Best Mooncake 2004

Mooncake festival is here again. I bought two mooncakes from JW Marriot Gourmet yesterday, namely the double yokes white lotus and Plain red bean. Yum yum, I definately would say that is by far the tastiest mooncake I tasted this year. What make the white lotus stand out is that, it is moist yet not too sweet to my tasting.

Price:
Double Yoke White Lotus - RM12.00
Plain White Lotus - RM11.00
Single Yoke Red Bean - RM11.00
Plain Red Bean - RM10.00

Whoah, mahal ye~

MATTA Fair - Help! I am just a normal Tiger.

I went to the Matta fair in PWTC on 19th September. To my shocking, I found that A formosa resort actually brought their tiger cub and an orang utan at such place so crowded with people. They were such restless and scared with stares from the publics, while the trainer seemed more than please that he was able to show his ability to control these poor animals.

What makes it legal for the businessmen to owns a tiger, an orang utan. Then why is it not legal for a home to owns it then? Does it mean that a proper trained veteranian have enough experience to take care these endangered animals better than normal people? Certainly it is totally unsuitable for them to parade the animals at such crowded place because the chances of contacting diseases for them is high. Surplus, it is unnatural for the animals to be put for such use.

Since our government are not capable of keep tracking of such wild life abuse, comprehensively, it is not a surprise then to see the amount endangered animals being sold in well-known pet shop around the country.

Wild life protection can be done from the even most basic level, such as from teaching young children to respects mother nature by educating their parents and teachers at school. It can also be done by advertising through regular television propaganda, just like how it was done for the anti-smoking advert now.

Hungry Ghost Festival at SEA Park - Who is more hungry?

Have you been to a Hungry Ghost Festival before? If yes, then have you been to their follow up dinner before then?

Most of the merchants will do their yearly grand prayer in a temporary built up place, whereby people started donating rice lah, oil lah, paper offering lah to please the unrest ones. Apparently shortly after the prayer they will follow up with charity dinner, usually few days later.

So, my mom's line dancing friend invited us for one of these dinners, yesterday in SEA Park (somewhere near SS2). Her husband, being one of the loyal member to the SEA Park merchant Assoc. has bought 2 tables for the nite. Since many friends couldn't come, the friend decided to invite her neighbour, Doris too...

As usual, some terrible singer was singing chinese oldies when we first arrived. The people at the table next to us were busy playing poker cards, while the table next to it were puffing cigarettes away.

Not long after that, the dinner begun. While gulping hungrily, the district MP went up stage to talk, then blah blah until auctioning time.

This is interesting, the association has order about 5 decorative items that were gold plated: Two fishes around a jade plate, a golden abacus, rice containers ?!, Jars of black gold (apparently a Teochew favourite). Then slowly, very very draggy, they will auction each item out, starting with a price of RM388. The people at the dinner, will then start to bid on each item with the price they think fit for the item. Money obtain from this auction was to be donated to one of the heamodylisis center.

And guess what, it become like a show off time. Some guys will try to come out with price as much as RM20,200 for one of the items, while the others will out bid offering even higher price. Meanwhile, there were pushy members that try to get the quiet member to bid, by putting the microphone in front of them. The whole thing just got so crazy. According to my mom's friend, her husband actually got pushed to bid for that same rice container last year at the price of RM18,888. My aunt was so mad so mad with the husband, until he also not dare to bring the prize home. Till now, that container was still left at the association office. LoL...

Oh, about Doris. We were happily eating first few dishes to our satisfaction. But gradually we become full and ate less and less. Swiftly Doris took out the plastic bags she bought from home, obviously a veteran in charity dinner she is, she scoped the braised pork knuckles into the plastic bags even though it was still burning hot. My aunt was a bit ticked since Doris never ask for permission!

Next, there come the prawns with oatmeal (YUM!). We just started to feast of them, but she already start putting a few into the plastic bag (mind u, different bag). And my aunt felt unfair, she brought over the bowl, more of less like fighting to put all the the remining prawns for herself. This just carry on for the other dishes (vegetarian dish, fried rice)...

It was a very unusual night out to me, nonetheless, especially getting to see people from different walk of life such as the above. Heh

Malaysian Chinese

Today, in Malaysia, there is no longer just the Chinese. Along the way, the Chinese people divided beyond dialects and religious faith. We now have denomination within the Chinese. The major three groups are Regular, Cina, and Ah Beng.

The Regular group is the minority, making up less than 20% of the Chinese people. This group has the following characteristics:

1. Speaks English as the first language.
2. Thinks the world owes them a living.
3. Uses the Internet more than the other two groups combined.
4. Loves the iPod and/or IKEA.
5. Watches one or more of the following TV series: "Sex And The City", "Friends", or "CSI."
6. Thinks that the Regular group is way larger than it is and makes fun of the other groups, particularly the Ah Beng group. Why? Because it's fun.

Recent studies have also shown that there is a growing splinter group within the Regular group known as the CPWTTANC group. (CPWTTANC is short for Chinese People Who Think They Are Not Chinese.) This growing subgroup are considered elitist by some and are found making statements like "I wish I were in the U.S." or "This never happened when I was studying in Australia." They also tend to speak with an unidentifiable accent. The women may also prefer to date white men from foreign countries with the excuse that local men just "don't understand me" and have the secret desire to be taken away to the U.S. to live in a sitcom.

The second Chinese group, Cina make up approximately 55% of the Chinese community. (Cina is derived from the Malay word Cina which means Chinese and is pronounced "chee-na". And you will have to say it in a condescending tone for effect.) This group is considered mainstream and contribute to the numbers that reflect development in the country. They are the masses in context of the Chinese community. In other words, if you want to sell something to the masses of Chinese people, the Cina is it.

The Cina are identified by the following traits:

1. Speaks Mandarin or Cantonese as the first language.
2. Generally quiet, self-effacing, and obliging but are actually shrewd and calculative.
3. Sees Taiwan as the place to be.
4. More likely to forward chain email to people in their address book.
5. Goes to Halo Caf� or Wow Wow Caf� BY CHOICE at least three times a year.
6. Has Astro hardwired to Wah Lai Toi.
7. Calls a music video an MTV instead of music video.
8. Knows all the dim sum dishes by name.
9. Seventy percent of lighting at home generated by flourescent lights.

The last group are known as the Ah Bengs . This term was probably made up by the Regulars in the early 80s during the cultural invasion that saw the mass import of music and movies from countries like Hong Kong, Taiwan, and to some extent, Japan. This phenomenon saw the more open-minded and runaway members of the Cina group defect into Ah Bengs and its feminine equivalent, Ah Lian. They just took their Alan Tam and Anita Mui a little too seriously.

Perhaps the most made-fun-of group not only by its own Chinese people but by people of other races, the Ah Bengs are often seen as people living on the edge and have more flamboyant tastes.

One may identify the Ah Beng by these tell-tale signs:

1. Built-in visual self-defense mechanism that keeps people away from them.
2. Have enough amplifiers in their one car to power speakers for six cars.
3. Hair not in their original colour.
4. Volume of voice is automatically five decibels higher than everyone else.
5. Excessive use of the phrase "Kan Ni Na Bu Ciao Chee Bai". (Although, to be fair, some members of the Regular group have been reported to use the phrase on a daily basis as well.)
6. Once a fan of one of the following groups: Vengaboys, Dr Bombay, Aqua, or the Cheeky Girls.
7. Their Proton car does not look like a Proton car due to modifications.
8. For the Ah Lians, have at least one bag fashioned after a furry animal complete with the head.

Kepong Bridge is falling down

Kepong Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down.
Kepong Bridge is falling down,
My fair Samy.

Take a gag and shut us up,
Shut us up, shut us up.
Take a gag and shut us up,
My fair Samy.

How will we build it up,
Build it up, build it up?
How will we build it up again,
My fair Samy?

Build it up with tax and toll,
Tax and toll, tax and toll.
Build it up with tax and toll,
My fair Samy.

Roads and bridges bend and break,
Bend and break, bend and break.
Roads and bridges bend and break,
My fair Samy.

Blame it on an Act of God,
Act of God, Act of God.
Blame it on an Act of God,
My fair Samy.

Rocks and blames will wash away,
Wash away, wash away.
Rocks and blames will wash away,
My fair Samy.

Parody sing along to "London Bridge Is Falling Down"