I thought this article will be of interest to those Asam Pedas fans. Two BP Asam Pedas is featured on Sunday’s The Star newspaper.
Enjoy….
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http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/3/8/sundaymetro/3415038&sec=sundaymetro
Sunday March 8, 2009
Hot…spicy…sour
By FARIDAH BEGUM
Looking for something different and easy on the cholesterol, then a bowl of asam pedas may just be the thing.
SPICY? Sour? Another plate of rice? Ah … yes, we are talking about Asam Pedas – hot, spicy, sour and everything nice!
A key dish in the Malay cuisine of Johor and Malacca, asam pedas is also a favoured dish in Nyonya cuisine and it is not surprising to see that it is a staple at most meals, especially lunch.
Usually fish is used to cook asam pedas, but for variety one can also use chicken and meat with bits of fat, or daging tetel as the Malay community calls it.
It contains onions, garlic, ground dried chillies, shrimp paste and of course, tamarind. There is a marked difference, though, between the asam pedas in Johor and the one in Malacca.
The Johorean version has salted vegetables while the Malaccan one is of a thicker consistency and perhaps, more appealing to some.
A decade or so ago, the writer had an opportunity to try out one of the many shops that had sprung up in Malacca town instead of only having that which was prepared in some homes.
Nevertheless, that first experience of a commercial asam pedas had me hankering for more as it seems more fulfilling.
Of course, not all shops serve good asam pedas … only those in Malacca and Johor seem to get it right.
It is said that when one is in Malacca, then it is imperative that one heads over to the Restaurant Kota Laksamana Asam Pedas Claypot. A favourite tea drinking spot, many Malaccans can be seen making their way here until late at night to enjoy the asam pedas that is served spicy enough for an explosion of flavours before you begin to savour every little nuance of the taste of good tamarind gravy. Here, the asam pedas is served with rice, half a salted egg and stir fried cabbage.
Restaurant Hajjah Mona Asam Pedas, also at Kota Laksamana Melaka, is another good place to try. The restaurant serves asam pedas with your choice of fish – there are several to choose from – and rice, cucumber and half a salted egg.
Unlike the Johor version, the Malaccan version is almost always served with half a salted egg to offset the sourness of the asam pedas and it is a welcome choice.
Kota Laksamana is walking distance from Jonker Street and after a fun time buying antiques, a good meal with asam pedas is definitely recommended.
In Johor, Kedai Makan Rahmat at Kampung Pasir Puteh in Pasir Gudang is pretty famous in the state. No one who works around Johor Baru or on the way to the state capital would miss out on a stopover here, just to have a taste of the famous asam pedas.
Rosli Arshad, 36, popularly known as Ali, is the owner of Restoran Ali Asam Pedas in Jalan Shahbandar, Batu Pahat and this is one outlet that should not be missed. Apparently, business was so good that he opened another shop nearby at Jalan Tanjong Labuh.
Asam Pedas Mak Limah at Selera Murni in Batu Pahat is also famous for her fiery asam pedas. Run by her daughter-in-law, Roziah Atiff, the stall seems popular and is usually crowded.
In Kuala Lumpur, some may miss their mother’s home cooking but Restoran A.J. Masakan Melayu Johor at 50, Jalan Lumut, Off Jalan Ipoh, Kompleks Damai, Kuala Lumpur keeps the homesickness at bay with numerous versions of asam pedas. Here, you have to take the set buffet, which is at RM25 per head and there are at least four types of asam pedas at every setting.
So, whatever your fancy, enjoy a meal sans coconut cream and revel in the full flavour of the fish, chicken or meat that is cooked in asam pedas – Johor or Malaccan style!
News from a Batu Pahat boy who have done very well. Enjoy.
Publish by TheStar Online at:
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/2/28/business/3267753&sec=business
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Saturday February 28, 2009
Having an eye for country living
By THEAN LEE CHENG
Insight into Country Heights founder Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew’s success and philosophy.
There is something about rags-to-riches stories. To those who aspire to be rich, they can be a source of inspiration. To those who have made it, they remind them of their past challenges.
It is a life story that Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew, Country Heights Holdings Bhd (CHHB) vice-chairman, likes to relate to friends. “There is a difference between being rich and wealthy. I like to be wealthy. Being rich means just having a lot of money. Being wealthy means having character and values like filial piety.
“I value my family and I enjoy going around my organic garden. I spend three to four hours in the garden every morning and I come home to dinner every night and have vegetables from my own garden. I consider this true wealth,” says Lee as he sips his tea and picks on his fruit platter in his sprawling five-acre garden in Country Heights Kajang.
Lee showing pictures on the progress of Country Heights Damansara.
For an out-of-town boy who entered the job market with only Form 5 education and a love for languages, Lee has come a long way.
Lee completed his schooling at Batu Pahat Chinese High School and came to Kuala Lumpur to seek his fortune. He found it in land and property development. Although he did not know it then, he was following a time-tested and proven formula that have made many rich. Other than Bill Gates who made his billions with Microsoft, a large percentage of the world’s rich made it through real estate.
Lee is best known for Country Heights Kajang and The Mines Resort City in Seri Kembangan, Selangor. He was among the first to initiate country living because of his love for nature. Several years ago, he tried to replicate his success in Kajang with Country Heights Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.
Lee seems to have a knack for packaging and marketing locations which ordinarily would not have caused so much as a flutter. Being a sales person was his teenage dream.
As a 17-year-old, Lee worked as a translator in a text book printing company in the city in 1973. His starting salary was RM120, or RM4 a day. He then landed a job selling wrapping paper to a Chinese medicine shop, being the first Chinese boy to do so.
“It was ironic. I was the first Chinese boy to sell that paper. It was generally done by Indian boys.”
As he enjoyed sales and being entrepreneurial, he decided to do his own printing. He bought raw materials and sourced for someone who was able to print the Chinese seal on the wrapping paper. Before long, Lee was trading in antiques, selling cakes and bread, remote-controlled gates and ovens.
Lee married at 28 and became a father a year later. “When I turned 30, I asked myself what I wanted to do and what I was best at. I began to re-examine my life and told myself to concentrate on one business.”
Lee went into property development in 1985 against the wishes of his family. With the money he had made earlier, he negotiated a deal with Tan Sri Azman Hashim, the founder of AmBank Group, and partner who owned the land in Sg Ramah. That location eventually became Country Heights Kajang. He agreed to pay Azman and partner double the land value on a deferred basis and a percentage of the profits.
The recession arrived in 1986 but Malaysia only felt its effects about a year later in 1987. He sold Country Heights Kajang at RM6 per sq ft. Then the Asian financial crisis came in 1997/98. Soon after, he launched Country Heights Damansara at between RM110 and RM130 per sq ft.
“Today, we have this global crisis. But I am undeterred because the real assets, to me, will always be land and property development. Much of the world’s problem today is due to too much paper wealth. Property is true wealth. Everything begins with a piece of property.”
Having ventured into country living, industrial and commercial developments, Lee is now bullish about golf courses. In December last year, he introduced The Mines Golf City project near Bukit Beruntung, Rawang.
He will be building the country’s largest golf course with 63 holes. The project will have a gross development value (GDV) of RM3bil.
“My interest today is developing golf courses. Last year, I relinquished my position as CHHB group MD to focus on this personal venture. In 2011, the first 18 holes will be ready. There will be low density bungalows around the golf course. Why now, you may ask, and of all things, golf?
“I see the opportunity. We have a global economic crisis but we will get out of it, and when we do, there will be people who will want to own a property with lots of green and water features. Golf is also a sport that most will aspire to be a part of. It is a sport that denotes progress,” says Lee, who plays golf four times a week.
Lee attributes his success to his spirit of adventure in the corporate world and what he calls in Cantonese kuai yen.
“A kuai yen is someone who comes alongside you to support, mentor and teach; a person who provides that much-needed initial push or inspiration to give you a head start. My kuai yen were Azman, who owned that Sg Ramah land which I eventually turned into Country Heights Kajang, and former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“I consider Dr Mahathir my mentor. He has visited me in my house before and also knows all my five children. He helped by opening up the country’s policies, which aided not only me but bumiputras and other businessmen. He helped me by gracing some of my events. But I never applied for any jobs from the Economic Planning Unit. All my businesses were my own.”
Lee met Dr Mahathir when he started the riding club.
“Dr Mahathir came for horse-riding. He thought I was very courageous in my various business ventures. That was how the friendship started. He suggested that I visit certain places in the US to see the housing developments there. So I went. At that time, I was planning Country Heights Kajang and he was always supportive of those who had new ideas. So I consider him my teacher. In life, all of us need someone like that and I was fortunate to have two very prominent Malaysians as mentors. I often met him when he was the prime minister. I was still active in CHHB then. Till today we still meet and the last time was during the Chinese New Year celebrations.
“I am now concentrating on my golf city, organic garden and qigong (a Chinese relaxation exercise) and my family.”
There are four generations living in his 15,000 sq ft home, a white eclectic design with colonial robusity on a five-acre garden. Located on a piece of the choicest land in that location, it occupies a high peak in that homestead development.
“My 93-year-old mother, children and grandchildren are with me. Every week, my mother still goes out to town to do her hair. I would ask my children – if all of you always fight among yourselves, will the family be able to progress? If you are poor, but there is harmony, will the family progress? And I tell them – If you are rich, but there is constant disharmony, what you have will be gone. The same principle applies to the country. Such is my philosophy.
“My wife always pushes the children to study hard. I value character building.
“I have a special piece about husband and wife relationship – the husband is the sky, the wife is the earth. She plays a nurturing role. The husband is a covering for the wife and the children they may have together. To me, it is not an equal relationship as far as we in the East are concerned. These are the values I want to hand down to my future generations.”
