24 hours…

My trip to Kuching (and Serian) stretched over 24 hours – in fact, I took the same flight I took to fly over to Kuching on Monday evening back to Sibu the following day.

On Tuesday morning, I had breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant – The Eatery…

It was just the usual stuff one would expect to see at any buffet breakfast at any hotel of this class. The fried rice wasn’t anything to shout about – I think mine would be nicer…and their nasi lemak could use a little bit more santan to add to the richness of the rice and the fried noodles were extremely salty. I must say that this was most disappointing as considering that this place has swept quite a number of awards, if I’m not mistaken, I certainly would expect a lot better.

Another bone that I would have to pick where this place was concerned would be their coffee. It was so weak that it was quite tasteless, almost like plain water. I posted a comment on this on their Facebook page when they proudly showed off their colourful mugs – what is the point if they look nice and pretty when the coffee sucks big time? The beef rendang that morning was really very very nice though, so well done – very tender and absolutely delicious…but I only took a bit of it.

Soon after I had had my fill, my cousin came and drove me to Serian and we came back at around noon. Initially, she wanted to take me to some places in the city for lunch but we were caught in some very heavy traffic along the way and if I did not check out of the hotel by 2.00 p.m. – they extended it for me, thankfully, I would be charged for extended stay.  In the end, not wanting to be caught in some horrendous jam, we just dropped by the Expert Food Court @ RH Plaza for convenience sake – it is right across the road from the hotel and that was where I had the beef noodles the night before.

I had the Kuching kolo mee…

…from this stall…

…and I would say it was very nice, nicer than the one that I had before at another food court in that same area.

I also ordered the seafood soup…

…which was nice too but then again, I always have this weakness for clear soups.

My cousin had these claypot noodles from another stall…

…but I would not know whether it was any good as I did not get to try.

After that quick lunch, I went back to the hotel, bathed and packed and checked out…and waited for another cousin to pick me up and take me to the airport. It so happened that she was coming to Sibu that very evening and I had promised to meet her upon arrival and go for dinner…but suddenly, I had to fly over to Kuching and for this reason, staying on for a day or two was totally out of the question. I booked myself on that same flight she was taking…and by evening, Tuesday, I was back in Sibu already.

Between the two…

In my previous post, I mentioned that I stayed here…

…when I went over to Kuching over a week ago.

After checking in, I had my bath…and since I was not feeling sleepy, I decided to cross over to the other side of the road and browse around the food stalls there. I wasn’t exactly hungry but when I chanced upon this stall…

…I decided there and then that I just had to eat it!

As far back as in the 70’s, we would make the beeline to The Open Air Market to eat this and it was our favourite all those years. The last time I had it there, I thought it was not good at all and I never bothered going back there again. Since they had a stall here, I thought I might as well give it a try…for old times’ sake.

I must say that I liked how the guy wore a mask while he was cooking – that certainly was very hygienic and any effort thus inclined should be given due appreciation. This was what I had…

…the mee kosong (plain noodles), RM2.50…

…and the mixed soup, RM6.50)…

Mixed? But there wasn’t much else other than the meat in that with a whole lot of taugeh (bean sprouts) underneath!

As they say, the test of the pudding is in the eating…and unfortunately, I did not think it was nice. Yes, it was edible…but I could not understand why or how we could love it so much during those long gone days. Perhaps, it was nicer then, I wouldn’t know – I can’t remember now.

A cousin of mine from Kuching was in Sibu last week and she was not a fan of those either – she thought they were grossly over-rated and I took her here to try our version of the beef noodles…

…and she liked it a lot!

The kampua wasn’t as dry as usual that morning but still, it was good and there! You can see the tendon and the tripe alongside the meat in their mixed soup here…

…and the last time I took note of the price, it was only RM5.00 for the combo. I am pretty sure it has gone up now but I don’t think it has gone up to as much as RM9.00!!! Of course, the serving here is smaller but there was more than enough (for me) and even the chili dip here was nicer.

Anyway, that night, after I had had that brief walk down memory lane, I called it a day and went back to the hotel…disappointed.

Flying…

So there I was at the Sibu Airport waiting for my flight to Kuching…

After having had a bite to eat at the Sugar Bun outlet there, I proceeded to the departure lounge and sat there prior to the call to board the aircraft.

If you may recall, I mentioned in this post sometime ago how I was put off by how the national carrier, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) handled the boarding procedure when it was time to do so…and how the so-called cheap airline, Air Asia, would do it differently and everything would run so smoothly without any hassle nor any hitch.

Let me show how they would go about it! As soon as the aircraft had landed, we were asked to proceed outside and made to stand and queue in groups accordingly…

Because I had booked my ticket at the last minute, all the cheap ordinary seats were occupied so I had no choice but to grab a hot seat and that was why there I was – right in front!

The others were divided into two other groups – the ones seated in the rows at the back and those in the rows in the front half of the aircraft…

As soon as the plane was ready, we were instructed to proceed accordingly to take our seats in the aircraft…and in no time at all, we were taking off…

…and on our way!

I’m afraid I cannot say the same about the airline ground staff at the Kuching so-called international airport though. To put it mildly, let’s just say that boarding was somewhat messy. It certainly would be  a good idea to emulate what the ground staff in Sibu does and make it the standard practice at all airports. There was no delay and in fact, we arrived EARLY, some 10 minutes ahead of schedule. Wasn’t that great?

My cousin met me upon arrival and she wanted to take me for dinner but I had already eaten so we went for drinks to chat and we also ordered this plate of tomato kway teow (RM8.00)…

…to share. I wanted the Kuching-style noodles, fried till crispy, with the tomato gravy poured over them but this stall that we went to did not serve that.

After that, she dropped me off at the hotel…

…where I would be staying the night prior to making my way to Serian the next morning.

Early…

I went to the airport very early that day to catch my evening flight to Kuching as I wanted to avoid the after-office hours jam at around 5.00 p.m. and my plane would only be leaving at almost 7.00 p.m. While I was waiting, I felt a little hungry so I decided to drop by the airport outlet of our very own Sarawak franchise there…

…for a bite.

Many have told me that their Kano chicken is very nice…

…but everytime I dropped by, I just could not resist ordering their fish sandwich/burger, one whole breadcrumb-coated fish fillet in a hot dog bun with coleslaw and all, that is definitely a class of its own, a cut above all the rest.

Well, this time around, I managed to order that and got one huge chunk of their broasted chicken…

…served with satay sauce. You can have a choice of this or sos pedas (spicy sauce). It was really very very nice and I  would say that I enjoyed it a lot.

It came with their very nice savoury rice…

…which is something like the Malay nasi minyak or the Indian nasi bryani, Melissa’s favourite…with a bit of cucumber pickle…

…by the side. It would have been nicer if they had sliced it a bit more thinly, maybe half the thickness…and I wouldn’t mind a little bit more of that.

This set is priced at RM9.80 which I would admit is not exactly cheap but one saving grace is the fact that all the items are priced exactly the same as their other outlets in the town unlike at all other Malaysian airports in the nation where they would hold their captive customers, those travelling on flights to or from somewhere, to ransom – I once had a plate of nasi lemak for almost RM25.00 a plate at KLIA, believe you me! @#$%^&*!!!

No connection…

I was leaving on the evening flight that day to fly over to Kuching to attend my dear friend’s funeral in Serian the next day and that morning, I was out with my missus to grab a few things for some folks I would be meeting when I went over and we stopped by here for lunch…

It has been around for quite a while now but I had never had the chance to drop by to give it a try. You can eat in air-conditioned comfort in the shoplot on the right if you choose to do so but we did not bother that day as it was a nice cool day.

All this while, I thought it was a spin-off or a branch of the one here as that coffee shop has that exact same name but when I asked the people here, they said that they had no connection whatsoever…

…and from what I gathered, their barbecue specialists came over from West Malaysia. Wow!!! You can even place an order for one whole roasted suckling piglet…

…at RM268.00 each!

The roast pork was very nice…

…and went very well with the belacan (dried prawn paste) dip provided…

I did not really enjoy the roast chicken though…

…as they drowned it with the char siew sauce that I found a little too sweet for my liking and the skin was not really crispy, the way I would have loved it.

The char siew…

…was a bit too fat for me so I was not too impressed. The rice was all right – nicer than most places in town but I would not say it’s the best around…and I would say the same as their stewed eggs…

…as well as I was not fond of its very watery sauce that was rather strong on those spices (star anise).

Their complimentary soup…

…however, was so good unlike the tasteless ones that you would be served elsewhere. They do serve wanton/pian sip and sui jiao here as well and I guess those would be served in this same soup – that is why I have the feeling that they would taste really great. We did not have those that day so I guess I would need to drop by again sometime to try them.

The bill came up to RM26.20, inclusive of two glasses of kopi-o-peng (iced black coffee). At over RM10.00 per person for that, I would think it was kind of expensive but if I’m not wrong, that is quite usual when one goes to this kind of places for a meal like this. Unfortunately, in my honest opinion, I felt that this one was not good enough to make up for the fact…

The last farewell…

It has been a week now since that fateful morning when, at the break of dawn, I received the devastating news of the tragic accident that took the life of one loved so dearly.

His father called me that afternoon and in between sobs, he thanked me and my family for our love and for always taking good care of his son. I told him that I would be at the funeral but he insisted that I should not go as it would be troublesome but nonetheless, there was no question about it. I just had to go. I just had to be there to bid him one last farewell…

It was held at the St Theresa’s Church…

…in his hometown, Serian…

It was a sad sad day for all – those who were not able to be present and all that thronged the parish hall that morning to say goodbye…

He looked very good – like he was sleeping peacefully but the fact remained that we had lost someone so close to our hearts, leaving behind an emptiness that would be impossible to fill ever again.

The school band, of which he was the teacher-in-charge, was there…

…and when they played Amazing Grace, there was not a dry eye in the hall…

…as everyone, even his students, wept uncontrollably. He passed away on Sunday and I heard that all day Monday, his students were lining up at the staff room in his school to leave flowers and messages on his table – they must have loved him so much too…just like me and my family and all his friends.

I flew to Kuching and got a ride to Serian for his funeral but I was not the only one who came from afar. Mohan, who was formerly his colleague in Bintulu and a very close friend, came all the way from Ipoh…and I met someone from Sungai Petani who said that she flew from Penang to KL to Kuching and made her way to the little town. There were many others from all over Sarawak as well and I felt very thankful to those who stopped by to say a few comforting words to me, those who knew us and how we were such great friends – I certainly appreciated that.

It has been a week now – the tears have yet to run dry, the hurt and the pain still remain…and deep in my heart, I know, for sure, that the memory of you, Jimmy, and all the happy moments we shared would live on and on forever in our hearts.

It has been a week now and to this day, I still ask WHY…why, Jimmy, why?

FOOTNOTE:
There will be a special Requiem Mass for Jimmy tomorrow, Monday, the 24th Of February, 2014 at 5.30 p.m. at St Joseph’s Cathedral in Kuching. Those friends and loved ones in the city, do try to show up and pray for the repose of his soul, may he rest in peace.
Thanks.

What you see…

…can trigger a craving at times or at least, this is true in my case and it does not help one bit that my family and friends will share alluring photographs of what they eat on Facebook on a regular basis.

Like the other day, for instance, a cousin of mine in Kuching had this liver and minced meat soup with kway teow and egg…

…and her photograph had everyone drooling like crazy and another cousin went for the same…

…the very next day. It did not come cheap though – RM6.00 and I hear they only got three pieces of liver.

That, of course, got my taste buds working overtime and I could not wait to go for something of the same here. I was out and about early on the morning of Chap Goh Meh to pick up a few things for the steamboat dinner we would be having that night and since we would be having a lot of soup then, I decided to have something dry and dropped by here…

– I have not been to this shop for a while now but I’ve blogged about it before here and here. The rising sun shining in through the back entrance would give you a fair idea as to how early I was.

Well, for RM5.00 at this shop, one would be able to enjoy their kolo mee special…

…and you will get all that liver, intestine and everything else.

I did not really count but I was pretty sure there were at least 10 slices of the liver and just as many bits of intestine in it…

…and a whole lot of noodles as well…

…in one bowl. If you’re not a big eater, perhaps you can share with a friend…or tapao the rest when you’re already filled to the brim.

I did hear people grumbling that the old lady is not very consistent and at times, what she dishes out may not be as nice but luckily, what I had that morning…

…was very very good. The main complaint would be the fact that the noodles are, at times, overcooked and a bit too soft or soggy and will not be so nice. I guess if one tells her when ordering not to cook the noodles too long, this may be avoided.

No, if you’re wondering whether this is anything like the best kolo mee one would find in Kuching, I would say that it does not come across to me like one of those nor is it like any of the kampua noodles in town. Let’s just say that it is in a class of its own…and it is certainly nice enough for me to want to go and enjoy it again and again and again.

Another round…

I was here before…but I had not had the chance to drop by again for another round of what they had in store till last Saturday night after the sunset service in church.

Of course, we ordered the kway teow kerang to share – the fried flat rice noodles with cockles (RM6.00)…

…that we enjoyed so much the first time around. It did not look quite as good this time nor did it taste as great but it was still very good. I do hope that they would be more consistent and careful with their quality control so that each time, they dish this out it would be as good as any other time.

I also ordered the ayam bakar (grilled chicken), RM8.00…

…that my missus had the last time around. It came with rice and this lovely sambal and ulam by the side…

I must say that I enjoyed that very much and wouldn’t mind having that again the next time I drop by.

We also ordered these dumplings to try (a set of 12 pieces for RM9.00) …

…from the stall next to this one – I understand it is run by some lady from China married to a local, and I was glad to find out that she could speak English unlike many of the locals around here these days. The dumplings were very nice…and Melissa felt they were nicer than any that she had had elsewhere in town.

The pan-grilled pies (RM9.00 for a set of 4)…

…were nice too, two with chicken filling…

…and the other two with beef…

My nephew, working in Shanghai, was home for Chinese New Year and when he dropped by my place, he was telling me about things in China…and how in the suburban towns in the shops selling food, they do not sell drinks. However, they would always serve “chin th’ng” (clear soup) with the orders for everyone to drink. Maybe it was in keeping with that practice that we were given this bowl of soup…

…that night.

However, it wasn’t all good that night as I ordered BLACK coffee, iced and this was what I got…

That was definitely not black but I would not complain – considering that it was only RM1.00 a glass – a lot cheaper than at the coffee shops so I would just let it pass…and based on what I was served alone, I don’t think I would order coffee should I drop by here again, if you get what I mean.

Well, at least the food is good and the place is very nice – very pleasant and comfortable, great for getting together with friends to relax and chat the night away. I, for one, wouldn’t mind dropping by again should I get the chance…

In broad daylight…

I love coming here in the daytime – it opens at around noon for lunch and stays open till 2.30 p.m. but it is closed on Mondays.

Unlike when I drop by for dinner in the evenings, I can get to see all the nice decor in broad daylight…

…and take photographs of them…

I understand that the boss of this place got these plants…

…from the boss here, the one that needs no introduction anymore when it comes to unique, exotic decor. Besides, I would be able to take more flattering snapshots of the food served as well.

Personally, I do think it would have been a very nice place to dine…

…if it had not been so dark…plus they could do away with the colourful twinkling lights that make the place look kind of tacky and I get put off by the giant screen tv and all that noise blaring from the speakers all around…but perhaps, they have a reason – maybe they get a lot of people coming everytime there is a live telecast of some football match somewhere in the country or in the world…and one look at me will tell you that I am not into those things. I would prefer some peace and quiet and maybe a little bit of soothing relaxing songs or music in the background.

Anyway, one thing that cannot be disputed is the fact that the food here is great and that day, my missus had this seafood curry (RM15.00)…

…from their Indonesian menu. If you love the fish head curry here, I can tell you that this tastes something like that and is just as nice…or perhaps even nicer!

To be frank, we were not all that impressed when it was served…

…but it was love at first sip – the curry gravy was so so so good! They had all kinds of stuff in the curry too – other than the fish fillet, there were prawns, squid, bamboo/razor clams, mussels and all the rest. If you have only one chance to drop by this place and you can pick only one thing from their menus, I would suggest that you pick this one. It is that good, believe you me!

We also had these tauhu isi (stuffed tofu), RM10.00 for a set of 5…

…also from their Indonesian menu and though I would say it was very nice, great for a light meal…

…I can’t say I was impressed by the fried bihun-like filling inside. Perhaps that is traditionally Indonesian and most of the time, when it comes to anything with filling here, we’d get to see a lot of meat…or vegetables.

Melissa insisted on sticking to her favourite – the lamb bryani (RM17.00)…

…and she said that the rice was much nicer than the last time she had this here. The rice had a darker shade of yellow and she could sense a lot of flavours in it…

In other words, it tasted much nicer now and if I’m not mistaken, the North Indian chef that they have now is different from the one that they started off with initially when they first opened.

I decided to try the garlic naan with butter (RM5.00)…

…and to go with it, I chose the chicken masala with butter (RM10.00)…

I did not really think it was all that great. I think I enjoyed their plain naan more and I would prefer their Indian butter chicken curry that I had once before.

All in all, that certainly was a delightful lunch for the three of us and rest assured that I would be going back there again and again to try more of the many items they have on their menus – Indian and Indonesian…but if you’re thinking of doing the same, do take note that the North Indian chef will be taking his annual leave in March and would be going home then so throughout that entire month, the Indian delights will not be available. Never mind! They do have some very nice choices on their Indonesian menu too so that will not be much of a problem really. Go ahead! Do drop by and give it a try!

Just in time…

Melissa came home on Friday afternoon…just in time for the Chap Goh Meh (15th Night) dinner to mark the end of the fortnight-long festivities to usher in the Year of the Horse.

Again, we just had something simple – steamboat…

…for the three of us.

My missus made some fish balls and meat balls and I bought some beef balls from a  supermarket here and some quail eggs and we still had some of the bamboo clams that I bought for Chinese New Year and the giant freshwater prawns…

…from my brother-in-law in Bintulu.

They say the head is the bad part – where all the cholesterol is but I must say that it is the most delicious…

…with all that yummy gooey stuff in it. Other than those, we also had some fish maw, fresh baby corn, mushrooms and green vegetables – that was all.

I also made this simple salad with some leftover cabbage…

…and bits of hard-boiled egg, boiled prawns, sliced shallots and croutons that I made from a loaf of bread that I had, stuffed inside the fridge and nobody seemed to want to eat it.

With our traditional family salad dressing, it certainly tasted great…

…and we finished the whole lot in no time at all.

So, that was it for another year – around this time next year, the Horse would be galloping away, giving way to the next animal in the Chinese zodiac – the Goat/Sheep.