all about me

Wassup, my name is Brandon Lee.  I was on July 26, 1992.  My Chinese name is 李志行 (Li Zi Xing).  I am from Rosemead, California.  It is best known for as the birth place of Siracha.  It is located right next to El Monte, Pasadena, Alhambra, and Monterey Park.  I have two siblings, one older brother who is also my twin, and another younger brother who is 4 years younger than me.

I am Chinese.  My dad was born is China, but at a very young age, his grandmother was very ill so he had to move to Hong Kong to tend to her, so he says that he is from Hong Kong because that was where he was raised.  My mother is from Malaysia, but tells me that she is Chinese because that a true Malaysian is like the Indian ones and that to the Malaysian people, she is not seen as a true Malaysian.
My hobbies include playing video games, hanging out with my friends, basketball, baseball, football, track and field, and some other stuff I can’t remember.  I was the captain of my schools track and field team.  My favorite teams for sports include for basketball: the Lakers, Trailblazers, and the Heat. For Football: The Jets and the Chargers.  For baseball: the Dodgers and the Giants.  The favorite players for each sport are: Dwyane Wade, Reggie Bush, and Andre Ethier  My favorite type of music is R&B and Kpop.  My favorite artist is Taeyang and my favorite song as of now is “Look Only At Me.” My favorite food is Spaghetti, my favorite color is red, and I tend to wear American Eagle, A&F, nike, vans, and lucky brand clothes.

story of the finger kowtow

Last week, my family came to visit me all the way from Los Angeles for Columbus Day weekend.  It was really fun because I got to see my dad, brother, and grandparents again.  Also because I got to see my beautiful car again.  I couldn’t bring it with me because its hard to find parking spots around San Fran, and because I’m afraid to drive up the hills.  My dad and brother stayed for a day and my grandparents stayed for three because they have a lot of friends in this area, so I decided to tag along with them after my classes would end so I could be with them.  We went to all these Chinese restaurants and I realized something….  Why do Chinese people tap the table when someone else is pouring tea into their cups?  I did a little researching and found out it was an expression of gratitude.
It was invented during the Qing dynasty under the rule of the Qianlong Emperor.  He liked to travel incognito a lot.  Once, in a tea house with some friends of his, in order to conceal his secret, he took his turn to pour tea for everyone on the table.  His friends wanted to kowtow, which was like when you bow to the emperor, for it was a great honor to have the emporer to pour tea for you to drink, but couldn’t because it would give away the emperors secret.  Thus, the finger kowtow was invented.  The middle finger represented the bowed head and the two other fingers represent the arms.

Peace, Brandon =]

李小龍

Today, I’m going to talk about Asians in the movie industry in America and probably the most famous Asian in all of Hollywood.  Well, we all know that the most famous Asian person in Hollywood today is none other than kung fu master, Jackie Chan.  Chan is in many movies including, the Rush Hour Trilogy, Shanghai noon and Shanghai Knights, Kung Fu Panda, The Forbidden Kingdom, Around the World in 80 day and many more.  His name is probably most known out of all the Asian actors in America.  After that, there is Jet Li, Chow Yun Fat, <3 Lucy Liu <3, and many more.  We can’t forget who paved the way for most of these Asian actors, Bruce Lee.  Bruce Lee was known for his phenomenal fitness, his yellow jumpsuit, kicking ass with nun chucks, and his super fast fighting moves.  Lee was a first generation born in the San Francisco to parents from Hong Kong, however, he was raised Hong Kong and moved back to America to claim citizenship.   The story of Bruce Lee is known by many people as a tragedy, for he died at a very young age due to swollen brain.
Bruce Lee created his own fighting style called Jun Fan Gung Fu which meant Bruce Lee’s Kung Fu.  He starred in many movies such as Enter the Dragon, Game of Death, The Big Boss, and many more.  Some of his feats included throwing a grain of rice into the air and catching it with chopsticks mid-air and snatching a nickel from someone’s hand before they could close it and put a penny back.  A little fun fact is that Bruce Lee’s son, who also died at a young age from a tragedy, shares the same name as me, Brandon Lee

The Differences of Education between America and China

As an international student student here,i have a lot to say about the the Differences of Education between America and China .
Education is culture, and different educations show different societies’ culture. Americans regard education as the means by which the inequalities among individuals are to be erased and by which every desirable end is to be achieved. While Chinese education is for foundation education, but students may be not learn much. But all in all, different education systems account for the different phenomenon, because different society backgrounds and different culture helps human create a different country in the world.

The different society structure plays an important part in the education system. In China, all those who can enter the University have received an elite education and before enrollment they have devoted themselves to hard studying. Therefore, they are good at getting high marks on mathematics, psychics and so on. However, they are lack of chances to practice skills in real world thus having no social experiences. In that case, after graduation, most students find it difficult to find a satisfactory job though many of them get a job through the relationship net.

While in America, the education system pays more attention to social skills than to marks .Students have developed the ability to be independence in life and work. After university, they show great capability of thinking, innovation and creation which make them keep pace with the modern world. They are competent for the challenging work and can gain a good job in America with ease.

There is a huge gap on education between America and China, but we can’t say which one is right or wrong, ‘cause each of the education system is based on the different backgrounds, American education should be following the American’s culture, meanwhile, Chinese education has to follow Chinese culture. A good education model for China is very important to the learning process, and also is very hard. But the most important thing we need is the modern education which is internationalization education system and localization education systems unite for China and America, this is also what the education itself needs.

----By  Yihua Hu

Traditional Chinese Painting

An important part of the country's cultural heritage, the traditional Chinese painting is distinguished from Western art in that it is executed on xuan paper (or silk) with the Chinese brush, Chinese ink and mineral and vegetable pigments.

To attain proficiency in this branch of art calls for assiduous exercise, a good control of the brush, and a feel and knowledge of the qualities of xuan paper and Chinese ink.

Before setting a brush to paper, the painter must conceive a well-composed draft in his mind, drawing on his imagination and store of experience, Once he starts to paint, he will normally have to complete the work at one go, denied the possibility of any alteration of wrong strokes.

Xuan paper, as discussed in a previous article, is most suitable for Chinese painting. It is of the right texture to allow the writing brush wet with Chinese ink and held in a trained hand, to move freely on it, making strokes varying from dark to light, from solid to hollow. These soon turn out to be human figures, plants and flowers, birds, fish and insects, full of interest and life.

Many a Chinese painter is at the same time a poet and calligrapher. He will often add a poem in his own hand on the painting, which invariably carries an impression of his seal. The resulting piece of work is usually an integrated whole of four branches of Chinese art-- poetry, calligraphy, painting and seal-cutting.

Chinese paintings are divided into two major categories: free hand brushwork (xieyi) and detailed brushwork (gongbi) . The former is characterized by simple and bold strokes intended to represent the exaggerated likenesses of the objects, while the latter by fine brushwork and close attention to detail. Employing different techniques , the two schools try to achieve the same end, the creation of beauty.

It is difficult to tell how long the art of painting has existed in China. Pots of 5,000-6,000 years ago were painted in colour with patterns of plants, fabrics, and animals, reflecting various aspects of the life of primitive clan communities. These may be considered the beginnings of Chinese painting.

China entered the slave society about 2000 B.C. Though no paintings of that period have ever come to light, that society witnessed the emergence of a magnificent bronze culture, and bronzes can only be taken as a composite art of painting and sculpture.

From this and other early paintings on silk it may be easily seen that the ancients were already familiar with the art of the writing or painting brush, for the strokes show vigour or elegance whichever was desired. Paintings of this period are strongly religious or mythological in themes.

Paintings on paper appeared much later than those on silk for the simple reason that the invention of silk preceded that of paper by a long historical period.
In 1964, when a tomb dating to the Jin Dynasty (265- 420 A. D) was excavated at Astana in Turpan, Xinjiang, a coloured painting on paper was discovered. It shows, on top, the sun, the moon and the Big Dipper and, below, the owner of fan in his hand. A portrayal in vivid lines of the life of a feudal land-owner, measuring 106.5 cm long 47 cm high, it is the only known painting on paper of such antiquity in China.

---by Yihua Hu

PEKING OPERA(Beijing Opera)

Do you guys heard Beijing opera before which is also called Peking Opera?here is the pic of that

       Today i gona tell you what is Beijing opera  is,this is the quintessence of China. The largest Chinese opera form, it is extolled as 'Oriental Opera'. It has 160 years history and created many 'firsts' in Chinese dramas such as the abundance of repertoires, the number of artists, opera troupes and spectators.

Beijing Opera is developed from absorbing many other dramatic forms, mostly from the local drama 'Huiban' which was popular in South China during the 18th century. It is a scenic art integrating music, performance, literature, aria, and face-painting. Certain rules are set up and regulations are standardized during many artists' long practice on stage. Different from regional plays, it is stricter on the variety of the workmanship. The combination of virtual and reality - a special technique of expression, keeps it largely free from the restriction of time and space on stage performance. Beijing Opera has had many interesting names since it came into being, such as Jinghuang, Daxi, Pingju, Jingxi.

Beijing Opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics

          Then let’s talk about the main roles in Beijing Opera Performance which are Sheng,Dan and Jing.
 Sheng: It's a common name of male characters and composed of Lao Sheng and Xiao Sheng. Lao Sheng refers to the middle-aged man with a beard who acts as the decency figure; for example, Zhugeliang in 'Empty City Scheme'. Xiao Sheng means young man without a beard. Zhangsheng in 'The Story of the West Room' is a representative of Xiao Sheng.

 Dan: The general name for female characters in Beijing Opera can be divided into Zhengdan, Huadan, Laodan, Wudan. Zhengdan is also called 'Qingyi', who mainly plays the part of the strong-minded middle-aged woman who behaves elegantly. Huadan refers to little girls who often live in the bottom of society. Laodan refers to the senior woman and Wudan indicates the female who is good at fighting.

 Jing: Painted face often refers to male characters with unique appearance or personality, such as Baozheng and Caocao. Besides, Chou is a comic role or villainous character or righteous person. The actor's nose is painted by a piece of white powder, making him or her easily recognizable.

Hope you guys can know what Peking Opera is now.

-----By  Yihua Hu

asian american cultrue- rap song in CHINESE

RAP SONG!!! right now a lot of chinese song or japanese song has rap in it. the rap part will be in chinese, english or even japanese. in taiwan, a lot of singer will rap their song because we got the influence from the american.

when i listen the chinese song or japanese song, sometime i will herd the rap song and it sound really good in the music. the singer will rap the chinese or english in their song and when they rap the word it kind like english to me..... because had listen english rap song before and it sound like it. but i can tell you that i do not like english rap song because i dont really understand the word that they are saying....maybe is that i am not an american.... or is just they are saying the song too fast and i cant cought a word that they are saying. but when i hear the taiwanese rap the song, i can hear the word that they are saying and it will be in chinese. Do anyone heard about Jay Chou?! he is a taiwanese singer and his singing is very populary in asian american culture and even in American where the asian live. many asian will listen to his song because he is a great singer and a musician,he know how to play piano and he is really good at it. and when he sing, he will sing in rap also slow song.
 the RAP song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HsoqeWyQ_A

the SLOW song SAID GOODBYE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJaz1g_7XHA&feature=related

the gye play piano is Jay Chou~~
fill free to click on this 2 link~
-angie long

ASIA AMERICAN JAPANESE FAIR

Last month was the japanese fair at Millbrae. My franid and I we went to the Japanese Fair after the church. I remember when I was in my high school, whic is Mill High School, I will join the Japanese club because i am tacking the japanese class and i am also part of the club. the japanese will be on saturday and sunday and it will be on whold day. many people will come to the fair and had fun and eat a lot japanese food. for me, i am the one who sell the japanese food, i see a lot of japanese come to buy the food and even the american will come to buy the food. when the japanese come, i will say japanese to them and they will say japanese back to me but when the american come they will also say japanese like very easy word that every one know how to say"konichiwa" this is most people say the world even they do not tacking the japanese but they still know how to say it. when they say "konichwa", i was very happy beecause they know how to say "Hi" in japanese and it was very great haah and after they left, they will say "sayonana" this is mean "goodbye" however, in japan, most people will not say this word because this world mean i will never see you again!! we will say "jaa ne" or "mada ne" this is how we will say!! is mean bye, or see you later. It is depend how you would use this word.

-angie( angela) long

Banana Island

Banana Island!!! Yes, BANANA ISLAND!!
THIS IS a THAI REASTAURANT at Daly City. This is a good restaurant at Daly City too.
When I was small, I always come to California for a vacation and my aunt will take me to Banana Island.  However, when she told me the name i was thinking about a Island name banana and i ask my aunt that are we going to an island?? She said YES, WE ARE so at that moment i was very happy because i can go to an island. when we arrive the place, i said "where is the island?" and my aunt said to me "this is the Banana Island" = =" yes, i got trick by my aunt.... what you except, I was small and i was a child.... don’t know that it was a restaurant...LOL~~ so now when i go to Banana Island I will remember the funny story.....
The food I like is  Naan, it come with mild curry sauce and potato. and the dessert is Fried Banana, it has strawberry topping and vanilla ice cream!! This two are very delicious but i like the most is the dessert! You should save some room to eat this dessert!! haha~~
 I WILL GIVE YOU THE ADDRESS INCASE YOU WANT TO EAT IT!!

Banana Island
416 Westlake ctr
Daly City. CA 94015

GO TRY IT!!! IS VERY GOOD!!

BY: ANGIE LONG

iron chef!

This is really late but im gonna talk about the iron chef challenge.  So we picked the country Malaysia, which was really good, because other members of my group wanted to pick Malaysia, and because my mom’s side of the family is from Malaysia.       We split up the edutainment part of the presentation.  Mine was easy because I had the reason for immigrating to America part with Chris and some personal stories to help back up the stories.  Ok so first, we had to discuss the type of foods to make or Americanize, so I called my mom and asked her for any ideas and she came up with curry chicken.  So, I had her send me a pack of authentic real Malaysian curry paste.  Then my group had to buy groceries.  Jessica had a car so we got to go to 99 Ranch Market, and Safeway which was fun because I’ve personally never ever been or heard of a Safeway in my life.  So that was a good experience that I shared with my team.  We ended up buying chicken, onions, and coconut milk for the curry chicken.

Then, on the day before the competition, it was showtime for me.   I had to cook the curry chicken for the first time after watching my mom cook it so many times that I couldn’t count and man! Did she make it look easy.  The oil for the chicken kept popping and I had multiple burns on my hand, but hey, I had to take one for the team.  After, it was getting late, so we decided to eat dinner together at Jessica’s apartment.  We had some extra curry paste, and coconut oil, so I made another batch of curry chicken and the girls made something really good with coconut oil and lettuce.  All in all, it was an awesome day and I got to know my group members really well and we are a pretty good team now =].

Peace, Brandon

Taeyang

     Ok today im going to talk about one of the biggest Kpop celebrities in america.  None other than Youngbae or Taeyang (stage name).  So taeyang ( pronounced tai-yawng)  is part of YG entertainment.  He is part of the group Big Bang.  His more popular songs are: Where u at?, I’ll be there, Only look at me, and Wedding Dress.  Wedding dress was the song that first got me into kpop.  It’s also one of my favorite songs, I can play it on piano, and I’m currently learning the dance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIt6KCwlFPw
     Taeyang is known for his awesome voice, his amazing dancing skills( likes to spin a lot), and his fluctuating hair styles( right now it’s the taehawk.)  He has an under brother.
Taeyang first started out as a trainee with his group member G-Dragon.  They are really close, like brothers.  They both trained together under the watchful eye of YG, then, TOP, Daesung, and Seungri.  There were six members in the beginning, but one was the weak link so he got cut ^_^.  Taeyang is the shyest among his group: he tends to be afraid to talk to the ladies and has never had a girlfriend.
Taeyang had a stint where he went solo for a while, debuting with his first album called, Hot.  Recently he released his second album called Solar, which is what Taeyang means in English.  Thanks to a birthday requests, I was fortunate to get a copy of the album and I think that all the songs are very good.

 peace, Brandon

So, a couple days ago, my roommate just confessed to me a secret about when we first met during move-in day.  He told me that he when he saw another asian guy, he thought it was me and called my name out but it was someone else LOL.  Then he confessed that he was from a city where in his high school, there was only one asian person and so, he thought that all asian people looked alike.  At first I thought it was an insult, but then I realized, there are some people that I’ve never met.  Like I don’t think you can compare it, but I’ve lived in Los Angeles all my life, and I’ve never seen a celebrity.  Guess u can kind of relate that?  
       Anyways, so I’ve recently enlarged my world of Korean pop music.  I used to only be a fan of Taeyang and SNSD because my best friend is obsessed with it, but now thanks to a couple friends from the KSA, I now have become a fan of Se7en and 2ne1 because I was browsing through allkpop.com and I saw the prettiest girl ever!!!!                                    <3 Sandara Park <3.

Another thing I would like to bring into the spotlight is something I found rascist about an old anime that everybody has heard: Dragon Ball Z.  I thought it was always cool when Gohan or Vegeta would go super saiyan, but then I realized “Hey, when they turn super saiyan, they become blondes and have blue-green colored eyes,  that’s what hitler thought what would be the superb race, which started the holocaust.”  So, the creators of DBZ think that being blonde and have blue/green eyes would make somebody better, than say a regular person? I’m not sure if I would agree with that.

Peace, brandon

Asian American Star Angelina &Lee-Hom

Gina Hiraizumi  ,Jacky Chen,Bruce Lee ...Who gona come to your mind when you see Asian American Star at the first mind?

Today I want introduced two Asian American Star who i like most.
The first one is Angelina Jolie,she was born on June 4, 1975. She is an American film actor and a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. She has been cited as one of the world's most beautiful women and her off-screen life is widely reported. Jolie has received three Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and an Academy Award. She is now married to Brad Pitt. Jolie and Pitt have three adopted children, Maddox, Pax, and Zahara, as well as three biological children, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne. Jolie has promoted humanitarian causes throughout the world, and is noted for her work with refugees through UNHCR.The reason i choose she is almost every younger generation in China knows she.

The another one is Lee-Hom Wang who is a four-time Golden Melody Award-winning Taiwanese-American singer-songwriter and actor who has achieved highly recognized success in Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, and throughout Southeast Asia. He coined the term "chinked-out" music to describe his music, which is heavily influenced by traditional Chinese music.Wang is managed by and records albums with Sony BMG Taiwan. Since 1995, Wang has contributed in over 25 albums, and has sold approximately 15 million records. In addition to his music, Wang also participated in several films, his role in Ang Lee's Lust, Caution gaining the most attention. He is also an environmental activist, and was invited to be one of the first torchbearers for the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, carrying the torch in Olympia, Greece on March 24, 2008. He was also invited to perform in the closing ceremonies. His album Change Me was dedicated to raising eco-awareness among Chinese youth. Wang was listed among "The 100 Most Inspiring Asian Americans of All Time" by Goldsea Asian American Daily.
Because of them -Asian American Star ,we can know more about the cross cultural.
--By YIHUA HU

A Chinese girl-YIHUA HU

This is me-YIHUA HU just passing my 21th birthday which is so important in U.S. And I had a wonderful birthday party that I really pleasured it.

 I am a girl who from southeastern part China. As an international student I learned a lot about the cross culture. I am sophomore this year,my major is accounting which i already decided when i was in middle school. Using some word to describe myself is like: 
 independent (since being a international student, I already learn how to be independent and how to take care of myself
 outgoing &warm-hearted(I like make friends ”one more friend -one more road “ this is a idiom in China which I like most. And I  like help people as much as I can ,I enjoy to be a volunteer, and the recently I did was went to CITY TEAM to help the homeless people and  went to the FOOD BANK  to help put food on the table for people who need it .
 enthusiastic (As for study ,I have set plan at the beginning of every semester ,I took 18/19 units per semester and I try my best to get the as high as I can. As for life  and i always hangout with my friends and do something meaningful during the weekend and a have a lot of hobbies which is play chess ,watch the daily news, do some sport like play table tennis badminton swimming basketball and so on. I am a kind person who study hard during weekdays and I enjoy my life on the weekend, 7days a week I always busy which only because I am a enthusiastic person

This is me-YIHUA HU,here is a pic which i took last month after I first time being model of Standford Fashion Show in U.S.

ＭE♥♥♥♥~~

HEY EVERYONE♥~~~

My name is Angela Long. I am come from Taipei, Taiwan♥ I was born on January 29, 1991. 

My Chinese Zodiac is Hourse~~ My constellations is Aquarius~~~~ 

My chinese name is Long Kai Chi(龍凱琪). 

My last name Long(龍) in chinese is mean Dragon!!^U^

I am the Freshmen at San Francisco State University. I am live on campus.

 

 

I can speak Taiwanese, Mandarin, English, and Japanese. I had learn Japanese since I was in fifth grade and I had attend Japanese School during my fifth grath through out High School year. And now I am learning Japanese on my own(^~^) I love Japan and love to learn their language, their culture also the FOOD! I will watch the japanese drama, read the comic book, and listen the japanese songs!!!! Sometime, I will cook Japanese food for my family and friends and they ♥ it!! I will make Sushi, Hand Rool,Sashimi, and more and more, I love to cook~~

My major is...... I am not sure yet but I am thinking about either Interior Design or  Industrial Art and  maybe my minor will be JAPANESE!! but i am still not SURE yet= =" right now is just very hard to think of it HAHA~~ 

I love animals, at my home I used to have three dogs but two of them pass awa(>x<) 

so now I have one dog left. they are Cocker Spaniel,  Look, don't they look cute(^W^)~~ 

their name is 

                             ←Tiffany,   Tiny(black&white), and   Tiger→

They are familly!! Mother, Daughter, and Son. Tiffany(mom) and Tiny(daughter) they are passaway two years ago and now is only Tiger still alive!! when I wan in Taiwan, we have fish, is salt water fish, we have Clown fish, lion fish, sea urchins, starfish,sea hourse, corla ... more and more, if you watched the movie Finding Nemo, most of the fishs you saw in the movie I have it in my fish tank~~~ but not sea turtle><!! I wish I can have it haha~

they are very BEAUTIFUL and COLORFUL FISHS.

BY: ANGELA LONG

Dim Sum Becomes Chinese-American food

This is the dim sum restaurant i went last week .And i wait about 45min outside of the door,the food there was decilious.But I can not help thinking why dim sum so popular in U.S.and how it becomes one kind of  Asian Amercian food.

Originally a Cantonese custom, dim sum is inextricably linked to the Chinese tradition of "yum cha" or drinking tea. Teahouses sprung up to accommodate weary travelers journeying along the famous Silk Road. Rural farmers, exhausted after long hours working in the fields, would also head to the local teahouse for an afternoon of tea and relaxing conversation.

Still, it took several centuries for the culinary art of dim sum to develop. At one time it was considered inappropriate to combine tea with food: a famous 3rd century Imperial physician claimed this would lead to excessive weight gain. As tea's ability to aid in digestion and cleanse the palate became known, tea house proprietors began adding a variety of snacks, and the tradition of dim sum was born.

Today, dim sum is served throughout China. In The Taste of China, Ken Hom shares his memories of enjoying regional variations of "small eats": jiaozi in Beijing, pearl balls in Shanghai and spicy huntuns (wontons) in Szechuan province. But, he agrees with others that the best dim sum in China is found in Canton, with its wide assortment of sweet and savory dishes ranging from meatballs to sweet cakes. Still, it is probably true that the best Cantonese dim sum chefs are found not in China but in Hong Kong, where restaurants begin serving dim sum as early as 6:30 in the morning and continue through mid-afternoon.



YIHUA HU

Iron Chef......

Iron Chef last week was great! I learned so much about how so many different asians migrated to America, meanwhile the food was delicious. I never knew that so many different Asians came to America for different reasons. Some came because of the awful communism in their countries. Some came because of the "brain drain". Some came for the gold. And the list goes on. But what is most important is that the only thing that  connects all of the Asian Americans together is that they all came from the same place. Now that I am more educated about their culture, I can honestly say that I understand why they get angry when people call them all Chinese..... they are all different and come from different countries, have different cultures, and overcame totally different struggles. Til next time keep it heemin.

Chris Harrold

Malasysia- Iron Chef!!!

MALAYSIA

Malasysia. is a country in  South East Asia (near Indonesia) whose strategic sea-lane position brought trade and foreign influences that fundamentally influenced its history. Malaysia is on the Malay Peninsula in southeast Asia. The nation also includes Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo to the east. Most of Malaysia is covered by forest, with a mountain range running the length of the peninsula. Extensive forests provide ebony, sandalwood, teak, and other wood.

The History ...Forming the Independent State of Malaysia 

 The Japanese occupation of Malaysia during World War II, a growing nationalist movement prompted the British to establish the semiautonomous Federtion of Malaya in 1948. But Communist gurrillas took to the jungles to begin a was of national liberation against the British, who declared a state of emergency to quell the insurgency, which lasted until 1960.

  The independent state of Malaysia came into existence on September 16, 1963, as a federation of Malaya, Singapor, Sabah ( North Borneo), and Sarawak. In 1965, Singapor withdrew from the federation to become a separate nation. Since 1966, the 11 states of former Malaya have been know as West Malaysia, and Sabah and Sarawak as East Malaysia.

  In our group, we decided to cook  Malaysian chicken curry as a main dish and for the dessert is a  Burbur Cha Cha!!

  If you do not knwo what is Burbur cha cha...  then I will tell you what is it... A popular Nyonya dessert called 'Bubur Cha-Cha'.

Nyonya are the descendents of Chinese-Malay marriages, the male being known as Baba and the female as Nyonya, pronounced nyoh-nyah and sometimes spelt Nonya. Although the first communities first proliferated in Malacca, many Babas and Nyonyas settled in Penang and Singapore - and therefore - were also called Straits Chinese.

This unique marriage of cultures also resulted in a novel marriage of cuisines, both Chinese and Malay, and is what is now known in Malaysia as Nyonya food.  While Nyonya food contains many of the traditional ingredients of Chinese food and Malay spices and herbs, Nyonya cuisine is eclectically seasoned and different than either Chinese or Malay food. Nyonya food originating from the North of Malaysia - Penang, and Nyonya food originating from the South - Malacca and Singapore, have distinct differences. Nyonya cooking in the South have an Indonesian influence. The food is generally sweeter and richer with the addition of coconut milk and more traditional Malay spices. Meanwhile, Nyonya food in the North drew inspiration from neighboring Thailand. Nyonya food in the North, specifically Penang, has a preference for tangy or sour food, using tamarind paste and green mangoes.

Nyonya cuisine is also famous for it's Kuih [cake or dessert]. Nyonya desserts are varied and extraordinary. They are strongly Malay influenced and made from ingredients like sweet potato, yams, glutinous rice, gula Melaka [palm sugar], agar agar, coconut milk and even beans like red bean and green or mung beans. Just as the ubiquitous vanilla bean is used in desserts, Pandan are used, giving Nyonya desserts it's signature quintessence!

Bubur Cha Cha - Sweet Potato And Yam Pudding

 Ingredients

* 2 Small (450 g) Sweet Potatoes, diced

* 1 /2 (120 g) Yam, diced

* 1 ½ Tbsp Sago Pearls, rinsed

* 1 Tin (400 ml) Coconut Milk

* 150 ml Water

* 2 Pandan Leaves

* 3 Tbsp Sugar or more to taste

*A Pinch of Salt

Method

* Steam the sweet potato and yam on a high heat for about 8 to 10 minutes or until cooked.

* In a medium saucepan, combine coconut milk, pandan leaves, and water and bring it to a boil. Then add Sago pearls and cook for about 5 minutes.

* Mix in the sweet potato and yam and continue to simmer and season with sugar and salt. Serve immediately. W

 

Chicken Curry Malaysian Style

 Ingredients:

* 3 lb Whole chicken, cut into serving size pieces

* Malaysian meat cutty power

* 1/2 cup cooking oil

* 1 can coconut milk

* salt

* sugar

* cooking wine

* 1 onions, sliced

**** we combind the curry chicken with humburger to make like american style and for the dessert Bubur Cha Cha, we add some 7up in the dessert to make like american drink.


BY: ANGELA LONG