Category Archives: food

MALAYSIAN SONNET NO 38: BLOODY SHIT

Ate expired good cheese, germs caused bloody shit;

Purge was so massive, frugal had no wit.

Hands on saline drip, whipped on toilet trips;

Hard for legs to lift,prayers on my lips.

Buy and throw is waste, price-rise make us chase;

Housewives act in haste, brisk paces to trace.

Thrifty turns costly, fear burdens the bill.

No frills is no thrill, extra gives the chill.

Bless with few symptoms, mercy still prevail;

Make us all worthy, peace effort avail.

Ache by the sick bed, pain keeps one awake;

A day hard to take, long stay miss daybreak.

Swear words are taboo, strong words to shout pain;

Twist in life is strange, the twain meets in vain.

Note:

On Sunday mid night I was admitted with massive bloody diarrhoea, , liked the picture shown above, except it was 15 times more profuse. After the download, I felt weak and sweaty and pale and called my wife. She was equally alarmed. It was middle of night , the fear of what might happened during the night , and the status of diabetes and hypertension might played up with blood sugar, BP, and fluid lost. I was wheeled in at ICU unit Gleneagles Hospital, Singapore, and then transferred to ward, for the last available bed. The mattress was not comfortable, and with a saline/dextrose drip, and the light, I could hardly sleep. I suffered another two episodes of such bleeding in the hospital. In the toilet it was hard to undress my pyjamas and pampers and underwear in the small space, with a bad knee. I managed to do all that, feeling exerted and weak, and rested in the toilet bowl, then pulled the string for help to my bed, and re-continued the drip. I knew few nurses were available in night shifts, and thought best to let other patients who suffered more, to have more care and attention.

I was discharged the next day, despite the continued bleeding. It was food poisoning, caused by E. Coli, of all germs. Thank God, I was the only one affected. Antibiotic was started, and the doctors expected I would be well. In my GP practice I had never encountered such severe Food Poisoning, and a lesson for me to learn after retirement for eight years. The bed was needed by another patient.

I could not sleep and there was an overhanging TV, with Channel news. It was showing Music Therapy of Afghanistan. In the ward, you could not turn on the volume louder, and I followed up on my return home. It was encouraging to watch. Similarly I had my poetry therapy, and I though best to write in Sonnet, and titled it Bloody Shit.

The pictures were copied and pasted from the net, with appreciation to their owners. I had problems posting mine, and too weak to show except the hospital food and my bloody shit at home. All the pictures were sent to my family members and friends to watch, with the words that the toilet bowl was not part of the food supplied. (The hospital food was excellent and healthy, with steamed cod fish, and even coffee.) My brother commented I was a bad joker. I told him it was good to laugh at yourself at times. My wife asked how come I was the only one infected. I replied, it was good to have me alone suffered, rather than all. On my return home, the grand kids came to hug and offered help in carrying food. I am very touched that they learn to care and have concern for another.

MALAYSIAN HAIKU/SENRYU ECHOES 456: ROTTEN IN CABINET

MALAYSIAN HAIKU/SENRYU ECHOES 456: ROTTEN IN CABINET

Fruit Storage Baskets - Ideas on Foter

ripened by carbide

fingers and hands rot to core

bunch of bananas

pair - Royalty Free Stock Photos and Images - Stocklib

Note:

We have almost a million infected covid-19 cases out of a population of just below 33 million. That means 1 in 33 people in the country is infected, and about 8000 of them have passed away. The rapid rise of infected cases causes lots of alarm and angst among citizens, despite the prolonged and ineffective lockdown. In a failing and falling nation, there are bad governance in all policies, and also failing citizens who do not abide by SOP. Perhaps they thought they were protected by prayers, or by politics. The leniency does not protect them, but harms them instead. The relative lower rate of mortality give some a false safety assurance, for the morbidity and follow up of infected are not complete. The quality of life and living have impacted those with organ damages.

This morning we had banana pancake; last week we had banana fruit and nuts cake. In a pandemic, it is hard to decide how big a hand of bananas to buy, since one does not wish to expose to added risks in shopping outside.

In Malaysia, bananas are ripened by the use of calcium carbide. Such use cause health hazards, and also change the flavour and texture of the fruit. I wrote this haiku to share and ventilate my sentiments of pervading hopelessness in the country.

Many Malaysians find my haiku/senryu hard to understand. I shall take the liberty to explain. The word cabinet is a pun. We have a bunch of rotten brains in our cabinet. A single banana is called a finger, and we usually buy a hand, but groups of hands are called bunch. Bananas are yellow outside and white or black and rotten inside. Care and hygiene are needed in handling them, for their skins are contaminated or corrupted.

The pictures are randomly copied and pasted from the web, with appreciation to their owners. I have thrown all my rotten fruits away before writing.

MALAYSIAN HAIKU/SENRYU ECHOES 452: TEASING REWARD

MALAYSIAN HAIKU/SENRYU ECHOES 452: TEASING REWARD

the sight salivates

love melts in gaze and tease game

nod your head, dear mom

Note:

The picture of the child is obtained with permission from the mother; it’s a copyright.

Mother wrote to me, protested that her “love never melts”. I explained that English is not a really straight language. There are differently levels of understanding “melt”. It may mean disappears, or becomes softer and tender to spread, like butter on bread. The difference is timing, skill and responses of both. Teasing can be endearing and fun , at the right time; it’s soft and tender, but disappears with overdoing.

MALAYSIAN HAIKU/SENRYU ECHOES 451: FINE FRENCH DINE

MALAYSIAN HAIKU/SENRYU ECHOES 451: FINE FRENCH DINE

filial French dine

fine enriched flavour, haute

measure in right place

half peg of whisky

aroma and sip sedates

knock out in dreamland

Note:

Due to the full lockdown for many weeks, my daughter in Singapore thought we might be bored with the same food here. She ordered two sets of three-course meals with delivery from Kuala Lumpur to my condominium. It cost her S80, cheap by Singapore standard. Good for Malaysia to earn some minimal foreign exchange, for business here, especially restaurants, are almost dead. We appreciate her filial sentiment, but the concept of delivery of fine cuisine is not right. Fine dinning requires more than just serving meals. The ambience, art of presentation, culinary weaponry, and warm meals are as important. However, in a pandemic, it is the best offer, for the world has no perfection.

Instead of having wine to match the food, we sipped whisky neat. For all the horrible Japanese images in history, its whisky is among the best. I hope people who drink whisky will have double or triple distillation of their mind; President Trump is not included, for being mindless, and the Japanese have yet to learn about fine cuisine, when the radiated waters are poured into the ocean.

For Malaysians who have problems in spelling , such as flavor or flavour, a quick way to remind you is the Americans have no u (you) at all. They are blinded by supremacy at all cost.

MALAYSIAN HAIKU/SENRYU ECHOES 559: DAWNED ON DURIANS

MALAYSIAN HAIKU/SENRYU ECHOES 559: DAWNED ON DURIANS

price and prize as king

thorny fruits in horny hands

beholders’ senses

Durian Types Malaysia | Famous Durian D24 Sultan Musang King

when durians fall;

sarongs are all pawned.

lust shadows grow tall;

lights on, they are donned.

Pawn Your Sarung For Durian " : The Malay Crave For Durians - YouTube

over powering

desirous or disgusting

taste is too pungent

Tewang Rangkang | Jokar Photography blog

craft durian ale

pre-biotic infused beer

offensive let go

Durian and beer turned into healthy probiotic booze by Philippine ...

when windows are wide opened;

bond of front door is broken.

aphrodisiacs dismiss;

temperance in food is bliss.

Four Seasons Durians Singapore - Durian Pastry Bakery - SHOPSinSG

Note:

Durian (Malay: duri means thorn; an is suffix) season is on. All the three main races of Malaysia like durian generally. This should be recognized as a “national” fruit.  There are no prohibitions, except over consumption. Durian, with high calorie and carbohydrate, is not recommended for diabetes (20% incidence in the nation and is on the rise), but one or two seeds are not harmful at all. It should not be taken with alcohol, even though there is no death-intoxication. The burping and farting are ferocious and embarrassing. The fruit is not allowed in the plane.

All the pictures are copied and pasted from the web.

I have attempted a new style of writing: one or two stanzas of haiku/senryu follow by four lines of free verses with end rhyme, as commentaries.

POEM TRANSLATION ECHOES 497 WITH NOTES

POEM TRANSLATION ECHOES 497 WITH NOTES

COUNTRY CUISINE

(家鄉美食)

creative cuisine

創意的菜式

cordon bleu for all dishes

蓝带艺的菜肴

culinary art

烹调的艺术

cook with loving heart

爱心做饭

fine portions pleases palate

细膩部份滿口感

tongue tangle in taste

舌头上缠结

home hummus to whet

豆泥

fresh, grilled salads with yogurt

鲜烤沙律及酸奶

baked meat pies as main

烘肉餅为主

relaxed ambience

轻松的气氛

décor of bygone era

舊時年代的裝飾

ravishing review

精彩的回顧

Note:

As a lay “connoisseur”, I appreciate not too much on food in fine cuisine, but expert home cuisine taste as good. There are lots of snobbishness and hassle in fine dining, besides the high cost and excess time spent in the pursuit. However, we cannot deny that culinary skill and taste are better in fine dining, subject to individual preferences. Fine cuisine is a culinary art, and all art needs skill training, knowledge (in sourcing produce, preparation etc.) and patience. In a modern age, home cooking is losing out to market forces; house wives (or husbands, for political sake) are no longer that capable any more. I have often told many house wives to hone their domestic skills, as job opportunities are getting scare and home cooking may face commercial market in a new way. One needs to be creative to cook well. Cordon beau is blue ribbons for the best in things. I love this Albanian restaurant, for they cook ordinary dishes into extra ordinary cuisine. And the chef must have love in their work to do well.  

POEM TRANSLATION ECHOES 493

POEM TRANSLATION ECHOES 493

CHEERFUL CELEBRATION

        欢庆)

sumptuous seafood

丰盛的海

surprise by a candle cake

惊喜以蜡烛蛋糕

with serenade tune

奏小音乐曲

blow the candle light

灭了蜡烛

without making any wish

无作出任何愿望

for life is fulfilled

生命是充实

bless with friendly breeze

友好的祝福

appreciate applause in

恩在克罗地亞

Croatian café

咖啡馆掌声

Note:

On my return from the Balkan tour on the 18th October, my daughter from Singapore travelled all the way to celebrate my belated birthday. In fact my nephew’s birthday fell on the same date; he was invited to have a co celebration. He, in turn celebrated his Masters in IT, and invited us for another dinner. So Chinese is a nationality that talks about meals in another meal.  

That’s a traditional birthday cake, with the word 寿 shou, meaning longevity; there is many smaller POW or cakes, within and without the larger ones. There is a fine longevity noodles cuisine. Fish is homophonic with excess; and with sea and land supply, there is abundant food.  Finally there are vegetables, with fish mow and sea cucumber. Most importantly, a round table, implying the beginning and end are the same in our circular relates; not a rectangular or square table, where family members sit on opposite sides. I think the English or Malay educated among us have lost the flavor of good family relate; or rather, the modern semi-educated Chinese too.

One will notice there is no candle to blow; strange to blow the light of birth off!

POEM TRANSLATION ECHOES 461, WITH NOTES

POEM TRANSLATION ECHOES 461, WITH NOTES

  FAT OR FART

 (脂肪或屁氣)

either fat or fart

论胖或屁

trillion aliens in the gut

萬億異客腸道里

feeling, food to feed

感覺食物養

sugar, toxic treat

糖有毒零食

count calorie, crave and craze

算熱量,渴望瘋狂

confuse weight and health

混淆重和康

legendary lies

傳奇的謊言

hidden hoaxes, science tags

骗術,科學標籤

spread fake news on bread

麵包涂偽聞

wholesome balanced meal

健康均衡膳

plants, fruits, nuts and high fiber

疏菜、果類 、高纖維

water to cool out

清水可降温

food fads are fashion

食物是時尚

not essential nutrients

營養素是不必要

chose right medicine

擇藥要正確

Note:

“Fat or Fart”. There is no scientific paper to claim that fat people (high BMI) fart more than slimmer souls. We fart an average of 15 times a day, due to swallowed air (25%) and digestive food processes. We either burp from the stomach or fart from the anus.Many kinds of food causing farting, whether meat or fiber. Complex carbohydrates, such as beans, onions and cabbages, are notorious for fermenting gases, assisted by trillions of microbes in our gut. The digestive process is slow (about 40 hours) to traverse its long journey down the intestinal tract. The pertinent question should be on how we chose what we eat, and why. We are not taught well on diet and nutrition and never consider that the foods we eat are indeed medicine, relevant to health and fitness.  Strange that right food is not among one of our dying regrets. The moment food enters our gut; feeling and sensation send messages straight to our brains (hippocampus).

There are only three macro nutrients to choose: carbohydrate, protein and fat and they were assign strange proportion to each category: 40%, 30%, and 30%. Food fads mainly change the ratio of each. .There is essential proteins and fat, but not in carbohydrates. We fail to look at each category in details (e.g. micro nutrients, soluble and insoluble fiber, glucose and other sugar), and completely ignore plant or vegetable based (above or below ground), nuts and fruits in each. Human consume food not just for fitness and health, but also for cultural, social reasons, personal craving, habits and routine. We allow sugary and other taste to dominate, over concern about weight, calorie and BMI. We assume we must have three or more meals a day; ignoring intermittent fasting or one meal a day.The food pyramid, farm or organic or wild, industrialized processed food, harmful additives (many are carcinogenic), or modifications (GMC) enter our food chain. The deception has become widespread; influenced by agricultural, dairy, pharmaceutical, advertising and marketing strategies, with money and gain as motive. It is time we learn and unlearn about food sciences, in the larger context of understanding inflammation, hydration, allergies, and immunology and hormone sensitivities.  And how exercises, drugs, sleep and stress factor in these interactions, in insulin sensitivities.

I am a retired medical general practitioner, and admit that I learn diet and nutrition with some understanding only after my retirement, esp. after my cholecystectomy.

POEM TRANSLATION HAIKU ECHOES 460 WITH NOTES

POEM TRANSLATION HAIKU ECHOES 460 WITH NOTES

mesmerizing sight

迷人的景象

water fall splash from vortex

水从高涡旋落下

soothing cascade sound

柔情瀑布聲

circular conduit

循環的管道

verdant trees on terraces

梯田碧绿的林叢

fresh and fragrant  breath

清香新氣息

panoramic plan

全景的計劃

trains transport from terminals

轻轨运输乘客站

pass jewel jungle

跨過珠寶林

scintillating lights

闪烁的灯光

catering, cuisine and clothes

餐飲、烹和美衣

drove dreamy desire

驱动梦幻欲望

strange Singlish seeking

尋怪星英語

calm city in oasis

平靜城市在綠洲

shine in weary world

闪耀疲惫界

Note

About two thousand trees and more shrubs are replanted in this garden. This reminded me about KLIA, Malaysia’s “Forest in an airport”. Changi was constructed from open parking land; whereas KLIA and KLIA 2 were from former agricultural land. It was voted as world’s top best airport, but KLIA was not even in the top 50.

It is indeed a mesmerizing sight, five floors above and another five floors below ground – a forty meter height. However, it is not a natural waterfall, but water fall splashing down from the vortex. In an age of machines and technology driven, we need to remain as human beings watching modern wonders. Luckily we were there before the crowd. We could see hidden conduits pipes around the circular garden, and the cascading sound of water. It was soothing and calming to seat on the terraces, with the in and out breath, with fragrance of flowers and plants impinging on the nose. Rails ferry passengers from other terminals to Jewel at Terminal 1, hopefully they can find their way back, for the signs are all in English.  The night view, with the scintillating lights, and the stars above the sky, was idyllic, but I did not stay long enough to enjoy. The control tower can be seen just outside the Jewel, but does not serve as a panopticon, but CCTV cameras are everywhere for our safety. A canopy is sighted at the roof top for the kids to enjoy, with the guardians sipping their drinks. There are too many branded goods to lure the eyes and pockets. It is indeed an oasis in a cultural desert, neither east nor west. I have observed long queue (mainly the younger generations) for unhealthy western food and drinks, movies; kids reading more from western writers than their own writers or regional.

In its search for national identity, it’s strange that the leaders chose Singlish (mixture of Chinese dialects, with Malay and English) over Queen’s English, resulting in fallen standard in both English and Chinese. Despite this, this small native thrives well among its neighbours.

MALAYSIAN HAIKU/SENRYU ECHOES 461: FAT OR FART

MALAYSIAN HAIKU/SENRYU ECHOES 461: FAT OR FART

either fat or fart

trillion aliens in the gut

feeling, food to feed

sugar, toxic treat

count calorie, crave and craze

confuse weight and health

legendary lies

hidden hoaxes, science tags

spread fake news on bread

wholesome balanced meal

plants, fruits, nuts and high fiber

water to cool out

food fads are fashion

not essential nutrients

chose right medicine

Note:

I wrote this on my bus journey back, in between reading books on the topic.