AhPek Facebook Foodie Round-up: 2023 September

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AhPek Facebook Foodie Round-up:

September 2023

As we made trips to Kuching, Sarawak, & Penang, September was a busy eating month - Happy Viewing! I think I will have to shed two kilos..... more cycling to burn! 😂😂😂

(Click on photos to link & comment at the original FB post, and also to get geo-tags of the eats places)

(NOTE: If you can't see the posts, please log out from your FaceBook first; to see ride blogs click here)

Sarawak Laksa With Oysters at Pandungan Street Food (婆羅岸美食), Kuching, Sarawak

Wagyu Beef & Unagi Dinner by Chef Neeks, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail - 1st September 2023

Flame Searing of Wagyu Beef by Chef Neeks, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail - 1st September 2023

Old Town Coffee, Jaya One, Petaling Jaya - 8th September 2023

Double Fish Dinner at Yik Kee Restaurant, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, Kuala Lumpur - 11th September 2023

Assam Curry Fish, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, Kuala Lumpur - 12th September 2023

Fei Fan Hotpot, 163 Retail Park, Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur - 13th September 2023

MikeBikes AGM with dinner at Ping Wah Restaurant, Royal Selangor Club, Kuala Lumpur - 14th September 2023

Airport Breakfast at  Singga, KLIA1 - 15th September 2023

RM4 Kolo Mee With Lard Bits at Premier Food Republic, Taman Desa Wira, Kuching, Sarawak - 15th September 2023

Ambla & Cucumber Juice at Carpenter Street Food Court (Teochew Association), Kuching, Sarawak - 15th September 2023

Pork Spare Parts Stew without the Kueh Chap at Carpenter Street Food Court (Teochew Association), Kuching, Sarawak - 15th September 2023

Nasi Lemak Ganja at Kubah Ria Complex, Kuching, Sarawak - 15th September 2023

Sticky Rice at Redeem Center, Singai, Bau, Sarawak - 16th September 2023

Sarawakian Tuak @ Redeem Center, Singai, Bau, Sarawak - 16th September 2023

Chicken Rice & Broth Lunch at 38 Food Street, Stutong, Kuching, Sarawak - 16th September 2023

Pork Satay @ Carpenter Street Food Court (Teochew Association), Kuching, Sarawak - 16th September 2023

Brompton Sarawak Welcome Dinner at Gana Garden Bistro, Kuching, Sarawak - 16th September 2023

Black & White (Beer & Stout) Old Dogs Cheers at Gana Garden Bistro, Kuching, Sarawak - 16th September 2023

Kolo Mee Breakfast at Choon Hui Café (春园茶室), Kuching, Sarawak - 17th September 2023

Sam’s Ice-cream Brompton Sarawak Tribal Back To Nature Ride at Sarawak Plaza, Kuching, Sarawak - 17th September 2023

Best Sarawak Laksa at 126 Laksa, Kuching, Sarawak - 17th September 2023

Belacan Bihun & Malay-style Sarawak Laksa @ Lock Ann Ais Kacang, Kuching, Sarawk - 17th September 2023

Oyster Sarawak Laksa @ Pandungan Kueh Chap Shop, Kuching, Sarawak - 17th September 2023

Pandungan Kueh Chap, Kuching, Sarawak - 17th September 2023

Mee Pok & Kolo Mee Breakfast at Eng's Cafe (Next to Pandungan Market), Kuching, Sarawak - 18th September 2023

Dayang Salhah Kek Lapis, Kg. Gersik, Petra Jaya, Kuching, Sarawak - 18th September 2023

Sarawak Pepper at Saraspice, Icom Square, Kuching, Sarawak - 18th September 2023

Old Town White Coffee at Kuching Airport, Kuching, Sarawak - 18th September 2023

Fine Chinese Dining @ Grand Imperial Restaurant, Bangsar Shopping Complex, Kuala Lumpur - 19th September 2023

Lum Lai Duck Meat Koay Teow Th'ng (南来鸭肉粿条汤), Cecil Street Market, George Town, Penang - 22nd September 2023

Popiah with Crab Meat, Cecil Street Market, George Town, Penang - 22nd September 2023

Barefoot Char Kueh Teow, Cecil Street Market, George Town, Penang - 22nd September 2023

Pegaga Juice, Cecil Street Market, George Town, Penang - 22nd September 2023

Flower Tea & Curry Stock, Traditional Chinese Medicine at Veng Tatt Soon Enterprise Sdn Bhd., Campbell Street, George Town, Penang - 22nd September 2023

Moon Cakes at Tho Yuen Restaurant (桃園茶樓), Campbell Street, George Town, Penang - 22nd September 2023

Dinner at Soon Lai Seafood(顺来海鲜), Batu Green, Green Lane, George Town, Penang - 22nd September 2023

Char Hor Fun & Penang Hokkien Char at Deluxcious Spa & Restaurant, Tanjung Tokong, Penang - 22nd September 2023

“Touch the Heart” Dim Sum at HongXing No.1 Dim Sum (鸿星1號点心茶楼), Precint 10, Tanjung Tokong, Penang - 23rd September 2023

Nyonya Radish Cake at Pulau Tikus Market, George Town, Penang - 23rd September 2023

Xaverian Magazine at St. Xavier's Institution, George Town, Penang - 23rd September 2023

Nyonya Dinner at Nyonya Breeze Restaurant, Straits Quay, Tanjung Tokong, Penang - 23rd September 2023

Phoenix Claws at Kimberley Street Food Night Market, George Town, Penang - 23rd September 2023

Golden Anniversary Lunch at Daily Fish Restaurant (天天鱼海鲜大酒楼), George Town, Penang - 24th September 2023

Spicy Chinese Dinner at Tang Shan Cuisine (唐山美食), George Town, Penang - 24th September 2023

Hawker Food Lunch at Cecil Street Market, George Town, Penang - 25th September 2023

Salted Vegetable-Pork Trotter Soup (Too Kar Kiam Chai Th’ng ) at Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, Kuala Lumpur - 27th September 2023

Di Wannie's Kek Lapis Sarawak (Sarawak Layered Cake), Satok, Kuching, Sarawak - 28th September 2023

Nasi Melayu/Nasi Kandar at Royale Bistro, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail - 29th September 2023

Butter-cream Mussels & Avocado Prawn Bruschetta at Eli Rocks (Elephant Rock), Taman Tun Dr. Ismail - 30th September 2023

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Brompton Sarawak Tribal Ride 2023

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Brompton Sarawak Tribal Ride 2023

Sarawk, Malaysia : 15th-18th Septemper 2023

Large Group Event Ride at Kuching & Singai, Sarawak:

Kuala Lumpur>Batik Air>Kuching>bus>Singai>bus>Kuching>Air Asia>Kuala Lumpur.

After seven years we are riding in Sarawak again!

The last time we were there was during our Cycling Sarawak Gawai 2015, a private group ride organised by our buddies, Freda & Kimmiskie. This time round we are joining a public event organised by Brompton Sarawak, which will be a landmark event for Brompton riders as it will be an international event with participants coming from several countries; one which will span three days with pre-rides (including a Kuching night ride and a tough rustic ride at Singai), and the main event. It was well planned, coordinated and executed by W.G. Cycles, the distributor of Bromptons in the state. Read on to see what a great time we had cycling in Sarawak!

(Note: further below are Sarawak cycling & travel tips, and write-ups on food and places along the route)

THE RIDES

Below are the daily ride blogs, click on the respective photos to read:

Brompton Sarawak Tribal Ride 2023: Day 1 Kuching Night Ride - 15th September 2023

A pleasant night ride around Kuching passing by two beautiful pedestrian bridges.

Brompton Sarawak Tribal Ride 2023: Day 2 Singai Rustic Ride - 16th September 2023

Buses ferried us to Bau for a challenging ride along the foothills of Mount Singai.

Brompton Sarawak Tribal Ride 2023: Day 3 Official Brompton Sarawak Ride - 17th September 2023

The event official ride, with a route taking us to visit important landmarks of the city.

Sarawak Cycling Routes

Some Sarawak cycling routes; around Kuching, Siburan and also at some border towns.

(Next...  a road trip of the Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son loop)

Above is a combo YouTube video of the 3-day rides (credits: just2excorporates)

(Click here for photos of the rides & more)

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CYCLING & TRAVEL TIPS FOR SARAWAK

Here's, some general tips on cycling & travelling in Sarawak, more detailed tips will be included in the day to day blogs:

1. Getting to Kuching.

    Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak, is served by several airlines, with direct flights from major cities in Peninsular Malaysia & East Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Jakarta. Click here for to book flights to Kuching via Sky Scanner or Expedia.

2. Traffic Directions!

    Traffic in Sarawak and the rest of Malaysia, is right-hand drive, so drive/cycle on the left. Same thing applies when crossing the road, take note of the direction in which traffic is approaching from!

3. Weather

    For Sarawak in September, the weather will be moderate. The average air temperature ranges from 31°C (88 °F) during the day to 22°C (72 °F) at night. September is the wet season month in Sarawak, which means that there could be frequent rains.

    A useful weather forecast site is AccuWeather. For more detailed weather, including cloud cover and wind speed, use Weatherspark and Ventusky.

4. Bringing Bikes Onto Planes

    We flew Batik Air from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching via KLIA1 (Kuala Lumpur International Airport - Terminal 1); 20kg of free checked-in baggage is allowed (which includes sports equipment for bicycles). We booked a couple of months earlier and the fare was MYR129. Sports equipment is considered over-sized luggage, after physically checking in, one will have to take the packed bicycle to the over-sized section (at the far right end of KLIA1)

    Return from Kuching to Kuala Lumpur (KLIA2) was by Air Asia which does not provide for free check-in luggage. We had to purchase 20kg of sports equipment luggage at MYR60. Total fare was MYR165, inclusive of this sports equipment. For Air Asia, it is cheaper to buy additional luggage, sport equipment, food during the purchase of the main ticket. Buying these as add-ons later can be more costly. At Kuching International Airport, sports equipment (our packed folded bikes) can be checked in a the same counter.

    A tip, simple but important. Ensure that you DO NOT carry your tool kits or any long/sharp metal objects in your hand luggage. Put your tool kit into your checked-in bike bags. I often seen friends forgetting about this, only to have their tools confiscated at the security checkpoints.

     We packed our bikes into a Dimpa;  our helmet, some clothes, & Mini-O bag into a second IKEA Dimpa Bag and checked them in a part of our sports equipment luggage. There was no necessity to release tire pressure.

5. Places of Interest

      Sarawak is the largest state in Malaysia, and has many attractions, not to be missed are (Note: click on the GPS coordinates for directional map to the respective places):

- The Gunung Mulu National Park (website) (an UNESCO Heritage Site) (GPS: 4.09206, 114.89580).

- The Bako National Park (website) (GPS: 1.71666, 110.46666), the oldest national park in Sarawak, with interesting wild-life such as the proboscis monkeys and Bornean bearded pigs;

- The Malaysia-China Friendship Park (GPS: 1.51599, 110.36505).

- The New Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Building  (GPS: 1.56937, 110.35005) and Kuching South City Hall (GPS: 1.54880, 110.36390), with their unique architecture,

- The Darul Hana Bridge (GPS: 1.56120, 110.34593).

6. Food

      Sarawakian Food not to be missed:

- Sarawak Laksa,

- Kolo Mee, &

- Kueh Chap.

7. Accommodations

    Kuching offers a range of hotels, hotel-suites from affordable to 5-starred, with prices ranging from MYR100 per pax per night onwards. Three of us stayed at a 3-bedroom suite at the newer wing of the Merdeka Palace Hotel (GPS: 1.55627, 110.34400), at about MYR103 per pax per night.

8. Communicating with Each Other

    When travelling in a group it's important to be able to communicate with each other, especially if one got lost.

    Pre-paid Malaysin SIM cards can be obtained at most airport or from any mobile phone shop. Click here for a guide to buying Malaysian Sim Cards.

9. Communicating with Locals

    Bahasa Malaysia is the official language of Malaysia, it will be good to know some basic Bahasa Malaysia for daily conversation. Most older Malaysians speaks quite fluent English, while many of the younger ones have a good grasp of English. Many Chinese Sarawakian speaks Mandarin or Hokkien or Teochew.

    Look out for the tourist information booths at airports, railway stations or bus stations, the guides manning the booths speak very good English and do give good tips on where to visit, directions, train and bus schedule.

10. Navigation

     At the towns and cities, we used Google Maps to navigate to various places of interests. Do note that Google Maps does not work in Cycling Mode in Malaysia, so use Walking Mode but do be aware that sometimes recommended routes are against traffic.

11. Service Your Bicycles & Carry Tools and Spares

      Before leaving on your tour, it will be good to service your bike and bring along some spares like tubes, puncture patches, brake pads and the relevant tools.

___________________________________________________________________________________

PLACES

Malaysia-China Friendship Park, Kuching

A nice elaborate park to commemorate thirty years of friendship between two countries.

Malaysia : Tua Pek Kong Temple, Kuching

A small but distinct temple sitting noticeably at the centre of the city - Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.

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RELATED BLOGS:

Cycling Sarawak

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Cycling Sarawak Gawai 2015

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A versatile compact camera that takes very good photos even while cycling. For the Korea Cycling Tour, I had used the TG-4, a better version with higher resolution photos anc Wifi connectivity.

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You are at - Jotaro's Blog / AhPek Biker / Cycling Malaysia / Sarawak / Brompton Sarawak Tribal Ride 2023

If you like this, view my other blogs at Jotaro's Blog

(comments most welcomed below. if you like this pls share via facebook or twitter)