Gallimaufry#59

Just a gallimaufry of photos 📷

Cucumber flower

Mee Siam

Mee Siam, in Malay, translates as Siamese Noodle. This dish is believed to be of Malay origin — a local adaptation of an actual dish from Thailand when the neighbouring country was then known as Siam.

Look who greeted me this morning with her melodious singing!

Zebra dove

The call of a zebra dove (merbuk) is a series of soft, staccato cooing notes. In Southeast Asia, cooing competitions are held to find the merbuk with the winning voice.

Participants and bird owners awaiting the start of the zebra dove bird singing competition at the Kebun Baru Birdsinging Club in Singapore —  Reuters photo

Crucifix Crab (Charybdis feriatus)

The crucifix crab gets its name from the cross on its carapace. Legend has it that Saint Francis Xavier, a Jesuit priest, was sailing to Malacca from an Indonesian island circa 1546 when he was caught in a storm in the Straits of Malacca. In an attempt to quell the tempest, he dipped his crucifix into the raging waters and prayed to God. Miraculously, the sea became calm again. However, the crucifix slipped from his grip and fell into the sea. When St. Francis safely reached the shores of Malacca, a crab scuttled toward him, clutching the lost crucifix between its claws. The grateful priest retrieved his crucifix, blessed the crab, and a cross appeared on the crustacean's shell!

Apparently, this crab species is found in other regions like India, Indonesia, as far off as Japan and east Africa besides Malacca. These are the places St. Francis travelled to in his missions. Coincidence?

This fresco of the crab miracle is in the Jesuit church of Il Gesú in Rome

image credit - https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/

Statue of St. Francis Xavier

Take note of the missing right hand. In 1952, a statue of St. Francis was erected in front of the ruins of St. Paul's church in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of his sojourn in Malacca. A day after the statue was consecrated, a large casuarina tree fell on it, breaking off its right arm. Incidentally, the right forearm of St. Francis Xavier, which he used to bless and baptise the thousands of converts, was detached in 1614 and displayed in a silver reliquary at the main Jesuit church in Rome!

 Polling Day

Voters turned up in droves despite the rain

Gallimaufry#58

Just a gallimaufry of photos 📷

Cordia Lutea

Fish head curry

A Singaporean dish, fish head curry is a fusion of Indian and Chinese ethnic cuisines. The head of a red snapper is simmered in a curry with an assortment of vegetables such as okra, eggplants, snake beans, cabbage, etc.

Restaurants generally serve the entire fish head in a pot or on a plate which some people might find freaky!

Something to serve up on Halloween?!

image source - https://matadornetwork.com

MALAYSIAN STREET FOOD

Sotong Bakar (Grilled squid)

The dried squids are first toasted over a charcoal stove and then stretched into long strips in a roller that  somewhat resembles a pasta machine. The stretching tenderizes the meat.

 

Smoky, crispy and tender 🦑  Absolutely delish!

Cockscomb celosia

FROM THE TRAVEL ARCHIVES

Parvis Sainte-Gudule 2019

Crossing the Rainbow Bridge

Elmina Rainbow Bridge (Malaysia)

Gallimaufry#57

Just a gallimaufry of photos 📷

Peregrina

Osmoxylon

Dinner

Locust or grasshopper? I can never tell.

Balcony views from my son's condo

In Malaysia, you will find a masjid (mosque) in every neighbourhood. 🕌

Can you spot the masjid?

Currently, there are 6,850 registered mosques in Malaysia.

Picture worth a thousand memories

Growing up, when we weren't in school, we spent half the time playing outside until we heard the lilting echoes of the maghrib (sunset prayer) from the kampung (village) mosque as dusk slowly dimmed into darkness. It was our cue to dash home and clean up just in time for dinner or risk an ass whooping!  Oh, those carefree days! 

Hopscotch was one of our favourite games. All it took was a chalk and a stone to turn a pavement into a no-expense, fun-filled playground. Life was so much simpler then!

Gallimaufry#56

Just a gallimaufry of photos 📷

Gardenia

Seafood lunch at Tanjung Tualang

Once a tin-mining boomtown reputed to have the largest tin dredge in the country, Tanjung Tualang is now renowned for its jumbo freshwater prawns. The town earned the moniker "Prawn Town" when the abandoned mining ponds were converted into prawn farms by their resourceful owners.

We had our prawns done in 2 different styles :   

•  pan-fried with supreme soy sauce 🍤
•  braised in salted-egg sauce 🦐

They don't come any fresher than these! 

Supreme Soy Sauce 

Salted-egg sauce

Catfish

It may not be visually appealing, but it more than makes up for it in taste! 

There is a moonflower vine in the nursing home where my mom is residing, but I have never been able to see the blooms in their full glory as their petals unfurl only after dark. Visitors are not allowed in the home after 6:00 PM.  Rules are rules!

But thanks to my dear blogger buddy Mariette, I have this photo from her lovely blog to share for those who have never seen a moonflower.

An elusive beauty that blooms under the light of the moon and then folds its petals as soon as the sun rises until the night arrives again sounds almost vampire-ish!  

FROM THE TRAVEL ARCHIVES

Heidelberg 2019

Charlie

This painting outside a noodle shop brings back fond memories of my childhood 🍜

Take note of the samfoo, jade bangle and wooden red clogs. The ensemble was typically worn by Chinese women back in those days when I was growing up in the 60s. 

The ceramic bowls with the trademark rooster were very common in Chinese households and noodle shops during that era. The first rooster bowls originated in China. They were hand-drawn by the Hakka community over a century ago. Still ubiquitous in Asia, the rooster bowls of today, however, are mass-produced to preserve the nostalgia. Even melamine imitations are available!

The rooster motif represents perseverance, tenacity, and prosperity