Month: May 2017

San Miguel Beer Of 1890

Non-beer drinkers may wonder why, at many Asian cities, customers at coffee shops stack finished bottles on the table. It may appear like a competition, if there are more than one table of drinkers.

The reason is quite innocuous, usually. For regulars, no tab is kept by the shop. When they are about to leave, a coffee shop worker or the cashier will count the empty bottles and the total is calculated.

The San Miguel bottles should give a clue to drinkers that this is a coffee shop in the Philippines. It was nice seeing the pale pilsen in its hometown and birthplace. It is one of Phillipines’s most famous global brands. Yes. I tried famous Jollibee burgers too, founded by a Mr Tan.

They drinkers here were bored workers of the Chinese coffee shop itself. It was nightfall outside in Chinatown, Manila.

What was I doing there?

As usual, I wanted to talk to some ethnic Chinese after exploring Manila Chinatown. The men told me St Miguel brewery is owned by a Chinese tycoon, Mr Ang. The corporation also owns Petron petrol stations in Malaysia, I was told.

Find a hotel easily in Manila at Mycen Hotels. www.mycen.my

Olympus OM-D, ISO 2000, f2.8, !/160

#documentaryphotography #streetphotography #coffeeshop #chinatown #beer #stmiguel #manila #chinese #philippines #olympus

Kai Si Hor Fun In Notting Hill

The dish Is flat rice noodles with shredded chicken, chives, bean sprouts and chopped scallions, drizzled with sesame oil and soy sauce. I had the dry mix version and it also comes in soup.

Hor Fun looks like kuey teow but only the Chinese can tell the difference. Hor Fun noodles are more slithery and smoother in texture.

The dish originated from and is famous in Ipoh but I had this in a kopitiam in the vicinity of Notting Hill, a pretentious enclave in Bukit Rahman Putra, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur.

#food #kaisi #horfun #chinesefood #noodles #chicken #kopitiam #nottinghill #rahmanputra

I Saw A Stegosaurus With A Beer Belly, Man Boobs And Spine Plates

I Saw A Stegosaurus With A Beer Belly, Man Boobs And Spine Plates.

I was driving in Port Klang town when I thought I saw a human Stegosaurus from the Jurassic period. I stopped my car and got down to have a closer look.

It turned out some form of ancient Chinese and Egyptian cupping therapy. According to the Malay ‘medicine man’, the bamboo tubes suck out bad “wind” form the body.

There is a ‘snake oil’ salesman outside each of the three lottery shops.

Of course, you don’t have to look like a dinosaur or flash your manboobs to the innocent public.

The five-foot-way stall owner has a bottle of green liquid that can do the same magic for only RM10.

I liked how reactive or flexible the salesman was. When he sees a potential Chinese customer, he will say he learned it from a Chinese sifu.

When an Indian customer takes an interest, he says: “Look at my faithful Indian client sitting here.” Hehe.

Malay customers? His pitch was you can find him selling outside the National Mosque on certain days. Subtly suggesting some religious validation for the naive. Brilliant.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 250, f10, 1/250 sec.

#documentaryphotography #streetphotography #cupping #bamboo #bekam #dinosaur #jurassic #sonyalpha #a7r #zeiss

Protection Of Mother

“What did you just say to my mom?” The wide eyed, startled and angry kid seemed to be asking me.

Me: “Told her she’s really beautiful and have very nice features like that of a Bollywood star”.

I wished I could tell her that but I don’t think she’ll understand me.

I must brush up on my geography, too. When I asked her which town she comes from in Myanmar, I couldn’t figure out what she said and spelt. Not her fault. I’ll carry a paper map of Myanmar next time.

She nodded her head and smiled when I asked if she is Muslim. There are 136 ethnic groups in Myanmar. 135 now according to The Lady..

Photography Notes: This shot works because I got down to their eye level by squatting too. That probably startled the kid. Lol.

I would have allowed more headroom for the mother but didn’t think the kid will repeat the reaction. So I reacted and clicked before I could properly compose.

Also, the scene will look bad if it was taken from a standing position, looking down.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY, especially to the many SINGLE MOTHERS, who raised her children single-handedly under very hard circumstances. It is hard for a nomadic refugee.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 2500, f11, 1/200 sec.

#documentaryphotography #streetphotography #migrants #myanmar #burma #mother #child #mother #refugee #sonyalpha #a7r #zeiss

A Little Known May 13 Story

When I was doing my story (hash tagged #tvssblc) on the Leprosy colony in Sungai Buloh, I interviewed Abdul Rauf, a former inmate who has recovered after a long stay inside.

He now runs a successful nursery business selling plants and turf grass. Except for a few deformed and missing fingers, there is little clue he was a long time sufferer of the contagious and feared disease.

His memory is still sharp and he told me many stories of life in the settlement. He has a great sense of humour and has much fond memories of his extended stay in the colony. A mysterious Chinese man, I befriended earlier, named “Africa”, purportedly one of Rauf’s best friends, led me by motorcycle to Rauf’s home.

When he told me about the various incidents such as royal visits, I asked him about the dreadful May 13 racial riots and whether it impacted them. He said many residents panicked and rumours were rife. The Malays hid at the mosque and surau when there were rumours of Chinese gangsters arriving to attack them. Kepong nearby was notorious for Chinese gangsters. Similarly, Chinese inmates huddled together in the churches and temples. Can’t remember if he mentioned about Indian and Orang Asli patients who also formed cliques.

There were a lot fears and distrust, he said. Finally one wise English doctor asked them. “Let’s be honest. What outsiders are going to risk coming in here??? Normally, people will run when they see lepers!”

Then the lepers starting to hug one another and started asking, “Who have we got as family apart from ourselves?” According to Rauf, their greatest worry was the supply of food and that it may run out with the curfews and disrupted supplies. Then they declared that they will share their food with one another in order to survive together. In recalling their unsubstantiated fears, he suddenly laughed very hard. We hugged and laughed hard together.

What I interviewed him on 28th May 2016 but kept the story for today.

#leprosarium #sungaibuloh #colony #leper #settlement #history #life #sonyalpha #a7r #zeiss #tvssblc #racerelations #may13