Chinese American Food

I am a Chinese Malaysian growing up with Chinese food. When I was in the United States, naturally I frequented Chinese American restaurants. In fact, I had my first dinner on American soil in a Chinese American restaurant.

Note that they are called “Chinese American restaurants”, not “Chinese restaurants”. This is because they serve Chinese American food, which is slightly different from what we have here in Asia.

Some of the most common Chinese American dishes are:

beef and broccoli

kong poh chicken

General Zuo’s chicken (左宗棠鸡)

egg foo yong

chap suey

Beef and broccoli is served in nearly every Chinese American restaurant, and it clearly shows the American influence – Americans are heavy beef eaters, and broccoli is the most popular vegetable in the States.

Of course, no meal in Chinese American restaurant is complete without the ubiquitous fortune cookies.

Did I miss anything? Yes, I couldn’t find any Chinese American restaurant which served fried fish or steamed fish.

Now, I know many people will complain that Chinese American food is not authentic. But who cares? After all, Chinese Malaysians have also invented Malayan Scenery (马来风光), Hainanese chicken rice and bak kut teh (肉骨茶).

Recalling Bali’s Second Bombing 2005

Terrorists’ attack on Mumbai reminds me of the second bombing of Bali in 2005…

On October 1, 2005, three suicide bombers blew themselves up in Bali, killing 20 people. Just a few days before the attack, I had already booked my Air Asia flight to the island, scheduled in late October. You know, Tony Fernandes was not going to refund me if I cancel my trip. Not wanting to waste the money already spent, I decided to take a little bit of risk…

Security was tight in Kuta. The guards in McDonalds’ checked my backpack before letting me go in. I avoided restaurants and bars with lots of Westerners, since they were potential targets of terrorists.

I was happy that I didn’t cancel my trip. The terrorists’ objective to kill the innocent people was to stoke fear among the public. When we continued to travel to Bali, we were sending a message to them:

You have failed!

R.aja's Bar & Restaurant was blown up by the suicide bomber in 2005

身分认同

汉学家史书美教授在韩国长大，但是持台湾护照。16岁时她回台湾，参加联考并考取学士学位。接着她到美国加州修硕士，再到北京完成博士学位。史书美的丈夫是欧洲裔美国人，两个儿子都是美国人。

史教授最近到访马来西亚。她在接受星洲日报访问时这么表示：

“从小父母就说我们是中国人，我也一直当自己是中国人。可是到了北京，我才发现我不是中国人，而是美国人。”

美国国家地理摄影师 Michael Yamashita 是日裔美国人。他在美国长大，但是却会说日语。大学毕业后他“回到日本”。无独有偶，他也发现自己“不能够是日本人”。

二十世纪初，日本人口爆炸，许多人移民巴西。八十年代，日出之国劳工短缺，但是恐外 (xenophobic) 的日本人不愿意放松移民政策。最后，东京政府想出了个两全其美的办法：引入日裔巴西人。殊不知，第三代日裔巴西人已经融入巴西主流社会，他们讲葡萄牙语，听的是桑巴 (Samba) 音乐。由于文化上的差异，日裔巴西人和本土日本人有许多冲突。

我曾经在中国工作过几个月，同事中还有许多大马华人。我们之间交谈，主要是讲英语，偶尔也用方言，但就是不说普通话。我想，当时我是在潜意识里告诉别人：“我不是中国人！”

后来我到了美国。在那儿，我有两名同事是中国人。这时，我又以华语（普通话）和他们沟通。

身分认同这东西，还真是有点奇怪。。。

Mike Yamashita

Syariah-approved Shares

Malaysia is an Islamic state. The Islamic institutions exert enormous influence over the Muslims in this country. Even in the stock exchange of Malaysia, there is a list of so-called “Syariah-approved shares”, which are considered halal, or legal, from the perspective of religion.

Of course, this is by no means that Muslims are not allowed to own non-Syariah-approved shares. They are just discouraged to do so. As a non-Muslim, I do not refer to the list when I invest in the stock market.

(By the way, “share” is the British English term. The American equivalent is “stock”.)

I am not clear of how the Islamic institutions select the Syariah-approved shares. I do know that conventional banking in which lenders earn interest is considered haram (illegal). It is, therefore, not surprising that virtually all banking shares are not Syariah-approved.

Two airlines companies are listed in the stock exchange – Malaysian Airlines (MAS) and AirAsia. The latter is Syariah-approved while the former is not. MAS serves alcoholic drinks to the passengers, and alcohol is prohibited among Muslims. Perhaps this is the factor which contributes to its failure to earn approval. AirAsia is no-frills airlines.

But seriously, I believe that AirAsia does not deserve the status. The reason : its female cabin crews wear short skirts!

AirAsia's uniform is definitely 'haram'

Kuala Lumpur Bird Park

I went to KL Bird Park recently and took some pictures. Here you go...

The proud peacock…

Toco Toucan…

Parrot…

In KL Bird Park, “black nets” are hung over walking paths to shield the visitors from tropical searing sun. That’s a good idea, right?

Detroit’s Big Three Asking for Handouts

CEO of the Detroit Big Three (General Motors, Ford, Chrysler), together with the president of the United Auto Workers, flew to Washington D.C. recently. There appeared in the Congress where they demanded bailout amounted to at least $25 billion.

In my MBA study, one of the subjects is Business and Professional Ethics. Now, I wonder if Detroit knows what business ethics are.

Consider these:

• The CEO of the three auto companies and the Union chief were flown to Washington in separate, corporate planes.
• Ford alone maintains 8 corporate jets.
• Workers of GM, Ford and Chrysler make more than $70 per hour in combined wages and benefits, vs. around $40 for their counterparts in rival Toyota’s plants in America.
• When Congress members asked the CEO of the companies to limit their own salaries to $1 million a year, only one (Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli) agreed. GM’s Wagoner and Ford’s Mulally sidestepped the question.

[Source]

Elsewhere, I learn that GM CEO received $15.7 million in compensation last year. [Source] As a comparison, Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs and Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt are paid $1 a year respectively (excluding dividends and other benefits), and you know both companies are doing well.

President-elect Obama has agreed in principle to assist Detroit, but I expect his popularity to dip if the rescue plan is passed in the Congress.

大马华人重新评估美国

奥巴马当选为美国第一位少数民族总统，顿时成为马来西亚华人的新偶像。（请看我的旧贴。）与此同时，大马华人对美国的印象，也有所改观。

许多大马华人，都是“亲中派”。中国近年来迅速崛起，挑战美国的霸主地位，双方有许多利益上的冲突。另外，中美在台独、藏独、人权、苏丹种族清洗等课题上，也意见分歧。可以想象，大马华人普遍上对美国印象不佳。

但是，大马华人和非洲裔美国人一样，都是少数民族，都受到不公平的对待。奥巴马当选总统后，大马华裔领袖乘机批评政府歧视少数民族，并呼吁全国人民向美国学习。美国总统选举，点燃了我们的希望之火。

中国人发明了一个新词，叫“软实力”。美国人跨越种族藩篱，选了个黑人当总统，这就是山姆大叔的软实力。

Chinese Malaysians re-evaluate America

Barack Obama was elected the 44^th President of the United States and immediately became the new idol of Chinese Malaysians. At the same time, they are to re-evaluating America.

Many Chinese Malaysians are fiercely pro-China. The Middle Kingdom rose rapidly since the days of Deng Xiaoping, and is now challenging the United States. Both nations have had a lot of conflicts. In addition to this, Beijing and Washington differ in their positions in such topics as Taiwan, Tibet, Sudan and human rights. Not surprisingly, Chinese Malaysians generally have not got positive feeling towards America.

However, Chinese Malaysians, like African Americans, are minorities in their own country. They have also been treated unfairly in the society. After Obama was elected the President, leaders of Chinese Malaysians criticize the government for discrimination, and urge all citizens to learn from the Americans. American presidential election has given us hope.

China has coined a new phrase, called soft power. Americans overcome racial bias to vote an ethnic minority to the office in a widely acclaimed outcome. This is the soft power of Uncle Sam.

Canon EF 50mm f1.8 mark II

Canon lens EF 50mm f1.8 mark II is made in Malaysia. It is a pride of Malaysia…

At just RM300, or less than US$90, Canon EF 50mm f1.8 produces surprisingly good image quality. I shot the pictures of Evon and Sara exclusively with this lens. Some Hong Kong photographers have dubbed it “Canon’s conscience” (良心之作)

It is, of course, not without flaws. First, focus is hit-or-miss. Second, bokeh can be better. But at this price, what can I complain???

Here is a picture taken with this lens…