MY VILLAGE BAROK: AYAM PENYET ACROSS THE RIVER

Jolynn and I took a road trip across the river to a restaurant. If you've been through the bridge you'll see the awesome scenery of the riverside, especially at night. It's a great view.

Outside the restaurant is where they barbeque the poultry and seafood. It actually looks like a long house, packed with customers and on the inside is where people sit and eat on the floor on the mats. It is actually authentic malay food with the environs as well. You would also get to wash your hands before you eat, in the Malay culture, using a teapot and a small basin.

The ayam penyet was served with a top notch spicy sweet chilli sauce. I cannot tell you how spicy it is. I have to admit my spiciness level isn't pretty high so maybe to others it's totally fine. But well for me I needed some of milk to douse the flames.

Chicken, just barbequed, charred on the top, with some cool vegetables and rice. We also ordered some umai. Umai is made from raw fish but with some citruses in it, chilli and shallots. Sarawak's local delicacy. I'm sure there's more to it but there was so much flavour in it, I'm not sure what else is in there.

Also, the lamb penyet, with its stunning flavours, was still tender and juicy. Of course, not forgetting the really spicy level in each bite.

Village Barok also serves dishes found in Seafood restaurants such as this bidin stir-fried with shrimp paste, also known as belachan. They also stir-fried this dish with big onions to add that extra flavour.

Tom Yam soup was rather cooked in Malay cuisine style, where you can get those mixed vegetables like carrots, corns, cabbage all in one bowl. Squids, prawns and slices of chicken were also added. It has an interesting tom yam flavour to it, I would say a rather localised taste. But not such a good idea to order this spicy soup as a compliment to go with the other really spicy dishes.

Grilled seafood was a specialty here as well. There were scallops, mussells and shrimps being grilled non stop at the pit. This was the griiled scallop. It was topped with a brown sauce and a good dose of sambal. The heat from the chillies was also as much as from the ayam penyet. However the sauce went really well with the soft and juicy scallops. They also tasted really fresh.

I really recommend you guys coming over to get some ayam penyet. If you're looking to experience a real Malay culture in Sarawak as authentic as possible, this is the place to go. It's a huge wooden structure at the end of the road, you won't miss it. If it's not authentic already enough for you, you can choose to take a scenic route across on the sampan. Just take it towards the food court across Waterfront.

It's open everyday from 6pm to 11pm and it's full with people at night. So it's better to get in there early or if you don't mind the wait. There's also a satay shop just outside it, if you don't mind.


My Village Barok
7, Jalan Brooke, 
Kampung Boyan, 
93050 Kuching, 
Sarawak, Malaysia.




Until next time. This is Sharon signing off, stay tune every week for more:)

Coffee Obsession: Cafe Episodes

It's like a thing in Kuching, that when a new place opens, it's immediately crowded with people. You guys know what I'm talking about right? But I don't have a problem with the crowd, it's just, you get mislead. Picture this, you’re passing by, seeing all these people, and you get the wrong impression, thinking the place has good food, but then it doesn't, and you have the frustration of wondering why the heck is there so many people here. But of course, as a foodie, you risk this chance every time, and you go anyway.


Thank Gawd coffee obsession isn't one of those places.

It's a relatively new café, on Jalan Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce, Hock Kui Commercial Centre. It's a sort of hard to find, but I suppose that's the point. Hidden, as if to create a certain atmosphere, excitement. But I think I’m reading too much into it. Anyway, moving on, ahem. The cafe is like a loft, a nice comfortable setting, warm lighting, the scent of food in the air, and chatter and noise as you go in. By the time we went there, it was like a kopitiam, the noise I mean, there was just hordes of people around.

It was designed to look homey, inviting, like most cafes are, so they get you to stay. Long wooden tables, cushioned seats, intimate lighting in some corners, this place even has a bookshelf for those people going solo, or those waiting for their friends.

The staff were friendly people, as I found out, lovely in fact. Jolynn had came here before, and recommended we go there for our discussion for the food blog. In fact, that picture on the website is from Coffee Obsession, we ordered a caffe latte just to have that look for our blog. We also bought some dessert, bread pudding, ice cream oreo cheesecake, and some more drinks, creme brulee latte, and at the staff’s recommendation, haiwaiian latte.

We sat ourselves on some high wooden tables and chairs, embarrassed the heck out of ourselves by standing on the chairs to take pictures for our blog. Oh my gawd, I’m still cringing at the memory, but for the sake of art, one must sacrifice dignity. 

As you can see, it's a nice shot. There's the caffe latte, bread pudding and ice cream oreo cheesecake. 

The ice cream oreo cheesecake is definitely something you have to order. It was heaven in a bowl, they had put the cheesecake in a jar, layered it properly and when you scooped out a wad of it to eat, it was this smooth texture, light and fluffy to the taste and not to mention the broken oreo pieces of goodness that was hidden inside the dessert.

The caffe latte has this smooth, creamy texture, and a strong medium kick in the latte. It has this fine textured milk as well, overall I think it was a good cup of coffee. The espresso has a good aroma, enticing my tastebuds.

The butter bread pudding was just spot on.  The pudding has this crispy layer on top, juicy and soft on the bottom and the insides. It was served with light cream on top which pairs well together. There were raisins inside and I just love the strong butter taste in it. It complements well with the caffe latte, the bitterness of the coffee cutting the sweetness. Jolynn never had bread pudding before, and in her opinion, it'll ruin her for other bread puddings to come. 

I had the creme brulee latte, delicious stuff. Since creme brulee is mostly custard, and a caramelised surface, the taste in this latte is not so different. Creamy sweetness you expect in a custard and just the right amount of blend between coffee and caramel.

This was a recommendation. Hawaiian  Latte. It consisted of the usual ice latte but with added coconut milk and blue lagoon, hence the blue liquid at bottom. At the first sip, it brought out an interesting flavor.  The sweetness of the blue lagoon, and when combined with the espresso and milk, it's just right, with a hint of saltiness and richness from coconut milk. An odd combination, but works.

This seafood paella was really good. It can hold it's own to the other paellas served in western restaurants in this town. And with a price of about less than 15 ringgit, definitely worth it. The chef used short grain rice. It was packed full of flavor with generous amount of seafood. Smoky taste and smells absolutely amazing when it got served. However, it does not have a slight crispy/hard bottom, like how paellas are supposed to be, probably because it got scooped out and reheated. Apart from that, kudos to the chef. The best one I ever tasted around Kuching. Definite recommendation. 

 I absolutely love this dish. It's a mushroom, cheese, poached egg bruschetta of sorts. I can't recall the name, but I did remember how good it tasted. The yolk broke as I cut into it, spilling the yellow goodness over the stir fried mushrooms, and melted cheese on the thick layer of bread beneath. Eating it all together with the lettuce and tomato, oh gawd, food orgasm. They used a number of different mushrooms, shiitake being one of them. It wasn't oily, it was a refreshing meal, good for a late night snack.

It is definitely a place to visit and to hang with friends, it opens to like to eleven thirty, but you have to prepare yourself for the noise in the place. If you’re looking for some quiet time, don’t go at night, it’s when everyone is there. 

OPENS EVERYDAY EXCEPT THURSDAY

MON-WED:

12.00-11.30PM

FRI-SUN:

12.00-11.30PM

ADDRESS:

COFFEE OBSESSION

SUITE 29, KUEH HOCK KUI

COMMERCIAL CENTRE,

LORONG TUN AHMAD ZAIDI ADRUCE 18,

93150 KUCHING,

MALAYSIA. 


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