I took this photo sometime last week…
…but I thought I would not want to use it and if I’m not mistaken, I think I’ve blogged on it before. For the uninitiated, this is the Sarawak umai – essentially raw fish with sliced chillies and onions in calamansi lime, usually eaten with sagu‘ (sago pellets).
Not wanting it to go to waste, I uploaded it on Facebook and was amazed by the response it got…and one of the comments was from an old friend of mine, Dorothy, who now runs this cafe in Petaling Jaya…
The specific details are as follows:
MigLemon Cafe
No. 7, Jalan PJ Selatan 5/28
Pusat Dagangan PJ Selatan
Tel: 03 77856299 or 0173045299/0168932626
She says that she serves umai at her eatery and also the celebrated Sarawak laksa…
…and the equally popular Kuching kolo mee…
Dorothy was working at the TanahMas Hotel in Sibu initially before she was roped in to run the Harbour View Hotel in Kuching…and then she opened a restaurant of her own at the Kuching Waterfront and I think before that, she was running the Sarawak River cruises. As for how good the things on her menu are, I would not know as I had not had the opportunity to sample them before. Perhaps those of you around PJ and the kawasan2 sewaktu dengannya can drop by to try and let me know your verdict?
Well, if you are not adventurous enough to give the Sarawak delacacies a try, you can stick to the more familiar lane and have her nasi lemak or curry mee instead…
…or if you’re into something western or continental, there is the spaghetti meatballs…
…and the burgers as well as the chops.
But if you’re a rice person, then you can try what-she-claims-to-be the very popular Indonesian fried rice…or the lemon chicken rice…
This deep fried banana dessert looks good…
…but I would strongly recommend that you try this love of our lives that goes all the way back to our teenage days loitering at the BanΒ Chuan coffee shop…
– the jelly pisang…or what we called cherry pisang at the time and while you are there, you can ask Dorothy the whole history behind this dessert drink. As a matter of fact, when she went to work at that hotel in Kuching, she introduced it at the coffee house there…and the fad caught on like wild fire – so much so that now, you can get it at many cafes in the city.
So, what are your plans for the Easter weekend? Perhaps you can head to MigLemon and give it a try? Bon appetit!
*Photos from Dorothy’s albums on Facebook (except the 1st one)*
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Tsk… I’m sot so smart after all… came here before bfast and this is what I get. SOBS! Lapar liao la!!!
Welcome to the torture chamber! Muahahahaha!!!!
Btw, I dun like fish, but I love to eat umai… very yummy!
According to the son, his mum makes the umai herself and it’s very nice. Well, that’s for him to know and for us to find out… π
*blush blush* Eh… next time if u come KL, can buy me the masak hitam paste anot? Couldn’t get enough of that and not good at making them from scratch. My mum followed ur recipe step by step and it turns out better than mine.
ps: This restaurant got masak hitam anot? They dun sell kompiah hor? =.=
No problem, non-perishable…anytime, I can bring over. They may have that…or perhaps you can call when you want to go and request for Dorothy to cook that. She’s from Sibu – I’m sure she knows how to cook masak hitam. In fact, she had a Malay food stall at a coffee shop a long time ago before she started working in the hotels – I did buy the food from there a few times. Very nice!
Talk about synchronicity. I’ll be in KL for three days so will definitely try out the place. Haven’t had that Ban Chuan jelly pisang since our teenage loitering days so tongue already hanging out like Fido in anticipation.
Hahahahaha!!!! Those were the days, Philip, those were the days…..of hiding under the coffee shop tables once anyone spotted Ah Bai’s car. π
Yes, Ah Bai’s car. I remember having to hide the pack of cigarettes too. All fun times!
Yes…the best days of our lives! π
Sarawak delicacies ? i tried already ma, the daddy me is the best muahahahahah.
See, cikgu i told you before that next time if you walk into any restaurants, please pass them your blogger card with the status,”celebrated foodie blogger” tag line,once i blog bout you, business go up by 30 %……….sure you can one kan?
No lah…just helping out – a very very old friends from way back during our school days.
the food looks good! and umai!!! i think i need recipe to make it leh
tried it, very nice coz i love fish β€
What recipe? Only thing is the fish must be fresh…and not the type with a horrible fishy smell. Can add ginger cut into thin strips to get rid of the smell, if you want…but I don’t like biting into ginger, cooked or raw.
i was listening to Peter Paul and Mary’s Lemon Tree awhile ago haha
Phew!!! Thank goodness…not Fool’s Garden’s! Eyewwwww!!!! LOL!!
i love that pasta and that deep fried banana…
is that chocolate syrup? Does it tastes like banana que?
“Deep Fried Banana cinnamon flavour topped with mozarela & parmesan cheese” Dunno what it tastes like, never tried. Hope to do so when I go over to KL… π¦
but don’t you think it can be done at home too… mom used to cook banana que for us….
I’m sure not a problem…if you have all the ingredients. Just deep fried…
the photos were so nice. i thought you changed your camera! haha
LOL!!! No way…no money! I guess the son, my ex-student, pharmacist by day, took the photographs, Nikonian…if I’m not mistaken. I’ve seen his works – pretty good! Youcan check out his photo blog.
Wah ….. The milk shake and the curry mee, nice leh !!! And, there are so many lemon trees cafe around the country it seems but all different eateries !
Dunno! Wish they could be more creative with the names… I would probably name the cafe Umai or something ethnically exotic like that.
Wow, I’m learning a lot of new words from your blog ‘kampua’ -la, ‘umai’ -la…..are we from the same country-ah? I’m from the land of ‘kuey teow’ and ‘tau geh’ only. Good to find out more about the vast variety of cuisine out there that I’ve not discovered.
Aha!!! Must travel over here more frequently. Things are a lot different. My friends from your side loved Sibu – said it’s like a different country altogether. Predominantly Chinese with an identity of its own.
Kolo mee… I hv long for it(a good one perhaps), will try to drop by one of these days for sure!;D
Thanks for sharing!
Good! Good! Ask for Dorothy and tell you’re my friend. π
Can get better price meh? Thanks ya!
Dunno. You can always ask for a special discount…or a special treat e.g. free dessert tp share and sample or something.
oh no! I shouldnt be visiting your blog so early… I always get hungry before 10am! dang. the curry mee looks soooooooo tasty.
Ya, everything does look good, don’t you think? Yummmm!!!!
sir,
another free promo for my mom’s cafe? I gotta bring you out for BIG dinner once you’re in KL again
Thanks for the comment. Honestly my fav there is still the Umai and they have one hell of Teh Tarik 3 layer as well.
No, yesterday was on Facebook. This one is for my blogger-friends. Hope business will pick up after this.
No need for big dinner – just give my friends special treatment when they drop by. Maybe can give them free sample of umai to try…and that will make them come back for more, bringing their other friends with them.
Tell your mum to watch out for those with cameras – they’re most probably bloggers…and their good reviews can be good for business.
P.S. Do tell your mum to include masak hitam on her menu too, if it isn’t yet. That is a Sarawak delicacy – those people there have never heard of or seen it, much less tried it…and I’m sure it will be a hit. They only have masak merah…
yoh!! the food looks super yummy.. and are you sure that bananas are deep fried?? i thot just drizzled with some chocolate sauce and then sprinkled some cheese powder on top?? i like this combination though it’s very fattening, haha.. and the jelly banana looks very interesting, i’ve not tried that before, taste something like cendol??
That’s what the title says. Well, aren’t all desserts fattening? Jelly pisang is a Sibu specialty, started by a coffee shop here in Sibu and it was a craze among teenagers (like us) in the 60s and 70s… Very nice! Something along the lines as cendol but of course, very different.
Gosh!…nice shoots…all the food look delicious. I feel hungry now. Keep on promoting food these days.
Umai…melanau delicacies rite. Heard of it but never give it a try. Scared of the fishy smell and some more the fish is raw.
Oh!..the deep fried banana dessert…have seen people wrapped up the banana with popiah skin and deep fried and that quenching drink…the jelly pisang looks great.
The jelly pisang? Love it! We have an imitation at a cafe here – RM7 with vanilla ice cream – very nice but not as nice as the real thing. You should be able to get it at Harbour View coffee house where Dorothy used to work – she introduced it there and it was a hit! Now it’s available at other places in Kuching but I can’t recall exactly where.
Umai – you need very fresh fish – no smell! Should be available at many places in Kuching…even those Malay stalls but some may not use the nice expensive fish. Like raw salmon – where got smell?
Raw fish huh? is it like salmon type of taste? I’ve never tried raw salmon before, and actually don’t really feel like trying.
Maybe as seen from your picture, the sweet and sour taste gives the Umai a unique eatable taste. Yes?
Yup…all the onions and the chillies and the lime will give it its nice taste. Like salmon too – not much taste in itself – it depends on the dip…or the other things, it is eaten or cooked with. Hey! Make sure you drop by that cafe and give my friend some support…or you’re not my friend anymore. Muahahahahaha!!!! And you can give the umai a try! Yum!!!
oooh yumz! esp that banana dessert *droolz*
haven’t had the chance to try any sarawak food.
btw, r u from sibu? π
Yup…and so is Dorothy – the proprietress of this cafe. What about you? Round KL, Selangor…you can always drop by and try.
Am from Kedah.
Oh so do u speak with a strong Foochow-accented English/Malay/Chinese blabla cos all ym Sibu friends have this very strong accent when speaking either language. Haha!
Oh? Then maybe we can get to meet up sometime when my daughter goes back to SP to finish off her twinning degree. Unfortunately/Fortunately, I can’t speak the dialect even though I am a Foochow – grew up speaking solely Hokkien and besides, I’m an English teacher. Have to make sure there is no negative interference… π
hey STP, the first pic made me drool already! I thought it was chicken pieces cooked with assam pedas.. hmmm… now thinking of what to take for dinner. This morning we went for dim sum, eaten so much that we skipped lunch… so no outstation food for us today! so much for planning.. .hahahaa…
Too bad this one’s in PJ, otherwise no need to plan dinner liao. Can go straight there. π
*sigh* why no one want to sell kampua here. :(:(
Umai? Never try before, i am curious how it taste like.
Food all look good, if i am around that area, will drop by and give support. π
Yes, my friend… Ask your friends to go too and if it’s any good, spread the word around. π
ooh! the umai is something like the Hinava in sabah! i like it! with lots n lots of lime especially! :p
Quick! Ask everybody, the whole gang to go and try this place out. Tell me any good or not… π
LOL at the kawasan kawasan yang sewaktu dengan nya! So cute lah you STP!
LOL!!! That’s very precise bah! Hits the nail on the head. π
Wow.. Sarawak laksa and kolo mee! Will definitely try them out.. hopefully they’re as good as the original ones π
Go! Go! Looking forward to your post on this place… π
I ask my girl to go and try out Dorothy’s goodies. Give her the address oredy. She will bring her friends along. I ask my girl to tell her you introduce, can ar?
Of course…and hopefully, Dorothy will give them special treatment. Hope they like the food there – let me know the feedback.
This place is in PJ? Maybe I’ll try to catch Mandy on one of her free weekends and head on down to check it out. Will your cousin be there at the restaurant?
Nope, not my cousin. My old friend – we go a long way back – to primary school even…Dorothy bin Abdullah. Do drop by sometime and let me know if the food’s any good. She used to have a Malay food stall in a coffee shop in town long ago before she went into hotel line and up-class cafes…and I loved the food there. Used to tapao home…