Last Saturday, my girl had to attend a lunch function at this hotel in town…
…and I thought my missus and I could just go to the coffee house there for ours and hang around till Melissa was through with hers and we could all go home. Unfortunately, it was booked for some private function so we decided to just walk over to Sri Pelita instead. For the uninitiated, this is the first one in the block of shops to the right of Paramount Hotel along Jalan Kampung Datu.
I thought I would want to try the ayam penyet at the stall there but unfortunately, it was no longer on the menu and I did not feel like having the guy’s ayam madu (roasted honey chicken) or Hainanese chicken rice. In the end I settled for the nasi campur (mixed rice) and these were my selections…
– a generous serving of the lamb curry with extra potatoes and this very nice fried fish, very fresh…
…and one egg…
…plus the fried mani cai/cangkuk manis…
Somebody commented on my Facebook page that this must be so spicy but no, actually, it wasn’t, not at all. The curry was more Indian-style, very nice but not spicy, not even a bit, and the egg came across like the gravy in the Chinese sweet and sour dish. And don’t let the chili slices on among the vegetables frighten you – that seems to be the predominant problem these days whereby chilies are not spicy, bitter gourd is not bitter and terung Dayak/lakia kio (Dayak brinjal) is not sour. What is the world coming to, I wonder? I would say that most, if not all, of the things in the spread here for the nasi campur are not spicy so those who are not thus-inclined would have no problem at all unless they do what we did – ask for their special sambal belacan…
Now THAT was hot and with that special on-the-house accompaniment, it certainly was a delightful lunch for my missus and I!!!
Of course, it did not come cheap – not with 3 meat and 1 vegetable. The total came up to RM10.00 though I would confess that I helped myself to a little more of the lamb curry than I should. This is one of those help-yourself or buffet-style nasi campur places and that probably would be enough for two servings but you can’t blame me really – I just could not help myself when everything looked so good and I would have wanted everything if I could! My missus was more disciplined – she had the lamb curry and the cangkuk manis plus another vegetable, bayam – one meat and two vegetables only and hers was just RM3.00. Cheap, eh?
While we were eating, I saw that the kampua noodles stall was open. It was closed for the day the last time we were at this coffee shop and I had no intention of waiting till the next time I drop by to try so I ordered a plate to see if it was any good…
They had a choice of beef or chicken and I chose the former…and boy, it was astounding! I would say it was much nicer than the other halal kampua place that I like very much, the one where for RM1.00 more, you would get a few of their very nice prawn fritters. Never mind the absence of lard, the onion oil was so very fragrant that it would put some of the regular kampua stalls in town to shame. It was pretty obvious that they do not scrimp on the ingredients here unlike those places where they would do that for a bit of extra profit and in the end, what you will get was something rather toned-down and not really nice.
This was RM3.00 though, 20 sen more but of course, beef is expensive and you get more than those 3 or 4 very thinly sliced red-dyed boiled pork. People have been commenting in general about Sibu kampua noodles that when eating, one should switch of the fan as if it is turned on full blast, the meat would all fly helter skelter. Other than that, at those places, they will give you a small bowl of very bland soup which would come across like plain water with light soy sauce and msg added, that’s all. Here, you would get this so very delightful sup tulang (bone soup)…
…that was so thick and rich, so very flavourful and a lot nicer than any sup tulang that I had had at any Malay stall elsewhere even. You can catch a glimpse of the chili sauce in the photographs too and I am sure you would have noticed that they give you their own-made Thai-style sauce, not those boring bottled ones that you will get elsewhere.
No, no, all you sceptics and non-believers! You don’t have to take my word for it and go there to give it a try. Just stick to those places that you frequent and spare me the caustic sarcasm in your comments. This place is enjoying brisk business with so many people coming and going the whole time when we were there (and they have even taken over the shop next door to increase their seating capacity)…so it would not make any difference at all whether you do drop by or not. Period!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
RM10 for nasi campur doesn’t come cheap but then, you got a fish there. That probably would cost you RM5, so still ok la…
I like that kampua noodles … simple and looks good.
Not cheap? Can you get something like this for less than SIN$4 where you are? Or at the nasi kandar shops the other side – I have been slaughtered many many times for much less, so I know – will never go near those places ever again.
RM5 for that fish???? No, a fish like this one, this big, used to be RM1.50 for something this big (RM1 for smaller ones) at the kampung stall I used to frequent (when it was RM2 at the Chinese shops)…and then it went up and up. Last I went, it was RM2.50, I think. Haven’t gone for a long time, dunno how much now…but no, it would not come up to RM5.00.
RM 10 is a lot for nasi campur!
At least for me, I usually don’t get the fish though, I think that’s the expensive item (at least over here).
The lamb curry looks good, we don’t get a lot of lamb here (at least not in the mobile nasi campur places, the huge franchise mamaks has it but it won’t be fresh and prices are in a category of their own – the dish would probably be around RM 18 or something ridiculous). I seldom go to mamaks nowadays coz they’ll always charge you sky high prices unless you’re a regular.
Haha! I love that comment about kampua and the char siew slices. I’ve never heard it before – good one mate. Thanks for sharing, good to know since I’m coming back to visit my dad soon.
Fish is not cheap here either these days…and lamb is imported, not cheap either. 😦 Yes, don’t I know those nasi kandar places? Have had my share of being slaughtered – nothing RM10 or less, never mind what. Their knives are very sharp. Oh? You’ll be coming back soon? Give me a tinkle, let me know soon as you’ve fixed the date. Hope will get to see ya!!!
Indeed!
Their knives are very, very sharp. I have been charged RM 32 for a plate of nasi kandar before on a business trip in 2004. Me and my boss were obviously from out of town and they took the opportunity to slaughter us.
Yup, I’m looking to come back this weekend, but I know you’ll be busy with Melissa during weekends so maybe we’ll meet up on Monday or whenever you’re free? Cheers mate! 🙂
This weekend, I’ll be tied up with another niece’s wedding…but yes, Monday is good. You would want to spend the first few days home spending time with your dad as well, anyway. It can get pretty lonely sometimes, I know, on one’s own.
Yummzz, your nasi campur looks so good, looks very similar to what I always take from the nasi kandar stall. Lamb curry, egg, some hati and maybe one fried chicken, RM11 at least.. All because of the lamb…
Oooo…I love hati, cooked as rendang or masak hitam. They never have hati here or not that I’ve seen. In fact, I seldom come across any at any stall – maybe once in a while only. Nasi kandar? Anytime more than RM10 – never had anything less than RM10 even if it was just one meat and one veg. Friends told me that the moment they heard me speaking Malay, they would have sharpened their knives already as they would know I was not a local. 😦
The Malay or mamak nasi campur is very expensive. I seldom eat nowadays although I love curries and spicy food. Stomach no longer tough like it used to be. Hehe.
Depending on what you pick and how much, I guess. Best to follow standard pricing – how many meat and how many veg, usually 2 meat and 1 veg. They say if you ask for this and that extra, their calculation will go haywire already…and the total may come up to a lot. My missus and I love spicy food.
Yea they charge exorbitantly for fish 😦
The irony of it all, when the whole little island is surrounded by sea.
That’s a big plate of delicious nasi campur. You manage to finish that whole plate and the kampua noodle? That would probably last you till dinner time. For me, I would only have curry lamb & cangkuku manis, that is enough.
Like my missus, RM3.00 so cheap. I wonder how much it would cost, minus the bayam – RM2.50, I think.
Looks very nice!!! 🙂
Very.
For RM10.00, your nasi campur is very cheap! Cannot get this sort of price over here. And you Mrs’ nasi campur for only RM3.00? That would only be rice and only 1 vege over here hah..hah… After that sumptuous helping of nasi campur you had a serving of the kampua noodles. Hmm…that sounds like me, I can eat two servings of food too hee..hee,.. 😀
Normally, I would not do that but I would not be heading that way again, or at least not so soon and I wanted to give it a try to see if it was any good. No regrets, it was so very nice. My missus helped me with a bit but not much.
Fish not cheap…
Another one – when your island is surrounded by sea. Used to go to Bedok, Changi for seafood in the early 70’s – cheap and nice then. Not too bad here. Prawns are the killer!!!
Your plate of rice looks yummy! I love to banjir my rice with gravy too.. haha.
I do that all the time but I would stick to one of my choice – not like at the nasi kandar shops where they would mix a few types of the gravy, all in one.
So you had a plate of RM10 rice, and still have space for another plate of kampua… superb!
Not all the time, can be forgiven. 😉
Looks pretty hearty! I love to have a lot of gravy too. And I don’t think I’ve ever had halal kampua before.
I eat that all the time at home…as I do not have lard. Nice or not, it will depend on the fragrance of the oil. When you fry a lot of shallots in it, it will not disappoint, I’m sure. I would add a lot of chopped spring onions too, grow my own.
Used ipad to comment and the earlier comment went missing…
Oh? I wonder why. Let me see if it is in SPAM.
Ok good..comment published…
I was saying not cheap but if shared, then worth it cos got meat and fish and each one will come to rm5 only… Normally I order fried fish one like this with vege and it cost rm4-5 too….
Nope, your comment did not go to SPAM. Lost in space.
Aiyor!!! If just the fish and veg, RM3.00 lor…or less if it’s just one veg. My missus had two plus the mutton curry, only RM3.00. If RM4-5, THAT would be expensive lor! Mine, maybe they saw so much mutton curry, all the meat and the potatoes, and counted that as two servings – so in actual fact, 4 meat and 1 veg…for RM10.00. Ok, quite reasonable, don’t you think? I am sure it is not cheaper at your side for THAT amount of food.
RM10 wor…..quite pricey leh….like KL price liao…how much the fish wor
See my reply to Claire above…plus a big plate of sambal belacan, absolutely free – the boss gave us so much! Dunno the fish, did not ask for the price of each individual item.
thought sambal belacan memang free punya ma….at least over here la. finish makan the sambal can ask tambah leh
Here, I have not seen any place giving any at all…except here and even then, one would need to ask. The boss gave us a lot but I guess it isn’t so bad since he is using the West Malaysian belacan, cheap – so very much cheaper than the ones from Bintulu, RM50 a kg. 😦
I like the nasi campur. No..no my nasi campur will never exceed RM5. HAhah..cos I always take half rice and greens only.
I met my friends there that day – a couple…and they shared a plate and a drink. Aiyor!!!! I would be hungry in no time at all if I had so little. Hehehehehehe!!!
Hey that’s my comment. I accidentally pressed too fast.
Hahahahaha!!! Be careful where or when you cucuk, ya! 😀 😀 😀
The sup tulang really looks thick and tasty! Oh how I miss nasi campur! I know I say this now but when I’m back home, I won’t want to order nasi campur because there are too many other dishes/choices that would attract me! LOL!
I love nasi campur – but of course, it will depend on the place and the dishes they serve. Not all are nice, would need to know where to go. For one thing, you do not get an msg overdose, unlike when you go to the Chinese places.
The food all looks very fresh.
Yes, sure is a good place to drop by for lunch – there are others that are not all that great.
Yummy! RM10 for nasi campur is not cheap, but consider considering you took. It’s ok.
Now RM3 for 1 meat and 2 veggies is definitely cheap! Here Chinese chap fan with 3 veggies already cost RM4 ..
I like to frequent Malay’s nasi campur store and my nasi campur usually quite cheap as I’m more a veggies person. Some more I loves those tempe, batang keladi masak asam, etc, those sayur that you’ll never find in Chinese food store.. yummy!
I’m more a meat person but will always have veg for a balanced meal. Yes, I’m into ethnic delights also too…like the fried tapioca leaves in yesterday’s post. Can’t get such things in the town here unless we cook our own. They have batang keladi at the roadside stall at Bandong, lunchtime…but my missus is allergic so we never buy. Not too fond of how they cook their vegetables there, except maybe their whatever sayur or young fruit like cempedak masak lemak.
heheh, i totally endorse your mixed rice choices … love how the plate is brimming with delicious-looking ingredients. i’d be greedy enough that i’d just pile the ayam madu on top of the rice too! 😀
I had to control myself, everything looked so good…would want to take more but I was expecting the total would come up to quite a lot so I refrained from doing that. Save for the next time I drop by this place.
Own-made always taste nicer than those bottled, guess those bottle one are done by machine mostly, rigth??
Own-made what? Bottled what?
Oh, I like your choice of lauk in your nasi campur…something I would have selected at times 🙂 RM10 I guess is ok, considering you took a lot of lamb curry!
Hmmm, reading the last paragraph of your post, seems like you’ve been receiving some not-so-courteous comments on your posts regarding your review of some places to eat?
Sigh, what lah…one man’s meat is another man’s poison, mah..why so serious? 😏
Yalor. Even on Facebook. Just put up a photo, all the I-know-better-than-you folks will come, not a single nice thing to say. So sweet, not healthy, not nice, this is nicer, so expensive…bla…bla…bla! But it is not what they say – it is the way they say it that puts me off. Some people just do not have simple common courtesy. Takes all kinds to make the world, I guess.