Corn Silk Molasses Tea 玉米须黑糖茶

We often discard corn silk, and it's treated as waste. When I was a kid, I collected corn silk whenever I saw someone peeling fresh corn and played masak-masak with it. It's like playing with hair! Absolutely fun and environmentally friendly. LOL!

I saw this recipe years ago, it reminded me that I've seen corn silk sold at Cameron Highlands, and the store owner told me it's good for the kidneys. I've also read about it saying it's diuretic and good for people with water retention. According to Baike.com, it's good for edema, hypertension, diabetes, jaundice, gallstones and it's also good for lactation purposes. Benefits of corn silk can also be found on WebMD. And it could also help with fat reduction, as said in this research paper.

Waterchestnut and Lotus Root Drink 马蹄莲藕水

The current El Nino heat wave in Malaysia is making many children sick.

2 of my 3 kids are down with on and off fever, with the highest temperature recorded at 39.5C. Many of their friends are down with fever too. Schools in the states of Perlis and Kedah are closed to keep children indoors, as public schools do not have air conditioning.

In my school, ice water is available for the students and all outdoor activities are postponed until further notice. This heat is not our usual hot days.

Birds Nest in Young Coconut 椰青炖燕窝 and a Giveaway!

THIS IS A SPONSORED POST

This is going to be a long post, with freebies and discounts.

Bird's Nest.... what comes to your mind?

Beauty? Luxury? Delicacy? Healthy?
Or smelly? Cruelty?

The Chinese believe that consuming bird's nest promotes good health, especially for the skin. It is high in glycoproteins and sialic acid, and that promote youthfulness by enhancing skin complexion. It comes with a high price tag and hence, it is a luxury. The high price tag drives human to risk their lives for it.

Back in those days, even nowadays,  bird's nests are harvested from caves, like Niah Cave in Sarawak and Gomantong Cave in Sabah and if you have seen how it's done, it will send shivers down your spine. The bamboo pillars and structures are high up in the caves and going around on those bamboo structures is like training to be a tight rope walker. I heard from my Sarawakian friends, that it's not uncommon to hear of people losing their lives while harvesting wild birds' nests in Niah Cave. And the harvesting is sometimes done while the swiftlets are still in their nests. Baby birds are thrown down the cave floor so that they can collect the nests as soon as they can. It's sad, but true. I refused to consume birds nest after my visit to Niah Cave in 1999. Seriously. I just couldn't bring myself to support an industry that takes lives.

I'm glad that in recent years, there are birds nests that are collected from nesting houses. Birds Nest is tasty and I don't want to stop consuming it. It's just that I want to support a blood industry.

Petaling Street Lohanguo Longan Drink Copycat- KL Sel MFF #3

Those who frequent Petaling Street would've seen this busy stall at the junction with a lot of people standing all around waiting for a small stainless steel bow (how it looked like in the olden days). What is in that bowl that could make people stand and wait for their turn with no complains.... it's just a herbal drink. Read here

What's so special about this herbal drink? It seems common to have wintermelon, longan and lohanguo as a drink, so?