Crimson Rose Blossoms

Red and pink roses from my garden

I sympathise with friends and other color blind people in the world who are unable to differentiate and appreciate the extreme light and dark shades of pink and green.

Exotic Fruits of Australia - tropical and temperate - land of abundance

Australian agricultural produce has been remarkably successful despite the odds of having a third of arid and non-arable land and drought in recent years.

A fruit box containing seasonal fruits and vegetables fresh from the farms delivered right to your doorstep by Aussie Farmers.

Australian Hami Melon : originally grown in Xinjiang, China. They don't taste as good as the real McCoy. The shrivelled and wrinkly looking ones supposedly taste sweeter than melons with smooth and shiny skin.

Cherries season is very short - from late October till Christmas when the small town of Young comes alive, teeming with activities, with local visitors flocking to the orchards to pick their own and stock up on cherry jam and wine.

Quinces make wonderful warm desserts for autumn/winer season and jam preserves.

Some exotic tropical and subtropical fruits are now available in fresh food markets in Australian cities and suburbs. However, some fruits that are not grown in abundance and you'd need to travel up north to savour the fruits, juices and ice-cream.

Rose Apple or jambu ayer have been cultivated successfully in Cairns, northern Queensland.

Achachar which is native to South America has been successfully adapted to Australian soils and climate. The result of many years of research, experimentation and development. It tastes like a mixture of buah duku and mangosteen. The high price of this fruit is accounted for by years of research and development. You may ask : is this worthwhile?

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Best Singapore / Malaysian Food in Sydney

There were not more than a handful of Singapore/Malaysian restaurants in the CBD areas back in the 1980s. Fortunately, diners have more choices now as the proportion of Southeast Asian migrants have multiplied by leaps and bounds.

A sign that we have arrived in a diverse and multicultural society is the availability of popiah - yam bean, lettuce and prawn wrapped in fresh pastry skin and not deep-fried.

Nonetheless, SM cuisine especially hawker fare / street food are considered pretty exotic stuff. To make up for the higher price, the customer usually gets huge servings with king prawns and quality ingredients.

Fried Rice Noodle - Char Kway Teow

IMO, the best Singapore and KL char kway teow (fried with dark soy sauce) in Sydney metro area can be found in Thornleigh while the best Penang fried kway teow can be found in Ryde.

Prawn Noodle Soup or Har Mee is a combination of yellow noodles and fine rice vermicelli steeped in mildly spicy prawn stock.

A stone's throw away, another Malaysian restaurant Istana serves a Malay version of prawn noodles call Mee Yok which is equally good. Don't forget to check out their fried mee siam (unlike the gravy version). They are famous for dishes such as the Udang Istimewa better known as cereal chilli prawn with crispy curry leaves.

Mee Rebus : I love this KL version. The prawn and onion fritters accompaniment are tasty and the noodles takes in the smooth and thick curried sweet potato gravy. Makan@Alice only serves this dish every Sunday fortnight.

I'm not particularly fond of KL Hokkien noodles which is a tad too salty as the noodles are drenched in thick dark soy sauce.


Temasek used to be the rare oasis for homesick Malaysians and Singaporeans to seek solace. Sited in Parramatta, the second largest city in NSW after Sydney CBD, it has built its reputation on more than 20 years of stellar food. However, the prices have creeped up yearly and the service is slow and snooty. A couple of years back, former staff of Temasek set up their own upmarket restaurant in the affluent north shore area and named it Ginger and Spice.

To's Malaysian Gourmet in North Sydney specialises in laksa lemak and serves up hundreds of bowls each lunch time to the working elite in the vicinity.

Singapore Kitchen at West Ryde is known for its Singapore style Hokkien noodles which is better known as fried prawn mee. Another recommendation is fried oyster omelette which is actually inexpensive at $14 considering the large fresh oysters embeded in crispy egg crepe fried in high wok heat.

Both the Kopitiams (under different management) do not live up to expectations. The one at Ultimo (near Chinatown) is a well patronised small eatery. The pricing is affordable so don't expect large portions and marvellous food. The other Kopitiam in the northern suburb of Eastwood shop no. 282 on the other hand has many expensive items on the menu.

Those who have the time and courage to prepare your own chilli crab at home could do so by all means. The Flemington and Cabramatta markets sell mud crabs by the kilo at half the price charged by restaurants (currently at $40 upwards per kilo). Kuali is well known for the curry crab while Harry's in the city and Singma in Kensington (south of the city) have established a reputation for chilli crab.

For more good eats in Sydney, please refer to the following link :

http://www.eatability.com.au/au/sydney/cuisines/malaysian.htm

I will be taking a friend visiting from overseas for the "best" noodles. I hope the standards of our restaurants do not disappoint.