GOASIAPLUS March 2018

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Lost & Found lost&Found Francis Yip always loses himself but somehow, finds his way back with lots of juicy stories to share. Forgive him if he sparks a debate. Love him if he unlocks hidden jewels. So heavenly, so travelicious with him! www.franciswriter.com franciswriterAd Once Upon A Time IN CINEMA WORDS & PHOTOS BY FRANCIS YIP Once upon a time, the cinemas in Malaysia were like a movie scene. The way the audience reserved their seats could perhaps make you laugh – tying a knot on their seat using a handkerchief. Those were the days before movie tickets were introduced in the 60’s. There was no air-conditioner, just fans and wooden chairs. If you were unlucky, you might come across some rats running around the cinema floor. I watched my first movie in the cinema in 1976. It was King Kong in Cathay, Penang. The 70’s was considered as the heyday of cinema. It introduced me to Bruce Lee, Chin Han, Lin Ching-Hsia, Ti Lung, David Chiang, Jackie Chan and Roger Moore. TICKETS & SEATING This was also the time when ticket prices were divided according to the seating arrangement, from first to second and third class. The upstairs tickets were the most expensive. Although cinema tickets were considered expensive during that time, people still flocked to the cinemas in droves and there were even black market ticket sellers who boldly approached the crowd in the queue. Some smart patrons would first buy third-class tickets and then moved into first class seats amidst the movie screening. That was why ticket inspectors were often seen with torchlight in their hand to ensure patrons didn’t change their seats! MID-MOVIE SNACK And unlike the cineplexes today, there was an interval during movie screening to allow the patrons to buy drinks or go to the washroom. The “kuaci” girl would also freely walk along the cinema aisles to sell snacks like “kuaci” (sunflower seeds), ice-cream or popcorn during the interval! In fact, there were all kinds of foods like “kacang putih” (peanuts), “bak kua bun” (grilled meat buns) and meat floss buns available and could be brought into the cinema. But today, only foods bought at the counter like drinks and popcorns are allowed. To promote the particular movie, some cinemas invited celebrities to draw more POPULAR FOODS SERVED AT THE CINEMA PREMISES: Bak kua buns (grilled meat buns) Bah hu buns (meat floss buns) Kuaci (sunflower seeds) Ice-cream Popcorn Kacang putih (peanuts) Lok lok (foods on skewer) Asam boi (salted dried sour tamarind) Dried plum Hacks sweet crowd. My mother once told me famed Hong Kong songstress, Grace Chang came over to Cathay in Penang to promote her latest movie, “Air Hostess”. In Johor Bahru, the Capitol cinema took pride in having a stage which hosted live shows of visiting stars performing live an excerpt of the movie, especially “Huangmei opera” ( 黃梅調 ). Apart from inviting celebrities, cinema posters and billboards were used to promote the movie. As there was no digital printing back then, these items were hand-drawn. In fact, most of the promotional flyers were in one-colour print and distributed from door to door in the neighbourhood. Today, those good old cinemas have ceased from movie screening due to the emergence of home videos in the 80’s. Some became home furnishing outlets, hypermarkets, café & restaurants and boutique hotels. Surprisingly, the Majestic cinema recently reopened its door with new décor and is back to screen old Shaw Brothers movies. For Odean cinema, it is now a popular trick art café and restaurant with beautiful wall murals and architectural marvel for tourists. Times have changed. People enjoy ultimate comfort of watching movies in cineplexes. But cineplexes can’t beat the good old cinema experience for me. I miss my bak kua buns and kuaci. 24 · WWW.<strong>GOASIAPLUS</strong>.COM
Book Lover’s Guide The entrance of the Tehran Book Garden book lover’s guide to a s i a CULTURE AND HISTORY BUFFS GET ALL THE ATTENTION WHEN IT COMES TO TRAVEL. BUT TODAY, WE ARE GIVING THE BOOK LOVERS SOME SPOTLIGHT BY HIGHLIGHTING SOME OF THE BEST LITERARY SPOTS ACROSS ASIA. FROM THE STREET TO THE STORES AND EVEN LITERARY FESTIVALS, WE GOT YOU COVERED. WORDS BY AISHAH AZALI • PHOTOS BY MOHAMMAD SHAH HOSSEINI, TSUTAYA BOOKS, AISHAH AZALI & GETTY IMAGES WWW.<strong>GOASIAPLUS</strong>.COM · 25
Page 1: MARCH 2018 | ISSUE 22 WWW.GOASIAPLU
Page 6: COVER PHOTO BY THEKOB5123 / ADOBE S
Page 10 and 11: On The Radar SHERATON DEBUTS IN VIE
Page 12: On The Radar kiwi SCENT WITH SOIRÉ
Page 16 and 17: ADVERTORIAL Your SERUM’S best fri
Page 18 and 19: Songkran WHEN 13-15 APRIL / 2018 TH
Page 20 and 21: Songkran WHERE TO CELEBRATE Chiang
Page 22: Road Less Taken Road Less Taken is
Page 27 and 28: Book Lover’s Guide TEHRAN BOOK GA
Page 30 and 31: Tea Obsession TEA The OBSESSION of
Page 32 and 33: Tea Obsession SRI LANKA When it com
Page 34: Tea Obsession TAIWAN Taiwan’s pop

GOASIAPLUS March 2018

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?