We stopped by two other places first but they were both closed (on Wednesdays, perhaps) so that was how we ended up here for lunch, not that it was not in our list of places to visit but there were, in fact, too many and we could not possibly go to all and preference was given to those “along the way”.
I wasted no time in ordering the fried tom yam kway teow (RM13.00)…
…as I wanted to see if it was better than my tom yam bee hoon. I would say it was very very nice but I could not detect any of that typical sourish taste in tom yam dishes and maybe I’m biased but I do think mine is nicer. Hehehehehe!!!! For one thing, I would say that is a tad too expensive for a noodle dish even though they had prawns and all in it.
We also ordered this nasi uduk (RM14.00)…
…which I was told is, in fact, the Indonesian version of our Malaysian nasi lemak and if the rice was supposed to taste like nasi lemak, I must say it was, at best, all right – good but I would prefer it to have a stronger richness of santan (coconut milk) that would make it more lemak and at the same time, more fragrant. My friend loved it though and was praising it to the skies and she enjoyed the sambal cili very much too.
For that same price, I would very much prefer this kalio ayam (RM14.00) a lot more…
This is a dish from West Sumatra (Padang) and I absolutely loved the rich creamy chicken curry. I remember the last time we had that, it was served in some cabbage leaves…but I do think it looks a lot nicer and more presentable this way.
From the Indian menu, I suggested that the rest in the group should try the tandoori chicken (RM16.00)…
…especially considering the fact that this is the only place in town where one would be able to taste the real thing cooked in an authentic stone/clay tandoori oven by their North Indian chef. At other places, they may be deep-fried or cooked in an electric oven and I have seen in KL where the slabs of chicken are left standing on the skewers in a cauldron-like metal tandoori with hot burning charcoal at the bottom.
Some friends of mine are not fans of this dish as according to them, the chicken is often hard and dry. I guess at those places where they went to, they cooked a whole lot at one go and they would just leave them all standing in the hot cauldron…and consequently, all the fat and juices would have dripped off the meat which would end up dry and overcooked. That will never happen here as every individual order is freshly cooked to perfection and because of this, they would forewarn anyone who feels like having this that they would have to wait a while, say 20 minutes or more.
I did not like the raita (RM5.00)…
– the Indian yogurt vegetable salad but it was simply because it is an acquired taste that I have not acquired – same as the Korean kim chi, no, thank you!
All in all, everyone seemed to enjoy most, if not all, of what we had. I would say that generally, it was good too and the best part was that when my friend wanted to settle the bill, the boss of this place said that lunch was on him. Wasn’t that so very nice of the guy?
After having had our fill, we left and went on our own way home for a snooze before we would all congregate again in the evening for…DINNER!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
nasi uduk in Jkt looks much better… being sold at the road side… some one so scared of the underaged chicken that they sold… hohoho… in indo the chicken is much younger, thus smaller in size and nicer…
Small? You’re sure they’re not quail? Or those small Philippine chickens, the very noisy ones?
I probably go for the tandoori chicken with papadum ! Love it ! And, yeah , they always love to cook it again until it’s hard and not that delicious. Preferred those fresh from the oven !
Freshly cooked, but not left standing in it for so long – those are the dry and hard ones.
Another vote for tandoori chicken. The other 2 dishes looks good too. For fish, I never like malay fried one cos they are usually dry, hard and worst of all – tasteless. Food marathon is still on going kah? Happy New Year & Gong Xi Fai Cai. Huat arrrrr!!!!!!.
The Malay fried fish here are fine. Love the ones at my regular stall at Bandong – marinated with dunno what sambal and then fried – so very nice. Others usually marinate theirs with kunyit…and at the stall, the fish were RM1 each when they were two at the Chinese chap fan stalls, selling at RM2.00 already then. Then it went up to RM1.50…and RM2.00, dunno how much now. Have not gone for a while…and the Chinese places will just rub with a bit of salt, that’s all – the fish would have to be really fresh to be nice.
Good morning!
I would love to try that chicken curry. The nasilemak is tempting but nothing special. So I wouldnt mind having the kalio.
Happy cny!!! Huat ar! I know you are because of all the food. Impossible not to “huat”. Lol.
It did not end there – my cousin and her hubby from the UK were in town and they just left last night so there I went again…eating…eating…eating….and tomorrow’s Chinese New Year’s Eve already! Gee!!! You can imagine how “huat” I would be when the feasting ends.
Wah, you are really a kaki makan and kaki jalan.. Good friends, good food, good environment 🙂
I have never heard of tomyam char kuey teow before, only heard of tomyam bihun.
From the picture, it looks a bit wet, something like the mee goreng mamak, wet version, with tomatoes, taukua, egg & chicken meat.
Would love to have a bite on that kalio ayam tho’, never heard of this as well, good to go with a plate of hot rice, yummmzz…
Heard of nasi padang? Indonesian cuisine. It’s sooooo very nice. I think there’s a nice place at Summit USJ, dunno still there or not. I loved the ones I had in Singapore in the early 70’s.
Can you tell me when you are going on such a food trail next time? I will plan my flight! 😀
Sure will…but I do hope I would not have to do it again, non-stop eating can be quite a torture. 😀
nasi uduk, interesting, no wonder the first sight makes me thought it’s nasi lemak.. so the indonesian nasi lemak is less lemak?? haha.. but come to think about it, nowadays many places also did not have their nasi lemak enough, use of less santan to cut down the cost huh??
I don’t know…but this particular one here is not lemak enough, not to my liking – but some of the others in the group thought it was good. Yup, same here…a lot of nasi lemak at most places are VERY disappointing. What is nasi lemak if it is not lemak? Tsk! Tsk! 😦
Look forward to see dinner…
Tomorrow.
Cafe Ind! You’ve bought me here before too!
It looks like their menu has expanded. It certainly looks nice, I like the idea of the fusion sounding tom yam with noodles (it looks fusion anyway haha).
They really have made the “folded leaves into a box” a trademark of theirs. I reckon that’s a nice plating touch too, keeping the gravy away from the rice and letting the patrons choose how much to put in instead of nasi kandar style where they just pour the gravy over (something I know you don’t like). 😀
Ya, the friendly waitress remembers you very well. You must have made quite an impression… 😉 😉
Haha! Yeah, I remember the waitress too, I’ve only been there once, with you. 🙂
We had wanted to go a lot of times, but it was closed until that day. Good food and it looks like it’s getting better! Good for them on the Tripadvisor award too!
Not too sure when they’ll be open over the Chinese New Year holidays – probably will not close too long since the employees are all non-Chinese.
The char koay teow is indeed expensive, but was the portion large?
I’ve eaten tandoori chicken before. The texture is okay; personally, it’s neither hard nor soft.
Large enough for two, without anything else…but yes, I do agree that it is rather expensive despite there being prawns in it. 😦 Usually, that price would be more for a rice set together with a meat dish…not just one noodle dish like this.
Wow, the boss of this place is so sweet, or it’s maybe you guys are this place loyal customer???
Nope, we told him about what we were doing…. 😉
Nice dishes.. generous boss! Really you are on a food trail… how not to gain weight.. hahaha… save some extra place for your CNY goodies at home! Home cooked food are always the BEST!!
Yes, overeating, real bad. Now the sight of food puts me off… How to eat, come Chinese New Year? 😦
really beautiful pictures. Wah, everyday eat eat eat eat :D..
CNY is just around the corner, time to DONG DONG CHIANG
Chinese say, eat is “hock” or good luck. Hopefully, that is the case… 😉
Rm 13 for tom yum koay teow sounds a bit expensive, i’d go for the tandoori chicken 😀
It most certainly is. I just wanted to try to see how they do it and whether theirs is better than my tom yam bihun. I think mine’s better – wouldn’t want to order that again, not at that price and not when I can whip up something better.
I love the creamy chicken curry from the kalio ayam. The tandoori chicken I always had is hard and turn me off. Seems like the tandoori chicken at this restaurant is a must try at Sibu. Happy Chinese New year to you and your family!
Thank you and the same to you and your loved ones. Yes, I have had my share of those hard and dry tandoori chicken in the peninsula – didn’t think it was any good but the one here is definitely better.
ooo, i don’t think i’ve ever had kalio ayam before … i’d love it too, cos i adore creamy curries. might not be a fan of the tom yam kuey teow though, cos i generally don’t like sour food, hehe 😀
That’s exactly why I thought it was not good enough – it was not sour and spicy as anything tom yam should be.
I want to try that tom yam keow teow and nasi uduk, look interesting . I always love the food here. Shall go again on my next trip back.
Just in case, too busy to drop by here tomorrow, here wish you, Lucy and Melissa, Happy Chinese New Year and Gong Xi Fa Cai and huat ah! Yeehaa!
Thanks. Same to you, Cougar, Fearles & Cruz and all in the family, Qong Xi Fa Cai – a Happy & Prosperous Horse Year!