Just a name…

Well, I wouldn’t say that it is just a name…

The simple truth is that it was once called the Capitol Restaurant located along Wong Nai Siong Road (where presently, there is a KFC outlet…or somewhere around there) but they moved here and renamed it as the New Capitol Restaurant…and they have used that name ever since despite the fact that it is no longer new in that sense of the word.

As far as I can remember, the owner was an old lady whom everyone called Ah Sap Chay…and it was noted for its roast duck and chicken rice – if I’m not mistaken, in my younger days, that was the only place in town where people could have chicken rice.

The restaurant is still going strong – quite popular among the local folks for wedding banquets and the like and a lot of people drop by for lunch – usually for its chicken rice and kampua noodles. I’ve tried the latter once but I would not say that I enjoyed it a lot. Because of the air-conditioning, the noodles turned cold real fast and rendered them not that palatable – to me, at least.

I’m sure I had had their chicken rice when I was small but I have not had it lately – definitely not since they moved to their present location. My daughter went once with my sister and she quite liked it…so the other day, we made it a point to go there specially for that.

The first time we dropped by, the place was full…so we had to go back there another time.

I’m afraid the photos don’t really do justice to the food because of the yellow lighting…

The drinks were more expensive that the normal kopitiam but that is to be expected. After all, they even have chandeliers at the place! *guffaws* The fresh orange juice that Melissa had was RM6.00 a glass while my kopi-o-peng and my missus’ iced lemon tea were RM2.50 each. The iced lemon tea certainly looked different from what they serve in the coffee shops and elsewhere with its two-toned colour – the lemon juice at the bottom and the tea at the top…

We ordered chicken rice for three and were served all the steamed chicken in one big plate (RM11.00)…

It was all right, nothing sensational…and if I were to compare, I would think that I like what they have here most of all.

They charged separately for the rice – RM1.60 a bowl…

…and as far as the rice is concerned, I would still stick to Chopsticks. As for the complimentary soup and sauces, my vote goes to the Singapore Chicken Rice…but of course, like I always say, one man’s meat is another man’s poison…so some people may wish to differ. To each his own.

I also ordered a few of their Sibu Foochow sio bee (meat dumplings) to try…

…since I have been hearing some favourable reviews all round. They were RM1.00 each but unfortunately, I did not think they were really that great. There are some others around that are nicer…and even cheaper too.

All in all, it was an o.k. lunch – not something that I would be dying to go back for but if I should happen to be around that part of town, I might drop in again…or perhaps, I would choose to go to the Singapore Chicken Rice outlet in the same block instead.