It’s the early bird that catches the worm, or so they say…and we were the first in line, my missus and I. We arrived on Sunday evening and were invited to dinner with my cousin and her family that very first evening in town while my two aunties arrived on Monday morning and my cousin invited the four of us to dinner with her family at her house that night.
Gosh! I can imagine how busy she must have been with her youngest daughter getting married and all the things to see to…and yet, she was able to come up with one really impressive spread exclusively for the dinner. I loved her masak merah…
…and her beef dish…
Initially, I thought that was masak hitam but no, it wasn’t anything Malaysian and yes, it was very nice too!
She even went through the trouble of cooking her chicken curry…
…from scratch. These days, I would just use those pastes in packets which can be real nice as well. Of course, hers was good though I wondered who dished out the curry and made such a mess – probably the hubby or one of the kids. Muahahahahaha!!!!
If I remember correctly, I think this was pork…
…and I enjoyed it very much and I absolutely loved her ladies’ fingers with the sambal on top…
…but the dish that stole the limelight was this –
– fish (bawal hitam/black pomfret) wrapped in banana leaf and baked and served with the oh-so-delicious sambal. I was told she had tom yam paste in the dip. Hmmmm…gotta try it sometime!
I think I just had a piece of the tofu…
…and I don’t remember helping myself to the ngor hiang/lor bak…
…nor the dishes she ordered from outside, the butter prawns…
…and the mixed vegetables…
I wouldn’t want to waste my tummy space on those when there are so many lovely own home-cooked dishes to savour and enjoy.
Don’t ask me how many helpings I had for honestly, I just cannot remember. I just feasted on the delicious fare till I was bursting at the seams. Too bad for the other guests to her daughter’s wedding who arrived the following day and those who were not able to come – now they can see what they all missed! Muahahahahaha!!!!
Thanks so much, cousin, for that wonderful dinner – hope it was not too much trouble. Truly, that was very much appreciated…by all of us, thank you on everybody’s behalf.
P.S.:
SELAMAT HARI RAYA MAAF ZAHIR DAN BATIN to all family and friends celebrating this very auspicious occasion today…
God bless, everyone.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Whoa, this meal really covers all the bases … Chicken, beef, fish, pork, prawns … All got! 😀
Like the traditional Chinese New Year reunion dinner spread – must have everything! 😀
:O your cousin is a cook in 5 star hotel?
You, sweet talker, you! My cousin would be so flattered to read your comment. 😀
Salute to your cousin. What a feast. With all those awesome dishes, sure it makes a wonderful dinner. Yummy!!!!… Going for Hari Raya visit?
Runs in the family. Hehehehehe!!! Nope, not going out – bad haze and very hot, best to stay indoors and drink lots of water.
OMG all those home cooked dishes look so delicious !! Meal fit for a king !! Got chicken, beef, pork, fish, greens, tofu, wow, like restaurant dishes.. I salute your cousin..
Typical home-cooked buffet spread in our family, usually many nice dishes to choose from…but of course, when I hold one, I would not be cooking so much – will depend on the number of people and maybe, cook fewer dishes but more of each, just enough to go round.
Wow! Your cousin sure can cook! I am impressed. I love all the dishes you had. All looks delicious.
Yes, I would say it was the best meal we had when we were in Bintulu. Even the wedding banquet at the restaurant paled in comparison – I would much sooner go for more of these.
I am very impressed, your cousin can cook extremely well…
Indeed.
If she cook all those stuff, shouldn’t need to have been bothered about bringing in the ‘reinforcements’ from outside.
Dunno. Maybe the kids back from KL and Penang wanted those or she was afraid there would not be enough to go round?
I do like pork, and the pork here looks good! 🙂
Yes, I enjoyed that.
I’m so glad I had brunch and now laying down on bed reading what you had didn’t make my stomach cry. Lol. I want to try to cook the masak merah one day.
Wah….so many home cooked dishes ! I love the lady fingers. Looks very nyonya with the belacan on top.
I guess you can say that we do have a lot of nyonya influence in our home cooking, other than our local ethnic influence. That is why when we go to nyonya restaurants, we’re very critical of what we are served especially when it can’t beat our own at home. Very high expectations. 😉
Those lady fingers look perfectly cooked.
Very nice and with the sambal, absolutely delicious. Ummmm…I did think there wasn’t much of it though – I like to eat a lot of greens especially with sambal like that.
I remember one of the first times we met, we went to the Li Hua buffet dinner and you told me about the ayam masak hitam (or was it beef rendang?).
It was the cheapest buffet in town and it was quite good too – too bad they don’t refill!
Yes, the masak hitam. I think they still have it every Saturday – RM10++ only, so cheap and not bad still, the food.
Interesting! I wonder how they turn a profit at such low prices?
Hmm…maybe it’s coz they don’t refill the platters of food when they’re gone.
Those were the days, I still remember meeting up with you and some other Sibu bloggers. 🙂
Yes, I remember that time too. They only refilled when we made noise. I think it is the same – have to go early then there will be a lot of everything, food is as always quite good. Go later, you will have to make do with what is left over. 😦
My mum likes to serve grilled pomfret with sambal too, with a squeeze of lime over it – very very yummy indeed! All that food you had looks fantastic.
Yes, I had to stop eating eventually as I was about to explode already. 😀 Really enjoyed the food that night – nothing beats home-cooked!
Smart eater…yes, eat homecooked food..the other outside food can wait… Hahaaa..Your cousin really can cook a lot… !
Yes, I would just cook a few dishes but more of each, less work. 😉
This is a really nice dinner. There’s fish, chicken, beef, pork and like as if those are not enough, the host bought prawns and vege from outside. So sweet and thoughtful.
P/S: Who knows maybe it is YOU Arthur who helped dished out the chicken curry and made such a mess and now trying to put the blame on somebody else. Hahaha 😛
Oh no, it wasn’t me. I was a guest, sure I would not help one. VIP mah…. Hehehehehe!!!
Wow, your cousin is a great cook! And in spite of being so busy she still has the energy to cook so many dishes. I salute her!
Yes, I would be so worn out by the whole thing, I’m sure…would not want to host any dinner at home round the same time.
The tofu texture looks ‘just right’ – I do enjoy it a tad crispy 🙂 Great mixed veggies there, too! Neat!
They do this a lot here, at most places in town, served with mayo. My daughter loves them. She loves anything deep fried.😀
would love the bendi. alamak…so many nice dishes leh
Come, come. Come to Sibu and I will cook up a storm and we can have something like this too. Hehehehehehe!!!!