It rained the whole day that day when my NZ friend and her family were due to arrive but stopped by evening. Thus, when they landed, it was nice and cool…and thankfully, the weather was bright and sunny on those two lovely days when they were in town.
On the morning of the 2nd day, my missus made some sambal hay bee (dried prawns) which they had for breakfast stuffed in toasted kompia and they loved it to bits! My missus also gave them a bottle of the sambal to take home to New Zealand.
After breakfast, we went to the Wong Nai Siong Memorial Park beside the Sungai Merah river but not before stopping at Choon Seng for the coffee and I ordered our Sibu-style fried kway teow (flat rice noodles) for them to try…
…and also the crispy roti canai with the curry (not dhall) dip.
After a tour of the park, we took a back lane behind the shops back to the car. There were some very interesting old wooden houses along the way and at one of them, there was a local guava tree growing beside the fence with the branches stretching over it and guess who plucked one of the jambu batu to eat. She was so excited about it as she had not eaten one since she was a little kid. We had a tree in the garden when we were small but nobody wanted to eat the fruits. The forked branches made excellent catapults though…much of the distress of the birds at the time.
From there, we adjourned to the Hoover Memorial Park, in memory of James Hoover – the first Methodist missionary to come to Sibu. I did not take any photographs there but I was captivated by the scenery overlooking that section of Sungai Merah…
…and the old fishing boats berthed by the side.
Then, we went to the Bukit Aup Jubilee Park where there were lots of fish in the lake…
…lots and lots of them…
…and they had a great time feeding them.
After that, I took them to Rasa Sayang which, I think, serves the best kampua noodles in town…
My friend always complained that the kampua noodles in my posts looked so pale and bland so I ordered the one with soy sauce for her. She tried both and immediately declared that the plain one was so much nicer than the dark version. There!!! Didn’t I tell you so? When it comes to food and eating, I am ALWAYS right! LOL!!!And believe it or not, she loved it so much that she ordered a second bowl. Yes, our Sibu kampua noodles is THIS good!
After that pit stop, they insisted on stopping at the 100Yen shop in the next block to browse around. They were pleasantly surprised that we have one right here. Hah!!! What do you think? This is Sibu – don’t play-play one!
From the 100Yen shop, we headed for lunch…and that would be in the next post…
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Waaaaa… Shereen’s husband looks so handsome over there, and she looks like an angmoh herself. But the anak looks like a Spanish guy pulak… like one of the Spanish telenovela I’m following at the moment o.O Could have sworn that Shereen’s anak acted in the Spanish drama. =.=
You’ve been watching too much TV. Must be all the swimming he does. The mum likes dark colour one…even when it came to kampua – but now she has found out for herself that fair one is better. Hehehehehehe!!! I thought the son looks mature in this photo – like a man. He’s still small actually, 13 only…and such a nice, polite boy, so well brought up. They’re all such nice people.
Ahh! He’s a swimmer, so that explains why his skin is tanned. I’m a swimmer too, and I tell you, it’s hard to have fair complexion. And those lotion they sell in the market? They bluff, they dun make your skin goes fairer in 4 weeks and whatnot. Bohong wan all! Look at me… spent a fortune on those whitening products and whatnot, in the end, still have tanned skin. I blame the pool and the chlorine in it 😦
I know he’s young… he looks no older than 14 in the picture. I have a friend who looks mature like this at 13. *grinz* that feller had a crush on me back then in school. But too bad, I was 17 at the time and I dun fancy boys who were younger than me though I enjoy the love notes being snuck into my desk during recess and what not ( he was 3 years younger… omg, that was really bad!). *ROFLOL*
Oh? I thought older women love young boys – like Demi Moore. Hey, I hear their marriage is shaky…or have they split already? You scared you hitam…go swimming, use scuba diving suit lor. Muahahahahahahaha!!!!
LOLOL… I was 17 and the boy was 14 then. Main kirim surat cinta during recess time, but I tak layan… cuz anggap the boy just like younger brother. Haiyorr, I’m not into younger boys la…back then I like older boys… hahaha…I tell u la… last time that boy had a crush on me… I pulak had a crush on his elder brother who is 3 years older than me. >.< Pengsan betul. But end up nothing happened la, cuz in the end, the elder brother fell for my best friend and married her. Tsk… I can't believe that main intai intai during recess oso can end up married. I always thought that it's sweet and cute! Hahahahahahahahah!
Hmmmm…teenage crushes! It’s all fated lah…que sera sera, what will be, will be – good or bad, can’t run away from it. 😦
Err… the mum likes dark one, but now she found out that the dark one is better… err… are you referring to the kampua or her husband? *pengsan* Ah… habisla… she come back she will catch me gossiping here… habis!
No, she found the white one better – I guess that can refer to both the kampua and the hubby. Muahahahahahaha!!!!
*fair one*
Yup, got it…
you always play the best host STP! 🙂 awesome of you.
The sibu flat char kuey teow seems unique with the egg on top
Of course…and I wonder when you will hop over for the best holiday of your life! You ask Shereen lah! She will vouch for that! She went Bangkok and Singapore after she left…and she said, after Sibu, all not nice anymore! Said I spoiled her holiday! 😦
Hi Isaac… back from your honeymoon already? 😀 Neway, you’re living somewhere around Setapak, issit? I thought i saw you not long ago, somewhere around Wangsa Walk. Not sure if I got it right, tho…mebbe silap orang.
Must be him. I f I’m not mistaken, he stays around Setapak… So kaya…go Taiwan for honeymoon. Sibu so near, so nice, so cheap…don’t want to come. Tsk! Tsk! Go lah…go far far away…no need to come here. 😦
Ohhh… that means he lives near my place onli la…>.< patutlah every now and then I will terserempak with someone that looks like him. I tak berani say hi cuz sked silap orang…. =.=
Oh? So you two same-same kaki Setapak Kopi lah? LOL!!! Can always approach and ask mah…if tersilap, just say sorry lor… 😉
Nice! I miss that CKT! I thought it has closed down!
No, the son’s continuing the business…at Aloha. The sister’s doing it at Choon Seng, Sg Merah. They say the one at Aloha’s better. Never mind, next time you come back I can take you there… 😉
Guess a correction of facts here. The one at Aloha is the son of the old towkay of the stall at Sarawak House where the old MCD used to be. The one at Sg Merah is the daughter of the man operating at Aloha. Got the facts from another son of his who is my student.
I know that coffee shop at Sarawak House but I don’t know of any fried kway teow done like this there. In the 60s (my teenage years), we would go to Kok Cheng (opposite Cathay Cinema) where a man named Ah Tor was famous for kway teow fried like this. I was not really crazy about it so for many years, I did not bother to go back and eat. I think I used to prefer the kampua (related to the Chua family in Kpg Nangka, if I’m not mistaken). My Kuching cousins are faithful followers and would insist on eating that whenever they come to Sibu.
Anyway, I heard of Kok Cheng undergoing changes, people moving here and there…some said all went to the coffee shop next to the public library etc etc etc… Anyway, my cousins came not long ago…and they were excited to see Ah Tor at Aloha…and so we stopped there to eat it. One of them (Imelda) said how come Ah Tor never grew old…and the sister (Sabrina) said that Ah Tor had passed on and that was his son – and they thought that he looked exactly like Ah Tor when he was young. So what relationship this guy had with the Sarawak House one, I would not know – maybe Ah Tor moved there eventually?
The Sg Merah one, I heard, is related to Ah Tor…cannot remember exactly whose sister or whatever, but the older lady’s no longer there – now a very young and trendy sweet young thing.
That’s the daughter of the present one at Aloha. The younger brother of the man at Aloha is my classmate during my school days at SHS. That’s why I know about the stall at Sarawak House there. after Sarawak House, they moved to the coffee shop at where Sugar Bun used to be opposite Kok Cheng. Then they moved to Kok Cheng where the son and his wife took over. After Kok Cheng, they moved to Aloha. The one in Sungai Merah is the daughter.
Now I’m even more confused. Never mind, I guess they’re all descendents of Ah Tor, the original at Kok Cheng in the 60s – those days, no Sarawak House yet even.
my 1st time seeing fried kuay tiaw pattaya style(with omelet topping), interesting!
Wow, the Tilapia fish, good for steaming or kam hiong! LOL!
That’s not pattaya – pattaya, they fry the omelette and the wrap whatever they have fried inside. Not the same at all. And those are Japanese kopi…not tilapia. Serba salah! LOL!!! 😀
Jap carp, how come no spot one?!>_<"
Got lah…or some at least – the bigger ones especially. Here, can only see the backs of the fish, not the sides…
Haha.. After 17 years in Sibu, I never seen or heard about Hoover Memorial Park before. Where is it located? .. I used to enjoy going to Bukit Aup when I was a kid. I always look forward to feed the fishes and play in the playground…Especially the ‘spider web’ where you can climb up to the top. I love climbing! hehe.. That’s why I broke my collar bone once LOL
First time I went too. After Sg Merah at Tiong Hin School junction, turn left to the SHELL depot with all the huge petroleum tanks – the park is to the left opposite the depot…not as far as Bukit Aup. Wah!!! Naughty girl, you were eh? LOL!!! 😀
Hehe okay. Might drop by one day to take a look 🙂 I was climbing up and down the trees until I was 10. Hahaha..I fell down and broke my collar bone. Gosh, it was so painful that I couldn’t talk. LOL good times
Well, I’ve broken a few bones too in my time… I have to be careful these days though – old already. 😦
during my first time there, the (then) roomie brought me around doing touristy stuff like visiting the Bukit Aup Jubilee Park and errr…the tall shopping centre. and of course they brought us to mum gong pia and kampua. oh i miss her and sibu’s food!
Come! Come again…and I’ll take you for dinner at Ruby again…and we can go to all the other nice places here too. Yummmm!!!! 😉
wow..look at those fishes..amazing!
Ya, very nice…
Am not a great fan of kampua but anyway this one seems nice, with bits and pieces of minced meat and fried onions. Those fishes are “Koi” isit? We have those at Friendship Park too. People used to feed them with bread/biscuits.
I guess you’ve never tried kampua in Sibu or if you had, you did not go to the right place. Shereen was not so thrilled by the kampua she had the first morning she was here…and my cousin (Imelda – I mentioned her in my reply to Richard’s comment, family in Kuching and herself working in KL) said the kampua here is so much nicer than Kuching’s – somehow, there is a difference. She said in Kuching, they went to eat at the supposedly best places for kampua – nothing like the ones in Sibu.
Oooooooo…..that’s not allowed here! Feed them with bread and biscuits? At the park, we would have to buy the fish feed from the authorised people there – no outside food and drinks allowed…for the fish!
Lovely day..lovely fish at Bukit Aup Jubilee Park. Oh CKT wearing tudung in Sibu that’s interesting.
Yes, not all exposed… Ours all very decent one…like the people here…like me. Hehehehehehe!!!! 😉
The kuay teow looks like Pattaya Fried Kuay Teow. Bet must be good.
Roti canai….How long I ve not been eating it. It’s time for some roti!
Hah!!! Alice said that earlier. No, it’s not Pattaya – the egg is blended into the kway teow – this, you can get only in Sibu. Roti canai, your side…no problem lah. Lots of that everywhere…
Oh yeah finally, hi Mrs STP!
Shoo! Shoo! What are you doing – looking at my wife? Hahahahaha!!!! 😀
Why shoo shoo hahahah. Hi Shereen, Hubby & son..
Chesh! Now pura-pura like kura-kura pulak… >.< LOL!!!
where is the Bukit Aup Jubilee Park?
In the outskirts of Sibu, Teku side…if you know where that is. Come, come to Sibu and I’ll take you there…and all the nice places we have here. 😉
Whoa! That’s a lot of fishes. Can they be eaten after you feed them? 😀
I remember the slingshots that we use when we were kids. They are made of guava branches and the “angry” birds don’t like ’em.
Of course not! They’re there to brighten up and beautify the place…and I think some people believe that Japanese Koi’s bring good luck. Hey, you’re not that old! By your time, there would be commercially-made catapults…a lot nicer than the ones we had.
Yeah, there are commercially-made catapults but I like the home-made catapults better because they’re cheap. ^_^
Ah…ha ha. Just kidding with the Kois. Of course they are not be eaten.
Ya…and we needed lots of rubber bands and we cut the leather from old discarded shoes.
the photo of the fish gathering around looks nice 🙂
They were fighting for the food… 😦
wow, sibu style fried koay teow, it looks like the thailand’s paadtai actually.. looks good and yummy.. and i also think that bowl of kampua noodles is good, especially with the char siew on top.. fuyoh~~
Shereen has seen and eaten this Sibu-style fried kway teow…and I’m sure she would not say it is anything like Pattaya fried kway teow or Thailand’s pad thai. It’s in a league of its own. Ya…imagine Shereen asking shyly for another bowl of the kampua noodles because she loved it sooooo much!!! LOL!!! 😉
that fried keoy teow looks nice la. what is the ingredient apart from the egg? Have the usual kerang, kuchai and prawns?
No kerang, no prawns… That’s the beauty in Foochow food – its simplicity! People used to criticise it as bland, tasteless…but if you eat it, the taste sort of grows on you…like kompia! You eat one, you want another…like kissing! LOL!!! 😀
The places you took Shereen will be the places you will take us when we go next time? Same food too? Love the kampua, yes… please.. no dark sauce please!
Of course! Nothing but THE best in town… Yummmmm!!!! So when are you coming?
Like i comment in FB, my mum house so near to Wong Nai Siong memorial park, but i never been there!! Everytime pass by i told my mum, one day we should bring the kids go there walk walk, sure they like it, but my mum told me it is not safe wor.
Ah! Choon Seng!! The coffee, the CKT and the kampua. Nice!!
Rasa sayang kampua! Drool…..Now Shereen know why i go so crazy over the kampua!!hahhahahhahahah.
Where is that Bukit Aup Jubilee Park ? Is it the one near the graveyard place? We were there two years ago i think, we bring the boys feeding the fishes, they like it so much, but one thing, there are a lot mosquitoes!
Why not safe? Go in the daytime, should be ok lah… Bukit Aup, go further up from your house…away from the town. We went in the morning, sunny day…no mosquitoes.
Arthur,
Why you didn’t post on the 3 layered tea?That one very nice lor..until now pun I teringat-ingat…hubby say they must have put some ganja in it…hahaha.Couldn’t believe I the Puteris of all lilins could bersiar-siar in the hot sun..but on that day, not so hot lar…very pleasant actually and all the laughing makes us lupa panas.Sibu is very nice and rustic in certain parts and still retains that old charm.You should have listened to hubby’s description of Sibu to our family doctor ( we sakit so had to see him).The mat sallleh doctor listened until his eyes and mouth grew big…hahaha…and you know Simon enough to know that he’s a man of few words!!
Send the doctor over – I’ll take him round for that memorable Sibu experience! LOL!!! The 3-layered tea? I thought they have that everywhere in Malaysia…nothing special, so I did not take a photo of it that day There’s a photo of something like that here:
https://suituapui.wordpress.com/2010/06/06/this-boy/
but this one has got a layer of wheatgrass at the bottom. You’re lucky – nice sunny weather at this time of the year, not extremely hot and not hazy either. Just nice.
i love the fish! so many of them, so lovely!
Lovely place…peaceful, relaxing…
Nice fish picture you took…
Nice place!