Fraser’s Hill

I recently featured the highlands hill resort of Cameron Highlands as a destination for your family and kids for the upcoming school holidays. An alternative highlands vacation spot is the nearer Fraser’s Hill.

I have been getting conflicting information about the one way traffic system going uphill or down hill based on alternate hours. It was implemented during the colonial days because the road was too narrow and winding. Recently, an old road going down hill was opened up again, making it two way using two separate roads. This was confirmed by Donald GH Tan, a friend, regular bird watcher and nature lover who used to go uphill.

I was kind of sad to hear about the changes as the one way road and waiting system brought back cherished memories as a child. Arriving at the foothill with the wrong timing meant waiting at The Gap and listening to the exciting and lush jungle sounds. It was something special.

The Gap Rest House is now abandoned and derelict according to Donald. There are still many bungalows and chalets on the hill, many with Tudor style design and charming colonial era designs. Some are abandoned as the Hainanese caretakers grew old and retired. Take your family there before more changes affect the forgotten hill resort.

Surprised that two of the resorts, I stayed as a kid, are still there: Puncak Inn and Merlin (now Shahzan Inn Fraser’s Hill).
Find and book a hotel here;

http://www.mycen.my/frasers-hill-hotel-deals-finder/

Picture of a colonial day bungalow by my friend Sharon Teo (https://www.facebook.com/seaDevilyn)

#fraser #highlands #hillresort #raub #pahang #bukitfraser #kkb #colonial #nature #hill

Fish Cake From The Hokkien Mee Stall

The fish biscuit, as it is known in Chinese, is usually made from either the Spanish Mackerel (Ikan Tenggiri) or the Wolf Herring (Ikan Parang).

The latter is also known locally as Saitoh Fish (in Chinese) because of its machete (parang) shape.

Unlike English fish cakes made from cod and potato patty, the Asian fishcake is without batter and uses freshly minced fillet paste mixed with flour.

When well done, the fish cake should not be too oily and possess an aromatic flavour. Under the fried crispy skin is the soft but springy fillet that melts in your mouth.

This is one of the better ones from Restoran Xin Yuen Kee in Kuala Kubu Bahru, famous for its Lor Mee.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 1000, f9, 1/80 sec.

Shaved Ice And Light

Iced dessert from Kak Jah’s Cendol stall in front of the post office in Kuala Kubu Bahru. I poured Nescafe Ice into a take-away pack and it tasted pretty cool.

Photography Tip: It is possible to do nice food photography at a roadside hawker stall. It can be done without any additional equipment but it requires a systematic approach.

Survey the ambient light before finding a seat. Note the direction of light, plus the shadows and highlights it will cast. Then, choose a table and seating position in relation to that.

Travel food photography is not about climbing on a chair (blogger-style), taking a overhead shot and tagging it as #foodphotography.

It entails an understanding of light that you cannot control. Harness the existing ambient light and use it to shape the food or to highlight its textures.

What if the light is really bad? Don’t bother, then. Just enjoy the food. There are no laws compelling you to post every meal you had.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f4, 1/320 sec.

There’s A Lesson In Here Somewhere

At the turning into Kuala Kubu Bharu town, I stopped to fill up and friendly pump attendant, Mr Rajamani, assisted me. Since he is KKB born and bred, I asked him if that’s anything interesting to see inside. He thought about it for a few seconds and said: “Not, really. Mostly government offices”.

Familiarity breeds indifference or nonchalance, I guess. It turned out to be the town with the most things to see, so far. Glad I went ahead and explored it, running into so many interesting people and places.

A former government servant, Rajamani has worked at this Shell station for the past 20 years after retiring from civil service. He is now 78, fit and sharp.

I am here again to refill before continuing north on Federal Route 1. Jaded as he was, his face light up when I showed him pics of some of the KKB residents I captured. He smiled broadly as he identified each by name.

Before I drove off, I asked him a question that was bugging me:

Me: “Were petrol stations, such as this one, affected when the highway opened up and transit traffic by-passed the small towns?”.

Rajamani: “Not, really”.

Me: “How is it?”.

Rajamani: “Locals have cars too lah”.

Photography Tip: On a road trip, pack along a small low-light lens but not for bokeh or stylo-mylo purposes. I put it to good use here where twilight was fast fading.

I normally click as I converse, composing with the rear LCD screen so that my face is visible to the subject. With the Sony Zeiss Sonnar T, I was able to dial a fast enough shutter speed to hand hold with one hand and also to freeze a very animated subject.

Goodbye KKB, thanks for the friendships and memories.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f1.8, 1/250 sec.

Teng Wun

Mr Wun the baker and proprietor of Teng Wun Cake Shop, together with his wife, are making 400 to 500 pieces of kaya puffs a day, and were doing so for the last 30 years or so.

Quite an amazing number considering there are not that many residents, let alone tourists in KKB. Many of his customers are locals, including Indians, Malays and Orang Asli folks.

Kaya, also known as coconut custard is of Peranakan origin and not Hainanese, I believe.

Local Hainanese people (originally from the Island of Hainan in South China) are known for their culinary skills, especially fusion food of East and West.

Chicken chop and kaya-butter toasts are Malaysian-Hainanese inventions. Many also used to work on the trains’ (KTM) catering coach and operate kopitiam (coffee shops) around the country.

Another Hainanese in town proffered a theory as to why they are good cooks. They were latecomers to then Malaya. They came after the earlier wave of migration by the Hokkiens, Cantonese, Teochews and Hakkas. By the time they arrived, all viable business opportunities and job openings were controlled by powerful clans and triads.

Without a membership card, they ended up working for English expats (wealthy colonialists) as cooks and caretakers of mansions. Here at KKB, several Hainanese residents and their ancestors used to work at the colonial bungalows up on Fraser’s Hill.

It was from the British families that they were introduced to western food and they soon enhanced the recipes further by adding Chinese touches. It is also claimed that they modified a kebab leftover from a garden party one night and added peanut sauce.

The creators named it “Sar Tay” meaning ‘three pieces’ in Hainanese, and voilà!; satay was born. Most likely an urban legend but quite possible considering their inventive kitchen skills.

Back to Mr Woon. His shop also sells the famous kaya by itself in small jars. The spread used on bread is thinner than the kaya used for the puffs. Mr Woon says a thicker version is used in the puffs so that is easier to wrap the skin around.

The nice gentleman offered me some complimentary butter sponge cakes to try. I turned that down to leave tummy room for the puffs. Yes. They are the world’s most awesome kaya puffs.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 2000, f9, 1/60 sec.