Wheels in Malaysia - PhotoHunt

 mini replica of our Singapore Flyer in Legoland Malaysia 

Photohunt Theme : Wheel

I found a couple of pictures with wheels in them on our trips to Malaysia.

wheel on an antique Chinese horse carriage

We were admiring the exterior of a Peranakan hotel in Malacca when the Security Manager offered us a tour of the place. The owner of the hotel has a huge collection of antiques in his private museum.

I Antique!?

We had a whale of a time in Malacca...., discovering quirky signs is part of the fun. hahaha.....

Shaping Hainanese Chicken Rice Balls - RT

Before we had our traditional Hainanese lunch hosted by the Malacca Hainan Association, ladies from its Women's Wing demonstrated how to shape chicken rice balls. Besides the ladies who laboured in the kitchen to cook for us, there were also two grannies who sacrificed their Sunday morning bonding time with their families to teach us how to shape Hainanese chicken rice balls. So touched by their hospitality.

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What are these used for!?

These are the moulds to shape the chicken rice balls - designed by the ladies to handle the hot temperature of the rice. 

So smart!

Grandma showing us how to shape the chicken rice balls. First scoop the piping hot chicken rice with the moulds.

The air-conditioned hall was filled with the aroma of the piping hot chicken rice. The bloggers were drooling as they took photos. We couldn't wait to taste the aromatic chicken rice.  :P

Ooooh ooh ...... it was hot!!

We have to quickly shaped it into a round ball. The grains of rice must not be too loosely packed or else it would fall apart, also we should not compressed the grains of rice too tight.

We had fun shaping our own chicken rice balls. The ladies also prepared steam Hainanese chicken and a special chilli  sauce to go with the Hainanese chicken rice. What a feast we had!

Malacca Hainan Association - Traditional Hainanese Food

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Malacca Hainan Association

After breakfast and a guided tour at Cheng Ho Cultural Museum on Sunday, the bloggers arrived at the Malacca Hainan Association. In the air-conditioned conference room, there was a hive of activity. The ladies from the Women's Wing were busy cooking lunch for us. Authentic Hainanese dishes. Wheeee!!

Hainanese Chicken Rice Balls and Hainanese Chicken

As they brought out the dishes one by one, the aroma of food filled the room. Since we couldn't eat yet, we started taking photos of the food.

These freshly made Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls with peanut filling (煎堆) were delicious. The skin is chewy and the peanut filling is fragrant.

 

Traditional Hainanese snack : Yi Bua 象征吉祥幸福的薏粑

Hainan island is a tropical island where visitors can see abundant coconut trees growing on the island - in the village, by the seashore and on the roadside.
 

"Yi-Bua" is one of the few vanishing Hainanese snack which has a fragrant cocnut filling. In the old days, this snack was usually eaten on special occasions like weddings and birthdays. Parents will give relatives this snack to announce the first month (as well as first year) of their new born baby.

ou bua kia 鸡屎藤粑籽汤

A Hainanese medicinal dessert made from a creeper called Chicken Sh*t Creeper. I know, it sounds morbid. It doesn't taste like the waste product but it does not appeal to me. :P

Bua Ta Art 蒸压粑

Youngsters in Singapore these days prefer fast food, western cakes and pastries, we hardly get the chance to taste these delicious traditional snacks which our grandmothers and mothers used to lovingly make. I am guilty of not learning how to cook these vanishing dishes. :P

Photography Time : bloggers crowded round the table laden with Hainanese dishes to take photos of the food.

Hainanese grannies teaching us to make chicken rice balls.

Bloggers having a hands-on session of shaping chicken rice  balls.

Happy bloggers enjoying this cultural exchange.

Some of the ladies from the Women's Wing of Malacca Hainan Association, they prepared these delicious Hainanese dishes. Hugs and kisses to them!! 

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam came for lunch with the bloggers. He enjoyed the food as much as we did.

I would like to thank the Malacca Hainan Association for their hospitality. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the ladies, many are grannies, who laboured on a Sunday morning to cook the traditional Hainanese meal for us. I love your dishes and hope to go back for another round. :D

Clean Graveyard - PH

PhotoHunt theme : Clean/Graveyards

dilapidated house costing more than 1 million ringgit 

On my Malacca trip, there is a dilapidated house opposite the youth hostel where I was staying. Peter, my Malaccan friend, pointed it out to us on the way as we haeded for our afternoon tea.

Sensing this could be material for a blog post, the Filipino and Singaporean bloggers seized the opportunity to explore and take photos of this dilapidated house. My hubby and Peter waited a distance away.

It was chilly within the interior of the house despite the scorching 36 degree Celcius temperature outside. There was not a sound saved for our footsteps and chatter. No chirpings of birds or crickets, no stray dogs or cats making their homes here. Dead silence.. 

The structures of this huge house were still intact. I could image how grand and beautiful it looked in its heyday.

This house was sold to a Singaporean for more than a million ringgit (US$314,000). I wonder why the owner didn't restore it. 

It was only after we emerged from the house that Peter told us it was HAUNTED! -_-

So, the house wasn't 'clean'! No wonder he stayed far away.

Peter showed us more old houses along the way, I was surprised to learn that many of them were bought over by Singaporeans. In fact there is one whole street of houses which are owned by Singaporeans. So smart of them! Why didn't I think of buying a house in this world heritage city!?

The Dutch Cemetery in Malacca 

Visiting graveyards is rarely on my travel itinerary.  But I thought the spirits occupying the dilapidated house would prefer to rest in this tranquil and clean Dutch Cemetery.

The Dutch Cemetery in Malacca was first used in the last quarter of the 17th century. 5 Dutch graves and 33 British graves lie within its compound. The cemetery was gazetted as a National Monument under the Antiquities Act 1976.

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EastCoastLife's Visit to Julie's Biscuit Factory@Malacca - WW

My favourite Julie's biscuits - Peanut Butter sandwich, Golden Crackers and the new Oat 25

The first stopover on day one of A Date with Bloggers 2012 in Malacca was a visit to our event's main sponsor, Perfect Food Manufacturing (M) Sdn. Bhd. where the famous Julie's Biscuit is manufactured.

The reason for my participation in this blogger event was a visit to Julie's biscuit factory. Its peanut butter sandwich has been my favourite since I was a kid. I truly looked forward to seeing how my favourite biscuit is made.

It was a humid Saturday morning, yet the factory was humming with activity when our busload of bloggers entered the colossal gates.

As we ascended the stairs to the conference room, I couldn't help admiring the unique walls of Julie's biscuit factory. The tiles were prints of Julie's biscuits. Cool!

After a briefing by the Management, each blogger was issued a white coat, a hairnet, shoenets and a mask. We started fooling around and taking photos after putting on the prescribed attire. :D

We looked like surgeons!

For hygiene and safety reasons, visitors are required to be properly attired. Bad news for bloggers : Photo taking/video taping is STRICTLY PROHIBITED inside their factory. -_-

Julie's biscuits

Next came the actual tour! The first thing that welcomed us was the aroma! That feel-good, sweet-smelling, warm fragrance of oven-fresh biscuits! I took deep breaths and let the aroma filled me up. Such Heavenly smells!

The manufacturing area was extremely hot - about 40 degree Celsius. I respect the workers who have to work long hours in such hot temperature. I was drenched in perspiration 10 minutes into the tour. Free sauna and slimming! haha.....

I used to buy these tins of biscuits for my students' teatime snack

I watched dough being moulded into biscuits; peered into gigantic ovens that hissed; salivated at the biscuits sailing on endless waves of conveyor belts.

We were not allowed to touch the biscuits, it was pretty hard for me to control myself because the oven-fresh biscuits were too tempting as they sailed past me. :P

Perfect Food Manufacturing practised a philosophy that is, “what we don’t eat, we do not let other people eat”. I am pleased to learn that they do not add preservatives and do not use artificial colouring in their biscuits. They even filtered the water before they use it for baking.

A buffet of Nonya dishes

At the end of the tour, we were ushered to Julie's Cafe where a sumptious feast awaited us. Yes, they have a cosy little cafe in their factory.

ECL and hubby with the Filipino bloggers

Over lunch, I had a chat with Mr Ng Teng Chai, General Manager (Operations) of Perfect Food Manufacturing. I learnt that they have been donating to charities such as old folks homes, orphanages and schools for years. They also donated to victims of natural disasters such as tsunami in Indonesia and floods in China, Myanmar, Thailand and Pakistan.

In early 2011, Perfect Food Manufacturing started a movement called “Share-the-love” in Malaysia. Through this movement, they hope to share the passion and love they have for their company with the public. They hope everybody will express their love and care to people not only who are close to them but to whoever they come across.

After lunch, the Management and bloggers took some group photos. Each blogger was given samples of Julie's products. I was delighted to receive my peanut butter sandwich biscuits and Julie's famous Love Letters!

Crowds at Julie's during Singapore Food Expo 2012

Visiting Julie's biscuit factory was overall a great experience. I learnt about the stringent manufacturing process of their products through this tour and also had the opportunity to taste freshly baked biscuits right from their oven! :D

My colleagues were fortunate to taste Julie's classic and new products because I brought the biscuits straight to my office as soon as I returned to Singapore. I was mobilised for an urgent operation. Two days later, I was dismayed to find all my Julie's biscuits gone!      


PERFECT FOOD MANUFACTURING SDN BHD
AG 6876, Alor Gajah Industrial Estate,
78000 Alor Gajah, Melaka, Malaysia
Telephone No : 606-556 1401
Telefax No : 606-556 5746

A Date With Bloggers@Malacca 2012

ECL at Uncle Keong dessert shop

My husband and I drove up to Malacca in the early morning hours of 19 May (Saturday) for a bloggers' event. It has been several years since I last visited this fabulous city.

Malacca was declared a World Heritage City by UNESCO on 7 July 2008. I am fascinated by its heritage buildings, cultural enclaves, places of worship and its wide selection of yummy cuisines.

Group photo with the management of Perfect Food Manufacturing

After arriving at Malacca Sentral, we were chauffeured to Julie's Biscuit Factory by Jee Shen. We were taken on a tour of their humongous manufacturing premises and treated to a buffet lunch.

ECL stayed here.

We checked into our accommodation after lunch. We stayed at Sayang-Sayang Youth Hostel @Riverside. Initially I was in shock when I opened the door to my room. Used to staying in at least 3-star hotels with attached bathrooms on my travels, I wanted to check into a nearby hotel but hubby persuaded me to rough it out and appreciate the backpacker experience.

I should be thankful to Kent Lee, the young boss of Sayang-Sayang Youth Hostel. He sacrificed his earnings on a busy Saturday to provide accommodation for 40 plus people. My hubby and I are getting old and have aching knees, the climbing up and down of the stairs to the loft is a task.
Queuing to use the toilet gets a little tricky for us, because we older folks have a problem holding our bladders. :P Still, I want to thank Kent for his generosity.

In the evening, we attended the opening ceremony of A Date With Bloggers at Melaka 2012 located at Mahkota Parade.

ECL chatting with witty Datuk Wira Latiff Tamby Chik, Chairman of Malacca State Tourism, Culture and Heritage 

and Dr Yee Kok Wah.

After the ceremony, we stopped by Jonker Street to soak in the night market atmosphere. It was an extremely humid night, we returned to the hostel for a much needed bath and I immediately dozed off the moment I hit the pillow.

We had breakfast at the awe-inspiring Cheng Ho Cultural Museum where a free guided tour was offered to us.

Traditional Hainanese dishes prepared with love by the Women's Wing of Malacca Hainan Association.

We proceeded to Malacca Hainan Association after our museum tour. The hospitable ladies from the Women's Wing were busy cooking up a feast for us. I was getting hungrier as each dish was placed on a table for us to take photos. 

We learnt how to shaped the famous Hainanese chicken rice balls, taught by two lady seniors.

Love the authentic Nyonya food prepared by Mdm Lucy Wee of Anak Nyonya Restaurant.

Talented Mr Low K.P. of Mei Zhong Yuan Confectionery Sdn Bhd gave us a hands-on demonstration of his delicous Sun Cake with durian or coffee filling. Later in the afternoon, we went to his shop to buy his famous snacks.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam joined the bloggers for lunch at Malacca Hainan Association.

We took a walk along Jonker Street after our lunch to buy some souvenirs for our friends and colleagues in Singapore. Some bloggers left early for home.

Within a short span of 24 hours, many of us have become friends who were sharing and looking after one another. It was wonderful meeting these beautiful people from Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.    

Before we bade our farewells and headed for home, we had our last group photo at Kota A'Farmosa.

ECL gives the thumbs-up for Lim Kang Xiang (left) and Steven Tan (right)

Special thanks to these two well-brought-up, adorable young men who gave their best efforts to make our trip a memorable and enjoyable one. They did a good job despite being first time organisers of such a event. I will always cherish the memories of this trip.

I would also like to thank their friends who came to help out in this event. They are a bunch of truly remarkable young people to hang out with. *Applause*

Thanks to all the sponsors who made our trip in Malacca a memorable one. I went to Malacca carrying one luggage bag but came home laden with bags of goodies and lots of heartwarming stories.

Niceties over, the reviews will begin in my next post. :D