No beef

Weekender, The Star, Scratching Post

For the full text, please click here.

No, I didn't write this headline but it was worth a chuckle anyway.

Wonderful friends ...

...and wonderful pizza :)

... Sepuluh ringgit sahaja! (Obviously I like eating here very much, and not just because it's eminently affordable)

Though the question was at the back of my mind the WHOLE time when I called Frank on Sat night, I waited till the end of our phone conversation before asking timidly, "Where did you go for dinner?"

"AJ. Ta pau."

"Were there anybody who came because of the article?" Gulp. Nervous. Sweat.

"Got."

Phew.

He continued grimly, "A LOT of people. Some cancelled their orders. What to do? He said philosophically. They all came at one shot."

This is one of the reasons I didn't want to write a full-length feature about AJ's Pizza and Pasta. Having tasted the consequences second-hand at Vary Pasta (the writer was so traumatized that he ate his pork knuckle dinner in quiet terror, while the waiters dashed about in a tizzy attending to the avalanche of customers), I knew the consequences of a review in a major national newspaper: pandemonium.

A two-man show like AJ's wouldn't be able to handle a crowd of such mob-like proportions.

All said and done, I was ecstatic when Khan sent me this message: "God bless you. You care for us."

Ah, food for my stomach, heart and soul :)

Going Places, August 2010 - The Malaysian Issue

Say triple whammy, somebody!

Not only did I have three stories in GP, two of them got a cover mention. Thank you so much Vivian. I was walking on air for most of yesterday - still am, I think. Pinch me, somebody ;)

More background details later but for now, may I present (ahem ahem) ...

On the trail of Tunku Abdul Rahman

Thank you Sharifah Intan, Kim Gooi, Cikgu BK Yap, Anthony Law, Lubis and Tan May Lee for your invaluable input. Without you, the story wouldn't have been possible.

Town Tales

Thanks so much for your tips Rabani Ayub (who also has a photo byline in this month's issue), Anthony Law, Kelvin Egay, Boon Tan, Uncle Lim, James Tan of Motormouth fame, Mr Chong Sun Yit ... Pardon if I have accidentally missed anybody out.

Biz Talk: Personality - Jeevan Sahadevan

It was a pleasure working with you, Jeevan :) And thanks Noelle for the introduction.

I just looked at the list and ... oh boy, I owe a LOT A LOT A LOT of people coffee :P

I'm in heaven

To read the full text, please click here.

I thought this was a rather strange title - no, I didn't supply it - until a friend pointed out it could have been extracted from an old pop song:

Pity the picture didn't come out too well in print.

Here's the haul for the rest of the day:

The institutional yong tau fu stall in Madras Lane

The out-of-this-world linguine carbonara I was salivating over a few hours later at Carmen's. Thanks for the tip, Samantha Fong!

All in all, a great day that kind of paid off for itself, although I DID haul myself out of bed at 7.30am and only got back home at nearly midnight after squeezing in 7 appointments in a single day.

Who says freelance shake legs only?

Spunky Madam

To read the full text, please click here

In all honesty, I was never a huge fan of duck until I ate at Madam Heng's. Restaurant Hong Kong was merely another name in my litany of must-visit restaurants for the Perak Good Food Guide, which I was commissioned to write in 2008.

It was lust at first bite - the juicy-fleshed, crispy-skinned duck was simply otherworldly.

Since then, I've been a regular visitor, if not to eat, then just to drop by and shoot the breeze with the amiable auntie who runs the shop.

This story took a while to crystallize. It really is a tapestry of numerous events that seemed random and unconnected and unimportant save for their entertainment value, until the final piece - that dinner that I didn't want to happen but happened anyway - fell into place.

Unanticipated. That's how they all happen right - whether it's the right moment, the right story or the right person? :)

...

To give you an inkling just how good her roast duck is ...

By the way, credits to Wang Shao Ming for the "I am fine, you are fine, we are fine" photo. My bad for forgetting to submit your name, no fault of The Star. Roast duck on me, ya? ;)

Winsome Pekan

To read the full article, please click here

Part II, and some of my other pix that ended up on the chopping floor...

That room which reminds me of my grandma's old house :) At RM55 per night, you can't beat Chief's Rest House for bumper value.

I managed to sneak a quick walking tour of the Royal Quarter before heading back to Kuantan. It was postcard-pretty traditional houses galore :)

My favourite animal - after dogs and cats and goats ...

If you've never seen opor daging in your life - nah!

The Abu Bakar mosque, a majestic sight even against the overcast sky backdrop

Now. Where next? Betong? Gopeng? Dungun .... Just randomly rattling off places that have been suggested to me.

To be continued ;)

Point me to Pekan

Article is here

Taken at Chief's Rest House.

Of course I didn't make it all up :P

I used to go off on off-the-beaten-track jaunts like this ALL the time, before age and its attendant paranoia kicked in .... well, no more!!!

I've resolved to hit the less-trodden road at least once a month (ok lah make that two. Have to cari makan mah. How can I go off charging to obscure little towns so often?)

But I WILL make it a fixture in my schedule. I was lugubrious before I hit the road, and after I came back from Pekan, I was like a new woman!

And if there's anything that Pekan proved, there's nothing like the promise of adventure to put a spring in my step and rekindle the fire in my belly :)

*a thousand anguished editors scream CORNYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY*

Excuse me while I go eat a cup of Nelson's buttered kernels :P

Toodles,

The Flouncy Bouncy Bunny

In case anyone is wondering, I'm working on the sequel to Point me to Pekan right now, hold your horses ya. Not sure if it is going to end up on Navel Gazer or as a travel piece. Will see where the stars lead me.

*And a thousand editors shudder in horror at this shameless use of cliche*

If you're wondering what sar kok liew is ...

This is it!

Or saa kot. Oh well. Saa kot, sar kok liew - a liew by any other name is still damn drool-inducing.

Best eaten dipped in this tangy and spicy home-made chilli sauce.

Drum roll...Chips off the old block. The Gen X Loo brothers, who took over the reins from their parents, will surely do them proud.

To ensure you don't get lost ;)

Got. To. Stop.

Experiencing. Serious. Sar kok liew. Withdrawal. Symptoms.

Now.

Conservation through Children

Community, Going Places, Sept 2009

This story was special for two reasons.

One, it afforded me another welcome opportunity to return to Penang, where I spent my formative adult years. As usual Penang didn't disappoint. Its streets are as colourful and lively as ever. It would seem, from the outset at least, that the charms of Georgetown are relatively insulated from the recent economic meltdown.

Most importantly, it brought me face to face with two extraordinary women: Janet Pillai and Chen Yoke Pin, who along with Kuah Li Feng are the main drivers behind Arts Ed.

Anyone who has lived in Penang would have heard about Anak-Anak Kota, the Arts Ed-initiated programme that aims to preserve local cultural assets through children. Getting secondhand information and actually being part of them are, I discovered, two very different things.

On Saturday morning, I joined the kids on a heritage walk. They streamed in and out of hallowed institutions around the Streets of Harmony, armed with nothing but pencil and paper, maps and a boatload of curiosity. We visited St George's Church, Acheen Mosque, Masjid India, and lots more, all beautifully-preserved, legacy-rich landmarks I'd driven past a zillion times and never even stopped to look, until now.

The weather did little to dampen our spirits. For starters, the facilitators' own enthusiasm for their subject was infectious. Gamely toting umbrellas, we trekked through puddles, huddled on roofed pavements when the rain got too heavy, and even stopped over at a warung where an be-saronged uncle sportingly demonstrated how to pull teh tarik and make roti canai.

Heh. If only my own history lessons were half this fun ...

In that too-short span, I began to develop an appreciation for what Arts Ed has been trying to do in the last ten years: to conserve our legacy through children (thanks for that great headline, Viv!)

Anak-Anak Kota - and by extension, Arts Ed, are a living testament of what real passion can do. Salute, Janet and team.

If you'd like more information about Arts-ED activities and program, Tel/Fax 04-263 3471 or visit www.arts-ed-penang.org

PS Swee Wah, thanks a million for providing the link.

The Iron Horse Driver & Ipoh's Mother-lode of Liew

Food, Weekender, The Star

For the full story, please click here

On lucky occasions, writers stumble upon stories they feel an instant affinity for: stories they enjoy exploring, reliving, and in some cases, eating.

These were two such stories :)

Above is my ode to an all-time Ipoh favourite - liew! Be still my wagging tongue :D

On the same day, this came out:

Scratching post, Weekender, The Star

For the full story, please click here

By now, I already know that these kind of low-wattage pieces about everyman don't register nearly as many hits, but my ode to Abang Azmi of KTM surely ranks as my favourite of all time for now, next to the jungle rain piece I did for Going Places in March 2009.

I must have met Azmi in January or so. After getting down from the train, I jotted down my experience in one breathless rush as soon as I could get my hands on a pc, and filed it away with the dozens (maybe hundreds?) of other drafts I've written and tucked away in my computer.

While I knew his story was too compelling to reserve for my own enjoyment, I just couldn't hit the perfect final note. Even after dozens of drafts, I felt none of them were good enough to do justice to him, nor stand up to public scrunity. At one point, I despaired of it ever seeing the light of day.

The day it came out, I duly sent Azmi an sms in the morning, citing page, section etc.

One of his replies was: "I dah war-war kan artikel you pada kawan-kawan I."

Wow. Don't you think that single sms captured the zeitgeist of his personality, far more eloquently than my 1K whopper?

That man sure has a way with words ;)

Me, cook? Never!

You know what they say: Never say never.

Bunny, who has an almost paralyzing phobia of
a) getting her digits fried in an oven
b) falling facefirst into a wok of scalding hot oil
c) burning the kitchen in the midst of crafting the perfect sunny side up ....

.... whipped up Malaysian style pasta aglio olio!

And, it was not just edible *cough*. Proof: Me, cook? Never!

By the time I remembered to record this epoch-making moment for posterity, the last morsel had been devoured, so sorry folks, no pix.

What can I say. Wonders never cease ;)

*rolls up sleeves and flips open recipe book*

PS I enjoyed the writing almost as much as I enjoyed the cooking ;)

PPS Have been lax in updating my food blogs in Malaysian Insider.

This was a food review I did of Rajah Brooke Cafe.

Pondok of goodness

Food, Weekender, The Star
For the full story, please click here

What do I love about mom and pop shops? Everything! The down-to-earth prices. The unpretentious service. But most of all, the soul in the food.

For parents aka lovable perfectionists, every detail is a matter of fierce beating pride. Whether it is a hearty bowl of kon loe min, or seasoning for onion rings, no culinary endeavour is too insignificant to be left to chance.

So much as SUGGEST that their standards for the day, are less than sterling, and I'll bet your kitchen artiste (Because that's what they are, no less) would turn ashen, accept your assessment with trembling lips, escape into the kitchen before thumping their chests Tarzan-style, and proceeding to dump the whole fleet of sauces and with a vengeance.

Proof can be found no further than The Headmaster, who once bellowed at his trembling assistant, "Don't leave the potatos exposed to air! Now cannot use already. You have to dump the whole tupperware!"

Oklah, one swallow does not make a flock, but you get my point :)

Make no mistake, for a parent, every epicurean endeavour is a fierce commitment to love.

And Pondok, you will find upon entering its heartwarming premises, is another passionate testament to this philosophy.

KL City Tour

Only two words to describe my reaction when I got my April 2009 copy of Going Places: Shock and awe.

That was before I flipped to my article and went Holy crap.



















12 Hours, Going Places, April 2009

I walked past this building, went inside, gabbed excitedly about it to the editor, waxed lyrical about it and yet never in my wildest would expect it to look this good in print.

I guess this is what separates the wannabe (photographers) from the already-theres.

Righto. Back to (amateur) photography 101 for me :(

On the bright side, I never knew buildings could be so exciting.

I perambulated through Dataran Merdeka. Soaked up the atmosphere at Sin Seng Nam over a plate of Hainanese chicken rice. Witnessed the abhisega ceremony at Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, during which Lord Murugan, Lord Ganesh and Seri Mariaamma's figurines are showered with buckets of unguents (yoghurt, milk, saffron, coconut water, honey etc) in individual stalls. Absorbed fascinating historical trivia about Yap Ah Loy and gang at the Taoist Sze Ya temple, named after his “Tze Ya” (an honorific for Yap's subordinates who were killed during the civil war) - one of whom was said to ooze white blood, hence cementing his deity status.

In other words, I played tourist to the hilt and enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks to KL boy, practising architect and ardent conservationist Lim Take Bane, for his invaluable input in helping me plan the itinerary.

Most importantly, this walkabout changed my perception about buildings. I finally understood what my passionate historian and architecture buff friend, H, meant by "Buildings are repositories of history. All human stories have an indisputable connection with different buildings."

The happy side effect?

These days I drive my friends batty when they drive me around and I go, "Hey, that's art deco" or "Oh look Moorish architecture"

The Chinese will say, "Sik siew siew pan toi piew" (Know a little but pretend to be an authority on the subject) :P

Ok, H, what were you saying about a crash course in architecture?

An angel in Chow Kit

Scratching Post, Weekender, 28 March 2009

For the full text, please click here

Cartoon credits: a certain Ms Charmaine Hon, brilliant writer and artist friend :)

A friend summed it up best: "There are Alberts in many parts of the world whose work go unnoticed and unrecognized all the time."

How does this sound (as a book title): "To all the Angels I've met before"

or

"To all the unsung Alberts in the world..."

Okok, no more cheese for the benefit of the lactose intolerant :)

This morning, I called Albert to apprise him of his 15 minutes of fairly anonymous fame. He didn't know I was going to do it of course.

I didn't either, up until last week, when I felt the story had matured sufficiently. A lot of encounters reside and percolate indefinitely - sometimes for too long - in my mind as half-baked stories, before they're eventually fleshed out and published. Anymore dithering and this one would probably gotten buried under other abandoned because yours truly got her knickers in a bunch over yet another fresh encounter ...

Albert, on the off chance that you're reading this, I hope this made your day.

Railway Junket

Going Places, March 2009

So so so ... did the highly anticipated jungle train ride live up to our sky-high expectations?

You bet!



















Don't underestimate this gingerly old girl, she goes so fast, it's like surfing on rails! Now if only all assignments were this fun :D




















There's a chicken in that basket, if you didn't know that already. The Gua Musang platform turns into a makeshift market when the passengers from up north disembark. Read the full story when you get your copy of GP on Malaysia Airlines lah :D

I actually had a ton of photos from my own collection - but ... I lost all my photos when my hard disk crashed recently ... *dabs eyes tearfully*

I know! I'll just have to go there again!

Train ride, anyone? :)

Triple whammy!

Lesson from the Children
Trivial Pursuits, Weekender, The Star
For the full story, please click here




















Woot!
Positive responses to my last story Of Trains & New Friends

And ....

Let them Eat Bread ...or Cream Puffs or Egg Tarts

I'm a happy bunny today :)

Your Guide to Malaysian Festivals

I love this month's Going Places (MAS' inflight magazine). Stunning photographs, absorbing articles, and ... I got a whole 9 pages! :D

Interestingly, it was GP which actually sparked my interest in my cultural roots. While doing research for a Chinese New Year article last year, I discovered just how deeply steeped in fascinating folklore and customs the Chinese culture is. Now I know why the Chinese elders always harp on their 5000 years of ancient history - it's bragging rights well deserved!

Dang. Now I wish I'd paid more attention in POL class - then I wouldn't be going "huh?" when my dad, mum, Sam and Chang start inserting perplexing Chinese idioms into our conversation!

Try this on for size. Do you know that "pat yuet sap mmm"(literally 15th of the 8th Chinese calendar month) is a genteel euphemism for your derriere???

Of trains and making friends

Out and About, Weekender, The Star
For the full article, please click here
For the background of this article, please click here

Insider Food Corner

I've recently started contributing food articles to The Malaysian Insider

Pork knuckle at Ming Chun Kee Seafood, Petaling Jaya

Chee cheong fun at Kedai Kopi Yei Lock, Ipoh (pic above)

Hearty kopitiam fare at Joy Cafe, Happy Garden, Off Jalan Klang Lama

Slurp away :)

Perak Good Food Guide

Not a word whatsoever of sar kok liew?

What a travesty.

Many a balmy morning, my homies and I would be sitting in a coffee shop and munching on our umpteenth piece of sar kok liew and tearing our hair out in frustration. Why, in the name of the Kitchen God, hasn't this delicious snack been recognized, nay, celebrated in any food tome of note?




















That oversight has been corrected - FINALLY - in this shiny new food guide by Flavours, which yours truly had a part to play in :)

So go on, hotfoot it to the nearest good bookstore and find out how something so simple as flour, water and yambean, can taste oh-so-divinely sublime (ok, ok, cliche overload)

I'd like to say that the most rewarding part about doing this book is rectifying this oversight, but but that is only the tip of the iceberg of satisfaction I felt, when I ran my fingers through the leaves of the finished product for the first time.

I hope this book will do fabulously well :)

Not just because I had a part to play in it, and it leads you to over 180 hugely satisfying eats, from the famous Ipoh white coffee and sar hor fun to the yummy, but little known sar kok liew, but more importantly, the Perak Good Food Guide has tried to give a face and recognition to the people who contribute to the vibrancy and diversity of the Ipoh culinary scene.

Eat your heart out :)

Laidback Charm

Town Break, Going Places (MAS in-flight magazine), October 2008

If there was ever an article borne out of serendipity, this must be it.

Last year, Philip and Siew Ee read an arty I wrote about Sungai Petani and asked on a whim: would I like to follow them to her hometown Kluang for a weekend getaway?




















This travelogue is the result of that spontaneous trip :)




















I love the quaint town, non sequiturs, anomalies, quirks and all: Every shop seems to display the Malaysian flag alongside the Johor one! Somebody dish out a patriotism award, quick!




















Everybody was so lovely. How can I ever repay all of them for their generosity?

From the Lims who were my hosts, to the Kluang Tourism Department secretary who gave a lift to a stranded stranger with little persuasion, to the enigmatic Mansor Poh, a Johor icon I got to know under completely serendipitous circumstances, Kluangites are shining beacons of true Malaysian hospitality.

To Philip, Siew Ee, Uncle Lim, Li Poh, Jit Pang, Barney, Jit Chiang, Ash, Mansor, Kelvin Oon (for those fantastic photographs!), and anyone else I may have inadvertently missed out:

Thank you for reminding me why I love travel writing. As a writer, I am occasionally privileged to enjoy the perks of the job: glitzy hotels, five star restaurants, and glamorous itineraries.

But nothing could ever match the heartfelt warmth of the people who make going places such an joyful affair.















Must cam-whore lah! (Hamming it up with cobbler Ng Chen Lim, of Kedai Kasut Guan Kim)

If anybody wants the full text, you're welcome to write to me at alexandra.lywong@gmail.com