Old School

This is the chapel at St Francis Institution in Malacca and it is by far one of the most beautiful chapels belonging to a mission school in South East Asia. This marks the last location shoot of the De La Salle documentary I've been working on for the past 10 months. More pictures of SFI at http://imaginativedarkroom.blogspot.com/.

On a separate note, I was blessed to be able to celebrate the feast of St John Mary Vianney with the Brothers, some Sisters and the locals at a smaller-than-chapel meeting hall at the nearby Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus School. I love being able to join the locals in whichever part of the world I am at to celebrate the Mass. This helps me look at different parts of the Mass from different angles and cultures.

Baba Charlie

No black sheep here. Just a big huge kitchen with a room next to it filled with only one of the finest nonya kuehs in Malacca. There were blue ones, round green ones, rice-stuffed ones, red layered ones... all of them mostly sweet ones... yes, even the fried ones! :O)

This was last monday on a random trip with the Cana gals! The journey there took a little longer than usual so there was only time for a Peranakan lunch, Baba Charlie and the Mall. Oh, the rain didn't help either. But I bonded so well with all the aunties, that when a bump swung my box of kuehs onto the ground of the van, all of them offered some of theirs! I wasn't paying attention, but in the end I got so much more than I what I had bought. Ah... Aunties! You've gotta love them! I had to share the kuehs with my friends because I was home alone and impossible to finish them within the day.

More to come! :O) Like tomorrow!

Chicken Rice Balls

So I popped by Malacca again last Saturday just for a day trip. Went there to capture some shots for some food contest. Morning breakfast stop was at Anthony's Fishball at Yong Peng. It's OK only, so don't bother stopping especially if your destination is Malacca.

I made it this time to Chop Chung Wah Chicken Rice Balls at the edge of Jonker Street. It was a crowded Saturday noon with herds of tourists and huge bus loads meandering around the little streets of historical Malacca.

Even though the line was long, I stood there patiently with the others in line for my turn... well worth the wait!! Not too oily, and super soft!! Yummilicous!

Thanks mom and dad for the company! :O)

Road Trip

On April 1st, a team of catechists invited me to join them for a road trip to Malacca. I prepared a short tour and two movie screenings, Chocolat and Stolen Summer to engage them in a Lenten reflection but guess what? The Video player didn't accept code 1 DVDs! What a shame... another time perhaps.

The day was hot but fluffy white clouds accompanied our brief tour of the old town. Our first pit stop was to St Francis Xavier Church and to our surprise, the kind sacristan opened up the museum at our request which houses the relics of St Francis Xavier. Other items on the menu - Chicken Rice Balls and Durian Cendol. Yum, yum!

Something to note: Wednesdays seem like off days in Malacca. Can someone verify this? Many stalls and shops are closed. The town seems to have more things going on in the evenings.

More images here: http://imaginativedarkroom.blogspot.com/2009/04/malacca.html
and http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=86098&id=657646335.