3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting
May 5th, 2013 [Saturday]

it was my last day in Sibu 3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

my last day of enjoying nice food, enjoying the great companion, enjoying the simple life in Sibu.

it was almost four years ago since i last stepped foot on Sibu! and i must say Sibu has certainly developed a lot especially the airport! and also the addition of Giant & Daesco! road also smoother i heard. last time, i dined more in Cafes and Restaurant, this time around, my one and only request to Xiang the ex-roomie was, Sarawak Laksa everyfreakingday idoncare! so far wish granted, i had laksa for the past two days which you can read about here and here 3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

okay so it’s a Saturday, we slept in a little longer (Xiang was working on weekday), and only woke up for brekkie at 10! thanks to the karaoke session last night!

so without further ado, i shall present you what i makan-ed on the last day of my Sibu trip!

first stop!

Sibu Central Market Complex @ Jalan Channel

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

this Sibu Central Market Complex is located opposite of the Express Boat Passenger Terminal where the ground floor is the wet market where you can find all poultry, fish, pork, local veggies & fruits, dried food etc, and the upper floor is like a HUGEEEE food court, so many many stalls.

the reason why we were here because there’s one stall selling good 肉粥 (literally means meaty porridge) and dumplings, according to Xiang’s friend. but Xiang herself hasn’t tried it before, so yala i’m her guinea piggie partner =.=

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

but bloody hell it’s not open =.=

we were gushing oh how lucky we were to get the parking right at the front of the market earlier on. i think Mr Lucky went marketing wtf.

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

so we ended up pong chan this stall.

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

LAKSAAAA! | RM 3

yeah what’s new!

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

the broth was tastier than the one i had yesterday at Tiong Hua Market. not as muchy liao (ingredients), but it’s just RM3, what do you expect eh?

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

Xiang ordered a bowl of meaty porridge few stalls away.

it’s greyish shade in color which really didn’t appeal us. but then it’s surprisingly decent. not reaaally nice but not thaaaat bad too.

we had a stroll in the market before leaving..

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

wiggly sago worms that gave me goosebumps!

wiggly worms in action!

they are still geli as before :/ but ar i actually ate them before! plucked their head off and pan fried them, so crunchy and.. yummy! tasted like fried prawns hehe.

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

that’s how alive chickens are sold in local market. i thought it’s quite funny. once paid you can just take them home, like a handbag, just that what you bought is a clucking chicken instead of bag.

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

despite i have had lived in Sarawak for four years, i actually can’t differentiate paku pakis and midin. so Xiang gave me a crash course on the spot. this above plant/veggie is paku pakis, the leaf is muchy more curly and tight.

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

while this is midin. the curl is looser and color appears lighter too.

Xiang bought a bunch home, she’s gonna stir-fried it for me cos i told her i miss it..

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

and this is buah keranji, in English it’s velvet tamarind? it does taste like tamarind..

the lady told me that you can keep it up to even a year, no need to be chilled. i was like WOW. okay gimme one packet!

it still edible even after two weeks!

and then after marketing, i felt like wanted to makan again omg

Aloha @ Jalan Keranji

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

Roti Canai

when Xiang told me that we’re going for roti canai i was like dafuq? i didn’t flew all the way here for roti canai!

i likey my roti thin and crispy one (roti planta).. that or roti sardine. i felt stupid to eat plain roti canai la =.= i paid just to eat flour =.=

okay so apparently she hasn’t finish her sentence.

.. and also ↓ *points down*

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

Sarawak Laksa again! 3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting 

this was the forth and the last bowl of laksa i had throughout my 3d2n Sibu trip! and ranked 2nd of #AntzFavouriteSarawakLaksa! the first goes to *drumrollll* Thomson’s that STP brought me! but i like the belacan sambal here more!

and my lunchy didn’t stop there!

we adjoined to..

The Ark Cafe & Restaurant @ Rejang Esplanade

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

Crispy Pork Leg

so Dom’s mami wanted to treat me lunchy before i flew back to KL! third rounds rounds of brunchy lunchy crazy!

i likey the ambiance here and the food was good especially this pork leg! it totally deserves a post on its own as i managed to prance and shoot around!

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

how can i not have a shot with this beautifully-sculptured horse!

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

so did Xiang!

Sibu Eng Ann Teng Tua Pek Kong Temple @ Jalan Chew Geok Lin

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

the only non-food related i snapped in Sibu (other than portraits’)!

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

standing majestically in front of rejang River is this iconic Tua Pek Gong Temple, standing quite stall with its 7th floor pagoda. i would definitely go in and pray if i  i didn’t have a plane to catch..

Xiang’s Home!

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

so this was what Xiang whipped up! stir fried midin with ang jiu!

it’s her first time stir frying veggie omg i felt so touched T_T (you know what’s more touching? when i said nite nite to her on the first night, she replied “it has been a looong time since i last heard that!” we were roomies for three years before parted. and then the second night when we were karaoke-ing, she tagged me in a photo in facebook, an illustration what bff does together which she captioned, “things we have been doing the past two days”. my eyes got teary but acted so cool and sang shouted to the tune of i don’t want to miss a thing wtf)

the veggie was soft yet not soggy, retained slight crunchiness! with ang jiu aroma too! she only added the ang jiu after turning off the gas, and keep stirring it so that every inch of the midin was coated evenly with ang jiu!

Xiang’s mama gave a thumb up too!

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

fatt gou

it’s different from semenanjung’s. the texture is denser (less fluffy) there. what we got here is soft, light and fluffy!

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

Chicken Soup Mee Sua

Xiang’s mama cooked me my last meal before sending me off to aiport!

this time no ang jiu, just flavourful and nourishing chicken soup to keep me warm all the way back to KL! 3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

i shall end this post like how i started the first post on Sibu!

i’ll be back again, Sibu! see you in two years time 3D2N @ Sibu: Day 3 Last Day of Food Hunting

so now, Xiang, when are you coming to Penang ar huh Huh HUH!

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez-vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez-vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel
April 30th, 2013 [Tuesday]

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

let’s start this post with a photo of ME!

OOTD
LDB: thrifted
statement necklace: gift from BlabberBee
watch: Casio
heels: Charles & Keith

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

Eastern & Oriental Hotel has recently successfully hosted the grandiose Bordeaux (\bor-ˈdō\) Rendez-vous 2013 which united some of the most prestigious Bordeaux Estates and all the Bordeaux lovers around South East Asia.

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

Bordeaux Rendez-vous 2013 was held in 4 countries, at 5 cities over the span of 10 days. and after Singapore & Bangkok, Penang was the third city this event was held at. and after tonight, the Chateau (\sha-ˈtō\) owners are flying to Jakarta & Bali next!

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

it was an exclusive event where 150 guests from the high society all gathered at the Macalister Room (5th floor of Victory Annexe) with the privilege to savour 26 types of Chateau from different appelation in France.

we started the night with Conti Neri Prosecco. this sparkly is light and refreshing with a little bit of creaminess and finishes  clean and dry.

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

love the table setting. and i know how to diy my own candle holder next time Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

26 bottles of wine lined up handsomely to pleasure our palates that night.

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

everybuddy please meet Mr Aymar de Baillenx, the president of Chateua Beychevelle. each Chateau owner was appointed at each table, and it’s our pleasure  to have Mr Aymar with us that night.

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

Mr Aymar enlightened us more about his chateau, over the sips of his wine.

according to the legend, ships passing in front of the château lowered their sails as a sign of respect to Jean-Louis Nogarent de La Valette (such long name =.=), the  the Governor of Guyenne and an admiral of the French navy then. that’s how the name Beychevelle derived from i think, meaning lowered sails, as reflected in the chateau emblem. this depicts the ship with a griffin (the guardian of Dionysos’s wine crater in Greek mythology) on the prow. and hence Chateau Beychevelle was named 龙船庄 in Chinese!

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

wine, is a way of communication, where it unites us, although we are from different geographical region, different cultural background and different skin colors (Aymar de Baillenx, 2013).

i also asked him, what defines a good wine, to which he answered, “a good wine is a wine i like”.

which i couldn’t agree more! Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

you know i am not really an atas girl, but i’ll try to decipher the wine flavour as properly as i could :/

Chateau Beychevelle 2003, this dark ruby-colored wine is berry fruity with firm tannin and firm acidity, best paired with.. strong-flavoured food, for example, red meat, cheese and even spicy food (i’m not talking about Sze Chuan kind of spicy), least desired with seafood.

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

here’s another shot of Mr Aymar with moi! Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

i also got to sample some other wines that night.

Château Leoville Poyferre 2003, the most expensive wine among them, pitch dark in colour, rich with dark fruits and deep depth with an edge of tannic.

Chateau Guiraud 2001, golden yellow in colour (yes it’s a white!), strong note of honey, pineapple and apricot resulting in lots of sweetness! finishes wonderfully! i call it a lady’s wine Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

other than wine, we had a glorious buffer spread prepared under the skilful hands of Chef Peter to be paired with the wines!

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

salad & pasembur.

didn’t had any of those, our table’s guest ate so little, both Ken & i were the two glutton of them all :/. so we kinda limit ourselves, must behave, kenot act as if we were bumpkins :/

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

sushi & popiah

i had two portions of the sushi! would love to see some sashimi though!

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

the mains

the dishes i adored the most and had a few serving of were

Fried springy Squid, Fresh Tomato, Tamarind Juice

Whole Roasted Duck with Orange Ginger Sauce – i can’t resist duck and this duck is so succulent and fragrant!

Sauteed Prawn, Coconut, Onion, green Chilli – it’s a hit among our table! Ken LOOVED it too! but i don’t usually eat crustacean dish outside cos lazy to deshell :/ but Ken’s berry gentleman he let me had half of his deshelled prawn =.=

Stir Fried Mixed Vegetables with Glass Noodles , Coconut, Prawn – it’s creamy and rich!

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

cheese spread. wine & cheese is almost inseparable!

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

dainty exquisite dessert to end this delightful dinner Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

another unforgettable dish of that night was this Creme Brulee. the crisp caramel layer contrast with the mushy custard, so goood Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

female bloggers that i met that day! Emily and CK Lam. i just realised that we all have the puffy cheeks!

Penang: Bordeaux Rendez vous 2013 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel

and a group photo of the bloggers attended. i think you should have known who are they, all famous Penang bloggers except me :/

last but not least, thank you to E&O Hotel for extending the invitation! <3

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food-Hunting & Karaoke

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food-Hunting & Karaoke
May 4th, 2013 [Friday]

the ant wanna spend more time with the bestie before leaving tomorrow.

will prolly update this space after election day (which i’m super gancheong about btw! first time voting bah)

meanwhile, hop over to the facebook page and drool over the food she has had the past two days 3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

add her on Instagram (@annant), she’s more active there. 3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

and travel safe ya, if you’re heading home to vote.

ini kali lah!

it’s time to have a change for Malaysia! vote wisely ya everybuddy!

till then.

***********************************************************************************************************

OKAY I’M BACK TO PENANG!

and reunited with the lappie! 3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

so here goes the food i ate on Day 2 @ Sibu!

Tiong Hua Market @ Tiong Hua Road

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

woke up at 7am for brekkie!

the sky was so bright even at 6ish! i’ve left Sarawak for two years plus, so not used to such brightness at ungodly hour!

but it’s okay, i usually sleep less while travelling!

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

this is a norm practice in Sarawak! they soak our eating utensil in hot water! for hygiene purpose.

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

sambals. the one in focus is for Sarawak Laksa while the one at the back was Loh Mee!

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

Jeng Jeng Jeng! Sarawak Laksa as brekkie!

the portion is larger than Thomson’s! and more liao (ingredients) as well. and it’s cheaper, RM 4 only!

it’s not as thick and creamy as Thomson’s. but my friend said that the quality is not consistent, as the broth is usually slightly thicker. however i thought this version is great for brekkie, when you don’t wanna take something heavy.

i really likey the sambal! it’s not overly-belacan!

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

a typical Sarawak style brekkie 3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

complete with a 3 Layer Teh where the sugar at the bottom, milk, and tea as the main constituent!

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

my friend, SX and her mom had this, Loh Mee!

it’s different from Peninsular’s, what we get here is usually stickily gluey one, and this was watery one..

Lunchy @ SX’s

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

and Aunty cooked me lunchy!

some of the highlights were..

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

Aunty tapao-ed this Pek Kueh (white kuih) from Esan Cafe @ Rejang Park!

it was like char mee, but instead of mee, they use this Pek Kueh, which is rice cake. the texture is somewhat thick and chewy..

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

initially Aunty tapao-ed this for SX’s sis when we were brekkie-ing at the Tiong Hua Market, but she already had hers, so we had two Pek Kueh on the table!

this was way softer than the above one as we only ate it few hours later =.=

both were similar.. but there’s slight different in the ingredients they add in to char together, this latter one had black fungus, i thought it’s something new 3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke we don’t see that in our char kuey teow or char mee!

but based on STP’s bloggie, from the photos he posted here and here, apparently black fungus is not something unusual in Pek Kueh =.=

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

i rakishly mentioned about Ang Jiu Mee Sua in front of Aunty yesterday, and look, i can has it today 3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke and i had TWO huge bowls of it!

Aunty purposely cooked this for me *touched* i have already photographed the whole process, gimme some time to process the photos then i’ll post it as Ant Can Cook lol!

Aunty get her supply of good Ang Jiu (which the red is derived from red yeast rice) from her Sis-in-law! and i sipped both Ang Jiu bought from the market and the SIL supplies, the latter is more fragrant and more errrr smooth, easily glides down the throat! the one bought from market has a more complex, and sourish taste.

Ang Jiu is an important confinement food! just like our rice wine here. usually cooks with loads of ginger to repel wind from within!

Fish Culture Cafe @ beside Medan Mall

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

met up with Dom (my ex-homie at Penang) at this Fish Culture Cafe

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

which obviously is a dim sum eatery! the have wide variety of dim sum to choose from..

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

Foo Chow Fish Balls

but we have only tiny rooms for a basket of fish balls as we were still full from lunchy!

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

it’s not your ordinary fish balls!

there’s broth and minced meat inside! i quite likey the balls, it’s springy and the meat was flavourful!

SX bought a packet of frozen balls back for her mom to try.

Leong Leong Cafe @ Rejang Park

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

and then we adjoined to Leong Leong Cafe for afternoon tea!

STP, you remember i told you this stall that sells both kampua and gong pia one? it’s Jing Jing Cafe, which located diagonally from Leong Leong! i remembered from the environment. but i don’t remember the taste anymore.

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

we had 六味汤 which was really ordinary..

and also

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

Rojak which has nothing to shout about either. our rojak here (as in Peninsular) is better, with more prevalent shrimp paste taste.

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

we also ordered Gong Pia, both wet and..

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

dry version!

i know they look really lonely being solitary. but we were really too stuffed with food already! couldn’t take in more..

although the wet one was more flavourful, i still preferred the dry version. i don’t like soggy food sorry!

and donnowhy the dry one is significantly smaller in size than the wet one. SX said it’s because it absorbed all the broth and expanded =.=

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

soda made in Sarawak! borrowed from the lady bossie for photography purpose, didn’t try it. but my friends said it’s more or less like those important ones wo. i was somehow intrigued by the banana flavoured..

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

SX, Dom & moi! 3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

the world is so small i tell you, SX was my roomie for three years back in Bint-ulu, while Dom was my homie for 1.5 years in Penang. and both of them are colleagues now at Sibu! how can the world be so small one!

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

and look! a rainbow! i see it as a good omen and indeed, my Sibu trip was really a good one! and i didn’t miss my flight!

and then i had dinner at SX’s together with the family members. and i had another two bowls of Ang Jiu Mee Sua! XD

we also had a this salt-baked fish dish, which was tapao-ed from the family restaurant! the fish was really soft and moist and yummy, surprisingly! it’s just salt and serai (stuffed inside the fish, to remove fishiness, i think)!

Karaoke @ Terminal (opposite of Fish Culture Cafe)

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

we ended the night singing our lungs out at Terminal. the PA system wasn’t really great here and we could actually hear what’s next door singing =.=

we did had a good time nonetheless!

and tomorrow’s (May 4th) my last day at Sibu! 3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke and also my last day to have Sarawak Laksa 3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke

3D2N @ Sibu: Day 2 Food Hunting & Karaoke