WAK 2018 - Tuak Fest

For a more formal write-up of this event, you can have a read at Sarawak Ethnic Cuisine's Blog

So last Friday night, me, my niece and a friend of hers went for the Tuak Tasting at The Bibber's Tale. I was actually looking forward for this session as I have never done any proper wine or tuak tasting. Normally I bought my wine off-the-shelf. It means a blind tasting, it can be a hit-or-miss experience. After few years of trial and error, I have my own personal favorite. I prefer a sweetish light or medium-bodied type with fruity taste of wine. For white, I choose Moscato and for red, its always Port Wine.

Back to the Tuak Tasting. My session started at 7pm, but I was half an hour late as I was busy preparing material for my Public Gold booth on Saturday morning the next day. At first I wanted to take a Grabcar but then decided against it due to time constraint.

When I reached there the The Bibber's Tale bar was pretty full, so we were seated at the high bar. We were immediately being given a briefing on the concept of the tasting session. First, the bartender would explained the background story of the rice wine (tuak), then we will be given a small amount to savor the flavour. Weighed on it, clean up and move on to the next wine. After the 10th bottle, we would vote for the best wine (we were not told what was the criteria, just choose one that we like). After the tasting completed, we can choose the tuak that we voted and drink as much as we want until our session is up.

For the ticket priced at RM80, we were given some barbecued food and a goody bag. The goody bag contained a small bottle for each of the participating wine to be brought home. The barbequed pork served tasted great and quantity was just nice to down with the tuak.

So, this is my verdict on the tuak that we tasted. I dont described it like a professional taster cos I dont know how. It is my honest feeling, and I hope no one will hold any grudges on me. Hey, it is just an opinion of a person, someone else might beg to differ.

Tuak No.1

No. 1 - Tuak Uncle Sam
Background story - it was roasted on firewood to produce the smokey taste
Verdict - sufficient tinge of sweetness, medium, sufficient maturity. A surprisingly great start.

Tuak No.2

No. 2 - Unnamed
Background story - brewed by a 22-yo lady from Kapit. Still experimental
Verdict - the taste shows the level of experience. The tuak not yet fully fermented, not enough amount of sugar added in the process. Sourish. Still have much room for improvement.

Tuak No.3

No.3 - Tuak Puji Sempuli Nyadi
Background story - made by a lady from Roban. Added spices into her recipe
Verdict - It does warm the throat but not to the point of overwhelming. Quite pleasant and on the strong side.

Tuak No.4

No. 4 - Tuak Inek Wai
Background story - made by a guy from Bintulu. Recipe from Kapit. Tuak made more for festivals at the longhouse
Verdict - Very raw and the smell reminds me of 'tempayan'. Its smells and tasted quite offensive I just discarded the whole thing after the first sip. Thank goodness for the pork.

Tuak No. 5

No. 5 - Lini Tuak
Background story - made by a lady from Lingga. Added pepper, cinnamon, ginger into her recipe
Verdict - The smells was pleasant. It reminded me of tuak made by my own mother-in-law. The familiarity of it gave me a warm feeling, and I had no problem finishing the whole sampling. No.5 was the favourite of the two ladies with me.

Tuak No.6

No. 6 - Ba-ram Tayung
Background story - made by a guy from Serian.
Verdict - tuak not yet fully fermented. Dry and sour. Discarded.

Tuak No.7

No. 7 - Aro Rice Wine
Background story - made by a guy from Saratok. Used mountain water
Verdict - MY PERSONAL FAVOURITE. The word NICE came up to mind on my first sip, and when you enjoy a wine with a close eyes, you know you found the one. Sufficient strengh, sweetness, maturity and the smells is what I wanted in a tuak. I would drink it daily like a Moscato. I chose this one to drink for the rest of the night.

Tuak No. 8

No. 8 - Entangen 
Background story - made by a fellow from Serian. 150 years old recipe and used 'to feed the dead'.
Verdict - The smells quite mellow. There is something pungent (but not bad) in its taste but I couldnt tell. Good enough that I would finish it off if offered during festivals

Tuak No.9

No. 9 - Tuak Indu Mior
Background story - made by a fellow from Sarikei. Tuak made for local personal consumption and during festivals
Verdict - Nothing special. Quite bland.

Tuak No.10

No 10 - Special Home Brew Tuak (unnamed)
Background story - made by a lady from Roban. Recipe from 4th century and has been perfected over the years. Lots of spices added.
Verdict - I am not sure whether I was affected by the back story, but my first sip tells me that this the one that can go 'international'. I dont prefer a strong drink, but I know this tuak deserve to win. I equalized it to a smooth and very old whisky that only the true drinkers can appreciate. My vote somehow, GOES TO NO. 10.

Here are pictures with some of the participants.

Participant No.1. Good job sir!

Participant No.2. Young and daring, I wish her all the best. She started at 22 making her first tuak. If she continue on perfecting her skills, she gonna have a bright future

Participant No.3. She have a distinct tuak flavor and I dont mind to have it anytime

As of the time this post is written, I do not know who is the winner of Tuak Fest 2018. But I am sure who will not win though.

I would like to say that the organizers did a splendid job at organizing this first-ever Tuak Fest event. I do hope though that in the future, a blind-tasting format will be done, and few categories and different type of tuak base shall be added in. I can see the organizers have a good vision on where this event direction going and I hope it shall materialized and can encouraged more local brewers to participate and refine their products for a bigger market.

This post is written on behalf of Sarawak Bloggers Society for #WAK2018, a month long event happening to showcase the celebration of arts, culture and lifestyle of Kuching city, to the global audience. The event is co-organized by The Bibber's Tale and Rajah Puteh Production.

Kindly visit About Kuching website for more info.

#whataboutkuching #tuakfest #sarawakbloggers

Im a Cocktail kinda Girl

I took up an assignment as a reporting blogger through Sarawak Blogger's Society to cover What About Kuching #WAK2018. I was in a bit late, and most of other events were already taken up by our fellow bloggers. I was left with little options. That was when I saw this Tuak Fest 2018, organized by The Bibber's Tale and Rajah Puteh Production.

Hmm. Something to do with alcohol. Nice. The rest of the blogger must have chicken out when they saw the description. But I was gravitated to it instead. Well, me and tuak was meant to be together I guess 😅😅

I decided I will bring my niece along.  Not a good idea to getting drunk alone. Despite drinking on occasion, my alcohol tolerance level is pretty low. Worse come to worst, if I ended up being horizontal by my 5th tuak, someone I trust can get me a Grab home.

It was a great luck as well that The Bibber's Tale specialized in cocktail, the drink for the ladies *yippie dance*

Last Tuesday I went to see Alex, the owner, a handsome young chap, to collect the ticket. I did an impromptu pre-interview with him and managed to obtain lots of crucial information in regards to the Tuak Tasting and Public Voting event.

Did anybody ever ring that bell?

 I was in a hurry though to get to Public Gold office for our weekly PG1System class. Alex being a gentleman insisted to make me a quick cocktail concoction just for me. Being a Dayak, I feel bad refusing his offer. Its not nice to refuse you know 😂😂

Amaretto Sour. Off-the-menu

When I first tasted the cocktail he made, I knew I have finally found my favorite watering hole! I have been looking for a nice place that offer great cocktail in Kuching, and the level of sophistication of the concoction he made was truly beyond words. I should say no more, you gotta go try it yourself!

See my satisfied face.

The Bibber's Tale is located at Saradise BDC, Kuching. Look it up at Google Maps for direction.

#aboutkuching
#whataboutkuching2018
#sarawakbloggers
#tuakfest

Being An Authorized Dealer for Public Gold

Hi, My name is Julina Sisey aka Nimi

I am an authorized dealer for Public Gold International Berhad since August 2018.

In May 2016 after I loss my job due to the major retrenchment exercise by Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, I found lots of time on my hands while at the same time taking care of my two kindy-going children. So I decided to google for a subject that I can read and may gain knowledge and at the same time may provide income to myself. I googled 'gold investment' and my search found En Syukor Hashim's blog. He was writing on the proper gold investment method, and Public Gold in specific.

I learnt so much from his blog that I was ready to start buying gold at that time. However, I decided to put it on hold as I have done some analyzing on gold prices trend through Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) own Kijang Emas historical data, and found that there is possibility that the prices shall dropped in a couple of years.

True enough, in mid August 2018, the prices dropped at 2-years low and I did not waste much time and took out my saving in ASB to buy in bulk. My purchase entitled me to become a Priority Dealer.

At first I wanted to get the discount on my own future purchase, a special benefit to being a dealer. But I found out that dealers are also eligible for commission by introducing Public Gold to others. I have gained much knowledge by that time that I was eager to share with whoever willing to listen! I can choose to become an inactive dealer, yet since I am already there, might as well I used that position to encourage more people to choose gold as an alternative to their investment portfolio.

I also ended up being mentored directly by En Syukor himself. It is very exciting to be guided by the first Public Gold dealer who has been with them since 2008 (10 years by this stage).

I am now having a purpose in life beside taking care of my household and my children, that is to see the business that I built upon shall flourish. I have been looking for this kind of platform all my life, where I am able to earn at the same time determine my own objective, time and target. They have great products (who doesn't love GOLD?), with simple and transparent business model. Public Gold are also a company that have so much growth potential and I want to be there when they achieve a huge recognition from Malaysia as a common brand for producing gold products for the public.

You can follow my journey and my sharing on proper gold investment by clicking Like button on my FB Page.

Julina Sisey (Nimi)
wasap.my/60133974996

Hi Kuching!

It took me almost 20 years to come back to my hometown in Kuching, after I left home to pursue my studies in Shah Alam in 1997. At last, mid of 2017 we moved back permanently from Miri.

How's life treating you Nimi?

All I can say is that, I have been blessed. Despite loosing my job with the O&G company due to major retrenchment exercise, me Momo and the kids are able to get by wt Momo salary. We did a major tweak to our financial situation. We both sacrificing a lot and during those times, being able to compromise is the key to stay together.

Year 2018. Before, we were 4. July 2018, came our new addition. Miriam, we call her. Yep, another girl. Hehe. She is doing well and living up to her baby milestones. I had a tough time during my first trimester. Admitted twice to KPJ for severe vomiting and dehydration. I almost gave up on myself and the baby if not for my understanding hubby and ob-gyn, with full support from my families. The moment my pregnancy hit 13th weeks, my morning sickness slowly diminished.

Another challenge was during delivery. My baby was in breach position from Week 34 onwards without sign of changes. So my obgyn did an ECV procedure, and I was put on inducement right away. I had to admit that the delivery this time wasnt as pleasant as the previous 2. Apart from my obgyn, I felt that I was handled roughly and without emphaty. It spoilt my mood so much and I cant wait to get home to escape the unpleasant situation.

Miriam now is almost 4mths old and doing so well herself. And so does Marion and Marilyn.

Enough for now. From today onwards, I'll try my best to update more in this blog. I will be an active blogger again since I will be joining other Sarawak Blogger comrades to cover a month-long event in Kuching for What About Kuching 2018 (WAK2018) festival.

I am also an Authorized Dealer for Public Gold International Bhd since mid August 2018, and I will put some of my educational writing and sharing on gold investment in this blog as well.

I see you soon!