It is a good idea to drop by and pay a visit to someone we do not get to see on a regular basis. I did that recently with some family members and close friends, including some past university classmates, who all reside outside Australia. True, it dawned on me, only when I reached there, that it was the fruit season over there -and I do love those fruits, especially mangosteens and durians - but more important to me was the opportunity for saying hi and having a chat, face-to-face, instead of the usual telephone, skype and email.
Mum made her jazzy and tasty version of char koay teow - stir-fried rice noodles with prawns and so forth, unique to Penang - and I did not want to eat that dish from the street hawkers anymore. My sister-in-law Sian Kin made bean paste biscuits (tau snar pneah) and I was addicted to them, they being less sweet than those made by the commercial bakeries. I bumped into my aunt Kuchai and my uncle Peter at a coffee shop near their home - and they joined us for an impromptu breakfast, even if we had met the night before.
I was taken to a live singing venue across the Penang Bridge late one week night - and I thoroughly enjoyed the renditions belted out by a three-person band, whilst also having relaxing drinks with two friends. Part of my culture is that people meet up over food on the table -and in this respect, I concurrently had a food tour of Georgetown, including Hainanese spring rolls (choon pniah), Indian spiced tea (teh tark), tandoori with bread (roti), mung bean dessert drinks (cendol) and a range of Chinese dishes at a downtown club.
Oh yes, the seasonal fruits, of which I had a chance of eating them in the three main cities I visited. The taste is different eating them in the more humid air of the equatorial belt. I had watched with some interest, on pay television at home, the white peppery soup of bak kut teh (pork rib tea)they make in Singapore, as opposed to the darker soup version they sell in Klang (and Wollongong) - and after arrival by air flight from Perth, Bee had taken me to a bright-lit place, near her Singapore home, where they serve exactly that. Cousin Lai Han introduced me to what must be the best fish head flavoured vermicelli (yee tau my fun)in Kuala Lumpur - but she also did not forget my penchant for Malaysian-styled chicken curry puffs from Petaling Jaya. Chet and Karen inculcated me in the different nuances of Katong curry laksa in a lively strip near Joo Chiat, a traditional hub for Singaporean Straits Chinese.
To be continued....
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Tuesday, 21 July 2009
The Airline Test
Here are some observations on my personal experience with three different airlines in July 2009.
At Qantas, they do not seem to stock copies of magazines aboard the aircraft, whether for domestic or international flights. This is a far cry from travel expectations on long haul flights or those above three hours in duration. Perhaps the current global financial crisis has dictated cuts in such basic services.
I did love the user-friendly navigation logic of Q on-board entertainment, better than that of Singapore Air (SIA). Your personal remote control for movies, audio and the like also rests in a more ergonomic way than that for either Malaysian Airlines (MAS) or SIA.
The stiff upper lip is still well alive and kicking in some Qantas cabin crew members - some individual staff members have perfected the art of saying goodbye or thank you to disembarking passengers by looking at the ceiling and not at the customers. However, the demographics of the Flying Kangaroo staff in the air are beginning to reflect the crowds on a Melbourne or Sydney CBD street. Although MAS crew are beginning to perhaps level the playing field by also smiling at non-Caucasian passengers, the best vibes of welcome for every customer are still sent by the beaming smiles of SIA cabin crew. The reality of joint code sharing between two or three airlines on a single consolidated flight may be the best thing to infuse the best of a service culture amongst airlines in alliance.
Qantas does not even print a menu booklet for some passenger sectors on domestic flights. On the other hand, the airline is conscientious to supply gluten-free, dairy free and organic stuff once you have made requests ahead of the flights.
The state of Qantas toilets made me think I was in some crowded city suburb. They no longer meet the standards met only ten years ago - wet, unkempt and perhaps not cleaned on a regular basis for flights of more than three hours.
I applied a simple test on the flights I took on the three airlines recently. This was me asking simply for a pack of playing cards. On the flight from Sydney to Perth, the Qantas crew member said they do not supply such things on domestic flights. From Perth to Singapore, they did not have stocks aboard. The MAS crew were so busy trying to serve rolls and drinks even on a 45 minute haul between the nearby cities of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. When I made the same request on the flight from Penang to Singapore, the lady instinctively gave me three packs instead, surpassing my expectations. And yes, I can confirm that SIA staff members politely look at you when talking to you - they take it to heart that they are in a service industry and business.
At Qantas, they do not seem to stock copies of magazines aboard the aircraft, whether for domestic or international flights. This is a far cry from travel expectations on long haul flights or those above three hours in duration. Perhaps the current global financial crisis has dictated cuts in such basic services.
I did love the user-friendly navigation logic of Q on-board entertainment, better than that of Singapore Air (SIA). Your personal remote control for movies, audio and the like also rests in a more ergonomic way than that for either Malaysian Airlines (MAS) or SIA.
The stiff upper lip is still well alive and kicking in some Qantas cabin crew members - some individual staff members have perfected the art of saying goodbye or thank you to disembarking passengers by looking at the ceiling and not at the customers. However, the demographics of the Flying Kangaroo staff in the air are beginning to reflect the crowds on a Melbourne or Sydney CBD street. Although MAS crew are beginning to perhaps level the playing field by also smiling at non-Caucasian passengers, the best vibes of welcome for every customer are still sent by the beaming smiles of SIA cabin crew. The reality of joint code sharing between two or three airlines on a single consolidated flight may be the best thing to infuse the best of a service culture amongst airlines in alliance.
Qantas does not even print a menu booklet for some passenger sectors on domestic flights. On the other hand, the airline is conscientious to supply gluten-free, dairy free and organic stuff once you have made requests ahead of the flights.
The state of Qantas toilets made me think I was in some crowded city suburb. They no longer meet the standards met only ten years ago - wet, unkempt and perhaps not cleaned on a regular basis for flights of more than three hours.
I applied a simple test on the flights I took on the three airlines recently. This was me asking simply for a pack of playing cards. On the flight from Sydney to Perth, the Qantas crew member said they do not supply such things on domestic flights. From Perth to Singapore, they did not have stocks aboard. The MAS crew were so busy trying to serve rolls and drinks even on a 45 minute haul between the nearby cities of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. When I made the same request on the flight from Penang to Singapore, the lady instinctively gave me three packs instead, surpassing my expectations. And yes, I can confirm that SIA staff members politely look at you when talking to you - they take it to heart that they are in a service industry and business.
Scenes from Singapore
Singapore CBD in miniature
Outlet cooking wantan egg noodles at Tiong Bharu Market Food Court
The new Singapore River mouth
National street food of Singapore - Hainan-styled chicken rice, this stall from Tanjung Pagar Food Centre
Planned Sports Hub for the City State
New and old at Raffles City
Outlet cooking wantan egg noodles at Tiong Bharu Market Food Court
The new Singapore River mouth
National street food of Singapore - Hainan-styled chicken rice, this stall from Tanjung Pagar Food Centre
Planned Sports Hub for the City State
New and old at Raffles City
Equatorial Harvest
Mangosteens and guavas
Hanging durians - the king of fruits - and pomeloes from the grapefruit family
Produce of the Equatorial Belt
View from the highway, travelling north, near limestone outcrops
Jungle string beans (petai), pomeloes, purple coloured mangosteens and sour mangoes
Steamed soft shell groundnuts
Langsat berries, with clear transparent succulent insides after you peel off their thin skins
Hanging durians - the king of fruits - and pomeloes from the grapefruit family
Produce of the Equatorial Belt
View from the highway, travelling north, near limestone outcrops
Jungle string beans (petai), pomeloes, purple coloured mangosteens and sour mangoes
Steamed soft shell groundnuts
Langsat berries, with clear transparent succulent insides after you peel off their thin skins
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Winter Nights
Manly Beach never looked and shone better than on a July winter's night. The electric lights of shop signs took centre stage, with Manly this and Manly that. The white foam of a gentle tide matched the silence of the sea side under an almost full moon. The roads near the Esplanade and the Wharf remained narrow, and fitness obsessed runners trudged their way in the semi-darkness on the surrounding pavements.
We just had dinner at Ginger & Spice along Military Road in Sydney's lower North Shore - a motley but rather amiable group from Alberta (Ed and Adrian), Auckland (Shaun and Adelyn), Wollongong, Cammeray (Ella) and Neutral Bay(Doris, Rob and Arlene). I loved the tender and smooth Hainan chicken rice, accentuated in the mouth with three concoctions - lime-flavoured pound chili sauce, dark soy sauce and a ginger condiment. Doris liked the Singapore noodles, whilst most went for sago dessert, bathed in palm sugar and coconut milk, to close up the meal. I could not resist the ice kacang, a slurpy sorbet ice-shave pile garnished with cooked red beans, pineapple slices, black jelly bits and more. The Singapore styled ice kacang was so different from the Penang version. The chili prawns had an appetising sauce, and contrasted with the stir-fry freshness and clear taste of the bok choy. Meat curry with chicken stock flavoured rice exemplified the fusion of South-east Asian, Indian and Chinese cuisines. The smoked hor fun was definitely Cantonese.
I found a pair of Mossimo black denim that I liked the next evening at Wollongong's Crown Street Mall. Some things are meant to be ours, others for browsing and not taking up at all. Oh yes, there is the Rodd & Gunn trousers that I spotted at the St Ives Village long ago, but did not follow up. On the Saturday night following Adelyn's arrival from Auckland, we discovered a secret gem of an Italian restaurant only three minutes drive from my place. Il Nido was packed even by 6pm, and with lots of families. We were fortunate to get a table - and we tucked in the lamb cutlets wrapped with prosciutto, four types of thin crusted pizza samplings and the seafood fettuccine.
We just had dinner at Ginger & Spice along Military Road in Sydney's lower North Shore - a motley but rather amiable group from Alberta (Ed and Adrian), Auckland (Shaun and Adelyn), Wollongong, Cammeray (Ella) and Neutral Bay(Doris, Rob and Arlene). I loved the tender and smooth Hainan chicken rice, accentuated in the mouth with three concoctions - lime-flavoured pound chili sauce, dark soy sauce and a ginger condiment. Doris liked the Singapore noodles, whilst most went for sago dessert, bathed in palm sugar and coconut milk, to close up the meal. I could not resist the ice kacang, a slurpy sorbet ice-shave pile garnished with cooked red beans, pineapple slices, black jelly bits and more. The Singapore styled ice kacang was so different from the Penang version. The chili prawns had an appetising sauce, and contrasted with the stir-fry freshness and clear taste of the bok choy. Meat curry with chicken stock flavoured rice exemplified the fusion of South-east Asian, Indian and Chinese cuisines. The smoked hor fun was definitely Cantonese.
I found a pair of Mossimo black denim that I liked the next evening at Wollongong's Crown Street Mall. Some things are meant to be ours, others for browsing and not taking up at all. Oh yes, there is the Rodd & Gunn trousers that I spotted at the St Ives Village long ago, but did not follow up. On the Saturday night following Adelyn's arrival from Auckland, we discovered a secret gem of an Italian restaurant only three minutes drive from my place. Il Nido was packed even by 6pm, and with lots of families. We were fortunate to get a table - and we tucked in the lamb cutlets wrapped with prosciutto, four types of thin crusted pizza samplings and the seafood fettuccine.
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