A VISIT TO A MINI "KEROPOK" FACTORY

the hidden mini factory

This took place when I was in Mersing a few weeks ago. We wanted to bring home something. Known for its fishing activities, the best thing to buy from here would be the variety of fish "keropok" - fish chips. However, if you want to get fresher and cheaper "keropok", do not buy them from the stalls near the town area which are more commercialized. You should go to the mini-factories which are located behind the religious school by the main road which is just near the bridge. When we arrived here, the workers were still busy at work but they were kind and friendly enough to let me snap a few photos.

So let's have a look on how "keropok lekor" - a type of thick and semi-dried fish chip, was made.

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busy at work

making a dough of fish meat and flour

putting the "dough" in boiling water

leaving the "dough" to dry

"keropok lekor"

dried fish chips under the sun

the happy tourists

By the time this story is written, the "keropok" has almost run out of stock. Not to buy a lot of keropok was one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made.

MOVIE REVIEW - "AVENGERS"

Finally, I went to watch "Avengers" on my own after being unsuccessful and had watched other movies instead for two times in a row. The show started at 10:30 p.m., I was sitting in row B seat number 10 and I had the whole row to myself - heaven. Why is it important to watch a Marvel Superheroes' movie? Because it makes one feel younger (I believe I am still young) again. I did not read Marvel comics much when I was little but I did watch the cartoon series a lot on TV all the time when life was much simpler back then.

In this film, the villain was Loki, the evil adopted brother of Thor. I had watched "Thor" the movie but I did not expect this could be some sort of a sequel from that. So all the superheroes were united to fight Loki and his ally. Other than Thor, there were the Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Ironman, Hawkeye and the only female character in the team was Black Widow. They should include my favourite all time heroine, Wonder Woman, in the team. Black Widow and Hawkeye were kind of new to me, I had no idea who they were actually so it was a kind of initiation to me. The rest were people I was familiar with (it sounds as if they were my friends) but I did not know that Hulk was THAT strong and dangerous. During my time when computer was just a bulky machine, the Incredible Hulk was much nicer and friendlier. Other than the fighting scenes, the presence of Ironman had created many hilarious moments which had made the story more than just a transformation from a comic to the silver screen.

I guess you can all predict the ending of the story. But I really hope they are coming back to the cinema real soon.

SATURDAY WAS A MARATHON EATING DAY

The Saturday turned out to be an eating marathon day for me with one event after another. I am quite sure I have grown fatter by now.

EVENT #1

I went to attend a wedding invitation from Puan Suzi who used to teach in SK Taman Universiti 1, and her daughter, Zaimah, who is also my ex-student. It was held at the Lucky enough, I had Puan Zakiah, a colleague to go there with and with other ex-students as well.

the invitation card

with the sister 0f the bridegroom and friends

with my fans :)

the bunga telur

EVENT #2

I went to Mr. Shavarein's housewarming party at Taman Skudai Indah. In a Malay community, a housewarming party is not like the one you can see on American TV programmes though. I arrived at the right time which was late in the afternoon so there were not many guests at that moment. Too bad I was still full from the previous invitation but the nasi dagang was simply delicious.

should be a selection for tea time

the hosts

in front of the new house

EVENT #3

Someone was throwing a party after receiving his first pay. My first time at a restaurant called Tommy's at Tebrau City, it was a good place to eat and hang around as well. The food was hot from the stove and the stove was on your dining table. It was a  tomyam steamboat where you have to "cook" the ingredients yourself .

 

with Ariff and Aliff

their parents and sister

sumptuous dinner of the day

Thanks Ariff for the treat and for introducing the place. May your boss give you more overtime working hours.

A PPD OFFICER CAME TO SEE THE ST. JOHN'S AMBULANCE GIRLS MARCHING

three more days to go

consultation hour

I should not be here in the first place but I did. We were expecting an officer from the Co-curriculum Unit to visit the school as he wanted to see the St. John's Ambulance girls marching practice. I thought there would be only one person and the whole thing would last only for half an hour but I was wrong. There were three people coming and it lasted like for almost three hours.

Anyway, it was a good move by the officer which showed he was concerned of the team preparation. At the same time, he also wanted to make sure that the routine was done according to the competition format and regulation.

To all the St. John Ambulance girls who will be representing Johor Bahru district in the upcoming state level

*NOTE: Sorry to all my 1KP1 and 2KP1 students as I could not enter class today, I had to entertain the visitors. See you next week.

SPOT THE ERROR 26

It has been there for years. If I go and tell the management, will I get free movie tickets?

MY COLLECTIBLES - KOREAN/JAPANESE DVDs

Another treasure that was safely tucked away in the cabinet was my collection of Korean and Japanese DVDs. They are all ORIGINAL so please take note. Once, I was so into the Korean movies (not the serial dramas) that I would go hunting for them every time during outing. I just went for anything Korean except the horror and romantic movies. There were values that you could learn from the stories and most of them would make you cry a river. In one movie, for example, which told about the relationship between a grandmother and a grandson, the grandmother was a mute so she did not say anything throughout and yet, the emotion and message that came across was so powerful that it is one movie that I will never forget. I also had the pleasure of sharing the DVDs with a few colleagues and they all loved them as much as I did.

The whole things surfaced again when I found out someone was also into Korean and Japanese movies so I decided to lend him some. I think I need ro find the time to watch these stories again. For one thing, it is quite difficult to get Korean movies which are NOT with the themes of romance (which comes with together with the genre of comedy most of the time) and horror/ghost.

I should start a rent-a-Korean/Japanese-DVD service soon knowing how these people are getting crazy with K-pop. Anyone interested?

MOVIE REVIEW - "LOCKOUT"

This was the movie that I did not plan to watch last Saturday. Anyway, in the future, the prisoners will be sent to outer space as there would have less chance of escaping and repeating the crime. Then, they were put in capsules and put to sleep. However, to start the conflict going, the unexpected happened when the prisoners took over the space prison and one of the hostages was the president's daughter herself. In order to free her, a hero was sent - not only was he strong but he was also able to handle all kinds of tools and machines. And towards the end, only two people survived and you could guess who they were by now.

All in all, the movie was entertaining and considering the genre, the violence level was still tolerable. However, I must go watch "The Avengers" after this.