ALL THINGS BIG AND SMALL 2.0

A Florida swamp: Turkey Creek near Melbourne Baked Crabs at Ozzys' near Palm Bay The Desert Inn at Yeehaw Junction Baby Backribs, Palm Bay Airboat ride on the Saint John River Saturday night at the County Line Saloon Fruit and nut stands on the way to Saint Augustine The Skyway bridge near Tampa and Clearwater A Southern mansion in Mount Doro Sunday afternoon country music jam in Malabar Though it was written in 1981, Joel Garreau's book The Nine Nations of North America is, in my opinion, still valid. In it, Garreau suggests that North America can be divided into nine regions, or "nations", which have distinctive economic and cultural features. He also argues that conventional national and state borders are largely artificial and irrelevant, and that his "nations" provide a more accurate way of understanding the true nature of North American society. [Taken from Wikipedia: See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Nations_of_North_America ] Florid...

Lok Kai Yik: An almost extinct Peranakan dish Close-up pf Lok Kai Yik in all its glory Sambal Belachan: A fiery hot chili dip with fermented shrimp paste When I heard that Charlie's Peranakan* Restaurant in Singapore's Katong district was closing down, I cancelled a trip to photograph newly discovered African catfish species at Qian Hu fishfarm. *For more about Peranakans see http://www.fu-lu-shou.net/2009/02/my-peranakan-heritage-discovering.html Peranakan food is already an endangered cuisine. Lok Kai Yik is even more a highly endangered dish within Peranakan cuisine. The elaborate preparations, the labor-intensive activities and the huge assortment of ingredients that go into making a Peranakan dish make it a less commercially viable cuisine. But the main reason for Charlie's closing down was not for lack of clientele. It was because the Singapore government had just raised the levy for the foreign workers which many Singapore restaurants depended on as the locals are ...

The magnificent-looking Chief of the Swamp Aborigines Welcome sign to the Village: "Charcoal Junction Village" The jetty at our yard bordering the swamp Big Stork standing on roof of house Just caught: A Civet Cat Mangrove wood for making charcoal Aborigine children eating their meal An Aborigine child Bitter Gourd stuffed with fish and shrimp meat Making charcoal from Mangrove wood Mother and Baby Idyllic vilage scene Wild jungle flower Wild Boar Soup with White Peppercorns Wild Boar Trotters in Black Vinegar and Soya Sauce Woman collecting mangrove wood The oil rig yard we are constructing in Johor, Malayisa is near a mangrove swamp. The swamp is well-preserved and teeming with wild-life. A community of Aborigines belonging to the Seletar tribe of sea aborigines live in a village called Kampong Simpang Arang or Charcoal Junction Village . The tribe earn their living by making charcoal from the hard Bakau or mangrove tree wood, and by catching Crabs, Fish Sh...