A Birkin handbag is the most expensive handbag for collection
An article in the London Sunday Times on February 28th, 2021, was an interesting one.
It quoted Hermes handbags, made by the French company, Hermes International SA, went up by 17 per cent in price while the FTSE 100 index fell by 14.3 per cent. Aside from being a highly desirable fashion accessories, luxury handbags are becoming an investment class of their own rights.
It was the second year in a row that bags outstripped other luxury goods in an index including classic cars, coloured diamonds, watches, jewellery and wine.
In 2019 handbags increased 13 per cent and over ten years they went up by 108 per cent in value, according to the estate agency, Knight Frank.
Hermes bags start at £1,418, and the label’s Birkin bag range usually begins at £6,370. A rare Hermes Himalaya Kelly bag made of crocodile hide became the most expensive handbag sold at an auction when it was bought at a Christie’s sale in Hong Kong for US$437,330 (£309,561) in November 2020.
According to the website, cnaluxury.channelnewsasia.com, it is possible to create an index on handbags now because of the frequency which many iconic pieces are coming to auction today. Although bags made by other luxury brands like Chanel and Louis Vuitton are also highly collectible, it is those made by Hermes that attract the highest prices and are considered the most desirable. Chanel is the second most popular handmade for collection.
The rise in value of handbags is also a result of brands increasing their prices every year, culminating in an increase in value in the pre-loved market. Hermes bags are the most difficult to get hold of, so they are the most coveted of all.
According to Knight Frank luxury investment index, fine wine went up 13 per cent last year and 127 per cent over a decade, bolstered by older Tuscan wines which increased by 8 per cent and champagne, which went up 14 per cent.
Art values fell 11 per cent on average because of the collapse in public auctions, and coloured diamonds fell 1 per cent because of the difficulty of transporting diamonds in the pandemic.
The conclusion of the article is obvious: Investing in a Hermes bag, especially a Birkin, will give a good return. Most important, it will also please your wife enormously. The caveat is that whether you can afford it.
Last weekend, we visited a few relatives in the Malaysian northern state of Perak. We also admired about 20 140-year old rain trees at the Lake Garden, Taiping. The rain trees were planted by British botanists in 1880s. We were sure that the rain trees were maintained by Malay gardeners. The rain trees are like magnets for locals, enjoying a picnic under them. Newly weds use the rain trees as the background for their photo sessions.
We hope the rain trees can live another 140 years. Please enjoy the rain trees.
We had a short trip to Perlis last weekend. During this period, the mango trees, named sweet and fragrant mango (harum manis in Malay) are flowering profusely now. The sweet and fragrant mango fruits will be ready to be plucked by May, 2019. Be sure to visit Perlis during that time.
The big flower of mango of Perlis
Perlis shares its border with Thailand. The border town of Padang Besar is popular with locals to buy various types of Thai’s fruits, other products and clothes at reasonable .
The border town of Padang Besar. Thailand is in the distance
Bougainvillea in Perlis as well
Also enjoy the beauty of my wife’s orchids flowering side by side.
Nasi dagang, “trader’s dish” is a dish of rice and curry. Ubiquitous in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, it is a popular meal for breakfast as “nasi lemak” is in the west coast. It can even be found in the Southern Thai provinces of Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani. Nasi dagang or “trader’s rice” in Malay could have originated from the dish concocted by the early traders for their packed provision while plying their trades at the time, hence the name of the dish that has stuck until today.
An indigenous dish of the region, it makes use of abundant natural resources readily available – rice, herbs and spices from the land and ikan tongkol (tuna fish) from the sea for the curry. Unique to the east coast, nasi dagang has two main versions, Nasi dagang Kelantan and Nasi dagang Terengganu. The Nasi Dagang Kekantan is made from long grain reddish brown rice.The Terengganu version of nasi dagang is a mixture of white fragrant rice and white glutinous rice. Visually, Nasi dagang Kelantan is generally reddish brown while Nasi dagang Terengganu is generally white and glossy. As for its accompanying curry, the Kelantan version uses normal curry powder while nasi dagang Terengganu uses specially concocted herbs and species
About Nasi
Dagang Terengganu
In Terengganu, nasi dagang is considered its traditional rice specialty. Simple, delicious, and wholesome are among the common descriptions given to this food. True that it is a very simple dish consisting of just rice, fish curry, pickles and chilly sauce. And yet it can be very gastronomically fulfilling – a complete meal by itself that has most of the nutritional value that matters. Visually appealing to some due to the white glossy color of the rice, it is also a versatile dish for any meal of the day, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner. And it is fitting enough for those special occasions like hari raya, thanksgivings and similar events. It is available from various outlets and settings – posh hotels, restaurants & eating shops, hawkers, kiosks, and even night markets
At its most basic, the nasi dagang Terengganu comprises of a rice dish with a side dish of ikan tongkol (tuna fish) curry and mixed pickles of cucumber, carrots and onions together with chilly sauce. Hard boiled eggs whether separate or put together into the curry with the fish can be an added option. If preferable, the tuna fish can be substituted with mackerel or other types of fish. The dish is prepared by steaming a mixture of fragrant rice and glutinous rice infused with coconut milk over low heat. The result is a white glossy rice dish that is both fragrant and creamy. Preparation of the dish will take 8 hours as the rice need to be soaked overnight (or at leas 8 hours) while the cooking itself will take about 2 hours.
The nasi dagang Terengganu has not been commercialised. Hardly any cafes or restaurants promote this delicacy in Kuala Lumpur lamented a writer in a column of an online news portal recently. That aptly describes the sad truth concerning this delicacy outside its state of origin, Terengganu. It has the potential to expand its market reach, not just confined to Terengganu but there are no takers.
Well, that is about to change as a company owned by the state of Terengganu has ventured into the making of Terengganu traditional foods. And the company has produced a line of frozen foods that includes nasi dagang Terengganu. The frozen foods in packs form are not just for the domestic market but for the overseas markets as well. The company’s frozen nasi dagang Terengganu in packets are currently available in several selected T Mart convenient stores and Shell petrol stations in the Klang Valley and other parts of the country.
Frozen nasi dagang
For the overseas markets, a trial shipment of 20,000 packs of nasi dagang Terengganu and keropok lekor Terengganu (fish sausage) made recently to the British capital was reported to be well received. The news report also said that the foods are marketed by a UK fast food chain Chicken Cottage, which is also owned by the state of Terengganu. The frozen packs of keropok lekor and nasi dagang Terengganu are available in selected supermarkets selling frozen Asian foods.
Now that is certainly good news for all the diehard fans of nasi dagang Terengganu outside the state. Now, one can easily get this delicacy when that cravings start to act.
However, the frozen nasi dagang packs do not have the real taste of freshly prepared version. You have to be in Terengganu.
About the guest contributor:
Mr Ahmad Rozi Daud is a stingless bee farmer in Kuala Terenganu, Malaysia. He resides near Rantau Abang, Terengganu . He also provides training for those who are interested to be a stingless beekeeper or apiarist. Please contact us at 6016 3220 952 for assessment of suitability of your location for stingless bee farming.
This blog has been established for a while now. We are now incorporating an eCommerce feature in the blog to help readers and general internet users to purchase downloads as well as a range of foods containing bioactives based on our research and works.
The downloads include:
eBook covering topics in innovation and management
eThesis covering PhD thesis conducted at Malaysian universities
eReport covering topics in intellectual property valuation and valuation of firm
eAccess sign-ins to on-line databases
Use various devices for on-line learning
We plan to offer a eAccess sign-in to extensive databases in partnership with Asia e University. Members will be able to use the on-demand learning platform for pure learning and register an on-line Bachelors, Masters and PhD degrees with Asia e University. We will announce when this eAccess sign-in will be operational.
