Tous Les Jous

All The Jous

That's what the online translation dictionary explained. I reckon it refers to the variety of juices available, but then again, this is a bakery. Even if there's a cafe there, why jous? Why not flour?

Don't know what I'm talking about?

Do a search of the name. It's a Korean owned bakery, serving a variety of French styled breads. Go figure. I popped in earlier to pick up a couple of the bread, and by tomorrow morning, I'll know if it lives up to the hype. Pricy bread, but it certainly stands a class above the rest.

Relapse

The ulcers relapse.

Apparently the bacteria infection is worst than I thought. Now the ulcers got to my tongue. Two of it. Aaarrrgh, it's making the eating process twice as long, three times as hard.

Recovering

I'm feeling much better today.
The ulcer in the throat subsided, with only occasional throbbing pain late in the day (a sign my medication's due)

I even had baby's food for lunch. It was pork congee. But this congee's ingreedients were made like congee. So it was congee rice + congee carrot + congee mince pork. Mix it all together, and you get baby's food.

For dinner, it's congee again. But this time I was better prepared. Getting it from a menu in a Sino-Viet restaurant gives me the guarantee I'm getting the adult stuff.

One thing for sure, porridge in Vietnam certainly tastes good. I enjoyed every last drop of it. Yummy. Sorry, no pics. Sick people are excused from it.

Doctor with a sense of humour, by accident

I finally made my way to the clinic, and sought professional help for the ulcers and sore throat. This little clinic was nicely tucked away in a "hem" (small street), off the main road Hai Ba Trung St.

Dr Edgar was my physician. It started off fine. I told him about my ailments, and he did the usually stuffs like checking my temperature, breathing, heartbeat.... until he reached the knees.

"Cross your legs please", said Dr Edgar.
I cross my right knee over the left. He give it a couple of light tap with a rubber hammer.

"The other side please"
"Do you ride a motorcycle?"
The question came unexpectedly. I suppose he's trying to make conversation.

"Yeah, I do"

"Nouvo?"
At this point, my eyes nearly popped out of the sockets.

"You could tell my tapping on my KNEES??" I was bewildered. What sort of tricks was this? How could he tell?

He looked at me in the eyes. Unflinching, he replied,
"Your key's handing by the belt. It looked similar to mine. I ride a Nouvo."

You can imagine how stupid I felt then. Gosh, all those Panadols must have made me dumb. Of course he couldn't tell by tapping on my knees!

Oh well, we had a good laugh. For a moment there, he made me forgot about my sore throat and ulcers. So much for magicks.

New lesson

Oh gosh!
Everyday I learn something new.

Today's lesson:

Microwaved honey + water boils very quickly, and leaves a rather uncomfortable odour in the house.


Ha, so much for a cup of hot honey milk. I ended up with a cup of honey milk, at room temperature. 95% there, still good. And it certainly soothes the aching throat and in-mouth ulcers.

Awwww man, all those late nights have finally taken a toll on my body. Over a span of 3 days, I've taken 10 tablets of Panadol, to get the raging fever under control. All of a sudden, all the pent up heat boiled to the surface and attacked my immune system.

Needless to say, my first day back to work after the long break had been tough. I was half-groggy, and drowsy. Eventually had to take 1/2 day off to rest. Not much help, though I think the fever's subsided somewhat. Let's see if it's gone for good.

Now, I only have to deal with the ulcer in my mouth, and the sore throat.

Yeshhhh, I hate falling sick.

Happy Birthday, Mum

Celebrated mum's birthday today. It's her 60th birthday.

The Yee Sang dish. Auspicious, and taken to usher in prosperity.

All placed together, before the Grand Toss.

The Tossing. It is said that the higher the toss, the better the year.

After the Toss.

Longetivity noodle. A variant by the Restaurant.

Four Seasons Dish.

Tofu with Mushrooms.

Kailan with Prawns.

Mantis Prawn.

Mum's Blackforest Cake.

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody.

Year after year, people celebrate Valentine's day with flowers, chocolates, teddys, dinners and what nots. Some, even took the opportunity to propose for marriages (solves the anniversary and Valentine's expense, plus a guaranteed way of remembering dates!).

Earlier today, I saw one billboard message along the LDS by this one guy, proposing to his gal. Gosh, with a billboard that size, she sure can't miss it. So here's good luck to you, mate. I sure hope she says Yes.

So what's Valentine's day anyway? I'm certain this question had been explored again and again every year, and yet no one seems to be the wiser. So here's one source of history - fact or not, you decide.

Camelia,
Happy Birthday!

I got my new helmet. Something with a visor, thick padding and shades. Finally, something that I can feel safer in. Best part, it blends well with the bike. Nevermind it's not a fierce machine like a Harley or BMW. Scooter pun scooter lah.

Monopoly, Here and Now

By request, to Monopoly fans and patriotic citizens, Vote for your City in the Monoply site.

Click here - http://www.monopolyworldvote.com

The current list of Cities on the Leaderboard.

Siew Hwa,
Happy Birthday!

Jaimie,
Happy Birthday!

AN KHANG THỊNH VƯỢNG, PHÁT TÀI PHÁT LỘC!

Reunion Dinner, Chinese New Year

Ah, it's that time of the year again. Everyone in the family gathered around the dinner table, chaired by the grand old dame of the family. No matter that she hardly has enough teeth left to chew any of the food. To have all 4 generations at the dinner table together, that would make any old lady happy (delirious, but happy).





Those pics above are evidence that it's time for me to look at a SLR. Forget those image stabilisers nonsense that point-and-shoots provide. If the hands ain't steady, no computer chip could steady it. Better then to have the options of controlling the shots at my finger tips.

Not saying my Ixus 850 is no good. It's just not cutting it whence I need sharp pics, that it couldn't deliver.

Dinner @ Shogun, Sunway Pyramid

Yum yum, my birthday dinner. First meal back in Malaysia, and I become a glutton. No wonder I get fat. Sigh, food is just so plentiful back home.

333, Saigon Bia

There you go. Dad's gonna love this. 5.3%, Saigon Beer. Wonder what it tasted like. Don't ask me. I've not tried it. In Vietnam, I've been guzzling only Heineken, Cafe Sua Da (iced milk coffee) and a couple of whiskeys. Oh, and not to forget the standard Tra Da (local iced tea, served complimentary).


This my first attempt too. Not too bad. I seriously doubt the bird's nest content. But the texture is just about there. Snow Fungus feels the same too, ain't it?

Going home...

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to gooooo....

Yupe, I'm enroute home again. 2 whole weeks of being with my family and loved ones. Gosh, it's been 1 month since I left home. Time didn't fly by that fast, but then it wasn't slow either. There were days when I felt much had been achieved, and days that passed my eyes, wasted.

I look forward to home. The 2 weeks will be very precious to me. God knows when's my next trip back. 6 months, probably. Next trip, I'll come equipped with my PS2. I gotta find some weekend entertainment.

Beef Steak

Another type of Vietnamese dish. This is a beef steak, served piping hot on a sizzling plate.
This place is Nam Son Restaurant, located on Nguyen Dinh Chieu St, in District 3.

The dish comes with a serving of fries, baguette and salad. In Malaysia, such a serving would cost USD3 or 4. In Vietnam, this is USD1.50.

Many thanks to the Hygiene team for introducing the place and buying us lunch.

New Year's Dinner - Vietnamese BBQ

The Group of Companies's New Year dinner on the roof top. Vietnamese BBQ, with an assortment of good food. You pay to cook your own meal!

For about 70 people, the bill came up to VND10M, food and drinks.

Quan Nong Restaurant

29-31, Ton That Thiep Street

District 1

Reality

I found a saying in Vietnamese, that reflects what we face. It takes more than just lip service to make things work. Despite the severe limitations faced, I believe in it.

"Có Chí Thì Nên" ~ Where there is a will, There is a way


Most importantly, no matter which we we look at it, we apply "nhập gia tùy tục" both sides.

Banh Chung

This is a Chinese New Year delicacy, named Banh Chung.
A colleague's family made this.
Traditionally there's 2 shapes -
Square represents Land (Earth is the more accurate term, I presume)
Round represents Sky (It could be Heaven).
So today, we're having Land.

The sticky rice is wrapped in leaves and boiled in water until it is cooked. Hence the slight green tinge.

A smart way of dissecting the goody. Use the leaves.

The contents would be chunks of pork, mashed green beans, and spiced with pepper. The Banh Chung is quite similar to the Malaysian rice dumpling, both in texture and taste. Only the timing's different.

Ice Cream for dessert

Ahhh... indulgence.

I have to spoil myself a little. It was quite a long day (long trip actually), but I felt good. I managed to get more things done, and made the productive. This is what keeps me going.

No matter that I have to deal with stubborn people. Hey, Ujin don't get upset easily. But once I reach my limit, there's no apologies to be made. I'll teach, but you better be ready to learn.

Oh well, not gonna let the day spoil my ice cream. Yummy.....

Quick meal on way home

Alvin and I tried a new place today. Wanted a quick dinner, and decided to try out the corner lot near our apartment.
With apprehension of not knowing how to order our meal, it was a real relieve when they gave us a menu with photographs.

My rice and oyster dinner.

Up close, the little oysters that were boiled in a soup. The soup's quite nice, with the oyster aroma, but a little bland. A small brownish plate of sauce was a no no for me. Yucks. But the chili.... wooooo... now that's some chili. REALLY HOT!

Took this picture to show how they provide electricity to premises and homes in Ho Chi Minh. This is the smaller version. There's places with great veins of cables all over, and filling up at least 2 metres of the pole.

Che

Introduction to a Vietnamese dessert - "Che"

It's a coconut milk concoction of beans, some sort of jello and some bean paste. Nice, and sweet.

I find it quite similar to the Malaysia Cendol, or Ice Kacang.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Poh Chin!

Vietnamese Chinese Food

Sunday morning...

"Shoe shine, sir? "

"I'll shine your shoe whilst you take breakfast."

"No matter that you're wearing slip-on nylon trainers. I'll shine it for you"

...!!!

Free parking. That's how you do it in Vietnam. You park where you visit. That even applies to the roadside stalls.

Local pastime. Getogether, lay the ponchos, sit and chat. For hours. No matter that the temperature's 30C, or there's hardly any wind. It's cooling under shade.

Watermelon juice, and Manana (Banana + Pineapple) juice.

Banh Mi Bo Kho

Breakfast.
Stewed Beef, with carrots and tomatoes, and a large loaf of bread.
This has strong aroma of spice, parlsey, and some leaves which I've yet to ascertain (suspected basil, though it's much larger)

Happy Birthday to Me!

It's my Birthday today!

I promise myself, nothing's going to make me upset today. Take things as they come, do things as it should. And just let go.

Moving on to 31. Another year gone by, another chapter to work on. And this year, I'm celebrating my birthday in a foreign land.

Finally

At last. The Viettel technician made a house call at 9:00pm to rectify the broadband connection.
Know what he did?

Accessed the D-Link setting.
Punched in the user ID and password.

Voila. Sigh, why couldn't they just give me that earlier. I would have been in weeks back.

Anyhow, many thanks to Ms. Giac for making all those calls and get this thru. She can see how important this connection is to me.

Errrrrgggghhhh!!!!!!

I just got back from the apartment, with the landlord and the ISP technician. They came, with an attempt to rectify the broadband problem. By seeing this post, my reader would have guessed that things went badly wrong.

The day started off problematic. First the tap ran dry halfway thru my shower. Hence, very limited water to wash off the soap. Apparently, they decided to do some piping rectification without annoucement.

Reached the office, we experienced power blackout at 10:30am. Another Wednesday blackout. Every week. Without fail.

Fine. To the apartment at 2:00pm. ISP technician figured the modem's fine, the connection's fine, my notebook's fine. So probably it's the ISP's side that's not fine. Oops, forgot to mention, this technician wasn't from the ISP office. He's engaged with another ISP. Landlord messed up (I'm not surprised).

So fine again. He called Viettel, the ISP for this connection. Ran thru the IP for the modem, all is fine again. Oh, needs to reconfirm the password for this connection.




You guessed right, no password available. Called owner in HaNoi. Can't find the contract. Oh wait, the contract may be kept in with the rest of the documents in the bedroom next door (one cupboard still retained by owner for personal belongings). Aaaaaaand... roommate locked the door.

What else could go wrong anyway? Being on the 11th floor, the last thing we would want is a power cut. And that's wishes come true. It was a BLACKOUT!

All thru the day. A waste of time. A waste of resources. A waste of money.


This, my faithful readers, is Vietnam.


My colleague here felt bad hearing my laments about her Country. Don't be. It's not your fault that you were born here. Had you seen what I've seen, you'll understand my feelings too.

Still no broadband

It's been almost 3 weeks. Still no broadband at home.
Yerks! This is no good. I can't connect with my family without the broadband.

Till now, I'm still experiencing the culture shock. The country's not exactly well off, and yet technologically they are. Then again, customer service and efficiency is still lacking, far far behind. Even a village back home would have been more prompt.

I bug things to move, it stretched half an inch. I bug it again, it stretches again. At this rate, no wonder progress cannot be achieved.



Oh, I've been zipping about town on the scooter. Finally I get to learn the road, the driver's way. Moving on the opposite side of the road is not that bad, really. Though couple of times I did scare the wits off some motorcyclists. Forgot I'm supposed to be on the right side of the road....

I'm down with a tummy ache the past 2 days. Must have been a bad combination of food. It's not too bad, though the day's been uncomfortably long. I'll get over it eventually (no Chi Kit pills here). Serves me right for not asking what the menu says. Stupid me pointed to a dish in Viet, and I got prawns for lunch. Of all the food that I can take, seafood (prawns, especially) is the hardest to gauge its freshness. Sigh....

Time to go home. Time to spend the lonely nights without broadband again.

The landlady says tomorrow, they will rectify the connection. That's what they said on Satuday. They didn't show up. So tomorrow afternoon. I'll wait and see. Let Vietnam impress me.

The Finance and Sales team of HoChiMinh

Surrounding me, the ladies that holds the fort in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.
From left: Tu Giac, Hong Hai, Khanh Hoa, Tu Giang

Bun Bo

I was introduced to Bun Bo, a beef & pork noodle of Central Vietnam. It tasted almost like the Malaysian laksa, but more watery. The mint leaves and chili oil are quite similar. Vegetables varies, from sprouts to banana flowers.

Nhat Yen

One of the singers from M&Toi was Le Nhat Yen. I did a search, but only found Da Nhat Yen. I'm not sure if it's the same person, or I was given a wrong name.

Anyhow, here's a blog-link I found on Da Nhat Yen.
Found her voice to be soothing. She'll make a good jazz singer :)

M&Toi, the happening Cafe of Saigon

I was introduced to this Cafe yesterday. On the 1st floor, there's a live performance stage, where up and coming singers perform. I had the opportune to listen to Vietnam Idol's candidate, and some whom I believe were veteren singers. Excellent entertainmet.

The service fee per person is VND70k, on top of any drinks we ordered. Fair price, since the 2 hours performance were rather good. It'll be a nice place to hangout for drinks, and some lively entertainment.