A whiff of sweet aroma greets visitors even before they step foot into this new village house at number 177, Lorong 3 in Gunung Rapat, Ipoh, Perak. As one of only two heong peah (or fragrant biscuit in English) manufacturers still using traditional coconut shell charcoal-fired ovens in Ipoh, possibly even in Malaysia, Seng Kee Food ... continue reading »

Come rain or shine, cobbler Osman Sidek, 58, can be found in his booth at the junction of Jalan Sultan Nazrin Shah and Jalan Rapat Jaya attending to his work. Osman, who relocated to Ipoh about four years ago with his wife Suhaila Shamsuddin, is originally from Selayang, Selangor. The free-spirited cobbler has travelled the whole ... continue reading »

With a few fingertips wrapped in adhesive bandage, Chee Ken Soon nonchalantly weaves rattan strips to tie up the joints of a cane chair, at the back of his show house-cum-workshop in Gunung Rapat, Ipoh. Chee, 52, is sometimes helped by his father-in-law, Chong Kam Fatt, who is in his seventies, but most of the time, ... continue reading »

Staying at EFM Mini Rest House offers guests the opportunity to check out the cultivation process of oyster mushrooms, although one doesn't need to be a guest to take a study tour of the farm. During my visit, the owner's wife, Madam Chin kindly took me around to show me how oyster mushrooms are cultivated. The ... continue reading »

My neighbour, Donna, told me about this interesting lodging and said that I should make a visit, too. Well, that was NINE months ago! It was only last week that I finally managed to fit the trip into my schedule to check it out and also its mushroom farm. Known as EFM Nature Homestay or EFM ... continue reading »

Invited to participate in the three-day festival of Lord PanGu, I managed to drop by at the temple on the second day, and caught the procession of Taoist deities. The Great Lord PanGu (Pan Gu Yeh) is an ancient Taoist supreme deity. According to some Chinese mythology, PanGu was the first living being and the creator ... continue reading »

This limestone cave temple by the name of Miaw Yuan Chan Lin is a Thai Buddhist temple. It is not as well-known as, for example, Perak Cave Temple or the colourful Lin Seng Tong. It's probably because the name is difficult to pronounce, or to non-Mandarin speakers like me, difficult to remember. The development of this ... continue reading »