The Day My Life Begin to Change..

It was one of the happiest days of my life. Surely, this is the biggest blessing to come from God this year, thus far. For me, it was an extremely pleasant surprise..

On 9th Aug 2012, the National Day of Singapore, I went to Mandarin Oriental Hotel expecting the best (air-conditioned) seats in the house for the grand National Day Parade at the floating platform downstairs. I went home the next day being so transformed and blessed...I was almost speechless. And it wasn't the luxurious hotel suite nor the wonderful show that took my breath away. Rather it was the sweet, romantic and personal proposal from my darling fiancee, YY...

I guess YY arranged the whole event for a long time - looking at all the effort he has poured into the P.R.O.P.O.S.A.L project and I have never seen him more nervous. My logistics maestro was extremely stealthy and steady in executing the entire event. As for the unprepared me, I am glad I said the right answer to the most important question in my life - YES!

So, amidst grand fireworks bursting behind us at eye level, it was a truly memorable evening. Of course I am glad he recorded it all on film..although strangely I moved out of frame (considering how much I love the camera) and I didn't shed a tear in the beginning (I guess the idea was still sinking into my thick caput)

It was only when we kneel on our knees and prayed for God to shine His light upon us and lead us to right decisions in the our walk together that I begin to cry tears of joy.

And from thereafter, I was grinning from ear to ear at my new 'status' - upcoming new bride in Autumn 2013 and praying that the preparations will allow us to begin our new life together in a meaningful, memorable and loving way!

A Foodie's Pilgrimage up north

 So what happens when you have a serious craving for 'original' Malaysian hawker food? You pack your stuff, grab your passport and hit the trail. Time for a road trip up north on the awesome NSE of course! Eat till you drop!!


After spending a brief sojourn in my lovely 'hometown' KL, we continued driving on a very sunny weekday all the way up past Perak, into Kedah and then finally Penang!

Entering Penang from the mainland (whether by the ferry or on the bridge) is always a thrill, as the beautiful island glitters in the bright sun beckoning all food lovers near and far. Aaaah, the beloved Pearl of the Orient. Does it still lives up to my memories of various food-trips to this city?

Amazingly, it does. Coming from places with utilitarian hawker food, Penang is a breath of fresh, cheap,cheap,cheap fresh air. Did I mention cheap? Ok, I shan't spoil market here as I know inflation hits hard everywhere but the price is kept at an ok pace despite the great ingredients used.


Now back to the food....

Penang great food No 1: Cnn Kway Chap.
We named this after the broadcasting network as apparently, news about this fabled dish has been reported on international news multiple times. We were very skeptical & reluctant as we feel 'innards and internal organs' are things we remove on daily basis in the theatre, not something to be munched on...

However, we were very pleasantly surprised at the wonderful balance of flavour. The fine nuance of spices in the meaty broth mixed with smooth kway chap ties with the next dish as the no 1 hawker food found in this trip. Even the 'organs' became elevated to some sort of creative delicacy akin to those found in top 'celebrity restaurants at MBS'. At 1/100th of the price.

The shop doesn't even have a name as the uncle cook from his stall which has a motorbike attached. All I know is that it is near Kimberley Street. I am sure the locals will point you to it if you ask.


Penang great food no 1: Char Koay Teow.

Now I was told : Once upon a time, there was a great food war brewing in Penang. The legend was that 2 brilliant CKT artisans set up shop within close vicinity to each other..there was indeed great rivalry for CKT greatness. Eventually, one of them lost the war and the person moved out. Presently, the stalls are situated quite apart from each other.

Due to some unknown reasons, we found this goggle-auntie CKT at Lorong Selamat before we could visit her other great competitor Ah Leng CKT and we were instantly hooked. YY reached culinary paradise. I was smitted again as I remembered that I tried the food from this stall a few years ago. It still taste the same..equally wonderful with large fresh crunchy prawns and that 'wok hei' that is thoroughly missing in all SG street food. The most interesting selling point of this stall must be the stylish old auntie with communist red beret and curt manners. Service is minimal but food is awesome. We are still hooked. Food-dreams are made of this...

Penang great food no 3: Nyonya food.

Due to the tie for no 1, this wonderful gourmet wonder was bumped to number 3. I think it's slightly unfair because the whole meal was graded (as compared to the single stand-alone dish previously)....I couldn't decide between all the dish served at this Nyonya place at Quayside by Seri Tanjung Pinang. IMHO, 2 dish: Fish Belanda with fried fish that was fresh and crunchy and jiu hu char - a shredded cuttlefish dish that was unforgettable. This place was humming with happy diners on a Sunday night as we stuff ourselves crazy....

Penang great food no 4: Various Western restaurant throughout the island

Now, Penangites are really blessed. Not only there are wonderfully balmy & clean beach that they can escape to easily on weekends (even Langkawi is just a stone's throw away)...the range of international cuisine is of very high standard at much cheaper prices than the other 2 'Strait's Settlements' as well!

One of my perennial favourite is this place called David Brown's at Strawberry Hill atop Penang Hill. Part of the allure goes to the breath-taking scenery and well-manicured garden. Next and most importantly, I have to give credit to the food served too. The trout was very good - fresh, well-cooked, savoury and simply scrumptious. As we dined al fresco, birds and butterflies drifted past us on this lazy, hot Saturday afternoon made bearable on top of the 2000ft high Penang Hill. Not too bad eh?

To be continued.....

A Brother's Love - My first liver transplant

The first time I met Mr E in National University Hospital was on the day before he would take the biggest risk of his life. I was struck by this friendly and cheerful giant. At over 180m tall and more than 100 kg, he clearly towered over me, the unsuspecting tiny surgical registrar. I noticed how much he engaged himself in the conversation as my consultant surgeon explained to him again about the entire procedure, never mincing a single word on how things could go triumphantly right..or even tragically wrong.
 

            He is one of the healthiest person in the room and we have to be absolutely certain that it. After all, we have subjected him to almost every single laboratory tests and imaging modalities available in this medical centre on a young person who would never need it under normal circumstances. However, Mr E is not a normal person..in fact, he puts all of us to shame for doing something remarkable for his brother. He is giving up more than 70% of his liver although he absolutely doesn’t need to do so. All for the love of his youngest brother, Mr A who could die if he doesn’t get a liver soon.

            What drives a person to this kind of sacrifice? As I prepared myself mentally and physically for the exciting yet arduous task of a living donor liver transplantation on a beautiful quiet Saturday morning in NUH, I asked myself whether I could have done the same for my siblings or loved ones. Why are doctors willing to help be part of this big risk? Why are we not saving more lives this way? Why?

            No choice. There is simply no choice for people like E and his brother. I can only think of these 2 words. Between life and death, they decide to seek life. They travelled all the way from Middle East to Singapore in order to seek the best that liver surgeons, hepatologist, radiologist immunologist, etc could offer.

If only more people step up and say, “I am willing to be an organ donor shall I perish and I am suitable to be one” or “Please doctor, my loved one may be dying, but I want his death to be life for many others”. In dying, we can find life but why are people so unwilling to do so. As many of us search for answers and dwindle on longer and longer based on indecisiveness and fear, courageous people like Mr E and many others embark on this path less travelled – living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). A path fraught with legal red-tapes, financial constraints, personal sacrifices and even death for both donor and recipient. It's never a path taken lightly or without due consideration.

Organ transplantation is not new in this region. In fact, Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA) has been around for at least 2 decades in Singapore but the numbers of transplantation has been dwindling abysmally over the years. The amount of liver transplants done in this country this year is woeful and augurs poorly for the future. We have less than 10 cadaveric transplantation cases countrywide this year, which was the bread and butter of transplantation surgery.

 As a result, most of the transplants had been the extremely high risk LDLT. This is in comparison to some other Asian centres, like Korea and Japan where it can be an average of 350 cases per hospital per year. This means that there is at least one transplant going on in the operating theatres each day, every single year in these hospitals.

 The saddest part for me is that many people hesitate to donate organs of their dying loved ones due to many reasons. My head spins when I hear of many creative, incredulous reasons why a person in intensive care cannot donate their organ. There are no logical, moral, religious and logistics reasons not to donate organs in this country. My summary of all the excuses so far are captured in 2 adjectives: unwillingness and ignorance.

Every case of transplantation is an exciting journey upon itself but not every transplantation stories have happy endings. They almost never receive the publicity or fanfare they deserve. During my first experience with a liver transplant surgery, my heart was beating in joy and humility for what I was about to experience – it’s literally sharing the gift of life from one person to another. In my little mind, it was one of the best, jaw-dropping, awe-inducing demonstration of surgical knowledge, dexterity & skills, inter-disciplinary teamwork, medical camaraderie and top-notched, dedicated support staff.

This act enables someone who was constantly ill and dying and transforms them into a real human again. They will no longer be dependent on machines and doctors for long term. Although each recipient may face an armamentarium of medicine in the beginning, they will soon be weaned down to one or two maintenance medications and minimal follow-ups with doctors.

 

What are the highest achievements of a civilization? What is the marker of a successful, egalitarian society? It’s when we stop looking inward and start to look at the common good. It’s when we see our struggling, suffering comrades and in love, extend a helping hand. We must continue to support the transplantation program in this country before it becomes a dying art, a fossil, a relic of past glory.

 

As of today, Mr A is still resting in intensive care while Mr E is carefully nursed in another high dependency unit. We pray that these 2 young people will recover soon and return heroically to their country within 1 or 2 months.

Highlights from the land down under Part 2 : Urban landscapes

So, back to Sydney (I know I have been pretty inconsistent with blogging but hey, with accumulated sleep of 30hours over the past 1 week, I have been really busy).


Walking around in Sydney was very effortless and enjoyable. There are interesting sights and good food everywhere.

The sun was out in full force despite being the height of winter. Just a simple cardigan sufficed. There are lots of sporty Australians running around in shorts and light tops.

And of course I took plenty of pictures around the Sydney Opera House area. Pretty ain't it? There is a cool cafe/bistro within the compound while shows/musicals/performances are held weekly.

Time for some cardio sessions in Sydney? It took me a few tries to perfect this star-jump!

The Opera House from across the bay. This is from the bridge side. This is NOT taken with the proper lens (as I only travelled with one all-purpose lens).

This is the Rocks area - the most historical area in Sydney whereby the first few hardy English people first landed and established a 'convict' colony. Plenty of shops, cafes, museums and visitor centres to keep you occupied while the weekend markets are well-known for offering extremely good bargains.

Dusk at observatory hill. Notice the sunlight piercing through the clouds. Perfect 'romantic' moment for the couple there? However, on closer glance...it was actually 2 guys/buddies having a chat about life!

Another view of the Harbour Bridge from Observatory Hill. Nightfall arrived around 430-5pm during winter, thus limiting the hours that we could walk about. Anyway, time for dinner!

to be continued....

Highlights from the land down under Part 1

Prelude..

Despite my delusion that I'm actually a celebrated travel-photojournalist, I've only been to 2 continents my entire life. Asia and Europe. When the opportunity to hop down under for a meeting in Australia, I was ecstatic excited lost for word. I've long wondered about life in the Southern Hemisphere - winter in July, gazing at the Southern cross, seeing a kangaroo/koala/platypus/Australian in their natural habitat and catching a glimpse of the famous Outback. The list goes on.

So, the moment I stepped onto the Qantas flight, I was very happy just because there is a skycam. It's so interesting seeing the plane I'm on departing and landing. It helps having a running commentary about 'flying' from the person next to you. Cool...

Winter is surprisingly mild in Sydney...according to my irritatingly-immune-to-cold-weather friend R, who walked around wearing a T-shirt while I was shivering my light jacket. I think it was the cold, biting wind which I couldn't adjust to...living in the eternal sauna-like Malaysia/Singapore almost my entire life. However, I began to love the cold after a while, especially after a warm meal.

Talking about meals - food in Sydney is superb. Aside from the fast food @ Oporto on the first night (yeah, we were THAT tired to notice), each meal in this exciting city seem to be really good. Dinner @ Mazzaro, courtesy of our sponsors gave us an early inkling of what to expect in the following few days. It was yummy!

My main course was this pan-fried salmon with crackling skin ( I don't know how they made this impossibly-crunchy dish) that reminded me of the best roast suckling pig back home. Dessert was a trio of ice-cream and I poached some of poached pear from my neighbour. Finally, I'm living my Masterchef Australia dream. Hooray!

What best to accompany such gluttonous dinner/wine session but a quintessential jaunt down Elizabeth Street to the nearby Sydney Harbour area. Weather was superb as we gape at the pretty bridge and the Opera House. Nice...



to be continued