Hakka Chinese Jamaican

The webmaster has gone on holidays due to lack of internet. Read last month's issue again.

JAMAICA's delectable and mouth-watering patty, once a lunch-time staple and now an anytime-of-the-day meal on the go across all socio-economic groups, has had its international rating bumped up on one of the world's most popular websites, askmen.com... click on "Jamaican patty" in the News section.

For being a multinational corporate food and beverage giant, Starbucks has actually been among the most proactive in ridding its offerings of toxic additives and artificial colors, and switching to natural alternatives. But the company's recent decision to change its Strawberries & Creme Frappuccino blended beverage formula has the vegan community in an uproar, as ground-up beetles now constitute part of the drink's natural coloring components... click on "Starbucks Beetle juice" in the News section.

Leighton Levy, Gleaner Writer World champion Brigitte Foster-Hylton and her MVP teammate, Olympic relay gold medallist Michael Frater, have become the centrepieces of 361 Degrees advertisements being aired on Chinese television, as the sportswear company ramps up its ad campaigns on the Chinese mainland ahead of the London Summer Games... click on "361 Degrees" in the News section.

JAMAICA'S Food Storage and Prevention of Infestation Division (FSPID) has confiscated approximately 1,500 metric tonnes of paddy rice in which the dried-out carcasses of rodents and frogs were found. The rice, which is valued at approximately $15 million, was imported from the United States by a local distributor... click on "US dirty rice" in the News section.

Many of us already know that eating fruits and vegetables makes us healthy and energetic. We also know from experience that food and beauty are related. Now we have further evidence from research from University of St. Andrews in the UK that fruit and vegetable intake is also associated with healthy glowing skin... click on "Fruit for skin" in the News section.

Jamaican sugar plantations needed labour, and Christian Europe, from the 16th to the 19th centuries, invested heavily in African slaves to enrich their personal and national economies. To keep the slave system going, the Europeans had to convince themselves that black people were not fully human... click on "Brownings" in the Articles section.

Here is an article that I read in the Panama Guide and it reminded me of when I first came to Panama with the goal in mind of bringing my Mom to a better place. Many people are retiring here not only to enjoy their last active years but also buying places to accommodate a live in at a later date when they want a full time care giver. It is a well thought out article and long but worth the read... click on "Moving Mum to Panama" in the Articles section.

Following my request for nostalgic photos are these circa ‘50’s generously provided by Ms. Simone Tai of her family at Hope Gardens with pond, swans and Long Mountains behind; along with a one of her dad at the beach. There is also a current shot for you back-home yardies, of a grey squirrel in my backyard fattening up for the winter. I am sure we all have albums chock-full of photos from JA in the good old days that we have lying around and taken for granted-well those photos are a treasure trove for me and anyone of similar nostalgic vein. Well I am begging you for these. I know there may be some that are too painful, intimate or personal but anything else please share with us... click on "Picture Appeal" in the Articles section.

Baby Irene's dad agreed with his homeopathic physician, Hannah Eagle, about the dangers of vaccines. He certainly did not plan on vaccinating his 4-month old daughter. On December 4, 2011, however, under a tremendous amount of pressure from the family pediatrician, he and his wife acquiesced and allowed a single injection cocktail of seven vaccines... click on "Baby Irene" in the Articles section.

Filial piety has become a hot issue in Taiwan after video of a middle-aged man carrying his frail mother into the Chi Mei Hospital went viral, touching hearts all over the country. Now people want to know more about the man in the video... click on "Filial Son" in the Articles section.

The Year of the Dragon...these words roll easily off the tongue. Maybe because of all the signs of the Chinese zodiac, the dragon, with its fantastical shape and fiery power, seems to have garnered the most fame, the most notoriety, the most reverence. So it is with great honour and auspiciousness that the Caribbean Chinese Association will be celebrating its 35th Anniversary in the Year of the Dragon... click on "Social" under the Announcements section.

I am seeking assistance to find my father (F. Wong) whom I have never met. My mother Leta Reina Palmer; a Jamaican, who is now deceased, was a nurse between 1960-1966 at Saint Crispin Hospital Northampton and Carlton Hayes Hospital Narborough Leicester in England... click on "Lost" under the Announcements section.

Read assorted info, this and that... click on "Dis ’n Dat"

Make Chicken & Shrimp Bitter Melon Stirfry... go to the Recipes page.

May 2012