My cousin in Christchurch was going to be in Sibu for part of Chinese New Year and was hosting a large dinner for my cousins (whom I haven’t seen for a while) and their families. Flying around the festive season doesn’t come cheap but his kind invitation to me was too good of an opportunity to miss.
My 0935 flight from Kuching to Sibu was short and uneventful. I managed to get into my room at the Kingwood Hotel around 1100.
Exploring and Eating
I spent the afternoon walking around the town and riverside, stopping for snacks and meals three times. This town of around 200000 people the riverine gateway to the heart of Borneo. It is also HQ to a global forestry company spanning Africa, Russia, New Zealand, PNG and of course Borneo.
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- Sibu is the riverine gateway to the heart of Borneo. This town of around 200000 people is also HQ to a global forestry company spanning Africa, Russia, New Zealand, PNG and of course Borneo.
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- The mighty Rajang river connects Sibu to the interior of Borneo, and the South China sea in the opposite direction.
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- River boats connect Sibu to inland towns up the Rajang river.
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- River boats connect Sibu to inland towns up the Rajang river.
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- River boats connect Sibu to inland towns up the Rajang river.
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- River boats connect Sibu to inland towns up the Rajang river.
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- Disembarking and unloading.
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- Loading and boarding.
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- River boats connect Sibu to inland towns up the Rajang river.
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- These wooden boats have largely been replaced by the faster more modern ones.
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- Cargo boats distribute good to towns up the Rajang river.
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- Tua Pek Kong temple Sibu sits on the riverbank.
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- I suppose if you are praying for big things to happen you would use big joss sticks.
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- Tua Pek Kong temple Sibu sits on the riverbank.
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- Really fresh chickens. Live chickens travels better if you intend on taking them with you on the boat up the river to another town.
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- Really fresh chickens. Live chickens travels better if you intend on taking them with you on the boat up the river to another town.
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- Sago worms, supposedly delicious. They’re deep-fried and all their fat comes out but apparently they are very creamy still.
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- My grandmother had a motorcycle dealership in the ground floor of this building and left on the first floor. But now it has been converted into a hotel with an illegal extension on the top floor.
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- My parents got married in a wooden church on the site of this new one.
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- This is kompiang or kongpia, what I call a Chinese bagel.
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- This is timingu or tiamiso. I would describe it as a rice flour fresh pasta in a soup. You could also think of it as a fresh version of Pad Thai noodles in a soup.
Eating in Sibu is always enjoyable as it is home to many Foochow Chinese who are reputedly even more industrious than other Chinese. They have some culinary specialties not seen in other parts of the country, in particular:
- Kompiang or kongpia, what I call a Chinese bagel, made in a drum oven similar to a tandoor. Filled with minced pork and toasted quickly before serving. Outside of Sibu they are sometimes deep fried quickly (that’s cheating) instead of toasted before serving.
- There is also timingu or tiamiso. I would describe it as a rice flour fresh pasta in a soup. You could also think of it as a fresh version of Pad Thai noodles in a soup. It is made by drizzling the rice flour batter on the side of a wok and letting it set before scraping it into stock in the bottom of the wok. Absolutely delicious cuttlefish stock. Topped with fish balls, rehydrated cuttlefish, and seaweed. Best enjoyed sprinkled with lots of white ground pepper, which has a stronger and sharper fever than black pepper.
Reunion
As the hotel had a nice pool, I did some laps to offset the eating that I had been doing during Chinese New Year and in preparation for the big reunion dinner tonight.
It was great to see my cousins at dinner. Not only had I not seen them for years, I hadn’t even met their children and grandchildren. It brought back happy memories of my younger days coming to Sibu to visit my grandmother and playing with my cousins.
I was lucky that my timing in Kuching coincided well with this get-together.
Good to see my cousins and their families. Hosted by my cousin Dominic from Christchurch and his parents (my uncle John and aunt Betty).