Now that the Chinese New Year festivities are over and everyone has left town, there really isn’t very much happening around here and nothing much to do other than the usual day-to-day routine. So, one afternoon, I asked Melissa if she would like to go for a drive and of course, she did. We stopped by this Hoover Memorial Park in the vicinity of Sungai Merah here in Sibu…
…and at that point in time, she did not know of the existence of the place even. I did bring my New Zealand friend and her family here when they were in town in 2011 and it looked pretty all right then, nothing much but it was presentable enough. This time around, I was disappointed to note that it was in dire need of at least some cleaning and repainting works and there were parts that could do with a little repair and maintenance as well. I PM-ed some people via Facebook as soon as I got home regarding this and they responded almost immediately saying that they would do something about it. Boy, I am impressed!
That same afternoon, we stopped by here as Melissa wanted their very nice ang tao peng (iced red bean) and the salad sotongย and I noticed that they had something new on their menu…
It should be called bubur cacar but with the influx of all those momo tea outlets. they were probably a little confused with the names. They had a choice between peanut or sieng chou/cincao (black grass jelly) and I chose the latter…
It was very nice but I think I still prefer their ang tao peng as I love those red beans very much and could jolly well do without the rest.
Now I do know that a lot of people do drop by this place once in a while as they do have some pretty good stuff on their menu but perhaps, some may not know of their new business hours:
It used to be open from 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. seven days a week but not anymore – they’re closed on Mondays and on weekdays, they open rather late – at 10.00 a.m. They still open at 8 in the morning on weekends and they stay open an hour longer till 6. My daughter said that their pian sip is no longer on the menu which I thought was kind of sad as theirs was one of the better ones in town.
After that short stop, we went next to this supermarket near my house to browse around and something caught my interest…
Good grief!!!! 99 sen for those few sprigs of curry leaves!!!!
Gee!!! I have a lot at my house and anyone would be most welcome to drop by and help himself or herself…
You see that shrub of mine grows so very well that it would go completely out of control. I had just pruned it COMPLETELY before Chinese New Year and look at it now! That is why I am very generous in the use of curry leaves in all my cooking. After all, they say that they have certain health benefits and I can get as much as I please for free.
So how has life been treating everybody? Back to the grind already, I guess…and all very hard at work, I hope? Wink! Wink! LOL!!!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
ever seen the buah of that tree? looks like cherry, smells curryly…
I think I have but I never paid any attention to them. Very small seeds, right?
Can eat.. like berries with curry-ish fragrance but spit out the seed inside as it is poisonous.
Eyewwwwww!!!! No, thank you then…
Hi Arthur! That was fantastic father-daughter bonding time! I guess you two must have enjoyed the few hours together… Quality time well spent!
Yes, now that she will start work soon, times like this will be few and far between, I guess… ๐ฆ
Momochacha is how Foochow pronounce bubur chacha.
HAHAHA
I’m not kidding buddy!!!
That’s *exactly* how my maternal grandma pronounces it. ๐
I think so. And if I’m not mistaken, there is a term like this in Mandarin too that means ‘very blur” or something to that effect.
Yup, that’s right. I thought it was Foochow though.
Momochacha also means blur/forgetful/distracted – but I’ve only heard Foochows use that, not in Mandarin. ๐
Ok, both language & dialect are somewhat Greek to me… Blush! Blush! ๐ฆ
Yes la, Arthur, Huai Bin is right, we foochow called it ” mo mo cha cha” hahahahhahahahha!!! Eh, even now i also call it mo mo cha cha .
Another post on it coming soon… ๐
wow! really envy your curry leaves shrub! Here is so expensive! Maybe I should start growing them too and I use a lot in my nyonya cooking.
You can try. My friend’s in Sydney surviving well – even though leafless through the cold winter.
I can’t be more agree with you that the ang tao peng there is very nice albeit a bit too sweet for me. And not just the curry leaves. Pandan niok, limau niok, serai niok are sold just as expensive! Momocacar will be very nice as long as the yam is fresh and santan is fragrant. I used to remember momocacar is called bubur buang panas in Sibu when I was a kid.
Nope! Bubur buang panas is the “gor-bee-th’ng” – the one with barley, dates, green jelly and so on. That’s a completely different thing.
Wah, your curry plant is doing very well. I think it does better planted on the ground. I have two curry plants in pots and they were attacked by some garden pests. Now both botak. I am trying to revive them. Oh yes, very expensive at the supermarket. Even daun limau purut and bunga kantan costs a bomb. Better plant in our own garden.
Yes, mine had spots on the leaves so I got rid of all of them…and now that the leaves are growing again, they’re doing so with a vengeance. So many leaves!!!
Foochow accent., momo cacar. That bowl of bubur cacar looks good…and boy!!!!…your curry plant is growing so well but not mine. Always attack by small small white thingy and eventually dies off but my pandan leaves, basil leaves and kunyit are doing well.
Mine also, but I pruned it all – not a leaf left…and the new ones sprouting out are looking good!!! My pandan – don;t want to say lah! My missus planted what arrowroot around it and that is growing wild, and never harvested and cooked or whatever also – while my poor pandan stays the same – stunted. Tsk! Tsk!
I should plan a one month trip to find you and let you show me around sibu, wkakakaka….
No problem. Let me know when you’re coming… Anytime!
No rubber balls for the dessert? LOL, curry leaves can be found anywhere la, rm0.99 is really a scam, my aunt has quite a lot in her backyard too
I hate that kind of dessert, no, thank you! Rather silly I would think to go and it that especially when they do not come cheap at all. Just places are mushrooming here too…and lots of young people love going. You will not see me going to any and blogging about them. ๐ฆ See the comment below. It may not be that easy to get just because your aunt has a lot. A friend has taken seedlings from me to plant many times…and every time, they did not survive.
err…what did u put at the plant? SO FAT!!! We have one opposite the road which is so small and die so soon so now i have no more curry leaves to use ๐ฆ
Nothing. I do not even water – depends on the sun and the rain. Maybe the spill over of the fertilisers the neighbours used in their garden?
My neighbour planted her curry leaves behind my house.. so anytime i can pluck, she said… ๐ but yours looks so fertilized! Mine is the nipis thin type.. hahaha..
I told my neighbour to help themselves anytime they need any – I have no problem with that. So much to go round.
The curry plant grows a lot leh!!
Just finished my lunch, feel like having a bowl of bubur cacar… hehe…
I just had one…but at another place. Not that nice, I thought though… ๐ฆ
i love the scent of fresh curry leaves! it brings back good memories of my grandparents’ cooking ๐
Brings the taste and fragrance of the dish to a whole new level – like in butter prawns. Yummmmm!!!!
Curry leaves so expensive here and my miserable looking plant so kesian.. botak all the time. Winter too cold and summer, belum sempat besar, I already petik.. hehehe.
Itulah… How to grow like that. Maybe you plant in the house, not so cold. LOL!!! ๐
Wah, so much curry leaves! Since my plant has fallen victim to broad daylight robbery, I’m now buying ’em only when I need it. It’s cheaper at the wet market near my place… A bigger bunch of that, and I paid 20 cents for it
Never asked at our jungle produce market, so not too sure of the price here. 20 sen for a bunch would be reasonable, I guess. You mean they carted off the whole potted plant! Gee!!!
we also have that kind of refreshment,
and i just miss eating stuffs like that
good thing summers is already here
it would be available everywhere at time like this
You have summer there? You mean the hot and dry weather? Pretty hot here too these few days.
well you can go sell curry leaves haha
and since you have a lot well it would be profitable
I guess so. I’ve cut a few times to give to my SIL to sell to the sellers at the market – dunno the price. I do wish she would come and cut herself though. This old man not that energetic anymore… ๐ฆ
Love the dessert. Here we can have the same dessert at Black Ball which is almost the same with Snow Flakes at Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur.
Post some of your curry leaves to me! ๐
We have Black Ball here – but I’m not into those Taiwanese desserts. Would go for our own anytime. Those are so expensive some more. Tsk! Tsk!
You want dried curry leaves? Hehehehehe!!!!
Hehe, yes it’s expensive. I’d agree with you. But it is the one nearest to my house.
I don’t want dried ones ๐
LOL!!! They would be by the time they reach you.
Eh…my side here curry leaves 30-50sens in mini market leh.
That’s also reasonable.
wow….the curry leaves at ur home so much!
I like the smell of freshly plucked curry leaves. RM0.99 for that few stalks indeed expensive!
Yup…especially when I can go and pluck my own free of charge. So shocked to see…so expensive!
Looks like now got more “deco” in Hoover Memorial Park compare to my last round there, look quite empty. Don’t mind to go there for evening walk but like i said, mozzie just love me so much!!
Thompson corner, this trip back must go there to try the red bean. And the stall that next to it, nasi ayam pattaya look very good too. kekekke
Not bad – I quite like the food there actually…plus a lot of choices and not expensive.
I ll get a permission from my neighbor when I need curry leaves. Free!!
I told my neighbour to just go and pluck, over the fence…no need to ask. So much, will never finish one.
Curry leaves! Yummy! Quite a big plant at my MIL’s place. I normally grab them from her too together with the young belimbing, limau purut and lemon grass ๐
Ya…so convenient to have one’s own – just go and pluck what oine needs instead of buying say 50 sen or RM1 at the market and getting a whole lot…to be thrown away later as one does not need so much.