I thought the Penang guy’s Hokkien mee that I had was the only one in town but I was wrong!
My missus and I dropped by here for lunch (2.311384,111.846727) the other day and I saw that they also had it, tagged under “chef’s recommendation“. We were here a few times before and I did like what they dished out then but somehow or other, we had not dropped by for quite sometime now and I did not notice it on the menu…
…at all on those earlier visits.
Of course I wasted no time in ordering that…
…and if I remember correctly, it was only RM4.00 or RM4.50, cheaper than at that other place. As for the taste, I would say they were both equally good but somehow or other, this one too did not come across like the nice ones I had in KL and I just could not put the finger on it. Maybe there was too much sauce or it was not as thick or maybe they should add a lot more garlic to have that fragrance and taste?
My missus had the spicy chicken with rice (RM6.00)…
…which she said was all right, something like Thai-style chicken…
…or fried chicken with Thai chili sauce.
Well, if anyone hasn’t got a clue where this is, it is to the left of the Delta Mall, the second shop in that block with the Astro Sibu Office at the far end of that same block.
For dinner that evening, I decided to try another one of the Dollee instant pastes that my friend, Victor gave me – the rendang. When I cooked the prawn noodles, I did not add any extra ingredients – all I did was to boil the prawns in water and remove them and then, I emptied the contents of the packet into the stock to cook the soup/broth for the noodles. This time around, however, I did add a bit of this and that…
– one chopped Bombay onion, two stalks of serai (lemon grass), one daun kunyit (tumeric leaf), thinly sliced and a few sprigs of curry leaves. I love potatoes in my curry so I peeled a few and cut them into chunks to be added to the rendang.
Now my mistake was I was afraid the potatoes might take too long to cook so I boiled them first. As it turned out, as the rendang was simmering, the overcooked potatoes were already falling apart and turning rather mushy. When I felt it was quite ready, I added a little bit of santan (coconut milk) and let it boil a bit before dishing everything out…
It tasted great! Very very nice…but somehow or other, again, like in the case of the other instant rendang pastes that I had used before, it did not quite come across to me like rendang. My missus loved it too and insisted it was not like the regular curry and it was like rendang. Ah well!!! As long as it was good, I guess that was all that mattered.
I cooked quite a lot so there was more than enough for our meals the following day. I took out all the potatoes and heated them up by placing them in a bowl and leaving it in the rice cooker after the rice had cooked. I heated the meat in a wok, adding some water and letting it simmer a while longer to thicken the gravy and this…
…was what it looked like after that…and yes, it was good.
I think I would go and buy another packet of the instant paste and try cooking beef with it and perhaps, I would add a lot more of the daun kunyit to see if that would make it more like rendang as I know it. Any suggestions, anybody?
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
The spicy chicken with rice looks so colorful. I like the look of the food in the last picture also. A nice thick sauce surrounding the beef. Was it a savory sauce?
Yes, something like curry…with coconut milk added.
the hokkien mee doesn’t look quite right … but your rendang looks totally spot-on! i could eat that whole platter! 😀
My sentiments exactly, the taste too…not quite there. Can pass off as one of the not so nice ones over at your side – nice, edible…but not really the same. Rendang was very good…just that it was more like curry of its own kind, wouldn’t mind cooking it again – just that I would not call it rendang.
For me the amount of sauce is very important – too much and it’s just gooey, too little and there’s not enough flavour.
Indeed. Personally, I do think these people should just do what they do best – they do have some great dishes of their own…and not try to do something they are not really cut out for. Like the “Sarawak dry mee” I had in PJ, nothing like anything we have here – neither Kuching kolo mee nor Sibu kampua. It was nice and they could just give it their own name instead of trying to pass it off as something it isn’t.
I don’t like too much black sauce on my Hokkien mee, makes my mouth “messy” and black after that.. But I do like them with extra lard, yummzzz.. Ooooo your chicken rendang looks so so good, I can eat the whole bowl, with 5 bowls of rice! 😛
Not to mention the spots on the front of my white t-shirt. 😀 Yes, di dnot come acropss like rendang but it was very very nice – would not mind buying again and using it to cook – just that I would not call it rendang, just curry will do. Yet to try the curry paste, see which one is nicer.
Hockkien mee & spicy chicken with rice looks equally nice. From the pix, the overnight rendang looks better than the fresh cooked.
Yes, nice gravy. Initially, I tried to get it to be on the dry side like rendang that I am used to. Did not work out too well – tasted very nice, but did not have the rendang taste.
The Hokkien mee looking good. I never try this place before.
Ok, not quite like the nice ones I had in KL. Some of their dishes are very nice – I would just stick to those.
The hokkien mee, they have it here in Malaysia Boleh in Jurong Point, starting, i find it not bad, slowly, find it don’t suits my taste, and long time didn’t eat liao…
Why? The original chef left? Happens all the time. Sometimes, the chef at a place is no good and a new one comes, then the food improves. Works both ways.
Tai Lok Mee looks good! Stalls are selling Rm 5 for one plate here
Btw, any suggestions on where to cari makan at Miri?
You’re going there? My Singapore friend went – he said nothing much (not like when he came to Sibu) but I would say it will depend on where you will be staying…and whether you have transport to go around and whether you know any local who knows the best in the city. They’re all spread out here, there and everywhere, not centralised…unlike Sibu. You may want to check out Dave’s Deli or the Filipino restaurant I went to…and the Dynasty Restaurant right beside Dynasty Hotel is very nice. This Lutong Cafe is very popular among the locals…
https://suituapui.wordpress.com/2014/05/01/nightfall/
…but I don’t know where it is and I wouldn’t know how to get there.
Thanks! Heading there for a short biz trip… will be at Kuching as well. Transportation could be a problem but i would not mind to pay for a cab
Kuching, you can check my recent blogs and the ones last year for the best in the city. Anyway, more than enough stuff at Carpenter Street, Padungan…or Open Air Market, city centre – generally, walking distance…but not for me though. Hehehehehe!!!!!
wah…finally got one thing that cannot compare to the KL ones…hahaha…Hokkien Mee. I suspect it could be due to the dark sauce they used. Different brands gives different taste.
That, I am sure, is one of the reasons!
The second rendang looks much better, and I am all for adding krisik to it.
Ok, will try that next time – see if that works.
There is one ingredient that you cannot miss out when cooking rendang and that is kerisik. Maybe that was the missing factor. Now you can get ready made kerisik from the supermarket. Don’t know if it is available at your side.
Yes, it is. I’ve bought and used it before. And I would add more daun kunyit – lots in my garden.
Try making your own Hokkien Mee, recipe on my blog. It is really quite easy and it looks much better than the one you had too! 🙂 I have to agree with you, the rendang doesn’t look like the rendang that I used to have… it looks more like curry! As long as it tastes good, that’s all that matters!
You make your own noodles? I would not good far – I am so lazy I would rather not eat. Hehehehehe!!!! Wouldn’t mind if I can just go and buy at the shop or market…and if I use our local noodles, it will not be the same.
Yes, it looks like curry but no, it did not taste exactly like curry. It tastes nicer so I think the next time I want to cook curry, I would buy this and call it curry, since it is not in any way like rendang. 😦
oooohhh.. makes me wanna cook my own curry tomorrow! hahahaa.. just kidding… Wait till my kids are home first… otherwise I end up keeping the curry for many more days than yours…
Yes, flying solo… I will usually end up eating instant noodles, too lazy to cook and not easy, cooking for one.