Going To The Tamu aka Market

When I was young boy and full of energy, mom used take me to the local market. At that point in time, I would whine and make a fuss about how boring and a waste of time it was. Most times, I would just wait in the car or sit down at a nearby coffee shop just to wait. Well, now that I'm older, I have a different prospective on things.

Mom is a housewife and she does everything from cooking to making sure everything and everyone is comfy at home. Basically, holding the fort down. Now, as I understand things better, I would initiate to take her there when I can. I'd drive her there and just let her do her thing while I escort her gliding from one stall to another to stock up on a week's supply.

We call this weekly ritual going to the "tamu". Tamu means "market" and this is where all the local farmers and merchants come out for 3 days straight (Wednesday to Friday) to sell their produce. If you look at it at another angle, it covers many things. Let me guide you on how I see things now compared to before. Ready? Let's go!

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Local Roasted Tenom Coffee

Local Roasted Tenom Coffee

This to me is like walking into coffee chains such as Coffee Bean or Stabucks. Some people prefer local coffee compared to imported coffee. For me, I'm on the fence. I just love the smell and the taste of coffee.

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Kuih Penyaram aka UFO

This is how the UFO looks like before they form. 1 cup of this liquid goodness is 1 UFO

They poured the liquid into the cutest woks I've ever seen in my life! The size of it is no bigger than two of your palms combined! It is fried slowly and the UFO takes its form in the wok!

This is how they packaged it to sell it to customers

Remember the first time you saw how a fairy floss or a sugar floss is made? You thought that was magic didn't you? Well, at least I thought it was. To me, this was just intriguing seeing how it is done from scratch.

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This is a sight of galore! So much banana fritters aka pisang goreng, apam balik, breadfruit fritters aka sukun goreng, onde - onde, kuih linggang and the list goes on!

Now, this to me is your trully local bakery. As a makes all sorts of bread, buns and cakes.

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Need a quick addiction fix? No problem!

This is what I call the "local tobacco shop". They have different grades of tobacco based on what kind of taste and throat hit you prefer. Standard rolling paper that comes from a type of palm tree locally known as nipah. Guess what? No filters!

If smoking is not your thing, then you can also chew beetle nuts. The more you chew, the more addictive it gets. So, please chew on responsibility. LOL!

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You must wonder by now, "what's next"? Well, I have to say this next one is a real kicker. I'm gonna take you to our local pharmacy! What you are going to see below are pictures of bits and pieces of roots, tree barks, leaves and herbs. The locals believe that if anyone is sick or has physical problems, the answer to the cure lies in the rainforest of Sabah.

Hand picked carefully and arranged nicely by the local traditional "doctor".

Look carefully on the one on the left. It states that it can cure lots of ailments. Mind my phone camera.

I kid you not. Ladies, this might be your leap of joy moment. The word "ubat sogunggut" means meds for period pain.

Can you imagine what else they can aid you with? They can even enhance your "performance" if you know what I mean. Hehe!

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Next stop, to the music store! Unfortunately, only the traditional gongs were on display today. Usually, they would have the kulintangan aka xylophone, gendang aka drums, flutes and lots more. If you're lucky, you will see the veterans come out a break out a jam session to show how its done right. That's always interesting to see. No notes, no conductor just going with the beats they were thought by their ancestors.

Gongs made out of brass

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There were lots more to cover at the market. However, it was really pouring hard and lighting was really bad. That meant it was really dark and my phone camera couldn't take good shots. I managed to take a few pictures of athe "pet shop" before we wrapped up our outting for the day.

From guppies, frogs, tortoises to eels

Close Up Shot of the Eel

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Right, so after all that the tamu isn't a boring place cause if you're seeing it in my perspective, it has:

1. Pharmacy
2. Music store
3. Pet store
4. Bakery
5. Coffee shop
6. Tobacco shop

Not bad right? If you're keen on going, please make sure you go on Thursday onwards as they say that all the fresh stuffs have arrived and are on display.

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