Happy Chinese New Year 2012!

GONG XI FA CAI! HUAT AHHHHH!!!

Counting Calories

Some folks in the health department now require school canteens to display the calorie content of the canteen's menu, in a bid to raise awareness on obesity in our school children. You can read about it here.

Image from Greenlaunches.com

This is just my general take of the whole thing. You see, counting calories isn't just limited to school kids. Even adults who are on diets, sometimes count calories. What are calories?

The answer, from cedokok.com:
Calories are the unit measurement of energy for food (1 calorie = 4 joules). The main sources in food are carbohydrates, protein and fat. We eat so that we get nutrition and, more importantly, energy to sustain our activities, bodily functions and life itself. Every breath you take, every movement requires a certain amount of energy. How Calories Influence Weight Gain And Weight Loss Losing or gaining weight is all about energy, and all about CALORIES.

So in summary, calories are energy measurements.

Now, back to the idea of displaying calorie content in school canteens. Do you really think this move would stop school kids from buying that piece of nugget? Or fried chicken leftover from 2 days ago? My answer is NO, simply because kids don't understand what calories are. Calories? Can eat ka?

Why are our future generation getting fatter? Because their diet and lifestyle is bad. All that intake of fast food, deep fried stuff, process food, sedentary lifestyle, that's what is causing the kids these days to be FAT. It's pointless to display all that calorie content, when the problem really lies in understand what living and eating healthily really means.

So the kids goes to school, sees all the calorie numbers. Which would you think the kid would pick?
Ayam goreng - 300 calories.
Mihun soup - 160 calories

Ask any kid what calories are, I bet none of them can tell you what it is or means. You get my point? And mind you, even some adults have the wrong idea of calories. Some think that by counting your daily calorie intake, you can lose weight (or at least don't gain). An average male should have a calorie intake of about 2,000, while an average female is about 1,500. What happens if you consume less than the ideal count? Nothing really major really, as our calorie intake varies day to day (sometimes more, sometimes less). It's what's happens if you EXCEED that amount (and if you exceed it often), that's when trouble starts.

For me, the logic would be: To lose weight, you must burn more than you consume. If you consume more than you burn, eventually the numbers will build up, and you start to gain weight. Also, your age is also a big factor, as the older we get, the slower our metabolism rate becomes (which just means, you will burn even slower as you age). It's really pointless to count calories, if you lead a sedentary lifestyle and just sit all day, expecting the fats to melt away.

It's actually more effective to educate kids about what eating healthily really means, instead of showing them a bunch of numbers (they would just think it's some random Maths test). Eating healthy doesn't mean you have to go organic or vegan, it's about being wary about what you put in your mouth, and how it would affect your body. To be honest, I indulge in deep fried food once a while, and burgers too. I feel that a once in a blue moon intake is fine, so long you have a consistent exercise routine to boost your metabolism rate and overall well being. In fact, I would choose a Zinger burger over a Big Mac anytime. Why?

Zinger burger uses whole chicken meat. Big Mac's beef patty is processed meat. See the difference? Processed meat is loaded with sodium and all sorts of artificial flavouring and food conditioners. But of course, having a Zinger all the time is also bad, too much of a good thing, is bad too. More leafy greens, more grains, less fat, less salt, less oil. And that once a while ice-cream craving, it's actually okay :)

Fatt Fatt Fatt~~~

Hubby and I have been putting up some CNY decorations, going around looking at decorations, and identifying walls in our home to put up decorations :D Here's a peak at one of the new docs we got. We want to get a couple more bright ones and stick them on some walls to bring in the good fortune!!! FATT AHH!

When The People Speak

The condo I'm living in recently had an EGM (Emergency General Meeting) held, and it was a much needed meeting. You see, over the last 8 month or more, a group of us parcel owners had band together, to push for this EGM to be held. Why?

Because we have a tyrant helming the JMC Chairman position, and some JMC members are on board his dictator vessel and cruising by, trying to find ways to utilize the condo's Sinking Fund. And if no one stopped them, he and his happy campers, including the Developer rep, would milk the condo dry and then disappear as if nothing ever happened.

How did this ugly scenario come about you ask? It all started about 8 months ago, when our annual AGM (Annual General Meeting) was held. You see, high rise buildings are governed by a certain ACT 663, and in 2008, the first JMB (Joint Management Body - consist of all parcel owners) JMC (Joint management Committee - consist of elected parcel owners) were formed. Now coming back to 2011, elections were held and a few new parcel owners were elected into the JMC, as some decided to step down to make way for fresh faces.

Now Bucktooth was in the first JMC for a short stint, but he resigned because he wasn't elected as Chairman. Now if you think about it, if you are truly sincere about serving the community, you wouldn't care about positions and titles. Not Bucktooth, it was Chairman or nothing. Come 2011 when the annual AGM was called, someone else was elected as Chairman, while he had to settle for Treasurer. Bucktooth didn't stop there. He started getting into cahoots with the Developer, made himself acting Chairman (because the newly elected Chairman decided to step down after 2 weeks, citing personal reasons). There, the crazy shit started.

Stupid resolutions were passed during JMC meetings. He evicted 3 JMC members because they were not being a yes-man to him. Bucktooth was constantly relying on the Developer rep for advice, and since a resident is so Developer-friendly, obviously she will try to convince him to utilize the Sinking Fund of the condo, for "projects". They also fired the condo's in-house security guards, citing cost cutting measures (but have never arranged for any backup plan to safeguard the residents and condo's security). Bucktooth was spreading wild fire all over the place, all of which angered a group of us.

We banded together and strategized. We needed the support of fellow residents and parcel owners, to come together and push for an EGM. He was after all, the acting Chairman, hence his position is not formally recognized. And after 8 moths of hard work and perseverance, not to mention pressure to the COB MBPJ (toothless tiger they are), the EGM was called. Over 100 residents turned up, a big number considering the past AGMs/EGMs, less than 70 would attend. This time around, we managed to rally our cause out loud, to protect the residents interest and funds from a bunch of blood sucking crooks.

Bucktooth was pissed needless to say. The COB rep waltzed in an hour late without an apology, and was given a very serious lecture from a resident, and was booed by everyone else. Even the Developer rep showed her bitching colours and was reminded of her place. Bucktooth was eventually ousted, and he was very angry and full of drama, so much so he accidently admitted to committing a crime/corruption (see video here, he confessed to offering a car park to a fellow parcel owner. The car park lot was an initial plan by the first JMC to draw extra lots and rent out to residents via rotation basis, but the Developer caught wind of the plan, drew the lots and sold them. Guess who was the salesman?). Another of his crony snatched the microphone from a resident, and stormed out in a jiffy. The residents and parcel owners who attended the EGM that day had spoken up in unity: Do not take us lightly, and do not use the Sinking Fund without prior permission.

Bucktooth and his gang of bandits resigned en masse when they couldn't rally up support from the residents and parcel owners. Such are the characters of irresponsible and self centred people, who would rather run away than to actually admitting their mistakes and work towards rectifying them.

A new team of JMC was elected that day, at least until the next annual AGM to be held in April 2012. A lot of damage was done by Bucktooth over the last 8 months, the new team has to prioritize a lot and try their best to deliver. The EGM also brought out the ugly characters of the Developer rep and COB MBPJ, one is out to think of the condo as a cash cow, the other is just a rubber stamping bimbo, splurting out lame guidelines and hoping everyone else is too stupid to understand/question them.

Is this the end of Bucktooth? I doubt it. Unless he drops dead.

Read more Bucktooth stories here and here.

Tong Tong Tong Chiaaannnggg~~~

A sign that prosperity is on its way :)

Steamed Garoupa in Soy Sauce

My BIL from Kota Kinabalu recently gave us a box of frozen seafood, and in it were 2 garoupas and 2 boxes of prawns. 

Look at me~~~ ain't I sexy~~~

Now we've never really steamed such a large fish in the house before. So hubby and I figured, lets give it a shot. As the fish was frozen fresh, a simple soy sauce recipe should do the trick to bring out the freshness of the fish. I did some Googling and found this recipe from rasamalaysia.net:

Ingredients:

One whole garoupa, about 700gm

Some salt

2 tbps cooking oil

Ginger (some thick slices for steaming, julienne some for garnishing)

Scallions (spring onions)

Cilantro leaves for garnishing

Soy sauce mix:

2 tbps soy sauce

2 tbps SHAOXING wine or rice wine (I personally prefer SHAOXING wine, more aromatic)

1/4 tps sesame oil

3 dashes white pepper powder

2 tbps rock sugar (grind to powder)

FYI, we did not have rock sugar with us then, so I replaced it with some molasses, so the overall taste might differ slightly. Apparently the rock sugar is the secret to making the soy sauce so yummy and addictive (just like in those Chinese restaurants), you can practically have the sauce with a bowl of white rice. Also, the quality of the soy sauce you use could also make a difference. We were using a relatively good quality soy sauce from Knife, which was a little thicker than usual, so I had to reduce the quantity slightly and added a bit of water.

Clean the fish and gut it nicely, pat it dry. Using your kitchen knife, slice the belly at an angle to create an opening to put the ginger slices in. If it's a big and thick fish, I suggest you slice the belly twice on both sides, it also helps to cook the fish faster. Rub some salt over the fish and place the ginger slices and scallions inside the belly area. 

Fill a wide wok with water and bring to boil. When the water is boiling, place the fish in and steam for about 10mins (a little longer if your fish is really thick). When the fish is cooked, pour the remaining fish water away. Some people might say to reuse the water, but I personally think it's too fishy to be used.

Heat up the oil until it's smoking, then pour the oil over the fish. Then, heat up the soy sauce mix until it bubbles and pour it onto the fish. Garnish and serve.

This was the outcome, our first steamed garoupa in soy sauce. Taste was quite passable haha! The first time we steamed the fish, we found the soy sauce a wee bit strong, so the 2nd time I steamed the fish, I reduced the soy sauce a bit. But I forgot to add the SHAOXING wine, so the overall taste wasn't quite there -__-"
Never the less, will continue to perfect this dish :)

Dreamy

A random post, just looking at the picture makes me dream of pink fluffy clouds in the sky~

Goodbye 2001. Hello 2012!

Here it is again. Another year ends. Yet another year begins. So, how was my 2011 so far?

Love wise, things between me and hubby just gets better and better :) The support, the love, the many hugs and kisses and quality time spent together, strengthens the bond every time. Little petty arguments now and then, but nothing serious which we drag for long. A little patience, a dash of luck, a sprinkle of hope and a truckload of love <3

Health wise, I've never felt better. I feel much better about myself than I ever have 5 years ago. Running may not be my cup of tea for now, as I have decided to quit running for at least 6 months, to give my right knee a break. Switching to other forms of cardio workout for now, and of course, yoga <3

Work wise, things have been pretty ok for me so far. Towards the end of 2011, there was a little bit of a rough patch for me, as I try to work things out, grappling the new situation and all. I'm still trying to find ways to solve it, cos what I've been asked to consider, is really not something I want to do long term.

The next question would be: Any resolutions or hopes for 2012?
Well, if the world doesn't end in 2012 (LOL!), maybe wanna plan some holidays with the hubby :) Not sure if we wanna still think of conceiving again, cos really, somehow I'm not sure nor am I keen about it right now. In fact, we like how things are now. Maybe give it some thoughts again after the coming Chinese New year la, no rush on that matter. Rather go holidays hah!

Here's wishing everyone a great 2012 ahead. Peace, harmony, love for all~