Salty Shrimp at Panchor, Muar - Johor.

I suggest to make this famous salty shrimp as our lunch before we drive back to Johor Bahru. The Han Thoy Restaurant (N02°10.358' E102°42.761') located in a very small village (beside Muar River) call - Panchor. That is about 30KM from Muar town. It's a old wooden shop, opposite of a indoor basketball hall. (Business hour : 10am-9pm)

We had been here for few times, and this time I decided to share with all of you. The orders for our lunch :-
1) Salty Shrimp (Signature dish)
2) Kang-kung mixed with Cuttlefish.
3) Steam Patin Fish
4) Stewed Vermicelli (side dish)

My favorite!! The Salty Shrimp - Main dish of the day!
It's also our purpose to the Han Thoy Restaurant.

Kang-Kung with Cuttlefish

Steam Patin Fish (Silver Catfish)

Stewed Vermicelli

The shrimps was Marvellous!! Fish was Fresh! Cuttlefish and the vermicelli were so-so.......
The damage for this lunch was MYR62.00 (reasonable prices) for 4 adults & one kid included drink.

I rated : 4/5.


View Larger Map - Map of Han Thoy Restaurant

Related post :-
* Foods of Bukit Gambir, Muar Johor.
* Restaurant Double Lim (Assam Fish), Muar.
* Leng Kee Bak Kut Teh, Muar, Johor

MY TRIPS - Home

Leng Kee Bak Kut Teh, Muar, Johor

After we left Malacca, the journey continue to Muar town - another historical town. It's about 30 minutes drive from Malacca town.
I remember 2 of my friends from Singapore (Silverbeauty & Redstorm) told me there's a Bak Kut Teh they never miss on every trips to Kuala Lumpur. They definitely drop by Muar for it! I manage to get the GPS coordinates from them and want to try it too! :)

The navigation machine direct us to Jalan Khalidi, but we can't find any shop or stall after we reached the destination of the coordinates provided. So I decided to drive further to try our luck. Finally it's located about 700 meter away from the GPS coordinates been given!

The signage faded until I can't really read it! (N2°02.382' E102°33.837')

The shop is located actually opposite of a Car Showroom (It might be Toyota, cannot remember well....). We reached there around 3:30pm and it's time they gonna close, luckily we managed to convinced the boss to serve us as the 'last customers for the day!'

Our order :-
1) Claypot Bak Kut Teh.
2) Claypot Vinegar Pork Leg.
3) Assam fish.
4) Marinated salt & sweet vege.




The taste of the Bak Kut Teh was average if compare with the best in JB. The Claypot Vinegar Pork Leg good! Assam fish was above average, but the Double Lim is better!
The above meal cost us MYR27.00 for 2 adults & 1 kid included drink. Cheap?? I was really surprised!!

Overall, I rated : 3.5/5




View Larger Map

Related post :-
* Foods of Bukit Gambir, Muar Johor.
* Restaurant Double Lim (Assam Fish), Muar.
* Salty Shrimp at Panchor, Muar - Johor.

Bak Kut Teh at Johor Bahru :-
* How Yu Bak Kut Teh, Permas Jaya, Johor
* Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh, Tmn Daya, Johor Bahru
* Shi-Hua Bak Kut Teh, Permas Jaya, Johor Bahru*
* Soon Lee Bak Kut Teh, Taman Johor Jaya, Johor Bahru
* Soong Huat Bak Kut Teh, Taman Desa Tebrau - Johor Bahru
* Ah Soon Bak Kut Teh, Johor Bahru*

Bak Kut Teh at Kulai :-
* Sze Hwa Bak Kut Teh, Kulai, Johor*

Bak Kut Teh at Pekan Nanas :-
* Tong Heng Bak Kut Teh at Pekan Nanas, Johor.

MY TRIPS - Home

Bhutan: Land of Druk Yul

Photograph © Tewfic El-Sawy
I will be on my Land of the Druk Yul photo expedition from September 28 to October 18. A few days in London, then on to Bangkok where I meet the expedition's participants, then we fly off to Paro on Druk Air in the wee hours of October 3.

I have yet to pack all my photo gear, make sure that whatever needs it is recharged and in working order, and figure how to fit everything I need in my carry-on luggage...always an exercise in spatial ingenuity.

By necessity, posts will slow down while I'm traveling, but I'll try to set some "robot" posts before I leave, and if I have reasonable internet connections in Bhutan, I will keep TTP readers appraised of our progress.

The above image of a Cham dancer in Prakhar was “lomo-ized” via Lightroom.

NGS+ liveBooks: All Roads Film Festival

All Roads is a National Geographic initiative supporting films by and about indigenous groups and under-represented minority culture filmmakers. The festival is a multimedia event comprised of cutting-edge film, videos, live music, photography, and art from cultures around the world.

One of the facets of the initiative is the Photography competition which honors four photographers from Argentina, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Azerbaijan who used their work to advance awareness of the plights of their native countries and drive social change. The photographers will participate in the All Roads Film Festivals in both Washington D.C. (Sept. 25 to 28) and Los Angeles, California, (Oct. 2 to 5), where their images will be exhibited. The winners will be discussing their work during the Global Storytellers program and exhibiting at this year’s All Roads Film Festivals.

In addition to the festival’s programs, the photographers will be in the spotlight in San Francisco, during the Global Storytellers program. Details are of the venue are:

Monday, Sept. 29th, 2008
Reception: 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. (Refreshments & Light Fare)
Lecture: 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Adobe Systems Inc.
601 Townsend Street @ 7th Street
San Francisco, California


“Global Storytellers” is hosted by a consortium including the National Geographic All Roads Film Project, Adobe Systems Inc, the Aurora Forum, DataColor, FiftyCrows Foundation and liveBooks.

Multimedia Muse

Three anonymous photographers created Multimedia Muse, a website that aims to rectify the substandard showcasing of multimedia by news websites, and that seeks to increase the "clickability" factor of multimedia projects.

Here's wishing them lots of luck.

Photo~Expedition: Theyyams of Malabar

Having forgotten that I would have little time to blog while on my Land of the Druk Yul photo-expedition to Bhutan in a few days, and even less time to properly announce my first photo-expedition of 2009, I decided to do so today!

The Theyyams of Malabar photo-expedition is specifically structured and timed to allow its members to photograph and document the most spectacular ritualistic dances of Northern Kerala: Theyyam.

Our itinerary will take us to the Malabar region of south India, and along with Malabari villagers, attend the Theyyam performances in local temples. Not only will we attend these unique rituals which are scheduled from February 22 to 25, but we shall also encounter smaller Theyyam rituals deep in the forests of Northern Kerala.

China Town of Malacca

After the Stadhuys Museum, we continue our journey to the China Town of Malacca. This area actually is the Shopping Paradise.

The most convenience way to park your car (if you're driving) is the parking of Memosa Hotel (N2°11.949' E102°15.086'). MYR3.00 per entry. Even you can have a cheaper parking along the road, but it won't be easily for you to get a parking lot within this area.

Memosa Hotel

We visited the Madam King Departmental (N2°11.981' E102°15.088') which is my wife Favorite! I noticed this Popiah stall (N2°11.974' E102°15.084') located outside Madam King always full of peoples queuing.....

I feel the design of this mosque (beside Memosa Hotel) similar to the mosque at Taipei during my visit.....

Below pictures are the street of China Town - Jalan Bunga Raya


You might notice that the TV antennas over here are installed with a long pipe and at least 6-10 meters above the roof, the reason behind is to receive Singapore broadcasting TV channel.


View Larger Map

MY TRIPS - Home

Alixandra Fazzina: Childbirth Perils

Photograph © Alixandra Fazzina/TIME
TIME magazine features a 14-picture essay on the perils of childbearing in Afghanistan. Photographer Alixandra Fazzina traveled to Badakhshan, where a harsh landscape and lack of infrastructure have given rise to an astonishingly high rate of deaths during childbirth. In this far flung area of Afghanistan, for every 100,000 babies born, 6,500 women will die.

I’m sure I won’t be the only one who thinks the above photograph is reminiscent -to use a cliche- of La Pieta, and there are many more in this essay that will move you.

Alixandra Fazzina has spent a decade chronicling war, violence, misery and distress, mainly in Africa and the Middle East. She photographed the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army and their victims in Uganda, the Miya-Miya rebels in Congo, and is currently working on a story about people-smuggling from Ethiopia and Somalia to the Yemen and Saudi Arabia. In addition to her work for British newspapers such as The Sunday Times, Guardian, Telegraph and Independent, her reportage features were published in Newsweek, The New York Times, Stern and Corriere.

TIME magazine's The Perils of Childbirth in Afghanistan

The Museum Of History and Ethnography at Stadhuys, Malacca (Melaka)

2nd day of Malacca Trip

After our breakfast at the hotel, we visited the Museum at Stadhuys. The "Museum Of History and Ethnography".
Entrance fees are MYR5.00 for adult & MYR2.00 for children below 12 years old. Kids below 5 year old are free.
After the entrance, this the first thing you explore.....

The Drainage System of Stadhuys

The drainage system that could be seen around the Stadhuys Complex now was either built during the British era earlier. This huge Stadhuys Complex seemed as though it did not have a drainage system at all during the Dutch era. Only when it was studied to plan the restoration work that it was found many drains criss-crossing in the Stadhuys Complex. This is one of those underground drains that were accidentally found while removing the cement floor.
Obviously the Dutch arranged and built the drainage system before the construction of the Stadhuys. This was typical Dutch architecture. This drain is not functioning now due to to the construction of an additional structure that somehow has blocked the flow.
Laterite blocks were lined up and cemented with lime plaster to form the drain. Then the drain was covered with granite slabs and tightly held together by clay. This part if the drain was purposely exposed to show the drainage system that existed in this building. - Sources from Stadhuys Museum

The pictures of the museum for sharing......

Sukhothai and Sawankhalok Ceramics

The pottery and ceramics industry has existed for a long time in Thailand. Because it depended on royal patronage, the production of Thai wares was localized in nature, dependent in the rise and fall of the state powers, and was therefore known by the location where they were made.
In the middle of 13th century, a new kingdom was established in Sukhothai in Northern Tailand, and within 50 years, especially under King Rama Khamberg, the Empire of Sukhothai had become a cultural, trade and administrative center. This encouraged the growth of the ceramics industry to meet domestic needs as well as for export purpose. At first, the kilns in Sukhothai produced ceramics, which were low quality due to the rough clay found around the city. Sukhothai ceramics can be categorized into white wares and under glaze painted wares.
During the middle of the 14th century, a new ceramics center was open in Sawankhalok, not far away from the city of Sukhothai. The clay found in this area was finer quality that Sukhothai, enabling the production of better ceramics. The Sawankhalok ceramics industry grew, producing many varieties of ceramics, including artistic, decorative wares. The ceramics were not only white in colour but also brown and green, with an under glaze. - Sources from Stadhuys Museum

After this, we proceed to another building on the right........

The statue of Cheng Ho

Can you see the "Clock Tower"?

After the stair case below, we finish our visit for the Museum.

Related Melaka post :-
* Panaroma Malacca (Melaka) Tour Bus
* An Evening at Malacca (Melaka)
* Stadhuys, Malacca (Melaka)
* St. Paul's Church, Malacca
* Aldy Hotel, Malacca (Melaka)
* Jonker Walk Night Market, Malacca (Melaka)
* Ole Sayang Nyonya Food Restaurant, Malacca (Melaka)
* Malacca (Melaka) River Cruise
* Dim Sum Restaurant at Malacca
* Special Homemade Herbal Tea at Malacca
* Portuguese Village, Malacca (Melaka)
* Famous Malacca's Popiah
* Hotel Equatorial, Malacca
* Taiwan Beef Noodle Malacca
* Nyonya Suan Restaurant, Malacca
* Mahkota Parade, Malacca
* Malacca (Melaka)

MY TRIPS - Home

India: Theyyam

Photograph © REUTERS/Sivaram V.
The Boston Globe's The Big Picture blog has just posted 34 wonderful photographs from all around India. Many are of everyday life in this amazing country, and some are of unique festivals such as Theyyam, Ganesh Chaturthi, and Pulikali.

Sharp-eyed readers of this blog may wonder why I've posted two photographs of a Theyyam dancer today (scroll down two posts to see the other). Subscribers to my monthly newsletter already know the reason. It will be publicly announced on this blog in a few weeks!

India on The Big Picture blog

Leica S2: A 37.5 MPs Surprise

As reported by the British Journal of Photography, Leica launched an entirely new digital camera system destined to bridge the gap between professional digital SLRs and medium-format high resolution models.

The S2, with 37.5 million pixel resolution, is the first of many future models that will form part of the S system. The first model sports a 30x45mm CCD sensor, which is 56% bigger than a typical 35mm sensor. The camera will retail at around €20,000 (approx $30,000), and is aimed at fashion and commercial shooters who want medium format quality combined with a DSLR's speed and versatility.

POV: Portable Hard Drive Issues

Photograph © Tewfic El-Sawy
Recently returning from a trip to Mongolia, Nevada Wier recounts her frustrating experience with portable hard drives (aka digital wallets). It appears she purchased two of these gadgets before her trip and while in the field, these hard drives would not hold a charge, and eventually would not work.

Nevada suspects the battery issue was caused either because the only available electricity in Mongolia was 220AC or through generators. In the meantime and until this is resolved, she's withholding her endorsement of this hard drive model.

I think the lesson we all learn from this experience is (1) hard drives will fail when you least expect it, or where you have little chance of having them fixed quickly (this is also known as Murphy's Law); (2) to never take a newly acquired gadget, camera, accessory on a trip without having it been tested (although in this case, it seems that the drives worked well in a 110AC environment), and (3) always have a back-up solution.

News: Art Collection

All Photographs © Tewfic El-Sawy
I've recently sold 10 of my photographs to a major international bank headquartered in London. The distinctive aspect to this transaction is that the photographs are part of the bank's permanent art collection, and are printed on 40" by 25" (approx) canvases. My sales of photographs are traditionally either for stock or to magazines.

Most of the photographs chosen are of adivasis from Central India, and the rest are from Ethiopa's Omo Valley, Rajasthan and Bhutan.

The bank's art collection include photographic works by Philip Lee Harvey, Desmond Burden, Steve Bloom, Remi Benali, William Chapman, Boaz Rottem, among others.

Cham Dances in New York City

Photograph © Tewfic El-Sawy
In elaborate dress and masks, monks from Bhutan performed Cham dances at the Merchant's Gate in New York City's Central Park yesterday. The dances by the monks-dancers were in celebration of the opening on September 19 of The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan at the Rubin Museum of Art.

The Rubin Museum and its Program Director, Tim McHenry (who served as the event's emcee), are to be commended for bringing such an event to the streets of New York City. The large-sized audience watching the whirling and twirling of the Bhutanese dancers had people who knew where Bhutan was, some wore Buddhist bracelets or fingered prayer beads, and a few photographers who seemed they had seen such dances before.

Despite it all, and at the risk of sounding churlish, I sensed that the Cham dances against the backdrop of modern glass-fronted buildings and yellow cabs didn't fully work. The full impact of the dances really comes to life in their natural 'habitat'...the authenticity of ancient monasteries, the age-worn cobblestones, the shy Bhutanese villagers as audience, are what completes the Tchechus and such dances.

The above photograph of a masked dancer is one of the many I made during the hour-long performance.

Canon 5D Mark II: Video

Here's a hands-on video demonstration of the new Canon 5D Mark II.

Islam: The Month of Ramadan

© Reuters/Sugit Pamungkas
© AP/Dar Yasin
Ramadan is the Muslim religious observance that occurs during the 9th month of the Islamic calendar, believed to be the month in which the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims do not eat or drink anything from true dawn until sunset. Fasting is meant to teach the person patience, sacrifice and humility.

The Boston Globe's Big Picture has gathered 35 photographs of Muslims during Ramadan from across the world. Two of my favorite photographs are by Reuters' Sugit Pamungkas and by AP's Dar Yasin. The first is of Muslim women praying at a mosque in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. The second is of Kashmiri Muslims inside the Jamia Masjid, or Grand Mosque, in Srinagar, India. Click on them for bigger versions.

If you haven't visited The Big Picture yet, you're missing out on a visual delight.