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Mitsu Shabu-Shabu Restaurant

2008-05-16T08:46:43Z

Mitsu Shabu-Shabu Restaurant is one of the oldest and most successful Japanese eating establishments in Sibu. Shabu-shabu roughly translates to "swish-swish" and is a Japanese variant of the hot pot. This makes it well suited to local taste buds since the steamboat is already a popular communal dining option over here.

Mitsu Shabu-Shabu is unique in a sense that all the seating arrangements have individual hot pots recessed into the tabletop. The bar dining area and tables all have personal hot pots. A table for four would have four individual hot pots and a table of two would have, well, you know, two hot pots. This must have made it a very popular destination during the Avian flu scare a couple of years back when people jumped two feet back if you even looked like you were about to sneeze.

The proper method of eating shabu-shabu is to take a piece of the thinly sliced meat and swish it around several times in the boiling soup (broth). However, I noticed that it's more common for the fine citizens of Sibu to just dump the entire stash of ingredients lock, stock and barrel into the hot pot. This method is more suited to the coarsely chopped ingredients of a steamboat instead of the thinly sliced meats of shabu-shabu.

This is the Mitsu Mixed Beef Meat Set (RM 25) which contains a selection of thinly sliced cuts - tenderloin, rib eye, sirloin and even bacon (of the beef variety).

The main orders come with a dish of nori (edible seaweed) which is something of a mandatory component of shabu-shabu (or any other Japanese cuisine for that matter).

There are also a wide range of side orders from the mundane to the obscure. This is Taiwanese pork sausage (RM 3).

This is hand made chicken balls (stop snickering) which is priced at RM 2 for six balls.

Crab sticks (RM 2) goes very well with hot pots. It's actually made of fish meat and flavored with crab (no idea how they do that) and I love this stuff.

The more exotic options include premium grade A1 Taiwan Abalone which is priced at RM 13.

Faye is a big fan of shortcuts so she dumped the entire plate into the broth instead of swishing individual slices of meat around. It should be noted that she was born and bred in Sibu. ;)

The poor meat and vegetables (and even the abalone) was practically being boiled alive in the hot pot.

I quickly saved a couple of them by scooping it up into a bowl. Shabu-shabu is eaten with goma (sesame seed) sauce and steamed rice.

The Seafood Dry Dumpling (RM 3.90) in Mitsu Shabu-Shabu is amazing. The gyoza is filled with succulent prawns, squid, and fish before being deep fried.

The flavor and moisture of the ingredients are somehow preserved during the deep frying process, resulting in a burst of flavor when you bite into one of these. Highly recommended!

"What kind of restaurant makes you cook your own food?"

Mitsu Shabu-Shabu Restaurant is open till late and adequately air-conditioned. It's a good destination for hot pots without being subjected to the hyperhidrosis associated with steamboats eaten al fresco.

The empire strikes back

2008-05-15T14:55:54Z

I have been told by my fellow coworkers that our office has a problem with rodent infestation. I have personally never seen rats in the office but my colleagues have experienced secondary effects from said creature. The more common grievances include snacks being gnawed into and mugs and/or bottles falling over, or otherwise disturbed, the next morning. I suspect the latter could be a manifestation of clandestine office politics - covert ops of sabotage performed after office hours - but there is a general consensus that we have a rat problem.

Thus, the management has procured three mousetraps for our floor. These are not the unpopular snapping mousetraps that are extremely hazardous to stray toes but the baited cage type with a piece of cracker inside.

It looks like our furry little friends are in for an unpleasant surprise.

P/S - I will be flying to Kuching on Saturday for the long weekend holidays. Anyone interested to hook up?

The best Nasi Lemak Special

2008-05-14T10:34:52Z

I have managed to find the best nasi lemak special in Sibu while having lunch just now. It's located at Huang Chuang Cafe near Methodist High School.

The stall is a Muslim stall and it was recommended by Fang Ling who is something of a regular diner over there.

The nice lady at the stall will ask if you want curry chicken or ayam masak hitam (chicken with soy sauce).

You can also choose the parts of the chicken you prefer (drums are popular, as well as thigh meat).

The nasi lemak special is served with sambal and a fried egg on top of the fragrant santan (coconut milk) rice. The chicken is served on a separate bowl.

Faye went for the ayam masak hitam. It's really good - not too spicy, with flavorful hints of cinnamon.

Fang Ling and I went for the curry chicken. The curry is spicy, yet with sweet overtones. The place doesn't add santan like it's going out of style too. It has just the right balance of spices and coconut milk.

The best thing about it? It only costs RM 3.50.

I will survive

2008-05-13T12:17:54Z

...and now I'm saving all my loving for someone who's loving me.
So now go, walk out the door
Just turn around now, you're not welcome anymore.

Disclaimer: The person I am talking about in this post has never been featured on sixthseal.com - long readers would know that I don't post about my serious relationships on the blog.

Well, it looks like my availability status has changed again. I just got out of a roller coaster relationship and I'm not sure how I'm feeling right now. I was smoking (tobacco, mind you, not cannabis) alone in contemplation just now and felt the need to write a long, self-pitying post - all the feelings of anger, betrayal, disappointment rolled into one huge pity party.

Well, here at sixthseal.com, we don't have pity parties. It's just not on. We don't sell that shit over here. ;)

I met this girl who seemed to be the perfect match for me (except for her availability status - don't ask) about four months ago. I had just got out of rehab and realized that I have a weakness for girls like this - bad girls who're friendly (sounds like an oxymoron, I know) and talkative. She's Aries too, and that's kinda like a double whammy coz I tend to gravitate towards Arians, being one myself.

I didn't like her at first, to be honest. I just wanted to get into her pant(ie)s. I met her at a club and got her number but I promptly forgot about her until two days later. I called her up and we went out for drinks and ended up talking for four hours (shocking, I know).

We decided to meet each other for lunch the next day and I was totally put off by her. I won't elaborate more lest people manage to identify the person I'm talking about. I just wasn't interested anymore but due to loneliness (it's kinda hard, being new in a company and having no one to have lunch with) I went out with her again, and again, and again.

...and you know what, she kinda grew on me. She had qualities that made her attractive and she made me feel comfortable in the relationship.

Anyway, we started hanging out exclusively and it was good for a while until I noticed...discrepancies, shall we say. There's a lot of deceit in the relationship. I won't elaborate but let's just say that I'm not the only one she's seeing. Every time we get into an argument (fire elements like Aries are not meant to be together) she runs off to her ex-boyfriend.

I won't call him her ex-boyfriend per se...it's more like an on and off thing and she seems to have a history of doing that shit all the time in her past relationships.

I'll be the first to state publicly that I'm not into character assassination and I truly believe that she's a nice person (honestly) if you don't mind...er, sharing her, if you catch my drift. ;)

Anyway, the thing that set things off today was a long standing issue between the both of us. I knew I couldn't get a truly exclusive relationship with her, and I'm okay with that coz I'm not planning to marry her anyway. She's fun to hang out with and she's a good friend.

What I cannot stand is the deceit. It's perfectly fine with me if she tells me she'll be going to be seeing her ex (other?) boyfriend. It's NOT okay if she lies about it. It's the lying more than anything coz I sincerely believe that without trust in a relationship, there's nothing.

Trust is the foundation that all relationships stand on.

Thus, I have decided to break up with her. Honestly, I thought I would be feeling down and everything, but I'm not. I thought I'll be writing stuff like "Oh well, at least I have alprazolam to get me through this" or "I've successfully kicked a 7 year benzodiazepine habit and I'll be fucked if I can't kick a 4 month relationship" but I'm feeling perfectly fine.

It's the official sixthseal.com policy to not have pity parties.

We just don't do that shit around here. :)

This is for you HH:

I hope life treats you kind...and I hope you have all you've dreamed of.
And I wish you joy, and happiness.
But above all this, I wish you...love.

Envy Health & Beauty Grand Opening

2008-05-12T10:56:04Z

Envy Health & Beauty had their grand opening officiated by YB Vincent Goh on the 10th of May 2008. I was supposed to be at a conference that Saturday, but I sneaked out for an hour to support Joyce's and Mary's venture. :)

The interior of Envy has been added with some frills for the press since reporters were coming to cover the opening ceremony.

The people from my company chipped in to get flowers for Envy. Joyce works in my office (we're even on the same floor).

There were already a lot of people there when I arrived (fashionably late, not intentionally, but due to the seminar) and Joyce, Mary and Shirley were there to greet visitors and pass out a bottle of drinking water with a cute bag of potpourri attached to it.

The three girls were all wearing white uniforms which looks really professional.

This is Shirley, who is one of the partners with Joyce and Mary. I just met her that day. :)

I was rather curious about the little name tag located near Shirley's left...er, cardiac region, so I asked her permission to take a very close-up photo of her cleava...er, I mean tag. Thanks for being a sport about the unusual request, Shirley! :) (and please stop snickering guys)

High tea was provided as well, with a selection of local delights for people to indulge in after the opening ceremony.

The centerpiece is a huge blueberry cake with the word "Envy" scrivened - and yes, there really is such a word - on it.

The guest of honor arrived promptly at 10 am, which surprised me a little, since dignitaries usually bring the term "fashionably late" to new heights. ;)

There was an opening speech by YB Vincent Goh, who is the designated VIP of the event and then the ribbon cutting ceremony was held to launch Envy Health & Beauty.

The obligatory cake cutting ceremony was held after that.

The other obligatory event was the ribbon cutting to signify the opening of this new establishment.

The owners of Envy presented YB Vincent with a thank you gift to mark the end of the opening ceremony.

I also took the liberty of putting out a congratulatory ad in Borneo Post for Envy...with a rather prominent self-promoting URL of a certain blog, naturally. ;) It cost me RM 170 which is pretty reasonable for the size.

Heartiest congratulations from sixthseal.com to Joyce, Mary and Shirley. May Envy Health & Beauty be the envy of all other establishments. Okay, that was a rather lame bit of wordplay. :p

Envy Health & Beauty is located at No. 2, 1st Floor, Lorong Pahlawan 7E, Pusat Jaya Li Hua.

There is a previous post about Envy Health & Beauty on sixthseal.com here.

Special Mother's Day buffet dinner @ RH Hotel

2008-05-11T03:35:45Z

RH Hotel is having a special Mother's Day buffet dinner promotion at Oriental Bistro with a door gift and a free ticket for every five tickets purchased.

It is priced at RM 44 ++ per person and there's a 50% discount for children below 12 and senior citizens above 55 years old.

I went there with Faye and KJ since my parents had a church function they had to go to.

The highlight of the Mother's Day buffet dinner is a kebab/steak stand where the chefs cook the cuts of meat you want.

There are also various types of sausages...

...and they even slice it up nicely for you at your request.

There is also an ABC (a kind of shaved ice dessert) stand for something sweet to finish your dinner with.

You can customize the ingredients and toppings you want inside. I had mine with chocolate sprinkles, which is a decidedly unorthodox topping. :)

This is what I ended up eating...and this is just for starters coz I was REALLY hungry last night.

My plate overfloweth. It contains:

Beef tripe and scallops

Deep fried prawn dumplings, beef rendang, calamari

Prime portions of chicken

Deep fried squid and braised duck

Chicken curry and shrimp with mayonnaise

Steamed fish

There's even a side dish of various cuts of beef and veal!

I was still feeling a little hungry after all that excess so I attacked the pastries counter for dessert.

I noticed one of the chefs bringing out a new batch of cream tarts so I got some as well. =D

This is the dessert plate that I finished the meal with - I even got four (4) scoops of ice cream to go with it.

I am a rather fast eater, as Faye has been telling KJ. Faye took a video of me eating the entire plate. This is really the usual speed at which I eat, unless I'm with polite company. :)

Speed eating!

Liger

2008-05-09T22:21:17Z

I made a friendly wager with Faye the other day regarding the existence of an animal called liger. I've never heard of such a creature in my entire life! Faye swears it exists and that she personally saw it with her own eyes in Korea and even had her photo taken with it! I tend to be rather skeptical about her "facts" since...well, let's just say that she's fond of getting them from dubious sources. This is the same person who told me frequent sex will damage my kidneys coz a Chinese medicinal practitioner told her so.

Personally, I think that's just a convenient excuse she uses (the equivalent of a headache) so I tend to take the fountain of questionable facts she shares with a fistful of sodium. She told me she had her photo taken with this "liger" creature during a tour of Korea and the tour guide told her it's the result of a lion and tiger mating. The name is supposed to be a contraction of the two parent animals. She even took a photo with it!

I don't think she made this up, but she can be a little too trusting at times. I said the tour guide probably told her that to make the trip more interesting and shared an anecdote about the time I went to KL when I was really young. We were sitting beside a large tour group of Caucasians and the tour guide told them that the dish on the table is tiger meat.

The tourists took it all in hook, line and sinker and was overheard commenting about how "different" it tastes. The proprietor, who had no lost love for the wayward tour operator, whispered to my dad that the dish is actually a mixture of deer meat (common over here) and wild boar (also a common meat). I strongly believe something similar to the tiger meat fiasco happened to Faye in Korea - the tour guide told them that a regular lion with perhaps less than usual features is the offspring of two different wild cats.

We got into a heated debate after this, with me firmly taking the stance that she was fleeced in Korea and with her nearly foaming at the mouth with irritation at my disbelief. Finally, we reached an agreeable method of dispute resolution:

If ligers exist, I would buy her a box of bird's nest of her choice (not exceeding RM 300)

If this liger thing does not exist, she would be paying for one night's stay at the resort hotel we're planning to go to (dollar value RM 230++)

That being said, the conditions that I put forth was that it MUST be from a reputable source, with citations and references to respectable studies. No two bit website from Korea with a Photoshop image or stuff like that.

I fired up the browser to Google and typed "liger".

I was extremely sure that I would win this bet since I consider myself well read and I've never heard of such an unusual animal. I was even thinking about whether to bring red wine or single malt to the beach resort!

Faye didn't even hover over my shoulder. She just watched the expression on my face as I expelled a rather rude word in an excessive volume while incredulously staring at the search results.

One of the first results was from Wikipedia, and I didn't really need to read the other search results. I knew I had lost the bet. From Wikipedia:

The Liger is a hybrid cross between a male lion and a female tiger.

...and it says there's even such a thing as a tigon too, which is the result of a male tiger and a female lion.

Incredi-fucking-ble.

Envy Health & Beauty

2008-05-08T14:58:45Z

Envy Health & Beauty is having their official opening on the 10th of May, 2008. It's owned by two of my friends - Joyce and Mary. Four of us were invited to a pre-opening sneak preview of the place and offered a free facial worth RM 50.

Thus, Katherine, Chiew Keing, Sheau Lih and myself trooped down to Envy to be the first guinea pigs. ;) I'm kidding, Mary has a lot of experience in doing this and so does Joyce. It's just not open until this Saturday so they invited four of their closest friends to get a complimentary facial.

You change into fluffy slippers when you enter the establishment - red ones for females, blue ones for males. I didn't even know it was color coded coz I wore the red ones. Heh!

The interior of Envy is very tastefully decorated and exudes a nice, clean and relaxing atmosphere. There are lounge chairs, bean bags and couches in the waiting room, which is meant as a place for friends to hang out and relax.

My favorite is the futon chairs and carpet seating area.

There is also a glass display cabinet showcasing the two major products they carry.

Usana is one of the latest nutritional fads to hit Sibu.

SenSe is the beauty product line that they are using in their in house facials.

The facial room is the highlight of this establishment and it has three beds with see through privacy curtains for a maximum for three simultaneous customers at once.

There is mood lighting for each of the beds...

...and soft, relaxing music playing for a stress free ambiance.

It was soon my turn to get the facial and I got Mary to do mine.

It took about 30 minutes or so to get everything done.

This is the Before shot.

This is the After shot.

Thanks to Joyce and Mary of Envy for inviting us in for a pre-launch preview and a free facial! :)

Envy will be opening on the 10th of May, 2008.

High impact bicycle accident

2008-05-07T14:46:43Z

This is the result of a high speed collision between a bicycle and a road divider.

The cyclist was nowhere to be found.

The Big Mac Chomp Challenge

2008-05-06T10:09:09Z

The Big Mac Chant Challenge is the latest craze in town. It is perhaps one of the best marketing efforts by McDonald's in recent memory. However, I would like to propose a new challenge - The Big Mac Chomp Challenge.

You can probably do the Big Mac Chant within four seconds...but can you do the Big Mac CHOMP within four seconds?

Can you EAT

"Two all-beef patties,
special sauce, lettuce,
cheese, pickles, onions
on a sesame seed bun"

within four seconds?!?!

This is what separates the men from the boys. Watch and weep. ;)

I used the coupon I won yesterday to redeem a Big Mac and got the McDonald's staff to clock me doing the Big Mac Chomp. My first attempt started well but Faye accidentally pressed the stop button just as I was taking my first bite so I had to do a second take. It's here for entertainment purposes.

The McDonald's crew were kind enough to pour me a cup of Coke after the first failed attempt and furnished me with a second complimentary Big Mac since I ruined the first. Thanks people! This is the second and final attempt at the Big Mac Chomp:

I didn't manage to stuff everything in within four seconds. I reckon I would have made it if I took one bite (of one quarter of the Big Mac) each second but I nearly chocked on the final bite and couldn't get it down. The remains are here if you have a burning urge to see it:

It tastes surprisingly good even after being pre-chewed. ;)

i'm lovin' it!

A big thank you goes out to the crew of McDonald's Sibu. Thanks for the support! :)

Mega Mac and Big Mac Chant

2008-05-05T10:47:06Z

McDonald's is now offering the Mega Mac for a limited time only. The Mega Mac is a super sized Big Mac with four (4) beef patties instead of the usual two. It retails for RM 14.50 for a large value meal.

I went there after work today since I felt like I could handle the four patty behemoth, having skipped lunch and all.

It is basically a huge Big Mac with double the amount of patties.

There's nothing new about Big Macs (having being around since time immemorial, or so it seems) but there's something appealing about biting into the largest burger ever produced by McDonald's (exception being the Half Pounder promotion in Australia).

The Big Mac Chant is also doing the rounds this time with an online and offline advertising blitz. It's a phrase you have to say within four seconds (probable tie in to the four beef patties a.k.a, "four times the kick" Mega Mac) to win a free Big Mac.

To qualify for the Big Mac Chant, you have to purchase a McValue Meal which entitles you to one (1) entry coupon valid for "one chant, one chance" at the Big Mac Chant Challenge Counter.

I was the only one at the Big Mac Chant Challenge Counter at that hour and I guess I was probably the first in Sibu to attempt it (since they had to set up the counter for me) but I did it in 3 seconds flat. :)

It was very appealing experience to have the McDonald's crew crowd around the counter to watch me do it. I could hear people coming from the kitchen area asking the timer whether I did it and several comments of "Cepatnya" (He's fast) from the crew. Heh!

Guide to the Big Mac Chant:

Two all-beef patties, special sauce, - 1 second
lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, - 1 second
on a sesame seed bun. - 1 second

It's essential to finish the entire chant in one breath so take a nice, deep breath before attempting the Big Mac Chant. Most people can probably finish it in about 3 seconds if you take a minute or two to practice first.

I can handle it!

Wine & Dine Promotion @ Peppers Cafe

2008-05-04T10:19:19Z

Tanahmas Hotel is having a Wine & Dine promotion this month with steak air flown in from New Zealand paired with their Seifried wine from Nelson, NZ. Faye was in a generous mood, so she bought me dinner last night. Perhaps me helping her out tutoring had something to do with it as well. ;)

I had the Grilled Ribeye Steak (RM 44.00 ++) which came with broccoli, carrot, cauliflower, young corn and mashed potato. It comes with your choice of black pepper sauce or mushroom sauce. I'm a big fan of garlic sauce, which I guess is a little unrefined, and can be hazardous to your breath, but it's really good. Unfortunately, they don't have that, so I went with the black pepper sauce.

I had it medium rare and the steak came out tender and juicy. The portion is very generous too, well worth the RM 44 price tag.

Faye had the Grilled Sizzling Lamb Chop (RM 26.50 ++) which is also part of the Western Food Promotion (also known as the Wine & Dine promotion). It comes with the same trimmings and sauce options. She went for the mushroom sauce.

We also ordered fried mee mamak (RM 13.00 ++) to share. I like Tanahmas Hotel's (the place is really called Peppers Cafe, I don't know why everyone calls it Tanahmas Hotel) fried mee mamak - it's very spicy.

This is the Chimpanzee Shake (RM 10.00 ++). It's a peanut butter milk shake and I've been having cravings for the stuff ever since I had it a couple of weeks ago. It's a thick and sinful concoction of peanut butter and ice cream and if you think you'll like something like this, you probably would. Honestly, everyone I recommended this to came back with rave reviews.

Faye also presented me with a crudely wrapped DVD sized package as a token of appreciation for my tutoring efforts.

It's an 8 GB USB flash drive. I've been wanting to get another one since the one I got earlier this month filled up. It's the perfect gift for a blogger (or photographer). Thanks Faye! :)

Hey, what's with the feeding each other routine? :p

Min Kong Cafe RM 20 prawn noodles

2008-05-03T12:26:31Z

Min Kong Cafe is well known in Sibu for its RM 20 prawn noodles. Their flagship dish actually reached an all time high of RM 25 per bowl before dropping to its current RM 20 rate. There are other places offering the same dish for RM 12 but for the original Min Kong prawn noodles, there is but one place to eat it.

Min Kong Cafe is air conditioned and also offers traditional fare as well as rice dishes but most people go there for their flagship RM 20 prawn noodles. There are actually three (3) RM 20 offerings - big prawn cooked noodles, big prawn fried noodles, and fish noodles.

I couldn't try all three in one sitting so I had the famed big prawn cooked noodles first with Amy and some other people from work. I also took the liberty of ordering Tiger Beer (RM 8) since I saw someone eating big prawn cooked noodles on the office Intranet (a supplier) and drinking Tiger Beer and had felt the craving for the same ever since. I guess it's alright since both times I went there were Saturday afternoons. :)

The cooked big prawn noodles (RM 20) is known as "ta sia chau chu mien" and is the flagship dish of Min Kong Cafe. It's very well known for its unapologetic pricing and generous portions of prawns. There are four big prawns in every bowl (it's actually two, sliced horizontally) and the broth is very prawny.

Min Kong certainly doesn't skimp on the good stuff and the portions of noodles are reasonable so it doesn't fill you up too much. The prawns are also pre-shelled so there's no hassle involved in shelling the prawns in a bowl of soup (which can be pretty unwieldy, and can cause no small amount of splash damage).

I like!

I also went there earlier this afternoon with Faye and she opted for the fish noodles (RM 20) since she's not a very big fan of prawns (being allergic to most shellfish as it were). The fish noodles is topped with generous slices (slabs?) of prime fish meat on the top.

I just love the beautiful mosaic swirls on the fish meat. It's wonderfully tender too, well worth the RM 20 price tag. This is a good option if you don't like prawn, the fish noodles is also chock full of prime ingredients (with an appropriate prime price tag to boot).

I went for the fried big prawn noodles (RM 20) this afternoon. It's the lesser known contender to the RM 20 cooked big prawn noodles throne but I certainly wasn't disappointed by its performance. The same neatly shelled prawns are heaped on top of the fried noodles and I even found the feelers nicely shelled and ready to eat! The gravy is very prawny and concentrated, and the noodles fried just right. I would recommend this lesser known dish to real lovers of prawn instead.

Bon appetit!

Word of the day:

splash damage
(verb)
Otherwise known as the mee soup incident, it is the inadvertent soiling of work clothes due to uncooperative ingredients mishandled during lunch hour.

Eh?

2008-05-02T13:37:49Z

Hello! My face is up here!

Bukit Lima Forest Park

2008-05-01T13:57:08Z

I went to Bukit Lima Forest Park with the people from work this morning. It's supposed to be a jungle trekking session organized by the social club of the company that I work for. I headed over to Joyce's house at 7:30 am coz I don't really know the way to the forest park so I need to do a bit of tailgating behind her. :)

Joyce is the vice secretary of the social club and she was busy preparing sandwiches when I got there.

I helped out (kinda...at least I opened the packets of sausages ;)) and we loaded up the car with the food supplies and drove down to Bukit Lima Forest Park.

The place is rather hard to find, I certainly would have been lost without her. It's not very far from Sibu town though, probably about a 15 minute drive away. We arrived there at around 8 am and proceeded to unload the stuff to a sheltered gazebo at the park grounds.

I headed straight onto the trail after that. It was a nice, cool morning and the sun wasn't out in full force yet...perfect for a spot of jungle trekking, The signs read "Slippery Trek" and "Enter at your own risk" - not very reassuring epithets but it turned out to be a comfortable walk along a planked path.

There was a stream overgrown with algae marking the start of the path. I was a little disappointed to find out that the sides were lined with common ferns and trees - no pitcher plants or exotic wildlife to be found here...

The most interesting thing we bumped across was a felled tree partially blocking the planked path but in all fairness, it was a nice, comfortable walk...just not terribly exciting. ;)

There was also a three story concrete watch tower near the beginning of the path. In grand Sibu tradition, the whitewashed pillars were adorned with graffiti left by an aspiring adolescent tagger.

Me: Oh, look! There's graffiti on the walls.
Kathy: *peers over* That's not graffiti ok! That's vandalism!

The top of the watch tower affords a view of foliage, foliage and more foliage. The diversity of the plant life is certainly nothing to write home about.

There are several trails to go on and we opted for the Ta'an Trek at 2,477 meters.

This is a photo of us after 1 km.

This is a photo of us after 3 km. :)
I haven't actually lost much weight and this is a testament to that. I still have a substantial amount of fat around my waist that I need to shed.

The Ta'an Trek is still a work in progress as we arrived at a partially constructed shed near the end of that trail.

This is what the completed huts look like. There are several along the path for weary hikers to rest their weary bones in. The partially constructed one seems to be a deluxe shed of sorts as it can handle double the capacity of the normal sheds.

I also found a curious snail on the path. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I'm a little annoyed (read: scared) of flying insects and there was no shortage of that in the forest. Me and Kathy got harassed by all kinds of insects during the trek. I couldn't even see some of them! I only heard the buzz of winged critters and perhaps a flicker of movement at my back which sent paranoid thoughts of cicadas or dragonflies landing on me and the subsequent frantic attempts to dislodge the imagined critters.

I much prefer to stumble across flora rather than fauna...

Thus, it was with some relief that we reached the sign marking the end of the trail. I walked a total of 5 km this morning - 1 km to the Ta'an Trek, 2.4 km through the Ta'an Trek and 1.6 km back.

It was about 10 am when everyone finished the jungle trekking and we proceeded to the next segment of the program - food.

Someone brought along a tank of gas and a wok and started frying the sausages, fish balls and chicken wings for lunch.

The sausages swelled to an amazing girth after deep frying in oil. I'm not sure why one brand of sausages does that while the other doesn't produce an appreciable increase in size after similar treatment.

Joyce and Colin did most of the frying while the rest of us did most of the milling around. ;)

There was a lot of food - we ended up with a lot of leftovers and even passed some of the sausages to the security guards on duty, that was how much surplus we had.

I was introduced to new and exciting ways of eating - this sausage wrap apparently makes the task of consuming the deep fried sausage easier coz the lettuce prevents the oil from coming into contact with your hands.

Some of the staff also brought their families along and the kids seem to have a lot of fun.

It was a very nice company outing, what some people would call "corporate bonding". :)

Greetings from the KSP @ Bukit Lima Forest Park!