RESUSCITATED!

A sharp needle to stitch



Tying a knot to secure the last stitch

It's all done and given a new lease of life



The clinic where the surgical operation took place



Me and my Diesel which refused to give up



My Doctor Shoes


















DIESEL Does Not DIE

Chapter 2

Got my Diesel track shoes fixed at Johor Bahru a few days ago and they look as good as new. I was all smiles when the cobbler announced that he could stitch up the sole back to the shoes. He did for both sides of the shoes manually using a long needle and a piece of special string, charging a mere RM15.

I am confident that my Diesel would last me for another couple of good years. I was glad I did not throw the shoes on impulse the moment the sole gave way. My 12-year old Diesel could still serve and protect my feet. DIESEL does not die!

VALUE OTHERS

My 12-year old Diesel pair




Divorced - sole and body


















DIESEL Does Not DIE
Chapter 1


If not for a trip to New Zealand, I would'nt have ended up with this Diesel pair of $100/- sports shoes bought in 2000. The itinerary included a lot of places to walk and I was warned of the freezing temperature that awaited me. It was too way expensive for me and I contemplated on the purchase for a long time before paying the cashier and hugging the grey and pink desinged shoes close to my heart.

I am proud to acclaim it was my first ever branded pair. Since then it has been my sole mate to all the places I went. I walked around Lake Rotura wearing it.  Climbed the Great Wall of China with it. Explored Da Guo Caves at Ha Long Bay with it. Viewed Port Sunda Klapa with it. They were on my feet when I was awe-strucked by Angkor Wat. It became my feet partner at Mount Kintamani. It went shopping with me at Hatyai.

Bravely, Diesel took all of the weather conditions it was exposed to while protecting my size 6 feet against any arsenal of danger. However, it decided to part ways with me this year while I was in Jakarta, forcing me to walk soleless. Still it was comfortable to wear, in good condition and I refused to throw it away but kept it in my luggage for the trip home.

I am going to give it a new lease of life by visiting a cobbler. I hope Diesel will serve me for many more good years. Old things die hard especially those which have served you faithfully and well.


Moral of the sharing: Remember those who have sacrificed and put their life for you above theirs. Don't be too eager to discard them the moment you see them useless in your eyes.

POWERED BY PAU

Rice paper umbrella for a souvenir item

Steamed pau as white as silky clouds

The multi-tiered rattan steamer

Choosing the pau of various fillings

The pau would be our tea at the next stop
With a Muar store keeper

An ice shaver machine

A bowl of chendol on a hot day

One spoonful for you, three spoonfuls for me

The chendol stall on cart

CHENDOL AND PAU

You wouldn't miss the many pau road stalls if your are driving around Muar district. Pau is made from soft dough with various fillings. For the sweet tooth, there is red bean and kaya paste stuffed in the ball of dough. Meat lovers would love the chicken and the beef filling. There is also filling stuffed with quail eggs. You can bite through anchovy sambal and otak-otak filling in the fried pau version. As long as there is ingenuity and creativity in the pau sellers, there would never be any short of ideas on how to innovate the different fillings to cater to the changing taste of pau lovers.

Paus are steamed in tiered rattan baskets in the traditional way of pau-making. Electrical steamers are now used for commercially produced ones. A good pau has a silken soft white skin texture with enough filling for every bite of the dough. Pau comes in handy for breakfast or tea. It is not too heavy but just perfect when you need to snack in between meals.

Chendol is also easily found in Muar. Red beans and green chendol go into a bowl of shaved ice. Coconut milk and palm sugar are poured over the ingredients. You may request for some glutinous rice to be mixed with the beans if you like. I prefer mine with lots of red bean. I always feel guilty after eating a bowl of chendol because it's rich in cholesterol.

ME AND MEE

The famous Mee Bandung Muar of Pak Abu

Shrimps and meat pieces swim in the thick gravy

Having my first taste of Pak Abu Mee Bandung
'John Wayne' also had a go of his mee bandung at Muar

Satay is eaten with peanut sauce, rice cubes and cucumber

Pak Abu sells his gravy paste to his customers

Watermelon juice with a zest of lemon. Melonlicious!

Thanks for the generous portion Pak Abu

Yusuf with the youngest customer of Pak Abu

The satay man fanning the charcoal for a good fire

Charcoal-grilled chicken and beef meat

The road opposite Wah San Coffee shop

Pak Abu Hanipah the man behind the success of Mee Bandung Muar

Selling the box of paste for RM 10

ME AND MEE BANDUNG MUAR

After watching an episode of 'Warung Kita', I told my husband that we must stop by at Muar for the famous Mee Bandung and satay which were given the thumbs up by the foodie commentator.

We were in Negri Sembilan recently and dropped by at Muar on the way back to Singapore. It took us about twenty minutes driving around Muar town to find the rightly named Wah San Coffeeshop which was highlighted in the programme. A row of big bikes from KL fronted the shop. The riders are regulars and would have their Sunday breakfast there. Cars with plates from Johor, Negri Sembilan and Selangor lined the road. That was a clear mandate that the iconic Pak Abu's Mee Bandung of Muar started in the 1930s and his hand-me-down secret recipe sill have its magnetism to pull in the crowd who are willing to drive hundreds of kilometres away.

Stepping into the coffee shop gave us an aura of simplicity and a relaxing atmosphere; inviting and easy-going feeling which are only offered by people who want to see you revisit their stall. Pak Abu gave us his wide smile and bantered away at the list of guests who had been his patrons. Newspaper cuttings on 'Who's Who' in Malaysia political and entertainment scene were fighting for space on the walls of the shop and on his glass display cabinet.

We planted ourselves at a table a long the five-foot path and ordered the speciality of the shop. I ventured into the cooking area. Pak Abu fried his paste of chillies, onions, peanut, beef and shrimp fresh before adding the stock, vegetables and the yellow mee into the big wok. His scooping of the condiments and giving a quick dash of sauce here and there into the wok with his ladle and deft hands reminded me of an image of a conductor holding a baton and making music with his orchestra. I marvelled at the quickness of how he portioned his ingredients that should go into the cooking of the gravy. Only a maestro of the ladle like him would be able to perform that!

Pak Abu's recipe of forty years had satisfied the gastronomical desires of many local and faraway customers. The mee bandung served had a generous portion of thick gravy, shrimp and meat. To me, the gravy was more like a mixture of satay peanut sauce and the mee rebus gravy. A bit too sweet for my liking. As for the satay, I prefer mine to be coated with more spice such as coriander, fennel and lemon grass rather than the caramelised meat we had.

Getting to Muar:

Take the Tangkak exit (Exit 235) from the North South Expressway and drive past Sg. Mati and Parit Bunga (Highway 23 and 5). Muar town is situated approximately 27km from the Tangkak exit.

STAY ALOFT

This kite costs RM500. It's awesome!

Tiger, Tiger burning bright

Toy Car racing down the hill

The luminous orange coloured gold fish kite

Yusuf trying to fix the kite he finally chose

A friendly shark that lives in the sky

The Kite Runner packing for home

With the kite vendor and his bountiful kites

In the woods with Winnie andEyor

Soar like an eagle

With a kite seller on Bukit Layang-Layang

I am not Madame Butterfly

The black eagle has landed

The kites welcoming their visitors

The tattered fringe kite must be graceful up in the sky

The shape of the kites reminds me of Townhouses

The wau kites displayed in the museum

At the entrance of the museum

The Bukit Layang-Layang Museum

FREEDOM TO SOAR

He has been bitten by a bug called 'kite-flying' and we ended up as his victims. My brother is currently crazy over kites (don't k now how long this craze would last) and he is searching every nook and corner for a perfect kite to suit his pocket and budget. In simple economics, a perfect kite has no budget. In fact it stretches and bust your budget because your expectations and specifications for the kite are so difficult to meet.

To lay our hands on a perfect and huge kite, we drove to Johor Bharu searching for one. One place to head for is the Muzeum Layang-Layang at Pasir Gudang. The museum has an array of kites and a variety of materials related to kites. The place was built as an appreciation towards the contribution of Malaysian and International kite fliers. It was first opened to public in February 2002 during the 7th International Kite Festival. About 200 traditional Wau kites which once hailed as the kings of the sky are on display. The museum has been built in an effort to preserve and uphold the cultural heritage and crafts of Malaysia.

It was almost closing time when we reached Bukit Layang-Layang. The hill has a panoramic view of the green surrounding and the air is cool and refreshing, especially after the rain that fell before we reached it. Judging by the many number of cars parked at the lots, Bukit Layang-Layang is a favourite haunt for families and children to fly kites or simply tuck in the 'celup-celup' for tea. Celup-celup is like having steamboat on satay sticks.

We climbed up the hill. Doraemon, Hello Kity, Sponge Bob, Donald Duck, Astro Boy and Sharky were waving and calling me for a fun time. Actually a kite-seller was hawking his colourful and cartoon characters kites. He had hung his kites on poles and with the breeze caressing the light-weight nylon kites, they seemed to come alive with their flapping and movement. It must be a bewitching site for any kid to be surrounded by so many characters from the square box.

We tried a few kites before purchasing one. Every kite was screaming at us to be picked and flown. There were too many to pick. The vendor was kind enough to wait for us to choose even though it was getting dark. I ended up with a sting ray fish kite with a long tail and a fearsome body.

My brother fell in love with a huge bright orange gold fish kite. It was a perfect kite for him - it suited his budget and his pride of owning one of the biggest kites being sold that evening.