Sydney's Apple Store, second largest in the company network
Town Hall in the heart of the CBD
Dusk at the iconic Harbour Bridge
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Sunday, 2 August 2009
Sydney Sentiment
Twilight at Circular Quay 1 August 09
Sydney's Apple Store, second largest in the company network
Town Hall in the heart of the CBD
Dusk at the iconic Harbour Bridge
Sydney's Apple Store, second largest in the company network
Town Hall in the heart of the CBD
Dusk at the iconic Harbour Bridge
Friday, 31 July 2009
One Night at Ee-Laine Yap's Possum's Nest
Refreshing Greens
Marinated Prawn Entree
Duck Slices on a Rocket Bed, garnished with Lychees
The Mains
The Dessert
Marinated Prawn Entree
Duck Slices on a Rocket Bed, garnished with Lychees
The Mains
The Dessert
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
A Presence in Paddington, Sydney
Old and New
Just Round The Corner
The First Ever Max Brenner
Street Art
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The Iconic Paddington Terrace
Sign for the Optometrist
Window Shopping, Literally
Past Heritage
Just Round The Corner
The First Ever Max Brenner
Street Art
.jpg)
The Iconic Paddington Terrace
Sign for the Optometrist
Window Shopping, Literally
Past Heritage
Friday, 24 July 2009
Catching Up, Three and More
I was so bowled over being able to see my cousin Yin again on July 13. In my opinion, she is an outstanding graphic specialist and advertising-marketer in the extended Yong family. It was so special to me to be able to sit down to share a meal
with her, my uncle and aunt and Yin's sister Honey at the Purple Cane Restaurant at Shaw Parade in the heart of old Kuala Lumpur, the part where its illustrious founder Kapitan Yap Ah Loy and peers congregated in the early historical days of the city.
The food was delightfully light and yet tasty, with tea-infused flavours and attention to detail. I felt revitalised. My aunt had cooked her unique black vinegar dish at home the evening before - another cousin, Lai Wan, and her hubby Shaun, had also brought over delicious satay for an apparently deprived visitor from Wollongong.
Still in old KL, that same Monday morning, I had the opportunity to taste again the traditional south Chinese congee. It may be the character of the place but the taste had an old world charm and zing that cannot be replicated in Sydney's Chinatown outlets.
The yum cha brunch on July 19 at the Prima Revolving Tower offered more than food - the views showed the intricate results of stringent and strategic planning by a Government which knows how little land they have as territory. In the eighties, one could go across to Sentosa Isle either by cable car or ferry boat. The former means are still there, with two stations on the destination isle and many more operating coaches. However , Sentosa is now linked by a bridge to the main island of Singapore, with the MRT trains in striking colours shuttling like toys between the Vivio stations and those on Sentosa itself. It was a truly hot equatorial day for getting the beach tan my peers would love after a day's basking on a Bondi summer's day. Traces of the old Sentosa - the giant Merlion, wax museum and Siloso Beach - remain as anchor attractions, but in 2010, the Universal Studios Theme Park and nearby casinos in an environment of an integrated resort will bid for the tourist dollar with Macau, Bangkok, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Neil and Yeen Yee's wedding dinner at the Sunway Lagoon in the Kelang Valley offered much toasting, the elegant beauty of the bride and Neil's just-right speech. Neil looked so tanned already in his tropical sojourn to Malaysia, even before the bridal entourage's journeys to the islands of Penang and Langkawi. Neil's parents, uncle, aunt and others in the immediate Irish family had come all the way from Dublin, where they had another recpetion at the Hilton in that city just a week before. The dessert at the Malaysian Chinese reception signified the roundness of the marital union, and the other banquet dishes had meaningful connotations of prosperity, happiness and togetherness. I caught up with Yeen Yee's grandmother in the outer reception hall after so many years.
To be continued
with her, my uncle and aunt and Yin's sister Honey at the Purple Cane Restaurant at Shaw Parade in the heart of old Kuala Lumpur, the part where its illustrious founder Kapitan Yap Ah Loy and peers congregated in the early historical days of the city.
The food was delightfully light and yet tasty, with tea-infused flavours and attention to detail. I felt revitalised. My aunt had cooked her unique black vinegar dish at home the evening before - another cousin, Lai Wan, and her hubby Shaun, had also brought over delicious satay for an apparently deprived visitor from Wollongong.
Still in old KL, that same Monday morning, I had the opportunity to taste again the traditional south Chinese congee. It may be the character of the place but the taste had an old world charm and zing that cannot be replicated in Sydney's Chinatown outlets.
The yum cha brunch on July 19 at the Prima Revolving Tower offered more than food - the views showed the intricate results of stringent and strategic planning by a Government which knows how little land they have as territory. In the eighties, one could go across to Sentosa Isle either by cable car or ferry boat. The former means are still there, with two stations on the destination isle and many more operating coaches. However , Sentosa is now linked by a bridge to the main island of Singapore, with the MRT trains in striking colours shuttling like toys between the Vivio stations and those on Sentosa itself. It was a truly hot equatorial day for getting the beach tan my peers would love after a day's basking on a Bondi summer's day. Traces of the old Sentosa - the giant Merlion, wax museum and Siloso Beach - remain as anchor attractions, but in 2010, the Universal Studios Theme Park and nearby casinos in an environment of an integrated resort will bid for the tourist dollar with Macau, Bangkok, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Neil and Yeen Yee's wedding dinner at the Sunway Lagoon in the Kelang Valley offered much toasting, the elegant beauty of the bride and Neil's just-right speech. Neil looked so tanned already in his tropical sojourn to Malaysia, even before the bridal entourage's journeys to the islands of Penang and Langkawi. Neil's parents, uncle, aunt and others in the immediate Irish family had come all the way from Dublin, where they had another recpetion at the Hilton in that city just a week before. The dessert at the Malaysian Chinese reception signified the roundness of the marital union, and the other banquet dishes had meaningful connotations of prosperity, happiness and togetherness. I caught up with Yeen Yee's grandmother in the outer reception hall after so many years.
To be continued
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
Catching Up Too
Kuan Hong kept me captivated on his tales of the Shenzhen woods. We were there with Mui Na at Spinelli Cafe in Novena, Singapore,where we all had a night cap after a effective degustation at Lao Beijing Restaurant of the Tung Lok Chain. What caught my imagination was that Kuan Hong spoke highly of the entrepreneur-like ambitions of each of his staff, and that each one of them went all out to make the extra effort at work.
The Friday before, Mui Na had shown me some hidden aspects of north-east Singapore Island. Skirting Changi, we had arrived at a well-maintained park in Punggol, within hearing range of the sea waves lapping up the Johor coast and where cycling, skating and running were encouraged. I saw the massive developments at Sengkang, Pasir Ris and Tampines, where new Housing Development Board flats looked more like commercial beauties. After a home made lunch, we went to a nearby shopping centre where the $2 wares at a pretty Daizo store dazzled me with its wide variety of inventory and the over whelming impressions of Japanese pink red across its shelves. It puts the Australian $2 shops to utter shame.
The same Daizo store appeared at the Pavilions in the heart of Kuala Lumpur City, where Bob and Sanei had taken me to Ichiban for a Japanese lunch. Oh yes, sea urchins, roast tender eel and salmon egg roe are my weaknesses. I then came across Gaik Lian, originally from Penang, on the wide pedestrian pavements - come to think of it, she and I never have to make appointments, for we often bumped into each other casually in KL, the last time being in the Mid-Valley shopping mall. I love such casualness, whether with Gaik Lian or with Ewe Joo and Yew Ting showing me some exercises in qi gong. Joo and Ting had taken me to the Klang Town bah kut teh (pork rib tea) one Sunday morning, and I loved the bustling crowds at coffee shops serving this iconic food of Klang.
On a Saturday morning, I was immersed in the history and nuances of Straits Chinese culture at the recently set-up Armenian Street Peranakan Museum in Singapore. The dazzling jewelry of Baba bling from the pre-war days of rich families in Malacca and Penang could still not match the intensity of my interest in the displayed heirlooms, conveniently stored in various rooms which reflected the daily life in cooking, porcelain used, bedroom regalia, wedding customs, kitchen utensils, antique furniture, family relationships and so forth. Karen Chiang volunteered as an English-speaking guide for two hour walkabouts - Bee and I were fortunate to catch her delightful and informative tour at the reception as we stepped in around 11am that day.
That Saturday evening, the Shangri La Singapore was already encouraging pre-orders of their delightful mooncakes for September. Kit, Bee and I were having a kaiseiki dinner at its Japanese outlet of Nadaman. It can be so relaxing to be with friends in ambient surroundings and to partake in crafted food. Shared experiences, whether for nostalgia, adventure or new things, form nurturing bonds. They reinvigorate and make us cherish. Add with laughter, ease of conversation and a gradual pace, and one is revitalised. We reaffirm our convictions with mates or relatives and mutually grow new perspectives in our hearts. We take comfort in our roots and memories, and use them to jump into unknown dimensions, but knowingly with the support of continuing friendships and new experiences.
To be continued.....
The Friday before, Mui Na had shown me some hidden aspects of north-east Singapore Island. Skirting Changi, we had arrived at a well-maintained park in Punggol, within hearing range of the sea waves lapping up the Johor coast and where cycling, skating and running were encouraged. I saw the massive developments at Sengkang, Pasir Ris and Tampines, where new Housing Development Board flats looked more like commercial beauties. After a home made lunch, we went to a nearby shopping centre where the $2 wares at a pretty Daizo store dazzled me with its wide variety of inventory and the over whelming impressions of Japanese pink red across its shelves. It puts the Australian $2 shops to utter shame.
The same Daizo store appeared at the Pavilions in the heart of Kuala Lumpur City, where Bob and Sanei had taken me to Ichiban for a Japanese lunch. Oh yes, sea urchins, roast tender eel and salmon egg roe are my weaknesses. I then came across Gaik Lian, originally from Penang, on the wide pedestrian pavements - come to think of it, she and I never have to make appointments, for we often bumped into each other casually in KL, the last time being in the Mid-Valley shopping mall. I love such casualness, whether with Gaik Lian or with Ewe Joo and Yew Ting showing me some exercises in qi gong. Joo and Ting had taken me to the Klang Town bah kut teh (pork rib tea) one Sunday morning, and I loved the bustling crowds at coffee shops serving this iconic food of Klang.
On a Saturday morning, I was immersed in the history and nuances of Straits Chinese culture at the recently set-up Armenian Street Peranakan Museum in Singapore. The dazzling jewelry of Baba bling from the pre-war days of rich families in Malacca and Penang could still not match the intensity of my interest in the displayed heirlooms, conveniently stored in various rooms which reflected the daily life in cooking, porcelain used, bedroom regalia, wedding customs, kitchen utensils, antique furniture, family relationships and so forth. Karen Chiang volunteered as an English-speaking guide for two hour walkabouts - Bee and I were fortunate to catch her delightful and informative tour at the reception as we stepped in around 11am that day.
That Saturday evening, the Shangri La Singapore was already encouraging pre-orders of their delightful mooncakes for September. Kit, Bee and I were having a kaiseiki dinner at its Japanese outlet of Nadaman. It can be so relaxing to be with friends in ambient surroundings and to partake in crafted food. Shared experiences, whether for nostalgia, adventure or new things, form nurturing bonds. They reinvigorate and make us cherish. Add with laughter, ease of conversation and a gradual pace, and one is revitalised. We reaffirm our convictions with mates or relatives and mutually grow new perspectives in our hearts. We take comfort in our roots and memories, and use them to jump into unknown dimensions, but knowingly with the support of continuing friendships and new experiences.
To be continued.....
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