Sago Worm Snack

Wandering through the Kelabit Highlands, surrounded by nothing other than dense jungle,a protein rich snack is never too far away.

Our guide, Reddish, was extremely keen to ensure we didn't go hungry on our trek through the breathtaking Kelabit Highlands. Although it would have been tastier fried over a BBQ, the raw Sago worm had a "unique" taste, to say the least.

Nur Azima Cafe ( no 37, Pasar Baru. 96400, Mukah. Sarawak )

Zainal and his lovely staff run the Indian restaurant in Mukah.

Zainal is an entertaining bloke for a chat and provides tasty Indian fare in Mukah. He and a couple of his friendly staff took us out for dinner to the nightly hawker centre. The Pattaya - fried rice wrapped in egg with sambal - was particularly enjoyable.

Henry ( don't mention my name ) ; Mukah

Henry was excited to have visitors in town; his generosity and his pride in Mukah seem limitless.

We met Henry while dining in the main carpark area ( where all the action in Mukah takes place ). He was keen to showcase Mukah hospitality. His offer to join him and his friends for a beer resulted in 3 hours of solid drinking and an invite for dinner the next night.

Dinner / karaoke, entailed more food than 20 people could consume ( there were 6 of us ). Of the many dishes presented, we encountered sea cucumber with scrambled egg, umai ( see LAM Bits ), steamed fish, prawns and braised baby cabbage. The food - like the beers - kept on coming...

After dinner / karaoke, Henry took us to late - night karaoke, involving more beer and microphone passing. The singing / dancing Hotel California rendition brought the house down.

Mukah hospitality

We were overwhelmed by the generosity and friendliness of the locals in this small coastal town in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo.As soon as we hit the streets, people were going out of their way to ensure we were enjoying ourselves.

Mukah, a charming town on the coast in Sarawak, is not often visited by tourists. It made a lasting impression on us through the lovely locals, laid back atmosphere and pretty old -town homes. Little villages on the outskirts are built on stilts over the water; individual dwellings are accessed via a wooden boardwalk. We were made welcome everywhere and were shouted drinks and dinner more than once.

Umai - speciality of Mukah

The coastal position of Mukah ensures a constant supply of fresh fish - essential for creating the special umai dish. Try out our recipe...

Umai is the renowned fish dish of Mukah. It consists of finely sliced / shredded white fish, either dressed with, or accompanied by, a curing mix.

We tried 2 different mixes : a lime juice, chilli and shallot combination; and a thick soy base sauce with dried shrimp, chilli, garlic, lime juice, shallots and peanuts.

The umai is served with a bowl of baked sago pearls which add texture and a buttery flavour to complete the dish.

UMAI RECIPE

Ingredients: 200 grams - coral trout, salmon, tuna, or any ' fatty ' fish - super fresh.

75mls soy sauce

15mls lime juice

1 chilli

half tsp dried shrimp

1 tbsp peanuts ( crushed )

1 clove garlic

2 small shallot ( finely sliced )

Method: in mortor: crush chilli, garlic, peanut and shrimp. Mix with soy and lime juice, shallots to finish.

Coconut thirst quencher in Mukah, Malaysia

The top of the coconut is hacked off , then a straw and spoon inserted , before being served as an impressive afternoon treat.

The juice is refreshing, energising and rehydrating.

The best part is the flesh - fresh and jelly like - easy to scrape away and eat.

Ricky " Ricardo ", Mukah

Ricky found us pretty quickly after our arrival in Mukah. He insisted on helping us out with transport around town.

We met Ricky "Ricardo" in the main carpark, opposite the riverbank in Mukah. We were looking for somewhere to stay and he was keen to help out. He cheved us around town in his clapped out Toyota - held together by rust and driven by 2 stroke. He gave us his number and told us to call anytime to go anywhere ( no charge ); although you don't have to find Ricky - he'll find you!

Qintai Inn ( at the back of the old town main carpark ), was a comfortable spot with very friendly owners. After a few days stay, they discounted the price of our stay ( actually giving money back to us! ), and offered use of a personal laptop.

Mukah's market on the river bank

The baked sago pearl is a speciality of Mukah and sold at the market. The fish is sourced straight from the boats docking nearby.

The market place in Mukah is situated in the hub of the old town on the river bank. A unique product on sale is the baked sago pearl. This baked variety is produced locally, under harsh conditions. The set up we saw involved a central 2 metre wide, waist - high clay flat top with an open fire underneath. The walls, ceiling and windows of the small room were black from the smoke and the temperature in there was sauna - like ( 60 + degrees C ). The process involves mixing the sago flour ( powder ) with coconut sugar, salt and water to form a paste. This mix is sifted through open - weave baskets to create balls. These are then put on the flat top and moved constantly to toast evenly. They are sold in packets at the local market and served with the Mukah fish speciality ( see LAM Bits ).

Ruth, John's Place, Kuching

Ruth is a great source of local information, fabulous cook and tireless worker.

Ruth and her husband John, run John's Place guesthouse and restaurant. Ruth also prepares the sambals, does some of the cooking and ensures a tightly run ship at the Kuok Pin Inn Restoran. Ruth is a powerhouse- her day consists of an early morning market run for 2 restaurants, organizing the staff at the guesthouse, training staff at the restaurant and bringing up 2 children. Ruth found time to show us around the market, take us out for breakfast and do a cooking demo for us, all in the one day.
It was so beneficial to have a local with good food knowledge and great english describe the unusual produce and it's uses to us.

Kuching, not a place to get on the wagon.

We found the booze in Kuching to be a lot more accessible and very acceptable. We all felt very at home here, with a great drinking culture found in the many bars around town.

We were shouted at least 2 nights (that we can remember) on beer by some of the extremely friendly locals who love nothing better than a chat and a laugh.

They were full of all kinds of interesting facts and travel trips throughout Sarawak, of which they are very (justifiably) proud.

John's Place, Kuching

John's Place- run by Big John (surprise surprise), was a score.

John's Place had only been open for 4 days when we stumbled across it. The rooms were luxury compared to some of the places we have stayed. It is in a very central area and the staff are great. We somehow managed to score a room for Rm 55 for the 3 of us. We did however stay for a week, and what a week it was. Downstairs is John's cafe which serves a ripper Tom Yum and very cheap beer. Many locals come here for a beer or 20 and we somehow found ourselves indulging night after night.

Anything goes at the Sunday market on Saturday

The Sunday market in Kuching is one of the most lively, vibrant and entertaining markets in Borneo.

The Sunday market which we visited on Saturday afternoon, is a weekly event. This market is run by surrounding village people who come here to sell their wares. They move into their spaces on Friday evening and stay there for the weekend. This was one of the more raw markets we have discovered. On show were whole, freshly slaughtered beasts, black skinned chickens and live seafood specialities. We also found baby shark.
The fruit and vegetable section was very comprehensive, with the locals taking great pride in their produce display. Here we saw a wide variety of jungle fruits and exotic,edible plants.
Kuching also offers a wide variety of wood carvings, ceramics and textiles. It is the best place in Sarawak to find authentic tribal crafts like bead work, basketry and weaving. A lot of these crafts can be found around the waterfront.

Frogs, great noodles and a whole lot more

Having seen frogs on menu's, but yet to try, our time was up. It wasn't just the eating that would surprise, but the whole process that was involved.

"Food Comes First", opposite the Kuok Pin Inn, is a ridicously over staffed Chinese restaurant (we counted 19 staff at one stage). A variety of live produce is displayed in tanks at the front of the restaurant- namely frog, fish and udon gala (freshwater crustation somewhere between a yabbie and a crayfish). Other delicacies to choose from include: deer meat, turtle soup, rabbit and suckling pig. The sweet n' sour pork was Mmmmm.
We selected 3 frogs from the tank (5 Rm per 100gms). A quick snap with the wrist smashed the frogs head on the bench killing it instantly. The frogs were then sliced open up the backbone, skinned and gutted over the bin at the back of the shop. Once chopped up they were coated with soy, black vinegar, garlic and loads of fresh ginger and then steamed for approx 10 minutes. The result being a tender, succulent taste experience. The myth of frog tasting like chicken was shattered. They were more like sea scallop in texture and slightly fishy in flavour, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
A good choice for any time of day is the Wonton Mee; a combination of freshly made pork wontons, egg noodle, bbq pork and chicken mince at the chinese hawker centre for about Rm 3 ( aus$ 1)
Kuok Pin Inn Restoran serve up a fantastic Kuey Tiow (fried noodles). It is the speciality of a girl who has worked there for 8 years- she is from a local tribal family. It is perfect every time, nice dry noodles- not oily, cooked on a flat top grill. The restoran is well known for it's bbq/baked fish which is always fresh and tasty ( at least it was the 3 nights in a row we had it). There is also cheap Beer available here.
An interesting place to check out for unique roti is Kopi O Corner (cnr Jl Satok and Nayor)

Cameron highlands,plantations

The Cameron Highlands provide a break from the hot, humid weather elsewhere in Malaysia. The fruit, vegetables and renowned tea plantations flourish here.

The Cameron Highlands provide Malaysia with most of its fruit and vegetables, but is more famous for its tea plantations. It is a beautiful, lush area and many people go to experience the jungle walks, waterfalls and cool weather. We visited the Boh Tea Estate via a short jungle walk and a lift from a local. The views over the plantation are beautiful. On the way back, we stopped in at the Highland Apiary Farm ( 1/2 klm Jalan Boh,39200 Ringlet. Cameron Highlands. PH: 019 503 8511). The owners gave us samples of their delicious honey and the Royal Jelly ( bee excrement ). The Royal Jelly is rich in protein , apparently very nutritious and is recommended for "women's beautification". It is the secretion from bees after digesting pollen and is eaten by the queen bee.

Peter Santana. Melaka, Travel guru

"The secret ingredient found in traditional Indian curry house's in Penang is used undergarments."

Peter is a well travelled Melaka local who can be found lurking around the express bus terminal or residing at Sunny's guesthouse. If you come across Peter and you've got anywhere from 5 mins to 5 hrs spare, he's up for a chat. Peter is a wealth of info on Malay history. He is a retired chef from K.L. and the following B.B.Q Fish recipe is his own.

PETE'S BANANA LEAF WRAPPED FISH

INGREDIENTS:

Paste: 1 cup shallots , 10 de-seeded, soaked dry red chillis, 4 lemongrass stalks, 3 candlenuts grated, 1/2 knob fresh turmeric, salt and sugar to taste. Blitz all ingredients, adding salt and sugar to taste, to form a paste. Makes enough to generously coat 2 large fish.

METHOD:

The most common type of fish you can use would be a snapper. About 450 gms is ideal. Score fish on both sides. Saute about 3-4 tbls of paste in veg oil until aromatic. Rub over fish and wrap in foil, then banana leaf. Bake in oven at 180oc for about 25 minutes.

local bus, Melaka

As well as the usual forms of transport, Melaka has some outrageously decorated rickshaws.

When arriving at the express bus terminal, you can catch the local bus into town for RM 0.80. A short walk from the Equatorial Hotel led us to Sunny's Guesthouse which was a good choice and set us back Rm 30 ( Aus$ 11).

A popular way to get around town is via the rickshaw. This traditional mode of transport is dying out across Malaysia. The drivers of Melaka go to great lengths decorating their vehicles with flashing lights, flowers, curtains and sound systems blaring out the "latest " hits, a popular track was Michael Jackson's "Beat It".

melaka, market, chinatown

Melaka's chinatown is the most impressive we have come across so far.

There are beautifully maintained shopfronts and houses with spotlessly clean streets. There is an amazing collection of antiques, artwork, clothing and shoes. You can still find people weaving bamboo and blacksmiths shaping glowing, red hot metal. There is ample Chinese stores selling an array of fresh and dried foodstuffs, medicines, liquor and specialized goods such as shark fin.

Melaka, Nonya cuisine

Melaka is considered the cultural heart of Malaysia. It is also the birthplace of Nonya cuisine, an intergration of Chinese and Malay culture.

Restoran Bibik Neo is at no.6 Jalan Merdeka, Taman Melaka Raya and run by the hospitable Marcia and Henry Tan. Marcia's recommendations included otak-otak ( banana leaf wrapped fish cake made with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, chilli and coconut milk ), crispy fried snapper with chilli sauce, prawn and pineapple laksa, wok fried kangkong and rice. Marcia emphasised the sole use of fresh ingredients over manafactured pastes and sauces. The meal was followed by a palate cleanser of Ais chendol... a dessert of shaved ice, caramelized durian fruit and pandanus flavoured rice "spaghetti".

Hoe Kee Chicken Rice Ball is in the heart of chinatown, at no. 4 Jalan Hang Jebat. This place is packed with locals devouring plates of poached chicken, braised cabbage, sticky rice balls and chilli sambal. Doesn't sound like much, but a perfect cooking technique and the balanced flavour was spot on.

Get to the weekend night market in the same street for a feast of food and karaoke; look for the Banyan Garden Cafe and order a bowl of laksa for Rm 4.50 and the old chika near the entrance selling smokey otak-otak for 40cents a pop.