One reason we do what we do here is to ask question like “Are we eating food or food eat us?”  Apparently a lot more for us to learn about our food. Welcome to the new century of capitalism agriculture – whoever controls the food chain controls us

Moo..... Photo: Getty

Innately I think we all know eating natural is always better.  We know food without flavorings, colorings and additives is always preferred.  I just don’t think anyone in the right frame of mind for whatever reason (other than monetary) would of one’s free choice pick something that’s “fake” and “souped up” and feed it to their family or loved ones let alone eating it themselves.  I really don’t believe any parent would feed knowingly a newborn food loaded with additives and enhanced flavors.  This is an instinctive preference, almost primitive, without the influence of savvy marketing communication. Somehow conveniences, urban living, consumerism even capitalism have seemingly steered us into this predicament of consuming more and more of the unnecessary.  To meet this demand from a worldwide boom of the middle-class, someone has to keep up its production, in the name of advancement, we turn to technologies to solve some the pressing issues created by this demand. 

Junk food is cheap. Literally and figuratively.  Deliberately made affordable compare to real food - organic fresh greens and fruits.  People end up buy more junk because it is affordable.  No surprises if the working class is a majority among those diagnosed chronically sicked every year.  We stuffed ourselves with bags and bags of junk but our body is really starving because it have had no real food and in some cases for a long time.  Sickly body and obesity just a a price we pay for modern conveniences.

Taste best when fresh

The past week I’ve learned that cloned meat has already “secretly” made its way to our retail shelves, and we the consumers aren’t even informed or aware of what we are paying with our money.

LONDON – Meat from the offspring of a cloned cow in the United States entered the British food chain without official authorization, the UK’s Food Standards Agency said Tuesday. The agency carried out its investigation after media reports said milk from a cow produced from a cloned parent was sold in Britain…

Read the complete news here. 

Cloned meat? Fresh meat made in the laboratory? Great. Another genius way to mass produce food and make it cheaper I guess. Only a true genius would have thought of that.  We cannot afford to stray so far from common sense.  Dear scientists,  please help – my common sense tells me natural is better. 

If milk does the heart good, it might do the heart better if it comes from dairy cows grazed on grass instead of on feedlots, according to a new study.

Earlier experiments have shown that cows on a diet of fresh grass produce milk with five times as much of an unsaturated fat called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) than do cows fed processed grains. Studies in animals have suggested that CLAs can protect the heart, and help in weight loss.

Read the whole report here.

This is no more a cogent scenairo than it is a koan of the time and age we live in.  Someone just said to me “The revolution to change the way we eat has already began.”  The sad reality about our food chain these days is that there are more “fakes”, “artificial”, “enhanced”, “chemicals”, “hormones” than there are what is Fresh, Natural, Ethical and Truthful.  

Natural, organic, farming, health, nutrition, GM Food, ethical trade, hunger, poverty and simple old fashion values – I think the people is ready for Home Economics 2.0.

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Latest:  As I was writing this entry I got news that since cloned meat was discovered in UK, it now seemed US law-makers are also helplessly stretching their heads if it may have made its way into North America.

John and the team in planning

Just before the leftover 18000 thoughts on the mental reconstruction of home economics 2.0 turn stale, I thought it’s probably good time for some real life action and in hope of leaving behind the usual impedimenta of the big city, I took no less than 2 luggage full of thoughts in search of soul food with good company again.  This time I was heading north for a meeting with a kingpin of permaculture – John Champagne.  For the past 10 years, John has been an activist involved at a local level implementing permaculture.  As the President of the Sapphire Coast Producers Association (SCPA), he helped positioned sustainability as the guiding principle for new rural industries emerging within the region and has actively promoted a local organic food industry.  I took great interest in John’s work at “Food Forest” playground created for The Mumbulla School for Rudolf Steiner Education in Bega and his experience in the “transition town” movement.  

Time for action - Handing out instructions

Yet no part of this blog entry will be complete without the mention of William Cameron. William who? You see, he is a English dude sent by Her Majesty as a surveyor to the Straits and in 1885 with his local companion Kulop Riau while on official business (one reason for the Pahang Civil War) got distracted (not unusual) and decided to locate the source of the Kinta River (a river that separates New Ipoh from Old Ipoh – i.e where the name “Old Town” in Old Town Ipoh White Coffee comes from).  To many William is a mathematician, geologist, astrologist even scientist but beneath all that deep down he is just a helpless romantic who having sailed thousands of miles away from home time zones away in search of an adventure while writing fondly of his new experiences and discoveries in the New-Found land.  This particular expedition and thereafter a “distraction from official business” will take him deep into the highlands, falling into the embrace of a lush tropical rainforest and its exotic wild life no regular white dude could otherwise ever imagine in the comfort of London.  High above sea level 1,500m, today this area is known as Cameron Highlands. 

The days of treacherous sea-sailing expeditions are well over.  So for contemporary adventurers like us we could only resort to driving hundreds of miles in search of new explorations (last summer we drove up the coast of Normandy).  I’m not sure if William Cameron found his pot of gold at the end of the rainbow but his romance with new places without a doubt continues today. 

And so this is the 800 kilometers journey from Singapore to the highlands.  I will start plotting the start point in KL where we picked up our ride all the way up to Ipoh and the highlands with all the stops we made along the way before heading back to the capital.  The list is not comprehensive because unlike William I cannot afford much distraction with a dateline on hand. 

View

Highlands in a larger map 

Ipoh – Old Town 

Ipoh Station - Taj Mahal of Ipoh town

Ipoh train station - another iconic architecture similar to to Kluang train station in Johor state. Also known as the Taj Mahal of Ipoh. 

Thean Chun (House of Mirror) –Middle of Jalan Badar Timah, Ipoh Old Town – for Ipoh Hor fun / crème caramel to die for, go early usually sold out by 11am – only open in the morning and afternoon.  Known for the row of mirrors on the old walls. Just about the only town in the world that I know that serves crème caramel in coffeeshop as a regular item.  Impressive. Kong Heng Satay – next to Thean Chun – very popular with locals and visitor, the old man will put a plate of satay on the table, but only charge you according to the stick you ate Close on Mon – also try the Sotong Kang Kong / Chee Cheong Fun/ Laksa/ Popiah – was wonderful, sauce was thick, sweet with a hint of sweet plum.  Sin Lean Yee – further up from Thean Chun, sells very good char kway teow. 

Creme Caramel, Ipoh hor fun, bean sprout and cuttlefish kang kong in 1 sitting

Ipoh White Coffee– all the famous ones are on the same street @ End of Jalan Bandar Timah: Nam Heong Old Town Coffee also known for egg tarts & Char Siu pastry, Wu Kok, Char Kway Teow – Lam Fong), for Char Kway Teow close around 4pm, coffee close around 4-5pm (close on tues) / Sin Yoon Loong Coffee (original white coffee- also try the egg tart, toast & siu bao)/ Xin Yuan Hoong/ Xin Yuan 

Ipoh – New town 

Foh San Restaurant– 51 Jalan Leong Sin Nam Ipoh Perak www.fohsan.com.my  – famous dim sum place – Was closed when we got there early in the morning.  Open for breakfast only, closed on Tues. Go early around 7am or 11pm – This area is Dim Sum Street, with quite a few dim sum restaurant in this area. So we headed to  Ming Court Dim Sum– 32-36 Jalan Leong Sin Nam – road behind Excelsior rd 30300 Ipoh – Har Kow, Wong Kok, Chee Cheong Fan and fried glutinous ball – recommended by Ah Xian – opposite Foh San 

Legendary white coffee and kaya toast for breakfast and supper at Lou Wong

Restoran Lou Wong

- No 49 Jalan Yau Tat Shin – For Ipoh Hor Fun – the iconic Ipoh hor fun stall in town most famous for steamed chicken, chicken innards and bean sprout dishes (legend has it that Ipoh bean sprouts are none to its kind) and hot kway teow soup and beef ball soup or nearby Onn Kei is also popular and older – open from evening to early morning – find a Hor-fun whole sale shop which against the advise of my team I brought back 3 kg of “fun”, and look out for famous Heong Peah shop – Yee Hup 

Aun Kheng Lim Restaurant– Jalan Theatre, opposite Martell house or near Bak Gong (chicken rice) restaurant in the city centre Tel: 05-254-2998 – very popular salt baked chicken- can pack home, call to order first. Did not buy this time bought it last time with S and C. 

Kei Foong (Funny Mountain)– The heartache of this trip – closed or sold out every time we were in the area starting from our last trip here with S&C!!! Off 49 Jalan Theatre – Aun Kheng Lim – soy bean curd/ soy milk Open: from 10am-7pm. Close on Tues 

Sin Eng Heong–64, Jalan Mustapha Al-Bakri, Ipoh Perak – best kaya puff in Ipoh. I bought 20 back!! 

Tong Shui Kai Stall 21 –Desserts galore! Jalan Sultan Ekram next to Sam Tet Primary School Off Jalan Sultan Idris Shah. Close on Mon –this lane of Night hawker street food has many Tong Shui stalls – also try the Wanton mee. Try the egg popiah opposite at “Man U” (nothing to do with Manchester United) Hawker Center 

 Restoran Kim Bali (previously known as Assam House) – No A11, Jalan Dato Tahwil Azhar, Ipoh, Perak-  patronize by Chow Yan Fatt/ Michelle Yeoh & Aaron Kwok –serve Thai & Chinese food – green chili fish/ etc.  Because there is only this much we can eat in 2days, this is one distraction we chose not to pay any attention to.  Not an easy decision though. 

Al-fresco dining at the foot of the big tree - Yong Tau Foo

Pasir Panji (junction of Jalan King and Jalan Queen) 

Tuck Kee Restaurant– Jalan King, Pasir Pinji 31650 – very popular with locals, and long queue for its roast duck and char siu, only open in the evening. 

Nearby under a cluster of old trees is a collection of stalls with lots of cheap local food to choose from, like Fried Yong Tau Foo, laksa, porridge, etc Yong Tau Foo is very famous. 

 Big Tree Foot (Dai Shu Geok) Yong Tau Foo– 652, Jalan King Pasir Pinji, 31650 Ipoh Perak Open: 8:30am-5:30pm – located beside Tuck Kee Restaurant, off Jalan Puteh, Jalan Raja – try Yong Tau Foo with Dry Hor-fun with black sauce/ also have famous red-bean ice, porridge and laksa & popiah 

Taman Ipoh Jaya - known for its famous Heong Peah Shop 

- Seng Kee Heong Peah Enterprise- No. 2 Selasar Rokam 11, Taman Ipoh Jaya, 31350 Ipoh Perak- they do it the very traditional method of using coconut husks as fuel to bake their pastries.

 Yee Hup Bakery, 7 Jalan Sri Ampang, Taman Ipoh Jaya Ipoh Tel: 05-313-2328 – near Restoran Sun Yeong Wai 

Restoran Sun Yeong Wai– 17/19 Jalan Ampang – best roast duck and a few doors down is a famous shop selling Heong Piang (most famous brand is Yee Hup) 

From farm to table - Cameron Organic steamboat

Cameron highlands 

In Tanah Rata – The Olde Smoke House– by the golf course Tanah Rata, try good old fashion English scones & tea from 11am.  We missed this because we were delayed rain and left before scones were ready the next day. 

In Brinchang – Cameron Organic Produce Steamboat Restaurant– 10 Bandar Baru Brinchang, Cameron Highlands, Pahang Tel: 05-4914807 – steamboat restaurant recommended by Ah Xian – Price about RM19 per person.

Upon arrival at the lodge; the yard and ongoing works to expand the lodge

Steamed Buns – there is this famous bao stall at the main corner coffeeshop in Brinchang (before turning off into Blue Valley) that I had the last time I was here but we missed it again because it was sold out by the time we were there.  We were at 3pm and told to come back at 4pm.  We made a detour to visit PK and PB at their new farm/lodge got back by 5pm and everything was sold out!!! What a bummer.

Home economics scientists in class in the 30s

Home economics as a field of study have been around for the longest time (University of Saskatchewan began  teaching home-ec in 1916 and formed the School of Household Science in 1928).  Today they called it “Family and Consumer Science”.  Adding a little glamor and just like most things as it shifts from the field of economics and management into science. 

Maybe it is time for a NEW home economics.  Home-Ec 1.0 covers not all but mostly about an omelette, a club sandwich, some bit on nutrition and a little sewing even knitting skills but the new home-Ec I have in mind goes beyond the tasks assigned in the classroom by teachers and “back” into what the name really suggest – Home.  A return to the home in “Home-Ec”.  Mom, the world’s wisest home economist is still the best teacher, the kitchen (or home) is the new classroom.  The right values learned through home economics all begins (rightly so) at our own home.  By the time our children get to do home economics in school, the ultimate objective is usually the grades they get.  Nothing much is questioned, debated nor ask about what was taught or learned. 

But the very application and practice of Home-Ec i.e. the HOME goes well beyond the As and Bs and it has never been only about the economics (dollar and cents) but also paying attention to the little parts that matters in REAL life at Home - giving the ingredients, the cooking, the meals together, values that schooling home-ec may have overlooked in version 1.0 and may I suggest a change in the way we think about the next Home-Ec syllabus with some tips for bringing up the new home economist at home from the home: 

Shopping
1. Let children help plan healthful meals at least on a weekly basis, then take them out to the neighborhood grocery store or supermarket to buy the ingredients. Teach and show them to read food labels and compare items to find the most-healthful choices. Price may varies but a good place to let them know the difference.  Highlight that foods found around the perimeter of the store generally tend to be fresh, while those in the middle are more processed.  Stay off those kid! Nothing provides a better “learning” then a trip to a farm, this is the only place in an urban city where kids can sample fresh produce (and tell the difference) and meet the people who grew it.  Trust me your child will likely grow up a discerning gourmet!! Someone who can appreciate a good meal.  Every student of home-ec must know how to shop for good ingredients. Woohoooo…

Moving from cyber to farm

Gardening tasks – grow your favorite vegetable  2. May pose a challenge to urbanites like most of us raised in concrete jungles yet which is what makes it even more meaningful. Not every fruit or plant are suitable for our climate but whatever that grows strive in our warm, all-year-round sun.  Start with a plant, vegetable or fruit, in pot. Children (adults included too) who help raise a vegetable are more likely to want to eat it. Fun plants to grow here, and eat, include radishes, groundnuts and peas and beans.  With so much news in the media about nature deficit disorder, I thought it’s good to to introduce our children through gardening the importance of caring for people (ethical fair trade), nature and our environment.    

Eat as a family
3. In this day and age getting everyone together for a meal can be quite a challenge, but it’s definitely well worth the effort.  There are even research to show that kids who regularly eat family meals get better grades and are less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, among the many other benefits.   Just a time to connect with people who matters to you – the home in home-ec remember? 

Junk in equals junk out
4. Time we understand we are really what we eat – you eat junk you get junk.  Maintaining a healthful weight means balancing the energy you consume in food calories with the calories you burn through exercise.  It’s not rocket science.  But it requires checking food labels when you shop, pay attention to nutrition data on restaurant menus for calorie content information and engaging in an outdoor activity or even sports at least once a week instead of sitting in front of a PC screen.  Though not really necessary for younger kids to be fanatic about because they should generally be active by nature at their age and I think a few weeks of monitoring will give most kids a sense of how to maintain a balance.  Let them know the importance of nutrition and energy – what they put in will be what they get.   

The new faces of home economics 2.0

Cooking
5. No Home-Ec education will be complete without “cooking and making ” food.   Adults who has participated in cooking  understands its educational value.  Let your children help with the cooking. Little kids can wash and tear lettuce; older children can crack eggs, and teens can help with just about anything. The key is to let them hold and touch these ingredients.  There’s something missing in urban society about the sense of touch - giving them a good feel of these ingredients before they are cooked and placed into their mouths (better if they personally grown them) will only do them good.  Nurture in them some attachment or connection with their food and chores they do at home because  these experiences and lessons will prove invaluable as they enter into the “highly digitized working world”.  

GMO food
6. The subject of GMO food touches the raw nerves of many food conglomorates and industrial-sized farmers.  It is imperative home-ec 2.0 provide students with sound principles and reliable information on genetically modified foods that have already been (quietly) made avilable in the market today.  This ensures consumers have the ablilty to make informed ethical buying choices and not buy based on savvy marketing communication.    

I never took home-ec but I always wondered what those girls were doing in their “lab” once a week all through the years in school.  (even though we smell their food a mile off). Science? economics? managment?  A subject lacking in relevance ?  Home economics 2.0 is not going to be about grades, not about the CO2, NaCl (even though chemistryis a requirement for anyone keen in a degree in home-ec), not even about specific skill or tasks, or how good a child is at it.  It is instilling values that textbook and science cannot provide – life’s values not formulaes that children will remember for the rest of their lives.  It is about giving a child the experience of living in a home and being part of a family and they can’t do it alone.  In the process we can all grow to live well, happier, healthier and right.

Food made in Singapore might bring new meaning soon

On mother’s day my thoughts hinged heavy on our level of food literacy as I depart for farms in the highlands. It’s a well known fact this is a nation of food lovers – no self resecting Singaporean would claim not to love food but I’m concerned if we are simply becoming a group of gluttons or do we really love food because they are good? Are we in love with the act of eating or do we really love good food made from quality ingredients? I like to take time to appreciate quality, not just from the ingredients (how they are grown) but all the way to the skill and effort of those handling them to recreate magic for us on our plates. I am talking about quality ingredients with distinctive craftsmanship from the farm to the kitchen onto my chopsticks into my soul. On Father’sDay I was emailed an article published in Straits Times of an interview with Dr Ngiam Tong Tau, former chief of AVA (who looks like a really sweet person) and his plans to ensure Singaporeans will not go hungry. To help regenerate a nation of self respecting food lovers to become self-sustaining, self-reliant in our basic food supplies as he reveals his bold propositions to buy farm lands twice the size of Singapore to satisfy our ever growing appetite breeding and growing everything from rice, pigs, fruits and vegetables (maybe Singyu or real Singapore durians and lychees may not be far fetched after all). And of course to accomplish his vision, we are definitely going to need more than a few good farmers. Noted this is not his first attemp; previous attempts to buy farm land in Argentina and Australia have failed according to the report.

A basket of freshly harvested organic leeks from the Happy Farm

Where’s our next basket of food coming from? Freshly harvested organic leeks from the ethical farmer It should come as no surprise that leaders of this beautiful nation are already thinking generations ahead.  Our food supply is really our food security period.  We strive hard to be a economic heavyweight of Asia, so we need a growing population, so we toil to increase earning with more spending and consumption to lift our GDP.  And with more mouths to feed, where can we turn to if we have no land to first grow our very own food. The easiest and traditional solution is to IMPORT (Thank God for global trade) and we are probably one of the largest nett food importers in the world (becos we grow close to nothing of what we consume) but I suspect some people in high power are perhaps realizing this fail-proof status in quo may not be so fail proof after all.  Doing so is as good as throwing away your own security, as you grow in economic prowess, the need to secure your basic food supply chain come naturally.  When you import almost everything you consume, think of the nightmare scenario when oil prices peak, markets crash, natural disaster strike (think climate change) and in times of political unease, prices of food and basic necessities will  inevitably shoot through the roof (becos we still need to buy them from someone), holding hostage and potentially crippling the entire economy (at least we have taken steps to ensure our water taps don’t run dry).  And since our water supply is taken care of (more or less) next in line - our food chain.  Despite the deep coffers of any state treasury such scenarios will not go down favorably and many are already arguing such scenairos are increasingly possible in today’s context in large part no thanks to the votalities inherent within today’s economic climate.   

In the same ST report, Dr Ngiam also shared his thoughts on GM crops besides plans of the ambitious “Singapore Prairies” up north.  Whoa…GM food?  The subject of GM food really got me sitting up.  If this is not the time to start a dialogue on erradicating food illertacy, I really don’t know when is.    

Well it can be quite a frightening thought - with more mouths (4.xxx million and counting) to feed, someone gotta do the job of bringing home the dough yet for all the wonderful economic accolades, with all the money in the world it may not even buy us the basic food security we need.  Seems like we are hard pressed on every side.  Some argue that’s why we turn to noble food companies and scientists to save human civilization from its own appetite.  Can they do the job?  Kang Kong is green, brinjal is purple.  So how much do you know about the food you are putting into your mouth three times every day?     

“阿新 never accept gifts or food offered by strangers”.  That’s what Dad would say and it could well be the best advice to live by.  Read the fine print.  Dad, I am always grateful for your timeless wisdom and Happy Father’s Day!!   

I love scientists but I love good craftsmanship even more. Read the post on Mother’s day and the need for better food literacy.

Arriving at the historic Kluang Rail Station

The other good part about traveling by train besides reducing your carbon footprint is you get to eat many different kind of food along your way.  You can be almost certain that you need not have food served on microwaveable plastic boxes.  Every train station in the world have an unqiue food culture of its own that reflects its time, people and sense of place.  Many times a year whenever we are in Japan we travel on local trains and on occasions “Shinkansen”, the eye-candies packed in exquisite bento boxes found in every major Japanese train station is always a highlight and a must-try if you can decide from an array of colorful, painstaking wrapped bentos on display.  A year ago in Normandy we were on the Eurostar from London to Paris, having a sandwich, chips and with a glass of bordeaux on one hand really make traveling over the French countryside so much more enjoyable.  Read my ride on the London tube here.

Back at home we have our own train food culture too but because unfortunately no food and drinks are allowed on our local transit, we have to go up north for the first signs of train station food.  About 110km north of Johor Bahru, is the historical town of Kluang.  And in the town is also home to one of the oldest train stations that faithfully served the locals, her visitors including the British and Japanese military forces since the 1930s. 

Traditional Kaya and butter bread toast at Kluang

In this part of the world nothing beats an old fashion cuppa Joe or preferably tea (pulled please), “roti bakar” (toasted bread) and soft boiled eggs and especially so at Kluang Rail Coffee.  It is a place of historical significance as an administrative center for South Johor in its early days and every where you look, nothing seemed to have changed.  No fast-paced high rise development, no cranes no construction sites, just some old fashion colonial buildings and shophouses still thriving around the city center. 

Teh tarik captured in history

Here I found locally grown, hand roasted coffee beans freshly brewed, soft boiled eggs and nasi lemak (for twenty five singapore cents).  To be sipping my teh tarik here helps put a lot of things into context. Nothing have changed, the wired grills, wooden ceilings, the ceiling fans even the toast, the pulled tea, the eggs are served the same way they have been served since 1938.

The aging steel wired walls rattles as a train approaches.  I think it’s time to make way because there will be more weary travelers coming in for their good old fashion breakfast fix.