Girls just wanna have fun…

My daughter is on her 2-week Easter break right now but unfortunately, it’s coming to an end and she and her friends will have to go back to class next week. She did not go anywhere even though I kept telling her to but she did do a lot of things with her friends and had quite a bit of fun…and ate some nice stuff too – like the things they had at this yum char or what we call dim sum outing…

…with some of her coursemates.

The char siew pao certainly looked better than what we have here…

…and the yam puffs seemed pretty good too…

Melissa has always been a fan of these fried pork dumplings or shui jiao…

…and Portuguese egg tarts…

…and I must say that the chee cheong fan certainly seemed a whole lot better than what we can get here…

All in all, they paid NZ$13.50 each which is not cheap by our standard. Well, nothing is cheap there but what would be most important is that the food is good and they have a great time…

I would always tell Melissa to go out and pamper herself sometimes and not study and struggle with assignments and examinations all the time, indulge a bit…eat all the nice things that they have over there for it would not be long now before she will be coming home for good and who knows when she will ever pass that way again…

On top…

Not too long ago, I had a post on Kate’s pulut panggang and everyone started talking about the ones with sambal filling inside. I’m not really into those, as from my point of view, whether it is nice or not would depend on the filling and not whether the pulut (glutinous rice) is lemak (rich in santan or coconut milk) enough or whether it has the panggang (wood-cooked) fragrance or not…in which case, it will be, more or less, something like these…

…except that the sambal is on top and not inside…

These are available at a number of places in town but I usually buy them at the coffee shop at the back of the Sibu Medical Centre here, selling at RM1.20 for a packet of two…

As far as I can remember, they have always been good but these days, they are extra nice because the sambal is extra pedas (chilli hot) probably from the use of cili padi (bird’s eye chilli). Somehow, these days, the chilli that we buy at the market are extra huge but not hot at all. Even the sellers will tell you that they’re only good for decoration or for colour. I don’t know why this is so – probably the result of the excessive use of fertilizers.

And since we’re on the topic of teatime snacks, I bought these curry puffs the other day…

They were big and cost RM1.50 each but unfortunately, the filling was made up of mostly potatoes…

…with hardly any curry taste at all. In fact, I thought that it tasted kind of funny and was a bit sweet and I certainly did not enjoy it at all. That is why I am not going to mention where I had bought them from…and if you see anything that looks like it, don’t bother buying any. You might as well go and buy these as even though, they may not exactly be great, at 80 sen each now, they’re a lot cheaper and despite the absence of meat, the filling has that curry taste…and is a lot nicer.

So, what are you going to have for tea today? Care to share?

Happiness…

This post would certainly get Annie-Q drooling and craving and longing to come back to Sibu. LOL!!!

Well, actually, I stumbled by this place quite unintentionally. You see, I had gone to that part of town as I heard that they are selling kampua noodles here – I had dinner there on more than one occasion and the food was great…but when I went there that morning, it was closed. They do not open on on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays each month, it seems. Looking around, I spotted this shop in the block across the road…

I am not sure whether it is new but I certainly did not notice it before. Well, I saw both the man and the Indon maid eating the kampua noodles and I reckoned it must be pretty good to want and eat it themselves…

…so I decided to order the kampua noodles…

…and the pork liver soup…

I thought the noodles did not look very appealling when it was served but when I tried it, I found that it was really very good. Not soft and soggy, not too oily and no overdose of msg – it was just right! The soup was nice too – just the right amount of red wine…and there was so much liver inside that I could not finish all of it. I did drink the soup down to the very last drop though.

I’m not too sure how much it all cost but I gave RM10 and got a 5-ringgit note and some loose change back, so I guess it must be around RM4.50 for the two.

Well, that certainly was a satisfying breakfast and I wouldn’t mind dropping by again should I happen to be around that area anytime in future.

I’ve got mine…

You’ve got yours, I’ve got mine…and if you’re wondering what I’m talking about, you may remember that on my recent trip to Penang, there was all this hoo-haa especially among my cousins from Kuching over the beh teh sor or heong peah and tambun biscuits but one cousin in Melbourne, Australia said that she would prefer our Sarawak’s own phong peah (80 sen each) anytime…

The filling is soft and sweet, a bit like what one can find in heong peah except that it is not so sticky and gooey…

I do not mind these but I’m not a fan as it does not have the fragrant crusty, flaky skin like the heong peah…and I seem to scent in  the filling a very strong almond taste – those bottled ones that one dilutes with water and drink as an ailment  for sore throats.

But we do have very good tau sar peah (70 sen each) here…

…with a choice between or tau sar (black bean paste) filling and pek tau sar (white bean paste)…

I bought a packet of mini tau sar peah at Air Itam in Penang once because I thought they looked so cute but as far as the taste went, I would just say that I would never buy them again. These that we have here are definitely a lot nicer…

Almost…

Somebody told me once that the Kuching kolo mee around this area was nice so I went to this cafe at the Delta Commercial Centre here…

…with my daughter but it was so bad that both of us could not finish it.

Later, I found out that it was the coffee shop next door, not this one, so I went there to try and I had this…

*recycled pic*

It was nice but it was more like Sibu kampua noodles dressed up to look like Kuching kolo mee.

But the other day, I dropped by that Toto Cafe again. My missus would buy the fried stuff from the section at the back occasionally and they were pretty good. However, when I got there, I thought I did not feel like anything fried so I decided to take my chance one more time and ordered the Kuching kolo mee (RM3.00)…

This time around, it certainly looked good and it even had that red colour of Kuching kolo mee if you opt for the char siew oil…

It tasted really good too but it was not exactly like the real thing, ALMOST but not exactly. I think the texture of the noodles is different – these were a bit too soft and not as khiew (firm) as the ones in Kuching and it did not quite taste like those at some of my favourite places around there either.

To be fair, if you simply drop by any place in Kuching, you may get pretty good kolo mee but when eaten together with the best ones around…

*recycled pic*

…they may not be the same either and will certainly pale in comparison. Likewise, those so-called Sarawak mee in parts of KL and around there may look like the real thing but they do not taste the same. I’ve had some that are very nice like this one at Damansara Uptown…

…which actually came across somewhat like Sibu kampua mee but there are others like this so-called “Cat City kolo mee” at Asia Cafe…

*recycled pic*

…that tasted quite horrible. At least, this one that I had at the Toto Cafe here was ALMOST like the real thing and most importantly, it was nice. I liked it!

When love and hate collide…

I wouldn’t say that I hate cempedak – let’s just say that I do not like eating the fruit. I find it so hard to chew and when I try to swallow, it is kind of choking. I love boiling the seeds though and eating them even though at times, I don’t like the feeling of the gum of the fruit stuck to the upper gum in my mouth.

On the other hand, I would not say that I love eating nangka (jackfruit) but between the two, I would very much prefer this. Still, I would probably just have one or two seeds and that would be it.

The other day, however, I came across the hybrid of the two – cempedak and nangka…

…and I loved it!

It had the crunchiness of nangka so I did not have to suffer the chewing and the choking of eating cempedak…and the taste had a little bit of both – very nice!

Unfortunately, the seed looked kind of funny…so I guess boiling and eating them like what I would do with cempedak seeds would be out of the question.

I hear they are very popular in the peninsula – sold as deep fried fritters. I’m not really a fan of cucur (fritters) cempedak…so probably I would not be a fan of these as well.

All in all, personally, what I love the most is the young cempedak or nangka masak lemak – cooked in santan (coconut milk), that is…

*recycled pic*

…but I’m sure many of you would have your own different opinions.

I wanna know…

This is the bigger version of the mihun  (rice vermicilli) or what we call tua tiaw bee hoon…

…and what I wanna know is whether this is what people call laksa and you can find it in a bowl of Penang assam laksa.

*recycled pic*

The Foochows call it hung ngang and it is usually eaten in a ginger and Foochow red wine-based soup of preserved vegetables and chicken or fish or whatever – what they call zhao chai hung ngang…

*recycled pic*

My daughter loves it and she would even cook her own sometimes when she’s home but I’m not that crazy about it. That was why the other day, I ordered that but fried lakia (Dayak/native) style instead…

And that is another thing that I wanna know – which is why they call it lakia. Normally, people will order lakia mee (noodles) and the only difference I can notice is that they add chillies to it…

*recycled pic*

If I remember correctly, they used to sell lakia mee at my school canteen and theirs would have a bit of belacan (dried prawn paste) but I’m not sure whether they have that elsewhere in the coffee shops outside.

Anyway, back to the lakia hung ngang that I had, I must say that it was pretty good. You can drop by that Delta Seafood Cafe & Restaurant (GPS coordinate: 2.307942,111.825264) to give it a try…

Black and white…

It is actually white but after cooking, because of the soy sauce, it becomes black…

I don’t know if you can get it elsewhere and I don’t even know whether this is quintessentially Foochow or not. All I know is that, you can buy it uncooked in packets and you will have to soak it in water overnight to soften it so that you would be able to cook it the next day.

We call it pek koi (white cake/biscuit) here but on the packet, if I’m not mistaken, it is labelled as “rice cakes” I tried it once but it was a disaster. Even though I had soaked it the whole night through, it was still hard and was not really edible after cooking. What a waste of time, effort and money! I think I heard somewhere that there is a certain brand now whereby you will not need to soak it for so long…but no, thank you. Once bitten, twice shy – and if I feel like eating it, I can just go to one of the many places in town where they serve this.

This one’s from the Delta Seafood Cafe and Restaurant (GPS coordinate: 2.307942,111.825264) here and I must say that they do it pretty well. I wouldn’t mind going back again sometime…and for only RM3.00 a plate and the RM1.40 kopi-o-peng, this certainly makes a very satisfactory breakfast…

Any takers?

No longer…

In a recent post, I mentioned that the kampua noodle stall, the one that I grew up eating, had moved to the coffee shop behind the Sibu Polyclinic…and in my younger days, in that coffee shop named Kiaw Siong, there was a beef noodle stall as well. We called the kampua guy Ah Kow…and then when this other fellow opened his beef noodle stall, he was known as Ang Kau (monkey) and his son who helped him at the stall was Kow K’ia (puppy).

I managed to find out  where this beef noodle had moved to and I must say the present location is a lot better where parking is concerned. It is now in the coffee shop across the lane to the left of Singapore Chicken Rice, the outlet behind HSBC. I dropped by for lunch the other day…

…and found that they have three sizes going for RM3.00. RM3.50 and RM4.50. If you look carefully at the sign on the top of the stall, it seems that this business actually stared in 1963. Gosh! I was only 11 then. Well, I opted for the biggest – the RM4.50…

…and I must say that I was quite disappointed. In the past, when I went to eat at the former location (beside the Sibu Fire Station), without my asking, they would give me the biggest size they had…and it  would be a BIG bowl, the family-size soup bowl. Besides, not only is it no longer the only beef noodles stall in town but it is no longer the nicest as there are others that are nicer…as well as others that are cheaper and just as nice.

I guess I would not be rushing him to eat there again but I may just stop by for a bowl, should I happen to be in the vicinity and do not feel like having anything else that is available around that part of town.

That same day, at that same coffee shop, I spotted a stall selling char siew pao at RM1.50 each…

They were ok – the filling was nice…

…but I think I prefer those that I bought not too long ago…and those were cheaper – only RM1.40 each.

They also sold these baked jacket sweet potatoes at the stall…

…and RM1.40 each but for RM4.00, you can get three, I bought some and found that they were really very nice indeed…

I would not mind going back there some time and buy some more, that’s for sure.

Only when they packed my orders did I realise that actually, these came from the dim sum place that I would go to quite regularly…

I wish, however, that they would not use those polystyrene containers as they are not environment-friendly and would be thrown away after use. They could have just used plain paper to wrap and tie with a rubber band…or plastic containers that people can wash and reuse for other purposes again and again until they spoil. In view of this, I must bear in the mind that the next time I go to buy those sweet potatoes, I must remember to bring my own Tupperware…

As the lyrics of the song go,
I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change…

Tom’s Diner…

I mentioned in an earlier post that my godson/ex-student, Andrew and his wife, Michelle, came home from Christchurch, New Zealand for a few days and they were so nice as to invite me out and treat me to  lunch while they were in town.

We went to this newly-opened cafe at the Delta Mall which is not very far from my house…

Actually, Tom’s is a very established eatery in Kuching and has been around for a few years now. I cannot recall having eaten there but I did drop by once or twice for the cakes – reputed to be the best in the city and a cousin of mine loves the food there too.

I  am actually quite surprised that they have chosen to open an outlet here in Sibu, considering that this is not a very happening place compared to say, Miri perhaps.

This is the section outside…

…which was not surprisingly, quite deserted as it was kind of hot that afternoon. I did not take a photograph of the place inside as there were other diners and was afraid that they might not be too pleased about it.

I had this terrayaki chicken dish…

…which came with rice and some cabbage by the side. The chicken was very nice – tender and the sauce was pretty good. Unfortunately, the cabbage was disappointing as it was hard and felt like it was uncooked – I do not think that was supposed to be some kind of salad as it did not taste anything like that. If I’m not mistaken, that dish cost RM12.50 and at that price, they should be able to serve the softer and more fragrant Bario rice which would have been a lot nicer. All in all, I think I would very much prefer the terrayaki chicken set here.

Michelle had the fish and chips…

…and she said that the fish was good – they used snapper for that, I was told but the batter was disappointing. As a matter of fact, I was quite surprised that she wanted that at all as I’m sure they can get it everywhere in New Zealand and theirs would be a lot nicer than what we have to offer over here. I did not sample any so I would not be in  a position to make any comparisons but so far, here in Sibu, I think this place has the best fish and chips in town. Do enlighten me if you know of any others that are better.

Andrew had their chicken chop…

…and again, I did not get to try so I cannot make any comment on it.

Some of my students have dined here too and they also agreed that the food was nothing much to shout about but they were full of praises of their cakes. The ones I had in Kuching were really great but I’ve yet to try the ones here. But I did hear more recently that the lamb shank and the lasagne are good…and also the carrot cake. Sigh!!! I guess I would just have to drop by the place again one of these days to sample. Anybody else wants to treat me to lunch? Hehehehehe!!!!