Teddy and Cappuccino (and latte)

The barista at this coffee place I now often go to (no, it's not a certain popular American coffee franchise - thank you very much) made this teddy on my cappuccino. Two thumbs up for a lovely way to brighten a morning! And the cappuccino is an indescribable yum. It's that good. And I don't need sugar with it either.

I wasn't a coffee drinker until about a few years ago when I met the most intriguing person ever. To me, he drank coffee the way I would describe the way the Scots drink - like a fish. I exaggerate of course, but I drank tea back then and didn't know anyone who drank coffee as much as he did. And he makes them with much fanfare too.

A cute little cafe machina to make coffee for two.
Water just at that level.
Coffee powder just that much. Don't let the coffee boil too long or it will burn.
And then before you pour into the two cups, stir the coffee to make sure it's properly mixed.
Now it's ready to pour into hot milk that contains a teaspoon of brown sugar.
 A bit into the first cup, then a bit into the second cup - continue like this until there isn't anymore coffee in the machina.
Stir and voila!
Two cups of delicious latte.

I became unashamedly addicted to coffee (I'm better about it these days). One in the morning, and another in the late afternoon. Everyday. And that was the first time I had sugar in years as well! Sugar had not been a part of my diet for close to 20 years.

And now.... it's time for a latte.....

It Ain't (Korean) Soup Baby (it's Sungnyung)

I thought it was soup. The waitress served it in a bowl. I swear. Not the tea cup bowl thingy but a real soup bowl. When I asked her, she said something in gibberish. Further inquiry only elicited the kind of hysterical giggling that said don't ask, just drink!

(ok)

I got rice though. I thought I heard her say rice. So I gathered she served me some kind of rice soup dessert. I asked if it were. More hysterical giggling.

(ok, ok)

Anyway, I drank it like one would Miso soup - no spoon, just lips to the rim of the bowl and slurp. Okay, I didn't slurp.My grandmother (gbhs) would turn in her grave if I ever slurped my soup. She needn't worry though - I think slurping is just nasty.























It turns out the soup is lightly sweet and a little smoky. Delicious. I finished the rest immediately. Then I remembered.

Oh no.

I should have drunk slowly to make it last. (four letter word)

You know how the saying goes, time waits for no one. Fortunately food is not so rigid. Even the smallest amount can be made to last forever. (exaggerating again, as usual)

But anyway, doesn't matter anymore. I forgot to stall and savour. (another four letter word) So with the sweet taste still lingering in memory, I said to myself, I must go back and find out what this soup is called.

(Gone in a matter of seconds)

I google Korean Rice Dessert. The closest match is rice tea. Well, well, well. So that's what it is. Sungnyung. Lovely.

I click on a website that says Korean Table Manners and I discover I had commitment many many crimes against the art of eating and drinking Korean.

No wonder the waitress was giggling hysterically. I was actually joke of the day. Ekkk.

So anyway, here is the list of do's that I didn't;

1. It's rice tea, not soup (scorched rice tea to be exact)
2. Pour the tea into the rice bowl and THEN drink
3. Use spoon for rice, chopstick for other food (I used chopstick for rice as well)
4. After a meal, put spoon and chopsticks on the spot where they were first placed
5. Do not hold spoon and chopsticks at the same time
6. When using chopsticks, place spoon on table
7. The spoon and chopsticks should not rest on any bowl or dish during the meal

So now we know.



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Shake it Baby

When I make shakes, it's usually because the fruit has gone too soft and yucky to eat au naturel. Not always though. Sometimes, it's a phase I go through. Sometimes I want to put on weight, yes load on those kgs. It can be a painful exercise. No pain, no gain as the saying goes, right.

Anyway, recently, in the latest (it seems so far) unsuccessful bid to fatten up, I have been making avocado shakes, sometimes mango shakes. I tried to subscribe the equation of calories intake versus calorie used up, but in my case, it seems my metabolic rate is my ultimate determinor (that's not a word, I know, but I can't think of the right word right now) of my weight. It seems that when I consume more calories, the metabolic engine kicks in and takes it up a matching notch!! At one point, I was adding ice-cream to my shakes and that was just breakfast. Alas, to no avail!

Sometimes, it's what catches your fancy when you're out.  The chocolate and avocado shake in the pic is one such occasion. That was when I was in Bungus Beach waaaaay back in 2009 with a girlfriend.

Yesterday was such an occasion as well. I was out in town with a friend and he wanted fruit juice from a stand he had seen earlier. I tried a shake I'd never had before;a mango/starfruit combo and he; a mango/dragonfruit combo.   The verdict - I like the contrasting tastes and textures of the two fruits of my choice but appearance-wise, dragonfruit and mango is much easier to make pretty.

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26 Teaspoons of Sugar - A Malaysian Obsession

Fun Fact 1 :

That's how much sugar Malaysians reputedly down on a daily basis.

Fun Fact 2 :

And that Malaysia is the 8th highest sugar consumer in the world.

Source :

A fellow Malaysian some months ago whom I suppose knows what he's saying since his work involves affairs pertaining to domestic trade and consumerism. 

My own preference :

I love my local frothy milk tea (refer picture) but every time I patronize a local coffee shop aka kopitiam, I must always remember to add the phrase 'less sweet' (kurang manis) for my coffee or tea order as the default setting is at least 2 teaspoons of sugar topped with a generous dollop of sweetened condensed milk. Mmmm. Yumm. Haha.

Ouch :

Malaysia (allegedly) has the fourth highest number of diabetic sufferers in Asia (1.3 million in 2010) and most overweight and obese people in Asia with more than half of adults either overweight or obese. Double ouch.

What I thought was kind of amusing :

was that a local (and quite influential) consumer association is pushing for colour coding on product labels to refer to sugar content. Red for high, orange for medium and green for low.  It makes me wonder what that suggests about the average Malaysian buyer.Wait. Does that include me as well?

Gaga Over Coffee

 

I had my first coffee only in my late teens. 

Coffee drinking was (and still is) strictly an adults only activity in my family. But this was an exception. It was one of those cold sensation numbing fall days which only a hot drink could remedy. I'd run to the vending machine in the class hallway but there was no more hot chocolate. Only coffee! Aargh. So what's a non-coffee drinking person to do but right?

I can't remember the specific day or time; I only distinctly remember thinking 'wow, this is bitter'.  (Come to think of it, no wonder that's all that was left). And no, it didn't turn out to be a 'and as they say, the rest is history' kind of thing.  I continued drinking coffee after that fateful day, although again more out of necessity than passion and quit after college, sticking to Milos and teas for years after.

In the last few years though, I've rediscovered coffee (re: the kind in the pic above, exotic sounding names, nice (ceramic or china, no styrofoams please) cups and all). And love it. Especially so in the last one and a half years :)

Plus I derive comfort from these little nuggets of information gleaned from the internet, which I happily cut and paste and (hopefully accurately) paraphrase  from  Positively Coffee.

1. Coffee does not have any substantial effect on the risk of cancer of either the pancreas or of the kidney. (yay!)

2. Drinking coffee is not a causal factor in the development of cancer at any body site. (double yay!)

3. Drinking coffee may be protective in relation to liver, lower bowel and ovarian cancer as well as against the development of Type II diabetes. (yaay!)

4. A cup of coffee may help increase performance as well as exercise for longer before exhaustion. (woohoo!)

5. Moderate coffee drinking contributes to one's daily fluid intake, essential to both well trained and recreational sports men and women. (yayyy!)

6. Drinkers of more than 3 cups of coffee a day show lower levels of some liver enzymes in the blood than drinkers of less than 3 cups per day and in those non coffee drinking individuals. (woohoo!)

7. Research shows an inverse relationship between coffee drinking and the development of Parkinson's, with the exception of women undergoing hormone therapy. (woohoo!)

8. Moderate coffee consumption (2 regular cups of coffee according to UK Foods Standard Agency) among women trying to conceive, during pregnancy or whilst breast feeding is perfectly safe. (yay!)

9.  Moderate amounts of caffeine significantly improve alertness in sleepy subjects. (It is well documented that stopping for a caffeine containing drink, such as a cup or two of coffee, and a short nap are the most effective counter measures for alleviating driver fatigue) (triple YAY!)

And they say this too on the same site; 
"It is clear that for the majority of healthy adults coffee can be enjoyed in moderation (4 to 5 regular size cups a day) helping maintain important body fluid levels as well as increasing alertness; and keeping us going throughout the day."

So. I'm healthy. I'm an adult. And if it's on the net, it must apply to me too... musn't it????


Still, much as it is heartening to know how wonderful coffee is for my health, I still much prefer tea. It's just a family, tradition, habit kind of thing....

Lemonade weather

 

Blessing or otherwise, Malaysian temperatures remain at around the mid 80's throughout the year. Except during the wet season, when temperatures dip to the low 70's. Or during the dry season, when temperatures hover closer to the low 90's. 

Something like 30 years ago, it used to be one could safely group the months by how much rainfall (and by extension, temperatures) could be expected during those months. Now it's anybody's guess. 

Like this month of July, we should be experiencing hot, dry weather. Instead, we've had only 3 maybe 7 at best, of such days.

Even a trip to the east coast recently saw some so-so weather. I don't mind it though. In fact, I adore overcast skies. I like to spend time outdoors and it's not too pleasant if it's too hot. Sweat and stuff like that you know.

Anyway, so what does one do (read drink) on hot, lethargy-inducing days? Hot chinese tea is great of course. But sometimes I like to cool down with lemonade. The local version uses local ingredients for sure. No lemons, just lime but usually it's likely to be calamansi, lots of sugar (by default; one needs to specify reduced sugar if such is preferred) and ice. So cool, so refreshing. Ahhh. And beat this. A tall glass of this for less than RM2 (just under 50 US cents). Ha.

The tea experience - superstitions? abound. language hurdles? of course!

Chinese tea. Steaming hot. The perfect drink to accompany lunch.  In Asia anyway. Among the Chinese anyway. The older Chinese anyway. Or maybe it's just me. And a handful of health-nuts and traditionalists. :) For the record, I'm part Chinese. :)

But that doesn't make me an expert at tea drinking. Not even remotely. But I do know how it makes me feel. Refreshed, cleansed and rejuvenated.

I looked up some (web) experts on tea - who knows where they get their source from - and found a quote that I kinda like. According to them (a few had the quote on their sites - not that this lends validity to the quote - they probably copied off each other - same thing I'm doing now. Haha), according to an ancient Chinese proverb, get this :


Better to be deprived of food for three days, than tea for one

Wow, right? Who would've guessed. Guess this might one day be the basis of a new diet fad. What am I saying? It probably is already.

Anyway, the three cups of tea in the picture were actually part of a lunch for two. According to someone I know, whose sources have yet to be verified, the third cup is for any unseen guest sitting at the table. Not to say I am superstitious but I'll buy that if it's all the same to you, thank you very much!  Besides if it does no harm to anything or anyone, then I'm all for it! :)

Among the many many types of Chinese tea, my personal favourite is the emperor tea, which I was introduced to just last Chinese New Year. 

A few weeks passed by before I had another opportunity to dine at a Chinese restaurant. And there, armed with a new tea repertoire, I announced (with a somewhat arrogant(ish) air), that I wanted emperor tea. The lady did not understand me. So thinking that language was a barrier, I said it in Chinese. I said Wong Cha. She still didn't have a clue. I repeated it a few times. 

Remember how practise makes perfect? I thought maybe it was my pronunciation. 

WONG Cha. Wong CHA. Woung Charr. Pfft. I even tried raising my voice. What the heck, right? Still no success. So I gave up and ordered the house hot Chinese tea. 

Much later, I lamented to friends about the scarcity of Wong Cha. Instead of sympathizing, they burst out laughing. One said, well of course my dear, you should have said Cha Wong. Well, duh. Blame me for my poor Chinese but I wonder if it's such a stretch to figure out Cha Wong from Wong Cha! 

I did manage to order Cha Wong at another establishment, but I only wanted one cup. The lady said not possiberr. Ah well.