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You cannot say you truly feasted unless you titillate your taste buds with sweet treats. Apam balik, a pancake-style snack wedded with the compact package of an omelet, is the kind of dessert that it's tempting to devour before your meal is done. |
Stuffed with more than a sufficient amount of sugar, some peanuts and the occasional sprinkle of corn, apam balik is a style that is constantly being reinvented. |
Blue rice = nothing at all like Bridget Jones' blue soup. |
If the blue-colored rice doesn't make you curious, the constant queue of people waiting to get served this favorite Kelantanese dish will. Hailing from the state of Kelantan in Northern Peninsular Malaysia, nasi kerabu gets its eye-grabbing color from Telang flowers, which are crushed and mixed into flour. |
Top the aquamarine delight with bean sprouts and fried coconut, and drench it in warm spicy sauce and dig in (using your hands) to experience the true Kelantan style. |
Delicious ayam percik -- this chicken dish is a favorite in Malaysia. |
Barbecued chicken lathered in spicy chili, garlic and ginger sauce mixed with coconut milk. KFC's instant popularity in the region (and indeed across Asia) over that of other American fast-food chains should not be a surprise to those familiar with ayam percik. |
Spicy chicken -- be it barbecued, roasted or fried -- draws its roots from Kelantan. With the right amount of percik sauce, this staple stall food packs more of a zing than anything the Colonel could muster. |
Roti John, prepared here during a Ramadhan bazaar, is a delicious treat. |
Whoever John was, it is apparent that he distinctly preferred his sandwiches made with minced meat and egg grilled in the middle of slim bread, and drowned in a confection of condiments. |
Mayonnaise, ketchup, barbecue and chili sauce -- choose one, or choose them all. Though John's identity is not clear, it's easy to picture the girth of the man, especially if he routinely stuck to his eponymous food. |
Customers buy kuih at a stall in a suburb of Kuala Lumpur. |
Variety, variety, variety -- that is way to properly explore kuih, or Malay-style pastries. Small enough to snap up in a gulp and sugary enough to give you a modest jitter, kuih vendors are the most colorful stalls at Ramadan bazaars. |
And many diners are drawn to them by instinct. This kaleidoscope of soft, sugary morsels goes quickly -- few pieces are left by the time daylight begins to fade. |
While inhabitants of some regions in Asia prefer to gnaw on sugar cane (China and Vietnam, for instance), others have taken the refined approach when it comes to extracting the sweet nectar within. |
Much of the smoke wafting through the bazaar crowds comes from pots of boiling, frying liquid, but a significant portion of that also originates from the engine of a sugar cane grinder. |
Stalks are fed into industrial-sized juicers; the liquid is collected and served by the bag and bottle. There is no dearth of syrupy drinks on offer at the bazaars, but this is the only one that comes with a show. |
Deep-fried fungus doesn't get much better than this. One version, cendawan goreng, is typically peppered with chili or barbecue seasoning, giving it its own sass. |
Another contribution from the state of Kelantan, serunding (Malay for floss) is a common dish that appears during the month of Ramadan. But don't be deceived, these dried-out strings of meat are not meant to be used as carnivorous teeth cleaners. |
In fact, it's best to eat your serunding with a side of traditionally prepared rice, be it impit or lemang. |
Lemang is sticky rice cooked inside bamboo. |
Eaten along with a meat or vegetable dish, lemang is glutinous rice mixed with coconut milk, which is cooked in bamboo. The time-consuming process to make lemang starts by lining hollowed-out shoots with banana leaves to ensure the rice doesn't stick. |
Then the bamboo is left over a fire to slowly cook the rice in a process known as tapai. The result is sticky, wet rice that can, and regularly does, substitute its plain-Jane counterpart. |
Otak-otak is a fish paste mixture of selected spices and diced onions. It is loosely wrapped in a banana leaf and barbecued over charcoal until the pinkish contents become warm and the leaves slightly charred. Otak means "brains" in Indonesian and Malay -- but this graphic moniker stems from its appearance, not its tas... |
And, with a name like otak-otak, you can bet no fuss or frills are needed when it comes to eating -- picking at it straight from the leaf is the only way to do it. |
A kind of kuih (Malay-style pastry), tepung pelita easily takes the cake when compared to its post-dinner relatives. At some point just about everyone has (or knows someone who has) overindulged in this two-layered coconut milk-based sweet. |
On the top layer, thick coconut milk with salt; on the bottom, a similar milky liquid mixed with sugar and pandan leaves to turn it green. Served in bite-sized pandan leaf bowls, the packaging of tepung pelita makes for easily fulfilling gluttonous desires. |
Few snacks come saltier, or more gratifying than rempeyek. Rempeyek is commonly made by deep frying a doughy batter into a thin brittle and topping it with peanuts and anchovies. |
The amount of salt can vary, and there are variations that use dried shrimp or garlic instead of or with the anchovies. |
A hefty sort of spring roll, popia basah speaks best to those in need of the familiar crispy snack, but without the added oil. |
There's no standard recipe, but you'll almost certainly ask for a second bowl. |
At Ramadan bazaars, there is a plentiful amount of bubur to sample -- and they are easy to spot. Just look for the stall with the giant steel pots of liquid and matching ladle. |
The contents of these coconut milk-based, sometimes sugary soups can cover a medley of vegetables and meats, and even dyed balls of flour and coconut milk. There is no standard recipe in preparing bubur as different regions boast their own specialty. |
Roti jala, or net bread, gets its name from the net-like, lacy formation of bread that is created by making zigzagging lines with flour on a large skillet. |
The final product is folded up like a crepe and usually complemented with chicken curry. Roti jala can be eaten during any time of the day outside the month of Ramadan. |
Murtabak -- a meal all by itself. |
This pan-fried bread stuffed with minced meat and onions and dipped in spicy sauce is a meal and a half, only recommended to the truly famished. That's why during Ramadan these stalls see stock disappear almost as soon as it's cooked. |
A perfect murtabak is made with a robust amount of minced meat so that the taste comes through on the first bite. |
A staple of Malaysian cuisine, laksa eateries have been migrating abroad over the past years, making appearances in Bangkok, Shanghai and even further afield. |
For anyone who enjoys a taste of the volcanic kind, this spicy noodle soup can get you there in its curry form; for a more sour experience, the soup can be prepared with a sour fish broth. |
Like roti jala, putu piring is equally enjoyed in both India and Malaysia. These stalls are spotted by following the nebulous steam ejected from small, conical outlets on top of a steamer. |
If otak-otak is the hodge-podge, hot dog variety of grilled fish, then satar is its more refined cousin. At the Ramadan bazaar in Kelana Jaya, Malaysia, a vendor has set up what he calls "mackerel filled food from the east coast." |
Justin Calderon has been featured in publications including The New York Times and CNN Travel. |
Picking on Game of Thrones pirates is just mean. All they wanted was some free stuff and ended up getting scammed. What is the world coming to? |
A new phishing scam targeting online pirates is much broader than initially thought, with Internet providers all over the world being bombarded with fake copyright infringement notices and settlement demands. The scammers are pretending to represent various rightsholders, including HBO. |
In order to expedite pick-up for the cloud movie storage service UltraViolet, the Digital Entertainment Group has announced that free films will be given away with new TVs and Blu-ray players released by the major manufacturers. |
UltraViolet is a central movie locker that is adopted by some of the major studios, including Sony Pictures and Warner Bros., but take-up by consumers has been slow - perhaps because of its fragmented nature, as Pocket-lint revealed when we recently tried out the service ourselves. |
It will help when more titles appear with a free UltraViolet bundled with the Blu-ray release, but for now the system is about to get a shot in the arm through the new free giveaway incentive. |
Announced during the CES trade show in Las Vegas, it was revealed that new Smart TVs from LG, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and US brand Vizio will come with 10 free UltraViolet versions of films. A user has to create an account with the service, but will then be able to stream their swag on to their new s... |
New Blu-ray players from the brands will come with five free films. |
It is not known yet what films will be on offer, or whether the entire library is up for selection. And let's just hope that method of registering movies and streaming them to other devices is simplified in future. |
Enforcement Directorate said multiple teams of the central probe agency raided locations in Jamtara district and adjoining areas as part of the evidence gathering exercise in this probe. |
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Thursday conducted searches at 5 locations in Jharkhand in connection with the first-of-its kind cyber crime money laundering case in which conmen based in a remote town of the state robbed gullible people of their hard-earned money by making cheat phone calls, officials said. |
"The ED has now taken over cases under the PMLA in order to choke finances and freeze tainted assets of these conmen," a senior official had said. |
Pumpkin Patch says its first half result demonstrates the business is heading in the right direction. |
The children clothing retailer made a first half net profit of $749,000 - a six-fold increase over last year's $106,000. |
First half sales rose 2.2 percent to $121.9 million, for the six months ended in January, over the year earlier, reflecting currency impacts. |
Traffic on its online retail sites rose 10.3 percent, with a significant increase in the frequency of customer purchases in the company's retail and online channels. |
Online retail sales grew 9.8 percent in New Zealand and 10.7 percent in Australia, while international sales fell 1.2 percent. |
Cash flow from operating activities have been substantially improved, swinging to $14.8 million, compared with a deficit of $134,000, the year earlier. |
Pumpkin Patch chief executive Di Humphries said the cost of doing business has been permantly lowered by $4 million, reflecting savings of $1.1 million and $2.7 million retail costs. |
"We have strengthened our connection and interaction with our customers both in New Zealand and Australia, and as a consequence of this and refinement of our product range our customers are re-engaging in a very positive and sustainable way," Ms Humphries said. |
Chair Peter Schulyt said there were clear signs the underlying business was improving, despite challenging circumstances. |
"Given competitive intensity in the trading environment and currency headwinds being encountered at the present time, the overall first half result is a satisfactory one," he said. |
The company said it would continue to right-size its retail network, and expected to cose nine Australian stores in the second half of the year. |
It would continue to focus on reducing debt and therefore would not be paying a dividend. It expected its full year EBITDA, before reorganisation costs, to be about the same as last year, in the order of $14 million. |
Broker Forsyth Barr says it expects shares in children's clothing retailer Pumpkin Patch to underperform, as the company continues to manage through tough trading conditions. |
Pumpkin Patch's first-half net profit slumped to just $106,000, reflecting heavy discounting, major supply chain disruptions and restructuring costs. |
An interstate commission overseeing Ohio River water quality is considering eliminating its pollution control standards. |
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — An interstate commission tasked with overseeing the health of the Ohio River is considering eliminating its pollution control standards. |
Opponents of the idea fear the move will leave a confusing mishmash of state regulations to govern pollution discharges into the river and eliminate some added protections not currently required by states. |
The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) oversees an agreement between the eight states with watersheds draining into the Ohio, with commission members appointed by each state and the federal government. |
The river touches on six states along its 981-mile course, including Indiana and Kentucky. It has consistently topped lists, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's, of the nation's most-polluted waterways even after decades of cleanup and more stringent regulation. |
Decades before the EPA was created and Congress passed the Clean Water Act in the early 1970s, ORSANCO's member states pledged to cooperate on keeping the Ohio River clean, safe and usable. |
But in June, a majority of the commission voted to advance the idea of dropping its pollution control standards, opening the proposal to public comments as part of the commission's regular review process. |
Director Richard Harrison stressed the pollution control standards have not been dropped yet: "There has been no decision made. The earliest it would be voted on is Oct. 4 when the commission meets in Lansing, West Virginia." |
States are required to maintain water quality standards that meet minimum Clean Water Act standards. ORSANCO's proposal argues that states are effectively applying those criteria already and don't need ORSANCO input. |
Advising committees including representatives from utilities, chemical companies and other industries have endorsed the proposal, according to public records available on ORSANCO's website. |
"The only people who are supporting getting rid of these standards are the people who are dumping stuff," said Tom FitzGerald, one of two federally appointed ORSANCO commissioners. |
FitzGerald, who is director of the Kentucky Resources Council, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, voted against the proposal along with representatives from Pennsylvania and New York state. |
He believes the ORSANCO pollution standards are necessary protections. |
"To say the standards should be removed because all of the states are enacting them already, that is simply not the case. While it has improved significantly, these standards still have value," FitzGerald said. |
He said ORSANCO's own review tallied numerous instances in which the commission's pollution control standards were more stringent than what states would otherwise allow in other bodies of water. |
In addition, ORSANCO has banned so-called "mixing zones" for pollutants such as mercury. Such zones allow industries to measure the level of some pollutants after being diluted by the water instead of at the point where it enters the water. When mixing zones were banned in 2003, ORSANCO allowed industries operating fro... |
Although industries pushed to ease those restrictions in 2015, the commission instead allowed industries to petition states for mixing zones as part of the renewal process for their water pollution permit, giving the public as well as ORSANCO a chance to comment first. |
"That is something states are not required to do as part of the Clean Water Act," FitzGerald said. "It is a layer of protection that absolutely would be in jeopardy if this process goes through." |
Jason Flickner, director of the newly formed New Albany, Indiana, group Lower Ohio River Waterkeeper, questioned the timing of the commission's proposal. The organization has formed to champion water quality in the watersheds draining into the 312-mile stretch of the Ohio between the Kentucky and Wabash rivers. |
"ORSANCO's proposal comes as rules designed to protect human health and the environment are being weakened across the country," he said. |
The group is offering free transportation from Louisville to attend ORSANCO's July 26 public hearing on the proposal in Erlanger, Ky. Those interested may contact Jason Flickner by email to info@ohioriverwaterkeeper.org or by calling (502) 276-5957. |
The public can comment on ORSANCO's proposal through Aug. 10. Emailed comments can be sent to PCS@orsanco.org. |
Written comments may also be mailed to: ORSANCO, 5735 Kellogg Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio, 45230. Be sure to label comments Attn: PCS Comments. |
Dami slayed it. Don't @ me. |
1. Australians woke up on Sunday to one sad truth: WE WERE ROBBED. |
3. ...and we're NOT EVEN IN EUROPE. |
4. Dami Im totally blew everyone away. |
5. She had everyone going "Woah, Australia really turned up." |
7. ...only to lose to Ukraine in the public vote. |
Australia had the best song and they should've won. Goodnight. |
9. THIS IS NOT WHAT WAS MEANT TO HAPPEN. |
10. Some people blamed the new voting system. |
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