Palembang Pempek & Ham-Chim-Paeng

Today I treated my maid and driver pempek for lunch.

Pempek or Empek-Empek is a delicacy from Palembang which is made of fish and sago. Pempek is eaten together with a dark sauce called cuko (vinegar).

I ordered my favorite pempek kulit (made from fish skin) & pempek pistel (looks like dumplings, contains shreded papaya strips) together with some other variety.

Both of them were very happy but only my maid showed her happiness. My driver was a bit camera shy.

One day I also came across one of my favourite snacks from Malaysia....Ham-Chim-Paeng (deep fried dough covered with sesame seeds and mashed red beans paste). I saw a motorbike vendor carrying these HCPs in many transparent plastic containers. I asked my driver and he said we can easily get these ROTI WIJEN (sesame bread) from the nearby market. So I paid him to buy some for me to try. Malaysian HCP is more fluffy (has more air inside) vs. the fully compact version from Palembang.

The Big White House

Our Palembang house's rental contract will be due within the next few months. The land lord wanted to extend his lease for another 2 years but we are trying to get him to agree to the following first:

1) Repaint the walls and gates of the house.

2) Agree to pay for the repair cost for roof leaks (past & future).

3) Change a new set of sofas - one of the seats have broken through, the fabric is 15 years old and dirty!

We have been eyeing one of the corner houses on the next road to ours that used to be rented by a Malaysian. The guy had left and the WHITE HOUSE (everything outside and inside are all painted white) is now for rent.

I called the contact person to make an appointment to take a look. To our surprise, the house is actually very big inside. The master bedroom leads to another smaller room and a connected bathroom. The airwell space is smaller and does not have any ponds for our fishes. The kitchen is just adjacent to the living room without any partitions. There are 2 guest rooms but of a size smaller than ours. The place is also empty (does not come with any furniture). At the back there's a store room, a wet kitchen room, a maid's room, a garage for the car and a staircase leading to another level that has 2 more rooms and an open area (balcony) for hanging washed clothes.

This house's rental costs Rp50 million/year compared to our semi-furnished Rp30 million/year. The grass is always greener on the other side (its true for this house - they have nice Japanese spiky grass) but can we afford these kind of luxury? I doubt the company will pay 65% more for an empty house for me, my wife, my son and my maid....

Video Dedicated To My Loved Ones

Here's a home-made video that I made that is dedicated to my wife and son who are in Australia now. I hope my wife likes this "surprise"....

Photos Of The Week - Black Cats & Awnings

I have been trying to get photos of the black cats who are staying on top of our awnings. Here are some shots. I still could not figure out why people build houses with awnings like these?

Maths & English

I seldom read the notices that are stuck on the back of the Novotel gym's locker doors. Yesterday I took a good look and found these writings below:

WE NEED YOUR CORPORATE ASSISTANCE FOR ENSURING SAFETINESS IN OUR LOCKER ROOM BY NOT LEAVING ANY VALUABLES ITEM IN THE LOCKER.

SAFETY DEPOSIT BOX IS PROVIDED IN THE SPA RECEPTIONIST AS YOUR SAFETY PLACE TO KEEP YOUR VALUABLES ITEM.





















I could not believe Novotel (the best hotel in Palembang, supposedly 5 Stars) would have posted English notices with grammatical errors like these!

I am not trying to make fun of the Indonesians but the level of English of people here still needs some brushing up.

Maths is another subject that is considered "difficult" for Indonesians. We have been trying to teach maths and English to our maid and driver. We have been allowing them to take time off to go to school so that both of them can finish high school and get their certificates (easier to get jobs).

I have been trying to teach them for months but they still could not do this despite being in the final semester of high school :

New Satellite Dish, Again?

Astro Malaysia has discontinued the services to its Indonesian partner Direct Vision after payment disputes.

Therefore, the existing Astro satellite TV subscribers in Indonesia will no longer be airing any channels and forced to terminate all subcriptions. Direct Vision will pay back the outstanding amounts for subscribers who have paid upfront, but the end result is still NO MORE SATELLITE TV SERVICES UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!

I already have AORA TV (exclusively for watching English Premier League Football). Perhaps after my wife comes back from Australia, we shall subscribe to Indovision (another satellite TV service provider) in order to get movie channels such as HBO, Cinemax, Star Movies and our other favorite channels that we used to watch on Astro (E! entertainment, AXN, BBC, Discovery, NatGeo etc).

This means we will need to install another satellite dish in the house!

Raining & Cats (But No Dogs)

October is the start of the rainy season in Palembang. For the past few weeks it has been wet, wet, wet. By mid-day we usually have heavy downpour and followed by mid-night rain.

Our factory has been leaking profusely. Although roofing replacement plans have been submitted for approval, it takes time to get through the approval loop and also need to consider the leadtime for ordering roofing sheets. During hari raya, I had to sweep away the accumulated rain water from the warehouse together with my security guard.

Our house's roof is also affected by the heavy downpour. Despite being fixed up twice by the same contractor, the roof on top of our room's ceiling board still leaks.

I have no idea how that guy did up the roof but supposedly he cemented the creases between the roof tiles. But I had to call him back again tomorrow before I swim in my dreams!

The rain also forced the kittens (yes, there were 2 of them from the black mama cat!) from the awning area to the hole behind our fish pond. They have been making lots of noises at night. Still have no idea how to get rid of these stray kittens!! Any tips??

Black Cats On My Awning

For the past week, I have been hearing stomping noises at night and my maid has been complaining about noises during the day time as well. It seems like a black cat and a black kitten are living on top of our awning. I have been trying to get my driver to get rid of them but his excuse is that we do not have a tall enough ladder. My maid said she was afraid to get scratched by the mother cat.

In Indonesia & muslim culture, if you killed a cat you need to have a proper burial for it. I was told that if you do not, it would come back and haunt you or it will bring you bad luck. Perhaps this is why Indonesians prefer not to mess with cats. Here are some other "cat supertitions" from other countries:

1. To kill a cat brings seventeen years of bad luck -Irish superstition
2. A strange black cat on your porch brings prosperity. - Scottish superstition
3. A cat sneezing is a good omen for everyone who hears it. - Italian superstition
4. If a cat washes behind its ears, rain is coming. - English superstition
5. A cat sleeping with all four paws tucked under means old weather ahead. - English superstition
6. It is bad luck to cross a stream carrying a cat. ~French superstition

This afternoon before I left for my basketball game, I used a hose to shoot water up to the awning trying to shoo away the cats. The mother cat was not around and the kitten fell down from the awning while trying to escape the water. It did not move for awhile and I thought it died! After a few seconds, it moved its head but still laid on the ground. I was baffled and just left the kitten there and went for my basketball game. Throughout the game, I kept thinking whether the kitten was severely injured, or will it die?

When I came back, I saw the black mama cat with the kitten on top of the awning again. I was a bit relieved to see that the kitten was ok (i guess the kitten has 8 more lives to go then). The mother cat also gave me an angry purr (as if she knew what I have done) and stared straight into my eyes.

I am sure the black mother cat gave birth on our awning and treated our awning as their "house". It is only now that the kitten has grown up and started to make noises (started to get active). They are the opposite to "cats on a hot tin roof"!.... more like cats on a comfy cool and wooden haven (roof/awning).

Throw me some ideas if you know how I can get rid of those "tenants who did not pay any rent"?

Surabaya - CLEAN, MODERN & WELL-MANAGED

Early Monday morning I caught a 6:40am flight from Palembang to Surabaya for a meeting. Surabaya is the 2nd largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta. We reached Juanda International Airport (Surabaya) at about 10:30am after transiting in Jakarta.

Surabaya is very advanced compared to Palembang. I was like a "villager" who just came into the city or more like "rusa masuk kampung" - a deer that went into a village!

The weather is very hot - 31 deg C when I landed (the tunnel from the plane leading to the airport was as hot as an oven). There are many well maintained highways (often with tolls) connecting to the city center. We went straight to the new factory which is located at Gresik - about 1 hour from the airport.

I was also amazed at the huge size of the factory in Surabaya which has a production capacity, warehouse storage capacity and land size 2x of what we have in Palembang. Many things are still under construction but production has already begun.

Then we had lunch in Shangri-La Hotel (buffet style). Coincidentally president SBY was visiting Surabaya, so the security was very tight. We had to pass through metal detectors and frisked down prior to entering the hotel.

I did not stay in Shangri-La (USD150/night) but stayed in the Surabaya company mess instead (see the 2 photos below on the left). The mess is 45 mins drive from the factory. I feel that it is too far for my daily communte. If I were to stay there, it would be somewhere 15 mins from the factory/work place. I'd rather go home faster during work days.

In the Surabaya mess, they have 2 maids managing the household activities despite the total size of the mess is similar to our house in Palembang (fyi, we only have 1 maid). The reason for having 2 is because the other 3 occupants in the house are all men!

The roads in that "gated community" are very well maintained. Majority of the people staying in that area are Indonesian Chinese.

I also managed to have dinner in one of their shopping malls. They are as big and modern as in Kuala Lumpur! They have many international and Malaysian franchises. I felt very "at home" when I walked their mall...as if I were back in KL.

Originally I was supposed to spend only 1 night in Surabaya but my GM told me to stay for another night. So I only left Surabaya on Wednesday morning. Surabaya's first impression for me is: CLEAN, MODERN & WELL-MANAGED. I would not mind working there one day if I get the opportunity.

Here are some photos of Surabaya's gated community:

What Happened Last Week?

I have not been writing any posts for the past few days, so here's a summary of what happened last week (only the importinteresting stuff, of course) :

1. Monday - watched an episode on HOUSE (the crazy doctor) but fell asleep halfway.
2. Tuesday - have been trying to find remedies to get rid of zits on my forehead - aggravated by my hard hat strap (I have to wear a hard hat into the factory every day). Tried Tea Tree Oil for a couple of days then I tried vitamin-E oil (for anti-blemish). Any other suggestions?
3. Wednesday - have been going to the gym for 3 straight days after work to work on my pecs. Noticed that I gained 3 kgs despite 20 mins of cardio and 20 mins of weight training.
4. Thursday - supposed to attend the weekly prayers session for Rosary Month but my neighbor Pak Limas has gone to Jakarta....I decided to skip this week's session.
5. Friday - Can't remember what happened...ha ha!
6. Saturday - Went for a massage after a whole month of abstinence during the month of Ramadan (all karaokes and massage centers are closed during fasting month). The masseur lost her touch after a 1 month absence because her presses were not hard enough!
7. Sunday - woke up at midnight to watch England play Kazakhstan. The Lions won the match 5-1. First half was a bore 0-0. Luckily I could not wake up on time. Japanese F1 results and highlights: 1. Fernando Alonso (Renault), 2. Robert Kubica (BMW), 3. Kimi Raikonnen (Ferrari). Played basketball in the evening and packed my bags to leave for Surabaya tomorrow.

See you next Tues after my one day trip to Surabaya!

Red Little Devil

We have planted these mini cucumbers which are approximately 5cm long. They taste like normal cucumbers except small in size.


I accidentally left one behind during harvest and it grew into a "Red Little Devil". I do not think it is edible anymore since the texture became rubbery and flabby.


It is just unusual to see green cucumbers turning red when they over-ripen!

Is A Vegetarian Diet Good For You?

Last week when I called home, my dad kept insisting that I need to provide my 2 year old son some meat in his diet, at least once a week he said. I kept insisting that as long as we have protein in our diet, we should be OK....but he kept on nagging over this issue through the phone.

So I looked up the internet and found out the following information about children's nutrition:

1. A child should be provided with a nutritional diet that is high in protein and contains above adequate levels of calcium. Protein aids the growth of muscle and bones & calcium helps to develop the bones.
2. An all round nutritional diet containing vitamins and minerals is highly recommended.
3. Daily consumption of fruits and vegetables is highly important.
4. Milk is also highly recommended. A glass of skimmed milk before bedtime should also be taken. As for vegetarian children, survey shows that they do have fewer red blood cells & iron levels than omnivores.

When levels are too low, the result is anemia, which may cause learning and psychomotor problems, fatigue and infection. Anemia is also caused by a vitamin B12 deficiency. Because vitamin B12 is found in all animal products, deficiency is of primary concern for vegetarians.

However, children who eat beans or tofu several times a day and dark green vegetables along with a source of vitamin C at mealtime to increase iron absorption, have plenty of red blood cells.

Despite the risk of lower iron levels affecting learning in young children, older vegetarian children may actually have higher IQs than carnivores.

Any other comments on children with a non-meat diet?

Rainy Days During Hari Raya Aidulfitri

This year I did not take any breaks to go back to Malaysia or go elsewhere for a vacation during the "Lebaran" period or Muslim New Year (Hari Raya Aidulfitri) period.


As the previous years, our factory in Palembang shutdown for a week because all the Muslim workers would not work during this festive period (despite being offered extra cash for compensation).


It was a good experience to see how Palembang is like during Lebaran but it was also a lonely one because nobody is around. The place looks deserted at 8am when I drove to the factory. I had to drop by at the factory everyday to check on security, potential roof leakages, roofing sheets flyimg off & flooding (and some other un-anticipated events that might have occurred).


Normally this period of time is the start of the drought period for Palembang, but instead it poured since the evening on the eve of Hari Raya until the next afternoon.


The rain was so heavy that all the caterpillars came out from the soil (my son loves to cut them up!). They looked pretty eerie when they all come out together!


I had to go into the partially flooded warehouse to push the accumulated rain water out (with the help of one security guard) and applied saw dust to absorb the water.


The plus side to the heavy downpour (besides the exercise that I did in the warehouse with the spade) is my plants got plenty of water and 3 more ladies fingers (okras) grew!

Charity During Fasting Month

One of my contractors invited me over to his house for an "open fast" event (Acara Buka Bersama), similar to the one that I had in my company a few weeks ago. This guy lives in a big house that is in a housing area connected to the main road via a muddy dirt path.

Muslims believe that in the month of Ramadan (fasting month), they have to do as much charity as possible and forgive others for their mistakes. Therefore, my contractor invited kids from 3 orphanages to his Acara Buka Bersama.

Upon reaching 6:10pm (time to break fast), all the 40 over orphans rush towards the food. At least some charity work has been put in by the rich of Palembang and make the day for the less fortunate.

Big Mansions In Palembang

In the city of Palembang, the poor can be very poor but the rich can be extremely rich.

Normally the rich Indonesian-Chinese would buy their own land and build their own mansions (or should I say "Palaces"!).

A few weeks back, I was invited to some parishioner's "blessing of the house mass". It was held on a Thursday evening. I think that guy invited the whole parish, including all the priests and sisters around the neighborhood.

The house was located near the Palembang Golf Club. We had to drive through several KMs of dirt road before arriving at this 30m x 70m 3 storey house. This guy Pak Hendra (Indon-Chinese) is a contractor that has regional offices in Jawa and Sumatra (big shot businessman).

The priest said mass and went to bless every room in that house with holy water (including their toilets). We had to sit in one of the 3 rooms outside the main hall because its fully occupied. After mass, we had a buffet supper session.

My wife would have loved to visit one of these houses. Unfortunately I do not know Pak Hendra that well to take her for a second visit.....