fake eggs in Malaysia

I recently blogged about double yolks in eggs. Now the news about fake eggs in Malaysia has resurfaced. I'm surprised that it is worthwhile producing fake eggs as real eggs are cheap enough.

This story appeared in The Star on 25 Sept 2014. It describes how the fake eggs had a rougher surface and were larger in size than real eggs. The yolk of the fake egg was more yellowish  and there were no signs of chalaze, which was the opaque ropes of egg white holding the yolk.

It was also reported by the CAP that when the egg was broken, real eggs smelled like raw meat whereas the fake ones had no smell.The texture of the fake yolk was rubbery.

The fake eggs most likely originated from China.

Fake egg shells were made of chemicals such as calcium carbonate while the egg yolk and white were made of sodium alginate, gelatine, alum, benzoic acid, calcium chloride, water and other chemical components similar to what had been discussed online.

Cherating hillside destruction

I've known Cherating for more than 20 years and have fond memories of the place. However in recent years the place is really deteriorating in many ways. I blogged about the downfall of Cherating in Sept 2010.

I rarely go there now, as all but one of my friends who used to live there have left. However I did go in Aug 2014 as I wanted to stay in a beach resort for a few days RnR.

I was saddened to see that the hill at the end of Cherating beach is being destroyed for development. A huge area of trees has been cut and it is proposed to build chalets (100?) up on the hill, next to the big house.

Note the  ubiquitous blue fence that you see everywhere surrounding developments in Malaysia.

Tourism Malaysia website still shows the hill in it's pristine state!

Haze & weather 2014 Sept

The haze continues in Malaysia. In mid Sept it worsened.The first 2 photos were taken on a remarkably clear day, Sept 8. But that only lasted a day, then the haze returned

 Sept 16 -

The good thing is that the haze doesn't smell. It is said to come from forest fires in Sumatra. Report in The Sun, 17 Sept -

Indonesia to ratify Asean haze agreement

Posted on 16 September 2014

 

Commuters travel along a road as thick haze blankets Pekanbaru on Sept 16, 2014. AFP

JAKARTA: Indonesia's parliament today voted to ratify a regional agreement on cross-border haze as fires ripped through forests in west of the country, choking neighbouring Singapore with hazardous smog.
Officials in Singapore and Malaysia have responded furiously to Indonesian forest fires, which have intensified and become more frequent in recent years.
Singapore's air pollution rose to unhealthy levels yesterday as Indonesian authorities failed to control fires in Sumatra island's vast tracts of tropical forest.
Parliament's decision has been passed into law.
The agreement obliges Indonesia to strengthen its policies on forest fires and haze, actively participate in regional decision-making on the issue and dedicate more resources to the problem, regionally and domestically.
Indonesia signed the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution 12 years ago and has been under increasing pressure to ratify the document, beginning deliberations in earnest in January.
"Indonesia has already carried out operations for the prevention, mitigation of forest fires and haze, and recovery activities, at the national level," parliament said in a statement.
"But, to handle cross-border pollution, Indonesia and other Asean nations recognise that prevention and mitigation need to be done together," it said.
While Singapore and Malaysia are smothered in haze from Indonesian forests every year, fires in June last year caused the region's worst pollution crisis in a decade, renewing calls for action in Indonesia.
Authorities have said most of the fires are deliberately lit to clear land for commercial plantations, such as paper and palm oil, and have arrested people caught in the act.
The June 2013 haze crisis sparked a diplomatic row with Indonesia claiming Malaysian and Singaporean companies with plantations on Sumatra and Indonesian Borneo were among those starting the fires.
Singapore last month passed a bill that gives the government powers to fine companies that cause or contribute to haze up to Sg$2 million (RM5.12 million), regardless of whether they have an office in Singapore. – AFP

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The interseason monsoon is due soon. This report in the Sun, 17 Sept :

Wet days ahead

Posted on 16 September 2014             

Sasha Coombs

Residents in most parts of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur should not leave home without their umbrellas as raindrops will keep falling for the next few days, due to the arrival of the inter-monsoon season.
The Meteorological Department said the two areas can expect isolated showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon for the rest of the week.
A spokesman for the department said the El Nino phenomena has not been established yet and the nation is currently heading towards the inter-monsoon season.
Though Kuala Lumpur and Selangor have been experiencing some wet days this past week, it has made little difference to the Sungai Selangor reservoir in Selangor.
The Selangor Water Management Authority (Luas) posted on its website, that the water level at the reservoir on Monday was still relatively low as it was 3.4% above its critical level of 30%.

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The rest of Sept remained hazy and rainy, it alternated between haze and rain.

Sept 24 - Oct 2 is the Emperor Gods festival aka Nine Emperors Festival which I have seen in Phuket.
The haze persisted until Nov.
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The monsoon was quite bad. The week before Christmas the east coast was flooded and made Al Jazeera news. Taman Negara was also badly flooded 23 Dec. By the new year it was the worst flooding for decades with 160,000 people evacuated.

Double egg yolk

It has been many years since I have seen an egg with a double yolk. So I was quite surprised to crack this egg and see a double yolk - or at least a 1½ yolks!

 

So my omelette was 2½ yolks!

The chances of finding a single double-yolk egg are less than one in 1,000, (less than 0.1%) - The British Egg Information Service .

Finding a double-yolker can often mean more than just duplicating your breakfast - as some people believe they are a sign of a marriage due to pregnancy, predictions of a windfall, the birth of twins and a death in the family. (Telegraph)

Monsoons

The end of Aug 2014 was quite wet and Sept started dry and cloudy. The southwest monsoon should just be ending, then it will be hot and dry until the northeast monsoon starts around Nov.

The Southwest Monsoon usually occurs between May till September, bringing rainfall to the western side of Peninsular Malaysia. This affects places such as Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Langkawi and Perlis.
Perak seems to be missed, presumably because of the shape of Sumatra, as the winds are coming 'around' Sumatra.

Perlis - It is generally dry and warm from January to April. Average rainfall per year falls between 2,032 mm to 2,540 mm with the wettest months being from May to December.

The Northeast Monsoon starts from November and lasts till March, brining heavy rainfall to areas on the east side of Peninsular Malaysia, such as Kuantan, and Borneo (Sabah and Sarawak). As this monsoon wind is particularly strong, it often brings heavy rain to the west side of Peninsular Malaysia as well during this period.
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The northeast monsoon brings heavy rain and rough seas to the exposed coasts of southwestern Sarawak and northern and northeastern Sabah, and it sometimes causes flooding in the eastern part of the peninsula.
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Singapore, 27 October 2014 – Singapore and the surrounding region can expect more rain in the coming weeks, as the Southwest Monsoon has transitioned to Inter-Monsoon conditions over the past week. This signals the end of the traditional dry season in the region, and the likelihood of transboundary haze affecting Singapore for the rest of the year will thus be low.

The Inter-Monsoon period normally lasts from October to November, and is characterised by more
rainfall and light winds that are variable in direction. The increased rainfall will help alleviate the
hotspot and haze situation in Sumatra and Kalimantan. During this period Singapore may experience occasional slight haze, mainly in the morning, on some days due to the accumulation of particulate matter in the air under light wind conditions. The haze situation is expected to improve further with the onset of the rainy season brought by the Northeast Monsoon in early December.

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The monsoon was quite bad. The week before Christmas the east coast was flooded and made Al Jazeera news. Taman Negara was also badly flooded 23 Dec.
26 Dec - worsening floods in the east cost, Perlis and Perak. More than 100,000 victims have been evacuated following the floods there, deemed to be worst in the country’s history.
KL had nonstop rain and floods on 25th.