Is this a Chinese Lantern or a Wild Cape Gooseberry?

Has anyone seen this plant before?

Initially I was not sure if this is Chinese Lantern or Cape Gooseberry  or Wild Gooseberry plants. 

My neighbour brought back a few wild plants after her visit to her hometown,Kota Belud. These plants are not easy to find in Kota Kinabalu any more. She gave one to me. I didn't know the name of the plant, but I remembered it as a child, I enjoyed eating the fruits from this kind of plant. In those days they were easily found in the jungle, Now the area is well developed, Trees were cut, roads were built and buildings were made. The jungle had quickly disappeared, so were the wild berries and animals. Later, big monsoon drains were all over the place.

When I posted the photo of this plant to all my friends, I managed to get a few names from it.
One friend, who was an ex lecturer from the university, gave me the scientific name,
physalis angulata or physalis nahaufnahme, while another friend who sells plants said it's  Cape gooseberry.  With the names of the plant, it was easier for me to google in details about them.

These wild berries have many names by the locals. The Dusun called it Lapak Lapak, while the Kadazan called it Kalapakon. The Chinese called it Pak Zai and in Tamil,it's Dappa palam. Whether its the Chinese Lantern or Cape gooseberry , it's definately a Physalis.

Like me, most of my friends ate them before, when they were kids and have the same review as me, that the fruits were tasty. Some played with it, by "banging" the berries on their forehead, just to hear the 'pop' sound.😲 A few of them said,their grand parents boiled the whole plants for medicinal purposes,especially those who stayed deep in the jungle, out of reach for medical care and facilities.

With Mr Google, I manage to find out the differences of these 3 plants.

  Cape gooseberry (Physalis Peruvian a) - yellow flower has 5 dark blotches at the base of the corolla.    
- yellowish orange fruit with sweet sour taste.
- pale brown husk surrounding the fruit

- annual and short term perennial  plant
- unripe fruits and leaves may be toxic

  Chinese Lantern (Physalis alkekengi) - white flower has has no markings on the corolla .

 - fruit has bright orange red colour and it's tasteless.
- bright orange husk surrounding the fruit.
- Hardy perennial plant 
-Unripe fruits and leaves are highly toxic.

Wild Cape gooseberry (Physalis minima
 - yellow flower has 5 dark blotches at the base of the corolla
- fruits are primrose color with a sweet bitter taste.
- light brown husk surrounding the fruit 
- annual herbaceous plant
- plants are bitter (medical purpose)but the fruits are juicy with a pleasant sweet taste.       

                   Research shows that the Wild Cape gooseberry  plant has anti-cancerous properties, anti-diabetic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic and other wide ethno medicinal uses.

                    When  I read the blog of Sarawakiana@2 ,  the village folks in Miri, Sarawak use these plants to control high blood pressure and the flowers as tea for headache remedies

Wild Cap Gooseberry

Wild Cape Gooseberry flowers

5 dark blotches at the base of the corolla. 

                   
         Light brown husk surrounding the fruit

Wild Cape goose berry - Primrose coloured fruit with pale brown husk.

Wild Cape goose berry -  is pale yellowish in color with juicy fruit

Strawberry cake 

                           Blueberry Cake

Cape Gooseberry (Peruviana) fruits are popular as decorations on cakes and desserts.

Columbian Physalis Golden Berries. 

 

Cape Gooseberry(P. Peruviana) 

             

Wild Cape Gooseberry (P. Minima) 

Cape goose berry (P. Peruviana) fruit has bright yellowish orange colour with a sweet sour taste. They are edible but unripe fruits and the plants may be toxic.

Wild goose berry ( P. Minima) fruit has pale yellow fruit with a mild bitter sweet taste. They are edible including the whole plants which are used for medicinal purposes.

Photo of a dessert, taken by a friend while holidaying in Europe.

                            

References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5255973/

https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/parmar/16.html

https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/cape_gooseberry.html

https://florafaunaweb.nparks.gov.sg/special-pages/plant-detail.aspx?id=2337

http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Physalis+minima

Globinmed

https://sarawakianaii.blogspot.com/2010/05/jepak-or-wild-gooseberry.html

Story of my Brunei Car

              My story started in1996. The area shown in the first photo here has now changed so much. The beach houses shown in the photos below are not there any more in Brunei, but our memories stay forever.

My Brunei car Toyota DX KC 2733 

              

      Kuala Belait is the second largest town in Brunei after Bandar Seri Begawan.

              When I got a job at Panaga, Kuala Belait, it was one of the best working experiences in my life. Salary was good. In those days, the conversion rate was about Rm 2.5 to B$1,so it's still good ( now the rate is about Rm 3 to B$1 ). Free accomodation was provided with free electricity and water usage.

           It was my first time working abroad and just a 20 minute flight from Kota Kinabalu, my hometown.😉

On arrival, a car was provided for me for a week and cash of B$500 to buy the basic necessities for daily use until I received my first pay.

Brunei Shell Petroleum Company head office

Free car for 1 week, a Volkswagen 

      A car is necessary in Brunei, as there was no public transport to where I needed to go.  So I bought a second hand car from a friend for B$2000. A Toyota DX with Brunei plate number KC 2733. 

Arrival of DX KC2733 - Year 1996

After receiving my car. I felt so grateful even though it's old, as there was no public transport in that area where I was staying. As expected my DX did not give me any problems all the time I was there. 

And since then, my DX has been my companion. 

Brunei roads are smooth unlike here in Sabah. You can tell the difference when you drive your car in Sabah and Brunei i.e. the road surface etc. Hard to describe the feeling and experience driving in Brunei after driving here in Sabah. There were not many cars in Kuala Belait in those days but I am sure it's not the same today. Then, hardly any traffic jams, except at check points between Brunei and Miri. 

         During school holidays, my children would fly over to spend time with me in Brunei. They too, had happy memories of DX especially driving along the beach.

DX KC 2733 parked outside my accommodation - 1996

DX, my saviour and companion in Brunei-1996

 Walkway to the beach from my accommodation, which only took us less than 2 mins. 

                    One of the best experiences with DX was driving all the way to Jerudung Park on the 16th July 1996 for the free Michael Jackson Concert at Jerudong Park! 

 It was a privilege to watch the King of Pop performing live for free! I was a big fan of Michael Jackson.💓💓💓

My husband was also a big fan, but he never got to see Michael. But he did see

THE Beatles, before they became famous, in a night club called "The Majestic " in UK in early 60's for under 2 shillings.😂

When my contract ended, I decided to bring DX home to Sabah for good. I wrote to our Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and i received approval letter within 2 weeks, allowing me to bring DX home. With my friend as a companion, who is also from Sabah, we drove DX home to Kota Kinabalu, passing many routes in and out of Brunei and Sarawak. When you look at the map which I had drawn, it will give you an idea what I mean.

It was a 6-8 hours drive from Brunei to Kota Kinabalu

There were 8 check points we had to go through with 8 immigration and custom checks

Therefore, ending us up with 8 immigration stamps in our passport- 2 pages full. And for your information, that was only 1 way. For those wanting a return trip, they ended up with 4 pages full of 16 immigration stamps. 😂

Arrival of DX  to Sabah - Home Sweet Home

With the necessary documents, KC 2733 became 2512, Christmas Day date. It's a blessed car!🙏

New ownership of DX - My Son

On my son's 18th birthday, I gave DX 2512 to him as his present. He love it to bits and still does after all these years. Following his return from abroad, he turned my angelic white car to a black Monstrous car! 🤦‍♀️I almost fainted when seeing the big change of my beloved DX. What can I do?🙄The car belongs to him now and he can do whatever he wants to his liking. 😅To him, it's a legendary car with lots of meaningful memories in it.😂 

To this day, this car remains our family treasure, still in use today. 🙏

Starting my garden home from nothing - It's never too old to learn

Year 2010

               In 2002, I bought a small piece of land and wanted to start a project to build a small garden house by 2008.The project was delayed due to some issues with neighbour refusing to relocate his fence that encrouched the right of way on government land.

             In 2016, the pathway has widened, the land was cleared and my little dream house was completed by Sept 2018.

Compared to 2010, this photo was taken in Sept 2018, what a huge difference

         After looking back of what I have gone through, it was no easy peasy job, but at the end of the day, I was able to share my experience in making one of my dreams come true. This was through perseverance and hard work. When a situation becomes difficult, it's challenging and through that, we tend to stay focused on what we need to do.

         The day when I decided to start my project, I was excited but apprehensive at the same time. Being a woman who has No knowledge or experience as builders or a gardener, it was indeed very hard. But as i got into the gist of it, it got easier.

            When the small plot of land(only 5 mins from airport and near my parents' home) was bought, I thought, "Am I doing the right thing?" Endless questions roamed in my head, such as ... should I, will I, what if, bla bla bla. No one including my husband, children, and friends would ever think it's possible to build a little garden house there....Everyone thinks it's too small, a waste of money, not ideal with a big monsoon drain next to it and the biggest negative was, the right of way being blocked by neighbour,  not allowing me to widen the road on government land. His  fence had taken up 3/4 of the space on my right of way  leaving me with only a small space, just enough for a sang kancil car to drive through. There was a time when I almost gave up, after a long battle with no signs of progress. But with good advice and encouragement from a good friend, I persevered. 

Issue with neighbor, who

refused to negotiate by relocating his fence  for my right of way to my land.

           It was May 2016, a Friday, my limit of perseverance reached a peak point (8 years). I said to myself I will give one last try and then that's it, no more. I was not a strong believer but somehow, I stopped by a chapel to pray to Our Good Lord to guide me the way, on what I should do. Yes. I was that desperate and frustrated.😣😣😣
After 8 years of frustration, the neighbour was spoken to by Ms Luvita, who was the newly appointed district officer at that time, to relocate his fence at least 2 feet away for my right of way. At least a 10 ton lorry with those building materials could pass through and a tractor to clear the little "Jungle" , probably full of snakes, rats, and others reptiles.

2014- A small path just enough for a Sang Kancil car to drive through.

Year 2016, two days before my father passed away,  A wider pathway was done.


Pathway to my land

In 2017, the land was cleared and my project for the little house plan began. 

  

13th July 2018, A plan was drafted

27th July,2018- 14 feet x 14 feet tiny house 

28th August 2018 -  Almost complete

completed-14th Sept 2018

My fancy little bath-room

At last, my little dream house!

28th August 2018

        In March 2018, I had retired from my profession after 42 years. The first 3 months were heaven for me.  No alarm clock to wake me up for work. No hassle or stress of going back to work to complete a task. I was enjoying myself being in the "nothing box" doing just nothing. But as months gone by, I was beginning to feel bored and getting restless doing nothing. I had thoughts of going back to work as part time or whatever. 

             One day, I was visiting my friend's garden. I admired her amazing garden, full of  greens and flowers . I am no "green fingers" myself, so I never thought of gardening as a hobby. But  she told me that I don't need green fingers to grow anything. What I need is good soil and learn the " know-how" about watering plants etc. She encouraged me to try one simple plant, just to get me motivated. I chose sweet potatoes, the simplest. Just put one potato on top of a cup of water, leave by the window sill, and see what happens next. I was excited when i saw new leaves sprouting from the potato. It gave me the reason to wake up automatically in the morning to say hello to my "babies" by the window sill. 

             Later, I went to search from "Mr Google" to know more about transferring little "baby plants" into pots to grow further. My interest for gardening grew and before I knew it, I had started a garden in my little home. ( you can read more on my story of long beans and many more to write soon). Then I moved to the next level by planting seeds, in little trays and when they reached a foot tall, I transplanted them to pots or ground in my little garden.

           My husband helped me to water some of the "baby plants" every morning when I was away visiting my relative overseas. He sent updates of those "babies " showing how they progressed. He don't mind because these "babies" are not noisy and only feed once a day with water.😂😂😂😂

              Now my home is completed and my next project is to create my little garden around it. My garden home is also known  as the "Sulap" (that's how the locals here call it ) means a little hut  for resting after gardening.  In my 200 Sq feet home, I have just about everything I need.  

         I recycled water bottles to make flower pots . Recycled plastic bottles had become popular, especially when people began to understand how they can save cost and are eco friendly.

            I love to spend time in my little garden. My tiny home is like a secret space pod where I can relax, rest and dream of the possibilities. This is where I let my creative mind wander and have new ideas making life more meaningful everyday.

          When I was a young girl, I love to dream and imagine beautiful things in my head even though they are impossible most of the time.😅😅😅 

         Some believe that to be innovative, we need "to go forward bravely", a quote from Joan of Arc. Another inspirational quote which is commonly used is " if you don't try, you will never know what you are capable of ". In my experience, to be innovative. I just need a little imagination and positively think everything will turn out well ,even though it may or may not come true.😛

          When my little dream house was completed, I was so proud of it and the effort made.

     It is a garden that I can look at, and admire every morning while having more ideas at the same time.

Sunrise at 5.45am on 12. 5.2023.

Beautiful Photo taken by a friend from Singapore, Christy Koi who visited and stayed at my garden home for the 1st time. 

        The land that I once thought was "rubbish",  have now turned into a "garden of Eden" which I am very happy with. The only regret was my father and mother were not around to share it with me. I believe they would have love to visit every evening for a cup of coffee or tea while admiring the nature's  beauty and feel proud what their daughter had done.

Someone, once said to me," Keep believing and persevering - one day, even the impossible will bloom".

 I thank our Good Lord for giving me good friends, my husband and children for their support in helping me to persevere especially from the moment I nearly give up. Also a big thank you to Ms Luvita for helping to sort out my right of way to my land. 

At last, my dream came true, a little country/village home and it's never too late to start what you truly enjoy. 😘

Read on to find out more what I will do next and where I want to go.....

Kampung (Village) style cafe at my home town

Have you ever tried beef broth using fire wood in the city?  It's not easy to find one in 

Singapore, UK, USA  and other first world countries.

Army soldiers or those on expeditions and the scouts would have used fire wood to cook their meals in the woods? But in the city?

Beef Broth cooking in big deep pots for hours using fire wood.

Years ago, North Borneo used to have no problem with woods because of our thick jungles. But nowadays wood are harder to find because of their shortage or restricted suppliers due to our country policies for protection of our forest. One of reasons is due to habitat destruction.

Even though certain trees are considered endangered species, deep in the forest/jungle/woods on certain part of Borneo and many part of the world, in the middle of no way, cooking using fire wood still exist.

In the city of  KK (Kota Kinabalu), I came to know a place recently which sells Rojak and Soto using fire wood in the city. My childhood classmate, Lucy was the first to introduce me to this special place. Since then, I came back  occasionally for this food. I was surprised at the location because all these years, I didn't even know it exists and it's only 5 mins from our International airport! It's the Munajat Soto (soup) Stall.

Such food reminded me, cooking as a child with my mother using fire wood.....in those days that's what we used, nothing else but wood. Then later to kerosene stove, gas stove and now induction cooker. 

The advancement of technology in cooking stoves made cooking easier and cleaner. No scrubbing of pots' bottom like I used to do with ashes in the 60's  so that the pot looks good and clean. But the taste of food using fire wood is a lot different compared to other stoves because fire wood enhances the taste of food.

Munajat Soto Cafe

 Puan Asma, owner of the cafe, has moved to this village since 2002 to continue this kampung(village) style business . It was passed down from her mother selling the same menu in a different village. Puan Asma has 7 children, whom 5 of them run the cafe together. The stall is popular in that village area and nearby government offices. They have their own regular customers. During lunch time, seats are full. 

The stall opens at 7.30 am every morning till 2 pm and closed every Saturday to put out the wood to dry under the sun. The wood has to be dried so that  they're less smoky and burnt easily during cooking. 

Even though the number of customers has increased, Puan Asma is worried for the future. She knows that wood is getting harder to find. The prices of wood are more expensive than before but she carries on with the business because most of her customers come back for her food.

Wood for "sun bath"

Dried fire wood ready for use

Authentic Smoking area surrounded by trees.  Seating area made of tree trunk

Soto daging - Beef broth with rice noodle and sliced beef garnished with spring onions.
Soto Ayam - Chicken broth with rice noodle and chicken.

6 Ringgit small bowl and 7.50 Ringgit for big bowl

Rojak Daging - Yellow egg noodle with cucumber, fried bean curd, slices of beef with sweet peanut sauce accompanied with a small bowl of beef soup.

Rojak Ayam - Yellow egg noodle with cucumber, fried bean curd, slices of chicken with sweet peanut sauce accompanied with a small bowl of chicken soup.

6 Ringgit small bowl and 7.50 Ringgit for big bowl

There is no bus or train to bring you here. You need a car or use "grab"/taxis 

 11.30 am

Menu

Lunch time

A simple village style cafe selling only Rojak and Soto

How to locate.......

The next junction, after the junction of RTM (Radio Television Malaysia Broadcasting Building), turn left and then first left again then first right.

In google map, the place is called Warung Kayu Api means Warung fire wood but the stall name is Gerai Soto Munajat 

As I was browsing Utube in July 2023, I happened to see a video on utube posted by Sjane World. There u can see more clearly about this stall. 

I was pleased to see this video. As an elderly I won't be able to do this. Younger generations are more productive for such technology. 😁 You can also subscribe into her channel that linked from her video. I, myself subscribed too😁