Say it isn’t so…

I, for one, would say it definitely isn’t so. Personally, I do feel that it is not all that expensive though often, I have heard some people having a bone to pick over the prices here…but allow me, if I may, to get back to that a little bit later.

In the meantime, let me tell you about my friend, Dr Ong, who was in town all the way from Tanjung Malim where he, originally from Taiping, Perak, is currently lecturing at the university there…so my missus and I met him and his daughter (who came with him) upon arrival at the airport and took them out for dinner there at that very cafe, it being one of my favourites in town…

…especially considering that what they serve here is very nice and not quite like anything found anywhere else. This is the tail of a peacock, part of the very enchanting artwork done on one of the walls at the cafe by one of the guys there using colour chalk – you know the kind that teachers used in school a long time ago during those days before the time of the whiteboard and whiteboard markers. The head would not come out nicely in the photograph owing to the bright spotlight on top so I had no choice but to leave it out.

It has been five years since the last time Dr Ong was in town and we did go out for dinner then as well, with some of my young friends and ex-students…and no, we did not come to this place on that previous occasion so this was his first time here. I got him to try the Kuching original – the comfort food for convalescing mums during  their confinement, the kacang ma chicken (RM16.00, with rice)…

…with rice and he thought it was pretty o.k. I have to admit that for many, this unique culinary delight isn’t really a love-at-first-bite kind of thing. Personally, I did not like it the first time – hmmm….haven’t I heard it said that the first time is, more often than not, the worse…but after I have acquired the taste for it eventually, there has been no looking back!

Unfortunately, most of the snapshots that I took did not turn out very well owing to the dim surroundings of the place at night including the ones of their very nice green curry (RM16.00 with rice) that my missus likes a lot! Usually, for their chicken dishes here, they will only give three (huge) chunks of chicken but since there were four of us, I asked for an extra piece in both so that there would be enough to go round and the very kind and generous boss happily (I think! LOL!!!) obliged. As a matter of fact, he also prepared his century egg salad…

…which is not on the menu actually, specially for us…on the house! You can click the above link to see the very much nicer and clearer photographs of these two dishes that previous time when I was there in broad daylight for lunch.

We also had the Payung rojak (RM10.00) and their best seller, the mushroom roll (RM8.00)…

…and of course, their otak-otak (RM13.00, with rice)…

…which is different and very much nicer than all the other versions elsewhere.

All in all, we had five orders, not including the complimentary salad – six altogether for the four of us…and the total came up to RM65.00 (including one extra plate of rice and the nice boss, upon request, kindly waived the charges for the five big glasses of iced cold water, RM1.00 each, that we all had). Compared to our lunch here, including the rice and drinks for four persons, the meal also came up to over RM60.00…and I do think that what we had there would pale in comparison.

When I took my neurosurgeon friend from Kuching out for dinner, we only had four orders, excluding the complimentary treat accorded to us, and the bill came up to almost the same for half the number of people. The following night, we went to one of my regular (Chinese) restaurants in town – I forgot to bring along my camera and the photos taken with my handphone camera did not turn out nice so I did not bother to blog about it. We only had one chicken and one prawn dish plus a vegetable dish, three altogether – small servings just enough for two, and two chunks of pandan chicken and the total, inclusive of rice and drinks was almost RM60.00…and we only ordered two things for lunch here that day and with the rice and the drinks, it was over RM35.00 for two persons…and this place wasn’t a classier upscale cafe or restaurant, not much nicer than most of the coffee shops in town.

I can go on comparing – the buck does not stop here – but I think I have said enough to prove my point. So going back to my statement right at the start of this blogpost, I would state, in no uncertain terms, that dining here is not all that expensive as some people seem to make it out to be…and that is just a  comparison of the food and the charges – I don’t even have to touch on the very nice environment with its lovely ambiance, the friendly boss and staff and the great service which all contribute towards making dining here such a pleasant experience.

P.S.:
It sure was nice seeing you again, Dr. Ong and a real pleasure getting to meet your sweet and pretty daughter and thank you so much for the goodies…

…that you took the trouble to bring all the way. The made-in-Penang heang peah was all right and I enjoyed the made-in-Tanjung Malim crispy biscuit a lot more but it was the Tanjung Malim be teh so that stole the show. It was so very good – the best I have had for a long long time now with the fragrant flaky pastry on the outside and the moist and soft filling inside. All the rest in the shops here, there and everywhere in all those impressive packaging, not in a plastic bag like this one, can come nowhere near! If anyone is interested, this is manufactured by The Smalltown Enterprise, No. 37, Jalan U1, Taman Universiti, Tanjung Malim, Perak (Tel. No.: 05-458 2168). I am not sure if it is  available elsewhere but should anyone be passing through the little place,  don’t miss the chance of grabbing a few packs to bring home!