The Books — Azen's Muse

Back Cover Blurb

Food as a daily meal or as a religious offering is fundamental to the cultures of South-East Asia and is a source of utmost enjoyment to its people. Methods of preparing tasty and economical meals are often discussed with passion, and sacrifices to gods and spirits are invariably conducted with great rejoicing.
This book explores the multifaceted aspects of food in South-East Asia. Beginning with a historical and sociological survey of South-East Asian food and eating habits, it goes on to discuss the ingredients and spices used in the region, the character of the food markets, the changing styles of the kitchens, and the different styles of cooking and eating from the past to the present.

At The South East Asian Table

This is a small book of about 100 pages, written under contract with the OUP imprint Images of Asia. Since this book is out of print I have sometimes mulled about writing another version of the same (but not in the OUP publication format). Readers today will have experienced and appreciated that the culinary cultures, customs and histories are rich and varied in the peninsular and archipelago countries under the umbrella of South-east Asia. It is not a book of recipes or instructions on food preparation. The contents offer an insight into the similarities and differences of the ways South-east Asians respect and enjoy their food from production to preparation and partaking with gratitude to Providence.

back cover blurb

From a small settlement located on both sides of the Sarawak River in the south-west of Borneo, Kuching has grown into the capital of Malaysia's largest state. The town has had an unusual history. Until the late 1830s, it lay under the suzerainty of Brunel and was frequently menaced by pirates and headhunters.
In 1841, as a reward for quelling an uprising by the local inhabitants, James Brooke, an English gentleman-adventurer, was ceded territories in Sarawak and given the title 'Rajah', thus establishing a dynasty which was to last until 1946 when Sarawak was ceded to the British Crown. Although the early years of the Brooke raj were spent restoring peace and promoting exports, Kuching grew rapidly into a prosperous trading post with a number of striking public buildings.

Old Kuching

As this is my second book for OUP’s Images of Asia publication, it is also 100 pages in length. The editorial limit of 18,000 word counts (of all books in this series) with all relevant photographic illustrations and drawings, helped to hone my skill in writing more precise and tight prose an historical account of the town I was born in. Kuching is the capital of the Malaysian state of Sarawak situated on the northern strip of Borneo island. Sarawak became one of the 13 states of the Malaysian federation in 1963 when the Colonial Office in London handed the land to the Malayan government to form the federation. The title Old Kuching is one of a series of books on the historical perspectives of old cities in the South East Asian region, like Old Singapore, Old Hanoi, Old Malacca, and so forth, many of which were written by authors who had lived in the region and had known well a particular city. Albeit, much research still went into the work, often with hours of reading and poring into archives in various libraries and museums, and applying for permission to use copyrighted illustrations or quotations. For my Old Kuching, I own many of the illustrations as personal collection of original prints that added much charm to the historical narration of the people living in the fogged out past centuries in a remote part of the planet.