A cousin of mine in Kuching and her hubby drove to Sibu on the first day of Hari Raya, arriving in town at around 2.00 p.m. Being a public holiday and at that time in the afternoon some more, most eateries were closed already but anyway, I took her here because she wanted to try THE burger that I had featured many times in my previous posts and got her drooling all over…and luckily, it was open for business the whole day. Her hubby had their fried chicken while my missus had their mee mamak which was actually very nice. I wouldn’t mind having that the next time I drop by.
I tried their baked spaghetti bolognese with meatballs – it was very nice too but the serving was very big and there was too much spaghetti and towards the end, I was actually struggling to finish it and was not really enjoying it anymore. They should reduce the amount of the pasta and give an extra meatball or two instead.
Unfortunately, in my rush to go and pick them, I forgot to bring along my camera so I did not take any photographs of what we had. I guess I will just have to go back there again one of these days and hopefully, I will remember the next time around. Tsk! Tsk!
Well, she brought me a few things from Kuching and among them were these two bottles of peanut butter…
When I was small during the time when we were still under British rule, the nicest and more affordable peanut butter was the Pied Piper brand – imported from South Africa. I remember how when we opened a brand new jar, there would be a layer of oil on top and my father would use a chopstick to stir it and mix it altogether before we could eat it. Unfortunately, South Africa came under Apartheid rule and due to the trade sanctions, the import of anything from there was banned…and that was the last we saw of the Pied Piper peanut butter from South Africa.
Since then, we had to buy the getting-to-be-more-and-more expensive Planter’s or Ligo from the US or make do with our not-so-nice local brands. Then, my relatives in Kuching stumbled upon this Black Cat peanut butter – made in South Africa and since she was coming to Sibu, my cousin bought me two – one smooth and creamy and the other crunchy. I tried a bit of the crunchy on cream crackers and I must say it was really very nice.
Unfortunately, I had a wedding reception to attend that night so we only managed to go out for dinner the following night at this very popular place in town. We had one of their signature dishes – the cincaluk (fermented shrimps) fried rice (RM10.00)…
My cousin tried a spoonful of it and exclaimed, “Hmmmm…ho chiak (delicious)!” The Indian chicken masala (RM18.oo) that we had…
…got the same response and we all loved the sambal ladies’ fingers (RM18.00)…
It was perfectly done – very nice with lots of sambal hay bee (dried prawns) and I must say that they did it superbly well – just as nice as my missus’ or perhaps I should say that my missus’ is a little bit better – just a little bit. LOL!!!
The butter soft shell crab was expensive (RM30.00)…
…and a disappointment. Why? For one thing, it was a bit too salty…and for another, it was the same recipe that people would use to cook butter prawns so it tasted more or less like that, nothing sensational.
On the whole, however, I would say that the dinner was great – service was good – cordial and prompt and generally, everyone enjoyed the food. The servings were huge so there was more than enough to go round. However, the place was too dark and that was why I was forced to use the flash when taking the photographs…and it was so very crowded (at least, 90% were females) that night and I do wish that the people would be a little bit more refined and not talk so loudly – making it no better than a coffee shop (or worse). Where ambiance is concerned, I think I would rather go here – where the food is also very nice though the portions may be smaller and the atmosphere in general is so very much more conducive for one’s dining pleasure.
My cousin left for home the very next day so we did not really have much opportunity to go and eat but anyway, I’m glad she came and I do hope that she’ll come again soon…
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Alamak… this post is designed to kill me. Drooling over the sambal. Ahhh, chamz! Mana Shereen? She sure drool oso wan… her kind of food. Tsk… today Annie is safe!
Annie would love the butter soft shell crabs, I’m sure…and she eats Indian food as well, so the chicken masala should be fine. So many years in KL, I’m sure she would have learnt to appreciate Indian food.
In fact, the boss who took our orders discouraged us from ordering that as he said most people here did not like it – not used to the strong fragrant spices in Indian food and he himself did not like it either. We insisted on having that…and no regrets! It was very nice.
i thought the butter crabs will kill Cleff hahaha.
Food looks lovely but too bad not as good in taste.
No, no…the food was good, all good…just the soft shell crabs. It was nice – just slightly salty… They should remember that butter is salty already. You always eat butter prawns here, there and everywhere – that’s exactly what it tasted like lah! I would prefer something different…and special. 😦
Cleffairy,
When I read the first few lines, I go…’selamat’…but then kena tipu…he go and tampal the bendi goreng belacan!!!..teruk lar this Arthur!!!
Like the fattening before the slaughter! LOL!!! 😀
That is why la I say today both of us tak selamat. Got that sambal belacan wif the kacang. Haiyorr… kasi me that, I will take alot of rice la. Tsk… pagi pagi oredi kena today. Tsk. When I saw the first pic I oso tot I selamat today. LOL!
LOL!!! Don’t worry! Tomorrow, betul2 selamat… Not a food post! Don’t believe me, come back and see lah… Muahahahahaha!!! 😀
May I ask where is this Secret Garden eateries? Thanks.
Opposite Rejang Medical Centre – the other side of the roundabout, block behind the Samsung shop…beside the nursing home.
I’ll have to look for that Pied Piper brand here. I remember the peanut butter in those days as being sweet and very buttery, but can’t remember the brands. I always thought they were China brands. 90% females? Sounds like a good place to go next year! OK just kidding!
LOL!!! If only we were 40 years younger, Philip… If only! Muahahahahaha!!!!
i like the “black cat” peanut butter.. :p
You do? You buy in Kuching or in Johore? First time I’ve heard of it or seen it…
Yummy food! So far the peanut butter we get here are sanitarium n some local ones.cannot even find planters n i normally i buy krafts.like the crunchy ones too but i stick to creamy smooth instead for rest of family prefer that n only big bottles are on special most times!
I’ve seen Sanitarium products here – health food but I don’t like the brand name. Eyewwwww!!! LOL!!! We have Planters’ here and Ligo…and some others besides the local brands – Ladies’ Choice, Daisy, Wee’s… No problem getting peanut butter here.
sambal ladies fingers my favorite..yummy!
Nice! They could do it very well indeed…much better than some other places around that serve this.
hmmmm?? kuching is famous for peanut butter?? haha.. oh, i’ve not heard about pied piper peanut butter.. now let me recall, i can only remember the smucks – or did i get it right, the peanut butter with grape jelly??
Not famous lah…just that this South African brand is available there, not here. I remember the one with jelly stripes…but can’r remember the brand. Not Ladies’ Choice meh? I didn’t like it so we seldom bought those. My little nephew in NZ eats peanut butter sandwiches with bananas – I’m not crazy about eating it that way either.
Oooo… Drooling! Hahaha.. I love the zhao chai hung ang in cafe cafe but the serving is huge (3-4 persons). There is another place in town similar to cafe2 called baba and siam. I ate there once.. 5 dishes for 3 around RM50 all together.
Yup, I think that’s also their specialty. The boss asked if we wanted that but we were not keen on noodles that night. Their mee mamak is also nice. I’ve been to the original B&S at the Sibu bus terminal and they’ve another outlet now in town – Blacksmith Road. I haven’t been to this one yet. The food is nice too at B&S – the presentation is better but everyone agrees that Cafe2 is better as far as the taste is concerned.
Other good place to have zhao chai hung ang is at the coffee shop located beside Everwin?, same block as Medan Hotel. I can’t recall the name now.. The coffee shop starts with the letter ‘T’. You probably had tried it before 🙂 I am not so fond of mee mamak as the ones I tasted before were not so good. I went to the B&S in blacksmith road last year. I would say the food taste good but some tasted weird.
Yup…I know that shop – used to be at the back of MAS Corner, Kpg Datu. Supposed to be the best in town, very popular…but I’ve never tried as I do not like. I would love to drop by B&S, the new outlet, to try but parking in that area is a pain. Not easy to find parking if going to Cafe2 either…so I do not go so often either.
When you mentioned a layer of oil on top of the peanut butter, yes, I agree with you.. i remember during my younger days, the peanut butter was like that… must stir with chopstick first..and they tasted so much better than the peanut butter these days.. maybe bec of the oil or what? 🙂
Black Cat… smallkucing should like this! hahaha… Something unusual… nowadays I never buy them anymore, Lady Choice, Planters… those days I used to buy them when my sons were still studying … now they see, they want to avoid! hahaha…
Hah! We old people would remember the peanut butter with a layer of oil. I wonder what brand you had. The Pied Piper – the label was yellow and red in colour with a picture of the Pied Piper. Yes, I was sick of peanut butter for a while…but now, once in a while, I would buy. I prefer eating it with cream crackers – one side butter and the other side peanut butter – sandwich together and dip in kopi-o and eat. Yum! Yum! 😀
My most fav dish is none other than the lady finger with hay bee,pedas pedas lagi geng
hey cikgu,enjoy the remaining of the Sunday and God bless ya
You too. Ya…if you try my missus’ one, sure you like. She loves everything extra pedas – tambah cili padi some more. Slurpzzzzz!!!! 😉
The butter soft shell crab looks really nice but as you said it was a bit salty. I would be disappointed too.
The other thing is virtually every restaurant in town serves butter prawns cooked in the same manner so tastewise, it is so very common. For an exclusive cafe like this one, they should have their own unique recipe, something really special…and worth going back for.
our local peanut butter here has oil on top when you first open it 🙂 it’s delicious, too. 🙂
Oh? I wonder what brand that is. Don’t think we have it here. As a matter of fact, I don’t think I’ve seen anything imported from the Philippines here. Thailand & Indonesia, we have.
the likes of Ludy’s peanut butter. there is an issue though with the presence of aspergillus flavus but we’re still very much alive 🙂 hehe
Guess it’s the same everywhere. This or that gets banned owing to the excess usage of preservatives. Here, we had the halal (ok for Muslims to consume) issue as well – the favourite butter of many was recently recalled… 😦
Am a cincaluk fan and definitely I like the cincaluk fried rice. Aiyor!…the indian chicken masala and the sambal ladies fingers looks heavenly. Yummy Yummy food. Waiti!…wait!…let me swallow my saliva first.
Hmmm…Black cat peanut butter, new brand kah? I love peanut butter too and would normally buy Lady’s Choice.
Aiyor…why have to swallow saliva? Sibu so near… Just hop over and you enjoy all these and more. Shereen’s coming 1st October, arriving at night… Wanna join us here? Dunno whether BlackCat’s a new brand or what but my cousins in Kuching got all excited about it when the spotted a South African brand…like what we had when small. It’s very nice, very smooth and fragrant.
Ooo…i must buy this brand of peanut butter when i go Kuching…miao!!
Not too sure where they bought this…but good luck! You’ll be going there soon, right? Not hopping over to Sibu this time?
Peanut butter no good la….got nuts , can cause high uric acid. Take sugar free jam instead.
Hah!!! Look who’s talking? Look who’s down with flu, fever, cough…the whole works. Gee!!! Young people today – real tofu! Sick all the time… Our time, our parents would say, “Made in Japan!” Today, we would say, “China product!” Tak tahan lama…
Have not heard of ‘Black Cat’ other than AlleyCats & Small Kucing ..muahaha *nanti ada orang marah, wrong topic & comment Bananaz in somnolence hehe*. So the peanuts butter S Africa mali ah yummy love the crunchy ones than creamy.
Arthur,
First and foremost, Happy Father’s Day to you and all the dads out there ( I tertype Farther’s..hahaha..lucky I spotted it!)
We got lots of South African shops here and I’ll go and hunt if that Pied Piper peanut Butter ada jual kat sini or not.My son loves peanut butter, I love Goober Jam (peanut butter and grape jelly) but hubby simply hates peanut butter….mat salleh sesat!
We had tempura soft shell crabs today in a Jap restaurant.I think I would like the butter soft shell crabs better than prawns as I am not a fan of prawns but the bendi…ayoyoh Samy!!!…dribbling,man!!..the masala chicken..see only already know sure sedap hingga menjilat jari!Oh ya…your mee goreng was a hit!…nanti I’ll goreng again and letak recipe kat my blog..with extra sampah-sarap…hahaha…still has not learnt my lesson!
You’re not into prawns? Awwwww….have to strike that out of the list then. 😦 You’d probably love it as you wouldn’t have been eating butter prawns or butter anything as frequently as we do here. Aha!!! The mee was good, right? Two votes now… Irene tried it too and the hubby gave it 4 out of 5! Oh no…no…no…please don’t bring peanut butter all the way. Not something that I would be dying for, no way. Thanks for the thought, anyway…
Arthur,
Sad to report to you that NZ Biosecurity do not allow the imports of any peanut butter from South Africa..I went hunting for it this morning.
I only tak suka prawns but the 2 boys love them to bits…so don’t strike out any menu with prawns.
Hahahahaha!!! Sendiri cari pasal. I told you not to bother. Oh? So prawns will stay on the list then… Hehehehehe!!!! Ooooo….the belimbing prawns at Payung are really to die for. Yum! Yum!
I have never seen the black cat brand of peanut butter over here. Only in Kuching is it?
Dunno. Not in Sibu…but my cousins have been clearing the shelves in Kuching. Dunno exactly which store either.
My wife always ask “What’s nice today?”. Your great pictures never fail to make us drool. I love peanut butter. So does my 22-month son. Not for its crunchiness but rather for its sweetness. That aroma that lingers in the mouth.
Many regard my blog as a food directory…and worse still, some may not remember and they will text or call me to ask about something they had seen in my blog and the place. Tsk! Tsk! As if I have nothing else better to do with my time… 😦
“When I was small during the time when we were still under British rule.. ” <– Wow.. that was really loooooong time ago O.o
I want that sambal ladies' fingers !! huhuhu.. i'm hungry.. and i think i should sleep by now O.o
That was during the 50’s… I’m ancient eh? Not planning to come to Sibu again? Long weekend coming up…16th September weekend. I’ll be around. Can take you jalan2 cari makan.
Hey the burger actually looks pretty good. RM 16.90 – that’s about KL prices, in Sibu.
Now I’m curious, gotta try this Secret Garden place.
Hey btw, I’ll be coming back this Friday! 🙂
Goodie! We can go for a secret rendezvous at this Secret Garden… LOL!!! 😀
It’s just for the weekend though, wanna go out for lunch or dinner? 🙂
I have your number, will text you when I arrive. Cheers!
No problem. Just let me know when you’re free. Looking forward to getting your sms/call… 😉
oh my mom knows how to make peanut butter too and during special occasion like Christmas and New year, she make a bunch for giveaways…
We also have homemade ones here too – sold at the grocery stores. They’re not bad but I don’t think they’re very nice. 😦
Okra is one of my favorite vegetables especially when it comes to our “Sinigang” a very sour soup
We don’t eat this in sour soups (mostly preserved vegetables) except the spicy asam fish soup perhaps…but we add them to our curries especially fish.
I’m not sure if you’re celebrating this today in Malaysia but it’s Teachers Day today and I would like to grab this opportunity to greet you a Happy Teacher’s Day.. woohoo
Thanks. No, ours on May 16th…and it’s Father’s Day in Australia and New Zealand today – ours on the 3rd Sunday in June.
The black cat peanut butter is something I hv nvr see b4, does it taste like Lady’s choice?!
Me too, don’t like salty dishes, sayang lar those soft shell crab, should be pretty tasty.
Nicer!!! I don’t really fancy Ladies’ Choice. Would buy Planter’s or Ligo…but these days, they’re soooo expensive so I hardly ever eat peanut butter anymore. 😦 Maybe the crabs would not be salty for others, I wouldn’t know. I don’t take much salt in my food, don’t like…
I had peanut butter bread for lunch today.
Black cat brand? Oh, some new brand, look interesting. Most of the time i go for Lady Choice. Maybe should see can find any black cat here or not.
Although i am not belacan and hay bee fans, but that plate of lady fingers look very good! Yum!
Cafe cafe, business still very good? Last year i went there, but not this year.
Yes, they’re doing so well… Imagine all the money rolling in. Two young guys – I hear one of them was a dj at a hotel karaoke lounge before…and doing so well now. Can’t go wrong when you go into the food business…. Aiyor…peanut butter for lunch? So kesian… Lucky not tomorrow, or you would really suffer when you see what I have in store in the post. Hehehehehehe!!!! 😉
the peanut butter brand is so cute. I’ve never seen it before leh!
Neither did I before this… First South African brand since the one we had when I was small.