Asher Roth

SS' tips for a healthier life

Alright, this is what I try to live by, to varying results >.<

Food:

1. Less oily, fried, overcooked, burnt, leftover food.
2. Less food cooked with saturated and animal-based oils, more food cooked with corn or olive oil.
3. Less chips, crackers, biscuits, chocolates, sweets, in general, tidbits.
4. Less white rice.
5. More brown rice, and whole-grain stuff which have low glycemic indexes.
6. More almonds, pistachios, groundnuts - they are high in unsaturated fats.
7. More broccoli (preferably cooked for about 20s so as not to destroy the healthy compounds).
8. More traffic light vegetables (red, green and yellow capsicum).
9. More steamed fish and fish oils.
10. More soy products and soya beans.

Lifestyle next!

Late night fish burger

I would rue the day when hawker centres disappear from Singapore's heartlands as suburban malls gradually encroach. While the air conditioning is a huge draw, I somehow feel that the food quality and value can never beat that of a hawker centre. Where can one get a piping hot fish burger at $2.50 at 10pm at night? Or a bowl of porridge at 11? Certainly not at a shopping mall. I am really glad that sometimes I do not live in those spanking new estates where hawker centres have been replaced by air conditioned food courts selling over priced food.

How will the next twenty years unfold then? We need to fight hard to preserve our valued traditions, lest the only places where we can see hawker centres next time are the museums.

Food and Life

Yes, yet another post on Suckmit Food. For dinner, I've lowered my expectations to the point that I would be content with an egg and a serving of chicken for dinner. But lo, and behold, at 6.45pm, there is effectively no more food being sold. I went to the Muslim food stall (which now segregates their food into a 'vegetarian' and 'non-veg' section, but both look very dubious), asked for rice, and was told that "我们没有白饭了,只有楚米饭". Wth!

Why do I even put up with such insalubrious food? I remembered a scene from this tvb drama, 强剑, where the main character Bosco ate many plain buns before undertaking a suicidal rescue attempt. When asked why he was eating even when he wasn't full, he simply replied that he needed the energy to fight, thus it didn't matter that he was not hungry now. This strikes a chord with me. I think life is analogous to a big battle with school, then work, then relations etc. However bad school food is, I guess we all have to eat to survive to fight out next battle.

Then again, would a mass boycott of the canteen work? What if the students rallied to not buy from the Summit for a week until they improve the quality of the food and decreased the prices even more?

"When freedom is outlawed, then only outlaws will have freedom"

半路,跳出一个程咬金

真是的,今天教师又在乱讲话.

School Food

Food at the summit is pathetic and expensive. For four dollars (at a canteen meant for students), you get some greasy bittergourd, steamed egg with minced pork (which is so salty), fish (overcooked and soft in a black, unknown, salty sauce) and 2 fried chicken drumlets. It's salty, oily and generally no better than those provided to the YOG volunteers.

Dogfoodgate II anyone? I'm miffed.

Work

Take a deep breath, and jump.

To You: Hope that your appliances are working well and that you are on your way to cooking's 7th heaven! =)

Musings

There's just a certain wistfulness to browsing your friend's overseas exchange photos while you are stuck in the PB room reading TTH's interminable notes =S. The Chinese adage, 同人不同名, certainly holds true in this respect. I shall learn to relax and make the most of my time here in SG.

That asides, I need to learn to guard my time. Jealously. For people are always out to grab MY time.

Musings

If i told you things i did before
told you how i used to be
would you go along with someone like me
if you knew my story word for word
had all of my history
would you go along with someone like me ......

1158

There's no way I can enjoy myself in the same way as others. Fun is in the eyes of the beholder I guess.

Revert

Revert does not mean reply. Why can't people use "reply" when they mean reply? Are they trying to sound pompous? I certainly hope not. English, while allowing for variation of meanings, certainly should refrain from redundancy. Mean what you say, and say what you mean.

From Merriam-Webster:

Main Entry: re·vert

Pronunciation: \ri-ˈvərt\

Function: intransitive verb

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French revertir, from Latin revertere, v.t., to turn back & reverti, v.i., to return, come back, from re- + vertere, verti to turn — more atworth

Date: 15th century

1 : to come or go back (as to a former condition, period, or subject)
2 : to return to the proprietor or his or her heirs at the end of a reversion
3 : to return to an ancestral type

From OED:

verb

1 [no object] (revert to) return to (a previous state , practice, topic, etc.):he reverted to his native languagehe ignored her words by reverting to the former subject

Biologyreturn to (a former or ancestral type):it is impossible that a fishlike mammal will actually revert to being a true fish

Law(of property) return to (the original owner) by reversion

2 [with object] archaicturn (one's eyes or steps) back:on reverting our eyes, every step presented some new and admirable scene

From Longman:

revert to somebody/something

phrasal verb

1 to change back to a situation that existed in the past [= go back to]:

The city reverted to its former name of St Petersburg.

After a few weeks, everything reverted to normal.

2 formal to return to an earlier subject of conversation [= go back to]:

To revert to the question of exams, I'd like to explain further.

3 law if land or a building reverts to its former owner, it becomes their property again

Cameron Highlands, Part II

 

Kea Farm

First, I must mention that the air in CH is fantastic. I don’t really know how high up I was, but the bus journey (in the midst of a thunderstorm) took about 2.5 hrs. I was trying very hard not to puke nothing so I didn’t notice much about the ascent. However the fresh air does make one feel like taking in huge gulps. And yes, air is free =).

We visited the Kea Farm on the second morning, replete with picture perfect blue skies.  According to the guide, this rolling farm stretches about 1000m up the hills! While I’m not too sure about that, it certainly took me quite some time (about 25 minutes) to climb the terraced steps to what I thought was the end of the farm, and even then it didn’t quite look like it. The farm is wonderfully carved into the hills, and they have all kinds of vegetables and flowers, not to mention very good views of the surrounding highlands.

Vegetables, for once, looked delectable but I didn’t think we could harvest them =(.

The signboard – took it on a moving van.

The view – on the way up to the farm

Starting the ascent

Up next, the photos will demonstrate the wide array of edible and non edible vegetation cultivated at this farm:

    

Next up, Boh Tea Plantations!

Number Plates of Malaysia

Cameron Highlands Part I

Introduction

I was at Cameron for 4D3N over the weekend and I must say it is a very good place to relax! There is not much to do there except visit vegetable, strawberry, tomato, cactus and other assorted vegetable farms, but the weather is fantastic. It’s dry, cool and one hardly breaks a sweat there. I can enjoy a charcoal fired steamboat dinner with my family and yet not feel hot, wet and sticky after the meal. Nice! It is basically a wonderful place to escape from the stresses of life in Singapore and the confines of the urban jungle =).

The hotel which I stayed at didn’t need to have air conditioners because it was just sooo cooling.

The Place

Nestled some 1500m above sea level, the highlands enjoy a cool climate with temperatures no higher than 25 degrees (it felt like 18 when I was there =)). Apparently the area is 2.5 times the size of Singapore. There are two major towns, Brinchang and Tanah Ratah, which are located 5km within each other.

I took a coach up to the highlands, and nearly puked along the way as the windy ascent took nearly 2.5 hrs, with lots of hairpin curves and blind spots. There is a new route from Ipoh, but the coach took the older road up, which is narrower and curvier. I would recommend flying to Ipoh first before taking a coach up. After a nightmarish 11 hr return journey (to be elaborated later), I think I am temporarily allergic to coaches. Anyway, here’s an introduction to the two towns:

Brinchang

Brinchang main street, 0800 hrs

KFC

Another view of the main street

Strawberry Moments

A snapshot of their menu

Another snapshot

Strawberry Crepe

Strawberry Tiramisu

Strawberry Strudel!

Some dessert for the young ones

Salad

Tiramisu!

Strawberry Milkshake!

The adjoining shop which sells strawberry related products

This is located about 5 km about Tanah Rata and is home to much more hotels than TR, steamboat eateries and zi char restaurants. However this place, like TR, is very small and can be covered by foot in about 30 mins.

The Brinchang night market operates every Friday and Saturday, but this is no different from our pasar malam.

A great place to have charcoal fired steamboat, which is delightful especially when the temperature’s 18 but prices here tend to be steeper than TR and the touts can be pretty aggressive along the main street where the zi char stalls are located. Do check the menu before ordering and be sure to ask for a breakdown of the price when calling for the bill – shops here do NOT have a habit of giving receipts.

Do check out the Strawberry Moments Cafe above which serves very delectable strawberry desserts and a shop which sold all things strawberry, like strawberry tea, chocolates, coffee jam and even honey (well the Highlands are known for their strawberry produce after all). Also check out the Cameron Organic Produce steamboat – I didn’t try this because I didn’t have time; shops are mostly closed on Sundays or Mondays.

Tanah Rata

This is a smaller town and is home to more backpackers. It is the administrative area of the Highlands, with a hospital and police station. I stayed at the Heritage Hotel, which was located on a hill 20 mins away by foot from the main street. I much prefer this area due to the cheaper food and the lesser amount of people here – it just did not feel as touristy as Brinchang.

Heritage Hotel

More to follow – updates on the various attractions plus more food!