Vegetarian and vegan food for Haiti victims

You can donate via paypal or credit card to help the victims in Haiti through the organization Food For Life Global. Food For Life Global serves vegan and vegetarian food during disaster relief.

Go to this link and click on the upper right corner of the webpage to donate.

Click here to keep updated on FFL's activities via twitter.

Animal Paradise

Animal paradise is a short distance (less than 5 minutes) drive from NANAS. This is sanctuary houses many different animals, from wild, to farmed (once), to tame.

The dogs and cats are kept in cells and large cages which I would not really agree with. In NANAS they also keep the cats in cages :( But I guess there is really no choice when you have free-roaming dogs (NANAS) or many species of animals in the sanctuary. The guide in Animal Paradise told us they bring the dogs out for walks, so that's a bit better, though I still wish they can keep them in large enclosures if there is available space.

The guide told us the background of many of the animals. The monkeys were saved from gunshot wounds from orchard farmers. There were some blind cats saved from fish mongers who dig out their eyes when they steal fish. Three police dogs were saved from being put to death after they can't work anymore - the one specializing in sniffing drugs came with mucus running from it's nose because its got no drugs to sniff anymore. A few snakes were saved from snake farms. There was a orphaned wild boar whose mum died. Wild horses who escaped from their owners. A tortise after being hit by a car.

Here are some pictures...

From top left: mother goat and baby goat, ostriches, parrot eating rambutan, porcupine eating, tortoise walking, cows enjoying a snack.

The parrot is a particular animal I like to highlight. When we arrive, it greeted us "hello" and it can call our guide. I don't know is it because animal paradise plays the Buddha's name recitation player at all the enclosures, but the parrot also know how to say the Buddha's name. In the picture it is eating a rambutan. It will even stick it's head out of the cage so we can stroke it's head. Birds are indeed smart!

This one day trip allows personal experience of the animals' different personalities. They are not just all the same inanimate creature and to be bred for flesh, just like we are all different and not meant for another stronger species.

Address: Pekan nanas new village

Noah's Ark Natural Animal Sanctuary

Noah's Ark Natural Animal Sanctuary (NANAS). The first thing you will notice is the smell of dogs, not surprising when they have over 700 free-roaming dogs there, many of them rescued from industrial areas. You will first have to pass through the main gate. After it's closed. The helper will open the second gate which blocks you from the dogs. The dogs know you are there and they gather at the behind the gate... this is the point where you really feel like you are mince meat :D.

Once you stepped past the gate, you get a few excited dogs standing on their hind legs and vying to place their front paws on your legs, some of the other dogs will start sniffing you all over or licking your toes, while others will wait for their turn. As you walk through the enclosure, you will meet with more of them who will try that. The larger dogs won't place their paws on you, thankfully. There are so many dogs that I got my feet stepped on twice by them. Don't worry though, once they got use to you they will leave you more or less alone.

Best to visit in a large group and don't bring young children unless you can carry them in your arms all the time or let them sit on your shoulders. When they try to put their paws on you lift your knee up to block. When a lot of dogs crowd around you try not to show favour to any one and remain stern, they will eventually go back to minding their own business. Wear tough bottoms, and good walking shoes, don't wear your precious $100 top.

Somehow the pictures I took don't show enough dogs, so I took the one taken by Pauline instead :) If you allow them to sniff and lick your hands bear in mind they may have go sniff and lick another dog's ass a few moments ago :D

The place also houses some cats, horses, a monkey and a few snakes.

Celebrating Grandma's Birthday with a vegetarian meal

Last Saturday, I joined my relatives to celebrate my Grandma's 80th Birthday in Malaysia. It was done in the Buddhist temple of Granny's village where we make some donations to cater vegetarian food for the villagers who turn up. Some volunteers helped to prepare the food in the morning for lunch and the nun gave a short talk on filial piety, killing and vegetarianism. Some people turned up for the talk, but most people turned up near the end - many more than I had expected. In a village that does not even have a decent dish of vegetarian food served at food stalls, I am glad they turned up and not create more killings in at least one meal of their lives.

On Sunday, we had to go back to Pudu Raya in KL for our bus trip back and heard news of the riots there. When we arrived all was over and the place looks as though nothing had happened. People were just going on with their daily lives and Times Square shopping centre seem bustling with people with a batik clothing stage show going on. I was surprised to find a vegetarian stall in the 10th-level food court at Times Square. You will find the usual mix-veg rice dishes as well as other soup based dishes. I ordered fish-ball noodles which was quite oily tasted so-so. The mix-veg rice dishes would probably be much better had I not have a craving for soup since Saturday. The good thing about ordering the mix-veg rice is you get to take the vegs yourself unlike in Singapore - good news for people who like to eat a large portion of food.

On the way back.... I experienced an unfortunate encounter. The munchie goodies I bought from Malaysia were gone! I realized this only when I got back home. We bought a few pack of dodols (more on this below) for my friends and one of the pack was gone... so were some tau sa pias from Malaysia Chinatown. We couldn't possibly have dropped or misplaced it, so I believed it was stolen :o

Dodol is a kind of coconut candy made with coconut milk, gula melaka, and glutinuous rice. It's rather sticky and has a very strong coconut flavour. Here's a recipe from Indianservice.com if you want to make it yourself:

3 Coconuts (large)
1/4 kg Rice flour
1/4 kg Palm jaggery
1/4 kg Cane jaggery
Few Cashew nuts (optional)
Salt To taste

1. Extract thick and thin juice from coconuts.
2. Mix flour and thin juice and continue stirring all the time.
3. Add some jaggery and continue stirring.
4. As mixture thickens, add remaining jaggery and keep stirring.
5. Then add thick coconut juice and stir, adding nuts.
6. When mixture begins to leave the sides of the vessel and oil begins to ooze the Dodol is done.
7. Pour into a flat plate.

Vegan Stockholm

I just stumbled across this site on where you can find vegan and vegetarian food in Stockholm, so if you are spending your vacation there, or staying there, you will know where to get vegan food :)
Click here to go to the site

Woods Macrobiotics

Health food stores are natural havens for vegans, especially when the area you go to doesn't have much vegetarian choices available. I have been to a few health food stores in Malaysia (strangely, after all my years in Singapore, I rarely visit any here) and there you will find many things you will not find in the usual supermarket. There will be a lot of rarely-seen vegan food in these stores. I have been to one in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia and it even serve soy ice-cream. Maybe soy ice-cream is widely available in the West in usual supermarts, but here in Asia, you don't see much of them except in such stores or selected supermarts. The only downside about these health food stores is the price.

Anyway, I just came across an article featuring a health food store in Malaysia.
Read about it here
The address of the store is:
Woods Macrobiotics
Jalan Telawi 2
Bangsar Baru
Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours: 10am to 10pm daily.
Tel: 03-2287 0959.

If you are travelling to KL by coaches from SG, the trip will cost you around SGD$25 (This is the price for an economy ticket for Transnasional coaches - available at Lavender street). Most coaches will stop at the Pudu Raya bus station in KL. You can take a cab to the place if you like, but don't take the cab at the station or at the Chinatown street nearby unless you don't mind being ripped off. Cross the overhead bridge from the Chinatown street area to the shopping center opposite. There is a taxi stand there and the price is calculated by the meter.