Pork innard congee, takeout from a shop in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur

The pig innards congee in Hong Kong is a bit different from those we have in Malaysia. The pork innards (liver, kidney, intestine, lungs, stomach etc.) in Hong Kong are normally cooked fresh with the congee, whereas in Malaysia the innards are pre-cooked and seasoned before adding into the congee.

Both style has its pros and cons… but the essence of the congee is with the rice porridge itself. The smoothness and thickness of the congee is often more dictating than the pork innards. The one I had in the photo for example was a bit too watery.

Chinese and some other Asians are quite accustomed to this dish, but westerners might take this as one of those bizarre food adventure.

Pig innards congee, Malaysian style

The rally was organised by Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, the largest Buddhist group in South Korea. The police estimated that 55,000-60,000 people took part in the rally, including thousands of monks.

Korean Buddhists protesting in Seoul (Image from Jogye Order’s website)

President Lee is a devout Protestant; he was already a controversial character when he was the mayor of Seoul. Discontent among Buddhists has been brewing in recent months as he was alleged to be practising religious favouritism when appointing key positions in the government and Cabinet.

In June 2008, the Buddist community was angered when the Seoul metropolitan area transportation information system (Algoga), administered by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, omitted the names of major temples (but not churches) in their map.

The ministry has apologised that it was an accidental mistake, but similar incident happened again in early August… this time it’s the educational geographical information system, administered by the Education, Science and Technology Ministry that made the ‘mistake’.

The major incident that prompted the protest happened in late July when the police searched the car of the Jogye Order leader, the Venerable Jigwan, in the course of arresting Buddhist activists that were suspected to have sought refuge in the temple. The activists are wanted for their alleged involvement in the US beef protest.

The Buddhist protesters are demanding an open apology from President Lee, dismissal of officials accused of biased action and legislation for the religious discrimination. A spokesman said that they would hold more protests across the country if their demands are not met [with reference from Chosun]

According to Korean government’s 2005 statistics, approximately 29% South Koreans are Christian while 23% are Buddhist.

Korean Buddhists protest religious discrimination

Hari is a popular Indian name while Puttar means son in the Punjabi language. It’s said that the storyline doesn’t relate to Harry Potter at all… and judging from the poster alone, I would have ruled that Mirchi is the winner for the lawsuit.

However, I can’t deny the probability that the Indian movie maker is being opportunistic for publicity, which they managed to get it now regardless of whether it was intentional at the first place.

Warner sues Hari Puttar

Michael made his debut in 1995 with Victor Wong as a duo group and became popular pretty soon across Asia. The duo broke up in 2000 to pursue their solo career; and it didn’t take long for Michael to re-establish himself as one of the top Chinese artists.

First Time

“First Time” (第一次) was a hit song in Michael’s solo debut album “Michael’s First Album”… all the songs below are written by Michael. The lyrics for First Time is by Zhang Tian Cheng; MV actress is Hsiao Shu Shen, a top model back then…

Fairy Tale

“Fairy Tale” (童话 - Tóng Huà) is the biggest song from Michael. It was released in his third (same-title) album in 2005 and arguably the Chinese song of the year. The music video is also widely spread into western communities via Youtube etc.

Lyrics by Michael himself; MV actress is Song Zhi Ai, now a popular commercial model…

Commitment

“Commitment” (约定 - Yuē Dìng), from Michael’s fourth (same title) album in 2006. Lyrics also by Michael; MV actress is also a popular commercial model Zheng Yi Xiang. The music videos for First Time, Fairy Tale and Commitment were directed by Zhou Ge Tai…

Shao Nian (feat Gary Chaw)

“Shào Nián” (少年 - means teenage) is a song from the Fairy Tale album, featuring popular Malaysian singer Gary Chaw who was just a new star back then. Lyrics by Guan Qi Yuan, directed by Hsu Yun Hsian…

Never Apart

“Never Apart” (不会分离 - Bú Huì Fēn Lí) from Michael’s fifth (same title) album in 2007. MV actress is rising star Fang Si Yu. Lyrics by Michael，directed by You Shau…

Btw, me and Michael was from the same school in the City of Ipoh… he is about a decade older than me though, thus graduated from high school when I was still in primary school. He already showed his talent when he was in high school… co-written a song named “Faith, Hope, Charity” which was used as the school’s theme song.

Michael Wong - music video collections

The 2008 gala managed to raise 10.35 million Yuan (~USD1.5 million) which will be channelled to the relief work in quake-hit areas in Sichuan province.

Super Junior-M, Zhou Xun, Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh, Liu Yifei, Vicki Zhao, Li Bingbing and Fan Bingbing at the charity gala (Image from Crienglish)

Harper’s Bazaar Charity 2008 in Beijing

The 29-year-old Tokyo native is a professional ping-pong player in Japan. Naomi’s achievements in the sport were decent, but not quite to the world-elite levels. There’s no question about her popularity though, as she now owns a TV show and a published autobiography [via Tokyomango]

There are no official dress codes for ping-pong games, but most of the players, male or female, are dressed in baggy T-shirts and sport pants. The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is looking to change that by sexing up their attire particularly for the female players to increase the popularity of the sport around the world.

Perhaps we will see more female ping-pong players wearing tight cloths and mini-skirts in near future… but obviously, Naomi is already a step above the rest in fashion sense.

A video below (in Japanese) with Naomi Yotsumoto in action; do not confuse Naomi with the other girl on 2:45-3:45… that’s Ai Fukuhara, arguably the most popular Japanese ping-pong player at the moment…

Another shorter video with different fashion…

Naomi Yotsumoto the ping-pong fashionista

Didn’t manage to drip the coffee myself when I was in Hanoi in July 2008; the cafe I went to served the well-prepared drink instead (photo above).

My sister who tried some coffee in Hanoi prior to my visit told me that the Vietnamese coffee was stronger than common espresso… can’t agree on that, at least not with the one I had. A decent glass of coffee though… smooth, thick and rich.

Vietnamese ice-milk coffee in Hanoi

The closing ceremony was ok for me; nothing much different than the opening… visually pleasing but not heart warming. I am a bit worried for London though; their short appearance last night was quite bland.

Beijing Olympics will be remembered as the Olympic with greatness. Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt obviously stole the spotlight… a few other personal favourite winners include Yelena Isinbayeva, Guo Jingjing, Zhang Ning, Roger Federer, Matthias Steiner, Japanese softball team and Argentina’s men soccer team etc.

It has been a wonderful event, but I am glad it has finally ended. The Olympics had taken away too much of my working (and sleeping) hours for the past two weeks… plenty of catchup needed now.

It’s goodbye to Beijing, and hello to London in 2012.

Good bye Beijing, hello London

Father Antonio Rungi, a theologian and schoolteacher from Naples, was planning to run the “Miss Sister” (or “Sister Italia”) contest via online voting in hope to give the nuns a chance to show off their work and image [via News and ABC]

Update - the plan is suspended.

Italian priest to hold beauty pageant for nuns

CDTV’s Japanese countdown video below which gives a fast glance on the trend setters in J-pop these days… [Hat tip to Thierry]

Top 20 Japan’s most wanted girlfriend 2008

1. YUI 2. Kaori Mochida 3. Ayumi Hamasaki 4. Ai Ōtsuka 5. aiko 6. Ai Takahashi 7. Ai Kawashima 8. Kiyoe Yoshioka 9. Maimi Yajima 10. Yui Aragaki 11. Nocchi 12. Namie Amuro 13. Ayaka 14. Kaela Kimura 15. Kumi Koda 16. Misako Uno 17. Hiroko 18. BoA 19. Mai Kuraki 20. Reina Tanaka

Top 20 Japan’s most wanted boyfriend 2008

1. Jin Akanishi 2. Kazuya Kamenashi 3. Hyde 4. Jun Matsumoto 5. Tomohisa Yamashita 6. Takahiro 7. Takahisa Masuda 8. Jaejoong 9. TAKUYA∞ 10. Shō Sakurai 11. Kōichi Dōmoto 12. Akihito Okano 13. Kentarō Kobuchi 14. Ryo Nishikido 15. Yusuke Kamiji 16. Yuya Tegoshi 17. Masaki Aiba 18. Haruichi Shindou 19. Teppei Koike 20. DAIGO

It seems like only singers are being shortlisted for this poll. Korean stars BoA and Jaejoong (from TVXQ) are the only two non-Japanese celebs that made the list.

Japan’s most wanted lovers 2008

The Auckland City Council had sought a court injunction to stop the parade but the judge has ruled in the the parade’s favour. I’ll leave the moral issue for your own interpretation; but some of the folks were obviously enjoying the show…

Boobs on Bike Parade (Image from Jon, Wonderferret, Ian and Pablo)

Boobs on Bike parade in Auckland

There are a few variations of pho depending on the regions. The pho in Hanoi is called phở Hà Nội or phở bắc (northern pho), which is normally served with green onions; whereas the middle and southern regions are using some other herbs instead.

A new found friend brought me to one of the locals’ favourite to try the pho when I visited Hanoi in July 2008. The place is Pho Thin, located at 13 Lo Duc St.

The restaurant was packed on the Saturday morning. The customers were sitting shoulder to shoulder while some others lining up for their seats. It’s not difficult to understand the crowdiness after tasting the pho, because it was really good.

The rice noodles were smooth and chewy, and the broth was rich in flavour despite looking mild and clear… and their chillies were nice too. Simplicity to its best, worth recommended.

Pho Thin, Hanoi, Vietnam

When a man loves a woman

Matthias Steiner of Germany was the men’s +105kg weightlifting champion on Tuesday. When I first saw the picture, I thought of how romantic this guy was… I only knew a day later that the woman in the picture was his wife Susann, who died in a car accident last year, and it sparked plenty of emotions…

Matthias with his gold medal and a photo of his late wife (Image via Beijing2008)

This will probably be the most memorable Beijing Olympics’ photo for me… it draws love, sadness, romance, pride, commitment and loyalty. If I am a woman I would probably fall in love with this guy.

The age controversies

The age controversies have been looming at the gymnastic ground since China won the women’s team event, with questions on whether the Chinese girls were old enough to compete in the Beijing Olympics.

Set the investigation aside, I don’t quite understand the need for age restrictions (min 16 for gymnast) in the Olympic games. The girls are going to be trained at young age regardless of the age restriction, so the child protection argument is never valid.

Different athletes will reach their peak at different ages; and for certain sports, their prime might be over when they are 18 or 19… isn’t it a bit stupid to ban the world class athletes that are 14 or 15 of age?

Their form might be different after four years of waiting, and they could have just missed the chance to become an Olympic gold medallist because of the age discrimination.

Just eliminate the age restriction and end this controversy once and for all.

Brazilian soccer

Brazil is a powerhouse in men’s soccer, having won the FIFA World Cup five times, the most among all nations. Bizarrely though, the Brazilian soccer team has never won a gold medal in Olympic history, not the men or women.

The Brazilian men have to content with a bronze in Beijing this time, while the women with silver.

No gold for tourism

The tourism bonanza that was predicted didn’t come after all. The number of tourists does increase during this period, but fall short of what was expected.

The overall hotel occupancy rate is actually lower than the same period last year, with new hotels and extra rooms competing for customers. Other businesses like the restaurants and markets are not experiencing significant gain as well.

There are multiple reasons for this… strict visa requirement, outrageous hotel rates (they tried to cut the price but a bit too late), the Tibet factor, terrorist attack and the drop of normal visitors that are avoiding this supposedly peak season.

The closing ceremony

Contrary to the artistic opening ceremony, the closing will be like a mega concert with truckload of superstars’ performances. Among the linked (but unconfirmed) artists are Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, Eason Chan, Joey Yung, Karen Mok, Nicholas Tse, Jay Chou, Wang Leehom, Sun Nan, Rain, Stefani Sun and Plácido Domingo etc.

English soccer star David Beckham, singer Leona Lewis and guitarist Jimmy Page will be performing at the eight minute segment during the handover to London 2012.

Beijing Olympics roundup (7)

I was planning to go for a show on Wednesday, but the weather was not permitting; will try my luck again on Sunday. Meanwhile, catch a video below, produced by an official media partner of MIFC with the Malaysian team performing on August 12.

Besides the Malaysian team, other teams that are competing in the event this year are from China, Spain, Canada and Australia.

Malaysia Int’l Fireworks Competition 2008

Matthew and Katerina Emmons

In Athens 2004, Matthew was just a shot away from winning a gold in the three positions competition… but he shot on the wrong target, a mistake that sounds almost impossible in professional shooting. He finished eighth.

It’s not all bad for Matthew though… later that night, he went to a pub and met Czech shooter Kateřina Kůrková who offered him consolation. The couple fell in love and got married in 2007.

If the name Kateřina Emmons sounds familiar to you, that’s because she is the winner of the first gold medal in Beijing Olympics 2008.

Matthew was trying to emulate his wife’s success, and he was pretty close at the three positions competition, again needing just an average score at his final shot to secure the gold.

Somehow, it’s deja vu… he didn’t fire the wrong target this time, but pulled the trigger at a wrong timing and got a bad score. He finished fourth.

Make no mistake though, Matthew is an excellent shooter. He won a gold in Athens in other shooting event and also a silver in Beijing. It’s just the bizarreness of how he missed those two golds that is going to make him a folklore of the Games.

Matthew has already expressed his ambition for London 2012… wish him luck.

[With reference from CNN and Wiki]

The tale of Matthew Emmons

Lee was on his way home on motorbike after attending the wrap party for drama “Strongest Chilwoo” and crashed into a guardrail. It’s reported that he was already pulse-less when he was sent to the hospital. He was just 27.

The model turned actor was most memorable with his role in drama “Coffee Prince”.

Rest in peace Lee Eon. My condolences to his family.

Korean actor Lee Eon died in road accident