: : Gourmet Safari : :

I first saw an article about this in the Sarawak Tribune last Sunday but couldn’t find any other mention about it in the newspaper. It was by luck that I managed to get a free pamphlet at Carvery today. An impressive endevour, if I do say so myself.

There are 12 restaurants listed in the pamphlet with the 13th restaurant having a special mentioned. The 13th restaurant is located along Ban Hock Road, hence the aptly named Ban Hock. I drove past tonite and the renovations were amazing! This was an old colonial house with a beautiful patio that was very rundown for many years. The Grand Opening is this Monday (or so I heard) but unfortunately, it’s by invitation only. Still, I intend to check it out pretty soon.

Let’s see, there are 3 theme eating places within this establishment :

Luna : Contemporary, Fine Dining Mediterranean Restaurant

Suria : Traditional Sarawakian longhouse style restaurant (thoughts of a kitchen with open fire for cooking comes to mind… hehehe… just kidding)

Ban Hock Bar : Name speaks for itself. Says in the book that it’s a longhouse bar. Hmmm…

Details :

Lunch : 11:30 am – 2:00 pm

Dinner : 6:30 pm – 11:00 pm

Bar : 11:30 am – closing

Closed on Sundays

Tel : +6082-245684 (most important detail!!!)

Well, enough about promoting a new place in town. Onto the Gourmet Safari!!

Well, it’s RM200 for the entire dinner but one gets to travel using the open-air tram (or rather bus) to travel to a total of 6 different restaurants for your dinner. I’m seriously impressed by the entire concept but the cost of the meal is a bit too hefty for me (perhaps a sponsor? ;p), not to mention the dinner portions(6 stops!!!). Here is a rundown of the two different tours offered :

Tour 1 (12, 19 Sep)

Holiday Inn Kuching : Pre-dinner Cocktail (Miguel Torres Santa Digna Sauvignon Blanc)

Magenta : Special Canadian Oysters (Lindermans Bin 65 Chardonnay)

Brasserie Kuching Coffee House, Grand Continental : Creamy Lobster Bisque with its own meat (Frescobaldi Albizzia)

D’Alif Restaurant : Crispy soft shell crab D’Alif style

Cafe Majestic, Crowne Plaza : Fillet of Beef with Candid Chestnut Puree, Caramelized Shallot, Wild Mushroom and Ginger Flower Confit (Miguel Torres Sanda Digna Carbernet Sauvignon)

Serapi Restaurant, Holiday Inn : Mango Chiboust Gratin, coffee or tea and pralines (Champagne Bollinger – Special Cuvee)

Tour 2 (13, 20 Sep)

Merdeka Palace : Pre-dinner Cocktails (Penfolds Thomas Hyland Shiraz)

Carvery : Smoked Salmon and balsamico mussles with fresh greens (Fleur du cap Chardonnay)

Cafe Harapan, Harbour View : Soup power with Sarawak Pepper (Kressmann Sauvignon Blanc)

The Junk : Ravioli with prawn meat and smooth cashe nut puree (Rosemont Shiraz)

Tsui Hua Lau : Twin delicious combination of Roasted Duck and Baked Chicken (Rosemount Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon)

Hilton Kuching’s Club lounge, 12th floor : Luscious trio of sweet temptation (Amarula Liquor)

Looking at the extensive list of wines available, it’ll be a wonder if everyone comes back SOBER! To make reservations, contact is Ms. Fiona at +60-82-425400 or call +60-82-258000 for more details.

If you’re looking for a website for more details, there isn’t any, even on the Sarawak Tourism Board website (incidently, STB is one of the major sponsors for this event and there isn’t enough promotion in the newspapers. Cheh!). Pamphlets can be found at the Tourism Centres, participating hotels (Merdeka Palace, Hilton, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Grand Continental, Harbour View Hotel).

Anyway, that’s it for now! Cheerio!

: : Mooncake Festival, Part IV : :

Here are some more pictures of the Mooncake Festival along Carpenter Street on Wednesday nite.

Thought this was really cute. But, I don’t quite like the taste of egg tarts. Still, looks good enough to eat.

This was something different : pulut panggang (barbeque glutinous rice). The filling inside the glutinous was spicy pounded dried prawns with spices. Very nice but very oily.

Okay, these were samples. They fried the ice-cream only when someone ordered it. Pity that it wasn’t Haagen Daaz filling but Nestle ice-cream.

Some laterns in front of a Chinese Temple.

Famous hawker center in front of the above Chinese Temple selling delicious tang hoon soup with lok-lok and pork satay. However, they only open during the day-time. The stalls that were opened that night was the porridge and kolo mee stall.

Check out the babe in the middle. He he! Granny was so happy to be in the picture. A kind middle-aged man saw me taking the pictures and Granny watching on. He organized the gals to take the picture of them with Granny. Gals were pretty shy in front of the camera. Granny offered to pay him but he just laughed and said no need. 🙂 Good on him!

More pictures tomorrow. The event is over now. For another year at least.