Jim Paull

PETALING JAYA: A black dog abandoned by its previous guardian has found gainful employment at a petrol station in Brazil after its business owner took him under her wing.

Sabrina Plannerer and her partner had purchased a Shell petrol station still under construction in the town of Mogi das Cruzes, when they noticed a lonesome dog wandering around its premises.

“We adopted him immediately and got him all the care animals need,” Plannerer told The Dodo.

“We took him to the vet to get vaccinated and de-wormed. We bought him food, a dog house, and a leash to take him on walks.”

So special and immediate was the bond between Plannerer and the dog she named Negão, that she even employed him as the petrol station’s first ever canine customer service officer when the station finally opened for business.

Looking rather fetching in a Shell station cap complete with his worker’s ID card affixed to his brand new collar, Negão smiles straight into the camera for a picture as he proudly sits on a Shell station rug in his “office” premises.

“Negão waits for people to arrive, and then goes up to say hello, winning them over with his charms,” The Dodo reported Plannerer as saying.

“Customers love him. Some people even bring him toys.”

Since he lives full-time at his place of work, Plannerer and the other employees take turns walking Negão so he gets a chance to stretch his legs.

As the petrol station is open for business round-the-clock, Negão is assured of having at least one co-worker to share his long shifts with.

Plannerer said she hoped Negão’s story would serve as motivation to other business owners to adopt stray or abandoned animals.

A charity named Grupo FERA, that works to pair strays with businesses as a last resort if the dog cannot be re-homed, is pumped by Negão’s story.

“It’s been sensational, encouraging people to have more respect for animals,” a spokesperson from Grupo FERA told The Dodo.

“And workers enjoy having the companionship of a four-legged colleague.”

For Negão, his sad tale has a happy ending and he earns his keep being the best “employee” he possibly can.

KUALA LUMPUR: Ride-sharing company Grab today launched its latest feature, GrabShare, offering customers the option to carpool using its mobile application.

According to Grab Malaysia Country Head Sean Goh, GrabShare offers passengers lower rates of up to 30% as compared to its regular ride-sharing option, GrabCar.

“Since the ride is shared, each booking can only accommodate a maximum of two passengers to allow room for the next customer. When the two bookings are matched, Grab will assign the drop offs for the best time efficiency.

“With this, we also hope to reduce (traffic) congestion in the city,” Goh said at the launch today.

Apart from Malaysia, GrabShare is also available in Manila, Philippines. The service was first launched in Singapore late last year and garnered two million rides in just two months.

On Monday, it was reported that over 100 Grab drivers protested against the company’s policy of making deductions for every passenger a driver failed to pick up.

Driver Mohd Kamarul Faisal Kamarulzaman, 41, claimed some had their earnings slashed by between RM1,100 and RM1,600 a month since the policy was introduced.

He said Grab was deducting more money than it should without any justifiable explanation.

Meanwhile President of the Small and Medium-Scale Entrepreneurs Association of Malaysia, Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah gave Grab a week to resolve the issue, failing which the drivers would lodge a police report.

Grab recently introduced an acceptance reward and cancellation fee scheme to deter drivers from ignoring or cancelling rides.

A Grab spokeswoman said the purpose of the exercise was to ensure that drivers were conscientious of their bookings and continued to serve their passengers.

Drivers are to be penalised RM1 for any job they cancel or ignore. However, they are given three chances per day before the penalty is charged. The scheme also rewards drivers with an additional RM1.50 should they complete any booking, the company said in a statement.

 

KUALA LUMPUR: There are no restrictions for organ donation and transplantation between a Muslim and a non-Muslim, said Federal Territories mufti Dr Zulkifli Mohamad al-Bakri.

He said this was because human organs were not Islamic or non-Islamic in nature but tools to support human life.

“When an organ of a non-Muslim is transplanted into the body of a Muslim, the organ will become a part of the Muslim person’s body.

“Then, the organ is used for its purpose as ordered by Allah,” he said in his Facebook page yesterday.

Zulkifli said Islam decreed that the body of a non-Muslim, which includes its organs and blood, always glorified and praised Allah and obeyed His commands.

On blood donation from a non-Muslim who may have eaten non-halal food such as pork, Zulkifli said it was allowed in Islam because it was only the blood being transfused not the essence of the pork.

He also shared the findings of the National Fatwa Council meeting on April 13 and 14, 1982 on blood donation and transfusion between a non-Muslim and a Muslim.

Zulkifli said it had been ruled that blood donation was “harus” (permissible) and there was no need to separate the blood of a non-Muslim and a Muslim.

MIRI: Hotel tidak berlesen mungkin menjadi pilihan pelancong bajet di sini, namun ramai yang tidak tahu kebanyakan pusat penginapan terbabit juga merupakan perangkap maut.

Perkara ini berdasarkan pemeriksaan mengejut Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia (JBPM) Miri dan Majlis Bandaraya Miri ke atas 20 hotel tidak berlesen baru-baru ini yang mendapati hanya satu hotel mematuhi semua aspek keselamatan yang ditetapkan.

Dalam satu kenyataan hari ini, Ketua JBPM Miri Law Poh Kong berkata dalam pemeriksaan yang dijalankan dari 7 hingga 10 Feb lepas, hotel terbabit mempunyai 20 bilik ke atas dengan kebanyakannya tidak mematuhi Ordinan Bangunan Sarawak 1994 dan Akta Perkhidmatan Bomba 1988.

“Antara kesalahan yang dilakukan pengusaha hotel tidak berlesen ialah tidak menyediakan tangga keselamatan, tiada sistem pencegahan kebakaran, dan sistem pencegahan kebakaran tidak berkeadaan baik,” katanya.

Selain itu katanya bangunan juga tidak mempunyai pintu penghalang api di antara bilik hotel dan tangga keselamatan, selain gagal menghantar pelan bangunan kepada pihak berkuasa bagi mendapatkan kelulusan.

Law berkata kesemua hotel yang berkenaan diberi notis pematuhan akta dan setakat ini menerima respons positif daripada pemilik yang tidak mahu tragedi yang berlaku pada Januari lalu berulang.

Dalam kejadian 6 Jan itu, seorang wanita berusia 21 tahun maut selepas terjun untuk menyelamatkan diri daripada kebakaran yang berlaku di bangunan kedai 6 tingkat di Jalan Merbau di sini.

Mangsa dilaporkan berbuat demikian selepas mendapati pintu menuju ke tangga keselamatan berhampiran bilik yang disewanya berkunci.

Sementara itu, Setiausaha Agung Kehormat Persatuan Hotel-hotel Malaysia cawangan Sarawak, John Teo Peng Yew mahu pihak berkuasa tempatan menangani isu hotel tidak berlesen yang gagal mematuhi aspek keselamatan berkenaan.

Katanya isu itu boleh mencemar imej industri pelancongan Sarawak.

Chex Mix is very much a casual party snack, but it can still show off every now and then. Here's a quick and easy way to elevate its status at your next gathering: Add brown butter and honey. These two ingredients lend nutty, caramelized qualities that make it quite fancy indeed. Suddenly your party mix is hanging with the baked brie instead of the cheese cubes.

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Bloomberg News run an interesting piece yesterday about how petty Delta can be sometimes when trying to compete with ME3.

Emirates 777 in Seattle needed a spare part that Delta provided. HQ in Atlanta, however, reversed the decision and requested the part to be removed. Alaska (Emirates partner) came to the rescue and the flight took off six hours late.

You can access the Bloomberg here of which below is an excerpt:

A Boeing Co. 777 due to depart the American city at 9 a.m. on Feb. 2 was held up by a mechanical issue requiring the replacement of a minor hydraulic component, Emirates says. While the part was sourced from Delta’s local engineering office and installed on the plane, a senior manager at the U.S. carrier’s Atlanta base later ordered that it be removed, it claims.

“It is sad, in our view, that any airline would deny such standard technical assistance to another carrier based on orders from headquarters that had nothing to do with maintenance or cost, but seem clearly to have been intended to inflict harm on the airline and its customers,” Emirates said in an e-mail.

In the incident this month, Emirates said Delta had refused a credit-card payment for the spare and ordered a local engineering provider to remove it from the 777. Code-share partner Alaska Airlines Inc. eventually came to the rescue by providing the part, leaving the flight to depart 6 hours and 24 minutes late.

Conclusion

Even when airlines compete, they usually have agreements in place for complimentary staff travel and they provide variety of services to each other from ground handling to catering.

When Qatar flew its flagship A380 to Atlanta, Delta made sure that the airline couldn’t use any of the A380 gates at the airport and passengers had to use stairs. I am sure that sooner or later Delta will get to taste its own medicine.

TOURS: A truck carrying 2,000 pounds (40 tonnes) of cat food collided with a car in central France Friday, littering the motorway with its tins for kitty.

The accident caused an eight kilometre (five mile) long traffic jam and closed down the motorway for more than half a day.

The accident, which lightly injured two people and was first reported by the Vinci construction company, occurred at about 4:00 am on the A10 motorway in the Chateau-Renault region, about 200 kilometres (124 miles) southwest of Paris, emergency services said.

But it wasn’t until around 5:00 pm that authorities could finally clear enough of the tinned food litter to open one of the motorway’s three lanes.

A second lane was freed about an hour and a half later, while the third remained closed Friday evening.

The A10 is the French gateway to popular weekend destinations Tours in central western France and Bordeaux, the port city of the famed wine-growing region farther to the south.

PETALING JAYA: Jealousy at work is believed to have cost the life of a Bangladeshi sub-contractor in Jeram, Kuala Selangor.

A colleague is believed to have chopped off the head of a sub-contractor all because he thought his boss favoured the victim too much.

Kuala Selangor district police chief Supt Ruslan Abdullah said they have detained a suspect, also a subcontractor, Star Online reported.

The incident occurred about 4pm on Thursday.

Workers informed police they had found a human head at the bottom of a building under construction in Jeram.

The body was later found stuck to some scaffolding on the 10th floor.

A subcontractor, who had been working at the site for two years, went missing immediately after the incident. He was picked up today and is being held for questioning.

Here are five of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness.

Want to see your pictures on our site? Our Flickr pool is the place where Consumerist readers upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click “Join Group?” up on the top right. Choose your best photos, then click “send to group” on the individual images you want to add to the pool.

Android: Few apps are less kind to your limited data plan than YouTube. If you want to download videos to watch offline, you can subscribe to YouTube Red or use the new, free YouTube Go.

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NEW DELHI: Park rangers in India are using a cuddly toy tigress to help three traumatised cubs spring back to their feet after the death of their mother.

The cubs, who were orphaned last month, have been happily feeding from milk bottles fitted inside the toy, said the field director at Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.

“We tried to give them goats’ milk initially but they didn’t like the human interaction. They just refused to take the bottle from our staff,” Mridul Pathak told AFP.

“Now they have been feeding from the synthetic nipples attached to the dummy for six days. Their energy levels increased from the first feed.”

Forest rangers have also built a special enclosure for the cubs inside their compound, using twigs, grass and sand to mimic their natural habitat, he said.

“We even rubbed the faeces of the mother on the toy tiger and grass to recreate the feeling of being close to their real mum.”

The cubs were found in a critical condition not long after the body of their mother was discovered near a river in January.

It is believed the mother was killed after brushing against an electric fence erected by cattle farmers, Pathak said. An investigation is underway.

Rangers quickly treated the cubs for dehydration and rushed them back to the enclosure.

The tiger treatment has a precedent.

In rural India it is common to keep dummy calves next to cows and buffaloes who stop lactating when they lose their offspring. The sense of attachment encourages the mothers to begin producing milk again.

India is home to more than half of the world’s tiger population with more than 2,200 roaming its reserves, according to the most recent census in 2014.

At least 98 big cats died last year, said the National Tiger Conservation Authority, with poaching blamed in most cases.

I'm always impressed by Larabars. With only a few ingredients, the bars manage to magically taste like the flavor printed on the wrapper. Case in point? The blueberry muffin bars. Somehow dates, cashews, blueberries, lemon, and vanilla combine to taste like a blueberry muffin — and that's the same principle behind this smoothie.

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It’s important to keep your knees strong and healthy so that your mobility doesn’t deteriorate as you grow older. We often take the health of our knees for granted, not noticing there’s a problem until everyday activities like lifting boxes or walking downhill become painful. Take the following measures to strengthen your knees and ensure you’ll stay active for as long as possible.

EditSteps

EditUnderstanding Knee Health

1. Get to know basic knee anatomy. The knee is the largest joint in the body, and is made up of the lower end of the thigh bone (femur), the upper end of the shin bone (tibia), and the kneecap (patella). These bones are connected by ligaments and cartilage, including the meniscus, which cushions the area where the femur and tibia meet.
   
2. Be aware of common knee injuries. As one of the most heavily used joints in the body, the knee is subject to a range of injuries. The more you know, the better prepared you will be to avoid circumstances that lead to or exacerbate injuries.^[1]
   
   • The iliotibial band, or IT band, is the area of thicker tissue that runs from the outside of the pelvis to the outside of the knee. The IT band helps to stabilize the knee during physical activity. It can become inflamed and painful when it is overused, leading to iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS). Runners, hikers, and other active people often experience this injury.
   • The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is commonly torn during activities like running, jumping, and landing from a jump. Other ligaments may be torn as well.
   • The meniscus, which acts like a shock absorber to protect the knee joint from impact, can be easily torn during activities like twisting, pivoting, or decelerating.
3. Understand how other parts of the leg affect the knees. The knees are supported by the other muscles in the legs, especially quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. Keeping these muscles strong is a crucial to having strong knees and preventing injury.
   

EditExercising to Strengthen Your Knees

1. Stretch your IT band. Spending some time stretching and warming up your IT band before diving into a strenuous activity is a good way to keep your knees strong.^[2]
   
   • Stand with your left foot crossed over your right and stretch your arms above your head. Lean your upper body as far as you can to the left without bending your knees. Repeat with your right foot crossed over your left, leaning your upper body to the right.
   • Sit on the floor with your legs stretched in front of you. Cross one over the other and pull your knee as close as you can toward your chest, holding it in place for a few seconds. Repeat with your other leg.
   • Take a brisk walk before launching into a more complicated exercise to give your IT band a chance to loosen up.
2. Work out your quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes.
   
   • Do lunges to work on your quadriceps. Stand upright with your hands on your hips. Take a big step forward with your left foot, and lower your body toward the floor until your left leg is bent at a right angle. Your back knee will lower until it is nearly touching the floor. Repeat this exercise several times, then switch to the other side.
   • Strengthen your hamstrings with step-ups. Stand in front of a raised surface and practice stepping up with one foot, then the other. Repeat on both sides.
   • Do squats to get stronger glutes. Stand upright and simply squat to the ground, bending your knees and keeping your back upright. For a less strenuous version of this exercise, practice standing in front of a chair, sitting, and standing again.
3. Learn to jump well. Jumping is great exercise, and done properly, it helps strengthen the knees. Try jumping rope in front of a mirror so you can study your form. Are you landing with your knees straight, or are they bent? Landing on straight knees puts too much pressure on your joint, and can eventually lead to injury. For stronger knees, practice landing in a half-squat position with your knees bent.
   
4. Try recreational activities that build full-body muscle tone. If your leg muscles aren’t strong, your knees won’t be either.
   
   • Yoga is a low-impact activity that tones your leg muscles. As a bonus, many yoga positions involve stretching and warming up your knees.
   • Swimming is another great way to build leg and knee strength and flexibility.
   • Walking and biking keep your legs and knees in shape for more strenuous activities.

EditChanging Your Lifestyle to Strengthen Your Knees

1. Add anti-inflammatory foods to your diet. Joints become weakened and painful when they are inflamed, so adding foods that are known to be anti-inflammatory to your diet may help keep your knees strong. ^[3]
   
   • Fish, flax seeds, olive oil, avocados, and whole fruits and vegetables are said to have anti-inflammatory properties.
2. Make sure you get enough vitamin E. Vitamin E is believed to hinder enzymes that break down the cartilage in the joints. Spinach, broccoli, peanuts, mango and kiwi are excellent sources of vitamin E. ^[4]
   
3. Eat more calcium. Bone health is also important for knee strength, so take measures to prevent osteoporosis. Cow milk, yogurt, cheese and goat milk are good sources are calcium. Almonds and leafy greens are also excellent sources.
   
4. Stop doing activities that hurt. If you experience a lot of knee pain doing certain activities, chances are you aren’t strengthening your knees by continuing. Try lower impact exercises for awhile to give your knees a rest. After a few months of focusing on leg muscle strength and flexibility, you may find you’re able to do your favorite activities without pain.
   

EditVideo

EditWarnings

• Running on a hard paved surface can destroy your knees over time. Always wear proper running shoes, and don't overdo the running.
• If you are experiencing any pain from the activities you do, stop right away.
• Don't twist your feet in such a way that your knees are wrenched sideways. You can permanently stretch or tear the ligaments that hold your knee together (ligaments, unlike muscles, are not supposed to stretch).

EditRelated wikiHows

• Strengthen Ligaments
• Avoid Knee Injuries
• Keep Your Bones and Joints Healthy
• Get Your Legs and Butt in Shape
• Soothe Your Legs After Stress or Long Walk
• Avoid Feet and Leg Problems if Standing for Work
• Prevent Osteoporosis
• Tape a Knee
• Safely Strengthen Hamstrings After an Injury

EditSources and Citations

Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found

When we talk about a great steak dinner we're really talking about the big picture of what's on your plate. The steak is front and center, but the sides are what makes it feel special. In fact, when it comes to steak dinners, a really good side can steal the show. In this series on Steakhouse Sides we're sharing recipes for the scene stealers so make sure you leave ample room on the plate!

Speaking of scene stealers, these buttery balsamic mushrooms have no qualms about being the true star of your steakhouse dinner. When cooked in a buttery balsamic vinegar sauce, the mushrooms become tender and infused with an intense, slightly sweet flavor. It only taste 15 minutes to put this side together, but given how decadent they taste, you'd think there would have to be something more complicated involved to coax out so much flavor.

Serve these mushrooms alongside your favorite pan-seared steak or pork chop and you might find yourself dimming the lights, lighting a few candles, and pulling out the white linen.

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KUALA LUMPUR: The government’s decade-old plan to attract investors from the Middle East is not playing out well, according to a report in the Straits Times of Singapore.

Several major middle eastern investors, who had earlier indicated pouring in millions into Malaysia, have since withdrawn.

The latest is the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco). Early last week, Second Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani confirmed that Saudi Aramco had decided to withdraw from a US$27 billion (RM119 billion) refinery and petrochemical joint-venture development in Pengerang, Johor, with state-owned Petronas.

The ST report said Saudi Aramco’s surprise decision to axe its Malaysian plans had “added to a growing list of troubles Malaysia is facing with investors from the Middle East, who are also facing financial problems because of the slump in oil prices”.

The report said the Malaysian government had wanted middle eastern investors to take the lead in the development of the Iskandar region in Johor, particularly in Medini, a 930ha mixed-use development that would feature a financial district envisioned as a hub for global Islamic finance.

The project attracted big names such as Kuwait Finance House, Abu Dhabi’s state-owned Mubadala Development Group and Aldar Properties, another real estate developer in Abu Dhabi.

But, the ST report said, Arab involvement in Medini fizzled out after the 2008 global financial crisis and the investments were subsequently taken over by private Malaysian interests.

Other major Arab-led projects in Malaysia “that have been quietly axed in recent years include plans by Abu Dhabi business groups to invest in a US$7 billion oil storage facility in Johor, and a US$4.2 billion aluminium smelter project in Sarawak”.

The ST report said Abu Dhabi investors had pulled out from 1MDB’s multibillion-dollar Tun Razak Exchange real estate development following problems between 1MDB and Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company.

The move to attract capital and tourists from the Middle East began under former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Malaysia became an attractive place for middle eastern nations and middle eastern Muslims with money following the Sept 11, 2001, attack by militants on the United States.

Although, such investments have been faltering, Malaysia has gained in areas such as banking. Three middle eastern financial institutions have set up base in the country, the report noted.

Malaysia has also become a popular destination for tourists from the Middle East.

Avocados are a very important food with which you can craft many tasty delights, but picking a perfectly ripe one can be challenging at times. Luckily—as one Reddit user brought to our attention—one crafty company has started putting color chart stickers right on the fruit, making grocery shopping that much easier.

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Doctors successfully removed a live cockroach from a woman’s skull — and it was apparently caught on video. A 42-year-old woman in India was asleep when she felt a bug crawling in her nostril, according to The New Indian Express. When she tried to brush the insect off it had already crawled...

Here are seven of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness.

Want to see your pictures on our site? Our Flickr pool is the place where Consumerist readers upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click “Join Group?” up on the top right. Choose your best photos, then click “send to group” on the individual images you want to add to the pool.

JAKARTA: The Indonesian government-owned oil and gas firm, Pertamina Persero, has dismissed its Chief Executive Dwi Sutjipto and his deputy Ahmad Bambang with immediate effect due to performance and leadership issues.

Online media quoted Gatot Trihargo, deputy assistant for the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (MSOE), as saying the decision was made at a shareholders’ annual general meeting held earlier today.

He said the meeting also appointed Yenni Andayani, a current vice-president for the national oil and gas company, as acting chief executive.

“MSOE Minister Rini Soemarno stressed that Pertamina requires better management to meet the challenges and strategies of today’s business world.

“He said the national oil and gas company’s problems were caused by weak leadership,” Trihargo said.

Sutjipto, 61, was appointed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo to lead Pertamina in November 2014 to replace Karen Agustiawan who resigned.

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Pertamina has removed its CEO Dwi Soetjipto and deputy CEO Ahmad Bambang, company and government officials said on Friday citing leadership problems, and new and renewable energy director Yenni Andayani has been appointed acting CEO.

I firmly believe that having chocolate on hand — whether in the form of powder, baking bars, snacking bars, or chips — is always a good idea. You never know when the craving for brownies will strike, when an unexpected celebration calls for cake, or when you just need to break off a square of good dark chocolate and have a moment. As important as it is to have the sweet stuff on hand, it's equally important to store it properly to maintain freshness. Here are the best ways to store all of your chocolate goods in the kitchen.

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Happy Nationa Tater Tot Day, friends! I'm not sure about you, but this random food holiday has me feeling inspired to make some tater tots from scratch. While a bag of the frozen kind always works in a pinch, a DIY version would be way more impressive for your Super Bowl party this weekend — especially if you make this "loaded baked potato" version.

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iOS/Android: When it comes to tracking food, we’re bad at estimating our portion sizes. We’ve shared reference charts like this one before, but they’re not exactly handy to carry. An update to Lose It! now lets you quickly reference a visual guide for estimating serving sizes when you need it.

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ALOR SETAR: Nasi Lemak Ice-Cream does sound like a somewhat strange dessert to indulge in but Melissa Tan Chia Hui, 25, has succeeded in creating just the right blend of flavours in this innovative product that mimics her favourite Malaysian dish.

Tan, a graduate of Middlesex University, London is determined to leave her graphic design career in Penang to concentrate on her products which are marketed under the brand name Skream Softserve.

A self-confessed nasi lemak lover, Tan said she came up with the idea to give a new dimension to this traditional Malay dish which she said was very much loved by all races in the country.

“This is not a gimmick and I am not a hipster trying to seek attention.

“My aim is to produce something delicious, get people to like it and finally agree that this really is nasi lemak ice-cream,” she said.

“Although there is no rice served, the main nasi lemak condiments such as peanuts, anchovies, ‘sambal’, quail eggs and cucumber will be sprinkled over the nasi lemak ice-cream,” she told Bernama when met at Diem Cafe at Jalan Penjara, Pekan Cina here.

Tan said lemongrass and coconut milk were used as ingredients for the ice-cream to make it taste just like the lightly flavoured rice of this dish.

“All the ingredients are fresh and free of preservatives and chemicals,” Tan said, adding that it took three months of research before she came up with the perfect nasi lemak flavour.

According to Tan, she sold only 30 cups on the first day but succeeded in selling 144 cups yesterday, priced at RM10 per cup.

“I received a lot of negative comments over social media.

“To those who say that I am crazy and my product is disgusting, why not have a taste of it before judging,” she added.

In what I’m calling “very good news,” the kind souls over at The Kitchn have devised a formula for turning almost any vegetable into a crispy, cheesy fritter. Given the fact that the easiest ways to get me to eat my veggies are to crisp them up and add cheese, I’m pretty delighted.

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The struggle is real when trying to find the perfect avocado that is not unripe but also not too ripe. There are few things more frustrating than slicing into an avocado only to learn you're a few days early or, worse, a few days late. Thankfully, for those guilty of not being able to distinguish between an underripe and overripe avocado, a sticker with a color gradient is here to help.

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This $12 stainless steel reusable water bottle is vacuum-sealed and double-walled to actually keep your cold drinks cold and your hot drinks hot. Grab one in black, silver, or blue.

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TOKYO: Wrapped up from head to toe in a white bag and gently rocking from side to side, five Japanese mothers are hopeful Tokyo’s latest health trend can cure their post-pregnancy aches and pains.

According to its exponents, Otonamaki, which translates as “adult wrapping”, was devised by a Kyoto midwife who thought replicating how children are swaddled at birth could help mothers overcome post labor shoulder and hip pain.

The five mothers at a recent session in Tokyo lay on their backs with their knees on their chests bundled up in white cloths. Staff then helped them rock over cushions.

“It felt warm and there was this feeling with my body,” said one mother who tried the 20 minute session.

“I have never experienced this before so its quite hard to describe properly.”

Not everyone is a fan. Chiropractor Shiro Oba was skeptical about its powers of healing and encouraged mothers with back pain to visit a physician.

“There may be cases where people with asthma may find it easier to breath (in that position), but once the cloth is off it’s the same thing,” said Oba.

“But apart from that, I just can’t think of how people can benefit from this even as a form of reflexology or exercise.”

A lot of people are reflexively appalled by the idea of a bidet, which makes no sense, because they’re amazing. Today on Amazon, you can score a Greenco Bidet attachment that will work with just about any toilet for just $22. That’s nothing for a product you’ll use just about every day. This deal could sell out any…

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