Giant Hypermarket Kota Padawan opens for business

Giant Kota Padawan: my poor attempt at “stitching” two photos together…

Giant in Batu 10, Jln Penrissen has opened its doors to the public (25th Nov 2011), exactly two months after Giant Tabuan opened for business (25th August 2011). So after several years of waiting, Kuchingites finally get, not one but two, proper hypermarkets with Maggi mee stacked up two storeys high and giant Milo islands next to baby diapers! hooray! :P

What’s the inside like? Like any other Giant mall, if you’ve been to one, you’ve been to them all! Besides the hypermarket, the mall also has boutiques, a pharmacy (Guardian), food outlets and stalls selling bags, knick knacks and souvenirs.

For those of you who’ve been to Giant Tabuan, you’ve probably noticed how some items are ridiculously expensive there. Happy to report that prices are quite reasonable at this branch except for some items which are priced far higher than other places. So, always shop around! Having been to the Tabuan branch twice now, I don’t think I’d ever shop there again (cut throat prices - “low price leader” my foot!).

I doubt the Padawan branch will survive long if they didn’t offer competitive prices because there are three other supermarkets in Kota Padawan (H&L, Unaco and Fair Price). If Giant is able to keep their prices low, the other three supermarkets will have a really hard time keeping their existing customers!

Aisle after aisle of food items: I find the selection to be much better here than Giant Tabuan.

Always shop around and compare prices. Some items are priced far higher than your regular supermarket prices while others are well below market price. Fresh chicken wings are sold at RM13.99 per kilo (at time of writing) in Giant Padawan but costs only RM12.50 at a cold storage and RM3.19 maggi vs RM4.30 elsewhere... But from what I saw, most items are priced quite reasonably.

There’s also a clothing section. Saw lots of people picking items from the bins. The electronics section is also better stocked than Giant Tabuan. Overall, the Padawan branch seems to have a wider and better selection (and fairer prices) than Tabuan.

Like other hypermarkets, there’s also a bakery and take-away food section. Ayam percik, ayam lada hitam, ayam madu… RM12.99 per bird. Also available, ready to eat nasi lemak, nasi ayam, bihun goreng, mi goreng and various fried foods.

Opening hours are from 9am to 11pm daily (extended to 12am from 25th Nov 2011 till 30th Nov 2011).

Thank you, MasWings!

I was supposed to fly to Mukah recently but our little MasWings Twin Otter arrived late and was later grounded because of technical difficulties. Once it was confirmed by their engineers that it wasn’t fit to fly, Maswings quickly arranged an ATR-72 to fly us to Sibu then put us 2-to-a-taxi and ferried us to Mukah (2.5 hours by land from Sibu, 50 minutes by flight from Kuching).

Our grounded Twin Otter. Right, fellow passengers enquiring about alternative arrangements.

I was quite impressed, the level of service provided for such a small group of passengers was beyond anything I had expected (my tickets cost less than RM200 return). I thought they’d just cancel or reschedule the flight, instead, we were given the choice of a full refund or the above alternative arrangement. Since many of us had important meetings and seminars to attend, most chose the latter. 

MasWings ATR-72 ready to take us to Sibu. Right, being driven to Mukah in a taxi. Note the trucks on the left queuing up to have their loads of oil palm fresh fruit bunches (FFB) weighed and sold at a processing centre.

Fortunately, the flight home saw no further delays or unwanted incidents. I even switched to an earlier flight as I was quite bored with Mukah already and couldn’t wait to get home. :)

BTW, I don't think AirAsia would bother to go to such lengths. :P

?? Vanda JVB x Vanda Dr. Anek

Back in 2008, I bought a number of small vanda seedlings of various crosses. 3 years later and some are now coming into bloom. This one was tagged by the vendor as Vanda JVB x Dr. Anek (4N) “Red.” I’m assuming Vanda JVB means Vanda Josephine Van Brero.

But I never expected the flower would turn out like this… hmm.

Here’s a shot of Vanda JVB: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hugo_mossner/3722048148/

Selamat Hari Raya!

Selamat Hari Raya to all friends celebrating Hari Raya!

Pasar Ramadhan @ Kota Sentosa

I visited the Ramadhan bazaar at Kota Sentosa yesterday afternoon. Walked the entire length of the bazaar checking out every stall but didn’t take any photos as I didn’t have my camera with me. It was bustling with people anyway, shoulder to shoulder human traffic so photo-taking would have been quite a challenge.

Wow, how much prices have gone up in recent times, huh? Nasi Briyani Ayam for RM6.50?? RM8 if you choose lamb. Tiny mangkuk (about a handful) of mee goreng for RM1! I was most put off by how much a piece of Ayam Masak Merah cost, RM3.50! Yikes! And ais batu campur for RM2.50.  Double Yikes! A small packet of Sarawak Laksa for RM2. And kek lapis (layered cake) that’s normally sold for RM10 were priced at RM12 per pack. Hmm…

 
Guess how much this cost me? Three small slices of kek lapis for RM1. Ouch. Coffee on the left, peppermint on the right. No idea what the bottom one is, plain butter maybe. Peppermint one tastes like toothpaste hahaha. :P

There’s an open air makan place just behind the bazaar selling similar food items at cheaper (cheaper, not cheap!) prices. ABC for RM1 to RM2, grilled wings or fried chicken for RM2 and mee goreng for RM3.50, eat till you burp. But there’s more variety at the bazaar. Still, I probably won’t be stopping by again the next time I pass through the area.

Traffic entering the area was crazy too. Kota Sentosa, aka Batu 7, has changed so much over the last 10 or so years. It used to be a small, relatively quiet pekan. Today, it is a busy, congested centre of activity south of Kuching.

The Ramadhan bazaar will be there (opens daily, from noon till buka puasa time) till the end of the month. If you’re thinking about dropping by (say, if you’re on your way back from watching orang utans at Semenggoh), be sure to park some distance away and walk there. Don’t get caught in the jam!