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Beautiful Melaka

Apr 01

Ah-Kun’s house at Jonker Street then to Kampung Ketek

By Beautiful Melaka, Photography
Ah-Kun in his house

Ah-Kun in his house

Two days ago, Dylan and I went to Ah-Kun’s house at the Jonker Street of Melaka. It is a part of the old Chinatown of Melaka and the street is close to traffic for night market during the evenings of every weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). Hawkers on pushcarts will gather on these days to sell all kinds of delicious street food and local merchandise. A permanent stage was there at the end of the street for performances such as dancing and singing during weekend. As to date, however, the old stage has been demolished and a new design of stage is under construction.  

Back to the shooting at Ah-Kun’s house. The interior architecture of the house is not so much different from the typical Baba and Nyonya houses which I’ve visited before. It really amazed me when Ah-Kun showed me the wood-fire stove which his family is still using, a balcony garden which planted with orchids and other flowers, and some Japanese souvenirs which his aunt brought back from Japan decades ago. Being at Ah-Kun’s house, it made us felt like being in the 50s-60s of Melaka.  

We managed to shoot the rooftops of the houses in Jonker Street which was the purpose of our shooting. After that, we went for a second half of the shooting with the company of Ah-Kun. We headed towards Kampung Ketek nearby Cheng Hoon Teng Chinese temple. We took a few shots over there of the Malay houses. After we went for a rojak noodle and cendol at an Indian stall, we called it a day.

These are some of the shots I took to share:

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Mar 23

Baba Pongteh

By Beautiful Melaka, Juesatta art, Photography
Baba Pongteh by Jason

Baba Pongteh by Jason

When we speak of Nyonya dishes we are first to think of Nyonya Pongteh. It is basically chicken (ayam in Malay) or pork (babi in Malay) or both, with potatoes and mushroom braised in soybean paste.

If you google for Pongteh recipe on the web, there are heaps of result coming out. However, I tried a few web recipes and did not get the taste expected. The real Pongteh is always made by the authentic Baba (refers to male) and Nyonya (refers to female) folks.

2 months ago, Jason’s mother invited my mother and me to their place and to learn how to cook Pongteh and also for a lunch together. Jason’s mom was guiding and supervising us. Jason was interested in learning too so he did the cooking most of the time while I was helping him to prepare the ingredients.

What I could remember is, about 300g-500g of pork was cooked in water (to remove the strong taste of pork), cooled and cut into pieces. Another 300g-500g of chicken was cut. Ratio 1:1 of shallots and garlic were peeled and chopped, then fried with oil. A few table spoons of Cow brand soybean paste were added to the wok followed by the pork and chicken. Then the Pongteh was fried until we got a strong flavour and the gravy was thick. After that, a bit of water was added and salt, sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce were added to taste.

I didn’t take down any notes of the Pongteh we learned to cook; rather I enjoyed eating than cooking. And regrettably I didn’t take any shot of the final product of Pongteh because I couldn’t wait to eat when it was served. It was really delicious. Besides Pongteh, there were other Nyonya dishes cooked by Jason’s mother. They tasted not so different from those I had in Nyonya restaurants, yet as yummy.

Thanks to Jason and his mother for inviting us to their place and teaching me how to cook Pongteh. I would call the Pongteh I had at Jason’s place, the Baba Pongteh, as Jason the Baba cooked it. Below are some of the shots I took while I had time:

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Mar 21

A day at Kampung Jawa and Kampung Hulu with Dylan

By Beautiful Melaka, Juesatta art, Photography

Days ago, Dylan Low (the last photo in this post) and I went for a shooting at Kampung Jawa and Kampung Hulu in Melaka. It was drizzling when we arrived, however we didn’t give up on our plan. Fortunately the weather turned out alright after some time of shooting.

Decades ago, Kampung Jawa and Kampung Hulu were considered few of the hottest spots in Melaka. Long before Mahkota Parade and Jusco were built, most Malaccan would do their shopping for things like shoes, clothing, dried seafood, groceries, or even a cheap haircut there. Besides, delicious multiracial food like rojak, wantan noodle, fishball noodle, cendol, etc. could be found there.

One of the reasons Dylan and I chose to go there was, we would see craftsmen like goldsmith, blacksmith, carpenter, sculptor, cobbler, tailor, etc. These craftsmen at Kampung Jawa and Kampung Hulu were really good and skilful in their profession, and sad to say that they were mostly senior citizens. Younger generation would not treasure these traditional handicrafts nowadays.

These are some of the shots I took:

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Mar 18

历史轻舟划过马六甲河

By Beautiful Melaka

上世纪50年代的马六甲河旧照，黑白中夹杂泛黄和斑驳，宏伟的天主教堂非常抢眼，与右上角的 讯塔相互呼应； 圣保罗教堂隱约可见，横跨两岸的桥基在赶建中。

河岸两侧墙堤崩塌，瓦砾堆积。加上水势缓慢，造成河道淤塞。图中仅见一艘离群孤舟正奋力向河口驶去，吸引了岸上小童的观望。

新世纪里，经过当局的清理和疏通、加深河道、扩大河床，美化后的马六甲河显得格外娇艷脱俗，犹如將一个老妇妆扮成了少女，教人联想到马六甲原是古申的繁荣海港，而今沦为歷史陈跡，又怎能不教人唏嘘呢？

星洲日报／老照片说故事．韩飞．2010.03.14
[source：http://www.sinchew.com.my/node/152702?tid=15]

Feb 13

Photography of Melaka night view

By Beautiful Melaka, Juesatta art, Photography

Cheng Hoon Teng temple of Melaka

It’s the eve of Chinese New Year 2010. Most Chinese should have had their reunion dinner with family by now and settling down for the count down of the first day of Chinese New Year. It’s a warm and cheerful night now. 

May those we loved who just left us rest in peace and always be remembered. May we all be grateful of what we are having now and appreciate the people who are with us.

Happy happy chinese new year and Gong Hei Fat Choi. Before I signing off to count down, prepare to make blessing and pay respect to my ancestors like most Chinese would do, let me share some photos of the night view of Melaka town with everyone:

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Feb 01

Food photography for Ke Man Lou restaurant

By Beautiful Melaka, Juesatta art, Photography
Food photography for Ke Man Lou restaurant at Melaka Raya

Food photography for Ke Man Lou restaurant at Melaka Raya

Last weekend I was invited to snap photos for the menu of Ke Man Lou restaurant （客满楼）and also to have lunch with the Celine and staff there.

The Chinese restaurant, Ke Man Lou is located on the main road of Melaka Raya, opposite to the OSK stockbroking firm and next to the Guardian pharmacy of Melaka Raya.

There were 18 dishes nicely prepared and garnished by the chef, Zhi Ming (translation). Some of those are in the menu whereas some of the new dishes would be added to the menu.

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