I found at least 4 Chinese associations along one stretch of Carpenter Street.
Chinese associations can go by dialects or by surname. For example, dialect clan associations are Hainan Association, Hokkien Association, Foochow Association, Teochew Association etc. We hardly find a surname clan associations in Kuching, but a lot can be found in Singapore and Penang.
Clan associations were formed when Chinese from mainland China migrated down to the South Sea in the late 1800s. They established these associations to look after their own members’ welfare and provide community support. New comers from China would registered themselves with their respective clan associations, thus the ‘club house’ has became a meeting place for clansmen.
Unfortunately in this modern age and time, memberships of these associations have dwindled. Younger generation didn’t seem to look for ‘community support’ here when they have cyber cafes.
Sadly these days, clan associations have very little activities, except for a few mahjong tables or a place for the older folks to read newspaper or have a cuppa with their comrades.
Lantern is closely linked with the lives of Chinese people. Hanging on the front gate of houses and stores, red lanterns decorate the street in a unique way.
Lanterns in China are more than lighting devices and red lanterns are regarded as a basic symbol of the Chinese culture, a symbol of brightness, happiness and reunion. It is supposedly to warn away evil spirits while brightening the mood with the red glow of good luck, red lanterns are considered a necessity of traditional Chinese festivals. In Lantern Festival(the fifteenth day of the first Chinese lunar month), the preferred warm red of traditional lanterns creates a convivial atmosphere at the family reunion as well as lights up the hope for the New Year. Lanterns, especially the red-colored, deserve adoration for the magical element they add to the atmosphere.
Extracted from China Odyssey Tour
These pictures were taken along Carpenter Street a few days ago. Chinese New Years came and went and these red lanterns have been hanging from building to building for quite some time now. Maybe it’s time to replace new ones… to bring back some magic to this place once again.
Walking along Carpenter street you can find all sorts of shops… from this little tuck shop to…
an antique shop that sells old coins, dollar notes and stamps.
A typical sundry shop that sells household items and canned food.
One of the a few Chinese opera theaters in Kuching… when there’s no function going on, it’s business as usual – hawker centre.
And a Chinese temple right opposite the theater.
The new Sarawak State Legislative Assembly building (Dewan Undangan Negeri) will be officially opened in August 2009.
This 9-storey high building will be the venue for future Sarawak’s state legislative assembly sittings.
The distinctive “payung” (umbrella) roof of the new DUN complex is an icon for Sarawak.
The architecture of the complex combines unique elements of Sarawak’s heritage with state-of-the-art intelligent building automation systems, multimedia communication facilities, and environmentally-friendly features.
The complex covered 172 acre development at Pangkalan Sapi on the banks of Sarawak River, Petra Jaya, Kuching.
Extracted from Wikipedia
Oops! A bit of erosion on the side of the building here… 
Recently I received messages from a reader who said he’s the son of pakcik (uncle) who sells putu mayang at Sunday Market. (You can find his messages in ‘comment RSS’).
Following his information, I managed to make a trip to Satok Choice supermarket yesterday… and look what I found, white noodle putu mayang!! I was so happy… not that there’s any difference in green or white noodles, I just prefer white coz I grew up eating white noodle putu mayang with white sugar 
So here they are, the two makcik (aunty) who sell putu mayang from Sunday market on Saturday and Mon-Fri they are in front of Choice supermarket Satok.
Message to Abu: the makcik told me your mum was at home. I asked them why make so little if I go late on Saturday all sudah habis jual (all sold out)… makcik told me they don’t have enough help to make more. Maybe I should ‘volunteer’ to help your mum… there must be a secret recipe somewhere
