Scenes from the market...

[Laksa]

Forget Costco, Carrefour, Tesco, or <insert name>-mart. This is how people in Bintulu shop for food:

First, the produce section:

Don't forget to stock up on rice:

The snails are on special this week:

Getting the best pick of the fish...

...brought by this guy...

...from here:

Aren't these the cutest things you've ever seen?

I never fail to find something different in the ethnic aisle:

Do you prefer live chickens?...

...or dead chickens?

The kitchenware department... not a whole lot to choose from.

Little Billy would probably like a new addition to his aquarium:

After a hectic day of shopping, isn't it great to stop for a cool drink...

...or perhaps a high-protein sago worm? Guaranteed fresh (and wriggling).

For your convenience, there's a clinic right in the mall. "Hey, doc, this here has been bothering me... can you take a look?"

[spaghetttti]

Ooooh, love pasar pix, David! So, what was your haul?

[torakris]

yeah I would love to see what you bought AND made!

[docsconz]

Great shots! Any idea what these are?

[spaghetttti]

They appear to be snakefruit or salak/salat.

Is that correct, David?

Edited March 2, 2005 by spaghetttti (log)

[Shiewie]

Excellent pics Laksa! Is the pasar (market) in Bintulu by the sea?

[fou de Bassan]

Fantastic pics! I love the fish sequence, that was well done. One question, what were the green stalks with the grey/black morel shaped heads? Well two, what do you do with them? OK three, are those sago worms as creamy as they look?

[SuzySushi]

Impressive photos! I love visiting outdoor markets. You really tell a story with these.

[Laksa]

Yetty, salak is right. (BTW, in the other thread, I mispelled it as salat -- why didn't the spellchecker pick it up? )

Shiewie, well, I kinda cheated. The Bintulu market is close to the water, (either sea or river mouth, I couldn't tell), but there's no wide open beach. I took those shots in Tanjung Kidurong, quite a ways from town, where fishermen bring in their catch to sell right next to the beach.

Here is the (somewhat less attractive view) from the downtown market:

fou de Bassan, those are taro roots. I never got to eat sago worms. I've been told they taste buttery and delicious, similar to wichity grubs.

Ok, here's my haul. It was close to Chinese New Year so we were shopping mostly for CNY-related goodies.

Some native free-range birds (virgin hens, actually)

A couple of pomelos

Some sea cucumbers. My mum made a soup with these and some beef tendons for the reunion dinner.

Snake beans

Very fine and tender fiddlehead ferns, a local specialty:

Mani chai (a vegetable only found in Sarawak, apparently)

Some spiny lobsters, note the absence of claws, and it's not because I ate them on the way home. I steamed two of them and made lobster salad from the rest:

A really fresh black pomfret which we steamed for the reunion dinner

Lobsters steamed with lemongrass, garlic and rice wine. The tomalley squirted out during steaming.

[spaghetttti]

Absolutely stunning photos! The mani chai look gorgeous! How do they taste & how are they usually prepared?

[Laksa]

I've had mani chai two ways, stir-fried with eggs, and cooked in soup. Only the leaves are used, the stalks are discarded. It has a very pleasant fragrance, and a nice mouthfeel -- the texture is firm, the leaves don't over-soften like other vegetables, so it gives you something to chew on. One of my favorite, close-to-unobtainable-outside-of-Sarawak foods.

It's also called cangkuk manis, and I just found out that there's even an egullet thread on it here!

Link to good description of the veggie.

Edited March 2, 2005 by Laksa (log)

[Dejah]

Wonderful pictures, laksa. What a grand entrance after a period of silence from you!

I was oogling the native free-range chicken. The colour of the skin is so

appetizing...looks almost like "yeum sui gai" salty chicken even tho' it is raw.

Can't really say the same for the grubs...

[touaregsand]

I like my sea cucumber raw with chili sauce. Is it eaten raw over there as well?

I love, LOVE the big open outdoor markets in Asia!

Thank you for posting the photos.

[Tepee]

Laksa, you captured the colours so well!

If mani chai can be found in Kuching markets, I'll badger DH into getting some on his next business visit; he also gets our nasi bario and nasi hitam there.

Edit 'nasi' to 'beras'.

Edited March 3, 2005 by Tepee (log)

[Shiewie]

Tepee

Isn't mani chai the vegetable they use in pan meen? Also used to masak lemak? If that's it, it's available in KL, just a lot less common.

[bloviatrix]

What type of fish is this? The blue looks fake.

[Tepee]

Come to think of it, Shiewie, yup, it could be shee chai choy/potato leaves. It's a bit dook/toxic according to mom, and a no-no for expectant moms. For others, do consume in moderation.

Sure would like to decorate a cake to look like that fish. Love those electric blue lines!

[spaghetttti]

Whoa, toxic? If mani chai is the same as daun katuk - then here it's most commonly prepared in a simple, clear broth consumed by nursing mothers to stimulate and enrich breast milk.

[Laksa]

I believe mani chai and katuk are the same.

Apparently, some Taiwanese ladies (and maybe also gentlemen?) who thought the raw mani chai juice would help them lose weight got seriously ill when they consumed large quantities of the stuff.

Probably not worth taking the risk if you're an expectant mum. Can I interest you instead in the virgin (never having laid eggs before) hens? Double-boiled with some ginseng, I've been told they are the very best tonic for newly-pregnant ladies.

[Laksa]

What type of fish is this?  The blue looks fake.

←

Hmm.... come to think of it, it did seem rather strange to see that fisherman with such a large collection of blue magic markers.

I agree the blue looks unnatural, but it appears that the blue ringed angelfish (Pomacanthus Annularis) does exist.

Edited March 3, 2005 by Laksa (log)