pursuit of happiness

DIGITALEDGE
WEEKLY
AUGUST 24
2015
PURSUIT OF
HAPPINESS
Samadhi Retreats Sdn Bhd founder
Federico Asaro reveals the path to his
successful culinary and hospitality
business and finding bliss
L+S2
AUG
AUG24
3
2015
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OPTIONSTHEEDGE
contents
3
Eclectibles
Staying on trend with
classic nude hues
4
Markets
Cultural commodities
and consuming passions
5
7
11
16
18
Lifestyle brands venture
into culinary territory
Creative director
Zaim Kamal brings
contemporary relevance
to Montblanc
Wine Bantz unites
London’s young
sommeliers in the spirit
of discovery
An account of Penang’s
rich art landscape
Taking a holiday from
politics and remembering
buzzing Ipoh
8
12
In the business of
pleasure — Samadhi
Retreats Sdn Bhd
founder and CEO
Federico Asaro
Carlsberg Malaysia
receives royal
recognition
Trendspotting
6
Creative
Enterprise
Brothers Yim Wai Hong
and Wai Soon create a
pit stop for cyclists with
Velocity Cafe
Style + Design
Cover Story
Cellars Market
Talking Edge
Galeríe
17
Travel
People + Places
Holidays curated for
special interests
14
Cultural Index
Rajendra Moodley’s oneman show Is It Because
I’m Indian? and blue-chip
performances listed for
your convenience
SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR AZAM ARIS
LIFE + STYLE EDITORIAL TEAM
EXECUTIVE EDITOR SURINDER JESSY
DEPUTY EDITOR JACQUELINE TOYAD
SENIOR WRITERS ANANDHI GOPINATH,
ELAINE LAU, PETRINA FERNANDEZ
WRITERS HANNAH MERICAN, SHALINI YEAP,
MAE CHAN, SU ANN QUAH
CONTRIBUTOR KAM RASLAN, AARON DE SILVA,
SHI XIAO WEI
EXECUTIVE EDITOR (PRODUCTION) OOI INN LEONG
CHIEF COPY EDITORS
PUSHPAM SINNAKAUNDAN, MAH PIN PIN
SENIOR COPY EDITOR WONG SOON FAH
COPY EDITOR LEE MEI GEOK
CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHERS ABDUL GHANI ISMAIL,
CHU JUCK SENG, HARIS HASSAN
SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHERS KENNY YAP,
SUHAIMI YUSUF, MOHD IZWAN MOHD NAZAM,
PATRICK GOH, SHAHRIN YAHYA, SAM FONG
ART DIRECTOR SHARON KHOH
DESIGN DESK RAYMOND KHOR, NIK EDRA, MOHD YUSRY,
NURUL AIDA MOHD NOOR, THANESH KURANDALINGAM,
PARISELVAM PARISITHU
PRODUCTION MANAGER THOMAS CHIN
PRODUCTION TEAM TO YEN SUANG, HONG KIN SIANG,
YONG ONN, KELVIN LEE, CHAU CHEE FEI
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SENIOR MANAGER, INTEGRATION
SHEREEN WONG (016) 233 7388
ACCOUNT MANAGERS
CHRIS WONG (016) 687 6577
CHERMAINE LIM (017) 613 6392
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NG CHING YIN (012) 232 8035
SHAFINA SYAHRIR (017) 281 4787
SHANNON LEONG (012) 677 5345
SHARON LEE (016) 330 1571
WENDY WONG (016) 335 5611
HEAD OF MARKETING SUPPORT & AD-TRAFFIC
LORRAINE CHAN
AD-TRAFFIC ASST MANAGER
ROGER LEE (603) 7721 8004
HUMAN RESOURCE + ADMINISTRATION
HEAD GROUP HR TERESE CHIN
MANAGER ALICIA WONG
CORPORATE
PUBLISHER & GROUP CEO HO KAY TAT
MANAGING DIRECTOR AU FOONG YEE
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & READERSHIP SERVICES
MANAGER ELIZABETH LAY
CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
HEAD LIM SHIEW YUIN
MANAGER SUE ANN LEE
ASSISTANT MANAGER CHARIS TAN
RESEARCH
MANAGER - NEWS LIBRARY TAN WELLYOUNG
FINANCE
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FINANCIAL MANAGER BY WUI
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L+S3
AUG 24
2015
life style
ec l ec t i b l e s
BARE ESSENTIALS
If you usually shy away from nude hues, this selection of earth tones that exude
understated elegance may just make you want to reconsider. by Shalini Yeap
The Louis Vuitton Petite Malle clutch
is suitable for a night out and is a
statement piece in its own right
(RM19,700)
Carry all your essentials when you
are out and about in this versatile
yet stylish large tote by
Anya Hindmarch (RM5,650)
Keep things simple
with these nude-hued
peep-toe pumps in
patent leather by Fendi
(RM2,580)
Go for a laid-back yet chic look with
Ralph Lauren’s easy-to-match khaki-coloured
cropped chino pants (RM656.67)
Put away the conventional darkcoloured sunglasses and try on
this pair of butterfly-shaped
colour-block sunglasses by
Marc by Marc Jacobs, for a change
(RM770)
Keep warm with this delicate oak scarf
by Mulberry, bearing the brand’s iconic
tree motif. It can be draped around your
shoulders or your neck. (RM1,690)
L+S4
AUG 24
2015
SPLURGE OF THE WEEK
The famous Pont des Arts bridge in Paris may not hold love locks anymore, as they were removed a few months ago, but it
remains an iconic landmark of the City of Light. Jewellery house Cartier pays tribute to this symbol of love and romance by
recreating it in the form of a bracelet. The lattice-work bracelet in pink gold is studded with padlocks with hearts of amethysts,
aquamarines, tourmalines, spinels and diamonds. It’s playful and so very chic. This piece is part of Cartier’s Paris Nouvelle Vague
collection, which celebrates the creative aura of Paris. Priced at RM235,000, it is available at the Cartier boutique in Suria KLCC.
markets
Cultural commodities & consuming passion
by Elaine Lau
Bargain
hunt
Fans of TWG Tea
can now enjoy
the company’s
unique tea blends
in yet another
form — refreshing
sorbet and ice
cream. Each of the
seven varieties is
inspired by a tea in
the brand’s vast
collection. There
is the Singapore
Breakfast Tea Ice
Cream, with notes
of rich black and
green tea scattered
with artisanal pain
d’epices, and the
Pomme Prestige Tea
Sorbet, with notes
of black tea and
Normandy apples.
Pictured here is the
Silver Moon Tea
Sorbet, which is
green tea accented
with wild berry. A
scoop of the ice
cream or sorbet is
priced at RM6.90.
Get a taste of them
at any TWG Tea
salon.
Freequotes
I wanted
something
old-fashioned
looking,
something
almost precurrency.
— Artist Jeremy Deller on
designing a new limited
edition banknote for the
Brixton Pound, a currency
that supports south
London’s local economy,
in a New York Times article
about the advent of
alternative currencies and
their implications.
RESURRECTION
BIOLOGY
T
he summer blockbuster Jurassic World, the
fourth instalment in the franchise, brought to
the fore once again the notion of reversing a
species’ extinct status.As far-fetched as it may sound,
de-extinction could soon become a reality. Various
groups of molecular biologists and conservation biologists are working to bring back extinct species from
their evolutionary graves — this burgeoning field
is often whimsically called “resurrection biology”.
Ongoing efforts include reviving the wild cattle
aurochs, extinct since the first half of the 17th century, using a method called “back-breeding” — selective
breeding of an extinct animal’s living relatives to
carry forward traits resembling the phenotype of the
lost species, explained Ben A Minteer, environmental
ethicist and conservation scholar at Arizona State
University, in an article for the Center for Humans
& Nature. Efforts are also underway to bring back the
Pyrenean Ibex, a Spanish wild goat that died out in
2000, using cloning methods.
Meanwhile, advanced techniques in genetic
engineering and synthetic biology, in particular
technological breakthroughs allowed by the ability to rapidly sequence long extinct genomes, give
scientists the tools to potentially create something
resembling the extinct species — a hybrid, if you will.
The process involves utilising ancient DNA taken
from museum specimens to “sequence the extinct
genomes and ‘edit’ the DNA of closely related species
to come up with a genetic blueprint very similar to
the extinct forms”, writes Minteer.This is currently
being done to resurrect the passenger pigeon by
manipulating a band-tailed pigeon’s genome — a
project by the Long Now Foundation called Revive
& Restore that is led by Ryan Phelan and Stewart
Brand, and carried out by young scientist Ben Novak
at the University of California Santa Cruz.
All this sounds novel and exciting, to be sure, but
geneticist Dr Barry Starr said we are “years or even
decades away from being able to actually pull this off
with most long dead animals” due to the sheer complexity of the process. Then, there’s also the matter
of financial cost, and some conservationists argue
that the money would be better spent on traditional
species protection and conservation initiatives for
currently endangered species.
Opponents of de-extinction worry about whether
these engineered creatures would fare well in contemporary habitats, since the original environments
they used to thrive in are gone or dramatically altered.
Among the ethical considerations that Minteer
posed, one is that creating these hybrid creatures will
somehow “absolve us of the ecological sins” of the past
that led to the species’ extinction in the first place,
thus “inadvertently undermining the responsibility
to learn the lessons of our environmental history”.
Whether or not one agrees with de-extinction,
the fact is that the technologies that are being developed in the field are leaps forward for science.
Evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro says genome-editing technologies could be used “to re-engineer
lost diversity in living rhino populations” that are
endangered, for instance. She told Smithsonian.
com, “De-extinction may not be the answer to the
biodiversity crisis that we are facing today, but the
technologies that are being developed in the name
of de-extinction may become powerful new tools in
an active conservation regime.”
We’re bringing
Star Wars to
life in a big
way. These
new lands
will transport
guests to a
whole new Star
Wars planet.
— Disney chairman Bob
Iger commenting on the
announcement that
Disney will create two Star
Wars-themed lands in its
US theme parks in Orlando
and Anaheim. Each 14acre site will include a
replica Millennium Falcon
and will be designed as
an immersive experience
featuring characters,
shops and other
attractions from the Star
Wars universe.
L+S5
AUG 24
2015
The pulse on what’s in vogue
by Jacqueline Toyad
trendspotting
NEW FLAVOUR
Dining experiences inspired
by your favourite brands
Restaurant 356
Porsche Experience Center
Atlanta, USA
www.restaurant356.com
The newly opened restaurant, located on the second floor
of the company’s US$100 million Porsche Experience
Center and headquarters, features locally sourced organic
ingredients and diverse global cuisine.The restaurant offers
a panoramic view of the 1.6-mile driver development track
as well as Runway 826 at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta
International Airport. The seasonal menu showcases world
cuisine made with locally farmed and foraged ingredients. A
vast wine selection pays tribute to the great wine-growing
regions of the world. Classically-focused cocktails are
available for those favouring tradition.
LIFESTYLE BRANDS
EMERGE ON THE
CULINARY SCENE
W
ithin the last decade, we’ve seen an
astonishing number of fashion power
houses dabble in F&B. From the Emporio Armani Caffé in Milan to Burberry’s all-day café
at its flagship on London’s Regent Street, restaurants are one way these companies can continue
to provide unique experiences to their customers
by expanding on their traditional products. In fact,
this sort of move helps to create a cohesive identity
for the brands and gives them the opportunity to
engage consumers on another level.
Giorgio Armani was one of the first to do so,
and now has a full-fledged F&B arm called Armani
Restaurants with the tagline, “Dining in style all
over the world”, with Armani/Ristorante 5th Avenue
in New York City, Milan and Tokyo, and a chain of
Emporio Armani Caffé and Armani/Caffé across Asia
and Europe. Ralph Lauren has also found success
in F&B, rounding out its culinary offerings with
last year’s opening of The Polo Club in Manhattan.
It follows the success of the RL Grill in Chicago as
well as Ralph’s in Paris. The brand’s founder Ralph
Lauren told GQ magazine, “I’ve always designed
into worlds that were inspired by the way we live.
Food and sharing a meal with family and friends
is so much a part of that. Creating a restaurant as
an extension of those worlds, whether in Chicago
or Paris or now New York, seemed totally natural.”
Last July, Roberto Cavalli joined the fold, expanding his growing café empire to include its first
restaurant in Ibiza. The food concept is Tuscan-in-
fluenced with a wine list that includes the Tenuta
Degli Dei red, produced at a winery owned by the
Cavalli family.
Just recently, Italian fashion house Gucci officially became a part of this growing list with its first
full-service bistro in Shanghai, called 1921 Gucci
Café. Accessible by an elevator inside the Gucci
boutique at the IAPM luxury mall on Huaihai Lu,
the 1921 Gucci logo is stamped on everything from
menus to cutlery and napkins.
Fashion magazines Vogue and GQ are also in the
game. There are currently three Vogue Cafés — in
Moscow, Kiev and Dubai — and a Vogue Lounge in
Bangkok.The first GQ Bar opened in Dubai following
the success of the Vogue Café there, and another
opening will follow soon in Almaty.
In fashion, the movement is already in full swing,
but as far as automakers go, Porsche is taking the
lead when it launched Restaurant 365 last month
at its new Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta in
the US. The Porsche Experience Center features a
1.6-mile driver development track as well as a classic
car gallery, restoration centre, human performance
centre and driving simulator lab.The restaurant is a
welcome addition to the complex, offering diverse
global cuisine prepared with locally sourced organic
ingredients. Designed by executive chef Kyle Forson,
the seasonal menu comprises elements of Polish,
French and American Southern fare.
So what can we expect next? Perhaps an Adidas
grill and sports bar?
Cavalli Ibiza Restaurant & Lounge
Ibiza, Baleares, Spain
ibiza.cavalliclub.com/
Designer and entrepreneur Roberto Cavalli launched his
restaurant last July in the heart of the promenade that
welcomes yachts into the harbour of Ibiza Marina. Designed
to represent the beacons of “made in Italy” excellence —
fashion, food and design — the property is nestled within
a 2,000 sq m tropical garden, creating a unique ambience
injected with Cavalli’s signature aesthetic. The menu offers
traditional Italian recipes infused with Tuscan influences, as
well as innovative new-style dishes. It will also be possible
to taste and appreciate, among others, the Tenuta Degli Dei
red wine produced in the Tuscan winery owned by the Cavalli
family. Roberto Cavalli owns Cavalli Caffè in Florence and
Saint Tropez, and manages other outlets through licences in
Kuwait City, Beirut, Dubai and New Delhi. The next openings
will be in Riyadh, Bahrain and Doha. The Roberto Cavalli Group
has also opened with licences, the Cavalli Club in Milan and
Dubai and the Cavalli Miami Restaurant & Lounge.
1921 Gucci
IAPM Mall, Huaihai Lu
Shanghai, China
1921 Gucci Café references the year the Italian brand
was founded. Although this is Gucci’s first full-service
restaurant, it isn’t its first foray into F&B — there is a
Gucci-themed café in Florence attached to the Gucci
museum, which opened in 2011 to celebrate the label’s 90th
anniversary. Accessible via an elevator within the Gucci
boutique, the restaurant’s décor is in keeping with Gucci’s
clean lines and rich textures, with gold shades and full of
velvet, while the cuisine is very much Italian. The 1921 Gucci
logo is stamped on everything, from napkins and menus to
cutlery — the experience is for the true Gucci fan.
L+S6
AUG 24
2015
life style
Inspiring ideas & passionate pursuits
by Petrina Fernandez
creative enterprise
PIT STOP
Cycling, coffee and conversation come together
at the Yim brothers’ Velocity café
MOHD IZWAN MOHD NAZAM
Early
y
industry
Wai Soon (left)
and Wai Hong
originally
wanted to just
serve coffee
to customers
waiting for
their bikes to
be repaired or
wanting a quick
cup after a
ride but people
began asking
for hot meals
as well
B
rothers Yim Wai Hong and Wai Soon weren’t
allowed to cycle as children — their parents
deemed the activity unsafe, so they turned to
swimming and badminton respectively. Wai Hong, the
elder of the two, went to New Zealand to study while
Wai Soon spent his tertiary years in Singapore. Away
from home, both bought bicycles and relied on them for
transport and leisure.Three years later, they’re entering
races and even own a bicycle shop-cum-workshopcum-café in Ampang.
The aptly named Velocity café is nestled within The
Challenger Sports Centre at the edge of Ampang, just
15 minutes from the Hulu Langat trails frequented by
avid cyclists. Wai Hong spotted the space for rent a
year ago and decided to set up a bicycle shop and workshop, where his technical background and fondness
for tinkering with mechanics could come into play.
They then decided against putting all their eggs in
one basket — bicycles are not fast-moving goods, there
was stiff competition and the capital needed was too
high — and introduced an integrated café.
Minimal décor and ample sunshine create a wide,
open space with plenty of room in between tables. On
the back wall is a colourful mural of a delighted cyclist,
immediately infusing friendliness.Wai Hong built some
of the furniture himself, including a low-slung coffee
table right by the cashier.
The bicycle shop is separated from the seating area by
an ingenious vertical display. Bicycles in various colours
and specifications hang from a rack,integrated organically into the café without compromise of form or function.
Proudly clipped onto a hip-high ledge running along the
racks are cycling medals acquired by the Yim brothers.
The workshop occupies a space just off the entrance to
the elevated café,where tools hanging neatly on the walls
can be seen through the grilles.
“We originally wanted to just serve coffee to customers
waiting for their bikes to be repaired or wanting a quick
cup after a ride but people began asking for hot meals
as well,” says 29-year-old Wai Hong. The small capacity
kitchen,built strictly for drinks,had to be renovated twice
to accommodate meal preparation. “We then thought
of serving healthy meals but our customers repeatedly
requested items like French fries, so we included them
too. We had to adapt to the demand.”
The cycling crowd was their target audience but they
quickly found the neighbouring community coming
in, their customer base growing by word of mouth and
social media. An innovative chef puts his own spin on
the food — think Sweet Corn Spaghetti (pasta with
sweet corn, button mushrooms and chilli padi) — while
favourites include the Tour De Brunch big breakfast
and Chicken Mexicana (baked chicken with mozzarella
served with aglio olio).
While the café took off wonderfully, the bicycle
shop had the expected slow growth, though here,
too, business is steady. “We didn’t want to bring in a
brand that was already available in the local market
so we found Guerciotti, an Italian brand that’s immensely popular in Europe,” says Wai Soon. Prices
of the bicycles carried at Velocity go all the way up
to RM30,000, a reasonable investment for serious
competitors. “Purchasing bicycles isn’t that difficult
but the local industry is facing some challenges now
with unfavourable currency exchange rates,” continues the 23-year-old. “We have to balance customers’
expectations and economic realities.”
Going into business when neither had any relevant
formal education or experience was a scary risk, but
the brothers are seeing the rewards of their labour in
more ways than one. Their love for cycling encouraged
the staff to give the sport a go and their recent company
trip was a ride to Melaka. Naturally, not everyone could
keep up with the brothers on the 140km ride, so the staff
took it in turns to cycle and ride in the accompanying
car. “Our company perks include a company bicycle,”
laughs Wai Soon. “One of the greatest rewards for me is
seeing someone new pick up cycling. The community
is growing and we feel like we have contributed to it
in some way.”
Being a part of the bicycle community also translates
into upholding a promise of lower carbon footprint.
Supplies are sourced from neighbourhood markets and
wastage is kept to an absolute minimum with help from
the astute chef. “We had zero knowledge of the F&B
industry and learnt by trial and error,” says Wai Hong.
“The business world is a lot like cycling — you can
never stop training,” reflects Wai Soon. “We have to
keep learning, improving and evolving, especially as
we’re looking for longevity.”
Zimbabwe’s F&B industry
is slowly growing and Allen
Gava, owner of Gava’s
restaurant, is glad he started
early in 2013 in the capital,
Harare. “We have built a solid
customer base and now
have regular customers who
eat with us three or four
times a week,” says Gava.
His business is considerably
upmarket with prices as high
as US$10 but he’s turning a
profit. Despite his success,
he says the industry has
many challenges. “It’s hard
to find certain supplies,” he
told the BBC UK. “We also
experience power cuts,
which affect our cooking,
and have to spend more
money on generator fuel.”
Independent economic
analyst Vince Musewe
believes the industry can
succeed if it keeps prices
affordable. “Despite the
hardships, people still have
to eat and most food outlets
sell cheap food. For US$1 you
can have a decent lunch.”
Some customers even find
takeaway cheaper than
cooking, while power cuts
at home also drive them to
restaurants for meals.
L+S7
AUG 24
2015
life style
st y l e + d e s i g n
Montblanc’s Extreme collection includes (from
left) the tote, rucksack and clutch bag
WORLD VISION
Montblanc creative director Zaim Kamal’s multicultural upbringing and comprehensive
worldview influence his holistic design approach. by Aaron De Silva
T
Kamal: The
days when
ideas came
from a single
person are
long gone
hose meeting Zaim Kamal for the first time often have difficulty
placing his accent. When we were introduced to Montblanc’s
creative director at a recent event in Singapore, we detected
hints of British and German inflections. Coupled with his South Asian
appearance, we ventured that he was from South Africa. “I get that a
lot,” he says. But no, he reassures us, he is not.
Born in Karachi, Kamal moved to Germany’s Black Forest region
with his family when he was 12, and then later pursued a design
degree at London’s Central Saint Martins, an elite arts college that
counts actor Pierce Brosnan, fashion designers Marc Jacobs and John
Galliano, and inventor James Dyson among its alumni.
“Saint Martins created a space in which you could experiment,
find out what you’re good at, and really work on those skills. [We were
taught] to work independently; there was never a tutor sitting there all
the time [telling us what to do]. [The tutors] were very tough in their
judgment of our work; so,very early on,we learnt how to deal with harsh
criticism. But they also taught us never to take ourselves or our work
too seriously. That really prepared me for the world outside,” he says.
That world included a stint as design assistant to fashion designer extraordinaire Vivienne Westwood, various roles in creative
and branding consultancies, as well as his most recent post as
Swarovski’s vice-president of corporate communications.
These experiences, along with his multicultural upbringing, have
served Kamal well in his current position. Having been exposed to the
marketing, sales, finance and public relations aspects of MNCs, he has
a holistic understanding of the design industry. “I’m used to working
with all the different areas of the brand, not just design,” he says.
While some designers are known for being egocentric and uncompromising in their approach, Kamal quickly learnt to divorce
himself from his ego. His modus operandi was to absorb the zeitgeist
and apply it to the different brands he worked for. Again, this came
in handy at Montblanc, a brand with a rich, well-defined heritage
and established design codes.
Setting the course
Arriving in 2013 at Montblanc’s headquarters in Hamburg, he wasted no time analysing the brand’s core identity so that he could
chart its future course. This he achieved
together with his team of seven designers
based in three locations corresponding to
Montblanc’s core competencies — Hamburg
(writing instruments and men’s accessories), Florence (leather goods) and Le Locle
(watches).
“For us [it was a matter of finding out]
what the success factors were — what made
the brand what it is today — where those
codes were diluted, where they needed to be
adapted, where they needed replenishing.
This analytical process was one of the biggest
challenges, but also one of the biggest joys I
had in the beginning,” Kamal says.
With the world evolving at such a rapid
rate, and a new breed of consumer — mil-
lennials, social media influencers and technopreneurs — shaping
the luxury retail sphere, it is imperative that Montblanc’s product
offering keeps pace. But Kamal does not believe in staying one step
ahead; he says keeping “one bat of an eyelid” ahead is sufficient.
Being too far ahead is just as bad as being too far behind. The key, as
he understands it, lies in turning a need into a want.
“In the past, the functionality of a business bag was different: You
needed to carry much more paper and writing instruments. Nowadays,
you don’t carry that much — your computer, maybe a 12in laptop, or
a tablet. And you travel much more with them, so we have to think
about how the pieces travel,” explains Kamal.
When Montblanc’s Extreme Rucksack was being developed, there
were initial reservations as to whether a backpack would fit the brand’s
image.After some discussion, Kamal and his team concluded that it
was. “We’re working towards a target client that sees a backpack not
as [something used] on his day off, but as an expression of the way
he chooses to move. His mobility is based on the backpack because
he lives in an urban area and goes from a bicycle or motorcycle to
the [subway],” he adds.
Multi-dimensional approach
To this end, Kamal credits his team’s youth, verve and international
outlook for successfully tapping the zeitgeist. Young, driven and
passionate, the designers have a panoply of passports between them:
French, German, Italian, Japanese and Swiss. “All of them have lived
abroad, have travelled or are still travelling extensively, and they
bring all of that to the table. We always have different points of
view and solutions to the design,” Kamal reveals, adding that this
is critical to Montblanc’s success. “The days when ideas came from
a single person are long gone. The world has become so complex that
a single idea may not be sufficient or relevant.”
Another of Kamal’s roles is to observe what the different teams
are doing and attempt product cross-fertilisation. A material being
developed in the leather goods collection could be applied to watch
straps, or a design motif being used on a watch could be translated
onto a pen, for instance.This ensures a more cohesive look when the
products are displayed at the points-of-sale.
Inasmuch as Kamal oversees the entire developmental process,
he also steps back to give his team as much breathing space as
possible, a trait he gleaned from his time in Saint Martins. “You
will never harness the potential of the designers to the fullest if
you don’t step back,” he maintains. “If you don’t, they become executors and not creators.”
Having lived in London for almost 30 years — he shuttles between
the city and Hamburg during the work week — Kamal benefits from
having the world at his doorstep. He shares a home with his wife
and daughter, and feels fortunate living in a city brimming with
inspiration. He says, “You don’t have to go anywhere in London
— you can just sit and watch the world go by. And if you open your
eyes, you can see where the trends are heading. You just have to be
E
able to read them.”
Aaron De Silva enjoys experiencing the world,
and relishes writing about it afterwards
L+S8
AUG 24
2015
c ov e r s to ry
MOHD IZWAN MOHD NAZAM
IN THE
BUSINESS OF
PLEASURE
As founder and CEO of Samadhi Retreats Sdn Bhd, Federico Asaro specialises in
building tranquil oases, even in the middle of a city. The Italian-born gentleman
speaks to Petrina Fernandez about his love for the outdoors and how it spurred him to
create his award-winning Tamarind restaurants and Samadhi hotels as well as grow
the business within and beyond Malaysia.
L+S9
AUG 24
2015
c ov e r s to ry
From top left: Villa Samadhi in KL, Blue Mansion: A Cheong Fatt Tze Legacy in Penang, Tamarind Hill Restaurant in KL and Japamala Boutique Hotel in Pulau Tioman
T
here is a sense of surrealness upon
stepping into Tamarind Hill. Minutes ago, I was internally grumbling
about the abominable Kuala Lumpur traffic and the flat tyre I had
somehow acquired on my way over.
Upon walking up the long flight of
stairs and settling into a corner of the restaurant,
however, I discovered I had left my stresses where
they belonged — outside, where life zips along and
everyone is hurrying to catch up.
Federico Asaro’s properties — be they his
award-winning restaurants or resorts — tend to
have this effect. Each is testament to his penchant
for rustic settings and surrounding lush greenery,
creating luxe sanctuaries guests can check into for
immediate peace of mind.Tamarind Hill, for instance,
is housed in a stand-alone colonial bungalow in Jalan
Sultan Ismail, among the city’s main arteries. There
is no pause in the bustle outside but all you hear is a
faint hum of activity. Your senses are instead feasting
on the high ceilings, hardwood interiors, wraparound
pond and individual dining decks extending from
the main restaurant. In the alcoves are huge statues
of deities illuminated by flickering candlelight. With
the merry chirping of birds and the carefree dance of
dragonflies, it is effortless to sink into this illusion
of an oasis in downtown KL.
It is spaces like these that allow Asaro to endure the
urban jungle. He grew up in an Italian city by the sea
and revelled in being outdoors, even casually learning
to dive at the age of six. “I remember sitting on the
jetty, just watching the happenings at sea,” he says.
“And then my uncle from Sicily took me snorkelling
once and my world opened up.”
Asaro moved to KL in 1978 when his father was
transferred to Malaysia. He found the region exotic
and travelled enthusiastically in his teens and early
twenties, taking trains across borders — “In those days,
taking a train from KL to Laos was not a common thing
to do” — and staying in little villages to explore the
land and collect all manner of artefacts. His love for the
water never diminished and he took diving lessons at
the Lake Club. Once certified, he would head to the east
coast whenever possible to visit his father (working at
an oil rig off Terengganu) and dive.
“There’s a freedom in that,” he muses. “It’s just a
completely different world, one of vivid colour and
peace, but there’s also an adrenaline rush. I used to
do a little shark feeding in Layang Layang Island. I
learnt a few tricks from a guide I spent some time
with in the Maldives in the Eighties and I used
them here. It’s like feeding a dog. People are scared
of animals, but that’s just out of ignorance. A shark
rarely attacks people. You’re only bitten because it’s
hunting — and you’re not its prey, so it won’t eat
you — or you’re in its territory. The only time they
get wild is when they’re in a feeding frenzy. If that
happens, move away. Just use common sense. I still
have all my limbs.”
Asaro chose to specialise in professional diving
alongside getting his business management degree
in Australia. His career kicked off with commercial
and recreational diving. “Glamorised underwater
mechanics” he calls the “grimy work” he did then
— rigging, offshore work and shiphouse and pier
surveys. When he got tired of it, he created Malaysia’s
first liveaboard diving gig in the late Eighties, with
operations launched in Pulau Tioman and Pulau
Layang Layang.
“It was a big business and a huge 500-tonne ship,”
says its initiator. “The internet wasn’t around then, in
the early Nineties, and it was hard to sell our 10-day
trip packages, so we diversified the company. I started
doing commercial work with the ship, offering support
services for offshore work like fibre-optic cable laying.
We also built the first passenger cruise terminal in
Port Klang, servicing incoming cruise liners.Towards
the end, I was getting a little bit burnt-out and decided
it was time to come to shore.”
Somewhere along the way,Asaro had also opened a
restaurant with friends and realised “you could actually
make money in F&B”. He preferred working alone and
then went into the industry solo,opening Tamarind Hill
in 1999. It embodied his love for nature and culture, a
former old house nestled in a jungle just outside the
city. His collection of artefacts would serve as décor
and on the menu was Thai and Vietnamese cuisine,
the latter among the first of its kind in KL.
“It was an old property; everyone thought it
was haunted. It probably was,” laughs Asaro. “I was
financially struggling, so I built it myself, hammer
and nail. We opened only one section with six tables
and I had two people in the kitchen, including a Thai
lady who still works for me today. I did everything
else, from purchasing to waiting on tables. I shared
my three-bedroom apartment with the staff and
worked 20-hour days. I was looking after every
dollar and cent.”
CO N T I N U E S N E X T PAG E
L+S10
AUG 24
2015
c ov e r s to ry
F R O M P R E V I O U S PAG E
As the restaurant grew, Asaro opened sister restaurant Tamarind Springs in a similar forest reserve
setting in 2002. Tamarind Hill closed in 2007 and was
relocated to its current location in 2009, sharing its
address with contemporary counterpart Neo Tamarind. Not one to sit around twiddling his thumbs, the
restaurateur had also diversified his portfolio in the
meantime, venturing into the hospitality business
in 2004 with the highly acclaimed Japamala Resort
in Tioman.
“I started to miss the sea,” he says simply. “I wanted
to build an island resort and stumbled upon what is
now Japamala.The owner was looking for, in his words,
‘a sucker to take it off his hands’. I began building
my ideal resort and 11 years later, it’s still a work in
progress. Every monsoon, I take down an old villa and
rebuild it, so they always look fresh and new. We have
only 13 villas — there’s another one coming up soon
and I’d like to have 20 at some point.”
Business is brisk during the sunnier months, but
guests do still visit during the monsoon. The villas
are protected from the worst of the storms by the
hills; despite the grey skies and rain, the sea is warm
and the rainforest is in its element. “Plants can grow
literally a foot in a matter of days,” says Asaro. Jungle
trekking is popular then, especially with Europeans
who come to experience a monsoon.
Villa Samadhi followed soon after and last year,
the Samadhi group took over the management of The
Blue Mansion: A Cheong Fatt Tze Legacy in Penang.
Signing on the dotted line for that deal was a feather
in Asaro’s cap — the long-term agreement would see
his company brand and manage the iconic landmark,
which he refurbished to its former grandeur. He also
introduced a modern Cantonese restaurant, Samadhi
Spa and beautiful Chinese gardens.
Given Asaro’s exacting standards for construction,
it was only natural that he formed his own construction company. Reclaimed wood, for instance, is used
liberally throughout his properties and “no contractor
is going to spend six months cleaning and restoring
wood before it can be used”. He personally drives
around old kampungs looking for dilapidated houses
to buy and knock down. Other sources include factories, old shoplots, jetties and lamp posts. Japamala
was built without destroying a single tree. “I’m not
cutting trees to build a natural experience,” he scoffs.
“We care about the environment.We work closely with
local communities like the Orang Asli for materials
like bamboo and thatched roofing. I don’t buy wood
from them because I don’t want them to be tempted
to cut down trees, but bamboo is fast-growing and
recyclable, which fits into our philosophy.”
Employees are expected to uphold the same respect for nature. All manner of wild animals make
their way through the properties, especially at Tamarind Springs and Japamala — wild boars, snakes and
monkeys included — and the staff are not allowed
to harm them. “I tell potential employees not to join
the company if it’s just a pay cheque they’re after
— they could work anywhere for that,” says Asaro.
“This is a way of life.”
What would your employees say about you if
asked, I ask him. He laughs. “They would say, ‘Oh,
boss is crazy. He asks us to do what we want, then
scolds us for doing it.’ They don’t understand. I don’t
like to waste my time managing people. When I hire
people for their expertise, I expect them to work
independently.”
Staff who come on board are then invested in
creating and delivering “the Samadhi experience”.
The word “Samadhi” is Sanskrit for the highest stage
of meditation, the moment of becoming one with
the divine universe. The Samadhi group translates
this into delivering experiences that transcend the
stresses of daily life and allow guests to transition
Over the years,
people have
started to see
the restaurants,
Tamarind
Springs
especially, as a
getaway for the
night. You don’t
drive out to us
when you’re
hungry, the
same way you
don’t check into
Villa Samadhi
just for a bed
to stay. It’s a
destination.
to an intensely relaxed state of mind. Aesthetic, of
course, plays a big role here — high ceilings, spaciousness and green ambience — but Asaro also put
significant thought into the details.
“All our properties have long walkways,” he says.
“It’s a journey. With Tamarind, for example, you have
a long walk to the restaurant and in that, you leave
the city behind and immerse yourself in the experience you’re about to have. I call it the dream state.”
It’s true too; climbing the 50-odd steps up to Tamarind Hill or strolling down a candlelit path beneath
a forested canopy to Tamarind Springs evokes a sense
of calm and anticipation.
“Over the years, people have started to see the restaurants,Tamarind Springs especially, as a getaway for
the night.You don’t drive out to us when you’re hungry,
the same way you don’t check into Villa Samadhi just
for a bed to stay. It’s a destination,” he adds.
And Asaro is already enforcing plans to expand the
Samadhi experience outside Malaysia. Tamarind Hill
Singapore is perched atop Labrador Nature Reserve
in a colonial bungalow specially restored for this
purpose. In Sri Lanka, he has built the Kandoola Villas
and he has just returned from Shanghai, where he
might open a restaurant. There is also a new concept
put into play in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in a beautiful
riverside estate.
“It’s our first foray into real estate,” explains Asaro.
“We’re building villas and a two-storey hotel block on
the property. The villas will be up for sale so people
can purchase a piece of the Samadhi lifestyle. They’ll
own them but the villas will be managed by us and
will run as commercial accommodation. The owners
will have 30 days’ worth of stays per year but they
can spend that equivalent at any of our properties
instead if they so prefer.”
Additionally, he recently launched Travels with
Samadhi, a cross-country drive or ride that allows
guests to experience off-the-beaten-path places while
getting to know the country a little more intimately.
“In the free time I have, you can find me in a village
somewhere on my motorcycle, and I wanted to share
that with travellers,” says Asaro. “It’s a fantastic way
to get to know the peninsula and experience our
hotels. We didn’t want a driver with a luxury car
whisking guests on the highway — that’s boring.
Guests can ride on a BMW motorcycle or in an SUV
with a driver and guide and discover the old roads
and towns in an eight-hour journey. There are also
4 to 12-day itineraries for motorcyclists, where we
stay at homestays. The next step is to include an
option with vintage cars.”
Despite having so much on his plate — or perhaps, because of that — the group founder is enjoying himself thoroughly. His exudes a curious
mix of calm and vigour. Names like Samadhi and
Japamala (beads used to keep count of mantras)
suggest he is a man who meditates, but he shakes
his head when asked. What seems to drive him, it
appears, is a focused energy spurred by the need
to embrace life at its fullest and to give his best at
everything he attempts.
“I will only retire the day I feel like I’m working. I
love what I do and my passions are intricately linked
to my businesses, so it never feels like a chore,” he
says. “I realised very early in life that I am a terrible
employee: I’m too stubborn and hate sitting in an
office. I don’t come from a rich family, so money
has never been my object; I’m comfortable living a
simple life with my wife Maple. Investing in property
overseas is risky and my only fear is being completely
down and out, which I was before I started Tamarind Hill. But at the back of my mind, I know I could
always become a dive instructor at someone else’s
resort and that’s something I can hold on to. I hope
E
it never comes to that, though.”
L+S11
AUG 24
2015
life style
cellars market
SOMMELIERS FINALLY
WORKING TOGETHER
A low-key series of tasting parties is taking the London wine scene by storm —
and potentially changing the way restaurants pour. by Richard Vines
TOM BOWLES
I
magine a party at which all the guests are sommeliers — you
might expect more spitting than at a Sex Pistols concert,
more sniffing than at the home of a wayward lord.
Not quite.
Younger wine professionals in London have got together
in an informal group called Wine Bantz, to which they each
bring a bottle and try to surprise one another. While it’s about
blind tasting rather than getting blind drunk, it’s certainly
convivial. The first session, at Mission in Bethnal Green, lasted
into the early hours.
Like policemen, sommeliers in London are getting younger.
If you doubt that, please meet Seamus Sharkey, the head sommelier at Restaurant Story. He is 24.
“Wine Bantz is creating a real buzz,” he says. “We’ve been
talking about doing this for months. Sommeliers are generally extroverts, but there’s usually not much energy at wine
tastings. You just show up and go back to work. This is about
sharing and enjoying.
“We want to get people excited about the London wine scene.
Some sommeliers think they are lone rangers conquering the
world, but really it’s our job to pour fermented grape juice.”
The second Wine Bantz, held at Bubbledogs last month,
was all about sparklers, with bottles that ranged from Dom
Perignon 1970 to a little-known Austrian wine. (“Bantz” is
short for “banter,” or winechatter.) Some guests ended up back
at Mission, whose co-owner Michael Sager-Wilde is a founder
of Wine Bantz.
Sunaina Sethi, 27, who is in charge of wine at JKS Restaurants
— which includes Bubbledogs and Gymkhana — says she plans
to get involved. “It’s a great opportunity for like-minded people
to get together and talk about a common passion and taste
interesting things,” she says. “It’s a way for sommeliers to find
more interesting wines to introduce in their establishments.”
Raphael Rodriguez, restaurant director at Fera at Claridge’s,
has been part of Wine Bantz from the start, when it was just a
handful of friends. About 100 people are now on the email list.
“The point is to get the wine trade together and have fun,”
he says. “We share the same passion, and the point is to get to
know each other and get to know some different wines.” That
can work in diners’ favour as unusual wines introduced at the
events make their way onto wine lists in restaurants.
(If you can’t wait for that and you want something funky,
Newcomer Wines in Shoreditch focuses on “Austrian wines
with cool labels and crazy stories”. These wines, from small
growers, are just starting to show up in restaurants such as
Lyle’s. Hedonism Wines in Mayfair is another fine destination
for the adventurous.)
The Bubbledogs party, which attracted 30 to 40 guests, took
place in early July. It’s back to Mission in September for the
next gathering.
“It was really fun”, says James Snowdon, 27, who worked at
Bubbledogs before joining Bao. “It’s just a bunch of friends of a
similar age who are like-minded when it comes to wine. Some
bring funky stuff and others big names.”
Bubbledogs owner Sandia Chang, a veteran of Per Se in New
York and Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, says Wine Bantz is
actually replacing an important part of the learning process for
a restaurateur that gets lost when you break out on your own.
“When I was working at Per Se, I had sommeliers who would
pull me aside at the end of the night and pour me a few glasses
of wine, blind, and it would train me to taste them blind,” she
says. “But once you run your own restaurant, no one does that
for you any more. This is a good way to train each other and
show each other new things and see what people are drinking
out there.
“We just talk a lot about geeky wine stuff and have fun and
Sharkey of Restaurant
Story says sommeliers
aren’t changing the
world; they should
simply share their
enjoyment of wine
relax. Sommeliers used to be quite intimidating, but nowadays
we’re a little bit fresher-faced, with a new approach.
“Generally, restaurants no longer list wines by lowest to
highest price. They list by regions and grapes because people
are more savvy and more open to trying new things. It’s more
fun. There are a lot of women in the industry as well, which is
less intimidating. Sommeliers are younger and talk normally,
instead of using jargon.”
What is her tip for something for us all to try?
“Cabernet franc is the thing now”, she says. “It’s a grape that’s
been forgotten and it is amazing. I always think cabernet franc
tastes like the dry spice package in instant noodles.”
Now that’s language we can all understand. — Bloomberg
Richard Vines is the chief food critic for Bloomberg.
Follow him on Twitter @richardvines.
L+S12
AUG 24
2015
life style
Newsmakers & hotspots
by Elaine Lau
people + places
A ROYAL BREW
The crown prince of Denmark awards Carlsberg Malaysia the Danish Export
Association’s Diploma and HRH Prince Henrik’s Medal of Honour
I
t isn’t often that a foreign royalty visits our shores. And when that
happens, you know it’s for a very
good reason — in the case of the recent
visit of His Royal Highness Crown Prince
Frederik of Denmark to Kuala Lumpur, it
was for several good reasons.
The crown prince, an avid sportsman
and member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), came to attend
the 128th IOC session as well as open
the new Asia regional office of Danish
dairy company Arla Foods. Most significantly, he presented the prestigious
Danish Export Association’s Diploma and
HRH Prince Henrik’s Medal of Honour
to Carlsberg Malaysia. The diploma and
medal were awarded in recognition of
an outstanding effort in promoting and
marketing Danish products and services
abroad, according to the Danish Export
Association’s website.
Carlsberg has a long-standing presence
in the country, having delighted Malaysian
drinkers with refreshing beers years before
it established a brewery here more than four
decades ago. The brewery manufactures a
portfolio of international beers, stouts, ciders and non-alcoholic beverages for both
domestic and overseas markets such as Hong
Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore and the
Maldives. In the past five years, Carlsberg
Malaysia has successfully expanded its revenue by more than 18%. Last year, it posted
revenue growth of 5% to DKK3 billion (RM1.6
billion) and a 16% increase in profit after tax
to DKK404 million.
The crown prince presented the award
to Carlsberg Malaysia managing director
Henrik J Andersen at an exclusive celebratory beer pairing dinner at Marini’s on
57. Also present were Danish Ambassador
to Malaysia Nicolai Ruge and a select
group of press members and Carlsberg’s
partners.
In his address, the prince fondly recounted the first time he visited Malaysia
as a young man 22 years ago, when he
enjoyed the countryside and beaches as
well as the “amazing culture and great
cuisines that go remarkably well with
Danish beer” — this comment was met
with nods and murmurs of approval from
the audience.
CO N T I N U E S N E X T PAG E
From left:
Ambassador Ruge,
Prince Frederik,
Carlsberg Malaysia’s
Andersen and guest
L+S13
AUG 24
2015
life style
people + places
Snapshot
A complementary
pairing
Beer is great to enjoy on its own, to be sure, but it’s even
better when you have it with food. Thanks to its bright,
refreshing and malty profile, beer lends itself well to being
paired with food, especially when it’s carefully done, so the
flavours complement each other. This was exactly what we
were treated to at Marini’s on 57: a four-course gourmet
meal of Italian classics served with different beers from
Carlsberg Malaysia’s portfolio.
Our meal began with a delicious antipasto of perfectly
grilled octopus, sliced thin and arranged on a bed of creamy
parsnip purée, finished with a sprinkling of chopped olives, a
sliver of sea urchin for that touch of umami and fresh tomato
wedges. It tasted of the sea while the parsnip purée gave it a
touch of earthy, sweetness — we washed this down with the
crisp and sweet Somersby apple cider. This was a winning
combination, and it only got better from there.
Next came the house-made pappardelle in a seafoodinfused, white wine sauce, with generous servings of large,
fleshy pipi clams and micro herbs that gave the dish a bit of a
fresh zing. A delightful dish, this went perfectly with the ohso-smooth Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc, a fresh, aromatic wheat
beer with lovely floral and citrusy notes.
The brewery’s flagship beer, Carlsberg, was paired with
the mains, a roasted cod with duck egg and onion cream.
Crisp and earthy, the beer cut through the oily fish and
rich cream sauce to leave a refreshing, slightly bittersweet
aftertaste in the mouth. The other choice for mains was
braised veal shanks with summer truffle mashed potato,
and that came with Connor’s Stout.
Concluding this fine meal was a dessert of silky soft
panna cotta with Madagascan vanilla, fresh raspberries and
strawberries, and once again, the Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc.
From left:
The roasted
cod was served
with Carlsberg
and the panna
cotta with the
Kronenbourg
1664 Blanc.
F R O M P R E V I O U S PAG E
“In Denmark, Carlsberg was one of the pioneers of industrialisation,” he said. “Carlsberg has made significant contributions to the
Danish economy as well as art and culture. The
founder of Carlsberg, J C Jacobsen, was well
known not only for his entrepreneurial spirit
but also his philanthropic heart in giving back
to the Danish society. I am pleased to note that
aside from the economic contributions that
Carlsberg Malaysia has made here, the company
is very committed to corporate social responsibility and has been giving back to the society
and community it operates in.”
The night also witnessed the launch of the J
C Jacobsen Hua Zong Education Fund, formerly
known as Carlsberg Hua Zong Education Fund.
A partnership between Carlsberg Malaysia and
the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia
(Hua Zong), the fund, with a revolving fund
size of RM2 million, supports young people
in their educational pursuits via interest-free
study loans and scholarships. Last year, the fund
granted 30 students loans totalling RM552,000
plus scholarships worth RM48,000.
The revamp of the fund is part of Carlsberg
Malaysia’s efforts to consolidate all community
programmes under the J C Jacobsen Foundation
for a greater reach. Representing the foundation
at the launch was trustee member Tunku Tan
Sri Imran Tuanku Ja’afar while Hua Zong was
represented by deputy president Datuk Cheng
Lai Hock. A token of appreciation in the form
of a portrait of the crown prince and his wife,
created using three types of malt, was presented
E
to the prince.
To say Henry Cavill looked
ridiculously dashing in Guy
Ritchie’s latest spy thriller,
The Man from U.N.C.L.E., is
not an understatement. The
British actor donned one
dapper suit after another
throughout the movie, as
he did also for the recent
New York premiere of the
film. Cavill, the face and
official spokesman for Alfred
Dunhill fragrances, came
dressed in a bespoke threepiece, grey wool dunhill suit,
accented with a yellow-gold
necktie and pocket square.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is
currently playing in cinemas
nationwide.
The house-made
pappardelle
was a good
match with the
Kronenbourg
1664 Blanc
L+S14
AUG 24
2015
life style
The arts at a glance
by Mae Chan
cultural index
SPICE OF LIFE
Is It Because I’m Indian? takes the audience through the trials and
tribulations of Australian actor and playwright Rajendra Moodley
Arts
Abroad
R
ajendra Moodley knew he wanted to become an
actor as he watched television as a child. This
turned into a passion after his parents took him
to the theatre in London, and winning a school drama
competition at age 11 told him he had the talent as well.
However,it was not plain sailing for the British-born,
Australian-bred actor. Growing up in Melbourne, he
was expected to be sporty but Rajendra chose artistic
pursuits instead. But when he left school and entered
the world of arts,his ethnicity worked against him.Such
obstacles did not deter him from pursuing his ambition
though. The actor and playwright decided to confront
things in the only way he knew how — on stage.
Rajendra’s one-man show, Is It Because I’m Indian?,
has been described as a truly entertaining comedy
drama that cannot be missed and “as heart-warming
as a chicken korma and as heart-breaking as watching
a cheese naan falling off your plate”.
In a recent telephone conversation, the actor talks
about the story behind his daring and poignant show
and its success.
“It is about me and my life. The show goes chronologically from when I was a child, when I decided
what I wanted to do, right to the now. I play a lot of
characters … about 20 different ones,” Rajendra explains. “It’s fast-paced, I snap in and out of different
characters. There are no props, no set, just me.”
He is quick to point out that he is not a stand-up
comedian despite the comedic nature of the show where
he talks directly to the audience. Exploring Rajendra’s
Indian roots and his chosen career, the show is an
intimate look at the stereotypes and the rejection the
Melbourne boy faced as a minority.
“I was on the phone with a very close friend of
mine, and she understood my struggles as an actor
with an Indian background,” says Rajendra, explaining
how he came to write Is It Because I’m Indian?. While
listening to anecdotes about his life, the friend said
he had to write them down. “I said, ‘No one is going
to care about my story’, and she said, ‘Yes, they are!’”
Three weeks later, Rajendra submitted his story to
the 2014 Short+Sweet Festival in Sydney, although he
didn’t know what the festival was like — he researched
it quickly on Google — or who the audience would be.
“I just wrote the story for me and it was honest,” he
says. And his friend was right — the response was
great. “They loved it and invited me back for a gala
performance,” he adds.
Rajendra then made the show a full-length affair
and performed it at the Melbourne Fringe Festival
in September last year, then at the Adelaide Fringe
Festival early this year and finally at the Melbourne
International Comedy Festival in April.
“I had also written the show in response to a
question that comes out a lot in one of our daily
newspapers: ‘Is Australia racist?’” says Rajendra. “So
I had it as a sub-heading. Not to complain but just to
say, ‘Well, you look within and see’.”
In the show, he turns a derogatory term used to
describe Indians — Curry Muncher — into a joke. “It
was written to just say ‘Look, this is my experience…’”
Rajendra remarks, referring to his many experiences
of having been typecast or caricatured. “I’ve been asked
to play it more Indian because they don’t perceive an
Indian looking and sounding like I do,” he says. His parents hail from South Africa and his great-grandparents
from Chennai and Andhra Pradesh, India.
Calling the experience “cathartic” on a personal
level, Rajendra refers to addressing some of the issues
he struggled with, such as being bullied and his father’s
death a few years ago, as a therapeutic process.
What surprised him was how many people from
different backgrounds came up to him after the show
and said they felt that their story was being told. “It’s
a beautiful thing. It meant that anybody can relate
to that,” he says. “At the end of it, it is about who I am.
I’ve gone through a lot but I am still here and I am me.
To anybody else as well, at the end of it, it’s about being
happy being you.”
Is It Because I’m Indian? is being staged here at the
invitation of Datuk Faridah Merican and Joe Hasham
of The Actors Studio, who Rajendra had met 10 years
ago when he first visited Malaysia.
Is It Because I’m Indian? will be presented from
Aug 26 to 30 at Pentas 2, Kuala Lumpur Performing
Arts Centre. Tickets are RM55 and RM30
(for students, senior citizens, disabled
persons and TAS card members).
Visit www.ticketpro.com.my or
call (03) 4047 9000 to purchase.
DreamWorks Animation
unveils the magic behind
two decades of films as
the studio reveals the
painstaking artistic and
technological process of
how the movies make the
leap from initial sketches
to the big screen. Curated
by the Australian Centre for
the Moving Image (ACMI),
the exhibition is a fiveyear international tour that
debuted at the ArtScience
Museum, Marina Bay Sands,
in Singapore. Featuring
over 31 films and more than
400 displays from boxoffice successes, ranging
from the studio’s first film,
Antz, in 1998, to popular
franchises such as Shrek,
Madagascarr and How To
Train Your Dragon, visitors
can step into the Story, World
and Character galleries
to examine exclusive
concept drawings, behindthe-scenes footage and
storyboards, reconstructions
of real-life DreamWorks’
workspaces and sculptures
of characters. The exhibition
is on until Sept 27. Opening
hours are from 10am to
6pm (Mon-Fri). Visit www.
marinabaysands.com/
museum or call (+65) 6688
8888 for more information.
L+S15
AUG 24
2015
life style
blue chip performances
COMPILED BY HANNAH MERICAN
EDITOR’S PICK
If you have a cultural event you’d like to list, please email details to [email protected]
Singapore
Bangkok
KEEPING IT SIMPLE
THE MAZU CHRONICLE
Aug 28 to 30 (9pm)
Theatre Lounge Café
B1-3A, 63 Jalan Sri Hartamas 1
Sri Hartamas, KL
(03) 6730 7982
RM117, RM65
Sean Ghazi is back from a six-year
adventure in the US and he will be giving
special stripped-down performances
on the TLC stage. Singing only with
accompaniment on the baby grand piano,
expect to hear him take on vintage Malay
songs, Broadway classics and songbook
standards. With his velvet baritone voice
expect this Malaysian performer to wow
audiences in this intimate setting.
Aug 30 (5pm)
Esplanade Concert Hall
1 Esplanade Drive
www.sistic.com.sg
S$26, S$21, S$17
This performance is an innovative
symphonic dance theatre piece that
features orchestral and choral music by
Singaporean composers. Inspired by reallife stories, The Mazu Chronicle follows
the early seafarers of the Maritime Silk
Road and the legend of Mazu, the patron
goddess of the sea. The performance is
a visual spectacle that is transformed
into a vessel that fuses the landscape
of memory and imagination. It features
dancers from The Arts Fission Company
and musicians from The Philharmonic
Orchestra and The Philharmonic
Chamber Choir.
LA DOUCE MORSURE DU
TEMPS (THE SWEET BITE
OF TIME)
Malaysia
Jakarta
Until Sept 6
Seri India Gallery at OP Garden
36 Charoen Krung Road
Bang Rak
11am to 7pm (Tues-Sat)
[email protected]
An exhibition by Hans Georg Berger, these
vintage photographs evoke the European
summer with its long evenings and softshaded light. The photos take you through
the Bavarian Alps, a palace in Rome,
apartments in Rome and a small town
in Andalusia. Through his photographs,
Berger captures a land where both beauty
and complicity reign.
SUPERMODELS
Until Aug 29
Erasmus Huis Jakarta
Jln HR Rasuna Said Kav
S-3 Kuningan, Jakarta
Free admission
8am to 5pm (daily)
www.erasmushuis.org
This is a pop-up exhibition that shows
the history of 100 years of Dutch design
and architecture. It features scale models
of 3D printed furniture, important
architectural landmarks and a 21stcentury version of a Dutch dollhouse.
Supermodels first made an appearance
at Salone del Mobile in Milan in 2013 and
Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in 2014.
DANCE
MUSIC
THEATRE
COMEDY
VISUAL ARTS
Alice & The Aces
Ady Suwardy @Malaya
Jazz
Nightingale
The Kumar Show
Motherland
Aug 29 & 30 (8.30pm. 3pm)
Pentas 1, klpac
Jalan Strachan, KL
www.klpac.org
RM138, RM128, RM118,
RM110, RM88, RM83
Based on Lewis Carroll’s
much-loved children’s
books Alice in Wonderland
and Through the Looking
Glass, this performance is
a combination of eclectic
music and joyful dance. This
captivating piece tells the
tale of Alice, who follows a
curious white rabbit down
a rabbit hole tumbling into
Wonderland. This dance
performance is suitable for
an audience of all ages.
Aug 28 & 29 (10pm)
Alexis Bistro Ampang
Great Eastern Mall
Jalan Ampang, KL
Free admission
(03) 4260 2288
Let Ady Suwardy take you
back in time to the preMalaysia days with Malaya
Jazz. He will trace Malay
pop music from as early
as the 1930s with the hit
Tudong Periok by Momo
Latif to songs fused with
Western dance rhythms.
Audiences will also learn the
interesting facts and history
behind certain songs and
their singers, complete with
photos and biographies.
Romantic Rachmaninoff
Aug 29 & 30 (8.30pm, 3pm)
DFP
Petronas Twin Towers, KLCC
RM150, RM120, RM90, RM60
dfp_boxoffice@petronas.
com.my
This super romantic concert
will feature a popular overture
by Berlioz, a virtuosic
poem by Tchaikovsky and
Rachmaninoff’s second
symphony. Fabio Mechetti
will conduct this grand
symphonic work of sound.
Aug 28 & 29 (8.30pm)
MBPP Town Hall
Jalan Tun Syed Sheh
Barakbah
George Town, Penang
RM50, RM40, RM25
[email protected]
China’s Nanning Peoples’
Arts House presents Hans
Christian Andersen’s timeless
story of The Nightingale. The
tale explores the beautiful
voice that enchants the
Emperor of China and drives
him to keep the bird locked
in a cage to sing for him. The
bird breaks down when the
Emperor of Japan presents
him with a mechanical
nightingale. The nightingale
escapes from its cage and
the emperor learns the
importance of compassion
and freedom.
Aug 27 (8.30pm)
E&O Hotel
10 Lebuh Farquhar
George Town, Penang
RM100
[email protected]
The Kumar Show presents
Singapore’s favourite
drag queen who has been
entertaining audiences for
the past 20 years. Back in
Penang for the third year in
a row, catch this one-nightonly show which will surely
leave you in stitches. Papi Zak
will be playing the role of The
Kumar Show’s hilarious host
and will tackle issues of race,
sex and Malaysian family
values. This show is strictly
for ages 18 and above.
Until Sept 11
Wei-Ling Contemporary
RT01 Sixth Floor
The Gardens Mall
Mid Valley City
Lingkaran Syed Putra, KL
Free admission
11am to 7pm (daily)
(03) 2282 8323
A solo exhibition that
presents the works of
emerging Malaysian
contemporary artist Sean
Lean. This marks his
second solo exhibition and
explores the themes of
fragmented identities and
contradictions between our
traditionally Eastern values
and the appeal of Western
pop culture. Lean has been
working on this series since
2008 and questions what it
is to be Chinese through his
paintings.
Twins: Works by
Oliviero Rainaldi
Until Oct 4
Galeri Petronas
Level 3, Suria KLCC
Petronas Twin Towers, KL
10 am to 8pm (daily)
Free admission
www.galeripetronas.com.my
This is the latest exhibition
by Italian artist and sculptor
Oliviero Rainaldi. The solo
exhibition presents 35
works comprising drawings,
paintings and sculptures
using different techniques
and material. Rainaldi
concentrates on body
language and gestures in
his works of art. This is
his second solo show in
Southeast Asia following
Works 2003-2013 in
Singapore last year.
L+S16
AUG 24
2015
life style
galeríe
A fortnightly column on art investment and appreciation
HEYDAY OF PENANG ART
Penang artist and gallerist Koay Soo Kau has been observing the development of the art scene in his
hometown since the 1960s. He has also launched the careers of many artists since he established
Galeri Seni Mutiara in George Town in 2005. The 69-year-old artist pens down his
observations and looks at what has changed in the scene.
P
enang used to lead in the art scene bemust search for himself and create his own
fore Independence in 1957.And in those
identity, even though he has been influenced
days, artists faced greater challenges
by the work of others. Every artist should be
compared with the present generation.
creative in his own way.
Nevertheless, many of the country’s leading
Pablo Picasso used to say that everyone is
artists were from Penang or came to the island
born an artist.
state and made a name for themselves.
Sometimes, it is sad to see that when certain
Today, there are more opportunities, and
individuals are born with the artistic gift, their
artists are able to sustain themselves better.
talent is not nurtured. It is a waste. There is no
Many artists of yesteryear were trained overdoubt that the development of art in Malaysia
seas. The nearest fine arts institute was the
will flourish.
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore or
Nevertheless, it is our duty as senior artists
the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts in China.
to sow more seeds so that there will be richer
Certain artists tend to have a signature style
harvests in the future.
or a certain identity. The good point is that
So, by having exhibitions — big or small
collectors can recognise their artworks, but the
— young artists will be motivated. Even grafbad point is that such works can be mediocre
fiti (street) art by young artists in Penang has
or stereotypical.
influenced and made an impact on the public.
An artist should always be searching and
Certain artistic styles prevalent in Penang
experimenting at different phases of his life.
are quite conservative. But the exposure to
Artists should not resort to old ideas and reand influence of multimedia art is significant
hash them like putting old wine in new bottles.
today as well.
One of the first Malaysian artists to have an
Penang artists tend to be conservative beexhibition overseas was the late Datuk Chuah
cause they are comfortable with their medium
Thean Teng in 1959. He used to love talking
of expression and the environment.Their work
about his exhibition days in London.
is not as provocative as that seen elsewhere.
The first Malaysian who became a fullNevertheless, they should be sensitive totime artist was Yong Mun Sen. He passed
wards present-day issues.
away in 1962.
Political issues can be a motivating factor for
Datuk Tay Hooi Keat was the first person
art today because it can have a hidden message.
to have had formal art education in the West
Abstract art doesn’t just emerge, it is actually
at the Camberwell School of Art in Britain.
a progressive development. Generally, all artists
He was the first visual artist to be conferred a Koay’s Panorama #III batik work is part of the 41 must learn to express themselves freely. They
Datukship.He was an important educationist works in the exhibition,Penang Art: Then & Now should not just stay in their comfort zone but
and art inspector. He had a nickname — Lao
be willing to take risks and think out of the box.
Hor, meaning “tiger”.
Despite his “fierce” personality, when you got to know him, you Vibrancy
would find that he was an understanding person.
Art became more vibrant in Penang from 2000 onwards, with more
Tan Choon Ghee was an artist who didn’t interact much with people. shows and art galleries. Before that, there were only a few galleries
There are different types of people with different characters. Some and they did not hold exhibitions. But today, there are so many
galleries holding diverse art shows.
artists can have strange personalities.
I am supposed to be part of the second generation of artists, together
The popularity of graffiti, wall murals or street art at local heritage
with prominent names like Tan Chiang Kong,Tan Lye Hoe, Datuk Tay sites also attract crowds of admirers and members of the public who
Mo Leong, Khoo Sui Hoe and Cheung Pooi Yip.All these artists are very don’t usually visit galleries.
close to me, and our friendship goes back a long way.
There have been more visitors moving around, photographing the
Lye Hoe was a good friend. He was a very good teacher who encour- wall paintings and indirectly getting involved in art.
Penang folk have been exposed to art for the last century.So,definiteaged and talked about creativity. As educationists, we don’t believe in
mediocre work or churning out old stuff over and over again; we believe ly, there are many kinds of art collectors. Some buy art for enjoyment
in good and creative art.
as they can admire the paintings that adorn the walls of their homes
Choon Ghee influenced Khoo Cheang Jin. Honestly, every individual or workplaces. And needless to say, there are collectors who purchase
works of art as an investment.
Those who collect art are people who have extra money to spend.
The late Datuk
Generally, it starts with people who want to have some paintings
Chuah Thean
on
their
walls.They include professionals who have been overseas and
Teng is credited
are exposed to art in other parts of the world.
to be the first
Of course, one may say that only the rich can splash their money
Malaysian to
on art. But sometimes, members of the middle-income group who love
have a solo
show overseas,
art are quite willing to acquire good artworks.
held in London
Anyone who loves art will collect if he has the money. On the other
in 1959. In
hand, if one has money but no interest, he is unlikely to buy.
the upcoming
People in the corporate sector who have the means and appreciate
exhibition,
art will likely get involved and buy art as an investment.
Chuah is
Art education and appreciation are the primary motivating factors.
represented by
Nevertheless, Penang people are more cautious and conservative
an unusually
when
it comes to buying art and they don’t buy on impulse. They
textured batik
usually do their homework on the types of art they tend to collect.
painting,
When good artworks turn up on the market and buying opportuentitled
Combing Hair.
nities arise, they will move in.
Koay Soo Kau is the co-curator of the non-selling exhibition, Penang Art: Then & Now, to be held in Penang on Sept 5 and 6 at Menara IJM Land and in Kuala Lumpur
from Sept 11 to 20 at The Edge Galerie. There will be a talk on Penang Art & Artists on Sept 4 in Penang and Sept 10 in KL at 8pm during the previews.
The events are supported by IJM Land. Log on www.theedgegalerie.com for details.
L+S17
AUG 24
2015
life style
t r av e l
WHERE IN THE WORLD
Whether you are inspired by the romance and magic of music and movies or driven by
the desire to be one with nature, here are few special packages and cool
destinations to consider. by Shi Xiao Wei
For fishing enthusiasts
If you have always wanted to catch
a barramundi, Australia-based adventure-cruiser North Star Cruises
has just the thing for you. Its newly
launched Kimberly Barra Bonanza
is a luxury fishing expedition on
board a cruise ship small enough
to snake through deep recesses of
the wilderness, which larger vessels
cannot access. This means fishing
enthusiasts will get to enjoy unique
experiences, such as stalking the
elusive barramundi, engaging in
arm-wrestling with giant trevally
and luring mackerel to their nets.
The cruise starts from Broome in
Kimberley, Western Australia and
offers views of rugged mountains,
gorges and majestic waterfalls.
Along the way, you will pass the
Abrolhos Islands, Ningaloo Reef,
Monte Bello Islands, Rowley Shoals,
Raja Ampat Island in West Papua
province, Cenderawasih Bay and
Louisiade Archipelago in Papua New
Guinea, Sydney Harbour, and Eyre
Peninsula in South Australia. Feeling energetic? Well, you can take
a dive, have a picnic, go for scenic
walks, engage in cultural activities
or enjoy a helicopter ride. That’s
right! The company has its own
helicopter and boats, as well as a
team of biologists and naturalists on
standby to show you around. North
Star Cruises will set sail on Sept 5.
Contact cruise@northstarcruises.
com.au for details.
Rock ‘n’ roll in
Siem Reap
Movie magic at
Mandarin Oriental
Heritage Suites Hotel in Siem Reap,
Cambodia is offering music lovers
a weekend package that combines
a holiday filled with scrumptious
Khmer cuisine and a one-of-a-kind
musical treat. The Signature Khmer
Escapade from Aug 28 to 30 starts
with airport transfer in a 1960s
Mercedes-Benz to your luxurious
bungalow suite, where you can sit
back as resident chef Vibol whips up
a series of Khmer-inspired canapés.
The musical treat is a three-hour
performance by popular local ensemble Khmer Jazz, whose repertoire includes 1960s rock ’n’ roll
hits in contemporary jazz arrangements. At US$700 (about RM2,882)
for two, guests can enjoy all that,
plus breakfast from an à la carte
menu, a Heritage Signature Dinner
at Mezzanine restaurant, a 60-minute aromatherapy massage, as well
as a full day’s tuk tuk service. Visit
www.heritagesuiteshotel.com for
details.
Beguiling Prague, with its beautiful
architecture, museums and scenic
squares, is where movies such as
Mission: Impossible, Amadeus and
Casino Royale were filmed. Picking
up the cinematic thread, Mandarin
Oriental in the capital of the Czech
Republic has put together a package
built around movies to celebrate the
50th anniversary of the Karlovy Vary
International Film Festival, Eastern
Europe’s leading movie event. Guests
who book the Movielicious Getaway
package will get to check in as their
favourite movie character and zip
around in a limousine like a bona
fide celebrity. Take the Barrandov
Film Studios private tour (limousine
service included) and learn all about
movie-making, or visit film sites of
your choice with the guided Prague
Movielicious tour. Get more information on www.mandarinoriental.
com/prague.
Walk with giants
Many of us would have ridden on an
elephant, especially when visiting
Thailand. What about strolling with
them? Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort is known for
its award-winning, ethical and educational camps, where guests get
to interact with its herd of rescued
gentle giants. For a deeper and more
“natural” interaction with them,
try its Walking with Giants programme. You can join these mammals on their daily stroll, accompanied by mahout caregivers and
either the resident vet or biologist,
who will tell you all about elephant
biology and behaviour and other
fascinating facts. Follow the nature
trails or journey into the jungle, depending on the season, and observe
the pachyderms’ antics at bath time
in the river or playtime in the mud.
You can even help prepare the food
for their feed. The resort’s all-inclusive Discovery Package also features
the Mahout Experience and the
Elephant Learning Experience. A
range of additional activities, such
as Elephant Yoga, Sunset Elephant
Trek, Dining by Design at the Baby
Elephant Camp and Elephant Picnic, are available at extra charge.
More information available on
E
www.anantara.com.
Shi Xiao Wei is a Singapore-based
lifestyle writer
L+S18
AUG 24
2015
life style
burning questions on modern malaysian etiquette,
dilemmas and issues of the day by Kam Raslan
talking edge
TAKING A HOLIDAY FROM POLITICS AND
REMEMBERING BUZZING IPOH
To a young boy
growing up in
a small town
in England,
Ipoh seemed
like a modern
metropolis
Dear Kam,
I say, man. It’s all so depressing at the moment. Don’t you
think?
Feeling the Blues
I’ve been taking a break from watching Malaysian politics very
closely, and it’s been great. It strikes me that it’s going to take
a long time before we finally get out of the bizarre mess that
we’re in but I’m confident that eventually we will. I’m basing my
confidence on the notion that nobody is asking for revolutionary
change but actually for a conservative return to an original state
of being, which is so much more possible to achieve.After several
months where remarkable revelations have been happening on
an almost daily basis, the pace has now slowed down and some
have managed to buy themselves a bit of time with some, er,
interesting cover stories.
In the meantime, as I’m settling down for the long haul, I’m
taking an internal holiday. Obviously I’m not taking an actual
holiday and definitely not a holiday overseas because, well, if the
ringgit drops any lower I’ll soon be needing to barter a cow for an
airline ticket. Instead, I’m just getting on with life, trying to be
aware of what’s happening but without letting it get me down too
much. I don’t know how I would cope if I allowed myself to think
of Malaysia as being a basket case without a future. I just don’t
think it would ever come to that but we are playing a dangerous
game. No disrespect to our neighbour intended (in fact, quite the
opposite) but it is an unusual situation when the Philippines is
perhaps the region’s leading example of economic and political
sobriety, and not Malaysia.
So I’m trying to enjoy life a bit and I’m trying not to allow myself
to get depressed. If I compare the scale of Malaysian civil society 20
years ago (it could easily fit into one room) to now, then I am filled
with a sense of expectation. If so much has happened in the last
20 years, then what will we see in the next 20?
Dear Kam,
How dare you be rude about Ipoh!
Ipoh-Mali
I recently made the mistake (not in The Edge, which is in enough
trouble already) of labelling Ipoh as a “small town” and somebody
instantly reacted angrily saying, “Ipoh was never a small town.
It’s a buzzing city with the best food”. It’s funny how Malaysians
always judge a place by the perceived quality of its food, and that
one’s hometown food seems always to be the best.
Back in the 1970s, I was growing up in a small town in England.
The town had one escalator (going up only). A trip to the town’s
escalator was a highlight because it brought back memories of
faraway Kuala Lumpur, which seemed so incredibly modern compared to England. And then I went to visit relatives in Ipoh and I
was equally astonished by that, yes, buzzing city. Arrival in Ipoh
was heralded by the sight of a giant Mercedes-Benz sign on one
of its limestone hills. I was told once (I don’t know if it’s true) that
the Ipoh Mercedes-Benz dealership was the most successful in the
whole world and that Ipoh had more Mercedes per capita than any
other city. I mean, even the taxis were Mercedes. I was young and
I was impressed because Ipoh had buses and food and more than
one cinema, and lots of tin mines.
Ipoh still has buses and food and more than one cinema but the
tin mines have gone and now it does feel like a small town compared
with KL and I can’t help wondering,what do people do there? Everywhere in Malaysia,apart from perhaps Penang and Johor Baru,feels
small compared with KL and propped up by government.The angry
son of the Kinta Valley ended his message with, “How I wish I could
migrate to Ipoh”. But what would you do there for money?
I’ve never lived in Ipoh but I still have family there and I feel
strangely at home whenever I visit, but I wonder, what would Malaysian economic indices look like if we imagined the Klang Valley
to be its own country?
Malaysian guru Kam Raslan imparts his wisdom to readers every week. Converse with confidence!
Please send all questions to [email protected] or fax (03) 7721 8018.
We reserve the right to edit questions and submissions for clarity and brevity.
AUGUST 17, 2015
PENANG ART:
THEN & NOW
D AT O ’ C H U A H T H E A N T E N G , C O M B I N G H A I R , 1 9 8 9 , 8 2 C M X 8 8 C M , O I L O N C A N VA S
PUBLIC EXHIBITIONS
PENANG: SEPTEMBER 4 - 6, 2015
V E N U E : M E N A R A I J M L A N D , 1 6 T H F LO O R , 1 L E B U H T U N K U K U D I N 3 , P E N A N G
TEL: +604-296 1333
KL: SEPTEMBER 11 - 20, 2015
VENUE: THE EDGE GALERIE, G5-G6 MONT’ KIARA MERIDIN,
1 9 J A L A N D U TA K I A R A , M O N T ’ K I A R A , K UA L A LU M P U R
N 3 . 1 74 4 1 ; E 1 0 1 . 6 5 3 1 1
( C LO S E D O N M O N D AY S A N D P U B L I C H O L I D AY S )
TEL: +603-7721 8188 / +603-6419 0102
EMAIL: [email protected]
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L+S19
2009