Monday, November 29, 2010

Travel Tips - Food and Fashion in Seoul (Part 1)

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My wife and I were in Seoul in early November. Meant to post something earlier, but I guess football mania and other interests took over the blog for a while :) Anyway better late than never.

Seoul in November is nice. Great weather - cool but not too cold at 15-20 degrees C. But frankly this city has a lot more attractions for the ladies. Seoul is a shopping paradise - so guys, don't let your wife read this!  For guys, the few attractions are eating the food and watching the very fashion-conscious Korean ladies.

In Part 1, I'm going to focus on the FOOD. We tried many eateries and different types of Korean cuisine, but the best was at a rather humble looking restaurant on a side lane in the shopping area of Itaewon.



You sit on the floor Korean style, with the low tables ...


This is the menu. The pricing is quite reasonable.


We had the Grilled Pork on Hotplate, washed down with Soju (the famous Korean wine) ...


... with the usual side dishes (including the famous kim chi, of course) ...


... and of course healthy greens.


I forgot to take a business card from the place (called Jeonju Bonga), but it is on the lane opposite Hamilton Hotel and Shopping Center, which is a very clear landmark on Itaewon. I'm sure you'll have no problem finding it.

Here are other dishes we enjoyed on other days  ...


This is called bibimbap ...


This is Abalone Porridge (Jeonbokjuk) ...


... and this is Ginseng Chicken (Samgyetang).

Well, that's it for Food in Seoul. Stay tuned for Part 2 on the Fashionable Females of Seoul. ...
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Saturday, November 27, 2010

The Football Chronicles of St Joe

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This is starting to get very interesting. I was sitting quietly at a cafe in Ho Chi Minh City airport waiting for my flight to Singapore when I received this email from Edmund Lee, together with the following photo. I just had to post it up immediately. Apologies for any typos (which I will correct later) ...



Standing (L to R)
Cikgu Bujang Hadi (Coach/Manager), Joseph Jinggut (Captain - Midfield), Steven "Ferrari" Joseph (winger), Dublin "Iron-man" Unting (Full-back), John Dawi (reserve), Mathew Chin (with specs, partly hidden - reserve), Morshidi "Steady" Gani (full-back), Jonathan "Striker" Nanang (Centre-forward), Sudarsono "long-man" Osman (Centre-Back), Rev Bro Columba.

Front Row
 Abdul Rahim (reserve), Abdillah "speedy" Adam ( Winger ), Dennis "Gordon Banks" Liew (Goalkeeper), Awang Abdullah (left back), Osman Abdul Rani (Mid-field), Soedirman Aini (forward)



Excerpt of Edmund's email follows ...


"... follow-up on the chance-meeting with Cikgu Bujang and posting on our School's Football Teams of the '70s, especially the Team of 1973 which spearheaded St. Joseph's School dominance in the Inter-School Football arena - Champions for 3 consecutive years, 1973, 74 and 75.

Cikgu met up with a few of us this morning over breakfast and what was initially thought of as a short & quick meeting carried through for another two hours.....with Cikgu sharing nostalgic memories of life in the heydays of St. Joseph's.

What was even more impressive was that Cikgu told us that he spent more time in school than at home - from his normal teaching routine to the much-looked-forward-to training on the football pitch. He mentioned that his greatest challenge was not the lack of players but the sadness in excluding some potenially good and committed students from the team because he could only register 16 players. Such was the pool of talent available and the enthusiasm of these students to don the school colours...that's St. Joseph's.

And Cikgu also shared a very touching, yet interesting part of his personal life....his marriage. His wedding party, to be more precise. We were astounded when he mentioned that his best man was a CHINESE ! Yes, a Chinese as a best man in a Malay wedding !! Would you believe that ? And that Chinese best man was non other than his buddy and colleague - Mr. Anthony Goh, our school's renowned athletics coach extra-ordinaire.That's REALLY 1Msia - a Christian Chinese as best man at a Muslim friend's wedding !

Unfortunately, Cikgu was unable to produce a photograph of that "historic" occasion, as the best man was too busy ushering the guests. (multi-tasking, I guess ) 

Kudos, Cikgu for your magnanimity and humility. No wonder you were ( and still are ) held in such high regard and respect among the students during your tenure in St. Joseph's.

Back to the Team photo - the famous sons of 1973 ...

For the record, the Team beat our arch-rivals St. Thomas' School 2-0 in the replayed final match. The first match ended in a stale-mate. ( 1-1 )

Let's hear it from some of our brother Josephians who were there when it happened....be it in school or during the tournament itself.

Do we still recall the Monday school assemblies when Bro Columba presented trophies or awards for achievements ? Were you one of the lucky few who were priviledged enough to walk up those steps to the stage to receive your awards?

The feeling must be "out of this world" as fellow school-mates gave you an ovation when your name was announced. That's the spirit inculcated in us and the environment that we went through - regular bonding and a great camaraderie among this band of brothers. We ate, we talked, we slept, we dressed "St. Joseph's" That distinguished us from other schools - we had "THE JOSEPHIAN SPIRIT"   "Ora Et Labora"

Cheers and have a Great and Blessed Weekend."



Thanks Edmund. This third report seals your reputation as the "Football Correspondent" for the Josephians of the Seventies blog. I have no doubt this is just the start of the "Football Chronicles"....
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Friday, November 26, 2010

What Have You Read Recently?

NO updates of mini-reunions today ... 
NO nostalgic movie clips to share ....
NO photos or images to trigger your memory ...


Instead today we try to find out more about YOU.


Through your reading interests, preferences and habits ...


Books, magazines, periodicals, comics, blogs, websites ....


What have you read recently that you found interesting ? And what did you carry away from it ?
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Monday, November 22, 2010

The Rubik Cube

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How many of you were caught up in the Rubik Cube craze in the 70s ?

For the benefit of any who have been living in a cave for the past 3 decades, the Rubik's Cube is a 3D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toys in 1980[ and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that year. As of January 2009, 350 million cubes have sold worldwide making it the world's top-selling puzzle game.] It is widely considered to be the world's best-selling toy.




Of course, over the years following this introduction of this puzzle, there were many variants released by others, e.g. 5x5x5 cubes, ball-shaped, numbered squares rather than colours, etc. However, I suspect the original Rubik Cube is still the most popular.


I admit I've had a go at this puzzle, but have never gotten very far. Solved it once or twice, with a lot of coaching (usually by young kids :-) ... but I wouldn't in my wildest dreams claim that I've mastered it.


Share your experiences with the Rubik Cube or any other puzzles you were familiar with ...
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Sunday, November 21, 2010

Chance Meeting with Cikgu Bujang - Part 2

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After all that football talk with Cikgu Bujang, Edmund went ahead to search for photos of the football heroes from that 1973 Inter-School Champion team.. He wrote in his email ...


"Saw this photo in one of the blogs and thought it would be most appropriate to put a face to the names of 4 of our football heroes who brought glory to our Alma Mater .... but don't know why Bro Columba was more concerned with brushing his hair than looking at the camera !




Joseph Jinggut (Captain of the victorious team & brother of Datuk Justin Jinggut )

Dennis Liew or "Gordon Banks" as he was nick-named ..... only let in 2 goals throughout the entire tournament (according to Cikgu Bujang) - lost contact with him since then.

Abdillah Adam - (Pengarah, Institut Pendidikan Guru Malaysia Kampus Batu Lintang)

Abdul Rahim Colex - ( ED/CEO of CMS Cement S/B, brother of Sazali Abdul Rani, Class of 75 )

Hope some of our Seniors will read this and assist to fill in the remaining names and hopefully provide us with the photographs to complete the story ...

Cikgu mentioned that everyone was so excited about the victory that they forgot to take photographs. All he had were memories in his head. But I would rather think that cameras were a luxury in those days and not easily available. Now...we have camera phones...affordable cameras...how blessed are we ! 

I was also told that one of our seniors - Chang Kuo Cheh - had scanned the old copies of the Ad Astra and posted them on his webpage. But I was unable to find it.....can anyone help on this ? - he's the elder brother of Robert Chang (Class of 76)

Hope more news/photos will come our way as we try to re-connect Josephians from around the globe.
Over to you, WSJ and thanks for another great effort."


Most welcome, Edmund. Thank YOU for the info and photo.
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Saturday, November 20, 2010

Chance Meeting with Cikgu Bujang

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I received a note and some photos from Edmund Lee (Form 5, 1975) earlier today. Here's an excerpt ...

"Chance meeting with Cikgu Bujang....of all places....at a Chinese coffeeshop at Green Road... He was passing by to meet a friend when we noticed him...and invited him to join us for a cup of coffee....


As usual, Cikgu was his jovial and casual self......until we mentioned about football......and he went to great lengths to introduce our school's "who's who" in the famous Teams of 1973 & 1974........

Names and events flowed easily from his lips as he could vividly recall every detail....from Team strategies / preparation to opponents and players. He could name each and every of the Team players with ease....not bad for a 65 year old man. (he retired in 1999).

By the way, Cikgu's favourite EPL Team is Liverpool. Mine's Arsenal.

There were some things that were not known to us....for example....our players even trained on Sundays !...yes Sundays....doing weights and rigourous endurance work-outs.

For the infor of those who are less sports-inclined, St Joseph's were champions in football in 1973 & 1974.......beating our arch-rivals St. Thomas' 2-0 (first match ended 1-1) in 1973 and Dragon School 1-0 ( in 1974 ) I was there for all three matches which were played at the Jubilee Ground. I'll try to get more photos on these two matches.

Cheers and happy holidays "



Photo 1 (20 Nov 2010, morning)


Photo 2 (20 Nov 2010, morning)

From left to right: Chi Ted Fah (Form 5, 1978), Cikgu Bujang, Edmund Lee (Form 5, 1975), Nicholas Ong (Form 5, 1975) and Nicholas Chin (Form 5, 1977)



Thanks very much for the update, Edmund. Look forward to more photographs, if you find them.

And that applies to ALL of you ... if you find old photographs that depict the good old days when we were at St Joe, do scan them, send them to me (jslyong@hotmail.com) and I'll share them with all our friends on the blog.
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Our Most Memorable Indian Movie of the 70s?

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This is a wild guess, but is it possible that one of the few Indian movies you saw as a teenager in the 70s - maybe even the first Indian film you ever watched - was this one called "Haathi Mere Saathi" (or "Elephants My Friends") ? Remember this was long before Bollywood became a household word.



The film made a big hit in the early 70s. It starred Rajesh Khanna, Tanuja and David Abraham in the lead roles.The director was M.A. Thirumugham.

The plot is as follows: Orphaned Raju  performs with four elephants at street corners, in order to keep alive. Slowly he amasses riches, and is able to build his own private zoo, housing tigers, lions, bears, and of course the four elephants. He treats all the animals as his friends. He meets with Tanu, and they fall in love. Tanu's dad, Ratanlal, is opposed to this alliance, but subsequently relents, and permits the young couple to get married. Tanu is unhappy with the amount of time Raju spends with his animal friends, and this causes some tension between them. Things do not improve when a child is born, as Tanu fears that one day the child will be harmed by one of the animals, and hence Raju is told to make a choice between his animal friends or his wife and son.

Well, here's one of the famous scenes from the film. It is the part where the well-remembered song was sung. I know for a fact that some of my former classmates can sing this song word for word !




Did that bring back memories? Do share what you remember, and whether this whetted your appetite for the bigger Bollywood numbers that appeared much later ...
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Friday, November 19, 2010

Book: The Man from Borneo - Bro Michael Jacques

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I bought this from the Kinokuniya bookstore at Ngee Ann City mall on Orchard Road today.



It's the autobiography of Bro Michael Jacques, which has just been published.

Born in Kuching on 6th June 1916 to an English father and a Chinese hakka mother, Louis John Michael Jacques grew up to become Brother Michael Jacques, one of Malaysia's outstanding educators for many decades. Part of the Lasallian brotherhood, he served on two occasions as Brother Visitor in the Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong district. He was also elected to the Asian Assistancy in Rome. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by De La Salle University Manila and conferred with the Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri by the Governor of Penang. He lives in Petaling Jaya. Bro Jacques speaks fluent Malay, English, French, Italian, Cantonese, Hokkien and Hakka!

I have only read a few chapters so far, but I liked what he wrote towards the end of the Preface, "I have had no hesitation after some thought to adopt the title The Man from Borneo. Granted, I have lived no more than 14 of my many yearsas a permanent Sarawak resident. But I have never lost the spirit of being always a Sarawakian and proud of it. No matter how long I've been away, my roots are in Kuching where I came from and to which I have returned whenever work or circumstances have allowed ..."

After moving from Sibu where his father worked, Michael Jacques entered St Joseph's School, Kuching in 1927, joining Standard 4. He writes about being taught by Mr Eddie Van Houten, Father Haideggar and Father Delaney, among other teachers. He also described some of the intense St Joseph-St Thomas rivalry in those days. Eventually he left for St Xavier's Institution , Penang for further studies.

I would think this book would available in most good bookstores in Malaysia, but if any of you are interested in buying a copy online, click on this.
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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Musical Interlude: ANAK

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I'm sure most of us have heard this song "Anak" (meaning "Child"). The original was written and first performed by Filipino musician Freddie Aguilar. I have always loved its haunting melody, even though I never fully understood the Tagalog lyrics, which are supposed to reflect Filipino values.


So here's the original  for your enjoyment ...






Next the same song in English, also by Freddie A. Maybe some of you will like it better. I must say I still prefer the original.




If you were to Google it, you'd find that this song has also been translated into Malay, Japanese and dozens of other languages.


"Anak" became a finalist at a Manila song festival in 1977. It went on to become very popular in the Philippines and eventually abroad. The song has sold 30 million copies. Billboard magazine reported that the song was the number two world hit of the 1980s. I believe it is still unsurpassed as the all-time highest-selling record of Philippine music.
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Sunday, November 14, 2010

Top 10 Hollywood Movies of the 70s

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Some of us probably spent too many happy hours in the movie theatres back in the Seventies. Those were the days when Miramar, Cathay, Capitol, Lido, Rex, Odeon and many other cinemas were still going strong in Kuching.


Do you know what were the top grossing Hollywood movies of the 70s? I'm sure you'll have no problem guessing some of them. But here's the official top 10 list (courtesy of "People" magazine) ... hope it helps trigger some fond memories.

#1
Star Wars (1977)

The phenomenal success of this movie surprised many, even the director George Lucas himself.  This movie spawned two sequels and four prequels over the next three decades, not to mention raking in huge merchandising revenues.


Mark Hamill, 25, was making his film debut as Luke Skywalker. Carrie Fisher (Princess Laea) was only 20. And Harrison Ford was working as a carpenter when he got the part of Han Solo.


The special effects in the movie were state-of-the-art during its time, and a company called Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) was created, which is still doing extremely well. And we can all whistle the Star Wars theme music, can't we?


Total gross: US$ 798 million






#2
Jaws (1975)

This top grossing film was directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's blockbuster novel of the same name. 


The story is about a police chief (Roy Scheider) of a summer resort town who tries to protect beach-goers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach, only to be over-ruled by the town council, which wants the beach to remain open for the summer tourist season. Several attacks later, the police chief enlists the help of a marine biologist (Richard Dreyfus) and a professional shark hunter (Robert Shaw).


This film got many Westerners paranoid over sharks. Of course this storyline wouldn't have made much sense if set in Asia. All we'd have to do was unleash a bunch of Chinese chefs and harvest a bumper crop of delicious sharksfins. ...


Total gross: US$ 471 million

#3
Grease (1978)

To many "Grease" wasn't just a movie, it was a phenomenon that influenced a whole generation. I recently watched a DVD of the 30th anniversary reunion of the cast of Grease. John and Olivia did a reprisal of their classic "You're the One that I Want" and it was just great.


The plot of Grease is simple: Good girl Sandy and tough guy Danny fell in love over the summer. But when they unexpectedly discover they're now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance?


Many of the songs, like "Summer Loving", "Hopelessly Devoted to You", "Greased Lightnin" and "Grease" have all become classics.


Total gross: US$ 387 million


#4
The Exorcist (1973)

This scary movie was based on the book by William Peter Blatty


Linda Blair plays a girl possessed by the devil, Ellen Burstyn as her mother and the Max von Sydow as the Catholic priest who tries to drive the demon out. 


"The Exorcist" was voted the scariest movie of all time by many publications.


Some gross scenes in the movie - lots of spewing of greenish vomit,  heads rotating 360 degrees and the girl doing awful things to her own body ... in other words, pretty normal stuff that you'd find on Saturday morning kid TV these days.


Total gross: US$ 358 million





#5
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Most who have seen this movie will remember the five notes that were used to communicate with the alien visitors. C'mon, altogether hum it now ... doo-doo-doo-doo-doo ...


Another Steven Spielberg masterpiece, this film starred Richard Dreyfus, who is "contacted" by alien beings. He feels curiously drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.


Pretty nice special effects for that time.


The key message of the film: "We are NOT alone"


Total gross: US$ 304 million





#6
Superman (1978)
Christopher Reeve played a very authentic looking Man of Steel (really, really looked like the comic character!).


The movie also starred Gene Hackman (as villain Lex Luthor), Margot Kidder (as girlfriend Lois Lane) and Marlon Brando (as Superman's father Jor-El, back on the ill-fated planet Krypton).


This was the first of a number of Superman movies, but I still liked it the best. For its time, the special effects were quite spectacular. The marketing tagline I still remember from the film was "You'll believe a man can fly".


Of course, I can't think of Superman without remembering the sad ending to Christopher Reeve's life.


Total gross:  US$ 300 million


#7
Saturday Night Fever (1977)


This was the film that shot John Travolta to fame, and remains the classic film of the disco generation.


Travolta is Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent at a local Brooklyn discothèque, with fellow dance partners and girlfriends. While in the disco, Tony is the king. His care-free youth and weekend dancing help him to temporarily forget the reality of his life: a dead-end job, clashes with his unsupportive and squabbling parents, racial tensions in the community, and his links with a street gang.


The music soundtrack - mainly by the Bee Gees - has become a classic and collector's item. Other artistes featured were Yvonne Elliman, Tvares, and KC and the Sunshine Band.


Total gross: US$ 285 million



#8
The Godfather (1972)
He will make you an offer you can't refuse. Dare to cross him and you may find a horse's head in your bed. He is of course Don Corleone, the Godfather. This unforgettable role was played by Marlon Brando in the movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Also starred Al Pacino, James Caan and Robert Duvall.


Gave rise to two very successful sequels - The Godfather - Part II (1974) and Part III (1990)..


Total gross: US$ 245 million.

#9
Moonraker (1979)
Some liked Sean Connery as the suave secret agent James Bond. Others prefer Tim Dalton or Daniel Craig.  But I kinda like the cool Roger Moore, with his somewhat light humoured portrayal of Bond.


The Bond babe was Lois Chiles as astronaut Dr Holly Goodhead (who comes up with these names ??? Ha ha ha !!!). The notable villain was the huge Richard Kiel, better known as "Jaws"


There's a great part at the end of the movie, when Bond and Goodhead are making love in the space shuttle on the way back to Earth. They get back into video range of Ground Control - prompting the memorable exchange between Sir Frederick Gray and Q: "My God, what's Bond doing?" Gray demands, and Q, not looking at the visual monitor but instead reading a tracking scanner, replies, "I think he's attempting re-entry, Sir."


Total gross: US$ 210 million

#10
Jaws 2 (1978)

Most movie sequels don't do very well, but this one surprisingly did.


Roy Schneider reprises his role as Police Chief Martin Brody who must deal with another great white shark terrorizing the waters of Amity Island, the fictional seaside resort


I remember the marketing tagline for the movie: "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water".


Total gross: US 209 million

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Bako National Park

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When was the last time you visited Bako ? I suspect for most of you it might have been some time ago. Perhaps even way back in the 70s when you were on a school trip. And if you are now based far away from Sarawak, you would likely not have seen these pristine images for a while.

So here's something to bring back your memories of one of Borneo's best collections of natural flora and fauna. Turn up the volume on your computer or iPad and enjoy ...





Share your recollections of Bako and other picnic haunts during those carefree teenage years.
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Monday, November 8, 2010

Edmund Lee and the Class of 67

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Edmund Lee (Form 5, 1975) sent me an email with this attached photo which had been forwarded to him  by Kenneth Chew. Here's an excerpt of what Edmund said ...


" ...Bumped into a group of our Seniors at Kwang Hup Cafe, Jln. Keretapi last week. (Class of '67) Informed them about our blog. Since our blog caters to "Josephians of the Seventies" - this photo qualifies to be published as I am inside it too...hehehehe

FYI - Kenneth Chew is the elder brother of Vernon ('75) and Bertram ('76 ), Steven ( '73 ), Alan ( ? ), Cecil ( ? ) Daniel ( ? ), Shenton ( ? ) - all Josephians and their Sisters Irene, Eleanor, Bernice, Eunice - all Teresians, of course.

Jee Tzin Kit is the brother of our teacher, Mr. Nicholas Jee. 

Fabian was previously attached to SESCO as the Finance Manager. Not sure whether the frequent black-outs were coincidental with his retirement. ( just kidding ! )

The rest are familar faces in town - likely to bump into them at Church, Parish Sales, Sarawak Club, etc  - except near St. Thomas' School or McDougall Road."



Back Row : Fabian Chang, Jee Tzin Kit, Andrew Wong, Edmund Lee Ah See (standing - 1975), Kenneth Chew, Lai Lim Hon.  Front Row : Thomas Chomg, Chan Chiaw Huan (Chrispian)


Thanks to Edmond, Kenneth and everyone else for sharing this happy moment.

I will edit this post - including updating the years of the classes the boys were from in St Joe - once I receive more info. That's the beauty of a blog ... always dynamic, always editable at any time ... So just send any updates to me (jslyong@hotmail.com) or to Edmund (sipadan2005@gmail.com)

Have a nice day !
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Friday, November 5, 2010

Happy Deepavali !

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How quickly the months go by ... 



Here's wishing all our friends who celebrate the festival of light a Very Happy Deepavali and to all others a good holiday !
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Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Combrades in Construction

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I received this email from former classmate, Alfred Wong (Form 5Sc, 1976) ...


Dear WJ, 

Do you still recognize this old form-mate of us? He is George Sim who left for further studies around Form 4 in 1975. I used to visit George in Brighton in the late 70's when he was staying with our fellow classmates, Dr Sim Pheng Siew and Eric Tan Kung Miang

Well, George and I were recently 'reunited' when he was appointed Project Manager of the Project Management Consultant Team overseeing the construction of the New UITM Campus Extension Project in Kuching , for which I was one of the Contractors undertaking the construction works.  

I met up with George for a courtesy visit at the Site Office today as I have not seen him for a while. George is a UK trained Civil Engineer and has vast working experience in the field of building and civil engineering works throughout Sarawak.

There is another team member on the same project who is also a former Josephian. Patrick Tan is from the Form Five Class of 1975 and is a registered Architect.

I am so excited to be part of the construction team with two former Josephians. 

I attach a photo taken with George with the site backdrop to jog back your memory of this former form-mate. 

Alfred Wong




It's great to see old schoolmates reunited, and even working together.

Thanks Alfred for sharing this happy occasion.

George, I'll be candid. I won't have been able to recognise you if we had met elsewhere. It has been such a long time. But it's good to see you again.
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Monday, November 1, 2010

In Search of Ka Chang Ma

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Many Chinese from Sarawak would have tasted or at least heard of the dish called "Ka Chang Ma". Those living overseas tend not to have. 






Ka Chang Ma is a Hakka dish, which is usually prepared with chicken. Very tasty, although I must warn those who have never tried it before that it includes a healthy dose of rice wine (traditionally Tuak). In the old days, this dish was traditionally prepared for women who have just given birth (i.e. during the so-called "confinement period"), as the herbs were supposed to have nutritional properties. Another school of thought seems to suggest that Ka Chang Ma has properties that make it a good aphrodisiac for the men. Hmmm ... benefits that support both sides of the procreation process. Anyway whatever the benefit, it's a delicious dish (if you like wine).


If you want the recipe, check out this website that I came across.  Obviously I can't vouch for the quality of this particular chef's concoction, but I don't think it will stray very far from the original provided the herbs are of good quality.


I believe that Ka Chang Ma originated in Sarawak, although I have no empirical evidence to support that. It's just that I've never seen it being served anywhere else, except perhaps by Sarawakians living abroad. I did a quick Google search and found that the herb that goes into Ka Chang Ma is known as 益母草 (Motherwort).


When living overseas, many Sarawakians complain of missing Ka Chang Ma, and the difficulty in finding the herbs. I think some have even tried to plant it themselves overseas, with mixed results. Others stockpile bottles of the herbs brought over by relatives from home.


Well  guys and gals, share your experiences with or questions regarding this dish, and I'm sure we have many experts out there who will be able to enlighten all of us. Yum, all this talk of Ka Chang Ma is making me hungry ...
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