Saturday is our date night and I listed 3 options for Mandy
to choose from – Carpenter’s Daughter, Big Hug Burger and Outdark Malaysia.
They’re all around the SS15 area coz she wanted to check out Xing Fu Tang.
That’s the latest bubble tea shop from Taiwan to open in Malaysia and the
queues are insane. We actually went there first but had to wait till 7:30 pm
for their drink allocation to open up so we headed to Outdark.
Outdark Malaysia is a Korean franchise that came from Busan. I went to Busan a few years ago for a work trip – it’s a nice place but I prefer Japan to Korea. They had a glass wall where you can write on with felt tip markers and Mandy drew both our names there.
I like the ambience of the restaurant – the warm lights
provide a nice vibe. However, the tables can be a bit sticky despite the guy
wiping it twice, the second time quite carefully. It may be the type of lacquer
which makes it prone to retaining the stickiness from food instead of wiping
clean.
We ordered the The Ultimate Cheese Kingdom (RM 88). This is their flagship dish of Korean fried chicken, tteokbokki and gooey cheese. There are sides of kimchi, short grained rice with seaweed, sweet corn with more cheese and mashed potatoes.
The server waits for the cheese to melt then wraps each
fried chicken in a cocoon of cheese. It tastes pretty good. The fried chicken
is covered in a sweet tomato and gochujang sauce which can be very cloying in
large amounts but the savoury cheese cuts through the sweetness well. We both
enjoyed it.
The bill came up to RM 104.50 including drinks which is decent for a weekend dinner. They serve reasonably priced soju compared to grocery stores too.
We left promptly at 7:30 pm and joined the long queue in front of Xing Fu Tang. There was a girl giving out tickets. Each slot (about 2.5 hours between slots) only has a maximum of 100 cups of their signature Stir-fried Brown Sugar Pearl Milk and 25 cups of their Strawberry Pearl Milk tea. I hear these tickets are fully taken up within 10 minutes! Each person can only have 2.
I wouldn’t doubt it. We got 84/100 for the brown sugar boba
and 10/25 for the strawberry boba and we were there at 7:30 pm when the slot
opened! Part of the problem is the newness – it’s only been open 4 days so
people want to see what they’re about.
It took us 45 minutes before we got to the front. There’s a
staff stir-frying the brown sugar pearls in a huge wok. This is then poured
into a cup, making sure to get the liquid on every side, to produce their
signature look. It costs RM 25 for two bobas which is on par with other
imported Taiwanese brands. They also use a better barista fresh milk to make
their drinks.
One quirky thing about Xing Fu Tang is they let each person
who buys a drink have a go at their lucky draw. You pick a random stick from a
huge basin and the number is matched to one of the drawers. This is similar to
the Buddhist fortune telling sticks. You basically get your fortune told, with
a grand prize of a free boba drink.
Mandy got Great Luck while I got Greatest Good Luck. We both
wondered if they have a Bad Luck drawer. Probably not.
Xing Fu Tang’s flagship Stir-fried Brown Sugar Pearl Milk was disappointing though. It tasted tepid and dilute. It’s still better than the commercialized Chatime/Tealive but nowhere close to The Alley’s standard. It’s milky, but not very tea-like. Mandy gave it 7/10 compared to The Alley’s 9/10. The Strawberry Pearl Milk Tea was better – acidic and refreshing, yet sweet. I quite enjoyed it!
I made a care package for Mandy and surprised her by putting
it on our living room coffee table with no comment for her to find. I filled it
with Korean and Japanese face masks, a chocolate bar, a packet of Ribena, a
lotion and a comic book. I noticed she really enjoys masks but finds them
expensive on her salary so I thought I’ll get them for her. She uses them so
frugally that I felt sorry for her. Haha.
Sunday night was my experiment with homemade Sarawak laksa.
I bought the paste during my trip to Kuching over CNY. Mandy’s mom provided me
with some mystery seeds which she says tastes good in laksa so I thought I’ll
make some. I made a deluxe version with chicken leg, lots of prawns, sambal,
lime, coriander and shredded omelette. You can barely see the rice vermicelli!
It’s decent but missing something. I’ll cook the paste with prawn heads and
shells next time. We’re off to Sibu next weekend for Ching Ming! I also have a
work trip to Penang this Friday and another one to Ipoh when we come back from
Sibu so it’s a busy week ahead.
The first thing I did after sending Mandy off to the airport was take a Grab to Kubah Ria. I’ve been craving for Pizza Ria, our local Kuching pizza/pasta/pancake chain. This is their original outlet in Satok – they’ve been open for over 30 years at the same spot! My dad used to bring me here when I was a little kid (we moved to Sibu when I was 7).
I also indulged in my favorite beef pancake many times when I was working in Kuching around 24-25 but I haven’t eaten it since. That’s a good 12 years without this sinful creation. It’s basically mince beef inside a crepe that’s doused with tomato sauce but it’s extremely nostalgic. The best pairing is Pancake + Spaghetti (RM 8.50) – you get both options on your plate. You can even request to have it mixed up into a gooey mess!
The pancake used to be topped with a made-to-order sunny
side up runny egg but they’re all line produced now so that reduced the
enjoyment factor a little. The runny yolk mixed into the minced beef was one of
my favorite things – a bite with umami tomato sauce, gossamer thin pancake,
savory minced beef and creamy yolk is the perfect mouthful!
You can’t leave here without ordering a slice of pizza too.
It’s not the best but I love it. You probably wouldn’t enjoy Pizza Ria if you
didn’t grow up eating it. This isn’t exceptional cooking. It’s the taste of
nostalgia. Every true-blooded Kuchingite should have fond memories of eating
this, especially if you’re born in the 80s or 90s. I’m glad I had a chance to
revisit my childhood. It was delicious!
I woke up bright and early to go to Choon Hui Café the next day. This is the place made famous by Anthony Bourdain. He claims it’s the best Sarawak laksa in Kuching. Unfortunately, it wasn’t open and wouldn’t be open until a few days after I leave. Alas!
Not to be dissuaded, I went opposite to the only kopitiam open at 7 am to eat some breakfast. I ordered kolo mee, which took over 1 hour to arrive! To be fair, the guy warned me that it’ll take a long time to arrive since many out-of-town people were back for Chinese New Year. I probably wouldn’t have minded if it tasted good.
Unfortunately, it was almost inedible. The guy was so rushed
he barely tossed the noodles and the texture was disappointing. The flavour was
barely there too. I left the bowl after eating two mouthfuls. That’s something
I very rarely do as I don’t like wasting food. It was that dismal.
Thankfully, my morning meal was saved by Kelly’s Fritters. This was a stall selling various fritters. I went for heh piah (prawn fritters). These is a crispy Kuching specialty served with a chilli dipping sauce. I have fond memories of eating this during tea time at the start of my career in Kuching.
This tasted really good! The fritters were crispy and
flavorful, with just the right amount of prawn. 🦐
I went to Sin Kwang Foochow Big Pau twice over two days but they sold out and closed before I arrived both days. 😭 This is another item I ate during my working days in Kuching. It’s a huge pao with pork and egg. Quite delicious! Too bad I didn’t have a chance to eat it again.
Mandy suggested Hock Hai Dim Sum Café down the road. They also have a big pao, at a fraction of the price of Sin Kwang (RM 3.40) but it was oversteamed. The bottom is hard and crusty.
There’s no egg inside and the mystery
meat is a rolled-up ball instead of identifiable chunks. Sin Kwang’s version is
way better.
I have never eaten gula apong ice cream in Kuching before. It wasn’t available back then. This is a relatively new thing. Now there are many different ones mushrooming around town. I had to try it!
I wasn’t impressed with DP Ice Cream Gula Apong’s version though. It was very icy and diluted. Disappointing.
Since Kuching hawkers don’t like making tons of money, a lot of stalls are closed over the first week of CNY. That includes all the belacan bee hoon stalls in Song Kheng Hai rugby field. Sigh.
However, I managed to get my tomato crispy mee fix. The best version is in Hui Sing Hawker Center but that’s quite far away so I had this at a random coffee shop in Padungan. It was pretty good too! I had this at an odd hour too – 3-4 pm in the afternoon. You can’t do that in most places. These noodles are kolo noodles that’s been deep fried and doused with seafood filled tomato sauce. They have a kueh tiaw version too but I prefer the noodle ones.
Another must-eat in Kuching is kueh chap – various innards and offcuts of the pig in a thin braising liquid. It’s served with rice sheets. I’m actually not a fan of kueh chap. I never crave for these things but it’s nice to eat once in a while. I can’t remember the last time I had kueh chap. Definitely more than a decade ago.
I also found a durian stall at the cat
statue in Padungan. I hear this is the designated seasonal fruit vendor’s location
now.
We don’t get branded durian cultivars in
Sarawak, but that is slowly changing. This is a kampung durian for RM 10. Not
bad!
I managed to squeeze in one last meal at Mee Sin Café before I had to catch my flight to Pontianak. I woke up very early at 6:30 am and went there to eat seafood kolo mee. They’re famous for sheng rou kolo mee (fresh meat kolo mee) but I prefer the seafood version.
The kolo mee here is very delicious! I
requested for cha siu oil to be added so it’s red. The proper way to order this
is “pang ang” (literally “put red”). The kolo noodles were springy and chewy, a
very pleasing toothsome bite. This more than makes up for the disappointing
kolo mee I had the previous day.
I’ll love to go back to Kuching again to catch up on the places that I’ve missed or were closed. I suspect I’ll come here more often now that my girlfriend’s hometown is Kuching.
I planned a 4D/3N stay in Kuching starting Day 4 of Chinese
New Year to visit my girlfriend Mandy in her hometown. I’ve worked and lived
here for many years but it’s been a while since I’ve been back, with the
exception of my cousin’s wedding the year before. So many things have changed,
but there are constants especially around my old workplace of Padungan.
Mandy drove to the airport to pick me up. We checked in at my hotel and went out for a late lunch at Lao Ya Keng. She wanted to eat Sarawak laksa (we just call it laksa here) and this is one of the few places still open so late in the afternoon.
Unfortunately, I once told her that I found the tall and
fair young woman who owns this stall attractive. I also told her the story
about how I asked said laksa seller for her personal Facebook and added her.
This was during the ethanol-induced loose lipped era before we got together.
She remembered the anecdote from that time I mentioned it in passing and kept
her watchful eyes on me the entire time.
I kept my gaze directly on my laksa bowl the entire time. I
did not dare to peer elsewhere, lest my eyes accidentally locked on the roaming
laksa seller. My neck was sore by the time we finished eating.
I have to state for the record – I only find my girlfriend beautiful and have no time for other girls besides her. I was also not forced to write this. Okay – Approved by Mandy Chua. No further changes required.
Mandy was quite against her family meeting me at first. She
thought they’ll not like me. Little did she know, I do quite well with parents
in general. As a well-spoken, educated and relatively good looking young man I
seldom encounter issues in this realm. Hehe. Her mom asked me to sit down and
eat lunch with them.
I spent the most of the afternoon here.
We managed to go to a new bubble tea place in Kuching called Chun Yang.
New as in Mandy has never tried it before. I was surprised
to see that this chain originated from Taiwan!
I refused to believe it at first and lost the bet with Mandy
after Googling.
We headed back to the hotel to refresh ourselves before a seafood dinner at Topspot. I wrote about it in a separate post, but it was a mediocre feast.
There was a huge fireworks show in Kuching as we left
Topspot and we stopped the car by the side of the road to watch it. These are
huge aerial shells, and lots of them too. Definitely government sponsored, you
need a license for these large shells.
Mandy brought me to Darul Hana Bridge at Kuching Waterfront, which is one of the hottest new attractions in town. The place was PACKED with people. This may be due to the fact that it’s still early in the CNY celebrations so a lot of out-of-towners were there.
There were projected screens on the river that shows videos
of Kuching.
The bridge across the river is brightly lit and very well
maintained. Throngs of people took the trek over in the cool night breeze. We
did as well. It was good, wholesome fun. I’ve never been here before. The
waterfront of my time was dodgy and crime-ridden. Kuching has managed to
gentrify the area successfully. Good work.
The next day we had a pork leg rice breakfast. I have been
craving for Kuching style pork leg rice. I got a special (whole trotter) and a
normal portion, with egg. I really enjoyed this thick-cut pork leg rice back
when I was living in Chong Lin Park. These thinly sliced and meagre pieces did
not hit the spot.
I was a little disappointed with the flavors and the amount
of meat. The pork leg rice of my dreams may have been tinted by nostalgia (and
the hunger resulting from smoking weed after 3 days of no food while on meth
before eating) but this was quite mediocre.
We headed for a walk in India Street after that.
It was a nice 2D/1N before I sent Mandy to the airport for her flight back to KL. I was staying an additional 2 days before heading to Pontianak. Part II of my Kuching trip is a solo food adventure coming up soon!
Bong came to pick me up the next morning for a Pontianak breakfast special. I haven’t seen him for at least 10 years! I knew he was working in Kalimantan and it turned out that he was in Pontianak at this time too. One of my to-eat items was Bakmie Kepiting. This is a local specialty of dry tossed noodles with crab meat (!). We headed down to Oukie Bakmie Kepiting (Oukie Crab Bakmi). 🦀
1. Oukie Bakmie Kepiting (Sibu)
There are several bakmie kepiting (crab bakmi) stalls in
Pontianak, all bearing the same name – Oukie. Turns out Oukie was the original
guy who brought this dish here and all the current stalls are his descendants
(sons, daughters, nephews). Strangely, they all bear the name “Sibu” which my
hometown!
We puzzled over this. Did the original Oukie come from Sibu? Do they claim that this bakmi is exactly like what Sibu offers? Coz it’s definitely not. We don’t have a similar dish in Sibu. Nothing close. The closest is probably Foochow noodles with crab, which is a relatively new invention.
Sometimes Bakmi Kepiting is served with a whole crab claw
but these items are in high demand and sell out very fast. They were all sold
out at this stall by the time we got there.
In addition to the crab meat, there’s fish balls, fish
slices and a piece of crispy deep-fried wonton. The noodles are tossed with a
variety of sauces and you’re served a hot bowl of soup on the side.
I really liked these crab noodles! I thought this will be a
perfunctory visit just to experience their local noodles but I loved the
combination of flavors in this bowl of noodles. It’s very good! There wasn’t a
lot of crab meat though – just a sprinkling, but crab is expensive and this is
street food.
I can’t remember how much it cost coz Bong insisted on
buying me breakfast. Cheers!
2. Kopi Asiang
Bong also brought me to this local Pontianak coffee shop. I went to Aming Coffee yesterday and he said this place was very good too. It’s exceedingly packed and we had to take a table under the hot sun but the coffee was indeed excellent!
I tried the regular ones without condensed milk this time. Rich,
fragrant and delicious – coffee here is a real treat! You can see the grease
slick at the top of my coffee shimmering in the sun. The coffee beans are
usually fried with butter or margarine, which is where the oil comes from.
He also ordered soft boiled eggs for us. This was served in
a glass, complete with spoon so it’s easy for you to consume.
3. Gado Gado Jln Merapi
Gado gado is another food item on my hit list. It’s
basically a cold noodle dish that’s more like a salad.
Rice vermicelli is topped with vegetables like bean sprouts
and kangkong are tossed with tofu and crackers and the whole thing is doused
with peanut sauce.
This is what it looks like when it’s served – the different crunchy and soft items make for an interesting dish with good mouth-feel. I enjoyed this one as well! It’s 24,000 IDR (RM 7) for this plate.
4. Es Krim Angi
This is probably the most famous ice cream parlour in
Pontianak. They’re known for serving home-made ice cream in a coconut shell
complete with coconut meat you can scrape up and eat together with the ice
cream!
This “parlour” is actually a converted residential house
that’s located beside a Catholic school. The place was *packed* despite being
the middle of the afternoon on a working weekday. Motorcycles are the preferred
mode of transport here so you’ll see heaps of them parked haphazardly in front.
The guys will tell you the flavors of the day and you choose
which one you want. I went for all three – pandan, durian and chocolate. The
chocolate and pandan was the best.
The ice cream is “sliced” out of the vats with a spoon so
you get thin segments instead of a round scoop. I like this format, it makes
for good eating! The flat surface fits perfectly on your tongue.
You can also choose the toppings you want – all complimentary.
I went for a little bit of everything but I liked the squiggly transparent
noodles best.
This coconut bowl of ice cream cost 23,000 IDR (RM 6.70). Excellent value! I like the combination of the slippery coconut flesh and homemade ice cream.
5. Bebek Boedjang
This spicy duck recommendation came from Bong. It didn’t even register on my radar and didn’t make it to my original list. I’m glad I tried it though coz it’s the best meal I’ve had, other than Pondok Kakap! This restaurant is in a huge wooden complex and I saw many Gojek and Grab Food drivers waiting in line to fulfil food deliveries.
To drink, we have an iced mango drink called Es Mangga Boedjang (15,000 IDR) with mango cubes at the bottom. This came recommended by the menu and the waitress but it was so sweet I didn’t care for it. I find most drinks in Pontianak overly sweet and cloying but if you like tons of sugar in your drink, you’ll enjoy this.
Bebek Paha Bakar Bumbu Rica (30,900 IDR) is the main event! This is smoked duck leg with spices. It’s served with rice, which is a 5,500 IDR add-on. The duck leg is still fork tender and has an intense smoky quality that I enjoy. The spices are a sweet-spicy blend that lends itself very well to nice. I wish I had space for 2 of these babies.
Cumi Tumis Cabe Ijo (16,960 IDR). Cumi means squid (sotong) in Indonesian. This is one of their flagship sides – squid cooked with green chillies. Wow! Does it pack a flavour punch! I was almost knocked out by the sheer intensity of seasoning on my palate. Welcome to Flavortown! There are tomatoes to add umami, onions for that pleasing aroma, tender squid and a gravy that’s sweet/salty/spicy. I used all of the gravy with rice, and when my rice was finished, I drank it by the spoonful.
Tumis Jamur Tiram (9,790 IDR) is another one of their signature side dishes – oyster mushrooms cooked in some kind of sauce which hits all the 5 flavor profiles at once. There’s some insane flavouring alchemy going on here. Delicious.
I left Bebek Boedjang a very happy man. The bill came up to 78,100 IDR (RM 23). That’s an exceedingly fair price for such a decent spread. An excellent meal that I wish was closer so I can partake of it once a month.
6. Mie Tiaw Apollo Daging Sapi
I have read stories about these two neighbours. Apollo was
the original beef kueh tiaw and is run by siblings. Unfortunately, they had a
huge falling out one day. One of the brothers moved out and rented a shoplot
right beside Apollo and called it Mie Tiau Polo. They even had snarky signs put
up!
Apollo said “Mie Tiaw Apollo. Sejak 1968. Tak Pernah
Pindah.” (Apollo Mie Tiaw. Since 1968. Never Moved.). Polo put up one that read
“Mie Tiau Polo. Pindahan Dari Sebelah.” (Polo Mie Tiau. Moved From Beside.) I
thought that was hilarious! Unfortunately, the crabby signs have since been
taken down so you can only see them in Google Images.
They only serve one thing – beef mie tiaw (which is
something like kueh tiaw). They use all parts of the beef, including innards.
You can see tripe, beef slices, tendon and even stomach on offer. The mie tiaw
is fried in huge woks on high heat and the beef parts added.
I went to the original Mie Tiaw Apollo and the version they do is a wetter style. This isn’t as wet e.g. gravy filled as local Malay kueh tiaw but merely very moist. It’s also quite oily! The sodium levels are really high too. I found it almost unpalatably salty and had to struggle to finish it. I might enjoy it more if it were less greasy and salty coz the beef tasted pretty good and the flavors were decent. It’s 28,000 IDR or RM 8.50.
7. Roti Durian Orchard
What is this, you might ask? It’s a loaf of bread spread
with durian jam and sprinkled liberally with grated cheese. If that sounds
awesome to you, you’re at the right place! I didn’t know Pontianak is famous
for this and only chanced upon this beacon of light while walking back from
Apollo. I popped my head in and asked what they serve and immediately decided
to try.
The loaf of bread is actually made up of 5-6 long buns and
the clerk slices it in half and spread massive quantities of durian jam into
the soft pillowy bread.
The entire shebang is then topped with prodigious amounts of
grated cheese. It tastes heavenly!
This loaf was too much for me to finish so I had to eat it
over two sessions – for supper and as a snack the next day.
I really enjoyed the flavors here. It’s rich, sweet and savory at the same time! The bread remains ultra soft even the next day. 32,000 IDR (RM 9.50) for the durian cheese loaf.
8. Bubur Ikan Ahian
This was my last savory meal before leaving Pontianak. My
flight to KL was at noon so I woke up early to have fish porridge at Ahian.
This isn’t really porridge/congee per se but fish soup served with rice. You
can also opt to have the rice dunked into the soup, which they call “porridge”.
The front part of the restaurant is taken over by a fish
processing station. Different types of fish are brought here to be broken down
into slices and bones for cooking soup. They have a selection of different
types of fishes at differing price points.
I opted for a mixture of all the fishes for 55,000 IDR (RM 16). It’s a little steep for local standards but a steal in Malaysia. The fish slices were all very fresh!
I loved the flavourful soup too. I don’t normally like soup but I enjoyed the strong flavors and sesame oil here. The soup is very different from the bland soup we get locally. This is savory and packed with taste! It goes so well with rice.
You can mix the remainder of your rice into the soup for the porridge style too!
9. Che Hun Tiau Ahui
Che Hun Tiau is a local shaved ice dessert. The famous one
is called Ahua and located a stone’s throw away from Ahian fish porridge.
Unfortunately, it was still closed when I went, although it opened 30 minutes
later when I was leaving to return to my hotel). There are several other che
hun tiau carts in that area so I picked one at random.
Ice is shaved on top of various items like red bean, a
gelatinous mass of jelly, and my favorite – slippery strands of transparent
noodles.
Here’s a closer look. I really enjoy the mouthfeel of the noodle things. This cost just 6,000 IDR (RM 1.75).
I had a fun 3D/2N trip to Pontianak. This was my first time
here but I’ll be back for more eating adventures in the Kalimantan region! I
like these remote semi-developed areas. I find them relaxing and unpretentious.
It’ll be nice to head to a more rural area next time.
I was really hungry upon touching down in Pontianak. My flight from Kuching was delayed for more than an hour! I had a list of everything I wanted to eat during my short 3D/2N stay in this remote part of Indonesia and I wanted to make sure I hit every single one. I did, and more! Here’s a list of the things I ate, drank and saw during my time in Kalimantan – in chronological order:
1. Nasi Ayam Asan 333
I wanted to try Nasi Ayam Afu but they were
closed for renovations. Nasi Ayam Asan 333 Pontianak was my second choice –
they’re just a 6-minute walk away.
The owner here is Indonesian Chinese and
she told me they have an air-conditioned outlet just beside, which might me
more comfortable. She pegged me as a non-local instantly.
I chose to sit here though coz I thought
I’ll be really fast. The seating is via long rows of shared cafeteria-type
tables.
This is what “nasi ayam” in Pontianak looks like. It’s a selection of many different meats – Indonesian Chinese style char siu, siu yoke, pork sausage, and chopped up roast chicken. Everything looks familiar, yet slightly off, like a strange alternate universe. The sauce is THICK and flavorful and there’s bits of pickled vegetable to cut the strong flavors. I really like it! It’s different from local Chinese chicken rice in Malaysia. It’s 33,000 IDR (RM 9.50) for this plate.
2. Aming Coffee
This is a sprawling coffee shop with two outlets located
opposite each other. Locals come here to smoke, play games, hang out and drink
coffee.
Just look at how packed it is!
Pontianak is majority Muslim so alcohol isn’t a common form
of socializing. Instead, they drink coffee – even late at night!
It’s so busy here even during a weekday off-peak afternoon.
Every single table was occupied and I had to share one with a local Muslim
girl. She turned out to be a university student and was on her laptop doing
some slides.
I ordered an iced coffee and a Milo toast (basically Milo powder and condensed milk inside one slice of toasted bread folded together). 16,000 IDR or RM 4.70.
3. Chai Kue Panas Siam Ahin
This is a shack located around the corner from Aming Coffee.
Most places in Pontianak town are within walking distance of each other, if you
don’t mind walking up to 10 minutes under the hot sun. Gojek is available for
little more than ringgits for a short ride, which I took advantage of more than
a few times.
This is the Indonesian take on chai kueh – a vegetable stuffed kueh. The Pontianak version is very, very oily though – they literally brush each kueh and the banana leaf it is steamed on with cooking oil! Minimum order is 5 pieces and I struggled to finish it due to the oiliness. I like how they’re steamed to order though. 7,500 IDR (RM 2.20).
4. Pondok Kakap
The best smoked crab ever! This is the first time I’ve had smoked crab and the intense smoky rendang flavors are awesome! It’s so delicious, I felt it deserved its own blog post. Read my review of Pondok Kakap in Pontianak here. It’s a bit expensive compared to the others but definitely worth the price.
5. Thien Mie Mie durian
This is a durian hailing from Sungai Jawi. I gather it’s a popular breed here. I paid 60,000 IDR (RM 18) for a small durian with only 5 seeds.
This is likely coz I found the durian stall outside Pondok
Kakap – a high end seafood restaurant, among the best in Pontianak. I later saw
durians of the same breed being sold for 5,000-15,000 IDR (RM 1.50 – RM 4.50)
elsewhere.
Taste wise it was decent, although a little less ripe that most Malaysians would prefer.
6. Tugu Khatulistiwa (Equator Monument)
This was the only touristy thing I did in Pontianak. I heard Pontianak is the only city in the world to sit along the equator line so I thought I’ll go visit the Equator Monument. This monument slash park is located 30 minutes from town – a 64,000 IDR (RM 19) Gojek ride away.
It’s supposed to be a place of interest but the park is so
run down and ill-maintained that I do not think a visit is warranted. It looks
like a forgotten and deserted government-run attraction that time forgot.
There’s a sleepy security guard but all the F&B stalls and kiosks were
closed, probably due to lack of business.
There’s no entry fee but there’s nothing much to see here
either. I found 2 other souls there – a couple from Surabaya. Including the
security guard and the old makcik running the dusty and sad souvenir shop, only
5 people were present at the park.
It was disappointing. There’s not much to see or do, and I
would recommend you skip this place unless you really want a photo with the
equator monument.
I’m not sure who Aida Daniya is but she (?) seems to have taken over Fraser’s Hill with a vengeance. Not only does she have a picturesque tea house, said restaurant overlooks a beautiful garden and there’s also a strawberry nursery named after her. We walked down to the garden after lunch at Aida Daniya Tea House – there are well tended flowers and plenty of spots to take the perfect Instagram photo.
Wake up and smell the flowers! Background: I pretended to be
possessed by a female ghost on the drive up. I let her come out to play.
My Mandy was very proud of this photo. 💁♀️
I tried to recreate her pose. Unsuccessfully. 💁♂️
We tried doing this trendy shot at Sekinchan but failed to
get a good photo. This is a better attempt.
The flowers here are exceedingly beautiful – it must be the cool weather here. 🌸 The unforgiving sun down the hill tends to wilt flowers.
We headed over to Fraser’s Hill Strawberry Garden (now renamed Aida Daniya Strawberry Garden) but it was unfortunately closed. Luckily the gate was partially open so we took the opportunity to do a little breaking and entering.
The F&B outlets were closed but
the nursery was visible. One strawberry fell down from its vine so I thought
it’ll be permissible to consume the strawberry instead of allowing it to rot. I
did feel mildly guilty about doing so but hey, it’s not like I plucked the damn
thing from its creeper. That would delve into morally questionable territory,
perhaps even theft by consumption.
It’s not very delicious but grown locally. 🍓
We also went to Allan’s Water. This is a place run by Tourism Malaysia where you can feed fishes and rent paddle boats for RM 8/15 minutes.
We went on a working weekday so there was no one paddling, just a family feeding the fishes. 🐠
The river section you can use is
quite large, but blocked at two ends with strategically placed logs and
obstructions so you can’t go too far.
It’s far enough to give you a
sense of space and privacy though.
I found it very peaceful and the weather at Fraser’s Hill is
perfect for this type of activity. The temperature was in the high teens all
morning so you don’t sweat. There’s also a cool breeze going on that makes you
feel like you’re in a different (colder) country.
My only complaint was that the life vests provided smells
really bad. They probably haven’t been washed in years! It stinks to high
heaven. Aside from that, paddling in the water under the mild sun and cool
weather with my Mandy was perfect.
We decided to head down for our seafood dinner after so we drove to the Fraser’s Hill Clock Tower for some final photos…
…before making the 1 hour journey to Kuala Kubu Bharu (KKB).
We saw a family of monkeys (baboons?) on the windy road down. There was a male who got quite inquisitive and kept trying to look into our stopped car. I think he might have stolen my girlfriend’s handbag had she wound down the window. He looks like that type of monkey. 🐒
Our Valentine’s Day dinner was at Restoran Nine Thy Eight at KKB. Mandy loves crabs and I like Chinese food so a Chinese seafood restaurant was the perfect place to go. This is a sleepy restaurant that serves primarily locals and the occasional out-of-state people heading to Genting or Fraser’s Hill. The owner is very friendly and was happy to recommend several of their signature dishes.
This is Crab Porridge (RM 61.60) which is their flagship specialty. 🦀 It uses a whole crab cooked in very flavorsome porridge topped with some crunchy bits. We hesitated before ordering this coz Mandy likes other ways of cooking crab but she finally decided to give this one a try. It’s what this restaurant is famous for after all.
Here’s what it looks like after it’s been mixed. I’m not a
big fan of porridge. I usually find porridge too mild but Restoran Nine Thy
Eight does an excellent version of crab porridge. The congee is so flavorful
and thick! It’s packed with savory and crab goodness. I finished the lion’s
share of this porridge despite not generally liking congee. Delicious!
I also ordered another specialty of theirs – Catfish Steamed with Soy Sauce and Half Boiled Egg (RM 26). 🐟 How unique! I’ve never seen soft boiled egg paired with Chinese style steamed fish. It’s really good! The creamy egg yolk adds richness and mouthfeel to the soft and tender catfish meat. I wish this place was nearer so I can eat this every day. That’s the highest compliment I can give this dish. I want to smash 3 platters of this in a single sitting!
Tofu Cooked with Broccoli and Mushroom (RM 16). 🥦 We ordered this just to fulfil our vegetable quota. It tasted mediocre in comparison to the two other excellent dishes. It probably isn’t bad by in another setting but we’ve just had two superlative dishes so this seemed to pale as a result.
The bill came up to RM 120 for the food and drinks. I ordered a large beer and Mandy had carrot juice. Restoran Nine Thy Eight does their signature dishes very well. I highly recommend it and will be back if I pass by the area again. I’ll like to try their other flagship dishes. The prices are very reasonable too.
We got back home at around 10:30 pm and I presented my
girlfriend her Valentine’s Day gift. I noticed her looking at a Swarovski
pendant last month and skilfully brought her to Sunway Pyramid to look at other
jewellery to see what kind she likes. It wasn’t very subtle but I got to know
her tastes and preferences.
I bought her this gold necklace to go with…
…a golden M from Wah Chan’s official Disney Mickey Mouse
collection.
This is what the pendant and chain looks like combined. It cost around 1.2k for everything. The M was supposed to stand for Mickey but here it stands for Mandy. It’s a coincidence they both have the same initial.
I wanted to surprise my girlfriend with a trip to Pulau Ketam (which was our first trip together) on Valentine’s Day, but I thought going again so soon would be diminish the magic. I decided on Fraser’s Hill instead – a cool hilltop destination about 2.5 hours from KL. She’s never been there before and I booked a nice AirBNB on the top floor of Silverpark Resort with amazing views to spend the night.
She has her off day on Thursday (which coincidentally is 14th February) and I won’t start work until the 18th so it’s perfect for a weekday getaway without massive crowds of people. Indeed, Fraser’s Hill was almost deserted. It was also rainy and misty on the way up and I entertained (scared?) Mandy with ghost stories and pretended to be possessed by a female ghost. She was not amused. 😨
I planned this trip a month back and sent her a Powerpoint presentation to detail what I have planned for Valentine’s. Haha. What a corporate thing to do. It came complete with an itinerary, which we managed to complete!
I also arranged for flowers to be delivered to her workplace. I got her 12 roses.
She finished work at 6:30 pm and I flew in from Pontianak at 3 pm and I timed it so I just had enough time to buy ingredients for a steamboat dinner and pick her up from work. It was 10:30 pm by the time we checked into our apartment at Fraser’s Hill.
The place is very nice. It’s a studio unit with two queen beds…
Two balconies – this is the one facing down the hill (too misty to see anything unfortunately but the view is great on a clear day)
And this is the one facing inwards.
There’s also a full kitchen and I decided to cook her a steamboat dinner since it was so late when we got there.
Here’s the spread for the night! I got pork slices, two types of fishballs, bacon, soft tofu, assorted seafood, sausages, broccoli, eggs and mushrooms.
I used a tom yam – chicken stock base with Shaoxing wine and fish sauce. Unfortunately, I spilled the Shaoxing wine and fish sauce all over the back car cushion on the way up. It smells so bad now. I need to get it cleaned.
I also brought up some Mi Sedaap noodles I got from my recent Pontianak trip to enjoy with the steamboat. This is a new type of Mi Sedaap soup noodles with real egg. Only available in Indonesia.
My babe surprised me with a cheesecake that she made herself! She labored over this a few days ago coz she was thinking of what to get me. This is the first cake she has ever baked.
It’s really delicious! I would have said it’s yummy even if it’s not coz she made it for me, but honestly, this tasted great! It’s been contributing to my expanding waistline coz I’ve been eating it everyday since.
The next day we headed over to Aida Daniya Tea House for lunch after checking out. This place has amazing views and a comfortable balcony where you can enjoy the cool breeze and see the beautiful flowers growing at the cultivated park beneath.
This is the view we had sitting at the tables outside.
I ordered a double cappuccino (RM 15) as my morning coffee…
…and we got another couple to take a photo of us at the balcony.
We also ordered their English cream tea for two (RM 38)…
…which came with scones, clotted cream, jam and a selection of cakes and pies. The highlight was the orange cake, the pie and the other cakes were forgettable and the scones weren’t the best.
We also had something called an Irish Chicken (RM 25) which is a gruesome creation of a deep fried chicken roll slathered with mashed potatoes. It doesn’t taste half bad but it didn’t taste good either. The bill came up to RM 85.80. You pay for the scenic views and the nice ambiance, not so much the food. The food was quite mediocre but I enjoyed the quiet and cool surroundings. Recommended if you want a nice place to chill in Fraser’s Hill but manage your expectations on the food.
Pontianak is famous for crab. There’s crab noodles (Bakmi Kepiting Ou Kie) and lots of seafood restaurants offering a local specialty – smoked crab. I was keen to check this out so I headed over to Restoran Pondok Kakap for some of their famous smoked crab. This restaurant is rated #1 on TripAdvisor and seems to get good reviews (except for one guy who claims he was overcharged for semah fish).
I was surprised to see how large Restoran Pondok Kakap was. It looked rather grand too and I told myself I’ll better pay attention to the menu prices before I order. Haha. It isn’t too expensive by Malaysian standards though – crab goes for 200,000 IDR (about RM 58) per portion. I mostly eat street food and local favorites here so it’s alright to splurge a little.
Es Jeruk (15,000 IDR). This is a pickle juice of sorts. Not bad but exceedingly sweet. Actually everything here is either very sweet or very salty. The flavor profile of food in Pontianak is dialed up to a 10. The dishes are very intense tasting. Indeed, you’ll here of them complaining our Malaysian food is bland (tawar).
Kepiting Asap (220,000 IDR). This is their famous smoked crab. The smoky flavors are super in-your-face and intense. I can smell burning wood in the crab. I meant that as a compliment. The sauce is similar to rendang – full of spices and flavor. There’s not much sauce but the little here goes a long way with rice! I love how the crab is filled with roe that I could dig out and eat with my rice. The meat was succulent and sweet too. 10/10.
For my vegetable dish, I went with Yam Pakis (30,000 IDR). This is a type of fern similar to midin in Sarawak. It’s recommended by Pondok Kakap and cooked with an acidic and sweet mixture that made my mouth water. I love the dried shrimp they sprinkle on top too. The sweet and sour flavors really whet my appetite. Excellent!
The total inclusive of white rice (7,500 IDR) and a 27,250 IDR tax came up to 299,750 IDR. That works out to RM 87. It’s not cheap but worth the price. I highly recommend the amazing smoked crab. It’s easily the best meal I had in Pontianak and I will definitely come back if I return. The smoky flavor profile and interesting rendang sauce of the crab is spectacular – not a flavor combination we can find in Malaysia.
Posted: 9:39 pm Pontianak time (10:39 pm Malaysian time)
I’m currently in Kuching to celebrate the tail end of CNY with Mandy (and to meet her family 😱). One of the things we wanted to do in Kuching was to eat a seafood dinner. There are many great places for seafood like Buntal and Petanak but we thought it’ll be a safer bet to eat in the city. Lots of places are closed during Chinese New Year.
I’ve been to Top Spot in the past, and even blogged about ABC (Ah Seng Seafood) and Bukit Mata Seafood Center. We went to BBQ Topspot Seafood (Ah Hock) this time. The guy warned us there’s a 1 hour wait and we’re on a special CNY pricing structure so it’ll be more expensive than normal.
One of the interesting things that all Topspot outlets share is the ability to choose your own mixed vegetable dish. There’s a row of various types of pre-cut vegetables, seafood, and other small assorted items and you take a plate and pile it up with the things you want. You pass it to the chef and he’ll cook up your special mixed vegetable dish. My favorite things to add in this are quail eggs and deshelled prawns.
I was also tempted to get a lobster (or at least one of the local slipper lobsters) but settled for King Prawns instead. These are huge freshwater prawns with big heads and long claw-like appendages you can eat.
Nowadays they even print and laminate menu cards with the updated CNY pricing so you know what you’re getting into. Off the top of my head, the huge freshwater King Prawns are RM 14/100 gram. I got two of those – one for each of us. I also wanted to eat fish and that limited the things we could order coz each fish is so large that you can’t eat much else.
This is o chio (black pompfret). RM 60 for this +- 800 gram fish. They recommended sweet and sour fish which turned out really good. This was the best dish of the night. Unfortunately Mandy isn’t a huge fan of fish so I ended up eating most of this myself. To be honest I didn’t know this was a black pompfret at first or I’ll have chosen a different fish coz I eat o chio a lot at zi char places.
Kuching-style oyster omelet (RM 28). This is how we do it here – the distinctive shape is from the wok. It comes out as a huge half sphere. The edges are crispy while the bottom bit is more moist. It’s not the soggy o chien that you get in Penang. This is a more crunchy variation. Served with fish sauce.
Midin! RM 14. This is a must eat in Sarawak. It’s a toothsome jungle fern usually cooked with belacan. This one is cooked with Shaoxing wine. We both liked it but it was served last and we were so full then we couldn’t enjoy the midin. There was at least a 30 minute lag between the first and last dish.
King prawn stir-fried with egg (RM 63). I went with their cooking recommendation but this turned out so oily and disgusting I immediately regretted it. Easily the worst dish of the night, without doubt. I should have asked them to simply steam it with Shaoxing wine. That would have tasted so much better. Urgh. The amount of cooking oil that the prawn retained is shocking. I tried sucking on the head and only got a mouthful of oil.
The food bill for 4 dishes with rice came up to RM 165. This is more expensive that what a normal meal here would cost due to the CNY surcharge. All this is communicated in advance and a proper menu with the updated prices given to customers – that’s a good thing. However, the 1 hour wait was excessive and the neighboring table (who came from KL and struck up a conversation with me) told us they found their meal underwhelming. They also found the seafood less than fresh. I agreed and said we could get better seafood in KL.
As you grow older, the only time you really meet up with friends is during festive seasons. Mindy lives relatively close to me in KL but I’ve only seen her once in the past year. Interestingly, we’re practically neighbors in Sibu. That’s probably why we ended up in the same high school (though different classes and years). I got to know her from trying to tapau one of her friends back in school. Haha.
I haven’t had a proper plate of kampua since I came back and I thought we’ll check out One O One to see if they’re open. They’re not so we popped over to Rasa Sayang. My cousin loves the kampua here and so do many other people. I’m not such a huge fan since they’re not the most authentic version. Rasa Sayang uses the curly kolo mee noodles and minced meat.
It still scratched my itch though. There were so many people here today! We had to wait a long time and the menu was very limited – the guy told us there’s only kampua noodles and bian nuk. They sold out by 12 pm too. Crazy! Too many outstation folks back for CNY.
They pegged us as non-locals too – dude called them wanton instead of bian nuk.
Not bad but I’ll still need to eat a simple (and authentic!) plate of kampua before I got back. The kind with cheap soy sauce + chilli and the boiled pork masquerading as char siu colored red.
I also always meet up with my bro Eddy every time I’m back.
We went to Chuang Yang Restaurant for dinner the other day. This is located quite far from Sibu (somewhere in Lanang) but the food is pretty good.
Guinness pai guat (spare ribs). My favorite.
Mani chai with egg. One of the things Sibu does best.
Fried yam. Yum.
Midin. This is a fern that only grows in Sarawak. You’re bound to see Sarawakians eat this whenever they come back. It’s the fucking bomb.
This is deer (rusa). We get a lot of exotic meat here but most people don’t go for the extreme ones like bat and crocodile. Deer is pretty good though.
There’s also bitter gourd!
Best! Happy CNY everyone. Hope you’re having a great reunion with friends and family.
