We went for a family dinner at Khan's in Bayswater. We missed Mamak food actually, so we had a very hearty meal - lamb bryani and tika, mutton bryani, with a side dish of chicken bourgi, accompanied with drinks of lassi and mango juice. Not surprisingly, the restaurant was filled with people of all races, as London is famous for - the locals, the Arabs, the Chinese, Sri lankans and us Malays. The last time I was here in October 2008, the entrance was being renovated. Now the frontage is completed but the inside decor remains unchanged. The bill came to 49 GBP, which is equivalent to RM296! Very expensive, I should think. Kalau makan di kedai Mamak di Malaysia, tak sampai RM50. The same menu at a hotel also would not reach RM150.

Khan's logo is "If you have not been to Khan's, you have not been to London!" Khan's was established in London since 1977, and if Iam not mistaken, there is a new branch, Khan's at Kensington. The interesting thing about Khan's to me is the palm tree motif used on their corporate logo.

Certainly it reminds me of the oil palm, the Golden Crop of Malaysia.

To me, the oil palm, Elaeis guineensis, is a very beautiful palm species. With a thick canopy of leaves, it gives a good shade to the surrounding area. Years ago, I bought a piece of orchard land in Linggi averaging 1.14 acre. The land was a former oil palm plantation and when the developer asked the buyers whether they want to fell down the palms, I insisted I want the palms to remain encircling my piece of land. It turned out to be a good decision because only my lot boasts of the palms and the other fruit trees planted in my lot grew better than my neighbours because of the cool shade provided by the palms.

Today, I went shopping at Morisson's Shepherd's Bush for our weekly groceries. Morisson's is the only supermarket that has beed awarded the Carbon Trust Award for reducing its carbon emission by 5000 tonnes per day. Morrisson's has put their best footprint forward. So says their poster banner.
In Malaysia, the palm oil industry since 2 decades ago, had changed the paradigm from a waste producer to a sector that has actually utilised the waste. With numerous biofuel projects based on oil palm/palm oil, our country has successfully labelled the Industry as a sustainable industry, despite accusations by other self-interested parties that we are destroying the environment by opening up forests to cultivate oil palm. I cannot say much about the carbon credit issues, but what I see is that the 3P's principle adopted by the Industry, People/Planet/Profits, is a good one, as long as a fine balance is kept amongst the 3Ps for the interests of the country that we love. Proud to be Malaysian -lah!

HARRODS Revisited

Sunday 19 July 2009

We went again to Harrods at Kensington, just to see whatever is left of the Great Sale. We ended up buying nothing that day, maybe because the discount was not good enough as compared to our Malaysian Ringgit. However, we passed through the Dodi-Diana Memorial set up by the owner of Harrods, Al-Fayed, in memory of his son who passed away with Lady Diana Spencer, the Princess of Wales, in a car accident in Paris in August 1997. As always, it was very crowded with visitors taking photos, especially of the beautiful diamond ring, supposedly the engagement ring that Dodi was to give to Diana.

A little bit further away from the Memorial, I was attracted to some pieces of sculpture being displayed on the Eyptian Floor (Lower Ground) of Harrods. There was this piece of wood, claimed to be 30,000,000 years old! I felt it, it was hard and cold as stone.

The Egyptian ambiance recreated in this section of Harrods reminded me of the fact that

palm oil was first discovered as one of the artefacts and remains kept in the tomb of one of the mummies about 5,000 BC. That showed that palm oil was being used a long, long time ago.

Saturday 18 July 2009

Today, my husband and I went again to Portobello Market for the second time this week. While looking at the interesting items on display, we came across a Malaysian couple who are just back from a cruise to Scandinavia and now in London to look up their niece before going back to Malaysia. What strikes me most is that the more we talk, the more things we have in common. For example, we happen to know Pn Sri's sister whom we also saw walking across Westfield in Shepherd's Bush with her grandchildren that week. The world is getting smaller by the day. In fact, when we were at Buckingham Palace last week, I bumped into a friend who is an artist from Shah Alam. Such coincidences happened for a reason which we do not know why. Only God knows. InsyAllah...I shall look them up once back home.

Friday 17 July 2009

We took a trip down south by the M20 to Dover, attracted to the White Cliffs of Dover. Much of the chalk downland along the cliff tops is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and part of the Heritage Coast with interesting and rare flora and fauna. Dover is to be appreciated for its magnificient scenery which not only make it an island nation but has witnessed many historic events in UK, including The Battle 0f Britain, troops leaving and returning during WWI and WWII and Captain Webb swimming the English Channel. We also drove up to Dover Castle to see the spectacular view of the city.

Talking about sites of special interest, the Malaysian Government once was horrified to know that Langkawi Island, famous for its gamat (sea cucumber), was losing the species due to destruction of the coastland because of development. Hopefully, things are back in order, what with the marine Geopark being developed there.

PS. Whatever happened to our Datuk Mydin, the Malaysian English Channel swimmer?

PS 2. To the young Malaysian girl who wanted to attempt swimming the English Channel but had to withdraw because of bad weather, better luck next time.

British Souvereignity vis-a-vis Malay Sultanate

The Roman Baths

The Stonehenge

Thursday 16 July 2009

Today, Windsor, Stone Henge and Bath are a series of tourist attractions to fulfil our itinerary for the 3-day car hire. Windsor boasts of a very beautiful English countryside, very quaint, laid-back and has all the characteristics of a typical English county. Windsor Castle is the official residence of Her Majesty The Queen of England. First established by William the Conquerer in the 11th century, it is also greatly used by royalty for ceremonial and state functions. As you can see, Queen Victoria was there to receive me....

After lunch, we proceeded to view the Stonehenge, another of Britain's World Heritage Site 1986. The Stones is a prehistorian wonder which will forever remain a mystery. There is no concreate evidence yet of its origins there.

Bath is the last in the itinerary for today. It was raining rather heavily when we reached or destination in the late summer evening. The Roman Baths were the attraction that drove us there. In fact, the Roman Baths and the Temple of Sulis Minerva are among the finest Roman remains in Britain. At their heart is Britain's only hot spring. The museum, below the Pump Room, contains the monumental remains and evidence of the people who used them. As darkness falls, the ruins of this vast Roman building are an awesome sight.

PS. Similar to the British monarchy, Malaysians are proud that our country continues to be ruled by the monarchy, in this case the Yang Di Pertuan Agong. It is a symbol of integrity for the Rakyat. As in our National Anthem....Negara -ku, Tanah Tumpah nya darah-ku, Rakyat hidup, Bersatu dan maju, Rahmat bahagia, Tuhan kurniakan, Raja kita, Selamat bertakhta. (Malaysians must sing it with our hearts and our minds, and you should feel the shivers running down your spine)

Branding

Nostalgia about MSD at Bryanston Square in mid 7os

At Bicester Village

Elizabeth Hurley's 1st Retail Outlet

Today we rented a car and went to Bicester Village about 1 hour's drive up M4 towards Oxford. The Village is a branded goods outlet, ranging from shoes and handbags to fine porcelain and crockery. All the big names are there - Dior, Bally, Salvatore Ferragamo, Anya Hindmarch, Jimmy Choo, Elizabeth Hurley, Paul Smith, Polo Ralph Lauren, Thomas Pink, Kath Kidston, Tods, The House of Villeroy & Boch, Wedgewood, etc,etc. Bicester's tagline is Shopping Heaven - Bicester Village - is a good one. As I said earlier, shopping is just to satisfy your personal needs for the brand items that suit your lifestyle.
On the way back, we stopped by the Malaysian Student's Department (MSD), out of nostalgia for the previous one which was once located at 45-46 Bryanston Square in London. As a graduate of a British University in mid70s, Bryanston Square in London during that era, to me, was associated with a brand, ie MSD. To most students, especially the Government-sponsored ones, Bryanston Square is a second home to us during our student days. When the Malaysian Government decided to stop renting Bryanston Square in order to buy the present premises, I felt something which was unexplainable at that time. However, the decision was a good one in the long run because we now own the building premises at 30-34 Queensborough Terrace, which was officiated by the former Prime Minster of Malaysia, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2004.