Ikan bilis, the magical little dried fishes of my dreams. Ikan bilis is one of the best things about eating in Malaysia. The Malays add ikan bilis to nearly everything here, adding salt, crunch and some fine briney umami to the dish. At lunch on weekdays, the local row of hawker stalls has a buffet,…
Month: May 2010
Visitor Shows Up to Brewery Wearing Shorts
An opportunity to laugh at the incident at GAB: Things got hairy at the Guinness-Anchor-Berhad (GAB) Brewery near Kuala Lumpur Thursday, when a foreigner named Joshua Oakes showed up for a GAB Brewery tour wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and mandles–men’s sandals. The rest of his group was all wearing appropriate attire. “I don’t know, I…
Josh Oakes Apprehended by Guinness Fashion Police; Free Beer Palliates
The Guinness-Anchor-Berhad (GAB) Brewery is the size of a automobile manufacturing plant, in the suburban styx of Kuala Lumpur. Kennhyn Ang of BeerBeer arranged a brewery tour for the two of us, and about half a dozen others. The BeerBeer crew gave us a ride from the nearest metro stop–which is the eponymous end of…
Lost and Found in KL
I left my camera in a restaurant the other day. Because I like to take photos of good food, I had it out and on the seat next to me. My purse was there also and when we got up to leave, I took my bag assuming the camera was inside. I realized it after…
Our First Malaysian Road Trip!
We just got back from a 4d/3n road trip–our first ever in Malaysia. Renting a car was easy and about the same price as in Europe, but a little more than in North America. The total price including the rental of a GPS came to about $45–50 per day. We got a local car called…
Feeling Bitter (A Fling with Bitter Gourd)
Oh what we would do for a regular supply of luscious IPA or hoppy pils here in Malaysia! But look at the bright side. We have—bitter melon! Bear with me a moment. This is going somewhere. Bitter things are not for the timid of tongue. That holds true for hops, which could be why many…
The Other Oakes Just Isn’t As Cool as Ours…
A quick search on WebMii.com revealed this Other Josh Oakes. I particularly liked this part at the bottom: Everybody loves a beer writer! Television fishing program hosts, on the other hand… I thought it funny though, that Draft Magazine is asking “Who’s Your Favorite Beer Blogger?” and Oakes is not mentioned. Personally I think he’s…
Kampung Baru Night Market
Having a couple of free hours and looking for something interesting to do, we took a walk to the Petronas Towers, got on the subway and went one stop, to the other side of the freeway. That’s a bold step you understand. Within the freeway ring of downtown are towers, malls, expats, and all manner…
Banana Blossom!
Our hawker down the street offers a full table of raw herbs and vegetables (collectively referred to as ulam) as condiments. On most days the ulam array includes banana flower, simply steamed and left to cool. They have usually oxidized by the time they make it to the table for lunch, and some petals have…
Love and Barley 