The Mee Rebus Tulang Sum Sum Town

To me, Taiping would always be the mee rebus capital of Malaysia.

For this is where one would find the best mee rebus in Malaysia and I have blogged it a couple of times (Mee rebus, anyone? and A Blast from the Past - Taiping Station). When I was first posted to Terengganu, I had a craving for mee rebus and all I got in the land of kepok leko was a watery mee sup.

Until I found Mee Rebus Mail Penang at Melawati, that is. This is one mee rebus my late uncle Pak Long and I would drive to from our homes in Ampang on a Saturday afternoon for our meals. As a rule of thumb, I am not a food lover and I would never not drive more than 1 km to fill in my stomach, except Mail Mee Rebus.

But I was introduced to mee rebus tulang sum sum when I was living in Johor Bahru in 1994, and I thought highly of it too. Though I have forgotten about it as I seldom would be in JB as I have no reason to do so.

But early this month, I was back in town and I would not want to miss this opportunity and sample my favourite dish again.

Here is a sample of the grand mee rebus tulang sum sum that we had last month when we were in JB for an engagement party for my cousin.

It would rival mail mee rebus for sure; I would give it a slight edge as it comes with the tulang sum sum, complete with a straw for you to suck the succulent sum sum. Can you see the straw sticking straight up in the middle of the noodles?

Whoa hoa! Beware, all those with high blood pressure. Make sure you have taken your medicine if want to live long enough to tell your family of how delicious these mee rebus was.

But where would you find similar offering in the Klang Valley?

But life isn't always about food. Men, they said, don't live on food alone. So I went back to my normal self driving down memory lane in JB, not just for me, but for Akmal and Mak.

We went roaming JB that Sunday, and while showing Akmal where they used to live when they were little, we came across this unique school building. It looks odd and at first sight I thought it was an army barrack, but it is a school. A beautiful one at that.

SK(P) Bandar Tinggi.

Let's pray that someone would not read this blog and suddenly had a thought of demolishing it and then commercializing this area too.

God forbids!

This is Mak's school in Johor Bahru - the famous SIGS; Sultan Ibrahim Girls' School. It is not far from my Jalan Petri apartment where I used to call home. I like the architecture too of this old building.

I think this could be late 40s and early 50s for her.

This is where I used to wait for my bus to JB Bus Station for my daily commute to Singapore.

And of course the apartment itself. From this apartment, we could see Dataran Bandaraya, the first picture in this entry above. It is beautiful at night.

I always love this Jalan Petri and the nearby Jalan Mahmoodiah. It is always green, and shady. What I love the most is the old colonial bungalow dotting these streets. So peaceful and tranquil.

LIke this old cemetery - Jalan Mahmoodiah Cemetery.

One of the better kept muslim cemetery in Malaysia, I would think.

I did enjoy my stay in JB. I may dislike going to town on a Saturday when the town is filled with Singaporeans as it would be congested. But beyond that I like the greenery of JB, and the old colonial buildings.

There is nothing to shout about in downtown but the surrounding is better than whatever I can enjoy in KL.

An affair to remember

It was indeed a night to remember at the DFP.

To me it was the best performance I have seen by the MPO other than their normal repertoire - the classical that is.

Last night, it was more modern music; it was as modern as one can get going by the theme of the night - The Golden Age of Film Music. Richard Kaufman, a leading conductor in this series world-wide did an amazing job with the MPO going by the number of distinct repertoire of music performed by the symphony orchestra.

One after another one is transported back to the 30s and 40s right up to 1977.

To be honest, I am not that familiar with all the movies and the theme songs, but in the end, I left with satisfaction and in fact I told Akmal and Arif later that if I have the ticket, I would go and see them again today (Sunday).

It was a sold out performance, if you are thinking the same.

To the music novice like me, one would compare the original score in the movie with the one performed. I was not disappointed. It followed the spirit of the original score and arrangement and in the concert hall, you listen to every single bit of instrument.

Live.

That made it a wonderful experience.

I was really taken by the suite of song composed by Henry Mancini. No, no, no Pink Panther here but other wonderful song by one of the greatest song writers.

As Kaufman puts it, "The songs for Audrey."

As in Audrey Hepburn, the gorgeous actress (that's Kaufman's word and not mine though I don't disagree with him). She is that beautiful, if I can put it mildly.

Who would not be taken by Moon River?

This is another Mancini's song that was performed last night, minus the choir of course.

I also like this song last night.

Maurice Jarre's musics have also been synonymous with the golden age of cinema. I have been praying for Dr Zhivago's Lara's Theme. For some unknown reason, Kaufman did not pick this one but instead chose another wonderful Jarre's piece for another epic Lawrence of Arabia.

Who am I to argue with him though I still think Lara's theme is a much better song.

It is such a lovely movie, and theme song.

Taras Bulba

I did not know of this film before, but I really do enjoyed the theme song. According to Richard Kaufman, "The movie is really lousy, so if you were to see it, just close your eyes and listen to the music."

The music is really that wonderful.

Try watching this in Youtube.

Hmmm, it looks like an epic to me. May be I'll try and get my hand on some of these movies.

Kaufman reminded the audience that music composers at times can be like a mortician. One can dressed up the body, but one cannot bring it back to life. I forgot as to who actually said that. No, no it is not attributed to Kaufman.

Good score, and theme songs complement good movies; they made it memorable long after.

Oh oh, I nearly forgot Star Wars. Then again, I am sure you would know that. Yeah, you hear it exactly like in the movie. As Kaufman said it, the writer is not only the best songwriter on planet Earth, but also out in outerspace!

By the way, Spartacus was also performed that night. May be I should have taken Mak to the show as she pointed out, after the concert completion, that she and bapak went to the the movie in Taiping on a date during their engagement without the knowledge of Tok Adam.

I am not sure if Nenek Bulan knew it.

I am sure it would have been difficult for them to go out and watch movie in Taiping. This must be circa 1961 (the movie was released in 1960) and they got married sometime in May 1961.

Sempat lagi tu even those days. This is news to me. Hehehe.

This is what they would have seen.

But listen to the love theme from Spartacus. This is of course a re-recording, a more recent by Akiko.

Eh, anyone got an extra ticket or two that I can buy for today's performance?

What's New? - The beautiful songs of the bygone era

I used a line or two from the lyric of What's New, a song from the 80s that I have enjoyed in an earlier entry. This is one of the 3 albums that Linda Ronstadt recorded of the 30s-40s music genre (big band sound) and I must say these 3 albums (What's New, Lush Life, For Sentimental Reasons), all recorded with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, are the reason I love songs from those era. I have all three 3 albums, but I must say overall I cherish "Lush Life" the most.

I came to know of this album while at Monash. In between studies at the Engineering Library, I love to browse the Humanity Library. It has rare book collection section and then it has music! And this was one of the album being featured that month circa 85. So you sit on the sofa with your headphone on and listen to her music while cuci mata as it was a better place for 'cuci mata' compared to the Engineering Library (boring!) - well, not really as most of the time I would just closed my eyes and dreamt my (student) life away!

Lush Life inner cover. This album contains Skylark (1941), When I fall in love (1952), I am a fool to want you (1979) and When your lover has gone (1931) - these songs are the showcase of a par excellence album, released in 1984. Except for one, most of the songs were written long before my time. If I were stranded on a deserted island alone, this is one album I would want to have with me. ohh oh no listrik ke? Never mind, just while your time away looking at the cover as the (inner) cover itself is beautiful to look at!

So coming home in 86, I bought a vinyl for RM23.90 and I used to listen to them at night after coming back from my shift at Perak Hanjoong in the mid-80s. After a tiring shift, all the aches would go away listening to her soothing voice and the fine orchestra. Aaah, heavenly.....

Linda Ronstadt and the late Nelson Riddle. This is taken from the cover of the last album she did with Nelson Riddle before he died (before completing the whole album). "(I love you) For Sentimental Reason" was added to complete the album and the song was chosen as a fitting tribute to the genius of Nelson Riddle.

Individually, I love What's New, which is a beautiful song written in 1939. I would not have known it if not for a remake by her (recorded in the mid-80s), post her country and rock era of course. She sung it so beautifully, and in the full splendour of an orchestra, it was perfection as far as I am concerned - her voice is so smooth and silky that I just melt everytime I hear this song. It helps that the Nelson Riddle Orchestra is a first class orchestra too (and the fact that the late Nelson Riddle was a top notch jazz arranger).

The video clip also features Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in the B&W classic Casablanca, so it is always nostalgic to see the clip.

This is a live version. Beyond her bangs, I have no complaint of this version. She is still as good as ever (SNurhaliza is no competition), but eventhough the music is not perfect unlike in the record, I still found this song enjoyable. I do miss, however, the b&w Casablanca clip to accompany this song with!

(Listen after 11 pm - after everybody else has gone to sleep, sit on your fav sofa, put on your headphone, turn up the volume and close your eyes. Let the song fills you and takes you away - slowly, you will drift away.)

What's new
How is the world treating you?
You haven't changed a bit,
Handsome as ever i must admit.

What's new
How did that romance come through?
We haven't met since then,
Gee but it's nice to see you again!

What's new
Probably i'm boring you,
But seeing you is grand,
And you were sweet to offer your hand.
I understand.

Adieu!
Pardon my asking what's new,
Of course, you couldn't know,
I haven't changed,
I still love you so!

Adieu!
Pardon my asking what's new,
Of course, you couldn't know,
I haven't changed,
I still love you so!

Epilogue

Akmal is asking for a copy of this song for his own collection. Apparently after listening to the song a couple of times, he now likes it. He referred to it as lagu 1930. I am really spoiling them with the oldies. Then again, may be not. The (classical) stuff they listen to are more ancient than mine!

Tags: what'snew, lindaronstadt | Edit Tags

Wednesday June 20, 2007 - 03:33pm (SGT) Edit | Delete