Tuesday, July 14, 2009

BBQ Chicken Wings at Satok

You can get hundreds and hundreds of barbecued chicken wings at Satok night market where there are plenty of hawkers selling local food delights available every night (6.00 pm - 12.00 pm)

Satok Busy Hours

It's the daily late afternoon jam when office workers rush to return home. This is the section of Satok Road leading towards the Bridge that connects Satok to the main administrative centre of Sarawak called Petrajaya.

Flowering Trees of Kuching - July

This month of July I see that the Bungor or Queen's Flower ( Lagerstroemia speciosa) that lined Palm Road are exhibiting very showy and bunchy flowers of pink and purple. There are isolated planting of this tree across river ( Petrajaya) but the best location to see them is at Palm Road where they are planted on both sides of the road for at leat a half kilometer long. Besides Kuching city the other good location is found along the lengthy stretch of road from Santubong Bridge to the village of Buntal where they are planted on both sides of the highway.

Purple variety


Pink variety


The above picture is taken on the long stretch of road from Santubong Bridge to Buntal Village. The Bungor tree originated from the humid jungle of Burma, Sri Lanka and India. In Malaysia they are primarily seen as landscaping plants on major or broad roads. Their beautiful flowers that are held on panicles could last for weeks. Peculiar to this tree species is the shedding of the tree barks which leave a yellowish mottled surface on the trunks. Generally it is best to plant these trees in areas where the water table is high, damp or wet locations.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Dark Clouds

Dark Clouds over Kuching Waterfront area ( to the right)

Public Toilet

Well, I'm talking about public toilets here. In my hurry to enter and leave public toilets in Kuching, this one is an exception. It is nicely decorated with the Japanese Bambo plant and the floor is always dry, thanks to a blower. Guests are charged 20 sen (RM 0.20) per entrance. Location : Satok Market Area.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Kuching Waterfront Shophouses

I went to the Kuching Waterfront yesterday and took pictures of a few section of the shop houses that lined the waterfront area. These shop houses are filled with lots of souvenirs and handicraft works from Sarawak. It's a main tourist attraction area. Before I took shots of these colourful shophouses and can be seen here. Back from the city, I had the itch to try painting them in mixed media ( felt pen and water colour) . Well, feast your eyes!!

Kuching Waterfront Shop house, 18x14cm, mixed media.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Funky Kuching Bugs



My camera phone managed to kilkzz in time these tiny funky bugs at my garden in Kuching. I have yet to find out the name for these insects. For those of you out there who knows, pplease drop a line.

Views of Kuching Waterfront


Views of the Kuching Waterfront.

Colourful Sampans

What strikes me today was the strong coat of new colours these 'sampans' or small river ferry boats at the Kuching Waterfront. So let the colours do the talking.....



Saturday, July 4, 2009

Hot, Flat and Battered

The World is Flat. It's Hot and Crowded for some. But today's menu is no less different. The chicken breast after being deep fried is hammered or battered, hit and flattened and served hot. Hot as in recently fried and hot with a most appetising chilli hot sauce. This new menu about town is called "Ayam Penyek". In Malay 'ayam' means chicken and 'penyek' refers to the act of hitting or battering causing something to be flattened as in this instance, the chicken breast meat. Thus how the menu gets its name. With a lunch plate costing RM 6 it is a popular choice here judging from the crowd that normally request for it. The menu consists of half-boiled vegetables as salad, rice and a tiny bowl of soup. But really to enjoy it you've got to eat with your right hand and fingers for that extra finger-licking good experience. I tried and loved it.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Colourful Hibiscus




Walking around the Sarawak Musem Garden this afternoon, I was able to capture a few more samples of flowering hibiscus plants as shown above. Hope they can be a source of inspiration for today. Have a beautiful weekend.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

The Quest for Difference


This is something uniquely Kuching. They call it a 'Cat's City ', after all Kuching means cat in Malay. In fact, Kuching has 2 ( two ) city mayors for that matter. They build scooters like the one above in Kuching and sell them for the domestic as well as export market. These scooters are marketed under the name of "Demak".
Then, while driving home from the city yesterday I was in time to take this picture of the 'Beetle' car, with its tail exposing its engine power. Interesting exposition, I thought.