The competitiveness?

 

What do you love?

 

 

Following a 'yao char kway' frenzy last nite, it really got me thinkin when I reached home. At times, we take such simple things like the 'yao char kway' for granted. I really started wondering who the hell created this thing that is so simple yet so friggin awesome.

 

What's really amazing about it is that you don't really crave for it....cos it ain't really THAT good. But once you start eating this shit, you just can't stop and leaves you wanting more. So simple, yet so awesome. Who created these darn things? Who had the brilliant mind to just roll up some dough and deep fry it? And why is it always in pairs? Why couldn't it just come in singles?

 

So I decided to do some research on it. I already knew it didn't originate from Malaysia cos we always see them it those Hong Kong TVB stupid drama series. I haven't even started when I came to a problem; how the hell do you actually spell 'yao char kway'? It's not as easy as it seems (try it!). So I tried google-ing it with various spellings of 'yao char kway', 'yow char kuai', 'yau char kwai'...etc to no avail. See, its not that I couldn't find it on google, it's just that I couldn't find substantial info on it with most of the hits coming in the form of recipes and blogs. Then I stumbled onto a site that called them 'Chinese Fried Bread'. So I used Wikipedia to search for it and voila!!

 

I never knew it was called 'Youtiao' in Mandarin. I finally found what I was looking for. It had all it's history and shit and it also hit me that the direct translation of 'yao char kway' was 'deep fried devil'. So, according to Wikipedia:

 

" The Cantonese name yau ja gwai literally means oil-fried devil and, according to tradition, is an act of protest against Song Dynasty official Qin Hui (秦檜, Cantonese: Chun Kui), who is said to have orchestrated the plot to frame the general Yue Fei (岳飛), an icon of patriotism in Chinese culture. It is said that the food represents Qin Hui and his wife, both having a hand in collaborating with the enemy to bring about the great general's demise. Thus the youtiao is deep fried and eaten as if done to the traitorous couple. In keeping with the legend, youtiao are often made as two foot-long rolls of dough joined along the middle, with one roll representing the husband and the other the wife.

The word yau ja gwai is believed to be a corruption of yau ja Kui (油炸檜, Mandarin pronunciation: yóuzhá Huì; lit. oil-fried Qin Hui), possibly because the population were afraid to openly declare their contempt towards the corrupt official; nevertheless, the food became a tool in expressing contempt."

 

And if you want even more detailed info about these crazy things, visit this site. It has an even longer explanation on how the Youtiao came about, so long I couldn't even be bothered to read about it no matter how interested I am.

I know it's sorta useless information, but I bet you didn't know how it came about as well, did you? Well, now you know! So just in case a hot chick tells you "You can sleep with me if you can tell me how the yao char kway originated", then you'll start thanking me!

The last thing I wanna know is, why do they call them 'Youtiao' in Mandarin? The only 'Tiao' I know in Mandarin means 'Fuck'. So, I don't think You Tiao is such a nice word to describe these wonderful things. Unless they have a different meaning. So, for those who understand Mandarin, a lil help and explanation please? I really wanna know!

I think I'ma stop writing now cos I'm getting real hungry. Subang Bak Kut Teh anyone?

I think these pictures are just fuckin hilarious.

 

 

 

 

 

Just so y'all know, my dad has the BIGGEST fear or hatred for anything and everything non-human. For some strange reason, he basically hates ALL animals big and small. Oh, and he hates (or is afraid) of gays as well.

 

So at times, his animal-phobia can be quite amusing. Just this evening my brother made like a five year old and started playing with a stray cat (or dog) that wondered into our front porch. I think anyway, cos I really didnt know what my brother was doing cos I was busy having dinner and watchin TV when my dad spotted my brother and started jumping and yelling "GET OUTTT!!! GET OUTTT!!!". He then proceeded to take a broom and started chasing that vicious and dangerous kitten out of the house. In that situation, I think my dad would've shot the poor lil' thing if he had a shotgun. He then proceeded to tell my bro "If I ever see that cat again, I'll KILL it!!".

 

This is the reason why I never had the chance to own a pet when I was a kid. The only pet I remembered having was a small lil turtle, and probably the only reason why my dad allowed it was cos he probably felt safe since the thing is in a small 2cm x 2cm enclosure.

 

It's kinda sad, I know. And I probably shouldn't be makin fun of his 'phobia'. I just don't know where or why this phobia came about. He probably had a bad experience as a kid, trying to seperate a cat and a dog from fighting and ended up gettin bitten by both animals. I don't know, but his phobia to me at times seems abit weird. The only animal he likes is the cow, and this is probably cos it tastes so good.

 

I'm always wonderin what his reaction will be when one day I just fill his room with cats, dogs and everything on all fours, while he's sleeping. But I'd never try it cos he'll probably wake up and die.

 

So, this is just a warning for all you felines, dogs, and all animals reading this post. STAY AWAY FROM MY DAD. He hates all of you! And if you're a gay animal, you BEST stay the fuck away from him.