Tag Archives: sarawak

Kuching 2015 : Where to Eat

Posted in Everyday Life, Leisure & Travel by

Here’s the thing about being in your hometown. I just tend to stick to something I’m familiar with and less adventurous. However, this should get you started on anybody’s culinary adventure.

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RUMAH HIJAU (24A-24D, Jalan Rubber,93400 Kuching, Sarawak) 

The risk of stumbling into ex-colleagues are there but hey.. it is a good moment to catch up. We had to visit the place twice because we were actually aiming for 2 dishes – The briyani ayam madu and the pisang chocolate cheese pancake. Sadly, these must-try dishes are only available on weekends. So plan your trips wisely.

They also offer Nasi Ayam Penyet, Penang laksa and other forms of roti.

KETS KITCHEN (Lee Ling Commercial Centre (Lorong Lee Ling 1B), 93050 Kuching, Sarawak)

Perhaps going there for brunch is not really a good idea as most vendors have not opened their stall. But thank god the mi kolok is there.

Other mentions would include : Kueytieaw basah (udang), Laksa Sarawak, Nasi goreng daging.

KOPI O KORNER (No. 139B, Bangunan MARA, Jalan Satok, 93400 Kuching, Sarawak)

This place serves a lot of choices of breakfast and lunch. Every year we come to this place without fail as the place is clean and service is quick. It can be a bit expensive to frequent to everybody but the food is worth it. We had the MI Kampua Special and the famous 3 layer tea.

Other dishes you may want to try include Mee Jawa Special, Mi Pok (its not pork mind you) and of course the Laksa Sarawak.

SINGAPORE CHICKEN RICE (EXPRESS) (Jalan Rubber (Lot 476-477, Sect.10 KTLD), 93400 Kuching, Sarawak)

Our latest visit is a tad disappointing. We used to adore the Steamed chicken rice set but this time the chicken looked and smell old. Even the Midin Goreng Belacan tasted odd. I had the ‘new dish’ which is called Corn Soup. It turned out to be a normal fishball soup with sprinkles of corn and what looked like leftovers of carrot slices and lettuces. Not to recommend. The only thing that has the ol’ same aura of greatness to it was the 3 layered iced tea.

MADAM TANG’S LAKSA ( THE SPRING )

I barely recognised the suffocating ‘makeover’ to Madam Tang’s Laksa. Prior to the food court in The Spring Mall being renovated and standardized, this particular eatery had its logo and all put up big and high enough for people to see from afar. Now, I had to literally ask the generalized LAKSA STALL ‘are you previously Madam Tang?

To which the cashier happily replied ‘AOK”

The LAKSA SARAWAK was price-y but the taste was worth it. I am willing to shut one eye as I paid RM7.50 for a bowl of its normal laksa.

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Of course, there are other places once should try like TOP SPOT seafood centre, Teh Tarik Kafe, MOM’s LAksa, Bla Bla Bla cafe, Sambal Planet etc.. we just did not have enough time. HUHU..

Kuching 2015 : Places of interest

Posted in Everyday Life, Leisure & Travel by

Coming back to Kuching playing tourist was fun. I have difficulty telling my colleagues of what they could expect from their visits to Sarawak. Kuching especially, as I feel that it is a place NOT for shopping but more of a place to discover Nature and Culture. Depending on what you’re looking for actually.

I used to go back to Kuching during EId. That is the time when you see Kuching become so vibrant and festive as people wear their nicest and most colourful clothes to the mall or to the movies.

This year around our little family decided to explore more of our hometown. Near Gawai season. Here are a few places to name a few.

MATANG FAMILY PARK

The admission fee was cheap for Mykad holders. Only RM 4.00/pax and visitors get to spend their time at the park and bathe in the waterfall or BBQ-ing for as long as they wish. Bring an extra pair of clothes. There is no dress code but please do not skinny-dip.

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Hazeeq was still afraid to be in the waters but he enjoyed his imaginary fishing. Going there in the early hours of the day was serene. The water was cold, the sun itself had this nice warmth to it. I think its a good place for locals especially to just allow themselves to immerse in the beauty of the place and enjoy what Mother Nature brings.

We did not go to Bako National Park this time. I went there some time ago during houseman-ship. It is a boat ride away from the mainland and the trekking paths are more ‘adventurous’ and scenes more interesting. I would recommend it to more avid hikers.

Gunung Santubong is also nearby. An hour away depends on where you live. heard that they’re introducing new things at the Damai Resort – so that should be equally fun as well.

CAT MUSEUM

Located withing the Petra Jaya vicinity, the museum is located in the DBKU administrative building up a majestic little hill. Admission is FREE but visitors will be charged for the cameras/ phones with camera they bring in at RM3/each.

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It is basically a museum that collects everything there  is about cats and elaborate on history, popular culture, superstitious beliefs and many more. It is astonishing at how capable they are in making such a cute museum just to tell us about cats. Hazeeq had a grand time there as he posed with whatever big cats he can. Well.. the parents too!!

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KAMPUNG GERSIK

This is the popular village that houses the famous Sarawak layered cakes. They have Dayang Salhah, Mira Cake House and D’Nona to name a few. They can pack our cakes nicely and neatly in a box safe for flight handling. The strips of cakes naturally would cost between RM 10 – RM 25. They have the dry and wet layered cakes and most of them are colorful as much as they taste heavenly. They make good gifts to inlaws. He he.

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MAIN BAZAAR/WATERFRONT

This is a very beautiful strip along Sungai Sarawak especially at nights. Apart from boat cruises and , if fancy is not your middle name  – they also have the Bot Penambang where you pay a very small fee to get across the river. For fun. And perhaps pay a visit to Kampung Boyan for the local food, Kampung Gersik for the layered cakes or visit Fort Margherita.

This is also a good place to get souvenirs –  I bought my keychains, fridge magnets, songket sarawak and pua kumbu there at  a very reasonable price. The locals are more than happy to help wrap them up for you – again safe for flight.

KUBAH RIA/PASAR MALAM

Sometime ago, this particular market was known as Pasar Satok because it was located at Satok. Now that they have relocated – it is more known as Kubah Ria Market. As any other market, we have all the wet and dry goods and this was where I hunted for my Laksa Sarawak paste, the powdered spice for my Bubur Pedas and all sorts.  They also sell those rare vegetables you don’t see in the markets at tanah semenanjung such as Sayur Midin, Dabai and Terung Asam.

Its a good place to see what people eat. Who knows if you might come across exotic finds such as the crawling Ulat Sago.

So these were the places we went during our stay. Of course other honorable mentions include The Sarawak Cultural Village, Orchid Farm, Chinese Museum, Jalan Masjid India (Carpentar Street) and Semenggoh Wildlife Centre (orang utan)

If you were to visit outside Kuching, thats where you’ll find The Niah Cave, MULU Cave and Dolphin Sighting places. Do come by to Sarawak – it is an interesting world of nature and culture. Next up, Food glorious food.

Kuching 2015 : 56 Hotel

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I chose 56 hotel primarily because it is within my budget for a long stay. It is located in town with nearby 2 shopping malls and plenty of other small eating outlets. Initially it was a choice between the Lime Tree Hotel and this one but I ended up choosing 56 hotel because its 8km from the wedding venue I was supposed to attend.

56 hotel rated themselves as a 3 star hotel. I agree. Any room without a mini fridge is a 3 star hotel.

But it has a few plus points;

Breakfast like a little- King

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There should be something for everybody especially for kids. I am not hoping for 12 different pastries for breakfast or 19 types of fruits in a salad. Variety is the key even though its a choice between ‘two’. Throughout my 5 day stay, I get to sample food like Nasi Goreng Dabai, Nasi Lemak, Mi Kantonis, croissants, koko krunch, porridge… with fruit juice and hot beverages. Needless to say, it was a great start everyday as we fill up our tanks early on. The selection is admirable for a 3 star hotel like this one. I praise them for the effort and hopefully they would keep it up.

In house toiletries

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.. including self-embossed towels! Although we bring our own shower gels, it is always nice to have new ones to try – be it a shower cap or a cotton bud. I also loved their prompt housekeeping – very fast, efficient and the room always smells nice. Crumbs swept away, pillows and mattress fluffed up for another snooze fest at night after a tiring day. They also earned brownie points by providing an in room kettle – very important for parents with children who still drinks formula milk. As for the complimentary beverages … well well.. thank you very much for replenishing them without fail daily.

Location

Not that we were planning to shop at the malls or anything -but having not only one, but two shopping complexes in less than 5 KM radius of each other is a delight. Food seems so nearby and it does provide an avenue for a short brisk walk to get rid of the extra calories. These malls are The Spring and One City Mall. All within ‘free hotel shuttle distance’. Which brings to my next point …

Shuttle Service

56 hotel provides free shuttle service to these 2 malls and also airport transfer  – on allocated hours. I did not use the service myself but I suppose you could always make arrangements at the front desk.

I made my booking through Agoda.com. The website has great deals on Fridays especially to members and the membership is FREE. As long as you have a safe and fast internet connection, the online booking process should be without hiccoughs. I paid a total of RM 538.44 for the 5D4N stay in Kuching.

Our little family would like to thank 56 Hotel for the wonderful hospitality. Hope to see them again soon.

My next entries will be about places we eat and places we went. Cheerios..

KUCHING 2015 : A brief itinerary

Posted in Good Things, Leisure & Travel by

This week should be a good time to catch up on the journal-ling of my trip to Kuching – my hometown. As this is a yearly trip, I decided to take advantage of my waran hence we traveled as a WPUA customer of #airasia. This means Hot Seats, Free 40 KG baggage each, free 20 KG sports equipment, hot meals with a snack box.

We stayed overnight at my parents house and left early the next morning to Putrajaya Sentral to leave our car there. The overnight parking at Putrajaya Sentral is so much cheaper than the ones they have at the airport. Of course, security is a concern but one just has to pray hard.

Then as usual we took the KL Transit Train and voila within 20 minutes we were already at KLIA2.

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Checking in was a breeze as a WPUA customer. The queue was shorter to begin with. Thankfully, there were no flight delays and the flight attendants were friendly and accommodating despite a full plane since Gawai is just around the corner – what else could I wish for.

I leave you with my itinerary. A brief account of what we did during our stay there. Its different when you travel to a city as a tourist/traveler as opposed to someone who originates from there. We look for different experiences and things. Perhaps you could at least get an idea of where to start.

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More stories to come.

Raya 2014 : Salam-salam, jalan-jalan, kenal-kenal, makan-makan …

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How do you spend your first day of Eid? 

After the Eid prayers and breakfast, we’d usually start the day with a formal salam-salam ceremony. My parents (who looked like royalty this Eid with their yellow outfit) would sit and ‘bestow’ forgiveness and money to their ungrateful, degil children. Hehe.

Mr Husband finds this ritual kind of humorous as this was his 2nd time having to again, salam and cium lutut. Even Hazeeq could not escape this adat. 

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Then, a couple picture with the royals. With a few selfies along the way.

 

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Later, a mini convoy to our relatives houses for their food and famous layer cakes. My kid has yet to understand the joy of duit raya but that did not stop him from making a collection from the elders and stuffing the envelopes in his little pocket.

Upon bringing Hazeeq berjarah, I learnt of an old adat as well. Adat sambut anak sulung. Intrigued by its name, I asked Father what it was. He said old folks believe that if you bring any eldest child of the family (anak sulung) to any house for the first time, you should spray him or her with perfume and such. This is to prevent the living spirits in the house from befriending and attaching themselves to that young sulung child and cause mischief. Itu kata orang2 tua lah. The good thing is Hazeeq smelled nice for the whole day. He he.

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Highlight of Raya 2014 was when we visited another aunt the following day, who was staying at the house Mr Husband and I rented when we first got married. We couldn’t resist taking a quick picture to wrap up the Raya. Smile.. KImchi!

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