Dear Readers,
Wishing all our Chinese readers, a prosperous Year of the Dragon 2012!

May good health, wealth and love, flourish in your household this new year. And may God’s blessings be abundant!

xoxo,
C&C

On the eve of Christmas, I think it’s appropriate to share one of my favourite Hymns, which is entitled,  “Love Came down at Christmas”. The funny thing about this hymn is that I used to dislike it growing up because every-time we went caroling with the MYF (Methodist Youth Fellowship), we used to have to sing it a dozen times. “Why oh why do we have to do this boring song? why can’t we do something snappy like jingle bells or something..?” And it wasn’t only me. We, the caroling bunch, would whine about it. Then, as we got to appreciate the true meaning of Christmas, we realized that, hey it’s not about the bells and the jingles but about the depth of God’s love for man, in the form of Jesus coming down to earth. Anyway, I now love this haunting Irish melody and the simplicity of its tune. It also brings back all those fun and crazy MYF caroling nights about town with my mates. The words summarize the true meaning of Christmas. “Love Came Down at Christmas” is a Christmas poem by Christina Rossetti. It was first published without a title in Time Flies: A Reading Diary in 1885.

Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, love divine;
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and angels gave the sign.

Worship we the Godhead,
Love incarnate, love divine;
Worship we our Jesus:
But wherewith for sacred sign?

Love shall be our token,
Love shall be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and to all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign

Words: Chris­ti­na Ros­set­ti

Music: Gar­ton, tra­di­tion­al Ir­ish mel­o­dy

Have A Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year! Here’s to an even better 2011!

Meet the Malaysian Robin Hood.. this is a tale of the noble warrior Sandokan.. a tale of Idealism, Passion and of Loyalty

Contest to win book at the end of blogpost!

On Tuesday the 26th October 2010, Cumi & Ciki were invited to attend the launch of the novel “Sandokan: Lanun Malaysia” (Sandokan – Pirates of Malaysia), which also marked the Opening of the 10th Week of the Italian Language in the World”. This event was organized by The Embassy of Italy and it also involved the start of the Italian Film Festival. Ah.. what a stroke of luck.. one of our favourite indulgences is watching foreign movies..  and so we were incredibly pleased to hear that we would catch the first Italian Film Fest movie that same night. A big thanks to Marian Eu of Scribe Media Link for the invitation.

The launching of the novel “Sandokan: The Pirates of Malaysia”, written by the Italian novelist Emilio Salgari, and translated for the first time into Bahasa Malaysia by the Malaysian National Institute of Translation (ITNM), marked the official opening of the Tenth Week of the Italian Language in the World, which took place from Oct 26 to Oct 29  at the Tunku Abdul Rahman Hall of the Malaysian Tourism Centre (MATIC).

The “Week of the Italian Language in the World” is the main international event promoting the Italian language worldwide through the network of embassies, consulates and Italian cultural institutes. This year’s edition in Kuala Lumpur is organized by the Embassy of Italy and hosted by MATIC (Malaysian Tourism Centre). It focuses on literature and cinema.

The Tenth Week of the Italian Language in the World was also a week of Italian cinema: after the launching ceremony, we attended the opening of the Italian Film Festival with the screening of the movie “Gli amici del Bar Margherita”, directed by Pupi Avati, on Oct 26. The movies “L’Ultimo Pulcinella” directed by Maurizio Scaparro, “Generazione Mille Euro” directed by Massimo Venier and “EX” directed by Fausto Brizzi were screened at the Tunku Abdul Rahman Hall at the Matic on the subsequent days.

Photos of the Event

The Welcome address by Encik Mohd Khair Ngadiron, CEO of Institut Terjemahan Negara Malaysia (Malaysian Institute of Translation)

The Speech by Ambassador of Italy, H.E. Mr Folco De Luca Gabrielli (he is seated on the left)

The Speech by the Guest of Honour

After the speeches a special performance by the little ones.. depicting the tale of “Sandokan”.

The Pirates of Malaysia defending the small villages against the British

Victory Dance

The ceremony to launch the book “Sandokan: Lanun Malaysia”

Hip Hip, Hurray!

About the Author of Sandokan

Emilio Salgari (1862-1911) was an enormously popular writer of adventure novels and for over a century his books were mandatory reading for generations of youth eager for exotic adventure. Malaysia is the beautiful setting of his most famous works – although Salgari never travelled to this part of the world. Millions of Italians first learnt about Malaysia from Salgari’s vivid accounts. The launch of Salgari’s novels in this country highlights the strong cultural ties and celebrates the thread of commonality between Malaysia and Italy.

Refreshments courtesy of CIAO, before the start of the Italian Film Festival.

The canapes were delicious, my favourite being the olive, basil and cheese!

After refreshments, the movie

Bologna, 1954. Taddeo, a young man of 18 whom everyone calls Kid, dreams of becoming one of the regulars of the mythical Margherita Café, located under the portico across from his family’s home. Through a ploy, he manages to get work as the chauffeur for Al, the neighborhood’s most glamorous and mysterious resident. Having been taken under Al’s wing, Taddeo gets to witness the adventures of Bep, who is in love with Marcella the entraineuse; the trials and tribulations of Gian, an aspiring singer and the victim of a horrible practical joke; the crazy behavior of Manuelo, a small-time robber with a sex phobia; the meanness of Zanchi, inventor of the elastic necktie; and the bizarre manias of Sarti, a ballroom dancing champion who wears his tux day and night. And Taddeo’s home life is no less out of the ordinary, considering his mother is being led on by the family physician while his grandfather has fallen head over heels for a well-built piano teacher.

All in all an entertaining film but it could have been better developed. Many of the character’s actions went unexplained and there was no continuity in the storyline that seemed abrupt and rather chopped up. Not the best we have seen in Italian movies but not the worst either. Highly entertaining with a few laughs thrown in at the expense of human weakness and human eccentricities, that will keep you amused long enough to see the end of the movie.

This was a particularly special event because I learned about “Sandokan” the Malaysian pirate.. or Robin Hood if you will, and am pretty proud that this makes up part of my heritage and culture. The book is pretty amazing too and we have ONE FREE copy of the novel to give away, if you can answer this simple question correctly:

The complete Sandokan Series includes five titles. Name just any ONE of these titles and win the free book!

Email you answer to cumidanciki at gmail dot com before the 3rd of November 2010.

Good luck!

Every weekend we would be subjected to a snail paced crawl into the city..

Loosely Translated as : Death by Hanging – That is the Penalty for Drug Trafficking. This will be a great misfortune for your family!

If I can recall these childhood memories of these walls together with the surrounding attractions so can many other Malaysians and non Malaysians who have lived or still live here. Young and old, rich or poor, and VIPs and street urchins can remember them too. Good or bad, for better or worse, Pudu jail is a heritage for every Malaysian. It reminds us where we do not want to be if we were to commit a serious crime. It is a correctional facility where many received canning or whipping as punishment and a place many turned a new leaf after a period of solitary contemplation. Some were, of course, put to death by the gallows which serves us the grim reminder of not to do terrible things to society. Pudu jail had also been home to prisoners or war during the Japanese occupation. Some of the older generation would recall decapitated heads stuck on poles left outside, to strike fear into the hearts of citizens if they collaborated with the resistance. After the Japanese left, and the British reclaimed their rule, the jail then became home to several freedom fighters during a time when sentiments for a free and independent Malaya (Old Malaysia name) developed amongst the Malayan community. Many of the older generation complain about how the young knows nothing about the struggles of their ancestors yet historical artifacts are quickly being erased from the public’s eye. The young only have Hollywood to spin tales of preservation on American heritage sites while they know little about their own place of birth.

Part of the Pudu Jail exterior has already been demolished since 21 June 2010 for the reasons of road widening and to be eventually replaced by commercial complexes. Aren’t there enough unoccupied buildings, apartments and parking in the city?

Road congestion will never cease unless a perfect public transport system is established, and road works are properly managed and scheduled. My perspective is not unlike the rest of the public. To me, Malaysia has diminished much of its heritage value with the demolition of beautiful old buildings and renaming of street names from colonial times. In recent years, we have lost key historic sites in the city such as the Bok House, Bukit Bintang Girls School and the government quarters in Pudu (which used to have a clay tennis court – the only one I know of in the country!), all apparently for a ‘socially and economically improved Malaysia’ but really it’s just to fill the pockets of a few while the remainder receives meager daily wages.

If developed countries can turn their antiquated correctional facilities into historical relics with great commercial value, why can’t our government do the same?

If developed countries can turn their antiquated correctional facilities into historical relics with great commercial value, why can’t our government do the same?

There are clearly issues why Malaysian government lacks the heritage conservation mindset. Pudu jail was converted into a museum briefly in the mid 90′s but i had the misfortune of not being in Malaysia during that period to visit the place. It’s too late now and too late for the rest of you, even if they keep just a portion of it standing.

Read more here and here.

Tools of punishment. Here.

Some recall their duties.

1895 .. a figment of the past

When you wish upon a moon..

In my country, this is a big deal for the Chinese who look forward to eating these little delectable ‘parcels from the moon’. No that’s not even completely accurate. Most people in Malaysia, even the non-Chinese look forward to eating Mooncake and this is the time where beautifully packaged Mooncakes are exchanged as gifts and tokens of appreciation. Many Chinese restaurants now have the ‘halal’ version of these sweet Chinese desserts and to tell you the truth they taste so good it is hard to tell which ones are halal and which ones are not these days. Not only that, the new buzz is for restaurants and mooncake makers to try and top each other in producing new contemporary flavours. From solid chocolate mooncakes to unusual yam or charcoal baked flavours, you name it, they’ve thought of it.. and now, it’s for sale!

Anyway, if you are wondering how it all started, the Mooncake Festival or Lantern Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival is believed to have originated from the ancient ceremony of Sacrificing to the Moon Goddess for the year’s end harvest. This is when families return to celebrate and give thanks for the year’s bounty.

Why the moon?

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festivity for the Han people of China plus the other minority tribes. The custom of worshiping the moon can be traced back for yoinks. The Han would sacrifice to the Moon Goddess in thanksgiving for the year’s crops and harvest. Families would return from the fields to celebrate – this was normally a time of reunion and mooncakes would be baked and exchanged as gifts. It was a really cool tradition to give 13 mooncakes as a gift because this symbolized a full year. Why 13? well, the extra one represents the leap year (my ancestors were really smart people!)

How did the Mooncake Festival become so widely celebrated?

During the Yuan dynasty, China was ruled by the Mongolians. Rebels plotted to overthrow the ruling government and they did this by baking tactical warfare instructions into the mooncakes. As the Mid-Autumn Festival drew near, the rebels ordered cakes baked and distributed throughout the villages.

Needless to say, the tactics worked and on the night of the Festival, the rebels with the help of local villagers, successfully overthrew the government! After this, it was the reign of the Ming Dynasty as we know it. And that my friend, is the true meaning behind the Mooncake.

So the next time you indulge in a piece of mooncake, make sure you gaze up at the moon and contemplate just how pivotal this innocent-looking, sweet dessert was in carving the fate and history of the Chinese.

Finally, there is also a version that is popular in Malaysia, I learned as a child..

Finally, there is also a version that is popular in Malaysia, that my grandma used to tell me when I was a little girl in Ipoh. There was once an archer, called Hau Yi and his wife, named Chang Er. As with most women, Chang Er was a busy-body who could not keep herself to herself, and decided to steal the pill of immortality from the Gods. When the God’s found out, needless to say, they were pissed off and as a massive punishment, decided to banish Chang Er to the moon. Well, if she really was that nosey a wife, I figure the Gods did Hau Yi a favour:P  Anyway, Chang Er is now whom we all know as “The Lady in the Moon”. If you looks closely you will always see the silhouette of a lady no matter how you look at the full moon.

Mooncake is celebration but mooncake is also creation..

Espresso Chestnut
An extremely creative coffee skin and paste with chestnut to add a nutty flavour to the mooncake.. talk about getting nuts over mooncake!

German Black Forest
Chocolate skin with blackcurrant and chocolate chip.. super sweet and chocolate-y this one!

Charcoal-Baked Yam

Delicious yam paste with tantalizing bamboo-charcoal skin.. one of my favourites!

this Mooncake Festival.. make sure you balance your Yin and Yang..

Bamboo Hazelnut a unique combination of bamboo-charcoal skin with hazelnut paste and chocolate goes hand in hand with.. Charcoal-Baked Yam a gorgeous yam paste with an amazing, aromatic bamboo-charcoal skin. These two were by far, Cumi & Ciki’s favourites.

To conclude the story about the moon..

Anyway, to conclude this post.. back to the story of the moon. Moon gazing is not unique to Malaysia nor to just the Chinese. The Japanese also indulge in moon gazing in a festival known as the Tsukimi, but they enjoy eating rice dumplings rather than the mooncake. On the same day, Koreans celebrate Chuseok which is a harvest day celebration and they eat crescent shaped glutinous rice cakes known as Song-pyeon. In Vietnam on the same day, the Vietnamese celebrate Children’s festival where parents dote on their kids and make them mid-autumn cakes for tea. These delicious goodies are known as the Tet trung thu.