Sunday, November 30, 2008

CHEAP, BIG, THICK & SWEET.....

"Cheap, big, thick and sweet". Ask any Penangites and they know that I am referring to the humble "Ban Chan Kueh"....a typical local pancake many foodies will be familiar with.

However, if you come across as a "hard bargainer"when you are out shopping at the local market or "pasar malam", the shopkeeper may turn sarcastic by asking you whether you are buying a piece of "Ban Chan Kueh"!!

"Ban Chan Kueh" in it's basic form is a simple pancake made of flour cooked on a cast iron pan with sugar and grounded peanuts sprinkled on it and topped with a dab of margarine for added flavour. The traditionalist will use charcoal fire but nowadays cooking gas are also used to heat up the cast iron pans.

Basically in Penang, there are two basic types of "Ban Chan Kueh". The difference is only the sizes that they are made. One is about 6 inches in diameter and the other is about 15 inches in diameter. The smal one is thinner and the big one is thicker. The small version is served folded individually, while the the big version is folded half and then cut into wedges or irregular polygons for ease of eating.

But over the past few years, the humble "Ban Chan Kueh" has gone through a "metamorphosis" in terms of toppings other than the original grounded peanuts. It used to have only slight variations like brown sugar instead of white sugar and extra toppings like canned sweet corn.

Let me introduce you to the stall that changes this humble snack into something else....
This stall is located at the "Supertanker Hawker Centre" in Taman Lip Sin, next to the newly completed SMK Phor Tay and the Jubilee Home for the Aged. This stall makes the smaller version of "Ban Chan Kueh".

It is run by a stout couple, both heavily tattooed (real tattoos, mind you) and donning their standard white "pagoda" t-shirts. Their menu, nicely computer- printed and neatly laminated proudly presents more than 50 or 60 types of different toppings!!! They ranged from the sweet stuff like chocolates to savoury things like tuna etc..There are also extra toppings like cheese, red beans, bananas, fresh coconut shavings etc.....

Wow...I think I will like you to find out for yourself the varieties of toppings available in this stall. This couple has "rebranded" the whole "Ban Chan Kueh" business!

The stall is known as "Aki Pancake" and they are open nightly during weekdays. During weekends and public holidays they will be open during breakfast time too. Depending on the type of your preferred toppings...you will have to leave out the "cheap" part in describing this humble "Ban Chan Kueh"

Personally, I still prefer the bigger and thicker traditional version with just plain brown sugar and grounded peanuts. To me "Ban Chan Kueh" is a comfort food and it will lift your spirit when enjoyed with a mug of steaming hot kopi-oh!

"Pan Ghee, Tua Tay, Kau, Thnee"....thats Penang Hokkien to describe "Ban Chan Kueh"












Wednesday, November 26, 2008

A UNIQUE STORY TELLER

There are many ways to tell a story...

A simple way to tell a tale is one to one, face to face. Or we can add a little "drama" to it by telling stories (especially scary ghost stories) in a dark room in one of those rented "haunted" bungalows either by the beach or up Penang Hill during our vacation.

But last weekend I encountered a very unique story-teller from Beijing who was part of a Chinese Cultural team who set up shop at the Queenbay concourse area.

This one-man show comes complete with very interesting props. The main prop consists of a half hexagon-shaped timber cabinet with 3 stools facing 3 small peep holes. The audience is supposed to sit on the stools and peep into these peep holes to view a series of backdrops as the story unfolds. These backdrops can be changed by a simple pull- string mechanism operated by the one man story-teller himself.

Hanging on the side of this cabinet are cymbals, drums etc as part of the music and sound effects to accompany the story telling process.

So...how does he proceed to tell his story? Once the 3 patrons are settled comfortably in front of the peep windows, our friend here will start to don his chinese skull cap and start by playing the cymbals and drums (by pull string mechanism also) and begins his story!

The best part is that he will tell his story ( the well-known "Journey to the West") not only through singing and music.. but with his whole body.. through facial expressions, laughing, crying and kung fu moves etc...and at the same time, handling the backdrop changes and playing the musical instruments as the story moves along. That's is what I call multi-tasking in it's purest form!!

Mind you, this story teller is a oldster who will put many youngsters to shame with his agility and energy!

Being a self-acclaimed "drama critic", I gave this old man top marks for his superb performance....even though I could not understand a word of his heavy accented Beijing Mandarin!!! To me, he is a story- teller par excellence!

After his 15 minutes or so performance, I had a chance to interview him on his art form. He told me that this traditional way of telling stories went back in time in China where such performances were the only entertainment for the poor rural folks who can only afford a few cents for leisure after a hard day's work on the farms.

All his props are original versions and the backdrops used in the little cabinet are hand-drawn. Apparently, the Chinese government is trying to preserve this art form as part of their rich culture.

Personally, I would prefer this kind of performances than the pirated DVD version of some Hollywood movies! Move away Steven Spielberg....here comes "Beijingwood"!!


Friday, November 21, 2008

CROWNING GLORY

Let me share with you my "love affair" with my hair.

OK...it's only about the hair on my HEAD, Full stop. Lest you people let your imaginations run wild....

My love affair with my hair goes as far back to my primary school days. I could still remember very vividly that my dad would sit me down on a stool and plastered my hair with "Tancho" hair wax ( those green sticky stuff ) and would meticulously part my hair on the side and smoothened my hair with a fine-toothed comb before I was sent to school. It was so neat and "stiff " that the hair will stay in place despite all the rough play during school recess time! Even the houseflies would slip and fall on my hair then.

We do not have fancy unisex hair salons during those days and all our hairdressing needs are met by the wandering barber with a briefcase attached to his bicycle who made house calls. The only part we love about this barber visits is that a free pencil would be given to us as a gift if we stayed still enough during the entire hair cutting process.

The main disadvantage was that he only knew one "style" of hair design...despite the many photographs of Elvis, Beatles etc. we showed to motivate him otherwise.

As I progressed to secondary school, I had the previlege to have my hair done in a Indian barber shop. These are shops with swivel high chairs and pictures of famous Bollywood actors plastered on the walls...and lots of "combat" comics and old issues of "MovieNews" for our reading pleasure while we waited out our turn.

Yes..these shops were better than the wandering one man barber in terms of "repertiore" when it comes to the various hairstyles one could choose from. However, the setback is that one must not visit the barber immediately after lunch or you will have to smell "curried" fingers as the barber handled your heads and faces! Of course the other restriction then was from my school authorities (Christian Missionary School) which only allowed the standard "4 by 2" style....Now, what is this "4 by 2"? It has nothing to do with mathematics, but it means no hair should extend beyond 4 fingers width from the back shirt collar, and 2 finger width above the ears! You can imagine how we looked then with "mud guards" over our ears.

During the 70s, the trend was long hair and we students will have to work around the school rules to stay "hip and cool". This was where we became very creative with combing techniques and the use of hair grooming products whenever there was a hair check by the discipline teachers!

My love affair with my hair then is to keep it long, no matter what or how "ugly" it may be. But the surprising part was once I left the confine of school, keeping my hair long was no more a fixation. I guess at that time, it was the rebellious nature in me to "break rules". And once I had the freedom to do whatever I liked with my hair, I kept it to a short and neat style throughout my early working life. No big deal then!

Lately, for the past 2 years or so when I had less hair to "fall in love with", I changed my hairstyle again. I adopted a "crew cut" and I am very comfortable with it so far. Less maintenance and more savings on hair grooming products during these hard economical times.

So you people out there....love your hair if you still have a lots of it...but don't cry too nuch if you have less of it to love. According to the latest fashion magazines "crew cuts" is the in thing and do not be surprised if there are more than one "botak" (young and old)around when you wall into a meeting room next time!!









Tuesday, November 18, 2008

BE PREPARED

"Be Prepared"...sounds like some Boy Scout or Girl Guide motto isn't it?

I would just like to share something very trivial that happened to me last Sunday (16.11.2008).

Well...like every normal Sunday mornings, my family and my friends will have breakfast together after our early morning church service. We will rotate among the places to go, and for this particular Sunday, we ended up at Tai Tong Restaurant (Cintra Street) for dim sum.

After breakfast, we took a walk through the busy Chowrasta / Kuala Kangsar Road street market. Not so much to shop really... but to enjoy the din and bustle of the place.

After that, as we started to drive home, the missus suddenly had this bright idea to visit one of her ex colleague who had just recently gave birth to a baby boy and her house is somewhere in inner George Town.

So what's the problem then? Being socially-correct Chinese, we feel that an "ang pow" for the little fella is the right thing to do. You know..for "soon soon gau tua han" (growing up healthily) best wishes. But alas! we do not have a single empty "ang pow" envelope around us to do the needful.

There was none in the car glove compartment, car booth, wife's handbag etc,,,So how ah?

"Have money will travel" survival instinct kicked in. We will go and buy some. We tried a few newspapers stands / stalls but were unsucessful. Finally we bought these precious "ang pow" envelopes at "Young Ones" Stationery Shop (Burmah Road), i.e. after spending about half and hour and half a tank of petrol looking for these "precious commodity"!

The moral of my story is that it will be a good idea to have some "ang pow" packets stash somewhere in your car, handbags, working bags, office drawers etc...because you will never know when you will need them. And borrowing from America Express Card tagline "Don't leave home without it"!!








Saturday, November 15, 2008

HOW WE SPEND OUR WEEKENDS.

Hi! Everybody!

It's the weekend again.....for the school-going kids and teenagers, it's "merdeka" time again for the next 6 weeks or so..but do spare a thought for those currently sitting for their SPM and those who are going to sit for the STPM very soon.

For those of us, the regular office workers, it's another long awaited two or one and a half days (depending on your "miah lee") of rest and recreation to recharge your batteries.

So...what do we normally do during our weekends??

Since I stay in Penang, my observation and analysis will be based on the local context.
Basically I can safely say that our weekends are centred around these three activities, i.e. SLEEP-EAT-WALK routines.

SLEEP. For the many of us who are nine-to-five workers, every working day is a sleep deprived day....we have to get up early either to prepare and send the kids to school or to beat the early morning traffic jams in order to clock in on time at the office. During the evenings, it will be another cycle of having to do the cooking, household chores, sending the kids to tuition classes etc. For many of us, it will be a rare occasion if we can hit the sack before 12am!

So what do we do to compensate during the weekends?? We try to sleep in a bit later in the mornings and hopefully try to get in extra longer "siestas" in the afternoons.

EAT. Due to time constraints and the "boss wants it yesterday" work scenarios, many of us will be happy to settle for a quick bite at the corner coffee shops or mamak stalls near our working place for breakfasts and lunches during the weekdays. In the evenings, it will be most probably "ta pau" dinners for the whole family from the "chap fun" stalls on our way back from work. Maybe a few of us will have the little luxury of preparing some quick simple dinners at home some days. In short, we just eat to live.

So what do we do to compensate during the weekends?? We look for better food... less we are accused of wives / husbands / kids "abuse"!! So you now know why the favourites eating outlets are packed during weekends!

WALK. By "walk", I mean walking or "lepak-ing" in the various shopping malls. It's a pity that Penang lacks places where families can really enjoy wholesome activities be it cultural or educational or physical for that matter. Our art, music and drama activities for the masses are limited. Art museums are miserable and exhibitions limited. Music and cultural performances are too few, conditions of parks and beaches are deplorable and unsafe..So what choices are left for Penangites to spend their weekends after their Sleep, Eat therapy but to swarm the various shopping malls to round off their weekend on the Walk part! So now you know why the shopping malls are packed during weekends!

HAPPY SLEEP-EAT-WALK!











Friday, November 14, 2008

BLOGGING HERE I COME.

Hi People out there!

Welcome to my blog....

For a start, allow me to tell you the rationale behind the name of my blog.

"talk-come-talk-go" is a typical Malaysian lingo which simply means "easy talking" in English. In Mandarin it's "chiang lai chiang chi" or in Penang Hokkien it's "kong lai kong kee".

In short...in this blog I will talk about everything under the sun and even under the moon! From the heavier stuff like the state of the world economy, local politics, social issues etc... to the simpler things in life like where to get the best chee cheong fun or how to fold clothes more systematically!

Of course, I will also express my feelings of weariness during my down days or tell you my feelings of euphoria and joy of having done something good.

Therefore, basically this blog would be my platform and avenue to express myself humbly and honestly ... and hopefully, I would be able to discover and know myself more intimately along the way.......as the saying goes " to thyself be true "

Of course, feedbacks, comments and sharings from you people out there as "co-talkers" are most welcome.

Thank you.

So...I shall start to"talkcometalkgo" now....

My first topic is about FOOD...yes glorious FOOOOD!

Being a "thorough-bred" and "true blood" Penangnite, one of my favourite pastime is to scout around for good food wherever they may be...

This evening the missus decided to go back to her working place to do some "overtime" at her place of work at Jalan Van Praagh (off Perak Road) and the family tagged along as we needed to fill our stomachs first. In order to have a quick (but good) dinner, she suggested a "choo char" place next to the new SJKC Kheng Tean. Actually it is a coffee shop (corner unit) at a row of not too new shophouses.

Actually, it was not the first time we had our dinner there, but I always believe that this typical "choo char" outlets do have a wide range in their menu, if you are adventurous to try them out.

The last time we were there, we tried their "pai kut gulai" and it was heavenly! The pork ribs were succulent and tender and the gravy of the curry was thick and rich without being too spicy. Imagine "banjir-ing" hot white rice with the "kuah"!!

This time , we ordered the "moey chai khau yok". The pork slices (belly pork) was proportionately divided between the lean and fatty parts and the moey chai was not too salty. Verdict...very good. Next we had the fried chicken with cheese. a "fusion" chinese / western dish with the cheese melting evenly on the chicken. Please don't ask me how they do that. We also had the "poh ho" soup with a raw egg in the soup for mixture. Of course we did have the usual "malai fung kwang" ( fried kangkung with chillies and belacan) and the consistency of this typical malaysian fare was superb!

As I always tell my friends...my "mission" is to look out for C&G (Cheap & Good) food outlets...and this "choo char" place belongs to this category.

Apart from the good food here in Jalan Van Praagh, you will also have the added attraction to walk off your "fullness" in one of the biggest pasar malam in Penang if you happened to dine there during Friday nights.