Cool Display Stands And The Things Within

     

Things on display at flea markets tells something of the place and culture. Usually a feast to the eyes in terms of colour and vibrancy. One can be amazed by the things and foodstuff being sold. More so if you are an Asian venturing into a historic European city. Am sure the experience will be the same the other way around. One's sense of smell, taste, sound and sight would surely be challenged ( more so in Asia ) and treated.

Super sized strawberries!

Was in the Naschmarkt Flea Market just adjacent to U4 Kettenbruckengasse Vienna subway stop. The place was bustling with people on a sunny Saturday morning. Food products on display here were clean and inviting. Having laid eyes on this heap of strawberries, impulse buying kicked in. As usual, strawberries look better than it taste. I can't complain because its definitely fresh and succulent.

Cheese galore

The cheese selection was quickly browsed through. I am not used to the many curd looking, white cottage cheeses. Looked like it was half done in its semi-processed state. I like my cheese to look fully aged and with a robust taste to boot. Wished I had some pastries to try each type that were offered on sale.

Stuffed vegetables actually looked good

Next came the baked stuffed vegetables in some kind of preserve or another. Hollowed-out chillies, bell peppers, artichokes, tomatoes and a host of other unidentifiable items were filled with ground meat or  fish. Am sure its flavoured with some herbs or spices. Great meals if I were a low carb food junkie but have realized my penchant has always been for meat. The array of natural colours  were definitely eye-therapy. It was like standing before a hotel buffet and you were trying to decide what to eat. 

Pastamania

Pastas here looked fresh and good. Not the traditional long types of pasta, like the masculine spaghetti or the feminine fettuccine, that were displayed here. Instead we have the stuffed pastas like the ravioli, pansotti, agnolotti andtortellini.  They come in circular, semicircular (agnolotti), square (raviolli), rectangular and triangle (pansotti) shapes. Some are multi-coloured pastas and was able to recognize at least one spinach flavoured ravioli. The larger ones are those with suffixes -otti ( meaning largish ). The agnolottiare semi-circular stuffed pockets of  mixed cheese, meats and vegetables. Should have stayed in a youth hostel to be able to buy, cook and eat some these stuff.

My favourite stall!

Another favourite stall

My favourite stand - store selling dry cured meat of all kinds and shapes. Welcome to the world of prosciutto, pancetta and salamis. Prosciutto can take up to 2 years to cure. Usually served in wafer thin slices, I managed to taste my first prosciutto pharma ham years later thanks to my thoughtful friends. To Aw & Sock Wai, thank you! The recommended way to savour these ham is to serve with sun melon. Not bad but the flavour of the meat came out stronger to me. 

Sandwiches here have more greens

Salads to go ...

Kebabs have generous portions here

Sandwiches in Europe certainly looked much more appetizing with its thick layer of green leaves and cheese sticking out. Bite me it screamed. It was difficult to decide which sandwich to go for.

Alas the smell wafting from the kebab store a few stalls away was just too tempting. The smell-test won the day. Turkish kebab it was for me ... in the middle of  Vienna's largest flea market.


It is difficult to eat vegetable salads when you are on the move. Though they looked scrumptious I feasted the salads with my eyes only. Took a quick shot before doing my other touristy things.
 

Nuts and legumes

Decorated walls aling the flea market

Dried fruits and nuts to make the complete meal in a flea market walk that glorious morning.

Drink with oysters anyone?

People watchers gather

Diving into Cantonese Roots and Food

As planned, did 3 things today outside of Shamian Island. 

1)  Absorbed some culture by visiting the Chen Family Home. 
2)  Food along  Shangxiajiu-Dishipu Pedestrian Shopping Street. Most were a novelty and forgot to take photos of the meals that I had. 
3)  At night it was window shopping at Beijing Road Pedestrian Shopping Street and subsequently a nightwalk along the Pearl River.

A choked city

 

Heavy traffic in the city

Note that the air quality in Guangzhou was not spring fresh. You can't see blue skies most of the time. Therefore be prepared with a good face mask if you are the allergic type.

The Chen Family Home

 

Deities in Chinese folklore

The Chen Family Home ( aka Chen Jia Ci or Chen Clan Academy or Chen's Lineage Hall ), 
considered one of the 4 major cultural sites of Guangdong Province. Took the subway on a wet morning and reached the place rather early. Not a visitor in sight. On the outer wall, there was an intricate carving of mystical characters and deities in the Chinese folklore. Could recognized Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, God of Prosperity and maybe Guan Yu, the God of War.

Guardian at the door

 

Intricately carved doors

The place consist a series of buildings, family halls and courtyards. The facade mostly in unpainted grey which gave the whole area an austere feel but regal nevertheless. Browsed mostly through antique furniture, door carvings, interesting windows and wood panels. An etching of Guan Yu was found on one of the doors leading to the halls.
 



The inner courtyard have seating places where you can sit, feel and contemplate life in ancient China. Usually it would be surrounded by a hall or buildings. The corridors connecting the building and its back alleys were narrow and long. Good for perspective photography.

Corridors across the rooms

The back alley

  



















Was intrigued by the many bronze statutes that dot the indoor gardens. These life-sized statutes showed intricate facial features, expressions and emotion. It was a reflection of the squalor then, the levels of poverty and the tribulations of life of the Chinese in the 18th century. Glad I was not part of the citizenry of that era. 

Could be my ancestors

No counselling, just the cane.

 

Forced labour

The family unit

   

A typical rich Chinese courtyard

                                                                                                     


Lunch was beef noodle ( niu ru mien ), a popular dish in Guangzhou. Choose your noodle and it would be served together with slices of  beef and its condiments. Don't forget to dip the beef in chili to give it a kick. Dessert was the double boiled skin milk 'jelly'. Its consistency a tad firmer than yoghurt and tasted simply great. You can also add condiments like sweetened red beans or gingko nuts. 

Not from can nor bottle but ...

 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Walking along the Pearl River and then Beijing Lu concluded a long day. There were many tourists going for the night cruise but that did not interest me. I wanted more and walking was the best way to discover this city. Can't help but noticed a lot of good quality restaurants. However some of the things they served were not agreeable to me. That included the exotics and perhaps some illegal like scorpions, worms, snakes, at least a baby crocodile and cats -yuckie!!! 

Night scene along the Pearl River

 
If you were not the shopping type then Beijing Lu may not be your cup of tea. Its has a pedestrian street with hordes of people, local and tourists. Neon lights flashed on every building and all night. To add to the din, the shops employed their staff to stand in front and exhort all and sundry to patronize them. Part of the street was built on top of the remains of an old Ming Dynasty street. You can actually view it as its below the road tables, encased in glass.

Scholars exchanging ideas

 

Scholar's Reflection :
- The Cantonese enjoy their food, to extremities sometimes.

- Leaving lots of unconsumed food at the restaurant a bad but common practice.

- Over industrialization has damaged the environment especially the air quality.

- Not suitable if you want a tranquil break.

- Good for Cantonese culture vultures, food and all.
 
   

My Roots - Hoiping, Siyi - Guangzhou

Surname : 張 Chang, Cheung, Jeung, Zhang

Among famous Cantonese were Bruce Lee, Sun Yat Sen and Wong Fei Hung. Although of Cantonese descent, I have no affiliation nor emotional ties to this ancestral land called Guangdong. According to my aunties ( hearsay ), the only thread-link was that of a Guangdong relative that had migrated to the US of America years earlier. In the 1950's ( if I'm not mistaken ), this relative had sent a princely sum of USD$100 to us in Malaya. Being in a small town, there was no facility to exchange this 'large note'. My grandfather had to make a trip to Kuala Lumpur to exchange it to Malaysian ringgit. 

Hong Kong Airport Grandad 4th from left

14th Jan 1958 Photo by 'Mei Chen' (left) as memory to  grandad

My grandfather with the woman he wanted to woo

Relatives in Hong Kong

Studio photos taken at 

LIFE PHOTO

76 Morrison Hill Road 2nd Flr

Hong Kong

Phone 77-0322

The bits and pieces that were known was that we belong to the SezYup ( Seiyap ) clan of the Cantonese. We came from 'HoiPing' (spoken) district or Kaiping in modern day Guandong. Our grandfather was a widower and wanted to remarry a lady named 'Mei Chen' in Hong Kong. Apparently, he went to Hong Kong to ask for her hand in marriage but the bride refused to return with him to Malaya. I guess the thought of coming to Malaya to live with a man with six children ( my dad, 2 uncles and 3 aunties ) from a previous marriage was not an attractive idea.:((

Clash of cultures

Manicured pedestrian  walks in Shamian

Guangdong Victory Hotel, Shamian Island.

Hence went I landed in Guangzhou aka Kwanchow aka Canton on this trip, I know my ancestral land was somewhere south west of this capital city. This time I stayed at Guangdong Victory Hotel located in Shamian Island. A sandbank in the Liwan District, it was given as a concession to French and British colonialists in the 19th century. Naturally, this area was very well kept, clean and free from congestion.

Peaceful and quiet streets

Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel

Adopting Chinese babies seemed to be a big industry here. White families with a Chinese baby in tow could be seen daily at the breakfast tables in my hotel. Spoke to one family of 6 which came back for a second adoption.  My guess was that there must be an adoption agency nearby where these families formalized papers and all.

Tai chi for the older folks

Morning exercise for army recruits

The stay in Shamian Island can best be described as surreal. The architecture was baroque and well maintained by any standards. Being gazetted as a historical area helped I supposed. Definitely do not reflect China as we have seen from photos. However, just 50m across the canal was the real China. The noise, chaos and smell of  Asia was just a stone throw away.

Across the canal, the real China haze and all!

Busy night streets

Hazy skyline daily.

Although, I could not get away from work to find my roots, the trip was an eye opener. For starters, I now know the cuisine of the place, namely lots of noodles in beef broth, fantastic sweet desserts and dim sums.

Busy busy busy was my ancestral place.

India - That Wonderful Bangalore Briyani

Was on a short working trip in Bangalore, capital of Karnataka State India in 2006. This city was also known as the " Silicon Valley of India ", the IT nerve of India. The hotel that we booked through the agent was supposed to be 4 star rated but I thought it was more a 3 star offering. The TV channels were limited. English news were my main 'entertainment' to while away the free time at night.

Noticed that the hotel's workforce were mostly men. The receptionist, bellboys ( naturally ), chambermaids / men, telephonists were all men. In fact, did not see any female staff for the next 4 days there. Not too sure the rest of the country shared the same dynamics. Fearing the " Delhi Belly ", we drank only from bottled water. In restaurants, we ordered freshly cooked meals and avoided most salads and freshly cut fruits served at the breakfast buffet.

Our briyani fix

Moghul food served by turbaned waiters

Dinner served on top log table

After work, we spent our time window shopping and eating around MG Road. It was on one of the ancillary roads that we were introduced a special briyani. Long grained basmati cooked with spiced chicken, egg and herbs. It was served in a metallic pot but our plates were the eco-friendly banana leaves. The smell was really aromatic and the chicken cooked perfectly moist.

Grapes were in season and the long black grapes were really turgid and sweet. Unfortunately, the harvest was small or limited and there weren't any available on our trip back the next day. Bought two other things during this trip. One was the traditional white cotton Indian tunic or the kurta pajama to don for Indian weddings. Unfortunately, there weren't many Indian wedding invites. Currently, a 'white elephant' in my closet. Second item bought was a intricately designed copper tray. Mine had a plume of radiated  peacock feathers etched in it. 

After our project, we took time to visit a nearby temple which we had too go barefoot upon entering the inner sanctum, albeit in mud floor. Visited the Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace, a guest palace made of teak wood Deep earthy colour with gold trims and Indo-Islamic architecture. There were not many furnishings in this palace making it looked austere. The last stop was the Cubbon Park, a vast garden located in the heart of Bangalore.

En route to Cubbon Park

Tipu Sultan Summer Palace

Things that stood out in this trip were;

1) Meat eaters have to look out for 'Non-vegetarian' to get their fix.

2) Workforce still male dominated.

3) Auto rickshaw were plenty but perpetually under powered.

4) Great briyani, Moghul food and grapes found here.

5) English language newspapers were fun to read with its own nuances and take.