I decided to drop by here (2.319100, 111.832213)…
…among the shops opposite the RTM station in Sibu in the Sungai Antu area that day. The last time I was here was in 2013 when my Penang friend and his friend from KL were passing through Sibu on their way to the now-a-cluster-primary-school where he once taught in Dalat and back.
I used to drop by quite frequently a long time ago and I always enjoyed the Malay lady‘s fried noodles…
*Archive photo*
…and the rest and also her nasi lemak special…
*Archive photo*
That morning, I opted for the latter but when it was served (RM5.00)…
…I must say that I was so very disappointed. Where was the egg? Maybe she had forgotten about it? And where were the peanuts and the fried ikan bilis (anchovies)? Don’t tell me she forgot those too?
Other than that, the rice…
…was not lemak (rich and fragrant with santan/coconut milk) and was somewhat hard and dry. Hmmm…has she lost her touch after all these years?
Thankfully, the masak hitam beef…
…was nice and the fried chicken…
…was like what it was, fried chicken. Together with those and also the very nice nasi lemak sambal, and the very nice complimentary clear chicken soup that came with it…
…I would say that I quite enjoyed my order but I felt kind of sad that it was no longer what it used to be, not as nice any longer, and I sure would have second thoughts about having this should I happen to drop by here again.
My missus had the kampua noodles (RM2.70)…
…from the Chinese stall in that coffee shop and all she said was that it was nice – she did not elaborate further. I had that here before and I thought it was all right too, nothing to get excited about really.
I don’t know if we will drop by again and if we do, it would not be so fast, that’s for sure – maybe I will want to go back there some fine day and try the fried noodles to see if it is still as good as what I used to enjoy a long time ago.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
The nasi lemak special looked very ordinary. I don’t mind paying for a smaller portion (less calories ☺️) if the food is GoOD. What did she mean by ‘special?’ Don’t you feel ripped off? I would and I would query on the missing items.
I’ve mellowed over the years, and I would just let these things pass. Don’t sweat the small stuff – no point making a scene, leaving a bad taste in the mouth. People like us do not have that much time left to get pissed off and spoil the day like that. She’s old…maybe older than me and some years ago, she was very good and I would drop by quite often. The only thing I would do is not to go there again. Period.
Where is the egg? Being an egg enthusiast, that’s a question I find myself asking for nearly every dish 😉
I asked somebody who went quite recently and she said yes, she had an egg and everything. Guess it was just one of those days, the old lady. But even if I had all those, I would not want to go for her nasi lemak again – I don;t recall it being like that. It was not lemak nor nicely fragrant and dry.
This lack of consistency in delivering good food can make restaurants go out of business. Sorry you had this experience.
Yes, once bitten twice shy. But then again, it appears to me that soma people are not bothered about what they eat, as long as it is edible, they are happy…and also, different people have different tastes. I’ve gone to try stuff that they praise to the skies but ended up quite disappointed. To each his own, like I always say.
Bet just not your lucky day. May be the chix wing replaces the egg, peanuts & ikan bilis.I prefer fried egg to hard boiled egg in nasi lemak. Luckily, the masak hitam beef & complimentary soup is are the saving souls.
Yes, I did not really care about the missing egg and peanuts and anchovies and it tasted quite good with everything that was in the platter, just that it might as well have been plain white rice – the nasi lemak rice wasn’t even a little good. 😦
Yes, nasi lemak is not nasi lemak without peanuts egg and ikan bilis… maybe they were finished… or maybe this is the modern type of nasi lemak.. 🙂
When it comes to nasi lemak, it is the nasi I am more concerned about – it must be lemak and not dry and not hard.
The nasi lemak looks… plain without the eggs, peanuts and ikan bilis. =( I won’t say that she forgot about them, but more like it was done on purpose. You know when the folks are moody, they tend to vent it on the customers/diners (which is a big mistake).
She’s old, older than me – I would put it down to absent-mindedness…but no, there wasn’t a crowd, just another table and she served their orders first.
But if you add RM2, the regular price for one chicken wing, RM2 for the masak hitam beef. RM1.50 for the rice – it’s this price for plain rice at the Chinese places, sometimes more, it will add up to RM5.50 already…and there are still the sambal and the cucumber. My only bone to pick would be the fact that the rice was not nicely done, I did not like it one bit.
I was thinking about what Claire has mentioned, maybe they run out of the peanuts egg and ikan bilis….
Possibly, and eggs too – no time to rush to the shop or supermarket to grab some more but that is all right – when I eat nasi lemak, my main focus is the rice – whether it is very lemak and of the right texture. All add-ons are secondary.
I recently did a white rice and veggie dish with a ‘wing’ sauce that happened to be vegan. I didn’t put it on my blog tho. I should put one of the veggie hash dishes I did last night!!!! Perhaps I will. Stay tuned! In the meantime I have been busy steeping glorious teas over at SororiTEA Sisters 🙂
Yes, I’ve hopped over for a look – it’s all about tea, and I’m a coffee person. 😛 But I think there’s tea in a post coming soon.