Advertorial: Heineken Beer Pairing Event in Celebration of Gawai Dayak 2018

Beer has been the drink of choice for countless people across a range of civilisations as it is the world's oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage. It is central to the culture of eating, socialising and celebrating in many countries.

Pairing beer with food is one of the best ways to enhance and elevate your meal experience, opening a whole new way of balancing and contrasting flavours on the plate.

HEINEKEN Malaysia with its portfolio of iconic international brands is the leading brewer in Malaysia. This year, in conjunction with the Gawai Festival in Sarawak, HEINEKEN Malaysia has curated a special food pairing menu that sees its iconic beers, stouts and ciders matched with the exciting flavours present in traditional Dayak cuisine.






During the event, Ng Eng Kiat, Corporate Communications Manager of HEINEKEN Malaysia said, "As Malaysia's leading brewer, we at HEINEKEN have always been commited to bringing enjoyment to consumers around the world. Whether celebratory, or in times of building friendships, beer is representative of human desire to share and celebrate new beginnings. This Gawai, we want to celebrate that through good food and good beer. The accentuating notes and flavours of our portfolio can make a good meal great. With this event, we hope to share a whole new way of experiencing traditional flavours on a plate."



The traditional Dayak dishes were prepared by Livan Lah, owner and chef at LEPAU Restaurant, Kuching. She prepared Pansuh (Bamboo) Chicken, Dayak Sour Eggplant with Smoked Beef, Dinuh (Kayan Traditional Glutinous Rice Fritters), Stir Fried Rubbed Tapioca Leaves with Tepus, and Orang Ulu BBQ Platter; all of which were enjoyed with a range of HEINEKEN Malaysia's beers, stouts and ciders. Each was carefully selected and paired to match the flavour profiles, textures and aromas of the traditional Dayak dishes.

Beer & Food Pairing: There's a beer for that
Lager is the world's favourite type of beer and can be paired with a wide range of food from sweet to savoury.
Tasting Notes: Peppery bitterness, clean, gentle, sweet

Food Match: Pansuh Chicken, Stir Fried Rubbed Tapioca Leaves with Tepus, Orang Ulu BBQ Platter

Best Paired with : Beef, Seafood, Noodles, Light Cheeses

Stout is the darkest beer of them all. The colour and flavour derive from the dark grain used to make them - including roasted malt, roasted barley, or other dark grains. These ingredients produce bold flavours - expect espresso, chocolate and roastiness.

Tasting Notes: Roasty, chocolate, espresso, dried fruits

Food Match: Dayak Sour Eggplant with Smoked Beef

Best Paired with: Beef, Chicken, Seafood, Dessert

Cider is primarily made with apple juice and is a refreshing alternative to beer, especially for those who prefer something a little sweeter on the tongue. 

Tasting Notes: Tangy, crisp dryness, refreshing

Food Match: Dinuh (Kayan Traditional Glutinous Rice Fritters)

Best Paired with: Chicken, Pasta

Responsible Consumption

HEINEKEN's ambition is to Brew a Better World across the entire value chain, from Barley to Bar. As part of its strategy for sustainability, the company also has a deep-rooted commitment to promoting responsible consumption to consumers. HEINEKEN Malaysia has been advocating moderated drinking habits with its Drink Sensibly campaign which has engaged more than 550,000 consumers from 2014 to 2017. 

The campaign advocates responsible consumption through a 5-point system; HYDRATE with plenty of water between drinks, EAT well so your body is ready to handle your drinks, MOVE and dance the alcohol out of your system, PACE yourself throughout the night, and finally TAXI HOME to stay safe. 

In addition to drinking sensibly, HEINEKEN Malaysia also reminds consumers to choose 100% Duty-Paid beers, stouts and ciders to ensure the best quality is consumed. Ng added, "Choosing 100% Duty-Paid beer, stout and cider is key to allowing us to deliver on our promise of quality drinks. We want our consumers to enjoy the best with guaranteed authenticity." 

100% Duty-Paid products can be recognised by looking out for the company name, address, and the 955 barcode on all packaging of HEINEKEN Malaysia's brand portfolio. This includes Heineken, Tiger, Guinness, Strongbow, Apple Fox Cider, and Anchor; all of which are brewed with a passion for quality at the Sungei Way Brewery.

In conjunction with Gawai Festival, HEINEKEN Malaysia will be introducing various promotions with exciting rewards for its 100% Duty Paid products. Consumers can look out for these promotions at leading supermarkets, restaurants and bars.

For latest updates on HEINEKEN Malaysia's portfolio of inspirational brands, visit www.heinekenmalaysia.com and follow them on Facebook via www.facebook.com/heinekenmalaysiaberhad. 

Fun Taiwan Day 4: Tainan (Confucius Temple 孔子廟, Anping Tree House 安平樹屋, Anping Old Fort 安平古堡, Flower Night Market 花園夜市)

Second day in Tainan, I didn't know what to have for breakfast as we faced the difficulty to travel on foot. So we referred to the recommendations provided by our Airbnb host. We chose Ah He Minced Pork Rice (阿和肉燥飯) which takes only 4 mins walk from our guesthouse.




It took me sometime to find the shop using Google map. I couldn't really figure out which direction I should head to, turn left or right. It provides no indication when you walk. Nevertheless we found it.







We ordered two minced pork rice, one fish balls soup, one cabbage dish, and one fish skin soup.




The portion was quite little actually. The pork meat was unbeatably tasty, the fat might look greasy but it melts in your mouth. Not oily as you thought. No regret to pay visit here.




The fish skin soup is another must have in this shop. The clear soup had no fishy smell at all because the fish was real fresh. We super loved this soup.






The map to 阿和肉燥飯:




After breakfast, we started our sightseeing plan. First stop, the Confucius Temple 孔子廟 as it's within walking distance. We arrived at Fuzhong Street, Kongmiao Shopping District 孔廟商圈.






Mum wanted to try the almond milk.




I chose to have cappuccino and sandwich. The small cafe is run by a married couple, quite a cosy place.




Later we passed by this DIY traditional sugar cookie (椪糖) which you can learn it hands-on to burn the sugar until it inflated.






The entry to Confucius Temple.




Entry ticket costs NT$15 per adult.




The Confucius Temple was under repair, not accessible.






Tainan Sightseeing Bus route map. The fare is not cheap, NT$300 and valid for 4 hours only. One day pass costs NT$500.





For detailed information of Tainan sightseeing bus, please click here.

We waited for a while for the sightseeing bus but decided to take taxi instead. Next destination, Anping 安平. This place you can visit the tree house and the old fort. We visited Anping Tree House first and Anping Old Fort later.

The ticket to Anping Tree House is NT$50.
















Visited the tree house, we walked to Anping Old Fort.







The entry ticket to Anping Old Fort is NT$50.










Exited from Anping Old Fort, we hang around Anping old street. Bought this tasty egg cake with assorted cute shapes.






This one was nice too. The cake is icy and very fragrant with different flavours.




We tried to get a taxi to leave Anping. But the road was so congested and the number of taxi was very rare. When we were walking down the road, I saw this place 周氏豆花 which selling soy bean pudding. Decided to give it a try.






The map to 安平周氏豆花:




It took us sometime to get on a taxi. The driver told us that they are having holidays, so there are many travelled from Taipei and other districts for the weekend. That caused the traffic jam in that area and many taxi drivers was avoiding to enter because they don't want to stuck in traffic jam.

Next stop, Garden Night Market 花園夜市, one of the biggest night markets in Tainan. We arrived there around 6pm. The vendors just started to set up their stalls. Not long after, the crowds started to flock in. We had to squeeze ourselves to pass through the path. I started feeling unwell, itchy throat.







We just randomly chose the stall which we don't have to wait long and have seats to dine-in. The instant noodles with cute poached egg. 




This stall 二师兄古早滷味 is very famous, selling stewed food such as chicken wings, duck wings, duck tongue, chicken feet, etc. Every queue line here was terribly long and squeezed.




This is how crowded the night market was.




The map to Garden Night Market 花園夜市:

Fun Taiwan Day 3: Tainan (Guohua Street 國華街, Chihkan Tower 赤崁樓, Blueprint Culture & Creative Park 藍晒圖文創園區, Hayashi Department Store 林百貨, Ah Xia Restaurant 阿霞飯店)

On third day in Taiwan 4th April 2018, we took train to Tainan. I was still able to get two seats to Tainan from Kaohsiung. But two separate seats. One in cabin 5 and another in cabin 6. I didn't realize they have public holidays on Children's day and Qingming Festival in Taiwan. The locals from north and south started flocking to Tainan.




The distance from Kaohsiung to Tainan is 34 mins by train. Ticket costs NT$106 per pax.




We arrived at Tainan train station at 12:40pm.




The hotels in Tainan are expensive generally. Took me sometime to search on Booking.com and Agoda. Booked one called South Traveler through Booking.com but the hotel emailed me privately and asked me to cancel it because they don't have room available during that period.  The cheapest option is Airbnb. Found this room with bathroom only RM70 per night. I paid total RM276.85 for 3 nights including the Airbnb charges.

It took us roughly 10 minutes by walk to the guesthouse. The host was good and prompt in reply. The room is exactly the same like the pictures shown on Airbnb. Clean, got TV in the room, and the hot and cold water dispenser is located outside the room. But the aircond is old-fashioned and quite noisy. They provide an extra mattress too. Security wise, quite safe as there are residences along the alley.




We spent 3 nights here, the block with red wall tiles.




After unloaded our luggages, I asked the host the name and location of the famous food street in Tainan. He gave me maps, it's Guohua Street 國華街. Based on the map, it looks "not that far" from our guesthouse. It's a straight line. So we headed out, asked two locals for direction at different timing. Both of them were quite shocked that we wanted to go there by foot. They said the same thing, it's quite far. One suggested me to take taxi because the fare is not that expensive. Meter starts at NT$80. Based on the short distance, maybe we only need to pay NT$80. We ignored, and continued to walk. Here again I learnt the lesson. In Tainan, don't be a cheapskate to save on the transport cost. You will suffer, that's my advice.

Passed the alley next to Cactus & Cat cafe, we finally arrived at Guohua Street.




It was very crowded on Guohua street. The queues were super long, especially those famous food which have been introduced on media before.




We were starved, didn't want to queue so I just randomly chose one without queue for a quick fix. Yongle Pork Rice 永樂燒肉飯. I forgot how much a set of this rice was. But it comes with a bowl of salad and miso soup too. Quite worth it.






I have seen this Fu Sheng Hao 富盛號碗粿 on TV before. Decided to queue for the rice cake. It's local delicacy in Tainan, certainly a must-try. The store front as shown below is catered for take-away order. You can dine-in here too but the capacity is quite small. There is two rows of queue line, one for dine-in and one for take-away.




The store front facing the main road as below is catered for dine-in customers, two storey capacity. If you want to dine-in, can choose to wait here for better comfortability.




Bought the starfruit drinks to quench my thirst first before queuing up for the rice cake.




The rice cake from Fu Sheng Hao.




Next, we chose the attraction place nearby Guohua Street, Chihkan Tower 赤崁樓. It is quite short walking distance. The admission fare is NT$50 per adult. Just do as a tourist, take photos and read the history of the tower. It's constructed by Dutch in 1653.















Next stop, it was almost 4pm. This time we decided to take taxi to go to Blueprint Culture & Creative Park 藍晒圖文創園區. This park is quite small in size. There are some drawings on the walls and you can take pictures with 3D effect.












Flea market, selling preloved items such as soft toys and clothing.






Found this quite interesting, a residence between the commercial units.








We stopped here at Our Bar Gelato and bought popsicles for a break.






Can't remember the price, range from NT$90 - NT$120.




First day in Tainan, I have my pocket list ready. I had been looking forward to try Ah Xia Restaurant 阿霞飯店 which serves the authentic Tainan dishes. I watched it on Youtube before, introducing the history, the chef and the dishes. We got there by taxi. Walked in without any reservation at 5:30pm. Asked for a table for two but the manager asked us to come back at 7pm. Before leaving, the manager reminded us that the minimum spending amount is NT$500. Since it was still early, I decided to take a quick walk to the attraction nearby, Hayashi Department Store 林百貨.






The oldest department store in Tainan, Hayashi Department Store 林百貨. It was bombed by the United States airplanes before during World War II.




Queued up to take lift to the top floor.




The top floor is selling postcards, you can mail your postcard here.




The shrine on the top floor.

Walking back to Ah Xia Restaurant, the building of Land Bank of Taiwan is unique.




I received call from the manager at 6:25pm, we finally got a table near the kitchen.








The service was quite good. The waitress went through with us the menu. I chose the dinner set for 2 pax NT$1500 which comprised all of their famous dishes.

The first dish served, salted fresh shrimps and charcoal grilled wild mullet roe. One person only can have one item each. This is the portion for two.




The second dish, assorted platter.




The scallop and pork tripe soup.




This is what I had been waiting for, rice cake with mangrove crab 红鲟米糕. After tasted it, I was rather disappointed. Perhaps I had too high expectation on it. The crabs were quite dry, not as juicy as I imagined it to be. Anyway, I satisfied that I have tried it and I don't have to revisit again.






Fruits plate was included too. 




The signature desserts, almond tofu. This soup is really too sweet for me. After a sip or two, we gave up. I don't like the almond taste too.




The wall hanging the photos taken with the well-known Taiwan politicians.




The map to Ah Xia Restaurant 阿霞飯店: