Amazing Vacation: Malaysia

Showing posts with label Malaysia. Show all posts

Eating in Kuching - Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner

The Chinese Communities in Malaysia are very adamant about keeping their culture alive, and those in Sarawak are no exception. Chinese New Year is the biggest celebration of the year, and no expenses are spared to make it a memorable and joyous occasion. New Year goodies, lion dances, flowers, New Year decor all make a killing this time of the year. Even firecrackers and fireworks which have been banned for many years will surface mysteriously when the time comes. On New Year's Eve, you won't be able to sleep way past mid night due to the crackle of firecrackers and fire works.

Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner is the equivalent of the Christmas Dinner. Family members who are away will make it a point to return home for the Reunion Dinner. In Malaysia we call it "Balik Kampung" - going home to the village. In Kuala Lumpur and other big cities this is the cause of massive traffic jams and much stress during festive occasions.

Nowadays many families including mine choose to have the Reunion Dinner at a restaurant. Having it at home would mean having to spend the whole day and even days before preparing for the dinner, and hours cleaning up afterward. With lots of things to be done before the first day of New Year, it is simply too tiring.

Most the restaurants would be booked out way ahead, and many have introduced 2 seatings to cater for the demand. We chose to go for the early 5.00 p.m. seating so that we can get home earlier. About half of the restaurant was occupied for the early sitting.

You can't have a CNY Dinner without Yee Sang. This was actually invented by the Chinese in Malaysia based on the tradition of having fish during the occasion. It is like a salad that is tossed to "loh hei" or "raise the good luck". Recipes vary from restaurant to restaurant - usually a mixture of crunchy and sweet ingredients like dried fruits and nuts mixed with raw fish slices. Nowadays salmon is commonly used.

Roast suckling pig, much prized for the crispy skin. It is served with steamed buns, a sweet sauce and pickled vegetables.

Fish is a must-have item for CNY Dinner. In Chinese fish is "yee" which sounds like "abundance", so to have fish every year means you will have lots of abundance all year round.

Steamed scallops with vermicelli. Very fresh and sweet, a rare treat in Kuching.

Prawns done 2 ways - with a honey sauce on one side and mayonnaise on the other side. The one with honey sauce was better.

Broccoli with 2 types of mushrooms.

Eight Treasured Sticky Rice. This is savoury and sweet - it is more of a dessert. Quite nice, but takes a bit of getting used to because of the unusual combination of sweet and savoury ingredients.

Dinner was over really fast as the restaurant was rushing for the second seating at 7.00 p.m. Time to go home and prepare for the big day !

Kuching Travel - Tune Hotel

Tune Hotel is a good example of a budget hotel done right. It is no-frills but not cheap and sleazy. The locations are usually impeccable, and you get from the front desk to your room in a few minutes. I've stayed at the Tune Hotel in Kuala Lumpur (at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman - opposite Maju Junction Shopping Complex) and the one at LCCT, and also the one in KK when it just opened. I always find the beds a joy to sleep on, and the shower better then many 5 star hotels - instant hot water and powerful. The down side is that the rooms can be a bit small and takes some getting used to. Rooms at the KL hotel are quite reasonably sized, but those at LCCT are tiny. There is only enough room for a queen size bed and you have to walk sideways to navigate yourself to the bathroom. For the price and the convenience, can't really complain too much. There have been mixed reviews on other sites about maintenance and service issues, so do check out the reviews before booking. The extreme no-frills concept is not for everyone.

Tune Hotel Kuching opened not too long ago. In terms of location it is inbeatable - right opposite The Hilton. It is also within walking distance to the Kuching Waterfront, Main Bazaar and Padungan Area. I went to check it out recently and found the lobby area following the basic Tune Hotel formula - small but efficient check-in counter, a very basic cafe, simple but comfy couches, and a couple of internet terminals for your convenience. All in all a breath of fresh air compared to many other budget hotels. I didn't get to see the rooms so have no idea on the room size.

The lobby is quite big and comfortable.

Free internal terminals. I like that you have to stand while using the terminals so people can't hog the terminals.

The basic charge at Tune Hotel only covers the room. You pay for everything else - air-cond, towel and soap, wi-fi, etc. There are no in-room phones so if you need to talk to the front desk you have to physically walk there. Don't even talk about porter service. All these extra charges add up, but in big cities like KL they still offer extremely good value. In Kuching though you may be able to find better deals if you look around.

Kuching Travel - Hilton Hotel

Kuching Hilton was the first 5 star International hotel in Kuching, and to date it remains the standard by which others are measured. The rooms facing the Sarawak River also have the best views in Kuching, and it is great waking up to see the idyllic river winding its way through the old town.

The design of the hotel was getting a bit dated, but a few years back it was given a major makeover and now the lobby area is quite nice and cosy. Consistent with other Hiltons in Asia, they have put a cafe - Cafecino, right in the lobby. This was a great move as the lobby has lots more life and looks a lot more interesting. Its also a great place for coffee and snacks, and arguably serves the best coffee in Kuching. They use Coffex coffee from Australia.

The lobby looks fabulous after the makeover.

Another major change was the old pub which was transformed into the Senso Lounge with a chillout vibe. Outside the lounge is a small corner which serves as a lobby lounge.

Hilton Kuching has several F&B outlets which are quite popular with Kuchingites - the Waterfront Cafe which serves daily buffets, Hilton Steak House and Toh Yuen Chinese Restaurant. While the Steak House has been surpassed by other establishments, Toh Yuen is still one of the best Chinese Restaurants in town.

If you are looking for top 5 star accommodation in Kuching, Hilton is probably still the best choice. The location is also great, right next to the Kuching Waterfront.

Eating in Kuching - Breakfast at Ipoh Town Kopitiam

Do you feel a sense of deja vu ? Haven't I just posted on this place recently ? Well this one is actually Ipoh Town Kopitiam - not to be confused with Old Town White Coffee which is a different chain. Ipoh Town actually ventured into Kuching earlier, with outlets at The Boulevard Shopping Centre and Jalan Song, and now their latest outlet at Tun Jugah Shopping Centre.

The idea is the same as Old Town - capitalizing on the nostalgia for Ipoh food, and also the sudden Malaysian craze for kaya toast. It is hard to imagine how the humble kaya toast can be the catalyst for a whole new wave of kopitiam culture sweeping all over Malaysia. Even Kuching has its home-grown chain called Kaya and Toast.

I ordered the signature kaya toast and a curry mee. Surprisingly the kaya toast took much longer to arrive then the mee, and it was soggy inside. Not very impressed.

The curry mee was also not very good. The taste is a bit flat, a sign that the sauce has perhaps been sitting around for too long. I have tried their nasi lemak which was much better then this, and their Ipoh Kuih Tiaw Soup is also not bad.

The saving grace was the Ipoh White Coffee - strong and rich, just the way I like it. It reminds me of Cafe Sua Da in Vietnam. I read somewhere that in Asian coffee roast they add sugar to the mix, giving the coffee a strong caramel taste which is quite different from the standard Italian roast.

Homegrown cafes like Ipoh Town and Old Town are giving imported ones like Starbucks a run for their money. If only they could improve on their food offerings, I think they have the potential to drown out the imports. So watch out, mermaid !

Eating in Kuching - Nonya at The Spring Food Bazaar

I haven't been to The Spring Food Bazaar a lot as I was never quite impressed with the food selections there. Last week I was invited by fellow blogger Irene (sweetsurrender.99.com.my) for lunch at Nonya - one of the bigger outlets at the Food Bazaar. I was quite surprised at the improvements and progress they have made in the last few months - more stalls, more food selections, and generally the place feels more alive.

My first experience at Nonya was a few months back. At that time they just opened, and the menu was very limited. The food was all pre-cooked and did not look or taste very appetizing. A few months on I am glad to see that they have made great improvements. Now there are quite a lot of Nonya dishes on the menu, and the food is freshly prepared to order.

The beef render was very good - chunks of tender beef slices in an aromatic sauce which has been cooked through to release all the flavours of the herbs and spices.

Stirfried Paku (jungle fern) in a light Belachan sauce.

The Assam Fish had just the right amount of sour and sweet - and enough chili heat to tickle the taste buds.

The rice is a mix of white and brown rice.

My favourite - chinchalok, a sauce made with preserved baby shrimps which has been salted and dressed with sliced shallots, ginger, chili and lime juice. It has a unique funky taste that is very appetizing. Here it is served over steamed okra.

This is a Nonya vegetable curry with Cangkok Manis (a local vegetable) and pumpkin. The sauce is made with traditional sambal and dried shrimp, giving it a rich and aromatic flavour.

Nonya was a pleasant surprise. In fact it is one of the few Nonya food outlets in Kuching worth a visit for it's nice, authentic and tasty food at a reasonable price. The added bonus is the shopping mall location which is comfortable and convenient.

Eating in Kuching - Dinner at Zhong Yuan Kitchen

Despite what the TV food progammes say, trying to juggle a job and cooking dinner at home is no easy feat. That is why more and more people are eating out, even in Kuching. Its not really a good thing, but that's a fact of modern life. So, it is always great to come across a place which provides delicious, "almost-healthy" food in a convenient location. Zhong Yuan Kitchen is such a place. Located at 101 Commercial Centre, it is right at the epi-centre of the hottest commercial centre in town, and the good thing is its only 5 min from my house. Hence this is one of my family's favourite hangouts for a weekday or weekend meal.

The menu at Zhong Yuan consists of mostly simple home-cooked style dishes, though they also have more fancy items for special occasions. Its the simple stuff we come here for.

The Zhong Yuan Fried Rice is one of our all time favourites. We always order it when we come here. It is basically a jazzed up version of fried rice with XO sauce, with lots of fresh ingredients like squid and prawns thrown in. Really delicious. I could just eat this stuff and be happy.

The Sweet Corn Soup is unlike those in other lessor restaurants. Here the corns are fresh corns, and there are lots of seafood added in to make it more substantial. The soup is really sweet and has a very nice mouth feel - not too starchy. Be sure to order this when you are there.

Stirfried Midin, fresh and crunchy.

Deepfried Tofu with Minced Pork and Preserved Turnips. Another simple homecooked dish that is done very well here.

Stewed Pork Ribs. The ribs and very tender and the meat fall off the bones. The sauce was a bit too sweet to my taste, but overall still quite an enjoyable dish.

Zhong Yuan Kitchen is a great place for simple family dinners, and it is very popular because of that. They started out with one shoplot, and now have expanded to two. The problem is they have not expanded the kitchen - still the same size and same number of people in the kitchen. On busy days, the wait can be quite long. Go early to avoid the dinner time rush.