I have always been intrigued by the traditional art form called wayang kulit (shadow puppetry) which translates to “theatre of skin.” This beautiful art form was not very common in Kuala Lumpur while I was growing up, so I never got the chance to see it performed live.

So, you can imagine my surprise when a couple of months ago I learned about the free Balinese wayang kulit workshop MaRia Bodmann would be teaching on Saturday afternoons from February through April 2018. I jumped at the opportunity to attend.

MaRia is America's first female dalang. She is an alum of the prestigious CalArts (based in Southern California) and spent many years in Bali studying traditional gamelan music and later shadow puppetry.

MaRia eventually founded Bali & Beyond in Los Angeles with a mission to share and promote the incredible Balinese culture and traditions with Westerners. She describes wayang kulit, an ancient Asian tradition over a thousand years old, as the “epitome of multicultural art.”

Not only do I admire MaRia’s passion, commitment, and dedication for learning and later teaching Balinese wayang kulit, but I’m also fascinated by the fact that she is a female dalang, which is extremely rare because, traditionally, dalangs are male. I was very curious to know more about MaRia’s experience learning to be a dalang in Indonesia as a white, female American.

I was also interested to see how she would incorporate modern Western puppets and stories into a wayang kulit performance to make it more exciting and relatable to American audiences.

In the end, I think it’s both funny and ironic that I ended up finding ways to learn both gamelan (which I learned in graduate school in Illinois) and the wayang kulit here in the United States rather than in my homeland of Malaysia, although, it was not for lack of trying.

I guess the universe has other plans for me. Like they say, sometimes you have to travel the world to find home.

MaRia Bodmann passed away peacefully accompanied by her friends and her beloved cat on April 29th, 2019. Her loved ones held a symbolic cremation in Bali in her honour. MaRia was a respected and deeply loved member of the community and helped pioneer gamelan music in the United States. I’m so grateful to have interviewed and me with her. Her memory lives on.

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Every Easter, the Ukrainian Culture Center in LA put on the Pysanka Festival. I’m always eager to learn about other peoples and cultures. I know very little about Ukraine, so I was excited to attend this Easter event.

We decided to go to the Ukrainian Art Center before the event at the Culture Center. The lovely Daria Chaikovsky founded the Art Center, which is home to many Ukrainian artifacts, traditional décor, Christmas decorations, jewelry and paintings. Daria told me that after the Cold War had ended, it was much easier to bring items from Ukraine to the U.S.

I was exploring the art center when I looked through a small window where I could see a dance room. Onstage were dancers performing their routine. The stage was amazing. There was a large, beautifully designed golden arch that shimmered in the room’s light. Something about watching the performance through the small window felt like I was transported back in time. I’m glad I took a detour to the arts center.

We headed downstairs to the Pysanka Festival. A pysanka is a Ukrainian Easter egg that’s decorated with traditional Ukrainian folk designs. The designs are not painted but inscribed with beeswax using the wax-resist method. In Ukraine, each region, village, and family have their own ritual, with its unique symbols, meanings, and special formulas for dyeing eggs. These special techniques are passed down from mother-to-daughter over generations.

The Ukrainian Easter eggs at the festival were absolutely beautiful. I'd never seen Easter eggs like this before. These eggs were very elaborate. The colors were vibrant, and the tiny, repeating designs and motifs were incredibly detailed. It shows in their work that many hours go into creating pysanka.

There were workshops for both adults and children interested in making their own pysanka. I wanted to learn more about what goes into making these eggs, so I attended the workshop. I learned from experience how difficult it really is to create an impressive pysanka. I also loved watching how dedicated the other students were, especially the children. It was heartwarming to see mothers take pride in her child(ren) learning about their heritage.

I saw men and women wearing vibrant, embroidered shirts and blouses. These traditional Ukrainian shirts are called vyshyvanka. I came to find out that embroidery is an ancient and symbolic tradition in Ukraine. These garments are worn in traditional Ukrainian weddings and other celebrations. Each region has a unique style. Everything from the colors used to the type of stitching is unique to the region it originates from. Embroidery is thought of as a woman’s task and it’s an important art to many Ukrainian women.

Quite a few of the men and women I spoke to told me that their mothers or grandmothers made their vyshyvanka and that you shouldn’t expect to find them in stores. But they made an exception for the festival where you could purchase a vyshyvanka.

There was also a booth where you could buy handmade gerdan, which are traditional beaded necklaces that reminded of Sarawakian necklaces. There were other booths with small, wooden replicas of ancient and medieval weapons for sale.

At one of the booths, I had a conversation with a Polish woman who was there to help her friend manage the booth. She talked about how the Polish and Ukrainian communities are quite close and have, historically, helped each other. “The borders all get blurred,” as she put it. I felt great learning about these women who celebrated unity across cultures.

For entertainment, there was a poetry reading, concerts, and dance performances. The musicians wore a mix of traditional Ukrainian and modern clothing. Some children performed traditional Ukrainian dances. Then, there was a singer who I thought looked a lot like Frida and was very expressive.

As for food, I did get to try some traditional Ukrainian cuisine. I ate some varenyky (fried dumpling) filled with mashed potato and they were quite good.

Finally, I had the pleasure of speaking with Paul Budilo, the president of the Holodomor Committee, and Barbara, his very kind wife who’s got extensive experience in pysanka. Paul told me about the significance of the Easter festival and about the importance of holding onto their Ukrainian heritage in the U.S.

As someone new to Ukrainian culture, the Pysanka Festival was a perfect introduction (and a really fun way to celebrate Easter). Learning about the incredible pysanka tradition alone made the trip worthwhile. I hope to learn more about Ukraine and its history and culture in the future.

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LA’s historic Little Tokyo hosts the Nisei Festival every August. This year was my first time attending. At the festival, there’s a pageant/parade, Japanese art and culture exhibits, food vendors, and music performances (including the famous taiko drum line).

Little Tokyo is a Japanese American district and a cultural hub in downtown LA. There are two Zen gardens, lots of public artworks, the Japanese American National Museum, and many restaurants and historic shops. But what most interests me about Little Tokyo is the mix of modern and traditional architecture.

Modern buildings are adorned with Japanese style roof tiles, and small buildings were transformed into quaint boutiques. I loved the bright red paper lanterns that lined the streets. People wore hybridized clothing styles. I saw people in everything from urban streetwear to traditional silk kimono and yukata. What was especially gratifying to see was the range of people wearing the kimono and yukata. They weren’t exclusively Japanese, but also Asian, white, and Hispanic. The overall effect left me feeling like I wasn’t in America or Japan, but in a dazzling multicultural city set sometime in the future.

Our first stop at the festival was the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center. Inside were kiosks selling Japanese products from brands such as Eat Sleep Work and Uprising, food stalls, and musical performances. Most of the groups played contemporary Rock music. Some of the younger performers were high school students. There was also a charming Japanese-style beer garden decorated with stools, traditional Japanese curtains, and paper lanterns.

I checked out the Ikebana Teachers Association’s exhibition where the groups showed off their collection of stunning flower arrangements (ikebana). The arrangements really fit my style. They were very detailed yet minimalist, and they looked like miniature Zen gardens. It must take an incredible amount of time and care to maintain these arrangements.

Our next stop was a Japanese tea ceremony, which was the highlight of the festival.

The teahouse was a small, wooden hut that was built for the ceremony. The host, a Japanese American woman wearing a kimono, told us about the ancient tea ceremony. Following a strict protocol, the tea ceremony is considered classical Japanese art. Preparation for each stage of the ceremony takes hours to set up and follows a strict rules. There is intention in even the smallest details. The planners carefully select everything from utensils to the flower arrangements. Still, the décor is minimalist.

The host explained that there are usually two guests: a primary and a secondary guest. Before entering, guests must wash their hands as a gesture of respect. The ceremony starts with the cleaning of the utensils. After inspecting the utensils, the host must ensure they’re properly set. Then the tea is prepared. The tea and water are carefully mixed together with a whisk in a bowl. When it’s ready, the host presents the bowl of prepared tea to the main guest. The guests admired the bowl before drinking the tea. Afterward, the main guest wiped the rim of the bowl and offered it to the secondary guest.

Everyone was quiet and respectful throughout. It seems that the point of emphasizing these small, seemingly insignificant rituals was to invoke a calm, meditative state. The slowness of everything forces us to stay in the moment and develop patience. After the two guests took their sips, the rest of us were finally free to enjoy our tea.

After everyone had finished their tea, the host cleaned the bowl and utensils. The guests must then show respect for the hosts by inspecting the utensils. Afterward, the guests are to admire anything else the host has on display, such as a flower arrangement or a scroll. Guests then bow their heads to the hosts one last time before leaving. With that final gesture, the ceremony’s complete. It was such a treat for me to learn about this beautiful, ancient tradition.

After the tea ceremony, I walked through the James Irvine Japanese Garden. The garden is small but charming with a pretty bridge. I saw quite a few people dressed in kimono enjoying themselves in the Zen garden.

From there, we caught the Kimekomi doll exhibition. These lovely traditional dolls are handmade with painted porcelain heads and dressed in gorgeous kimono made of silk crepes, twills, brocades, and other luxurious fabrics. For anyone interested in learning more about Kimekomi dolls, there are classes for it in Gardena and Monterey Park.

Before leaving Little Tokyo, we took a walk through the restaurant row. In addition to all the Japanese restaurants, street vendors were selling all kinds of Japanese items, such as chopsticks and bonsai. We didn’t stay too long because it was very crowded and I don’t do well with crowds, but I plan to return someday soon to try some of the food.

We ended the day at the Obon Festival at the Gardena Buddhist Church. The annual festival is celebrated to commemorate deceased ancestors. It’s believed that spirits return during this time to visit living relatives. Paper lanterns called chochin are lined up on strings to guide the spirits to their families who wait for them at the graves of their deceased loved ones.

I was thrilled to catch a performance of the Bon-Odori (a ritual dance). The dance’s performed on a raised platform called a yagura. On the yagura is a band with one vocalist and several instrumentalists who play traditional Japanese instruments.

Some music was pre-recorded but there were also a couple of lute players and a woman on a taiko drum. The dancers, who were from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, wore traditional Japanese clothing, and performed a synchronized dance while moving in a large circle. I was surprised to see that among the dancers were three men in Elvis wigs. The dance was a joy to watch.

Afterward, I toured the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temple. The large altar at the head of the temple was painted in shades of gold and was covered with ornaments. It felt like I was at a royal palace.

It was a wonderful day and I really loved attending the two festivals. But the Japanese tea ceremony at the Nisei festival was my favorite event.

If you’ve never been to either festival, I encourage you to attend at least one of them next year. Until then, there’s plenty to see and do in LA’s Little Tokyo.

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I was very excited to experience Iranian culture for the first time at a Nowruz (Iranian) New Year’s celebration. Since there is a large Iranian population in Southern California, there were two Nowruz festivals: one at UCLA and the other at UCI.

The Farhang Foundation, a secular, apolitical, nonprofit foundation that’s dedicated to celebrating Iranian art and culture, hosted both festivals. I admire how the Farhang Foundation’s mission is to promote Iranian culture without a political or religious agenda.

The first festival I attended was at UCLA. Although we got there rather late, there was still a lot to see and enjoy. It was a large outdoor event. They had a DJ, traditional Persian exhibitions, performances, activities for children, and food trucks.

There was also a Haft-sîn display, which is a collection of seven traditional symbols that start with the 15th character in the Persian alphabet. This was my first time seeing such a display.

There was a brilliant performance by the Le Daf Ensemble, a group of eight women dressed in traditional Persian attire, each playing a daf (a large Middle Eastern frame drum). Seeing women with their instruments was a real treat for me because I usually only see men playing frame drums.

The ensemble played fantastic music and was very eye-catching. It’s a shame I only got to see the end of the performance. Although we didn’t get the chance to see the whole performance, there was a sold-out concert with Mojgan Shajarian—daughter of the legendary Mohammad-Reza Shajarian—headlining at Royce Hall.

There were many great exhibitions, including art displays (traditional Persian drawings and paintings), an exhibit of traditional Nowruz decorations, and Barbie dolls dressed in beautiful, traditional Persian clothing. I enjoyed the mix of Eastern and Western culture in the Barbie display.

As for the food, my favorite food truck there served delicious fusions of Asian, Mexican, and American food. They had sushi with a Mexican twist and wraps that were a combination of Mexican and Asian cuisines. And lucky for me, there were plenty of vegetarian and vegan options.

Since we only caught the end of the Nowruz festival at UCLA, we decided to go to one at UCI to a couple of weeks later.

I was happy to learn that UCI is home to the Dr. Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies & Culture. The festival at UCI was smaller than the one at UCLA, but since we got there early, there was a lot more for us to see this time.

At the festival entrance, there was a miniature paper-mache representation of the Freedom Sculpture. Located in Century City, the sculpture is stainless-steel and painted gold and silver. It was inspired by the Cyrus Cylinder, an ancient document with cuneiform inscribing that details Cyrus the Great’s deeds and honors. The Farhang Foundation commissioned Cecil Balmond, the architect whose work includes the ArcelorMittal Orbit and the Star of Caledonia, to create his rendition of the Cyrus Cylinder.

I love that the sculpture represents religious freedom, cultural diversity, and inclusiveness. These ideals are close to my heart and they motivate me as a musician.

Later, I saw a lively performance by the Sibarg Ensemble. After the show, I talked to Mahtab, a member of the ensemble. She plays the santoor, which is a hammered dulcimer. Mahtab told me that she started out playing the xylophone, but at around fifteen or so, she switched to the santoor. I asked her why she switched, and she told me that not only were there already many others learning the xylophone, but she wanted to learn more about her Persian heritage, so she felt that she should learn a traditional Persian instrument instead.

Mahtab, who lives in Texas, plays traditional and modern music. And like me, she loves to blend the two. She hopes to collaborate with musicians who play Western instruments. So far, she’s performed with a violinist and flutist, which has brought her great success.

As a singer-songwriter who is passionate about creating a hybrid of traditional and modern music styles, I was touched to hear that Mahtab is also passionate about this. I told her how much I appreciated her music and how happy I am that she’s bringing her incredible culture and music to modern audiences.

There was also a lovely Persian tea ceremony with a beautiful spread of tasty desserts. Two things I love are dessert and traditional foods, so this ceremony was perfect for me (and best of all, it was free). The two women hosting the ceremony were dressed in traditional Iranian clothing. I had an interesting chat with one of the ladies, who was happy to explain how each of the desserts were made.

One of the desserts I sampled was jalebi (also known as zulbia). It’s a popular dessert in much of Asia, especially in Iran and India. Jalebi is made by deep-frying maida (plain flour) in a pretzel or circular shape, and are then coated in sugar syrup. I found the Iranian version to be lighter and flakier than the Indian version, which I’m more familiar with. I also had the tea, of course, and it was so delicious that I had a second cup.

Walking around the festival was a group of women in beautiful traditional attire. I was instantly captivated by their elaborate, colorful dresses and stopped to talk to one of the women. Her name is Robyn Friend, and she is the director of the Institute of Persian Performing Arts and has a Ph.D. in Iranian Languages and Cultures from UCLA. Robyn told me that she made the traditional attire she was wearing with modern fabric but created the traditional patterns using ancient techniques. Robyn was as friendly as her name implies.

I asked Robyn about the significance of the gold coins on their headdresses and vests. She told me that the coins represent luck and prosperity and that women wore them to show their wealth and social capital. Even though the headdresses and vests can get quite heavy, wearing more coins means an elevated social status.

I mentioned to Robyn that I had just tried a Persian dessert that was very similar to a dessert from India. She shared with me how both Persian and Indian cultures have many things in common, including foods that use similar spices and musical traditions. Also, both societies greatly value personal accomplishment, higher education, and financial success.

Attending not one, but two Nowruz festivals this year was a lot of fun and a great way to learn more about Iran and its people. I am grateful for the Farhang Foundation’s efforts to share Iran’s rich and ancient heritage so that Americans can experience a bit of Persian culture.

It’s my hope that other cultural organizations will follow the Farhang Foundation’s example so that we get the opportunity to learn about their traditions and heritage, too.

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I had the honor of performing at the Jubilee Arts Festival, a two-day event held at the Pasadena Convention Center. The festival is an international program that showcases the diversity and talent of the world’s Ismaili Muslim community.

The festival celebrates a variety of talent in dance, filmmaking, literary arts, musical performance, visual arts, poetry, graphic design, and more. Festival attendees can meet and learn from each other at workshops and other interactive events.

At the festival, I performed my original song “Sailing the Sahara,” which is about the beauty of unity through diversity. Sue Arunasalam, who, coincidentally, is one of the earliest members of my favorite gamelan group, Rhythm in Bronze, joined me on my custom-made chromatic gamelan saron; also joining us was Danny Shamoun on the nay (Arabic flute).

On stage, I wore a songket, which is something I often do when I perform live. A songket is a beautifully decorated, shuttle-woven fabric that’s a member of the brocade line indigenous to countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and India. Each country has a distinctive style. The festival provided a large screen for translations, which came in handy since my song’s lyrics are half Malay and half English.

As a performer, I enjoy watching other artists warm-up before a performance, and there were plenty of musicians and dancers at the festival for me to observe. I especially loved listening to a group of Indian musicians with traditional instruments such as a sarod (lute), tabla (Indian drum), and harmonium (pump organ) jamming backstage before their performance.

A group of older Indian women performed an incredible dance. They wore traditional Indian attire and carefully danced while balancing Indian pots on their heads. The performers wore such beautiful clothing. It was a feast for my eyes.

As for the exhibitions, I especially liked the visual arts offerings and particularly liked a giant collage made up of photos of performers from past Jubilee Arts events. There were also many paintings and sculptures, and even innovative artwork created by children. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to see any of the films.

It was a truly magical day. It was a privilege to perform at such a grand, inclusive festival. I appreciated the opportunity to share my music with the Ismaili community. My song’s message was very well received, and several members of the audience approached me after my performance to express how much they loved my message of unity through diversity and how my music incorporated both modern and traditional elements.

All the hard work by the festival committee and volunteers certainly paid off. The festival was a huge success and an important part of retaining the Ismaili tradition.

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In late April, I attended The Silk Road Unity Festival hosted by Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Anaheim, CA. The festival’s name is a reference to the Silk Road.

The beautiful, traditional costumes and vibrant textiles were absolutely mesmerizing. I admired how the festival celebrated a large diversity of cultures, nations, arts, regional cuisines, and faiths along the ancient trade route. However, it was also created to educate people about the various cultures spanning from Turkey to China.

I also came across several interesting books such as “Muslims Around the World” that tell the diverse stories of Muslims through photographs. “Lost Heritage” by Armadeep Singh (Singapore) is about the lost Sikh heritage and “Vegan Richa’s Indian Kitchen” by Richa Hingle. As a vegan myself, it’s hard to find vegan Indian cookbooks so I was really happy to find this.

Even though I don’t know that much about Syrian culture, I was moved by an exhibit titled “A Country Called Syria,” which showcased the history and culture of the country and its people through photos, decorative items, fabrics, architectural books, miniatures of traditional instruments and much more.

As the war in Syria continues, more of the country’s cultural artifacts are destroyed, making an exhibit like this invaluable. I commend those who organized this important project for doing what they can to preserve their rich and beautiful heritage. It’s an inspiring goal, and they deserve much praise for what they’re doing.

I also enjoyed the exhibit by the Pakistani Art Center, which displayed gorgeous traditional fabrics, masterfully made dowry bags, and colorful dupattas. A dupatta is an essential part of Southeast Asian women’s clothing. As for the dowry bags, a woman named Henna explained their significance to me.

As soon as a baby girl is born, her mother makes a dowry bag and sets out to fill it with beautiful, handmade clothing, which she later gives to her daughter when she marries. A dowry bag is a mother’s way of showing how much she loves her daughter, who usually moves away with her husband, which is, for many women, the last time they’ll see their mothers again.

The Silk Road Interfaith Unity Panel was on the top of my list of events that day. Many of the panelists were women of a variety of faiths including Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Zoroastrianism and Christianity. The panelists spoke about the importance of tolerance and diversity in religion, and they were quick to praise each other’s faiths and point out each religion’s unique contribution to the world. It was very inspiring to hear representatives from such different backgrounds show their respect for each other’s beliefs and customs.

Later, Mohammed, a talented Persian calligrapher, wrote my name in Farsi. I also enjoyed some excellent music and dance performances. Some of the dances were the Chinese dragon dance (one of my favorite traditions since childhood), the Punjabi dhol dance and Syrian sword dancing.

A real standout for me was the musical performance by a Persian ensemble, which included a man on the santoor. It was especially fun to see a group of older women singing along and dancing to the group’s music, as it was clear the women reveled in hearing traditional folk music.

As someone who always delights in exploring different cultures, I’m so glad to have discovered such a unique and inclusive event. The Silk Road Unity Festival was both an entertaining and enlightening experience.

I’m very excited about next year’s festival.

"The next generation finds their roots in tradition and culture." - Dr. Rini Ghosh (President of the Vedana International Cultural Center).

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Since I’m always looking for exciting cultural events here in Los Angeles, I was very excited to come across the Japan House, an innovative, new project hosted by the Agency for Cultural Affairs to promote Japanese culture overseas. Other locations include London and Sāo Paulo.

I really admire the effort they’re putting into sharing Japanese culture and innovation with the rest of the world. This is a great project I foresee Malaysia adopting in the future, as there are so many wonderful things Malaysian culture has to share with the world.

Japan House takes up two floors in the Hollywood & Highland Center. The center includes a library and salon (both still under construction), and also a shop, which sells beautiful Japanese products. Many of the items incorporate state-of-the-art technology and are designed with chic, minimalistic aesthetic in mind. I love this design approach because of the clean lines and modern design.

The items blend Eastern traditions with scientific innovations inspired by the West, which I love because the concept of combining cultures to create a new, hybrid culture is an example of how unity transcends geography and ancestry.

I came across a sleek, black bookmark made of lightweight, waterproof material; on it was the Kanji for love. I fell in love with the bookmark and bought it as a memento.

I’m excited about the library, which will have a variety of books on Japanese culture. I love learning about different cultures, and I look forward to visiting this library after the construction is complete. And I very much look forward to the opening of the salon, which will host everything from guest speakers to special cooking presentations. I can’t wait to attend all the interesting events to come. I was also told that there are plans for a Japanese bistro on the top floor, which only makes me more eager to visit.

I went to Japan House for an exhibition called Anrealage: A Light Un Light (January 1, 2018 – March 21, 2018).

The inaugural exhibition presented works from the fashion label ANREALAGE and Kunihiko Morinaga, the next-generation designer. The show featured designs on the theme of light, showing us new and incredible ways photosensitive fabrics utilize light.

These ingenious, experimental creations force us to change how we see, wear, and think about the future of fashion. I believe the future is to integrate technology into everyday lifestyle products.

The art pieces were incredible to see. One example was what appeared to be an ordinary white dress that transforms into a mesmerizing, kaleidoscopic pattern when a smartphone LED shines on it.

Another piece was a white topcoat that turned black under sunlight.

But my favorite exhibit was the Room of Light and Sound. The artist(s) who designed this exhibit mixed hearing and sight by using music and amazing visuals together. Visitors listened to binaural beats on headphones while we watched a video of runway models wearing the latest fashion. As the models strut down the catwalk, visual representations of the music bombarded them from all angles. The effect was a spectacular synesthetic experience that blurred the line between audio and visual.

Also, shoutouts to the Japan House concept movie.

It’s a montage of stunning scenes from different times and places in Japanese history. The scenes were of culturally significant places, modern technologies, various subcultures, food, and nature. The film is a visual feast, marrying both modern and traditional Japanese culture. I was very impressed by the film’s conceptual style. I highly recommend checking it out.

Japan House is a local treasure and a rich cultural resource for anyone in LA. Kudos to the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs for their excellent exhibitions.

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Brunch is my favorite meal of the day, so I knew I’d definitely check out the Malaysian pop-up brunch at Sam Tan’s Kitchen.

The woman behind Sam Tan’s Kitchen is Samantha Tan, who’s an actress by day and a chef by night. Samantha is originally from Malaysia but now lives in Los Angeles. She’s a self-taught chef, specializing in traditional Malaysian cuisine. Also, Samantha was featured on Feastly’s (an online platform that connects chefs with foodies) #GirlsWithKnives blog. What an honor.

Feastly organized Samantha’s third pop-up brunch. The brunch was set in a charming and well-lit loft in the Downtown LA Arts District. I’ve never been to the DTLA before, so it was fun to explore one of LA’s most famous neighborhoods for the first time. The mood was relaxed, and the limited seating made for a cozy atmosphere even though the space itself was rather large. Being an Aspie, I really enjoyed being there with so few people.

Our first course was the kaya toast, which features Samantha’s signature slow-cooked coconut jam. Coconut jam is very difficult to make, requiring hours of careful stirring. Kaya toast is very popular in Malaysia, and it’s a food many Malaysian children grow up eating. Kaya Street Kitchen also serves wonderful kaya toast. You can find Kaya Street Kitchen in the Fairfax District of Central LA.

The second course was bihun goreng, which is fried rice vermicelli. This is another difficult dish to prepare. It’s also one of my mother’s favorites. Samantha’s bihun consisted of french-cut vegetables, bean sprouts, and green onions. Her bihun was delicious and spicy, just like the bihun I ate back home in Malaysia.

I love how Samantha served the food on plastic Chinese plates, which is usually how food is served in Malaysia. The plates with the traditional Chinese patterns made me feel at home.

Our third course was the roti jala, which translates to “net bread” in English. This dish is a teatime snack and is quite pretty. It looks like an old-fashioned lace doily. I was impressed at how beautiful these doily-shaped pancakes were. And the accompanying curry was creamy but not very spicy (likely to suit the average American’s palate).

Next up was the food I was most looking forward to—nasi lemak bungkus, coconut rice prepared with roasted peanuts, fried anchovies and a signature sambal chili all wrapped up in a banana leaf. Each banana leaf was then individually wrapped in newspaper, as it’s done in Malaysia. Samantha’s nasi lemak bungkus gave off a delicious aroma. Samantha couldn’t find Malaysian newspapers, so she used Chinese and American newspapers instead. It was incredibly delicious.

And finally, for dessert, we had pandan cake, a sponge cake flavored with the essence of pandan leaves. Pandan cake is a light, fluffy and green dessert that’s common in Southeast Asia. I was hoping she made kuih, which is a plate of sticky, cake-like dumplings. Unfortunately, the ingredients aren’t easy to find in the U.S.

James Kong, a Malaysian veteran who’s lived in the US for about 30 years, presented Samantha with a mini-Oscar for “Best Chef” after we’d all finished eating. It was very sweet of James to do this, and the gesture meant a lot to Samantha.

The idea of giving Samantha an Oscar made perfect sense because she is both an actress and a chef, and she certainly deserved the award.

It’s incredible how impressive Samantha is. I’m glad people like her bring Malaysian culture to the U.S.

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Recently, I attended the fantastic Shaolin Festival at Rosemead Park. Every March, the Shaolin Temple Cultural Center USA share and promote Shaolin culture in my new home here in SoCal.

The festival is rife with family fun and the park was so bright under the colorful banners and the large, beautiful photographs of Shaolin temples and other cultural symbols. There were Buddhist statues, sanctuaries, a meditation booth, a Shaolin temple booth, and artwork kiosks. Shaolin masters mingled with the people in their traditional robes, bringing ancient Eastern clothing to the West. I love seeing this East-meets-West dynamic and I’m happy I live someplace as culturally diverse as LA.

Just because we move to a new land doesn’t mean we have to leave our ancestry behind. We can honour our past while embracing our future. We can appreciate our values and traditions while adjusting them to fit a modern lifestyle.

Since there are many Chinese people in California, there quite a few Shaolin temples and schools. I noticed that many of the younger Chinese people of SoCal are having interracial children. I love seeing all the multicultural children with an endless variety of mixed features. Seeing Eastern and Western ethnic features on these children reminds me of my mixed ancestry.

It’s admirable to see how hard the Chinese people of SoCal work so hard to keep their traditions alive here in the United States. I believe it’s important to teach children to have pride in their heritage while also respecting others’ cultures.

The highlight of the festival was the martial arts performance. Kung Fu, one of the four major pillars of Shaolin culture (along with Chan, Medicine, and Art) nurtures focus, discipline, strength and confidence. Mastering Kung Fu connects the body and mind. It shares parallels with Yoga, which is culturally significant to me because of my Indian heritage.

The older kids, who have been studying martial arts since they were young, were very skilled. They were flexible and moved so fluidly. The most advanced students also showed off their skills with traditional martial arts weaponry, demonstrating their mastery with swords, Shuang jie gun (popularly known as nunchucks from the Okinawan nunchaku), chain whips, and spiked clubs. I was filled with joy watching so many young children concentrating deeply on their movements. Their little faces were so expressive; I could feel their focus.

Note: The kids were training with replicas instead of real weapons.

There were people of many ethnicities there. I saw many Chinese people with an interracial partner there. I love it when people show an interest in learning other people’s ancestries. Nothing good ever comes from denying another person’s culture.

Like I always say, one of the best ways to achieve lasting unity is to observe and celebrate our diversity because every culture has something beautiful to share.

The Shaolin Festival reminded me of my love for cultural unity.

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At one of my gamelan rehearsals at the Indonesian consulate in Los Angeles, I asked around for recommendations on where to find some good, authentic Indonesian food. Everyone I asked suggested the same restaurant: Wong Java House. I knew I had to try this place out.

Wong Java House is located in Alhambra, which is about 20 miles away from my home in LA. Since I don’t have a car, it took us a long time to get there. The restaurant has a homey feeling. The walls are decorated with wayang kulit (shadow puppet) engravings and traditional Indonesian decorations. You could tell from the decorations that this restaurant was authentically Indonesian.

An older woman was peeling chilies at another table. This is the sort of thing I’d normally see in Malaysia. I felt so nostalgic.

In Malaysia, it’s very common to see restaurant staff cutting and preparing vegetables, peppers, etc. at tables in the dining area. The older woman was the foster mother of Ning, the owner of the restaurant.

Looking at the menu, I was thrilled to find out that Wong Java House offers vegetarian substitutes for all of their popular meat dishes (unfortunately this didn’t apply to seafood), which is rare to find in Southeast Asian restaurants here and especially in Malaysia.

We started with the kangkung belacan, a spicy water spinach stir-fry with chilies and it was delicious. The waitress then recommended we try the kremas. Kremas translates to crunch, which makes sense since the dish is usually made up of fried chicken (but I had it substituted with tofu). It was perfectly crunchy, light and oily—just the way I like it.

Unfortunately, they were sold out of the rendang, a dish that’s rarely available and usually reserved for special occasions such as festivals. Rendang is a rich and spicy curry dish. It takes so long to prepare—about seven hours.

It’s a very difficult dish to prepare so oftentimes it’s not so great. But when it’s made right, it’s incredible. We definitely plan to come back to try their rendang. If it’s sold out, then it must be incredible.

Lucky for us, Ning was there during our visit. She recommended we have the nasi goreng petai, a fried rice dish. Petai means, “smelly beans” in Malay. Petai is popular in Malaysia and it’s known for its healing properties. It may be eaten raw or cooked.

I prefer eating mine cooked with sambal because raw petai has a bitter flavor. Ning’s nasi goreng petai was incredible and flavorful. Honestly, it was one of the best fried rice dishes I’ve ever eaten.

Ning also recommended we try her karedok. As I mentioned before in my Indonesian Cuisine post, I’m usually not a fan of the Asian fruit or vegetable salad back in Malaysia because it’s often too sour for me. But Ning's vegetable salad was excellent. It had just the right amount of graininess and was served with a delicious peanut sauce that wasn’t too sweet. Ning explained to us that the salad is made with Thai basil, which is very difficult to find here. Fortunately for her customers, Ning managed to source the elusive herb in Anaheim.

Next came the nasi bungkus. Nasi means rice and bungkus means, “to pack”. It’s rice-based and comes with several curry dishes, tempeh, and veggies served on a banana leaf. I was amazed by how delicious the steamed white rice was. Ning told us that she has a particular method for preparing the jasmine rice for her nasi bungkus.

Ning said she won’t let anyone else cook the rice; she comes into the restaurant every day to cook it herself. The amount of water, how she stirs the rice and how long to cook it for—she’s totally perfected the method.

The rice is sticky but not like typical Japanese sticky rice, and it’s starchy enough to absorb the sauce or gravy. The fried tempeh (cut into an oval instead of the usual rectangle) was perfectly seasoned.

For dessert we had cendol, a popular drink served cold and made up of coconut milk, palm sugar, pandan leaf juice, and green jelly-like noodles. In Malaysia, cendol is often served with a lot of shaved ice, but not at the Wong Java House, which was a pleasant surprise. I’d usually ask them to remove the ice, which confuses the servers. I’m happy I didn’t need to ask this time.

The coconut milk and the palm sugar weren’t too sweet, and I liked the firmness of the noodles. The noodles used to make cendol in Malaysia are too soft. The cendol at Wong Java is definitely the best I’ve ever tasted. Now I know where to go when I’m craving some excellent dessert.

After our meal, Ning was kind enough to show us her kitchen. She showed us her secret chili sauces, which are handmade along with all the other sauces, foods, etc. at the Wong Java House. Ning is very careful to keep the food as authentic as possible.

Ning also showed us her traditional rice scooper, made out of a coconut shell, that she uses to make her signature rice. Then she let us watch her prepare her signature rice. I couldn’t say no to a second helping.

Even though it was a pain to get to the Wong Java House, it was definitely worth the wait. The food was incredible, and Ning is a wonderful and talented woman who I’ll never forget.

I’m coming back for sure. And when I do, I’m definitely ordering cendol.

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There are plenty of Asian restaurants in California but it’s still a challenge to find something truly authentic. This is especially true for Southeast Asian cuisine.

My friend Francesca told me about a pop-up dinner prepared by William Wongso, a world-famous Indonesian chef, who was going to be hosted at the Blu Jam Café in Brentwood. Chef Wongso is the recipient of the 2017 Gourmand Award for World's Best Cookbook. I immediately jumped at the opportunity.

My friend Jeany Amir ended up joining Francesca and me for dinner. Jeany is a filmmaker who’s half Indonesian.

Chef Wongso explained that Indonesian cuisine doesn’t exclusively belong to Indonesia because of the nation’s incredibly diverse population. Indonesian food varies as much as the country’s people.

I loved that statement.

Before each course, he taught us about the food and instructed us on the proper way to eat it. I really appreciated how Chef Wongso was prepared to meet anyone’s dietary needs or preferences. All we had to do was inform the waiter who’d inform Wongso so he could take it from there. Chef Wongso’s inclusiveness really touched me.

Our first-course appetizer was a rojak, which is an Indonesian fruit salad. In Malaysia, rojak is usually too sour for my taste, but this one wasn’t sour at all, the seasoning was fantastic.

During the soup course, Chef Wongso directed us to drink the soup straight from the bowl. The soup came with a little cracker called a keropok. We were told not to dip the cracker in the soup, but to eat it first, and then drink the soup.

Then there was the appetizer course, which consisted of two fantastic dishes. First, he made some risotto (a classic Italian dish) with a Southeast Asian twist. He prepared the risotto using coconut milk, chilies and herbs. It tastes so amazing. There was also a curry dish called gulai, which I just about drank like soup. It was so delicious I nearly jumped out of my chair.

We were served several dishes for the main course which included a caramelized curry, grilled marinated tempeh with sweet Javanese chili spices, saté, yellow turmeric fragrance rice, and a mixed vegetable curry. I felt this course could’ve been better. My tempeh sate (I substituted tempeh for the meat and seafood) was too mushy for my taste.

For dessert we had sarikayo es cendol, a popular Indonesian dessert (served cold) made up of coconut milk, pandan leaf extract, rice flour, and sugar.

Chef Wongso took some time to chat with the diners at each table. I asked him if he had to tailor his cuisine to suit American tastes, and he said that the only thing he changed was how spicy the food was.

He also told us about his nonstop traveling to show off his cooking and to promote his cookbook, Flavors of Indonesia.

Jeany noticed that Chef Wongso’s uniform had “ACMI” stitched into the fabric. ACMI stands for “Aku cinta masakan Indonesia,” which means, “I love Indonesian cooking.” I love how passionate Chef Wongos is about his homeland’s cuisine.

I give my deepest thanks to the irreplaceable Chef Wongso. I learned so much about Indonesian food and I still dream about the delicious gulai he prepared for us.

My next stop is the Wong Java House, which several Indonesian-American friends of mine have praised. I can’t wait for the next culinary adventure and I hope it will be as wonderful an experience as Chef Wongso’s pop-up dinner was.

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"I am you. No religion. I am you, not Muslim, Christian, or Jew; not Zorastian, Zen, Buddhist or Hindu I am you, not any religion that you may know Not any cult, creed or convictions to name a few. Not from the East or the West, not from the Water or the Earth, Nor from this world or the next. Not from Adam, Eve, or any story that you may perceive. My place is placeless, my trace is traceless, I live in the world of oneness. I am you, together in the vacuum or space, in every particle of your breath together in a world of total unity, harmony, and sincerity. I am you. I am the breath of eternal love inside of you. The breath that sounds like who, the spirit that resides in you. I am you. Not Muslim, Christian or Jew, not Zorastian, Zen, Buddhist or Hindu." - Rumi (Translation by D. Khani)

Jalaluddin Rumi, the poet, inspires me. I’m deeply moved by his call for unity in his poetry. I found out about a monthly "Rumi Night" from my friend, Yelena, and was excited to attend this event. I’d been meaning to learn more about Rumi's poetry.

The event was held at the Flame International Restaurant, in a space called the Flame International Cultural Center. It was a lovely, intimate setting. I don’t do so well with crowds, so I felt comfortable in this smaller space.

The evening started out with a beautiful performance by a great cellist named Georgy Gusev. He performed with Jamie Papish, a percussionist. The true highlight of the evening was, for the first time, seeing my friend Yelena (who’s a professional dancer and a yoga teacher) sway and move gracefully to Georgy and Jamie’s music. Yelena’s dance was passionate, beautiful and graceful. Through her movements, she expressed so much meaning and emotion. I usually prefer male dancers and more masculine movements, but Yelena’s unique style won me over. I became a huge fan of Yelena that night.

After the music and dance portion of the show, Mahmoud Vahedian, a passionate Rumi scholar and poet, and Dariush "Danny" Khani recited and then discussed a selection of Rumi’s poems in both Farsi and English. It was so gratifying to attend an event like this. It’s so rare to hear Rumi’s poetry spoken in Farsi by a native speaker. And their knowledge of the subject was vast.

“I Am You – No Religion,” was my favorite poem they read. Danny Khani translated the poem clearly. It moved me to tears because this poem spoke to my life’s work and my hopes and dreams for the world.

I made sure to get autographed copies of both Georgy and Danny’s albums. I’m excited to hear more of Danny’s translated Rumi poems as much as I look forward to listening to more of Georgy's beautiful music.

The event was a success and an experience I’ll always hold close to my heart.

You can learn more about the monthly "Rumi Night" event in Los Angeles here: http://www.rumilovers.net/ & https://www.facebook.com/groups/169647309897675/

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The traditional art of wayang kulit (shadow puppetry) is something that’s interested me for a very long time. Wayang kulit translates to “theatre of skin” in English. This wonderful art wasn’t very common in Kuala Lumpur while I was growing up, so I never got to see it performed.

You can imagine my excitement after I learned about MaRia Bodmann’s free Balinese wayang kulit workshop. She teaches on Saturday afternoons from February-April.

Maria is the first female dalang (puppeteer) in the U.S. She attended the prestigious California Institute of the Arts and spent many years in Bali studying traditional gamelan music and shadow puppetry. She then founded Bali & Beyond here in Los Angeles with a mission to share and promote Balinese culture and traditions with anyone willing to learn. Maria describes the ancient art of wayang kulit as the “epitome of multicultural art.”

I admire Maria’s passion and commitment to teaching wayang kulit. I also admire her for becoming a dalang, which is traditionally something only men become. I was curious to learn more about Maria’s experience as a white American woman training to become a dalang in Indonesia. I was also interested to see how she would fuse Western puppets and stories into her performances.

The first thing I noticed when I went to class was the amazing shadow puppets she put on display. Some were traditional and others modern, such as her version of the Mad Hatter from Alice and Wonderland.

Our first assignment was to make a puppet. Maria told us to pick out sketches of one of her puppet characters. She let us know which characters would require the most work. I chose a horse character because I’ve loved horses since I was very young.

After picking characters, we were each given a plastic chopping board, a wooden mallet, nails, and chisels. Maria instructed us to nail the cardboard to the chopping board. With our mallets and chisels, we carved out the bodies of the puppets by tracing the sketches. For nearly three hours we hammered away at the puppets, which sounded like a symphony of percussion instruments.

In our second class on the following Saturday, we each picked out another character to make. From the next class onward, we’ll write stories for our characters and rehearse for a play, which we’ll perform in front of a live audience at the end of April.

I’ve gotten to meet wonderful people from these workshops. There’s Julia, an elementary school music teacher; Cynthia the animator; and Janet, an expert on gamelan music whose daughter, Lydia, is one of the founders of a band called GamelanX. Lydia’s band plays a mix of samba and Balinese gamelan music they call “Sambelan.” Lydia interested me so much that I’ll write about her and feature her on my upcoming YouTube series.

I think it’s funny and ironic that I ended up learning how to play the gamelan and wayang kulit in the U.S. rather than Malaysia. I tried really hard to learn this back in Malaysia, but it was extremely difficult then. Hopefully there will be more opportunities in the future.

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