: : Insults : :

[M] : alamak.. i just realised

[M] : your blog is about food

…Some people really…

[M] : i tot it was a phase

…oh, the insults…

: : Asian Junk Food: :

Thought I’d put this up just for the heck of it. Yes, Asians do have their own version of junk food. In fact, it’s been around for years and years.

Dried Plum Version 1

Tapioca Crisps

Dried Plum Version 1

There are so many different types of plum out there it’s hard to list them all. This snacks reminds me of my childhood days of buying snacks at the school canteen during break-time/recess. This is sweetened but nowadays, artificial sugar is used rather than the real stuff.

Tapioca Crisps

One of the best I’ve had so far. It’s not oily. It’s crunchy. Very spicy from the chillie. Not too sweet. Not too salty.

Both snacks were bought at a Timbang Outlet (Timbang = Weighing in Malay) at Big Fresh Supermarket, Tabuan Jaya. All snacks are bought according to weight. Kinda like a sweet soup but this time for junk food.

: : Expert : :

Went to Tabuan Jaya for lunch today with some collegues from work. Had to persuade them to give me some time to take shots of their meals before tucking into them.

Hurry up, Rowena! Hungry lah!

Okay okay okay.

Tang Hoon Soup

Kolo Mee Pok

Chicken Rice

Tang Hoon Soup

Direct translation : glass noodle. Yes, it is transparent, made from rice. PL got it from the Fish Ball King stall. It’s not the best tasting Tang Hoon Soup but will do. For a better choice, there is always the Chinese Temple at Carpenter Street. Anyway, the soup also has a lot of other extras inside : the fish balls, meat balls, deep fried fish skin, tauhu stuffed with meat, plain tauhu, deep fried tauhu, crabsticks and others. At this stall, you get to choose what you want to eat although I always make the mistake of taking too much!!

Kolo Mee Pok

Mee Pok is the flat egg noodles. Cholesterol bomb but definitely tasty. The mee is first cooked in boiling hot water. Then, it is mixed with salt, soy sauce, sesame seed oil, pepper. Garnishes include char siew (sweet roasted pork), minced pork, fish balls, spring onions. Sarawak Kolo Mee has a unique taste to eat and is a big favourite among the locals and West Malaysians!

I had this from the Singapore Chicken Rice stall. The good thing is the chilli-garlic sauce by the side. Very nice. The rice is cooked with chicken fat and chicken stock. It’s accompanied with roasted chicken and a bowl of soup.

Well, that was lunch! Expert Hawker Center is at Tabuan Jaya, behind Bank Utama and next to Thompson’s Corner. It’s so-so but it’s a typical lunch spot.

: : Other stuff : :

I decided to put up pics and commentaries of other interesting foodstuff found in Kuching, Sarawak. It’s not easy having to go out and have something to eat all the time. Also, quite painful for the purse.

: : Custard Apple : :

Saw my granny eating this apple this afternoon. Well, it doesn’t look like the usual apple that one sees everyday in the supermarket. Called Custard Apple because of the taste. It’s actually very sweet with the light custard flavour. Also known as leng kim in Chinese. To open the fruit, one just needs to pry off the skin which is actually very soft despite the tough-looking exterior.

Granny has two plants in her garden so decided to take a pic of it. It can be grown easily from one seeds found inside the fruit.

Where to buy the fruit? The wet market, of course. Haven’t seen it in the major supermarkets, probably because it’s a local fruit.

: : Pau : :

Got pau downstairs! Still hot! Better eat now! Granny shouting from downstairs. One of her friends just passed it to her. Ah! Another photo opportunity!

The pau is a steam, soft, fluffy, white bun filled with chicken marinated in the sweet sauce used for char siew (roasted porkmeat). There was more pau than white meat but it still tasted good. Other types of pau filling are char siew (local favourite), tau sa (very sweet red bean paste) and kaya (local jam made from eggs, pandan and sugar. A cholerosterol bomb : ten eggs for one small bottle of kaya).

Pau is served hot in many coffeeshops and also with dimsum (Chinese breakfast comprising of many small, different types of food. Similar to hors d’oeuvre).

Along Jalan Pandungan in Kuching, there are at least 2 coffeeshops selling tua pau (big pau). The filling is chicken minus the sweet sauce but a quarter of a hard boiled egg is included. This serving is enough for one meal. Usually, the pau size is small.

: : Cheer up LG! : :

This message is for LG who was feeling a bit down as she just turned 30 years old.

I am older than you by 45 years

Yet we share the same namesake

I am of simple taste

Yet appreciated by young and old

I have a steady stream of admirers

However, my looks have not changed much for the past years

Although I am very Asian

The British loved me

I was around during the British Empire

And was known to be seen at fine dining locations in Asia

Today, I’m still here

So hang in there babe!

Lingham’s Chilli Sauce has been around for a really long time. It is spicy and sweet at the same time. Unfortunately, most people prefer Maggi’s Chilli Sauce these days so not many people are familiar with this particular chilli sauce. However, the old folks will remember it from bygone days.

Well, hope that cheers you up, LG. Took me awhile to find it. Finally found the chilli sauce at Big Fresh Supermarket.

[Postnote : Took another look at the bottle and realised there is a little ‘h’ there. Sorry LG!]