Lunch date with Cheesie

obriens

I was due to fly back to Sibu last night and since I had some time to kill (and also coz I wanted to meet Ringo ;)) I managed to get in touch with her and meet up with the big cheese at O’Briens in 1U.

obriens cheesie

This is the delicious dairy product herself, in her stealth mode disguise. She has the exact same cell phone as mine.

obriens interior

O’Briens is known for it’s gourmet coffee and handcut sandwiches…

obriens counter

…and their tagline “See your food made fresh in front of you”, kinda like an open kitchen thing, except it’s an open counter of sorts.

obriens salmon

Cheesie went for the healthy option, with the Smoked Salmon on Shambo (RM 13.50) under their Low Fat Lifestyle menu, interestingly dubbed “Guilt Free Food” with everything having under 3 grams of fat.

obriens peach

This is the Peach Blush (RM 10) that she ordered. My first impression was that she seems to wear a lot of bling. This girl has color coordination – most of the articles she wore has gold trimmings!

obriens toastie

I went for the (much) less healthier option of the O’Briens Crambo Club Hot Toastie (RM 16.50). The sandwiches at O’Briens are all served with crisps, which is a nice touch. I love putting Pringles in sandwiches, it makes the texture with white bread (untoasted) very interesting. Crispy!

obriens coffee

I also had the large Cappuccino (RM 8.50) which comes with a shamrock froth finish. I have seen Guinness doing that for draft stout in some bars, it must be an Irish thing. πŸ˜‰

obriens us

Cheesie has a very bubbly personality and I felt very comfortable talking to her. We also had a lengthy intellectual discourse on methods of improving Cheesie’s Wardrobe. Heh! It was great meeting up with you Ringo! Jesus, now I sound like a fanboy. I have also noticed that I will be needing Botox on my forehead very, very soon. πŸ˜‰

…and no, this is not an advertorial nor was any payment (monetary or otherwise) arranged for me to do this Cheesie post. =D

The Mummy 3 – Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Press Screening

mummy 3 us

I went to the Mummy 3 press screening at GSC, Midvalley at the ungodly hour of 9:45 am with Timothy, Samantha and Cynthia on Tuesday. It was held a day before the premiere and two days before the official release date. I haven’t been to a press screening before, cheers to Nuffnang for that coz I’m a huge fan of movies.

mummy 3 deposit

The interesting bit about press screenings is that you have to insert your cell phone and digicam into this envelope thing (with an attached ID) so no cell phones are allowed in the theater itself.

mummy 3

Anyway, we got a Mummy 3 press kit with a text insert containing the list of credits and other filming anecdotes as well as a CD Press Kit with goodies like photos, production notes and the trailer and other information. I found it quite interesting to read, it’s not just the standard plot guidelines but experiences about the difficulties of filming in China and other behind the scenes stuff. The press screening also comes with a free drink and popcorn voucher.

mummy 3 press kit

I was looking forward to the Mummy 3 movie coz I’ve watched the first two and found the franchise highly entertaining. It’s nice to be one of the first to watch the movie. Brandon Fraser is back and he’s as good as ever even though he seems to be trying too hard to be funny in some of the scenes.

I loved the plot about The Dragon Emperor which is (very) loosely based on mythology behind the terracotta warrior statues in China. Unfortunately, I had a rather late night the previous night and the sleep deprivation compounded by the extremely cold air conditioning and dark atmosphere of the GSC cinema made me very sleepy (and I have a very strong suspicion that I actually had a couple of microsleeps ;)).

It’s not due to the movie though, The Mummy 3 was great and it has a great plot twist in the beginning and ends well with the standard happy ending that the series is renowned for. It’s a feel good popcorn (caramel, not salted) movie that makes for another great addition to the Mummy franchise.

Jet Li’s character is great, and although he doesn’t have a lot of dialog, his on screen presence fits the character well. He’s menacing and in command. However, it was Isabella Leong’s performance that steals the show. I felt that there was no on screen chemistry between Luke Ford and Isabella Leong but she just has the poise and grace for this particular character (with a slight peppering of melancholy).

Mummy 3 is now showing in cinemas nationwide.

Preparations for my sister’s wedding in KL

kl

I took unpaid leave to go to KL for three days and two nights to attend to her banquet details over here. It was so hectic to meet with the parents from the other side and decide on the details – my sister is a bit of a stickler for details. She and the fiancΓ© is in New Zealand and the marriage ceremony is going to be held there but the banquet will be held in KL and then Sibu.

My sister has been in NZ for more than 10 years so I don’t see that much of her. But hey, being the only sibling she has, she’s counting on me to arrange her banquet details on this side. My dad is working and my mom couldn’t go due to a family emergency (my maternal grandmother has Alzheimer’s) so I was the designated Poh representative.

They’re both doctors so I’m not sure how the marriage would work out though with health care professionals working such long hours and all. πŸ˜‰

Nevertheless, I wish them well. Cheers sis! πŸ™‚

Heineken Chelsea Asia Tour 2008 Malaysia Contest Winners

winners

The submissions for the contest to win a ticket to the Chelsea match on the 29th of July 2008 and the included pass to the Heineken House has been carefully harvested, measured, sieved, filtered, marinated and roasted to perfection. The fermentation process was a little on the lengthy side, my apologies about that, but here are the winners:

Suresh Krishnan-Dass
017-700XXXX
You’re the very first person to get BOTH of the bonus questions right, which is amazing due to the admittedly vague nature of the photos. Kudos for that! You just won a ticket to the match and the included invite to the Heineken House.

Elaine
016-202XXXX
The Blur Queen also managed to get both the bonus questions right. Respect! You’re the second one to do so, congratulations! πŸ™‚

Melvin Raj
016-371XXXX
Melvin also got both of the bonus questions right, with the additional information that the firm was originally known as the Chelsea Shed Boys. Cheers!

Nurvia Ooi
012-395XXXX
Nurvia won by pure virtue of speed. The email was the first one in that had all the questions answered correctly. First post award. Congratulations!

Shakira
016-354XXXX
This one takes the cake in pure effort and length. She wrote a very lengthy email with educated guesses of the possible answers to the bonus questions. An except:
picture two:
you are standing. the clue is firm.. standing firm? or are you talking about a football firm?

answer:
1. Lampard stays firm in Chelsea as I have just read in the newsletter…
2. Chelsea Headhunters, the firm where people formed with the intent to engage in fights and inflict pain with members of firms from other clubs. Riot! Sound like a bit of fun :] I know in 2006 that 2 players received death threats from the Headhunters. I will wikipedia that later to see what I can find.

congrats

Congratulations to all the five winners! You each get one (1) ticket to the Chelsea Asia Tour 2008 match at Shah Alam Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at 8:45 PM on the 29th of July, 2008 and one (1) invite to the Heineken House courtesy of Heineken, the sponsor of the contest.

The answer to the first bonus question is The Rising Sun pub where Chelsea was founded (thus the hint “Origin”). The second bonus question with the hint “Firm” refers to Chelsea Headhunters – the football firm of Chelsea.

blind

Judges decisions are final and based on purely unscientific qualitative standards. πŸ˜‰

Thank you all for participating and I’ll be calling the winners to verify their attendance. I want to ensure that all the winners can go, so should any one of them be unable to make it, the ticket and pass will be given to another submission selected at random* with priority given to the first few people who emailed me with the correct answers.

chelsea

Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, Joe Cole are all coming for the friendly match against Malaysia. Be at the Shah Alam Stadium on the 29th of July to watch Chelsea play against our national team!

*Fine Print (TM): You have to answer the phone within 6 rings coz I really don’t want to be on the phone the whole day. πŸ˜‰

Nike Project Lightweight Design Competition

thinking

Have you ever wanted to be a designer for Nike? Here’s your chance! Project Lightweight is a contest initiated by Nike for talented young student designers. Lighter, stronger, and faster is the Nike design philosophy and this initiative is open to all college and university students to design a future lightweight product for athletes.

possibilities

Nike is encouraging aspiring designers from all disciplines to participate in the contest. You just need to design any product (not just footwear, but apparel etc) for any sport. Project Lightweight is encouraging futuristic designs for a new lightweight product – your imagination is the only limit here.

fusion

The best thing about this contest is that entries are not just limited to a specific medium such as film, art, installation, or product. In fact, complete freedom of design is encouraged! Each entry must be accompanied by a description of the design (limited to 200 words). You can even email a consulting expert at projectlightweight@email-nike.com.my to seek advice or ask any questions.

design

I know what I’ll like to see – a Nike shoe that is lightweight, breathable (but water repellent for those rainy days) with a Bluetooth connection AND a kinetic or piezoelectric energy harvesting system that can power not just the Bluetooth interface chip, but an iPod or cell phone as well. I don’t know how that can be achieved, but hey, think out of the box and all that.

“You run like a girl!”
“My grandmother can run faster than you!”
Have you ever been taunted before? Hopefully, with the latest products coming out of the Project Lightweight contest, we won’t have to put up with those insults anymore…coz we’ll all be running on lightweight footwear! πŸ™‚

That’s the beauty about the Project Lightweight design competition – it’s meant to showcase YOUR point of view. YOU get to decide on what a lightweight footwear (or apparel) should be like and submit your entries to the Project Lightweight website. Calling all aspiring designers of all disciplines. The future is yours!

ready

Ready? Set. Go!

Go forth, and create history!

security

(and design a lightweight pair of trainers so I can outrun mall security next time)

Project Lightweight is offering a grand prize of an all expenses paid trip to Nike’s World Headquarters in Oregon, USA. The winner would not just get a chance to tour the grounds (which is called The Campus, much like Microsoft’s headquarters) but will also have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit the “Kitchen”, where the top designers of Nike brainstorm and design new products.

You’ll also get the chance to meet and pick the brains of Nike’s legendary design team!

Project Lightweight Design Competition
The competition allows participants to design any product (e.g. footwear, apparel etc), and they are not limited to any particular sport. All submissions must be made between 1 – 31 July on the Project Lightweight website www.nike.com.my/projectlightweight.

For more information, log onto www.nike.com.my/projectlightweight for full details on how to enter, participation requirements, submission details and other terms and conditions.

Mitsu Tea House

mitsu tea house

Clare has left for Kuching just now and bought me breakfast at Mitsu Tea House in lieu of sexual services rendered during her stay here. πŸ˜‰ I’m kidding of course, I was just little more than her personal driver during the week she was in Sibu.

mitsu tea house outside

Mitsu Tea House is just about the only place you can get decent dim sum in Sibu. There is an al fresco seating area at the bottom…

mitsu tea house inside

…and an air-conditioned enclosure at the first floor. Mitsu Tea House was totally packed this morning – it seems like it attracts the Sunday morning crowd in droves!

mitsu tea house waitress

We finally managed to snag a table after a short wait and a waitress took our order. You can tell I woke up at an ungodly hour from my ruffled hair. I usually don’t do Sunday morning breakfasts. πŸ˜‰

mitsu tea house cart

Mitsu Tea House has the ubiquitous dim sum carts doing the rounds but you can order a la carte from their menu as well.

mitsu tea house setting

Mitsu is one of the more successful eating establishments in Sibu with Mitsu Shabu Shabu offering Japanese cuisine and Mitsu Tea House with its impressive dim sum portfolio.

mitsu tea house tea

We ordered Chrysanthemum + Green Tea (RM 4 per pot), a mixture of two different tea leaves (and flowers). It came in a store branded teapot and cups, much like the eating receptacles over here.

mitsu tea house dragon bun

Steamed Pork Meat and Abalone Sauce Buns. This is pretty good stuff…it’s a little like “little dragon buns” where the sauce is sealed in the bun pouch itself…

mitsu tea house oyster

…and can be eaten as you eat oysters. Slurp it down. πŸ˜‰

mitsu tea house rice

Lo mai gai (sticky glutenous rice) is another dim sum staple but Mitsu Tea House’s version disappoints. It was under flavored and lacking in carnivorous content.

mitsu tea house prawn

Steamed Shrimp Dumplings (har kau) was very good though. It has two shrimps in each dumpling and tasted exquisite!

mitsu tea house pastry

We also had Baked Cream Custard Pastry from their Dim Sum Pastries menu and it was alright….tasted like a Portuguese Egg Tart.

mitsu tea house noodles

Mitsu Tea House also serves noodles and we saw a lot of other tables ordering this. The waitress told us the Dry Fried Noodles with Beef was one of their specialties and we finished off the brunch with this carbohydrate laden dish.

mitsu tea house us

Mitsu Tea House has just about the best dim sum you’re going to get in Sibu. It’s the only specialized dim sum place in town but be forewarned – the crowd can be oppressive. There wasn’t an empty table to be seen in the entire establishment!

mitsu tea house divination

Hmm…there’s something about tea leaf divination… πŸ˜‰

Kingwood Resort Mukah

kingwood resort mukah

Kingwood Resort Mukah is a beach resort located in Mukah. It has 99 rooms sprawled across a huge compound that borders the beach and the facilities and buildings are all very new, having only been completed a couple of years ago. It’s perfect for a short weekend retreat.

palm fronds

The palm trees that greets you with it’s swaying fronds and the cool sea breeze coming in from the beach makes for a very nice and relaxing environment. The horizon is visible from the…er, horizon and covers the entire…well, horizon. πŸ˜‰

kingwood mukah

The main hotel building is a 3 story structure in the middle the resort compound. Kingwood Resort Mukah has facilities ranging from swimming pools to tennis courts. It’s very well maintained and looks clean and new despite being constantly exposed to salt water.

kingwood lobby

The lobby of the resort is decked out with rattan chairs and has free WiFi coverage.

king nothing

Hail to the King, baby! πŸ˜‰

kingwood sterile

The decor is very antiseptic, which may not be a good thing for a beach resort, but it gets brownie points for being clean and brand spanking new.

check in

The rooms start from RM 322 nett but we got a special deal from Henry so we only paid RM 160 nett for a Premier Room with a sea view with a published rate of RM 368 nett. He was also kind enough to throw in lunch and breakfast for two. Cheers!

queen sized

The Premier Room is equipped with two queen sized beds, which I always took to mean as one designated for activities which leaves wet spots on the sheets and the other for sleeping in. πŸ˜‰

interior

There is also a writing desk, a couch, TV with Astro, complimentary tea and coffee making facilities and wardrobes.

shower

There is a modern shower unit made of transparent glass and an adjacent toilet. I reminded Clare to shout “Fire in the hole” should she flush the toilet while I’m in the shower coz that makes the water go scalding hot. It’s proper travel etiquette when sharing rooms. πŸ˜‰

toiletries

The toiletries provided are pretty standard so you don’t have to bring your own toothbrush or shaver.

balcony

The best part about the Premier Room is the balcony outside the window. It allows the cool sea breeze to come in and commands a great view of the beach. It also serves well as the designated smoking zone.

balcony view

The view from the Premier Room also covers the swimming pool at the resort and the gazebos scattered throughout the beach front.

Video of Kingwood Resort Mukah from the balcony

palm beach cafe 

Henry was kind enough to prepare a complimentary lunch for us, so we went down to the Palm Beach Cafe. The Palm Beach Cafe is the only dining establishment in the entire resort, so unless you’re bringing your own food, that’s where you’ll be eating during your entire stay. πŸ™‚

melanau decor

Palm Beach Cafe has been decorated with Melanau elements and the cultural aspects of Mukah. The huge fishing net featured on the wall reflects the fishing industry Mukah is so well known for.

al fresco

There are al fresco seating arrangements with a water feature right by the poolside.

kingwood mukah sarawak

Henry had prepared two servings of the Melanau Fried Rice that is one of the signature dishes.

girl

Our waitress was a pleasant girl from Bintulu that somehow wound up working in Mukah for reasons we didn’t delve into.

drinks

She served us fresh orange juice and warm water while the lunch was being prepared.

melanau fried rice

The Melanau Fried Rice comes with generous amounts of seafood in the fried rice and is served with an egg and a huge fish cracker.

lunch eat

The portions at Palm Beach Cafe is huge, with me barely managing to finish the dish, which usually costs RM 12 ++ while Clare ate about 3/4 of the food.

ripples

There is a unique water feature surrounding the Palm Beach Cafe with ripples of water shimmering in the afternoon sun.

walk

The resort area is also a nice place to take a leisurely stroll with gazebos and concrete chairs for sitting down should the need arise.

Video of view from the beach front

pool

I figured we would go for a swim after the lunch despite having forgotten my sunscreen and we went down to the poolside.

pool chair

There are pool chairs and a small kiddy pool in addition to the main pool.

It was fun to soak in the water and swim a little.

pool me

It’s a very nice feeling to relax at a beach resort after a working week.

dusk

We swam in the pool until it was evening then went back to the hotel and took a shower together, er…I meant took turns showering before heading down for dinner.

dinner

We ate again at the Palm Beach Cafe for dinner, it being the only restaurant there and what not. It was decided that we’re going to check out the western dishes for dinner.

dinner me

There were a group of people having a function there so the food came out a little bit slow but that’s alright since it’s a vacation and all, so there are no fires in dire need to be put out. πŸ˜‰

kingwood macaroni

I had the Kingwood Macaroni (RM 11 ++) which is stir fried macaroni with prawn, minced chicken, mixed vegetables and beef bacon. It doesn’t taste as good as Clare’s order.

fettuccine carbonara

Clare has the Fettuccine Carbonara (RM 14 ++) which, as it’s name suggests is loaded with carbs. πŸ˜‰ It’s stir fried fettuccine with beef bacon, onion, garlic, black olive, mushroom and cream. The sauce is very creamy and it tastes much better than the stir fried macaroni.

kingwood night

We went for a walk on the beach after dinner…

wine

…and adjourned back to the hotel room to drink some wine. I had brought a bottle of wine and several bottles of liquor for some liquid entertainment at night.

mixer

Clare also brought her Anything and Whatever drinks which works as a good mixer for the cheap Joker liquor that I got. It’s very relaxing to kick back once in a while and get some drinks in and just smoke at the balcony while talking the night away.

The morning view when you wake up in the morning and open the balcony to breath in the sea breeze is amazing.

breakfast coupon

The hotel provides a free buffet breakfast so we woke up at 8:30 am the next morning to eat breakfast before we headed down to Palm Beach Cafe.

breakfast

I noticed that the Palm Beach Cafe logo is actually made out of wooden spatulas!

cereal

The buffet breakfast has a wide range of options ranging from fruits, cereal and pastries…

hot food

…to hot food like fried noodles, curry chicken and fried eggs.

my plate

I loaded up my plate for a huge breakfast in anticipation of all the walking that was in store for us in Mukah.

morning pool

The hotel was kind enough to concede us a late checkout time of 3 PM so we still had time to go for a swim after the trip to Mukah town.

kingwood end

We packed our bags and took the 3:30 PM bus back to Sibu. You don’t actually have to travel down to Mukah to catch the bus, the bus route takes it through the resort so you can actually flag it down as it passes by. I got the driver to drop us off at the resort instead of bringing us to Mukah town when we arrived the previous day too.

relax end

It was fun to take a trip down to Kingwood Resort Mukah. The resort is very well maintained and clean and the beach front locality provides a very relaxing weekend getaway.

Attractions in Mukah

sunday morning

Mukah is a pretty small town but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have anything to offer besides the infamous sago worms and umai. I stayed at the Kingwood Resort Mukah with Clare, which is about a 14 km distance away from the town. We woke up at around 9 am in the morning, and I read the papers while having my nicotine fix at the balcony before deciding to head down to Mukah.

hitched ride

Unfortunately, the hotel shuttle is currently in transit and the reception informed us that all the taxi drivers are on assignment so I told Clare we’ll just stand by the highway and hitch a ride. I had this idea of using a RM 5 bill (RM 10 if that fails) to flag passing cars to Mukah down. We looked like tourists so I reckon people would be inclined to pick us up. The first car didn’t stop and it started to seem like a bad idea when an SUV saw us and pulled up.

drive

These fine folks were on assignment from HICOM for a Mukah project and was all too happy to drop us off at Mukah. They wouldn’t even accept payment but I insisted, noticing the cigarette packs on the dashboard, to buy them some smokes. It was very kind of them to do that, most people wouldn’t stop but I have faith in The System (TM). πŸ™‚

mukah mascot

They dropped us off at Mukah Old Town where the pasar tamu is. This is the central market where you can get umai, sago grubs, tebaloi, and other authentic Melanau produce. The official mascot of Mukah is a fish – Mukah is known for their fresh fish from the sea and fish is their primary export.

fish gills

I’ve been told that the best method of ensuring that a fish is fresh is to look at the color of the gills.

fish bite

It may also be necessary to bite off a chunk of fin to verify the freshness of the fish.

fish camwhore

I have been learning the arcane arts of camwhoring to limited success too. πŸ˜‰

tamu stall

The pasar tamu has a lot of stalls selling local produce such as tebaloi, belacan, fish crackers and sago pearls. The kind ladies at the stall were nice enough to show us how sago products are actually made.

sago paste

Sago comes in a paste form which can be used for cooking various dishes or processed to make other sago products.

sago pearls

Sago pearls are made from sago paste after a baking process. There are different grades and sizes of sago pearls, some of which is eaten with umai and some for cooking.

tebaloi

The famous tebaloi (sago crackers) is a sweet biscuit made of sago flour that has been exported to markets as far as the US and Australia.

fish market

Our next stop is to the famous fresh fish market, where the catch of the day is sold straight from the fishing vessels the very same morning.

barracuda

The stalls were doing brisk business selling everything from barracudas…

stingray

…to stingrays.

old man

We met this friendly old man selling stingrays who saw us taking photos and quickly pointed us to the opposite stall where a huge stingray has just being caught and was in the process of being chopped into more manageable portions.

huge stingray

The gigantic stingray was easily the size of a car tire and the man handled the dissection with the ease of one with years of experience, pulling out the innards and chopping the parts into smaller sizes.

baby sharks

We also saw a catch of baby sharks. They look really cute in that size, but I imagine the cuteness factor will disappear when one of them bites your toes off. πŸ˜‰

fishing

Fishing seems to be the favorite pastime of the people of Mukah. It’s done on a large industrial scale with fishing vessels and also on a smaller scale with recreational anglers at the pier.

crucified

This is the obligatory “I was here” photo with the Welcome to Mukah sign. Crucified and all I got was this lousy T-shirt. πŸ˜‰

temple

Mukah is also home to a famous Chinese temple built by the early Chinese settlers in 1879.

lion

I found the statue of a lion with a fatherly paw over it’s cub very adorable. πŸ™‚

sago chimney

The main historical attraction in Mukah is the 20 meter tall chimney from the first sago factory in Mukah. We nearly missed it due to its unassuming facade.

mukah end

Mukah is a very laid back and relaxed town that is about to be developed into a huge administrative capital from the SCORE project. The town is a little bit far from the resort, but it’s definitely worth the trip, if only to experience the culture and heritage of the Melanau people.

sixthseal.com Guide to Eating Umai

umai stall

Umai is a raw fish dish prepared by the Melanau tribe in Mukah. It’s a must try dish if you ever go to Mukah. It’s the Malaysian version of the sashimi and is traditionally the working lunch for Melanau fishermen.

Umai is made of thinly sliced slivers of raw fish and served with toasted sago pearls. The popularity of the dish for the fishermen is pragmatic – it doesn’t need to be cooked while deep sea fishing and the sago pearls provides the carbohydrates for a filling lunch.

me slicing fish

The fish has to be really fresh for umai to be prepared since it’s eaten raw. I tried my hand at slicing the raw fish and gave myself a nasty cut to the index finger.

umai segar

Umai is readily available in the markets of Mukah and it’s one of the flagship dishes that Mukah is known for (besides sago grubs). There are two different versions of umai – the traditional umai sambal campur and umai cecah jeb.

The sixthseal.com Guide to Eating Umai

umai step 1

Step 1: Ensure that a reputable umai stall is patronized. The fish needs to be really fresh for raw consumption to avoid uncomfortable conditions like E.Coli and explosive diarrhea.

umai step 2

Step 2: Find a comfortable place to mix your own umai. The ingredients for making umai can all be purchased at the stall and most of the stuff is prepackaged and premixed to the right amounts.

umai step 3

Step 3: Receptacles for the mixing of umai is essential. You would require a plate and a bowl in addition to forks. Sago pearls are eaten using your hand. Empty the raw slivers of fish into the plate. You can opt to retain a small portion of the raw fish for the the other version of umai.

umai step 4

Step 4: Inspect the contents of your umai sambal campur package. It should contain a bag of premixed ingredients essential to the umai experience containing raw onions and chillies. Calamansi limes should also be in the package for the original umai as well as a small packet of salt and the crunchy peanut cookies.

umai step 5

Step 5: Open the packet of crumbly peanut cookies and put it on top of the raw fish slivers. This is the secret ingredient in all good umai dishes that provides the sweet and crunchy texture to the dish.

umai step 6

Step 6: Crush the peanut cookie into a finely grounded powder using the fork. You need the peanut cake to be evenly distributed throughout the dish.

umai step 7

Step 7: Pierce the calamansi limes using a fork to enable a reasonable flow of the juice into the umai. Do not attempt to squeeze the lime without penetrating it with a fork (or another sharp utensil) first. Splash damage is likely to occur.

umai step 8

Step 8: Squeeze the calamansi lime over the raw fish.

umai step 9

Step 9: You need all the calamansi lime juice provided since the acidic nature of the fruit “cooks” the raw fish. I’ll explain the scientific principles at the bottom of the guide.

umai step 10

Step 10: Open the small packet of salt and empty the contents into the umai. The salt offsets the sourness of the calamansi lime and makes it sweet.

umai step 11

Step 11: Open the plastic bag containing the thinly sliced onions and chillies and empty it into the plate of umai.

umai step 12

Step 12: Toss the umai with a fork as you would toss a salad. The motions are similar and so are the aims – to mix everything as evenly as possible. The traditional umai is now ready for consumption!

umai step 13

Step 13: The final step is to empty the sago pearls into a bowl for easier consumption. The sago pearls are eaten using your bare hands to go with the umai.

umai step 14

Step 14: Consume the umai with a handful of sago pearls. The umai should be eaten first and chased with the sago pearls for the authentic Melanau umai experience.

Guide to eating umai video

Optional:

umai jeb

There is a new variant of umai called the umai cecah jeb which is dipped into a sambal (spicy paste) concoction.

umai jeb eat

You’re supposed to take a forkful of umai (raw fish) and then dip it into the special sambal sauce and eat it. It’s delicious! The sambal really got oomph! Very spicy. I like!

Guide to eating umai cecah jeb video

Caution:

splash damage 2

Splash damage is likely to occur even with the proper piercing technique as can be seen on Clare’s top. Respect the calamansi lime and it shall respect you. πŸ˜‰

Explanation:

difference is clear

The calamansi lime has acidic properties that “cooks” (cures would be a better word) the raw fish in the umai due to reasons beyond my understanding. It just works.
The left fork contains the raw fish before the calamansi lime treatment and the right fork contains the slightly “cooked” fish after being marinated in calamansi lime. You can see the difference in the coloration and texture of the fish.
The difference is clear (TM). πŸ˜‰

Mukah beach

mukah beach

The primary attraction of Mukah is the pristine beach that surrounds the town. The cool breeze coming in from the beach is refreshing with a hint of saltiness and it called to us like moths to a light.

ah beng

It was evening when we arrived in Kingwood Resort Mukah and I went down on, oops, I mean, with Clare to check out the beach and assumed my signature Ah Beng pose before going into the sea.

beached whale

It was fun to just lie in the sea and let the waves wash over your body. Very therapeutic. I’m having a (beached) whale of a time. πŸ˜‰

making mud mask

Mud masks are available in the local Mukah beach for next to free. Scoop mud and slather it all over your face.

mud mask

It makes for a good sunscreen as well but I got sunburnt anyway.

clare beach

Clare: The new definition of extreme laziness – sex on the beach by sitting in the sea, waiting for the waves to do the rest.

typo 1

I just had to do the obligatory Pimp My Blog thing on the beach. Unfortunately, my sobriety level was not at it’s optimal peak and I wrote “SIXTS…” before Clare corrected me and I used the stick to undo the typo.

typo 2

I then proceeded to make another typo – this time spelling it as “SIXTHT…” before she corrected me again. OMG! What is wrong with me? I can’t even spell my own blog URL. πŸ˜‰

pimp blog

However, with a bit of concentration, I finally got it right. πŸ™‚

blog done

sixthseal.com

sixthseal

I was so proud of the creation coz it took me so long to do it…

trample

…and Clare just proceeded to trample on it. πŸ™

red eyes

Mukah beach is fun but be forewarned – there be monsters. I got bitten by something with pincers and so did Clare (twice). Clare also managed to get sand into her panties. I’m not sure why she was wearing panties under her swim wear in the first place, but apparently sand in the linings of lingerie is almost impossible to wash off. Abandon all hope, all ye who enters here! =D

…and no, I did not take off my Speedos this time. πŸ˜‰

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