I think Robin described it best about Friendship Park - it’s one of the few in Kuching that can offer a few subjects to practice on. The weather was clear but humid; it was a sweaty afternoon.

I didn’t get to play around with the camera much - Jee did most of the shooting. So most of the photos you see here are by him. I wish I can say more about this, but I’m not feeling well at the moment. :\

Enjoy. Click on thumbnail to bring up Lightbox. You can click Next or use arrow keys to move to the next image.

This is my first time dining at The Manhattan Fish Market. From what I’ve heard, the food is not great for the price the patrons pay. I can’t disagree more.

The condiments

Granted, we chose a more unconventional route - forgoing the usual fish and stuff.

Even though The Manhattan Fish Market has received a lot of bad press, business doesn’t seem to be suffering. For a Labor Day crowd, it looked pretty good from where I was sitting.

Nice sized crowd

This place placed a lot of emphasis on service, and I like that. When I walked into their premises, I held up four fingers but told them I wasn’t sure if my parents were already there. The waiter straightaway led us to our table, where my parents were waiting for us! I’m very delighted and impressed.

I heard The MFM’s portion is large, and they weren’t kidding! Some are fairly ok, like these fellas:

The Caesar Salad (RM10.90)

The Louisiana Prawn - eaten with some bread (this one is particularly delish! Scoop up the sauce with your bread… OMG HEAVEN!) (RM19.90)

Whitebait (RM8.90)

But some can be rather hard to digest, like this one called The Lobster Platter… who left us feeling like cholesterol was coursing through our veins. :O

The waiter is holding a blowtorch, burning the cheese at the top layer

Apparently it’s part of the aesthetic appeal of this restaurant, and the waiters do it right beside the tables. Let’s just hope they won’t singe someone’s hairs instead. :) He then brought it over to us…

The Lobster Platter (RM99.90) - an incredibly large plate!! On it: Lobster, Fried Fish, Chips, Rice, Fried Calamari, Mussels, tomatoes and sliced lemons

Again, here I am very impressed with the service. Before this big boy landed on our table, the waiter came up to us and said it would be ready in 5 minutes. Without us prompting! Very impressive indeed.

Boy, is that lobster great! It’s rather sweet though, can’t think what they added to it. After a while, eating that dish made us sluggish and seriously full.

Yeah, they’re more than what people can usually afford… that I concede. But for once in a while, it’s not a bad place to dine in.

And now… a little commentary about The Spring, and hopefully the management will read this. If not, well, don’t sweat it… I’ll send it to your feedback inbox. :)

<rant>

They need to add more Auto Pay Machines. Substantially more. I know it’s added cost, but at the rate they’re going, I’m starting to dread coming to The Spring on a busy day lest I have to face a queue like this….

Loooooooooong queue

AND have one of the machines broken! That’s what happened. The machine at the basement carpark was out of order. Though their staff fixed it in record time, it is still an inconvenience. Especially when we left our spot in the queue thinking it will take forever to fix it, and used the one upstairs instead. The picture taken was the sight that greeted us.

Even when both machines are working fine, there’s still a noticeable queue. And I hate queues.

</endrant>

I have no idea when it opened, but judging by the number of available tables, I’ll say it’s been a while. Originally we went to Boulevard for its Pizza Hut, it’s a Sunday ritual for my family. But then, Dad decided to try Rasa Mas, so in we went.

Rasa Mas. At the corner of the sign it says, “Diuruskan oleh KFC” (not pictured)

In many ways, the dining experience at Rasa Mas seems so… familiar. And no wonder. Many of the things that you notice but don’t pay attention to while eating at KFC and Pizza Hut are subtly integrated into this establishment.

There is a small menu stand on each of the tables - like Pizza Hut.

You order from the counter instead of having a waitress take your order, like KFC.

Heck, even the dishes they use are Pizza Hut hand-me-downs. ;D OK, I’m joking about the recycling part. They’re brand new.

Pizza Hut’s pan?

It just feels a bit wrong to eat in a pan though. What’s wrong with an old fashioned plate?

The sausages are great, the dip is not

I quite forgot what are the selections available from the menu, but generally they have roast chickens served with variety ways of serving them. With noodle, perhaps? Or what about with rice? How about western style with garlic bread?

There are three types of chicken flavors to choose from (and I’m vague here because I forgot. *headdesk*) - Golden, Black Pepper and… Iforgotwhatitiscalled. Sorry for being such a lousy blogger. :P

Lady’s Finger with Belacan sauce

The food is so-so. I would hesitate to come back here again unless famine wipes all other restaurants down except this one, and we have nothing to eat but canned food or hunting for our own dinner. There are definitely better places to eat at.

Pizza pan again. Does it look appetizing to you?

But the staff is friendly. I left my keys there and went shopping, much to the chagrin of hubby. When we came back to ask about it, the staff gave me a mischievous smile, laughing at my expense. I don’t mind… I’m absent minded that way. After that particular episode, hubby began to think of ways to attach the keys on my person. Hmph.