Southern Comfort: Johor’s Maritime Gems

Explore the unique maritime cultural heritage of islanders off the coast of Johor in my latest article. Check out their island inspired food using locally sourced seeds, fruits and plants, cultural performances and traditional art including Zapin Pulau performances that mimic the movements of marine life, with costumes inspired by the colours of the sea…

Food Trail: Nasi Campur Kampung

Comfort food … a treat when you travel through small towns along the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. This particular restaurant, ‘Sedap Wehh’, which means ‘really delicious’ when loosely translated from Malay, is located on Jalan Bypass or Jalan Pintasan in Kuantan, Pahang. It features a wide spread of proteins, greens, gravies, and other Malay…

Weekend Indulgence

In the 80s, it as common to have mobile trucks and hawkers tooting their way through neighbourhoods – selling an array of food, from breakfast bites, to noodle soups,  dumplings and ice-cream. One of my favourite vendors was the ‘tau fu fa man’ – as we know him and the silky white bean curd he…

Winding Down The Week

It was a lovely and busy Saturday spent with family & friends, and we needed to wind down from a day of driving through heavy traffic and long distances. So we decided to make a date night out of getting all dressed up for the day – at a quaint neighbourhood restaurant in Lucky Garden,…

Copper Cup Brews

Rich, creamy & frothy tea and coffee served in shiny copper cups which have apparent health benefits. These special brews are among some of the more recent additions at Central Market Kuala Lumpur – once a tourist hub but nowadays an equally interesting place for locals, with a variety of pop-up stores and new products,…

The Missing Ingredient …

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…

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…

Food Trail: Bangkok

One of the hardest places to stick to a diet plan would be Bangkok. I never had a bad meal over the few days we were there in early February 2023. It was good to have family members and friends based in Bangkok take us around and introduce us to a wide variety of Thai…