Hi,

Another year is coming fitfully to its end and soon we will be looking
forward to a new year and another beginning.

This year has been rather tumultous but also very gratifying in many
ways. Against the odds, we have established Bayan Indah as a premier
focal point, not just for cooking classes, but also for business
launches, seminars, parties, and of course, as an eclectic, luxurious
home stay location.

We have had cosmetic companies launching their products, motor
companies entertaining guests, banks having management pow-wows,
businesses hosting staff seminars and team-building events and oil
companies planning their future strategies. We have also had more
casual but no less important events like birthday parties, cooking
challenges, bridal showers, family dinners and private classes. (For a
little synopsis, do have a look at
http://www.bayanindah.com/facebook)

The challenge for us is that each event is different and special - the
cosmetic companies needed to brandish their logos, sometimes
executives would stay the evening before or after their events, the
Seminar House has had to be re-configured for each meeting and even
the dining area changes with each client’s requirements. And of
course, we devise customized menus and cooking classes for every
event.

So it has been nothing less than hectic, but I do feel, along with the
rest of the staff at Bayan Indah, a deep sense of satisfaction (and
relief!) that we can deliver and satisfy the demands of our guests
who honour us by choosing us. It never fails to amaze me that people
actually choose to host their events at Bayan Indah, even though we
are tucked in the middle of a little kampung (village) at the edge of
Kuala Lumpur, instead of at some swanky hotel in KLCC. So I guess we
must be doing something right! (Some reflections written by you over
the last 2-3 months can be read on
http://www.bayanindah.com/links/guestbook)

And talking about doing things right, we have been trying as far as
possible, to tune the class themes to the time of year. So for
Christmas and New Year, when I expect many people will be busy
entertaining friends, colleagues and family, we have laid on a new
schedule with exactly those themes. To keep things interesting, we
shall, of course, continue to develop exciting new themes and at the
moment, I am working on Easy Entertaining (for Chinese New Year and
Valentine) and It's (Not) Complicated! for those of us who have little
time but still crave to eat delicious, home-cooked dinners – even on
busy workdays. So please do have a look at our latest class calendar
on http://www.bayanindah.com/diary and see what appeals to you.

Next year, I will be thinking of ways to improve our visibility in
other countries, to spread the word a little further afield, if
possible. It does seem that we have a lot of wonderful, stunning,
lovingly-crafted blogs written about us but not many reviews in
international travel or food websites. So that is an area that we need
to work on. So as you can see, Bayan Indah is still only getting on
its feet – we have a long, long way to go but we like the challenges
ahead. (Either that, or I am little insane!) :o)

And that's about it for this little mailshot. I really (really) want
to thank everyone, and I mean, everyone, who has come to Bayan Indah,
passed on a kind word about us, read about us and thought of us for a
party, seminar, dinner or cooking event. It is very kind of you and we
so love welcoming you all at Bayan Indah!

Cheers,

Rohani

Hi!

As Ramadan ends and the Earth spins along merrily towards the last quarter, I have to say that 2010 has been a surprising year so far. I mention this because Bayan Indah had started a feedback page (which is accessible only to those people who have actually come here), and the following are some initial findings.

It sounds a little unlikely (especially for Malaysians), but I am getting feedback that people are actually becoming more aware of what they are eating and caring more about what they ingest. We recently have had several special parties at Bayan Indah where the guests asked that we use purely organic produce, which is absolutely 100% fine as that's what we grow anyway in our herb gardens. (And also, we actually *can't* stop much of the organic pandan, betel leaves, pucuk paku (fern shoots), Vietnamese mint, pisang (banana), yams, etc, from growing wild around here anyway!)

Then it seems that people now want to be more in control of what they eat. They're tired (and maybe a teensy weensy bit worried) about the high levels of salt, sugar, additives, flavourings, colourings, etc, that are in commercial foods. And many many people have been surprised that we can show them how to make their own very delicious food from basic herbs and spices, without the need for any unnecessary additives. And if they can use organic produce, then that is even healthier. That is one of the recurring themes in the feedback form.

Also, it's very pleasing for me to see parents now encouraging their children to learn how to cook. Not only is this fun, educational and a great way to mix with and meet other youngsters, I think it also encourages young people to be discerning about what they eat, instead of always hanging around oily chicken, burger or pizza joints. People are catching on to the fact that we need to educate our young people to eat better and enjoy real food instead of all the mass-marketed fast foods. By the way, Her World did a 10-page spread about kids learning how to cook real meals at Bayan Indah in their new Special Edition 50th Anniversary cookbook, which is now available in good bookshops.

>From the feedback page, I also realise that we need a nice bright sign outside our walls! And maybe one or two more roadsigns along the route as we are still in a somewhat "ulu" location! So we will organise this asap.

Anyway, enough of these little observations. Apart from the Bayan Indah signs, it will still take some years before dietary changes finally happen in Malaysia but there's definitely light down the tunnel. :o)

So, coming back to Bayan Indah, several newsworthy items have happened. One is that Lonely Planet has visited us they have blogged about Bayan Indah which you can read on http://www.lonelyplanet.com/travelblogs/57/76757/Bayan+Indah+%E2%80%93+a+Malaysian+culinary+retreat?destId=356948

Another is that Travel+Leisure (the world's most popular travel magazine) now has a webpage about us as well, which you can see on http://www.travelandleisureasia.com/destinations/malaysia/573313/article.html

The other development is that more and more corporates have now discovered the advantages of hosting their business meetings/seminars at Bayan Indah and/or having team building events here. It's always great to see a group of colleagues have so much fun together and I think, judging from the feedback, that it has been well worth getting people out of their offices, making them co-operate on tasks outside their normal work and learning about working together in a different way. Some past events are featured on www.bayanindah.com/facebook (where you are very welcome to join us).

Oh, and we had recently hosted our largest party at Bayan Indah for a close friend's birthday bash. Some 60 people turned up, and despite some unexpected turns and events (including a power cut), we all had a pretty seriously good time (so good that the pictures must remain private)! And I was just so relieved that we could cope with such a large group of very (very) boisterous people!

Anyway, as the end of Ramadan nears, we have prepared a yummy assortment of interesting classes for the coming 2 months which you can view on  www.bayanindah.com/diary Do please have a look and let me know if there are any classes that you like. If you can, please bookmark the diary page for future reference and do note that the best way to book is via www.bayanindah.com/contact

Soon, we will move towards a more family+friends festive theme as Christmas and New Year approaches and I'm working on some new themes along those lines. For those of you clamouring for Back To Basics, I may seriously consider doing this 6-day course again between October/November, so please send me an email with some dates if you would like to attend (I have left the last week in October and the first week in November free just in case we do go ahead with Back To Basics).

Cheers,

Rohani

Although I really enjoy working in my kitchen, I am always fascinated
by kitchens belonging to other cooks. What equipment do they consider
essential (or superfluous), how do they organise their space and most
interestingly, what is it that's simmering in those pots? Perhaps, not
surprisingly, the most stunningly beautiful kitchens don't necessarily
produce the most stunning dishes. And out of some of the most humble
and basic spaces emerge the most amazing dishes....

It seems that the heart, spirit and skill of the cook are far more
important than the material the cooktops are fashioned from or even,
for that matter, the quality of the pots and pans.

When I was in Kuala Trengganu recently, I was privileged to be in the
kitchen of a very special cook. She is a petite, far-from-frail
78-year-old lady who reputedly makes what her son considers to be the
best darn popia (fresh spring roll) in the entire universe.

So that is how I ended up getting up at 4am, in time to catch the
early morning flight to Kuala Trengganu and turning up at Madam Tan
Chai Siew's door, notebook and camera in hand. She had agreed to show
me how to make her famous popia from scratch as well as a few
traditional Trengganu cakes such as akok (little cakes baked in a
traditional charcoal-heated brass mould), mor hor (fluffy sweet potato
cakes steamed in tiny Chinese tea cups) and Taman Sari, a steamed cake
made with roasted mung bean flour. For two days I worked bravely (and
obediently) in her kitchen, doing everything I was told to do without
flinching even once.

Madam Tan believed in doing things properly in traditional style.
Although she has a perfectly good gas stove, she believed in cooking
absolutely everything (steaming the cakes, boiling the sweet potatoes,
making every gossamer-thin sheet of popia) over a charcoal stove. And
any mincing, pureeing or pounding was done manually in a large granite
mortar and pestle worn smooth over the years. She did believe in the
metric system though.....we actually weighed most of the ingredients
for our recipes on a bright orange-coloured metric weighing scale.
Here are some pictures of what went on in Madam Tan's kitchen over the
two days I spent with her ....

The Chinatown of Kuala Trengganu is a delightful street of remarkably
beautiful old Chinese shophouses - these are not artificial tourist
attractions but lovingly tended homes which house real families and
working businesses. Aren't they simply gorgeous?

Nan had a lovely eclectic place in Marseille, in a wonderful location
close to shops, buses, trains and the Rue Paradis. These snaps were
taken at and around the apartment when I was walking in Castellane.

Again, it was so kind of her to let me stay and all her friends were
also so nice to me while I was there.

I walked to the Notre-Dame-De-La-Garde but had to take the bus back as
it was a very tiring walk. But the views over Marseille were fantastic
and I could even see the Chateau D'If (from the Count of Monte
Cristo). I took some snaps from there and on the way there.

For some reason, I always had an interest in architecture and these
pictures were taken at La Charite, an old orphanage and former
hospital. I don't think I can combine any of the styles here into
Bayan Indah but it is always interesting to visit old grand buildings.

I took these shots when walking around the old town around La Charite,
one of the hillier parts of central Marseille. There was a dustbin
workers' strike on at the time and that lent a "gritty" feel to the
pictures. Fortunately, the weather was still pretty cold so it did not
smell much and the next day, the strike ended and all was well again.

These are pictures taken at a street market near Nan's apartment,
where I was staying in Marseille. It is near Castellane, and there are
a lot of good little stalls for fresh fruit, fish and meats. Nearby
are also some nice bakeries and the Monoprix supermarket is right
close by as well.

I wish to thank Nan very much for her generosity for letting me stay
at her apartment!