Yes, it was somebody’s birthday again and this time, it was my sister-in-law’s so that called for another get-together to celebrate. We all went out for dinner at this restaurant and as always, there was a birthday cake…
…from none other than Marcus who runs his business from his home at Delta Estate here. My niece, working in Singapore, loves his cakes so much that whenever there is anybody’s birthday, she would order one for the celebrant and another to take back to Singapore to enjoy.
Don’t expect to see anything fancy though – you will see the same old-school butter cream icing…
…more or less like what he has been producing all these years ever since he first started. Even the taste is also the same (though he does make a few other varieties now) but that is what keeps everyone coming back for more – yes, it is that good!
So what did we have for dinner that night?
My brother-in-law would always want to order his favourite, never mind where we go for our dinner and that would be the sweet and sour fish…
…and yes, they did a pretty good job with it but I think I liked their claypot pork belly with salted fish and dried chilies…
…most of all. Their honey spare ribs were good too but the photo was a little bit blur so I decided not to include it in this post.
There were also these kiam sor hay (salty crispy prawns)…
…but even though they used the much-coveted udang galah (freshwater prawns), I did not think it was all that great as the crustaceans seemed to lack the sweetness that the fresh ones would have and would have been kind of bland if not for the other ingredients used to cook this dish.
There was also the Sabah eyew chai…
…which I am never fond of and we ordered ching chao so I expected it to come out dry with lots of garlic and maybe just a bit of sauce. However, what they dished out had so much gravy, so starchy from the cornflour used to thicken it…and even though, everyone seemed to enjoy it and finished all that was on the plate, I didn’t bother to give it a try especially when there were all the other nicer things to enjoy.
We had the Foochow-style tofu soup with canned oysters…
…and though I did not get any oysters in my serving, I thought it was very good and everybody else shared that exact same sentiment.
Service was good and everything came out very fast but gosh!!! The place was packed! It was so crowded and people kept coming and going all the time we were there…and I think I can guess why. The food was not bad (though I would not say it was so good that I would be dying to go back for more)…and so very cheap. For the 8 of us and the six dishes, the bill came up to only RM110.00 inclusive of rice and drinks.
It certainly was great, getting together once again plus the cake was good and the dinner was not too bad either and after we had finished everything and everyone had had his or her fill, we left quickly…so somebody else could take our table.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
ooo, the cake is a real work of nostalgia … it brings back memories of the good ol’ reliable cakes from the 80s with the flower ‘biscuits’ on the top. good memories 🙂
Hah!!! Those old-school wafer flowers! Thank goodness he does not use those – sometimes, I still see them used for presentation in some dishes at some restaurants. Personally, I don’t see the attraction, nothing fancy or nice.
Happy Birthday to your SIL! What a nice cake! And, yes, I love the foochow soup. This is the one where you need some little vinegar on it. I always had it in Yong Peng, the foochow town of Johor. The prawns looks great too!! Sumptuous dinner!!
Yes, like sharks’ fins or sea cucumber soup, you have the option to add black vinegar just before serving and eating. It seems that if you add that while cooking, it will counter the effect of the cornflour and render the soup watery – it will not be starchy and thick.
The very traditional looking cake! As long as it taste nice, appearance is not important.
The dishes look good. Again I am eyeing the clear soup. Interesting, I never had canned oysters in my soup before.
It gives it that special fragrance and taste. I wish they had been a bit more generous with the oysters – not expensive at all one can of that. You can order that the next time you eat out. Hmmm…I actually like this old school butter icing of the cake – he does have newer styles now, also nice…but I love how delicately he pumps those pretty flowers. I don’t see that much at other bakeries in town.
Yes. Those flowers on the icing. Nowadays young people dont like flowers on their cake. Prefer something extraordinary. haha.
I still think they’re very pretty…but I guess I’m old, that’s why.
It’s another birthday blast again. Happy Birthday to your SIL. Ermm…Sabah eyew chai seems drowning in too much gravy, other than that, all looks great. Princess is back today, have a great weekend.
Thanks. Ya, it did not look good, didn’t touch it but everybody else seemed to love it – they finished all of that. Yup…she’s coming home and it’s a long weekend. Yipee!!!! You too, enjoy yourself!
It’s really cheap for a price like that.How’s the portion of the food for 8 persons?
Big servings, even though we ordered for 5 persons only.
That cake looks really old school! I’ve seen this type up until 10 years ago, but not anymore nowadays over here.
Good to know that you guys have the common courtesy to leave quickly after the meal. You won’t see that very much in KL or even Penang. Here when we look for places to eat out, if the restaurant is full, we would just leave. Most people will take their own sweet time because they “already paid and should not be rushed”. In fact, sometimes you can notice in restaurants, a table of people was getting ready to leave, but when they spotted got people waiting, they will suddenly decide to linger around for a bit longer. For what, I have no idea…
Gosh!!! That’s very selfish. I would not want to linger longer – so crowded and noise that one would have to shout to be heard…plus the heat. My head would start spinning, this cranky old man. These places are cheap owing the the huge turnover – so one should be considerate and give way to others. It should be ok if it is not crowded, not so many people on a slow night. Otherwise, if one would want to sit around and chat, one should go to the classier, more expensive places – that exclusive luxury is included in the prices they charge.
Nice cake! I like the flowers on top. Wish I knew how to pipe flowers like that. Sweet and sour fish is also a favourite of mine. Wow, all that food for only RM110.00. That’s a very good deal!
It certainly was. The sweet and sour fish was good but I would prefer the fish a bit crustier/harder on the outside. I thought it was kind of soggy that night – not too bad, ok…but could have been better.
uiks….just like the cake we had in the old days. They use cream flowers but I love the “biscuits” flowers when I was young. Yummy food. J would love the tofu soup.
Melissa loves it too…other than sea cucumber soup, that would be what we would order when eating out. Ya…kids love the wafer flowers to play with…and I cannot stand places with karaoke where some guy would take it and give it to some pretty lady singing. Eyewwwww!!!!! So tacky!
kiam sor hay looks yummy…
Not really. Prawns not fresh, I think…frozen too long so not sweet. Rather bland. 😦
wei… this is really chocolate chips… this one, lost half, came out half… reality show ka? u edited ka? or wordpress got problem?
Ummmm……you’re sure you’re not imagining things?😀 😀 😀
Birthday is a good excuse to makan besar!! 😉
Some more coming up next month – two in September.
Indeed the scrumptious dinner is very cheap! The other week I had dinner with 10 persons and 6 dishes, the bill came to RM245! I was quite alarmed… too bad I didn’t take any photos of them… anyway, not all places are cheap.. some can be reasonable and some can be “super alarming”…
Yes, the last birthday gathering we had was over RM200 too. I heard just to bring one own’s fish and ask them to cook, they charged RM25. It was a very nice dinner though – much nicer than this one…so once a year, that should be all right.
Happy Birthday to your Sister-in-law…
Thank you so much.
Wishing your sister in law a happy birthday. Beautiful cake!
Thank you. Yes, I thought it was very nicely done too.
I am back! Miss me bo? 😀
Welcome back! I just said that in my comment on your latest blogpost. 😉
What pretty frosting, I’m not sure I’d want to cut into it.
No choice, if you want to eat the lovely cake inside. 😀
the cake looks lovely with the beautiful frosting…good food and good company are all that matters 🙂
Indeed. Nothing can beat that.
Fat Mum coffee shop, ok, must go and check out this place next time.
I am sure you enjoy the cake very much, your favorite.
Yes, it is. Love it! Oh ya, food is ok, very cheap but do remember to remind them to use less msg. Last time I was here, so terrible – this time, not so bad.
May I know where is the exact location of the shop?The food served there looks appetising! 🙂
It’s along Lanang Road, same block as Payung Cafe – the other end, back to back with Kingwood Hotel new extension. If you come out of the hotel’s multi-story car pack and drive straight ahead (instead of turning left), you will go right into this shop through the back door. Hehehehehehe!!!!
Thanks for the information!I think I had come across the shop once.It is a very old cafe right(locates in the lowland area)?
Yes, it’s been around for a long time. Used to drop by quite often when my girl was still in school – she loved the deep fried stuffed eyew char koi from a stall there (no more) and the ikan bakar – still one there, dunno same one or not and we would order some dishes from the people at the back as well. Eventually, for no obvious reason, we just stopped coming.
Sir, is this Marcus guy still in business? Can I have his contact number? thanks….
I’m not sure but I did see somebody sharing a photo of a cake on Facebook and it looked just like his, his unmistakable style of icing on the cake. His contact number – 084-333571 or 084-311333.