It never dawn upon me that someone would be interested to know about what type of vegetables are there available in my country. This entry is inspired by a dear friend whom I got to know during my stay in Sweden :) Although, for most of them, I don't know what's it called in English, well I hope the pictures do give you the idea of what vegetables we consume and which I miss so much while being away from home.


Gurka (The Asian Version)


Pandan Leaves ( This fragant leaves is commonly used in Asean cooking) I found this sold at the chinese market in Sweden.


Curry Leaves


Long Beans


Mustard leaves ( I believe that's what it's called)


Spring Onion (used in alot of the chinese dishes)


Lotus Root ( Used for boiling soup)


I don't know what's this is called, usually stir fried with garlic and salt.


Name is unknown (I don't know) and it's used for boiling soup.


Yam


Brinjal/Eggplant (Skinnier than those in sweden but taste alot better)


Spinach ( Looks different from those in Sweden)


Lady's Finger /Okra


Bitter Gourd ( Something I still dislike until today)


Petai ( Not too sure what's it called in English) Usually cooked with Sambal and anchovies.


Romaine leaves


Kai Lan , again not too sure what's it called in English. Stir fry with wine and garlic or boiled and eaten with oyster sauce.


Direct translation from Chinese: Potato Leaves.


Four-angled beans. Stir fried with chili paste or tam yam paste


Kangkung, not too sure what this is called in English. Delicious when stir fried with belacan (a type of pungent ingredient which most westeners finds it appalling)


Not too sure what they are :P

I discovered that the best time to be in Rome for Shoppers is August. It only takes one word to justify why I say that: SALES. As much as I tried to reap the harvest of this season, I did not actually have the luxury of time as this is actually a business trip.

The highlight of this trip was actually my adventure in some official dealings I had to do in Rome. The last time when I was here for pleasure, I did not recall that I had such a tough time getting about and that English is not widely spoken here.

I need to get a Fiscal Codice and it has proven to be harder than I can imagine because no one at the Agenzia speaks English! Guessing from the cute little Italian man’s hand gesture, I knew I had printed out an invalid form. As he rattles away in Italian, I knew I was in for a long ordeal.
Thank God for angels like Mauro and his mum who spoke little English but good enough for us to communicate. They informed me that I will need to photocopy the required documents and offer to take me in their tiny car to photocopy shop. They even paid for the photocopy. They were really helpful and I was glad that the big part of my ordeal they were there with me.

The ordeal at the Agenzia did not stop after I got the required documents photocopied, in fact, it has just begun. After standing in line for almost 90 mins, I realized that the number which I took was not for the application of the fiscal Codice. Mauro rescued me by giving me his number and I thought it was done. However, when it was my turn (finally), the officer had so much problem with my Cognome (Surname/Lastname) and my nome (other name).

The language barrier makes it even tougher as by that time Mauro and his mum has left and no one in the Agenzia could actually speaks English. For half an hour, the officer refuse to get the Fiscal Codice done for me as in the passport, my Cognome (Surname/Lastname) comes in between my First name and my other names (in the usual arrangement of a Chinese Malaysian name) where else, in the form when I fill it in, it appears that the Last name is well, appears last. I showed her my Swedish visa which was written with my last name in the end but still she had so much doubt saying that it is not the same. I was speechless, I wasn’t sure if she wanted me to change my Cognome to solve the problem. Her argument was that it would be questionable as it is not the same but I knew it’s a small matter as how could I change my Cognome??

When she finally she did give me the fiscal codice, I held on to the fiscal codice like a piece of deed to a diamond mine. She did however did it with much reluctance and warned me that that if it was being questioned, she will not be responsible (my interpretation from the sign language she was showing me).

Lesson learnt: Learn Italian.

In the month of August, many will gather round the table to hold a Crayfish party. It is during this time of the month that some will go to their summer home and cast their net into the river to catch these black shell fish that looks pretty much like scorpions…delicious scorpions.

According to my Swedish friend, there are many rules to eating and fishing these crayfish:

- You can only catch them during the month of August
- Eat them only in the month of Aug (applies also in the olden days but for some family they still hold on to that)
- You must release crayfish which you caught that is less than 10 cm in length.

These crayfish are usually boiled in salt and spices before being devoured. One is usually required to wear a cone shape hat and enjoy these crayfish with Snaps. As you would have known, the party would usually end up with loads of drunkards and tonnes of crayfish shell all over.

It is quite common to compare crayfish, reason that this happen is because, crayfish sold in the market comes various countries like Spain, America, etc. Every year, there will be a crayfish comparison done and it will be made known to the public which has the best crayfish. As for my personal experience, the Swedish Crayfish is by far the best as compared to those from Caucasion and Spain (this is the worst in both taste and size) . You can buy them fresh or frozen, of course, the fresh ones usually taste better.