Don’t ask…

Don’t ask how much these cost…

…if your heart is not strong enough to take it.

I’ve blogged about their sausages…

…here…and yes, they were very nice indeed. Those were over RM27.00 for 8 at the time but I did mention then that prices might range from over RM30 to RM40, depending on the type/flavour.

Well, my girl and I went loitering around one of the hypermarts in town the other day. Big mistake! In Hokkien, the old folks always say, “Bak chiew ching phai!” (Eyes are very bad) as we tend to be tempted to buy what we see. The best thing, of course, is to just stay at home so we do not see and we will not end up buying anything.

Anyway, my girl spotted them first and I asked if she would like to try them and since that was what she wanted, of course, I bought them for her…without checking the price. As soon as we got home, she said she wanted it for dinner so we popped one into the oven…

…and let it bake for an hour. Wowwwwww!!!! The fragrance filled the whole house! It was so very nice…and even before eating it, we could tell that it was going to be really very good.

Finally, it was done…

…and when my girl cut into it…

…we found that it was all meat in the filling and there was so much of it too! We were kind of wishing they had chunks of meat inside instead of just minced and perhaps, they could have mushrooms too. Nonetheless, it was really very good, as good as the awesome smell we had to endure while it was baking. I don’t know if they have other varieties but we saw two others here – the chicken with mushroom and leek and the black pepper.

Ok, brace yourselves for a shock! I asked my girl if she took note of the price and she said it was…over RM30!!! *faints* That means that one pie like that is over RM15.00. Ok, it was really very nice, nicer than some of the stuff they dish out at some western joints here that may cost a lot more even…and besides, I would think it is perfectly all right to indulge in something like this once in a very long while. After all, we do deserve to pamper ourselves with some really very special treats sometimes, don’t we?

No, I did not help myself to the other one. Since she liked it so much and it truly was very nice, I just let her keep it for another day when she would feel like having it again. I remember when I was young, everytime we had chicken, my brother and I would get a drumstick each and my father would have the wings and then we would go on to the thigh…while my mum had the neck and the parson’s nose (butt) and most of the breast meat. At the time, I thought she actually loved those parts, silly me, so young and innocent…but thinking about it now, it is pretty obvious that it was all because she wanted us to have the best and it gave her such joy to see us eating and enjoying what she had cooked for us – that, I must say, is a true reflection of a parent’s sincere love and sacrifice for the family…and now, it is my turn to do the same.

Incidentally, at this juncture, I would just like to add this little bit to say thank you so very much to my cousin, Yvette, from Perth in Australia for the bag of goodies…

…that she gave to me when she came to town. It sure was lovely to see you again…and nice meeting your hubs and sister-in-law too. All the best & God bless till the next time we see one another again. Cheers, all!

Meet me there…

I had breakfast already that morning when I received word from Annie inviting me to meet her and her family here but I went anyway. I reckoned I could just sit around to chat and catch up since I had not seen them for quite a while now.

Annie had this…

…but she opted for hung ngang (big bihun) instead of the regular mee sua (thread/string noodles). She did let me try a bit and I thought it was all right but could do with a little bit more ginger and ang chiew (red wine). Talking about the wine, they certainly had a lot in this liver soup…

…that Annie also had. Nice, very nice!

The mum was grumbling about the kids getting up so late and said that she was so very hungry already. Ahhhhh!!!! That is something I am very familiar with. Kids these days love to sleep in…and wake up mid-morning or some, even later than that! She had this rice set…

…that was supposed to come with beef rendang but no, that wasn’t rendang. It was our Sarawak own daging masak hitam (meat, black-cooked). I tried a bit and I would say it was very nice – they do it quite well here, it seems.

Annie’s brother ordered these ham and egg sandwiches…

I saw a friend sharing a photograph of these on Facebook and I had been wanting to drop by to try. I love sandwiches! Somehow or other, I never did but that morning, I did have one and yes, it was good. They were definitely nicer than this egg and mayo toast…

…that Annie’s mum ordered but somehow or other, she did not eat any. I had to eat most of that and it was all right – I would prefer it with just egg, minus the mayo.

Annie’s nephew had this…

…and also this…

…and I really envied him because he was so tall and so thin!!! I wonder where all that food went to – if you look at me, you would know right away where all of mine ends up, right in the middle. Tsk! Tsk!

If I remember correctly, one of Annie’s twins also had the American breakfast set but I can’t recall what the other one had. Maybe like me, he just had a bit of this and that including the toasted kompia with minced meat filling…

I did not try that but Annie said it was rather salty.

The kids had these floats though…

…and kids being kids, they sure seemed to enjoy those very much.

It certainly was great getting to see everyone again…

In time…

I always make it a point to be punctual or on time and as far as possible, I would make sure that I would not make it just in time, at the very last minute…or maybe, I am a little bit to the other extreme. I would always give myself ample time so much so that when I had to pick my boys for some competition and I told them I would pick them up at 6.00 a.m., they would remark, “Oh dear!!! We would have to be ready by 5 then!” LOL!!! They knew me so well.

Things happen – we’d never know so I do think it would be best to be prepared. Once, I was sending a cousin of mine to the airport to catch a flight…

…and suddenly, I had a problem with one of my back wheels. The rubber peeled off and all the metal wires and whatever inside came out. I had to call my missus to come in the other car to send my cousin so she would be in time and not miss the flight. In the meantime, I got somebody to come and change and fix the wheel. He said that I had had the wheel for too long and that sometimes would happen.

On another occasion, I was sending my girl to the airport – she was flying back to college. Suddenly, the car refused to budge and I stalled by the roadside. I called an ex-student who was driving a taxi at the time and he came in a jiffy so my girl was able to make it in time. I also called my mechanic and he said that I could drive…very slowly and make my way to his workshop. According to him, there was some blockage and the engine would stop if I exceeded a certain speed so I had to go at  a snail’s pace to get him to fix it.

Of course, there are airlines that would take off earlier…

…or later according to their whims and fancies so one would have to make sure there would be “room to swing the cat” whichever way it might be…and some can be quite notorious for delays and cancellations…

Never mind if there is a delay, I would just wait…and that is why if I am taking connecting flights, I would see that the flights are far apart so that in the case of a delay in the first one, I would not miss the subsequent one.

That was why when I went to New Zealand sometime ago…

…I stopped in Auckland for so many hours just to be sure instead of choosing a flight that would leave much sooner after I had arrived.

Oh yes! There was this time when I went for lunch with my cousins in Kuching and we sat and chatted and forgot about the time completely!!! When we realised  the time, we had to rush to the airport. My cousin said it was all right – she would take a bypass, no jam…and we would be there very quickly but it so happened that that day, they had some road construction works or something and we were held up. I did reach the counter in time – they had started opening the seats to those on waiting list already but since I had a confirmed ticket, they gave my seat back to me. Unfortunately, their baggage check-in had closed already for that flight so I had to carry the luggage with me – thankfully, I did not have a lot. I ran all the way and made it to my seat in the aircraft…

…just in time. I could hear my heart beating so very fast that I was afraid it would just explode!!! I certainly would not want something like that to happen ever again…especially at my age at this point in time! My heart would not be able to take it, I’m sure.

So if ever we have a date and you appear, don’t ask if I have been waiting long, Chances are I would have been there for at least half an hour already or longer but it is perfectly all right. It is just me…and yes, I am very patient. I don’t mind waiting, not in the least…and I am not all that fond of people waiting for me.

Well, my sister-in-law was not in time when she sent these lovely prawn fritters…

…over to my house early the other morning. She had got up to cook them before going to work and she dropped them off at my house on the way but I had already had breakfast…

…feasting on the sausages that I got from my cousin in Australia. I would say she was on time as far as the ladies in the house were concerned though and they were able to enjoy the fritters when they got up…and I did get to enjoy them myself as well later in the day for tea. Hehehehe!!!!

In some small way…

Last Sunday, after the church service in the morning, we stopped by here…

…for brunch, the very popular, often very crowded coffee shop to your right as you go into the Delta Housing Estate here at the extreme end of that sole block of shophouses, a stone’s throw away from the public swimming pool.

My girl had the fried pek koi (white rice cakes)…

…as she had it once before and she liked how they do it here compared to that other place that we went to not too long ago but this time around, she was disappointed as they did not add a bit of those tiny clams in soy sauce that would make a world of difference in the taste. Still, she said it was good but when I tried a bit, I thought it could do with a little bit less msg.

The mum had the zhao chai hung ngang but it was all soup and whatever was inside was not visible so I did not bother to take a photograph of it. Well, she did say that it was not all that great, just all right but they were mighty generous with the zhao chai (preserved vegetables).

I had the beef noodles (RM5.00)…

…from one of the stalls at that shop and I would say that it was quite good but in comparison, I still prefer the one here as the broth is thicker and richer but that one is a bit more expensive, RM6.00 a bowl and the portion is not exactly big, I must say, while I would say this one…

…is good enough and I would not mind having it again especially considering that they gave this bowl…

…of very nice pickled cabbage with the noodles – we get that sometimes as an appetiser at wedding banquets or that kind of grand dinners and I did enjoy it very much.

So give or take a little, this may be good in some small ways if we compare it to the other place…and should we drop by here again, I would not mind having the same.

That day…

My friend, Ryan, asked me where he could buy The Kitchen’s instant kampua noodles as he would be going over to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and he wanted to bring them over to give to his relatives there. It so happened that I was going to get 10 packs for my Singapore friend, Alfred who would be coming later this week – he bought two from the market the last time he was here and loved it so much so he would like some more to take back home to enjoy. I told Ryan I would order for him as well and pass them to him at a convenient time. That was why we met early that day at 8.00 a.m. for breakfast here.

He had the kueh chap…

…which, if I am not wrong, is among the best in town.

I did not want anything too heavy as I already had something when I got up early that morning so I just had the porridge with telur padi (direct translation: rice egg) or what we know better as pidan (皮蛋 ) or century egg…

It was nice and Ryan said that his kueh chap was good too.

I passed the noodles to him and mission accomplished, I headed on home and thank you, Ryan, for picking up the tab for breakfast. That was so sweet of  you.

No sooner had I reached the house than I received word from my good friend, Annie, in KL. She was home with her twins to visit her mum and asked me if I could join them for breakfast. Of course I did not go!!! I already had two breakfasts that morning and I jolly well could not manage a third one. In the end, they went on their own and on the way back, they dropped by my house and Annie gave me these…

Ooooo…the wine-infused lap cheong (Chinese sausages)!!! I had finished all those that she gave me before…and maybe she got the hints I had dropping all over the place. My prayers were answered! Hehehehehe!!!! Once you’ve tried these, you will never go back to those very hard and dry and not nice ones that they sell in the shops, I tell you.

Annie knows my favourite Marks & Spencer’s All Butter Viennese cookies and she got me not one, not two…but THREE packs! Gee!!! She really spoils me, that lady! And other than those, she also got me a pack of yee mee (中文 ), a special type of noodles that they usually use in claypot or sizzling hot plate mee. My cousin in Bintulu sent me some once and I cooked those with egg sauce, à la wan tan hor style and it was very nice. At this point in time, I have not decided yet how I would cook these – maybe I can try the fried noodles, Kuching style with tomato sauce gravy. We’ll see!

Thanks so much, Annie – you are always so thoughtful and so very generous. It sure was nice to see you and your boys again.

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!

All the small things…

My friend from Singapore, Alfred, is coming again next week so the other day, I decided to go back to that stall at the mall here to buy some more of the kacang tumbuk (rolled crushed peanut cake) for him…and then I got word from my good friend, Lim, telling me that he would be going to Kuching the following day and asking me if I could give him a lift to the airport so I decided to send the whole lot to an aunt of mine there through him. On the way home, after dropping him off, I stopped by the mall again. The lady was shocked to see me – she could not believe that I had eaten all that I had bought the previous day! LOL!!!

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I did hear sometime ago that the tau sar peah (bean paste biscuit) from this stall was very nice so I decided to buy some to try. Goodness gracious me! They were so very small…and did not come cheap either – 60 sen each, 10 for RM6.00!!! Nonetheless, I just bought a few to try. I did not buy any of those with or tau sar (black bean paste) as for some reason or other, my missus’ head would go spinning whenever she ate that so she would not touch it with a 10-foot pole.

I got the pek tau sar (white bean paste) ones…

…which were indeed very nice – small, expensive…but nice. The filling was very fine and so smooth…

…and not really sweet. I would say they were a little nicer than the very nice ones that I received not too long ago from my cousin in Miri but theirs were very much bigger, by 25%, at least, I think.

The lady asked me to get the other type that she had as well – she said it was savoury, not sweet so I agreed to grab some of those…

…to sample.

The filling was a shade darker…

…and yes, it was not sweet…or perhaps, very very slightly nor was it really salty either. I would say this one had a perfect balance and was very nice. Somehow it reminded me of the celebrated tambun biscuits in Penang and the surrounding areas up north but the filling was finer and a bit on the moist side, not as dry and on the whole, I would say that I liked this one a lot more.

Will I be buying them again? Well, maybe yes…and maybe no, the only deterrent being the price which I thought was kind of steep for something so small. I would rather go to the shop/stall to the left of the mall, located by the side of the building where they sell all kinds of fritters and stuff. I had bought the fried or koi (yam cake) once before and I thought theirs were really good, nicer than many others around town.

They were selling that at 50 sen each…

– a little cheaper than the small tau sar peah and a bit more substantial in comparison. I bought some for tea that afternoon and it went absolutely well with the homemade hand-pounded chili and garlic dip that I had in the fridge.

These were cheaper – the fried chiew chu koi (tapioca cake)…

…selling at 3 for RM1.00 and yes, they were very nice – not sweet, not hard or rubbery – just right!

That makes two things sold at that shop/stall that I like – I certainly would go back there again to check out what other nice things they have to offer.

A change…

My girl has grown out of instant noodles, probably as a result of an overdose during her undergraduate days. It seems that she does not fancy the texture and the smell or taste of the noodles anymore.

She does not mind bihun (rice vermicelli) though but the problem is we can hardly find any instant ones around these days. At one time, the Taiwan Tung-i brand was very popular but I thought theirs was too peppery and rather strong on the msg. Even the made-in-Kuching Lee Fah instant Sarawak laksa comes with instant noodles these days – they started off with bihun and for some reason or other, they later switched to noodles as well which, I think, should not be the case as Sarawak laksa is always served with bihun, not noodles. Perhaps they can consider having two options for buyers to choose from. As it is, many would buy and use their own and keep the noodles for something else.

Well, it so happened that I spotted this at the supermarket the other day…

…and of course, I wasted no time in grabbing a pack to try. If it turned out nice, that would be something my girl could stock in her quarters at her school to cook and eat for a change as and when necessary.

Inside each packet, there would be the bihun together with three sachets…

…one with the curry paste or whatever, another with the seasoning and the third with the so-called non-dairy creamer which I guess, would be the coconut milk powder.

As what I would always do when cooking instant noodles, I boiled the bihun first, drained it well and put it aside. Then, I boiled some water, cooked the meatballs and seafood cake slices – the added ingredients that I had to go with it. I fished them out of the boiling water and then, added the contents of the sachets. Once done, I poured the gravy over the bihun, arranged the extras on top, garnished with chopped spring onions and daun sup and served…

Oh yes! That morning, I also cooked one hard-boiled egg…

…and I was delighted that it turned out quite perfect, just the way I would like it.

If you noticed, I used “gravy” instead of “soup” because it turned out kind of thick, something a little like what one would find in lor mee, though not as thick but it was definitely not the usual very watery kind of soup.

I tried it and yes, I must say that it was really very nice. No, I could not detect its seribu rasa (a thousand tastes) but it was indeed very tasty, spicy…and not really lemak (rich) which may put off some people after eating a bit, like in the case of those instant white curry noodles…and yes, considering that I did enjoy it, I certainly would have no second thoughts about getting some for my girl…

Oh me oh my…

My cousin in Brisbane, Australia sent me word asking me to buy her some kacang tumbuk (rolled crushed peanut cake) for her. Like I said, we have a very  good one here just like those we had in my good ol’ younger days but as I have mentioned many times in my earlier posts, those would be so difficult to get. Very often, we would just have to make do with these…

…which would be, at best, just ok – cheaper but sweeter and rather lacking in that special peanut fragrance but beggars can’t be choosers.

Well, it so happened that around that time, before the Chinese New Year came around, I happened to see some on sale at the stall…

…at the Medan Mall here, the good ones and of course, I bought some to keep at home. So, I decided to pack them in a tin, put in all the little packets of dehumidifier that I had saved from the packets of mooncake or anything that had those in the vacuum packs…and sealed it tightly to send to my cousin Down Under.

I was at the mall again last week and I saw that the lady had some that day, not many – just a few left so I bought some more for my cousin and repacked everything in a bigger box. I did ask her and she told me that if they are kept in the sealed packs and stored in a cool, dry place, these should last for quite a long time.

Finally, my cousin’s hubby came to town for a few days and I was able to pass them to him to take back to Brisbane…and oh me oh my!!! Just look at all the things that she sent to me through him!!!

During my growing up years, I so loved these Quality Street toffee and chocolates…

The tin was much nicer then, not like the present ones…and I did see this once at a shop at KLIA and I almost had a heart attack. Then, there were also the cheese and the raspberry jam…and a HUGE pack of bacon…

…big enough to last one whole year, I’m sure! It looks like the frankfurters are due to expire very soon but I think they should be all right for a little longer if I would just keep them frozen in the freezer. Good grief! AUD2 for that big pack of 12? My! My! That sure is cheap compared to the ones here especially the imported ones – those would cost an arm or a leg and they are not easily available some more in this sleepy little town.

There you have it – all the things that my cousin sent to me, so so so much…

 …for the few miserable packs of peanut cake that I got for her. Wait a minute! You may have spotted that parcel in the photograph, top left and would probably be wondering what was inside…

Curiosity kills the cat, they say but never mind! Let me put you out of your misery and reveal the contents of that mysterious parcel…

Yes, more Tim Tam’s – the Adriano Zumbo range no less…including the new coconut cream variety.  I’ve tried their raspberry white chocolate and it was very very nice – my favourite, besides the red velvet ones…but I’ve yet to try this one that is also new as well – the choc raspberry. Thank goodness the weekend is here and my girl will be home – we can sit down together to enjoy these delights to our hearts’ content!

Thank you so very much to my cousin. It is always my pleasure to get you nice stuff from here – just let me know anytime, no trouble at all…but please, you really do not have to get me so many things – something small, easy to carry (especially when flying), a simple token would be good enough. As they say, it’s the thought that counts.

Go for it…

Yes, one would just have to go for it to achieve one’s dreams.

We have been friends for quite a while now though only in the cyber world or blogosphere and we never got to meet before this. What I knew of him was that he was not given what he wanted but went anyway to do his first degree and when he was 27, he applied again and succeeded this time around so he went and studied medicine in another local university and graduated as a doctor. Then he was sponsored by a local university to pursue a specialist field of study and he just finished that last year. Right now, he is bonded to the aforementioned university and lectures there and he has to go for his clinical practical at a local hospital for six months before being confirmed as a full-fledged neurosurgeon.

Now he comes to Sibu sometimes to conduct examinations for his students and the last time he was here, he commented in my blog that the kampua noodles he had weren’t at all great. Of course, if you do not know where to go and just stopped by those places around the hotel, chances are you will not get to eat any nice ones, much less the best in town. I managed to track him down and got to speak to him but he was busy and we could not get to meet then.

Well, he was back in town and this time, we did manage to go out for dinner together. I took the chance to show him some of the better places in the vicinity of the hotel where he was staying – at least, he would know where to go or where not to go when he would want to venture out on his own.

He said that he would want to go some place to try what would not be available in Kuching so, needless to say, we ended up here…

*Payung Cafe‘s photo on Facebook*

I did not have my camera with me but anyway, we have had enough of the photographs of the things I would order here…again…and again…and again! He enjoyed the Payung rojak a lot and also the mushroom roll…and he thought the otak otak was very nice, nicer than the Johore ones. He said he never tried the Penang ones so he could not say anything about that.

I saw that they had some new items on their menu – the Bangladeshi chicken and the Bangladeshi fish. We tried the former and he said it tasted like Indian curry. Of course, it did – it was Bangladeshi, neighbours. LOL!!! I did not think very much of it though plus it was a little too salty that night and I would prefer the lamb…

*Payung Cafe‘s photo on Facebook*

…that we would usually order and enjoy so much.

For our dessert, I had their durian ice cream…and here was someone who did not like the fruit so I ordered the mango…

*Archive photo*

…for him and he thought it was great.

I went to settle the bill but he was quick in coming after me and insisting that he picked up the tab. Sigh!!! I thought I wanted to give him a treat as he was a guest in town and I was the host. Thank you so much, Simon – I owe you one. Do let me know the next time you’re back in town. Cheers and all the best in your undertakings!!!