16/09/09

We're lucky in London that we don't have the smog like Kuala Lumpur has. This sad sight is courtesy of illegal logging and forest clearing in nearby Indonesia and Malaysia as well. Some people are just plain thick and ignorant when it comes to caring about this little planet of ours.

All the national dailies are 'advised' by the government be it in English, Malay, Mandarin or Tamil. The Independent should feel at home here.

There's milk in the coffee, but this is Malaysian kopi, it stays resolutely dark.

Supposedly the best laksa in the country is sold by Madam Q. She has been selling her legendary dish for forty years and like most people from this part of the world they'll only stop at it till they drop!

Vermicelli or egg noodle or mixed; choice is yours.

70p as opposed to £7 in our Chinatown's Malaysian restaurants.

Coconut milk is eschewed in favour of a more kickass watery stock.
Needless to say this is the best laksa I've had.

Parking attendent bloke, I'm convinced that he owns the piece of land where our car is charged to park on.

Cousin Siew Mei

Cousin Cassandra

Hungry Ghost Festival.
Tonight is the last night of the brief amnesty whereby the ghosts are allowed to roam free. This happens once a year and tonight's closing ceremony is a Hokkien version.

Huge incense or joss sticks line the main road of Jalan Ipoh.

The temple compound.

Offerings of anything edible like rice, cakes and cooking oils are offered to the Gods and I believe the dead to follow.

There were the sacrificial animals as well. I counted there were at least fifty pigs on one long table alone.

Por Tor Kong.
Hokkien for the God of the Underworld. Thanks is given by the worshippers for his help in providing a trouble free passage for the ghosts' return journey from the land of the living.

Mum and Aunt 2 lighting their joss sticks...

...and placing the joss papers in the hallowed furnace.

The temple of Guan Yin or the Goddess of Mercy.
She's the most popular deity among the Chinese Buddhists.

(before you shriek the swastika is sacred and totally original to Buddhism)

Chinese opera, sung in Hokkien, is staged to...

...entertain and appease both the living and the dead.

It's often difficult to lug a camera around in any holy places. I'm not entirely sure if I was allowed to do so this evening but I'm sure that the gods would approve somewhat. The grainy pictures were due to lack of flash photography and a tripod.

Came back to Mum's and found Nic's assemblage of bots. He wouldn't go to bed until I took a picture of it.

Night Market from the previous night thru' to 15/09/09

14/09/09

Pasar Malam or night market in Malay. There are hundreds of them in full flow all over the country

Fried noodles store.
Notice the woman in the middle wearing a mask, it's quite a common sight in the capital. This is due to the H1N1 or swine flu scare.

Satay as it should be cooked.

Fried white radish cake.
The nearest thing I can relate the texture to is that of frying blanched gnocchi.

Crispy prawn fritters.

They're laid back in Malaysia when it comes to shopping.
It's around half nine by now.

Stall selling Po Piah.
Springrolls served without being deep fried but au naturel. Tremendously yummy, another unique dish that the Chinese Malaysians are proud of.

Fried gram flour twists.

Dragon fruits from local farmers.
The fruits look better than they taste.

Lantern indicating that bubble tea is sold herewith.

15/09/09

Accompanying Mum on her twice weekly trip to the market at 8AM.

Chicken Lady
All the chickens shown are organic and reared by her. We're probably looking at £5 for a fat hen. Those black hens are incredibly expensive, in Britain they're known as the Silky.

Tweezer time.
All birds are sold with their heads and feet intact, the Chinese don't do half-way houses...

...likewise fish.
The above are lantern fish and they're the be all and end all for the Teochew people when it comes to seafood.

We bought this local fish (Goh Ma Soon), not quite sure what the name in English is, but it's an expensive delicacy.

Cocky veg seller taking the mickey out of my camera!

Now, in a Chinese market there is a large amount of pork butchers, you'll need to go to a Muslim one if you prefer beef or mutton (people here laugh at you if you ask for lamb!).

Chinese cuisine is simply incomplete without pork.

By and large everybody found my camera acceptable, this was probably down to the way I dressed and suitably unshaven; they thought I was a Japanese tourist. Markets here are not the sort of places that visitors from other lands would venture into; the smell, the lack of hygiene that Westerners perceive and there's obviously the intrusion that the stallholders are unlikely to embrace.

Locally grown sweetcorn.

Fried doughsticks and wheat buns.

Boy about market.

Butcher having his noodle breakfast.

Sundried anchovies or ikan bilis.

Stocking on joss sticks and joss papers for tomorrow's epic last day of the Hungry Ghost Festival.

Another South Indian lunch, I was supposed to eat with my right hand...but keeping the camera clean took precedent, cutlery please.

Sungei Wang
The most successful shopping centre in Malaysia, it's not the largest nor the poshest, but its turnover is astounding. The name says it all- river money.

Low Yat Plaza
A one stop shop to rival Tokyo's Akihabara.

Otai Burgers.
The word francais is not French but Malay for franchise (a misspelling of nouns borrowed from the English language is a common practice). Otai burger stalls (no restaurants!) have a cult following in the country and I dare say Macs are pissed off with their presence. Otai have taken over the mantle from the older Ramly Burger as the best tasting burgers by the working-class.

Chicken patties; beef's sold out.

All the special burgers are served with eggs.

A paper thin pancake/omelette is created to wrap the burgers with.

This one messy eating sandwich, drips and sogginess comes to mind. It was bloody good despite whatever fears or prejudice I might have!