Tag: johor

Women’s Day Treat

It is International Women’s Day and a nice woman took me out for lunch at a woman’s place. When I was lamenting recently about friends letting me down when I needed help to go run errands, Elizabeth Chong, was one few empathetic people who contacted me to tell me she can help when necessary. It cheered me up greatly, on that day. Since we have not met in person, I suggested we meet up for a “trial run” in the form of a meal or drink.

She suggested the Johorean place Warong Mak Tim, operated by the mother of her former colleague at The Star. I like Muar and Johorean food and it was a wonderful suggestion. It bills itself as “Sajian Asli Warisan Johor” (original Johor heritage fare). Picture is of the famous ‘Johore Laksa’ that Elizabeth had today. Incidentally, Elizabeth is from Muar and can attest to the authenticity of the food at Mak Tim, whose family also originates from Muar.

Mak Tim is now at Setiawangsa and not, where it used to be, in Jalan AU2C Taman Desa Keramat, three months ago.

Panasonic Lumix GM-1, ISO 200, f5, 1/200 sec.

#localfood #malayfood #johorfood #johor #warung #maktim #setiawangsa #muar

Hua Mui’s Hainanese Chicken Chop In JB

That Thing They Do.

That famous Malaysian invention: Hainanese chicken chop from Hua Mui. Yumz.

Photography Tip: You can control lens flare without a lens hood or mattebox.

Use one hand to shade the light. In this case, I like the flare from the morning sun as it gives it the ambience.

To control or shade it a little, I can also use my friend Sharon’s iPad Mini as a ‘french flag’ or light cutter.

Hua Mui Restaurant is at 131 Jalan Trus, Johor Bahru and is certified Halal.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 320, f8, 1/200 sec.

#huamui #jb #chickenchop #johor #foodphotography #breakfast

The Sultan Abu Bakar State Mosque

The Sultan Abu Bakar State Mosque.

Another very beautiful Johor Bahru landmark is the Sultan Abu Bakar State Mosque. Constructed in 1892, the architectural design incorporates Victorian elements in line with the Anglophile sentiments of then Johor ruler, Sultan Ibrahim ibni Sultan Abu Bakar. It is truly majestic photographed early in the morning when the sun lights up the minarets elliptically.

Thank you Johorean Sharon Teo for taking me there one morning 3 years ago…

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f10, 1/500 sec.

Flag Vault

Flag Vault.

The Chingay part of the annual Johor Bahru parade is seldom photographed before sunset. By the time the temple procession and floats move into the city, it is usually way past nightfall. To catch the giant flag bearers in daylight, I went to the starting point in a village. That turned out to be near impossible as every surrounding road was closed for the massive event.

Me and JB resident Sharon navigated through a maze of back roads and shortcuts before finally ending up at the village where the procession assembled. We still needed to walk a long way to the starting point as there were like a million people already there.

Bewildered and unaware of what was going on, we discovered a site where there were 4 different Chinese operas of different dialects and where worshipers congregate to pray. It was human crush just moving along there among the crowds.

Even though I had plenty of experience covering cultural processions, it was to be one of the toughest stints on foot, starting from 3pm to 3am.

Chingay is the street art of balancing and vaulting giant and heavy flags. The Johor Bahru Chingay Parade is said to have a 140-year history. It is happening in JB tonight.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f6.3, 1/1000 sec.

#festival #chingay #parade #culture #johorbahru #johor #jb #malaysia #olympus #tbt #chinesefestival,

Golden Sands Of Desaru

I first went to Desaru on a leisurely, unplanned roadtrip, maybe 20 years ago, with Ken Chia and a bunch of other friends. We went via Kota Tinggi waterfall and I remember Desaru as very deserted. Desolation is a rare charm nowadays, though.

It is still relatively quiet and lonely. I like it this time on this second trip with Sharon. It was quite idyllic and beautiful. Desaru is near the southern tip of the peninsular facing the former South China Sea.

The shadows of the palm trees and casuarina trees were like paintings on the golden sands and it was tricky capturing it. We were standing on a ledge and needed to keep our own shadows out of the way. The beach was surprisingly litter free for a weekend getaway destination.

Olympus OM-D ISO 200, f10, 1/500 sec.

#jb #johor #desaru #beach #seaside #landscape #landmark #travel #coconuttrees #sand #horizon #sky #tourism #malaysia