Laksa @ The House 莊家

I met D's friend at lunch. Let's call him DS. He's very friendly and I was glad to know that he's into food, reflexology and massages as well.

Where's the best laksa in Kuching? I asked him.

He likes one at The House 莊家 just next to Wisma Mahmud.

So the next morning, D and I went to The House 莊家 for breakfast. Coincidentally, DS was also there. Lols.

"Not bad huh?" DS asked me after we exchanged pleasantries.

Indeed. The stall named Alfred Laksa really whipped up great laksa. I loved the broth.

Laksa, RM5.00

There are 2 sizes here - large and small. The large bowl sells for RM7.00. The vendor says that he uses bigger prawns for the large bowl, compared to the regular bowl at RM5.00. He also sells "special" for RM10.00. I did not ask what "special" meant.

D could not have laksa any longer cause of his allergy ... so he had the mushroom and chicken noodles.

Mushroom & Chicken Noodles, RM3.00

It looked pretty good ..... but no comments from D at all .... so I did not know at all know the noodles fared. :P

Family Reunion Dinner @ KTS Garden

I did not even know that KTS Garden existed. Lols. Anyway, we were going to have our dinner there. My Youngest Aunt and Uncle had come back for a holiday from Australia, and traditionally, the family gathered for this occasion. I, being away for half of my life, have always missed this gathering. But this time, I could finally join them. Yay!

Our table sat twelve, and yet it did not feel crowded. The food, meant for 10 persons, could easily feed twelve too. That meant that the portion was reasonably large.

Food was ordered by my cousin J, who had been given the responsibility. And this was what she ordered ...

 Corn soup

My aunts were aghast! "I can cook this at home!" they exclaimed. "I cook this all the time," another said. "I wouldn't order this," came another comment. Lols. But then, the soup was really sweet and umami. I loved it, despite what all the aunties said. 

 Braised noodles

The noodles tasted a bit crispy so that was quite interesting texture there. The gravy had good consistency and was tasty. I also loved the accompanying ingredients especially the green crunchy mustard and the succulent prawns.

 Roasted duck with plum sauce

For me, this was the best dish of the night! The duck was so tasty, the meat so tender. One could eat it on its own, or dip them in the sweet and tangy plum sauce. Yums. 

 Steamed siakap, teochew style.

I loved the generous ingredients that covered the fish - the salted vegetables, tomatoes, chillies, ginger, the scallions and Chinese celery. Otherwise, this dish was not so notable, something easily available elsewhere.

 Midin with red wine

Some found the dish too wet ... but I loved the sweet red wine that flavoured the vegetables. 

 Steamed buns, served with ... 

Love the soft and fluffy texture of the buns. 

 Braised pork leg

Mom's favourite of the night. The meat was tender and the braising sauce was on the savoury side. Second Aunt preferred it sweet. I too, preferred it to be a little heavier in flavour as that would taste better with the buns.

 Hidden Gems in the Braised Pork Leg! Everyone proceeded to dig out the peanuts embedded in the dish. Lols. 

Dessert

Dessert was mango pomelo sago ... thick and gooey, rich and sweet ... and definitely satisfying. Dad's favourite dish of the night.

Well, overall, I must say that I have had an enjoyable night .... eating and drinking and of course, catching up with my relatives. There's a cousin whom I had not seen for nearly 2 decades! She's got grown children now! Where had I been all these years? Lols ..... 

Kuching City Day Parade

I go to Kuching Park nearly every day, when the weather permits and of course, whenever I have the time. Sometimes I go in the morning, sometimes in the evening. It's a large area to walk, a favourite park of lots of Kuchingites, young and old.

D wanted to come along with me yesterday ..... but as we were about to turn into the park, we found that the roads were closed for the Kuching City Day Parade. So .... instead of going walking at the park, we stood around to watch the parade!

There were so many contingents, many in fancy colourful costumes .... We would have loved to stay and watch them all .... but unfortunately nearing the end, it started to rain. D and I ended up running to the car ... 

The rain spoiled the event but did not dampen the spirit.

One of the floats ....

When D and I got there, most of the floats had already left as the parade had begun. Those that were left there were waiting for their turns to begin .... Later on, we found out that each contingent would perform to a panel of judges seated at a platform in front of the community hall before proceeding to march down the parade route. 

 So colourful and cute! 

I loved these balloon carts pushed by these little children in colourful costumes. Just looking at them made me happy! I later found out that my niece B was among these kids .... but unfortunately, I did not see her and watch out for her. She was in a dolphin costume! No wonder I did not notice her. Lol.

At the front of the community hall where the contingents were performing 

This little cat-girls group from St. Teresa's were dancing to rhythmic music and they had the Kuching City South Mayor, James Chan (in blue) dancing along. 

The dancers from Imperial Dance Studio Kuching did a beautiful number as well

The Green Road Secondary School marching band marched in formation ... I never knew there were so many bands in Kuching! I particularly loved the engaging and energetic performance put up by the SMK St. Teresa's team.

The STS Band did a great job! Video courtesy of D.

 The cosplayers .... 

A small but interesting group .... See Harry Potter? Lol .... unfortunately I did not know the rest of the characters. 

 This has to be the most beautiful performance, so colourful and beautifully choreographed 

Such lovely costumes .... 

The Dance Academy put up this dance entitled "Garden City" ... it was really lovely. 

 The swans!!

The crowd squealed in delight watching the performances by these little children! 

There were many more contingents, like those from IPG Batu Lintang, Telekom Malaysia, Sekolah Seni, Lim Kok Wing University and many more. All of the contingents put up commendable performances, much to the delight of the audiences. The Kuching City Day Parade marks the end of the Kuching Festival.  D and I enjoyed ourselves thoroughly!

Allergy

I tagged along with D to the clinic. He was having a skin allergy of some sort. And doctor told him not to eat prawns and belacan, in a bid to control the problem. So, left with not much of choice, D ate chicken rice ....

Chicken rice, RM4.50

We were at the Kenyalang Old Market, not a very pleasant place to eat, I find .... because it looks and feels dingy. One stall in particular attracted a lot of attention .... and that was the cha kueh stall with lots of people waiting to takeaway and to eat also. That one I will have to come back some other time. :))

Local Cakes @ No. 6 Kopitiam

They sell good kuih or local cakes here at No. 6 Kopitiam. A bit pricey, though. All these .... cost RM10.00. I think they were hardly filling.

RM2.20 per piece

There were 2 pieces here which I cut into 4 bite-sized sections to make it easier to eat. I quite enjoyed the popiah here, which had crunchy vegetables inside; the vegetables were not overcooked, and had a distinct aroma of white pepper; I loved also the balance of flavour ... so that made this popiah quite good indeed. 

The kuih here was RM0.80 per piece; one of the pricier ones in town

But I loved the serimuka or locally known as kuih salad .... it has good texture, was rich and yet not too sweet; I did not try the rest of the items.

Guess that's why people preferred eating rice or noodles .... rather than to eat these kuih. For me, I buy them nearly every weekend. :P

Breakfast @ Xiang Xiang Food Court RH Plaza

We had these two bowls for breakfast .... I preferred the noodles than the laksa. :))

Kolo mee

Sarawak Laksa

Hmn .... perhaps if they had added a bit of green onto the bowl then it would make the dishes seemed more appetising .....

Dinner @ Premier 101 Kuching

Lots of stalls, lots of people. I loved the merry atmosphere. I loved the little red lanterns and coloured lights hanging above me. I loved seeing the people browsing at the various stalls ... I loved the smell of food cooking as it wafted in the air. There is, in fact, a lot to like about this place, the food street at Premier 101 Kuching.

The thing about eating here, was that one had to know what to order and from which stall. Because the quality of the food served at certain stalls were really very substandard, so much so that I felt compelled to tell what they were!

 Hot tea for us .... 

 Pork satay ...

The satay were alright, but the peanut sauce was not so nice. I found that the peanuts were ground till quite fine, so much so that it had seemed to be somewhat of a paste, and the sauce was not spicy at all. I liked the sauce to have a little kick.

 Sambal fried kueh tiaw

Again ... another miss. The sambal flavour was neither here nor there, as if it could not decide whether it wanted to be sambal or not; the kueh tiaw was not well-fried and tiny cockles which I suspected were canned cockles were used. I did not like this.

Claypot pork rice

This was the worst claypot rice I had eaten ... cooked rice were used, with merely the topping poured atop and perhaps heated up over fire .... sigh .... 

What were nice ....... 

 Bitter gourd with egg

I liked this dish lots .... very well-fried and tasty .... 

 Steamed fish

The fish was really fresh and sweet, and the clear fish maw gravy was tasty as well; only that the fish was too large for the two of us to share ... we had a difficult time finishing it, and it was only a quarter of a fish too.

Fresh cut fruits

I loved the sweet and fresh papaya and jackfruit 

And that was the end of our dinner ...... some hits and misses, so be sure to know which stall to order from.