Short talk: It's Independence Day again. We went away to Strasburg and Lancaster County, Pennsylvania for the past two days. Yes, home of the Amish and covered bridges. A welcome respite after a hectic work week. Last Sunday afternoon, we received a jolt from our daily lull. Once again, we were reminded of the fragility of our mere mortal life. TJ, a dear friend of ours, passed away from sudden heart failure on earlier that morning. We attended his wake last Tuesday and bade him farewell for the last time. It was tough to see TJ's wife at such a sad and unexpected moment. Adrian had just talked to TJ 10 hours earlier and our friends who saw him at Mass less than 6 hours before his passing, were even more shocked. We were numbed from the news for 2 days until we saw him lying there, so stately in the funeral home. TJ, thank you for being such a good friend to us for the past 3 years. Saturday Mass will be strange in the coming weeks although life must go on. It'll take time for everyone to adjust to your empty seat, and most of all we shall miss you very much. Rest in peace.


IFT 2008 New Orleans (Part I)


Adrian attended the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Expo in New Orleans last Monday. Being new in this industry, his Boss thought that it'll be a good idea to expose him to some of the players of the food/flavor industry. Not a bad idea at all, I reckoned!

Oh, yes. I forgot to mention that Adrian changed jobs three weeks ago and works for Symrise now. It was a whirlwind business trip and his "tour" of the Expo began as soon as he touched down at the airport.

Let the fun and sampling begin.

Mmmm....food. What's cooking?

So this is what it is :)

Nice :) An interesting combo.

Raspberry scones, anyone? I'm sure the Queen doesn't mind.

Rolls - probably sweet but who knows? Adrian didn't taste it.

Chicken Jambalaya

Mini BBQ Beef Sandwiches but it's vegetarian?!

Some of the IFT Exhibitors

Here's one familiar brand name, in spite of all the bad rep

Another brand that is commonly found in most Asian kitchens

An old but trusted brand - Morton

Who knew? My brother's favorite soy sauce

For lovers of the fiery sauce - Tabasco

Some samples: thumb-size salt & pepper shakers from Morton, cinnamon gum, soy lip balm, Tamari sauces and wheat free crisps in Cajun and Szechuan flavors

Unfortunately, not all of the Exhibitors felt that there's a need to be competitive or as we like to call it in Malaysia and Singapore "kiasu".

Most Simplistic Award

Malaysian Palm Oil Board Booth. Hardly any samples and literature on the table. Just two lazy guys who wouldn't even stand up to talk to their only visitor. Tsk, tsk!

Most Slumber Award

To: Nanjing Foreign Economic and Trade Development Co. Ltd.

We visited your booth at the IFT Expo in New Orleans recently and your staff was not very co-operative in answering our questions. All we got was a snoring reply.

Sincerely,
John Doe & Co.