A Taste Of Asia

Who says that busyness can hold you for dreadful hours attending to some corporate, personal and just a mere job demands without taking a gleeful time to devour truly Asian cuisine? And who says too, that it’s  when you travel to places  is  your only chance to  get a mouthful of savoring pride of Asia?
Couple of weeks ago, I’ve been so engrossed with some stuffs, the so called “add up” to my ordinary routines that I get to embrace my origin being an Asian- born individual. It’s been a blessing in disguise, indeed! I’ve discovered a very cozy, just started anew, and an attractive stall called”wild rice” A taste of Asia. As I’ve read the menu/poster, I was absolutely thinking of  paying few pesos just to satisfy my curiosity, and it was so affordable.

Nasi Goreng

On my first day, I tried Nasi Goreng. I thought it’s just a sheer food name whatsoever, but when I did a little research on that, it is literally “fried rice” in Indonesian and Malay, and it can refer simply to fried pre-cooked rice, a meal including stir fried rice in small amount of cooking oil or margarine, typically spiced with chili sauce and other seasoning. Nasi goreng has been called the national dish of Indonesia, though there are many other contenders. There are many Indonesian cuisines but few national dishes. Indonesia’s national dish knows no social barriers. This one is Malaysian style with chicken satay, stirred-fried vegetables and egg in yellow curry spicy sauce. A rice in a box. Still caught between the rush hour of deadlines? Bring it with you, it’s cute and handy with it’s firm handle in white plastic (hard bound).

Vegetable and Meat Kimbap

My next Asian experience is the long time craving for Korean Kimbap. It’s like sushi but korean style. This one has no content of raw fish inside, but some colorful vegetables, and sometimes bulgogi (marinated beef) or kimchi. It’s  stuffed with either vegetables, mushrooms, meat, with sesame seeds, etc. It is made from steamed white rice (bap in Korean ) and various other ingredients, rolled in gim (sheets of dried laver seaweed) and served in bite-size slices. Gimbap is often eaten during picnics or outdoor events, or as a light lunch hence it’s called Korea‘s picnic food. My students have been telling me about it since last year, but I couldn’t get hold even just a slice of it. So when I finally dropped by at E-Mall, I happened to see slices of kimbap. 4 slices for 25 pesos? Wow, So I bought 12 slices. It’s ideal for busy individuals. Rice with rolled dish inside is perfect when life is amidst a fast pacing cadence.

Spicy seafood Teriyaki

The next bound brought me again to get wild with the wild rice in a box. This time I got myself Spicy seafood Teriyaki. Teriyaki is a cooking technique used in Japanese cuisine  in which foods are broiled or grilled in a sweet soy sauce (tare in Japanese). Teriyaki is served in most modern Japanese cuisines. The word, teriyaki is a combination of two Japanese words “teri” and “yaki.” Teri means luster and yaki means grill or broil”. But, this time it’s mixed in rice, easy and efficient for busy individuals. And what’s more? Wild Rice can offer you a very efficient way of eating your truly Asian food even when you’re rushing for everyday routines. 

 

Korean Fresh Noodles and Bibimbap

This one is my real favorite. BIBIMBAP. Bibimbap (비빔밥, Korean pronunciation:(pibimp͈ap̚) is a signature Korean dish. The word literally means “mixed meal” or “mixed rice”. Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating. It is sided with strips of carrots, cucumber, beans sprout, sliced white radish. I finally had one at Koreum restaurant inside Robinsons Cybergate.

 

 

at Koreum Restaurant

Asia is not just rich in culture and tradition, but as well as in culinary and international cuisine, not to mention Chinese foods, Filipino Foods and cuisine from the neighboring countries. It was somehow an unfortunate time when I had traveled twice to Singapore and never had taken the photos of Spicy Crab spiced with seasoning. It was just a lucky day when a Singaporean friend brought us to class A restaurant to taste it’s pride. The Spicy Crab and the Fried cultured frog. Another thing I missed for photo collection is the chicken curry of Bangkok Thailand. If God-willing, someday, I might get an opportunity to travel back to Thailand, and this I will make sure, I’ll have my own camera. Truly Asia.

From A distance

Namhae City

Learning isn’t just found in the walled-corner, but it goes beyond the realm of a particular country where knowledge is transpired orally and through visual images. Acquiring information isn’t limited in purely classroom setting only. Distant barrier isn’t an obstacle to enjoy the vastness of one’s culture and traditions too. Oftentimes, some folks may find joy in traveling to various places to gaze one’s beauty, to learn new things and to gain fresh insights. Some may find themselves truly captivated by the nature’s grandeur through reading. And there few who shared new things through the experiences of others being shared with and I am one of those-malotz- 

view from a distance

Another student of mine, Choi Ho Gyun, shared one of his interests- flowers. Not to mention that he comes from the island of , Namhae, South Korea.  Korea’s tourism website calls Namhae Island “Korea’s treasure island. He likes to collect flower images, following the footsteps of his mom. Namhae is  an island surrounded by many wonderful sightseeing places and one of these is the coastal view. The coastal road alone is reason enough that Namhae is best traveled by car. With its fields of golden canola, cherry blossoms, and ocean views from cliffs and farmer’s fields, Namhae has no shortage of beautiful photo opportunities and scenic view stops along its coast. 

colorful tulips

Another place worth seeing for is The Daraengi Village is a well-preserved traditional village at the base of Mt. Seolheul in the south. The area is known for its environmentally-friendly agriculture. Terraced rice paddies — 108 steps held together with stones and soil — lead down to the shoreline to create a stunning backdrop. The setting gives one a good idea of how Koreans lived over a half a century ago.Garlic is grown in the spring and rice is grown during the summer and fall. The salty sea breeze is said to prevent pests from destroying the crops. Namhae, has been able to host an odd mixture of both tradition and modernism, aided by its image as a warm, lesser-known getaway.
Daraengi Village. In addition to its beautiful terraced rice paddies and ocean views, the village offers some murals of early rural life on its walls and mosaics of flowers on its roofs. Namhae is expecting a big boon when its neighboring city Yeosu hosts the 2012 World Expo from May 12 to Aug. 12 next year. Hilton, accredited as a member of the World Expo Family, recently renovated its meeting and conference facilities at its resort on Namhae. One can never have a day of regrets just seeing the rich culture this island can offer to tourists both local and foreign alike. And now who would say that one can never learn some wonderful things about another places without spending a centavo? Teachers are also learning from students as much as they both learn from each other. Thank you Ho Gyun for sharing these images.

Choi Ho Gyun (최 호 Kyun), my fantastic student. He’s good at conversation. He loves to learn and talk about anything under the sun. aja! He loves to cook.

Sorak Mountain: A View from my Student’s Perspective

Sorak Mountain: A Glimpse  from My student’s School Retreat (April 25-27, 2012)

One of my students ( Jong In Yang) Kevin, is kind enough to share his memoirs during his 3 day- school retreat at Sorak Mountain. He explicitly told some beautiful things about his experience including the photos he had taken. I was just so amazed and am so grateful to him for sharing his gallery and permitted me to use these photos for my blog.

Sorak Mountain is a lovely landscape located in the Northeastern province of Gangwon, South Korea. The mountain is located about five hours east of Seoul, the capital city of South Korea and only about one hour from the eastern shore. It is more or less 2-3 hours trek from its foot going to its peak. What makes this mountain so stunning is the beautiful landscape and  and scenery  that surrounded the entire mountain. According to Kevin, Sorak Mountain is wonderful comes all seasons of the year.  One highlight is the streams you can pass by along the trekking route during summer time. The scenic mountain view is breathtaking.

The autumn colours in the area are considered amongst the most beautiful in Korea. The mountain looks so adorable during Atumn. The red and yellow forest is interrupted by rocks and small mountain streams flow amidst  it. Autumn is the most colorful season of the year and Kevin exclaimed that he likes Autumn because of  the coolness of the weather and the leaves freely falling off that comes in various shades. The fall/ autumn is like life on earth. It has its own time to retire in this world. But what makes it encouraging and heart-whelming is when you lived your life fruitfully according to its ultimate reason of existence. When one’s dying days are decorated with full colors, vibrant colors.

Does it look real? A ram on the mountainside?

Another grandeur this mountain could ever entice a climber is the ram farm as what Kevin narrated. The pasture is so calm and serene. It was one of an exhilarating experiences for him when his attention was captivated by a hairy one. It looks so funny because the eyes are all covered by the hair. When I first saw the photo I thought it was just an ornament.  At first glance, it looks like topiary images but it doesn’t look green at all. He affirmed that it’s real. Where have the eyes been gone?

Next,is the sea view from Sorak mountain.

From the summit, one can be thrilled by the scenic view of Naksan beach, situated near the mountain. How can one forget to stand in awe with the majestic creation? The beach looks authentic, I mean, it’s not artificial? Not a man-made sea destination that one has a picture out in today’s scenario,  a beach surrounded with cottages, landscapes, a luxurious swimming pool, a perfect getaway for tanning. I wonder how it really looks like once your feet have touched the sandy shoreline.

By simply looking at  the summit, one can vividly visualize the vastness of God‘s creation. How majestic is the works of his hands, so full of grandeur, so applauding, but let this just be a reminder that the creator has the rightful place to take all the credit rather than the creation. These are just the extension of his great designs. We may be speechless as to describe the beauty of such creation, but there is one thing that I am sure of, nothing and no one can ever be equal with the magnitude of his greatness, that what he purposely designed is a masterpiece without duplication.  

Thank you Kevin for letting me use your personal photo collection.

A Mother’s Love

In commemoration of the Mother’s Day
Even thousands of words aren’t enough to describe the love of a mother. All those sleepless nights when all she could do is to lay awake and keep her children secure. How she speed up to catch up the pace of life, home, work, personal agenda and more. What else could we ever say when a mom is always there cheering for the children and help them grow in the best way she knew.The hardship she once bestowed for every little child couldn’t be equated by any material possession.
These songs might be a good cheer up to all the moms out there. The songs sum up all about your deeds as moms. This is to let you all know that your endeavor is never taken for granted, nor forgotten. There maybe times that you thought all the struggles seemed unnoticed. You may not know it, but you have touched a million souls in the entire universe by the worth of your unconditional love.As children, we could all look back to those times when just a single nod from mom could lit up our dark days. We knew it well too that oftentimes, it’s harder for our moms to let us go our own ways, but she believes that there is a common ground that will always lead us back home, that is the love of a mother. -MALOT

Thank you to my mom for such a selfless love, for helping me see the beauty of life in God‘s perspective, for the value of Godly principles which I gleaned over the years.  ”You gave me roots to start this life and wings so I could fly”. When tough times had its toll your love and care is more than enough to keep going. I may sometimes caught up between my own ambition and God’s divine ordination, but thank you for bringing me back to the basics of Christian living. I may not be a perfect child, but thank God for such a mom as you are to us. Forever I am grateful and honored to be in this world under your care. I may not repay all the hardship you’ve been through, yet I believe that surely your labor is not in vain. -MALOT

A Mother’s Love

Thank you for watching over me
All of the sleepless nights you lay awake
Thank you for knowing when to hold me close and when to let me go
Thank you for every stepping stone
And for the path that always leads me home
I thank you for the time you took
To see the heart inside of me

CHORUS
You gave me the roots to start this life
And then you gave me wings to fly
And I learned to dream
Because you believed in me
There’s no power like it on this earth
No treasure equal to its worth
The gift of a mother’s love

Thank you for every sunlit day
That fill the corners of my memory
Thank you for every selfless unsung deed
I know you did for me
Thank you for giving me the choice
To search my soul till I could find my voice
And I thank you for teaching me
To be strong enough to bend

Wiser as the days Go by

Life has so much to offer, starting off  from childhood to adolescent period, from adulthood to aging, till the days we’ll all be dying. There are lessons so valuable enough to bend and shape our morals as individual. Some are fragments of life’s experiences that draw us closer to our inner self and re-connect to the life-giver. We failed, we learned, we endeavor, we grow. These experiences are what we call the true test of life. They can’t be found inside the four-walled corner where everything is expected by the test-taker and these are series of examination and evaluation of how much you’ve learned and retained from the discussion, lecture etc. What you knew in theory can be tested when you’re roaming along the unknown world. We come across opposing factors to your beliefs and ideals but it is then that your intellect is honed to be more wiser. As I look back from my life’s odyssey, I have come to realize that every circumstance is playing a role in helping me see the more profound things in life. What we perceive about life inside the comfy compartment is confronted with reality when we’re in the strange field and this molds our character, intellect and spirituality. We become more and more skillful in dealing with circumstances. I know I am still learning and will always be, but I become wiser each day. Thank God for the divine wisdom that we get all along the way. Such wisdom is the ability to view life as God perceives it. Forever I will be a student of Life, to be more wise as days go by.

The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing

There is somehow a thin line between putting up shrine for the creator and the creation he made for man. More often than not, we replace God’s center place from the the things that he has bestowed on us. Sometimes, thousands of gifts and blessings we have could unknowingly oust God within His own right place. I was reminded as I keep on reading my e-book for the month. MaLot

Today’s Reading: The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing (page 10) from The Pursuit of God A.W. Tozer

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. — Matt 5:3

 Before the Lord God made man upon the earth He first prepared for him by creating a world of useful and pleasant things for his sustenance and delight. In the Genesis account of the creation these are called simply “things.” They were made for man’s uses, but they were meant always to be external to the man and subservient to him. In the deep heart of the man was a shrine where none but God was worthy to come. Within him was God; without, a thousand gifts which God had showered upon him. But sin has introduced complications and has made those very gifts of God a potential source of ruin to the soul. Our woes began when God was forced out of His central shrine and “things” were allowed to enter. Within the human heart “things” have taken over. Men have now by nature no peace within their hearts, for God is crowned there no longer, but there in the moral dusk stubborn and aggressive usurpers fight among themselves for first place on the throne. This is not a mere metaphor, but an accurate analysis of our real spiritual trouble. There is within the human heart a tough fibrous root of fallen life whose nature is to possess, always to possess. It covets “things” with a deep and fierce passion. The pronouns “my” and “mine” look innocent enough in print, but their constant and universal use is significant. They express the real nature of the old Adamic man better than a thousand volumes of theology could do. They are verbal symptoms of our deep disease. The roots of our hearts have grown down into things, and we dare not pull up one rootlet lest we die. Things have become necessary to us, a development never originally intended. God’s gifts now take the place of God, and the whole course of nature is upset by the monstrous substitution. 

Our Lord referred to this tyranny of things when He said to His disciples, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it.” Breaking this truth into fragments for our better understanding, it would seem that there is within each of us an enemy which we tolerate at our peril. Jesus called it “life” and “self,” or as we would say, the self-life. Its chief characteristic is its possessiveness: the words “gain” and “profit” suggest this. To allow this enemy to live is in the end to lose everything. To repudiate it and give up all for Christ’s sake is to lose nothing at last, but to preserve everything unto life eternal. And possibly also a hint is given here as to the only effective way to destroy this foe: it is by the Cross: “Let him take up his cross and follow me.”

Let me exhort you to take this seriously. It is not to be understood as mere Bible teaching to be
stored away in the mind along with an inert mass of other doctrines. It is a marker on the road to
greener pastures, a path chiseled against the steep sides of the mount of God. We dare not try to
bypass it if we would follow on in this holy pursuit. We must ascend a step at a time. If we refuse
one step we bring our progress to an end. We are often hindered from giving up our treasures to the Lord out of fear for their safety; this is especially true when those treasures are loved relatives and friends. But we need have no such fears. Our Lord came not to destroy but to save. Everything is safe which we commit to Him, and nothing is really safe which is not so committed. Our gifts and talents should also be turned over to Him. They should be recognized for what they are, God’s loan to us, and should never be considered in any sense our own. We have no more right to claim credit for special abilities than for blue eyes or strong muscles. “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?” The Christian who is alive enough to know himself even slightly will recognize the symptoms of this possession malady, and will grieve to find them in his own heart. If the longing after God is strong enough within him he will want to do something about the matter. Now, what should he do? First of all he should put away all defense and make no attempt to excuse himself either in his own eyes or before the Lord. Whoever defends himself will have himself for his defense, and he will have no other; but let him come defenseless before the Lord and he will have for his defender no less than God Himself. Let the inquiring Christian trample under foot every slippery trick of his deceitful heart and insist upon frank and open relations with the Lord. Then he should remember that this is holy business. No careless or casual dealings will suffice. Let him come to God in full determination to be heard. Let him insist that God accept his all, that He take things out of his heart and Himself reign there in power. It may be he will need to become specific, to name things and people by their names one by one. If he will become drastic enough he can shorten the time of his travail from years to minutes and enter the good land long before his slower brethren who coddle their feelings and insist upon caution in their dealings with God.

Let us never forget that such a truth as this cannot be learned by rote as one would learn the
facts of physical science. They must be experienced before we can really know them. We must in
our hearts live through Abraham’s harsh and bitter experiences if we would know the blessedness
which follows them. The ancient curse will not go out painlessly; the tough old miser within us will
not lie down and die obedient to our command. He must be torn out of our heart like a plant from the
soil; he must be extracted in agony and blood like a tooth from the jaw. He must be expelled from
our soul by violence as Christ expelled the money changers from the temple. And we shall need to
steel ourselves against his piteous begging, and to recognize it as springing out of self-pity, one of
the most reprehensible sins of the human heart. If we would indeed know God in growing intimacy we must go this way of renunciation. And if we are set upon the pursuit of God, He will sooner or later bring us to this test. Abraham’s testing was, at the time, not known to him as such, yet if he had taken some course other than the one he did, the whole history of the Old Testament would have been different. God would have found His man, no doubt, but the loss to Abraham would have been tragic beyond the telling. So we will be brought one by one to the testing place, and we may never know when we are there. At that testing place there will be no dozen possible choices for us; just one and an alternative, but our whole future will be conditioned by the choice we made.

My Prayer: Dear heavenly God, you knew me perfectly well, my thoughts and my inmost beings for you have crafted me according to your great design. You have fathomed all aspects of my life, my weakest and my strongest points. All that I am and everything that I have are the extension of your abundance and promised blessings. I pray to you that you may help me re-build a center shrine where only you can take over and be crowned forever. have your dwellings within me. In Jesus’ name, Amen! Be it Lord Jesus. MALOT

Mr. Bean’s Haven

He made the whole world laugh out so loud with his comedy television series. Indeed, he’s the world’s renowned comedian. He has  two 2 children named Benjamin and Lily. Standing beside him is his wife, Sunetra Sastry. He got his Electrical Engineering Master’s Degree at Oxford University and started his comedy career at Edinburgh.His sense of humor tickled one and all, young & old alike. I did laugh, yes I admit especially in times when boredom strikes me. But what’s more dazzling to know is that this guy who made you giggle out rolling on the floor (?) can also make you stand amazed, startled with his palatial abode. It’s splendid! Below are some photos I’ve copied from a source.