Saturday, July 4, 2009

All U can Eat Buffet in Balik Palaou

We have a rather large group of like minded people here in Penang now (Vegan raw fooders eating mostly a diet of delicious FRUIT)
Harley, Freelea, Sunnie, Nick, Chris, Rich, Choy, and Myself. Two others are coming here soon: Stefanie (who went to visit Perenthian islands), and Dan (who has been enjoying Thailand. What an amazing peer group I have attracted. I say this, because a few months ago, I had a goal to be around several raw vegans to learn and grow with and be inspired by. I imagine most of us will be friends for our long life (some of us plan and hope to live healthy well over 120 years old).

Yesterday we enjoyed an "All u can eat buffet" for 15 ringit ($4-5). Durian, rambutans, chompadek, and Mangosteens. This took place on the organic farm, outside next to durian trees that were dropping durians (we werent under the tree).
Wow, what a feast of yummy fruits. This Farmer lets his 'Ang Hair' Durians drop natuarally to the ground. Most farmers here have saftey nets to catch the durians to prevent damage and to allow them to last longer. The best Ang Hair and durians I have are naturally dropping to the ground. This trauma to the durian actually enhances the flavor making it more complex and intense.

Today I did the Penang Hill race. I started one hour late and approx 2km head start and passed hundreds of racers up the 5km hill. Very nice body movement for me as I am recovering from my bycicle injury. I pushed my heart rate to 150 at times, but mainly kept a nice cardio pace. It took about one hour. I feel so high and happy after a work out like this. AFter some days of doing very little, I realize I need body movements daily to maintain an optimistic happy life.

I just finished a delicious Dragon fruit. The Malaysian dragon fruits are spectacular! Redish colored flesh with the black crunchy yummy seeds (similar to kiwi seeds). I used to not favor dragon fruits as I never had any 'sweet' ones. My friend Dan inspired me to give them another chance. My new rule with fruit is to try it several times before i close my mind.

I bought some DAtes from Saudia Ariabian country (high miles, not local)...i plan to eat them like popcorn at the movies later....I believe there are some healthier alternatives to cooked, oily, salty popcorn which I used to consume. Another options for movies is Rambutans or 'Lamlai' (aka longons). A fun low calorie food that keeps you busy opening. My associations with movie and food are very strong from the past, so I am working on nice fun replacements. Any more suggestions?

3 comments:

mroslij said...

darrick, u still at penang?
nice to hear you still strong & healthy
rosli

Vagabonding RawVEGAN said...

yes..come visit some time..i will be in Balik Palau for durian contest sat and sun.
D

Saritaone said...

Hi Darrick!

Dan told me that you've left Penang already and that he missed you. Did you win your durian eating contest? I'm heading up there tomorrow for work and will take the evening to enjoy some durians on MacCalister road.
Aren't the all-you-can-eat durian fests amazing...its quite a scene and literally is a meal and dessert all in one.

On your invitation to suggest other good fruits to eat in cinemas, I generally prefer not to eat longans and rambutans as they are so sticky, unless I know that its convenient for me to wash my hands straight after. I think bananas, dates, local nuts such as the "Parang" are very good. It is unfortunate that most cinemas have done away with the "kacang puteh" man, when I was a kid, there was always a guy with a cart and all sort of dried nuts and peas which you could do a Pick & Mix and he would put it all into a little paper cone (rolled over and sticky taped!). It was delicious, healthy, crunchy and satisfying.

A fruit recommendation for the cinema is cut green guava with a bit of the sour plum salt known fondly as "se-ng bway". Warning though- it is very addictive!

SW and I had some very nice fruit salad last night, with plums, apples, jambu (pink water apple), pears with a whole squeezed lemon to give the fruits a Zzing!

Hope you're well and had a chance to try the Thai "Kangkong" or morning glory vegetable, thats also a wonderful veg to have, stir fried in a nice yellow bean sauce or just plain fry with garlic.

Stay happy!

Saritaone
(Dedicated to Durians)