thin king

ChanHean,
Really, nowadays,
any Ah Chin, Chye and Cher can whip up a great pot of curry fish head for less than ten dollars.
A medium sized head of ankoli or pink sea bream, an assortment of okra, tomato, eggplant, cauliflower, cabbage and a couple of buah blinblin plus the required rempah would be more than sufficient. The rempah or the combination of spices can be obtained mixed on the spot to order, by just saying that it is for fish curry, from the spice stallholder or in a dry package.
And if you remember the two restaurants in Petaling Street during your three years stay in Kuala Lumpur, one named Wee Keng Fatt and the other opposite it named Soh Keng Wee, you will have little problem getting the delicious pot of curry fish head served in style.
And like Martin Yan and Stephan Yan said always, if Ron can cook so can you.
Ha ha ha ha !
Ron

Lower on price, heavier on weight

Last week there was a new trick in the wet market.

I bought a pink sea bream from my regular fishmonger.
The price was $7.50 per kilo and it cost me $6.
That was a fair value price for that day.

As I passed by another stall I saw some more of this fish,
all about the same size.
When I asked, the man said it was $7 per kilo;
and that price was cheaper than the one I had bought,
so I picked one.
The man put it on the weighing machine and said "$7.50".
"What", I let out, but the man, a new assistant,
looked at the machine and said "boh phian ler".
I waited but he did not change what he had said,
nor did he turn the face of the machine towards me,
so I thanked him and declined to buy it.
I think he will remember me !

At the cost of $7.50 the price would have been over $9 per kilo,
that fish could not be over a kilo in weight.
The fish were all about the same size, about 800 grams each.
How could this middle aged man try to pull a fast one over me,
he has not eaten enough rice yet so to say.

During my schooldays I used to help my father in his provision shop.
Then I could just scoop out beans,
rice and other things almost to the exact weight,
give and take a few grains.

Times are changing, bad times are here.
Very soon the weighing machines may have magnets under the weighing pans.
Really, caveat emptor !!!

Ron

Note: This sea bream is the one usually served as curry fishhead.
It is a gentle and noble looking fish with flesh on its face,
and its eyes, including the lining around the sockets, are delicious.

Lending support to our retirees

When retirees placed their nest eggs, their hard earned lifelong savings, in fixed deposits with banks, there could not have been other good reasons than to receive a regular return of interest to sustain their golden years.

When these banks somehow got these retirees to switch their nest eggs to a kind of bond to earn a higher interest, obviously these retirees would have been led to believe that the banks were helping them in their investment ? Otherwise, it would mean that our banks plain services to retirees are questionable ?

Retirees deposits are the best source of fund for the banks. Were the banks helping the retirees or were they offering the retirees a way to gamble with their nest eggs for the sake of a higher return on the yearly interest ? This question need not be answered, the perception will be very clear at the end of this episode. The banks are serving retirees here, and not entrepreneurs or business people.

The banks have been tardy and reluctant over the issue of compensating the retirees. The retirees are past their capability of earning another nest egg; so how are they to get by from here on, misery upon misery !
On the other hand our three stalwart banks yearly earnings are enormous; for the year ending 2007 they earned as follows:

DBS - nett profit in 2007 = $2,047 million or 2,047,000,000 dollars
OCBC - nett profit in 2007 = $2,117 million or 2,117,000,000 dollars
UOB - nett profit in 2007 = $2,109 million or 2,109,000,000 dollars

Our banks will always make money, for obvious reasons and for our national stability.
They will not be dented to death over such a payout, unlike the biblical Goliath who was killed by a pebble slung by David.

Despite all the publicity, even the professionals are finding it hard to understand the scheme of the minibonds, let alone retirees.

Ron

Caveat emptor is in Latin, it is Let the buyer beware in English.

It is easy for those in power, in authority, those with the upper hand or those who have taken the advantage to fling this caveat emptor in the face of those who have placed their trust in the wrong people.

Caveat emptor - my twelve inches !

If caveat emptor is the basis on which matters are to be resolved, then the whole world will come to a standstill. Basically, agreements are made on trust and good faith, usually backed up in writing to aid the memory. Of course those who are not inclined to be fair would word the written form in their favour, with a leeway that events would be administered on a case by case basis. What the heck ? Is this not to say that not everything is to be that rigidly adhered to ?

We all signed agreements; there are so many agreements we have signed that it is difficult to count them. Just to aid the memory, there are agreements we have signed with the stock broker, the banker, the computer people, the insurance company, the employer, the employee, the clubs, the house agent, the contractor, the tailor, the electrician, the plumber, ad nauseum to with just anybody we have business with. If one were to examine some of these agreements one would be shocked to hospitalisation to discover the vulnerability we have put ourselves in. So, what should we do then ? Do not sign ? This is it, how does business go on then ?

The plain fact is that if we cover our backside too much and stick it up, everybody will not be able to shit !

So, caveat emptor, my .... !

Ron