2009 Year End Review (Jan - Jun)

Year 2009 is at its final month, the month of December, the month of holidays (not for me though), the time when you look back and think about what you have done for the past eleven months, the month to review all the highs and lows of 2009.
Overall, I had a very good year. I started the year in a great mood, knowing Chinese New Year was just around the corner. CNY is by far my favorite holiday.


January 2009 also happened to be the month when Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 1st African-American and 44th president of the United States. What an event to kick start the year.


Oh, lets not forget that we celebrated Ah Loong's birthday, too. And it was awesome....


January 2009 was just legen....wait for it....dary.

Coming into February and March, things started to slow down a bit. Cos it was time to concentrate on work work work....and study study study again.

Then April came, this year we celebrated another convocation ceremony of one of our LS gang member. Yes, it was our lovely Ms Micha's graduation ceremony this time. And of course, some of the gang members purposely drove down to Miri to congratulate her and to celebrate with her. Me on the other hand, was already here to welcome them.

Finally, out little Micha has graduated!!! It brought back a lot of memories of the time when they were all still in Curtin while they were here. They spent four days in Miri before heading back to KK.

Moving on to May 2009....
It was Labour Day, so my friends and I decided to spend our holiday in Brunei. We drove up the night before and stay overnight at my friend's sister's place at Kuala Belait. It was just about half an hour drive. Had a nice Thai dinner when we reached there.


The next morning we woke up early for a quick chinese breakfast nearby before heading to Bandar Seri Begawan. The dim sum there was tasteless, maybe it was because of the pork. Upon reaching BSB after about one and a half hour drive, we head straight for lunch as the breakfast we had was not so fulfilling.


Lunch was much much better compare to breakfast. It was a very famous chicken rice at Gadong area. After that we strolled at The Mall for about an hour before drove back to KB to shop for junk foods at our favorite Supasave Supermarket. Brunei trip won't be complete if you haven't enjoy your Japanese food at Excapade.


And that was what we had for dinner before rounding up our Brunei trip.

Another highlight for May 2009 would be the Miri International Jazz Festival, which was held annually at Parkcity Everly Hotel for two nights in a row.


A lineup of eight international Jazz bands gathered in Miri to entertain a sellout crowds from all across the world. Ticket cost us RM60 each for a single night.


The performances was inside The Pavilion ballroom. While outside at the hotel compound, there were souvenirs, foods and drinks to be sold....including beer. For those who doesn't want to get cramped inside the ballroom, they can just sit on the grass or the beach and have some foods while enjoying the show via a few big screens that the organizer set up outside. Overall, it was a nice event, except for the mosquito bites....or sand fly.

Towards the end of the month, I went to Brunei once again. This time I brought along two visiting friends from KK. Apart from the eating and shopping for junk foods, we also happened to visit the majestic mosque in Brunei and walk around inside the luxury Empire Hotel and Resort.


There was another road trip on June 2009. This time instead of goin' to Brunei, we head south to Bintulu. Journey there took about two to three hours. It was my first time to Bintulu, a small town with lots of old buildings. It was like a sight seeing trip more than anything else. Cos if talking about food, I think Miri has more to offer.


Places that we visited includes public toilet with a cool grafiti on its wall, a temple in the middle of the town, Bintulu beach and of course Taman Tumbina Bintulu. It was like a small park cum mini zoo. They was a tiger in there, but we didn't get to take a picture of it cos it was too lazy to move around it's cage, which was quite big with lots of trees.


We stayed there until around 2pm before driving back to Miri. And that wraps up some of my activities for the first half of the year.
To be continue...

Excapade Sushi

I always thought Japanese food is all about raw, cold, weird looking foods when I was little. Not until I've tried it that i realized that its not just darn delicious. Its very healthy, too. No wonder there is a lot of Japanese that are over 100 years of age.



Have you ever tried a Japanese food so good that you purposely drove from one country to another just to eat it? If you are living in Miri, your answer will most probably be yes, provided that you are a Japanese food lover. Rumor has it that it is the best in Brunei and K.B.....and some say Miri.


They have a total of 5 branches all across Brunei and K.B. I heard they even planning to get into Miri market in the future. (Sushi King, you have been warned) The picture above is the interior for the K.B. branch. It was simple and typical Japanese restaurant design.


Their foods are prepared with the freshest and best quality ingredients. That's the main reason their customers keep coming back for more. There are variety of sushis to choose from in here. The portion are quite big, too. For most people, this should be a good thing. But for my friend, he prefer his sushi to be in bite size.



Idako or baby octopus is a must have for me whenever i go to a Japanese Restaurant. I just love the sweet taste of the creature with tentacles in the red sauce.


Enoki Battayaki is needle mushroom with butter cooked in a sizzling hot plate. This dish is very highly recommended. It was so delicious that one was not enough.

Niku Misoyaki is the high-grade Wagyu beef broiled with miso glaze. You get to do the cooking yourself for this meal. The meat was cut into thin slices and cooked with butter. Asparagus and button mushroom can be add in to give more flavor to the meat. No certain cooking skill is required to prepare this meal, just make sure the beef don't get overcooked.


Scallop Mentaiko Yaki or Scallop with Cod Roe and the Salmon Asparagus

Salmon Sashimi you get here is not just fresh, thick and juicy. It also melt the moment you put it into your mouth. This is a total crowd pleaser.

Chawan Mushi or the Steamed Egg with vegetable and mushroom mixed together in a small cup/bowl. Be sure to consume while its still warm.

Now, here come the skewer dish. On the left is the Salmon Skewer. And on the right, the Tuna Skewer. Both looks fantastic and taste great.

Last but not least that I'm gonna introduce are both grilled dishes. Saba Teriyaki/Shioyaki or the Mackerel grilled in a sweet soy sauce marinade/salt. And the elusive Alaska King Crab Yaki.


Excapade Sushi Kuala Belait Branch
Open daily from 11am - 2.30pm and 5.30pm - 10pm.
No 2, Block B, Ground Floor, Bangunan Pg. Hj. Hashim,
Pg. Hj. Mohd. Jadid, Lot 7561, Jln. Jaya Negara,
Kuala Belait KA 1931, Brunei.
Tel: +6733333993, +6738722993
(Advance booking reservation are recommended because the restaurant is full house most of the time.)
You may also visit their other branches which are located at Kiulap, Gadong, Serusop and Kiulap 2 respectively.