All posts filed under: Malaysia

Food Nationalism

Chapter 5, Part 6 Several years ago, the headlines of Indonesian media suddenly flared up with nationalistic fervor against Malaysia following their claims (both official and not) over some cultural items that Indonesians are so dearly and emotionally attached to. Like sibling rivalry, netizens in […]

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Here Come the Europeans

Chapter 5, Part 4 Long after being considered merely as medicine, in the 15th century the Europeans’ perception toward spices began to shift as they were used more in local cuisines. Spices added an exotic taste to the continent’s traditional dishes, and demand from royal […]

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Influences from Bharat

Chapter 5, Part 3 At a heritage house in Kumarakom on the bank of Vembanad Lake, a part of Kerala’s iconic backwaters, I discovered one of the biggest surprises during the Spice Odyssey. On the day James and I arrived, we were served several dishes […]

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The Chinese Connection

Chapter 5, Part 2 Known as the “Middle Kingdom” in Mandarin, China has always projected its image as the center of the world even long before the modern People’s Republic of China was formed. Prior to the creation of the Communist state as well as […]

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Bounty from the Earth and Sea

Chapter 5, Part 1 Long before the modern state of Indonesia was conceived, before the arrival of Europeans to Asia, even long before the magnificent Borobudur and Prambanan temples were constructed, merchants in this sprawling archipelago had already established a thriving spice trade among neighboring islands, as […]

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George Town’s Light and Shadow

Chapter 4, Part 17 The 19th century in South Asia. It was a period of time in history when the British consolidated their colonial possessions in the Indian subcontinent. What started out as mere trade missions in the early 17th century, became a vast colonial […]

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Malacca: The Gateway to East Asia

Chapter 4, Part 2 At the turn of the 16th century, the Portuguese significantly increased their presence around the Indian Ocean by conquering strategic ports in the region. It was Afonso de Albuquerque, by the order of King Manuel I of Portugal, who led naval […]

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Zheng He and the Treasure Voyages

Chapter 2, Part 6 Far from the heartland of Arabia where it was born, Islam reached the farthest side of the world known by the Arabs as Tsin, China. Muhammad himself in a popular but not necessarily reliable hadith (reports describing Muhammad’s words, actions, and […]

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The Spice Odyssey, A Prologue

Asia. Home to 4.4 billion people, more than half of all human beings on this planet. It is where some of the greatest civilizations the world has ever seen flourished. It is where gunpowder, papermaking, printing and the compass were invented; where Hinduism was created […]

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Out of the Archipelago

After three months exploring Indonesia, from Sabang (Indonesia’s westernmost city) to the Banda Islands (where nutmeg originates) in the eastern part of the country, James and I traveled across Southeast and South Asia to continue retracing the ancient Spice Route. The journey took us to three […]

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Just Passing Through, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia, Southeast Asia’s third richest country – behind Singapore and Brunei Darussalam – came into the international spotlight in 1998 when two of the nation’s greatest achievements occurred: the XVI Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur and the completion of the Petronas Towers, currently still the […]

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