Dim Sum

This is a dim sum restaurant not to be missed. It is at Damansara Jaya. I will not attempt to identify the dim sum dishes because the variety is bewildering. Suffice to say that those who happen to be in Damansara Jaya should try it. It has two other outlets, one of which is at Damansara UPTown (I think).

Fishy Outing

My brother recently went out to sea in Melbourne and came back with tuna shashimi on the table. As a kid he had always been fascinated with fishing; this fascination has continued to this day. He has even bought a boat to do just that. The tuna he caught would have turned tuna shashimi lovers green with envy around the gills.

The Alternate Batu Pahat Big Orange

Now we have two Big Orange Stations, the former bosses of the original Big Orange Station have vacated the premises in the former Cheng Siu Primary School to move opposite to Dragon Hotel. The ground level of Dragon Hotel used to be a food court cum horse racing bookies and punters. It has since been shut down by the Police. Now, the brothers of the iconic developer, Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew of the Mines Resorts and Country Height fame have moved in to convert the place into a mini-food court cum karaoke entertainment outlet.

While they still continue to deploy the same strategy of getting ageing amateurs to sing, his direct competitor at the original Big Orange has unleashed a bevy of relatively young and professional singers to entice customers.

We were there to celebrate the birthday of one of our friends although we didn't know it until he announced it with a crate of beer and a simple dinner.

The simple stage with that hideous lighted coconut tree

One of the resident singers

Another singer who is popularly known as "headmistress' although I have never found out why she was given that honorific

There you have them; all four regular entertainers

This is new; it employs an organist who used to play at Disco 2000

The stage. Food courts with karaoke have become popular entertainment outlets with families and middle-aged and senior citizens

The food we had that night was ordered from a shop opposite the eating market. Not bad as far as a simple meal goes.

Curry red snapper head

Assam pedas stingray, although it wasn't that spicy

Fried sambal squids and shrimps

The common fried eggs with onion

Sesame deep fried chicken meat

The revelers tucking in the food

Ah Ping, in his seventies, proudly displaying his drinking prowess

The man we called "monkey', a farmer. At his age, he is still climbing trees

The birthday boy on the left

The simple birthday cake

One of the owners, the brother of Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew

Bottled Water: Do we need it?

I have fallen into a state of complete mental lethargy. The last posting was on 14 April, and that to me is a long time ago. Any way just to get my ass moving, I have posted this from an email urging us to cut down plastic waste and clean up the earth. I don't know who the originator of of this paperless message is, but obviously he/she is an environmentalist.

A Hindu Wedding

It was a Hindu wedding dinner held in a rather unorthodox manner: a Chinese dinner in the Grand Sea View banquet hall. But the rituals that preceded the dinner were anything but unorthodox. Having Indian friends for a large part of my life, I found it a humbling experience to witness a ceremony steeped in tradition and solemnity. The significance of some of the rituals escaped me, a manifestation of a lack of curiosity or interest in cultures other than your own. It was definitely a humbling thought.

The downside of the night was that my camera battery died on me although I made sure that I had it fully charged the day before. The photos were badly taken and I had to do considerable retouching to save most of them. I could not take further pictures of the sumptuous dinner that followed.

I would conservatively estimate each table to cost around RM 650 and there were 44 tables.

The elaborate wedding card

The lobby entrance to the banquet hall

Waiting for the guests to arrive

Entrance to the banquet hall

Haridas, the proud father of the bride

Ganesha, the elephant deity at the lobby


The kolam next to Lord Ganesha. Story has it that in the old days kolams were drawn in coarse rice flour to invite ants, birds and other small creatures to share in the food. No doubt a testimony to the harmonious co-existence of humankind and creatures

I was attracted to this trellis with tiny bells that was placed on both sides of the entrance to the banquet hall

Musicians

On the right is my former teacher, Mr Indran

The elaborately decorated stage for the fire ceremony

A somewhat unusual main table set up in a semi circle

Bridesmaids? Waiting for the arrival of the bride and bridegroom

Mark Stephen Denye, the bridegroom and beside him the best man (?)

The bridegroom anxiously waiting for the bride to arrive

The ceremony:

A picture of the couple and some of the members of both families

A Pork Seller's Birthday Bash

A couple of nights ago, I attended a pork seller's birthday at Parit Yaani, a 'pekan', a village town close to Yong Peng. I don't exactly know him, but I tagged along at the invitation of two friends who were invited. They knew that I love to take pictures and so, I was asked to go along. According to them he is a pork seller in the Batu Pahat wet market, and in good times he disposed of 7 pigs a day, but since times are bad he could only sell 5 pigs a day. But his motto is the often repeated cliche "Don't worry, be happy". So he laid out a huge spread to feed and entertain his guests. There was a lot for food which I couldn't keep track of. With a free flow of beer, wine and liquor (for specific guests), and a karaoke session, the guests were set for an entertaining evening.

Food laid out in a long line of tables. Additional dining tables are laid out in the compound of his large house

Mee siam that goes with the curry chicken and mutton

Pork satay

A plentiful supply of beer, stout and soya bean drink. For the preferred guests there were wine and liquor

And a karaoke hired by the birthday boy to allow guests to exercise their vocal chords