Only the people at the Payung Cafe here…
…would place a tray of buah pinang (areca nut)…
…on the counter and that is decor…and whatever these are…
…they sure look nice as well. That’s Payung Cafe for you – unique, one of its kind and I would say the same about the dishes that they serve here.
My girl wanted their Bangladeshi lamb curry (RM19.00 with rice)…
…for lunch and when we got there, she wanted the green curry (RM16.00 with rice)…
…as well and the pomelo salad (RM8.00)…
…to go with our orders.
The green curry was exceptionally good that day, spicy and bursting with flavours but not too much to the extent of being overpowering, just right and we liked how there were a lot of terung pipitΒ (solanum torvum)…
…in the dish, a must-have in every green curry.
I asked for a plate of rice (RM2.00) and we shared the aforementioned orders so our lunch that day came up to only RM35.00 and no, we did not have any dessert.
Actually, we dropped by there because one fine day, for some reason or other, my dad asked my missus to cook some kacang ma chicken for my bed-ridden mum – he does not eat that himself as he doesn’t have the acquired taste for it. Well, we’ve run out of the traditional Chinese white wine and right now, we are still waiting for the next supply of some really top quality ones. No point cooking if the wine is not good – it would not be as satisfying, and at times, far from it, in fact.
Well, since they do it pretty well here (RM15.00 without rice)…
…I thought we could go and buy some…
…for my mum to eat and when we have the wine, we can cook our own for her…and since we were going, I asked my girl whether she would want to have lunch there and she said yes.
I also bought this – ikan keli (catfish) cooked Foochow style (RM14.00 without rice)…
…with soy sauce and lots of ginger for my mum. I could see a lot of chilies in it so hopefully, she will not find it too spicy.
We certainly enjoyed the lunch and after that, off we went to send the stuff to my parents’ house for my mum to enjoy, fingers crossed.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Food at Payung Cafe always looks good, I’m sure your mom will love the kacangma dish. If I ever make my way to Sibu, this is definitely one of the must-dine place you’ll need to bring me to π
When? When? When are you coming? I am waitinggggggggg!!!!
Nope, she did not like it – see my reply to zmun2’s comment below. Well, she will have to wait then, wait till we cook our own – cannot get kacang ma anywhere else in Sibu. Lots in Kuching, it’s a Hakka dish – a lot of people there enjoy it…not so in our little Foochow town.
Areca nut – is that what is also sometimes known as the “bush olive?”
I don’t think so! They grow on a palm tree – I think it is on the state flag of Penang.
Unique cafe with exceptional food to please. Would love to go back there to try other dishes that I havent taste if I drop in Sibu.
I am sure your mum enjoyed the kacangma.
No, she didn’t. π¦ Will have to cook our own for her once we get hold of some good quality white wine.
Payung Cafe is a must visit when go Sibu..
Definitely! Not to be missed!
Always love Payung Cafe’s decoration, simple & unique. I love all the food especially the kacang ma & pamelo salad.
Yes, food here is always to our liking and we love the place, very relaxing, nice natural surroundings.
Hope your mum enjoyed the meal – the food does look very good π
She didn’t, unfortunately. The fish was too spicy for her and the kacang ma chicken was not exactly like how we would cook it ourselves. For that, she will just have to wait…no choice. π¦
Kachang ma is another dish I don’t know (though you have mentioned it before). Does it have peanuts (kacang)?
No, I do not know where the name kacang comes from – they call the plant or the leaves kacang ma – motherwort, from the mint family, lots of health benefits and eaten by ladies in confinement. So far I’ve only seen this dish in Kuching, hard to find any here unless we cook our own.
Ah, Payung! Always very classy. The flowers – bunga tahi ayam, in spite of the name, is so pretty π
Is that it? I thought those would be the orangy yellow ones with a rather pungent smell, not really nice though not quite like the smell of tahi ayam?
There are many colors now – pink, red and even purple. Don’t know why they are called as such but they sure don’t smell like chicken poo π
Oh? I know the yellow ones had a horrible smell, no, not like chicken shit but somewhat unpleasant, not the usual floral fragrance.
The kacang ma chicken look interesting. Never seen or heard of it before.
It’s a Hakka dish, I think. Traditionally meant for convalescing women in confinement after child birth but these days, it is a very much coveted dish among those with the acquired taste. Very popular and commonly found in Kuching but not here, mostly Foochows round this part of the state and many probably are like you – never seen nor heard of it before.