Fantasy…

Well, it is no fantasy, I assure you…but in actual fact, a reality that I have managed to find a place in town that sells the best char kway teow…right here in Sibu at Kopitiam Fantasy…

It is located in the vicinity of the Fortune Commercial Centre behind the Rejang Medical Centre where you can find a whole lot of eateries such as the Mitsu Tea House, Sushi Tie, Uncle Dom, Enjoy Cafe, Loke Ming Yuen, Sing Long Cafe and so on. The Blue Reef used to be there but it has since closed down and now makes up part of this coffee shop.

Actually, I saw Kongkay’s post on the pan-mee that he had there and decided to drop by to give it a try. Lo and behold, the “Ghim Eng” he mentioned in the post is somebody that I know – going all the way back to the 60s when I was a teenager and she was working in the ticketing office at the Cathay Cinema. She’s actually from the Teo family who, according to a commenter, Nelson, were among the earliest Hokkien Chinese settlers in Sibu, together with Chew Geok Lin, well before Wong Nai Siong brought the Foochows over from China. I only knew her and her elder brother, my father’s friend, whom we fondly called Lakia (Translation: Dayak) and at the time, I did know that the ladies in the family were renowned for the best nyonya kuihs (cakes) in town.

Anyway, to go back to the place, the kopi-o-peng kau (strong iced black coffee – RM1.30) there was superb, anytime better than Boston‘s…and may even rival my all-time favourite at Ruby’s.

I did not see Ghim Eng selling any pan-mee and but anyhow, I decided to give her char kway teow a try. It was served on waxed paper in a basket with disposable cutlery…

…and what my missus ordered came first. She wanted the char kway teow with sambal and extra chilli (RM3.40)…

…and it was a sheer case of love at first bite. She declared delightfully that it was even nicer than the char kway teow she had in Penang!

I ordered the normal version (RM3.00)…

…and I must say that it was really very good, a whole lot better than the self-proclaimed Penang char kway teow that I had in Kuching…

…and can rival any that I have had in Penang or elsewhere in the peninsula. As a matter of fact, it was so good that I would not mind going back there to eat that again…and again.

Take my word for it! Go ahead and give it a try! I am sure you will not be disappointed!