snake bile remedy is not cheap but in overall, it is still cost effective and affordable if to compare with all my visits / medications to private clinics / hospital and specialist, plus, it shortened my suffering. Those who works on hourly / daily wage, you need to recover fast or there would be no income. So, be smart and make the right decision....

      

Chinese Version of Pot Au Feu Dish

It was interesting to read a post from +Shinae Choi Robinson of Pot Au Feu at Google+.  Reading on the recipe and how it is cooked, reminded me of the Chinese version of Pot Au Feu which is known as "Suan La Jie Chai" or Sour Hot Vegetable.  It is cooked with leftovers as well, where in addition the following are added as part of its ingredient: tomatoes, dried chillies (cayenne), fresh chillies, onions (some like to add garlic besides the onion), dried tamarind skin, lime juice (optional), leftover roasted duck / chicken or pork, water and Jie Chai or Kai Choy (fresh big leaves green mustard), salt to taste and sugar to taste. All ingredients would be thrown into a pot and slowly simmered until the meat is soft and tender.  The taste and smell? Mmmmm...hot, sour and very appetizing.... There, the Chinese Pot Au Feu.  Warning! Only for those who could stand cayenne heat and enjoy sourness at their taste buds.  Try it if you ever make it to a Chinese restaurant...but it is not a common dish served as this is more of a traditional home-cooked dish.

Suan La Jie Chai / Sour Hot Vegetable (Chinese's Pot Au Feu)

The Type of Fresh Green Mustard Used