The Little Nyonya

Lately, I have watched this Singaporean drama called The Little Nyonya. Everyone who knows me knows that I'm not a fan of series or dramas, but this one really caught my attention. I first watched it when I was back in KL during one of the weekends and accompanied my wife watching it. I was hooked ever since then.

This tale begins in 1930. It is about this pretty little Nyonya, Juxiang (played by Jeanette Aw), born into a rich Malaccan Peranakan Huang family, where her mum was the mistress, but she was deaf and mute. She got bullied along the way. When she was forced to marry as a mistress to a rich Singaporean businessman who is also a sex-craze, she ran away. Right before the Japanese Occupation in Malaya, she gave birth to a girl, Yueniang. Unlike her mother, she was normal. The Japanese Occupation did took her dad's and mother's life. Since then, Yueniang went back to the Huang family and stayed with her grandma. Tian Lan. And so the the tale continues, as Yueniang grew up, got bullied by the Huangs again and again, encountered so much difficulties during her teenage years, until she finally got married... Her destiny did get better in the end, as the Huangs fell apart and went bankrupt. She would be the one who finally saved enough money to buy back the ancestors house and took care of the whole family.

Along the journey, one could see them serve delicious Nyonya delicacies, like the Babi Pongteh, Asam Ikan, Sambal Udang, and some deserts like the Popiah, Rempah Udang, Ang Koo Kueh, Yam Cake, Bubur Cacar, etc. I would say the these food too has played a significant role in making me continue to watch and finish this series in less than 3 days! Altogether it has 34 episodes.

The shooting took place at 3 locations, Penang, Singapore and Malacca, my hometown. One could recognize the shooting location in Melaka if they have been to Malacca lately. One of it is Hotel Puri, where they used it as the house of the Chen family. If you were to visit Malacca, you wouldn't miss the Jonker Walk, a night market on Jonker Street on Fridays-Sundays. Several scenes took place there, and also the street next to it, Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock. I used to stay at one of the houses when I was small. The house is about 20 feet wide, but it is soooo.... long. In front of the house, above the door, there would be a plaque with 2 Chinese characters, symbolizing the family/ancestor name. You can only find this unique feature in an old Baba Nyonya / Chinese house thesedays.

Sometimes, while watching the movie, I would think of my mom. It really brings back old memories... good old memories.... I bet Malaccans who watch this series would be touched. It is indeed a highly recommended drama. Go get it....

What's Wrong with the Spaniards?

I can't believe my ears when I heard Xabi Alonso will be moving to Real Madrid. LFC and Real Madrid have reached an agreement on the transfer. It is believed the transfer fee is around £30 mil.

I can't help but be so annoyed when a player rather sit on the bench in Spain than to play first XI in England. With names like Guti, Christiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Wesley Sneijder, Lassana Diarra and Fernando Ruben Gago in the list, how would one expect to be in the starting line-up? You don't have to learn your lesson by falling victim to some lies...you can always learn from the past. Look at Michael Owen, David Beckham and Steve McManaman. They were shining in England before going to Real Madrid, where after 1 season, they would try to pick up the pieces of their football career once again after failing miserably to perform. They would soon loose their places in the national team, and sunshine will never be the same again!

The new season starts in 10 days, Liverpool play away to Spurs. I'm figuring what kind of starting line-up Rafa is going to introduce. He's been an unpredictable guy, putting players of sorts, who can't perform. And yet, you can see the same name in the next game.

Getting Glen Johnson to Liverpool for £17 mil and selling Alvaro Arbeloa for a mere £3.5 mil, is something a kindergarten kid would think stupid to do. Yet, Rafa has done it once again. No one buys a defender for that much money. Arbeloa has proven to be a key figure in the 2008/09 season, and yet is sold to Real Madrid. Maybe his heart is no longer in LFC, and wants to in his home nation. But £17 mil for a defender?

I am starting to believe there's some kind of conspiracy going on with the Spaniards. Very soon, Fernando Torres will leave Anfield, and by then, Rafa will spend another £20 mil on some old and ineffective striker. Believe me, something is really wrong in Anfield...right from the co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, to the manager, to the players.

Mom...We love you...and we always will....

It's MOTHER's Day again...and it still reminds me of the day we all stood by her side in the hospital bed...the day she left us....

Not much can be said now...it's been the same every year, and it will be, year after year.

I've got the time today, so I googled 'BEST WORDS TO DESCRIBE A MOTHER'. Guess what I found. Very interesting words and phrases.... I'll share it with all of you.

Skyadamani : Mother is a lively invention of god. Who takes lots of pain to give birth to us. Stands by us when we are in trouble.

Sridharan : Mom is a Visible God. She is the one who gave birth to us, teaches us, built us in the right way without expecting anything back from us.

Queen_13 : Silly! Because she works too hard to get jobs done around house.

Megamaster : Hero! She is my role model. She's been with me through my whole life, supporting me and helping me. I only wish i can be like her when i grow up

Luv2cut : Bestfriend" because she is always there for me when I need help, or talk to someone and gives me advice..... She will never let me down! Thanks Ma.

Desertkid : Compassionate! She always understood what was going on in my life and would listen to me rant and rave or laugh and giggle. She also had a wonderful sense of humor! I miss my mom

I say : Mom...you are all of the above. How I wish you are still here with us right now. Nevertheless, the least I can do for you right now is to fulfill my promises to you. Happy Mother's day mom....

Where's My Inspiration?

I have not updated my blog for over a month now. Somehow I just don't feel like there's anything to write here. I have lost the interest to blog. I don't know why. Maybe I'll pause for a while...until I find the inspiration again.....

Hail The Kops

I seldom watch Liverpool games live, but I'm glad I did today. They were superb, trashing Man Utd 4-1, at Old Trafford. They beat Real Madrid also by 4 goals on Tuesday.

Torres showed that he's the better player against Vidic, by over running him for the ball and scored the first goal. Gerrard scored the second thru penalty. Then Fabio Aurelio scored from a freekick after Stevie was taken down by Vidic, which earned him a straight red card. Guess what, the 4th goal was scored by Andrea Dossena, a late substitute by Rafa Benitez. If I'm not mistaken, it's his first touch. He must have been the luckiest person on the pitch, after scoring a similar late goal against Real Madrid the other day.

So, end result, Man Utd 1, Liverpool 4.

YESSSSS......la..........

Chilling Out with my Buddies @ Langkawi

There was supposed to be 5 of them, but one couldn't make it, so 4 of my bestest buddies managed to get away from their busy working life to chill out here in Langkawi. It was indeed a long anticipated holiday for all of us. We've been talking about this trip since the first day I came here in March 2008, and finally they came, after 11 months!

I believe many Malaysians have never been to Langkawi before, and many more prefer to go to other islands like Perhentian, Redang, Tioman, Lang Tengah and Pangkor. Even Penang Island has much more visitors than Langkawi. I'm surprised! Langkawi has an international standard airport, nice sunny beaches, varieties of chocolates, delicious seafood and of course CHEAP BEER/ALCOHOL.... Even for my 4 friends, this was their first time here.

Since I'm familiar with this place, we only went to several nice spots. We did not rush as we knew we are not here to cover all the tourist recommended destinations. Most of our time were spent drinking, eating and sleeping.

On the first day, everyone was so exited. We did managed to cover a few nice spots and took some nice pics. Second day was tiring, lots of travelling and shopping, and most of us got drunk at night. Third day was relaxing. Less travelling, but we had a nice time in the pool catching up with the good old times. I can see that everyone was happy. I enjoyed myself too. Hopefully we are able to get together again very soon.







After dinner, I sent them to the airport and waved goodbye. Their flight was delayed for one hour. Jason and Mike managed to reach KL around 2am, but Zach and Fab reached Melaka at about 3.30am. Phew.....poor thing.....

Happy Birthday Dad

I'd like to wish my dad a Happy Birthday. He's 57 this year. Time really flies.
He's in Perth at the moment, so I'd better go to sleep now so that I can give him a call in the morning.

"Happy Birthday Dad!"

My Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day to my dear wife, and to all my friends. May you be blessed with love throughout the day...and NIGHT...until the next morning!

This year is very special, V-day falls on a Saturday. It's just PERFECT....for couples who are together. For couples who are far away, too bad... but do not worry, for distance makes the heart goes fonder. Is it true? For a short period, yes, but not for too long.

Just like myself, I have some friends who are away from their partner. Here, I'd like to share a nice song by Jim Brickman and Martina McBride, 'My Valentine'. I couldn't get the original video clip by them, I only found the later live version by Jim Brickman and Olivia Newton John. So, enjoy!

Vacation in Langkawi

We boarded the 8am ferry from Penang and arrived at 11am, had our lunch, then headed back to my place to put our luggage. Our first destination was the Telaga Harbour. In Langkawi, there are 2 places where you can see a lot of yachts. One is here, another is near the Kuah Jetty. You'll see that in the later photos.

At Telaga Harbour, one can find several shops facing the sea. Most of them are restaurants which are very romantic especially at night. Also located here is 'The Loaf Bakery and Bistro' owned by Tun Mahathir.

From Telaga Harbour, we went to Tanjung Rhu. Tanjung Rhu has the best beach in Langkawi. The water is clean, the sand is white and fine and the scenery is breathtaking. At this point, you are nearest to Thailand!

This photo is taken at Tanjung Rhu Resort. If you plan to have a quiet holiday, this is the place.

We had our dinner at Palm View Seafood Restaurant. In my earlier posts, I did mention that the price of seafood here is reasonable. Most of the seafood here are fresh and swimming, unlike the other shops that sell dead seafood displayed on ice cubes. If you are unlucky, you'll get those that are not so fresh.

Our second day started with an island hopping trip. First, we went to Pulau Dayang Bunting. It's an island that looks like a pregnant maiden. There's a fresh water lake in this island.

Our second destination is somewhere near a group of islands where we saw our boat commander fed the eagles. There were about 30 eagles flying above us waiting to be fed.

After that, we were taken to another island, Pulau Beras Basah. Nothing great here, but you can go for a parachute ride and play the banana boat. If you come with the snorkelling goggles, then you snorkel with the colourful fishes.

After the island hopping trip, we paid a visit to 2 temples, Loung Phor Khun Temple and another Wat Tham Kisap.

Our 3rd day was spent shopping. You know la....girls like shopping. Even when they are on vacation. We managed to finish shopping in about 3 hours because the shopping mall here IS not as huge as those in KL (Thank God!). Soon, we found ourselves at the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club, another destination for the yachts.

Since we still have time before the sun sets, we went to The Westin Resort for a stroll on the beach. Aiya, who says only unmarried couples can walk hand in hand on the beach? My personal opinion, this is the best resort in Langkawi.

Our day ended with a takeaway pizza with a bottle of champagne by the sea. Well, sounds simple but she did love it. So do I. An advice to married couples, try something different every now and then. You'll be surprised by how your spouse react to it. That's what that keeps the affection going on and on....

You may wonder why we did not go to those tourist destinations as promoted on websites and brochures. Well, this is her 2nd time in Langkawi. The first time, we managed to cover almost everything on the brochures but we were quite dissapointed with the outcome. I'm sorry to say this but they are all a waste of time and money. Who would want to visit the Mahsuri Mousoleum or Beras Terbakar? A vacation on an island means you should be under the sun, in the water and playing with sand with your loved ones, ain't it?

CNY @ Penang

We travelled back to my in-laws place on the 2nd day of CNY. As usual, we got stucked in jams at Seremban.

On the 4th day, we left for Penang. If I'm not mistaken, my last visit to Penang was 4 years ago.

We decided to use the ferry to get into the island. We arrived at noon. We hang out at Taman Kota & Fort Cornwallis before heading to Lorong Selamat for it's famous Char Kuey Teow. At the shop, there are varieties of food, including Prawn Noodles, Popiah, Soup Noodles, Lobak and Muar Chee. I did not notice that the Char Kuey Teow wasn't the once famous Sisters Char Kuey Teow. The Sisters CKT has moved to another shop all by themselves, selling nothing but their CKT. Nevertheless, the CKT that we had tasted good as well.

After lunch, we headed to buy some Tau Sar Pneah. The famous one is made by Him Heang. It's a white building, opposite Hotel 1926. There are many copycats with the same 'Heang' at the back....eg. Gee Heang, or some other 'Heang's but Him Heang's is still the best.

After that, we headed to the famous temples. I never knew that there are 2 temples opposite one another. One is a Burmese Temple with a Standing Buddha, while the other is a Thai Temple with a Sleeping Buddha.

Since we still have time, we went to the Khoo Kongsi. I used to be quite familiar with Penang roads, but I have to admit that this Khoo Kongsi is very difficult to find. We were rounding inside Georgetown for about half an hour. We almost gave up until we met a traffic police who showed us directions to the Khoo Kongsi. Luckily, we managed to arrive before 5pm as the ticketing counter closes at 5pm sharp. The entrance fee is RM4 for adults and RM2 for children. After looking at the architecture, the design of the main hall and all the wall paintings, I was so impressed.

As we exited the Khoo Kongsi, there was another temple nearby. This temple is called the Yap Kongsi. I believe during the earlier times, there were many families or clans who tried to make a name for themselves. But not many prospered like the Khoo family.

That night, we had seafood at Teluk Kumbar. It's a restaurant by the sea, called Hau You (Good Friend). Unlike it's name, this place isn't so good to us after all. We were slaughtered horribly! A steamed grouper the size of my palm cost RM65. A kilo of meat crab (small size - half my palm size) costs RM60. We didn't mind paying a bit more as it's CNY, but the price is really too much.

The next morning, we went to Penang Hill. It's quite warm up there due to the crowd that gathered since as early as 7.30am. Nothing much to see, except for a view of Georgetown from the hilltop.

After Penang Hill, we went to Kek Lok Si. At the foot of Kek Lok Si, we had our lunch. We had Asam Laksa. Although it looked the same, the taste has changed. It doesn't taste that good anymore.

From the foot of Kek Lok Si, I can see that there is construction of pillars and roof to cover the Bronze Statue of Kuan Yin. The pagoda remains the same.

Along the stairs up the hill, there are many small traders doing their trade. After some bargaining, I got myself some colourful T-shirts for RM10 each. Cheap isn't it?

It's hard to believe how commercialise Kek Lok Si has become. Going up to the Kuan Yin Statue, one need to use the cable car. It's RM4. Going up the pagoda, one has to also pay the same amount. According to the temple authorities, all profit goes to the temple. It also surprised me to see a monk standing behind the cash machine as cashier. I do not mind giving donations or some token of appreciation but seeing them imposing fee for this and that, it made me shake my head in disbelief. It's supposed to be a place of worship but now it has become a tourist attraction. There are also monks on loudspeakers asking devotees to donate by writing their names on tiles which will be used to cover the Kuan Yin Statue. Apart from that, one has to also pay to write their names on colourful sheet of tiny paper to hang on the wishing tree. Sigh....

At night, we had our dinner at Gurney Drive. It has changed a lot too. There are more stalls and are more clean and organized.

As we passed by Gurney Plaze, we noticed there were some drums along the main entrance. I guess it's for the celebration of the Jade Emperor. Hence, we took some photos. The drums were really nice.

Our visit to Penang ended on the 6th day of CNY. Instead of heading home, my wife and I went up North. Check out where we went in the next post. Tata.