The Bonding Tool

Draco had me worried (about posting ONE FC 12 which I intended) with his comment, “First rule: Don’t talk about fight club – and you just broke that rule. :)”

Until his later mention, “You never saw the movie “Fight Club” with Brad Pitt? That’s one of his rules. :)”, I am at ease posting some not so gruesome photos I had recently taken during the ONE FC event which I attended on a papparazzi pass.

My papparazzi ticket to the ONE FC 12 – Warrior event on 15th November 2013.

My first ONE FC event.

Food is really a great bonding tool. No matter what you do in Asia, food is always there to mitigate even in an uncomfortable situation or event. It is the familiar agent that binds, that says “it’s all right and that everything will be okay soon”. For me, death and food are the equalisers in life. Rich or poor we die all the same. And as for food, how much rich food can one eat everyday? Once a while, we still indulge in simplicity and in the junk but intimate and recognisable dishes.

We arrived at Putra Indoor Stadium, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, before 5pm.

We were ahead of time so Paul and I took a tea-break before diving into the hectic schedule.

Click on pics for full view and commentary:

Food sold outside the Putra Indoor Stadium.

Coffee with condensed milk.

Banana Fritters or Kuih Kodok- Malay cuisine.

Banana Friiters – Malay cuisine. 3 fritters for MYR1 or 2, I forgot in my excitement.

Food sold outside the Putra Indoor Stadium.

Come 5pm, we gathered at the VIP entrance for a briefing and then it’s own time own target till the last round of the competition.

My first MMA (mixed martial arts).
Thanks to Justin Ng and his company for giving me this opportunity through Paul.

We went to our designated seats at 7pm when the novice fighters fought but before that, Paul grabbed a burger.

Steamed Chickpeas or Garbanzo Beans.

Hotdogs undressed.

Hotdogs fully dressed with mayonnaise, chilli and BBQ sauces.

Malaysian style of Hamburgers – freshly cooked.

Likened to the popular Ramly burgers (street burgers in Malaysia), there’s cabbage, meat patties (chicken or beef) and eggs, topped with a few different sauces and sandwiched between the lightly pan-fried buns.

Click on pics for full view and commentary:

Samir Mrabet’s promotional poster asked Larissa to marry him. He won the competition in his category and I hope she says Yes!

Samir Mrabet. All contestants were “greased” on their brows and below their eye sockets before being let into the ring.

Steven Durr.

Steven Durr being “searched” before being let into the ring.

Samir Mrabet vs Steven Durr.

Samir “Flexible” Mrabet.

Willy Foo – the only photographer allowed to be in the ring!

Tok Sophon.

Tok Sophon had the upperhand on Saiful Merican.

Tok Sophon vs Saiful Merican.

Saiful Merican’s management team.

Tok Sophon, defeated in round 3 (5 minutes).

Saiful Merican vs Tok Sophon.

Judges panel.

A.J. Lias Mansor vs Melvin Yeoh (both Malaysians).

Melvin Yeoh was defeated in round 3 (5 minutes) by A. J. Lias Mansor.

A.J. Lias Mansor pledged his earnings to the victims of Philippines Typhoon Haiyan.

Putra Indoor Stadium.

Putra Indoor Stadium.

Yusup Saadulaev conquered the formerly undefeated Adriano Moraes.

Gianni Subba very quickly took Chen Yun Ting to the floor.

With relentless slamming at Chen Yun Ting, Subba managed to knock him out in round 1.

Chen Yun Ting defeated in round 1 (3.03 minutes).

Gianni Subba, declared the winner.

Gianni Subba.

20 year old Gianni Subba defeated Chen Yun Ting in round 1, TKO stoppage (3.03 minutes). TKO – a technical knockout declared by the referee who judges one boxer unable to continue.

Peter Davis, a hot favourite of Malaysia’s representative in this ONE FC 12 competition.

‘Poster boy’ persona, Peter Davis, seemed to be a gem in this combat sports with his unorthodox strike style in the recent MMA ring at ONE FC12 – Warrior Spirit. A true phenom who possesses a lethal mix of strength in both striking and on-ground technique, he managed to overturn his opponent and won the competition!

Click on pics for full view:

Peter was hopelessly pinned in the first round.

Peter Davis managed to overturn his opponent, Egyptian Wushu World Champion Alaa Mazloum, and won the competition!

A true phenom who possesses a lethal mix of strength in both striking and on-ground technique.

I would not cook this in Melbourne as bananas are generally expensive. I remembered a time, when a piece of banana was sold at AUD2.50 from 7-11 but that was due to floods or plague in Jamaica the exporting country. I could buy a bunch for the price of a piece in Singapore.

I thought you might be interested in trying out this simple and popular Malay snack at home (and savour what I had before the fight). If you have bananas lying around and don’t know what to do with them, well… 😉

Banana Ball Fritters – Cekodok Pisang.

Banana Fritter Balls Recipe (Kuih Kodok)
Ingredients:
180 gm Plain Flour (If you like “airy” texture, you may use self-raising cake flour, instead, and omit the bicarbonate soda).
1 flat teaspoon of Bicarbonate Soda.
1 tablespoon Rice Flour (omit if you can’t find but this adds a little crisp texture to the fritters).
1 tablespoon Sugar.
Pinch of Salt.
500g very very ripen Bananas, mashed. (I use Pisang Raja in Malaya but any over-ripen bananas will do).
Vegetable Oil for deep-frying.

Method:
1. Sift flour, mix sugar and salt together into the flour.

2. Add mashed bananas and stir well into the flour, sugar and salt mixture (in one direction) until you get a soft batter.

3. Heat oil in a wok until hot over medium heat (not too hot or the balls will burnt too quickly before they are cooked).

4. Drop tablespoonful (use metal dinner spoon) of batter in.

5. When the fritters turn golden, remove with slotted ladle. Drain on absorbent paper.

These balls are dense in texture. Serve them warm, as afternoon snack, with a cup of plain tea 😀

Note:
1) Over-ripen bananas are more fluid after mashing so there’s no need to add water to make a batter. However, if you find the mixture too dry, add a tablespoon or two of water/milk to obtain a very thick batter consistency.

2) You may add more sugar into the batter to your desired taste, which I don’t as over-ripen bananas are sweet. Or you may dust some confectioner’s sugar after deep-frying the balls.

3) A popular variation is to add dessicated coconut (up to 1 cup – can be dry toasted for extra oomph) into the mixed batter.

Happy eating and venturing 🙂