My girl loved the brinjal here and as a matter of fact, we went there again on a weekend when she was home but unfortunately, they did not have their chap fan (mixed rice) lunch special – RM6.80 per head for 2 meat and 3 vegetable dishes with a complimentary bowl of soup and free flow of a choice of either Chinese tea or ice-cold orange cordial. Well, now that it is the end-of-year school holidays, we can go on a weekday and that was exactly what we did!
Unfortunately, they did not have brinjal that day but it did look like they had a lot more choices than that first time when we came here. There was a nice man, not exactly a young guy, who insisted on helping everyone take whatever one picked and serving everything separately on another plate…
…instead of piling it all on the rice. These were my selections – sweet and sour pork, sesame chicken, cangkuk manis fried with egg, bitter gourd with fermented beans and ladies’ fingers…and yes, I thought they were all good, none of the msg overload that one would find at a lot of places.
The ladies insisted on having theirs all in one plate on their rice though and my missus had the same meat choices but she only picked two of the vegetables with an extra large helping of the salted vegetables…
…while my girl had the salted vegetables and cangkuk manis with egg too plus the tofu and the ketolaΒ (ribbed/ridged gourd) along with the fried fish fillet and the omelette…
…and yes, they enjoyed what they had picked as well.
I must say the people here were very good, very friendly and attentive, eager beavers going all out to serve…unlike those at some places here. I don’t know if they can speak English or not though for all the while, I was conversing with them in Mandarin…or was I speaking in Hokkien? I don’t quite remember now but I did get by pretty well, I would say.
I spotted these at the counter while I was settling the bill and bought a tub (RM7.00)…
…home. I sure wouldn’t mind buying this again the next time I drop by the place as I thought it was a steal considering that it was quite a big tub, much bigger than the kaya ones, the size of those that some people sell cookies in and with the slices of fried garlic added, it sure brought the taste to a whole new level…plusΒ ikan bilis (dried anchovies), peanuts and garlic sure aren’t cheap these days. Nothing is. Tsk! Tsk!
After I had finished, I walked around the place to look around. Obviously, this is the meeting place of the Sibu chapter of this club…
…of runners/joggers or hashers…
…or hares and hounds as what they would call themselves at times.
Then, I chanced upon this certificate…
…laminated and displayed on the wall. Gee! They won that in 2011 for 2009/2010? I did drop by here in 2009 and thought the food was all right and the place was pretty nice, nicer than any regular kopitiam, that’s for sure…but it did not really get me jumping up and down with delight and no, I did not come rushing back for more till two years later when I thought the place looked much nicer but I did not pick the right choice from their menu and did not really think what I had that morning was all that great. I did drop by last year, 2014, with both family and friends like on this occasion and this one or this one as well and yes, I quite enjoy some of the items they now have on their menu and would not mind going back for more again and again.
There are some remnants of the unique and nice decor they had way back then and obviously, they had some kind of very nice landscaping done before…
…but unfortunately, all of those are showing signs of prolonged neglect.
I don’t know if this…
…was the work of the people there…
…the night before but one thing’s for sure, a massive clean-up is way overdue to make the place more presentable and nice enough…
…to bring visitors to the town and tourists to and to restore it to its former glory.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
I like it that they serve the dishes in a separate plate but I also like to pile the dishes on my rice so that the gravy can soak my rice. If I am there, I’ll be standing there in a dilemma not knowing to have my dishes in a separate plate or just pile on my rice. I’m THAT difficult! LoL!
Oh dear! Decisions! Decisions! And you will have to decide whether you want the red or the green plate as well. π
Very cool place!
It is, though I do wish they would take good care of it.
The cangkuk manis for me is the winner! Oh dear! but i am sad of what happened on the landscaping, for a resto, it’s a no no, it doesn’t look so inviting for visitors. π¦ i hope they rebuild or at least clean the place. π
No need to rebuild, just clean up the place, clear away the litter and since they do not want the landscaping anymore, just get rid of it instead of leaving it there to rot, and keep the grass growing there neat and trim.
P.S.
Dunno what happened. Retrieved you from spam. No worries, got you back here safe and sound. π
Those red and green plates look very Christmassy. π Shame about the state of the place. Looks like it could do with a good clean up.
My sentiments exactly! And those who smoke and drink should do so responsibly – they should use the ash trays provided and leave the empty packets and drink cans on the table and not throw them over the ledge like that. The workers here are good, they would clear everything for them eventually.
Ya, the Christmas colours. Can’t say I am all that fond of those coffee shop plastic plates though.
That ikan bilis and nuts is such a great snacks to munch on while watching TV! :p
Goes really well with drinks which is probably why they sell that here – it’s a “watering hole” by night, people go there to hang out and drink the night away. Not my kind of scene, not anymore.
Look neglected. Hope they improve, clean up and restore to their glory.
I like economy rice. Can pick what you want to eat. There is one in Kuching who serve their dishes seperately. Their business is so good they open few outlets around Kuching. Economy rice only!!!
Yes, kinda sad as this place can be really nice if they take care of it nicely.
There are places here that will serve you separately if you make a special request for that but generally, they will all just dump everything on the rice.
Oh! I know the couple who owns this place. It’s a friend’s brother. I was just with him during a karaoke session last time I was back.
The 2 meat/3 vegetables for RM 6.80 is a really good deal. Here you can take your own stuff but the prices can fluctuate a bit depending on who’s counting. I have gotten RM 5.50 for an obscene amount of meat by the owner before coz I’m a regular (not here, the one near my place) and gotten charged RM 8 for the same thing by one of their workers.
I used to run a bit in HHH too, I have one of their t-shirts that says “The drinking club with a running problem”. Haha! I saw it when I was in Pansar for the Saturday afternoon run and someone hooked me up with the shirt.
They obviously had a little too much, eh? Two words in the wrong positions. Hehehehehe!!!!!
I vaguely know who owns this place but have not bumped into them here so far. Ming Mei Shi has this chap fan thing too (they used to do it when they were Blue Splendour at Wisma Sanyan), help yourself and it is very popular, lots of people…but I did not enjoy theirs as much as they add a little too much msg for my liking.
Now all these zhap fan are never cheap but it does not affect me anyway π
You orang kaya, don’t go for such cheap stuff, eh? π
No. I don’t eat zhap fan, not eating rice anymore.
That’s good. I know people who would go and ask for the dishes…without the rice. I wonder how much healthier that is – at many places, the food is too salty, too oily and has too much msg.
I love how they serve everything separately on another plate instead of piling on top of the rice. It will be difficult for me to decide what to have if there are too much choices. Ikan bilis with peanuts & garlic is a great snack to munch. Sad to see their landscaping in a sorry stage.
Me too. Hope they will do something about it soon. At least, they should clear it, get rid of it completely and leave it empty and just trim the grass regularly – anytime nicer than leaving it all there in that unpleasant-looking state.
I don’t mind places with only a few dishes that are all very nice, easier to decide too. I know one place here – so many choices but I did not think anything was really nice, all just ok. Don’t see the point at all. The ikan bilis and peanuts, once you get started, you can never stop – terrible! Hehehehehe!!!!!
Over here, one meat and 3 vegetables cost me RM9.00. It used to be around RM7. Everything is getting very costly, even chap fan. So, for 2 meat and 3 vegetables at RM6.80 with complimentary soup and free flow of drink, that’s wonderful!
Oh dear!!! I hope it will not get to that bad here, still affordable – this is a little bit more expensive than at the regular coffee shops (but those generally not all that great, oily and lots of msg many of them), nicer place.
love peanuts. my favourite snack, or condiments for any dish with rice. I would like to have that tub of ikan bilis and kacang too..
How’s your uric acid level? If it is high, you’d best avoid these…and beer too!
all your plates look like very balanced meal, piled with not only protein and carbs but lots of fibre too! i personally tend to go overboard on the protein π
There’s always the danger where they let you pick whatever you want. Happened to me once, all looked so good so I just helped myself and in the end, I had to pay over RM10.00 for everything. Those were the days when it was just RM2.50 for a meat and 2 veg plus a free drink. π¦
I just had salted veg. yesterday, but did not take picture of it…
LOL!!! Common and cheap, eh? We seldom eat that at home, staying away from preserved stuff, I guess. A real treat getting to eat it outside.
Sounds good.. 2 meat and 3 vege plus rice for 6.80.. plus drinks and soup? wow.. nowadays the shops also need to give attractive offers… great choice of food… I like that all… and I would buy the tub of ikan bilis and kacang… goes well with just white porridge!
Yes, I love that with porridge…and the salted veg too…and salted and century eggs…and salted fish. Hmmmm…not that healthy, eh? Eating porridge… π
I’ve never seen garlic in ikan bilis and nuts before. I think it’s a great idea. When I used to walk my dogs in the mornings, I notice a lot of litter and some vandalism around the pubs, always on Saturday mornings, all probably caused by drunks from Friday night end-of-work week drinking bouts.
Oh? A not-so-desirable behaviour that goes across the board? Not a pretty sight, and gives a poor impression of both the individuals and the place. π¦ Yes, loved the garlic – my first time too and it sure worked very well with the peanuts and the ikan bilis.