WHEN EXTENDING LIFE MEANS PROLONGING THE PAIN OF DYING

Death remains very much a taboo subject. Everyone faces death sooner or later, yet no one wants to broach the subject, even when death is knocking on the front door.

Blessed are those who live to a ripe old age, who quietly make their exit in their sleep with a smile on their face. As my 85-year old mother loves to put it, "they have gone on a world cruise with no return date".

But for many others dying is a long painful process where the quality of life is almost non-existent, and death offers a welcome release. I have seen family members in their final days hooked up to all kinds of machines, consumed by pain and barely conscious. It is a heart-breaking sight. And it begs the question - how far would you go to sustain the life of someone you love?

There are no easy answers.

Check on this link: FRONTLINE: FACING DEATH. It asks the question "How far would you go to sustain the life of someone you love, or your own? Here's a video from the documentary FACING DEATH

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OPTING FOR HEALTHIER FOOD CHOICES

Whenever I am in Singapore I love eating at the food courts in the malls. The selection is almost limitless, even for a vegetarian-to-be like myself. Among my favourites are laksa, yong taufoo, rojak (both Chinese and Indian varieties), carrot cake, fried oyster omelette, thosai and economy rice. For snacks and desserts, I confess to a weakness for yu-tiao (deep fried breadsticks), tau suan (green bean in starchy syrup), and ice kacang. (above: a bowl of tau suan with yu-tiao pieces) 

 

Unfortunately for me and my fellow hawker food lovers, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) of Singapore has warned that consuming hawker fare is potentially hazardous to our health because of the high salt, fat and/or sugar content.

A yong tau foo outlet in Taipei. Too much salt?

In Taipei, it's called China Pizza. In Singapore and Malaysia it's better known as roti canai or prata. Too much oil and saturated fat?

I had lunch at this economy rice outlet in Taipei. HPB's advice: select more vegetable dishes.

It takes a certain amount of will power to resist the lure of these 'danger' foods. The good news is an increasing number of food outlets and even public hospitals are now offering healthier food items on the menu. Brown rice, low-fat milk, purple wheat noodles and whole grain bread are fast becoming the preferred choice for better nutritional value.

At food outlets, it is now common to hear customers asking for less sugar in their drinks, or less salt in their food. They are opting for more vegetables and smaller amounts of rice or noodles.

The HPB introduced the Healthier Dining programme in 2003. Under the programme, more than 2000 hawker stalls have committed to offering healthier dishes. In addition, more than 150 restaurants, with over 200 outlets are participating in the HPB’s Healthier Restaurant Programme. These food establishments have earned the right to display the Healthier Choice Symbol (see logo). For more information on making healthy choices when eating out, check out the HPB website here.

Time to make wise choices in our food intake.

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ZAI JIAN, TAIPEI!

Trying to pack as much as you can see and do into a short family vacation involves making choices - and sacrifices. Today, for instance, I wanted to visit the National Palace Musuem. It had come highly recommended as it houses the world's largest collection (more than 670,000 pieces) of Chinese artifacts and works of art. But I knew it would be boring for my granddaughters. Fortunately, we found out there was a children's gallery within the museum complex. So we split up and everyone was happy doing their own thing.

I managed to take a shot of this prized 500 B.C. bronze wine vessel in the shape of a mythical bird-headed animal. Amazing design - the head could be removed to fill the vessel with wine, and the beak lifted to pour out the wine. But imagine the weight! Visitors were not allowed to photograph any of the artifacts, as I later found out.

Meanwhile, the girls were kept busy with interactive educational activities like assembling broken pieces of ceramics to form a vase (above), and trying their hands at printing and book-binding the traditional way (below).

After the museum, it was the famous Beitou hot springs for the family while I opted for the International Floral Expo, another must-see in Taipei.

The queue was so long that it was dark by the time the family finally had their dip in the Beitou hot spring pool! Night falls early at 5.00pm in the winter months.

Meanwhile, I made my way alone to the International Flora Expo on the outskirts of the city.

Orchids of every species and colour, including some I've never seen before - and I come from the Land of Orchids!

The expo wasn't only about flowers. There was a section on fruit and vegetable carving (above) and mini-inscriptions (below).

At the Folk Arts Pavilion, traditional arts and crafts were recreated and exhibited. (Above): The Chinese character for 'egg' was inscribed inside this empty egg shell. It was so miniscule that one could only discern it through the magnifying eye-piece in the glass casing.

I had time to cover only one of the four parks at the Flora Expo before night fell. The long queues at most of the pavilions were a huge deterrent. But it was worth the 20-minute wait to view the EcoArk. It's the world's first LEED-certified building (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design). The entire facade as well as the interior ceiling and lighting system was constructed from 1.5 million recycled plastic bottles. The structural framework was built with bamboo and beams made from recycled steel. The EcoArk was engineered to withstand large earthquakes and typhoons. Incredible!

Time to bid "Zai Jian", that's "See you again" to Taipei. It's been a hectic four days in the city sampling the food and getting to know more of the people and the culture.

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EVERYONE'S FAVOURITE 'F' WORD - FOOD!

This blog post is specially for my food blogger buddies and friends who enjoy a good sit-down dinner in a restaurant. Thanks to our Taiwanese hosts, almost every night we were treated to a feast of local cuisine. One thing I've discovered - in Taiwan beef is king, pork is close behind, and chicken is a distant third.

As I don't eat meat, I can only take pictures of the dishes. But I am sure they taste as good as they look. I can't remember the names of most of the dishes. Perhaps the food bloggers would like to help out with the names?

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TAIPEI 101 AND MORE...

In a sea of grey, the yellow roof of the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall easily stands out.

We visited Taipei 101 today, and went right up to the 88th floor in the world's fastest elevator. It took only 37 seconds at a speed of 1010 metres per minutes. Then we climbed the steps up to the open observatory on the 91st floor. Looking at the panoramic view of the city I can say that as far as architecture goes, Taipei doesn't offer much to excite the imagination. Most buildings resemble concrete matchboxes in shades of grey or brown. None of the beautiful lines and curves that shape the skylines of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

Buns, cakes and cream puffs to die for!

 Baker's Boy buns smell, look and taste 100% like our Roti Boy.

 My lunch - the biggest bowl of seafood noodles I've ever had, at NT$100 (RM10) a bowl.

At the Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT station, a 3-5-minute walk from Howard Plaza Hotel where we are staying. The best way to see the city is to take the MRT or the bus - cheap, fast and direct.

 

Tourists are given a complimentary EasyCard worth NT$50 for travel on the MRT and buses.

There are few signages and notices in English. Most people here speak only Mandarin. We had a hard time asking for directions!

One place worth checking out is the Miniatures Musuem.

My granddaughters were absolutely delighted to have cakes at the Hello Kitty Sweets cafe. Can you imagine an eatery all done up in pink with Hello Kitty motiffs everywhere you look? The pretty waitresses were all decked in Hello Kitty uniforms. (That's my elder daughter in the middle.)

For starters...

Day 2 ended with a sumptious Taiwanese spread of 15 dishes, courtesy of our gracious hosts. More food pictures in the next post, specially for my food blogger buddies.

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