Iftaar di Miri, SARAWAK

20 August 2010 (Ramadan 8)

My first few days in Miri was quiet. I stayed at Mega Hotel, Jalan Merbau. With no tranport on my own, nothing much achieved and done. En route office from hotel everyday on the yellow and red Miri taxi, I managed to get a glimpse of the city landmarks between the hotel and my new office in Lutong, about 20 minutes drive under normal traffic.

Got to know people at office. Held the first meeting with staff — mainly ladies above forties, again, unfortunately. BUt I had no problem. Work is work and a trust which must discharged fully.

Back to the hotel, I had 2 options for buka puasa today — RM36 iftaar dinner at hotel chatterbox restaurant Level 1 or at a masjid right in front of the hotel. It is called Masjid Jamek Miri aka Masjid lama Miri, with kelas fardhu ain attached. The name is masjid but the status is surau and no Friday prayers performed here.  There is Masjid Attaqwa nearby, a much bigger masjid — district masjid rather. I chose option 2 for obvious reasons. BMI is going up faster if you eat at the hotel buffer line, so that is one reason. SOlat berjemaah Maghrib is another reason.

The food at masjid was simple.  I joined the queue with other people who came 20 minutes before iftaar time (6:38 pm in Miri, Sarawak). Today, the menu were mee goreng mamak and roti canai, kueh mueh and kurma. Hot teh-o, Nescafe and sirap were the beverages. So many people today. I only managed to get  a scoop of mee goreng mamak, a piece of kurma, and half of roti canai with no curry (finished already), and a cup of nescafe susu with a couple of refills. Got seated at one corner and quietly finished my food.

Met few people there. Pak Harun in late 50s was the executive chef in the masjid kitchen. He was from Penang but wife from Miri. He returned to Miri with family 8 months ago to take care of his father-in-law who has been sick. His mee goreng mamak was so authentic with generous serving of taugeh and cucur udang. Cannot be found anywhere else except in Miri and Balik Pulau.