Fishy Tales from Bukit Tinggi and Kota Kinabalu

 

 I was a little stupefied when the waitress brought out our fish - the fish in the picture. Of course our cameras came out immediately.  Followed by at least 2 minutes of pictures of said fish taken from every imaginable angle. 

We had ordered fried fish but I never expected it to come out with such an alive but dead look.  I imagine the cook must have netted it out of the tank (or pond) alive and dunked it alive and (figuratively) kicking into boiling hot oil in order to achieve this alive one second, dead the next pose.

The fish did turn out quite delicious but still my favorite type of fish is grilled. 

The way we used to have it every Sunday when I was much (much) younger. On the beach - with the sun going down and the surf coming in. Well, no, not really. It was usually lunch by the beach - the fish grilled over wood fire especially for lunch.  We had our own spot on the beach under one of the huge Casuarina trees dotting the perimeter of the beach.  And as it was on private land, we never had problems with crowds. 

After helping my mum gather the (unknown name for the moment - Doingin in Kadazan) leaves to wrap the fish in for grilling, my sisters and I would run off to the water to play mermaids until the next time she called. Then it's hot rice with sizzling fish time! I love lime juice from a single lime wedge drizzled on my fish. 

OMG. Food heaven on earth. Nuff said.

High and Dry - Squids and Cuttlefish and seaside memories

 

So I've been away for far too long! It's been work, work, work. Oh, but I do love my work. Given a choice between blogging and work, I choose work. Sometimes. OK, most of the time.

Oh, I did say I write for a living right.

Anyway, so I've wanted to put this picture up for the longest time. I've just come back from the supermarket where it was taken, ages and ages ago. It's amazing how there's always interesting stuff to be found at the supermarket these days. It used to be one only sees exotic food stuff at the outdoor market or the farmer's market. Well not anymore babe!

These are dried cuttlefish, from which yummy dishes can be made out. If you like like salty, (really) chewy stuff. 

For me, they are more like comfort food. 

Once upon a time ago, I used to go to the seaside a lot. (Eek, corny central - I know, who hasn't right). Anyway, it didn't matter what time of day it was. Swimming, eating, swimming, eating. Evenings were usually for the wonderful array of cooked over the fire kind of stuff (read eating, lol). 

Although every other person was barbecuing or stir-frying or deep-frying something, the area was never stuffy or smoky as there was the perpetual breeze from the sea. So the smells were never overwhelming. A whiff of salt one moment, barbecued chicken the next, charred squid the next. Oh yummmmmm... can you see me, in your mind's eye, closing my eyes, inhaling deeply, going back into that long ago time? Big smile. Sigh.

One of my favourite things to eat by that seaside was charred squid. It was fun even to see how it's prepared. After burning the poor (dead) thing to black, the vendor then uses a heavy iron hammer to beat the beejezus out of it till it's all white(-tish) again. You then stick it in your mouth while it's warm. Salty and so melts in your mouth! 

The memories! Gosh!