One more step into Photography....

OK folks I got myself another toy today. A Macro lens - Nikon AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm f/2.8G ED and am now trying my hand into Macro Photography and above are some images on my first try. Interesting Eh!. Have a nice day.

Daun Semalu..Touch Me Not!...

These images are those of the Daun Semalu or Touch Me Not plant that grows wild. I found this one in front of our house and decide to capture it for all to see. When we were kids we would play touch and see the plant closed its leaves and if we take the trouble to wait it would unfold again before our eyes. Indeed a fascinating plant that is very sensitive to touch. The above image shows the flowers with an insects and the plants leaves start to fold and eventually all folded including the stem, like an insect that moved. Indeed the wonder of nature. Have a nice day.

Note: Scientific name as pointed by two anonymous comments - Mimosa pudica - See it on YouTube here .

Fine Dine @ Kuantan...

We enjoy dining out but for the love of home cooked food we would only do it from time to time to enhance our quality of life. We would go out to have dinner at a fine restaurant or invite another couple to join it. In a way having another couple at the table would add color to the dinning environment and the chat would be livelier. At time when we are out during the daytime and it happens to be during lunch time we would go to some fine restaurant to enjoy the food. We are somewhat fussy about where we would eat. Like we would gather information from friends as to where are the good dinning places in town. We sat ourselves some conditions that among other things the place must be clean. We meant clean all over and not just the dinning table only. This is because we went out not only to enjoy the food and the company but to enjoy the evening or the day as well. I once told a friend if one is thirsty then just get a bottle of water and gulp down and you are done or if one is hungry just grasp a sandwich and eat it and you are done. To me dinning out must be enjoyable and done at our own pace and in a relax atmosphere. Enjoying the food and having a great time as well.

While on a holiday in Kuantan a month ago, a sort of take it easy visit back to my hometown we had a fun morning at the beach of Teluk Cempedak and come evening we decide to go for a fine dine at one of the best Western food restaurant in town. Situated at Jalan Teluk Sisek is a great place to enjoy dinner in its quiet environment. There are not that many such places in Kuantan so this restaurant has been the one we frequent whenever we are in Kuantan. There is another one at Jalan Beserah the East Grill where the food is superb as well. But for that night with another couple we decided to go for a fine dine at the Sherwood. We arrived just after eight in evening and I found that the interior of the restaurant has a new ambiance that creates an atmosphere of peace and tranquility for a good dinner. We found a nice table and after looking at the menu did our order and it look like everyone chooses a different dish.

While waiting for our food to arrive we chat and yarn on whatever subjects that came to our minds and then in came a familiar person with his spouse and daughter. We had known this couple since 1989 when I was then working in Kuantan. He walks over and greets us and then they took another table and from time to time chat across the tables on other subjects. After we have finished our foods and was about to leave, our niece look again at the other lady and to her surprise she found that the other lady is her classmate whiles they were in Secondary School in Mentakab, Pahang some thirty years ago. Well it was sort of a reunion of lost friend. My, some thirty years later. What a day in their lives. So at that moment in time we all chat again and then I took some snaps of the happening and above is the image of the reunion of the old friends together with my spouse. In the image above the lady in the middle with the black tudung is the one. What a coincident, the great food and that reunion of old friends do made our day.

Have a nice day.

The wonder leaf..

This wonder leaf that we call Daun Lima Purut is one herb that the Malay cannot do without. For in the making of the Rendang without this leaf the Rendang would not be Rendang. Have a nice day.

Note: Daun Lima Purut-Kaffir Lime leaf

Of the Kitten and Ah Keong...

A kitten fell from the ceiling to the back of a built in cabinet and got stuck there. I was not successful to retrieve it. So I call Ah Keong the handyman to help. Without hesitation he said that after he had lunch he would come over. As promised he came and for some one hour went to work sweating in the heat, above the ceiling, under the roof and when he found that the kitten had slipped further down at the back of the cabinet, he then came down and cut the back of the cabinet using an electric saw and retrieved the kitten, thus saving it. I hand him a payment for his service but he refused saying that he was happy that he had manage to save the kitten. I kept insisting that he take the payment for his service but he refuse adamantly. For that moment in time I was lost for words and thank him for been so kind. He then left with a smile.

I took the meowing kitten and handed it to my spouse who put it in a cage and feed it with some milk. The we left the kitten in the cage at the back of the house so the it mom would come looking and when we are sure it is the kitten's mom we would released it and watch what happen. Sure enough after awhile when I went to have a look again at the kitten, the kitten's mom is there waiting for the kitten to come out of the cage. I then let out the kitten meowing happily following the mother. The mother pick the kitten on its neck and carry it away running fast and then stop. It turn back and to look at me from a distant of some eighteen meters away. Why I just wonder!. I took my camera and manage to take a snap of that moment in time and the image above which is rather blur shows the mother cat with the kitten hanging from her mouth.

This drama happens last week. It all started when we hear of meowing by a kitten on the top of our ceiling. As usual we did not take it seriously since some cat would take its newly born kitten to a safe place and would eventually carried the kitten after awhile but for three days we continue to hear the meowing of the kitten and some scratching. My spouse then asks me to have a look. At this age I tried not to do such an adventurous work, like climbing up to the ceiling but since there was no one else that I could ask to do that, I decided to climb up by borrowing a ladder from the neighbor since the ladder that I had was not high enough.

With caution I climb up to the ceiling and with a torchlight look around the top of the ceiling. It was hot up there and a very dangerous place to move around since the ceiling might give way if step on. I move slowly on the wooden beams and look for the kitten and then I spotted a hole on the ceiling. I tried to reach it but could not since the roof and the ceiling end there and it was too narrow to move on. There was no kitten in sight but the noise is still there. I knew at that moment that the kitten had slipped down through the hole on the ceiling to the top of the built in cabinet down in the room below. Since I could not do anything to retrieve the crying kitten I came down and after returning the ladder to the neighbor start thinking of what to do next. Then my spouse suggested that I call Ah Keong the handyman who had done roof repair and plumbing at our home before, for help. So without much thoughts I call Ah Keong and he agreed to come over. So folks that is the drama of the week that end with the saving of the kitten by Ah Keong, the handyman. Have a nice day.

Nature's wonder...

I took this images at a friend's house last Sunday and it turn out great. So I am sharing it here for all to enjoy. Actually I am learning the way of marco photography and it is getting interesting. Have a nice day.

Nasi Goreng anyone...

Folks, to Malaysian Nasi Goreng [Fried Rice] is a simple dish that could be whizzed in mere minutes. This is because we often cook more rice then we would consumed. This is not wastage in our culture because we believe it is better to have more rice to enjoy our meals then short of it while we are enjoying it. It could be at lunch or at Dinner time. And another important aspect of our culture is that when someone pop up while we are having our Makan, it is customary to invite the guest[s] to join the Makan. So when we have more rice then it made it easy for our guest to enjoy the meal as well.

Coming back to the subject of this posting; with an already cooked rice, what had to been done to crate another simple dish, that not only nutritious but taste as good too is to make Nasi Goreng. With some ingenuity it is an instant dish with plenty of special. Add this and that it would turn into a work of art that not only great to look at but taste great as well. The other day my spouse asks whether I want Nasi Goreng and I said yes and within minutes she create that wonder of a dish that you see in the image above. Its magic!. It look great isn't it? Folks it does taste great too. Have a nice day.