Please don’t…

If ever there is anyone coming over from Kuching or going there for whatever reason and is thinking of getting me this…

…please don’t!

Yes, it IS very nice…and I even find the pictures on the box…

…very cute and attractive.

The cake…

…has that rich buttery fragrance and the texture is just right. So why am I telling everyone not to get it for me? Well, I heard that it was selling for around RM8.00 and now the price has gone up to well over RM10.00!!! People keep complaining about the rising prices of things and blaming it on this and that and yet, ironically, I see many who would be more than willing to fork out their money for stuff that does not come cheap (and even queue for it some more!!!). Personally, if anything gets a little too pricey, I would rather go without – we will not die from not eating it, that’s for sure.

Anyway, back to the cake, we have a bakery here on the other side of town that sells very nice cakes and other things as well. The curry puffs were RM1.00 each and you buy 10, you get one free. Then, it went up to RM1.10…and now it is RM1.20. Well, you can jack up your prices according to your whims and fancies, that’s your prerogative – I’ve stopped buying. Now, the thing is their butter cakes are just as nice (and some say theirs are even nicer) and they’re selling them for only RM5.00 a loaf. Maybe it is a little smaller but I am pretty certain that it is not very much so. Considering that this one from Kuching is so VERY expensive, I do appreciate your kind thoughts and generosity but no, thank you, folks.

I got this one from my good friend, Lim, who came back the following night after his working trip to Kuching. He also got me these very nice sio bee…

…and as you can see, theirs are different from our Sibu Foochow-style ones…

…which have a lot more skin and at times, you would find some chopped bits of carrot on top…

…and besides, the filling is different. The Sibu ones would have sengkuang/mangkuang (turnip) and minced meat while the Kuching ones have mostly meat…

The quality varies according to the ratio of sengkuang and meat in the Sibu ones…and also the quality of the meat in both. Some are mostly fat and worse, they would add flour, probably to cut cost or what, I wouldn’t know. Then, of course, there would be the differences in the standard recipes between places – some may like the ones here, others may prefer the ones there. That, I suppose, is a matter of personal taste and choice – to each his own.

These, that my friend got for me, were very very nice…thank you so much, Lim, and thanks for the cake some more. Your thoughtfulness is indeed very much appreciated but please do not trouble yourself in future – rushing here and there in between your work and meeting and what not. Been there, done that…and especially when I did not have the transport to go around and would not want to trouble any of the locals, I would just grab a pack of Famous Amos at the airport while waiting for my flight…and no, no!!! No Famous Amos either, thank you. They sure do not come cheap, that I know! Tsk! Tsk!