Chủ Nhật, 29 tháng 9, 2013

European Day of Jewish Culture -- Today!



By Ruth Ellen Gruber

This post also appears on my En Route blog for the LA Jewish Journal

If you're in Europe today -- Sept. 29 -- chances are that there are Jewish cultural events going on for you to visit.

Today marks the annual European Day of Jewish Culture, a pan-Europe festival that this year, with hundreds of events taking place in two dozen countries. The Day usually takes place the first Sunday of September, but was move to the end of the month because of the timing of this year's High Holidays.

Many synagogues, Jewish cemeteries and other Jewish heritage sites are open, and there are concerts, exhibits, lectures, food and wine tastings, guided tours, and more.

Depending on financial support, volunteers, local organization and other factors, some countries boast a dizzying array of events -- in Italy, arguably the most enthusiastic participant in the Day, there are events in about 60 towns, cities and villages up and down the peninsula, with Italy's president taking part in kick-off ceremonies in Naples.

In other countries there may be a few events, or even just a token event or so. I'm in Poland just now and -- despite the wealth of Jewish cultural events that go on all over Poland throughout the year -- there are only a couple of events, in Krakow, listed in the Culture Day program.

The first full edition of the European Day of Jewish Culture took place in 2000. It grew out of a 1999 conference in Paris on managing Jewish heritage in Europe. One of the presentations there was on a local “open doors” to Jewish heritage initiative in the French region of Alsace begun in 1996 as a partnership between the local tourist authority and B’nai B’rith.

After the conference, meeting of experts and activists, which I attended, decided to expand this model on a European level.

The EDJC is loosely coordinated by the European Association for the Preservation and Promotion of Jewish Culture and Heritage (AEPJ), a body formed now by B’nai B’rith Europe, the Red de Juderias de Espana-Caminos de Sefarad, and the European Council of Jewish Communities.

Each year the Day has a theme -- this year's it's Jewish Heritage & Nature. The web site puts it: "This topic gives us food for thought – is there a link, and if yes what is it between these categories, what is the interaction between them? In order to find the answers to these questions it is necessary to look for arguments and examples and define a concept for the link between them."

This year's country participants include:

Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO AND LINKS TO ALL THE NATIONAL PROGRAMS




Thứ Ba, 24 tháng 9, 2013

Kampua Mee 干盘麵 from Intat Restaurant at Taman Indahpura, Kulaijaya.

The Intat Restaurant 运达茶餐室 (N1.64242 E103.61460) is located at Jalan Kenanga 29/17 of Taman Indahpura, Kulaijaya. The restaurant is behind the back row of shop lots which do not facing the main road, and it's take time to search for it sometime...

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Intat Restaurant

The shop is a simple and traditional Chinese kopitiam style, and they are popular with the Kampua mee 干盘麵 and Sarawak laksa. The owner said they started the business since 12 years ago...

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The environment of Intat Restaurant

The Kampua mee is originated from the Fu Chow of Sibu - Sarawak. It's a bit similar with the local wan tan mee (云吞麵), similar topping...but the noodle is more eggy, hard and springy. Normally the Kampua mee is serve with minced pork, BBQ pork and shallots with dark soy sauce. But the version from Intat Restaurant was slightly different where they added some crunchy roasted pork on it, we like it very much!

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Kampua mee (noodle) originated from Sibu - Sarawak

Beside the Kampua mee, we also won't miss out the Sarawak Laksa which also selling from the same shop.
The different with Sarawak laksa and local JB laksa is the gravy without Santan (coconut milk), and it taste with mild curry flavor. Normally the laksa serve in yellow noodle or mee-hoon (vermicelli) with prawns, bean sprouts, fish cake and eggs. The taste was above average, I like they serve the laksa in the clay pot where the heat is maintain until the last drop! It's another dish worth trying!

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Sarawak Laksa from Intat Restaurant

I would like to thanks the Gourmet group from Facebook - 吃的平台 where I got the information from, and thanks to Joell Choo too.

Do try out if you happen in Taman Indahpura of Kulaijaya, it may suit your taste bud! :)

Intat Restaurant 运达茶餐室
531, Jln Kenanga 29/17,
Tmn Indahpura.
Kulaijaya
7am - 5pm daily
GPS Coordinates : N1.64242 E103.61460

Location map of Intat Restaurant at Taman Indahpura, Kulaijaya - Johor.


Thứ Hai, 16 tháng 9, 2013

Full Varieties of Chinese Traditional Kueh and Snacks - MIn Corner 民糕点 at Tmn Tun Aminah, Skudai - Johor Bahru.

If you are the Chinese Traditional kueh lover, you shouldn't miss this Ming Corner - 民糕点 (N1.52204 E103.66411) located at Jalan Pahlawan 2, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah. The shop provide full varieties of kueh start from 11am till 8pm everyday except Monday.

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Ming Corner - 民糕点

The dining area is air-conditioning that where you can enjoy your snacks in a comfy and clean area. The shop was packed with customers during our visit. According to the owner, the peak hour is between 3-6pm everyday where most of the customers having their tea break here...

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The comfort environment of Min Corner

There is a long cabinet that arrange all kind of kuehs on the right side once you step into the shop...you can find almost 80-90% of the available kuehs in Southern Malaysia in this shop.

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The all kind of kuehs in Min Corner 民糕点

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The popular 'Teo Chew' kueh

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The mangkuang kueh - my favorite!

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The popular Tambun biscuit from the North also available here...

We tried some of the kuehs and the snacks from the shop, I wish I can try all of it, but I only have one stomach...

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So we chose some of the popular kuehs (above) and...

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Some of the snacks (above)...which I cannot remember the name of it.

Not all the kuehs sell here are perfect, some of them were taste above average and some were not...maybe it because of the regular customers taste which are different from us...but the prices are very reasonable. Beside the Dong Hong Trading 东鸿糕粿 which I blogged before, this will be the next shop worth the visit if you are staying around Skudai area.

Min Corner 民糕点
110, Jln Pahlawan 2,
Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, Skudai, Johor.
Tel : +6012-7681573
Operation hour : 11am - 8pm
Close on Monday
GPS Coordinates : (N1.52204 E103.66411)

Location map of Min Corner at Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, Skudai - Johor Bahru.


Thứ Hai, 9 tháng 9, 2013

Feel the Vietnam! At Saigon Cafe, Taman Gaya - Johor Bahru.

Xin chào buổi tối !

Are you a Việt Nam Cuisine lover? If yes, now you can enjoy the Vietnamese dishes in Taman Gaya of Ulu Tiram, Johor Bahru. The restaurant named Saigon Cafe (N1.56275 E103.80035) which located along Jalan Sasa 1, Taman Gaya.

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Saigon Cafe at Taman Gaya

It has a simple and comfort setup in the cafe and serve varieties of Vietnam dishes. The cafe is operating by a couple where the owner is local and his wife is originally from Vietnam.

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The simple and comfort setting of the cafe

I heard about the popular Vietnam beef noodle long time ago and till now only has the chance to try it out, I'm excited!

The lady boss took our order in a polite way...
Our the order below...
*  Cao lầu 凉拌麵 (Vietnamese rice noodle)
*  Pho (Vietnam beef/chicken soup noodle)
*  Bánh mì (French Loaf with braised pork)
*  Cà phê nâu đá (Vietnamese Coffee)

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Cao lầu 凉拌麵 (Vietnamese rice noodle)

"Cao lầu is a regional Vietnamese dish made with noodles, pork, and greens and is only found in the town of Hội An, in the Quang Nam Province of central Vietnam. Its unique taste is rumoured to be contributed by the water from an undisclosed ancient Cham well just outside of the town."

The Cao lầu 凉拌麵 (Vietnamese rice noodle) was served in cold, that was the First surprise! It had an unique taste and we felt the crunchy-ness while in our mouth. It has peanuts, bean sprout, green vege, fried bean curd, rice noodles and others ingredients.

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Pho (Vietnam beef/chicken soup noodle)

"Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup consisting of broth, linguine-shaped rice noodles, a few herbs, and meat. It is a popular street food in Vietnam and the specialty of a number of restaurant chains around the world. Pho is primarily served with either beef or chicken. The Hanoi and Saigon styles of pho differ by noodle width, sweetness of broth, and choice of herbs."

We had a the 'Beef' Pho, the broth cooked with few type of spices which produced a special taste of it and the beef was tender and succulent. The Vietnamese soup noodle might not suit everyone taste bud because of the different feeling of beef soup compare with local version. For me, I like it!

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Bánh mì (French Loaf with braised pork)

"Bánh mì is a Vietnamese term for all kinds of bread. Bread, or more specifically the baguette, was introduced by the French during its colonial period. The bread most commonly found in Vietnam is a single serving baguette, therefore the term bánh mì is synonymous with this type of bread. The bánh mì is usually more airy than its western counterpart, so as a result, has a thinner crust."

Their 'homemade' French loaf was tender and nice! It provided the different texture once you bite on it, the tasty braised pork went well with the fresh vegetables and the loaf. We love this "Bánh mì" very much!

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Cà phê nâu đá (Vietnamese Coffee)

"Vietnamese iced coffee, also known as Ca phe da or cafe da (Vietnamese: cà phê đá, literally "ice coffee") is a traditional Vietnamese coffee recipe. At its simplest, Ca phe da is made with finely ground Vietnamese-grown dark roast coffee individually brewed with a small metal French drip filter (cà phê phin) into a cup containing about a quarter to a half as much sweetened condensed milk, stirred and poured over ice."

As usual, we will order the Vietnamese coffee when visit a Vietnamese restaurant. We had a hot and black coffee that day. The coffee was thick with a pure perfect aroma and everyone of us like it! The only disadvantage was...you have to be 'patient' while it dripping drop-by-drop...:)

Overall the meals were "thơm ngon!" ("Delicious" in Vietnamese). The services was good with the polite staffs, the prices are reasonable. There are still many dishes that we cannot finish by one visit, that means we have to come back for few more times to enjoy the Delicious Vietnamese Cuisine from Saigon Cafe!

Tôi sẽ được trở lại!
 ("i will be back" in Vietnamese)

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Saigon Cafe
112, Jalan Gaya 1, Taman Gaya,
Ulu Tiram, Johor Bahru
Tel : +607-8635892
Operating hours : 8.30am - 6.30pm
Close on alternate Monday.
GPS Coordinates : N1.56275 E103.80035

Location map of Saigon Cafe at Taman Gaya, Johor Bahru.


Thứ Năm, 5 tháng 9, 2013

Kim Long Curry Fish Head 金龙咖哩鱼头 along Jalan Kuning, Taman Pelangi - Johor Bahru.

In Taman Pelangi, there's a popular Clay pot curry fish head restaurant which is packed with peoples most of the time, the place mentioned is Kim Long Curry Fish Head Restaurant 金龙咖哩鱼头 (N1.48279 E103.77546). The restaurant is located along Jalan Kuning of Tmn Pelangi which is opposite the Kim Kopitiam. This is the second outlet where the First outlet is located at Jalan Wong Ah Fook in Johor Bahru town.

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Kim Long Curry Fish Head 金龙咖哩鱼头

The reason we chose this outlet is because the restaurant operate from afternoon till night and with better environment, despite the majority reviews said the first outlet is taste much more better than this...

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The restaurant has 2 dining area, indoor and outdoor. But the outdoor are just merely 2-3 tables along the corridor...we picked the corridor table.

The clay pot curry fish head serve in small, medium and large sizes depends on request from customer. We ordered a small size for 2 persons.

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Kim Long clay pot Curry Fish Head

Once the lid lifted from the clay pot, the nice curry aroma was wafted around as usual. The other ingredients served together in the clay pot was young lady fingers and cowpea.

The flavorful curry fish head was slightly different from the one we had in Cedar Point, the level of the lemak (coconut milk) was much more lower and the curry powder taste more stronger, and spicy too! I felt the curry more oily, but it kept the heat very well till we finished... the fish was fresh, tender and moist. We enjoyed the nice curry on a raining evening...such a perfect timing for us!

There are a few popular and famous curry fish head around JB, I still haven't try all of them yet, despite the positive and negative reviews online, I'll still visit all of them in the coming future because I love 'curry'...Kim Long is another version of the Curry Fish Head originally from Johor Bahru, maybe you will like it. Try it out!

Kim Long Curry Fish Head 金龙咖哩鱼头
51 & 53, Jln Kuning,
Tmn Pelangi,Johor Bahru
Tel : 07-3333168
Business hour : 3.30pm - 10.30pm
Off Tuesday
GPS Coordinates : N1.48279 E103.77546

Location map of Kim Long Curry Fish 金龙咖哩鱼头 along Jln Kuning, Taman Pelangi.


Thứ Tư, 4 tháng 9, 2013

Restaurant Ing Kee 荣记茶餐室 at Taman Musyi Ibrahim, Skudai - Johor Bahru

Restaurant Ing Kee 荣记茶餐室 (N1.51318 E103.68936) is located at the Jalan Besar of Taman Munsyi Ibrahim at Skudai, Johor Bahru. The restaurant was swifted from Tampoi area to here since June 0f 2012, and their food business had run for almost 3 decades until now. The restaurant is popular with their home cook style of Teow Chew Cuisine.

One of my friend strongly recommend us to try out the 'Black Bean Paste Fish Head', and advised us not to visit during the peak hour because of the over crowded situation.

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Ing Kee Restaurant at Tmn Munsyi Ibrahim

The operating by their family, once we got our table...the son (I think) politely came to took the order from us.
The order :-
Black Bean paste fish head 豆瓣酱(豉汁)鱼头
Bitter gourd cooked with pork ribs 苦瓜炒排骨
Cowpea cooked with roasted pork 豇豆炒烧肉
Stir fried vegetables

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Black bean paste fish head 豆瓣酱鱼头

The black bean paste fish head was served with rich flavor of fermented bean paste with dried bean curd, the tantalising aroma completes the succulent flesh of this perfect dish. The traditional cooking method is very difficult to find nowadays, where you can taste the home cooking style back to 70s...

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Bitter gourd cooked with pork ribs 苦瓜炒排骨

The bitter gourd was fresh and the tender pork ribs was not over cooked. This dish was well flavored! I like the gravy very much!

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Cowpea cooked with roasted pork 豇豆炒烧肉

Yet another tasty dish that you cannot miss! The cowpea (豇豆) was served in the right timing and the roasted pork was excellent! This dish was slightly salty, but it went well with plain rice.
The Damage : RM70 for 5 persons included drinks. Reasonable and value for the dishes!

They have another branches or outlet located at Shahbandar area of TUTA (Taman Ungku Tun Aminah) which serve equivalent tasty foods too!
It's worth the visit especially for the Teow Chew Cuisine lover, I'll encourage my friends to try out even you are not familiar with Teow Chew cuisine.

We were satisfied with the meals and will be back for more from this Extraordinary Teow Chew Cuisine - Ing Kee Restuarant!

Restaurant Ing Kee 荣记茶餐室
68, Jalan Besar,
Tmn Munsyi Ibrahim,
Skudai, Johor Bahru.
Operating hour : 11am - 3.30pm, 5pm - 9pm
Close on Tuesday
GPS Coordinates : N1.51318 E103.68936

Location map of Restaurant Ing Kee 荣记茶餐室 at Skudai - Johor Bahru.


Thứ Ba, 3 tháng 9, 2013

JB Arts Festivals 2013 Press Conference at Villa Warisan , Johor Bahru.

The yearly JB Arts Festivals is coming back again on 6th September - 5th October 2013. This will be the 10th Arts Festivals in Johor Bahru and it's also the established as the longest- running arts festival in Malaysia.

"This year, the Festival will be held from September 6th to October 5th at the iconic Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim on Bukit Timbalan, as well as with some performances also spread out to some of JB’s premier night spots namely Eight Lido & Danga Bay. This year’s programme will feature over 100 eclectic live performances spanning all disciplines of performing arts – music, dance, theatre, film, comedy and visual arts, and we want YOU to be a part of the fun!"

We had been invited for the Media Conference on 25th Aug 2013 (11am) at the J.A. Heritage Villa (N1.46672 E103.75737) at Jln Abdul Rahman Andak, Johor Bahru.

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J. A. Heritage Villa

I was there around 11am and the place was crowded. Everyone was waiting for Tan Sri Dato Shahrir bin Abdul Samad to arrive to start the media conference.

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The arriving of the VIPs

Before the shows start, Tan Sri Dato Shahrir had a short speech and follow by the performance...

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Short speech presented by Tan Sri Dato Shahrir, 
Dato Ismail Ibrahim - Chief Executive Officer, Iskandar Regional Development Authority was next to him...

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The place was really crowded...

The Flash Mob performance started during the short introduction from the MC...with the popular song - Oppa Gangnam Style...

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The 1st performance on the JB Arts Festival 2013 media conference

Follow by the the Chinese Traditional dance performance from the young children...

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Chinese Traditional Dance performance

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After the traditional dance, the 70s song - 'I Love Roses' started...with another dance performance by the group of lovely teenage...

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The Wu-shu performance by one of the association continued after the dancing performance...that was exciting!

Photos of the Wu-shu performance :-

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After a short break, the historical drama show started...

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And the 'Kupang' performance by one of the school from Kota Tinggi.

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The 'Kupang' performance was the last show of the day, the Mock Cheque Presentations by Sponsors continued around 11.50am.

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The buffet lunch was prepared for everyone before the end of the media conference...

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The buffet lunch at the media conference

The Founder - Mr. Yap Siong Cheng and the organizers are strongly encourage everyone to participate in the Festivals. If you can't perform, doesn't matter...just visit the Arts and Cultural shows at Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim in Johor Bahru during the 6th Sep - 5th Oct. You can get the 'Yellow Booklet' from their website, as for the time table of the shows for the month.

My last visit was on year 2012, you can view some photos from the link.

Please visit the venues where all the shows perform to support our Arts and Culture!

Official website for JB Arts Festivals : http://jbartsfest.com/  or you can visit their Facebook page at : https://www.facebook.com/jbartsfestival

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Location map of J.A. Heritage Villa at Johor Bahru


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