No, no, don’t take my word for it! I have said time and time again that one man’s meat is another man’s poison and what I say is nice, others may not think so…and vice versa, of course.
You see, I have heard people saying that this guy at this coffee shop here (2.294075, 111.826064)…
…dishes out very nice fried pek koi (white rice cakes) and that is the only thing that he dishes out which is good so I just had to go and give it a try.
Incidentally, it sure looks like this place right next door has called it a day…
…so right now, that shop is available for rent.
It turned out that the highly acclaimed fried pek koi (RM5.00)…
…was not nice at all, so very starchy and gooey, and at that price, it is a lot more expensive than other places where we have had this. In fact, while we were there, we saw the fried bihun (rice vermicelli) that he had cooked for some other customer there and contrary to what I heard, it actually looked very nice.
I had the so-called “kolo mee“ from another stall at this same coffee shop before and it sure did not sweep me off my feet…and that day, I saw that they had tofu stuffed with minced meat and I wanted that, the soup, that is (RM4.50)…
Obviously, I did not make myself clear and they just assumed that I wanted the sup campur (mixed soup) with anything and everything in it. Ah well…it did not matter much as when I looked at the tofu closely, there was so little meat inside that I thought they might as well don’t bother stuffing it.
The soup tasted all right, pretty much the same as what one can get most everywhere else and I enjoyed the strips of beef tripe and the pian sip (meat dumplings) in it. The tofu, despite the lack of meat in it, was fine too but I did not enjoy those frozen meatballs and fried fish balls, not at all – both had an unpleasant smell so I just left all of them behind.
Then, when my niece came home from Singapore for her mum’s birthday, she was telling us about how much she enjoyed the pek koi mani cai (RM4.00)…
…that she had at this coffee shop here among the Jalan Apollo shops opposite the Su Lai Primary School (2.319468, 111.847846) the instant she came down from the airport right after she had landed.
That was why I drove there one morning last week and in the midst of the shops, I saw this piece of street art…
The coffee here…
…was all right. I would say that it had an edge over the one here but no, I would not say it was really good. There are nicer ones at a few other places around town.
As for the pek koi mani cai, not only was it cheaper than the one I was talking about earlier but it was also nicer…
However, it came nowhere near the ones here (RM4.50) – be it the dry or the wet version, for just 50 sen more.
I ordered the pian sip soup (RM2.50)…
…which was as good as many of the rest here, there and everywhere but I would prefer the one I had here – I only had it that one time so perhaps I should go back there to have that again to confirm that it is really that good – I had the dry version when I went again and it was good too but I liked it better in soup.
I ordered the Foochow fried noodles, wet – the one that my missus always orders, with the sauce/gravy, but I got the dry version (RM3.50)…
…instead. I did not want to make a fuss so I just went ahead and ate it and to my delight, it was really very nice! I thought the one here was good but I think this one is nicer…and that one cost 30 sen more, RM3.80 a plate.
But of course, like I said right at the very start, all opinions are entirely my own – you are at liberty to feel differently. To each his own!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Such lovely food!
Is fried pek koi similar to fried radish cake with sweet soya sauce?
I thought sup campur is only available from Malay food stores?
As a kid growing up in Kuching, I had only seen mani chai being served in the shredded form (by hand) and cooked with egg. Does it alter the taste if the mani chai is served whole?
Yes, mani chai must be hand torn to bring out the sweetness and to make it easy to chew (and digest) instead of cooking it whole like this. I know a place here that uses the vegetable, torn and the fried bihun is green in colour. 😀 I had pan mee the other day, also not hand torn but they use the very young leaves, not so bad but then again, the sweetness does not come out much into the soup.
Pek koi is flat rice cakes – the dried made-in-China ones should be available even where you are, in the Asian shops. No, they are far different from fried radish cakes but you can cook it that same way. I would prefer kway teow but for some reason or other, my girl prefers pek koi.
Sup campur at the Malay shops? You mean nasi campur? At those places, the only soup they have would be sup tulang, bone soup.
Fried kway teow can be tasty but rather greasy for my liking. I have seen pei koi in Chinatown, London but I didn’t know what it was then.
Apart for your recipe, I cannot find the recipe from Guai Shu Shu’s page (I think he published a recipe online). I don’t know the English name for Pei Koi.
On the packet, it just says rice cakes.
I LOVE Street Art! Always have! That photo is neat!
Oh! Almost forgot to tell you! Our tea site has a giveaway/contest happening and one of the two prizes is open to international winners! http://sororiteasisters.com/2016/08/28/peanut-butter-raspberry-jelly-black-tea-52teas-giveaway/
Hope some of my readers, especially the tea lovers, will hop over and give it a try.
I agree with you taste is very personal, and I’d also say cultural, and possibly age influenced too.
Yes, everyone has his or her own preferences – a little bit more of this, a little bit less of that and what not and there are people who do not seem to bother at all – anything is good, just eat.
Yes totally agree, one man’s meat is another man’s poison
And all my opinions are mine and mine alone. To each his own.
I never get tired of eating pian sip…
You’ve yet to try ours, similar but not quite the same as your wanton soup.
I love seeing and capturing street arts.
Sure was a surprise, did not expect to find one here, so far from the city centre.
The food looks great! 🙂
It was all right. I enjoyed the fried noodles.
A few weeks ago I had the pek koi and enjoyed it. It’s something I would not have tried had I not been reading your very informative blog. Many thanks.
It’s nice, something different for a change but I prefer kway teow. My girl loves it and would ask to go for it ever so often.
Pek koi mani cai, something new & interesting. I have had it once, cook in the normal way not with mani cai, very nice & I like it. Pian sip has always been my favourite, being it dry or soupy. First look at the Foochow fried noodles, thought it wasn’t look too good but it turn out nice. Nice as in wok hei smell???
Yes, it had the fragrance and it was very tasty with the ingredients added – most dry ones here, it is all just msg, not really to my liking. If it’s the dry version, I would much sooner go for those at the Malay stalls – they do it better!
Our first time, pek koi with mani chai too – usually, it would be with bihun. Not bad, my missus liked it…but I prefer the ones at the other place, with canned clams in soy sauce.
This is why I sometimes hesitate to recommend restaurants or food to other people because what’s good to me may not suit their taste. Then they will blame me when they don’t like the food hah..hah…
Had my share of that. Of course it is up to each and everyone to have their own preferences – no need to fight tooth and claw and insist they are right, all others are wrong…and personally, I find some of their picks are really not nice which makes me wonder whether there is something wrong with my taste buds or theirs.
Pek koi. Hardly eat it. Not easy to find people serving this in Kuching.
I like the Foochow noodle, dry version than the gravy one.
Not me, unless it is at the Malay stalls. Theirs are nice. Oh? Pek koi yet to catch on in Kuching? Would be good to go into that there then.
Ooh I’ve never had Pek Koi with Manicai before…should try cooking it one day!
Nice with bihun, didn’t not really try it that day – my missus had that. I’m not quite a fan of pek koi.