Tea with AK71: A simple meal.

Friends are constantly amazed by how little money I could spend on food. Well, if we cook our own meals, we could save quite a bit of money and we could have a healthy meal for even less money. I think the idea that many people in affluent countries like Singapore eating too much rich food is quite true.

Let me share with you one of my favourite low cost and healthy meals: barley and winter melon. This is really a meal that kills two birds with one stone. Very rare.

You know how much money those packet drinks cost? Lemon Barley drink from Yeo's cost $2.40 for six 250ml packets, if I remember correctly. I feel that the drink is not even nice. Tastes like syrup.

Here is what I do. I buy a small packet of barley for 90c and a packet of sugared winter melon strips for only $4.50 (1kg pack). I get these from a Chinese medicine hall near my home. The barley and winter melon strips are enough for making at least 24 litres (usually more) of barley winter melon drink and eight meals! Really? Really!

Put about a tea cup worth of barley in a pot and wash clean. Fill the pot with water and set on a gas stove to boil. Once it has come to a boil, switch off the gas and add sugared winter melon strips for sweetness. Leave it for an hour to cool and pour the barley water into a 1.5 litre container meant for hot water. Then, fill up the pot with water and set to boil again. So, we would have another 1.5 litre of barley water.

Now, we have our drink which I usually take two days to consume. What about the meal I was talking about? After pouring out the second pot of barley water, let the barley and winter melon in the pot cool further. Then, transfer into a bowl for a nutritious meal which is rich in Germanium! Barley is a healthier choice compared to white rice too.

No prizes for guessing what did I have for lunch today. ;)

Tea with AK71: Cheating our fellow human beings 101.

A few years ago, I was involved in a motor vehicle accident. A motorcyclist crashed into the side of my car but claimed that I crashed into him. It was also "fortunate" for him that he had an instant witness in a car behind my car. The witness also happened to be someone familiar with the ways of insurance claims. I was helpless.

I made a police report after the incident and called my insurance company. I was called to the Traffic Police headquarters days later to make another statement. Strangely, the police officer seemed to know that "witness" as he asked me if the person was of a certain height, built, looks and if he wore glasses. A regular visitor?

Well, in the end, I received a letter from the Traffic Police for a fine of $200 and was given 9 demerit points. I was devastated. My perfect driving record was ruined. But what could I do? Friends asked me to appeal but I just decided to let it go. Just hope that I would not have such bad luck again.

I also found out later from my car insurance company that they had to compensate the motorcyclist some $15K for a broken toe! I am sure the toe eventually healed.  It was an expensive experience as my car insurance premium shot up the following year plus the fact that I paid to repair the damage to the side of my car where the collision took place.

I was told by the car workshop mechanic that such "accidents" were on the rise then. He told me that the claims would usually involve the same few people and after a while, the Traffic Police would investigate and make arrests. Apparently, such scams were not new and happened many years before as well. Just "suay" (bad luck) for me.

Why the sudden melancholic flashback? Well, I was getting my daily dose of news and these were a couple of articles that made me wonder why are there such people in the world:

Liyana, 24, said she "cheated" hundreds of men by "selling" her seductive pictures on social networking sites like Tagged and Facebook. "Through my online profile, I openly offer massage services. However, those offers are actually fake. In a day, I can cheat five to six men. Before even meeting me, they are willing to bank in 100 ringgit (US$33) to 150 ringgit into my account," she said, adding she disappears or give excuses to the men after receiving the money.

Read article here.

The public should also be wary of “fake accidents” where a pedestrian would would claim to have been knocked over by a car and would then demand compensation from the driver.

Read article here.

As the Chinese saying goes: 防人之心不可无. We must always be wary of others.