TAMU DONGONGGON PENAMPANG

Dongonggon is the heart of Penampang, 15 minutes drive from Kota Kinabalu city. Every Thursday and Friday, it's " Tamu" time. Tamu means open market where farmers and traders come out in full force to sell their products, ranging from fresh vegetables, fruits, livestock to handicraft. Last Friday, I went to this particular Tamu after visiting a friend. The market was filled with a huge variety of local tropical fruits - water melons, papayas, pineapples, oranges, mangoes, durians and many others.

Gingers, pumpkins and pineapples

Lemons, oranges and mangosteens Wild Jungle duriansRambutans and LangsatsGreen mangoesBambangan, wild mangoes (Good for pickles) found only in BorneoA family waiting for customersSome winter melons and bambangan.Ube kayu (Tapioca) and ube manis (sweet potatoes) Local handicraftThe dried food sectionIkan bilis (anchovies)Udang kering (dried shrimps)

Ikan masin (salted fish)

Tapai or lihing (rice wine) cakes What's in the plastic bags?

Eels caught from the Padi fields A fresh water soft-shelled turtle

Ikan haruan, one of the species of snake head fish, has long been used by Malaysians to speed up the healing of wounds following injury, surgery and childbirth. It is also among the favourite sources of protein in Asia.

The gongs, traditional kadazandusun musical instruments

The eggs corner - fresh eggs from the farm

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Visiting the "Tamu" is a worthwhile experience. The tamu is a usually place where friends gather and meet or make new acquaintances, exchange news and gossip especially those from the "kampung" (villages) when they meet once a week.

BLACKOUT

It seems there is no end to the power supply problem in Sabah. There have been frequent power interruptions everywhere.The frequent power outages in Kota Kinabalu have become worst. As my wife was preparing dinner the other night, the power went off. Complete darkness
Luckily the emergency light was OK.

An "Emergency light" dinner.

People are angry and frustrated over the power problem in Sabah. Apparently, something is not right. Sabah has been in Malaysia for 46 years and to date, we still do not have the basic Infrastructure of constant electricity supply. The power company, Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) should sack their Managing director whom in my opinion is " Gaji Buta"( In Malay language, it means people who receives salaries for doing absolutely nothing - not performing at all.

HI SEOUL FOR DINNER

First came the Korean cars, television sets, and the popular Samsung handphones. Then the Korean tourists started to flood Kota Kinabalu followed by the mushrooming of Korean restaurants in the recent years. "Hi Seoul" is one of them in the Likas Square complex near the city. My wife and I like this restaurant as their food are to our liking. We had our dinner there last Sunday. Hi Seoul is a medium size restaurant, clean, spacious and comfortable. Most people patronizing this restaurant go for the Korean BBQ, but we preferred something different.

I like the "kimchi" of this shop

Mixed vegetable salad This stewed pork with potatoes is similar to the Japanese "Nikujaga" dish

Kimchi jjigae-a spicy kimchi meat soup

Jap Chae - glass noodles in sesame oil flavour.

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Hi Seoul has a large varieties of Korean food on the menu from Bibimbap to Samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) and many others. A good place to enjoy the Korean cuisine.

NASI CAMPUR

Eating out is great in Kota kinabalu with many varieties of food in the city. One of my favourite is "Nasi Campur" (mixed rice) at the Seri Malindo restaurant in Wisma Merdeka Complex. This restaurant provides at least 50-60 dishes of Malaysian cuisine for lunch with all local beverages. Customers can choose their own favourite from these wide selection of food on display. We patronised this restaurant for lunch today. I selected "ikan masak merah" (deep fried fish in special sauce), spicy Brinjal (eggplant), fried Sabah vegetables and Sambal ikan Bilis (Anchovies in chili shrimp paste) My wife had Ikan curry (fish curry), Sabah vegetables and some spicy local vegetables.

Generally, Malay cuisine is very rich and spicy. Coconut milk, chilies, soy sauce and belacan (shrimp paste) are the main ingredients. Seri Malindo is a more Malaysian style restaurant as it caters not only Malay cuisine but also a mixture of Indonesian, Chinese and Indian cooking.

SALUT SEAFOOD RESTAURANT

Last night, our nephew invited us for dinner at a ‘floating’ restaurant", the Salut Seafood restaurant, a popular eat-out place among the locals. It is situated about 18 kms or approx., 35 minutes drive north of the city along Jalan Sulaman leading to the Shangri-la Rasa Ria Resort. Different kinds of shellfish, crabs, prawns, fish and local vegetables on display at the entrance..

Happily waiting for the food to be served.

Lady first !

These hot chilli padi go very well with local lime.

"Pakis" a jungle ferns fried with garlic.

Steamed fresh prawns - sweet and tasty

Deep fried soft shell crabs

Sabah Veg with eggsSteamed red snapper in soya source with tofu.

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Besides the above dishes, we also had seafood claypot and 2 other shellfish dishes. I failed to take their pictures as my hands were too busy with the steamed prawns. As we were leaving the restaurant, I took the picture of restaurant's main entrance to mark the end of a good feast.