Only You - The Fish of Lee Kang-sheng

Most of us who caught this production came for possibly 2 reasons: Director Tsai Ming-liang and actor Lee Kang-sheng.  We did have the typical Tsai's moment - long scenes (Lee walking from one end of the stage to the other, cleaning the aquarium), no straight forward storytelling.  If we are prepared to just watch it as it is, it was enjoyable at times, and the staging was interesting.  What was lacking to me was the absence of a memorable moment on stage.

Da Pacem: Give Me Peac by The Hilliard Ensemble

The Hilliard Ensemble opened the "A Tapestry of Sacred Music" on 27 Apr 2012.    I can't say that I am a big fan of sacred music, but the ensemble really engages.  The ensemble, together with sporano Monika Mauch and violinist Muriel Cantoreggi, sounded great at the Esplanade Concert Hall.

Wild Rice's Romeo and Juliet

This should be Wild Rice's first Shakespeare's produciton, and the company did it with admirable results.  Director Ivan Heng brought the performance closer to the youth audience, having traces of local context, incorporating pop and street culture,

Kranji War Memorial

It had been more than 20 years since I visited Kranji War Memorial.  As this year was the 70th Anniversary of the Fall of Singapore, it was timely to visit this place again.  From Kranji MRT Station, you could take bus 160, 178, 960 or 961.  Alternatively you could walk for about 15 minutes till you see the sign below.  

It was about 3 minutes' walk from the main road to the Memorial Park.  The history of the park and on WWII were at the entrance to the memorial.

The design of the Memorial was simple, but solemn and dignified:



This memorial not only remembered the British soldiers who were killed during the wall, but soldiers of other races and nationalities.


The front of the memorial laid the tombstones of the soldiers, a solemn reminder of the cruelties of war. 

Most were young men. 



















The memorial was also the burial ground for 2 Presidents of Singapore: Benjamin Sheares and Yusof Ishak.

Penang Day 4: Penang Laksa and Chendol

It was fitting that my entry on Penang started with, and ended with food.  Near the massive overhead pedestrian bridge which led into the old town, look for Lebuh Keng Kwee where the well known Chendol stall was located.

Just turned into the alley and you would see the chendol stall.  It was busy during lunch hour.

You could order the food inside the coffee shop and the staff would bring in the chendol for you. 

Did I enjoy it?  Strangely, not really.  Maybe my expectations was very high, so it tasted just ok to me.  The stall used the big red beans which I didn't find it nice. 

Inside the coffee shop, the laksa was good.  Equally impressive with the one at Kok Lok Shi bus stop.

And that ended my trip to Penang.  A pleasant trip.  Next time round, I will try more food stalls and visit more sights.

Penang Day 4: Penang Peranakan Mansion

I was walking back from Fort Cornwallis to the hotel where I passed by the Penang Peranakan Mansion.

The mansion was featured often on travel programmes, and even though I was running short on time, I decided to make a quick visit.

The whole mansion was beautifully restored.  The entrance was already impressive:

This mansion would likely belong to a wealthy Peranakan, also known as Straits Born Chinese, or Baba  or the Nyonya.  The origin of this race was reported to be early Chinese immigrants who settled in Penang, Malacca and Singapore.  They assimilated into the community, married the locals and also incorporated their language and customs accordingly.

The second floor housed a few living rooms, and all had elaborated furniture and antiques.

  The clothes worn by the ancestors were Chinese official clothings.

There were several Western cutleries and decorative items in the cabinet, meaning that the former owner had good relations with the Westerners and entertained them at home.

You could walk in this mansion in a leisurely manner as every room or corner had something to explore, and you were as if visiting a person's home, unlike visiting a museum.


Planned for an hour at the mansion.

Admission is RM10.
For more information:
http://www.pinangperanakanmansion.com.my/

Penang Day 4: Fort Cornwallis and Lighthouse

It was raining heavily in the morning and it distracted my plans somehow.  I had breakfast at a dim sum place off Chulia Street.  Good dim sum, reasonably priced.












Walked towards the sea front and took photos of the City Hall and other government buildings:

Penang Day 3: Penang Old Town at night

Was looking for somewhere to eat but the old town seemed to have limited choices.  I however noticed that the buildings looked pretty great in the evenings, especially when they were well lit. Here are the photos.

Walking back towards the hotel and there were some street stalls along Chulia Street.

This stall serves good wonton noodles.   Good value at RM2.80 per serving.

The stall next to it was doing brisk business too.

Penang Day 3: Char Kuey Teow stalls and Hotel Chulia Heritage

Back from Kok Lok Temple.  The well known char kuey teow (fried noodle) stall at Lorong Selamat was finally opened for business. I decided to try it even though I was pretty full from the laksa earlier.

If you have known from some other sources, the stall was managed by a lady who wore a red hat, and apparently she has a strong character.  And that's the reason I did not dare to take a photo of her.

Taste wise, it was tasty and fragrant and worth the RM8 price tag.

Down the road, there was another char kuey teow stall that I tried on day 2.   If you like your noodle with a little burnt smell, this stall is for you.  I however prefered the other stall.

The stalls selling ngoh hiang (something like meat pate) and ice kacang (shaved ice) were good.

 Note: opposite this stall is the Midland Cafe where dim sum is served in the morning.











Walked past Red Rock Hotel and saw a lot of people gathering outside.  I thought that there was a fire, not knowing that an earthquake just hit Penang.

The taxi driver took a while to locate Hotel Chulia Heritage in the old town.   It seemed that the hotel is a new outfit and the owner was still renovating the place.

The hotel was located in the old town.

The lobby area was nicely done and the ground floor rooms looked nice.  I stayed at the upper floor where toilets were shared and they did not stock up on toilet paper.  The floor also squeaked when you walked, so it may affect occupants downstairs.  Hopefully all these matters could be resolved soon.

On the plus side, the staff were courteous and helpful.

Penang Day 3: Kok Lok Shi & Air Itam Laksa

From Komtar, took bus 201 (RM2) to Kok Lok Shi, of the most famous temple and most visited in Penang.  It was a rather long climb to the temple but still manageable.

Penang Day 3: Midland Cafe & Spring Chamber @The Sun

This morning, dim sum at Midland Cafe (Lorong Selamat, off MacAlister Road).  Good meal, the stall also sold chi char (fried) noddles early in the morning.  After that, no visiting, just checking emails and checked out from the hotel.

Decided to have a western meal at Spring Chamber @ The Sun.  This restaurant was located at the Dr Sun Yat Sen Memorial Centre (see my earlier post).   It was good once in a while to dine in a restaurant with nice decoration and with air conditioning.

Penang Day 2: Joez Coconut (Coconut Jelly)

After returning from Penang Hill, popped into Penang Times Square.  It was not fully operational yet so there was not much to see or shop.  Decided to walk down Jalan Dato Keramat to look for the coconut jelly shop.  You are on the right track if you see this sign.  Continue walking down the road....

till you see this shop front.

Ordered the coconut jelly.  It was soft and delicious!

The coconut juice, on the other hand, was just ordinary. (still prefer the Thai variety).

And apparently, you can now have it in KL.

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Penang Day 2: Monkey Cup Garden, Penang Hill

An interesting attraction at Penang Hill would be the Monkey Cup Garden, 15 minutes walk from the tram station..  It is opened daily from 9 am to 6 pm.  Entrance fee is RM10.

Monkey Cup (猪笼草) got its name as it was observed that wild monkeys drink water from these plants.   The Chinese name (猪笼草) however has a "pig" name in it.  It is also called Nepenthes or Pitcher Plants.  The fascinating thing about Monkey Cup is that its pitchers or cups can lure and trap insects and small animals.

The garden has more than 100 varieties of pitcher plants, set in a welcoming garden. The carnivorous plants is exclusively found in South East Asia and some other areas such as Madagascar, Seychelles, North Australia and South China.

On the day of visit, many monkey cup plants had started to wither. Thankfully, some were still good condition:

Overall, this is an interesting place to visit.  My only complaint was that the garden was a 15 minutes walk from the tram station.  Hopefully, there would be transport arrangements between the cable car tower and the garden in the near future.


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