The lump in the scrotum has been bothering me again of late. Prior to the discovery of the lump, I stopped driving for a while because my legs were spasmodic. When the spasms struck, my legs would get in the way of the hand controls and steering wheel. The spasms went away about one week after I finished the antibiotics.

Its size has not reduced much after the two-week course of antibiotics. The spasms have returned. I believe there is a relation between the spasms and the lump. I was at the UMMC Rehabilitation Medicine Clinic for my scheduled three-month check-up yesterday. The doctor examined the lump and advised me to get a biopsy done. I am going back to SJMC soon to have the lump checked again by the urologist.

When I went to collect my supply of medication, the pharmacist changed my dosage of Detrusitol from the 2mg twice a day to one 4mg once daily prolonged-release capsule. I told him that I have had problems with the 4mg capsule as it caused problems with urination. He told me that was the only dosage the pharmacy has now and if I prefer the 2mg tablet I have to get it elsewhere. I decided to give the 4mg capsules a try again.

I cannot understand why the pharmacy prefers to dispense the 4mg capsules instead of the 2mg tablets. A one-month supply of Detrusitol SR 4mg capsules costs RM249 while the Detrusitol 2mg tablets costs only RM170 when I last bought them myself. Anyway, the instruction was that I should take one capsule at night. Based on my previous experience with Detrusitol SR, I decided to take the capsule in the morning instead. I had my first dose this morning and will be monitoring my bladder’s reaction in the coming days.

Bookmark This Post

Bookmark This Post

Cats are such carefree creatures. They have nary a worry where their next meal will come from. This is true of Fei Por and Patches. Both of them live for the moment. They seem so contented. Their daily routine consists of eating, a little roaming and a lot of sleeping. I envy their easy-going nature. Sometimes I wish I am a cat.

Bookmark This Post

Bookmark This Post

Little Penang Kafe Acar Fish Set – (from top clockwise) Acar fish, jiu hoo char, sambal belacan, sliced cucumber, lor bak and white rice.

Whenever I have a pining for home-cooked food Penang style, there are only a few eateries in the Klang Valley that can satiate my appetite. Little Penang Kafé, which has several outlets here, is the one Wuan and I usually head to. The outlet we frequent often is at Mid Valley Megamall as we hang out there a lot on weekends. Each time we ate there, I resolved to try something different but invariably settled for the Acar Fish Set consisting of white rice, acar fish, jiu hoo char and lor bak. The other two outlets we pop in whenever we are in the vicinity are at Suria KLCC and The Curve.

Acar fish is fish slices that are deep-fried and then pickled in rice vinegar, turmeric, julienned ginger, sliced garlic and red chilli. Jiu hoo char is dried cuttle fish yam bean (sengkuang) and carrots that are julienned and stir fried together with belly pork, sliced shiitake mushrooms, onions and chopped garlic. Lor bak is chopped belly pork marinated with five spice powder, soya sauce, sugar, salt, pepper and shallots and made into rolls with bean curd sheets.

Little Penang Kafe serves halal food. The belly pork in jiu hoo char and lor bak are replaced with chicken. Both dishes without belly pork just do not feel as authentic as they should be in the mouth. The lor bak still maintains the aroma and flavour and is delicious nonetheless. The jiu hoo char has prawns added and is garnished with spring onions and deep fried shallots. The jiu hoo char that I like neither comes with prawns nor have garnishing. Perhaps it was added more for presentation purposes than anything else. I would have loved it more had it been stir fried longer to bring out its flavour. I usually eat the jiu hoo char with sambal belacan.

I grew up eating a hodgepodge of Peranakan (Nyonya) cuisine. These are usually served on weekends when the family got together for more scrumptious meals. It included nasi lemak, laksa, popiah, lam mee, lor bak, jiu hoo char, otak-otak and perut ikan, among others. Different cooks would use different amount of ingredients or even use slightly different ingredients that may make the taste varied and unique. The tastes that I like are more mainstreamed. That is what one would get from hawkers and eateries proffering such cuisines.

Bookmark This Post

Bookmark This Post