Forgotten Youth Found Again

Ahh the times we remember from our youth---I just had this experience recently. My wife and I went on a small vacation to Krabi, Thailand and it was an excellent stay. It started out a little rough, we were staying in a very cute little resort, however, it was a bit of a walk to everything. After the first night I was already tired of the walking up and down the main (or really only) street where all the action is. So many times we have gone to Phuket or Bali only to walk up and down the same street day after day and night after night. This time seemed like it would be the same as the rest. Then all of a sudden I jokingly said, “why don’t we rent a motorcycle and explore the area, you know a “real” motorcycle, not one of those little kid motorbikes that do not even have a clutch”? My wife said “ok”. Course I was not really serious, after all I have not been on a motorcycle in about 25-28 years. I had my first bike when I was 10 years old: a little Yamaha GT8Occ dirt bike.

Anyway, the next morning my wife had mentioned it to me again and I felt sort of trapped, on one hand I really did want to do it, on the other hand visions of spilling the bike on the road before I even got up to 10 miles an hour were racing through my head. Thoughts of scratches, blood and doctors were running through my mind, least of all not to mention the thought of looking like a scared little child in front of my wife. Well, the next thing I knew, we were headed to the rental place while I am wondering if those silly little motorbikes that everyone uses over here really aren’t so bad after all. How manly can I make myself look on one of these put-put (pronounced: like puff with a T) bikes, after all, my wife used to ride one of them.

When we arrived at the rental place, I have to admit I stalled around for about 15 minutes looking at the bikes and thinking, “man, I have not been on one for these in about 3 decades, there is no way I am coming off of it alive and I am going to be the one who has sent my wife early to the underground”. I somehow found myself on top of a Honda Phantom 200cc Cruiser (yes I know it is not big, but it looked like a real cruiser) riding down the main street a mile this way and a mile that way and WOW it all came rushing back to me as if I had been riding bikes for the last 30 years. I mean it all came back, shifting gears, breaking, balancing and even the feeling of “Hey Man, I feel pretty damn cool on this”.


I found myself looking in windows of stores as I drove by with my wife sitting high on the back and my hair blowing all around (glad I have been letting my hair get back to its younger, longer than the girls at the beach shoulder length) and the sun cooking my arms giving me that all too famous bikers tan. Next thing I know we are looking for the ever allusive gas station down the road (suppose to be a kilometer from the rental shop) and we find ourselves 40 km away looking for Tesco. We even got caught in a rain storm and got lost on the way home.

The next day we drove all around our area and had a blast while a day later we drove another 40 or so km to go sea kayaking. What started out to be a run of the mill street walking vacation turned into being an exploration of the areas while being free and open with the environment. We could have never of had that experience while renting a car all closed up away from everyone and everything. Little kids were yelling out to us, people were waving and fellow bike riders were smiling and my wife was proud that we were on this “sort” of mean looking iron horse instead of renting one of those wanna be bikes that all the other tourist were using. I myself found a lost love that I had forgotten all about, a love that now a days is more of a mature romance instead of the younger kid goes for it all racing against anything that moves. I cannot help to think about buying one of these for myself on a permanent basis, while I would not dare to risk my life (let alone my wife’s) here in Malaysia riding a bike, I believe I will truly entertain the notion while in the US---oh and by the way, not a 250cc pony, but more like a 600-900cc true steel horse that yearns to run free.

Beef Burger IS a Hamburger

OK people, here it is, I do not know how many times I have gone around to places here and have asked for a hamburger only to be told “we do not have hamburgers, we don’t serve pork; we have beef or chicken burgers”. I even went to a restaurant here in Ipoh called Brewsters (supposed to be a top notch place specializing in Western Food) and in his menu he said something to the effect: “Hamburger---a pork patty toasted on a toasted bun ---not to be confused with either the “meat or place”. I have no idea at all what they were talking about, but here it is, a hamburger is not a HAMburger. How many TV shows, movies, Discovery Channel shows have there been about this. A Hamburger is, has always been and will forever always be, a BEEF Burger. 100 Percent made out of beef. If it is a pork patty, it is then called a Pork Burger and if it is made with a chicken patty, it would then be called a Chicken Burger, oh and if made out of lamb –yeah that’s it, come on now, say it with me: Lamb Burger.

How is it that so many countries and people around the world know what a hamburger is, but here a good amount of people (almost everyone I ever met working in a restaurant) thinks it means a burger made from ham. A Hamburger is called a hamburger BECAUSE of Hamburg, Germany: Hamburger is the shortened form of "Hamburger Steak", a minced beef patty originally native to Hamburg, Germany. Although there is also the claim that it is called Hamburger for Hamburg, New York as well: “Menches brothers 1885, Hamburg, New York. Western New York history records that Frank and Charles Menches ran out of pork for their sausage patty sandwiches at the 1885 Erie County Fair. Their supplier, reluctant to butcher more hogs in the summer heat, suggested they use beef instead. The brothers...added coffee, brown sugar, and other ingredients to create a distinct taste without condiments. They named their creation the "Hamburg Sandwich" after Hamburg, New York where the fair has been held since 1868; the name was probably later condensed by common use to "hamburger", which may explain why a beef sandwich - which never contained any pork - bears this name. The original recipe is featured at Menches Brothers Restaurants in Akron, Ohio”

Also, a couple of other things: I once ordered Fried Chicken from somewhere (I cannot recall where, although I am fairly sure it was KFC) in Malaysia and was served a strange piece; it was not a wing or thigh, not a leg or breast, not even the Bishop’s Nose, but was told it is the back, that’s right, a chicken back. Now, I am not certain, but after 30 some odd years of cooking, reading recipe books and eating at more restaurants than I care to think of, I have never come across anything ever called a chicken back. I guess chickens might have backs, but would there be anything on it to actually eat?

Then there is the “Chicken Chop”, now I do not dispute that there is such a thing, but I really would like to know what it is, I mean if it is the breast meat pounded down and flattened, then why not simply call it breast of chicken? I have seen this only in Asia, but maybe somewhere else, somewhere a little different, somewhere well in a world of its own (hmmm the UK---just kidding) there might be such a thing, but I swear there isn’t (I could be and probably am wrong though.) There is of course a pork chop, called that because it is cut that way, but there is no way to cut a chicken chop out of a chicken, you would have to smash it and the only meat you can do that with is the breast, therefore: Chicken Breast, or Breast of Chicken.

Lastly is the Mushroom Steak, now this one blew me away the first time I ever ordered one at a place called the Ship. This was about 10 years ago, my wife and I had gone to the Ship in KL, supposed to be a very decent place to get a great steak. I saw Mushroom Steak, so I ordered it and what I got was anything but. It was a thin piece of dry, no taste, very poor excuse for a steak covered with brown gravy. There were no mushrooms to be found, though, when I asked the waiter what that was, he said “your mushroom steak”, I asked where—he said “there, the gravy”. What The Freak Man!!! A mushroom steak is a grilled steak with real mushrooms on it. This was basically beef with gravy-that is if that thing I was served could actually be considered beef.

A Little Game For Everyone

More Music Videos please...

OK I am on the hunt for videos like the two listed below, if anyone knows of any other videos that are similar to the below please be sure to provide the information and I will post the video if it falls into the same area as these. I think we are going to see more and more videos popping up over the next few months. I could not help but to feel so happy after watching these, especially the first one: Sound of Music in the historic train station: Central Station Antwerp in Belgium.

London: Life's for sharing (T-Mobile Commercial) Saatchi & Saatchi