I’m very adventurous when it comes to food. Heck, I’m pretty adventurous with just about anything. I heard that the local delicacy in Korea is live octopus so I was DETERMINED to try that when I went to Pusan, Korea a few months ago.
What happens during the Dining Experience (TM) is that the person (wo)manning the octopus counter takes out the tentacle waving creature of your choice and quickly chops it up. It is drizzled with sesame oil and dried seaweed. You’re supposed to eat it straight away.
I’m not too sure about the anatomy of octopi but it was still moving a good 10 minutes AFTER the woman murdered it. I’m serious! Tentacles were twitching and the suckers were still half heartedly trying to grab onto some fish (or whatever it is octopus eats).
Our Korean translator Kim (who is Korean) wouldn’t even touch it until we persuaded her to. She is aware of the dish, obviously, but she was just concerned about eating it. It’s not just coz of the geli factor but amongst her stated reasons was that a host of bacteria and other disease transmitting vectors could be in the octopus, since it’s raw.
You wouldn’t want to get a case of E.Coli or some rare form of toxin poisoning from stuff eaten by the octopus before it was brutally slaughtered.
Well, this is why you need a health insurance plan. Or better: A health insurance plan with INVESTMENT benefits!
Ha! Not only are you covered for hospitalization but you’re also making your money work for you AT THE SAME TIME! How does that sound?
(I know it sounds like I’m an insurance agent but wait!)
It sounds like a win-win situation to me. Haha! Honestly, I love these investment insurance plans. You get covered AND earn a bit of money while you’re at it.
It also benefits you by giving you money back with the No Claims Bonus if you’re as healthy as an ox!
I think the best part (and what differentiates it from the regular PruHealth plan) is the investment aspects since I’m really trying to save up to buy my own place. Paying RM 1,300 for a studio unit doesn’t exactly make financial sense when you can dump in a down payment at a place where you like and buy the thing for about the same amount each month.
The PruBSN Takaful Health rider makes really sound financial sense though. Health and insurance combined. You know that saying? You can be the richest man in the world but if you’re not healthy enough to enjoy it, there’s not much point right? This puts both into a single plan. Check out the Prudential BSN Takaful Health for health and investment all rolled into one!
It’s always better to chuck your savings into investments like this, you can get much more from compounding interest than if you just stuck it in savings. You don’t even need to be Muslim to get on it 🙂
ewww octopus looks gross
did you hit that translator? she’s pretty man
i love to try it but might try it lively so it can swim in the belly… 😀
money cant buy health… 😉
debbie: It’s pretty good actually – the suckers on the octopus sticks on your tongue, quite tought to swallow this one. 🙂
sam dang: Haha! No, it’s a funny story though, maybe will relate it to you when I see you.
ah nel: It’s not that bad, it’s still wriggling and sucking but you just need to swallow and enjoy the texture with seaweed and sesame oil. 🙂
hah! shd ask me agent to see u . .he’s with PRU . . . whats those blackish thingy on the plate with the octopus suckers!
I enjoyed this dish . .when those suckers stuck unto ur tongue, its kewl but it it sux on ur inner cheek – it SUX BIG
Looked good ..it must be taste like Sushi haha..
HB, I watched Korean food shows on tv in San Franciso. We have a Korean tv network here and raw octopus must as fresh as possible to eaten raw. It does taste not bad with their own hot season sauce in it. I do not like cooked one at time too tough the meat.
Not sure the one you had were live one she prepare for you hope it was.
foodcrazee: Oh, that’s seaweed. Koreans serve live octopus with seaweed and sesame oil. It tastes much better that way.
Yeah, I love how the suckers on the octopus is still alive and clinging on your tongue. 🙂
Eriku: It tastes more like sashimi rather, without the wasabi! 🙂
Vickie: Yup, this was VERY FRESH. We picked the octupus and it was sliced in front of us and served immedietely. 🙂
I should really get a health insurance policy; hospital billings are killing me!
raZZbeRRy: Yeah I know what you mean! Private hospitals and clinics cost a lot – go government – RM 5 for ANY meds. 😉
Other than that, insurance matters too coz it’s not exactly comfortable in a government hospital, it’s just the meds which is cheap.
she’s the girl in namewee’s video right?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmM6MHI35_I
I always enjoy your site, HB. Maybe the movements are just involutary muscle contractions. Like when you cut the head off a snake, the body will still writhe around for several minites, sometimes. Though when I have eaten it, it was neccesity, not choice ( military survival training, and we skinned it and roasted it on a stick). Does it taste anything like calamri (squid, though that is dead, of course) in a nice hot sausce? You are right though, when I first saw this, my first thought was … uh oh… HB has become an insurance agent… another soul lost to the dark side… seriously, though, insurance agents are like lawyers, when you need one, you usually need one badly… But that last pic looked like a plate of chitlins ( hog intestines), a dish I would have to be starving to eat, even though I am from the atlantic south US. All a matter of taste, I guess, and acquired, at that. or preperation method. I like rare ribeye steak and soft (runny) fried eggs. I dont order around certain friends though, cause the always look like the are gonna puke, while I eat it. But they would think nothing of eating brains and eggs or tripe, or livermush, which disgusts me. so we all just order waffles (and ham for the non vegitarians). To each their own… Have a great day, and thanks for the laugh, HB.
Eeee.. gelik ler ~
hb, you have wide audience, and I will understand, if this never sees the light of day and edit as you will, but, having just been snowed in for a week or two, and in no way comparing our problems to the ones in Hati, can I offer a few suggestions, cause you might be on your own a few days, or weeks…
1. a little radio. not the monster boom box you bought 8 years ago. or the tv. a small am radio, should fit in your hand. and that brings us to the next thing…
2. batteries. and flashlights. Know where yours are. and no, that disposable light you bought in 2005. it is not still viable. which makes for another point…
3. matches and candles. you should have some. not sricpto or bic lighters, or the candles off a birthday cake, from last year… but be careful… very careful indeed, set the house on fire, and nobody can come help you right now… leads us too another point, and this you wont hear much on the national news…
4. bleach, to purify water, ( remember, they are burning bodies to prevent contamination in hati right now) teaspoon to a gallon. tastes like… but better than diptheria… or worse.
5. patience, lots of it.
6. thing will turn ugly, as .5 wears thin. it always does. always. keep a little cash money around the house, not plastic, I mean silver or gold, along with away to defend yourself and loved ones. dont have to be a … well, has been my experience, most thieves are like jackals or vultures, they want easy pickings. happens every time. dont be one. ( of their prey). even a .22 works. or a gang of like minded friends.
7. you will forget this, like I did, (and I was a saftey officer for three different companies.) oh, and that stuff you bought for y2k? might as well through it out… and make sure you have a operable manual can opener, or at least a sharp, sturdy blade…
8. prayer, all will be well, help is on the way… but at least check your batteries, flashlight, and first aid kit. you cant help any one unless you can help yourself. I just recently found that out the hard way… tom
hip hop kaki: Yeah, she came over, quite a good rapper in her own right. 🙂
tom: I just eat a lot of weird stuff coz I have an adventurous palate. 🙂
ahlost: It’s really nice! You should try it when you go to Korea. Absolutely fabulous. 🙂
tom: Yeah, the earthquake in Haiti is unfortunate. I agree with #5 – patience, something I lack. I drive fast, walk fast, do everything fast. Classic Type A personality, prime candidate for a heart attack or stroke. 🙂
Take care my friend.
What a wise way to link your octopus story with insurance LOL.
Always seek medical advice beforehand or rely on insurance in the aftermath LOL.
Did u managed to chow down the whole plate or just ate 1/2 and chuck the whole thing away?
Mizz Sharon: Heh! The live octopus was really good too. 🙂
We tried to eat the entire plate but I was the only one doing any real eating.
The friendly Koreans beside us offered us some shochu for free, so we gave them the remainder of the plate. 🙂
Kudos for being a daredevil and for not doing a ‘right in your face’ type of ads I’ve been elsewhere. 😉 Nicely done.
PS. What a chaotic week, got everything settled thanks to previous doc. 😉 Time to celebrate.
PPS. You talk quite fast in your vids. Beware of a certain lady doctor. LOL. With your less than stellar histories, you’d be shackled in no time.
Cheers: Heh! Cheers mate! Appreciate the kind comments.
Hey, glad to hear that you sorted that stuff up. I’m glad to hear you’re free instead of locked up somewhere.
Er, what lady doctor? Gimme the heads up bro, sixthseal@gmail.com
Good to hear everything is fine with you!
That’s just gross!
boon: Heh! It’s not, it’s a local delicacy over there. One man’s meat is another man’s poison kinda thing. 😉
I am from Seoul, come to Seoul next time much more fun than Pusan.
JP: Sure thing mate! I did go to Seoul but only stayed for a couple of hours coz our destination was Pusan. 🙂
Will keep in touch. Cheers!
Wow the live octopus looks freaking awesome! Hope to try that someday =)
I’m curious! Why do they serve it with sesame oil? Wouldn’t it be overpowering the fresh meat? Or does the live octopus stink badly?
Insurance is beautiful, compounding interest is said to be the eight wonder of the world what haha =)
Oh! I love boiled octopus with sesame oil! But eating it raw.. It’ll be horrible if they ever got hold of your uvula, eh? *shudders*
michellezyenn: Yeah, it’s really good!
Hmm…the sesame oil doesn’t overpower the octopus, it doesn’t stink too since it’s very fresh!
I’m not sure why they do that, probably coz it’s their way of eating it. 🙂
SW: Yeah boiled octopus is good but LIVE octopus is even better. You can to taste everything. Haha! Yeah that would be a bit tragic but since they’re dying anyway, the suction wouldn’t be that strong (although it is still substantial. 🙂
You pussy! You’re supposed to eat the tentacles when they’re still dancing on your plate!
Octopus: Yeah, that’s what I did. Will post up the complete video in another post. 🙂
wonderful blog! thank you for being
bulky weblog you take
I absolutely adore animals! Please, we need more posts like this from you!
QUOTE(PJusa @ Jul 29 2009, 08:37 AM)
nuzul,
i think you made some important points but i want to add some things:
“1. don’t look at the lifetime limit, look for annual limit. no matter if ur lifetime limit is 600k, but ur annual limit is just 20k, it didn’t enough. even a “bisol” could cost almost 5k..”
== always look for the lifetime limit! if you only get 3x annual limit for life this is NOT the plan for long term insurance. you slowly eat your allowance while paying the premium. then when its eaten up, its hard or next to impossible to find new insurer. ALWAYS choose a plan with a very high annual and a much much higher lifeltime limit if you must. even better: no lifetime limit. i personally would never rely only on a plan with lifeltime limit.
500k annual limit does not cost you a fortune if you choose a standalone policy.
“2. look the medical card plan carefully, is it hv any other limit besides the annual limit? even if u hv an annual limit of 60k, but there’s limit on operation of 36k, limit on dialysis of 30k, it also didn’t enough. one dialysis cost RM500 & need to do at least 2 times a week. u do the math urself.”
== yes, sublimits are bad. avoid them by all means. for dialysis and other outpatient benefits its impossible to avoid them in one way or the other. this is why you sometimes need a second medical card to cover for just those things in order to make optimal decisions.
“3. ask the agent whether the medical card need to be renew or not? some medical card need to be renew early or maybe 5 year. u think for urself, if somedays, maybe after 5-6 years of renewing, u get an illness that cost about 50k. do you think the insurance company would let u renew? if u can renew, the previous illness will be excluded from ur benefits.”
== as far as i know all standalone medical cards are yearly renewable. just make sure that its renewable at the option of the policy holder without loading or exclusions. then you are good. other policies are – sorry to say so – not insurances at all. they are money making shemes for the insurance companies.
“4. every time u want to renew the medical card, the price won’t be the same again.”
== absolutely true. allocate a budget that covers the average costs of a lifetime and save the difference to reduce burden in the future.
“5. every medical card that need to be renew are term insurance & hv burn money policy.”
== medical cards are not burning money if chosen properly. actually the very principle of insurance implies that you pay premium and if you are lucky nothing happens to you you dont get any money. anything else is NOT an insurance. stay away from anything but an actual insurance for H&S since you only pay more that way. it doesnt work in your benefit.
*
I just want to add. Both annual limit and lifetime limit is very important. Try to gain as high as possible.
So far I know in Prudential and PruBSN, you have an option to have annual limit waiver. Meaning, you can pay your hospital bill regardless any amount as long as it is within your lifetime limit between RM0.5 million and RM1.5 million. This apply to both conventional Prudential and PruBSN Takaful Medical Card.
Hazhar
013-3414889
hazharismail@gmail.com
Prudential / PruBSN Takaful
QUOTE(PJusa @ Jul 29 2009, 08:37 AM)
nuzul,
i think you made some important points but i want to add some things:
“1. don’t look at the lifetime limit, look for annual limit. no matter if ur lifetime limit is 600k, but ur annual limit is just 20k, it didn’t enough. even a “bisol” could cost almost 5k..”
== always look for the lifetime limit! if you only get 3x annual limit for life this is NOT the plan for long term insurance. you slowly eat your allowance while paying the premium. then when its eaten up, its hard or next to impossible to find new insurer. ALWAYS choose a plan with a very high annual and a much much higher lifeltime limit if you must. even better: no lifetime limit. i personally would never rely only on a plan with lifeltime limit.
500k annual limit does not cost you a fortune if you choose a standalone policy.
“2. look the medical card plan carefully, is it hv any other limit besides the annual limit? even if u hv an annual limit of 60k, but there’s limit on operation of 36k, limit on dialysis of 30k, it also didn’t enough. one dialysis cost RM500 & need to do at least 2 times a week. u do the math urself.”
== yes, sublimits are bad. avoid them by all means. for dialysis and other outpatient benefits its impossible to avoid them in one way or the other. this is why you sometimes need a second medical card to cover for just those things in order to make optimal decisions.
“3. ask the agent whether the medical card need to be renew or not? some medical card need to be renew early or maybe 5 year. u think for urself, if somedays, maybe after 5-6 years of renewing, u get an illness that cost about 50k. do you think the insurance company would let u renew? if u can renew, the previous illness will be excluded from ur benefits.”
== as far as i know all standalone medical cards are yearly renewable. just make sure that its renewable at the option of the policy holder without loading or exclusions. then you are good. other policies are – sorry to say so – not insurances at all. they are money making shemes for the insurance companies.
“4. every time u want to renew the medical card, the price won’t be the same again.”
== absolutely true. allocate a budget that covers the average costs of a lifetime and save the difference to reduce burden in the future.
“5. every medical card that need to be renew are term insurance & hv burn money policy.”
== medical cards are not burning money if chosen properly. actually the very principle of insurance implies that you pay premium and if you are lucky nothing happens to you you dont get any money. anything else is NOT an insurance. stay away from anything but an actual insurance for H&S since you only pay more that way. it doesnt work in your benefit.
*
So far I know in Prudential and PruBSN, you have an option to have annual limit waiver. Meaning, you can pay your hospital bill regardless any amount as long as it is within your lifetime limit between RM0.5 million and RM1.5 million. This apply to both conventional Prudential and PruBSN Takaful Medical Card.
Syed
0194347535
Prudential / PruBSN Takaful