Orang Asli Christmas Gathering At St Michaels Church, Ipoh

Some of the Orang Asli servers at the Bahasa Malaysia mass. (back row from right) Fr Jude Miranda followed by Fr Stephen Liew. Hubert Thong is at extreme left in white shirt. 

Over one hundred and sixty out of close to 350 Orang Asli from Kampar, Cameron Highlands and Tapah attended an ‘Orang Asli Christmas Gathering’ held at St Michael's Church, Ipoh on December 11 2016.

The evening began with a Bahasa Malaysia mass held during the 5.30pm evening Sunday Mass and carried on with a dinner and concert held at the church hall later.

Another 200 Orang Asli from the Temenggor Dam area was unable to attend due to floods affecting their locations.

Co-organiser for the evening Hubert Thong said the Temenggor Orang Asli were supposed to attend but floods during this monsoon season had upset the plan.

Thong added that the Orang Asli Christmas gathering was annual event.

“For the last two years we held it at their villages. This year we decided to bring the congregation to St Michaels Church. 

"It is much easier to coordinate than to have to bring the celebration to their villages and it will give the Orang Asli an opportunity a change to have an outing away from their village”

Fr Jude Miranda concelebrated at the Bahasa Malaysia mass.

The mass had a strong Orang Asli presence

The evening began with a Bahasa Malaysia mass which was concelebrated by Fr Jude Miranda from Taiping Catholic Church and St Michaels Church Parish Priest Fr Stephen Liew.

Orang Asli presence in the mass was very strong with six youth from Kampar serving during the mass and additional youth participating in the offertory ceremony.

During the concert groups from St Michaels Church and Orang Asli did their presentations. 

After mass, the evening continued with a dinner and concert held at the Church hall.

Above, Sam Tet school band and below Orang Asli youth enjoying the evening.

It was a nice scene as the congregation that gathered together portrayed a lovely 1 Malaysia image with various races of Malaysia sitting together for a meal and participating as one big family in the evening activities.

The concert started with the Sam Tet School band's rendition of Christmas carols and an appropriate and popular Chinese tune ‘Pang Yau’ or Friend.

This was followed by presentations from the various groups from St Michaels Church and the Orang Asli with the audience urging them on by cheering and clapping.

At dinner, Christmas Carols with healthy servings. 

A Christmas to remember when whole families have a meal together. 

Young, innocent and happy faces. 

It was a wonderful night of joy where the congregation of St Michaels Church came together with Orang Asli community to help usher in the spirit of Christmas.

Merry Christmas 2016.

Merry Christmas.

JAG 

Ipoh’s Attractive Wall Murals – Attracts Everyone

'Cats singing Christmas carols' done by Eric Lai and team . 

The wall murals at Ipoh Old Town are still as attractive as when they were first painted a year ago by Lithuanian artist Ernest Zakarevich.

Above two murals were also done by Eric Lai. 

However I came across more murals, these were done by local artist Eric Lai off Jalan Bandar Timah south of Jalan Sultan Iskandar and the unlikely (here in Ipoh) clown poster of Prime Minister Najib Razak

Singaporean Jawahar Kanjilal posing against the mural. 

(above) Individuals and families love to pose against the murals

Who or whatever is the subject, the number of visitors to Ipoh each weekend always delights on seeing these murals and never fails to want to have their photos taken with the wall murals.

Nadhrah Adzha, 'acting' with a wall mural.....

.....' and its hard work'....

Who would have guessed that wall murals were a topic of interest to visitors which can induce joy to individuals and whole families.

Even a clown poster of Prime Minister Najib Razak draws interest.

 JAG 

Bricks & Barrels Reopens ………

Brick’s & Barrel has reopened effective December 9, 2016 close to three months after it closed in late August.

I am so glad for the reopening as it really serves a decent sized pork platter just right to satisfy the greedy pangs when it bites ones imagination.

 At an invitation only event held earlier Calvin Leow, the director with Blacksheep Group, the establishment that oversees the operations of Brick’s and Barrels Ipoh and Sri Hartamas, said the closure was in order to upgrade our standard and change the concept a bit.

'More lounge space', a slightly changed concept 

No change to the beer garden at the back

“The general flow has remained the same except that we have added extra space to lounge about.

“We have realigned the bar and added lounge seating.

“Other than that the beer garden at the back and the al fresco frontage has been maintained” said Leow.

As for the decor Leow said the steam punk décor, the industrial revolution factory look with steam pipes and such still remains.

The realigned bar area. Tin ceiling sheets for the ceiling and to wrap around the bar

“But we have added in the tin ceiling sheets for the roof and around the redesigned bar”

When asked if he was trying to attract a different clientele he acknowledged that the crowd throughout the country was the same.

“Generally in Ipoh we will have the happy hour and dinner crowd earlier in the evenings and later the crowd builds as the night progresses. It is somewhat similar also at our Sri Hartamas,KL  outlet”.

Inevitably I just had to enquire about his menu and whether it had changed. I have always liked B&B’s pork platter and ribs all of which are gastronomic.

Bricks & Barrels signature delight 'Full House Ribs' 

“The menu is the same but maybe there is some change to the way is prepared” added Liew. 

A serving of the food was all that I needed to confirm.

I settled for the dishes of karaaage pork,  lamb chop and B &B’s signature Full House Ribs. The ribs was, in all honesty a purely gastronomic delight.  

Top: Pork carbonara and Pull Pork salad. Below Bomb Alaska. 

The pull pork salad was served with slow braised pull pork, spring onion, apple slice, roasted garlic and crispy pork lard while the pork cabonara had a wonderful bacon and ham flavoring.

Even the Bomb Alaska desert was perfect. For me it was way too sweet but rest assured it would be a hit with the rest of the family.  

Good food and with a cozy nice ambiance this is lovely establishment to come  back to.  

Interesting ambiance abounds throughout. 

To quote the words of the Terminator at the end of the movie “I’ll be back” Cheers!

JAG 

MBI Tree Trimming / Scheduled Maintenance In Anticipation of Monsoon Season.

Tree maintenance at Ipoh Garden East 

Over the last six weeks I had noticed MBI’s open trucks at various venues around town from Canning Garden and Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah (Tiger Lane) to Bercham and Ipoh Gaden East trimming tress.

A check with MBI’s Landscape department acknowledged that the exercise was part of their scheduled maintenance.

A spokesman for the department said that although the exercise was part of their scheduled maintenance the department also noted complaints made about problem trees.

“Our team will make their regular inspection and the trees that show signs of problem and decay will be identified to be cut down to prevent damage to property or loss of lives

A problem tree being removed by MBI at Jalan Keliling, Canning Garden. (inset) the location after the tree has been removed. 

“Additionally for the trees which the public had identified as problem trees our staff will do a preliminary check and will recommend for either the tree to be trimmed or be cut down”.

The spokesman added that the year-end monsoon season was another factor favoring the activity at this time of the year.

For the period October 1 to November 5 the maintenance locations was at Jln. Sultan Nazrin Shah,  Klebang , Tawas , Bandar Sunway , Bercham Industrial area,  Ulu Kinta and  Chempaka.

From November 6 until December 10 the locations included Jln Sultan Azlan Shah,  Jln Kelab Golf,  Jln Panglima Bukit Gantang,  Jln Lapangan Terbang ,  Rapat Jaya ,  Rapat Setia  , Sg. Rokam , Pasir Putih, Lahat, Bercham, Tasek, Tambun   Manjoi and First Garden             

JAG           

Alishan Restaurant Goes Korean

Korean hotplate B-B-Q is available at Alishan Restaurant

Ipoh Garden East just added another Korean restaurant to its list of dinner outlets, Alishan Restaurant ala Korea which opened its doors to diners since December 1 2016.

The restaurant opens daily except Monday from 6pm. (inset) well wishes from local residents.

Very unlike stalls at the food courts serving Korean meals, Alishan’s Korean at night has an experienced  Korean Chef, Choi Hyun Jin preparing the meals using authentic Korean ingredients and available at a competitive discount.

Alishan Restaurant kopitiam was started by Ah Leong over 10 years ago and had been operating in the morning and evening. 

The Korean menu 

Chef Choi

Several months ago Leong closed its doors at night. Chef Choi subsequently approached Leong with with a proposal to open his kitchen in the evening operating from 6pm daily except Monday.

Diners to the restaurant can expect authentic Korean dishes such as the hotplate Pork + Duck B.B.Q set, Janchi-Guksu noodles, Korean Seafood pancake, Kim Chi and more.

Choi who has been a chef for over 30 years said all the ingredients such as the noodles and Vienna sausages with the exception of pork and duck, are imported from Korea.

Interestingly included in the authentic menu is the Korean beverage Soju which blends well with the Korean dishes served. Other local brands of beers are also available to make having a meal there a more meaningful encounter.

The outlet serves SoJu

According to Choi the rates for the dishes served is easily 25%-30% lower compared to the nearby Korean restaurants.

“My restaurant opens at night and it is not air conditioned.

“As a result my overall cost is lower and it is not a problem to charge at a competitive price for the benefit of all my customers”

Comments by patrons on opening night said the Korean menu available was another option for the nearby residents from surrounding suburbs to partake of a Korean meal when it suited their fancy.

The location of Alishan with ample parking and a spacious view combined with an interesting cuisine just upped the lifestyle in this locality a notch.

Alishan is a regular kopitiam in the morning 

Without a doubt the concept of a local kopitiam in the morning and a Korean diner by night is an interesting development.

Alishan Restaurant is located at 27 Lintasan Perajurit 11. Ipoh Garden East.

JAG

Zoo Taiping’s 7 Foot Arapaima Fish

The lake, behind Zoo Taiping's Mergastua A restaurant, appears stagnant when covered with duck weed. (inset) file pix of an Arapaima fish

The Arapaima fish, a native to the Amazon and Essequibo basins of South America, is among the world's largest freshwater fish, reaching as much as 3 m (9.8 ft/ Wikipedia).

If you want to catch a glimpse of one locally head to the Taiping Zoo. There is one that lives in the lake behind Zoo Taiping’s Mergastua A restaurant as I discovered during my lunch there recently.

The still lake is covered with a bright green carpet of duck weed but that was until a zoo staffer Thiru came out and started throwing fish into the lake.

As zoo staffer Thiru throws fish into the lake the stagnant duck weed widens and the water become active

Within less than a minute a ripple of activity opened up the carpet of duck weed and the placid lake waters became active.

As Thiru kept throwing the fish into the lake I caught a glimpse of the fish, reddish in colour and easily 5 feet in length.

Glimpses of the Arapaima fish as it feeds on the 'lunch' provided. 

A check with Dr Kevin Lazarus, the director of the Taiping  Zoo said that the fish is an Arapaima species.

“It has been living in the lake for over 5 years now.

“We feed the fish twice a day with half a bucket of fish. Over the years the fish has grown and should be around 7 feet in length now.

The fish should be around 7 feet now and probably a second family of Arapaima lives in the lake 

Lazarus added that there would be a second family living in the lake now.

So the next time you have your lunch at the zoo pick a time between 12 noon to 1.30 and you might catch a glimpse of the Zoo Taiping’s 7 foot Arapaima pet.

JAG 

KOHIJAU-ICycle Recycling System launched In Taiping.

Launching KOHIJAU-ICycle recycling system. (2nd from left ) Dr Richard Ng, Zambry (in helmet) and Datuk Rahim ( 6th from left) 

Residents of Taiping were provided with the opportunity to practice recycling and be rewarded with the introduction of the KOHIJAU-ICycle Recycling Reward Point System recently.

 

Zambry trying out the recycle bin. (right pix) Dr Tan, Hj Nurdin and Dr Richard Ng. 

The system was launched by Perak MB, Datuk Seri DiRaja Dr. Zambry Abd Kadir at

Dataran Kedamaian, Taiping Lake Garden on 23 November 2016.

Taiping Municipal President Datuk Haji Abdul Rahim bin Md. Ariff described the launch of the KOHIJAU-iCycle recyclable bins at the Taiping Lake Garden as a positive initiative.

“There is a lack of awareness towards recycling in Taiping at this present time.

“Introducing this recycling system which rewards residents with points that is exchangeable for consumer items at shopping complex is a positive initiative to encourage recycling.

“Looking forward it will be good for Taiping in the long term” said Rahim.

ICycle Director Dr Tan Ching Seong said that Taiping Municipal Council had approved two bins to be stationed at Taiping.

“Both will be located at the Taiping lake garden. One is at the Peace Square and the other at a car park to make it convenient for visitors to drop their recyclables when visiting the Lake Garden”

Tan added that Taiping required another eight bins and they would apply for approval in 2017.

“Our next location to launch our Recycling Bin will be at Jelapang market area in Ipoh followed by Manjung next.

Currently there are 7 KOHIJAU-ICycle recycling bins located in Jelapang Tambahan, SMK Raja Chulan Ipoh, Loyal Garden, Jln Sultan Nazrin Shah Ipoh, Desa Tambun Indah, Kuala Sepetang, GP Food Court in Buntong and now in Taiping.

Since its launch on Oct 15, 2016 over 300 people have registered and contributed over 4,000kg

of recyclables.

KOHIJAU  ICycle spreading its wings to Taiping Lake Garden

 KOHIJAU, the cooperative society set up by members of Ipoh City Watch (ICW) to promote recycling teamed up with iCycle Malaysia to enhance its recycling business throughout Perak

using the KOHIJAU-ICYCLE recycling reward point system.

 

How the KOHIJAU-ICycle system works. Become a member.

Under this system members will earn points which can be exchanged for cash or coupons to buy household goods from TESCO or AEON.

JAG

Maintain The Heritage Image When Developing Taiping

The abundant Heritage locations of Taiping. (right pix) Taiping's New Club, established since 1885 overlooks the Taiping Esplanade, established 1890, and used for official functions till now.

Taiping has great potential for development especially in the promotion of tourism. One of its iconic characteristics is its image of Heritage.

Taiping is well known as the town with many firsts, as many as 50, such as the railway, museum, prison, hill resort and lake garden all of which are over one hundred years old.

'Taiping's development should evolve around the heritage theme' Zambry at Taiping. (right pix, 4th from left) planting a rain tree. 

“As such any development to the town should evolve around that theme of a heritage environment” said Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir at the start of his five day resettlement visit program to Bukit Gantang and Taiping which began on November 23.

He gave the example of an upcoming four star hotel in Taiping where he encouraged that the design of the hotel blend with the heritage image of Taiping.

Taiping's heritage buildings  (above) The Officers Mess and (below) All Saints church.

“It would be beneficial if the related agencies were to engage with the developer to ensure the design of the hotel will adopt the characteristic of Taiping’s old buildings so as to maintain the image of the area”

Another of Taiping’s strengths was the Lake Garden where the state together with the federal government and Taiping Municipal Council would develop a Botanical Garden.

“Work on the garden has started. It will be of international standard and would be planted flowers and herbs and would improve the value of the Lake Garden.

(top pix) The Lake Garden will have an international standard Botanical Garden added. Four generations of family and relatives of Yeoh Koon Joo (above, back row, stripe T-shirt) from Malacca love the Lake Garden.

“The government has allocated RM50 million for the project and it will be built in phases”.

Another Taiping heritage product mentioned was Bukut Larut (Maxwell Hill).

“Bukit Larut has always been an attraction for Taiping. However the hill resort can accommodate a maximum of 500 visitors at a time so this is an issue we need to look into.

“The NCIA (Northern Corridor Implementation Authority) is participating in Bukit Larut. Upgrading work at a cost of RM200,000 will include the steps, street lighting and billboards along three kilometers around the hill resort”

Regarding the cable car project to Bukit Larut Zambry responded that discussions are still ongoing.

JAG