Patricia Hului

5 halal western restaurants to visit within Kuching city centre

Published on May 3, 2018

Travel

While Kuching offers plenty of choices of halal western restaurants, most of them are not in walking distance of the city centre.

Here are KajoMag’s recommendations of halal Western restaurants to visit within the vicinity of Kuching city. Furthermore, they are all walk-able distance from Kuching waterfront:

1. MK Classico Caffe

5 halal western restaurants to visit within Kuching city centre — Chicken Schnitzels anyone?

First of all, every part of this restaurant is definitely Instagram-worthy. It has that rustic and rugged interior with mortal walls and exposed wooden beams on its ceiling.

You can find antiques in every corner of the restaurant from an old typewriter to a classic radio.

Food-wise, you can give MK Special Burger, Chicken Schnitzels or MK Swedish Meatball a try for a hearty dinner.

If you are there for some socialising, order some MK Classic Nachos, MK Banana Cheese or its MK BBQ wings to share with your friends.

The place also offers coffees and various mocktails. Unfortunately, it only opens from 5pm onwards.

2. Sharing Downtown

This place is famous among locals as a cosy, casual place to have dinner. So don’t get frustrated if you can’t get a table during its peak hour in the evening.

For poultry lovers out there, you have several choices including Chicken Chop, Maryland, Ice Cream Chicken Chop, Double Cheezyland and other items to choose from.

If you’re into fish, there are items such as the classic Fish and Chips, Grilled Fish Fillet, Garlic Butter Fish Fillet, Cajun Fish Fillet and Atlantic Salmon.

For a high dose of carbs, pick any of their spaghetti dishes like Spaghetti Vegetable, Chicken Bolognese, Meatball Spaghetti, Carbonara, Seafood Aglio e Olio and so on.

The price is affordable and the portions are satisfying.

3. Kuehpedia Cake Boutique and Cafe

At Kuehpedia, you’ll find more than just ‘kueh’ or cakes. This hipster cafe at Wayang Street offers local dishes such as Nasi Gian and Nasi Dagang.

But they also offer western delights such as Creamy Salted Egg Pasta, Grilled Chicken and Crispy Beef Bacon Carbonara.

Patrons can satisfy their craving for sweets with both local and western desserts at Kuehpedia.

4. Bing! Coffee

Most visitors come to any of Bing! Coffee’s branches to wind down and relax with a cup of coffee, while only a few come specifically to sate their hunger here. But this place is perfect for those who want a quick Western food fix.

Bing! Coffee offers halal Western food such as Beef Lasagna, Beef Burger, variety of sandwiches made of Panini, Ciabatta, Bambini, or Focaccia breads.

5. Peridot Kuching

From thin crust pizza to creamy pasta, you can find these at Peridot Kuching.

Another highlight of this restaurant is its shakshouka, a dish of eggs poached in tomato sauce, chilli peppers and onions.

On TripAdvisors, visitors seemed to rave about its salmon saying it is well-cooked at a reasonable price. Why not give that a try on your next visit?

A look into the past of the Sarawak Chinese at the Chinese History Museum

Published on May 2, 2018

Travel

The Chinese History Museum is an unassuming building located at Kuching Waterfront. Built in 1912, it originally served as a courthouse for the Chinese community from 1912 to 1921.

This was where the Chinese community handled their disputes from marriages to divorces and even division of property.

The third White Rajah, Charles Vyner Brooke wanted the Chinese community to manage their own affairs and so Ong Tiang Swee was selected as the first chairman and assisted by six judges elected annually from the community.

Inspired by English colonial architecture, the museum was known as the Chinese Chamber of Commerce building.

In 1993, the building was reopened and is what we know today as the Chinese History Museum.

A relatively small building (the hall itself is 46 square feet), this museum gives valuable insight on the livelihoods and the economic and historical contributions of the Chinese community in Sarawak.

The Chinese History Museum exhibit

A look into the past of the Sarawak Chinese at the Chinese History Museum — Chinese History Museum.

The start of the exhibition educates visitors on how the Chinese immigrated to Sarawak.

In fact, the first wave of Chinese immigrants who landed in Sarawak in the 15th century were mainly the Hakkas.

They first settled in Pontianak, Sambas, and Singkawang before migrating to what we know now as the Bau area.

Then, the second wave of Chinese immigrants landed in Kuching even before James Brooke’s arrival. They were the Teochews and the Hokkiens.

Apart from that, the exhibition highlights some of the pioneering community leaders including Liu Shan Bang, Ong Tiang Swee and Ong Ewe Hua.

There are other modern Chinese leaders featured as well such as former deputy chief minister George Chan and James Wong, who holds the record as the longest serving assemblyman in the history of Sarawak (he held the office for nearly 50 years).

Although the Chinese in Sarawak travelled thousands of miles away from mainland China hundreds of years ago, the communities here still retain most of their ancestral culture.

Other aspects of their culture that they brought include the Chinese musical instruments found in Sarawak.

The Chinese History Museum showcases a handful of musical instruments such as Liu Qin, Er Hu, Yang Cin, Qin Qin and many more.

Other interesting exhibits found were an intricate ceramic lunch box and a pillow for smoking opium.

Some room for improvement…

Sadly, there were some disappointing aspects when KajoMag visited the museum in April 2018.

For starters, some of the lights were not working at all and some light bulbs were flickering, exuding that haunted house feel.

Most of the audio interactive systems like the sounds of the various musical instruments and dialects were not working, and some of the exhibits were dusty and not properly described.

Given the strategic location at Kuching waterfront which is a popular tourist attraction, a little bit of more care and attention could go a long way for this small yet important museum.

15 Wildlife Photographers you should follow on Instagram

Published on April 30, 2018

Lifestyle

Wildlife photographers have the toughest job of capturing animal behaviour at the right moment to create a powerful image.

The job requires not just skill but also great patience and persistence.

Thankfully, wildlife photographers have taken to social media to share their images while also highlighting important conservation issues.

Here are some outstanding wildlife photographers who have shared their impactful photos with thought-provoking captions on Instagram:

1. Brian Skerry

Skerry is an 11-time award winner in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Hence, without a doubt all of his photos are breathtaking.

As you can see on his Instagram page, he specialises in marine wildlife and underwater environments.

Photo by @BrianSkerry Tomorrow, April 10th, I will be doing an Instagram Live event at 12pm EST. I will be at the headquarters of the @conservationlawfoundation and talking about the plight of the North Atlantic Right Whale – a species on the brink of extinction. I’ll be joining Dr. Scott Kraus with the @newenglandaquarium , a leading right whale researcher working on solutions to save this species. Please check out this event here on my Instagram feed! This photo shows a Southern Right Whale hovering inches above the sea floor in New Zealand’s sub-antarctic waters. About a million years ago there was once species of Right Whale on Earth. But as land masses moved and oceans became separated, the right whales became separated too. Both species were hunted to the brink of extinction by early whalers, but the Southern Right Whales recovered better following protection, because they live further away from industrialization. The North Atlantic Right Whales are urban animals and live from Canada’s Bay of Fundy to Florida. In these regions they become entangled in fishing gear and often die. They also get hit by ships. Last year (2017) 17 North Atlantic Right Whales were lost. Learn more about these amazing animals and how we can save them – here on my Instagram Live event on Tuesday at 12pm EST! #rightwhales #endangeredspecies #extinction #whales

A post shared by Brian Skerry (@brianskerry) on Apr 9, 2018 at 4:59pm PDT

2. Frans Lanting

Thomas Kennedy, the former Director of Photography at National Geographic said Frans Lanting has the mind of a scientist, the heart of a hunter, and the eyes of a poet.

This is perhaps why Lanting is often hailed as one of the great wildlife photographers of our generation.
Scroll through his Instagram page and you will understand why Lanting deserves that recognition.

Photo by @FransLanting When cheetah cubs are two months old they are irresistible to watch. Siblings are sparring partners around the clock. But the odds against their survival are not as appealing. More than half of all cheetah cubs do not survive their first four weeks of life and most of the rest do not make it beyond their first year. Cheetahs can’t climb trees like leopards, they can’t dig burrows like hyenas, and they’re not social like lions, so they are always vulnerable no matter where they are. When we worked with cheetah families in the wild we were always concerned about their safety, yet we could not interfere in their individual lives. But we can contribute to their survival as a species. Follow us @FransLanting and @ChristineEckstrom to learn more about the plight of cheetahs. @Natgeocreative @Thephotosociety #Cheetah #BigCats #BigCatsInitiative #CheetahConservationFund #Panthera #Endangered #Cute #Play

A post shared by Frans Lanting (@franslanting) on Apr 8, 2018 at 6:29pm PDT

3. Thomas P. Peschak

Peschak was originally trained as a marine biologist before switching careers to become a wildlife photojournalist.

His current vocation is to highlight current marine conservation issues through his images.

On his Instagram page, he educates his followers on the amazing world of marine animals.

A recent scientific study revealed that filter feeding marine animals like whale sharks accidentally ingest considerable amounts of micro-plastics. At less than five mm in size, micro plastics are similar in dimension to a whale shark’s regular plankton meals. Unlike the plastic bag in this picture which was easy to spot, grab and stuff into my wetsuit, removing micro plastics from our oceans is much more difficult. At present the only real solution is preventing plastics from getting into ocean in the first place. I would love to hear from all of YOU about what you are currently doing to help decrease plastic pollution in our oceans. Thoughts, ideas and tips in the comments please. That way we can all learn from each other.

A post shared by Thomas Peschak (@thomaspeschak) on Mar 9, 2018 at 8:13am PST

4. Paul Nicklen

This Canadian photographer co-founded Sea Legacy, a non-profit society that utilises visual storytelling and photography to raise awareness of ocean conservation.

Even on his Instagram, each photo shared has a story to tell – like how he managed to capture this brown bear with a salmon in its mouth.

There is something wonderful about being able to capture the world at 1/4000th of a second. Here, a sockeye salmon rockets through the air trying to leap a set of falls in Alaska where a coastal brown bear is perfectly positioned to intercept that leap. A soon as a fish would leave the water, I would press the shutter, recording the moment at 10 frames a second. I did this over and over and over until I had shot thousands of images of the same situation. Finally, that moment appeared where the fish is in the mouth of the bear but it has not yet clamped its teeth around the fish. #nature #bear #fish #thejourney #gratitude #Alaska

A post shared by Paul Nicklen (@paulnicklen) on Mar 25, 2018 at 8:44am PDT

5. Ami Vitale

She has travelled to almost 100 countries over the past 18 years capturing wildlife and people.

But one of her most outstanding works was photos of Sudan, the last male Northern White Rhino who died on Mar 19, 2018.

Here is a photo of Sudan with one of the rangers Joseph Wachira.

Photo by @amivitale. If there is meaning in Sudan’s passing, it’s that all hope is not lost. This can be our wake-up call. In a world of more than 7 billion people, we must see ourselves as part of the landscape. Our fate is linked to the fate of animals Joseph Wachira, (@wachira.joseph) 26 comforts Sudan, the last living male Northern White Rhino left on this planet moments before he passed away March 19, 2018 in northern Kenya. Sudan lived a long, healthy life at the conservancy after he was brought to Kenya from @safari_park_dvur_kralove in the #Czechrepublic in 2009. He died surrounded by people who loved him at @olpejeta after suffering from age-related complications that led to degenerative changes in muscles and bones combined with extensive skin wounds. Sudan has been an inspirational figure for many across the world. Thousands have trooped to Ol Pejeta to see him and he has helped raise awareness for rhino conservation. The two female northern white rhinos left on the planet are his direct descendants. Research into new Assisted Reproductive Techniques for large mammals is underway due to him. The impact that this special animal has had on conservation is simply incredible. And there is still hope in the future that the subspecies might be restored through IVF. The image is copyrighted to Ami Vitale/2018. For licensing information, including in-line links and/or framing of this post, contact Ami Vitale. @olpejeta @nrt_kenya @lewa_wildlife @tusk_org @kenyawildlifeservice @thephotosociety @natgeo #LastManStanding #SudanForever #WorthMoreAlive #OlPejetaRhinos#NorthernWhiteRhinos #protectrhinos#DontLetThemDisappear #rhions#saverhinos #stoppoaching #kenya#northernkenya #africa #everydayafrica #photojournalism #amivitale @nikonusa #nikonusa #nikonlove http://time.com/5209390/sudan-rhino-rhinoceros-northern-white

A post shared by Ami Vitale (@amivitale) on Mar 21, 2018 at 10:03pm PDT

6. Joel Sartore

In an effort to document every animal species before they disappear, Sartore founded the Photo Ark.

As of today, there are nearly 7,900 species recorded on Photo Ark and some of them are featured on Sartore’s Instagram.