Nori-bento for lunch

The plate of Nori-bento looks like our SG Nasi Lemak isn't it? Although the original price was S$3.80, the supermarket sold it for half the price which was S$1.80 in the evening. The tomatoes and cucumber were from our garden. It has been a great meal for me!😊👍

Air cool fan for the summer

Bought this ice cool fan from Japan.
Instruction on how to operate the fan:

• Slide the bottom blue container outward to open
• Fill the container with water or ice or both if you like
• If you place ice packs in the container, make sure it does not obstruct the nozzle in the container otherwise it may not close
• Slide the container inward to close
• Connect the fan to the electrical outlet and press the blue button on the right top corner
• You may adjust the speed, rotation of the air blade etc on the front of the fan panel.

What prompted us to buy the cool fan is because we do not want to use the air-conditioning as it will escalate our electricity bill. So this is a compromise. This ice cool fan is slightly better than the standard fan as its air is mixed with the cool air generated by the ice packs. Don't expect it to work like the aircon or you will be disappointed. It uses very little electricity but is able to keep you cool for as long as you want. At S$88, it is a steal!

Hong Kong actor Simon Yam stabbed

Hong Kong actor Simon Yam was stabbed in the abdomen on Saturday (July 20) during a promotional event in the southern Chinese city of Zhongshan, local news outlets reported.

Yam, 64, was speaking on stage as a guest at the event when a man suddenly charged towards him, according to videos of the incident circulating online.

From clips uploaded shortly after the incident, the man can be seen taking a weapon out of his pocket before aiming it towards Yam's abdomen.

He then lashes out at Yam repeatedly as the actor frantically tries to move away while clutching his stomach.

Many people in the audience can also be heard reacting in shock.

According to the Sina Entertainment portal, a spokesman for the actor said that he remained conscious after the incident. His wound has also been treated.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.

Mahathir with Sophia

Plums and watermelon

In return for the plums, we presented our friends with a few gifts. They felt bad and so invited us again to pluck the many plums on their trees. The rain has caused many of the ripened plums to drop, our friends told us and so they encouraged us to pluck some more plums in order not to waste them. They also gave one of the three watermelons that they grow. It was juicy and very very sweet. This watermelon is the best we have tasted. We are very grateful to our friends for giving us the opportunity to taste such lovely fruits. In Singapore, we will never have the same opportunity as in Japan.

Health benefits of Turmeric

Turmeric is a plant of the ginger family and its powder is used in curry. Turmeric has lots of health benefits. I sprinkle a little Turmeric powder in most of my food. The bottle of Turmeric (14 gm) as shown above was purchased from a grocery store in Japan and cost less than 200 Yen (S$2).
Below are some of the health benefits:

1. It can help prevent or even cure cancer
2. It can prevent Alzheimer's disease and other brain disorders
3. Lower risk of heart diseases
4. It has anti-inflammatory compounds
5. Prevents arthritis
6. Delays aging
7. Improves liver function
8. Fights age related conditions
9. Helps digestion
10. Increases antioxidant capacity of the body

Update on fire at Kyoto animation studio

KYOTO -- An arson attack at a Kyoto Animation studio on the morning of July 18 has left 33 people dead, police and firefighters said, making it the worst such attack in Japan in decades.

Read more

Explosion at Kyoto animation studio

A man set fire to an animation studio in Kyoto, Japan leaving 1 dead and at least 37 injured this morning.
More here

Eggplant lasagna & Mashed pumpkin

Making Plum Sake

With the plums we got from our friend, the unripened ones were made into "plum sake". We will see how the sake is going to turn out. Hopefully, we will be successful.

Obento dinner

Instead of cooking, we decided to buy the obento for dinner. The top picture is that of Teriyaki rice set and the next one is Hamburg rice set. For dessert, it was Warabi Mochi with Kinako (roasted soybean flour). Needless to say, they are delicious!
As for the weather, it was a rainy day with the average day temperature of 25c.

Picking plums at our Japanese friends' farm

Our friends invited us to their farm to pick the plums for free. There are just too many plums around and they are giving them away to their friends.
The picking was in the evening and so the pictures are not so good.
My wife and I must have plucked about a hundred of the plums. They are sweet except for the skin which could be a bit sourish.

Food is relatively cheap in Japan

The obento or packed food and fruits are relatively cheap compared to Singapore. In the evening, the they are offered at a huge discount of 50%.
The container of cut mixed fruits is at 99 Yen which is S$1.25c. It was packed on 10 July morning and by evening (expiry date is 11 July) it was sold at 50%.
The same goes for the 3 boxes of fried chicken fried rice set, pork cutlet sesame rice set and pork cutlet sandwiches. They all sold for 199 Yen each which is S$2.50.
The currency exchange rate is 100 Yen = S$1.25c or 80 Yen to S$1.

He is back, Kuro is back!

Finally after a few days, Kurochan made his appearance again. Everybody was happy to see Kurochan again. We fed him some cat food and he devoured it as though he has not been eating for the last few days. He must be hungry.
My dad-in-law suggested tying him to the house but all of us objected to the idea. " He will run away again" my dad-in-law explained, if Kurochan's movement is not restrained. We rejected his idea as it is cruel to tie Kurochan. We told him one way to prevent Kurochan from disappearing again is to give him the best cat food and lots of love. In the end my dad-in-law reluctantly agreed. We shall see in the coming days whether Kurochan will vanish again.

The cute and adorable cat

(Resting in the bed my dad-in-law prepared for him)
This is the adorable "Kurochan" who wandered into our backyard. He was with us for a week and after feeding him nice yummy cat food, he disappeared. Kurochan, a named given by my in-laws has become their "pet". My in-laws were saddened by the disappearance of Kurochan.
Our guess was that Kurochan may not be a stray as he is friendly towards human. He may belong to someone. We hope he will return soon.

Brave Gurkha fought armed robbers

Bishnu was on a train to back to his hometown in Nepal on a break from the army. Presumably he'd had enough of the violence.

The train was stopped and boarded a band of about 30-40 robbers, armed with knives,  some of whom had been travelling as passengers, in the Chittaranjan jungles in West Bengal around midnight.

They started snatching jewellery, cell phones, cash, laptops and other belongings from the passengers. Shrestha decided not to do anything. He was unarmed apart from an army knife. A Khukri.

The dacoits were armed with knives, swords and a few country made handguns. So he did nothing. The dacoits saw that he was a soldier and left him alone.

However, a couple of the bandits grabbed hold of a young 18-year-old girl, a medical student, sitting near him, and asked her to strip off her clothes. She refused- and they decided to rape her in front of her parents and all the other silent onlookers on the train.

The girl pleaded for help: ´You are a soldier. Save a sister´

Bishnu says he thought of his own sister that point. And then he snapped. He whipped out his Khukuri, and attacked the nearest dacoit.
He grabbed one to use as a shield. It was one man with a knife against upto 40 in an enclosed space- which ensured that they couldn't overcome him by sheer numbers.

He killed 3 with his  blade and injured 6-8 so badly that they were still crawling around when the police arrived. He took severe cuts on one arm and finally collapsed due to blood loss.

But by then, after watching 3 of their friends falling within seconds- the rest of the bandits decided that it was smarter to run away to instead of taking on the one-man-killing-machine.

When the intended rape victim's family offered him a large cash reward, he refused it with the following comment: "Fighting the enemy in battle is my duty as a soldier. Taking on the thugs on the train was my duty as a human being."

Harvesting tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and pimans