Our 14th Anniversary do in March 2016

This year, in order to celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary, we invited some friends to Raub for a meal at our home. As usual, the decor theme was kept to a minimum bare white as possible so that the focus will go to the taste...

simple decor

amuse bouche made easy: savoury tuna bits on whipped sour cream filled tart shells

The first course was a simple dish inspired by a recently bought tea from China: a very fragrant and smoky Lapsang Suchong which was bought from Hojo in Midvalley Gardens mall. The idea presented some initial problems as to how to interpret the smoky almost bacon-like aroma of the tea into an edible dish.

Well, a jelly - cold jelly to be exact. The tea was infused into a boiling chicken broth which was balanced with white wine, lemon juice and sugar to give it an almost "ice-lemon tea" feel but yet has a smoky bacon undertone. Once set, it was left to sit in the fridge until serving - with crispy baked bacon and apple sauce.

Second course was a simple transition to milder flavour: angel hair pasta aglio olio with air dried caviar fro Petrossian. This delicate caviar is used like black peppercorns - crushed and sprinkle over the pasta. The pasta works as a neutral base for the subtle aroma of the caviar.

The main course: twice baked pork belly in chardonnay, stock and juniper berry served on a bed of potato puree.

A simple Brie and Raclette cheese to finish with a simple salade.

Dessert: chocolate mousse flavoured with Absinthe and served with a nice Phoenix Oolong "Mi Lan Xiang" from Hojo. My friend Chrystal concocted the musk rose - oolong tea infusion just for the occasion.

Onset of the dry season in 2016 (Part 1) - another round of dry tap for the city folks?

This year the dry season came very early and strong - some of the hottest we have experience in Malaysia and it is a clear cut sign of the urgent need to really stop the abuses in whatever natural resources we have in our country. The heat got me thinking...

To escape the heat, it is always nice to be able to stroll under cool shades of deep forests but alas, that might not be anymore left of it if the current rate of logging persists, as well as unabated clearing of forest for farmland - in the case of Raub until mid-elevation (around 600M above sea lavel). From afar, farms can be seen on the mid ridges of Ulu Tranum Forest Reserve as well as all over the foothills of Fraser's Hills (I hope they have permissions to do this). For someone like me who frequents forested roads just to enjoy the scenic drive, it is getting more and more alarming to see first the sign board of a permanent forest reserve and within the next minute durian farms straddling the ridges of the hills. Maybe next time when someone takes a bite at that famous Musang King it actually pays to heed where it comes from, in a word maybe we should practice traceability in our food chain, like in Europe. After all, sustainability is going to be the key word in our nearest future.

On the other side of the valley where Raub sits on, the picture is equally disturbing as the slopes of the Benom Range is clearly denuded for miles and miles unabated, slowly creeping up to mid-elevation and even submontane elevation unchecked because attention is focused to the ills in Cameron Highlands. What all these means is only one thing - where will the water from the current river basin come from once the hills are barren and unable to sustain its water table - not forgetting that the Bilut River and its tributaries actually forms the headwater of the Semantan River- and it has its sources in these two parts of Raub (and is going to be the source for the trans-state water transfer project)! Already, residents in parts of Raub where their water supply comes from the Bilut River is crying foul every time it rains because the river gets too muddy and JBA will have to stop pumping water. All rain and not a drop from the taps!!! Already, the remaining water source from Liang River in Raub is seeing its headwaters penetrated by human activities and farming. It worries me what the future hold for us in this quaint little town, that people can actually be so ignorant - and on general what all these means on a bigger scheme of things in our country...

Phew - happily, my weekends still roll as usual with my forest walks and here are some gems to share...

A sulking Amathusia butterfly sits vertically on a quiet trunk of a tree.

monkeys got a shot at this most unusally large and leathery fruit and drop some on the forest floor...

a beautiful jewel beetle in the shades...

When the cicadas cry in the early afternoon, it is a sign of the arrival of the dry season and in days where we were children, it was happy times away from the monsoon rain and wetness and sitting at home, of days catching rock shrimps and fishes by the brooks near our village, and of strange times where huge brown cicadas with transparent wings crashes into our house at night trying to devour the flourescent light...

A Faun, Faunis gracilis, in the shades of a forest trail...

delicate lavender-coloured flowers in the shades...

Who can resists a dip in this pristine water?

Tea at Hojo

Many years back, probably more than 6 years ago, I started the habit of drinking tea but ever so lightly only. Japanese tea were all the rage then but they seem to give me "angin" so I stopped for awhile. I usually buy good tea from them because the packaging was perfect as gift for faraway friends. Then, I discovered drinking Pu-erh, which has basically become the most fashionable tea in the market at the moment. Not because it is popular but because it is for me the most gentle tea for the body - and also the fact that tea is always a good drink after a hearty meal in Chinese restaurants. We were brought up drinking tea after meals to help digest "fats"...

The shop is quite tiny at the edge of Gardens Mall Mid Valley next to Robinson on the second floor

Back to Hojo - in my opinion sells the most honest tea in town because they sell you what you taste and see. The decision rest in the hands of the buyer and for this reason no one is felt compelled to purchase anything unbeknown to him (or her), what more subjective items like expensive teas. So the buying stays with the tasting, bit like wine at the sommelier. Personally, tea need not be expensive: they only need to fulfill 2 criteria - no adverse after effect on the body and taste smooth and pleasing to the tongue. Pu-erh is my preferred choice because of the light smoky taste imparted from the freshly brewed tea. Hojo used to be a specialist in Japanese tea (which was the first reason why I went to them) but soon they turn to a wide range of Chinese tea from China and they now feature many types of very good Pu-erh on their card. Their moto "a gift from the mountain" was surely the main stay of their sales as many of the teas offered are of highland varieties from Yunnan which are personally selected by the owner from small holders.

Range of Pu-erh and other teas on their shelf once filled with Japanese tea. Liked all the artisanal tea paraphenalias too (but very pricey...)

 Samples are labelled meticulously - good for those uninitiated to drinking tea...

close-up of the tea drinking utensils (mixture of Japanese and Chinese)

 Crystal serving tea - the salespersons are very friendly and approachable. I learned a thing or two from them about drinking tea and it is always interesting to go there for a cup or two and sometimes meet other customers who are themselves tea drinkers to learn something... one can always walk into the shop and ask for a little demo sans frais.

 Lovely individually signed wood boxes that contain delicate clay tea pots from Japan...

Hojo's website: http://hojotea.com/indexe.html

Read about Pu-erh teas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pu-erh_tea