Breaking The Break

These few months have been quite a taxing one. I had ailments coming over from time to time, and with my work keeping my schedule tighter, I had less time to write.

A few months back I got hit by the common gastric, something which I never had before. I mean, I was never expecting that at all, at this age, and my careful eating schedule, I never saw it coming. I spent almost 10 days consuming magnesium tricilicate, prescribed by doctors from my clinic, general hospital and private hospital, but to no avail. In the end, all it took was a visit to a sinseh (Chinese traditional medical practitioner) in Tunjang who I had been frequenting since 2007. During those 10 days, I totally forgot about him, but once I remembered, I went there like a shot. He prescribed some herbal remedies, all in capsule form. Don't get me wrong, he may be traditional in practise but you'll never see him grind any herbs or roots. Everything is prepared in a modern style, and you might recognize most of the brands there in local pharmacies. He prescribed me some supplements, and one of them is "Akar Kunyit" or Turmeric Root in capsule form. Unbelievably, my gastric went away in less than 12 hours and I haven't had any gastric problems since, of course, with extra control on my eating time as well.

I must admit that I have never had a 100% trust on modern medicine, at most times I rely more on herbal supplements. I have written before that I grow my own Misai Kucing and from that I make my own tea. I also grow my own Daun Cerita (or Hempedu Bumi as it is known in the South), a small, wild plant with extremely bitter leaves. It is known for being anti-cancer properties and it is also claimed to work well to regulate blood circulation, along with regulating blood sugar and pressure.

I have visited several places that serve excellent food that Alor Setar has to offer, and I am hoping to share all of these very very soon.

Believe it or not, I consume more and more vegetables nowadays, usually for dinner. For this purpose, I have been experimenting several vegetarian dishes and salad dressings, some good and some disastrous. Through this, my wife and I found out that distilled vinegar has bad effects on our stomachs, just like our parents before us.

Here's looking forward to sharing my food experience and recipes with you.