1. 

Beep.  Beep. 

“Please call home when u are free.”

 When dad sends this text message to my mobilephone, his request could range from “Your mum is in the hospital, so if you are free, please visit” to “Can you buy us plane tickets to London” to “Are you coming over for dinner this weekend?”.  The urgency may differ for each request, but his text message is always the same.  I think he has it saved on his mobilephone.

Fearing the worst, I called.

Me:  What’s up, dad?

Dad:  Have you heard of Boer goat meat?

(Note:  This conversation takes place in the middle of my rush period when I’m desperately trying to finalise a report.)

Me:  Huh??

Dad:  You haven’t been reading the papers, have you? The Boer goat originates from South Africa and its meat is supposed to be more tender than local mutton.  And it’s healthier than other meats.  It has lower saturated fat and cholestrol content as compared to other popular meats.

Me:  And your point is?

Dad:  Boer goat meat is now available locally, you know.  It may cost 3 times more than local mutton, but it would be interesting to learn more about it.

Me:  And…?

Dad:  Can you be a dear and buy us some?

And that’s how I found myself at Boer Goat Junction at Damansara Utama on a Saturday morning, sacrificing my much needed sleep for the sake of the love I have for my family.   I was immediately struck by the cleanliness of the place and the lack of any strong raw meat smell which I had grown accustomed to in my early days of going to the market with my mum.  The place was bright and welcoming, much like McDonald’s.

The butcher was an extremely helpful fellow.  I told him I wanted cuts for mutton peratal (an Indian style curry dish), and he immediately recommended two options, the forearm and the thigh.  The forearm is apparently very tender and soft, perfect for a peratal dish, while the thigh is more lean.  Unable to make a decision, I took both.  While waiting for the nice man to chop up the meat, I chatted with him.  “Where’s the farm?” I asked him.  “It’s at Cenderiang,” he said.  “The goats eat Napier grass and drink mineral water from the springs near Tapah.”  I imagined Julie Andrews singing lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo. “They must be happy goats,”  I offered.  “Until they get slaughtered, I’m sure,” he replied.

Mum was happy.  The mutton peratal took half the time to cook as the meat was very tender.  Also, this meat lacked the strong mutton smell that is sometimes a turnoff for some people.  And the taste test:  Delicious! But at almost RM70 per kg, I think this is one meat that we shall be eating only on special occasions!

Boer Goat Junction
No. 43, Jalan 21/60
Damansara Utama
47400 Petaling Jaya

Click HERE for their official website.

Tel: 03-7722 2999

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2.

With so much hype over Cupcake Chic, I was rather pleased when Paprika brought some for us to try.  One was a chocolate cupcake, the other was a butter pecan, and I can’t remember the third.

Now mind you, I don’t really care that the idea isn’t original (a quick search on the internet will reveal that the idea is very similar to another bakery in the US), and I don’t really care that they don’t look as appealing to me as other cupcakes (because beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I’ve been told).

What I care about is paying RM4.50 for:

• a cupcake that is bloody sweet – I know icing is supposed to be sweet, but this will reduce my lifespan by 5 1/2 years.

• frosting that tastes the same, with very little hint of whatever the cupcake is called, other than the obvious chocolate which isn’t vanilla. 

The fact is, if I’m paying RM4.50, I certainly expect to get my money’s worth.

Well, there were some redeeming qualities.  The texture of the cupcake was nice and crumbly and I thought the ondeh-ondeh (glutinous rice filled with gula melaka and coated with grated coconut) cupcake tasted like ondeh-ondeh.  A RM4.50 ondeh-ondeh, no less.

So I went out and got myself a few more to try.  After all, everybody deserves a second chance.

This time, I placed them in front of new guinea pigs.  The verdict was the same.  Too much sugar, too little flavour. 

For different opinions, check out:

• Queer Rant
• Adventures of a Veggie Foodie
• A Li’l Fat Monkey
• A Self-Proclaimed Foodaholic
• Honey Star
• WMW
• Ipoh Mali Talak Sombong
• Eat First Think Later

Cupcake Chic
Lot GZF-4, Ground Floor,
The Curve, Mutiara Damansara,
47810 PJ.

Tel: 03-7726 9075

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3.

I was rushing to meet Bald Eagle one evening after grabbing my groceries at Bangsar Village.  I ran smack into some road works along Jalan Chenderai at Lucky Garden  (part of the Lembah Pantai constituency where the Clash of the Titans will take place) where heavy machinery were ploughing their way through the night to ensure that Bangsar folk would wake up the next morning to the smell of fresh tar.  It wouldn’t have bothered me so much had I not known that the road was directly in front of the school where I shall be casting my vote this Saturday.

In times like this, it will take more than latte and tar to help me make up my mind.

I turned to my mum for advice. “Oh, we support Obama.”  The power of CNN.

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The good people of Abu Dhabi may view pics HERE. Sorry about the delay!