Simple Recipe - Muara Cawang Indonesian Pandan Cake

My maid taught my daughter to make this Muara Cawang Indonesian Pandan Cake. I named the cake after her village, Muara Cawang in Sumatera, Indonesia. Since it is kampung(village) style cooking there is no exact measurement of the ingredients. The cake tasted a bit like Bak Chien Kuih (Chinese Pancakes) and it is different from our normal pandan cake. I think if we add a bit of kaya on the top the type will be very nice. Ingredients Flour, 1 bowl Castor Sugar, ¾ bowl (Add more sugar if you want it to be sweeter) Eggs, 4 Soda Bicarbonate, ½ teaspoon Butter, 2”x2”x 2” Pandan(screw pine) leaves, 7 pcs Put sugar and butter into a big bowl and beat it until the batter turns white and fluffy. Add egg and continue to beat the batter. Slowly add the flour and soda bicarbonate; beat well. Blend pandan leaves using a blender and squeeze out the juice. Heat up the pandan juice and bring to a boil. Pour the boiling hot pandan juice into the batter mixture so that bubbles will form to make the cake fluffy (The Indonesians are good at using alternative ways to make the cake fluffy instead of using baking powder). Put mixture in baking pan (greased with butter and sprinkled with a little flour so that the cake will not stick). Bake in oven 150 Deg C for 40 minutes. Related Post 1)http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2009/07/peteformation-chocolate-cake-recipe.html 2)http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2009/07/peteformation-marble-cake-recipe.html 3) http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2009/07/eggs-tarts-than-dak-recipe-taiwanese.html

Jokes – My American Friend in the Pub

This is another joke about my adventurous American friend (John, not his real name), the same person who was chased out of a restaurant by the stall owner when he asked for chili. See previous post Jokes – My American Friend got Chased Out from a Restaurant. One day, I brought him to a pub in Damansara Utama. While we were drinking, one of the waitresses that I know came over to chat with us.

Me: John, this is Mandy.

John (American Friend): Hello Mandy, nice to meet you.

Mandy: Hi John. How are you?

Me: Mandy works as a part time waitress here and she normally leaves the pub after 9pm to report work at another place. She is a hardworking girl.

John: Mmmmm, interesting. I wonder how you cope with 2 night jobs. By the way, where is your second work place?

Mandy: I work in Chinatown.*

John: Oh, you work in ‘Chee Chong Kai’. (Chee Chong Kai is the Cantonese name for Chinatown, Petaling Street where there are a lot of stalls selling cheap fake goods) I almost spew out my beer!

*There used to be a nightclub in Damansara Utama by the name of Chinatown Nightclub, same row as 7 Eleven, at the back of OCBC Bank. I think they have already changed their name.

Related Posts on Jokes about my American Friend 1) Jokes – My American Friend got Chased Out from a Restaurant. 2) Jokes – A Lady Whacked my American Friend with an Umbrella. 3) Jokes – My American Eats Satay at Kajang. 4)Jokes – My American Friend Watched Tiger Show in Pattaya, Thailand .

Authentic Penang Curry Mee Recipe

Everyone loves the taste of Penang curry mee. It is also one of children’s favourite foods. The Curry mee hawkers put a lot of flavour enhancers in the soup that they sell. I don’t like to use food flavour enhancers in my cooking. The secret to a good Penang curry mee is the chili. Nothing beats a home cook curry mee. Here is the Penang curry mee recipe. Some of the ingredients...........................................The Curry Mee chili The soup. I did not use pig's blood, cockles and sotong as my kids don't like these food. Instead, I used fish ball and fish cake. Penang Curry Mee Recipe 1) Curry Mee Chili Blend this -Shallots, 5 pcs -Dried Prawns, 2 table spoons, soaked in water to soften -1 stalk of serai (lemongrass) Chilli paste, 150gms Salt, 1 teaspoon Curry Powder, 3 table spoons Belachan, 1/2 table spoon (optional) Sautéed the blended chili and dried prawns using 8 table spoons of oil until fragrant. Add chilli paste, curry powder, belachan, salt and curry powder. Stir using low heat until fragrant. 2) Soup Ingredient 6 bowls of water Chicken carcass ½ a coconut milk(add more if you want like the soup to be more creamy) 2 stalks of serai (lemongrass), bashed Salt to taste 2 table spoon of the above curry mee chili Prawns, 300 gms Toufu pok (deep fried tofu), 10pcs, cut into half Make the soup stock using chicken bones or carcass and add in lemongrass. Use 6 bowls of water. Put in the long beans, 2 table spoon of curry mee chili and add in ½ a coconut milk. Add in prawns. Add salt to taste. (Make sure the soup is salty enough so that the curry mee will taste better when you add it to the noodles). Add tofu pok before serving. 3) Mee, bihun and taugeh Yellow Mee, 300gms, blanched with boiling water and drained Rice vermicelli (bihun, 1/4 packet), blanced with boiling water and drained Beansprout(Taugeh), 300 gms, blanched with boiling water and drained 4)Garnishing Cockles, 500 gms, blanched and shelled Wet Cuttlefish, 1, (sotong kembang), blanched and cut into small strips Cooked pig’s blood, 300 gms, cut into cubes Long Beans, 5ps, cut into 1" length, blanched in hot water Eggs, 2, hard boiled and cut into four Note : I did not use cockles, cuttlefish and pig's blood in the above pictures because my kids don't like these. Put Mee and vermicelli in bowl and garnished, then add soup and chili Remember to add more curry mee chili in your curry mee before serving! Related Post 1) http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2008/11/quickie-ee-mee-egg-noodles-recipe-halal.html 2) http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2008/10/fried-teo-chew-mee-tiau-noodles-without.html 3) http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2008/10/authentic-penang-hokkien-mee-prawn-mee.html 4) http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2008/12/authentic-penang-assam-laksa-recipe.html

Roast Duck – Desa Aman Puri, Kepong

Yummy roast duck. Tooks these photos during the durian season. Gosh, missed those durians. Durians bought from the pasar malam in that area. Pasar malam night is on Tuesday. I always ‘tar pau’ (take away) the roast duck from this stall (van) for dinner. The young man running this stall is a friendly guy. My kids, especially my daughter love roast ducks very much. She will eat only all the skin and I have to scrape off all the fats below the skins before giving it to her. The duck is well marinated with spice and the meat is tender. The price of a whole roast duck is RM32 and half duck is RM16. The price is reasonable. I took these photos during the durian season. Sigh, I miss durians. Somehow, I found roast duck and durians taste nice when eaten together. Ha Ha.....drooling already. Yoon Seng Roast Duck Van Location: Desa Aman Puri (By the roadside, Near Fook Kee Restaurant) Tel : 014 6631767 Opening hours: From 3.30 pm onwards, until ducks sold out. Map The duck seller's van

Albino Common Myna Bird – One in a Million!

Albino Myna....................................................Always seen together with other normal mynas Sorry the pictures are not clear. I have to chase after the little fella to get a good shot! Malaysian common myna which is the member of the starling species is brown in colour. I came across this albino myna bird a couple of times in the park that I use to frequent. Albino myna is very rare. Myna bird is a very adaptable species and it is a native bird of South East Asia. I used to have 2 cute myna birds as pets when I was a kid. They follow me everywhere. Myna birds are favourite pets because of their speaking abiliities. It is very interesting to watch this albino myna bird mingling around with other normal mynas in searching for food in the park. Sometimes, I wonder why these normal myna birds can life together with this odd albino myna bird peacefully, but in many parts of the world, people are still fighting each other because of the difference in skin colour. It is also very interesting to note that mynas stay with one single mate for life! Related Post about Birds 1) http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2008/10/asian-koel-black-glossy-starling-and.html 2) http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2009/09/here-birdie-birdie-feeding-time-common.html

Camel Humps and Cameltoe - Aiyo, 'Hump Sap' Lorrrr

Ha Ha, some of you guys thought that I meant different type of ‘humps’ when I published my post on Camel – One Humps Or Two Humps?. I found out that Cameltoe is a slang with ‘xxx’ meaning when I was gathering information for my Camel post. I do not wish to publish adult content here but if you want to find out the meaning of Cameltoe (Caution Adults only, sexual content, 'Hump Sap' Content!), you can check at your own risk at Wikipedia using this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameltoe. (Please note that I have no intention to offend any ladies)

Camel – One Hump and Two Humps?

This is Egyptian Camel The Camel is a very remarkable animal. Camel has several body characteristics that help them to adapt to the desert environment. Here are some of their characteristics.

1) The hump of a camel actually doesn’t store water. Fats are stored here and it can be converted to energy and water.
2) They can withstand severe changes in temperature, using efficient controls in their skins. In the day they may not sweat at all, therefore conserving water in their body.
3) Water vapor from their breath can be trapped by their nostrils and absorb back into their body.
4) Camel coats can reflect sunlight.
5) Camel red blood cell is oval in shaped and it will not rupture when they drink water excessively.
6) The structure of the camel feet and camel toe is suitable for walking on the loose and fine desert sand without sinking. Camels are even-toed ungulates and double- pulley joint bone structure gives them greater stability.
7) They can close their nostrils using their nose muscle and this is useful protection for the respiratory system during a sandstorm. (Ha Ha, I wish I could do that!)

Have you ever wonder why some camels have one humps and some have two humps? Arabian camel has one hump, known as Dromedary. Bactrian camels that are found in North Eastern Asia like Mongolia and China has two humps.

Authentic Bak Kut Teh Recipe – Pork Herbal Soup (Non Halal)

Use this A1 herbs or use the one on the 2nd pics which I bought from Chinese Medicine Shop Pork trotters Bak Kut Teh Bak Kut Teh is one of my favourite foods. You can either use factory pre packed Bak Kut Teh(A1 in picture above) or get the local Chinese Medicine Shop to pack the herbs for you. You can actually add in pork ribs, intestines or other part of the pork meat if you like. I used pork trotters for this dish.

 Ingredients
1) Pre packed Bak Kut Teh spices, 1 packet (A1 comes with 2 sachets, Use one sachet for 5 bowls of water)
2) Pork trotters, 1/2 , cut into large pieces
3) Fried Fluffy Bean Curd (Toufu Pok), 10 pcs
4) Dried Shitake Mushroom, soaked in water to soften, 5 pcs
5) Young Corns, 10 pcs, cut half
6) Fu Chuk (Fried bean curd), 10 pcs
7) Garlic, 1 bulb
8) Oyster sauce, 2 table spoons
9) Light Soya Sauce, 7 table spoons
10) Thick Soya Sauce, ½ teaspoon
11) Enoki Mushroom, 1 packet, cut off the roots and wash to clean
12) 5 bowls of water 13) Salt to taste
14) *Lycium berries (Kei chi), around 1 table spoon (optional, added for extra flavour)
15) *Tong Kwai, 2 pcs (optional, for extra flavour)

*Note: I normally add these two Chinese herbs if I am using Factory pre packed BKT spices.

Put 5 bowls of water into a pot and bring to a boil. Add in the pre packed spices, Kei chi (optional), Tong Kwai(optional), pork trotters, shitake mushroom and garlic. Boil in slow fire for around 1 hour to soften the pork trotter’s tendons and meat. Then add in light soya sauce, thick soya sauce, and oyster sauce. Put in the young corns, tofu pok, fu chuk and salt to taste. You can add leafy vegetable and enoki mushroom before serving so that they will remain crunchy. BKT is best eaten with steamed rice and You Char Kueh (Chinese Crullers). Use bird eye chili and chopped raw garlic with soya sauce as dipping sauce. Related posts; Veg Kut Teh Veg Kut Teh Chick Kut TehChick Kut Teh

Nokia 7900 Prism or Nokia E71, Which One to Get?

It time for me to change my old beat up Treo 650 for a new handphone. I am zooming on these two Nokia Model. I am a bit outdated on handphones technology. Not sure to get Nokia 7900 Prism or Nokia E71 Pda phone. Any comments? Nokia 7900 Prism Cutting-edge design with anodized, diamond-cut patterns on an aluminum back cover Fascinating light effects – customizable with 49 different colors – when phone is turned on and off, or in idle mode Marvel at a living wallpaper that animates new, dazzling patterns unique to each phone Enjoy fast web browsing, quick downloads and 6 bands coverage with 3G capabilities Capture stylish photos or videos on a 2 megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom and flash Store more pictures, videos and music on a 1GB internal memory Synchronize data and contacts with PC applications using high speed USB connection or Bluetooth Experience superior color clarity with16mil color OLED display Volume: 55 cc Weight: 101 g Length: 112 mm Width: 45 mm Thickness: 11 mm OLED display 16 million colors 240 x 320 pixels display Integrated 2 megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom Flash modes: on, off, automatic Video recording and playback in QCIF, 3GPP H.263 and MPEG4 format Stereo music player for MP3, AAC and eAAC+ 1 GB internal user memory Text messaging: Supports concatenated SMS, picture messaging, and SMS distribution list Audio messaging: Record your own voice message and send to compatible devices Nokia Xpress audio messaging: Send a spontaneously recorded voice clip via MMS Predictive Text Input: Support for all major languages in Europe, Asia Pacific, China, Middle East and Africa and Latin America Java™ MIDP 2.0 Over-the-air (OTA) download of Java™–based applications Over-the-air (OTA) downloading: graphics, games, ringing tones, themes and wallpapers Bluetooth 2.0 MicroUSB connector for charging and data transfer with USB 2.0 Local and remote SyncML data sync WAP* 2.0 xHTML/HTML multimode browser OMA (Open Mobile Alliance) DRM (digital rights management) 2.0 for secure content downloading EDGE*: Class B, multislot class 32 GPRS: Class B, multislot class 32 WCDMA with simultaneous voice and packet data CSD (Circuit-Switched Data) for browsing and as data modem Battery Talk time Up to 3 hrs Standby time Up to 9 days Nokia E71 Form: Monoblock with full keyboard Dimensions: 114 x 57 x 10 mm Weight: 127 g Volume: 66 cc Full keyboard High quality QVGA display Size: 2.36" Resolution: 320 x 240 pixels (QVGA) Up to 16 million colors TFT active matrix (QVGA) Two customisable home screen modes Easy email set-up Support for Active Sync for Microsoft Exchange via Mail for Exchange Supported protocols: IMAP4, Microsoft ActiveSync, POP3, SMTP Support for email attachments IMAP IDLE support Support for Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email Integrated Nokia Mobile VPN Full keyboard Dedicated one-touch keys: Home, calendar, contacts, and email Speaker dependent and speaker independent voice dialling Intelligent input with auto-completion, auto-correction, auto-punctuation, and learning capability Accelerated scrolling with NaviTMKey Notification light in NaviTMKey Available in-box colours:- Grey steel- White steel Micro-USB connector, full-speed 2.5 mm Nokia AV connector BP-4L 1500 mAh Li-Po standard battery Talk time:- GSM up to 10 h 30 min- WCDMA up to 4 h 30 min Standby time:- GSM up to 17 days- WCDMA up to 20 days- WLAN idle up to 166 hours Music playback time (maximum): 18 h microSD memory card slot, hot swappable, max. 8 GB Approximately 110 MB internal dynamic memory E71-1 Quad-band EGSM 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 900/2100 HSDPA E71-2 Quad-band EGSM 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 850/1900 HSDPA E71-3 Quad-band EGSM 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 850/2100 HSDPA Offline mode CSD HSCSD GPRS class A, multislot class 32, maximum speed 100/60 kbps (DL/UL) EDGE class A, multislot class 32, maximum speed 296/177.6 kbps (DL/UL) WCDMA 900/2100 or 850/1900 or 850/2100, maximum speed 384/384 kbps (DL/UL) HSDPA class 6, maximum speed 3.6 Mbps/384 kbps (DL/UL) WLAN IEEE 802.11b/g WLAN Security: WEP, 802.1X, WPA, WPA2 TCP/IP support Nokia PC Internet Access (capability to serve as a data modem) IETF SIP and 3GPP SMS Multiple SMS deletion Text-to-speech message reader MMS Distribution lists for messaging Instant messaging with Presence-enhanced contacts Cell broadcast Supported markup languages: HTML, XHTML, MP, WML, CSS Supported protocols: HTTP, WAP 2.0 TCP/IP support Nokia browser- JavaScript version 1.3 and 1.5- Mini Map Nokia Mobile Search Nokia PC Internet Access (capability to serve as a data modem) Integrated A-GPS Nokia Maps application 3.2 megapixel camera (2048 x 1536 pixels) Autofocus LED flash Image formats: JPEG/EXIF CMOS sensor 4 x digital zoom Focal length: 3.8 mm Focus range: 10 cm to infinity Macro focus: 10-60 cm Flash modes: Automatic, On, Red-eye, Off Flash operating range: 1 m White balance modes: automatic, sunny, incandescent, fluorescent Centre weighted auto exposure; exposure compensation: +2 ~ -2EV at 0.7 step Capture modes: still, sequence, self-timer, video Scene modes: auto, user defined, close-up, portrait, landscape, night, night portrait Colour tone modes: normal, sepia, black & white, negative Full-screen viewfinder with grid Active toolbar Share photos with Share on Ovi Main camera 640 x 480 at 22 fps 320 x 240 (QVGA) at 30/15 fps 176 x 144 at 15 fps (QCIF) Digital video zoom Front camera- Video recording at up to 128 x 96 pixels (QCIF) and up to 15 fps- Up to 2x digital video zoom Video recording file formats: .mp4, .3gp; codecs: H.263, MPEG-4 VSP Audio recording formats: AMR Video white balance modes: automatic, sunny, incandescent, fluorescent Scene modes: automatic, night Colour tone modes: normal, sepia, black & white, negative Clip length (maximum): 1 h RealPlayer Video playback file formats: .mp4, .3gp; codecs: H.263, H.264 ,Real Video and MPEG-4 Video streaming: .3gp, .rm, mp4 Customisable video ring tones Software platform and user interface S60 3.1 Edition, Eseries Symbian Os 9.2 Two home screen modes with customizable active standby views Voice commands Personal information management (PIM): contacts, clock, calendar etc. Advanced contacts database: multiple number and e-mail details per contact, contacts with images Support for assigning images to contacts Support for contact groups Closed user group support Fixed Dialling Number support Clock: analogue and digital Alarm clock with ring tones Reminders Calculator with advanced functions Calendar with week and month view Converter Active Notes To-do list PIM information viewable during call Applications JavaTM MIDP 2.0 Flash Lite 3.0 Chat and instant messaging Nokia browser- JavaScript version 1.3 and 1.5- Mini Map Dictionary Quickoffice (Quickword, Quickpoint, Quicksheet) PDF Viewer ZIP Manager Download! File Manager Nokia Search Nokia Maps Adding more applications:- Use the Download! client- Over-the-air (OTA) downloads

Chick Kut Teh Recipe – Chicken Herbal Soup (Halal)

Factory pre packed BKT herbs & spices. The second one is from a Chinese Medicine shop. You can use either one, but the freshly packed herbs from Chinese Medicine shop has stronger herbal taste. Yummy Chick Kut Teh Chick Kut Teh is the chicken meat version of Bak Kut Teh(BKT are normally cooked with pork). You can either use factory pre packed Bak Kut Teh(A1 in picture above) or get the local Chinese Medicine Shop to pack the herbs for you. Ingredients 1) Pre packed Bak Kut Teh spices, 1 packet (A1 comes with 2 sachets, Use one sachet for 5 bowls of water) 2) Chicken, 1/2 , cut into large pieces 3) Fried Fluffy Bean Curd (Toufu Pok), 10 pcs 4) Oysters Mushroom, 10 pcs 5) Young Corns, 10 pcs, cut half 6) Fu Chuk (Fried bean curd), 10 pcs 7) Garlic, 1 bulb 8) Oyster sauce, 2 table spoons 9) Light Soya Sauce, 7 table spoons 10) Thick Soya Sauce, ½ teaspoon 11) Enoki Mushroom, 1 packet, cut off the roots and wash clean 12) 5 bowls of water 13) Salt to taste 14) Sawi (Choy Sum) Vegetable, 1 bunch, wash and cut 14) *Lycium berries (Kei chi), around 1 table spoon (optional, added for extra flavour) 15) *Tong Kwai, 2 pcs (optional, for extra flavour) *Note, I add this two herbs if I am using Factory pre packed BKT spices. Put 5 bowls of water into a pot and bring to a boil. Add in the pre packed spices, Kei chi (optional), Tong Kwai(optional), chicken and garlic. Boil for around 20 minutes. Then add in light soya sauce, thick soya sauce, and oyster sauce. Put in the young corns, tofu pok, fu chuk, oyster mushroom and salt to taste. Add Enoki mushroom and Choy sum just before you are going to serve the dish so that they will remain crunchy. CKT is best eaten with steamed rice and You Char Kueh (Chinese Crullers). Related Post on Bak Kut Teh, Vegetarian version :Veg Kut Teh http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2008/09/bak-kut-teh-recipe-pork-herbal-soup-non.html http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2008/06/food-dry-bak-kut-teh-restaurant-shun.html

Thian Heong Restaurant Taman Segar – Duck, Chicken and Barbecue Pork Rice.

Duck Rice best eaten with lots of chili............The restaurant occupies 2 shoplots It has been quite some time since I last visited Leisure Mall in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. There is a Barbecue meat rice shop in this area that I have not been back to for quite a while. Thain Heong has a variety of barbecue dishes like duck, chicken, char siew(sweet pork), sesame seed meat, barbecue ribs and Chinese barbecue liver sausage. You can also order side dishes like double boiled soups. It was still early when I reach there and there were only 4 to 5 patrons inside the restaurant. I ordered duck rice and it was served with complimentary soup. The duck that was served with sweet sauce tasted ok. One thing I like about this restaurant is they leave the chili in containers on the table and you can help yourself to it as much as you can. I wash down my lunch with the ginseng roots drinks. Will be back to try out the other barbecue meat. *Note : I lost the data that I gathered on this restaurant. I will update this post when I go back to this restaurant again. Address : Thian Heong Restaurant Jalan Manis 4 Taman Segar, Cheras Kuala Lumpur Open : Lunch and dinner Taman Segar, Cheras Map Related Post on Chicken Rice : 1) http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2009/03/hock-tong-hong-rawang-chicken-rice.html

Memories From Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Golden Triangle, Donsao (Laos)

I visited Chiang Mai with my wife a few months before I started my blog. Life in Chiang Mai is more slow moving compared to Bangkok. On arrival at the airport we were greeted by a beautiful lady with flower garlands. Chiang Mai is a haven for shoppers. We actually came back with 2 extra luggages. In Thailand, you will get a better bargain if shop at wholesales stores. We found a very nice set of curtains (6pcs) for our master bedroom for only RM100. These are the major places we visited. Doi Suthep Temple Doi Suthep Temple is located on top of a hill and there is a modern rail system that takes you right up to the top of the temple. You can also choose an alternative way up by climbing the stairs. Not very high up, just like Batu Caves in KL. It was raining heavily when we reached the top and the floors are real slippery because we are required to take off our shoes to go in to the main prayers hall.

Doi Suthep Temple

Khantoke Dinner & Thai Culture Show The dishes that were served are curry pork, fried tapioca, fried pork skin, cabbage, fried chicken, glutinous rice, fresh celery, long beans, tomatoes and something like pickled mustard (ham choy) . I found the food served here a bit sweet. How nice to have dinner and see traditional dance show at the same time.

The Kantoke stage.................................................Yummy Northern Thai food Beautiful ladies dancing Video I took - Lion or Goat Dance? Maesa Elephant Camp This is a real big elephant’s camp. I think there are at least 50 elephants in this camp. I bought some bananas to feed the elephant. The elephant that I sat on ate all the bananas I bought at one go! It was fun to see the elephants playing football and paint pictures. Cute pachyderms! Show time!................................................................Elephant painting

Cute Elephants playing football

Orchid Farm There are lots of orchid hybrids here. There is also a small enclosure for various types of butterfly. My wife snap this shot......................Shiny golden butterfly pupa Chiang Rai Hot Springs The ladies in our tour group are not interested in the hot springs. They went straight to some of the shops there to do their shopping immediately without even stopping by to look at the hot spring. My wife bought around 10 pcs of silver jewelries! Have to change some more Thai Bahts again! Manage to capture this picture from the van. Wrong spelling 'sping' White Temple- Wat Rongkhun Chiang Rai This beautiful temple is still under construction. Each small pieces of mirror that are embedded on the cement make the structure sparkle under the rays of the sun. Construction on the way........................................Me, at the White Temple, Chiang Rai Long Neck Karen Village I was told that the ladies in this tribe wear the heavy metal rings to protect their neck from tiger attack. The heavy rings pushed down the shoulder bones and therefore make the neck appear long. Their neck will break easily if the rings are taken out and normally these people will suffer from respiratory problem when they are old. The tradition is slowly dying and most of the young generation chooses not to wear this cumbersome rings anymore. These people are actually not from this area. They are brought here by the tourism people to stay in this village for a fee. The place they originated from is very remote, near the Loas border. A Longneck Karen lady and boy..........................A pretty young longneck Karen girl Umbrella Factory Northern Thailand made umbrellas are very popular. The Saa tree fibre is used to produce the paper for making the umbrella. I bought one nice red umbrella for my daughter. Drying papers and umbrellas in the sun..............Saa tree that is used to make the paper

Nice paintings at the umbrella factory. You can get your clothes painted there too!

Golden Triangle The Golden Triangle is where three countries meet; Burma, Thailand and Loas. These areas are popular places for growing poppy plants which are used to make drugs. We had lunch at a restaurant near the Mekong River. The dishes served are beancurd sheet wrapped meat (like lobak), spicy tomyam that I learned to cook ( Fiery Hot Vegan Basil Soup), tomato sauce meat, fried fish and vegetable. After lunch took a ride down Mekong River and crossed over to no man land, Donsao, Laos. Shopping again! Lunch next to bank of Mekong River..................Yours truly in Laos

Aphrodisiac liquors with lizard, snake, pangolin, frog......& this one with tiger penis (drink already hari -hari mau lorrr, wife will kill you!)

Cars from China being transported to Thailand via Mekong River.

This cute Thai Hill Mynah Bird speaking Thai - Hear it laugh at the end! Dinner at one of the Chinese restaurant on the way back to Chiang Mai. The Thepprasit honey and pollen that we bought for our son who is having sinus problem. The honey is real nice, maybe because of the poppy flowers. These stuffs cost a bomb! Luckily, my son's sinus problem improved a bit. The Suriwongse Hotel at Chiangmai. Convenient location, the night market is just outside the hotel.

A pretty young Thai lady from Nok Band singing On Top of The World in the Hotel. She sings very well!

Related Post, Travel

http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2008/07/travelfood-memories-from-korea-march-07.html

http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2008/08/travel-memories-from-vietnam.html

http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2008/10/travel-singapore-science-centre.html

Simple Recipe – Vegetarian Sambal Petai Tau Kan (Chili Petai Wet Bean Curd Blocks)

Check out the above vegetarian recipe at my Vegan blog link Simple Recipe – http://veganformation.blogspot.com/2008/09/simple-recipe-vegan-sambal-petai-tau.html

The Indian Saree - Lovely Traditional Dress, How to Wear

The Saree (Sari, Shari) is a very lovely Indian female garment and has been around for hundred of years. It consists of a strip of unstiched cloth that is draped over the body. The sari is worn over a petticoat (Pavada, shaya) and with a blouse (cholo, ravika). There are many styles of wearing the saree. Some of the commons ones are Tamil Nadu Nivi, Gujarati, Dravidian, Bengali, Madisaara, Maharashtrian, Kodagu and also tribal style. The nivi is the most popular style today; the drape starts with one end of the sari tucked into the waistband of the petticoat. The cloth is wrapped around the lower body once, then hand-gathered into even pleats just below the navel. The pleats are also tucked into the waistband of the petticoat. The loose end is drape over the shoulder after one turn over the waist. My wife bought this beautiful saree(Not a saree actually, Sameera says that it is a Ghagra. Thanks for correcting me, Sameera) for my daughter on one of her trips to India. My daughter looks cute in it but she is shy and does not want me to publish her photo here. Here is a cute video showing how to wear a saree.

Papadam – All Time Favourite Indian Keropok (Crispy Cracker)

A packet of raw papadam...............................How it looks like inside I get to eat all of the papadam that cannot go in to the container! Everyone loves the papadam (papadum) and it is a must have whenever you are eating nasi kandar at the mamak(Indian Muslim) stall. The basic ingredients for making the papadam are urid flour, salt, rice flour, oil and jeera seeds. . In Tamil it is known as pappaṭām and in Telegu as Appadam. I bought this packet of uncooked papadam from the local store. A pack of 120gms padadam is enough to fill up a large Tupperware after it is deep fried in hot oil. Some other types of papadam are actually toasted in fire and are thicker than the one found commercially. Yummy…..going to eat my papadam now………crunch crunch…..