1Malaysia Year End Sale

Offering rebates, bargains and promotions galore, the irresistible 1Malaysia Year End Sale rolls into town once again. Encompassing glitzy malls, bustling markets and lively street-side stalls, this bountiful shopping carnival will gladden hearts and weaken wallets all around Malaysia, over two months from Saturday, 16^th November to Sunday, 5^th January 2014.

This grand shopping bonanza is being organized by the Shopping Malaysia Secretariat, a unit operating under the sphere of Tourism Malaysia, the force behind similar events like the Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival and the 1Malaysia GP sale. These various efforts endeavor to draw more tourists to Malaysia as they seek to establish the country as a premier shopping destination in the Far East.

A truly justifiable goal, for Malaysia undoubtedly offers a great selection of shopping options at the most reasonable prices in the region. Additionally, much coveted, high-end goods like wrist-watches, cosmetics, fragrances, cameras, computers, gold and jewelry, leather shoes and bags, apparel from leading brands and more, are in fact offered duty-free in Malaysia, at some of the lowest prices in the world.

Added to this enchanting mix, is a shopping terrain littered with luxurious malls and shopping centers offering an abundance of retail outlets, eateries, and spa, beauty and entertainment services. All of which make for a truly enjoyable experience, superbly complemented by Malaysia’s burgeoning hospitality sector, which offers a range of accommodation options at attractive prices to suit the needs of all travelers.

Since the bargains beckon, don’t waste a moment longer. Rather gather together your biggest suitcases as you book your air-tickets, so that you can be spirited away to a land known as Malaysia, where innumerable pleasures await including the spectacular 1 Malaysia Year End Sale.

  

Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta 2013

If you have a yen for yachting, as a competitor or a spectator, then you should perhaps consider heading to Malaysia this month, for the country’s eagerly anticipated annual sailing extravaganza, the Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta 2013. This exciting event is scheduled over a period of nine days from 15^th to 23^rd November at various locales off Malaysia’s beauteous western coast.

 This grand yachting tourney comprises of a series of offshore sailing events, organized by the Royal Selangor Yacht Club in association with the renowned offshore racing organization, the RORC (the Royal Ocean Racing Club).

The Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta dates back to 1990, when it was organized as a sequel to the five annual offshore series of races linking the most popular and beautiful isles off the west coast of Malaysia, namely Pangkor, Penang and Langkawi.

His Royal Highness, the Sultan of Selangor has been a patron of the Regatta from its inception and this year too his highness, will be on hand to meet and mingle with the sailors at the various events and to hand out the magnificent Raja Muda trophy to the winning team.

The 24^th edition of the Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta in 2013, will feature three overnight passage races encompassing a total of 260 miles (from Port Klang to Pangkor, Pangkor to Penang and Penang to Langkawi), along with three days of harbor racing in Penang and Langkawi.

The event will as usual welcome a wide variety of yachts ranging from IRC1 racers to classic yachts, multihulls and ancient, slow moving100-year-old cruisers. All these vessels will set sail from a new starting point in Port Klang, the new Royal Selangor Yacht Club (RSYC) Marina Annexe at Pulau Indah. They will also finish at a new termination point, the Telaga Harbor in Langkawi, which will also serve as the site of the prize distribution.

The nine-day long Regatta will feature a bouquet of exciting races including passage races and inshore harbor sprints, guaranteed to enthrall and delight participants as well as spectators. Aside from its competitive element, the Regatta will also feature various glitzy social events like regatta dinners, a rickshaw race and the Miss International Yachting Malaysia contest.

 

 

Discover the delights of ‘Mamak’ cuisine

‘Mamak cuisine’, one of the many native Malaysian cuisines, is hugely popular all over Malaysia. This delicious fare is usually associated with Malaysia’s Indian Muslim population and is served both at roadside stalls (open 24 hours a day) and as well as at full-service restaurants.

‘Mamak cuisine’, is believed to have been brought to Malaysia, by Indian Muslims, hailing from the southern states of India, like Kerala and Tamil Nadu during the 19^th century, when these immigrants were brought by the British to work on the rubber and palm oil plantations. In fact the popular Mamak stall beverage, Teh Tarik, the Malaysian interpretation of Southern Indian pulled coffee was once served at stalls set up at the entrance of plantations

The Indian immigrants then went on to intermarry with the locals and they soon came to known as Mamaks and were largely associated with roadside eateries popularly referred to as known as ‘Mamak stalls’. These roadside ‘Mamak ‘stalls continue to survive, though the Malaysian dining landscape today, also features full-service ‘Mamak’ cuisine restaurants that offer a wide array of tasty dishes.

Favored ‘Mamak eats’ include dishes like: -

Roti Canai

Roti Canai is a hugely popular breakfast dish and consists of a flaky paratha served with a spicy chicken curry sauce

Roti Tisu

Roti Tisu, is a wafer-thin conical pancake topped with a syrup of condensed milk and sugar.

Rojak Pasembur

This salad dish is served warm and features shredded vegetables like cucumber and turnip mixed with diced potatoes, beansprouts, boiled eggs and tofu, all of which are tossed together with sweet and spicy peanut sauce.

Nasi Kandar

A Nasi Kandar meal is composed of nasi (rice) offered with an assortment of vegetarian or non-vegetarian spicy curries.

Murtabak

A serving of Murtabak features a roti stuffed with fillings like eggs, mutton, sardines, beef or chicken. A Murtabak is usually complemented with a lentil-based dipping sauce.

Nasi Lemak

Renowned as Malaysia’s favorite comfort food, a dish of Nasi Lemak features rice steamed in coconut milk, wrapped in banana leaves and served with anchovies, peanuts and a fiery sambal.

 

Maggi goring
This dish feature Maggi instant noodles stir-fried with dark soy sauce, curry powder, spices, vegetables, tofu and chicken and topped with a sunny-side up egg.

 

 

Lip-smacking Nyonya Baba cuisine

Malaysian fare encompasses various indigenous cuisines, which reflect the fabric and culture of the diverse Malaysian society. One such homegrown cuisine widely available in all of Malaysia is Peranakan cuisine, popularly referred to as Nyonya Baba fare.

The origins of this cuisine date back to the 15^th century, during the rule of the Ming Dynasty in China, when a Chinese Emperor gave his daughter Princess Hang Li Po, in marriage to the Sultan of Malacca in an effort to strengthen ties with the rich and strategic port city. The princess arrived in Malacca with a retinue of 500 attendants who then went on to settle in Malacca in an area, which came to be known as Bukit China (China Hill). These early Chinese settlers soon intermarried with the local Malays and this intermingling gave rise to the first generation of Chinese-Malays, the Peranakan people

A male Peranakan soon came to be referred to, as ‘Baba’ while a female was referred to as ‘Nyonya’. The Peranakans developed their own unique culture and heritage, which was an amalgamation of Chinese, Malay cultures peppered with diverse colonial influences.  Nyonya communities at first were limited to Malacca but then they migrated to other areas like Penang and Singapore and came to be known as ‘the Straits Chinese’.

In addition to their inimitable culture and tradition, the Pearankan people also developed their own cuisine, an eclectic fusion fare, which features a mixture of Chinese, Malay, European and even Thai ingredients. This flavorful cuisine comprises several key ingredients like belacan(a dried shrimp paste), tamarind, coconut milk, lemongrass, galangal (wild ginger), chilies, shallots and kaffir lime and pandan leaves.

Widely available in Malaysia at food-courts, street-stalls and fine-dining restaurants, Nyonya Baba fare is a must-try.

Intrigued? Discover mouth-watering Peranakan fare through dishes like Mee Siam(tangy rice noodles), Chicken Kapitan( a lush chicken curry served with Roti Jala, Kangkug Belacan(water spinach sautéed with belacan) and delicious  Peranakan deserts like Bubur Cha Cha, Cendol and colorful Kuih(Peranakan pastries).

 

Urbanscapes: A Celebration of Malaysia’s Contemporary Arts

Have you ever wondered about Malaysia’s contemporary arts scene?  Then its time to introduce you to KL’s annual Urbanscapes festival, a yearly celebration of the vision and creativity of Malaysia’s contemporary arts fraternity. This arts exposition brings together artists, creative communities and business, hailing from the fields of music, fashion, arts, design and more.

A local company Freeform Sdn. Bhd, founded the festival by hosting a first kick-off arts event at a small, KL eatery, in 2002.  Since that initial launch the festival has grown tremendously and now draws massive crowds. As a result, it is now hosted on larger venues and is usually conducted over a weekend, popularly referred to as ‘the Big Weekend’. This year’s edition of Urbanscapes, is scheduled for the weekend of 23^rd and 24^th November and will be hosted at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) at Serdang, Selangor. A venue easily accessible from Kuala Lumpur by various modes of transport.

Aside from attracting increasing numbers of arts enthusiasts, the festival portfolio has also expanded to include much international participation from the region and beyond. Music concerts, stand-up comedy performances, dance recitals, shadow puppetry, poetry readings, beat boxing presentations, percussion and ukulele routines, all feature in the festival program at Urbanscapes.

The exciting lineup for Urbanscapes 2013, features acts like Scotland’s chart topping rock band Franz Ferdinand, Canadian indie-rock duo Tegan and Sara, Northern Ireland’s dance-rock trio Two Door Cinema Club, Efterklang, a electronica rock outfit from Denmark along with  various other international acts like the Obedient Wives Club from Singapore, the Black Voices from the UK, the Last Dinosaurs from Australia and many more. The lineup additionally features popular standup comedy acts like Pierre Hollins from the UK and Malaysia’s very own Kuah Jehnan who describes himself as tall, dark and comedian.

Urbanscapes also has a strong retail component in the form of popup shops showcasing the works of ingenious artists and businesses and offering apparel, accessories, home wares, lifestyle products, vintage wares and other knick-knacks for sale. In addition to retail outlets, the festival grounds also host several food and beverage kiosks, to cater to the dining needs of festivalgoers.

So if you would like to uncover Malaysia’s contemporary arts scene, why not plan a trip to Kuala Lumpur and pencil in a visit to Urbanscapes as a part of your shopping, dining and sightseeing in KL itinerary.