INCREASE OUR SALARY!

I got stuck in an hour jam inside my office car park. I was cursing and wandering what happen down there that makes the unusual jam in the car park. The cars seem to be motionless in front of me. After slowly and patiently guiding my car down to the exit, I realize the culprit behind all these chaos. MTUC (Malaysian Trade Union Congress) was holding a demonstration in front of the office building. The police were there so were the reporters. They were shouting “Increase our salary! Prices are going up but our salary still the same!” They were carrying banners and singing along the main road while onlookers just stare at them. I was furious about the jam at first but after seeing what they do, I salute them! I wish I could join them but they were packing up and leave. Whatever it is, I really want to thank them as they are the voice of the many private sectors workers who never dare to speak out. Thank you MTUC!

EMPTY

Ever just stare into your computer screen or anything but your mind is blank? You just sit there and wandering what are you going to do and why are you even sitting down there? Everything seems to be empty and nothing that crosses your mind is right. You try to think so hard but yet nothing seems to be working. Then you felt very tired and just wanna go and lie down to forget everything that just happen or going to happen. All these just struck me and I’m empty………..

PARKCITY MALL

new spanking mall

1st Thing i do when i arrived back in Bintulu is a visit to Parkcity Mall near Parkcity here. A new spanking mall for the folks here since there aren't any proper mal here yet. Nothing much to see as not many outlets has open yet.

this is wher i had my dinner

I stop by at Marrybrown to have my dinner and went to New World Mart to get some groceries. There are a few new players here that can't even be found in Kuching yet like Samuel&Kevin and Baleno. A good mall with good prospect if they managed it properly. At last i won't be bored here anymore. A sign of relief!

the place i got my groceries

李玖哲 (Nicky Lee)

his current album

I stumble upon this talented Korean singer when I was watching the Golden Melody Awards 2007 on tv. I normally didn’t really care about the Chinese entertainment industry but was curious on what the award was all about, so I watched on. Apparently Nicky Lee is a Korean who can sing in Mandarin. He is now based in Taiwan and already churned out 2 albums. With his current album, he just won Best Male Artist at the Grammy of Taiwan. I was really impressed by his talent and now hooked on his songs. I think it has to do with Korean singing in Mandarin with a Korean slang. Keep up the good work Nicky and congrats on your award!

SYLER (HEROES)

Syler....... the villain in Heroes. The thing i'm confused is how does he absorb powers from other people. Does he just crack open their heads and drink the juice or what? A friend of mine came up with the theory that he stares into their eyes to get their powers and then kill them so he will be the only one with that power. Another thing, what power does he originally has? Anyone?

CHONG CHOON

Chong Choon

The word Laksa is widely known in Malaysia. When people think of Laksa, they think of the Penang Laksa. I did try it before when I was in Penang but no matter how famous and delicious people tell me, I still hate it. The smell of fish just puts me off. Then there’s the KL Laksa which I always argue with my KL pal that it is just curry mee and not Laksa at all. There are many types of Laksa around but my absolute favorite is Sarawak Laksa. Some people might say it’s just like a prawn curry based noodle but for me, it’s LAKSA. You can find Sarawak Laksa everywhere you go in Kuching and people here have it almost every morning. One of my favorite places to have it is Chong Choon at Abell Road. Just a little coffee shop tuck in between two rows of shop houses.

not so packed as its close to closing time

Come every morning, the place is packed with people in suits and ties sipping coffee and not forgetting, the Laksa soup. I always have to stalk the dinners there to get a place to sit but today I was lucky enough as it’s almost closing time for them. By the way, it’s only 10.30 in the morning.

my fav Laksa, good to the last drop

Our Laksa come and we devour every single drop of the soup. The soup is full in flavor but not too thick as in murky and the bee hoon is just springy and not soggy. The bean sprouts are crunchy and the prawns are fresh. Just perfect to go with the rest of the Laksa. Not forgetting is the belacan and lime to accompany with the soup. I always mixed everything up and have my way down to the last drop. All in all, it cost just RM3.50 per bowl and worth everything single cent. What can I ask for more?

after all the Laksa, this is the way to wash it down with, a perfect compliment

HEROES

The phenomenal TV series, Heroes just ended its 1st season. In the end, Peter managed to kill Syler with the help of Hiro. We all saw Syler on the ground and everyone else is saved except for Hiro who is teleported back into time. But, is Syler really gone for good? Anybody guess actually as it doesn’t really show Syler corpse or anything. My theory, he is still save and alive. Just look carefully where the blood of Syler flows in the end. The manhole cover was opened also. Does that mean that he managed to escape without anyone’s knowledge? We all have to wait until season 2 for the answer. From the words of the creator, Tim Krin, he did mention that he might feature an all new Heroes for season 2. That is very weird since season 1 seems to be hanging in the air. Let’s just wait till end of the year for season 2 and we’ll all start to glue ourselves to the TV again.

SHALOM

sorry for the blur picture.... this is Shalom

After all the travelling around, I finally got my break of staying put where I belong most, my hometown Kuching. Since I got the time to catch up with old friends back home, I was delighted that I got to try out something new in Kuching. It was a wet night when we decided to go for dinner at this little restaurant called Shalom. Shalom means hello in Hebrew by the way. The place is just opposite Acer services and repair centre at Green Height commercial area next to the BDC roundabout.

the whole place by ourselves

When we were there, they aren’t any costumers around since the place is catered mostly to the office workers around that area. It’s good also so that we can have the whole restaurant to ourselves. The interior is all while from the floor to the ceiling including the furniture used. It’s like stepping into a hospital clean ward.

Bintangor Rojak

The signature dish here is their homemade Rojak from Bintangor. The sauce are homemade and the difference between a normal Rojak and the Bintangor Rojak is the homemade ‘kueh’ that they put inside instead of the usual ‘yew cha kueh’. The ‘kueh’ is made of flour and other stuff like long beans and anions. The combination of the sauce and all the other ingredients is just nice for an appetizer or snack. Make sure you ask for a lot of peanuts as dressing. We ordered two plates and still got room for our mains.

mui chai noodle soup

We had a very traditional Foochow dish called ‘mui chai’ noodle soup. It’s kinda sour in taste that makes you want to eat it more and more. One of my friends complained that it’s not sour enough and asked for more vinegar. Just can’t imagine how much sourness she can take.

Golden taste fried rice

Next is golden taste fried rice which looks a lot like Pattaya fried rice to me. It’s basically fried rice with anchovies covered with an omelette on top. Taste like a Chinese version of Pattaya fried rice to me though.

Bangkok fried kueh tiaw

We skip this into our last dish which is Bangkok fried kueh tiaw. Normal fried kueh tiaw with sambal sauce and lots of bean sprouts and sausages. The kueh tiaw has a nice textured that I like and the sambal sauce goes well with the whole thing. Just the right spiciness and we finished the whole plate clean.

Bintangor orange juice

Not forgetting, we also had their Bintangor orange juice since Bintangor are famous for their small oranges. The whole meal cost us around RM39 which considered being reasonable since we had two plates of rojak and 4 mains. One important point here is, no matter where or what you eat, the place and food will be great if you have a great company with you around. That’s what I experience at Shalom.

BUKIT AUP

the hiking trail

Bukit Aup is situated not far from Sibu’s old airport. It’s a place for the old and young to relax and enjoying the fresh air and environment. The old come here to take a relaxing stroll or just sit by the pond and take in the fresh air. The young come here to jog or hike up the many hills around the area. There’s even a children playground for the little ones or those who felt really young at heart.

canteen on stilts over the lake

sloping hills, green grass, peaceful lake

i think Jack Sparrow' Black Pearl just crashed underneath the suspension bridge

no fishing here

hike up the hill and you'll be rewarded with THE VIEW

The many ponds are filled with varieties of fish and you can buy pieces of bread to feed them from the canteen. Although there are many fishes around, fishing is prohibited here but that doesn’t mean that you got nothing to do here. Hike up the hills to the top and enjoy a bird’s eye view of Sibu and beyond or cross the suspension bridge over the lake. By the time you finished all the trails, you can just relax and have a glass of cool refreshing drink at the canteen.

relax at the canteen after a long hike

sunset at Bukit Aup

SIBU

the symbol of Sibu town - Swan

Over the Gawai Celebration, I visited Sibu with my friends. Actually it was me who pester him to take a road trip with us to Sibu instead of taking a bus since he has to go back anyway. It was a 6 hours journey from Kuching to Sibu. Along the way, the scenery was serene and the road is somehow smooth yet a bump or two here and there. We stop along the way to release our bladder and to stretch our limbs. After the long journey, we were rewarded with the sight of the longest bridge in Sarawak, the Upper Lanang Bridge. Over the bridge is where Sibu is and we were so relieve and excited to be able to see the tallest building in Sarawak, Wisma Sanyan.

Wisma Sanyan (a shopping mall and office block) on the right and RH Hotel (where we stayed) on the left

our hotel room on the 10th floor overlooking the swimming pool

the view from our room - the Rajang River and Sibu Town Square

Sibu town on a Saturday afternoon - slow and easy

Our hotel is just next to Wisma Sanyan and it’s a new and modern hotel. Decoration is simple yet elegant. From our room, we could see the Rajang River (longest river in Malaysia) and also the Sibu Town Square. Big and small ships plying the mighty river carrying logs (the source of income for Sibu) over the murky water.

Tua Pek Kong pagoda by the river

suspension bridge at Bukit Aup

sunset view from the top of the hill at Bukit Aup

the famous Banana Jelly at Tanahmas Hotel - sweet and cooling

the place to come for kompia and kam pua mee - situated at Rejang Park next to the old cinema

i like my kampua mee in black sauce with wanton - Yummy!

oven baked kompia with meat stuffing - crispy on the outside, soft juicy meat inside

kompia with meat sauce - just like eating buns dipped in meat sauce

the place to buy freshly baked kompia and other local pastry (have to squeeze and be brave to shout) - next to the night market in town

the different types of local pastry that were sold at Seng Kee

Cafe cafe is a nice hangout place for youngster - nice staff and food - situated next to the Chinese Pagoda overlooking the river

During our stay here, we visited the Chinese Pagoda, Bukit Aup, stuffed our self with lots of ‘kompia’, ‘kam pua mee’ and other goodies. It was an enjoyable trip and we are planning our next trip back as we drove back another 6 hours to Kuching.

the express boat jetty - take these to Kapit area