Malaysia

Jan 24, 2008 | Post by: Phil Lees 6 Comments

Kota Bharu’s Central Market

The central octagonal hall of Kota Bharu’s central market (Pasar Siti Khadijah) opens up like a cathedral devoted to the veneration of fresh Malaysian produce. A skylight illuminates the scene in a dull sepia glow throughout the day; upper levels providing a birds-eye view of the myriad proceedings below. By

Read More
Jan 22, 2008 | Post by: Phil Lees No Comments

I still ♥ wet season

Parking problems in downtown Kota Bharu, Malaysia. According to locals, this year the river was particularly high. See also: I ♥ wet season, I ♥ hot season

Read More
Jan 21, 2008 | Post by: Phil Lees 2 Comments

Petronas Towers from Kampung Baru Night Market

As a casual photographer, there are not to be many moments when I rue the decision not to carry around a full-sized tripod, despite the highest ISO setting on my camera being 400. But this was one of those moments. Kampung Baru’s (poorly lit) Sunday Market runs from around 6pm

Read More
Jan 16, 2008 | Post by: Phil Lees 8 Comments

A sea of tea

I know very little about tea, apart from what you learn by osmosis from your Anglo-Australian grandparents. I can make a decent cup of black tea but tend to regard it as a sort of beverage bycatch; something that fits well alongside pho or yum cha or fruitcake. I have

Read More
Jan 14, 2008 | Post by: Phil Lees No Comments

Kuala Terengganu Street Life

Walking into the monsoonal wind on the waterfront, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia

Read More
Jan 11, 2008 | Post by: Phil Lees 2 Comments

The Wok Hei Economy

One of the great mysteries of eating in Penang is the economics of the hawker center. A group of vendors cluster around a kedai kopi, a cafe serving drinks and work almost independently of the cafe. Some pay rent, others are owned by the cafe, some seem to have agglomerated

Read More
Jan 09, 2008 | Post by: Phil Lees 1 Comments

Triangulating Gurney Drive

Searing satay at Gurney Drive Hawker Center. Gurney Drive’s Hawker Center is a roughly triangular lot encircled (entriangled?) by the most diverse set of street food vendors that you’ll find anywhere in Malaysia, alongside the mudflat-facing promenade. The road was named after Sir Henry Gurney, Malaya’s High Commissioner whose brief

Read More
Dec 24, 2007 | Post by: Phil Lees 4 Comments

Assam Laksa: The power of sour

A few years in Southeast Asia has me captivated by sour. I literally can’t get enough tamarind paste. In Cambodia, I’d buy it by the kilo block from the Russian Market and suck the piquant pulp straight from the seeds whenever I felt like an overwhelming sour kick. Lunch without

Read More
Page 2 of 3123