SIBU SPECIALTY: A steaming hot bowl of dian pian ngu from Kiu’s stall.
NEW BUT OLD: Kiu uses an electric motor to power his heavy grindstone to turn rice grains into paste to make tian mian ngu. The grindstone is more than 50 years old.
THE historic riverine town of Sibu has long been considered one of the four major urban centres in Sarawak, the others being state capital Kuching, the oil city of Miri and the growing commercial hub Bintulu.
Strategically located at the confluence of the Igan and Rajang rivers, Sibu is an important transit point for the thousands of people traveling to and from Mukah, Belaga, Song and Kapit, as well as a vital commercial hub for timber and shipping activities.
Despite the rapid urban expansion which has taken place over the years, central business district still retains many old-world charms. Walking through its streets and narrow side lanes, one can easily find shops and small businesses which have been in existence since the Brooke era, and are seemingly barely unaffected by the march of time and modernisation.
One such place is Chop Hing Huong situated in a small alleyway between Blacksmith Road and Butterfly Garden. Its operator Kiu Chiong Looi, 70, has been selling dian pian ngu for 50 years and his shop is well-known among locals as a popular place to savour the dish.
Dian pian ngu is a thick soupy dish made with strips of cooked rice paste and often served with squid and meatballs. It is popular for breakfast and supper.
The BAT3 team dropped by Kiu’s shop yesterday for breakfast and also to find out more about what makes a good bowl of dian pian ngu. Perhaps, the most significant allowance Kiu has made over the years to the way he prepares his delicious dish is to use an electric motor to power the large grindstones that pulverises rice grains into the paste he uses.
Other than that, not much has changed since he first learnt how to make dian pian ngu as an apprentice half a century ago. Even the grindstones, that he bought from his former employer, when he started the business is still there.
Dian pian ngu is considered one of Sibu’s iconic dishes that locals swear passionately by. Other dishes include kampua mee and kompia (plain or with minced pork).
Dian pian ngu or ding bian hu (pinyin) means ‘batter by the side of wok’. After breakfast, the team paid a visit to the police chief ACP Shafie Ismail. Lately, Sibu has been making headlines seemingly for all the wrong reasons, sending local rumour mills into overtime and fanning public fears over the crime rates and the issue of public safety in the town. After a quick lunch, we packed our bags and headed off to Sarikei, about 50 km away.
On the way, we passed by Bintangor, which has been given the nickname “town of oranges” for its famous sourish green oranges that are grown throughout the area.
Less than an hour later, we reached the thriving town of Sarikei. It has grown since the BAT team’s last visit to ‘the town of pineapples’ two years ago. Pineapples grown in Sarikei are popular all over the state for their juicy, sweet flesh.
Sarikei has also been given the nickname “town of swiftlets” due to the presence of thousands of swiflets flying into the town in the evenings.
Like many of the small towns which we have visited during this trip, the upper stories of many shophouses here have been converted into swiftlet farms. The birds can often be seen swooping in the skies feeding on insects, especially during dawn and dusk.
The BAT team has observed a greater number of swiftlet farms along the Pan Borneo Highway and also at the coastal areas compared with our two earlier trips.
Given that 1 kg of bird’s nest can fetch up to several hundred ringgit, it is not surprising that many people are building their own farms. However, as more farms spring up in urban and residential areas, greater care and enforcement must be carried out to ensure that their presence do not pose a public health hazard to the people’s well-being.