Month: August 2017

Tong Seng: The Last Truly Multi Racial Kopitiam

Majulah Singapura.

This is a 2010 picture I took inside Tong Seng coffee shop in Liang Seah Street in the Bugis area. It has since closed and one of the reasons cited was the difficulty in hiring help.

Rumour has it that property value appreciation resulted in the family making a tidy SGD 15 million selling the shop and retiring to The Bahamas.

It was the favourite halal certified Chinese kopitiam in Singapore. I always go there to eat the sliced fish soup, chicken rice and prawn mee whenever I was in Singapore. It tasted really good.

According to newspaper reports; on its last day which coincided with Hari Raya Haji in 2013, it decided to give free food to its many Muslim customers during lunch.

Unfortunately, everyone who has never eaten there before and the entire island rushed to the shop when they heard there was free food. Just like Malaysia lah.

The owners were forced to reserve the first three hours of free dinner for Malay customers only because they used to form the bulk of their customers.

Happy 50th National Day today (in 2015), Singapore.

Olympus E-PL1, ISO 1600, f3.5, 1/60 sec.

#singapore #singapura #majulahsingapura #sg50 #sg51

Shanmuga in Berkeley

Shanmuga in Berkeley.

The best nasi lemak used to be from Shanmuga in Taman Berkeley in Klang. Served hot in a banana leaf and old newspaper wrapped packet, it goes very well with their crispy fried chicken and iced milk tea. With so many gangsters in town, I was surprised no epic fights broke out at the narrow open space car park jammed full of double parkers.

I was also nervous and hoped I don’t see an abandoned and lost dog in the surroundings. Some Klang people are sick people with a fetish for owning a Siberian Husky in our warm tropical climate. They don’t take care of them and the poor dogs end up with yellowish and untidy coat. To make matters worse, they like to bring the dogs out with them in their cars. They lose the dogs and make no effort in finding them. I personally know such irresponsible and callous owners from Klang.

#shanmuga #klang #husky #nasilemak #tamanberkely #tamanengann

Rise And Shine

Not to spook some people who use the idiom regularly, it of biblical origin. This may surprise some sensitive Muslim friends who use it innocently and regularly. “Rise” means to get up and “shine” in its normal context meaning to “wake up. act lively and do well” at least, without digging deeper. I used to think it is a soldier’s command. Rise and shine your boots. The internet kills the romantic notions.

The earliest use of ‘rise and shine’ in print allude to a biblical reference, in Isaiah 60:1. King James Version, 1611, gives that as: Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
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~ the Phrase Finder http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/303000.html

Just Another Causeway Sunrise.

Too lazy to drive out to Desaru coast for the sunrise view in the morning. Even in JB city, I had to leave my hotel at 5:30 am to scout for an ideal location east of the causeway.

By line of sight, here’s looking across the Johor Straits through to Admiralty Road on Singapore island, to Sebana Cove on the eastern gulf and onwards to the South China Sea.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f8, 1/400 sec.

#sunrise #landscape #morning #dawn #clouds #causeway #straits #johor #jb #singapore #olympus

You Are At The Tip

You Are At The Tip

Tanjung Piai (pronounced Pee-I) is a weird place. Geographically, it is seriously significant because it is the Southernmost tip of mainland or continental Asia. On the opposite and other extreme end is Cape Chelyuskin in Russia, just below the North Pole.Yet sadly, Tg Piai is virtually unknown to many Malaysians and Singaporeans. In reality the place is a dump. I went there in 2003 with Pooi San, with Emily Lowe in 2011 and with Sharon in 2014 on various roadtrips.

Malaysians only know one thing in promoting a seaside attraction: build chalets on stilts. There is nothing much to see unless you enjoy looking at oil tankers in the narrow Straits of Johor or at the industrial areas of Tuas in Singapore. It is also part of a national park with the mangrove shore as attraction. One thing I noticed is the first thing people do when they arrive at the Tanjung Piai resort is to pee. It is a long drive.

Tip: I don’t recommend staying here. Look for accommodation in Kukup or Pontian or even the kinky love hotel in JB. Search in MyCen Hotels.

Pic 1, If gazebos turn you on.
Pic 2. Malaysians also know selling T shirts.
Pic 3. A family bored out of their skulls bonding at the restaurant. Thank goodness for wi-fi.

#tanjungpiai #johor #jb #tip #southernmost #asia #pontian #kukup #landmark #roadtrip