…or this is actually the back door…
…looking in, at this very popular chicken rice place here in the vicinity of the Delta Mall in Sibu.
The stall is at a somewhat obscure location all the way at the back with all the other stalls in front but we did try something from there once and though we had something not quite what we thought we had ordered, we did like it very much.
We stopped by for lunch two Fridays ago and as it was our no-meat day, we steered clear of all the meat dishes and went for the kiam sor hu phee (salty crusty/crispy fish fillet)…
…that we had the last time and yes, this time around, it was just as good…
We also had my girl’s favourite veg – cangkuk manis fried with egg…
…and I also asked for the chao chai hay (preserved vegetables with prawns) soup…
I thought it would cost a bomb seeing there there were three BIG freshwater tua thow hay (big-headed prawns), the udang galah…
…in it but the total came up to only RM35.00 inclusive of rice for three.
I went and asked and I found out that the soup cost RM18.00 only…and I was told that they also serve the very much coveted prawn noodles…
…here too at only RM20.00 a bowl. The guy said that he, being a newbie, could not compete with those established places where prices would range from RM30.00 to over RM50.00 a bowl and he did say that he would use one Grade B prawn – very big with the kor (some sort of paste) in the head and the other, Grade C. The ones we had in the soup that I thought were very big already were unclassified – not big enough for a Grade C even.
I have not gone back there for this but I do hope to get down to doing that one of these days and give the guy’s prawn noodles a try.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
I would love to have that preserved vegetables with prawns soup. Must be very appetising. Yums! So reasonably priced too. Oh mai..
To me, much nicer than salted vegetable soup, this chao chai th’ng.
Love all the dishes. Chao chai hay soup is worth to order & looks very appetising. Yummsss!!!!
Yes, very nice. Great also with fish, this typically Foochow chao chai th’ng.
Omg! Look at that crispy fish fillet! I want!!
The prawn noodle looked good. Hope you get chance to try it next time. Cheaper is better sometimes. Expensive; doesnt mean it is good.
Exactly! Those established ones, the oldest and the most expensive especially…the last I heard, it was RM45 a bowl – not great, prawns so small – one and a half only and lots of msg! Dunno why they need to add so much since the prawns would make the soup so very sweet already.
Sekali pandang, the fish fillet looks like fried cauliflower, haha.. Super love your soup, I can see cracked eggs inside.. Must be very flavourful with pranws and preserved vege inside, price is ok too wor, I want !!
Yes, cheap! Other places these days RM40-50, at least and some, a lot more so I never bother going back to those ever again. 😦
Prawns, i love…
Bring your SGD over here, you can feast on them, lots of them! 😉
The name of the place gives me an impression that they are selling chopsticks LOL
So what do they sell at Sticks & Spoon in Penang…or Moustache Houze?
Memang worth it… with three big headed prawns.. over here in Ipoh, that would cost a bomb already…
Yes, I was pleasantly surprised. RM18 is not that expensive, really.
Prawn pleasure! Hopefully their strategy will be successful – pricing themselves lower, while still delivering large-looking prawns – so that they won’t feel compelled to raise their prices!
Yes, actually, at those more affordable prices, they still make some profit and if that can attract a lot of customers, with the large turnover, they would reap quite a big harvest. High prices, fewer people would come, I’m sure…like how I would never bother to go to all those places…and the prawns at the most famous place in town are not even big – same as what we had in the soup…and one and a half only to make it look like three prawns. What a rip off!!!
But the really really huge prawns, one would cost around RM10 already at the wet market – maybe they get it straight from the supplier, cheaper.
I’d love to try that crispy fish – it really looks good.
Yes, we loved it the first time and it sure did not disappoint us this second time around.
Hello there STP. 🙂
So you don’t eat meat during Fridays because of health or a sort religious reasons? I, for once, tried not eating meat during Fridays because it was the practice of Catholics ages ago.
Yes, we grew up following that Catholic practice long ago and we still do sometimes, out of habit. Those days, fish was dirt cheap so giving up meat was a real sacrifice – these days, fish is a lot more expensive than meat, not really any kind of penance anymore…so to do penance, we would give up something else instead…or give to charity…anything instead of not eating meat.
“Preserved vegetables” – does that mean they’re pickled? I bet that gives a nice tang to the dish.
Yes, they’re pickled all right, very sour so to cook, one would have to soak in water for a while and rinse well but those who like it real sour may reduce the soaking time and the rinsing so as to retain the taste.
Grade b prawns ah….wah so generous of him.
I wonder how big that is, yet to go and try.
I think I would enjoy the kian sor hu phee. Is there a dip to go with it or it is eaten plain?
No dip, it’s flavorful enough on its own but you can ask for chili sauce or my missus was fine with the sliced fresh chili with soy sauce. If at home, she would take out her bottle of blended chili and garlic dip from the fridge, that’s for sure.
u always made me miss sibu! been few times when i was young. but very long did not went back already.
Come back! Come back! Sibu awaits you! 😀 😀 😀
Sounds like a great price for all the dishes here!
Yes, believe it or not, it was just around USD10.00 for three!