Kek Lapis Sarawak, Sarawak

If there is one cake that the city of Kuching in Sarawak is famous for, its the layer cake or "Kek Lapis" as it is known in Malay.

Kek Lapis is of course of Indonesian origin and it is a rich cake made up of butter, milk and spices that is laboriously built up layer by layer as it is baked. The cake is then cut up into bite-sized pieces to reveal the various layers and colours of the cake.

The Sarawak version has been modernised to incorporate various difference flavours and patterns and the end result are various different designs and looks to the finished cake.

While you can buy the cake at stalls by the roadside in Kuching town; to make it a bit of an outing, why not cross the Sarawak river to get to the other side of the river where the Malay kampong is? 

The starting point is to get to the boat pier nearby to the Riverbank Suite apartments, Riverside Majestic Hotel and the Khatulistiwa Restaurant and Café is. From there you will need to look for a river taxi or tambang / penambang. Tambang is literally the malay word for "fare". The boatman will take you across the river to the other side for a nominal fare.

The river taxi jetty near the circular shaped Khatulistiwa restaurant.

The Riverbank Suite as viewed from the other side of the river.

Crossing the river on the Penambang.

The jetty on the other side of the river.

Once you get to the other side, walk off the boardwalk and you will be at the Malay kampong (village). Walk along the riverfront pass the food court, then cut in and walk along Jalan Brooke.

The first Kek Lapis shop you will come across is Mira Cake House.

Mira Cake House along Jalan Brooke.

Various types of Kek Lapis are on sale.

Weird names are given to the various kek lapis designs. This one is named "Datuk K", after the husband of a popular Malaysian singer.

You are welcome to sample the various types of kek lapis.

No worries about purchasing the Kek Lapis and bringing it back home

to eat, if you follow the instructions!

After Mira Cake House, the next Kek Lapis shop is Warisan Layer Cake. Basically you will find the same types of fare, similar to Mira.

The last Cake House and arguably the most famous is Dayang Salhah's. This is located near the mosque, at the junction of Jalan Brooke and Jalan Gersik.

The pink coloured house of Dayang Salhah.

Choose your favourites and pay here.

If you are confused by the variety, just close your eyes and pick one.

Or buy one of each...

For some reason, if going to Kuching, one of the requirements especially for people from the Peninsula, is to buy Kek Lapis to give to loved ones back home. If you must buy, make an outing out of it!

Old Protestant Cemetery, Penang

The Old Protestant Cemetery is located in an obscure location along Northam Road, at the top of Penang Road. Established in 1789, the cemetery is no longer in use and has been classified as a heritage site and currently maintained by the Penang Heritage Trust. The last known burial at this cemetery was in 1892.

The cemetery is of significant historic interest, as it was the first christian burial ground consecrated in Penang after its founding by Francis Light in 1786. It is notable for  being the final resting places of many of Penang's earliest and influential residents, including three Governors of Penang and the founder of the island himself, Francis Light.

Today, the cemetery is rarely visited by anyone including tourists, giving it an eerie almost forlorn appearance. However despite its state of dilapidation and disrepair, it is still worth a visit to see the old graves amidst a grove of gnarled old frangipani trees.

Strolling through the grounds, you seem a world away from the busy streets of Penang, as you walk amongst the headstones. Looking at the names from generations ago, it seems sad that most of those lying here were very young, mostly below 50 years of age, a testament of the difficult times these Europeans from far far away had in the Orient.

Entrance to the cemetery, off Northam Road.

Founded in 1789.

A green wooded cemetery.

The graves are sadly in a state of disrepair.

Frangipani trees.

An almost eerie experience under the gnarled trees.

One of the graves.

Many graves are now unmarked.

Dilapidated graves in green surroundings.

Surgeon, dead at 30.

Police inspector, dead at 33 years.

Chief Engineer.

Accountant.

Francis Light, the founder of Penang is also buried here.

The grounds are also a known haunt of drug addicts, exercise caution when visiting.

William Petrie, fifth Governor of Penang.

The sixth British Governor of Penang.

The Old Protestant Cemetery is worth a stop to visit, experience and appreciate Penang's colourful history, especially its colonial past as an outpost of Britain in the Far East.