Miri Roti John

The stall in Miri where I bought my Roti John .... since it was infront of the cafe, he still uses the water sink to wash his hands before tending to me.

Nocturnal eateries seems to crop in abundance after sunset in Miri. I had the chance to taste Roti John (John's Bread/sandwich) from one of the many stalls opposite the Ming Cafe (Majority non Halal food. There is a muslim food stall with neighbouring stalls selling non halal items).

A friend of mine who has been working in Miri for a year highly recommends me to taste this Roti John while in Miri. He said, "you can't find Roti John in Kuching..." but that really if you didn't look hard enough. Quite true to his words, I have yet to find Roti John in Kuching apart from the Kebabs and burgers. It is also quite common in west Malaysia, some other friends suggest. Well where it comes from, I am not sure, but let me introduce you to this Roti John, if you have yet to try it out...

The Roti John Wrapped in plastic, still warm.

Meat, egg, mayo, chilli sauce... where are the greens?

It is actually meat (minced chicken, beef, mutton or franks) bundled together in poached egg with chopped onions, tomato, salad, cucumber slices all included. The pepper and chilli sauce adds to its spiciness, while the mayonaise and thousand island functions to tease your sour taste receptors on your tongue. This main ingredient is then sandwiched into the long bread.

Roti John preparation from West Malaysia during the fasting month of Ramadan: Source NST... that's a whoooah!!

The taste is just like any other burgers that you can get from any stalls. The only difference is its longish shape. The one that I had was just not too wholesome and it was very high in its carbohydrate, protein and fat content. It still needs to be made more balanced with more vege in its preparation. Overall, he he, I would give it a 5 out of 10.

I am beginning to love Miri

This post has long been overdue, but it doesn't really matter, as long as I get this post up, that's all my target will be.

Miri at night

When I arrived in Miri, the movement of the traffic in Mri town reminded me of Kuching many years ago when I was still in my primary school days. There were not many cars, no Schumacher wannabes; everything was so slow going, laid back, quaint. I enjoyed walking around from the hotel I was staying in, to the Imperial Boulevard and the Miri Parkson Grand. Speaking of the Boulevards, there are basically 2 boulevards in Miri as most taxi drivers would put it. One is the Imperial Boulevard and the other is the Miri Boulevard. The latter is the bigger one. Generally, I really think Miri has got much to offer than Kuching in terms of shopping choices.

Miri Park Everly Hotel

After my TOEFL test, I took a taxi to Miri Division Health Office in Tanjong Lobang at about 5 in the evening, to meet up with a friend who is undergoing his training as a health inspector. It took about 15 minutes from the city centre and cost me RM10 per ride. The Divisional Health Office which houses an office and the hostel catering for medical staffs sits strategically by the beach facing the South China Sea. It is located in between the Miri Marriott Resort and Spa and the Miri Everly Hotel, sharing the same beach.

Seahorse at Tanjong Lobang

Not too distance away, one could easily see the mascot for Miri, the seahorse, overlooking the sea facing the sunset. The view was just breathtaking, the hues and saturation of the sunset skies were just too beautiful to describe. Just spending my time there, walking along the beach, smelling the sea breeze, listening to the wave crashing against the soft sandy beach was just not enough. Time flies really fast and soon it was time to bundle up. Here are some pictures... behold..

Remnants of what used to be a fishing boat stranded at the Tanjong Lobang Beach

A picturesque sunset view.. so peaceful

I had dinner with my friend and his younger coursemates. He was the eldest and surely enough, was looked upon as the Yoda of the group, from whom advises are sought after. I helped him up with preparing the vegetable, while he did the frying of the Ikan Terubok, brought all the way from Kuching. The expeience, eating together, was just spectacular, it just add excitement to the flair. Post prandially, the coffee was even greater and it goes hand in hand with the tv.

Well time to go in the end. I will plan to go to Miri again sometime in the future. Loagan Bunut.. hmm... it keeps popping up in my head...

Rumah Agan Sungai Mador

This time, the 2nd group of students were posted to conduct their research at 2 long houses, Rumah Agan and Rumah Gerinang, located near Sungai Mador (Mador River) in the Bintangor District. Compared to the previous group, the location is a bit further, taking about 40 minutes to reach he long houses. The advantages of having a longhouse to conduct their research are the close proximity of the whole community (50 families + in a block of terrace house) and the feasibility to plan a one day intervention project, which consist of health education or health related activities for all the village folks.

Tuai Rumah Agan, Mr Agan

Tuai Rumah Gerinang (left most) with his longhouse committee members at Rumah Agan.

Both Rumah Agan and Gerinang are located about 4-5 kms from the main road, connected by a cement road allowing only one vehicle at a time to pass through. A local primary school (SK Sungai Mador) located at the junction greeted us upon entering the road. Both sides of the road are filled with secondary jungle and undergrowth interspersed with farmlands. The longhouse folks were in a relaxed mood when we arrived. My senior, gave a welcoming speech, explaining the purpose of the community sounding and introduced the students to the long house folks. The tuai Rumah (headman), Mr Agan, who is an ex teacher also introduced himself, his headman colleague, Mr Gerinang (from the neighbouring Rumah Gerinang) and committee members from both houses. Mr Agan mentioned that he was very grateful that a study will be conducted in his longhouse. It is afterall beneficial for the longhouse folks and they wouldn't be loosing anything. Like they say, it is a win win situation, for both the students and the community. Never had he such experience since the entry of Sarawak into Malaysia, he said. Our arrival was also somehow 'expected'. A few months back, the longhouse experience something rare. A deer came and 'lodge in' into the longhouse. It was not afraid and was not killed either. The deer was treated well, given food and it left after three nights stay. Coincidence? May be. But this coincidence happened only once, decades after the establishment of the longhouse. This was considered as a good omen and our arrival was somehow awaited since the incidence.

Some of the longhouse folks. The younger generation are either working in bigger town or still schooling, mainly boarding at the nearby SMK Maradong boarding school.

Students listening attentively. Notice the spacious ruai of the longhouse.

Locals from the rural areas are always friendly once you get to know them. Mrs Agan, a jovial person and always smiling ensures that the drinks (we had coffee) were served to all visitors to the longhouse. The students had decided to do a study on the knowledge and attitude on smoking habits of those 13 years old and above in both longhouses after both headmen had agreed that this was the current problem in the longhouses with many obstructive airway diseases, bronchial asthma exarcebation and indirectly a risk factor to cardiovascular diseases not to mention the hole-in-the-pocket complication to your pocket money.

A colleague with Mrs Agan.

In front of the modern Rumah Agan.

The longhouse, I must say, is not the typical traditional longhouse that most would have seen in travel brochures. The whole longhouse has been renovated (I later found out) a few years ago (and is still undergoing slow minor refurbishment here and there) with the old wooden walls been fortified with cements. The tuai rumah's ruai ( varendah) too is unique than the rest of the long house, with tile flooring slightly raised about 15 cm from the ordinary cement floor from the neighbouring 'pintu' (family house in the long house). Being the important man leading the whole longhouse and a small longhouse commitee, there is even an organization chart on the wall of his pintu. After sitting there for awhile, having drinking coffee, a diuretic, I need to be excused from the ongoing discussion to use the loo of the tuai rumah. I must say, I was really surprised with the level of cleanliness inside the house. It was really huge, wide, well-lighted, properly ventilated and even the toilet was exceptionally modern with flush and tiled floor. It was not foul smelling as there were no nearby poultry or pigsty or anything of such matter.

The day ended well, around 6:30 pm in the evening. The students were supposed to be meeting with the longhouse folks again the next day to discuss more important matters. Things gets more factual. The next day, my Iban colleague and I went together with the students as requested by them. Although ice were cracking, but it has not been broken, the main set back was language. Of the 16 group members, only 4 were Sarawakian and out of this 4, none were Iban. The national language were used in full force. The usage of English among the folks were very limited to the headman. Most of the time, the communication seems to be in a one way direction if english were used. In the end of the discussion, things starts to heat up causing the the ice to melt away. Not only we were served with hot beverage drink, the tuak came in play too.

Pre tuak discussion... all looking very serious.

and the tuak came... notice the glass bottle.

after a dose tuak, I can't even get them to be still to get a shot. It's all blurry.

The muslims, naturally, politely refused this. My part was given to another student who willfully accepted it. By the second cup, his face was beginning to turn red, a seemingly quiet and polite lad changed gradually to a more open for discussion and less inhibited person. As things goes, the night too ended well and in a joyous mood.

All in all hospitability was great. It was really an experience for the students and me albeit just the beginning of the posting. To the longhouse folks, thank you and may you be more prosperous in your endeavours ahead.

Selera Assam Payak

For lunch today, we had decided to go to Selera Assam Payak, which is situated at Satok. It is located opposite Benteng Satok and next to Taka bakery. It has become one of the hotspots for lunch time in Kuching and the best part is that, it is Halal.

They serve a la carte food which you can order from a menu and also a mix dish of rice with meat and vegetable. The vegetable and meat were displayed in trays arranged neatly and kept warm with slow fire below the trays. For the mix dish, it is a self service affair and therefore you can have good control on the amount of food that you take. The man (must be the tow kay) behind the food counter, neatly dressed with apron and hat, overlooking the displayed cooked food, is very delighted to assist you should you need it.

The self service food counter

When we reached there, the shop was half full (not half empty) with customers. More came later although it started to drizzle outside. This definitely bears testimony to the taste that we are about to savour later.

Nasi campur with chicken and 2 types of vege.. nice and balanced.

We have decided to go fo the mix dish ('nasi campur'). I had rice with 'ayam masak hitam' (chicken in soya gravy), 'keladi' (boiled aroids aka Colocasia esculenta), and 'ulam' (raw and cleansed vegetable) with the accompanying 'sambal' (sauce usually with chilli and spices). My other half had the same with addition of spice added boiled 'rebung' (bamboo shoots) and the four angled beans with sambal as the ulam. For the drinks, we opted for cool plain water instead to avoid the post prandial glucose surge that can make you feel full 'prematurely'. After getting our food, a worker from the shop will go to our table and start to key in the price of our food into his handheld gadget that looked like a huge fat calculator that can print. However, the payment is made at the counter only.

Now you see it...

...now you don't

The ambiance was satisfactory, the lighting was just adequate with the murmuring from the gradually forming crowd forms the background music to the ears. Most importantly, cleanliness of the shop was acceptable, with no cats or other animals running around. The glass panels forming the walls of the shop ensures that the air inside is kept dust free and pleasant at all times.

All in all it cost about RM9.56 with 5% service tax. It was a fullfilling, hearty and healthy meal. I ran into some minor dispute of the price earlier when the lady at the counter overcharged me by RM4 when it was meant for the other table. It settled amicably and she returned my RM4. Lesson to be learned here is to check on the receipt everytime before you leave a shop.

Generally, it was a nice place to have our meal. The mix dish however, is not available at night. Surely, I would not mind to go there again for meals in the future.

Badminton: Winners Court

Inside the hall. Partly shown of the total 16 courts available

I have always enjoyed playing badminton since my primary school days, to the point thatI have represented my primary school and the Kuching samarahan division to a number of trophies. My secondary school playing days are not as impressive and now, I just need it to keep fit, my agility and my reflexes in the best condition possible. Plus it is a healthy way to channel your anger and vent your frustrations that you face daily. I am doing it at least twice a week, every tuesday and friday night at the Winner's Court with a group of old timer friends.

Contents of the bag.... The preferred shuttlecocks would be Yang Yang Yellow (Thats what we call it) as it reliable and affordable (RM 48 per tube) within our skills and income. But now, it is quite hard to find Yang Yang Yellow in Kuching town lately as most shopkeepers would find it difficult to buy it in packages. I do not really get that, but assumed that it is costly to buy in bulks the amount of tubes pre determined by the manufacturer. Another brand coming up and making its present felt for reliability is the ProAce shuttlecocks. It is about RM 30-40 per tube.

Winner's Court is located at Arang Road. It has been there for quite a few years right now. Easily it has been 'the place' to go to play badminton in aroud Kuching, much like the Sports planet in Pending where futsal is played. Winner's court looks like a factory turned badminton hall boasting 16 courts, with a space of about 2 to 3 feet between 2 courts. Looks like the towkay is maximising his profits by minimising the walking space between the courts. Running the risk of getting ones head smashed like a shuttle cock, caution is needed when walking between the courts, better still, do not walk about unnecessarily betwen the courts at all if they are being used.

Post match break. It is all not about badminton only, but also a place to hang out and unwind from the daily schedule and to catch up with the latest group news. Sometimes (or most of the time) these friends of mine would arrange a post match supper at Benteng Satok to have a quick bowl of Kolok Mee and drinks to replenish the burned calories.

Courts need to booked in few days in advance, but at the moment last minute booking is still acceptable as there are always courts available. Rents cost about RM8 per hour, and at night frm 9pm onwards, it cost RM15 per hour. I understand that they have special pricing for the weekend bookings as well. They do have a small in house shop selling racquets, shuttlecocks and, hand and head bands. They do stringing as well. However, it is a little more expensive than the service and products sold in the main town. Unless you really cannot wait to string your racquet, it is not really advisable to string it there.

Futsal court at the adjacent building. Sorry for the poor illustration.

Apart from the badminton courts, there is also a newly built futsal court at the adjacent building. The rumblings of the floor planks of the futsal court placed on the first floor above the parking lots caused by the running players is just deafening. I am not too sure of the rent as well, but some friends mentioned that it was much cheaper than Sports planet.

Renewing old friendship and making new ones too. Varieties improves skills.

Other places to play badminton: Chinfu Methodist church, St Joseph's secondary school indoor stadium, SBA court in BDC, KPA court in Pending, PBB court in Petra Jaya and the Stutong court in Batu Kawah. The standard rates to rent a badminton court is usually about RM8 per hour. Some courts like the BDC Stampark court charges exorbitantly about RM 10 per hour. Really, its ok if you can afford it. Afterall, in the end, its the fun and the amount of calories burned that matters.

Sarawak River Cruise experience

The Sarawak river cruise has been on for quite some time. It is actually an interesting concept, with a mini cruise (scaled down version of The Star Cruise or the defunct Ferry Malaysia) plying up and down the Sarawak river carrying a handful of local and foreign tourists aboard each time.



The cruise takes off every evening at about 5.45pm (I wonder if they do if it rains), berthing at the Kuching Waterfront. Since it was sponsored by the department, I am not sure of the ticket price. However, what you pay includes the sumptuous food on board in buffet style consisting of local fern (midin) fried with belacan (prawn paste), crabs, prawns, ulams (cleansed and raw vegetable eaten with sauce or paste eg the sambal belacan, tempoyak (fermented durian paste) with anchovies, some carbohydrates such as the rice and fried noodles. Fruits as dessert were also served. However sumptuous and elaborate the food was, in my opinion, it lacked the gastronomic presentation that would make you water in your mouth, plus, it was also presented cold. They will probably need to heat it up first or prepare it just about the embarking time. After all, not many are that hungry at about 6pm. Thirsty may be.

Those karaoke enthusiast may proceed to the microphone to display their crooning abilities. But non of the visitors on board were eager enough so it was left to the crew on board to entertain us with their singing prowess.

After dinner, most of us would proceed to the bridge to immerse ourselves in the scenic view of the Sarawak River during sunset. The white washed building of the old customs building, the divisional mosque, the malay villages nestled amonst the palm trees by the riverbank, fishermen raking in their catch for the day in their modern fishing boat, the local waterway taxis (tambangs) being skillfully manoeuvred by the boatsman in order to avoid our boat's way and the slow constant chugging of the boat's engine seems perfectly fallen in place in one lazy evening.

Before long, we were again entertained to a presentation of assorted local traditional dances that represents the main diversified ethnics in Sarawak.

One thing I which I noticed was that the river seems clean enough not to sore the eyes. There were floating plastic bottles which was used as a buoy to support the fishing nets below the river stretching a few hundred metres long. There were no traces of oil slick which may be apparent in some rivers in other parts of Sarawak. However, kudos to the local authority and the locals for keeping it clean.

The ride ends upriver when we had our beloved chief minister's house (and so we were told) in sight with the boat making a U turn to bring us back to the starting point. Nearing the wharf, there was a mixture of romantic and sombre mood. Romantic, upon seeing the beautifully lit waterfront and a display of light outlining the buildings by the river against the background of orange and red. Sombreness, when knowing that ride with loved ones would soon end and the departing of an eminent retiring profesor for whom the occasion was planned for was imminent.

Upon disembarkation, we were greeted with a sight of the waterfront buzzing with more activities, mainly targeting the tourists, and some for the locals as well. The number of anglers were more in numbers later in the evening. Not only that, those peddling the local variety of aphrodisiac (Gambir Sarawak) seemed to double and are located evenly apart from each other along the waterfront. This traditional method, after being mixed with minimal water and then apllied locally to the ventral aspect of the penis will cause anaesthesia and pleasure desensitisation from the user causing some delay in reaching the climacteric phase. It was doubtful if the selling of such topical medication was approved by the ministry or not. They were some rhomboid blue coloured pills sold in blister packs on the display board together with the Gambir Sarawak, but surely, this is not recomended at all. All problems of suspected erectile dysfunction should be further investigated before starting any forms of treatment.

The tour along the Sarawak River was a satisfactory affair for me. The only thing that probably needs to be looked into is the food preparation presentability and its freshness. In support for the call to promote Malaysia as a Halal food hub, simple halal certification is necessary here when you get lots of muslim visitors from west Malaysia and locally, not to mention those coming from abroad. Happy merdeka day...!