HERBAL GARDEN IN KUCHING (LING CHUNG KOK'S LCK HERB GARDEN)

I came out the garden with handful of rare herbs Free-of-charged, where in the world got such a deal?.... But it happened right here in Kuching city!

Written by Mrs. Money

http://castormalaysia.blogspot.com/2010/12/kuching-natural-herbs-exhibition-2010.html

My cousin knows too well of my interest, she finally took me to this herbal garden that she accidentally saw when she passed by it.

We were lucky when popped by without making any appointment and caught the owner right in the house.

I recognized his face from a newspaper interview, I introduced to him our common background, foo chow and both were originated from a same hometown.

He operates this herbal garden in non-commercial basis and have been helping uncountable unhealthy people and herbs enthusiasts. He encourages people to plant their own herbs at home and he also helps to coordinate Kuching herbal planters to exhibit a coming herbal show on Dec. 18th, 2010.

There are more than 300 different kinds of herbs and plants in Mr. Ling's herbal garden, he gives the herbs that you need free-of-charged, thus often when he wanted certain rare herbs or plants, strangers would bring him surprises. I went to the garden empty handed, when I came out I got handful of seedlings, seeds and plants. I was kind of embarassed making me felt like a "semi con-woman"! Next round visiting him, I will definitely return his kindness and generousity by giving him some rare herbal seedlings from my own garden.

I would advise you bring a group of well cultivated friends to visit Mr. Ling (I don't advise you bring 'goat-kind' of bo ka si friends, bo ka si friends might embarass you by plucking the herbs themselves without any permission from the owner!) because a visit could spend Mr. Ling's time for at least an hour. I specially appreciated his patience, able to spend time sharing with my cousin and I about herbs and when he saw my daughter was coughing he even gave me certain leaves taught me how to prepare it.

Here I would like to wish Mr. Ling "Happy Gardening"!

Mr. Ling can be contacted 019-8270098, you have to ask him for his address, I won't give it here openly for security reason.

Stevia plants with flowers

Jasmine that can change to three different colors

My cousin likes this special fruit

Giant Lo Han Guo blossom

Pink stem herb good for curing coughing

Stevia leaves

Creepers to cure arthritis

Kwan Gin Lian

Mr. Ling is originated from Sarikei, in earlier years he studied political science from Nam Yang University, Singapore,  later he earned his

 business degree in Australia.

  He spent after-graduate first two years working for passed Datuk Sim as a private secretary before leaving to work in Solomon Island.  His wife is originally from Sibu and he has three very smart adult kids graduated from Australia and NZ. In his retired age, while other people might spend their time earning more money, gaining more authority and power, he enjoys his life and time with beautiful herbal plants, helps uncountable friends and strangers. (Updated)

Famous Taiwanese's Siang Chuwen tree, I heard of its leaf is an aromatic spice used in fried rice, but quite dissapointed to me, he said this species of red stem doesn't have that fragrant of the white stem species

If you get stones, this is the leaves would melt the stone into powder, he then told me an interesting story of how a man who took the leaves from him but didn't listen to his advice, instead the man boiled all the leaves given at once, after drinking the concoction, that evening the man's urine duct got blocked. All because the concoction was too strong, stones broken into dust was found in the man's urine! He advised to take just two pieces each day, but for a brief period only.

Melting stone herbal plant

Jasmine

Rare Mo Pan Chow

Someone gave him his dreamed fig tree! This is not the wild species fig with oval leaves that we found locally

My dreamed Jia Ku Lan found in his herbal garden! West Malaysians used it to replace tea leaves when preparing ley chai.

Wild sesame tree

My cousin loves this beautiful red flower


My cousin asked me to take this water lily, she likes its peacock-like blossom.


This plant can get rid of mosquitoes within a limited parameter


Beautifully designed herbal garden


Plants love to live in this heavenly herbal sanctuary!


One of the 5 Chinese treassured herbs


Surprised me when I found this herb is actually very tiny plant.


Sunflower to cheer up the herbal garden


Giant Lo Han Guo

Medicational cotton

THE MOST RECOMMENDED PLACE TO VISIT IN KUCHING

The Kuching Orchids Park

Big red orchids found in Kuching Orchids Park


Written by Mrs. Money

http://www.virtualmalaysia.com/destination/kuching%20orchid%20garden.html

http://allmalaysia.info/news/attraction.asp?id=715&pt=8

http://myussop.blogspot.com/2010/03/kuchings-new-orchid-garden.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarawaklens/sets/72157623467913953/

This is the most recommended place to visit in Kuching, choose a cloudy day to take a walk around the orchids park. It will bring you certain inspiration to design your own home garden or bring along a camera to take photos for your kids and family with definitely fanstatic colorful background.

However, I won't advise you to jog there, as I suspected those orchirds were sprayed periodically with insecticides and pesticides. Bring a mask if you are allergic to chemical smell!

This is a garden pretty enough to impress Hollywood and international celebrities! Kuching folks should feel proud of it and whoever help to mastermind and design it should be applaused.

How the small yellow species orchid being mounted to grow on a dead tree and its branches.

One of the most beautiful landscape in Kuching city, good for taking wedding photos

One of the decorating pieces upon entrace hall


Beautiful big bright orchids often used for a bride's bouquet.



Wild orchids and parasitic plants grow on a massive fruit tree


Another good idea of where to plant orchid plants but won't take up too much space

Pink Orchid Pink Orchid Every Morning You Greet Me!

Red number!

For show, I think this is not a nice species to plant in your house unless you have a vast garden

Small pink orchids, more green than pink, I won't plant this species in my little home garden but it is another perfect piece in Kuching Orchid Garden

A rotten tree trunk being hanged with orchid plants on it! Simply creative.I am thinking of designed a round number with orchid plants mounted on it but windchimes hanged on its bottom! Orchid wind chimes with pitch!

This is a nice red number

Actually orchids garden is not that hot due to the netting camouflaged direct sunlight.

Assorted numbers

Goodies in Kuching City Month of June, 2010

Shiso Plant
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perilla



Writen by Mrs. Money



Long school holidays on June, naughty children keeping at house but I am unable keeping them at bay ....... I only could sigh if not getting angry with those "growing" graffiti on bedroom. Every morning my five years old daughter would get up but first thing asking for TV instead of greeting me, “Good morning, mom!” She would close all the curtains, switched on the light and air-condition all over again, from her request to hissing to screaming until she won her threat to get her ways, “I don’t want to eat!”
“I don’t want to take shower!”
“I don’t want to go Qdees!”


My cousin just returned from Vietnam brought some of my favorite things: Most luxury silk scarf, different kinds of coffee and Vietnamese coffee-maker. Then she told me what were those herbs that she ate in Vietnam, something interested both of us is a herb called Shiso, she ate that in California and I ate that in NZ. It was about 5 years ago when the Japanese friend who gave me the shiso seeds was never being sowed with crying babies.


At first my cousin explored by herself until she found a shiso plant over a 5th mile nursery, but she told me, “They don’t want to sell!”
I told her, “May be you should talk to the boss!”
So yesterday I went with her to the nursery, I requested for the boss, a chef who normally cooked at the road side was considered as a boss by the Indo helper. She was a very disappointed lady; I thought that my cousin was alone that's why she was rejected , but with two tigresses meowing nicely we still got rejected, they neither wanted to give us a twig nor to sell us a twig. In fact my six-sense told me they were watching over us tightly, with that feeling I quickly pulled out my cousin and kids. Before we left, we ate outside the canteen, I asked the workers, “Where is your boss?”
“In India.”


I will never ever step in this kind of nursery anymore, I told my cousin, peoples who love herbs would be so willing to share with other herb lovers, we were willing to pay but they didn’t want to sell, so what’s the use of opening a big nursery with exclusive herbs to show but not to sell?! God knows I have connections all over the world, if I am desperated enough, I can even afford to fly in an exclusive seedling instead of being suspected by someone wanted to steal their "exclusive herbs!" I am quite definite that moneytaitai's garden got more exclusive herbs than this 5th mile nursery!


So my cousin and I popped in the regular nursery that we went, the owner’s name is Lisa, we asked Lisa if she has any shiso, at first she hesitated, “… No.” But as she was unsure so she bought us to see her herbs-lover mom, I asked her mom, “Do you have shiso?”
Out of all our surprises, “yes!” her mom replied and she told us that it’s the only shiso plant she got. She took it out from a corner of her herbal garden and even more out of our surprised, she said, “I give it to you!”
My cousin and I were both so touched, I told my cousin, “She got a true spirit of an herb lover who is always willing to share!”


Her daughter Lisa, even though runs a nursery next door, but when Lisa brought us to her mom’s garden, everything we wanted she would give us free, I remembered two years ago I brought my friends to visit the nursery but it happened was closed for holiday, so I went to Lisa’s parents and woke them up from siesta nap, her mom gave my friends some mulberry tea that really thrilled my friends. Three months ago, when I asked Lisa where I could get “South African Tree”, she just went to her mom’s garden cut off some twigs and passed to me, “For you!”
“How much?”
“No need to pay!” Now the SA twigs are growing very well in my garden, actually I am sipping the tea made from its leaves right now!


If you wish to contact Lisa for gardening services, she got some strong helpers too. I remembered I recommended my old classmate to a nursery along Stutong/BDC few months ago, the owner kind of slaughtered my old classmate and her gardeners very obviously were not fed probably, so I bought my old friend to Lisa again.


Lisa’s nursery is along Jalan Laksamana, Kuching.


Her contact is: 0165766518

Lisa's mother very kindly gave us her only shiso plant, my cousin and I were both so happy and thrilled!

Goodies in Kuching City May 2010

Recommended by Mrs. Money

An equatorial haven in Kuching .... out of my expectation, a very relaxing place to eat, to see, to rest ... if you want you can stay here and pets lovers even can bring along their pets.

The Secret Sanctuary Boutique Hotel cum Restaurant

133, Taman Stutong Indah,

93350 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

Phone:082-363001

HP: 0198888986

http://www.thesecretsantuary.com/

Restaurant opens from 7:00 to 24:00
(But please make reservation)

120 days of year 2010 just vapourized out of our awareness, somewhere in silence is urging me everyday, " ... don't drag on anymore, it's time to send your work to your editor, May should be your deadline ....."

"Hi.... I have excuses..... my kids were sick, then I was sick, then my kids got sick again and then when I kissed them I got flu again.... "

Hmmm... if I want to give excuses, there are uncountable, in this case I have to work and plan in advance for certain things in life, so for the month of May, I will have more time to sit down at home meeting my deadline!

Mr. Money's birthday coming soon on May, each year I tried weeks or even months earlier looking for a suitable celebration venue. Today I finally have located one just somewhere near my neighbourhood, I appreciate my old friend Jen who bought me and even invited me for such a nice siesta hours lunch.

The owner's name is Cyril Lim, he is a person with good taste, multi-talented and very artistic. He is also a home and landscape designer, browse through his Secret Sanctuary then you will truely appreciate what he has done to the nature and how he could bring art to our equatorial landscape. The Secret Santuary keeps under constant motification, renovation and upgrading for a better ambient.

Cyril is really creative when coming to design water scenes: If under the rain I could imagine the scene like Debussy's "Garden under the rain"; For other sunny days, I would call this as the "Garden under the flowers"; these purple flower creepers are droping from the sky (from the netting above) kissing towards the water.

Another room with equatorial setting design

You can pay a certain amount and enjoy the day trip here by relaxing and swimming in the pool with equatorial motif. This relaxing place gives holistic curing and facial services too.



If you don't look the net above, you would think that it's natural!


Good fish feng shui decorative item placing on a right direction


These red laterns would look too worldly if ended up on downtown streets, but here the red brightened the brown wooden furnitures with good taste


Japanese carps are swimming happily with clean unsmelly water


Good coffee, Korean kimji, Japanese squids and seaweed pickles, these are few of my favorite things!


First time I tried the Sarawak natives' ginger shoots, it's a wonderful exotic dish! Taste good too!


Cyril Lim with RTM Broadcaster Jennifer Lau, they have been long time friends.


The sauce made with basils


Cyril's girlfriend Julia prepared us this ultra thick sandwich filled with different goodies.



Healthy colorful and sweet treats!

There are few smart dogs and a black healthy cat in Cyril's Secret Santuary, one of his dogs got such feat of jumping and standing on a bar and roof! He said he welcomes pets, so good news for those who love pets. I will sure bring my kids along, but I think those pets might end up hiding under the stove!

This Yong Tao Fu soup with added Fu Joo is a very unique combination, must try when you come here for breakfast or light lunch!