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!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
eh how come served like dat one de?? usually only pisang goreng served in dat way if at here. 🙂
I’ve said this somewhere before – this is what people should do as it is more environment friendly…no need to wash – save water and detergent, but I think they need not provide a plastic spoon – just the chopsticks will do, like they do in Penang…or they can use banana or other leaves. Save the Earth!!!
Good morning STP… yes, the ckt really looooked very nice.. good u can get better in Sibu, no need to go Penang anymore…. lol…. it seems Sibu has lots to eat too…practically you have tried almost all the shops, right?
Yalor…bye2, Penang! No need to go all the way there for char kway teow anymore. Hahahahahaha!!!! Ya, I go around to check out places to see if there are any nice places to eat. In a way, I’m doing the community a service… Businesses have picked up tremendously after people read my posts and headed to those places. Hehehehehe!!!
Oh! The kopi-o-peng-kau – reminds me how long I have not had that. Call me weird, it will take me awhile to switch drinks. Right now I order lemon-tea-peng-kosong. It has been quite sometime. Before that I ordered kopi-c-peng-kosong and it was for ages! I shoulld learn to have varieties every day – STP fantasy way! Way to go, friend, keep on food-hopping. I really enjoy each and every one of the post!
Glad that you like what you see. Well, as they say, variety is the spice of life. Can’t be going to Thomson Corner or Rasa Sayang all the time. Hahahahaha!!!
lol… I’ve yet to try the REAL penang char kwey teow..
You can go for the Penang Lorong Selamat char kway teow in KL:
http://kongkay1.blogspot.com/2010/05/penang-char-kway-teow-restoran-lam-hing.html#more
Bet it’s at least RM6 a plate…
im going later huahahahhahhahaa we go there together soon STP. Cheers!
Post some feedback when you come back. I bet you will not be disappointed… 🙂
the char kuay teow was excellent! im going there again soon. taste like the good old penang char kuay teow that i had near st francis xavier church PJ……when r we going to fanasy island…i mean kopitiam STP? Cheers!
Ya, good eh? Going again? You went without calling me! Tsk! Tsk! Hahahaha!!!!
Mmm……looks good! I think the best char kueh tiaws are still those fried with just eggs and taugehs.
I’m not really a fan of taugeh. For me, anything goes – just the difference between nice and not nice.
i always drive past kopitiam fantasy but never tried. probably it’s the name. all fantasy only hahaha.
definitely will give it a try on my next trip back since its so near my house! the kuay teow looks good. Kopi peng kau dua!
Now why would you drive through all those narrow backlanes, I wonder? Hmmmm…sounds fishy to me! Hahahahahaha!!!! Ya…we can come here when you come back again and you can try for yourself. I’m sure you know by now that I’m never wrong – when I say it is nice, it is nice – not like in some other blogs…
P.S. Probably your mum would have gone there to try by now. She seems to get to hear of everything I post in my blog or on Facebook. Hahahahahaha!!!
the char kuay teow looks reall appealing, can already tell from the photos. the ticket lady u mentioned, not sure if i am right, didn’t she migrate n a big ‘towkeyneo’ now? not sure if we talking abt the same person…..
Nope, not the same person. I think this one is single but I’m not too sure as the ex-SHS boy helping out at the stall resembles her – she wears spectacles with boyish looks. Very nice! Must go and eat on your next trip back! LOL!!!
OK OK heard you loud and clear 😀 Will definitely go try when I go back
We can go together…. Hehehehehe!!!! Have you drawn up your list of must-eat things yet? LOL!!! 😀
OK! ON! 😀
I am waiting….. 🙂
wah so the fantasy of finding the best CKT became a reality?!! hehe
Yes, I had almost given up hope of ever finding ckt here that’s anywhere near what I used to have in Penang. Even the KL ones are no good these days – dunno where the old lady at Jalan Alur has moved to… 😦
Wah, RM3 for char kueh teow, very good price leh. Cafe Fantasy…..drink the coffee there can go ‘high’ ah? ha ha ha!
Ya…RM3.00, where to find over at your side hor? In a way, the coffee can make you go high – strong and fragrant, really good! LOL!!!
Fuiyoh.. the char kuey teow .. fat flat noodles with a shiny surface.. Awesome! Argh now I’m craving for a plate! Haven’t even had breakfast yet 😦
Ya…that’s what our kway teow here is like – not as fine as the West Malaysian ones and that’s why I was so thrilled to find a place that could cook it so well. Wah!!! Almost noon – time for lunch lor!!! 😀
Funny you should mention Penang CKT because I just came back from Penang and has a most delightful CKT at Kafe Heng Huat (5.417429,100.324981) which was just behind the Red Hotel I was staying. Google and I found this
http://jasonchinweitan.blogspot.com/2009/11/kafe-heng-huat-lorong-selamat-penang.html
A word of warning. They charge outsider like us RM7.00 per plate but local pays RM5.50 only.
And yes, I will go to the shop you mentioned tomorrow and try their CKT.
Lorong Selamat? Yup…that’s near “the cheap hotel”. Does the guy wear googles? I ate there…but like what many Penangites will tell you, the ckt there is a bit overrated. I paid RM6.00… You can see my post on it here:
https://suituapui.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/save-the-best-for-last/
I dunno…but maybe we had a lot of other things so by the time the ckt came, it was good but we did not think it was anything to shout about – other places just as nice or even better…and definitely cheaper! The only thing was – the prawns were huge!
P.S. Do provide feedback – let me know if it’s nice. Tell Ghim Eng you heard about her ckt from me…so make sure she gives you special (and me too…when I go there again)! LOL!!!
oh gosh. it’s always a mistake to come here during LUNCH time! But they do look gorgeous and if I were to ever land myself in SIBU, I’ll definitely KNOW where to get the best CKT! If only you can tell me where I can find the best CKT in PJ, I’d love you to pieces!
Well, you can try this one:
http://kongkay1.blogspot.com/2010/05/penang-char-kway-teow-restoran-lam-hing.html#more
There used to be an old lady along Jalan Alur whose ckt I loved a lot but when I was there early this year, she was no longer around…and they’d done up the place – very different now…a few major shops with different stalls in them and the food had gone down the drain – the cooks did not even look local – probably (illegal) immigrants.
YEAH! that’s the problem! these days.. the cooks are .. err.. mostly.. immigrants! 😦
Yup…and usually if the boss is not around, the quality control may go haywire…and eventually, the customers will go elsewhere. Real sad… Maybe that’s why I find that most of the stuff in KL these days aren’t as nice as they used to be. 😦
You seems to know your Penang well. Here are a few places that I thought was nice.
Curry mee.
5.411072,100.330622
Prawn noodle 888 road
5.411073,100.330622
Oyster mee in some housing estate. Sin Lean Heang cafe. 5.40396,100.333586
Not a fan of the first two… Never tried oyster mee though…but I love their oyster omelette. Ya…when it comes to food, I do know a lot eh? You can type “Penang food” in the box on the top left and click search…and you’d probably get to see all my posts on stuff that I ate in Penang. No GPS though – most of the time, my friends would take me to all the eating places and I would not know exactly where they’re located.
the fried kuey teow seller very clever. No need to wash plates and chopstick. Safe time and detergent too! hehe …. and selling at RM3 is really cheap. Over here, at least RM3.80 / RM4. Hubby always complaint not full enuf after having a portion. hehe
I would think that’s a great idea. No pollution, no need to waste water washing…and use detergent, polluting the water. If they use banana or other type of leaves, even better. Thank goodness they use paper, not plastic. That’s why I said they should not have provided the spoon – chopsticks alone will be fine. Well, here RM3.00 – no more lunch. Had that around 10, brunch!!! Substantial enough!
Sweet! Will check it out when in Sibu this weekend!
=)
This weekend? You’re not going home to Kuching for the holidays? Give me a tinkle… I can take you there. My treat, no problem.
God is merciful. LOL.. luckily I just had these, otherwise, i’ll drool!
KL? Where’s a nice one? My friend took me to a couple of places – nothing great, can’t beat Penang’s…but this one a real tough challenger – memang tak kalah!!! 🙂
I dunno worr, Cikgu. The ones I had was home made la… sendiri masak wan, cuz I still got koay teow and some kerang in the fridge. So just cook up some and wallop as bfast lorr. LOL…
Homecooked ones, of course, the best! If I cook, I would throw in lots of prawns….and everything! Once, I even had minced beef and it was very nice – haven’t cooked it that way for a long time.
LOL… homecook ones… anything goes. Whatever it is inside the fridge, semua masuk kuali. LOL! Sure taste nice punya… alot of liew. LOL…
Yalor…all the same! Like that, sure full of flavour, sure nice one! LOL!!!
Drool….ooops sorry. Just seeing the picture of your food is enough to make my stomach grumble. Thanks for sharing this. I’ll be adding this to the list of foods that I wanted to taste.
Planning to come over soon? Guess you will have a pretty long list by the time you make a trip here. LOL!!! 😀
from the picture, can see that the kuey teow is really nice 1.
it is not so wet and not so dry.
but looks like they din put to much si ham in it…
i like a lot a lot of si ham in char kuey teow
That was what I wan grumbling to my daughter about on skype – no clams/si ham!!! But good also for me – high uric acid. May end up with a gout attack…
P.S. Your first time here? Thanks for dropping by and do come again. Checked you out on Facebook – looks like you’re Pete’s friend. Well, any friend of Pete is a fried of mine. Hahahahaha!!! Will link you…🙂
He’s Pete’s friend, all rite. *snort*
You know him? I checked him out via Facebook. Hahahahahaha!!!
Umm… him ah? Well… to make the long story short… me, Pete, and a few others were quite a bitch back then in Pak Lah’s time. Garfield included. LOL…we frequented each other’s blog. Now Najib take the helm… semua senyap liao… cuz nonid to bitch about petrol raise. LOL…
Oh? Pete too? Thought he only posts on food – not one of those anti-establishment bloggers like you people? Hahahahaha!!!! 😀
i just had ckt last night at the SS2 food court. 🙂 I like my ckt with chinese sausage inside and i don’t like clams. hahahahhaha
If you want to try pan meen, i heard my mum said there is a nice one near the old sibu airport, but i don’t know where exactly the location is, me and my mum suppose to go and try, but i don’t have enough time during my last trip back. Maybe i will check with my mum on the shop name and let you know. 🙂
Was that where you got pickpocketed? Gosh! Thank goodness you got the important things back, never mind the money…and good thing also that you were not hurt in any way. Gee! Can be so dangerous to go out these days… Old airport? So far away… Don’t tell me it’s in Taman Indah on the way to Teku. Never heard of anything nice there. Not really a fan of pan-mien… I just thought I would go and try – something different for a change.
i love to eat char kway teow especially when it was raining day. but if i eat during normal days, i will easily got mouth ulcer.
Must be very heaty – should take more cooling stuff like green beans (bubur kacang hijau), barley and so on.
lol coz we go to lok ming yuen every morning
Nothing nice there now…other than the somewhat diluted beef noodles. The kway teow lady is no longer there – my daughter used to love hers…but so little and so expensive!😦
Is it the kuey tiaw or was is a bit “goo-ey”. I like kuey tiaw that’s fried till it’s really dry, has “wok hei”, otherwise fail.
“Chow tar”, that’s the way Melissa likes her fried kway teow or mihun!
maybe not “goo-ey”, more “gummy”…maybe it’s the texture of the kway tiaw..
Maybe. The kway teow here is thick and firm and white – not thin and translucent like what they have in West Malaysia – like chee cheong fan. I prefer that type.
Oh yes! I like kueh tiaw fried untill got wok hei also. So nice, aye!
Just like my daughter. Imagine…I had to go and order – char chow tar!!! And they would give me that strange look… 😦
dies…CKT..drooling already. Some more with a glass of kopi O kau kau. fuiyo..that is life.
Ya…this is the life indeed!!! Yum! Yum! LOL!!!
I thing the best char kueh teow is situated near my house. 😀
Now, that will have to wait till I visit Malacca…and you will have to take me there and treat me to the ckt to prove that you are right. So far…never seen anybody posting on Malacca kway teow, much less rave over it. Speaks volumes, don’t you think? LOL!! 😀
It looks good, but the portion seems to be too small?
It was ok… Substantial enough for me to go without lunch. Maybe it was because it was buried in all that paper…so it did not look like a lot.
Wah…they look good and appealing!
No doubt about that! So when are you coming to town?
The Kampua there is nice too! I blogged about this coffee shop last time also. But I didn’t know they opened a Char Keow Teow now. I will go there this weekend then. Haha.
Not inviting me to tag along? LOL!!! 😦
Sir,your blog can be nominated as the best food blog…i think more than that….hahaha
More than that what? Please be more precise… LOL!!! 😦
no introduce uncle dom or enjoy cafe 😀 Both of them located nearby shun shun lai cafe ^^
All already lah! Just click the links on the names in the post…and you’ll get to the old ones in which I featured all those places in the same vicinity.
Tried it today. All I can say is, I still much prefer sea clam with my CKT.
Hahahaha!!! Did you suggest to Ghim Eng? I’d go without clams – usually I would pick them out and give to my daughter, so it did not matter much to me that she did not have any in her ckt. Other than the fact that the clams are missing, I would think it’s really good. Thanks for the feedback. Know of any place in town that’s better?
Saw Louis J’s post on FB yesterday, so I hopped over here to read.
Hmm…ur description of the ckt is making me salivate! In Sibu I rarely eat ckt, but it’s among my favourites in KL.
Thanks for the tip!
You should know better! Always drop by to keep up with where you can get all the nice things to eat in town! Louis loves the ckt…but Kong wishes they have clams in it… Go ahead and try…and let me know your verdict! 🙂
oh my GOD!
You don’t know how bad I want a decent kwe tiaw right now. I have yet to find one in NZ…
The prawns in the pictures looks like… super super super tasty. I suppose they keep the recipe secret, so you have to marry in to the family to know how to make it huh??
I know a great kwe tiaw in Jakarta who may be able to match the status of the best kwe tiaw in the world. Hahaha…
I don’t know if you can get kway teow over there…but actually, it is not difficult to cook. Maybe one of these days, I can cook and post on it. It is quite nice also if you do not have kway teow and use macaroni instead – same recipe.