Spotlight

KL Fashion week: Asian Flavours

With talks of globalization and bringing the world under one roof going strong for years now, the fashion world seems to have picked up on this idea more quickly and effectively than the political arena. And only to prove it right the success and razzmatazz of the recently held KL Fashion week 2005 in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia spells it out for us. It was one amazing fun and glamour packed week for not just only the Malaysians but all of Asia.

Truly Asian this exciting fashion week 3rd -8th May had managed to showcase the finest and best of Asian haute couture. The Star, Malaysia's leading newspaper and L'Oreal together with Tourism Malaysia, the official hosts of this event, have created a stir in not only the local designers but also among the other Asian designers.

Participants and renowned names in fashion world like Rohit Bal of India, Walter Ma of Hong Kong, Oscar Lawalata of Indonesia, Allan Ross of Singapore, Nono Palmos of the Philippines and many other talented designers from China, South Korea, Thailand, Japan showcased couture designer-wear throughout the week. The hosts made sure that no one left Malaysia without knowing how truly Asia Malaysia is.

The corporate night cocktails and gala fashion nights, the afternoon designers showcases of big names like Habib Jewels, Jaeger LeCoultre only revealed how rich, glamorous and fashionable we Asians are.

The Malaysian local designers like Zang Toi who is a big name in the west and Tom Abang Saufi, Beatrice Looi and Melinda Looi managed to lure the locals and foreigners to sheer ecstatic heights by featuring their latest masterpieces.

Singapore's leading designer Allan Ross's intricate work in colourful tiny glass beads was indeed stunning, Malaysia's Zang Toi collection was simply breathtaking and Mellinda Looi's dreamy Midsummer Night's Dream lived aptly to its name.

One feature that came out clean from this fashion week was that almost all these designer's wear were truly for people. Whether you were Bangladeshi or Indian or Chinese or Japanese or even American, you'd feel glam in any of these great outfits because all these dazzling renowned designers were truly international.

An interesting highlight of the event was the catwalk at the mall, on the concourse of 1Uttama a gigantic shopping mall where local designers showcased their latest in casual lines, shoppers were instantly having an idea of what to buy or who were their designer of choice. Well organized this daylong catwalk has surely added a new feature to fashion shows and events.

The KL fashion week 2005 wanted to spur young Malaysians in the fashion and beauty industry to reach higher levels of creativity and professionalism and to help put Malaysia on the world map of fashion and with them they also wanted other Asian countries to come along making the fashion world 'Truly Asia'.

Ending on one optimistic note this year, the event organizers felt that the Bangladeshi designers have a good chance of participating next year with their exquisite designer wear keeping in mind their international audience.

Raffat Binte Rashid back from Malaysia

Breathe easy

Stressed out? Feel like nothing in life is going your way? Have no fear, Art of Living is back to sweep away all your troubles. It's as easy as breathing; in fact, it's all about breathing right.

A well-read page in the book of holistic health, the AOL foundation was established by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and this programme first came to Bangladesh three years ago. Art of Living basically combines breathing exercises, yoga, and elements of ancient wisdom to create the perfect feel-good formula. It focuses mainly on the breathing technique of Sudarshan Kriya, which takes about 30 minutes at a time, and helps reduce stress and increase alertness.

Senior practitioner Rafi Hossain, who was recently promoted to the status of Teacher, the first ever Bangladeshi recipient of this honor, has plans to re-start the courses in Dhaka. It is expected that the package will consist of a 6-day course, with 3-hour classes.

For more information on the Art of Living courses, contact rafihossain02@yahoo.com or you can visit the AOL web-site at www.artofliving.org

By Sabrina F Ahmad

A true taste of Asia

BY Tommy Miah

Chicken With Walnuts
Ingredients
500 gr. Chicken
3-4 tablespoons butter
? cup of tea peeled walnuts
5-6 cloves garlic, crushed
pepper
sail
1-2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons vinegar
5-6 cups water

Method
Simmer chicken in water seasoned with salt to taste until tender, about 1 hour. Remove chicken from cooking water, reserving 1-cup stock. Cool chicken slightly, then cut into 4 portions. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large skillet. Add chicken pieces and saute until lightly browned. Remove chicken pieces and keep warm. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Add flour.
Cook and stir until lightly browned. Add reserved stock, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Simmer over low heat until heated through, about 5 minutes. Spoon sauce over chicken pieces

Meat Pie
Ingredients
500g / 1lb chuck or blade steak
2 tablespoons flour
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
1 x 375g / 12 oz packet frozen puff pastry, thawed
Beaten egg to glaze

Method
Trim gristle and fat from steak, cut into thin shreds, then chop very finely. Dust with flour, salt and pepper and place in the top of a double boiler or pudding pan.
Place enough boiling water to come halfway up sides of bowl, simmer for 2 hours or until the meat is very tender. Replace water in saucepan as necessary to maintain level.
Allow to cool completely.

Roll out pastry dough thin and cut 3/4 of it to fit individual round, oblong or square pie tins. Line tins with dough, and fill about 3/4 full with meat filling. Cut lids from remaining dough, dampen edges and put into place .

Cut a vent in the top of each pie for steam to escape. Chill for 15 minutes, then brush with beaten egg. Bake in a preheated hot oven (200 C / 400 F) for 25 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden. Serve with tomato sauce (ketchup).

Tips

Cool off with summer drinks
Don't miss any chance to enjoy cool drinks and soothe yourself on these sticky summer days. Although hot coffee and steaming tea top the chart of favorite drinks on cold days, fresh fruit juice, and iced tea should be your top favorites at this time of the year. You can experiment with different summer fruits and give your taste buds an occasion to relish some original and healthy beverages. Say good-bye to warm tea and coffee at this season and opt for all kinds of cool drinks. Fresh fruit juices and slushy drinks are widely available at the top fast food stores and restaurants of the town; try them to relieve the heat of summer. Iced tea could also be the favorite summer sidekick this year. It's a great-tasting, healthy alternative to soda and other sugary drinks. Remember that iced tea naturally contains no calories, fat, or sodium, when you drink it without adding extra ingredients. It's easy to prepare and it's absolutely good for your health. Besides iced tea, you can also go for iced coffee at this season. It's rather simple to make. Make hot coffee like you always do and then let the coffee cool in room temperature. After the coffee cools, stir the desired amount of sugar and then pour over ice in tall glasses. While at home, entertain your friends and family with fruit drinks. Keep an eye on the decoration. Embellish the glass with a rotund slice of lemon, garden-fresh mint leaf, ice-cream or ice cubes. For blended drinks, use crushed ice as they will melt rather fast. However, for stirred drinks opt for big ice cubes as they will take more time to melt and will not dilute the drink quickly. Instead of entertaining your guests with bottled juices or carbonated drinks, opt for home-made fresh fruit juice. Go for aromatic fruits that are ripe, juicy and naturally sweet, for instance, mango, watermelon, wood-apple, orange, pineapple, grape, melon and so forth. You can practically prepare juice from any kind of fruit if you have the desire to be a little creative. Make lemonade and store them in refrigerator to entertain your kids after they return from school; nothing is virtually more soothing that gulping down cool lemonade on a prickly afternoon of summer. Summer is the perfect season to be a little imaginative about your thirst-quenchers. Try out new recipes of cool summer drinks and win the hearts of your loved ones.

By Penelope

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Chittagong chitchat

Dastarkhan

Dastarkhan, located in Gulshan 2, is a restaurant that caters for those who love the "deshi" foods. The restaurant specializes in making some of the best local and Indian foods, as the name suggests. Some of their delicacies are treats worth remembering.
They have bhaat, khichuri and pulao as their main dishes along with which, they have a wide range of variables. Starting from bhorta to lamb roast, they have everything. They make some of the best torkaris and bhortas that you expect. Some of their fish dishes, are so amazing, they will convert fish-phobics to fish-philics. The most expensive and the most tasty item is the lamb roast priced at 140tk and equally good is the roop chanda bhaja. Besides, these house specialities, they have great beef dishes, chicken, lentils and amazing desserts. Their lassi is something that this reporter would recommend along with lamb roast and roop chanda bhaja. The price of each of these dishes range from 15- 180 takas. The restaurant has sitting arrangements for about 40 people. Located in Gulshan 2, house 16, road 35, it welcomes you all!

By Taskin Rahman