How will Rare Earth Processing Plant Effect Us?

The controversial rare earth plant that is being built in Gebeng, Kuantan has been making headlines in the news these few days. So, what is actually Rare Earth? IUPAC defined rare earth as elements or rare earth metals are a set of seventeen chemical elements in the periodic table, specifically the 15 lanthanide plus scandium and yttrium. Rare earth elements are scattered around the earth crust and are normally not found in concentrated area. Thus, due to this scarcity, the name rare earth came about.

There is great demand for rare earth especially in the electronic industry. It is widely used in computer memory, car catalytic converter, fluorescent lights, mobile phones, night vision goggles, hard alloy for military usage and in many more modern devices. China is the largest producer of rare earth but due to tight export control, many companies are finding alternative location in other countries to set up their plant.

Many residents in Kuantan are voicing their disapproval and concern over the Rare Earth plant being built in Gebeng. I love the sea areas in the east coast, so I hope they can keep these places free from contamination!

Questions!
How will the radioactive and waste generated effect our health?
How well can our DOE monitor the radiation emission?
Do our DOE have the right equipment to monitor and check the waste produced?
Can they guarantee 100% that the plant is safe? Words only, don’t count!

What say you?

RM2 Curry Mee and Wantan Mee (noodles) at Loy Kee Restaurant - 2nd Visit

NOTE : Aug 2011, I noticed that the restaurant already closed down!

After my first visit to Loy Kee Restaurant in Kepong Baru wet market which sells selected noodles at RM2 per bowl from 6am to 10 am (Mon to Sat), I went back there again to try out the wantan mee (RM2). I was surprised that for RM2, the wantan mee is very tasty! In fact I can add it into my list of good wantan mee. There are a few pieces of delicious Char Siew (roasted sweet pork), vegetable and 2 wantons. The serving portion is the same as 'normal' priced wantan mee.

My wife had the RM2 Curry mee. The gravy was a little thick that morning but still taste ok.

So, our morning breakfast of wantan mee (RM2), curry mee (RM2), Coffee (RM1.20) and Leong Cha (Herbal tea, RM1.30) total up to be only RM6.50 (USD 2)! Who says we cannot find cheap and reasonably price food in KL? LOL!

For Loy Kee address and map of Kepong baru wet market check out my previous post, http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2011/02/rm-2-curry-mee-at-loy-kee-restaurant.html

Have a nice weekend!

Fusion Fried Spaghetti with Bacon Recipe

I rarely buy fresh yellow eggs noodles nowadays, after I started using Spaghetti as a healthier replacement.
I cooked the above fried spaghetti ala Mamak style but with bacon added. My kids love both bacon and spaghetti, so they have no complain about this fusion dish. I added chilly sauce for extra flavours but you can opt out from it if your kids do not take spicy food.

Ingredients
Spaghetti, 1 bowl (pre boiled until soft)
Tomato sauce, 2 tablespoons
Chilly sauce, 1 tablespoon
Bacon, 2 pcs, cut into small pieces
Carrot, diced
Salt to taste
Oregano, 1/2 teaspoon (dried)
Shallots, 3 pcs, cut into thin slices
Olive oil, 1 tablespoon

Put olive oil into pan and fry bacon until they turned golden brown. Add shallots and fry for a short while. Add carrot and spaghetti. Put in the tomato sauce, chilli sauce, salt and oregano. Mix well and garnish with lettuce before serving.

Fake Eggs Discovered in Penang- How they make fake eggs, grapes and pig intestine

Looks like fake eggs from China have found its' way into our country or maybe some of our unscrupulous locals had learned the way to make it. The discovery of these fake eggs in Penang was published in the newspapers today. Actually, fake eggs were discovered in 3 China cities in Jan 2006.

Fake eggs contain industrial chemicals like Alum which causes dementia, calcium choride causes liver deseases and benzoic acid is harmful to our nerves & brain.

How do we identify fake eggs? Fake eggs have rough shell, a little irregular in shape and they don't have the spiral or thin string liked chalaza (plural chalazae) commonly found in fresh eggs. Chalaza holds the egg yolk in place, thus protecting it.

At first I thought that the process of making these fake eggs must be rather complicated but after watching the video below, it seems very easy. One just need a few chemicals and coagulant to manufacture these fakes. The video below shows how fake eggs are produced in China. This video also has a short coverage on how fake grapes and pig intestines are made using almost the similar method as the fake eggs. What will they think of next?

Spicy Dried Coarse Chilli Prawns with Long Beans Recipe

Although there are many ways to cook prawns, I like my Prawns dish to be spicy. I came across dried coarse chilly powder(serbuk cili kering kasar) at the Hypermarket and bought a packet to try it out. Coarse dried chilli powder have more kick than fine powdered ones.

I tried cooking the prawns that I have in my freezer with the coarse chilly and the dish turned out quite nice. To give the dish some crunchiness, I added in long beans to it.

Ingredients

Prawns, 10 pcs

Coarse dried chilli powder, 3 tablespoons

Long Beans, 3 pcs, cut into 1" length

Light Soya Sauce, 2 tablespoons

Sugar, 1 tablespoon

Vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons

Shallots, 3 pcs, cut into thin slices

Heat up wok and add in the vegetable oil. Saute shallots and dried coarse chilli powder until fragrant. Add in long beans and light soya sauce. Fry for a short while. Put in the prawns and fry until the prawns are cooked. Then put in the sugar and continue frying until the sugar melts. Serve while still hot!

Kundang Seafood Restaurant, 223 Food Court Cum 33 Karaoke Training Centre in Rawang

Had an appointment with my buddy at this place in Kundang, which is not very far away from Palmoleo Rawang Factory. At first glance the place looks like and ordinary food court and seafood restaurant. Take a closer look......

This place also doubled up as a Karaoke training centre! Fancy improving your karaoke singing here?

A large banner next to the food court!

Well decorated with lanterns for night show?

Wah, it is  a stage leh! Next time must drop by at night to check out this place!  Karaoke, anyone wanna join? ha ha ha!

Simple Pak Choi (White Chinese Long Cabbage Patiole, Brassica rapa (Chinensis Group)) Soup Recipe

Sheoh Yan would like to have some soup recipes and I managed to find this in my hard disk. To be honest, I do not have many soup recipes. So far I have only managed to post 16 types of Soup recipe. Gotta do more experiment with soup....LOL!

Ingredients
Long Chinese Pak Choy, 1 small, cut into 3" length
Chicken bones or carcass, 1 pc
Garlic, 3 cloves, chopped finely
Pepper, to taste
Salt to taste
Prawns, 5 pcs (optional, but the soup would taste better)

Preboil the chicken carcass with a little water for a short while to remove the suds (from the coagulated blood) so that your soup will be clear. Pour away the water that contain the suds. Put around 7 bowls of water in pot and boil chicken carcass for around 20 minutes. Add pepper.
While the soup is boiling, heat up wok and put in a little vegetable oil or sesame oil. Saute the garlic until fragrant.
Add prawns, long chinese vegetable and salt into the soup. Bring to a boil. Turn off the heat. Add in the sauted garlic and serve.

Authentic Sourish Nyonya Style Chicken with Turmeric (Kunyit) Recipe

I would normally cook the usual curry chicken most of the time,  but last week, I decided to try out something different. It has been quite some time ago since I last cooked this dish. Luckilly I can still remember the recipe!

My kids love this sourish Nyonya Style Chicken with Turmeric. Actually I also love sourish food! "Like father like kids!" LOL!

Ingredients
Chicken, 1/2 bird, cut into small pieces
Turmeric, 2 teaspoons
Chilli paste, 2 teaspoons
Tamarind paste, 1 tablespoon, soak in water to extract the juice
Galangal 1/2", Serai (lemongrass) x2, shallots x3, blended
Potato, 2 pcs, cut into four
Cardamon (buah pelaga), 5 pcs
Kaffir lime leaves (daun limau purut), 5 pcs, cut into strips
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste

Heat up wok and put in around 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Saute galangal, serai and shallot mixture until fragrant. Add turmeric, cardamon, kaffir lime leaves and chilly paste. Fry for a short while. Add a little water and put in the potato. Bring to a boil until the potato turned soft. Add in the chicken and fry until the meat is cooked. Add  tamarind juice, salt and a little sugar to taste. Serve with steamed rice!