That day, when I sent Melissa’s coursemate to the school, they got down to business right away – assigning him his classes and duties, giving him his timetable, books and what not and there was a briefing for him and two other “new brooms” at 1.15 p.m. that same day. At around 3 something, he called me and asked if I could help transport his suitcases, bags and all to some temporary place of stay that one of his new colleagues had arranged for them…and good grief! That house was in a kampung (village) so very far away in an isolated part outside of town that I had never been to.
While we were having our dinner that evening, he contacted me and asked if I could go and get him and if he could stay the night at my place. Of course I said that he could and I asked if he had any lunch or tea and he said that since the kampua that I took him to eat when he arrived, he only got a bottle of mineral water during the briefing in the school, the poor thing!
So after our dinner, we went to get him and took him here…
…and he had the pecel lele (RM5.50)…
– with the very nice fried ikan keli (catfish). According to papakucing, pecel is derived from the word “parcel”. As you can see in the photograph, the rice was wrapped in a special kind of leaf which would give it its special fragrance, and hence, the name “parcel”.
I saw this bakso stall…
…and decided to order a bowl (RM4.00)…
…to share and try. It was nice – I liked the beef balls…but the soup was like clear soup with chicken stock, none of the beef taste that I had expected. I would simmer those balls in the soup so that the taste would go into it but obviously, they did not do that. It certainly seemed very popular with the crowd there though as I saw them dishing out one bowl after another.
Not far away from where we were was this man…
…selling satay…
…at 50 sen a stick – never mind if it was chicken, beef or kambing (mutton). I ordered 10 of the latter and also 10 of the beef and with the ketupat, the total came up to RM11.00…
It was very nice, I would say…so I would KIV this place for anytime I feel a craving for some decently-nice satay.
This used to be a very popular place a long time ago where young people would hang out to eat…and to see and be seen but its popularity waned. Looking at the crowd that night, it seemed that the place is slowly but surely making a comeback…and I hear that the YB of that constituency has promised to upgrade the place to make it much nicer and call it “Bandong Walk”. Well, it is already very nice as it is, if you ask me.
Among the many eateries around, there is this chu-char (cook-fry) seafood place…
…halal, of course, and this Pak Soh Tom Yam place too…
They say it is very good but I have yet to go and give it a try.
I probably would want to try this one as well…
…as it was rather packed so I guess the food must be really good too.
You will certainly be spoilt for choice if you come here as there are so many options to pick. Why, they even have a takoyaki stall…
– don’t play-play!
After dinner, we went for a drive around town to let our visitor see the sights but it was already dark by then. Imagine this – he had been in Sibu for one whole day and all he had seen was the way from the airport to his school and from his school to that temporary place of stay. Poor, poor thing indeed!!!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
my ex-homie was assigned to a ulu small town in Johor for teaching too! there’s not even a atm. she has to take a cab (no bus one =.=) to the nearest bigger town to withdraw money! and whenever she comes back, she has to wait for the bus by the side of the highway (!!!). the most hilarious thing was, her colleagues of similar age said to her, “WHAAAAAT 26yo ALREADY STILL NO CHILDREN AR?” my friend rolled her eyes. LOL
i remember ordering bakso in jakarta! i thought it’s a mee dish turn and i got shocked when a bowl of fish ball was served. but the balls were nice, berry springy 😀
This one’s very nice – must take you here to try when you come to Sibu. Gosh! Thank goodness Melissa’s not posted to a school like that in Johore. That was her 3rd choice…and dunno anybody there in the strange place who would be willing to help us.
Hi Arthur! The poor boy is lucky to have you and Melissa there in Sibu.
I would say he is… 😉
Poor boy to be placed in such remote place but he is lucky you are around to help him out. You are indeed a good man Arthur. I’m craving for satay now.. isH!!!
I try…I try! What goes around comes around. Hah!!! Lots of satay over at your side, any time of day.
Ohhh… takoyaki! My boy loves takoyaki…but those octopus balls are so costly. 😦 Here in KL…u have to pay Rm5 for 3 or 4 measly balls!
Melissa loves them. She had some at another place here…dunno how much they cost here.
This is at my kampung right? Poor me, I haven’t tried any of the new stalls for ages! The last time I ate here was on 90’s… It used to be the place where we escaped from ‘Solat Terawih’ when we were young. hehehehe…
It was very popular then. Would be worth dropping by now – some nice new places and food’s pretty good.
correct me if i’m wrong, but when you mentioned a faraway kampung, do you refer to bandung ? coz it’s so near to the town centre, and my parents just happen to live quite near to that part of the town… i can basically walk there on foot… but then again, it might not be bandung that you’re talking about…
Nope! Bandong is where all these eating places are. The faraway kampung is somewhere in Teku – at least, half an hour’s drive away.
I also find the satay looked especially good!! perfectly grilled and I have not had (nice) satay for a good long time!! now that triggers me……. :p
Lots where you are. Very good ones too. I love Kajang satay! Slurpssss!!!!
Wah I didn’t even know Sibu got Indonesian food… I’m so outdated
My remind myself to try it out since you approved of it, the bakso I tried here doesn’t impress me at all. Too much flour, don’t even tasted like beef balls.
Teku… rarely being to that area since the new airport is operational. So inconvenient….
This one’s quite good – can be better though. I would prefer beef soup taste. Ya…you should come to Sibu more often – so many things here now.
Everything looks fine but i find the Bakso a little oily, no?
It wasn’t. Night photograophy – reflection of the lights.
All the foods are so tempting…
Not bad, not bad at all…all the stuff here.
Won’t it be very inconvenient for the time being that he stays in the isolated place…
Just hope it is only temporary…
wow! the bakso looks yum yum!
It was quite good, first time trying.
Oh no…really poor guy. 1st day arrived oledi start working edi. Summore his staying place so far away T_T
Yup! Hope he finds a nicer place nearer to town.
Oh..poor guy. But he is lucky to have you and Melissa. Wow, there are lots to eat at night. One will certainly never go hungry at night in SIbu.
Yup, the boy calls Sibu a food haven – no wonder I always share photos on food on Facebook and blog about it all the time.
That poor boy is lucky to have a good samaritan like you around. That’s what friends are for, rite? You will be blessed abundantly for your kindness. The bakso and satay looks good. Don’t take too much of the satay cos you will be eating the charcoal ash too.
I certainly hope so. Ya…I seldom eat satay – only once in a blue moon. They open late and I would have had dinner already.
Lucky boy had you to his rescue. I love a good pecel lele. In fact had some last week during an Asian Street Food review.
The one here is nice. My daughter likes it too.
Thank goodness he is a man… if a young lady like my girl is transferred to a faraway village, I think she would have resigned the very next day.. or perhaps, I would have to go and stay with her till she settles down.. hahahaa…
No lah! You will be surprised… Must learn to let them go – let them handle their problems themselves – all part of growing up.
He must be relieved that he has you to help him out. It must be very stressful if he had to do this all by himself. God bless you, Arthur!
Well, at least, he has us around – not going out into the middle of nowhere with nobody familiar to help him out.
Lucky he has you to help him a bit.
Poor fella. They didn’t give him a chance to take a breather. After all, he’s in a new place. Let him at least settle down first. 😦
Yes, so very inconsiderate. After coming so far…and not very concerned about his welfare, it seems. Should at least give him time and make sure he gets to eat.
oooo, so cute, that stuffed octopus doll at the takoyaki stand 😀
Doll? What doll?
ooo so cute, that stuffed octopus doll at the takoyaki stand! 😀
Ahhhh!!!! There IS a doll! You are so observant! LOL!!!
Ooo, so cute, the stuffed octopus doll at the takoyaki stand! 😀
Ya…it certainly is so very cute!
so cute, that stuffed octopus doll at the takoyaki stand! 😀
p.s. sorry if this comment keeps coming as a duplicate, but my comments on wordpress today don’t seem to get saved. maybe a technical bug or glitch on my side 😀
Yup! All went to spam… Dunno why.
so nice of you to help this boy… you have a good heart! 🙂
looks like there is quite a nice choice of Indonesia food there…
Yes, pretty nice, I would say. I always believe that what you give, thus you will receive. Do good things for others and others will do the same for you…or at least, God is all-seeing and all-knowing, that’s more than enough.
that pacel pepe looks good! so cheap too
It’s nice…especially the keli…and the sambal…and the rice.
Bandong! Yes, my favourite hang out place before i came to KL. almost 3/4 nights will be there. tsk tsk tsk, it was those day.
Ok, this round when Cruz crave for his satay, i know where to bring him to. I like bakso and i want to try that pecel too, look interesting.
Ya, see when we can drop by there to try more of the food there. 😉
He is lucky to have met u. At least, there is someone bringing him to eat and look around the town.
Satay at RM0.50 only ! That’s very cheap ! The satay selling around my area cost RM0.80 – RM0.90.
Adoi!!! And I thought it’s getting more and more expensive. Used to be 3 for RM1, and then 5 for RM2.00 and now, it’s 50 sen each. 😦
The satay man quite handsome, ya?.. Indian or Bangla? The satay look not bad at all and pretty cheap too. Thank god that the boy has you to help him.
Hah!!! I wonder who would be the first to mention that. Mamak, I guess…and probably not from Sibu. Many West Malaysians coming over to do business here. Ya, I’m sure you would do the same if it had been Melissa in Auckland – we are so blessed to have friends like you and we try to be the same for others as well. What goes around comes around.
I love bakso! There’s this tennis sized bakso in Indonesia (and it’s also starting to get popular in KL) – huge tennis ball sized bakso and the inside is sometimes a bit rare (cut into four segments, but not all the way through, for it to cook).
KIV the satay stall? Keep I(something) V(something?
Learning a new word! 😀
The ones here like ping pong balls…and thank goodness they’re all very well-cooked.
KIV ( Keep In View) I reckon…
I want satay!
Satay, eat there! Go Kajang. Don’t eat here! Mush nice! Take my word for it!
Oh! Keep In View! Thanks! 🙂
I feel like eating satay also.
Take her to Kajang – they’ve such nice ones there.
god still bless him with people to rely on,
god bless you suituapui!
Thank you.
anyway i’d rather have that not so good beef balls than catfish haha
i’m just not into fishes ahaha
I love cat fish. My girl too. Very nice.
Terengganu people very tough one… Haa! Else how u think I survive in da jungle… Teku is somewhere old airport? And in jkt, they oso have bakso with full hardboiled egg in it, so can imagine how big it is… Hmmm… Satay looks good…
Better satay in Indon, I’m sure…and bakso too. No worries! I think he’s from a kampung back home so he should get on pretty ok in one here – should be quite used to it.
Arthur, I’ve cooked something nice from the mushroom recipe that you told me… Please have a look k.
Good night.
Oooo…that sure looks good!
STP, you are always the best host in SIBU.
No lah…just doing what I can to help.
Hi Arthur, I remember you posted this http://www.gallacoffee.co.uk/acatalog/tescoma-paloma.html. which was a gift from KK. Would you be able to share with me on which shop to get this item? I’m interested. TQ.
A shop in Suria KK in Kota Kinabalu, I understand. I hear it’s a Suria KLCC wannabe…and isn’t very successful at that. Wouldn’t know the exact shop as my cousin bought it for me.
adoi…no wonder la that night “someone” bising wanna eat satay…rupa rupa saw it here…
Who? Who? WKS kah? LOL!!!!!