That night, after our dinner, I took the guys from Kuching here as I know they have some nice desserts on their menu and since we were there, I thought they might want to try some of the stuff here first.
After browsing through the menu, we decided upon the Angelica duck steak and also these tod mun pia (Thai seafood cakes)…
…that I had not too long ago and thought they were rather nice and also theΒ crispy pork belly with sweet potato wedges…
…that I also had on my previous visit and liked very much.
The waitress came back soon after and informed us that the duck was not available. The last time I came, they were out of rice so I could not have the Spanish paella that I had gone there purposely hoping that I would be able to give it a try and this time, they were out of duck. I wonder what they would run out off should I ever go back there again!
The otherwise-would-have-been-good seafood cakes…
…were disastrous this time around – it was so very salty that one would think the lid of the salt shaker dropped off accidentally and all the contents fell into the batter.
The pork belly…
…fared a little better. At least, this time the skin was crispy but only very slightly but the meat was not as succulent and tender as that previous time I had it nor was it as tasty.
We were the only table there that night but I would not know whether it was because it was past 8 o’ clock and all the diners had finished eating and left.Β The guys did not say anything but it was pretty obvious that they were not at all impressed…and we did not feel like having any dessert after that.
I took them hereΒ next – Gerald knew the boss, Dennis, and Sanjeev was working under him once at his restaurant in Kuching…
Of course we only dropped by to say hello and did not eat nor drink anymore here…and after sometime there, chatting and looking around at the decor and everything, we called it a day.
The next morning, they wanted dianpianngu for breakfast so I took them here for that (RM4.00)…
…but one of the guys said that he thought he liked the one at the original place better but that was so long ago. The last time I was there, I did not think it was worth the trouble of dropping by just for that but then again, personally, I am not a fan of that celebrated and very popular Foochow delight.
I decided to try their Foochow style fried noodles, wet – with sauce/gravy, that is (RM4.00)…
…and was delighted to find that they did it really very well here. The guys tried a bit and liked it a lot and they ended up ordering another plate of that to share! It did not dawn upon me at the time but it seemed that here, they would use the same ingredients in their dianpianngu for their fried stuff – the fish balls, the liver and the black fungus but of course, that wouldn’t be a problem at all as it was very nice plus at most places, you would hardly be able to find any ingredient in the noodles, not even the green veg.
After having had our fill, I took them to the shop opposite to check out the kompia stall there but the guy was done for the day and was not making anymore. They bought a ringgit (3 pieces) to try…and then I took them to the younger brother’s shop at Rejang Park, the one that I would go to everytime I felt like having any kompia or chu nu miang and Gerald was able to record the whole process and he did share the video clip on Facebook. They did buy a ringgit as well to try and they said that the ones here were nicer…or maybe they were fresher, piping hot from the traditional oven, I wouldn’t know.
Of course, I could not let them leave town without eating our Sibu kampua so I took them here for my favourite in town…
…and yes, they loved it!
We just spent the rest of the morning sitting there, chatting and that is one thing about this place – you can sit as long as you like and nobody would mind but it would be best to sit inside the shop, away from the stray dogs loitering in the vicinity. We stayed there till it was time for lunch…but that would be in the next post. Make sure you drop by tomorrow for the concluding episode! Hehehehe!!!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
The last pic is the best lah. Look also can tell that is the most delicious meal of all π
Concluding episode. Wah… waiting in excitement already π
The one thing anyone must not leave Sibu without eating…but of course, not all are nice – must have somebody to take you for that special treat – ME! π
What a foodie adventure your friends had in Sibu. Yup. Must try Sibu’s specialties like kampua, kompia, Foochow noodle and dianpianngu.
I hear there is one place in Kuching with very nice dianpianngu, some say nicer than Sibu’s but cannot remember where now. Somewhere Stutong area, I think…and only at night, if I am not wrong. Me Kong (opposite Heritage) had very nice Foochow fried noodles (with prawns!) and mee sua – did not think the kampua was all that great…and they say Sin Poh Poh pian sip has lots of the traditional Foochow red wine. Lots of Foochows in Kuching now, you may get some good stuff there too.
Sobssss, Sbu food mayor not inside the picture π¦
Got, to the extreme left…but I cropped it out. So fat! π π π
*Sibu food mayor
Gotcha!
I have to say the local food looks tons better. Looking forward to try it someday π
When? When? Come on over! Would love to have you and your family here, take you all around and if there is time, we can go visit an Sarawak ethnic longhouse too. How does that grab you? π
Pork belly…No, thanks. I go for the last 3 dishes. Each dish is simply delicious.
Sibu’s favourites…and of course, the best are all right here in our little town! π
Coincidentally, took my nephew (from overseas) to a restaurant a couple of nights ago where everything was so salty!
…and oily and loads of msg, typical Chinese cooking. In Perth? I thought they would cut down on all those overseas? I did go to a grand Chinese restaurant in NZ for yam cha/dim sum when I was there some years back…and yes, the lingering discomfort of the msg taste in the mouth lasted for quite a while. They do add quite a lot at that place I went to, dunno elsewhere. I find the one we have here pretty ok.
I don’t think I have ever eaten “pork belly”…O.K., perhaps I have but here in Montreal Canada the terms used to describe the various parts of the animal is different. We have loin, shoulder, tenderloin, feet, tongue and liver…these are the terms I am familiar with. I do love pork, I just don’t think I have ever had the belly. π
I don’t know if we use all those terms for pork here – as far as I know, all we have in our Chinese dialects would be pork leg, pork ribs and what everyone calls pork belly, we call sam cham or sa chan bak, three-layer meat by virtue of the layers of the skin, fat and lean…and pork bones (for stock) and just pork. Of course, there would be the innards – liver, intestines, kidney and others like the tongue, the ear and the head! I do see those terms you mentioned and more on labels for imported beef and lamb at the supermarket though.
O.K., thanks. π I can tell you that my favourite is the loin, center cut. π
I’m fine with anything that is not too fat. π
At the end of the day, nothing beats Kampua. Miss it very much, particularly the texture of the noodles.
The beauty is in its simplicity. Like what my friend from NZ exclaimed when she first tried it, “How can anything so plain taste so nice!”
Did you take them to Ruby? Is the restaurant still operating? Nice food and reasonable prices too as far as i can remember…
It is, still as good – all the nice stuff one cannot find elsewhere like their butter scotch prawns and their pandan chicken has no equal anywhere else. But no, I did not take them there as it is not in their list of nominations. π¦
Didn’t quite manage to explore those exotic restaurants during my trip! π¦
Yes, not even one but you did get to try ayam pansoh at Top Spot – not sure how good that is compared to the rest, those more authentic places, never tried…hardly ever been there, can’t remember the last time, so long ago with colleagues from the department…when I was working. Halal.
That bowl of kampua noodles sure looks loaded with goodness! I think I can easily finish a big bowl π Too bad about the fish cakes and pork belly. It appears that the quality is not consistent. Maybe that’s why the restaurant was so empty.
Maybe. I was quite put off by how the waitress just came and announced that the duck was not available, full stop. Insufficient training – should have apologised and suggested something else, promoting something that is available and is very nice. I could see that the guys with me were not at all pleased as well.
The chef/owner was around, back from his Europe trip, sitting there talking to another co-owner. It would be good if he had come to inform us himself…and he never said anything about the paella rice even though I did mention it to him on their Facebook page and he replied.
The boss at Payung would probably do that…personally and serve something as an alternative on the house! He sure does things a lot better, and his employees are a cut above the ones here and most elsewhere too. These little things sure go a long way to make sure that the customers would want to come back. Newbie, still a lot to learn!
damn delicious!!!
too bad it’s all mostly packed with tons on calories….
No worries, young man. Can always hit the gym and burn it all off. Looking at the photos you’ve been sharing on Facebook, it certainly needs that you need to do that…a lot! π