According to wikipedia, "Have gun will travel" was an American Western television series that aired on CBS from 1957 through 1963. I was only two in 1957. However, the phrase is still popular these days except it is used variably to suit the situation. In my case it was "Have food will travel". Family friends and regular readers of my blog probably knew that I am not a traveler by choice, but then, I will consider traveling to places where I know I can get great food. Last weekend I went to Sibu in East Malaysia to visit with some blogger friends and merely to sample all the wonderful food there.
Sibu is a township in the Sibu district of Sarawak state, in East Malaysia on the nothern coast of Borneo island. The population consists primarily of Chinese immigrants from Fuzhou (Foo Chow), and indigenous Malay and Iban people. The Fuzhou Chinese arrived in numbers of about 1,700 in 1901 after a deal was made several years earlier with the white (English) Rajah of Sarawak, Sir Edward Brooke, to open up farming and commercial enterprise on the Rajang River delta, a ripe and fertile ground. With that background in mind I knew that there were many food specialties associated with Sibu and influenced by the traditions of Fuzhous Chinese.
One of the first things I was eager to try is a bread called kompia, a well known specialty from Sibu. These are flattish buns rather like a bagel and are available with different flavors and a variety of fillings. Here are some photos which will give you some idea how kompia is made.
Two flavors of kompia were sold at this bakery. A plain, sweet variety and a saltish bun with sesame seeds. They can be eaten as they are or with your choice of fillings. They are out of this world DELICIOUS and you can ONLY get this in East Malaysia. Sibu examples are boasted to be the best. I was very curious about the ingredients used in making the kompia so I googled immediately and found that they are very similar to a bagel. I am very eager to try making some at home. Once I have finished the forty pieces of kompia that I brought home, I am going try making some and have tongpo pork to go with it. Here are the two types of fillings with deep fried kompia that I had. One was minced meat in thick dark sauce and the other was sliced pork belly.
Another well known local dish that we tried was kampua. Kampua is a noodle similar to won ton mee, and at a glance seems quite plain and simple. However the taste is memorable and to watch the preparation is a bonus show of exaggerated toss and catch by the deft chef. The texture of the kampua is different from any noodles I have tried so far. Smooth and not too firm with a soft, yielding mouth feel. As for flavors this largely depends on the ingredients used. Very simple preparations might simply include some light soy sauce with fried onions. Other ingredients that are common include char siu (bbq pork) and rich black sauce. The one ingredient most common is the use of pork lard for frying that imparts the rich flavor associated with Kampua.
As for the piansip, it is something like wantan but the skin is more transparent and much thinner.
I was recommended to try the Fook Chow zhaochai hoong ngan noodles. I am glad I did not miss this one because this is something I cannot get in Kuala Lumpur and the taste was so unforgettable.
When I was at this coffee shop for the famous kampua, I saw something really interesting. A LOST scene in West Malaysia. A Muslim food store in a Chinese Coffee shop next to a Chinese food store selling kampua which consist of lard on the right and a Chinese sambal kueh teow store on the left which also uses lard.
Another thing that was interesting to me was the lady making roti canai. It is almost always done by a man. Getting the flat grilled roti just right is an acquired skill which this lady had obviously mastered.
Other than the wonderful street food in Sibu, we also tried café and restaurant food. The café we went to is called simply "Noodle House" and below are some of the food and drinks that we had. The highlight of the day was the Mille Crepe cakes. I have tried making this once. I nailed the taste but not the looks. I am eager to try making this again and hopefully I get the looks right the next time. The drinks were rather special because I have not seen them in the cafe in KL. The colourful drink on the left is mulberry lychee and the two drinks on the right is Horlick dinasaur and Horlick Gozilla. I love Fook Chow mee sua with chicken in red wine soup and I am so happy I got to try the authentic one. On the right of the mee suah is beef noodles which I did not try. My friend who tried it said it was delicious (for those so inclined).
We also went to two different Chinese restaurants for dinner during the two evenings we were there. The food from both restaurants was delicious and such a bargain compared to Kuala Lumour eateries.
Dinner at the Ruby Restaurant, these are the dishes we had:
All the above inclusive of drinks for 8 adults and a kid, cost only RM140.00
Dinner at Ming Mei Shi Seafood Restaurant:
All of the above food cost RM337.00 for 11 adults plus a kid. In case you wonder why there are 9 of us in the photo, one is the camera man, and the other is camera shy. LOL!
Other than having wonderful food in Sibu, we got to do some sight seeing. Sibu is also known as The Swan City. Why Swan city? This is what I found out.
"In order to promote itself to tourists and for branding purpose, Sibu Municipal Council under the former Chairmanship of Datuk Robert Lau, adopted the swan as the symbol of Sibu town. According to the Sibu Chinese community, when the early Chinese immigrants arrived in Sibu in the mid 19th century and early 20th century, the present Rajang River reminded them of Swan River in Fuzhou, China where they came from. However, due to the fact that such a bird is non-existent in the town (except for the numerous huge artificial swan statues) or anywhere in Malaysia, the majority of the Sibu community, especially the natives, feel that such a choice is too artificial and does not invoke any special or deep feeling toward the so-called “Symbol of Sibu"."
I was told that the Sanyan building is
the tallest building in Sarawak
On the left is the Rajang River and
on the right is the Sungei Merah,
both are the landmarks in Sibu
There were many things that I have seen in Sibu that reminded me of my hometown, Ipoh when I was living there in my younger days:
I had a great time in Sibu and I enjoyed all the wonderful food. It was great meeting our generous host, Arthur of Still Crazy After All These Years and his family along with my Kuala Lumpur blogger friend, Small Kucing and family again. I was also delighted to meet with blogger friend from Ipoh, Claire of Caring Is Not Only Sharing and family and my Blogger friend from Kuala Lumpur, Yee Ling of Ling In De House for the first time after chatting on facebook and commenting on each other's blog posts for sometime.
I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to Arthur for his hospitality, and gifts, and for being such a great host. I would also like to thank Small Kucing’s Daddy for driving us around, Claire for a good time singing and dancing with me at the karaoke, Yee Ling for your thoughtful gifts and lastly my dear friend, Peng for accompanying me to Sibu and helping me to carry all the food and goodies I brought back. You guys are the BEST!!
