Bali

Balinese Mornings

April 19, 2011

I recently signed up for a 10-week creative writing course and have been loving it! Today’s post is an excerpt from last week’s assignment. The task: to write about a season in the context of place. This piece was inspired by my time living in Bali early last year. There is a faint musk in […]






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My favourite: Tempe Manis (sweet fermented boiled soy bean)

March 24, 2010

This is a basic tempe recipe that can be made with peanuts and small dried fish for variation. Like tofu, tempe has very little taste by itself, but when cooked, it absorbs the flavours of the other ingredients. INGREDIENTS 1/2 lb tempe (or one block) 1 cup peanuts (optional) 2 cups small dried fish (optional) […]






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Sambal Udang (hot sauce prawn)

March 23, 2010

As promised, here it is! Hot sauce prawn, Balinese style.  When you’ve got bumbu bali, the possibilities are endless. INGREDIENTS 5-7 large prawns 1 1/2 tbsp bumbu bali 1 tbsp palm sugar 2 Balinese chilis 1 green pepper, sliced 1 onion, sliced 2 kaffir lime leaves 1 cup coconut milk 2 tbsp coconut/palm oil salt & […]






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Bumbu Bali

March 22, 2010

While in Bali for a few weeks in January this year, I took a great cooking class offered by one of the local restaurants in Ubud. Early that morning, we went to the market to purchase ingredients for the dishes we were going to make. It was one of the most fruitful days I spent […]






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Asia is …

January 21, 2010

… a great place to learn the difficult art of patience. Like yesterday, when the bus to Melaka left 45 minutes late.  Why?  I don’t know.  I think the driver was having a smoke. Or today when the commuter train didn’t show up for a half hour.  I could have walked to my destination. Or […]






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Wisdom from Ganesha Bookshop in Ubud

January 20, 2010






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Random tidbits about Asia

January 19, 2010

Sometimes I am guilty of taking Asia for granted.  Because I remember a lot of my early childhood from the Philippines (we lived there till I was 5), much of the scenery and culture in Asia feels familiar to me.  We spent weekends in the province among rice fields and bamboo cottages.  We pumped water […]






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Videos from Bali

January 19, 2010






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