WHENEVER I am travelling abroad, my heart gets delighted when I catch a glimpse of something from home. During my family’s recent trip overseas , the flight stewardess distributed our meal trays and my eyes wandered to the dessert first before checking other servings on the tray. Besides the tiny salad and main course, I was also served crackers with cheese. Imagine the pride I felt when I discovered that the crackers packet on the tray was Johor's very own Hwa Tai brand Luxury crackers.
This biscuit manufacturing company started its humble beginnings in 1962 at Batu Pahat and is now a public listed company with worldwide distribution of its range of quality products. I remember Hwa Tai was one of the pioneer companies that started to sell individually wrapped packets of crackers in a retail pack and I had always enjoyed these handy packets which kept the crackers fresh. It was like meeting an old friend again when I ripped the packet open and rounded off my meal by nibbling the crackers, held in one hand alternating with a bite of cheese.
In Bath, England, my family decided to have a meal before exploring the historical city and Melanie, our English niece, picked Giraffe, a café she liked for a meal. After studying the menu, we made our orders and waited for our food to be served. I made good use of some idle moments to explore the café and its mezzanine floor to check out its interesting decoration and creative fittings.
While checking out the condiments on the table, we were pleasantly surprised to discover a bottle of Lingham Chilli Sauce — a household name in our country placed there. I quickly turned the bottle around to read the label and confirmed that it was truly a product by Lingham & Son (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.
I do not know about the others but I was filled with pride and nostalgia.
This product was created in 1908 to meet the tastes of the colonial expatriate community in then Malaya and is still going strong. The distinct sweet and spicy taste of this chilli sauce has been around for more than 100 years and the English community probably could not get enough of it. It just felt good to know that this Malaysian chilli sauce is still being enjoyed by customers patronising the Giraffe group of restaurants throughout the UK.
In London, we visited Trafalgar Square and found that it looked starkly different because the pigeons that used to roost at the area were no longer there.
It was certainly much cleaner so we did the tourist thing, by posing for photos and capturing various shots of Nelson’s Column, the fountains and its majestic lions. After snapping several shots for my brother and his family, I suggested for us to drop by the Tourism Malaysia office located just across the road.
The familiar Tourism Malaysia (TM) logo with an iconic red hibiscus beckoned and I hoped to meet with Malaysian tourism officers there because I have a working relationship with the organisation. However, the staff behind the counter told us that their personnel had left for an event and she would be joining them soon. It was disappointing but it did not stop us from looking around, soaking in a bit of Malaysia in London and taking a look at the promotional materials.
When I picked up a promotional booklet, I was delighted to discover a beautiful two-page pictorial spread on the facilities at Riders Lodge in Sedenak, Johor. The booklet was filled with various Malaysian destinations but I was thrilled to see Riders Lodge listed under The Southern Gateway section as I am also a friend of the owners, Agnes and Sennet Tzinberg. Started in 1999, Riders Lodge is an award-winning, family-oriented leisure getaway for pleasure horse riding and training in professional riding courses. The resort’s hallmarks of personalised service and great food in Agnes Café have kept patrons coming back, not just for riding through the jungle trails and palm oil plantations but as a retreat from the pressures of city life.
Malaysia, in particular Johor, has a host of interesting destinations for international travellers to enjoy, especially cultural festivals and heritage sites that will give anyone a deeper insight into our city and its people. More can be done to draw tourists to Johor Baru through a concerted effort among TM, hotels and tour agencies. I am sure a sustainable framework is already in place to show visitors both the new and old attractions in the state. Elated by the experience of what was fond and familiar, I decided to leave my mark in London by signing the visitors’ book at the TM office.