Day 5: Sibu - Kuching

Our trip was coming to an end. It was our final morning to be in Sibu. We were to take our morning flight back to Kuching and then from Kuching, to take an evening flight back to Penang.

Knowing that I would be away for a long time until I go back for Chinese New Year, my dad wanted to have breakfast with us. However, due to having breakfast that morning, we were rushing for our flight. Funny how all of us worked together as a team – who went to get the luggage, who went to get the trolley, who went to the check-in counter first and all. No worries. We made it in time, of course.

In Kuching, we went back to the food court we went on the first day in Kuching. We had Sarawak Laksa and gongpia for the last time. Awww, I feel like having them both now!

Knowing I will not have gongpia when I am back in Penang, trust me, I had loads of gongpia that morning. Damn! I am so going to have gongpia when I go back to Sibu.

Before we took our leave, we went to China Town to buy some food and snacks back as souvenir. Kuching does not have much but it has loads of nice snacks and food. We raided a shop and came out with bags of plastic bags.

It was indeed a memorable trip. I really had fun with them and I believe, now that we had travelled together, our bond is definitely stronger and tougher.  Since David is planning for a trip in Sabah, let’s all do it together again!

Day 4: Sibu

What did we do in Sibu for the whole day?

We ate and ate and ate non-stop. Trust me, we did. The friends joined my family and I for breakfast that morning.

We ate original kampua for breakfast.

We ate tomato koay tiaw for breakfast.

We ate soy sauced kampua for breakfast.

We did not stop there though. After sending my family back, I brought the friends out for second round – to one of my favourite places since I was younger.

We had fried noodles and fried noodles soup. Both also my favourite dishes. If I am not wrong, they preferred fried noodles, saying that the yellow noodles in Sarawak are so much different compared to the ones in Penang. I guess they are and that is why I do not fancy fried noodles here at all.

When we returned home, my grandmother prepared home cooked for lunch. Of course I sat down and had lunch. I do not have home cooked meals in Penang, alright? So I just had to eat as much as I can when I am at home.

We went out for food hunting again after we had our rest. I brought them to the famous dian bian hu. It is something we cannot find in Penang as well.

Since I know most of them visit temples, I brought them to Sibu’s oldest temple, Tua Peh Kong.

Took some photos at Pintu Gerbang Sibu before I sent my auntie back home and then came out by ourselves again.

I went back to my primary school and wow, though many years had passed and the school had moved to a new place, the building is still there and I heard a familiar voice. I walked towards where the voice came from and guess who I met?

I kindergarten school teacher! I was 5 years old when she taught me. She taught my older brother too. Then she was my tuition teacher when I was 7 and 8. She did not change at all, still looking the same apart from having shorter hair.

Later, I brought the friends to the park by the Rejang River before we ended the day with the last visit at the night market. I guess they were pretty hooked up with the night market here. It was my very first time to be at night market after I left home for so many years. Crazy, huh?

Day 3: Sibu

It was finally the day to go back Sibu. It was an early flight and boy was I glad that we caught our flight. It was about 30 minutes’ flight and therefore, before the friends could settle down in the aircraft, landing announcement was made.

We were picked up by my parents and baby brother. We went straight to Kanowit because I wanted to visit my maternal grandparents there. I informed the friends earlier and they did not mind following me wherever I had to go. Well, they had no choice but to follow me though.

Once we reached our destination, the first thing to do was to eat! I was so hungry and I had to eat! We went to the regular restaurant to have kampua. Trust me, that restaurant has the best kampua in town after my maternal grandparents stopped selling kampua.

We then went for a second round at another restaurant that we frequent. There we had iced kacang, pangngan with kaya jam and also toast.

Okay, we never stopped eating because when we finally got to my maternal grandparents’ home, my grandmother was already preparing lunch for us. I missed home cooked food so, that was the first home cooked food I had ever since I returned. My friends love it too!

When we finally left Kanowit and back to Sibu, my paternal grandparents had already arranged a dinner to welcome us. Yes, we never stopped eating. That is the beauty of coming back. I always eat non-stop when I am back home. I never went hungry. Not even the slightest chance.

And finally I could introduce the friends milin, one of my top favourites. I do not get to see this in Penang. However, you still can get it in Kuala Lumpur though. I remember I had it in Taman Connaught. I wonder if the restaurant is still there.

After dinner, I brought the friends to night market and Sibu’s shopping mall, Sanyan Tower. Some of the ladies fell in love with apom balik sold there. It is quite different that what you can get in Penang. As for the shopping mall, it certainly cannot be compared to the ones that we have in Penang.

First day had been a satisfactory one. Let’s see how it went for the next day in my next post.

Day 1: Kuching

It was supposed to be an usual annual trip back home to visit my family members. However, it was not the same for this year. I went back with 5 friends of mine. We booked the flight tickets together last year during Air Asia’s promotion. It was not the first time for me to bring my friends back though. The last time I did that was back in 2005. Never would I imagine to be doing the same after 9 years. The only difference was my friends went to Sibu with me too.

My baby brother was already in Kuching. Therefore, he went to the airport to welcome us. Since my parents had moved back to Sibu, we neither have accommodation nor transportation. Therefore, we booked a few rooms at a hostel as well as rented a car from my mother’s friend.

The first thing that we had was Sarawak Laksa. Initially I was a bit worried that they did not like it since Penang was famous with its own Asam Laksa. Fortunately they love it. And now they are missing it. I also ordered gongpia for them to try. Mostly I wanted it but yeah, I wanted to have a taste what gongpia is. I go crazy over it because it is one of my favourite dishes back home.

After we had filled up our stomach with food, we decided to go for some adventure. I wanted to bring them to Semenggoh Wildlife Centre but it was still closed when we reached the place. Therefore, we decided to explore the nearest longhouse.

It was my very first experience to walk on a real longhouse. It was far different from the ones in Sarawak Cultural Village. Of course they no longer use the traditional stairway. Most of the things are modernised.

When it was almost two in the afternoon, we went back to Semenggoh Wildlife Centre to witness some real orang utan. We had to wait for about one hour or more for the feeding period. Fortunately we managed to see a pair of mother and baby orang utan. At least worth the sweat. One of out friends even went to the point of taking off his shirt. The horror.

After a long, tiring afternoon, we resumed our food hunting at night. My baby brother brought to us a place that is famous for its kolo mee, For your information, I am not a kolo mee fan but thanks to this stall, I like kolo mee. Of course if, only if, kolo mee was bought from them.

We continued second round of food hunting nearby where I brought them to taste my top dish, char koay teow tomato. Yes, it sounds weird but it is really good. Not all stalls that sell char koay teow tomato are good. For this, the taste of the tomato was not strong enough.

We ended our first day quite early because we would have a longer day the next day. Stay tuned!

Lovely Sunday!

It has been a long time since I had a lovely Sunday with the boyfriend, with just the two of us. We were supposed to wake up really early in the morning to jog at Botanical Garden. However, since the boyfriend did not get a chance to sleep for all the day for many weeks, I decided not to wake him up when the alarm rang.

When we were finally up by noon time, we went to I Mum Mum Restaurant. A friend of mine had shared with me that their pan mee is really good. Therefore, I decided to hunt for this restaurant. Since none of us had ever been to that restaurant, it was not that easy to locate its location. It was quite hidden in the midst of the flats though but, once you managed to locate it, you knew it was not that difficult at all.

I ordered Pan Mee Soup since it had been my favourite all along, especially the hand-shredded ‘teared’ dough. The soup is really flavourful and believe it or not, for a person who usually waste her food, she finished everything, not even a drop of soup in her bowl. However, the portion is very small which costs RM3.00 only; bigger portion will be RM3.50.

The boyfriend ordered Dry Pan Mee and it is similarly good to my Pan Mee Soup with mine better. It costs RM3.00 which comes with small portion. An advice for those who want to try their pan mee, it is best to order bigger portion. With two glasses of iced Chrysanthemum, the meal only costs us RM8.20 which is superb.

Do take note that I Mum Mum Restaurant opens from 7am to 3pm and they closed every alternate Monday.

After our meal, we decided to head over to Queensbay Mall. We wanted to watch a movie but GSC is not showing Ted so, we turned back to head over to 1st Avenue. Since the next showing was 4.10pm, we had a lot of time to kill. We strolled inside the mall and checked out the event run inside the mall, Model Search.

When we were taking a short break at Old Town White Coffee, we realised that we were going to be late for our movie. The boyfriend was saying ‘We are usually late for movies when we come from home. Can’t believe that we are also late when we are already inside the mall.’ Honestly...

It was a truly good comedy movie with lots of laughter filled the air. Though a few scenes were bring cut out, for example the screenshot above, all the rude words were not being censored. This movie revolves a lonely boy named John who received a large teddy bear for Christmas named Ted. John made a wish against a falling star that his cuddly friend became alive. Funny and touching movie, trust me.

After movie, we headed to Gurney Plaza to join some friends for dinner at Bar-B-Q Plaza before we called it a day. It was somewhat an enjoyable meal and we had a great talk and laugh together. I will be away from Penang for a week so I really enjoyed yesterday and I wished for more to come when I get back.

Food Review: House of KoloMee@D’Piazza Mall Penang

I was told by a friend earlier that there is another restaurant that serves good Sarawakian food in Penang but I had yet to try it. Then, coincidentally I found the place. Since that one afternoon the boyfriend drove us to Bayan Baru area, we decided to try its food. The owner is the same as the owner of The Carpenter Street. We managed to speak with the owner and it seems that he is no longer managing The Carpenter Street anymore.

As you enter the restaurant, you will see the menu displayed on the wall on your left. It shows clearly how you can place your order as there are no waiter or waitresses serving you.

Once you understood the progress, you are to walk further inside the restaurant to place your order at this touch-screen device. The owner works in Intel (his wife manages the restaurant) and therefore, he did the programming himself. Pretty cool, huh?

A ticket will be printed once you had done with your order. Collect the ticket and wait for your number to be displayed to collect your order at the counter.

As shown on the picture above, they provide free flow of drinks at just RM1.00 per glass and there is a complimentary soup for the customers. Awesome, right?

I ordered Original Kolo Mee with my favourite red Char Siew sauce. I do not fancy kolo mee but because of the red Char Siew sauce, I will take it. It was really good – the combination of the sauce with the minced meat is indescribable.

The boyfriend, on the other hand, ordered just the ordinary Original Kolo Mee. The noodles’ texture was alright but the taste is not strong enough. We gave the owner our feedback and he requested us to come back again to try its Original Kolo Mee again. Therefore, stay tuned for our next visit to House of KoloMee!

Food Review: Sushi Zento@Precinct 10, Penang

It was our 600th days together that day and he decided to make the day a bit different. I did not know that he was going to bring me out for dinner as I had my dinner at home. We went to Sushi Zento, Precinct 10. Actually I had been to a few Japanese restaurants in Penang and I could not find a place that is comparable to Sushi Zanmai. Guess what? I have finally found it!

We ordered a few dishes and they are all pretty good. The first dish was Buta Reisei (sliced pork). You should eat it with a sauce that came together.

Next was Umi Budou (sea grapes), a special order that is not in the menu. Now, please take note that special orders have special price. Therefore, think twice before you order, okay? This Umi Budou is the smallest and also the most expensive dish of all the dishes that we ordered.

The third dish was Komitamago to Bacon Salada. It is basically a salad with bacon so there is nothing extraordinary about this dish. I was just too full so I ordered salad whereas the boyfriend ordered Kyushu Ramen.

Finally the moment that I had been waiting for – Rolls Royce Roll and it did not let me down. They are not cheapskates with the sushi’s filling therefore once you had a mouthful of it, you do not feel like something is missing.

Now I have a place to go to when I am craving for good sushi. However, I still miss Sushi Zanmai.

Food Review@Restoran Sri Ananda Bahwan

It was after work when my colleagues wanted to go for a food adventure. We wanted to go to Passion of Kerala at New World Park but it was closed. Therefore, we walked to Old Town Kopitiam and sat for a while before we left again to the next place, Sri Ananda Bahwan Restaurant at Tanjung Bungah. There were a lot of expats there though and the Indian waiters there speak really good English.

I ordered Mango Lassi. It is a cross between a smoothie and a milk shake and is smooth and creamy. Lassi is a popular and traditional yogurt-based drink of the Indian subcontinent. I actually wanted to order some common drinks but my colleague suggested that since we are at an Indian restaurant, why not order some Indian-ish beverage.

As for my main, I ordered Nasi Beriani Kambing and guess what? It was lovely! The dish was really good. Though it came in big portion, I still managed to finish it.

My colleague really loves the restaurant’s Masala Chicken and finally she managed to have it. However, luck was not on her side. She had food poisoning the next day. I guess either the chicken or the gravy was not fresh at point of time but, I do not think it happens that often.

A Weekend in Kuala Lumpur!

Was down in Kuala Lumpur during one of the weekends in April. It was our second time to took a bus but this time, we took Aeroline. We reached Corus Hotel but walked over to KLCC for lunch. His sister picked him up while Mun picked me up. They went to City Centre while I went to Subang Jaya straight.

I had been missing Sushi Zanmai so we went to Sunway Pyramid after we got our egg tarts in SS15. Once we were there, spotted, Ken with his favourite girl. I also bumped into Fang when we were leaving the place. To be honest, it feels good to be back as I have more friends in Kuala Lumpur compared to in Penang. Mun dropped me at IOI Mall and KS picked me up, thought to have dinner with my brother but he was busy. His sister then picked me up from Taman Desa and we finally headed home, knackered.

Day two came really early as we had to wake up earlier than our usual weekends. Therefore, it had been a long time since we had breakfast together. We then headed to Bandar Utama where Ikea, The Curve and One Utama are. I met a few friends at One Utama before I had to go Tropicana to meet the Point One Bu.

When hanging out with them, no doubt we will have a late night. We were supposed to drink, more, but due to us focusing more on this card game, no one was knocked out. Anyway, since we have someone waited for us at home, Bu was kind enough to drive us back. Really grateful but at the same time, worried that he could not find his way out.

Day three was the day we were supposed to catch our flight back to Penang. His sister’s boyfriend drove us to Sunway Pyramid after we had our late breakfast as well as had our luggage packed.

We had our lunch at The Street Café. The food was good. Should try Street Raboki and Kimbap and Buchimgae.

Look at those chocolates. Those were given by one of my girl friends who just came back from Australia. Not all are mine though, two packets are for Jess but till now, I had not passed them to her yet.

I was really worn out when we landed Penang but guess what? The boyfriend was still very determined to look for a pair of basketball shoes. We went to Queensbay Mall straight and my oh my, I bought a few things for myself too. I was hoping these will motivate me even more to go to gym but obviously, epic fail!