Category Archives: Photography

Capital Nasi Dagang Kelantan

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Of late, Malay restaurants serving Chinese cuisine are getting popular in the Klang Valley. However,  the reverse is less common. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon a Chinese shop selling authentic Malay food.

Nasi Dagang Kelantan Capital is run by a Chinese family from Kota Bharu. They have been operating in Kelantan for 9 years and opened in Petaling Jaya a month ago. I conversed with the owner, a Mr Foo, in Kelantanese Hokkien (Fujian dialect). The other option was to speak with him in Kelantanese Malay which sounded like Double Dutch to me.

Served in waxed paper, this East Coast speciality originated from Southern Thailand. The rice is cooked with coconut milk, shallot, lemongrass and fenugreek. For the ‘lauk’, you have a choice of tasty beef rendang, curry chicken, prawn, squid or ikan tongkol (mackerel tuna).

I tried the chicken with rice soaked in gravy (photographed here) and found the combo very delicious. The condiments include a slice of boiled egg, a big piece of anchovy, salad and sambal. For buka puasa (breaking of fast), you need to takeaway before 7pm as the shop closes by that time.

Capital Restaurant is at 29 Jalan 21/1A, Damansara Utama (Uptown).

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f5, 1/60 sec.

Capital Nasi Dagang Kelantan

Dawn To Dusk

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Near dusk just now, the sun sets behind the dome of the Gombak Mosque. At dawn later, fasting begins for Muslims observing the month of Ramadan.

As a non-Muslim, I look forward to joining my Muslim friends for ‘breaking of fast’ meals on some of the evenings ahead. I try to fast on those days to make it more meaningful. Not always successful but I try. There will be many bazaars selling all kinds of food and I hope to share some of these images with you.

Photography Notes: The sun is so powerful that even with an 8-stop ND filter attached and at 1/4000th sec, it was barely enough to reign in its intensity. I was using a mirrorless camera with an electronic viewfinder. Never look at it directly or through the optical viewfinder of a d/slr. It can damage your eyes permanently.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f16, 1/4000 sec.

The Sun Sets Over The Dome Of Gombak Mosque: Ramadan Begins

Day Night

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I was standing there looking at this strange Chinese temple with a cave on top of it. Wondering how I should photograph it when, out of nowhere, a boy came running and punching a basketball into the air. One of those lucky days.

Since it was a bright sunny day, I mounted an optical polarising filter earlier to deepen the already very bluish sky. When converted to back and white, the day sky appeared like night. Surreal but nice.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f11, 1/500 sec.

Day Night