Trick or Treat by Mother Nature? More like a Trick...

It's not even Halloween in the United States, yet the Northeast is experiencing it's first significant snowfall of the year as a fluke Nor'Easter is hitting. For those who don't know what a New England Nor'Easter is, here's the definition in a nutshell - a warm and moisture filled-storm heading up the eastern seaboard of the United States comes into contact with a drainage of cold dry air whipping in from the Northeast, creating a hurricane like effect circling the area, and the combination of the two conflicting forces creates a significant amount of precipation in its path.

The effects are compounded and more noticeable during winter time when the cold air creates wet mushy snow rather than the light powder. You can imagine how annoying that gets for people around the area as it can cause power outages by downed power lines, closing of schools and other non-essential public services, and a backlog of traffic problems. Usually these do not occur until the full force of winter hits upon the area including colder temperatures and a shifting of the jet streams. Ironically the ideal conditions are temperatures just around the freezing mark (O celsius, 32 farenheit). For such a storm to develop and hit us so early in the season is a rare occurence, our plow and snow removal services aren't even fully prepared yet!

For a sample of this nuisance, take a look at the pictures below. Please don't mind the darkness, it's evening, and my phone camera is not the highest resolution...

I guess Mother Nature decided to let me know that I won't be getting away that easy.... oh well.

Kent
2011 29AUG

Authentic Americana amiss...

So while I am abroad in Southeast Asia the culture of food will be both different and the same simultaneously; on one hand I don't have to worry about starvation or fear of going hungry in the middle of the night - stalls open til the wee hours. However what I will definely miss is the authentic Americana - classical college style pizzas, comfort fried chicken, creamy clam chowders, and last but not least those greasy homey USDA grade beef burgers...

I just went to Boston Burger Company last night with some friends, and my taste buds just totally savored every morsel of our bites from this awesome local joint in Davis Square, Somerville MA - near Tufts University. Below are just a sample of what the next two years will not bring me sadly enough...

First a starter, courtesy of Andrew Choy: spicy barbecue boneless chicken wings with cool blue cheese to tamper the heat...

Next we have the mail course: the Inferno burger - Homemade habañero salsa, cheddar cheese and spicy chili pepper mayo topping a 100% Angus style beef patty on sandwiched between a toasted bun. Paired with homemade potato chips (Crisps for you Englanders...) and a side of baked beans with bacon essence.... man you can't go wrong here.

As I go along the next three weeks I'll try to profile other items of culinary interest which I will miss having on an "as-needed" basis without having to go to a "Western food outlet"...

Of course, this will be a complement to the wide array of food offerings that I will get to sample from the local society, and I will not beg or choose between any of them... this will be my world travel experience, after all...

Until next time, keep your friends close, and your favorite foods closer!

The Festival of Lights

Today is a public holiday in Malaysia to celebrate the Indian Festival of Lights. It's known as Deepavali in this part of the world but it is also called Diwali or Divali.

My parents and I woke up bright and early to have a free breakfast at one of our favorite neighborhood indian restaurants, Sri Paandi. As part of tradition and as a gesture of thanks to its' customers, the owners arrange an "Open House" annually for the customers to come and literally eat to their heart's content every Deepavali.



A sign as you enter the restaurant wishing everyone a Happy Deepavali.
(I love the almost rustic feel the old wall fan adds)



We arrived at 7:30am and there was already a crowd. I could go on and on regarding the food....literally there were many types of curries, and Indian breads such as tosai (or dosa), roti canai (or roti pratha), idli, putumayam......I'll let the pics do the talking.

Enjoy!

Goat curry...what can I say, the gamier, the better!

My portion: Roti Canai with goat curry and a cup of hot "pulled tea". In the background,  you can see my dad eating his roti in a very Indian way - with his hands!!

Clockwise from top: Vadai (indian savory donut/fritter snack), idli (compact lentil and rice cake) and putumayam (a  form of indian vermicelli - made of idiyappam flour and coconut milk)



The food is all laid out on banana leafs and you pick what you want!



 Lets just say we went home fat and happy.

Here's to next year's Festival of Lights....

and oh, Happy Deepavali!



A post from my office...

So I am now just making our first entry into the blogosphere, and I'm going to make it short...

I've got literally one whole weeks worth of my position in Cambridge until I call it a siesta from working in the year 2011. The next time I do so will most likely, and hopefully be early 2012 in Malaysia. During the next week and a half I will keep busy at work with the daily routines as well as making sure things stay as tidy as possible for the next person in my position, IF there is a next one...I'll also be waiting for my flash card shipment to arrive so I can actually understand what the heck my Becker FAR book is telling me.

Over the last three months, I have been meeting up with many groups of friends, both old and new, from the close proximity of the Longwood Medical Area, to the rural outskirts of Hampshire County out in Western MA. I have enjoyed catching up with many of them, and I only regret not having more opportunities to do so for the next few years, unless of course they come visit!

In addition while I prepare for the big move, I'm making one last trip with some boyz to the great gamblin' town of Las Vegas, wagering away my savings for an opportunity of a lifetime!...

...Okay so maybe not, but I'll have some fun in the sun at the very least.

That's my entry for today, tune in for more as the days go by. Either Karen or Myself will be making entries in here, so don't be caught by surprise when you see boy blue vs. pretty pink variances in material. Until next time, stay fresh, stay sound, and most of all, stay friendly

The purpose of the name...

So here it is....the first post. You may wonder what's with the name? Boston Boomerang?

Well it's simple. Both of us (KW and KC) lived/or still lives in Boston, and we'll be travelling to the other side of the world for a few years. Hopefully when the stint ends, we'll be back in Boston.

Just like a boomerang.....you let it fly but it always comes back to the point of origin

Hence, this blog is really about being there and back again.

So who are we? We're a couple of 30-somethings. Both Chinese. One's Malaysian, the other American.  One's into numbers, and the other works as an endocrinologist.  KC is originally from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia but has spent many a year in North America. KW is a Bostonian pure-bred, having lived all his life in Massachusetts. We'll be based in Kuala Lumpur for 2 years and this blog is to capture our life in Asia as well as the adventures that come our way.

This is our story.......

P/S - We hope you'll enjoy your stay with us!