Joe is smokin’!

Above: Smoking Joe’s signature barbecued pork ribs with beans and potato salad on the sides.

How do you like your barbecued ribs?

I like mine meaty yet tender, slightly burnt and caramelised on the outside but moist on the inside. Above all, it should have that smoky taste and smell.

When I first saw my plate of barbecued ribs at Smoking Joe’s, I was not convinced that they would be anything but dry and hard to chew on. I also didn’t like how they were covered with what looked like dried oregano.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised when I finally bit into the rib. The meat was not only tasty, it was so tender that it could easily fall off the bone with one gentle gnaw. The herbs on it were in fact, Smoking Joe’s very own signature St. Louis rub mix which contains a secret ingredient. The mix was salty, aromatic, slightly hot and tangy. It was so good that Joe the owner, uses it  liberally on almost all his dishes. Customers can even buy them at the restaurants. I brought mine home with Joe’s signature on it and have been using them to spice up my grilled meat.

Left: A customer holding Smoking Joe’s special seasoning mix

 

Above: (l) The feast we had at Smoking Joe’s, (m) Pulled pork, (r) The gooey and yummy macaroni and cheese

Above: (l) Joe giving us his personal attention (m) Roast turkey & beef briskets (r) Side dishes and salads

Smoking Joe’s is the kind of restaurant that serves simple but hearty American food. My kind of comfort food with lots of meat, mash potatoes, coleslaws, beans, creamy soup and macaroni and cheese. If you’re concerned about your waistline, fear not because it also serves hearty portions of lean turkey meat and beef brisket on a generous bed of salad leaves.

The other thing which I liked about the menu was the fresh potato crisps sprinkled with Smoking Joe’s signature mix. Unlike the usual Lays’ potato crisps, these were only slightly thicker, not as crispy that it felt artificial and you can really  tell that they were made of real potatoes. I wouldn’t trust those bags of potato crisps that claim they’re baked without preservatives anymore.

The ambience was nice and at first I thought the place was a bit too classy for what it serves. One would not have guessed that such a tastefully decorated restaurant would be serving normal regular American food. But again, what would I know since I had only gone to Pappy’s Smokehouse for barbecued ribs before?

It was a refreshing change from the usual loud and rowdy restaurants such as Pappy’s where customers are forced to line up to get their orders before being seated on uncomfortable wooden benches and then pressured into chowing down their food as quickly as possible in order to give the table up for the next customer. Smoking Joe’s is all about comfort, style and good value for money because believe it or not, the food cost almost the same as Pappy’s, if not less.

Above: Joe showing us the new logo for his chain in Jakarta.

Left: What did I tell ya? Ain’t Joe smokin’?

For real and simple American food, this is as good as it gets. It’s so good that Smoking Joe’s is going international by opening a new chain in Jakarta, Indonesia next year!

I wish Joe all the best and hope I’ll get to dine in his restaurant in Kuala Lumpur one day.

 

 

 

Smoking Joe’s is situated at:

1901 Washington Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri, US.

For more information, you can check out its website here.

Many days and weeks later: Silence of the Lim

I blame it on the hotel suite at the Residence Inn, Marriott and the Office of License Collector in St. Louis. The day I moved into the suite, unpacked my 2 suitcases and began to make myself feel at home, that was the day when I stopped blogging.

It’s like when I saw all my clothes hanging on the wardrobe rack, arranged in the order of warm, formal, work and casual; and the rest folded neatly away in the countless of drawers in the bedroom, I kind of sub-consciously told myself that there is no urgency to pen down my daily journal as religiously as when I was in Washington DC.

Yeah, a bedroom suite with ample of storage space and living out of a suitcase is bad.

Picture above: The St. Louis City Hall

On top of that, living the unaccustomed life-style of a “foreign dignitary” (believe me, I wouldn’t like to be referred to as that but for Michael and Charlotte who insist on calling us that), courtesy of our hosts at the Office of License Collector, has made it impossible for me to keep track of what had happened in the last few weeks. By the time I wanted to blog about something new that had happened on the day before, it had become old news.

At the risk of sounding as if I am having too much of a good time (although I insist on calling them socio-cultural activities), I’m just going to provide a very summarised version of some memorable events that had taken place, or will be taking place:

• Attend the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) luncheon at the Renaissance Hotel;
• Field passes to watch the St. Louis RAMS versus San Diego CHARGES game at the Edward Jones Dome;
• Attend the 100 Black Men masquerade ball at the Hyatt River Front Hotel;
• Attend Sunday service at the Prince of Peace Church;
• Shopping at Macy’s, Saks @ 5th Avenue, the Mills, etc.
• Dining at various local eateries and soul food;
• Attend the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) gala at the Millennium Hotel;
• VIP seats for America’s Got Talent live show at the Fox Theater;
• Going up the Gateway Arch;
• St. Louis Zoo at Forest Park;
• St. Louis Science Centre;
• Live jazz and blues at BB’s, South Broadway;
• Trip to Jefferson City, capital of Missouri State;
• Trip to Chicago;
• Attend Friday Shabbat at the Temple of Emmanuel;
• Attend the Rally for Sanity, Gateway Arch.
• Halloween with the St. Louis BLUES hockey team against Atlanta THRASHERS at the Scottrade Centre;
• Visiting legendary baseball player Lou Brock at his home; and

the list can go on…..

Wonder whether I do any work or serious stuff at all? Of course, I do. Who am I kidding?

In addition to the countless of meetings with government and elected officials, non-profit and business communities, I have been working with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for Eastern-Missouri on their campaign to push for the passing of a State Bill to bring the police from state to local control of what is known as Proposition L (Prop L). A referendum on Prop L will be carried out simultaneously at the mid-term election next Tuesday.

Above: A rally that was held outside the St. Louis City Hall in conjunction with National Day Against Police Brutality on 22 October 2010

Above: Doing some community work with Mission Continues, a non-profit organisation which aims to help former war veterans to find purpose and meaning in their lives again.

And if you think some of these activities are not serious enough, here’s a photo which will prove it.

Standing on the glass floor at the top of the Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower), Chicago, has got to be some serious stuff, man!

Anyway, I’ve already got some articles planned for my TMI column. Do watch out for that.

 

 

 

 

 

Photo on the left, courtesy of CW Lim.

The World’s Worst Spouse

This was first posted on The Malaysian Insider on 11 October 2010.

If there is a competition for the world’s best spouse, I’ll be stuck at the bottom two with Ike Turner.

“Why do you say that?” my husband asked when I read this line aloud.

Sounding a bit too sorry for myself, I answered, “It has nothing to do with you. It’s me. I’m just horrible to be around.”

“Well, why is that?” He wanted to know since it wasn’t the time of the month.

“Nothing is working! I’m tired of every single thing; the bank’s incompetency, the traffic, the bloody noise outside our windows, the brainless drivers on the roads. Sometimes I get so tired of trying to deal with stupid people doing stupid things that I become this horrible monster who’s ready to tear anyone apart! It has nothing to do with you. Just let me rant, OK?”

He looked at me sympathetically and said, “OK, but don’t say you’re the world’s worst spouse ‘cause you’re not.”

I was left burning with my own thoughts as he walked out of the room quietly.

For the past few months, I’ve been experiencing what I call “being-on-an-overtime-job-and-home-for-too-long” syndrome. After working on a demanding public campaign for close to a year, I am feeling rather burnt out. In addition to this, what’s left of my energy has been spent mostly on sorting out my own personal affairs and to rectify mistakes made by service providers who are not only completely clueless of what it means by customer service, but also don’t seem to care too much for it.

Bottom line is, I have been spending most of my waking hours away from work fighting. I have fought with a waiter who told me that I could not use my credit card because the system was down and another who neglected to return my five sen worth of change simply because he unilaterally decided that I wouldn’t mind.

I have fought with a taxi driver who decided to pick up another passenger on the way without my consent. I have fought with my bank for mistakenly deleting my record on their computer system and a hospital staff for failing to call me up when I left my medical reports behind.

I also fought with the only good electrician I knew who made me wait without feeling remorse or shame for three hours. A sincere apology would have flushed away any ill feelings.

Hence, I am constantly irritated whenever my husband asks for my help to sort out some administrative matters with local service providers as he doesn’t speak the local language and still finds it difficult to understand Manglish.

The thing is, if I encounter bad service in another country, which I most certainly did during my travels, I would have been more forgiving and patient in trying to deal with them. I would shrug it off and convince myself that there is nothing I can do but to accept those flaws as part and parcel of life.

But not in Malaysia. No siree!

I keep riling myself up at the slightest mishap; whether they are being carried out intentionally or not, simply because I witness every day, in and out, how badly we’re doing in every aspect of our service sector. There is so much more room for improvement and yet not many of us have the will to push for these improvements. I hear people constantly moaning about how bad a service is but yet they do nothing about it and then wonder why the service continues to be bad.

Perhaps it is true when older people often say that we tend to be tougher on people whom we love. I am more tolerant and patient when confronted by poor customer service in other countries but not in my own. Contrary to what many people may believe or think, I love this country so much so that I’m allowing my blood pressure to rise every time I try to make Malaysians account for their mistakes.

“These carrots are bad!” I shrieked as soon as I tasted the acidity of a deceitful stick of baby carrot on its way out. “We should take it back to the store and demand for a replacement or get our money back,” I suggested to my husband.

“What? Waste fuel just to complain about a bag of carrots that cost less than three ringgit? Are you mad?” He slammed my suggestion down despite knowing how much this kind of thing usually annoys me.

“But how else would people know that they’re not supposed to sell expired goods if we don’t say something? You know this is not the first time it has happened. All you ever know is to complain but what are you going to do about it? I’m sick and tired of people thinking that they can get away with anything. I am even more tired of people who allow others to think it’s perfectly ok to give sub-standard services!” I screamed out in exasperation.

Like most spoiled brats I have encountered, their annoying habits are mostly manifested from the absence or lack of discipline and reproach from adults around them. That is my theory anyway and the same applies to how we, as Asians, rather stay mum than confront or find faults in others. We allow people to get away with bad habits and mediocrity while we complain behind closed doors.

My husband just shook his head and tossed the bag of carrots into the bin. That signalled the end of our discussion while I continued to stay irritated for the rest of the night.

Perhaps I am difficult, nasty and arrogant to many people but in all fairness, I do give credit when it’s due. I show my appreciation when I am pleased with a service. I tip generously when I’m satisfied that a waiter or waitress has made sure that all my dining needs have been attended to with a pleasant disposition.

I will salute and treat a policeman who does not take bribes respectfully. I will be generous with my compliments and encouragement when I know that the person sitting behind the counter has tried very hard to solve a problem I raised.

Recently I was hosted by a religious organisation in Kinarut, Sabah. The hospitality and courtesy extended to me were both abundant and unconditional. This was not the first time I had been given the royal treatment. It was the same in Kedah and Sarawak. My hosts had countless times humbled me when I think about how good traditional values such as kindness, generosity, selflessness and politeness are no longer practised in Kuala Lumpur.

It is not often one gets to be humbled or inspired by city folks. Whether you agree or not, I find it easy to unleash the demons in me when I’m in Kuala Lumpur. I have lost count of the number of times when I feel like taking a baseball bat and swing it at a bunch of ruthless boys speeding back and forth along the road outside my windows with their modified exhaust pipes.

I have heard comments from different people about how scary I can be when I am annoyed and upset about something. When my husband told me yesterday that I’m turning into someone we both know, who is critical of everything, I was stunned and it silenced me for a long time. I was shocked to learn that I may have turned into someone I despise and I asked myself these questions repeatedly: What and who created this ugly monster in me? And how do I get rid of it?

Day 6: DCCC, luncheon, pollster and night tour of Washington DC

It takes immense discipline to blog every day and without the luxury of time, I have not been able to produce more meaningful and thoughtful blogs.  So, I’m going to cheat for this entry. Instead of long narratives, I’m going to post some photos to help unfold the events that took place today.

Meeting with Johanna Berkson, Director of Training & Campaign Staff Recruitment of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)

Top: Johanna (in red) explaining what her portfolio at the DCCC does. In a nutshell, it recruits and trains staff and congressional candidates on how to run an election campaign.

Right: It’s common practice for delegates to thank each person we meet with a small token of appreciation from home. I normally give them a button badge and sticker of the MyConstitution Campaign.

ACYPL Fellows luncheon @ Zaytinya

Had a lovely luncheon with the delegates from Pakistan who just finished their fellowship in Salt Lake City, Utah and several ACYPL staff and alumni members. I’m going to live up to my identity as a Malaysian. Let’s talk about food first. Here’s some of the delectable Middle Eastern/Mediterranean meze on the menu; baba ghannouge, tzatziki, sauteed mushrooms with dates and toasted almonds, salmon cooked with spicy eggplant and cracked green olive salsa and turkish delight.

Heer Soha (left) shared her experience in Salt Lake City. She shyly confessed that she had misconceived perceptions of Americans before she joined the programme. According to her, she didn’t like what she heard about Americans and at the same time also thought that Americans did not like Pakistan nationals. She was pleasantly surprised to experience warm hospitality and kindness displayed by all the Americans she has since met. She particularly like the Mormon community and feels that they share similar cultures; conservative and teetotaler. She added that she was very grateful that her hosts were respectful of their religious practices.

Below: We had Rachel Zagrabelny McGreevy, an Alumnus to Islamabad in 2006, and Heer Soho, a Member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh, Pakistan on our table.

Top: The lovely and ever-friendly Philippino delegation who will be going to Atlanta, Georgia for their fellowship. From left to right: Benedicto, Ivy, Aura and Daisy.

Top left: Ellin Rozana, Executive Director of an NGO in Indonesia called Institut Perempuan, eating salmon for the first time in her life.

Top right: Contrary to popular belief that Americans generally stuff themselves up with fast food, people living in Washington DC tends to eat better and healthier. There’s hardly any McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut or KFC around. Instead, there are tonnes of great restaurants such as this. Words have it that Michelle Obama is making great effort to promote healthy eating amongst American and it’s definitely visible here in Washington DC. It’s also the capital for running!

“What do the polls say?” with Karen Emmerson, Associate Analyst, Lake Research Partners

After a 3-course lunch, we waddled to our next meeting. Afraid that I was going to fall asleep, the session was thankfully incredibly interesting.

Karen gave a well-prepared and thorough presentation on what the polls say about the Democrat’s standing for the mid-term election. Again, the results do not favour them. She also shares the A-Z on how to conduct a poll and how it affects a candidate’s campaign.

Top:  Kristin Rhebergen (middle), labelled as a “walking google search machine” by one of the delegates, illustrated the meaning of exit polls while being watched by Rizki (far left) and Karen.

Top from left to right:  Erin (the lovely ACYPL intern and official group photographer), Rajiv, Ivy and Betty enjoying Karen’s presentation.

Washington DC by night

I have to admit that I’m slowly falling in love with Washington DC. I used to think that New York City is one of the most awesome cities I’ve ever been but Washington DC has a soul. NYC is all about the lifestyle but Washington DC is about the city and its remarkable stories. It is almost as if everything that was built on the city prior to the 20th century has a meaning and purpose.

Ken Insley (left), an alumnus to China in 2002, did a fantastic job of introducing the city to us in 2 hours. He astounded us with his in-depth knowledge of American history, which he credited to the years he taught in a high school.

When we past by Smithsonian, Ken revealed  why admissions to the 19 museums are free. (Read here for the story behind it.) According to him, the Air and Space Museum remains the world’s most visited museum. Due to recent economic recession, the number of Americans visiting Washington DC has increased substantially.

Ken may be delighted to know that I’ve decided to spend my free afternoon tomorrow at the museums even though I’m not a museum person.  In honour of James Smithson’s aspiration to promote universal education, I am going to make an exception for this. I have a strong hunch that it would make a couple of people very happy. 

 

Top: Inside the Washington Monument. The walls contain massive inscriptions of parts of the US Declaration of Independence. Below: The large columns predominantly seen on most monuments in Washington DC were very much inspired by the Greeks.

Left: The Lincoln Memorial.

The World March for Peace and Non-Violence, Kuala Lumpur – 10 October 2009

The quiet and posh residential area in Jalan Bangkung, Bangsar, was hit by a tidal wave of loud music, vibrant live performances, piercing whistle blows and screams by throngs of people from all walks of life and (not forgetting) smoky scent of grilled meat, last night.

Sounds rowdy enough? Yes, but all for a good cause and it was done peacefully as well.

I usually go to Jalan Bangkung for two reasons; the restaurants and Bali Ayu spa. Last night was special because a group of NGOs; Voice of the Children, Women’s Aid Organization, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, NurSalam, World Without War and restaurant group Maxim Image (owners of Cava, Leonardo and Opus) came together to organize an event where Malaysians could gather in one place to express their solidarity and commitment to peace and non-violence. The night was marked by a candle-lighting ceremony and a not-so-solemn walk with lanterns around the strip of restaurants.

What I find interesting was how men, women and children from all ages and races were able to shed their cultural and political differences by holding hands and partying the night away. I smiled watching a man of about 60 years old with seemingly mild demeanour, clapping and dancing to the rhythm of hip drum beats. There were two men in the same age group; an Indian and a Sikh, waving the Jalur Gemilang at the front of the stage, while being observed by a foreigner who grinned with amusement.

Pet dogs of all shapes and sizes were not left out from the event as well. Many owners brought their furry friends to participate in the lantern march, much to the envy of neighbouring dogs, barking ruefully from the inside of gated residences. It was amusing observing some of them chastising their over-zealous pooches trying to sniff around the lower regions of those walking at the front.

It was also an expressive night where ordinary people displayed slogans on banners and T-shirts from “Stop violence against women”, “Are you a registered voter?” to “Love us, not eat us”. My favourite was, “An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind” by Mahatma Gandhi and one which says, “I am woman, hear me roar”.

The live performances were refreshing, energetic and pretty darn entertaining but nothing still touch the people quite as much as Michael Jackson’s Heal the World when it came on the loud speaker.

What I saw last night taught me one lesson. We can achieve unity and peace as a multi-cultural nation, if we want to. It was rare for me to see Malaysians of all races gathered together in a place where pork, beef and alcohol were served with the present of dogs, and non-Chinese children  took to the street with Chinese lanterns of all shapes and sizes. Nobody came out and accused anyone of being disrespectful of any particular religion but instead focussed on respecting each other’s diversity without compromising their own.

I wish everyday could be like this and not just during an annual event. We should remind ourselves each day that we need to heal the world and make it a better place.

Peace to everyone!

Alexis Bistro Live Performances @ Great Eastern Mall, KL

When I first knew that Alexis Bistro is going to run a series of live jazz performances (July – September 2009) at one of their branches in Great Eastern Mall, Jalan Ampang, I was thrilled. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that Rachel Guerzo was going to perform a tribute to Cole Porter. (For those in the know, Cole Porter was a jazz legend in the 1930s-40s. He was famously known for his hit song Night and Day and countless other soundtracks for Hollywood cinema at that time.)

I must admit that I was first surprised to learn that there is actually a niche in Malaysia that appreciates refined Western entertainment to warrant such a performance but later on felt guilty for thinking so. However, after attending the performance, my initial thought was completely justified and my guilt immediately flew out the window.

The restaurant was fully packed that night. The ambience was nice and the space was small enough to allow a more intimate setting for the show. Thankfully, I managed to reserve a table in advance and had a lovely dinner with a friend prior to the performance which was scheduled to start at 10:30pm.

After being seated, I noticed that there was a small printed card that served to remind diners to switch off their mobile phones and remain silent throughout the performance on each table. I was glad that the organizer was smart enough to do that. They even announced the reminder right before the show in case some people had missed the notice on the table.

As soon as I thought my Friday night could not get any better than that; great meal with wonderful company proceeded by live jazz music, I was oh-so-wrong. Throughout the show, people continued to talk and laugh on top of their lungs. While Guerzo’s voice was powerful and warm enough, all I could hear was a cacophony of chatters coming from every direction. It was obvious that majority of people were there for the food and company, not the performance.

What I find disconcerting was that the organizer at that stage did not do anything to calm the diners down and I blamed them completely for this disgrace. I hate to say this but it isn’t that surprising anymore that Malaysians will continue to be Malaysians; rude, disrespectful and above all ignorant. But I expect the restaurant to take up the responsibility of crowd control. After all, they had organized the show and there were some people like me who wouldn’t have gone there, if not for the show.

As I sat there trying to drown the annoying noises around me, I felt angry and shameful at the same time. I was angry and embarrassed that people were not respectful enough to give their attention to the performers. They should have left their tables if they wanted to dine and chat only. At the end of each piece, Guerzo tried to interact with the audience by providing them with a trivia on Cole Porter and introducing the band members, but I could not hear anything because the chatters were louder than her voice on the microphone.

Needless to say, my friend and I left the show during half time. There wasn’t any point in staying if the organizer and diners  were going to behave like jerks and I was not interested to participate in such an initiative. I won’t attempt to dine or attend anything organized by Alexis Bistro again.

So, if anyone from Alexis is reading this (I hope through some miracle, you do), I would like to give you this advice. DO NOT organize such shows anymore if you can’t deliver. If you’re willing to sell your integrity as an organizer (who ideally should have protected the audience’s right to enjoy the performance without disruption as well as provided the performers the respect that they deserve) in order to keep your dining customers happy, then remain as a restaurant. Otherwise, have the courage to enforce rules by turning customers away if they’re not there for the show.

This whole thing about the “Malaysia Boleh” (Malaysia Can) mentality is not about how many things you can do, but by the things that you can do well.

A weekend filled with great dining and cultural events in Phnom Penh

There’s one thing which I will regret while living in Cambodia and that would be my failure to engage more in its rich cultural activities. Recently while having dinner with a friend, I told her that I wished I had seen more traditional performances in Cambodia. I was rather ashamed that I never made the time to do this, especially when I knew how captivating the dances are. The King is a huge patron and fan of the traditional Apsara dances, having mastered it himself.

So anyway, my friend planned a fun evening of dinner at the Khmer-Thai or more famously known as KT Restaurant and later on, traditional performances at the Sovanna Phum. She wanted to make my last few days in Cambodia memorable and indeed it was.

For those who would like to experience a truly fun and enjoyable cultural experience during the weekend in Phnom Penh, I would highly recommend these two places.

KT Restaurant (#26Eo, Street 135, Sangkat Boeung Trabek, Phnom Penh)

This restaurant serves an extensive variety of authentic Thai and Khmer cuisines. On the top level, there is an elegant and yet cozy dining area where you get to dine while sitting on plush silk cushions on the floor. Don’t worry if you think it would be uncomfortable because it’s not. The room is tastefully decorated and air conditioned.

We had the green mango salad (US$3.50/plate)for starter. I would say that it’s the best mango salad I had ever tasted. It came with huge pieces of crunchy salted fish, dried shrimps, cashew nuts and dried chillies. Before eating it, you should crush the salted fish into smaller pieces and mix them together with the green shredded mangoes. The taste was refreshing and slightly sour, sweet, salty and spicy all at the same time. So basically, it leaves a tingling sensation on your palate.

As usual, like most South East Asian dining experience, we had several main dishes to go with the rice. Soup was naturally essential to complement the dry rice, which coincidentally was really fragrant, soft and fluffy. We had the Khmer sweet and sour fish soup (US$4/bowl). A bowl will feed about 3 persons.

The soup was very different from the Thai tomyum soup with less spiciness (hotness) although as equally flavourful due to the generous amount of ingredients such as lemon grass, tamarind and a mixture of local herbs. The fish was fresh and tasty.

We also had the squid in peppercorn sauce (US$4/plate), Thai sausages (US$4/plate) and fried chicken wings (US$3.50/plate). Now, the Thai sausages were the most interesting since I had neither tried nor seen them before.

In the beginning, it was rather strange to see these tiny brown balls (see above right) and I didn’t know they were sausages. They looked like meatballs but with a glazy surface. The pork meat was spiced with some sort of herbs and probably lime, lemon or tamarind juice since they were a bit sour-ish. The sausages were accompanied with raw cabbage, peanuts, chopped up fresh chillies (the small kind and hence very hot. So watch out!), ginger and garlic. I didn’t know how to eat the sausage with these condiments and so I just ate it as it was. It was interesting but I thought the skin was a bit too thick and oily.

The squid was tasty and as usual, peppery and sweet. I noticed that the restaurants here often cooked with real peppercorns which gave it a really strong flavour. What was interesting about the chicken wings was the deep fried pieces of garlic laced with salt. I could eat them as snacks but of course, there won’t be any kissing after!

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to have dessert since we had to catch the performances at 7:30pm.

The Sovanna Phum (#111, Street 360, Phnom Penh)

The Sovanna Phum performances are only available on Friday and Saturday evening, from 7:30pm to 8:30pm. However, the company offers a variety of fun classes such as classical music, Apsara dance and shadow puppet making, especially for children (well, adults will definitely enjoy it too) at other times during the weekdays. Each class usually charges a fee of US$5 per person, depending on the size of the class and complexity of the puppet design. The performances vary every night and charges an entrance fee of US$5 for adult and US$3 for children under the age of 12.

For information on classes and performance programme, you can call +855 (0) 23 221 932 or click on their website at http://www.shadow-puppets.org.

 

We managed to catch the Hanuman and Giant Drum performance and it was amazing. The musicians played several numbers of drum beats using different kinds of drums, including the giant drum and other percussions. I couldn’t help but move along with the uplifting and harmonious beats of the drums. The dancers were agile and graceful. I could see that such style takes a lot of discipline and training to perfect.

I liked how they incorporated short comedic scenes during the show which sent the audience in stitches. I could see why they are extremely popular with children. Unfortunately, there was only one scene with the Hanumans or monkeys, which disappointed the children, including myself.

The place is rather small with a room to exhibit shadow puppets and a small stage with several rows of wooden benches under a thatched roof. However, I really appreciated the size since you get a good view of the performances and at the same time have some sort of interaction with the performers. Do get there early because it was packed when I was there.

After the performances finished, the audience was asked to go onstage to try out the drums. Ironically, while all the performers had been men, it was the women who were really eager to try out the drums. It was definitely a rambunctious and disorderly affair!  Thankfully, the musicians provided some pointers to those who tried their hands on them, much to my ears’ relief!

I managed to take photos during the performances and it was probably the toughest time I ever had, without the help of a tripod and flash. Do make sure that you turn off your flash in order not to distract the performers.

The photos below were the best I could do and I do apologize as they didn’t really do much justice to the whole show.