Nothing Left to Say – Blues Gang

Nothing Left to Say Translation by Bin Gregory Productions Riding my bike down to the store Middle of the day, in the middle of the heat Who’s got the strength to tap rubber Nothing left to say If I could, I’d be a school teacher Down in Kuala Pilah Fields of paddy, buffalos all over Water […]

Tapai ubi, tapai nasi

A banana leaf wrapped and held with lidis could hold just about anything. In this case, it holds tapioca root, ubi kayu, that has … crossed over. Normally a dense, bland, starchy tuber considered poverty food or at best home cooking, it is transformed into a pillowy soft sweetness soaking in a fiery liqueur

Parang: the Malay machete

“Take the parang beneath the stairs
Use the whetstone on an edge grown dull.
That faith be kept safe in prayer
Prostrate daily five times in full.”

Gardening in the tropics is a constant battle against the jungle. Being properly armed means carrying a machete. From Brazil to the Congo to the island of Borneo, farmers wield some form of long, sturdy knife for slashing and hacking back the relentless encroaching green. The Malaysian machete is the parang.

Jean-Luc Nassy-LeMac

Geddit? Geddit? [su_spoiler style=”fancy” title=”I Don’t Get It.”] [_su_spoiler title=”Nassy.LeMac?” style=”simple”]Nasi Lemak is a traditional Malaysian breakfast of rice cooked in coconut milk, served with chili sauce and various toppings. [_/su_spoiler] [_su_spoiler title=”And?” style=”simple”] That’s the whole joke, friend. [_/su_spoiler] [/su_spoiler]   [divider type=”thin”] Photo from Flickr by Avlxyz of Greedy Gourmets.

Gurindam 12 Fasal 4

The 12 Gurindam of Raja Ali Haji ___________________________ This is the Gurindam of the fourth issue: Ini gurindam pasal yang keempat: The heart over the body rules all; if it oppresses, every part falls. Hati kerajaan di dalam tubuh, jikalau zalim segala anggota pun roboh. Whenever jealousy has been sown, shoot forth a multitude of […]

Malay Garment Technology

Last weekend featured the most exciting Malaysian cultural event I’ve heard of in a long time:  a flash mob of people wearing sarongs descended on the LRT lines in Kuala Lumpur.  I would have joined in solidarity from Kuching, but, alas, we have no trains.  We have Jalan Keretapi, but the train, tracks and station […]