Anthony Bourdain - Malaysia Part 3 and Miami Ink

I find it strange to observe an Iban feast taking place inside a building with tiled flooring, where a rope of real, human skulls are strung up on a pole, as the local custom.

Nothing really wrong with this party, my expectations are just higher. I had expected this kind of tribal feastival, with all of it's flair, to be taking place around a large fire with Tony and company, tied to stakes waiting for the next part of the ritual to commence.

I am envious of Anthony Bourdain, on so many levels. He goes in for the experience, unashamed.

Tony is a philosopher at heart, he comes and he goes, and takes it all into him.

God bless you Tony for sharing this your Malaysia with us.

This clip is of Mr. Bourdian getting his next tattoo, since visiting Malaysia, on his other shoulder. It's a skull.

If Tony starts a ritual of getting a new tattoo every time a visits another place, he'll be quite the illustrated man.

Anthony Bourdain - Malaysia Part 2

When Tony's new tattoo is finished, Eddie hooks him up with a friend, who takes Bourdain, and crew, down river, for more local fare.

It's a family run restaurant, with local cusine, served up by Aunty Ain and her family.
The ambience is great and you can almost taste the food. I wish Aunty would open up another one of her cafe's down my street, in "Anytown", USA.

It's off and running, a two hour flight, to Kuching, on the island of Borneo. From here, Mr. Bourdain is ready to go up river, into the jungle and find the tribe of Iban.

It was not that long ago, the Iban were known as headhunters, not the type of headhunters that will help you find a job position to further your career, but help you end it.

Before the jungle, it's a hearty breakfast at the Choon Hui Cafe in Kuching, with David, the guide, leading the way.

Note: I have to wonder, as different in culture, as so many of these dishes seem to be to some of us; what would a local Malaysian think of a breakfast of, bacon and eggs?

It's a three hour boat ride, up river to Tony's destination. They make a pit stop to pick up some beer. David, explains, these local party stores are limited to basic necessities, like beer, cigarettes and rubber. Rubber?

As Bourdain gets closer to his destination, he clearly does not know what to expect, and is quietly, relieved to find the Iban tribe living in less rural surroundings than he might have expected.

Tony's journey is not over. It is a six hour hike into extreme, deep jungle, led by a guide, Etam that is very "old school", Iban.

Etam, used to be a serious headhunter. When he looks at that anglo-saxon, salt and pepper head on Mr. Bourdain's shoulders, I can't help but wonder; what kind of context is this guide seeing Tony in?

The Iban traveling with the group, get and fix lunch, right at the river, while Tony, David, the first guide, and crew, kick back and have a few beers.

Once the crew arrive at the rural village, it's the local custom for the visitor, to kill a pig for the feast.

Tony is, Tony, but he has a very hard time with this one. Killing a live pig, is not on Mr. Bourdain's agenda at all! This takes him by complete surprise.

Anthony Bourdain - Malaysia

Malaysian staple foods, are general to the region. Rice, noodles, fresh vegetables, chicken, beef, pork, fish, seafood and mutton; but not limited to this.

The world changes, and Malaysia is no exception. Just a generation, or two ago, most of the food was purchased from local farmers. Now, large companies have moved into the market and process the food in bulk, from huge farms, much like the western world has been doing.

Malaysia is a very mult-culture country, so there is a vast selection of food dishes available.

When Anthony Bourdain visits a particular region, you can be sure he will dig deep, to show us those "hidden gems", those food dishes that even some of the locals have never even tasted before. Malaysia is no except.

Tony is once again, going for the ultimate experience. It's bull's penis, with curry broth. The dish is supposed to enhance a man's particular organ.

The next day, Tony takes off looking for the "real" Malaysia, the local culture, minus the international flavor, that Bourdain really came to see.

Tony has a nose, for sniffing out local flair and finds himself at a local eating spot, way off beaten path.

It's a local, Borneo tribesman, Eddie, a tattoo artist with sunglasses, looking very westernly infused, that catches Mr. Bourdain's interest.

After a very lively discussion, with Bourdain's new found, friend about the local tattooing culture, guess what Tony has a taste for, besides lunch?

After a meal of fish heads and fish stomach, it's off to the local tattoo parlor, so Eddie can go to work on Tony's new tattoo.
Tony hooks up Malaysia's number one chef, Wan. A mega, superstar chef, with his own TV show. Together, they hit the streets for a tour.

Anthony Bourdain's taste for local culture is consuming, and Malaysia is no exception to Tony's appetite. As expected he tastes everything.

The next morning, Mr. Bourdain is off and running to the local caves, for a hindu festival.

Bourdain, On Top Chef

Anthony Bourdain is not a stranger to cross-over tv shows. Here he is as a guest judge, on Top Chef.
Tony talks about his weird Thanksgiving

Anthony Bourdain meets Harvey Pekar

Many of you might wonder, just who Harvey Pekar is? Harvey writes underground, type comics, usually with Robert Crumb, doing the illustrating. He is also a jazz critic and author, living in Cleveland.

It was in the late 80s that America really got to know Pekar better. He started appearing on, David Letterman's late night show. David thought Harvey fit right into the show as an eccentric, so he kept bringing Harvey back on.

A lot like Bourdain, Pekar doesn't pull back on his punches and got banned from NBC for being overly critical of one of the sponsors.

This clip is short, but captures two peas in a pod. These two outspoken authors and critics have so much in common. I'm glad they had a chance to meet.