Holy Basil Restaurant, Canley Heights - Sydney

Holy Basil's reputation precedes my experience eating there, and so when Lin organised a lunch meet up for the six of us at a group meal, I was looking forward to try the place out. Holy Basil has two outlets, one in Sydney CBD at the Shark Hotel along the upper end of Liverpool Street (not the Spanish quarter nearer Darling Harbour), and the original place in Canley Heights, in the western suburbs of the greater Sydney region.  We arrived early at the Canley Heights restaurant, run by the Inthavong family, on a persistently rainy day, was prepared for the no bookings scenario and were generally delighted with the taste and quality of the dishes served.  Above, Thai inspired tom yum soup, spicy, aromatic and with a thicker soup than other versions. I loved the mushrooms and herbal essence.  Below, the stir fried mussels on the shell are provided  with a plethora of herbs like chili jams, basil and fresh chili cuts.

Deep fried starters, like marinated wings (Peak Kai Tod), are always a winner (image below), especially when accompanied by different sauces.  The fellow lunchers that day were a mixture of family, twenty somethings, regulars and repeat visitors.  There is a wholesome range at the bar, particularly with labels such as Singha, Peroni and Heineken beers; Peter Lehmann and Yalumba wines from South Australia; and Sauvignon Blanc from the Nautilus Estate Marlborough in New Zealand.

The Som Tam (papaya salad ala Thai) above contrasts with the entree of

the Yum Pla Muk (calamari salad) below, served with garnishings of Spanish onion slices and a twist of fresh lemon.  These two dishes make Holy Basil very much infused with Thai cuisine in its menu, but the trick is also to savour the Laotian offerings.

The range of desserts is limited but we enjoyed the sticky coconut black  rice pudding

(pictured above), that came with durians (below) and strawberries.

The motto of Holy Basil is "Eat. Drink. Laugh".  We certainly did that - and also chatted much. My impressions of the Holy Basil Restaurant in Canley Heights are:

Atmosphere:  Suburban but also yuppie..

Location:  Busy, buzzing and lively.

Taste:  Above expectations.

People Engagement:  Friendly.

Service:  Responsive, although the table was a tad small for a group of six.  Dishes came out rather fast but that is good.

Best Time to Visit: An hour before everybody expects to turn up for dinner or lunch.

Fav Dish Experienced:  Tom Yum.

Would I Return?:  Definitely yes.

John suggested the Pad Kee Mao ( with flat rice noodles and a spicy kick) and it was an eye opener. Dishes I have an eye for in the future at Holy Basil are the Thai fried rice with crab meat (Khao Pad Pu); the soft shell crab; the Pla Sam Rod (deep fried fish of your choice with three different sauces, a real test of any Thai restaurant); Lao grilled pork sausages; and the unusual chicken feet salad.  The brave can brace for the Lu Oi Bo, an ox tongue special.

The final picture above was not taken at Holy Basil. We decided to look for Vietnamese brew and took seats at the Canley Heights Corner Cafe, where we also has ice cream servings of vanilla, guava and durian flavours, with a milkshake based on another tropical fruit.

Pun Chun Restaurant, Bidor, Perak

I am told that the main reason for dropping by Bidor, a small town in southern Perak in Malaysia, is to obtain the chance to savour the braised duck noodles, pictured above. Bathed in herbal soup, it is a pleasant lunch dish or snack to bite into the well marinated duck breast, accompanied by noodles of your choice and enjoy this classic Cantonese street food.  Bidor lies in a unique hub with nearby Kampar and Teluk Intan, in a region with light industrial facilities, palm oil plantations and an ethnic Chinese community with roots of migration after experience of civil conflict both in China and from the local triad wars of a century past.  Kampar is the iconic home town of Olivia Lum, a key contributor to NewWater in Singapore and a dynamic business woman in her own right.  The region also has a rich historical past - in the 20th century, it saw the Japanese incursions and later was in the centre of the Malayan Communist insurgency, and many hundred years before that, it was flourishing with Hindu and Buddhist socio-political and cultural activities.  Below, a snapshot of the seedless guava fruit, of which Bidor is well known for.

The well established Pun Chun restaurant, located at a street corner along the main strip of Bidor ( 38 to 40 Jalan Besar) - picture above - specialises in a few signature dishes, but what I love best is the wu kok (or deep fried yam balls), one of the staples of yum cha sessions. (image below)  Here one gets gratifying flavours of the inside fillings - like roast pork bites, peas and meshed yam - after first savouring the crispy outside.  Pun Chun also has a branch in the Kota Kemuning section of Shah Alam in Selangor.  I have not been back to Bidor since varsity days and so this recent opportunity was especially appreciated.  My other fondness is for the unique baked chicken biscuits (kai chai peng in Cantonese).

Another attraction of Bidor is in its variety of baked stuff, pickles, dried condiments and biscuits (above). The pomelos of Perak (below) are steeped in Malaysian Chinese traditions and practices, especially for the Mooncake Festival, and are often snapped up by travellers along the North-South Highway of peninsular Malaysia.  I also came upon the petai, a kind of long bean variety, significantly utilised in Malay and Indonesian cooking for their strong flavours to infuse into the dish or just eaten on its own (with a kick to the palate and very much an acquired taste).

I did recall with fondness the unique satisfaction of eating soy sauced stir egg noodles in Bidor. Served with a slightly fatty version of the char siew (Cantonese roast pork) - Sydney outlets tend to use too much lean cuts and lose some of the flavours in this manner - greens and the vinegar soaked green chili cuts (pictures below and above), my expectations were high on arrival at the Pun Chun Restaurant with my brothers and families.  Everything was fine that afternoon, except for the egg noodles served - they were shades below in texture, flavour and integrity and did a disservice to the reputation of Pun Chun Restaurant.   The egg noodles I had in Johor Baru more than a year ago and recently in Shah Alam were much better.

The elderly man who is in charge of the wu kok sales was friendly and did not mind a chart (above).

Round coloured bean paste cakes below are used for festive wedding occasions (below).  Notice the insignia on top of each pink and yellow piece.

Local mangoes (above) are sold in market stalls outside the Pun Chun Restaurant,whilst you are greeted on arrival at the restaurant by hanging pieces of juicy char siew, steamed whole chickens with skin and various condiments of the business. (below)

Would I return? Most probably for  the wu kok. The staff I met that day were helpful, especially the matriarch suggesting to me the current two versions of the kai chai peng.  Pun Chun was a very busy place, with a long shelf of snacks, tit bits and biscuits all ready packed for sale along one side of the two shopfront outlet.

On the Road, Me and You, and a Dog named Boo

Ah, the rather comforting accessories on any travel trip, if we can get them.  Australian accommodation notoriously do not provide toothbrushes and toothpaste, but most Asian countries pamper hotel and motel guests with them.  (picture above) For nutrition and health, always get the local milk and orange juice (below).

The camera is vital, whether you have it on an IPhone, IPad, compact or an SLR.  On arriving home, you then have the leisure to look out for things that somehow you did not see whilst you were actually there. (image below by Mr Yong Chung Shen) I reckon its is useful to back up your images and videos somewhere routinely along the route, so that you minimise the risks of not having them when you arrive home. Camera equipment can be a hassle to carry, but in the end it is just to have a picture record.

A most awaited and welcome scene at the end of a rather tiring but satisfying day out (image above).
Occasionally, you need to dress up for the unique shot or function, a rather contrasting change to the boardshorts, cargo pants, thongs and t-shirt unavoidable in practical travel gear (picture below by Mr Yong Chung Shen).

And before I forget, always have a great travelling companion.  Apart from the passport, tickets and money! At times, you do meet memorable mates along the way, like Lucy above in Penang.

Return to Malacca

Malacca offers a kaleidoscope of colours, tastes and images.  Sitting on one of the world's most important trade and travel routes, this city state has much to reveal below its current status. Its rather small physical configuration belies the vast amount of riches and political power that it once held sway over. You can catch glimpses of traditional houses built on stilts in the

Malacca Malay style,  the Catholic Church of St Francis Xavier and the Melaka tree. You feel the past grandeur of China Hill and suggestions of connections to China's Ming Dynasty.  Control of Malacca meant great influence in South-east Asia.  The Eurasian iconic dish Devil's Curry came from Malacca.  The Cheng Hoon Teng and St Paul's Church attest to racial and social harmony long before its modern transformations.  Above, my favourite Malaysian desert of cendol and below, the otak-otak, a fish-based savoury mousse often seen wrapped in banana leaves before being steamed.

We  had a most interesting encounter with durians (above), sitting on a pavement table, savouring the freshly opened delights, in this case, bitter-tinged creamy custard fruit surrounding small seeds.

I could not resist capturing an image of the ice shaving machine (above) along one of the narrow side streets in Malacca. The petite bowls are used to serve the ice kacang, a concoction of a dessert incorporating various bite sized ingredients heaped with syrup on an ice cone.  There are many delightful discoveries for the eye and palate as you take the time to explore hidden and open alleys and streets - and these include the fast depleting supply of furniture and porcelain antiques, the fast emerging display of modern plastic junk and the variety of food and drinks in between.

The highlight of our day was sampling the cendol, a sweet based dessert using a palm sugar that bears the name of the city itself - Gula Melaka. I was very pleased that we had chosen the version served at A Formosa along Jonkers Street. Cendol refers to the slippery green coloured bits of mung bean included in the refreshing summer time dessert which comes served with ice shavings, syrup and jelly bits. (image above)

You can take home small sachets of the organic sugar (picture below), which is utilised extensively in Straits Chinese, Malay and Indonesian cooking, especially for cakes, snacks and drinks. In the foreground of the picture below are bottles of dark soy sauce, important as condiments to accompany Hainan chicken rice.  Malacca's historic quarter is great for walking tours, where, once you are hungry, you can encounter good versions of curry mee, Taiwan sweets, Straits Chinese or Nyonya cakes (like ondeh-ondeh), southern Chinese baked biscuits  (usually with almonds and bean paste as ingredients) , oyster egg omelettes, satay celup and tamarind-infused savoury dishes.  We had a local coffee brew before we left Malacca - there was even another shop offering the best coffee mixes from each of the 13 states in Malaysia.  I did not get to the Portuguese Village to sample influences from Goa, Portugal and Malaysia.

Capitol Satay reputedly offers consistently tasty satay celup, which is a form of steamboat satay (satay here being meat skewers grilled over charcoal).  Ondeh ondeh is a Malay term for bite-sized green coloured balls coated with coconut shavings - the sweetness inside melts in your mouth due to its essential ingredients of Gula Melaka and pandanus flavours.

We spotted an Indian lady literally feeding pigeons in a Malaccasque version of the "Feed The Birds" scene straight out of the musical Mary Poppins. (image above)   This was in the city centre, within walking distance from Christchurch and Stadhuys complex, the Dutch built town square with all surrounding buildings now painted in deep red. I noticed that the maroon shades had faded since my last visit to Malacca. I understand that it was not the Dutch administration that offered this red colouring, but as life is more strange than fiction, the colours were decided from a misplaced perception of a British officer who truly believed that all Dutch buildings had to be traditionally in this colour. Did this well meaning chap visit Holland before, that I am not aware.

A Formosa provided the venue for lunch.  We had the chicken rice balls accompanied by roast chicken cuts, pickled vegetables, the otak-otak and cendol dessert. I was amazed that the chicken rice balls were no bigger in size than typical fish balls in Hong Kong.  Those served at the coffee shop near Sim Lim Square in Singapore were more small bowl sized.  There was a roaring stream of lunchers at this corner shop - I was not sure if the school holidays had anything to do with the crowd, or perhaps there was not much competition along Jonkers Street for this type of food.  A Formosa of course is the Portuguese name for the landmark fort deemed "beautiful", built during the time of Vasco Da Gama's voyages around the world in the first spurts of European adventurism, international trading and colonialism.

Would I return? Malacca has always captured my historical, architectural and cultural passion, being one of the fusion city states taking advantage of strategy and location and with traditions that have inspired many generations of travellers, wayfarers and adventurers. Today the city looks insipid, many shades below its past glory but you never know of its future. Located only around 148 km from the bustling metropolis of Kuala Lumpur, on the highway back, I mused as to why it was not chosen as the political and social capital of the emerging nation of Malaysia, after the British colonials left.   Despite UNESCO recognition and related funding, its heritage area, in the worst criticism, remains a maze of narrow alleys with unsophisticated retail, unrenovated facades and continued decay. There has to be more in store for Malacca after several hundred years of capturing the imagination and drive of men and women from Amsterdam to Fujian.  To make an impact on the heart of visitors and residents, it has to offer more than stereo-equipped trishaws, plastic river rides and bazaar offerings.   I saw the harbour on the calm straits - and thought of those individuals from the past who came from far and near to build the legend and reality of Malacca.

Scenes From a Wedding - Kuala Lumpur

The venue was the Langkawi Room of the Bukit Jalil Country Club, south of Kuala Lumpur CBD in Malaysia.  The occasion was the KL reception for the marriage of my niece Miss Yong Tze Yin to Mr Shaun Tan.  The caterers were from the long established Tai Thong Cantonese Restaurant chain.

It was the first Saturday evening of June in 2012.  All images here from the photo collection by Mr Yong Chung Shen.

There were slide shows, a short video clip, a stage attempt at the Maori Haka posture dance and lots of toasts.  The food flowed smoothly.  Fathers of both bride and groom gave speeches in their own unique style, with memories of the beaches at Miri in Sarawak, references to the Star of Mount Eden and The Pearl of the Orient, what was said by a teacher at Convent Green Lane in Penang and tributes to the street food in Malaysia.

Another niece of mine , Su Hui, with her Mum, May Lai (image above) and a snapshot, below, of the dinner table with some of my seated cousins from Kuala Lumpur (left to right) - Wen Keong, Wen Meng, Lina, Lai Han and her Mum.  Standing are nephew Chung Shen and niece Su Hui.   I was also reunited with one of Shaun' s aunts, Ah Bo, from KL and whom I first met in Auckland.