Lou Chow Chicken Rice - The Economic Choice for Lunch

Looking for cheap and economic lunch in Sibu? You can try this! Lou Chow Chicken Rice for only RM 2.50!! The coffee shop is somewhere near Medan Mall commercial area, just next to Hong Fu Seafood (Lorong Pahlawan 7A4, Sibu).

Soup is complimentary! I personally feel the satisfaction with the quality and the portion of food served. Definitely worth more than RM 2.50! With the living costs keep increasing, this is a good choice to save some money! ^^

Experience Eating Dim Sum @ Fish Culture Cafe

Eating Dim Sum for breakfast had slowly become popular among people of Sibu, although it still far away from replacing the habit of eating Kampua among the local. This is proven by more and more eateries in the town start serving Dim Sum for breakfast and you'll see huge crowds flooding these places especially during weekends and holidays.

Recently I had a chance to visit one of the eatery at Medan Commercial area who serves Dim Sum. There are actually few shops at this new commercial area serving Dim Sum, but after some consideration, I finally decided to try out the one at "Fish Culture Cafe". Part of the reason I chose this and not others is that this coffee shop serves something called "Foochow Fishball" which received overwhelm response from the local as well as visitors during Borneo Culture Festival each year through its Foochow Fishball stall.

It was on Hari Raya public holiday so the place was flooded by patrons at the time of my visit around 8.30am. The Dim Sum were served on self-service basis, where you gonna choose the Dim Sum you like, then pay the money at the cashier counter only then you can enjoy the foods!

It's written clearly on the notice that one basket of any kind of Dim Sum costs RM4, but if you take 3 baskets of any flavors in one go, you get a cheaper treat of RM11, a very typical charge for eating Dim Sum in Sibu.

I went for 6 baskets since the serving portion of 3 baskets look like not that sufficient for 2 persons. As I was the first timer there, I just chose the Dim Sum variants randomly, which seems to be more eyes catchy to me. I couldn't find any Foochow Fishball in the Dim Sum baskets on the steamer which I thought it is not served as Dim Sum, but you can order some kind of Kueh Tiaw soup or Tang Hoon (transparent kind of rice vermicelli) soup which have the Foochow Fishball in them.

Actually I was wrong! After I did some survey and reading on the Internet, the Foochow Fishball is served as Dim Sum as well, but why the hell I didn't see them during my visit? Either I didn't notice and the staff never bother to recommend it to the customers or the demand is overtaken by the supply or the shop change its menu? Can somebody enlighten me?

Here are the variants I chose. Not sure about their specific name, but I know there was a basket of Yong Tao Foo (Stuffed fried bean curd), a basket of meatball, ham's roll (with preserved egg in it), fish paste rolls and curry fish ball. The curry fish balls are quite nice to eat with very bouncy and chewy fish balls. Others are average, no special surprise.

The most thing surprised me when dining at this shop is not the main dishes, but it was the sambal paste which really caught my taste buds! It was not just a sauce to dip in when eating the Dim Sum, but it was really a very delicious sambal paste full of dried shrimp taste to go along with the foods! Absolutely yummy and thumbs up for the paste!

Another good thing is the coffee served here is thick and nice! It says that the coffee beans are grind on the spot.

One bad thing about the eatery is that WiFi connection is detected in the premise with SSID "Fish Culture Cafe", which I thought is opened for customers but it is not! I asked the password from the staff, but they refused to give. When I asked if the WiFi is not open for public use, the cashier smile to me and say "yes". Ok... I know this is not a big deal, but I believe this can be improved since they get good business. WiFi service is a cheapest way you get free promotion of your shop in these modern days! Either you open the WiFi for your customers, or if you are not ready for that, please hide the SSID to avoid misunderstanding.

Sibu International Dance Festival 2012 - The Special Outdoor Show

Sibu International Dance Festival 2012 had finally come to an end after the final show on 25th August 2012 near Sibu Heritage Center.

Unlike the previous 3-night performances at Sibu Civic Center, the final night was held at outdoor and it was opened to the public! The show was again sponsored by Pansar Berhad as part of their Corporate Social Responsibilities program.

Total of 10 dances were performed on the night, with 2 performance each by the host - Hornland Dance Theatre's dance troupe, Foon Yew High School Dance Society of Johor,  Kusuma Budaya Dance Theatre of Java, Indonesia and also Taiwan XueJing Youth Dance Troupe respectively, while Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan Dance Troupe and Sibu Martial Arts performed a dance each.

The uniquely designed Sibu Heritage Center tunnel style's entrance had been converted to be the performance stage of the night. With the special lighting, the temporary stage look so gorgeous, yet the slope as well as the shape of the platform which is wide to narrow had caused certain level of challenge to the performers (I believe).

Despite the imperfectness of the stage, the dancers had performed once again to the best they could to entertain the crowds who came all the way to witness this great event! I believe the spectators had really enjoy the show. This was proven when once rain was falling from the sky, but the spectators seem oblivious to it. When the rain getting bigger, some just tried to get a shelter and continue watching from a further distance instead of leaving the place.

One good thing about the open air concept's performance is that it was more informal, thus photography was allowed throughout the show! I shouldn't feel that "high" actually since the compact camera I carried is not an ideal device to capture photo in such extreme environment, - dark surrounding and moving objects. Yes! I was aware of that! But I still tried my best to snap some just to see if I could add something nice into my photo collection and share with my blog readers!! These photos shared here are specially selected among the many many shot!

After the completion of a energetic and relaxing dance named "Our Land" performed by XueJing Youth Dance Troupe from Taiwan showcasing the happy and relaxing life of Taiwanese native, it denoted the official ending of the 2012 Sibu International Dance Festival!

What a great event and I am looking forward for the next one in the near future!

What a colorful post as well! I like it a lot!!

Related Posts:

1. Sibu International Dance Festival 2012 - Pansar Fiesta Night
2. 2012诗巫国际舞蹈节观后感

Sibu International Dance Festival 2012 - Pansar Fiesta Night

Attended Sibu International Dance Festival (SIDF) 2012 organized by Hornland Dance Theatre in association with Sibu Municipal Council last night. Some how I got a free ticket to the event. Last night the event was given a name "Pansar Fiesta Night" as it was sponsored by Pansar Group, a local corporate.

I felt hesitate to go when I first get the ticket since I am a total layman when talking about dancing. But foreseen that it was a big event and the ticket actually worth at least RM20 (on donation basis), I decided not to waste it and gave it a try.

For your information, Hornland Dance Theatre is a local owned dancing group who promotes the arts of dance and conducts dancing classes in the region.

Proven my decision is not wrong when the show started on time - 7.30pm sharp and there was no political talks or whatsoever speech at all! What I did was go to the venue on time, sit back, relax and enjoy the continuous dancing performance from start till the end of the show! No time-wasting interval at all except a short 15 minutes' break in between. That's great!

A total of 12 dance groups are taking part in the 3 days dance performance, 4 are local groups, 2 from Peninsular Malaysia and others are invited from foreign countries including Indonesia(1), Singapore(3) and Taiwan(2).

Only 10 groups were performing last night with total of 13 varieties of dances been performed. Etnik Revolution from Sibu opened the night with their dance titled "Kanjet Ngeleput" or Blowpipe Dance, a traditional Orang Ulu dance showcasing a Sape player playing the music and another showing off his blowpipe skills! Some audience were startled by the sudden roars of the Orang Ulu warrior, yet entertained by his pipe-blowing skill which broke the balloons from distance! What a nice and impressive dance to start off the show full of the colors of Borneo!

Other dance performances are as follow:
- The Clouds Chasing the Moon 云追月 by Foon Yew High School Dance Society, Johor 柔佛新山宽柔中学舞蹈团
- Odissi by Temple of Fine Arts of Kuala Lumpur
- The Teahouse Server 茶倌 by Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan Dance Troupe 新加坡福建会馆舞蹈团
- Anjatha Sculptures- The Dancing Apsaras by Mayan Dance Theatre, Singapore
- Jepin Sibu by Sri Swangsa, Sibu
- The sounds of the Forest 山林 by Foon Yew High School Dance Society, Johor

- The Desert Flame 大漠风采 by XueJing Youth Dance Troupe, Taiwan 台北雪璟青少年舞蹈团
- Dhol Bhaje Folk Dance by Temple of Fine Arts of Kuala Lumpur
- Kilir - Dian Dancers, Singapore
- Whispers of Rain 荷塘。欢歌 - Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan Dance Troupe
- Srimpi Guitar (welcome dance) by Kusuma Budaya Dance Theatre, Java Indonesia

- Our Land 原乡风情 by XueJing Youth Dance Troupe, Taiwan

[XueJing Youth Dance Troupe from Taiwan]

As I mentioned earlier, I am a layman as far as dancing is concern. However, I could feel the efforts of everyone, especially the dancers who had performed to their very best, with each movement they did are that neat, accurate, energetic and filled with beauty! In addition to that, the lighting, the colorful costume wore by the performers, the clear music and sounds effects had added up to give the highest visual pleasure I ever experience so far for a stage performance! Big claps to all the performers as well as those hidden behind the stage!

I just knew that SIDF had actually hire a professional lighting designer from Kuala Lumpur just to make sure the performers have the most suitable performing environment. No wonder the lighting last night was so impressive! Well done SIDF!

No photography or video shooting is allowed on the event except those authorized. Therefore I just managed to snap some group photos after the end of the show.

[Foon Yew High School Dance Society of Johor]

As a conclusion, it is a very great and entertaining event to attend and looking forward to have another chance in the coming years!

[Sri Swangsa Sibu]

[Singapore's troupe]

 [Photo taking with VIP]

[Nice entrance design]

Note: The collage photos are taken from Hornland Dance Theatre Facebook fan page. Visit the page to view more photos on this event.

Reference:
- http://tribune.my/home/16190-sibu-international-dance-festival-from-21-25-aug.html
- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hornland-Dance-theatre/310346967175
- https://www.facebook.com/events/373800956016036/?ref=nf

Sri Aman Char Kueh @ Sibu

I blogged about Sri Aman Char Kueh some ages ago, which is a "must try" if you happen to visit to the town of peace. Trust me, that Char Kueh is the best you can find in this state!

I am craving for it every time I visit to Sri Aman. But you know what? The good news is that now you no need to drive 3.5 hrs from Sibu all the way to Sri Aman to taste the food, but you can now have it in Sibu itself!!

Since 01/05/2012, the stall selling authentic Sri Aman Teo Chew style fried rice cake had started its business at Medan Mall area's Taste Food Courts! It's easy to spot the place, just between Courts Mammoth and Seng Hen shoplots!

Outside the stall you can see a big banner showcasing "Sri Aman Char Kueh", both sweet version and salt version. So, guess it's very easy to find it.

I had give it a try to see if the taste is authentic enough compare to the original serving at Sri Aman. What I found out is, this stall served a very decent Sri Aman style of Char Kueh which taste 90% like the original one! I just went for the sweet version.

The cook very generous in adding the eggs but I personally feel he should put in more dried radish (Chai po) which can make the entire dish more chewy and delicious. These 2 ingredients are vital to produce a nice plate of Char Kueh.

The cook running the stall is actually a young man origin from Sri Aman who come all the way to Sibu to run the business. As Sibu is a town dominated by Foochow clan, so this type of Teo Chew delicacy is hardly found here. Therefore, the business has high potential if it can caught the taste buds of Siburians.

After a brief interview with him, I had been acknowledged that he is actually the nephew of the Char Kueh stall owner near market area of Sri Aman which I used to go! His father also operates another Char Kueh stall at Srijaya area in Sri Aman. They had run the business for decades!

So, I believe he had inherit and if not inherit, then should have managed to learn some of the secrets in frying a nice plate of authentic Teo Chew style Char Kueh from his elders before came here for the business.

A plate of Char Kueh priced at RM3.00 but you can request for additional eggs for extra RM1.00. The serving portion is not that big, so for big eaters, it's not a good choice to order it as main course but ideal as side orders. It is best to eat as snack or supper.

Honestly, in my personal opinion, I still prefer the original Char Kueh sold at Sri Aman. I think the experience make difference here even though the taste is near to identical. However, the Sibu stall is good enough to heal my miss towards the authentic Char Kueh from Sri Aman and therefore I highly recommend it!

Delicious Roasted Kaya Bread @ Golden Cafe, Sri Aman

Sri Aman, a small town which is blessed with Benak or tidal bore, a natural phenomenon that can only be seen in very limited spots throughout the world.

Talking about the foods of specialty at the "Town of Peace", besides the Cha Kueh and Satay Mee which I reviewed in my previous posts quite some times ago, recently I found out another recommendation! I couldn't use the term "special" in this case when you can actually find it easily at any kopitiam you choose to sit down.

I believe you will definitely agree with me when I told you the food I gonna recommend this time is roasted bread toast! Ya, isn't I had told you that nothing special? However, what impressed me on this normal look roasted toast is the kaya fillings! It has a very strong eggs aroma which brought me back my childhood memory on the long lost kaya taste! You hardly find the kaya with such nostalgic feel nowadays, trust me!

The kaya used is not bought from the market, but it is home cooked by the owner of the coffee shop. One roasted kaya bread will only cost RM 1 which is very affordable and it is best to go with a cup of coffee!

So, next time if you happen to stop by at Sri Aman for any reason, do try this out! This toasted kaya bread is served at Golden Cafe, just below Mega Inn at Jalan Durian, Sri Aman which is not hard to be spotted!

Witnessed A Melanau's Customary Wedding @ Kampung Tanam, Dalat

[NOTE] This post is not intended to explain or elaborate about the true customary wedding of Melanau's society in detail, but just wish to share what I saw, I heard and I read from my virgin experience attending this event. Hence if there are any mistakes or inaccuracies about the occasion in my write up, I bag for your forgiveness and I'll appreciate for any correction and comment.

Felt very honored to be invited to attend a Melanau friend/colleague customary wedding ceremony at Kampung Tanam, Dalat.

It was on 1st of June, the 1st day of Gawai Festival celebration in Sarawak. The weather was just nice. 3 of us in a car, Sparkish, Rojak Toh and me departed from Sibu as early as 5.30am. We had been informed the banquet would be started at 9.30am so we hoped to reach there on time.

After about 3 hours of driving, we finally reached Kampung Tanam, Dalat by following the map drawn by the bridegroom of the day, Collin. As the road inside the kampung is rather narrow, thus we had been advised to park our car near empty space opposite to S.K. Kampung Tanam. We then walked for 10 minutes to reach the bridegroom's house.

As the morning was still early, crowds were not seen yet when we reached the place. Preparation for the banquet (kenduri) was still on going. Around 10am, buffet style banquet began. Friends and relatives of the bridegroom started to fill up the place.

Nice and delicious dishes had been served, most of them were my favorite! We had Curry Chicken, beef in black sauce, young jackfruit in santan, deep fried big ikan tenggiri, salted fish fried with peanuts, acar limau (lime pickle) and watermelon as dessert. Packet drinks were free flow! The foods were truly yummy! I just couldn't help myself eating for few rounds!

The wedding ceremony started after the meal, around 11am when representative of the bridegroom family started to handover specific gifts to the elders which later were brought to the bride side.

The type of gifts very much depend on the social status of the family within their Melanau society. For your information, Melanau society is ranked in their unique way called "pikul" and they're very particular in this. It is a complicated system and if you wish to know more, you can refer to this link. The higher the pikul means the family has higher hierarchy in the society. The type of gifts to be sent over is depend on this pikul. Each gift will represent certain pikul, for example, the canon will be counted as 2 pikul and the total pikul to be brought to the bride side have to be equal to the pikul of the family.

So, if follow the tradition, Collin's family is 9 pikul so the gifts brought over to the bride side have to be equal to that value. Actually you can know how many pikul does a wedding family is by referring to the number of flags placed at the "bridge" at the entrance to the house.

After the elders checked each item and upon agreement, the representative from the bridegroom will then departed to the bride's house by bringing all the necessary gifts for negotiations. We followed the big "team" to the bride house by using the chartered bus and the negotiating process will be done only by the gentlemen.

We had been informed that the negotiation process will be done for 5 rounds, going in and out the bride's house. For the 1st negotiation, nothing much ritual was done but representative informed the bride side that the bridegroom representatives were already here and ready for the event.

Correction: The 1st round in negotiation stage is actually merisik, whereby bridegroom's representative making sure the going-to-be bride is not belongs to some other guy. Then, they'll seek permission from the elders to marry the bride on behalf of the groom and discussed the gifts required for the marriage.

On the 2nd round, portion of the gifts were brought into bride's house. If not mistaken, it was the spear's head with golden ring tied on it. The elders from the bridegroom side then negotiated with the bride's elders. The negotiation process was rather relaxing and there were some laughter involved. Too bad I couldn't get what they were negotiating about as they fully communicate in Melanau language, but it looks fun and interesting to me!

Correction: The 2nd round is actually bertunang, whereby groom's representative handled over symbolic gifts which were agreed upon such as the spear's head and a golden ring to the bride's elders as a symbol of engagement. Upon acceptance from the elders, the marriage is declared legal and official!

Upon successful negotiation, the gifts were handled to the bride's elders. The elders then carefully examined and checked if the items fulfill their requirement. When everything were agreed upon, that round's negotiation was consider completed and the bridegroom's representatives will step down from the house preparing for the next round.

After few minutes rest, the 3rd round started with more gifts been brought into the house including a sword, a copper container and a wooden container covered by a pinky cloth (with gold bracelets in it). There maybe more thing that I didn't discover, so do enlighten me if any of you know more clearly.

Negotiation went on and the gifts were handled to the bride's elders, one after another upon examination and agreement of each item by them. There were no disagreement been raised, thus the negotiation was successful and the bridegroom's representative stepped out from the house again.

The same process continued for the 4th and 5th round but different items were brought for each round. On the 4th round, the canon was brought and for the final round, it was the "pakan" - the gift (in the form of money) given to bride's parents and certain relatives.

When all these negotiations were agreed upon, mission is accomplished which means the bride side had agreed with this marriage. Bridegroom's negotiation team will then bring the good news back!

The wedding ceremony was then officially started! Bridegroom with his best man went to bride's house with the accompany of the ladies! Remember just now I said the negotiation session is done by gentlemen? So now it was ladies' turn!

The arrival of bridegroom was accompanied by the music played using traditional music instrument.

Once inside bride's house, the bride and the bridegroom "bersanding" - sitting side by side on the bridal couch called "pelamin" to be seen and blessed by the relatives and friends. I was not sure if there was any ceremony taking place during the bersanding as the bride's house was flooded by friends and relatives of both side. It was just too packed to be entered. When I finally managed to squeeze into the house, it was photography session already.

After bersanding, both bride and bridegroom were required to walk down and up the staircase (few steps) for 3 times, taking turn starting with the bride. So far I still have no idea what's the meaning behind this ritual. It'll be great if anyone can enlighten me on this! ^ ^

The bride then followed the bridegroom back to his house where another round of bersanding was taken place.

Groom's mother then fed the bride with daun sirih (betel leaf) and wore a gold bracelet on bride's wrist as a symbol of blessing (I believe). After bersanding, the bridegroom followed the bride to her place again bringing along plenty of gifts.

Our Melanau traditional wedding exposure and experience placed a full-stop at this point as time disallowed us to continue following the lengthy ceremony. It was about 4pm and about time to drive back Sibu before the sky turning dark.

Anyway, it was really a great experience and I truly enjoyed it!! I would like to express my gratitude and special thanks to:

1. Collin and his family for the invitation and their hospitality
2. Sparkish for sponsoring his car and drove us all they way to and fro Sibu-Dalat
3. One of the member in bridegroom's negotiation team (which I didn't have chance to know him by name) who tried his best to explain and acknowledge us about the customary processes especially during negotiation stage. Although most of the time I couldn't catch most of the Melanau terms told by him, but at least I get some tips from there. Otherwise I'll not be able to come out with this write up.
4. Another colleague with the name Colin (Yes... same name with bridegroom but only a single "l" in his name) we met at bridegroom's house who offered us a free ride to bride's house at the time we were deeply in need.
5. Rojak Toh for the snacks he brought along which let us had something to "bite" and chew on during the long journey. ;)

Last but not least, a sincere congratulation to Collin, my comrade & Rinea for their new wedding and may happiness accompany both of you forever and ever!