Sarawak Barley

I got a surprise package from my buddy in Kuching recently *smile*. She sent me a generous pack of barley from Sarawak, grown locally by the natives there. Thanks JT!















It taste rich and slightly creamier than the pre-packed ones I normally buy from the chinese medical hall ... hmmm... yummilicious!

Boil the barley in a pot of boiling water and add rock sugar to taste. A few screwpine leaves in the pot makes this drink very rich in aroma. When it starts to boil rapidly, turn down fire a little and boil over an hour or so. Or if you prefer the easier way, leave it to boil in a slow cooker. Turn it on at night and by next morning, you will have a healthy yummy barley drink :-)

You can enjoy it either hot or cold. My mom would usually cool them down and pour them into many water bottles and store them in the fridge for our hourly consumption as we would normally finish the whole pot by the next day *smile*.

Coffee in a coffee cup

I dont know how it all got started. My dad does not consume hot beverages and my mom is a tea lover. So how on earth I got hooked on to coffee? For as long as I can remember, I love coffee. I used to take one each morning for breakfast and another right after lunch and another after dinner if I had dinner late.

Some friends say they cant sleep at night well if they drank some coffee later in the day but for me, sometimes I really need a sip of two of this pleasure at night (especially after dinner!) should I wish to complete a great day! I can still do without it but sipping hot coffee makes me feel good and as though life is such pleasure .... No I am not addicted to it, but I just love to enjoy it.

Ice-blended coffee were made popular by Starbucks & Coffee Bean in Malaysia and even till today, people hang out at these outlets just to show off their latest gadgets (laptops, mobile phones, PDAs, etc) - in my humble opinion.

It's like kinda like "cool & trendy" to be doing nothing there but just sit out in the hot humid weather (Imagine! KL!) and smoke and surf the internet or chat online. Even the professionals like bankers, insurance brokers, real estate agents, etc love hanging out there with the potential customers and close deals over coffee.

Maybe when I had nothing better to do after a movie during our courting days, we spent time there for a cuppa. But now, sigh .. wishing I had the time for proper sleep, not to mention hang out at Coffee Bean :-(

Alkaline Water

So how many of you already have an alkaline water filter at home? Hands up please.

I knew nothing about this until my boss asked me to get an alkaline water filter for the office. I never knew what "alkaline" water means cos I never previously bothered enough to find out about it. All I know and heard before was simply water filters, RO water, "energy" water, etc but alkaline water was something new to me.

It is said that from all the food we eat which normally contains a high level of fats & sugar, this makes our body acidic and hence, leads to many kinds of illnesses. In order to balance it out, someone out there came out with alkaline water-producing filters. I think there are several brands out there and they dont come cheap. The one we bought for the office costs more than RM2,000.

I have been drinking it for the past 3 months but honestly, I dont notice any change for the better in me. However, my office driver did give his to his dad (in his 70s) to try and he said that his dad feels much better as in less body aches and pains - wow. So now, he dutifully fills up bottle after bottle to take home for his dad every day - which I totally dont mind (*smile*).

I might really consider this for my new home next year. If anyone knows of any other brand (other than a japanese brand) please do let me know. I heard there are cheaper China-made brands but a bit cautious of them unless its recommended by friends. So do let me know ya?