Showing posts with label NF Macro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NF Macro. Show all posts

Saturday

Wild Rices of Sabaha

On the way to Mount Kinabalu, Sabaha, roadside shops were selling colorful packs of rice.

Our cabbie told that they were wild rices of Sabaha! Well, I like brown rice, which is chewy and also healthier than the white rice. Wild black rice?! Definitely I wanted to taste it, so we stopped by one of the shops.

The friendly lady explained that these rices were grown with natural fertilizers. Well, she was naive and didn't know the term 'organic'! However, per kg rice was RM20! Certainly it is expensive when compared to the rice that we buy in supermarkets. Even imported Basmati or Wangi rice costs not more that RM10 per kg.

I wanted to try both brown and black rice, so I requested for 1/2 kg in each of the varieties. That ladies children were playful and at the same time watching us. The minute I took out my camera, the elder one became very shy and ran away, whereas the younger one halfheartedly followed her sister, but turned back and gave a lovely smile!

After coming back from the holidays, first thing I did was, take a close-up of the wild rices along with the basmathi rice!

I was told that the black rice is best suitable for making pulut (a kind of desert). Alternatively, it can be mixed with white/brown rice and eat it with tofu. Here is my version of the cooked mixed rice:

I feel that this wild rice is more fragrant and chewy than the normal brown rice.

Tuesday

Bulgogi - Meat on Fire

It was totally a new lunch experience with expat friends. Well, our Korean friends suggested that we go for lunch at Korean House Restaurant, in Bukit Baru Malacca.

Menu

As we didn't know what to choose, our friends (Korean) Sara, Catherine and Yong Mei decided on the menu and ordered for all of us. First, we were served with rice tea...

Rice Tea

It tasted like Chinese tea. After that a stove was placed on each table, so I was assuming that something like Steamboat is going to be served...

Bulgogi

Well, it didn't look like a steamboat and when Sara said the name of the dish, I heard it as wolgoki and was unable to pronounce it properly, so she wrote on paper as 'Bulgogi', where Bul = Fire and gogi = meat in Korean! So, it was meat (beef) on fire!!!

Bulgogi comes with an assortment of vegetables and meat, so our table was filled with lot of mini-plates:) Though am a die-hard vegetarian, I must admit that the meat dishes were aesthetically presented.

Bulgogi Set

Bulgogi has Beef as the 'king', followed by sides - fried anchovies, pickled shells, fish balls, omelet and steamed egg. Then few veg dishes - pickled cucumber and radish, fresh lettuce with thin slices of garlic, lotus root fry and salad with thousand island sauce. On top of it, a small plate of bean sauce was placed for everyone and it was reddish and resembled Malaysian Sambal or Indian kara chutney!

All of us were given a small box of rice. But, by then another plate of what looked like glass noodles was placed in our table and Sara and Yong Mei told that it was vegetarian. When I said 'I dun want rice, I'll just have this noodles', Sara insisted 'no no, this is a special dish we make only on occasions and you should eat it with rice'.

1st time eating noodles as a side dish for rice!

As the owner of that place was Sara's friend, he gave us two complimentary dishes...

Pancakes

They were Kimchi pancake with crab meat (the one on top) and Veg & egg pancake (the one @ bottom). I didn't try it, because they were not vegetarian.

Overall, I was surprised to see that I had quite a choice of veg-dishes! Especially I liked the way the Koreans eat the rice. Yong Mei gave a demo on how to eat rice...take a fresh lettuce, add a spoon of rice, followed by bean sauce and meat or any side. Now, fold it and eat! It was yummy:)

Friday

A Tale of Mount Kinabalu - Crocker Range

If I just say Mount Kinabalu is the tallest peak in Crocker Ranger in the Borneo Island, it sounds like a mundane primary school Geography lesson. To make it interesting, let me tell the local story that we heard from Hatta, our cabbie (similar version is available in Wikipedia as well).

After few KMs down the road from Kota Kinabalu, Hatta pointed at the distant mist covered Mount Kinabalu and I wanted to take a picture, so he pulled over. From then, he started telling about the legendary folklore vividly:)

Kinabalu sneaking out of mist

Eons ago A Chinese Prince was marooned in this part of the Borneo. He fell in love with a local Kadazan tribal girl and married her.

View from Bundhu Tuhan - a kampung (Village in Malay)on the way to Kinabalu

They lived happily and had children!

The Prince started missing his parents, and wanted to visit them. He told his wife that he would go home, meet and get permission from his dad (the Chinese Emperor), and take his wife and the children to China.

Pic taken from the moving cab - using sports mode

Though the girl was apprehensive at first, she believed in the prince's promise that he would come back for her and bid him farewell.

From the moving cab - Village where the Kadazan girl lived!?

Entrance to National Park - UNESCO site

The Kadazan girl was eagerly waiting for the prince. However, the sea shore was far from her village. So, she climbed the tallest mountain near her village to gaze at the South China Sea, hoping to see the prince' ship.

Guest houses for the climbers

As months passed to years, there was no sign of the prince.

Timpohon Point view - Kinabalu

Forced by the Emperor, the prince married another princess for the benefit of the kingdom, and kept away from the Kadazan girl with a heavy heart. Sounds like a typical bollywood movie plot, or any mythological, mystical, historical story, right?

Timpohon Point view - valley

Well, the poor girl was not aware of the prince' betrayal, so she went up the mountain everyday at dawn and came back to the village only at night, to tend to their children.

Entrance to the trekking path leading to Mount Kinabalu

Only climbers with permit are allowed and guide are allowed

We heard only seasoned climbers could make it!

As you go higher, the weather is cold. Imagine how the Kadazan girl would have suffered the harsh weather! By, now the villagers had started calling her the widow of the Chinese prince, as they assumed that the prince might have died on the sea!

Mount Kinabalu - from the viewing deck above the trekking entrance

Finally, the dedicated wife died on the hill top, still longing for the prince. The villagers started believing that her ghost was up in the mountain, waiting for the prince' return and they honored her by naming the mount as Kinabalu meaning Chinese Widow in Kadazan language!

We were touched by the story:)
You might also like to read/see pics of my other Borneo experiences...

Poring - Canopy Walkway Bridge
Aerial Views - Borneo
Water ways of Brunei - Air Kampung, Venice of the East
The Giant Flower - Rafflesia
Jesselton - Kota Kinabalu


Thursday

Melaka River by Night

Attracted by the Melaka River Fiesta banners, we decided to play tourist in the city where we live. It was my first attempt at night photography:)

Miniature of Dutch Windmill at Melaka City Center

We decided to take on a night river cruise, so went to the boat jetty...

Casa Del Rio on the banks of Sungai Melaka

Another view besides the ticket booth...

A view from the boat

Add caption

Here are

Saturday

The Giant Flower - Rafflesia

One of the major attractions of Sabah, besides Mount Kota Kinabalu is Rafflesia, the largest flower in the world! On the way to Mount Kota Kinabalu National Park, a banner and a hand made sign board attracted us. It was a private plantation that had Rafflesia.

We were told that the flower stinks even before we could see it. First, there was a waft of rotten fish smell, but as we neared the flower, we forgot all about the smell as we were awed by its gigantic beauty!

Click on the photos to enlarge...

Rafflesia - in full bloom

The inlaid photo boasts that the flower was 83 cms large, and can be reached within 3 minutes walk. A 5-6 year old girl (probably the owner's kid), guided along the short trek. Well, it took us about 10 minutes walk, but it was well worth.

Close-up

The guide, the youngest one I've ever come across, was pretty good in explaining about flower. Here are some of the interesting stuff we heard from the guide:

  • Rafflesia is poisonous, thatz why the flower was fenced off!
  • Rafflesia is a parasitic plant that just absorbs food and nutrients from its host
  • The flower can grow more than 100 cms in diameter
  • The life of the flower is about 1 week, and
  • It starts stinking terribly when it dies!
Rafflesia - Offsprings!

At least one bud will be around the full bloom, nature's way to preserve its species!

You might also like to read/see pics of my other Borneo experiences...

Poring - Canopy Walkway Bridge
Aerial Views - Borneo

Water ways of Brunei - Air Kampung, Venice of the East

Thursday

Lustrous Droplets!

It was the second MES moms morning coffee meet at Anna's place. First one was held last month at Renu's house, and thanks to her for starting this 'ritual'. But, missed to take photos, because I forgot to take the camera, how can that be?!, that too when she had such a perfect sunny kitchen!

Anna's house was picturesque and I was tempted to click anything and everything, but refrained myself, because it would be like intruding her privacy. Here let me just share the shots that I took around her fountain...

Fountain

Very common flower, but dunno the name!?

தாமரை இலை நீà®°் போல் - (like water drops on lotus leaves)!

Water glistening like oil!?

Water pebbles!

These droplets were telling me to touch me...touch me not...

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