u/Pettefletpluk

Dear people of Penang,

I was in Georgetown last week for 3 nights. We walked a lot, ate a lot, sweat a lot 😆. We ate from hawker stalls to restaurants, but we could only eat so much in 3 days, unfortunately. And we actually shared our meal (1 dish, 2 persons), so that we could taste more food for more places!

You have excellent cooks and food there! The price was also incredibly inexpensive compared to where we are from.

I fell in love with Penang/Malaysian food. I am now curious.

Seeing the queuing and the number of locals eating out, do you guys still cook at home? If you do, do you make char kway teow, laksa at home? 🤔

What do you actually cook at home?

Any local Malaysian cooking blogs that you follow/use which I can check out? It can be in Malay/Chinese, Google Translate will help ☺️

Thanks in advance!

We are visiting Jakarta soon. Thankful that the airport is opened again! We are into craft beers. Are there any breweries in Jakarta? Not only taproom or bar that serve craft beers from other countries. We are looking for craft beers produced in house in Jakarta.

We will be visiting Penang for 3 nights, at the end of September. I am wondering if there are any (small) concerts we could go to. It could be classical or traditional. I am an amateur Pipa player myself.

Are there websites that give an overview/a listing of local concerts?

I need to shop for new pipa strings. I have the opportunity to purchase the strings directly from the (certified) shops in Asia, but looking at their websites I am overwhelmed by the various types available.

They sell mainly sell Dunhuang, Xinghai, and a couple of other brands.

But what's the difference between silver/copper coated with regard to sound?

星海福音 銅製專業尼龍琵琶弦 versus

星海福音 銀製專業尼龍琵琶弦

Does the difference between silver/copper coated matter for the nylon wound strings 2, 3, 4 (also with regard to sound)?

0.25 mm vs 0.26 mm thickness?

We will be in Penang for 3 nights in September. We want to eat at places where locals also eat. Please recommend the "must eat here" places for locals, from breakfast to dinner locations. Thanks in advance 🙏🏻

Hello,

We are planning to visit China for the first time in March 2027. We are thinking of staying about 21-25 days, travelling by bullet trains. Although I don't speak Chinese, I play Pipa and love the songs played on the Pipa. I love guzheng as well, and used to play it briefly. I would love to be able to visit music quarters (pipa scores, museums), concerts, small performances when the time allows.

Do you have any recommendations of areas to visit, particular museums, stores, small concerts? Any websites to view the event calendars and purchase tickets?

The rough itinerary for now:

Arrival in Guangzhou (we will not spend more than overnighting here), Fuzhou/Fuqing, Suzhou, Shanghai, Xi'an, Datong, Pingyao, Beijing (about 4 days, then flight back).

Thanks in advanced.

Hello,

We are planning to visit China for the first time in March 2027. We are thinking of staying about 21-25 days, travelling by bullet trains. Although I don't speak Chinese, I play Pipa and love the songs played on the Pipa. I love guzheng as well, and used to play it briefly. I would love to be able to visit music quarters (pipa scores, museums), concerts, small performances when the time allows.

Do you have any recommendations of areas to visit, particular museums, stores, small concerts? Any websites to view the event calendars and purchase tickets?

The rough itinerary for now:

Arrival in Guangzhou (we will not spend more than overnighting here) -

Fuzhou/Fuqing - Suzhou - Shanghai - Xi'an - Datong - Pingyao - Beijing (about 4 days, then flight back).

Thanks in advanced.

Hello,

We are going to tour Java by train in September and we have chosen Jakarta as our starting point. We will stay in Jakarta for about 3 days.

Can you please make recommendations?

- Area to stay. We love history and culture. We would like to visit a couple of museums and areas with old/heritage houses. If we want to avoid traffic and wasting too much time in a taxi, which area is best? If we could sightsee on foot (may be a strange concept in Jakarta), that would be awesome.

- the best shopping mall. We are not shoppers, but where we are from, shopping malls are not a thing. So we want to see and admire in awe the best, most beautiful (not necessarily the biggest) shopping mall 😁.

- coffee shop, where to get the best coffee. Plain black Robusta coffee, nothing fancy. Just because we don't like the acidity in most Arabica coffee.

Thanks in advanced.

A friend of mine is getting married next year. I wonder if there are any Pipa songs that are appropriate for weddings? I am looking for songs that have jianpu scores already available, suitable for an intermediate player. It can be traditional/folk songs or modern/pop.

Another friend is a pianist. Any song that has piano accompaniment (with scores for the piano part) would be great too.

Thanks in advance.

Any suggestions on how to improve tremolo? Please don't say "just practice" 😂. I tried and practiced only Lunzhi for 10-15 minutes a few days per week, also with a metronome. But somehow, my ears can't recognize the difference in subtle loudness (between fingers). And when I do it without a metronome, I lose control of the eveness of the speed between my fingers.

I heard that it takes 10 years to master Lunzhi 🫪. Please don't tell me this is true 😓

I appreciate any tips!