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Tuesday, November 11, 2008

The Kolo Mee Story

Have you seen this somewhere? If you haven't you're probably not from Kuching...go figure.



DSCN9633 
Original Kuching Kolo Mee

You've been away from Kuching (and yes, you were born there...) for nearly a year, and your survival instincts tell you that you'll 'die' if you continue to live without it. Oh, did I forget to mention? I'm so sorry, if I forgot to mention that, beyond the borders of my beloved Malaysian state on the tropical island of Borneo, the term gan lao mian in Mandarin, mee kolok in Malay, or more affectionately kolo mee in Kuching's most famous dialect, is simply not in everyone's vocab, so to speak. And whether or not that is a good or bad thing, most places outside of Sarawak sell kolo mee without the 'kolo' so it's usually just 'mee'. Ah...the agony...



Beyond Sarawak

It's hard for me to tell exactly where (and when) this mouth-watering delight came from, and came about, in the first place, but like most Kuchingites, we don't really care anyway, as we gleefully put it in Hokkien: jiak pah boh eng...hehe...

Okay, now back to the serious side.

The mystery surrounding kolo mee isn't what one would expect to rival that of the Lochness monster, but there are several versions to the story of how this Kuching specialty came to exist. For the purpose of simplicity, I'll be using a story told by my father's father, so put quite simply, it's a grandfather's tale...

The Story in Brief

At the turn of the century, there came hordes of Chinese immigrants from southern China, who came pouring into Kuching and some other early settlements in Sarawak which grew into urban areas such as towns Bintulu, Sibu and Kuching's other city, Miri. I've not travelled extensively enough to see if kolo mee is as popular in other parts of the state. My grandfather argued that the original kolo mee was actually a Cantonese recipe for some really dry noodle, fried in light oil with mince pork toppings and steamed vegetables with onion sauce.

That's about it.

Today's kolo mee is nothing like what it was like in the days long gone.

Summary of the differences:

Today's version:
1. Dry noodles.
2. Char siew (roasted pork) topping, usually marinated in red sauce (really just some kind of pork lard)
3. Vegetable, sparingly used.
4. Mince pork topping, generous portion.

My grandfather's version:
1. Dry noodles.
2. Char siew...errr...none?
3. Vegetables, generous amount.
4. Mince pork, a lot of it.

But perhaps the most distinguishing feature of the noodle in the past was the fact that it was really really dry, drier than today's 'improved' version. Maybe that's why it didn't really appeal to Kuchingites of the day. Today's version is a little 'soupier', just push back the noodles to one side of the bowl and you'll see the gravy.

Kuchingites I know over here in West Malaysia are always 'dying' to get back home to have a bowl of what we call 'original' kolo mee. It's a wonder if the original version would go unchanged elsewhere outside of Kuching. I remember clearly ordering a bowl of 'kolo mee' (yes, with the quotes) at a stall in Johor, and it was nothing like the ones I used to have back at home.

In recent years, a chain of restaurants 'Jia Xiang Kuching Sarawak Kolo Mee' sprang out of nowhere in Singapore, from a one-lot establishment to that of several branches. Time will only tell if this dish would evolve to suit the taste of the Singaporeans.

DSCN9000
Kolo Mee in Singapore

And did it change eventually? The answer is a resounding YES!

Singapore's version:
1. Dry noodles.
2. Char siew.
3. Vegetables, plenty.
4. Mince pork topping, generous portion.
5. ABALONE!!

Yes, so it's not unusual to find a bowl costing around SGD$8.00. Not bad huh? After Singapore, where next? Only time will tell.

==END==

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Poisonous Gossips…

Have you ever been out with a friend who rants all day about how terrible someone is? It's the common disease of gossip and bad-mouthing. My mother used to teach me that if you have nothing nice to say about someone, then zip up! Gossips are like boomerangs, you spit them out and they come flying back to you, and that's the time to duck for cover! It's sad that some people are slow understand the magnitude of damage that gossip and bad-mouthing can do to undermine and assassinate one's character. As for me, I'm completely aware of the problems associated with bad-mouthing. I've been there once; at the business-end of a friend's mouth.

Have you been a victim to such spreaders of lies? Here are some tips on how to quell such gossips:

  1. Don't partake in gossiping yourself. This gives you more credibility. If someone's bold enough to make up gossip about you then they probably do it to others as well, which means they will eventually lose credibility. Don't say "Well she..." say something like "Those things aren't true, but I'll let you make up your own mind about so-and-so."
  2. Go to the source of the problem and find out who created the rumour and spread it. Make sure you are totally calm before you do it. Ask why the person spread the rumour. While one person may appear to be the source, they aren't always. A lot of rumors start from one miscommunication that turns into a bigger problem.
  3. Live your life so that people will know the rumour is not true. Rumours are a form of social bullying and it is important that you don't let the bullying affect your life.
  4. Be polite to the person who spread the rumour to show that you are the better person. Even if you hate their guts don't give them the satisfaction of thinking that it affects you.
  5. Deny the rumor's truth to anyone who asks. If you go out of your way to defend yourself it will seem as though you have something to hide.
  6. Go to a higher authority (your principal, boss, or whatever) if you feel threatened. Ask to stay anonymous and report the trouble that you're having with this person. If the authority that you contacted doesn't pay any attention to your report go to a higher authority and so on.
  7. Make friends with some of the spreader's friends. This will help you win the battle.
  8. Forgive, but don't forget. After you win, the spreader will probably want to be your friend. Refuse the offer, even if you don't want to, so that people won't want to mess with you.
  9. Continue to live your life as if nothing ever happened.
  10. Don't tell everyone everything about your personal life and your personal business. Remember be extra careful who you confide in, as not everyone keeps information to themselves and plus you never know who might be hearing and looking. If in doubt check with someone you trust e.g. Parents, boss, trusted friend, relative.
  11. Don't show the gossipmongers you are angry, defensive or upset, it can give them the morsels that you have something to hide. The best way is to be calm, honest and but concise.
  12. NEVER tell them to mind their own business - They might think you have something to hide, you are being rude or they can get sarcastic or angry with you and say 'It is my business' and they can spread it to others and they might press you for information even more.
  13. Force your confidence: Even if you are not a confident person, you can always pretend. Ooze confidence, even in tricky situations. The key to being confident is knowing your assets, polishing them, and showing them off to the world.
  14. Don't break down: Even if you have had the worst day imaginable, and you really can't handle them, stick at it, keep your cool: you are invincible.
  15. If malicious gossip, rumour spreading and lies become severe enough, not only are they forms of bullying, they can also become Human Resources issues as well and also gossip, rumour spreading and lies can land you out of a job and if serious, with the law as well. (i.e. the offenses of libel and slander)

For more info, please visit http://www.wikihow.com/Squelch-Malicious-Gossip

Friday, October 31, 2008

Welcome!




Dear visitor, hello and welcome to my blog, The Artist's Easel. This blog is where I pen my thoughts, interests, and experiences as well as any topic that I feel I would like to share with you. Do let me know what you think about my blog as I am still new in the world of blogging. Feel free to leave comments. Happy reading!

-Lionel Lam Song Poh

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