“Itu Dr Ong tu mau datang ka? Itu
macam saya juga, sudah kena penyakit PTB,” said Augustine.
“Hah? He got TB?”
“Penyakit Takut Bini,”
Yesterday, 18 January 2012, I and
a bunch of people from the Emergency Department went to Mukah for a day trip.
This thing has been planned since about 2 weeks ago and we were all very
excited about going. Initially the plan was for it to be a photography trip to
take nice pictures (and umai!!!)
There were 7 of us – myself, Ong,
Boy, Daus, Desmond (Anyek), Airahman, and
Janah (the only girl). We had a rendezvous in front of the department as
both Ong and I were post night shift. We set off at around 10 am in 2 cars. We
decided to take the Sibu – Selangau – Mukah road as going there via Tanjung
Manis required us to take ferries which we might have missed departing as late as we
did.
The initial road out of Sibu was
atrocious compared to Peninsular Malaysia standards. It wasn’t very smooth and
there were potholes everywhere. To think that this is the road most cases coming
in from Selangau and Mukah would take...
The roads were reasonably empty
and we reached Selangau in a little under an hour. The town itself was very
small. Maybe the size of Sg Jelok back in Kajang but the district health clinic
(KK) was imposingly huge. Daus said that it is one of the busier Klinik
Kesihatan in the division. There is only one doctor for this clinic.
KK Selangau
We continued the journey
with me and Ong sleeping for the most part (or rather attempting to sleep – the
bumpiness of the road was awful). Along the way to Mukah there were lots of
longhouses by the road. These were primarily Iban areas and the major economic
activity seemed to be palm oil planting.
We reached Mukah after about 2
hour’s journey. After crossing the somewhat famous Mukah Bridge which lies
across the Mukah River we were in Mukah (wooow.....). The majority of people in
these areas are Melanaus and they speak a totally different language
(again??!!). Even some of the guys here found it a bit hard to communicate as
they’re not Melanau themselves. Not for Janah though. She is Melanau and her
kampong is in Mukah.
The first stop upon reaching
Mukah was the jetty (I was too excited to get umai!). Fishing boats dock right
outside the main market in Mukah so you can be sure the fish are all fresh. In
fact some of the sharks they brought up were still alive! The town and market
area themselves were not that big. Including the main town area it’s about the
size of Bentong. They do have a KFC, a Sugar Bun, and an Old Town Cafe though.
Desmond’s mom had him buy some
ulat mulong while Boy went looking for sago. The Mukah Division with towns such
as Mukah, Oya, and Dalat are famous for their sago. Traditionally Melanau
people were the ones to produce them. Processed sago is packed in RM2 packets
of around 50-100g each. They appear like little breakfast cereal pellets and is
eaten in the traditional Melanau manner either with rice or like rice with
fish. Some sago is also processed into tebaloi.
But we still haven’t got umai! A
little walk around the wet market and we found a section where men with cute
little knives were cleanly filleting fish, slicing onions and chillies. We have
found umai section! Here’s a tip – if you want to look for the umai section
just follow the smell of fish, lime and onions.
Umai is - according to Ong -
“Sarawakian Sushi”. The filleted fish are placed in plastic containers separate
from the condiments. Each set is RM10. However if look at the quantity of fish
that you get for what you’re paying, this easily becomes the best value for
money sushi anywhere in Malaysia.
Abu should pay me for advertising his business :P
Abu
The next question is where to mix
and eat the umai. Janah then told us that her grandmother invited us to go to
her house which was nearby. Just bring the ingredients. Before we set off,
Desmond decided to treat us by buying another packet of ulat mulong. Each packet was around RM5. According to Janah's grandma the usual price is usually RM50 - RM70 per kg.
There isn’t any longhouse in
Mukah. Melanau houses are similar to Malay houses, Melanau people look like
Malay people, Melanau clothings are similar to Malay clothings but they speak
Melanau and eat Melanau food.
One of Janah’s aunts prepared the
ulat mulong while another mixed the umai. We had a really tasty lunch at our
Melanau host’s place and then went to the beach which was right behind the
house.
Preparing ulat mulong (mulong is Melanau for Sago) - Melanau style
They are sometimes eaten raw but
for beginners perhaps having it cooked first is better as they are rarely - if
ever - sold after they have stopped moving.After the worms are washed they are pan fried without oil. Usually
they are still moving at this point. Add some salt to taste. After awhile they
will start to become oily and smell like baked gula Melaka.
Cooked ulat mulong has a caramel brown colour. By this point they have stopped moving. You are not
supposed to eat the head but no one told me this. I must’ve eaten like 6 of
these delicious babies before someone told me that. Hampeh... I won’t say they taste like chicken because they don’t. It’s
hard to explain the taste but there is a coconut milk like after taste to it. I
guess the best way of knowing would be to eat it yourself.
Our host – Janah’s grandma. She doesn’t speak
a single word of Malay. And I don’t speak a single word of Melanau. Although
she did mention that she had met me before - on her trip to KL many years ago (I’m
absolutely certain we have not). The kid is Janah’s niece.
The first thing I noticed about
the Mukah beach is that it is filled with... logs! There were logs and branches
for as far as the eyes can see. Maybe some of the logs that were floated down
river escaped out to sea and then were washed up the beaches.
Janah. Real name Norzanah. She is a staff nurse at our emergency
department. I don’t know why but Malaysians seem to have a tendency to
pronounce names with a ‘Z’ as a ‘J’. Like how Zeehan became Jeehan.
After the beach it was time to say
goodbye to Janah’s grandma and visit the Pesta Kaul site. According to the
Sarawak Tourism Board’s brochure Pesta Kaul is celebrated in April. The place
was of course rather empty that day apart from some Mat Rempits hanging around.
There wasn’t anything else going on so we proceeded to
get some umai to take back home to Sibu from the market.
On the way back we stopped by
Kingwood Hotel as recommended by a few people at the hospital. We were told
there is some great scenery to photograph. There was just an overpriced hotel
and a beachfront of reclamation rocks...
We departed Kingwood Hotel’s beach at around 6
pm and reached Sibu a little under 2 hours later. All in all it was a very fulfilling
(and filling) trip and I gained quite an insight into Melanau culture and food
(mostly food). Interestingly I thought the food was dominated by the sour
flavour. Even the sambal belacan was more sour than spicy. Interesting stuff.
The visit to Janah’s grandma’s was easily the highlight of the trip.
Umai consists of strips of raw
fish mixed with lime juice, onions, and chillies. If you go to a restaurant
they would have mixed it up for you but this one from the market has all its
ingredients separated. The guy at the Mukah market will even wrap it in
newspaper and ice if you tell him that you are going to take it back all the
way to Sibu. It really is UMAI!!
I told you they have Old Town in
Mukah :P
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