I got to know about the Shan Children’s Home through Alvin of PECC a few months back.  Thinking of getting the kids a book each for Christmas, we went over to the home to find out their ages.  We talk to Dr. Chandra, who is the home Administrator/Director.  He told us that the kids would benefit more by having the complete set of the LadyBird Keyword series.  This is because some of the kids may not be reading at their respective ages.  So, if we were getting them say Harry Potter, they may not be reading the books at all.  At the same time, the home also need book wraps and cellophane tapes as it is going to be a new school semester soon. 

We went to check out the LadyBird Keyword series and found out that there are a total of 12 series with 3 books for each series totally to 36 books.  The MRSP for each book was RM9.90 and we work out the total cost needed.  Thanks to a few friends, namely EC, Mok and Dora, we manage to get two sets for the kids and two huge roll of plastic book wrappers and plenty of cellotapes. 

We went over to the home at Dec 18, 2010 and handed over the books.  When we arrived, the kids were all sitting quietly reading.  The Ivory Group also arrived at the same time and they were having an event with the kids.  After leaving the books on the sofa, and briefly talked to Dr. Chandra, we left the home happy finishing one of the task we set to achieve.  We hope the kids at Shan Children’s home benefit from the Ladybird Keywords series and may they reap greater knowledge from reading. 

This is one Thai Restaurant in Penang that is worth some mention.  This restaurant is located at the housing estate area of Sg. Ara.  It can be a little hard to get to if this is your first time.  Its a house turn into a restaurant.  The interior decorations as well as outside were a little dated.  The first impression that I had was that this is another restaurant wannabe, low budget conversion of a house to restaurant.  The food turns out to be much better than their taste of decorations.

We ordered the Tom Yum, Pandan Chicken, Krabu Kacang Botol and Onion Fried Egg.  The Tom Yum was spicy and sour, the way that we like it.  We could drink the soup dry, by then, we would have drank to stomach discomfort, yes, it was that good.  The Pandan Chicken was fragrant and was well done, it complements the Spicy and Sour Tom Yum with sweet pandan fragrance.  The Kraby Kacang botol was a good starter, however, I felt that after towards the end of the meal, the source of the krabu was a little too spicy and was also sour, it did not go well with Tom Yum.  This dish may have been better with Green Curry instead of Tom Yum. 

The restaurant received 4 star out of 5 from us.

Photos taken with iPhone 3GS.

During my Round Island trip yesterday, we arrived at the Spice Garden around lunch time and decided to have lunch there.  Thai food was their base offerings and we decided to give it a shot on this nice breezy afternoon.  When we first arrive, there was not that many people around, and we choose a spot that under a nice shade.  We seated ourselves facing the sea and the first thing we notice was the tranquility of the surrounding and the sound of the waves hitting the beach.  It was romantic. 

We ordered a Seafood Tom Yum (RM9.80), Chicken Green Curry (RM14.80), Omellete Onion (RM12.80), Steamed Rice (RM2.00 each), Lemongrass Soda (RM7.00) and Nutmeg Soda (RM7.00).  The lunch came up to RM60.95 after service charge and it was exorbitant. 

The Tom Yum was small, but enough for two people, the sour taste of Tom Yum overpower the entire dish, however it was passable.  The Green Curry was very good, it taste and look like the ones we had in Bangkok.  The Omellete Onion was good, you cannot go wrong with Eggs, if Eggs also dont know how to fry, then the chef is not fit to cook.  The Lemongrass and Nutmeg Soda was refreshing.  This is our first time having it and was taken aback by the strong taste.  The sweet soda made it likable. 

It was a pleasant lunch, the ambiance and food scores highly, however, the price could be a little too expensive.  I would definitely come back to this restaurant, not for the food, but for the ambiance.  Its a great place to get lost into a book on a lazy afternoon. 

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The restaurant received 3 star out of 5 from us.

Photos taken with iPhone 3GS.

Khunthai received raved reviews and was very popular among Penang folks.  You just need to Google for Khuntai and will find loads of review and almost all ends with praise.  We decided to try out this restaurant for lunch today and made our way over.  We navigated through the busy Raja Uda road and arrived at the fame restaurant almost an hour after leaving Penang Island.  There were not that many people, in fact when we arrived, there were only 3 tables occupied.  But when we left the restaurant was running close to 40% occupancy.  The restaurant had a high ceiling and fans at every table.  The cooling environment was very relaxing and couple with Thai pop music, the mood was lively.

We ordered our favourite Coconuts and went through the menu.  The menu was extensive, though was Thai based, I could not help to observe the vast Chinese influence in the dishes.  Its also a Seafood restaurant with tanks of fishes and edible Sea Creatures.  We ordered Seafood Tom Yum, Deep Fried Kang Kong, Deep Fried Prawn Balls and White Rice.  We did not had to wait long for the food, looking at the lack of patrons, it would be un-natural otherwise.

Tom Yum was the first dish that came.  The sour taste was overpowering and was not spicy.  After a few sip, it grew on us and we enjoyed it much.  It was not the best we had, it was ok.  The Seafood was fresh and the ingredients was abundant.  The soup was also thick and was not water down.  The little burning charcoal kept the soup warm through out our gastronomical adventure.

Next came the deep fried kang kong and the deep fried prawn balls.  Yes, they do not look like balls, infact, they were actually strip prawns covered with flour to shape like a full prawn and deep fried.  The deep fried kang kong was quite oily and taste of oil after a few mouth full.  We left the dish 3/4 full when we paid the bill.  We finish the prawn, but we dig out the prawn meat as after a few pieces, the flour was over powering.

All in all, the Tom Yum was the only dish we enjoyed.  The dishes did not taste that authentic to us as suggested by the logo, in fact, it was more of a Chinese Thai rather than Thai Thai, if you know what I mean.  Also, the Chinese characters on the logo is already a strong indication.  Khunthai is a lively Thai-Chinese Seafood restaurant.  Unfortunate for us, we did not enjoyed the food that much and did not feel that the dishes were Authentic Thai.

The restaurant received 2 star out of 5 from us.

Photos taken with iPhone 3GS.

Yesterday, The United States of America has sign a deal with Indonesia to forgive Indonesia debt to the US ($30mil) in exchange for Sumatra forest conservation.  Under this deal, Indonesia will pay the $30mil into a trust (instead of the US Government), of which the money from the trust will be used for conservation efforts. 

This news come as a breath of fresh air and the idea of debt-for-nature is an innovative solution to this predicament.  The Malaysian citizen has suffer on haze and the problem seams to become an annual event for so many years, one starts to wonder if we will ever get clear sky and fresh air.  The Government’s attempt has been fruitless, and in fact uproot some controversies involving Malaysian companies in Indonesia.  I remember at one point, the Indonesian Foreign Minister was saying why when Indonesia export fresh oxygen to Malaysia, no one appreciate nor care, but when there are some haze, everyone seams to jump on Indonesia on the issue?

This is true, Indonesia forest has been providing oxygen to the entire world, why should Indonesia bare the cost of conserving these forest? The rest of the world should pay too.  And on this line of thinking, debt-for-nature seams to makes sense as the first solution to wider forest conservation.  Not only Indonesia, many tropical countries has forest of their own, and why should they conserve the forest at their expense for the rest of the world, and especially the US and China who is among the top green house gas producers.  One day, the air we breath may not be free anymore, and for now, it seams that the US has started to pay for it. 

It was unfortunate that the Malaysian Media did not pick this up as this conservation efforts will reduce the amount of forest fires in the Island of Sumatera, and in turn reduce the haze floating over to Malaysia.  I for one are looking towards a Haze Free Malaysia in years to come..

Source:

WSJ : Orang Hutan Center : Tree Hugger : Huffington Post