When I was a little boy, my favourite shop was one with the same name…
…or at least, it sounded the same but was spelt differently. It was a general store along Blacksmith Road here and later, they opened a branch at Central Road. That was where my father would buy all the toys for me…and if I’m not mistaken, the guy who makes the best cakes here in Sibu, Marcus…
…goes by that Chinese name too – I wouldn’t know whether the Chinese characters are the same or different though.
Anyway, this particular coffee shop is in one of the blocks of shops across the road from the Poslaju office here. I wouldn’t say it is new as it has been around for quite a while now, just that I had never bothered to stop by and check it out…until that Sunday when I went with Melissa and the mum for breakfast.
She had this tung hoon (glass noodles) dish…
…which she said was good and at RM4.50 a bowl, it was slightly cheaper than at this other place that I had gone to earlier.
My missus had the kampua noodles with piansip (meat dumplings)…
She said it was priced at RM2.30 according to what she saw in front of the stall. Now, THAT is cheap – especially when everybody else’s had been RM2.50 for a long while now and there are places around town that have increased the price to RM2.70 and some, RM3.00 even. Maybe that is why there is quite a crowd at this shop in the morning. Another reason, probably, would be the fact that the noodles were very good…and they gave quite a lot in one bowl too and at other places, you’d probably get four of those piansip but as you can see in the photograph, here, you get six…at least.
I saw a lot of people eating the Sarawak laksa as well and it looked pretty good so I ordered one for myself…
It did not cross my mind at the time that despite its attractive appearance, I did not detect any of the fragrance that one would be able to scent at good laksa stalls. It tasted all right and was quite spicy but I think there are nicer ones elsewhere plus they did not give any sambal belacan with calamansi lime to go with it. I can’t remember now but I think that was RM3.50 or RM4.00 perhaps…and all things considered, should I happen to drop by this place again, I would definitely opt for the kampua noodles – that would be a much better choice, I would think.
Incidentally, the coffee here is good too…
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
My stomach is growling now… LOL. I better go sleep before I think abt eating supper 😛
😀 Ya…bad having supper before bed but can’t sleep if hungry or craving for something. Head you win, tail you lose… 😉
The bowl of laksa certainly looked good. Guess it must be the fiery and vibrant colour that made it look good. Guess we cannot judge a bowl of noodle according to how it looks.
Precisely. It certainly looked good but it lacked the special laksa fragrance that is the main attraction of this unique Sarawak specialty.
heheh, hwa kwong sounds like a rhyme for what i call my grandpa (‘ah kong’). nice name! 😀 looking at this post makes me wanna have noodles. i actually like asian noodles, but i don’t have them very much. maybe i’ll try to find some in the morning. gud nite for now 😀
You do have those Japanese ramen quite often, if I remember correctly…other than the pastas, of course, but those aren’t Asian even though rumour has it that Marco Polo brought the idea of noodles back from China and that was how pasta came about. Personally, I would prefer our local noodles but don’t mind the rest sometimes for a change.
2 bowl of laksa please
Here it is, come and get it! 😉
RM2.20 for a bowl of kampua???? wow!! I wonder how much profit he can make.. so cheap and wonderfully good too!
RM2.30. They actually make a lot of profit. 1 kg fresh, uncooked is around RM2.50, if I’m not mistaken and that can make many plates.
They are very generous with the piansip, I like that. By the way, what cake is that up there?
Soft butter cake – and his cakes always have this very nice butter fragrance unlike those elsewhere…coated with grated cheese… I prefer those with simple butter cream icing though – adds to the nice butter taste.
huh?? only RM2.30 for that bowl of kampua with piansip?? and that loads of piansip not four but six!! hmmm, i guess she must have been doing business just for the joy of meeting people and not really to earn huge profit.. 🙂
With the better turnover, she probably makes a lot…just that she would need to make more and earn less for each plate but on the whole, as word gets round that her noodles are cheaper and more substantial than the rest, she would get more people dropping by and be able to accumulate a handsome profit. The others should learn this too – simply raise the price and the customers disappear. In this case, they would stand to make a loss in the end.
All looks good. Kampua with 6 piansip, only RM2.30, so cheap. Those are frozen fishballs, I guess, so round and smooth. All in all that is a nice breakfast. Is that cheese cake, looks yummy.
That’s what they call it but it isn’t – just butter cake coated with cheese. Yup, frozen fish balls but at least it’s cheaper than that other place…and they do not advertise them as being handmade.
I love the dumpling!!!
My missus had that – I didn’t try…only a bit of the noodles and it was good!
Hmmm.. Very cheap! Cannot find these prices in Singapore or jb.
Of that, I am very sure… 😉
That Laksa looks tempting lar… Melissa’s tung hoon looking good too.
Laksa not really… 😦
Erm, you didn’t mention about the cake in depth. I like the simple design… it could be another great idea for my next attempt!
It’s just very soft and rich plain butter cake, really really nice, coated with grated cheddar cheese…
i haven’t had laksa in a looooong time.. and i was craving for one last night after gym.. glad that i didn’t go for it else my workout will be wasted.. haha.. My Papa and many other foochow uncles love kampua at Pending – Chopstick kopitiam but if i can never finish a plate of kampua O.o
I know there is place named “Foochow Cafe” now in Kuching – my cousins love it and have been going so very often. Dunno where exactly it is though…
The Kampua looks delicious! Since you highly praised the bakery shop, I will pay a visit soon.
It’s good! As for the cake, it is not a shop – a home-based business, made-to-order…you can;t just pop in and say you wanna buy this and that… 😦
The cake looked very yellowish ….. what flavour was that ? Durian ? Mango ?
It must be the yellow lighting at the restaurant where we had dinner that night. It was just grated cheddar cheese – and you know how yellow that actually is, I’m sure…not so yellow, that’s for sure.
A bowl of noddles at RM2.50 only !! That’s very very cheap. Can’t get this price anymore in S’ban. Things are getting more and more expensive in Sban. Even 1 pcs of siew pau cost RM1.40 now.
Depending on how big your siew pao is – if the dim sum ones, the last time I bought – RM10 for 3 storeys (lau) with 3 in each of them, so that would be 9 char siew pao for the RM10. Not much cheaper here…
tanghoon looks very nice! 🙂 haven’t had tanghoon in sibu for the longest time
My daughter loves tang hoon more than any of the noodles that we have here…
The sarawak laksa looks good! Haven’t had an authentic one before though
Ask our friend, Constance Ant, to cook for you… She bought some sambal laksa back on her last trip here. Hehehehehe!!!! 😉
This is what I envy in Chinese business. Never goes for huge profits. When the price is cheaper and the taste is good, sure people will come again.
Yes, and they’re fast…though at times, not so friendly, no time for that…too busy.
Sounds like good recommendation for good food. I am very flabbergasted at the price of the food here! So cheap and the portion is big!!
Told you that you’d like it here – standard of living’s lower than in the big city and if you know where to go, lots of food…much nicer than some places in Kuching…and you’d save a lot on petrol too – every place is near, small town.
Above….my winner would be “kampua noodles with piansip”! hehe…looks nice, the piansip looks plump too. Too bad the laksa does not taste as good as its look ….
Yup! It does look good, doesn’t it? That was what attracted me in the first place…but at best, I would say it was ok, not something I would want to have again.
Smart business person taking advantage of economies of scale. Over here in KL, a dish like that would be no less than RM4.50. Glass noodles I like too.
My daughter’s favourite. Ya, why increase the prices and then lose all your business? Common sense will tell you you would be able to make more if you sell your stuff cheaper than others…but of course, you would have to work harder – to meet the demand.
I would go for that kampua… looks really good and even the piansip looks good.
p/s: I have never seen such a yellow cake! it’s quite an attractive one… mango flavor?
Grated cheese coating – must be the yellow lighting in the restaurant…
I like the tung hoon look so inviting and appetizing. That’s a very lovely cake too. 🙂
Have a nice day.
Didn’t try but my girl said she like it…
Most of the assorted kind of noodles in KatLumPor selling at RM5.00 a bowl now..
You people there so very rich one mah!!! 😉
Oh my laksa sobssssss… Like tung foon fried as it got ‘colored’ than the plain whitish soup. Even plain white porridge would add kicap or dark gravy to make it looked ‘tanned’ then only slurping good haha.
I love it fried too – we call it imitation sharks’ fins as one time we had the dry version in the restaurants, very nice with crab meat, minced meat and prawns, black vinegar….
I like glass noodles!! There’s a stall here selling nice glass noodles soup, with lots of ingredients and seaweed!
We have seaweed at some places here too…and black fungus, all good for health.
Good that you found a place where the food is delicious but relatively cheaper price. It is very hard to find such shops nowadays.
Quite ok here…but there are places that would simply increase their prices, any excuse they get. Best to boycott those – wouldn’t die if not eating what they sell, no matter how nice.
You are correct. Customers must pressure those shops that increase prices without basis.
Precisely. However nice, nothing can be that nice. Just boycott them – after all, they make huge profits – all of them are already so very rich. 😦
All the three looks very good! Especially the glass noodles and the kampua! slurp.
Yes, even the laksa – looked real good – tasted ok but lacked the laksa fragrance…and no sambal belacan. 😦
laksa, was indeed very appetizing from the color
to its content it sure is yummy
anyway the cake was tempting as well
Never judge a book by its cover, something by its appearance. The not-so-attractive looking kampua noodles were the best of the three.
The cake was good, of course…
The broth on the last dish looks really rich and flavorful, was it?
Unfortunately, it failed in that aspect. Usually, we boil a special paste to get the flavour out into the broth to cook this dish and this one, while it was tasty and looked good, that special fragrance was not there. Maybe they used a brand of that paste that was not as good – lots in the shops and we really would not know which would be good or otherwise.
hmm~~ It’s in Sungai Merah, isn’t it? Inaccessible for me then.
Why? You can’t get there riding on your wife’s back? Your “wife’, that is… Hehehehehe!!!!
Wow! Less than a Singapore Dollar for that bowl of Kampua noodle?! I cannot believe it! 😀
Come on over and see it with your own eyes… As they say, seeing is believing. 😉
I used to love those glass noodles with fishballs but each time after eating them I’ll puke. Don’t know the reason why until one day I discovered that I can’t really digest them so I had to stop eating them. Your picture makes me want to eat them again 😦
Yes, we seldom ate that when young as my dad would insist that they were not so easily digested and we would end up with stomach discomfort.
The kampua noodle with piansip so cheap! I like the glass noodle soup – clear broth, looks nourishing!
Both are good. Just the Sarawak laksa, tasted ok…but not up to the accepted laksa standard, not quite like it. 😦
Love that tung hoon in clear soup. I must cook that. And the laksa….omg…..really missing that. I still miss the one that I ate in Kuching…SO good!
Tung hoon soup is very easy to cook…and of course, the more ingredients you throw in, the nicer it tastes. This laksa really looked good – I was fooled into ordering that – unfortunately, not really good laksa…as in laksa, that is, actually. 😦
WOW! I can’t ‘get over’ that cake! That’s INTENSE!
The guy’s really good with decorating his cakes, old-school…but very very nicely-done and his cakes are absolutely superb. So rich, so soft, so nice.