Muntri Grove: A hidden gem in the middle of George Town |
- Muntri Grove: A hidden gem in the middle of George Town
- Swiss central bank defends shock removal of cap on franc
- Mr and Mr! British actor Stephen Fry marries Elliott Spencer
- EPL: Tottenham Hotspur wins 2-1 against Sunderland with Eriksen’s late show
- British opera singer Sarah Brightman to visit space station
- Bijan, the cookbook: Capturing 10 years of running a Malay restaurant in KL
| Muntri Grove: A hidden gem in the middle of George Town Posted: 17 Jan 2015 04:56 PM PST
You feel like you have stumbled upon a secret due to its somewhat obscure location; the garden itself is quite magical under the shade of majestic trees with a flagstone pathway leading down the row of shophouses. Large boulders, some dug up from the site, dot the fringe of the path amidst newly-planted shrubs and plants. Walking through its ornate wrought iron gate, one can't help but feel a sense of serenity. There is a peace and quiet here even though you are just a hop, skip and jump from bustling Chulia Street on one side and Muntri Street on another. Welcome to Muntri Grove, another project by award-winning hoteliers Karl Steinberg and Christopher Ong. Much of Steinberg's touch can be seen throughout the new boutique hotel with its clean lines, airy spacious rooms, antique furniture and botanical-themed decorations. The Grove is located near its sister hotel, Muntri Mews and the newly-opened Muntri Mews Residence. It provides an extra choice for visitors who are fans of Ong and Steinberg's collection of boutique hotels. The 10 heritage shophouses in the early Penang style were initially built for workers or used as servants' quarters more than a century ago. Ong said most of the walls and the upper floor wooden floors were in a deplorable condition so most of it had to be replaced and reconstructed. The main structure of the terraced houses were maintained and strengthened in an extensive restoration and one of the buildings which had been bombed and completely destroyed during the war was rebuilt as the hotel's reception area. It is also where the main staircase that leads up to the second storey of the hotel is located.
Unlike its sister hotels down the road, Muntri Grove also offers guests a small swimming pool overlooking the tops of neighbouring heritage shophouses and the narrow lane leading to the hotel. Their only other property with a pool is the luxurious Seven Terraces a few streets away. At the Grove, you get this additional luxury but at a more affordable price range that is close to that of Muntri Mews. The rooms on the ground floor and the second storey are all equally spacious except for some minor differences. The rooms downstairs are great for those who do not want to negotiate the stairs and sport cool terrazzo floors with magnificent floor to ceiling folding doors that open out to the beautiful gardens.
All rooms come with four poster beds, high quality linens that include botanical-themed bedspreads and a daybed each for a third person who may be sharing the room. Like Seven Terraces, Muntri Grove is located right behind a primary school so guests will be forewarned about the sound of children at school and the bell ringing during school days. "I don't know why, I somehow tend to build my hotels near schools, perhaps the sound of laughing cheerful children is a good thing for my hotels," Ong said. For guests who want to experience a really close encounter with the living heritage of George Town, Ong said the narrow lane leading to the secluded hotel will be blocked off for at least two weeks during the Hungry Ghost month (the seventh lunar month). "The lane has been used as a site to set up a stage to celebrate the Hungry Ghost Festival for decades so we do not want to interrupt or ask them to leave and I actually feel it adds to the whole atmosphere of the heritage city," Ong said. He said the hotel will either be closed for the two weeks during the Hungry Ghost festival or it would offer a special rate for guests who don't mind living right next to the stage where "live" performances such as Chinese opera and concerts will be held nightly.
Muntri Grove  |
| Swiss central bank defends shock removal of cap on franc Posted: 17 Jan 2015 04:55 PM PST
"This was not an easy decision... (but) we are convinced it is the right one," Swiss central bank chief Thomas Jordan said in an interview published in Swiss dailies Le Temps and NZZ yesterday. The head of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) has faced widespread criticism both at home and abroad after the bank's bombshell announcement Thursday that it was abandoning the minimum rate of 1.20 francs against the euro that it had been defending for more than three years. The Swiss franc has since gained around 20 per cent against other currencies and is now trading at near parity with the euro. "The franc is significantly overvalued compared to the dollar and the euro," Jordan acknowledged, noting that the bank had introduced negative interest rates that, in time, would help drive the value of the overheated currency back down. He hinted that the bank might consider future "interventions" if the situation did not stabilise. In the meantime, the soaring franc has caused panic on global markets, bankrupted foreign exchange traders as far away as New Zealand, and was seen as a significant threat to Switzerland's export-dependant economy. The Swiss stock exchange's main SMI index has plunged more than 14 per cent since Thursday's announcement. The decision is also expected to deliver a severe blow to the Swiss economy, with banking giant UBS slashing its growth forecast for this year to just 0.5 per cent from its previous estimate of 1.8 per cent. The yield on Swiss 10-year bonds has meanwhile entered negative territory for the first time, with the result that lenders will now have to pay to lend money to the country. Feared losing control "The strong franc is threatening the entire Swiss system," the Tribune de Geneve daily said Saturday, adding: "The future looks dark." Jordan said Switzerland's central bankers had unanimously agreed to scrap their long campaign to hold down the franc after determining that continuing put the bank at risk of "losing control of its monetary policy in the long term." "We were aware that this decision could have a major impact on markets," he said, while adding that "the markets should gradually stabilise — (although) it could take time." The SNB had been defending the exchange rate floor since September 2011 in an effort to protect the country's vital export and tourism industries. It has bought massive quantities of foreign currencies to do so, allowing its euro reserves to balloon tenfold in just four years. The rate was introduced as the eurozone crisis sent investors scurrying to the safe haven currency. More recently, the Russian rouble crisis put renewed pressure on the franc. Jordan insisted that the efforts to rein in the franc were no longer justified since the Swiss economy was far more robust than in 2011. "We gave the Swiss economy time to adapt to the new situation," he said, stressing that "the currency cap from the beginning was supposed to be an exceptional and temporary measure." "It was always meant to be abandoned." SNB not all-powerful Now that the cap was gone, Jordan acknowledged that "the economic situation in Switzerland is more difficult." But, he noted, "SNB cannot fulfil all wishes with its monetary policy. It is not all-powerful." His comments were unlikely to win over Swiss businesses bracing to see exports plunge and shoppers at home flood across to neighbouring eurozone countries for cheaper goods. "Making products in Switzerland and selling them abroad is currently the worst possible scenario," Syz analyst Jerome Schupp told TDG. The boss of a small watchmaking company, H. Moser & Cie, underlined the impact of the SNB's move in an open letter to Jordan, warning that he may have to move his business to Germany. "Over 95 per cent of our watches are sold to people outside of Switzerland, and the first retailers called the same day to cancel orders," Edouard Meylan wrote. Switzerland's tourism industry, already hit by a lack of snow, was also bracing for mass cancellations as already pricy ski resorts suddenly became far more expensive for foreign visitors. Tourists arriving in Switzerland on Friday were less than thrilled. "With an exchange rate like that, we won't be coming back to Switzerland anytime soon," a Scottish tourist in his 60s who gave his name only as Bornsadi told AFP as he arrived at the Geneva airport Friday for a week's holiday. — AFP |
| Mr and Mr! British actor Stephen Fry marries Elliott Spencer Posted: 17 Jan 2015 04:53 PM PST
The 57-year-old, who made his name in cult television shows "Blackadder" as well as "Jeeves and Wooster", wed 27-year-old Elliot Spencer in a register office. Fry, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for playing gay writer Oscar Wilde in the 1997 movie "Wilde", also used Twitter earlier this month to confirm his engagement. In his message yesterday, he wrote: "Gosh. @ElliotGSpencer and I go into a room as two people, sign a book and leave as one. Amazing." A photograph of the couple showed Fry in a grey suit with a multi-coloured tie and Spencer in a black suit with a blue tie, both with matching flowers in their buttonholes. The Twitter message gave no other details, but the pair had registered their intention to marry in Dereham in Norfolk, eastern England, near where Fry grew up. Fry, who currently hosts the BBC panel show "QI", gave his occupation as "actor" and Spencer was listed as a "writer" in official documents. Confirming media reports of his engagement on January 6, Fry said: "I'm very, very happy of course but had hoped for a private wedding. Fat chance!" Same-sex marriage became legal in England and Wales in March last year, and Scotland followed suit in December. — AFP |
| EPL: Tottenham Hotspur wins 2-1 against Sunderland with Eriksen’s late show Posted: 17 Jan 2015 04:51 PM PST
Struggling Sunderland turned up in north London proudly fielding their new signing, former Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe, the 32-year-old having only joined from FC Toronto on a three-and-a-half year deal on Friday. In-form Harry Kane returned after skipping Spurs' FA Cup replay win over Burnley in midweek. Tottenham raced into a third minute lead when defender Jan Vertonghen's shot found the back of the net with significant assistance on its way from a deflection off John O'Shea. The hosts went close to doubling their advantage as the half hour approached, with only Costel Pantilimon's fine save Minutes later Steven Fletcher should have levelled for Sunderland, the striker somehow managing Justice for the visitors arrived seconds later when Sebastian Larsson curled in a 25-yard free kick awarded when Vertonghen felled Defoe, the ball passing over the wall and into the far corner. In first half stoppage time Kane hit the woodwork, with Pantilimon keeping out former Sunderland player Danny Rose's follow-up strike. After the restart Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino brought on Emmanuel Adebayor in place of the out of sorts Roberto Soldado for the Togo forward's first appearance since November 9. And Adebayor almost instantly repaid that vote of confidence when he flicked the ball onto Nacer Chadli only for Pantilimon's hand to get in the way of the Belgian winger's volley. Defoe's proud record of scoring on his debut for every club he's played for in his long career With 10 minutes left on the clock, Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris produced a fine double save Then, just as the match appeared to be heading for a draw, Eriksen popped up to bag the points for Tottenham. Andros Townsend, shortly after coming on for Mousa Dembele, set up the Danish midfielder to shoot right-footed from outside the box and into the bottom left corner of Pantilimon's net. There was late drama as first only a lightning reaction save from Lloris prevented Graham's drive from securing a draw, while down at the other end Vertonghen's slotted This defeat left Sunderland fifth from bottom, one point above the relegation zone. — AFP |
| British opera singer Sarah Brightman to visit space station Posted: 17 Jan 2015 04:45 PM PST
The famed soprano, who starred in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera" will pay about US$52 million (RM166 million) for a round-trip ride aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule, said US-based Space Adventures, a privately owned firm that is arranging the trip. Brightman, 54, will become the eighth tourist and first professional singer to visit the orbital outpost, a US$100 billion research laboratory that flies about 418km above Earth. One tourist, Microsoft co-founder Charles Simonyi, made two trips. Since NASA retired its space shuttles in 2011, Russian Soyuz capsules have been fully booked flying crew to and from the station, a project of 15 nations. The last tourist to fly was Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte, who spent 11 days aboard the station in 2009, at a cost of about US$35 million. A Soyuz seat for a paying passenger is available this fall because Russia needs to supply a fresh capsule to bring home two station crewmen who are planning to make unprecedented year-long stays in space. Soyuz are designed to stay in orbit for six months. Cosmonaut and incoming station crewmember Sergey Volkov will pilot the replacement Soyuz that will carry European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen and Brightman, NASA flight director Emily Nelson said during a televised press conference on Thursday from the Johnson Space Centre in Houston. Brightman arrived in Russia this week and was scheduled to begin a nine-month training programme, but it was postponed until next week so she could recover from a cold, Russia's ITAR-TASS news service reported. A second aspiring space tourist, Japanese entrepreneur Satoshi Takamatsu, also arrived at Russia's Star City training centre to prepare for a spaceflight. TASS reported that he will serve as Brightman's back-up if she is unable to make the trip. Space Adventures could not be reached for comment about when Takamatsu, who would become the first Japanese tourist to visit the station, might fly. — Reuters |
| Bijan, the cookbook: Capturing 10 years of running a Malay restaurant in KL Posted: 17 Jan 2015 04:45 PM PST
But it is more than just a book of recipes though, this is a personal memoir of the Good Food Trio, the name coined for the three who love food and travel. Both Yuen and Lissa had connected as good friends, while Lissa and Way Cheng are siblings. Prior to opening Bijan, Yuen Sze and Lissa had started the Italian restaurant, La Risata in 1996 with a group of friends. Subsequently, both quit their jobs and decided to manage the restaurant on a full-time basis. As a testament to its popularity, the Italian restaurant still operates out of its original Ampang outlet and its second outlet in Medan Damansara. In 2008, they opened gourmet burger restaurant The Daily Grind in Bangsar.
By that time, Way Cheng had also joined the duo to help them open the restaurant. During that time, only a few Malay restaurants existed, making Malay food unavailable to many. " It was inaccessible when you're not Malay, as all the good food was normally eaten at people's homes or on the streets but not in restaurants. If you look for Malay food where can you go?" explained Way Cheng. In addition, the restaurant could showcase Malay cuisine to overseas visitors. "If you had international guests, there was nowhere to go for Malay food, especially if you did not want stall food," says Yuen Sze. The trio held fast to their idea of opening Bijan despite negative responses from friends. "Even before we started everyone was telling us it was not going to work," said Yuen Sze. Lissa recalled one comment that the food in the streets was much cheaper. Nevertheless, the trio persevered and hired renowned recipe consultant Rohani Jelani to devise their opening menu. In September 2003, Bijan opened its doors to serve Malay food, fine dining style. After many years of hard work, the restaurant has chalked up awards like Tourism Malaysia's Best Malay Restaurant in 2004, The Hospitality Asia Platinum Award for one of the Top 10 Asean Restaurants in 2007, and Time Out KL's Best Malay Restaurant from 2010 to 2013.
For instance, there's only a handful of dishes from the original menu from Rohani. "As Rohani does home style Malay cooking, some of her recipes like cencaru sumbat do not keep very well for a commercial basis, which requires mass quantity. You have to prepare and sell it immediately, hence we have had to tweak according to our business needs," said Lissa. The trio also work closely with Chef Zul who is the executive chef of their three restaurants. Initially, Chef Zul had joined the La Risata kitchen, but they only found out much later that he also excelled in Malay cooking, as he was the mastermind behind the famous Johor Laksa served every Monday at The Royal Selangor Golf Club.
The decision to produce a cookbook to chart their journey of running Bijan was mooted about two years ago. "For us, we wanted to share our experience, as it's been 10 years and a real journey for us," said Way Cheng who was put in charge of the project. Most restaurants tend to shy away from sharing their recipes. Some prefer to hold on to them fiercely to guard their commercial value. Way Cheng feels otherwise. "You are only as good as your last recipe. Apart from our signature dishes, you can find some variation of the same dish on the Internet. Even cucur udang can be found on the street."
The cookbook also has cocktail recipes concocted by Lissa, including a nifty sounding Don't Cut Ali, a twist on Tongkat Ali, the miraculous herb that is said to improve men's virility. When Bijan first opened, one of the important elements they introduced was wine paired with Malay food. "People just don't get it. If Chinese, Japanese and Thai food can be paired with wine, why not Malay food? It's just the dining experience," said Yuen Sze. The cookbook also contains a section on pairing various Malay dishes with wines. For Way Cheng, the cookbook was very much a labour of love, since it took them two years to see it from concept to print. It was also a very long process, as each recipe was for restaurant portions, which had to be edited down to fit the home cook and tested subsequently.
The photography sessions were done in a few stages, but occasionally they had to reshoot some pictures due to colour, composition or just appeasing the other two partners who were not happy. "Can you imagine if there was six of us?" quipped Yuen Sze. The process also took some time as they struggled with the cover of the cookbook. "We had various choices like a girl holding a bowl and other exotic looking pictures, but we thought it wasn't us," said Lissa. Eventually they settled for a bold orange colour with a batik print that personifies Bijan, as it's the same print you find on their menu and restaurant logo.
It's something for their home, so what better way to remember us with," said Yuen Sze. With that in mind, the book also sports a soft cover and a manageable size for overseas visitors to carry a few copies home for their family and friends. Like how they approach their business, everything was done by the trio, from writing the recipes, editing and even publishing it, as explained by Way Cheng. "We have always done everything ourselves, as we're so involved in the restaurant. I guess people don't realise that but we really do eat our food every week and enjoy it. It's a very personal thing. We wanted to do it ourselves and be there rather than pay someone to do it." In the future, they hope to distribute the cookbook to bookshops and online portals. Most importantly, the trio who are all mothers also see it as a legacy for their children. "It was really a book to commemorate our 10 years and also for our children to pick it up one day and go... this is our mums," said Way Cheng. The cookbook is currently available at Bijan Bar & Restaurant, No. 3, Jalan Ceylon, Kuala Lumpur. Tel:03-20313575. |
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