Food Adventures January to July 2017 - July 2017

Prior to the two month sojourn around Wales, France and Sicily across August through to mid October, I had been a bit taken up with a project that took me away from the food and wine writing (and the songwriting and recording) but I then got a bit of a breather to try and reflect over where the Lengui and I had eaten over the previous couple of months (well, seven actually). So I figured rather than try to document them individually, better to just load them all into a single narrative and see how it looked. So this is a full-ish listing of where, when, and with whom we ate and drank over this period. Some are barely one liners, others have a bit more detail. Whatever, it made for a more than usually long read so it got broken down into months for ease of, er, digestion. Not sure if it will prove useful, but when taken in total it does represent quite a litany of gluttony. Phoooooooo....

July 1st Dengkil Seafood with Tai Chi, Ho Chiak groups

Drive with El Manica and Uncle Lim. Dengkil is still the total business with their Crab Stew, Hokkien Mee and Lala Mai Fun and Sang Har Mee and sweet steamed Prawns and Pai Kuat. Phwoooar…. Maybe not fine dining, but darn fricking good. Big boozy singsong at the end. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam…..   SENG!!!!

July 3rd Checkers with Birthday Group

Mr Tan did a special menu for us. Which ultimately was a pity since I think we all really wanted to chow down on his porky ribs. Still, it was enough food and five bottles of wine across nine people. But I have had better there. Not that the food was bad; just not what was quite expected. So it goes. 

July 5th Nero Nero DC Mall with IWFS - A Night with Barone Ricasoli

A newly opened restaurant in the newish DC Mall in Damansara with a wine dinner organised again by the indomitable and indefatiguable Michelle from AsiaEuro. We will have to start calling her Tonka - indestructible. Located on the open top of the Mall, a pretty ordinary outside gives way to a steampunk Californian Italian interior with lots of eye catchers and theme pieces. Worth a visit just to see the inside. Got reacquainted with wine maestro Yuhei who has a Japanese tapas bar across the path from Nero Nero and who supplied the first course. Laid a bit of groundwork for a future IWFS event - we will see how. 

Foodwise, I can't remember much. Same with the wines. No one raved about anything on the plates. Having Oxtail in a Ravioli felt a bit rich and had an odd finish. But the tomatoes were sparkling fresh. Main memory was getting parked next to the FBQ who spent most of the night with her nose in her phone playing some word game. Not exactly sparkling company. There you go. Maybe FBQ saying the same thing about me...

Menu

Pre Dinner Antipasto

Tempura Prawn, Smoked Salmon Herbs Butter

Torricella Chardonnay 2013

1st Course Antipasto

Arrancini on Tomato Coulis, Caprese Bruschetta

Chianti DOCG 2015

2nd Course - Primo Platto

Oxtail Ravioli in Light Cherry Tomato Sauce

Brolio Chianti Classico DOCG 2014

3rd Course - Secondo Platto

Tagliata Sirloin Steak, Eggplant Ratatouille with Porcini Mushroom Sauce

Castello di Brolio Vin Santo DOCG Gran Selezione 2011

4th Course - Dolce

Crema Catalana

Castello di Brolio Vin Santo DOCG 2007

Dear Leader and kids

July 8th and 9th - IWFS Trip to Ipoh

This was a repeat of a jolly that the IWFS KL did to Ipoh last year, though with some slight differences this time around. Last year saw us leaving KL after lunch which some cursed as missing on a lunch in Ipoh. This year the bus departed from Barrique at 10am and got us to a wonderful lunch at a seafood place in Tanjung Tualang. Prawns, fish, crab, other lovelies and all washed down with lashings of the St Clair Pioneer Block SB which had been nicely chilled in the David Coleman coldbox. The bus had a little bit of trouble negotiating the very narrow roadway that led to the place but seemed to manage to eventually park alongside, much to the astonishment of the local children. I guess they rarely see buses parking in the village. And the disgorging of an array of pale skinned city folk, many of whom were showing off various degrees of bare arms and legs was the cause of much finger pointing and comment. 

After lunch, it was on to the Mu Hotel in Ipoh (which was previously the Ibis Styles, where we had all stayed the previous year) to sleep off lunch ahead of a sundowner hosted by IWFS Ipoh at the Royal Ipoh Club. The original plan was to have the sundowner at the hotel as we had done last year, but the new management were apparently adamant on corkage being payable. So our Ipoh compadres came through and got the Royal Ipoh to open their doors. Brilliant job, and thank you IWFS Ipoh!

Hans, May and Vijay waiting for the food. Note the glasses and ice bags. We are IWFS. Yes.

The delightfully fresh Prawns

We and the bus got stopped at the entrance to the Club driveway, though it was not initially clear why. Fifteen minutes later, the news came back that whilst going in was fine, getting out the other side was impossible due to a low barrier across the exit. And it was chucking it down with rain. So off the bus we stumbled with umbrellas hoisted against the uncaring rain and slowly and wetly bundled ourselves into the Club. Old Glory was the immediate feel - not faded, but old - a place where you felt that traditions still meant something. We were scuttled upstairs to the main hall where we were met by our IWFS Ipoh compadres and about eight ice buckets with three or four bottles of vintage fizz in each. Yes. We had arrived. 

The Booze at Mun Cheong

Lashings of fizz and fingerfood and a cool evening chill after an afternoon of rain made for a most pleasant aperitif party. Though given the persistent drizzle we couldn't see much in the way of downing sun. Never mind - we all enjoyed the fizz and the cool evening muggy air. We were then back on the bus (well, most of us - we managed to lose Mossie) to the Mun Cheong Seafood for a bigass Chinese banquet with various styles of wine from across the globe. I was told I conducted a singing contest between the tables. Quite probably true. Raucous evening. No photos for some reason - only got one of two bottles that we all sucked on for the night. Will steal a few from the Facebook. The IWFS Ipoh prefer their spirits and were happily chugging away at the various Scotch on show. Me and whiskey are not a good match; my worst mornings have been after nights on the Gold Watch so I pretty much swear off it. Serious mental derangements. Best nightcap for me is a cold beer. 

Sunday breakfast saw the faithful pilgrims off on a Curry Mee breakfast trek at 7am whilst others snoozed the morning away. Not sure if anyone went to church but I suspect so. I went for a post breakfast stroll around the hotel block to clear some cobwebs. There is an amazing old school feel to this part of Ipoh; kind of like stuck in a time warp where the year is constantly 1965 or something. Just get a total 60s vibe from the roads, the buildings, the signboards... everything. Quite odd but somehow reassuring, as if the place will still be the same decades hence. I certainly won't be. One more decade would be good enough. 

Crab House Prawns

Crab House Fresh Pomfret with soup

Crab House Crabs. Of course. 

IWFS Ipoh Gin La getting presented with some fizz by IWFS KL David

11am saw the pilgrims gathering to check out and board the bus for a 30min drive to lunch at the Crab House, apparently a place of legend for the orange crustacean. This was epic - loads and loads of dishes coming out and everyone scrabbling to save space for the lovelies. Which most were able to do - there was barely a leg or a morsel left for taking away. And all washed down with some lovely fizz, white and red. Then back on the bus for a leisurely trundle south back to KL and the Uber home before a swift pasta and wine with Lenglui and the Princess. Perfect weekend.  

Upstairs at Vintry

July 10th Vintry Damansara

Not sure how we ended up here - think we were wanting to go to Checkers but forgot that Mr Tan closes on Mondays and I must have persuaded Lenglui that the Hokkien Mee at Vintry is magical. Which it was, and is. Bit disappointed with the service - got shuttled upstairs against Lenglui's complaining knees then had to go back downstairs to try and choose the wine in a badly priced and not very well lit set of wine racks. Staff were smiling and friendly but frankly not that helpful, save for the competent and swift maiden who attended us upstairs. Vintry might have the food, but Stoked is way better for service. 

July 11th Marco with Rubber Baron

On occasion, the Marco does a promotion whereby they retrace their steps back thirty odd years to when they first started operating and offer dishes from that time at the PRICES of that time. So people can get the Shark Fin and the Pai Kuat at Shut Up prices and sock it all down with an amazing Sang Har Mee. The Baron brought some spectacular wines, but topped it off with a surprise dessert wine from Santorini. Black and thick as treacle, it was stunning - dark figs, raisins, but with a poke in the mouth like an exploding toffee apple ripping the cheeks. Belting wine. Marco food stunning as ever. Full report here>>>

Hung Kee Char Siew Noodles

July 16th Marco with El Manica

Again, taking advantage of the silly prices for the food, we went with the Ho Chiak group to resample the wares. I now fully understand the meaning of too much of a good thing. Phooooo….

There was also a night out at Casa Rosa (link is here>>) and (surprise!) Marco Polo with the IWFS (link is here>>). Also a Char Siew noodles lunch at our long time favourite up the road from the apartment (the Hung Kee on Jalan Loke Yew - excellent everything). The noodles have this amazing (what Lenglui calls) "bounce" texture - the bite and chew are some of the best around. Probably equates to "al dente" for pasta but in a Chinese cuisine context. We have it with some steamed chicken and garlic fried vegetable with a pot of tea. Stellar. 

There were a couple of other trips to Sapore, including one with Texas to see if it would do for his upcoming birthday (it didn't) and one with the Baron and his wines. He was very relaxed this night, more so than on previous outings. That's what wine and well cooked pig can do for you. Cheers!!

Food Adventures January to July 2017 - February

Prior to the two month sojourn around Wales, France and Sicily across August through to mid October, I had been a bit taken up with a project that took me away from the food and wine writing (and the songwriting and recording) but I then got a bit of a breather to try and reflect over where the Lengui and I had eaten over the previous couple of months (well, seven actually). So I figured rather than try to document them individually, better to just load them all into a single narrative and see how it looked. So this is a full-ish listing of where, when, and with whom we ate and drank over this period. Some are barely one liners, others have a bit more detail. Whatever, it made for a more than usually long read so it got broken down into months for ease of, er, digestion. Not sure if it will prove useful, but when taken in total it does represent quite a litany of gluttony. Phoooooooo....

Feb 1st Marco Polo Loh Sang with the House of Pork

This is a group who loves to eat the Pork in all its forms and glory. A great need was felt to ring in the Year of the Rooster with the Siew Yoke and Suckling Pig. And other porky delights. Chinese restaurants around New Year time traditionally see the quality dip due to staff going back to home towns. Didn't see it here. Whatever, the quality of the company and the booze will always compensate.

Inside Bonfire

Feb 2nd Soleil with UK Foodie Friends
Posted separately - click here to see>>

Feb 9th Bonfire Opening

The Chef daughter of one of Lenglui's Mah Johngg kaki opened this place. Is a kind of Australian theme with big meats and yabbie bugs and grills to the fore. Good tucker. The mashed potato gratin was magnificent. They charge corkage. Service and glassware is good. Can't remember being stunned by the food, but was not underwhelmed either. Good for families - Starling Mall seems to draw a younger crowd anyway. Given its outskirts location, it has taken off very well; the times we have been there it has been buzzing (see below). Worth a visit, not sure I would return - prefer to go to more porky places. 

(NB another sibling operates the Red Bean Bag in Publika whilst another does the Yellow Brick Road in Damansara. The food genes are clearly strong in this family).

Bonfire from outside - quite a pleasant stroll

Rustic Bread and Salad

Photos of the Barramundi Snapper and the remains of the roasts - lamb, steak and chicken, all of which were well tasty. Can't format the captions for some reason...

The Baron's Barolo...

and my Bordeaux

Feb 11th - The Kiwi's Birthday
Got instructed to be at some out of the way place in Taipan USJ to celebrate the Kiwi's Beatle Birthday ("When I'm 64") and quite a repast it would prove to be. Seems he is a regular here and chef and team went out of their way to prepare some excellent continental style dishes. Can't remember much about it, except we went back to his place for more booze and party. Seem to remember getting hypnotised byTibetan Throat Singing. Or was it snoring? Very nasal. Have to dig out the name of the restaurant.

Well tasty stewy meaty...  something

Prawns in Black Rice - well yum

Roll of Honour

Left: Doc Wine with the Wine Daddy     Right: Doc Wine and his Squeeze

Feb 15th Tang Room - Chinese restaurant Starling Mall with the Birthday gang

Came here on a recommendation that the food was very good. Well, and maybe - didn't do it for me. Forgettable and bland. We got a room to ourselves but it was still massive noisy from a party doing the Yam Seng all night in the main room. Fair glassware, no corkage, forgettable food. I also lost my car park ticket which didn't help the mood; the presence of the wineless Comedian also didn't help. Perhaps I should give it another shot. Found a half decent CdP at RM104 from the wine store downstairs next to the very well stocked and airy Village Grocer Supermarket which proved somewhat light yet sleek. Also the Oyster Bay at RM78 which we socked away for our Marco evenings - belter with the Four Seasons starters. Toilet was outside and a hike along the Mall to the end. 

Entrance - pretty grand, no?

The Four - or perhaps Five - Seasons starter

Soon Hock Fish - must have been okay

Looks like a Pork rib - looks good, yes?

Steamed buns dessert...

which are also clearly wearable :)

Feb 16th Kame Sushi Atria with IWFS

The new second outlet buried deep somewhere in Petaling Jaya, 30 of us enjoyed fizz and excellent wines with chef's Omakase. Can't remember much about the food. Some felt a bit disappointed at the sizes of some of the dishes. I also felt hungry at the end of it all. I seem to recall someone opened a bottle of gold flake sake which was apparently a pure rarity. Someone else opened more champagne. Pretty boozy night. 

Very tight space for the troops, felt massively cramped. Toilet was outside and around the corner, had to fight to get both out and back into the restaurant and the seat. Lots of laughter, not sure would return in such a big group. 

Menu

Appetizer - Sugar Tomato (Fruits Tomato from Japan)

Sashimi - Oyster Sashimi with salt and Sudachi (Japanese Lime), Hirame (Flounder) Sashimi with Ponzu Vinegar

Grilled Dish - Grilled Sawara (Spanish Mackarel) with Special Sauce

Simmered Dish - Simmered Radish with grilled Monkfish Liver

Sushi (8 pcs & Half Roll) - Tuna Belly, Yellow Tail, Sweet Shrimp, Squid, Salmon Roe, Ginger Flower, Eggplant, Turnip, Tuna Roll

Miso Soup

Fruits from Japan

Lenglui x 3 at Kame Sushi

Sugar Tomato

Luretta Fizz to start - tasty and good value

Oyster Sashimi - yum

Sashimi with Ponzu vinegar 

Grilled Sawara - Spanish Mackerel

Wine from Japan - crisp and tasty

Hello Chef Kame!

At the bar

Simmered Radish and Monkfish Liver

Waiting for Sushi

Coming, coming!!

Et voilas!!

Feb 18th Marco Pig Nick with Gan family

Ah, the Marco Pig Nick…  whenever Lenglui tells friends about this, they all want to come and try. So naturally we have to be there with them. The usual menu, the usual mumbles of "ho seck" as the Pig Soup gets slurped, lots of "cheers" to fine champagne and Cloudy Bay SB. Some half decent wines on show tonight, can't remember what they were. Lot of talk about what to see in India given an upcoming visit there by myself and lenglui. The advice was to fly everywhere. Which in retrospect was good. The India roads would prove mental.

Feb 23rd Checkers Boys Night

I have been coming here for over twenty years. Owner and chef Mr Tan started out mastering the art of pizzas and quickly moved to pork. His pork ribs are magnificent and still the standard - juicy, tender, and big. His accompanying mustard salsa is heaven. On this night we shared starters and ribs and a knuckle or three with big ass Reds and a couple of standard start-the-night NZ SBs. Boys Nights tend to be…  boyish, I suppose. Quite civilised, little swearing, mostly swapping news about IMDB and Pink Diamonds. Or is it Sapphires? 

Feb 25th Chambers Steak KL Hilton
Chambers has proven consistent in its quality and cooking of decent prime steak. We figured that we would not get any good meat in India so figured to satisfy the tastebuds ahead. We decided to try the Porterhouse to share and brought an Alion 2011 for the occasion. Should have stuck with the Ribeye - the T-Bone felt a bit firm on the night. The Alion 2011 was delightful, all silk and power. Lovely. 

Some of the Cakes available at KL Hilton - amazing detail and colours

Lenglui in RockChick pose

The T-Bone - good but not quite great

Feb 26th to March 2nd - IWFS in India

This was a six day event which probably needs more than a few lines. Did New Delhi (four nights), Agra (two nights), and Jaipur (two nights). Very intensive. And intense. Traffic was madness. Spent half the trip on a bus or in a car. Some great hotels and restaurants and food and wine pairings. And the Taj Mahal seared the memory and the soul. But such a mass of seething humanity, and most of it insanely poor. Never again. Senses feel they have been assaulted enough for one lifetime. 

Memories of my friend Dr Gan Chong Wan

The Pork Luck Club has lost one of our fellowship. Dr Gan Chong Wan was our very dear friend whose friendship and company we will miss tremendously.

I just want to share some of my memories of him to try and get some of this pain and sadness I am feeling out of my system. We all knew he was on borrowed time, but his death has hit me harder than I thought it would. Editing this is still choking me up.

He was a Leukemia survivor. Diagnosed twelve years ago, he beat the thing and had just recently celebrated ten years in remission. It resurfaced late August this year and he had undergone two sessions of chemotherapy. The results were promising. He and I shared Pol Roger Champagne and Oysters and Pork Belly at the Ribs on November 6th. Then he felt well enough to join us at the Ginza Sushimasa with Toru-san and PLC friends on November 15th. Seems that sometime soon after this he contracted some viral fever and was laid out for three days. He was getting back to normal and recovering, but on Friday November 28th I received a text from his sister saying he was in ICU at UH and that he was in very bad shape. It was thought he would not survive for long, but apparently he swore that he would. Seems UH were pumping him with stabiliser meds and sedatives for severe pain and seeking to stop the organs from dying. However, at 3am Sunday November 30th his family received a phone call from UH and they were with him when he passed at 6.30am. He was 62.

A wake was held at Gui Yuan Funeral Parlour in PJ on December 1st from 3pm and it had been decided that a Roast Pig would be served. Friends were also invited to bring food and wine and whiskey to celebrate Dr Gan's life. We arrived at 5.30pm and brought some white wine. Luckily it was screwtop as no one had a corkscrew - mine had been transferred out of its usual place in the backpack for some air travel reason. There was red wine and brandy, though few seemed in the mood to drink. I was. I cracked the white and got stuck in. We sat with friends David Law and Philip Chai (friends from his short time with Musical Theatre in the early 1980s) and Jimmy Tang and sister Yoong, friends since primary school days. We were all pretty desolate.

Mr Tan from Checkers Restaurant showed up with some croissants and prunes wrapped in bacon. Mr Tan is also is a cancer survivor and I know that Dr Gan helped him through some of his not so good times with the treatment. Gan's old schoolfriends were also in attendance. Many had also been friends since primary and secondary school days. The mood was somber but not too sad. His sisters were playing some of his favourite classical and opera tunes and showing a slideshow of photos from his life that his brother had quickly put together. That he could do this with only one hour sleep on a thirty hour trip from Wisconsin was little short of remarkable. 

At the Noble House in Jalan Delima, Kuala Lumpur

A golden flower shrine around a photo of Gan had been put together with fruit and candles and sweet cake offerings and placed before the coffin. The coffin was open and I felt I had to go see him one more time. I barely recognised him. His face was all puffy, apparently from the steroids he had been pumped with in the efforts to keep him alive. If I had my time again, I would prefer not to have seen him like that. But there you go. We take our friends in both good and bad shape and these become the totality of our experience with them. 

Old friends May Ph'ng and Siang came to pay respects. May shared that she had lit 64 candles to help speed Dr Gan's transmigration - in Buddhism, as I understand it, the spirit/soul/essence leaves the body and either goes onward toward enlightenment or returns to a newborn being to learn whatever was not learned in this present lifetime. And whether this newborn is a higher or lower lifeform depends on our karma and merit earned in this lifetime. We shared some Roast Pig and wine. 

The wine helped shift the low mood. Felt like I had been whacked by a big stick all day. Dr Gan's sisters shared stories of him and his life and friends. Seems he and present PM Najib were schoolmates and sat next to each other in the classroom. The story went that whenever Najib was naughty, Dr Gan always got the blame. They stayed in touch through the years and it seems Najib was a regular visitor to the Gan household when travel and work permitted. Seems also that PM Najib visited the Gui Yuan to pay his respects the following morning prior to the funeral, replete with outriders and bigass car. I saw them haring along the Federal Highway back to KL as I was on my way to the funeral.

Arriving, I parked in the same space as the night before. The mood was more subdued today. David, Jimmy and Yoong had come, and it was David who shared that Najib had come. Fellow PLC friend May Peng also came to pay respects. Everyone still felt shock that Dr Gan was no longer with us. The brother was bearing up well, the sisters not so.

At the IWFS KL Presidents' Dinner December 2013

Again, the funeral was not a grand affair. No chanting or ritual, unlike the ruckus that was going on at the funeral next door, Someone was playing big drums and something sounding like a World Cup vuvuzela horn and they were belting out "Roll Out The Barrel" and "She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain" military style as the deceased in the adjoining part of the compound was being taken for the last drive to the incinerator. Felt a bit bizarre but I'm sure it would have made the Doc smile. Didn't seem to make anyone else smile, though. It also drowned out the speech of Gan's brother thanking everyone for coming to pay their respects. We all made one last round of the coffin where our friend was laying. He looked less puffy today. That was when I noticed the shirt he was wearing - I have an exact same one hanging in the closet at home. He was open collar, no tie as is often imposed by the funeral directors. The sisters know their brother well - he hated restrictions of all kinds. Then the minions moved in, hammered the lid into place and made ready for the last ride.

As the flower shrine was being dismantled in preparation for moving the coffin to the car, I saw that everyone was turning to face away. Never seen this before, and found it a shade disconcerting - in the West, to show one's back at this juncture would be seen as a mark of disrespect... but then we are not in the West. Clearly there was some meaning in this that eluded me. Once the coffin was in the car and closed, everyone moved into place and we all followed the hearse around the compound as it made its way to the burner. The family placed their hands on the car and it slowly made one round of the complex. There was a slight delay as the forerunning deceased had the barrel rolled out one last time. But no one was in any mood to rush anything.

New Year's Eve Dec 2013 at Soleil

And again, as the coffin was taken from the hearse, everyone turned their backs to it! Someone later suggested that possibly this was to avert any bad luck that might arise as a result of seeing the last walk of a friend. Could be. The coffin was placed onto the burner rail, the cinder block door lifted, the rollers moved the coffin into place, the door lowered, and that was it. Goodbye Doc.

Sadder than sad. My good friend got took away and I will miss his laugh, his wit, his intelligent humour and his sardonic view of life and its madness and occasional seeming futility. Prior to his initial diagnosis, he had a tendency to rail against people's shortcomings. After successfully completing his treatment he saw more of the comedy in it all and chose to laugh at it more than anything. In this sense, I witnessed a life change in him and we enjoyed ten years of his company in this changed attitude of mind. 

There was Buddhism in him, for he would visit the temple on the auspicious days of the year. Though he was not a lover of ritual ceremony and pomp. For him, the simple joys of food on the street with a breeze heralding rain, or with his dogs out for a run would be enough to remind him that all was well in the universe. His breadth of knowledge on many things was staggering, especially for things Chinese. He loved his Chinese history and porcelain and he amassed an amazing collection which he would delight in taking out to handle - he always said that porcelain was a tactile medium rather than being merely visual. 

Chinese New Year 2014

He had a great passion for good food cooked well, and would always insist on ordering (and more often pre-ordering) the food for our get togethers. He introduced us to so many excellent eating places in the city and beyond. Dengkil Seafood, You Mi Chi, Lao Mah Zhi, and found one of our lost favourites the Hoi Kee. He would rail against the upmarket Chinese cuisine outlets like the Noble House chain, saying the over sweet sauces catered more to the gwailo market and rendered the food not as authentically Chinese as he would have demanded. But he would occasionally tolerate them and indulge us when the company and the wine were good. I have great memories of times with him at Sage, Cilantro, Soleil, the Overseas on Imbi, the Marco Polo on Raja Chulan, and Checkers in Damansara. These were among those to which we would return on many occasions. I also have great memories of him coming to gatherings at our home with friends and food and wine. He would cook, serve, eat, wash dishes, and then we would share our good whiskey, brandy and armagnac with him when everyone had gone home. We would go with him to concerts at the MPO, eating at Chinoz or Ben's and having Gin and Tonics in the intermission. He truly loved his music. He also loved good food, good wines and good company and he valued his friends hugely. That so many stayed with him through the years is testament to his character and how much we all treasured his friendship and company. 

He taught me that our time together is too short and precious to fritter. If you're going to have a time together, make sure it is a darn good one and spare no reasonable expense. Break out the good wine and food, always. And for him, we always would. 

His late mother and favourite pet dogs are in the grounds of the Gan home and we hear that the Doc will similarly be staying there. Someone asked what would happen if they ever sell the house, to which friend and wit David Law responded by saying that it would not be entirely "vacant possession".

One of the last things he said to me as we were leaving the Ribs from the Pol Roger dinner was "Dying is easy." I guess he had lived with his own mortality for a long time and had come to terms with it. And he was a doctor - he would know that not every life can get saved. Not to say that he was submitting to anything - he had absolute conviction that he would beat the thing again and he was very aggressive in his treatment regime. He wasn't supposed to die. We once joked about moving to Songkhla when we retired to open a bordello where we all would live and look out for each other. Maybe next time around. I hope there is one.

January 17th 2015 will mark the seventh day of the seventh week that he passed, which stands as the time when the soul will completely pass. Prayers will be said for him at 10am at the Buddhist temple on Jalan Gasing where a tablet to his memory is located. I would call on his friends to raise a glass and toast his memory and our time together. Let us each honour him as we know best and how he would want - in pork, wine and friendship. 

He would definitely not want us to be sad. Normally he would scold people for feeling sad, saying "life too short lorrr." He's right, as he always usually was. But then the dead don't have to live with death. For those who are still alive, it is a sad, sad time. I mourn the loss of my dear, dear friend. 

At the Soleil August 2014

And I hope he would spare me on this occasion. Not all sadness is a bad thing. It keeps us human. Like Dr Gan himself. There's a line from the second Star Trek movie where Captain Kirk is giving a eulogy for Spock who had been apparently killed by nuclear radiation. Kirk says of Spock "Of all the souls I have known, his was the most.... human." Of my friend, I would say the same. Goodbye Doc.