Take over…

There used to be a West Malaysian franchise here before and actually, I went there not once but twice and I thought the food was pretty good but like most franchises, the prices were somewhat on the high side…and I guess that did not go down too well with the folks in Sibu so eventually, they called it a day.

Well, somebody has taken over the premises now…

…and like the previous owner, they have rented two shoplots – one on the left end of a block and the other on the right end of the next block with a vacant space (covered) in between the two. I would not say the same about the shop sign outside but I thought the logo by the side of the entrance did look rather impressive…

They have the drinks station at that shoplot on the left and I guess they do the cooking there as well. You can choose to have their chap fan (mixed economy rice)…

…and sit outside or go inside the shoplot on the right and enjoy your food in air-conditioned comfort. The chap fan certainly looked popular as I saw many people having that and for one thing, I liked the fact that they took the trouble to keep the food covered when no one was helping themselves to what they had in store – unlike at some places that I had the displeasure of encountering. Tsk! Tsk!

My missus and I decided to order their chu-char (à la carte) as we wanted to try and see if they were any good. I would not say that the place was very grand – it would be nicer if they had put in a bit of effort to arrange and place everything in its own place nicely. The tables were fine, covered with nice crimson red table cloth and on the one where we sat, they had this…

No, I don’t drink – not anymore…and that was not a can of that made-in-China beer. It was a toothpick dispenser – you press the tab and a toothpick will shoot out of the hole like this…

Come to think of it, I don’t think I have seen anybody here doing some major excavation works after a meal for a long while now – it used to be rampant, this horrendous habitual practice and I thought it had died a natural death. Obviously, I was mistaken.

They also use these sterilised/disinfected dining utensils here…

…like at the other restaurant that I went to not too long ago. I did check the bill later and no, they did not charge me for that unlike what smallkucing claimed she experienced at some steamboat or whatever place that she went to in the peninsula.

I was intrigued by the name – Hongkong kailan (RM8.00)…

…so I ordered that. When it was served, I thought it looked kind of plain but when I tried it, I found that it tasted very good – perfectly done, neither under-cooked nor overcooked…and very fragrant, very nice. I guess they fried it with garlic and some kind of sauce. The serving was huge though – I would think there was enough for 4 persons.

We also ordered the claypot tofu (RM12.00)…

…and if I thought their serving of kailan was big, this was even bigger! There was tofu (bean curd), some bits of yam, baby corn, strips of meat and so on inside.

My missus commented that they must have made their own tofu…

…seeing that it was so soft and smooth, almost like tofu fua (bean curd jelly) and even tasted a bit like that.

They said their roast pork (RM12.00) was their specialty so we decided that we wanted to try that…

…and it certainly was very nice – I was quite positive that they had used a bit of ang chao (red wine residue) to marinate the meat…but what I loved the most was the cincaluk dip that came with this dish…

I would prefer more cincaluk and perhaps, it could have been spicier but as it was, I would say that I did like it quite a lot – sort of sweet and sour, a little bit hot (but not enough for me or my missus) plus the mild cincaluk taste. I suppose they would need to cater to the general taste of the Sibu population and anything that is very spicy hot may not go down too well with most of them.

All in all, the bill came up to RM36.70, RM32.00 for the food and considering that there was enough for at least 4 people, I would say that it was reasonably priced. But of course, what would be most important would be the quality of the food and based on what I had that day, it was good enough for me to want to drop by again sometime.

Well, if anyone is interested and is not too sure of the place, it is at No. 41-43, Jalan Pahlawan 9, among the shops near the Sibu Bus Terminal somewhere BEHIND Secret Recipe and the telephone number, 084-216759

P.S.:
This came in the mail yesterday from a dear friend all the way in Ipoh, Perak…

Thank you so much, Elin. It certainly is so very sweet of you to go through all that trouble. Appreciate it heaps and will certainly try it out soon…and hoping to drop by Ipoh one of these days to sample “the real thing”! Wink! Wink! Regards to Wild Boar and your little piggies…