…have opened this new place…
…here in the Tunku Osman area right next door to this coffee shop.
As far as I am concerned, this is one of the worst locations especially on working/school days as parking is practically impossible and it sure does not help one bit that they open during the busiest hours, 8.30 a.m. till 3.30 p.m. I certainly would avoid this area after school hours at around noon as the parents of the students at the school at the back would flock here to pick up their kids instead of going to the front entrance on the other side.
I guess like that beef noodle place that I blogged about not too long ago, the best time to go would be on Sundays and that was exactly what we did – after the church service…
…on Easter Sunday morning when finding a place to park the car would be quite a breeze.
It looks like a pretty decent place…
…a little inclined towards things Vietnamese…
…and since they can’t get an authentic sun hat for the decor, the Melanau one will have to do…
Hehehehehe!!!!
I saw the Vietnamese coffee strainers/filters on the counter so I went closer to see what brand they had on the shelf…
Hmmmm!!!! Trung Nguyen, one of the leading brands in Vietnam. I did blog about it once when I got a packet from my niece, the one working in Singapore. Well, as long as it is not one of those that came out of an animal’s you-know-which-hole, I would be fine with it.
My missus wanted the grilled chicken rice…
…and one look at it, I am sure you would not blame us for feeling a little disappointed the moment it was served. The chopped bits of carrot and whatever beside the rice was coleslaw and they certainly were not all that generous with the chicken…
…but if I remember correctly, that was only RM5.50, not too expensive. I suppose it tasted all right, not anything to shout about – my missus did not say anything about it.
I asked for the nasi lemak special…
…and therein lay another disappointment. The rice hardly had any santan (coconut milk) richness and fragrance and there wasn’t any ikan bilis (dried anchovies) by the side and the salsa-looking thing…
…was actually the sambal and to give credit where credit is due, it actually tasted quite nice despite the fact that it did not look anything like the real thing. The drumstick was all right, nothing great that would get me to want to order this again ever.
I ordered the panini egg and beef…
…for my girl and she was put off the instant it was served – they had just used ordinary bread instead of panini in which case they should have called it an egg or beef sandwich (the other option available is tuna)…and Vietnamese bánh mì, it certainly wasn’t!
It tasted quite good though and my girl loved the beef brisket…
…inside the beef ones. I went to ask where they got it from – I had not seen any in town – and the girl told me that it was a joint order together with one of those (expensive) branded coffee places in town. Hmmmmm!!!
The sweet young girl was running the place all by herself with the help of her very nice mum. According to the latter, everything served here is msg free which is one good thing, I would say. However, I don’t think I would be coming back again for any of the things we had ordered…except maybe for the beef sandwiches and I will call them that till they start serving them with the right kind of bread – those grilled lines on the toasted sandwich bread sure do not count.
I did notice though that everyone else was having the beef bihun (rice vermicelli) and it so happened that an ex-student, now a dentist in town, dropped by and he too ordered that…and later, he told me that it was good and worth a try. I wonder if that was anything like the celebrated Vietnamese pho but I guess to find out, it will have to wait till the next time I drop by.
Incidentally, Huai Bin dropped by my place yesterday to pass me this…
– Hokkaido red bean Kit Kat! Obviously, he brought that back with him on his recent trip to the Land of the Rising Sun. I really appreciate how people are so thoughtful, carting home a little something for everybody while on their travels. Of course I have not tried it yet – that will have to wait till my girl comes home this weekend. Aren’t we parents all the same? Thanks so much, Huai Bin…and to you too, Ling.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
The place looks nice.
So nice of Huai Bin. The Red bean kitkat is pretty good!
Ok, place was decent, people were nice, didn’t really think much of what we had – yet to try the beef bihun that seemed very popular.
Nice, eh? Yet to try. Wait till my girl comes home.
It looks so nice! I love the exposed brick. 🙂
Not bad, not bad at all.
Yes, the grilled chicken rice & special nasi lemak look disappointed but the so called panini egg & beef which looks like sandwich is good. I still have a few packet of red bean kit kat sitting in my fridge. I prefer green tea to red bean. Guess Huai Bin is back to Sibu for Ching Ming.
Yes, he’s home for that.
I sure would not order all that we had again. The egg sandwich was…like egg sandwich but the beef was special since we can’t buy it here and make our own. With the parking woes in that area, I do not think I will be back anytime soon to try their beef bihun.
Red bean kit kat? Wonder what other flavours they invented? I tried green tea and strawberry before. Not to my liking. Haha.
Sound like a disappointment. Does not look so Vietnamese cuisine to me.
Well, they never said they’re Vietnamese – just that they have the coffee and there’s the painting on the wall – no other hints or anything anywhere else. Don’t think there’s anything Vietnamese in their rather limited menu. Even the beef bihun, they just call it beef bihun…so no, they’re not insisting they’re anything Vietnamese.
I quite like the green tea Kit Kat but even without trying, I can say I would not enjoy the strawberry.
The grilled chicken, not enough for me, and I see some cheesy sauce on it.. The nasi lemak, same like you, where’s my ikan bilis ?? Haha.. The egg+beef “sandwich” looks very good though, but they used the wrong name for the bread..
Exactly what I said.
Vietnamese? Not even a Vietnamese dish? I think I had that Kit Kat flavor before, quite sweet.
Never look at a gift horse in its mouth, my dear young man.
Well, they never said in no uncertain terms that they’re Vietnamese – just that there was the coffee…and the painting on the wall – no mention in the name or whatever anywhere else so you cannot pick on them for that.
folkway is an interesting name … based on the name alone, you’d be wondering, hmmm, what does the place serve, what kind of outlet is it? i wouldn’t have guessed partial vietnamese, but i like the mural 😀
Yes, I was wondering about the name too. Not anything really outstanding – I would think it was one of those direct sales companies, rather than an eatery. Didn’t ask them about it, how they came about it.
The nasi lemak special, the rice looks more like white rice to me…
I thought nasi lemak would look like white rice, more or less unless they use pandan, then it would be green? Very light hint of the santan in this one so it did taste almost like plain white rice, almost.
Haha! It’s funny to see them substituting the Melanau one for the Vietnamese hat.
Trung Nyugen, it’s one of the most recognizable Vietnamese coffee brands, it’s been here before, in Edam or Adam (at Hollywood Lighting) before it closed down. I had it in Hanoi too, they serve it back home as well. Good stuff.
I’ve had broken rice as a Vietnamese dish in Melbourne but I haven’t seen it anywhere else – not even Hanoi! I’m starting to wonder if it’s a real Vietnamese dish or if the Vietnamese shops in Melbourne just started localizing a Vietnamese dish. It was really good and Bill Clinton even ate it when he came to Melbourne.
Hope you like the Hokkaido red bean Kit Kat. We got it from Sapporo, it’s from Yee Ling and I. Cheers!
Ah yes! I remember Edam too…and there was a coffee shop next to Pathlab in the town centre. I had the coffee then, can’t say I was all that thrilled. Maybe I am too used to our local brew, not so used to all the rest. Broken rice? I wonder what that is, sounds interesting.
Yes, thanks to you and Yee Ling, all the way from Sapporo.
Luckily the “panini” egg and beef turned out good or else it would be a double disappointment for Melissa.
The egg sandwich was just egg sandwich, nothing more, nothing less. Thank goodness the beef one was a consolation.
The “panini” made me laugh!
Sighhhhh!!!! I do hope they do know that is no panini and do not actually have the misconception that any bread will do. *face palm* Tsk! Tsk!
I like panini, but this panini is very different than the one I always had and this one really looks like “sandwich” la, hehe!
Exactly what I said and exactly what I will call it.
so thoughtful and sweet of huai bin and ling. ah..
that grilled chicken dish does look disappointing.. i would have been so sad getting so little chicken.
Yes, so nice of them. Bet you’re as sweet and thoughtful too, aren’t you? 😉
That actually looked bad even for something cheap – like something dished out by somebody who can’t really cook and is doing it for the first time.
Hey they cannot call it panini bread if they dont use the right bread. Lol!
And that Kit Kat, this is one of the many reasons I wanna visit Japan, for those weird flavours Kit Kat has that is only seen in Japan
Yes, don’t think I will ever step into that place ever again. Dunno who they are trying to kid. Didn’t think any that they dished out looked like stuff from a really qualified chef.
We do have the made-in-Japan Kit Kat here, quite a number of flavours but no, they do not come cheap. 😦