Saturday, May 21, 2005

Canarium odontophyllum

Dabai or known as "Sibu Olive" is very famous in Borneo Island. It is called Kembayau among Bruneian. I tried Dabai fried rice before but not fresh dabai.




"Quality fruits have oily yellowish appearance when the outer dark purple skin is removed. The edible portion is the unctuous mesocarp about 6 - 8mm thick that surrounds the hard 3 angular seed. The whole fruit is soaked 5 - 10 minutes in hot water to soften the mesocrap and eaten with sugar. The seed containing the whitish compressed cotyledon can also be eaten. It has a fine flavour, crunchy with rich ‘lemak’ taste.

Kembayau trees grow easily from seeds. There is a 50:50 chance of obtaining female trees. Normally male trees are removed. The presence of wild male trees is sufficient to produce pollen for female flowers".

http://www.brunet.bn/org/bsmehp/invest/agroindu/smecrop.htm#kembayau

A Perfect Day

Emm...just got back from outstation. It was a tiring journey. Anyway, I managed to finish reading one novel. Spend my free time reading the book when I was on flight, airport and also in the hotel room. Good novel on family values...a story about a man who has rediscovered his priorities after finding money and fame. This is the second novel I read from the same author; the first one is "The Carousel".




"I have learned that each day is a miracle unearned" pg 338

Sunday, May 15, 2005

ulat mulong

If people come to Sarawak and have the opportunity to visit Pasar Minggu Satok, might capture the cute, fatty worm selling by the farmers. This worm is known as ulat mulong or sago worm or grub, a famous delicacy in Sarawak. Ulat mulong if leave matured will turn into the beetle, a family of Rhinchophoridae or large weevils.



According to some people, to cultivate this ulat mulong, the sago palm will be fell and purposely left to rot. This rotten palm wills soon invaded by the ulat mulong weighted up to 8 gram per ulat mulong.



Ulat mulong believe to contain 3-7 % of protein, 10-30% fat and the rest is water. In Sarawak, Sibu is the heaven for this delicacy. I still remember, my student just came back from Mukah, Sibu brought the smoked ulat mulong to be shared with friend in my class. She offered me, but I decide not to have it. In Islam, they said this ulat is halal because it is from the palm. It just like worm in fruits which is allowed to be eaten.

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Mother's day

Emmm..it had been a long time. So busy to update my blog. Actually I got a lot of thing to share but just bear with me.

Anyway….HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to my mum and all mothers out there.
Last Sunday, my family and I were celebrating Mother’s day. I got my mum a present and we went to Chinese restaurant for dinner. Some of my friends argue about celebrating mother’s day. They said it should be everyday. Yea I agree with them but somehow I’m not a millionaire to give my mum present and treat her for dinner everyday. So, at least during mother’s day, I can buy her present and spend time together. So, I don’t see any problem with celebrating mother’s day. But just don’t take for granted, only entertain our mum on mother’s day. Even if we don’t stay at the same place, we should make an effort to come and visit them. Or at least call them as frequent as possible.

You were always there,
Even when it wasn’t easy…
You always understood,
Even when I
Found things hard to explain.
And you always had time for me,
Even when you didn’t have
Much time for yourself…
You’ve always let me know
How much you cared…
And I’ll always love you for it

(quote from the card send by my sis to my mum)

Saturday, April 23, 2005

Funeral Blues

I'm back...after having enough rest. Actually after my trip to Kota Bahru, I got a fever, luckily not Typhoid Fever. Its an outbreak in Kelantan at the moment. From KL to KLIA, we took ERL which is much better. The non-stop journey from KL Sentral to KLIA only took 28 minutes, faster and no worries about traffic jam. While in ERL, I saw a very nice poem on the board written by W. H. Auden, the American Poet, borned in York England. He was a Chancellor of The Academy of American Poets from 1954 to 1973, and divided most of the second half of his life between residences in New York City and Austria. He died in Vienna in 1973.

Funeral Blues

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever; I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood,
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

W. H. Auden, April 1936

Sunday, April 10, 2005

Time fly

Fuhhh..time fly so fast. I had been busy with work. The worst thing is that my computer "kong". I just collect them from the "hospital". Both computer and laptop course me RM350. Actually my laptop cost me that much, changed the hard disk. Well, it's time... because it almost 3 years old. According to the technician, 3 years is the common life span for the hard disk. After that, you need to replace it.
Anyway, sorry to my friend...because I didn't update my blog for quite sometimes. Bear with me….and I will disappear again next week. I will be away for a week starting 12-17 April. I will travel to KL for work and then Kota Bahru for Cuti Cuti Malaysia. It’s ashamed because there are a lot of places in Malaysia I have not been to. Well, my excuse is that while still young, we better travel far to other countries in other continent. When we are getting old, have no energy to travel far, then we can visit a short distance places in Malaysia itself..hehehe..

Talking about times, I remember that al ustaz did mention about this during the kenduri arwah that I attended last nite.

Ibn Abbas (ra) said:

The Prophet (salalahu alahi wa salam) was giving an exhortation or advice to a man, so he said to him

"Take benefit from five before five: your life before your death, your health before your illness, your spare time before you get busy, your youth before your old age and your wealth before your times of poverty."

Sunday, March 20, 2005

Kitchen

There is a clichĂ©d expression, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. But how to go about woman? I guess it should be the same...let go back to basics....its all about food and you never been wrong. Some people say it should be roses or presents, but some people believe it not always that way.

According to my counsellor sister, what woman need at this age of equality is understanding and also a man who's willing to share the household chores with his wife. My sister said that she's feel flatted when she saw her man in the kitchen (pssst sis, sushi ring the bell?).

I used to be a skillful man in the kitchen. But unfortunately my skill in the kitchen is deteriorating. Being away from home, teached me how to be independent in the kitchen. This is also what we call survival. About 5 years abroad, I need to prepare Malaysian diet for myself. Day to day experience make me good in the kitchen. But now, I was pampered by a woman call mum. Hehehhehe...my beloved mum! Her food is always the best! I can not resist it. That’s her secret to tie my dad for more than 30 years in the marriage I guess. My dad is a conservative but yet very helpful with other thing. He doesn't know how to cook at all. But he will help for example grind the coconut if my mum needs it.

But it's a healthy phenomenon where lots of man knows how to cook. The new age guys have gone the length of pampering their spouse with breakfast on bed (yuck...common on...ladies need to brush their teeth in the morning before breakfast..heheheh). As a matter of fact, work together is always a good thing.

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Wishes

Thanks to my family (parents, sisters n bro) and also my friends for your best wishes. I know some of you really remember my birthday with heart. In fact I received sms 12 am on the dot! And also wishes from friends whom I never remember their birthdays. I feel bad actually for being ignorant, forgetful about my friends’ birthdays.

This is a few sms that I received…..

#Hepi besday! Bila nak kawin?

#A’kum. ..selamat hari lahir ke 29. Semoga dpanjangkn umur dlm iman n taqwa…mg cpt jodoh…hehe.murah rezki…dpt buat phd dgn segera…moga brjaya dunia n akhirat. J

#Hi happy 29th birthday

#Happy Bday to u!

#A’kum, happy birthday.semoga pjg umur dimurahkan rezeki, dipermudahkan segala urusan dunia akhirat, hidup sentiasa diberkati Allah s.w.t. Enjoy ur day..

Thanks to all and may ALLAH bless all of us..ameen!

Sunday, March 13, 2005

"It is not how old you are, but how you are old. "

Tomorrow I will be 29. Thinking about my age, sometimes make me going berserk. Next year I will be 30…oh my God. Am I that old….uwaaaa. At this age I’m consider a mature old man. But it is contradict with my personality which sometimes childish. I still remember, my colleague whom I can call mother told me that I will only become mature when I get married. Well..it’s ok for me….I took it as compliment. Childish means still young…. young at heart.

I’m expecting not only birthday wishes but soalan cepu emas, "when are you getting married". I think I will answer it with a big grinning and no further comment. To be honest, I have no answer for that. I don’t even have a girlfriend and I’m not prepared to be a husband. I’m still enjoying my bachelor life in fact. There is a lot of thing I need to do before that. Maybe at the age 30 will be the right age…but who knows. It’s all faith. What I really care at the moment is trying very hard to get scholarship to further my study.

I will celebrate my birthday with my dad, we share the same date of birth. When I was a kid…I hate the fact of sharing with my dad, shared the birthday cake or even a present. (Terrible me!!!). But now, I am very proud and happy to celebrate with my dad. I share my happy moment with my dad. Maybe I will bring my dad out for lunch or dinner tomorrow …see first what is the arrangement. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BELOVED DAD. MAY ALLAH BLESS YOU! This also goes to Lang @ Zamani Ahmad, SEMOGA DI RAHMATI ALLAH! Pssttt Lang, maybe we can celebrate birthday together in the future..hehehe.

"Age ain't nothin' but a number. But age is other things too. It is wisdom, if one has lived one's life properly. It is experience and knowledge. And it is getting to know all the ways the world turns, so that if you cannot turn the world the way you want, you can at least get out of the way so you won't get run over. " Miriam Makeba

Saturday, March 12, 2005

Temporary

After quite sometimes my blog was facing error with the photos, its only today I had spare time to reorganise my blog. Nothing is permanent. It's the same thing with the fotopage. Out of sudden, I faced some problem with the photo, which I don't expect to happen. I had to upload my photos to the new host. I hope I wouldn’t encounter any problem after this or at least not so soon.

When you relate this with life, we are here also on the temporary basis. The present life is our training ground. The present life is a trial in preparation for the next realm of existence. Hereafter is our destination.

And they say: “What is there but our life in this world? We shall die and we live, and nothing but Time can destroy us.” But of that they have no knowledge: they merely conjecture: And when Our Clear Signs are rehearsed to them, their argument is nothing but this: they say, “Bring (back) our forefathers, if what ye say is true!”
(Qur'an 45 : 24-25)

Sunday, March 06, 2005

Mengkarung

Last week, when I want to check letter in the mailbox, I was surprised with a welcome greet of a green creature! Uhhh..it’s a species of lizard which we call “Mengkarung” here. So, I rushed back to take my camera and take a few shoots. We had no chemistry, I even feel scared to get close to it. People always said that it could cause the hair loss if this creature jumps off to your hair. It is also believe that this creature also can cause blindness if it urine splash into your eyes. Maybe because of this believe since kid, its makes me not friendly to it..hehhehh…



Anyway, if anyone know the scientific name of this creature, let me know…its not iguana..right?

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Al Fatihah

Last night, my aunty passed away after 2 weeks in coma. As believer, we let her go and let her rest in peace. ALLAH loves her more than anything.

"Verily, with ALLAH alone is the knowledge of the Hour. And HE sends down the rain, and HE knows what is in the wombs. And no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die. Surely, ALLAH is All-Knowing, All-Aware. " 31:34

Sadaqah Al Fatihah to Arwah.

Al Fatihah.......

Sunday, February 27, 2005

Seeking Knowledge

Life seems pretty occupied lately. But I cherished every moment that I had.

I met my uncle last night. He's talking about his plan to do his doctorate in September. I salute him for his ‘go-getting’ attitude. But at the age of 53, I just wonder what he has in mind. Even I know that study is just like forever and age doesn't matter at all, but he doesn't have to go through all the hassle and crack his head which full of white hair. He has everything in his life. But when I keep thinking about it, I made my own conclusion. It is all about satisfaction. Peoples will do whatever that makes them happy. Happiness is kind of great motivation that forces them to achieve their dreams.

When I was in UK, I saw lots of old generation back to university. I still remember, I talked to a retired man who decided to go back to university. I asked him, what is the reason for doing the PhD at his age and he told me it just for fun, to kill the boredom. He mentioned that his kids whom are all grown up and away. It leaves only him and his wife at home. So, instead of doing nothing, he decided to study.

Umm…I’m very keen to further my study but its just all about time and opportunity. InsyaAllah, its always the first priority in my life at the moment.


Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.
- El-Malik el-Shabbaz (M

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Knowledge


Knowledge is not what is memorised.
Knowledge is what benefits.
-Iman Shafi'

This is a good quote. In my profession, I always remind my students about knowledge. The right way to study is not by memorizing but it all about understands. Once you understand, the knowledge will be beneficial to you and stay longer in your memory box. But if you just memorize without really understand what's going on, it can just slip away easily from you.

Monday, February 21, 2005

Bamboo Clam

Imagine the white juicy worm….what do you think about it? But don’t judge a book by its cover!!! Don’t let your imagination put you off because what are you looking at is actually ambal, or known as Bamboo Clam or Sea Needle. It is a distant relative of the mussel; almost fish-like flavor, which is one of Sarawak’s finest seafood delicacies. This humble creature can be found all over South-East Asia but best in mud flats of Sarawak River Estuary. Their long, tubular shells (which look like bamboo) can be anything between three and fifteen cm long, and they are able to stretch their flexible bodies much further out of the shell to suck in food particles.

Fresh Bamboo Clam

Catching the bamboo clam need skill and is an art in itself. Clam feed at high tide and hide during the low tide deep under the sand and mud. It is also to prevent the dehydration. So the bamboo clam hunter will squirt the limejuice down the hole left by the clams. When they experience the change in acidity of water, they will slowly expose themselves at the surface and they will be collected, transfer to the bucket.
.
http://www.brunei-online.com/bb/thu/feb17h26.htm

I don’t really a fan of this bamboo clam. But I did eat and I prefer curry-fried ambal.

Curry-fried Bamboo Clam

Chicken

Emm..just now I had a clashed of interest with my sis. We had a friendly argument about how to fry the chicken. She’s very lazy (hehehe…pssttt not that lazy because every time she’s on semester break, she did all the housework. I will only miss her when she’s back to uni…what a cruel brother!!!), and just to cut short, she just want to marinate chickens with ready-made spice powder. But I don’t like it, I prefer the traditional way of doing it. So, I offered to prepare the ingredient.

Its very simple actually; red onion, garlic, ginger, black pepper and white paper. Pound all of those. Then marinate the small-cut pieces of chicken with the ingredient. Don't forget to add the turmeric powder (to make it golden yellow when you fry it). Left it a side for marinating process. About half an hour it is ready to fry….wallaaa!!!!

Blurpppp…..so full and enjoyed my dinner with fried chickens…

Saturday, February 19, 2005

COW

I still remember, that day, my sister and I went for lunch together. She was talking about her research on women issues. And in the middle of conversation, she asked me if i ever heard the term, COW. I said yeah...cow is the animal with four compartment stomach...hehehhe. I still remember the animal biology subjects that I had learn many years ago. My sis laughed out of her heart...she said it got nothing to do with that animal. But for second thought she said...it is related, if you read between the lines. Cow is the term used among the western people towards their female enemy. Its not a good word to be used anyway.

Well, my sister explain to me, COW actually is the abbreviation, which stand for Cunning Other Women. It is the term used for the women who are trying to seduce other women's husband. According to my sister, there are many cases happened nowadays which involved "COW". So, women out there, don't be one of the "COW" geng....hehehhe..

Friday, February 18, 2005

Hajj

I'm so happy to see my friend online again. A very far away friend from Brazil just returned from his pilgrim. I'm so happy for him. I know him more than a year before him journey to Islam. I still remember, that old good day, when he told me about his interest to Islam and then the day when he decided to become Muslim. He makes me comprehend, how lucky am I, born as a Muslim. But sometimes I take thing for granted, which I regret. I hope I will become a better muslim.

L-Bro Abdulla

Stress

Yesterday was really a stressful day for me. Actually I'm busy with the paper that I’m supposed to prepare by Monday next week. And what make it worst, today I had meeting with my boss regarding that paper. So, last night, I had to crack my head tried very hard to come out with the main points and issues. Since I'm in the state of stress, my brain didn't work out. So, I just jotted down whatever I can and went to bed. This morning, I just informed my boss about it. He said I had unnecessary stress, because actually the information is available already, we just need to sit down and discuss. Argggghhh…but…Alhamdulilah.....what a relief!!!!. The meeting just takes about two hours. Then my boss will get it ready on Monday. This is what people said, two head better than one… hehehhe.

Well, as a muslim, I always belief the best way to overcome stress is by practicing Islamic way of life. In relation to the problems we face in life and the stresses we have to overcome, Allah has said “You will face calamities (distress/grief) as trial and not as punishment or torment. These trials aim at showing mankind as to who is the true believer, dedicated to the will of Allah”.

I still remember, when I was in the university, I always read Surah Al-Insyirah to reduce my stress during the exam fever. I always read the surah before I enter the exam hall and even before I start answer the exam question. Its really help!

[Inshirah 94:5] So indeed with hardship is ease.
[Inshirah 94:6] Indeed with hardship is ease.

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Hylocereus undatus

I went to Semenggok Agriculture Research Centre few weeks ago. I managed to take some photo on Dragon fruit plants. The scientific name of Dragon fruit is Hylocereus undatus. This tropical fruit is also known as strawberry pear or pitaya/pitahaya. When I first see this plant, I guess it is a cactus. But when I read about it, it is actually a species of cactus. No wonder they look like sisters! The dragon fruits don’t have a sweet smell like other fruits. Its taste is very simple, a bit like the Kiwi fruit. Both dragon fruit and kiwi contains many seeds, which look like black sesame seeds. I still remember, about two years ago, during my sister wedding ceremony, she gave a bucket of fruits with one big dragon fruit to her fiancĂ© as wedding gift (hantaran).

Semenggok Agriculture Research Centre

(http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/dragon/pages/la-woman.htm)

Here is the legend about dragon fruit;
The sensation surrounding this fabulous fruit can be attributed to a legend created by ingenious Asian marketers. According to the legend the fruit was created thousands of years ago by fire breathing dragons. During a battle when the dragon would breathe fire the last thing to come out would be the fruit. After the dragon is slain the fruit is collected and presented to the Emperor as a coveted treasure and indication of victory. The soldiers would then butcher the dragon and eat the flesh. It was believed that those who feasted on the flesh would be endowed with the strength and ferocity of the dragon and that they too would be coveted by the Emperor.
Quoted from (http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/dragon/index.htm)