The BIG Bibik & The Little Nyonyas is the latest project from my online friend Quachee. It’s an online cookshow showcasing the Peranakan (or Nyonya) cuisine.
Peranakan refers to descendants of foreign immigrants (primarily Chinese) who assimilated with the Nusantara community during the 15th & 16th century and created a unique culture of their own. Chinese-Peranakan is often referred to as Baba (male) and Nyonya (female).
The BIG Bibik & The Little Nyonyas revolves around a Peranakan grandmother teaching her grandchildren and friends on the art of cooking Nyonya dishes. Below are the first four (of eight) webisodes…
Read the rest of this post »
An Indian temple in Taiping, Malaysia, is attracting hundreds of daily visitors hoping to get some luck by wrestling interacting with some wild boars…
Read the rest of this post »
City of Kuala Lumpur in 1961. Video by Michael Rogge, (former) banker and cinematographer from Netherlands who was stationed in Asia in 1950s…
There’s a huge video collection of Rogge during his stay in Japan and Hong Kong from 1949 to 1961, which I absolutely adore… it’s a valuable cultural heritage imo. You can check all his works on his Youtube channel.
Klias Wetland is a mangrove forest reserve in Sabah, famous for being the habitat of the endangered proboscis monkey (known for its big, long nose) that is endemic to the Borneo Island in South East Asia.
Klias Wetland was the first destination during our Kinabalu trip in March 2009; it was my second visit to the place (first in 2006). Sharing some photos below…
Proboscis monkey… blurred, couldn’t get a better shot from distance
Read the rest of this post »
Ramadan is a Muslim religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, in which the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.
Ramadan is the Islamic month of fasting… Muslims would not eat or drink anything from true dawn until sunset [more on Wiki]
Ramadan is huge in Malaysia with Islam being the predominant religion; temporarily food markets (pasar ramadan) would be set up in various places during the month for the convenience of the Muslims to buy their food for breaking of fasts.
As for non-Muslim, it’s a month to sample a great varieties of dishes and cuisines from the Ramadan markets; it’s also quite a popular season for foreign travellers to visit Malaysia for the traditional food and cultural experience.
Sharing some photos from a Ramadan bazaar in Seberang Jaya, Penang…
Read the rest of this post »
It’s official, Avril’s KL concert is on. The Malaysian authority has changed their mind with the earlier decision to bar the Canadian pop star from performing in Kuala Lumpur on August 29th.
Avril has told MTV earlier that the concert will go ahead as planned; and there were other sources hinting that Galaxy Group, the concert promoter, has successfully appeal to the initial ban. It has now been officially confirmed that the show will go on.
Earlier this week, Malaysian authority made the call to bar Avril from performing as scheduled, stating that the concert is unsuitable for Malaysian culture, particularly not when the country is celebrating independence day on August 31st.
The decision echoed the call from an Islamic opposition party for the show to be scrapped, that the show is considered too sexy for Malaysians and would promote the wrong values as Malaysia’s independence day is looming near.
It’s almost deja vu for Malaysians… as the authority had barred Indonesian singer Inul Daratista from performing in late July 2008 following similar protest that her performance was too erotic. Luckily for Avril’s fans, Galaxy has managed to appeal for the concert to run as planned.
Do mind that Malaysians in general are not that conservative; in fact lots of the Muslims are quite liberal in these kind of matters. Unfortunately the men that make the initial decision were not quite as open minded… glad that the final decision makers are showing more sense.
A Chinese banquet is normally held during special occasions, like weddings, new year, festivals, or sometimes a family gathering or business meeting. A typical Chinese banquet will have 8-10 dishes on its menu.
Some photos of a Chinese banquet, taken during my family dinner at Kok Thai Restaurant in Ipoh, Malaysia last weekend…
The appetiser, or the ‘cold dish’ in Chinese, is often the indicator of how good the restaurant is; the food presentation is vital and sometimes more important than the taste
Read the rest of this post »
It has become a habit of mine to visit franchises like 7-Eleven or McDonald’s when I visit to different countries. Although they are similar in every countries, normally each places would have their own unique stuff that are not available elsewhere.
It has also become a habit of mine to taste different (local) beer and instant noodles when I visit different countries…
Taiwan beer, at a 7-Eleven store in Hualian… very mild
Read the rest of this post »
