Cross-Cultural Conversations

Observations by a Malaysian studying in Australia

Let The Holidays Begin!

It's only been 4 weeks of uni and the holiday season is already upon us. I actually wouldn't mind being in uni for a couple of weeks longer but if they decide that we deserve a break, who am I to disagree?

My last day in Melbourne was spent browsing around the Queen Victoria Market while a friend decides on souvenirs to bring back home. I decided to at last try the famous Spanish Doughnut, sold in a parked van along the market. It turned out to be the wisest decision I've made in recent memory. The crunchy pastry of the doughnut and the accompanying dusted sugar were a perfect marriage and my sweet tooth and empty stomach were happy witnesses to such a great ceremony. The happiness may not have lasted forever, but the memory will linger for eternity.

Our vacation officially started on the 1 hour train trip to Geelong. Going back to my friend's warm home is always something to look forward to, but today it's made even more special since we're celebrating her dad's birthday with a feast worth salivating for.

We indulged on an exhaustive entree menu of deep-fried tortilla shards with hummus and felafel, herbed mini pancake rolls with salmon and tzatziki, oysters with caviar, thai fish cakes, olive and anchovy pizza wheels with parmesan and artichoke dip, parmesan twists and tartlets with bocconcini, olive and salmon. An entree dish that certainly whetted my appetite but also completely dissolved my hunger!

An hour later, after all (or at least most) of the appetizers have been digested, it was time for the mains. As it's Easter, seafood was the predominant theme. Seafood risotto, Mussels in lemongrass and spicy sauce, Fried black pepper octopus, and an African bake dish consisting of scallops, sweet potato, squid, prawns and polenta provided us with a contented meal. All this was finished with the richest, most decadent chocolate mud cake, whose density will astonish physicists and whose caloric content will scare off dieticians and physicians alike.

All in all, a great way to start the week long Easter break. Next destination - Brisbane!

 

posted by: Tembaga2 at 14:30 | link | comments (1) |

Preaching Propaganda : Part 1

One of the most valuable lessons you learn from your experience as a debater is the ability to view an issue from different perspectives. Debating teaches you to critically, and usually, cynically analyse an opinion in order to reach a balanced and fair conclusion.

Being a debater, I’ve never taken a liking for propaganda and preaching-in-general, as they often present points from only a single perspective, completely ignoring the other arguments in order to convert the masses to their ideology.

One of my biggest dilemmas recently has been the obligatory Friday prayers. A pre-prayer sermon is an essential part of the Friday prayer ritual, and although I am happy to listen to sermons that encourage us to be better people, all too often the khatib who delivers the sermons will misuse his position and preach with the holier-than-thou attitude so prevalent among many of us today (religious or otherwise).

In Malaysia , the sermon is not individually prepared by the khatib himself, but rather the state religious authorities. This is done, from what I understand, to avoid khatibs with an extremist bent from polluting the minds of the masses. However, it does not stop the sermons from being misused by the government as an instrument of propaganda to win the votes of the faithfuls. Moreover, because the sermons aren’t personally prepared by the khatibs themselves, there is no passion when they’re delivering the speech, and it turns out sounding like a bland reading from a book.

Other problems abound. Unsurprisingly, Harakahdaily, the online voice of the fundamentalist PAS party noted, “…khutbah yang disediakan oleh JHEAT (Jabatan Hal Ehwal Agama Terengganu) itu langsung tidak mengaitkan isu-isu yang berkaitan dengan Islam sebaliknya mengupas perkara remeh temeh seperti kedatangan pelancong, pelebaran jalan raya, lampu hiasan dipasang di waktu malam dan lain-lain lagi.” (“…the sermon prepared by the Terengganu State Department of Religious Affairs is totally irrelevant to Islam, focusing instead on trivial matters such as tourist arrivals, road widening, decorative lamp posts installed at night and other such issues.”)

More importantly, the daily noted the government’s subtle approach to highlight its achievements to the voting public, in which one section of the sermon reads "Usaha-usaha untuk mempertingkatkan infrastruktur seperti pelebaran jalan raya, pembaikan jambatan-jambatan, pembinaan Lebuh raya Pantai Timur, pembesaran lapangan terbang dan pengujudan sebuah universiti juga sedang dijalankan." (“Efforts to improve infrastructure such as road widening, bridge maintenance, the opening of the East Coast highway, upgrading the airport and the establishment of a university are well under way”).

In all honesty, I wouldn’t be surprised if the PAS government resorted to the same tactics, had they been able to implement those projects in their 4 years of idle rule.

Generally, save for a few exceptions, I’m quite content with the substance of the sermons prepared by the State Religious Authorities. They emphasise a holistic approach to religion, encompassing education and civic-consciousness, rather than get carried away with the ritualistic aspect of religion.

 

posted by: Tembaga2 at 23:30 | link | comments |

Good Food Combinations

Pancake, syrup, peanut butter

A hot pancake, drizzled and bathed in maple syrup, topped with a generous slap of smooth peanut butter. The sweet sin of syrup and the guilty pleasure of fat, fulfilling peanut delight, all perfectly combined in a comforting slice of hot pancake.


Bread, Tzatziki, Cheddar Cheese

The best thing about making a sandwich is the infinite possibilities of fillings to add to your lunch meal. Unfortunately, I’ve always been a bit conservative with my sandwiches, and I end up with wholemeal sandwich with the classic (read: boring) combination of margarine, tuna, and cucumber.

Two days ago, I decided to be all experimental, and added all my favourite ingredients together, unsure of whether they would complement each other. And so, on two slices of multigrain bread (for texture), I plastered a thick layer of tzatziki, placed a slice of cheddar cheese, and topped it all with alfalfa, grated carrot and tomato. The winning combination here is the tzatziki and cheese, the minty creaminess of the dip going very well with the flavour of cheddar, with the accompanying vegetables giving the crunch to the sandwich. Perfect!


Bread, Loads of margarine, Egg
This is a special recipe I concocted back in the ol’ days when I was fatter than your average kid. Actually, back then I was fatter than every kid.

Anyway, back then, I really looked forward to weekends because that was the time I could have the most fulfilling and leisurely breakfast. Normally it would consist of between 6 to 10 slices of toasted white bread, quickly spread with margarine so that it melts into delicious golden liquid.

But you soon get bored of eating the same thing, so what I did was, while waiting for the bread to toast, fry an egg bullseye style. The bread was then spread, front and back, with margarine (I was obsessed with polyunsaturated vegetable fat then).

The bullseye egg was carefully placed on one top of the bread and sandwiched by the other. The most important thing to remember is to not break the egg yolk, because doing so would completely ruin the purpose of this dish.

Once you’ve made it into a sandwich, you grab the bread and squeeze it, so that the yolk finally breaks. Every time I do this, I always try to predict which side of the bread was going to ooze with creamy egg yolk, and somehow it always manages to ooze at the other side. But that’s the fun part, because you get hot yolk dripping on your unsuspecting fingers, waiting to be licked and cleaned.

I haven’t had this dish for a long time, and given its epic caloric count, I don’t think I ever will.

posted by: Tembaga2 at 10:15 | link | comments (2) |