That all too familiar longing for the comfort and warmth of home, and mum’s cooking, is captured here beautifully by our Uncle Nelson (Nel) Philips’s musings on a cold winter day as he tries to recreate the famous family ‘Christmas Stew.’ His memories are peppered with nostalgic recollections of being our (now 99 year-old) grandmother…
Category: Kelantan
Food Trail: Gua Musang, Kelantan
Gua Musang is the first point of entry into the state of Kelantan for travellers heading to the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia via Kuala Lipis in Pahang. It’s a picturesque route along the hilly rainforest of the Titiwangsa range which is dotted with limestone caves and formations. The name of the town literally translates…
Tropical Fruit Fare: ‘Buah Bidara’
The staples in my refrigerator are packets of apples and lemons. For my parents and grandparents these imported fruits were a luxury together with oranges and grapes. They loved it so by default we did too. But over the last few years I’ve developed a craving for local fruits (or exotic fruit if one is…
The Fading Façade Of A Quaint, Reverent Place
No this is not a haunted house, but a chapel that served at least three generations of Catholics in the town of Kuala Krai in Kelantan, East Coast of Peninsula Malaysia. This year we spent Good Friday at this old dilapidated chapel along Jalan Geale located along the Kelantan River near…
Food Trail: Kelantan
Kelantan, previously a territory of the Siamese empire is probably one of the most underrated food destination in Malaysia and is usually given a miss by most tourists – including Malaysian travellers. It’s close proximity to Thailand in the north gives the local cuisine a different taste and aromatic twist compared to other parts of…
Explore: Down The Path Less Travelled
During my occasional outstation stints as a writer, I often had to go down paths less travelled, which led me to people and places I would otherwise have not taken the effort to explore on my own. Sometimes the people who know of these spots would rather not share their knowledge for fear of ruining the…
Maria Dass the World 