A friend asked me why I had not been here (2.325145, 111.839914)…
…before as she thought the food was nicer and not as expensive as here. I asked her what their signature dishes were, what I should order if I were to drop by and she said everything, everything would be nice. Duhhh!!!!
In fact, it is located quite near to where I stay, in the vicinity of the Sungai Merah bazaar, facing what they told me is called the Lovers’ Bridge…
It looked like they had put up some nice colourful lights all around the so-called heritage walk area so it is rather nice by evening, not too bad a place for a pleasant evening stroll and to go for a lovely dinner.
It so happened that a boat went past while I was there and I loved the rippling effect of the waves on the reflection in the water of the colourful lights on the bridge…
Nice, eh?
Anyway, back to the restaurant…
…it has been around for a year or so now but somehow or other, I had never felt the urge to drop by. I did check out their Facebook page and had glimpses of some of the things they served, the happenings – a whole lot of wine and not so much dine – but I did not see anything that really turned me on. Once, some friends of mine dropped by and shared some photographs on Facebook so I quickly asked them if it was any good. Their reply was, “By our standard, it was good.” I guess that spoke volumes, don’t you think so?
Anyway, I thought we would go some place special for our Easter Sunday dinner and after discussing with my girl, we agreed that we would check this place out.
I loved the decor…
– very nice and tastefully done…
…and very much nicer than that other place (with the hideous giant fridge at the back and everything stuffed inside and the wooden staircase to what looked like the attic where they dumped all those unsightly carton boxes and all)…
…and while the ethnic waiters and waitresses over there spoke Malay mostly (except one who was proficient in Mandarin and insisted on speaking to me in the language till I replied in Iban), the Chinese boys here conversed in Mandarin but I think they could understand English. The proprietress, I think that was who she was, came to chat and asked if everything was all right and she spoke English, and very good English at that. Service was great and prompt at both places and I loved the colourful individual stoneware plates…
…here that they gave us to use while sharing the orders and no, no chipped plates here – another point in their favour!
Dinner got off to a really good start when the Penang char kway teow (RM16.50)…
…was served. It was really very nice and there were prawns, cockles and even lap cheong (Chinese sausage) in it and even the kway teow (flat rice noodles) seemed different from the regular ones we find around here, the thick, coarse and white ones. We enjoyed it very much but did somebody say the things here would be cheaper than at that other place?
The pineapple fried rice (RM18.50)…
…did not go down as well with us. We did not think it was as nice as some that we had had before here…or here, for instance and at best, I would just say it was edible, not anything to get anyone jumping up and down with delight and for that kind of money, I would much sooner go for the baked cheese pork chop rice (RM17.00) or the dried chili pork rice (RM16.00) at that other place – both of them go for around the same price, slightly less, and both would win hands down, anytime.
We had what-they-call the Farmer’s Feast for 2 (RM22.50)…
…and while it was RM23.00 at the other place for just one sausage, though a much bigger one at that, maybe longer by one third, the one here came with bits of bacon, egg and potatoes and I would have enjoyed it a lot more if it had not been chorizo – I can’t say I am all that fond of that so personally, my vote would go to the one at that other place. However, I do not think it would be very fair to make a one-to-one comparison – somebody who enjoys chorizo who probably enjoy this very much.
I had the panna cotta (RM9.50)…
…for dessert and I loved the hearts in the jam…
…by the side. However, it paled in comparison to the ones that I love so much here (RM8.00) – it did not taste as nice, the texture was not as smooth and it was not as nicely wobbly but it tasted all right and at least it had an edge over the awful one I had at the Italian restaurant in Kuching sometime ago.
My girl had their own-made Nutella ice cream (RM10.00)…
…and she said it was good.
While they had the sentimental love songs from the 80’s at that other place, here, they played R&B from the likes of Alicia Keys, Babyface and so on but just like at that other place, I do wish they would turn down the volume here as well and turn it up later in the evening at around 9 or 10 when everyone would have had enough drink to numb their senses and they would be too intoxicated to tell the difference.
Well, I liked the place, service was good but no, the food was not cheap, not at all, and of the three that we had, we would probably order the char kway teow again if the price had not been so steep. However, there are still many things on their menu that we did not try so we probably would come back again sometime to see if there is anything that will keep us going back for more. I do not really mind the prices if it is that good and real value for money…and yes, I will tell them to turn down the music next time if it is still that loud!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Oh, this was the place you told me about just now.
It looks alright…the Farmer’s Feast looks the most promising, but as you said, the other place is better. I like the looks of the Nutella ice cream though. As good as the gelato place we went to?
BTW, RM 16.50 is what a hotel would charge for *room service* for CKT, not something a place like this should be charging.
Indeed. Grossly overpriced. Wouldn’t be so bad if they had used bigger prawns and thrown in a few more or perhaps, they can add a couple of our freshwater prawns – the small RM30 a kg one will do.
The Farmer’s Feast would be nice for someone who enjoys chorizos, not me – not my kind of sausage. I did not try the ice cream but my girl said it was good.
Everything looks lovely, your photos showcase it so well!
Thank you.
The blue door huh? Catchy name. The food looks alright to me. Farmer’s feast. Yummy looking.
It was nice, if you like chorizo sausages. I’m not all that fond of it. The panna cotta and the pineapple fried rice got my double thumbs down and the prices were rather steep…for a place where the waiters don’t speak English and were dressed in black t-shirts. Can’t quite classify it as fine dining, no table cloth some more, no fresh flowers. Not up to that class. 😦
I would go for the pineapple fried rice and Farmer’s Feast, but I think the pineapple fried rice is very pricey (for a plate of fried rice topped with fried egg)…
Both not quite to our liking, the Farmer’s Feast mainly because I am not fond of chorizos – would have liked it if it had been some other kind of sausage. The pineapple fried rice had prawns, cashew nuts and all – not that many to merit that price but my main bone to pick was the taste. Too strong on the kind of sweet pineapple syrup/juice, drowning out all the other would-have-been very fragrant ingredients that went into the cooking like the kunyit, for instance.
Rm 16.50 for char koay teow?! NO thank you, we can find decent ones here at Rm 6 to 8 😀
Same thing if you order room service at some hotels – may be nice but not that nice as to merit that kind of price. We can get a very nice one for RM4.00 here – three prawns. Can get four plates for that kind of money…with 50 sen change some more.
Good place to dine for lovers , can walk around that bridge after the meal.
Wahhhhh!!!! You’re such a hopeless romantic kah? 😀
I think you’ve featured that bridge before – it looks beautiful lighted up. And yes, the ripples came out very well in the second photo. Lovely crockery.
Yes, I thought it was nice – not overdone. Nice plates, indeed.
The desserts somehow look enticing especially the Nutella ice creaam. I love pana cotta too.
CKT…feel like is over priced. NVM..I think that will be the first and last time to order. Haha
Can skip the one here, not that good. One other place, simply perfect. HB says you would love the gelato we had last night – coming over soon. 😉
You are absolutely right about the ckt. I just don’t want to spell it out. 😀
CKT looks good but price too steep for that plate without much ingredients. Pineapple fried rice, a bit disappointing. Btw, is that meat floss on top of the fried rice? Nice shots of the Lovers’ Bridge and I love the blue windows.
I think so – they usually have that on top of pineapple fried rice…including the one I had at Absolute Tribal.
A little pricey but if the food and service is good, then it’s alright.
That was the trouble, we were not too happy with what we ordered. 😦
now that the weather is so hot, the ice cream will be nice…
Not hot here. In fact, it rained today…and yesterday too – nice and cool. I just read somewhere that the haze is starting in Singapore. Terrible. Make sure you wear a mask everytime you go out.
The Blue Door … that’s a very hipster name … I’d have expected a young, contemporary western cafe or a pub … hmm, i think i’d order the kuey teow here, since i love cockles 😀
That was the best of our three orders…but at that price, I don’t think I would be coming back for more. 😦
Not actually a pub, wine and dine…but as far as I know, they do have a lot of boozing events like Oktoberfest here and all those thus inclined would commune here. Maybe that was one reason why it did not quite appeal to me and I did not feel inclined to come and check this place out.
Heard about this place but never try. But I like the interior design, very nice. I go there, usually is the corner coffee shop for the nice pork liver soup.
Yes, the last time we were in that area, we went to that coffee shop – have not been back there since.
I did not have anything really nice – you can give this place a miss, lots of nicer places here, cheaper too.
Great shot of the water ripple under the bridge.
Ya, I thought that was quite nice. Stroke of good luck, the boat went past or there would not have been any ripples.