Saturday 25 September 2010

Tracking Dr Sun’s footsteps

Tracking Dr Sun’s footsteps

THE mapping out of the Dr Sun Yat-sen heritage trail in Penang is set to become a reality after more than 10 years.

Among the historic buildings along the trail are the Penang Philomatic Union’s second premises (120, Armenian Street), Penang Philomatic Union (94, Jalan Datuk Keramat) and Penang Philomatic Union’s fourth premises/Xiao Lan Ting (65, Macalister Road).

Regarded as the Father of Modern China, Dr Sun made Penang his base where he sowed the seeds of the Canton Uprising in Guangzhou in 1911.

Penang Heritage Trust (PHT) president Khoo Salma Nasution said the trail was proposed in the late 1990s but no one pushed for it due to lack of funds and verification for research findings.

She said the buildings identified along the trail were important places where Dr Sun had lived, held meetings and given talks while in Penang.

“He came to Penang to source for fundings and to recruit members for his movement. He was planning a revolution in China right here in Penang,” she said in an interview.

PHT had received a RM100,000 grant from the George Town Grants Programme for documentation purposes.

Started last December, the two-year programme is part of a RM20mil seed-funding initiative by Think City Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Federal Government’s investment arm Khazanah Nasional Bhd, for urban rejuvenation projects within the George Town World Heritage Site.

Khoo said the funds would be used to put up signboards at the buildings which would provide a background of the place and its connections with the Chinese revolutionary leader.

Khoo said the trail would also highlight how the people of Penang contributed to Dr Sun’s movement.

“He inspired people through his ideas and developed the Three Principles of the People which are nationalism (people’s rights), democracy (people’s voice), and socialism (people’s livelihood).

“When his movement overthrew the Manchu government, he became the first provisional president of China, which was also the first republic in Asia. He banned old practices like the wearing of pigtails and foot binding,” she said.

Khoo described the heritage trail as a way to educate the public.

“It is enriched by the past, as it is another layer of awareness of our history,” she said.

She hoped the attention brought upon the trail would lead to renovations of some of the buildings that were in dilapidated conditions.

Project coordinator Ho Sheau Fung said a group of researchers and local historians had only come out with the first draft of the trail.

“The next step is to concretise the trail and continue to verify the collected data. We also need to determine the sequence of the sites in the trail, based on historical facts.

“More sites will be identified after this and research is ongoing for the sites where Dr Sun had actually been to. We are also including places that are not directly related to him but associated with his followers,” she said.

The trail will be launched at the centenary celebrations in November to mark the 100th anniversary of the Penang Conference on Nov 13, 1910, where Dr Sun planned an uprising of a larger scale in Guangzhou.

-News courtesy of The Star-

Friday 10 September 2010

A treat by the seaside

A treat by the seaside

THE halal-certified Oriental Seafood in Gurney Drive, Penang, has indeed withstood the test of time having been around for over two decades pleasing taste buds all over the world with its signature seafood interpretations.

This ‘floating’ restaurant is popular not only for its extensive seafood and Chinese dishes but also for its seafront dining under the stars.

Lining one side of the premises are tanks filled with all kinds of live seafood which are an attraction in itself.

The lunch menu features dishes which are fast, good and value for money. Choices include nasi lemak (RM5.50), tomyam maggi mee (RM4.50), fried hor fun with fish meat (RM12 for two persons) and buttered mantis shrimp with mixed vegetable rice (RM6.50).

More varieties in the form of homemade Hailam choon pneah (spring roll), which is a delight with every mouthful, aromatic curry fish head and yummy mee udang are also available.

Dinner is a sumptuous affair with dishes such as grilled mutton, deep fried salted mantis shrimp, sang yue soup (steamboat style), kam heong crab, loong tan (potato grouper) cooked in two styles and crispy deep fried soft shell crab.

The mutton is nicely done minus the usual gamey smell while the sang yue served with beehoon, vegetables and bean curd is a pot full of oceanic sweetness.

Best complemented with cold beer, the mantis shrimp is fragrant and tasty. The grouper with its luscious and succulent meat is delicately sweet and simply delicious.

Besides its innovative interpretation of dishes, there is no compromise in the ingredients used and the seafood are caught daily by local fishermen. Thus, it is no wonder that the restaurant is so popular especially at dinner time.

In fact, Oriental Seafood with its strategic location in Gurney Drive is almost a landmark of Penang. Mention seafood and the outlet will immediately come to mind.

It also caters to tourists by the busloads and this has given rise to the wrong impression that the food here is overpriced. The management would like to state that they only charge RM10 per person for student groups and RM13 for tourist groups for six dishes and a soup.

The restaurant has six VIP rooms equipped with karaoke systems and is able to host functions and weddings. Diners are also assured of warm and friendly service.

Business hours are from 11am to 11.30pm daily. For reservations, call 04-8904500.

-Info courtesy of The Star-