• About Jeff von der Schmidt, the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble & LA International New Music Festival

Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt

~ A blog about new music, travel and food

Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt

Category Archives: Singapore

My Journey to the East: In Search of Hermann Hesse, W. Somerset Maugham & The Singapore Sling

17 Wednesday Aug 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Eastern and Oriental Hotel, Food, Georgetown, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hermann Hesse, Jacob Zeitlin, LA International New Music Festival, Malaysia, Penang Island, Singapore, Uncategorized, W. Somerset Maugham

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Asia, Batu Caves, Book Alley, Colonialism, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hermann Hesse, Hong Kong, IndoSiam Rare Books, Jacob Zeitlin, Kuala Lumpur, Los Angeles International New Music Festival, Malaysia, Ngiam Tong Boon, Raffles Hotel, Singapore, Singapore Sling, The Gentleman in the Parlour, Vietnam, W. Somerset Maugham, Yves Azamar

A puppet shop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

A puppet shop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

I do not bring back from a journey quite the same self that I took. W. Somerset Maugham The Gentleman in the Parlour

I can now easily locate my fascination with Asia when I remember certain events and people of my childhood. I’ve already written about Harry Woo of Hong Kong, who worked for my parents, reading to me in Chinese while pointing to his calligraphy. My first memory of a world outside of my family is of being taken to Chinatown for dinner in Los Angeles. I doubt I’ve ever forgotten the blue silk dress and lavish blue mascara of the server. And my pediatrician’s nurse was Japanese and the kindest soul on earth to me whenever I was a sick child.

At least I now recognize that these memories help me piece together those now far away moments of Asian awakenings, creating a map of my life and the new decisions that shape its events.

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Finding the Best Asam Laksa in Georgetown on Penang Island in Malaysia

04 Thursday Aug 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Asam Laksa, Food, Georgetown, Malaysia, Penang Island, Singapore, Travel, Uncategorized

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328 Katong Laksa, Asam Laksa, Asia, Batu Ferringhi, Buddhism, Eastern & Oriental Hotel, Georgetown, India, Jalan Penang Road, Jooi Hooi Cafe, Joseph Conrad, Kedai Kopi Sin Hwa Restaurant, Malaysia, Penang Island, Seven Terraces, Singapore, Somerset Maugham, True Blue Cuisine, Vasco da Gama

A sunset over the Andaman Sea on Penang Island in Malaysia.

A sunset over the Andaman Sea on Penang Island in Malaysia.

Perhaps all of our lives changed 518 long and almost forgotten years ago.

On May 20, 1498, in the waning months of the 15th century, Vasco da Gama became the first European to set foot in India. The world would never be the same again. Food would irrevocably never be the same again. And as if ordered by fate, da Gama would die in Portuguese India’s Cochin on Christmas Eve, 1524. His death, 26 years after his first landing in India, still resonates in the 21st century. The geography of the Portuguese explorer’s passing reminds us that, like us, he would not be able to physically extricate himself from having made contact with the East.

In a global world that’s here to stay, we are all still trying to understand each other.

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Heaven on Earth: A Malaysian Soup Paradise in Georgetown on Penang Island

28 Thursday Jan 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Asam Laksa, Food, Georgetown, Malaysia, Penang Island, Singapore, Travel, Uncategorized

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Asam Laksa, Asia, Chendul, Georgetown, Jooi Hooi Cafe, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Penang Curry Mee, Penang Famous Curry Mee, Penang Island, Penang Road, Peranakan Cuisine, Singapore, Sir Frances Light, Sir Stamford Raffles, Soups, Teochow Chendul, UNESCO World Heritage Sites

A stockpot of asam laksa at Jo Hooi Cafe.

A stockpot of asam laksa at Jooi Hooi Cafe.

Soup connects the world. And here’s the recipe. Good anywhere on the planet.

Combine water with nature’s vegetables, or use a stock from chicken, pork, fish, seaweed, or beef, add the spices and herbs of a specific culture, stir, bubble and boil until you cannot stop tasting the broth. Add any number of garnishing ingredients, from croutons in France to bean sprouts in Asia or chicharrones in Mexico, grab a spoon and eat, then live your life, fortified for anything that comes your way.

If there is a Soup Paradise here on Planet Earth, Georgetown on Penang Island in Malaysia might just be the place. At least for me I found Soup Heaven here!

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