One of the best memories I have of shopping in Miri many years ago was the buying of very good salted fish and I found out that several of them were Foochows. As the years went by more and more Foochow salted fishmongers appeared in the Tamu Muhibbah.
But recently I wanted to find one special old lady who had come from Sarikei. Her dried prawns were always very good and she would give me a good price. I was very sad when the ladies told me that she had passed away.
A few years later, some of them moved away and I started to realize that Tamu Muhibbah would never be the same again. This was because the Tamu had to be renovated and the food stalls had to move away. The salted fish mongers had to bring their own packed lunch from then onwards.
Another friendly salt fish monger told me that she too, if she could afford it, retire from selling salted fish.
"Travelling is too easy now. People are going to SArikei and Matu DAro to get their sources themselves!" she exclaimed.
But I still feel that any tamu should continue to sell salted fish and other dried products. It is so much a part of the Sarawak scene.
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