Huai Bin, who’s currently back in town…
…had a little bit o’luck and had a small windfall recently and he insisted on taking me out and treating me to dinner…
Initially, I wanted to take him here to try their fare but for some reason or other, it was closed so we ended up at this favourite place of mine…
As you can see, the Chinese New Year decorations are up…
…to add a bit more colour to the place.
For drinks, Huai Bin had the durian shake (with a special request for extra durian cream) while I tried their bumbung soda – roselle, pineapple, lemon and cucumber plus soda…
Unfortunately, it was way too sour for my liking.
I can’t remember whether I had had their Bangladeshi curry lamb before…
…and I ordered that. I thought it was pretty good, the dry curry and went absolutely well with the rice.
Huai Bin wanted to try the asam chicken…
…which I had twice before and quite enjoyed.
We also shared their special otak-otak…
…and the garlic bread with its chicken gravy dip…
I do recall grumbling that the servings seemed to be shrinking in size of late but that night, everything was a lot more substantial than usual! I wonder if they had read what I wrote and made it a point to be more generous should I happen to drop by again. Hehehehehehe!!!!
Peter, the boss, let us try his special Chinese New Year fruit cake (RM95 a loaf)…
…which was very nice and really different from other fruit cakes that I had had before. The texture was smooth like those steamed layer cakes, quite unlike the crumbly baked ones. I did not ask him whether it was steamed or not though .
There was a storm that night so we just sat around there and chatted about this and that, catching up with things going on in our lives since we last met each other and I really enjoyed the pleasant evening together…and of course, the delightful dinner. You can click this link –> here to hop over to his blog for his side of the story.
Thank you so much, Huai Bin. My turn next! Wink! Wink!
FOOTNOTE: To whom it may concern
For your information, Payung Mahkota will be open all throughout the whole Chinese New Year festive holidays while this one, their original outlet at Lanang Road, will be closed for two days and will reopen on the 3rd day in the new lunar year.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
ooo, comfort food! i wonder what makes a curry bangladeshi though, versus other curries in south asia, hmmm 😀
I guess the cook was Bangladeshi…or they learnt it from somebody from there? They’ve all kinds working there – right now, one’s from Delhi, one from Kashmir and one from Indonesia. Very nice guys, all of them, all English-speaking and what I like best – they know everything on the menu really well and can explain to you all that go into each…unlike most, if not all, of the other places here where they seem so very ignorant.
Hi Arthur! The otak-otak looks really good and spicy!… and the dry lamb curry! Usually restaurants use mutton for their curry… this must be better?!
Truth be told, we can’t get fresh mutton here unless you slaughter your own goat…so I guess they have to use lamb. That would give you an idea as to how many Indians we have in the whole town of Sibu. 😉 We can’t get fresh beef too – have to buy imported ones from Australia or New Zealand. There are some from other countries but some have a horrendous smell. I would stay away from those. Ya, the otak-otak here is a crowd-puller – a must-have if one drops by this place.
That fruit cake looks really moist, never was fond of fruitcakes… at least the ones I’ve tried but I’d be tempted to try that if I lived close by. I love garlic bread. A few days ago, my daughter was talking about it and I promised her we’d make some this weekend.
Ya, and the texture of this one is different from the usual. Most tend to be too sweet and dry. I like them with a lot to liquor! Most garlic bread here would be bread on which they spread garlic butter and toast. Not too sure about this one.
It’s always a pleasure to eat with you Arthur! 🙂
I had a great time catching up with you while it was raining all around us. 😀
I just hope it doesn’t rain during CNY eve!
Yeah, I like the garlic bread with the creamy chicken side dip too, I can’t remember if I ever had that but it seemed to be extremely good.
Haha! I heard about the portion size too, maybe they read that and upped it for you.
Ya, dinner was great, portions were substantial and I sure had my fill. Enjoyed the night-out with you, looking forward to the next. Been raining a lot…all of a sudden these few days – hopefully, it wouldn’t rain on your “parade”. 😉
Yeah, I hope so too!
Raining during CNY eve would really bum me (and a lot of other fireworks fans) out. 😡
It’s all about setting it off at midnight.
My sister is back and she’s going to New Zealand soon (won’t be staying for CNY) so I’m spending more time with my family and the new nephew. 😀
Let’s go out when you’re free!
Hopefully, there will be some sun so you can sun your loot…and I can hang out my carpets. Ya, we’ll go out again sometime. I’d love that very much.
at first glance, i thought those garlic bread are fruit cake slices served with vanilla sauce, still blurry sotong in the morning, hahaha!! and scrolled down, oooopsss, you really have fruit cake!! i love fruit cakes!! yummy yummy~~
Hmmmm…young man. I was up before dawn… Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy and wise. 😉 I’ve a loaf of fruit cake in the fridge waiting for Chinese New Year – from my friend, Shereen, in New Zealand – with lots of liquor in it. Yummmmmm!!!!!
I am eyeing the lamb curry! Love that a lot with lots and lots of rice 🙂 Wah, there is such a thing as durian shake. I would enjoy that too. I am not a fan of fruitcakes but this one looks pretty interesting. I won’t mind having a piece to see how different it is from the usual one.
I love the usual ones if they’re moist – most are usually dry…and better still, if it has lots of liquor in it. Yummmm!!!!!! But this one is very different – the texture and it is nice. Not crumbly so wouldn’t make a mess while eating. The durian shake is vanilla and they add durian cream to it – you can see that in Huai Bin’s post on the dinner.
drooling over the otah, wkakakaka….
The best I have had!!!
Hey and I just read about this in Huai Bin’d blog 5 mins ago! Nice…
Ya…he blogged about it yesterday. 😉
Gee…both of you had the same post today.
I am always looking forward for their otak-otak. Way too delicious but the price seems to be a lil high. Nvm…Huai Bin belanja.ahhahahahh
Nope, Huai Bin’s post was yesterday – I’m one day late. Ya…but in a way, it is good to be a bit pricey – will keep the cheap, noisy crowd away. Can maintain the nice ambiance of the place. Yup, his treat! Hehehehehe!!!! 😉
Now that you’ve listed the ingredients, I can see why Huai Bin mentioned that you “shuddered after taking a sip”, STP. I can already imagine the taste; a combo of Roselle and lemon is more sour than sour…
LOL!!! Not for me, that’s for sure.
The curry lamb and assam chicken looks super yummy.
The food here is very good. You’ve never been here? Should drop by sometime.
Payung Payung.. yes, I like the food there… very authentic and the boss is always generous.. giving out free stuff to try.. hahaha…good strategy!
Ya…little things mean a lot and as long as the customers are happy, they will keep coming back.
All the food looks super duper yummy. Love the garlic bread and of course, the durian shake with extra durian kick. Yum!!!…Yum!!!…
A must-visit place should you ever come over to Sibu!
Like the fish trap oh ya btw they also got some fengshui in them. See you guys can walk in anytime but cannot walk out unless you gotta start to eat then to pay the bill before you can leave haha.
Fish traps? Those bubus… Some people say they remind them of condoms. LOL!!!
I foresee HB will be your regular makan kaki these few days. Will you be his partner in crime for fireworks?
Oh no! I’d probably sleep through the whole thing but if the noise wakes me up, I can just watch from my house – he stays pretty close by. Otherwise, I’ll just wait for the youtube video. 😀 Wouldn’t mind going around with him to eat stuff here anytime but I guess he has his friends who’d be more interesting company than this old man. Hehehehehe!!!!
No la! Where got old man? I love hanging out with you buddy!
I actually hang out with you more often than with my other friends. I don’t drink much nowadays so I’ll love to go makan! 😀
The feeling’s mutual. Always enjoy your company. 😉
Love all the food you ordered here especially the asam chicken. Would love to try the durian shake too.
I’m sure you wouldn’t mind coming here again and again… Most of the things geared to your kind of taste! 🙂
RM95 for a loaf of fruit cake is too expensive for me. Now, HB and you are meeting up often to jalan jalan cari makan at Sibu.
Not really, he has to spend time with his family and I guess he has his friends around, home for Chinese New Year as well. Yup…expensive but the famous Sarawak kek lapis isn’t much cheaper either!
Yeah, it’s been a lot of fun! 😀
You’re the only one I brought stuff home for except my family (hope no one sees this haha). I’ve lost touch with a lot of my high school friends, the only people I know here are from work. Unfortunate, our class (5A1) doesn’t seem to have a strong tradition of reunions, while other classes do.
I know people from other classes better than my own except for an ex-neighbor of yours who has moved to his own place after getting married. Gosh, I’m getting old.
My sister is going off before CNY starts to NZ. Come drop by sometime and let’s schedule an eating session! 😀
Gosh! I sure am flattered. My pleasure really, hope to get together a few more times before you leave town again.
Bangladeshi curry lamb & assam chicken look interesting, but not the two drinks that you two order. 😛
I guess you don’t like durian and you don’t like sour things. Must try the pineapple and ginger soda next time you drop by. Very nice!
The curry lamb and assam chicken looks wonderful. I would dip the garlic bread into the lamb curry instead of the chicken gravy provided.
I did that! Always loved bread with curry…so I just had to eat it like that as well. Nice!!! 😉
Haha! I think you’re his regular customer so they gave you more! 😀
In the last few visits, I was already grumbling about the shrinking portions…so I guess they finally got the message. 🙂
well the place were pretty cool
i love how they decorated it for CNY
They are very creative – always love the decor here. Very pleasingly nice – not overdone.
the food and drinks were mouth watering as always
i bet you and this handsome guy enjoyed it
Definitely! We most certainly did. 🙂
The fruit cake looks yummy but RM 95 per loaf, kinda expensive I think.. Hehe..
Got cheap ones in most bakeries. Supermarts, even pasar malam and roadside stalls, they have. Butter pound cake + fruits = fruit cake.
RM 95 for a loaf of fruit cake is definately not expensive especially if there’s liquor and the taste is amazing. You pay for quality.What is expensive are those birthday cakes you buy from any bakery especially the ones that look a bit terror. Sponge / mousse cake or whatever they call it, are dirt cheap to make, no quality ingredients and yet they will charge you RM 40 and above! Secret Recipe’s cakes ( you will faint if you see their ‘factory’ where they make their cakes and would not touch it ever ) are even more expensive ( although again no quality ingredients used ) and yet ppl so happily and proudly will pay.Makes you wonder, really!
SR cakes – RM80-90, not cheap at all. Ya…sponge is mostly air, not heavy at all. I guess they look pretty – people always judge by appearance, don’t they? Big, old, fat and ugly people like me…no chance lah! Hehehehehehe!!!!
you must have a VIP card by now for Payung! 😉
their curries looked really rich and delicious…on the other hand, they serve Durian shake?? its the only fruit I cannot stand… haha
No need for VIP card – they know me so well, will get special treatment everytime I drop by. 🙂
Can be ambassador to Payung Cafe.
Now many restaurants will remain open during CNY and then rest for a week or two after CNY
Not here. Most will close for a day or two…and after that, life goes on as usual.