The one item that I have miss from Taiping is the Char Koey Teow.  For more than 10 years since I have not lived in this sleepy town, so much have changed.  Tesco, Starbucks, Taiping Central and 24hrs Mc Donalds now rule the city.  There were once 3 main source of Char Koey Teow that we frequent.  The one that we loved most was across the Lido Cinema.  We always call that the Lido Char Koay Teow.  We always had to que to get our fix and it was never dull.  I like it even more when it was kept in the refrigerator over night.  I could not find any memory of the stall closing nor I knew what happen to the stall.  All I know is that the stall was not there anymore and there goes the great Char Koey Teow of Taiping.

There was another stall that I enjoyed much in my childhood, it was located across from the Taiping Boys Home and was only open in the evening.  The grandfather house was used to be in the city and this stall was just a short walk away.  My parents would spend many evenings polishing the Mahjong with family members and I would feed the mosquitoes there.  Once a while, I would walk over to the stall and buy myself a RM1.20 Char Koey Teow.  Those were the days one would say, and my child hood are just filled with such memories.  Similar to the Lido Char Koay Teow, I have no memory of what happen to this stall.  No idea where they moved to, if they are still frying today.  About 100m away from this location is now where the famous Dolly Koay Teow Basah is.

I could recall the days when I visit the market below Larut Matang Supermarket.  This is where the unique Char Koay Teow stalls are located.  Charcoal fried, and the uniqueness is height of the stall.  There used to be a few stalls, and I remembered it slowly shrink to one or two stalls.  The guy would sit on a stool that is half a foot tall and fry the Char Koay Teow and they were good.  I remembered the stall was taken over by the son and I don’t know what happen to them now.  The market is still there, and some of the old stalls are still there, but not the Char Koay Teow that sits on a stool.

Taiping was where I grew up and where my love for Char Koay Teow grew.  Having Char Koay Teow from all over Malaysia, Penang, KL, Melacca and even Singapore.  None of them beats Taiping Char Keoy Teow, well, none brings me back to my child hood days.  This is how unique Taiping Char Koay Teow is.  So, what’s so special about Taiping Char Koay Teow one may ask.  Its the Carbon, all the great fryers use charcoal and the Char Koay Teow is dry and the carbon taste is strong.  This is how I grew up with and my love for Char Koay Teow.

Maybe there is still hope, a few weeks back I heard of this famous Char Koay Teow in Simpang that had a line of people everyday.  I got to seek this stall out.  Hopeful, in the near future. Till then, Gone are the Good Taiping Char Koay Teow.

Got this from Chee Aun Twitter today, an abstract posted on Microsoft Research site that has the title “Cibai: An abstract interpretation-based static analyzer for modular analysis and verification of Java classes.”  I wonder what inspired the name of the analyzer.  This is a good example where before you name something, do try to google for it first and it will bring you to sites like WikiAnswers…

I have attended many Chinese Wedding, and in recent months to come, there are going to be a few more. Yes, I am at the age where one by one of my school mates are getting hitched. One of the favorite entertainment during the 8-9 course Wedding dinner is to have a slide show of the wedding couple. Some have them before the dinner starts, some have them through out the dinner in a continuous loop and some even pause the dinner for the show case. The most interesting observation from all these videos are the fact that they had a common story line.

Almost all of them started with baby photos of the bride and groom. Some of them were half naked, some of them were solo photos. There was one that creatively starts with their parents wedding. Then comes the teenage years. For the groom, it is usually a band of brothers in uniform units, and again sometimes half naked (not sure why people like to show topless photos of themselves during wedding, ah, maybe mainly because the video were prepared by the best men/friend). For the bride, it is usually class room photos with the infamous ‘v’ quoted with both hands.

At this point, some straight jumps to the university years, while others display photos of their family holiday at Genting (top spot), Singapore, Penang, etc.. There are a few more snow (for those who studied abroad) and graduation photos before the couple met. At this point, some share their sweet stories of how they met, while others display photos of their holiday or the activities that they did together. Finally, the video brings them to the present day, and ends with a few of their wedding photos.

The interesting thing is that almost all of the video display holiday photos of Genting, or Singapore, or Penang. Its like those locations are Malaysian’s most favorite holiday spots, or rather they had their most fond memories. I am not sure how the wedding dinners are internationally, but here in Malaysia, the video is one of the entertainment for the dinner guest. The only thing is that sometimes, it be boring as it rings the same story line all the time. Only those with half naked photos and good creativity juice sparks laughter in the dinner hall.

Congratulations to Ah John for taking Penang Hokkien to a new height. Penang Hokkien Podcast recently celebrated it’s one year anniversary, captivated my attention when it first startup. I’ve always felt that there is a lack of Hokkien media around, and Ah John and his gang fills the gap. For me personally, I’ve always felt like Hokkien is a dying breed and the podcast gives a certain sense of security that the language is still holding on. Penang Hokkien is different from the southern Hokkien and also Mingna of Taiwan, but the podcast is truly global, and have participants from all over. Not to put any un-necessary pressure to Ah John and his gang, I hope his podcast could be a platform for the language to flourish. I hope to listen to Penang Hokkien Podcast for many years to come, up to my graves..

Congratulations to Ah John for making the news on The Star Today.