If you’re thinking what I’m thinking you’re thinking…
…I’m afraid you’re not on the right track because despite that foot there and the name of the place (direct translation: an appetite for feeling fresh), that certainly was not what I was up to that second night when I was in Miri.
No, I did not go for a body massage or foot reflexology. In fact, my missus and I were not planning on going anywhere but my Miri cousin called and wanted to take us out for a bite to eat and would not take no for an answer. I insisted on some place simple so he took us here…
…for the nasi lemak…
…which is supposed to be very popular in the city and would draw customers by the droves. If I remember correctly, my cousin had the basic combo with fried chicken and his missus had some tofu with hers. My missus did not want anything extra while I had the daging masak hitam.
The masak hitam was really good and a whole lot nicer than what I had here but even though the rice was lemak (rich with santan/coconut milk), it paled in comparison to my favourite in Sibu. Incidentally, that guy has moved and the roti canai guy at the next stall told me that he had shifted to some place in Sungai Merah. I have been searching high and low but have yet to locate that elusive fella to this very day.
I wanted the ox-tail soup to share but they had run out of that so I ordered the beef soup instead…
…and it turned out to be really very nice. All of us certainly enjoyed it a lot.
After we had had our fill, my cousin took us for a drive and we went up Canada Hill again to see the night view of the city…
…from the top.
After that, we headed back to the hotel…
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
quite a winding road up hill… been to that oldlady hill once… u make me wanna go to miri again, and get those cheap big head prawns… wonder will they be RM15 per kg as 15 yrs ago…
Dream on. Even in Sibu, between RM30-50 already…when in season. Miri, sure a lot more expensive.
Beef soup looks nice but i am not sure if i am willing to try that daging masak hitam lol
See Irene’s comment below.
A group of bloggers came to Sibu and I gave them kompia and Sarawak daging masak hitam to stuff in them and eat. Passed to one of them. It turned out that everybody got their kompia…but the rest did not know anything about the masak hitam. Somebody ate it all, said so very nice! Once you’ve tried, you will never look at masak merah that same way again…
Daging masak hitam is always my favourite compared to ayam masak merah. Nice night view from the top of Canada Hill.
Like everything else, some do it better than others…but always safe to use Lisa’s paste, very nice – I hear all the shops use it, no need to go through all that hassle – always sold out.
Ooohh I like beef soup too.. But will usually order the sup tulang whenever I go eat at mamak.. I’ve never tasted daging masak hitam before but I guess it taste like black pepper?
A world of difference from black pepper – as a matter of fact, I don’t like black pepper at all…and it certainly comes nowhere near this! Ask mamakucing to cook some for you – I sent her half a dozen tubs of the masak hitam paste. I wanted sup ekor, habis…and I did not want to wrestle with the bones.
Better go for foot massage in Thailand. I think it is best I ever had.
wow, beautiful view from Canada Hill.
i love nasi lemak, either take with fried chicken or curry. Seldom with rendang or masak hitam.
No, thank you…so painful. Body massage, ok lah… 😉 Up to you to choose here – so many options available.
What makes the sauce look so black?
Raisins(black), blended or pounded and dark soy sauce…plus the usual suspects in Malay cuisine – all the onions, garlic, ginger, lengkuas, serai, chili…plus the spices – star anise, cinnamon sticks and all those…so it is sweet and salty and very very fragrant.
I can’t wait for Hari Raya to come so i can go visiting and if i’m lucky.. i’ll get my chance to eat Daging Masak Hitam… !!!
Can’t get this at the Malay stalls and shops? I’ve seen it at some Malaysian buffets at hotels in Kuching…
the daging masak hitam looks a bit freaky. lol! is it just beef in soy sauce or something? \:
oh & btw, thanks very much for the encouraging comment you left on my blog.
i really appreciate it & it’ll be a small online store that i’m launching. very nervous about it, of course. i’ve used my savings to purchase stock but yeah, yolo right. haha!!
you look like you’re having a grand ole’ time in miri! it’s always best when there are friends & family showing you around.
nasi lemak buffet looks ACE.
Masak hitam? Ya, a lot of people scoffed at it the first time they encountered the dish owing to the name and the colour…but once they tried, there’s no turning back. For the ingredients, see my reply to The Yum List above.
Yup! Best to go places with lots of friends and family and people to take you to try the best in town. Many came to Sibu and they just ate at places around their hotel…and jumped to the conclusion that the food in Sibu sucked big time. Ignorance certainly is not bliss…in this case.
Ya, lots of things to pick to go with the nasi lemak. I think this is everywhere in the peninsula. Not in Sibu – at best, for the special, you get a fried chicken wing…or a scoop of the masak hitam or curry and a fried egg – no choices given.
The beef soup looks great…
Tasted great!
I have never been to Canada Hill. Would love to try visiting the place someday. Did you try Nasi Lalapan in Miri? Heard that it’s famous in Miri.
We drove past the place after our nasi lemak dinner, very crowded too. Wasn’t in Miri long enough to go for that. I hear it’s not all that cheap though…the fish.
The black daging …is it beef ?
You can cook chicken like this too, never tried with pork or lamb or the rest. Personally, I think beef is nicer.
Bet d masak hitam not as nice as d ones u cook lah
What we cook is definitely nicer than what I had at Noodle House and a few other places here – others, some are more or less the same, some may be a bit better. What about you? Gave you the paste more than once already – never seen you blog about cooking it?
Fyi http://www.smallkucing.com/2012/04/lizas-masak-hitam.html?m=1 andhttp://www.smallkucing.com/2012/04/pork-belly-and-kompiah.html?m=1
Ah yes!!! So so so long ago, forgotten liao lah!!! About time you all come to Sibu again.
oh, self-service Nasi Lemak!! i like that, hahaha!! look at those neatly arranged dishes there like “chap fan”, i might not be able to control myself and take a lot of dishes to go into my dish~~ 😀
Yes, you can pick all you want…but of course, you will need to pay extra for each of what you add. If I had gone there on my own, I might have asked for more…but people treating – shy shy a bit lah. Hehehehehe!!!!
Quite nice to have nasi lemak for dinner. I am curious about the masak hitam. Never eaten before.
You can cook your own – see ingredients in my reply to The Yum List’s comment. With ingredients like those – even if you cannot replicate exactly the same, it will surely taste nice.
Hey! I had nasi lemak for lunch today! hahahhahahhaha
I was at Shangri La Hotel for buffet dinner two weeks ago and i am quite surprise to see daging masak hitam serve at the buffet line, and of course i took some and try, it is good.
They are learning…slowly but surely. I wonder if Lisa’s pastes are sold over there or not. Here, it’s everywhere…but the masak hitam one is always sold out – not available. So popular. 😦
Wow the daging masak hitam is really, really hitam! What’s in it that makes it so black?
See my reply to The Yum List’s comment above. My missus insists that some of the Malays use browning to make theirs blacker – dunno true or not. Usually hers not so black mah! Hehehehehe!!!! Tastes as good though! Wink! Wink!
The ayam masak hitam is really hitam! xD
It usually is. If not hitam, then not really successful – would not merit the name…like my masak marah was not merah, so frus! Besides, the place was indeed very dim and it was at night.
Ox tail soup? I’ve heard of it but never tried it for myself.
Perhaps that foot is there because they “put their foot in the food.” That’s an expression in some parts of the USA. She put her foot in this dish. Meaning it is really good. How a foot equates to amazing food escapes me. 😉
I’ve heard of getting one’s foot in the mouth…but if I’m not mistaken, that foot belongs to the shop next door – a foot reflexology and massage centre. Lots of those around here.
The night view city is so beautiful, was it windy that night?
Nope, but I think it rained earlier – nice and cool evening. Other days there, so so so hot!
Arthur, the masak hitam is really really hitam…. but I also like it when my Malay colleagues brought them to the office.. sweet and savoury…
Ahhhh!!! You have people there who know how to cook it now eh? When I cooked it for my friends in the UK in the early 90’s, they laughed at the name and its colour…until they tasted it – then everyone wanted the recipe.
Masak hitam looks interesting. Might turn some off because of its colour though.
Yes, I had friends who started chuckling away by the mere mention of the name, yet to see and taste yet…but once they tried, they all wanted the recipe. Tsk! Tsk!