Bitter Melon in Kiangeh Market in Bandar Seri Begawan

The uses of ampalaya OR BITTER MELON encompass a number of herbal medicines used during ancient times. This herb has been part of folklore medicine since Philippine natives used the fruit as a cure for a variety of ailments. The Filipinos in Brunei use this bitter melon in their cooking.

Today many farmers have started to plant and sell it in the markets.

Ampalaya, or Momordica charantia, is a climbing vine. The vine grows as large as five meters and has tendrils that are 20 centimeters in length, on average. The leaves of the pant are heart shaped. Each leaf is between five and ten centimeters wide.

. A popular fruit in the Philippines, bRUNEI  and Malaysia, ampalaya fruit is green and oblong in shape. The ends are pointed. When the seeds mature within the fruit, the pointed edges become wrinkled and eventually burst open. The seeds from the plant are flat.

In terms of taste, the ampalaya fruit itself is edible and has a bitter taste to it. In fact, its name loosely translates to "bitter melon." This bitter taste comes from the momordicin within the fruit. Some claim that ampalaya fruit is some of the most bitter of all types of fruits and vegetables.

It is good in a Malaysian style salad, with a sambal made from belacan. It is good to prepare it as a soupl. Use the leaves and some fruits and cook with pork bones or ikan bilis. A nice warm soup which may be very healthy.

Bony Fish? Do the Sarawak Way.....

Today's post is dedicated to all my friends who love to eat fish (not just the expensive fish which cost more than RM20.00 per kg now...or some which cost 100 ringgit per kg or more...)

When we were young we ate so many different kinds of fish caught in the river and the sea. Sometimes we literally had the free fish given to us by God (Dad was a keen fisherman who could use hooks and traps especially the bubu...)

And I remember that sometimes Dad would share his pailful of fish with some of our employees (Pulau Kerto) especially the bony ones. Their children who were my playmates would then have a fish in their hands throughout the evening. That was their "snack" or "tea". And I could hear the crunchiness of the fish in their hands. To me it was their keropok and I would watch them eat and play at the same time

 I would have my meal later..sitting properly at the table with the family Conservative Chinese style. And we would all eat quietly too with only Dad saying a few words. Mum would be holding the youngest while we ate. She would always eat later. (This sounds very much like a paragraph from "The Good Earth" by P.S. Buck..)

Dad would select his own fish - the finger sized ensulai and prawns for us. We might have Ikan Baong or a small tapah. All these depended on what the tide would bring to him (and us). Occasionally we had a big Mata Merah for dinner to my mother's delight. It was especially meaningful when we had visitors staying over night and it was almost like a festival when we had a good fish on the table. Those were the days when we literally had "from the river to the table" kind of meals as we had no refrigerator at home even though my father was the manager of the Ice Factory.

But the other seeing my friend frying her fish in this way...all my memories of my younger days flooded back quickly....and I can still smell the aroma of fish frying in a small kuali in the wooden house(workers' quarters) behind the Ice Factory. We all ate early at about 5 p.mm. in those days because we wanted to save our fuel be it kerosene or electricity. By night fall all of us children would be sent to our bedroom and kept under the mosquito nets.

Sweet yellow fish which is very bony

This is how your seasoned fish can be sliced right across the fish body till the skeletal portion

Deep fry the fish in  fresh oil and your fish will come out crunchy and nice like  fish crackers.

This kind of deep frying of fish is a good way to prepare lesser "types" of fish and you can have nasi lemak and some salted fish and vegetable soup. A fantastic dinner for less than 10 ringgit for the whole family.

Hope one day you will try frying fish this way too as an experiment. You can even eat all the bones...and the eyes and the heads.....LOL.

Yam Seng - Foochow Style

Modern day drinking in Fujian calls for some clever rituals and speech making. Most adults have the language to propose a toast.

We from Nanyang have a lot to learn from them.

Our Mr. Deng Wang Chew was good at saying all the great phrases, wishing every one good health for example.

Mr. Tiong Yong Ching is also good.

So when one man starts standing up and his his glass, he would make a little speech and every one will stand up to thank him and bottoms up.

Yam seng. Gambei.

When someone remembers to say something, perhaps already intoxicated, he will stand up and raise his glass....gives a good toast, and every one will stand up  and they will have a round of gambei.

Many people think that this ritual is to show that one is trustworthy and upright.

10 Chinese drinking rules (from Google)

1. Drink at least one glass of wine with at least every person at a table
2. Never refuse to participate in a toast, it is considered extremely rude
3. Unlike Europeans or Americans, in China it is not necessary to look someone in the eye while toasting
4. Elderly people and superiors should always be toasted first
5. 干杯 ganbei in most cases still means “bottoms up”, if you don’t want to drink the whole cup just say suiyi随意, which means „as one pleases“
6. Do not toast before the boss or host.
7. There is no need for an elaborate toast before each drink, but when adressing someone for a toast you should say 敬你一杯 (jing ni yi bei); a repectful way of offering a toast
8. If someone proposes a toast and stands up, you should stand up as well. If you toast with a superior you should also stand up to show respect (in many cases they will make you sit down again)
9. The one who proposes a toast must drink more than the person toasted
10. When proposing a toast, one should raise the glass below the glass of the person toasted, unless one is the host or boss.

Traditional way of making foochow Red Wine -= store in jars, which are called TANG. My grandmother used to say that when she was young in Keh Tou Puoh, people used to buy a whole JAR or TANG of red wine for confinement.

Organ Donation Campaign in Miri

Malaysian Red Crescent Miri Chapter 

22nd - 24th July 2011 

Are you an Organ

Pledger ? 

Venue : 1^st Floor, New Wing, Bintang Mega Mall 

Organ Donation Campaign 

您是一位器官捐献者吗?

July 2011 will see many people working hard for Miri's Red Crescent's Organ Donation Campaign..

See you at the Bintang Mall 22nd-24th July 2011

Would you be amongst the Organ Donors?

spread your love around..pledge your organs.....

Your donation can save lives and spread the warmth of the human spirit ......We need your help!!

The world needs you!

Fat Cat of Miri

Many people I know would plan for a long day out at the Bintang Mall usually at the end of the month. And they would include a meal at Fat Cat. I have also found out that it was not just the Foochows who gather around the good hearted Fat Cat proprietor but many other dialectic groups and races (and foreigners who have discovered him)!! "Fat Cat" was also a favourite caterer for many school and church picnics as his stall is very centrally located in Miri.

What was his secret? His old style (not the corporate fashionable style) friendliness and his kindness. He would always give his customers more than they paid for. And that was true for many of his faithful home cooked food loving customers. How long  had he and his family been operating Fat Cat at Bintang Mall? 17 years. And every year his food got better.

It was a real shock to me that he and his family had to move away from his top floor spot - which has become one of the favourite eating places in Miri. And a second kitchen to many busy housewives.

Would he operate in Miri again? We have to wait and see. But in the meantime we will have to forego eating the nice curry chicken and the hot favourite - steamed minced pork with tou hoo.... His stir fried meeding was always fresh and crunchy and tasty.

The main dish which pulled me - Foochow style minced pork with tou hoo. (When I took this photo...only a little left.....oooooo)

Happy food server with a polite attitude towards all races...a winning point.

The mother figure who always gave a nice smile and an understanding nod.

The happy go lucky man..Fat Cat. He is multi lingual and is a keen observer of people. If he had gone to school he would have scored high in EQ and psychology. He used to be heavier. Now he has slimmed down and looks very young.

Mixed vegatables - quality food.

Deep fried chicken - A little Louisiana  flavour!!

Very nice tenggir - my favourite

Kicap belly pork...so nostalgically good

sweet and sour meat balls....

Sabah pumpkin shoots

Foochow style chicken curry - a winner

Special fried rice - you can order by the plate and he would fry for you with the ingredients you like!!

The busy mother would pack some lovely dishes from this stall and enjoy a nice easy meal at home...hence we shall miss him and his team a lot....Hope he comes back to Miri and we can enjoy his food again!!

Light Weight Mattresses

In the olden days most of our mattresses were made from cotton fibre (kapok) or coconut fibre. And they were really heavy. Every family would dry them in the sun on good sunny days, and especially before Chinese New Year. some families dried the mattresses very often, but the most important time to dry the mattresses was before Chinese New Year.

Most of the families could not afford the Dunlop mattresses when they came into the market. Many students who boarded in school hostels slept on plain wooden plants without mattresses.

Then came the new product of light foam mattresses. These light foam mattresses are so light they can even be blown away by a strong wind.

with the coming of light foam mattresses, most families can afford to buy a few. They are usually stacked up against a wall when not needed. 

Sarawak wood for Korean Market

I was travelling down the road from Kuching . Stopped at Lachau and was told by the towkay that these poles are for their Korean Market...Interesting.

They are really well tied together. 

May be it is for a Korean movie.

Fishing Boat...full to the brim....

Diesel subsidies and the hike in petrol prices are the issues which help to increase the price of fish in Sarawak. I remember 20 years ago in Sibu ikan tenggiri (ma kah or Spanish Mackerel) cost only 3 ringgit a kilo. Now it can fetch up to 24 ringgit a kilo in Miri!! It is more or less the same in Sibu.

Doesn't the figure say a lot about inflation in Malaysia?

In Sibu we were quite at home with fishermen from all races going to sea in those days and boats would come in loaded (some overloaded) with fish of all kinds. Pomfrets (duai puteh) were the favoured fish.



So when I saw this fishing boat chugging up the Sarawak River at Pertanak Market recently I was filled with nostalgia....

I was not quick enough to capture many shots of it and I was photographing against the sun too. It was have been nice to have its movements from the beginning to the end when it disappeared at the corner.

What signals does it give to other fishermen? Where is the boat registered? Is it  privately owned? How powerful is it? What are the safety measures taken? How many fishermen are on board?

Is it an A? or B? or C?

Brooke(English) Architecture in Kuching

Formerly the courthouse for Sarawak’s Chinese Community, this colonial-era building was built in 1912. In 1993, this building was converted to the Chinese History Museum. Currently this museum houses a small collection of Kuching’s numerous Chinese groups. This collection offers visitors fascinating insights into the development and evolution of Sarawak’s Chinese Community.

The Square Tower

Built in 1879 as a detention camp for prisoners, the square tower was later converted into a fortress and then a dance hall. Today it is a multimedia information centre and video theatre providing information on Sarawak's tourist 

 It was built in 1879 as a fortress, fortunately never fired a shot in anger, unlike its wooden predecessor which was burnt down in the 1857 gold miners’ rebellion.

I love the Round Tower of Kuching.

It was constructed in 1886 and no one really knows why it was built. Was it meant to be a fort in case of emergency?

Later it was used as a dispensary and then it housed the Labour Department until 1980.

It was later used as part of the Judiciary Deparment.

It is now a handicraft centre for tourists and locals to visit.

Security Guard - A Cat

There is this shop in Padungan Road in Kuching that I visited. The family is very form of their cat.

This cat is very special as it plays the role of the shop's security guard. It can fly from the top of the shelf at any person who looks suspicious according to one of the sales girls. It sits very comfortably on top of the shelf near the door where he can sun bathe in the morning.

According to the shop keeper, it not only catches rats but it is a faithful guard "cat".

He  becomes a part of the friendly shop atmosphere and a "conversation piece". Some cat loving customers even come by just to say hello to the cat.

Kuching is a city of cats and this cat has been with the family for so long that they also cannot remember when exactly the cat came to live with them. But they have come to love and depend on the cat.

A guard dog is not possible to have in a shop in Malaysia because of the Muslim clientele who might be afraid when they see a dog. Muslims cannot touch dogs which are considered not clean.

Perhaps this meow meow is the only Guard Cat in the whole of Sarawak.

Spongebob Squarepants Mushroom newly discovered in Borneo forest

This is exciting really!! Read more.......

A new species of mushroom has been named by its discoverers after the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants.

The fungus, named Spongiforma squarepantsiiby the researchers at San Francisco State University (SFSU), was found during an expedition to the forests of Borneo.

S. squarepantsii is shaped like a sea sponge and, say its discoverers, has a fruity or musty smell.

Details are published in the scientific journal Mycologia.

SpongeBob is the star of an eponymous television cartoon series which began in 1999. The character, who wears a short pair of square, brown trousers, lives in the fictional locality of Bikini Bottom.

The new mushroom is only one of two species that belong in the genusSpongiforma. The other one is found in central Thailand, but differs in its colour and odour.

"We expect that it has a wider range than these two areas," said Professor Dennis E Desjardin, from SFSU, who is a co-author of the scientific paper.

Reference source and photo from BBC

If you happen to see this in one of your walks please take a photo or photos......Our indigenous people would probably have a common name for it too....

Jering - a local Sarawak fruit from the kampongs

You might sometimes wonder what these plates of brown hard seeds are for! In the local markts you can see many people selling them. Buah jering is both a medicine and a vegetable.

The botanical name for buah jering is Archidendron Jiringa. It is grown wild but it might also be cultivated in the soft soils of the kampongs. 

Jering are medium-sized trees that can reach 20 m in height. The bark is smooth and light grey in color. The leaves are compound, two pinnate up to 25 cm long, leaf stalks up to 6 cm long.

The leaflets are 8-25 cm ling, 4-5 cm wide, ovate to booing in shape, light green, shiny.

Young leave are soft, purplish red in color. 

The fruit is a legume, 5 cm wide, twisted in a spiral, purplish brown in color. Seeds are large, testa yellowish when young, reddish brown when mature, the edible cotyledons are yellowish when young, becoming orange brown when mature.

Jering rebus

 




The local Malays believe that its leaves can be pounded and applied in chest pains, pains, skin ailments. Furthermore in olden days before Mopiko and Tiger Balm ashes were obtained by burning the old leaves and applied on itch. Ashes obtained by burning the young leaves were applied on cuts, wounds.





Here is something surprising too. Our maid from Indonesia once said that the bark could be pounded and made into a gargle for treating gum pains, toothache.

In Miri most local people prepare the fruits at meals to treat diabetes, hypertension.







Sambal jering




In Taiwan huge jering could be found and the hard seeds are made into souvenirs.

consider yourelf lucky if you have a jering tree growing in your back yard!!

Remembering the Spring Roll Wrappers Man of Sibu........

I have this longing for popiah skin and spring rolls....for when I was young my mother would always send me out to buy popiah skins on festival days and I would always be on the look out for the man who made the popiah skin at the corner lot on High Street of Sibu in front of Tai Sing.....There were two or three others who made the skin in Sibu but this man made them on the spot....and he had a very special customer attitude.

I think most people would also appreciate this. When we were children...to have mum making popiah was a real treat...and if we could get our hands on making them...we could roll for ourselves some wonderful goodies. Spring rolls were made only four times a year during the important festivals for most people who celebrated the festivals. In those days almost every one celebrated Chinese festivals in a small way. Sometimes those were the only days when we had a good meal or meat on the table.

However making of spring rolls also taught us that we should not be greedy or else our popiah would burst in its skin. Hence learning to roll or wrap spring roll was actually a good training ground for meticulous kitchen skills and food handling. Besides nice looking spring rolls which were also dainty as well delighted the eyes and heart. Mum used to say that small and neat spring rolls say a lot about our character.

And many many years later one of the best gatherings I ever had with my own colleagues in Sibu was our special popiah party. That was really a good idea for good friends to gather together for R and R. Gone are those days ..and we might never come together again because one of them just passed away two weeks ago.....If we had digital cameras or phone cameras then we could have some great photos to remember the occasion.

I am now staying in a town where no one makes fresh popiah skin at a corner lot. We don't have a man who has stories to tell his customers. We have lost this special human touch - a man who makes popiah skin with love for his community......thanks to this blogger I have this photo of her home made popiah skin and because of this social network I may just go an make some myself. Thank you!!




She even gives us her recipe so generously.....


800 g All-Purpose Flour, sifted
1 ½ tsp Sea Salt
800 ml Water

Method

Combine all the ingredients in a stand mixer bowl. Stir the batter with a wooden spatula, wrap with a cling film and let it rest for at least 3 hours.

Beat the batter for about 15 minutes, or until the batter is smooth and elastic.

Place the griddle or a flat cast-iron pan on a medium heat. Once the pan is hot, lower the heat slightly. Using one hand, coat the batter and rub onto the pan. Then use the other hand to peel off the wrapper when it is cooked.

Makes about 50 pieces (7 to 8”)even gives us her recipe generously -

Any way...with the world getting smaller we need not actually make our own spring roll skin for we can buy them in the supermarket.....But we still have to do a lot of preparation for the filling..and perhaps that is where the fun is. The conversation we can have when we slice and chop...when we pound and laugh.....etc...

This photo is contributed by my friend Judy who went to Vietnam recently....Thanks Judy....



Remember when some one wraps a spring roll for you...it is an act of love.....

It is nice to describe Sibu popiah as "Spring love all wrapped up for you......"in freshly made skins.

And when the opportunity comes we should all attempt to make an effort to show our love....for the next generation and the next generation .......

Old Fashioned Floating Toilet

A lot of people would have no problems answering nature's call in places with good toilet system.

In the more rural parts of Sarawak where sewerage is still rather primitive one can really be surprised by what you get.

There can be toilets with the best flush system in some very modern longhouses where roads have been built and there are some good toilets built inthe rural schools which cost a large amount of money because of the cost of the materials having to travel thousands of miles and some by air!!

Here is one example of a very simple and convenient toilet - a toilet which uses the river to flush the sewer away ...we call it the floating toilet in Sarawak and it can still be found in many places in Sarawak.



I used to be very frightened using one when I was younger. Whenever an express boat passed by the Sungei Igan I was so terrified that the jetty and the toilet and I would be washed away by the backwash!! The Rajang River had fewer of these toilets because of the heavy traffic flow in the river ...

But the floating toilets continue to provide bathing facilities (if the water is not too polluted) as it is more private with four walls. Is it true that as our society progresses we become more inhibited?

But definitely I feel that as the society progresses our government should provide better sewerage systems and public toilets both in the rural and urban areas......at least to prevent diseases. There is definitely a need for Rest and Relaxation along the long trunk roads of Sarawak...and besides we must try our best to reduce the number of floating toilets too.

Ayam Penyet and Safari Jaya of Brunei Darulsalam

Ayam Penyet is a favourite fast food in Brunei even though its origin may be Indonesian. However there is no debate about its origin. The people in Brunei embrace the recipe whole heartedly and young and old love it.

Besides the fragrant rice served in most Brunei shops is really the best of the long grained rice. Bruneians enjoy good rice (AAA)which is subsidized by the Sultan of Brunei. I too find the rice very tasty and sweet for a change from my hill padi or beras paya which comes from the lower lands..

My first impression of Ayam Penyet is that the chciken would come out smashed as the name implies. Actually ayam penyet is  twice cooked chicken. First it is braised in coconut milk and spices and then deep fried. When ordering a platted rice with ayam penyet most people would ask for a drumstick which will then be a good sambal. Bruneian sambal is different from Malaysian sambal. Some raw vegetables are also given. That usually costs Bru $3.50.

This is near the Hua Ho of Kiulap.....

Some how the juiciness of the chicken is remarkable. But it is the sambal that sends the rice down to your stomach with a special oomph.

Here's how you can prepare your own at home.....

 1 whole Chicken, cut into 4 or 8 pieces (as desired) or chicken parts of your choice.

Recipe for one chicken (for a family of 4 or 6)

- 300 ml of coconut milk

- 200 ml of water

- 1 Salaam leafs or bay leaf

- 2 stalks fresh Lemongrass (Sereh/Serai), bruised

- Lime juice from 1 fresh lime

Spice Paste (pounded)

- 4 cloves of garlic

- 2 Candlenuts

- 1-2  teaspoon coriander (I prefer more)

- 2 teaspoon salt

For Sambal (pound together)

- 5 red chillies

- 4 bird's eyes chillies

- 6 shallots

- 1 or 2  cloves of garlic

- 1 teaspoon salt or less

- 1 teaspoon gula melaka

Directions

1. Grind or blend the spice paste.

2. Boil  the chicken over slow fire with the spice paste, coconut milk, Salaam leafs,Lemongrass and water. Cook until it's tender and spices are all absorbed.

3. When the chicken is already cooked, leave it to cool for a while..

4. (If you prefer a healthy meal you need not go through this step I was told). Heat the oil in non-stick frying pan, fry the chicken until it's brown andcrispy. Set aside . When cooled cut into six or eight portions and flatten (penyet)  the chicken pieces and serve.

5. sauté the sambal paste with  a small amount of oil until it's fragrant for couple of minutes. When it's ready sprinkle with lime juice and then serve.

If you don't wish to have ayam panyet or any other dishes you can opt for the roti canai here....and at the same time you can enjoy your football too.
The teh tarik here has good standing and is recommendable.
Besides the team of workers are very friendly and courteous.