My friend, Philip, is driving back to Kuching today and will fly from there to KL and then to China to visit his son who is doing his internship there before he goes back to the US. As he would be leaving, we went out for dinner the other night and this time around, the restaurant was open – the one where I took his son, Michael, when he was in Sibu around the end of last year.
Of course, we had the must-have…
…the fried cangkuk manis – personally, I like the ones here best.
I also ordered the bitter gourd with salted egg…
…which is also one of their popular dishes and I had not had their butter scotch prawns for a long time…
…so we had that as well.
I wanted sotong (squid) with soy sauce and dried chilies and I asked for a bit of salted fish as well, the same way some people would cook pork belly and it came out in a claypot like this…
It tasted all right but wasn’t anything to shout about.
Now, this one was the killer…
There were only three of us so I was quite reluctant to order their steamed fish (tapah) but I was told that they would give me smaller slices. Good grief! I did not expect a huge chunk like this and it would not be so bad if it had been nice – unfortunately, it wasn’t. The fish was not sweet – probably the result of having been frozen for too long…and was a bit hard. All in all, I would say that it was a disappointment and was nowhere near as nice as it looked.
The bill, inclusive of rice and drinks, came up to over RM80.00 but that was to be expected as we had fish and a big one at that.
So, do have a safe and pleasant trip back to the States, Philip and enjoy your stops on the way. Hopefully, we’ll meet again when you come back to Sibu around this same time next year. Take care and God bless!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
I like the cangkuk emas the fried one the best,, by the way who do you call cangkuk emas in Hokkien,, if i am not mistaken this vegi was very very cheap when i was small, we were poor then,mom used to fry it like it, like a wok full then one dish lasted the whole day………
So Arthur, how are the Acer speakers phones service you thus far,, so good or they good kaput on you too, chek chek, touch wood.
see i woke up so early, coming to check you out, long time has not been your no 1 first commentor already, so very the happy…kekekekkeek good day now, here in Penang still hazy
Morning, Eugene. My…you’re early today. LOL!!! 😀 Raining here and the workers are painting my house (1st time ever since we moved in in 1988) – hope the work would not be disrupted. Gosh…the mess! I hope they will clean up and everything will look nice when they’re done.
Emas? We call it cangkuk manis. Yes, it was very very cheap…and it’s still cheaper today compared to other veg – RM1-RM2, we can get a lot already here. Easy to plant too. The speakers? They’re ok, no problem… I switch them off now when not in use… Last time, I just left them on all the time…maybe that’s why hangus…poof!
last month i went back only ate 1 time only manichai…should hv ate more 😉
Never mind. You come back very often…so next time, you can eat more. 😉
Have a nice and safe trip to your friend Philip! The butter scotch prawn looks super delicious… drool…
Thanks, on his behalf. The prawns are great- only place I know where they cook them like this. Yum!
OHH bitter gourd with salted egg! I haven’t had that in ages! Used to hate them but now I love them!! 🙂
My daughter never touched bitter gourd all her life until she ate it the way they cooked it here…
i have always like bitter gourd.
They cook it very nicely here – love it!
The price is justified.. got prawns and fish.. both expensive dishes.. considered cheap too.. 5 dishes.. ok, tomorrow what next on the menu.. over here, puasa in the office.. looking at these really make me salivate now!
Quite ok…as the fish is very expensive at the market – even though what we got was not really nice and yes, prawns are expensive too. Would not complain at all about the price if the fish has been good.
As a boy not able to eat bitter gourd very bitter but its my fav now Why*Ask*Why not bitter anymore meh?haha. Just like chilly small boys cant eat them but when they grow older they are able to whack the whole lot red or green or chili padi.
Now the bitter gourd with wider ridges, not so bitter…and they also say that if you soak in salt water and rinse thoroughly, it will not be bitter also.
Goodness, they say smaller slice but give so big? Tell them reject lor… some more make you pay =3
The cangkuk looks good… i wanna try to cook boiled vege with the 3 egg thing… but any idea what vege they use? XD
Bayam…but I think it’s fried not boiled. I guess if you use bitter gourd, it is also ok. No lah… I would not make a scene – just next time, I would not order again – older and wiser.
@.@ Bayam? Nevermind next friday I am going to the restraurant i know that serves again… i go ask the waitress hahaha!
Older and wiser indeed :3. I would of see mood and maybe tell them off T^T.
*young and dumber*? :p
Dunno bayam? Google and see – got all green ones…so mixture of red ones. Very nice. Good for cookijng noodle soup too… Maybe I cook one of these days and post.
Well, love the first 3 dishes but sad that the huge chunk of fish is not fresh. RM80 for 5 dishes is reasonable considering you have prawns and fish. Both would cost a bomb.
A safe & pleasant journey to your friend, Philip.
Thanks. Ya…would be ok if the fish had been nice. 😦
nice nice….especially if the cakur manis leaves are real young. What fish is that? Looks a bit like Patin .
Tapah, freshwater fish – expensive. Not patin – the lady kept asking us to order patin but I do not like patin. Maybe I should have agreed to order that. 😦
i like Patin coz not much bones. Tercekik bones once. Hence now preferred fish that is without much bones
Tapah no bones – only the big one in the middle…like patin.
I dont take bitter gourd, unless its in a soup. Maybe because I don’t like bitterness in my life 😛 Bitter sweet like durians is ok though 🙂
Got medicinal value…better eat more. Durians not good for health…and so expensive – no need to eat better. 😉
omg, how can don’t eat durians??? 😛 Durians are the best. lol!
Yup i know, so I will normally take bitter gourd soup. 🙂
Stuffed with meat…minced meat, I mean? Nice…but must not overboil. Don’t like bitter gourd so soft. I love durian desserts – durians, not really…so now you know what to buy for me to eat when I go over to KL, ok? Oooooo….durian pancakes, durian cream puffs, durian swiss rolls. Yum! Yum!
Oh my…the butterscotch prawns are so tempting…….. never had anything like that before. Over here, they used to cook more with marmite or salted eggs.
Wish your friend have a safe journey !
Wow..”lakia cai”! Purposely put on first picture? hahahhahah
The price slightly expensive ya for Sibu standard.
Hope Philip already had enough food that he missed and he want to try, must be put on some weight when he left. LOL
Hahahahahaha!!!! Drool! Drool! Btw, when exactly will you be back in Sibu? End of the year school holidays? Coming August holidays? Hari Raya…airport will be badly congested plus it’s under renovation right now. I can imagine what it will be like. Tsk! Tsk! Yup…this place is getting a bit pricey – that’s why I prefer to go elsewhere nowadays. Philip’s exactly the same – some people have all the luck in the world – eat and still stay the same.
Okay lar tu RM80..got prawns, sotong and fish although the food look normal only…I’m sure they taste good though. 3 person can eat all that,ah…portions rather big!! Ikan tapah is soon hock,ah?
Anyway, you cat rumah to sambut me is it?…muahahaha.Ada tukar sofa baru, langsir and what not?
Yalor…VVIP coming, must get ready to roll out red carpet… August already, two months to go. LOL!!! Nope, Tapah is not Soon Hock. I had Soon Hock before but can’t remember what it’s like – I think it’s cheaper but also nice – quite popular here. Portions not really big lah…looks big in the photos only. LOL!!! 😀
I don’t take bittergourd so usually, I’ll just pick out the salted egg yolk to eat.
You must try this one…I’m sure you’ll love it. They have bitter gourd at most places now…but I don’t really like some/most of them. 😦
Bitter gourd is good, but I cannot take that dish… lol… I have low blood pressure problem. 😦
Any effect?
Got… after take the bitter gourd, i will feel very faint and pening pening. I cannot take it, even the doc advise me against it. But it’s very good for ppl with high blood pressure. Will reduce your blood pressure punya. Bitter gourd got medicinal value wan. LOL… u got high blood pressure anot, Cikgu? If you got, then take bitter gourd is good. My grandpa oso take bitter gourd dish regularly, and his blood pressure is much more controlled.
I take everything…but do not feel anything. Doesn’t seem to make any difference, no pening…nothing. Only certain things, I would need to control a bit…in case of gout attacks. Sighhhhh!!!!
Gout very bahaya, I’ve seen my friend kena gout… the legs bengkak like hell. Must jaga ohh, dun simply makan to trigger the gout. 😦
…and I do not take painkillers. Just tahan the pain – will be gone in a few days. LOL!!!
*drools
I miss Ruby Restaurant so much! The butterscotch prawns and the cangkung manis with egg is delicious!
I haven’t tried their steamed fish though but it looks good.
LOL!!! Not this time. I wouldn’t order that for dinner in case I would have one long sleepless night. Come, give me a tinkle when you’re back in town and we can go there for all those nice dishes…like old times. 😉
Did you order your special STP coffee? 😉
Wow, nice simple food (except for the expensive fisssss!)
The only cangkuk that I’m served by mom is in a soupy broth. Will try other ways after seeing your dish 😉
+Ant+
Yup, my mum cooks soup with it too when we were young. Sweet. Very nice for masak lemak too…or fried with sambal udang kering.
Reading this post gave me an idea. I have some butterscotch sauce left in the fridge and you just gave me an idea..Prawns in butterscotch sauce sounds great :p thanks Arthur for sharing this dish with me..though no recipe , I have to make up the ingredients myself 🙂
Good luck. Ah well…whatever you cook, sure will be nice one… 😉
I love bitter gourd with salted eggs! Will cook it tomorrow. It’s always on my list everytime I’m on south beach diet.
Oh? Does it work? Maybe you can post your BEFORE and AFTER photos in your blog…?
the bitter gourd on the pic doesn’t look bitter at all 🙂
Gee! You mean you can tell? ^.^
Everything looks delish. I’m sorry the steamed fish was a disappointment. The fried cangkuk manis looks so good.
Yes, only the fish was a real let-down. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be so bad… 😦
Arthur, it all went by too fast! Thanks for the good wishes, for the company, and the wonderful food. I’ll remember Dandi’s kek, Kate’s pangang and our jungle trip most of all. BTW, talked to the lady at Nice House about the strange tasting tapah and she said, it was probably from Indon. So I’m a little disappointed with our friend at Ruby! Anyway, am still at KUL, flight got delayed.
Ya…never again, Ruby! But at least, the mani chai, khor kua and butterscotch prawns were good – just that the fish was unforgivable. We’ll go to Nice House and some other places that you have not been to when you come home next. Have a safe flight…