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| Just some of the dishes served here (CNB) |
Anyway, never mind my grouse. This place does get quite busy in the evening, so the food must be the attraction, what else?
(7.33 pm)
Sunday, 14 April 2013
Eating out in SA: Serai
Anyway, never mind my grouse. This place does get quite busy in the evening, so the food must be the attraction, what else?
(7.33 pm)
Saturday, 13 April 2013
SA Garden Catalogue: Periwinkle
We are in the inter-monsoon period and the weather forecast says we will have rains/thunderstorms every so often. The humidity is very high and most plants are doing very well. As the rhyme goes, 'April showers bring May flowers' ... indeed also April flowers. Some roadside trees including the Tamalan are in bloom. The perennial Periwinkle are especially doing well now, flowering quite profusely.
Common name: Madagascar periwinkle/Periwinkle
Scientific name: Catharanthus roseus/Vinca rosea
Malay name: Kemunting Cina
Family: Periwinkle
Origin: Madagascar
Periwinkles love the full sun and they are quite hardy and will even grow (as weeds?) in cracks of outdoor floor tiles and walls. Propagation is by seeds, although if you already have the Periwinkles in your garden, seedlings may sprout anywhere and you can transfer them to the exact place you want them to be. Pruning will make shoots of this shrub grow and flower continuously. Many floral colours are available, especially of the new varieties which are small and compact. Just check out the garden centres and you will be spoilt for choice of the pretty colours to take home.
I only have the common purple variety now in my garden, the seedlings originally obtained from Port Dickson. I used to have one white, but it died on me. By the way, medicinally, the Periwinkle is a source of vincristine for the treatment of leukemia. In Pulau Langkawi it is said to be called Bunga jalang kampung because it is a weed growing wild. But pretty useful jalangs, as you will agree.
Common name: Madagascar periwinkle/Periwinkle
Scientific name: Catharanthus roseus/Vinca rosea
Malay name: Kemunting Cina
Family: Periwinkle
Origin: Madagascar
Periwinkles love the full sun and they are quite hardy and will even grow (as weeds?) in cracks of outdoor floor tiles and walls. Propagation is by seeds, although if you already have the Periwinkles in your garden, seedlings may sprout anywhere and you can transfer them to the exact place you want them to be. Pruning will make shoots of this shrub grow and flower continuously. Many floral colours are available, especially of the new varieties which are small and compact. Just check out the garden centres and you will be spoilt for choice of the pretty colours to take home.
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| Cheerful Periwinkles in a container (CNB) |
I only have the common purple variety now in my garden, the seedlings originally obtained from Port Dickson. I used to have one white, but it died on me. By the way, medicinally, the Periwinkle is a source of vincristine for the treatment of leukemia. In Pulau Langkawi it is said to be called Bunga jalang kampung because it is a weed growing wild. But pretty useful jalangs, as you will agree.
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| When there were white periwinkles ... |
Thursday, 11 April 2013
An April Wedding Reception
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| The happy couple (CNB 2013) |
Recently in early April we were invited to the wedding reception of the only son of an old friend from my USM days. So for me it was also a reunion of sorts with some other friends from my old workplace up north. Dr Luqman and Razlin Dawina's marriage was celebrated at DoubleTree by Hilton @ The Intermark. Our congratulations and best wishes always!
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| B, A, Sarah & the groom's mum Orasa (CNB 2013) |
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| The table setting (CNB 2013) |
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| Part of the beautiful decor (CNB 2013) |
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| With Dr Aniswal (BB 2013) |
Tuesday, 9 April 2013
An Eclectic Music Collection
The other day I went through our music collection, housed in one cupboard in the sitting room, to do a spot of spring cleaning. Admittedly, it is a very, very eclectic collection. Some of this and that and the other. And apart from compact discs (CDs), I still have some 45 rpm vinyl records and many cassette tapes! Very old technology, but will still be hoarded for sentimental reasons. And I am supposedly spring cleaning? Tsk, tsk!
Anyway this eclectic collection can still be roughly classified. Beginning with Classical music, familiarised and appreciated since being a member of the Philharmonic Society during TKC Seremban school days in the 60s. There are more than 100 CDs, mostly a series collection published by Orbis Publishing (1992-95). Among my favourites are Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto no. 1 and his music for ballets, Chopin's piano concertos, Strauss' waltzes, Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and Ravel's Bolero.
Then there is the Pop/Rock music of the 60s and 70s. Especially favoured were (still are) the ballads of the Bachelor Boy Cliff Richard, also of Andy Williams (and the most beautiful Almost there), Carpenters, Simon & Garfunkel, The R'n'R King (I mean Elvis Presley), The Beatles, and compilations of the evergreen music of this era. The music of the 80s and 90s run the gamut from Cat Stevens, Scorpions, Carole King (sing: I feel the earth move under my feet ...), Boney M, Abba, Kate Bush, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, to Enya, etc., etc.
For Malay music, we have the ever familiar P. Ramlee, Saloma of the buluh perindu voice, Sharifah Aini (sing: Ooooh kuda ku lari ...), and M. Nasir. During a specially 'Malay phase' for us in the 90s, we bought and listened to the songs of Jamal Abdillah (eight albums 1992-2009), Zamani & Slam (nine albums 1994-99, and that melancholic 'Gerimis mengundang'), KRU (ten albums 1992-2001, why?) Amy Mastura (four albums 1994-2003), etc., etc..
During a 'Latin phase', while trying to learn Spanish, I acquired the music of Iglesias, not of Julio Iglesias, but his son Enrique. I remember playing the albums Vivir (1997) and Cosas del amor (1998) over and over again. But let me be truthful about it, I still do not speak any Spanish beyond "Hola, que tal?"
As for our 'World music' collection, we did buy music CDs as souvenirs of the countries visited. I still have the very first - Canta y se Feliz* - a Spanish music cassette tape from Barcelona (1975) which can no longer be played (not surprisingly). Then there are among others, Persian classical music, Carinosa; Visayan songs from Philippines, Loy Kra Thong from Thailand, Chinese Orchestra Album, Sundanese Music from Western Java, Music of Sri Lanka, and Shinhwa's State of the Art from South Korea (2006 K-pop).
When we were living in Pulau Pinang, we used to visit the Cahaya Music shop in Komtar nearly every fortnight to shop for our music. Nowadays I do still buy the occasional music CD, mostly compilations of the music of yesteryears ... the most recent, 'The Rock'n'roll Years Juke Box Gems'. Usually I listen to music while lunching but I breakfast with the birds (singing). In the evenings though, I prefer to listen to the sounds of silence, really ...
*Spain's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974
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| Some of the vinyls (CNB 2012) |
Anyway this eclectic collection can still be roughly classified. Beginning with Classical music, familiarised and appreciated since being a member of the Philharmonic Society during TKC Seremban school days in the 60s. There are more than 100 CDs, mostly a series collection published by Orbis Publishing (1992-95). Among my favourites are Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto no. 1 and his music for ballets, Chopin's piano concertos, Strauss' waltzes, Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and Ravel's Bolero.
Then there is the Pop/Rock music of the 60s and 70s. Especially favoured were (still are) the ballads of the Bachelor Boy Cliff Richard, also of Andy Williams (and the most beautiful Almost there), Carpenters, Simon & Garfunkel, The R'n'R King (I mean Elvis Presley), The Beatles, and compilations of the evergreen music of this era. The music of the 80s and 90s run the gamut from Cat Stevens, Scorpions, Carole King (sing: I feel the earth move under my feet ...), Boney M, Abba, Kate Bush, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, to Enya, etc., etc.
 |
| Slam 'Kesan terbukti' album |
For Malay music, we have the ever familiar P. Ramlee, Saloma of the buluh perindu voice, Sharifah Aini (sing: Ooooh kuda ku lari ...), and M. Nasir. During a specially 'Malay phase' for us in the 90s, we bought and listened to the songs of Jamal Abdillah (eight albums 1992-2009), Zamani & Slam (nine albums 1994-99, and that melancholic 'Gerimis mengundang'), KRU (ten albums 1992-2001, why?) Amy Mastura (four albums 1994-2003), etc., etc..
 |
| A & B with Norman KRU at PTPM, USM (199?) |
During a 'Latin phase', while trying to learn Spanish, I acquired the music of Iglesias, not of Julio Iglesias, but his son Enrique. I remember playing the albums Vivir (1997) and Cosas del amor (1998) over and over again. But let me be truthful about it, I still do not speak any Spanish beyond "Hola, que tal?"
As for our 'World music' collection, we did buy music CDs as souvenirs of the countries visited. I still have the very first - Canta y se Feliz* - a Spanish music cassette tape from Barcelona (1975) which can no longer be played (not surprisingly). Then there are among others, Persian classical music, Carinosa; Visayan songs from Philippines, Loy Kra Thong from Thailand, Chinese Orchestra Album, Sundanese Music from Western Java, Music of Sri Lanka, and Shinhwa's State of the Art from South Korea (2006 K-pop).
 |
| Music of the 50s, 60s ... |
When we were living in Pulau Pinang, we used to visit the Cahaya Music shop in Komtar nearly every fortnight to shop for our music. Nowadays I do still buy the occasional music CD, mostly compilations of the music of yesteryears ... the most recent, 'The Rock'n'roll Years Juke Box Gems'. Usually I listen to music while lunching but I breakfast with the birds (singing). In the evenings though, I prefer to listen to the sounds of silence, really ...
*Spain's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974
Monday, 8 April 2013
Landmarks of Selangor: Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Often times we pass through the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, Selangor without really 'knowing' it. I have always been in awe of this wondrous 'futuristic' structure, one of the last mega-projects of the 20th century in the country, opened in June 1998. Brainchild of Tun Dr Mahathir, it was designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa who applied a philosophy of 'symbiosis of nature and architecture'. Hence swathes of tropical forest in a hi-tech airport structure.
The three main components of KLIA are the main terminal building, the adjacent contact pier and a satellite building, linked to the previous two by an automated track transit system. The departure forecourt roof form is "a hyperbolic parabaloid shell structure on conical columns". The airport interiors have a "transparent, ultra-modern, hi-tech look" due to the extensive use of frameless double-glazed walls, exposed steel trusses, shiny aluminium surfaces and polished granite.
The KLIA master plan, when fully executed will eventually enable the airport to handle 100 million passengers each year. So ... if you are flying off somewhere soon from KLIA, do observe how beautiful it really is.
Ref: Landmarks of Selangor. Jugra Publications, 2003
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| KLIA approach for departing travellers (CNB 2012) |
The three main components of KLIA are the main terminal building, the adjacent contact pier and a satellite building, linked to the previous two by an automated track transit system. The departure forecourt roof form is "a hyperbolic parabaloid shell structure on conical columns". The airport interiors have a "transparent, ultra-modern, hi-tech look" due to the extensive use of frameless double-glazed walls, exposed steel trusses, shiny aluminium surfaces and polished granite.
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| Departure Hall, KLIA (CNB 2012) |
The KLIA master plan, when fully executed will eventually enable the airport to handle 100 million passengers each year. So ... if you are flying off somewhere soon from KLIA, do observe how beautiful it really is.
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| On leaving KLIA at dusk (CNB 2012) |
Ref: Landmarks of Selangor. Jugra Publications, 2003
Sunday, 7 April 2013
A Walk in the Park: Taman Rekreasi Tasik Bestari
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| Taman Rekreasi Tasik Bestari (CNB 2013) |
M loves walking, and on very, very rare occasions I join him (I hate to exercise, really). He has walked around the many lakes of Shah Alam and this time I went with him to the Taman Rekreasi Tasik Bestari (Bestari Lake Recreation Park) in Section 7. With the dew still on the grass, an early morning walk is somehow invigorating. (And ... there's breakfast to look forward to afterwards!).
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| The rising sun casts long shadows (CNB 2013) |
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| People and pink lamp posts at the Park (CNB 2013) |
A bonus on this particular morning walk was the sight of
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| Storks in the early morning sun (CNB 2013) |
After a round of the lake (two rounds for M), we left the Taman for breakfast of roti canai and tosai with kopi-o at a Mamak restaurant. Cheers!
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| A pause at the end of the walk (CNB 2013) |
Wednesday, 3 April 2013
Spring is in the Air ...
Spring is in the air
Blossoms burst forth every where
I love this season
Indah sungguh musim bunga
Mari menikmati kuasa Yang Esa
Note: Pic by CNB April 2012
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