Contrast

Not a review, merely observation of the people that supplies us our fish. Look at the last two pictures, contrast between need and want being the reason to be at sea.

Sweet Cactus

Sweet as in smell, not taste, though it might be as I have yet to taste them. The bud took a long time to appear but after a day or two it blooms with a heavenly smell that reminds me of expensive perfume. A threatening plant full of thorns producing such beauty and sweet fragrance, amazing.

Muhibbah @ Taman Tun

Went back to Muhibbah after a couple months. Its a great family outlet specialising in Chinese Muslim cuisine that started as a road side stall. Except this time the Chinese influence is lesser than the Thai influence. Still packed none the less. Be there before eight or after nine for dinner to avoid having to wait for a table.

Four adults, a teenager and a pair of children make up our party. We had the above, an extra plate of kangkung belacan, white rice and drinks. The portion seems a tad smaller than I remembered them but still acceptable. The Sabah fern salad is a favourite with the in-laws while the kids as usual zoomed in for the crispy fried squid. The steamed fish in clear Thai sauce is excellent, tasty without any heavy taste. The buttered prawns is good but the prawns should have been at least a size bigger, I mean the prawns, not the portion. Then again bigger portion would be good too. I like the black pepper beef but its a little too spicy for the kids. Finally, the tom yam seafood soup is fiery. Tasty, but somehow missing something even though there's abundant ingredients in there.

Total cost came to RM145.85. Very reasonable with efficient service. Recommended - especially to the Malaysian expats coming home and happen to be in the vicinity - he he he.

Fertigation

Had the opportunity to accompany a friend visiting the site of a fertigation planting effort. This is a method where the farmer has almost total control on the elements of planting. From the environment - higher end projects has climate control (air-cond lahhh) - the planting material, water and nutrients. Very techie and star trek kinda stuff to me, test tubes, electronic switches and gizmos instead of the old farmers tools.

Simply put, water and nutrients are distributed via a network of pipes, the thin black tubes that goes into the plant.

Another type using auto-pot, automatic pot for plants. Imagine that.

The produce, here is a grade B or C rock melon. All about the same size and weight. I was told that grade A - for the Japanese market - would have more prominent veins on its outer shell.

Yellow melons ? Must taste great if chilled and served on a hot Sunday afternoon.

Plum tomatoes. I took one of these and it is one of the sweetest and tastiest. Even better tasting than those offered in KFC salads.

There are many other variety of plants but this one caught my eye. Giant ladies finger. The ones in this picture is among the smaller ones. There are those that are as big and long as my arm in the inner rows. Turns out that these are US imported varieties and cultivated for seedling. Ahhh, you need big long ones to produce good seeds....

Chef Jerome @ THE WORST & RUDEST

Chef Jerome at Megan Avenue II, Jalan Yap Kwan Seng. Crappy pictures to convey crappy mood taken using my camera phone. The absolute rudest and most insulting place I have been in ever. Second only to being chased out because of my skin colour in Le Harve, France more than a decade ago. But that's another story.

Drop by to visit my ex-colleagues who promptly decided to take me for a drink. It was 11Am, the mamak was noisy and La Rambla is not yet open. We went to Chef Jerome as it looks like it has a quiet spot to drink and talk. Went in, ordered drinks, iced coffee, sorry no, OK, iced lemon tea. Hot chocolate with a few ice cubes please, sorry can't do that. Fine. Instead of welcoming you and showing the menu, the girl then just shouted from the counter. "Inside is only for customer eating in, you must order something", OK, tuna sandwich please. Sorry, not yet available. Can you order something else if you want to sit inside ? For crying out loud, there's only two tables inside and we were the only customer.

We start steaming up. Come on its 11 Am, we are the only customer and this is how we are treated ? At this point, a Caucasian, presumably Chef Jerome himself appears from the kitchen and spoke loudly to the girl - its already on the table, can't they read the notice. My colleague, bloody bastard, go back to your home country. It it was medieval times, I would have burned down the place. The three of us, including a lady, treated like trash when all we wanted is some drinks and a place to sit. Its not for free. Drinks are upwards of RM7. I am pissed off.

Any of you in the tourism, licensing or consumer ministry or whatever, please pay this place a visit and tell them to respect their customers. Then again, we also notice that there are few customers whenever we pass by. Maybe its only a front for some illegal activity. Anyone care to investigate before these idiots tarnish Malaysia's image especially in the coming Merdeka month ?

Cheap Mobility

I was amazed when told that these boats plying the Kuching river only charges RM0.30 per person for a trip across. With the new (under construction) multi-hundred-million Ringgit Dewan Undangan Negeri as a backdrop, which incidentally will only be used for a couple of times a year, these boats offer their services for a pittance. After 10 PM the charge will increase to RM1.00. These are government controlled charges. It boggles the mind. Even iced water costs RM0.50 in town. How do they manage to pay for fuel, upkeep of the boat and presumably feed a few mouths too ?

Extra income comes in the form of advertisement space on the boats. This year Maxis, last year it was Fair & Lovely. Perhaps they earn much more through these. Then again, their clientele looks to be from the lower income group and of course some tourists. Allowing them to raise prices will surely add a certain burden to those who rely on this type of transportation. Ironically, if you were to cross using the bridge, you will have to pay toll. Here's the clincher, even motorcycle (regular Honda cub types used by the masses) have to pay RM0.50 each time they pass. Go figure...

Healthy Lunch in Kuching

Lightly grilled salted "ikan terubok" with loads of fresh lime and birds eye chili. An oily fish with gazillion bones akin to kippers. Love it. Normally grilled fresh but done this way the bones does not pose a hazard. An excellent appetite booster.

Perfectly stir fried veggies with minimal oil. Tender, crunchy and fresh.

A light chicken soup with subtle hints of spices in the chunks of meat and potatoes.

For a kick, prawn paste salsa (sambal belacan) Sarawak style with fresh four angle beans and lightly blanched ladies fingers. What started as a full bowl, at the end of the meal is reduced substantially. Steaming rice, iced juice and slices of honeydew completes the meal.

A truly healthy, balanced and delicious meal. I may be back for more.

Durian for Jag & Den (aku ingat kat hangpa...)

The view from where we were sitting under the shade of the banana and coconut trees savouring the king of fruit under the undivided attendence of my auntie.

My Auntie rummaging through her stash, picking choice fruit for us.

Creamy, sweet, tangy, fleshy.

This she term as "kuching tidur", the sleeping cat !

Actually, since the last post, Jag and Den is supposed to join me on a trip here. Unfortunately on that particular day, Jag was not a bachelor and he had promised to take his queen to Jeram (according to Den). I had to make the trip and guys with you firmly on my mind, I enjoyed the fruit, he he he.

Tak da rezeki, maybe next time around. Jangan marah nooooo.

Seafood @ Jeram

Another "zalim" and cruel post. Was abducted and taken to Jeram - the up and coming seafood place which I hope will not change its quality and pricing because of recent exposures. To get there look at Mat Salo's Not Another Food Review, an excellent commentary which will take you all the way there and further...

The sweetest cockles I have tasted in a long time. Grilled perfectly and so sweet that I had them as is, no need for the dipping sauce. Two dipping sauce were provided, the soy, birds eye chili and lime juice combo and the "air asam".

My abductor's favourite dish of the night, the chili prawns. A simple concoction that highlights the sweetness of the fresh prawns. So fresh that it actually came in different sizes, the prawns, I mean, direct from the fisherman. Has not been sorted according to size unlike the ones that you get from the market. Of course yours truly went for the largest on the plate, then tasted the smallest. Both tasty, breaking the belief that the smaller ones are sweeter and more tender. Most likely because of its freshness.

The steamed fish. What can I say.... ?

The plain grilled stingray and "cencaru", deep fried squids, tom yam soup and white rice for accompaniment.

The end result. A satisfying meal. These and numerous rounds of drinks consisting of fruit juices, hot drinks and iced water cost RM 136.80 for 3 adults and 2 kids.

Nice place, great ambiance, good food, fast service, reasonable - cheap prices. Highly recommended.

They're Backkkkk

Another week or so to turn red, sweet and juicy...

Mangosteen too, turning to hard dark purplish with dark brown five segment star on the bottom. White, cool, sweet with a hint of sourness. The only fruit that I truly enjoy without refrigeration. For me other fruit taste better after it is cooled in the fridge, not this one.

Peek a boo. Where are you ?

Here... durian the king of fruits.