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3 things you might not know about Osborne crackers

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Some Malaysians might not know the name Osborne cracker, but most would definitely recognise the shape and flavour of it.

This oval-shaped cracker is generally made from wheat flour, vegetable oil, sugar, corn starch, salt and glucose syrup.

Here are three facts you might not know about Osborne cracker:
3 things you might not know about Osborne crackers
Cap Ayam is one of the famous brands producing this cracker.
1.It has a royal origin, of sorts.

This humble piece of cracker has a history dating back to 1860.

According to The Huntley and Palmers Collection, the crackers were intended to be named after Queen Victoria.

Her Majesty declined to be associated with a commercial product but gracefully suggested that they could name the biscuit after her favourite home, Osborne House on the Isle of Wight.

The cracker was one of the first semi-sweet varieties of biscuit to find mass favour in the 19th century.

Malaysians have many names for this cracker, including roti tawar, roti kapal and biskut kering.

In Sarawak specifically, the locals call it roti sebayan, biskut mayat, biskut pending and many more.

2.In the Krayan Highlands of North Kalimantan, they call it roti tasu and there is a historical reason behind it.

In the Krayan Highlands of North Kalimantan, Indonesia, the Lundayeh community call it roti tasu or dog crackers.

The reason behind this interesting name can be traced back during Indonesian-Malaysian confrontation in early 1960s.

Located near the border of Sarawak-Indonesia, the highlands was one of the hot spots for military operations such as Operation Claret.

British and Australian troops were carrying out secret missions while hiding out in the jungle.

Nonetheless, some local Indonesians knew about this and secretly helped the Commonwealth forces during the confrontation.

According to tour guide Alex Ballang, some of the locals even helped in sending rations to the forces.

“The troops had a pet dog and the locals noticed the soldiers were feeding the dog with Osborne crackers.”

Since then, the local Krayan residents started to called it roti tasu or dog crackers.

3.There are recipes using Osborne crackers for you to try at home.

Most would agree that the best way to enjoy Osborne crackers is to dip it in a hot drink. Some even eat it just like cereal or porridge, mixing it in their beverage before eating it with a spoon.

But did you know that there are a few recipes out there using Osborne crackers as its main ingredient?

The most common recipe is bubur roti Osborne or Osborne cracker porridge.

It is made from Osborne crackers, coconut milk, sago, pandan leaves, water and sugar.

But when it comes to the weirdest recipe found online, it is none other than Osborne goreng.

The crackers are stir-fried together with garlic, onion, egg and vegetables such as bean sprouts.

3 things you might not know about Osborne crackers
Osborne crackers

Do you have interesting names, recipes or stories behind the Osborne cracker? Let us know in the comment box.

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5 things about tarap fruit of Borneo you wouldn’t learn in the classroom

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Tarap is always on the list when comes to types of fruits you should try in Borneo.

Sometimes known as the cempedak of Borneo, this fruit usually shares the same fate with durian. It is commonly being banned from entering most hotels for its strong smell.

If you are not familiar with this fruit, here are five things you should know about tarap:
5 things about tarap fruit of Borneo you wouldn't learn in the classroom
It is also known as marang in the Philippines.
1.It is also known by many names.

Does the tarap fruit seem familiar but you’re not sure if you’ve tried it before? You may have heard it called by any of these other names: terap, marang, johey oak, green pedalai, madang or timadang.

The scientific name of tarap is Actocarpus odoratissimus, and it is actually a tree in the mulberry and fig family Moraceae.

2.It is found in Borneo, Palawan and Mindanao islands.

While it is famously found on the island of Borneo, this fruit is also native to the Palawan and Mindanao islands.

In the Philippines, the locals call it marang.

3.There are two other species of fruit similar to tarap.

The first fruit species that is similar to Actocarpus odoratissimus is Artocarpus sericarpus. It is also known as pedalai, gumihan or terap bulu.

Terap bulu does not have strong odour like tarap. As for its outer appearance, terap bulu is hairy and looks like a giant rambutan.

The second one is Artocarpus sarawakensis (pingan or mountain tarap). It is the same shape as the Artocarpus odoratissimus but it is orange in colour and has smaller kernel sections.

4.Once you open it, you need to eat the fruit really fast

Unlike durian, it does not fall to the ground when it is overripe. So farmers can harvest tarap when they are deemed a mature size and leave it to ripen.

The flesh is sweet and has a creamy texture.

Once opened, you need to eat the fruit immediately because it oxidizes fast and loses its flavour quickly.

This is also the reason why the commercialisation of this tropical fruit is limited. It has a very low shelf life.

5.The many uses of tarap fruit.

If you have the chance to visit Tarakan in North Kalimantan, Indonesia, give the city’s signature tarap juice and tarap layered cake a try.

The tarap layered cake is one of the city’s own original products. As for tarap juice, it is one of the must-try drinks in Tarakan.

You can actually make it at home using tarap, sugar, ice, water and condensed milk.

Besides the fruit, the peels were reported to be useful material for the removal of colouring agents.

Even the seeds are edible; just like jackfruit seeds they can be boiled or roasted and then eaten as snacks. Just like Actocarpus odoratissimus, terap bulu’s seeds are edible after boiling or roasting.

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Does listening to music help you in your concentration?

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You have heard this before; listening to music when studying or doing you work could help you to focus.

But how true is this statement? Here at KajoMag, we look at different studies on the effects of listening to music on our concentration.

Does listening to music help you in your concentration?
One study shows that listening to classical music helps you to focus in your work. Credits: Pexels.
Listening to music does help you in your concentration, but only classical music

One of the most common understandings is that listening to classical music does help you to focus. According to Dr Masha Godkin from Northcentral University, music activates both the left and right brain at the same time.

She added, “And the activation of both hemispheres can maximise learning and improve memory.”

When it comes to music, it is best to to stick with classical. One of the reasons is that there are no lyrics to distract you.

Furthermore, the tunes should be able to keep you awake but won’t inspire you to start tapping or moving your body to the beats.

Beside classical music, other types of music believed to be helpful in your concentration are spa music, nature sounds and music with 60-70 beats per minute.

Listening to music does help, but before your start studying

Music has been proven to be a stress reducer in most studies. University of Maryland Medical Center finds that listening to soothing music can decrease blood pressure, heart rate and anxiety levels.

If you about to head into a stressful working or studying session, listen to some music first to calm yourself down in order to help you concentrate better.

Does listening to music help you in your concentration?
You might want to listen to some music when you start feeling anxious or stressful. Credits: Unsplash.
Listening to music does help you to focus provided that you like the music

Researchers from University of Tsukuba did an experiment on how external factors, namely playing music, effects the performance on a task that requires alot of attention.

They compared three different conditions; music that the subject likes, music that the subject is not familiar with and silence.

Their result showed that listening to music that the subject likes does increase their performance level.

The researchers stated, “When doing self-study, selecting appropriate music would help raise the performance. Even when in a classroom, when it is not a lecture-style class but is a practice style, it might help students by allowing them to listen to music while solving problems.”

They also advised that teachers try different types of music in class to see how it might affect the level of concentration among the students.

Listening to music does not help you to concentrate

A researcher from University of Maryland did a study focusing on the impact different genres of music, played at different volume levels, had on the cognitive abilities of college students completing academic tasks.

What she found was that volume plays a crucial role and could be more important than the type of music played.

“However, data from this study has demonstrated that silence seems to be the best environment to maximize performance when engaging in cognitive activity,” the research reported.

Surprisingly, the study showed that classical music was not proven to enhance cognitive performance.

According to the study, the direct benefits of listening to music on cognitive processing could be more a fantasy than a reality.

Complete silence is the best

Meanwhile, Cambridge Brain Sciences published a study showing that memory performance was the best while listening to low arousal and negative music.

The study further stated, “However, compared to silence, background music had either no effect for some participants or significantly impeded memory performance.

Complete silence might help you to study or work better but if there is unnecessary noise in the background? You might want to consider putting on those earphones.

“It turns out some people use the same mental processes that are required to remember things to also process music, which means that a percentage of the brain regions responsible for memory – regions you need to focus on the task at hand – are actually being reallocated to processing background noise.”

At the end of the day, whether listening to music helps in concentration is pretty subjective. So you might want to try different kinds of music at a lower volume or no music at all to see which condition actually helps you the best.

Does listening to music help you in your concentration?
Maybe you might want to be in complete silence when doing your job. Credits: Unsplash.

Let us know in the comment box if listening to music helps you to focus.

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10 harsh realities of being a young Malaysian entrepreneur

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Here at KajoMag, we want you to know these 10 harsh realities of being a young Malaysian entrepreneur before you decide to become one:

Being an entrepreneur can be like going down rabbit hole; you never know what to expect until you make that jump.

1.Not everybody gets startup capital

The number one rule of being a young Malaysian entrepreneur is to get rid of that ‘subsidy-minded’ mindset.

Do not look at these subsidies or grants as source of capital for your business. Just because you have a great business idea, it does not mean that you are entitled for everything.

If you are a determined and resourceful person, you would be surprised how many entrepreneurs (young and old) in Malaysia have a great sense of entitlement.

Even if you are successful enough to have received subsidies or grants; they were meant to boost your business, not fund it.

10 harsh realities of being a young Malaysian entrepreneur
Make sure you have enough capital before venturing into entrepreneurship. Credits: Pexels.
2. As a young Malaysian entrepreneur, it will be difficult to make ends meet in the beginning

Yes, money will be hard to find. Yes, it will be difficult to pay the bills at every end of the month.

It is okay to sacrifice certain things in life financially to spend more on your business.

You might even need to sacrifice your hobby, take extra classes, or skip some social gatherings because you can no longer afford them.

However, there is such a thing called ‘delayed gratification’, so hang in there.

3.No, not everyone – including your family – will understand what you do

If you have family that is completely supportive of what you are doing as an entrepreneur, then you are one of the lucky ones.

Here in Malaysia, what it means to have a successful career varies. Nonetheless, some believe stability equals success.

And that stability means working in the government sector, big corporate companies or sometimes the oil and gas field.

Some of the common things that people might say to you are, “When are you going to get a real job?” or “Have you applied for SPA?” or “Don’t you want to work a real job?”

Put aside what others may say in front of you or behind your back – if you truly believe in what you are doing, you just need to persevere.

4.Building your presence is a lot of work

Unless you are a celebrity or have a large capital or are related to someone very important, building your presence in any industry requires a lot of hard work.

Remember the famous saying, “Work hard until you don’t need to introduce yourself.”

Ethically, there is no shortcut to success. In this age of rising entrepreneurship in Malaysia, the best way to build your presence is to focus on branding your business.

As a young Malaysian entrepreneur, do not have that mindset of “It’s okay, the customers will come slowly.”

No. You have to get up and go to your customers.

And once you have customers, you have to perfect your customer service.

According to Sarawakian designer Paul Carling, your returning customers are always the best because they will introduce you to other clients and come back for more.

10 harsh realities of being a young Malaysian entrepreneur
If you are good at something, never do it for free. Credits: Pexels.
5.Everyone will want to collaborate or partner with you, but not all will want to pay you

Once you started building your presence, you might be approached by different parties, especially those who had been in the business earlier than you.

This happens especially when you are offering services or creative input such as designing, writing or event management. Sometimes even when you have a product to sell, you might be approached to sponsor your service or products in return for something other than money.

It is something that any young Malaysian entrepreneur needs and it is called “exposure”.

Whether you decide to proceed with the collaboration or partnership is completely up to you. No outside parties can force you to make that decision. Weigh out the pros and cons before you decide.

10 harsh realities of being a young Malaysian entrepreneur
Decide carefully before deciding venture into any partnership or collaboration. Credits: Pexels.
6.Sometimes it the project or idea is not bringing in the money, maybe it is not a good idea

Be it a project in collaboration with other parties or your own new product/service idea, make sure it brings in the money.

If it doesn’t, you might not want to spend your fund or capital into the idea. Unless you strongly believe it can be beneficial for your business in the long run.

Some young entrepreneurs jump at every opportunity for partnerships or collaborations especially with bigger companies or even government agencies.

Meanwhile, there are some even so eager to create new products or services based on the latest trends.

Plan and decide carefully before making any decision that will not only take up your funds or something that is more valuable than money, which is time.

Furthermore, loss of focus has often been identified as the main reason for startup failure.

10 harsh realities of being a young Malaysian entrepreneur
Every entrepreneur needs to focus on their dreams. Credits: Pexel
7.There is no such thing as ‘Work Smart, Not Hard’ in entrepreneurship

You have heard it before; work smart, not hard. It might be applicable when working a day job but not when you are an entrepreneur.

First of all, there is no point measuring how many work hours you put in as an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur usually works until they achieve what they needed to do that day, regardless of the hours.

Some entrepreneurs are successful, working only eight hours a day or less while others need to pump in more hours.

However, naturally in any new startups, the first few years will require more work to set up a firm foundation for your business.

Stephen C. Hogan once said, “You can’t have a million-dollar dream with a minimum-wage work ethic.”

8. Some people will assume you are free because you are your own boss

You might have families and friends giving you errands or making plans assuming that you are available all the time.

The logic behind this assumption is ‘you are your own boss’ and there is no need for you to clock-in or clock-out.

It is frustrating to deal with people who do not understand your work and assume you have all the time in the world.

But be firm and strict with yourself. Do not ever stop being disciplined with yourself especially when it comes to time management.

9.Failures are bound to happen

Winston Churchill had this famous quote about failure, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”

Failures, no matter what, are bound to happen to anyone. The only thing that makes any successful businessman different from those who failed is they did not give up.

10.Unless you are completely passionate, you might give up

When I was working as a reporter, I interviewed a number of entrepreneurs with great ideas in Kuching. They talked about their business with great enthusiasm and conviction that their entrepreneurial idea would be a game-changer in the industry.

Fast forward to a few years after these interviews, at least half of them were not able to sustain their businesses due to various reasons.

Some experienced burn out while some were not making enough money to carry on with their businesses.

That is the harshest reality that happened not only to Malaysians but to entrepreneurs around the world.

According to an article in Forbes by Neil Patel, nine out of 10 startups will fail. So as a young Malaysian entrepreneur, you need to make sure you belong to the 10%.

10 harsh realities of being a young Malaysian entrepreneur
Do you know that nine out of 10 startups failed?

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How to slash your wedding budget and still be happy – Malaysian edition

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Organizing a wedding has always been a tug-of-war over what the perfect vision of the special day would be. Over the years, consumerism and the increasing amount of services and options (ohhh the options!) has led weddings to be the most expensive day of your life, not the most important day of your life.

Some people are willing to do anything just to have the so-called ‘the happiest day’ of their lives: In February 2019, a 28-year-old man in Sibu allegedly printed fake money to fund his wedding.

There is always a new trend when comes to wedding and sometimes these trends are mistaken as ‘traditions’.

So it is time to take a step back and ask why we do the things we do for that special day.

When you understand the reasons behind them, you might be able to skip certain things and eventually cut down your wedding budget.

So here are 15 ways to trim your Malaysian wedding budget and still be happy:
1.Skip the bridesmaids or groomsmen

It seems that having bridesmaids or groomsmen these days are for photography and social media purposes.

Admit it: You have seen it happen to some brides or as a bride yourself. The bridesmaids were more concerned with their own appearances or taking wefies rather than helping the bride.

The main job of bridesmaids during a wedding in these modern days is to help the bride, shadow her and attend to her every need.

However, I personally have seen more than once how the bride (or the groom) had to carry her own train or fix her look when needed while she had half a dozen bridesmaids somewhere at the wedding.

Unless you are having the wedding gatecrash tradition, it is unnecessary to have a long line of bridesmaids and groomsmen, especially for a church wedding.

Speaking of traditions, originally bridesmaids would wear the same dress as the bride and their faces veiled. This was to confuse jealous suitors and evil spirits.

Unless you strongly believe there are jealous suitors and evil spirits out to get you on your wedding day, consider not having bridesmaids and groomsmen.

How to slash your wedding budget and still be happy - Malaysian edition
It is okay not to have bridesmaids for your wedding. Credits: Pexels.
2.Don’t have children in the bridal party

Sure, having children as part of your bridal party adds extra cuteness on your wedding day. But, just like the bridesmaids and groomsmen, you can skip this part of the wedding arrangements.

While bridesmaids and groomsmen might be able to fork out for their own outfits, you would need to add in the cost of children’s outfits in your wedding budget.

What about the page boy in a church ceremony, you might ask? How will we ever get the rings delivered to us for the exchange?

You actually can have the ring readied by the altar for when the time comes. One of your family members or even the altar boy can walk over with the rings. Besides, it is less fussy this way than having a page boy who might not know what he is supposed to do.

3.Say ‘No’ to a tiered wedding cake

Do you know what’s the tradition behind a tiered wedding cake? It is believed that the tiered wedding cake started during Anglo-Saxon times when guests would bring small cakes to the wedding and stack them on top of each other.

Fast forward to this day, guests no longer bring cakes for the ceremony so the price of the cake is added to the wedding budget and borne by you.

Instead of having a tiered wedding cake which would partly be artificial, opt for one cake that you definitely would enjoy.

How to slash your wedding budget and still be happy - Malaysian edition
Why spend so much on a tiered wedding cake?
4.Be strict with your wedding list

This is the hardest part for any Asian, not just Malaysian weddings. If you are having your wedding reception in the village or longhouse, then life might be easier. Your relatives can come together gotong-royong style and prepare the food. Furthermore, your parents will be happy because they can invite as many second cousins or friends along with their children as they want.

But if you are having a reception at a restaurant or hotel, then this would definitely cause you a headache.

Regardless, narrowing down the guest list can definitely help to cut down on your wedding budget.

If your parents insist on having a big fat wedding guest list, try to negotiate with them like the FBI in a hostage situation – with patience, empathy but with your end goal always in sight. In the end, try to make sure the odds are on your side.

5.Do the environment a favour and go paperless with your wedding invitation cards

Make full use of the technology and invite your guests through chats and social media.

For those who are not digitally connected or you still need the feel of good old wedding cards, design and print them out on your own.

There are so many free, beautiful and printable templates for wedding invitation cards found online these days.

How to slash your wedding budget and still be happy - Malaysian edition
There are plenty printable wedding invite template found online.
6.Skip the wedding favours

If you are planning a Malay wedding, it is nice to keep the tradition of giving bunga telur. It is a symbol hoping the newlyweds will have a child soon. But some couples replace it with sweets since you can only prepare the bunga telur a day ahead of the wedding.

Honestly, since you have already pored over the wedding menu and done the food-tasting ahead of the day, I don’t think your guests would mind if they don’t have a small pouch of chocolates or sweets to bring home.

7.Skip the pre-wedding photos

Most Malaysian couples would be horrified with the idea of not having pre-wedding photos.

The saddest part about pre-wedding photos these days that some of them are heavily edited. In some photos, the groom’s double chin or the bride’s flabby arms magically disappear.

A tiny tweak may be acceptable, but not to the point that the couple is beyond recognition.

Can you imagine 50 years from now your grandchildren might ask, “Grandma, why do you look so different when you were younger?” The best way to reply them in all honesty, “Oh honey, those were ‘photoshopped’”.

If you want to slash your wedding budget, you can skip the pre-wedding photo shoots. Then save the money for the photo shoot on your wedding anniversary.

How to slash your wedding budget and still be happy - Malaysian edition
You can skip the pre-wedding photos if your wedding budget does not allow it. Credits:Pexels
8.Go minimal but still keep it beautiful with the decorations

Yes, there are some people out there who can afford fresh flowers for decorations like a certain former Malaysian premier’s daughter.

But for the average Joe like the rest of us, we just need to be creative.

Be crafty, go to Pinterest, use everything in your sight (or storeroom) for your wedding.

Do not spend hefty part of your wedding budget on decorations that will only last for a few hours.

AND THIS GOES ON TO…

9.No fresh flowers for your bouquet

“WHAT’S THAT?” You say, “NO FRESH FLOWERS FOR MY WEDDING BOUQUET????” Before you flip the table and refuse to read any further, we look at the several origin stories on why brides carry bouquets.

In the Middle Ages, brides carried mostly herbs not flowers to ward off evil spirits and mask the smell of body odour.

Meanwhile in Victorian times, lovers often sent different flowers to express their feelings.

Since every flower have its own meaning, the brides would carefully choose the flowers depending on the flowers for the sentiments.

If you do not stink on your wedding day or if your husband does not know the difference between a daisy and baby’s breath, why use fresh flowers for your bouquet? Ask wedding vendors if they provide fake flowers for bridal bouquets in their packages, then you won’t have to worry about the additional cost and hassle of fresh flowers.

How to slash your wedding budget and still be happy - Malaysian edition
There are realistic fake flowers out there to use fo your bouquet.
10.Create your own photo booth

No, do not follow the trend of having instant photobooth unless you can afford it. Even hiring a decorator to set up a wedding photo booth backdrop can cost you a lot these days.

Just channel your creativity from the right side of your brain or Pinterest, enlist your friends or family and build your photobooth background for your guests to take photos with.

11.Limit the alcohol

Most East Malaysians, especially the Dayaks and Kadazandusuns would be horrified with this idea. But let us be honest, the price of alcohol takes a huge chunk of your wedding budget.

If you really need to pump alcohol into your guests, limit the amount of alcohol.

As the bride and groom, it is definitely sad to see your guests are there not to celebrate your wedding but solely to get drunk instead.

As for the guest, do not complain if you are not being served with enough alcohol. If you want to get wasted, go to a bar not a wedding.

12.Consider a wedding brunch or lunch

Speaking of alcohol, you can actually skip the drinking portion entirely if you are planning a wedding brunch or lunch.

Go against the norm. Have an intimate reception with your friends and family by picking a more casual setting.

Additionally, the wedding brunch menu in particular is more affordable than the dinner menu.

How to slash your wedding budget and still be happy - Malaysian edition
Wedding breakfast or brunch reception is definitely cheaper than wedding dinner reception.
13.Get items secondhand

Since nobody is going to say it, then KajoMag will say it; it is okay to have something borrowed or something from a thrift shop for your wedding. Be it decorations from your friends or cousin’s wedding or a secondhand evening dress, just borrow it. Who cares?

14.Skip the colour theme

Have mercy on your family and friends, just skip the colour theme. Why ask them to spend money on one attire that they will most likely only wear once in their lives?

If you are the one forking out the money for these themed-coloured outfits, more reason to skip the colour theme.

15.Know your priorities

The whole idea of a wedding is to celebrate the start of a new life with your partner as husband and wife. To go broke or in debt just for that one day of your long life is ridiculous.

It is okay to have a dream wedding. Some girls have been dreaming about their weddings since they were in kindergarten.

But things change; set your wedding budget according to your priorities. Know what are the things important or matter to you.

If you have always wanted that beautiful wedding dress -something that is not rental or off-the-rack, invest in a custom-made dress. Have it in a timeless design and keep it in a good condition after the wedding. Perhaps in the future, your daughter would want to wear it.

Let say it is important to have all your relatives and friends to be there for your wedding day. Then splurge on a big wedding reception at an affordable location while skipping things that do not matter to you.

Bear in mind that these ideas are for those who are looking to cut down their wedding budget. If you have all the money in the world and you want to indulge on one of the most important days of your life, splurge on!

Do you have any more tips on how to slash down your wedding budget? Share it with us in the comment box.

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Remember these 20 quotes when you sink into mediocrity

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It does not matter if you are working a 9 to 5 job or hustling for your start-up, mediocrity is not something you should aim for.

This is because no matter what your calling is in life, strive to be the best version of yourself.

Remember these 20 quotes when you sink into mediocrity
Never settle for less in everything you do.
So the next time you find yourself slowly sinking and living a life of mediocrity, here are 20 quotes to inspire you:

“Most humans, in varying degrees, are already dead. In one way or another they have lost their dreams, their ambitions, their desire for a better life. They have surrendered their fight for self-esteem and they have compromised their great potential. They have settled for a life of mediocrity, days of despair and nights of tears. They are no more than living deaths confined to cemeteries of their choice. Yet they need not remain in that state. They can be resurrected from their sorry condition. They can each perform the greatest miracle in the world. They can each come back from the dead…”

Og Mandino

“A life of mediocrity is a waste of life.”

Colleen Hoover

“Being realistic is the most common path to mediocrity.”

Will Smith

“The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity. An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people.”

Colin Powell

“Stop letting your fear condemn you to mediocrity.”

Steve Maraboli

“Don’t waste your life. No one chooses mediocrity but many settle for it. Never settle.”

Anonymous.

“If any of you have a desire to be mediocre, you will probably find that you have already achieved your ambition.”

Hugh B. Brown

“Mediocrity is excellent to the eyes of mediocre people.”

Joseph Joubert.

“The uncertainties in life are so uncertain for us to determine the kind woe we shall be entangled in in the next future. When you stay dormant, your life is at risk; when you dare to take a step, you take a step to take a risk. We have a choice. Yes! a choice to choose to dare to get to our real reasons on earth or to choose to live in mediocrity and conformity, but, we ought to note that, it is riskier to risk nothing when the life we live is always at risk.”

Ernest Agyemang Yeboah

“Mediocrity is always a safe option but never a satisfactory one.”

Apoorve Dubey

Reasons why you should not settle for being mediocre

Remember these 20 quotes when you sink into mediocrity
Always strive to be the best. Credits: Pexels.

“Mediocrity is comfortable, it makes you join the crowd, but would you like to be remembered as part of the crowd or someone followed by the crowd? For rising above the crowd – don’t be a slave to procedures, practice more & improvise.”

Shahenshah Hafeez Khan

“Push yourself to do more and to experience more. Harness your energy to start expanding your dreams. Yes, expand your dreams. Don’t accept a life of mediocrity when you hold such infinite potential within the fortress of your mind. Dare to tap into your greatness.”

Robin Sharma

“If a man is called a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and Earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Be not afraid of going slowly. Be afraid only of standing still.”

Chinese proverb

“In our desire to please everyone, it’s very easy to end up being invisible or mediocre.”

Seth Godin

“Ridicule is the tribute paid to the genius by the mediocrities.”

Oscar Wilde

“Mediocrity is the worst enemy of prosperity.”

Henry Ford

“Don’t settle for mediocrity. Take a chance. Take a risk. Find that passion. Rekindle it. Fall in love all over again. It’s really worth it.”

Brian Cranston

“Without self -discipline, potentials are useless and mediocrity becomes the plague of life.”

Clement Ogedegbe

“Those touchy mediocrities who sit trembling lest someone’s work prove greater than their own – they have no inkling of the loneliness that comes when you reach the top. The loneliness for an equal – for a mind to respect and an achievement to admire…They envy achievement, and their dream of greatness is a world where all men have become their acknowledged inferiors. They don’t know that that dream is the infallible proof of mediocrity, because that sort of world is what the man of achievement would not be able to bear.”

Ayn Rand

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Remember these 20 quotes before you start your start-up

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What do Amazon, Apple, Disney, Google and Harley Davidson have in common (besides being multi-billion dollar companies)?

They all started in garages. Yes, these gigantic business started from nothing.

We are entering a new era where more people are turning to starting their own businesses or entrepreneurships instead of going for that normal 8 to 5 job.

To cater to these startups, more and more incubation hubs and co-working spaces are opening up in Malaysia.

One reserved desk can start from RM920 a month in Kuala Lumpur while the price in Kuching can range from RM150 to RM399.

While these places look good on Instagram to promote your businesses, truthfully not everyone can afford it.

Even if incubation hubs had existed in the 90s, Amazon, Apple and the rest would still to choose to start from a garage.

This is because the un-glamourous side of any start-ups is that they are always scrimping and saved for money.

Meanwhile, the media is always highlighting success stories of start-ups and honestly nobody wants to hear how a start-up failed.

Nobody wants to talk about unpaid bills or canceled insurance coverage or life without savings or basically about how difficult it is to start your own company.

So before you head over to SSM (Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia) to kickstart your start-up dream, we at KajoMag want you to remember these 20 quotes:
Remember these 20 quotes before you start your start-up

“Running a start-up is like chewing glass and staring into the abyss. After awhile, you stop staring, but the glass chewing never ends.”

– Elon Musk, Founder of SpaceX.

“Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.”

Guy Kawasaki, Alltop Co-Founder.

“The dream is free. The hustle is sold separately.”

Unknown.

“Whenever I meet a successful CEO, I ask them how they did it. Mediocre CEOs point to their brilliant strategic moves or their intuitive business sense or variety of other self-congratulatory explanations. The great CEOs tend to be remarkably consistent in their answers. They all say: “I didn’t quit.”

Ben Horowitz, Loudcloud Founder.

“Life of an Entrepreneur: I wake up excited and terrified every day.”

Sarah Lacy, Founder of Pando.

“Projections are just bullshit. They’re just guesses.”

Jason Fried, Founder of 37Signals.

“If you are not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”

Jim Rohn.

“If you’re not a risk taker, you should get the hell out of business.”

Ray Kroc, McDonald’s Founder.

“Ideas are commodity. Execution of them is not.”

Michael Dell, Founder of Dell Technologies.
Essentially, what makes any start-up successful is not giving up. Before you start your journey, always remember not to give up when things get hard.
Remember these 20 quotes before you start your start-up
Starting a start-up is not just about having a great idea. Credits: Pexels.

“Accept that some days you are the pigeon and some days you are the statue.”

Scott Adams.

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’”

Mary Anne Radmacher.

“You gotta run more than your mouth to escape the treadmill of mediocrity. A true hustler jogs during the day and sleepwalks at night.” –

Jarod Kintz.

“Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out.”

John Wooden.

“You can’t have a million-dollar dream with a minimum-wage work ethic.”

Stephen C. Hogan.

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.”

Calvin Coolidge

“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” –

Steve Jobs

“You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing and failing over.”

Richard Branson.

“Starting your own business is like riding a roller coaster. There are highs and lows and every turn you take is another twist. The lows are really low, but the highs can be really high. You have to be strong, keep your stomach tight, and ride along with the roller coaster that you started.”

Lindsay Manseau.

“Bad shit is coming. It is always is in a start-up. The odds of getting from launch to liquidity without some kind of disaster happening are one in a thousand. So don’t get demoralised.”

Paul Graham.

“If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.”

Mario Andretti.
Remember these 20 quotes before you start your start-up
When things get difficult especially financially, always remember to persevere.

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5 things to know about Malaysian cake Apam Beras

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In the Malay language, “apam” generally refers to any dessert with a fluffy texture. The batter can be made from either wheat or rice flour and then baked or steamed.

So there are plenty types of apam out there such as apam balik, apam gula apong and apam gula melaka.

However, one of the popular kinds is none other than apam beras which is made from rice.

Here are five things you need to know about Malaysian cake apam beras:

1.It is known by many names

Besides apam beras, it is also known as apam nasi. Sometimes people might also refer it as apam gebu (fluffy).

In Indonesia, it is simply called as kue apam or kue apem. Their version of apam beras is made of rice flour, coconut milk, yeast and palm sugar, served with grated coconut.

2.The basic ingredients are?

Speaking of ingredients, the basic things you need to make your apam beras at home are rice flour, yeast, water, sugar and some colouring (optional).

However, some people prefer to put in equal ratio of wheat flour and rice flour for the batter. This will make the cake denser than the ones using solely rice flour.

Once you mix everything together, another important step is to let it set for at least for three hours.

Then you can pour the batter into a small mould before steaming the apam beras for at least 15 minutes.

3.You can use leftover rice to make it

If you wandering how to make a dessert out of your leftover rice, apam beras is your answer.

The ingredients are pretty basic; two cups of leftover rice, two and half cups of water, one cup of sugar, two cups of wheat flour, two cups of rice flour and one packet of yeast.

The key step is to blend your rice with water in a blender before putting in the rest of the ingredients.

4.One trick to make apam beras fluffy is by putting in ENO.

With the beauty of internet, many tend to share tips and tricks, especially when cooking traditional recipes such as apam beras.

One of the tricks shared online is that in order to make your apam beras fluffier than usual, you should add in one packet of ENO. It is an over-the-counter antacid brand containing sodium bicarbonate and citric acid.

5 things to know about Malaysian cake Apam Beras
There are many types of apam in the world, which apam is your favourite?
5.There are other types of steamed rice cakes from other countries as well

Apam beras is essentially a steamed rice cake. Here in Asia, making a dessert out of rice is a common technique.

Besides Indonesia and Malaysia, there are other types of steamed rice cakes in other countries as well.

In Chinese communities, there are two types of steamed rice cakes, namely Huat Kueh (Fa Gao) and Bai Tang Gao.

Watch how to make Huat Kueh here.

Some Huat Kueh do not use rice or rice flour at all, only the wheat flour just like apam.

And just like apam, Huat Kueh comes in different types of flavours such as palm sugar, pandan and pumpkin.

Meanwhile for Bai Tang Gao, it traditionally uses uncooked rice, soaked overnight before blending it. Other ingredients are water, granulated sugar, water, salt and instant yeast.

Another similar cake to Bai Tang Gao is the Vietnamese Banh Bo. The ingredients for Banh Bo are exactly the same with Chinese Bai Tang Gao except that the Vietnamese rice cake sometimes uses coconut milk.

Watch how to make Bai Tang Gao here.

Do you have your own family recipe to make apam beras or apam nasi? Share with us in the comment box.

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10 easy Korean dinner recipes you can try at home

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With plenty of Korean grocery shops popping up around the world, it is becoming easier and easier to buy ingredients and whip up your own Korean recipes at home.

Korean cuisine is easily accepted in Asia since it is largely based on rice, vegetable and meats… unless you can’t stand spicy food. Speaking of which, there are plenty of non-spicy but still delicious Korean food for you to try.

The basic ingredients are usually kimchi, gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes), gochujang (Korean red chili pepper paste), sesame oil, doenjang (fermented bean paste) and soy sauce.

For beginners out there, here are 10 easy Korean dinner recipes you can try at home:

1.Sundubu jjigae (Soft tofu stew)

The main ingredient for this Korean dinner recipe is freshly curdled soft tofu which has not been strained and pressed.

Other ingredients are mushroom, onion, vegetables such as spring onion with common seasoning like gochujang and gochugaru. You can turn this stew into a vegetarian dish or put in some seafood or meat.

Traditionally, soft tofu stew is cooked and served directly in a robust porcelain vessel. But if you don’t have that, you can always cook it in a pot.

Add in some kimchi and replace the soft tofu with cube tofu and you can turn it into a spicy kimchi stew.

Watch how to make it here.

2.Kimchi Bokumbap (Kimchi Fried Rice)

Fried rice is a favourite dish here in Asia especially in Southeast Asia. Plus, it is so easy to make since you can use leftover rice along with other ingredients.

As for this dish, add ingredients such as kimchi, egg, spam, radish, carrot and onions.

It is a perfect inexpensive dinner that can be whipped out in a short period of time.

Watch how to make it here.

10 easy Korean dinner recipes you can try at home
Kimchi Fried Rice.

3.Bibimbap

The key to making bibimbap for your Korean dinner at home is preparation. You mostly need to prepare different kinds of namul (sauteed and seasoned vegetables).

Among the basic vegetables served in a bibimbap are kimchi seasoned spinach, seasoned bean sprouts, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, green onions, radish and cucumber.

As for your protein source, a bibimbap is usually served with fried egg and slice beef.

Once you have all of these ingredients, it is time to serve them on top of a bowl of warm rice along with some gochujang.

Watch how to make it here.

10 easy Korean dinner recipes you can try at home
Bibimbap

4.Army stew

If you are not a big fan of processed meat, this is not for you. The main ingredients for this Korean stew are kimchi, Spam (or luncheon meat), bacon and hot dogs; basically all processed meat.

Why these ingredients? The story goes back to the Korean War in the 50s. When it ended, food was scarce in South Korea. Those who lived around US army bases started to make dishes of surplus foods from these army bases, whose rations typically comprised of processed meat.

Even with food aplenty today, this army stew continues to be popular among South Koreans.

One of the reasons is perhaps because they are easy to make. Basically just boil the broth and throw all the ingredients into it.

To season the broth, add in gochugaru, gochujang, soy sauce and garlic. While the broth is boiling, put all of your processed meat together with some vegetables such as spring onion and cabbage.

Watch how to make it here.

5.Spicy Korean stir-fried pork

What makes this Korean dinner recipe easy to make is that you can prepare it ahead before cooking it.

You can marinate your pork the night before or early in the morning before you leave for work then stir-fry it once you reach home.

Or you can marinate your pork only for 30 minutes.

To make your marinade, throw in the basic ingredients such as gochujang, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, gochugaru, apple, onion and black pepper into the food processor.

Watch how to make it here.

6.Doenjang jjigae (Soybean paste soup)

So you can’t stand anything spicy? Here is a Korean dinner recipe which uses doenjang or soybean paste, instead of gochujang.

Boil it with available ingredients in your kitchen such as carrot, mushroom, radish, scallions and tofu.

But if you still need that hint of heat, add in a little bit of gochujang (red chilli paste).

Watch how to make it here.

7.Bulgogi

Originally, this dish is grilled on top of a griddle or a barbecue. However, you can always stir-fry it in a pan.

You can prepare the ingredients ahead of time by marinating thin slices of sirloin with soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic and black pepper.

When you pan fry it, add in other ingredients such as scallions, ginger, onions and mushroom.

Watch how to make it here.

8.Dakgangjeong (Sweet crispy chicken)

Do you love fried chicken? Take your favourite dish up a notch with dakgangjeong.

Basically you need to season your chicken and cover it in starch before you deep fry it. After that, coat your deep fried chicken with seasoning sauce.

The seasoning sauce is mainly made from gochujang, garlic, ginger soy sauce, honey or corn syrup to give it the sweet taste.

Your fingers might be messy and sticky when eating this dish but if the seasoning sauce is made right, your dakgangjeong will definitely be finger-licking good.

Watch how to make it here.

9.Tangsuyuk (Sweet and sour pork)

There are two parts to making tangsuyuk for your Korean dinner at home; at first you need to deep-fry your pork and then you need to fry the meat again with your sauce.

To make your pork batter, you need to soak a mixture of potato and corn starch in water for several hours before draining the excess water. This traditional method of making the batter is to ensure the crispiness of your fried pork.

Meanwhile for the sweet and sour sauce, boil soy sauce, sugar, water with other vegetables and fruit like carrot, cucumber, onion, apple, pineapple and wood ear mushroom. To thicken the sauce, pour a little bit of starch slurry.

Watch how to make it here.

10.Mauentang (Spicy fish stew)

If you are looking for a new way to cook your fish, making a maeuntang or spicy fish stew is a good start.

Again, it is seasoned mainly with chilli powder, gochujang, garlic and soy sauce with fish as its main ingredient.

You can also add in some vegetables such as radish and watercress into your spicy fish stew.

Watch how to make it here.

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4 simple Kajo-tested recipes with terong Dayak you can try at home

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My mouth automatically waters just thinking about terong Dayak….

4 simple Kajo-tested recipes with terong Dayak you can try at home
The Borneo Sour Brinjal is a native vegetable in Sarawak

When you visit the local wet market, you will see a variety of local fruits and vegetables available here in Sarawak.

One of the most iconic (and pretty) vegetables is the terong Dayak, or Borneo sour brinjal.

As a native Sarawakian, I have a moral obligation to tell everyone that if they are going to buy some, it is better to get them from the market since they are fresh.

Since the Borneo sour brinjal is easy to get here, KajoMag thought it would be helpful to list down some of the popular ways to cook this iconic vegetable.

Simple yet tasty Terong Dayak Soup

This is perhaps the simplest yet most tasty way to really enjoy the natural tanginess of terong Dayak.

All you need to make this dish is just two bowls of water, two cloves of garlic and some anchovies (ikan pusu). As with many dishes, you will have to slice the brinjal into equal slices of eight, and wash away the seeds.

To start, add in the garlic, anchovies and some belacan (optional) into a pot of water.

Then, add your brinjals into the pot and boil until tender.

Terong Dayak with Ikan Salai (Smoked Fish)

4 simple Kajo-tested recipes with terong Dayak you can try at home
Terong Dayak with Ikan Salai (Smoked Fish)- Picture credit: Imor L.

The terong Dayak and smoked fish combo is one of the most popular ways to cook this iconic vegetable.

To prepare, cut the brinjal into eight slices again and discard the seeds.

Add in lemongrass and a couple cloves of garlic into a pot of water.

When the water starts to boil, add in the smoked fish and after about 15 minutes, add in the brinjal.

For extra flavour (and colour), you may add in some chillies or upa tepus.

Terong Dayak Asam Pedas

4 simple Kajo-tested recipes with terong Dayak you can try at home
Terong Dayak Asam Pedas

Since terong Dayak has a natural tangy taste, it complements spicy flavours really well.

Which is why we like to cook it with asam pedas.

To make this, the brinjal is cut into equal 1/8 slices and the seeds washed away.

Then, place three cloves of garlic, one shallot, one piece of chilli, lemongrass, some turmeric, about a tablespoon of asam jawa with a little splash of water into a blender and blend.

When the oil is hot, add in the blended mixture. Add in the brinjal first since it takes more time to cook.

Stir fry the brinjal for a while and then add two bowls of water. After about 10 minutes, add in the fish and salt to taste.

Stir fried terong Dayak

4 simple Kajo-tested recipes with terong Dayak you can try at home
Stir fried terong Dayak

If you are not really a soup person, then this recipe is perfect for you.

Unlike the other recipes that require you to cut the brinjal into 8 slices, this one requires you to slice it thinly.

After prepping the brinjal, pound together three cloves of garlic, shallots, anchovies or dried shrimp, belacan and some chillies into a paste.

You may want to discard the seeds from the chilli as this dish can be quite spicy.

Stir fry the pounded paste and add in the brinjal with a little bit of water. Cook until soft. Add salt to taste but not too much as the paste is already quite salty on its own.

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