They are located at an alleyway at Jalan Market, which is one of the busiest and most lively old street witnessing the growth of Sibu town. Jalan Market was once the venue of Sibu centralized wet market but then been demolished in year 2002 for whatever purposes. It was also where the pasar malam (night market) is located before it was moved to the current location at butterfly's park.
The street art was painted on the side wall of Tai Kiong Emporium with the special permission from the owner. As mentioned earlier it is about a series of local delicacies of Sibu from multi-racial society here which one should never miss when visiting the town. These local delicacies are: Kampua Mee, Diang Miang Ngu/ Dian Bian Hu, Kompia from Chinese ethnic, Pulut Panggang, Penyeram and Kuih Jala from Iban, Malay and Melanau.
Kampua Mee
Kampua is a dry-tossed noodles with lard, soya sauce and MSG or more commonly known as "Ajinomoto" then garnish with spring onion, deep fried shallots and also few slices of pork which have been dyeing red on the surface layer.
It is one of the most favorite food of Siburians and you can easily get it at any kopitiam in Sibu.... yes... I say any... because a kopitiam without the stall selling Kampua can hardly survive as it is always the top choice of Siburians for breakfast and supper.
If you wish to read more about this delicacy... you can refer to my previous posts about it:
1. Kampua @ Sing Hin Corner
2. Kampua @ Rasa Sayang Cafe
3. Curry Kampua @ Lane 13 Seafoods Coffee Shop (This stall was moved to some other places)
Diang Miang Ngu
Some translated it as Diang Bian Hu or Dian Bian Hu or whatever but the name is originated from Foochow accent.It actually means "the rice starch paste from the wok side" which is related to how this cuisine is been prepared.
The cooked rice starch paste are served in pork broth together with black fungus, fish balls, pork and squids, garnish with spring onion. This is one of the specialty delicacy of Sibu but it can only been found at few limited spots with the most authentic one located at an alleyway between the Blacksmith Road and Butterfly Park.
Related posts about Diang Miang Ngu on this blog:
1. Famous Sibu Diang Miang Ngu @ The Little Alleyway
2. Breakfast @ My Corner - Curry Diang Miang Ngu + Pan Mee
Kompia
Kompia is a bread product by Foochow ethnic which is made of simple ingredients such as flour, salt, water and baking soda. The prepared dough will be flatten to a disc shape, then a tiny hole is punched at the center of each bun before sesame seeds been spread over them. The buns will then been pasted into the wall of the clay oven heated with hot-burnt charcoal at its bottom.
Yes. It may sound simple yet it is unbelievably addictive especially when they're fresh from oven. Kompia texture is soft but very chewy. The side that pasted to the oven wall during the baking process is a little bit crunchy when they're still hot.
Kompia can be eaten plain for its original taste, or some people prefer to re-process it before serving to add more flavor such as stuff it with minced/stewed pork, fried it before add stuffing or soak it inside special made gravy.
Pulut Panggang
Pulut panggang is a well-known Malay pastry that is generally loved by most people regardless of races. It is made of glutinous rice which is cooked with coconut milk and little salt, then these rice are rolled and wrapped in a special banana leaf before they're grilled or barbequed on burning charcoal.
Pulut panggang in Sibu normally is the one without filling. However, the variant with shrimp floss as filling can also be found but rare. Pulut panggang is best be taken as breakfast or as snack during tea time.
Penyaram
Penyaram or Penyeram is a very unique pastry some said originated from Iban but some claimed it is from Malay. Its unique shape has giving it variety of nicknames. Some called it Mexican hat and some called it kuih UFO and I have friend who even said it looks like abalone!!
Ingredients for making penyaram is very simple, just flour, palm sugar and water. However, the production process is very challenging and requires high skills. You need to have a small wok which has deep dome shape at the middle because that's where the pastry get its shape later. Then you need to fry the batter one after another using slow heat and it is time consuming.
The texture of this pastry is also very unique. Middle part is soft and spongy with the edge is curly and crispy. It is not too sweet and with strong palm sugar aroma. Personally love this pastry a lot!
Kuih Jala
Jala means net in Malay or Iban language. So Kuih Jala can be literally translated as net pastry or the pastry that have netting structure.
It is an Iban's traditional snack and the process of producing this delicacy is kind of interesting and need the right tools and skills.
The flour mixture is poured through a mould made of halved coconut shell with tiny punched holes in it into the hot oil and make it a round shape until the right thickness. It'll then been fold half or quarter while still in the hot oil.
Kuih Jala is super crispy and sweet in taste. It is nice to eat as snacks during tea time. As the preparing and producing process aren't easy, thus it is harder to find on the market.
(Photo taken from http://nyamaiamat.weebly.com/process.html)
