APAD 329: Buckwheat fiasco
We make our bread at home and, after several experimentation, I came to a conclusion that French brands of flour are the best for bread-making. One day in the grocery, my husband and I found this flour. I normally use white flour. However, I have heard about buckwheat flour being healthier compared to the regular white flour (100% gluten free, too). The French use buckwheat to make savoury pancakes, pasta, gruel, cakes and the famous “crêpe bretonne”. Intrigued, I picked one pack to try.
Farine de Sarrasin, aka, buckwheat flour
It was a disaster! Lol. It didn’t turn out right – the batter looked normal but it was sticky and difficult to knead. I checked the internet and found out that cooking with 100% buckwheat will result to a tough and spongy texture. It has to be used together with white flour or wheat flour. I am so embarrassed at my ineptitude, lol. But I can always make it better next time, no?
APAD 325: Toilet duck versus H1N1
This advertising sign sits at the junction of Monivong and Yugoslavie Boulevards (St. 214). The sign is positioned on a very strategic location right along one of Phnom Penh’s busiest intersections.
One can’t miss this advertising sign.
Close up view of the sign.
The product being advertised is the Toilet Duck, a brand of bathroom and toilet cleaner. The message it is trying to convey is that of cleanliness and hygiene. Although I cannot read the Khmer script, it seems to me that the ad claims to kill not only germs and bacterias but also the H1N1 virus. Oooh, that is such a bold claim, don’t you think so,too? I’m sorry but is it true that toilet cleaners like this can eradicate H1N1 virus? I also find it funny to be using a duck as a brand because ducks aren’t really, errm, clean. They (at least the common ducks I see in my part of the world) eat dirt and all.
The sign certainly is hard to miss. I took this sign about 20meters away while waiting for the traffic lights to turn green. But besides this, the sign also reminds me of the current “new mystery illness” that made it to the international news programmes of CNN and other global news organisations. According to “new” results conducted by health experts, there is no new illness and there is no epidemic in the country. Good news indeed. What affected kids under 7years old was a combination of Enterovirus 71 (the Hand, Foot and Mouth disease virus), dengue and another mild illness that got fatal due to inappropriate medication. See more about this here.
APAD 320: The Winking Tomato Bank
This sign made us U-turn just because…
The Tomato Specialized Bank building in Phnom Penh.
This is Korean-owned and one of the recent additions to the Cambodian banking scene. What it specializes in though I do not have the slightest clue. I do however think that the logo – a winking tomato – is cute . ^_^
Tell me, with the recent crash of the banking and financial systems globally, would you entrust your hard-earned money in this bank named after, errr, a fruit, or, a vegetable? Can’t make up my mind but you know what I’m getting at, lol.
APAD 315: Masks
This big event happened several weeks ago – a gathering of 40 artists from Cambodia and other countries from all kinds of backgrounds – painting, photography, graffiti and sculpture.
The Cambodia Mask Project supports the up and coming talented young artists.
This is a yearly initiative aimed at showcasing the talents and raising support for the young up and coming artists in Cambodia. These young artists are talented and full of unique ideas but could not start a project due to lack of funds.
I missed it this year but, hopefully, I’ll be able to catch it next year.
APAD 311: The essence of kangaroo
My husband and I were at the pharmacy near the FCC two days ago to replenish our multi-vitamins supply. He was busy looking at another brand and comparing the nutritional values while I wandered around from shelf to shelf reading funny or weird brand names of medicines and came to this shelf selling products that contain strange stuff such as propolis, sheep placenta, and so on… Do you have these in your local shops, too?
I wonder how many kangaroos were harmed to produce this, errrm, essence?
Seriously?
I have never heard of an “essence of kangaroo” before. The label says it is a natural food supplement. The wheels in my head started turning since I laid my eyes on this product so I was compelled to consult MisterGoogle about this product. To my utter surprise and amusement, I found out that there are other different brands of essence of kangaroo and most are, in fact, sex products. Hmmm… wondering how many people out there are desperate to use something like this? The main ingredient or component is cultivated from the male kangaroos testes. Oh, dear. Oh, dear. I just hope there are scientific studies that support their, errrm, health claims. *coughs*
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