This is undoubtedly one of the most popular places in town for young people to dine and hang out and not too long ago, they opened a branch at the Giant MegaMall and soon after that, word went round that they’d taken over The Ark at the Rejang Esplanade here in Sibu, making it their third outlet in town – the CafeCafe @ the Ark.
I was supposed to go there for dinner with Julia, Luke and Justin but unfortunately, it was closed on that particular night…but I did manage to drop by the following night with Philip who would be going back to the US of A a few days later. According to reliable sources, this particular joint is different from the rest in that it is non-halal so you can expect to see pork on the menu.
We decided to try their spicy fried rice with XO sauce (RM15.00)…
…and both of us liked it a lot…despite the overcooked fried egg, sunny side up. I must say that this is a big compliment as usually, I would not be very impressed by most of the fried rice available here, there and everywhere so you can take my word for it – this one’s good and worth ordering should you happen to drop by the place.
We also had their Thai-style midin (jungle fern) with roast pork (RM18.00)…
…and again, we were not disappointed – it certainly tasted great.
Now, if there are only two of you, I would suggest that you stop right there and enjoy the two dishes alone – the servings are so huge that it would be quite a struggle to finish especially if you’re not a big eater like me. I should have known better as the servings are also very substantial at their other outlets but I could not resist the temptation to order a few more items on the menu to try.
One of them was the stuffed crabs (RM20.00)…
…which were really good…
…but I must say that I prefer the baked cheese crabs at the Heritage in Kuching.
The pork satay (RM15.00)…
…was a disappointment in that it was in no way like satay as we know it – the only similarity would be the appearance but it was not marinated with the usual ingredients so in the end, what we got was some very tasty chunks of pork that were something like a cross between char siew, roast pork and bak kua (barbecued pork slices). Let me reiterate that it was very nice, make no mistake about that…just that I would not call it satay and there wasn’t any peanut sauce to go with it even.
Actually, Philip wanted to go to the pasar malam (night market) to eat some of the local delights sold there but after that heavy dinner, we decided to abandon the plan. The service was good and despite the fact that the waiters were not that proficient in English, at least they managed quite well while taking our orders and serving us…unlike at other places where they would just speak in Mandarin regardless.
All in all, I would say that it was a delightful dinner and I certainly would go back there again – but I guess I should refrain from ordering too much the next time around.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
midin and crabbie, both are my favourite yum yum. oh stp why you changed the posting time midnight? make people hungry only tsk tsk tsk!
on a total different note, my sarawakian homies have been showering me with Sibu delicacies lately! yum yum
Oh? So what have you been getting from here? Kompia? LOL!!! 😀 Well, new day, new post mah… The realy bird catches the worms…. Muahahahahaha!!!!
wow, not bad at all!! without reading your description yet, i was already drooling over that plate of fried rice.. it just looks so yummy but i only noticed that overcooked sunny-side-up after reading your comments, haha~~ the crabs look good too, as long as i do not have to crack the shell and dig for the flesh, they are good for me, haha!!
You’re like my daughter – wanna eat crabs but if she has to crack the shell, she would rather not eat. LOL!!! 😀 Yup…the food here tastes great – worth a visit once in a while.
those crabs looks cute and definitely yummy!
They were VERY nice…but I’ve tasted NICER ones from a restaurant in Kuching.
Very Sarawak le some of the food like midin and pork satay =D
Midin, yes…but pork satay, I think, is getting very popular in West Malaysia. Never tried it there though. Hmmmm…you’re new here, aren;t you? Welcome! Welcome! Do come again… Will link you in my blogroll. 🙂
such kind words from you for this place.. yum!
I don’t mind if its not the conventional satay.. the way you described it made me drool!
Kind? If nice, I will say nice…if not, I will say so – after all, I pay for my own meals…and I tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth – but solely from my own personal point of view. What I like, others may not…what is expensive to me, others may think it is cheap…etc…etc…etc… 😉
i tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth XD .. i like this sentence
Hope you do not need to say it out loud…at any point in time. LOL!!!
Alamak! The crabs looks so yummy. *drool* But sad lah, cannot go and buy and cook this… seafood naik harga until so mahal these days. Mebbe cuz near CNY. 😦 All these people… take advantage wan. 😦
Yakah? Oh dear! I hope my missus has stocked up for Chinese New Year….. I don’t see any fish in the freezer though. Haiyor!!!!!
I tak makan fish, but I saw fish more expensive than last week… and so is prawns and some veggies. Prawns very mahal leh. I thought wanna buy the other day so that I can goreng for my boy to bring to school and eat during recess, but tak jadi and bought chicken to fry instead. 😦 But den again… arrowhead (ngaku) seems to have a price war over here… the price keep going down pulak. Pelik!
Not into those arrow things – not a fan of deep fried chips…not even keropok…unless got acar timun.
Cleffairy..you go to wet market one ah? When I was your age, nothing can drag me to any wet market…not even if being paid a million dollars. I very geli the wet floor lar..hehehe but now dah turn into model mom.. I think I can even berenang in the fish water now. Arthur, actually hor, the Sibu pasar was the first market I masuk in my adult life, you know…hahaha. All previous attempts were aborted when I start scolding ppl when they walk and the dirty water splashed at me.
Sibu market so clean…and dry hor? And not smelly like other markets. We did not go to the fish section though – that part quite wet.
Sheeren, I was like you when I was younger or should I say even now, it is not my favorite spot. I go there with my mum sometimes when I know she is going to buy a lot of stuff so that I can help her carry. She also don’t like to go with me to the wet market because she said I complain too much. LOL!
Aiyor!!! You all so hor mia (good life)! I had to follow my mum to the market…from small! I carried the basket and she would buy the stuff and put everything in the basket…and I had to carry it all over. I hated it when she met friends and they would stand there and chit-chatted tak habis2 while I suffered… 😦
me too drooling at the crabs…cham…CNY duno the Kemaman Stuff crabs got open stall or not…
Good luck… Monsoon season over, should have crabs available… 😉
Can’t wait to visit Le Ark~!!!
Not long now… Next week! 😉
Sail on suituapui
Sail on by
Your time has come to *eat*
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine.. ♫
Ooi! This one is Commodores’…Lionel Richie’s lah. Not Bridge over Troubled Water… LOL!!! 😀
Same lah got the two words ‘sail on’ also what…~;).
Ok lah…all the same. LOL!!! 😀
Wah, see the lyrics already know what song… I salute you SIR!! hehehe
Of course lah…old man, all songs I know one! 😉
आ
कभी ख़ुशी कभी ग़म
ना जुदा होंगे हम
कभी ख़ुशी कभी ग़म आ आ ♫
Ooooo…Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham!!! I like… Cried when I watched the movie – so touching! LOL!!! 😀
Useless cry baby for your size, Bananaz cried too hahaha.
These days, I see sad and touching father-son/daughter movies or even commercials…sure flooding one! Growing old, very sentimental… 😉
Can get drunk over flied lice with XO? Think the satay sauce is the main attraction for satay without it no syiok lah bro. Those satay like slightly burned can eat the meat but spare the black thingy. Ma late brother’s advice before he passed on told me not to eat too much of those ‘chow huei tar’ bbq stuff could be the cause of his colon cancer. He must have bbq every month sometimes twice in a month and wallop those black stuff said ‘lagi best woh’.
XO sauce lah… You think your life so good, they give you XO brandy? Dream on! (But that was what I thought too…before! LOL!!! 😀 ) They say one BBQ chicken wing = 8 sticks of cigarettes…and they sell like hot cakes at all those roadside stalls, just imagine that!
Bananaz..there’s some truth on what you say…but tak boleh tahan when see chow tah bits…more shiok leh.
My daughter – her fried mihun or kway teow must be burnt one – imagine the expression on the hawker’s face, when I order char bee hoon, char chow ta! 😦
Shereen once in a while should be OK lah. Those days when we used the firewood to cook rice we do have those burnt rice at the bottom whoa we fought for it more chow ta more best. That’s is also another cancer causing agent…
Nasi kera…and kera also likes bananas… LOL!!! 😀
OMG! you ppl are too funny! But, chow ta is what I love, too!
Not me… My daughter loves those burnt bits though.
RM15 for a plate of fried rice with egg, OMGourd!! Seems like the price a hotel room service would charge, and they usually come with keropok, some pickled vegs and 2sticks of sate. :s
+Ant+
Not at the Renaissance KL! RM35++ there! At Bintang Warisan maybe. At one hotel here, they serve it like how you describe it – around that price too…nice but not so nice and serving is much smaller – by half maybe.
So, is this one of the must visit eatery? wink**wink**
One night only? Probably not… 😦
Crabs, that’s my wifey’s all time favourite seafood, too bad, here very the expensive, so we only do it once in a while, thank god I am not for crabs, so one to two is good for her, already.
Hey, Arthur, have a great week ahead ya
Here, not cheap either…so we seldom have crabs. Prawns and fish o.k.
In sibu that day i just stayed at home. I found out most Kampua mee does not taste like before. I went to Yummy and Aloha all the kampua become tasteless.
About the ark, it’s taken over by cafe cafe? It’s such a hit among youngster in Sibu but i did not make any chance to go there. Maybe in April i will be back for easter.
Aiyor…why Yummy or Aloha? You see my posts – never on the kampua there. Aloha, yes…but actually we went for the kway teow and one of us wanted kampua – did not even look good. Go Rasa Sayang…
Wah so mahal one, ah all the food…but all I like lar…eeeeeiiiiii….I benci lar you ni!! Kasi orang meleleh saja. The midin look so appetising. How’s the taste like? I know lar it’s Thai but how’s the taste? The satay tu kan, with the price, even the batang lidi and the pinggan also you must makan. Melaka got nice satay babi also..at 50 sen a lidi ( last I ate) pun kita dah complained so mahal..yours 6 batang for Rm 15…pengsan,man!!
Expensive? These days you go and tapao char siew RM5, only a little bit…and this one’s special, so ok lah…and anyway, I would not be eating that again. Already tried once, enough lah! LOL!!! The fried rice and midin, I wouldn’t mind having again – not expensive if sharing – enough for two or maybe even three persons. The midin tasted great – not sourish like Thai salad or our kerabu, hard to describe. You will just have to come and eat… 😉
The vege and the stuffed crabs interest me! 3 for Rm20 is reasonable..
Three? Aiyor!!! Confirmed liao! You need new glasses. There were 4! Muahahahahaha!!!! 😀
I would love to try the midin and the stuffed crabs. When my grandma was alive, she used to make stuffed crabs for me and my mum. I have never tasted a stuffed crab that as good after she passed away. I hope to get to taste some of these when I am in Sibu:D Hint! Hint!
No promises… You’ll only be here for two nights. Hardly enough time…and I’m sticking to places around the vicinity of the hotel. 😦
Ok, then I have an excuse to make another trip to Sibu:D
You are! You’re coming with Nick whenever he comes over, right?
All the food looks heavenly. Pork satay, 6 sticks for RM25….pricey leh. That plate of midin would be more than enough for me.
You go and buy RM5 char siew these days…and they’ll give you a strip of meat about that size, sliced and served with lots of cucumber and the char siew sauce poured over it. Not cheap either nowadays…and that’s in a no-class-at-all coffee shop. Want class – must pay also yunno! LOL!!! 😀
OMG the stuffed crabs looked so yummy! *mouth watering*
They were VERY good…but I’ve had better…
Hellooo… 🙂 …. can anyone tell me whether Fatty Crab in PJ is still the best place for crabs? We tend to be taken to Fatty’s only whenever we say we want to eat crabs when on holidays in KL (perhaps due to my sister living in PJ, so only take us makan in PJ 😉 ). AND Thai food, where please, good people. We have tried the Amarin in Mid-Valley in 2010 but I’ve heard there’s been a change and not as nice as before. Thank you, everyone, if you could let me know!
Don’t ask me. Nobody ever took me to eat crabs in KL… 😦
Oh no! that’s crap! 😉 But I know someone really nice will soon tell me where to go eat good crabs!
Looks like somebody has… 😉
Yoong, your “someone really nice”, is it me? Muahahhahahhahahhahahhahha!
Humph!!! Fishing for compliments! Muahahahahaha!!!! 😀
Yes!! Annie, you’re the someone really nice who answered my queries!! That AW, hopeless one!, only know how to sulk and complain that nobody ever took him to eat crabs in KL so not allowed to ask him! If we do come to KL at any time, I will definitely contact you and we go makan, drink and jalan jalan. And you can give me your shopping list of what you want me to get from Perth, no problem 🙂
That’s the truth, what? So all of you in KL….HINT! HINT! Muahahahahaha!!!!! Hey! You never invite Annie to visit you in Perth kah? She…jetsetter one, fly here, fly there…
Annie..you got a shopping center in Perth already! Quickly, write down your list..muahahaha
Hey! Air Asia offering discount on all flights starting midnight tonight. Quick, Annie, quick… LOL!!! 😀
Yoong, you come to KL next time, give early warning, I take you go makan makan and jalan jalan! Then we both can get lost together!! hehehe
Gee!!! Looks like my blog is slowly becoming a dating agency or a friendship club. About time I charge commission…for services rendered. 😉
Annie, QPV (only I get to address Quay Po Cooks as QPV…term of endearment mah. My term of endearment for Arthur is AW 🙂 )…. GFs, yes, yes, we will eat, drink and jalan together (and goss about AW). No need to invite over to Perth lah, you know I am here, so when u gfs visit Perth, you contact me and I will look after you and make you very very happy! Muahahaaaaa! We go visit sexy wear shop, sexy toys shop, sexy everything shop… Done deal 🙂
AWWWWWWWWW….sexy toy shops? Shereen would love that! Chains and whips are down her alley! LOL!!!! 😉
Wah!! Looks like now i got one shopping centre in Perth and one in NZ. GOOD!!! hahahhahahhahah..Please tell me who is coming back, i want to kirim the whole long list.
Sheeren, Yoong and Quay Po , i sure love to meet up with you all one day!!
Perth, you can fly over anytime. Right now Air Asia 20% discount offer is on… Auckland a bit hard as you will have to fly to Christchurch and then up again… MAS and other airlines, no9t so cheap.
Yoong, i don’t why, i don’t really like fatty crabs’s crab, the one opposite Fatty Crabs, Pangkor Laut Seafood, crabs not bad. And there is one at Taman Seputeh, very near Mid Valley, Robson Heights, crabs not bad, and i just had it two days ago. LOL!!! That will be in my post …hmmmm..hopefully soon!
We just tried Amarin in Mid Valley last December, food not bad, we quite like it, but last two days i just tried one at PJ Section 17, “I’m Spicy” oh, their thai food very unique and yummy!!!
You coming back for holidays? Make sure you let me know ya. 🙂
So many places…and nobody ever took me to eat crabs in KL!!! Humph!!! Sulk! Sulk!!! 😦
Arthur, not nobody want to take you go eat crabs, you are more popular than Brad Pitt!!!! Your time all booked up wan and no booking in advance, no chance to see you even and you are here for so few days… how to take you go anywhere lah? Next time stay longer so you want eat all kinds of crap, oops sorry crab in KL. LOL!
Next time I go, I don’t tell anybody – just you… Then you can take me to eat all the crabs I want. 😉
Food look not bad ya, i want to try that Thai Midin with roast pork, it look VERY GOOD!!! yum!! Ok, now i miss midin with red wine. 😦
Crabs, ok, i just had it two days ago for my early birthday lunch, and maybe this week another round crabs? HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHA *blek*
Humph!!! Show off… Cholesterol overload! You’re on hypertension medication, aren’t you?
Cis… wet market oredi close by the time I wake up lorr… lol…I go night market la… lol… and those supermarket. Wet market jarang go unless I wanna get sambal giling…and only go on weekend.
Here, you will have to buy the not-so-fresh stuff at the supermarts then.Pasar malam here does not sell such things or at least, not that I know of…
Interesting satay flavour…..mmm, wonder what spices they put into it……time to experiment…lol
Dunno. Tasted more like a Chinese BBQ meat dish…with multiple flavours. Not bad at all.
Whoa! Stuffed crab! Looks appetising! I been here, I think. But kinda expensive a bit for me.
The Ark has been around for many years now…but has not been doing too well – only initially. Now Cafe2 has taken over…and it looks like business is picking up again.
wah the midin looks really good in this picture!
It was good! Hey! Weren’t you supposed to come to Sibu in December? Don’t tell me you came…and went without contacting me? Tsk! Tsk!