The Lost Files

I found a couple of lost/forgotten photo files from my trip back to Kuching recently. It's such a waste not to share, so here goes...

Part I: Nasi Padang, anyone???

If you speak Malay, you would translate "Nasi Padang" , literally, as field rice. Of course, this is not what it means and there's no English translation for it. It is believed that Nasi Padang originates from West Sumatra; from a place called Padang.


Nasi Padang isn't exactly Malay food but it is a unique Indonesian cuisine enjoyed by most people who appreciates robustly spicy & flavorful foods. Back in December, we had the opportunity of eating Nasi Padang at a new place recommended by my former co-worker.

This is the restaurant - Rasa Indah (Rasa means taste; Indah means beautiful in Malay).

First of all, choose whatever you want to eat e.g. beef rendang, chicken curry, fish curry, vegetables cooked in coconut milk, etc.

Unlike Chinese fast food/Chap Fun stores that pile everything on your rice, your selection is dished out and presented in individual plates. Fluffy white rice served in a woven basket (sorry, no photo).

This is what we ate.

Bottom row:
1. traditional ulam* (too bad they didn't have any kacang botol or winged beans that day)
2. paku or jungle fern cooked in coconut milk

*ulam = blanched or raw vegetables eaten with sambal or savory condiment

Middle row:
1. tempe with roasted peanuts & anchovies
2. chicken curry
3. jeruk kedondong* (pickled jew plum).

*Hokkien/Chinese people in Kuching have a rather interesting way of pronouncing kedondong as "bah-ko-long"...where on earth did that come from??? Cracks me up all the time. I'll save that genre for another post next time :)))

Top row: Udang galah masak lemak (large freshwater prawns cooked in spicy, coconut milk)

Best activity after a big Nasi Padang meal? Siesta, por favor!


Part II: Taiwanese luncheon at Ting's Noodle House


One of my favorite lunch time haunts during my working days in Kuching. Quick service and good food. Their icy jasmine green tea is refreshingly calming on days when one is stressed out from endless Council meetings and preparing Board Papers for the German shepherd. Eins, zwei, drei...schneller, schneller! Gone are those days. Pheew! No more haphazard eating and consuming Rolaids thereafter.

Drunken chicken. A great way to start off any meal. Cool, wine drenched melt-in-your mouth chicken pieces...


Dry (tai-nan?) noodles. I forgot to write down the proper name.


Taiwanese beef noodle soup - their signature dish.


Part III: Western fare at The Junk

The owner of this joint has 3 restaurants under his belt; all of them situated along Wayang Street. This is his first. His newest is Havana. I'm not sure if Havana is just a cigar lounge or do they also serve food and drinks???

Adrian & I normally stay away from Western Cuisine when we go back to Kuching. We tried the owner's second restaurant "Bla, Bla, Bla..." 2 years ago with a group of friends. Bla ... serves fusion food. It's great for big groups as the portion is huge.

Butter prawns from Bla, Bla, Bla. Other dishes include soft shell crabs, ostrich-roll...yummy!

Movie trivia: During our dinner at Bla, Bla, Bla we were honored with the owner's presence at our table for an after dinner drinking session. We were told that he catered for the cast & crew during the filming of THE SLEEPING DICTIONARY.

Cool! Funny how I didn't even know about this movie?! I wonder what Jessica Alba thought of his cooking. I've to check her out as an IBAN maiden.

Anyway, back to The Junk Restaurant.

I had their signature dish - lamb shank. It's still the same. Tender, very well seasoned...yum!

Adrian had the sirloin steak which was so-so. The sauce didn't even complement the meat. Too creamy!! Furthermore, they made a boo-boo. His request for "medium-well done" turned out rather rare. We asked the waiter to change it and the second one came back much better. Thumbs up for customer service. I still can't get over the sauce. Au jus would've been just fine.

This has turned out to be a rather long post for today. That's all from the lost files of Serenity. Happy reading!