Well, not today but last Friday. It was so nice just not to take photos at all and write about something. When you’ve been doing it for so long (can’t believe it’s coming to 3 years), having a break is always a pleasure.

I met up with Fish Fish, Miracle8, Wilson and Kris for some food and we went traipsing all over Kuching for it. Here is Miracle8’s posting about the meeting. The food is lovely.

Actually, I can’t post anything up because I didn’t take any pictures except for the Carrot-Green-Apple-Papaya juice drink at AHA Lounge. Ah well.

Oh, if you’re wondering what’s I’ve been doing, I’ve been busy blogging about two games over at Gamersinfo.net. I use a pseudonym known as Myremi and am currently playing two games. One is FlyFF (which I did mention about a month ago) and another one is ROSE Online. Note that for ROSE, there is a Phillipine, Korea and EU server. FlyFF also have the same, as well as a separate China and Taiwan servers. FlyFF is free to play but ROSE, you have to pay.

Both games are from Korea and ROSE is actually developed by the same company that did Ragnorak Online. Ok, so it’s different from R.O. but I never got into R.O. Although, now I hear my younger cousins getting into Maple Story or GunBound.

Gawai is here already. To all the readers from Sabah and Sarawak who are celebrating this day,

Selamat Hari Gawai! Selamat Gayu Guru Gerai Nyamai!

Ooohhh! How to actually wrap Bak Chang, courtesy of Teckiee of the Food Blog Eat First, Think Later.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7k06WjFe-U]

The relevant post is here.

On a side note, Pascal has been chasing me to admit that what I posted up was not correct. Looks like my Granny got mix up with the Chinese New Year beliefs rather than the correct one which is the Dragon Boat Festival. Oopps! Ah well.

My cousin is having a garage sale in Perth, Australia. So, if anyone wants some cheap furniture, electronic equipment, car (!!!) and other stuff, please drop her a comment in this blog.

Besides, it’s a AUS$10 rice cooker! Ok, so it’s a bit old but it’s quanranteed to work for another 10 more years. National is a brand you can trust! Honest!

So, for parents and students and people who want to pick up a bargain, drop by her place in Perth Wollongong, Australia (so many typos these past few days).

Thanks eavies!

Hi all!

I got a note from WJ about the toxic leaves on the Bak Chang. This was a resultant of the news alert put forth by the Chinese Authorities warning of chemicals in food to make the food look better.

Now to clarify further on the pictures. It’s actually not as green as the pictures. The bigger changs are actually dark yellowish brown with a hint of green. Probably the smaller dumping is more green but even that was yellowing. When I adjusted the pictures, I didn’t tone down the green hue.

Another thing to note is that in Sarawak, people here use a broad type of pandan (screwpine) leaves to pack the Bak Chang and not the Bamboo Leaves that is used in China and West Malaysia. Only the smaller one is actually Bamboo Leaves.

According to Granny, the type of Bamboo Leaves used in China for making the Bak Chang is a type of bamboo which only grows to a short height of approximately 5 ft tall. Here, it’s Pandan (Screwpine) all the way. This explains why it’s so easy to tell when someone has eaten Chang in the room : the smell goes a long way.

Anyway, all of us at home (me, Granny, Uncle Cyril) do not eat Bak Chang regularly. It’s usually just around this time of the year. So, we’re safe and sound here.

It’s also worth noting to point out that the Chinese government has not said what actions that they will take against these hawkers. Now you know why I’m really hesitant to even visit China. Never know what will happen when I get there.

Oh yes, it’s certainly that time of the year again. One of the highlights in any food calendar. And, there’s a story (there’s always a story in Chinese Mythology) about it. Bak Chang is to make the Kitchen God not capable of speaking badly about your kitchen when he makes his report to the King of Heavens. How us Chinese came up with that, it’s beyond me. Still, Bak Chang is a very nice and tasty meal in itself.

Tasty, isn’t it? These were bought from the Tabuan Jaya Market in the evening. There were many baskets full of the stuff. According to the seller, they’re only selling today and tomorrow only as 31 May is the actual day of the celebration. Plus, they’ve just finished making 10,000 bak chang for sale! That number alone is pretty scary in itself.

These ones are small ones containing just the rice. There were version with Pork, Yam + Pork and just plain rice inside. Glutinous rice, that is.

Now this chang was expensive at RM1.90/US$0.50 each but well worth the money. There was definitely a lot of minced meat and it actually tasted good. Yum. Better than the chang that is found on usual days where there’s little meat and it’s more expensive. This one is good.

So, there’s going to be a nation full of people munching on Chang for the next few days, that’s for sure.