Gorgeous Gu Lang Yu - People

A rendition of traditional and classical instruments, with music harking back to the Tang Dynasty and lyrics sung in Minnan Hokkien.

The Island Ring Road at Gu Lang Yu isle, off Xiamen, is filled with tourists from both abroad and locally.      The isle is a lovely way to spend a day or even consider staying over night.   There are plenty to do, whether you are a foodie,  a cultural academic or just out for adventure and pleasant delights.     


We watched a puppet show, wonderfully performed by youngsters with flair and finesse.   We enjoyed steamed fish, oyster omelette and fresh seafood of other sorts.   We walked -  but there was not much good coffee though.  We went inside, with half and full expectations, about to old mansions, enjoying discovering historical artifacts, fully understanding the historical significance of the isle and observed everyone having a great time. 


Live fish jumped in pails, gardens are well tended and vendors call out along the side.  Tourists drag their luggage, youngsters provide a fresh contrast to the decaying walls.  Old but loved homes  are now hotels.    It is a hub of personal and business enterprise.   You  can have your Wi-Fi at the same time studying the calligraphy framed on walls.   We come across a tall representation of the Goddess of Mercy upstairs in a preserved mansion.   We  stand outside the locked gates of Catholic and Protestant churches.    Due to the sub-tropical climate, many trees have grown large from all these years and there are sections of undergrowth.


The roads were wet but our hearts warmed up.    There were many flowering hibiscus blooms greeting us as the foreigner's ferry landed at Gu Lang Yu, where we met Ms. Khaw , our guide for the day.    We imagined life here as it was possibly a hundred years and more ago  - the interaction between bearded Westerners, local traders, multi-national merchants, adventurers and dynastic officials.    I realised this was cosmopolitanism then , even before the word was invented, and relished at the fusion in cooking, culture and community building.  


Beaches with real sand, dried seafood on display, palm trees swaying and a buzz about the island  - these are also my memories.  Mouldy and decaying bricks, iron gates of religious institutions, strong pillars that echoed past money and the hopes of colonial expansion.   This was the original Singapore, a Venice of the East (not in canals though) and a balmy location where monsoon winds and seafarers met.   



European clocks sit side by side with China porcelain in vintage cupboards, hiding the reality of cruel and greedy opium addiction and trade.   East met West -  and still do.   Gu Lang Yu has seen invaders come and go, repulsed or conquer.    After the Western powers, the Japanese imperialist troops came to occupy, for it is also a strategic site.   

Ms. Khaw (right side in photograph above) is a courteous, professional and engaging guide. 

This huge trunk fell over the road during a recent typhoon over the south China coast.

Gorgeous Gu Lang Yu - Cuisine

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