Kombucha

 

After reading KY’s take on Kombucha 2 weeks ago, I decided to “Google it”. The amount of available information was to say the least, astonishing. It ranged from being able to “cure” a multitude of ailments to DIYs. But what caught my interest was that this concoction is not a new thing…..but several thousand years old originating from China and widely used in Japan, Europe to Russia.

As Kee Yan’s brother Thomas is very knowledgeable on Kombucha, I visited him on 20 Feb and got precise info on how to make it. He also gave me a “Scoby” to help ferment the brew. A secondary product from the brew is a small amount of accompanying alcohol due to the process. 

I made the first batch on 20 Feb and harvested it on 26 Feb. In the meantime I was also drinking one half cup every morning from the bottle which Thomas gave me.I do not know whether it was coincidental or otherwise, after one week my “trigger finger” was straightened.  My wife is also starting to take it now.

I enclose some pics from my first harvest.

 

Gathering At Marine Terrace 21/02/09

 

Today’s gathering at Marine Terrace was a lively one. Birthday Boy Freddie was in high spirits and bought and served drinks for everyone. Surprise ……surprise………our President flew back from Orlando just to be with us, although the real reason was …….he misses the S’pore Food more than anything else………and the “tigers” of course.

 

Visiting Our Singapore National Museum

 

On 16 Feb 09 our group (Howe, Lye, Leong, Choy Chim, Kiat Pin, Hoi Ying and Chee Kiang) visited our Museum for the first time after many years. For me it was more than 50 years at least. It was a pure Nostalgia.

We actually chose the right day………it was Seniors’ Day …….so it was FOC……

Gone were the stuffed tiger, whale skeleton, and most artefacts. In it’s place was the history of Singapore from the time of Raffles to present times. There were stories of past Luminaries like Aljunied, Eunos, Tan Tock Seng to name few and of course our MM and David Marshall too.

Each person was given a recorder with earphones which acted like our personal guide giving us the low down on which section we fancy to know. It was indeed very interesting and informative.

Our visit ended with a coffee and sandwich treat from our sir Howe.I can recommend this activity to those who wish to know more about past Singapore history.

 

KombuCha or Kombucha Tea

My brother gave me a bottle of KC (or kombucha tea aka KT) and it rid my last case of travel diarrhoea inside a week. The stuff tastes like wine, sweetish sourish.

He prepares it at home and gives it to my Mum to drink, three half cups a day; and she is now in very good healthy pink, with normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels. And stopped all her mospital medical prescriptions.

What is it ? Read here : The Happy Herbalist, Answers,

How to make it? : Watch these videos.





Where to get the 'mother'/'baby'/scoby? Find out here.

updated on 12/02/2011

Aircon service contractor

Some time back I posted about Rennie who supplies aircon remote controllers. I also said she gave me the number for Bock Seng who is an AC service contractor.

Well last week, one night bedroom ac went drip drip drip onto parquet veneer flooring. Called BockSeng next day. He said he was busy and could we call him the next day. So another night without ac. Luckily had extra stand fans ($25 from Giant, Carrefore etc).

Following morning someone called us and said was it ok to turn up in half an hour? Fine (but wife grumbled as it was too early for her, she was just starting on breafast at 11am). Anyhow, long story cut short : a localised PRC Chang Ji Fei aged late 40s' arrived with a PRC guy (quite chye see type, not like local shitty contractor's workers) arrived on the dot.

PRC worker carried a ladder. Straightaway we were very impressed. We have used umpteen aircon contractors and they always turn up without a ladder, always asking us for a ladder (how many people got ladders, I mean people who live in HDB flats?) or a chair to do their work.

Got health reports of the compressor unit and dripping blower unit, quotes for rectification jobs to both, they got on with it, completed everything in two hours. Paid $140 ($80 and $60). Best money spent on aircon services ever!

Here's why. Needed to use running water for job of 'chemical' cleansing.

BUT, we didnt have any regular tap in the bathroom. All longbath taps and basin taps and shower sprays were fancy ones. Didn't even have a spare tap at the side of the toilet cistern (concealed one, what, what you expect?). So how, where to get running water?

No prob; Mr Chang had many tap adapters and one fitted our hand basin tap. And that allowed attachment of his hose.

Then, they checked and found no roof gutters to channel away wash water. Cannot allow wash water to simply flow down the roof and onto property of unit below our's (hey, we're not your average inconsiderate neighbours, you know). So how?

No prob; Mr Chang had aluminum trays - table top sized, square ones and long rectangular ones like those tables sizes in TingFook's Zia showroom. All with built-in tiny downpipes that fit standard hoses. So with a tray on roof under the compressor, a hose to our tap to provide flush water, another hose from the tray to deliver water back into my bathroom toilet bowl via a vacuum machine! as it had to get up over the window first.

Ok Ok, cut short story again, everything done, they brought down to the bulk bin all the old newspapers used to protect flooring, mopped up with their own cloths any drops on floor, and that's that!

And they didn't even knock any of our furniture or dent a wall or anything.

Straightaway, wife and I that afternoon planned and scheduled the maintenance service programme for the rest of the six AC blower outlets, and the compressor, for the next 12 months.

Update - Chang Ji Fei is his own boss now and his handphone number is 92381806. We shall continue to use his services when we move to Prive in 2013/14.


This BokSeng AC service contractor is highly reccommended. Don't forget to ask for his man Chang Ji Fei. BokSeng's handphone number is 97859497.


A bit longwinded, but hey, I prefer to dish it out in detail than having to entertain silly questions. Right?

Seeing Red in ChinaTown