I love you. February

A Clear Night. A Full Moon. An Outdoor Party. Family and Friends.

Photo by Alexa on Unsplash

Chap Goh Mei, the 5th of February kicked off a much awaited and well deserved holiday celebration making up for Xmas, New Year, Chinese New Year and even Valentine's Day. And coinciding with Thaipusam.

I came out of hiatus to celebrate with family and friends. Lots to eat, lots to drink and lots to talk about, non-stop around the clock till dawn, then rest and repeat all weekend. That’s when I learnt that celebrations are mandatory among family and friends with wild boar ribs and cutlets roasting alongside chicken wings and drumsticks on the bbq. The more we have the more joyful we become when it's naturally isolated with no neighbours within sight.

Having being blissfully ensconced in my cave since November, progressing through December and January until February, I decided to spend at least one major holiday differently- alone. 

Did it with all three major holidays and ended up having a most enjoyable time. 

My lifelong valuable lessons;

1. There is already so much to do alone, what more if there were another person/s around? 

One would not have the luxury of space, time and silence to spend with oneself doing one's desires or simply doing nothing. 

2. The self-incarceration enabled me to get to know myself even more intimately. 

Hence the saying; "If you're never alone, you cannot know yourself. And if you do not know yourself, you will begin to fear the void."~ Paulo Coelho

3. The time spent alone also got me to get clear on life's meaning and purpose. 

There is no meaning and there is no purpose in life. In short, life has no meaning therefore no purpose. Albert Camus' writings plays a major influence on existentialism here. Special mentions to his speech in NY City on "The Human Crisis" and his book "The Myth of Sisyphus"

4. Right in the middle of isolation and solitude in mid-January or thereabouts, I get to uncover the genius of Carl Jung through a commentary by Alan Watts.

Jung said; "Stop running away from your self. Let go and face yourself squarely." 

Which brings to mind a story about Jung by Alan Watts on the fate of Adolf Eichmann, a main architect of the Holocaust who was captured, tried and executed in Jerusalem. 

On the war between good and evil, Jung said; "To the degree that you condemn others and find evil in others you are to that degree unconscious of the same thing in yourself." "Or at least the potentiality of it."

Alan goes on to say; "There can be Eichmanns, Hitlers, and Himmlers, just because there are people who are unconscious of their own dark side, and they project that darkness outwards into Jews, or Communist or whatever the enemy may be, and say there is the darkness and the darkness is not in me. And because that darkness is not in me, I am justified in annihilating the enemy whether it be atom bombs or gas chambers. 

Like the moon, everybody has a dark side, and in facing ourselves squarely we get to face our dark side and accept even embrace it. Then we begin to see that between consciousness and unconsciousness, if we were placed in a similar situation of conflict, we would probably do the same if not worse.

5. Spirituality aside, I also get to come to grips with that four-letter word - Work. 

I realise that it's not work if you thoroughly enjoy it or when you can't stop thinking about it. Or both.

So, work or play for me is a WIP on a moment to moment basis. But whatever I'm working on, I'm landing it without chasing it. Sitting at my work station or my zero-gravity chair on my balcony, I conjure solutions for problems not yet existent for businesses by way of corporate storytelling. 

The mantra I use for the business equation - "All Progress Begins with the Truth."

Imagine all business starting with the truth. Their truths. 

What stories we can begin to tell...

But... truth be told, I realised that it's what we have been doing from the start...!

6. Last but not least this insight landed softly upon my consciousness;

"I am but a small iteration of a larger eternal cosmos. If I can't control and manifest my iteration's every desire here, then I am not worthy of transcendence and ascendance to the higher realms."

Namaste.

May March bring us an abundance of new prosperity, wisdom, and courage to create and pursue our hearts' desires. 

I love you. Brickfields

 There's no place like Brickfields on a Sunday afternoon.

A typical lazy Sunday would have me eating lunch at 3pm ideally in Brickfields. I'd be spoilt for choice for either Peter's Pork Noodles or Moorthy's legendary Fried Fish on Banana leaf rice, both are tucked away in a secluded but bustling food court coffee shop in the middle of Brickfields. 

Today at 3.30 pm only Peter's stall remains open in a near empty food court, Ah Lai, his ever reliable right-hand man, expertly prepares my usual order, then packs it tightly for me with equal vigour and enthusiastic chatter. I bid him a warm farewell and left promptly with my favourite pork noodles.

Normally after being satiated, a walk would be recommended- firstly to allow the food to settle into the lower reaches of the body and second, to take in the sights and delights this rich little Indian settlement has to offer. 

The 200-meter walk from our food court to the bustling old quarter takes us pass one of the last remaining historical landmark of the district- the Vivekananda Ashram beautifully built by Jaffna Tamils in 1908. This center of education was built in  recognition of their founder being a key member in raising interfaith awareness worldwide and in getting Hinduism recognised as a major world religion at the end of the 19th Century.

Today that walk would still take you past the Vivekananda Ashram, but it would bring little joy apart from the fact that it was recently awarded a National Heritage site, the shops are mostly shuttered, the streets deserted. 

Past that, you're entering the old commercial center of Brickfields where it all began- merchants of all trade hawk their wares in the shops, on the walkways, spilling onto the pedestrian walk. It used to be as colourful and as noisy as the beautiful and gregarious people of the mystical nation of India but today it takes on muted hues and tones. The shops are only half open but the businesses are still spilling out on the streets- fruits, vegetables, desserts and sweetmeats are on display on street vendors' carts. 

One particular vendor caught my eye, selling tea time snacks- fried spicy indian doughnuts- vada, green pea balls, curry puffs, samosas, boiled chick peas and a huge pot of masala tea. I excitedly purchased a little of everything including the masala teh tarek, which was served in an open paper cup as takeaway. 

As I sat in my car sipping my tea, I glance at the stalls and shops that lined the long thoroughfare serving the small crowd, I see a time when it was bustling, busy, colourful and chaotic and I wonder when will that be again. Who knows? For now my masala tea taste simply heavenly and visiting Brickfields on a Sunday afternoon always hits the right spots in me. Though they're a little muted, they're nonetheless beautiful. 

  

I love you. My secret sandwich.

 My lettuce, tomato, egg, cheese, gherkin and ham sandwich.  

I believe everyone is creative, (ie. can create something) and when pursued consistently, will yield satisfying results, for the creator.

Prior to recently gaining some measure of satisfaction in the home culinary field, I have often prided myself with the ability of making some pretty formidable sandwiches. Except in those days, my creations have been accidental, mainly comprising leftovers and improvements. This time, my sandwich dinner was pre-meditated (invaded my meditations as well) days ahead.

The key to a good meal is preparation. And I was prepared. All my ingredients were laid out on the kitchen counter so I won't miss out on any of my intended players.

I start with prepping and slicing the tomato, pickled cucumber, romaine lettuce, grate the block of aged cheese, and mix the mustard powder with the right amount of oil & water.

Then I line my small pan with premium unsalted butter and proceed to lightly brown the slices of bread in the heated pan. This gives the soft fluffy bread more rigidity to hold the impending load of goodies. Once done, I arrange the accompaniments on the slices of bread with great care, sequence and precision. On the bread, a bed of lettuce, sliced tomatoes, pickled cucumber slices, grated cheese. 

Then I butter the pan again to crack two eggs, one at a time, frying them until they can "fold over easy." Flip them over a couple of times, then I gently lay the hot folded fried egg on the grated cheese allowing the heat to melt the cheese. Then comes the slab of fresh french ham over the freshly fried egg, freshly mixed mustard is applied on the ham, finished with another leaf of lettuce and topped off with the other slice of bread. The bread knife turns the square to triangles. Two squares yield four triangles. Those triangles must have been equilateral because the tastes were finely balanced and equally distributed.

All went into my mouth, down in a flash, like circles disappearing into my belly. I'm a happy puppy. 

Michelin Star Dining

My host Chow in front of my devoured main course

Last Wednesday night I was invited to dinner by my Client, Resorts World the marketing arm of Genting Berhad. This was no ordinary dinner as it was to taste the culinary creations of Chef Christian Moine, a Michelin Star chef from France. The Olive at Genting Highlands was to be the most apt dining outlet for such an auspicious occassion. It was a rainy afternoon that continued with our journey up the highlands that made it much colder at 6,000feet. It was nice and cold for me as we were escorted to our table where our host WH Chow, the VP for National Marketing was waiting together with other guests for the night. Soon as we were joined by Chow's lovely marketing assistants, Therine and Evon, the dinner began. First course of the six course meal was; Shellfish Guacamole paired with Perrier Jouet Grand Brut NV Champagne. The mass of shellfish topped with greenish guacamole heaped onto a chinese soup spoon was pleasant mouthful of exotic, contrasting flavours of the raw shellfish with the avacado. The champagne provided a lovely, heady aftertaste on the palate. The Marseille style fish soup looked like a small serving of traditional tomato soup but the taste was rich with fish sprinkled with french croutons. Next came the Roasted Dublin Bay Prawns with Citrus Vinaigrette paired with Chateau Loudenne Blanc, France. We were debating the origin of the prawns which tasted fresh and flavourful yet tender. The semillion/semillion blanc was refreshing and easy to drink matched the prawns very well. With the prawns comes the fish, the Turbot with Golden Chanterelle Emulsion was next. It's a slice of fish sitting in a creamy sauce reminiscent of cod. Very tasty and fishy. The main course came in the form of; Veal Rubbed with Tumeric and Meat Jus with Coconut Milk. Visuals of curry and Indian influences came to mind when we read this. But was soon forgotten when we devoured the tender slices of veal that was in a delectable sauce that tasted nothing indian. It was absolutely appealing to the senses. The medium done veal was velvety in texture. The pairing with Crozes Hermitage Les Meysonniers, M. Chapotier was skilfully done. Both brought out the best in each other. The typical French red has a very big nose, complex and characterful and the taste was subtle and finish very stylish. So very French. Pre-Dessert was Wild Strawberry Creme Brulee, which was fantastically delectable and raised my expectations for the main dessert which was; Pan Roasted Mango and Vanilla ice cream. It fell short of spectacular when compared to the pre. The dessert wine was outstanding revealing complex bouquet and big fruity bursts of flavours. Muscat Beaunnes de Venise, France. We took our coffee in the Olive lounge which was quite elegant and cosy. When we strolled to our ride home in front of Genting hotel, the front was like London on a misty day with temperatures to match. It was indeed a lovely evening of world class food which I truly enjoyed. Merci Beaucoup Genting. Merci Beaucoup Monsieur Moine!

Ming Ren

Was at Genting as usual last weekend in my leathers but this time for a food sampling session at a place that exhorts flavours of China's new frontier - Xin Jiang. The relocated and refurbished lamb specialty restaurant has a modern contemporary new look but even better, the location is unassailable for high traffic. It's when you turn the corner of good friends restaurant from either side. The soup called 'Catch a lamb' is highly recommended as it can virtually 'put hair on your chest'. simply because the lamb is imported from the steppes of western China (lots of happy grazing grounds makes very healthy, happy lamb) as are the spices used in the next dish, barbequed ribs. It has very strong middle eastern flavours in most its offerings. Exotic new tastes indeed from new frontiers bordering Mongolia. Ming Ren is the name of the restaurant which literally means "famous people". Well, I think there were a few famous ones spotted there last Sunday.