Jamie Oliver's food revolution

  Another night of internet surfing after finishing 8tv Night Live had lead me to stumble across something very interesting.

I'm sure we all have heard of Jamie Oliver the chef who has a cooking show that helps us, the not so talented cook make something really decent to impress our friends, family or maybe even that hot girl your trying to get on good terms with. Then came the show where Jamie Oliver went on a little crusade to help kids in schools eat better because of the junk that the school menus are filled with.

For those of you guys that have never experienced school lunches outside of Malaysia, In the UK and USA the school food is standardized and basically unlike canteens here at your schools you don't really have much choice of what food to eat and most of the food are unhealthy burgers, Pizzas and other fast food junk. In Malaysia from what I've seen is that we have a much healthier choice of food believe it or not filled with more greens, veggies and fruits mostly in the form of fruits with asam powder or rojak which are lacking in western schools. At least we know that food wise we might be ahead of the curve.

Anyways back to point, obesity among children is a big issue in the USA and UK and I never realized this until one of mom's professor friend from the USA came to visit us a few years back and commented that children here in Malaysia look like "real" children. I of course asked "what do you mean? Are the kids in the USA some kind of freaky alien hybrid?" as you can see I've always had my wit and weird sense of humor since ever. He replied that out of every five kids four would be severely over weight. At that point of time it never really meant anything to me and I just laughed and was slightly (ok very) proud how our Asian kids look way better than American kids. Now it seems the problem is being addressed by Jamie Oliver and he has set out on a mission to Washington with a million signatures to support his cause.

check out this video from Ryan Seacrests Youtube channel:



P.s. Yes I grew up in the states and yes I was a fat kid too at one point of time. But I gotta thank my parents for forcing me to do sports and mostly cooking Malaysian food at home :D thanks Umi and Abi (that's what I call my parents)

Penang Coconut Jelly--A Drink to Have During a Scorching, Hot Day

Photos Courtesy of M0e Nasrul's Personal Collection

We all know Penang is famous for its Nasi Kandar, Pasembur, Rojak, Nasi Briyani, and other hawkers delicacies. We all fight about which stall serves the best Nasi Kandar. Some say Line Clear near Komtar, but i begged to differ. I think the best Nasi Kandar is Nasi Kandar Beratur near Masjid Kapitan Keling. They start operating at 11pm, and yet you will find a long queue waiting to be served.

Despite all personal taste, there is one place in Penang that everyone agrees that serves the best thirst quencher during a hot day. No, not the Swatow Lane Ice Kacang, or Khong Khwee Street Cendol.

It's Joez Coconut Jelly at Dato Keramat Road.

This is a very small shop at a pre-war house at Dato Keramat Road that serves Penangite its original coconut jelly. When my girl took me there last saturday, i was amazed at how many people were queuing outside to buy its coconut jelly at such a rundown shop. But this is Penang. Penangite loves a good food hunt and discovering food treasure trove. My girl bought six coconut jelly for her family.

Upon opening the coconut, i thought there wasn't any difference. First thing that struck my mind was it could be the pandan fragrant of the coconut that made it special. I knew i was wrong when i scooped out the water--it is actually jelly!

The shopowner told me that the jelly is formed from the hot and cold process of roasting the coconut and then place it in the cooler room. No preservative is added.

Photos are courtesy of Moe Nasrul's Personal Collection

This is really refreshing, especially if you have it chilled. You don't have to be in Penang to try this cooling and detoxing drink. You can even do it at your home:

1. Buy young (pandan-species) coconut.
2. Cut open the top of the coconut, drain the water, mix jelly powder, and pour it back in the shell. Keep in refrigerator to chill.
3. If you want to go all original, you can place the whole coconut in your freezer. After it has been frozen, place it down the fridge. Once the coconut has been frozen, it won’t change back its property into liquid but instead in jelly form.

Sunday Brunch @ Basil, Bangsar Village

Click to enlarge. Photo is taken from Moe's private collection.

This is a random post, memories of my welcoming brunch for Arif and Emilia, who came to KL together with my girl.

Emilia wanted to watch OIAM Season 3. Arif was here for a business trip. On Sunday, Emily and I took the couple for a Thai brunch. It was a coin toss between Indian Nirwana Maju and Thai Basil. And Arif fancied Thai.

The tom yam was awesome and hit the spot. But the other dishes (we ordered fried kailan, pandan chicken, and Pla Tot which is fried fish in Thai) were average.

The girls then went shopping around the boutiques in Bangsar and us dudes chilled in the bar :)

I hope you guys had as much fun. And despite me having recurring fever every two hours or so, i was glad i took the time off to see you guys.