Dragon…

No, this place isn’t new – the Dragon Restaurant & Cafe (2.28502,111.831491) at Jalan Maju here…

…in Sibu. You may not see the shop sign from the road as it is blocked by some other sign up in front but it is somewhere in the block of shops across the road from the Ark, two doors away from this restaurant.

I had people telling me at least a couple of years ago that the food here was very nice and very cheap. Somehow or other, I had never got down to dropping by. For one thing, parking here can be such a pain…but this being the “Las Vegas” of Sibu – there is a whole row of those betting shops in the next block, if you come on a day when there is a draw, never mind that there is no parking space. Just wait a little while and you can be sure that there will be a punter or two vacating their spots and leaving, having bought their tickets for the day. That night at the dinner with my ex-classmates, one of them strongly recommended that I should drop by and try…and I did!

Well, it’s just a coffee shop kind of place – no frills and no thrills but the people are very nice and they will suggest what is good if you can’t read everything on the wall, all in Mandarin. We decided to go there for brunch and as we were early, a little before noon, there was no problem getting a table and we promptly ordered what we wanted and sat there waiting. In the meantime, quite a lot of other people came but I do not think it would be that full till you would need to stand around and wait for a table. Perhaps there would be more people at night, I wouldn’t know.

The drinks came pretty fast and the coffee…

…sure looked good but no, it was just o.k. – not the best I have had in town.

The sea cucumber soup (RM8.00)…

…was great and we all liked it very much. I did add a little bit of black vinegar to it later but no, I thought it was nicer on its own.

The sweet potato leaves (RM6.00)…

…ching chao (fried plain…I think) were good but we have had the same elsewhere and theirs were good as well but I think it is much cheaper here by at least RM2.00…or did I get the prices of the soup and this vegetable dish mixed up? Sigh!!! At my age, my memory sure isn’t what it used to be anymore. Sobssss!!!!!!!

This braised pork belly with preserved vegetables (mui chai)…

…would send shudders down the spine of the die-hard health fanatics despite the fact that one can google to read up on the more recent articles on pork fat and lard and find out that it is not so bad after all. Still, never mind that at the other end of the spectrum, there would be some who would go weak in the knees and drool profusely at the sight of such beauty, I really don’t think that one should go all out and feast on it like there is no tomorrow. Fat is fat, never mind what fat it may be and even with anything that is good, I do believe that moderation is the key, no need to go overboard over it.

I did ask for a cut that had more lean and less fat and that was what we got (RM15.00) and though it did not look like there was all that much, the slices were thick and big so I would think this was enough for some 6-8 people, half a slice each would be good…or 4, at least. There were only three of us so it was quite a struggle to finish everything especially when that was not all that we ordered.

We just had to try their signature dish – their pork satay, RM9.00 for 3 sticks…

…so that worked out to RM3.00 each and there was so much of those huge chunks of meat on each stick. Both my girl and the mum said they were very full so they just shared a stick and no prize for guessing who had to finish it all. Tsk! Tsk! It was very nice, the peanut sauce was great…but if you’re small eaters, that serving of 3 sticks would be good for 6 people, at least.

Obviously, from all that I have said, the servings here are huge and it is indeed, very cheap. The total for all the above plus rice for three came up to only RM41.00. These days, one would be hard pressed to find a place where one can have just one meat dish and a vegetable dish plus a soup and rice for three for anything less than RM50.00…and considering that everything tasted very good, no overdose of msg, I certainly would not mind coming back here again…and again.