Ice Cream Anyone?

An ice cream parlour never fails to become everyone’s favourite hangout.

RUMOUR has it that this ice cream parlour owes its beginnings to a rich young man who, for want of some place romantic to take his date, had specially built a dessert café for his lady love. This way, the two lovebirds would have a café all to themselves whenever the lady wanted a cold, sweet, treat, which was quite often as she loved ice cream. Most importantly, the private nook would also eliminate the prospect of competition as the young, wealthy suitor was rather possessive of his beautiful fiancée.

But, when the owner of Sidewalk Ice Cream Lounge, Alvin Lew Kean Chong was approached to verify the story, the first thing the 40-year-old father of two did was to burst into a loud incredulous laugh.

Perfect match: Alvin and wife, Oi Ling of Sidewalk Ice Cream Lounge.

“Where on Earth did you get such a story? This is the first time I have heard it and we opened for business in 1991,” queried the unbelieving Lew.

To set the story straight, Lew denies that he had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The eldest of three siblings, Lew, a credit supervisor’s son, said that the ice cream lounge had been made possible through hard-earned savings. The former Michaelian had worked 12-hour days for three years as a cook in Holland.

The lady love, however, was real. Cheam Oi Ling, 34, whom Lew married in 1996, had appeared a few months after he opened shop, thanks to his cousin Wendy Ee. At the time, Cheam and Ee were in Form Five and the visit to the ice cream lounge had been part of the Main Convent girls’ school holiday itinerary.

“The first thing Lew said was ‘Hello, can I get you some ice cream?’” said Cheam, recalling the first thing her future husband had said to her.

Though Lew would forget what his future wife had ordered on her first visit, Cheam clearly recalled that it had been a Snowy Mount Fuji. Made up of three scoops of ice cream and topped with chocolate sauce, desiccated coconut and angel flakes, it was also flanked by peaches, watermelon and nata de coco.

To have such fond memories of one’s early business days has undoubtedly acted as a source of strength and inspiration for Lew.

“When I first opened the shop, critics commented that I would soon close shop. Unfortunately, I am still here,” he joked.

Woodlands Butterscotch: A scrumptious creation of almond flakes, whipped cream, cornflakes, rice crispies and home-made butter scotch sauce over three scoops of ice cream.

When he first opened, there was only one other ice cream parlour in Ipoh. That one soon closed down when the owner lost interest in the business. The idea, he revealed, had come from his aunt, Alice Goh, who had advised him to venture into business instead of seeking employment.

“I thought an ice cream parlour was ideal because it was simple enough to start. Furthermore, ice cream is a universal food. If you look back, some of our fondest childhood memories involved ice cream. Mine was of a scoop of cold delight sandwiched in between a bun, a favourite after-school snack,” he pointed out.

On the psychological aspect, Lew also said that the smooth creaminess of ice cream had the ability to stimulate the pleasure centre of the brain, which is perhaps why his ice cream lounge is a favourite spot for courting couples.

“Some of my first customers came here on their very first dates. When they got married and started their families, they brought their children for my ice cream. Now the children are bringing their dates to my lounge,” said Lew.

To date, Lew has no less than 20 different ice cream creations in his menu. Creativity and artistry, he said, had played a sure hand in maintaining the lounge’s quality.

“A successful sundae requires a sure knowledge of how the fruits, sauces, toppings and ice-cream flavours will work together. For example, while vanilla will go well with almost anything, the same cannot be said for a stronger flavour like chocolate. In this case, one must know how to blend the different flavours so that it will harmonise with the taste buds. Otherwise, the end result will be bitter,” he pointed out.

Royal Dutch Chocolate: Four scoops of ice cream enriched with ladlings of chocolate sauce, fruit cocktail, whipped cream and chocolate rice.

To ensure freshness, Lew revealed that the fruits are bought fresh from the market while the chocolate sauce and butterscotch are made in-house. As for the ice cream, Lew would only say that they have been sourced from different suppliers whose names he has chosen not to reveal.

“Suffice to say, I have sourced for the best flavours from each supplier,” he assured.

Sidewalk Ice Cream Lounge is at 26, Lengkok Canning, Ipoh Garden, 31400, Ipoh, Perak (% 016-562 6844). It is open daily from 7.30pm, except on public holidays when it is open from 2pm onwards.

Jasmine Raj's Charitable Brush

Noble: Jasmine, who only paints for charity, showing off a booklet of her works.

Jasmine Raj embarked on a new pursuit, painting for charity, to help her deal with breast cancer.

It was surprising to find that Jasmine Raj would balk at the idea of sporting skin art on her face for a photo shoot.

For this abstract artist who paints exclusively for charity, her face, she insisted ‘was all she has left’ after undergoing close to 40 surgeries and procedures in her fight against cancer.

While a bit of face painting would be peanuts in comparison, Jasmine a former model did not think she could carry it off.

Not that she is the timid type.

This mother of two had thrown a champagne party a day before her bilateral mastectomy in 2003 and is the type of patient who will sneak out of the hospital just so she could attend a New Year’s Eve party.

Still, when it comes to her face, this attractive and very youthful-looking 40-year-old, we suspect, is a bit of a vain pot who has a penchant for painting her shapely lips in a bright red hue.

And it was with red lips that Jasmine led us to her first painting, The Awakening.

The piece, which seemed to throb and pulsate, is done entirely in red, with hues of yellows and orange to create a sense of texture.

Staying positive: Jasmine at work in her garden.

Done in 2004, Jasmine revealed that working on it had been “an awakening” for her as she embarked on the artistic path to help her deal with her cancer. The Awakening had come about the time when Jasmine came to the decision that she would not wallow in despair over her condition.

This monumental piece, her very first conscious attempt to paint her will to live, graces the path to her kitchen and is not for sale.

This does not apply to her other works of course, which have gone towards helping other cancer patients under organisations like PRIDE and MAKNA.

In an exhibition for PRIDE last October at the Matahari Gallery, Jasmine raised over RM70, 000 for them.

“I am not commercial. I paint only for charity,” said Jasmine affirming herself.

Revealing how this had come about, Jasmine recalled that her foray into art began as early as when she was12, having been influenced by her mother Jaclyn Raj who painted as a hobby.

In 1999 after having met her future husband, Leo Ariyanayakam, now 45, and a successful stint in the arena of interactive marketing, Jasmine took folk art where she learned the ABC’s of painting.

She also went under the tutelage of Karl-heinz Mesbach, an American painter who taught her shading techniques and with his encouragement, she moved on to the big canvas.

But the biggest push and ironically, the major driving force that had driven Jasmine to paint for charity had been her battle with breast cancer.

Will to live: Jasmine standing in front of her first work, The Awakening.

Her quest to find a way to ease her mind of the worrisome baggage of her disease would not go unnoticed and soon, she found interested parties enquiring if she could lend them her talents for fund raising purposes.

“That was when my girlfriends rallied to help organise the logistics and they diligently sat down and factored the time and materials for my paintings so that I could put a price on them,” revealed Jasmine.

In explaining how she works, Jasmine revealed that she is dictated by no one.

“From the onset, I have insisted that I will only paint what I want and what inspires me,” she said.

And from the looks of it, Jasmine is never short of inspiration.

From the hilly ranges of her hometown in Gombak to the abstract images of a family basking in contentment, Jasmine seems to have recorded all her deepest and most profound memories on canvas.

And to watch Jasmine at work is likened to seeing someone take a leisurely stroll.

A swathe of colour here, a dab of something else there and time off to pick a bristle in between ...

“I never know what the final result of my painting is going to be like. Somewhere in between I’d think of something else and that will go into my work,” said this artist who incorporates plenty of greens, yellows and reds to indicate her positive state of mind.

Still one cannot help but wonder if Jasmine, who is into her third remission, has ever had her grey days.

“I was never frightened because I have always known that I will be all right. I have my pillars of strength in Leo, my mother, mother-in-law, my children, sisters and my friends.

“Still I would not term myself as ‘courageous’. That word is better reserved for those who have been there for me as I think it is harder to be a caregiver than someone who is receiving care,” she concluded.

For more on Jasmine’s work, log on to www.jasmineraj.com.

The Magical Element of Pinky Loo

THERE is a very good chance that you would have met Pinky Loo at the opening ceremony of some shopping mall or at some VIP’s grand birthday bash, but hers is not an easy face to recognise. But, then, this is not surprising, as the 21-year-old usually has her face hidden behind a mask.

Loo, a fair, slender beauty who hails from Kuala Selangor, is a magician who practices the ancient art of mask changing, which she affirmed has been her strongest act for the last four years.

There would be more to come, Loo promised when we met at the apartment of her boyfriend’s parents in Ampang. Mark Yong, 24, is also a magician by profession, and the pair had hit it off during a show. The duo has been collaborating under the name of Vivas Magic for three years now, and they have a pet Maltese which they have named Little White.

Collaboration: Loo and Young form a formidable act as Vivas Magic.

“It is very difficult to form a partnership when you’re a magician – there is always the fear that one’s act will be stolen by an unscrupulous partner, who will then become a direct competitor. But then, there is the advantage of strength in numbers, and a partnership means a bigger and more exciting act. That is why, at times, one cannot be held back by doubt,” surmised Loo on the business aspect of her profession.

And, no, magicians cannot wave away their troubles with their magic wands. One example was the mess of costumes and props in the living room that had to be cleared before Yong’s mother, a teacher, returned from school.

“Magic is all about fooling the audience. There is no enchantment or witchcraft involved. It’s just a matter of the hand being faster than the eye – an illusion, to be precise. In reality, a lot of body skills and hidden physical movements are involved,” Loo said, adding with a sigh that housekeeping still had to be done the normal way.

A former student of Chung Hwa Chinese school in Sasaran, Kuala Selangor, Loo, the eldest of four siblings, said she would never have opted for any other career, except for one in showbiz. Her father Jack Loo, 48, a show promoter who is known for bringing acrobatic acts from China, had exposed Loo to magic tricks from a very young age.

“My father would take me to the trick shops and it was like being let loose in a toy store because he’d buy a whole lot of trick sets for me to practise on. By the time I was 16, I was ready to go on stage with a simple repertoire of appearing and vanishing acts,” recalled Loo.

But, when she was 16, Loo watched a mask-changing act that her father had brought from China.

“I was totally mesmerised with the speed of the mask-changing performers. This was when my father decided to send me to Hebei, China, for half a month to learn the technique,” recalled Loo.

After about a month of practice, Loo was convinced of her ability and took to the stage ... only to bungle in her first performance.

“I got a friend to stand in one corner so that she could signal me. A nod would mean that all had turned out well; a shake of the head meant that nothing had changed.

“To my utter horror, she kept on shaking her head. I was at my wit’s end but I kept on strutting around the stage. Finally, I had to forgo the entire show. Luckily, the audience thought that it was just an act and didn’t realise that the masks had not changed,” she recalled.

Later, Loo discovered that the constant pressing of her headgear before she went on stage had caused the inner mechanics to malfunction. It was a mistake that she would not repeat in her subsequent performances.

Loo surmised that her foray into the entertainment world as a magician had begun with a desire to be “different”. Psychologically, it might have had something to do with the fact that Loo’s mother, Kua Wan Bee, now 44, had been a popular singing artiste in the 1980s and had recorded seven albums in Mandarin and Hokkien, and that Loo wanted to present an act more breathtaking than what Mum used to do. On a simpler level, however, Loo attributed her career choice to the typical path of a modern girl who thrives on her own individuality.

“I like the idea of being in charge of my own destiny. I want to be able to determine and execute the concepts for my shows, be in charge,” Loo stressed.

And, one aspect on which Loo had worked was to give the mask-changing act a modern feel, by replacing the traditional-style Chinese masks with a more contemporary harlequin kind of look. Loo does not see this as defying tradition but rather, as her way of honouring the advice of her mask-changing sifu: that, “In life, you must always go and seek out new things and new ways of doing things.”

There can be no doubt that Loo has taken this advice to heart. In addition to learning new magic tricks, the computer studies graduate, who has a penchant for sushi and Kentucky Fried Chicken, also has plans to brush up on her English.

“One day, when I go up on stage to receive the award for being the best magician, I don’t want to just say ‘thank you’ and walk off, but to present a speech which I hope will inspire more girls to join the profession,” Loo revealed. To contact Loo, visit her website at www.vivasmagic.com or call 016-688 8302.

A world of dreams alive on stage

A THEATRE performance presented by children’s theatre company The Jumping Jellybeans at The Annexe in Central Market in June of 2007 reminds one that the imagination is indeed limitless.

The play Terra Arata promised the flyer, would take the audience to “a world of dreams”. It was supposed to take the audience through a journey filled with tales from near and far where birds and bulls and fishes would come alive before their eyes.

A mermaid would turn into a spider, a flamenco dancer into an injured goose, and a Cambrian golden snail from the Indian Ocean would come and grant wishes to other animals with his golden scales.

The journey begins: Sukania starting off the show as a dancing emcee in her flapper costume. The working gramophone was another point of interest with the kids.

What came on stage, however, disappointed this writer, who was expecting a circus show of high-tech special stage effects and over-the top costumes. Instead, there were three ladies in black leotards, prancing on a minimally decorated stage draped with yards of white cloth, with a slide show of weird animal images as a background. This writer wanted to leave.

Her four-year-old, on the other hand, did not share the same sentiment. Sitting on a cushion-strewn carpeted floor, the children were transfixed as Sukania and Shantini Venugopal and Cinzia Ciaramicoli skipped, spat, squatted, squawked, staggered and generally jiggled and jabbered with abandon.

Lessons on the importance of following instructions were imparted in the tale of a tail-less dog that went against the Cambrian snail’s advice.

A murmur of excitement rippled through the children when live goldfish came into the act. Laughter would give way to horror when Ciaramicoli swallowed what seemed to be a live goldfish in a skit where a cheating gamer makes off with her prize at a funfair. Later, she reveals that the “live goldfish” was actually a carrot.

With minimal props and barelythere lighting on the set, these ladies compensated with boundless energy which had the children transfixed from beginning to end. The interaction was remarkable. They gasped as Ciaramicoli, as a bull burdened by its yoke, appeared to stumble and collapse near where they sat. They “oohed” and “aahed” as Shantini come on stage as the golden Cambrian snail and they tittered at Sukania as she played the tail-less dog and the mystical lizard which insisted on payment to perform her magic tricks.

To have an audience of children sit through a play is no easy task and the three ladies were visibly sweating from their efforts at the end of it.

Farming scene: A farmer sows his seeds in ‘Terra Arata’. Leave it to the imagination and be transported to a tilled field in a farm somewhere in a sunny countryside.

Watching Tera Arata requires a sense of childlikeness where fantastical imagination rules. Remember when fantasy games of make-believe served to entertain during dull afternoons and rainy days? Those were the days when one was transformed into Buck Rogers by Gran’s silver belt or Ms Universe with Mummy’s high heels.

It is too bad that as we grow up to be sensible adults, we lose this sense of imagination. Thus, we cheer the children and the ladies from Jumping Jellybeans to remind this so-called sensible adult that once in a while, it is good to let one’s imagination go.

Life would be so much happier this way….

Inspired by a surreal painting by Spanish Catalan painter Joan Miro, Terra Arata stars Cinzia Ciaramicoli, Sukania Venugopal and Shanthini Venugopal. The play is directed by Zahim Albakri with costumes by Dominique Devorsine and projected animation by Octagon Creative. For info on other Jumping Jellybeans productions, email thejumpingjellybeans@ yahoo.com.