Congratulations graduates!!

I’d like to send my heartiest congratulations to the current ACA international graduates from the class of summer 2011 who have successfully completed the required Japanese culinary arts modules.

Bring the skills, experience and knowledge with you and start making wonderful food from here onwards.

Holding an amazing gesture of love

Mar 11 – the world fell apart for thousands over a dozen towns in northeast Japan.

Mar 13 – Appeal was sent out for socks to be shipped to Japan.

Mar 21 – We collected 20 cartons of socks that will keep many warm during this tough time and have sort of turned our kitchen into a temp Red Cross storage facility!!

I am truly amazed by these random acts of kindness.  I don’t even have the chance to take down on your names.  (thou some prefer that way). Your love just came pouring in.  Your acts are forever inscribed in the hearts of the victims who will receive your gifts.  To say this is above my expectation is really an understatement.  20 cartons is estimated to keep about 1800 boys, girls, elderly, men and women warm as they heal and rebuild their lives and homes.

Your gifts, notes and messages will definitely warm their hearts when the nights turn chilling and lonely.

It’s never about the money, in fact socks are affordable and everyone from children up can participate.  It warms my heart to hear how many of you got your own kids involved.  It’s the time you took, the effort to write. I know many of you did it not out of convenience.  You actually took the trouble (write / commute / rallying your office!!..etc).  It’s such a great way to show young ones there’s nothing deeper and more meaningful than human empathy.  Or in 人情味 (flavor of love?? / random act of kindness) that only we (人) humans possess and can give.

Me included. You know I love flavors.  For some time I have kept some precious okura (okra) seeds waiting to be planted but I know the seeds will serve a greater and deeper meaning as a gesture of our care and concern.  The seed represents our love.  I have limited seeds but I hope when things calm down they will be sown in their new homes and it will be a grow and bear many fruits like our friendship and love. And as they feed on it, they will again feel the flavor of love we all have in common – 人情味. 

This we know is how we are all connected.

Thank you for your messages of love

There is an ongoing outflow of random acts of kindness as I type. Here are some suggestions how you too can contribute and put your own RAK in action too.

In Singapore Red Cross SMS donations are accepted via 75772. s$50 will be donated with every text message. Each SMS carries a charge of 30 cents.

I read that major local banks are accepting donations from now till April 13, and even though we were directed to their websites for details but I have seen nothing yet, so you can try later or better off go somewhere else to make your donation.

* American Red Cross – Gifts to the American Red Cross International Relief Fund will support their disaster relief efforts to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific

* Doctors without borders – Sent two three-person teams attempting to get to the worst-hit areas in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures. Another 25 MSF medical and logistical staff in Japan are on standby to respond once the situation has been assessed.

* Salvation Army - The Salvation Army has been in Japan since 1895 and is currently providing emergency assistance to those in need.

Local organisations are also rallying to raise money and offer help. The Japanese Association of Singapore (JAS) and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Singapore (JCCI) are among those starting to raise funds. Contact the respective office for info.

Besides making a donation I will be doing something meaningful to help our friends in Japan.  I will be supporting Jason Kelly in his drive for comforting warm socks to be sent to Japan.  Yes I mean REAL socks. It’s just another way to show we care with a random act of kindness.

Some guidelines:

1. Send only new socks. (Please!)
2. Group similar socks in one package. (Male / Female / Sizes)
3. List package contents on the package.
4. Enclose a short care letter. Victims of the 1995 Hanshin quake in Kobe said that care letters were among the most uplifting items they received. If you enclose a care letter, provide a copy of it for each pair of socks you send.
5. Write your email address on the package. They may want to contact you personally

Ship to: Jason Kelly, Plaza Kei 101, Wakamatsu-cho 615-6, Sano, Tochigi 327-0846 Japan

More info: http://jasonkelly.com/helpjapan/

We may never know or meet those who will be receiving your gift of kindness, that’s why this is so random, so direct from your heart to those in pain. 

And most of all Japan, our thoughts, love and prayer are with you all as you heal and rebuild your homes.

There seems to be more cheer for Japanese food lovers in Singapore - Direct from reliable inside sources I can finally confirm that Plenus Co., operator of a takeout chain as well as full service restaurants in Japan, will establish a joint venture in Singapore with a its subsidiary Thai chain to establish a presence in the city-state.  Plenus, based in the city of Fukuoka, is revealing that it will set up the 50-50 joint venture capitalized at about ¥350 million with MK Restaurant Co one of Thailand’s largest chain restaurant operators with over 300 stores.

Plenus, operating under the Hotto Motto takeout chain and Yayoiken restaurants, have plans to open its first Yayoiken outlet in Singapore this year.

Even though I’ve learned not to take the words of my sources wholesale (sometimes) but this could just again be the time for convenient Japanese fast food concepts take off in Singapore.

So when news of  a huge harvest of winter yellowtail (Hamachi) in the Sea of Japan broke, it definitely brings much relief and respite, and of course the generous Singapore Budget announced this week definitely help ease some of the stress regular folks are feeling on their piggy banks.  And hey the immediate effect of this news is apparent – Prices are DOWN!! (how often do you and I read about that these days?) Wholesale prices at the end of January was JPY 15,000 to 16,000 per 8-kilogram fish, or around JPY 1,875 per kilogram, compared with JPY 3,000 not insignificant at all. According to the Fisheries Research Institute, 130,774 fish weighing a total of 1063.1 metric tons were taken from 1 December to 31 January at Himi Port in Toyonaka Prefecture. The largest catch at the port since record-keeping began in fiscal year 1998.

They say a strong SING dollar is good for us.  I say bring out the SASHIMI and SOY.

Add your own dry chili paste

 Because they are extremely busy during lunch hours they have created an ingenious way to simplify your ordering process - There’s only 1 item on their menu. Your food is only served in a single standard serving, no option to upsize (not uncommon to see many office workers from the area order 2 bowls), and it comes only in dry version with a poached egg and soup on the side. Once you walk in, just tell the boss the number of bowls you want and grab a seat whenever you can.  The dry chili paste is what you really need to add into your bowl, give it a good toss with your chopsticks as you release the creamy yolk into your noodles and you are all set for one of the (if not THE) most addictive bowl of  Ban Mian you’ll ever enjoy.  Every munch is a heavenly combination of spices and textures - smooth creaminess from the silky poached egg, al dente chewiness from the fat round handmade noodles and crispy crunch bits you get from the ikan bilis.  Taking time to fletcherize such wondrous combination in the middle of a busy city seems more like a luxury as customers gradually head back to work.  But it definitely take a very strong will to turn down the seduction of Kin Kin chili noodles and not surprisingly many have tried to copy Kin Kin (even with the same name) but this is the original and only stall in the country to serve the wonderful version of chili ban mian.  

The writing is all on the wall

  I was there with H who live in KL now, for breakfast recently and I know he’s already planning for his next meal there so to continue in the spirit of caring and sharing, I hope you will get to try Kin Kin Chili Ban Mian also on your next trip up north. Count it your loss if you don’t try. Seriously. This is the only stall there is and it is as good as it can get with bowl of dry ban mian.  

The one and only in the country

GPS Address: 40 Ground Floor, Jalan Dewan Sultan Sulaiman 1, off Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur  Phone: 016-3728069  Shop Hours: weekdays 7:30am – 9:00 pm / weekends 7:30am – 4:30pm. Closed on the last Sunday of the month

Who would have knew the app on my iPhone that could just make me rich for real

 
Resolution #1 – Make sound investment.  Just as news of record-setting COE (licence to own cars in Singapore) prices are announced many may have also shelved their idea of a brand new 7 series for now but apparently there’s still a way to ensure you get a good return on the rest of your investments.  According to investment guru Jim Rogers (famed former founding partner of George Soros and one the finanical kingpin who relocated himself from NYC to be based in Singapore – so when he talks, you know the authorities are all ears), life on the farm will actually bring more RICHES than the ditches of Wall Street in the coming years.  Maybe you would want to save the seeds from your favorite durian fruit and have them plant somewhere in your yard.  No backyard? You can still start with some herbs in your kitchen.  Trust me the returns and yield will be rewarding.  And maybe by then you will think about trading in your fossil fuel machine for a a green vehicle instead.  You can read more about Jim Rogers’ comments here or his move to Singapore here. 

Resolution #2 – Make connection with your food in 2011.  Cook more at home using ethically grown and fresh ingedients.  I am sure if given a choice all of us would choose the best for ourselves and our family. It’s always better to do your own cooking, pick your own ingredients from the market and to feed yourselves with.  The physical contact you have with your ingredients is so vital in this human-food relationship from field to table.  But if you must eat out, read your food labels whenever you can and eat from stalls or restaurants whom you know won’t take your well-being for granted.

My hope is that once we start making that connection, we can all reduce our overall intake of junk food in 2011 which would further lead to a reduction of the overall waste and carbon we generate in a year.  Experts are already recommending a vegan meal a week for a start.

Resolution #3 – Have your own personal happiness index.  British PM David Cameron’s decision to include happiness as an additional indicator of economic progress in the UK from next year is what I label bold and refreshing.  I quote the PM “From April next year we will start measuring our progress as a country not just by how our economy is growing, but by how our lives are improving, not just by our standard of living, but by our quality of life,”. It is really high time intelligent minds of the developed world look at how we measure growth and progess of a nation.  Some thing independent of economic success and wealth.  But how do you start a personal happiness index as an individual on a micro level?  Well, can anyone actually be unhappy when they have good food, good health and even wealth in 2011?  You can read more on the UK Happiness Index.

Good food doesn’t necessary have to be expensive food.  That’s what the media and marketing gurus want you to think.  In REALITY, inexpensive food doesn’t have to be bad food either and good food can actually be free! Everything we eat is grown from the land.  We plant a seed and nature takes care of us. A little work is involved but you should never need to pay an arm or a leg for wholesome goodness and freshness when it’s given to you FOC by nature!  So there should really be no more excuses for not eating well and being happier in 2011.  Happiness is for every one and never exclusive to a particular group of people :)

And on that note of joy and happiness, I wish that each and every one of you continue to remain happy and healthy in the coming new year.  May good food surrounds you every day!! Eat well, stay well and keep smiling all 365 days of 2011!!  

Keep these words at heart because this is your food, happiness and now, investment guru speaking (^_^)