Food, Glorious Food!: Fiftig Seofon @ Rumah Tangsi

On a very special day sometime last year, I brought the fam to this recently-refurbished establishment in the heart of KL, curiously called Fiftig Seofon (which actually means Fifty Seven, and I think we all know what it refers to.) Where 'History Meets Flavour', the website proclaims. What caught my eye was of course the facade and the colonial feel inside. 

If you're wondering exactly where it is, Fiftig is at a corner of the famous Rumah Tangsi, at Jalan Tangsi. 

Says one website: Rumah Tangsi Event Space was completed in 1905 and was the town house of Kuala Lumpur’s renowned businessman, Loke Chow Kit. It is a mansion that has an Eclectic-Neo Classical style. This event space is suitable for a variety of event and in its heyday, the mansion’s internal courtyard was a backdrop to numerous weddings, meetings and business functions.

I have been to Rumah Tangsi many, many moons ago, but it housed a different sort of establishment then. 

Now, check out the charming interior of Fiftig Seofon, inspired by a typical British Tea Room:

And what about the food, you ask?  Top notch fusion fare, I have to say. We ordered the creamy mushroom soup and fried enoki mushroom for starters, and the latter is a definite must-try!

We also had the caesar salad with smoked salmon, kepak kerbau, eggdicted and ayam rangup, susu dan mentega pedas. Yeah, some irreverently named dishes there, but the good news is that they were all very satisfying eats. The portions were just nice and the fusion flavours were nicely balanced; nothing too ambitious or overpowering.  

We really had a wonderful family meal in a classic and cosy environment and the charming surroundings also gave us a lot to talk about. I guess we were rather early that day, so the place was pretty quiet at first. But as soon as it struck noon, more patrons walked in, and it suddenly became livelier with everyone eagerly tucking into their food and enjoying good conversations with friends and family.

They also have some interesting desserts on the menu, but we were just too full to try any. Which means a return trip should be in order!    

"I Read 104 Books In 2024"

So ok, that's really a clickbait title. It was actually what my daughter told me, haha. And yes, she did read 104 books in 2024, double the targeted 52 titles (her achievement last year). So, well done Tia!

Tia's first book of 2024

But papa's not too shabby either lah. Don't have the exact figure, but what's more interesting really was the unexpected themes and trajectory of my reading list!

It began after I decided to work on a new book (it's loong overdue, I know). What's it about?  Well, the idea came when I first started writing my BM Gen-X column for getaran back in 2021. After a few instalments, I thought, "Hey, this would be a very nifty book. It's sooo me, and I have so much to share about growing up in the 70s-90s, and the pop culture from those truly memorable decades!"

And so I shared the idea with my publisher in early 2024, and he bought it! Phew...  And while the stories that I've shared in my getaran columns have been really personal stuff, I still needed to do extensive research to jog my memory for the fresh new essays and ensure that the factual stuff was accurate. 

So I started looking out for what's relevant for a Gen-Xer like me. I continued reading Chuck Klosterman's 'The Nineties' that I bought the year before and when I googled, "90s pop culture", this book by a local author, 'The End Of The Nineteen Nineties' popped up. Add to Cart. Buy! 

Both reads took me down memory lane, and then some. My thirst for anything and everything 90s then led me to search for these local gems from that decade, featuring 3 of our most brilliant English writers ever, Karim Raslan, Allahyarham Salleh Ben Joned, and Allahyarham Rehman Rashid. 

I had read some of Karim and Salleh's columns in papers and magazines, and I had also read parts of Rehman's magnum opus, 'A Malaysian Journey' before, but reading them now again was refreshingly revelatory. The 90s was an interesting time for me personally; I spent half of the decade as an undergraduate, while the other half saw me entering the work force, where I dove straight into the serious business of the judiciary. Reading these books brought back tons of good memories and gave me new perspectives on important events that happened during the decade that impacted me directly and indirectly. 

And oh, it was quite an adventure looking for these classics. Salleh's 'As I Please' though was the most special as it was a signed copy! (and the most costly lah at RM125, haha.)

But wait, there's more! While visiting an ex-colleague's new office in Taman Tun, I saw this on his bookshelf and instantly borrowed it. More good writing from the 90s, score!

Not quite another "oldie", but I belatedly read my friend Danny Lim's 'We Are Marching Now' and it was simply engrossing! As I wrote on FB,  I read this book like a screenplay, playing the different tension-filled scenes in my head. And I especially liked Acts 1 and 2. If this ever gets made into a movie, I imagine it to be as suspenseful as 'Argo', although they're completely different stories.

2024 also saw me picking up a new obsession; watching videos of old Malaya and Malaysia on the Finas YouTube channel. If you haven't done so yourself, go the the channel and save the 'Retrospektif' playlist now! So, (colonial) history and politics also became a thing for me (again).

And of course there was also this one by Sathnam Sanghera that I picked up at Hatchards in King's Cross, London back in March 2024 which I rate as my favourite read of the year (although it's actually a 2021 book). 

Also bought these two classics, but I 'read' them using audiobooks. Cos there's nothing like a little Plato while you're doing some kettlebell swings. Haha.  

The hardest thing I read though was this one that I picked up at the Amcorp flea market in PJ. Seriously, I was burning with rage at every page, recounting the disgraceful events that deeply scarred the judiciary back in the late 80s. 

But along with my regular reads, including a couple of text books for my BA Islamic Studies course, 2024 was indeed a book-tastic year for me!

Hey Look, A Hidden Fort!

So, one morning sometime ago, my wife and I decided to drive from PD to Pengkalan Balak using the coastal road. On the way back, we decided to find a place deep in a kampung somewhere to have asam pedas. After doing so, we continued our drive and stumbled upon this hidden fort, Kota Supai! 

It was eerily beautiful. 

Armies used to launch cannons from here, and now it's just there, with a 1001 stories to be uncovered.

Here's more info from the Jabatan Muzium Malaysia website:

Kedudukan kota ini terletak di kawasan tebing tinggi di sebelah kanan muara Sungai Linggi dan ianya berhampiran pantai Selat Melaka. Disebut sebagai Kota Kuala Linggi kerana kedudukannya yang terletak di muara Sungai Linggi. 

Ianya juga dikenali sebagai Kota Bukit Supai kerana setelah kota ini siap dibina, pihak Belanda telah menempatkan sepasukan tentera upahan yang dipanggil sipoi (Supai). Selain itu kota ini turut disebut sebagai Kota Meriam Patah kerana di lokasi ini turut telah ditemukan beberapa meriam yang telah patah setelah kota ini tidak lagi digunakan. 

Kota ini juga turut dikenali sebagai Kota Filipina sempena mengambil nama anak perempuan Gabenor Belanda.

Seperti yang sedia maklum kota ini turut ditempatkan sepasukan askar untuk meninjau sebarang pergerakan di laut Selat Melaka dan sebagai kubu pertahanan serangan musuh – musuh Belanda. 

Di samping itu , kota ini juga berperanan memungut cukai hasil bijih timah yang dibawa keluar dari pedalaman Rembau dan Linggi. Selepas Belanda tidak lagi memerintah Melaka kota ini telah ditinggalkan dan bangunan – bangunannya terbiar runtuh.  

When We Tag Teamed With The WWE To Create Content History!

All the talk today (well, at least amongst wrestling fans) is how on this date, 1.1.2025, the WWE 

(World Wrestling Entertainment) is creating history by moving its content to the world's biggest streaming platform, Netflix. 

How much is this deal worth for the WWE? According to reports, a whopping USD5 billion! 

This also means that the WWE Network has been officially terminated; including on astro, here in Malaysia. 

A quick survey on social media has shown that WWE fans are all for this historic move. It's a win-win for everyone. What's not to like, they ask?

Even on the Malaysian WWE fan groups on FB, they're welcoming this with open arms. "Gila banyak show lama-lama boleh tengok!"

But allow me to just remind everyone that some years ago, a Malaysian platform became the first to stream exclusive WWE content, and for free too! And yours truly had a small part in it. Ahem ahem. 

So here's what happened: On 6 August 2010, Media Prima Berhad launched our own streaming platform called tonton. Oh yes, unless you've been living on Mars, I'm pretty sure you'd know what tonton is.

The grand launch was held at the Sunway Convention Centre and we had some 1,200 people coming; clients, the media, agency people, celebs, shareholders etc. Three speakers were lined up; Ahmad Izham Omar, Paul Moss, and myself, and we took turns to present the different parts of the tonton story.

Izham came out first to unveil the brand, then Paul talked about the tech aspects, then I came out to 

talk about the "sexy stuff", CONTENT.

I was decked out like the WWE superstar The Rock. Even my entrance theme started with: "If you smellllllll..."

Why??? Because apart from the 30,000 hours of TV gold, exclusive Web Content, and Customised Channels, tonton also offered WWE Classics!

It featured the greatest matches and stars of professional wrestling including Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant, Randy “Macho Man” Savage, and The Rock! 

I remember a long negotiation process with WWE execs that took place in Singapore, Cannes and our own office in Sri Pentas. But in the end, we made history by being the first local streaming service to offer WWE content!

Ah, those were the days lah. If you smellll....

My Favourite Stuff Of 2024

Just realised that I've not cranked out this year-end list for a couple of years now, so consider this a comeback! 

Day Trip

Richmond, London

We were back in the UK earlier in the year, but incredibly, it was our first time at Richmond. And what a lovely day we had there. Alhamdulillah

Book (Malaysian)

We Are Marching Now by Danny Lim

What an engrossing read! (Although I'm a couple of years late.) Interestingly, I read it like a screenplay, playing the scenes in my head. And I especially liked Acts 1 and 2. If this ever gets made into a movie, I imagine it to be as tense and suspenseful as 'Argo', although they're completely different stories. 

Book (International)

Empireland by Sathnam Sanghera

Also a couple of years late with this one, but an enthralling and useful read nevertheless. Especially when we were also part of this piece of history. 

Comedy Skit

SNL, George Washington's Dream

Watched this at least a dozen times (see what I did there?), and cracked up at every viewing. Haha.

App

ChatGPT

Hey, it actually works! 😄 

Restaurant

Micky's Fish & Chips

I was at this chippy in Paddington having fish n chips on a mild evening and Giorgio Moroder's 'Electric Dreams' played in the background... Ah, the feels.

Sporting Event

The Malaysian MotoGP

The last time I was in Sepang was to say goodbye to the Malaysian F1 GP back in 2019, so it was cool (not literally) to be back for the MotoGP, thanks to Red Bull. And my current favourite rider Pecco Bagnaia winning over the Martinator made it a pretty good day. 

Speaking Event

Shaikh Hakim Murad at Khazanah Research Institute

When I woke up that morning, I never expected to be sitting in the same room as Shaikh Dr Abdal Hakim Murad, listening to him talk right here in Malaysia. But that's exactly what was written for us. 

Man At The Helm

Arne Slot

Arne Slot, la la la la la!

YouTube Channel

Finas - Retrospektif Playlist

Yes, it's my current obsession: Watching historically important videos on the FINAS YouTube channel. Seriously, you won't believe how well-produced these are. There are more than 200 videos on the Retrospektif playlist and I urge everyone to watch them. 

Podcast Episode

Hamza Tsortzis & Nouman Ali Khan 

Heartfelt and full of practical wisdom, be ready with pen and paper for this one. And maybe, a handkerchief too. (Which was totally unexpected.)

Website

Mymuslimin.com

Our labour of love turned 2 this year, and Alhamdulillah, we are reaching more readers and viewers than ever. May it be beneficial for everyone. 

Documentary

Tsunami: Race Against Time

Still sad and horrifying after all these years. Had to hold back tears constantly watching this new documentary series :(