A feast of fish
2 min read
There is no cold hard rule to eating at a buffet, but to not miss out on anything, we started with the line-up of appetizers, diving into the refreshing and mod...
An Operetta on Masked Revenge
4 min read
Applause, laughter and gasps reverberated throughout Dewan Sri Pinang when Die Fledermaus took the stage on September 28. Sung in English (with lyrics projected...
George Town's DNA is its People
4 min read
Sali Sasaki arrives where we had arranged to meet, beams at me and then frowns ever so slightly at the decor around us.“I think I much prefer this place...
The Tailor of Bishop Street
3 min read
I first met Lee in 1999 when my husband suddenly moved to a job that required him to be in an office and wear suits. Tukang Jahit Soon Loong was recommended by...
Tropfest comes to Penang
4 min read
What started out 20 years ago as an informal short film festival for friends in the Tropicana cafe in Sydney, Australia is now the largest short film festival i...
Abundant treasures in Penang Batik's Painting Museum
5 min read
It is no surprise that the Batik Painting Museum has been set up in Penang, only that it took that long. The enterprising Dr Tan Chong Guan, an obstetrician cum...
Awed by the Korean DMZ
5 min read
The border between North and South Korea. The Demilitarized Zone. DMZ. Not your typical tourist destination. What started off like a bad trip to a theme park du...
The Budget Beleaguers Borneo
4 min read
Sometimes when I crave a so drink, I’ll pop into Ba Kelalan’s small shop where the shelves creak with a bewildering array of goods. From spare parts...
Ecstatic about short + sweet
5 min read
Short+Sweet Theatre Festival 2013.I still remember the rush I felt in the weeks leading up to last year’s Short+Sweet theatre Festival. It was my ve...
VIDDSEE, make south-east Asia films available
6 min read
It’s a Sunday a ernoon and Derek Tan and Ho Jia Jian are chatting with me via Skype (both of them are based in Singapore). Ho, the Malaysian half of the d...
Boxers in boxes, a different kind of Shaolin show
3 min read
The curtain swept aside to reveal a stark stage setting of 21 wooden boxes designed by Turner Prize-winning artist Antony Gormley, as the audience at Dewan Sr...
Local Government in Penang, 1940
6 min read
Coming out as it did just a couple of years before the Japanese put a rude end to the intricate system of government that the British over 160 years had slowly...
