Fruit of hundred fragrances

Lunar new year was spent at my parents’ home. This is the passion fruit vine, one of the products of my father’s guerilla gardening. The passiflora edulis – its botanical name – is native to Brazil and Paraguay – many plants that grow here have travelled far! It is said that Catholic missionaries in South America gave the fruit its name because they thought the flowers of the plant looked like the crown of thorns that was placed on Christ’s head.

In Chinese, the passion fruit is sometimes transcribed as ‘百香果‘ which literally means fruit of hundred fragrances. 

               

Evans, Satie & Chopin

This is not a music blog. Yet my recent posts seem to revolve around music. Maybe because I have been listening to music more often. Listening to familiar favourites can evoke past epiphanies. Sometimes new insight comes along. It’s like rediscovering a place that you thought you knew so well.

Here are 3 musicians who did not cross paths physically. And yet there is a common thread in all three works listed here:

• They have a simple recurring bass line, where the same notes recur throughout the entire work. This is sometimes known as ostinato, or persistent repeats. Or basso ostinato, literally meaning obstinate bass.
• The melody is carried out in the treble line. This sometimes blossoms into something great.
• Piano! Piano! Piano!

In reverse chronology:

1. Peace Piece by Bill Evans (1929 – 1980)

A chance discovery on the radio in my teens, Peace Piece left a deep imprint. That also got me started on Bill Evans.

2. Avant–dernières Pensées by Erik Satie (1866 – 1925)

Music of the master of minimalism.

3. Berceuse in D flat major, Op. 57 by Frédéric Chopin (1810 – 1849)

Chopin fully utilised the treble line to show off his composer chops, and for a pianist to show off his or her dexterity.

A berceuse is a lullaby. There are moments where it feels like butterflies fluttering over calm waters.

Beautiful Sunday

Sunday morning. Cycled. Then came to P’s place. Tinkled the piano. A man walks by with his two-year old son and stopped at the door. I looked up. Man says his son loves listening to the piano and there is a “Welcome 🙂 ” sign on the door. That sign was from P’s Christmas party.

Note to self: what a great conversation starter that sign makes!

Like hunger, physical love is a necessity.

Like hunger, physical love is a necessity. But man’s appetite for amour is never so regular or so sustained as his appetite for the delights of the table.

I love a good quote on food. Saw this one a restaurant wall today. By French writer Honore de Balzac.

Under the Spanish sky

I haven’t played piano in a while.  The piano which I bought with my first paychecks years ago stands silently in the living room. There’s never a good time to play the piano: I’m either home too late at night or always out on weekends. Perhaps I need to change my schedule.  A stack of newly acquired music scores are just sitting on the shelf, waiting to be massacred by me. Among them is a collection of Enrique Granados’ piano pieces. The least I could do is flip through and read it. Play some air piano.

At the Patios de los Naranjos, the Cathedral, Seville, Spain. In October 2008

I’m reminded of one notable champion of Granados: the great Spanish pianist, Alicia de Larrocha. Although a small woman –  said to be only 4 foot 9 tall (shrunk to 4 foot 5 later in life) – de Larrocha played the big virtuostic works of Rachmaninov and Liszt to rave reviews. But it is the music of her native country that she championed the most and brought international recognition to: composers such as the aforementioned Granados, Albeniz and Manuel de Falla. On youtube are a handful videos of her playing with fire and spirit at the ripe old age of 78.

Seville, Spain. In October 2008.

As I’m reading the scores, I have been listening to de Larrocha’s recordings of Granados’ music. Listen to the range of colour and tone, the instinctual phrasing, the effortless way in which the dynamics fall into place, the inimitable nuances. Is it in her blood? Granados’ music is already elegant enough. But de Larrocha makes a simple valse from Granados’ Valses Poeticos sound extraordinarily poetic.

De Larrocha once said Spanish music is very very hard to play. It is. But that’s not going to stop me from trying.

Morning solitude & water lilies

The haze has cleared quite a bit and the light drizzle provided a brief respite from the heat. What a great morning for a ride! It was rather late in the morning but the roads were still relatively quiet. Had the roads almost all to myself with just a few monkeys. Perhaps less people came out due to the rain.

Came across a water lily pond in the park.

I wondered if Monet was just feeling restless with a paintbrush. Or, is there something inherently uplifting about fleeting blooms and infinitely changing lights.

The Perfect Day

This post is inspired by bookjunkie’s here.

My perfect day: wake up with no pimples, go for a bike ride, have a cool shower then do some work. Laugh with family or friends over a meal. Chill out to good music at night.

Simple things really: waking up feeling good about myself, do the things I like to do and spend time with people I like.

What is your perfect day like?

Thousand pages in one hand

Sometime ago, I wrote about how I prefer physical books to e-books.

But how I can turn down this gift from lovely friends? Besides, a 1000 page tome in this sleek form does not look so intimidating any more. Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables: I shall attempt to devour you again!

Thanks ft & jy!!

Let’s eat! In Myanmar

The long tail boat docked firmly against the mud-caked bank of Inle Lake. We climbed out of the boat and scrambled along the mud bank to Taung Tho where the tribal market is already right in the thick of things. Bullock carts and resting bulls linger on a spacious patch, while the owners busily tend to their stalls of vegetables, spices and other wares. A lady sits in between two stalls selling gorgeous home made Shan tofu. Immediately, last night’s meal comprising a simple yet delicious Shan tofu salad comes to mind. We sat down at a stall and tucked into a bowl of warm noodles – meeshay – splashed with chilli oil, vinegar-based sauce mix, coriander and a generous pinch of salt. After that meal, I had to learn how to say “salt, a little” in Burmese. But still, we wiped our mouths happily with a smile.

In Myanmar, mohinga seems to be a common breakfast food. It’s a soup-based vermicelli dish eaten with chickpea fritters. The dish is a combination of earthy fish broth, tangy lemongrass, mild spices, ginger and lime added to one’s taste.

Sitting on the border of India – and once ruled as part of the Indian empire during British colonial days – Myanmar’s population consists of quite a number of people of mixed or Indian descent. Chappati, thosai/dosa, parata and briyani also feature quite a fair bit amongst Burmese street eats. Absolutely delicious. In the rising temperatures of early March, we slurp on copious amounts of banana lassi, avocado shake and fruit juice. Burmese cuisine is also very influenced by Chinese and Thai cuisine.

Another typical Myanmar meal is curry-based mains with rice and side dishes which usually come for free. The curries are generally milder. Another common thing found on restaurant tables is the pickled tea leaves ( lahpet) and fried beans combo which is apparently a national favourite. It can be eaten as an appetizer or as a complement to the main meal.

And fruit lovers will get plenty of chances to gorge on the abundance of mangosteens, avocados, watermelons, grapes, mangoes (although not quite in season when we went). In Yangon, the sight of heaps of giant avocados spilling on to the streets sent me into a trance.

One of the greatest joys of travelling is the opportunity to enjoy food. Adventures of the palate rival thrilling rides across spectacular landscapes. More than that, feasting is a far more sensory and raw experience. Two strangers who eat and enjoy the same cuisine share an inexplicable bond of the palate that transcends class, status, origins and language barriers. What do you think?

Curry-based mains complemented by salad

Fried beans & lahpet

Dough fritters, not unlike ‘yao zhar kuai’ or ‘you tiao’

Pa’o ladies dropping by for breakfast after their morning shopping

The familiar sight of ‘muruku’! a la Burmese style.

Delicious shan tofu salad

Jaggery, a traditional sweet snack eaten after meals. Tastes like gula melaka.

Yummy noodles for breakfast

A familiar cup of milk tea in the morning. Not unlike the ‘teh’ in Singapore & Malaysia

Yam-based doughnut fritters

Guacamole and poppadom

Field mint juice and vegetable briyani

Street eats line the bus terminal

Gorgeous steamed corn

Heaps of avocados, spilling onto the streets

Fruits, some pickled, some just very raw

Lahpet, which are fermented tea leaves.

fried beans, to be eaten with the fermented tea leaves

Mobile street hawker dishing out meals

It’s been a while since I had home-made ‘Bao’.

Chinese-style tea house, serving ‘bao’, dim sum and tea.

Chicken Briyani

Gorgeous fruits are in abundance

Street hawker of steamed corn

Burmese rice crackers

Mohinga, often eaten for breakfast.

A little pot from Maryland

This is a little souvenir from mp.

Popped it open. Surprise! The balm is in a glorious shade of rosy pink. The moisturising balm is great for chaffed lips, dry skin and cuticles. Just like the trust-worthy vaseline that I bring along for travels. But a lot prettier.

Thanks mp!