Journey to Petaling Jaya (The Kokopelli Experience)

By Meekaylaa Denise Michael

The moment when Arif told me that we were meeting Soraya Yusof Talismail, a fellow photographer for dinner at her café, needless to say I was a little more excited than usual. The thought of interviewing a photographer over dinner made it somehow surreal that I was writing this article about her.

Before heading out to her quaint little bistro in Petaling Jaya, I decided to research about her just to see what I’m up against and let me tell you this, Soraya’s achievements are very impressive. She is dubbed Malaysia’s finest photographer. She graduated from MARA Institute of Technology with the title Best Student on 1987 and 1990. She began to delve in portraiture through her first stint as a personal photographer to Her Majesty Tuanku Bainun, consort of His Majesty Sultan Azlan Shah, the 9th King of Malaysia. She also had the opportunity to take personal shots of important global leaders like Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II and the late Yasser Arafat. Soraya is also a member of the Professional Photographer Association of America since 1992. She also had several solo exhibitions that were showcased in several different galleries in Kuala Lumpur.

Needless to say, an amateur writer such as myself feels excited and honored to interview such a prestigious photographer such as Soraya.

Kokopelli’s Traveller’s Bistro is a bungalow establishment at the very heart of suburban life in Petaling Jaya. I’m very glad that Arif decided to set the interview with Soraya over dinner because if I would have met her at an earlier time of the day, I would be robbed of the magical ambience feeling that the bistro exudes during night time.

Entering the outside of the bungalow, you can see that the set is spacious, especially the outdoor area with graffiti and drawings around the walls. Occupied chairs and tables were laden outside for those who enjoy the comfort of a green and peaceful environment. For me, the environment somehow tells a story of its own, a mysterious scene that is something out of a storybook. Dangling reeds acting as curtains to the entrance of the bistro makes the environment more of an earthly feel to it.

Before we even stepped inside the bistro, a man from a table jumped and walked towards us. He greeted us with a strong handshake and bid us inside. I was informed by Amin that he is Ariff Awalluddin, the owner of the bistro and also husband to Soraya. We were all ushered inside and even before I could take a glance at the exuberant decorations lined the very walls of the bistro, I was asked to sit at apparently one of the longest table in the bistro that seated 10 people. The atmosphere of the room was very warm and friendly. The moment I stepped inside the room, sounds of friendly chattering and laughing were music to my ears. I haven’t had the slightest feeling that I was in a somewhat business meeting but more of a family gathering. I can see a bunch of my colleagues from the office sitting around the table.

The person whom I was introduced to that I hadn’t already known was Ms Zahnita who is the curator of Fusion of Passion for GALERI PETRONAS. That was the moment that I finally can put a face to her name. Soft spoken warm, well mannered and friendly, she had that twinkling of a laugh that makes her instantly likeable, and she instantly chatted with me with the grace of an elegant lady as if I was one of her long lost friend. I took this opportunity to ask her about her job as a curator as I had been curious about that job for quite awhile. She told me that a curator’s job is to take care of art collections. She mentioned that when it comes to her jobs, she tends to appreciate simple everyday objects or material around her, especially ones that have been man-made or hand crafted by hand.

As she excused herself from the table, I took this opportunity to explore the ins and outs of the bistro. Accompanied with my colleagues, Que and Jasmin, we took a tour around the bistro. With Amin in the lead, he took us to a room where black and white pictures taken by Soraya were hung against the wall. The pictures vary from portraits to landscapes, but of course my favorite would have to be pictures of landscapes. There is something about black and white pictures which triggers a nostalgic memory inside of you. Personally for me, I feel there is more than meets the eye when a picture is black and white. There is a hidden meaning there that needs to be observe with a skillful eye. As I stand there looking at each and every picture that Soraya took, I was amazed by the talent that she has capturing ordinary people and ordinary buildings and turning them into a beautiful extraordinary picture. I was informed by Soraya herself that black and white pictures are more of a specialty of hers. No matter what year whether it’s the 50’s or the early 20th century, black and white pictures depict a timeless quality in them. That moment of time will always be frozen and embedded in the mind of the photographer and also in the mind of the viewer itself

Since dinner that we ordered is almost ready, we returned to our respective seats. The moment I sat down, I had a whiff of what was being cooked in the kitchen, and instantly my mouth watered at the prospect of eating my beef lasagna. The sudden flinging of the revolving doors indicated that the servers are bringing our dinner. I saw quite a feast of platters being presented to each individual- roast lamb, chicken chop, pizzas, pasta carbonara and finally, the meal that I ordered which was beef lasagna. I later learned that the beef lasagna was one of Soraya’s family recipes that had been passed down to her. The moment I tasted the beef lasagna I was grateful that I left it to the server to order for me. Not only was the lasagna generously filling, the cheese covered the entire first layer of the lasagna. The first spoonful of the beef lasagna was heavenly. I might add that it is probably one of the best lasagna I ever had, it was too good that I didn’t even mind burning my tongue at the process of eating it, it was that good.

Looking around the white walls of dim lit room, jazz music accompanied by chattering and laughs from people all around; the scene at that moment seems so tranquil, as if there was a joyous meeting of families instead.

Arif signaled to me that Soraya is finally ready for the highlight of the night which was the interview session with her. The rest of the group gathered at the outside area of the bistro where naturally we picked the largest table there and settled down. Of course, Arif started with the formal procedures by introducing each and every one of us to Soraya and her husband, Ariff who has graciously joined us for the interview session.

Soraya started off with the obvious story that even myself was interested in which was the journey towards the opening of the bistro. She indicated that this bistro is not a money making business. They simply opened up this bistro because it is simply because they had wanted to do so since for so long. At first they started their food business with humble beginnings which was selling char kuey tiaw at small stalls. But Ariff and Soraya mentioned that this is where they learn to deal with different customers who at times weren’t quite polite to them. When they finally had the Kokopelli Travelers Bistro up and running, the one question which have been brewing in my mind was the one that was gratefully answered by Mr. Liew Kian Yap,Editor-In-Chief of ArtMalaysia. Mr. Liew asked the origin of the bistro’s name and Ariff calmly answered that he came across the name during their stay in the States. He thought the name sounded so food to him and so he thought the name was appropriate for it, simple and easy as that. I smiled at the thought of how effortless it seemed for them to just come up with something at the top of their heads.

Another project that both Soraya and Ariff did in conjunction with their bistro is they teach culinary students to cook here. But as mentioned by Ariff, not only do they cook, but they infuse food and art together to create a beautiful artwork that can be taste by one’s tongue. This project is called Gastronom. As I leaned over to read through the portfolio of pictures that they had made regarding the project, I was impressed to see a bunch of culinary students toiling in the kitchen to create artwork through their foods. But I was even more amazed an surprise when Soraya told us that the picture which perceived through the naked eye is merely just a luscious looking cupcake but it in fact a cupcake which has a quirky flavor such as masak lemak or masak cili api. Imagine that, a dessert that has been turned into main course! There seemed to be no limit to the surprises that the duo that they can project their creativity in so many different ways.

Kokopelli’s Travelers Bistro is also a place for budding photographers to hold exhibitions and display their artworks. One of the many reasons which I admire the duo is because they actually give opportunities for amateur photographers out there the chance to have their artworks displayed. This is partly due to the fact that Soraya once knew how hard it was to be given the chance to exhibit her artworks in galleries. She mentioned that this bistro can be a platform for budding photographers to exhibit their works there.

As I watched the unique duo chattered on about their stories, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the fact that both of them live a simple and carefree life of hippies. To them dressing to impress does not matter that much, instead they allow their minds and their words impress other people. You can tell by just sitting with them for a mere 15 minutes, that they are a strong couple full of opinions. Their knowledge does not come from books but by the fact that they travel a lot and their eagerness and knowledge to discuss to anyone about any topics ranging from politics to arts is simply amazing.

Soraya recalled her recent experience in regards to photography where she followed a fellow photographer, Allen Eng in one of his trips to photograph the landscapes of Nepal. Allen Eng is one of Soraya’s favorite photographers when it comes to pictures of landscapes. Since she is more of a portrait photographer, instead of doing what the other photographers did which was to take pictures of the sceneries of Nepal, she took this opportunity to capture Allen Eng in action. She took photographs of him taking pictures of the sceneries but more often than that, she took time in actually appreciating the Nepal’s beautiful scenery. She was amazed at the other photographers to whom she admits that they are not doing the same thing. Instead of stopping and taking the time to enjoy the beautiful sceneries, they are more preoccupied in taking as many pictures as they can.

Soraya voiced out her opinion that photographer nowadays cared more about the camera that they are using and what lens they are using and even more so of who has the largest lens. She herself uses a simple camera to take pictures. Soraya mentioned that the beauty of taking pictures is that you get to capture a moment in time where that certain place, people or even object exudes a deeper beauty where only the photographer can see it. But if one does not take time to appreciate the beautiful moments in life, that moment might be lost forever. A quote from Soraya that I could not forget is when she said that ‘imperfection of the work makes the picture perfect’. That statement truly says it all. She also understand the needs for learn from the younger generation about photography. It’s actually a two way thing. The old and the young generation need to learn from each other to create more beautiful pictures.

As the wonderful night draws to an end, we bid both Soraya and Ariff goodbye and thanked them for letting us into their fantastic bistro. In my opinion, what I love most about this bistro is that as you enter, you don’t feel like you’re entering a restaurant and eating food cooked by stranger and served by a stranger. It is as if you are entering a house as a visitor, eating food which has been cooked by a friend of yours that you’ve known for many years. And as you leave, you know that you would be coming back not only for the food but for the homely environment and the excellent hospitality treatment that was given by the host and hostess of Kokopelli Travelers Bistro.