Welcome to Miri, the second largest city in Sarawak and located in close proximity to Brunei. Together with bobostephanie and jo, we were here to experience the Borneo Jazz Festival for two consecutive nights.
Eight bands will be performing in tented beach pavilions and in the lobby of host hotel ParkCity Everly Hotel from 9th to 10th of May 2014. We checked into Miri Marriot Resort & Spa which is located right next to ParkCity Everly Hotel. This was the beautiful view that greeted us upon our arrivals.
Strongbow is the proud sponsor of the Borneo Jazz Festival, which is now in its ninth successful year. We were so fortunate to be able to tag along to this fun-filled and entertaining experience.
I love how the organizer is being thoughtful enough to prepare us some rain coats, mosquito patches and even wet tissues to prepare us for Borneo’s hot and humid weather. Bottles of refreshing Strongbow is definitely a must, as these apple ciders are the perfect thirst quenchers.
Due to flight delays, we enjoyed the sunset and god’s little painting on the sky from our hotel room instead of onboard a sunset cruise.
Fortunately, we were still having our dinner at Marina Bay and the view was still spectacular after the sun has set, but the sky is not yet completely dark.
I kept telling KampungBoy that this place is a perfect location for wedding proposal! It is quite romantic with fairy lights and the night sky.
We hangout at the deck while enjoying our pre-dinner drinks. The open-sided dining areas let in the marina breezes to keep us cool.
GAB’s mixologist were there to prepare us some pre-dinner cocktails made from Strongbow and all them tasted so good! We were told that Strongbow Cider is made from a carefully selected blend of 50 different types of traditional English cider apples which gives it a dry, crisp, balanced taste. It is a versatile beverage that pairs well with food, and can be mixed with any other ingredients to create new flavours.
Here are some recipes for you to try out at home – all of them sound really easy. My personal favorite is the Assam Bow.
| NAME:- | ASAM BOW | ||
| QTY | INGREDIENTS | TECHNIQUE | GLASSWARE |
| POUR GIN THEN FILL GKASS UP | ROCK GLASS | ||
| 120ML | STRONG BOW PREMIX | WITH ICE.LASTLY POUR STRONG | |
| 15ML | GIN | BOW PRE MIX IN. | |
| 1 NO | ASAM BOI (GARNISH) | ||
| CUBE ICE | |||
| 1 BOTTLE OF STRONG BOW WITH | |||
| 2 NO’S ASAM BOI SOAK FOR 5 | |||
| MINS. | |||
| NAME:- | BERRY COOLER | ||
| QTY | INGREDIENTS | TECHNIQUE | GLASSWARE |
| HI BALL | POUR ALL INGREDIENTS INTO | HI BALL | |
| 1 NO | CALAMANSI | GLASS.SQUEEZE CALAMANSI | |
| 15ML | BOIRON RASPBERRY PUREE | THEN FILL GLASS UP WITH | |
| 10ML | SUGAR SYRUP | CRUSHED ICE.LASTLY TOP STRONG | |
| TOP | STRONG BOW | BOW & STIR. | |
| CRUSHED ICE | |||
| 2 NO’S | THYME SPRIG (GARNISH) | ||
| NAME:- | TANGY CIDER | ||
| QTY | INGREDIENTS | TECHNIQUE | GLASSWARE |
| HI BALL | POUR AL INGREDIENTS INSIDE & | HI BALL | |
| 30ML | BOIRON STRAWBERRY PUREE | FILL GLASS UP WITH ICE.LASTLY | |
| 2 DASH | BALSAMIC | TOP UP WITH STRONG BOW & | |
| 5ML | SUGAR SYRUP | STIR. | |
| TOP | STRONG BOW | ||
| CUBE ICE | |||
| 1 NO | THAI BASIL SPIG (GARNISH) | ||
The interior of the boathouse is warm and cozy and sometimes we can feel the restaurant moving a little, but it added to the overall “cruise” experience.
The food was excellent and service was warm and cozy.
Bobo and Jo were really happy with their Sarawak Laksa and Kolo Mee! We were feeling contended as well, as our cravings for this two Sarawakian dish is finally being satisfied.
After dinner, we headed straight to the Borneo Jazz Festival in our most comfortable attire and walking shoes.
More than 8,000 jazz fans from Malaysia and Southeast Asia were chilling out at the 9th annual Borneo Jazz Festival that opens Friday evening. Some of us may not be jazz enthusiasts, but we do enjoy the music and the atmosphere.
Eight bands were invited to perform this year – from Georgia, Cuba, Germany, the UK, Indonesia and Malaysia. We particularly enjoyed the performances brought together by Junk o Func. Lead singers Elvira Arul and Russell Curtis entertained us with their gospel-influenced vocals. They also did a lot of playful and funny interaction with the audiences.
Another interesting line-up is Vocal Sampling, an all-male acappella group from Cuba. Without using any musical instruments and only using their voices, cupped hands and bodies; they created a full range of sound effects such as horns, keyboard and bass.
I love the tagline – Enjoy Jazz! Enjoy Strongbow!
The “Strongbow Camp” is spotted with a huge crowd, as music lovers from all around the world make this as a pit stop for some refreshing glasses of Strongbow cider.
Strongbow does have it’s appeal to both males and females as we found out that most guys enjoy having it too!
We had a good time swaying to the bands. The music was great and we all had a brilliant evening!
Remember to stay tune for Part II of our Borneo Jazz Festival!
Visit Strongbow’s Malaysia FB page for more photos and videos.
