Posted in California, Inspiration, Life, Nature/Animals, tagged character, character trait, cotton tree, elephant, nature, park, shapes, tree on April 8, 2013 | 6 Comments »
It was fun to see the shape of the trunk and two small eyes of a baby elephant face on the cotton piece on the left.
The park was quiet. The walk, especially looking at the trees, was invigorating to both body and mind.
I gazed at the cotton tree, and the cotton looked like white gloves.
Then on the one on the left, a baby elephant face emerged. Can you see it, too?
Posted in California, Nature/Animals, tagged beach, happiness, redondo beach, sea, seashore, seaside, spirit, winter on February 24, 2013 | 13 Comments »
Sun shines bright
We leave the cold
behind,
Enjoying nature’s gifts
of blue and gold.
Posted in California, Inspiration, Life, Nature/Animals, tagged beauty, colors, happiness, nature, outdoors, rainbow on January 17, 2013 | 6 Comments »
Posted in California, Film/Books, Kampung Memories, Malay, Malay abroad, Singapore, tagged book launch, book launch Singapore, cake, kampung, Kampung Memories book, Kampung Memories Sharifah Hamzah, Malay food, Malay heritage, Sharifah Hamzah, Singapore book on December 29, 2012 | 30 Comments »
This amazing cake was made to replicate my book and my childhood home that was on the cover of my book (see sidebar).
I’m very lucky that my book “Kampung Memories, A Life’s Journey Revisited” has been able to “travel” and present itself on both sides of the Pacific; and more importantly, has enabled me to share memories and insights with diverse people and readers.
“Kampung” means village in Malay, and the book revolves around the urban villages in Singapore before they were demolished for redevelopment. I grow up in such a kampung, and in the book, I weaved my memories with that of the people who used to live there.
I launched my book in Singapore in June this year, and recently, the first book launch/event in the United States was held in Santa Clara, northern California, at the Kababs and Curry’s Restaurant.
It was the brainchild of my friend Khir Johari, who is considered by his many friends as a Renaissance man. He and members of the Singapore and Malay communities in the San Francisco Bay Area took care of all the details of the event: everything was done elegantly, and all I needed to do was to show up.
There was batik to decorate the tables, a spread of Malay dishes prepared by the talented ladies from the community, and wonderful chai from the restaurant. One of the highlights was a chocolate cake, made to replicate my kampung house that was on the cover of the book.
Faridah, who made this amazing cake, said she took a few days to complete it. She decorated it with coconut trees and little pots of flowering plants made with brightly colored fondant. There was even a tiny replica of a sepak raga (a traditional Malay ball made of bamboo and rattan).
So on that Sunday afternoon in fall, we sat down in that cosy room, sharing and listening to stories that follow a path to our heritage and roots. There were also other Americans of different ancestry in that room. I hope, and I suppose I imagine this, that the book brings to their minds a dusty road where their fathers or grandfathers used to cycle, or all the strong women of their childhood, the ones who nurtured and held the families in their seemingly simple, humble ways.
Thank you to everyone who helped organized and showed up for the launch.
The author Sharifah (left) with Khir, the event’s creator, listening to the stories and ideas shared by the guests.
A group photo. The banner, handmade by Salizah, was pretty impressive.
I’m carefully cutting the cake with Faridah, who made the extraordinary cake.
Mee siam, a specialty noodle dish of Singapore Malays.
Kuih keria, Malay doughnuts made with sweet potato.
Playing Malay heritage games (left) batu serembat or five stones, and the congkak, a board game.
Posted in California, Flowers, Home/Garden, Nature/Animals, tagged flower, gardening, hibiscus, Malaysia, Malaysia national flower, red, red flower, tropical flower on April 29, 2012 | 6 Comments »
The hibiscus, a tropic plant, grows well in southern California. I like the way the bold hues energize the garden.
The hibiscus is the national flower of Malaysia.
Posted in California, Inspiration, Life, Nature/Animals, tagged beach, bird, sea, seagull, seashore, seaside on March 22, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Posted in Art/Culture, California, Food, Home/Garden, tagged California oranges, citrus, citrus label, orange, orange label, vintage orange label on February 28, 2012 | 5 Comments »
We’ve just gone through the peak months for some orange varieties in California. I’ve enjoyed a variety of the fruit including the delectable tangelo. But, of course, the ones that I enjoy the most are the home-grown ones gifted by neighbors and friends.
My orange tress have started to bloom, and I just love the exquisite scent of the orang blossom flowers. I think it’s becoming one of my favorite fragrances.
I’m also captivated by the vintage labels and advertising of the Californian citrus industry: a colorful window into the state’s history. It is interesting to learn that it began in the late 19th century with the arrival of the railroad in Southern California. Farmers were then able to ship their produce throughout the country. To identify and advertise their produce, colorful crate labels were created and attached to the wooden crates.
The era of crate labels ended in the 1950s when growers started to use cardboard boxes.
Here are some that were displayed in an exhibition in Los Angeles.
Read more about the history of citrus in Orange County, California at: http://buildingbridgesworld.wordpress.com/2010/04/13/musings-in-april-citrus-county/
For a pic of the orange harvest from my garden, please see: http://buildingbridgesworld.wordpress.com/2011/03/19/citrus-harvest/
Posted in California, Home/Garden, Malay abroad, Nature/Animals, tagged backyard garden, gardening, papaya, papaya fruit, summer harvest, tropical fruit on October 5, 2011 | 4 Comments »
From my garden: one of the first fruits from the papaya tree, with its bright orange color, and the ever-reliable peppers.
The summer harvest this year had a little twist.
There were the yearly reliable staples like the peppers. But this time, I had a wonderful tropical surprise.
It actually started off as a casual experiment. After eating a papaya, I felt like putting a few seeds in the ground and see if any would grow. As the months went by, a plant took hold and grew bigger. Then there were cream-colored flowers, and then, an exciting sight, a bunch of papaya fruits.
When the fruits ripened, I plucked and cut them, and was surprised to find that they were seedless! Initially,I was a little apprehensive about this. But from information from the Master Gardeners of Orange County and from the Internet, I found out that there could be different reasons for the seedlessness, and that the seedless papaya is not such an unusual occurrence for papaya trees grown in the United States.
There could be several reasons why the fruit is seedless. One is that many fruit trees produce seedless fruit for dozens of years. However, once they mature, they start to produce seeded fruit.
Another is that the seedless fruit is the result of parthenocarpy, which is defined as the development of fruit without fertilization.
Suffice to say that the fruits are safe to eat. I enjoyed the creamy, sweet taste of the papayas throughout the summer, and there were more than enough to share with my neighbor. It looks like this year, my backyard garden gave me a bit of an adventure.
Posted in California, Food, Malay abroad, Malaysia, Singapore, tagged biryani, egg, fish, fish curry, Indian food, okra, restaurant, rice on July 22, 2011 | 4 Comments »
Hyderabad briyani is often garnished with boiled eggs.
Okra masala...a great dish.
I’m on the briyani trail again. This time in Northern California.
The Sunnyvale/San Jose area has a big population of Indian expatriates working in the IT industry, and there is a big selection of Indian restaurants. I went online to see opinions about the best briyani in the area, and a couple of restaurants always received the best ratings.
I decided to try one of them, Taste Buds, which uses halal meat.
The manager, Ram, told me that the cook is from Hyderabad, and the briyani is Hyderabad briyani cooked dum style, which is the authentic way of cooking briyani. In the dum method, a layer of rice is alternated with a layer of briyani spices and meat. The layers are repeated, then the pot is tightly covered and cooked over a low fire to fully integrate the flavors.
The goat briyani was rather good: the flavors were more subtle, buttery and fragrant. If there was one complaint, the meat was a little dry.
What turned out to be the winner, though, was the fish curry. So far, it was closest to the Southern Indian fish curry that I enjoy in Singapore and Malaysia. This style of fish curry has a delectable tang to it.
I think the Southern Indian fish curry in Singapore and Malaysia has been a little “Malayanised” or “localized” to suit the local flavors or taste. It has a complex, bold taste with that unmistakable tang. Roti prata (or roti canai as it is called in Malaysia), a grilled flour pancake, eaten with freshly cooked fish curry is one of my favorite breakfasts. You have to try it if you are in this region.
Well, Back to California: Taste Bud’s fish curry was very satisfying. Ram explained that the restaurant makes its own curry spices from scratch. I also like that they use sea bass for the curry. Quite a few restaurants use tilapia which is the least costly fish but tastes rather flat in curries.
On another visit, I sampled a few other dishes, and another clear winner was the bindi/okra masala. The okra was cooked just to the right texture. An interesting appetizer that found its way to the table was the egg bajji which is boiled eggs dipped in chickpea flour and deep fried. Egg lovers would certainly enjoy this dish.
Ram also recommended another of their specialities, the chilli shrimp appetizer. I’ve yet to try it, but I will visit Taste Buds gain as the restaurant scored high points for good food at very reasonable prices.
To read about my favorite briyani place in Southern California, more at http://buildingbridgesworld.wordpress.com/2010/05/07/big-on-briyani/
There's nothing like a freshly-cooked, good fish curry.
Egg bajji...dipped in chickpea flour and deep fried.
Posted in California, Flowers, tagged colors, popular flower, rose, rose garden, roses, San Jose on May 27, 2011 | 2 Comments »
It's easy to be drawn to these vibrant charmers.
It’s the season when roses bloom. A good time to visit the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden.
The garden features about 4,000 roses representing 200 varieties. An interesting fact about the garden: it was once a prune orchard. It was bought by the city in 1927 and became devoted exclusively to roses.
What I like most about the varieties is that whether you like roses with intense hues or those with subtle, delicate shades, they all can be found in this garden.
It is said that the rose is the most popular flower in the world, and in the United States, the rose is named as the favorite flower of 85% of Americans.
A walk in this garden not only enables one to linger and “take time to smell the roses”, but also to invite the colors of nature into one’s day.
I kept admiring the exquisite form of the petals, and the elegant colors..
The hint of lavender adds a delightful detail.
This rose garden has about 200 varieties of the flower.
