One day at a time…

We left Sibu in the pouring rain; the flight was delayed by some 20-30 minutes. This was the scene at the boarding gate before the crowd arrived and the mad scramble to get on board the aircraft. Gee!!! I just can’t understand this kiasu mentality; after all, the flight’s only half an hour or so! Simply ridiculous, these people!!!…And they’re SO stingy they would not pay a bit extra for express boarding facilities…AND I’m sure they didn’t pay the RM3 for checked-in baggage either for each of them was lugging no less than TWO bags even though only one’s allowed as hand luggage. Well, as they say, some things NEVER change…..

Anyway, Gundot and daughter were waiting…and upon arrival in Kuching, we headed straight to Satok for Peterson’s hay pia (fried prawn ‘cakes’).

Ummm…they were so very delicious. I ordered 6 pieces along with some of the other stuff…and later, ordered another four pieces…and hopefully, we can go back there for more before we return to Sibu in a few days’ time. For one thing, it seems that to him, taste is what is important and presentation is not one of his priorities…

Probably someone should give him a few pointers and serving suggestions. LOL!!! Having had our fill, we went to check in at the hotel and after dumping our things in the room…

…we went to Spring, the new shopping experience in town…;the ethnic decor that you can see in the pic is in conjunction with the Gawai Dayak festival.

and in the night, Sophia came and took us out for dinner at…

and her daughter and friend came along as well…

Good grief! When did she grow to be one sophisticated, gorgeous looking lady? How time flies…!!! Sob! Sob! That can only mean one thing – I’m growing old!!! (Finally he realises it,you say? LOL!!!) Thank your lucky stars, everybody because right now, I do not have any photos of the lamb shank and the fisherman’s basket to insert in this post. The place was too dark to do those out-of-this-world dishes any justice. My daughter took some nice pics with her more technologically-advanced handphone so maybe I can get them from her to post at a later date.

By the way, I saw this on display at the hotel where we are staying…

and that got me thinking! When was the last wedding dinner I attended? I went to one last year but it was because my father could not go…and I had to go on his behalf…and the one before that was in 2006, I think – an ex-student’s and I was invited to sing for the bride and the groom. Hmmm…so when will the next wedding dinner be? Archie? Cibol? Bongkersz? Tintin? KNB???…..In the words of JZ/Linkin Park, “What the hell are you waiting for…?” Hahahahahaha…..

Holiday…

Taking this opportunity to wish all friends and readers celebrating the auspicious festival SELAMAT HARI GAWAI and all good wishes for the year ahead….

(Photo taken from MaryannPteo’s Virtual Tourist Home Page)

And to all those celebrating the Harvest Festival, Selamat Hari Kaamatan and showers of blessings on you and your families…

 
(caB.jim’s photo from http://www.flickr.com)

…and to the rest, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, blue skies and everything nice!

(Man about Tao’s photo from http://www.flickr.com)

STP will be away for a few days and anyway, most of you will be too busy celebrating and enjoying yourselves to drop by and post comments but do make sure you’ll all be back soon…. Cheers!!!

It’s so easy (1)…

Now, are you a university grad? Still in college or school perhaps? Do you think you’re very smart? Well, here’s….. 

A PRE-SCHOOL TEST FOR YOU

Which way is the bus below travelling? To the left or to the right?  

Can’t make up your mind?

Look carefully at the picture again.

  
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Still don’t know? Pre-schoolers all over the Australia were shown this picture and asked the same question. 90% of the pre-schooler’s gave this answer, “The bus is travelling to the right.” Do you agree with them? Look at the picture again carefully.

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If you agree with them, why do you think the bus is travelling to the right? If not, then why do you think it is going left?

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So what’s your answer? And give a logical explanation for your answer, please.

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Give up? When asked, “Why do you think the bus is travelling to the right?”  the kids answered, “Because you can’t see the door to get on the bus.”

So you think you are smarter than a pre-schooler? ROTFLMAO!!!!

Baby I love your way…

What baby were you? Do the character traits below describe the person that you are?

JANUARY BABY: Pretty/handsome. Loves to dress up. Easily bored. Fussy. Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt. Sensitive. Down-to-Earth. Stubborn.

FEBRUARY BABY: Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract.  Intelligent and clever. Changing personality. Attractive. Sexiest out of everyone. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislikes unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Horny. Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizing dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside, not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.

MARCH BABY: Attractive personality. Sexy. Affectionate, shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Great kisser. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Observant and assesses others.

APRIL BABY: Suave and compromising. Funny and humorous. Stubborn. Very talkative. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal. Does work well with others. Very confident. Sensitive. Positive attitude. Thinking. Generous. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Able to cheer everyone up and/or make them laugh. Able to motivate oneself and others. Understanding. Fun to be around. Outgoing. Hyper. Bubbly personality. Secretive.  Boy/girl crazy. Loves sports, music, leisure and travelling. Systematic. Hot but has brains.

MAY BABY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered. Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally. Firm standpoint. Needs no motivation. Shy towards opposite sex. Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance. Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves Literature and the arts. Loves travelling. Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having many children. Hardworking. High spirited.

JUNE BABY: You’ve got the best personality and are an absolute pleasure to be around. You love to make new friends and be outgoing. You are a great flirt and more than likely have an a very attractive partner. A wicked hottie. It is also more than likely that you have a massive record collection. You have a great choice in films, and may one day. Become a famous actor/actress yourself – heck, you’ve got the looks for it!

JULY BABY: Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people’s feelings. Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional, temperamental and unpredictable. Easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. Spazzy at times. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be with friends. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Waits for  friends. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt and takes long to recover.

AUGUST
Outgoing personality. Takes risks. Feeds on attention. No self control. Kind hearted. Self
confident. Loud and boisterous. VERY revengeful.  Easy to get along with and talk to. Has an ‘everything’s peachy’ attitude. Likes talking and singing. Loves music. Daydreamer. Easily distracted. Hates not being trusted. BIG imagination. Loves to be
loved. Hates studying. In need of ‘that someone’. Longs for freedom. Rebellious when withheld or restricted. Lives by ‘no pain no gain’. Playful. Mysterious. ‘Charming’
or ‘beautiful’ to everyone. Stubborn. Curious. Independent. strong willed. A fighter.

SEPTEMBER
Active and dynamic. Decisive and haste but tends to regret. Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention. Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people’s problems. Brave and fearless. Adventurous. Loving and  caring. Suave and generous. Usually you have many friends. Enjoys making love. Emotional. Stubborn. Hasty. Good memory. Moving, motivates oneself and others. Loves to travel and explore. Sometimes sexy in a way that only their lover can understand.

OCTOBER BABY: Loves to chat. Loves those who love them. Loves  to take things at the centre. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn’t pretend. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Brave and fearless. Always making friends. Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care to control emotions. Unpredictable. Extremely smart, but definitely the hottest AND sexiest of them all.

NOVEMBER BABY: Trustworthy and loyal. Very passionate and dangerous. Wild at times. Knows how to have fun. Sexy and mysterious. Everyone is drawn towards your inner and outer beauty and independent personality. Playful, but secretive. Very emotional and temperamental sometimes. Meets new people easily and very social in a group. Fearless and independent. Can hold their own. Stands out in a crowd. Essentially very smart. Usually, the greatest men are born in this month.

DECEMBER BABY: You are the most good-looking person possible…better than all of these other months! Loyal and generous. Patriotic. Competitive in everything. Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in  organizations. Fun to be with. Easy to talk to, though hard to understand. Thinks far with vision, yet complicated to know. Easily influenced by kindness. Polite and soft-spoken. Having lots of ideas. Sensitive. Active mind. Hesitating, tends to delay. Choosy and always wants the best. Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke. Good debating skills. Has that someone always on his/her mind. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly . Knows how to make friends. Abiding. Able to show character. one guy/girl kind of person. Loveable. Easily hurt. Prone to getting colds. Loves music.

Well, mine describes me quite well…except perhaps the “active in games” bit but then it depends on what “games”! LOL!!! What about you?

Down by the river…

Archie was complaining about the deluge of food posts but all of you can’t blame me really! It’s just that my daughter’s home for the holidays and I make it a point to take her out to eat all the things that she loves.

Over there, the place where she’s studying has a canteen but they don’t sell much there…when they’re open, that is. I really wonder how they can survive and stay in business! There are a few food stalls outside the gate, right across the road…but the swarm of flies!!! And they do not even cover the food!!! Gee! Where are the Health Department people? Things are definitely much better here in Sibu!

Anyway, to move away from the topic of food, I was driving past Sungai Merah this morning, so I decided to stop and take a few photographs for this post. This was where the earliest Chinese (Foochow) settlers led by Wong Nai Siong first set foot in the region.  The small riverine town got its name “Sungai Merah” from the river that flows through it. It is literally red in colour due to the withered leaves that fall from the trees upstream. It had been murky and muddy at one time but obviously, the authorities have done something to restore its original reddish-brownish hue…

Besides, they’ve also revamped the place by building a nice waterfront along the river banks with nice bridges of Chinese-influenced architecture. This would be an ideal place for taking photographs for remembrance as it is after all, a place of historical significance…and a good spot for evening strolls too…

For one thing, I wish they had restored and preserved the old wooden shophouses for posterity…but they’re all gone now and in their place stand new ones like these…

There is a small park built in memory of Wong Nai Siong so shutter bugs can snap a few more shots here…

…and should you be feeling hungry, don’t worry!!! There are coffee shops all over selling all kinds of delicacies you’ll defintely be spoilt for choice.

And if you’re interested, you can take a leisurely drive along the country roads through the lush green rainforests to the smaller towns neraby like Kanowit or Sarikei.  Huai Bin has just posted a good write-up on Sarikei, so you can just hop over to his blog to have a look.

Well, I will definitely go around the scenic spots and places of attractions here to take more photographs for my future posts, so do make sure you keep coming back so that you won’t miss out on any of them…Hahahahahahaha!!!!

Ocean deep…

It certainly seems that more and more western and fusion food joints are sprouting all over town…and last Sunday night, my family dropped in at one of them situated in the Mitsu Dimsum restaurant area (behind Rejang Medical Centre)…

Blue Reef’s the name but it isn’t actually an all-seafood restaurant.  Inside, it’s pretty dark and all blue mostly and I didn’t think much of the decor on the walls…

Be forewarned that the portions are extremely huge…and one plate is enough for 2-3 persons.  We had spaghetti carbonara…

 

It was nice and we liked the creamy sauce.  We also had Seafood Hokkein mee…but it did not seem like what I had in KL.  It was more like Foochow fried noodles using the much-bigger type of mee, not usually found here. But on the whole, it was ok…

It was quite cheap actually especially when you consider the size of each dish;if I remember correctly, the spaghetti dish was RM12 and the latter was RM8 only…or something around that price range.

And last night, we took Sophia out for dinner as she’ll be going back to Kuching today…and we went to Garden Hotel’s coffee house.  It seems Huai Bin was there the night earlier; funny how how paths don’t seem to cross! Both my missus and Sophia opted for the seafood platter…

It was nice, especially the garlic butter rice and at RM16.00, it would be unfair to compare it to that at Manhattan Fish Market where the seafood platter for two costs around RM45.00. My daughter had fish and chips…

It certainly seemed as if someone had taken a bite off the second piece of fish! LOL!!! I had posted a picture of this dish at the same place sometime ago…and I, for one, prefer it to what we get elsewhere because the fish is coated with breadcrumbs instead of batter which can be somewhat oily and soggy if there is no quality control and it’s only RM11.50 per plate (an increase of 50 sen since the last time I was here). But anyway, last night, I did not feel like having seafood so I went for the Mixed Grill instead…

With the lamb, beef, chicken, bacon…it was priced at RM17.00. Cheap or not? And it was very nice! Don’t worry! I trimmed off that layer of fat on the lamb before eating the leaner parts. LOL!!!

Gosh!!! I think that should be enough food posts for the time being… Now I’ll have to think of what other things I can post!!! Hahahahahahahaha!!!!

Hot stuff (1)…

Well, not really! It wasn’t hot at all, in fact…or not for me, at least. But it was definitely delicious and worth the RM18 that I paid, inclusive of drinks. That was certainly value for money compared with what we had for lunch yesterday, and with what I paid then, we could go to this place TWICE!!!

I’m talking about Balkis – the best nasi bryani (bryani rice) in town. My daughter had nasi bryani kambing (mutton) for which the mutton curry was served separately in a bowl…

…while I had nasi bryani ayam (chicken)

…and at the same time, we had dosai as well.

It was yummy too…but I prefer the paper thin ones. It just slipped my mind when I was placing the orders.

Actually, it was cheaper than that…but I think they charged a bit extra for sitting in the air-conditioned section. Still it was so much cheaper and a lot nicer!!! I would say that’s one of the perks of being Malaysian in general and Sarawakian or Sibuian in particular. There’s no disputing that we have the best food around, don’t you all agree?

Can you read my mind…

Well, my blogger friend, Bongkersz, is now at Kenyir, Trengganu and yesterday he sent me a photo via mms…

Well, this isn’t exactly the one he sent me but it was something similar…of a hotel room with a king-size bed. I don’t know why but everytime he sent me some photographs via mms and I saved them in flickr…they all turned out to be the size of a postage stamp!!! Hmmm…is that symbolic or  what? LOL!!!! Thankfully, there were no bananas in the one he forwarded to me but then again…..

And it doesn’t help one bit that he always seems to be suggesting something in his photos. What do you make out of this one that I “stole” from his facebook…

Hahahahahaha!!!! Now, back to what we were talking about, why would he send me a pic of an empty double king-size bed in a hotel room? There wasn’t any text message attached so that got me wondering. Can anybody read his mind? I’m open to suggestions…Oops!!! I think I’d better retract that statement!!! ROTFLMAO!!!!!

U can’t touch this…

I’ve heard complaints all around regarding the rising prices of rice. Perhaps if we cut down our consumption, the price may drop. Based on the Law of Economics, when demand decreases, the price will fall. But other than for that reason, it seems that we should reduce our rice intake for health reasons. I received an article via email on this recently and here, I have more or less extracted the gist of the lengthy aforementioned article…

In some parts of Asia, rice forms up to 85% of the plate. No nutritionist can deny that rice is chemically no different from sugar. One bowl of cooked rice is the caloric equal of 10 teaspoons of sugar…

This does not matter whether it is white or brown rice though the latter may be richer in fibre, some B vitamins and minerals. To get the same 10 teaspoons of sugar, you need to consume lots of kangkong – 10 bowls of it and the fibre of the vegetable fills you up long before your blood sugar spikes. It never fails to amuse me when I see someone eat up to two bowls of rice and yet asks for teh tarek kurang manis.

Some of the suggestions include eating less rice, cutting our intake by half…and going on “riceless” days by eating western meals at least once a week. Well, I did just that today when I went to the Pinnacles for lunch…

…and this is what it looks like inside…

My daughter had lamb chop…and I had never seen it done this way before.  It seemed that they coated it with batter and bread crumbs and fried it. I must say that it did not look very appetising but my girl said that it was nice…

I did not want anything heavy; some of you may have read in the earlier posts that lately I have been skipping lunch but I would have a good brunch. It must have affected my eating routine, so I did not seem to have an appetite…or am I falling ill? I certainly hope not! Anyway, I ordered a club sandwich for myself… 

It was a disappointment. I have had very nice club sandwiches elsewhere e.g. at Merdeka Palace Hotel in Kuching.  With drinks, it all came up to around RM40 which I would consider extremely expensive!!! With the money, I could have a much nicer meal for 3 persons at Ruby…and I’m sure Clare will second that!!!

Upon leaving the place, I saw this notice…

Gosh! Not only do they have a problem with their English but their BM is horrendous as well. So, how about an impromptu English and Bahasa Malaysia language lesson and you all can try to rephrase that more precisely and accurately??? Anybody up to the challenge??? Prof Higgins perhaps?Hahahahahahahaha…..

What are you doing Sunday…

Well, what are you doing today? As for me, it being a Sunday, I went to church…and after that, I went to that Mitsu Dimsum Restaurant for a light breakfast…..

This is the ground floor where you can eat in open air comfort but of course, I prefer to go upstairs which is airconditioned. We did not want to have a heavy breakfast because Sophia was flying in around noon and I had promised to take her out for lunch and THE Glutton Queen aka Kampua Talk would be joining us as well. So we had two baskets of siew mai…

and another two baskets of har kau…..

…and then I spotted something new. They did not have these before – they were wrapped with seaweed and I could see crabstick inside, so I decided to give it a try and ordered a basket…

Boy, they were really nice! I definitely will order more the next time I drop by that place…but as I said, I was saving my tummy for lunch. At around 12.30, we were at the Ruby Restaurant, my favourite dining place in Sibu…and when Clare (Kampua Talk) revealed her…..camera, I had to think twice about taking out my miserable itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny…..handphone with photo-taking facility and embarassing myself with it (LOL!!!)…

But in the end, I decided to go ahead with it, what the heck!!! So what did we all have? I remember we had the absolutely delicious Mayonnaise Lamb…

and the heavenly mouth-watering Butter Scotch Prawns…

…and my daughter wanted her favourite. I think I may have posted a photo of this dish of Salad Sotong in an earlier post. Anyway, it was actually deep-fried squids coated with bread crumbs, served with mayonnaise…

…and since nobody fancied bitter gourd, we had cangkuk manis fried with egg and this dish of Butter Cheese Baby Kailan…

…and to wash all that down, we had sea cucumber soup and the unrivalled Blended Kopi-O Peng (Iced Black Coffee).

Now if my third-grade photographs do not turn you on at all, hop over to Clare’s blog and drool yourselves silly over her…..photographs!!! Chesh! What were you thinking, Cocka? LOL!!!!!

OK…so that was up till lunch! Now, what am I going to have for dinner??? Hahahahahahahaha…..