Restaurant caught in time warp

TUCKED away and elusive to outsiders, the Bako Seafood Restaurant at the old Bako Bazaar seems caught in a time warp.

About 100 metres from the Bako National Park jetty and with a narrow entrance, it could easily be bypassed – or mistaken for another house. There is no signboard to show the way to the eatery and the old bazaar.

The restaurant is situated at the front of a row of eight shophouses, four of which are still operating in the dilapidated riverine bazaar. The other four have either been abandoned or demolished by their owners due to their time-worn condition – and perhaps lack of business.

For the operators of the Bako Seafood Restaurant – Helen Chong, in her 40’s, and her 50-year-old KL-born husband, Chia Kwai Hwa – they have been renting the present old corner shop since 1997. As both are food lovers and love cooking, what better way to earn a living than through their hobby.

“I have been involved in the food business before my husband and I started this restaurant,” said Chong who used to work in the Miri Seafood Restaurant and a few hotels in Brunei.

“Since my husband also love cooking, we naturally thought of opening a restaurant. That was how we got started 16 years ago,” she told thesundaypost.

Chong had hoped the elderly owner of the shop would part with his more than 80-year-old property but so far, he has turned down her offer to buy the place.

“So every year, we have to renovate bit by bit because the owner won’t allow us to do much-needed repairs and upgrading and share 50-50 of the cost,” she explained.

Chong believed the bazaar had a bright future if renovation were carried out to create an conducive atmosphere for food operators and other tourism-related ventures in the area.

Old Bako bazaar needs a facelift

“This pace is a gateway to the well-known Bako National Park. I believe if this bazaar were renovated and upgraded to include a waterfront, food lovers and tourists will come.

“I have heard about the government’s plan to improve the area for the last 15 years but nothing seems to have taken place. I’m not giving up because when it does happen in the future, my business will hopefully be better too,” she said.

Beautification plan needed

The Bako Seafood Restaurant offers a wide range of dishes, including vegetables and various meats. And the restaurant is also halal.

Just beside the restaurant is a simple paper postal box to keep letters for the Malay community across the river.

There is also an old jetty, a short distance away, where a ferry used to take visitors to the Bako National Park before the present one was completed not too long ago.

Agreeing with Chong that the government should come up with a plan to beautify the old and rustic Bako Bazaar is 74-year-old Haji Adan Ayub of Kampung Melayu Bako.

He said the bazaar had great potential to not only promote tourism in the area but also benefit his community economically.

“If this bazaar were renovated and turned into a waterfront and seafood centre, our village across the river will also benefit because people will want to visit us and buy our products such as belacan, cencaluk and other seafood products,” Adan added.

For local part-time tourist guide, Faizal Bujang, the faster the government renovates the old bazaar and build a waterfront, the better for tourism in the area.

“This bazaar is the gateway to our world-renowned Bako Natioal Park. So if we have a waterfront here with nice eateries, tourists will be encouraged to come and stay longer.

“What the government can do is to build a waterfront, incorporating the bazaar and maintaining the original design. Safety, of course, must not be compromised,” the 35-year-old said.

Faizal, who is manager at Giat Mara and based in Kapit, said tourism in the area could be expanded to include crocodile- sighting and firefly-watching at night.

According to him, there is already a study (through night sightings) to show at least 60 crocodiles inhabit Sungei Bako – from upstream of the village to the Bako Causeway, about 30km away.

“This is one way for the locals to participate in the tourism industry and I think they are willing to venture so long as there is money in it,” he reckoned.

Never a dull moment

Lunch at the Bako Seafood Restaurant is also a time to lay back, enjoy the food and soak up the natural beauty of Sungei Bako.

There is seemingly never a dull moment along the waterway with sampans and speedboats going up and downstream.

It reminds me of the busy Chao Phraya River which passes through the heart of Bangkok where the famous Shangri-La Hotel is located. The resemblance is uncanny except the Kampung

Bako shoreline has not been developed to its full potential.

Seated next to our table were four Spanish tourists from Barcelona who were introduced to the restaurant by Faizal. They described the riverview as very interesting.

“And the food here is very tasty and quiet cheap too,” they said of the four dishes they ordered – nasi goreng, fried fish, vegetables and steamed prawns with ginger.

Asked how they came to know about Bako National Park, they replied: “From the Lonely Planet website. We are happy to be  here. We hope to come back again with friends and hopefully, the place can be renovated and improved in the future,” said Mari, one of the foursome.

She and her three friends – Enric, Paolo and Alberto – were holidaying in Kuching and would be visiting the Semengok Wildlife Centre before returning home via Singapore.

Plan in place

Meanwhile, Santubong MP and Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said there is already a plan to build a waterfront in the area and the project is expected to take off soon.

This is, indeed, a piece of good news for Bako Bazaar shopkeeper Lim Chee Lian.

“We are hoping the government will improve the infrastructure here such as building a waterfront. We have been waiting so long for the improvement to take place,” said the 64-year-old, a third-generation operator of the shop he inherited from his grandfather.

Lim is optimistic that the once attractive Bako Bazaar can revived with the construction of the waterfront and other attendant facilities.

“This will definitely bring in more tourists and benefit both the locals and the government in terms of revenue.

Lim’s shop is now run by his brother but he still helps out in its daily operations.