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…

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The BIG Bibik & The Little Nyonyas from YeinJee's Asian Journal

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Lucky wild boars at Indian temple in Malaysia from YeinJee's Asian Journal

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.

Michael Rogge – Old Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from YeinJee's Asian Journal

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

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Klias Wetland, Sabah, Malaysia from YeinJee's Asian Journal

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…

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Ramadan bazaar, Seberang Jaya, Penang from YeinJee's Asian Journal

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.

Avril Lavigne’s KL concert is back on from YeinJee's Asian Journal

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

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Chinese banquet, Kok Thai Restaurant, Ipoh from YeinJee's Asian Journal

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

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7-Eleven in Hualian, Taiwan from YeinJee's Asian Journal

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Sky Bar, Traders Hotel, Kuala Lumpur from YeinJee's Asian Journal