Random Notes 23

1. I am so looking forward to the coming weekend and the Hari Raya holidays next week! It will be a long holiday for me!

Happy holidays everyone!



2. How many of you still do not have a smart phone? If you don't have one, do not worry. You don't need to have a smart phone cos it's smarter than you. What you really need is an iPhone! LOL!



3. I discovered something. Every time I eat a slice of pizza whether it's from Pizza Hut or Domino's, the slice of pizza will always turn into a fish! Look!







Does it happen to your slice of pizza too?



4. I think I have mentioned in my blog before that I don't really fancy McDonald's. That's why I love this T shirt which I bought from Bangkok last year!







Do you think it's appropriate for me to wear this T-shirt to McDonald's?



5. Talking about T-shirts, I have just ordered some T-shirts online at Threadless. I thought they were pretty !! You may want to check out their T-shirts HERE.



6. Still on the subject of T-shirts, and touching a little bit on marriage, are you married or still single? I am specifically asking this question to my male readers so female readers need not answer. Why's that? Cos if you are still single, let me give you a message from my T-shirt.







Get it? Haha!! This Graffitee T-shirt never fail to turn heads whenever I wear it!



7. Do you like guessing game? Here's something for you to guess. I think I have posted this on Twitter before so some of you who are following me on Twitter would know the answer already.



Anyway, look at this picture. Is it an orange or a lemon?







Scroll down to number 11 for the answer



8. I love fried rice! Do you?



Although I only eat 1 small bowl of white rice for dinner, I can eat 3 big bowls of fried rice if no one stops me! Haha! Usually I love eating the fried rice wrapped in lettuce leaves!







Yummy! I am thinking of having fried rice for dinner tonight. They sure help to put on the pounds but I'll worry about that the next day! LOL!



9. Have you ever heard a nice song on radio or somewhere but you did not know the title of the song and who the singer was? You were dying to find out so that you could buy the album or at least search for the song on YouTube but the radio DJ failed to mention the name of the song?



Well, if you have an iPhone, your frustration is over! Just download this app!







This is such an amazing app! Whenever you hear a song you like but you don't know the title of the song or who sang it, just click on Shazam and it will sample the song and figure it out for you! Now you know why I must always carry my iPhone with me everywhere I go!



10. Last night, as I was biting into a tomato, I had the shock of my life! This was what I saw!







Can someone please tell me what the hell are those freaking things inside the tomato?!



At first I thought they were worms but on closer inspection, they actually looked like bean sprouts or taugeh. What the hell are the bean sprouts doing inside the tomato? Cross breeding? Mutation? Genetic engineering?



This tomato was bought from an organic vegetable supplier. I threw the whole tomato away and did not dare to eat any more tomatoes after that!



11. OK, here's the answer to the "Orange or Lemon" guessing game.







It's an orange! Did you get it right?

What Is Your Ideal Breakfast?

I hope you eat breakfast. I know of some people who don't.

They said there is no time to eat breakfast as they tend to rush to work. Some said they just don't have the appetite to eat anything in the morning.

But breakfast is important if you want to lose weight, or if you want to keep your blood sugar stable.

Imagine not having any food or nutrient entering your body since dinner the night before! Oh, I know some of you eat supper. haha! Still, your body is deprived of food for 8 - 12 hours and if you don't eat breakfast, you will be further depriving it of nutrients for another 4 - 5 hours until lunch time!

In the meantime, your blood sugar drops drastically and your body goes into starvation mode. So what does the body do in this situation? The body, being instinctively smart, will slow down your metabolism and store your fat in an attempt to make sure you survive the hunger. In other words, skip breakfasts often enough, and you will put on weight!

Therefore, make sure you do not skip breakfast!

Anyway, that's not the point of today's post. I really just want to know what is your ideal breakfast.

For me, I actually like my breakfast to consists of a cup of hot milo or chocolate (not coffee or tea!),


Image courtesy of lifeadventurez.com

two half boiled eggs topped with soya sauce and pepper...


Photo courtesy of Singapura Daily Photo

....and a few slices of bread or toast with thick kaya and butter! Hmmm....yummy!


Photo courtesy of Singapura Daily Photo

That's my ideal breakfast. No need nasi lemak, coffee, roti canai, McBreakfast and what nots!

But in reality, what do I eat for breakfasts everyday? Believe it or not - it's nothing but fruits, fruits and fruits!

Like jackfruit (nangka),



dragon fruits,


Image courtesy of fortunecity.com

papaya,


Image courtesy of truenorthkitchen.com

pineapples,


Image courtesy of My Asian Kitchen

mango,


Image courtesy of Simply Craving

bananas,


Image courtesy of Shine from Yahoo

star fruits,


Image courtesy of Enjoy Thai Food

watermelons,


Image courtesy of Herbal Blog

Well, you get the idea!

Why do I eat fruits for breakfast? Isn't it weird?

I started this 'eating fruits for breakfast' routine more than 8 years ago. Here are my reasons...

1. I learnt that fruits are the most nutrient densed of all foods! Since my body is deprived of nutrients for almost 12 hours since dinner the night before, I would need to replenish them. So what better way than to eat nutrient densed food like fruits?

2. I also learnt that fruits are best consumed on an empty stomach. This is because fruits are the most easily digested food in nature. If you eat fruits following a heavy meal, the fruits will not be able to pass into the intestines from the stomach because they are prevented from doing so by the other food that are harder to digest. The fruits will then rot in the stomach, and ferment with the other food resulting in bloating, wind and indigestion.

No wonder I don't feel good when I eat fruits for dessert after a meal! That's the wrong way of eating fruits! Fruits should be made the appetiser, not the dessert!

3. Do you know we need to take in at least 25 g of fibre daily? That's like eating 12-15 apples a day! Well, when I eat fruits for breakfast, I can ensure that I will fulfill my daily fibre requirement. Of course, my fibre intake also comes from vegetables and not solely from fruits.

4. Lastly, fruits are known to be detoxifying. Meaning, they help to cleanse our internal body from accumulated toxins. So eating fruits first thing in the morning will help to detoxify our body and encourage us to pass out those toxins in the form of stools.

The bottom line is, fruits are good for us and we need to eat lots of them! However, we normally don't eat enough because after eating breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner, we have no space left for fruits! If you were to follow the rule of eating fruits on an empty stomach, it is even harder to eat lots of fruits! So to me, the best time to eat fruits on an empty stomach is during breakfast!

Oops! As usual, I have gone way off topic! Looking back at the title of my post, I am supposed to ask what is your ideal breakfast! Haha!

Although I eat fruits for breakfast everyday, I do occasionally indulge in my favourite half boiled eggs, bread with kaya and butter and a cup of hot Milo or hot chocolate.

What about you? Do share with me what you normally eat for breakfast everyday and what is your ideal breakfast food.

FIRST COMMENTER

My Elusive Search For Tarap Fruit

I have only one regret during my KK trip and that is, I failed to taste one of the most unique fruit in the world - the tarap fruit.

Found only in Borneo, this fruit which is also known as marang, has a strong scent, is delicious, sweet and soft flavoured. From the outside, it looks like a durian except that its spikes are not hard but are more like soft bristles.

When opened up, it resembles a nangka (jackfruit) or a cempedak fruit. But according to Sabahans, the tarap fruit taste much better and more superior compared to both jackfruit and cempedak!

This is how it looks like!


Photo from strawberry gal's blog

Before I went to KK, my friend from Sandakan who currently stays in KL kept reminding me to try the tarap fruit. She said that since coming to KL, she had been missing that fruit very much!

Which makes me wonder, why is it not found in Peninsular Malaysia? What makes Sabah and in fact the whole of Borneo so special that the tarap trees only grow there?

Anyway, during my holidays in KK, I had tried to search for this fruit. The problem with this fruit is that it is a seasonal fruit. Like the durians. It is not available all year round. And what is worse is that different parts of Sabah have different seasons for this fruit!

My search for the tarap fruit brought me to many places - to the fruit markets, the night markets and even to the Sabah Tourism Board!

Yes, I even went to the extent of visiting the Sabah Tourisn Board to enquire where I could get the tarap fruit! Now you know how desperate I was! Haha!



The Sabah Tourism Board is located on Jalan Gaya, one of the most busy and famous streets in KK Town. When I went in, I saw rows and rows of brochures and leaflets on Sabah tourist attractions. I took a whole bundle of those brochures! Well, they are free! Haha!



I then went to the counter and enquired about the tarap fruit. The friendly lady at the counter said that unfortunately, the tarap fruits were not in season in KK at the moment. That's funny because other people I asked told me they were in season. But if they were, how come I could not find them at fruit markets in KK?

According to the lady, the tarap fruit would most likely be found during the month of September. But ...and here's the good news... I could try the Central Market. She could not give any guarantees but said I could try to find it there. She even pointed out to me the exact location where the fruit is sold in the Central Market, which is at the west side corner of the Central Market building.

Thanking her, I went to Central Market which was located opposite KK Plaza on Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens.



Walking through the rows and rows of fruit stalls, I was hoping to finally find that elusive tarap fruit! If the seller would somehow attempt to sell the tarap fruit to me at double the price, I think I would buy it without a word!



Oops! This photo below looked blurred. I think I was too excited about the prospect of finding the tarap fruit that my hand shook when taking the photo!



I asked a few sellers there where I could get the tarap fruit and they said it was not in season. But one lady told me she actually saw a few tarap fruits being sold in one of the stalls a few days ago. I was excited and begged her to bring me to that stall. She was kind enough to bring me there but the stall owner said he had already sold off all the fruits!

That was such a big disappointment! No one could tell me where else to get the fruit.

However, I think there is one place where I am quite sure I could get the tarap fruit. But unfortunately, I did not go there! According to the people at Lavender Lodge where I stayed, the tarap fruit could be found at the Nabalu fruit market along the way to Kinabalu Park.

The chartered van which took me to Kinabalu Park did not stop at the Nabalu fruit market. I am quite sure if I had followed tours to Kinabalu Park, they would have stopped us at the market before proceeding to Kinabalu Park. Oh well....no use crying over it now.

Perhaps, next year, if I were to go climb Mount Kinabalu, I will get another chance of finding that elusive tarap fruit.

Coming up next - A Walk Along Gaya Street

FIRST COMMENTER

101 Ways To Eat Durians

Ok, so I exaggerated!

If you know of 101 ways to eat durians, please tell me! I only know a few ways which i would like to share with durian lovers and non-durian lovers alike, in other words, everyone!

So I confessed I am a durian lover in one of my previous posts. If you dislike durians, well too bad because today, I am going to continue with my admiration for this spiky fruit! OK, OK, please don't leave, just bear with me. Who knows, you might just start to like durians?

Eating the durian fruit by itself is the best way to enjoy its taste. But do you know there are many other ways of eating durians?

Have you tried durian cakes? They are absolutely delicious!

The famous and ever popular durian cake from Secret Recipe is a must try! I especially like it when it’s taken straight out from the fridge.

Photo from Secret Recipe website

For the month of September, Secret Recipe also came out with their new durian cheese cake!

Looks good, doesn't it? Honestly speaking, I haven't been to Secret Recipe for quite some time, so must give this durian cheese cake a try this week!

Just when I thought Secret Recipe had one of the best durian cakes around, I discovered an even better one at Bon Bon outside Atria Shopping Mall in Damansara Jaya. Bon Bon’s durian cake is simply to die for. The generous chunks of durian flesh in the cake melt in your mouth and taste so good I can assure you resistance of this cake is futile.

Photo from Sweets For My Sweet Tooth

If you have been to Mid Valley Megamall in KL, then you would have probably passed by this shop called Sweet Chat. They have some pretty nice desserts, and one of them is of course the durian pancake! This pancake has real durian flesh inside instead of just durian puree. Nice!

Photo from Seeds Of Life

Inside The Gardens Mall next to Mid Valley, there is a shop called Lee Lee's Sumptuous Desserts at the lower ground floor which also sell quite similar pancakes. But I have not tried it before. Just found it at A Whiff Of Lemongrass blog. This photo of the pancakes (it’s actually called durian puffs) looks good, but I’m not sure if it tastes as good.

Do you like egg tarts? If you do, why not give durian egg tarts a try? There’s a famous shop from Hong Kong in Pavilion KL called John King which sell all types of egg tarts. Do give their durian egg tart a try, though I don’t really fancy it.


Photo from Ling's blog

How about our very own Malaysian durian dodol? The most famous durian dodol is from Tan Kim Hock in Melaka. Even though it's not a favourite for me, the unique blend of durians and gula melaka makes this dodol a popular delicacy amongst Malaysians and foreign tourists.


Photo from AsianSupermarket365.com

Now with the Mooncake Festival celebration this weekend, expect to see some durian mooncakes being sold! The Star recently reported that the snowskin durian mooncake from Shangri-la Hotel KL was voted one of the top five mooncakes by the StarMetro Team. If you like mooncakes and durians, then better get this Shangri-la Durian Mooncake before they are all sold out!

I did not buy the Shangri-la mooncake because I think it will be way out of my budget. So I settled for Tai Thong's snow skin durian mooncake. It was delicious! And I bought it at 30% off the retail price so definitely no regrets! Here's the picture of the durian mooncake before I put it into my mouth!

If you like chocolates, then do you know about durian chocolates? Yes, chocolates with durian fillings! For people like me, who love both chocolates and durians, this is truly a marriage made in heaven!

Come indulge yourself in Danson durian chocolates, a fine Belgian gourmet chocolate filled with rich creamy durian puree. Each box, priced at about RM27, comes with 9 pieces of exquisitely made chocolates. Not exactly cheap but you can be assured that it contains pure durians, and not simply "durian flavoured" ingredient.

Photo from Dimsum Dolly

Furthermore, expensive gourmet chocolates like Danson has less sugar content than those cheaper ones sold in supermarkets and shops, so it's much healthier for you. And don't forget that the chocolate itself contains polyphenols which help to prevent heart diseases.

If you have ever been to Thailand, you would surely have eaten their very famous sticky rice with mango, which is actually a traditional dessert. Have you tried their sticky rice with durians? It’s real durians with glutinous rice topped up with coconut cream. Even more sinful than chocolate, let me tell you!

Photo from Kin Jay

The one I like best is found at the MBK (Mah Boon Krong) Shopping Mall in Bangkok. It’s sold by a lady at the Food Court on the 6^th floor of the mall. Every time I go Bangkok, I never fail to go MBK to enjoy this sticky rice with durians! Even as I am writing this, I’m drooling at the thought of this delicious dessert!

Talking about Thailand, they also have a very famous product called Crispy Durian, which is actually durian candy snack. If you’ve never eaten this snack before, do give it a try. You’ll be surprised how delicious it is! It comes in a tin or in a packet. Look for the brand name Siam. Siam’s Crispy Durian is the best durian candy snack in Thailand.

The other time I brought back these candy snacks from Bangkok, they were finished up within 2 days! I bought 12 packets and gave 5 packets to friends. The remaining 7 packets were for me and my family and they disappeared within 2 days. Can you believe it? All my friends who tried it even asked for more.

Call me crazy, but I don't mind flying all the way to Bangkok just to enjoy both the sticky rice with durian and the Durian Crispy snack!

In Singapore, there is a shop that sells mainly desserts made from durians! It’s called The Four Seasons Durian Dessert Shop located at 51, Telok Ayer Street at China Square Food Centre. Surely it must be the one stop centre for durian lovers everywhere! Just look at the variety of desserts they sell below!

Photo from durianpalace.com

Clockwise from upper left : durian puffs, durian pudding, durian jam, durian swiss roll, durian mousse cake, durian pancake, pulut durian, durian dadar and durian crepe (centre)

Or if you happen to go shopping along the famous Orchard Road, you might want to look out for hawkers selling durian ice cream like the photo below.

Photo from monica j's flickr

Of course they sell ice cream of other flavours too, but we're talking about durians here. The ice-cream is sandwiched between two sheets of wafer. Isn't that yummylicious!

Would you like to make your own durian ice cubes? I used to make them during my childhood days. It's so simple even a child can do it. Here's how.

1. Buy some durians and open them up (this part must be done by an adult, of course)
2. Scoop out some durian flesh using a small spoon and place them inside every empty boxes or compartments in the ice cube tray. The durian flesh should fill at least half of the compartment.
3. Fill each compartment with water then stir with the small spoon.
4. Place the ice cube tray in the freezer.
5. Wait for a 3-4 hours, then take out the tray from the freezer and voila! you have your very own durian ice cubes!

I was planning to make these durian ice cubes and take some photos of them, but unfortunately, when I got home, the durians I had bought earlier were missing! Now you know everyone in my family are huge fans of this spiky fruit! Zero durians equals zero durian ice cubes! Well, maybe next time.