Author: tvsmith

WYSINWYG

What you see, is not what you get. While I enjoyed my Mee Cha Long at The Chaiwalla Restaurant in Banting, Alex Wong MF ordered a salmon steak. Who can fault him? It looked so tempting on the menu (inset). What arrived looked drastically different. I think we should all call out restaurants who use pictures of meals on menus that are overwhelmingly different.

Fast food companies always hide behind a disclaimer that states pictures shown are for illustration purposes only or that it may not represent the actual product. The salmon steak didn’t have the criss cross griddle lines or heat searing marks seen on steaks. Furthermore, it is thickly crusted.

Alex was quite happy with the salmon steak though. I guess in the end, that is what matters.

Meestery Of Chai Loong

I was traveling back from my Gold Coast, Bagan Lalang and Morib adventure with Alex Wong MF the other day. Since Alex was feeling a little sleepy, I suggested we stop at The Chaiwalla Restaurant in Banting for dinner and coffee.

Chaiwalla is my favorite restaurant in Banting since my first visit many years ago. I discovered very good western cuisine there and asked for the Chef to compliment him. This a tiny town and was surprised they serve Bangsar quality food. The Malay chef told me, and true enough, he used to work at La Bodega in Bangsar!

Wanting to try something different this time, I flipped through the menu and saw an intriguing Mee Chai Loong. I have eaten all kinds of noodles but dont know what is mee cha long. It is also spelled as chalong or calong in some places. Google didn’t reveal much except it is popular in the Kuantan and Beserah areas. No historical info or etymology of the name can be found. Maybe sister Jehan Bakar from that parts can shed some light? Or anyone who can help unravel the mystery. Thank you.

It was soupy and was pretty tasty. Yumz.

Sony Alpha A7R, ISO 2000, f10, 1/60 sec.

#banting #chaiwalla #meechailoong #meechalong #meecalong #foodphotography #localfood

Face Fix

Since I have the folder opened, let’s have another look at gorgeous Indonesian and native of Cirebon Lix Xia. This is done as a demonstration by me and if you have any criticisms, please direct them at me, not her.

A five foot way is a great place for a street portraits. There is diffused light that is soft and pleasing, I first worried about the red pillars casting a red hue but it turned out alright. Good that she has a natural smile and it always helps to talk to your subject and make a few jokes while you click. Don’t be too serious and your subject will be relaxed too.

This image gives me a chance to try Portrait Pro face retouching software. Lix Xia is such a natural beauty and it pains me to apply make up and face sculpting on her.

You may be surprised to learn that almost every face or body you see on a magazine cover and ad nowadays has extensive touch up applied. Anyway I am sharing with you my bag of make up tricks to open the yes of the uninitiated. There are no hard and fast rules as every face is unique and the fix required is subjective and depends on personal taste or a client’s requirements.

Most apparent effect is face sculpting that makes a face appear slimmer. Neck was made longer too. I used eye whitening and also darken pupils controls too. Software also has eye widening and reshaping suitable for narrower Asian eyes or mata sepet.

You need to be careful here as removal of reflections or catchlights of pupils may make the eyes seem unnatural. I used Photoshop’s native tools to brighten her eyes and whiten her teeth. Portrait Pro also sharpened her eyebrows. Lips are what makes a face glamorous and sexy. Her lips were made plumber, lipstick colour deepened and her lips moistened or made wet.

Skin smoothing control removed pores, wrinkles, skin imperfections and will also remove shine or oily patches, if any. I left some pores and moles on her nose for a natural look. Only regret is the software removed all the freckles that I like.

Not easy being a digital make up artist. Heh. If I have more time, I like to play with hair control and texturing. Hope this gives you and idea of what goes on behind the scene.

Anyone knows a freind or girl who is cross eyed or cock eyed? The software has cock eye removal and I like to practise that too. Send me your pic which you think need fixing for non commercial use..

Sony Alpha A7R, ISO 200, f4, 1/500 sec.

#portraitpro #face #retouching #sculpting #makeup #lixxia #beauty #streetportrait #sonyalpha #a7r #glamour

Introducing Nga Nga

Nga Nga is our lonely and bored indoor cat. He holds a special place in our hearts. Eight or nine years ago, my mom saw a tiny kitten trapped and crying in a water logged and deep monsoon drain that he must have fallen into.

Mom summoned me and I jumped in without thinking. The drain was so deep I could not climb back up. Had to walk a mile before finding a way to climb out, with the wet, dirtied and frightened kitten in hand. Nga Nga means baby in Cantonese. Was the name registered at the vet when he was sent for check up and vaccinations.

Nga Nga is seen here wearing a collar that came with one of the bags of cat food donated by Lewyee Ng through Tesco’s online purchase and delivery.

The cats still need food donations. See my recent post entitled “There Is Hope” (http://www.tvsmith.my/eclectic/there-hope) (or PM me for the Tesco link) and info on how you can help Nga Nga and my other cats. Thank you.

Pictures with Asus Zenfone3

Love Her Freckles

On this day in 2015, I met Indonesian Chinese school teacher Lix Xia when she was wandering by herself in Chinatown KL. The then stranger and tourist told me she is from exotic Cirebon and it was my first time hearing of the ancient port city in West Java. At first, I thought she meant Seremban. Haha.

I asked to take pictures of her on the street and she asked why. I told her I like her (mild) freckles. Honesty helps:-) We spoke in a mixture of English, Hokkien (Fujian) and Mandarin.

If you ever go to Cirebon, book a hotel room through me at http://www.mycen.my/agoda/

Search for Cirebon on that page and Agoda will list at least 38 hotels there.

#cirebon #java #indonesia #indonesian #chinese #freckles #tourist #chinatownkl

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