Cilantro (wansuy / coriander leaves)
Last December, less then six months after we moved to this house, I finally got around to buying herbs to grow in the garden. I bought two small cilantro seedlings and, this time, I was careful to ask the shop attendants for tips on how to nurture them. First tip, grow them on on well draining soil. Second tip, if they appear to bend sideways, let them be — when the branches stay low, they actually grow roots. You can see my cilantro in the photo above and they’re thriving. I’ve actually started to snip the tops to garnish my soups.
Cilantro is an annual plant which sometimes survives a second year. But since they are not perennials, I’ve read up on how to plant them from coriander seeds to make sure that I’ll have a steady supply of cilantro all year ’round.
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A Chinese painting exhibit
Upon the insistence of my younger daughter who is absolutely obsessed with Oriental art and mythology, we visited the Chinese painting exhibit at the Shangri-La Plaza last Sunday, the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year. I was expecting reproductions of old Chinese paintings and was quite surprised to find out that there were none. [...]
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Asian destinations
A planned trip to Bangkok got sidetracked. I e-mailed a Filipina with whom I have been communicating online on-and-off for a couple of years for a list of recommended hotels when she asked if, by any chance, I’m planning on traveling north from Bangkok to Chiang Mai where she lived.
I read up on Chiang Mai [...]
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If I were to prepare a Chinese New Year meal…
Monday, January 26, the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, is my daughter’s 15th birthday. She’s having her birthday party today and I thought it apt to suggest that we have an all-Oriental menu — sort of a pre-Chinese New Year meal. She approved some of my suggested dishes but still insisted that there be a tray or two of baked macaroni.
Still, the timing of her birthday party got me thinking. If I were to prepare a Chinese New Year family meal, what would I cook? Say, my family and my in-laws were all coming over for dinner and I have to cook for 20 to 25 persons, what dishes will I choose? I think I’ll start with three appetizers…
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Feng Shui forecasts for 2009
Hong Kong fortunetellers practically predict a doomsday scenario for 2009 as if to say the ox as a beast of burden symbolizes more than we care to admit — all in consonance with what economists foresee as Asia deals with the full force of the global crisis.
But Alion Yeo who reputedly predicted nuclear [...]
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