The Rice Dumpling and the Dragon Boat.

If you're Chinese, you'd be on your way home early for dinner this very evening. And the dish you're gonna be gobbling down will most probably be rice dumplings, or some call it the Bachang (in Hokkien dialect, which literally means Meat Dumpling).

But if you're just curious, you'd wanna know what's the story behind The Rice Dumpling Festival, or more commonly known as the Dragon Boat Festival. Here's a summarised version of the legend:

Way back when, in Chu Kingdom of ancient China, there was an important minister named Qu Yuan (pronounced simply as Chue Yuan) who was a loyal servant of the emperor.

The emperor however, is one who does not listen well to advice provided by Qu Yuan. This proved to be fatal for the emperor who got himself captured and killed in enemy territories.

Poor Qu Yuan, who was sad and angry with the corrupted kingdom, tied himself to a big rock and threw himself into the River of Puo Luo.

What happened next was the people made rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves and fed them to the river. It was believed that this would stop the fish from eating Qu Yuan's body who was regarded as sacred. Then, some of the kingdom folks would row downstream on a boat, beating drums, screaming and shouting, to frighten off the fishes.

And so this was how the festival of glutinous rice dumplings with meat and scrumptious fillings, and the dragon boat, came to be.

It's strange, but true.

Celebrating FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010.

11 June 2010 was probably the most anticipated day of the year for millions and millions of people around the world. It was the start of the FIFA World Cup. But it was also a school holiday.

My wife planned a trip to Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan. It's probably the nearest beach from Kuala Lumpur. And it serves as a quick and short getaway for the kids.

With all the deadlines at work, it didn't occur to me the Friday which we are to drive off to the Avillion Admiral Cove Resort is the Friday of the first World Cup 2010 match between South Africa and Mexico.

So what is it that you'll need to look for on a day like this, when you're away from your familiar TV set at home? A comfortable place to catch the 'live' kick-off, of course.

And that place was called The Sailor's Drink Shop. They featured a Filipino band and a projector screen right next to the stage. Perfect.

Then there was a group of Singaporeans, who one by one started stepping up onto the stage to perform some Mandarin and Hokkien numbers just before the match. And you'd think they'd stop once the whistle blows for the kick-off.

Well, they sang on, and loudly. But it was okay, the game is on and it was explosive. At that point, it wouldn't have made a difference if they sang Waka Waka in Teochew dialect.

Until the screen went blue. The projector broke down.

"What's going on? Is it coming back on?" I asked the Indian waitress behind the Tiger draught tap. She mumbled something like "I don't know, wait, let me ask..."

She never returned with an answer.

So I packed up, and it was a good thing I brought along my car keys. Got off my chair and drove off to the next resort with a banner that said 'live' World Cup match. It was Sri Nira Lounge in Selesa Beach Resort.

And from the frying pan into the fire, there was a Malay family that hogged the karaoke microphone and croaked endless classic Malay tunes.

And, they don't serve any alcoholic beverages. The Teh Tarik (Pulled Milk Tea) I ordered tasted like mud.

Enough said.