Hello Kitty!

Wed 6 Aug - Tue 12 Aug 2014
Kuching

I'm referring to the town of Kuching actually. Happy to be back here after 2 decades!

While doing some bunga telur shopping at Kuching town near the Waterfront, we stopped by at Bismillah Cafe for the yummy and famous Mee Kolok. There are a few types of the noodle, but today I had the Mee Kolok soup.

Bismillah cafe

Types of Mee Kolok

Mee Kolok soup

We passed by the stalls at the India Street Pedestrian Mall, selling clothes, tudung, and food, navigating our way through the narrow Indian Mosque lane which connects the mall and Gambier Road with the mosque in between. Walking a bit from India Street is Jalan Main Bazaar where there are many shops selling spices. I bought Masala tea spice and Mee Jawa paste for my mom here.

India Street

India street

stalls near India street

Masjid India

I noticed that vans are used as mode of transport in Kuching and are divided into zones since the city itself covers a vast area. Each Zone is dedicated to a designated area of Kuching. The nostalgic rectangle bus is also still in service.

Zone 1 van

Classic bus

Classic van schedule table

Crossing the street from the spice shop is the Waterfront promenade along the Santubong river, a popular place to hang out with friends and families and take photographs. We took our outdoor wedding shots here too, with people cheering and congratulating us. Sweet.

waterfront

On the night before the kenduri we stopped by at Topspot, a food court on the top of a multi storey parking building; with mostly stalls selling seafood, just beside Ariva Gateway where my family were staying to have dinner with mom and my side of the family from KL.

Topspot

Image taken from here

After the majlis kenduri (wedding reception) at the kampung, we spent a night in Kuching town with our good friends from KL, Mas, Ezad, baby Mishary and Liza who came all the way to Kuching. In fact, they attended both wedding receptions in KL and Kuching. We stayed at Merdeka Palace Hotel at Padang Merdeka Kuching. Our friends opted for the 2 room apartment while myself and Partner in Crime chose the hotel room.

The 2 room apartment is spacious with 3 bathrooms, a living room and kitchen with a view of the Padang Merdeka. However, the hotel room is a disappointment - very small, no view and has outdated deco (RM180/room/night with no breakfast).

Apartment master bedroom

Apartment room no. 2

Apartment kitchen

View from apartment

That evening we went for the Sunset River Cruise from 5.30pm - 7pm which include drinks, kek lapis and a short traditional dance performance onboard. The cruise cost RM60/person. Little Mishary also joined us on the cruise and he seemed to love it (and managed a nap too) with the cool breeze lapping. We passed by the Dewan Undangan Negeri, DUN (State Assembly) Astana (a palace, the official residence of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak, or the Governor of Sarawak), Malay traditional water village, Kuching State Mosque, Fort Margherita (built in 1879 by Charles Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak) , Kampung Boyan/ Surabaya and Chief Minister's house, among others. The cruise ended with Sarawak traditional dance of the Iban, Bidayuh and Melanau.

before going onboard

u can sit inside

u can sit outside

Mishary loves it

DUN

Astana

Chief Minister's house

Brooke dockyard

kampung

traditional dance

Mishary ogling at the lady dancer. Naughty ;)

The next morning we had breakfast again at Bismillah cafe as I was still craving for Mee Kolok. Unfortunately, the Mee Kolok maker had to go to the dentist on the day of our visit -_-  We ended up having nasi lemak instead.

It was drizzling when we made our way to the Sarawak cat museum. Located at the Kuching North City Hall headquarters on top of a hill, it has a great view of the city. The entrance is free but we had to pay RM for a camera permit. The exhibition is all about cats but seemed dated and in need of new content. Nonetheless, the cat exhibits are indeed kawaii (cute) ^_^

kawaii

Japanese painting

Cats Rock!

Spacey Cat

keep off my teddy bear!

We then made our way back to the Waterfront to take the sampan (or tambang) to cross the river and back. The return journey cost us RM1. Residents of the water village by the river regularly use this service for their daily transport.

tambang coming!

Pramugari tambang...Silakan Masuk...

berthing

It was then time to eat again! I wasn't about to give up yet on my mission to get good Mee Kolok and Laksa Sarawak. So we tried our luck again today at Mom's Laksa (they ran out of laksa the day before). We noticed that Mee Kolok and Laksa Sarawak are served for breakfast at most of the restaurants and tend to finish up by 11am.

Luckily the Laksa Sarawak was still available for lunch, but no Mee Kolok though. Some of us also tried the Meehoon Belacan, but it was so-so only. After the hearty lunch, we went to the nearby Kubah Ria, an integrated complex comprising of a food court and stalls selling local goods such as kuih lapis sarawak, laksa sarawak paste, ikan terubuk masin and beras bario, among others.

laksa sarawak

meehun belacan

laksa sarawak paste

stalls

food court

We then bade farewell to Mas, Ezad, Liza and baby Mishary. We would be doing our outdoor photoshoot that evening before going back to kampung and leaving for KL the next day. I would definitely be seeing Kuching again in the near future ;)

Lovely people of Kg Sg Bandung

Wed 6 Aug - Tue 12 Aug 2014
Kuching and its surroundings

It's been a long time since I have been in Kuching - a good 2 decades! I can't remember much of the city, so it's hard to tell the difference. More on Kuching on a different post.

This time I'm travelling further to a unique Java village at Kampung Sungai Bandung, near Serian. And I'm here not really as a visitor, but embracing it as a second home. Mak and Bapak have been lovely and very welcoming. Mak will not even allow me to help her at the kitchen. The kiddos have been very nice to me too, especially Alia. I find it amusing an 11 year old girl likes to chat with me. She even scribbled I love U Bik (means aunty in Javanese) Aida on my Partner In Crime's Sister's car.

Of course, Partner In Crime can't be more accommodating to help me blend in with the family. Most of the time they speak Javanese, but I think I can pick up some words here and there. It will take some time for me to grasp the language and remember everyone's name, but I'll manage, soon. 

look closely

Us with kiddos. Alia front, right

 

Kampung Sungai Bandung

Mak and Bapak's house is on top of a hill. A bit of climb from the village masjid Darul Arqam through a narrow road where only 1 vehicle could pass through at a time. There are some fruit orchards around Bapak's house (but located on Mak's land)- durian, jackfruit, mangosteen and rambutan.

up the hill

is the house

the orchard

Masjid Darul Arqam

the village road

welcome to Kg Sg Bandung

Sungai Bandung

The nearest town (well, you could hardly call it a town, more like cowboy town ) where you can buy basic dry groceries is Pekan Baki Lama. It has been there since before Partner In Crime was born, evident from the wooden building design, it has the feel of the good old 60s

Pekan Baki Lama

There is also a pig farm near the village, owned by a Chinese family which have been there since as long as Partner In Crime can remember.

Pig farm

Serian

The nearest proper town is Serian, which gets its name from Durian. You will be welcomed by a huge  Durian statue once you enter the town.  You can get poultry, vegetables and a wider range of groceries. One can also buy poultry, seafood and other wet food from the independently run various cold storages (they call it as such, here)

otw to Serian

Serian durian

Gotong Royong spirit

I love how the gotong royong (cooperation between neighbours to prepare for an occasion) is still strong in the village. Everyone comes in full force, starting from early morning on the day before the occasion, each with their roles - the men setting up the tents, tables and chairs; women doing the cooking - peeling onions, potatoes, pineapples; preparing the chicken, and cooking yummy dishes (I absolutely love the tempe goreng or fried soy paste).

setting up the tents

collecting the pineapples

cooking the pineapples

cooking materials

preparing chicken

peeling onion

For the doa selamat kenduri (prayer recital), on the evening before the wedding feast, the dishes prepared are nasi ambeng (rice mixed with bihun or vermicelli, chicken and vegetables prepared in a big tray and is shared between the guests).

preparing the rice

rice

bihun (vermicelli )

chicken and pineapple dish

fried vegetable

yummy tempe goreng (fried soy paste)

ready to share nasi ambeng

After the doa selamat, we have a simple menepung tawar (blessing ceremony) at the dais by Mak and Bapak and other close relatives. It is fun having the perfumed pandan leaves and talcum powder being applied on our foreheads. It is a beautiful experience for me as I feel acceptance into the lovely family.

doa selamat (prayer recital)

blessing

Bapak

Mak