Last Saturday evening, my girl said that she would like the Bangladeshi lamb curry (RM19.00, with rice)…
…for dinner and also the green curry chicken (RM16.00, with rice)…
…so no prize for guessing where we went.
We went early, before 6.00 p.m. as, if I was not wrong, that day was a good day for weddings and on such days, all the banquet rooms at the hotel right behind this cafe would be fully booked for the receptions and the area would be terribly congested. On such days, it would be best to either go early…or go later but if you opt for the latter, there would probably be the problem of finding a place to park.
The boss was not around when we got there but it was very obvious that the staff members were all very thrilled and proud that they had been presented the much-coveted award…
…which is now displayed quite prominently at the cafe along with the certificate…
…that came with it. That kind of spirit is indeed commendable for truly, it is only with the joint effort of all of them as a team that the place has become what it is today. This was not the only time that I had dropped when the boss was not there but those very trustworthy and independent guys would manage very well in his absence. In fact, it was Claire, all the way in Ipoh, Perak, who commented that day that she asked her friend to drop by and she did, with 11 others, and in her own words, “My friend just came back from Sibu. Before she went, I recommended Payung to her and she showed me what she ate there. Very satisfied with everything she ordered for 11 people, kind of special especially the herbs salad, she said… And the boss was not around cos he went to receive an award...”
For one thing, I was kind of disappointed that it was not given much publicity except for a mere mention in this newspaper and in the Sarawak tourism website. There were reports in the more widely circulated Sibu newspaper on the event but sadly, there was no mention at all of our very own homegrown pride and joy…
As far as I know, I did blog about it and somebody else has done the same in Mandarin and that’s about it! I do feel that they do deserve some publicity as that would help attract more visitors to the town – after all, there isn’t much that Sibu as to offer other than food…food…and more food and of course, the best would be those things that are not all that easily available elsewhere, stuff that is quite different from the rest. Nonetheless, one of the guys did mention that within the week, there had been more people dropping by…including my friends, a family back from Australia. Hmmmm…I wonder who they were as nobody had told me they were back in town.
Going back to the dinner that day, I noticed that the lamb curry with rice…
…had gone up in price by RM1.00 but that is perfectly all right. After all, we are getting quite used to the escalating prices of things – something that has been going on for quite sometime now in our frail economy and the weakening ringgit and word has it that the subsidies of items such as rice, cooking oil and so on would be removed, come 1st January, 2016. It sure does not look like it is going to be a very happy new year for us here, does it?
For a change, we ordered the pomelo salad (RM8.00)…
…and we sure enjoyed it. My girl said that it tasted very refreshing.
We also tried something new that they have on their menu – the Bangladeshi white chicken (RM16.00, with rice)…
…and yes, it was good, something on the lighter side compared to the other two meat dishes that we ordered. I am not sure how it was done but I was told that yogurt and a whole lot of onions went into the cooking.
For dessert, my girl wanted their banana cake with ice cream (RM8.00)…
…and I also ordered their Kahlua ice cream (10.00)…
…with a special request for extra liquor to be added to it.
It certainly was a delightful dinner and needless to say, we would be back again…and again…and again…
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
I would like to have some lamb and rice with no curry, please. 🙂 Perhaps mint jelly instead, and the Kahlua ice cream looks great for a dessert! Thanks so much. LOL!
Not very adventurous, are you? I love roast lamb and that would go best with mint sauce though some prefer rosemary, but no, not with rice – I am not into that fusion kind of thing. To each his own. However, we do not get fresh lamb here, all frozen, imported…and may not be all that great, served grilled or roasted.
There are some very nice curries that are not spicy hot and you get the lovely blend of flavours…like Japanese curry, for instance and curry has health benefits too: “Recent research has shown that curry could actually be good for you, easing arthritis and even protecting you from Alzheimer’s.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-86513/Why-curries-good-you.html#ixzz3sLoCbadO
The lamb curry looks fabulous, I like, green curry chicken also another of my favourites
They’ve some very good stuff here, all bursting with flavours and the best part – no msg!
I am sure you enjoyed the service in this restaurant with a good team of staff, when we dine outside, it is not only the food that counts, the good service also can make our day too
Throw in the great ambiance, you can see why I enjoy dropping by here.
Green curry for me please and… Kahlua (!) ice cream – yes please! 🙂
My girl’s favourite and I asked for extra Kahlua, and they added so much that I thought I ended up a little tipsy. 😀
It’s just sad that in order for you to taste a good one, you have to pay for extra…. whenever i think of curry, i thought it’s just from india,… you’re also using that in your country! nice to know!
Just a ringgit is all right, prices here are shooting up like crazy these days – fresh tofu (bean curd) was RM1.50 but now it has gone up to RM1.80 (20%) and instead of the usual square block we had in the past, it is only two-thirds of the size…and don’t get me started on the prices of everything else!
One ringgit extra for lamb is perfectly all right considering that our lamb is imported from Australia & New Zealand and our currency is shrinking miserably compared to theirs. These are sad times!
The prices of everything else on their menu here, like the chicken, for instance, has remained the same – which is more than what I can say about some other places in town.
Oh? We have curry here – have had it for a long long time now…like say, forever, our Malay curry, our nyonya/peranakan curry – grew up eating my mum’s curry and loving it…but green curry is comparatively new around here – I think it’s Thai.
Ahhh your favorite cafe, i’ve read countless of reviews from you; i’ll keep this place in mind if i ever visit Sibu 😀
When? When? Sibu welcomes you. I’ll roll out the red carpet to welcome our celebrity food blogger!!! 😀
I see Mel’s favourite Bangladeshi lamb curry already, I know it’s gonna be Payung! I love the lamb curry and green curry chicken. Not very keen on the kahlua ice cream, but I would like one jelly pisang 😛
Mel likes the Kahlua ice cream so we ordered that to share. I think the mum was hinting that we had the durian ice cream but she was not all that keen – not really a fan of durian, that girl.
Always the smarter choice to dine in at Payung Cafe for awesome food. All looks too good to resist and this time round, I vote for the pamelo salad, a very appetising dish. Yummmm!!!!
Yes, the pomelo salad sure was a welcome change from the rojak that we have been having all this while. Very nice.
A delightful meal as always.
Yes, without fail everytime we drop by here.
Recently definitely is wedding seasons, that I’ve few friends got married on the same day, and turns out don’t know which on to go =.=
What abut you? Must remember to invite me, ya? 😉 😀
Can’t leave Sibu without going to this place…The white chicken caught my attention…
So when are you coming? Everything here is so cheap, no need to bring a lot of your SGD!
Gorgeous food as always! Congratulations to your favourite restaurant! I’m sure they will continue to be much better with this encouragement from the public!
Yes, I am very sure the award has breathed new life into the place – motivate them to carry on and be even better than what it is now.
Ah Payung! Everything looks good. If there’s one motivation to fly to Sibu, it has got to be Payung 😀
Exactly! That is why I really think it truly deserves a TOURISM award. If it’s western, Italian, Japanese, Indian…whatever, there are lots all over, a lot even nicer than what we have here, I’m sure. The thing about Payung is, it is its own – some similar to others but not exactly. They dare to be different!
Really want to try all the Payung food!! My friend gave praises after she came back… thanked me for recommending… hahahhaa… wont go wrong in Payung, eh…
Indeed. I don’t think you had much of what was on their menu when you were last here – worth making a trip again for those and more!
The food looks excellent as usual but what piqued my interest is the pomelo salad, which sounds most interesting.
Truly a unique creation worthy of praise. They have guava too but my girl is not so fond of the fruit and there’s their very healthy herbs salad, the favourite of many – which does not quite appeal to me. 😀
curries and ice cream … comfort food for me! hmm, randomly i googled “curry ice cream” and it exists … only a few ingredients needed – here’s a recipe if you ever wanna make it at home, heheh: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/coconut-curry-ice-cream
Eyewwwww!!!! Yesterday I was told the best flavour for the mashed potatoes was curry – I decided to give it a miss. I love potatoes in curry but I was not too sure about having it this way. Some things are best left on their own, as we know and love them best.
I had a bangladeshi roommate in college once, and he made absolutely the best curry ever, that lamb curry reminds me of those time.
Yes, it’s very nice, something like my mum’s curry, a day old. We absolutely love it! They have a Bangladeshi guy among their staff and he was the one who came out with the white chicken dish.
I think i miss the pomelo salad the most.
This was the one they gave you free when you all told them my name…or was it the guava salad?
That Bangladeshi lamb curry definitely would complement and probably pair well with the pomelo salad. Its been so long since I had pomelo now I am craving
We are ok with the fruit…but the way they do it here, served chill – it is really very nice, a lot nicer than just eating it as it is.