And The Winner Is!!!

Well since Kuala Lumpur especially seems to have been hit by donut fever I have been waiting for the time when I have tasted the offerings from all three main players so that I can judge whether the donut fever deserves the hype. Why I even have an acquaintance who requested for JCo donuts to be flown in from KL by somebody who is flying into Kota Kinabalu. So what gives?

Well JCo as you may note from my previous posting that I definitely do not find JCo donuts deserving the hype. The taste of their dough was definitely chemically and definitely do not rise to the occasion. Where is the fluffy chewiness that all good doughnuts should have? Does good filling or coating warrants overlooking the fact that the doughnut itself does not taste good? Or is it the pleasure of being able to say that I have lined up to get my piece of the JCo hype scene the reason for all the snaking queue you find without fail at their outlet. Man if I want to eat all that creaminess I might as well buy other types of pastry with sugar coating or creamy filling than eat at Jcos. So all of you who find it so cool to be seen lining up at JCos, go ahead as I have better fish to fry.

And what better way to eat a donut than to dunk it it your favourite beverage though the donuts at Dunkin Donuts are actually better eaten straight than dunked right. Even after a hygiene scare at one time after an expose by the press on their less than desirable state of their factory's cleanliness, this brand has managed to continue on an expansion trail without needing to hype their presence. They just need to continue selling good donuts at good value and the public continues to patronise their outlets. That is a good enough testimonial of how good their donuts are. Yet even though their donuts are the cheapest, they still do not deserve the title of Winner of The Donut Championship so have to be satisfied with the runners up position.

So the deserving winner is the homegrown brand (surprisingly!) Big Apple Donuts which at first glance seemed to be a foreign franchise. I just got back from their outlet at the Gardens after giving them a miss the first time around due to the long queue formed at the time. Not another JCo I thought. But then a friend told me that their donuts are way better so I thought I might as well give it a try as the queue this time. He is right. The fillings and coatings are as good but the dough is softer and without the pesky chemical taste. I bought a dozen and my family devoured them in a jiffy like sharks in a feeding frezy. It was that good that I remarked it was lucky that we bought a dozen eh! The best was the double choc with the cocoa filling and choc shavings on top. Sorry I can't remember its name. A close second was the Duren Duren although the durian taste should have been more intense. Don't wan't to scare off the foreigners I guess.

SO there you have it. From nowhere a homegrown brand actually serves American style donuts. Now when can I try something like these American Donuts that I kempunan when I visited Queen Victoria's Market in Melbourne. Freshly made and supposedly better than their Kryspy Kremes. That was one doughnut that till today I regret I could not have the chance to savour as it was fasting month and I await the day when I will visit Melbourne so that I can finally satisfy my yearning.

Can We Now Start Talking About 13 May 1969 Openly?

I am a little non-plussed that this historic date in our Nation's history is passing by without being noticed by the general population. Amongst the mainstream media only The Star is making an effort to mark this event by putting forth questions that to me are what our society should seriously debate in order to obtain closure on this now almost mythical event, that leaves it open to manipulation by opportunistic parties for their own nefarious purposes.

Thus I put forth herewith a repetition of the questions that should be the start of our society's soul searching into this momentous event, so that we all can move forward and leave behind the threat of history repeating itself in the dustbin of time, where it should be.

From the Sunday Editorial "Time to close chapter on May 13"


"More than 60% of the country’s 26 million population, if not a little more, did not experience that shameful part of the nation’s journey, and yet it is still taboo to talk about it"

"For some opportunistic politicians, the May 13 tragedy is used to invoke fear among the people and to protect the politics of communalism.Unfortunately, in our reluctance to talk about May 13 openly, the best of Malaysian stories, even in the worst of Malaysia, have not been narrated.

There have been many fantastic uplifting stories, where Malaysians of different races protected each other and these stories should be told."

"But for many Malaysians, now in their late 40s and mid-50s, May 13 is just a flicker in their memory. It’s time to have a proper closure, a lesson learnt and not to be used to create fear"


From The Sunday Focus "It need not remain a black day"


"It’s been a long time but there are still numerous lessons to be learned from this darkest episode of our history. We should also honestly ask if we have truly learned anything so far, except for treating it as a subject of taboo or censorship. Instead of continuing to keep the events of May 13, 1969, in the deepest recesses of our memory, as we have done all this while, there must be a rational acceptance for a closure on the wretched chapter."
"In this digital age when information on everything is available easily, we should not continue to believe what we think we know about May 13 through what was disclosed officially then.Similarly, we should also not continue to believe what we learned about it through exaggerated accounts and blatant lies or through re-told prejudiced stories.A few of the people who witnessed the tragedy are still alive but the majority of Malaysians are those who only know it as something that is too sensitive to discuss openly. Up to now, that is."


"A nation that has gone through such a tumultuous event should never be rife with deep mistrust or bitter rivalries between communities that have lived together for decades.
No one should harbour any fear of losing out to the other, for in this great journey that we have embarked on, we can’t go it alone."

Now an extract of the defence on the conduct of our Armed Forces in controlling the situation. This is a prime example of how without debate of the incident, it has left open opportunities of misconduct without opportunity of defending one's actions. This appeared in the NST in the Comment Column "May 13, 1969: Serving the nation in its darkest hour"


"May 13, 1969, will always be remembered as the blackest day in our post-independence history. Much water has passed under the bridge since then and we would like to think that we are that much wiser, as a people and a nation, because of it. This event, as such, must never be in any way slanted or distorted, especially given its polarised complexion. The truth can be so easily desecrated, especially when written retrospectively against the comfort of present-day peace and harmony, void of the reality of the time, and given an unbridled interpretation based on third-party random personal glimpses and snatches of fleeting partial observations."


In response to this quote from the book "The Reluctant Politician - Tun Dr Ismail and His Time (Ooi Kee Beng, 2007)" "However, he added as a private message to Ismail that the army is reported by the same sources to have been responsible for excessive force against the Chinese - it does seem on the best information that I have that the Malay Regiment rather lost its head."


"The quote is most damning for the RMR and casts aspersions on its integrity and professionalism. It is an affront to the sacrifices of its officers and soldiers who had dutifully and unfailingly served in defence of the country for the last 75 years. "

Food supplies being distributed after the May 13 incident. The presence of the police and armed forces was vital in ensuring that all communities were kept safe and had enough food, water and medicines.

Examples of the RMR examplary conduct was then provided and followed by this damning statement.

"These examples may not mean anything to those bent on seeing and reporting only the perceived negative sides but they serve to illustrate the many different sides of this same equation, one that should never be made to seem so conclusively and conveniently simple. Neither are they meant to eulogise the RMR battalion involved, or the army in general.They are simply to point out that in discharging their responsibilities during this very sensitive and difficult period, they had to carry out many different roles - some pleasant, others less so, and some outright painful - but always by the book.The regiment had acted with the same professionalism and dedication, precisely as they were trained and prepared, entrusted and mandated, committed solely to ensuring the well-being of the nation. And, at the very least, their contributions should be impartially and fairly judged"

Thus without debate that illustrates what really happened in this dark period of our nation's history, how then can we move forward with confidence I ask you.

Finally, do read up on remembrances of those who were actually there, it may surprise you. This is one posting that is worthy to be referred to here.

So on this 39th anniversary of an event when 196 Malaysians (according to official records) lost their life's , I invite you to join me in offering a prayer to all those victims of race based enmity and strife that should never be forgotten in the annals of our nation's history. Al Fatihah.

Money Now No Value?

Yesterday when I was doing my Sunday marketing, the nyonya at the dried goods stall was complaining about a mutilated five ringgit note that somebody slipped to her when making payment. She was worried that it would no longer be legal tender as some fool purposely cut out the serial number portion on the right side of the note. I guess he was frustrated that the note could not be defaced as per regular paper bank notes as this was a polymer note, so it is quite difficult to damage.

Anyway we got to talking about how some people nowadays no longer appreciate the money that they have, and this silly people would purposely deface or mutilate their bank notes just to inconvenience other people. The nyonya and his son mentioned that how such a mutilated five ringgit note would eat into their hard earned profits as they believed that the note is no longer legal tender, but I explained that they can go to a bank to exchange it for a new note, but if the bank rejects the note they then have to go to Bank Negara to assess whether it is replaceable. But then if would be a hassle if it is only for a single piece of note of lesser value, but I guess for shopkeepers and such it would be worth it if they compile a pile of such damaged notes and then go to Bank Negara to exchange it as a final recourse. Read the experience of another blogger about such exchange policy response from Bank Negara here. Anyway I ended my conversation with the stall owners by saying why should we be surprised by people treating our currency notes with contempt when the widespread disrespect of laws like traffic laws and such is so prevalent, which begs the bigger question, is our lives also so valueless?

Going Upscale With Laddus

As I have posted before, my most favoured Indian sweetmeat is laddu, usually the motichoor laddu that is the most common being sold locally. I usually purchase these from my favourite puttu mayam vendor in Lebuh Ampang but after trying out Sri Paandi's laddus for an extra forty cents, I have recently become more adventurous and tried out the laddus on offer at the various Indian restaurants in the are.

Sri Paandi's motichoor laddu and ravva laddu above are the best amongst the four being reviewed although they are the second most expensive amongst the lot. The milkiness and spice mix to me are very balanced and to bite into each piece is certainly a pleasure. They also keep very well in the fridge amongst the lot and does not change in texture as the other laddus are wont to be. A good treat to keep longer if you do not buy laddus on a regular basis. The most noticeable difference is that the motichoor laddu is orange instead of the more yellowy colour of the rest.

Bakti Woodlands motichoor laddu are the most expensive of the lot, probably because of the silver flakes put on top and because they add some cashews into it, a bit like the ravva laddu. But it is only ten cents more from Sri Paandi's version so who is counting. Tastewise however their laddu is the mildest as their laddu are more creamy than spiced and I guess very similar to what I get from the original Punjabi man I usually buy my laddus from when I was growing up in my hometown of Ipoh. It is also not so sweet so I guess it would be good for those who want to try out this delicacy without wanting their tastebuds overwhelmed by an explosion of sweetness, creaminess and spiciness in one bite that can turn off some people. Sort of training wheeled laddus for beginners.

Lastly there is not much difference between the laddus from Sri Premala Cafe on the left and Lakshmi Villas on the right that makes me wonder if they are made from the same source. They also cost the same at seventy cents each but in bulk are a wee bit smaller than Sri Paandi's laddu balls and they are more delicate in texture and do not keep as well in the fridge as you can note the creamy milk emulsifying and the taste changing a bit as a result. These taste midway between Sri Paandi's and Bakti Woodlands so it would be good for those who likes a medium tasting laddo. Premala meanwhile also offers a more authentic ravva laddu than Sri Paandi's version but somehow I prefer the latter's version more as here the delicateness factor now favors it. It is a bit hard to bite into Premala's version especially since they are very generous with the ginger flavoured sugar kernels that makes you wonder if you had bitten into bits of stone.

Well after all is said and done, even though I have bought laddus from the more famous Jai Hind near Masjid India, that experience did not make forget to buy laddus from street vendors. However with the different offerings from Lebuh Ampang, I am afraid that the more economical versions of laddus being sold by these vendors does not cut it any more for my tastebuds. Being a snob in going upscale you say? Nolah! But why settle for sugary sweetness that is the hallmark of streetside laddus when you can get the full taste treatment by paying a few cents more.

Denying History At Your Peril

Well in my regular forum there was a thread on how some of the younger generations are being quietly brainwashed into believing that certain historic incidents are just plain government propaganda, feeding into the supposedly anti-government feelings that is supposed to be a groundswell amongst them. Amongst the claims are that our own Alamo incident in Bukit Kepong was a staged event, supposedly to rectify the reputation of the "corrupt" police force that was coercing the village people. This is by giving the police force a heroic halo effect when they bravely fought against the communist bandits till the bitter end, while these bandits were actually supposedly fighting with the villagers in a Robin Hoodisque way. Another as researched by my friend Alphawolf and mentioned in his blog was by somebody who claimed that the communists of PKM are not really communists but independence fighters who were given bad press by the government propagandist for their own vile means. This from somebody who does not know that the PKM abbreviation stands for "Parti Komunis Malaya" or Communist Party of Malaya in Englih and cannot even get the label given to these bandits of "Bintang Tiga" right and keeps calling them "Bintang Lima" in his posting. The consistent thread between these claims are that they heard it from an uncle or their grandfather, as usual unidentifiable aka hearsay, and that the events are actually the government whitewashing opposition against them. What is the difference between these hearsay and those that say the Memali Incident was a holy war, the May 13 Racial Riots and subsequent declaration of Emergency was opportunistic oppression of civilian rule by the government and the liberalist claims that the PKM are independence fighters against the British?


But have anybody given thought that for each peaceful end of each incident; yes peaceful where even in the Memali case most of the villagers of Memali was later freed even though they had declared an act of war against the government, the peaceful turnover of martial power to a civilian government at the end of 1969 Martial Law and the end of communist insurgency that led to the development of previously dangerous military into naturalist tourist playgrounds like Belum and Gua Tempurung; was done by the government with minimum disruption to the general populace. Think about it! Have we ever had a Rwandan, Zimbabwe, Tibet, Yangon, Iraqi and whatever incident where our armed forces shot real bullets against the general civilian populace and a majority of the population who had carried out ethnic cleansing or displacement? And yet some even claim that the Chinese Resettlement policy during the Emergency was a ghettoising or internment of the ethnic Chinese into concentration camps when these people are now getting land grants to the encampments that they have developed into prosperous settlements. And they dare equate teargas shots and water bombing actions taken by the authorities to disperse their civil disorder actions as oppressive acts, as if they have taken a rubber or even a live bullet in their guts.

This is what happens when our own National Archives act more like a Fort Knox of our history than a Smithsonian Institute, unable to shed light on both the bad and good events that has led to our peaceful existence today. The peacefulness and prosperity we now enjoy has led us to be complacent. Only those who wants to be enlightened will seek out the truth, while those who are blinded by their own pet chauvinism will hear the hearsay or revisionist history and take it as the truth. What has become important is not the truth, but the perception that is taken as the truth. More so when the direct participants are now mostly at the end of their life journey and will no longer be with us to verify the truth. That many of them has already passed on without any written memoirs except sporadic articles like the story of the pictured Panglima Salleh of Batu Pahat or the real Sarjan Hassan speaks of the wastage and lost of the collective memory of our history. So is it any wonder that our history can be easily forgotten or revised. As I have mentioned and quoted upon elsewhere, when we have not experienced the period, it would be easy to fundamentally change the basis of the event, especially to suit our own requirements. Do we need a repeat of history to only realise that we have forgotten the idiom that those who forget their history are thus condemned to repeat it. Thus my message is simple and to ad lib herewith, "The Truth is out there, Seek and Verify!"

Noodles Station Under A Tree

Continuing my series on my favourite food stalls in Sungei Besi, today I want to write about my favourite food stall there that is located under a big tree beside the main road. Many have posted on how good the food that can be found in such establishments, and this stall is no different. Actually there are three food stations, the first serving noodles with gravy out of big pots and fried noodles, a sizzling plate section and finally a drinks station, smack in the middle of the best ice refreshments stall in Sungei Besi that I will write about later and another one serving sugarcane and young coconut water. Lately upgraded with second hand food court styled tables set amidst some open space under the tree and beside an old container box I suspect is being used as a store, the ambiance is nothing to shout about but that is not what the people come here for. They come here with their families for breakfast after doing their morning marketing, as the stall only opens till early afternoon or about three o'clock in the afternoon for the light lunch crowd. This is because they know they will get good northern style noodles at a reasonable price As you can see from the price list, despite the recent price increase in the price of noodles, there has been no increase in their food prices.

This time I will only concentrate on their mee rebus, laksa and noodle soups despite their sizzling plate section offering claypot and sizzling noodles and rice as my family only like to order their sizzling noodles and this we did not have today. First to arrive is the vermicelli noodles in soup for my elder daughter where the noodles has been soaked in turmeric first, northern style, so you get yellow vermicelli with shredded chicken, pieces of fish cake and bean sprouts as garnishing. Best eaten with their fiery sambal concoction made with pounded birds chilli in thick soy sauce, it is tasty enough as it is which is the way it is usually eaten by my daughters as they cannot take their heat. You can also have regular egg noodles or kuey tiow with the soup. Another favourite noodle dish is their mee rebus cooked northern malay style, quite similar to the gravy of the mee udang Sungei Dua Penang I have posted about before, but here they are using seasoned beef bits as the garnishings. This does not take away anything from its flavour, as you can taste that the beef was actually used as the gravy stock base before being removed to be cut up as garnishing. Other garnishings provided are half a boiled egg, fried towfoo cubes and accompanying vegetables. A bit on the sweetish side but with enough heat in it to make you sweat, I have yet to find another stall offering this version in the Klang Valley. An ace mee rebus if there ever was one.

Lastly let's take a look at their laksa. This is the typical Malay style assam laksa served up with ikan kembong gravy and the normal condiments, though theirs do not come with pineapple strips which I personally favour. The taste is heavenly and this can be attested by these photos of my younger daughter enjoying the laksa I ordered that she has hijacked as she actually ordered the egg noodle in soup in kiddies portion shown in the photo in the above paragraph. This is despite the laksa actually packing a little bit of heat as you can see she needs to chase each mouthful with a sip of water. This stall is also generous with their petis udang a you can find a tin at the table if you wish to add more and my daughter will usually pour this in to cut the heat. But the proof of the gravy really has to be in the amount of fish meat in it, and this last photo of the thickness of the fish meat in the remaining gravy should prove my contention that their laksa is also another ace dish. So now I want to ask you, how can you grade such under the tree establishments with michelin like stars even though their food is excellent? Quite an impossible task right!

Who Fears The Moslems Now

Not only is the 1st RAMD stint in the UK not only making us proud, this press release from the UK Ministry of Defence has made me realise that not only are we holding up the flag for Malaysia, but for the Islamic Community. What will our opposition imams say eh?

First Muslim Battalion Guards the Queen

120 soldiers of the Royal Malay Regiment have become the first all-Islamic Company to provide a British monarch's ceremonial guard. Report by Shell Daruwala.

The Royal Malay Regiment soldiers with Members of the Welsh Guards during the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace on Friday 2 May 2008 [Picture: Sergeant Mick Howard RLC]

At Buckingham Palace today, Friday 2 May 2008, red jackets and black bearskins were replaced by pristine white tunics, brocade 'sampins' and gold-banded 'songkoks', when the Malay Regiment changed guards with 1st Battalion Welsh Guards.

The Regiment is visiting the UK to strengthen ties between Malaysia and the UK. Malaysia is only the fourth Commonwealth nation, after Canada, Australia and Jamaica, to be honoured in performing Public Duties in England.

Major Mohd Fuad bin Md Ghazali led his Company as the Malaysian Army's first Captain of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. He said:"It is a great honour to be here guarding Her Majesty, who is the Head of the Commonwealth, and it is an expression of the close ties between our two countries."

The Royal Malay Regiment (RMR), or Rejimen Askar Melayu DiRaja, is the most senior in the Malaysian Army. The 1st Battalion (1 RMR) is the ceremonial battalion to their King and only draws recruits from the ethnic Malay population. Because the State religion of Malaysia is Islam, the elite soldiers of the 1st Battalion must all be practicing Muslims.

Dress uniform showing the emblem of the 1st Battalion The Royal Malay Regiment[Picture: Shell Daruwala, MOD]

The Regiment's own band accompanied the Guards onto the parade ground today. Wearing Malay dress uniform consisting of white tunics and trousers, gold and green brocade 'sampins' (a type of kilt or sarong), topped off with gold-banded, green velvet 'songkoks' (Islamic caps), the bandsmen played a selection of traditional Malaysian tunes to the delight of the gathered crowds.

Major Norhisham bin Kamar, of 1 RMR, said that this was a proud moment for the Regiment:
"This is a very historical moment for us doing this job, and we will show the best to the audience here, as well as to the Queen.”

He said that this was also a way to help break through religious tensions between the people of Islamic and non-Islamic nations: "Nowadays there is some difficulties between religion," he said. "Here we will show that Muslim countries can work together with non-Muslim countries. We came from a Colonial country - there's no problem with us – and can show how Muslim countries have no problem to work together with other people."

Garrison Sergeant Major WO1 Mott watches with pride as soldiers of the Royal Malay Regiment carry out the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace[Picture: Shell Daruwala, MOD]

Welsh Guards Drill Sergeant, Warrant Officer Second Class Dorian Thomas, was one of the three British trainers who spent three weeks training the RMR in Malaysia, preparing them for their ceremonial duties in the UK. He said:"I've now trained many incremental Companies that have come across here, and their standard of drill to begin with was immaculate. All we really had to teach was the procedures, or the different procedures we use on our Guard Bands." Following today's ceremony, WO2 Thomas said that the Malaysians had been outstanding; the best visiting company he had ever seen.

Another of the trainers was Warrant Officer Class 1 W D G Mott OBE, who is the Garrison Sergeant Major at London District and oversees all the Royal ceremonial parades taking place in London and the Home Counties:"I think it's lovely to have the Malay Regiment on guard now," he said. "They're on Queen's Guard. They've mounted. They're very professional. They've got a lovely attitude towards it.

“From the inception of this with the Chief of General Staff with the Chief of Army over in Malay, General Ismael, everything has been 'cooking on gas'. They've been positive all the way through – very professional as I say – and it's lovely to have them on board."

A soldier of the Royal Malay Regiment and a soldier of the Welsh Guards are given orders for their duties on guard at Buckingham Palace[Picture: Sergeant Mick Howard RLC]

"The Malay Regiment are very professional men and they've come on board with an absolutely outstanding attitude. And that three weeks – you'd think they've been training for about six months."

He said that Malaysians everywhere should take pride in the professionalism of their soldiers:
"If we have Malay persons that live in this country, they should be proud and they should come into London to see them. Over in Malaysia they should be very, very proud of their countrymen that are over here on Royal Guards looking after Her Majesty, the Sovereign."

The Royal Malay Regiment began their Public Duties in the UK by providing the Windsor Castle Guard on Tuesday, 29 April 2008. The Company's London duties are expected to end on 13 June 2008.

London District Brigade Major Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Bagshaw said:"We are delighted to welcome the Royal Malay Regiment to participate in ceremonial duties. We are most impressed by the excellence of their turnout and their quality of drill and musicianship."

Members of the Royal Malay Regiment band[Picture: Sergeant Mick Howard RLC]

Founded by British Commanding Officer, G McBruce in 1933, the Royal Malay Regiment began life as an Experimental Company of just 25 men, becoming the Malay Regiment, with a complement of 150 men on 1 January 1935.

The Regiment now consists of 25 Battalions and has a distinguished record of service in the Second World War, The Malaysian Emergency in the 1950s and the Indonesian Confrontation in the 1960s. More recently, the Regiment's 19 (Mechanised) Battalion were involved in the rescue of downed American servicemen during The Battle of Mogadishu in 1993 – a story immortalised in the Hollywood film 'Black Hawk Down'.During their stay in London, the Regimental Band will also be involved in the Royal Windsor Castle Tattoo on 8-10 May, Beating Retreat on Horse Guards on 4-5 June and the Royal Hospital Pageant on 7-8 June 2008. 1 Battalion RMR is allied to the Royal Anglian Regiment.During their tour the Company is based at RAF Uxbridge.