When things don't go your way, think of the times when they do

Life indeed, has its ups and downs. Sometimes we are lucky while at other times we are not. Nobody goes through life in a flat line; it would be such a boring experience if there is such a life.

For some of us who have gone through very tough times and faced many problems, it would seem that the downhill stretch of our life journey is always longer than the uphill part. Personally, I do not believe it to be so. We only remember the downward journey because of the suffering. We tend to forget the upward movement because we enjoy the nice view too much and forget the blessings that come with it. It is therefore worthwhile for us to appreciate that the good times which come our way more than sufficiently compensate the bad ones. To illustrate this point, I relate to you the following story which comes in two parts.

Some time in the middle of February, my wife called me while I was at work. She said that a motorcyclist had crashed into the front of her car on the very road in front of our house. The biker was coming from the opposite direction at very fast speed and apparently was not looking straight ahead. The lane in front of my house is not that wide and the passage is made narrower by cars parked along the side. The collision could not be avoided.

The young man who rode the motorcycle was flung off his bike but luckily for him, no serious injuries were sustained. My wife's car suffered quite a bit of damage; the right headlight and signal light were totally smashed, the hood and side panel were badly dented. To make matters worse, the biker has no valid license and it is quite doubtful if he had the required road tax and insurance cover too. To avoid a formal police report being made, he offered to pay for the damage to my wife's car. But he does not have any cash on him, so he told the story that he has a sister who would come later in the day after work, with some money as initial payment. The balance would be paid at the end of the month when he gets his salary. As a measure of his sincerity, he left his identity card for my wife to hold on to. Being the kind-hearted soul that she is, my wife accepted the proposal. Besides, there wasn't much else she could do; the guy was broke.

When I got home from work and had a look at the car, I estimated that repair works would cost in excess of RM500. While we waited for this so-called sister of the biker to show up, I had a look at the IC that was left behind. It shows an address within the same kampung but my wife said she actually went to the street mentioned in the IC but nobody in the area knows the man. That was when we had a feeling that we've been duped. The so-called sister never showed up. I called the phone number that supposedly belongs to the sister but the call was not answered.

The next day, I told my wife to proceed with making a police report. The guy has already disappeared and it became clear that we have to bear the full cost of the repair. I considered a few options on how I can try to go after the biker but in the end I decided just to let the matter go and swallow the loss.

The damage to my wife's Proton Wira

So that's the first part of this story which touches on misfortune. Now to the next part.

About two weeks after the incident mentioned above, I was on my way to Kuala Lumpur to attend a meeting at my Head Office. It was Sunday evening and I was driving alone on the North-South Expressway. As I reached Senawang, the traffic became heavy and all 3 lanes of the highway slowed down to a stop-go movement. It was a real struggle to be stuck in such a jam especially since I was driving a 4-wheel drive pickup with manual transmission.

The slow crawl took me past Seremban interchange when the unfortunate happened. During one of the stop-go cycles, I had a lapse in concentration and did not brake in time when the car in front had stopped. I hit into the back of this car which in turn caused it to jerk forward and hit the car in front of it. As I stepped out of my car to survey the damage, I realised that I had run into a Beemer. Crap, I thought... the repair to this car is going to be expensive. Since it was my fault, I'd better be prepared to cough out a sizeable sum.

The driver of the Beemer got out. He was a young man probably in his late 20's. I saw the initial disappointed look on his face and so quickly admitted my fault and said sorry. He then went to inspect the car that he had hit. The driver of this car, another young man, also got out and the three of us we looking at the damage to the rear bumper. There was a slight dent and some scratches. The two young men then had a quite discussion with each other, after which I saw the driver that I hit took out his wallet, gave some money to the driver of the front-most car who took it and drove away.

We then had a look at his car. There were some dents to both the front and rear bumpers. I asked him how much he needed but he politely declined. When I insisted on paying something, he said to pay whatever I can afford. I took some RM notes from my wallet which I'm sure is not enough to cover his cost but he took the money without question. I offered him my phone number just in case he needed more after the repairs were done but he simply said, it's okay, no need. He got into his car and we both resumed out journey. It was all over in a matter of minutes. No fuss and no aggravation. I didn't even have time to take note of his license plate number.

As I drove away from the incident, I couldn't help but be thankful that it turned out all right. I'm left thinking that the young man's parents had brought him up well. He's obviously rich but never once did he show any arrogance. And I'm not implying that rich people are. To the young man who drives a dark blue BMW 3-series whom I accidentally ran into on the NSE somewhere near Seremban, thank you for your kindness. Your parents must be proud of you and may Allah swt bless you.

And so my friends, when things don't go your way, do take a step back and think of the times when they do...

Wedding weekend

We were in the Klang Valley this weekend since late Thursday night, primarily to send our eldest son who's flying back to Jordan on Friday morning after spending a few weeks of his term break back home in Malaysia. He is now completing his final semester at university and God willing, should graduate in the middle of this year.

How time flies... it seems just like a few years ago that we sent him to the airport for his first flight overseas.

Anyway, it was an opportune occasion that blogger-friend, Puteri Kamaliah invited me for her daughter's wedding at Taman Tun Dr Ismail yesterday 23 February 2013. Kak Kama had previously invited me for the wedding of her elder daughter two years ago but I missed going to that one because something cropped up at the last minute. This time around, the timing was just nice and so I made the effort to be there.

Until yesterday, I have never met Kak Kama in person before. We have been friends in cyberspace via the blogger network and Facebook for a number of years. I can't quite remember when she first commented in this blog but she wrote that she came by Just Observations by way of Kak Teh's blog. From that first comment, I directed her to read an old post of mine about Dungun town in Trengganu (because that's her hometown). From then on I guess, our online friendship developed.

I have previously written about my wish to be connected to my blogger-friends and regular readers in real life, and how in 2011, I have met six. Kak Kama was the first commenter in that post, mentioning that she and I have yet to meet. Alhamdulillah yesterday our wishes were fulfilled.

The wedding reception of Najiah Najib and her husband, Izhar Shazly was held by the poolside of the Sri TTDI Condo. It was a joyous occasion and the weather just held out nicely until the event was over.

Kak Kama has now successfully gone through the marriage ceremonies of her daughters. She now has to weave the same magic to get her two sons to follow the same steps...

Best wishes to the groom and bride for a happy life ahead

A matter of opinion

It's really not that hard to write a review of something... a book, a movie, music, restaurants or anything else. Just put down a few lines of your thoughts on the book you've just read or the restaurant you had dined in and walla... you are a reviewer.

It's writing an objective, balanced and informative review that is hard, unless of course, you don't particularly care what your readers think of your opinion... but then that defeats the purpose of writing in the first place.

Regular readers would know that I have done quite a number of reviews in this blog, mostly on food and food outlets, some reviews on books and one or two on movies. Food reviews are my favourite because I can combine my interests in photography and eating out in one go. I have a very simple grading system when it comes to decide if a particular restaurant or food stall is worth writing about. I just base it on the answer to a question I'd ask myself : Would I come back again to eat at this place? A `yes' would mean that it was a good place (and worth writing about). A `maybe' would mean an average score but possibly still worth writing about. A `no' is something I need not explain.

However, in the more than 20 food outlets I have written about over the past 4 years, none of them fall in the `no' category. This is simply because I have made a rule of not to write on something that does not meet my taste or preference. One man's meat is another man's veggie... and when it comes to food, the variety of opinions is as many as there are colours in a rainbow. I do not eat petai, so I shall not pass judgement if someone says that sambal petai is the best thing there is. I may say that mutton briyani is the best rice dish ever but I should also accept if someone else gives his vote to sushi. Sometimes I cannot understand how certain restaurants come highly recommended but I find the taste of their food to be only so-so. But that's just the way it is with food.

I am writing on this subject of food review because in the past week or so, there was an active discussion about a particular food outlet in my current favourite Facebook page called Johor Sedap. This foodstall sells seafood dinners and had been getting rave reviews from members since a few months back. Some time in December last year I went to the place to check it out. I left with mixed feelings... the food was just okay but it was not as cheap as what some members wrote. To put it simply, I do not concur with the very high ratings that previous reviews had given but I kept my views to myself.

In the weeks that followed, I spotted the first negative review. This was followed by a few more, mostly to do with very slow service. The discussion became quite heated when those who previously recommended the place said that the negative reviewer was simply unlucky to come at a busy time. This prompted other members who had similar experience of poor service to give their views.

Apparently, the stall is a victim of its own success. With the initial good recommendations, people start to come and this resulted in good business and more recommendations. But the increase in customers was not matched by an increase in staff, hence the drop in service quality. And once you have dissatisfied customers, it becomes quite difficult to win them back. Publicity in social network pages can be a double-edged sword.

Anyway, the owner of that particular foodstall is also a member of the group and has taken note of the criticisms. He has promised to improve things and I wish him success. It is good to see the discussions have resulted in a positive response.

I'll end this post with a recommendation of my own. For a few years now, the only place in JB to get a taste of decent kacang pool is at Haji Kacang Pool in Larkin. I have recently found another restaurant that sells tasty kacang pool that can rival HKP's version. The place is called Rose Kopitiam and is located at the Larkin Idaman area near the football stadium.

Kacang pool at Rose Kopitiam in JB. RM4.50 per serving.

A taste of Nasi Lemuni in Pulau Pinang

We are in the bright sunny island of Penang this weekend to attend to some family matters, details of which would be revealed soon in this blog, God willing.

I have always loved coming to Penang... the prime reason being that there is no shortage of good makan places. My last trip here was in early 2010. This time we made the compulsory stop at Din Ikan Bakar in Kepala Batas. In addition to that, I got to locate and finally taste nasi lemuni, a rice dish similar to nasi lemak but cooked with leaves from the lemuni tree to give it a green tint and a hint of herbal taste.

I was first told of this dish by a friend who had stayed in Penang for some years. Knowing my interest in exploring new tastes, she told of a particular stall located within a foodcourt in Bukit Jambul. Finally had the chance to try it out...

Our selection at Din's - Ikan siakap, ikan keli and daging bakar

You can be spoilt for choice

Look at the size of those prawns

Nasi lemuni breakfast... only found in Penang

Best wishes... all around

It has been a really packed weekend. Three weddings and one birthday. So my best wishes go to 4 persons in the past 2 days...

1. Selamat Pengantin Baru to my lovely niece, Noraliah Nawawi who tied the knot with a handsome gentleman from Selangor, Joreme Othman, yesterday 26 January 2013. Aliah is the eldest child of my brother-in-law Nawawi Mohd Amin and his wife Noraini Uteh. The wedding reception was held at Rawang, Selangor.

Joe and Aliah... semuga hidup bahagia dan berkekalan, insyaAllah

My previous reference to my niece in a blog post -> Faster than CNN

2. Selamat Terima Menantu to my good friend, Mohd Tahir Hamdan, whose eldest son's wedding reception was held earlier today in Johor Bahru. Tahir and I worked together in the same department at my very first workplace.

Old pals

My previous reference to my friend Md Tahir in a blog post -> No silver lining in the dark clouds over Perak

3. The same wish of Selamat Terima Menantu to another good friend, Prof Shahrin Mohamad, whose eldest son also got married today. The reception was held at UTM Johor Bahru. Shahrin is a former classmate from my MRSM Kuantan days. We also did our A-levels at the same college in Wrexham, North Wales.

Another old pal

4. Happy Birthday to our youngest boy, Imran Azizi. He is 18 years old today and just completed his SPM exams last year. Now taking on a part-time job to fill up his time.

No longer a child... but still our baby

So there you have it... weddings of three children who are anak sulong, and the birthday of one who is anak bongsu. May the Almighty grant his blessings to them all. Isn't life wonderful?

Re-visiting the past

Some time back, I saw a link on Facebook posted by a friend, displaying a quote which goes like this : No matter how much you re-visit the past... there's nothing new to see.

I do understand the underlying message of the statement but I do not entirely agree with it. I like re-visiting the past... because sometimes you miss seeing things the first time around. And when we discover things in our second or third or even fourth review, our perspective of the subject may change or we may realise that we have learnt something new. Or perhaps rekindle warm recollections of an event long stored in the depths of our memory. Which is why I like to re-read books I finished reading many years earlier, or watch DVD of movies I have already seen on the big screen, or dig up the archives of old blog posts.

Having finished digesting through the stock of new books I bought late last year, I decided to read some of the old novels in my collection. I am presently re-reading The Veteran by Frederick Forsyth, a book I bought in 2002. It is not quite a novel but a compilation of 5 separate stories or novella. The first novella in the book, which also lends its title for the whole collection, tells the story of the fatal mugging of a senior citizen somewhere in the north-east district of London and how a prominent lawyer intervened to get the criminals off the hook.

Although I had read the story 10 years ago, this second reading is no less exciting, even though I know of the twist at the end of the tale (as there is, in almost all of Forsyth's writing). This time around, I was caught by an interesting passage that made reference to the battle of Mirbat in the country of Oman. Surprised me a bit that I had not done follow-up reading of this event in the first instance.

The Battle of Mirbat is an actual historical episode that Forsyth had cleverly weaved into his fictional story. In 1972, the British government sent a small group of army personnel from their Special Air Service (SAS) to train Omani soldiers to help quell a communist-assisted rebellion in the southern region of Dhofar. The SAS team was based in the small fishing port of Mirbat, near Salalah. On 19 July of that year, the SAS training base was attacked by 200 to 300 local guerrillas. The story goes on to relate how the nine (9) SAS men rallied the aid of 30 to 40 Omani soldiers, gendarmes and militia, to fight and stave off the rebels until the arrival of air support. It is a story of sheer bravery to fight on even though hugely outnumbered.

I have been to Oman before but on short trips related to work rather than a holiday... which is a bit disappointing because it really is an interesting country with friendly people. It was also where I had my first taste of lamb mandey, that very delicious arabic rice dish that is becoming famous here in Malaysia. Hopefully, I get the chance to visit Oman again someday...

Sohar Fort, on the north-eastern coast of Oman

An Omani fisherman prays on the beach, just soon after he had landed his catch

When the chips are down

Last week I had dinner with two friends whom I have not met in years. Both of them are architects and both previously studied at MRSM Seremban. But I first met them separately at different times during my student years in UK. The first friend, who is now based in KL, was my college-mate during A-levels at Wrexham while the second one, who in now in JB, I met while at Sheffield.

We had dinner at the mee rebus tulang restaurant at Damansara Aliff in Tampoi. The dinner was actually the secondary event... we spent most of the evening catching up on news and developments of each other. Both of my architect friends are going through a rough patch in their professional careers and sharing of stories sort of help lift some of the gloom and perhaps spread some moral support, however little that may be.

Slightly more than a year ago, I read the story about a multi-storey carpark built by the Penang Development Corporation that had to be demolished because of so-called improper design. The news article mentioned that PDC would take civil action against the building's original architect, including reporting him to the Board of Architects. That particular architect is the friend from Wrexham days.

When I first read the newspaper report, I did not believe my friend could have made such a basic mistake as under-designing the space requirement for each parking lot. There must be more to it. Indeed there was... and during dinner that night, I got to hear his side of the story.

My friend told me that he had been made a scapegoat by certain people in power. The incident was one of the lowest points in his life. It wasn't enough that they fired him. They even wanted to ask the Board to withdraw his license to practice. But my friend wasn't going down without a fight. He had kept all the necessary documents to prove his innocence. To date, his case is still under negotiations, so I am not able to share more of what was told to me. My friend would just like to see a quick settlement because he wishes to move on.

The sad part of the whole episode, my friend said, was that during the most critical of situations, the friends whom he had previously helped out, turned their backs on him. You learn who your true friends are when you are in deep trouble.

As for my second architect friend, he told us the story of how he was doing quite well a few years ago. His firm had a few reasonably-sized projects in hand and had minimal debts. The situation made a u-turn when, unknown to him, his partner spent the firm's profits on personal interests. Since the expenses were made under the firm's name, my friend became jointly responsible. To avoid being declared a bankrupt, my friend has been scraping funds for the last few years to make monthly payments to creditors.

Listening to the stories of both these friends had me count my own blessings. I have been through tough financial situations myself but they are nowhere near the emotional stress that my friends are facing now. I may not be able to offer any monetary help but I hope the time spent in re-living our friendships would somewhat help ease some of the pain...

The previous year food adventure in pictures

Let's start the first post of the new year with a collection of photos taken during my makan-makan adventure throughout 2012. Some of the pics have appeared previously while some were taken from my FB album, so please excuse the repetition.

It is slightly different from the pictorial series I did in 2010 and 2011, which was what I had initially intended for this year as well... but when I browsed through my picture library, I decided that a series of delectable food pics would probably make an interesting entry. So the following are my selection...

Lamb Kabsah. Banafee Village, Jln Abdullah Tahir JB - Jan 2012

Lamb mandey. Wadi El Arab Restaurant, Majidee JB - Jan 2012

Crab in salted eggs. Permata Senibong, JB - Feb 2012

Tropika Steamboat & Grill. Setia Tropika, JB - Feb 2012

Grilled lemon chicken. Aunty Aini's, Nilai - Feb 2012

Mayami burger. Planetz Burger roadside stall, Taman Munsyi JB - May 2012

Nasi dagang. Stall at Mersing Kanan, Mersing - June 2012

Mee bandung udang special. Stall next to Sg Rambah, Pontian - Aug 2012

Mee bandung, satay and coffee. Wah San Kopitiam, Muar - Sep 2012

Rice and chicken kebab. Del's Kitchen, Tmn Pelangi JB - Nov 2012

D' Chagar Steamboat & Grill. Tmn Molek, JB - Nov 2012

Nasi padang JJ. Tmn Johor Jaya, JB - Nov 2012

Briyani hyderabad. Kempas, JB - Dec 2012

Grilled prawns. Din's BBQ Station, Nusa Bestari, JB - Dec 2012

Mee udang black pepper. Roadside stall at Kg Tiram Duku, Gelang Patah, JB - Dec 2012

Char Kuey Teow. Jalan Rawa Tmn Perling, JB - Dec 2012

Update 09.01.13 : I've gone to Tropika Steamboat & Grill (the 4th pic above) twice since my last visit but they were not open. I think they may have `closed shop'.

Christmas in Kuching

To avoid being misunderstood, let me first start off by saying that I do not celebrate Christmas, not in the religious sense of the word. I have been advised by some Muslim friends that even wishing my Christian friends a `Merry Christmas' is a wrong thing to do. There have also been opinions by some learned Muslim scholars that doing so would lead the Muslim greeter into shiriq. On the other hand, there are also views of other scholars who say that such an act is permissible. Whichever line of argument you may choose to follow, the important thing to keep in mind is that each differing opinion comes with its own basis or reasoning. Respect that others may hold a different view to yours. And as I mentioned earlier, while I do not celebrate Hari Natal, as what Malays call it, I do however respect that my Christian friends have the right to celebrate the occasion, just like any other citizen of this country.

But this post is not to discuss the issue of religion. It is to tell the story of how I made the trip to Kuching, Sarawak on 25th December, to meet up with a friend I last saw more than 30 years ago. Before that, let me relate the background story...

In January of 1980, a group of young teenagers fresh out of secondary school were selected to further their studies to the United Kingdom. Among this group were myself and an Iban chap from Sarawak named Gabriel Mason. When we first arrived at London for the A-level course, Gabe and me somehow got along with each other and we became close friends. After the initial week of sorting things out, we decided to share a rental flat together to save cost. To survive the high expense of living in London on a miserly student's allowance, we pooled funds to cook our own meals... actually I did most of the cooking while Gabe would do most of the cleaning-up. Gabe would eat anything that I cook without complain and he always respected my need to buy only the halal stuff. We shared stories about our families and learned about each other's hobbies and peculiar habits. We even went for a summer backpacking tour of Europe together.

Our paths separated when we went to different universities. Both of us graduated at the same time and returned to Malaysia but we lost touch. Over the years, I had wondered how my friend was getting along but I didn't know how to look for him... or perhaps I had not tried hard enough. Then in 2008, I went for an alumni event at our old school in Kuantan and met Gabe's younger sister Cordelia, who was also our junior. Cordelia told me that her brother is back home in Kuching and had fallen on some hard times. She knew of our close friendship and hoped that I could call him and lift his spirits a bit. She gave me her brother's mobile number and I immediately placed a call. My long-lost pal was surprised to hear my voice after all these years.

Over the past four years, I kept regular contact with Gabe through phone calls and FB messages. I had hoped that he could travel to the peninsula so that we'd have the chance to meet up. On my side of the equation, I was going through a roller coaster ride on the work front and couldn't muster enough spare funds to fly over to Sarawak. And then earlier this month, Gabe called me up and invited me to come over to Kuching and join his family for their Christmas celebration. I initially gave the excuse that I was busy with a new project that had just started and didn't think I could find the spare time. After thinking about it for a day or two, I realized that if I never put in the effort, then I will never find the time.

I quickly put in an application for 2-days leave during the Christmas period and once the leave was approved, made hotel and flight bookings for me and my wife. We flew in to Kuching on the evening of 24th December for our first visit to Sarawak.

The next day, Gabe picked us up at our hotel and took us to his family's Christmas dinner party held at another hotel. We were introduced to the other Mason siblings plus a whole lot of other in-laws and cousins and aunts and uncles. While primarily an Iban Christian family, some of the siblings and cousins have inter-married with people of other faiths and nationalities. Gabe's mother has a number of Muslim grandchildren, so my wife and I were not the only Muslims in attendance that evening. Indeed we were made to feel like family...

It was a very short visit to Kuching, so we really didn't have the time for much sight-seeing. Nonetheless, I am very pleased that I made the decision to travel to meet up with a very dear friend whom I've spent so much memorable time with.

I guess it's nice to end the year with a happy story. Wishing all my readers and friends a wonderful year ahead...

Cloudy sky over Sungai Santubong

Old pals... and I mean real old

Gabe with one of his cousins singing on stage

Me with the Mason siblings. Cyrus, Edith, Oldstock, Gabriel and Cordelia. All ex-students of MRSM Kuantan 

Footnote : Earlier stories in this blog where I've made reference to Gabe can be found here -> Finger lickin' delicious; and here -> A day in beautiful Belgrade.

Weekend family picnic

I have previously written of this holiday place called Warisan Bernam Agro Resort owned by a brother-in-law of mine, located on the banks of Sungai Bernam that forms the border between Selangor and Perak.

We went there again yesterday after last going there more than a year ago. My BIL invited in-laws from his wife's side of the family and we had a lovely picnic by the riverside. The weather also played its part... except for a five-minute brief spell of rain, it was a wonderfully dry day all along. The kids and parents had a splashing time dipping themselves in the cool running river water.

I had a brief dip in the river myself but spent most of the time trying to improve my photo-taking skills in capturing landscape and macro shots. Here are some pics from yesterday's outing.

Warisan Bernam Agro Resort, front view of A-shaped huts

Stream running at the rear

Purple flowers, but donno the name lah...

Smoky picnic site...

And the smoke coming from this BBQ pit

Bee on purple flower

Grasshopper

It's a nice feeling when you are proven right...

... and it sucks when you got it wrong.

Throughout our lives, we come to situations where we have to make decisions. The easy situations are a breeze : do we wear white or blue to work today, shall we have fish 'n chips for dinner or do we go for the lamb chops, would taking Jalan Tebrau be faster than taking Jalan Larkin to get us to town? These are the easy decisions because whichever choice we make, the outcome wouldn't have a significant impact.

It is the hard decisions that would set us back a bit. Such situations are sometimes called `problems'. Such problems would be even more difficult when the decision you make is on behalf of a higher authority (eg. your boss). Add to that, you don't have much time to consider your options and there is a huge financial impact involved. Intense!

Many years ago, I was posted to work at my former employer's branch office in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. I was there to handle a coastal project for a resort hotel. After a few weeks in Fujairah, another job opportunity came along, this time to construct an effluent discharge pipe from a new sewage treatment plant, laid from the outlet on the beach and buried underwater for a few hundred metres to the sea. My colleague and I prepared the price quotation and after obtaining agreement from head office, we submitted it to the Arab main contractor.

We were then called for a price negotiation meeting. Now... for those of you who have been in price negotiations before, you would surely have in mind a top target value (ideal case), a mean value (kira ok lah) and finally, a bottom limit (cukup makan saja) below which there's no deal. There were two Arab gentlemen from their side. Me and my colleague on our side.

The Arabs started off aggressively... complaining aloud that our price was ridiculously high and that we were out to make a huge profit. I guess it's their standard tactic but in my daily dealings with the locals, only a few of them I would consider to have grace and politeness. I calmly asked them back what would be their reasonable counter-offer. They didn't offer any but pressed me to reduce our price. So I indicated a reduction to my middle value. Still no go but plenty of harsh words. Heck, I thought... no wonder God sent a prophet to these people. I kept my cool and made a final offer at my basement price. Unacceptable, one of the Arabs shot back... you must reduce lower, he said with a glaring face as if he's a headmaster reprimanding a schoolboy. And then he mentioned a breakdown of costs for machinery and material, in a move to justify why he thought our price was high. Well I thought, if you already know what it's going to cost, why don't you go ahead and do the work yourself?

I did not budge and the situation was becoming tense and intimidating. I could feel my blood pressure climb up a notch or two. I turned to my colleague and purposely spoke to him in Malay, "Aku rasa Pak Arab ni dah main kasar. Kita balik aje lah. Buat apa nak dapat projek tapi nanti rugi. Kau rasa macam mana?"

"Aku rasa kita takyah buat projek ni," my friend replied. "Tapi kau tak risau ke apa nanti Dato' kata?"

I had already considered that part in my mind. My boss would probably be not pleased that we did not secure this job. But if I had taken on the work at a very low price and then completed it at a loss, he would be even angrier. So I made up my mind, that was it. I told the Arabs, "I am sorry that our offer price is too high for you and regret that we could not form a working relationship. But thank you for giving us the opportunity to give a quote in the first place."

I then packed my files back in to my bag, stood up and coolly left the meeting room. The Arabs were stunned and speechless.

As we left the building and walk to the car park, one of the Arabs called out to my friend. I continued walking but my friend turned back to talk to the Arab. I waited in the car while this side discussion was going on. When my friend returned, he said that they would be asking our local sponsor to talk direct to our boss in Malaysia. They hadn't expected us to walk out.

"Tapi Pak Arab tu terkejut lah yang kau berani keluar macam tu," my friend said. I finally managed to smile for the first time that day.

I had already guessed that they would try to approach my boss after this, but I wasn't worried. If my boss agree to offer them a discount just to secure the job, then that is his right as the owner. It will then be his risk.

True enough, a call was placed from UAE to Malaysia the next day... and my boss was made to promise to come to Fujairah the following week for further negotiation.

When my boss flew in the next week, he asked whether I could accompany him for the second round of negotiations. I declined, saying that we have already offered them the best price and we should not be going any lower. Stubborn, aren't I?

To cut a long story short, my boss went for the second negotiation meeting alone, agreed to a huge discount and then got the job. He went back to KL, declared to the other head office staff on the good news of a new project he secured and arranged for another colleague to be sent to Fujairah and be the project manager. Fine by me.

The new project manager arrived a month later and handled that project separate from mine. From the very start, a few technical problems surfaced. I helped out as much as I could in sharing of resources, but otherwise kept myself out of it. The problems became worse as time progressed and the project ran into delays. I returned to Malaysia and later resigned from the company. But information from my ex-staff in Fujairah told me that the project that I initially declined to take on, had now run into losses.

Not for me to gloat about but I do feel sad for my former boss. As I said, it was a risk he personally took... and that I have been proven right.

Ok then, perhaps I should also share with readers on the times I have been proven wrong. I do still wince when I recall the occasions when I made bad judgements... but let's leave that for another day.

Another good makan place in JB

There is this wonderful page in Facebook which I just joined last week. It's called Johor Sedap and features the suggestions and contributions from group members on the various halal food outlets in Johor (with JB in particular). If you are new to Johor Bahru city and wish to know of any restaurant selling say, good laksa johor, then just pop the question on the page and pretty soon some members will respond with suggestions.

So far, I have tried 2 new places from the many that have been recommended and I quite agree with the reviews. I still have a few more in the list that I wish to go to... but I hope not to bore readers with too much of my gastronomic adventures.

Last night, we went for dinner at this place called Din BBQ Station located in Taman Nusa Bestari. This restaurant serves fresh seafood, chicken wings and lamb chops grilled over charcoal fire. To go with the grilled stuff, you can also have fried rice or nasi lemak plus some fresh greens (ulam). The selection of drinks are not too bad too.

For our maiden visit, we had grilled sea prawns, squid, chicken wings and some lamb. There were some fish on offer but I thought I'll try them on my next visit. The prawns and squid were tasty, the chicken wings not bad but the lamb was just okay. The home-made BBQ sauce was just the way I like it, mild and not too strong. If there is one minus point that I can mention, I do hope they can use a proper plate for my nasi lemak.

Din BBQ also opens for lunch. The owner told us that they still serve BBQ during the day, in addition to the standard fare of nasi campur and lauk pauk. Maybe one of these days I drop by for lunch and see how their daytime food tastes like.

The shop front

Grilled sea prawns

Grilled squid

BBQ chicken wings

Interlude

Go fly a kite...

"I am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language. Some say that the sentence, "I do." is the longest...

Fresh green chillies

It was a public holiday in Johor yesterday, so we made our way up to Tangkak to visit my brother-in-law who had just returned from performing the hajj in Makkah. The lovely thing about visiting pilgrims who have just returned home is hearing their stories of the many interesting and sometimes mysterious happenings in the holy land. It brings back memories of the time my wife and I were there and of course, it make us long for the opportunity to be able to go there again.

But this post is not about stories from Makkah.

My brother-in-law, together with his eldest son, run a small-scale commercial vegetable farm in Tangkak. Every time we visit them, we are rewarded with a bounty of harvest from their kebun. Depending on what's in season, they would pack some vegetables for us to take home. On our previous visit in September (before my BIL flew off for the pilgrimage), we took home some pumpkins (labu). This time around we were given some green chillies, pisang tanduk, keladi and lemongrass (serai).

Actually, not some green chillies... but a lot. Probably about 8 to 10 kilos worth. The chilli plants were fruiting so abundantly, to the extent that our nephew ran out of manpower to pluck them all. We picked as much as we could yesterday afternoon... and today my wife began sharing some of them with our neighbours and relatives here in Johor Bahru. We now have fresh green chillies to last us a whole month at least.

Green chillies ripe for picking

Chilli padi just sprouting, so no picking yet

Plot cleared for pumpkin planting. Cloud-shrouded Gunung Ledang in the background

Keladi plants in between the bananas

I love green chillies. I prefer them to the red ones. Freshly-cut green chillies are an important ingredient in most of my favourite dishes such as mee rebus and kacang pool. I add them in almost anything that I cook stir-fry style.

With a fresh supply from the farm, I couldn't resist using them tonight in a recipe I learnt from my mother - ikan bilis goreng asam (fried anchovies with tamarind paste). It is an exceedingly simple but tasty recipe that helped me survive the lean times when I was a student overseas.

Ikan bilis goreng asam

Ingredients :

• a handful of ikan bilis (use the good quality type)
• one large onion (sliced)
• a clove of garlic (chopped finely)
• two or three fresh green chillies (rough-sliced)
• half-a-cup of tamarind juice (air perahan asam jawa)
• an optional pinch of shrimp paste (belacan)
• a teaspoon of sugar (also optional)

Method :

Heat some oil in a wok and fry the ikan bilis till crisp. Remove from wok and set aside. Reduce the oil in the wok and fry the onion and garlic until fragrant. Add the sliced green chillies and fry for a short while. Add the tamarind juice and the pinch of belacan. Stir until the liquid thickens. Add back the fried ikan bilis and mix well so that the tamarind paste coats the ikan bilis evenly. Sprinkle in the sugar and turn off the heat immediately so that the ikan bilis remain crisp and not soggy.

I prefer my onion and chilli to be a bit crunchy, so I sometimes put them towards the end of the cooking process. If you prefer to have a bit of gravy, then dilute the tamarind paste and don't reduce the liquid by too much. Serve with steaming hot rice and bull's-eye fried egg with some kicap, and that's enough of a meal for me.

Below is a pic of tonight's handiwork. Sedap tau...

Ikan bilis asam - the dry version