King’s Bounty: The Legend

1101 days ago

This is the game that is kept me occupied during the Chinese New Year holidays. And it is great. I can’t get enough of it. I am a big fan of...

This is the game that is kept me occupied during the Chinese New Year holidays. And it is great. I can’t get enough of it. I am a big fan of the strategy series Heroes of Might and Magic, having played all the different sequels of the game. Plus, I always enjoy Roll Playing Games. Well, if you have no idea what Heroes is all about, let me enlighten you. It is a turn based game which requires you to build up your army and go around and beat other players and enemies up.  Yes, you create heroes and recruit soldiers (or monsters) and you go around collecting magical items, resources, gold and what-not, then you purchase a huge army and go whack the opposing forces. It is fun, it is addictive and it requires some planning and strategy to win. What is surprising is that it is a turn based game. Nowadays, most games are real-time, made famous by the Command & Conquer series. However, Heroes is one of the few super fun turn based games which I really enjoy. If you are not into those fast paced games (or you are just getting old), have a try at Heroes. You might find that you actually enjoy playing games!

And now comes King’s Bounty : The Legend. I believe this game is based on an old game King’s Bounty. But from what I have played, it is kind of like Heroes of Might & Magic. The actual game is real time but when it comes to combat, it switches to turn-based. And it is basically the same as Heroes. You build up your army and then go around solving quests and killing monsters. Sort of like an Strategic Roll Playing Game. And your character gains experience and his stats will improve. Furthermore, you get to get married. In the game, I got married to a frog! And we had kids! Just super! Never thought in my life (even my gaming life), I would get to marry a frog. The combat (which is turned based) is one of the better parts of the game. It is exactly like Heroes which each turn you get to issue commands to your minions. Yap, they will walk across the screen and start battling out right in front of your eyes. The last one standing is the victor! What can be more fun than that?After you have defeated your enemies, you get gold and treasure, plus experience points and when you accumulate enough, you gain a level. What this does is to provide you with more powerful stats for you to combat the ever more powerful opponents. Ahhh….roll playing games, they never fails to bore me.

I have played most of the older RPG games like Baldur’s Gate and Fallout. In fact, I played Fallout and Fallout 2 like 10 times. It is always fun to see your character developing into some sort of unstoppable superman. Maybe we all hope that one day we would be some sort of superman or hero. Of course, it is easier to just play a computer game. I myself think that playing games is a good way to relax and forget about work. It is definitely good for de-stressing!

So, that’s it. Whenever I have some free time, I would be playing this game. Too bad it doesn’t come with any LAN gaming or co-op option. I am betting that if it did, it would be one of the best games I ever played. Everyone loves playing online with their friends. That is why there are so many online games nowadays. So much that I can hardly keep track of all of them.

Making Milk Kefir Howto (Singapore)

1102 days ago

I am betting that you can find a lot of guides on the Internet on how to make Kefir. In fact, all you need to do is to go on Youtube...

I am betting that you can find a lot of guides on the Internet on how to make Kefir. In fact, all you need to do is to go on Youtube and search for Kefir and you will be bombarded with tons of videos on how to make Kefir. But do note that most of them are made for countries with cooler climates. And of course, there are slightly different ways of making Kefir. Some of the equipment might be difficult to find in certain countries but plentiful in others. So, I guess perhaps writing a guide for making Kefir for Singaporeans should be quite useful to readers.

Anyway, this is what you need to make milk Kefir:

  1. Glass container (to ferment the Kefir in)
  2. Big bowl (large enough to fit the glass container)
  3. Kefir grains
  4. Milk (preferably fresh milk)
  5. Strainer (plastic tea strainer or those vegetable colander)
  6. Food grade wide mouth container (large enough for the strainer to be placed on the opening)

Before I begin, make sure that all the equipment is clean. Wash the glass container, strainer and wide mouth container thoroughly. The milk should not be exposed to the environment.

The first 4 “stuff” is needed when you start to make your milk Kefir. I would normally put in 1 to 20 parts of Kefir grains to milk. I guess this is a good amount of milk to ensure that your grains get enough milk in order for it to grow and thrive. You would want your grains to be healthy. Healthy grains produces the best Kefir. So, put in the milk and grains into the glass container and close the cover. Make sure that you allow air to enter/escape as the grains need to breathe. However, there is one major problem, especially in Singapore. If you leave the glass container (with the milk and grains) without tightening the cover, insects might be attracted to your milk. I am sure that there are several variations of yogurt which is made from ants but this is not what we are looking for. And it just looks disgusting.

So that is what the big bowl is for. Add some water to the bowl and place the glass container on it (water covering the sides of the glass container). This way, insects are not able to get into the container. And this method has one additional advantage. It helps to keep the milk cool(er). I estimate the temperature of most kitchens in Singapore is about 26 to 30 °C. Although the Kefir will ferment fine at these temperatures, it is not optimal. Dom recommends 20-22°C for the best and creamiest Kefir. Having  a water bath helps to reduce the temperature due to the effects of evaporation.

The next step is probably the hardest. You have to wait. Now this is based on experimenting. If you like a more tart beverage, you should ferment longer. Usually it would take about 12-16 hours in Singapore’s weather to get a balance between tartness and creaminess. Of course, this is me. You will have to experiment yourself to get a Kefir to your liking.

After you have fermented the Kefir, you will  need to strain the Kefir grains from the Kefir itself. And since I am using a rather fine tea strainer for the job, I normally would use a spoon to scope up the bigger grains first. This is so as not to clog up the strainer. If you use a colander, it should be fine if you don’t scope up the grains. Place the food grade container below the strainer. If you have a big enough strainer, just dump all the Kefir onto the strainer and let it do it job. If it gets stuck, just shake the strainer gently about. The creamy liquid that flows into the container is your precious Kefir. You can drink it fresh (like me) or ripen the Kefir. The reason why I drink it fresh is because I lack the space for ripening the Kefir. I read that there are a lot of health advantages in ripening your Kefir. Please refer to Dom’s site for more information.

If you would like to ripen the Kefir, you would need another container to store the Kefir. For ripening, you can cover the container tightly but you need to “degass” the Kefir once per day. It means that you have to open the container to let the air escape or it might explode due to the pressure. However the water bath method works too. And it is much safer since the un-tighten cover will allow air to escape from the container and there is no risk of exploding bottles.

Now after you have finished straining the Kefir, you will get a mess of Kefir grains mixed with curds in your strainer. I would suggest you to just dump it into the Kefir glass container. If you would like to wash the glass container, please go ahead. I normally only wash the container after 3 to 4 batches. The milk Kefir still remaining in the glass container helps to maintain a low ph value to inhibit bacteria and that is what we want. Of course, it might not look at attractive after a while with all those delta rivers and curds all about on the walls of the container. Some people rinse their Kefir grains with clean unchlorinated water or milk. I don’t. And Dom recommends you NOT to rinse the grains after each batch as they might affect the micro-flora of the Kefir grains.

After that, you repeat the process over and over again. Your grains should grow about double the amount in a week or so, so you should have plenty of grains to share with your friends and relatives. Remember, the Kefir grains are living organisms and they need plenty of food (read milk) to grow. So feed your grains every day! In return they will provide you with the miracle of Milk Kefir for life.

Update (18/2/2010) – Dom recommends ripening the Kefir in an air-tight container for 1 or 2 days at room temperature to get the full benefit of Kefir. I will be trying that out myself soon. Need to find myself a strong airtight container – remember carbon dioxide is produced during ripening as well! You won’t want an explosion!

Milk – The Most Important Part Of Milk Kefir

1104 days ago

In the beginning, I did not believe it. I mean, milk is just milk right? No matter where you get your milk from, it is still going to be milk. Unless...

In the beginning, I did not believe it. I mean, milk is just milk right? No matter where you get your milk from, it is still going to be milk. Unless you are talking about sheep’s milk or goat’s milk, the taste should be the same. But trust me, it isn’t. Different cow’s from different regions do produce a different quality of milk. In fact, how the cow is fed and how healthy or happy the cows are, will make a huge difference. Just go and try different brands of fresh unflavoured milk. They can taste absolutely different. I was very surprised. Even organic milk taste different from non-organic ones. I had used organic milk before and the taste and the flavour is fuller than compared to just regular Australian milk. Perhaps it is just all in the mind, but I really doubt it.

When I make Milk Kefir, I normally use UHT milk for the convenience and the ease of storage. I mean if you use fresh milk, you will have to refrigerate it and they last for only a few days. However for UHT milk, you can buy and store for a few months and you don’t need any refrigeration at all. They can be kept at room temperature in places where it is cool and which does not have direct sunlight. That’s the main reason why I buy UHT milk. Sometimes I don’t have time to go to the supermarket to buy fresh milk and when you make Kefir, you need to feed the Kefir grains milk every day. In fact, you will see the grains growing fast if you do it.My Kefir grains has grown more than triple in amount since I got the grains from someone in Germany. So, remember feed your grains! Do not let your grains starve! They might die if you do so.The Kefir grains are living organisms, so like all living organisms, you will have to give them food in order for them to thrive. Milk (or lactose) is their primary source of nutrition. Feed them well and they will be healthy and produce good Kefir for you for life!

I also realized that in making UHT milk, it requires a very high heating process. And different manufacturers heat their milk differently with different results. So you might find the fresh milk and the UHT milk from the same manufacturer taste different. And not all UHT milk are the same. Some might be tastless while some might feel a little watery. The most important step is to find a milk which you like. And use this milk to make your Kefir. I believe that the resulting Kefir you will most likely enjoy as well. Isn’t that what making Kefir is all about? Experimenting with different milk and tasting the result! If you ask me a few months back, I would never believe that trying out different milk would be so interesting. Nowadays I spent a good amount of time in the supermarkets looking for the best valued and best tasting milk!

I am also rather keen to have a try on Sugar Water Kefir. I read that you can make Sugar Water Kefir from Milk Kefir grains! Just like making Milk Kefir, you simply add Kefir grains to a water and sugar mixture and let it ferment for about 3-4 days. And after that, you will get Water Kefir! So fun!

Farmhouse UHT Fresh Milk

1105 days ago

Oh boy, it is another milk review! So fun and exciting! I am guessing that after reading this wondrous review, this must have made your day. lol. Anyway, yes, this is...

Oh boy, it is another milk review! So fun and exciting! I am guessing that after reading this wondrous review, this must have made your day. lol. Anyway, yes, this is yet another of those milk reviews. As you know, all these milk will be used to make my Milk Kefir. From what I was told, many experts in milk Kefir has said not to use UHT milk to make kefir but to me at least, the UHT milk seemed to work fine. And my grains are growing fast. I am pretty sure that it is not the best option but the Kefir grains and the milk Kefir it produces should be fine. The grains merely needs milk as their food source to survive and thrive. And it is a very economical solution. Furthermore, you can purchase the UHT milk and they keep for a long time. You needn’t worry about refrigeration if you don’t open the UHT pack. Of course, you should consume the milk in 3 or 4 days after opening it.

I bought this Farmhouse Milk from Sheng Siong and it cost me S$2.10. Quite reasonable. Yes, not exactly the cheapest but still a good price. However, I need to mention that the milk does smell “plain”. You know when you open a pack of milk, you tend to have this “milky”aroma?  That kind of plain. Well, I didn’t smell that in this milk. Just like when you open a pack of vanilla flavoured milk? I am not very sure why, perhaps it is due to Farmhouse’s heating process?

Hmmm…..what does 100% imported mean? Do they import the milk from overseas and repack it in Singapore? Everyone gets suspicious if you put100% Singapore milk on your label.

Look, it is F&N! Looks like they are controlling a huge portion of the Singapore dairy market. I wonder why did they have this Farmhouse brand under them, especially considering Magnolia is also under them? Some sort of marketing ploy? Did you know that even our Tiger Beer is under F&N!

And what do you think of the design of the milk pack?I find it quite appealing. Good job there, F&N!

See, packed by F&N! I guess what they do is to import milk from New Zealand and then pack it in Singapore! Not technically correct but hey, that is marketing for you.Hey, they hae this feedback email. I wonder whether they immediately forward all the messages sent to that email address to trash or not?

Ingredients is just Fresh Milk. Cool! But look – Needs No Refrigeration, Store in refrigerator. What talk F&N? Sometimes I often wonder what they are thinking when they are writing these stuff. What they meant is that this milk does not require refrigeration until you open it. Once you open the pack, you should store it in the refrigerator.

Wow, the expiry date is 12th November 2009! Yet another of those long lasting milk. UHT what, that is what it is suppose to do, make a long lasting milk. Just that people worry about the heating process which might destroy some of the health benefits of milk.

Oh, I forgot, Happy Lunar New Year everyone! Wish you have received a lot of Ang Baos or you have generously given Ang Baos! Ciao!

Kefir Grains Sharing In Singapore

1107 days ago

Sharing is caring. I guess if the world cares, we won’t be seeing so many problems in the world. At least that is what I believe. And I believe that as...

Sharing is caring. I guess if the world cares, we won’t be seeing so many problems in the world. At least that is what I believe. And I believe that as someone who drinks Kefir, it is important for me to inform others about the benefits of drinking Kefir. I hope that others will also enjoy the benefits as well. The health cost in Singapore has been raising like nobody’s business and getting sick is going to be a burden to you and your family. Furthermore, who wants to get sick. We all would like to live a long and healthy life. In Singapore, we live in overcrowded conditions. All you need to do is to take the public transport and you will be immediately bombarded with people sneezing, coughing and spitting. Of course it would be better for them to learn some hygiene but we all know that it won’t happen. So the next best thing is to get some defense against these germs and bacteria. What better way than a healthy colon. And what better to a healthier colon than drinking a daily cup of Milk Kefir to supplement your regular food intake? I have only been drinking Kefir grains for about 2 months and I feel healthier. Sure, most of us will have some minor problems drinking milk Kefir in the beginning but I start by drinking about half a cup and slowly advance to 1 cup. And now, I have no problems drinking Kefir. Your body may need some time to adjust to the Kefir, so don’t not worry if your stomach feels uncomfortable after you have taken your first cup of Kefir.

I myself had a hard time finding Kefir grains in Singapore. It seems that there is nobody in Singapore willing to share or even sell their Kefir grains.I had to purchase the Kefir grains from somebody in Germany. And I think it is a crime that so few in Singapore realize what milk Kefir can do for them. I know, Singaporeans are bombarded with so many different kinds of vitamin supplements, commerical health drinks, pro-biotic capsules and so on, that we naturally believe that everything good must come in a pill or in a bottle. When I told my friend about this milk Kefir, she looked at me like I am some sort of new-age weirdo. Worst of all, they are not used to the taste. Even when I give them a taste of my home made yogurt (plain), most of them find the taste objectable (too sour). Kefir taste sour as well. Furthermore, it looks a lot like milk which have been left on the table for too long, with small curds floating about everywhere. It does not like attractive. I however find the taste very freshing. Sure, it doesn’t taste as good as those sweet drinking yogurt you find in the stores, Istill enjoy drinking it. Remember, it is a pro-biotic drink, packed with all sorts of good bacteria and yeast! No other fermented dairy product comes even close to what Kefir can offer, not even yogurt. So why not, go ahead and get yourself some Kefir grains and live a healthy life?

Anyway, the main point of this blog post is to tell you that I might have some excess Kefir grains to share. So if you live in Singapore and would like to try milk Kefir and be happy, send an email to me at

admin (AT) efwsg.org

and I will send whenever I have any excess grains. Please understand that the grains need to take time to grow, so I might not have any grains at that moment but I will sure try to send them by mail if I have. No, no monetary reward is necessary. However, you must promise to take care of the grains and share them with your friends if you have any excess. If you like, you can get me a pack of milk because my Kefir grains need milk. lol! And spread the word of Kefir to the masses! Let them know that you don’t need to buy those pills to stay healthy. A cup of Kefir a day, keeps the doctor away!

Oh, if you live in Malaysia and you are interested in making your very own Kefir drink, kindly contact JOYFUL at

kefirbaby (AT) yahoo.com

She has both the Milk Kefir Grains and the Water Kefir Grains. EnJOY!

F&N Daisy UHT Milk

1109 days ago

Ahhh….what we have here now? Yup, it is yet another milk review. You would never expect someone to go around and start reviewing milk. I bet you are thinking that this...

Ahhh….what we have here now? Yup, it is yet another milk review. You would never expect someone to go around and start reviewing milk. I bet you are thinking that this must be the most boring thing to do in the world. Well, yes it is but since I doubt anyone would be willing to do that except the aunties (which I don’t think most of them will blog), I will sacrifice my time to review milk. And anyway, I am not reviewing the milk. More like showing you guys the pictures of the packet milk available in Singapore.

And as you guys should know by now, I don’t drink milk. I use the milk to make Kefir. For more information on Kefir, I would suggest you to visit Dom’s Kefir Site. That guy is a Kefir nut and we Kefir drinkers love him deep deep. And I am sure if he doesn’t look like a greek, he would be stalked on the Internet everyday. Of course milk Kefir would be better if made from fresh milk instead of UHT milk. But for someone like me who has to juggle work and 10 illegitimate children, we don’t have much choice in the matter. It is not like I can visit the supermarket everyday to buy milk right?

Anyway, for this review, it would be the F&N Daisy UHT Milk. Why Daisy? I have absolutely no idea. Perhaps it sounds nice or perhaps the F&N naming department love Diasies? Well, if it is milk and drinkable without any poision in it, I guess we should be already glad.

UHT Fresh Milk! And just look at the milk being poured into the glass!

Quite an okay packaging. It is not like I am always aiming for a milk that comes in an attractive packaging. It is the cost that matters most to me. But good looking packaging is important if you are stuck in a shelf full of other brands of milk. In the NTUC nearby, there are about nearly half a row of UHT milk for you to choose from and the brand need to stand out for Singaporeans to buy. Yup, we have been hearing the government telling you guys to go and buy “no-frills” housebrands, but come on, they are not always the cheapest.

Yes, this 1 litre of UHT milk is manufactured in New Zealand! Great!  I love to drink milk from cows in New Zealand.

Yes, just fresh milk. However, this has been heat treated so that it can last for a long long time. I have seen nearly 1 year expiry dates for UHT milk! God, they last longer than some of the staff in my office.

See, it is due in  10th September 2009!  Notice that there is a blank space on the right. And nothing that there is no easy open cover as well. Stupid F&N. Now I will have to get a scissors and cut a opening to pour the milk out. Plus, I am sure I won’t be able to finish 1 litre of milk in one go, so how the hell will I be able to properly close that opening? Some things people will do to safe a few cents….

Don’t Eat Too Much Chinese New Year Goodies!

1111 days ago

I know it is difficult for us to NOT eat those delicious Chinese New Year Goodies like the Pineapple tarts, the Prawn rolls, the almond cookies, the loveletters, the lobster crackers(keropo),...

I know it is difficult for us to NOT eat those delicious Chinese New Year Goodies like the Pineapple tarts, the Prawn rolls, the almond cookies, the loveletters, the lobster crackers(keropo), the bak kwa, the cornflake cookies, the candies or the chocolates but it is always good to moderate yourself.  Well, just thinking of them makes my eyes go moist and my fingers itchy. I am not sure about you but once I start eating them, I can’t stop myself. That is why we shouldn’t buy Chinese New Year goodies in bulk. What I normally do is to grab a few pieces of the different goodies and put them in a bowl. Once I finish what I have in the bowl, I would stop since there is nothing left.  If you buy in those big bottles, you will have the tendency to finish the entire bottle once you start eating. And I will tell you based on my experience, it is very hard for anyone to stop. That is why it is called goodies. And what happens if you visit your friends and relatives? Yes, you will be offered goodies yet again. Imagine having to visit so many friends and relatives during this period, you would be choked full of cookies, tarts and rolls! We simply have too much oily and fried food these days. Children especially love fried stuff. I don’t blame them as they are brought up on such fried foods. And as I said, moderation is the key.

Most people I know are stocking up on Chinese New Year goodies. Well, even with recession hitting us with full force, it seemed that a lot of people are not worried about their future. I saw some people buying tons and tons of bak kwa to bring home. There was even a lady who brought a trolley to bring back the mountain packs of bak kwa. Just amazing! I guess that Singaporeans still want to enjoy themselves this coming holiday. Hey, so do I! But we don’t want to get sick after that right? Just look at the rising medical cost in Singapore and it will give you the incentive to eat moderately.

You guys should know the problems with eating too much of these goodies right? You get a sore throat and you fall sick the next day. I remembered a few years back when half of my company was on MC the third or the fourth day of Chinese New Year. Yup, that is correct. Half of them went down for the count. Guess what is the cause of it? You guessed it! Eating too much of such goodies. It is not uncommon to hear a lot of people coughing here and there after Chinese New Year.  In fact if you can get your entire office in on the first few working days of Chinese New Year, your boss must be one lucky bastard.

Anyway, if you consume a lot of Chinese New Year goodies, I would suggest you to drink a lot of water. The best way to reduce heatiness is to get yourself those herbal cooling water. The shops selling those will usually be closed during the Chinese New Year holidays, so I suggest that you buy a few beforehand. I find that they do help with combating heatiness. And nothing beats a good night’s rest after a tired day visiting friends and relatives. Don’t watch that late night movie, just have a good rest at night. We all want to enjoy, but the only way you are going to enjoy your life is that you stay healthy!

Easiyo Yogurt – Cherry & Raspberry

1112 days ago

It is time again to make myself some yogurt. Don’t you just love yogurt? I just can’t get enough of yogurt. Yup, every spoon of the delicious and creamy yogurt is...

It is time again to make myself some yogurt. Don’t you just love yogurt? I just can’t get enough of yogurt. Yup, every spoon of the delicious and creamy yogurt is like eating a piece of heaven. And it is also a very healthy snack which can be enjoyed by the very young and the very old. However, I would not recommend giving babies yogurt as I am not convinced that yogurt can be a good substitute for milk. But for everyone else, it should be a great alternative to milk. Or you can merely take yogurt alongside milk if you have no problems with drinking milk.

Anyway, I went to Sim Lim Square last Saturday and next to Burlington Square and next to a small hotel, there lies a Phoon Huat store. And inside the Phoon Huat store, we can find Easiyo Yogurt sachets. They are the distributors of Easiyo products mah! It is not surprising that last Saturday, the Phoon Huat store was packed with aunties and uncles buying baking ingredients and stuff for Chinese New Year. Those amateurs! One who only cooks during Chinese New Year is no match for someone like me who makes Yogurt more than twice per week. lol. Well, I bought myself 2 sachets of Easiyo Yogurt – Cherry and Rapsberry flavours. Both of which I have not tried before. So I guess I would be tasting some wonderful Cherry and Raspberry yogurt soon enough!

That’s the Easiyo Cherry Yogurt Sachet. Or some called it Cherry Flavour Yogurt Real Base & Culture. 235g of milk powder and flavourings to make 1kg of yogurt! 1kg of yogurt is not enough for me hor!

The back of the Easiyo Raspberry Yogurt Sachet. Well, nothing special about that as we have seen this time and time again when you read my Easiyo reviews. I am sorry about that but for completeness,  I have to take photos of the back of the sachet.

The ingredients are about the same. It contains Pasteurised whole & skim milk solids (57%) from free range cows (which could mean that they are organic?), natural emulsifier, lecithin, sugar, flavouring, live lactic cultures like l.bularicus, s.thermophilus and l.acidophilus and natural colour. This Cherry flavour yogurt contains only 3 types of live cultures.

Hooohooohooo! Rapsberry flavoured yogurt! Now, we all know that Rapsberry is the next best thing to Strawberry. And nothing can go wrong when you add Raspberry to ice cream, cakes, bread, pudding and yes, yogurt! This sachet contains about 230g of milk powder and flavourings.

Errr….yet another picture of the Sachet. The Raspberry Flavour Real Yogurt Base & Culture!

Hmmm….you can see that there is a difference in the ingredients used. Firstly, the milk solids is now 68% rather than 57% which means that the Raspberry Yogurt contains more milk solids compared to the Cherry Flavoured one? Not entirely sure why is this too. The weight difference is a mere 5 g. And check out the live lactic cultures they have! This contains l.bularicus, s.thermophilus, l.acidophilus, bifidobacteria and l.casei cultures! Yes, 5 types of live cultures, same as the BioLife range of Easiyo yogurt! And priced lower as well! However, this makes me even more confused. Why does the Raspberry flavoured yogurt come with more milk solids and more types of live cultures but is priced the same as the Cherry sachet?

This is the end of my little review. Hope that you guys will enjoy making yogurt as much as I do. And if you don’t mind, please share with us your experiences. Ciao!

Dutch Lady Shine Drinking Yogurt (Yoghurt)

1112 days ago

Could not resist it. These drinking yogurt are usually located at the same area as normal yogurt in the local supermarkets, so it is not difficult to find. And they do...

Could not resist it. These drinking yogurt are usually located at the same area as normal yogurt in the local supermarkets, so it is not difficult to find. And they do look very tempting, especially to a yogurt fan like me. As you guys know, I have been regularly consuming yogurt daily for the past 3 months. I feel healthier and I feel great. Yup, I did get a little cough and flu but it was nothing serious. I am betting that eating yogurt really helped me fight against these diseases.

Drinking yogurt are just like yogurt in more liquid form. That would mean that yogurt being mixed with water or juice. Yup, you are actually drinking diluted yogurt! But if you are in a hurry and you don’t have time to eat, drinking yogurt could be the next best thing. Just grab a bottle of drinking yogurt and gulp it down as you go about your travels. Convenient and easy with no need to fumble for a spoon to scoop your yogurt. But I believe the amount of nutrition in the drinking yogurt should be less than what you consume for the same amount in actual yogurt.  However, I find that drinking yogurt is rather sticky and it is not a good way to quench your thirst.If you are drinking this drinking yogurt for health reasons (as in the yogurt and the juice), I think it is okay. However, don’t try to drink drinking yogurt to quench your thirst. It won’t work! You might find yourself more thirsty if you do it.

Dutch Lady Shine Drinking Yogurt! Why did they call the drinking yogurt Shine? This is Orange and Mango flavoured. The bottle is one very slender plastic bottle. Quite a nice design too.

Ha, it has 0% fat! Comes with green tea extract as well! I am not too sure what the exact benefits of green tea extract is, but it should be good. And it comes with live cultures, which ALL yogurt eaters/drinkers should check out for.

Words of advise from Dutch Lady. And I hope to try all the fruity flavours. The problem is that they have only like 3 varieties which I can find from the stores. lol.

Product of Malaysia. The total weight of the drink is 750g. I assume that a quarter of which is the actual yogurt and the rest is juice and/or water. I would prefer to eat the yogurt and then drink water/juice myself.

Wow, check out the ingredients.  Sucrose, fructose, milk solid non fat, mango juice, orange juice, critic acid, vitamin C, green tea extract, mixed live cultures (like l.bularicus, s.thermophilus)and other stabilizers and colouring. No wonder my mouth feels very sticky when I drink it – so much sugar!

This is the other drinking yogurt I bought. Same brand but different flavour. This is the Strawberry and Raspberry flavour. Still love the design of the bottle.

Not much of a difference from the Orange and Mango drinking yogurt. They did however change the picture of the Oranges and Mangoes to Strawberries and Raspberries.

Same thing here. Made in Malaysia.

Well for the ingredients list, the only differences are the type of juices they added in. For the Strawberry and Raspberry flavoured yogurt, they added Strawberry and Raspberry juice! Amazing!

The truth is that I am not a fan of drinking yogurt. I heard that it is very popular in the Middle East and in India. But I just don’t like it. I would prefer a much solid and creamy yogurt. The texture of the drinking yogurt is more like those chocolate drinks, plus the Dutch Lady ones seemed way too sweet for me.

Straining The Kefir

1114 days ago

Yes, this blog post is all about straining the Milk Kefir from the Kefir grains. This is done after the Kefir has been fermented till the desired tartness and the main...

Yes, this blog post is all about straining the Milk Kefir from the Kefir grains. This is done after the Kefir has been fermented till the desired tartness and the main purpose is for you to strain the Kefir grains from the Milk Kefir. If not, you will find drinking the Milk Kefir a bit difficult with the Kefir grains in the way. Furthermore, you will need the Kefir grains in order for you to make more batches of Kefir. Thus, straining is the best method. Some Kefir makers use a spoon to scoop the Kefir grains from the milk Kefir but I find that method a bit too tedious and you will end up with a lot of Kefir grains still in the Milk Kefir. Eating or consuming Kefir grains is good for your health but you might find that the number of grains you have gets lesser and lesser. So, I would definitely recommend you to strain your Kefir.

The straining method is pretty easy and straightforward. All you need is a plastic strainer or a stainless steel strainer. You can find these items easily in the supermarkets and stores. Don’t worry about using stainless steel when you are straining your Kefir. Stainless steel is very inert when in contact with acid and thus very suitable to use for straining Kefir. However for me, I will be using the plastic tea strainer because it is cheap and easily available. I bought mine for 90 cents at Sheng Siong. Anyway, after obtaining your strainer, you should pour the contents of the Kefir (after it has fermented to the desired tartness) onto the strainer and let the Kefir flow through. Give it a little shake now and then, but not too rough so as not to damage /injure the Kefir grains. It will take a few minutes for the Kefir to drain away from the strainer. Do note that if you use full cream milk, you will get a thicker Kefir. So, expect a little more difficulty in straining the Milk Kefir made from full cream milk.For me, I normally make my Kefir using full cream milk. For the health conscious, you can of course brew your Kefir using skimmed milk or low fat milk. It should work out fine as well. Just a little runnier.

Photo of straining the milk Kefir. The little bubbles on the top is due to the carbon dioxide trapped by the curds during the fermentation process. And the blobs of white stuff is the Kefir grains! Yes, those probiotic jewels that create the probiotic milk Kefir. Without them, we will have no milk Kefir at all.

You can see the milk Kefir being drained into the bowl below. Slowly but surely, we are getting it. If you have a bigger container, you can rest the strainer on top and let the Kefir drain by itself. For me, the bowl I have below is a bit too small and I have to stand and wait till the Kefir is completely drained. It is indeed a little tedious so I think I will be getting myself a bigger wide-mouth container. It makes straining Kefir much easier. Not that it is tough in the first place, but if you can make it easier, why not?

Wooohooo! Delicious milk Kefir!

There, the Kefir grains themselves. They do look like small white cauliflowers.  Sometimes it might be difficult to differentiate the Kefir grains from the curds that are formed during the fermentation process. Test by feeling the grains. The Kefir grains should feel a little slimy but firm. The curds will just get squashed when you press onto them. If you look carefully at the photo above, you can see thatthere are curds mixed with the Kefir grains. Not too worry, it is fine. All you need to do is to pour what you have into a clean container and add more milk to it. And you re-do the process over and over again to make more Kefir.

The amount of grains you see here is just part of the total amount of Kefir grains I have. The actual amount of Kefir grains I have right now is about twice as much. With this much amount, I can make about 1 litre of Kefir per batch easily.

Photo of a Kefir grain. Yes, I bite my nails. Bad habit but this is one which I still can’t get rid off. Don’t worry though, I washed my hands thoroughly before I handled the Kefir grains. Hey, being clean is part and parcel of making kefir, just like when you are making yogurt and other fermented products.

They have grown quite significantly since I got them.  Don’t they look plump and happy? Treat the grains well and they will grow and grow and grow. And you can drink Kefir all day!

Look at the delicious milk Kefir! I normally don’t ripe my Kefir, so I consume them immediately after straining. But from what I read from Dom’s site, ripened Kefir has additional benefits. Please visit Dom’s Kefir site for more information. In fact, if you face any problem with making Kefir, you should read Dom’s site. It contains almost all the information you need to make Kefir.

Glass of milk Kefir, all ready to be drank by yours truly. Due to time and work constrains, I normally strain my Kefir in the evenings and consume them immediately.

And to all my readers, good health and wishing you a happy Lunar New Year! I hope this post has made you understand a little more about the process about making Kefir. It isn’t a difficult thing to do. And Kefir is considered to be a much more superior health giving product than yogurt.

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