Xiamen Perspectives

Shantou's Rice Noodle Strip Soup

You may have seen this popular street dish even in Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand - what seems to be soup with white rice noodle strips, garnished with thin slices of meat, seafood and vegetable.   It is truly appetising, does not encourage over eating and yet wholesome to the palate.    


They are always prepared fresh and their outcomes in taste and flavour rely heavily on the subtleness and balance in the stock soup.   A variety of texture is enhanced by the ingredients chosen to accompany the noodles and soup.   The quality and freshness of the rice noodle strips - Koay Teow - is then the other X Factor.

In Shantou, my group of six fellow travellers and mates came across a really crowded eat shop, with mainly locals concentrating on their individual bowls of piping hot Manna.    Even more lively was the scene around the preparation  - a few really focused staff going about cooking the dish in earnest and amazing silence.   The garnish, cut meats, herbs and seafood were all ready to be used and waiting in bowls.     There was a variety of noodles to be chosen according to the preference of customers - egg versions, rice types and vermicelli.   It was late breakfast time.

The  venue had a wide front, easily two shop fronts.    Winter was not too far away and so the lure of hot soups was obvious.       


A spattering of Teochew and Mandarin languages could be heard.   People came and went, as this was a pit stop on a busy day.    Just like in south-east Asia, there were accompaniments of  cut chilli strips,  Shasha sauce or pounded chilli in oil.     The large containers of boiling water had cooking smoke rising above, adding to the pace of the place.  

I relished in the pieces of seafood, deep fried fish cake, bean sprouts, Capsicums, meat balls, quail eggs, fish balls, blanched cabbage  and more.

The piping hot soups are garnished with garlic oil, coriander, fresh shallots and scallions.

The proof of the pudding, so to speak, is in the stock soup, which is usually made by having an interplay of flavours with pork bones, dried squid and chicken.

Scratch Coffee Co, Port Kembla NSW

On the main thoroughfare of what locals call  "the Port", or Port Kembla, south of Wollongong, a contemporary cafe has been operating near the iconic Tonito's patisserie and opposite the Foundery.   Further down and not far away is the coast and Port Beach.   


Scratch Coffee Co. opens early every day and Duanne is there at the counter with a lively female colleague who is engaging with the customers.  On a first visit, we encountered Peter, often accompanied by a lively child with bright eyes and an enthused personality  - I first got to know them  at a northern suburb cafe.   It is always a pleasure to chat with Peter and his enthusiastic family member.

Peter pointed out the spanking new grinder at the front of the cafe.   It shows the quality of a cafe set up and delivery when you have in-house ground blends and flavours.  Filters, blends, single origins and espressos are available in roasts.   The food offerings that day were limited to cakes and pastries, but they were presented lovingly in a low rise shelf and glassed display.    


The regulars were already there, a lady with a lap top and earnest look in focusing on the internet,  twenty somethings dropping by and a whole potential of the nearby residents.   Bluescope staff work in the nearby adjacent surrounds and in summer, the beach especially attracts weekend visitors.

Your Cuppa provided on ceramic.

I loved the coffee blend that morning - strong, flavourful and with an unusual overlay on the palate.  We could not resist another of Duanne's unique options - espresso served in a waffle.The espresso we requested was bold and infused into the rather strongly textured waffle fold.   


There is a bonus in this kind of serving - the waffle gave me a second chance to saviour the aroma of the espresso.  At the end of it, there is a quality chocolate at the waffle base, from which hints of it came through to the senses the further I finished the coffee.  

Scratch Coffee Co. is located at 9/173-174 Wentworth Street, Port Kembla NSW.
Opening hours are from 630am to 400pm on weekdays and from 800am to 400pm on weekends.
Contact   + 61 410 887 088

Asian-Australian Political Office Holders

Tsebin Tchen was the first Asian migrant elected to the Australian State Parliament in Victoria, after being pre-selected on a Liberal Senate ticket in 1993. 


He was born in present day Chongqing in Sichuan Province, came to Australia on a student visa and became a town planner.   He took up Australian citizenship in 1971 after the late Prime Minister Harold Holt ended the White Australian policy on immigration.    He works today as an Adjunct Professor at the Swinburne University of Technology and in 2015, was appointed by the Labour Government in Victoria as a Commissioner of the Victorian Multicultural Commission.



Senator Billy George O 'Chee was the first Australian born of Asian background elected as Senator - and one of the youngest , whether white or not, at the age of 24.  


William served as the Nationals Senator for Queensland from 1990 to 1999.  He attended both the Southport High School and the Brisbane State High School, before going to the UK  (Oakham School and the Brasenose College at the University of Oxford).   Before entering politics, he was an investment banker specialising in Latin American debt.  His father has Chinese heritage and his mother, Irish-Australian.


Billy fought for freehold titles to be granted to Indigenous Australian claimants over vacant Crown land, in exchange of entire extinguishment of native title.     He also alleged that News Ltd. made an attempt to bribe him in 1999 to cross over the Parliamentary floor and vote for the financial interests of the accused.   The  Court of Appeal in Queensland also upheld his stand on parliamentary privilege for communications between a Parliamentarian and his or her constituents.


Billy was involved with the sport called Skeleton,at World Cup and World Championship events.  He coaxed the lightweight rowing crew at Oxford, where he was a contemporary of former British Prime Minister David Cameron.



Penny Wong has a hattrick - first Eurasian elected as Senator, served as Finance Minister in a Labour Federal Government and also the first of Malaysian (Hakka Chinese) origin to serve such high office in Australia.   Penny moved to the Adelaide Hills from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia with mum Jane Chapman and her younger brother Toby Wong.  


Penny graduated in law from the University of South Australia, where she was a contemporary of Liberal Minister Christopher Pyne,  South Australian State Premier Jay Wetherill and former Greens Senator Natasha Stott Despoja.    She was significantly involved with the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union and the Australian Industrial Relations Commission in her early career.


She was appointed the Minister for Climate Change and Water in the Labour Government at Federal level in 2007.  Three years later, she became the Minister for Finance and Deregulation until the win by the Coalition in the 2013 elections.    Penny is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian Senate.




John Chun Sai So is of Hong Kong background served as the first Lord Mayor of Melbourne of Asian origin for eight years from 2001 to 2008.   He held this office during the second hosting of the Commonwealth Games by Melbourne.   He was the first Lord Mayor to be elected directly by the people, breaking the previous practice for the position to to e elected by Councillors.   He was the winner of the 2006 World Mayor Award and was in office when Melbourne was first ranked as the World's Most Liveable City.


John attended the University High School in Melbourne after migrating from Hong Kong. He is an alumni of the University of Melbourne and taught physics at Fitzroy High School before launching into business in 1973.   He strongly supports major sports events in Victoria, especially two soccer clubs - the Melbourne Victory and the Melbourne Demons.


John was honoured with being made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) by Queen Elizabeth in 2014.  This was after he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Chinese Economic Forum.   In 2007, he was criticised for not meeting up with the visiting Dalai Lama and presiding over a significant budget deficit for the Council.



Henry Tsang served as Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney from 1995 to 1999.      He was born to Hakka parents in Jiangxi province, China and qualified as an architect before entering Australian politics, becoming the first member of the City Council of Sydney.   He was responsible, together with his business firm, Tsang and Lee Architects, for the construction of the Cabramatta Mall south-west of Sydney city centre, Darling Harbour Chinese Gardens and the Dixon Street Chinatown mall in down town Sydney.  


Henry attended Sydney's Vaucluse Boys' High School after migrating from Hong Kong.   He stepped down from political life after failing to declare gifts and paid accommodation from the Hightrade Group.    He was awarded an Order of Australia (AO) medal in 1991.

Shantou Synergy - Life at the Grassroots

The Monkey King is popular.   China followed a one child policy for many decades until this was changed in 2016.

The Gu Chai Kueh or dumplings with chives.  Chinese cuisine consists of eight main regional flavours, with Guangdong; Shandong;  Beijing;  Anhui and Fujian;  Sichuan and Hunan; Zhejiang; and Jiangsu.   Teochew culinary dishes are a sub-set of the Guangdong tradition.

Sunday morning at the park, beside the thoroughfare of Hai Pin Lu.   Shantou enjoys a coastal climate and is geographically close to Hong Kong in Southern China.    The Tropic of Cancer crosses just north of the city.

The iconic fish balls.   Fishcakes, bean sprouts, lettuce and noodles often make a yummy piping hot soup, popular in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia as well.

The Carousal ride at the Shipaotai or Stone Fort Park.

Goose liver slices at dinner time.   The Lion Head goose variety is much appreciated here for roasting and steaming.

The classic Orh Lua or oyster omelette, with which tapioca starch is utilised to bind the eggs and raw oysters.  Other iconic dishes are the Chai Tau Kueh, a savoury stir fried white radish and rice flour cake, served with eggs, bean sprouts, soy sauce, spring onions and dried shrimp;  the Orh Nee or taro paste dessert; the Kueh Chap, a savoury mix of flat and broad rice noodles, dark soy sauce, braised duck meat, various bean curd slices, pig intestines and slices of preserved eggs;
the Mee Pok, stirred with sauce, mushrooms, dumplings, minced pork and garnish;  the Kiam Chai Ark Thng, duck served in a soup with tomatoes, preserved plum and vegetables; and the Ngo Hiang, deep fried spring rolls with a dash of five spice powder, minced pork and crab or prawns wrapped in a bean curd wrap.

Some thing I have never come across at lunch  - can some one please let me know what this is.

At the river front.   This promenade also has an interesting display of stone creatures, pavilions, ships and fishing boats along the walk path.

Street vendor all dressed up!

Chicken ready to be bought at the Shantou wet markets.

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